Search giant Google has yet again taken a controversial step with the introduction of ‘Search plus your World’, a new feature that integrates search results with Google+ social networking. This new feature has highlighted the progression of the internet as it gives a search engine the ability to combine social elements with everyday search, theoretically providing search results that are tailored to fit your interests and needs. Google is importing content from its six month old Plus service into its regular searches, a clear shot across the broadsides of Facebook and Twitter.

The Good
Features of the approach include recommending additional companies and people to follow on Plus, based on your search results. It will bring up the profiles of other Google+ users and celebrity Google+ accounts depending on your interests, according to Google. This will make searching much more efficient for many users who want to find relevant information quickly and Google can almost guess what their customers are looking for, bringing up the most useful information. This is taking searching to a whole new level on the internet by providing an integrated service. However in the world of social networking and search giants; we can always find flaws …

The Bad
Many internet users may enjoy having a broad access to the internet, for purposes of work and research they may not want their search engine to define their searches to bring up things that they are only interested in. If they want to search across their interests they may already be signed up to other browser add-ons such as StumbleUpon which does exactly that. However Google has responded to this possibility and you can turn off the new feature by adjusting your search settings. The search engine will also not present results from rival social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, therefore creating controversy and possibly unfair competition by leveraging their separate search facilities to boost the decidedly unpopular Plus.

The Ugly
The question on many critics’ lips was whether Google are unfairly exploiting their online dominance of internet searches to promote their own social network. They are prioritising Google+ data and the social network is having a very easy ride on the back of the dominant search engine. It can be understood from Twitter’s point of view when they lashed out against the new feature, arguing that it is going to be harder to use Google to find Twitter posts about breaking news, like protesters writing tweets from countries like Syria and Egypt. Facebook has not yet responded to the recent announcement by Google, but as they have had a recent privacy deal, Facebook could not let Google index all of their information which users think is going to stay private not really giving them an argument against the Google giants.

In regards to Google’s defence it seems that any company should have the right to push its own products before anyone else’s and in fact use their success to promote its other features. Facebook is now coming up to its 8th birthday and has over 800 million active users; in reality would it really affect them a great deal if Google were to push Google+? Although it does rival Facebook and Twitter, social networking is one of the biggest growing ways of communication, and the landscape is expected to shift over time. Overall the success of the new Google feature is yet to be seen, and with the Twitter backlash and Facebook yet to speak up, anything could happen as the social networking titans collide; watch this space.

Last week saw the announcement of a whole host of new Facebook features, which will have a serious effect on the way we use the social networking site. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg personally delivered the keynote speech at the f8 conference in San Francisco. The conference is primarily aimed at developers and business partners, but the main announcements will have major implications on the way that the everyday user experiences Facebook. Zuckerberg announced changes relating to the look of the profile, social integration and a major new partnership with online music streaming service Spotify. All these changes are aimed at making Facebook an ‘entertainment hub’, where the sharing of music, film, books and games is taken to a whole new level.

Timeline – Your Personal Facebooking History

One of the biggest announcements at this year’s conference was the introduction of Timeline. Timeline is a new way of viewing one another’s profiles. It is essentially a plotted history of your time on Facebook, or, if you add more content from before you first used Facebook, a history of your life. A sample Timeline profile (available to view on the Facebook website) also shows the user’s recent music on Spotify, films on Netflix and Hulu, books read, pages liked, and more. While some of these individual elements are available to see on Facebook at the moment, but the new organisation is much more streamlined and integrated.

Ticker – An Extra Feed for the Little Things

Ticker is a feature that many users will already have noticed on their main profile page. The ticker feed has been compared to Twitter. The main point of Ticker is to provide an extra feed, so your main news feed doesn’t get clogged up with information that is of no significant interest for you. For example if someone changes a profile picture, it is likely to go into the new Ticker, as it’s not something that most people would deem to be important enough to warrant a place in your main feed. Ticker allows your main news feed to be filled with more important and relevant posts and updates.

New and Improved Spotify Integration

There were numerous internet companies that were in attendance at the f8 conference, many announcing partnerships with Facebook, but the standout development is the further integration of Spotify and Facebook. The new changes will mean that a user’s activity on Spotify is more easily visible to Friends on Facebook, as well as recognising similarities in the music choice of their friends. However, it now also means that you must have a Facebook account to sign up with Spotify.

Initial Reactions

The reception of the new and soon to be implemented changes has been decidedly mixed. Many critics feel that Facebook is trying to spread itself too thinly, rather than focusing on what it is good at: being a place to communicate with friends. The recently introduced Ticker has received criticism for further changing the profile layout, in a similar way to that of the new chat box. However, it must be remembered that many Facebook changes have been criticised, primarily due to changing a layout that users are accustomed to, but these criticisms are often forgotten once users have familiarised themselves with the new features.

More positive comments have focused on the ability for Facebook to be a ‘distribution platform’. This means that it will be easier for you to discover things you like, and the ability to pass these interests on to friends. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made a point about how friends have a big influence on our choices. He told a story about how the Netflix algorithm always told him to watch the TV show Breaking Bad, which he constantly overlooked, but when told on the new Facebook platform by a Friend to watch it, he immediately decided to do so.

Be Prepared for Big Changes

Whether you appreciate the new Facebook changes or not, it is undoubtedly one of the biggest periods of transition that the company has gone through. It will be a little while before all of the changes are implemented, but will alter the way we connect socially. These changes will also have an impact on the way advertisers use the power of Facebook. As yet the full extent of this is not known, but will likely give companies an opportunity to interact with users in whole new ways.

Super search engine Google has taken a leap forward in to the realms of social networking. Joining in with the fun of liking, digging and tweeting, Google now aims to have everyone ‘plus oneing’. The +1 button that was rolled out in March, which allowed people to like Google searches has been expanded in to more sites on the internet. The new revelation in SEO is being used on websites such as masher, Bloomberg and addthis. It hopes to expand its presence to sites like you tube and blogger in the very near future.

Google’s +1 button has been put in place to compete with the Facebook ‘like’ button. With Facebook having over 600,000,000 active users it is a force to be reckoned with, the Facebook like button has been very popular and become a global phenomenon, a second nature to most. The +1 button allows Google users to show their appreciation for a blog, a site, an object, anything on the internet that they want to share with friends. It is a quick and easy way for people to find pages that they will like, or that friends think they should ‘check out’.

Problems have already been highlighted for the new feature. Currently the webmasters like their balanced world and their social media strategy. They will need to implement the +1 button dynamically and quickly without upsetting their current social media strategies. A belief that the increasing amount of buttons with all the different uses is going to start confusing the consumer and after all, those are who we completely rely on to press the buttons and up ratings of the websites!

Clicking the +1 button publicly gives something your stamp of approval. It can help your friends, contacts and others on the web find the best stuff when they search. As the internet is now such a vast sea of information, the +1 button will refine the mass of knowledge and make searching even quicker. Social media has changed the current world, where would we be now without Facebook and Twitter? And in the grand scheme of things they have not been around for very long! So for this reason it is not a surprise that Google want to become more social.

So can Google really take on the powerful forces of Facebook? With the internet moving so quickly and the sheer impatience and thirst for current technology it is likely that they could. The majority of social networkers have now worn out the Facebook ‘like’ button so maybe they will look for something new and exciting. Google is a trusted search engine so curiosity will certainly drive people to try it out. So sit back and watch the battle of the buttons begin.

There is no doubt that television has proven itself to be an invention that has plenty of staying power. We have grown accustomed to the presence of television, with a vast variety and extended schedule of programmes now available to us. It seems we still need television in our lives, but with the honeymoon phase long over and a constant release of new technology to distract us, other forms of entertainment tend to supplement our television rituals.

Gathering around a TV as a family to concentrate all our energies into one screen, seems somewhat of an unrealistic proposition. It is now more likely that our attention will be divided between multiple screens, which are to hand, such as mobile phones, iPads or laptops. Gone are the days when Saturday night shows captivated us, our eyes glued to the TV set, with little else able to drag us away. Television used to dominate a living room as a prime source of entertainment in most households, a revolutionary concept that at the time of its inception seemed to exist as an unbeatable format.

However, television on its own isn’t enough anymore. A survey from marketing agency, ‘Digital Clarity’ found that 80% of under-25s used a second screen to communicate with friends while watching television. Because we are not restricted to a desktop computer anymore and mobile phones are more than just a tool to dial a number; a generation that readily indulges in digital multi-tasking has been born, changing the way our leisure time is spent. Social networking and surfing the internet have become second nature; without a constant supply of various technology mediums at our finger tips, we quickly become restless and bored. It seems that our minds and bodies have been reprogrammed to crave constant streams of digital information.

New Zealand is one of the first countries to launch a new channel aimed specifically at a generation of Facebookers. The programme’s format provides an engaging, interactive experience that takes advantage of an audience already keen on the use of multiple screens. Other programmes, including chat shows and the news, display incoming tweets, emails and texts from viewers which roll along the bottom of the screen. This reveals how closely connected communication now is, due to the use of multiple media.

Real time communication at our fingertips means that we can catch up on a TV programme we missed via the internet, tweet about it using our mobile phones, while watching a music channel on the television in the background.

With the 5th birthday of Twitter, celebrated on the 21st of March, five years on, it seems that the way we spend time and communicate has transformed. Privacy has slackened and the confines of our living room walls are no longer transcended solely by the escapism of a drama or comedy show but by our own broadcasts via Twitter.

The gap between different technologies is closing; faster connection speeds, flatter screens and higher definition pictures are all elements that drive the evolving character of 21st century technology. It remains to be seen if television will wane, although it may have more competition these days, it seems that different forms of technology are actually working together to complement each other’s strengths.

Facebook are looking to transform the modern film industry by partnering up with Warner Bros and offering its US users The Dark Knight to rent through its online Facebook page. The film will cost 30 Facebook credits, or $3 to watch the film as many times as you like in a 48 hour period. This is apparently the first of many films which will be made available on the social media platform, and could lead to more titles and different studios to take the plunge, and begs the question how could a partnership with one of the largest film production companies in the world benefit Facebook?

The film industry is an untapped market for social media, and it could be an opportunity for Facebook to combine online interaction whilst watching a film, swapping comments and thoughts about the film. There are some questions which arise about whether this add-on to Facebook is a step too far, and why Warner Bros have not set up online rental themselves, without needing to use Facebook. With over 500 million users, Facebook has such a vast user base; Warner Bros could be using their reach to gain a step up into social media. The Dark Knight is currently seventh on the all time highest grossing films, and it would be interesting to see how its introduction to a new media vehicle affects its rank and figures.

If the partnership proves successful, could we see more film studios renting films out through Facebook? Or is a Facebook film production company possible? With the value of $76.4bn, the social media platform could expand its brand and has the perfect base to market and deliver a product to their users on a grand scale. This is temporarily available to users in the United States; however is there really that much requirement for an online film rental through Facebook? Some people may see it as needless, particularly with HD televisions and surround sound systems now increasingly popular in homes trying to mirror the cinema feel. Facebook will also face stiff competition from Netflix and their popular service, as well as Blockbusters, Amazon and other rental companies. What better film to test the new feature, then a film whose fan page has received over 3.9 million likes? It is because of this mass popularity which as seen the action film used as a guinea pig.

Facebook as a brand is expanding at a quick pace, with their integrated mailing system announced before Christmas, mobile platform released last month and film rental service set to include more titles in the coming months. It is hard to imagine now an internet without the presence of Facebook somewhere, whether it is a ‘like’ button or a comment about the platform. Facebook is continuing to increase in size and wealth, but it will be interesting to see how long their growth continues and which imaginative way they choose to expand next?

With such a vast array of companies all competing for the consumer’s attention, a brand needs to be innovative, charismatic and intriguing to stand out amongst the rest. A trend on the internet can spread all around the world in a matter of minutes, with email, Facebook and Twitter the perfect platform to share the latest craze or video. Viral marketing videos which engross the viewer and show how your product is different from all others similar can be watched, rated and then shared around the globe, not only increasing your brand awareness but also changing the consumer’s perception of your products.

One of the most successful viral marketing campaigns has the viewer interacting and having influence on the video. In 2010 the Old Spice – ‘The man your man could smell like’ saw a range of short video clips where the possibilities were endless if you used Old Spice. The humour and topics involved created a media frenzy totalling more than 13 million views, and resulted in personal questions which were asked through Twitter and answered in real time through videos posted to YouTube. This high level of participation between consumer and brand saw a social media blitz which pushed Old Spice, a somewhat forgotten brand to the forefront of consumer’s mind.

Another viral advert campaign which generated such intense fascination from the public is Blendtec’s – ‘Will it Blend?’ campaign. Cleverly done, the series of videos combine a memorable theme tune and an eccentric presenter and show how their blender can blend anything. The collection of videos exceeded 117 million views, and took requests asking them to blend items from iPhones to a Big Mac meal. The huge popularity saw the videos shared and watched across the internet, and showed Blendtec as an authority in the industry.

It is this snowball effect where popular videos gain wider coverage which can give a brand global recognition. Any company, whether a small business or agency trying to get noticed or an old fashioned brand invigorated with creativity and ingenuity, can become an internet hit with a successful viral video campaign. Viral videos do not have the same restrictions as adverts on the television as they are not monitored by the Advertising Standards Authority. This allows brands to be risqué and to show videos which would may not be allowed to be shown on the television. A popular viral video can increase a company’s impact on the internet, help to successfully launch a product and revive forgotten brands. Taking advantage of the wide availability of the internet and instant sharing of videos and news is imperative in getting your brand’s message heard.

Green Media have over 10 years experience with internet advertising, digital marketing and social media, so if you are looking to optimise your business’ online performance, email info@green-media.com or call 01912328088.

Tweets, subjects and people who are trended on Twitter are at the centre of attention of over 190 million newsfeeds. It is not surprising then that, Twitter is sometimes the place where most people find out news, events or tragedies. You could say Twitter has evolved from a micro-blogging site used to share thoughts, to become a service collectively bringing together news and reactions to some of the world’s biggest stories.

Not only do you get the news filtering through as searches are refreshed and updated, but also the initial reactions of twitter users. News can be received instantly due to the ease of access to Twitter from portable computers, mobile phones and anything connected to the internet. A trend is a popular topic with a large number of tweets relating to it, and an interesting story or breaking news article could in reality go round the world in minutes. The advantage of trending has also seen promoted tweets featured in the trend section, allowing brands to advertise through Twitter.

There are some disadvantages with the speed in which Twitter releases their information, in that there are bound to be mistakes and incorrect details. The news stories can even appear on Twitter before journalists have even had the opportunity to write articles. However with only 140 characters, surely Twitter should be used as a base to find out the full in-depth story when more facts have been found. Some false stories and rumours have been known to circulate the online world quickly and spiral out of control. There is no barrier against posting falsities or rumours which could lead to major confusion.

Twitter has grown beyond a simple social media site, for friends to see what others are doing, follow their favourite celebrities and sports stars and has in essence become a go-to place for the latest news and in essence online ‘gossip’. With all this attention on Twitter and increasing volume of users, what is next for the brand, and what direction could it go?

Twitter could expand their brand even further, similar to Facebook with games and the ‘online chat’ function and Myspace with their integrated music player. Twitter could incorporate associated websites ‘twit-pic’ and ‘twit-vid’ into its website as having the ability to post pictures and videos without going to external websites gives users a well-rounded online experience. If Twitter keeps growing, it could include different sections to the site, news and sport, music or even a ‘gossip column’ section; however this could take away the simplicity to the website which is instituted in the 140 character limit. Twitter has grown rapidly with the boom of interest in social media, which has proven that ‘microblogging’ is not a craze and that is here to stay.

The World Wildlife Fund has taken a stride forward, pioneering a non-profit gift catalogue and using the indomitable technological platform of Facebook to boost its appeal and widen its scope.

A ‘gift centre’ is at the heart of the page’s identity, which can be found by logging onto Facebook as a registered user and entering ‘World Wildlife Fund’ in the search-box at the top or simply by visiting http://www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund .A symbolic adoption is available, in which colour photographs, certificates and a description card provide an added incentive, decorating a profile page as an almost badge of honour pinned to its fabric, which in turn motivates further donations, as an extensive range of over one hundred species draw out sympathy and urge charitable tendencies to surface, which inevitably result in a surge of pride.

Extra links in the form of favourite pages, such as ‘End Tiger Trade’ and ‘Alliance for Global Trade’ deepen an interest in conservation and establish an understanding of each species’ critical position in terms of survival, while also demonstrating how highly dependent the WWF and other conservation organisations are on public support. It also shows a mutual support for conservation, where similar organisations pull together for a greater good, separating it from the ruthless tendencies of profitable businesses. Instead amicableness is presented, which seems an apt quality, considering Facebook’s focus on friendship.

WWF has an immediate advantage in that its products or endangered species need little promotion; they effectively sell themselves through their appealing appearances and helpless demeanours. Causes that are interactive are easier to get involved in and access. The option to add an animal as a friend only serves to emphasise the fact that animals are friendly looking characters; their presence within a friend list becomes a pleasant reminder of the contact shared between the WWF and an individual, as well as demonstrating a permanent appreciation. There is even the option tell a friend about adopting a species, which is similar to clothes catalogues that harness the potential of word-of-mouth.

The donations that are received help towards a broad range of conservation measures, such as poaching, pollution and habitat loss. Individuals who make donations of more than fifty dollars receive a stuffed toy corresponding to their chosen animal. Wish lists are available much like an online shopping site, together with ‘like’ and ‘share’ features which already pepper the Facebook site.

WWF benefit by using Facebook’s recognised template to insert their message and direct their visitors, which dispel some of the growing distrust associated with Facebook’s conception and its blanketed influence over youth, which demonstrates it as a tool that can make a difference for the better. Using the global connectivity of Facebook, together with an official website, WWF live up to their name and deliver worldwide coverage of a worldwide problem.

WWF’s profile page displays an on-trend design, which recently sported the Halloween theme of a pumpkin, where cut-out shapes double as both a face upon a pumpkin, while the famous panda shape and WWF lettering is retained. This approach sets a level of anticipation in terms of how the logo will adapt to other seasonal or national events, much like the Google Doodles that often mark significant events with a morph of the standard logo into an impressive tribute, where the word ‘Google’ entwines with added pictures.

WWF was established in 1961, as one of the largest environmental organisations in the world. Public support is a crucial element of the organisations ability to engage with national banks in order for WWF networks to reach rural tribes in the Congo and the Amazon; while using the social network to reach their supporters. On the official WWF’s website; www.worldlife.org, chief marketing officer, Terry Macko commented; ‘Our new Facebook Gift Centre is an innovative way to educate and fundraise and it allows people to have fun by giving, getting, ‘liking’ and ‘sharing’. End of year fundraising is a critical time for non-profit organisations, with Christmas looming, charities are often overlooked.
Savvy promotion need not be reserved for profit based organisations. Social media is an instant way of increasing the awareness linked to any subject or message. Making space for a business on a social media site allows it to emerge from relative invisibility into the spotlight of public consciousness.

When faced with budget cuts, and with politicians thinking there are too many hours allocated for the workload, the Greater Manchester Police have turned to Twitter to inform the world just how big their workload is.  Every 999 call they receive is being posted onto several of their Twitter pages to show the vast amount and variation in calls they receive on a daily basis, not just criminal calls but also social problems.

Using Twitter to show the large numbers of calls they receive, over a thousand before 12.30pm, gives the topic plenty of media buzz around the site. Twitter can snowball causes and trends, creating massive media stir and attention on an individual topic, therefore it is no surprise that the stunt has attracted thousands of followers, with the draw of reading severe or comical calls sparking curiosity.

In essence the stunt by Greater Manchester Police is to raise general interest of the complexity of the incredible number of the calls received and hoping this will persuade politicians against cuts to the budget.  So is social media now the primary choice to voice concerns?  Facebook groups and pages are created when people feel aggrieved, sometimes even receiving media recognition.  Greater Manchester Police had to create 3 Twitter accounts with their first ‘jailed’ for excessive tweeting; they are creating a big noise in the media environment.

Only time will tell whether the Greater Manchester Police were successful in their attempts to block budget cuts, but they have certainly shown there is a high level of interest in the phone calls and enquiries they have to deal with continuously throughout the day.  Social media is expanding and evolving day to day, and Greater Manchester Police have used this to their advantage to show the volume of calls received and also gain nationwide interest in what they are trying to achieve.

Even before its release, on the 1st of October, the Facebook film; The Social Network has created a media hive of speculation, as it focuses on the creation of a site that is thought of as a global phenomenon in regards to web communication. Its tagline ‘You don’t get 500 million friends without making a few enemies’ highlights the sinister aspects that circulate on the site, as well as serving as an existing link to the fact that Facebook reached its 500th millionth user in July.

The movie is based on the book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, which reveals how individuals accidentally stumble upon infinite gold mines, so to speak. The movie concentrates on the young Mark Zuckerberg and the first few turbulent years of Facebook’s conception, recounted in a series of courtroom flashbacks. Facebook is not portrayed entirely positively, together with Zuckerberg who commented; “I just wished that nobody made a movie of me while I was still alive”; his reaction communicates his belief of the media’s ability to alter perception, while holding back from a direct attack that could potentially cause more detriment to an already tarnished character.

Facebook has dismissed the movie as fiction, which is ironic in a sense as the site operates on that very basis; it is used as a tool in which we perform a digital transformation of ourselves, relying upon careful editing, where photographs are used to document the highlights in life but not normally the lowlights. A movie dedicated to social networking reveals how fanciful some of the elements can be, as friend lists become indicators of social worth and updates confirmation of an interesting life. Many portrayals online create enhanced versions of reality, including the creation of alter-egos, demonstrated by avatars which point towards insecurities, as we delete our shortcomings.

According to reviews, the plot captures emotion and betrayal; these elements can be seen clearly as a presence laid out on the digital profiles of Facebook, as the development of relationships are played out in front of an audience. The notion of a film’s captive audience translates directly to the workings of Facebook, which creates a digital stage of sorts, on which real life dramas are played out in front of an eager audience. However, the difference is that Facebook allows interaction, so that an individual can become part of the action.

The Social Network is from the director David Fincher who is known for his dark films and although the content is not driven by sweetness and light, there are flourishes of humour that separate it from other Fincher films, such as Se7en, the Panic Room and Fight Club. An instant injection of cool is administered through the portrayal of Napster founder Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake; the film’s edgy feel is also reiterated by the Hollywood comments of actor Kevin Spacey, who described the film as a “great story for people that don’t really know how it happened. Very filmic, very modern, very cool”.

This is the first genre of its kind. It is surprising that the concept has not been made into a movie sooner; in a society where news stories, such as the murder of Meredith Kurtcher are controversially snapped up as a cinematic opportunity; the comparatively mild media of Facebook seems to have been left to simmer. However, with a guaranteed interest of half a billion people, who are users as well as the extension of people who know a user and few signs of waning interest, now seems the perfect time to capitalise further upon the global sensation. Just as an insatiable curiosity fuels Facebook, so does it work to attract a loyal fan base to the box office.