Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Banking on Social Money Apps

Could technology consumers’ dual obsession with all things mobile and social finally, literally pay off? According to the Chicago Tribune article “Money Goes Mobile in Cutting-Edge Tech Tools” the recent Finovate Spring 2012 conference announced some new products from 64 privately funded companies that can take existing mobile technology and use it for a variety of money making and money saving purposes.

Among the most interesting of the presentations were representatives from TweedlePay and GoalSaver, whose use of pre-existing social technologies have made it possible to develop and launch useful money-oriented products in a short amount of time. TweedlePay used the structure of Twitter and the functionality of BancBox to create a Tweet-based payment system. GoalSaver utilizes s familiar social networking format to improve the saving process for a particular goal (like college or buying a home) in a public environment where friends and strangers can track a user’s progress and even make monetary contributions.

SaveUp, another uniquely mobile method for saving money is described in the article:

“We turn savings into a game,” SaveUp CEO and co-founder Priya Haji said as she went through her seven-minute pitch in front of several hundred bankers, investors and bloggers at the San Francisco conference that ended Wednesday. “You save money, you earn credits, and you use your credits to win sponsored prizes from companies like Banana Republic and Virgin Airlines.”

Some of these new products could easily improve the way we handle money electronically by simplifying and streamlining buying and investing on the web. Those that integrate existing technology may be the first to find success since they are already familiar to the public, though consumers may want to approach with caution initially. Social networking sites like Facebook have already seen major security issues concerning user data, and with the addition of more private information and connectivity, networks like this will need to prove that their data protection passes the test. Startups with similar functionality but of a smaller, tighter scope may find themselves on top in the long run if security issues emerge. That said, these and the other products point to a simpler, more connected way of managing money in the near future.

Derek Clark, May 17, 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

BranchOut Could Surpass LinkedIn

It looks as if LinkedIn’s days may be numbered according to the article, “LinkedIn’s Biggest Competitor Is a Facebook App That Just Hit 25 Million Users”, on Mashable.com. Facebook app, BranchOut, could eventually surpass the popular professional networking site with 25 million registered users (and growing) already part of the application. With an internal team of only 45 people BranchOut is focused and well-organized and supports job postings and recruiters much like LinkedIn. One major way they differ is the group of potential users.

“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

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

Facebook Seeks to Overcome UX Vulnerability with Instagram Acquisition

Facebook has recently announced the surprising news that they are set to acquire the popular photosharing app Instagram for a head-scratching $1 Billion dollar price tag. The Inc.com article “3 Simple Reasons Instagram Is Worth $1 Billion to Facebook” speculates about the possible advantages of the buyout. The three main benefits highlighted in the article include revamping the “clunky”, non-user-friendly interface of the current Facebook mobile app, maintaining users during the rise of mobile social networking competitors (who have simple and stylish features to boost user experience), and combating a negative “uncool” stigma that Facebook will have to shake, especially with all of the smaller, hipper competition gaining momentum.

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

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

Skyhook Brings Location to the Kindle Fire

April 3rd, 2012 | Posted by admin in app | mobility | News | Twitter - (0 Comments)

Skyhook, the leader in mobile location intelligence has just announced integration with the number one third-party Twitter app Tweetcaster for use on Amazon’s tablet/reader Kindle Fire, according to the article “TweetCaster Leverages Skyhook Technology to Enable Location Services for Kindle Fire” on MarketWatch.com. The groundbreaking Location Engine developed by Skyhook will for the first time allow Fire owners to use location-based applications. This program will allow for Nearby Tweets and geotagging, but that just scratches the service of what this integration means for the device.

From the article:

“’Any Android app that uses Skyhook will automatically work on the Kindle Fire without any changes,’ said Ted Morgan, founder and CEO of Skyhook. ‘The Skyhook SDK not only provides superior location reliability, but also protects developers from increasing fragmentation. Developers can build their app once and avoid worrying whether the device has proper location support.’”

Tweetcaster is available on the Android App Store (now Google Play), and can be downloaded here. With Skyhook allowing use of other location apps like Mapquest and deCarta, developers and users of Kindle’s latest toy will get even more bang for their buck.

Derek Clark, April 3, 2012