• Facebook Layout
• Facebook Groups
• Facebook Dating
• Secret Crush

THE NEW FACEBOOK LAYOUT

The new Facebook Layout started rolling out to mobile devices today and is expected to hit all desktop users in the next coming months.  You will see a major shift in the layout to be more focused on Groups, Stories and private communications.

Some of the new features include:

• Facebook Groups & Stories will have a top placement and more prominent visibility in the layout.
• Users can now save their spot in the Newsfeed as they are scrolling so they can come back to that exact spot later.
• Dark Mode can be activated at night or when watching videos to not strain your eyes.
• And of course, you can't forget... Facebook has a new logo.

FACEBOOK GROUPS

Facebook is really beginning to hold Facebook Groups on a pedestal.  If you are not already currently utilizing Facebook Groups for your business, I highly recommend you get on board.

• New tools will roll out that will quickly be able to match you to Groups based on your likes, interests and other Groups you currently belong to.
• Users will be able to share directly to Groups from their timelines; similar to how users currently share posts with their family and friends in the Newsfeed.
• Group Admins will be able to start posting anonymously on behalf of other users.
• A new chat feature will be available that users can use to create separate subjects in the chatbox that will work similar to threads on a forum.

FACEBOOK DATING

Yes, we are not joking.  Facebook will now have a portion of the platform dedicated to dating and being matched to your crushes... anonymously.

• Users will now be able to opt into Facebook Dating.
• Your personal Facebook Profile will be different than your Facebook Dating Profile.
• Facebook will match you to potential partners based on your likes, activity and interests.

SECRET CRUSH

Secret Crush will be a private list that users can opt into and list people they have a crush on.  If that same person lists you on their list as a crush, then Facebook will alert you both that you are a match.  If you never match, Facebook will never alert anyone.

... Ashley Madison anyone?  Geesh...

If you are like some, one of your New Year Resolutions may be to take a break from Social Media.  Although, maybe some of us are not committed to permanently deleting our accounts, from time to time we may just need a break to stop back from the computer and take in life off the device.

Here is how you deactivate your accounts for Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook.

Snapchat: First log into your account online at Snapchat.com.  After logging in with your user name and password, you deactivate the account by selecting “Delete an account.” This will begin the process to deactivate your account -- but be warned, after 30 days, Snapchat will permanently delete your account.

Instagram: First log into your account on Instagram.com and go to your profile.  Select “Edit Profile” and then “Temporarily disable my account”.  You will be prompted to answer why you are disabling your account before confirming, “Temporarily Disable Account.”

Facebook:  When logged into Facebook, select the down arrow on the right corner of the page.   In your settings, select "general" and then select “Manage your account."  From here you can then select “Deactivate your account.”

”The recent news about Facebook’s alleged mismanagement of users’ data has solidified our decision to suspend our activity on the platform at this time,” reads the statement. “There are more than 25 million fans who engage with Playboy via our various Facebook pages, and we do not want to be complicit in exposing them to the reported practices.”

However, even though Playboy pulled their brand from Facebook, they are still activive on Instagram.  Which is worth noting that Facebook actually owns Instagram.

WHAT?  YES -- FACEBOOK IS RECORDING PHONE CALLS AND TEXTS.

As of right now, it seems to only be happening with Andriod users.  Google has yet to comment.

So what is in your Facebook Data File?  And how do you download it?

1. Log into Facebook

2. Click on the arrow on the top right of your screen

3. Click on 'Settings'

4. Click 'Download a Copy of your Facebook data'

5. On the next screen, click 'Start My Archive'

6. A new window will open for you to confirm your password.  After you confirm your password, you will be prompted a second time to being the process.  Click 'Start My Archive'.

7. Finally a confirmation window will pop up alerting you that the data file will be sent to your email address.  Click Okay.

Presto!  Now we wait.  Something tells me this may take a little longer than normal as I would suspect Facebook has a number of people doing this suddenly.

8. About 10 minutes later, you will get an alert on Facebook stating that your data is ready to be downloaded.  Click the notification and a new window will pop up. 

9. Click 'Download Archive'

10.  Facebook will prompt you again for your password.  After entering your password, a .zip file will begin downloading to your computer. 

Enjoy!

"Aligned with Facebook's goal to be transparent about the ads that are published on the platform, you can now view the ads a Page on Facebook has running. By looking into the active ads of a Page, you'll have insight into all ads the Page may have running regardless if you are in the intended target audience," says Facebook.

Don't worry too much yet.  This is just a test that is currently being implemented in Canada.   According to Facebook, these extras views will not be marked against your impressions, budgets or ad spending.  However, Facebook states that they have also put into place an algorithm that specifically blocks these views from counting.

"In addition, we've put controls in place to help avoid views through the feature counting towards your impressions or click-through results maintaining your insight into how your ads are run across Facebook's platforms. Our goal is to make visible all of the ads connected to a specific Page regardless of who you choose to target. We'll be excluding offer ads you're running from this Page. For dynamic ads, we'll only surface a subset of dynamic ads and they won't be searchable or indexed."

This is somewhat concerning --- hopefully it is being calculated correctly.  I guess we will find out in our ad campaign's data and analytics.

Facebook has joined forces with Australian's Government Office of Safety to launch this program.

"These tools, developed in partnership with global safety experts, are one example of how we’re using new technology to keep people safe and prevent harm," said Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of global safety, in a statement.

If users are concerned about someone sending out nude photos of them, all the user needs to do is fill out a form and then send the nude photos to themselves via Facebook Messenger. Facebook will then review and analyze the photos to see if they can find a match in their current Facebook and Instagram database. Interesting...

"This pilot has the potential to disable the control and power perpetrators hold over victims, particularly in cases of ex-partner retribution and sextortion, and the subsequent harm that could come to them," said Inman Grant.

Well, now comes the question.... what could possibly go wrong? *sarcasm*

Why?  ...Well, because it's about time, but Twitter released a statement saying that they were accommodating the platform users' requests.

"We are making this change after listening and observing a problem our global community was having (it wasn't easy enough to Tweet!), studying data to understand how we could improve, trying it out, and listening to your feedback," Twitter product manager Aliza Rosen wrote in a blog post.

Here at Crank It Media -- we are already seeing this change in our Tweets.  Are you?  What do you think about this new change?

While writing this post, I can't help but hear faintly in the background the sounds of old school dial up and the greeting 'You've Got Mail'.  How quickly and dramatically things have changed from the old dial up days of AOL until today.

After 20 years, AOL announced today that it will be ending AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).  The service is scheduled to be shut off and discontinued on December 15th.

“AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed,” Michael Albers, vice president of communications product at Oath, the parent company of AOL, said in a statement on Friday.

Aside from this shocking announcement by AOL's parent company today.  I was more shocked to learn the service was even still active.  When was the last time you used AIM?

Twitter just announced that it will be shutting down the Twitter Dashboard as of February 3, 2017.  The Twitter Dashboard included many useful tools for businesses and marketers, such as: tweets tracking tools, post scheduling, tweet monitoring and analytics and more.

Rumor has it that Twitter has have not been happy with the Twitter Dashboard performance and it's potential overlap with other like apps.  Twitter is expected to release a newer and better version of Twitter Dashboard in the months to come.

So you say social media isn't for your company?  Most companies, most successful companies, are taking advantage of all the benefits of social media marketing.  However, there are a few that are still trying to avoid this uncomfortable change.

One of the number one reasons that we hear as to why companies are not utilizing social media marketing in their everyday business is that "it's not for my company."  As we have entered the new year of 2017, I can assure you that your competitors, no matter what industry you are in, are online and using social media marketing in some way or form.

Although change can be scary, do you really want to allow it to influence the success of your business?  Think about it this way... when was the last time that you personally picked up the Yellow Pages to search for a solution to your problem?  Today, people turn to their smart phones, their lap tops and the world of online search.  If you do not show up on the first page of search results for the keywords representing your business, you are in trouble.

Social media marketing helps your business rank higher in Search Engine Results. So when your prospect is searching for a solution to their problem, they find you and not your competitor.