Facebook launches 'Name That Tune' app, driving more into advertising net?
Facebook has added added a 'Name That Tune' feature to its mobile app that identifies music and television shows playing in the background. It suggests users share the tunes with a larger audience.
Facebook: pulling in ads?
The Facebook feature is the latest in a series of changes, says the Wall Street Journal, to "nudge users to divulge more—and more-specific—personal information on the social network. This week, it introduced a feature that allows users to prompt their friends to divulge more information about themselves. Last year, the social network allowed users to categorize posts by activity."
The WSJ comments , "Facebook uses the data to sell targeted advertisements. The more detailed the information it gathers from users, the more personalized—and expensive—advertising the company can sell."
Arecent survey by Pew Research found that 10% of U.S. Facebook users update their status daily, and 4% update it more than once a day.
"If Facebook could increase those numbers, it could gather more data to target ads on the service more precisely," says the WSJ.
Jesse Pujji, chief executive of Ampush Media Inc., a digital-advertising company, commented, "They're just trying to reduce the friction of capturing that information."
Facebook declined to comment.
Facebook wants users to share more information about themselves.The company has added categories, like "watching," "eating" or "listening," that users can add to their posts. In April it created a "traveling to" category, allowing users to post their travel destinations.
A "nearby friends" feature, also rolled out last month,the WSJ points out, lets users know when their Facebook friends are in the vicinity. Turning on the feature lets Facebook track users wherever they go, even when the app is closed.
This week, Facebook began allowing users to request their friends' relationship status using the new "Ask" button.
Advertisers like the additional data.
Sarah Baehr, group director of digital strategy and investment at the Carat unit of advertising company Dentsu, said, "We focus so much on trying to understand who the consumer is, so the more data we have to help understand that, the better. Being more relevant is something that's always appealing for marketers, so there's an advantage in having more data" .
But James Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that is focused on children's and family issues, said
"These aren't little benign tools. The reality is that every little bit of data contained in the touch of a keystroke or button reveals details about users and particularly young users. That can have ramifications for years to come."
Facebook has said it would soon make its data available to publishers and developers of other mobile apps, where marketers will be able to buy ads.