The FT reports that Facebook is launching a new system for measuring the impact of advertising on the social network as well as giving agencies the chance to buy premium ad slots in the news feed section for the first time.

News that Facebook is attempting to shore up confidence in its advertising platform comes after General Motors pulled its advertising and that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook and several banks, including Morgan Standley, are to be sued by shareholders over concerns that they concealed information about “a severe and pronounced reduction” in Facebook revenue growth forecasts ahead of its disappointing IPO. Read More »

This is a nice idea from the Wall Street Journal. It has created a wealth-o-meter to track Facebook chief executive’s real-time worth.

Facebook’s performance in the few days since its IPO has been disappointing to say the least. It’s shares are down by $7 on the IPO price and are currently trading at $31. Read More »

While doubts circle about advertising on Facebook WPP Group has pushed ahead with a deal with social software firm Buddy Media and chosen it as its preferred social ad management partner for handling Facebook advertising across its various media agencies.

The news comes on the heels of General Motors and others last week raising doubts about the value of advertising on Facebook. Read More »

With all the social media and influence measurement tools available today, the communications sector should be understanding more about what makes us happy and productive, and what motivates us to participate in social conversations.

Unfortunately, the reverse seems to be true.  Understanding about what makes an authentic engagement, and what constitutes a satisfied and committed social community is as unclear as ever[1]. And the reason for this comes down to a misunderstanding of the differences between insights and inference. Read More »

Jean Jacques Rousseau’s classic work of social and political philosophy – The Social Contract  (published in 1762),  starts famously with the words – Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Although it may not seem immediately apparent, there is a direct link between this philosophical work of the 18th Century and Facebook.

The central tenet of Rousseau’s work, is that all individuals must enter into a social contract with others in order to create a free and equal society. Rousseau believed that liberty was possible only where there was direct rule by the people as a whole, and where ‘popular sovereignty’ was indivisible and inalienable. Read More »

UPDATE: Facebook shares failed to bounce back last night and ended up down by almost 11% or $4 on their $38 IPO price.

The Rupert Murodch-owned New York Post gave its view of the Facebook IPO with this Monday front cover as it dubbed investors “ZUCKERS!”.  Read More »

As YouTube celebrates it’s seventh birthday, The Verge have reported that a staggering seventy-two hours of video are uploaded to the the site every minute, a whole day’s worth of content more than a year ago. Owned by Google, YouTube has become embedded into the search process with videos hosted by it gaining prominence in the Google search algorithm, and therefore search results. Consequently, it has eliminated competition from the like of Vimeo, who offer an equally good, if not better, service, but do not have the groundswell in take up. Read More »

It’s the question on everyone’s lips today – would you invest in Facebook? As the company finalises its IPO price ahead of its market debut on Friday, the general consensus is a positive one – early reports show a huge amount of interest in owning a tiny piece of Facebook’s 900-million-user success story. Predictions suggest that the share price could push valuation up to $104bn – according to the Telegraph, this makes it more ‘valuable’ than both Disney and Ford.

So, for Facebook’s early investors, payday has arrived. But surely the fact that so many of them are cashing in should be a warning to wannabe buyers? If you invested in 2004, you’re laughing – the social network’s value has exploded to such an extent that even someone like U2’s Bono, who owns fewer than 2% of the shares, is set to be a billionaire and the world’s richest rock star by the weekend. Read More »

Arsenal topped the Twitter Social Media league with nearly 1.5 million Twitter followers (also the 3rd highest worldwide for a football club) in May. However, having the most followers doesn’t necessarily equate to being the best. Manchester City were this month’s champions both on the pitch and in the social media world.

City collected their second “Best of the Month” award this season in Freestyle Interactive‘s  monthly Premier League Social Media Stats infographic series. Read More »

Tomorrow is IPO day for Facebook and as it goes to the market, with a valuation of $104bn, there are a raft of stories circulating about problems with its commercial operation.

Forrester has put out a report that takes a look at Facebook and how it works for marketing…except their take is that it doens’t work. General Motors ring any bells? Read More »