by Scott McAndrew on April 5, 2009
Both Venture Beat and Mashable had coverage last week of a Facebook feature currently being tested called “credits.” I thought “credits” was a April Fool’s Day joke that just wasn’t all that amusing. Apparently, it wasn’t.
Here’s an excerpt from the Venture Beat coverage that explains how it works:
When you leave a comment on an item, you’ll see a field where you can enter the number of credits you want to give the person who created the item. You’ll also see the number of credits you have available to give — you can choose to give up to the number of credits you possess. You can only get credits by buying them in Facebook’s virtual gifts store — $1 for 100 credits — or by receiving them (or by getting some free when you start using credits, although Facebook is testing how many to make available that way).
Once you’ve left a comment with credits, you’ll see the credits appear next to the comment, following the feature’s green plus symbol icon. There’s no other way to create credits at this time. This means people need to think twice before giving their credits away.
“No brainer” or “no brain”?
For Facebook, it’s a no-brainer. Getting users to exchange real cash for virtual compliments doesn’t have a downside. And, they’re the coolest social networking site on the block. They’ve proven that they are adept at rolling out ideas then, if they tank (or worse, aggravate people), they can backpedal without too much damage.
For Facebook users? My guess is that the average Facebook user’s response is “thanks, but no thanks.” The idea is, well, clunky. While there’s likely far more behind this than what’s being exposed at this point, in response to one’s status giving someone a quick text retort or clicking a ‘like’ link feels natural. Giving them ‘money’ they can spend on tchotchke or re-credit to someone else’s clever status does not.
What do you think? How will Facebook users respond?
Photo by chrispulo
by Scott McAndrew on April 7, 2008
“Second Search” is a technique being tested by Google which allows searching a specific web site for content without leaving Google. It all sounds innocent, but businesses aren’t seeing it that way. Here’s a few examples which illustrate their worries:
Note: A few of the results I’ve described below are not consistently showing up – I’ll add screen shots to this post today or tomorrow.
Craigslist – Jobs
One of the very few things that Craigslist charges for is the placement of help wanted ads. They don’t do so across the board, just in select cities. Regardless, the performance that Craigslist gets from its help wanted ads is important them as a business. Here’s where Second Search gets in the way:
Google Second Search: “Jobs” – Competitors Google Presented:
- Jobbing.com
- Career Builder
- The Ladders
HGTV – Mortgage Refinance
Home and Garden Television covers a variety of topics from working on a home you already own as well as the process of buying or selling a home. When a user searches on the word “mortgage” on their site, the page that is returned displays Google Ads for which HGTV generates some revenue (as does Google). Second search cuts to the chase, and cuts HGTV out.
Google Second Search: “mortgage refinance” – Competitor Ads Include:
- Lending Tree
- Countrywide
- Quicken Loans
- Ditech
- Wachovia
Best Buy – Laptop
Best Buy sells just about anything electronic you can think of. One of the largest areas in their physical store is their computer section. Inside that section, laptops likely take the cake for showroom square footage. It’s safe to say Best Buy wants to sell laptops. Google’s Second Search provides consumers with some options Best Buy likely wouldn’t be a fan of:
Google Second Search: “laptop” – Some Competing Retailers Displayed:
Microsoft – Email Server
Microsoft’s Exchange mail server is popular. It also generates lots of money for Microsoft. It might surprise them that the ads displayed by Google’s Second Search on the term isn’t giving a nod to Exchange Server:
Google Second Search: “Email Server” – Non-Microsoft Exchange Alternatives in the Google Ads:
- Google Business Email
- IMail Server
- Cold Spark
B&H Photo Video – Nikon D200
If you’ve shopped for camera or video camera equipment online, and missed B&H’s site you probably had to try. They sell just about anything you can think of. Example: Nikon’s D200 digital camera. The body runs about $1,300 dollars. Kits range from $1,600 up to over $2,000. B&H wants you to buy a Nikon D200 from them. Especially if you looked for their site first, and then searched on that item. Unfortunately, Google peppers the Second Search results page with an overwhelming amount of competition:
Google Second Search: “Nikon D200″ – A Sampling of Buying Alternatives in the Google Ads:
- Abes of Maine
- Broadway Photo
- Ritz Camera
- Amazon
- BHPhotoVideo.com (adding insult to injury!)
Elsewhere on the web:
