Change the way you think about Facebook

When a new social network is born

Since its birth in 2004, Facebook is now eleven years into their social media dominance, and fundamentally nothing has even come close to the continued growth it has.

(source http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/feb/04/facebook-in-numbers-statistics)

Back in its embryonic state, it smashed the quarter  of a million users in its first quarter, toppling to 1 million by the year end, Facebook suddenly had a sense of meaning and value which as we know is something the likes of MySpace had struggled with.

MySpace had no perceptual value to its users as it was so unstructured and non consistent. The layering was wrong, full of jumpy bugs and bad coding. Users were bored, and looking for something new.

To just say quickly, one thing MySpace did bring out of the woodwork, was that most profile pages were mirrored egotistical dreams of what people wanted to be perceived as, not who they actually are. Facebook saw this, and by simplifying the user experience dominated the market immediately.

However Facebook began to grow into a multi usage platform, basically it had/has a personality disorder, and this has grown to a climax in recent years. To some users its an angel, and to some it became a demon; to some an opportunity for maintaining relationships, and to others - to broadcast narcissism.

Recently I've noticed a huge spike in blogging regarding Facebook privacy rights, advertisements etc. I have to firstly say that its my choice to "like" certain pictures or comments that my friends, whom again - I have chosen therefore whats the issue?

Yesterday I understood the issue for the first time, I hit a final straw attitude with the chaps and chappettes at Facebook, and here is why - sponsored adverts are the bane of my life, not only are they not relevant and I would never click on them, but secondly WHY would they think I would? Here's some examples of today's sponsored links:

• Disney Mobile Games - Why why why? I don't have children for starters, and oh...wait, I liked my friends Frozen share....damn 
• JCB - Seriously, no seriously? I am not interested in JCB's at all so....ah, nope that's right I liked my friends Digger land photo.
• Perfect365 - A "make yourself look really pretty app" I can't believe these apps exist and nope I haven't downloaded anything of similar caliber so, oh no wait I'm a woman so I must want this app!! no, no i don't.

These streams dominate my news feed, so I miss out on my friends actual stories which when the sponsored links are totally non relevant really winds my bobbin up.

How to have a more natural Facebook

STOP liking things, yes that's correct - no matter how much you are tempted to like your friends share of a funny cat advert, don't! Write instead "oh how I lol'd at your funny cat video" or something of similar high intellect.

I did this, I completely stopped myself from liking my friends shares of where they've been, specific comments linking to organisations or brands, or to give an example, my friend is getting married and in the midst of this she would write most days about said wedding plans, boom my page explodes with wedding suggestions, and I can tell you as a fact, I'm always the bridesmaid, never the bride so well done Facebook for giving me a complex.

After a week, something beautiful happened....I started to see hardly any sponsored links or suggestions and actually saw what my friends were up too. It was awesome, I call this the organic Facebook and its much, much better. Try it!

Its all in the Cloud!

Cloud computing is moving into mainstream businesses

It doesn't seem long since the expected reaction to talking about ‘the cloud’ was a mixture of befuddlement and skepticism.

But this emerging technology, once viewed as niche and a little ‘out there’, is slowly but surely starting to become a normal part of our business world.
This is one of the findings of research carried out by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) into the adoption of cloud services by companies in the UK.
The cloud is a general term used to describe accessing data, services and applications from external servers – rather than needing to be stored on your PC or handheld device.
The CIF survey, based on interviews with 250 British companies, found that 79% had now ‘formally’ adopted at least one cloud-based service – an increase of 15% on previous figures.
But the figures also indicate the move to the cloud is happening gradually and rather cautiously rather than a dramatic shift – as some analysts had predicted.
Most of the businesses, 45%, said they were currently using just one cloud service, with just 14% saying they were using four or more.
The most popular uses were for web hosting and data backup, followed by collaboration tools, business apps and video conferencing services.
At the moment, therefore, most organisations are adopting a hybrid approach; integrating traditional on-site IT set-ups with these new cloud based services.

Alex Hilton, chief executive of CIF, says that:

“Nine out of 10 companies will continue to invest in on-premise IT alongside and integrated with cloud solutions. In other words, we are in-fact seeing the normalization of cloud in the hybrid IT market.”

The adoption of cloud services allows companies to significantly reduce IT spend with no need for internal servers or software maintenance. Users can access cloud services from any device with an online connection.
Clarity365 is one of a new generation of business tools using the technology to transform the way organisations operate – replacing manual, paper-based expenses with more efficient digital processes.
The growing use of cloud services is allowing companies to explore new mobile working methods with a move away from the traditional reliance on a 9-to-5 office based approach.