The Official Website for the Book, “I’m On Facebook — Now What???”
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I’ll be streaming all the activities at Facebook’s F8 conference live today from my cell phone. You can stay tuned at my blog, StayNAlive.com, or my Qik stream at http://qik.com/jessestay. Stay tuned here, or on StayNAlive.com for more news and updates!
Tags: f8
My new book with O’Reilly on Facebook development using FBML, entitled “FBML Essentials” goes to print this week. This is a technical book, but I have written it so that even the most beginning web developers, to the most experienced Facebook developers should be able to understand it. Simple understanding of HTML and Javascript is all you should need to not be lost in this book. This should be a good read if you are looking to learn more about Facebook development for your organization. Check out my post on StayNAlive.com for more information!
Tags: Facebook Development, facebook development books, fbml essentials
Facebook appears to have just launched a previously announced feature to their new design staging area. If you go there you’ll notice a new little “+” sign next to the tabs at the top. Click on this, and now you can choose to add “Posted Items” to the tabs at the top, as well as “Find more applications”. The “Find more applications” feature does not seem to be working yet.
This new feature allowing you to add applications to the tabs menu in the new design was announced previously by Facebook, and is said to allow your application, through just a simple “tab url” in your application settings to appear in the drop-down you can see there now when you click on the “+” sign next to the tabs. This is also consistent with the removal of “adding” an application by Facebook. Instead, you will be able to add “components” of your application to different areas of a user’s profile, which includes the tabs. Your application can have only one tab and works passively by default, meaning you have to click on something for javascript or Flash to auto-play. Nothing has been confirmed on whether Advertisements will be allowed to run within the Tabs on the new design. The tab also defaults to your Application name and cuts off at 15 characters.
See below for some more examples of the new “+” sign, and adding the Posted Items application to the tabs menu in the new design:
Tags: breaking news, Facebook, facebook applications, facebook redesign, tabs
I am now experimenting with a Page in Facebook for my company, JibberJobber. Why?
Because one of my favorite people in the world, Sudha Jamthe, created it for me and more-than-nudged me to get it moving!
I’ve wanted to do this for a while, and it’s slowly creeping up my to do list, but when Sudha put the Page together and invited me to be an admin, I knew it was time to make this happen.
Why?
Because I’ve missed plenty of opportunities this last year because I haven’t had the right strategy in place.
Seriously… I have missed a ton of opportunities to grow my business because I haven’t used Facebook correctly.
But as we move forward, I’ll write about it, and hopefully this will provide a good basis for you to develop your own Facebook Page strategy.
Oh yeah, and if you want to see it as it develops, simply become a fan at our official JibberJobber Facebook Page!
While still vague in regards to details, Facebook today released some important information regarding their new design that is sure to excite those users that are considering leaving for other networks. The first of such features seems to be a slap in the Face (and maybe a token from former Google Execs) to Google Employee-founded FriendFeed. Facebook is calling the feature, “Publisher”, and from the Developer Wiki,
“The Publisher will be a central focus of communication and sharing in the new profile. It sits right on top of a user’s Feed inviting the user or others to add content. Applications can integrate into the Publisher to provide rich experiences for creating or finding content to post into their own and their friends’ Feeds…
This has replaced the old Wall Attachments feature. Now, Wall is just one type of application for creating content (text content), on par with posting links, or uploading photos or videos. For example, to add a video with the Video application, the user no longer creates a Wall attachment and adds the video. Instead, the user posts a video to a friend’s Feed just as if she were writing a Wall post.”
From the screenshots (to the left), it appears as though you can also comment on each posted item, further encouraging a “conversation” amongst members of the Facebook community. What’s most interesting is the integration with the Facebook Platform API and ability for developers to present items for discussion within a particular user’s Feed. It appears as though your applications will be able to actually utilize the text box within the publisher to present information on a user’s feed in different ways. More information regarding the new combined Feed/Wall can be found here.
Also very interesting is it seems as though Facebook will soon allow, via the publisher, the automatic playing of Flash, and onload events within FBJS. It seems this is Facebook’s answer to the demand from users migrating from Myspace and the competition from Bebo who allows such onload events.
In addition to the publisher, Facebook has released more information via their developers wiki about the Tabs that will be available, and how applications will be displayed via those tabs. It appears as though at first, all applications will be rendered in their current form in a tab called “boxes” (they mentioned earlier today that name may be temporary). What’s new though is it seems as though your application will be able to give the user options to render other forms of profile boxes to an “Info” tab on the user’s profile. It’s unclear, but this could mean your application will be able to have multiple forms of displaying itself within the user experience beyond just Canvas pages, profile boxes, and feeds. A new FBML tag has been created for this purpose called “<fb:add-section-button/>” which appears to give your application the ability to have the user add a “section” to their profile. (I now need to update FBML Essentials!) Such section will have the ability to display image objects or text that the user can type and provide to your application.
Facebook is also allowing your applications to register an “Application Tab URL” which will have your Application appear in a list of applications next to a “+” (plus) sign in the list of tabs. The user will then have the option to add your Application as a tab, offering an alternate canvas view of your application for the user’s friends to see.
Beyond the Info and Boxes tabs, it’s a bit unclear as to what the other tabs will be called. The most recent screenshot by them includes a “Photos”, “Wall”, and “Feed” tab, but it seems as though the Wall and Feed may be combined to produce the “Publisher”. It could be that the current “News Feed” will be under the Feed tab, while the combined Mini-Feed and Wall will be under the Wall tab. I’m sure we’ll see more screenshots soon. Also of note is that the Action items, the links below your profile image currently, will be no more. Instead you’ll be able to offer your users interactivity via the publisher and other integration points throughout the user’s profile.
It also seems as though the separate News Feed/profile is no more when you log in. It seems they are bringing the focus on the profile and including what is now the “News Feed” to become what will be the “Feed” tab. I like this new concept and hope it catches on - I think it will be a win-win for both Facebook, users, and developers in that it will bring a more fluid experience to users, and encourage discussion and people more than anything else.
With the release of this information to the developers wiki it seems Facebook is on the verge of releasing the new design very soon. I would expect to see such features in the next week or two, considering it was originally supposed to launch last month.
Professor Linda M. Lopeke, the “Smart Start Coach“, e-mailed me recently to notify Jason and I about the great review she gave us in her recent newsletter to her subscribers. Linda knows her stuff in the Career Counseling and Coaching field, so it’s quite a compliment to get such a great review. With her permission, here is her review:
The Prof RecommendsI’m on Facebook, Now What?by Jason Alba and Jesse Stay“At the end of 2007, there were some 60 million Facebook users.
Predictions are the numbers will hit 200 million by the end of 2008.
Why is this important to you? Because it means eventually careers
and businesses are not just going to grow by word-of-mouth but more
likely by word-of-mouse.We’ve already talked about the importance of building your presence
on the internet and of making sure it speaks for and not against you
professionally. So clearly, your investment in learning more about
Facebook and social networking by reading this cool new book will
provide you with one of your best returns ever because it’s simply an
amazing resource for making sure you get it right. Remember, what
goes on the net, stays on the net!You may recall last year we featured Jason’s book I’m on LinkedIn,
Now What? because it was such an excellent resource for figuring out
how you could derive major personal and professional benefits from
that tool. And his new book is no different in that respect. But this
time he’s teamed up with another author, Jesse Stay, who brings
strong technical, marketing and user experience to the mix.Understanding what Facebook can do for you is a requirement in
today’s business world. And it should be an integral part of your plans
for building your success brand. It’s features fall somewhere between
what LinkedIn and MySpace provide. Jason and Jesse tell you how to
navigate through it. Their book is the definitive guide to making it part
of your social and professional networking strategy. So hold onto your
highlighters because pretty much every line in the book is a gem.I’m on Facebook, Now What? gets you started off on the right foot,
demystifies connecting with others and using Facebook applications,
helps you hone your strategy, answers commonly asked questions,
peeks into privacy and moral issues and steers you away from social
no-nos plus it offers a host of additional resources for hard-core
addicts who want to explore even more possibilities.In addition to helping you understand what Facebook is and is not,
Jason and Jesse provide examples, advice and action items to help
you develop and execute an effective Facebook strategy for yourself
and/or your company. They deliberately reached out to literally
dozens of social networking experts so you can feel confident you’re
getting advice from the best of the best.A successful career is all about timing and delivery to the highest
standards of professional excellence. But it’s also about using tools
effectively to further your professional and personal goals. That’s both
common sense and good business.”
If you like her advice, I highly recommend subscribing to her newsletter on her blog!
I’m in the middle of Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s talk right now but wanted to do a quick blog on Facebook Chat. I was just talking with Dave Morin in the hall and he confirmed that late last night they launched Facebook Chat to the world. You may now notice a little chat box in the bottom with all your online friends. I’m a believer now - I think I could use this more than google chat! What do you think about it? Send me a message (I’ll try to answer as I have time)!
Follow my live blogging of Web 2.0 Expo on http://staynalive.com.
Tags: Facebook, facebook chat, web20exp, web20expo, web2expo
This is the second in a series of articles I will be posting on Facebook Pages and how they can benefit you and your organization. Facebook Pages are the “Profile” for your business on Facebook.
In the last of this series I went over the Applications that get installed by default for each Facebook Page type you add. This time, I’m going to go over the different types of information that get shown by default.
When you create a new Facebook Page, you might notice a link that says, “Add Information to this Page”. When you click on that, depending on what type of Page you are creating, there will be different types of information you can fill out. Some Pages have “About Me” sections, others have hours of opening, others have places for a mission statement. Depending on the type of business you are creating a Page for, you’ll get different options to fill out so it is important to be sure you’re selecting the right type of Page. Again, you cannot change the Page type after your Page has been created!
Each Page has one or multiple of 3 different categories of information - “Basic Info”, “Detailed Info”, and “Contact Info”. The following Pages have a Basic Info section with “Affiliation, “Address”, “Phone”, and “Birthday”. They also all have a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Personal Information”, and “Personal Interests”, and a Contact Info section with an “Email” field:
The “Auto” Page type just has a Basic Info section with “Website”, “Company Overview”, “Mission”, “Built”, “Features”, and “MPG”.
The following Page types have a Basic Info section with “Address”, “Phone”, and “Hours” (Monday through Sunday):
All of the above, with the exception of Library, Religious Organization, Professional Service, Bar, Cafe, Club, and Restaurant, have a Detailed Information section with “Website”, “Parking”, and “Public Transit”.
Bar, Cafe, Club, and Restaurant have a Detailed Information section with “Website”, “Attire”, “Payment Options”, “Culinary Team”, “General Manager”, “Parking”, “Public Transit”, “Price Range”, “Services”, and “Specialties”.
Library, Religious Organization, and Professional Service have a Detailed Information section with “Website” and “General Information”.
“Band”, and “Musician” Page Types have a Basic Info section with “Members”, “Genre”, “Home Town”, and “Record Label”. They also have a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Current Location”, “General Manager”, “Booking Agent”, “Press Contact”, “Artists We Also Like”, “Influences”, “Band Interests”, and “Biography”.
The following Page Types have a Basic Info section of “Founded”, and a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Company Overview”, “Mission”, and “Products”:
The “Film” Page Type has a Basic Info section with “Release Date”, “Genre”, and “Studio”. It also has a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Starring”, “Screenplay by”, “Directed by”, “Produced by”, “Awards”, and “Plot Outline”.
The “Politician” Page Type is an interesting one. Fans of a “Politician” are called “Supporters”. It has a Basic Info section with “Country”, “Currently Running for Office”, “State”, “District”, “Party”, “Current Office Office”, “Current Office State”, “Current Office District”, and “Current Office Party”. It has a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Gender”, “Relationship Status”, “Birthday”, “Hometown”, “Political Views”, “Religious Views”, “Activities”, “Interests”, “Favorite Music”, “Favorite Movies”, “Favorite Books”, “Favorite TV Shows”, “Favorite Quotes”, “About Me”, “Employer”, “Position”, “Description”, “City/Town”, “Time Period” (Multiple employers are allowed), “College/University”, “Class Year”, “Years Attended”, “Concentration(s)” (Multiple schools are allowed), “High School”, and “High School Class Year” (Multiple schools are allowed). Politicians also have a Contact Info section with “Email”, “Phone”, “Cell”, “Screen Name”, and “Address”.
The “Sports Team” Page Type has a Basic Info section with “Members”, “Affiliation”, “Address”, and “Phone”. It has a Detailed Info section with “Website”, and a Contact Info section with “Email”.
The “TV Show” Page Type has a Basic Info section with “Network”, “Season”, and “Genre”. It also has a Detailed Info section with “Website”, “Schedule”, “Starring”, “Written by”, “Directed by”, “Awards”, and “Plot Outline”.
As you can see, each Page type can provide you different ways of showing info about your business or brand. You can choose any Page type you want, but remember first of all that again, Page types cannot be edited once you choose one, and secondly, the Page type you select categorizes your Page with other Pages in that category. So if you’re an Auto Dealer and categorize yourself in the Film type to get the additional Film info, your dealership will display amongst a bunch of other Films in the Pages directory.
It has been a pleasure putting this together - I only hope it can be useful to you as well as you’re trying to set up your next Facebook Page! I’ll be posting a few more of these over the coming week or two - stay tuned!
Need some help getting a Facebook Page set up for your Organization? I do consulting! Contact me at jesse at staynalive dot com and I’ll get you setup with a plan on how you can utilize Facebook to bring your company more customers.
Add yourself as a fan on our Facebook Page at http://page.facebookadvice.com!
Tags: Facebook Consulting, Facebook Page Fields, Facebook Page Information, Facebook Pages
This is the first in a series of articles I will be posting on Facebook Pages and how they can benefit you and your organization. Facebook Pages are the “Profile” for your business on Facebook.
When creating Facebook Pages for clients, I’ve become very aware that there just isn’t any documentation as to what each type of Facebook Page is, and what will be included with each Page. So I decided to spend a little time going through each type of Facebook Page, and finding what the various widgets (or Applications, I don’t believe Facebook has given them an official term) you get by default. As you’ll see below, each Page is not created equal. It was an interesting research project and I hope you can benefit from it as well.
I have not organized the types of Facebook Pages in any particular way, but it should be important to note that Facebook organizes Pages by “Local”, “Brand or Product”, and “Artist, Band, or Public Figure”. What I found is that even with that organization, it does not really reflect what you get on each type of Page. Here’s what you get:
Note that each Page comes with a default set of widgets: “Picture”, “Info”, “Mini-Feed”, “Wall”, “Photos”, “Video”, “Discussion Board”, “Fans”, “Events”, and “Notes”. Beyond that, it varies on the extras you can get. You can see what the others provide in the diagram below.
With each widget listed, all you have to do to get that widget on your Page is to click on “add” in the upper-right of the widget. You can find the additional widgets just by looking on an existing Page that fits in the Page Type that gets that widget by default. So, for example, even though you run an Auto Dealership you can still add a Music Player or even Discography (if for some reason you want one) on your Facebook Page. You can also add any Application in the Applications directory that supports Facebook Pages. So the default widgets each Page Type gives you really doesn’t warrant switching Page types just to get the widget you want.
What may make you change your mind however is the type of information you can show in the “Information” widget. Remember that once you choose your Page type you cannot change it again! You must delete the Page entirely and re-create the Page in order to do such. So if you have several hundred fans of your Page already it just won’t make sense to delete the Page at that point just to change the Page type. Choose your Page Types carefully! In the next article of this series I’ll cover the breakdown of what you get in the Information section of each Page Type so you can choose wisely.
Need some help getting a Facebook Page set up for your Organization? I do consulting! Contact me at jesse at staynalive dot com and I’ll get you setup with a plan on how you can utilize Facebook to bring your company more customers.
Add yourself as a fan on our Facebook Page at http://page.facebookadvice.com!
Tags: Applications, business, facebook applications, facebook business, Facebook Pages, facebook widgets, pages, widgets
I just saw this article in the New York Times about employers checking Facebook profiles before making a hiring decision. I’m not into the scare tactic angle, but it does amaze me that some people think they are safe putting “personal” stuff on their “personal” profile.
Here are the first four paragraphs of this article:
When a small consulting company in Chicago was looking to hire a summer intern this month, the company’s president went online to check on a promising candidate who had just graduated from the University of Illinois.
Tien Nguyen, a college senior, signed up for job interviews but said he was seldom contacted until he withdrew a satirical online essay.
At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate’s Web page with this description of his interests: “smokin’ blunts” (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.
It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.
Great article - read the entire thing here.
Are you concerned about privacy? If you are really concerned, draw your shades and unplug your computer. That might be the only way you get privacy in today’s world. Wait, I can still buy your personal information from many different websites.
Instead of sticking your head in a hole, be proactive about creating a strong online brand around your name or company!
