Facebook has started rolling out another round of changes. Have you noticed the new “Likes” box on the left side panel of your Facebook profile?

The latest round of changes will cause major headaches for sophisticated users who must restructure their skillfully branded Facebook landing pages, while for less sophisticated users, these changes will do little more than raise some eyebrows.

I fall into the latter group of less sophisticated users. I have an analytic and technical background. However, I opt for simple business and social media marketing solutions, as they’re easier to understand and are often more robust.

Now, About Your Left Side Pane

Facebook is phasing out application boxes that can currently appear on the left side pane of your profile, and Facebook has diminished your usable page width within your custom tabs from 720 to 520 pixels on both your Facebook profile and Facebook page.

By phasing out application boxes, Facebook gains use your left side pane for new purposes, and by decreasing usable page width, the freed-up horizontal space enables Facebook to display the new left side pane from within all tabs, not just the standard Facebook tabs.

Clearly, the left side pane will be an important aspect of the newest version of the Facebook user interface.

Say Goodbye to the Facebook Markup Language

There will be a change in the way Facebook custom tabs are programmed. FBML will be grandfathered-in but will be replaced by a newer technology. According to Inside Facebook, the change will take effect by the end of the year, so if you plan to create new FBML tabs, keep that in mind.

My parting advice: Keep everything as simple as possible and don’t put all your social media eggs into one basket.

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Tags: Facebook

This is a quick update on the Ning transition from free Ning networks to all paid networks. The deadline for upgrading free Ning networks had been set to August 20th, but Ning announced today that the deadline for choosing a price plan for your network is now extended until the 30th.

You might be able to use the additional time to devise a better Plan B. I plan to use the time to migrate more members from my old Ning networks to my new improved Ning network.

This my new Ning network, and I invite you to connect and network with me there:

Small Business Networking (Ning network for entrepreneurs and small businesses wherever they might be. Sign up there for the free social media marketing training.)

You don’t need your own business to participate in my new Ning network.

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Tags: free social media marketing training, Ning, Ning social network, small business networking

August 20th is here, and all free Ning networks go dark at midnight. Do you have a Ning network that’s not upgraded or belong to one? Are your Ning networks closing tonight?

Ning network creators can, depending on quantity, archive all or part of their content from within the moderator area.

I’m closing a bunch of Ning networks but have recently launched a new Ning network to replace them.

My new Ning network, for which I have ambitious and exciting plans is Small Business Networking (a Ning network serving entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide). Sign up for the free social media marketing training to be offered on-site.

You don’t need a business to participate in either network. You can gather business information, share ideas, search for a new job or do whatever else might make sense to you.

If your Ning network is closing, you’re looking for better ways to brand yourself, or you simply desire to develop new skills, come to Small Business Networking.

See you there.

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Tags: free social media marketing training, Ning, Ning social network, nyc business networking, small business networking

Update: Read Ning’s response in the comments.

Ning plans to close thousands of free social networking sites this week. I believe Ning has drawn a line in the sand and do not expect Ning to grant a reprieve.

I hope, now that Ning network creators are all paying customers, we’ll have a greater collective voice and more impact on the choices Ning makes.

Ning Customer Service Issues

However, I saw complaints about Ning customer service on Twitter and Facebook, and with my Ning Sign-Up Glitch help ticket (00D8cCLt.5004BTxme) open since August 6, it seems to me that we’re off to an inauspicious start. Even though network creators have found a temporary work around, it does nevertheless behoove Ning to respond to us and address this type of problem.

I assume that Ning is coping with a record number of inquiries due to its transition to new pricing, and that Ning’s customer service is backed up. Still, this situation doesn’t bode well, since an email to network creators explaining the situation would’ve demonstrated Ning’s transparency and bolstered our confidence in the company’s management.

I myself recently launched a new Ning social networking site, and I stand behind Ning’s latest initiative. However, I ask you, isn’t it only fair that Ning should match the greater financial commitment of its network creators with a corresponding service commitment on its side?

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Tags: Ning, Ning social network

I entered the Perkett PR social media marketing competition while attending the Social Convergence and the Enterprise symposium.

I ended up finishing 2nd in the competition and creating lots of buzz. Thanks to everyone who helped, and a special thank you to Perkett PR for the contest.

Facebook Fan Page Event

I started an event somewhat similar to the last Facebook fan page event to keep the excitement going.

Please join me at my Thank-You and Tell-Us-About-Yourself Party taking place on my Facebook page. You can meet new people and promote yourself or your cause. It will be a blast.

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Tags: Facebook, Perkett PR

In Facebook Fumble Draws Broad Rebuke, I stated that the possibility of further Facebook backlash didn’t concern me very much, and that you shouldn’t let Facebook’s speed bump become your speed bump.

I compared the woes of Facebook to those of Microsoft and recommended that you move forward with your Facebook plans.

My approach drew criticism from an online friend I respect, so I reached out to members of my Facebook page to hear their thoughts. The responses I received strengthened my belief that the reaction to Facebook’s misstep would dissipate.

Many articles were very critical of Facebook’s apparent lack of concern for user privacy and the social networking behemoth’s sharp departure from its previous policies.

One such article was Why Facebook Can’t Be Trusted: Let’s Recognize the Dangers Before Praising It as Web’s Default Marketing Platform posted by Craig Daitch on Ad Age’s Digital Next.

At the same time, Christopher Heine posted No Major Privacy Backlash From Facebook’s 425M Base on ClickZ, a rather moderate reaction to the Facebook episode.

However, a bold article, Ignore The Screams–Facebook’s Aggressive Approach Is Why It Will Soon Become The Most Popular Site In The World by Henry Blodget of Business Insider, confronted the negative press head on and resonated with me like nothing else I read.

Facebook’s aggressiveness on the privacy front is a big reason for the site’s success. The company will survive the latest PR flap, just as it has survived all the other PR flaps. And unless the latest blow-up scares it into changing its ways (let’s hope not), Facebook will continuing growing like a weed until it is by far the most popular web site in the world (and note what “most popular” means: It means that, despite the howling of a tiny minority, more people choose to spend more time on Facebook than any other site in the world).

From a business perspective, in other words, Facebook’s approach to innovation is smart. It’s not always popular, but it works. And if Facebook wants to maintain its competitive edge, it will do what it has to do to smooth over the latest blow-up, and then go forth with the same approach and attitude it has had all along.

Digest the articles referenced above. Then decide for yourself: Facebook backlash — fact, fiction or inconsequential?

Please subscribe and leave a comment. Don’t hesitate to disagree with me. My kids usually do.

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Tags: Facebook, privacy

“You’ve got to hand it to Facebook. They certainly know how to do security — not,” wrote Steve O’Hear in Video: Major Facebook security hole lets you view your friends’ live chats on TechCrunch Europe last week.

Security flaws that exposed private chats and other private information to so-called “friends” have enraged many Facebook members and critics.

In Facebook needs to face the music, InfoWorld links this misstep and previous Facebook transgressions to the social networking giant’s plans to control the web.

More Facebook backlash is likely, but this possibility really doesn’t concern me very much.

My Key Facebook Concern

I am very concerned whether or not this incident will deter you from using Facebook for your social media marketing and digital public relations.

While many will use the Facebook blunder to justify their hesitation to market on Facebook, don’t you join their ranks. Don’t you let Facebook’s speed bump become your speed bump.

A Little Company Called Microsoft

How often has Microsoft released software that contained bugs and security glitches? Although their aggressive marketing has been held in check by anti-trust suits and fierce competition from Google and Apple, Microsoft continues to make billions and still dominates the PC niche despite a long history of computer software problems.

Please Ignore the Naysayers

My advice to you:

• ignore all naysayers, there will always be plenty of them
• get your Facebook page going and growing as quickly as possible
  
• attract lots of targeted followers to your Facebook page
• start your Facebook conversation and share your content
• build your brand on Facebook and all over the social web

Come join my Facebook conversation too!

Have any comments? The floor is yours.

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Tags: Facebook, social networking sites

Yesterday, May 4, 2010, was a very sad day for social media and Web 2.0. We all suffered a tremendous loss.  Yesterday was the day that Ning died.

No, Ning, the company, did not die; Ning, the company, is still very much alive, and many Ning social networking sites are alive as well, looking forward to upcoming Ning changes this July.

However, yesterday, Ning, the concept, was laid to rest.

A preliminary autopsy all but ruled out foul play. It suggested instead that perhaps too much user abuse and too little user engagement aggravated the Ning concept and hastened its sad demise.

The Ning concept was beautiful and elegant, a network of social networks.

Not only were contributions of social network end users Web 2.0 content, the individual social networks themselves were Web 2.0 content within the Ning meta social network.

The Ning concept leaves behind thousands of Ning social network creators seeking new homes. Many homes are ready to take them in but cannot accommodate them to the extent that Ning and the late Ning concept had accommodated them in the past.

Nevertheless, bereaved Ning social network creators who loved the Ning concept maintain hope for the future.

Ning concept, 2007-2010, rest in peace.

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Tags: Ning, Social Media, social networking sites, Web 2.0

A commodity is any product or service for which there is demand, but for which there is no perceived qualitative difference between that which you offer and that which your competitors offer.

Its market price is determined solely by supply and demand.

With commodities, e.g., electronics or metals, consumers are as likely to buy from your competitors as they are to buy from you and will choose randomly among the lowest priced offerings available to them.

What is Commoditization?

Commoditization or commodifying is the transformation of a product or service into a commodity by external influences such as a commodities exchange or the growing virtual marketplace on the Internet.

Haven’t you yourself ever compared offerings for a product on the web and purchased the one with the lowest price? You used to shop for this product at a neighborhood merchant, but now you tend to shop around for it online.

Commoditization prevents a product or service from standing out and places  downward pressure on its price.

Commoditization in Real Estate

While real estate itself is far from being a commodity, the agents who sell real estate, especially residential real estate, are losing their competitive differentiation in the market.

I attended REMarTech in New York City this past week. The conference was marvelously organized and presented by Ryan Slack and Green Pearl Events. If you’re in real estate, you ought to join the Green Pearl social network on Ning.

I met lots of interesting people at REMarTech and learned some important facts about real estate sales and marketing, as well.

I learned that real estate brokers and agents are no longer the main sources of information about real estate properties and property listings. Buyers readily obtain detailed property information and listings using online services like Zillow, Trulia and StreetEasy, each represented at the REMarTech event.

As a result, the real estate broker listing a particular property is more likely now than in the past to end up splitting the commission for the sale of that property with a competitor.

How Social Media Helps Real Estate Agents

A recurring theme at REMarTech was that blogging, social networking sites, and mobile apps help real estate agents convey to potential buyers and sellers the agent’s depth of knowledge and active involvement in the neighborhood he or she represents.

A number of real estate agents use foursquare to check in and take a stand in their respective neighborhoods.

One speaker reported being the mayor of all the buildings he represents. If you wanted to sell your apartment, wouldn’t you think that perhaps the mayor of your building would be the best person to sell it?

REMarTech Takeaways

I can report to you that leaders of major real estate companies, such as Fred Peters of Warburg Realty, Diane Ramirez of Halstead Property and Jacky Teplitzky of Prudential Douglas Elliman, have already adopted social media within their organizations.

A typical real estate broker or agent has limited social media know-how but wants to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.

Fortunately, Green Pearl Events, organizer of REMarTech, is eager to help early adopters to adapt — and so is, of course, yours truly.

Please subscribe now to Online Social Networking and join my Facebook page.

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Tags: Ning, Ning social network, real estate agents, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media

Understanding your blog or website traffic requires more than merely counting your visitors.

You ought to know too where your visitors are coming from and the suitability of each source of traffic, as well as how effectively your website is performing when visitors arrive.

Average time on site and bounce rate are two of the statistics that help you gauge the relevance of your website to your site’s visitors.

Google Analytics Bias

Google Analytics is a popular free tool for monitoring your website traffic that has many great features including advanced visitor segmentation, a favorite of mine.

Sadly, Google Analytics reports bounce rate and time on site statistics that are biased. The Google bounce rate is too high, while the time on site is too low. This problem tends to be especially acute in the case of blogs.

I defined Google bounce rate and discussed the bias in Google Bounce Rate Misleads Bloggers (Oct. ‘08). Please read that introductory article if this subject matter is unfamiliar to you.

Cause of Google Analytics Bias

Google Analytics assumes that a visitor who views only a single page on a site is dissatisfied and leaves immediately, which is often not the case. A visitor can spend time on a single page and leave contented, especially if that page contains a blog post.

However, Google’s assumption was much simpler and more cost effective for Google to implement at the time they made it than an alternative would’ve been. Yet, a change in that one assumption would permit Google Analytics to provide more useful estimates of both bounce rate and time on site.

Better Web Analytics

Technology has advanced since Google formulated its bounce rate. Web analytics service providers now have access to faster servers and greater bandwidth.

In search of better web analytics, I have tried other service providers.

My favorite is Clicky, an innovative web analytics service that exploits newer technology.

Clicky devised and implemented an approach to estimating bounce rate and time on site that is quite elegant and superior to that which Google implemented in Google Analytics.

The Clicky script installed on each website communicates at pre-assigned intervals with the server. This interaction enables Clicky to estimate time on site, even if the visitor views just a single page. Clicky then makes an arbitrary yet fair assumption that any visitor who was on the website for at least 30 seconds found the site to be relevant.

The difference in methods is striking: My overall Google bounce rate last week was 79% vs. my overall Clicky bounce rate of 26%. Google average time on site was 1:55 vs. Clicky 3:41.

(For statistics buffs out there, the correlation between Google and Clicky bounce rates for the top nine keyword phrases was only 0.2 indicating that data from each is likely to lead us to draw a different set of conclusions.)

Clicky makes comparing keywords and traffic sources cleaner and updates results in as close to real time as I can expect. Clicky offers a choice free or premium service. I started with the free service and later upgraded to the premium one.

No more Google bounce rate or Google time on site for me!

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Tags: Google, Web Analytics

You may already have a website or a blog, but do you have a Facebook page yet?

If not, you will before long. Nearly everybody will create a Facebook page. I’ll try to paint the big picture for you.

Facebook pages are the public side of Facebook and are fully accessible to search engines. They are free and easy to set up.

Facebook is continually making changes to their pages hoping to enhance their utility and value. In my opinion:

Facebook pages are part of a grand plan to dominate the Internet to a far greater extent than Google does today.

Once such change, seemingly minor,  is the Facebook page “Like” button that supersedes the  familiar “Become a Fan” button.

Facebook Introduces the Like Button

Facebook fan pages are now simply Facebook pages.

This notice appeared for the first time yesterday when I visited my Facebook page:

Starting today people will be able to connect with your Page by clicking “Like” rather than “Become a Fan.” We hope this action will feel much more lightweight, and that it will increase the number of connections made across the site.

Facebook Page Rationale

Facebook is changing more than just words or buttons.

Coming are Facebook community pages, which are going to be built around concepts rather than personalities or businesses. Facebook pages may also tie in to Wikipedia pages in some way. Will it not make more sense for people to “Like” community pages than to “Become a Fan” of them?

Consider this likely scenario:

Everybody and everything will have a home on Facebook pages making Facebook the largest website hosting service in the world.

Facebook’s Exquisite Revenue Model

All Facebook pages will be sponsored by ads as they are right now. Facebook ads work somewhat like the popular Google Adsense ads except for four key differences:

1. Facebook inserts Facebook ads at their discretion, not yours
2. Facebook earns revenue from the ads
3. Google doesn’t earn any revenue from the ads
4. You don’t earn any ad revenue either

Of course, Facebook could introduce premium services and, similar to Ning, let you to pay to:

• remove Facebook ads
• share in the revenue from ads
• use your own domain name
• turn nofollow links into dofollow links
• rank higher in their search results

Facebook already lets you pay to advertise and find people to “Like” your page.

Integrating Facebook Pages and Profiles

Facebook now also enables you to see which of your Facebook friends (if any, up to a maximum of 200) “Like” a particular Facebook page.

However, Facebook pages will become even more integrated with Facebook profiles and will serve to characterize each Facebook member’s interests and values. Facebook profiles will attract new members to Facebook pages, which in turn will attract others, creating a giant web of page and profile relationships.

Who wouldn’t want to have a presence on such a dynamic and connected Facebook?

Build Up Your Facebook Page

Can Facebook be prevented from dominating the Internet? Unless they commit a major blunder or suffer an extended outage, I doubt it. Consider the following five factors working in Facebook’s favor:

1. Facebook pages (enhanced and expanded)
2. An enormous and rapidly growing membership
3. Facebook Widgets (which extend Facebook’s influence)
4. Facebook Friend Connect (lets members easily log into other sites)
5. Facebook search engine ambitions

If you have a Facebook page, I recommend that you build it up. If you don’t have one, create one as soon as possible.

Please “Like” my Facebook page and leave a comment below.

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Tags: Facebook, Google

This is not the first Ning Social Network Controversy and probably not the last one either.

In Ning’s Bubble Bursts: No More Free Networks, Cuts 40% Of Staff on TechCrunch, Jason Rosenthal, the new CEO of Ning, revealed that his company will let go of staff and discontinue hosting free social networking sites –  both in an attempt to bolster Ning’s bottom line.

In an update on Ning Creators, Mr. Rosenthal wrote that Ning will cater to users of its premium services who “represent over 75% of our traffic,” and that he would announce the details of the changes on May 4.

To address the mounting concerns of Ning’s free site creators, he also wrote,  “We recognize that there are many active Ning Networks for teachers, small non-profits, and individuals, and it’s our goal to have a set of product and pricing options that will make sense for all of them.”

My Take on Ning

I personally have been unhappy and hurt by many changes to the Ning social network in the past half-year or so. Nevertheless, I want to make it clear that I completely support whatever Ning decides to do with its business.

After all, Ning exists to generate a profit and return on investment. If Ning believes that changes — no matter how radical they may be — are required to improve its service and increase its likelihood of success, Ning must effect those changes.

Many Ning social networking sites will close down rather than upgrade. I’ll be sorry to see some of them go.  However, there will inevitably be more broken links than broken hearts, since most free sites with active members will upgrade and pay.

I’ll close some of my own Ning networks that are providing little benefit and open other Ning sites.

Alternatives to Ning

A few good free alternatives exist for Ning site creators who prefer not to upgrade:

• SocialGo - Says on their website that their free social networking sites are “free forever.” It will take effort to get your network started again, but this looks like the best choice as of now.
• Facebook - A Facebook group isn’t a bad alternative. You’ll need to change your networking paradigm, but in the end, you may be able to attract far more members from within Facebook.
• LinkedIn - If your network is business oriented, a group on LinkedIn could make sense too.
• Ning - Start a group within a premium Ning social network. You already understand the Ning platform. If you can find the right home for your group, it will benefit both you and the creator of that Ning site, a win-win situation for both of you.

Let’s all wait until after May 4 to decide upon a course of action.

Have any thoughts about Ning or a good alternative to Ning you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below.

In any case, please subscribe to my blog and join my Facebook page.

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Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Ning social network, social networking sites, SocialGo

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