Is Facebook destined to become the next AOL? This month saw the social network transform into a media hub, realising Zuckerberg’s strategy of positioning Facebook as an “Internet within the Internet”. The move has worked for games, providing huge ad revenues and rich demographic data yields, but will users be happy to watch Netflix films, […]
Is Facebook destined to become the next AOL? This month saw the social network transform into a media hub, realising Zuckerberg’s strategy of positioning Facebook as an “Internet within the Internet”. The move has worked for games, providing huge ad revenues and rich demographic data yields, but will users be happy to watch Netflix films, stream Spotify playlists and read eBooks within Facebook’s site? Or is it too similar to AOL’s doomed “walled garden” strategy of the early noughties?
This month saw Google take the revamped Google+ public, buying Groupon rival Daily Deal and unveiling its potentially revolutionary Wallet service in the US. Meanwhile, Twitter’s new analytics tool could help marketers shed light on the dark art of social media ROI, and the relationship between retweets and revenue on the micro-blogging site.
September also provided some prime examples of how not to get ahead in digital media. Yahoo fired fiery boss Bartz over the phone, leaving the former dotcom darling looking for a buyer. RIM saw its profits collapse as Blackberry lost its grip on the mobile market, and newly bought MySpace has been forced to postpone its grand launch. Award for worst CRM of the month goes to Netflix, which fumbled a re-branding and re-pricing strategy that outraged customers and forced a humble YouTube apology from the CEO, which you can view in all its wince-inducing glory below.
On the research side, we’ve got some telling stats on mobile broadband this month. 1 in 10 of eBay’s customers now buy via mobiles, while the UN found that over 10% world population now has mobile broadband. Food for thought for anyone doubting the potential of mobile…
Read September 2011
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