Facebook brand pages have been ‘liked’ by only 9% of Internet users — trailing the number of ‘likes’ for all other Facebook elements — according to the latest JustAsk! survey from audience research and targeting company Crowd Science.
But no single type of Facebook feature has attracted ‘likes’ from more than 20% of all survey respondents in the study, one potential reason why Facebook is moving to its new Timeline layout. “These findings show that while users have been willing to ‘like’ Facebook items to some extent, they’re far from loving the idea,” says Sandra Marshall, VP of Research at Crowd Science.
Wall posts, pictures and comments led the ‘likes’ list, each having been ‘liked’ by 16% of respondents. These were followed by videos (12%), non-branded pages (10%) and branded pages (9%).
Those who have ‘liked’ branded pages tended to skew younger and spend more time on the Internet.
Asked their reasons for liking Facebook items, over one-quarter reported ‘liking’ Facebook items because “I wanted to show my support” and/or “I enjoyed what was being said or shown.” These statements were shared by twice as many people as those who stated they did so “Because I like the brand” (14%), and followed by “To keep informed about the brand” (10%), “To inform my friends of the brand” (7%), “To get discounts on the brand’s offerings” (6%) and “To enter a sweepstakes” (5%).
Those over 65 were significantly less likely to ‘like’ items in order to keep informed about brands (1% compared to those ages 18 – 64 ranging between 9% and 13%). But while 23% of those under 17 said they would ‘like’ a Facebook item “because I like the brand,” this number dropped steadily as the age of respondents increased, down to 9% for seniors.
One in 10 have ‘liked’ wall posts, pictures, comments and/or videos on Facebook. The kinds of items ‘liked’ were consistent across gender and income groups. However, proportionally more respondents between 18 and 34 have ‘liked’ videos (14% compared to 9% for those 55-64) and pictures (18% compared to 11% for those over 65).
Findings in this study were gathered from a random sample of 1,224 respondents between June 10 – 22, 2011.
Walmart listens to its Facebook friends…all 9 million of them. In response to Facebook fans seeking a more local focus from the brand, Walmart is launching more than 3,500 store-specific Facebook pages. The “My Local Walmart” Facebook application will provide locally-relevant information on everything from new electronics to hot Rollbacks, as well as continue to illustrate the brand’s commitment to creating a deeper relationship with people in the communities it serves.
BlogWorld & New Media Expo, the world’s first, largest and only industry-wide social media event, is making its Los Angeles debut November 3-5 at the 
Seeking to transform the energy efficiency of global data centers, Facebook today launched the Open Compute Project, an initiative to share the custom-engineered technology in its first dedicated data center in Prineville, Oregon. This advanced technology delivered a 38 percent increase in energy efficiency at 24 percent lower cost for Facebook, and the specifications and best practices behind those gains will now be available to companies across the industry.
In a move that underscores the demand for social commerce, 
craigslist founder Craig Newmark today launched craigconnects, a web-based initiative to help people work together for the common good using the Internet. craigconnects seeks to identify, connect and protect organizations engaged in work that is truly sustainable – socially responsible, self-perpetuating and replicable. The initiative’s primary platform is a new website, 
There is a site about.me that allows you to enter all sites (
