Facebook Deconstructed

When Facebook first launched their mobile app it was one of the best things that ever happened. Suddenly, we all could experience all of our friends on the go.

But, that was years ago and the magic of Facebook on your phone has since died. The current mobile app is clunky, SLOW and cluttered. As Facebook jammed more and more “stories” for us to digest, the newsfeed got busier and busier. With the roll of timeline, navigating within the app became so slow that it wasn’t even worth while. If your experience is anything like mine, I spent much more time reading “Loading…” than my friends status updates.

With Facebook’s enormous IPO and recent acquisition of Instagram, it’s left many skeptics asking: What is Facebook going to do to solve the mobile problem? Unfortunately for Facebook, it goes beyond just the inability to monetize the mobile app into the entire mobile product.

To break out and sustain growth and engagement Facebook needs to make a drastic change to their mobile approach and reinvent the mobile experience from the ground up.

It seems based on events from this week, Facebook is giving all of us a very direct view into where they are heading with their mobile platform (keyword – platform).

They are going to deconsctruct themselves from one app, into many apps.

Instead of trying to focus on making the singular Facebook app better, or generate revenue. Facebook is taking a smarter approach and breaking the entire experience down into multiple apps (or so I speculate).

We got a glimpse of this when they rolled the Messenger app late last year. Then, just this week “Pages” came out for Facebook admins, creating an app that serves the sole purpose of page management.

Then, today in probably one of their most signficiant moves to date, they quietly pushed out a “Camera” app that is a newsfeed of just photos from your friends. It also allows for easy photo sharing, photo editing and filters. You might say that if Facebook and Instagram got married this is what it would look like.

The Camera app is genius: it’s a simple experience, visually stimulating and almost makes you want to share photos…..thereby spending more time on Facebook, etc, etc.

Oddly enough, there was not a single brand page photo in the Camera app….even though I’m a fan of many pages that posted photos today.

Why?

Is Facebook going to put brand content into this app organically? Or, are they going to make brands pay to get presence in this visually stimulating app?

Maybe this is how Facebook will monetize after all….break down Facebook, spread it out and then block all branded content from the new apps. If brands want in, they have to pay.

Naturally, as Camera rolls and spreads users are going to flock to the apps that make the experience more stimulating….which means they’ll stop using the primary Facebook app so much…which means that brands will see an even further decline on interactions on their posts.

My hunch is that this move is just the beginning. It’s just a matter of time before we have a “Status” app, “Music” app a “Video” app, etc.

Maybe Facebook knows how to solve their mobile problem after all.

Hall of Flattering Mirrors

“To friend someone today, is merely to include the person in our private hall of flattering mirrors.” - Jonathan Franzen 

Didn’t you hear? It’s about me.

ME. ME. ME.

It always has been, it always will be.

Back a billion years ago, we talked about ourselves by telling stories through cave paintings, now not much has changed except that we can talk about ourselves easier with less friction. Now, without thinking, we can share, post, tweet, check-in, pin, like, re-pin, comment, stumble, +1,  etc, etc, etc.

The idea in the quote above stating that “to friend someone today is to include them in our hall of flattering mirrors” is really interesting. Because it’s exactly what we do.

Rarely do we post, share or tweet for ourselves. It’s for our army of adoring friends who we’re convinced want to see and hear more from us. “Look where I am, look what I’m eating, look at my new hair, look at my kid, look at how awesome I am, if you didn’t see how awesome I was on Facebook, look for a shorter re-cap on Twitter and then RT so all your followers see how awesome I am.”

We love ourselves. And I guess, that’s ok….because we always have.

aw yes, "everybody" DOES like what I do.

Social media has given us the ability to do what we have been doing forever: love ourselves. Now, rarely are the things we share the “whole or exact truth” of what  we’re doing….they are just a snapshot in time…a filtered reality used to portray ourselves in a light that we want others to see us in.

But, nonetheless, what continues to catch me off guard is that brands still haven’t figured out that fans only care about the how the brand benefits them and makes them look better.

The problem with brands is that they think don’t think it’s about the fans. They think it’s about themselves. So, they talk about….themselves, ALL THE TIME. “These people are our fans, they MUST want to hear about us”

Take a look at how much Sealy Mattress loves themself in this recent Facebook status update:

Hmm…that does sound amazing Sealy, and might I add that the registered mark logo on your video title really makes me want to watch it.

No brand. No. It’s not about YOU its about ME. ME. ME. ME.

Brands are using social the same way a consumer would…..talking about themselves. The problem is that with social it’s just the reverse.

Don’t talk about YOU. Talk about ME. What’s in it for ME?! How do I benefit? How do I look good because of what you’re telling me? Didn’t you get the memo? I love myself.

Celebrities have somehow figured this out, but I guess they have it easy…because their fans want one thing only: more of the celebrity. So, if a celebrity talks about themselves and reveals a glance into their lives that is unique…their adoring fans are thrilled and engaged.

Lauren Conrad (not a huge celebrity, but still “famous” from MTV’s The Hills) totally gets it. She broadcasts her life (because she loves herself, obviously) but also because she knows this is what her fans want to see: HER, what she’s doing, where she is, what she’s wearing. Take a look at what I mean here. If you’re not a fan of hers you will find this horribly annoying. But if you are a fan, this is like gold.

How much longer will this brand self obsession go on? How much longer will fans have to suffer through corporate branded status updates and brand self serving tweets before they turn the brand off completely?

As consumers become smarter and smarter about social, my feeling is that this can’t continue for long before there is a massive fan revolt.

I’m curious what would happen if for just 1 day, brands would stop and only talk/share things that would benefit their fans. Would the social world explode?

Share! Didn’t you hear me?! SHARE!!

I’m deeply in love with Amazon. It’s a full on relationship. I buy everything from them, even this past year when we were looking for a new car – I searched on Amazon.

About 18 months ago, I thought Amazon was really dumb because at the end of the purchase cycle I landed on a confirmation page and there were no social sharing links. No opportunity for me to post, tweet, share my purchase or follow them on FB or Twitter. Every single time I ordered something I would complain to my wife “why don’t they get it, if they just put links in, then everyone would share what they bought”.

A few months ago, Amazon finally did this. I first noticed it when I was ordering diapers for my new baby girl. When I got to the end screen I saw social sharing links, thought: “ah, finally” and then had a second thought: “Why the heck would I want to tell my friends on Facebook/Twitter that I just spent $40 on DIAPERS?!”

I couldn’t think of a good at all reason. And then realized how absolutely silly it was that Amazon was even suggesting that I should.

Sharing is a deeply emotional action, that is primarily driven by the sharer wanting to look better.

Just blasting the “transaction” of what I purchased to the world isn’t satisfying. It doesn’t make me look smarter, more creative or more interesting…..if anything it makes me look boring and mediocre.

Amazon’s not the only one telling me to share.

Everyone else is too. Maybe it’s just me, or maybe I have a heightened awareness about it, but lately every brand on the face of the planet is telling me to share everything about my life. It appears that brands just figured out that getting consumers to share their content has incredible business value.

But are they positioning it in the right way?

Two more examples of lame sharing:

1. I filed my taxes this past weekend.

Sharing the fact that I just filed my taxes sounds like an awesome idea.

At the very end, Turbo Tax told me I should share with my friends that I just completed my taxes…..why on earth would I want to broadcast that I just finished the most mudane, painful thing I have ever experienced with my friends. OH RIGHT – because my friends GIVE A CRAP that my taxes are done.

Sure, Turbo Tax has a good call to action about “sharing my triumph” but it felt like a horrible disconnect. Filing taxes isn’t interesting or share-worthy.

2. I’m traveling this week – when I checked in at Marriott the front desk gave me a code to access wireless in my room. I did the standard “enter user name and wifi password” and then I landed on the typical “promotional wifi screen” once you join a new network. However, this time it was a little different because at the very top there was a “share bar” and this little arrow popped down and said something of the sorts of: “wasn’t just signing into wifi amazing!? Give it a +1 on Google+!!”

Since when has the fact that I have the internet revolutionary? I can have the internet almost anywhere, anytime I want.

Things have just gotten out of control with the sharing. As Facebook continues to change and users get more picky and selective it won’t be the same as it once was. This article yesterday from Mashable is just the beginning signs of a massive change that will take place this year: customers are smarter, they know HOW to share and they know what their friends think is interesting….therefore the days of “hit share and it will show up on Facebook – WOW” are long over. Or maybe Facebook’s frictionless sharing is absolutely genius because we won’t even have to think….it will just happen and we will want it to.

Either way, we’re going to have to think of a different, more remarkable way to connect with our customers.

Oh, will you share this post? Thanks.

3 Reasons Why Red Bull’s Launchpad Soars

“If you believe in it. Then, anything is possible.”

I’ll admit it. I’m not a huge Red Bull drinker. I’m wired enough as it is without any additional supplement.

But. I love what Red Bull stands for. I love how they move, inspire and challenge you to take flight, get some wings and go for it.

If you haven’t seen it already, their latest campaign is incredibly exciting: Launchpad.

They’re asking fans to submit a video of their wildest, craziest idea of something they want to do, the public will vote on their favorite idea and then Red Bull will give the winner wings to help bring the idea to life.

Maybe it’s the video, or the music or the contest itself. But for some reason – it moves me.

They’re taking everyday people’s BIG ideas and turning it in to the start of something huge and here’s why I love it:

1. It’s social by design.

No, not “Facebook by design” but social, or “human” by design. The contest involves one person’s idea, but society gets to choose the biggest, the best, the most intense idea. It will require the entrants to campaign for their ideas, and it will require the public to carefully consider who gets the shot at launching something remarkable. The magic of this is that Red Bull is using the good old fashion “internets” to pull it off. Oh sure, they’re using every social channel they own to promote it. But the point here is that we’re going to rally around a really big, talkable idea that will be executed OFF LINE, and will be talked about OFF LINE and will impact people OFF LINE.

2. It’s something only Red Bull could pull off.

Some of Red Bull’s most innovative and earth shattering promotions (example: Flugtag)  have all taken place off line, centered around people, without Facebook, Twitter or Google+  or Instagram or [insert your pet social network here].

The team at Red Bull understands that if they do something crazy and unique enough, it will get talked about, people will come together and yes, more Red Bull will get sold.

With Launchpad, Red Bull’s shooting for nothing short of the stars. They recognize the power of a remarkable idea and they have the money, resources and brand cred to make it bigger than the winner could even imagine.

3. It’s for their target audience and no one else.

Red Bull knows who their audience is, and they never wander away from them.

Launchpad is directly targeted at the core Red Bull drinker. That guy in their late teens, early/mid 20s who loves Red Bull and action, intense sports and who has crazy ideas.

So often brands try to go after everyone in the country…..”our target audience is anyone with a wallet” or “anyone that’s still breathing”.

Red Bull, takes the path less traveled. They go after their core audience, hard and with conviction.

What would happen if more brands thought bigger (beyond Facebook), created something that was unique to them and had a passion for connecting with their target audience?

I’m guessing there would be a lot more magic. And a lot more brands would “take flight”

Why I love J Brand Jeans

Finding a good pair of jeans is like finding a couple to hang out with. You and your wife both have to like them.

I was never much of a “jeans guy” because I could never find a pair that fit right on my awkward body. My wife, however was determined to get me into a pair of jeans that I could wear “for life” because she believes in investing in high quality products that don’t need to be replaced after 2 – 3 months (cough, cough Old Navy jeans).

The search was long and finally led me to Trunk Club, which is the best invention for men on the planet. You sign up for Trunk Club, get a personal sylist and they send you a box of clothes based on your body type, etc. You can try the clothes on, keep what you want, and what you don’t want goes back in the trunk and left on your front doorstep for FedEx to pick up.

Justin, my “personal stylist” helped me discover a pair of jeans that would soon become like our new “couple”. The jeans, while perfect, also cost $165 (which was much more than I ever dreamed of spending). Up until this point, the most I had spent on jeans was $40 at GAP.

But, I couldn’t resist these J Brand Walker in Boone jeans. It was love at first fitting. They had to be mine and I have barely taken them off since the first time I put them on.

Since this obsession with J Brand started I’ve been slowly plotting buying a second pair.

But, at a premium price of $165 (although worth every penny) J Brand Jeans aren’t something you buy on a regular basis.

Then, something miraculous happened. My wise wife told me that J Brand was running a
contest on Twitter, I just had to RT their post and I could win a FREE pair of J Brand Jeans. Being a slight social media geek myself, I love a good Twitter contest (although I’ve never entered one) so I gave it a whirl and entered, never thinking I would hear from J Brand.

But then, something amazing happen. I got a reply: and I won. I WON!

Moments later, I had a DM from J Brand asking for my email address so they could send me a code to redeem my free jeans on their website.

(finally getting to my point here) 

Instant Gratification Always Wins 

What happened next was truly magical.

I got the code, found my jeans, added them to my cart, entered the code and checked out. Much to my surprise and delight, FedEx overnight shipping was also free.

So in less than 24 hours I won jeans on Twitter and then had them on my doorstep shipped overnight from California.

This is real social at work. Connecting online to offline in a powerful way through personal service and over the top instant gratification. J Brand didn’t have to ship overnight, but they did. They made a “talkable” contest even more exciting by going over the top.

Why can’t more brands do this? Why can’t brands REALLY deliver? It seems brand interactions are always just what you expected, or worse, less than you expected. However, to compete in this new world where everything around us happens instantly, brands need to step it and always deliver instant gratification too. But, brands are afraid, or cheap, or both.

It will always be a win, win situation when the customer is first, the brand is second and brands are giving them what they really want: everything instantly.

Important Enough

Every time you interrupt your prospect or consumer, you better ask, “is it important enough…” Most of the time, it’s not. Most of the time, the interruption is a selfish, misguided effort by a committee that doesn’t get it. 

– Seth Godin

3 Reasons Why Facebook’s phone “Buffy” Will be an Epic Fail

The cat’s out of the bag and word on the street is that Facebook is working on developing a mobile phone named Buffy.

Obviously the masterminds at Facebook think this is a genius idea, after all, their  mission is to make the world more open and connected, however a physical device in a social world is a misstep.

Here’s 3 reasons why “Buffy” will be killed before she ever sees the light of day:

1. Phones aren’t social. People are. The physical device we’re holding doesn’t make us more social or the world more open, it’s simply a channel, a method to on-ramp ourselves into the social space.

2. The “physical phone” space has already been mastered by other players…..Facebook doesn’t have a seat at the table and they don’t need one. Apple, Google, you name it are already years ahead of Facebook and they’ve gotten there by focusing on a blank canvas device that can be colored in with apps. We need apps to have phones that function and we need phones (a canvas) to house our apps.

3. Facebook isn’t the end all, be all for social connectivity. Sure, they’re the 800 pound gorilla in the room, but let’s face it, humans have been social since the cave man days and we didn’t need a phone to do it. I’m curious if Facebook will be the only social app allowed on the device or maybe they will play nice with others. Or maybe, just maybe Facebook’s feelings are hurt because Apple decided to integrate Twitter beautifully into iOS5 instead of Facebook. Note: Twitter didn’t need their own phone to be “social”.

Call me old fashion or maybe I’m not a “social visionary” I just think that Facebook should be focusing on the real thing that makes people social, their platform. If Facebook is going to stay the giant they are they need to have laser focus….Buffy is a distraction, a pet project that should be killed now.