Rareface

Signing off

Greg Harvey — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:11:32 +0000

As we preach to our clients when we talk to them about social media, it’s all about the conversation and the etiquette of the conversation. Sometimes you say good bye formally and sometimes you just stop.

As we’ve got our noses to the ground at the moment focusing on introducing new features for the platform, we’ve decided that we’ll take a break from our commentary on the social media innovations world via this blog.

We’d like to thank you for listening and hope that you continue to enjoy the platform - and even more when we launch the next phases.

The debate continues�

Hanna — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:59:04 +0000

Bebo, Facebook, MySpace � which is the most popular in the UK?

Is it true that Britons have become more and more hooked on Bebo? Hitwise reveals that �Bebo overtakes eBay as the most searched for brand in the UK and takes #1 spot among social networks in May� Bebo also overtakes MySpace in the number of visits to the webpage. Although MySpace had a drop in their traffic in June, NMA and Nielsen//NetRatings still claims that it is the most popular site with 6.5m unique visitors.

MySpace strengthens its hand against YouTube

Hanna — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:33:44 +0000

Yesterday MySpace launched MySpaceTV, an enhanced version of the old MySpace Video. MySpaceTV is an independent website hosted on www.MySpaceTV.com and will not only be open to MySpace members but also to people without accounts. MySpaceTV will make it easier for members to integrate video content to their MySpace profiles. The service will, opposed to most video sites, focus on professional content opposed to user generated content.

The layout and functionality is a clone of YouTube. Have a look at mashable.com for an extensive comparison. This is a smart strategy to challenge the position as no1 video site. YouTube�s success was born on MySpace two years ago and now with 110 million visits per month MySpace seems confident that it will be a success and they will cut into YouTube�s lead.

Finally Adwords becomes more transparent

Hanna — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:42:27 +0000

This week Google has finally launched �Placement Performance Report�, a new feature which will make it easier for advertisers to measure the ROI on Adwords Campaigns. When you run Adwords you can choose to advertise in the Google content network and/or on the Google search engine. Before now, it wasn�t possible to know on which particular websites your ads have been displayed. The conversion rate and CPC was reported based on the entire content network. My guess is that Google caved in and realized that advertisers will not use Google network if they cannot control and analyze their costs and results.

Since I�m writing about Google, I have to squeeze in that Google has also launched maps.google.se (this is of great importance of course because I�m Swedish). This addition will be great for all the summer tourists venturing to Stockholm�

Facetime for companies

Hanna — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:49:41 +0000

Facebook is trying to step up and strengthen its position by launching a new platform. It enables anybody to create an application that can be used on Facebook. In other words, Facebook is going to open up its website to corporations and organizations and this is a part of its new business strategy. More than 75 partners have already signed up and new announcements are made everyday. Jangl, You Tube skins, Flickr and many more applications can easily be found (when logged into Facebook) on http://apps.f8.facebook.com/apps.

This move means that rather than using Facebook only to keep in touch with friends and going elsewhere for other content, users can now gain access to that content and link it inside Facebook.

However, this move by Facebook doesn�t come without �pokes� of criticism of course. Scanning through comment features like �Top Friends�, you will see that much debate has been stimulated around users complaining about Facebook becoming too much like MySpace. A general dislike and irritation can be seen towards companies being able to use this application to sell their products. Most users would rather there be more focus on the development of unique applications.

YouTube addiction

Hanna — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:49:27 +0000

YouTube has launched a new feature for their embedded YouTube players around the web. Click on the menu button and swipe the pointer over the player and mini thumbnails of related clips will appear. This is a nice extra feature which will increase peoples� hours spent watching all those crazy clips out there!

Call anyone anywhere even though you only have their email address

Maz — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:50:44 +0000

Welcome to Jangl. They are providing this telephone linking service.

Billed as the way of talking to someone without ever having to reveal your actual number. Instead of meeting on line via chat ala msn, you can go back to the old fashioned chat over the phone! Let’s see how many dating sites integrate this service in their offering!

‘njoy!

Who is among us? a new widget for you to use!

Maz — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:24:20 +0000

Have you come across whos.amung.us yet?

This nifty little (literally) widget allows you to see who is looking at which page NOW on your site! The home page gives you the code to add into your site html or for a social network.

‘njoy!

Stirring up bloggers

Maz — Wed, 16 May 2007 15:05:47 +0000

Friends of the pop queen Lily Allen have rushed to her rescue at her profile page on the MySpace site. Lily posted a blog complaining that she feels “fat and ugly”. Her fans reacted prompty telling her to get real! This is pure UGC - the ultimate - where people can give their advice and opinion directly to the stars!

Read the full article on the Guardian.co.uk here.

Can UGC add value to a brand on line experience?

Maz — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:57:57 +0000

UGC = User Generated Content (not the cinema chain…) is coming under a lot of scrutiny - as the obvious and easy answers - see the You Generated Ads our sister company iConcertina recently wrote - indicate that the medium provides consumers easier access for negative feedback and bad publicity. But this need not be the case….

Just how well do social networking sites and Web2.0 campaigns provide positive branding experiences for businesses? Ashley Friedlein from E-consultancy has written a review of 10 examples with good and bad results. His winner is Mini’s aveaword - please follow the links to see more.