Grown Up Thinking

Facebook is celebrating its 6th birthday this week, which seems a good a time as any to reflect on its path to world domination.

Let us not forget Facebook’s humble beginnings as “Thefacebook”. As if they were concerned there could be another one, this was THE facebook for all your networking needs. That is- assuming you’re an ivy leaguer buried in books in the Bay State. May I remind you that at its inception “Thefacebook” was only available to students at Harvard, where creator Mark Zuckerberg held his dorm room brainstorm sessions.

What you may not know is that even before “Thefacebook” there was “Facemash”- a Hot or Not game Zuckerberg created after hacking into Harvard’s computer network and stealing his peers’ student ID photos. “Facemash” generated 450 visitors and 22,000 photo views in its first four hours online.

I still remember the Facebook buzz growing my sophomore year of college- eagerly anticipating my D2 school‘s addition to “the list”. This came around the beginning of junior year, my three roommates and I wasting hours of valuable study (and party) time polishing our profiles until they became a sharp snapshot of who we each were (on our best day, of course.)

I clearly remember my attempt to demystify the “poke” and debating with actual, legit friends what the rules were for deciding “Facebook friends”. Today, Facebook has 400 million members and anyone, anywhere over the age of 13 is allowed to join.

This tremendous growth doesn’t look to be slowing either. Membership this year is double what it was on Facebook’s fifth birthday. The social networking powerhouse also blew out the candles with some celebratory changes this week, including a shuffling of menus and an apps and games dashboard.

A few subtle changes have swept across Facebook within the past few days and unless you are actually in the social media world, you may not have even noticed them. Facebook continues to gradually roll out new and improved functionality that keeps the site at the forefront of the industry. Three weeks into twenty-ten, Facebook has not disappointed. Here are a few of the latest and greatest changes that have recently taken place:

-Facebook Retweet: Just like the Facebook @reply rolled out several months ago, users are gaining more functionality to credit other people in their posts. Consumers can now share another user’s content on their own page and simultaneously give credit to the original source using a “via” tag. Unlike the @reply, the source receives no notification on their personal Facebook Page that their link was “via”-ed.

-Replying to status updates, photos and links via email: Even though the typical BlackBerry/iPhone user probably uses the mobile Facebook Application as a rule, new functionality allows users to respond to posts through email, without actually logging into the site (thus effectively reducing productivity in Facebook-blocked companies by a personally-projected 20%).

-Receiving application notifications via email: Beginning last Wednesday, each time you install a new application on Facebook, developers will have the ability to request your email address. What this means is that if you opt in, these applications will now have the ability to contact you via email and the communication will no longer have to solely live on Facebook .

COMING SOON- Analytics & Insights: Page administrators will soon be able to track impressions and engagements on a post-by-post basis. Currently admins are able to see a limited amount of information about their page (mostly relating to the number of fans and a basic amount of engagement information) but this addition will make each and every Facebook post that much more valuable.

What do you think of the added Facebook functionality? Are these features that will enhance your user experience?

The holiday season is about spending time with family and friends, eating delicious high-calorie food, and reflecting on the previous year. Although Grammy and Grampa may be used to opening presents around the fire, it looks like Facebook may be changing that tradition. With over 60% of Facebook users over age 26 (including 12% over 45 years old) and 350 million users in total, it’s no surprise that Facebook was the most visited website this past Christmas.

According to web analytics company Hitwise, Facebook was the number one visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This is the first time in Facebook’s history that it has reached that number one spot.

Since the site started in 2004, Facebook has transitioned from a digital ‘hang out’ for college students to its own robust business, changing the way people and businesses communicate. The site has become a snapshot of personal digital archeology, logging every feeling, event and picture through status updates, events and media. Facebook is at the forefront of a larger societal shift in how we communicate and learn, and will continue to push for a more social and connected world.

Don’t be surprised this year when you log on to Facebook to wish your friends Happy Holidays and receive a Poke from dear, sweet Grammy herself.

When I graduated college, one of my main concerns was how I was going to be able to keep up with all of my friends and family. How would I ever find time in my super busy schedule to call or see all the people I used to have tons of time for? “Facebook Stalking” soon became the most resourceful way to keep tabs on the people in my life. Although e-stalking my friends was easy, I couldn’t help but wonder how social media sites would increase or decrease my social relationships with others in the real world. Why even pick up the phone to call a friend to ask how work is going, when you can see through their Facebook status that they just got promoted? Spend enough time online and before you know it you know everything about everyone, even those who you don’t know!

Some believe that an excess of social media can cause isolation from the real world, but a new study by Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that social media users are just as social as those who are not frequent users. The study suggests that people who use social media to connect with others not only have a larger network of people to discuss with, but a more diverse network as well. The study claims social media users tend to be more involved in their communities, most likely because online networking raises awareness of events and opportunities they may not have heard about otherwise.

After reading the results of the study, I couldn’t agree more. Through Twitter and Facebook I have met a variety of amazing people from all different types of backgrounds. I guess it pays to be computer geek after all.

In a time where brands A, B and C are dipping their pen in the social media ink well, innovation is quickly becoming the key to online success for those who are willing to pave the way. Case-in-point: a new in-stream sales channel for Facebook that allows consumers to purchase their favorite products directly from their main feed. Dubbed “Off The Wall“, this new service brings products out of the catalog and lands them directly on Facebook- for all to see, share, comment, “Like”, and hopefully purchase. This also presents a new opportunity for companies to drive more traffic to their Facebook Fan Page by offering special promotions and discounts through Facebook as well as custom content for consumers.

This new service comes as no surprise, however, as Facebook continues its efforts to expand e-commerce on the site. “Off The Wall” satisfies consumers who are looking to brands and social networking sites to integrate their overall shopping experience. In addition to the existing ability to purchase Facebook Gifts, consumers will soon be able to use an online currency to buy and share music and other virtual products through Facebook.

One big step for social media, one giant plus for all of us.

Foodspotting: way better’n Urban Spoon.

Stella Artois YouTube Channel: Beautiful creative curation from a brand that manages the tricky balance of honoring its roots while still seeming fresh.

Well, let’s face it. The new Stella campaign in its beautiful entirety.

The World’s First Crowdsourced Magazine Cover: would have been even better if it was executed by Good (another crazy obsession of ours).

The Body Image Project: Picking up where Dove left off, and adding a dedicated social media angle. Check our their Twitter handle- great practices in a very short time.

Canon Freeze Tag: how can you NOT love this execution?!?! Besides. It features a great track from the Go Team, a band frequently heard in our cube when we need a boost mid-afternoon.

221B: a splendid use of Facebook Connect to promote the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Dark, compelling, beautifully designed and effective (NOT like Welcome to Fight Club, which we wanted to love but was just totally arbitrary).

I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of change. Whenever Facebook rolls out a new design, I’m forced to pretend it doesn’t bother me, because come on, it’s JUST Facebook. Still, I’m not going to deny that Facebook is a significant part of my life, both socially and professionally, so when people start messing with something I’ve grown to know and love, it’s going to spark some serious turmoil.

Let’s take a minute to review the most recent redesign introduced last Friday.

What actually changed? You can now switch between two views, News Feed & Live Feed. Your News Feed is essentially what used to be in the Highlight Section, featuring select pieces of information based on your own/friend’s activity (measured by most commented posts, who you interact with the most, etc).

The Live Feed is a minute-by-minute rundown off all those annoying little things you thought you got away from with the old Facebook (i.e.: new friend updates, events RSVPs, recently added groups/ fan pages, etc). Both the News Feed & Live Feed can be customized to only show that updates you want to see.

Another noticeable change is the Suggestions tab. Rather than just suggesting groups/friends that you may enjoy, Facebook now encourages you to reconnect with users you have not interacted with for a while. This is by far my least favorite change of the redesign as I think it comes of slightly rude (don’t tell me what to do, Facebook) and I’m not alone on this one.

This redesign is getting both positive and negative feedback from users. Facebook explains that they hope the changes will make Facbeook a more valuable experience for you. In the end, this isn’t the last redesign we’ll see and it isn’t the first redesign to get negative feedback.

And let’s be honest. Even with all the negative feedback that first came about when the News Feed first launched, who can really remember what it was like without it? Maybe the ever-so-impolite suggestions tab really will work in connecting me with an old flame that I hadn’t thought about in years. Just one question: will I have to invite Zuckerberg to the wedding?

In the continuing saga of Facebook’s effort to formalize its Terms of Use policy, the social network today launched an app that will allow users to vote on which version of the governing document they prefer.

The central debate here revolves largely around the issue of privacy and content ownership, and previous efforts to announce a final resolution on the topic were met with a huge public outcry.  Wronged users complained that Facebook should not have the right to own or even use user-posted content at their own discretion, whether or not that was Facebook’s intention.  In response, Facebook turned to users to provide feedback and inform a new version of the terms.

Where has this netted out? The revised rules state:

“You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how we share your content through your privacy and application settings.”

However, the same section goes on to say:

“You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook.”

Will this provision satisfy users who were aghast at the previous version?  Facebook took a great step by embracing user collaboration to revise the rules, but have they gone far enough? The social media world will wait with bated breath to see how the vote pans out on April 23rd.  Something tells this user that the revised rules will prevail. Regardless, the revised version is sure to spark some serious debate.

I think we’ve all seen them by now–your friends tag you in pictures of South Park characters, superheros or those colorful cartoon characters you recognize but can’t remember what they’re called. This trend seems to catch on more and more every day with a new iteration hitting Facebook every 12 hours. You look in the picture, and scroll through the image to find out which one you are–the cute one? the fun one? the Arab????

Let’s face it–these photos are fun and harmless, and most generate some spirited discussion in the comments section. Still, one has to admit that this practice is a pretty boldfaced example of stereotyping.  I’m just waiting for the stories to surface of friendships ended or relationships terminated because the tagger didn’t quite think through their choices. I mean does anyone really want to be tagged as the ginger (not that there’s anything wrong with that)? As my mom used to say growing up, it’s all fun and games until someone gets their feelings irrevocably hurt by an internet meme.

Few things in the 2.0 era have received so much buzz so quickly as Skittle’s recent social media effort. I logged on to Twitter yesterday to a literal hashstorm of all things Skittles. I realize people get excited about candy, but this was ridiculous. What was going on? Obviously I did what any responsible digital marketing  professional would do–I went to Skittles.com.

Something wasn’t right–why did Skittles.com take me to Twitter’s search page with a little branded overlay on the top left?  Where’s the flashed out, high res animated page loader? Where’s the ambiguously organized homepage with different content engagement opportunities?  All I could see were different users’ tweets about Skittles. I clicked around the overlay, and was taken to….Facebook? This was something entirely new.

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