Facebook launches new brand pages

Today, at the first Facebook Marketing Talks Live event, Facebook introduced new products and showed case studies from businesses who are finding success through marketing on Facebook.

Facebook’s Product Designer, Blaise DiPersia, and Product Manager, Jeff Kanter, spoke about the philosophy behind the new design of Facebook pages and how you can use your page to the fullest.


Pages are going to be your mission control on Facebook. The Facebook team say they believe in simplicity. As DiPersia put it, “to design an interface is like creating a piece of glass.” They want no clutter and want content to come to the service.

So here are some of the features…

Cover:

Your Facebook page should handle everything a basic website can do. The cover photo is your visual status change now and will set the tone of your page. Your profile picture, on the other hand, should be able to scale down to 30 px by 30 px so it’s good to keep your logo the same as it brings your voice. Verizon is using images taken by customer’s phones and making them into their cover.

In the bottom left, you can put 2 lines as your “elevator pitch” so it will be more prominent. You can then have a suite of Facebook apps or you can have your own. These apps will be replacing tabs (which will definitely upset a few brand reps).

It’s going to be interesting to see what brands do with these new features over the next month and beyond.

Timeline:
You can now go to any story and click on it to allow it to show on the timeline and starred content will cover the two columns which is perfect for rich media. You can also historically post data so you can create your company’s story from when it was first created (which, for a lot of companies, spans beyond the life of Facebook itself).

Pinned post:

You can pick a post to go above the fold outside of the timeline so it doesn’t get lost. This is great for the Questions app so you can have that front and centre. Another new type of post that can benefit from being pinned is called “offer” - and I’m sure you know what that entails. Basically ads are now going to leak into our feeds or at least I think that’s what’s going to happen.

Highlights:
Facebook pulled a sub tab highlighting friend activity into an app so you can see how your friends are interacting with that particular business. Facebook are also looking at how to optimise the music you are listening to through open graph. For instance, on Alicia Keys page you can see the top songs of hers your friends are listening to. Music is the first one they are trying but I’m sure it will quickly expand to other things.

Admin Panel:

The admin panel pulls out a number of things: the new notifications, the last 500 posts, new likes so you know who is connecting to your page, insights so you can have a quick overview, page tips and then a new message feature. This feature is great for customer service and I wish I had it when I was managing social media accounts. There is also a need for different admin permissions and Facebook have five types that they are looking to have out by the end of March.

For all those managing brand pages, remember that all pages will be automatically upgraded on March 30th. You have four weeks to explore how you want to use your new page before they do it for you.

Sounds of Us: Museum of Broken Relationship commission now live

Last summer Michelle Tsen and I made a film for the Museum of Broken Relationships. We crowd sourced “relationship” sounds from Twitter and Facebook and made a stop motion video of one of the objects donated to the Museum of Broken relationships.

It was shown at the museum in London and has finally gone live online. Have a look for yourself and tell us what you think!

[vimeo 37211205 w=400 h=225]

Sounds of Us by Heather Taylor and Michelle Tsen from Laura Kriefman on Vimeo.

Commissioned Film for the Museum of Broken Relationships UK.

Using a donated object and story.

Conceived, and made by Heather Taylor and Michelle Tsen

My (not so) exhastive list of things to do in New York

As I am halfway to completely moving to New York, I thought I’d reach out to you all to see what I should do here (especially as I love crowdsourcing so much). As in, if you were here, what would you go eat or see or do. I originally thought I’d do the top 100 things to do in Timeout but it’s all done by season or type of thing to do. I want a real mix.

So this is my to-do list thanks to you. I’ve put the person’s name beside the item they suggested and I’ll add a link when I write about my adventure there. I’m also blogging 50 walks of New York so make sure to keep an eye on that as well.

Anything I’m missing? Leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

101 Park Avenue (@nokia_fan)
53rd Street Berlin Wall: Between 520 Madison Ave building & Burger Heaven there are four segments of the Berlin Wall (@nokia_fan)
A salmon bagel from Russ & Daughters (@nokia_fan)
A show off Broadway in one of the smaller theatres followed by dinner in the Italian quarter (Nicky R)
Any chance you could see my brother for me? He lives in NYC and I have been remiss. (Dan W)
Barney Greengrass on Amsterdam W86th for old school brunch (Fiona W)
Baseball game and hot dogs! (Jess D)
Best Chinese food at: xi’an famous foods, east broadway,new york (@nokia_fan)
Bike ride or roller-skate in central park (Buffy S/Harjit R)
Blind Tiger (Justin D)
Blue Bottle: various locations (Justin D)
Book shopping south of Union Square (Laura K)
Brandy Library: I kinda feel like a millionaire whenever I visit this place (Justin D)
Brooklyn Bridge (@nokia_fan)
Brooklyn Library (Laura K)
Brooklyn Zoo (Laura K)
Bruce Springstein concert at Madison Square Gardens (Margo)
Brunch in Brooklyn (Laura K)
Candle 79 (Sarah M)
Candle Cafe (me)
Carnegie Hall (@nokia_fan)
Chelsea Piers: This place is where I had my sweet sixteen on the rock climbing and giant trampoline into a massive foam pit area (Sarah M)
Chrysler Building (@nokia_fan)
Clinton Street Bakery is a must! Perfect for Sunday morning brunch!(Tim B)
Cloisters (Jill A)
Cocktails & dinner at Tao (Harjit R)
Coney Island freakshow (Willard F)
Coppelia for brunch (Magnus H)
DBA (Justin D)
Do poetry in Greenwich Village (Buffy S/ Harjit R)
Earls Beer and Cheese: http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2011/earls-beer-and-cheese/ (Sarah M)
Eat a cupcake or 5! (Louise J)
Eat all the treats from Momofuko! (Sabine D)
Eat at one of the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives recommendations. Awesome. (TobyLauren B)
Empire State Building (@nokia_fan)
Epic Wine and Cheese at Casellula (Lauren R)
Fat Cat in Greenwich if you want a jazz club where you can grab a beer and play ping pong (Justin D)
Fatty Cue in West Village (Magnus H)
Films at the Angelika (Laura K)
Films at the IFC Center (Laura K)
Flatiron Building (@nokia_fan)
Frick Collection (Jess D/ Martin T)
Get a Grimaldis pizza (Alex M)
Go down to Princeton, sit in on a Paul Krugman lecture and ask him what countries are in an optimal EU currency area (Leigh C)
Go to antique boutique in union sq and buy a kilo of clothes for a dollar (Hannah K)
Go to the hotel Home Alone 2 was filmed in (Chris K)
Go to the Peanut Butter & Co place & order The Elvis (Ange M)
Gramercy Taven (Magnus H)
Grand Central Station (@nokia_fan)
Ground zero (World Trade Center memorial). Got to be worth a look.(Alex B/ Justin D)
Guggenheim Museum (@nokia_fan)
Have a liquid gold at Spitzer’s Corner, if you like beer. (Chris F)
High Line (Taylor D/ Kathryn C/ Justin D/ Karen R/ Magnus H)
Hitting balls in the cages at Battery Park (Ruth B)
Hockey Game (me)
I’m not sure if you’ll think this is really cool or crappy consumerism. I’m not sure if they still do this but if you buy something from American eagle in times square they’ll put you on their billboard. I happened on it by accident but got to be on a billboard in times square! (Leslie H)
Ippudo for Ramen (Magnus H)
Katz’s Deli (Linus G)
Live music/ film in Prospect Park (Laura K)
Lunch at Yurra & Co and then a stroll through the Design Museum on same street…. (Andrew R)
Meat packing district night out (Jess D)
MOMA (@nokia_fan)
MonkeyBar for cocktails on East 54th Street (Fiona W)
Nathan’s chilli hotdog coney island (Allan N)
NBC Studio 1A - Today Show (@nokia_fan)
New York Public (@nokia_fan)
Ninth Street Espresso: various locations (Justin D)
Paulie Gee’s in Green Point. In my opinion, it’s the best pizza in the 5 Boroughs. Not hard to get there. (Justin D)
PDT at Crif Dogs. You feel like superman going through the phone booth (@martinimummy)
Pony Bar (Justin D)
Queens Zoo (@nokia_fan)
Radegast in Williamsburg which is a german beer hall with great wurst. (Justin D)
Raines Law Room: Great cocktails, even better atmosphere. (Justin D)
Red Rooster: Oh my god this place is amazing. It’s up in Harlem, around 125th st. & Adam Clayton Powell or so. Obama visited there. (Justin D)
Rockefeller Center (@nokia_fan)
See the Knicks play (me)
Silvercup Studios (@nokia_fan)
Spend a day with a bunch of friends re-enacting, ‘The Warriors’ (Josh I)/ Ride the underground all the way to the stop where the gang eventually got home to in the film WARRIORS (come out to play!) (Paul M)
St Patrick’s Cathedral (@nokia_fan)
Strawberry Fields (@nokia_fan)
Stumptown at the Ace Hotel (Justin D)
Sub Mercer: you can only get in if you personally know the DJ for the evening. But if you can get in, it’s pretty chill, no cover, and a very nice place. (Justin D)
Take the ferry to Staten Island. Find a bar, drink a beer. The view of the city on the return journey is breathtaking! (Max D)
Tao on East 58th (Fiona W)
Tenement tour/ museum (Sarah M/ Dan M)
The boat tour gives a great history. There is one I believe that is put on by retired police and fireman I think…cannot remember the name for the life of me though. Something line… (Starr C)
The Breslin for the seafood sausage (Magnus H)
The Dizzy is my favorite in Columbus Circle. (Justin D)
The Islamic permanent collection at Metropolitan museum of art (Julia H)
The Metropolitan Opera (@nokia_fan)
The Unisphere in Queens (@nokia_fan)
The Way Station in Brooklyn. (Nicole)
Times Square (@nokia_fan)
United Nations (@nokia_fan)
Visit as many vintage/thrift stores as possible (Louise J)
Walk the Brooklyn bridge (Sara B)
Wandering through Lower East Side (Laura K)
Waters Edge River Boat (@nokia_fan)
Zabars (Jill A)

My first whoopie pie

I watch a lot of cooking shows and most of those are competitions. Masterchef, Top Chef, The Next Iron Chef. You get my drift. I’d say most of those dishes I’ve heard of or tried but whenever there is a dessert challenge in the US, there is inevitably a whoopie pie.

According to Wikipedia, “the whoopie pie is an American baked good that may be considered either a cookie, pie, or cake. It is made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, or sometimes pumpkin or gingerbread cake, with a sweet, creamy filling or frosting sandwiched between them.”

When I saw a vegan version in Whole Foods, I decided to try one.

It’s definitely a firm cookie shaped cake with a thick layer of white icing in the middle. It’s not too sticky and though it was a touch on the sweet side. I did eat it all (which I don’t usually do with super sweet desserts) but I don’t think I’ll have another. Not because it didn’t taste good. It’s just not my kind of dessert.

Now if you gave me pumpkin pie…

Blogging the walks of New York

At my leaving drinks, my lovely friend Alice gave this set of “50 New York walk” cards. Each card has one short tour set in different areas of New York. What genius. You take one card out with you - there’s a map, a few points for you to stop at and then you’re done.

Alice’s charge to me? Blog about them. So I am.

Starting this weekend, I’ll be blogging my way through these walks. I’ll take pictures and find food and drink along the way so if you want to take the walk too, you can. (I would still suggest buying a set of the cards. They are pretty - and useful).

After drawing a card 7th from the back as requested, I will be exploring the Met and Central Park. Lovely.

Let’s hope the weather holds. I’ll report back to you next week.

Come dine with Pipsdish

I fully recommend following any hand painted sign (unless it says “Free Candy. Kids only.”) Sophie and I followed one down an alley in Islington and came across the glorious Pipsdish at the Islington Barn, a pop-up restaurant in a converted garage. It’s there in partnership with a farm shop so not only can you eat great food there, you can buy something to take home.

Now I should have written this a week ago. My last post here says I’ll be writing once a day. Guess what? I haven’t. I like to think I can do everything, but packing house to move to another country and trying to see friends, work US hours-ish (and maybe even go on a date) takes its toll. Mostly my blog gets the brunt of this, along with my sleep, and any friends who I’ve meant to see this week but ran out of time. But let’s get back to Pipsdish shall we?


Pipsdish is one of a number of pop-ups, author and cook, Philip Dundas , has set up over the past couple of years. When you first come into the back courtyard, you see the farm shop but not the restaurant. If Philip hadn’t beaconed us in at the front of the alley, I don’t think I would have ventured further inside.


If you do decide to round the corner, you’ll find a tall grey haired man (yep. Philip) in a kerchief, stirring or chopping or mixing. Real records are playing on a real record player and there’s a seating area with tables and covered hay bales. It’s quite homey.

The first thing we noticed – no prices. There’s a 3 course meal for £25 but we just wanted a snack. I’ll be honest – with no sign we almost walked away. Almost. I hate asking how much something is. I once accidentally bought a £16 bottle of beer when I thought it looked cool but didn’t think to ask how much it would set me back.

During lunch, you pay what you think it’s worth. Now this is trickier than you think. Pay what you can you’ll never feel guilty as pay what you think it’s worth. £5 for my masterful creation? Pah.

Of course no one said that and no one would. But it’s definitely in your head. Especially with these meals.

Sophie had homemade chicken soup. What was amazing is that Sophie hates soup with chunks in it. Yet, she polished this off and raved about it. It came with pate on toast. I, the vegetarian, had stir-fried mixed vegetables. All freshly cut in front of me, my favourite was the sliced Brussel sprouts. They were sliced! Who would believe it was possible. It is. And it is the future. Mine came with a squash pate on toast. It tasted like a dream. If squash is what you equate with dreams. I didn’t before but I may now.

I would say, book a £25 course meal if you can. There’s dancing and music and fun. But if you are wandering around Islington, I’d say go in, say hi and eat some great, freshly cooked food. We paid £15 for our meal, but honestly I’d have paid much, much more. It was if I walked into my mom’s kitchen, except it was the 1940s and my mom was a professional chef. It was that good. Go. Check in on Foursquare. Tell your friends. Say I sent you. Or better yet, take me with you.