by
0 Comments

Maybe We Now Know Why Facebook and Mobile Have Not Gotten Along?

posted on May 10, 2012

Many people complain about Facebook’s mobile experience. For the longest time their app was just not very good. Even with the latest improvements the Facebook mobile experience still leaves a bit to be desired.

While it seemed that Facebook was simply focused on building their 900 million user powerhouse and mobile was backburnered as a result, that may not have been the case at all.

CNBC reports that as a result of early investor meetings there has been a change to the filings for Facebook’s IPO which indicates the trouble Facebook has with mobile.

Facebook said growth in the number of users using Facebook on mobile devices, which is hard to monetize, “may negatively affect our revenue and financial results.”

by
0 Comments

Kit Kat Offers Fans in Singapore a Social Media Break

posted on May 9, 2012

Kit Kat is famous for their “give me a break” slogan and now they’re using it to give their fans in Singapore a much needed break from social media!

According to the Kit Kat Social Break website, 50% of 19-26 year olds in China, Singapore and US say keeping up social media is too time consuming and stressful. They say that they feel pressured to be in constant contact and guilty if they don’t respond right away to social media messages.

The solution? Kit Kat’s Social Break widget. The widget helps the user keep up on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The Facebook portion automatically “likes” any photos or updates that are tagged with your name. The Twitter helper automatically replies to Tweets with a relevant response randomly chosen from a list. The LinkedIn helper auto shares posts your contacts have shared. Says the copy: Now it is possible to seem intelligent without even lifting a finger.

by
0 Comments

Google Maps For Android Now With Offers and More

posted on May 9, 2012

Google does one thing better than anyone else (in my opinion, of course, so feel free to disagree in the comments) and that thing is maps. There are always improvements happening and it’s one of the few times that I don’t feel like a second class citizen in the smartphone era since they roll updates out to us Android folks first!

The latest update integrates Google Offers into the map experience for Android. From the Google Lat Long blog we get

Today, in the U.S. only, we’re launching a way to discover nearby Google Offers in Google Maps for Android. To see great deals near you, tap on “Maps” to open the dropdown menu and then tap on “Offers.” If you see something you like you can click on it to learn more. Some Google Offers can be purchased and saved for later while others are immediately available for free. With free Google Offers, press “Use now” to redeem instantly or “Save for later” for future use. You can also opt-in to receive notifications in the app when there are offers near you.

by
0 Comments

Did Facebook Cause the Social Reader Decline? Did Users? Does it Matter?

posted on May 9, 2012

Making the top ten list is a good thing except when when it’s the top ten list of losers. The Washington Post and The Guardian social reader apps both took a big hit this week and many are wondering if it’s a sign of things to come.

The numbers come from AppData, a website that monitors the health of Facebook and iOS apps. They caused a stir this week when they reported a 46% drop in monthly usage for The Washington Post and a 43% drop for The Guardian. Immediately, tech outlets jumped in with explanations for this horrendous turn around.

 BuzzFeed suggested that the collapse was due to the haters finally getting their way.

by
0 Comments

Google Places Unveils New Tool To Manage Bulk Listings

posted on May 9, 2012

If you have ever dealt with Google Places in any way you know how it can a maddening experience. As soon as there seems to be a semblance of calm and normality there is a sudden suspension of a listing, or a merge of two listings happens or Google just decides to replace your data with “new” data it dredged up from a data warehouse. Many local marketers and SEO professionals are likely to be cringing right now as they recall a moment from the past when that type of occurrence was all too present. Sorry about that ;-) .

Well, Google is at least trying to help businesses with at least 10 locations (considered the low end limit) by introducing a new bulk upload tool. It’s best for you to watch the tutorials that Google has prepared and posted on their Small Business blog

First, this tutorial is for those who are new users:

by
0 Comments

Apps Take up 4 Out of Every 5 Mobile Media Minutes

posted on May 8, 2012

Do you remember when phones couldn’t do anything but make phone calls? With every passing month, we’re adding more and more functionality to our mobile phones and it’s good for everybody’s business. Games, shopping, directions, news — we can even have our phones nag us when we forget to do something. About the only thing our phones can’t do is transport us to another location. . . someday. .  . someday.

In the meantime, it’s apps that are occupying our mobile minutes. 82% of our media time is spent with these mini-programs and there’s no end in sight.

comScore put together a list of the top apps and I have to say, I was surprised by a few of them. Take a look.

by
0 Comments

Are Online Companies Using the Wrong Data to Measure Success?

posted on May 8, 2012

Everyone knows you need analytics on your website and some people actually pay attention and act on the data they acquire. But digital design agency Extractable says you might be putting all your eggs in the wrong data basket.

Right now, off the top of your head, what would you say is the most common data point for measuring success?

If you said traffic, give yourself a gold star. 66% of the companies Extractable surveyed said they use use traffic numbers as a measure of success. 46% said they use time spent on site but neither one of these is a true indicator of customer satisfaction and neither speaks to conversions.