Google+ and +1

Plus One

The +1 thing has been a part of the internet for as long as I can remember. Stemming back from my early days on shockfusion.com, the best way for someone to give propz where propz were due, with a system that didn’t allow for it, was to simply post a reply with “+1” in it. QBN.com (formerly NewsToday.com) added that mechanism to their home page for visitors to promote admin- and user-added content. And now Google has wholly embraced he meme with their version of Facebook’s erroneously-named “Like” button. So what’s the main difference between Facebook’s “Like” button and Google’s “+1” button? The answer is simple: Google has a search, Facebook does not. +1ing, though not guaranteed, will help improve your pages’ rank and elevate its placement among Google search results. It’s pretty much the Digg.com model, but for all teH InterWebz, not just news.

You may also notice the shiny, new +1 button on [d]online’s header, by the search bar. G’head and click it if the spirit moves you.

Google+

Now, Google has taken their war against Facebook domination to the next level. How? They’ve launched their own Facebook with Google+. According to them, they did it because “People Hate Facebook.” And within days of the launch, all my friends, coworkers and family members seem to be scrambling into their “circles” (Google’s version of Facebook’s “lists”) and posting up a storm. Facebook says that they knew about circles last year and beat Google to market by launching their rehashed version of Facebook Groups (though, I believe, they’re are as pointless as Google Groups – which I still use and manage). But Google is really banking on Google+’s success. And they need to, as well. According to Silicon Alley Insider’s Chart-of-the-Day, people spend a lot more time on Facebook than Google. And in an online world driven by ad revenue, time translates into dollars:

What does this all mean?

It means that people that left Facebook because it was too addictive now have two different sites to avoid. And people who are tired of receiving dozens of email responses to Facebook group conversations that someone else added them to, will now have dozens more. We have twice as many privacy issues as before and potentially double the: online stalkers, farmville invitations, pointless events, embarrassing photos, etc. I don’t think we really need a world with two Facebooks so I’m hoping that the battle royale between Facebook and Google will produce a clear, definitive winner so I can go back to being monogamously addicted to one.

Category: Web

A Pledge to Tom’s of Maine


A few days ago, an ad came on Hulu where Tom’s of Maine talked about their company’s philosophy. I’ve always loved this company, find their products to be top notch, and admired their philosophy. Though I’ve become increasingly irritated with companies lately making open promises about becoming green, caring about the environment and helping communities. Read more

Everything Ages Fast

What if some of the most famous online services were launched in 1959? That’s what Sao Paulo ad agency Moma imagined when the released this 3 part series of fake vintage ads for Facebook, YouTube and Skype. The “Everything Ages Fast” ad campaign is Mad Men era imagery that would look perfect in vintage copies of Esquire.

Facebook announces Fanboxes

fanboxFacebook and site developers/promoters as well as those keen on social networking for their business/band were excited to learn of the launch of “fanboxes” to drive traffic directly to their Facebook professional service page. Now, people wishing to take advantage of their social network and drive traffic to become their fans have a much simpler/easier process for doing this. In the past, you had to say “Log-in to Facebook, search for [company name], and from the results look for the one that has our logo and says ‘professional service’ below it.” Next Monday, Facebook will remove the restrictions on adding usernames to Pages. But Wednesday, they’ve announced the Fanbox:

Over 8 million users become fans of Facebook Pages every day to connect with their favorite public figures and organizations and get updates directly in their streams. Now, users can connect with brands, musicians, celebrities, businesses, and more, whether they’re on or off Facebook.

Today, we’re excited to launch the Fan Box, a Facebook Connect-enabled social widget that Page owners can add to their websites to allow users to fan and view the accompanying Facebook Page stream. With the Fan Box, brands can bring content from their Facebook Page into their website and help convert website visitors into Facebook fans. Users can view the most recent posts from the Page, see a list of other fans (including their friends), and, most importantly, become a fan without leaving the site. Additionally, if a user visits the site and isn’t logged in to Facebook, the user can log in and become a fan directly inline as well.

I’ve been tinkering with the idea of putting together a tutorial to teach [d]online readers how to implement a Fanbox into their site. If this is something you might be interested in reading, please drop a few comments and I’d be happy to oblige. If there isn’t much interest, I’ll go to Coney Island instead. Ta!

Stream.publish(“frustration”);

screenshot12May I just take a moment to vent my extreme frustration with the Facebook Developers API? Cardinal rule of development that you should change the public interface unless it’s a last resort. Facebook, who has made a practice of changing their API almost regularly, has got its application developers jumping through hoops just to keep old projects functioning properly. Read more