Facebook’s 1 Billion. Right Before the Mayan Apocalypse.

Januar 13th, 2012 • Trends
Tags: chart, Facebook, Social Networks, Strategy, World

Silicon Alley Insider’s Chart of the Day. iCrossings says Facebook will probably reach 1 billion users sometime in August 2012. Hardcore.

 
Read more at http://ghen.sl/yz6v84

Social Media Management Software. Check Out Altimeter’s New Buyer’s Guide.

Januar 9th, 2012 • 1 comment Reports, Social, Tech, Tools
Tags: Altimeter, altimetergroup, Business, Facebook, Presentation, Reports, Social Business Design, Social Influence Marketing, Strategy, Tech, Tools, we are social

So once you have given all the presentations about the value of Social Media and explained that a fan is not worth $2.38 (or something) you will – at some point – face the challenge of managing real time interaction with your customer. Here SMMS, a type of software especially designed to support the management of complex social interaction platforms, are usually your weapons of choice. Especially in a world in which any major enterprise has to be able to manage its 178 social media accounts in average.

A Social Media Management System (SMMS) is a software tool that uses business rules and approved employees and partners to manage multiple social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. This system contains features such as governance, workflow, intelligence, and integration capabilities across the enterprise. The success of these tools is dependent upon a business-led strategy, defined processes, trained staff, and ability to measure efforts.

SMMS are there to reduce the complexity of large real time social media platforms. And there are many, many different vendors on the market. From Hootsuite to BuddyMedia, from Wildfire to Spredfast, no two vendors are alike and there is no one-fit-for-all SMMS-solution. Altimeter’s new “Strategy to Manage Social Media Proliferation” serves as a great overview over the SMMS-scene and offers metrics to support the choice for specific vendors based on the social objectives of your organisation.

If you have ever tried to give your customer a founded recommendation on which SMMS to choose you will know how important the following report is. In a market as cluttered and dynamic as this we need more top-level reports like the following one instead of infographics on Mashable.

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The New Facebook. A Morning with my updated Privacy Settings.

Oktober 2nd, 2011 • 3 comments Allgemein
Tags: Facebook, People, Philosophy, privacy, Social Networks, World

One week after f8 – and I am still shocked of the general public acceptance of Facebook’s ‘frictionless sharing’ – and that as a marketing guy. I should actually be sitting on the bridge of Planet Death Star watching all you pathetic Earthlings getting data-sucked now. But as ususal – nobody cares how much ownership over our data we have just lost.

I started my own little exploration through my ‘new’ Facebook privacy settings (No 2 is only relevant for you if you have the new FB profile, No 1 is not).

Frictionless sharing – from ‘Public by default’ to ‘Private does not exist anymore’

So whoever talks about privacy – he usually belongs either to the school ‘Full Privacy by default’ or ‘Public by default’. Jeff Jarvis for example does not get tired to explain how crucial it is that we build our world by virtually defining, tagging, constructing objects and interactions. And that is why we need to be Public by default. In other words: We sign out if we do not want to transmit stuff instead of i.e. signing in to getting public with certain status updates.

But: Believing in a free web society in which everyone collaboratively constructs a virtual world is as realistic as believing in free globalized markets: it is a fiction that is constantly corrupted by the interest of a few. And Facebook has just presented some of their concepts for our brave new world – a world in which you can not sign out of being Public anymore. Simply because it is too complicated.

Unfortunately Facebook makes it almost impossible to sign out of the new ‘frictionless sharing‘. Example: I have 314 apps installed (Yes, 314 – as I said, I am an online marketing guy).

All of these apps do certain things. Maybe I have signed up to Nike+ on Facebook, or Slideshare, or twitter…there are many reasons why I may have installed one of them a while ago. And yes, I have approved most of them to pull certain data: my birthday, my profile pic, or other information from my profile.

But I did approve anything like ‘Yes, dear third party software – you can now post in my name’. But exactly this is a new setting in your Facebook profile since last week. And it is pre-approved by default.

Sharing the songs I listen to may be annoying to one or the other. But Facebook has just allowed 314 applications to post in my name whatever these pieces of software want to share.

There must be a button to turn this function off for all of them at once, right?

Nope.

Facebook allows to disapprove this propery. But you cannot disapprove this function for all 314 apps at once. Facebook forces you to click through all 314 apps individually to remove this.

eWeek claims that this is no problem. Because you can easily change the settings for what your friends see

Facebook pointed out that people who subscribe to its social applications will have complete control over whether they’re info is shared or not.

That is to say, the automatic sharing is on by default in the social apps, but Facebook allows users to control whether their app stories are seen by their friends at all times.

This is like walking around with a black box that constantly documents and transfers your data while its manufacturer asks you not to worry as it does not tell any of your friends.It is  not a proper response to the basic problem. The problem is not just what my friends see or what I actively share with the world. The problem is that currently 314 Facebook applications are allowed to document my life and per default are allowed to act in my name. What the F, Facebook?

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Facebook and I. Or: Doubt Creeps in.

September 27th, 2011 • 1 comment Social, Strategy
Tags: Facebook, Philosophy, Politics, Truth, World

Last week’s Facebook update has left me perplexed. I simply do not quite know what to make of what I see – what I perceive as the significance of their latest plans.

No longer do apps prompt you just to “like” something on Facebook. Instead, you’ll share that you “hiked a trail” or “rode your bike” or “kissed a girl” (and liked it). Any action can be shared via Facebook, and the only limit is the imagination of developers.

The second addition is the new permissions screen for giving apps access to your Facebook account. It’s more robust and explains exactly what an app will be sharing with it. The result is that the prompt will only appear once. Once you accept, the app can share exactly what you’re doing to your Facebook wall as you’re doing it. (Ben Parr on Mashable)

Oh…did we mention that Spotify for example forces all new users to login via Facebook? In other words, will there be any choice at all? And where will it stop? Are we accepting sensors in a year that share our location once we enter a club or shop? I am 100% sure you can turn such an application into a great CRM program.

From my perspective the key privacy problem does not lie in Facebook’s blurry analytics approach or the thesis that Facebook tries to track me even though I am offline. As my colleague Allan Chang pointed out, google is doing this for years while Intel has integrated unique Processor IDs in every PC since 1999.

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This Morning’s Hot Shit. The new Facebook Features.

September 23rd, 2011 • 1 comment Experimental, Social, Social Business, Strategy, Tech, Tools
Tags: Facebook, Semantic Web, social network, Social Networks, Timeline

My new Facebook Timeline has arrived. After yesterday’s f8 announcement (great overview here) I really think we are about to see the ‘profound changes’ that mashable talked about yesterday morning.

Hacking Facebook to set up Timeline is a rather simple. Techcrunch has published a handy DIY guide this morning. But only I am currently able to see my timeline right now.

What it does is really to replace my profile with a nice, interactive biography on one page. The Timeline stops everytime Facebook identifies important steps in my life. My sister’s birth certainly was one of these events (even though at that point I didn’t necessarily agree). And I am invited to upload baby photos of her. Cheesy and nice.

Timeline is a new, pretty cool metaphor that really adds a new perspective to Facebook. Facebook as a lifelong diary – well actually…a living diary. Long term not just super-today.

But there is much more that I find interesting.

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More German Angst? Thoughts on Facebook, Privacy and Germany.

August 29th, 2011 • 8 comments Allgemein, Politics, Social
Tags: Facebook, Germany, Politics, privacy, Society

Germany.

This is not just the place I come from. At the same time it is one of the richest tech-cultural repositories for blogging about digital media that I can imagine.

After living in the Netherlands for 15 months now I perceive Germany a bit like the Gallic village from Asterix and Obelix – the famous French cartoon series (that unfortunately only Europeans know). One village against the Roman Empire. Or – as in the case of Germany – one state against the rest of the web.

It’s hard to keep track of all my conversations with clients or colleagues in which we talked about a Global solution for a digital project before someone said ‘and we need a separate solution for Germany’. When talking about Digital Marketing my country of origin is something like the annoying cry baby or the nagging girl friend that is a pain for everyone but that nevertheless requires your full attention. Germany’s Tech-Idiosyncracy coupled with a privacy paranoia makes it happen.

So about two weeks ago it started again. ‘Germany vs. Facebook: Like Button Declared Illegal, Sites Threatened With Fine‘ said the headline of this article. And Mashable found out the Facebook Like is already banned in Germany.

That is of course crap. It is bad tabloid-style journalism.

Fact 1: Germany did not ban Facebook likes
Dear Journalists from Mashable and Silicon Filter: Believe it or not, States consist of institutions. Sometimes many institutions. And quite often far too many institutions (this is the German case). But just because one representative in one instution in a rather small district of Germany THINKS Facebook does not act legally does NOT mean this is the case. In fact it may even be illegal. Especially as Mister Teichert’s claims – if legally correct – would actually legally end the use of almost any type of web service in Germany. Key claim: ‘By using the Facebook service traffic and content data are transferred into the USA and a qualified feedback is sent back to the website owner concerning the web page usage, the so called web analytics.’

Yes, that’s ridiculous. But that’s not the key problem.

Fact 2: This is nothing compared to what’s happening in the EU right now

Directive 95/46/EC aka European Union Data Protection Directive – this does not sound like the stuff that the ordinary Digital Marketer really wants to learn more about. But in fact it will change an awful lot. Since May 25^th all member states of the European Union are expected to enact this new privacy directive, which requires businesses to get explicit permission to track pretty much any type of online user behavior.

This in fact means Marketers have to ask for permission for pretty much any type of digital insight gathering. Cookies? Ask for permission. google Analytics? Well…let’s see….oh, this is getting really complicated. And if you want to check out what a seamless user experience of the future might soon look like you can download the Privacy compliant WordPress Plugin here. Click the Demo button to see the drama unfold.

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Consumer Love. IBM shows how not to ask the right questions.

August 15th, 2011 • Reports, Social, Social Business, Strategy
Tags: Adaptation Marketing, Facebook, IBM, Media, Prediction, Presentation, Report, Research, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks, Strategy, Trends

IBM has just published a study called ‘From Social Media to Social CRM‘ (PDF download). I first liked it because it was not boring. It did not repeat the same old shit that you read anywhere else. In fact…it seemed quite uncomfortable and innovative. At first.

So at first some of the study’s claims did not sound very surprising, nevertheless heretic for many people in the industry. IBM found out that most people are not so much into learning about your next campaign on social networks. They are actually almost exclusively interested to meet their friends. And pretty much the only reasons why they friend a brand – according to IBM – is VOUCHERS.

Yes. All of us hate these types of relations.

Who wants to date a girl that only spends time with you because you pay all the restaurant bills?

IBM has got an explanation for you why you spend time with this girl (the social consumer): Simply because you want to think the girl loves you.

Businesses are three times more likely to think consumers are interested in interacting with them to feel part of a community. Businesses also overestimate consumers’ desire to engage with them to feel connected to their brand. In fact, these two activities are among the least interesting from a consumer’s perspective.

Consumers are willing to interact with businesses if they believe it is to their benefit, feel they can trust the company and decide social media is the right channel to use to get the value they seek. That value could be in the form of a coupon or specific information. Engaging with a company via social media may result in a feeling of connectedness for consumers – an emotional, intangible gain – but the wish for intimacy is not what drives most of them.

I agree with the latter claim even though IBM streamlined the study to make sure everyone understands VOUCHERS as the key consumer desire. How? By benchmarkting the girl’s (social consumer’s) top reasons why she dates you compared to your top reasons why you date her. The result could not be much different. And yes: According to this study most of her top reasons to date you are connected to restaurant bills.

So does that mean all of us should forget about investing into next year’s social activation? Definitely not.

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google Plus. Why it’s not about becoming another Facebook.

Juli 2nd, 2011 • 6 comments Social, Strategy, Tools, Trends
Tags: Facebook, Foursquare, google, Social, Social Networks, Strategy, Tools, Twitter

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you probably have heard about google+ or you are already registered user. And just in case you hid under a rock, I let the guys from NMA News explain what google+ is…simply because I love their videos.

So after testing google Plus for two days I am as positive about it as most others I talked to. google simply built a platform with more Pros than Cons. Something you can imagine to use in the future because it combines some of the best features of everything you already use and wraps them in one platform. Ooooh…and a couple of nice new concepts come with the package: google hangout for example (definitely a winner). And I guess Facebook really jumpstarts now to get the Skype cooperation up and running. Among other things.

Stupid debates usually start with terms like (fill blank) killer. Can you remember one game changing product that was announced as the iPhone/Facebook/whatever killer and lived up to it? Not one product out there. And I think the industry has become smart enough not to put this into the focus of discussions around google+ too much. Simply because it is pointless.

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OMFG. Facebook Eats the Web.

Juni 27th, 2011 • Social, Trends
Tags: Diagram, Facebook, Future, Media, Prediction, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks, Tech, Trends, Truth, World

About two weeks after the world almost ended Inside Facebook reported about a couple of people enjoying summertime instead of staring at their computer monitors 24/7 traffic drop on Facebook the opposite seems to be true. Facebook in fact eats the Internet.

Ben Ellowitz, Founder and SEO of Wetpaint writes:

When you exclude just Facebook from the rest of the Web, consumption in terms of minutes of use shrank by nearly nine percent between March 2010 and March 2011, according to data from comScore. And, even when you include Facebook usage, total non-mobile Internet consumption still dropped three percent over the same period.

Technically he separates between two different webs: The dominating Facebook-driven web and the web of documents. And the web of documents is under sever pressure. “The illusion of the growth of the internet is just that – a mirage caused by Facebook posting 69% growth over the last year.” (We are Social). Ellowitz’ conclusion: future companies will need to spend less time on SEO, and more time on optimizing for Facebook – the web inside the web.

Read the full article here. I don’t think Facebook can replace the document web. But to be honest, I don’t want to find out. It seems we are currently handing over the greatest invention of mankind to Goldman Sachs and Mister Zuckerberg. Doesn’t feel right.

Genius. Diesel launches Excelbook.

Juni 18th, 2011 • 1 comment Brands, Ideas, We like
Tags: Apps, Brands, Campaign, Cool, Creativity, Diesel, Experimental, Facebook, Fashion, Funny, Ideas, Lifestyle, Media, Tech, Tools, We like

I just stumbled upon this wonderful concept gem: the Diesel Excelbook. Even though its branding value as an application is close to zero it is just one more amendment to the great platform that Diesel created with its Be Stupid philosophy. Simple, fun, stupid…well done Diesel. Check out the video…it is pretty selfexplanatory.

via Digial Buzz Blog