Social Round-up #35

Welcome to eModeration's round-up of all that is intriguing, alarming or odd in the world of social media, compiled by Kate Williams. For more social media snippets, follow her on @emodkate - or for general twittery, @KateVWilliams.

This week: Chaps, we need feedback! Twice-weekly we slave over a hot keyboard without a clue what you, our beloved readers, think of our round-ups - so waddya reckon? Are we too long, too short, or just right? What about the news that we cover - is there an area we're missing that you'd like to hear more about? If you are an opinionated type, and would care to share your thoughts with us, we would love to hear from you: please do post comments below - or tweet me @emodkate.

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ON GOOGLE ...

Lawks – relations between Apple and Google have recently resembled an imploding celebrity marriage: one knows one’s interest is prurient, but somehow one can’t bear to look away. One minute they’re auctioning the wedding photos in a gush of undying love; the next, Team Jobs and Team Schmidt are briefing against one another amidst a frenzy of toxic recrimination, allegations of dysfunction, and bilious regret.

Last month, Apple launched a patent-infringement suit against HTC, the Taiwanese company whose phones run Google’s Android operating system.  The move was widely read as the first thrust in what will prove to be a sustained assault on Google itself – one which Team Jobs will only abandon if Google makes an unlikely retreat from what Apple clearly perceives as its core business: mobile device technology.

This week, the New York Times revealed that the recent intensification of hostilities might have much to do with Google’s snatch-purchase of Ad Mob, the mobile advertising network it bought in November for a hefty $750 million, while Apple dithered over the deal. The Times’ piece neatly illuminates the two companies’ conflicting approaches to mobile development – the one a ferociously-policed walled-garden, the other a freewheelin’ realm of non-proprietary apps; and catalogues with horrified glee the perceived slights and small betrayals which litter the landscape in which the two tech titans now duke it out.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, reports that Google is (at last) ‘99% certain’ to pull out of China, having finalised a detailed plan for a phased withdrawal.  Last week, the Chinese government insisted that it was not prepared to compromise in the matter of censorship – and issued a brusque warning to Google’s business partners that it would not tolerate any divergence from its censorship directives, regardless of what Google itself did.  According to Business Insider, while Google might be sorely tempted to ‘go unfiltered’ - forcing China to close the service down (and providing an excuse for Google to go public with the backstory) – they’re unlikely to do so. The company is reportedly concerned that its PRC employees will suffer retaliatory action, and intends to leave quickly, but quietly.

Finally, a government panel appeared to have Google locked in its sights when it called for a news tax to be levied on news-regurgitators last week.  The ponderously-named Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society warned that British news is now controlled by a shrinking pool of media players, and that a ‘Google Tax’ is required to foster a diversity of news-providers. The idea of clipping Google’s wings – but without offering grist to NewsCorp's mill - is an intriguing and novel solution to what is usually described in terms of a Murdoch/Google binary.


ON FACEBOOK ...

A slow news week for Facebook, in comparison to the flurry of coverage it received last week: first for failing to adopt a panic-button for children, then for threatening to sue the Daily Mail over the ‘brand damage’ caused by that papers’ allegation that children are at risk on Facebook.

One tantalising story has emerged, however, to pique our curiosity: it seems that Mark Zuckerberg could yet be prosecuted for using the private Facebook login details of two journalists to hack into their email account, way back in 2004.  Business Insider reports that the two journalists were investigating allegations that Zuckerberg had ‘stolen’ crucial functionality from a fledgling social network which had hired him to consult.  It further claims that at least one of the laws he broke is still within its statute of limitations, meaning that Zuckerberg is, in theory, at risk of a 5 year jail sentence.


ON TWITTER ...

Yesterday at SXSW, Twitter CEO Evan Davies introduced the world to Twitter’s new baby chick: @anywhere, a service which will allow users to access the microblogging service from third party sites in much the same way as Connect does for Facebook users. Initial partnerships were announced with a roster of news sites and startups – including the Huffington Post, eBay, Digg and the New York Times - as Williams demonstrated how @anywhere will enable users to follow news columnists without logging in to Twitter, and to send tweets from external news sites.

But while Williams' @anywhere announcement was received with polite interest, a subsequent keynote chat with Davies by interviewer Umair Haque was very poorly received.  The lightweight interview, in which Haque pitched a series of softball questions at Williams, generated an excruciating flurry of distinctly underwhelmed tweets: “the guy behind me is snoring” was one, followed by “Umair’s career as an interviewer is toast”.  Fed up with Haque’s failure to pin Davies down on anything of real interest – his thoughts on Foursquare being a glaring f’rinstance - the audience was soon shuffling awkwardly towards the doors.

Earlier, Evan Williams told the BBC that Twitter will become ‘fundamental to government’, serving as a key conduit through which global citizens will communicate with those who govern on their behalf.

But it seems this cheering – though in the light of Google’s recent Chinese woes, perhaps over-optimistic – news has yet to reach the various UK local councils which have recently banned both members of the public, accredited journalists, and in some cases, their very own selves, from Tweeting public meetings. Twitter bans have been enforced even when live reporting was clearly in the public interest – as when the Manchester Evening News was prevented from reporting on Twitter the proceedings of a highly-charged and controversial planning meeting. As The Next Web points out, politicians are increasingly making use of Twitter to get their message out to voters; but some have clearly yet to realise that this social networking lark is, in fact, a two-way deal.


In other Twitter news:

Sigh – another round-up, another news story claiming that only a micro-chunk of Twitter’s users are active.  But perhaps not for much longer: Twitter’s recent roll-out of geolocation, a dramatically smoother version of its mobile site, and the ‘leaked’ promise of more ‘nifty site features’ to come, seem to confirm that Twitter is determined to snag back those of us who access its services via external apps and clients.

The LA Times reports that the makers of third-party apps like Brizzly and Tweetie are anxiously scrambling for new arenas in which to concentrate their efforts: they fear that Twitter has focused its now-considerable resources on improving the functionality of its site, after years spent simply keeping up with the demand for its service.

Finally, the microblogging site launched a new anti-phishing service which will allow it to scan all links posted by users for malware, bank scams, and other bad stuff.  The new service – which passes links automatically through twt.tl, a new Twitter-owned URL shortener - will initially be focused on direct messages and email notifications, since this is where most fraudulent activity takes place.


ON YOUTUBE ...

YouTube is intent on squeezing its considerable bulk into a whole new business territory, forcing pay-TV companies to budge up as it stakes a claim to live sports-casting. The site is aggressively pursuing ad revenue by streaming an entire season of the explosively-popular short-form Indian Premier League cricket: Brylcreem and Lebara Mobile have been snagged as sponsors in the UK. In contrast with previous years, streaming of the championships will no longer be blocked in countries where a TV deal is in place: YouTube’s deal requires them simply to delay the stream by 5 minutes - and will offer layers of interactivity -  choices of camera angles, action replay on demand - that TV can't yet match.

In related news, YouTube has announced that banner ads will now be appearing on its various mobile sites, beginning with Japanese and US home, browser and search pages.  The launch of the mobile sites resulted in a 160% increase in online video streaming – and YouTube claims that it can now deliver one of the mobile web’s biggest audiences.


BRANDS GET SOCIAL ...

In a first for Microsoft, we hear Bing is sponsoring weeknight showings of The Simpsons, in a three-month deal worth a hefty £500,000.  It’s tempting to speculate that the deal will see “Doh!” replaced by “Bing!” - but I fear that can only end in disappointment.

British Airways – anxious to avoid the reputation-crushing chaos that has ensued during previous bouts of industrial action – has gone on the social media offensive.  It’s using YouTube and Twitter to bombard customers with updates on the strike situation – while simultaneously pushing its own case and attempting to demolish that of Unite, the union with whom it is locked in deadly combat.

Cadbury's is tempting Creme Egg fans with two free iPhone apps. 'Scramble the Egg' invites users to indulge any urge they might harbour to shake a Creme Egg till it bursts; while 'Egg Marks The Spot' is a GPS-connected app which guides users to the nearest landmark, then encourages them to take a photo, onto which will be superimposed a Creme Egg.

The social media adventures of fashion goddess ASOS are once again drawing admiring gasps: their ‘ASOS Follows Fashion’ Twitter aggregator gathers tweets from designers, photographers, fashion journos and brands, the better to inform their discerning fashion-forward followers.

Domino’s Pizza is the first brand to trial a new ‘Social Affiliate’ widget, which allows anyone with a social network page to earn cash every time a sale is generated via their web space, NetImperative reports. BL Quantum, the agency which developed the tool, predicts brands will benefit “by aligning with sites run by fans who are more likely to drive a sale.”

Starbucks has launched a Foursquare promotion which will see coffee-lovin' fans who visit their outlets rewarded with a Barista badge on the location-based mobile service.

Diesel is launching a campaign designed to mark out their space in social media. The initiative – an extension of the brand’s Be Stupid campaign – harnesses Twitter, FourSquare and Facebook.


UNDER THE GAVEL ...

A high school student who asked a US court to reveal the identity of the sender of an allegedly libellous email has had her application rejected. The anonymous email, which was sent to the student’s school, alleged that she'd been drinking alcohol - in contravention of a school pledge she’d taken. She petitioned to unmask the email’s author, but the court ruled that Facebook pictures appeared to confirm the allegations, and that therefore the sender could remain anonymous.

More bad news for Yelp, the local review site, in the form of a second class-action suit alleging ‘extortion’.  The plaintiffs claim that the company attempted to ‘extort’ money from enterprises, by offering to bury bad reviews if the company bought ad space. One individual claims Yelp removed 13 positive reviews after she refused to take out advertising – but Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman says the case is without merit, and that the reviews were removed because the business-owner had solicited them from family and friends.

Finally, both Google and Facebook are being pursued through the courts by Winksite, which alleges that Facebook Mobile and Google Buzz are infringing their patent relating to how mobile phone users access content on social networks. The company wants cash, and an immediate order to prevent the two networks using their invention.


SOCIAL STATS ...

Consumers are not terribly keen on paywalls, it’s fairly safe to say: an enormous 81 percent say they’d plump for online ads if that meant free content, according to Pew Research’s latest poll.

E-commerce is still growing, both in the UK and across the water: predictions for the British market are for 10% compound growth over the next five years, with a remarkably similar figure of 11% suggested by Forrester in the US.  While e-commerce generally managed to avoid the worst ravages of the recession, it seems likely that the years of rampant growth have passed.

E-tailers will be interested in Econsultancy’s new stats on Twitter’s usefulness in driving sales: the company finds that, with some notable exceptions,  few UK consumer-facing brands think Twitter deserves its hype: it seems that 20% to 30% of UK brands’ followers aren’t even potential customers, but other businesses, or spammers.

But, while Twitter’s usefulness may still be unproven, social media is still high on the agenda for most brands. Unica's survey of 155 marketers in the US and Europe fond that 70% of them are already using some form of social media, or plan to do so in the coming year.


VIRTUAL AND GAMES ...

Sony is launching a new interface for PlayStation 3’s virtual world Home – giving faster load times and allowing users to navigate through levels without walking through the 3-d environment.  Sony is clearly bullish about Home’s prospects – last week they announced that their stats had leapt from 5 to 12 million over the last year, and that a healthy 85% of users who try the virtual world once will come back for at least a second hit.


That’s all folks!