<![CDATA[Valleywag: socialads]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/valleywag.com.png <![CDATA[Valleywag: socialads]]> http://valleywag.com/tag/socialads http://valleywag.com/tag/socialads <![CDATA[ Marketing firm builds a Facebook ad -- but can't get Facebook's attention ]]> WeAreSorry.jpgFacebook can't afford to spurn marketing firms like New York's Attention PR. But it does. Last Friday, Attention PR built a Facebook page for a client — a new kind of souped-up profile that can be advertised on Facebook. Though not as well known as Beacon, Facebook Pages are part of Mark Zuckerberg's once-every-hundred-years change in media he promised in launching SocialAds. But as of Monday evening the page remains unindexed by Facebook's search engine, rendering it essentially invisible. That's a problem for a client who wanted immediate results. Isn't that the whole point of advertising online?

Aware that Facebook's search engine sometimes take 48 hours to index new pages, Attention PR's Naomi Hirabayashi told us she waited until today to approach customer service. That's when Facebook got obnoxious. Here's the email sequence.

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Think this kind of service will inspire Attention PR's client to buy SocialAds to promote their invisible Facebook Page?

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Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:00:31 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=349891&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ One week later, Facebook ad skepticism grows ]]> Sour grapesThe night after Facebook launched its new ad products, all we heard from Madison Avenue was the baying of sheep. Everybody loved what they saw. Google had better watch out and MySpace was done for, said the ad buyers in wool suits. But now, the unbelievers are finally starting to come out of the woodwork.

One agency source has a client already buying into the new product. But, he told me, a Facebook ad "still needs some creativity from advertisers, so it's not a home run in everyone's case."

Another skeptic, a CEO from a rival social network, told me the most impressive aspect of the whole ordeal was Facebook's PR machine. He particularly liked Mark Zuckerberg's bit about how "Once every hundred years media changes." (So did we.)

"That type of over-the-top presentation takes some creative talent," he said. "I don't mean this as a slight or anything. I admire the fact that they're able to present a non-entirely new concept as earth-changing and people eat it up. They are in the spotlight and they are milking it."

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Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:22:47 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=322306&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ I'll spam my friends, but I want a piece of the action ]]> dolla.jpgYou know what Facebook members are? 50 million suckers. See, through Facebook's new ad product, Facebook Beacon, each of us will soon begin endorsing products to our friends. That much I'm fine with. My friends are not too good for spam. But if my good name is going to get Facebook paid, I want a cut, too.

See, as Facebook members these days, we should each think of our friends as an audience and ourselves as a brand. Facebook does.

When someone "friends" you, they're subscribing to a stream of your activities, just like they would subscribe to an RSS feed or even a magazine in the mail. They are subscribing to you, the brand. So your friends are your audience because they are entertained by your brand. But they are also still your friends, so they trust your brand. Facebook knows this and that's why they plan to use your name in association with advertisers.

But if you are the draw, shouldn't you get paid for your endorsement? Think about it this way. If you ran a blog which kept all of your friends updated with all the information contained on your Facebook profile, you would be able to monetize any audience by becoming an affiliate of Amazon.com. Then, each time a member of your blog audience clicked on a link, you would earn up to 10 percent of any amount spent.

Apple's iTunes Store pays a 5 percent commission to its affiliates. eBay pays out 50 to 75 percent commission. Google's AdSense can turn a personal blog into a microbusiness. But Facebook? Facebook plans to take your audience and use your personal brand to convince them to buy things without compensating you.

But I don't mind being your pitchman, Facebook. I'd just like a little kickback. And the thing is, I might get my wish. Not from Facebook, but from its advertisers. See, Facebook won't use your brand to endorse a product unless you sign up to become a "fan" of that product on Facebook. And if we as Facebook users remain selective on which brands we'll become "fans" of, we might be able to wield a little power.

Brands should have to bribe us to use our personal brands to endorse their products. I'm not expecting cash. But, Dove, if you want me endorsing your campaign for Real Beauty to all my friends, I want at least 10 percent off next time I buy a bar of soap. You can send the coupon to my Facebook inbox.

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Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:00:14 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=319421&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook's five-year plan ... to become MySpace circa 2002 ]]> Guess who's trading places?Let's come out and say it: Facebook wants to be MySpace. And MySpace wants to be Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg's social network has the buzz, the tech, and the runaway growth rate, while MySpace has more users, more revenues, and the backing of News Corp. But the mutual envy became really clear to me when Facebook announced its new advertising plan, which lets corporations place spam unsolicited commercial messages in users' news feeds. Why, that's been the basis of MySpace since 2002. MySpace is a spam operation that became a social network. And now Facebook is a social network that's turning into a spam operation.

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Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:17:57 PST Owen Thomas http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=320031&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Mark Zuckerberg loves Facebook's new ads, hopes you do too ]]> Mark ZuckerbergFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks that the new ad pages are "beautiful" and make him "very happy". We suspect it could look like dogshit and he'd still be "very happy" now that he's worth $5 billion — on paper, anyway. Unfortunately for Facebook's 50 million users, they won't be able to opt out of viewing the new ads, even if they disagree with Zuckerberg. He did hint that an opt-out system was a possibility if users were pissed off enough. He quickly implemented privacy features after Facebook's news feed was introduced and furious users complained about the privacy implications. We suspect complaints will surface again once the average user notices what's going on. Anyone up for starting 1 Million Strong Against SocialAds?

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Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:19:50 PST Jordan Golson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=319745&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ In which we lift Facebook's velvet rope ]]> EXILE IN SOHO — Despite my best efforts — a suit, Brylcreem, and a side part — I didn't convince a posse of ID-checking Outcast flacks to let me into Facebook's invite-only ad event at Loft Eleven in Hell's Kitchen. But insiders are still keeping us informed about the event, where Facebook is launching new targeted ad products for Madison Avenue's big agencies. Here's what a tipster tells us.

2:11 p.m. Eastern: "Security's crazy. Looks like Facebook brought their entire executive team. No sign of Zuck yet, but Gideon Yu and Owen Van Natta are around."

2:37: "No adidas." No Adidas? Does that mean Zuckerberg's not here yet? Or that he's here, not wearing his trademark sandals? Did he actually slap on a pair of loafers?

2:42: "Diff shoes." Zuck is in the house! Without Adidas sandals!

3:03: Seems our mole's gone quiet for the moment. S/he's a smart one so maybe our tipster is playing it safe for the moment.

Meanwhile, we'll fill you in on some details from Facebook's press release.

More details on landmark partners, which include Blockbuster, CBS, Chase, The Coca-Cola Company, Microsoft, Sony Pictures Television and Verizon Wireless and another "60 major consumer and Internet brand partners highlighted at the launch of Facebook Ads."

"Facebook Ads represent a completely new way of advertising online," the release says Zuckerberg will tell the audience in New York.

For the last hundred years media has been pushed out to people, but now marketers are going to be a part of the conversation. And they're going to do this by using the social graph in the same way our users do.

One way they'll do that is through Facebook pages. They're like user profiles for companies, something MySpace has been doing for a while now.

Another way is through "Unique Ads with Social Actions." These are the Social Ads. They seem to be ads that force users to spam each other. "Social Ads combine social actions from your friends - such as a purchase of a product or review of a restaurant - with an advertiser's message."

Facebook's wary of privacy concerns. "No personally identifiable information is shared with an advertiser in creating a Social Ad." Here's a whole new disclaimer:

Facebook has always empowered users to make choices about sharing their data, and with Facebook Ads we are extending that to marketing messages that appear on the site. Facebook users will only see Social Ads to the extent their friends are sharing information with them.

Why all the worry? Behavioral targeting, which Facebook is calling "Facebook Insights" is the big pitch.

Facebook Insights gives access to data on activity, fan demographics, ad performance and trends that better equip marketers to improve custom content on Facebook and adjust ad targeting. Facebook Insights is a free service for all Facebook Pages and Social Ads.

3:29: And our tipster returns to life! "advertisers are drooling. I think users will find it weird"

That, apparently, about wraps up the show. Did our tipster miss any telling details? Let us know.

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Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:48:07 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=319577&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Today is the day for Facebook SocialAds ]]> Loft1.jpgHELL'S KITCHEN, MANHATTAN — Today Silicon Valley's favorite pair of Adidas sandals will finally take to Madison Avenue as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg & Co. plan to debut SocialAds, an ad network which will run behavioral-targeted ads on and off Facebook.com.

At the event, to be held at Loft Eleven on West 37th Street, word is Zuck will give a speech around 2:30 p.m. and then a few panels will leach any remaining enthusiasm out of the room. Finally, there's to be a Q&A session for the press.

Expect big buyers to be in attendance. Rumor is Conde Nast, Nike, Apple, Sony, General Motors, Coke, CBS, Chase, and Verizon have already paid out $300,000 each to be "Landmark Partners" in today's announcement. Madison Avenue is desperate to figure out this whole social networking thing.

Dear readers, we have our sources at today's event (a certain Alleywag will be in attendance), but we could always use more. Going? Inform us of your plans and then tell us your take while you're there.

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Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:52:40 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=319347&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook SocialAds revealed! ]]> social-ads.gifFacebook updated its code over the weekend and, according to reports, Facebook's much-anticipated SocialAds are now officially part of the ones and zeroes. Based on the updates, Allfacebook created this mock-up of what a SocialAd might look like. Hmm. Looks like an ad. Here's a more revealing shot.

OK, so the leaked screen looks pretty much like any old Facebook page. But still, there's some new information here. SocialAds won't just be a distributed ad network like Google's AdSense. They'll also feed updates into users' news feeds. Let's say you click on an ad and buy a Vermont ski vacation package? Now all your friends will know you did. Great! Google's AdSense ads, targeted to the content of the Web page you were reading, were just creepy. Now Facebook's SocialAds promise to be creepy and embarrassing.

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Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:10:17 PST Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=318755&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook SocialAds launch time and place -- revealed! ]]> Loft1.jpgA source tells us Facebook will launch SocialAds next Tuesday, November 6 at a swanky little event hall called "Loft Eleven." The event goes "all afternoon," so until we hear otherwise, we're presuming it will be a five-hour forced march through the land of social-network ads, starting at noon. The loft features a 360-degree view of lovely Midtown Manhattan, exposed brick walls, smokers' terrace and "beautifully arched entrances," according to the proprietors. OMG! Good thing those arched entrances are beautifully arched. 'Cause just plain "arched"? Lame. OK, so here's what the place looks like.

Looks cozy, no? Better be. If Facebook intends to keep all of Madison Avenue locked up for the entire afternoon, as I've been told, they better bring the key to the liquor cabinet, too.

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Loft Eleven is usually rented for wedding receptions and so the same rules apply. Clink! Clink! Clink! Pucker up, Zuck, here comes big daddy Ballmer! Yes, you have to dance the first dance with him!

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See, it's still a 360 view of a New York, cause that building 5 feet from the window? It's in New York. OK? Shut up; eat your food; buy ads.

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Enough with the soft lighting. This one's for the engineers.

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Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:58:45 PDT Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317851&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Google launches YouTube channel to restore privacy illusions ]]>
Google is sending a delegation to the Federal Trade Commission's upcoming town hall on behavioral advertising, as privacy concerns grow about targeted ads. There, Google North American sales chief Tim Armstrong and a pair of lawyers will likely give a speech similar to Maile Ohye's in the video above. Then, just as the audience is about to fall asleep: BAM! They'll hit them with a rhetorical doozy like this one, from their, blog:

"Web sites and search engines are able to provide valuable services to consumers for free due in large part to advertiser funding. Like commercials on television and ads in newspapers and magazines, online ads have become staples of the Internet medium. Without them, many web sites would either have to charge subscription fees or would simply cease to exist."
Shit, sorry. Did you actually read that? Bad move!

Here's an idea to wake you up. Imagine what Steve Ballmer would do in this situation if he were Google's CEO.

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No boring videos from this guy. No way. Instead, he'd terrify the town hall-goers with horror stories about behavioral targeting.

Why? Because while Google's OpenSocial initiative doesn't look like it's going to dent Facebook, shooting the tires out on SocialAds, the behavioral targeting ad network Facebook is expected to launch next week, would actually do some damage.

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Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:45:35 PDT Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317832&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Brad Fitzpatrick says "Boo!" and I do too ]]> Googler Brad Fitzpatrick has dressed up as Facebook for Halloween. Ironic, since he might easily have been a Facebooker dressing up in Google's primary colors right now. Before jumping from Six Apart, he interviewed at both Facebook and Google. Dave Morin says it's onAnd now the two companies are set up for a tumultuous clash — not just over hiring one employee, but over the future of online ads. Facebook is set to announce its own targeted-ad network next week, taking on Google's AdSense; Google is soon to launch open standards for widgets, competing with Facebook's platform for developers. Dave Morin, who manages that platform, had his AIM status set with this message: "Bring it, Fitzpatrick." It's getting scary up in here. Which raises the question: How am I going to put the fright on Silicon Valley this Halloween?



Owen Thomas, the scary guy who runs ValleywagI don't need a costume. I'm just going to go around telling people I'm the Valleywag, to see if they jump out of their skins. Trick or treat!

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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:51:50 PDT Owen Thomas http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317544&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook Music platform to launch next week? ]]> Facebook logoAll the attention might be on Facebook's advertising aspirations, the Microsoft investment, and Google's OpenSocial initiative. But don't think Facebook has forgotten about MySpace, which still has a lock on the music market, thanks to bands which discovered the site as a way to connect with fans. One report has Facebook launching a long-rumored platform for musicians at the Ad:Tech conference.

"Facebook Music" will be the next salvo fired at MySpace. The platform will give musicians, as we suspected, their own miniature network where users can become "fans," watch videos, listen to music, interact with the band and other users and get tour information.

We still think a partnership with iTunes makes the most sense for Facebook, as iTunes is by far the largest digital music distributor. But, a standalone Facebook music store wouldn't be out of the question. Look for some fancy in-house applications as well, possibly competing with music-focused iLike, one of the most popular apps on Facebook.

Advertising and promotion of new artists and albums could tie in to SocialAds or the enhanced Facebook Flyer system. If a band shares fans with Green Day, for example, they could focus their ads and attention on Facebook users who list Green Day as their favorite bands. (And we, meanwhile, could make sure to unfriend those people.)

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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:45:20 PDT Jordan Golson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317380&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook ad network not close to complete ]]> dolla.jpgEager Madison Avenue executives be warned: Facebook, we told you, is planning to announce a new ad network in New York on November 6. Likely to be called SocialAds, the network will draw on the personal information users make available on Facebook to target advertising across the Web. New York ad agencies plan to pack the house, desperate to participate in the latest craze — or at least not appear clueless when they gab with their clients. But now, AllFacebook reports the SocialAds network is not close to being ready. Will the advertising agencies be dismayed? Not likely. Remember, these are the people who fund a season's worth of broadcast TV based on a clip from a pilot months before any actual episodes are written.

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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:55:51 PDT Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317102&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Facebook SocialAds ad network confirmed ]]> dolla.jpgWe called it: Facebook is launching an ad network that will reach far beyond its website, much like Google's AdSense. Now others are confirming it. A source told AllFacebook the SocialAds ad network Facebook will announce in New York on November 6 will work by installing cookies on members' browsers. Then, when these members visit publishers in the SocialAds network, Facebook will serve ads, targeted by the personal information it has on those users. The skeptics' take? Some in tech aren't convinced the information a Facebook user puts in the profile indicates any useful information, such as an intent to buy. But then again, the advertising industry plans to fund Sex and the City reruns for the next 40 years with tampon commercials. Just getting basic demographics right will count for a lot.

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Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:57:13 PDT Nicholas Carlson http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316677&view=rss&microfeed=true