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.

The Obligatory iPad Post

Was going to write the The Obligatory iPad Post about my thoughts on the new iPad, but Alan Wolk beat me to it, and did a great job so I am just going to point to his post.

The Obligatory iPad Post

Best line from the post "Yeah, it’s cool and it’d be fun to have one. Sort of the way it’d be fun to have a Lamborghini or some other essentially useless Italian sportscar."

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

Great and inspirational speech given by Steve Jobs in 2005 and Stanford University.  Worth the 15 mins to watch.

What did I accomplish in 2009?

Even though there are many things that I wished I had accomplished this decade that I haven't, in all I can't complain. I don't look back and regret any of the decisions I have made and I don't feel like I wasted any time doing something that I didn't want to do.

I took every opportunity I could. I worked hard. I had fun. And I spent a lot of time with my family. I did things the way I wanted to.

I may not have accomplished everything I wanted to, but I sure tried and always worked toward what I wanted.

Web ME.0, Consumers take control

In 2010 consumers will gain control. We will see the birth of Web ME.0 where everything is about me, the consumer. Its the web the way I want it, not the way someone wants me to see it.

Gone are the days of a brand deciding for me, deciding how/when/where/what message I see. Gone is Web 2.0. Brands must now play by the consumers' rules.

Web ME.0 is:

• Destination Free. I don't have to visit individual sites because all information flows to me.
  
• Filtered. I see what I want, when and where I want to. None of the stuff I don't want.
  
• Walled. I only interact with the people with whom I want to interact. Maybe its lots of people in an open format, like twitter. Maybe its just my closest friends, like Facebook(or something like Facebook used to be since they are foolishly breaking down the wall just to make a buck.) But I get to choose who.
  

So where does advertising exist in this consumer controlled digital world? It doesn't, at least not in the form that we currently call advertising. Advertising is dead and companies that are still trying to make money based on the old model are dying with it. 2010 will be the nail in the coffin.

Consumers are in control.

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.

Going Destination Free

When the web was born, everyone focused on the destination, usually an all important URL where all the magic was going to happen. And nearly two decades later, most still seemed fixed on getting traffic to a destination. That will change.

A friend of mine, Anthony Power, has called it "The Destination Free Web", where information flows freely from one place to another, and the destination is no longer important.

Why the Destination Free Web?

1. Its the INFO people want, NOT the destination.
   
2. People don't want to be confined.
3. People want access everywhere and anywhere.

How?

1. APIs
2. Partnerships between companies and platforms
3. Sharing of Data and Info

Monetize?
The question arises, "If people aren't visiting my website, then how will I make money?". Tough question. But then again, the people asking that question are the ones who still think that they can make money through advertising. Advertising is dead and the destination free web will only make it more dead.

People and companies who understand the destination free web will build the web of the future.