Facebook Lite (http://lite.facebook.com/)
What is Facebook Lite? According to Facebook it is a new streamlined version designed for people with slow internet connections (However, contrary to this it still includes "post video" & "post photos"...). But, it really is a competition to other social networking sites such as twitter. Facebook has proclaimed that they don't want to be the next MySpace, but rather the next Google. This was reaffirmed by their purchase of friendfeed - a social networking startup by a few former Google employees - a total talent grab.
So, the next step in Facebook's battle plan is the introduction of Facebook Lite. A potentially bad thing for brands: no applications, no chat, and the biggest change: users can't find Brand/Business Fan Pages in the search results - only people.
Why is this bad for brands? No instant messaging or applications. Period. But, it's not all bad news.
I believe that Facebook Lite is simply Facebook expanding its service offerings to entice users of other social networks (twitter, friendfeed, etc) and get them hooked on the Facebook dope. Check out Mashable's Stan Schroeder's article on how he likes the Lite version better: http://mashable.com/2009/09/11/facebook-lite-like/
What can you do as a brand or business? Keep an eye on Quantcast's traffic report to Facebook Lite (not up yet) http://www.quantcast.com/lite.facebook.com to see if this new Facebook "microsite" really does gain traction. No matter what this change does, one thing is for sure it will definitely only help the spread of the Facebook Virus.
Want to read more on Facebook Lite? Head over to mashable and check their post on the launch of the new service: http://mashable.com/2009/09/10/facebook-lite-live/
In breaking news from yesterday, and another step to cater to twitter users, it was annouced that Facebook adds "@" Tags... Stay tuned!
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