Facebook is at it again. Just when you had become Mayor of the local coffee shop, Facebook Places kills the app that brought you to power. It won’t be the last thing to say “goodbye” as Facebook continues to grow. Google should beware.
Next up? Yelp. Why go to another app for reviews when your friends on Facebook have been to the eatery you're considering (via Places) and left their reviews? Maybe Yelp is smart and cuts a deal to overlay their reviews onto the Facebook Place at which you plan to dine. We'll see.
If you’re AOL, name one good reason why I should download your clunky AIM software when whoever I want to chat with is already on Facebook. I could go on like this for hours and you could probably name several within minutes.
So, let me cut to the chase -- How long til Facebook and Google go head-to-head?
You might say that they already have. Facebook dominates social networking so Google introduced “Buzz”. However, there was no buzz. We'll count that one to the win column for Facebook. Then as more people turned to Bing for search, Google takes on Bing like attributes. Well, Bing is the search tool on Facebook. Hmmm.
That battle is a long way from over but Facebook has at least made their intent clear. Take on Google. And, they're big enough to do it.
Facebook is huge because it is the Internet to over half-a-billion people. It now drives anywhere from 25% to 45% of the traffic to websites analyzed by Bigfish. Speaking of driving, Nielsen says the growth of mobile among women on-the-go (who by the way are social media first, search later) clipped along at plus 40% the first half of this year. 9 out of 10 of these same women say that they post to Facebook via mobile.
So it's the future. Okay, it's really today but to many this will sound futuristic. It's the scene from a car pool line via Facebook chat on an iPhone: “Hey Susie, I just saw that you checked in at the soccer complex (Places). There is a coffee shop around the corner with great lattes (Yelp overlay). Oh, I see you’ve been there before (Gowalla). No I didn’t Google it (Duh). This is Facebook girlfriend.”
Have thoughts? I'm on Twitter (at least for now) www.twitter.com/timbigfish
The Next Big Thing
What do Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos, saved searches, cloud-based email subject lines and all manner of other Participation Age activities have in common? People and data. And, you guessed it -- People and Data are the next big thing.
Data plus People leads to improvement. What if one of the YouTube videos about opening the iPad box led to the introduction of easier to open, reusable packaging? If you think the planet is too hot than you’d probably find this to be cool. The data is there to explore that.
Data plus People equals product development. If you’re fortunate enough to get customer interaction in the form of Facebook posts and tweets, you’re probably already talking to the people with the next product idea. If you’re Lenny’s Sub Shop it might be the next great-tasting high margin sandwich. The people are there for that.
Data plus People leads to invention. If you’re a car dealer who wishes he had an App that would allow users to import their Craig’s List “want to buy a Ford Mustang for $9500” ad and receive an alert about cars meeting that criteria when they drive past your lot…you’d sell more cars in less time. The data and people are there for that.
Perhaps you think this is all still just a little too much work but it’s being used now by the big guys and should be used by you. After all, the reason you see the ads you do when using Gmail is because they have analyzed your subject interest. The reason you see the ads you do on Facebook is because they have the psychographic data to begin targeting you.
Data plus people is the difference between survival and extinction. Your future success could very well hinge on whether or not you were responsive to the people who left data right at your door step one tweet or post at a time.
Data plus People leads to improvement. What if one of the YouTube videos about opening the iPad box led to the introduction of easier to open, reusable packaging? If you think the planet is too hot than you’d probably find this to be cool. The data is there to explore that.
Data plus People equals product development. If you’re fortunate enough to get customer interaction in the form of Facebook posts and tweets, you’re probably already talking to the people with the next product idea. If you’re Lenny’s Sub Shop it might be the next great-tasting high margin sandwich. The people are there for that.
Data plus People leads to invention. If you’re a car dealer who wishes he had an App that would allow users to import their Craig’s List “want to buy a Ford Mustang for $9500” ad and receive an alert about cars meeting that criteria when they drive past your lot…you’d sell more cars in less time. The data and people are there for that.
Perhaps you think this is all still just a little too much work but it’s being used now by the big guys and should be used by you. After all, the reason you see the ads you do when using Gmail is because they have analyzed your subject interest. The reason you see the ads you do on Facebook is because they have the psychographic data to begin targeting you.
Data plus people is the difference between survival and extinction. Your future success could very well hinge on whether or not you were responsive to the people who left data right at your door step one tweet or post at a time.
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