Mar 14, 2012
Facebook Hires New Help To Shape Privacy Policies
Facebook has some new hired help – lobbying help, that is — to handle specific legislation and policy issues related to privacy.While Facebook has its own inhouse team of lobbyists in Washington, D.C. that works with federal agencies, the White House and Capitol Hill, the social network also works with third-party lobbyists, and just hired Steptoe & Johnson to that end.
Two other lobbying companies have just parted ways with Facebook, citing conflicts of interest with other clients, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, here’s a look at a few of the bills that Facebook’s outside lobbyists have addressed during the 112th Congress.
Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 (H.R. 1895)
The bill was introduced by Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and co-chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has oversight on a host of issues from telecommunications to consumer protection, food and drug safety, and interstate and foreign commerce.
As committee chairman and co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus with Republican Representative Joe Barton of Texas, Rep. Markey has corresponded with Facebook, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies over a host of privacy-related issues.
SAFE Data Act (H.R. 2577)
The privacy-related bill was sponsored by Republican Representative Mary Bono Mack of California, another member of the House Energy and Commerce committee.
The legislation creates ” uniform national standards for data security and data breach notification,” according to the congresswoman’s press release announcing the bill.
It was drafted in response to cyber-attacks on commerce websites. Facebook’s interest in developing social commerce, the momentum for which has waned according to some, is the likely source of the company’s interest in the bill.
Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights 2011 (S. 799)
Sponsored by Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, co-chair of the U.S. Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, and Senator John McCain, the Republican from Arizona, the bill is meant to increase consumer trust in the market by providing a baseline code of conduct for how “personally identifiable information and information that can uniquely identify an individual or networked device are used, stored, and distributed.”
For many reasons, not the least of which that as an election year, members of Congress become more focused on reelection rather than legislation, it’s likely these bills will linger where they are now — in the congressional committees where they were introduced.
Facebook Users Dedicate Their Birthdays To Causes
There are many fun ways to recognize friends’birthdays on Facebook, but some users are taking advantage of the occasion to promote serious causes.While we wouldn’t go so far as to call it viral yet, we’ve seen some posts from members of the social network using their birthdays to further the causes of organizations such as:
- MyCharity: Water, which is aimed at providing clean and safe drinking water throughout the world, and
- InvisiblePeople.tv, which uses short videos to tell the story of homeless people.
Readers: Have you noticed any cause-related birthday posts? If so, what causes were they promoting?
What Women And Men Want Most On Facebook: Food
Women and men want food more than any other type of brand, according to an analysis of social media posts by NetBase.
NetBase examined 27 billion online conversations over the course of a year, and found that men and women’s top ten lists overlap by about 70 percent.
Take a gander at the infographic below and let us know what you think of it in the comments section beneath this post.
3 Strategies To Develop Your Business With Facebook
We sometimes forget people were social before social media came along; thinking ofrelationships as independent of technology can strengthen your business strategy.With that in mind, here’s how to achieve three key marketing objectives.
Drive Awareness
Driving awareness requires you to reach as many relevant users as possible. People usually have strong ties to only a handful of their connections, but social media has considerably increased reach — the average user has 140 connections, up from about 100 a year ago.
Users may not always value purchasing advice from every single one of their connections, but if friends share content, people are most likely to see it.
And if the content is appealing, users are most likely to click it. This applies especially to videos.
A great way to drive awareness is to create videos that people want to share. Sharing content on Facebook does not always feel as instinctive as liking or commenting, so the video must be compelling.
Generate Sales
Generating sales requires that you tap into a much different social network structure.
As Paul Adams, a product development manager at Facebook, points out, people talk to the same five to ten people 80 percent of the time. People are tightly connected to five small groups, on average, with which they share a common interest or affinity.
Influence can be so strong between these few connections that it can actually generate sales. To generate sales via social media, create very exclusive offers rather than pitching the same stuff to everyone at once.
This way, users are incentivized to share them with their most relevant and trusted connections. Doing so will maximize your sales.
Increase Loyalty
Increasing loyalty is another very valuable way to leverage social media.
Promote your Facebook page wherever you have access to your customers, so that they like it (of course, this can be offline). Then, provide these customers with engaging content that will start a conversation between your customers, their friends and your brand.
Since the objective here is to start a conversation, this content should be more about your customers than about you.
Getting your customers to engage with your content is crucial. It will deepen your relationship with them and increase their loyalty. It will also turn your customers into your best advocates and your most valuable assets in social media.
In short, Facebook can help you achieve key marketing objectives with unprecedented results. But you should not try to apply old media strategies to social media.
Instead, brands on Facebook should see themselves as regular users, and provide valuable input to startconversations around their content. Ultimately, this will help you boost sales.
Guest writer Olvier Lasry is the founder of Wingsplay. Lead image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Applying To Schools? Mind Your Facebook Profile
Kaplan Test Prep has previously issued statistics warning about the impact of Facebook profiles on applications to graduate school, college, and law school. Now, it’s backing up the data with an infographic.According to Kaplan:
- 37 percent of law school admissions officers have examined Facebook and other social media profiles of applicants;
- So have 24 percent of college admissions officers; and
- Ditto for 22 percent of business school admissions officers.
As for finding content that negatively impacted candidates, it happened for 32 percent of law school admissions officers, 14 percent of business school admissions officers, and 12 percent of college admissions officers.
Bottom line: Mind your Facebook profile and other social media accounts if you’re applying to schools.
Make your arranged marriage work
They say marriages are made in heaven. But then, there are also those made here on earth. Though an arranged marriage may feel like a pre-historic concept, such matches are still prevalent in society. Whether you marry someone you've fallen in love with, or someone your parents have chosen, as a couple you are bound to go through some ups and downs. It's just that if it's an arranged marriage, it may take you a tad longer to understand the thought process of your partner. If you are about to enter into an arranged marriage, here are some pointers you need to keep in mind:
Pre-marital jitters
Pre-marital jitters are very common among couples who opt for an arranged marriage. And if you're experiencing them, ask yourself what is causing the anxiety. Among the most prominent reasons is the fear of sharing space and adjusting to a relatively unknown partner. Then, of course, is the fear of how to deal with a new family; how much you'd have to change your behaviour to adapt to their thoughts and habits.
The best way to overcome this problem is by interacting frequently with your partner. It will put you at ease with your partner and also improve the intimacy between the two of you.
Never complain
An arranged marriage means more responsibilities and expectations. Both partners are under pressure to make the marriage work. Your partner may not share all your likes and dislikes and his/her family may not follow the same values as yours. You may be constantly corrected about the way things are done in this house. Relax!
Adjustment is the name of the game. Have a frank talk with your partner, list out your anxieties and figure out a way to do things without antagonising your new family. In the initial days of your marriage, don't take rude remarks or the seemingly harsh moves of your partner too seriously. Also, don't adopt the tit for tat philosophy. Stay away from troublemakers and look for allies. Also, don't complain or sound whiny to your partner. Remember, he/she is just as confused and nervous as you are.
The magic of love
Love is that essential ingredient that can help both of you overcome hurdles. If love at first sight hasn't happened, don't worry. It may take time, but you will grow to love each other. Even if you're in love already, don't expect your partner to immediately reciprocate the feelings. Give him/her time and work on how you can earn his/her love. Be patient and don't get frustrated every time your partner says or does something wrong.
Remember, marriage is like a whirlpool which takes one from a carefree world to a world filled with commitment and sacrifice; a world with love as its backbone.
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