This week, I ran $105 worth of Facebook Fliers. That bought me 52,500 impressions. It looks like the flier bought me about an extra 500 site visits. That's about $0.21 per hit. Here's the results:

The results, though are not 100% clear. The ad linked to a video introduction to the IT Flower. That specific post only received a jump of about 100 visits. Simultaneously, another post about EditGrid on the iPhone made it to a highish ranking on Stumble upon. Did the stumble upon stamped happen because enough people from facebook visited and then licked the iPhone post? I don't know. It's hard to tell from the data I have access to.

I have no doubt that this ad would have been more successful if Facebook gave me the ability to focus the ad based on key words and group affiliations. My guess is that these targeted ad features are coming as part of Facebook's deal with Microsoft.

Scoble, Google and Facebook

Robert Scoble has an interesting post today about why Google is coming out with a social network aimed clearly at Facebook. Scoble says

Why is Google so concerned by Facebook?

Easy, Google is the world's best intention concentration engine.

Think about it. If you intend to do something, like buy a car, where are you going to go? Google!

And, aren't you concentrated into a community of other people who also intend to buy a car? Yes!

Name another system that does a better job of concentrating intention the way that Google does. I can't

I think that Scoble is partly correct. But Facebook does not offer "Intention concentration" so much as "Interest Concentration".

Advertisers are not so much interested in either intention or interest. I think they want "Action Concentration". When you go to Google, you do research, which sometimes leads directly to buying something. Joining the Snowboarding Group on Facebook indicates that you are interested in snowboarding, but does not necessarily mean that you are currently on the hunt for a new board.

The fact that people use Facebook to do stuff (send messages, install applications, post pictures) indicates a different level of action concentration. And that habit of installing applications, particularly, goes directly to Google's vision of the future of the net. Small customized applications, pieced together, data in the cloud, highly customizable and very viral.

I think Google wants something like Facebook because they want an extensible platform for distributing new applications. Â The success of such a platform requires both a technical infrastructure and demonstrated pattern of user behavior.

When was the last time you installed an application on Google? Â If you use Facebook to any extent, you have probably installed an application this week.

Coincidentally, the IT Flower paper, and the intro video speak directly to this point.