The Devil's deal demands your privacy

Facebook hits the news again for sneakily trying to invade the privacy of its users. At the heart of it is Facebook’s recent acquisition Face.com, a facial-recognition software that can sense who is in your pictures and make tagging suggestions.

New York Times reports that data protection officials in Germany have reopened an investigation into Facebook's facial recognition technology, saying that the social networking giant was illegally compiling a huge database of members’ photos without their consent. Facebook has already been on the wrong end of this privacy investigation in Germany where an agreement was reached that required Facebook to change its consent policy. Now since it hasn't complied with the request, the data protection commissioner is demanding that Facebook destroy its database of German users and begin collecting data from only those who have given their consent.

Article 29 Working Party, EU’s top advisory panel on privacy, opined that the collection of biometric data without the explicit consent of users was illegal. The law requires that people give their explicit consent to this practice, but instead of using an opt-in feature, Facebook rolled it out to all accounts and requires them to opt out instead. 

The difficulty in establishing jurisdiction is the biggest roadblock faced by Germany in bringing Facebook to order. Facebook maintains that its activities at its German headquarters are limited to marketing, and not the technical and privacy-related functions relevant to Facebook’s collection of biometric data, which are based out of Ireland. Facebook believes that its policies are in line with privacy laws in Ireland, where after an audit last year, the regulator advised the company that it could simply inform people of its biometric data collection practices which Facebook did on its website this year. 

Germany has limited means to compel a global company like Facebook to conform with local law. At most, it could fine Facebook up to 25,000 euros, or about $31,000, for refusing to destroy its biometric database and alter its consent practices. But these fines are small-change for Facebook so the only remedy is Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware, you are making a deal with the Devil.

Not small, not large....just Medium.

For those who find the character limitation on Twitter maddening, but also hate the self-absorption of blogging, there is a newcomer that may pique your interest:  Medium.

Created by Twitter and Blogger creators Evan Williams and Biz Stone, Medium seeks to occupy the market for self-publication that lies somewhere in between these two options.
http://adage.com/article/the-media-guy/meet-medium-thing-twitter-guys/236705/

While there is obviously much expectation to see how Medium differentiates itself and what users will think, some of the initial responses have been lukewarm.
According to Josh Benton at neimanlab.org, Medium incorporates features from many of the social sharing services: "Like Tumblr, it relies on artfully constructed templates for its structural power; like Pinterest, it’s designed to be image-heavy."

Some other criticisms include the site's resistance to reverse-chron postings (a standard format where the most recent postings are at the top of the list) and the organization of the site, which has user add their posts to a category instead of categorizing their posts.  This disintermediation of the author from the post is meant to create a simpler community that organizes around topics.

It remains to be seen whether Medium can fill a void that actually exists.  Frankly, coming from the inventors or Twitter and Blogger, it seems a little like "another site" doing essentially the same thing.  Only time will tell, but if there are any creators who have the track record to make this a success, it is  Evan Williams and Biz Stone.

Coming soon to your Facebook feed: more ads.

If there weren't enough blogposts about Facebook, here's another. Facebook is testing a service that will place ads directly in the feeds of users, even those of products they or their friends haven't signalled a preference for, according to this story. Which means cat people might get ads about dog food. Yay.

Currently, ads are displayed on the right hand side of the page and are related to companies or products that particular users have liked. The company says they won't inundate users with ads. It's Facebook's third attempt at boosting mobile advertising.

The test comes as the company's stock has dropped continuously since its IPO over concerns about the company's future growth prospects. It makes me wonder what the user experience would have been like if Facebook (and its venture backers) hadn't agitated to go public. Without the pressure of having to demonstrate quarterly performance, the company might have had the ability to develop a more well-rounded advertising plan that perhaps would not piss off cat people.

(Not that I'm a cat person.)

Fashion vs. Tech

I work in the fashion industry and am always excited when I can make direct connections between my love of fashion and what we are learning at CBS. So, imagine my joy when I stumbled upon an article in a recent New York Times that specifically discusses the emergence of the "fashionable woman" in Silicon Valley. You can check the article out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/fashion/in-silicon-valley-showing-off-their-louboutins.html?pagewanted=all

I guess I never really thought about it, because fashion is quite central in the lives of most New Yorkers (whether they know it or not!), but Silicon Valley and tech in general really is a pretty laid back culture. Though, in recent years, a number of chic, powerful woman have certainly challenged that norm. Case and point: Yahoo's Marissa Mayer and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. And I hope they keep pushing! The article goes on to talk about how women in the tech industry used to feel that they wouldn't be taken seriously if they dressed up or experimented with their wardrobe choices, or that people wouldn't think that they were smart, but that things are now changing. Personally, I love a girl in a Prada dress and stiletto who can talk bytes and keyword searches!

The article also discusses how fashion design and computer programming are like-minded processes (which I this is a fabulous analogy). Here is one of my favorite parts of the piece, which sums that point up:

“Designing software and products isn’t all that different from the design of clothes,” Ms. Mayer, 37, the new chief executive of Yahoo, said in an interview last February. She once paid $60,000 at an auction for lunch with Oscar de la Renta. “Like components of software,” she said, “fashion designers learned how to do this shoulder, put pleats on the skirt that way.

This was a fun read!

Social media changing the way we market

Another great article highlighting the real value of social media as a marketing tool:

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-13/strategy/31051513_1_social-media-twitter-customer-service

The power of social media lies in the fact that it's built on interactivity. Digital marketers need to adopt a new perspective in the age of social media, focusing not just on marketing to customers but also concentrating on customer engagement. Social media is the perfect venue to actually communicate with customers, both existing and new, and affords digital marketing teams the opportunity to get real feedback through interaction with the customer. Customer service, customer support, customer engagement, etc are all phrases that describe an interactive relationship between business and the customer, and social media presents the perfect opportunity to shift from static traditional marketing methods to a more dynamic model of marketing that works with the customer instead of pitching to the customer.

Digital Marketing in Action!

Well, wouldn't you know it? I just saw the PERFECT example of what we learned in Professor Kagan's Digital Marketing class, and it happened right on our class blog! I just finished a post on the newly announced partnership between Starbucks and tech start-up Square (check out that post here), and when I went back into the blog to view my newly published post, the ad tile immediately below my post was for...you guessed it...Square! Here is a screengrab:

You can see my post on top and the Square advertisement beneath it. Clearly, I was identified as someone who would potentially utilize the services that Square provides, as I was found to be reading a blog that has a post about Square. This a great example of targeted display advertising at its best!

The end of cash? (and cards, for that matter)

I, for one, have never liked carrying or using cash. It's bulky, hard to track and just sort of seems old-fashioned to me. I usually use credit cards for purchases big or small, but I would even be happy to see those left at home if the concept of mobile payment became a little more developed. Well, as reported by the NYTimes on August 8th, we might be one big step closer to that day.

Developed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Square is a company that specializes in mobile payment. Square recently announced plans to partner with Starbucks to process all credit and debit transactions for the coffee giant, a move that will seriously increase the influence and ability of the small tech start-up. Eventually, once the concept has matured, customers will be able to purchase their drinks without even taking their phones out of their pockets. The Starbucks location itself will actually RECOGNIZE that the customer has entered, based on the GPS functionality in his or her mobile phone. Pretty cool stuff!

I think this is an incredibly exciting development for mobile technology and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it plays out. The implications that the success of a product like this could have on society as a whole are enormous. It's world-changing stuff here! I also think it's a brilliant move on Starbucks' part, as this partnership positions them as cutting-edge and very tech savvy. If you'd like to read a bit  more about the Starbucks/Square partnership, check out this like to the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/technology/starbucks-and-square-to-team-up.html/?_r=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1345057361-i37eMqsXk3QdmNjZ/8hhQg

FB's BigBrother Advertising Model

Below is a link to a relevant article regarding Facebook's struggles with monetizing advertisement as well as its transition to mobile.    

Looks like FB is not only having to hand hold corporations on why to advertise on FB, but also trying to tailor their systems according to the feedback these companies provide.  Adjusting to good feedback is necessary for all businesses but it seems as if FB is relying on them to structure their business.

Also, Facebook is now considering giving advertisers a sliver of data from conversations. For example, Facebook would tell advertisers how many people are talking about their brand, the top things they are saying and those people's demographics— article states FB would  not violate privacy policies by revealing information about individual people.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444246904577575351814047494.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Search, how it is different in China Google CN vs. Baidu

Here is really interesting article about search in China.  The article shows how similar terms are searched and where the rankings come up on each site for Google CN and Baidu.  One very important note about search in China which is different from the United States is that social media doesn't play a role in your rankings.  Many major brands here use social media specifically to house new content which is tagged and links to the brand site and in turn helps your natural rankings.  In some cases, the search rankings in Google CN and Baidu was close and in other cases it was a difference of being the third ranking or the last ranking on the page which is a big difference.  Marketers already treat China very differently in terms of normal creative advertising and social media than other markets but now SEO also needs to be done with a different strategy based on how rankings are influenced.

http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10531-the-missing-manual-of-search-marketing-in-china-part-two?utm_medium=email&utm_source=daily_pulse

Do you still belive in Nokia's smartphones?

Nokia has been struggling in its smartphone space especially because of increased competition by Samsung and apple. In addition Nokia has been downgraded by the credit agencies to –BB.  Having said that people still think that Nokia has the potential to face this increased competition in a way that will enable them to maintain strong market share.  Some believe that it would be inevitable for the company to being taken over by a competitor since the stock price is so depressed and it could be a bargain. Other say it could only go north from here… its getting more and more interesting out there in the competitive landscape of the smartphone world.  

http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/15/people-still-believe-in-nokia/

OrderAhead: Original Idea?

OrderAhead, a California-based company, is looking to offer an app that allows one to place and pay for a food order, but pick up at the store as take out.

The only thing that came to mind, when I read this bit of news was, "Isn't this already done?". I am familiar with Seamless, Grubhub, etc - they offer an option to pick up the order instead of waiting for delivery.  However, the article mentions that OrderAhead differs from their competitors, such as Seamless, in that they will target clientele that does not offer delivery.

In my opinion, I think this takeout premise regarding food has been done and does not provide an original business plan.  However, there was one thing that perked my interest in this article - their goal is not to be a food ordering app, but they want from users to be able to pick up anything from anywhere.

A simple but exciting concept - in a culture that is becoming more and more dependent on speed, efficiency, and time management, the ability to just pick up a bag of your necessities from a CVS or Walgreens, without waiting in line or looking for items - this could monumentally change the way I handle running errands.

I, for one, am looking forward to hearing more from the developers of this app.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/orderahead-wants-to-offer-takeout-for-everything-through-a-mobile-phone/?ref=technology

Peter Thiel can now sell more Facebook shares.

Peter Thiel, one of Facebook's earliest investors, has gotten the authority to sell more of his shares in the social networking site, according to this article.

Thiel's stake is worth more then $550 million, according to the story, and he's converted more than 9 million shares to the more easily traded Class A shares, than Class B, which give holders greater voting power. That means he's effectively ceding some of his control of the Facebook.

We're one day away from the expiry of the lockup on investor share sales so it'll be interesting to see who ends up selling - and how much more the stock will drop. Shares are now down 46 percent since the website's May IPO.

Audi’s digital car showroom

The digital era has begun and smart marketers are starting to jump the bandwagon. Recently Audi, joined the race by launching a virtual showroom that aims to offer consumers an experience in car shopping that goes beyond the confines of a regular showroom, that previously only offered a few cars on display with a handful agents helping you around. The showroom aims to specifically target luxury car buyers by offering them an urban showroom experience that not many can rival. As soon as you enter the showroom, you will be greeted by huge screen powerwalls that display full size cars of choice in private rooms. In order to imitate this virtual experience of the best Audi cars, customers will be able to construct their cars in huge detail, customizing materials,  seat colors and other details from thousands of choices. Even more exciting is the fact that the customers will now be able to do a detailed analysis of exterior as well as interior parts such as the engine, bodyshell or LED light technology something not possible at a regular showroom. To imitate an experience as close to reality the showroom technology will let you play around with your car, hear the sound of the engines and even give your favorite car a 360-degree spin. Although, this digital showroom has 2-3 cars to give the customers an opportunity to get behind the wheel and get the Audi feel, this showroom does lack the promise of offering a test drive in your customized car. Conversely speaking , Audi City has experimented with the digital world to make something innovative that can not only help bond with the customer in a better way but attract a great audience.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDdPN6mVLPM&feature=player_embedded

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades

And not just any shades, I mean Google's Project Glass shades. Project Glass is a pet project of Google co-founder Sergey Brin and is touted as the next form of computing, an augmented-reality lens that provides access to online data such as weather, mails and messages. It takes the form of a pair of glasses that takes photographs, facilitates social networking and communication on the internet while storing everything on a cloud, all this, without hindering your ability to see. Google is currently in talks with several eyeglass manufacturers to tie-in sales for custom frames for Glass.

Project Glass is part of Google's strategy to adapt to the increasing shift to online mobile platforms, which now account for approximately a third of all Google searches, while creating a legacy product akin to Apple's iPhone that places technology in our lives in such a fashion that makes it essential and makes it feel like a natural extension of ourselves.

For those interested in it's features, Glass is expected to be voice-controlled via an Apple Siri-like voice engine as well as by gestures. Swipe gestures on the touch panel on its side control basic navigation while a button on the top serves as the action button for everything else. Additionally, a single gesture - a quick jerk up with your head, turns off the screen and sets the device into a sleep mod.

Though the commercial release of Project Glass is still sometime away, it will be available for $1,500 to those attending the Google I/O event. After this test run, and gathering product feedback, Glass is expected to be made available next year.

Square- Mobile Payment feature.. Revolutionary

Mobile payment is sector is getting hotter and hotter these days.  The idea is that you can use your mobile device to pay for anything which will eliminate the need to carry credit cards and cash. A start up called Square is providing that feature. It charges a flat fee of 2.75%. One of Square’s biggest deal was getting Starbucks on board- this has proven to be a very successful deal for both parties.  Square  linked existing ideas and products with innovation in design and usage to create a new technology , an idea that could be revolutionary.  Square’s success is uncertain, but the Starbucks alliance is likely to be only the first for it and other mobile payment operators. Silicon Valley will become less about the dreamers and more about the marketers, the connected and the everyday.

This is a very interesting article published by the NY times in that regards:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/in-silicon-valley-finding-the-next-big-thing-in-the-ordinary/?nl=business&emc=edit_dlbkpm_20120814

IPAD- Continuing to dominate the tablet market... gap widens

Apple continues to dominate the tablet market and IPAD market share continues to surge and the gap with its competitors keeps on widing. Its amazing to see how many IPADs we see in class rooms, coffee shops, lectures, public transportation , etc. Microsoft recently announced that it plan on selling a tablet called “Surface” and Google introduced its Nexus 7 device a couple of months ago while Amazon announced its Fire Kindle tablet last year. I think that in the tablet market all these will struggle to compete with the Ipad which just continues to improve and now its market share stands at 69.6% compared t0 58.1% last quarter. Is Apple going to continue increase its tablet market share? My answer is yes- what do you think?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-14/apple-s-ipad-shipments-market-share-surge-in-second-quarter.html

Time to stop ‘minding the gap’

Millions of customers for the first time now have access to free Wi-Fi services in the London underground thanks to Virgin media starting this summer. With a plethora of devices including smartphones, tablets etc. accompanying the masses travelling the tube everyday, this service provides an excellent opportunity for digital marketers. For advertisers, the tube is already a very effective medium to target a somewhat captive audience. They can use different Wi-Fi hotspots underground to place targeted, geo-location customized adverts that can engage the commuters an average three minutes time they spend on the tube platform. With an estimated 62% of the working population of London in possession of a smartphone, the affiliation between outdoor and mobile has been forecasted to be one of the fastest growing sectors in digital marketing. With this in mind, Wi-Fi availability in the London underground will provide various opportunities for brands to enjoy greater interaction with their consumers.

‘We welcome the technology – it allows deeper engagement and enables consumers to act to on ads - log onto social media, go online to browse or actually make a purchase’ summarizes Simon Harrington, Marketing & Business Development Director at CBS Outdoor UK.

While the Brits update their tube travel to the 21^st century, it is time digital marketers work on reconnecting with their potential consumers on the subways and to end the communication gap even hundreds of feet underground.

Tech Companies Spend More on Fewer Acquisitions, Study Says

A very interesting study was conducted recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Technology companies are showing their preference for making big acquisitions over doing many smaller ones, According to the report the number of technology deals in the second quarter decreased 35 percent, while total spending increased 19 percent compared to the same period last year. The biggest question that I have is whether we will see consolidation in the industry similar to what we have seen over the last couple of years in the financial services industry.   Will Groupon merge with a compnay like Living Social or JetSetter? 

http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-deals/2012-08-13-tech-companies-spend-more-on-fewer-acquisitions-study-says/

Driving engagement on Facebook

Aaron Lee's contribution on Mashable explores different ways to generate the right type of buzz around your brand on Facebook. His article focuses on six key mechanisms that he believes are effective in sparking potential customer’s interests.

Marketing your brand through visual tactics  is on the top of the list, as the adage goes, "a picture says a thousand words”. With the type of busy, hectic and multi-tasking lifestyles people lead in this day and age marketing messages need to be so effective that in one glance they hit you between the eyes. Pictures are a great way to do that, without having wordy long captions which automatically diffuses people’s interest, a colorful picture will easily relay the message a marketer is trying to get across. Especially with intense adoption of mobile, pictures are now more accessible and relate better to human psyche. On Facebook there are many large and small firms that are relying on this method of advertising to promote their products and services. Many restaurant owners have created their own Facebook pages and have befriended regular customers -- posting pictures of freshly prepared meals right before lunch and dinner time to lure their regular customers (and their friends) in.

The second marketing technique that firms use on Facebook to capture the attention of inquisitive minds is the “Fill in the blank” method. This tactic prompts people to engage in lively and constructive discussions with the owner of the post and engages the general public to offer their two cents regarding the product or service. This provides helpful feedback to the firm and also assists them to relate to their customer base on a more personal level. The one thing that lacks these days from customer service is the personal element and by Facebook interaction some firms are able to revive this key marketing aspect and thrive as a result.  The one danger with this approach is that if its not done right, it could spark outrage in a very public way.

Some other suggestions included in this article are:

3. Photo captioning, where businesses can post a picture and ask people to post a caption exchange for a prize for the best one. Attracting customers by incentive of reward is almost always a sure shot to obtaining a credible response from them. 

4. Having a question in the headlines of a post is also another very effective way to engage people and almost compel them to interact with each other. 

5. Tips - Some businesses for example Chase credit cards post tips on their companies page, tips such as how to manage your wallet when going on vacation, how to save money on grocery and gas by setting up your credit card to receive cash back etc. These tips again personalize the whole business model and make the customer feel like they are in good trust worthy hands, not just someone who is out to get their money.

6. Uplifting and humorous daily quotes is also a great way to touch the customer base at a personal level.  

Facebook through its various different and crafty marketing techniques engages the average user to be a more involved and can drive decisions and attitudes towards different products and services.  

Here's the full article:

Building Facebook Engagement

Facebook + Foursquare = FaceDeals?

In my previous post, I mentioned the Minority Report-imagined future of advertising where retinal scanners could identify an individual and then customized advertisements would be holographically projected to you.

I guess the RedPepper ad agency saw that movie too, because they have just come out with a product called FaceDeals which is like an automated mashup of Facebook and FourSquare. The product uses a camera with face recognition software, then (assuming you've opted in through the app), automatically checks you in on Facebook and presents you with a customized offer for the establishment you're entering based on your Like history.

The future is here.

(Or at least, it's in Nashville)

http://designtaxi.com/news/353290/When-This-Camera-Sees-Your-Face-It-Checks-You-In-On-Facebook/