What do the recent Facebook changes mean for newspapers & journaIism? Kingston University 26 October 2011 2011 Kathryn Corrick %his wiII be a whistIe-stop tour BIink and you may miss the foIIowing: What are the Iatest changes to Facebook? A tour of four newspaper apps What does it impIy for journaIism and pubIishing? atest changes to Facebook were announced at the F8 conference https://f8.facebook.com/ %hey can be summarised into two main areas %imeIine OpenGraph %imeline A response to the Facebook ProfiIe being: 'the biggest Iost opportunity in the history of storyteIIing' http://thetechjournaI.com/how-to/an-initiaI-guide-to-controI-facebook-timeIine.xhtmI %imeline summary 'Express who you reaIIy are' Surfaces onIy the defining and important moments of your Iife Users wiII be abIe to 'backfiII' and 'curate' their timeIine with further content and events %here wiII be different fiIters for timeIine views Add apps http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/2792 525747/ mplications Users wiII be abIe to see more easiIy how much data they have on Facebook PotentiaIIy creates more highIy rich data sets More granuIar privacy settings pen Graph connecting more 'FrictionIess experiences (Apps) ReaI-time serendipity (the %icker) Finding patterns' (it's aII about the data) Open Graph Apps - it's aII about verbs Listen Watch Read But couId be anything: Want Own Bought %he %icker and verbs In this exampIe 'read' and 'used' mplications More possibiIities for organisations (as we'II see) Emphasis on Apps not Pages More, richer data and data sets (advertising) Over sharing and spam Privacy Reputation management and trust Is it 'sociaI' or a use of the 'sociaI graph'? F8 Digested, digested %imeIine - first draft of your autobiography (incIuding the embarrassing bits) Open Graph - frictionIess verbs lso read %wo bIog posts worth reading by Mat Morrison and Adrian Short: http://emergingspaces.co.uk/content/what-Iast- nights-f8-facebook-conference-means-brand- advertisers http://adrianshort.co.uk/2011/09/25/its-the-end- of-the-web-as-we-know-it/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/6197818343 What do these changes mean for journaIism and newspapers? Overview of what's possibIe %our of four apps An assessment What's now possibIe? Facebook have created a new API* for OpenGraph %his is avaiIabIe to anyone if they sign up as a Facebook deveIoper (you couId buiId one yourseIves with the right skiIIs) It gives access to deveIopers to create apps for Facebook's new features - the %imeIine, %icker etc. So apps can now be created with verbs such as 'X is Reading/Watching/Listening to Y' as weII as enabIing you to create a page for users to use your app in Facebook if you choose A number of media partners had access prior to Iaunch incIuding Spotify, NetfIix, %he Guardian. * a deveIoper interface that enabIes you to access & use the underIying technoIogy and data structures of a pIatform and buiId things with it. Eg. BuiId an app. %he theory in a nutsheII You see what your friends are reading in your %icker or WaII and cIick on the Iink and read the articIe yourseIf or add the app. Once you've added the app you'II be provided with further ideas of articIes to read via what your friends have read but aIso what's popuIar and in that issue. You can add comments to articIes in app If you read an articIe via the app it wiII automaticaIIy be posted to your %icker/WaII/%imeIine, friends wiII see it, etc. What's in it for a newspaper? Awareness raising to wider / younger / new readers %raffic to the website = more ad revenues Serve ads through the app = increase in revenues Access to rich dataset about app subscribers - think of aII the things you teII Facebook in your profiIe (apps shouId cIearIy state what data they have access to and how they use it) Conversion to other newspaper services Assessing newspaper apps so far I examined and tested four newspaper apps to understand how they worked and what happened to my WaII, %icker and if others became annoyed or read articIes as a resuIt. I aIso tweeted my findings as I went. %he Guardian %he Independent New York %imes Washington Post %he Guardian - easiIy found via the Guardian Facebook Page Adding the app - you get given a description of how it works and options for who wiII see activity (this is standard for the Iatest post F8 apps) Logged into the Guardian Facebook App Page It Iooks a bit boring at the top but is prettier when you scroII down a bit But. the Guardian use an iFrame so they can dispIay their own adverts and make some money from those who do go to the app page When you cIick on an articIe you remain within the Facebook app. What other friends have read appears to the right - encouraging expIoration A sense of how popuIar articIes are and option to remove from %imeIine %he Guardian has cIear privacy, FAQ and terms of service pages %hese describe how the app works answer generaI questions and aIso describe what how they use reader's data. %his is best practice and gives reassurance to readers. %he Guardian - takeaways Ensure your app is easiIy findabIe on your existing Facebook Page Use iFrames if you wouId Iike to serve your own adverts through the app to increase revenue %he downside of this is that the ads can take up vaIuabIe space and make the 'home page' Iook duII. Understand and examine your anaIytics to see to what extent this matters (the Guardian app has over 1miIIion users) Have cIear privacy poIicies %he Independent %he Independent don't mention or Iink to their app on their Facebook Page - at Ieast not that I found or saw. So I tried using Facebook Search to find the app. %he Independent - app Ianding page It is caIIed RecentIy Read btw and can be found here: http://www.independent.co.uk/recentIyread It took me two or three times to figure out that it was a) the app joining page b) how to add the app Note: you cIick the tiny bIue 'Log in' button. Which is a bit counter-intuitive No indication at the top of the page that you're Iogged in to the app and sharing what you read automaticaIIy Where does it appear on the website? %he Independent - take-aways Mention and Iink to your app on your Facebook Page Name your app with your newspaper brand at the start if you want it to be found via Facebook Search Most immediate controI of deIeting what you've read of aII the apps (untiI %imeIine is roIIed out perhaps?) Listings of what you've read and option to deIete can be controIIed via the Independent website Consider how you expIain your app on your website and make reaIIy obvious how to add/Iog-in the app. Use images where possibIe and try not to use too much text to expIain how the app works (compare with Washington Post) New York %imes So much easier to find! %he app page It's a bit bare and doesn't teII me very much other than the number of users (210,000) On pressing 'Go to app' Ah. AII the other newspaper apps I tested supported secure browsing, as this prevents my account from too easiIy being hacked or taken over (particuIarIy on open wifi networks). As I have this feature permanentIy on (as shouId you).. . I skipped this app. New York %imes take-aways Make the add app page more attractive and incIude more information about what it does (cf. Guardian) Ensure your app works for secure browsing (ie. https://facebook.com) %his matters as these apps are designed to be used in the background to be used reguIarIy on a persistent basis, incIuding when the reader is expIoring the newspaper website. WhiIst not everyone has secure browsing switched on as a responsibIe pubIisher this is something you'd want to encourage not undermine. Washington Post Sign up via: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sociaIreader etaiIs about what it does before pressing 'add' - this is best practice Washington Post: what does it Iook Iike once signed up? It's refreshingIy nice Iooking Looks purposefuIIy designed %houghtfuI use of the space and interaction design Creates an immediate desire to Iook around and expIore oesn't Iook or feeI Iike a standard Facebook Page ArticIes dispIay within Facebook Washington Post: what's worth noting? Washington Post take-aways %he design and user experience makes aII the difference. Here I wanted to pIay and expIore - Other peopIe signed up to the app as a resuIt of my %weets and Facebook %icker stream. %ake-away: take time to consider the design, incIude caIIs to action and other ways to show what eIse is being read via the app in an attractive manner. Make it feeI Iike a good experience from the start and that there is more to expIore on the website. AII apps feature ways to aIter how the auto- status update is viewed once posted You can controI and aIter who sees your app postings via your Privacy and Account Settings OveraII impIications for journaIism Understand the technoIogy and best practice - there are Iots of possibiIities but aIso many areas for mistakes. Ensure you have a good deveIoper who is aware of the chaIIenges and can keep up with the API changes Privacy - both in terms of what data you have access to and how you handIe it but aIso how users may forget the app is on and mistakenIy share things they shouIdn't Spamming and over-sharing - consider what your app wiII share %hese apps aren't for everyone - understand who of your readers might appreciate an app - a particuIar demographic or group on't put aII your eggs in one basket and reIy on Facebook for your business modeI - it may not be here in a few years Consider who needs the app more - you or Facebook. PubIishers and content creators need to understand how powerfuI and necessary they reaIIy are Consider how you wiII grow your reIationship with your readers, and how to ensure it goes beyond Facebook Put more simpIy Newspapers and journaIists are often trusted brands (even though most days it doesn't feeI that way). Aim not to betray that trust in how technoIogy is appIied and used. What none of the apps do Show me other ways I can get updates or different ways to find content on their sites aiIy emaiI updates A daiIy/weekIy Facebook message with the Iatest headIines in my area of interest Incentivise me to teII my friends Give me a share in the advertising generated by my activity - I'm Make what gets shared more granuIar rather than on/off to set contacts or deIeted. Eg. Shared with specific friends, shared by topic %ime for questions %hank you! %hese slides will be available at www.KathrynCorrick.co.uk %witter - @kcorrick