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Majority of Users Say Social Networkers Are Kind and Caring

posted on February 9, 2012

Need a shot of the milk of human kindness? Spend a little time on a social network and your faith in humanity will be renewed.

So sayeth the majority of the 2,260 adults who responded to the latest Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project study.

“The tone of life on social networking sites” takes a look at people’s perceptions about their interactions on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

85% of adults said that their experiences were mostly kind. 68% went so far as to say that they had an experience that made them feel good and 61% felt closer to another person thanks to social media. And how about this? 39% said they frequently saw acts of generosity by others. Frequently!

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The Sharing Economy: Could It Be the Next Big Thing?

posted on February 9, 2012

Back in the days when we all knew our neighbors, borrowing from them was a common occurrence. Lawn mowers, hand tools, and that insane “cup of sugar” that appeared on nearly every TV show in the 50′s and 60′s.

Jump forward to the 90′s and borrowing wasn’t so hot anymore. Much of this was due to the change in the way we live and socialize. People who knew their neighbors well enough to ask a favor became the minority. We also became more possessive. If we wanted it, we bought it. If our friends had it, we bought it. Even if we were only going to use it once, we bought it.

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Groupon’s First Public Quarter Is No Deal for Investors

posted on February 9, 2012

We haven’t talked about Groupon in a while. There is actually a reason for that. Mostly it’s because when we post about the company our readers don’t seem to care. I have wondered why that is (maybe you can help enlighten me in the comments?) but this is somewhat significant to help us understand the state of the daily deal industry. So here we go.

According to USA Today

The online deals site, reporting for the first time as a public company, said its fourth-quarter revenue nearly tripled, but it lost money and its shares fell sharply after hours.

Groupon’s net loss totaled $42.7 million, or 8 cents per share, for the final three months of 2011. A year earlier, as a private company, it booked a larger loss of $378.6 million, or $1.08 per share.

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Compete Says Google+ Is Becoming An Enormous Success

posted on February 9, 2012

No matter how you feel about Google, Plus 1′s and Google + or how you think they should or should not influence search results you have to admit that Google has created some positive social waves for the first time in its history.

So just how big is this impact? Compete calls it enormous

It is now safe to say that Google+ is becoming an enormous success, with nearly half of the unique visitors of Twitter (40,411,065 unique visitors in December). With a steep upward trend and knowledge of the power behind a Google product, expect continued growth from the unequaled search engine’s social platform known for ingenuity, creativity, and revolutionary product offerings.

Compete uses the following numbers as the support for this claim.

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Valentine’s Day Shoppers Plan for a Budget Holiday

posted on February 8, 2012

It’s February. Love is in the air and the chocolates are piling up in the stores. Valentine’s Day is less than a week away but folks are still planning on how they’ll honor their partners without going over budget.

A new survey from PriceGrabber shows that 68% of shoppers will spend under $100 on Valentine’s Day, most spending between $25 and $50. For most shoppers, this is about the same as last year.

4% of loved ones are going to be in for a shock when their partner comes home empty handed.

In addition to buying for their spouse, 36% of shoppers said they’ll be buying for other relatives, including their kids. Only 17% said they’d be forking out for the boyfriend or girlfriend. What’s up with that?

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What Does a ‘Like’ Get You These Days?

posted on February 8, 2012

We often talk about how much a “like” is worth in terms of marketing. But what is a “like” worth to the consumer?

Take a look at this chart from eMarketer. The results clearly show that consumers expect to get something in return for their click. But when the CMO Council asked marketers what they thought, they said that consumers clicked out of loyalty or love for their product.

It is true that clicking the like button does imply a certain fondness for a brand, but love will only get you so far. Once the bloom is off the rose, consumers want to be rewarded for their loyalty.

You could go to Jared, or you could offer coupons, discounts, and freebies, They’re the best way to get me to like your Facebook page.

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Is Path CEO a Zuckerberg Disciple?

posted on February 8, 2012

Today, the fledgling social network Path was forced to issue an apology based on how it used contact data from its users. That’s an oversimplification of course but you can find plenty of places where the incidentals have been explained. Even Path investors like Michael Arrington’s CrunchFund had to call out the company.

The story of the day is definitely about Path (a CrunchFund portfolio company). The company has been copying address book information to their servers without user knowledge.

The company was apparently already aware of the issue and was taking steps to address it prior to this post coming out. The Android app has an opt-in, and a version of the app with an opt-in is awaiting approval at Apple, says CEO Dave Morin in the comments to the original post. Morin has also flat out apologized.