Facebook Gets Facelift
Late last night in an interview with Lesley Stahl of CBS’ 60 Minutes, Facebook Co-Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of new Facebook user profiles to enable a more personal interface for the wildly popular social media site.
With over 500 million current users around the world, Facebook is changing the internet and advertising as we know it. According to Zuckerberg, the new idea is to capitalize on the popularity of the “social” premise: creating a customized, digital environment in which everyone is listening and supporting you in life decisions (i.e.- relationships, tv watching, car buying, etc). The new profile template will make image portfolios a bigger part of the Facebook experience. Also, personal information will be summarized into a personal introduction at the top of the user’s profile, similar to a “meet the author” introduction on the inside of a book sleeve.
The interview also reported on the company’s most recent research endeavors and future plans for expansion. Among the list of possible developments was an enriched mobile messaging opportunity for cell providers. The thought behind the messaging expansion is that individuals have grown to appreciate the “personality” of Facebook messages instead of the “staid-ness” of email.
While Facebook engineers are hesitant to claim that the new messages will take over similar systems like gmail, the development further highlights Facebook’s direct, yet unsaid competition with internet super power Google. As of August, Facebook surpassed number of Google user minutes by 1.3 million. Facebook has also come under fire for hiring many former Google employees including the original creator of Google Maps.
As a medical marketing firm, McCauley Marketing Services understands that the goal of a facelift is to create a natural looking, rejuvenated appearance. The results remain wrapped as to whether this redesign will create a positive effect, or if the changes will make user information appear too public. Stay tuned to McCauley Marketing Services’ blog for breaking social media, advertising, and public relations news.