Marketing Pilgrim Published: "It's Official: Google Maps URL Shortener a Full Time Feature" plus 4 more

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It's Official: Google Maps URL Shortener a Full Time Feature

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:40 AM PDT

Google has turned another experiment into a full tie feature this time in their Maps environment and much to the chagrin of URL shortening services it cuts into their business much like Twitter's t.co shortener announcement did recently.
Now if you have a link in Google Maps that you want to share or whatever you can shorten it within maps without having any add-ons to get you there. Here is a picture of the newly full-time option as incorporated in Google Maps (this comes from the Google LatLong blog).

What this really means is that Google is making sure that they get the attribution credit for traffic coming from maps through 'standardizing' this feature. It has worked well for Titter thus far so why not in this instance. Also, when it comes to mobile, less is more. The blog tells us

All shortened URLs generated by Google Maps take advantage of Google's recently announced g.co shortening service. We only use g.co to send you to Google web pages, and only Google Maps can generate a g.co/maps URL. This means that you can visit a g.co/maps shortcut with confidence, and always know you will end up on a Google Maps page.

The confidence in the link is important but masks the more important reason for Google to do this which is control. As Google Maps continues to grow in stature and as Google+ integration looms somewhere in the future this type of action is likely to be commonplace with Google in other services as well.
With each move Google makes on each platform it has it is becoming clearer and clearer that Google is heading toward a more unified and integrated service offering that ultimately could be the most far reaching that exists on the Internet today. I am not going to go so far as saying it will be the best offering but it has the potential to be the broadest offering available to consumers by far.
Now, if only those pesky regulators would turn their heads for a minute and not think about what this may mean for the people they think are too stupid to decide for themselves (in case you are missing it, that would be people like you and me).
Your thoughts on wider implications of Google circling the wagons?

To Share or Not to Share, That is Facebook's Question

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:55 AM PDT

This week, Facebook is introducing a batch of tweaks that are all designed to "make it easier to share posts, photos, tags and other content with exactly the people you want." Or, as the rest of us see it, make it easier to stop certain people from seeing posts, photos, tags and other content.
A lot of the change is all about clarifying the terminology so there's no mistake. They've removed the word "everyone" as a sharing option and replaced it with "public" and even though they mean the same thing, "public" does feel more. . . well. . . public.
To make switching it up easier, Facebook is adding the functionality to a drop down alongside photos and status updates so you can assign items individually on the fly.

In the future, they will be adding other types of groups for sharing, such as co-workers, relatives and people you follow but don't really like. (Okay, not really on that last one but they should)
You will also have the option of changing your mind about who sees your post after you post. This is perfect for those times when you realize that you've posted beach photos after calling in sick. Remove co-workers – check!

Tag, You're It!

Facebook is making a significant change in the photo tagging system. Currently, any of your friends can tag you in a photo and that tag links the photo to your account. Now, anyone can tag you even if they aren't your friend, but the photo will not show up in your stream until you approve it. Of course, that won't prevent people from stumbling upon those embarrassing Spring Break pics, so Facebook has made your revenge options easier to understand.
Option one, have the tag removed. Option two, have the photo removed. Option three, have your friend removed. And no, I'm not kidding about that last one.

Julia Rose is dead to me. Time to move on.
Two other new features are the ability to add a location to any post, and an option to see your profile as others see you. How very zen.
Reviews on these new features have been mixed. Some point out that Google+ had these features first, others are concerned that every time Facebook fixes something they break something else. And then there are those who are still campaigning for a dislike button. I think these are the people who made Julia Rose disappear. I miss her already.
What do you think of the new and improved Facebook?

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Twitter Adds Photo Gallery to Profiles

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:50 AM PDT

Twitter started out as fast way of telling everyone you've ever met that you just saw Johnny Depp eating a hot dog at the airport. But soon after we learned that anyone could say they saw anything which led to the creation of the phrase, "pics or it didn't happen."
From there, third party apps took over such as TwitPic and YFrog (leading me to wonder why frog?), giving you a way to upload the photo of Johnny that you snapped with your phone.
Soon, Twitter got tired of sharing the glory, and made it so you can upload photos directly to your account without the use of a third party but you still had to click and leave Twitter to see it.
Now, Twitter has taken that next step by adding your Twitter pics to your profile page.
The new gallery feature loads a strip of thumbnails of your recently uploaded pictures into the sidebar. When you view a person's homepage directly, you get a larger image. When you view a profile by clicking on a person in your stream, you get a smaller set. Both filmstrips have scrolling arrows and you can click to enlarge the photos Facebook style.
Large mode shows the accompanying Tweet beneath the picture. You can scroll on this screen, or choose to see all of the thumbnails in a grid.

For Twitter, this is a smart way to keep people on site longer and it does add a bit of pizazz to the otherwise boring, text filled pages. I clicked on the accounts of some of my friends and enjoyed seeing photos that I missed in the stream when they posted them.
This new tool is excellent for marketers because now your photos won't be immediately buried in the stream. For example, suppose you Tweet a photo of your best selling Halloween costume on Wednesday and your second best on Friday. Anyone who clicks on your Friday Tweet will also see the photo from your Wednesday Tweet right above it. That's an extra chance to sell that product and Twitter is giving you six of those in your sidebar.
The Twitter gallery means its time to stop getting sloppy about the photo uploads. When I looked at my gallery, I saw two photos that didn't project the image I wanted out there, including a pot of orange marmalade that looked like something much less appetizing. Check your gallery as soon as you're done reading this, because reputation management is everything.
A couple more notes, it's a work in progress and many photos are showing up as blank spaces. Also, if your Facebook feeds your Twitter, those photos don't show in the gallery. That now means double work for me, but maybe Twitter will fix that in the future.
Overall impression? I'd say that the new gallery feature is worth the time. Now, where is Twitter going to go from here?

Thumbs Up for Facebook's New Admin Bookmarks

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 01:17 PM PDT

Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference, like the new admin bookmarks in Facebook. All they did was add a permanent sidebar category for pages you administer. Now, when you login, you'll find a link to each page, along with the number of unseen notifications, in the same place every time.
Prior to this change, page bookmarks had a tendency to disappear under a list of apps. There were times where I had to resort to finding my last page update in my own timeline in order to access a page that I hit daily. Not a huge problem in the grand scheme of things, but it's time and effort wasted when it could be so simple.
Unlike most changes, I noticed this one right away. It was so nice to be able to simply login, click and go, and for anyone administering multiple pages, it's a big time saver.
Now all we have to do is keep Facebook from changing it again. They do like to shift things on a whim and the changes aren't always in the best interest of the user. In this case, however, they got it right.
Facebook — I "like." Now leave it alone.

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When it Comes to Media, Gen Xers Want it All

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 10:43 AM PDT

I recently saw a pad of scrapbooking paper called Generation X. The designs were all distinctly digital and included Space Invader style video game patterns and scatterings of computers, mobile phones and portable cassette players. Yes, even this craft company knows that Gen Xers love their media.

A new report from eMarketer shows that 88% of Xers are online and that should rise to 90.9% by 2015. What are they doing online? 74.2% are watching videos and that number is also on the rise.
Not only are Gen Xers the biggest pool of video viewers, they also watch more TV than other brackets and are more likely to shop via their mobile phone. Clothing is the most shopped for item with airline tickets and hotel reservations making it into the top five along with books (e or otherwise).
For marketers, this means you have a wide range of options when trying to reach the Gen X audience and you should probably use them all. More than any other consumer segment, this is the one place where a mixed campaign of offline, online and mobile will do the most good.