What’s that? You’re worried about people using your Facebook data to serve you ads? Facebook says you shouldn’t worry, because your identity will remain anonymous to advertisers and publishers — they’ll just know some basic facts about you. But really, if you’re worried about this kind of thing you shouldn’t be on Facebook. Actually, the whole Web is probably a no-go zone for you. Sorry.
UPDATE: Wow… this is a frustratingly addicting app. It isn’t that I have to reply with an image… I have to provide an image, to view the “locked” image that was sent to me.
That just opens up an endless loop of image sharing!
The app also allows me to “Reply” to an image in an unlocked format. I’ve had a little fun with the form-function on that feature…
(ORIGINAL POST)
Facebook is set to roll out a new “disposable message” app “Slingshot” today.
Similar to other apps like Snapchat, and the recently shuttered Facebook Poke, Slingshot allows the user to share a photo or video moment with a friend, or a group.
The next step, however, is where the app differentiates itself a little. In order to reply, you also have to include an image or short video. If you want to participate, you have to do more than just comment.
With Slingshot, we saw an opportunity to create something new and different: a space where you can share everyday moments with lots of people at once.
I talk, daily, with a lot of people who manage a lot of Facebook brand pages. From major national retailers, to a small local coffee shop. We all seem to be trying to game understand the news feed and how to get our content in front of users on Facebook.
We’re quick to blame algorithm changes, or a greedy “pay up” approach, but the truth is… it still just comes down to our content.
The new feed is built, and continually rebuilt to display content it thinks the user wants to see. That’s content from friends, family and brands.
When we post content that tells the user how awesome WE are, we post content they have little interest in, or get little value from. It isn’t that Facebook just wants us to pay. Facebook isn’t showing that to our fans… because our fans don’t want to see it.
While not perfect for this measurement, a readily available public metric of engagement for any Facebook page is the “talking about this” stat. Brands that are largely self promotional (see Coca-cola, and McDonalds) see that stat at about 1% of their overall “fan” base.
Brands that present content of value (often publishers… see Mashable, or USA Today) are seeing that number closer to 10-15% of their fan base.
As brands lament the lower impressions being given to inbound links, those publisher pages are primarily all links.
So, as we watch our content impressions drop, the sobering reminder is that it’s probably our fault.
According to a new study by the Pew Center’s Internet Project, 54% of Internet users have shared original photos on websites.
“Sharing photos and videos online adds texture, play, and drama to people’s interactions in their social networks,” said Pew Internet’s Maeve Duggan, author of a report on the new findings. “Pictures document life from a special angle, whether they relate to small moments, personal milestones, or larger news and events. Mobile connectivity has brought these visuals into countless lives in real-time. This all adds up to a new kind of collective digital scrapbook with fresh forms of storytelling and social bonding.”
Facebook announced an update to their “news feed” algorithm this week. This is what determines what gets viewed in their users’ news feeds.
As you’re likely aware, Facebook tries to make an educated guess what you want to see, based on your past behavior, and the performance of a post or brand/individual. Their new update tries to resurface older content you may not have seen (scrolled far enough to read). More from Facebook here:
Make a good first impression with your post. The new “bumping up” of older content means you are less likely to make a second impression with your users.
Encourage interaction. That could be link clicking, sharing, comments (questions), or likes. Try to motivate your user to do something that tells Facebook they like it (this has been true for a while, but seems increasingly important now).
