Responding to activist Facebook citizens, the fast growing social network has given users more control over the contentious Beacon feature recently added to the site. Organized by MoveOn.org, a petition objecting to the new program was signed by over 50,000 members in 10 days.

Why has Beacon been so controversial? The feature reports activity from other sites the user is visiting while keeping their Facebook page open at the same time, without giving that user an opt-out option each time an activity occurs. So, for example, if I bought my friend surprise movie tickets on Fandango.com, those tickets, and the movie I was planning to see, would be instantly reported to my friends on Facebook, turning personal activity into a public event. Facebook responded by making modest changes, allowing users to opt out for each interaction enabled by the Beacon feature.

In response to the Facebook fracas, Chad Stoller, director of emerging platforms of Organic, a digital advertising agency, was recently quoted in The New York Times asking, “Isn’t this community getting a little hypocritical? Now, all of a sudden, they don’t want to share something?” This is a perfect example of someone who has missed the point of a life lived in public on the internet.

On the surface, Facebook members may appear to be sharing every detail of their lives, but ultimately they are in complete control of the image they are presenting of themselves. How many hours have I spent in the past five years carefully editing my favorite books, movies, and quotes? (Is it too pretentious to put Ulysses? Do I want all the members of my 10th grade Honors English class to know that The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is still my favorite book?)  Facebook is a performance wherein you can present the best version of yourself in simple bulleted points. Only the most attractive photos are left tagged, and everyone can admire how popular you are by the number of gifts and wall posts you’ve received, and the number of events you attend.

Where Facebook goes wrong then, is when it takes control away from the user, fragments their carefully constructed image, and tries to speak for them. This is exacerbated when users aren’t even aware that the site is speaking on their behalf. I’ve been a member of Facebook for almost five years; long before walls, groups, events, applications, and high school students took it over. When the Newsfeed was introduced, I was so appalled that I wrote an angry letter to Zuckerberg and Co. vowing never to use their site again. Then I adjusted my privacy settings to control exactly what types of stories could be published about me. Like the rest of the Facebook community, I got over my anger quickly, and ultimately embraced this new facet of Facebook performance. The newest changes on Facebook (publishing details of users’ online shopping activities on third-party sites), have inspired backlash from members, but I suspect that the brouhaha will fade away quickly.  I have little doubt that Facebook will give members the opportunity to opt out of having their purchases broadcast, and once that control over the presentation of their lives (whether or not they choose to exercise it) has been given back to users, all will be well again in the Facebook universe.

BY LAURA

External Stimuli · Permalink

The motto for how brands should live in a 2.0 social and mobile media: don’t just speak, provide utility! A recent article from Adweek highlights how brands like Coke, P&G, and Nick are creating mobile applications as a way to insert themselves meaningfully into the third screen. The concept is called branded utility: tools advertisers can supply to help consumers perform tasks, rather than interrupting the experience.

Examples, in order from low engagement to higher engagement:

• Sign up for weather alerts from Vicks.
• Get shade and color recommendations based on complexion, clothing and accessories through CoverGirl’s “ColorMatch” mobile application.
• Use the Nike+ running-and-music system to track and compare training progress with other runners.

The ultimate goal is to become part of the experience itself, while also externalize brand values. The Nike example is one of the higher engagement case studies we’ve seen because it connects runners together, and introduces a social component, enhancing the experience of running and training. Nike has always had an element of service in their brand strategy: facilitating the spirit of athleticism and sports. Building an element of service and utility into the core positioning of the brand is the primary building block as brands begin to migrate into social and mobile media spaces.

BY JEN

External Stimuli · Permalink

Facebook is going to far:

 Josh says:

“Yesterday I posted a link to my Flickr page on my friend’s wall on Facebook and when I hit return, a pop-up appeared that had altered the message to be an ad for Flickr and how great it is. While I  would recommend Flickr to anyone, I just didn’t like having my message altered. So I deleted it before I sent it. That may not be indicative of how other users will feel about this new service, but I didn’t like it so much.”

Facebook is better (for now): 

 Jen says:

“I like these Digg-like features provided by Facebook’s Beacon platform. For example, the other day a friend’s status announced he was “excited about the upcoming Kaiju Big Battel.” When I asked this normally Facebook-shy friend about his status, he told me that it was an option on Ticketmaster after he purchased Big Battel tickets. What was interesting about that interaction was that Ticketmaster did not put itself front and center of the message or the status update – the event was the activity on Facebook. The same is true for the new Facebook options on TheNewYorkTimes.com. You can post an article to your Facebook profile, and friends can comment. The content becomes the hero, the content or cultural brand becomes the vessel for content. Either way, I will use both sites more often now.

BY JEN

External Stimuli · Permalink

On a warm weekend in October, MAKE zine and hundreds of "makers" (think people who tinker, craft, design and create) took over the Travis County Fairgrounds in Austin, TX.  This festival could best be described as part circus, part science fair and part craft fair.  There was an entire area dedicated to rockets.  Cyclecide from San Francisco had a corral for riding tall bikes, crazy bikes, bikes with wings.  Dozens of awesome D.I.Y. and interactive groups were represented: Instructables, YouTube, Readymade Magazine, Etsy.  There was a human-sized Mouse Trap (like the board game) with bowling balls and a full-scale bathtub.  The guys who got famous on YouTube for blowing up all those Diet Coke bottles with Mentos did a performance.  That kid who hacked his iPhone was there giving speeches.  People were showing off homemade Theremins, electric car hacks, robots made out of pumpkins, Guitar Hero shareware, home-brewed beer, aprons made out of repurposed neckties, and there was something called "The Ring of Fire."  In short, it was a handyman or handywoman's wonderland.

Drillteam had the pleasure of attending on behalf of Toyota to present a HEYA Project.  We partnered with art car star Harrod Blank who, over the two day festival, decorated a Toyota Matrix in tribute to Austin's rich music history with the help of anyone who passed by and wanted to pick up a glue gun.  Several other art cars drove up for the Faire, including Harrod Blank's "Camera Van."

BY LIZ

External Stimuli · Permalink