FIRST WORD: LANCE ULANOFF

FIRST WORD LANCE ULANOFF

Facebook and Twitter: Celebrity Deathmatch!

Blame Shaquille O’Neal. Facebook’s sudden, desperate move to help celebrities, sports personalities, and big brands transform their somewhat static Facebook pages into full-blown profiles is, I think, a direct response to the excitement created by relative Twitter newbie and basketball icon Shaquille O’Neal.

Although you can find numerous celebrities on Twitter, most employ handlers and sycophants to post updates—and virtually all of those posts are pointless or full of selfpromotion. There are exceptions: Web 2.0 poster child and sometimes actor Ashton Kutcher and his wife, actress Demi Moore, are both on Twitter, and they clearly Tweet for themselves (though this is not always a good thing). Shaq’s posts, however, are something else entirely.

First of all, Shaq’s Tweets are frequent and, more important, he is constantly encouraging average Twitter users to engage with him. Sometimes he asks people to guess where he is. Other times, he challenges fellow Twitter members to find him and say hello. This is a new level of celeb engagement, and something far beyond what any celebrity or brand could accomplish with one of Facebook’s advertising-centric pages. This, I think, has scared the crap out of Facebook execs.

There’s a Facebook press release that details all the celebs and brands that are currently on Facebook and how they can transform those pages into profiles and share with the masses. (Profiles are essentially what average users have on Facebook.) My favorite document, however, is Facebook’s new best practice guides for public figures, musicians, and communities. I dug into the public figures (celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc.) part of this PDF and saw that Facebook is using Ashton “I’m Everywhere” Kutcher as the example. Aside from the somewhat helpful tips on how to set up your Facebook profile (they’re talking to you, Britney Spears!), the PDF is almost a parody:

“If you are a celebrity, athlete, politician or public figure, with Facebook public pro-

Facebook seems torn between writing for Steve Carell and Carell’s handlers.

files, you can create an authentic connection with millions of fans and supporters on Facebook by communicating with your real voice and participating in the conversations already happening about you online.”

I have a small following. Do I count as a public figure? Probably not. But these guides are written for people who typically don’t know much about technology. Most are actors, sports figures, or people who are just famous for being, well, famous. They’re not out there reading PCMag reviews or managing their own MySpace pages.

These “guides” are not an introduction to a new kind of Facebook page, but an introduction to Facebook. The company wants big-brand entities to read this and understand why they should use the service.

Static FBML for Dummies, or Celebs

To be fair, there’s great, basic information in this Facebook documentation about how you can connect, share content, and reach a global audience through your news feed. It explains Facebook’s wall and how notes are like blog posts. However, the PDF goes off the rails and mentions Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language), the Flash player, and, later, third-party applications. It’s at this point that—unless we’re talking about Ashton Kutcher or Shaq—celebs start scratching their heads. Do you think Miley Cyrus or Kiefer Sutherland knows what any of that means? Facebook seems torn between writing for Steve Carell and Carell’s handlers, who would hire a Web developer.

The effort to drive brands to profiles only highlights how much more complex Facebook is than Twitter. Shaq’s account has not been around that long and, thanks to just 471 updates (or Tweets), he has amassed over 233,000 followers and a ton of invaluable press. The work necessary to drive all of Facebook’s various parts is a lot more intense, and the return will likely not be as great. I’m not saying I don’t like Facebook. And the social platform is experiencing a new surge in users. But this is about Facebook execs realizing that celebs (or their handlers) now think that having a Twitter account is more important than reaching fans via any other social networks. And if you doubt that Shaq’s wild success spurred this rushed and somewhat confusing announcement, take note of one of Facebook’s examples in the Best Practices PDF:

“Discussion Boards – Discussion Boards can be used by you to spark a conversation among people you are connected to and get feedback on a particular topic or for users to start discussions on their own (such as your latest public appearance or game winning dunk).”

“Game winning dunk?” Come on. They’re talking to you Mr. The_Real_Shaq.

Follow me on TwiTTer! Catch the chief’s comments on the latest tech developments at twitter.com/LanceUlanoff.