With school and other projects, I haven't had much time for updates. Nonetheless, I'll finish my "From Zuckerberg to Zealberg" series with this final post.
In part 2, I brought up the idea of a "Likes" tab for Facebook's news feed and a "Just Me" function that could allow Facebook users to privately like Facebook pages and receive relevant updates without making their "Just Me" pages public (thereby mimicking Google+'s "Sparks" function).
While I still think that a "Just Me" function would be a valuable, well-received, and potentially revenue enhancing update for the site, I have to make one thing known regarding my proposed "Likes" tab.
While not exactly a "Likes" tab as discussed and illustrated in part 2 (shown below), the former Facebook news feed did in fact have a function that enabled one to only view updates from page likes.
While my proposed "Likes" tab would have made this function more visible and accessible, the OLD Facebook news feed allowed viewing of only page updates via the following process:
1) Clicking on the "Top News" button shown in the above image.
2) Selecting "pages" or "likes" (not sure which one it was called) from a drop down menu that listed various options to select and subsequently view in the news feed.
Sure enough, following through with step 2 could enable users to instantly view updates only specific to page likes.
However, with Facebook's recent updates and revamped news feed interface, the aforementioned function no longer exists
(or I can't figure out how to do it).
In any case, Facebook's current news feed interface does enable users to somewhat view updates specific to page likes.
Here's how that works:
^What the current news feed looks like^
By selecting the various options in the "APPS" menu, users can adjust updates shown in the news feed (photos, music, notes, questions, and links).
If you click on the "Notes" button, you'll see the following drop down list:
As shown, users can select "Pages' Notes" and subsequently view all notes published by their page likes.
Here's what mine looks like at the moment:
Coincidentally, a note published by Facebook regarding their news feed update is shown along with Steve Winwood's note about travel troubles brought on by the Quantas Airlines strike.
(I liked Steve Winwood's page since I couldn't find an official Spencer Davis Group Facebook page)
Steve Winwood retro "throwback" jam:
While this function enables viewing of page notes, it does not show status updates or links specific to pages like the old news feed could.
Since that function was my favorite part of the Facebook experience, I'm hoping they'll bring it back.
Lastly, to remark on Google+ developments, I can't really say much considering that I haven't been on it lately.
Regarding Google+, a friend of mine made the funny observation that joining the Google+ network during it's initial unveiling felt like showing up to a big party LONG before everyone else arrived.
...I guess I'm still at that party (anxiously standing by the refreshments).
To be fair, I will say that Google has significant opportunities to promote Google+ via their proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
Currently, I'm unaware of a Google+ button on mobile phones like the Facebook button shown below:
Which is surprising considering that the above phone has the following specs:
An Android phone, with a 2.6-inch touchscreen and 5-megapixel camera, has these Facebook-oriented features that take advantage of the button dedicated to connecting with the social networking site, HTC says:
- One touch to share: Press the Facebook share button from your home screen to instantly post on your wall.
- Snap, shoot, share: Take a picture or shoot a video and share it instantly with a press of the Facebook share button. You can even post pictures automatically as you’re taking them.
- Quick-on-the-draw check-in: Just long press the Facebook share button to check in your location with Facebook Places.
- Be first with the news: See something cool on the Web? Share your latest find with a quick press of the Facebook share button.
- Post to your wall —or a friend’s wall: From the home screen, a quick tap of the Facebook HTC share button makes sharing anything on your mind quick and easy.
- Share what you’re listening to: The Facebook share button glows when you’re listening to music, to let you know you can share. Let your friends in on the music you love with the push of a button.
See this article for the full specs and story behind the HTC Status phone
While only a mobile operating system, the Android OS is nonetheless Google's mobile OS.
With that, Google is somewhat implicit in the marketing of HTC's "Facebook enabled" smart phones.
I'd like to see Google make good use of their Motorola Mobility acquisition and create a similar button for Google+ on Android smartphones.
So with that, here's one idea:
Google could develop a Google+ "e-card" that can be quickly exchanged with other mobile phones via bluetooth connectivity or another transmission method.
Google+ "e-cards" could even be self-designed however users want or simply altered from pre-developed "e-card" templates.
Google could even take this "e-card" concept further and figure out how to expedite the general contact sharing process.
That would really be something.
It would be both convenient and fun to simply press a button (like the Facebook button on the above HTC phone), wait for your new contact to press theirs, sync up, and be done with it.
To me, that beats the whole:
"Yea sure, my number is AREA CODE yada yada...Yea, yea, my name is spelled S-E-A... Ohhhh you meant my last name..."
Or the whole:
"Yea, add me on Facebook or Google+..whichever. Oh you already brought it up. Yeah sure I'll look myself up. Wait, how do you...I don't have a smartphone...I've never seen this model...is this new? Oh man what did I just do??"
Such technology might already exist. Who knows?
So that's that.
Sometime soon I'll be discussing ideas for wind energy investments on my finance blog
Until then, check out my video on W. Texas' wind energy industry.
I made it during a field trip to the region:
