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Facebook Autoplay Video Ads! Get Ready to Get Mad

posted on May 9, 2013

mute buttonThe Financial Times (and everyone else who saw the article) is reporting that Facebook is going to start inserting autoplay video ads into your Facebook feed.

I sense a brouhaha coming on.

But really. . . let’s talk about this.

First, is it even true? I’m not questioning the integrity of the reporter who wrote the story, but Facebook talks about doing a lot of things that either never happen or they happen and then go away. Even the changes that stick quickly become part of our routine – with one exception – I do wish they’d put Facebook Page updates back in my main feed because I always forget to check the separate feed. (Is there a way to combine them that I’m missing?)

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Will People Pay to Watch YouTube?

posted on May 6, 2013

cat videoThere’s a rumor running around the internet that says YouTube is going to start charging for certain content streams. Don’t panic yet. You’ll still be able to watch people doing embarrassing things in public and cats doing cat things for free. The move would initially involve about 50 specific channels of curated content.

And when they say “channel” they mean a locked library of related content. For example, a studio might create a package of children’s programming, another partner might list a collection of business tutorials. For some, it’s a way of recycling old content that was previously created for TV, DVD or the web. For others, it’s about capitalizing on YouTube videos that are already working – why give it away if you can charge?

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Now For Something Completely Different: Facebook Teases a Big Announcement

posted on January 9, 2013

facebook mysteryGossip Girl ain’t got nothing on Facebook. The company recently sent out an invitation to the press with the promise of a big reveal on January 15 and now everyone is talking!

Many tech sites think Facebook is going to reveal their own smartphone. It’s an idea that’s been talked about for ages, even though Zuckerberg has clearly said it “wouldn’t make much sense.”

True, Facebook isn’t in the hardware biz, but neither was Amazon and they’re doing okay with their line of Kindles. For them, it’s about selling a gizmo cheap in order to get people to buy product. For Facebook, it would be about selling the brand along with the social lifestyle.

If it’s not about the phone, then what? How about a fancy new redesign?

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You Know Internet Industry News Is Slow When New iPhone Rumors Start

posted on January 2, 2013

iphone rumorsI am ashamed.

I am about to aid and abet in one of the most heinous crimes that the online industry perpetrates on the poor unsuspecting masses for what seems to be 365 days a year now.

I am going to help perpetuate the, gulp, “We’ve seen next iPhone!” machine. My apologies but really, there isn’t anything else to say.

The Next Web says

Currently under development, traces of Apple’s new iPhone and iOS software have begun surfacing in app usage logs. Developers have contacted The Next Web to share references to a new iPhone identifier and the next big operating system update for the smartphone and tablet devices: iOS 7.

Cue the dramatic music. Start running those typewriter sounds in the background. It’s going to happen. Mashable says with apparent great certainty (insert Muttley laugh here).

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Is Facebook Getting Ready to Launch News Feed Video Ads? AdAge Says it’s So

posted on December 19, 2012

pitchmanAdAge has the scoop on a secret Facebook plan to put video ads in your news feed. And not just any ads – but autoplay ads that will begin as soon as you hit them.

AdAge asked an advertising exec for his thoughts on the this idea and the response was priceless;

“There could be serious outrage.”

That simple sentence says it all.

I understand why Facebook would want to go this route. Video advertising is a big money maker and if they can pry some of the cash away from TV advertising, then it would be a real boost to their revenue stream.

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Roommate Wanted: Apply Via Facebook

posted on November 1, 2012

The Daily is passing around a rumor that Facebook is going to get into the classified ad biz and I’m going with it because it sounds like something they would do.

Though you can still place an ad in a newspaper, most people turn to Craigslist for their buying, selling, hiring and companionship needs. It works because it’s both local and global. I can sit in Los Angeles and read the apartment for rent ads in Manhattan if I want because I’m planning to move there or just to make myself feel better about what I pay here in SoCal. But, if what I really need is a free couch, I can click on the Free section for my city and snag myself a slightly used Ikea divan.

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Uh Oh! It’s Question Whether Mark Zuckerberg Should Be Facebook’s CEO Time

posted on August 20, 2012

It looks like we have reached the point in the continuing Facebook saga that it’s OK to questions whether Mark Zuckerberg should continue on as the CEO of the social network. For the record, I really have no opinion either way on this one. The future of Facebook will certainly be influenced by who is at the helm but it is likely to be even more influenced by the whims of social media users as they mature in their use of the medium.

But that won’t stop the headlines:

Chicago Sun-Times – Could Facebook Fire Zuckerberg?

Los Angeles Times – Is Mark Zuckerberg in Over His Hoodie as Facebook CEO?

Mashable – Should Zuckerberg Resign from CEO Position?

And you know this must be big because even Perez Hilton asks “Should Mark Zuckerberg Step Down as CEO of Facebook?”