It’s been another busy week in the fast-changing social networking world. Here are a few updates from The GH Spin’s “In case you missed it” file.
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was named 2010 Person of the Year by Time Magazine. Time credits Zuckerberg with wiring together a “twelfth of humanity into a single network.” It is clear that Zuckerberg has made an enormous impact on the way we communicate, and Facebook’s popularity is not expected to wane soon – more than 250 million people (or half of Facebook’s members) use the social networking site daily.
Mobile phone use increases: While this may come as no surprise due to the increasing popularity of smartphones, a recent eMarketer survey found that people spend as much time on their mobile phones as they do reading a newspaper and a magazine combined. The average user spends 50 minutes a day using his or her mobile phone, 30 minutes reading a newspaper, and 20 minutes reading a magazine.
Myspace integrates with Facebook: Myspace is now letting users log into their Facebook accounts through their Myspace pages. Myspace will import users’ likes and interests listed on their Facebook walls and stream entertainment content based on these interests. According to Myspace, this move will deliver an “even richer entertainment experience” to its users. Learn more here.
In 1972, Ray Tomlinson transformed the way we communicate when he invented e-mail. Tomlinson used the “@” symbol to send information from one computer to another, and communication has never been the same. Now, 38 years later, 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg wants to change e-mail as we know it.
The Facebook founder announced yesterday yet another new feature for his ever-expanding social media empire – a comprehensive message system that would consolidate e-mail, texts, and instant messaging in one social inbox. In less than a month, each of Facebook’s 500 million users will receive an e-mail address (@facebook.com).
You will then be able to choose how you prefer to receive messages – text, e-mail, or Facebook account – and messages will automatically be forwarded to you in your preferred format.
Zuckerberg says that Facebook’s messaging system is not e-mail. In fact, he said in a news conference that he doesn’t think e-mail is going to be a modern messaging system, partly because it is too formal. For many, he’s right. Younger people are forgoing e-mail in favor of more casual instant messaging and texts.
There is also an important business reason behind this. The messaging system creates more chances to reach the more-than half of a billion Facebook users via ads. Some are positioning this new service as Facebook’s way to better compete with Gmail and other e-mail services.
Despite the rise of informal texts, tweets, and Facebook wall posts, The GH Spin believes there will always – and should always – be a time and place for formal communications, namely in the workplace. While your in-laws might not care if you send them a quick message via Facebook, a potential client, employer, or colleague might not be impressed with your knowledge of Internet abbreviations.
Additionally, domain names associated with e-mail addresses subliminally inform recipients about the sender. Will an e-mail from an @facebook.com account have the same clout as one from more acceptable e-mail domains, like Gmail or a company domain?
As with all technology developments, we will have to wait to see whether or not the Facebook messaging system is successful. Google recently tried to take on Twitter with Google Buzz. But the buzz faded quickly, and Google is ending the service.
Nevertheless, this new development shows how Facebook is evolving to serve the needs of those who want quick, informal communications. How we communicate and the options available continue to evolve, especially as the social network strives to be an even bigger part of our lives.
It’s been another busy week in the fast-changing online world. Here are a few updates from The GH Spin’s “In case you missed it” file.
•Patch goes live: AOL’s hyper-local news source, Patch, went live in Edina this week. Patch journalists in several Twin Cities locations are already active on Twitter and Facebook. According to MinnPost, Patch is hiring journalists for nearly 50 sites in the metro area and is adding 600 journalists nationally. Read more from MinnPost or The GH Spin.
•Preview websites instantly: Google announced today a feature that will allow people to preview a screen shot of websites that appear in a search before they click on a site. The “Instant Previews” feature will be launched in 40 languages over the coming days. Read more here.
•Twitter starts advertising: Starting this month, Twitter will allow companies to place an ad in a user’s Twitter stream regardless of whether the user follows the company. Virgin America, Starbucks, and Red Bull have already bought ads. This advertising option complements the “promoted tweet” that appears at the top of searches on the Twitter website. Read more here.
•Clip coupons via Facebook: Facebook is now offering coupons through a new feature called “Deals.” More than 20 companies, including Gap, McDonalds, and American Eagle Outfitters, have signed on. The feature can alert users when a store near them has a coupon available, making it especially useful for smartphone users. Read more here.
The Social Network opens in theaters today. While the GH Spin does not condone comparisons of this film to Citizen Kane, we can’t help but recognize the significance of a movie that attempts to dissect an empire that has caused a global shift in how we socialize.
In this work of art by Aaron Sorkin and slighted Facebook founder Ben Mezrich, the lead actor looks like Mark Zuckerberg’s twin but many say the similarities don’t carry through the plot. There are squabbles over details such as whether or not Zuckerberg ever really rowed crew or not (who cares?) and when and where a Facebook groupie was arrested for cocaine use (the arrest itself is not disputed.) But, we hope the movie does somehow capture what went on in the early days of the creation of this social media mega-player.
Zuckerberg says he won’t even see it (though there are rumors he sneaked into a preview). Will you?
Today’s world obviously moves fast, and technology seems to change every minute. It’s hard enough to keep up with the constant stream of breaking news stories, especially stories that don’t immediately affect you or your job. One of the things The GH Spin will do is help keep you up to speed on information that might have blipped past your already-full radar screen.
Here are a few of the more interesting technology developments that will significantly impact the Internet and social networking.
• Google introduces new instant search function: Earlier this week, Google launched Google Instant, a new version of its search engine that displays results as you type. According to Google, instant searching will decrease search time by two to five seconds (to 19-22 seconds for a typical search). Read more from PC World.
• Twitter rolls out new design: Over the next few weeks, Twitter will upgrade its interface and design to place almost every function on a single screen so you rarely have to navigate away from a page to get the full experience. The new Twitter will also allow users to embed photos and videos directly on the site. TechCrunch lays out all the new elements in this article.
• Google to launch new social network: Google is planning to challenge Facebook’s dominance by incorporating new social networking features in its core products. Read more from the Guardian.
• The Social Network invades movie theaters October 1: The Social Network chronicles the early days of Facebook and examines a generation’s obsession with social networking. The movie has been getting strong reviews from critics, including Rolling Stone. Watch the trailer here.
A common excuse for not integrating social media into a company’s communications is that Facebook skews too young. The assumption is that kids text and tweet, but people 50 and older would rather talk and meet than update their status.
But things have changed. The power of Facebook has now reached into another demographic segment. According to a recent survey conducted by the PEW Research Center, social networking use among adults 50 and older has doubled over the past year.
Nearly half (47%) of Internet users ages 50-64 and more than a quarter (26%) of users age 65 and older use social networking sites, growth rates of 88% and 100% respectively. The survey also shows that social networking sites have become a large part of older adults’ daily Internet habits – 20% of adults ages 50-64 and 13% of adults age 65 and older log on to social networking sites on a typical day.
PEW researchers believe that older adults are attracted to social media because it bridges generational gaps and provides a connection to family and friends who live far away. Social networking sites have also become popular places for professional networking, continuing education, and political participation. It is also a resource for sharing information about health issues, much like people would do via traditional conversations.
Social networking sites have rapidly become one of the easiest and most beneficial ways for a business to create and maintain relationships with its key audiences. The new research builds on the already high level of use among people in their 30s and 40s. As these users age, they continue their connection to Facebook and social media. For businesses and others who need to reach people 50 and over, it’s time to make sure you have a social media component within your overall communication strategy.
If you need help navigating this premier communications platform, let us know.
Have you ever said or done something that you later regret? Who hasn’t? The only thing that could make the situation worse is realizing that a friend tagged your name in pictures of the regretted incident on Facebook.
For many of us, the thought of sharing so much information about ourselves creates panic and stress. Privacy and anonymity are things to be valued and protected.
Yet for a generation that has grown up in an era of technology-driven narcissism driven by instant messaging, texting, and Facebook, sharing anything and everything raises few concerns until they realize that a prospective employer can easily connect them to incidents that might make those employers think twice about hiring them.
How do people who have documented vast amounts of their lives on the Internet transition into professional careers?
One of the people who helped create this challenge has an idea and some advice for young people struggling with this data dilemma. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, thinks young people should have the chance to start over by creating a new identity to “escape their misspent youth.” You could call it a “digital do-over.”
Schmidt believes that young people will be allowed to change their names to distance themselves from incriminating pictures and material stored on their friends’ social media sites.
Giving people who posted too many embarrassing pictures of themselves new identities is a simplistic way to ignore the real issue. We are responsible for our actions, regardless of what friends may have done with the photos. How does giving someone a new identity guarantee better behavior by that person?
The greater irony is that companies like Google and Facebook, that have created the technology that allow us to define our digital personality, are now archiving, analyzing and using those personalities to improve their marketing efforts. Giving people the chance to create new identities seems like an easy way for Facebook and Google to enhance their marketing capabilities.
Earlier this summer, Facebook reached its 500 millionth member. While the social network’s massive user base receives a lot of attention, its ad revenue is equally significant. This year, Facebook will receive more than $1 billion in ad revenue and is poised to receive $1.7 billion next year. MySpace, on the other hand, can barely retain its advertising. The social network will bring in $347 million in ad revenue this year, a 26% drop from 2009.
Facebook gained its 500 millionth member this week – only six years after its inception. With a membership contingent greater than the population of the United States, Facebook has quickly grown to be one of the most – if not the most – powerful social networking website in the world.
• Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited website in the world in 2010. • 100 million new users joined the site in the past six months alone. • The fastest-growing demographic of users is women older than 55. • The average user spends 55 minutes per day and views 661.8 pages each month. • More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month. (Sources: Facebook, Inside Facebook, and Business Insider)
Even Hollywood is paying attention. This fall, Columbia Pictures will release The Social Network, a movie about the creation of Facebook, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will make an appearance on The Simpsons.
Facebook’s success has come with a price recently. The social networking giant has been criticized by everyone from users to U.S. Senators for its changes to its privacy settings. Facebook is even being sued by a man who claims to own 84% of the company.
But Facebook’s popularity seems solid, especially if users continue to spend more than 500 billion minutes per month on the site.
For more information, watch Diane Sawyer’s interview with Zuckerberg.
The Star Tribune recently published an article about how parents who are constantly connected to technology are alienating their children. While the actions of the parents described in this article are deplorable, the article caught my attention because the author’s lessons are applicable in a business setting as well.
I’ve been in meetings where people check their smartphone every time it buzzes with a new tweet. Not only is this addiction to social media a distraction to everyone in the meeting, it makes it harder to concentrate and deliver high-quality work.
While we need to always be reachable by clients, we also need to understand the difference between an urgent message and a not-so-urgent Facebook update, especially during a meeting.
It’s official: the first political ads for the 2010 election have started invading our screens and monitors. As we brace ourselves for a five-month barrage of political messages, we can’t help but wonder, do these ads really work? Millions of people go to great lengths to avoid commercials by fast-forwarding with DVRs or watching shows on the Internet. With the rise of social media, tweets and Facebook ads are giving candidates new ways to reach audiences. The GH Spin wants to know what you think about political television ads. We’ll share the results here.
Quit Facebook Day has come and gone without leaving a dent in Facebook’s dominance over the social networking world. According to the Wall Street Journal, fewer than 35,000 people, less than .009% of the social networking site’s users, agreed to quit.
Perhaps Facebook’s most recent privacy changes – which were explained adeptly by the Pioneer Press this weekend – changed the minds of some users. Nevertheless, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Facebook (and Google) raising concerns about privacy settings. The committee is considering holding hearings on these issues.
Interest in Facebook’s privacy settings is growing almost as fast as the number of users joining the site. Yesterday, the social networking giant announced even more changes in a series of revisions to the site’s privacy settings:
People searching through Facebook’s user directory will only receive minimal information about others, including name, profile picture, and gender.
Facebook will make it easier for users to restrict access to their information from third-party websites.
Although these changes make it easier for users to control their privacy settings, the site still requires users to change the default privacy settings if they don’t want to give third-party websites the ability to access their information.
With more than 170 options to adjust how much profile information is shared publicly, it’s no wonder that many of the site’s more than 400 million users are confused. The GH Spin is committed to helping you make sense of Facebook’s new privacy features and what these changes mean for you. Check back here for updates.
Last month, the GH Spin reported that Facebook is allowing select third-party Web sites the ability to access and store users’ personal information. But now, Facebook has taken these privacy settings (or, lack of) further. Most of your personal profile information, including where you work, what music you like, and where you went to school, is now made public by default. Some of your information is shared.
Debates over these changes are swirling. A group of computer engineers started an online petition to encourage people to quit Facebook on May 31 to protest the privacy changes. Nearly 3,000 people have committed to canceling their profiles.
There is even a Facebook page dedicated to “Quit Facebook Day.” The GH Spin finds it ironic that these Facebook-haters can’t help but use said networking site to organize more haters.
Facebook first became popular as a safer, more private alternative to MySpace. This is still the case, as long as you know how to change your privacy settings. Click here to learn how.
This conversation about privacy on social networking sites will continue, especially if Congress and the Federal Trade Commission try to regulate these sites. Check back with the GH Spin for updates on this unprecedented debate.
Facebook’s new privacy settings have many people, including Senator Al Franken, concerned. In an effort to enhance users’ ability to share information and expand its reach to other Web sites, Facebook is allowing select third-party Web sites (e.g., CNN, the Huffington Post, and ESPN) the ability to access and store some users’ personal information. For example, if you order a pizza from Dominoes online, Facebook will publish information on your profile and Dominoes will track your purchase.
While Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg touts this new service as “transformative technology,” critics don’t like the invasion of privacy. Yesterday, Franken and three other senators wrote a letter to Facebook executives asking them to allow users to opt-in to the new privacy settings. Currently, the default privacy settings permit third-party access to users’ information.
While I appreciate Franken’s fight against Facebook’s sudden Big Brother mentality, the social network’s new technology reinforces what I already knew about the Internet: the virtual word is not private, so you need to be careful how you use it and what you share on it.
The GH Spin spends a lot of time thinking about Facebook. Besides checking out updates from our friends, there is another good reason. Facebook isn’t just for college students anymore. The largest and fastest-growing social media service is a way of life for the more than 400 million people who actively use it. By harnessing the energy and ideas of its millions of users, the site creates an environment where people can easily share information and connect with others. (Goff & Howard has its own page, and we also create and monitor Facebook pages for our clients.)
What’s the big fuss about Facebook? The site has the largest number of users of any social networking site. Half a million people join the site each day, and the fastest-growing demographic of users is people over the age of 30. But, what is even more significant is how often users visit the site to create and consume wall posts, videos and links (otherwise known as content). More than 200 million people visit the site daily, and the average user spends 55 minutes per day and views 661.8 pages each month (twice as many page views as its closest rival, Hi5).
So, what does this mean for you? Facebook has rapidly become one of the easiest and most beneficial ways for a business to create and maintain relationships with its key audiences. If you need help navigating this premier communications platform, let us know.
At first, I thought Facebook was just for the loners hacking away on computers in their mothers’ basements. Then, an old friend who lives a thousand miles away lured me to sign up just so I could see the photos of her kids she posted. I signed up . . .became quickly overwhelmed . . . and swiftly deactiviated my account. Weeks later . . .I tiptoed back and joined again. And I haven’t looked back since. At first it was simply a photos swap with old friends . . .but now it’s more than that; it’s also a business tool. But, if you are considering joining all the cool kids on FB, be sure you know how to use it. While you can set some pretty tight privacy settings, it is also pretty easy for many to call up your profile picture. Or, for friends to “tag” you in a photo album . . .and the next thing you know you’re sitting across the meeting table with someone who just called up a picture of you at a party you’d rather forget. (Just ask Jon Favreau, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/12/04/one_more_question.html)
So . . .give it a shot. But proceed with caution . . .and discretion.
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