As of Feb. 25, Facebook Fan Page status updates should begin appearing in Google search results, according to Read Write Web. This means we’ll start to see updates from roughly 3 million fan pages, but not the updates from the 400 million profiles. What are your thoughts on this? Do you welcome Facebook updates in Google? Do you wish the profile updates would be included? Or is all of this unnecessary?
Comments March 5th, 2010
Facebook’s privacy controls has now come to Facebook Connect and other applications. It appears that every time you post something, you’re given the choice to share it with a specific group of friends. Read more.
Comments February 23rd, 2010
Facebook vows ‘improvements’ after user backlash
Same old story here. Every time a site changes you’re going to have three responses – those who like the new design, those who hate it (and will be most vocal) and those who frankly don’t care – so long as they can do what they need on the site.
I won’t lie – I was super frustrated when Facebook made some initial changes – mostly because a few things seemed to be missing at first. On top of that, I was looking forward to seeing Fan Page updates in the news feed, which wasn’t happening. But then I realized something key: Facebook was making major changes, and I just had to be patient. Every day I’m seeing something new on Facebook – links appear, new features start to work, etc.; so it’s just going to take time.
And it’s going to take even more time as Facebook officials go through thousands and thousands of users’ e-mails to learn what works well in the redesign and what they may need to change (back).
So for one, I’m looking forward to the next few months on Facebook. Who knows if it’ll ever be perfect, but at least the site’s giving perfection shot.
Comments March 26th, 2009
Apparently.
Read this: The world’s most lucrative social network? China’s Tencent beats $1 billion revenue mark
– and just wait until you hear where 70 percent of the revenue came from.
This is huge – especially since many social networks in the United States aren’t nearly as profitable. According to the article, MySpace brought in $800 million and Facebook made $250-$300 million last year; a majority of those earnings came from online advertising. But in my opinion, there’s only so much you can do with online advertising. There are only so many places on a page that you can place an ad (without overwhelming the user), and there’s only so much you can charge for those advertisements. On top of that, you have to think about your audience and if your advertisers want to target that group.
Because of those issues, I think it’s extraordinary that MySpace and Facebook have done as well as they have. But it’s encouraging to learn about Tencent’s business model.
So how does the site make money? Not solely through online advertising, but another avenue: Virtual goods and “Internet value-added services,” or IVAS.
IVAS, which includes avatars and memberships, accounts for more than $700 million of the site’s profits. That’s huge.
It’s also a great business model. Users may simply glance over online advertisements, but they’ll actually participate when it comes to online goods. It’s another way to engage the community.
It appears that countries like the United States are just learning about the potential of virtual goods. However, IVAS may not be the saving grace of all social sites. The article brings up a good point – maybe Chinese users are more likely to purchase goods than users from other countries.
Either way, Tencent has proven to the world that social sites don’t need to depend on advertising; they can be successful simply by being creative.
Comments March 24th, 2009
If you log in today, you should receive this message:
“Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised. For more information, visit the Facebook Blog.
If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.”
Comments February 18th, 2009
Facebook: All Your Stuff is Ours, Even if You Quit
and
Facebook’s New Terms of Service: “We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever.” - As both posts note, a small, but important change has been made in Facebook’s Terms of Service. The TOS says Facebook has permission to use, copy, publish, etc., any user-generated content (anything you post), and that license expires if you remove the content from the site. Not so any more. That last phrase about the license expiring if the content is now gone.
National Post reporter has total Twitter melt down – This is incredible. Another example of what NOT to do on Twitter.
50 Best Web sites of 2008 – I get photogalleries – meaning, I understand they’re a great way to convey information – and they bring in the page views. But when you have a gallery that loads awkwardly – at least on my browser and screen – it’s difficult to get past #9. I’ll have to try this on a larger screen.
10 Essential sites – A good group of sites in theory, but it’s too easily to criticize this gallery. It’s not a bad group, but I think the description of Facebook is odd: If MySpace is a PC, then Facebook is a Mac.
The Social Media Starter Kit: LinkedIn – Now this is something I don’t see often on social news sites, but I can appreciate. Good, solid information about how to make the most of, and be smart on LinkedIn. Definitely worth a read.
Comments February 16th, 2009
Update on Digg’s promotional algorithm – More changes at Digg… But I wonder, how will this algorithm truly impact what hits the front page? I’m eager to see if anything changes.
Stumbleupon Traffic – The DON’Ts – I love social news networks and dislike bannings (on Digg and Stumbleupon), but this post just seems a bit much. I know people love participating on these sites and are afraid of getting banned, but sometimes I think they freak themselves out.
How Village Voice Media Uses Digg To Game Their Traffic Numbers – I know this is a few days old, but it’s still important. I don’t like how “insider” information like this is printed as a way to game Digg. First rule of fight club.
Comments February 15th, 2009
Twitter Digg
