Maybe I’m just old and grumpy, but I really don’t see why I would want to “friend” a business on Facebook:
I’m quite happy to “follow” or “connect with” or something else – I just think that “friend” (as a concept) is just not the right one for me.
Irish media sources are reporting that the well known businessman a race horse owner, JP McManus, is taking the social media site to court.
According to reports McManus’ legal representatives had contacted Facebook via normal channels to get false profiles removed. However the social media site has not removed them.
More details here
Heinz have launched a special offer via their Facebook page that allows “fans” to buy a “limited edition” ketchup.
Heinz limited edition ketchup
Unfortunately it’s pretty clear that the people behind the integration don’t really understand security or privacy.
In order to order the ketchup you need to fill out this form:
Now why do they need ALL that information to send you a bottle of a ketchup? A delivery address is obviously going to be needed, but why would you need my date of birth?
Sorry, but that’s really intrusive.. too intrusive really
Of course to get to that page you really have to trust Heinz .. because whoever setup the “social commerce” doesn’t know a lot about secure certificates or ecommerce judging by this:
Heinz SSL error
I’m sorry, but unless you can actually get the ecommerce basics like SSL certs right then all this talk about “social commerce” being the next big thing are just more fluff
And if a company the size of Heinz can’t get it right I doubt smaller ones will ..
The Social Network is probably going to win a lot of awards before the year is out.
If you haven’t seen it yet it will be released on DVD and BluRay in Ireland and the UK on February 14th.
Play.com have it for €23.99 (bluray) and €18.49 DVD. Both prices include free delivery.
Amazon are listing the bluray for £16.93 (approx. €20) and the standard DVD is available at £12.93 (approx €15). Pricing excludes delivery, but they offer free delivery on orders over £25.
US audiences can already get their hands on a copy, as it was released on bluray and DVD there last week.
I’ve always been fascinated by statistics and surveys, so the Mulley Communications survey on Irish teenagers’ digital habits makes for some interesting reading.
You can download a copy of the report directly from their site.
Here are some of the highlights:
* 14% have a part-time job
* 28% spend their money on socialising, 27% on phone credit
* Gig tickets and music is what teens buy most online
* Most teens use their parents credit card or laser to buy online
* Phone is the most treasured item of teens
* Teens are not downloading all their music for free
* Most music recommendations come via friends
* Nearly half of teens use the online TV players from media organisations with 40% streaming TV and over ⅓ watching via playback services
* 44% of teens are on Meteor
* Nokia are the most popular phones, the iPhone is the most desired
* 74% access the Internet on their mobiles per month
* Communicating with friends: 56% via text message, 38% via Facebook, Phone call 28%, Email 27%
If you want to find out about how they conducted the survey they’ve provided a lot of detail on their blog.
The Social Network is on general release in Ireland and the UK
Last weekend The Social Network went on general release in the UK and Ireland.
It’s currently playing in most of the cinema chains across Ireland and seems to have been well received.
Have you seen it?
If you have, what did you think of it?
Seemingly Mark Zuckerberg isn’t overly impressed with it, but then again I doubt if many Facebook users are impressed with the latest revelations regarding privacy issues on the popular social networking platform.
For a lot of people a business is known for its staff.
In the case of very small companies the staff are the company.
So if you are in business and you are using Twitter / Facebook bear that in mind. If your “personal” account is going to be associated, even indirectly, with your business account just take a moment to reflect before you post.
Reflecting does not equate with modifying or changing your personality. Personality is important.
It just means that you should think a bit before you tweet. Once you’ve posted it there is no going back.
I posted at length over on the Blacknight Blog about some of our experiences with using social media in a business.
Any feedback would be appreciated (preferably over there!)
Germany seems to take privacy pretty seriously.
According to reports this week Germany is seeking to enact legislation that would restrict the usage of information about prospective employees garnered from social media sites by employers. The legislators are drawing a line between “pure” social networking site and the more professional ones.
“The bill would allow managers to search for publicly accessible information about prospective employees on the Web and to view their pages on job networking sites, like LinkedIn or Xing. But it would draw the line at purely social networking sites like Facebook, said Philipp Spauschus, a spokesman for the Interior Minister, Thomas de Maizière”
No idea how they’ll classify Twitter or FourSquare .. though I can see FourSquare being used to keep track of supposedly sick staff … .. Or am I just cynical?
Full story here
It’s not enough that Facebook and its founder get splashed around in the mainstream media day in, day out .. now Hollywood wants us to watch a movie ..
There’s a couple of versions of the trailer floating around.
The first one (below) gives a few headlines and doesn’t show any real action:
The second one is a bit more revealing:
I’m not sure when it’s going on general release..
So will you be going to see it?
Apart from the social media addicts and gurus, will it attract a “normal” audience?
