Being Social

Facebook Garage this Thursday, Social Gaming Dynamics

2009-06-16T23:44:00.001+01:00

The June garage is soon upon us - this Thursday evening, at the usual venue of Sun Microsystems, 45 King William St.

This week we're focusing on social gaming dynamics - what makes great social games inside facebook, how do you make classic games that go on for years, and how do you apply gaming dynamics to non-gaming applications?

On top of our already announced speakers, Karl Bunyan from Social Cash and Alex Fleetwood from Hide & Seek, we'll be joined by:

Sam Mathews, founder of Fnatic, one of the world's leading professional video gaming teams, talking about the professional gaming industry and what it takes for a multiplayer game become a classic that will last for years; and

Sokratis Papafloratos, CEO and co-founder of TrustedPlaces.com, talking about how they've applied gaming mechanics to increase engagement and retention in a non-gaming community site.

See you there! Doors open 6-6.30 with pizza and beer, and talks starting at 7pm sharp.

Facebook are destroying all competition in the UK

2009-06-16T00:13:00.008+01:00

Hitwise have released some stats today showing that Facebook took over 43% of all UK visits to social networking sites over the weekend - compared to just 5.97% and 3.18% for Bebo and MySpace respectively. They were the second busiest website in the whole of the UK, only beaten by Google.

What does this mean? By doggedly keeping to a pure platform play, keeping user experience at the fore, and aggressively pursuing innovations to the way people use and interact with their social graph online (live stream API, Facebook Connect, etc) Facebook have charted a course which is setting them up to be the primary social identity platform for the web as a whole. Combined with their upcoming payments platform, they could blow not only the majority of other social networks out of the water, but also payment providers such as Pay Pal and Google Checkout.

With this future in mind, what's likely to happen to the social web? I don't think it's going to be too long before other social networks, like Bebo and MySpace, accept that their strength isn't in being a social platform; it's in providing for social content. Once they realise this, they won't worry about needing to own the social data below the content, and will integrate Facebook Connect. YouTube have already done this; a big sign coming from Google.

As a platform for applications and fan page engagement, Facebook will remain an important player, but far more important will be their role as a distributed social platform for the web. Other social networks will focus on creating niche communities, but won't try and beat Facebook at the social data ownership game. Long live the king...

Update:

I should also add that the Hitwise stats include social video sites, like YouTube - which came a distant second at just over 17%. Out of just Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, Facebook took around 80% of the UK visits.

Doritos Dodgeball Hackathon Competition - win £1,000

2009-04-15T23:28:00.002+01:00

Come along to AMV on the 25th and 26th April to take part in the Doritos Dodgeball Hackathon Competition, which is being organised by the Facebook Developer Garage London (which I host). For the Dodgeball Challenge, people are going to be able to take control of real ball firing machines, and fire balls at real dodgeball teams and celebrities over the whole of May. The aim of the hackathon is to build a fun Facebook application to run alongside the campaign, related in some way (but use your imagination).

Come along, either by yourself or in teams (and teams will form on the day!), for fun, hacking, pizza, and the chance to win £1,000 as the winning team - and a host of PR and kudos. Hosting for the winning app will be covered completely by AMV.

The competition will be starting at 10:00am on Saturday morning, with apps being judged and the winner announced on Sunday evening, with everything wrapped up by 6pm.

More info over at the event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182607905610

We hope to see you there!

Discussing the Facebook TOS changes on Sky News a few weeks back

2009-04-13T20:46:00.004+01:00

Facebook Public Profiles Now Have Viral Invite Mechanism

2009-03-31T11:19:00.002+01:00

Facebook have been making a number of additions to their 'public profiles' recently (what used to be called fan pages); the latest of which is to add viral invites to pages, as All Facebook report. This means that a fan of a public profile can send direct invites to their friends, similar to applications. The effect of this won't be dramatic, as if people really wanted to share a page with their friends they could do it with the share feature, however this could be a stronger call to action for users; and it's certainly something which brand owners of pages have been calling for.

Facebook's re-design: the right way forward

2009-03-25T10:11:00.003Z

There's been a lot of furore over the recent Facebook homepage changes, when they changed from a newsfeed showing an algorithmically chosen selection of feed stories being generated from your friends, many of which were passive (reporting on activity they'd done around the site, but not necessarily actively chosen to share); to a 'live stream' of actively shared content, along with a highlights section, using algorithms as before to create a small selection of content (events, photo albums, applications) which are interesting to you because of the interest they're getting from your friends. They've also made the live stream easier to personalise using friend lists - this was possible before, but not as clear.

As when Facebook first introduced the newsfeed, a small minority of their users very vocally resisted the changes. Some of these are/were valid complaints; e.g. some people found too much application activity in the new stream, or if a user uploaded a number of photos consecutively (rather than all at once), this would create a long list of posts from just that user.

However, Facebook have recognised that as people on the web become more used to sharing, what becomes interesting is what people are actually choosing to share - not just a passive feed of their activities. This is the point behind Twitter, and has been found in application design; if a user clicks the share button and posts a link to their profile along with their own comment, it is far more viral than a passive newsfeed story. Facebook know this is the case - because they have the data on all their user behaviour. Facebook's own research has shown before that when users are exposed to more active types of sharing on the newsfeed (e.g. seeing uploaded, tagged, or commented photos) they are subsequently more likely to engage in the same, active behaviour. The same is now very likely to be true of status updates, and anecdotally this seems to be the case.

The truth is, with their masses of data, Facebook know very quickly whether a design change is good or bad. They've listened to feedback and are refining some of the aspects of design to reflect this (namely, more control over application stories, better highlights etc). However, if they're sticking with the design, it's because they know that users like it. Not because of a small minority making loud noises about how they don't like it; but because Facebook can see how people are actually using it.

Personally, I'd much rather have a stream of status updates and actively shared content from the people I want to hear about than a feed of passive activity that Facebook are struggling to make relevant from the huge mass of stories that were being generated every day.

I'm off to SXSWi tomorrow, followed by some Silicon Valley action

2009-03-11T19:39:00.002Z

Tomorrow morning I'm jumping on the plan to SXSW (due to arrive sometime on Friday morning US time) (I think). Should be an action packed long weekend with lots of fun, including an invite only Facebook party on Saturday night (will the great Zuck himself be there?), and of course all the UK party-mad favourites along with me for Digital Mission. As an experiment, I'm going along without any business cards, and only a Poken - although this may just be an excuse for being disorganised at the last minute.

Turns out the cheapest way for me to get to Austin was to fly via San Francisco - which gives me a convenient excuse to hang out there for a few days after SXSW before coming back to the UK. Whilst there, I'm going to be speaking at the Silicon Valley Facebook Garage on the 19th.

Give me a shout if you're in Austin or SF and want to meet-up - josh(AT)theiplatform.com.

Social networks beat email

2009-03-09T22:52:00.001Z

According to a new Nielsen Online report, Facebook now has a 47% reach in the UK, the Guardian reports. Together, member communities (made up of blogs and social networks) are the fourth most popular web destination in the UK - ahead of personal email. They've grown over 10% in the last year.

However, UK penetration is dwarfed by Brazil - the Google owned social network Orkut has a 70% penetration there, the highest social network penetration of any of the countries in the Nielsen survey.

Brazil is also top in time spent on these sites - 23% of all time spent (1 in 4 minutes), followed closely by the UK with 17% of all time spent online (1 in 6 minutes).

This shows how far social networks have come in terms of personal use - however also points out that despite the seemingly world dominating growth of Facebook, it's not the total solution if you're aiming for a global audience.

I'm really glad Facebook have unmoderated comments on their blog

2009-03-09T22:45:00.006Z

Check out the original blog post for more quality comments like these.

Help Red Nose Day '09 - Donate Your Facebook Status to Comic Relief!

2009-03-09T12:16:00.004Z

This Friday it's Red Nose day 2009, in support of Comic Relief, a charity campaign which, in over 20 years, has raised over £500m to support projects across the globe, from helping disadvantaged young people in the UK, to supporting those in dire poverty or suffering from HIV and AIDs in third world countries.

They teamed up with iPlatform to allow Facebook users to donate their status's to help spread the word about Red Nose Day this week - the app has launched today. Click here to go to the app and donate your status!

Techfluff.tv - Michael Arrington is behind TechChuff.com

2009-02-23T16:13:00.001Z

Habbo Hotel's Oisin Lunny speaking at Garage tomorrow on monetisation of virtual worlds

2009-02-10T22:45:00.003Z

Today we confirmed Oisin Lunny, the UK's country manager for Habbo UK, to speak at the Facebook Developer Garage London tomorrow on the monetisation of virtual gifts and worlds.

We'll also be looking at the new Facebook APIs on status updates, posted links and video uploads, and what this means for application developers.

And buy tickets here!

More about Oisin Lunny and Habbo

As UK Country Manager of Habbo UK, Oisin combines 19 years of experience in the media, music and technology industries. In addition to the day-to-day running of Habbo Oisin oversees the deployment of integrated marketing and advertising campaigns to encourage site growth.

Habbo is the largest and fastest growing Virtual World and Social Networking site for teens globally, with over 124 Million registered characters. This presentation will share insights gained from Habbo’s nine years of experience in creating an immersive environment for teens, looking at integrated advertising campaigns, and the creation of an in-world economy through virtual currency and gifts.

Techfluff.tv - WAYN founders, Twestival, and 2 Plugg tickets up for grabs

2009-02-09T23:41:00.002Z

Facebook Garage - Next Week! (11th Feb)

2009-02-04T18:09:00.001Z

Tickets available now -

http://februarygarage.eventbrite.com/

At this month's Garage:

'From Concept to Launch' Mat Clayton from Wakari is back with his sucessful steps to make a viral app.

Comic Relief are here to tell us all the details of their Facebook Developer Garage Hackathon, which is happening during the day on the 21st February.

Devin Hunt, the co-founder of Fuzzwich.com, an animation advertising company, tells us about their ups - and downs - experimenting with marketing inside Facebook.

Karl Bunyan from Social Cash how to triple your users by allowing translation of apps.

Toby Beresford from Nudge London tells us 5 things we should know about Facebook Connect.

Plus the regulars - Iskandar's back with the Latest from the Platform and all the top advice, networking and free beer at Sun Microsystems.

This month thanks to Gold Sponsor Sun (http://uk.sun.com/startupessentials/) we're back at Sun Microsystems Customer Briefing Centre and they'll be laying on the free pizzas, wifi and beer

Our Event Sponsors: Nudge (www.nudgelondon.com/blog), Logicode (www.logicode.com) and AdKnowledge

Media partners: Newspepper.com

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Be sure to join the Facebook group to be kept up to date and get notified of the next event too

Check out the garage site at www.facebookgarage.co.uk where we keep you uptodate with speaker news, videos and guest articles.

Techfluff.tv episode 8 - ft a silent escalator pitch and Paul Birch, co-founder of Bebo

2009-02-02T19:55:00.002Z

The value of engagement on social networks

2009-01-28T08:39:00.004Z

Eric Ries has written a great post on the huge value a brand can get by engaging with customers on the social network platforms, especially concerning the real data available and the cheap CPI (Cost-per-Install).

Read it here.

His essential points are:

1. Huge social network advertising inventory means that the cost of driving users to applications is very cheap, and can be highly targeted

2. Once these users install your application, you have access to a wealth of data about them and can use the application to drive real engagement with one-to-one and permission based marketing.

3. Because of the cost-effectiveness of driving installs with media spend, you can afford to not even worry about virality, and instead focus on engaging directly with the user.

Imagine the kind of impact you could have with a potential customer if you didn't have to waste any energy at all on convincing them to invite their friends. You can actually communicate with them instead, learning more about them, getting better at serving their needs. If you have an e-commerce product, for example, you could try using the app to offer specialized product offers or to tune your recommendations. If you follow Seth Godin's original permission marketing concept, you could offer your customers entries in a contest in exchange for learning more about your products. You could find out what products your customer already uses, and find out when they run out, need to refill, are ready to switch, or it's time to upgrade.

Wise words.

2009-01-26T14:19:00.001Z

We're looking for good people...

2009-01-19T15:40:00.003Z

We're looking for developers at the iPlatform! Interested in any of the jobs below? Email teamATtheiplatform.com. If you recommend someone who we subsequently hire, we'll pay you £200 for being so nice.

Freelance application developers

Do you have experience building applications on Facebook and other social networks? Or have a solid web development background and an active interest in learning more about social apps? We're looking for freelance developers to work with us on a variety of client projects. We can make use of developers specialising in a number of languages; current projects are using PHP, Python, and .NET. Confidence with SOAP web services and HTML/CSS would be a plus.

Pay: day-rate basis, negotiable

Email your CV to teamATtheiplatform.com

Full-time developers

We're looking for full time developers to work with us both on core product development (social network integration technology) and on varied client projects helping them integrate with our technology.

Ideally, candidates would have experience in building and running a web service back-end or complex web site, and will be keen to work with a small team in a fun start-up environment. Python/Django a bonus. Social network application experience would be great.

Salary based on experience.

Email your CV to teamATtheiplatform.com

Techfluff.tv - episode 6, from Hawaii!

2009-01-19T14:58:00.001Z

Techfluff.tv - episode 5. Featuring Hermione trying to do a push up, driving a Tesla, and interviewing Dragon Doug Richard

2009-01-13T01:47:00.004Z

Huddle, Moshi and iPlatform at the Facebook Developer Garage on 21st January

2009-01-06T12:02:00.004Z

After what feels like a long break, we're back for the first Facebook Developer Garage of the New Year on 21st Jan. We've got a jam-packed garage, with reports on the latest happenings on the Facebook and MySpace application platforms, Andy McLoughlin from Huddle talking about how they got selected to be a LinkedIn platform launch partner and their experience with LinkedIn compared to Facebook, Cat from Moshi Monsters talking about their experiences with Facebook, Santosh from Twitblogs sharing their experience of launching an Open Social container, and more - as well as free beer, pizza and networking sessions.

To let everyone get settled in to the New Year, our first garage is on Wednesday 21st - from next month they'll be back to the second Wednesday of the month, as usual. If you want to get involved with the garage, help out, or speak about what you've been upto on the the social network platforms email me on joshATtheiplatform.com.

And buy your tickets here

Techfluff.tv episode 4 - Xmas Special

2008-12-28T11:46:00.002Z

We're proud to announce that Techcrunch UK is now an official media partner of Techfluff.tv! Enjoy...

Techfluff.tv episode 3 - Le Web special!

2008-12-17T17:26:00.003Z

Last week, the team headed off to Le Web, where Hermione launches the show from a sauna with a load of half-naked Finnish guys, whilst I interviewed Simon Woodroffe (founder of Yo! Sushi) on his houseboat. Check it out below:

BBC advertising new shows on Facebook

2008-12-16T07:35:00.004Z

I noticed this when I logged on to Facebook this morning. The upside to the huge social network inventory and low CPC is that you can use it to perform highly targeted, cost effective, performance based marketing - and this shows that even a staid institution like the BBC are recognising the benefit. Of course, this would be even better if they had integrated the iPlayer fully with Facebook, so that when you clicked it would let you watch the show without leaving the site, and would allow them to plug in to Facebook's viral channels to make the user acquisition even more cost effective.

Techfluff.tv episode 2 - featuring Mike Butcher

2008-12-08T17:16:00.004Z

In this week's episode we interviewed Mike Butcher, editor of Techcrunch UK, whilst he prepared us a chicken for lunch. We also had Alicia from Skimbit pitching her new product, Skimlinks, on Embankment escalator, and Robert Loch pouting at Peter Mandelson. Enjoy!