Yes, you can target content on Facebook. But marketers also need to show common sense and good judgment about doing so.
You need to respect people when advertising on social networks, and often, that does not seem to happen.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What Irritates People on Facebook
Yes, you can target content on Facebook. But marketers also need to show common sense and good judgment about doing so.
You need to respect people when advertising on social networks, and often, that does not seem to happen.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Social Media Statistics
It's good to quantify, when thinking about mobile social media.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
"Products are Useless Without a Platform"
"A product is useless without a platform, or more precisely and accurately, a platform-less product will always be replaced by an equivalent platform-ized product," says Steve Yegge at Google. Steve Yegge, Google software engineer. He rants about that matter in an "internal memo" that accidentally got published externally.
Google Platforms Rant
It might make most sense for those of you who do coding. The larger issue, for those of us who do not code is the importance of platforms. Some of us might use the term ecosystems.
Those of you who just like gossip will be amused as well.
It might make most sense for those of you who do coding. The larger issue, for those of us who do not code is the importance of platforms. Some of us might use the term ecosystems.
Those of you who just like gossip will be amused as well.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
T-Mobile USA Extends VoIP Features
T-Mobile’s Bobsled service, a VOIP-based communication platform that initially allowed smartphone owners to call their Facebook friends from their mobile device, has been expanded to provide free calls to any mobile or landline number in the U.S, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world, simply by using their desktop browser.
The move is one more example of what normally happens in competitive markets, which is that the contestants lagging most in a market are most likely to embrace disruptive changes.
Whereas before, Bobsled would allow you to call Facebook friends from a dedicated smartphone application, the service has been adapted to give users the opportunity to call numbers in North America directly from the browser using their desktop computer and iOS or Android tablets or smartphones.
The Android/iOS version currently only supports calls direct to Facebook contacts, but that will be upgraded soon, one assumes. If an iPhone or Android user wants to make free general calls, users will need to log in through the browser interface instead of placing calls directly from the mobile.
Still, using the mobile apps, users already can make Bobsled to Bobsled calls, cross-platform between Android and iOS, and leave voicemails that show up on Facebook contacts’ walls.
It’s also possible to record a voice message and leave that pinned to someone’s wall, rather than actually talk to them.
In effect it’s a clever way for T-Mobile to potentially get onto hundreds of thousands of iPhone home screens, despite being the only major US carrier not offering the new iPhone 4S. The immediate revenue for T-Mobile is nil, of course, but the potential for mind share and awareness at least is enhanced.
"Bobsled Calling" allows users to make high quality calls to Facebook friends and any number in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere a user has an Internet connection, even when they phone isn't available. Bobsled
To download the application on your smartphone or tablet device, click here.
The move is one more example of what normally happens in competitive markets, which is that the contestants lagging most in a market are most likely to embrace disruptive changes.
Whereas before, Bobsled would allow you to call Facebook friends from a dedicated smartphone application, the service has been adapted to give users the opportunity to call numbers in North America directly from the browser using their desktop computer and iOS or Android tablets or smartphones.
The Android/iOS version currently only supports calls direct to Facebook contacts, but that will be upgraded soon, one assumes. If an iPhone or Android user wants to make free general calls, users will need to log in through the browser interface instead of placing calls directly from the mobile.
Still, using the mobile apps, users already can make Bobsled to Bobsled calls, cross-platform between Android and iOS, and leave voicemails that show up on Facebook contacts’ walls.
It’s also possible to record a voice message and leave that pinned to someone’s wall, rather than actually talk to them.
In effect it’s a clever way for T-Mobile to potentially get onto hundreds of thousands of iPhone home screens, despite being the only major US carrier not offering the new iPhone 4S. The immediate revenue for T-Mobile is nil, of course, but the potential for mind share and awareness at least is enhanced.
"Bobsled Calling" allows users to make high quality calls to Facebook friends and any number in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere a user has an Internet connection, even when they phone isn't available. Bobsled
To download the application on your smartphone or tablet device, click here.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
The Federal Reserve Plans To Monitor Facebook, Twitter, Google
The New York Federal Reserve Bank is embarking on an ambitious social media monitoring project, starting in December 2010. The key phrase is "monitoring." At least so far, the New York Fed does not seem to have plans to do anything other than listen to what people are saying. The Fed will be monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and the broader Web to gauge public response to economic policy. The New York Federal Reserve Bank wants to know how they are perceived, so social media is one way to do so.
That's part of the larger way organizations can use social media. In this case, the aim is "listening," rather than content marketing that would be an outbound attempt to change whatever perceptions the Fed might find.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
22% of U.S. Smart Phones Sold were 4G Capable
About 22 percent of smart phones purchased by U.S. consumers in the second quarter of 2011 were capable of running at 4G speeds. A year ago, just three percent of U.S. smart phones sold could run on a 4G network, according to the NPD Group.
The top four smart phone 4G manufacturers, based on consumer sales in Q2 2011:
1.HTC: 62%
2.Samsung: 22%
3.Motorola: 11%
4.LG: 4%
What the study did not look at, but seems correct, is that "4G" is not yet a distinct "service." It is faster than 3G, which is good, but not yet in any way a truly different "service" than 3G. So far, 4G is a "better pipe," but just that: a better pipe, as a 10 Mbps connection is better than a 5 Mbps connection.
For 4G is anything more than "table stakes" for mobile service providers, the end use experience will have to change. So far, that hasn't happened.
1.HTC: 62%
2.Samsung: 22%
3.Motorola: 11%
4.LG: 4%
What the study did not look at, but seems correct, is that "4G" is not yet a distinct "service." It is faster than 3G, which is good, but not yet in any way a truly different "service" than 3G. So far, 4G is a "better pipe," but just that: a better pipe, as a 10 Mbps connection is better than a 5 Mbps connection.
For 4G is anything more than "table stakes" for mobile service providers, the end use experience will have to change. So far, that hasn't happened.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
How to Estimate Your Social Media Return on Investment
The real problem for any manager, owner or executive when trying to quantify the return on investment from any social media investment is that the results are highly dependent on the assumptions. Change the assumptions and you change the "return" on any campaign or channel.
That can be especially tricky when trying to figure out the value of "avoided" activities. Any customer support group can estimate the cost of an average call simply by dividing wages or contract costs with the total number of "completed" calls. None of that will measure the effectiveness of call handling, though.
A firm might rationally want to process more calls per hour. What isn't so clear is how the value of those calls might change if the metric is simply "calls per hour." Handling calls faster might mean higher rates at which customers depart, fewer "account saves" or less "incremental new sales."
In the U.S., the average support call cost is approximately $10 to $25 per call, depending on the product, services and the vertical. So one way to create a metric is to forecast the number of support calls a firm believes it will get in the future, implement a social media program to circumvent those calls, and then measure the difference between the number of calls the firm actually received, versus the number it expected.
You see the conundrum. "Success" depends on the assumptions about future call rates. Set a high-enough expected future rate and a firm can "succeed" with or without a social media program. Set a low-enough rate and a firm will "fail," no matter how good its performance at avoiding calls in the first place.
It's a good thing, and often necessary, to measure social media effectiveness. The problem is simply that success or failure mostly is determined by the assumptions one makes.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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