Facebook Introduces Graph Search Beta

Like a gargoyle perched upon a rooftop I eagerly awaited today’s Facebook announcement in my desk chair. 

I anticipated a column from one of my favorite tech writers, Jon Swartz of USA Today, and a slew of other outlets that I planned to check out on TechMeme.

And while today’s news that Facebook will begin rolling out “Graph Search Beta,” a new way to navigate connections and make them more useful,” is huge from a data, advertising and discovery perspective on the platform, it is not a new Facebook mobile device, a massive change to the timeline or something tied to their new and improved messaging feature, as many people anticipated.

But should we really downplay search’s impact on the Facebook ecosystem? I don’t think so. Social search is the way things are going. We look to our friends to help us make decisions. I’m not talking about all 800 of your “friends” on Facebook, but rather a select few. 

I remember seeing Paul Adams, Global Head of Brand Design at Facebook, speak a few years ago about the importance of just a few personal connections online, mapping those connections to interactions and how those interactions are impacting the changes that are occurring in our decision making processes, as our web-based culture evolves. This speaks directly to Graph Search.

Graph Search wasn’t the big announcement everyone was expecting, but it is something that will change the way we use Facebook and the way we search for information.

Check out this write-up from Fast Company’s Sarah Kessler. She presents an interesting perspective on why “Facebook’s Graph Search is No Google.”

— Rob

They’re all around us, and yes, I consider myself one. A geek.

But the negative connotation around the term is now long gone. Some of the most successful and famous people in the world identify with “geekologie,” so next time you use the word in a condescending way, think twice. That “geek” might just be 6’8” and 250 pounds (see LeBron James)

Image via the Wall Street Journal’s recent article: Fashion Plates of the NBA Make Specs of Themselves

Here are five reasons “geek is chic.”

1. Using your iPhone to make believe you are actually a good photographer boosts self-esteem!

Here are some apps to help you feel happy:

• Camera+: This app enhances your pics
• Fuzel: Know those cool split screen pics? This app has dozens of options in terms of templates for you to geek out as much as you want.
• Kicksend: I know you have tons of images on your phone… Why not send a group of pics from the last concert you attended all in one batch?! That is where Kicksend comes in! Send your photos and videos in batches in with this user-friendly app.

2. Geeky glasses happen to be very cool, stylish to say the least, and a great business opportunity. Just ask Warby Parker, or the person wearing the same Warby Parker frames as you at the next party you go to.

3. Geek-lebrities know how to make that paper! Apple, Instagram, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and so on and so forth… all founded by “geeks.” I’m not sure they look geeky on their yachts, but that is just me. Not to mention, those guys in the above picture… #ballers

4. Nostalgia and geekdom sells: Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a retro comic book, cartoon and movie phenomenon from the 1980s and 1990s. Mirage Studios sold the property to Nickelodeon for $60 million in late ‘09, after 25 successful years of “Turtle Power.” Look at the recent releases of Batman, Captain America, The Avengers, etc… Retro action heroes who once only appealed to kids and “geeks,” are now for the masses, and they love them. 

5. Geeks aren’t necessarily hipsters: I have nothing against hipsters, and love many of hipsters, but don’t get it twisted!

- Rob

Thanks to our daily emails from WOMMA, we came across this infographic created by Fusework Studios that highlights the findings of a study from Buddy Media, “that analyzed 320 Twitter handles of the world’s biggest brands.” 

Here is a link to the full “Strategies for Effective Tweeting: A Statistical Review,” report via Buddy Media.

A Twitter infographic by Fusework Studios

- Rob

It’s GIF time!

We created this animated GIF of fireworks over the Magic Kingdom at Disney, during Mashable Connect. That strapping gent on the right, starring in our GIF, is Adam Hirsch, Chief Digital Officer at DoSomething.org 

Nothing like the art of the GIF to kick off a Monday.

And to all our friends at Mashable who put on a great conference last week, thank you! You can check out some of our favorite #wordsfrom Mashable Connect here.

- Rob

(via fitcity)

Is Your Dog More Popular Than You Online?

Every time I post an image of my family’s puppies on Instagram or Facebook, it receives higher engagement than any other posts. For instance the below image was my most liked Instagram photo to date.

I’m not at the point of blogging on behalf of Fitzy and Hendrix Longert, the loveliest “goldendoodles” I know, but there is something about pets that goes hand-in-hand with social networking… After all, cat memes are very hot right now.

Check out the infographic we found on the SocialTimes blog, titled “Social Savvy Critters.”

Any thoughts on why pets resonate so well online? Is it the emotion and humor associated with them, or is it something more?

- Rob

12 Days of Social Media, Day 12: Social Media Taboo

The turnout for our 12 days of social media was incredible. Thinking about how to get our colleagues and industry peers jazzed about learning more when it comes to social media tools, platforms and terminology was extremely fun, so why would the fun stop on day 12?

For day 12, we took one of our favorite games, Taboo, created by Hasbro in 1989, and applied the theme to social media. Taboo requires players to describe a word, without using obvious clues (known as taboos) to describe them. For instance, in our version of the game, when describing Twitter players cannot say word such as “follow,” “microblogging,” “@,” “tweet,” and “direct message (DM).”

The goal of social media taboo is to encourage our colleagues and peers to explain terms and platforms like Klout, .GIFs, memes, Twitter, Facebook and “Honey Badger,” without falling into the trap of using common buzzwords. 

The icing on the cake for social media taboo was our use of an hourglass timer iPhone app and a gameshow soundboard that featured applause, buzzers, “boos,” ”ooohs,” and “ahhhhhs.”

You can download and view the game above. How does your team fair in the game of Social Media Taboo?!

- Rob

Instead of 5 golden rings, we have 5 social media measurement tools to share with you today. In this morning’s session, we discussed the importance of measurement. Before executing any program, it’s best to establish what the plan for measurement will be. Whether it’s tracking Tweets and Facebook mentions, measuring likes and retweets or a combination of a couple different metrics it’s important to establish these goals upfront. To help collect and compile data, we rely on several different tools. Here are 5 of our favorites:

1. Simply Measured

Simply Measured is a lifesaver when dealing with a large volume of social media mentions that all have to be captured. It doesn’t miss a trick, and in addition to being thorough, the tool instantly pulls together some useful charts when you export the data. You can even sync your account with your brand’s Facebook page and incorporate Facebook insights into the report.

2. Twitter Counter

This free tool gives you an instant look at Twitter follower growth over different time periods and even predicts what your account’s growth will be. Great for an idea of how you’re doing, or a quick look at the growth of a competitor’s fan base.

3. Tweetstats

A free tool that gives you information about when you are posting on Twitter, who you are interacting with and some of the most commonly used words in your tweets. This provides a good idea of when your brand is active on Twitter, and points out opportunities for it to ramp up its posts.

4. Social Bakers

This tool provides relevant social media stats by brand or location. Want to know how many Twitter users there are in Canada? No problem. Need to know how Starbucks’ Facebook fans are growing? You’re all set.

5. ViralHeat

If sentiment is a concern, this tool has the answer. ViralHeat will track sentiment associated with key words, and then plot the information on a neat little graph. Best of all, if you are concerned about it mislabeling something as positive or negative, you can see all the raw data and manually assign a sentiment category.

Is measurement a focus for your team? What tools do you rely on?

- Alicia & Rob

12 Days of Social Media Day 2: The Gift that Keeps on Gif-ing

Animated GIFs… we know them and love them, and now we understand them!

Daniel Savage, the founder of GIF Shop, an iPhone app that makes creating and sharing GIFs seamless and easy, along with our very own Jamie Falkowski schooled us in the art of the GIF this morning and here is what we learned:

• Animated GIFs were introduced by Compuserve (#throwback) in 1987, and became popular  because of wide support and portability.
• Microblogging gave way to the rebirth of the GIF and GIF is now the top tag on Tumblr. 
• GIFs are “of the moment’” and provide new ways to create content and encourage engagement. They are highly shareable and fit in perfectly with the Tumblr mindset (somewhere in the realm between Twitter and blogging and between a still image and a movie)

There are a number of brands using GIFs as spreadable content. Some that do it really well are:

• MTV
• Complex Magazine
• Nissan (on their Google+ page)
• FirstWord Digital (shameless self-plug)

What do you think of the above GIFs? Are they something brands should take advantage of, or should they be left to the creatives on Tumblr?

- Rob

P.S. - Thanks to Jen, Aliza, Karl, Jody, Lauren, Josh, Jamie, Jess, Alicia and David for being our GIF muses. 

Key takeaways from the Mercedes-Benz Tweet Race via Mark Aikman, Social Media Lead at Mercedes-Benz and Matt Heindel, Director of Social Media, East Coast, Razorfish.