This week, I’m doing my social media picks of the week a bit different. Feedbackers Dean and Anna are in Cambridge, MA for ROFLcon II. So, this week I have only one social media pick, and it’s…. #ROFLcon! We’ll be covering to footage of the event while we’re here, and started bright and early this morning at registration. I lucked out and got an interview with Christian Lander, who wrote “Stuff White People Like“.
We’ve been talking a lot around the office about geo-location, reviews and ratings and how they influence a number of industries now and in the future. Yelp has been a big topic of discussion, with its gigantic critical mass (25 million a month and growing). Yelp’s had some high-profile mentions in the press recently, and with good reason. Below are a couple of videos we’ve found interesting on what’s going on over at Yelp.
Here’s an explanation of Yelp’s new integration with Facebook:
And here’s a clip of Steve Jobs on Yelp as a part of iPhone app success:
P.S. We’ve been brainstorming the effect on other industries as well. For example, what’s the Yelp of healthcare, if a review site on docs, procedures, clinics…gets that much traffic, going to do to the industry? Drop in virtually or in-person and brainstorm with us!
Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. (& if the answer is yes, leave a comment with your favorites). I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way.
Here are my picks of the week:
Foursquare Hits a Million:
This week, Foursquare has hit the 1 million mark. Yep, there is now over 1 million Foursquare users. On Thursday, Foursquare tweeted about their anticipation of this milestone, saying, “We’re closing in on 1 million users! Current count is 969,775. Looks like that’s we may have something to toast during Friday Happy Hour :).”
Social Plugins:
Facebook announced five social plugins at f8 that can be embedded into websites -which you will then be able to interact with. Here’s what I took away from the article What the Facebook F8 Annoucements Mean for You:
Friends Activity Plugin: Lets you see what real time news feed results of your Facebook friends activity pertaining to the site you’re on. (see CNN.com)
Like Plugin: Without having to login, this plugin lets you see which of your friends like the site or have engaged with it recently
Recommendations Plugin: Provides recommendations for site content that Facebook users liked most
Log-In Plugin: Offers functionality on website based on people who are already logged in to Facebook. Basically an updated version of Facebook connect, which now contains photos of friends who have already joined the website.
Social Bar Plugin: Lets you to chat with Facebook friends and show likes on Facebook all from the website you’re on.
Open Graph:
Another announcement at f8 was Open Graph. Open Graph essentially shares things you “like” with other websites (unless you opt out). As Giganom states, “If you indicate you like an article, a band, a restaurant — anything, really — a site using Facebook’s open graph protocol can create a persistent relationship with you around that content.” Microsoft Docs, Pandora, and Yelp are initial partners for Open Graph, so these sites will have the ability to personalize your experience using your public Facebook information.
Other Facebook News:
Other changes to Facebook this week include that fans have official been changed to like on pages. Also, Facebook is now prompting users to link their hobbies to pages around the web by automatically pulling in choices they think are correct. Facebook also introduced Graph API at f8, which in a nutshell, just makes it easier for developers to utilize the facebook platform.
The Lost iPhone:
A big news topic this week was that an iPhone 4G was accidentally left at a bar, resulting in someone else taking it home & discovering it was the next iPhone. Although Apple security shut off the phone, Gizmodo got the shell for $5,000. Here’s the photos of the iPhone 4G: http://bit.ly/cSJgYb
Another interesting addition is the way they visually break out how many of your friends (assuming you’re logged in) “like” the Page as opposed to the complete total. For example, five of my friends like the band The Whigs:
This is consistent with the way Facebook uses peer endorsement in advertising options, showing who else is attending, or “likes” an event or Page for an ad that is viewed.
UPDATE #2:
Looks like the new changes are turning on and off at random for some users as they roll them out. Expect them live for everyone shortly.
ORIGINAL POST:
Just for the record, it is NOT a big deal for the average person that Facebook will be shelving the term Fan as a signifier of a person’s relationship to a business, institution, product, services, etc. through Pages on Facebook.
Is it a big deal for the Pages themselves and the entities behind them? Let’s just say it’s not a negative thing.
For those with fervent actual fans, it may feel like a bit of a step down in loyalty, but frankly those people will show you allegiance in other more tangible ways such as engagement and financial commitment. It may be that you take the issue into your own hands by creating exclusive clubs within (through Groups) or outside to help separate the super-fans.
But for most administrators of a Facebook Page the change will be a welcome one. It reduces the level of affinity needed to want more information from, or express endorsement of. They rightly have seen how easily and voluminously users have taken to “Like” on the most minute of posts, so to extend that on a more macro level makes sense. And Pages will benefit – watch for a surge in “Likers Formally Known As Fans” (or, “Subscribers” as you’ll notice Facebook sometimes uses in certain contexts) once it goes into action and the process becomes the norm.
We were joking with “Fans” on our Facebook Page about the levels of commitment Facebook might employ (“hearts” or “admit you’re non-commitally fond of”) and truly we’re just talking about semantics here. When you add in the upcoming changes that could impact Pages due to Facebook’s location plans, you’ll further appreciate a low barrier of psychological entry for “Likes” over “Fandom” when someone is just casually passing by your location (I won’t be a fan of something I don’t know much about, but I can “Like” what you’re about and want to check you out more later).
Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest and coolest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. (& if the answer is yes, leave a comment with your favorites). I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way.
Here are my picks of the week:
Twitter Ad Model:
A day before Chirp, Twitters Official Developers Conference, Twitter finally introduced their ad model, unveiling Promoted Tweets. It is essentially ordinary Tweets that businesses & organizations can purchase. Promoted Tweets will appear at the top of Twitter for certain search terms (chosen by advertisers), and will be labeled as promoted. Initial advertising partners include Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America.
Chirp, Chirp:
Twitter had more items to unveil at Chirp, including:
Twitter is adding places to their geo-location feature
Users will be able to see which Twitter users have “checked In” & when, and will be able to see opinions of the location
Stats released by Twitter show that 75% of all Twitter traffic & 60% of all Tweets come from third party applications
Facebook Ad Update:
A day after Twitter announced their ad model, Facebook added an option to promote a Page post. For page owners, you now have the option to promote a status update or post. Directly under the post you want to create an ad for, you can select the promote link, and will only be charged if someone becomes a fan or clicks on your page from the ad.
Google Archives Tweets:
Google added a new feature to make it easier for us to search Twitter archives. As Google announced, this feature allows you to “zoom to any point in time and replay what people were saying publicly about a topic on Twitter.” You can go to “show options” on Google’s search results page, and select “Updates” to try this new tool out.
Library of Tweets:
Who else is archiving Tweets? The Library of Congress. The made this announcement via Twitter, tweeting that “Library to acquire ENTIRE Twitter archive — ALL public tweets, ever, since March 2006! Details to follow.”
Another day, another Facebook feature trickles out – this one hilariously also using “promote” terminology (see our coverage of Twitter’s “Promoted Tweets” here). Today on our Facebook Page another option followed Comment, Like and Share (Share only appears if the item is a link): “Promote” which, when clicked, allowed us as an administrator to instantly create an ad featuring that post.
“Create an ad to reach potential fans with your post. You only pay when people Become A Fan or click to your Page from the ad.”
The ad is automatically set up to run until midnight PST, targeting people in the US who are not already Fans of Feedback. You can edit it, but it is ready to go with one click from the start if you like.
Here’s how the button looks:
And what pops up:
Facebook has long since made overtures to Facebook Page administrators to create ads (usually by using the actual ad space of the Page on the right).
It will be interesting to see if we begin to see a heavy usage of these ad tools. It certainly makes it easier and the ability to target non-fans right out of the box is a nice touch.
Twitter announced Tuesday the first phase of paid advertising with, “Promoted Tweets” (read more on their blog here).
Twitter’s ad model for Promoted Tweets is based on a per-thousand buy of viewers who will see a Tweet at the top of their search results that has been chosen for “promotion” by a paying company. This result will reside at the top regardless of when it was posted, meaning companies can circumvent the deafening cry of other Tweets about the same subjects that could bury their comment over time or over frequency.
This also makes for an interesting paid-placement opportunity for dealing with public relations nightmares, or quickly reacting to industry or popular trends, shoe-horning in a brand’s thoughts into every search.
The actual form of the ad? Essentially it’s just a “Golden Tweet” or “Timeless Tweet” that has all the same properties of a normal Tweet, plus “promoted” tag, that allows for interaction as normal and obeys all rules except for the chronology. Presumably this timelessness is how it will be inserted even in search queries from third-party applications.
One underreported function is that company’s appear to be able to promote Tweets they didn’t generate. In other words, a Tweet selected for promotion may be an incredibly positive review, for example. Consider industries such as healthcare, where slim official Tweeting by hospitals means meaningful Tweets are buried under a flood of job posts, etc.
Promoted Tweets is an interesting and unique development from Twitter, who before now has eschewed advertising and frequently stated they were interested in models that did not deviate from Twitter’s core functions (i.e. an integrated advertising design rather than interruptive such as banner ads). The success of Promoted Tweets and the other models coming in subsequent “phases” remains to be seen, but in my opinion appears promising.
Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest and coolest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. (& if the answer is yes, leave a comment with your favorites). I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way.
Here are my picks of the week:
Twitter Redesign:
On Thursday, Doug Bowman, Head of Design at Twitter, gave us a look at what Twitter’s redesign may look like. He posted a snapshot and said “Working on what may end up a significant redesign. Not final yet. What we can show without giving away the farm.”
Facebook On Privacy:
Facebook took to their blog on Tuesday to let users know they were hearing their complaints about privacy changes. Facebook listed a few ways to control privacy settings, discussed some of their more recent additions to their privacy policy and noted that noted that they are taking feedback into account as our product teams and engineers are designing and coding.
Apple iAds:
On Thursday, Apple introduced iAds, a new mobile ad platform. iAd is different from other ad platforms because it will allow users to stay within the app after clicking on an ad, rather than being redirected to a browser window.
Yelp Increases Transparency:
Yelp is increasing transparency by making a few changes to their site. They will now allow users to see reviews that would typically have been hidden by the review filtering system. They are also discontinuing the “Favorite Review” feature that was part of their advertising package.
YouTube’s New Feature for Big Bloggers:
YouTube has added an “As Seen On” feature to their video page. This feature was created to acknowledge users who drive a lot of viewers to a YouTube video. Basically, if you have a blog that links to a YouTube video and drives a significant amount of people to this video, YouTube will now link to your blog under the video.
Dean will moderate a special panel in Chicago this weekend. Details below from AleWhale.Net:
Storytelling 2.0: Social Media is a Conversation Craft Brewers Conference 2010 in Chicago, IL
April 10, 10:45am in Ballroom V (Sheraton Hotel & Towers)
It’s time to stop thinking of Twitter, Facebook and blogging as simple extensions of your press releases. Storytelling 2.0 will help you discover your own unique voice and connect, build and bond as you talk with—not at—your fan base.
Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest and coolest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. (& if the answer is yes, leave a comment with your favorites). I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way.
Here are my picks of the week:
YouTube Redesign Rollout:
On Wednesday, YouTube rolled out a major redesign. The actual interface was revealed two months ago, & this week, the redesign was rolled out to millions of YouTube video viewers. Mashable describes the new YouTube as leaner and less cluttered with simplified navigation.
Facebook- Fans to Like:
This week, Facebook announced that they will be changing the way they ask users to connect with a page by replacing the word fan with like. So, instead of becoming a fan of a Page, you will be able to like a Page. This was announced on Monday by alerting Facebook advertisers that “fan” buttons will be replaced with “like” buttons on ads.
Twitter Homepage Change:
Twitter has completely changed their homepage. So now, Along with the search box and sign in or sign up information, Twitter’s homepage shows a sample of who’s on Twitter, what they’re tweeting about, and what big topics are being discussed.
Facebook Community Pages:
This week, Facebook has added an option for users to create Community Pages. A page falls into this category if it is an unofficial page, i.e. not for a company, brand, or public figure. So for example, if you want to create a Facebook Page for records or old radios, you’d use a Community Page. If the Community Page you create gets enough fans, it will be adopted and maintained by the Facebook community.
iPad Coming this Saturday:
For those of you eagerly awaiting the iPad, you may be in luck this weekend. On April 3, the iPad hits Apple stores. Wi-Fi only iPads go on sale this Saturday in Apple stores and select Best Buy stores. & As one would expect, iPad apps are now live on iTunes. The Wi-Fi & 3G capable iPads will be available later this month.
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Anna’s Social Media Pick of the Week: ROFLcon (04/30/10)
by FeedbackThis week, I’m doing my social media picks of the week a bit different. Feedbackers Dean and Anna are in Cambridge, MA for ROFLcon II. So, this week I have only one social media pick, and it’s…. #ROFLcon! We’ll be covering to footage of the event while we’re here, and started bright and early this morning at registration. I lucked out and got an interview with Christian Lander, who wrote “Stuff White People Like“.
Take a look:
Follow @dbrowell, @alucas9, and @feedbackagency for updates at ROFLcon II.
-Anna (@alucas9)