"Technological Lock-In", Does Facebook Have It?

Reuters:

The brief history of the Internet is littered with the ghosts of Websites that people have abandoned in their relentless pursuit of something newer, faster, better and cooler.

Tech-savvy Ravasio, a 21-year-old UCLA student designing her undergraduate degree around the Internet's impact on society and communication, is irked by changes privately owned Facebook has made.

But for now, she says, Facebook is keeping her allegiance because of a concept called "technological lock-in." In other words, the site has become an essential part of her life.

"I think Facebook is the most valuable Internet commodity in existence, more so than Google, because they are positioning themselves to be our online identity via Facebook connect," Ravasio said.

"It's your real name, it's your real friends, and assuming they manage to navigate the privacy quagmire, they're poised to become your universal login," she said. "I would almost argue that Facebook is the new mobile phone. It's the new thing you need to keep in touch, almost a requirement of modern social life."

"Almost a requirement of modern social life".

We agree. Which is why we believe that Facebook, with its 350 million users worldwide, has "technological lock-in", and is why we encourage all our clients to have a (well branded) presence on the social networking giant.

www.facebook.com/bfreshconsulting

b-fresh scores what it needs in the 2nd great Facebook username land rush.

Facebook. Everywhere.

Just how many people are on Facebook?

Enough so that the Washington Post Company sees the benefit of allowing readers to use their Facebook profile to access the WaPo's exclusive online content.

b-fresh Launches A Facebook Profile For Our Brand

Smart. Thinking. Forward.

Now officially on Facebook.

Between managing a work blog, a personal blog, a personal blog Facebook profile, a regular Facebook profile and now a work Facebook Page, you can say that I truly appreciate the need for synergy whenever possible.

The hard part isn't launching these 21st century communication tools.

The hard part is making sure that these 21st century tools work for you, not you for them.

Want To Better Understand How To Push Your Brand On Facebook? Have A Coke!

Coca-Cola's Facebook page has 3.3 million fans, the second most of any Facebook page. Only President Obama's Facebook page has more fans.

An interesting and informative Atlanta Journal Constitution story of how Coca-Cola's Facebook page came to be, and where it's going, may be found here.

Oprah Does Facebook

It doesn't get much more mainstream than this:



h/t Steve Case's Facebook feed.

The Race To The Mass Market, One Perspective

A question to twist your (Facebook) noodle:

Q: How many years did it take for some of last century's innovations and present ones, to be adopted by 150 million users?

A: 38 years for TV, 14 for cellphone, 7 for the iPod and 5 for Facebook.

h/t The Hidden Persuader