Customers Know What They Want
On the other hand, organizations have the need for integrating in IT departments new technologies often using cloud services and other ways of direct access to the web. This pressure for IT departments to give…
On the other hand, organizations have the need for integrating in IT departments new technologies often using cloud services and other ways of direct access to the web. This pressure for IT departments to give…
On the other hand, organizations have the need for integrating in IT departments new technologies often using cloud services and other ways of direct access to the web. This pressure for IT departments to give…
On the other hand, organizations have the need for integrating in IT departments new technologies often using cloud services and other ways of direct access to the web. This pressure for IT departments to give…
Facebook Bade Farewell to Explore Feed & Welcomed Closer Together
On the 1st of March 2018, Facebook announced the end of its disastrous Explore Feed experiment, after harsh criticism from users and journalists. October 2017 saw the worldwide launch of an alternative News Feed, named Explore Feed, a feature previously exclusive to Facebook’s app. It aimed to encourage users to stumble upon content that might interest them. When News Feed focuses on posts from family, friends, Liked and Followed pages, Explore Feed displayed content pertaining to a user’s interests.
The content on Explore Feed wasn’t entirely random, as it included items that a user had previously shown interest in, or that were popular among their friends. With this update, Facebook aimed to increase the spending time of online users. In fact, this social media giant regularly introduces new features as alternatives to News Feed. However, most users never veer from News Feed to actually discover such features.
Surprisingly, in an isolated experiment rolled out in six countries, namely, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Slovakia, Serbia, Bolivia, and Cambodia, a different variant of Explore Feed was implemented. All content other than posts from friends and family was displayed under this experimental feed. Consequently, blindsiding businesses and news organizations in test countries, and leading to a massive rise in misinformation regarding test product.
Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of News Feed, shared through a blog that Their social networking platform frequently tests design changes, new features, and ranking updates. Doing so allows them to understand how Facebook can be transformed for everyone’s benefit. Some changes including Live video, GIFs, and Reactions garner positive feedback and become available to all users. Conversely, some experiments like Explore Feed fail to generate a positive response, or do not meet user requirements and are therefore discarded permanently.
According to Mosseri, Explore Feed was launched on a trial basis. Since, surveys and feedback revealed that users wanted to see more updates from family and friends. Subsequently, leading to the conceptualization of two separate feeds, one strictly dedicated to posts from loved ones and the other for updates from Pages.
Facebook operated under the assumption that this change would prioritize a user social interactions. As posts from media, brands, and businesses would no longer feature in News Feed. Post-launch surveys, however, indicated that users were unhappy with this new system. Two feeds hampered chances of connecting with friends and further inconvenienced users when important information was missed, Mosseri added. Therefore, after five months its launch, Facebook pulled the plug on Explore Feed.
Critics condemned this Explore Feed experiment labeling it an Orwellian move that significantly increased the circulation of misinformation. Filip Stuhárik, a Slovakian journalist, opined that Facebook seemed unfazed by current happenings in its test countries and disregarded consequences. Using CrowdTangle data he showcased how professional journalists were negatively affected when fake news channels flourished.
Mosseri accepted this criticism because Facebook abruptly changed the social media landscape in six countries without considering its impact on business. Additionally, stakeholders’ input was not heeded and test subjects weren’t adequately informed about this new product. He assured that methods of evaluating countries for test products and communicating about them will be modified. Being the world’s largest social media network, Facebook faces immense scrutiny and pressure from governments and users to create less addictive services to curb the dissemination of false news.
Explore Feed’s failure can also be attributed to the choice of test countries. A majority of users in these countries never explore Facebook’s other features, therefore, the removal of brands, publisher and Page content from News Feed has only reduced organic traffic to businesses.
Stuhárik tweeted that he was pleased with Facebook’s acknowledgment of mistakes and decision to end said experiment. He hopes future experiments will be conducted keeping in mind the current situation of a test country.
According to him, owing to this experiment news media websites stopped relying on Facebook for organic traffic. He predicted that traffic is expected to reduce significantly in the future. Since News Feed will emphasize posts from family and friends over media outlets. Thereby, forcing established businesses to reconsider life after Facebook, and formulate creative ideas to improve traffic and retain loyal audiences.
Cambodian media outlets were also pleased to hear this experiment was called off. Since Facebook has emerged as a prominent platform for political news in the country. Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who is up for re-election in July, forced traditional and independent media to shut down, especially for criticizing his government. Hence, Facebook became the sole source of news for Cambodian users, although in light of said update viewership plummeted up to 40%.
It wasn’t just the general users who lost access to reliable news sources, but businesses and other organizations suffered similar losses. For instance, had Cambodian entrepreneur In Vichet launched his online business ‘Little Fashion’ at the beginning of this year instead of 2010, it would have run aground. Since Facebook would have pushed all content from organizations and companies into its Explore Feed.
‘Little Fashion’ an online shopping outlet gained a huge local clientele through Facebook’s News Feed in its initial years. Currently, it is among Cambodia’s most successful e-commerce ventures. Vichet believes that had this update been rolled out a few years ago, it would have proved disastrous for his business. Sellers who depend on this platform for boosting sales and marketing might suffer greatly with any changes to the current News Feed system, he added.
The Cambodian economy is fragile and using them as test subjects when they are not evolved on social media is robbing them of their few opportunities. It has been observed by digital marketing firms that Cambodian businesses using Facebook for marketing were unaware for a month or two during the test phase that their outreach had declined by 60%. Facebook claims that these countries were chosen because there were no other tests being run on them. However, most critics remarked that the political and economic conditions of a country must be considered before conducting experiments that impact business practices.
Although such experimentation deeply affected the aforementioned countries, only social media managers who understood its full impact were alarmed. Before calling off this test, Facebook hinted that no plans of making Explore Feed global were underway. Simultaneously, they announced another update for News Feed, known as ‘Closer Together’, to address the original problem that ended in an appalling experiment.
This update streamlines News Feed content so a user only sees posts from loved ones and content published by businesses, which have specifically paid for a place on the main feed. Following this update, Cambodian businesses and NGOs that relied on said social media platform have had to make drastic changes in terms of techniques to retain audiences.
https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10156988765141729/
The latest update will emphasize person-to-person engagement while limiting person-to-page engagement. This watered down version of Explore Feed will compel the page managers to modify their techniques and comply with the current algorithm. Facebook knows that to some extent users demand relevant Page content in their News Feed. Therefore, chances of charging for a Page-free News Feed are slim to none.
Over the years Facebook has transformed appreciably so it has been used. Therefore, despite their best efforts to increase interpersonal engagement, messaging apps are currently irreplaceable in this niche.
To be successful and stay in the forefront of your industry, delivering an exceptional service is not enough.
Meeting and networking with like-minded people, sharing your ideas, learning from giants in the industry and stepping outside your world is essential if you are planning on expanding and growing. What better place is there to accomplish these objectives than an ‘event’.
Recently, ExtremeSEO had the opportunity to attend to a startup event- one of the biggest event in the region, ECHELON Asia Summit 2017.
Empowering the entrepreneurs in the Asian region the summit is a real business opportunity amplifier for newborn businesses who have big dreams to grow. Powered by E 27(https://e27.co ), Asia’ latest tech media platform which was born in 2007, partnering up with the biggest brands in the world including Google and IBM the event is one of the biggest in Asia’s tech ecosystem. The Summit which held annually is a perfect place for tech and digital startups to grow, learn, share ideas, build beneficiary contacts and look into trends. (This year the summit was held from 28th to 30th of June in Singapore)
Featuring an array of events the three-day summit provides a variety of golden opportunities for startups. Whether you are looking for more business, fundraising or knowledge, the ECHELON Asia summit will not disappoint you. The summit comprised of an exhibition, speaking events and a startup fight club where the best 100 tech masterminds in the region is chosen.
Giving you the access to a wealth of resources, the summit helps businesses step up their game.
Giving you the best speaking events to attend to, for entire three days the summit offers access to the latest industry insights and expertise of the leaders of your industry while enabling you to share and learn from like-minded people.
Networking with like-minded and beneficiary people pays off in the long run in a way you can’t imagine if you know to approach the right guy at the right time. Facilitating you a world of opportunities to connect and partner up with, the summit provides a perfect ground for like-minded people to meet and connect on an international level.
Go fight in the top 100 startup fight club or participate in the Exhibition…They exposure you can receive by attending the summit is something you can’t ever achieve with 100 marketing campaigns. With the attendance of a highly targeted crowd at the summit, entering into new potential customers and investors radar has never been easier.
Every year the event gets concentrated with investors of all kinds looking for new profitable investments. If you have a great business plan written and printed on your hand and perfect elevated pitch, the summit won’t let you walk away without you succeeding.
A range of personnel connected to the tech industry attends the summit from all over the world. From government ministries and agencies who help the Asian tech ecosystem to thrive, investors looking for places to invest, business from all sizes who seek new ways to expand their reach, industry professionals who are keen to share their knowledge to media who looking for features attend the summit every year, making it a perfect little ecosystem within the tech ecosystem of the.
Returning back from the summit with the wisdom of new knowledge and insight, ExtremeSEO is ready to amp up the quality of our services even more and deliver a result-focused experience for our clients driving their business towards success.
The ECHELON Asia Summit gives you access to some of the latest findings and thoughts in the industry while providing you with ample opportunities to expand, is definitely worth considering attending next time, if you seeking new opportunities to improve and grow as an entrepreneur.
No matter the size or the years of experience you have in the industry, an award can help you take a leap of success allowing you to access the front line of your industry -which means more high-paying clients and better industry authority. Now, businesses and individuals in the digital sphere in Sri Lanka also have the opportunity to get recognized for their excellence making an instant impact in their business success. This golden opportunity is the SLT ZeroOne Awards. Identifying the necessity of an award ceremony in the digital industry in Sri Lanka, SLT launched the countries’ first-ever digital excellence award ceremony as SLT ZeroOne Awards in 2016 filling the gap of the industry.
Image Credit: Sundayobserver.lk
As a country with surging digital and online practices, such gestures encourage individuals and businesses to push themselves to a more competitive ground -which will gradually enhance the quality of the digital arena even more. Honouring the digital projects, campaigns and innovative solutions, the award ceremony which was held in the Grand Ballroom in the Hilton Colombo on 22nd of June 2017 provided the visibility and the reputations brands deserve for the first time in Sri Lanka.
The Award ceremony is a great encouragement and appreciation from the government for the sweat and tears businesses and individuals shed in introducing and strengthening a new industry in Sri Lanka while opening doors to receive the benefits of this new technology to Sri Lankan’s. It is a substantial admiration for the existing businesses to hold on to for a longer time in reaching new heights. And it is a significant inspiration for the future generation who has hope in joining the digital and online world for their carrier.
Dedicated to recognizing, honouring, and encouraging excellence in digital initiatives the ceremony presents awards for mainly under three categories as follows,
The ceremony provided recognition opportunities for 154 brands, shedding a spotlight on 47 award winners in the industry in a range of categories including,
With the exceptional quality of our service which is mainly focused on data and results, we at Prime One Global were awarded for the ‘Best Digital Media Agency’ under the ‘Media and Publishing’ category. Providing an array of services from SEO, social media marketing, conversion optimization, and reputation management services for a local and global client base, Prime One Global was able to conquer this significant achievement competing with more than 400 best brands in the industry.
The constant investment in imagination, creativity, and innovation, challenging the common and accepted practices and methods, and delivering a higher ROI along with the maximum outcome for our clients, have paid off once again for Prime One Global with this newly added SLT ZeroOne Award to our award collection.
Ensuring only the best work is recognized, we are honoured and grateful to the distinguished panel of jury for recognizing our achievements and would like to thank SLT for taking the time to give the recognition and appreciation for brands and individuals deserve uplifting the local talent in the digital media world.
Fulfilling the timely need in the digital industry on the island, SLT’s organization of the SLT ZeroOne Awards is an absolute encouragement for businesses, brands, and individuals in the industry. We hope this thoughtful event will continue for many years improving and expanding, honouring more and more brands and individuals who deserve it the most
“It was an awesome day,” “I wish the day never came to an end” were some of the comments I happen to hear from my colleagues by the end of our 8th-anniversary celebration. If you are one of those who wants to know how we celebrated our 8th year of the journey, I am sure you would want to read this post.
Before I start talking about what happened on the 17th of September, let me take you to the previous day of the event.
The anniversary celebration began two days before the actual day, by sending the invitation to everyone through letter posts and the Facebook Event Page. The excitement among the colleagues is visible through the posts they’ve written on the event page itself.
Since the previous day, the 16th of September was a public holiday in Sri Lanka, for the Full Moon, our colleagues began decorating the office on the previous day itself. While the decorating team was working on their tasks, other members who were responsible for the programs were rehearsing.
Also, on that day (16.09.2016) we decided to support 16 students who have lost their relations in the civil war. Through the organization called Thamizh Virutcham, we donated stationeries to those students.
Both, rehearsing and decorating, are not easy as thought. Every bit of decoration has to be perfect as planned, and the programs have to be scheduled perfectly so that it doesn’t clash with other plans on the agenda.
The day wrapped up only when the task assignees were satisfied with the decoration and the programs for the next day.
The excitement began. To be honest, it was not only us, staff, who were excited about this celebration but our former colleagues too.
Sharanyan Sharma, our Founder, inaugurated the event by lighting the oil lamp, which is a ritual here in Sri Lanka. Following the lighting the lamp rituals, we had to go through a welcome speech which then led us to the main part of the event.
What is an anniversary celebration without cakes? Thanks to the decoration team that has chosen a fantastic, or rather a beautiful, cake design. It was not only an icing cake but fruits and sweets were a part of the decoration too. The Cake cutting was the main event on the agenda (or at least I think it is). Sharanyan Sharma, our Founder, cut the beautifully decorated cake.
“Unbelievable! How time flies. It only feels like yesterday when I was walking down an old apartment corridor on a mission to rent a small, dusty room, which would later give birth to such a beautiful company – Prime One Global. It only feels like yesterday! But, it’s been Eight Years. Eight beautiful, incredible, challenging years,” shared the Chairman of the company, Mr. Sharanyan Sharma, in his speech. Furthermore, he spoke about the obstacles he had to overcome in establishing this brand, Prime One Global LLC, as one of the largest digital marketing companies in Sri Lanka.
The most interesting part of his speech was when he announced about the new branch which is opened in Colombo World Trade Center. And the other surprise is the announcement about the Calcutta office which is to be opened in near future.
Following the speech of our Chairman, our previous CEOs, Mr. Kugathasan and Mr. Nivethan shared their thoughts about the company and wishes for the enterprise.
These speeches were followed by the address of our current CEO, Mr. Kokulakrishnan. And then, the company history was shared in a speech by the co-founder of the company, Mrs. Pratheepa Sharanyan.
Reader, I can hear your mind. No. The event wasn’t full of speeches. There were girls brought from Baratha Narthanaalaya (a local institute for Bharatha dance) who brought colors to the event by their dances. There were different age groups of students from the institution who danced to various songs.
With the colorful dances, there was a break for lunch.
It is usual to take a nap once after lunch. Knowing that we decided not to let any audience fall asleep. The first event after lunch was a musical performance by our colleague, Umasuthan, who used his fingers to bring fantastic music. Although young, his sound knowledge in playing ‘Miruthangam’ (a musical instrument like a drum) amazed the crowd, and everyone was on the tip of the seat eagerly watching him play it.
We had two dramas performed by our staff. One of the dramas was by the girls’ squad of our company who demonstrated what would happen if officers from an IT company happen to work in a restaurant. That was quite a comic drama, which made the crowd die in laughter.
“How life shatters down because of one’s carelessness in driving a bike without the helmet” was the theme of the second drama by our staff. The best part is the actors don’t speak their morals but display what happens by one’s carelessness.
As a final event of the day, we decided to have two teams of the whole staff on stage. A team has to perform what the opposite team asks for, and that resulted in both the team doing a fashion show walk.
Want to see more about the celebration? Check into of photo album on our Facebook. Although the event wrapped up with fun and excitement, new goals are set for the new year.
We are pleased to announce that we are the winners of Promotion World’s Readers’ Choice Awards 2015.
With over 5500+ votes cast across myriad categories, The Reader’s Choice Awards are a flawless indicator of a company’s influence in its genre of excellence. We are grateful for being able to work in such a positive community, with like-minded employees and comforting clientele that have supported us in every hurdle we faced.
Kokul Krishnan, The new CEO of primeone.global, said, “Another medal on our chest, a milestone in our journal that we have set our eyes on for the last five years, and many more years to come. It is such an honor to be nominated as the best Digital Marketing Agency of 2015. We have been in business since 2008, and since our inception, we have endeavored to create a company where the employees are eager to come to work and contribute enthusiastically. We are thankful to all our friends, family members, partners, stakeholders and clients for their unwavering support and loyalty towards Prime One Global. This success is just one of the many we aim to conquer under the shade of your love and guidance.”
This is not merely an award for us. It is the emblem of our drive to build a ground-breaking and ever-growing market of services in a highly competitive business environment. We will strive to improve ourselves over the coming years and deliver even better and realistic results for our clients. Results, which will boast of better returns on every dollar they choose to spend on Digital Marketing.
With new trends and technological advancements in the Marketing Industry, the likes of content marketing, retargeting, pay per click, mobile adoption, and video marketing all pacing ahead into 2016, the marketing landscape is ever-changing and it requires companies to rapidly evolve according to its dynamism. It is vital for all Marketing and Ad Agencies to embrace the change and stay update with best practices, hunt new opportunities and take calculated risks to stay ahead of the game. This cannot be simply achieved by looking for clients and dispersing services, but by being actively involved in the community through video outreach, guest speaking, blogging, seminars, webinars or teaching. Our ultimate motive in 2016 would be to become an even more active participant in the Marketing Community than last year.
Shan Dilan (Director of Operations) exclaimed, “A massive round of applause to all my colleagues, back-office staffs and Mr. Sharanyan for making this victory possible for us four years in a row. Yes! For all of you who are unaware or have joined our company recently, we have won Reader’s Choice Award of 2013, 2014, 2015 and this year, we have done it again! Thanks to all our clients and partners as your unbiased feedback and unfaltering support have helped us live up to our own expectations.”
Our devotion to quality and client satisfaction has led us to many awards winning moments, all of which have earned us high honors in the Digital Marketing Industry. As a fastest growing Digital Marketing Agency, We’ve won quite a few awards for accomplishments in entrepreneurship, search engine optimization, social media management, and web design. We have already set Reader’s Choice Award of 2016 in our future milestones because we know for sure, the best of us is yet to be seen.
The team at Prime One Global LLC would like to give a big thank you to everyone that voted for us in The Promotion Readers Choice Award. We are voted as the Internet’s favorite Digital Marketing Firm of 2015.
Prime One Global is excited to announce a newly forged partnership with INFOTEL 2015 – “Connecting Citizens” as their Digital Marketing Partner. INFOTEL is South Asia’s premier and Sri Lanka’s largest ICT Exposition organized by the FITIS. It will be opening its 2015 edition from November 20th – November 22nd, 2015 at the BHICH. This will be its 14th run in the last 20 years.
Being the leading event of FITIS (Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka), INFOTEL has developed into one of the largest Technology exhibition held in South Asia, and the Premier Technology event in Sri Lanka. It is frequented by significant decision makers of leading organizations in South Asia. Setting a trend for the past 20 years, the exhibition promises a much pompous display of Technology and Services and will provide a rewarding stage for new and upcoming businesses this year as well.
Sharanyan Sharma, CEO of Prime One Global says, “ Though we have not been one of the luckiest to follow the Exposition since a very long time, we have previously attended INFOTEL 2013 and 2014 as Attendees, but this year is going to be different. We are not going to be just Attendees. We are looking forward to collaborating with the amazing minds behind this incessantly successful event.”
History of INFOTEL :
Two decades ago, with the speedy growth of Information Technology in Sri Lanka, the IT community had felt a need for a convention, a merger of minds. Like a place where the creative thinkers in this Industry would get a stage to share a part of their brains with the world. From the first time INFOTEL was hosted in Sri Lanka in 1992, it has come back every year with greater bang and charisma than the previous year.
Who Should Come To INFOTEL 2015?
There are no barriers – everyone’s welcome at Infotel. It is hard for someone to say that they do not connect with Technology today – it is a crucial part of life. So, if you are reading this piece – YOU should come to INFOTEL. And when you decide to come, keep all your perceptions about Technology at home – Since, INFOTEL 2015 is going to change your way of thinking. It’s going to challenge your current beliefs, break your thoughts about the future and inspire you in a way you could have never imagined.
There is opportunity for :
“Year after year, INFOTEL has built the platform for unconventional thinkers and inventors to show-off their talents in front of thousands of people. I have witnessed ‘out-of-the-box’ people sharing ‘out-of-the-box-ideas.’ This is the place to be for businesses’ that don’t fit into a single mold and this is the place to be for entrepreneurs who want to increase their knowledge to expand their business in the coming days.” Says, Pratheepa Sharanyan, Co Founder of primeone.global
Prime One Global’s Role in INFOTEL 2015
We are partnering with INFOTEL 2015 to improve their online presence and are directly responsible for the development, SEO and maintenance of their official website. It is our ulterior motive to spread the word about INFOTEL to the deepest corners of the World by running result-oriented Social and Search Campaigns that drive more visibility for the event. As a result of this partnership, we will also be managing their online PR activities such as the administration of official social pages (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) covering press releases, posting event related competitions and updates, taking Interviews of Stall Owners and more.
What is the Objective of INFOTEL this year?
If you are a follower of INFOTEL, you would have noticed that every year, INFOTEL Expo has a different catch phrase. The last year it was “For a Smarter Tomorrow”, the year before that it was “Enhancing Lives,” and till date our favorite has been “Vision to Reality” in 1998. The slogan for this year is “Connecting Citizens.” The expo will aim to connect Entrepreneurs (budding and pro) from different spheres of the ICT industry under a single roof to enable a rich bond between the citizens of different participating countries. The event aims to promote the Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka and thereby enhance the growth potential of the Island Nation.