The Digital Lookout

The launch of Myspace’s new ad scheme myAds into Beta last week opened up the social network as an advertising option for businesses of all sizes.  With a 4 step, simple campaign set up there is no doubt this is aimed at small businesses with little or no experience of online advertising.  And with the super low minimum commitment of £25 they have reduced all barriers to entry for small businesses.  No doubting that this is an attempt to follow in Facebook’s footsteps in attracting direct advertisers and allowing self service and flexibility on ad campaigns (its the future, remember?) but is Myspace in a position to make a go of it in the same way Facebook has?

It certainly has the audience for it, with nearly double the unique user figures of Facebook there is an audience there to be tapped into, but impressions are what the modern day advertiser is after.  It is also most certainly not what the small business advertiser is after, I know from experience that if a small business is investing £100, then they sure as hell want £200 back.  They do not have large marketing budgets and they don’t give a hoot about brand building, they want a return on investment.  And I’m not convinced Myspace can give it.

For a start on Myspace there is less browsing involved.  On Facebook you are looking at news feeds, checking out updated status’ and searching for groups, and this is the time when you are most likely to be tempted to click and ad.  With Myspace there is less of these type of actions involved, at least there is how I use it.  And you are generally there to view a particular persons profile or catch up with a contact, and when you have a purpose, you are less likely to be tempted to click an ad, no matter how well targeted.

Also, the garish nature of Myspace profiles means that it will take something special for an ad to look right on the page, this will make users opposed to the ads and less likely to accept them as useful.

I suppose the idea of the ads, much like Facebook’s similar programme, is to utilise the profile information to target your audience effectively and I buy into this, use all the information you can to show the right ad, to the right person, at the right time.  I’m just not sure Myspace has the layout and the typical user actions to support such a programme.  And certainly my experiences with Google Placement ads on Myspace haven’t shown me anything to suggest otherwise.

Cosmopolitan has commissioned a survey and asked social psychologist Dr Asi Sharabi to interpret a selection of Facebook profile pictures and tell us what common profile picture themes tell us about the person in question.  And here are the results:

POUTING: Presenting such a provocative, sensual symbol indicates someone who wishes to be acknowledged in a sexual way – seeking intimacy or a partner. It could also indicate being a very tactile person

WITH AN ANIMAL: A person who displays themselves as capable of caring and nurturing, indicating need of an outlet for these tendencies and a broody nature.

DANCING: To display yourself on display, so to speak, is the ultimate invitation to be watched. Those who show themselves dancing are likely to be strongly extrovert. Additionally, in Western Culture, dancing has strong connotations toward leisure and freedom, denoting a hedonistic, pleasure-seeking streak.

WITH A BOYFRIEND: A popular picture type with serial monogamists, and signifies searching for a deeper or more committed relationship.

WITH A GUY (NOT BOYFRIEND): As well as a simple flirtatious contact, a picture with a potentially ambiguous meaning shows a love of creating stories, and playing games with the social fabric. In short, one who thrives on gossip.

DOING AN ACTIVITY: This is someone who identifies with their abilities and experiences rather than emotions or relationships. It may also indicate an unwillingness to commit or settle down.

ON HOLIDAY: Those who identify themselves with a carefree holiday may have a tendency to over-stress in their everyday lives. This could also indicate escapist fantasies or a dreamer disposition.

LOOKING AWAY FROM CAMERA: An unwillingness to be caught and posed in the conventional way is indicative of someone headstrong and confident in their approach to life.

NIGHT OUT/FANCY DRESS: This image represents the social, extroverted aspects of a personality; denoting that they value confidence and attention highly.

Just one missing from the list for me, the one where the picture is taken from the best possible angle making the person look 200% more attractive/slim/muscular than they actually are in real life! God knows Ive seen a few of those knocking around Facebook!

An article appeared in the Sunday Mirror yesterday entitled “TWO-FACEDBOOK - my hubby of 5yrs got back with his old flame on website”.  Reporting the story of Eleanor Saddlington who’s husband, Lee, walked out on her and their 2 children to reunite with and old school flame.

I cant imagine he is the first to do so, and I dont think he will be the last, but it did highlight to me the other side to reuniting people from the past which is often eclipsed by stories of reunions with old school friends and long lost relatives.  Social networking sites are another communication tool, much like mobile phones, email and instant messaging which people use to connect with each other.  For single people this is likely to involve flirting with members of the opposite sex and connecting with the girl or boy you met in the bar last night.  But for people in a relationship this is another means by which individuals can enbark on extra marital affairs and connect with people out of view of their partners.

Thats the fact, give people a means of communication and they will use it as they choose.  But the article appeared to place some of the blame on Facebook for this occurrence.  To quote the article;

“Lee admitted to her that the fling was down to the site.”

No it wasn’t, it was down to two grown adults deciding that they wanted to pursue each other even though they were attached.  Don’t blame Facebook, it was purely the vessel for the communication.

And what does the jilted mother do to get her own back? Does she petition against Facebook and curse its name?  No, she starts her own group “I hate Stephanie Burton” (that’s the other offender if you hadn’t guessed)/

You could call it cheap, but Ill call it social, as Facebook asks the social community for help with translating its pages into different languages.    It makes sense, with a community of people bought into the Facebook phenomenon why not let them provide some translation services for free?

Well, Im sorry Facebook, although I do speak English as requested, thats about as far as my language skills stretch, maybe you should use some of your targeting capabilities to find your translation team?

facebook uses social networking to translate its pages

Reuters has reported that porn is no longer the main past time on the internet with the world of social networking the new leading activity conducted online.  According to the findings not only do people spend more time on social sites than they do viewing pornography but also the number of searches for adult related phrases has dropped in recent years.  One quote from the article..

“My theory is that young users spend so much time on social networks that they don’t have time to look at adult sites.”

..is a little far fetched in my opinion.  If someone is interested in loooking at pornography online then they will find the time to do so!  My opinion is that is just the sheer volume of users now engaged in sites like Facebook and also the fact that they are enticing people who never used to spend too much time online to use the Internet a little more.

Interesting to see that the Internet is not as porn dominated as it once was but it is still pretty dominant as the second most popular online past time and will take some shifting.