Nzime

Facebook have recently been making a lot of controversial changes adding more privacy settings, changing the UI and overall “improvements”. Initially I wasn’t impressed with the improvements but I have come round and agree with most of them, but disagree with the manner they were introduced.

From a PR perspective releasing a large update was the right thing to do but from a users point of view Facebook should have phased in the new functionality.

One thing Facebook are holding back from the masses is the new profile replacement “Facebook Timeline”. Facebook Developers have been given early access to this wonderful new profile page which is a massive improvement on the previous “profile page”.

The timeline is cleaner, more structured and offers functionality previously not available within Facebook. The most notable changes are the timeline down the right side of the page allowing you to track back throughout the years, the large cover image and the layout of your recent activity.

The timeline has great potential, it will be interesting to see how Facebook uses it.

According to media sources David Cameron has hinted at the government blocking social networks to prevent further riots. Without going into the details of the technical implications of this process that even China struggles with, it seems that the government hasn’t considered the financial impact of blocking social networking services.

“Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested that the government plans to block social media services like Twitter as a way of preventing further riots.”  Read more: Metro

If the Government were to find a way to remove all UK access to Facebook, Twitter and similar social networking services they would need to block the API’s that mobile devices use to connect to the social networks otherwise the block would be pointless. By blocking the API’s you also block the thousands of businesses from using the authentication methods provided by the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

To make the registration and login process easier for users of online services/businesses, many companies have integrated their services and websites into Facebook and Twitters authentication platforms. These platforms allowing users to use their social media accounts to register/login to sites without having to have a separate login and password for every site/service they use.

For example: James has registered with an online store with his Facebook account and wishes to make a purchase. He adds the items to his basket and proceeds to checkout where he is asked to login. James has registered to the site with his Facebook account so he clicks on the Facebook login to be greeted by our governments social media block and cannot proceed with his order. Depending on the duration of the block and the customer in question, the e-commerce seller has potentially lost a sale. If a large percentage of their customer base use Facebook or Twitter Authentication their business wouldn’t be able to make any sales.

Hopefully I am wrong and any block wouldn’t impact businesses but I won’t hold my breath.

Update: Other areas to consider are: Businesses that employ people to handle their social media, businesses that revolve around social media such as facebook applications and facebook online stores.

Since we launched our Facebook App with Rare, we’ve been looking into other ways websites can work with Facebook and how we can put these ideas into practice. We were really pleased to read today that ASOS will be launching a fully transactional shop that will allow users to buy clothes within Facebook.

Facebook has seen incredible growth over the last five years, revolutionising not only how we use the Internet, but also how we socialise and stay in touch. It makes perfect sense for a company as large as ASOS to lead the way into a new era for Facebook by setting up a shop front within their interface.

The ecommerce director for ASOS said that the company doesn’t have targets as such but “in theory fewer clicks and barriers to purchase should mean greater conversions. We’ll have to see if it does lead to increased sales.”

Tipped to hit the social network at the end of January, the Facebook app will also have increased social media sharing functionality such as ‘like’ buttons and comments, all of which I would expect to show up in your feed.

After the storm that surrounded Facebook adverts where users had to opt out of being seen to be endorsing products or companies through their new ad structure, I am sure that ASOS thought carefully about how Facebook users want to be seen when interacting with a brand.

What I will say is that with Facebook’s growth looking to continue well into 2011 and beyond, you need to consider that your company’s Facebook presence could impact on SEO in the future. Online marketers across the world have wondered if ‘likes’ could count as back links to your website and if the interactions between companies and Facebook users could somehow be incorporated into Google’s algorithm.

Of course, this is all speculation right now and even if Facebook isn’t considered in future SEO strategies, it isn’t wise to ignore Facebook as it can form a valuable aspect of public relations and show off exactly what you’re about.

If your company is lacking a social media strategy then contact us for a chat and I’ll get the kettle on.

I am under strict instructions not to reveal too much as this project is currently secret…  but there is certainly a buzz in the Nzime office. We have been asked to develop a Facebook application. We’re absolutely thrilled to be asked and we’re already beavering away to make this app as great as it deserves to be.

Brands are always trying to find new ways to interact with their customers and enhancing user experience by incorporating tools into social media platforms is a way for brands to make their products far more accessible and exciting.

Well, at least now we’ll have an excuse to be on Facebook all day now. No, I really am doing research…