This week on the Blogosphere we’ll discuss five blog posts that address major changes recently announced by both Twitter and Facebook, how many users actually “Like” brands on Facebook and their rationale for doing so, as well as the shift traditional media has made to the social news streams so many of us look to today. Below are some of the highlights from these articles:
- Twitter announced last week their recent partnership with TweetMeme and the introduction of their new Tweet button, which they plan for publishers to switch over to in lieu of TweetMeme’s widely used Retweet button.
- Facebook recently alerted publishers that as of August 23, all custom tabs on Facebook Pages will be downsized from 760 pixels to 520 pixels and sidebar boxes will be removed.
- According to Google, 55% of U.S. online users claim not to “Like” any brands on Facebook, whereas less than half of users report having become fans of brands on the social networking site.
- People are looking to traditional media for their news consumption less and less and are instead focusing on the social news stream, which is largely generated through social sharing on social networks and e-mail.
- Research suggests that 50.1% of mobile phone users will access Internet from their mobile devices by 2013.
Twitter Takes Over The Tweet Button From TweetMeme
TechCrunch | Erick Schonfeld | 8-12-10
Twitter announced last week the launch of their new Tweet button, which publishers can add to their website, enabling visitors to share links to their content with the click of a button. Of course, there are several variations of these buttons floating around on the Web, like TweetMeme’s hugely successful, green Retweet button, which pulls in 750 million impressions daily. Just as Twitter has expanded and developed by reaching out to successful startups in the past, Twitter has publicly stated that they’re partnering with TweetMeme (licensing some of TweetMeme’s technology), and both are making the push for publishers to switch to the new Tweet button. Twitter’s new button offers a new feature, as well, which allows website owners (who implement the Tweet button) to recommend Twitter accounts for following to users, which will appear as an additional message after a user sends a tweet using the Tweet button.
Want to learn more about Twitter’s new Tweet button?
- In their YouTube promo about the new Tweet button, Twitter claims that their new feature will provide social sharing analytics on the number of times each URL is shared either via Twitter, the Tweet button or via any other Twitter clients.
- Twitter has provided a simplified, instructional guide for publishers to follow when adding the Tweet button to their website.
Facebook Makes Branding on B2B Pages More Challenging
Social Media B2B | Jeffrey L. Cohen | 8-11-10
This past week Facebook alerted Facebook Page administrators that as of August 23, all custom tabs will be reduced from their existing 760 pixels down to 520 pixels and sidebar boxes (and the Boxes tab) will be removed. Until then, Page publishers are urged to revise their pages using the preview option now available to Page owners, or once the deadline hits, their custom tabs will appear in a cropped format to all users. The post’s author points out that over 30% in the Page’s width will be reduced with these changes. When a user currently views a Page’s custom tab, the left-hand column (that appears on the Wall and Info tab view) is not displayed. According to Facebook’s preview option of their imminent changes, this column will now appear in the custom tab view. The author argues that due to Facebook’s limitations for Pages, the concept of a landing page for the B2B company was really the best method for effectively branding one’s Page. With these upcoming changes, he says, the B2B business will lose a great deal of space for such customization.
Main Takeaways:
- All Facebook Pages will face mandatory changes come August 23, including the reduction of all custom tabs to 520 pixels and the removal of sidebar boxes.
- Page admins can preview how these changes will be implemented for their current custom tabs and are warned to revise before the deadline, or their tabs will be automatically resized and appear cropped to all users.
Google Looks at Why People Follow Brands on Facebook
WebProNews | Chris Crum | 8-12-10
In this post, the author points to recent research Google conducted about how many U.S. online users “Like” brands on Facebook and why. Fifty-five percent of users reported not “Liking” any brands at all on the social network, whereas 18% of users reported “Liking” one or two brands, 11% “Like” three or four brands, 10% “Like” five to nine brands and 6% “Like” ten or more brands on Facebook. According to Google, the most common response among users as to why they have become fans of brands on Facebook was to potentially receive discounts (so said 25% of users), as well as to demonstrate their personal advocacy of that brand, according to 18% of users. The author points out that Google and Facebook are growing increasingly competitive, and that Google likely desires that users shift from brand interaction on Facebook to Google’s Place Pages or Google Buzz/Profiles.
Main Takeaways:
- According to Google, a little less than half of U.S. users “Like” brands on Facebook, whereas 55% of users claim to not “Like” any brands on Facebook.
- 25% of users report that they’ve chosen to “Like” brands on the social network in order to possibly receive discounts, and 18% of users said that it’s a sign of their brand loyalty.
How News Consumption is Shifting to the Personalized Social News Stream
Mashable | Vadim Lavrusik | 8-10-10
In this post, the author examines the dramatic shift in how news is consumed today compared to just five years ago, in that there’s an increasing reliance upon a “personalized social news stream.” This has left social networks, media organizations and tech companies scrambling to meet consumer demands and understand users’ news consumption and social sharing habits. In the past, people didn’t have access to a global platform like the Web, in which to share news with friends, so the public was entirely dependent on media companies for news, says the author. With today’s technology, people have, in a sense, replaced traditional media with shared news from their friends via this social news stream. This has become increasingly evident with findings like: 75% of online news consumption is generated through the sharing of news either via e-mail or social networking. To meet this evolving shift in news consumption, media companies and social networks are working to revamp their websites (like the LA Times’ “Newsmatch,” which helps users create a personalized content page) and uncover effective tools (such as the Washington Post’s use of Facebook’s social plugins).
Main Takeaways:
- Fewer and fewer people rely on traditional media for their news consumption, but have moved to a much more targeted, social news stream, largely based on shared news from friends and other connections.
- Research shows that as much as 75% of news consumed online is acquired through this social stream, namely via social networking sites and e-mail.
Half of Mobile Users to Be Web-Enabled by 2013
Research firm Nielsen reports a steady increase in the number of U.S. smartphone users over the years, rising from 16% of the U.S. mobile phone audience in Q2 2009, to 23% the next quarter and 25% in Q2 2010. By the end of 2011, Nielsen estimates that smartphones will surpass feature phones. eMarketer predicts 34.7% of mobile phone users will use their mobile devices for Internet access in 2010, 50.1% in 2013 and 53.9% will access the Web via mobile in 2014. Based on reports from comScore, smartphone user growth increased 111% between April 2009 and April 2010, whereas feature phone user numbers decreased by 6% during that timeframe.
Main Takeaways:
- The percentage of the U.S. mobile phone audience who use smartphones has steadily increased over the years from 16% in Q2 2009 to 23% the following quarter, and it’s expected to keep climbing, with an estimated jump to 25% in Q2 2010.
- eMarketer projects that in 2010, 34.7% of mobile phone users will be Web-enabled, 50.1% by 2013 and 53.9% by 2014.
The Tweet Button: Twitter’s Attempt to Dominate Social Sharing?
We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this weekly summary and that you’ll share your thoughts with us. To get the weekly summary, or any other Optify updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or subscribe to our RSS feed. Here’s a follow-up question we’d like to get your feedback on:
- We think that Twitter is trying to own the retweet button that they previously let third party applications maintain and control. Is this Twitter’s response to Facebook’s “Like” button for the control of social sharing?
