Facebook's Bud Light Ad Unit: A Mini Fan Page

Almost exactly two years ago, Facebook introduced a series of new ad units around gifting, polling, liking, etc. Two years later, here is a view of the new Facebook Bud Light campaign - which is an expanded unit and includes several social functions.... think of it as a miniaturized fan page: the unit contains / enables all of the core functionality a page does. The single sponsored unit contains: - Your friends who like the the page - A link to the advertiser's page - Related posts - A link to the advertiser's album - A larger-than-normal photo from the album - Expandable likes and comments - A like button - Ability to comment in-line

Why It's Easier to Start Up Today... Than Ever Before.

Forbes spotlighted LegalZoom earlier in the week: "Silicon Valley Sees Gold In Internet Legal Services" (a Polaris Ventures backed company). It got me thinking about the earliest days of beRecruited.com and what it took to get the company off the ground... before beginning the real work. And that obviously got me thinking about how much things have changed since I started the company in my dorm room in late 1999:

- I payed $1,000s to incorporate the company (and it took weeks). In fact, this was the single biggest expenditure of the first year. - Signed a 2 year merchant account to to accept credit cards (which included a physical credit card processor and "we accept Visa / Mastercard" decals....!) - Signed a similar hosting agreement for web service... which we outgrew quickly. - Worked hard convince a proper bank to support us (also expensive and out of date). - And received reams of paperwork and contracts and monthly account summaries.

Companies like LegalZoom and Amazon have totally changed that process.

Just think about Dogpatch Labs as an example: - founders walk in with nothing more than (usually) a Macbook Air. - They hook into our wifi (no such thing as a server room). - They run atop of Amazon web services. - They can accept payments almost immediately with services like PayPal, Square, or even set up recurring billing with Recurly (also a Polaris company) - They can announce their launch with companies like Sendgrid, Constant Contact, etc. - And they can look to Facebook, Twitter, etc to find pools of users.

I get asked all the time about why so many companies are starting these days. The most important factor is because it is easier to start today than ever before. And it is easier to attract users today than it has every been.

That doesn't mean it's easier to build a lasting business... but it does mean that you can start working on the business and product faster. And you'll get user feedback on product / market fit faster. And you'll succeed, fail and/or pivot faster.

Most Important Feature of Facebook for iPad, iPhone: "Apps"

The most important part about Facebook's new iOS apps that they unveiled yesterday? For starters, the app actually works and I had given up using Facebook for iPhone (which failed 90+% of the time. But other than the obvious... the below screenshot is the most impactful aspect of the new mobile suite. It gives users the ability to access and use applications directly from within Facebook Mobile. That is convenient for users and represents future opportunities for deeper developer & Facebook integrations (think 'canvas apps' within the Facebook apps). And to developers / publishers, this is remarkably valuable real estate that drives engagement and mobile usage / downloading: for instance, when I clicked on Instagram, it took me directly to iTunes to download the application (I have it on iPhone but not iPad).

Also interesting: Facebook clusters their own products within "Apps" - and it is done alphabetically (I would think they would mark their products atop the list): Events, Messages, Photos, etc.

11 Ways to Usher the NFL, NBA, MLB into the New Web

I am a sports nut. That shouldn't be news if you follow me here or on Twitter / Facebook. I also spend my professional life on the web and looking at new technologies. In part because it is fun to think about - and in part due to personal frustrations - I'll put those two together and brainstorm how the major leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB) should improve their online product. Note: obviously there are significant issues: content rights, ownership, players unions, etc. Let's make the (ridiculous!) assumption those don't come into play or that everyone wakes up and agrees these are important for leagues' future health (NBA and MLB more so than the NFL).

1. Get an online identity.

Sounds simple and the below ideas are clearly focused on helping drive an identity. But look at these screenshots from NBA.com and NFL.com. I have no idea why I would visit these sites as opposed to ESPN.com or Twitter. They are mixtures of ads, promotions, stores, and news.

These sites are highly trafficked (see August list here) - but in August (when interest is at its max) NFL.com still represents just 40% of Yahoo's traffic and 50% of ESPN's. The brand is obviously there but the sites are not much more than navigational hubs.

The below ideas hopefully help create an identity and a reason for fans to visit and engage with their online properties.

2. That identity should be social.

I believe these websites should have four primary goals - probably in this order:

A. Promote the league, teams, players and partners. B. Engage the fans. C. Covert visitors to new properties / touch points: Twitter Followers, Facebook Fans, mobile users, etc.... recognize that fan activity is far broader than on your site. D. Drive revenue (store, ads, etc)

The best way to directly drive points 'B' and 'C' and to indirectly impact 'A' and 'D' is by fully integrating social. More on the next point. But at the highest level, this means that the league sites should look more like a robust, branded Facebook Fan Page and less like your local newspaper site. Content should be dynamic, personalized and interact-able... not flat like your a local news article.

3. View me as an individual fan. Not a pageview.

Step 1 in making the sites more social is to view users as individuals... not as pageviews. How? Lets reimagine what NFL.com could be:

- via Facebook Connect, it recognizes my identity and prompts me to Like the NFL on FB - it then asks me to like my favorite team(s) - by 'liking', I automatically subscribe to team's Facebook page (already subscribed to NFL) - now NFL.com can feature content specifically crafted to my preferences and to my Facebook friends - And they can quickly translate this from league to team to players

Those 20M uniques in August are suddenly *much* more valuable as connected users. And those 20M uniques are just the tip of the traffic iceberg... why? Those users are now:

- They are viral (hello Facebook Ticker!)

- They are shareable: instantly the NFL can have massive followings on Facebook & Twitter and can share that traffic with their teams.

- They are engageable: once you have users become fans / followers, the league can more effectively / efficiently engage with fans (and market / promote).

And now content flow can go both ways: on and off NFL.com. Just look at the Washington Post Social Reader as a good example.

4. Welcome social media. Don't fear it. In fact, mandate it.

Encourage teams and players to use social media. Hell, mandate it. In the above example, you could have a Facebook page with 10M Dallas Cowboys fans. That's as powerful as the team makes it.

Each team should have an official Facebook Page and Twitter account that is consistently named, branded, etc. The page should aggregate / promote the Facebook / Twitter pages of its players.

Fans should be able to subscribe to entire teams through a single follow button (ie a Dallas Cowboys officially curated Twitter list).

The league and its teams will clearly worry about player etiquette on Facebook & Twitter. But: they are going to use the platforms whether or not the league likes it... and the players will listen (and behave) if they appreciate the power of building a following & brand via social media. Bring in industry leaders to give crash courses in social. Make it a mandatory part of the rookie symposiums.

The end result:

- dynamic content that is unique to each league / team (unlike their news clippings) - bigger followings for the league, team and players - real-time connections with fans who are now more deeply engaged - more control by the league and team

5. View the league as a set of teams. And teams as a set of players.

Connected to the two points above, think of the league sites as a collection of teams. And while it is the league's duty to deliver league-wide news and promotions, it is also beneficial to promote each team. The above examples accomplished: - building a social following for the league itself - using that to promote individual teams - and then using each team to promote its own brand and players

ESPN is beginning to figure this out with their personalities. See example here.

And just as the league should promote horizontally - the teams should also be asked to connect to others. Lightweight ways include:

- making sure all mentions are linkable (seems simple but so rarely done) - official pages include links to other teams (on Facebook via favorite pages, Twitter via Lists)

6. Every league & team should hire a czar.

See the above screenshot. Enough said.

7. Go mobile.

The leagues are getting quite good at standalone apps (particularly MLB). But the same approach to social should be applied to mobile:

- There should be league apps. - There should be standardized team apps.

Note: why team apps? for starters, the experience is better within a single app and the team can more proactively tailor content and brand. Secondly, traffic will be better (app store findability, promotion through team fan pages, etc).

- Those team apps should feature dynamic content beyond the box score (everyone has that). - Leverage the above points to showcase team and player content - Allow users to engage directly: follow, post, like, Q&A, etc. - Deliver push notifications: alerts from favorite player. Scores. Injuries. Etc.

Those stand-alone apps should also pertain to in-stadium experiences / promotions. That obviously requires 3G and/or wifi to work in stadiums... which is a leap of faith today.

8. Make content available.

Figure out how to get around the rights issues and make as much content available as possible. Leverage the league website, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Full game coverage: allow me to subscribe to a team or league as I can with MLB At Bat (a perennial top grossing application.

Clips: make clips available and let users remix & share them. It's a viral dream. You can even protect branding by controlling the experience either onsite or as a Facebook app.

Highlights: The NBA is great at releasing Top 10 Plays from Yesterday on their Facebook page. This becomes more powerful as their presence grows... and even more powerful as the team presences grow. My willingness to share a specific clip from my favorite team / player is far greater than from across the entire league.

9. Engage. Don't just push.

Content is now a two-way street. Build experiences that encourage interaction by fans. And encourage personalities to be interactive. Learn from CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell - who really phenomenal on Twitter.

10. Welcome ESPN and the new media. 11. Similarly, concede what you won't win.

Figure out strategically where it makes sense to leverage other properties and brands. In many cases, collaboration / aggregation will create a better product (again, see Washington Post's Social Reader which incorporates content beyond WashingtonPost.com).

In other cases, it will allow the leagues to redeploy resources, focus elsewhere and still roll out better products. For instance, is the NFL really going to win fantasy sports? That's ESPN's domain. Work together and build ancillary products that support the experience and league.

More reading:

- ESPN Brings Twitter into Fantasy Football App. Getting Closer. - Much to Learn from the NBA’s Facebook Fan Page - My Response to Mark Cuban’s: Does ESPN.com Have a Twitter Problem? - ESPN’s Mobile Application Strategy (and Ad Campaign to Match)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

As the Web Gets Busier, Designs Leverage In-Line 'Blooms' (Facebook As Example)

If you've spent time with the new Facebook layout, you will notice how much the interface now leverages in-line expansions (I like to call them 'blooms'). Blooms are when a click prompts an in-line, expanded unit rather than a new pageview. I attribute this trend to two things: 1. Increased complexity in functionality(s): I am not suggesting that Facebook's features are more complex -but the number of features creates complexity. Blooms are an effort to solve that. This is true across other busy sites and apps: Google Plus, GMail, Chrome extensions, etc.

2. The "Chrome-ification" of the web: using apps, buttons, etc as a layer atop the core pageview.

The example here is Facebook's new Birthday unit. With the introduction of the Ticker, Facebook has pushed the birthday and events box down the page. With real estate tighter, Facebook has stopped showing the name of each Birthday boy / girl. So now, when you click the birthday link, it pops up a "Today's Birthday" unit that also allows in-line commenting. Slick.

Amazon Kindle Fire: $199. RIM Playbook: $299 after 40% Discount.

There are several reasons why Amazon's new Kindle Fire - and the larger Kindle line - is disruptive (my take here). For non-Apple tablets, the Kindle Fire is much more than disruptive: it's killer.

Proof is right here. Below is Best Buy's huge discount on the RIM Playbook ($299 sale, normally $499). Despite that 40% discount, the Playbook is *still* 50% more expensive than the Kindle Fire. And that's before you begin comparing the two devices... I would pay a premium for the Fire vs. the Playbook.

Product is clearly important. But for mass consumption, price wins. And Amazon has won the non-iPad market by radically undercutting it.

It's Time for a Facebook Browser, Web App.

More functionality & features often means more business & complexity. And as Facebook continues to roll out features, the experience can be crowded. To Facebook's credit, the site is remarkably clean considering the long list of features it needs to include. Below is a screenshot of my normal Facebook web experience - and then an overlayed mapping of what each page portion is. The takeaway is: there's a ton of stuff here and it's time for a true Facebook browser and web app.

Google+ Shared Circles Causes Surge in Followers

Yesterday Google+ created shareable, public circles. And, as power user Robert Scoble suggested, engagement and usage has surged. In less than a day, I've had over 1,000 people follow me. That is entirely attributable to the new shared circles which are facilitating easier and more effective 'findability'. When people like Scoble curate lists for themselves - and then choose to share them publicly - they are clearly high quality.

Assistant at Core of iPhone 5

I sometimes share an article on Facebook and Twitter ... and despite not having a ton of commentary to add - think it's worth 're-blogging' (a short snipet and link back). Here is a note from 9to5Mac's "The New iPhone":

"Expect Assistant, 1GB of RAM, the dual-core A5 processor, Nuance speech-to-text, and an 8 megapixel camera to make an incredible iPhone upgrade on October 4th."

Is that enough to get buyers to re-up their contracts?

For me: it's a no brainer if Assistant and speech-to-text work well. Conceptually, they make the phone a more complete, more efficient mobile office... and that's how I use it.

Increased speed. Better camera. Improved form factor (I assume). Those are all nice additions. But Assistant is the big, compelling idea. And it makes the Siri acquisition price-tag well worth it to Apple.