Despite the fact that Facebook’s IPO will likely value the company at more than $100 billion this week (about the same as the GDP of Vietnam), Facebook is no longer the Prom Queen. Just like Fonzie, hula hoops, Cabbage Patch kids, and Coldplay, Facebook isn’t cool anymore. It’s too damn big as it nears one [...]
Read moreThe Tip of the Social Media Iceberg
A client recently quipped: “How hard can social media be? All you have to do is write some tweets and status updates. What’s the big deal?” It was difficult to know where to start. Because calling “social media” tweets and status updates is like calling public relations writing press releases or thinking that advertising is [...]
Read moreSocial Media is a Requirement
Overheard at the gym. SCENE: A middle-aged man talking to a woman about a recent job interview. GUY: He asked me if I had a Facebook page. WOMAN: Do you? GUY: No, of course not. Who has a Facebook page? I mean besides kids? ———————— I’m going to hazard a wild guess that our [...]
Read moreHas the Timeline Improved Facebook for Brands?
It has – dramatically – if you’re Facebook. For brands, the switch to the Timeline format spells big changes – both good and bad. First the good news. Facebook is placing a premium on storytelling. As my colleague Ben Rissman notes: “This means that brands (more than ever) now need to be storytellers – [...]
Read moreFacebook Shopping Isn’t Going Anywhere – But Up!
And up and up. There has been a recent spate of stories in the mainstream press about the struggles of Facebook shopping. The current twist is that Facebook shopping is failing because people don’t want to shop on Facebook. One social media pundit recently quipped: “Turns out shopping isn’t that social.” The reason for [...]
Read moreBlank Canvas
That is exactly what social media is. A blank canvas. An empty page. There is no content on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or any other social network without content creators. People, brands, artists, writers and news organizations populate social networks with content and bring the value to it. Social media companies are just platforms. They are [...]
Read moreFacebook is NEVER Private
“Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” – Benjamin Franklin, statesman Facebook gives users the illusion of privacy. You get to choose your friends and have the ability to regulate your content. Some people can see this. Others can see that. But regardless of how you direct traffic on Facebook remember [...]
Read moreFacebook Timeline is the New Tombstone
“There are more dead people than living. And their numbers are increasing. The living are getting rarer.” – Eugene Ionesco, playwright People hate the Facebook Timeline. While many of Facebook’s most prominent changes over the years have caused a lot of hand wringing, none of them have caused as visceral a response as the Timeline. [...]
Read more5 Tips for a Social Media Crisis
You can take this to the bank: If you are a brand then you’ll experience a social media crisis. It’s inevitable. Look at it this way. No brand in existence – not even the most popular and best-loved brands in the world – has ever avoided a negative phone call, a snarky email, a compliant [...]
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May 16, 2012


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