Multiply Gets a Make-over: It's about time

A warm welcome to the new look of Multiply! It's about time. When everybody's a gaga with Facebook and Twitter, you'd suspect that Multiply had to step up to the plate else face eventual oblivion. Even Friendster is continually trying to update itself to the times. But are the changes really for the better?

My first hunch that something new was happening with Multiply was when I couldn't update my profile photo on my Multiply site, as if my site's settings had frozen. Then Nico told me that they were releasing the new Multiply make-over yesterday. Then last night, it happened.

First impression: Multiply has done wonders making it's Inbox -- the first page you always visit when you open Multiply -- more relevant with functionality. Here's what it looks like now:

Most noticeable are the quick access tabs on top to your Inbox, Media Locker and personal site; and the left sidebar which reminds you of Facebook's filters and works much the same way. 

With this "homepage", you don't have to reload as much to navigate within the site. A quick click on Groups displays your groups list in the view pane without leaving this page:

There seems to be a lot more control over what you see in your inbox: from the customization of filters, to tickbox toggles to either view or hide 'friends of friends' activity, and 'favorite' tickboxes among your friends and groups.

The Media Locker benefits a lot also from this make-over. My initial impression was that these changes gave more meaning to the Media Locker. It looks so simple now to view and work on your content. The Media Locker view also has similar filters on the left pane to find what you want:

But for me, the most telling change is the Quick Note function which seems to be a response to Twitter and Facebook's "What's on your Mind?" status function:

I've always regarded Multiply more as a blog tool with social networking strengths. I thought it was good at what it can do and will continue to carve this niche in the online world. But, this just show that Multiply seems to be serious about going head-to-head with Facebook. Does it succeed in reinforcing itself as a social network? Too early to tell, for me at least.

As I leave you with the note that flashes onscreen the first time you log onto the new Multiply, I'd like to hear from you your first impressions of it. Comment away. :)

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Dear Members, 

By this point, you've certainly noticed that things are looking a little different around Multiply. But there's more to what's new here than a fresh coat of paint. As you begin doing the things you normally do around Multiply, you'll discover what makes this the best Multiply release, ever. If you're curious about precisely what's new, take a moment to learn more about the new Multiply Inbox, or read about improvements to the Media Locker.

None of the improvements you see around you would be possible without the Multiply team; I could not be more proud of the effort that's been put into this release. And on behalf of all of us, I'd like to thank you for using Multiply.

We made all of this for you, and we're as proud to present to you Multiply's new look, feel and features today, as we've been to help you share your lives with the people closest to you for over five years now. 


Enjoy everything,

Peter Pezaris
Founder & CEO

Advertisers and Ad Agencies: It's time to expand your Social Network(ing)

The advertising industry is experiencing a crisis -- not only because of shrinking marketing budgets, not only because advertisers are looking for ways to bypass the ad agencies and going directly to other vendors and suppliers, but more because the consumer is taking control. Today's consumer do not want to be talked to. They want to participate and socialize. People are not glued to their TV sets anymore. Yes, they're could still be on their couches with the TV or radio on, but they're on their mobile phones and computers at the same time.

Being in the advertising industry, I've seen too many good people lose their market value because they've refused to change their ways. They've stopped learning and they're stuck with what they know. The few who continuously attempt to redefine themselves are the ones who get ahead and are prepared for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Oh, yes, most of us are already on Friendster and Facebook. And most of us use Yahoo Messenger, search on Google and Yahoo, and have read at least a blog entry or two. But do we really understand why and how people use these digital tools? Do we really understand what it will take for our brands to participate in the online space?

What comes to mind when our clients tell us that we want to get into digital or the internet? How many times do we get creative initiatives that are mere banner-ad or rich-media executions? How many times have clients asked us to create a Facebook fan page or start spamming our personal social networks to get a campaign go "viral" -- and we go ahead and agree with them? Do we really understand online social networks as marketing professionals?

While Plurking and reading blogs, I stumbled upon this blog that was an invitation to the 2nd Social Networking & E-Business Conference 2009. It will be held very soon -- April 23 & 24 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati. 

Organizers Fiera de Manila Inc. and DigitalFilipino.com writes about the conference:

Express yourself, share your interest, post your photos, share your music, connect with friends, make new connections, and exchange insights --- this is now the growing trend of communications and engagement with your customers.

The phenomenon of online social networks has created real-life and business relationships amongst advertisers, users and consumers of today's digital marketplaces. The growth and popularity of social networks is changing the landscape of marketing and e-Business.

Gain insights on how to maximize the use of social networks. Learn from various case studies. Learn from various Experts sharing their unique perspectives on the phenomenon of social networks.

The Social Networking and e-Business Conference 2009 is an event geared towards companies and digital marketing/advertising professionals who are interested to use social networks for advertising/marketing their products and services. It is for dynamic companies, start-ups, and upcoming players who would like to leverage on current technologies to communicate and sell their products/services in the cyber world; and, gain knowledge as to how this industry is working and evolving.

I came across Ms Jannet Toral on Plurk and figured, if I found her online, then she probably knows much more about this space than most advertising gurus who don't even have a blog. Aside from her, Friendster, Asia Pay, Smart, Level Up!, ABS-CBN Interactive, and Yahoo! will be speaking. And there are even others from outfits I've never heard of but that probably means I should know who they are.

These are the people I need to be having conversations with. These people I want to be within my social network. These are the people who I can learn from about Social Network marketing.

I want to be ready for today's marketing challenges. I want to be prepared for what's next. I want to be part of the Social Networking and e-Business Conference 2009.

See you there? Click here for the conference's registration form.

From AdAge Digital: The Reason why Facebook Changed Face

Since Facebook launched it's new interface, a lot of my friends (and apparently around the world) have been complaining about it. Somehow, being someone adventurous, I welcomed the change and embraced it. It was very different but eventually I liked it. 

Previously, I was getting the hang of regularly updating my Facebook status and did think it was a rising trend. With the new Facebook layout, you can go beyond just text updates -- you can post links, video, pics as part of that status. I abhor it when people resist change and expect new things to be flawless at the first try.

Since the change, I've seen Facebook's layout to be continuously improving with new features and minor tweaks. I know they're listening to comments but taking them with a grain of salt. No, they will not go back to the previous layout even if a million users threaten to leave Facebook if they don't. Going back to the old just because the new thing doesn't work well yet is stupid. 

Here's Why Facebook's All Aflutter Over Twitter

Seems That the Tweet Is Replacing the Status Update Among the Digerati

by Michael Learmonth 

Published: March 23, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Did Twitter just make Facebook blink? If not, why did Facebook suddenly get so much more Twitter-like?

Indeed, mighty Facebook, steaming toward 120 million worldwide users, pulling away from MySpace and even nudging Google on its axis, started emulating key functions of Twitter earlier in March after a redesign made status updates central and immediate.

Last week Facebook moved further into Twitter territory by allowing users to open their profiles -- and status updates -- to the public, letting users to speak to people who follow them but whom they don't necessarily know. In other words, like Twitter.

But why would Facebook, quickly becoming the web's 800-pound gorilla, try to stop everyone's favorite little microblogger?

Life-casting
Perhaps because with the blizzard of media coverage over the past six months, not to mention high-profile celebrity users, it appears that the tweet is replacing the Facebook status update as the main form of life-casting among some of the 6 million Twitter faithful. "I know a lot of people who only update their Facebook status through Twitter," said Steve Rubel, senior VP at Edelman Digital.

Or, more likely, it's because of Twitter's massive growth. The site had 7 million unique visits in February, up 1,382% from a year ago, according to Nielsen NetView. But even that statistic is an underestimation of Twitter, as many users update via mobile or third-party software such as TweetDeck. Forty-two percent of the service's audience is between 35 and 49 years old.

Facebook clearly saw value in what Twitter founders Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Ev Williams had built, and made a $500 million offer for the microblogging service last summer.

While the subset of Facebook users now lingering on Twitter instead of their Facebook profiles is tiny, traffic to Twitter has exploded in the past six months. "It's apparent to me they have Twitter envy; because they didn't get Twitter, they are becoming more like Twitter," said Colton Perry, senior VP-technology at NetPlus Marketing.

Indeed, in some ways, Facebook one-ups Twitter by allowing responses beneath an update, facilitating conversation threads that can be more difficult to follow on Twitter. "Conversations have gotten much more linear and in-depth on Facebook," said Geoff Livingston, CEO of Livingston Communications. "But the real issue is that Twitter has never had a real competitor and now it does."

Feeling threatened
As a media property supported by advertising, Facebook has quite a bit to lose if a start-up or intermediary like Twitter stands between it and any significant portion of its user base. In February, Facebook claimed 6% of time spent online in the U.S., more than any other property, according to Compete. Any alternative or intermediary -- Twitter can be used as either -- threatens that engagement.

On the contrary, Twitter has no display-ad business to speak of, though last week it did start showing the equivalent of a house ad on the right side of the page that explained "twitter search," "widget" and other Twitter-relevant terms.

But aside from that, Twitter's ad business is nonexistent. At present, it's a messaging platform, not a media property. But if Facebook caps Twitter's growth or slows it down, it will make it that much harder for Twitter to resist Google, Yahoo or Microsoft if and when they come knocking.

Last week Sanford Bernstein analysts cautioned that monetizing the service "would be difficult at best and likely unsuccessful," and argued that a Twitter deal could end up destroying value on the scale of AOL's $4.2 billion acquisition of Netscape, and eBay's $4.1 billion acquisition of Skype.

Yet plenty of observers think that, regardless of what Facebook does, the two can coexist. While Twitter appeals to a subset of Facebook's audience, they're used for different purposes. Facebook users tend to connect to all their friends and family, while on Twitter, they only "follow" the interesting or useful ones, and dump the rest.

Thoughtfulness
"I believe they are two different technologies," said Marita Scarfi, chief operating officer of Omnicom's Organic. "[Twitter] is about thoughtful pieces and opinions you want to put out, [Facebook] is about how or what you are doing today."

There's also a danger for Facebook in moving into Twitter territory. Facebook users consider their profiles private, and one of the bigger complaints about the new-look Facebook is that the pages deliver too much information.

"While there is a lot of overlap of audiences, they really are different groups," Mr. Rubel said. "A big reason for that is [Facebook] offers a level of privacy Twitter doesn't offer."

Just how many of Facebook's 100 million-odd users want their feeds hijacked by the Twitterati? "I would suggest some do and some don't," said Floyd Hayes, creative director of marketing firm Cunning.

As of last week, more than 800,000 Facebook users had weighed in on the new design, nearly all voting "thumbs down." A sample comment: "Frustrating to navigate. If I wanted Twitter I'd go there!"

Blogger, Plurk, Delicious, Multiply, Facebook... A Surge in Social Networking

Today, I open my first Blogger account. In fact, it's my first official blog. I've had my Windows Live Spaces for about two years now, and it used to be my personal blog when I was in Chicago, but I realized it was difficult to get an audience in Live Spaces. Really difficult. And I got too busy with other things to keep on blogging.

Fast forward to today: My work requires me to (1) keep in touch with the online world and what's new out there, (2) create a public professional profile online as the online face of the agency, and (3) become an authority in creating digital efforts for my clients. I work in the Manila office of Leo Burnett / Arc Worldwide as the head of the Digital CRM team. My team brings into the agency the expertise of using digital channels to deliver CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing) principles into the marketing mix of our clients. But enough about that for now.

Why Blogger? I still have to figure that one out. Blogger used to be Blogspot till around 2003 when Google bought the company. Some of my friends use Wordpress, which is supposedly ranked #1 (See review here). And then others use LiveJournal. All these three are free, easy-to-use and powerful tools. I decided to use Blogger because some of my closest blogger friends are on it. Ergo, it will be easier to connect to them and their blogs.

Yes, I'm now a sucker for social networking. I didn't used to be. I remember the time when everybody in Manila was raving about Friendster and collecting friends online. And I refused to follow. I didn't like the idea of having an online profile to promote yourself. Why would you if had a very active social life in the real world, right? Oh, but I was connected alright. I had Yahoo Messenger, Skype, and my chat friends on some chat sites. I had my mobile phone book to SMS anyone I knew. And I had my trusty email address book to keep in touch. But times have changed. And it's changing faster and faster. And a mid-30s guy needs to keep pace or get left behind.

For me it all happened in the past two years. Before I left for Chicago, I had already set up my Friendster profile but with virtually nothing on it. I set up my Windows Live Spaces, as I mentioned earlier, to start a personal blog. But also because Microsoft was a client of mine at that time. It was in Hong Kong after my Chicago stint that things started to pick up for me. My new-found friends were using Multiply to share online content (links, photos, videos, and personal thoughts) with each other. I had to join to be part of the loop. Then an officemate of mine practically forced me to create a Facebook account because, as she said, it was fun. And it sure was. I quickly found the friends and family I left in Manila and elsewhere in these social networks. Or they quickly found me.

A few years ago, I had a problem: I was an outta-sight-outta-mind kind of guy. If I didn't see you, if you didn't call, I was out of touch. Today, because of social networking, I get glimpses of what's happening with my cousin living in California, with my high school classmate on a trip to Italy, with an old barkada who has moved to New Zealand, and with an old fling living in Chicago. And, nowadays, I remember birthdays much much more often. Social networks have made this big world much smaller.

On a regular day, I check my Facebook and Multiply every quarter hour on the average. My Friendster is a grave site. And there's always something new to discover online everyday.

Last week I created my Plurk account. Plurk describes itself as "a social journey for your life." In a nutshell, it's the new Twitter plus karma points. Twitter never really took off in this country. At least not that I know of. Maybe Plurk will. We'll see.

Today also I created my Delicious account. Delicious is about social bookmarking. It extends the bookmarking functions in your browser to something online which you can share with others. Really interesting concept, but I still have to find it's purpose in my human life. Maybe I'll write about that too in the future. Maybe not.

Let me end this first post by welcoming you to this blog. Join me in my journey into what's new online, and offline. And maybe you'll learn a new thing or two in the process. Feel free to comment and contribute. I like conversation more than rhetoric. That's your part. 'Till next time.