Tag Archives: Facebook features

5 fundamental things you must understand about Facebook

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facebookI’m not denying that Twitter is sexy. Something about those 140 characters is so alluring. Perhaps it’s the challenge of displaying wit and intellect in a soundbite.

I love Twitter, don’t get me wrong.

But I also find it interesting that during conversations I’ve had with people (journalists, politicos, public relations/communications professionals) about social media, they think Twitter first. There’s no doubt that there are some key influencers on Twitter.

The New York Times’ David Carr recently said at a Boston University recent conference on narrative:

‘Being big on Twitter is like being big in Japan. You can’t use it as a metric of your actual reach.’

Twitter may be a sexy flirt, but Facebook is a player.

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Product and its place in your Facebook timeline

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Photo: Pat McGrath/Ottawa Citizen

The products in our everyday world are as much a part of who we are as the friends we keep, according to Jordan Banks, the managing director of Facebook Canada.

For this reason, it’s as natural for brands to be a part of our Facebook timeline as important life events like marriage, the birth of a child, or a new career, he said Tuesday during a lunchtime address to The Canadian Club of Ottawa.

In his presentation titled ‘Organizations are better in a connected world,’ Banks spoke of the early days of Internet, which began as rudimentary browsing and searching. It has evolved, he said, into a domain filled with social context.

“It was all about search,” he said. “it had no social context; it was using an algorithm that had nothing to do with you.

“People want personalized, timely results that reflect who they are and what their friends are interested in,” he said.

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Why journalists can’t turn their noses up at Facebook

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You’re always a journalist, I believe. You can’t separate what you say from what you write.

For that reason, I’ve always been a fan of Facebook, but I’ve had trouble reconciling what it does (broadcasting an issue I’m having with a cheesecake recipe) and what I do (managing an online team and directing our social media and communities strategies). For that reason, I’ve been on Facebook, but I’ve always been very cautious about having friends, what I like, and what I share.

Not exactly the model of openness and sharing that Facebook was designed for.

Enter Vadim Lavrusik at this year’s Online News Association conference. Vadim works for Facebook now, as its Journalist Program Manager.  He made a presentation on Facebook for Journalists (surprise), and I realized we just can’t ignore Facebook. The stats are amazing:

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