John Battelle asks a compelling question: why Facebook and why now?
Scott Rosenberg of Salon.com follows up with another point: that Facebook’s friends definitions are all messed up.
Over on TechMeme everyone is talking about how Facebook’s advertising isn’t working.
So, let’s take on these questions.
First, why does Facebook’s advertising suck?
Because it isn’t tied to people or applications. Everything I do in Facebook is about interacting with people. For instance, at the top of my Facebook inbox right now is Ryan Coomer. The advertising next to him says “Try Forex Trading Today.” There is absolutely NO connection between who Ryan is and the advertising that’s put next to him.
Imagine if advertisers could “buy people.” I just clicked on Ryan’s profile, hes into Running and Golf. Why don’t ads for running and golf gear get put onto his profile? Wouldn’t that make sense? He’s also a software developer. Where’s the Visual Studio advertisement? He’s into video games. Where’s the Halo 3 advertisement?
Translation: Facebook needs an advertising platform and it needs one in the worst way. I’m not going to even look at the ads until the ads are tied to the people on Facebook. Facebook knows what we’re into, put ads for those things onto our profiles and messages.
Second, how could the friends definitions and ties be improved?
1000 ways. I’ll be honest, I don’t use them at all. I just add you as a friend and don’t put any details in there about how I know you. For one, adding that kind of detail is a competitive advantage for me and for PodTech and not something I’m really anxious for other people to know.
For instance, my first result is for Danny Krimgold. I’ve never written about Danny. You don’t know who he is. But he was one of the first people I talked with on Netmeeting back in 1996. He was in high school then and I could tell he was damn smart. I kept in touch with him as he went to Cornell, got a masters in computer science, and now is working at McCann Erickson as a project manager. There isn’t a good way to tell Facebook how I know Danny. In fact, I found that there isn’t a good way to tell Facebook how I know people for about 70% of the people I know through the Internet. So, I just leave them all blank. I guess the best choice in NetMeeting is the “met randomly” choice, but that sounds so stupid. So, I leave it blank.
Finally, why Facebook, why now?
Well, I compare it to LinkedIn (which is the competitor that comes up the most in conversations), Twitter, Pownce, and Jaiku. All of which have a social network component where you can keep track of your friends.
First, Facebook has far better contact management than Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku. If I look up someone on all three networks Facebook shows me more, brings it up faster, and has a better look into their own social networks. That leaves LinkedIn to compare it to. I dropped off LinkedIn a year ago cause the expected useage model there is to have your friends do things for you. Pass along resumes, give references, etc. Because of my popularity I simply got too many requests to do those things. There is no such expectation on Facebook.
When I talk with people about the two, also, they say that LinkedIn is for their professional lives and Facebook is for their personal stuff. A PR person at BEA told me that, for instance. I’ll leave her name out of this. Theresa Klein also says this (and is not very happy with me that I’ve turned Facebook into a professional tool).
To tell you the truth, the reason Facebook is the better networking tool is BECAUSE it’s personal. I don’t really care that Danny is at McCann Erickson. I would have known that anyway cause the first thing Danny tells me whenever we talk is what he’s working on. He told me the day he got accepted into Cornell, for instance. That stuff just comes up in regular conversation. But I don’t remember his wife’s name, Facebook shows that (they just got back from their honeymoon). I didn’t know his favorite drink. Mojitos. I got just the place to take him for great Mojitos when he comes out to visit. Facebook shows that. And I didn’t know anything about his social network. Facebook shows that too. Looking at the groups he’s added I can tell a lot more about him. He’s into going to free movie screenings in NYC, likes BMWs, reads the Economist, and lots more.
Oh, and he has his email and phone number there, so if I want to drop him a line, or give him a call, it’s there. Facebook has almost replaced my Outlook contact list because of this.
What other reasons are there for Facebook now?
Quality of people on the network. When I say my Facebook contact list is like a who’s who of the Tech Industry, I’m very serious. And I’m still adding more people to my friends network. I’ve been on Facebook for about a month and I’ve already gotten 2,452 friends. Let’s give you a little tiny taste of who is in my contact list.
Jeremy Allaire. He started a company, sold it to Macromedia, was its CTO. Now is founder/CEO of Brightcove.
Dion Almaer. Works at Google. Was the principal technologist for the Middleware Company. Founder of Ajaxian.
Stewart Alsop. Was editor at InfoWorld, now a VC at Alsop Louie Partners.
Marc Andreessen. Founder of Netscape and Ning.
Geoffrey Arone. Co-founder of Flock.
Michael Arrington. Founder of TechCrunch.
Eric Auchard. Tech reporter for Reuters.
Edward Baig. Tech reporter for USA Today.
Brian Bailey. Web developer for fourth largest church in USA.
Josh Bancroft. Most famous blogger at Intel.
Jeff Barr. Web services evangelist at Amazon.
Andrew Baron. Founder of Rocketboom.
Hank Barry. Famous Silicon Valley VC.
John Battelle. Founder of Federated Media, among other things.
Scott Beale. Famous San Francisco photographer and founder of Laughing Squid.
Joe Beda. Works on something important at Google in Kirkland.
Veronica Belmont. Now working with Jason Calacanis on some killer video project. Significant other of Ryan Block, top Engadgeteer.
Kenneth Berger. One smart dude at Adobe on Web Suite team.
OK, that’s just a few names off of my first page (probably represents 5% of the page). And I have 13 of them. I’ll add you to my friends’ list. Just request me to add you.
Oh, did you know that once you’re my friend you can look around at all the people who are my friends? This makes getting access to interesting people very easy. If I get complaints about you, though, I’ll remove you as my friend, so don’t abuse this privilege. Thanks.
But, that brings us to the grand daddy. Facebook’s application platform.
This is the real reason why I turned on Facebook. I don’t really care about the social network piece. There’s already other places I can get that (I could have stayed on LinkedIn if I really cared about being part of a social network).
But now my social network brings me cool applications. Well, some cool ones, like iLike and Zoho. But a lot of really crappy ones. It’s interesting to see what people add to their profiles, though. I wish I could see when people remove things from their profiles, in addition to adding them. Right now, for instance, I can see that 13 of my friends have added the Zombies application to their profile. I wish could see that 3 of my friends have already removed it, cause it’s a lame application.
Anyway, it’s the application platform that got me interested in Facebook and THAT is where I expect to see the hot new advertising models pop up.
But, no matter how you look at it Facebook is the one. Right now.
What do you think?
[...] scoble says it succintly here , made me laugh really cos its obvious advertisers and facebook [...]
Why Facebook, Why Now?
John Betelle set off the quintessential question, for the month, which is a question – at least the way he frames it – that usually refers to some point in our fragile lives that has come to an uncertain and perhaps perilous juncture. Or to an equally …
Networking, Business, CRM…
This is not what drew audiences to Facebook & why it has grown. I have seen its rise, used its advertising for parties, and been on it for about a year. It was great because of friends. When it becomes more of a business tool, kids/grown adults will abandon it like nothing. Something else will come along.
The Marketers have screwed MySpace to some extent and now that will happen with Facebook. It was a lot cooler when only .edu address could be on and everyone was verified and there b/c they went to college at some point and wanted to connect with people. This is not the case anymore. The open API will give it a surge, but after the business driven community moves in, the human community will move out.
Networking, Business, CRM…
This is not what drew audiences to Facebook & why it has grown. I have seen its rise, used its advertising for parties, and been on it for about a year. It was great because of friends. When it becomes more of a business tool, kids/grown adults will abandon it like nothing. Something else will come along.
The Marketers have screwed MySpace to some extent and now that will happen with Facebook. It was a lot cooler when only .edu address could be on and everyone was verified and there b/c they went to college at some point and wanted to connect with people. This is not the case anymore. The open API will give it a surge, but after the business driven community moves in, the human community will move out.
[...] Scoble, on the other hand, jumped on the advertising issue that TechMeme [1] pointed out. He shoots-down the entire advertising scheme of the site by what seems to be play-by-play example of its short comings. He then summarizes that, “Facebook needs an advertising platform and it needs one in the worst way. I’m not going to even look at the ads until the ads are tied to the people on Facebook. Facebook knows what we’re into, put ads for those things onto our profiles and messages.” [...]
[...] back and forth about Facebook but there is one little misconception in the discussions going on. A good post comes from Scoble that highlights the good sides of Facebook. And it is really what the ultra pro gang likes to [...]
[...] Boing, The London Evening Standard and Liberation last week. He definitely thinks Facebook is a brilliant Social Networking Site (soon to be acquired). Yet he brings up two upcoming issues in social [...]
[...] I have been reading the following posts about Facebook; the first one was Robert Scoble is Media as posted by my friend Sebastien Provencher who was blogging about the second post I have been reading tonight by Robert Scoble – titled Why Facebook, Why Now? [...]
[...] I have been reading the following posts about Facebook; the first one was Robert Scoble is Media as posted by my friend Sebastien Provencher who was blogging about the second post I have been reading tonight by Robert Scoble – titled Why Facebook, Why Now? [...]
@ comment no. 6 (myself): I guess I owe to facebook to say that I got in now. It took some time, but I’m in. Donnu if I like it yet, though
@ comment no. 6 (myself): I guess I owe to facebook to say that I got in now. It took some time, but I’m in. Donnu if I like it yet, though
[...] “Why Facebook, why now?” Robert Scoble answers three questions: Why Facebook, why now? Why Facebooks advertising sucks, and how the friends definition and ties could be improved. [...]
[...] with Facebook. He’s mentioned it in posts every day from July 8th to the 15th and 27 times in this post. I can understand the excitement around the applications capability, the so-called [...]
[...] Engadget points to another preview of the Asus EEE, which notes in its conclusion: Asus had initially said that the Eee PC would start at $199, but they’re thinking now is more like $250 for the 8GB flash drive version [...]
[...] not quite figured it out yet. Scoble seems to think that it [...]
[...] Scoble won’t shut up about it. [...]
[...] Many people have said that Facebook advertising brings poor results. Facebook is the website du jour, but in Reach Students’ experience it delivers appalling ad clickthroughs. [...]
Tag Your Friend, The Answer to Defining Friends on Facebook
There have been a number of people lately questioning the way Facebook allows you to define your friends. Since I have started using it, I have to agree. Right now you have a limited list of options to choose from when you tell Facebook how yo…
[...] people use to find my blog and “Facebook” as a search term is certainly picking up and it seems many, many people are blogging about FB these [...]
Pourquoi Facebook et surtout, pourquoi maintenant?
Robert Scoble n’est pas le dernier venu quand vient le temps d’analyser les applications Web. Son récent billet sur Facebook m’a beaucoup fasciné parce qu’il pose de très bonnes questions qui coïncident…
[...] [FACEBOOK] Why Facebook, why now? (scobleizer.com, 37 saves, 48 inbound links, 4 diggs) [...]
[...] Robert Scoble explains why Facebook has become relevant all of a sudden (it’s personal). [...]
[...] part of your daily life — heck, I spend the first two hours of my day checking my FB updates. Scoble reckons FB has got it right compared to all the others. John Battelle asks why FB and why now? (and he doesn’t have [...]
[...] network for business and personal needs. After reading this post on TechCrunch and this one on Robert Scoble’s blog I think the big risk to LinkedIn is that Facebook commoditizes context. The one big advantage [...]
[...] ConnectU idea he was paid to help execute. Let’s put that aside and agree with uber-blogger Robert Scoble that Facebook is worth all the geek love it’s getting right now and that a rumoured price-tag [...]
http://adnomics.org/2007/07/24/new-advertising-model-for-facebook/
http://adnomics.org/2007/07/24/new-advertising-model-for-facebook/
The type of advertising that you prefer (instead of Facebook) is similar to the “E-Billboards” offered on InPratt.com. A Member (i.e. Profile) can sell (and build) up to 5 small ads that appear at the end of each blog (story), that he/she posts. The Member also sets the price of the E-Billboards (although any income is shared with the hosting entity on 80/20 basis).
Note that our conservative midwest community has been slow to adopt online Business practices, but we still have some hope that eventually they will “get it”.
The type of advertising that you prefer (instead of Facebook) is similar to the “E-Billboards” offered on InPratt.com. A Member (i.e. Profile) can sell (and build) up to 5 small ads that appear at the end of each blog (story), that he/she posts. The Member also sets the price of the E-Billboards (although any income is shared with the hosting entity on 80/20 basis).
Note that our conservative midwest community has been slow to adopt online Business practices, but we still have some hope that eventually they will “get it”.
[...] Robert Scoble explicó por qué la publicidad en Facebook (la red social de moda) da asco. No es el único que piensa lo mismo. La publicidad de Facebook es la misma impresión repetitiva de anuncios sin ningún valor añadido (publicidad contextual relacionada con las aplicaciones o las personas de tu red, interacciones de calidad con el usuario, etc.). Todo lo contrario de RockYou, que ha buscado el modo en el que “monetizar” una de las aplicaciones más populares de Facebook: el SuperWall. La estrategia de RockYou es cobrar por sugerir la instalación de una nueva aplicación en cada instalación del SuperWall. ¿A cuánto está el usuario? 0,30 dólares. [...]
[...] more recently), another is social networking and one of them (Facebook) is becoming very popular among other geeks like me. After some time reading lots of things about it I thought it was time to give it a try and created [...]
[...] Currently, there’s several hot, hot social media networks and technologies, including Facebook, Linked-In (again), Second Life and microblogging [...]
It’s really interesting that 2 months later from this post, when I tried to add you as friend,the FB response was: “Robert Scoble already has too many friends.”
Best Regards Robert!!!
Ariel
It’s really interesting that 2 months later from this post, when I tried to add you as friend,the FB response was: “Robert Scoble already has too many friends.”
Best Regards Robert!!!
Ariel
hello there……how is thing hope is been fine there well i saw this then i would like to know more about it then if u wouldnt to let me know what is all about it then……then do u know one thing is that how do u want me to go about it here with me so that i could know what to do about it…..i just want to let u tell me better….so that….what to use it for would be send to me here……from there…..i believe that it has a good reason here with me tell me more about it then have a nice day over there with you till then am cool here with me…..seeing it soon i mean your message been send to me here ohhh
thanks,
gbenga.
hello there……how is thing hope is been fine there well i saw this then i would like to know more about it then if u wouldnt to let me know what is all about it then……then do u know one thing is that how do u want me to go about it here with me so that i could know what to do about it…..i just want to let u tell me better….so that….what to use it for would be send to me here……from there…..i believe that it has a good reason here with me tell me more about it then have a nice day over there with you till then am cool here with me…..seeing it soon i mean your message been send to me here ohhh
thanks,
gbenga.
[...] Why Facebook, why now? is the first article I’d suggest looking at as well as Mashable’s account and Chris Pirillo’s humorous comparison plus Techcrunch on marketing. [...]
[...] OK, I’ve been sitting on the fence of this one for a while mulling whether LinkedIn is as troubling as the claims of one Mr. Scoble (that’s what I call him… hey! It’s better than [...]
[...] read glowing accounts in other blogs about how Facebook is the “next big thing” or the “platform of choice” for [...]
[...] the social capabilities within their own architectures. These APIs, such as OpenSocial and the Facebook Platform bring an entirely new level to these social websites, giving access to hundreds of millions of [...]
[...] Διαβάζω στο Scobleizer.com το άρθρο Why Facebook, why now? που προσπαθεί να τεκμηριώσει την μαζική αποδοχή του [...]
[...] relations etc. They can do a good job of targeting ads based on their interests. Scoble has some ideas on how Facebook can create targeted [...]
I think the most important point is that sometimes we don’t want every network to know everything. I might want to delete my info from one network but not another. And, just like you suggested, I use a different email address for every site I join. Any sort of data propagation between networks would have to be entirely optional.
I think the most important point is that sometimes we don’t want every network to know everything. I might want to delete my info from one network but not another. And, just like you suggested, I use a different email address for every site I join. Any sort of data propagation between networks would have to be entirely optional.
[...] is to stem the rampant “non-friend friending” that is going on amongst new joiners. Look at this blog post, the author brags about how many thousands of friends he has, and how elite they are. I have to [...]
Nice and informative post about facebook.
Nice and informative post about facebook.
why facebook? why not bebo.. bebo is also performing well
why facebook? why not bebo.. bebo is also performing well
[...] to Six Pixels Of Separation. It’s informed by a wider discussion, involving people such as Robert Scoble (also) and Paul Walsh (also: getting dumped on [...]