Last week we wrote about Facebook’s new tagging functionality but as of this afternoon the feature finally went live. While the functionality is no different than initially described, many users are finding that this transforms the overall user experience. There are also many objects on Facebook which still can’t be tagged with applications and pages such as photos. You also can’t include tags within Facebook messages but I’d expect more robust tagging functionality to be added over the coming weeks and months.
So does this new functionality eliminate the need for Twitter? No, but it most definitely helps users to communicate more effectively. Last week Facebook rolled out many “twitter like” features as many in the press described however it really is just a natural evolution of socializing on the web. As users get used to this new form of communicating, the real opportunity is what lies ahead.
Tag Users From Within Applications
Applications have the opportunity to post status updates on behalf of users once they obtain permission. While there is no documented way to tag users within status updates some developers have already figured out a way. If you use the following format, you’ll be able to tag users from within status updates via the Facebook API:
Tagging @[USERID:123456789] in a status update from my app
While this is prime for abuse by developers, once documented, this will provide developers with a huge opportunity for driving new traffic.
Data Analysis
Most users haven’t set their status privacy settings to “Everyone” yet, however as users begin to share more information, researchers will have access to a large amount of socially relevant data. This structured data will provide analysts with access to a large amount of information to help research how users are interacting with others and with brands in general.
This means that all of you marketers out there will soon have access to tools which help describe (in detail) how individuals are interacting within brands, applications, and each other.
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i love it..:-)
Comment by Phee Wee — September 14, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
But why I still can't using this feature ???
If I insert this symbol @ n0thing happen
Comment by Jimmy Wijaya — September 15, 2009 @ 1:02 am
I really love stuff like this.
Comment by Hifydoo — September 15, 2009 @ 4:39 am
Nick,
I just tested the @ tag function and it worked great…
Thanks
Comment by Bruce Christensen — September 15, 2009 @ 5:06 am
Thanks for the tip. Really handy. Cheers!
Comment by BebopDesigner — September 15, 2009 @ 5:42 am
But surely if you're just tagging a friend in a status post, or something, they would have seen it anyway? Because they're already your friend.
Comment by Nic — September 15, 2009 @ 6:17 am
You can also tag groups.
Comment by Digeratii — September 15, 2009 @ 7:48 am
I really like that you can @tag groups. I'm a group admin for a college org. We don't need or want a fan page, but that seems to be where Facebook showers all the new features these days. I'm glad they included groups in the new feature fun this time.
You can also @tag events, which could spur on the Facebook equivalent to the tweet-up.
Comment by Andrew Ledwith — September 15, 2009 @ 9:45 am
Hi Nick,
I did some tests and the result is that this new feature could be problematic for businesses because when you tag a brand public profile (aka fan page) the comment appear on the page wall.
At that point the only option available to a public profile administrator is removing the message. He can’t leave a comment on the message (he can do that with his personal identity but only if the tagger is a friend of him) and he can’t remove the tag from the wall message.
Comment by Vincenzo Cosenza — September 16, 2009 @ 5:01 am
I tested the tag function in status-updates a couple of days ago. At that time when I tagged the fanpage, the comment appeared on the page. Why does it not do that anymore???????
How do I track it when fans tag my fanpage in statusupdate will it appear in my comments on the page?
does anyone know?
Peace, Simon
Comment by Simon Øhrstr& — September 19, 2009 @ 1:08 am
This is not working for a Page I administer. The drop down menu appears and I select the person or page, but then the links disappear in the actual status update. Works for my personal profile, but not the page.
Comment by Scarlett Swerdlow — September 21, 2009 @ 8:37 am
I'm with Scarlett..doesn't work for pages I admin. But people tag my page all the time and I've done it from personal profile with friends, etc. Anyone know the answer?
Comment by Heather — May 5, 2010 @ 9:03 am
[...] the site had temporarily removed the ability to tag pages within status updates and comments, but we noticed that this has returned, perhaps as part of the [...]
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