Facebook is life

Another way of explaining the quicksand-like draw of Facebook.

Election special: Vote-swapping on Facebook brings new meaning to "tactical voting"

Much has been made about the inequity of the first-past-the-post system in the UK this time around and the role of "tactical voting" in constituencies where your party has nothing to play for. Vote-swapping probably won't take off, but it shows that if a system is unfair or unworkable, someone will find a workaround. This from the Facebook group called "Voting Buddies":

It's simple - you live in a constituency where the vote for your preferred party would be a "wasted" vote (your party is a poor third or worse). So you're tempted to vote tactically-particularly if the sitting MP is from a party you really don't want to win the election. But you really want to cast a vote for your party of choice - somewhere where it counts. You need a Voting Buddy! I'll explain how it works below - but I guess it's a dating agency for voting......

The best way to describe how it works is to use me as an example - but it would obviously work equally well with other political parties........

I live in a constituency with a Tory sitting MP with a small majority. In second place in 2005 was labour. I'm a Lib Dem voter, but the Lib Dems were about 30,000 behind those two in 2005. So i could vote for them, and feel my vote is "wasted". i really don't want the Tories to have overall power in Westminster. So I guess I should vote labour to have the best chance of ousting our sitting MP. Still makes me feel a bit uncomfortable - I would like to register a vote for the Lib Dems - somewhere where it really counts. I need to find someone who wants to vote labour and who lives in a constituency where the Lib Dems are a close second to the Tories and where labour is way back in third, and so also feels that their preferred vote is "wasted". Then we "swap" - I vote labour, s/he votes Lib Dem - and our votes really make a difference.

See, it is possible to beat the system.

Greenpeace fires up Nestlé "twitstorm", but where will it end?

As I was idly checking the Premier League table this morning on the Guardian website, I couldn't help but notice an ad from Greenpeace encouraging people to read up on, and then boycott Nestlé products. Clicking on the image takes you through to a "Nestlé Killer" branded site featuring the following not-safe-for-TV video:

There is also a whole lot of stuff about why Nestlé really is as bad as they say, particularly on their "alleged" use of unethical suppliers in the rainforests of Sumatra.

Parallel to all this, there has been a whole lot of buzz on Twitter and Facebook about Nestlé's social media "fail". Essentially, Nestlé is being attacked from all sides, but particularly via its Facebook fan page. Find the best round-up of the social media furore at Econsultancy - and learn how Greenpeace is behind it all via this Prezi.

There is nothing new about this kind of "Twitstorm", they happen all the time. What is new, however, is that an organisation like Greenpeace can drive online protest via a viral video advertised for hard pounds and pennies on a leading website like the Guardian's. And you can be sure that the clickthrough rates on an image like that above are higher than the usual online branding of offline products, such as cars and insurance.

Also interesting is that the above video is pretty gruesome and will put enough people off eating a KitKat - regardless of their knowledge or stance on the palm oil issue. Greenpeace's claims better be well founded (I personally think they are), or the NGO could end up on the wrong end of a "Twitstorm" itself. 

Of course, most people are more likely to trust Greenpeace over Nestlé, but both sides need to be aware that playing with social media is like playing with fire.

Starbucks has 1.5 million fans on its Facebook page

Sad but true. Read David Gutting's excellent commentary on this kind of "bargain-basement" customer relationship management.

Suppose you lead a small brand with a marketing budget of $500,000. You can't afford to implement a capital-intensive and labor-intensive CRM program. But you can afford to give your agency or your in-house operation a $50,000 budget to run a social network marketing program. For that price you can set up a respectable presence on Facebook, use Twitter, and perhaps engage some other social media channels like YouTube.

Your ROI measures will not be as refined as classic CRM. It may take time to establish a clear method for assessing success. But the strategy will get you into the game and get you talking to your customers in ways you may never have talked to them before. You will also learn from them, and that has a value all its own.

Facebook is new and glamorous, but at its core as a marketing tool, it's old and familiar. Its real power is that it cuts relationship costs to a level that any brand can afford.

Marks and Spencer backs down from charging "tit tax" for larger bra sizes

Marks & Spencer said today it would stop charging more for larger bras after more than 14,000 consumers joined a Facebook group calling for an end to its differential pricing.

The Busts 4 Justice group was set up last summer by Beckie Williams, a 26-year-old writer from Brighton who was fed up of paying extra for her 30G bras. Williams called the policy "ridiculous" and bought a £3.40 share in M&S so she could put her case in person.

By today her Facebook group had attracted 14,246 members. In a message on its homepage she told them: "We are really happy to say that, thanks to the members of Busts 4 Justice, M&S have decided to abolish the tit-tax, and from now on will be operating a one-price-fits-all policy across their ranges.

"We would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this issue; especially the thousands of brilliant, busty women that have joined forces with us. We couldn't have done this without you."

This is not the first time a Facebook campaign has played a role in persuading a company to change its mind. Two years ago HSBC backed down on plans to charge graduates for overdrafts after a group set up by the National Union of Students attracted more than 4,000 members.

The Guardian Friday 8th May 2009

Revival of Cadbury's Wispa

Cadbury have revived Wispa chocolate bar after 40,000 signed online petitions to bring it back. More on Wikipedia.

Facebook overtakes e-mail

Social networking websites are now visited by more people than check their email.  In 2008, the time spent on Facebook worldwide rose by 566%, meaning 20.5 billion minutes were taken up visiting it.  The biggest growth was among 35-49-year-olds.

Daily Mail 17th March 2009