Google Plus Adds View Count to Profiles and Pages

While people and pages have always shown how many other people have circled them, Google has now added the ability to see how many times your profile or page has been Viewed.

+Kenneth Manesse Sr. pointed out that now, on your profile page next to your follower count, there's a new metric called Views. The metric is there for both personal profiles and business Pages.

Perhaps more importantly, for Google+ Pages, the +1 count has been replaced with their follower count. It would appear that Google has removed the option to +1 a Page and now users can only circle Pages, just as they would other users.

The metric is not displayed on hovercards, nor does it appear on embedded profile or Page widgets.

If you want to limit who can see the View Count, simply go to your profile or Page settings and scroll down. There is an option to hide the metric from others, but it is on by default.

Interestingly, the setting indicates that it's "your profile and content." Hopefully this is an indication that more metrics will be coming for actual posts, as this is an area where Google+ has lagged painfully behind Facebook. Facebook Page owners have long had a rich set of metrics available to them (Facebook Insights) showing how well each specific post has been received, while Google has been content to allow third-party providers like CircleCount or Steady Demand to fill that gap.

Another possibility is that the metric includes views for both your profile and the content that you've posted, meaning that an update you shared to the stream and received views added to the tally. There is no official word yet from Google as to what the metric includes, or if more is on the way.

UPDATE: According to Google Help, "Views" tell you "how many times your content has been seen by other people, including your Photos, Posts, and the page [or profile] itself." So this confirms that the View Count is an aggregate number that includes every time your posts have been seen throughout their lifespan.

Like any metric, the new Google+ View Count is interesting but also needs to be applied in a certain way to be most effective. While it may be fun to compare View Counts with others, just like you might followers or +1's, it's best used an indicator of quality. If your Page has been viewed 1000 times but has only received 25 +1's, that may indicate that you're doing a good job of getting attention, but not providing enough value in your content.

What do you think?How many views has your profile or Page gotten, and do you like the new metric?

Source: http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/news/google-plus-adds-view-count-profiles-and-pages-03312014

Facebook has 100 million active users in India

The ascent of Facebook in India has been speedy and has been powered by the mobile phone. When the American company set up its first India office in 2010, in Hyderabad, it had 8 million users in the country. Further, according to Facebook, 84 million of its 100 million users in India access the social networking site from their mobile devices.

Facebook, which was set up in 2004, had 1.23 billion users across the world, as of December 31, 2013. "If Facebook continues its current growth trajectory, we can see it as a core communications tool for the world," says Neha Dharia, analyst with UK-based research firm Ovum. "This besides being a media platform where users can share and engage in a range of media such as videos, pictures and games. We expect to see a stronger move around storage (cloud-based) and utility services from Facebook."

For Facebook, the US remains its biggest market, with about 183 million users, though perhaps not for long, given the inflexion point India is at with regards to Internet usage, especially on the mobile. According to Olivan, who is one of the three people in the company who report directly to founder Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is now "looking forward" to 1 billion users in India, a numerical figure it intends to chase with specific initiatives aimed at increasing connectivity, affordability and relevance. "That (1 billion) is a different focus and challenge," he says.

Olivan says much of the challenge of going from 1 million to 10 million in India was about optimising the product for users. For example, removing the condition that a user needed to have an email ID of an American college to access Facebook. From 10 million to 100 million, he adds, it was about improving experience on low-end devices and offering it in languages other than English. "For 1 billion, we need easy connectivity, the biggest challenge of our generation," he says.

One of the initiatives it is focused on to widen connectivity is internet.org, a partnership it has with six mobile technology companies to provide affordable Internet access to the unconnected. It is also working with telecom companies to increase data adoption among users in emerging markets like India. On this trajectory, it's only a matter of time before the Facebook user base in India crosses that of the US.

Source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-04-08/news/48971129_1_access-facebook-1-billion-users-javier-olivan

 

Twitter's Redesign Speaks to Brands and Users With Emojis, Vine Messenger, Video, Ads

Twitter’s new look is rolling out more widely today, and it has some users saying it looks similar to Facebook. The messaging service is making changes to solve its most pressing issue—how to obtain and keep new users—as it looks to grow.

Twitter has been evolving as a media, advertising and social platform, but the big criticism leveled at the company—and which Twitter executives acknowledge—is that it needs to connect with everyday Internet users, not just nerds who get hashtags.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said on Stephen Colbert’s show just last week that he never thought insider jargon like the pound sign would catch on. Becoming mainstream meant teaching sometimes non-tech-savvy users how to communicate in 140 characters or less.

The redesign advances part of Twitter’s game plan to relate more widely beyond its 240 million monthly users to try to catch Facebook and its more than 1.2 billion base.

Now, the platform is more “media forward,” with video and photos larger and displaying right in the user feed. User profile pages look like Facebook’s timeline page, and more changes have been spotted that could eventually simplify the language of Twitter.

Here’s a look at the redesign and other changes that Twitter is making for advertisers and users:

Profile page
Now it comes with a Facebook style large photo at the top and a profile picture inset.

 

Tweet size

Tweets with more engagement appear larger than ones with less engagement, giving brands—and people, of course—an opportunity to stand out if their tweets connect.

Pinned tweets
Users can choose their favorite tweet to appear at the top of their profile feed.

Video
Twitter’s Amplify program has allowed media partners to share exclusive video and other content on the platform and find sponsors for that content. Amplify has been fairly rudimentary, though, mostly with links to video. That’s been changing, as The New York Times first reported: Amplify partners are starting to display their video clips right in the Twitter stream. It’s a format Twitter calls “media forward” and it's showing up more frequently. More media partners and advertisers are sharing video that plays with one click right on Twitter.

Emojis
Talk about speaking the language of the people. Twitter introduced the smiley face, and it's not just users who want to express themselves in cartoon characters. Already Wendy’s is promoting tweets that translate: “burger plus burger equals happy.”

Photos
Twitter introduced its variation of the slideshow, allowing users and brands to upload more than one photo into tweets and share them as a digital collage.

 

Retweets, faves and views

Reports are coming out that Twitter is testing how to simplify some of the lingo like “RT” and”@.” Instead of retweet Twitter could go with “share.” Even thehashtag is said to be threatened. Also, to give users a better sense of how many people see their tweets, Twitter could share an overall views number, presumably more satisfying than when a newcomer sees no one interacting with messages.

Vine
Twitter’s short-form video service unveiled a messenger feature just last week—following the path of Facebook’s Instagram—that started allowing members to more personally communicate. Brands are watching messaging potential closely as they look for new ways to connect one-on-one with social media users, some of whom can help lift marketing campaigns. A number of messaging services are starting to intrigue advertisers who could connect more intimately with fans, respond to customer issues and talk individually with consumers.

Ads
Twitter has been preparing advertisers for more direct-response ad formats that allow consumer actions like app installs, click-to-call and e-mail signups right from the app. The new ads already are starting to show up with companies like SalesForce and Square pushing app downloads on Twitter. The Wall Street Journal reported there could be up to 15 varieties of such performance-based advertising.

Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/twitters-redesign-speaks-brands-and-users-emojis-vine-messenger-video-ads-156876