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Maybe you’ve already seen them: the ads that end with “Visit us on Facebook,” instead of a URL. Reminiscent of ads a few years ago that encouraged us to search on a specific search engine with a specific keyword (or use AOL) instead of visiting a website, the latest rash of CTAs scream “look at us, we’re really hip!” Steve Rubel’s March column on Forbes ( available on his blog ) points out Uniball as one example of these newly hip-cool advertisers. Yeah. Totally buying that. Not. Even better, the Uniball Facebook page is giving away 10,000 pens (or was, anyway)—with no direct links to its website. While that’s a great social strategy (although . . . pens? You’re using digital marketing to give away pens?!), divorcing their social campaigns from their website—a space they wholly own and control—doesn’t seem like the smartest move. Rubel points out that this try-hard social method will backfire with more savvy consumers (like me . But seriously, see above reaction). He also says that (emphasis added): Second, the use of “heavy artillery” – e.g. advertising – to round up more fans and followers is equally controversial. This would be fine if it lead to true person-to-person engagement.

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Coming to an Ad Near You: Visit Us on Facebook

I am making a slight shift in my content strategy. My Posterous-powered site will continue to feature insights, observations and essays about emerging technologies. It will include any content - text, photos, videos - where some degree of depth is required. This includes my AdAge and Forbes columns. I have also renamed it the Steve Rubel Stream to better reflect its mission. Now I am also adding  a Facebook Page  that will feature everything that’s posted here plus exclusive content for those of you who opt in and  become a fan . It’s very similar to how I  approach Twitter  - which also features links that I don’t always share elsewhere. The difference is that the new Facebook Page will sit in between what I do here and Twitter and hopefully spark a rich discussion from a broader group of people who don’t necessarily read blogs or use Twitter.  Please become a fan today .  My initial post  asks for input on the pros/cons of creating different content for each social network. As always, if you have thoughts on how I can evolve this I am all ears. Permalink | Leave a comment

Technorati’s 2009 State of the Blogosphere report is due to come out Monday, but attendees at the BlogWorld Expo (including WebProNews) got a preview from Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra. First and foremost, Jalichandra says the “State of the Blogosphere is strong.” Some have suggested that it might be dying due to microblogging services like Twitter, but he says it’s not dying or leveling off. It’s thriving. “Blogs are media,” he says. The report is based on a survey of 2,900 bloggers and includes interviews with blogging pros like Steve Rubel and Arianna Huffington. Here are some key findings: - 72% blog for hobby/fun and don’t make money - 28% are professional bloggers - 2/3 of professional bloggers are male - 60% are 18-44 - 40% of professional bloggers have at some point in their life worked for traditional media - 7% are actually still employed in traditional media - 73% of bloggers use Twitter vs 14% of general population That last statistic is particularly interesting. Chitika just released results from a study finding that most Twitterers are looking for news . Jalichandra says, “There’s a rising profession of professional bloggers” and that traditional media has given bloggers a bad name. “These findings prove that wrong.” He says that all bloggers’ number one use of Twitter is to promote their blogs

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Looking into the State of the Blogosphere

Yesterday the Interactive Advertising Bureau took a jab at the Federal Trade Commission’s revised guidelines on online endorsements. Put simply, the guidelines call for online reviewers to disclose payment or affiliation with marketing campaigns or advertisers. The way the IAB sees it, the FTC is unfairly favoring traditional media over digital media. In a letter sent to the FTC chairman , IAB prez Randy Rothenberg contended the FTC’s call for disclosure of “material connections” between advertisers and endorsers in social media platforms will “shackle online media while exempting our offline cousins and competitors from equivalent constraint.” “I don’t think that there is any favoritism based on the type of media,” Rich Cleland, assistant director of the FTC’s division of advertising practices told ClickZ News this morning. “The core here is do consumers understand the relationship that exists between the speaker and the seller.” “Offline, if those lines are blurred, then there’s a problem,” he continued. “These are not new issues.” As iterated throughout his lengthy letter, Rothenberg and others fear that the FTC will now be on the hunt for bloggers reviewing and endorsing products, which he argues will squelch social media. “In terms of bloggers and other endorsers…I don’t think that there is any reason for concern,” said Cleland, stressing, “We have explained on a number of occasions that we do not have civil penalty authority.” In other words, he told me, the FTC is not planning an enforcement sweep against bloggers

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FTC Responds to IAB Letter on Blogger Guidelines

Steve Rubel There are songs about Twitter? News to me. http://steverubel.posterous.com/851238 3 hours ago from Twitter - Comment - Like

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There are songs about Twitter? News to me. http://post.ly/uSq

Steve Rubel New stats on Twitter: 22% of tweets include a URL, 36% are replies, 5% have a hashtag, 3% are likely retweets http://www.stoweboyd.com/message… 8 hours ago from Twitter - Comment - Like Mike Coulter , Robert MacKay , Drew Lucas and 4 other people liked this

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New stats on Twitter: 22% of tweets include a URL, 36% are replies, 5% have a hashtag, 3% are likely retweets http://tinyurl.com/mvxqay

Steve Rubel Guest Post: “The Twitter Revolt Against Mainstream Media” - http://www.edelmandigital.com/blog… 11 hours ago from Google Reader - Comment - Like Amiroo , Gerald Neo , Robert Scoble and iTbay liked this

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Guest Post: “The Twitter Revolt Against Mainstream Media”

Steve Rubel Guest Post: “The Twitter Revolt Against Mainstream Media” - http://www.edelmandigital.com/blog… 11 hours ago from Google Reader - Comment - Like Amiroo , Gerald Neo , Robert Scoble and iTbay liked this

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Guest Post: “The Twitter Revolt Against Mainstream Media”

Steve Rubel Nielsen: Twitter grows user base almost 1,500 percent in May - http://www.macworld.com/article… Friday from Google Reader - Comment - Like iTbay and Dominic Jones liked this

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Nielsen: Twitter grows user base almost 1,500 percent in May

Steve Rubel Nielsen: Twitter grows user base almost 1,500 percent in May - http://www.macworld.com/article… Friday from Google Reader - Comment - Like iTbay and Dominic Jones liked this

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Nielsen: Twitter grows user base almost 1,500 percent in May