Farewell facebook

The growth of facebook is fenomenal. The use of facebook in our daily life has something articicial. In my daily work as a lecturer i see that some students are afraid to pick up the phone or to talk real life to somebody else. This briljant short movie illustrates the alienating effect of facebook.

Marketeers should be aware of these effects and the added value of being connected artificially.

Facebook Revenue Is Not Growing Like Google's Did

Facebook is on track to generate $2 billion in sales this year, a nice milestone for the social networking king.
In part because of this news, investors are piling into Facebook stock on the private markets at a $56 billion valuation. The assumption is that Facebook is the next Google, a money printing machine that might eventually even be BIGGER than Google.
While it's possible that scenario will play out, it's worth looking at how Facebook's revenue growth compares to other online-advertising-driven companies, such as Google and Yahoo.
It's true that Facebook did not emphasize revenue early in its early years, but neither did Google.
And as you can see below, when Google did put the pedal down, its revenue grew much more rapidly than Facebook's.
So those who are counting on Facebook becoming a bigger business than Google had better hope it has another ace up its sleeve.

Google vs facebook vs yahoo revenue growth


Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-google-facebook-yahoo-revenue-2010-12#ixzz18mJKp1o6

Who will become the dominant social profile Facebook or google ?

A big battle is going on.


Facebook and Google are waging a bitter battle over data portability and the control of your identity on the web. Unfortunately, it’s a battle in which nobody will emerge as the victor, certainly not the millions of users who are now caught in the crossfire.

Last week, Google changed its terms of service so that anybody utilizing its Contacts API is required to reciprocate by exporting its contacts back to Google. In other words, if a company or social network wants to let users import their Gmail friends so their users can find their friends, then it has to allow for the same type of importing.
For most companies, this isn’t a problem, but there is a big company that doesn’t offer reciprocity: Facebook. The social network doesn’t allow Google users to import their Facebook contacts for products like Gmail, Buzz or Orkut. Thus, Google blocked Facebook’s access to its Contacts API.
That’s when things got interesting. Following Google’s decision to deny Facebook API access, Facebook decided to circumvent Google by giving users an easy option to download their Gmail contacts and then upload them to Facebook. As AOL’s TechCrunch notes, it’s essentially Facebook’s way of telling the search giant to go to hell.

Google and Facebook’s battle isn’t simply about any one company blocking access to data or acting juvenile; the stakes are nothing less than complete dominance of the web. As we’ve noted in the past, Google and Facebook are locked in a heated battle to become your default social profile. Whichever company controls identity on the web, controls the web.

Currently Facebook and Google dominate third-party sign-in options on the web, but Facebook’s growth as an identity platform has been ascending; more than 10,000 websites integrate with Facebook every day, thanks in no small part to the explosive growth of the Facebook Open Graph. Can you believe that Facebook’s “Like” button, now ubiquitous across the web, launched not even seven months ago?

Facebook has become so aggressive that Google has reacted with some big social moves of its own. It recently acquired Slide and Ångströ, reportedly for Google Me, the search giant’s rumored next attempt at competing with social networks. However, rumors are no longer focused on Google building a social network; many now believe the company is likely building more social features into all of its products.

Regardless of what exactly Google is building, it’s clear that Google is building something. And the reason they’re reacting so feverishly is because the world’s largest social network is increasing its control of the web. Google can’t afford for Facebook to control identity on the web, which is what prompted the change to the search giant’s terms of service in the first place.

Source:
Facebook vs Google

The Variables of 'Like' Brands go to great lengths for Facebook fans

Back in 2006, Mentos became an early leader among brands in social media when it capitalized on two performance artists posting videos of what happens when you put the candy in Diet Coke. (Explosions.) After the resulting YouTube viral phenomenon, Mentos embraced the creators and rode a wave of viral buzz while Coke issued a dour statement that it wasn't amused.




Fast-forward to 2010. Coke now ranks as the third most popular brand on Facebook with 11.3 million fans. Mentos, as of March, had only 10,000 fans. But then its agency, Isobar, in an effort to play catch-up, paired a two-for-one offer with a pricey reach block on Facebook -- it can cost over $500,000 to reach every Facebook user for a day -- and Mentos saw its number of fans grow to 120,000 in a single day.



Brands that are only now establishing themselves on Facebook are playing a desperate game of catch-up. They're pulling out the stops to rack up what Facebook now calls Likes, social actions by which consumers express interest in a brand. To get Likes, they're going beyond ads and bartering for friendship with offers of exclusive content, discounts and special offers.  
..........Read more ......

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3iafc531ef3af052c79c14f214db8bd30d