Imagination Rare as Facebook Becomes New Business Frontier

Going back about 12 years or so, most large and/or progressive companies had websites, but it took the next 4-5 years for almost every business, organization, attraction, government body, politician, etc., to become convinced that in order to compete, heck, exist, they needed to have an internet presence.

The same dynamic now seems to be happening with Facebook fan pages, which has become the de facto first step in a "social media strategy," and relatively soon almost entity of any sort will have one if they don't already.

But as with the first and second wave of websites (and in evidence with many even today) that were created and launched without much thought about purpose, user experience or measurable success--and certainly not the realm of possibilities--some Facebook fan pages (and overall social media marketing strategies) are better than others, but most I've seen so far are devoid of much imagination.

Realize that "social media" is so-called for a reason; its intent, and beauty, is that it allows people--including many who've never actually met--to interact with each other. So while I applaud those entities with fan pages that actively reach out to and update their fans with weekly specials, topical announcements, etc., I think the "business magic" of social media comes from encouraging your fans--in a general and Facebook sense--to interact, ie: socialize, with their peers about you. I know business, and others with messages to spread, wants to turn the web into another broadcast media, but it really isn't, especially since Web 2.0 came among.

Along those lines, I've been consulting with a social media firm about some unique ideas I've had for prompting "peer-to-peer" interaction for marketing purposes. It wouldn't behoove me to convey them here, as proposals are on the table, but hopefully soon I can talk more about my ideas. And I'd be more than happy to do so for hire;)

For now, I'll showcase the one commercial Facebook idea--of hundreds I've seen as a daily user--that I think is really original and stellar. It's for a men's clothier named Paul Fredrick, so it shouldn't be surprising that I didn't come across their fan page organically (Marshall's, Kohl's and concert T-shirts still being more my speed). But a friend who knows that social media imagination is a particular area of interest these days passed along a link to Paul Fredrick's Facebook-driven "Ugly Tie Contest."



Sadly, or perhaps I'm just deluding myself, my ties are too pretty to win (or at least those not boxed up in my Mom's crawlspace), so I have not yet entered. And I am a bit bothered at how "buried" this wonderful promotion in on Paul Fredrick's multi-faceted Fan Page. Still, I'm fascinated by not only how clever and graphically-sound this concept is, but how it encourages fans not just to follow the fan page, but to actually engage with it (and theoretically keep coming back, invite friends to check it out, etc.).

If you've come across similar Facebook marketing examples that show comparable creativity, please pass them along. I'm always on the lookout for companies & individuals that aren't just using new media, but truly leveraging the possibilities.

Finding Genius in the Everyday Google

It seems that practically every week Google is doing something to overtly impress, or at least intrigue, me.

Whether it's their continued forays into new technology (Google Voice, the Android mobile phone platform), introduction of or improvements to applications (such as Google Earth, Maps and Translate) or often-noteworthy business news, like their approval this week to buy & broker energy (yes, like a utility) and their altruistic donation of $2 million to Wikipedia, the company that began less than 15 years ago in a Stanford dorm room, continues to revolutionize the world in ways big and small.

But while "google" really is now in the dictionary as a verb, being impressed with their search engine itself seems so 20th Century. Searching for stuff on Google, and quickly finding what you want, has become so automatic--and far better than any other search engine I've tried--that I kind of just take it for granted.

However, a wonderful article in this month's WIRED, reveals that what seems simple is really the result of hardcore genius and constant tinkering. The biggest of the big shots at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters hold ongoing meetings to discuss and rectify flaws in the Google search algorithm, and every few years Google completely revamps its system--which unlike the publicity and often pain that surrounds new versions of Windows, happens without any hype and usually without a hiccup.

Although the article reveals that Microsoft's enhanced search engine, Bing, is making inroads, and its usage will jump even more when it becomes the search provider for Yahoo, Google is--according to WIRED--routinely leaps & bounds beyond Microsoft when it comes to search refinements and enhancements.

Read the article for a whole bunch of examples there's no need for re-explain, but in essence, more than any other search engine, Google has mastered--yet continually improves--the ability to assume each searcher's intent, even when compound phrases can result in myriad possibilities.

Often, technical minutia is way over my head, but I found the article--and Google's unique genius--completely fascinating.