The article states:

“Facebook has the opportunity to succeed. The question is whether the company has the technology and talent to turn user attention into ad revenue.”

Carlos Icaza, an adviser to several startups and Fortune 500 companies offered this from the article:

 “Facebook, as big as it is, is also nimble and can move quickly and adapt quickly. The one thing that Facebook has is that it is not platform-specific. That is, after all, what gives it its edge.”

And, Google’s Vic Gundotra states this from the article:

 “The Web has become the dominant software platform.”

Facebook apps also play a major role in future business growth for Facebook. In addition, they are betting on their many users to prefer their UI, apps, and platform over other online services. Also, Facebook plans to introduce file storage and file sharing services comparable to the main players in that industry, to keep those millions of users happy.

According to eMarketer, Facebook made almost $500 million from its virtual currency in 2010. This virtual currency promises to not only pay for itself, but also help to bring Facebook to the forefront in terms of revenue. Facebook plans to catch up to Google, Apple and Microsoft and with the help of their millions of users every month, investors are betting on them to do just that.

Sandy McIntosh, May 22, 2012

From the article:

“The revised mobile warning seems especially pertinent after Facebook reported a disappointing first quarter. Facebook made $205 million in net income on $1.06 billion in revenue in Q1 2012. The revenue figure was six percent lower than in the previous quarter, and the income number means that Facebook made $28 million less than it did in the same quarter last year.”

Currently seeking investors, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his advisors must come up with a strategy and launch a revamped advertising initiative soon, if they hope to make their move into the public sector count. It is a bit shocking that this came as a surprise to Zuckerberg and Co., as a number of popular applications have positioned banner ads on the top and bottom of their interfaces for years, and these ad placements have been largely tolerated the app-happy mobile customers so far. Facebook should also be aware of the advantages of their design, as users on other platforms are already coping with the rising number of customized ads in their news feed.

Derek Clark, May 16, 2012

CEO Garrett Camp states in the article:

“If we continue at this rate, we could see hundreds of millions of users.”

Camp also says:

“Last December, StumbleUpon unveiled a redesign intended to make the service more friendly to new users and to brands. Then earlier this month, it released an app that integrated with Facebook Timeline. Both changes are starting to make a difference in the company’s growth and usage.”

It sounds like Stumbleupon has stumbled upon success. However, success like this doesn’t happen by accident. The company is successful because it did the necessary homework and listened to their users. Additionally, plans are in the making for an API and expansion in Europe leading to more successful ventures, or so it seems.

Sandy McIntosh, May 3, 2012

Another innovation mentioned is the use of Milestones.

From the article:

“Interesting Milestones may work better if your company has some history. Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, has the benefit of a long and interesting history, so they can show their products from 1916 and how they have since evolved.

But you still may be able to get creative with product releases and things that you have accomplished.”

With the way the new format displays photos the most impressive marketing uses of Timeline are those that blend the technical changes with the graphic. Impressive though they are there will be a finite amount of ways to exploit the layout in eye-catching or useful ways. Now that these opportunities have been discovered they will be repeated by most companies and organizations that see them and may come to lose their luster unless Facebook tweaks the format again allowing for more customization and creativity.

Derek Clark, May 2, 2012

“Although reaching 25 million registered users looks less impressive when compared to LinkedIn’s 150 million, there are 850 million Facebook users for whom joining BranchOut is just a matter of accepting the app’s permissions. On Thursday, BranchOut announced a $25 million round of funding, bringing its total venture capital backing to $49 million.”

While BranchOut certainly seems to be on track to meet or exceed LinkedIn’s numbers the article makes some good points about potential hazards the app’s team may meet as they gain users. One is that being part of such a large platform means that the small development team will have to react to the many changes Facebook will surely make, and fast. Another roadblock could be that if Facebook decides to create their own career section BranchOut could easily be made irrelevant. Not to mention eventually they would have to go after LinkedIn’s user-base,many of whom already have vast, intricate professional connections on their competing site. That said LinkedIn may want to form a strategy to prevent such hemorrhaging.

Derek Clark, May 1, 2012

However, one Internet rage has managed to break through the great firewall of China and is taking the country by storm. According to the Washington Post in an article titled, “Angry Birds Maker Works on Winning Players in China,” Angry Birds, Rovio Entertainment Oy’s popular touchscreen mobile game that involves birds being slung at pigs, has been downloaded more than 100 million times in China. According to Henri Holm, senior vice president of Rovio Asia, this is largely because of the growth of smart devices in the country especially those using the Android and iPhone operating systems.

With Angry Birds downloads expected to surpass the 100-million mark in 2012 Rovio is naturally seeking to expand its Internet distribution with Chinese social-networking companies like Renren Inc., Tencent Holdings Ltd., and Sina Corp.

Apart from tapping into China’s 513 million Internet users Rovio sees great advertising potential since most Chinese users are playing the free version of the game on which ads can easily be placed.

“Advertising is one of the ways we can monetize,”

Holm told the Post.

Another way is through Angry Birds merchandising; so far the most profitable arena for Rovio. The company is also exploring the possibility of making a version of Angry Birds that is compatible for the 10 percent using China’s HTML5-based web browsers.

So far companies like Renren are handling the matter coyly telling the Post in an email,

“We often have discussions with companies like Rovio, as we constantly look for potential partnerships and joint products that would further enhance our user experience.”

Pete Fernbaugh, April 19, 2012

From the article:

“User experience is a high point of vulnerability for Facebook,” says Robert Fabricant, vice president of creative for the design firm Frog, which is based in New York City. “Yes, it built such a fundamental infrastructure for sharing, but most of its attempts to create a good user experience have been, frankly, feeble.”

It is easy to join the crowd in speculating why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would shell out so much cash to improve the number one social networking app (and #2 overall website, after Google) instead of redeveloping his own competing photographic application. The three reasons in the Inc.com article are likely part of it, as are the “squashing the competition” theories and the obvious perk of gaining Instagram user data. Even for Facebook, $1 Billion is a bold investment, and they will have to win a lot of doubters over with an experience that will please Instagram and Facebook users alike.

Derek Clark, April 18, 2012

Perhaps one of the most useful things about Shoebox is that it allows for the digital preservation of photographic memories without cluttering up the Facebook newsfeed with photos that not all of your friends want to see.

As explained in the article:

It also makes more sense,…, to keep some of those photos off Facebook because, frankly, no one is interested in two decades’ worth of your childhood in the form of Kodak prints, except for you and your family.

And the article offers some insight into more contemporary uses:

Modern uses could include sharing wedding or party pictures, baby photos, vacation photos and anything else where sharing is meant to be more private.

Digitizing photos is nothing new but this new product takes it to another level. Photos that are packed away and never seeing the light of day can now be viewed by selective groups by invitation only. Now, instead of putting photos out there for the world to see sharing on a private level makes perfect sense.

Sandy McIntosh, April 12, 2012

According to the article

 “…it is a sign of how the “freemium” model is gaining currency with investors. Watson says the “bulk” of HootSuite’s 3.5 million accounts take the company’s free offering, but there is an increasing number opting for the different tiers of paid service, too. Those include a “pro” option aimed at smaller businesses; an enterprise service for larger numbers of users; HootSuite University that involves a training/accreditation element; and one aimed at those reselling the product.”

Users can monitor the major social media networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) through HootSuite’s dashboard and custom analytics. This deal is a prime example of growing interest in social media from big business as a powerful and refined money making tool, and we should hope that other large investors follow suit, propelling startup companies and the development of social marketing technology.

Derek Clark, April 5, 2012

These results are arriving very early however, and TechCrunch admits that it will take further analysis to uncover what the move to Timeline means.

From the article:

“As some of our commenters have noted, the switch to Timeline shouldn’t necessarily have such a big impact on the engagement with posts which are predominantly viewed through the news feed. There are few possible reasons for this. 1. Facebook may have artificially ratcheted up the news feed visibility of Pages who’ve switched. 2. The launch of Timeline for Pages may have led businesses to concentrate more on Facebook marketing and publish higher quality posts. 3. Those users visiting Page Timelines may be leaving significantly more Likes and remember the Page more leading to additional mentions.”

However significant the changes have been so far, there certainly seems to be a trend of continuing favor for smaller groups and businesses. The author speculates about how Mega pages like Coca-Cola will change their social marketing strategy to be seen as much as local interest pages. It is too soon to tell how Timeline will affect business on Facebook, but a growing number of social networking tools will create most of it and measure all of it.

Derek Clark, April 4, 2012