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Inside Facebook

Inside Facebook

Facebook roundup: IPO lawsuits, executive departure, Help Center, China and more

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:30 PM PDT

IPO lawsuits to be combined and heard in NY – Dozens of lawsuits against Facebook, the NASDAQ exchange and IPO underwriters will be combined and heard by a federal judge in New York. Federal judges on Thursday ordered that the IPO-related cases be transferred to Manhattan. Some plaintiffs wanted to keep their cases in California, but Facebook requested the transfer, Reuters reports.

Facebook global communications VP to step down - Facebook Vice President of Global Communications Joe Lockhart is leaving the company after 15 months, AllThingsD reports. Lockhart previously served as communications secretary for President Bill Clinton and consulted for Microsoft, Verizon and Pfizer, among others. Lockhart is likely to continue in a consulting role for Facebook, but he wanted to stay on the East Coast rather than relocate to Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

Facebook redesigns Help Center – Facebook launched a redesigned Help Center this week with a focus on new features, privacy and other topics personalized based on how individuals use the site. For example, users not logged into Facebook might see information about how to create an account or tips on resetting their password. The site also highlights frequently asked questions and Facebook Pages users can Like to get tips and feature announcements.

U.K. considers Facebook login for public services – The U.K. Cabinet Office may use Facebook as part of its Identity Assurance program to help people sign into online public services without the need for an ID card, according to ZDNet. Social media banking and mobile phone companies are being considered to provide secure login mechanisms for private-sector services. “Facebook and people like that are potential providers,” a spokesman for the Cabinet Office said. The office will choose later this month.

Researcher estimates 63.5M Facebook users in China – About 63.5 million users in China are using Facebook, despite a ban on the social network in the country, according to London-based researcher GlobalWebIndex. The number is up from 7.9 million when China restricted access to the service in 2009. Blocked sites can be accessed through proxy services, which connect users to servers outside the country so they can visit sites that are filtered.

Zuckerberg visits Russia – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Russia this week, meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, appearing on a late night talk show and supporting Facebook’s Developer World Hack 2012, a talent recruitment effort. Facebook has fewer than 10 million users in Russia, compared to the local social network VKontakte, which has nearly 35 million users. ”Medvedev and Zuckerberg have discussed Facebook’s possible presence in Russia not only as a social network, but also as a company that deals with the most advanced products. They have also discussed Skolkovo as a place where startups could be of mutual interest,” said Natalya Timakova Medvedev’s press secretary.

Hug Me, Diggle, Bike Race, Twoo, Amazon, Take This Lollipop and more on this week’s emerging Facebook apps by MAU

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 02:08 PM PDT

RockYou!’s Hug Me led our list of emerging Facebook applications by monthly active users this week with 41 percent gain.

We define emerging applications as those that ended with between 100,000 and 1 million MAU in the past week. This week’s top apps grew between 110,000 and 230,000 MAU, based on AppData, our data tracking service covering traffic growth for apps on Facebook.

Top Gainers This Week

Name MAU Gain Gain %
1.  Hug Me 820,000 +240,000   + 41%
2.  Diggle 270,000 +210,000   + 350%
3.  Bike Race 700,000 +190,000   + 37%
4.  Twoo 670,000 +180,000   + 37%
5.  Vector 580,000 +160,000   + 38%
6.  Wordox 690,000 +160,000   + 30%
7.  Abrazotes! 260,000 +150,000   + 136%
8.  Amazon Sweepstakes 950,000 +130,000   + 16%
9.  The Fan Machine 330,000 +120,000   + 57%
10.  TakeThisLollipop 540,000 +120,000   + 29%
11.  JetSet Secrets 150,000 +100,000   + 200%
12.  Fan Fridays 110,000 +90,000   + 450%
13.  La Oca PlaySpace 120,000 +90,000   + 300%
14.  Sonar 490,000 +90,000   + 23%
15.  Oferece uma rosa 740,000 +90,000   + 14%
16.  CSI: Miami Heat Wave 230,000 +80,000   + 53%
17.  ABC.com 270,000 +80,000   + 42%
18.  Mobsters: Criminal Empire 370,000 +80,000   + 28%
19.  Custom Tab 1 610,000 +80,000   + 15%
20.  Smule 610,000 +80,000   + 15%

 

In addition to Hug Me, two other virtual gift apps made the list this week: No. 7 Abrazotes! and No. 15 Oferece uma rosa.

Several emerging apps were games: No. 2 Diggle, No. 3 Bike Race, No. 5 Vector, No. 6 Wordox, No. 11 JetSet Secrets, No. 13 La Oca PlaySpace, No. 16 CSI: Miami Heat Wave and No. 18 Mobsters: Criminal Empire.

The interactive Facebook Connect experience TakeThisLollipop, which first went viral in October 2011, is experiencing a resurgence likely because of Halloween approaching. The app, which incorporates a user’s profile information for a chilling effect, came in at No. 10 with an additional 120,000 users this week.

All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Stay tuned next week for our look at the top weekly gainers by monthly active users on Monday, the top weekly gainers by daily active users on Wednesday, and the top emerging apps on Friday.

ShopIgniter wants to make it OK for brands to post about products on Facebook

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:47 PM PDT

Social commerce company ShopIgniter this week announced Igniter 4.0, a platform aimed at helping retailers promote their products with rich posts that engage users and push them down the path to conversion.

ShopIgniter CMO Kevin Tate says Igniter aims to fill the gap in the social conversion funnel between awareness/discovery and e-commerce/in-store purchases. When retailers first got on Facebook, they tried to sell too hard and turned off users. Now they know engagement is important but they sometimes end up putting Likes, comments and shares ahead of business objectives.

Tate says companies need to create "more meaningful, deeper experiences with a product not just general engagement."

"Nike can't just say, 'Usain Bolt won the 100. What shoe do you want?'"

Tate says there are opportunities for companies to talk about products on their pages if they do so in a compelling way. ShopIgniter strives to do this through rich, customizable posts like interactive video showcases or limited-time storefronts with exclusive offers.

Igniter has four components: Promoter, Studio, Converter and Analyzer. Promoter is a publishing tool to post to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Studio is where marketers can create simple web apps that allow users to experience products through Facebook Timeline, microsites and mobile devices. Converter manages Facebook permissions, email collection, shopping carts, wishlists and other features on the path to checkout. Analyzer tracks reach, engagement, social amplification, referrals and conversions.

Tate says this is ShopIgniter's way of "casting a wider net" and helping retailers reach customers higher up in the purchase funnel, rather than focusing on the shopping side through tab applications, for example. He calls Igniter 4.0 an "end-to-end social promotion suite" with the added ability to publish to mobile and incorporate Open Graph actions.

ShopIgniter began in 2008, and raised $8 million in a series B round in 2011. Target, Nike, Disney, Omaha Steaks, Kaenon Polarized and others are customers.

lørdag den 6. oktober 2012 at 07.39