by
2 Comments

Facebook in CA Court Over Privacy

posted on June 2, 2010

This story was never a matter of if someone would take Facebook to court over the use of their data but it was just a matter of when. Well, I can’t say definitively that we have a winner but a case in California (go figure, right?) comes on the heels of the all the privacy hubbub surrounding Facebook as of late. Since timing is everything this case will get attention.

MediaPost reports

A California Facebook user has sued the social networking company for allegedly sharing his personal information with advertisers.

In a complaint filed late last week in federal district court in San Jose, David Gould of South Lake Tahoe alleges that Facebook violated its own privacy policy by disclosing to advertisers a host of information about users who click on ads, including their real names, current cities, schools attended and friend lists. Gould is seeking class-action status.

by
7 Comments

Disney Sells Movie Tix on Facebook

posted on June 2, 2010

The Walt Disney Company is doing more than wishing upon a star that their new release “Toy Story 3” will have success at the box office. While the movie doesn’t open until June 18 Disney is using their Facebook presence to pre-sell tickets and create buzz for Buzz Lightyear and company.

The New York Times reports

The Walt Disney Company has created what it believes is a first-of-its-kind application allowing Facebook users to buy tickets to “Toy Story 3” without leaving the social networking site and while, at the same time, prodding their friends to come along.

The application, called Disney Tickets Together, could transform how Hollywood sells movie tickets by combining purchases with the powerful forces of social networking. When you buy a ticket through Disney’s application, for instance, it alerts your Facebook friends and prompts you to invite them to buy tickets of their own.

by
4 Comments

Small Restaurant Owners Embrace Email Marketing

posted on June 1, 2010

A while back, I wrote a post on Marketing Pilgrim about online marketing in India. That very same day, and through no conscious decision, I decided to eat at Tarka, my local Indian restaurant. While sitting at the table enjoying naan and chicken kabobs I noticed a card on my table that said

Join our email list and get 10% off your next visit. Use our free wifi to sign up now!

To be fair, I wasn’t overly surprised to see this as Tarka is the only non-chain restaurant I know of with their own iPhone app; however, I was encouraged to see evidence that this small restaurant is engaging their patrons through email marketing and apparently they’re not alone.

by
1 Comment

Like It or Not Facebook Button is Buggy

posted on June 1, 2010

Facebook can’t seem to buy a break these days. It’s almost as if the privacy powers that be are reaching out and making life difficult for the social media giant just because they can. Could anything be worse than the string of bad reports that have dogged Facebook for the past couple of weeks? Not quite but this latest issue isn’t something that Facebook will like ;-) .

According to Mashable

Is your website experiencing problems with Facebook’s Like buttons? Don’t worry, it’s not just you and Facebook is working on a solution.

The problem that seems to be impacting potentially thousands of sites is that clicking on a Like button results in an error stating “The page [page URL] cannot be reached.” A bug has been filed with Facebook and the developers status page indicates that the company is actively working on a solution.

by
0 Comments

Google Maps Looks To Injure People With Bad Walking Directions*

posted on June 1, 2010

*This is only the case if the Google Maps user is a complete idiot.

It must be a slow news day when we have to resort to the “stupid human tricks that end up in court” kind of stories that make any thinking person scratch their head and ask “Are you kidding me?” Fortunately, this kind of filler is readily available so let’s look at what has reached the court system in Utah.

SearchEngineLand gives us some of the details

The case, Rosenberg v. Harwood, was filed in Utah, in the US District Court’s Central Division (Gary Price of ResourceShelf tipped us to it today). Harwood is Patrick Harwood, the person who actually hit Rosenberg, according to the suit. Both Harwood and Google are being sued in the same case, for damages “in excess of $100,000.”

by
1 Comment

Yahoo Helps Users Track Updates More Easily

posted on June 1, 2010

Well, I have to say that coming off a long weekend and having nothing to yell at Facebook for (at least to this point in the day) there is precious little else going on in the Internet marketing space. Believe me, I am not complaining because it can be nice when the industry takes a break to grab a little cheese with their whine. In other words, when no one is griping about something then there is not as much news. Just that statement on its own tells you something doesn’t it?

Back to reality though. Apparently Yahoo is working to make its mail service more social by allowing users to track other users more easily. Of course, considering how great these services worked out for Google and Facebook, Yahoo is being pretty cautious. They haven’t provided much in terms of innovation as of late so they last thing they need are changes that would produce a negative backlash.