Facebook growth in Chile - Las Ultimas Noticias have run a Facebook feature today (and included some of my comments)

Facebook has seen significant growth in Chile this year and Chilean newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias covered the story extensively today. The Facebook article featured some of my comments and my photo was also included on page 3!

Full Las Ultimas Noticias Facebook story - as seen at http://www.lun.com (click for larger image)

My comments on Facebook growth in Chile were included in the main piece and a box-out (click for larger image)

I ran Facebook statistics by country 2 weeks ago and was surprised to see that Chile had leapt into the top 10 of countries with the highest Facebook use. Indeed when I re-ran the statistics, a further 200,000 users had been recruited in Chile. This brings the total number of Facebook users in Chile to 2,330,440 (impressive considering the total population is only 16.5 million!)

Screenshot of Facebook Ad Program detailing number of Facebook users in Chile (click for larger image)

Facebook is being translated into non-English language versions and Spanish was the first non-English language - launching on 7^th February this year. Growth of Facebook usage in Chile coincides with the launch of the Spanish language version and Google Site Trends shows how Facebook usage has grown.

Google Site Trends graph showing growth of Facebook usage in Chile in 2008 (click for larger image)

The launch of Facebook in Spanish can therefore be directly correlated to the increase in Facebook usage in both Chile and Colombia (with both countries now appearing in the top 10 countries by Facebook usage). A bit strange that Facebook in Argentina has not quite followed the same pattern or delivered the same user numbers, but as Facebook expands to over 70 languages I have no doubt that global user numbers will continue to grow!

Footnotes:

Total: Facebook Users in Chile: 2,330,040 people

Age: 13-17 years 346,480, 18-24 years 849,540, 25-34 years 762,800, 35-44 years 252,740, 45+ 121,720

Male - Female ratio: 54% of users in are female, 46% male

London Mayor Candidates v US Presidential candidates - me comparing their online strategies on Sky News!

Yesterday afternoon I received phone call from Sky News asking me to be a guest on the 'Sky.com News' evening broadcast with Martin Stanford.

click for larger image

I had never been on TV before so I was excited (and a little nervous before it), but everyone made me feel very welcome and I enjoyed the whole experience.

I was invited to discuss the online campaigns of the London Mayor candidates and contrast these with the online campaigns for the US Presidential candidates. This is the first major UK election to happen in a Web 2.0 world so I have been tracking campaigns to see how things develop. I have previously written on this blog about different elements of the online campaigns so was happy to give Sky my opinions!


In my view the most notable difference isn't necessarily the quality of what the Mayoral candidates are producing (though no-one in London has produced anything close to the Will.i.am videos seen in the US), the big difference is seen in the level of voter engagement that online has generated.

Since the success of Howard Dean's 2004 online election campaigning, US candidates have used online extensively while UK politics has lagged behind. The length of the US election process also enables activity to gradually evolve, whereas the UK's short, intensive campaigns do not give such scope for online campaign development. The differences in electoral process, coupled with relative inexperience of UK voters engaging with candidates online, is reflected in the numbers.

In the US Barack Obama has hundreds of thousands of friends and fans on Facebook (Boris leads here with just over 7,000 Facebook fans), Barack Obama is followed by 25000+ people on Twitter (Brian Paddick leads here with 300 or so followers) and London Mayor YouTube clips have been seen by hundreds rather than hundreds of thousands.

The London Mayoral election is a good testing ground for strategies that can be rolled out nationally for the next general election though and it has been interesting to see the main parties all experimenting with different ways of engaging through online channels.

Brian Paddick has recently become the first British politician to engage voters in a live UStream webcast:

Boris is making Apprentice style campaign videos:


and Ken is very focussed on using online for data capture, with this the front page of his website:

I plan to do a full review of candidates strategies over coming days and will update this post when I have a full transcript of what I said last night! [UPDATE: Sky have sent me an embed code so I have been able to include my appearance - see the video at the top of this page.] In the meantime here are some of my previous posts on the online campaigns of both US and London candidates:

London Candidates' Google strategy - here
New style of campaigning to be used in London Mayor election - here
YouTube in the US Presidential elections - here
6 Great Examples of online in the US elections - here

Virgin Radio new homepage - my review featured as Marketing 'Digital Choice'

Virgin Radio have redesigned their homepage and my review was featured in Marketing Magazine as this weeks 'Digital Choice.'

"Virgin Radio has carefully built a strong reputation for pushing the boundaries of radio, from gigs in hot-air balloons to April Fool's Day tricks on newspapers. With the launch of its latest homepage, the station is once again seeking to remain ahead of the competition.

Virgin has a strong internet heritage (having been the first European radio station to broadcast online) and this page aims to enhance the listener community by offering Facebook-style functionality. Traditional aspects such as DJ profiles and blogs, music features, reviews, videos and competitions remain prominent, but the site now also features drag-and-drop facilities and customised profiles for 'VIP users'.

A scrolling section that details users' activities such as blogging, chatting or posting gig reviews creates a sense of involvement in a community that is constantly changing.

The next phase of social networking development is widely predicted to give rise to communities centred on specific interests (such as music), so the prominence that Virgin is affording the community aspect of its website is a smart move.

The opportunities for users to interact with each other and the station will be appealing for the Virgin audience, and will encourage them to stay on the site longer and return more frequently - a positive thing for both listeners and advertisers."

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/802502/Digital-choice-Virgin-Radio
www.virginradio.co.uk

Strategy Verdict - Ditto.net - my article featured in Media Week

I was recently asked by Media Week to write a 'strategy verdict' on the launch of ditto.net and they featured my piece in this weeks edition :

"Social networking is no longer restricted to mass-market sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Media players such as Bauer are also climbing over themselves to get a piece of the social networking pie.

Bauer is tapping into this trend by launching Ditto.net, a social network-ing site for film fans and music lovers. The decision to embrace social media and the opportunities it has to offer is a brave one.

Ditto.net certainly looks the part - it is well designed and easy to use. It combines elements of dating sites, community sites and the Amazon-like recommendation model to allow users to discover and share films and music with like-minded people.

However, the success of the site will depend on the number of users it attracts. Bauer is a dominant player in the music and film magazine market, but by entering the social media arena it will suddenly find itself surrounded by a large number of competitors. User numbers for NME.com, Yahoo Music and Radio 1 are huge, and while going niche may be an advantage for Bauer, advertisers will always prefer large user numbers.

I wonder, therefore, whether Bauer is better off launching Ditto.net within an existing social networking property where user numbers will be bigger. The iLike application on Facebook, for example, which lets users add music and videos to their profiles, started life as a stand-alone website struggling to attract significant numbers. When it was launched as an application on Facebook six months later, one million users signed up in the first week alone. If Ditto.net continues as a stand-alone social network, I would like to see Bauer extend advertising options beyond the site itself.

Advertising options that run across a range of channels, including Ditto.net, and Bauer's magazines and TV channels, for example, will deliver more value to both brands and Bauer. After all, the future of such niche social networking sites will depend on the return on investment they deliver to publishers.

Review by Nick Burcher, Board Director, Zed Media"

This was also featured on Brand Republic here:

http://www.brandrepublic.com/InDepth/Analysis/793872/Strategy-verdict---Dittonet/

NMA feature on 'Social Communication' - email vs social networking as a way of communicating - includes my comments

This weeks NMA magazine had a feature debating how social networking is affecting email.

Some of my comments were included;

'Nick Burcher agrees: "email does still have a role, as long as advertisers shift towards offering value - something useful rather than just a marketing message. They need to engage on a more personal level and have a conversation."'

More controversially it also included: 'Nick Burcher says, "For younger generations, social networking and instant messaging have replaced email for communicating. For them, sending an email is like writing a letter with a quill. This makes it harder for advertisers to reach this demographic using traditional techniques."'

Marketing Week Interactive Feature uses my quotes on social media

Robert Lester wrote a piece in todays Marketing Week Interactive Feature and he used some of my quotes:

'Board director at Publicis-owned Zed Media Nick Burcher says: "If we do have an economic slowdown, it's accepted wisdom that there will be pressure on marketing budgets, meaning more of a need to provide return on investment. With pay-per-click advertising, online is far more accountable than other channels, so it is better placed to weather the storm if there is one."'

'Burcher adds: "Online, as an industry, should be positive and look forward, regardless of what happens to the economy. There will be continued online use, although the emphasis might shift. It might be more about acquisition, rather than brand."'

'Burcher believes consumers do not have an issue with being served non-intrusive ads if they are useful and relevant. "Consumers and internet users are willing to accept certain things if they get something in return," he adds. "If people are getting great content, they're not upset by a pre-roll ad before they watch the content."'

NMA magazine use my quotes in "Credit Crunch" article

NMA magazine have run an excellent feature this week (07.02.08) entitled 'Credit Crunch.' The feature looks how online advertising could be affected by an economic downturn - and finds that 'online advertisers remain upbeat.'

I spoke to the journalist responsible, Matthew Wall, and he included some of my quotes in this piece:

'Nick Burcher is Board Director of Publicis-owned digital agency Zed Media, which works with clients like BMW, Zurich and Capital One. He says, "if the credit crunch kicks in and affects 2008 ad budgets, there's the potential for marketers to shift budget from brand into more acquisition-based, accountable media channels. In an economic downturn it becomes more important for marketers to show demonstrable ROI and the accountability of online means it will be easier to justify continued marketing spend in digital channels. If online is affected, I would expect it to be on special projects and brand-oriented activity, rather than response-driving channels like paid search."

In other words, online is in a better position to justify itself because its effectiveness is more easily measurable and transparent. More so than other advertising media, it's capable of weathering any storm.

Burcher argues that 2008 will also see improved ad targeting techniques online, reducing ad spend wastage even further and boltering online's case for continued support from advertisers.'

The full story can be read in NMA magazine or through the following link:

http://www.nma.co.uk/ThisIssue/Default.aspx

Media Week debate if Facebook can 'live up to the hype in 2008?'

Media Week published an article today about Facebook, entitled ‘Can Facebook live up to the hype in 2008?’

I gave a number of quotes and viewpoints and some of these were included in the article:

‘Nick Burcher is unconvinced “The killer will be what happens when the novelty factor wears off,” he says. “You don’t know if anything else is going to come along to steal Facebook’s position. Will it become central to people’s lives or is it a passing fad.”’

‘Burcher says advertisers are finding it hard to capitalise on Facebook’s opportunities. He points to the unpopularity of the Beacon ad system with American users, who want to keep their online activity to themselves; the mixed experience of brands who have dabbled with fan pages; and the unpredictability of user-generated content.’

‘He cites the example of Canadian Beer Molson, which used Facebook for an online marketing campaign where students were encouraged to post pictures of their campus parties. Critics said the initiative promoted irresponsible drinking and the brewer decided to axe the campaign – with one senior executive reflecting that they had “a lot to learn” about using social media.’

Zed’s Burcher says: “The most important thing is being able to integrate advertising and content in a credible way. If you can offer people a reason for interacting with you, then you get a much more rewarding return as an advertiser.”

The boxed out section of the piece labels me as ‘The Cynic’ and quotes me as saying, “I’m not sure about that Facebook will live up to the hype in the long run. Facebook has grown rapidly, but once the novelty factor has worn off, its appeal will dwindle and the public will be quick to move on to the next craze. Half of Facebook’s users currently check their pages daily and have very high average page views. However, there are signs that users are visiting less frequently, and, in time this will reduce the site’s appeal for advertisers.”

"Mobile Search isn't so involved" - Nick Burcher's letter about mobile advertising published in the December issue of Revolution magzine

Revolution Magazine published my letter about mobile marketing - and made it letter of the month!

"Reading last month's mobile marketing feature (November 2007), I was surprised to see that people cite dealing with individual operators as a barrier to the development of mobile. Dealng with multiple sales houses and varying production specs has not prohibited investment in other channels such as newspapers or outdoor - so why should it do so in mobile?

The biggest barrier facing the growth of mobile is the lack of definition of the opportunities available. 'Mobile advertising' is used as an all-encompassing term with no distinction made between different formats. This limits understanding of the range of solutions that exist.

Mobile is incredibly versatile, however the industry has to make it easier for the wider marketing industry to understand the options available. If opportunities were given proper labels; SMS, Bluetooth, mobile display, sponsored content - it would help demystify the medium, aid understanding and help stakeholders establish who should own it.

It's no coincidence that online advertising only really took off when people started thinking in terms of the channels within it: affiliates, online display, online video and Search. Google and Yahoo! understand this and they have done a good job of selling 'mobile search' as a distinct channel.

If others don't bring more structure to their mobile sell, they may find that the Search Engines come to dominate the mobile medium too." writes Nick Burcher, Board Director, Zed Media.

Newspapers abandoning subscription models and using Search Engines to deliver higher traffic to free content

I recently had a long conversation with Olivia Solon at M&M Europe magazine for an article that has been published in the November edition called 'Ahead of the pack: how publishers are tackling Web 2.0.' (http://www.mandmglobal.com/features?1=1&BlockID=3513635)

We discussed how newspapers are changing their business models online, with particular reference to how newspapers are using SEO and search engines to increase their traffic.

This was picked up in the article:

"Most publishers have embraced search-engine optimisation, with some retraining journalists to write in an optimised way, focusing on key words that people might search for, so their sites are indexed more highly. Publishers need to decide how much of the information they will allow search engines to 'see', and how much is protected behind their walled garden.

Subscription models can often mean that Google search spiders cannot access the content, and bloggers too are unable to link to the content. This can result in sites with subscription models losing out on the traffic that would be generated from appearing high in the natural search rankings.

Quality content drives search engines' ability to find you, but publishers must seek a balance between offering free content and keeping the exclusivity of their product"

A direct quote was attributed to myself:

Nick Burcher, a board director at Zed Media, says: “It is a commercial decision to move from a subscription model to a free model. The balance has shifted from a couple of years ago. Titles can now make more money from advertising being free."

Interesting topic and there is a clear need for newspaper publishers to ensure their content works well with Search Engines (especially Google).

Zed Media win Telegraph Media Brand Pioneers creative solutions Competition

Telegraph Brand Pioneers Awards Winners

The Telegraph Brand Pioneers campaign, which launched at the start of October, invited agencies and clients to explore new territory by taking their brand on an adventure with the Telegraph. Media agencies and clients were encouraged to submit pioneering creative solutions, with the winner being awarded £150,000 of Telegraph Media space to execute their idea. The competition ran across October and November and culminated with an awards evening in central London.

Press release:

"The Telegraph Brand Pioneers Awards hosted by the distinguished adventurer, David Hempleman-Adams, took place at the Pigalle club in Piccadilly. The heroes of the evening were Zed Media and the Open University who walked away with the Telegraph Brand Pioneers Competition prize of a £150,000 campaign to run across Telegraph Media Group.

Nick Burcher, Susie McGill and Michael Cook accept the Telegraph Brand Pioneers Competition prize from explorer David Hempleman-Adams (left) and Executive Director of Telegraph Media, Dave King (right).

Runners-up were The Gate and Snappy Snaps and in third place it was ZenithOptimedia and Lexus.

On awarding the £150,000 campaign prize, the judging panel of Neil Jones, the MD of Carat, Gerry Boyle, the CEO of ZenithOptimedia, Maureen Duffy, the CEO of the NMA and Steve Barratt, the Editor of Media Week praised Nick Burcher, Board Director of Zed Media, Michael Cook, Account Director for the Open University at Zed Media, and Susie McGill of the Open University for the sheer range of media they used in their entry, the real understanding they showed of the Telegraph's audience and for the smart way they integrated the Telegraph's different media channels to achieve their campaign objectives of unlocking potential.

On the evening Dave King, Executive Director, said "We have been totally blown away by the great response and resonance that the Telegraph Brand Pioneers Competition has received with the industry and also by the quality of the entries. Judging was extremely difficult, but congratulations must go to Nick Burcher and Zed Media for the amazing campaign that have put forward for the Open University."

Nick Burcher writes: "Winning such a prestigious competition is a great endorsement of the multi-media, 'where all lines meet' approach we have been taking at Zed. We are looking forward to working closely with Telegraph Media to bring this campaign to life and would like to thank everyone involved with organising the Brand Pioneers competition for putting on a great event!"

Other photos from the event can be found here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Brand Pioneers Competition/Slideshow

Brand Pioneers Competition website can be found here:
http://www.brand-pioneers.com

Can Social Networks be monetised? Opportunities and issues for Facebook, OpenSocial, Bebo etc

Yesterday Marketing Week published my comments in a feature about Social Networking. My quotes were:

Nick Burcher says: behavioural targeting is either the most highly targeted or most invasive advertising proposition there is, depending on who you talk to. “The debate around advertising in social networks is similar to that of mobile. It’s extremely personal, so there is a question as to whether brands should just muscle in on the space,” says Burcher.

Zed’s Burcher agrees Google’s OpenSocial could prove to be the winner. “It’s very clever,” he says. “Its corporate mission is to organise the world’s information, which it can’t do behind walls. If Google has the data and incorporates this with AdWords platform, it could democratise the networks. It could also give users huge benefits, as they wouldn’t have to input their data into each network every time they registered, while advertisers could run content across the platforms.”

Intrusive: Social networks allow for behavioural targeting, but sites should only use information that is freely given by the user, according to Nick Burcher

Full story is here: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/item/58607

Media Week discuss how Google can monetise You Tube and deal with You Tube service issues

Media Week ran an article this week analysing whether Google can get a return on their investment in You Tube. They included some comments from me:

Nick Burcher believes You Tube still rises above the rest and is beginning to endear itself to agencies by making it as easy to book ads on YouTube as it is on Google.

“Regardless of whatever else is out there, YouTube is still ahead in numbers and brand recognition,” says Burcher. “People confident in promoting their brands will become more willing to advertise once there are more examples up there. It helps that it has become really easy to book ads since You Tube was integrated with the Google interface.”

Brand Republic report: Saga have launched Sagazone, a UK social network for the over-50's

Saga have launched a social network site for the over-50's called SagaZone (http://www.saga.co.uk/sagazone)

Brand Republic featured this on their Digital bulletin today and included comments from me:

Nick Burcher, board member at Zed Media, said Saga's entry into the UK social networking arena was an effective way of connecting with its audience, which was increasingly willing to interact and form communities online, as evidenced by the popularity of Friends Reunited with older users.

Burcher said: "Over the last year there have been a number of moves into this area to tap into the older market online. Saga Zone is part of the company’s overall engagement and interaction with its customers, rather than a standalone social networking site for over 50s."

Burcher said that it was unlikely that older users of social network sites would devote the amount of time typical among younger users: "We are not seeing massive usage in these demographics in social networking. However, older users tend to be more loyal and less likely to jump on the next bandwagon, so they are more likely to be sticky and develop loyalty to one site over time.

"Social networking has been dominated by youth-oriented sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. MySpace is almost deliberately designed to alienate older users and preserve its exclusively young user base."

Making money from social networking was still a challenge faced by even popular sites, Burcher said: "Facebook is still wrestling with how to monetise their traffic, despite their massive user base."

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Digital/News/763810/Saga-launches-social-networking-site-attract-over-50s/

Media Week article on Search agencies - my quotes published:

David Murphy wrote a piece in Media Week this week under the heading 'Why Search agencies are hot property.' He included some quotes from me:


'The ability to integrate Search with other digital marketing services offered by a large group is a recurring theme among those Search companies that have been swallowed up. At Publicis-owned Zed Media, the mantra is "Where all lines meet", an attempt to convey the idea that Search is just one of many channels, above and below the line, where media needs to be bought in an integrated, holistic manner.


Zed Board Director Nick Burcher says: "We don't think you can execute channels in isolation. If you have a TV campaign running it will affect what happens with your Search campaign, so you need to understand what the effects and the links are and track the sale process."


Burcher stops short of claiming that using a search provider as part of an integrated marketing service is better than using a stand-alone search specialist, but adds: "If it makes it easier to research the effects across different channels and move money round between channels, some clients see an advantage in that." '

UK politicians and political parties should be making more use of online

I have written various posts recently about UK political parties' internet strategies and today Media Week published a letter from me on this subject under the heading 'British Politicians Need An Effective Search Strategy."

Nick Burcher writes: "With WebCameron, binge-drinking virals and The Sun using search to promote its campaign for an EU referendum, the internet is fast becoming an important campaigning tool in UK politics. However, when compared to recent election campaigns in other countries, the UK seems to be lagging.

The French election saw widespread use of the internet, from supporters clashing outside virtual Second Life headquarters through to extensive use of blogs and websites. The US is also seeing heavy use of online (particularly Web 2.0) properties in the presidential race. While it's hard to imagine Gordon Brown using Twitter, UK political parties should be emulating aspects of US campaigning strategy, especially in search.

Just look at Mitt Romney's extensive search activity, from achieving top ranking against the phrase "War In Iraq" to image optimising - you'll never see a bad photo of him on Google Images.

John McCain has bought various issue-related keywords and Barack Obama, the most technologically advanced Democrat, has run a variety of keyword campaigns to push potential voters to his website.

Search in the UK though remains vastly underutilised as a political campaigning tool, yet it could lead to some very strong voter engagement, enabling party leaders to keep their campaigns continually up-to-date and enhance their association with particular causes.

For example, "hospital" generates more than one million UK impressions a month, yet no party advertises against it.

A political search campaign could effectively enable targeted policy pledges to appear against a wide variety of terms, from education to the environment.

With the traditional restrictions on TV and radio campaigns still in place, it is natural that UK parties will see outdoor as their main broadcast medium.

However, the internet should be an integral part of their strategies too, and although most politicians understand the capacity for the web to create hype, they will be missing a major trick if they don't have an effective search strategy.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/InDepth/Features/741608/Letters---2-9-October-2007/

Is Google a threat to media agencies?

"News last week that Google had poached Ogilvy & Mather New York co-president Andy Berndt to head a new division (Marketing Week, 19th September 2007) has led to speculation that the online giant is looking to extend its marketing services capability."

Nathalie Kilby has followed up last weeks story for Marketing Week and has included some quotes from myself:

Nick Burcher says: "People are blowing this out of proportion. All it [Google] has done is hire some people to develop its marketing division. This is a normal move as it diversifies from a traditional sales house."

Nick Burcher says: "it is further evidence of the way media is changing. BBC, ITV and Sky are no longer just about television programmes, the Telegraph is not just about print. They've had to change their business models and need staff experience from a range of disciplines. Media people can't say they understand traditional or online anymore, they have to understand both. There is no specific tipping-point, but no one can any longer be pigeonholed into one channel."

http://www.brandrepublic.com/login/News/738892/

This article can also be found on MAD:

This article on MAD

Facebook, the social graph and privacy - will Facebook become a genuine challenger to Google or will privacy concerns hurt it?

More Facebook stuff in the news and reports about Facebook Groups are continuing to generate attention. Recently we have been told about Groups persuading HSBC to back down on it’s policy to charge interest on student overdrafts from graduation, Groups about Bob Crow and the tube strike, and Groups (following the You Tube campaign) encouraging Cadbury to Bring Back Wispa!



There has also been wide coverage of the decision to make Facebook profiles accessible to Search engines meaning people can see profile information without being a Facebook member. Certain quarters have also started debating how long Facebook will last. Many are starting to say that it is on the way down and that the creators should have sold up and taken the money from Yahoo! last year. Others believe its best is yet to come.

So is it 'game over' for Facebook or is it still early days?

FACEBOOK ON THE WAY DOWN

The information Facebook publishes has raised security concerns. Specialists have questioned whether people should include their date of birth on a profile because it is a common question used by banks to establish identity. The announcement that Facebook will soon make personal profiles available to Search Engines has also raised privacy concerns.

There has also been a spate of companies banning use of Facebook from work. It was recently estimated that 70% of London companies have now banned Facebook and a study carried out by Peninsula consultants stated that employees using Facebook lose their employers £130 million a day and ‘waste’ 233 million hours a month.

Finally, there have been difficulties in monetising the vast traffic. There have been a number of (very visible) problems with ad serving against inappropriate content on social networking sites (Vodafone against the BNP profile etc) and the debate about how to regulate content to make it a safe place for advertising is ongoing (censoring content is undesirable as it will put off users, not doing so puts off the advertisers).

The pessimistic view of Facebook’s future is that usage restrictions and privacy concerns, coupled with the novelty factor wearing off and a lack of advertising revenue, means that Facebook could be a flash in the pan and disappear as quickly as it arrived.

FACEBOOK – THE BEST IS YET TO COME?

The other view is that whilst it is number 4 in the list of web 2.0 sites defined by UK audience (after YouTube, Wikipedia and MySpace), Facebook is actually number 1 in terms of millions of hours spent on the site (5.2 million unique audience, 12.9 million hours – July 2007, Nielsen Net Ratings).

The site is clearly very popular and if the information that 39 million users create can be harnessed then we could see Facebook moving away from its roots as a glorified Friends Reunited, and into some exciting new areas – especially the development of social search. Facebook could use the information from profiles and Groups to drive human-powered, ‘Social search’ (the idea that searching for the ‘best restaurant in north London’ would give you a result derived from human recommendation, rather than a result derived from the restaurant with the best Search Engine Optimisation behind it).

My view is that if Facebook (or one of the major social networking sites) could develop an effective social search engine, we may see a genuine challenger to the dominance of existing algorithmic search. I wrote a letter to Media Week magazine to this effect and they published it today:
“The news that Yahoo! is seeking to develop its own social network comes as no surprise. After all, Yahoo! already has a number of user-generated content channels, including the pace-setting Yahoo! Answers, and, after failing in its bid to buy Facebook, creating its own networking space for students seems entirely logical.

But this move should not just be seen as Yahoo! fighting for a slice of the social network pie. There are obvious commercial benefits from connecting graduate job-seekers with potential employers, but the real gold in Yahoo’s! plans lies in its ability to connect like-minded individuals around shared interests.

The most significant potential will be revealed if someone can find a way of using vast banks of social networking data to power a ‘social search engine.’

Top Table, Amazon and the hosts of other peer-to-peer recommendation sites all work on the principle of user-driven search. But initiatives to date have not achieved enough scale to make them viable. If sites such as Facebook, Wikipedia’s Wikia and Yahoo! can factor human-powered recommendations into their offerings, there could yet be a genuine alternative to algorithmic, computer powered search – and so a challenger to the search hierarchy.”

Comments?

Metro announce winner of Johnny Ball Reveals All creative solution competition - Zed wins £300k ad prize deal for Metro!

Metro have been running a creative solutions competition called 'Johnny Ball Reveals All' where they are seeking proposals that demonstrate how the Metro brand can engage with their readers. The 'Johnny Ball Reveals All' competition prize was £300,000 of media space for the idea that the judging panel felt was most engaging. It has been announced in Media Week that the winner of the Johnny Ball Reveals All creative solution competition was the entry submitted by Zed Media on behalf of our client Zurich!

Full Media Week text below:


by Media Week Media Week 19-Jun-07

Zed Media has won a £300,000 advertising campaign for Associated Newspapers' morning freesheet Metro on behalf of its client, Zurich Financial Services. The Publicis agency triumphed in the "Science of Engagement" competition launched in February, which invited agencies to submit proposals for acampaign with £300,000 of free ad space to help Metro develop its relationship with readers.

Zed's proposal focused on Zurich's tagline "Because change happenz" to introduce the idea of change to Metro readers via both online andoffline channels. It will run across the whole of Metro's portfolio, including traditional space, advertorial space, supplements, blogs and user-generated content, Zed board director Nick Burcher told Media Week.

The winning campaign will run later this year, with a research programme to evaluate its impact. Zed beat entries from Vizeum, Manning Gottlieb OMD, MindShare and LunarBBDO to take the top spot in the competition.

Full story on Brand Republic: http://www.brandrepublic.com/MediaWeek/News/665234/Zed-wins-300k-ad-prize-deal-Metro/

Review of the new look Radio Times for 'Marketing' magazine

The Radio Times has just had a redesign and I have submitted a 250-word review to Marketing magazine:

"The Radio Times is a British institution and redesigning it is like taking on a remodel of the red post box or London bus, but its latest incarnation doesn’t deviate far from its roots and it does well to stay true to tradition.

Now billed as the ‘ultimate digital TV and radio guide’, the redesign seeks to increase digital coverage. This is reflected throughout TV and radio and even sees the addition of weekly picks from the web and YouTube. There is an increased ‘RT recommends…’ section (a second spread added to cover films), a reorganisation of the TV listings with 2 extra pages of listings each day and a regrouping of the radio listings so that each spread covers both traditional and digital BBC channels. Having the highlights of the main digital channels on one page will definitely make life easier!

Navigation has been aided by a move towards genre grouping (eg Radio listings grouped by category rather than station) and new pages have been added to cover Soaps, Sport and Music - often irreverently. This week TV producers were asked to name the soap characters they’d most like to bring back from the dead, surprisingly Neighbours’ Helen Daniels is not highly featured.

I’m not sure Radio Times is the ultimate digital guide yet, but its redesign is cleverly tailored to suit its audience and will woo more readers as well. The overall feel is more relaxed and the Radio Times now better reflects today’s fast evolving broadcast world."

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/662484/Media-choice-Radio-Times/

http://www.radiotimes.com/

Randonly this article is also replicated on http://www.bibank.com/ - an independent bank in America. Link is here:

http://www.bibank.com/portal/story.asp?idstr=107898180