An excerpt:

First, a fast recap of what Zynga sells, which are multi-player games such as MafiaWars, primarily on Facebook. Lately, Facebook has expressed some annoyance with Zynga’s games. They definitely aren’t core to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the platform.

Further, Facebook has muscled in on Zynga’s revenues by insisting Zynga players spend Facebook credits on such necessities as virtual cows (for FarmVille) or virtual bullets (for MafiaWars). In the process, Facebook has demanded 30 percent of Zynga’s action on such purchases. Ouch.

So why the VC love — at the very moment when the primary distribution vehicle is showing powerful signs of annoyance?

Click HERE to read the full story.

Public reaction began to steer toward the negative in January of this year when Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, expressed his opinion that public sharing of information is the new social norm.  This was in support of the decision to make users’ profile picture, gender, current city, networks, friends list and page subscriptions public information by default.  The changes meant that users who did not want this information to be public had to manually navigate through the maze of privacy options and individually change preferences.  The backlash was fairly strong, but more recent changes have added fuel to the fire.

At Facebook’s F8 conference last week, Zuckerberg made another wave of announcements regarding the dissemination of “like” buttons, public sharing of information and external site partnerships.  He discussed the change from being a “fan” of something to “liking” something as a tactic designed to make opting-in more attractive and universal.  Further, “like” buttons will now be appearing on sites across the web, giving users the ability to publish content to their Facebook news feed without ever leaving the page they are browsing.  By default, this “liked” content will be visible to everyone, unless privacy preferences are changed.

More ominous changes loom in the form of Facebook’s new policies for listing education, employment and interests.  If you have logged into Facebook recently, you have probably seen a popup like the one below that asks if you would like a suggested list of pages linked to your profile.  Essentially, Facebook has removed users’ ability to manually type interests or enter employment or school information without also “liking” the corresponding page.  This can be avoided by checking the subtly placed “choose pages individually” button in the bottom left, but again, the lack of clarity has caused many users to join pages and groups without being aware.  If you do not want to publicize your liked pages, go the “Account” tab, choose “Privacy settings,” then “Friends, Tags and Connections” and check the corresponding preferences.

The major issue with all of Facebook’s changes is not so much the things that are changing as it is the methods by which Facebook is justifying and implementing them.  Twitter has been consistent about their privacy standards from day one while Facebook’s have changed multiple times; it’s this inconsistency that seems duplicitous, as changes are often made unexpectedly or without warning or very little notice.

For the average Facebook user, the changes make it even more difficult to manage privacy.  For advanced and power users, the changes can actually be a boon to traffic and exposure, but only because they are understood and adjusted appropriately.  Users’ data drives clicks, comments and the targeted advertising network that is the backbone of the company’s current revenue stream, so it is no surprise that Zuckerberg doesn’t believe in privacy.  Privacy is something that Facebook must worry about because it has to, not because it wants to, so it follows why they are not privacy advocates.  The underlying reality is that users maintain the same controls they always have over their privacy.

The best thing to do is to be hip to changes and stay educated about the way they might affect your personal information.  If you have made your best efforts and doubts still remain, then act in line with the mantra “do not click, comment, post, share, etc. unless you are comfortable with the whole world seeing it.”  While public may be the new social norm, it need not determine or otherwise affect individual social preference.  Facebook only provides a platform.  It is up to each user to understand and decide how they want to use it for themselves.

2010 has already seen an upward trend in tune-in for major events like the Grammys, the Golden Globes, and the Super Bowl.  Some argue it is because of the proliferation of social media and a general renewed fervor over pop culture events.  Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and thousands of other online and mobile outlets have helped give people a platform to interact around award shows, sporting events and notable news-worthy occurrences.  With reports indicating Oscar ratings up 14% over last year, it looks like there might be some truth to this theory.

Read the full report here.

In the 2004 election Dr. Howard Dean emerged from virtual obscurity to become a viable presidential candidate – due in large part to his online fundraising efforts. To fund his campaign, he encouraged supporters to send online donations and visually tracked the progress on his website.  Many credit Dean as the pioneer for online campaigning and the inspiration for President Obama’s groundbreaking 2008 campaign developed by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

As we saw in 2008, President Obama took the use of the web and social media to a new level, harnessing its power to mobilize his supporters from the ground up.  More recently, increasing numbers of those in Congress have turned to Twitter as a primary means of communication with their constituents and counterparts. Whether it’s providing a community for supporters to team up or an avenue to lash out directly to your representative, social media is becoming firmly entrenched in the political sphere.

Although it may have been a case of too little too late, John McCain also delved into the social space in 2008 with his own networking site coined McCainSpace and a blog run by his daughter at McCainBlogette.com. The project did not see the same level of success as Obama’s, but it is certainly safe to say that the 2008 election was the first to make social media a primary campaign component. Today, President Obama has official profiles on more than 16 different social networking sites including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – all of which are active.  His website also includes tools to join a local group, organize an event and fundraise.

The web has expanded politician’s reach dramatically.  This past month, more than 1.3 million viewers watched the President’s most recent State of the Union address from their computer screens or mobile devices on sites like YouTube, Hulu, Ustream, Facebook and CNN. The White House even released its own iPhone app that provided a live stream of the coverage.

Following the masses, many politicians are making social sites their preferred method of public communication.  For proof, look no further than former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman, who used his Facebook profile to announce that he would not be participating in the upcoming race for Minnesota governor. Using Facebook gave him direct control over the venue and the message while avoiding tedious media inquiries and misinterpretations. This type of authenticity is increasingly important in an environment notorious for fence straddling, side swapping and general ambiguity.  When asked why he chose the medium of Facebook, Coleman replied simply, “Because it’s 2010.”  Expect his actions to be the beginning of a new political norm.

Though not all politicians are as forward-thinking as Coleman, a large portion of Congressional members and groups are active social media producers and consumers.  TweetCongress.org, which tracks Twitter activity of Congressional members, lists more than 200 active members and groups. Some of the most popular include Arizona Senator John McCain, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.

Republicans may currently be in the minority, but recent research indicates that they are the definite majority in the social media world. In his white paper “Twongress – The Power of Twitter in Congress”, Mark Senak determines that nearly half of the Republican caucus is on Twitter and that GOP members tweet more often and have more followers than their Democrat counterparts. Similar trends exist for YouTube, Facebook and other sites as well. Senator Scott Brown, who on January 19^th became the first Republican elected to a Massachusetts senatorial seat since 1972, had five times more Facebook fans and three times more Twitter followers than his opponent Martha Coakley. This is certainly not the sole reason for his surprise victory, but the presence of an active social following must be given significant weight in the overall picture.

While the web has the potential to provide a level playing field for all parties and participants, recent research indicates that, just as in the offline world, there is a strong correlation between online political activity levels and household income. The study also found that active social media members are commonly the most active members in the political world as well. These indicators may explain some of the current skew toward rightward political participation, but the reality is that the Internet has altered longstanding patterns previously defined entirely by socio-economic factors.

The web has vaulted low-profile candidates into the spotlight and given them the ability to broadcast their platform at a level that less than a decade ago would have required several million dollars. It is exciting to watch as political figures and groups make use of social media, but merely having a presence is simply not enough. Politicians and the political world must continue to push far beyond campaigning and the occasional tweet by actively engaging with their audience. Bringing them closer and inviting them to be a part of the process is what engagement is all about. George and Abe would be proud.

(1) You can mention people and pages in your updates using the “@” symbol (like Twitter). You can tag people and pages in status updates just like you would on Twitter. They will be pinged, and depending on privacy settings, your posts will appear on their wall, quite similar to tagged photos.

(2) You can search all public updates to find people talking about what interests you (like Twitter). The beauty of Twitter is the ability to see what people are talking about on a massive scale. Facebook has taken a step in this direction by allowing updates to be public and letting users search them. You can also search within only your friends’ updates.

(3) Facebook can connect with AOL Instant Messenger. With the latest version of AIM, you can instant message your Facebook friends right from your buddy list. To get started, just click the Facebook Connect button at the top of the AIM beta buddy list and log in.

(4) You can run promotions, but only if Facebook says it’s ok. This is a relatively recent policy addition, where all promotions (give aways, contests, etc) need to be approved by Facebook in advance and they must be administered by a third-party app. They also cannot explicitly require social interaction to enter (become a fan, “like” a post, post a comment, etc.).

(5) The world can see when you’ve become a fan of a page (so choose wisely). With the new privacy settings, your name, profile picture and fan pages are publicly viewable by anyone. Something you should consider when becoming a fan of that really trashy TV show. 

These are a few of the many aspects of Facebook you may not be aware of.  Facebook is constantly evolving, as we’ve been seeing a lot of lately – with the home page re-designs and functionality updates.  Eric will keep us all updated,  but if you have any questions, just give us a shout!

If you go to www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. A great way to bring so many of us together to say thanks that is FREE and only takes a few seconds.

Volunteering is always an excellent way to make a big league impact on the lives of others and doesn’t cost anything but a little bit of your time. Idealist.org is a great site to check out to find opportunities in your area. The site complies single-day occasions as well as ongoing situations. Be a mentor to a child/youth, go to your local food bank and donating blood at the Red Cross are just a few simple ways you can give this holiday season and beyond.

Want to be a little more social about your volunteer efforts, try Facebook. There are plenty of organizations that have set up pages offering great ways to help out – food banks, children and seniors to name a few.

Sure I said that there were some cool things to do that don’t cost money, and there are, but what if you really just don’t have the time? The perennial favorite is to donate money to your favorite charity. It’s as simple as dropping a little bit into the bucket or bin before walking into a store. If you don’t have a favorite non-profit, you can visit a site like Charity Navigator that helps you find a worthy cause for your donation. Non-profits always appreciate money, but they also love their volunteers too.

Just a little food for thought.

Are your parents on Facebook?

Are they taking gazillions of quizzes, participating in “Happy Hour” and leaving replies all over your wall?

Check out this great site: My Parents Joined Facebook.

Too funny!

Everyone knows that Barack Obama doesn’t have an official Facebook page and neither does Steve Jobs or even…God. But we can always wonder, “If any of these people had their own profile page, what would it look like?” And furthermore, “what would they be saying?” Thanks to the people over at Mashable, they garnered as many fake Facebook pages as they could and chose 5 of the most humorous profile pages. With over 1810 retweets and counting, that makes this tweet one of the most talked about this week!

Full article found here.

My favorite update comes from Steve Jobs:
“Hey Bill (Gates), you like Apples? I made the iPod, how do you like them apples?”
Response from Bill Gates: “Thanks a lot Steve. Hope you liked the Zune.”

-Christian

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: A Social Media Blockbuster?

In only a few hours, throngs of people will be lined up at cinemas across the US and the UK as Potter, Weasley, and Granger once again duel evil on the big screen. Yes, I am talking about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. If the buzz and the success of the past films is any indication, this movie will be one of the biggest ever – in theaters and on the Web.

We were curious, so we grabbed the social media numbers, checked the graphs, and came up with some surprising results. So is the next Harry Potter adventure destined to be a social media sensation? Let’s find out:

Social Chatter

This film already has a ton of fans: 325,000+ Facebook fans to be exact (though this pales in comparison to Michael Jackson’s nearly 10 million). What’s really interesting and enlightening though isn’t the scale of the buzz, but the velocity. Check out the Twitter (Twitter) chatter since the 8th:

To read the rest of the article click here

The New PG Porn Video – http://www.spike.com/video/pg-porn-high-poon/3157900

How Facebook Serves Up Its 15 Billion Photos – http://mashable.com/2009/04/30/facebook-photo-sharing/

I Caught My Guitarist Screwing My Wife So I Am Selling His Guitar Amp! – http://kansascity.craigslist.org/msg/1145834596.html

Male Copywriter Lawson Clarke’s Website – http://malecopywriter.com/

Music Sales Down…and Out? – http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007060