Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

Banging out this weekly wrap up while waiting for my appointment at the Genius bar.  This Macbook Air developed a bad case of OS corruption after a Mountain Lion upgrade. Tough to get work done when your tools are broken. I better finish this up before it freezes up! Oh, and I had an awesome time at the Girl Talk show last night. If you don’t know Girl Talk, Google that. Lastly, there was, quietly, tons of activity in Marketing Technology, it’s a real challenge to find the best of the best. In the end I had to share 8 stories, all for the price of free.

MT5 Edition: #50

Stories This Week: App.net, Medium, Facebook tests prominent Ad placement, JiWire provides targeted mobile Ads, Windows RT, rating TOS, social observing vs. sharing and Pinterest Apps.

1. What You Need To Know About App.net

[ThisGuy] Tired of Facebook ads? Want to have data portability? Willing to pay $50 annually for a finer social network? Read this article for the full scoop.

My Take: As Facebook, Twitter (and perhaps Google+) mature they are walling off access to take greater control of their user experience – so they can ensure users are seeing their ads. At its core App.net is centered around a different revenue model. Instead of being Advertising supported will be paid for by the users.  As this version of the internet matures I believe some users will pay for a better service. Yet I’m not certain enough users will pay to use App.net – not enough to have it reach critical mass.  App.net is borne from a frustration with existing solutions. It’s experience is evolutionary (not revolutionary) and I’m skeptical at the notion users will pay for what they get for free now.

2. Medium

[CNET] The collaborative publishing tool takes submitted content and groups it into related collections, allowing multiple people to view and add to it.

My Take: Leave it to the founders of Twitter to focus on creating platforms based around a simple activity. Twitter provided a platform for short/quick communication. Medium is focused on creating the best collaboration experience yet. I haven’t used Medium yet, but it seems like a mashup of Storify and Google Drive. More [About Medium]

3. Facebook to Test Promoting Brands’ Page Posts to Non-Fans’ News Feeds

[Adweek] Here it comes, the big Advertising push on Facebook. Facebook is testing pushing Ads on user walls.

My Take: Facebook stock continues to get pummeled on the stock market. Big ticket brands are holding back spending on Facebook because Facebook is unable to demonstrate the effectiveness of their Ad spend.  The user wall is the main way users experience Facebook and that’s where Facebook is going to put Ads.  Get ready for Ads to move from the sidebar to the center screen. What will happen? Users will grumble for a while, but they aren’t leaving Facebook over this.  Users still believe they have a positive value exchange. They are getting free access to friends and family and all they need to do is avoid looking/clicking on annoying Ads.

4. JiWIRE builds a location graph to make mobile ads relevant

[GIGAOM] Location-based ad provider JiWire is trying to capitalize on mobile advertising with the launch of a Location Graph that it says will help it deliver relevant ads based on what it can learn from the way people move around from place to place.

My Take: Repeat after me…”what overcomes creepiness?” RELEVANCY.  Done right, mobile ad targeting has the promise of providing relevant, valuable information (coupons, events, offers) to mobile users and shoppers based on their demographics and activity.

5. Windows RT bridges the gap between Tablets and Laptops

[VentureBeat] Long battery life, small size, and multitouch screens: That’s what Microsoft is promising its PC partners will soon deliver using a version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. This week, the company delivered some specifics.

My Take: This is a really interesting form factor. Sometimes I want a laptop, sometimes I want a tablet. I never want to carry both. But can Microsoft and it’s hardware partners deliver a pleasant user experience? They never have before.

6. Putting An End To The Biggest Lie On The Internet

[TechCrunch] credit Eric Andersen for this story. Website Terms of Service are a joke. No one reads them and there are no accepted standards. TOS;DR provides a rating system along with some easy to understand tags that show what you’re signing up for.

Observing vs. Sharing on Social Networks

7. Users of Smaller Social Sites Share, Consume More Content

[eMarketer] Facebook is still the most popular in terms of user numbers, other sites are more popular for sharing content—and others still for reading and viewing, without necessarily sharing.

My Take: I find niche social networks really interesting.  I’m watching this space to see if and how they grow in relation to the bigger networks.

8. Pinterest launches first apps for Android and iPad

[TheVerge] <– I don’t use Pinterest, but maybe you do.

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