When Facebook ‘Likes’ Take Over

This week’s post is brought to you by the letter N. Actually it is inspired by “How Your Likes Are Turning Facebook Into the ‘Loyalty Card of the Internet” by Kunur Patel http://bit.ly/c2PkH3 and “Google’s Nightmare: Facebook Like Replaces Links” by Pete Cashmore http://bit.ly/cxfbDP. During this year Facebook launched its web-wide ‘like’ button. Previously this feature was an exclusive Facebook option for users to publicly announce their approval of a friend’s pictures, status updates, etc. This has now expanded to much of the Internet with the launch of a universal ‘like’ button. As with everything it can be viewed one of two ways: good or bad. The good part is that it could help others connect to material they did not know was available. It also could promote increased unity in keeping friends connected through mutual interests, as they can in some cases see things their friends have ‘liked’ online. However (yes, there is always a however), its expansion comes at a cost and may do more harm than good. Mark Zuckerberg and others have pointed out that web pages may soon be personalized according to the ‘likes’ of each user. Basically this means that content will be filtered and everyone will view web pages differently because they will be displayed to them as targeted content. Content that individual user likes will be the focus of what they see. If this became reality it may be good, and sometimes lead to increased traffic and suggestions of other things they may also like, or it may backfire. 

1) It may inhibit instead of increase connections. If content is filtered then it makes it hard for users to explore and discover new things they like. How can you know if you like something when you never interact with it on some level? The Internet cannot always predict new things that a user may become interested in and will find it hard to keep up if this is the case. Also, when you send links to friends how will they be able to view them if is not related to their ‘likes’ and does not appear because of content filtering? The public needs to be able to explore the full range of content out there. It is better for individuals and better for business.

2) Google is powered through links between pages. With links on the rise between ‘likes’ and pages, how will Google keep up?

3) Things are beginning to be ranked by ‘likes’  and this could also inhibit a user’s ability to explore and discover new ‘likes’ on the Internet.

4) There is a point where things are over-personalized and that is when users tend to revolt by withdrawing. It can be viewed as an intrusion on privacy.

I am not saying expanding Facebook ‘likes’ is bad for business, my concern is with the personalization of the web that may arise as a result. The trick is to incorporate this concept of user personalization in a way that does not inhibit, but increases connections between users and between users and brands or products. I do not know that personalizing a person’s view of the web is the best way or necessary to do that. There are ways to drive more traffic and be more relevant without going to such extremes and it is a better use of time to focus on that.

Jumping Off or Biting the Dust?

Two ideas over the past week have simultaneously sparked my imagination and left me with doubts. The first comes from the Wall Street Journal article “Billboards That Can See You” by Daisuke Wakabayashi and Juro Osawa. Their article talks about the futuristic, or perhaps not so futuristic, concept of vending machines, store maps, etc. that can personalize and tailor their suggestions to the customer standing in front of them. These machines are equipped with cameras that size up the consumer’s gender and age and base their recommendations on that. While the article claims the information is stored as text and no images are stored, I am skeptical. Also, there is a fine line between invading someone’s privacy and providing excellent customer service. Some people are turned off by intense personalization. On the flip side my imagination takes off as I envision stepping into a store and typing in something on a screen, only to have the item pop up along with its exact location. Virtual in-store fitting rooms could also be something that evolves from this concept.

The second idea comes from the MSN Smart Spending article “New twist on old store loyalty tactic” by Teresa Mears. Hers discusses the resurgence of green stamps in the form of an Albertsons loyalty tactic, offering one reward sticker for every $10 spent using a Preferred Savings card. Back in the ’60′s and ’70′s green stamps were very popular and everyone saved their booklets for the desired free item of their choice. Today’s consumers are very impatient and want everything immediately. Working retail a time or two I know that from experience. If Albertsons tweaked it so that it took fewer points to earn some appealing items then it might have a chance. However, I could be wrong given the fact that we are still not out of the recession. People may view it as a chance to get something they cannot afford anymore. Also, they could realize its importance in a different way if the points were redeemable for cash like the stamps were originally. Both of these ideas sound exciting and interesting on the surface, and could work with a few tweaks. However, they could also horribly backfire. One thing is for sure, we will see more ideas like these in the months and years to come.

Ping Poised With Potential and Possibilities

A lot of recent buzz in the social media world has been about Ping, Apple’s foray into social networking. Similar to my “Amazon-Facebook Link Utilizes Word of Mouth” post, this post is about how iTunes is utilizing the same principle for their own niche. In another blogger’s post titled “Why Ping Is the Future of Social Commerce” by Om Malik http://bit.ly/bzQivu, he discusses Ping in great detail. Ping allows you to follow celebrity musicians, create social cliques based around shared music interests and view artist updates. It is a conglomeration of Facebook and Twitter, and takes the best features of both a step further in meshing those two concepts together.  Users can also view their friend’s top ten favorites, which leads to the discovery of new music and subsequently more iTunes sales because it is integrated into their iTunes Store.

However, Ping does have its downfalls as both Brett Molina and Jefferson Graham can attest. Brett Molina discusses the onslaught of spam penetrating Ping’s network in his article “Facebook questions, spam fears greet Ping’s arrival” http://bit.ly/8YT5fA. Common spam messages are for things like free iPads and iPhones. Jefferson Graham points out that Ping’s launch collection of artist profiles is slim in his article “Looking for an artist on Apple’s Ping Social Network? Stay tuned” http://bit.ly/bw0dnU. Lady Gaga, Jack Johnson and Yo-Yo Ma all have profiles but others are yet to be invited. They can make their own but you would think Apple would invite them first. Essentially, despite these setbacks Ping has the potential to bring people and artists together in a new and unique way while driving sales for iTunes. People bond over shared interests and the influence among friends is great, all of which bodes well for Ping. I expect that once the spam problem is fixed and more artists join that more people will join and iTunes sales will increase. Kudos to Steve Jobs for being innovative once again.