Facebook directs more online users than Google...

"So the message for the advertising industry is that more serious attention needs to be paid to social-networking sites like Facebook, and advertisers need to figure out how to leverage this traffic."

"Consumers only spend about 5 percent of their time online searching and the other 95 percent of the time at the destination. Social media is quickly accounting for a large percentage of that 95 percent."


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/14/BUU51C0AMN.DTL

via @armano

I give you something of value in the hope that you’ll someday return the favor.

We live in a relationship economy. Where transactions are the by-products of healthy relationships. Where courting people is ineffective. You can´t simply market anymore based solely on responsiveness in a more and more socialized marketplace. You´re surrounded by creators not an audience. And if you gain trust, that´s because you have provided value - time over and over again. That´s where the meaningful relationships start. That´s when the behavior and micro trend starts. That´s what will make your brand heart pump. 24 hrs, 365 days a year. 

Your goal is not to create a new customer. It´s to create a customer who creates new customers. By gaining trust through activating your existing customers. Continuously.

It´s time to start investing and stop spending. People interact with brands that resonates to people and their values. You need to connect with underlying human truths. You need a flexible, though consistent, identity that can build trust by offering or take part in a culture and provide or be a social currency that will activate individual needs and preferences in everyday life. Then you will have a legion of people who believe in your visions that will influence each others move from consideration to point of action.

It´s not really about popularity, likes, views or comments on your site. It´s about behavior. It´s about what reinforces my identity. What´s viral is what´s the resulting pattern when people choose to share something with each other. Activate!

It´s about ecosystems where all participants are valued and empowered. Where your customers are contributors and stakeholders.

We live in a relationship economy. Where the old model of paying for participating in culture is a dead end. You need to live to be able to take part in people´s life.

What are you investing in to form meaningful relationships? How are you empowering people? What are you doing to lead people?

The tiltle quote "I give you something of value in the hope that you’ll someday return the favor." taken from an interesting article: "People Share News That Inspires AWE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/science/09tier.html

Mobile Social Networking More Popular than Desktop.

1. Mobile is definitively a better platform for socializing. 
2. Niche. Niche. Niche.  
3. Abandon responsiveness. You got to live to be able to take part in people´s life. 365 days a year. Be the vehicle for broadening people´s horizons. 
4. Create an arena for remixing and creation. Otherwise you´re just treating people like consumers. Share, not search, is the DNA of the internet. 
5. Stop courting. Activate by doing things for people. How? By facilitating possibilities for people to make new or existing relationships more meaningful. Show that you care enough about people so that they start to care about you and want you to be part of their everyday life. 
  • 2.7 hours per day on the mobile web
  • 91% use the mobile web to socialize vs 79% of desktop users
  • 45% post comments on social networks
  • 43% are connecting with friends on social networks
  • 40% share content
  • 38% share photos

    We need to spend more time creating SPREADABLE MATERIAL for audiences than trying to perfect VIRAL MRKT

    The concept of "stickiness" is inadequate for measuring success for brands and content producers online and ultimately why marketers and producers should spend more time creating "spreadable material" for audiences than trying to perfect "viral marketing."


    "Reciprocity takes the form of self-promotion. Culture is to become precisely nothing but advertising"

    The title quote is taken from Jaron Lanier, the author of "You Are Not a Gadget" and ex-Wired journalist, who wants a universal system of micro payments. I believe this is a natural step forward. A welcomed step that would help filter out some brands and peoples real values and goals.

    But I´m not that pessimistic. I have my doubts from time to time. But I do still believe in people. 

    I believe that what will push the evolution of the everyday life, enhanced digitally, are people that are - like Daniel Pink points out in his book "Drive" - driven and motivated by our need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things and to do better by ourselves and our world.

    In marketing perspective it´s all about focusing on how we can help people having a better everyday life for themselves and with each other because of your brand. As a brand you need to be the vehicle that enables people to broaden their horizons. Such a great vehicle that people want to live part of their everyday life through your brand.

    For that you need a pulse, 365 days a year. You got to LIVE to be able to take part in peoples LIFES. Stop courting people, start living with people. And you need a flexible identity that enables multiple interactions with individuals and people that shares common values and needs. The challenge is how to be flexible but maintain a consistent identity. But as people change and evolve each day, so could your brand...

    Apple vs Google (vs Facebook)

    A friend of mine @thomas_wagner  tweeted this:

    "Yes, I get what Apple is doing.  But no, I don't like their vision of the web and content consumption and its implications for our culture."

    When I asked him to elaborate he pointed me to the manifesto from Google "The meaning of open" 

    And went on to argue: 
    1) Apple are building an ecosystem that is obviously brilliant to use, simple and aesthetic. It will be a success.
    2) It is based on locking people in and "the internet" out. They aim at controlling content, distribution and consumption.

    And tops it off with:
    3) To me, this implicates a culture that dismisses complexity (the good sort of it). Radically spoken: http://bit.ly/9Nc3Bn

    Stating that "Google is only open when it is convenient for them. Google will never open up the source code to its search algorithms or its advertising system, or share the core data which gives it a competitive advantage in those areas because that is where it makes all of its money."

    Jeff Chausse enters with " How Apple Will Destroy The Web"

    Stating that "Everyday people do not give a crap about the Web. Now, don’t get me wrong – they care about the information found there, but Google famously demonstrated that the average Joe doesn’t know the difference between a browser, a web site, and a search engine. People want to tell their computer what they want, and then get an answer. They don’t care one bit if that answer is streamed via HTTP and rendered in a web browser via HTML. They just want an answer. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt if they get that answer fastand in a fun, engaging way. You know, like, via a 99 cent app on your phone.

    "Deep down, Apple doesn’t believe in Social Networking. They believe in enabling real human interaction."

    Let´s bring in Facebook to the discussion...

    What´s your view?