Earlier this week, Dogpatch Labs was featured on VentureBeat. Assistant Editor Anthony Ha visited Dogpatch Labs San Francisco, met several of the entrepreneurs / teams, and sat down for an short tour and interview. In the video, I am joined by David Hegarty of Hollrr:
After the article went live, it managed to become a "Popular" article on Digg and reach the homepage:
Earlier this week, MyTown released version 2.1 of their wildly popular mobile gaming app (unfortunately there is still no level 41). In addition to some very slick UI enhancements and clever game mechanics (such as scratch lottery tickets that are rewarded every 30-minutes) - they released integrated local ad campaigns. ... and they timed that launch with a Facebook sponsored ad campaign that echoes the same messaging and products as the MyTown focus: "The Blues":
Previously, MyTown ran ads for local franchises like Red Mango: the stores were highlighted in local listings and discounts were provided to those who either owned the property or checked-in. In version 2.1, MyTown released a far more integrated campaign for clothing store H&M. In addition to features used with Red Mango, they fully integrated H&M in the gameplay ... using the same functionality and game-mechanics that make MyTown so popular to lift H&M's brand. Here are a handful of examples.
1. Location awareness. H&M products and integrations only appear when the store is relatively close.
2. Once you check-in, you can get discounts and dynamic ads:
3. When you check-in to H&M (and other locations), you can earn H&M bonuses and virtual goods:
4. Integrated gameplay. Every so often, you unlock functionality that is branded H&M - like this scratch card:
As seen in the below screenshots, Facebook Widgets now feature and play video in-line (although I am not entirely sure that this is a new release - it is my first exposure to it). These are examples from Zynga's Farmville.com - which features a Farmville Fan Widget. The widget has:
- logo - become a fan button - Farmville's feed - Farmville's fans (22.5m!) Notice that the latest newsfeed post has a video play button. Here are two examples, both of which play the video in-line: Facebook Video and YouTube. You will notice that it is still a little funky as the videos are not sized corrrectly for the widget's widget / height. Nevertheless, it makes the widget far more interactive:
Facebook Video: Example
YouTube Video: Example
According to Compete, January marked the month where Facebook passed Google in visits and Yahoo in Uniques... both are major accomplishments. Even if Compete's data is not directly tracked - this is important directionally. In December, Facebook inched above Google in visits (2.71b vs. 2.69b) - but January marks an actual gap: 2.87b to 2.78b. The other impressive feat is that Facebook's growth rate maintains its (almost-linear) strength. Google's visits continues to grow, but it is clearly slower; their uniques have seen growth over the last couple months, but May - November was relatively flat. Meanwhile, Yahoo visits are flat and uniques are declining. It is also worth noting that Facebook is the top referral site of Google... meaning that many of Google's visits lead directly to Facebook visits (as is the in-and-out model of search). Google is the second largest referral site from Facebook - Yahoo is the largest.
Facebook vs. Google: Visits
Facebook vs. Google vs. Yahoo: Visits
Closeup of Visits: Facebook Passes Google
Facebook vs. Google vs. Yahoo: Uniques
I am very frustrated with Microsoft Outlook - particularly the calendar... which, for every scheduling / meeting exchange, requires one to switch between inbox and calendar. As a calendar fills up, this becomes more and more cumbersome - and ineffective. It is a root of daily pain - and for those around me, complaining. So I posed the question to Facebook and Twitter: what are great examples of plugins that make Microsoft Outlook more efficient / effective:
Here is the solution I have gone with (at least thus far). It shows just how frustrated I am - since it is a lot of work - and, to Jon Steinberg's point above, it shows the role Google plays in all of this:
1. I set up a sync for my Outlook Calendar with Gmail. It works both ways and is quite easy to set up (see here).... I wish they did this for contacts too!
2. Using Google Chrome, I installed the Google Calendar Checker w/ Popup. It displays your calendar as a Chrome extension and shows appointments, dates, etc all within a drop down.
This works great if you use dual monitors and have email and browser on separate screens. It's better than Outlook on a single screen (even this small laptop) - but is still not ideal. At least it allows you to navigate the calendar (particularly by date) without having to lose your inbox position.
It was a big week for Facebook Credits:- Facebook Apps that Exclusively Use Credits Now Featured on Games Dashboard (Friday) - Facebook’s Increasing Focus on Credits Prompts Developer Speculation (Thursday) - PayPal Integration Shows Facebook Wants to Play in Currency, Partner for Payments (Thursday)
Today I noticed a premium Facebook ad from the popular game Happy Island (I believe) that specifically focuses on Facebook Credits. Interesting because the marketing is entirely around Facebook Credits - which suggests that Credits themselves are effective at clickthroughs and conversions. Of course it might also be that Credits give the appearance of more direct Facebook integration or support and therefore garner more user interest:
When you click through, you land directly on the Happy Island page and realize how hard developers must fight for user actions. Much of the viewable screen is taken over by a request for your email address and then for a positive review (particularly common in iPhone Apps). Considering Happy Island has 12,000,000+ actives, you have to believe they are savvy enough to have determined that these placements are more effective upfront than after a player has become engaged in the game:
The article "Can You Trust a Facebook Profile?" describes the "surprising truth" that "Overall people were remarkably honest in representing themselves":
People were honest—we don't read those words often enough.
In line with other findings, this study found that, when looking at a stranger's profile for the first time, some aspects of personality are more difficult to discern. Neuroticism in others is particularly difficult to gauge, whereas people find extraversion and openness to experience relatively easily to assess, even in strangers.
This study is another blow for that old stereotype that the web is some kind of scary hinterland, an untrustworthy place where anything goes and nothing is what it appears, peopled by adolescent boys pretending to be anything but adolescent boys.
More than the actual findings, I am intrigued by the surprise that the author had (PsyBlog) and that we clearly have in reading it (it is atop Techmeme and a Tweetmeme).
I have long thought that key to online honesty and general good behavior is tying activity to real identities. There is a major difference between what you are willing to do behind a handle (like a message board or chat name) and what you are willing to do on a site that is connected to your identity (ie Facebook, PayPal, etc). It is even more pronounced when the identity is fully public. For instance, I believe you are now less likely to misbehave of Facebook now that content is increasingly public, URLs are indexable and you have a personalized domain (ie http://facebook.com/ryanspoon).
For years I have gotten the question about beRecruited (a college recruiting network that I founded in 2000 - now with 750,000+ athletes): "how do you police athlete's 'resumes' and results?"
My answer is simple: because athletes register with their actual name and personal information (school, coach, guidance counselor, etc), it self-regulates. Sure an athlete can falsify results - just as anyone can on their resume - but such actions have life-long implications and are easily disproved. For example, this is what keeps LinkedIn clean and makes it so effective.
I have been asked several times recently for great Facebook Connect presentations and takeaways from our Dogpatch Labs / Facebook event (which you see here). Below are a handful of great presentations and demos. Any others that I have missed?
The Facebook Connect Makeover from Facebook Connect on Vimeo.
A very busy, productive week for Dogpatch Labs residents across the various locations. In the last few days, fivecompanies have gotten great coverage for their launching products: - Hollrr (San Francisco): Hollrr Takes Foursquare’s Badge Strategy, Pins It To Social Product Discovery - Cardpool (San Francisco): CardPool Wants To Buy And Sell Your Unused Gift Cards
- FanPulse (San Francisco): Trash Talk With Friends With FanPulse
- ScoopStreet (New York): Group Buying, Better Together
- GoodCrush (New York): Googlers Can Finally Find Their Parisian Love with GoogleCrush