The other day we all checked our Facebook pages and found that everything was different. The first and most obvious change is the real-time feed of your friends’ updates on the upper right-hand side of the page.  Some are calling this the ‘real time Facebook’ while others are calling it distracting.

Facebook has also eliminated the links for “Top Stories” and “Most Recent,” changing the News Feed to adjust its content based on the last time you checked it. You also have the option, via a pull-down menu at the top of the Feed, to change what stories actually appear

But Facebook saved the biggest changes for yesterday’s F8 Developers Conference.

The Timeline – Your Life Online

The change that’s getting the most attention is the Timeline. This is a radical rethinking and redesign of the profile page. Visually and functionally, it’s a whole new profile. Facebook is calling the Timeline the place “to tell your story from beginning, to middle, to now.” Users will love the new layout options and the new class of apps that lets them share the music they are listening to, the food they are cooking or the movies they are watching. Privacy advocates will no doubt hate it for the exact same reasons.

Open Graph – More Than Just Likes

Along with the Timeline, Facebook introduced a new version of Open Graph allowing for deeper and more meaningful connections between users and the things they do and like. Now you can connect to anything in any way that you like.  You don’t need to ‘like’ a song, you can just ‘listen’ to it.

This makes possible a whole new class of apps to share lifestyle and media (music and images) and new ways to help you discover new things through your friends’ connections. For example, you can play and share your friends music though the new Spotify app and watch movies from the movie link through the Netflix app. If you see one of your friends is listening to a song on Spotify, you can click on that update in the ticker and listen along with them.

In short, it’s all about verbs – like, listen, read, cook or run instead of just like.

The Future of Search is Social

What does this all mean? Discovery is moving from a search function to a social one. What started with Amazon reviews and tagging has now grown into a whole ecosystem of recommendations based on what our friends and relations have chosen to like, watch, buy, listen to or read. This is what Google is betting on with its +1 button on Google+ and Facebook is right there next to them.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns on how you can use Facebook to promote your business, we are here to help!

The newest social network is finally here and we’ve been playing with it for close to a week now. Here are our thoughts on what businesses and individuals need to watch out for.

Growth here is rapid.

Google+ is projected to reach more than 20 million users in less than three weeks. This rapid growth brings new follows and friends into the network, and like Quoara a few months ago, we expect most users to be overwhelmed. While Google+ offers ways to organize your friends (into circles), it will still take some time for users to get on top of things. Read Tara Hunt’s account of the torrent of follows she had to grapple with here.

It takes work to control the flood of information.

We agree with Robert Scoble who says Google+ needs a filtering mechanism before it goes mainstream.

One way to filter is by separating out your contacts into different circles and following only those circles you might be interested in at the moment. However, as Scoble points out, unlike Facebook Groups, where the associations are by interest, Google+ circles are ad hoc and there’s no guarantee that your circle of friends in the healthcare industry (for example) will talk about healthcare issues.

Friendship on Google+ is asynchronous.

On Google+ you can follow anyone you want to but unlike Facebook and Linkedin, the people you follow are under no obligation to follow you back. This makes Google+ more like Twitter, a fact noted my many, including GigaOm’s Matthew Ingram who points out that Google+ may be a bigger threat to Twitter than it is to Facebook.

Although Google+ adds a layer (circle) between the consumer and businesses, it boasts the Twitter-esq ability to network effectively with other businesses. And, like Twitter, Google+ will allow like-minded companies to engage each other without scaring off their consumers.

Google+ is real time.

Ingram’s article also points out that Google+ content sharing and interactions all take place in real-time, which creates a real threat towards the Twitter format. There is no ‘wall’ for you to share and archive. There is only the torrent of information you actively share in real-time with your various circles or with all of your friends.

The business experience is still unclear.

Some businesses have already signed up and created profiles. Google is promising a better user experience for business users and has asked businesses to hold off on signing up until it is ready.

There have already been reports of spammers and the early adopter community on Google+ has been quick to report any signs of brands trying to work their way into communities.

Careful …Google+ is not there yet. Start thinking outside of the box.

Our advice to businesses: be patient. It would be ill-advised to jump into the un-defined waters of this website before Google’s approval. Right now, people are looking for people and not for businesses.

However, prime your keyboards and get ready to join the network soon. Once the users become comfortable with the Google system, you can be sure that there will be an amazing amount of opportunity to be realized. Savvy consumers may even start building a “deals” or “coupons” circle, which could provide distance between consumers and their social life yet allow them to engage with businesses on their own terms. This will provide businesses a very real opportunity to be “polite” online (an increasingly difficult achievement through Facebook).

Joining Foursquare is easier and more beneficial than you may think.

Sophisticated mobile apps are now giving smart phone users a whole host of tools to help them find out where to shop, dine, and find entertainment wherever they are, right at their fingertips. Add to that the ability to instantly share their location and leave behind tips and reviews and you have a powerful combination for consumers, retailers and restaurants.

You’ve probably heard of Foursquare and figured it’s just the latest social media flavor of the month. But while it’s fun to share your travels with friends and family, it’s so much more than a game. From humble beginnings, Foursquare has grown into a crowd-sourced guide to what’s new, what’s happening, and where to shop and dine in almost any community.

Here are the four easy steps for you to take advantage of Foursquare.

1. Sign Up

You can’t play unless you join. Create an account so you can check in to your location and others in your neighborhood. You can also see who else is checking in and what they are saying about you and the other businesses in your neighborhood.

2. Leave to-dos and tips

One of the most popular features of Foursquare is leaving tips and to-dos at check-ins. Consumers can leave mini-reviews and suggestions behind for their friends.

You can use this to tell visitors what makes your venue special and why they should visit. Tips and to-dos are also shared, so if your friends check-in anywhere in your neighborhood, they’ll see what you have to say.

3. See what’s being said and who’s stopping by

Foursquare allows you to claim your physical location so you can offer specials to people who check in at your store. Claiming your location also gives you access to information about who is visiting and how often they come by your shop and allows you to offer deals and specials to your customers who check-in.

You can use Foursquare to track traffic over time, see who’s visiting and when, what they are saying and how often they are stopping by. Historical information from before you claimed your location is also available. You can even track how a special changes traffic over time, allowing you to customize and optimize deals you offer through Foursquare.

According to Foursquare, there are more than 3 million check-ins every day! Imagine how many check-ins might be at your store or restaurant; and what’s being said by the people checking-in.

4. Reward your Mayor

Foursquare rewards the person who has the most check-ins at any location by proclaiming them ‘The Mayor.’ The Mayor of your shop is without a doubt your ideal customer. He or she is the person most likely to tell their friends how much they love shopping at your store or eating at your restaurant.

Twitter

• There are great ways to auto tweet your e-blasts now. Integrate as much as you can!
• Make sure your site has the ability for people to follow you in numerous places.
• Update your twitter bio information, background and photo.

Facebook

• Your fan page has been updated to resemble personal profiles. Photos play a bigger role, go take a look.
• You can now ‘talk’ like you are your fan page – lots more visible engagement!
• Your page tabs can support FBML (think HTML that Facebook has had it’s hand in) web graphics… so great for campaigns.

LinkedIn

• Refresh your profile and your company page.
• Connect to your WordPress blog and share your presentations.
• Participate with the enhanced ‘Questions.’

We think you’re going to ‘love’ all the changes but they can seem overwhelming. Comment with your thoughts and we can discuss how the changes apply to your integrated marketing solution.

So, you’ll see us raving about Iblast Card, asking you to like the facebook page, telling you to run out and grab your 2011 card, and most importantly: Buy Local and Shop in Town!