Inside Facebook
Inside Facebook |
- Still Shy of 2 Million Users, Facebook Quadruples in South Korea
- Facebook, Other Companies, Promote Green Efforts on Facebook
- ISA 2011: How Will Small and Medium Social Game and App Developers Grow on Facebook Next Year?
- The Facebook Global Monitor, November 2010 Edition, is Now Available
- Facebook Wins Another News Feed Patent
| Still Shy of 2 Million Users, Facebook Quadruples in South Korea Posted: 04 Nov 2010 12:27 PM PDT
Can Facebook succeed where Google has so far failed in South Korea? The East Asian country, one of the four markets founder Mark Zuckerberg identified as top priorities for the next two years, has long beguiled Western consumer Internet companies. Thanks to government policy, South Korea has the fastest broadband speeds in the world and leads other developed nations in Internet penetration. Broadband access is so pervasive, that there are even government counseling programs to combat Internet addiction. So Facebook will not have to deal with the same kinds of connectivity or Internet literacy problems it faces in other emerging Asian markets. However, because of its insular Internet culture, South Korea is walled off from American technology companies. Native South Korean companies like the search engines Naver and Daum along with Facebook’s domestic social networking rival Cyworld are the biggest daily destinations for the country’s roughly 40 million Internet users. Cyworld has about 16 million unique visitors every month, according to Google Ad Planner, to Facebook’s current 1.7 million active users.
The site has standard social networking features like custom profile pages, blogs and messages, but it also has a strong virtual worlds component with mini-rooms where users can make special avatars and buy virtual goods with Dotori or “acorns.” Like in Japan, Twitter is also an emerging rival with 3.5 million unique visitors. All of these factors considered, there are a number of reasons why Facebook may do better than other American companies in this market. South Korean consumers are already comfortable using their real identities, as Cyworld requires new users to submit their National ID number, which is like a social security number, when they register. Authentic identity has been a core part of Facebook’s business strategy all along, unlike early rivals such as MySpace, which tolerated aliases. Naver was able to hold its lead against Google in part because it built a walled social question-and-answer platform, Knowledge iN. That gave it extra private content to crawl and surface in queries. Facebook, of course, has its own such platform called Questions. South Korean users also rely more on friends and family to give them advice when making purchasing decisions, which plays into Facebook’s favor and its strategy around brand advertising. There is also a very mature virtual worlds and goods market in South Korea, which Facebook’s social gaming partners like Zynga and Electronic Arts’ Playfish can help recreate. For a good overview of Facebook and Twitter’s rising prominence in the country, Global Voices has translated several Korean blog posts on the topic. Both companies are becoming increasingly formidable rivals to Cyworld and Naver’s me2DAY. To read more, and view data on Facebook's growth and demographics in over 160 countries around the world, please see Inside Facebook Gold. | |
| Facebook, Other Companies, Promote Green Efforts on Facebook Posted: 04 Nov 2010 12:26 PM PDT Today, Facebook announced the launch of its Green on Facebook Page, a place the company hopes to highlight environmentally-focused efforts. The Page currently has about 9,000 Likes and information about Facebook's corporate green and energy efficiency programs, as well as links to its green partners. While Facebook is already home to other environmental efforts, the company itself has made a renewed effort to frame itself as environmentally conscious. That effort might be in part a reaction — environmental activist group Greenpeace has been waging a campaign to criticize the company for using partly coal-derived electricity to power its servers. In addition to launching the Green Page, Facebook noted in a press release that the company recently partnered with Alliance to Save Energy and donated $500,000 in advertising to promote Living Efficiently. It has also has continued to write detailed technical posts on mechanisms it has in place to save energy at its various data facilities, with the latest coming out yesterday.
So what’s the issue? The particular grid Facebook is on at its big new Oregon center does rely somewhat more heavily on coal (58%) than the national average (50%), but the company has countered by pointing out that the climate and its own practices help reduce overall energy consumption. Does Facebook deserve the special criticism from Greenpeace because of its use of coal-based power? Pollution from coal power is a global problem that millions of energy consumers are contributing to — Greenpeace knows what it’s doing in picking its target. Facebook is a global company, known and used by more than 500 billion users, and is itself is a valuable medium for rallying people around causes. Corporate Environmental Responsibility MarketingFacebook isn't the only corporate entity to take its green message to Facebook — lots of big companies are doing so, too. Cisco, Clorox and NBC Universal also have created green Pages on Facebook to promote their environmental efforts and green products and practices. Green is Universal is run by NBC Universal to encourage their 8,100 Facebook fans to adopt green habits, especially with a new application — Make Green Count — set for release this weekend. The app aims to help NBC consumers figure out how to be more green with simple changes to their lifestyle and then share these stories on the Green is Universal Page. Some Facebook users will receive coupons for their efforts, too, and the company is also hoping to raise monies for wildlife restoration through the Page.
Clorox has created a Page for its Green Works line of natural cleaning products and has more than 99,000 Likes. The Page offers cleaning tips, information and opportunities for fan interaction; the company is very active in conversation with Facebook fans on the Wall. Clorox is taking the opportunity to promote its products here, preview products, provide safety information, get feedback and help users participate in green-related sweepstakes. Cisco's One Million Acts of Green has a Facebook Page that is part of a larger web effort aimed at preventing climate change. The Page's 1,400 fans have a chance to make a pledge to be more green themselves, take polls, learn tips and generally get involved.
Greenpeace itself provides a quality counterpoint to corporate environmental marketing efforts, in that it has done a smart job of harnessing Facebook users around its campaigns. It has Pages in multiple countries and the Greenpeace International Page has 671,000 Likes — a notably higher number than company-driven green Pages. The group's landing Page is a tab called Unfriend Coal that asks visitors to urge Facebook to stop using coal-generated power. And it has previous successes, like its efforts to pressure confectioner Nestle to move away from environmentally-damaging palm oil suppliers. | |
| ISA 2011: How Will Small and Medium Social Game and App Developers Grow on Facebook Next Year? Posted: 04 Nov 2010 09:30 AM PDT
A few big social game developers, like Zynga and Playfish, might seem to be the big winners on the Facebook Platform so far. But there is both a range of successful smaller gaming companies and a healthy group of non-gaming applications doing well alongside the biggest players. In fact, even as the largest incumbents have lost users or stayed flat over the past year, many others have grown. Fueled by Facebook’s ongoing expansion around the world, improving social game and app product quality, and increasingly sophisticated techniques of making money through virtual goods, the ecosystem is continuing to offer opportunities to smaller players and newer entrants. Here’s a quick look at some of the lesser known companies that have been building successful social app and game businesses on Facebook this past year. But how will small and medium developers grow in 2011, given the rising cost of user acquisition and changes to Facebook’s viral channels in 2010? We’ll be examining what these and other developers have done to make their applications succeed despite a changing platform environment at Inside Social Apps InFocus 2011, our January conference looking at opportunities and uncertainties affecting social apps and games. 6 Waves Kabam Booyah Digital Chocolate Wooga Microsoft RootMusic There are a long list of other developers that have made notable breakthroughs this year, ranging from established app developers who have transitioned to focus on social gaming, to others who have carved out user bases for other types of niches - Slide, RockYou, LOLapps, MindJolt, Popcap, Causes, iLike, TripAdvisor, 50 Cubes, ZipZapPlay, and more. The Inside Social Apps agenda will cover the most salient issues facing developers of all sizes, including monetization on Facebook in a world shaped by Credits, emerging trends in mobile gaming, and the promise and opportunity of other social platforms. Join us at ISA on January 25, 2011 to learn and connect alongside today’s leading entrepreneurs working in social apps and games. Who’s Speaking?We're honored to present the following confirmed speakers at Inside Social Apps InFocus 2011:
Register Now
Inside Social Apps takes place on January 25, 2011, and a full agenda will be announced shortly. Keep an eye on InsideSocialApps.com for more information. | |
| The Facebook Global Monitor, November 2010 Edition, is Now Available Posted: 04 Nov 2010 08:28 AM PDT
The Facebook Global Monitor is our data report tracking Facebook's audience growth around the world, and now includes an expanded leaderboard and country profiles for over 60 new country markets that are seeing Facebook adoption and growth. The Global Monitor tracks Facebook’s international metrics, and provides both historical data and forward-looking projections to enable developers, marketers, and analysts to spot trends and opportunities. Each month, the Facebook Global Monitor provides the latest comprehensive data on the expansion of Facebook's audience in approximately 100 global markets. It also includes alerts on breakout and cooling markets, and our latest in-house projections on Facebook's growth in each country 30 days, 90 days, and 12 months into the future. See the full table of contents below. All data in the report are based on primary research by Inside Network using data from Facebook, and each section is designed to elucidate key actionable trends. In addition to the Facebook Global Monitor, membership to Inside Facebook Gold includes monthly editions of the Global Monitor, in addition to access to our other data reports on Facebook’s top languages, user demographics, and more. We believe big opportunities exist for developers and marketers to reach and engage the Facebook audience in these rapidly emerging and expanding markets. As always, we’ll continue to use data from the Facebook Global Monitor data as a foundation for our global growth coverage here on Inside Facebook, but if you’re looking for even more numbers, please check out Inside Facebook Gold.
Tracking Facebook in Global Markets November 2010 Contents I. Introduction: The Year That Facebook Went Global II. Global Market Report 1. Audience Size Today 2. Fastest Growing Audience
3. Market Penetration Today 4. Largest Market Penetration Increases
III. Emerging Market Analysis 1. Growth Projections
2. Technical Alerts
IV. Regional Summaries 1. Africa 2. Asia / Pacific 3. Europe 4. North America 5. South America V. Major Country Market Updates 1. Argentina 2. Australia 3. Austria 4. Bahamas 5. Bahrain 6. Bangladesh 7. Belgium 8. Bolivia 9. Bosnia & Herzegovina 10. Brazil 11. Bulgaria 12. Canada 13. Chile 14. China 15. Colombia 16. Costa Rica 17. Croatia 18. Cyprus 19. Czech Republic 20. Denmark 21. Dominican Republic 22. Ecuador 23. Egypt 24. El Salvador 25. Finland 26. France 27. Germany 28. Ghana 29. Greece 30. Guatemala 31. Honduras 32. Hong Kong 33. Hungary 34. Iceland 35. India 36. Indonesia 37. Ireland 38. Israel 39. Italy 40. Jamaica 41. Japan 42. Jordan 43. Kenya 44. Kuwait 45. Lebanon 46. Lithuania 47. Luxembourg 48. Macedonia 49. Malaysia 50. Maldives 51. Malta 52. Mauritius 53. Mexico 54. Morocco 55. Netherlands 56. New Zealand 57. Nicaragua 58. Nigeria 59. Norway 60. Oman 61. Pakistan 62. Palestine 63. Panama 64. Paraguay 65. Peru 66. Philippines 67. Poland 68. Portugal 69. Puerto Rico 70. Qatar 71. Romania 72. Russia 73. Saudi Arabia 74. Serbia 75. Singapore 76. Slovakia 77. Slovenia 78. South Africa 79. South Korea 80. Spain 81. Sri Lanka 82. Sweden 83. Switzerland 84. Taiwan 85. Thailand 86. Trinidad and Tobago 87. Tunisia 88. Turkey 89. Ukraine 90. United Arab Emirates 91. United Kingdom 92. United States 93. Uruguay 94. Venezuela 95. Vietnam VI. Emerging Country Market Updates 1. Afghanistan 2. Albania 3. Algeria 4. Angola 5. Antigua 6. Armenia 7. Azerbaijan 8. Bahrain 9. Belarus 10. Belize 11. Benin 12. Bhutan 13. Botswana 14. Brunei 15. Burkina Faso 16. Cambodia 17. Cameroon 18. Democratic Republic of Congo 19. Republic of the Congo 20. Djibouti 21. Dominica 22. Fiji 23. Gabon 24. The Gambia 25. Georgia 26. Grenada 27. Guyana 28. Haiti 29. Kazakhstan 30. Kyrgyzstan 31. Laos 32. Lesotho 33. Liechtenstein 34. Macedonia 35. Madagascar 36. Malawi 37. Maldives 38. Mali 39. Malta 40. Mauritania 41. Moldova 42. Monaco 43. Mongolia 44. Montenegro 45. Mozambique 46. Namibia 47. Nepal 48. Niger 49. Papua New Guinea 50. Rwanda 51. Saint Kitts and Nevis 52. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 53. San Marino 54. Senegal 55. Seychelles 56. Sierra Leone 57. Suriname 58. Swaziland 59. Tanzania 60. Pakistan 61. Togo Join to download the report at Inside Facebook Gold. | |
| Facebook Wins Another News Feed Patent Posted: 04 Nov 2010 07:50 AM PDT
Facebook has won a patent for creating a personalized feed of stories for its users, giving the company its seventh this year. It’s the second news feed related patent the company has been awarded so far. You can see the approved patent filing here. The patent covers how Facebook presents status updates with multiple friends involved (see the drawing excerpted from the patent above). So for example, it might cover how Facebook shows in a news feed story that a friend attended a concert with a few other friends or added a photo to another friend’s profile. When Facebook originally filed for the patent in the fall of 2006, it was just a month before the company launched its news feed. It argued at the time that as more and more users joined the social network, the amount of information it would produce would become overwhelming. So the company needed a way to consolidate and organize the most important items for each person, especially if it involved several of their friends. Facebook also won a second patent this week for how it confirms whether a user is part of a group, workplace or school. The company began collecting patents earlier this year, more than four years after it started applying for them. It also paid about $40 million to acquire very early social networking patents originally given to Friendster. Like Google, Facebook seems to acquire patents defensively, instead of using them to pressure other companies to desist or pay license fees. The company hasn’t publicly instigated any patent disputes yet, unlike more famously litigious Silicon Valley companies such as Apple. Founder Mark Zuckerberg alluded to this strategy in an interview last month with TechCrunch, when the blog asked him about its recently awarded patent on location-enabled status updates. While he wouldn’t comment on Facebook’s approach to IP rights directly, he did say:
When Facebook eventually comes to the public markets for an initial public offering, it will want to ensure that other companies can’t make intellectual property claims and sue it for licensing revenues. That said, it is a different story when it comes to trademarks. Facebook has been quite active in pressuring developers or marketers from using the company font or the words “Face” or “Book” too egregiously. |
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