Does anyone else feel like we're just one step away from telling people to go to "AOL keyword: x"? Facebook today (with the exception of a nearly realtime data feed) feels so much like AOL in 1994 in terms of functionality (actually, where are my chat rooms?). Have we really only come this far in 15 years?
I'm really not excited about creating a parallel internet inside facebook where companies have to pay to play. While there are benefits to being wherever your customers are, I can think of any number of reasons why this is just a big bad step backwards.
Win what? The blog log-in competition? No-one will ever use it for anything serious.
I can't understand why anyone would use it at all. You do realise you are basically giving them your browsing history, right? Some faceless corporation who will probably then sell that history - with your real name attached - to whoever wants them? And what did you gain, an avatar picture - branded no less?
I actually think this is exactly the right thing to be doing. For both advertisers and for facebook.
The main problem with display ads in the search/ppc era is the same problem as display ads in the print media era: Banner ads do a crap job as magazine ads. Display ads to a crap job as search ads.
The reason search ads work is that they are part of what the user is doing anyway. If the user is searching for sites about tea, the ads that work will generally be for sites about tea. When a user is on facebook, they are doing facebooky things. The ads that work can be expected to be ones that get her to do facebooky things. The only qestion is will anyone pay to have facebook users to do facebooky things with you.
Given how much I hear about companies using 'social network marketing,' I think the answer is 'yes.'
OK, admittedly getting paid for moving traffic from place to place within your own site is a fun situation for Facebook to be in. Still, it doesn't matter which domain the users are on, it just matters that you get your message across to them. Getting more fans still means the ability to blast more people about your goods/services/charity.
I'm really not excited about creating a parallel internet inside facebook where companies have to pay to play. While there are benefits to being wherever your customers are, I can think of any number of reasons why this is just a big bad step backwards.