Tag Archive for ‘Facebook’
Several years ago, people would say that word of mouth is no longer a powerful advertising tool. With mass media in its growth the most successful advertisements were often the ones with the most air time on television, the largest billboards, the most posters and the widest streamers.
People could still give out recommendations to friends and family, but word of mouth can only travel so far. Unless you were a journalist or elsewhere in the media, a personal opinion and recommendation is not going to change the future of your favorite corner book store.
Today, a single Tweeted opinion can be as powerful as the most expensive commercial air time during a major sports event.
This is the world that we live in today, highly influenced by three major factors: better smart phone technology, the growth of social networking and the improvement of mobile wireless technology. Information can be sent, received and share instantly, not just among small circles of friends, but across hundreds and thousands of linked acquaintances, colleagues, peers, co-workers and other contacts.
In a portion of the findings from research firm Gartner’s study, it was revealed that may people rely heavily on what people in their social network say regarding products and services. The study covered the influence of social networking in the purchasing habits of over 4000 consumers from all over the world.
According to Gartner, the realm of social networking is a highly underutilized tool for marketing that many commercial companies are failing to tap to into. Despite the already large number of ads that appear all over sites such as Facebook and sponsored Tweets there are still plenty of avenues left unexplored, and many brands still without an online presence.
One could say that smart phone technology and the internet have turned the concept of marketing into a full circle –giving the power of influence back to the consumers. From what we are seeing, it looks like the progress has pushed marketing beyond its’ original scope.
Tags: Facebook, Internet, smartphones, social-networking, technology, Twitter
Many smart phones will allow a user to instant take a video recording of almost anything. And chances are these videos are shared with friends and families online on various file and video sharing sites like YouTube before they are posted on Facebook.
In many ways, this little convenience is something that users should be careful about. Uploading a video is quite easy (especially when there is a stable and fast internet connection), but the repercussions of doing such could be bigger.
Take the previous case of a Google video which showed a young boy being bullied. The case ended with three of Google Italy’s top heads taking the blame for the psychological damage that the video has brought. Despite the fact that Google does not control the content that is uploaded by users, many feel that they are responsible.
Since Google also owns YouTube, the same argument has also been made –not only because of an uploaded video’s potential effects, but also because of the fact that a large chunk of videos online contain copyrighted material. Viacom has filed a case against Google regarding this matter. Despite the fact that they lost the case, it drives in the fact that there is an issue with the content that is being uploaded to the video sharing site.
Copyrights are not the only issue that YouTube users should be wary of, after all, Google already takes measures to help out the copyright owners (if copyright owners request that certain videos be taken down, Google cooperates with them).
Being careful about how personal and private videos are shared is also important. While it may be nice to upload that video taken at a cousin’s recent wedding, be sure to ask permission from the people who are heavily involved in the video –more often than not, people find themselves tagged in embarrassing moments caught on camera that are publicly displayed by their contacts on Facebook and other social networking sites.
Tags: copyrights, Facebook, Google, Google-video, Internet, smartphones, social-networking, Viacom, video, YouTube
The new Microsoft mobile platform focuses heavily on making phone functions smooth and dynamic. A recent video demonstration showed how easy it is to link from one phone functions to another in a smooth comprehensive manner.
The process often starts with the contacts list, from there, any contact can be emailed, messaged, called or just reviewed depending on the available contact information. When tied up to a social networking account or a Windows Live account, instant messages can be sent and the most status updates can also be seen. From there, users can opt to share Facebook content, leave a comment and more.
The calendar is also connected to various functions of the device as well. Users can create an entry that not only provides the time and name of event, but they can also specify a location which will be integrated to the map function. This allows a person to easily check a schedule, reference an event location on a map then make plans to visit nearby places of interest.
For the most part, the entirety of the Windows Phone 7 is expected to work in this same way. Many believe that the number of things a person can do in contacts will increase as more functions get added in. Sending specific files, inviting people to play games and other functions are expected to be available once the final product rolls out.
According to gamers, there is still not much to look forward to on this smart phone since there is still no lineup of games for the Xbox Live Service which has been announced months ago. With this, many might want to pass up on getting Microsoft’s new mobile platform and focus their budget on other products such as the MS Kinect or even better, Sony’s Playstation Move.
With many new games and accessories coming out later this year, Microsoft will be hard pressed to convince gamers of the value of their new mobile platform.
Tags: calendar, email, Facebook, games, Microsoft, social-networking, Windows-Phone-7
Now here is a big claim. At the Nielsen 360 Consumer Conference, Sheryl Sandberg is saying that Email will eventually go away, despite the fact that even she finds it hard to imagine a future without it.
The silly thing here is that prior to this statement, Sheryl also declares that it is the current web usage patterns of teens today that determines the trends of the future. It sounds logical, but it also completely ignores what teenagers are actually doing. Her example covers the concept that teenagers would not send emails to each other; they would message each other privately using Facebook’s message features.
The only reason this happens is that accessing the ‘send a message’ button is far easier than logging into a web server. But if all email did was send personal messages among people in a one’s friends’ list, then the technology would have been phased out by now.
Emails do more than help people communicate. Email also works as a personal identification tool on the web –Facebook is trying to do the same, but the need for privacy alone is enough to stop the effort.
And the reason why people trust email accounts to identify them and not their Facebook accounts is due to the fact that emails, as personal as they are, are also anonymous. Of course, barring the use of one’s own name as an email address, anonymity is a key factor that Facebook cannot provide.
Despite the fact that the highest amount of traffic that mobile internet sees is with social networking site Facebook, search engine Google and microblogging Twitter, accessing emails is also an important part of the day for many people. Access to emails is one of the main reasons why smart phones were developed. And while social networking may be pushing the distribution of smart phone technology, it would never be able to replace or phase out emails.
Tags: email, Facebook, Google, Internet, social-networking, Twitter
So many mobile phones are now aimed helping you manage your many different social networking accounts. This is because social networking is not just for connecting to friends, it has also become a way of life for many people. The popular site Facebook has been used as a business tool for those who want to advertise their product, service or event. It has become an effective medium for people to search for missing loved ones during a calamity and has served as a way to organize the distribution channels of charity goods when disaster strikes.
That being said, it is no wonder that Facebook has become the avenue for hackers to spread their creations. The latest virus threat which has hit Facebook is descriptively called as the “Distracting Beach Babes Virus”. This is actually a video post which is strategically placed on the unsuspecting user’s wall. Upon clicking the play icon however, you will be redirected to a page which automatically downloads malware in the form of a Hot Bar adware application. This does not only infect your mobile device or desktop, it also spreads the video link onto your friends’ Facebook wall.
Of course, the way these virus scares work is that it takes advantage of the trust you place on the posts your friends make. Rarely will a situation prompt you to cross check a video link or doubt a wall post because it is posted by a contact that you trust.
The lesson here is that people should be more careful when clicking on post links. It should be treated the same way as an email link or attachment is treated. It would be better to err in the side of caution rather than to have your personal information given unknowingly or to have your files corrupted.
Tags: Facebook, security, social-networking
We all know that the general public is not to happy the announcement that Facebook is refusing to install a panic button for users. Of course, many people also do not understand the concept of deterrence on the internet and fail to realize that things that apply to the real world do not necessarily apply as well on the internet.
The bottom line here is that despite the good intentions of charities, the police and everyone else, it is Facebook that truly understands the nature of the internet. Take it from them -they are the ones with a social networking site with millions of users.
Now, it has been said that Facebook’s current actions are simply going around the real requirement (which is to add a panic button) and that the social networking site is simply doing things in order to look like they are doing something productive. This perspective however, could not be more wrong.
Facebook’s decision to provide proper help guides and detailed content regarding what people can do when confronted with offensive content or accounts that clearly violate rules is far more productive than making a panic button graphic.
The link is more than sufficient, and in the internet, it is knowing what a link does and what it is for that gets people to use, not bright shiny images (face it, when did you last click a bright shiny pop up ad?).
Now, the biggest insult to Facebook is calling their offer of free advertising as a “cynical approach”. Charities should know better than to snap the hand that is being extended out to them. Advertising space on a social networking site is a prime spot, and no spot is more “prime” than Facebook.
Tags: Facebook, online-safety, social-networking
Well, this is simply speculation for now. But Facebook has finally gotten its 2006 patent approved and they now own the rights to creating the news feed of social network updates.
It may sound silly as they filed the patent back in 2006 way after Twitter was already on the scene. Still, this is very significant because this actually gives Facebook the leverage to fight it out with other social networking sites. So far, Facebook seems to have no desire to enforce their newfound power, though it is probable that they are going to be able to get more approved patents with this one already under their belts.
So, back to the title at hand, what about Google Buzz?
Google Buzz originally started out as a harmless idea from Google, but with the sudden implementation of the service, many people were put in a very dangerous position that has exposed the contents of a contact list. Many private email addresses have been compromised and in the very end, Google had little to nothing to offer in terms of actually doing something.
Facebook ought to take down the Buzz. Not that the two companies need to foster an enmity, but at least with Facebook’s legal claim, Google can easily fold up this sad excuse of a social networking tool and chalk it up to legalities. It is an easy way out for the tech giant.
The bottom line here is that it’s a good thing that Facebook has gotten the patent approved. It has been almost four years in the making and at least they know how to handle social networking. They are the most successful social networking site and they are continuing to grow each year.
Read more about the patent approval for Facebook at the Guardian UK.
Tags: Facebook, Google-Buzz
