• What's Wired World Doing To Kids?
    How is “always-on” technology affecting the intellectual and social development of young people? Who knows! According to the Pew Research Center, over 1,000 technology insiders, critics and students were pretty evenly split about how the digital age is impacting the teenagers and 20somethings of "Generation Y." Summing up Pew’s finding, Reuters writes: “There is a good chance young people growing up in today's always-wired world will eventually become bright, nimble decision makers -- if they don't wind up intellectual lightweights unable to concentrate long enough to chew over a good book.” In the survey, 55% of respondents agreed with a …
  • Google TV In Questionable Health
    Ahead of a rumored Apple TV relaunch, data has emerged detailing the difficult time that Google is having with TV. Citing the search giant’s own stats, GigaOm reports that less than 1 million Google TV devices -- including a Sony version and Logitech’s Revue box -- are presently in use. “It’s widely known Google TV hasn’t exactly been a success story,” GigaOm writes. “Early CE partner Logitech lost millions on the device, and consumer feedback was mostly negative after the first devices reached the market in late 2010.” To date, Google and its partners have never said publically how many …
  • Facebook Timeline Welcomes Brands
    For the first time, Facebook Timeline is now live for some brands that use Pages. What does that mean for marketers? “Much like with profiles, the new platform has the potential for real design beauty, but with the added bonus of multiple publicly-known storylines and angles to draw from,” Mashable reports. Timeline’s cover photo is the perfect place to display a big logo, product or brand personality, while the timeline itself can highlight a brand’s story and identity. Facebook is also introducing new admin capabilities, including the ability to post selected pieces of content for seven days, Mashable notes. According …
  • Mobile App Takes On Gift Cards
    Hoping to upend the business of pre-paid gift cards, a new mobile app offers an easy way to buy last-minute gifts. Named Karma, The Next Web’s Brad McCarty calls it “a unique twist to gift-giving, and it’s one that I can actually see myself using.” Why? “I’m the freaking worst when it comes to remembering to snag something, so Karma should help to alleviate the consequences of my forgetful nature,” he explains. The team behind Karma just raised about $4.5 million from Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and Obvious – all of whom are surely aware of the $100 billion that U.S. …
  • Movies Mean Less Than Ever For Netflix
    If still synonymous with movies, Netflix is now primarily in the business of streaming TV shows. “TV series now account for more than half of all Netflix viewing,” as The New York Times reports. That fact, as NYT reasons, should lesson the loss this week of Startz content, including “Scareface” to “Toy Story 3.” Not that Netflix didn’t benefit from the three-and-a-half-year deal with the network, as it likely persuaded millions of consumers to sign up for its Internet streaming service. Yet, while the end of the Starz deal isn’t good news for Netflix, “given the significant increase in TV …
  • Google+ Has Engagement Problem
    Citing new comScore data, The Wall Street Journal calls Google+ “a virtual ghost town” compared with Facebook. Sure, consumers are signing up for Google’s social network -- about 90 million since the service launched in June. Yet, they don’t seem to be a very active community. “Visitors using personal computers spent an average of about three minutes a month on Google+ between last September and January, versus six to seven hours on Facebook each month over the same period,” reports WSJ, citing comScore. What explains Google’s engagement problem? For one, its inability to differentiate Google+ from Facebook. Despite a few …
  • New Nokia/Windows Phones Miss Mark
    Ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, analysts were expecting Nokia to perhaps showcase the new version of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, Windows 8, at a price that would match its Chinese competition. The Finnish phone-maker didn’t help its cause by bragging that it would release some “significant industry news” at the event, this week. Instead, Nokia released new additions to its phone portfolio, which, as The Wall Street Journal reports, “failed to inspire.” Reflecting the disappointment, Nokia shares were down about 5% in late-morning trading on Monday. “We were looking for a cheap Windows phone at $200 …
  • Facebook To Offer "Real-Time" Analytics
    Facebook is reportedly planning to sharpen its Insights analytics tool by showing Page performance data in real-time -- or near real-time -- rather than on an average 48-hour delay. As sources tell TechCrunch, impressions, reach, negative feedback, “people talking about this”, and demographics of engagers could all start showing up live in the graphical Insights interface as well as the API. Potentially a win-win situation, “real-time data reporting in Insights could give businesses the understanding necessary to drive higher ROI, which could attract more brands and advertisers to Facebook in the lead up to its IPO,” TechCrunch reasons. No word …
  • Facebook Rethinks Mobile
    Facebook on Monday announced plans for separate coalitions aimed at unifying mobile Web standards, as well as and enabling simpler carrier billing for Web apps. Why? Well as AllThingsD explains, “Facebook initially thought if it offered to send mobile developers lots of traffic, they would bring their apps to the mobile Web.” Unfortunately for the social network, it wasn’t that easy. “Even with Facebook, mobile developers still need a consistent Web platform as well as a simple means to get paid … And, since that is a problem Facebook can’t solve alone, the company is asking for help.” While Facebook …
  • Betaworks Bought Mobile Messager Vibe
    Late last year, Betaworks quietly acquired mobile messaging service Vibe. “Betaworks never announced the deal, but I’ve been able to confirm it,” TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld writes. “The deal was likely in the low six figures, with betaworks now owning a majority of Vibe.” Popular among members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Vibe lets users post messages, photos, and videos within a geo-fenced radius. The iPhone app lets users post everything from a “whisper” -- which is only “visible” to people within 165 feet -- to a “bellow,” which is “visible” worldwide. Messages can also be set to expire, …
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