Archive for January, 2010
By Kyle Austin
Michael Arrington at TechCrunch is reporting that Twitter is nearing the announcement of a new set of tools that will allow third-party Websites (like this one) to better integrate with the micro-blogging service. The tools appear to be Twitter’s own “Facebook Connect” system that has been widely popular for Facebook with Websites and publishers for the ease of use it applies Web managers and users.
Users can simply log into these Websites with their Facebook log-in to comment and converse with other Facebook users. They can also chat with other Facebook friends live on Websites, implement widgets and share what they’re looking at on Facebook Connect sites on their own Facebook pages and streams.
Arrington reports that “Facebook says 80,000 websites have added Facebook Connect, and 60 million Facebook users engage with Facebook connect on these third party websites each month.”
Last April, Twitter did announce basic tools that allow you to log-in and comment on third-party sites, but the new tools appear to take it further with integration, including: data pulling, authenticating users and easy to use widgets (could imagine Twitter list widgets, follower widgets, etc).
Gus Sentementes over at the BaltTech blog ruminates that he’d be much more likely to log-in with his Twitter information on third-party sites versus a Facebook Connect site because it has far less personal information associated with it. I wonder if that will be the case more broadly? However, Facebook connect would still appear to be more valuable to me given the engagement users have with the site and its scale.
The beauty of Facebook Connect is that it allows and encourages users on Facebook to spend some time on third-party sites because it’s so easy to log-in and still connect with their Facebook friends. Twitter users are already more apt to spend time away from Twitter pages (using Seesmic Desktop, TweetDeck, etc). There’s no doubt that Twitter Connect will be huge in the Twittersphere, but will it have the same reach and authenticity for Web publishers and brands as Facebook Connect?
January 15th, 2010
By Molly Galler
Back in October 2008, I wrote a post about charitable organizations embracing donations via text message to help meet their end of year fundraising goals. This week the island nation of Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake and two high profile charities, the Red Cross and Yele (founded by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean), urged those wishing to send aid to make a donation not via check, email, or even online donations, instead they asked for one simple item – a text message.
By text messaging a special code to the Red Cross or Yele you could make a donation to relief efforts in Haiti with the push of just a few keys on your phone. Last week I wrote about some of the exciting mobile technologies unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and its clear that the mobile trend is not just for tech, it has spread to non-profit.
The Red Cross text message donations are being managed by a company called mGive. mGive’s chief executive, Tony Aiello, told Jenna Wortham of the New York Times, “Catastrophic fund-raising is different from the everyday fund-raising that we help facilitate. This is a huge tragedy, and we simply hope to help provide relief. . . Mobile giving is currently outpacing the early days of online giving.”
How popular is the donation method exactly?
In an interview with MSNBC’s Suzanne Choney, Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless said, “All mobile texters in the United States have contributed $4 million to the Red Cross Haiti earthquake relief effort, the largest outpouring of charitable support by texting in history — by far.”
Nelson went on to say, “Previous donating-via-text message efforts raised $400,000 after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and $200,000 after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami by all wireless customers in the U.S.”
And it doesn’t end there. To get out the word about donating via text, concerned individuals posted the text message codes on a plethora of social networks, making the plea viral.
Jennifer Van Grove of Mashable wrote a post today praising the Red Cross’ decision to use mobile and social media to raise awareness and more importantly, to raise funds. Van Grove said, “The Red Cross’s involvement in the relief effort is to be commended. Not only did it immediately set up the simplest donation method possible, but its social media presence and outreach, when combined with the State Department’s involvement, has turned this into a viral funding initiative, topping Twitter trends and inspiring action.”
This week it has become clear the most effective method of raising funds is to reach people where they are: on their phones and on social networks. When launching a fundraising campaign, in the wake of a crisis or otherwise, fundraisers should consider that their staring point is in fact mobile.
January 14th, 2010
By Kyle Austin
On Tuesday the Publishers Information Bureau released its 2009 year-end magazine advertising report. Not surprisingly the report revealed that ad pages during the Media Meltdown of 2009 were down 25.6 percent for the industry, while estimated revenues closed at $19.45 billion, a drop of 18.1 percent.
Compare this with the 11.7 percent in ad pages that dropped from 2007 – 2008 and the 17.5% percent drop in revenue during that time period.
Looking closer at key news and business magazines (the ones that still remain in print and open for business), it was a dreadful year in revenues and lost ad pages for their print businesses. BusinessWeek, which changed hands to Bloomberg’s control in 2009, was one of the biggest losers in-terms of ad pages for business magazines with a 33% drop-off. U.S News, which cut back on print to bi-weekly and then monthly in 2009, was the biggest loser in ad pages for “news magazines” with an 81% drop. Newsweek, which tried to become more like the Economist to push off its eventual death, dropped 25% in ad pages. This was worse than its 19% ad page drop as a true “news weekly” in 2008, but alas it was also during a far worse market.
Forbes more than doubled its ad page drop, increasing to 30% in 2009 from a 14% drop in 2008. Fortune had an even worse year as it prepares to shrink the number of issues it releases down from 25 to 18 in 2010. While its ad pages were nearly even between 2007 and 2008, it witnessed a 36% drop in ad pages for 2009.
The Economist, which somehow managed to actually grow ad pages by 4.4% in 2008, wasn’t immune this year either. Its ad pages dropped more than 20% as well in 2009.
All of this is very interesting, but the larger question is how long will these numbers even matter? 2010 will undoubtedly be the year that the pay-wall returns to Internet and larger revenue percentages shift from print to online. Soon the numbers here will only be a footnote, or perhaps non-existent, as print operations cease across the industry. So how will we calculate? Digital eReader ad pages anybody?
January 13th, 2010
By Kyle Austin
If Google is successful with selling it, the answer may be yes. One of the more under-covered aspects of Google’s launch of Nexus One this week was its proclamation that it would only market the device online. Yes, the device will be in T-Mobile and eventually Verizon stores, in addition to being available online through Google. However, Google won’t be sending any “coverage map” campaigns or Luke Wilsons consumer’s way. Just phones and online marketing, which is something that would scare most retailers to death. No television cover?
But this is Google after all and they’re willing to bet they may be able to reach consumers their way. They have this thing called a search engine that is pretty popular I hear. Step one of that online marketing effort is giving the Nexus One ad space on Google.com’s homepage that is usually only reserved for holiday logos and event tributes. More than 70% of all Internet searches come through that page according to Hitwise, meaning Google will reach north of 100 million users with an enticement and link to check out the Nexus One each day.
Will it work? That’s hard to say. Even the biggest advocates of social media and online marketing believe TV and even radio advertising still get a piece of the pie. However, if Google is successful it will be a strong nod to the fact that television advertising is no longer the foundation of launching consumer products to the mass market.
January 7th, 2010
By Molly Galler
This week is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and each morning we’ve been inundated with updates on the newest unveilings from the electronics giants.
Today’s news seems to be focused on the internet going mobile. I am not talking about on your laptop or on your smart phone; I am talking, actually on the move. In your car.
Yes, that’s correct Ford has announced it will soon make an internet dashboard that will become a standard feature in all of its vehicles.
In today’s New York Times article titled “Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards,” Ashlee Vance and Matt Ritchell give all the details of the new system:
“A complex new dashboard console from Ford, which it plans to unveil Thursday, brings the car firmly into the land of electronic gadgets. The 4.2-inch color screen to the left of the speedometer displays information about the car, like the fuel level, while a companion screen on the right shows things like the name of a cellphone caller or the title of the digital song file being played. An eight-inch touch screen tops the central console, displaying things like control panels and, when the car is not moving, Web pages. The system has Wi-Fi capability, two U.S.B. ports and a place to plug in a keyboard — in short, many of the features of a standard PC. The automakers’ efforts are backed by companies that make chips for PCs and that want to see their processors slotted into the 70 million cars sold worldwide each year.”
In addition to the new dashboard USA Today is reporting that Ford is also commissioning tech companies to create apps for this new system, one of which will read your tweets from Twitter out loud while you drive.
Obviously the concern here is safety. What does Ford have to say for itself? Jim Buczkowski, the director of global electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford said, “We are trying to make that driving experience one that is very engaging.”
While in general, the concern here is that distracted drivers make for unsafe driving conditions for all, from a PR and marketing perspective, this also changes the game.
Currently, tradition media, both print and broadcast, is struggling to hold onto it’s advertisers who are opting for the higher traffic online and mobile outlets. Without advertising it is impossible from some of these traditional outlets to stay afloat. Brining mobile off of laptops and smart phones and into people’s cars give those advertisers one more reason to choose to advertise with online and mobile, as opposed to with traditional print or broadcast media which could be the final nail in the coffin for some of these struggling outlets.
Is Ford driving away with the future of traditional media?
January 7th, 2010
By Ben Haber
Several reports this afternoon indicate that Mashable is on the verge of being acquired by AOL. Gawker reported this development around 3:00pm, and Robert Scoble also reported the news today.
According to Scoble’s Twitter handle:
My sources confirm that Mashable is being sold to AOL. Trying to get more details now.
Mashable founder Peter Cashmore (24 years old) responded to Gawker’s request with a non-comment:
We don’t comment on speculation, but we do hold our writers in high regard and pay a competitive salary for their tireless efforts.
A couple other Mashable bloggers have written vague posts on Twitter, which hint that there is something in the works:
Ben Parr: “I’m on a plane at the moment, but I do not comment on speculation or rumors. That’s all I have to say on the matter.”
Jenn Van Grove: “Mashable’s team campfire chat is buzzing right now… I bet you wish you were a fly on those walls 
”
January 6th, 2010
By Kyle Austin
Here’s an interesting story, according to Hitwise data. Google was the most visited Website by U.S. Internet users for 364 days of 2009. Google had the year at #1 all to itself until visits to Facebook surged on Christmas Day and Mr. Zuckerberg’s company passed Google to become the most visited U.S. site for the first time ever. Facebook then fell back behind Google up until New Year’s Day (2010), when it once again passed ahead of Google as the most visited site in the country.
The fact that it was two major holidays, which led to Facebook passing Google in visits, is interesting on a variety levels. What was it that made these days so popular to log onto the social networking site?
Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, hypothesizes that being home for the holidays also means being physically away from social groups, which likely drove people online to connect.
I’d argue that it may be something a little deeper than that. Facebook has become so ingrained in most people’s “friendships,” or as Mark Zuckerberg likes to call the “social graph,” that connecting with loved ones (friends and extended family) on Christmas Day naturally occurs through Facebook. A common catchphrase among the Facebook generation is it’s not real until it’s on Facebook, and in a lot of ways that trumps picking up the phone or even taking the time to get together in-person (in-terms of simplicity, quantity of folks you can connect with and instant gratification).
It also points to an intent issue that may become a powerful advantage for Facebook over Google as it continues to improve upon its search feature. For instance, on Christmas Day my intent for logging onto my computer and the Internet was to share what I was up to and what gifts I got with my social graph. I also wanted to see what my friends were up to. I wasn’t, at the time, looking to dig up more information on the failed terrorist attack on a Northwest plane landing in Detroit or directions to a local restaurant. If that was my intent I probably would have moved over to Google.
The point is, on days like Christmas Day, the basic human intention to enhance our relationships (i.e. log on onto Facebook) will always win out over a Google search. But how far away are we from that intention winning out everyday?
Furthermore, as Zuckerberg and Co. continue to improve search and people get more comfortable with using it, who’s to say that we ever feel the need to exit stage right to “Google it”? After all, would I rather find information about a restaurant I’m looking into or concert I’m going to from an algorithm or my closest friends?
January 5th, 2010
By Kyle Austin
While it’s not on par with the drama of Rupert Murdoch’s coup of Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal (so 2007), news today that MSNBC is following up its purchase of the breakingnews twitter handle, with the acquisition of breakingnews.com, may be better sign of the state of media as we enter a new decade.
Just ask the folks that now work under Rupert at the Wall Street Journal. It’s no longer about the information provided or the depth of that insight, it’s about who breaks it first. All of that making an operation like breakingnews.com so valuable in the age of real-time search; and entrepreneurs like 19 yr old Michael van Poppel the media moguls of the next decade.
In their release, Charlie Tillinghast, president of msnbc Digital Network noted, “Not everyone wants news surrounded by commentary or features. Hard and fast breaking news is currently an underserved market. With www.breakingnews.com we can now provide the optimal solution.”
Although MSNBC will now work to drive traffic to the breakingnews.com Website, the twitter handle is currently more valuable in-terms of influence. The breakingnews Twitter handle has more than 1.5 million followers, while Quancast reports that breakingnews.com had roughly 67,000 U.S. visitors in November of 2009. Of course, actual terms of the deal were not disclosed.
January 5th, 2010
By Kyle Austin
It didn’t take long for 2010 to produce its first acquisition in the social media space. Seesmic made news today by acquiring Ping.fm, the social network aggregator. Together the two services will now allow users to update 50 social networks using Seesmic+Ping.fm from email, chat, sms, Blackberry, Android, the Web, etc.
The acquisition is likely a sign of things to come this year as consolidation takes hold of the industry. Not only with services but also with agencies in the space (as Chris Brogan noted recently). The service consolidation in this case makes a lot of sense given the business value of simplifying social media use, especially for companies that are active in numerous social networks with their brand.
Start-ups in the space like Seesmic and Radian6, which address issues that corporations realize they must tackle with their “owned media strategy” in 2010, are poised for big years.
January 4th, 2010
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