Click on “Settings”, scroll down to the bottom to “Linked Accounts”. Click on crap. Boom. You’re now able to access Facebook when you’re signed in to other services. You’re welcome.
Posted via email from db’s digital branding database
Facebook promotes email connect because of slow growth?
Is Facebook promoting Google’s Gmail Connect service as a way to get more users onto Facebook? Or is Google taking out ad space to promote their connect tool? More than likely it’s an internal Facebook effort as the logos of Yahoo, AOL, Windows Live and Gmail are all represented in the ad. So why now?
As Mashable and GigaOm both report Facebook’s growth is slowing. As they both point out Facebook has refocused their strategy by eliminating regional networks in place of a global focus and added new products such as Facebook Lite and Facebook Touch Mobile. One thing is for sure – the users Facebook already has aren’t going anywhere, as there are no clear alternatives to the social network behemoth (at least in the US).
The question on my mind is this – will Facebook start creating ads to start pulling in your Twitter and LinkedIn friends to your Facebook network? They’ve created a fan page post to Twitter tool so it’s not that far of a stretch, especially concerning the strength of their network. Only time will tell but this is a move that Facebook would clearly benefit from if they implemented it.
Posted via email from db’s digital branding database
Web 2.0 Map
Web 2.0 Map, originally uploaded by Damien Basile.
This is what the Web 2.0 world looks like if it were laid out back to back in just icons.
A more in-depth look at what the websites are can be seen at my Flickr set Web 2.0. You can also find all of these websites at http://go2web20.net
The Gender of the Internet
Recent reports have shown social media sites to be female concentrated. What about the rest of the internet? Women may be using social networks more but that still doesn’t account for all the other types of websites.
While social networks may be big with females, internet usage in the United States seems to be split about 50/50 with men and women:
- News outlets are the primary focus with males.
- CNet, Reuters, IGN, Time, Drudgereport are all predominantly male.
- Shopping destinations are the primary focus with females.
- JCPenney, CBS, Pronto, Pogo, Overstock are all predominantly female.
*All stats from Quantcast except for MTV, BBC.co.uk, Simplyhired, Pronto, Newsweek and Fancast which come from Google Ad Planner.
Google traffic is flat and they dont want you to have their data
It’s quite interesting that while Google gives in depth information about many other websites around the world with Google Ad Planner yet it gives no information on its own site. That’s not exactly the case below as we can see Quantcast gives full data on Google.com:
Why doesn’t Google want you to know about their data? Is it because their traffic is flat and has been flat for the last 6 months?:
As you can see below in depth demographics data IS available, just not from Google:
Some quick demographics from Google:
- 67% of users are between 18-49 and is above the Internet average.
- 78% are Caucasian but this is below the Internet average.
- 15% are Asian, Hispanic and Other. This may seem small but their usage of Google is higher than normal.
- 58% make $60K+, so Google’s usage amongst monetary classes is split pretty evenly.
- 58% have attended College and Grad School. What’s interesting here is that as education goes up the concentration of users in the more educated groups goes up as well.
Whatever Google’s reasoning is, the fact of the matter is that their data is out there yet they don’t want you to have it via their tools.
Google ad planner demographics not accurate
Upon pulling demographics for a general analysis overview of the internet I realized that Google’s information in Google Ad Planner is very much different than Quantcast’s information. I tend to believe Quantcast a bit more because of the simple fact that certain sites can be “quantified”. What that entails is a website adds some code to their site so Quantcast can track all of their traffic and demographic data.
To test my theory that Google isn’t giving proper stats I took the gender demographics of the top 100 sites in traffic that were quantified and compared them with Google Ad Planner stats. The problem with Google vs. Quantcast is that there are limited stats that both agree on. Gender and children in household are the only two that sync up as there are ONLY two options, male & female and yes & no respectively. Other stats like household income, age range, and even college attended don’t quite match up, as both sites have chosen different division points for stats.
As you can see below Quantcast’s directly measured stats for males are in blue while the Google Ad Planner comparison stats are in red:
In the following table you can see the difference in percentages between Quantcast and Google Ad Planner. In almost all instances Google Ad Planner is shy of the actual target. Google is only equal with Quantcast once and is off as much as 13 percent:
The bottom line is this: don’t rely on just one source for your analytics and statistics. Google may be a reliable name to many but unless they’re actually measuring data on the company’s behalf then they’re just guessing at best. If ever in doubt use the wisdom of the crowd. Choose many sources and take the average of all of them. It may not be the best solution (the best would be direct measurement) but when you have no other option finding out the hidden wisdom of the crowd may be your best bet.
Twitter updates its status, kills Spam Owl
While most of you were obsessing over the Kanye West meme taking the internet by storm, Twitter quietly rolled out an update to their brand image. They killed off the Spam Owl and replaced him with their happy-go-lucky mascot Twitter bird. This comes right on the heels of an update to their TOS many of you have already received by now.
This most recent change is just an extension of their homepage image revamp that focuses more on search and trending topics now.
Of course this update comes amidst other high profile updates from major players such as Facebook (Facebook Lite, @ mentions, Application Prototypes), Google (Fast Flip, Public Sector, mysterious UFO logo saga) and Bing (image search). With the new TOS including references to advertising and Twitter.com traffic plateauing, could this new brand image update be Twitter solidifying it’s image to monetize soon?
One thing we know for sure with Twitter is that most of what they implement is done without fanfare in stages. Just as the TOS has been implemented over the course of the last week, the default avatar isn’t changing all at once. In fact, it’s changing over time into many different flavors: purple, dark blue, baby blue, lime green, dark green, orange, dark red so far.
Even with the staggered rollout, established users with their own custom avatars are already having issues:
We’ve already seen the Fail Whale go the way of the dodo in place of a generic 503-error page. Only time will tell what images will replace the other now iconic characters of Technically Wrong Robot, and Maintenance Caterpillar & Chill Ice Cream Cone. What other image changes and default avatar colors have you spotted?
Bing me. Google it. How Microsoft is more relevant than Google
On June 8th 2009 Microsoft took an unprecedented move in advertising their new search engine Bing. They subsidized all commercials on Hulu for a limited time period. In exchange for that they produced something akin to a telethon meets an infomercial- the Bing-a-thon. The Bing-a-thon is something that has never been done before online.
Microsoft is getting it right with the marketing of Bing. They understand that search should be easy. They understand that in order to learn about something it should be fun. People don’t want to be lectured. We want to be entertained. Disguise learning in entertainment and you have just created an educated consumer. Here’s what some of you took away from the Hulu Microsoft Bing-a-thon:
Some of you were:
Compelled
destroytoday The Bing a-thon is like a gruesome car accident. I keep wanting to look away, but can’t seem to close the window: http://bit.ly/zHpPT
RobLaughton is bing-a-thon really made by the one of the most powerful company in the world? It’s sooooo bad, yet strangely compelling……
latitude46 Bing-a-thon is simply terrible, but I just can’t look away. God help us all.
JaysonElliot Watching the live “bing-a-thon” on Hulu right now. I can’t tell if they’re attempting irony or not. It’s all too self-referential.
Informed
mariogvasquez watched the bing-a-thon on hulu.com. Sudeikis is funny Olivia was hot. Fred Wilard was awkward. Did learn some cool stuff about bing.com
aznsclboi Bing-a-thon over… I’m not sure I’m smarter for watching this… but eh, at least I know how to Bing now.
Repelled
johnyjuice OMG….wth #bing-a-thon that is time spent I WILL NEVER get back! Thank you #Google for not EVER doing that!
jbruin @AlexBurdz I’m really hoping that MS spent most of that 80/100 mil on ads cause bing-a-thon was an epic disaster
Interested
arturot the Bing-a-thon is awesome, haha so cheesy but actually very fun. I hope they make the entire event available later on.
bajanx What an idea by Microsoft having a Bing a Thon on such a recognized website like HULU. How much will this help popularize “THE BING”?
{The interesting thing to note here is that Microsoft made it easy to share the telecast in Facebook and Twitter AND the message that was shared was updated according to what was happening on the Bing-a-thon. Notice the same bit.ly link.}
Promoters
Radums I just made some dude eat like 40 cupcakes. Go to hulu and check out the Bing-a-thon. http://bit.ly/avTj0
yotobari288 I just finished watching the Bing-a-thon with Olivia Munn, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Willard. It’s running again on hulu http://bit.ly/avTj0
lakkineni Olivia Munn is live on hulu’s Bing-a-thon right now. Come watch it. You’re welcome. http://bit.ly/avTj0
{Of note here is that some found such value in the automated shared message that they reshared it. Some (myself) changed the message & left the automated link only to have others share that message as well.}
Sharers
SanjayJain369 RT @astanton: Fred Willard from Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman is on hulu’s Bing-a-thon right now. Come watch. http://bit.ly/avTj0
katriord RT @db It may not be ‘cool’ to like Microsoft but they get relevant marketing = Live Bing-a-thon http://bit.ly/avTj0
My conclusion? Microsoft made the right decision to market Bing the way they did. People were clearly informed. These are the people that are likely to use Bing over and over again. The people who were compelled (as well as the promoters/sharers) are likely to tell their friends of the funny cool thing they saw and interacted with. Bing has a funny name. It can make you think of Friends’ Chandler Bing or evoke a sound. The bottom line is this: Microsoft wanted to educate its consumers and brand Bing’s personality at the same time. Mission completed.
Only time will tell if people adopt Bing as their default search engine. Right now people have turned the proper noun ‘Google’ into a verb by saying ‘google it’. I can definitely see people adopting Bing in the verb sense. They may say ‘bing it’ if someone wants to know specific information about something or ‘bing’ as a verb may just eclipse ‘google’. Google may provide tons of search results but that’s also its downfall. Microsoft may not say Google in their ad but they might as well, as I’m sure many of you have felt the same frustration:
Microsoft’s differentiator? Their tagline: “It’s not just a search engine. It’s the first ever decision engine, from Microsoft.”
While Google is focusing on Wave, Microsoft is taking this chance to make search more relevant. Yes, many of us are excited for real-time email etc etc BUT frankly I’m more excited with relevant search. The internet has become our default for information. I’m hard-pressed to find anyone who actually uses encyclopedias and dictionaries in dead-tree format. I already have Twitter for real-time info as well as instant messages. E-mail and document editing are fast enough for me now.
Make your customer’s life easier in a timely and relevant way and you’ve won their hearts. I’m sure Google has something up their sleeve for semantic web but until that day you can just Bing me.
Brand You: Why Your Introduction is an Introsucktion
© Shelley Gibb
In 3 seconds or less tell me why I should care about you. Not 140 characters- about 7 words.
Get to the point. I’m busy and you should be too. Don’t tell me what you do. Tell me what you can do for me. How can you empower me to evangelize you? How can you enrich my life? Read the rest of this entry »
MAJOR Social Media 2.0 changes at The Cause Is The Habit
THANK YOU AND I’M SORRY
© wasabicube
First off, I’d like to thank ALL OF YOU for visiting, subscribing AND reading this website so far. Without your support I would have no desire to continue to grow this venture to greater heights. That being said, I’d like to apologize.
In my excitement for reorganization with adding/moving user pages, some of you may have received a post that was inadvertedly sent through the RSS feed entitled “Damien Basile”. I have an ego, but not THAT big of an ego to name a WHOLE POST after myself.
