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Your photos, immortalized on Facebook

When you delete a photo that you had uploaded to a social network, what happens?

You might expect that it's deleted. After all, why would Facebook, for instance, want to store that old photo of you and Aunt Hilda any longer than it has to? Even you don't want that photo.

by Patricio Robles 22 May 2009 09:01am 2 comments

Is app revenue sharing the secret to Facebook's future profitability?

Facebook may have 75.5 million monthly visitors, but the world's most popular social network is not getting by on advertising alone. This month, estimates for total revenue from applications will be roughly equal to Facebook's profit through advertising. And it seems like Facebook is looking for cash in on that lucrative market.

According to AdAge:

Facebook is testing a payments system with some of its developers that would enable one-click buying of virtual goods and services on the Facebook platform, with Facebook taking either a percentage of the transaction or a flat fee. In addition, Facebook is testing a service to allow users or advertisers to buy and trade "credits" or a virtual currency to facilitate commerce. Spokesman Brandon McCormick said three tests of the system will commence in the coming weeks.

by Meghan Keane 19 May 2009 19:54pm 2 comments

Twitter co-founder says no to ads

Speaking at a conference today, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told the audience not to expect to see ads anytime soon on the popular microblogging platform.

"There are a few reasons why we're not pursuing advertising--one is, it's just not quite as interesting to us." Stone said.

by Rebecca Lieb 19 May 2009 19:06pm 3 comments

Q&A: Steve Heyes of LearnAsOne on using Twitter for charity

We've looked at how charities are using Twitter before; The Dog's Trust is one good example of how causes can be promoted on the site. Another is LearnAsOne, which will be aiming to Tweet from a community in Zambia.

LearnAsOne is a charity that has launched a project to build a community school in Zambia, and will be using Twitter, and its blog to promote the scheme and encourage donations, as well as showing people how their money is being spent.

The charity was set up by Steve Heyes; he is out in Zambia now and will be documenting the project for the next two weeks. I've been asking Steve about his use of social media.

by Graham Charlton 11 May 2009 13:43pm 2 comments

Social media is about the steak, not the sizzle

When you read a news story about social media or come across a job posting for a 'social media expert', chances are the tools of social media will be front and center.

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace. If you had no exposure to social media, you'd probably assume that these popular services were the end all and be all of social media.

by Patricio Robles 11 May 2009 11:10am 6 comments

Distribution vs. dependence

With the rise of 'open platforms' on the web, particularly on popular consumer-oriented services like Facebook and Twitter, it's never been easier for individuals and small upstarts to get their applications in front of millions of consumers quickly and efficiently.

The appeal of open platforms is easy to understand: instead of having to deal with the dreaded chicken and egg challenge most new consumer internet upstarts have to contend with, you can leverage the existing userbases of popular services.

by Patricio Robles 06 May 2009 09:10am 1 comment

Web 2.0 needs Customer Service 1.0

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. These are but a few of the services many of us have come to enjoy.

Yet there's one thing that seems anything but enjoyable about them: dealing with their customer service.

by Patricio Robles 05 May 2009 11:00am 8 comments

What's it take to be a social media expert? Not much, apparently

What is a 'social media expert'? What qualifications does one reasonably need before being paid to assist businesses with social media campaigns?

Despite the fact that there are plenty of self-proclaimed 'social media experts' out there, these are two questions for which we don't have good answers.

by Patricio Robles 28 April 2009 12:05pm 14 comments

Could Vine be Microsoft's first real social media hit?

Here's an obvious but sometimes forgotten social media factoid: the most successful services of the past several years have been created by upstarts.

Microsoft, Yahoo and even Google? They haven't had much luck building a homegrown success. The big names in social media, from Facebook to Twitter and MySpace to YouTube, were all created by little guys.

by Patricio Robles 28 April 2009 09:15am 2 comments

Facebook opens up

Facebook is already pretty open. Its developer platform enables developers to build applications that leverage Facebook users' 'social graphs' and its Connect API gives developers the means to 'connect' their websites with Facebook.

But, perhaps in an effort to compete with the service Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg can't have (Twitter), the social network is set to become even more open.

by Patricio Robles 27 April 2009 09:17am 2 comments