Facebook opened its “Facebook Lite” just recently. The version is gutted, leaving only people, events, an inbox and an application-free wall. Status updates appear as usual, depending on the app used to send it.
Marketers should fret. There are no Pages, no Groups and the ad space on the page is markedly less. So where do you engage these users? Where’s the conversation?
I’d argue it’s not there in the first place. Pages are the only useful advertising since Facebook’s latest redesign made the hierarchy as transparent as tree bark. But that’s just me (according to all the SM experts on Twitter).
Nothing to worry about here. While Lite is low on ads, it will also be low on users. Especially in the US where all this is so important. There are many reasons but here are three I’ve pulled out of my hat in the last four seconds:
- No one knows about it.
Even with the big to-do on Twitter, few notice. The bulk of Facebook’s users aren’t even in the US where this is now live. - Broadband isn’t a non-issue in the US.
The main reason for Facebook Lite is to create faster load times for slow-band users. This does not apply in a country where the majority of Facebook’s users are on broadband already. (You can argue the access is less than a few countries but considering our overall size and standard of living, we’re doing okay.) - People like their [insert lame application] and groups.
Mafia Wars, Death Clock and all other ridiculous nonsense are (unfortunately) popular. Add that groups aren’t enabled and many users won’t see the point.
Yes, there will be an issue if it’s massively adopted because revenues will be down. But the same reasons I like Lite mean most will dismiss it immediately, if not before they even jump to the subdomain.
This is a transparent move to infiltrate slow-band markets and should increase their reach. They will gain market share in places like India (another country where it’s now live) where Orkut is the favorite.
Likely, once Lite is established there will be some sort of balance between users who prefer it over standard Facebook and the opposite. I’m interested in how this will all play out but right now there aren’t enough users (or interested users) for Marketers to fret.
Aside: Tumblr isn’t supported and TweetDeck doesn’t update. To my point, even someone like myself, who despises applications and has no use for groups or pages (generally), have my issues with it.
Photo courtesy: my adjustments to a Miller Lite bottle and the Facebook logo.
Tags: advertising, design, online, social tools