Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Investors Are Betting On Facebook

May 22nd, 2012 | Posted by admin in app | Facebook | marketing | social media - (0 Comments)

Facebook is in the news regarding their infrastructure being solely dependent on the web and open source technology. Facebook is, in essence, relying on the web and open technology for its continual success. Unlike other large technology companies that have product offerings of software and/or hardware as their main interest, Facebook appears to be betting on their future success exclusively utilizing user-generated content and various types of open source technology. This open environment is development in a public, collaborative manner with user interaction, and can be a huge savings for consumers. This information is summarized in an article – Facebook’s 11 Biggest Technology Bets – InformationWeek.com/News/Development/Open-Source/

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

Facebook Mobile Advertising Woes

On the eve of Facebook’s debut as a publicly traded company, a new concern has arisen according to the Washington Post article “Facebook Warns Potential Investors That Mobile Is An Even Bigger Risk Than Originally Disclosed”. The Facebook mobile app, which is largely responsible for the continued growth in the numbers of their “daily active users” (DAU) is behind the mounting worries, as a lack of advertising on the mobile platform is decreasing income and revenue as their DAU numbers climb.

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

Zwoor Mobile App Zeros in on Trade Show Content

Zwoor, a mobile app tool for conferences and trade shows, has enhanced their event app with a photo taking feature. According to the press release, “Zwoor.com Mobile App Adds Picture Taking to the Conference and Corporate Event App – Attendees Can Now Create and Share a Candid View of Collective Knowledge Via Photos” the improvements are delighting event attendees.

The app offers the ability to categorize data and pictures based on a particular event agenda. The app also integrates with social media avenues and provides candid insight. With the ability to generate real-time analytics and content with photos, this new feature provides a way for attendees to zero in on sessions and in-conference events relevant to their particular focus.

The app isn’t just adding value to the attendees either. Event planners using Zwoor possess new methods that demonstrate value for business planning purposes.

Ken Burns, External Relations at Zwoor, explains the development as a continuous innovation cycle:

“With the monthly drumbeat of innovation, Zwoor.com continues to lead the industry on the richness of features for mobile apps. Our “free demo app for your event, with no commitment to buy” shows how confident we are in the value and quality we provide.”

Traditionally, trade shows are overwhelming with lots of content and big crowds cramming everything in over a short duration of time. It is often grueling and time consuming to achieve for attendees and event planners to achieve maximum benefits of the event. Zwoor offers the ability to reduce costs, maximize reach and increase engagement. That sounds like a win for any conference or event planner..

Sandy McIntosh, May 10, 2012

Will Angry Birds Revolutionize Social Networking in China?

In China social networking is heavily monitored and America’s premier social-networking site, Facebook, is restricted. These factors are troubling for Internet companies since China remains the world’s largest web market.

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

Is TV a Zone Out or Entertainment?

Summing up the event of today’s television watching whether it is purely entertainment or a getaway from one’s own life is the subject of the article, “Defining The Television Experience in a Single Word“.

Also discussed in the article are the pros and cons regarding the latest in TV viewing such as Smart TV, Social TV and Second Screen capabilities.

The editor, Jeremy Toeman, founder of Dijit Media, made this comment:

“My newest golden rule of creating TV technology and experiences is this: If the product doesn’t take “escape” into account in a major way, it is utterly doomed to fail.”

This summation of the “typical” North American household watching TV for 4+ hours is probably right on the mark. Unfortunately, while moving forward with technology in the home entertainment industry, families and people in general are sometimes less likely to depend on their own innate skills. Also, escaping into someone else’s existence, as this story suggests, puts a limit on creative and social talents.

Sandy McIntosh, April 17, 2012

Facebook Timeline and Social Marketing

April 4th, 2012 | Posted by admin in Facebook | marketing | News | social media - (0 Comments)

The TechCrunch.com article “Don’t Dread Today’s Mandatory Switch to Timeline, Studies Show It’s Good for 95% of Facebook Pages” examines the measurable changes that have occurred since the switch to the Timeline format on Facebook, and how it will benefit those using the social network for marketing. The format switch-up was found to not hurt, but improve the user experience for 95% of Pages that had made the change in a report by social marketing platform Wildfire. One key observation included growing interest (measured in “likes” and “PAPT”) of smaller businesses and groups, and a decline in Mega brands (pages with over 10 million fans). Another noted change is that overall “likes” have increased overall, possibly thanks to the new format—which also may be responsible for a marked decline in comments.

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

Using The New iPad To Boost Business

Apple’s latest version of the iPad has hit the market and sold millions. The popular iPad, with the right apps, promises to increase productivity for business in many ways. The advantages of the new iPad are presented in an article – How To Do Business On Your Brand New iPad

In a separate article, David Zumini, digital marketing specialist at CompanionLink Software, has this opinion on the iPad and how business productivity can be boosted:

“The iPad needs to get smarter. It already knows your schedule, your contacts and your location. What if it could automatically coordinate your schedule based on the time, your location and your open calendar slots? What if it could automatically send a text message to your appointments if it detects that you’re running late to a meeting? What if your iPad could provide you with important information about a new contact based on who you both know, your social profiles, and more?” 6 Things You Wish Your iPad Could Do for Business

It looks as if the iPad can be a worthwhile tool to help streamline many necessary tasks that are encountered throughout a day on the job. And, when you learn all the appropriate apps for a particular purpose, the more productive and profitable you can be.

Sandy McIntosh, March 22, 2012