Bebo and the TV company behind Wife Swap have teamed up with one of the world's experts in interstellar radio communication, Dr Alexander Zaitsev, to beam 500 messages from users into space in a digital time capsule.
More here
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Social Marketing Limited By Advertiser Confusion
A recent JupiterResearch study underscores that actual spending on social media marketing has not caught up with the hype surrounding the emerging category.
The article goes on to give a few reasons why, and also how MySpace and Facebook are doing to alleviate marketing concerns.
More here
The article goes on to give a few reasons why, and also how MySpace and Facebook are doing to alleviate marketing concerns.
More here
Friday, July 25, 2008
Microsoft Seeks an Ad Friend in Facebook
MySpace teamed up with Google. Bebo and Yahoo are in bed together. Searching for a quick way to expand the audience for its search engine, Microsoft is networking with Facebook.
More here
Summer Soc-Nets Sizzle, Just Not Like '07 Did
Here are numbers charting the action over at the social networks in June '08.
MySpace.com received 71.92 percent of the market share of US visits in June 2008 among Hitwise's custom category of 57 of the leading social-networking websites. Facebook ranked second with 16.91 percent, followed by MyYearbook, which received 1.54 percent.
More here
MySpace.com received 71.92 percent of the market share of US visits in June 2008 among Hitwise's custom category of 57 of the leading social-networking websites. Facebook ranked second with 16.91 percent, followed by MyYearbook, which received 1.54 percent.
More here
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Why Facebook Connect Matters & Why It Will Win
Not my opinion, but that of one Mr. Om Malik. He's pretty sure Facebook can build a monetization engine that can offer branded advertising is a much less 'evil' version of the dreaded Beacon System. He just may be right.
His argument
His argument
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
MySpace Music Service to Launch in September
MySpace became a popular place for bands to connect with their fans early on. 65% of their members currently embed music on their profile pages. Soon, members will be able listen to free streaming music as well as purchase song downloads, ringtones, T-shirts and concert tickets.
More here
More here
Monday, July 21, 2008
OpenID: Now Open to Half a Billion
MySpace’s 200 million users can now use their MySpace IDs on other OpenID places such as Google and Yahoo. However, MySpace still has yet to accept the OpenIDs of other sites. Meaning I can’t access MySpace with a Yahoo OpenID.
This may change. The sooner, the better.
More here
Wait, is Open ID the same thing as MySpace's Data Availability?
No. Data Availability, launched last week, is MySpace’s effort to tear down the wall that makes them a walled garden. They’re actually allowing data out of its server vault. Third parties can’t store that data, so MySpace retains ultimate control of it.
So what’s Facebook up to?
They’re trying to become more like Friendfeed, letting their members bring in third party data to their Facebook pages. However, they should be launching Facebook Connect this week, which is designed to let users get that data back out of Facebook.
Facebook did just launch a new look.
Facebook is now giving ads greater prominence through new display units launched as part of the home page and member profile redesign.
This may change. The sooner, the better.
More here
Wait, is Open ID the same thing as MySpace's Data Availability?
No. Data Availability, launched last week, is MySpace’s effort to tear down the wall that makes them a walled garden. They’re actually allowing data out of its server vault. Third parties can’t store that data, so MySpace retains ultimate control of it.
So what’s Facebook up to?
They’re trying to become more like Friendfeed, letting their members bring in third party data to their Facebook pages. However, they should be launching Facebook Connect this week, which is designed to let users get that data back out of Facebook.
Facebook did just launch a new look.
Facebook is now giving ads greater prominence through new display units launched as part of the home page and member profile redesign.
It Was The Best of Efforts, It Was The Worst of Efforts
Jeremiah Owyang just released his Best and Worst of Social Network Marketing, 2008 report (Forrester Research). In it he states that most social network marketing isn’t being done effectively. Mainly because marketers still don't get the space.
He reviewed 16 efforts. All but one failed, and half of them received a score of zero or lower. The only one that passed: BMW Series 1.
I have yet to shell out the $300 to read the report. But here's what BMW's been up to.
According to a NY Times article, BMW got Facebook members to design virtual cars and send them to their friends. I actually never saw this effort, but a couple of months ago, I reviewed BMW's Series 1 JoyRide app. I wasn't kind to it, although it did have 4,000 installs at the time. At a recent IAB seminar, this effort was brought up as a point of success, though they refused to release any numbers.
Looking at it now, there are hardly any users there. A mere 59 fans. And a few negative comments on the boards. A smattering of comments, some pos, some neg. I agreed with this one: "I expected much more of the application. minus 5 stars."
So that can't be it.
There was also a Road Trip app which allowed Facebook members to send a make-believe 1-Series on a journey from one profile to another, and a virtual toss of car keys between Facebook friends.
Probably BMW's best Facebook effort wasn't one of their own apps, but somebody else's. Over 6,000 Facebook people entered the "What Drives You?" BMW car contest through Graffiti's page. See the winners here. BMW isn't the only car company using Graffiti. Their sister, Mini Cooper used it as well. Not to mention Dell for their Regeneration experience.
Considering the effort BMW put into all this, you think they'd have a profile page linking to all this. As it is, searching BMW on Facebook sends one down a lot of false roads. Fan groups, members nicknamed BMW, etc.
I just may have to read that report. Well, if I can expense it.
He reviewed 16 efforts. All but one failed, and half of them received a score of zero or lower. The only one that passed: BMW Series 1.
I have yet to shell out the $300 to read the report. But here's what BMW's been up to.
According to a NY Times article, BMW got Facebook members to design virtual cars and send them to their friends. I actually never saw this effort, but a couple of months ago, I reviewed BMW's Series 1 JoyRide app. I wasn't kind to it, although it did have 4,000 installs at the time. At a recent IAB seminar, this effort was brought up as a point of success, though they refused to release any numbers.
Looking at it now, there are hardly any users there. A mere 59 fans. And a few negative comments on the boards. A smattering of comments, some pos, some neg. I agreed with this one: "I expected much more of the application. minus 5 stars."
So that can't be it.
There was also a Road Trip app which allowed Facebook members to send a make-believe 1-Series on a journey from one profile to another, and a virtual toss of car keys between Facebook friends.
Probably BMW's best Facebook effort wasn't one of their own apps, but somebody else's. Over 6,000 Facebook people entered the "What Drives You?" BMW car contest through Graffiti's page. See the winners here. BMW isn't the only car company using Graffiti. Their sister, Mini Cooper used it as well. Not to mention Dell for their Regeneration experience.
Considering the effort BMW put into all this, you think they'd have a profile page linking to all this. As it is, searching BMW on Facebook sends one down a lot of false roads. Fan groups, members nicknamed BMW, etc.
I just may have to read that report. Well, if I can expense it.
If He Doesn't Win, Will He Just Steal It?
BAiNG The Locksmith is jingling. And I'm not referring to the bling in his hands. He's one of the top five finalists in McDonald's BIG MAC chant competition on MySpace. The winner's jingle will be played in a nationally-run commercial.
So what makes this MySpace contest any different from the others? The rapper, whose real name is Tamien Bain, once held up a McDonald's at gunpoint and served 12 years for the crime.
More here
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Corporate Social Networks Are A Waste of Money, Study Finds
A large proportion of corporate-branded online communities fail, becoming virtual ghost towns, according to a report by a Deloitte consultant, who puts the blame on three factors: overpriced bells & whistles, insufficient and inexperienced community management, and bad metrics and criteria.
More here
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
They're All Equally Horrible
One thing all social networks have in common, apparently, is horrible advertising. This according to a poll conducted by Mashable.
More here
More here
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Big-Name Brands Booking Ads on Facebook
The SF Chronicle takes a look at Sears and Slim Jim's Facebook efforts, among others. Sears' first social media effort involved a successful prom-dress campaign that asked high school girls to share their selections with friends on Facebook.
More here
If You Can't Sue Them, Join Them
Alt. title: Too Little, Too Late
The official Facebook version of Scrabble still faces challenges against its unofficial brethren, Scrabulous. The version, created by Hasbro and EA, is geographically hobbled, with only US and Canadians being able to play each other. Licensing issues prevents them from playing against the world at large.
How many points is Failure worth?
The official Facebook version of Scrabble still faces challenges against its unofficial brethren, Scrabulous. The version, created by Hasbro and EA, is geographically hobbled, with only US and Canadians being able to play each other. Licensing issues prevents them from playing against the world at large.
How many points is Failure worth?
Coke, Target and 3D Worlds in Your Browser
Coke is at it again with creating a 3D world within Facebook. Last time it was for Burn. This time is for Coke Zero. But now they're teaming up with Target. This is done through Vivaty software, which lets you bring in photos from Flickr and Facebook, or videos from YouTube and display them on screens in your virtual room.
Target and Coke Zero Virtual Dorm
Vivaty Brings The 3D Web to Your Browser, Starting With AIM and Facebook
Vivaty's Facebook Page
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