In this week’s episode of “Things You Kind Of Wish Were Related,” we see that there is a parallel decline between the Murder Rate in the U.S. and the amount of Market Share owned by Internet Explorer, which has seen a steady decline in recent years as users switch over to Google Chrome & Firefox.
Again, we’re not saying that there’s a direct correlation between IE users and murderers…but…hmmm…..
(Thanks to Gizmodo for the link)
What a week it’s been: from fictitious girlfriends to Facebook’s big announcement, the Internet was where things were happening this week. Below is our weekly round-up of some favorite stories that may have flown under the radar, until now:
On Tuesday, Facebook announced the launch of Graph Search, its new search platform that personalizes the information you are looking for as it pertains to your fans and/or interests. Want to check out a restaurant where you live? You can see how many of your friends have been there. Or if you just moved to a new place, you can see how many people share the same interests as you. What about that photo you liked that was posted in 2005? You can search for that too. Graph Search aims to deliver personalized results based on not only your friends, but also what you and your friends like. Mark Zuckerberg today called it “a new pillar in the Facebook Ecosystem” (alongside current products such as the News Feed and Timeline). Check out the video below:
Alright, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Facebook is going after Google. By creating a search engine, which is the flagship product of their biggest competitor, Facebook has signaled an attack on Google’s strong hold on search (akin to Google’s launch of Google Plus). That being said, Facebook is in a more unique place to challenge the search giant than Google was. By using the information users already upload to their platform each day, Facebook can create more personalized searches that are not only more relevant, but also more accurate. Think about the following scenarios:
Now ask yourself the following questions:
If Facebook is a part of any of those answers, your search on Facebook will check your social network in order to recall those items instead of a broad internet search, regardless of how little information you have on the item. That’s not to say that Google will become obsolete (you have to go somewhere to find “how to beat Super Mario Galaxy”), but expect a seismic shift in how you search for things online.
What does this mean for marketers? Well, for one, your page will appear more relevantly in searches among your fans and their friends. If a friend of a fan searches for recipes on Facebook, and you’ve posted about recipes recently on your Page, a new potential fan will now be exposed to your brand and may choose to Like it. Furthermore, with every new innovation coming out of Facebook comes a potential revenue stream, so you can expect a paid search component to Graph Search as the product is rolled out. Either way, for personal or for business, expect things to change with the search experience.
P.S. for those with concerns about exactly how your information will appear in search results, I’ve included the below video. In short, you can customize which personal information is shared and how, and Graph Search will include the information or not.
P.P.S. If you want, I’ve included Facebook’s intro video for Graph Search below as well
Let me start by saying I am not a designer by trade; that said, I deeply admire smart, thoughtful design particularly when it’s tied to an amazing Client objective like increasing sustainability. Nivea has an expansive global portfolio – ahem, 1,600 products. However, at the end of the day there was disjointedness between products and countries, and the brand was most likely spending more than necessary on packaging materials while in tandem contributing not-so-Green-friendly Carbon in excess.
The amazing Yves Béhar and the fuseproject team were brought on board to do a brand overhaul. Diving to Nivea’s core, Yves and his team stripped lots away and produced a simple, cohesive visual language while also streamlining the packaging to improve functionality and use less material. That, combined with a label reduction and smarter transportation, will help parent company Beiersdorf with their goal of reducing the carbon footprint per product by 30% in the coming years. The re-brand will be rolling out to 170 countries, making the Nivea brand recognizable no matter where your travels take you. You can now also feel a bit better about your next Nivea purchase as well.
Read the full story at PSFK, and make sure to watch the below video on what I think is the paramount to future design – thoughtfulness.
Thanks to the kind folks at Aspire Magazine for posting this interview about me in their January issue. And yes, my 3 year son really is a mix of the Incredible Hulk and the Tasmanian Devil!
While Facebook is set to make a big announcement tomorrow, we came across an even more interesting piece on a potential update to Newsfeed, which is what your clients will really need to know about. Business Insider has some inside scoop on what potential changes Chris Cox, VP of Products at Facebook, might be making. Maybe this possible change will more positively impact Edge Rank, and prevent us from feeling like (sometimes!) when we deliver reports?
What changes would you like to see made? Tweet them to us @RocketXL!
To cap off the week, we’re bringing you a round-up of stories related to the Consumer Electronics show in Vegas, which ends today. What you see on the floor at this show may impact how we digest – and potentially engage with – all forms of media, from Traditional to Social. Some (ahem, The Atlantic) have questioned it’s potential to attract game changing technology, however it’s easy to see the everyday business value in showing here. That, and sometimes it’s not about breaking boundaries but rather evolving and pushing the current envelope ever so slightly to prep consumers for even bigger break throughs. Curious to see some of what you might expect in the coming year? Read on for our favorite stories and trends:
Do you have a friend/know someone in a relationship on Facebook? Do they remind you of that fact in every-other Facebook status update they post? Fortunately (or unfortunately), you’re not alone in the “Obnoxious Facebook PDA” department. The wonderful people at Buzzfeed have compiled a list of reasons why this group is…well…the worst. Some of our favorites are below:
There are plenty more, so be sure to check them out here. And for your sake, we hope that your EdgeRank does not place their posts within visible range of your Newsfeed.
We were doing some research and came across a plethora of not so subtle ads that we’re all but sure would be banned in today’s ultra PC world. Misogynistic with lots of blatant racialism, it’s unreal to look at these and think how much the face of advertising has changed. What’s really interesting is that many female-targeted ads play up the “Stepword wife” image, showing women at home cooking and cleaning, which begs the question, how can ads help shape gender roles and influence societal behaviors?
Have any outrageous favorites or additional thoughts? Share with us on Twitter @RocketXL!
Early adopters of Facebook fondly recall the beloved Poke button that was prominent on early versions of the social network. This simple functionality allowed users to notify friends of a “poke,” which did little else other than give them the action to poke back. This trivial yet amusing form of entertainment escalated into poke wars, which only serve to sound worse than they actually are. However, the rollout of Timeline relegated the poke option to a drop down menu, and many users forgot of its existence.
In December 2012, Facebook released a mobile app specifically for the poke feature, with added functionality. The app allows you to attach an image, comment, or video to your pokes, and after a friend views, the content disappears from existence. Developed in response to the popular SnapChat application (which operates in the same way), the Poke application has failed to catch on in the same way as its predecessor. However, brands have already aimed to capitalize. Today, Grey Tel Aviv launched a campaign for Delta Lingerie, which leverages the application to promote a model using the lingerie and drove her fans to a coupon.
Did it work? Well since it’s not shareable, and you cannot drive to brand Facebook pages, I don’t see the benefit from a branded perspective. However, the splash from being the first app to give it a shot definitely helps spread the word (it sure has us talking!). And we’ll see how this drives future brand integrations with the app and Facebook.
You can check out the video for the campaign below:
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