Stupid Social Efforts - Step Up Brands and Step Up Facebook!

So as I learn more and more about facebook and how to work it to gain value from it as a brand I am noticing some really stupid things going on. 

So here is the deal.  If you want to maximize your investment on facebook you need people to interact.   It is how their algo's work for the news feed and such.  They look at the objects you "create" (a brand's programmed content) and if people interact with the object then it helps every other future object they program as it gets better coverage in the news feed. 

Well that is great but that doesn't mean a brand should do stupid things like this:

 

How on earth does this promote a brand?  This is friggin noise.  What are brands doing and why would facebook allow content like this to be pushed into their platform?   It is creating noise.  It is annoying and doesn't make we want to include the brand in my news feed AT ALL.   

I get that you want to maximize your investment and gain the "earned" impressions but the key is "earned".  If you say silly things you become non relevant.  

Time for brands and facebook to step it up!

Google Plus Looses Traction with Consumers

It is all the news today...Google+ lost Unique Users and Engagement on site went down. 

The funniest article is on tech crunch which now re-branded Google+ and Google-

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/27/google-minus/






So a couple observations from myself using Google+...

• The UI is a sad attempt at ripping off the facebook UI
• Circles might help me organize my circle but complicate my life when I already got myself setup on a ubiquitous social network that has achieved mass consumer adoption

So how does google save this?   They can leverage their own network to drive free traffic to Google+ but who cares?   I am on facebook already.  I don't get Google+ and I don't think many people will.  I praise Google for trying to fight off facebook but that battle was lost a few years ago.

Here is my bet.... Google+ fails...

So with social out of google's hands and noone using seach on mobile what's their future?   Times be a changing y0.   Times be a changing

HTC To Launch A Facebook Smart Phone?!????? Ruh Roh Google

In the words of my beloved Griffin Family...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

This is awesome.   Brand Republic posted a story on a rumor that is out that HTC will be launching a facebook phone.   This is really going to escalate the battle between Google and Facebook.   Facebook's strategy on mobile thus far has been brilliant.   I think that their mobile interoperability thus far has been one of their greatest drivers of mass adoption and becoming pervasive plumbing to the human social experience.  This is an exciting rumor!