Is the Website Losing to Facebook Pages?

I was pondering on this question awhile back. So much so, I wanted to ask a few Malaysian social media enthusiasts and drivers about their viewpoints. Even today whilst having lunch with a client-turn-friend, she was sharing with me how powerful Facebook in general had become in generating business.

From building websites to SEO and social media today, I’m wondering where’s the line drawn in having to need a website for your business. Is it possible to generate business without a website and only a Facebook page?

We used to say an online presence is unavoidable. A Facebook page also does just that. It could be used to establish your online presence. Plus, you can create a Facebook page to:

• Introduce your company.
• Upload works in photos and videos.
• Get clients to become fans. (bonus)
• Get instant feedback. (bonus)
• Organize and manage events. (bonus)
• Get clients to introduce or share your services with their own friends personally. (bonus)

From an apple to apple comparison, I’d say Facebook pages are:

1. Easier to create.
2. Faster to deploy.
3. Scalable with Facebook applications.

Thus, I ponder. Is the website dead? Do businesses only need to create their own Facebook pages in replace of a website?

Or, is a website still prime real estate for a corporate entity? Or, because not all products and services will benefit from a social media strategy, they will still need to rely on a website?

Do you think building a website is dead, or getting there?

Apple Redesigns Movie Trailer Landing Pages

It’s been awhile since I visited the movie trailers on the Apple website. And I was met with awe, noticing how each movie now may have a customized landing page based on the similar template.

The new original

With some fine-tuning. Apple has removed their own logo and menu bar in movie landing pages from the top. Their now putting more emphasis into iTunes by branding the pages; iTunes Movie Trailers.

In the main navigation, you’ll  also find Trailers in iTunes and Download iTunes. Looks like it’s all coming back to iTunes.

Dynamic slideshow backgrounds

I love this. Large images leave a huge impact. And because it’s a movie website, it delivers the experience with this approach.

Semi-transparent playlist panel

Instead of the boring boxed up grey panel, now movie trailers can have a customized color scheme for these panels containing trailers. The panel is collapsible. Though I found some panels actually disrupting the background images a bit.

Customized background

If you notice here, this movie trailer landing page doesn’t have a slideshow but a single large background image. It stands nearly as tall as the page itself. But as I said, large images leaves a huge impact.

Customized color theme

Instead of a white or soft grey background, some movie trailer landing pages are in black. This may be Apple working up some packages with movie distributors on how their landing pages can be customized.

In addition of the above, they’ve added social media tools into the movie trailer landing pages too. You can now share movie trailers by using email to a friend, facebook and twitter below the movie synopsis.

Other mentionable additions are:

• Movie image gallery
• Related apps for download (again, tied to iTunes)
• Related movies by actor/actress

Seriously, leave it to Apple to come up with a simplistic yet very effective redesign of their movie trailer landing pages. The only thing bugging me is the delayed launch of Quicktime after I click on a trailer.

But I guess, it could be a Windows thing.