Emotional Engineering: Has Facebook been messing with my mind?

Yes, I admit, I am a fan of conspiracy theories. In a nutshell, I prefer to watch over Big Brother, than letting Big Brother watch over me. Recently I viewed a Vice episode about Brazil’s Retaliation of FIFA, World Cup 2014, and the upcoming Olympics. A very surprising example of Digital Eyes of Mordor is the multitude cameras installed by the government in a few of most notoriously troublesome slums surrounding the World Cup stadium. The show argues that the cameras have been installed to spy on the population, as opposed to using these constantly live streams to respond quickly to gang activities and other extremely dangerous situations occurring in the slums daily.

But do we really need to go as far as Brazil to find some concrete reasons for concern relating to our freedom of opportunity? Not really! Although in its core, the Internet is supposed to allow us all to connect freely. Certainly, the “freely” aspect has been rapidly challenged in recent years. Concerns relating to Net Neutrality, for example, are on the forefront of many social media scholars.

There’s really no need going that far, though. Even if you are not a conspiracy theorist, I am sure you have also noticed how your personal information, Google searches, and location coordinates are being constantly pinging away all manners of personal data from your digital devices. Where does it all go? Some black cloud or the Death Star? I sure don’t know.

One of the creepiest things I have been noticing in the past year or so, is how Facebook “nonchalantly” reorganizes my feed, grouping certain updates together. Most of the time they are harmless, border-lining ridiculous. Nonetheless, the scrutiny over MY private info is disturbing. And I have often wondered about who makes the decisions regarding what I see on my wall, and what is it that I don’t get on my feed?

But it gets even worst! Apparently, in January 2012 “Facebook identified 689,003 English speaking users to run a psychological experiment on, for the duration of a week. They began to manipulate the newsfeed of a group of these users to remove posts with a negative emotion attached to them, and removed all posts with a positive emotion for the other group. The objective of the study – can we be emotionally influenced by what we see in our Facebook newsfeed? And if so, how much?” (Singh, 2014)

This tale gets even creepier. What Facebook has done is performing A/B testing-type experiment. Even though the ethics of such approach are certainly questionable, all the legal concerns are ironed perfectly in the company’s Terms of Service document all Facebook users must sign prior to starting socializing.

Sadly, Facebook isn’t the only social networking platform to use us as guenea pigs. On the Contrary!

“In fact – this is true for most (if not all) social networks. LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest – all of these websites are designed and engineered to influence us to click more, engage more and interact more with them. The nature of their algorithms is never revealed, but one thing is always made clear – they’re doing all they can to give us as much relevant content as possible.” (Singh, 2014)

 

Photo courtesy Social Media Today website

   Yet the most disturbing aspect of such hidden, but ongoing experiments are focused on emotional engineering — which has been Facebook’s business model from the very start. (Singh, 20134)

In a way, Facebook proved that “by taking a group of close to 700,000 – proved that if push comes to shove, sway the opinion of the 1.3+ billion people that use the service.” So what happens if a “political candidate that’s backed by a network like Facebook essentially be able to get more votes?” (Singh, 2014)

Scary, isn’t it?

But are you really surprised?

 

 

References

Net Neutrality: What You Need to Know Now. (n.d.). Free Press. Retrieved July 1, 2014, from http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now

Singh, A. R. (2014, July 1). Facebook’s Been Running Psychological Experiments On You. RSS. Retrieved July 1, 2014, from http://socialmediatoday.com/avtar-ram-singh/2564701/facebooks-been-running-psychological-experiments-you

WatsApp & Facebook: A modern love affair

In the age of social media, we all desire one thing — to connect! Whether you are a single, middle aged motorcyclist, who is looking for love; or maybe you are a hip and upcoming high-tech company seeking fast and free promotion; and, of course, if you are a teenager who can type the address of their Facebook profile faster than I can type Jon Koum — who happens to be the founder of the world’s fastest growing social network, WhatsApp that will likely “eclipse all SMS traffic across the globe.” (Olson, 2014)

Last month I traveled to Chile to film a documentary. I traveled with my iPhone, though it wasn’t connected to a cellular network — when you are a starving grad school documentarian, you try to cut as many corners as humanly possible to save money — but I still could connect to WiFi for free. After a few days in the country, I was surprised to discover that while I would go to Starbucks to check what’s new on my Facebook page, my Chilean colleagues couldn’t take their fingers off of WhatsApp. I found it intriguing because I haven’t noticed it being much used in the US, specifically in the Chicagoland area.

WatsApp is a “cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends.” (WhatsApp website)

Another cool feature of WhatsApp is that it allows users to “create groups, send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages”. And all this is FREE!

At least for the first year. And after a free year of service WhatsApp would charge a ridiculously low fee of $ 0.99 USD per year. But this is not even the best part! WhatsApp is golden because they DO NOT sell ads! (Koum, 2012)

On the company’s blog, Jon Koum writes: “When we sat down to start our own thing together three years ago we wanted to make something that wasn’t just another ad clearinghouse. We wanted to spend our time building a service people wanted to use because it worked and saved them money and made their lives better in a small way. We knew that we could charge people directly if we could do all those things. We knew we could do what most people aim to do every day: avoid ads.” (WhatsApp website)

 

Image courtesy www.Forbes.com

My Chilean friends are a small drop in the 470 Million sea of worldwide WhatsApp users. As Olson reports in her Forbes article from March, 2014, “Pretty much everyone in Hong Kong with a smartphone uses WhatsApp. In United Arab Emirates you can watch WhatsApp Academy on TV. In the Netherlands, where 9.5 million people (more than half the population) actively use it, “Whatsappen” is now a verb in the Dutch dictionary, meaning to send a WhatsApp message. Brazil’s professional soccer players use its group-chat feature to organize labor strikes during games.” 

The Funny thing is that the company has only 56 employees, and they don’t even have a sign on the door of its headquarters in Mountain View,” yet they are “one of the world’s most commonly used communication utilities after e-mail and the telephone and will introduce voice calling later this year.” (Olson, 2014)

So it’s no wonder that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg spent the past two years courting Koum in attempts to acquire WhatsApp, which has finally happened in February this year. No one is really surprised Zuckerberg was so head over heels for WhatsApp. After all, it “has been signing up a million new users per day since Dec. 1, 2013.” (Olson, 2014)

 I guess Zuck was so up for WhatsApp that he didn’t even care Koum’s interruption during Zuckerberg’s “Valentine’s dinner with his wife, Priscilla.” Koum came by the Mark;s house, saying he agrees to the deal, and “The two hammered out pricing and terms over chocolate covered strawberries.” (Carlson, 2014)

 

References:

Koum, J. (2012, June 18). WhatsApp. Why we don’t sell ads. Retrieved June 24, 2014,

from http://blog.whatsapp.com/245/Why-we-dont-sell-ads

 

Carlson, N. (2014, February 19). The Inside Story Of How Facebook Bought WhatsApp

For $19 Billion. Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-of-facebooks-whatsapp-buy-2014-2#ixzz35a17enm8. . Retrieved June 24, 2014, from http://www.whatsapp.comhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-of-facebooks-whatsapp-buy-2014-2

 

Olson, P. (2014, March 4). Inside The Facebook-WhatsApp Megadeal: The Courtship,

The Secret Meetings, The $19 Billion Poker Game. Forbes. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/03/04/inside-the-facebook-whatsapp-megadeal-the-courtship-the-secret-meetings-the-19-billion-poker-game/2/

 

Virtual Reality is the Next Frontier

 

On March 25, 2014 Facebook announced it had purchased Occulus Rift for a stunning $2 bilion. Many in the tech industry where shocked by the announcement, some felt miffed whilst others treated it with cautious optimism.

For those who might be wondering what is Occulus Rift, here’s a brief breakdown below.

Occulus Rift is a virtual reality company, that started off on kickstarter. 

As you can see from the above link, it easily shattered its fund raising expectations, bringing in over 2 million dollars from independent backers. It basically is a head mounted display that allows the wearer to be immersed in a virtual creation, and whilst the founder Palmer Luckey initially intended it to solely function as a gaming device, it has slowly been morphing into more than that, showing that virtual reality has a lot of applications in our world today.

What is Virtual Reality you might ask?

According to this, “Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.”

In layman’s terms, Virtual reality allows the user to interact in the virtual world he or she is immersed in.

As a kid, I remember one of the first movies that awed me was lawnmower man. I have provided a trailer for said movie, apologies in advance for how seedy it looks. The movie is quite dated now.

Lawn Mower Man trailer

The premise is a bit ridiculous, but basically this goes to show that Virtual Reality isn’t some new technology. In fact its been around for quite a while. Its just now, with Occulus Rift and a bevy of other big tech companies on board, it seems to finally be getting the acclaim it deserves.

Why would Facebook be interested in such?

Facebook is a company that is primarily concerned with data, and by data I mean social data. The more hours people spend on Facebook and its subsidiaries like Instagram and Whatsapp, the more they can sell said data. From all indications, Occulus Rift is going to be another property that should have similar effect. Currently the development kit goes for $350, which is less than Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. By the time Facebook gets the product into final development and out to the public, the price should be even cheaper. That can only bode well for anyone who is yearning to get their hands on this technology. The cheaper it is, the more affordable it becomes.

Whilst this post has predominantly focused on the Occulus Rift, it should be made clear that Facebook and the Occulus Rift are not the only names in the Virtual Reality ring. Sony announced that its Morpheus headset would be working with its Playstation rig to bring the Virtual Reality experience to users. Also Samsung has talked about users being able to use future versions of its phones or tablets to experience V.R. as it is popularly called. Its only a matter of time before other companies jump on the wagon.

What Does Virtual Reality Mean For You?

As story tellers, V.R. opens up a world of possibilities for us. Not only does gaming become more immersive, but so does other technology. Can you imagine being able to participate in your favorite show? I envision detective or procedural shows where the user can actually engage and solve crimes. I think of sporting events and concerts where the user can be in their home yet experience these events like they were there in the flesh. With the 360 view Occulus provides, being in the moment takes on a whole new meaning.

In closing I leave you with this video, of this guy who got his first taste of Virtual reality. He seems pretty thrilled after wards. That’s how I feel every time I think about the possibilities for this technology. The future is here, and this is the new frontier.

REFERENCES

Facebook Buys Oculus Rift For $2 Billion. (n.d.). Kotaku. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://kotaku.com/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-1551487939

Leonard, B. (Director). (1992). Lawn Mower Man USA: New Line Cinema.

Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game. (n.d.). Kickstarter. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game

What is Virtual Reality?. (n.d.). What is Virtual Reality Definition of Virtual Reality. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/what-is-virtual-reality.html

Using the PlayStation 4’s virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus (update: now with video!). (n.d.). Engadget. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/19/project-morpheus-hands-on/

Samsung is working with Oculus on a media-focused VR headset. (n.d.). Engadget. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/30/samsung-oculus-partnership/

This Russian Guy Just Filmed The Best Oculus Rift Reaction Video. (n.d.). UPROXX RSS. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://uproxx.com/gammasquad/2014/04/russian-oculus-rift-reaction-roller-coaster-prank/

The Takeover: Instagram and Advertising

Hey digital mavens! Over time past couple of years we’ve watched with amazement as Instagram has grown to a global community with millions and millions of people who take photos and share these rare moments through Instagram.

I don’t know if you have noticed how certain brands we love have Instagram pages that are so flawlessly done. These advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos from many of your friends. I in particular follow Starbucks http://instagram.com/starbucks# :

Just a glimse at their Instagram and your intrigue by their clever way of marketing the brand of Starbucks. I am always saying “Wow” how did they think of that photo or video. Starbucks is one of the brands that are marketing masters through Instagram, with 2.5 million followers Starbucks is a brand that knows how to market well on Instagram. The key of creating a creating such a postive look to a brand through social media is to connect emotionally with your audience.

On Instagram their are other companies who have took avadgtave of marketing on Instargram in the last couple of years. Since “Instagram – which was bought by Facebook for $1billion in 2012 – introduced ads to its US audience in November. In a blog post, Instagram said advertisers had positive results which “in some cases [were] well above the ad industry’s average for performance”. The app said it had over 200 million users worldwide.” BBC News This proves that marketing on a social app is something most brands should do. Getting closer to the consumer and creating an emotional connect through their brand is the best way gain exposure.

What I really love about Starbucks being on Instagram is that the vast majority of the images on Starbucks’ are fan submitted images of from locations around the globe. The company encourages its followers to post their own Starbucks photos, along with a campaign-focused hashtag to connect the visual content back to its brand. People can add comments and likes and build a whole conversation around the looks the fans have created. I have yet to have my personal photos of Starbucks posted on their page, but one day I know I’ll make it. But even if I don’t, I enjoy how such a brand can flawlessly connect with its consumer and build its momentum through such a digital driven world.  Oh man how I love the branding of Starbucks. Comment below digital mavens and share your insights below! 

Sources:

Gittleson, Kim. Instagram expands ads to the UK, Canada, and Australia. June 2014

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27770941

Marketbook

To everyone reading this, you’re just a science project. You’re an experiment.

Every day we log onto social media to chat with our friends, to express inner opinions, to look at the new movie coming out, or even to “like” a new program. What you probably don’t know is that you’re part of a science experiment which is using everything you do, on your free to use social media platform, to create a profile for who you are and how you think. Ever write a status update on Facebook just to see your ads to change immediately to whatever you just typed about? That’s exactly what I’m talking about here.

In a PBS post by Angela Washeck, she quoted Douglas Rushkoff as saying that impressionable teens today have replaced their habit of plastering their personal stuff on their bedroom walls with now moved on to inhabiting social media and sharing their personality through there, but don’t realize how this is benefiting trends and brands (Washeck, 2014). Rushkoff’s newest Frontline documentary “Generation Like” explores how young adults are providing social marketing and advertising with treasure troves of information through their online interactions. Some, like Tyler Oakley, are getting “free” stuff in order to promote certain brands to their friends and/or followers (Washeck, 2014).

What we have perceived as “organic” viral trends are actually meticulously planned marketing strategies (Washeck, 2014). Do we really like these things or are we just monkeys running through the course in order to try and score “free” stuff and fame? While some are being given things for free, they really aren’t free. As these items or brands become popular, their publicity does the work for them. A couple of freebies handed out to some carefully placed popular online identities can turn into millions or billions of revenue for companies, so in a sense, they pay for themselves.

One of the questions being raised is whether or not this is exploitation. Not only have advertising pros learned exactly how young people share, but they’ve also learned just what drives them to share (Washeck, 2014). We, as consumers, are providing free data for marketers and advertisers without even realizing we’re doing it. Some may actually realize it though, and they’re profiting off of your shares and retweets. There is definitely more public relations work being done through this, but there is a lot of behind the scenes advertising as well. We, the consumers, are doing all the leg work without much benefit, unless you feel that the products you’re knowledgeable about now is your payment. According to Washeck, Rushkoff said, ““Over time, there will be a reaction against it…I’m kind of hopeful we’ll have another burst of awareness” (Washeck, 2014).

Knowing how we’re all essentially being manipulated through observation, how do you feel about this? Does this make you think twice about “liking” or re-tweeting something?

References

Washek, A. (2014, February 19). [Web log message]. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/02/rushkoffs-generation-like-explores-space-where-social-media-teens-brands-merge/

You Can View Your Facebook Search History

There was a recent article on Buzzfeed (posted on February 28) that called attention to an interesting cache that Facebook has carefully stored away. If you go to your settings, click ‘Activity Log’ and then click ‘More’ until you see an option labeled ‘Search’. After you click on that, a log of all of the searches you have ever made since you joined Facebook will generate. So what’s the big deal? To me, this is a hugely interesting facet of Facebook from an anthropology standpoint – we all know that we can scroll down to our old ‘dark ages’ posts from when we first joined Facebook, but being able to see when and what we have ever searched tells a completely different story.

For one, it provides a huge opportunity for blackmail, or at the very least for nosey friends. Perusing this search log you can see exactly who and what you were obsessing about, and according to the blogger, “It is, of course, a terrible, shameful reminder of past whims, desires, boring queries, and any number of things that should never be and must be immediately killed with hellfire.” Obviously the author was not a fan. Luckily for those with obsessive compulsive creeping (don’t lie, you know you do it), you are able to delete your history.

So why is this information even stored? Facebook has been data collecting for advertising purposes since it was created – and all of the data they gathered was for a clear purpose: to either sell to advertisers or to better know the user (in order to most effectively advertise ‘at’ them.) This information, however, falls into the more ‘personal’ category and I can’t figure out what Facebook would want with it. And besides that, if it was just for the entertainment of the user to look at their past whims, why is the option so hard to find?

 

References

Warzel, Charlie. (2014). You can view your Facebook search history and it is the worst page on

the internet. Retrieved from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/you-can-now-view-your-facebook-search-history-and-it-is-the

Facebook and the Privacy of the Dead

Facebook recently revealed their new death policy, and it’s stirring up a lot of controversy. In the past, the policy was that deceased individual’s accounts would be memorialized, or restricted to friends-only viewing. The new policy, however, allows the accounts to remain public if that’s the way they were in the first place. Facebook’s reasoning for this change of policy is as follows, “This will allow people to see memorialized profiles in a manner consistent with the deceased person’s expectations of privacy. We are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see.”

This change in policy makes it seem as though users are consciously making their own memorial when they create a Facebook account. As one blogger sees it, this new policy is way out of line: “Early, especially tragic, or newsworthy deaths subject online profiles to unusual and unsettling scrutiny. Imagine you survived some sort of public event that landed you on TV, or in the paper. You might be inclined to tighten your online privacy settings to avoid unwanted attention. Or simply to hide, at least from people who don’t know you well, those pictures from your raucous birthday party the week before. Now, imagine you didn’t survive: Is the last thing you posted on Facebook fit to be your public legacy? How about the first thing? Did you think, as you uploaded that last photo, that you were helping design your own public funeral program?”

With the recent release of Facebook’s ‘looking back’ videos, many families and friends of deceased individuals reached out to Facebook to try and gain access to their lost loved one. The process to go about validating the individual’s identity involves going through an authentication process. At least in this regard Facebook is protecting the privacy rights of the deceased – after all, being a ‘Facebook friend’ doesn’t necessarily have any bearing in their relationship in the real non-virtual world.

What do you think? Do you think this new policy oversteps bounds or is a reasonable step for Facebook to take?

 

References

 

Herrman, John. (2014). Facebook will now ‘maintain the visibility’ of dead users’ profiles.

Retrieved from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/facebook-will-now-maintain-the-visibility-of-dead-users-prof

Facebook Launches Paper App

On February 3^rd, Facebook will launch their new Paper app. It will be the first app to be released by Facebook’s Creative Labs department, who are working on several more apps that will launch at later dates.

The app is described as “distraction-free” by Mat Smith on engadget.com. The article states that Facebook will be competing with Flipboard and Newsstand as a news and image heavy application. The app will allow users to see their friends’ stories as news articles, as well as actual news from various credible publications. The app will also have themes to help users find articles that they are most interested in. Swiping makes it easy for users to flip through articles quickly and see pictures and videos related to the stories.

Even though the content will be more or less the same, its presentation will be drastically different. From Paper’s new video we can see that articles are swiped from side to side, and not scrolled through. They are also very image heavy. White icons hover above images which allow you to share, comment, etc. Just like the old Facebook. According to readwrite.com,  Dan Rowinski stated in his article that Facebook’s Creative Labs are attempting to wipe away the clutter that Facebook has become. Users will be able to customize the content that they wish to see, rather than be bombarded with random viral videos and stories that do not interest them. (Rowinski, 2014)

This app seems like it will make Facebook much more enjoyable and easier to navigate. However, I do wonder if this will end up replacing Facebook or if it will just be used to enhance the social network as an experience. The launch of this new app leads me to believe that Facebook is in need of a makeover to satisfy younger generations who have turned to other social media such as Instagram or Vine because of their simple structures and lack of clutter, advertisements, and stories.

 

 

See how the app works here!

 

 

Rowinski, D. (2014, January 30). Facebook wants to recreate your news feed with a beautiful  news app. Retrieved from       http://readwrite.com/2014/01/30/facebook-paper-app-attempts-to-reimagine-how-you-read-the-news

Smith, M. (2014, January 30). Facebook announces paper: A ‘distraction-free’ news reading app for ios. Retrieved from    http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/30/facebook-paper-news-app/

 

Facebook is Trending

As Twitter continues to grow and gain new users, Facebook feels as if it is being left behind. In order for them to keep up with the competition, Facebook will launch “Trending” on their site. Facebook has recently decided to add a new feature to their site  called “Trending” which mostly aims at trying to get more users involved in real-time information and events that are trending on the web; just like Twitters trending topics. This new feature on Facebook main focus, is to allow public conversations to happen between many people on important or popular topics that may be surfacing the web. Facebook wants to expand the way users interact and allow them to have conversations with other people rather than just their friends. Facebook users will be able to see what other people think about a certain topic or their reaction to important events happening in the world.

This new feature of “Trending” will show Facebook users what the most important  and popular topics are on social networking sites as soon as they log into their profile. Users will also be given the opportunity to personalize the list of information they get based on their topics of interest. Users newsfeed will have the topics that the users carefully selected to be of their interest and will appear of the right of the users page. Also, some of the topics will be highlighted which means that they are the most popular topics on the site for that particularly day. During Facebook’s announcement of this new addition to their site, they carefully explained how “Trending” works; “a response to the volume of public conversations about real-time events on the social network.”

Recently, Facebook signed a partnership with NBC sports to cover the Olympics. NBC’s Olympics’ Facebook page will have content regarding the event. It will share the most important information, videos, photos, and polls. Also, Facebook users will be given the opportunity to their own questions to Sarah Hughes, an Olympic god medalist.  Although Facebook is creating this new “trend”to increase its new users and be more attracting for the younger audiences, current Facebook members are not using the site as much as they did before. With all the new apps created such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, users do not need to log into their Facebook pages to see what their friends are doing. This new idea hopefully revives Facebook and it will be interesting to see if Facebook users begin to use Facebook for “Trending” topics rather than Twitter.

Video: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236502

References 

• • Boorstin, J. (2014, January 17). Facebook launches ‘trending’ to drive   event chat. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101345446
  • Leo. (2014, January 16). Like twitter: Facebook launches new ‘trending’ feature . Retrieved from http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/01/16/like-twitter-facebook-launches-new-trending-feature/
  • Martin, S. (2014, January 16). Facebook launches trending to highlight popular items. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/16/facebook-launches-trending-to-highlight-popular-items/4516147/
  • Prigg, M. (2014, January 17). Facebook takes on twitter: New trending section launched in battle of the social networks read more. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2541581/Facebook-gets-trend-Launches-topics-section-compete-Twitter.html

  
  

Facebook is Trending

As Twitter continues to grow and gain new users, Facebook feels as if it is being left behind. In order for them to keep up with the competition, Facebook will launch “Trending” on their site. Facebook has recently decided to add a new feature to their site  called “Trending” which mostly aims at trying to get more users involved in real-time information and events that are trending on the web; just like Twitters trending topics. This new feature on Facebook main focus, is to allow public conversations to happen between many people on important or popular topics that may be surfacing the web. Facebook wants to expand the way users interact and allow them to have conversations with other people rather than just their friends. Facebook users will be able to see what other people think about a certain topic or their reaction to important events happening in the world.

This new feature of “Trending” will show Facebook users what the most important  and popular topics are on social networking sites as soon as they log into their profile. Users will also be given the opportunity to personalize the list of information they get based on their topics of interest. Users newsfeed will have the topics that the users carefully selected to be of their interest and will appear of the right of the users page. Also, some of the topics will be highlighted which means that they are the most popular topics on the site for that particularly day. During Facebook’s announcement of this new addition to their site, they carefully explained how “Trending” works; “a response to the volume of public conversations about real-time events on the social network.”

Recently, Facebook signed a partnership with NBC sports to cover the Olympics. NBC’s Olympics’ Facebook page will have content regarding the event. It will share the most important information, videos, photos, and polls. Also, Facebook users will be given the opportunity to their own questions to Sarah Hughes, an Olympic god medalist.  Although Facebook is creating this new “trend”to increase its new users and be more attracting for the younger audiences, current Facebook members are not using the site as much as they did before. With all the new apps created such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, users do not need to log into their Facebook pages to see what their friends are doing. This new idea hopefully revives Facebook and it will be interesting to see if Facebook users begin to use Facebook for “Trending” topics rather than Twitter.

Video Hyperlink: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236502

References 

• Boorstin, J. (2014, January 17). Facebook launches ‘trending’ to drive   event chat. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101345446
• Leo. (2014, January 16). Like twitter: Facebook launches new ‘trending’ feature . Retrieved from http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/01/16/like-twitter-facebook-launches-new-trending-feature/
• Martin, S. (2014, January 16). Facebook launches trending to highlight popular items. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/16/facebook-launches-trending-to-highlight-popular-items/4516147/
• Prigg, M. (2014, January 17). Facebook takes on twitter: New trending section launched in battle of the social networks read more. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2541581/Facebook-gets-trend-Launches-topics-section-compete-Twitter.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KLOUT INFLUENCE

You can have more social media influence than you believe. With every tweet, post, share, comment and like you are creating an online presence. Presence of your personal brand. Klout is just one other platform that brings an analysis of your impact.

Klout is a San Francisco based social media platform that launched in 2009 and incorporates your online presence on various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and other several platforms. Klout serves more like a performance platform and scales a person’s social media presence on a scale between one and hundred. The higher your score the more social media presence you have within the digital networks.

A lot of people find it difficult to understand the structure of this social app. The site is administered on complex, secured algorithm basis, which makes it, complicated to understand but with well planned insight using other social media platforms you can this app to your utmost advantage. Here are some helpful Q & A on this app:

 

Who is an ideal Klout user?

Klout users are people who want to be online influencers. This is particularly important for authors, professional speakers, actors, marketing professionals and other leaders. A lot of business decisions today are made based on ones influence hence this app will be particularly important for entrepreneurs and enterprises. Klout has an incentive program where is gives perks to people who have significant amounts of influence. A Klout user is one who is looking for a national or international audience to engage with hence online presence is crucial.

You can make the most from this application by creating specific strategies and schedules to interact with customers and make the most from business.

What is an important tip for newcomers?

One of the most important rules for social engagement for newbie’s would be to follow ABC’s of social engagement.

Be engaging with people on a personal basis. Social media is replacing the traditional method of advertising to create and more personal and targeted connections with people. \

Be consistent. You cant expect to have any influence if you occasionally tweet once every couple of months. Being out of sight means being out of circle of influencers. Hence it is important to have a consistent and engaging environment with the community.

Be connected. In order to your community to connect with you, you must learn to hear them first. Understand what they are looking for and cater those needs sincerely.

Will Klout ever replace resume?

Klout will not replace resume but add to the application process. It will definitely be used as an effective hiring process for job applicants.

References

Fidelman, M. (2013, 7 9). Why microsoft’s partnership with klout to measure influence at work is a good thing. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

Palermo, E. (2013, 10 22). how to improve your klout score and why you should bother. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/marketing-sales/2013/10/22/how-to-improve-your-klout-score-and-why-should-bother/

Hall, S. H. (2013, 6 4). Don’t like klout? 12 other ways to track social media influence and engagement. Retrieved from http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/06/04/dont-like-klout/

http://klout.com/home

Facebook to track consumer mouse movements

By Matt Gillis

Advancements in technology have extended their services into the field of advertising with much success. As businesses strive to gather data analytics in an effort to more specifically target their consumer groups, seemingly private customer activities are being monitored using technological developments. While advertisers see these monitoring technologies as mechanisms for increasing profit, consumers see their privacy being invaded.

Recently, social media giant Facebook has considered implementing a technology that tracks the movements of a user’s mouse in order to aid in product development and targeted advertising for the company.

If this new tracking software were put into action, Facebook would be the first social media network to have done so. But despite the potential benefits for the company in using this technology, Facebook’s head of analytics, Ken Rudin, admits, “It’s a never-ending phase. I can’t promise that it will roll out. We probably will know in a couple of months.”

However, other companies including Shutterstock, an Internet-based photo service, have already implemented this tracking technology to collect consumer data with much success. While the Wall Street Journal reports that the company “records literally everything that its users do on the site,” Shutterstock has not received much backlash regarding their invasion of consumer privacy due to the site’s small size in comparison to Facebook. Even larger companies including Google and Netflix have used this technology as away to target recommendations and advertisements to their customers without much resistance.

The tracking software is able to distinguish where the mouse user placed his or her cursor and how long it was left hovered over a particular area onscreen. Facebook would also extend their mining data to determining whether a user is viewing his or her newsfeed via a mobile phone or on a traditional computer.

Because of the invasive nature of the software, Facebook is considering the risks the implementation might have on the already criticized company. Facebook has a history of upsetting users with using consumer pictures and private messages for means of data tracking and profit. I believe the social media giant must approach the installation of this technology with much precaution in an effort to retain their consumers.

But while some Facebook users view this software as an invasion of privacy, being the Devil’s advocate, I think that this technology has the potential to benefit the site’s audience. More consumer data means more targeted advertising and individualized use of the site, which allows consumers to be exposed to things that they are interested in. While the company’s ultimate goal is to generate a profit, this technology is catering the site’s information to each user’s interests to provide them with a fulfilling Facebook experience.

Reference list:

–       Kleinman, Alexis. “Facebook Wants To Track Your Mouse Cursor.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/facebook-track-cursor_n_4178508.html&gt;.

 

–       Shead, Sam. “Facebook considers friending your mouse tracks.” PCWorld. N.p., 2 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://www.pcworld.com/article/2060520/facebook-considers-friending-your-mouse-tracks.html&gt;.

Seamless Integration or Misleading Deceit? Post #3

 

 

Browsing my Facebook newsfeed, I couldn’t help but notice something familiar. A handbag that I had been looking at online a few weeks ago had magically appeared on the side bar of my feed. I knew this was the result of cookies and began to scan the feed for interesting news from friends. As I scrolled down, I noticed an integrated ad placement for yet another website I had visited with the caption “Go for it! You know we offer free shipping and free returns” (Facebook). This advertisement looked exactly how a post from a Facebook friend of mine would look and also had a few likes from friends. This is an example of how Facebook uses integrated advertisement to reach consumers that are otherwise averse to traditional online advertising methods.

According to Todd Wasserman, native advertisement such as the previous Facebook ad example is a way for advertisers to reach a different consumer base in a seamless and natural way (Mashable). Typical banner-style advertisement is still a common practice but does not yield as much interest as in-feed advertisements. This is partly due to the fact that consumers are trained to ignore banners and side advertisements and focus on the general content. Mark Suster of TechCrunch calls this banner blindness (Techcrunch). Native advertisements are delivered in social media streams in order to better capture the interest of consumers. Because consumers are relaxed while going through their news feeds, many do not realize that a post is indeed an ad.

This raises an alarming question for many Facebook users. While it is commonplace to feature advertisements in side panels and in banners, the integration of advertisements into a personal communication feed is seen as dishonest in some consumers’ eyes. While in-feed advertisements are an excellent way to personalize and deliver customizable information to consumers, it can mislead consumers. For example, Nordstrom uses in-feed advertisements to promote their new products and sales. These advertisements are sponsored but are also displayed as ‘recommended’ by Facebook friends. This is indeed an innovative way to add peer recommendation to a product or company; however, many of the friends associated with such products did intend to back up the campaign. In this way, many consumers are left confused and are not able to discern in-feed advertisements with genuine recommendations from friends.

 

 

 

Example of In-Feed advertisement from Nordstrom.

 

References

“Home Page.” Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <facebook.com>.

Suster, Mark. “The Future of Advertising Will Be Integrated | TechCrunch.” TechCrunch. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. <http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/29/the-future-of-advertising-will-be-  integrated/>.

Wasserman, Todd. “This Infographic Explains What Native Advertising Is.” Mashable. N.p., n.d.

Web. 21 Sept. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2012/12/13/infographic-native-advertising/>.

Yu, Dennis. ” How to snipe just one person’s News Feed with Facebook ads – Inside Facebook .”

Inside Facebook – Tracking Facebook and the Facebook Platform for Developers and 

Marketers . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. <http://www.insidefacebook.com/2013/08/09/how-

to-snipe-just-one-persons-news-feed-with-facebook-ads/>.

Personal info in ads: innovative or intrusive?

Advertisers collecting and sharing users’ personal information has been a continuous issue in the age of digital media. This topic causes much controversy whenever instances of advertisers’ data gathering practices come to light.

A highly visible example of this ongoing debate features the social media giant Facebook. Recently, a class action lawsuit was brought up against the site in a U.S. District Court in California. The suit charged Facebook with sharing users’ personal information and activity without consent in “Sponsored Stories” ads.

These “Stories” ran on the site featuring the names and profile pictures of users who had “liked” certain advertisers’ pages. The ads appeared on users’ friends’ feeds as so-called endorsements of various products.

The court ruled that Facebook must pay out $20 million to the plaintiffs of the suit. This, of course, is a but a small piece of the $234 million that Facebook was paid by advertisers for these “Sponsored Stories” ads from January 2011 to August 2012.

This is not the first nor probably the last time Facebook, or other large media groups, will face such an issue. Each time a case such as this is brought up, the public reacts strongly in favor of more stringent privacy policies online.

However, not every instance of gross privacy violation by advertisers is met with public distain. This summer, Swedish advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi Stockholm ran a campaign for Elmsta 3000 Horror Fest, a horror film festival.

The campaign consisted of individualized messages send to users’ mobile phones. The message contained a photo of the outside of the recipient’s house, followed by the message “[Recipient’s name]. We’re waiting for you. In your living room.” If users googled the number contacting them, they were met with yet another startling message: “Now we’re in your kitchen. Tick tock…” This time, the message was a link to a site about the Elmsta 3000 Horror Fest and how to RSVP by responding to the texts.

A video detailing the campaign can be viewed here:

The campaign, while frightening, was overwhelmingly successful, with all those contacted signing up within two hours. And although the target audience of horror movie fans presumably enjoyed the terrifying experience, it does not take away from the fact that the advertising campaign relied almost solely on personal data. Unlike Facebook, where the information used was user-submitted (albeit not with the intention of being shared publicly), this campaign evidently used data collected anonymously.

What makes this campaign different from Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories” ads? Why was one met with outrage and the other with admiration? Perhaps the small, targeted audience of the Elmsta campaign or the innovative nature of the ads excuses the invasion of privacy.

Either way, it is clear that use of personal information by advertisers is a common practice with minimal signs of slowing down, despite legal hurdles. What remains to be seen is whether such advertising techniques are truly innovative or just excessively intrusive.

 

 

References

Egerstedt, G.  (2013, July 2). ELMSTA 3000 HORROR FEST – HOME INVASION [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33ElelZbtsY

Levine, D. (2013, August 26). U.s. judge approves facebook privacy settlement over ads. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/net-us-facebook-privacy-settlement-idUSBRE97P0VG20130826

Unknown. (2013, July 10). A brilliant, totally messed up stalking mobile campaign for a horror film fest read more at http://www.themplsegotist.com/news/national/2013/july/10/brilliant-totally-messed-stalking-mobile-campaign-horror-film-fest