Back in August I suggested that if Facebook allowed you to place your friends in specific groups (e.g. professional, social, family, etc) and assign custom privacy settings, LinkedIn would be doomed. While Facebook is going to have to work toward putting an end to LinkedIn, they have announced their intention to launch this new [...]

Back in August I suggested that if Facebook allowed you to place your friends in specific groups (e.g. professional, social, family, etc) and assign custom privacy settings, LinkedIn would be doomed. While Facebook is going to have to work toward putting an end to LinkedIn, they have announced their intention to launch this new feature. Facebook states:

We’ll let you organize that long list of friends into groups so you can decide more specifically who sees what.

As Alexey Komissarouk told me: it doesn’t get more official then that. This is a highly anticipated feature. A number of people posted comments on my article stating that this was a critical feature that Facebook should release in the near future. I couldn’t agree more and fortunately, it looks like they are listening. Are you going to stop using LinkedIn when this new feature comes out?

Satirical Book About Facebook Sells For $50,000
Apparently Facebook is so hot that people are willing to pay for works of satire about the social network. According to the New York Observer, Recent Harvard graduates Greg Atwan and Evan Lushing have sold a satirical book about Facebook to Harry N. Abrams Inc, to be published in [...]

Satirical Book About Facebook Sells For $50,000

Apparently Facebook is so hot that people are willing to pay for works of satire about the social network. According to the New York Observer, Recent Harvard graduates Greg Atwan and Evan Lushing have sold a satirical book about Facebook to Harry N. Abrams Inc, to be published in spring 2008. It was reported that the book sold for around $50,000.

Mr. Lushing, said the book will be made up of short, abstract humor pieces, stating that, “The best metaphor, would be if the Lampoon had done a Facebook number.” If never ceases to amaze what people will do and buy about Facebook. what is next, facebook the move?

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Via Mashable Social networking may be on the rise but business minds in America think otherwise. In what appears to be a shocking statistic, more than one-third of US employers have restricted access to social networking sites.
Various reasons apart from productivity loss are being attributed to this move. Organizations are worried about security issues with [...]

Via Mashable Social networking may be on the rise but business minds in America think otherwise. In what appears to be a shocking statistic, more than one-third of US employers have restricted access to social networking sites.

Various reasons apart from productivity loss are being attributed to this move. Organizations are worried about security issues with their employees visiting these networking sites.

Recently there had been news of worker productivity being hampered in Australia because of excessive time being spent on Facebook.

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AT&T has put up a developer challenge contest on Facebook. The contest runs between Sept. 21st and Dec. 14 2007. First prize is a cash reward of 5K and media and exposure on Facebook. You have to integrate with the FB and AT&T API (didn’t know they had one which is rather [...]

AT&T has put up a developer challenge contest on Facebook. The contest runs between Sept. 21st and Dec. 14 2007. First prize is a cash reward of 5K and media and exposure on Facebook. You have to integrate with the FB and AT&T API (didn’t know they had one which is rather cool) details on the AT&T AJAX API here.

You can check out the official rules and contest entry details here.

Good Luck to all FB l337 and make sure to register yourselves in the Facebook Observer Developer Directory.

We look forward to seeing and reviewing the winning entry, the developer will have no shortage of work after winning this event.

DEVELOPER’S CHALLENGE by AT&T

Put your developer skills to the test, showcase your creativity, and enter for a chance to win $5,000 cash and media coverage on Facebook. Submit an application you’ve developed that integrates a Facebook feature with your favorite mobile components. To be eligible, the application must:

• Incorporate at least one key Facebook feature (i.e. photos, messages, news feed, pokes, etc.)
• Integrate at least one mobile component (i.e. text, picture, video messaging as well as downloadable content such as ringtones, graphics, games, etc.)

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Yesterday Fortune published “Are we already moving on from traditional social networking?” Much of what was discussed was Netvibes and how they are struggling with monetization solutions for widgets. What grabbed my attention was the article title. My response to the question: are we moving on from traditional social networking? [...]

Yesterday Fortune published “Are we already moving on from traditional social networking?” Much of what was discussed was Netvibes and how they are struggling with monetization solutions for widgets. What grabbed my attention was the article title. My response to the question: are we moving on from traditional social networking? Yes! Is social networking doomed? No.

There used to be a battle between social networks to simply build their user base. Since then the battlegrounds have changed locations. The new battle is between the top tier social networks (and Google) who are now attempting to own the social backbone of each individual. We all have unique interests and as such we will browse the web for information we are interested in. Rather than just interacting with the website we are going to start interacting with both strangers and friends that are viewing the site.

This is already beginning to happen with the Facebook. The best applications provide social interaction with your friends. Once Google launches their platform, I have a feeling that we are going to see this social platform brought to the web. You browse the web but you are interconnected via an abstracted layer that keeps you interconnected with your contacts. The main goal of all these features is to make web browsing an increasingly shared experience. Out of curiosity, do you feel lonely browsing websites without your friends or do you prefer surfing solo?

I am pleased to announce the official Facebook Developers Garage taking place in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 2007. This is being hosted the day after the Facebook political summit. That event already has 180 confirmed guests! We have yet to pick a location so if your company would be interested [...]

I am pleased to announce the official Facebook Developers Garage taking place in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 2007. This is being hosted the day after the Facebook political summit. That event already has 180 confirmed guests! We have yet to pick a location so if your company would be interested in hosting the event (and are close to a metro) please send me an email at allfacebook [AT] gmail [DOT] com. So what is the Facebook Developers Garage anyways? As described by Facebook:

Garages are just like they sound – a place for you to explore, get gritty, tinker, experiment, and test out your ideas for Facebook Platform. Being in the Garage is all about participating, getting your hands dirty, and exploring fresh ideas and solutions.

Most Garages will offer you the opportunity to give a 5-10 minute brief presentation or case study on your App – you can show and tell, get feedback, highlight any novel techniques you’re using, or hunt for partners. So far popular topics include: optimizing product design, best practices for viral growth, tricks for testing your app, metrics for success, ninja code tricks…the usual. Pretty much anything goes.

In general, Garages will welcome ad hoc presentations, brainstorming sessions with other developers, and social interaction time. Some Garages will also offer some Q&A time with Facebook Platform Engineers, either via video conference or in person. Most will also provide food, power, and wireless connectivity. Check your area’s Facebook Developer Garage for specific details about what to bring or what to expect.

If you are interested in attending then go join the Facebook Developer Garage – Washington DC event on Facebook. Hope to see you there!

from Allfacebook.com ~ Facebook is providing a unique opportunity for the dissemination of information coming out of Burma. The group is covering local protests in all major centers worldwide and up to the minute information on the current democracy protests in Burma. The group can be joined here.

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from Allfacebook.com ~ Facebook is providing a unique opportunity for the dissemination of information coming out of Burma. The group is covering local protests in all major centers worldwide and up to the minute information on the current democracy protests in Burma. The group can be joined here.

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Earlier this morning I posted about how the best ad networks will be able to target ads based on user intentions. If any application was a test of intentions, the Likeness UNRATED application surely is. The first quiz you are given states “List the crimes you are MOST likely to commit first.” [...]

Earlier this morning I posted about how the best ad networks will be able to target ads based on user intentions. If any application was a test of intentions, the Likeness UNRATED application surely is. The first quiz you are given states “List the crimes you are MOST likely to commit first.” This is hillarious! Does my response express my intention to do so? Is the FBI tracking this? I’m not quite sure but this application definitely is entertaining. The options for the first quiz that you are asked to sort are:

• Buy drugs
• Drive drunk
• Shoot cheating lover
• Sex for money
• Shoplift
• Arson
• Rob a bank
• Sell drugs
• Cheat on taxes
• Steal a car

I won’t disclose what order I placed these in but this is definitely a risqué app. The other quizzes that are available are “Excuses to have sex,” “Truth or dare,” “Excuses for No Sex,” “Places to Make Out,” “Misadventures in Sex,” and “Inner Criminal.” See a pattern here? It looks like RockYou intends to add quiz creation capabilities to this application in the near future. One great feature of this application is it tells you how closely your other friends were in answering these truly insignificant questions. If you want to have fun answering unrated and uncensored questions, go grab the Likeness UNRATED application.

It is not just about online social networking. The following conferences aim to take the Facebook discussion offline. Don’t miss out these events as you’d find many evangelists and interest folks to hook into.
Future Events
The Story Behind The Facebook Platform – London – 03 Oct, 2007

Its going to be Dave Morin who would [...]

It is not just about online social networking. The following conferences aim to take the Facebook discussion offline. Don’t miss out these events as you’d find many evangelists and interest folks to hook into.

Future Events

The Story Behind The Facebook Platform – London – 03 Oct, 2007

Its going to be Dave Morin who would be talking about Facebook history at the Future of Web Apps conference.

The Great Facebook Debate – London – 17 Oct, 2007
To be organized in the city of London, tickets to the event have been sold out already. The eminent list of speakers include Hugh MacLeod & Robert Loch.

App-Camp – San Francisco – 20 Oct, 2007

App-Camp is focussed towards application development within API environments.

Snap Summit – San Francisco – 26 Oct, 2007
One day conference with in-depth focus towards Facebook and future applications like Yahoo! Mash.

Seattle Facebook Event – 05-06 Dec, 2007
The goal of Web Community Forum Seattle 2007 is to discuss and propose some tentative best practices for community building for business, political campaigns, marketing, and other professional efforts using Facebook and the Facebook platform.

Past events

MySpace, Facebook & Your Future Employer – 13th Sept, 2007

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Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, you have probably heard about the atrocities taking place in Burma. A similar event occurred 19 years ago when 4,000 people were killed in response to pro-democracy uprising. The same thing is happening again and a large number of people on [...]

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, you have probably heard about the atrocities taking place in Burma. A similar event occurred 19 years ago when 4,000 people were killed in response to pro-democracy uprising. The same thing is happening again and a large number of people on Facebook are organizing worldwide protests in response to the events.

One group, “Support the Monks’ protest in Burma” was adding over 3,000 users an hour at its peak. The group has now attracted over 100,000 individuals and still continues to grow. The group is a central place for the group administrators to distribute news and information regarding protests taking place worldwide today and tomorrow. I went ahead and joined the group but it can definitely use more people. I won’t wax-poetic about the issue given that this isn’t a political blog. If you want to express your support of the Burmese monks, go join the group.

On the Facebook platform there is a battle waging. The battle is between advertising networks, all scrambling to get a piece of the highly lucrative ad market. Today, Om Malik highlights the Appfuel network which is one of close to 10 ad networks currently on Facebook. They are by no means the [...]

On the Facebook platform there is a battle waging. The battle is between advertising networks, all scrambling to get a piece of the highly lucrative ad market. Today, Om Malik highlights the Appfuel network which is one of close to 10 ad networks currently on Facebook. They are by no means the last company to join the race. Many have questioned whether or not Google will decide to hop in as well. Chances are they will join via their new platform which they are announcing at the beginning of Novemeber.

Currently, RockYou and Social Media are the dominant players in the Facebook ad market. Once Facebook decides to join, all that may change. Regardless, the one thing that is slowly becoming apparent is how important targeting is. If you send 100 untargeted users to your application, there is no measure of value (aside from the number of users that joined). Being able to determine a user’s intentions and desires is going to be a critical point of success for many of these companies. Any company that provides untargeted ads is only in the market for the short-run.

Last night I had the opportunity to speak with one person who plans on hopping into the ad market in the coming weeks. He discussed the importance of intentions and I couldn’t agree more. Previously, I had stressed the value in being able to target ads based on gender and age in addition to location. The reality is that all those things are pretty much worthless if you don’t know what the person’s intentions are.

In the coming months we are going to witness a significant shift in advertising as ad networks become more advanced in their ability to target based on our intentions. The race is on to be the first to market and the race isn’t ending anytime soon. It is well known that both Google and Facebook are entering this market, but the real question is when. For all the smaller players in the market, now is the time to grab up as much market share before the big companies join in. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

A few weeks ago we wrote about the upcoming Graphing Social Patterns: The Business & Technology of Facebook and Community Next: Platform conferences on building for the Facebook Platform — they’re now coming up soon! I look forward to seeing everyone there in a couple weeks!
But wait, there’s more — the Facebook conference calendar is [...]

A few weeks ago we wrote about the upcoming Graphing Social Patterns: The Business & Technology of Facebook and Community Next: Platform conferences on building for the Facebook Platform — they’re now coming up soon! I look forward to seeing everyone there in a couple weeks!

But wait, there’s more — the Facebook conference calendar is really heating up. Over the course of the next couple months 3 more events are being held in the Bay Area and Seattle to grok the Facebook Platform. Here’s the scoop:

SNAP Summit

October 26, San Francisco

SNAP Summit is a one-day, single-track conference that focuses in-depth on the Facebook platform, while looking ahead at new and emerging platforms, such as Yahoo! Mash.

Our conference is designed especially for developers, and is also relevant to entrepreneurs, marketers, visionaries, and anyone interested in the web’s next big revolution.

InsideFacebook readers can save 10% on their registration by entering discount code “insidefacebook”!

App-Camp

October 20, San Francisco

App-Camp 2007 is a Saturday gathering focused on the development of applications within open API environments.

This will be an opportunity to discuss everything from user behavior and best practices to technical solutions. There will also be plenty of food during the day plus an after party with even more food – and entertainment to boot!

Web Community Forum: Facebook

December 5-6, Seattle

The goal of Web Community Forum Seattle 2007 is to discuss and propose some tentative best practices for community building for business, political campaigns, marketing, and other professional efforts using Facebook and the Facebook platform.

Technorati Tags: facebook, conference, snap, appcamp, community, forum

Are You a Facebook Developer Looking For Work?
Earlier this week a client of mine who is interested in creating a Facebook application that compliments their business was asking me about where she could go to find potential Facebook developers. While I know of a couple of people, including a few of my friends, all of [...]

Are You a Facebook Developer Looking For Work?

Earlier this week a client of mine who is interested in creating a Facebook application that compliments their business was asking me about where she could go to find potential Facebook developers. While I know of a couple of people, including a few of my friends, all of them are too busy with their own projects to take on any client work.

This got me thinking (which is always dangerous).Why not start a directory for Facebook developers and those who are looking to hire Facebook developers? After all, if you are a developer you probably are looking for clients (but where?) and if you are interested in having a Facebook application developed, where do you turn to find one?

(more…)

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Want to post comments on content anywhere on the web that your friends can see? I new startup called CommentAnywhere enables users to post text, photos and videos directly to any website and share that content with their friends. When you browse to a page, you can view which of your friends have [...]

Want to post comments on content anywhere on the web that your friends can see? I new startup called CommentAnywhere enables users to post text, photos and videos directly to any website and share that content with their friends. When you browse to a page, you can view which of your friends have commented on that content. The only downside of the application is that currently you need to register by entering your Facebook email and password but there is nothing on the page specifying that they have integrated with Facebook.

From the perspective of an average visitor, I would be highly skeptical of a registration like this. The cool part though is that the software utilizes Facebook for the social connections. Ultimately, I think individuals are going to use one site to manage all of their social connections and then there will be websites and/or applications that leverage those connections. I would assume that this is what Google is aiming for with their new platform. If you want to check out their application which is in the alpha phase, go check out their website.

Fortune Senior Editor – David Kirkpatrick – is reporting that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook was spotted in Seattle Tuesday, heading for meetings at Microsoft.
The web is abound with rumors that this 23yr. old reincarnation of Bill Gates is holding out for a $15 Billion dollar valuation on Facebook. Microsoft is rumored to [...]

Fortune Senior Editor – David Kirkpatrick – is reporting that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook was spotted in Seattle Tuesday, heading for meetings at Microsoft.

The web is abound with rumors that this 23yr. old reincarnation of Bill Gates is holding out for a $15 Billion dollar valuation on Facebook. Microsoft is rumored to be interested in doing a deal to buy a 5% piece for upwards of $500M. This is truly mind boggling.

Microsoft’s recent purchase of the aQuantive ad network for a staggering $6 Billion would tie in perfectly with Facebook’s search for increasing monetization strategies.

One thing is certain, Zuckerberg and the Facebook investors, can’t lose anything but momentum from being ’spotted’ in Seattle. – Google and the giant checkbook, are sure to be watching this carefully.

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While many of us like to avoid it, politics is a heated topic. There are significant divisions within our country and around the world and with the coming elections politics is going to heat up. A couple weeks ago, Robert Scoble had the opportunity to interview Randi Zuckerberg. In the interview Randi [...]

While many of us like to avoid it, politics is a heated topic. There are significant divisions within our country and around the world and with the coming elections politics is going to heat up. A couple weeks ago, Robert Scoble had the opportunity to interview Randi Zuckerberg. In the interview Randi discussed her desire to increase the political activity on Facebook. It appears that Randi is holding true to her promise as a Facebook Political Summit has been scheduled for October 9th in Washington, D.C.

There are also an increasing number of applications looking to tap into the political fever. These applications include the:

• Causes application;
• Jena 6 application;
• Election ‘08 application;
• End Poverty application;
• and hundreds more.

While many of us don’t discuss it, politics is something many of us are passionate about. Do you think the younger generation is politically active? How do you think Facebook and politics mesh? Or do they not mesh at all?

According to Fortune, Mark Zuckerberg was spotted walking through Seattle on the way to a meeting with Microsoft executives today. Perhaps he’ll walk out of there with a check for $500 million! That’s a check that I’d like to walk out of any meeting with. With a lofty valuation of $10 billion, [...]

According to Fortune, Mark Zuckerberg was spotted walking through Seattle on the way to a meeting with Microsoft executives today. Perhaps he’ll walk out of there with a check for $500 million! That’s a check that I’d like to walk out of any meeting with. With a lofty valuation of $10 billion, one has to wonder if we are in the middle of a Facebook bubble. My thoughts? Yes we are.

Social platforms are indeed the wave of the future. Social platforms will also be limited to larger social networks for the next 12 months due to the development cost. Additionally, developers and advertisers aren’t going to want to develop for a ton of platforms, they will only want to develop for social platforms that provide the greatest impact. While Facebook may currently be the only social platform and will continue to be the leading social platform, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for competitors.

The real question at hand is what is the actual value of social platforms or the social operating system? Nobody knows and that’s why Facebook is able to pull is some lofty valuations. Perhaps years down the road Facebook will become the next Microsoft. For the time being though, Facebook has yet to release any monetization tools that warrant their sky high valuation. Do you think Facebook will be worth 10 or even 15 billion dollars?

Best days are ahead for Facebook developers. According to mashable.com, developers would soon be able to use features & functionalities of open-source CMS – Drupal.
The enabling of Drupal integration would improve time and speed with which Facebook applications can be developed. The philosophy of Drupal for Facebook is to create Facebook applications from functionality [...]

Best days are ahead for Facebook developers. According to mashable.com, developers would soon be able to use features & functionalities of open-source CMS – Drupal.

The enabling of Drupal integration would improve time and speed with which Facebook applications can be developed. The philosophy of Drupal for Facebook is to create Facebook applications from functionality already built into Drupal.

To know more about Drupal click here. Keep visiting Facebook Observer for news, insights and thoughts from the world of Facebook.

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Yes, I know it’s not “the Facebook” but I liked the title! It’s kind of like “The Google.” Anyways, tomorrow LinkedIn will be launching a new feature: user photos. This is a whopping four years after to launching. Did LinkedIn get a case of the Facebook envy? Definitely. [...]

Yes, I know it’s not “the Facebook” but I liked the title! It’s kind of like “The Google.” Anyways, tomorrow LinkedIn will be launching a new feature: user photos. This is a whopping four years after to launching. Did LinkedIn get a case of the Facebook envy? Definitely. In a number of months, LinkedIn is supposed to be launching their own platform (alongside MySpace, Bebo and Friendster) which is also a response to Facebook’s platform. A quick look at the Linked in versus Facebook Alexa graph shows why LinkedIn should be copying Facebook in any way possible:

While the chart shows stagnant growth, LinkedIn claims they are getting around 240,000 new users a week. That’s not close to the 200,000 users a day that Facebook is getting but it’s nothing to sneeze at. It will be interesting to see if Facebook decides to cater more to the active professional networkers by differentiating between professional and social contacts. For the time being it doesn’t appear to be one of their focuses but it is still something they should do.

World Intellectual Property Organization Overseeing Domain Case
According to The Conceptualist, Facebook is suing for the rights to the domain Face-Book.com. The last known registrant of Face-Book.com is Sephora, a French beauty supply company. The interesting thing about this case though, has to be the fact that Sephora registered the domain in 2001, well before Facebook [...]

World Intellectual Property Organization Overseeing Domain Case

According to The Conceptualist, Facebook is suing for the rights to the domain Face-Book.com. The last known registrant of Face-Book.com is Sephora, a French beauty supply company. The interesting thing about this case though, has to be the fact that Sephora registered the domain in 2001, well before Facebook was even a thought in Mark Zuckerberg’s head. Typically in the case of domains, date of registration plays an important role in the deciding whom is the rightful owner. From my vantage point, Facebook does not have a strong case (technically), but with all of the buzz and might they now have, I would not be surprised to see Sephora legally handing over this domain.

This is clearly is a sign that Facebook is taking their brand name seriously. Evidence maybe that they are tightening up the reigns for something big in the near future?

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WYSIWYG widget publishing platforms Widgetbox and Dapper both announced new tools for turning widgets into Facebook applications today.
Widgetbox released App Accelerator, a new service that lets you publish your Widgetbox widgets as Facebook apps. In addition to bringing your Widgetbox widget into Facebook, App Accelerator also packages viral Facebook features like news feeds and [...]

WYSIWYG widget publishing platforms Widgetbox and Dapper both announced new tools for turning widgets into Facebook applications today.

Widgetbox released App Accelerator, a new service that lets you publish your Widgetbox widgets as Facebook apps. In addition to bringing your Widgetbox widget into Facebook, App Accelerator also packages viral Facebook features like news feeds and friend invites around it, helping it grow. Over 200 Facebook apps have already been created during private beta.

Widgetbox simultaneously announced a revenue service for App Accelerator developers whereby RockYou will sell inventory and will split a 50% commission with Widgetbox. This is a nice perk for publishers in monetizable spaces.

Separately, Dapper today announced AppMaker, a tool that lets you turn any”Dapp” into its own Facebook app. The service launched with apps created by partners Answers.com and MTV. Dapper is focusing more on content syndication and allows for more powerful look and feel customization.

Cranking out a simple Facebook app with Dapper is dead simple. (The Inside Facebook app below was made in 5 minutes!)

Automated Facebook application creation gives the “long tail” of communities and content a better Facebook experience. We’ll keep an eye on this space as it grows.

Technorati Tags: dapper, widgetbox, automated

Making Social Networking Work For Sales Professionals
Have you ever met the sales professional that complains that networking events, “just don’t work”? I have. They make me laugh. Networking, whether it be off-line or online, works. You just have to know how to do it the right way. Most sales professionals I know have limited knowledge [...]

Making Social Networking Work For Sales Professionals

Have you ever met the sales professional that complains that networking events, “just don’t work”? I have. They make me laugh. Networking, whether it be off-line or online, works. You just have to know how to do it the right way. Most sales professionals I know have limited knowledge of how to leverage the Internet, let alone social networks, to develop better relationships with existing customers and prospecting for new ones.

I could write for days about how I have used the Internet and social networks like Facebook to build relationships that have resulted in hundred’s of thousands of dollars in sales, but I won’t bore you with the details; here are 5 instant tips sales professionals can use to increase sales through Facebook:

• Get a Profile – No, I am not kidding. Remember, your computer won’t work if it is not plugged-in. You can’t leverage Facebook if you do not yet have an account, so get one now. It also a good idea to get on LinkedIn…if you are not the yet. Make sure your Facebook profile is professional, but don’t be a square. Let people who you are as a person. People typically like buying from people more than a voice on the end of the phone.
• Add Your Top Customers (and the Others) As Friends -Facebook let’s you easily import your contacts and will automatically find them. Be careful though, if you have a lot of contacts as you could get banned. If you only have a couple hundred, you are safe. If you have over a 1,000, you might want to import them in smaller groups.Now that you have your customer base as friends on Facebook spend a night looking through their profiles – get to know who they are. Before you leave, though, send them a message or post on their wall to let them know you are there. Don’t make it a sales pitch, rather something mature that you might say to a good friend.
• Add Facebook Business Applications – Check out the Top 10 Facebook Applications For Business Professionals. These applications will make you more accessible and allow you to communicate with your customers inside and outside of Facebook with greater ease. The easier it is to find you, the better chance you have of getting that next sale.
• Join Relevant Facebook Groups – There are multiple groups for just about everything on Facebook. If there is not yet one for your particular industry or niche, start one. You will be happy you did. Facebook forums provide an awesome way for sales professionals to A) meet others within their industry (network), B) display/build their expertise through dialogs (brand), and C) find new customers for their products and services (prospect). Don’t even think of selling right away – spend a month or two delivering value through knowledge transfer to the “community” before even getting to the “pitch.”
• Work Your Newsfeed – The Newsfeed is an excellent way to push information to your friends (clients, partners, perspective customers). Have a new product/service? Offering a special price or promotion? Win an award or some other accolade? Don’t be bashful! Post it to your profile and see the information pushed to your “network” instantly. Now you can sit back and wait as the inquiries roll in.

Bonus Tip

Okay, I feel bad. The first tip really was not much of a tip at all – more of a “must do”.

The final tip?

If you really want to get in the good graces of one of your customers, become their evangelist. Who does one do this on Facebook? It is pretty easy actually. Remember the last tip, “Work Your Newsfeed”? Rather than publish stories, news and tidbits about you and your company, start doing it for your customers – they’ll love you for it. It is quick, easy and painless, but the returns are huge.

Have a tip? Leave it in the comments. I would love to hear what other sales professionals have done to leverage Facebook to increase sales.

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The PHP programming language has solidified itself as the language of choice for many top internet properties, including Facebook. PHP is easy to use and integrates well with Apache, Memcache, and MySQL.

Facebook released some new statistics today on overall growth, user demographics and engagement, international growth, and the Facebook Platform. Some notable numbers:

Facebook now has more than 42 million active users (double the number one year ago when it opened up registration and growing at more than 200,000 per day since January)
More than half of [...]

Facebook released some new statistics today on overall growth, user demographics and engagement, international growth, and the Facebook Platform. Some notable numbers:

• Facebook now has more than 42 million active users (double the number one year ago when it opened up registration and growing at more than 200,000 per day since January)
• More than half of Facebook users are outside of college (85 percent of US college students still use Facebook)
• More than half of active users return daily (users spend an average of 20 minutes on the site per day)
  
• Facebook is the top photo sharing application on the Web
• There are more than 6 million active user groups on the site
• More than 80% of Facebook members have used at least one application built on the Facebook Platform

It’s quite impressive that 80%, or over 33 million, of Facebook members have installed a third-party Platform application.

By turning to Appsaholic and doing a little extrapolation (see below), we see that the top 44 apps alone have racked up nearly 200 million total installations. That means that the average user who has added at least one app has added an average of six apps. That may be even more impressive.

Technorati Tags: facebook, platform, growth, statistics

The WSJ is reporting today that Microsoft is in talks to acquire 3-5% of Facebook for US $500 million, giving Facebook up to a $10 billion valuation.
While rumors have swirled of a possible impending Facebook IPO in recent weeks, Facebook founders have indicated that they’re much more apt to take strategic investments than raise public [...]

The WSJ is reporting today that Microsoft is in talks to acquire 3-5% of Facebook for US $500 million, giving Facebook up to a $10 billion valuation.

While rumors have swirled of a possible impending Facebook IPO in recent weeks, Facebook founders have indicated that they’re much more apt to take strategic investments than raise public money.

Microsoft is already in bed with Facebook and best positioned to strike a deal, having signed an agreement last year to be the company’s exclusive advertising partner through 2011.

And though Google has been rumored to be opening up its social graph in a few weeks to compete with Facebook, the Journal says Google and Facebook have also been in talks about a potential investment and future advertising partnerships. It’s clear that the guys over in Mountain View have been thinking long and hard about their strategy in the space.

Update: Facebook’s Brandee Barker declined to comment on the rumors this afternoon.

Technorati Tags: facebook, microsoft, google, investment