Facebook’s new Groups product is not a stand-alone feature, but instead integrates with existing features across Facebook. Here’s how Groups interacts with the news feed, Chat, profiles, Pages, search, Events, the old groups feature, privacy, notifications, and mobile browsers. Read: Inside Facebook on the new Groups functions & integration
Finally, some real Facebook organizing:
Some 18,000 students accepted the invitation posted last month on Facebook, the social media site better known for publicizing parties and sporting events. And on Tuesday many of them — and many others — walked out of class in one of the largest grass-roots demonstrations to hit New Jersey in years.
The mass walkouts were inspired by Michelle Ryan Lauto, an 18-year-old aspiring actress and a college freshman… until now, Ms. Lauto said, she has used Facebook only to keep in touch with friends and let them know when she is performing in shows. She alerted those 600 Facebook friends to her message calling for a student walkout and asked them to pass it on.
Who will be the universal sign-in?
Now Facebook is intensifying its efforts to expand its empire beyond its Web site; the company wants to turn scores of sites across the Internet into satellites where users will be able to interact with their Facebook friends.
Why Facebook matters: over the last six months Facebook referrals to QuakerQuaker.org site have grown steadily and surpassed organic Google search in December.
Some good tips. I more-or-less follow all these guidelines, though not always in the calculated way they suggest.
With over 300 million active users worldwide, and nearly 100 million in the US alone, Facebook can be a good platform for those wanting to grow their consulting business. While there are other social platforms for meeting new contacts or building your professional reputation, like LinkedIn or Twitter, Facebook offers a variety of ways for consultants to authentically market themselves to target contacts and customers.
Excerpt: “This means significant changes are happening across the Facebook ecosystem that marketers and brands need to be aware of and account for in their products and strategies.”
Another North Jersey corruption scandal is in the headlines, with that always potent mix of politicians, developers and religious authorities. Curious, I looked up a minor racketeering goon who was part of some research I did a year ago, wondering if he was caught up in today’s events.
I didn’t find any connection but I did find his Facebook profile, newly public due to FB’s default settings. On the right: a screen grab of favorite FB games of a low level mob moron.
Julie finally joined Facebook…and my sidebar is full of the new groups dear wife has joined. This is a fairly representative snapshot of her pop sensibilities.
Why would a social media network have a page on another social media network? Good question, but hundreds of people have signed up for the QuakerQuaker Fan Page on Facebook. And why not? It’s just as good a place to share some of our favorite Quaker media as anywhere else.
As of midnight, the fan page has an easy to remember URL. Check it out at: http://www.facebook.com/quakerquaker
If you’re a Facebook user, please consider becoming a “Fan” of the page!
Gordon points to a Wall Street Journal blog post by Gary Hamel on “Managing the Facebook Generation,” which sounds like a terrible exercise but actually has some good advice about how 20th Century organizations have to adapt if they’re going to be relevant to the online culture. Gordon reflects what this means for churches:
This explains why I often struggle so much with the hierarchical systems I have found myself working within, whether that is a military or denominational context. I think that churches and denominational bodies need to read, reflect and learn from Gary’s thinking. It may well affect how we lead churches and handle church governance. Here below are the main points, with my reflections on what this means for us.
Here are the some of the points Gary Hamel makes in the WSJ:
1. All ideas compete on an equal footing.
2. Contribution counts for more than credentials.
3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.
4. Leaders serve rather than preside.
Read the WSJ blog for the full twelve point annotated list.
Martin’s commentary:
Quakers reading this should be scratching their heads right about now. We actually know about this kind of stuff. We’ve been doing it for 350 years. We’re entering an era when even smart Baptists are asking whether their organizational bodies have to look more Quakerly, an era where some of our most basic cultural values are being taken up by an online generation. How are we responding?
Description: “It will only block quizzes and trivia, and has a handy block in the upper right to show them again. Choice! Now I found out useful happenings about my friends.” (Original link moved to above)
Adam Ostrow looks at the successful Facebook campaign by the makers of Vitamin Water.
Although there are a few risks of building a campaign that directs users to a social media site versus your own property, the benefits are likely to far outweigh them if you can successfully get people engaged. Not to mention – what’s the last memorable corporate website you visited? Vitamin Water’s site – though impressive graphically and informative if you’re looking for details about their sports drinks – has absolutely no compelling reason to come back to it.
On the other hand, users will keep logging into Facebook for the foreseeable future, and in turn, seeing updates from the brand on their homepage. Vitamin Water’s approach makes sense, and turns what would otherwise be a difficult-to-measure branded advertisement into an interactive one with tangible results.
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See also: my recent O’Reilly Media piece, Will Facebook (all but) Replace Corporate Websites?
Nothing ground-breaking in this article on Mashable but useful for the newcomer. The most important take-aways for designers:
My own Twitter profile has a customized background that gets its color cues from my main blog. When picking themes and designs, it’s good to have a look-and-feel that follows your other sites. Here’s a page of unique designs which shows you how you can break out of the Twitter box.
One of the best uses of a Twitter account is to help drive traffic to a Facebook Fan Page and you can do this by having your tweets point to relevant pages on your Facebook profile (videos, links, events). I use http://bit.ly for my linking because of its good analytics. Many of us continue to use Twitter for its original purpose of sharing useful tidbits with friends, but if you are using it for publicity, you should consider how your tweets can lead to ongoing relationships with your other online properties.
Pope2you: The Pope meets you on Facebook. Yes, it seems like something from The Onion but it appears legit:
The application Pope2You for Facebook, lets you receive the messages of Pope Benedict XVI through the most important social network of the world. So you can meet the Pope on Facebook, listen to his words, see his pictures, receive his messages of congratulations through “virtual postcards”.
From NYTimes: “Alongside the explosive growth of online video over the last six years, time spent on social networks surpassed that for e-mail for the first time in February, signaling a paradigm shift in consumer engagement with the Internet.”
See also: my recent articles: “Will Facebook (all but) replace corporate websites” and “Nonprofits and Social Media.”
