Google vs. Facebook - The War

The social networking war is heating up.  With Google's purchase of Slide and Jambool, Facebook has gone to DEFCON 1 and ordered Lockdown across the company.  The Lockdown, noted by the neon Lockdown sign on Zuck's office door, has been declared for the next 60 days to prepare Facebook for the upcoming launch of Google Me.  Its all out war.

Both companies seem to be drawing the battle front on technology and features.  This draws the conclusion that better technology makes a better social networking experience.  But I don't think technology is the real battle front.  The keyword is social not technology.

Its Where My Friends Are
No amount of technology can overcome the one great challenge that Google faces and Facebook already owns.  Its where my friends are.  Sure, Facebook doesn't own me or my friends, but its where they all are.  I suppose if all my friends were on MySpace, I probably would be there too.  And technology alone just can't overcome this social inertia that Facebook has (ie 500,000,000 people and growing).

Newton's second law of motion:

"by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavors to preserve in its present state"

It won't work to get a few early adopters to move and hope the rest will eventually follow.  No one wants to be on a social network all by themselves.  For me to move, you would have to get all of my friends to move.  And all of their friends.  And all of their friend's friends. And so on to the tune of 500 Million because we are all connected. And do it all at once.  Basically you need a digital Moses to lead a mass exodus to the social promised land.

But it happened with MySpace.  No, not really.  MySpace was big, but it didn't have the social inertia that Facebook does.  It never reached the critical mass that Facebook has.

If Google wants to win, they need to figure out the social aspect of it and not worry so much about the technology aspect.  Otherwise they will just end up with another Google Buzz.

Maybe "Like" is the Wrong Word

I am not sure that the word "Like" on the Facebook Like button is always the right word to describe that you are interested in and want to share a particular story.

Case in point.  This morning, the New York Daily news announced that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died of a heart attack.  My condolences to his family.

In this case, placing the Like button just below the headline creates an interestingly sad header.  "Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has die" "199 people like this.  Be the first of your friends."  Even a bitter Red Sox's fan wouldn't be so cold as to "Like" the fact that he died.

I am sure that most just wanted to share the story with their friends.  In this case, it may have been better to go with the Recommend option for the button instead of the Like option.  But the installation of the button doesn't allow you to switch between the two on the fly.  You are semi committed to one or the other.  Definitely something to think about when installing the button.

And what about all the people who dislike a particular page on the web.  Do they get a say in whats good and bad on the web?

I think the Like button is an interesting and ambitious idea.  However, I still think there is a lot of room for improvement if Facebook wants to achieve its goal of cataloging the entire web one Like at a time.

Facebook and Facial Recognition

I just read an article about Facebook's new Facial Recognition.  My first thought, SCARY.  Very Big Brother sounding.

Its not entirely clear what they intend to do with it.   For now it says that it will be used to help people tag friends in an album.  Which sounds harmless enough.

I think the scary part comes in when you think about what they could do with it.  Imagine if they could ID everyone in every photo posted to Facebook.  They would know who was in the photo together.  And while they already know who's friends with who on Facebook, this seems more invasive.  There is a difference in a friend I know and trust tagging me in an a photo and a machine tagging me. 

I can't quite put my finger on it exactly, but it just feels like that with this type of technology they are invading a personal space that they shouldn't.  A personal space that they have invaded before and don't seem to understand the boundaries.

I hope there is a privacy setting for this.

How to Delete Your Facebook Account

Since Facebook doesn't make it easy to delete your Facebook account, here is a quick guide on how to do it.

First, there is a difference between deactivating it and deleting it.  Deactivating it simply pauses the account and isn't much different than not visiting Facebook for a while.  All of you information is still stored on Facebook and the moment you log back in, your account is reactivated with all your info still in place.

Deleting your account actually removes your data.  I have not deleted my account so I cannot guarantee exactly how it works.  According to the Facebook Group How to permanently delete your facebook account "Your account will be deactivated for two weeks, and if you DO NOT LOG IN during that period, your account is permanently deleted."

Use this link wisely as it may actually delete your account and ALL info associated with it.

http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

Facebook, A Whimsical Place

Before you start a marketing campaign on Facebook, consider this: Facebook is not a place where serious activities occur.

Proof It's Whimsical
Just look at the activities that users engage in.

Users join groups and fan pages like:

• Why do we need Algebra?  Finding X is only useful if you are a pirate.
• When I was your age, we had to blow on video games to make them work.
• I Join Too Many Groups Because Their Names Make me say.. "OMG, THATS TRUE!" 

 Games are one of the most popular activity

• FarmVille 76,000,000 active users
• FishVille 25,000,000 active users

 Status updates that have gone viral

• Girls simply posted a color as their status.  It was supposed to be a secret just among girls that they were posting the color of bra that they were currently wearing.
• Doppelganger - People switched their regular profile pic with a picture of a celebrity that they have been told they look like.
• One of the most viral campaigns on Facebook was the Whopper.  If you deleted 10 friends from Facebook, you would get a free Whopper.

Users on Facebook aren't there to engage in any serious activities.  They are there to:

• Unwind and blow of steam.
• Get away from the routine/burden of daily life.
• Relax and have a little fun.
• Interact with friends.

What does this mean for Marketing?
You can't market anything serious on Facebook.  Its not the place.  People don't want to engage in serious, important activities on Facebook. They will therefore ignore any marketing that doesn't fit in with their whimsical Facebook routine.  Its the reason ads are greatly if not completely ignored on Facebook.  The only ones that get any attention are the ones that advertise games like FarmVille.  But that's what people are there for.

If someone is unwinding on Facebook by playing a game about Fish, do you really think the want to have to think about something as serious a Insurance? NO!

There seem to be a few exceptions to this rule.  About the only one I can think of is Good Causes.  People are willing to participate in a good cause on Facebook as long as its is a legitimate cause and doesn't require much from them.

Everybody wants to have a Facebook campaign because that's where all of the people are.  The truth is, most people, while on Facebook are not in the right frame of mind to be marketed and advertised to in a serious way.  That doesn't mean that those exact same people won't be open to marketing somewhere else, just not on Facebook.  This is not meant to discourage people from creating a Facebook campaign.  It just means you have to consider how you are approaching the users on Facebook with your campaign.

Zuckerberg Is Out of Touch

I can't tell if Mark Zuckerberg is just completely out of touch with his users, or if he's just completely ignoring them.

Why? Because every recent change Facebook has made to its platform has been met with opposition from its users. Just look at these two Facebook Groups.

We Hate The New Facebook, so STOP CHANGING IT!!! 1,643,343 members

group: i love the new facebook design 70 Members (and this is the largest group)

People can't tell you how to innovate or how to make something better. But they sure know when something is wrong. And if the groups are any indication, something is definitely wrong.

A good CEO is in tune with his audience. He gets them. He looks out for them. He does what is in their best interest because he understands that when his users are happy, his company is happy.

Z is the complete opposite. He is out of touch with the users and isn't building Facebook in their best interest. He is building it for himself. The way he thinks it should be. And right now, how Z thinks they should use it and how users actually want to use it are at odds. Which is not a good thing.

Case in point.
Facebook has announced new privacy settings to make privacy EASIER on the user. Total lie. The only thing easier about the new change is how much easier it will be for Google to get your personal data. I guess this is to keep up with Twitter. But I can't figure out why.

If Z learns anything from reading this post(yeah right) its should be this:

Facebook is Private and always should be.

Twitter = public. Facebook = Private. Two totally separate things. They don't have to be like each other. They shouldn't. We shouldn't even be comparing them.

People like their privacy. That's why Facebook has been so great. I can talk with all my real friends without the entire world watching. (sure there are loopholes, but for the most part it works pretty well.)

How's this for a business model? Make it more private. Make it a safe harbor where I can go online without fear of someone stalking me, watching me, spamming me or interrupting a private conversation. That's the value. Privacy. There aren't many, if any, private places online. Make Facebook the most private place online. That will make you some money. Guaranteed.

With the new changes, Facebook has taken away some of our privacy. They have told us what the world can see of our profiles when they should have given us the option to decide for ourselves. Actually, I think it shouldn't even be an option. Make it private. Keep it private.

Remember MySpace. It died because it got to be too public. Facebook is the next MySpace.

Where there are people, there's Spam

Spam is nothing new. It started with email, but is quickly spreading like a virus to each new emerging technology and platform. Right as each technology hits the tipping point and moves from early adopters to mainstream use, that's when the spammers start.

It happened this year with Twitter. One search of a trending topic shows real conversations, mixed an increasing amount of Spam.

Mayra Ruiz notes on her blog, "What is up on LinkedIn these days? I have heard countless folks complain about *all the limitless spam* that can be found in groups." Linkedin groups are full of Spam too.

With each new technology, the spammers find a way to abuse it and spread their Spam and as long as there are people there, they will continue.

One thing that concerns me is Facebook's talk of making the popular social network more public than private. Right now, the privacy wall does a pretty good job of keeping the spammers out. But I guarantee, the more public Facebook becomes, the more Spam we will see. (Personally I think making profiles public will be the death of Facebook).

If social networks and other emerging technologies aren't careful to control Spam, they will lose value and people won't use them. And no one, is immune to this.

The Glue That Holds Social Media Together

A friend of mine named Andrew Roush said it best when he said, "Common Interests are the new demographic." Common interests are the glue that hold social media together. They are what bring people of different ages, backgrounds, geographic locations, races, income status and education together and get them communicating.

Its common interests that start a conversation about the upcoming Presidential Election between a business professional in New York, a farmer in the Midwest, and a mom with four kids in Utah. None of them have met before and all are quite different, but all have some opinion about who should be President.

The wonderful technologies that have been developed in Social Media are bringing people together in ways never before thought possible. Because it is so easy for people to communicate about their common interests, there is something for everyone in social media, they just don't know it yet.

When I say there is something for everyone in Social Media, I mean everyone. Short or tall, young or old, dog lover or cat lover, Star Wars geek, music lover, business professional, or soccer mom, there is something in the billions of pages of content and millions of users that will interest everyone.

My favorite thing to do is to show someone something that interests them in social media and to see that light go on when they finally "get it". Its like when I taught my son to ride his bike. At first, he didn't understand why riding a bike would ever be fun. He thought it was something I was doing to torture him. Until the day he figured out how to ride on his own, and the light went on and he "got it". Social media is a great and has something for everyone, people just don't "get it" yet. But they will.

So how do you find people who share common interests with you? Here is a list of tools that can be used to find conversations about a particular topic. This is not an all inclusive list, but a good place to get started.

www.technorati.com
Technorati is a blog search engine. It regularly spiders content on blogs and allows you to search through and find blogs that might interest you.

www.boardreader.com
Boardreader is a search engine for forums, blogs, twitter, and a number of other social media.

search.twitter.com
Would you like to know what people are talking about on twitter, go to the search and type in a word, and the most recent tweets with that word will pop up. Start following people who talk about things you are interested in.

Social Bookmarking
Check out some of the social bookmarking sites and see what people are bookmarking. www.digg.com, www.stumbleupon.com, www.delicious.com.

Social Network groups
Each social network has some form of groups that people who belong to the network can join. Search through them and look for something that interest you.

Feel free to post any other tools that you think might be helpful.

Not sure what social network to join? Can't find anything on a particular topic or interest? Need some help getting started? Just ask, I am glad to help. ljjones6 at gmail dot com.