New life in Google+

Have Google finally found way of breathing life into their seemingly terminal social network Google+? Well, possibly. Just possibly.


This morning, the first evidence of some potentially deeper integration between Google Search and Google+ was spotted in the UK. A new option in the search results that showed up next to the URL, displayed a “Share” link.  Upon hitting the button, users are prompted to share directly to Google+ from the results pages.  The result is included as a link and users are given the ability to add a comment:

This is the first time that Google have integrated their full "sharing" function within their search results and could spark a take up of the social network among Google's search users. And as we all know, there are plenty of those.


This is the first time that Google+ has really found a way of differentiating itself from Facebook by leveraging their core search asset. Time will tell whether or not it's enough to drive a change of consumer behaviour, but it's certainly an intelligent move for a company desperate to tap into Facebook's 900 million strong population. 



Google’s Product Manager Sean Liu confirmed that this is an official product rollout. He wrote:


"Starting today, we’re rolling out a new experiment to show a Share link in Google search in place of the +1 button, making it easier for you to share a great website with your friends. Now when you click the Share link next to a result, you can add a comment about why you found it useful. You can then choose if you want to share it publicly or just to your Circles and it will post to your Google+ stream, making it easier for you to share directly from the search results page. This will appear for those searching in English."

How Facebook works - the mystery of EdgeRank

I've realised that sometimes I talk about the intricacies of the social and anthropological drivers of social media without actually stepping back and making sure that everyone understands how the platforms themselves function. So here's a very brief explanation of how Facebook works and what it means to brands.

As I'm sure you'll all know, Facebook is social utility that allows people to create an online identity through which they can build connections to their friends, family, associates, campaigns, businesses and brands in which they're interested.

Most of the activity within Facebook happens within the News Feed. This is a constantly updating list of stories from the friends and pages that a user chooses to follow. A story is anything that happens in Facebook that creates an update - this can be a new post, comment, like, share or any action within the platform. Facebook calls these updates "Edges".

The average NZ FBer has 203 friends and follows at least one brand. That means their News Feed contains a lot of updates. So Facebook has worked out a way of making sense of these updates to ensure that a user gets the information that they would be most interested in at the top of their feed. This is called "EdgeRank".

EdgeRank orders "Edges" (or stories) according to three values - Affinity, Weight and Time Decay. It's important that brands understand how to make EdgeRank work them so that they can get into users' newsfeeds.

Affinity is how close the user is to the generator of the "Edge". Affinity is built by repeat interactions with the brand's posts - the more often they interact with brand updates through liking, commenting, sharing, clicking etc, the higher the affinity value. It's therefore important that brands only post what they think their users will be interested in. Every post that isn't of interest and therefore doesn't get engagement reduces this affinity rating.

Weight is dictated by the type of "Edge" that is created. The easiest way to think of this is that the longer it takes to create the post, the greater the weight. So a photo or video post carries more weight than a text or link post. A comment carries more weight than a "like". Don't get confused by this - it doesn't mean we should be writing essays. The length of the post is not important, it's the type that makes the difference.

Time Decay is the most self-explanatory of the EdgeRank values. This is simply how old the post is. An Edge has a fairly short lifespan, so it's important that brands only post when their audiences are likely to be active on Facebook.

It's important to understand that thanks to EdgeRank, a branded page will never reach 100% of its "likes". In fact, the proportion will often be fairly low and one of the metrics that a brand should use to track its success on Facebook is the interaction rate (number of interactions per post per thousand fans). This is a good way of tracking how much of your audience actively engages with your content and therefore whether you're posting the right content at the right time.

Here's a good infographic I've found explaining how EdgeRank could apply to different situations:

This could change our world...

Isn't it amazing how prescient science fiction can be? Do you remember the computer interfaces in Minority Report and the way Tom Cruise was able to pull pieces of content around on a screen simply by swiping his hands? We now all take it for granted that we can do that on tablets and smartphones, but even that relies on touching a screen and allows only a two dimensional interaction. 


Well Leap Motion is about to change all that. An amazingly clever little gadget, when this is released in December it will allow users to interact with content in a 3 dimensional space in front of their monitor. This means you'll be able to produce three dimensional images, moves things around and navigate through content with just fingers or any other objects you care to pick up. The possibilities are boundless.

Take a look at the video below for a clearer picture. There are desktop mice all over the world fearing for their future...

Social Media Sets the UK News Agenda

Social media is the news source of choice for Britain’s under 25-year-olds.

According to the first Reuters Institute Digital Report, 43% of people between 16 and 24 get their news from social networks such as Twitter and Facebook rather than search engines such as Google.

Over 45-year-olds’ use of social media for getting news pales in comparison to the younger demographic — just 11% say they get news from the social web. For 33% of British people over 45, search engines are the online method of choice.

Between different social networks, Facebook is the most popular place to share news. More than half (55%) of people share news on Facebook, beating email, where 33% of people share, and Twitter, where 23% of people share. Few people responded that they share frequently to Google+ or LinkedIn.

The report’s editor, Nic Newman, found that Europeans are generally less interested than Americans in sharing news or engaging otherwise digitally.

As far as what they like to read goes, UK readers are more interested in science and technology news (23%) than business and financial news (19%).

This clearly makes for interesting reading for organisations in which news distribution is key. All news outlets will have to find new ways of reaching their audiences to keep up with consumer behaviour. It's a move from news as a product to news as a process. Where traditionally news has been dictated by production and distribution within a one-size-fits-all methodology it is now an always-on, transparent and collaborative process.

This is not all bad news for traditional media companies. While there may now be a need to change workflows to ensure that consumers are included in the process, there are benefits to the new news environments. Traditionally news content has had a short shelf-life. Now, value is being found in the archive as consumers find that timeliness isn't the key driver for conversation, but rather quality of content. Shareable, engaging, entertaining and interesting news remains that for a longer period.

There's an argument that being first is no longer the key objective - rather it's being the first credible and accurate source. News brands are becoming curators rather than creators and it's only once this transition has taken place that news organisations can make the most of the new news platforms.

Where do you get your news? Search engines, media outlets or social networks? Take part in my online poll here

Heineken Second Screen app

Second screen genius...

Okay, I confess - I'm a huge football fan. And I mean that in the British sense. In other words, "soccer". Which probably makes me slightly biased about the below example of second screen innovation. However, over an above the application being based around the world's greatest sport, there is plenty to applaud in this brilliant activation.

Firstly, it proves that there is a place for brands in second screen and social engagements. Heineken are plastered all over this app, but they never feel like they're distracting or irritating. Instead, they supply the user with an engaging experience that evokes a positive emotional response to the brand.

Secondly, this is a great example of consumer led second screen engagement. It doesn't try to change viewer behaviour, it just taps into the existing behaviour. Football fans (trust me, I know about them) have always watched the game making predictions like "here comes a goal" or "they'll win this easily". This app simply let's them do that, in a really fun way, with a competitive perk and communal experience.

The consumer and the content comes first - the platform is just the method of delivery.

Fairfax and Channel 4's Scrapbook

Fairfax goes “digital first”

Fairfax, who this week confirmed job cuts and the introduction of pay walls for their Australian sites, have announced a "digital first" publishing strategy which will see "greater sharing of editorial content across geographies and across platforms." As digital content consumption continues to attack traditional media, we’ll see a lot more publishing and content-based business adopting the same approach.

The figure back up Fairfax’s strategic position. In the last social media update I asked you how you first heard your news and 38% of you said you heard news first on news websites. Fairfax is targeting you.

Interestingly, 11% of respondents said that television was their first source of news against 15% who said social media and 23% radio.

Channel 4 launch “Scrapbook”

Channel 4, who have long been considered digital innovators in the UK, have launched a new service on their site allowing users to collate articles they're interested in into an online scrapbook. The service is imaginatively entitled Scrapbook and you can take a look at it for yourself here.

http://scrapbook.channel4.com/

I honestly think that Channel 4 have dropped the ball with this. While it's nicely designed and easy to use (as you'd expect) I can't see what the consumer need is for such a service. Creating quick and easy links to articles and sites of interest is already perfectly achievable through simple in-browser bookmarking. The distinct lack of sharing options puts this in stark contrast with Pinterest which has similar functionality but allows you to create "boards" that you can share with your friends and in turn browse theirs. This seems to fulfil the human need for sharing ideas, creating a sense of identity and creating communities through shared interests in a far more social sense than Scrapbook.

Would you use Scrapbook? Let me know by taking part in this quick poll...

http://poll.fm/3rqqp

Facebook must let users opt-out of sponsored stories

It's been a tough couple of months for Facebook and now a ruling in California has forced them to give users more control over which of their actions can be promoted in Sponsored Stories. A lawsuit claimed it was illegal under Californian law to use people’s names and images along with advertisements without compensating them.

Facebook have agreed to create a way for users to view which of their interactions have been displayed in Sponsored Stories and take action to opt out of these being shown further.

The change could have a negative impact on Facebook’s advertising business, which increasingly relies on Sponsored Stories over traditional ads that do not include social context of what a user’s friends Like. Sponsored Stories have higher clickthrough rates than other ads on Facebook, especially when they are displayed in News Feed or on mobile devices.

This is a really interesting precedent to set. While I can't see this ruling having a huge impact on the effectiveness of sponsored story ads in the short term, if further territories choose to challenge Facebook’s current stance on the use of user data it’s more than possible that more concessions could be necessary in the future.

For anyone who’s not sure what a sponsored story is here’s a good example…

Social TV is here to stay

The Social TV movement has arrived… and it’s here to stay

On-screen promotion of Twitter handles, hashtags and Facebook pages is nothing new. Increasingly viewers are now seeing the promotion of network specific and show-specific second screen apps and are being invited to take part in contests that incorporate elements of social interaction. But for the first time, we have proof that the message is hitting home.

A recent US study run by Accenture found that 64% of consumers recall the social prompts they see on television. That’s a staggeringly high figure, but when you see the amount of TV related applications currently available through Apple’s App Store or Google Play, it perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise.

Every day the number of start-up Social TV companies increases, with offerings from reward mechanism, to check-in, access to exclusive content and conversation aggregators allowing you to interact with your friends in real-time.

But are they getting it right? I gave a presentation to the Technology team on Wednesday in which I talked about the need to remain consumer focussed in the face of so much technological potential. As I’ve said before, the future of television will be architected by producers who understand the need to create meaningful experiences. So what will Social TV really mean?

Well, in my opinion it will consist of three key themes – conversation, personalisation and gamification.

The conversation of television is nothing new. However, it is increasingly public and with services like Trendrr, increasingly accountable. Our challenge is to harness the natural talkability of television and turn it into something empowering. We need to create a sense of community and shared experience. We need to allow them to give and receive recommendation to and from their friends and increase the volume of our show brands around the digital watercooler.

The personalisation of television will be hugely important in retaining viewers and creating loyalty. This is the sense of putting our consumers at the centre of what we do. Our content must feel like it’s aimed at the individual viewer, make them feel like it’s all about them. It should be relevant, it should be their stories, told in the way they want them. And it should reflect their views and empower them to contribute. Viewers have always wanted their voice to be heard, but it’s only now that they have the means through which to do it. In 1990 the BBC received 1 million pieces of viewer correspondence. In 2010 they received 10 million… per day. Viewers want to be listened to. More than that, viewers now expect that they will be.

Gamification is the fun stuff! This simply means giving our viewers the ability to have fun with our content. The Voice’s 5th Coach Game is a great example of this, not only giving viewers a fun application to play with, but actually allowing them to influence the outcome of the show through it. It also rewards the viewer the more they play. It taps into the consumer desire to participate, to feel like they are part of the process. This is a communal, tribe-building experience and in the coming months, we’re going to see networks across the world getting more and more creative about how they use platform extensions to increase engagement with their shows.

However they do this, they will need to be focussed on the consumer and their emotional needs. Second screen activity will need to be seamlessly integrated, highly engaging and rewarding.

Easy eh?

Google are having a laugh…

Google has applied to take control a plethora of new domain names, including .LOL.

It has also announced that it has submitted applications for .google, .youtube and .doc and in explaining its decision, it cited “interesting and creative potential.”

On a side note, there's an interesting peculiarity about domain name registration. When the internet first came into being, all countries in the world were assigned a country code top level domain. The UK got .co.uk, New Zealand got .co.nz etc. The Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu were the big winners, getting the domain .tv. Unfortunately, they weren't aware of the real value of such a domain and leased it to Verisign for just US$4million per year. Estimates suggest that it was actually worth about 50 times that figure.

This week’s poll…
Thanks to the 30 of you who took part in last week’s poll. That’s a 600% increase on last week and at this rate, it’ll be an NZ-wide census by early 2014. A reminder of the question… do you have a television set in your home that is connected to the internet? Here are the results:

This week I’m asking… how do you normally hear your news first? Take part by clicking here 

Social media brings Eurovision to life…

For the non-Europeans among you, here’s a brief introduction to the weird world of the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision is a competition to determine the best song across the continent. It dates back to 1956 and in many ways was the precursor to Pop Idol, X Factor and The Voice. At its peak during the 70’s and 80’s it featured acts such as Abba, Sandie Shaw, Celine Dion and Brotherhood of Man. An eclectic mix I think you’ll agree. In recent years it has seen a decline in popularity and has ceased to make a ripple in the European cultural landscape. Until now...

In yet another case of a live event driving huge levels of engagement across social media, Saturday night's show peaked with over 25000 tweets per minute. While this cross-continental volume is a drop in the ocean when compared to the 50000 votes per second X Factor receives in the UK along (at peak), this is still a huge shot in the arm for a waning brand.

See the image below for a timeline of Twitter chatter...