The document summarizes major social media developments from 2010. Twitter saw changes with a new revenue model, interface, and CEO. Facebook launched the "Like" button, which has become a key metric. Foursquare grew significantly, reaching 4 million users, and experimented with rewards and badges. YouTube began live streaming video. Overall social media became more integrated into people's daily lives and businesses began adopting new platforms and models for advertising and engagement.

1. MEDIA
Revisiting social media milestones
It’s only been a few years since a handful of social
SOCIAL
media websites have evolved into multi-billion dollar
businesses. With every passing year, their importance
and penetration among netizens increases. For many
the year 2010 was a definitive one with respect to social
media for various reasons. Here is a glimpse of this
year’s major social media developments and their
social, economic and technological impact.
The brand new Twitter Given that Twitter grew into a
company of 300 employees, with 165
It would not be an exaggeration to say
million users, and a billion-dollar
that 2010 was the year of change for
evaluation under his command, it was
Twitter. With a new revenue model, a
quite surprising to see Twitter’s co-
revamped user interface (UI) and a
founder, Evan Williams, step down from
new Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
his position as the CEO. However,
the Silicon Valley-based organisation
according to Williams, growing big is not
has been on a roll.
success; it is meeting one’s “potential as
a profitable
company that can
retain its culture and
user focus, while
having a positive
impact.” Also worth
mentioning is that
Williams was also the
man behind the
blogging platform,
Blogger, which he
co-founded and
managed until its
acquisition by Google in
2003. In his own words,
Williams is now the
product CEO at Twitter; while
the company’s new CEO is Dick
Costolo – someone who has helped
companies like Accenture and
FeedBurner generate some serious
revenue, in the past. Hence, it is only
natural to expect that the company’s
| 85 | december 2010 | SPIDER

2. SOCIAL MEDIA “new directions” will influence the
balance sheets.
The biggest example of this
trend would be the launch of three
major products by Twitter’s
advertising team over the span of
six months. The products included
Promoted Trends, Promoted
Tweets and Promoted Twitter
Accounts. The new advertising
platform was the much-anticipated
business model that aimed at
facilitating advertisers not only on
Twitter, but also with third party
apps, including desktop clients
like TweetDeck. Twitter, with its I ‘Like’ Facebook
new advertisement model, has The Facebook ‘Like’ button, which was launched at
introduced a new concept, which the f8 developers’ conference in April 2010, has
it likes to call Resonance Score. evolved into a social media metric to measure
Based on cost per impression, a traffic, user preferences, time on-site, click-through
Promoted Tweet’s Resonance rates and other useful demographics. Installed on
Score is based on factors such more than two million websites, the ‘Like’ button is
as: retweets, impressions, fast becoming the most preferred traffic-referral
favourites and clicks. According to after Twitter. More recently, Facebook and
Twitter’s official statement, Microsoft penned a deal that allowed the
Promoted Tweets will be integration of Facebook’s ‘Like’ data into Bing’s
presented by combining text with search results (Bing Social). So essentially, what
pictures and videos; all this would would happen is that if a person searched for a
not have been possible without particular book on Bing, the search results would
the platform that the new Twitter show how many of his/her friends ‘Like(d)’ the
provides. book; this would make it easier for him/her to make
We have seen that with every a purchase decision. Similarly, if you’ve left your
makeover the resemblance privacy settings open, your Facebook status
betweenTwitter’s timeline and updates would also appear in Bing’s search
Facebook’s Wall seems to grow. results. Oops!
However, when it came to Twitter’s Then, Facebook – with its Facebook Places
own user interface, it was not service – started to allow its users to check-in,
everyone’s favourite; many users share, and tag friends/groups to the different places
preferred to use Twitter clients – that they had visited. According to Facebook, users
based on Silverlight or Adobe Air have full control on what they share, and with whom
– that offered better user they share the information. Since a lot of third-party
experience. This year, however, applications based on Facebook ‘Places’ API are
Twitter swept us off our feet by already out, they create a huge opportunity for
revamping its Web UI. Twitter advertisers, game developers and social marketers.
partnered with online services The year 2010 was intense for Facebook and
such as deviantART, Flickr, its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who made headlines
Vimeo, YouTube and many others, with the evergreen privacy issues, a couple of
to bring the rich media experience “other” controversies, and a film based on the
to its users and introduced a new book about Facebook. To end it all on a positive
two-pane Web design to view note, however, Mark Zuckerberg made an
embedded photos and videos, uncharacteristic public appearance at the Oprah
and a details pane for the Winfrey Show and announced establishing a
additional content related to a 100-million dollar project, Startup: Education, to
particular tweet. bring educational reforms in various parts of the
United States.
| 86 | december 2010 | SPIDER

3. Foursquare, the next big thing?
The location-based social networking
website, Foursquare, turned one this year,
and what a year it has been for the rapidly
growing network that boasts almost four
million users. Foursquare API also went live
and helped developers, social media
entrepreneurs and advertisers come up with
new and exciting applications and games for
smartphone devices. The year 2010 was
particularly important for the company as it
experimented with its strategy, game
rewards, badges etcetera. An example is
Foursquare’s collaboration with CNN during
the FIFA World Cup 2010, where it launched
two special badges for football fans – one for
YouTube – Live!
Social media is all about instant updates and
those who went to South Africa to watch the
real-time data, so why is the world’s biggest
World Cup matches, and the other for those
who attended special match-viewing parties video portal out of the picture so far? This
at pubs and clubs in other places. A similar year YouTube took its new, live-streaming platform
collaboration was established with the for a test drive, bringing its audience a TV-like
famous coffee brand, Starbucks, with the video-watching experience. Though it was just a
introduction of a special Barista badge. trial run, something big in the near future is
The question, however, is what does the expected.
future hold for Foursquare – especially after
the launch of Facebook Places? According What lies ahead
to Foursquare Co-founder and CEO, Dennis Taking into consideration the relatively
Crowley, Foursquare is here “to reinvent inexpensive and faster internet connection these
what happens after the check-in.” He days, billions of interconnected desktops and
believes that there is no comparison mobile devices, and a social media grid that is
between the two networking websites. Also, defined by applications, it would not be
Foursquare intends to provide its users with completely hypothetical to predict a future where
instant check-ins and better deals, making every aspect of our social lives will be governed
the whole experience a lot more fun. by some form of social networking services.
— Ammar Yasir
| 87 | december 2010 | SPIDER