More than several years ago, I used to snicker at those who were (in my mind) overly concerned about Google OWNING all of the data in their disparate enterprises. “What would happen if they would put all of that data into a large data warehouse and mine it?” folks would ask.
For the most part I thought of that as tinfoil hat stuff. (Did you notice where I said “More than several years ago?” I came to the quick realization that those with tinfoil hats may have a point. And it is not on the top of their heads.
Enter Facebook’s latest privacy debacle. Another site (granted social media vs search engine) that appears to be not NEAR as graceful as Google and dancing on that three way line of conundrums between privacy, monopoly (which Facebook book arguably is…FOR THE MOMENT), and marketing revenue.
I read with interest Louis Cammarosano’s take on the subject. And in very large measure I agree. His take was more bent towards the use of social media in business. But the underlying privacy issues conundrum remains the same. We (consumers) enjoy social media. Heck, it’s FREE. (please remember that NOTHING is FREE-grin). Nothing.
Facebook is making a huge miscalculation (in my opinion) by not dancing as gracefully as Google has. They are giving people an excuse to head for the exits when they had over 400 million people comfortably numb. (That is more than the population of the US and the President only gets around HALF of the vote…and you have to ask yourself…who REALLY is the most powerful man in the world?) It may be more of a footrace between Obama, Zuckerberg, and Page/Brinn than one would care to admit.
Could a President really get THAT many people to waste THAT MUCH time at work??? One wonders.
Although Google has danced more gracefully, that is not saying much.
I guess my wish for 2010 and beyond is this…here’s to competition (it makes all parties better), the lack of monopolies, privacy, and to do that, folks need to be prepared to pay for what they receive in terms of social entertainment.
Thoughts?
Sean Purcell says:
…folks need to be prepared to pay for what they receive in terms of social entertainment.
You mention that only half the population votes for a president. Actually, it’s half of those that actually vote, which probably means somewhere south of a quarter of the population. I mention this because your political analogy is so apropos. If even a moderate percentage of the 400 million users of Facebook expect Facebook to be free – or more to the point, should be free – that goes a long way toward explaining the rapid demise of our political/economic systems. (“I want my MTV… and my Facebook and my social security and my school funding and my bank account insurance and my…”)
On a less political bent – and as a charter member of the Tin Foil Hat club – I find the difference between Google and Facebook fascinating. I wanted to be most scared of Google because of their ability to surreptitiously gather, parse and use the vast amount of information that can be deduced by our searches (and voice mails and emails). But then I watched as Facebook surpassed Google in daily hits by people sharing much of that same information willingly, purposefully even!
Here I am refusing to use my real phone number for the grocery store “discount” because I don’t want such a vast depository of personal information in someone else’s data base, and 400 million people can’t wait to share (or Twitter) not only where they shop or what they buy but their actual physical location at any given moment…
Alice may have said it best: “Curioser and curioser.”
May 17, 2010 — 9:25 am
malcolm johnston says:
It’s not only the privacy issue that has people heading for the exits on Facebook, it’s also the fact that it’s become less of a “social” media and more of a business “media”. I can’t stand this trend towards people bombarding me with their listings, blog posts, etc, etc on Facebook. If one more person uses the word “monetize” during a conversation with me, I’ll throttle them.
May 17, 2010 — 9:28 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Sean 😉 Curiouser and Curiouser indeed.
@Malcom – Good to meet you. Unfortunately (and please do not throttle me 😉 ) in order to build a website (and that is all that Google, FB, Zillow, and any other site are is just a website) one must begin with the end in mind.
They do not build these sites without a monetization plan…
Of course, when you built your real estate website, you did the same…calculating how many folks were likely to become clients and seeing if that justified the toil and treasure.
I have been trying to think of a kinder and gentler way to produce revenue that does not require being advertised to or charged…one way or the other, I am afraid payment is required.
best
Eric
May 17, 2010 — 10:46 am
Greg Swann says:
I don’t know if I even qualify to participate in this thread. I think most of what people call SMM is a colossal waste of time, schmoozing camouflaged as work — exactly the kind of crap I hated back when I used to have a job. Not for me. I’ve thought about killing Facebook, but I like being able to accept friend requests from actual friends and past clients, even though I won’t actually do anything about them once I have. Meanwhile, I hate, hate, hate being spammed by jackass Realtors eager to prove they have no idea how friends treat each other.
Today I had an epiphany: If you spam me on Facebook, I’m going to drop you as a friend. You’re a sleaze, by definition, so why should I soil my profile with you? And, the more sleazoids I get rid of, the fewer I’ll have to get rid of. Today the axe dropped on Lenore Wilkas and Jim Cronin. Can’t wait to find out who’s next.
May 18, 2010 — 2:53 pm
Jay Banks says:
You know what I think is interesting? Just a few years ago, people were so cautious about revealing their identity on the Internet and most of us enjoyed the opportunity to stay anonymous, to create a brand new virtual identity. And today, the more information you publish about yourself, the better. We use the Internet to promote ourselves, the social networking sites can be used as our personal marketing tools. But people don’t seem to realize how easily can they be tracked on the Internet and how their personal information can be abused. On the other, who does really know? I’m trying to be careful, personally. But I don’t want to sound too paranoid, I’m just saying that every technology should be used responsibly.
May 17, 2010 — 11:05 am
Don Reedy says:
I’m not terribly afraid of either Google or Facebook, nor particularly distracted by the idea that what I do and say is out there.
I wrote an article some time back about transparency, in which I tried to say that all of us should pay attention to how we say what we say.
In my lifetime I’ve danced like Elaine, and dreamed I danced like Fred Astaire. In both cases I acted knowingly, transparently, and with full knowledge that what I openly did would be fodder for those who either loved or hated me. I have “Facebooked” myself my whole life, keeping the things that needed to be kept safe locked in my head, and sharing the things I needed so that what I was would be transparent to anyone paying attention.
Ever been blindsided by a friend? Ever been friended by an enemy? Start treating Facebook like an acquaintance, and stop treating them like family.
The natural man will play himself or herself out in all that we do. Facebook is not immune to this. Perhaps rather than competition what we should crave is a mustard seed’s worth of common sense while we’re “throwing up” for all the world to see.
May 17, 2010 — 3:16 pm
Joe says:
Facebook worries me, not enough to delete our accounts, but enough to stand back and take notice. I posted an short blog entry over at REW titled, "10 Reasons To Delete Your Facebook Account" The article cites several reasons why Facebook is clearly not as forthright as Google has been. I used to wonder about Google having all my information, but I’m now more concerned about Facebook having the information.
At the end of the day, we all know they have our information. We just need to walk with a bigger stick!
May 17, 2010 — 5:29 pm
Susan says:
I definitely have privacy concerns with facebook and have considered taking down my account. I have already been stung by some posts that others put out there. The bottom line is I really don’t want my private life all over the internet. I do think Facebook can be good for some business purposes and as a way to reconnect with long lost friends.
I am especially concerned with all the kids that are on there and the things they post..language they use ~ if you know what I mean. 🙁 They are young and may be putting info out there that can hurt them in the future.
May 17, 2010 — 6:36 pm
Joe says:
I am especially concerned with all the kids that are on there and the things they post.
@Susan,
This has been a source of comfort for us. We have 5 children and the oldest two are in college. We are friends or fans of most of our kid’s friends and we are pleasantly surprised at the quality of friends our kids are keeping company with. Facebook is great in that way.
May 17, 2010 — 6:44 pm
Susan says:
@Joe, I’m glad to hear that its been positive for you and your family. Likely says that you did a good job raising your kids.
May 17, 2010 — 7:52 pm
Doug Quance says:
“Can’t wait to find out who’s next.”
Well, you know it won’t be me…
Maybe Facebook did me a favor kicking me to the curb. Time will tell.
May 18, 2010 — 3:26 pm
Teri Lussier says:
>Maybe Facebook did me a favor kicking me to the curb. Time will tell.
My facebook page has not been “found” for the better part of a year now and I have made no attempt to rectify that as ‘I’ can be found in a multitude of more meaningful ways.
Here’s what SMM has taught me- I only “need” one really good site to be found and to let people know what I can do for them and facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc ain’t it.
Regardless of what I’m prone to want to think about SMM, or what I try to convince myself could/should/would/might be true, in the end it’s all distractions leading mostly to frustration.
I might be the poster child for Wasted Time on SMM, but I now proudly stand with Dorothy- there really is no place like home.
May 19, 2010 — 7:49 am
Mark Madsen says:
I remember the virtual identities we had the luxury of creating 3-4 years ago.
It was great joining online forums as an anonymous Avatar, where you had to earn your right to participate in the community discussion based on your content and involvement vs social sphere of influence. (mutual friends).
The spam is bad, and getting worse as more industry people fall for the lie that the number friends, fans and followers they have, the greater influence they’ll possess in the real world.
But back to Eric’s point about competition – I believe one of the main challenges with anything web marketing or online social networking related will be in capturing the active attention of our target audience.
Whether it’s friends, family, clients or business partners… competing with the amount of Internet / mobile noise we’re bombarded with every minute we’re awake is becoming more difficult. Or is it? Maybe quality over quantity will eventually win.
May 19, 2010 — 1:45 pm
Maxwell McDaniel says:
I’ll skip the “Facebook and Google are evil” theme, (since I use both regularly) and concentrate on another comment that Eric mentioned and that is “NOTHING is FREE”.
If you haven’t had a chance, read the book “FREE: The Future of A Radical Price” by Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief, Wired magazine. I recently downloaded it (for free)from Audible.com.
Mr. Anderson discusses the impact the concept of the “Free” economy and how Google and Facebook have been so successful by offering their services for free. Also discussed are the multiple meanings of free: free as in gratis or free as in liberty. Mr. Anderson states that given the option, consumers will pick a free option over a paid option almost every time. Do you still pay for long distance? Email?
How does this apply to real estate? Good question. I’m doing my best to develop a concept that I can use to apply to my business.
Clients are becoming more enlightened every day on discount brokers, both local and regional (a’la Redfin). Traditional pricing models are under fire.
So, what is next? How do we out maneuver the discount brokerage? We beat them at their own game and develop a business model that allows us to offer real estate services for… are you ready for this? FREE.
I’m not kidding. No, I don’t have all the answers. Heck, I don’t even have the questions. But the person who develops a business model that allows them to offer brokerage services at no cost (and still find a way to make a profit) will end up with all the marbles.
Imagine walking into a listing appointment and saying having this conversation take place:
++++
“So Maxwell, what you’re telling me is that you’ll sell my home for free? The last agent that I interviewed wanted 6%. You want nothing? That will save me over $30,000.”
“That’s right, Mr. Client, we don’t charge a fee.”
“That’s amazing! How do you do that and still make money?”
“Great question Mr. Client! Glad you asked. The way we do it is by leveraging technology, selling advertising, and X”
++++
Now, go figure out X and you have the makings of a game changing business. Brokerages as we know them will cease to exist, real estate agents (including myself) will go the way of the travel agent. Re-MAX? Bybye now. Century 21? See ya. Watch the big names fall one by one as the new king of the hill, the free brokerage, gobbles up virtually all of the market. Oh sure there will still be small specialty firms for niche or luxury markets that will survive and even prosper. But if you own the average 3/2/2, you’ll choose free (all things being close to equal) over paying for service every day of the week.
Will you be the one to figure this one out???
May 21, 2010 — 4:53 pm