Kelly Lineman

I think this merger would make total senses for PayPal. Currently, they have to build their own user base, and have to compete with apps like Venmo in that space. Or, it is beholden to websites offering it as a payment option AND a user selecting it over other payment options. This would provide PayPal with a captive dedicated audience that it can use to feed its core businesses.

Something I find interesting is the timing. The government has started looking at the big companies and if they need to diverge some of the assets. This will hang over the governments decision to approve this. If it does get approved, it runs the risk of falling into the the breakup. Also, PayPal could miss out on the fire sell that will result if the big companies are broken up. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

This is definitely true! It doesn’t matter that fewer people are watching shows together. People can watch TV on their own schedule and discuss it with their friends later or on social media. Because of this, I would argue that the success/failure of a show is even more reliant on word-of-mouth advertising than ever before. Think of the wild success of Squid Game (https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/netflix-s-squid-game-sensation-here-s-why-it-s-n1280646). So many people were talking about the show online that it spurred a global sensation. Had the show aired on tradional network television, it would have relied on compelling ads to convince viewers to tune in. Now, the amount of online buzz compels people to give it a watch.

I know I personally usually let the Internet review a new show for me before I give it a watch. What about you?

10 years ago (I know I’m dating myself again), I had the epiphany that we were doing TV buying wrong.

I was lucky to be at a company that let me lean into it, and so I devised an in-house tool that let us equate digital impressions for services like YouTube and Hulu into their traditional TV equivalent (rating points).

I won’t bore you on the details, but it got the attention of Hulu and I was able to work with their sales team to scale up my approach to better align their inventory with a traditional TV buyer mentality.

A decade later, the tool has long since been retired, but the philosophy has never been stronger. How do you define “TV”?

We internally no longer use “TV” as a tactic. It’s all variations on video and we’ve developed a nomenclature of equivalence to blend the experiences we know vs. the ones that emerge.

The easy way of thinking is that services like Hulu are “Primetime” just as most their content would be on-air. YouTube and the ‘gram equate to “Daytime”, less because of the quality of programming than the quality of “attention” (i.e. you watch it when you unexpectedly have time to burn; note: this is Primetime for younger target audiences). And so on…

The challenge to “TV” then isn’t that we don’t recognize the value of video content and its increasing power, but that so much is ad-supported and that model is under incredible strain.

Consumers prefer ad-free experiences, but how much can they really afford? Where ads do exist, digital impressions are almost always sold at a discount relative to their on-air equivalents.

And then, the major elephant: its considerably more work for a station / network to sell individual impressions than blocks of airtime. When an 30 min episode aired back in the day, around 11 minutes was reserved for ads. That’s ~22 advertisers if you stick to :30 spots. Now, given how many ways you can slice and dice an audience, you could have hundreds or even thousands of advertisers existing in that same audience (it’s not typically that high, but you see how it could be via our convo on programmatic last week).

Boiling all of this, how is it that “TV” has never been more popular and yet, the business model is still under considerable strain?

On paper, the rationale they’re communicating is that the new name will represent their values, specifically their shift to creating an entire metaverse (think 2nd Life or Roblox) where people can engage and interact in entirely immersive ways. A rebrand this big doesn’t happen overnight, so I’m inclined to believe it’s aspirational even if I also believe the efforts were accelerated give the latest publicity.

https://www.economist.com/business/facebooks-rumoured-name-change-reflects-its-ambitions-and-its-weakness-1/21805755

Whether it’s effective? As I said on the lecture, I don’t think most people think, let alone say, Alphabet when they think about technology leaders (another A! Our acronyms are doomed.)

That being said, Google’s rebrand was more about bringing their disparate parts under a common identity. Calling everything Google detracts from their non-search ventures.

That’s kind of what seems to be happening in practice here, but not how it’s being positioned by the media. Facebook will still be Facebook (or “the Facebook”, if you’re of a certain age). It’s the parent company that’s changing. Facebook now will be “Facebook, a [rebrand] company” just as Instagram is currently “Instagram. a Facebook company (though we try really hard to obscure that when we can because we secretly know Facebook is uncool and where your mom hangs out and Instagram is not that and you should totally spend all your time here you cool kids!).

As another example, who here knows what Altria does?

Phillip Morris might be a more familiar name and I can argue their rebrand to Altria effectively did reset their public image. But that is as much because so many people had already moved away from their products and/or knew them under their trade names (Marlboro, etc.).

Branding is convoluted. Yes, it needs to convey your values. It will never truly do more than represent those values. I find it extremely unlikely people will wake up later this month and suddenly be like “what is this new social network I am part of that mysteriously did not exist yesterday and now has all of my info pre-loaded?”.

Maybe if Facebook deprecates their current products and launches something new, it will take a lot of time. Just like Altria keeps looking for new ways to sell tobacco without calling them cigarettes.

I am still shocked Facebook is rebranding. They want to be known for the metaverse, being that they believe it is our future, even though it currently doesn’t exist. Big companies like Facebook and Microsoft have been investing heavily in the AR/VR world. If they can successfully shift gears more so away from social media, I think the rebrand will be worthwhile. As of right now, Facebook, the logo, the design, the platform, are known. Without context users know Facebook, especially because it has the widest range of generations on it. I just don’t think something so known will be able to change. It involves compliance from user to adapt to the rebrand. When I-HOP had their promotion of I-HOB, they wanted their consumers to start calling it that too, but that did not happen.

I am not shocked they are rebranding, but I don’t think it will make much of a difference in the long run. Facebook is trying out outrun the negative stereotypes that are associated with it, but people still continue to use the platform as well as Instagram. I think people will continue to call it Facebook, continue to use it, and they won’t care about the rest.

Reading your post got me thinking about the line between protecting content and censoring it. As a Chinese based company, TikTok is preprogramed to over censor content. The fact that they banded someone that has same sex content does not surprise me at all. This is not just a TikTok conversation. Every social media company is trying to find that fine line. I think the answer gets back to our conversation about a company’s social media policy. Social media companies should define what is and is not allowed on there platforms, universally enforce it, and then make it a continues process to review and update the policy. These are not new problems, they are just new in the number of and speed the information can reach people.

I feel like everyday I hear about content creators and influencers are having their content banned or having their profile restricted. I’m not on Tik Tok so I’m not fully aware of the issues creators are having but I have been seeing this issue with content creators I follow on Instagram. Some of the reason they have been restricted seemed really unnecessary and didn’t seem to go against the Instagram guidelines. It’s really unfair to those who like Kevin James Thornton, have poured so much into creating a thriving community on these platforms only to have them “start again”. I wonder if TikTok is willing to amend some of their guidelines around their moderation system in order to protect their creators since they help to bring so many eyes to the platform.

OUTSTANDING post and comments here, all! Sean, absolutely agree with your point that “these are not new problems, they are just new in the number of and speed the information can reach people.”

Does it ultimately come down to accountability? To whom are social media companies accountable for establishing clear values and expectations, and then upholding them? What happens if they aren’t accountable or consistent in doing so? At what point is social media considered a utility that could be regulated? Lots to consider…

This is unbelievable to me. Kathryn’s post and your comment just sent me down a wormhole of reading articles about TikTok’s haphazard censorship. I still don’t understand how having the word “nazi” in your bio wouldn’t automatically get you banned… what alternative context is there? Based on my minimal understanding of algorithms, I can maybeee see how TikTok had to make some tweaks around BLM to ensure people who should be blocked were and vice versa (though apparently it’s still an issue: https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-09-16/fed-up-with-tiktok-black-users-are-moving-on)
But when TikTok programmers came together to discuss what should be censored (if that’s how it’s done), how was censoring the word nazi (or white supremacy) not an easy box to check, especially when used in a bio? Maybe they’ve figured that out by now… Not sure because I’m not on TikTok, and I’d hope the algorithm would know me better than to show that content but YIKES.

Katheryn, I totally agree with your comment on the possibility that a platform could lose its audience or advertisers because of the overzealous banning of creators. Do you think this is because of the origin of this social app? Does Tick Tok actually have defined values that makes it different from any other social platform that also has trolls string up trouble?

Also, I had no idea that there were trolls on Tick Tok just trying to instigate trouble in order to get someone banned. What a disheartening thought for someone to hate on another so much for some reason, they would go to lengths to make them look bad, and eventually banned.

A year or two ago, users on Tiktok claimed it had all of the style and grace of Instagram, but without the trolling. They touted that they had an inclusive environment that didn’t have the vitriol that normal social media platforms have. In the past few months though, it is becoming clear that this welcoming attitude when you arrive is a façade that can sometimes conceal a lot of hate. I recently watched a TikTok about a woman who did a social experiment on Tiktok, where she followed and liked anti-trans users and videos, and found that the platform started to recommend other types of hate videos like racist or anti-Semitist videos. Though the suggestion algorithm can be powerful, it can also be dangerous. Thanks Kathryn for the share!

Thanks for sharing Gabi! Yes, I use Facebook Groups for lots of things similar to you. I have used it for housing, selling products, event ticket resales, the list goes on. I think the purpose for these groups is most definitely community but I think they have evolved far beyond this. Facebook groups now act as a resource, a source of comedy, on top of connecting us to groups of our past like Alamaters. I would be interested to hear the FB side of it – what was the initial purpose of the Facebook Group feature?

Also my favorite group is: Dog Spotting. Literally a group where people pose photos of dogs they see around their city, it brightens my day and I love to contribute the content.

GB!!!! Love, love, love this.

Couple reasons why:

1. I fully believe micro-communities are the future for marketing, and anything that hosts “niche groups” has a lot of promise…
2. GenZ uses FB groups A LOT for class/school… and what’s funny is… folx be saying “GenZ aint on FB”, but I’ve always smirked at that because my whole thing is: NAH, GenZ IS on FB, they’re just using it differently. So, please, keep posting your content on FB and serving ads there — they’ll see it. Heck, they may even click on it. And, content on multiple mediums builds a lot of brand trust and credibility, so JUST DO IT.

Jb

Wow, what a group. While I would include myself in this generation, I can’t relate to many of these cause I didn’t have cable. I always wished I saw these tv shows cause my friends would always talk about them. Before I lost my account to a hacker, I used Facebook to buy my first car. I think Facebook stands out from the rest because of its popularity. While its rediculed by the younger generations, Facebook is still the top social media site throughout the world. I think that’s why you can find these niche groups because of the sheer size of the website. The only other sites I can think that can match it is either Instagram (which is owned by FB) or possibly Reddit.

The 15 Biggest Social Media Sites and Apps [2021]

Wow I have never felt more seen in my life, I related to 95% of the things listed and I’m wondering how we all had the same childhood! As someone who lives in the in-between of those two major groups a community like this is very much needed and appreciated! I’ve had Facebook ever since I was in middle school but it wasn’t until college that I actually learned about FB groups and communities as I had to join one for the major I was in. I agree with you Gabi, I find these groups perfect for connecting with others who have similar interests or careers as you and also a great place to share and receive knowledge. I recently joined a design group as that something I’m interested in and even though I’m not super active on their, I have loved listening to those with many years in the industry and connecting with those who are just starting out. I think the communities are one of Facebooks biggest assets and one of the main reasons why I still have the app.

Gabi I am so glad you posted about this because if I am being honest I do not know what I would have done without Facebook Groups when I moved to Austin!

Through these groups I have been able to meet so many people, I have joined about 3 groups that I am very active in and through there I have met friends in this new city, without it it would have been very difficult for me to meet new people. I think it is so interesting to see how it has opened myself to the idea of utilizing these platforms to get to know others I would have otherwise been to shy to reach out to. I meet with new people about 2-3 times a month and I would not change it for the world. It has given me a social life in a city I did not know a single soul. It has made me fall in love with this city so much more and it has done the same for the people I have met. There are other applications like Meetup that bring people together but to me there are none like Facebook groups.

Jen, your comment made me chuckle… We can probably imagine a good list of reasons why GenZ doesn’t want to admit using FB. And, you and Sean make great points about the opportunities for marketers to engage in FB both in paid and organic ways.

Can’t recall if I shared this example in class, so just in case: Baby clothing brand Kate Quinn does a wonderful job with their private, moderated FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/katequinnvip/

What makes this group work:
– Employees rep the brand (vs a faceless logo)
– They create a sense of urgency for limited-quantity “drops” and offer early access codes for members
– They quickly and directly address CX issues
– They encourage members to share and support one another

Just goes to show the opportunity especially for small businesses…

Gabi, Wow, thank you for sharing. I haven’t been active on Facebook for like 5 years, but recently was invited to join a Facebook group Mental Health First Aid trainers to connect and share resources. A requirement of being a trainer is that there are two present at all trainings and you have to host at least 4 trainings per year to keep your certification. This really increases the need to be able to not only meet but really connect and get to know the other trainers across the country. Thanks for sharing, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Me and my friend just had an in depth conversation about this yesterday, who knew it was something that’s been actually happening! We touched on this in class that Zuckerburg had taken a bet during the pandemic that small group social media was growing, specifically around gen z and millenials. These generations had been overwhelmed with big business social media for years, where followers means everything. Since the pandemic, more and more younger folk are are going towards small-set social platforms, like Facebook Groups. My friend specifically had joined a group about “Your 20s is hard to navigate” that made me laugh but she has dead serious about. She said she really has found more value in the groups over Facebook overall.

I am surprised at the spike in the Silent Generation’s use of facebook. I think it is a combination of the population getting smaller, so the % goes up, and more wanting to see what their grandkids are doing. I also wonder if there is an accessibility aspect to it. Living alone the older generation my not have a computer, or room in a house that has 40 years of stuff in every corner. However, when they move into an assisted living community they down size and find room for a computer. Maybe the community even has a computer center that improves access. Regardless of the reason, this demographic seems like an excellent market that has been targeted for years by traditional media and now digital markets can start getting into the game.

I think this is great Steve!

As a consumer I personally value my privacy but more so the ability to have Advertising that is geared towards my needs and wants. Unlike many people I actually enjoy seeing Ads I am interested in, I have made many purchases through social media due to this and I want to be able to provide the same experience to my users. I am very intrigued by the idea of bringing Facebook and Instagram together to create a more intertwined and seamless experience for the user. I think change is always good if not to improve a process then to gather data and learn from any mistakes that may occur along the way. I am looking forward to see what other changes happened in the future!

Steve, your post reminded me of our guest speaker, Cindy’s, advice: Do, Learn, Do! New features present new opportunities to test and learn. And to your question: It certainly can feel overwhelming. Bringing it back to the strategy, audience and desired outcome is usually a good way to assess: Is it worth testing this one out?

As someone that doesn’t use Facebook, I think that the new features are huge! Automation and integrating features from Instagram should help SMBs better communicate with audiences like myself.

The company is testing the option for Instagram creators to have their Reels recommended on Facebook. One thing FB added is a list of tips about improving ads’ performance.
– Give time to the analysis: waiting 72 hours before evaluating performance can help ensure an accurate picture for optimization purposes
– Analyze the campaign and not the creative: analyze reporting at the campaign level rather than focusing on just one factor
– Set up the Conversions API: The API connects with other data sources to measure user actions across marketing funnels, and it can even provide insights into website conversions
– Consider all available tools: Consider and take advantage of all tools available to you – on and off FB
– Keep on testing: Testing new bidding, format, and audience strategies will help you identify what is working to improve your performance

This is interesting. This list does seem pretty outdated. You talked about Google+ which is essentially dead for the individual user. I didn’t even know ESPN allowed comments on their site. TikTok and Reddit should be there on video sites and forums. I honestly didn’t even know there was this many social media sites. As a company, it must be difficult to include all of these sites to its Code of Conduct. I wonder how they discover these sites; is it by word of mouth by employees or do they just find it online?

Interesting post Kathryn! First, I’ll say kudos to your company for its thoroughness – wow. I think it’s good they thought about this broadly, but it does make it a bit unrealistic to actually be able to sift through all of it and understand the policies set forth. Second, I imagine whoever came up with this list, tried to do so in a way that addressed “social media” in its most broad and basic form: a digital platform where people socialize and converse. At least, that’s the only way I can make sense of it in my brain. Given Chase is such a huge company, I imagine they just wanted to cover ALL the bases, even if it is silly to think about spreading company secrets through Farmville.

Lol at Farmville…

I agree, this is an extensive list and I think it’s more about them having all their bases covered. Agree with Mo about Reddit and TikTok..those are widely popular! Also many people ask about company culture on Reddit and that can definitely be a huge platform to unleash some dirt. Is this included in the recent FAQ? This raises the question of how often should a company update their Code of Conduct and the documents tied to it? Should they release every time there is a new platform? What if the platform is hugely popular at first then burns out and isn’t used ever again? It would definitely be interesting to see the actual factors that determine what is included

Wow Kathryn, this is quite intense of a list hahaha. But also, I can understand the reason why your company would want to cover as much bases as possible in the world of social media. Even though head-on we think of the holy trinity that you mentioned, all the websites mentioned in the list give some sort of social aspect. So while Facebook is inherently social, it makes sense that our Yelp reviews would be considered a social activity as well.

Kathryn, makes me wonder if the policy would benefit from an “includes, but not limited to….” introduction to this list along with a general definition of “social media.” You’re right–platforms come and go at such a rapid pace, it can feel nearly impossible to keep up with.

I totally missed this news! I remember when Instagram first starting hiding likes for random accounts as part of a test, and oh boy, did it throw my agency’s influencer and social media departments for a loop.
I think putting the power in people’s hands is definitely a positive change for mental health. I’m wondering if hidden likes impacts the algorithms at all, like in terms of what shows up on each person’s feed? Do people still like the same posts even when the like count is hidden? I would think so because the account owner can still see the likes… and there are probably more elaborate algorithms at play than likes and comments. For example, I have IG but deleted the app from my phone so rarely check it, but when I do, I’m amazed at how IG knows what should go on top (e.g. engagements, new babies)… it’s saved me from missing important things many times.

This feature was initially rolled out as something they would automatically apply to all users, but they rolled back that decision because there was a lot of pushback for users. I thought the fact that they ended up rolling this out as a feature instead is telling as people value themselves by follower count on social medias (and like to leverage that) What I am curious to see how this affects is the Influencers that make their money based on how many followers they have– it essentially does not affect their metrics, but are people more or less likely to like something if they can’t see the like amount?

I’m in the same boat as Briana – I wonder how this quantitative feature change will affect influencers who may depend on this numbers to make money and create or retain brand partnerships. This article from Business Insider from 2019 talks about the initial rollout of removing likes in other countries and how it affects influencers. Some said, that they would have to find another metric on the platform to use. Another influencer said without likes, she is unable to evaluate the best type of content for her followers. A rep from an influencer agency said, “Likes are only “surface-level,” while metrics like engagement and click-throughs of URLs in posts show more about the relationship an influencer has with their audience.”

See more: https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-influencers-removing-likes-impact-2019-9#fewer-likes-more-authenticity-1

It will be interesting to see who takes advantage of this feature and who doesn’t – plus how it will affect the business side of Instagram.

Great post Sammi! Likes unfortunately play such a big role in society. If I post a picture and it doesn’t get as many likes as my other posts, I delete it. That ideology isn’t even rational. We should be posting pictures and content because it makes us happy not because others will “like” it. I do think the amount of likes plays a huge role for celebrities and influencers. The amount of likes they get is a symbol of their status. If Kim Kardashian only received 5 likes on her photos she would not be looked up to. Most celebrities receive thousands of likes, which a regular everyday person cannot attain. This difference in likes makes a celebrity, a celebrity, someone others aspire to be like. If they take their “like” feature down I’m curious to see if their status or presence on that platform will change.

I remember when the news of Instagram hiding like counts was first announced, I was very happy about it because during that time I cared way too much about how many likes I was receiving on my posts compared to others. This is the case for many users especially young users, which is why they decided to create this feature. Though once I started working with a friend who was an influencer, it got me thinking about how this would affect his business as likes are one of the metrics he uses to see if a piece of content is doing well. As much as I love this new feature and believe it will help to decrease some of the mental burdens associated with social media, it definitely a feature that should be kept as an option so that content creators won’t be too affected.

By turning off likes, users can focus on the content itself rather than the popularity of the content. Likes could be arguably crucial for creators who use the metric to communicate their value to partners (brands and advertisers). Hiding likes won’t change the Instagram experience or the self-esteem issues associated with social media when it comes to comparing ourselves with others, fearing missing out, and wondering what people think about you. If more and more people hide like counts, especially more prominent influencers, Instagram’s comparison aspect might lessen since no one would know how “Insta popular” others are.

Love this post! Social Media and the internet today have such a negative impact on peoples mental health, and I will gladly admit I am guilty of it. I was so happy when I realized my account turned off the view of likes because I didn’t care as much. I posted pictures I liked because of me, not for others, just trying to share to family and friends! There’s still those times when it’s hard not to compare my life and physical features to others, but had to remind myself that not everything on social media is real. People edit their pictures so much now that it doesn’t even look like their real selves, and same as to people only show one side of their life. not the difficult side. I’m a huge advocate for mental health on social media and open about my own struggles to let people know that they’re not alone and not everything is as perfect as it seems!

Wow how interesting!!

My only concern with this challenge is that it may not be bringing enough traffic based on their social media interactions. I am wondering how many people who are capable of creating an innovation like this actually know about this opportunity. Here is the link to their hashtag

https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%23mFITprize

This is a great initiative to drive change in this industry and I hope that their marketing strategy is driving enough traffic to provide them with great submissions. I cannot wait to learn more the outcome of this challenge, it would truly revolutionize first responder agencies!

Interesting post Claire! I agree with Alejandra above, this sounds like a really great opportunity to revolutionize first responder agencies. When reading your post about mobile fingerprinting capabilities, my immediate thought went to the iPhone. I have what some might call an older iPhone (8+) and I chose my phone because I wasn’t quite ready to give up my home button, even when the newer models were already out. I really like the fingerprinting function of the iPhone’s home buttons, and if iPhone already has that tech built into the phone, I think it’s really just a matter of connecting the dots and implementing that tech to the larger mobile screen. I’m not a mobile expert by any means, but I feel certain that this challenge will find it’s solution and someone will be a very lucky winner of $430,000!

Like Erin, the most experience with fingerprinting technology is also with my iPhone 8. In looking at the website you shared, I now have my eyes open to how this could benefit first responders, especially police officers. It seems as though there are many situations that arise when it is hard to get the true identity of an individual. As far as information architecture, I imagine accessing a federal database will be the main function and I do think this is an appropriate use of mobile technology, because as the site states, there are situations where it can help at risk individuals. Thanks for sharing, Claire!