Blog

Facebook May Host News Content

Posted on by Gabrielle Moehrke

This week, the New York Times released an article stating that Facebook has been in contact with half a dozen media companies to begin testing a new format to host news content inside Facebook rather than linking back to the publisher’s website. Facebook believes that the time it takes to open up the link on the website (typically 8 seconds) is too long, and this would be a way to make content appear more seamless and quickly.

This proposal would eliminate the ability of news organizations to collect consumer data, which may make them more cautious about entering the deal. However, Facebook discussed ways for publishers to make money off of advertising to make the proposal more appealing.

I think that the relationship with Facebook and the media is so important today, because people are resorting to different social media platforms to receive the news rather than to traditional news websites or newspapers. I often learn about stories on the news based on what is trending on Facebook. Thus, it seems like a good idea to embed the stories right into Facebook, especially when people are using their smartphones—it would eliminate the process of opening up a new browser and make news consumption more efficient.

Twitter and Rhapsody to work together

Posted on by Brian Lee

Music legality and streaming have been hot topics, especially at the annual SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas. This week it was announced that Twitter and Rhapsody have joined forces so users can now stream full-length tracks on the app even if they don’t have a subscription.

This feature can be made possible due to Twitter’s audio card, which allows users to stream audio directly from their tweets.

Any Rhapsody user–the service has more than 2 million of them–can share any song from the site’s repertoire to Twitter. However, it only works through the app. If you’re opening the audio card from the web, it will only give a 10-second preview of the song.

This is a good marketing move by Rhapsody, as they’re looking to increase its membership. Currently, the music service has fewer paid users than its competitor Spotify. Rhapsody is also promoting itself on each card with a “learn more about Rhapsody” button.

We like to call this co-marketing, or an opportunity for two brands to work together on promotional efforts with a co-branded offer. Both companies promote content/product and share the results.

Great customer service

Posted on by Brian Lee

Last month, I ordered a black, leather wallet from Amazon.com. When it arrived, I was stunned to see I received a brown, plastic wallet instead.

So I begrudgingly started the return process and thought, what an annoyance to have to go through this (e.g. shipping it back) when it wasn’t my fault. It turns out I couldn’t complete the process, because the wallet I wanted was now out of stock.

I wrote Amazon’s customer service a note explaining the situation and seeking a recommendation. I was stunned by their response:

I’m so sorry to know that the item which you received was different from what was ordered. We certainly did not expect this to happen. As a customer service representative, I’m willing to help you in this issue.

It is certainly not our intention to ship incorrect products to our customers, and we will investigate the origin of this problem. Unfortunately, on rare occasions, fulfillment centers make a mistake when assembling a package. I’ve forwarded your message to our fulfillment team to make sure they’re aware of this incident.

When something like this happens, I’d normally send out a replacement order.  I’ve checked your order and see it that the item now is temporarily out of stock in  our website.

As a valued customer and as much as I want to help you, I’ve requested a full refund of $XX. This refund will appear in the next 2-3 business days as a credit on the original payment method used for the order. Once processed, you’ll also be able to see the refund here:

To avoid any inconvenience, as we don’t like to waste your precious time, there’s no need to return the item you received. You’re welcome to keep, donate or dispose of it–whichever option is most appropriate and convenient for you.

How awesome is that? As the saying goes, go above and beyond in customer service–and Amazon certainly did that.