Facebook Ads At 15...

This week we had a visit from a 15 year old girl named Tess, she was meant to do some job shadowing for the week as a part of her Gr. 10 curriculum. So we had her write a blog post, below you will find the opinions of a 15 year old on Facebook advertising.

Image Source.

I am a big Facebook fan for multiple reasons. First of all,  I moved to Toronto but all of the friends I grew up with still live in London. Moreover, all my family lives in France. For me, Facebook is a great way to communicate and keep contact with those family and friends that I'm missing. I can see what they do, how they change and send them messages.

 Another reason I love Facebook is that it’s easy to communicate with your local friends. For example, each year, my class creates a private group so we can post the homework, help each other and meet up. Another really cool thing about Facebook is that you can find people. Recently I founded a primary school mate I hadn’t spoken to for at least seven years and I learned, via Facebook,  that she lives in Toronto now. It’s absolutely crazy! 

I might use Facebook a lot but I absolutely never pay attention to their ads. For me, internet is not a place to look at ads.

Sometimes I look up ads on YouTube when I’ve seen something that interested me in a store or on TV. I will also look up an ad if a cute guy is in it; I love ads for mens cologne, they are guys are always so handsome! Then, if YouTube suggests some other similar ads that draw my attention, I will look at them too.

Some other places where I pay attention to ads are on the bus, the subway, in magazines, on TV and in movies. However, most of the time, I’ll just look at it and that’s it. Nevertheless, if after seeing an ad I feel I would like to have the product, I am going to look it up. Once I have more information on it, I’ll see if I would like to buy it.

Becel Ride For Heart

The Becel Ride for Heart is a favourite pastime for the CapC crew. Becel is a great client to work with and there's nothing that makes us happier than helping them with the Ride for Heart. We enlist a lot of cheerleaders and create a team of cyclists to hit the DVP, raising money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Despite the early Sunday morning wake up, it's a highly enjoyable day.

There's a great sense of peace found riding the empty DVP and there's opportunity to network with other agencies and corporate teams.

Taking pictures on the iPhone, using Camera+ to manipulate them into something cooler and Instagram to share them across networks kept me busy (I'm a seasoned no-hands rider). The shot that accompanies this post was taken as I approached a CapC team member deep in conversation with a Becel rider. They were likely discussing how badly they wanted those little muffins made with Becel available at the the finish line, little muffins almost always taste better than big muffins.

A great day all around!

- Jon

A Photogenic Generation

Image courtesy of Google.com

In early April Google announced Project Glass,the creation of augmented reality glasses. Although Project Glass isn't exactly stylish in a category dominated by apple the technology is both forward thinking and incredibly exciting.

The augmented reality glasses are multi-functional allowing hands free interactions through the glasses and Google promises eventually contact lenses. The lofty concept video demonstrates functions that are currently not official applications of the glasses: answering e-mails, displaying reminders and GPS mapping. Despite the fact that these unofficial apps are not currently part of the project, knowing Google we can expect that at least some of this functionality will be fully blown out in future.

Currently, Google has confirmed that the first model of glasses will enable the user to take photos. Although this appears to be a minor progression; the difference between the augmented photos and regular camera photos is what makes Google such a leader in the tech segment. The glasses will not only be able to take photos, but take them and share them from our OWN perspective and point of view.

Twitter and Facebook have given us the ability to share our lives but to literally be able to share our view point, now that is a revelation. And if the 250 million photos uploaded daily to Facebook are any indication our voyeuristic side will win out over any qualms we may have at sharing something as intimate as our view of the world.

As Google announced their 'Project Glass' in April, Facebook, almost simultaneously, announced the acquisition of Instagram. Google and Facebook seem to have competing, but similar photo apps.

The difference between Google's Project Glass and Facebook's new photo platform is the interest of the user. While Project Glass takes photos from one's personal perspective, Facebook's picture apps allow the user to alter their photos to suit their perception of the image.

Every day more and more users take photos to upload on their social channels, both private and public. But what drives this behaviour?  Is it the desire to share photos that are perfected and altered to suit our perception or do we simply want people to see the world through our eyes? While there is no obvious, or forthcoming, answer to this question it is worth thinking about. What is it that makes people want to share so much of themselves so often.

When Google releases Project Glass I think that we will see a split between those users who choose to share raw images from their view point and those who prefer to lend artistic license to their vision.





- Erica - Erica is currently an intern with the Cap C team and we are delighted to have her input on our blog.

Facebook Camera App

Image courtesy of Techcrunch.com

There are but a few positives to spin out of Facebook's release of the Camera app. It's no Instagram and the consensus around the web seems to be that Instagram is to Facebook what YouTube is to Google Video: Most users will stick to the service that has a focus on one area and does it best.

The all-photo newsfeed on the app is a quick way to see your friends' pictures at a glance. All photos, even those added to Facebook through Instagram are displayed in the camera app's newsfeed. But unlike the Instagram newsfeed, a lot of these pictures are uninteresting and dull.

Instagram strives on the notion that most people have a little artist in them. Instagram exploits this theory by making it easier to express the artist's eye. While Facebook is a dumping ground for photo collections, Instagram lends to a subtler, more expressive one off and a creative expression.

I had this conversation over twitter with a friend when she joined Instagram (late). Her inclination was to update tons of pictures of an event. I said: "Instagram aint Twitter, just take one photo of the cute Australian guys and leave it at that".  I believe that Instagram is meant for users to pick one photo and make it as nice as possible for display. Her response to my complaint: "If you don't like all my updates in your newsfeed, follow more people." But that's not Instagram's mandate. I'll follow people doing interesting things as I do on Twitter, but I'm content with the small community I follow and actually hope to catch most of what they post. I prefer to have a relationship with most of the people I follow on Instagram and keep that community smaller and more intimate, never bombarding or being bombarded by tons of updates (of the Australians my friend digs so much).

All in all, a few positives to the Camera app include the all-photo newsfeed (even better if more of your friends take better photos or use Instagram). Also the ability to upload multiple photos from your mobile device is a plus. However as I haven't tried it I imagine the wait time is intense.

All in all I'm not sure it matters what Facebook does to create a better experience for their Camera app, I don't believe it will be widely adopted.

Perhaps some the reasoning behind the $1Billion purchase of Instagram was to avoid the negativity undoubtedly expressed when releasing a copy-cat app, but my hope was that Facebook was planning to develop the Instagram experience further, not divide users between apps.

- Jon

The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)

Imagine if the world’s most inspiring visionaries and greatest brands did not exist. Their ideas and inventions trapped and suffocated by six factors that could turn even the greatest of thinkers into a ball of mush or a quivering coward. The six enemies that after reading this article I am now aware and cautious of are; Availability, Ignorance, Committees, Comfort, Momentum and Passivity.

Availability - We often settle for what’s available and what’s available isn’t always great. Imagine if a brand decided to settle when it came to quality in their products. Resulting in an average or OK brand identity, instead of striving for and achieving greatness. Where would our favourite brands be today if they all just said, "Good works, we don't need to be great."

Ignorance - If we don’t know how to make something great, we simply won’t. If we don’t know that greatness is possible, we won’t bother attempting it. All too often, we literally do not know any better than good enough. Giving up, reaching for the mediocrity instead of greatness. Consider this when sitting down to create something; the scent of confidence and pride in ones work speaks volumes and can be the needed edge.

Committees - Nothing destroys a good idea faster than a mandatory consensus. The lowest common denominator is never a high standard. A slight rebellion is good for the soul. Sometimes the consensus of others can make a person second guess something brilliant and force them into a place of ease. The willingness to take a risk and the desire to be different, be better, be great; that is what separates the strong from the weak.

Comfort - Why pursue greatness when you’ve already got 324 channels and a recliner? Pass the dip and forget about your grand designs. This enemy is by far the worst. So often people fear change and rocking the boat worried that a rough current could lead to a sunken ship or an over dipped chip. I say dip that chip as much as you want layer things on and create something entirely new. The greatest designs come from the unforeseen. 


Momentum - If you’ve been doing what you’re doing for years and its not-so-great, you are in a rut. Many people refer to these ruts as careers. A career is a fraction of a person but not their defining characteristic. With that said one must enjoy what they are doing. To produce the best work you need to have zest and a thirst for knowledge. Don’t get stuck between the areas of sure, fine and whatever. That is how you end up doing things you hate well into your retirement.

Passivity - There’s a difference between being agreeable and agreeing to everything. Trust the little internal voice that tells you, “This is a bad idea" Many people suffer from being a lemming, so scared to separate from the pack that they let themselves be lead willingly to their death. Because I greatly enjoy all of you who read this blog I caution you; DON’T EVER BE A LEMMING! Voice your own opinion and have faith in your ideas.

What do you think your biggest obstacle in achieving greatness? Sound off in the comments below.

- Eric

YouTube Launches Merch Store For All Partners

Last year YouTube launched the Merch Store to help indie musicians with the sale of music, concert tickets and merch by partnering with Amazon, iTunes, Topppin, Songkick and Google Play. Today YouTube announced through the Creator Blog that they would be expanding on the Merch Store concept by allowing any YouTube account holder in good standing to add a store to their channel.

Image courtesy of YouTube Creator Blog.

The evolution of the Merch Store includes a partnership with CafePress, a promotional merchandise company that boasts 11 million unique visitors to their site each month, that will help account holders to create the merchandise they wish to sell on their YouTube channel.

Well I'm sure this evolution was designed for YouTube channel owners like Jenna Marbles, whose nyan cat costume I need to steal for Halloween this year, or Epic Meal Time; I can't help but see the value in the Merch Store for brands.

More and more often community managers and digital strategists sit in on a brief only to be told by the client that, "We need a viral video." Which, as we've said before, is a very difficult task to accomplish but if you succeed at creating an incredible video that miraculously goes viral then what does the brand get in return? We can't directly correlate a rise in Skittle sales after the launch of their award winning cat video. Until now.

What if after watching the strange cat video, admittedly more than just the 1 time, I could purchase Skittles merch? What if I could buy some weird cat ears and a bag of Skittles? What if I could purchase a light that looks like the broken Skittles rainbow? Wouldn't that be fantastic?!

By adding a Merch Store to all accounts YouTube has opened the door for endless merchandising opportunities both for brands and vloggers.

I for one can't wait to see what some of my favourite channels produce... seriously Jenna, I want that nyan cat costume.

- Shan

Facebook App Centre #WhatHowCome?

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com

Last week, Facebook announced forthcoming plans to launch an App Centre. App anything, no matter how you phrase it, associates with Apple and iTunes; the App Store which revolutionized the phone and developers' career paths. But Facebook makes no ploy to outdo Apple's model. Facebook's app centre doesn't claim to be anything revolutionary, instead it appears it will serve to showcase apps, making them easier to find as well as understand, with a dedicated info page for each.

For apps built on Facebook, those viewed and used within the Facebook site such as the massively popular Farmville, a new option to charge for the app itself will be introduced. This might not be a successful model but time will tell if users will pay to install a Facebook app. What is undoubtedly the case and most likely why Facebook had gone this route, is that with a payment mechanism attached, developers will dedicate more time to creating engaging apps in hopes of turning a greater profit, so look for cool new apps coming down the line.

With the success of apps using Facebook integration, this is a natural step to push already popular apps like instagram and pinterest to the 900 million users on Facebook, ensuring Facebook stays relevant and integrated ongoing.

Facebook is looking to be at the forefront of a user's mind when dedicating time to an app. If it wasn't already, shareability through Facebook should be the most important aspect of an app whether viewed as a developer or a user. 

- Jon