Riding the Storm
MySpace moves to limit spammy applications … just like Facebook did
MySpace may once again start to take action against third party applications that disrupt the user experience (or their revenue streams), it seems. Back before MySpace Platform this was limited to the occasional widget provider that got out of line. But third parties now have a broad arsenal of features to attack users and get additional installations and clicks. Messaging users is among the most effective, and most annoying.
Cofounder Tom Anderson is making a rare blogging appearance on the MySpace Developer blog this evening - outlining changes to their developer guidelines regarding how third party applications can communicate with users.
This is a a problem that Facebook has had to deal with extensively, including early changes to their platform to limit what we called “black hat” activity by application developers. Facebook has continued to refine the rules over time, but has also shown that they are willing to break their own rules when revenue is at stake.
MySpace has added a new section the guidelines called “Application Communications.” Specifically, applications are now restricted:
- No incentives may be given to a member for sending a message, bulletin, comment, or any other form of communication. This includes “points,” “bucks,” increased standing, or even features within the app.
- It must be very clear to a member what they are sending, when they are sending communication. “Share with friends” is not sufficient messaging, the link must state “send comment,” “send bulletin,” and so on.
- The “no popups” rule we have had in place since day one applies to messaging windows. This means no more popping up a messaging window the first time someone tries to use an app. No popping up messaging windows without a user clicking on a very clearly marked link.
Source
TechCrunch
Distributed media … it’s the new black
According to brand marketers (blue) and agency leaders/publishers (white), the new black in interactive media is distributed media like widgets. Results come from a study fielded to attendees at the 2008 iMedia Brand Summit in Coconut Point, Fla.
Widgets are one of the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to pick up your brand and distribute it across the web. More and more marketers are finding that if you build a dynamite website, people will not necessarily come and that instead, you must bring your content to where your customers spend time online, be it on sites like Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, or other special interest sites.
Source
iMedia Connection
Excellent post on what openness means on the various social networks
Over on Marc Canter’s blog. As Marc explains, data portability is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case ... varies considerably depending on which social network you are talking about. You can read his excellent analysis here:
http://blog.broadbandmechanics.com/2008/05/the-religion-of-bringing-social-to-software
If the entry gives you a headache - as it does me - imagine how hard it is to develop widgets that tightly integrate into the social graph at each and every social network and you get some idea of the complexity we deal with daily here at MuseStorm. OpenSocial - is starting to force definition of social graph APIs - but the standard is still too new and too loose. Even as the standard get mature and tightens up experience tells us that each social network will continue to advance and enhance its functionality ... making integration an ongoing challenge.
Brand new website (and blog)
They’re have been some changes at MuseStorm of late ... and more changes are on there way for May. In preparation for this, we’ve updated our corporate website and the blog with a new look and feel and site architecture. Watch this space for more details on new product announcements which will be forthcoming later this month.
Viral loops
Great article over on Andrew Chan’s blog defining viral loops. Viral loops are hot right now, thanks to a recent Fast Company article featuring Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning, on the cover. We love the concept behind Ning (80,000 social networks, 80,000 opportunities to place our widgets!) but many of the networks are small and self contained, which makes them less than ideal for marketing widgets, where the idea is to spread them far and wide and for that you need the depth of Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, or at least Dogster. If you don’t have the patience to read through the article at Fast Company, Andrew’s article is on point and a remarkable fast read.
Relevant Links
Fast Company article
Andrew Chan’s post on viral loops
On the Significance of Social Applications for Social Networks
Silicon Alley Insider posted about the February Social Networking stats from ComScore today.
The big news: Facebook now has more unique users worldwide then MySpace. This is truly amazing, considering that a year ago MySpace had 4 times the users!
What caused this tremendous growth over the past 12 months? Facebook’s opening of the platform for 3rd party applications - social applications. These applications spurred huge growth through enabling users to really interact with their friends on Facebook, making Facebook a unique network, one worth while joining and participating in.
Nothing demonstrates the power of social applications and taking advantage of the full power of the platform (the social network) more then these stats. For marketers and advertisers, this is a wake call: if you are planing to engage with your audience on Facebook (or any other open social network like Bebo and Hi5), you better utilize the full power the platform has to offer. Those who resort to using the same old Flash-based widgets will see dismal results and miss out on the opportunity to really connect with their users.
MuseStorm at OMMA Today!
Michael Cartsonis, director of client services at MuseStorm, will be speaking today at the OMMA Expo in LA.
Michael will be speaking in a panel about “Widgetizing BT”, leveraging the data available in social networks for widgets to generate successful campaigns.
Here’s a link to the panel, enjoy!
The Future of the Web
Steve Rubel has an excellent short post about the future of the web. Here’s the last paragraph:
“...But everyone - including marketers - will need to think of their online brands not as sites but as portable services that can go anywhere and everywhere the consumer wants. Without such appendages, no brand will ever be able to break through the online clutter such unlimited choice offers.”
MuseStorm’s vision exactly.
For marketers our advice is simple: think of your brand message as a web service, and let it spread.
Read the full post here.
FastCompany Magazine Selects MuseStorm Widget to “10 Widget Wonders”
FastCompany magazine ran an article profiling “10 Widget Wonders”. The second widget profiled is the BookVideos.tv widget, launched on the MuseStorm platform by Simon & Schuster!
Simon & Schuster are a great partner, doing some really ground-breaking work with widgets and social networking applications. The combination of their content and fresh thinking generates a great outcome.
You can read the article here, and grab the widget here.
MySpace Developer Platform Offers More Sophistication
Jim Benedetto, VP of Technology at MySpace, outlined the work-in-progress MySpace Development Platform (MDA) yesterday at the Graphing Social Platform conference.
One specific detail in the presentation has caught my attention: “User homepage surface”. Most social networks provide two “surfaces”, profile and canvas. Both of these are public and can be viewed by all users who view a user’s social networking page.
The user homepage surface, on the other hand is a private application surface that only the owner of the profile has access to. This allows applications to present the user with private data when accessed by the owner of the page, while presenting public data on the profile and canvas pages.
This more sophisticated approach will resonate well with companies looking to build long-lasting relations with end users on MySpace. By allowing the application to present private information, stronger personalization can be facilitated, driving engagement and commitment.
You can read more about the presentation here.