Alison Driscoll

Finally got the Facebook chain letter hoax that had people so “worried.” Nearly 2 years ago. And, to be honest, I didn’t actually receive it, a profile I manage did. Nevertheless, my first reaction was to laugh–to myself though, this was not actual LOL quality humor. It was more of a smug, internal chuckle that people still believe these things and continue to pass them on without thinking, or out of fear that the big bad email will magically curse their love life or mysteriously delete their account.

Here’s what the Facebook message said:

Attention all Facebook members.
Facebook is recently becoming very overpopulated,
There have been many members complaining that Facebook
is becoming very slow.Record shows that the reason is
that there are too many non-active Facebook members
And on the other side too many new Facebook members.
We will be sending this messages around to see if the
Members are active or not,If you’re active please send
to 15 other users using Copy+Paste to show that you are active
Those who do not send this message within 2 weeks,
The user will be deleted without hesitation to create more space,
If Facebook is still overpopulated we kindly ask for donations but until then send this message to all your friends and make sure you send
this message to show me that your active and not deleted.

Founder of Facebook
Mark Zuckerber

My first thought: if this was really from Mark Zuckerberg (notice the misspelling of the supposed author’s own name), why didn’t he simply put it on everyone’s news feed? Or be annoying like Mr. MySpace, “Tom,” and send a message to everyone? Or post it on the Facebook blog?

My second thought, as I pasted this here and actually read it more carefully, was who would believe something so poorly written and edited came from a legitimate company? The structure and wording of these chain letters is what is almost always a dead giveaway that they are, in fact, fakes. And while a well done hoax can be amusing, even if you get taken by it, a poorly executed fake is just annoying.

Facebook used to be immune to chain letter shenanigans, fake friend requests and hacked wall postings but I’ve noticed a lot more of this MySpace-like behavior lately. There are a lot of people talking about the subtle shift on Twitter, and Facebook groups and apps against this Fbook spam trend are popping up.

The “Stop Facebook Chain Letters” app caught my eye, but I wonder if this just perpetuates their reach by keeping people talking about them. If you are so annoyed by an email forward or Facebook chain letter and talk about it or install an app, even to say how you much you hate it, you have still helped it spread. This app only makes more people aware that these chain letters exist, and, assuming this was the creator’s intention, are doing their job of annoying people. To that end, this post is further spreading the hoax as well.

Dan Zarrella talks about the viral nature of content and why people forward chain letters in his series of Protoviral posts. His research has shown that “those who typically forward chain letters are typically less savvy users” and, essentially, do not know any better.

My question is, are chain letters and rumors inevitable as something becomes more popular? And why didn’t I see this until now, and never on my own profile? Is that a testament to the types of users on Facebook? Are we seeing Facebook become overrun by chain letters and spam accounts because it has reached a certain level of popularity, or because it’s time as the “it” site has run out and it’s now fallen prey to the same antics as MySpace?

‘Cuz I can totally see someone, hammered, having this incredible revelation that “we should advertise on the moon!” And then sobering it into Rolling Rock’s Moonvertising promotion.

I drove by the Boston Moonvertising billboard several times (it’s on my way to work) before I remembered to Google the term. I’ll admit I was duped into thinking some ridiculously cheesy advertising/technology company was going to try to buy/sell ad space on the moon. Yep, look up “gullible” and you’ll find my picture. In my defense, I drive too fast and don’t have the greatest eyesight, so I couldn’t really make out the logo.

But I did go to the site eventually, so their old-school outdoor ad worked. Kind of.

The Moonvertising site dropped the ball, in a lot of ways. It’s slow, kind of confusing, and not nearly as cool as I’d hoped. A lot of hype, not a lot of hip. I like where they’re going with the full moon parties, but they’re only in 3 states (I think; the scrolling action was really bad) and I’m not driving to Jersey for a beer I don’t really have any affinity for.

But, I love the Rolling Rock brand for trying, so I stayed on the site and hoped it delivered the cool factor I so desperately was waiting for. It didn’t. Just a few not-so-funny videos and the amusing realization that people think they are actually going to try to beam their logo onto the moon. With lasers. (Insert Austin Powers joke here.)

I love them for trying, and the creativity is great, but the website is disappointing, to say the least. They obviously wanted to create a viral campaign that would get people talking (there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether they will attempt a Moonvertisement on March 21st; my guess is no).

I realized I’ve started analyzing TV rather than watching it, which has totally changed my viewing behavior. I’m all about the TV/internet integration/cross promotion (apologies for the excess slashing) a la (anyone know how to do accents in WordPress?) QuarterLife, Lost and Greek. I also am loving/scrutinizing LipStick Jungle, but not for the internet bit as much.

I’m still on the fence about QuarterLife, ‘cuz the main character, Dylan, is super annoying, at least to me. Totally think her Pilot Ep opener was one of the major reasons the show tanked on NBC and got pulled after that one episode. Watch it and try to tell me that doesn’t make you want to change the channel. Online you can skip or jump around; on TV, you’re stuck cringing (unless you had the forethought to DVR the show) or changing the channel. And that was a death sentence for QuarterLife. Bye-bye internet-TV crossover.

I don’t actually watch Lost, but they do some cool stuff with the internet, including fictional sites that pretend Oceanic 815 is a real plane (and airline), provide clues and further the show. There’s also a Lostpedia and an Alternate Reality Game (ARG), stuff that’s way over my head but reminds me of my brief obsession with LonelyGirl15.

Greek is a cheesy ABC Family show that I forgot to watch after one or two episodes. However, it’s back for Season 2 so I guess they didn’t need my viewership. It’s of interest to me not so much for the quality of the program (Scott Michael Foster is a cutie though, and very lovable on QuarterLife) but its internet tie-in, VirtualRush, where you can “rush” online and interact with the show.

LipStick Jungle is my only “must-see-TV” right now, but not for any great internet relevance, more on the marketing side. Maybelline is doing an old-school sponsorship promotion (”presented by” and all that) and plugging their new products–hard–in the most flagrant product placement I’ve ever seen. However, I think LipStick Jungle has huge potential in this niche, if they can just tone it down a little. Nearly everything mentioned in Sex & the City took off; at least a little of that magic must be left.

Coincidently, Quarterlife is doing some great product placement with Toyota Scions. Moral of this post? Everything can be traced back to QuarterLife? Not quite, but I respect what the creators are trying to do. And if you can make me watch despite wanting to smack your main character, that’s saying something.

So a little while ago (like, literally 5 minutes ago) I’m doing my morning Facebook check to see what my friends have been up to in the last 9 hours or so (Greg wants to be my friend, Courtney wants to see the ballet and 12 more of my sorority sisters are attending chapter dinner tonight, if you’re interested), when I had the greatest idea ever: Christmas decorations for Facebook.

There are a few apps that have their own take on this idea, but it’s the standard tree or decorations constrained by a box. It’s the same problem that has plagued developers since Facebook opened up its platform; applications must fit inside a small box on the left or right side of the profile. This has stifled the creativity of many Facebook developers, but I never fully understood how frustrating it was until I realized I could not spread holiday cheer to my Facebook profile.

However, being a very festive person, I persisted in my search, but to no avail. All the Christmas apps were made by outside sources, so they were subject to the same restrictions. The only apps that have the potential to go outside the boundaries of the box are those designed by Facebook itself.

And so I am begging, pleading, suggesting, hinting, challenging Facebook to make a special, limited edition holiday decoration application that will let me string garland and holly and shiny stars around my profile. Or maybe put a huge tree along one side, or a little snow village along the bottom. I want to decorate my profile the way you decorate a house. No one I know puts a candle in one window and calls it festive; you put candles in all the windows, and garland around the trim, and a wreath on the door.

Many people spend as much time on Facebook as they do in their dorm or house or apartment, so why shouldn’t we be able to decorate our online home as we would our real home? Macy’s has a very strong brand identity and image, but they decorate for the holidays. Let Facebook spread some cheer.

I am confident that this would catch on like crazy, so I’m calling on Facebook employees to help me. Leah Pearlman, Andrew Bosworth, Jared Morgenstern, Dave Morin, Joe Hewitt, Randi Zuckerberg. Chris Hughes and of course Mark Zuckerberg to develop a profile decorator for the holidays. Call it an early gift to all those loyal users who so naughtily sneak on Facebook all day at work…and so nicely blog about how Facebook is so much better than MySpace.

Here’s a really cool example of niche and viral marketing at work. Geek Flirt, a new dating site specifically geared towards geeks, is using every type of internet marketing tool to promote itself to scores of self-proclaimed online “geeks” who flock to sites like Digg and Facebook.

Geek Flirt is offering free Geek Flirt lip gloss to new users who sign up now. I joined, since I recently came out as a geek, and the packaging on the gloss is really cute. It’s cherry flavored, which I usually don’t like (I’m a mint girl), but this one doesn’t taste like cough syrup so it’s good.

The GeekFlirter Facebook App (sign in to Facebook to add) and Geek Flirt Lolcat Maker are fun little additions to the site, so even if you don’t find your geek god or goddess, it’s still fun. Check it out, Digg the promotion and get a free GeekGloss that promises to make your dates  “end a little bit smoother.”

Oh yeah, and I helped come up with the idea, so if those weren’t enough reasons, do it to support my ego.

As I’m sure most people have figure out, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which, in my opinion, is simply a marketing ploy to sell women more stuff and make them feel less guilty about it. Don’t get me wrong, I fully support breast cancer research and awareness-I just don’t think that’s what this campaign is really about.

Every year, retailers cash in on philanthropic females with a propensity for pink. Call me cynical if you want, but 10% of proceeds for one month on one randomly rose-hued item is not a very sizeable charitable contribution for most major brands. So really what they’re doing is making a whole bunch of normal stuff pink to designate them as breast cancer donation items, when in fact they are simply marketing to a large segment of the population who will buy anything because it’s pink, and have been tricked into thinking they are supporting a good cause.

So that’s my issue with using breast cancer to sell useless consumer products. Now, on to a much better use of your hard-earned money and our beloved internet-the Design-her-Gals Virtual Breast Cancer Walk. This walk benefits the Gal to Gal Foundation, which uses the funds to improve the lives of women diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, the most advanced and invasive type of breast cancer.

The Gal-to-Gal walk does several things very well, for fundraising and for the internet. First, they kept the donation low-$3 to register, with the option to donate more. Definitely doable for anybody with internet access.

Second, they created a virtual event, one of the next big things for the internet. These are really cool when they’re done well, really easy and very viral. Basically, a marketing hat trick. I’ve been pushing one of these types of events at the 9-to-5er, and this walk definitely validated my ideas.

Third, they made the site highly interactive and fun, encouraging people to come back every day to learn trivia on the city they’re “walking” through and search for friends, real or virtual. Both of these features give the site high word of mouth potential, which also raises their fundraising potential.

Finally, Gal-to-Gal cashed in on the avatar craze, a key part of any virtual event. Designing a little mini-you is fun; just look at the popularity of the South Park character generator or the Simpsons avatar creator. People love to look at themselves, and this is just another expression of that. Or, you can think of it as paper dolls for grown ups.

Either way, anything that lets people create virtual versions of themselves is almost sure to be a hit. Combine that with some social interaction and a cause people can get behind, and you have a nearly sure-fire marketing plan. The true test is whether it works in the real…er, virtual…world.

The problem with traditional advertising is that, well, it’s traditional, which is a synonym for old (look it up if you don’t believe me), and as such it gives you the same old results. Advertisers today are faced with the challenge of marketing their products and services in a way that doesn’t scream “I’m trying to sell you something!” Advertising needs to be fresh, and, if done well, hardly considered advertising at all.

Enter the internet (I know, surprise, surprise, right?) and the wonderful world of viral and word of mouth marketing. The internet allows (really, demands) so many more types of media than print or television advertising can present. Potential customers and clients can interact with current users and explore new products before they commit to them, taking the “try it before you buy it” gimmick to a whole new level.

The challenge is finding a way to present something that is not inherently fun, or interesting, or sexy in a way that makes it seem like that is exactly what it is; internet advertising is all about covertly shaping perceptions. Sure, this is what all advertising tries to do, but good internet marketing sneaks in the side door, where traditional advertising just keeps banging away at the front like everyone else.

Take Kraft Easy Mac for example. Macaroni and Cheese (well-known and loved, but boring) that can be microwaved (quick and delicious, but par for the course in today’s instant gratification, no-effort-please culture). Definitely not sexy, or even particularly fun after the first time. However, DraftFCB  were able to help propel Easy Mac from ho-hum microwaveable munchies to highly interactive internet entertainment.

The U-Starvin website is specifically aimed at college students, who are known to be microwave masters. The site allows visitors to virtually microwave all the stuff your mother always told you not to, like crayons, marshmallows and…a pineapple? Whatever mom told you (or didn’t), the site is pretty cool and a much safer way to experiment (if you don’t have infinite time to waste, at least nuke the foam and Christmas lights, they’re worth watching).

Kraft went even further in targeting this demographic by partnering with CollegeHumour.com for a series of “Really Frugal Gourmet” webisodes. These didn’t have the staying power of the U-Starvin site, I think because they brought the focus back to the product and are too commercial-y. The draw of the U-Starvin campaign (if you can call it that) is that it completely ignores the product and gives the target something fun to do and watch, instead of offering just another boring ad.

The genius of Kraft and DraftFCB, and any other successful WOMM attempt, is that they realized their product was nothing new or exciting, yet managed to create something that people could, and would, talk about. Viral marketing is all about twisting the expected into the unexpected and turning tired old advertising on its head. This was critical for Easy Mac, whose target was the young and over-advertised, and they succeeded beautifully by making an entire website that it one big promotion, without seeming like it at all.

I was discussing Facebook and some of my ideas for applications we should develop for clients with my boss at the 9-to-5er yesterday (after my very pro-Facebook post), and I realized part of the reason why I’m so protective of it-I practically grew up with Facebook (yes, I’m that young, or it’s that old, you pick). He was saying how it’s a hard sell for a lot of clients, because they don’t see the value in an app or widget for their products, to which I countered that that is exactly why they need one (and us)-because no one is doing much with it yet.

Older generations bash Facebook because they just don’t get it and feel left out by the culture it has created (like in the  Dave Walker cartoon at right); in response, they hold on even tighter to old methods that won’t work for much longer. I know I have a personal bias towards Facebook, but beyond my own adoration for this obsessive time-waster turned marketing gem, I honestly believe Mark Zuckerberg’s creation is revolutionizing social media and word of mouth marketing (WOMM).

Just look at all the new ideas coming out around Facebook every day: Stanford will now offer a classon Facebook App development, raising the bar for all new profile pimping programs; Google will begin indexing profiles much like MySpace; and Facebook has finally realized it’s place in targeted marketing with a new advertising scheme that is poised to change the way advertisers use the web.

This last piece of news is a few weeks old, which, to me, only makes anti-Facebook rants more amusing. As a BU alum, the first non-Ivy to join Facebook, and long time Facebook user (that’s my CartoonYou self at left), I can boast that my profile ID# is under the 1 million mark), I’ve seen just how powerful this website can be. When Facebook first started opening up, there were two opposing views: the skeptics who saw no value or amusement in it (not me) and the awed undergrads with penchants for procrastination (definitely me).

With 85% of college students now using Facebook, it’s clear that most students eventually came around (or graduated and gave up). But for those of us who watched it grow from the ground up, Facebook is not a new phenomenon, but a social network that realized its potential and came into its own.

When companies finally come around, anyone who took a chance early on and listened to “some kid” about the opportunities that Facebook presents will be way ahead of the curve. My advice to anyone looking for a cool, new way to get your message out there is to listen to those of us who’ve been there from the beginning-we knew it was coming, Facebook just had to catch up.

Whenever I hear people complain about how useless or annoying Facebook is, one thought springs to mind: “you’re not using it correctly.” Which, I’ll admit, my young and frequently judgmental mind has been known to translate to “you’re too old” (ok, maybe it’s two thoughts, so sue me). My point is, anyone who doesn’t see the value and huge marketing potential in Facebook is missing the point.

Robert Scoble has been knocked for spending too much time on Facebook, by people who I assume don’t understand how powerful of a business tool this social network can be. Scoble says that he “hope[s] they stay in the dark,” but I disagree.

When a large group of non-believers try to demean the legitimacy of Facebook’s influence, they also devalue the people who use this network for marketing and hiring or recruiting. While I don’t think they need (or probably could) become devout Facebook converts, I do believe that it is time that everyone recognized Facebook for the tremendous power it has.

Facebook has surpassed MySpace in terms of “coolness” and usability, adding an insane amount of features through Facebook Apps. With the exception of profile backgrounds, everything that Myspace offers is now available on Facebook, and it’s usually faster, easier and more customizable. There are also tons of features that MySpace doesn’t even come close to competing on, such as iLike, a song challenge that tests users aural ability and music knowledge, then ranks them against their friends and the rest of the Facebook community.

As a marketing tool, Facebook is genius. The Facebook profile form encourages users to “tell all,” creating a clearly defined audience that is a marketer’s dream. Anyone can create a Facebook “App,” or application, that adds cool functionality to the user’s profile and allows them to interact with the app’s other users. I anticipate Facebook App development becoming a crucial part of many marketing plans very soon. If a company can develop one of these free apps that is cool enough to be picked up by heavy Facebook users, and unique enough to distinguish their product, they’ve got huge viral marketing potential.

Facebook also plays a very powerful role in the business world. An active “Facebooker” will include enough information in their profile to make it seem like you know them, before you’ve even spoken. To a potential employer, this is a hiring goldmine. Facebook encourages users to reveal personal details well beyond the standard academic major and degree information found in a resume or cover letter. Photos, lengthy likes and dislikes lists and personal commenting features provide a very telling description of a candidate as both a person and an employee. The screencap at left  shows just how much information you can cram into a page…and how much anyone can find out about you.

Any product, person, store or service looking to target the 15-25 age range better warm up to Facebook—and fast. Don’t believe me? Check out my profile to see just how much you can find out about someone. If you still think it’s a silly waste of time, you’ve already been left behind.