This afternoon I was asked to give comment to a Time magazine reporter on Google's recent decision to start personalizing some ads in its network -- namely, that you will start to see Facebook-like names and thumbnail photos in advertising throughout the Google network. While some people might think, 'Oh great, that's all I need,' we have Facebook to thank for the concept of social advertising and Sponsored Stories. What was once creepy and annoying is so ubiquitous that most consumers will … [Read more...]
Hoping That Social Media Will Fix Crappy Banner Ads
Long live the banner ad: it has managed to survive not only the dot com bubble but also Facebook's IPO. Yet few admit to wishing to perpetuate its existence. Talk of 'social advertising' usually means buying ads on Facebook, Promoted Trends on Twitter, or even the new SlideShare ads -- complete with inline lead capture -- on LinkedIn. A few companies have been hard at work at transforming the banner ad into a richer experience. A richer experience of course transfers into engagement -- … [Read more...]
Google Enters the Social Enterprise with Public Debut of Google+ For Businesses
Hate it or love it, Google+ launched June 2011, and some consider it a strange anomaly in the social networking space. Though cheered and supported -- unlike its previous social/collaboration products like Google Wave and Google Buzz -- Google+ has yet to reach the audience sizes of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, today's Google Enterprise blogpost and subsequent TechCrunch story reveal that Google may be finding another fit -- and revenue model -- for the fledgling social network: … [Read more...]