I WANT You To Want Me, Facebook!

Okay, maybe I don't really NEED the shirt below, but it would be fun to have :)​

As Facebook makes it entrance into the "pintrified world" one has to wonder, do people really want this?​ I would venture to guess they do. Though the interface is not as slick as Pinterest, the goal is a bit different as it is solely focused on commerce--or so it purports to be. 

Will this product fall into the bucket of understated ​clones that Facebook has created to compete with other trending start-ups? Perhaps, too early to tell. While the product makes a whole lot of sense, I think it wil come down to the adoption of the this product by retailers. I can see a future in which the "Want" button suffers the same ill fate of Facebook Places however I think this product has a bit more to it. 

​Facebook Want

Why Brands Are the Key to GroupMe's New Business | DigitalNext: A Blog on Emerging Media and Technology - Advertising Age

My new piece for AdAge. When I heard about this product I had the thought that the trend in group messaging was symbolic for a larger trend that had to do with social media groups leaving the digital ecosystem to do real world things together.  A bit like Foursquare, but with more emphasis on people in the real world interacting with one another. I spent a few days thinking about how brands can capitalize

 on this trend and I do not think that branded experiences are the only way to go--there is a lot of learning to be had here. 

Take a read, I would love to hear your thoughts. ​

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