The Problem with Facebook Data
via The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk
“But while the Like button has become ubiquitous and a seeming smash hit for Facebook, it does not appear to be used in any consistent manner. That was its selling point: a lower key way for users to indicate approval for a brand, but it’s also it’s Achille’s heel: if users aren’t displaying any sort of consistency in the way they use the like button, then the resulting data is fairly inaccurate and not all that useful. (Bye-bye monetization.)”
Fantastic post by Alan.
Facebook, Twitter, Television, and the Second Screen
via WindMill Marketing by Chris Treadaway
…And according to Mashable, it (Facebook) had roughly an 8-to-1 advantage over Twitter in terms ofOscar 2013 social interactions. So why is Twitter the alleged #1 social network for live events? A few reasons:
- Edgerank — News Feed real estate is and remains to be cherished by Facebook Users.
- Shelf life of a Tweet vs. Facebook Status Update — Tweets come & go during live events. Wait a second, and your screen is replaced with another dozen tweets or more depending on how many people you follow.
- Virality — Say something clever on Twitter, and millions of people might be exposed to it. That isn’t really possible on Facebook.
- Discoverability — Social chatter takes place on Facebook, but is happening on Users’ Profiles, Pages, and to a lesser extent in Groups. Twitter’s simplicity makes the chatter there appear to be more “alive”.
- Decorum — Facebook has emerged as the place for being careful about what you share. It has become our lifestream, a record of our lives. Twitter on the other hand is the record of our reactions. Twitter is where you let loose.
What Mark Cuban Really Thinks About Facebook and "How Facebook Thinks of Itself."
via Blog Maverick by Mark Cuban
“From a brands perspective not having to try to fall within the parameters of the algorithm (Edgerank) allows us to post fun things, tidbits, information, anything knowing that there is at least a chance those who have a connection with us can see it and knowing that we won’t reduce our chances of the algorithm showing our post.
We should know better than an algorithm what those who like us actually like. It may well be that it’s a passive relationship. Maybe they just want to see the scores at the end of every quarter in a Mavs game ? Maybe they want to know what show is playing right now on AXS TV ? No one expects them to like, comment or share any of this. It’s just an information source. And can i just say that its really weird when Mavs end of quarter scores show up out of order. Thats how smart the algorithm is.” - MC
Really “like” Mark’s take on FB. It’s now twisted sense of what it is, muddies the water for brands and users alike. aka When math goes wrong.
Anne-Marie Roussel: Facebook and Social TV: Limited Steps
via Edge of Digital Culture by Anne-Marie Roussel
Anne-Marie is one of my favorite thought leaders in this sector. While I agree that FB is the 900M LB Gorilla in the Social TV living room, their lack of vision and tepid attempts in the space are going to cost them huge market share if they don’t make a splash by Q1 of 2013.
Great Takeaways from this Ad Age Survey of FB Users
via Ad Age by Michael Learmonth
The 658 subscribers who took Ad Age’s survey over the past two weeks characterized themselves as decision-makers in social marketing. The respondents were 34% marketers, 34% agency execs, 13% media execs, and various consultants and other members of the marketing ecosystem.
The results were a mixed bag for Facebook that illuminated some of the challenges it will have in scaling ad revenue, but it also indicated that some of Facebook’s perceived challenges with marketers — such as not providing enough transparency and data — are overblown.
The results also revealed confusion on how to calculate return on investment on Facebook and how to compare that to spending in other social and traditional media channels.
Remarkably, Ad Age readers surveyed speak in virtual unison on two questions. Nearly 86% of those surveyed say they currently use Facebook as a marketing tactic. Only 55%, however, say they currently advertise on Facebook, and nearly 88% said they would implement Facebook content without advertising at all.
How Social TV Can Make The World A Better Place
By Jeff Schroer, Co-Founder of iBubblr.
This is why we started iBubblr. I hope you will take the time to read.
*A gracious THANK YOU to my editors Co-Founder Amanda Gross-Tuft, Co-Founder Unity Stoakes and Advisor Joshua Ewing Weber. Without whom this would have been just a poorly written, angry, two-paragraph blog post.
Facebook's IPO is Great for Startups!
via Inc. by Bo Fishback
In the same way that Microsoft enabled thousands of companies to build software products for the PC, and that Google helped create a structure to discover new businesses and products online, Facebook has kicked the door wide open with respect to easily and quickly learning about people in a way that allows new products and services to be laser-targeted at solving real problems for them.
If start-ups get this right, it will mean less spam, richer experiences for users, more useful products, and an overall, a better Internet
Facebook Is Still Figuring It Out. Will Advertisers and Investors Wait Around?
via All Things D and Peter Kafka
Instead Facebook marketers try different things over time. A few years back, they were all building Facebook apps. Then they started concentrating on amassing fans/followers. Now digital marketing people tell me with confidence that all of that thinking is outmoded, and that the real Facebook pros are the ones who create “engaging content” on the site, then buy ads to “amplify” that message.
Facebook’s challenge gets even tougher because instead of search ads, whose success and failure are easy for advertisers to evaluate — Did someone click on my search ad? If they did, did they buy something or fill out a form once they got to my site? — Facebook aspires to the big branding dollars that advertisers spend on TV. And those are much harder to score. So convincing GM or anyone else to move big money from traditional ads, which marketers are at least comfortable with, to the wild world of social, requires a lot of work.
GM firing Big Fuel then cutting it’s $10M Facebook budget is a story to watch. Can giant brands create enough interesting, engaging content to stop paying for ads on FB?