Montenegro Gives Odd Reason For Banning Facebook On Gov't Computers

from the take-down-the-network? dept

Banning Facebook at the office still doesn't make much sense to us, but even if we granted the (incorrect) premise that Facebook should be banned for being non-work related, it's still odd to see the country of Montenegro's reasoning for banning Facebook in all government offices. They're claiming that it's to avoid taking down their own network. Usually, you take down your network from traffic heading in not out. And, it's not like visiting Facebook takes up that much traffic. In the meantime, at least some other governments have realized that Facebook can be a useful way to talk to citizens. Hell, even terrorists now like Facebook. Perhaps governments should think twice about banning it.

Filed Under: bans, montenegro, social networks
Companies: facebook

Social Networking Sites Still Struggling With The Whole Monetization Thing

from the underpants-gnomes dept

The history of social-networking sites has largely been dominated by two trends: first, no matter how popular a site seems to be at any given moment, it's probably living on borrowed time. Second, no matter how much traffic a site pulls in, it's going to have a really hard time monetizing it. While the likes of Facebook and MySpace have resisted the former thus far, the latter remains a big problem -- as it has been for some time. Given this history, it's hardly surprising to see an NYT story this week about how little success marketers are having on sites like Facebook. They're finding that banner ads get ignored (again, unsurprising), while their efforts to do "social advertising" aren't bearing much fruit. The article mentions the Facebook page for Procter & Gamble's 2x Ultra Tide laundry detergent, which has attracted 471 fans, and 9 responses thus far to the question "Your Favorite Place to Get Stained?" It's hard to imagine what the P&G marketers expected, but it really doesn't seem surprising that people wouldn't flock to affiliate themselves with some laundry detergent. While some brands do attract that kind of attention, overall, the evidence says that people don't necessarily have a lot of interest in using social-networking sites to interact with brands, while many social-media efforts by companies aren't trusted and are seen as little more than shilling.

This is a big problem for social-networking sites as they continue to struggle to justify their massive valuations with real revenues. Part of the problem seems to be the marketers' mindset and how they see social networking or blogging as some magic sauce that will instantly boost sales and gloss over bad products. The challenge facing Facebook and its ilk is twofold. The sites need to better develop their marketing offerings beyond ineffective banner ads, but do so in a way that doesn't annoy users and trample their privacy, as they'll end up doing more to damage their advertisers' brands than boost them. But the bigger challenge is changing marketers' mindsets and getting them to understand how best to interact with users online. While the sites might see their role solely as selling advertising space, they must be the ones to take a leadership role and help educate and enlighten marketers, if only to help ensure their own survival.

Filed Under: ads, monetization, social networks
Companies: facebook, myspace

Reminder: Not Everyone Online Is A Jerk

from the nice-to-know dept

Following the incredibly tragic story of Abraham Biggs' live broadcasting his suicide, plenty of "web 2.0" critics such as Andrew Keen jumped on the chance to blast the "anomie, cruelty and narcissism that characterises much of the web." Of course, if you think social networks are evil, you're going to interpret events that way, but, of course, as has been pointed out before, communication tools don't discriminate over who can use them -- so of course there are some awful people who use them, just as there are many good people. Communication tools don't change that. And, for every tragic Abraham Biggs story out there, it seems likely that there are many, many stories like Ayelet Waldman, who talks about how her online community of friends saved her from committing suicide. Of course, those stories don't get nearly as much attention, so folks like Keen can pretend they don't exist and that social networking communication tools are mainly used for shallow, meaningless conversations.

Filed Under: abraham biggs, andrew keen, ayelet waldman, community, social networks, suicide

Ontario Government Considers Facebook Consultation

from the may-want-to-unblock-it-first dept

The Ontario Premier says he wants to engage young people in dialogue on Facebook (via Michael Geist) over protests against proposed restrictions on young drivers. The strict, zero-tolerance proposals have caused many young people to speak out on Facebook, and one protest group now has over 140,000 members. The Premier has responded publicly, "I think we need to find a way to get on Facebook... I think we need to find a way to engage in a dialogue in a social network where they are," noting that most young people won't come to the traditional legislative meetings. There's one snag though -- government computers currently block Facebook.

This isn't the first time a Facebook group has caught the attention of Canadian politicians (it's also not the first time this Ontario government has proposed controversial driving laws). Over the past year, a Facebook group, created by Geist, protesting proposed copyright legislation, was mentioned repeatedly by the opposition in federal parliament. This time, the government itself is bringing an online protest to attention. The idea of Facebook consultations drew some criticism in the comments on Geist's post -- why should the government conduct its business on a proprietary, privately owned silo? But Geist isn't suggesting that the government rely on Facebook or any one service, just that they could make use of services that people are already using. Facebook is especially relevant for legislation affecting young voters. In an earlier column, Geist notes that it takes more than just an "if you build it, they will come" approach. Governments could broaden their online consultation strategies to include a presence on social networks where active dialogue is already taking place. In this particular case, it's still a bit too early to tell if this is just talk or if the government is serious about experimenting. A good first step might be to reconsider that Facebook ban.

Filed Under: government, ontario, social networks
Companies: facebook

Small Business Owners Track Down Dumb Criminals Online

from the you-can-run-but-you-can't-hide dept

Looks like cops aren't the only ones looking online for evidence of crime. Just in the past week, we've seen two stories of small businesses using the web to do some detective work of their own. Canadian retailers in Cape Breton are hiring loss preventional specialists who are making use of social networking tools to track down shoplifters, finding dumb criminals bragging about items they've stolen on YouTube and then using Facebook to help identify the thieves. When a shoplifter has been identified, that information is shared with other members in the retail association who may choose to block that person from their stores. One of the mall owners interviewed also notes in the comments that Facebook is especially useful in checking for potential accomplices (friends who were there at the time of the theft). Despite the effectiveness of using the internet as a crime fighting tool, politicians elsewhere have been trying to get evidence of crime removed from YouTube even though it helps police -- and now retailers -- to catch dumb criminals.

The second story involves an Australian restaurant owner who tracked down bill dodgers using Facebook. The group of five diners stepped outside for a smoke and never returned after racking up a bill of $340 USD. Restaurant staff recalled that one of the diners had inquired about a former waitress when the group arrived. They contacted the waitress, searched a few names on Facebook and came across a profile belonging to one of the diners, who was pictured with his girlfriend (also in the group). Facebook showed that they worked at a restaurant down the street. They contacted the manager and, within hours, the diner returned to pay the bill (along with a generous tip and an apology). Later, the restaurant was notified that the man and his girlfriend had both been fired. No criminal charges were filed.

Whether it's dumb criminals who can't resist bragging or sloppy criminals giving away clues to their identity, the web makes it a lot easier for law enforcement and victims to track them down.

Filed Under: criminals, social networks

Facebook Wins Nearly $1 Billion From Spammer Who Will Never Pay Up

from the still-must-feel-good dept

If only spammers actually had money and could be forced to pay up when they lose lawsuits... Facebook might have actually found a business model that paid. It appears a judge has ruled in Facebook's favor against a spammer, fining the spammer $873 million for phishing Facebook user logins, and then using account access to bombard other users with millions of spam messages. Of course, the spammer in question has pretty much disappeared, and it's difficult to believe Facebook will receive a penny from the guy, let alone anything near the $873 million (which is probably more than 3 times Facebook's revenue this year).

Filed Under: fines, social networks, spam
Companies: facebook

Yet Another Study Shows That Social Networks Are Good For Kids

from the yet-politicians-still-want-them-blocked-in-schools dept

This has been covered before, of course, but it's always good to see more research on the subject. The MacArthur Foundation has just released Mizuko Ito's latest study about online socializing, and found that it's an important and healthy part of youth communications these days, and politicians and parents who freak out over the amount of time kids spend chatting with each other online are overreacting. Hopefully, with more studies like this, we can get politicians to stop trying to ban social networks in school, and recognize that it can be a healthy part of the way kids communicate.

Filed Under: children, communication, social networks

Banning Facebook At Work Is Like Banning The Telephone

from the it's-a-communications-tool dept

Earlier this year, we pointed out that it was silly for companies to block Facebook at work, because it's merely a communications tool. It can be misused, but that would show up in the performance of the employee. Instead, embracing Facebook and recognizing that it's just a communications platform -- like the telephone or like email (both of which some companies wanted to ban when they first became popular), it can be a very valuable tool.

It's good to see a new study agreeing on that point and encouraging management execs to learn how to embrace social networking, rather than ban it completely:

They are part of the way in which people communicate which they find intuitive. Banning Facebook and the like goes against the grain of how people want to interact. Often people are friends with colleagues through these networks and it is how some develop their relationships.... Allowing workers to have more freedom and flexibility might seem counter-intuitive, but it appears to create businesses more capable of maintaining stability."

Now, of course, some people are going to show up here and start commenting about how much time they (or others they know) waste on Facebook during the workday. However, as we said, it's no secret that some people abuse access to those systems -- but the focus should be punishing for the abuse, not punishing everyone and throwing out the good with the bad. Others will (as they always do) say something along the lines of "if you're at work, you should be working -- using a social network should never ever be allowed." Again, similar things were said originally about the telephone and email, and those have turned out to be very productive tools. Letting people communicate in the way they find most efficient and effective is a huge part of making sure a business is functioning well -- even if it includes letting employees spend some time on Facebook.

Filed Under: social networks, work

The Impact Of Having Friends Never Fade Away

from the they're-stuck-with-you dept

For many years, we've wondered about how new technologies may start to change the nature of friendship. In the past, friends would come and go over time, as friendships grew and receded during different stages of life for different reasons -- and that was fine. But in an age where everyone is connected electronically all of the time, and whether or not someone is a "friend" is a binary decision set at the click of a mouse, some are pointing out that it seems weird that social networks are setting up people to remain "friends" forever, even if they're not still friendly in real life.

Of course, it appears that much of this is actually mitigated by social norms and the rapid turnover of social networks. So, for example, while I've recently had many high school friends "refriend" me on Facebook, and I may chat briefly with those I really was friendly with, I pretty much ignore those that I barely knew. Sure they're on my "friend" list, but beyond that, it's rather inconsequential. But, more importantly, with social networks rising and falling rapidly, we seem to have a natural culling mechanism. So, all those friends I was connected to via SixDegrees and Friendster are meaningless now because I never use those services any more, and at some point the same will likely be true for Facebook.

Still, in the link above, Scott Brown does offer one amusing suggestion: a Facebook app that he calls the "Fade Utility." If there are "untended friends," they gradually fade from your friend list. Just like in real life.

Filed Under: friends, social networks

Amherst Study: 1% Of Entering Freshmen Have Landlines; 99% Have Facebook Accounts

from the sign-o'-the-times dept

Here's an interesting little factoid pointed out by Clive Thompson that, while not surprising, does quickly indicate some major shifts on college campuses from just a few years ago. A report from Amherst on the technology used by entering freshmen in the class of 2012 found that only 1% have a landline phone, while 99% have Facebook accounts. Also, students arriving on campus registered, on average, more than one electronic device per student on the university's network. And, it would appear that the concept of the desktop computer is pretty much dead among students. Only 14 out of 438 students brought one.

Filed Under: amherst, college students, desktop computers, landlines, social networks, technology