Facebook was the big internet success story of last year. The media, and the British public at large just couldn’t get enough of poking, posting and tagging. In fact, Brits took to the site more enthusiastically than any other nation and still spend a larger percentage of their browsing time on Facebook (and social networking sites) than any other nation.

So we’re hooked.

Recently, some people have been saying that Facebook has peaked and is starting to go the way of myspace (which is decidedly niche nowadays). The truth is far less clear cut. Social networking sites are maintaining incredible growth: 20.8 million Britons (63% of Britons online) visited at least one of the ten most popular social media sites in January 2008, compared to 17.1 million in January 2007 (stats from Neilsen). And while YouTube may now see more monthly UK visits than Facebook, which site do you think has a stronger infrastructure?

Judging by the frequent service outages and glitches that you find on YouTube, it’s hard to imagine that the site was expected to become as popular as it has. Facebook, on the other hand, has always given the impression that it is ready to swallow the world.

The recent addition of pay per click advertising has been subtle enough not to anger users, despite actually being quite intrusive. All of that information you added to your Facebook profile (your favourite films, music, brands & places, not to mention your marital status, sexual orientation, family etc) can now be used to create super-focused marketing. This gives brands the opportunity to zoom in much more closely on their target demographic and stay away from those potentially expensive wasted clicks.

I recently attended a talk give by Blake Chandlee, Commercial Director of Facebook UK, in which he talked about the power of Facebook for marketers. His talk brought up a couple of interesting points. Firstly, brands can communicate directly with people who have mentioned a fondness for that brand in their profile. This is marketing to those with open ears. Secondly, marketing through Facebook is pretty close to viral marketing, because of how newsfeeds work. Basically, interacting with a group/brand shows up in the newsfeeds of your friends, therefore giving them your “vote of confidence”.

This business is all about trust: if people trust a site they are much more likely to make a purchase. If people see your site at the top of SERPs they are much more likely to trust it. If a friend trusts your tastes, they will follow your paths on Facebook. But beware… someone will be watching!

In a policy shift, Google’s UK & Ireland operation has announced that, from May 5th, Adwords users will be allowed to bid on trademarked names. US users have been able to do this for four years.

The move has predictably stirred up a storm of complaints from Media agencies and companies afraid that rivals will be able to hijack years of hard branding work with one deft bid. Many more people are suggesting that this is an example of Google pushing the boundaries of legality to maximise their profits in an area where they already hold a virtual monopoly.

Bidders will not be allowed to incorporate the trademark into the advert itself, but can bid to have their adverts displayed when a searcher enters the trademark as a search term.

Google believes that this action is legal and nobody has yet challenged this assertion. It appears to be another area where the law has not kept up with the phenomenal pace of change that characterises the internet and search engine marketing in particular.

Of course, at Upstream Connections, we believe firmly in the power of natural search results. On average, a front page listing in Google’s natural listings brings three times the traffic of a paid listing. Drop us a line to find out more.