Happy Birthday Lola
Wishing you a wonderful 1st birthday. May you have the patience and understanding to put up with your dad for the next 60 (or so) years…and then you can start dating.
I love you more every day.
Facebook Ads :: waste of dollars?
This blog originally started as a few comments posted to a screenshot of a Facebook ad I posted on my FB account recently. It has moved here because all of the comments mysteriously vanished from my FB page. I asked FB tech support to help me figure out why the comments vanished and have received no response. No other comments on any other pictures are missing. Only the ones that spoke about Facebook and the general lack of satisfaction with FB ads from one advertiser.
I will recreate the interesting/pertinent parts of this discussion as best I can.
I posted the following screenshot of a Facebook ad that was served to me on December 9.
I added the following description:
“Really? Is this the best use of ad dollars in FaceBook’s opinion?”
My original thoughts were 1) why can’t FB filter out the page owner when they are promoting friends of mine who are fans of the page that is being advertised? and 2) why is this ad being served to me? The only call to action for the ad is to become a fan of this page and I’m already a fan of the page.
So, Facebook’s ad server is smart enough to know that one of my friends is a fan of a page that is being advertised…”Shawn Collins (my FB friend) is a fan of Shawn Collins (the page that is being advertised)” but they can’t figure out that Shawn Collins is the owner of the Shawn Collins page or that I am already a fan of that page?
Anyway, when I posted the pic and the comment Shawn saw it and posted the following:
Shawn Collins: “I am my own biggest fan… is that wrong? :)”
Jim Odom: I replied with some very witty comment like “And we all know that Shawn, you don’t have to pay to tell us something we already know? :-)” I then explained my issues/concerns with the ad.
Shawn Collins: “Yes, it is a dopey experience, and I don’t like that they would display impressions to people who can’t take action.
I am definitely not one to be reckless with the ad dollars - this is just a short term test to see the impact of the ads (so far, not so impactful).”
So, really very tame comments about a concern with Facebook’s ad serving technology. I hope that Facebook will see the discussion and address these problems. But seeing as how the comments have disappeared from my FB page and the FB help squad has not responded to my request for help…I’m not sure that it will even matter to them.
I really hope that there is no reason to suspect that anyone at FB would have removed the comments deliberately. Maybe it’s just this whole election thing that has me paranoid. Socialist takeover and all. But that’s another discussion.
Proofing Tools :: Looking for Input
I’m testing online tools to provide proofing/commenting on pdf, jpg, psd, swf & other likely design deliverable files. I’m currently looking at ProofHQ, ConceptShare and backboard.
My main concern is, will my clients use it? So, it has to be user-friendly and ready for my not-geek clients. I’ll let you know how the search goes but I’m looking for input from other designers who are using these types of tools in a client-interaction setting.
What are you using and why?
Gas Prices Boost E-Commerce
From eMarketer.com - July 25, 2008
Fuel-saving strategy has been a long time coming.
Depending on your perspective, online sales are up either despite or because of the economic slowdown. With gas prices continuing to climb, a growing number of shoppers are deciding to skip car trips to the mall in favor of online merchants.
Even as many brick-and-mortar stores are struggling, 11% of US consumers surveyed by Nielsen in June 2008 said they were shopping more on the Web as a result of gas prices.
“E-commerce is a bright spot,” said Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer. “While retail store growth is in the middle-low single digits, e-commerce is still growing at least in the mid to high teens.”
FireDrill!
One of my clients is a private school, 1st through 9th grade. Today, while on campus meeting with several administrators there was a fire drill.
There’s nothing like standing in a muddy field with 200 1st and 2nd graders to make you feel young again!
I love my job!!
10 Essential Numbers to Keep in Your Cell Phone
Every now and then it’s a good idea to update your cell phone address book, deleting old numbers, reorganizing your speed-dial, and so on. While you’re at it, follow Marc and Angel’s recommendations for 10 handy numbers to keep in your phone. For example, find a local locksmith and add his/her number to the address book, just in case you lock your keys in your car and have to get somewhere in a hurry. Also recommended: airline reservation hotlines (for dealing with flight cancellations and other travel troubles), your primary care physician, and the lost/stolen-card number for your credit card. Check the complete list for other suggestions, then add your own in the Comments.
Global-thermonuclear-censorship by the G-men
Dan Perry points out a new “feature” from Google in the SERPs. Evidently, Google is trying to protect us from ourselves.
http://danperry.com/wordpress/ouch/
I don’t know, this company may have done something really hideous in the past. Or they could have just been “had” by an unethical web developer (though the developer of the current site seems to be a Microsoft Certified Partner). Or maybe…Google made a mistake?
I took a very quick look at the code on the home page and found nothing that looked troubling. There’s one javascript for analytics, but nothing strange that I noticed.
I am not in any way saying this site is safe or ethical. I don’t know. But I don’t see any golf vacations to Wisconsin in my near future so I’m not going to worry about it too much.
My point is, if Google is so “concerned” with our computer’s well-being then why not just remove the listing and contact the site owner to give them a chance to resolve the problem, instead of making them march around the town square with a big red “B” (for Badware) on their chest. I would guess that there has never been any type of communication from Google to this site owner about this label.
And what is more frustrating is that if this site is crooked, then why let it continue to take up a place in the top-20 where some well-meaning, non-badware site could be listed instead.
But for a minute let’s assume that the “This site may harm your computer” message is legit. And Google is granting some leeway to this site by continuing to display the listing (even though there is a big red WARNING sign). What about the other “shady” business practices Google has instituted.
Google consistently oversteps its boundaries of being a roadmap to information. Somewhere along the way someone at Google decided they would be the Traffic Cop. It seems to me they’ve set up one big-ass speed trap!
For companies who rely on their websites to provide an income for the people (with families) who are employed by those companies Google can, without provocation, notice, or response, put them out of business.
Google has created a business model where every business has a dependency on being ranked highly. And when a site is not ranked highly the only course of action is to pay for ads.
I don’t fault Google for being so successful. Or even for becoming everything that they claim they hate about Microsoft. But I do fault them for hiding behind the curtain. Even the Police have to tell people what the laws are before they start arresting people. Google does not tell us what the laws are. And when you ask them they tell you it’s a trade secret.
And I thought only my wife could change the rules in the middle of the game and get away with it.
Thanks to Dan for pointing this out. If you want to see more of Dan’s writing visit him at 19thHole.com (http://www.19thhole.com/user/danperry/blogs) or at his blog (http://danperry.com)
And I though we were on the cutting edge
Shopping from home? Real-time video monitoring of your own home?? PAYING BILLS THROUGH A COMPUTER?!?!?! Now that’s crazy talk!
