My Review for 'The Social Network'

I finally watched The Social Network last night. I meant to catch it on the big screen, but for three reasons I didn't. 1) I was very busy during the time it was out, 2) I have a tough time going to see any movie now that is not in 3D - I feel like it is not worth the money, 3) I have a big screen, Blu-Ray and Bose surround sound at home.

My rating for the movie is 7.5 out of 10. Considering my loyalty rating for Facebook is about 8 out of 10, it didn't disappoint. It also didn't blow me away. This might be due to the fact that it just won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Soundtrack, so my expectations were higher than they would've been had I watched at the box office. It also might be because I feel like they left out some key facts and interesting moments, including: 1) When Facebook surpassed MySpace in terms of members. 2) When Microsoft tried to buy it with continual refusals by Zuckerberg that only made them want it more - eventually ending in a $15 billion bid and evaluation. 3) When Facebook was considered an enemy of the State and the World through their aggressive prospective on our information and privacy laws (this is still happening). 4) Live streaming of the Obama Inauguration. 5) When Facebook DID eventual display ads to make money, and discovered that their power of data is their true asset. 6) When Facebook introduced and popularized virtual gifts and social gaming, and then turned gaming into revenue stream as big as their ad revenue. 7) The entire idea of a 'status update'. 8) Poking.

These are just a few off the top of my head. Maybe people don't care about that stuff. But I feel like it would've added more texture to the story, granted as well as about 10-15 minutes of film.

This reminds me of the movie Ali starring Will Smith. At the end I wanted more, not because it was the best movie I had even seen, but because I knew there was more to tell. I felt the same at the end of this movie. In this case, however, I realize that perhaps the biggest part of the story has yet to be written. The Social Network 2, anyone? I'll be ready for it in 2020.

All this being said, I think the acting and the screenplay were both great. JT has proven himself to carry a supporting role in a big movie. I can see his next step to be carrying a leading role in a sub-par movie. The story also carried itself along nicely and paced very well. I might've never felt blown away, but I wasn't bored either. ~ p

Obsessed with Facebook? You're Not Alone.

To gain an understanding of how quickly the Facebook domination is becoming more dominate over the web, this chart is already out-dated. It was reported yesterday that Facebook is actually closing in on 600 million members, if they aren't already there yet. That's quite amazing, but what's even more amazing is...they aren't finished yet. Where is the ceiling for Facebook? Will they reach 1 billion people? Do they need China to open their doors to continue this powerful, seemingly unstoppable growth? I would assume 'yes' to all of the above, but it the meantime, take the next minute to look in awe at these stats, because in two minutes, they'll change again. ~ p

23 differences between Facebook and Twitter

1) I use Twitter for real-time news reporting. Example, I follow @raptors for real-time, game-time updates. Facebook.com/raptors tells me what time the game started.

2) I use Facebook for pictures. Example, I will not go to someone’s Twitter page to look through a bunch of pictures from a bachelor party. I do that on Facebook.

3) I update my status on Facebook. I tweet my every move. My Facebook status is a summary of events, or the best event that has happened within a 12-hour period. And I share the events from hour 1 through 12 on Twitter.

4) I stalk people on Twitter. Example, combined, I look @Mashable, or @SportsGuy33, and even @KingJames, 100 times a day, every day. I do not look at anyone even close to that much on Facebook. You know, come to think of it, there should be a once a day rule for looking at someone else’s Facebook page, as it is much more personal. Actually, it would be cool if Facebook made it an option to select and control how many page views you could get in one day, and give and take away permissions to certain people.

5) I randomly ideate for Facebook a lot more than I do for Twitter. Example, see above.

6) I put Facebook first over Twitter when I speak or write about them both in the same reference. Example, see this question. Also, refer to title.

7) I personally know every one of my Facebook friends. I personally know about 15% of my Twitter followers.

8) I have two-way, three-way, four-way conversations and connections with people I generally know on Facebook. Because of that, Facebook is more personal for me. Example, I comment on pictures, videos, quotes, articles, and other comments on Facebook, and this can be within a stream that’s 5-5000 comments long. I might reply to a Tweet every once in a while, which is an isolated dialogue, and retweet others’ posts, which is a huge compliment to that personal, but still fairly impersonal.

9) I add to discussions on relevant trending topics with people I don’t generally don’t know on Twitter. Example, I add Tweets to events I find interesting, like #thedecision, #inception, #g20, #vmas, #bieberfever, with people who I am not following and are not my followers.

10) I follow celebrities on Twitter. Example, I do not go to Chris Bosh’s Facebook page unless I’m told to via Twitter, blog post, or ESPN article.

11) I watch videos on Facebook. Example, I first watched keyboard cat on Facebook. Second example, I watched the latest @KingJames Nike commercial, ‘What should I do?’ through Facebook. I went to Twitter to read what @KingJames was saying about it.

12) I refer to people and celebrities via their Twitter name, not their Facebook url. Example, see above.

13) I use Twitter more on my phone. Example, before I go to sleep and when I wake up every day, I read ESPN, check Twitter, and read either SmartBrief (morning) or blog posts (night) on my Blackberry. I wait until I get to work to check Facebook.

14) I go to Twitter to follow events. I go to Facebook to watch events. Example, I went to Twitter to follow both the G20 Submit, and this summer’s NBA free agency fiasco (yes, that was an event, a sporting event). I watched Obama get inaugurated, and Michael Jackson’s funeral via Facebook, both in real-time, of course.

15) I share Facebook with my off-line friends. Example, when I break into my sister’s Facebook account and rewrite her Facebook status to something that makes me sound like the best brother in the world, I will share that with whoever is standing around me before and after posting it. Second example, I will call people over to my computer screen to watch a video on Facebook, or to look at how ridiculously drunk, stupid, hot, or not, someone looks in a picture.

16) I have more fun on Facebook. Example, see above.

17) I like Facebook more. Example, this point. Also, refer to previous two points.

18) I like Twitter more. Refer to this point. Also, refer to points 9 through 14.

19) I go back and forth with which one I like more, Facebook or Twitter or Facebook or Twitter. Example, this point. Second and third examples, points 17 and 18. Note, this is a not a difference but rather a constant difference of opinion I have with myself.

20) I defend Twitter. I don’t have to defend Facebook. Examples:

Not me: ‘Twitter is a fade.’

Me: ‘It’s changing the way people get information – from search-centric to influence-centric’

Not me: ‘Twitter doesn’t make money, they will collapse any day.’

Me: ‘Twitter is changing behavior. As Bill Gates said, “To be successful, create a need and then provide that need” – the money will come.’

Not me: ‘Twitter is a single-focused service. Facebook is taking over the entire web.’

Me: ‘True.’

Not me: ‘I love Facebook.’

Me: ‘Me too.’

21) I am more loyal to brands on Facebook. Example, I engaged in Starbuck’s Holiday Campaign via Facebook – watched the Video, shared the 2 for 1 deal, bought and drank the kool-aid, I mean, Peppermint Latté (don’t judge me). If I do see a deal on Twitter, I will take note and occasionally act. I just don’t see them as often due to their tweet streaming.

22) Facebook has a movie. 

23) Twitter has a bird. 

Got any more differences? Add them below. ~ p

Balls Were All the Buzz in 2010

In 2010, we were all socially buzzing about balls. More specifically, the balls shown in the Axe 'Clean Your Balls' commercial. According to Zeta Interactive, the ad beat out Nike's 'Lebron/Rise', Old Spice's 'Smells like a Man', and even Betty White's Snickers spot that topped the Super Bowl ad meter for the most-liked ad. To prove this out, Zeta claims to 'scour 200 million comments on social media, including blogs, tweets, message boards and other outlets, and then determines sentiment to arrive at its rankings'. Whatever, I'll buy it. That ad was hilarious. Even though Old Spice's 'Smells like a Man' crushed 'Clean Your Balls' on YouTube - 25 million views compared to 4.5 million. According to Zeta, it had better over all buzz. Check them out below.




















Here is the complete list of top 10 socially buzzed ad campaigns. ~ p

In Your Face™

The big news on the wire today is that Facebook has been given approval to trademark the word 'Face'. 
While this makes sense...it is also kinda ridiculous. Unlike the greedy genius of people like Gene Simmons, who trademarked the Money Bag icon, this is a move to protect an already powerful brand. To me, I think it's overkill. If you've established your brand as a household name within a product category or across many, and someone tries to spring board their success by infringement on your name, it's a non-issue. You win.

Regardless, Facebook is just a payment away from trademarking the word “Face.” As of today the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office has sent the social networking site a Notice of Allowance, which means they have agreed to grant the “Face” trademark to Facebook.

All Facebook needs to do is pay the issue fee within three months of today and the “Face” trademark will be issued and be published in the official USPTO gazette and everything.

I wonder what will be next? Will Twitter trademark Twit? Foursquare trademark Four? Maybe I'll trademark Porter and make my fiancée sign her soon-to-be new last name with a TM above it. I think I'm onto something... ~ p

(Source: Techcrunch)

Facebook Email Will be More Than Email

I guessed this one right. Kind of. After I said, and many echoed, that Facebook was going to launch a Gmail killer, Facebook insists that was not their plan. But if that happens as a result of their re-invented message system, then I guess Facebook will have successfully changed email and messaging as we know it.

The system overhaul is still a bit of a secret. Facebook is currently rolling it out with an invite-only strategy right now, and will open it up for all to use slowly over the next few months. We're told that the revised system will better facilitate users needs and the 4 billion messages that are sent daily on Facebook by over 350 million people. Yeah, those numbers are crazy. It might be a while before you can test this system out for yourself, but in the meantime, check out this video to further peak your interest and hopefully answer some of your questions. ~ p

Stickybits Could Make Your Brand Stick to Loyal Customers

Geo-targeting social services like Facebook Places and Foursquare are all the rage. And by rage, I mean obsessive behavior. Hey, I get it, I'm cool (sometimes), I 'checkin'. But when my friends start checkin-to their own living rooms, it makes me wonder...why didn't I think of that first?!

With so much attention on ourselves, a company called Stickybits has developed a platform that draws the focus away from us, and onto the products we like, and then gives us free stuff when we scan a unique bar code. It's essentially a product checkin app. And it could be the next big thing.

Why is this cool? If I'm a company, like Ben & Jerry's or Pepsi (both partners of Stickybits), I can incentivize you to engage, buy, interact, and share my product. This is an interactive way to generate brand loyalty and, if your product comes in a case that people need to buy before they touch, it can also drive sales. As a consumer, this is an easy, and possibly really fun way to get free stuff from brands and companies you already have an affinity for.

Each product has its own product wall (check out Pepsi's here) filled with all the comments, photos, and videos left by Stickybits users. The new app adds a leaderboard, rewards & challenges button, and suggests tags to add to each post (“review,” “tip,” “question,” “random”). And, for the benefit of brands and customers, you can share each scan with your friends on Facebook or Twitter. For brands, there are also analytics and campaign management tools.

The key to this equation is how good the promotions will be. If Stickybits can convince their brand partners to serve up exclusive deals, like, say, Groupon, this will be a surefire hit. If all I get is a XXXL white, see-through T-Shirt, the stickiness of this idea will fall flat. Check out (not in) stickybits.com for more details. ~ p

(Source: Techcrunch)

Facebook to Launch Gmail Killer. Register Your Facebook Vanity URL Now.

Facebook has seemingly done it again. Speculation is rising about Facebook launching a full-email service that will integrate with and revamp the current Facebook inbox messages. It's code name has been called Titan, and it's said to be a 'Gmail killer'.

Facebook announced a special press-only event for this coming Monday, and it's strongly believed that they will use the event to launch their highly anticipated service.

As TechCrunch points out, 'Facebook has the world’s most popular photos product, the most popular events product, and soon will have a very popular local deals product as well. It can tweak the design of its webmail client to display content from each of these in a seamless fashion (and don’t forget messages from games, or payments via Facebook Credits). And there’s also the social element: Facebook knows who your friends are and how closely you’re connected to them; it can probably do a pretty good job figuring out which personal emails you want to read most and prioritize them accordingly.'

The word on the street is that your email account name will be the same as your vanity url. As an example, mine is facebook.com/portereport, so my email will be portereport@facebook.com.

If you don't have a vanity facebook url, you should really consider registering for it before Monday. With 500 million users, you might get stuck with YourName1223598952@facebook.com. And that will just be annoying for everyone. 

Or, if you have a vanity url that is, well, not something you want everyone to see and type, like some friends of mine, you might want to change it up. To do so, simply go into your 'Account Settings' and edit your 'User Name'. ~ p

Protect Yourself from Drunken Social Media and Emailing. You Know Who You Are...

Back in the day, it was called 'drunk dialing'. Then it evolved into 'drunk texting'. Now it's 'drunken social media'. We've all been there. Had too much before or after the bar and sent an FB message to a co-worker, an ex, some random chick you saw tagged in a photo on your buddy's wall...umm...anyway...moving on. You wake up the next morning feeling kinda stupid. Well now you can protect your sober self from your drunken self.

This week, web security company Webroot released a new browser plugin called “The Social Media Sobriety Test” with the tagline, “Nothing good happens online after 1 a.m.”

I know. Where was this plugin last Saturday night? Now you can at least prepare for next weekend.

After you download, it'll ask you to set your hours of intoxication, and if you try to sign into Facebook, MySpace, or even Gmail or Hotmail during that time, you’ll be asked to pass a test. Be cautious that you don't get caught at an afternoon 'client lunch' and you play outside your set hours.

It also currently doesn't work on a mobile device, so your iPhone, Blackberry or Android could still be your enemy when you're out on the town.

Regardless, this is cool. I will definitely try it with my buddies the next time they're over. ~ p

Go to the Mall with Your Friends Without Leaving Your Living Room: eBay Group Gifts.

I go to the mall on my own. This is because I never to go the mall unless I absolutely have to for birthday or Christmas present reasons. If you ever see me in the mall with others, you can know that I've been dragged there against my will.

I am not the norm.

I realize that groups of people socially shop all the time. They always have and always will. But with online shopping getting more and more of our hard-earned money, the whole 'group shopping experience' has been dying.

Not any more.

Social Shopping has been gaining speed, I'm told. It even has an official term: Social Commerce. As far as I'm aware, this has been done through the means of Social Media users and separate, non-convergent technologies. I actually experienced this over the weekend as my Mom and Dad used their Blackberry to take a picture of a shirt that they thought I'd like as they were shopping and emailed it to me before buying it. I did not like it. That Social Shopping, er, Commerce exchange saved them money. And it saved me the guilt of letting it sit in my closet unworn. Win-win.

To capitalize on this insight, today eBay announced the launch of its Group Gifts service, enabling people to use the power of their social networks to collectively purchase gifts.

Andy Palmer, manager of buyer experience for Group Gifts, shared why they came up with this service. “The inspiration came from a couple of places. First, eBay saw that people were using social websites to buy virtual gifts for their friends at a very high frequency. We thought that it made sense to take that to the next level and help people come together to buy actual gifts. Perhaps more importantly, eBay recognized that the process of group gifting as it exists in the world today can be difficult and frustrating at times, which is a shame because giving as a group is a wonderful way to give people bigger, better gifts without spending too much during these tougher economic times."

Makes sense, Andy. Makes sense.

There are also other cool features, like 'Social search suggestions'. “Social search suggestions are gift suggestions eBay makes for your friend based on information we’ve pulled from their Facebook profile. These suggestions are what eBay considers ‘targeted inspiration.’ You’ll see a results set after clicking on one of the suggestions that will be relevant to your friend’s interest while delivering a broad spectrum of related items."

You can also, of course, ask friends to pitch in on a gift for someone. To do this, you can send email invites or Facebook invites privately; spread the word publicly by posting on Facebook or Twitter; or share the unique group gift URL, which directs users to the group gift page.

Cool. If I liked shopping I would do this. And as someone who does not like shopping, in fact, I would still join in on the fun. ~ p

(Source: Mashable)

If Apple Owned Facebook

Big Shot on Twitter and Facebook? Now You Can Prove it with Klout.

You might have a bunch of followers, but do you have influence with them? You tweet 17 times a day, but does anyone care? Yeah, yeah, we heard you - you're a big shot, 'Mr. Social Media', but I think you just automated your follower list, have a bunch of Facebook friends you don't really know, and tweet from Guy Kawasaki's posts all day.

Does this conversation sound familiar? If it does, you a) need to get out more, b) you need to sign up for Klout.

Klout is a new site that lets you prove your social media mightiness through a ranking system that ranges from 0 to 100. I've been on it for a few weeks, and it's pretty cool. I'd like to move up a few points, but, hey, wouldn't we all.

Your rank doesn't just solely depend on the size of your follower list, but on the content itself - how many times you've been retweeted, and if your links have been clicked on...plus about 25 other variables. They started with just Twitter correlations, but this week, they've introduced Facebook data, as well, and AdAge reported that 'potentially, information from LinkedIn, MySpace, Digg and even YouTube' is in the works.

This is cool. If you're a company, this can be used in a number of ways. One, you can segment people based on their purchases and life (stage/style), and over lay their Klout ranking to tell you who is really worth influencing. If you have a loyalty program, this can be used to create a special segment of your highly ranked Klout members to influence them with exclusive rewards, experiences and points. 

Using this idea is Social Rewards: a new social media loyalty program that rewards users based on social actions, sales, and their level of influence. They use Klout to determine influence level and customers can be rewarded differently based on their Klout scores. As the CEO, Joseph Morin, said “The premise of Social Rewards is to take existing brand loyalty program members that have social media tendencies and reward them for their loyalty and word of mouth activities.” One company that is currently using Social Rewards is The Venetian.

Klout also offers partner promotions with companies, such as Virgin Airlines. As an example, you could qualify for a free flight if you had enough Klout and posted a review about the experience. Check it out. You could get some free stuff...if you have enough Klout. ~ p

It Takes a Twit to Invent a Twitter Booth

This is so hilarious, I barely know where to go with it. Oh wait. I got it.

So, in Russia, there was this guy who was way ahead of his time. He envisioned a world where people would tell other people what they were doing all across the land. And this magnificent invention would come to life through a 'Sharing Booth'. Unfortunately, his angel investor died, he went insane, and has been locked away for 20 years. But know he's back, and with the help of some Corporate funding, his vision has been realized. I bring you...The Twitter Booth!

That story was, of course, a lie. But seriously, what the hell is going on over there in Russia? How did people, and presumably some form of Government official, think this was a good idea? If someone in Russia is being chased, are they going to stop and Tweet '#911 I'm screwed' on this thing? Is this an issue over there? Or is there that much of an interest in Social Media in Russia with limited access to computers or cell phones? If that's the case, buy some old school computers and put them in the Library. Not only that, but look closely at the screen - can you even see a profile on there? I don't think so. Is this inventor the town hero, or the town joker? Really, I have too many questions, and not many answers. At least I know if I ever get stuck in Russia without a phone or communication to the outside world...I can let my followers know. I have followers in Russia. Maybe one of them will eventually send help. ~ p

FBG takes on BBM...OMG.

Want to share something on Facebook, but you can't because your boss or your girlfriend's mother somehow became your friend along the way? Yeah, I think we've all been there. This has no doubt slowed down the amount of social sharing that could be taking place. Even though, social sharing is still on the rise, and social creation has plateaued, there be could more freedom to do both if you could filter the people you're sharing with. Zuck called this, 'The greatest social networking problem'. That's why he has introduced: New Groups for Facebook. 





I've seen something like this before. Oh yeah. On Blackberry Messenger. I can chat, post pics, comment on them within a pre-determined 'group' of people. It's cool and, in fact, BBM is why I'm still a Blackberry Loyalist. Actually, it's why a lot of Blackberry users haven't converted to the iPhone or other devices. If Facebook can create a similar and possibly better experience for me on a Mobile App, I might have to reconsider my options. In solving the greatest social networking problem...Facebook might have just created a huge problem for RIM's Blackberry. 

One thing that BBM has on their side, which will be hard to beat, is their 'push' functionality. Meaning, you don't need to click 'refresh' to pull emails, texts, or chat messages to your phone. They just appear. For Facebook, iPhone, or anyone else, to really compete with this requires an investment in infrastructure, not just an cool app feature. ~ p

I Like it in My Fiance's Hand

You might've seen a few odd Facebook statuses yesterday and today. 'I like it on the couch'...'I like it on the back of a chair'...but what is 'it' and what does it mean?

'It' is for 'purse' or 'my purse' (or, in my case, 'my fiance's purse'). October is breast cancer awareness month and this viral status trend is aimed to bring women together around the world for the cause. This isn't the first time we've seen this tactic. Last year, the bra color Facebook status went viral, also in support of raising breast cancer awareness. 

My mom had breast cancer, so I am in full support of anything to bring attention to the cause. Putting aside my personal association with the disease, and not being a woman, I can still honestly say this is a great use of social media, and looks good on all women who join together for a common cause. ~ p

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare...Poig?

First, there was 'What are you doing?', then came, 'What's happening?', 'What's on your mind?', and finally, 'Check-in'. Now, there's a new kid in town. And what they want to know is...'What do you want to do?'. Well, that's a good question, new kid. But first, let me find out a bit more about you. 

The 'new kid' is a site call Poig. In their words, 'Poig is a new way to create spontaneous get-togethers. Add some friends and watch the magic happen.' 

I signed up and realized that the 'adding of friends' part was critical to the 'making of the magic'. I had no friends using the site, and with a closer look, no one in my city, so my experience fell a bit flat. But Poig is smart enough to leverage Facebook Connect as a log-in option, which also prompts you to invite your FB-friends to join, so that problem should quickly resolve itself. 

Beside the minor ramp-up time, and the linguistical brain-bender, Poig looks really cool. Like, the next big thing kind of cool. It gives you categories to choose from: Food, Drinks, Coffee, Meet-up, Shopping, and Custom. By looking at the 'feeds' page, it seems like you can join in on an event with friends or other random people in your city, or pick a category and start your own. 

I gotta say, I love this idea. It's the best execution of the Mass Mingling trend that I've come across. Check it out. ~ p  

Ban of Social Networks at University doesn’t work

If you missed it, about a week and a half ago, Pennsylvania's Harrisburg University of Science and Technology imposed a campus-wide, weeklong ban on Facebook, Twitter and IM’s. (Full story here.)

Ban all Social Media access at a University for one week? Now that’s a Social experiment! See what I did there? ‘Social’ experi…anyway, who thought this was realistic? I didn’t. Like I mentioned in my report about Social Media in the classroom, kids are smarter and sneakier than us – they will find a way.

Eric Darr, who is conducting the experiment, pretty much admitted to that fact before it started, saying that he was curious about what lengths people will go to in order to stay connected. “From a technology perspective, there are ways to get around the block that may expose them to spyware and adware, as they try not to go through the firewall. We'll see how clever people were and what they tried.” Well, several days into the withdrawal, Darr said that by his own observations, the group of students who are following the rules of Social Media abstinence falls within the 10 to 15 percent range.

Hey, I’m not knocking this Darr guy. It was more ambitious than the making of Inception to try and pull this off. And, I’m sure in ‘failure’ we can all learn something. Like, maybe teachers, schools and classrooms should have more of a Social Media presence. Maybe Facebook should offer functionality to support educational systems, such as the uploading and downloading of coursework. Facebook, after all, started in a dorm room at Harvard. ~ p

Less textbook...more Facebook?

Does Social Media activity with kids go up or go down when they go back to school? You would think and hope, for those parents out there, that it goes down. Less free time to play on their Blackberries and iPhones. More time learning and studying in the classroom. Some schools have tried to ban phones all together, without much success. My sister, Kelly, is a grade 8 teacher, and she is one of the best. I say this broad-sweeping statement because a) she is my sister, and b) she wins every award and teaching-related competition you can imagine, or not imagine, because I honestly didn’t know any existed before she started winning them. Anyway, in her classroom, nearly every kid has a phone. They are texting, facebooking, tweeting, and bbming, all the time. She, of course, takes their phones away if they are caught, much like my teacher would confiscate the notes that I passed to girls. All that being said, kids are kids and, well, they’re generally sneakier and smarter than us. If they want to text, they will find a way. And with all of their friends surrounding them, their social networking peer pressure is a lot higher. Interestingly enough, my sister has also decided to start a Facebook page, with the approval of her Principal, for the kids to keep up on class assignments. As she says, that’s where they are as soon as they leave the classroom every day. The lesson here is that whether you’re a big global brand, or a grade 8-teacher, you need to be where the people are to keep them engaged. The next step? Teaching kids how to use their devices and social networking tools in school to help them later in life...even though it might be the first course where the students are tutoring the teacher. Regardless, this school in the U.K. has already started. Without changing the curriculum, here are 100 other inspiring ways to use social media in the classroom.