Week in digital #2: Facebook changes, Google+ business pages to launch, Instagram exhibition
By Sutro September 27th, 2011 Comments (1)This week Facebook reveals massive changes to its platform, BBC launches Tumblr-like new homepage in beta, Google gets ready to roll out Business Pages in Google+, YouTube to launch TV-like channels, Recipefy for foodies, follow World War 2 in ‘real-time’ on Twitter, Amazon launching iPad rival, and an Instagram exhibition comes to London.
Facebook reveals profound changes to service
Having accumulated over 800 million users worldwide, Facebook is continuing its quest for world domination; Forget about users, pageviews and increased revenue, what Facebook wants most of all is to be “the social layer that supports, powers and connects every single piece of the web, no matter who or what it is or where it lives,” writes Mashable. On Thursday at the f8 developer conference the social network unveiled the most radical changes to its service since launching.
The New Facebook includes:
A redesigned home page with one feed – there will be a Top News section at the top of the feed that shows important stories and those with lots of Likes. The Most Recent feed is to be replaced by a Ticker which shows a real-time stream. Good for obsessive stalking and information overload.
This new feed also allows users to mark which top stories they find interesting, so brands will now have to be even more aware of the type of content they send out to avoid being unmarked and degraded to less interesting land.
Timelines (from birth to forever) – the new Facebook timeline will now look back at users’ life stories. So if you were born before Facebook launched, or even before internet as we know it existed, you can add information about your life pre-Facebook to fill in the gaps. Good for keeping an online journal of your life story; Bad for allowing all your friends to see everything you’ve been up to. For more details on how the new Timeline will work check out Inside Facebook’s step-by-step guide.
Verbification of the Open Graph – rather than just Liking, users will soon be able to Read, Listen, Watch, Eat and so on. Expect more to be added as time passes. Doing this Facebook is hoping to create more content to be shared on Facebook, making for a richer social experience. These apps will only have to ask your permission once though so make sure you’re happy to share EVERYTHING you read on The Guardian or listen to on Spotify. We think there should be a middle ground where you get to choose what to share and when, as sometimes you just want to consume content without broadcasting it…
These are only three of the changes announced and we haven’t heard anything about the possible changes to Pages yet, but they are certain to come. Do you Like or Dislike New Facebook?
BBC launches new homepage that looks very much like a Tumblr blog
The Beeb has unveiled a ‘work-in-progress’ beta homepage, looking to get feedback from readers over the coming weeks before permanently replacing the current homepage later this year. First impressions? Very much like a Tumblr blog. The reorganising of content allowing users to swipe through it makes it more interactive, the page is more visually led – the way many websites are going – and users can add filters to tailor the page based on their interests. We like it.
Google + getting ready to roll out Business Pages
Exciting news for all online marketers/digital evangelists/and all-round social media geeks, as the social network approaches 50 million users Google is apparently very close to introducing official business user accounts to Google Plus. While we still have to find out exactly what they will offer, here are our 7 predictions for Google+ brand pages.
YouTube set to launch scheduled TV-channels
As many as a dozen TV-like channels with scheduled content could be launched on YouTube in the near future as the video giant is said to be finalising content contracts for its new venture. No comment has so far been given by YouTube owner Google, but The Wall Street Journal reports that the channels might feature content on themes like fashion and sport – as well as entertainment, food and travel we’re guessing.
Amazon is launching iPad tablet rival
Not sure what Apple thinks about this, but online retailer Amazon is set to bring out its own Android tablet device Amazon Kindle Fire tomorrow by the looks of it. With Amazon in a position of being able to sell the new device at a loss, this could very well be a strong competitor to the iPad depending on the content made available – which Amazon has a lot of.
MyWorldShared – an Instagram photo exhibition
We love Instagram and the beautiful photos it lets us take and share. As the iPhone app’s popularity is growing worldwide a group of London Instagram have decided to put on a gallery art show to display some of the great Instagram photos out there. Opening in London on 22 October MyWorldShared aims to “capture the concept of Instagram”. A snapshot of daily lives, views and events, the exhibition will run from 22 – 23 October in London. Reminds us of last year’s Hipstamatics exhibition.
How the world uses social networks
Based on data by Nielsen, Mashable has put together this infographic on the social media breakdown in 10 countries. It shows Facebook is by miles the favoured social network, but take a look at how some other popular platforms rank.
Beauty brand Clarins launches Facebook game
Called Spa Life, the game is set in a virtual world that is populated with avatars, think Second Life, FarmVille style. So if you want to test how you’d be at running an actual spa, check out this lightly branded game. According to Clarins the goal is less about pushing online sales through the game and instead increasing the brand’s fan base and engagement rate on Facebook.
Yahoo! integrates with Facebook for social news consumption
Coinciding with the launch of new Facebook Open Graph, Yahoo News aims to infuse social into the news curation and discovery process so that “users can discover content through their friends”. The opt in service will let the user see news stories their friends have read on both Facebook and Yahoo News, displaying their friends’ tiny little faces (OK, their avatars) in a ‘facebar’ which is clickable to bring up their recent activity.
Women dominate men in social networking
A survey that looked on the expected future use of social media, social media consumption habits and popularity of social media in the US has found that women are significantly leading the way in social networking. While women use social networks to connect with friends, family and colleagues, men are more likely to use voice or phone communication compared to women.
- 68% of women and 54% of men use social media to stay in touch with their friends
- 60% of women and 42% of men use social media to stay in touch with their family
- 34% of women and 22% of men use social media to stay in touch with their colleagues
W magazine tests iOS app market ahead of early 2012 iPad magazine launch
Condé Nast owned fashion and lifestyle publication W released two free apps around New York Fashion week to test the waters ahead of next year’s iPad magazine launch. W Front Row (iPhone) was positioned as a shopping and lifestyle guide for fashionistas, while The Daily W (iPad) offered a daily dose of W magazine. The iPad app is said to offer visuals, and lots of it. It will be interesting to see what the i-zine will look like and what content it will offer.
Follow World War 2 in ‘real-time’ on Twitter
This is one for the history geeks out there. On August 31 this year – the same date Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland in 1939 – the RealTimeWWII Twitter account was born reporting on events from the Second World War as if they were happening in real-time. Since then it has sent 354 tweets, some illustrated with photos. Apparently on this day 72-years ago Warsaw surrendered. Find out more about the 24year-old ex-History student behind the project on The Next Web.
Recipefy: the social network for cooks
So we have the social networks for sharing culinary creations and the one for food spotting while you’re out and about. The newest addition to the increasingly growing list of food related social networks is Recipefy, which is less about pictures and more about the recipes. See the USP? An easy way to store your personal recipes and collect others you have found online, this could work as there is a huge market out there of foodies wanting to share and discover recipes. And there is an option to keep your recipes private if you’d like!
Angry Birds could hit Starbucks
Rovio, the gaming studio behind the successful Angry Birds game, is rumoured to be actively working with global coffee chain Starbucks to introduce promotions, virtual goods sales and electronic leaderboards for customers’ top scores, Bloomberg reveals. A good example, if it becomes reality, of tying in the real world with the virtual world. We might succumb to playing Angry Birds if we could get a free coffee out of it…
What consumers are doing on Facebook
Company Constant Contact has pulled together a list of 10 shareable Facebook stats from a recent study. Here they are:
Consumers interact with their favourite brand on Facebook far more than they do on other social networks
- 56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook
- 51% of consumers said they are more likely to buy a product after becoming a fan on Facebook
- 52% of those who go online said that they spend at least one hour a week on Facebook
- 76% of consumers said they have never “un-Liked” a brand on Facebook
- 77% of consumers said they interact with brands on Facebook primarily through reading posts and newsfeeds
- 78% of consumers who “Like” brands on Facebook said they “Like” fewer than 10 brands
- 58% of consumers said they “Like” a brand on Facebook because they are a customer of that brand
- 45% of consumers said they spend most of their time on Facebook in the newsfeed
- 69% of consumers said they want to hear from some brands on Facebook more than others
The findings show that consumers are willing to interact with brands on Facebook and that those who do have more likely to recommend a brand to their friends or buying the brand.
Burglars use Facebook and Twitter to target victims
While some have their privacy settings securely set, many might not spare a thought to who could be looking at what you’re doing online. In a stream of constant updates we can unwittingly provide thieves with information about recent valuable purchases as well as times when we’re out of the house. A survey has found that four out of five convicted burglars said social media sites were being used to target victims. Will you be thinking twice about checking in on Foursquare or boasting about your wicked new Bose speakers in the future?
Pacha is first nightclub to launch live music channel on Facebook
In a bid to diversify revenue streams the nightclub has launched a Facebook channel that will give visitors access to exclusive video content, including interviews with DJs and music producers such as Erick Morillo and David Guetta and images from Pacha Ibiza. The Facebook page also incorporate click-to-buy links to music downloads and merchandise as well as sponsorship offers and competitions.
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