Imagine, going online to watch a recent blockbuster movie. The play button is hit, a 15 second advertisement for your business plays and then the movie starts. That’s right your business is advertising to hundreds maybe even thousands of people, at a fraction of the cost to produce and buy airtime on cable. Is it a dream? No, you’re on YouTube.

Now, would be a good time to promote your business with video advertisements on YouTube. It’s no secret that for certain videos on You Tube there are “forced advertisements” Basically, a consumer has to watch an ad in order to a view a video. However, if you have your foot in the door now, it could pay off huge dividends in the near future. According to an AOL Daily Finance article, “Google is in talks with major movie studios about a new pay-per-view video offering based on YouTube.” This means Google through You Tube would be competing with Netflix and other video streaming vendors. If this deal goes through, then it could be expected that Google would allow its client’s (your business) to advertise before, during or even after a movie.

Already YouTube has a free video channel, which allows people to stream Hollywood movies online. The number of movies that a person can choose from is limited, but at least they can watch the movies online for free. Currently, only one 15 or 30 second ad plays before the movie starts. If Google signs the deal with Hollywood, think of how many more movies would be available to be watched on YouTube. Even better, what if a video ad for your business was played before the movie started? It’s a thrilling thought, however, a business just can’t “willy nilly” place their video advertisement in front of anyone. It is important to have a strategy. A company’s video ad should be targeted to the right demographic. If a company’s business is for computer software, it wouldn’t make sense to have an ad play right before a kid’s movie. Keep in mind that video ads may not work for everyone, but it’s worth a try, especially while the cost is low.

Right now, there are a lot of “what if’s”. However, the free Hollywood movies on YouTube are alive and well. Now would be the time for your business to test online video ads with the current selection of movies on YouTube. This would put your company in a good position if and when Google closes the pay-per-view movie deal with Hollywood. After all it’s the early investors that see the true benefits down the line.

In my last post, I chronicled my first seven days on Facebook.  Since that post I’ve added my profile photo and reached out to only two people to request their Facebook-friendship.   Both were old colleagues, who were suggested to me, and we also ran in the same social circles.   Even with that level of in-activity, I still acquired 70 friends in a month (And 14 pending.) 

One of the engaging components of Facebook is the ability to connect and stay in touch with most of the people that you’ve met.   This is also one of the worst features.

Remember that guy that wore the flowered thong to the beach party?  Guess what:  He wants to be your Facebook friend.   And your ex-girlfriend from High School: She’s here too and she wants to know how you’ve been.  What about all those nameless faces with whom you’ve crossed paths over the years?  Yep, they’ve “friended” you and can’t wait to re-live old times.

So choosing with whom to be connected can be a challenge and a barrier to making Facebook your friend.  Which invitations do you accept?  Does your landlord make the cut?  And do you want him to know about the “kegger” at your place this weekend? And that old high school girlfriend:  Didn’t you break up for a reason? As I recall, it was a bad breakup and she has a lot of dirt to scatter into your Facebook life.  But, that innocuous request and the “How have you been?” may prove too much for the social animal within you.  As for the rest:  Who are these people and why can’t you remember them?  Does anyone have any Ginkgo biloba?

We are all very inter-connected and Facebook helps prove that point on a global level more so than any other social networking site.   If you’re not yet a true-believer, read what happened this past weekend at London’s Liverpool Street Station.   With a simple post to his friends, a Londoner caused a mass gathering that shut down this critical hub in one of the great cities of the world.  From a marketer’s perspective: therein lies the power of Facebook.  Should you have the creativity to craft a well received campaign; it can quickly spread like wildfire through the parched kindling of Facebook profiles everywhere.

As for the guy in the flowered thong, reach out to me on Facebook and let me know if I should accept or ignore his request.

At the risk of dating myself, I’m proud to say that I was an early adopter of e-mail, Windows 95, Google and many other online technologies that truly made life easier and kept people informed. And while I quickly saw the value of Instant Messaging, the chat room never really appealed to me.   So is Facebook the new chat room?  Does it make my life easier?  Those were the questions that I posed to our Tweeters, Facebookers and MySpacers at our recent holiday party.  I got a lot of blank stares and long-winded answers, so I decided the best way to answer the question was to use Facebook for one week. 
Day 1
 
Signup - a few red flags here: Why are there so many personal questions and why do they need my birth date? (If you connect with me on Facebook, I want you to know that I am not really 103 years old.  Please do not call The Today Show on my next birthday.)  My strategy during sign-up was to dip my toe into the Facebook waters and reveal as little as possible about myself – I put in my name, and the name of my high school.  Once enrolled, I became a fan of the MoreVisibility Facebook page and stare at my blank wall and nearly empty profile. (According to Facebook your birth date is required to comply with the US Child Protection Act.) 

Day 2

I opened up my e-mail to find that a friend from high school has sent me a friend request.  My first thought was, how did she find me?  Friend request accepted, now it’s time to check out her Facebook page.   Apparently my restrained approach to Facebook was way off.   In addition to incriminating photos in your profile; several times a day I’m supposed to reveal:  Every detail of my life, my inner feelings, thoughts, and all activities.

Day 3 

Someone wrote on my wall? (Your Facebook wall, as I’ve learned, is a section of your profile where others can leave you notes and gifts.)   How could they allow someone to clutter my austere profile?  Apparently there is no rule against this and it’s actually encouraged.   

Day 4

What is a Good Karma request?  I thought I actually had to do good things for people in order to receive positive energy from the universe.  In the world of Facebook, all I have to do is ask for it!

Day 5

Is Facebook the only online company name that is not a capitalized contraction?  Shouldn’t it be FaceBook?

Day 6

More people are looking for me on Facebook?  Today I received another friend request, this time from a former co-worker – how are these people finding me?  I feel a little too exposed and vulnerable to accept.
 
Day 7

I relent and accept the friend request, only to get several more from old acquaintances and co-workers that are connected to him.  This is clearly not the place for anyone in the witness protection program.   I view the other pages and am truly shocked at the level of activity and the personal connection to their profiles.   Facebook users are addicted to and engaged in their community.  
After one week of using Facebook I can’t say that I have a definitive answer to all of my questions.  But, I do know that Facebook is much more than a chat room and I have warmed to the concept.  I realize that, like LinkedIn, Facebook has the power to quickly connect you to the people whose relationships you value.   Does it make your life easier? Is it supposed to?  Facebook’s goal –and real value– seems to be to help people easily share information, and for that Facebook hit’s a home run.   

• 140 million active users and growing with 100 million international users.

• More photos are posted on Facebook than the next 5 photo sharing sites combined. 

• More events are publicized on Facebook than any other site (4 times the next event site.)

• Users are engaged and spend more time on Facebook than most other Social Media sites.

Are you a Facebooker?