Archive for July, 2011
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Do you have piles of paper, folders, tchotchke and other materials covering your desk? A new CareerBuilder study shows hoarding can result in a negative impact on your career. Nearly three-in-ten (28 percent) employers say they are less likely to promote someone who has a disorganized or messy work space. This national survey was conducted between May 19 and June 8, 2011 among 2,662 U.S. hiring managers and 5,299 workers.
One third (33 percent) of workers say they tend to be hoarders (evenly balanced between male and female workers). While companies have shifted to a more digital workplace, more than half (51 percent) of workers say they still have paper files in their office/desk.
- 38 percent say that, currently, between 50 to 100 percent of their desk surface is covered with work and other materials, while 16 percent of workers said 75 percent or more of their desk is covered.
- 36 percent of workers say they have paper files from more than a year ago, 13 percent have files that are five years or older and six percent have files dating back more than 10 years.
Even if workers are actually working on multiple projects with positive results, workplace clutter is causing employers to have a negative view of them. Nearly two-in-five employers (38 percent) say piles of paper covering a desk negatively impacted their perception of that person; 27 percent feel they are disorganized, while 16 percent say they are just messy.
“Workers are being asked to take on more projects as companies function with leaner staffs, which could be resulting in more cluttered workspaces,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. “While chaos on your desk space can indicate a busy workload, it can also imply a lack of organization. The good news is that workers can fix this problem quickly and reverse any negative perceptions of their performance.”
Haefner recommends the following to get your work area organized:
Schedule time with the office recycle bin – a calendar reminder for Friday afternoon to take completed projects to the recycle bin.
Work on one project at a time – while you may have 20 things on your “to do” list, prioritize what needs to be done that day when you arrive at work and take care of one project at a time.
Don’t be a digital hoarder – Just because nobody else can see your clutter, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, especially in your email boxes. Delete un-needed emails on a weekly basis.
Tags: CareerBuilder, digital hoarding, messy desk can hurt career, office hoarding, study
Posted in Business advice, Studies, surveys, reports, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
 NEW YORK – Investors put $8 billion into 776 deals for U.S.-based venture companies during the second quarter of 2011, a 5 percent decrease in investment and 2 percent decrease in deals from the same period last year, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. The median amount raised for a round of financing during the second quarter was $5.2 million, up from the $4.6 million median a year earlier.
“Venture investors and entrepreneurs are adjusting to a new reality with more liquidity opportunities and stronger support from corporate investors,” said Jessica Canning, global research director for Dow Jones VentureSource. “As a result, venture investment has held steady as companies either plot an exit or utilize creative financing strategies like government grants, corporate leasing, or project financing to fuel growth.”
Corporations have invested more than $1 billion into venture-backed companies in the past nine months.
Software a Bright Spot in Healthcare and IT
Deals for Healthcare companies slowed 12 percent and capital invested dropped 17 percent as 184 deals raised $2.3 billion in the most recent quarter. Despite a 25 percent drop in deal activity and 7 percent drop in capital invested, the Biopharmaceuticals sector raised the most capital of any Healthcare sector as 69 deals collected $1.1 billion. The Medical Devices sector was essentially flat as 84 deals raised $925 million. Medical IT, which includes software and services for handling medical records and data, was a bright spot in the Healthcare industry as 19 deals collected $198 million, a 58 percent jump in deal activity and 27% increase in capital invested.
Information Technology (IT) companies raised $2.3 billion for 255 deals, a 5% increase in deals and 9% increase in capital invested over the second quarter of last year. The Software sector, which saw a deep decline in 2009, has regained its momentum thanks to renewed interest in business applications and communications software. Software companies raised $1.2 billion for 184 deals in the most recent quarter, a 10% increase in deal activity and 26% jump in capital invested. Deal activity in all other sectors of IT – Communications and Networking, Electronics and Hardware, and Semiconductors – was down.
Slight Dip in Deal Flow for Enterprise Start-Ups
Business and Financial Services companies raised $1 billion for 125 deals during the second quarter, a 15% increase in capital invested but a 3 percent drop in deals from the same period a year earlier. The Business Support Services sector, which is driven by interest in advertising, marketing and data management services, continued to take the lion’s share of investment as 99 deals collected $770 million. Deals in the Financial Institutions and Services sector, which includes start-ups focused on payment processing and lending, fell as 19 deals raised $254 million, a 21 percent decrease in deal activity but a 36 percent increase in capital invested.
Consumer Start-Ups Raising Larger Rounds
Consumer Services companies collected $1.3 billion for 138 deals in the most recent quarter, a 51 percent jump in capital raised and a 7 percent increase in deals over the same period last year. The Consumer Information Services sector, which includes the much-hyped social media, entertainment and other consumer Web companies, collected 25 percent more capital than the year-ago period despite a slight drop in deal activity as 97 deals raised $866 million.
“The median round size for consumer deals is creeping up, which means it’s no longer just a few abnormally large funding rounds driving up investment levels,” said Scott Austin, editor of Dow Jones VentureWire. “The wealth is being spread to companies across the industry.”
In 2009 and 2010, the quarterly median round sizes for Consumer Services companies ranged from $2.5 to $3.5 million. In the most recent quarter, the median round size spiked to $4.7 million.
Energy Deals Steady but Capital Raised From VCs Plummets
The Energy and Utilities industry raised $566 million for 29 deals, less than half the capital raised for the 30 deals completed in the second quarter of 2010. As usual, the Renewable Energy sector accounted for most of the industry’s investment as these companies raised $540 million for 27 deals.
“Venture capitalists have a steady appetite for energy start-ups but are looking to share the cost of growing these companies,” said Canning. “As fewer venture dollars are committed, we see energy companies raising funding from corporations, the government and other types of investors.”
Early-Stage Rounds Account for 37 percent of Deals
Seed- and first-rounds accounted for 37 percent of deals and 19 percednt of capital invested during the second quarter, a slight change from last year when early-stage rounds claimed 35 percent of deal activity and 16 percent of capital raised. Later-stage deals accounted for 39 percent of the quarter’s deals and 58 percent of total capital raised in the second quarter, down from the same period last year when later-stage deals accounted for 41 percent of deals and 62 percent of capital raised.
Tags: Dow Jones Venture Source, Q2 venture investing 2011
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
 Six entrepreneurs gave the venture community a first look at a range of cutting-edge financial technology innovations they developed over the past three months, with the guidance and support of some of the world’s leading banks and venture capitalists.
In March, the six were selected from a field of more than 90 start-up companies that applied to participate in the annual FinTech Innovation Lab. The Lab was created by the New York City Investment Fund, the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to ensure that New York maintains its leadership in global finance – an industry which is increasingly driven by technological innovation.
Since May, the entrepreneurs have developed, tested and fine-tuned their innovations — which provide technology solutions for market data analysis, risk management and data visualization. Throughout the product development process, 10 global financial institutions — Bank of America, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and UBS – provided mentors, feedback and market access to the six companies. Among those lending their advice and support were JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. CEO Henry Kravis.
“These companies are among the innovators who are creating the next generation in financial technology,” said Maria Gotsch, president & CEO of the New York City Investment Fund. “By giving them access to important potential customers, we are helping entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and achieve an edge on competitors around the world.”
Coaching and business advice was also provided by executives at six venture capital firms: Contour Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, RRE Ventures, Village Ventures and Warburg Pincus. The firms also gave each start-up $25,000 in funding for expenses. In addition, Accenture provided program leadership, work space, as well as mentoring by its financial services industry and technology experts.
“Innovation is more critical to the U.S. financial services industry than ever,” said Chris Wearing, managing director in Accenture’s U.S. Capital Markets practice. “Finding growth and new efficiencies in this radically changed marketplace depends heavily on new technologies and better processes. These entrepreneurs show how new ideas and technologies can help institutions adapt and profit. And they prove that New York continues to distinguish itself as a center for innovation.”
“As the global capital of finance, New York City is uniquely positioned to become the center of innovation in financial technology,” said Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “These six companies represent a growing tech sector that will sustain the competitive advantage of New York’s great financial institutions, while also creating businesses and jobs in New York City.”
The six participants in this year’s FinTech Innovation Lab and the products they developed are:
- Aqumin: Using interactive 3D technology, Aqumin’s AlphaVision™ facilitates visual analysis and interpretation of vast, disparate sources of public and proprietary market data. This enables financial market professionals to identify patterns and extract information quickly. For more information: http://www.aqumin.com/
- CB Insights: CB Insights’ Mosaic assesses the health of private small businesses by finding signals of strength or weakness in publicly available information sources. Mosaic, through the use of these information inputs, empowers wealth management, investment banking, vendor procurement, and lending groups to improve their marketing and due diligence efforts. For more information: www.cbinsights.com/mosaic
- Hanweck Associates: Hanweck Associates offers high-performance, real-time analytics and risk products for top-tier hedge funds, banks, broker/dealers and other financial institutions. The company uses commercial graphical processing units (GPUs) to accelerate computations in its products such as Volera™, a low-latency, real-time options analytics engine. For more information: www.hanweckassoc.com
- Lenddo.com: Lenddo.com is the first service to use and analyze online social networks to assess credit worthiness. The Lenddo community uses these networks to help middle class people in emerging markets obtain loans and improve their financial reputation. For more information: www.lenddo.com
- Syphr: Syphr is a provider of highly personalized credit management and financial optimization applications that help financial institutions and online finance websites attract business. The company’s patent-pending technology identifies more qualified and better-informed customers. For more information: www.syphronline.com
- Zipmark: Zipmark is a mobile and online payments company that works just like a check, minus the paper and trip to the bank. With a mobile barcode, Zipmark accepts secure payments from any bank, thrift or credit union, providing customers with a lower-cost alternative to pay their rent and other bills. For more information: www.zipmark.com
“New York City is one of the world’s great financial capitals and the home to a burgeoning technology start-up culture, so we are uniquely positioned to foster an attractive environment for financial technology companies,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel. “Congratulations to all six companies – we look forward to watching you become the next New York financial technology success stories.”
“It is great to see such vibrant innovation from the New York startup community,” said Andy Brown, Chief Technology Officer of UBS. “We have enjoyed collaborating with the finalists and there has been a great business development dialog throughout. We have found technology that we can use at UBS through FinTech.”
“We’re excited to be part of this inaugural year for Fintech,” said John Burns, CIO of the Investment Bank at Credit Suisse. “The quality of the firms and the products they are bringing to market are an affirmation of this program and one of the reasons we’re committed to its success. Technology is at the core of what we do in financial services and this program will ensure an innovation pipeline for our industry in the years to come.”
“We believe technology innovation is a key factor of gaining competitive advantage, and we are delighted to be part of a process that attracts innovative companies to be closer to the financial industry in New York City and helps them grow and foster emerging technologies that benefit us,” said Steve Randich, Co-Head of ICG Technology and Co-CIO of Citibank.
For more information about the FinTech Innovation Lab, visit: www.fintechinnovationlab.com
Tags: Aquimin, Bank of America, Barclays Capital, CB Insights, Chris Wearing, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, financial services, FinTech Innovation Lab, Goldman Sachs, Hanweck Associates, John Burns, JPMorgan Chase, lenddo.com, Maria Gotsch, Morgan Stanley, New York, New York Investment Fund, six financial service innovations, State Street, Syphr, UBS, Zipmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
 Dan Joe Barry, Napatech By Dan Joe Barry, Napatech
Cloud computing has now passed the stage of hype to reality. More and more enterprises are realizing the benefits of remote hosting of IT services rather than local IT management, especially as managing and operating IT networks and services is not getting any easier!
Managing IT networks requires a broad set of competencies in a growing number of technologies and products. It therefore makes sense that these competencies are centralized in larger data centers providing cloud services to a number of smaller enterprises for which IT is not a core competency.
Larger data centers also means larger installations with higher-speed interfaces as well as an obligation to maintain service availability. This requires extensive test and management capabilities to ensure service “up-time”. However, will test and management of cloud services differ from how they are performed today? What are the special challengers that cloud service providers face in this regard?
Challenges of testing and managing cloud services
The first and fundamental challenge of providing cloud services is service availability. If enterprise customers are to adopt cloud services rather than maintaining local installations, they must be convinced that they can access the services and data that they need whenever they need them without experiencing undue delays. The cloud service must look and feel as if it is local despite the fact that it is hosted remotely.
This leads to the second challenge of service assurance. How can the cloud service provider assure timely delivery and even service availability when it does not control the data communication connection between the cloud service and the enterprise customer? Does the data communication provider have the monitoring infrastructure in place to assure Service Level Agreements (SLA)? Does the cloud service provider have the monitoring infrastructure in place to assure the services provided?
The final challenge is service efficiency. Efficiency in all its aspects from cost, space and power efficiency to efficient and scalable delivery of services using virtualization, efficient servers and high-speed interfaces. In this regard, the accompanying monitoring infrastructure must also follow the same principles.
Testing to meet cloud service challenges
From a testing perspective, there are a number of layers one can address:
- The Wide Area Network (WAN) providing data communication services between the enterprise customer and the cloud service – fundamental to service assurance and testing of end-to-end service availability
- The data center infrastructure comprising servers and data communication between servers (LAN), where service availability and uptime of this equipment is key as well as efficient use of resources to ensure service efficiency
- The monitoring infrastructure in the data center that is the basis for service assurance which itself needs to efficient
- The individual servers and monitoring appliances that are based on servers that must also follow efficiency and availability principles to assure overall service efficiency and service availability
Testing end-to-end
The first test that can be performed is testing end-to-end availability. At a basic level, this involves testing connectivity, but can also involve some specific testing relevant for cloud services, such as latency measurement. Several commercial systems exist for testing latency in a WAN environment. These are most often used by financial institutions to determine the time it takes to execute financial transactions with remote stock exchanges, but can also be used by cloud service providers to test the latency of the connection to enterprise customers.
This solution requires the installation at the enterprise of a network appliance for monitoring latency, which could also be used to test connectivity. Such an appliance could also be used for troubleshooting and SLA monitoring.
Typically the cloud service provider does not own the WAN data communication infrastructure. However, using network monitoring and analysis appliances at both the data center and the enterprise, it is possible to measure the performance of the WAN in providing the data communication service required.
The choice of WAN data communication provider should also be driven by the ability of this provider to offer performance data in support of agreed SLAs. In other words, this provider should have the monitoring and analysis infrastructure in place to assure services.
From reaction to service assurance
Network monitoring and analysis of the data center infrastructure is also crucial as cloud service providers need to rely less on troubleshooting and more on service assurance strategies. In typical IT network deployments, a reactive strategy is preferred whereby issues are dealt with in a troubleshooting manner as they arise.
For enterprise LAN environments, this can be acceptable in many cases, as some downtime can be tolerated. However, for cloud service providers, downtime is a disaster. If customers are not confident in the cloud service provider’s ability to assure service availability, they will be quick to find alternatives or even revert to a local installation.
A service assurance strategy involves constant monitoring of the performance of the network and services so that issues can be identified before they arise. Network and application performance monitoring tools are available from a number of vendors for precisely this purpose.
The power of virtualization
One of the technology innovations of particular use to cloud service providers is virtualization. The ability to consolidate multiple cloud services onto as few physical servers as possible provides tremendous efficiency benefits by lower cost, space and power consumption. In addition, the ability to move virtual machines supporting cloud services from one physical server to another allows efficient use of resources in matching time-of-day demand, as well as allowing fast reaction to detected performance issues.
One of the consequences of this consolidation is the need for higher speed interfaces as more data needs to be delivered to each server. This, in turn requires that the data communication infrastructure is dimensioned to provide this data, which in turn demands that the network monitoring infrastructure can keep up with the data rates without losing data. This is far from a given, so cloud service providers need to pay particular attention to the throughput performance of network monitoring and analysis appliances to ensure that they can keep up also in the future.
Within the virtualized servers themselves, there are also emerging solutions to assist in monitoring performance. Just as network and application performance monitoring appliances are available to monitor the physical infrastructure, there are now available virtualized versions of these applications for monitoring virtual applications and communication between virtual machines.
There are also virtual test applications that allow a number of virtual ports to be defined that can be used for load-testing in a cloud environment. This is extremely useful for testing whether a large number of users can access a service without having to deploy a large test network. An ideal tool for cloud service providers.
Bringing virtualization to network monitoring and analysis
While virtualization has been used to improve service efficiency, the network monitoring and analysis infrastructure is still dominated by single server implementations. In many cases, this is because the network monitoring and analysis appliance requires all the processing power it can get. However, there are opportunities to consolidate appliances, especially as servers and server CPUs increase performance on a yearly basis.
Solutions are now available to allow multiple network monitoring and analysis applications to be hosted on the same physical server. If all the applications are based on the same operating system, intelligent network adapters have the ability to ensure that data is shared between these applications, which often need to analyze the same data at the same time, but for different purposes.
However, for situations where the applications are based on different operating systems, virtualization can be used to consolidate them onto a single physical server. Demonstrations have shown that up to 32 applications can thus be consolidated using virtualization.
By pursuing opportunities for consolidation of network monitoring and analysis appliances, cloud service providers can further improve service efficiency.
From passive hosting to active provision of services
Testing of cloud services, or more specifically, service assurance, availability and efficiency, will separate the amateurs from the professionals in the cloud service arena. The days of passively hosting virtual machines on a best effort basis are gone. Assuring the availability of services using efficient infrastructure and active network monitoring and analysis will ensure that enterprise customers will never look back once they have moved to the cloud.
For more information visit us at: www.napatech.com
Tags: cloud service assurance, cloud service availability, cloud service testing, Dan Joe Barry, data centers, managing IT networks, Napatech, service efficiency, testing the cloud, virtualization, WAN service providers
Posted in Business advice, Cloud, IT | Comments Off
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
By Joe Procopio
 Joe Procopio Seriously? Wait, how many bands?
When deja Mi founder Justin Miller first dropped hints to me back in May about what would become deja Fest, it sounded intriguing. He painted a picture of an old-school launch party, complete with bands, beverages, and big-shots.
Of course I was in. That’s sort of my thing.
And his strategy made perfect sense. See, deja Mi is a venue-based media sharing application, fancy-speak for an app that takes your pictures, video, audio, any kind of digital content from an event, and uploads and categorizes it in a single album for that venue. All real time.
Local. Music. Tonight.
So you go to a show, and immediately after — hell, even during, you can relive (or immerse yourself in) said show, minute by minute, snapshot by snapshot – or, if you can’t make the show, you can watch or hear the whole thing as it’s streamed to you.
Better yet, if you happen to be out in downtown Raleigh after dinner at any one of the awesome restaurants that have sprung up, deja Mi can give you a full audio/visual menu of what’s happening around you.
No friends, no followers, no privacy concerns.
Cool app. Good reason to throw a party.
But Wait, There’s More
Things got out of hand, in a good way.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Miller and his gang that there’s been a veritable boom in media-sharing apps, especially those launched in the last six months. deja Mi is unique in the sense that it uses location and media sharing in a very efficient manner and marries the two through individual events.
The app stands out, but in order to stand out in the marketing shuffle, they realized they needed to create a major footprint right out of the gate. They talked about it and, going back to the roots of how the company was conceived, decided to tie the launch to the music scene.
A planned one-off concert-style launch party quickly grew into a couple bands at a couple different venues and then evolved into a monster two-day festival bringing in big names while including local bands in the mix.
Thus, deja Fest
 That means you’ll see locals The Hell No and The Static Mind as well as Baltimore’s Wye Oak (, fresh off a stint on Jimmy Fallon, and Warner Bros.’ Surfer Blood.
All in all, it’s 26 acts at six different venues over two days plus an all-ages portion on a closed-off Cabarrus Street.
And it’s free.
So drop whatever it is you’re doing tonight and tomorrow (that’s Friday July 22nd and Saturday the 23rd if you ignored my tweets), and get to downtown Raleigh, because we haven’t seen anything like this in ten years, and probably won’t see anything like it again for a while.
The Return of the Lavish Launch?
I’m old enough to remember the bubble parties circa 1998-2001. And let’s get one thing straight. They were awesome.
Back in the day, technology was my ticket to front row seats at the Brian Setzer Orchestra (Thanks, Microsoft!), backstage badges at SXSW (Thanks, Vignette!), and all kinds of ridiculous, superfluous excuses for not having a revenue model.
Personally, I’m trying to revive that sense of fun in the technology world, especially in the startup ecosystem and deliberately in the RTP. Fun is healthy, and it can go a long way towards turning triples into home runs. Fun is necessary.
In moderation.
I’m also the first one to step up and say enough is enough when a Dave & Buster’s gets rented out and a Flock of Seagulls gets flown in for every point release. I’m just as wary of Groupon’s numbers as you are and right now, I’ll be honest, my portfolio is safely invested in mattress lint and Rosetta Stone for Mandarin.
This Is Not a Bubble Party
Miller came up with the idea for deja Mi, sensibly enough, at a show in October 2010. By November, he not only had the company underway but also, and this is key, the revenue model. The app was then built around that.
Going back to the glut of media sharing apps hitting the market between then and now, Miller took stock of the means to get his app to the top of the pile. He quickly realized there was one mean: The traditional way of breaking an app is the holy grail of TechCrunch, combined with several good write-ups and, of course, great reviews in the App Store and Android Market.
It wasn’t until April that the launch party idea was born. deja Mi is the official app of September’s Hopscotch Festival, so they have a partnership as well as a sponsorship with Hopscotch.
Miller realized that this roaming music festival could not only serve as a launch party, but also as the ultimate first impression and test-bed for the app. It would provide the backdrop not only for exposure, but also education and adoption.
If deja Mi is going to become ubiquitous with venue-based media capture, then festivals, even music shows, are just the first step. You might as well just jump right in. So deja Fest is not just a party, it’s a Petri dish where the app can quickly grow and evolve.
A Launch Party With a Purpose.
Certainly it’s going to be fun – but that’s just gravy.
It’s a risky move from a financial standpoint – as they’re putting most (not all) of their eggs in one basket in terms of marketing. It’s either going to work and work extremely well or it’s not, and then they go back to the drawing board.
What I like about it is that they’ve figured out there has to be more than one way to get your name out there. We can all complain about how the RTP is stuck in this plain, vanilla, boring rut, but in order for it to change, we have to make waves, take risks, and, well, bring the sexy back
Joe Procopio heads up product engineering for tech media startup StatSheet. He also owns consulting firm Intrepid Company and creative network Intrepid Media and runs the startup social ExitEvent (http://ExitEvent.com). Joe can be reached via Twitter @jproco and read at joeprocopio.com.
Tags: column, Dejafest, DejaMi, Events, Jimmy Fallon, Joe Procopio, Justin Miller, NC, Raleigh, Surfer Blood, The Hell No, The Static Mind, Wye Oak
Posted in Carolinas, Columns, Events, Internet/New Media, North Carolina | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Travis Potter By Allan Maurer
New takes on the social network meme pop up almost daily. URVEW, founded in January this year and currently only available to colleges and universities (you need a .edu address to sign up), is the first video micro-blogging site. The company launched just prior to Tech Media’s Digital Summit in Atlanta where it was a demo company earlier this year.
“Our goal is to connect the world thorugh video communication,” explains Co-founder and CRO Travis Potter. “Current social networks are not personal enough. Video is the best way to get across feelings and your overall self.”
The company, self-funded with one angel investor, is currently a web-only platform that plans to make money with an advertising model. It will eventually also do mobile apps, Potter says. “We may do a premium model. Right now, videos are limited to 20 seconds or less. We might charge a bit if people wanted to make longer videos.”
We checked out the site and found it still a bit underpopulated, but Potter says they’re gaining users steadily and once it’s open to the public, more are expected. The sound seemed a bit rough on the videos we watched, mostly people just chatting a bit.
Potter says he conceived of the site three years ago. “People thought it would be boring, so I put it on a back burner,” he says. “Then, driving back from DC with my partner, Josh, (Josh Clark, co-founder, CFO), we were talking about celebrities and all the exposure they get and the idea came back, the name, the features, all at once.”
One thing making the site different from posting a video on Facebook or Tumblr, Potter says, is that “You have a live count, how many people are viewing you in real time.” That might be useful to a politician running a campaign or other commercial users, he says.
With the aid of Clark’s business skills and friends, now part of the company with tech design skills, they created URVEW.
Currently headquartered in Lynchburg, VA, where the team attended Liberty University, the firm plans to move nearer to DC, Potter says.
The site should be open to the public soon.
URVEW is seeking a seed round of at least $100,000, he says.
Tags: Digital Summit, Josh Clark, Travis Potter, URVEW, video micro blogging
Posted in Company Profile, Internet/New Media, video | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Vitrue an Atlanta-based social marketing platform, has acquired San Francisco-based GamesThatGive, the social gaming platform designed to engage brands’ customers in charitable activities through branded-gaming experiences.
As part of the acquisition, GamesThatGive co-founder Adam Archer and the team will now operate out of Vitrue’s newly opened San Francisco office and oversee all gaming-related functionalities on the Vitrue SRM platform. Vitrue will also be adding as many as five new staff members to the team as part of the acquisition. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“A key goal for Vitrue this year is to provide our customers with the most robust and innovative platform for social marketing, whether through partnerships, integrations, or new acquisitions,” said Reggie Bradford, founder and CEO of Vitrue.
“We’ve seen great results from incorporating elements of charity and gaming into brands’ social campaigns. With this acquisition of GamesThatGive, a company that has developed a successful, smart platform, we are now offering both the gaming and charitable elements through our platform to continue to help brands reach and engage with their target audiences in new and effective ways.”
The acquisition allows Vitrue to add gaming functionality to their leading social marketing platform, the Vitrue SRM, allowing brands to seamlessly create custom games on Facebook and maintain consistent brand visibility during the entire experience, all the while supporting a brand’s charitable programs. The platform will now allow clients to create custom, fully skinned, branded casual games to increase brand loyalty, integrate charitable giving features, and add new customer touch points.
“Charitable game mechanics are a new way to motivate Facebook fans to play while giving brands a truly unique and charitable manner to engage with their fan base,” said Adam Archer, co-founder and CEO of GamesThatGive. “Our gaming solutions allow brands to drive fans to their Facebook pages and increase user retention and brand affinity. We give brands a platform to showcase and raise funds for their charities through engaging gaming experiences for Facebook fans.”
GamesThatGive has been successful in boosting fan engagement and spreading brand awareness for many brands across Facebook. Many of their apps have players averaging more than 40 minutes of game play per visit. The company also notes that many apps have more than 80 percent of visits coming from returning players and some games have achieved more than 100 percent virality, bringing in more than 1,100 additional fans for every 1,000 fans driven to the game. GamesThatGive has also raised more than $100,000 for charities including the Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, St. Jude’s Hospital and The Breast Cancer Fund.
Vitrue, whose clients include many of the world’s most recognizable brands and agencies, has cross-over clients with GamesThatGive including Pepsi and Domino’s. GamesThatGive has also worked with MasterCard, Dial Soap, Quaker, Dockers, UNICEF and Propel, to name a few.
“Domino’s puts a priority on reaching and building real social relationships with the millions of people that are on Facebook and other emerging social networks,” said Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino’s Pizza, a Vitrue and GamesThatGive client. “But there are also millions of people playing games for free online every day and we’ll certainly jump at the chance to put our product in front of them and demonstrate our commitment to the community at the same time. As a partner of both Vitrue and GamesThatGive, we can easily manage our entire social presence in one place, and not only acquire and engage with fans in ongoing, innovative ways but also tie-in our charitable foundations in a seamless manner.”
Tags: acquisition, Adam Archer, Atlanta, charitable giving, GamesThatGive, Reggie Bradford, Vitrue, Vitrue SRM
Posted in Acquisitions, games, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Integrated multi-channel marketing makes the most sense for non-profit organizations, but size does not equal integrated marketing sophistication among organizations, according to the Integrated Multi-Channel Marketing study from Convio Inc. (Nasdaq:CNVO).
“Today, every constituent can and should be engaged through multiple channels so that both the organization and the individual get the most out of the relationship,” said Vinay Bhagat, founder and chief strategy officer of Convio. “In doing so, nonprofits can deepen those relationships by better anticipating needs, interests and passions, and providing relevant interactions and opportunities for participation. Determining how to manage this within an organization is non-trivial but has significant payoffs.
“Our goal for this study was to benchmark where nonprofit organizations were in their integrated marketing evolution, and codify what it takes for nonprofits of all sizes and sophistication levels to enhance success.”
The study focused on five core areas of integrated multi-channel marketing including:
- Integrated marketing metrics
- Integrated marketing best practices
- Activity levels in new media
- Organizational strategy
- Integrated marketing priorities
Key findings include:
There is broad consensus that an integrated approach makes sense. Key benefits cited were the unification of messages across channels strengthens the brand, can cut through the clutter and increase response rates, engage new audiences, grow revenue, and save money.
Integrated marketing sophistication and size do not closely correlate. There are some large organizations where integrated marketing is in its infancy, while some smaller organizations are more advanced in their practices.
Online marketing’s contribution varies greatly. Twenty-nine percent of groups reported raising less than five percent of mass marketing funds (i.e. excluding major gifts etc.) online. Yet, 26 percent of respondents are raising more than 25 percent of funds online. Furthermore, online marketing’s contribution to the fundraising mix is a leading indicator for integrated marketing effectiveness.
The systems and technology to support integration are an essential part of the process. Some organizations report not having software products that would allow their online and direct mail databases to sync, making both execution and validation of an integrated approach difficult, if not impossible.
Critical to understanding success is tracking and mining engagement interactions. For the most part, survey participants said they are tracking all interactions that their software will allow. However, while organizations may be tracking everything they can; often, they do not have the bandwidth or expertise to use the information.
“The data and key findings presented in this study, not only shows the growing importance of integrated multi-channel marketing for nonprofits, but also provides some interesting trends on the differences between more sophisticated organizations and their counterparts,” said Pam Loeb, principal for Edge Research.
“After working closely with Convio on The Next Generation of Giving research, we were very interested to see how nonprofits were responding to the multi-channel demands of their supporters. It’s interesting to see that most of the participants fell in the middle of the sophistication spectrum, showing plenty of room for growth.”
The full study is available at www.convio.com/engage.
Tags: Convio, integrated marketing, non-profit multi-channel marketing, study
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 The Infonetics Research Worldwide Web Security SaaS Provider Scorecard, which analyzes and ranks the top web security-as-a-service (SaaS) providers, ranks Cisco tops among SaaS web security providers.
“There is a tight race for leadership among the top 5 web security SaaS providers — Cisco, McAfee, Symantec, Websense, and zScaler. The difference between 1st and 5th place in our vendor matrix comes down to small variations in brand presence, security profile, strategy, capabilities, and financial stability. These factors are valued differently from buyer to buyer, making for some very interesting competition between vendors,” notes Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research.
WEB SECURITY SAAS SCORECARD HIGHLIGHTS
- Cisco leads Infonetics’ web security SaaS provider scorecard overall, in large part because of its strong product offering with unique features, such as integration with Cisco routers
- McAfee and Symantec tie for 2nd right behind Cisco, each scoring stronger or weaker than the other in some areas
- Websense and zScaler, respectively the only standalone web security player and the sole SaaS-only player in the top 5, have the potential to remain strong players in the web security SaaS arena, though both will have trouble matching the security profile and brand presence of Cisco, McAfee, and Symantec
SCORECARD SYNOPSIS
Providers ranked in Infonetics’ Worldwide Web Security SaaS Provider Scorecard includeCisco, McAfee, Symantec, Websense, and zScaler, with additional commentary on other web security SaaS providers such as Blue Coat and Barracuda. The leadership scorecard identifies providers’ strengths and weaknesses, and ranks the top web security SaaS providers based on criteria critical to determining market leadership, including security brand presence, security profile, financial stability, market strategy, and service capabilities.
Tags: Cisco, Infonetics Research, McAfee, SaaS web security firms ranked, Symantec, Websense, Worldwide Web Security SaaS provider scorecard, zScaler
Posted in Internet/New Media, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Senator Herb Kohl Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl has submitted a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski expressing his opposition to the proposed AT&T – T-Mobile USA merger now under review by the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission. Kohl says the merger would result in higher prices for service and a reduction in consumer choice.
His move prompted some in-state opposition, however.
Thad Nation, executive director of Wired Wisconsin, issued this statement in response to the news:
“I am disappointed by Senator Herb Kohl’s decision to withhold his support for a merger that can provide real benefits to Wisconsin residents. As proposed, this merger would enhance and improve access to wireless broadband for Wisconsin residents through private sector investment in critical infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
“Individuals in many parts of Wisconsin often lack access to high-speed Internet, quality cell service and other amenities. This merger would help to change that by providing improved services and access to people throughout Wisconsin. Because of this identified, statewide need, I do not agree with Senator Kohl on this matter and I believe this is the wrong decision for Wisconsin consumers.”
Wired Wisconsin is the Wisconsin-based project of Midwest Consumers for Choice and Competition (MCCC), a non-profit organization of individual consumers interested in technology, broadband, and telecommunication issues with state projects throughout the Midwest region. The project will work to support an environment for innovative technology, high-tech job creation, and economic growth.
So what do you think? Will the T-Mobile, AT&T merger be good for consumers or will it, as Sen. Kohl maintains, result in higher service charges and less choice?
Tags: AT&T, merger, mobile, Sen. Herb Kohl, Senator opposes T-Mobile & AT&T merger, T-Mobile, telecom, Wired Wisconsin
Posted in Acquisitions, IT, Mobile, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Almost one-third of people in the U.S. over 13 play mobile games monthly, and the number of gamers in older demographics more than doubled since 2007, according to Parks Associates.
The international research firm’s new report Mobile/Portable Gaming: Market Updates finds the user base for gaming has expanded into nontraditional segments thanks to the popularity of mobile apps and titles such as Rovio’s Angry Birds.
These changes will also force creation of new business models to generate revenues, with in-app purchases currently the most successful. This model provides the game for free and creates revenue streams by selling expansions or enhancements, which helped Rovio reach over $70 million in revenues for Angry Birds.
“Traditional game companies have expressed concerns about mobile gaming devaluing the market, but in reality, mobile gaming has increased the overall user base and attracted new demographics,” said Pietro Macchiarella, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “The broad appeal of mobile games such as Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Words with Friends and increasing ease with which people can download them have attracted less traditional gamers, including a growing number of older players and females.”
Penetration of smartphones and tablets, competition in app marketplaces, and better payment methods have also fueled growth. The challenge for next-generation portable consoles, the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita, is to appeal to this larger audience.
This whole trend is likely to continue. Testing a variety of smartphones, I found myself playing Angry Birds or other games to kill time waiting in line or in the car (parked) and at odd moments. Many of these games, Angry Birds and its offshoots in particular, are mildly addictive. I did notice that one younger user who has been playing electronic games practically from the time she could figure out which buttons to push, conquered many levels at a rapid rate. That reminds me that specific electronic games do tend to run their course.
Another thing I noticed, though, is how many games are available free or inexpensively. That makes it easy to try them out.
“Low-priced and free titles are incentivizing consumers to try out mobile games,” Macchiarella said. “If popular mobile titles are ported to gaming devices and enhanced, manufacturers such as Sony and Nintendo will be able move loyal mobile gamers to their new platforms.”
Tags: Angry Birds, games, low-priced mobile games, mobile games, Nintendo 3DS, older gamers, Parks Associates, Pietro Macchiarella, PlayStation Vita, Report
Posted in Angry Birds, games, Internet/New Media, Mobile, mobile games, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 By 2020, large U.S. companies that use cloud computing can achieve annual energy savings of $12.3 billion and annual carbon reductions equivalent to 200 million barrels of oil – enough to power 5.7 million cars for one year.
This is according to a new study by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), “Cloud Computing: The IT Solution for the 21st Century,” conducted by independent analyst research firm Verdantix and sponsored by AT&T.
According to the study, companies plan to accelerate their adoption of cloud computing from 10 percent to 69 percent of their information technology spend by 2020.
The report finds that a company that adopts cloud computing(3) can reduce its energy consumption, lower its carbon emissions and decrease its capital expenditure on IT resources while improving operational efficiency.
Stuart Neumann, Senior Manager at Verdantix, commented: “The study also analyzed the business impacts of transferring an essential business application—human resources— to the cloud and shows such an investment could give a payback in under one year.”
In addition to a predicted aggregate, annual carbon reduction of 85.7 million metric tons by large U.S. companies, cloud computing can:
- Help users avoid costly up-front capital investments in infrastructure
- Improve time-to-market as a new server can be created or brought online in minutes
- Provide greater flexibility as clouds allow firms to pay for excess capacity only when they need it
- Avoid the continual maintenance of excess capacity needed to handle spikes
- Improve automation that helps drive process efficiencies
“The study results make a powerful case for businesses to continue to explore and adopt secure and flexible cloud computing solutions,” said John Potter, Vice President, As-a-Service Solutions, AT&T.
Andrew Winston, leading expert on sustainable business and author of Green to Gold and Green Recovery, said: “Finding providers and partners that can take some of your energy-using operations to scale, and manage them in a shared capacity, is good for both business’ carbon footprint and its bottom line.”
The study suggests that significant non-monetary benefits can be achieved with cloud computing, including business process efficiency and increased organizational flexibility. Paul Stemmler from Citigroup commented: “Carbon reduction is one driver, but not the primary driver. The primary driver is time to market. Developers used to take 45 days to get new servers, but in the internal cloud infrastructure that we operate in our own private network, it takes just a couple of minutes.”
Verdantix conducted in-depth interviews with multi-national firms—including Aviva, Boeing, Citigroup and Juniper Networks— in diverse sectors. All study participants had adopted cloud services for at least two years. Many of the firms interviewed reported cost savings as a primary motivator, with anticipated cost reductions as high as 40 – 50 percent.
This study follows the release of a recent paper, “Building a 21st Century Communications Economy.” Tying these studies together, Dickinson commented: “The communications economy of the 21st century has the potential to generate more economic value with less environmental impact, and ICT companies will lead the way.”
The full cloud computing report can be downloaded at www.cdproject.net/en-US/WhatWeDo/Pages/Cloud-Computing.aspx.
Tags: AT&T, Carbon Disclosure Project, cloud computing, Cloud Computing: The IT Solution for the 21st Century, energy savings
Posted in Cloud, Energy, IT | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 CHICAGO – Is there a tech boom or are we in another tech bubble? That’s the question that pops up in the face of extremely high valuations for digital media companies, particularly on the West Coast, and whenever a no-profits company such as Linkedin or Pandora launches an IPO. Sean Harper, CEO of Chicago-based FeeFighters.com, a firm that is like a LendingTree for small businesses looking for services such as credit card processing, says he doesn’t think were in another tech bubble.
“The biggest valuations are similar to those in the bubble era,” he tells the TechJournal, but, he adds, “The companies now have way, way more traction. Companies such as Zynga and Groupon have lots of users and revenues. That’s our perspective,” he says, following the data FeeFighters collected to make the infographic below. “Others could look at the same data and come to the opposite conclusion,” he says.
FeeFighters, a seven employee firm founded in 2009, has raised $1.5 million in backing. It’s provides a shopping platform to help small businesses get better deals on credit card processing, insurance and other financial services. What do you think? Are we in a tech boom or headed for a tech bust? Here’s the inforgraphic:
Tags: Buy.com, Chicago, digital media, FeeFighters, Google, Groupon, infographic: tech boom or bubble, IPOs, LinkedIn, PayPal, Sean Harper, Shutterfly, twitter, valuations
Posted in Facebook, games, Google, Internet/New Media | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 Joseph DeSimone RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC – When Jim Roberts joined the NC Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology (COIN) last summer, he needed a quick introduction to nanotechnology. So COIN sent him to the Commercialization of Micro-nano Systems Conference (COMS), held that year in New Mexico. Roberts discovered that plans for the 2011 conference had fallen through.
The organizers of COMS told Roberts, who has always been quick to capitalize on economic development opportunities, that if North Carolina could raise $50,000 it could put on the event, which is the premiere industry conference. Houston was also in the running. “We raised $53,000 and landed the event,” he says. “It’s a big win for the Centers of Innovation created by the NC Biotechnology Center.”
So, The annual Commercialization of Micro-Nano Systems Conference (COMS 2011) being held Aug 28-31 in Greensboro. It has shaped up to be a who’s who of the micro-nano technology (MNT) community, bringing together leaders in North Carolina with those from around the globe. Plenary Speakers include: Anthony Atala, MD, Joseph M. DeSimone, PhD and Paul M. Zavracky, PhD.
 Dr. Anthony Atala, director, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Dr. Atala is the W.H. Boyce Professor, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Chair of the Department of Urology at Wake Forest University. Dr. Atala is a practicing surgeon and a key thought leader in regenerative medicine. His current breakthroughs include the world’s first engineered urethras using 3D printers to engineer human kidneys in a laboratory, and he is currently working to launch the Virginia Tech/Wake Forest Center for Veterinary Regenerative Medicine.
Dr. DeSimone is the Chancellor’s Eminent Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University. DeSimone is also an adjunct member at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Nanofab techniques for biomedicine
His research group is focused on nanofabrication techniques translated from the semiconductor industry that enables the manufacture of highly uniform nanoparticles with precise size and shape.
This process, called Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates (PRINT), is currently being commercialized for biomedical applications through the spin-out company Liquidia Technologies, which has a PRINT-enabled flu vaccine therapeutic in clinical development.
Dr. Zavracky, President of North American and European Operations at MEMSIC Corporation, has more than 30 years of business, scientific and academic experience, serving most recently as Dean of Northeastern University’s School of Technological Entrepreneurship.
Prior to that, he co-founded The MicroOptical Corporation and, while serving as president and COO, developed two-axis MEMS micro-mirrors and successfully launched the company’s military, medical and consumer head-mounted display businesses. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the founding team and COO of Kopin Corporation, where he spearheaded its development of silicon on insulator (SOI) materials and SOI MEMS devices.
Former Gov. Jim Hunt, Sen. Kay Hagan delivering keynotes
 NC Sen. Kay Hagan Demonstrating the support for these important emerging technologies, James Hunt, Governor of North Carolina (1977-1985; 1993-2001) and Kay R. Hagan, United States Senator for North Carolina, will deliver keynote addresses. Also speaking is Sally Tinkle, PhD, Acting Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee, Committee on Technology National Science and Technology Council.
The NNI brings together the expertise needed to advance this broad and complex field—creating a framework for shared goals, priorities, and strategies that help each participating Federal agency leverage the resources of all participating agencies. With the support of the NNI, nanotechnology R&D is taking place in academic, government, and industry laboratories across the United States. MANCEF is not only proud to welcome these distinguished members of the policy making bodies to COMS, but also welcomes members of the triple helix; Education, Government and Industry, to join us in leading the next revolution of emerging technologies.
North Carolina is already a top player in nanotechnology, ranked fourth behind only Silicon Valley, Boston, and Houston. It is poised to become one of the major centers in the field, according to industry experts. Landing the COMS event for the state is a significant step.
Tags: Anthony Atala, COIN, Commercializaiton of Micro-Nano Systems Conference 2011, COMS, Greensboro, Jim Roberts, Joseph DijSimone, naofabrication, NC, NC Biotechnology Center, NC State University, Paul M. Zavracky, Sen. Kay Hagan, UNC Chapel Hill
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Nanotech, North Carolina | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 A new survey says that losing contact information is the biggest fear among smartphone users. The survey by Plaxo Inc., creators of what it calls the world’s most powerful address book, conducted the Mobile & Online Backup Trends Study, which focused on how U.S.-based smartphone consumers use online backup tools and interact with their contact info.
In support of the survey findings, a recent study by Pew Internet Project finds that one third of American adults – 35% – own smartphones. Plaxo’s study reinforces that trend and includes these significant insights:
Keeping in the Know While on the Go
- Contacts info is kept in multiple places: on PCs, laptops, smartphones, and in email and on social networks, with 71% storing contacts on their smartphone
- Approximately half of respondents rely more on remote access to contacts/address book information in the last three years than in the past
- Over the next 2 years, two-fifths expect to increase reliance on remote or cloud access to contacts/address book
Mixing Business & Pleasure is the Modern M.O.
- 66% store both professional and personal contacts in the same address book
Losing Your Contacts – Total Nightmare
- 55% cited contacts/address book information as the biggest hassle when losing a phone – above photos, documents/email, apps, calendar and music
- 68% of smartphone owners back up their personal computers more than the general population
- One in five has lost smartphone data by dropping it in the toilet (#1 reason for losing)
People Place a Premium on Their Contacts
- One in 10 consider avoiding the hassle of losing contacts/address book information as ‘priceless’
Gen Y is Gen Mobile
- Gen Y (21-31 years old) is much more likely to rely upon tools/apps that support remote access to contacts and to see that reliance increasing over the next two years
Backing up Contacts & Cloud Usage
- 72% of smartphone owners back up their contacts/address books from their smartphone
- One-quarter of respondents are using the cloud for backup of their personal computer data
- People who back up their computer data are even more likely to also back up contacts/address book information on their smartphone than those who don’t back up their computer data
“Living a mobile-ready lifestyle in both one’s professional and personal lives requires having information at your fingertips,” said Preston Smalley, general manager for Plaxo. “These survey results reinforce the trend around an increasingly untethered world. Even though people are on the go more and more, they have not lowered their expectations around access to their latest updated data including their address book, and in fact, have increased expectations.
Plaxo says it recognizes these market trends and offers innovative mobile services so people can find and reach those who are important to them. “We take things a step further by actually automatically updating address book content with our new line of services,” Smalley says.
Tags: lost smartphone contacts, Mobile & Online Backup Trends Study, Plaxo, smartphone use across generations
Posted in Mobile, smartphones, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 Mobile video consumption is a rapidly developing market. Although many mobile video products have only recently launched, providers are experiencing significant growth in usage rates. According to In-Stat survey results, nearly two-thirds of smartphone owners have watched video on their device, while nearly 86 percent of tablet owners have done so.
While the propensity to watch full length premium video is only a portion of these viewers, these numbers indicate the potential market demand. These examples are indicative of a larger trend of strong growth in mobile video consumption worldwide. New In-Stat research forecasts mobile video consumption to surpass 693 billion minutes by 2015.
“As content restrictions are liberalized and the proliferation of smartphone and tablet devices continues to expand, so too will mobile video consumption,” says Amy Cravens Market Analyst. “However, it is important to note that the consumption differs significantly between smartphones, tablets, and notebook/netbooks. Differences include content length, content genre, and content acquisition. Content providers need to customize their offerings by target platform.”
Some of the research findings include:
- There are significantly more smartphone viewers than tablet viewers currently. However, the gap will narrow in coming years.
- Tablet viewer watch more video and are willing to pay a higher price for that video compared to smartphone viewers.
- The majority of video access is occurring in a non-mobile environment, often in the home, particularly for tablet devices and in the consumption of long-form video.
- The largest barriers to mobile video growth are those erected by content owners, followed by network capacity issues.
Tags: In-Stat, mobile video market, smartphones
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports, video | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
The number of global smartphone shipments will reach one billion per annum in 2016, up from 302 million in 2010, according to a new report by analyst firm Juniper Research.
Smartphones — traditionally high-end handsets — will make-up the majority of shipments in five years’ time, as this type of device becomes available at lower price points. Competition amongst vendors offering premium smartphones is intense, and so Juniper believes the best opportunity for new players is through economy models (those with an unsubsidised retail value of $150 or less).
Report author Daniel Ashdown explains: “in developed markets, many consumers will want to upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone, but still pay a feature phone price. In emerging markets though, lower average consumer spending power and lack of operator subsidies will make a low price point essential.” Juniper predicts that open-source operating systems — predominantly Android — combined with the falling cost of key components will make this possible.
However, the market for standard smartphones ($151-$399) and premium smartphones ($400 and above) will remain robust:
- New technologies are arriving on these devices — including NFC, 3D and Biometrics;
- Features of other devices continue to be integrated into smartphones, including gamepads; and,
- Smartphones are reaching the market which can morph into other devices — notably tablets and netbooks.
The report provides substantial primary research on smartphone hardware specifications and analysis of recent trends and developments. Other primary research examines smartphone plans and handset subsidies, and the impact on subscriber retention costs for operators.
A whitepaper The Smartphone Opportunity and further details of the study, ‘Smartphone Evolution Strategies: Premium, Standard and Economy Markets 2011-2016′ are available at www.juniperresearch.com
Tags: Hardware, Juniper Research, mobile, Report, smartphone shipments to hit $1B by 2016
Posted in smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 Jason Hennessey, CEO Everspark Interactive By Jason Hennessey, CEO Everspark Interactive
Though Google + has been generating hype since its launch in late June, it probably will not bring about the demise of Facebook. Google has implicitly positioned its social network as a solution to Facebook, but has not yet lived up to its word or trumped Mark Zuckerberg’s empire.
The fact is that, despite the interesting features of the Google social network, users of Facebook have built up extensive networks and profiles and, since there really is no way to import these to Google +, will likely return to Facebook once all of the hype dies down.
This network is what they know and love, and learning something entirely new that offers nearly the same features is going to become unappealing once Google + really launches.
I read recently that Google + has reached 10 million users by invitation only. Obviously, no one would have expected Google’s social network to come even close to Facebook’s 750 million users in such a short time, but its hard to imagine it ever will. We really have to think about one thing: can people really juggle all of these social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google +, at once?
We already have our extensive profiles and contact lists, both personal and professional, on these social networking platforms. Do we really want to start from scratch, again?
Additionally, once Google + is universally launched (around July 31st) and is no longer by invitation only, will people still flock to it? Pretty much anyone who wanted to was able to receive an invite. I’m not sure how many more people will want to engage with it. If the network does experience a surge in the beginning, it still probably won’t come close to Facebook’s ever-growing following.
That being said, I do think that Google + will be useful for corporations once the business profiles feature launches later this year. These profiles will be a kind of Twitter and Facebook combination, but better: the idea that companies will be able to arrange “hangouts” (video chats with multiple people) with their customers and potential customers brings the concept of engagement to a whole new level.
Additionally, Google + will allow for unprecedented collaboration by placing everything useful to businesses in one place: video conferencing, possibly a dropbox like function within circles and customer interaction. Not only will this be really good for business success, but I suspect it will also eventually tie into SEO.
Though Google + has been referred to, in some circles, as Facebook’s killer, it will likely not live up to this reputation. Though it may be a staunch competitor to Zuckerberg’s social network, it will never take Facebook down. This is especially true because Facebook is working to create similar features to Google’s network (for example, Facebook’s merger with Skype to bring group video chat), and has the added benefit of already having hundreds of millions of users that will want to use Google +’s features in a place where they have already established networks of friends.
Tags: Everspark Interactive, facebook, Facebook vs. Google, Google, Jason Hennessey, Mark Zuckerberg, social netaworking, social networks, Viewpoint
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Viewpoint | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
 The social media market is primed for a new player that allows users to connect with friends, according to the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index(ACSI) E-Business Report, produced in partnership with customer experience analytics firm ForeSee Results.
Despite a small improvement this year, Facebook (+3% to 66) is the lowest-scoring site, not only in the social media category, but of all measured companies in this report. The survey was conducted last month, before the widespread introduction of Facebook’s biggest competitor, Google+, but Facebook’s low score indicates that Google+ could easily pounce and gain market share if they can provide a superior customer experience.
“We don’t know yet how Google+ will fare, but what we do know is that Google is one of the highest-scoring companies in the ACSI and Facebook is one of the lowest,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. “An existing dominance of market share like Facebook has is no longer a safety net for a company that is not providing a superior customer experience.”
We have noticed somewhat less engaged friends on Facebook and some who have said they are quitting the service.
Facebook is just one story emerging from today’s report. The ACSI E-Business Report covers three categories of e-business: social media, portals and search engines, and online news. This is the twelfth annual report of its kind, allowing companies and analysts to track the performance of these organizations over time by a critical metric: customer satisfaction.
Social Media: Wikipedia (+1% to 78) takes the top spot, while YouTube (+1% to 74) comes in a distant second. MySpace drops from this year’s Index because there were not enough users to create a statistically significant sample. Overall, social media is one of the lowest-scoring industries measured by the ACSI—only airlines, newspapers, and subscription television services score lower.
Search Engines and Portals: Google leads the search engine and portals category (up 4% to 83), but Bing follows closely, jumping an impressive 7% in one year to 82. Anything over 80 is generally considered an excellent score. Bing has grown in market share over the last year and makes up roughly 17% of the search engine market, up from 9% last year.
“While Google+ is the challenger to Facebook’s established dominance in the social media sphere, in the search engine wars, Google is king and Bing is hoping to be a contender,” added Freed. “Last year, Google’s customer satisfaction score was three points higher than Bing’s. This year, that gap narrows to one point. Bing is showing it can challenge Google in terms of revenue, market share, and the customer experience.”
News Websites: FoxNews.com (82) has a strong lead on the news and information category and is five points ahead of the next highest-scoring site, ABCNews.com (+3% to 77). HuffingtonPost.com (69) debuts at the bottom of the industry. Satisfaction with NYTimes.com drops 4% this year to 73. The study was conducted during the same time the site began to implement their metered paywall, but it remains to be seen whether satisfaction will rebound as customers adjust to the new business model.
“E-business is still relatively immature in many ways, often more interested in technology than in satisfying customers,” said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer. ”As competition gets tougher, this is likely to change, and the successful companies are going to have powerful cause-and-effect customer satisfaction measurement systems. The losers will be the companies that underestimate the power of a dissatisfied customer and fail to upgrade their current measurement systems.”
For more analysis and complete historical scores.
Henry Copeland of Blogads stirred up some controversy with this piece: Why Google+ will fail
Tags: American Customer Satisfaction Indes, Bing, Facebook has low satisfaction score, Google, MySpace dropped from ACSI index, Wikipedia, Wikipedia tops ACSI satisfaction index, YouTube
Posted in Facebook, Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
 Starting in 2012, corporations and municipalities will be able to buy specific domains (for example, .webimax, versus webimax.com) at a price of $185,000. The purpose of this move is to add personalization specific to the originating source, and help classify genres of websites into consolidated groups. But it could cause difficulties for search engine optimization, says Kenneth C. Wisnefski, CEO of WebiMax, an SEO firm.
“This can work well for organizations that embrace this idea and want to characterize their organization by domain name, however search engine optimization firms will be challenged with how a deviation from the norm (.com, .net, and .edu for example) will factor in on ranking webpages”, states Wisnefski. “I suspect search engines, including Google, will address the new structure and discuss what this means for their search algorithms.”
Wisnefski notes that these changes will “present some hurdles for SEO firms, notably on how we adjust to the changes with indexing current and existing webpages.”
While corporations may see limited benefit from securing their own corporate domain extension, municipalities and specific interest groups could benefit greatly from these scenarios and in turn, it could greatly impact the nature by which people use search engines.
“While it might not have great value for a large company to secure their own dot company name, cities and states could see huge benefit from this” Wisnefski exclaimed. “If you are in New York City and want pizza, you might type in pizza.nyc and be directed to selected establishments. This changes the current search process and in turn will shift focus towards these extensions over time”.
The proposed structure also includes participating parties to complete a thorough filing to prevent domain squatting from taking place.
“Domain squatters have been an issue in the natural search space for some time”, states Wisnefski.
“The one secure part of this process is the thorough application that needs to be completed to prevent these people from cashing in on domain-name selling. It is quite clear that we [in the SEO industry] will wait to see how many companies express their intention to take part in the new structure, and if this is something we need to adjust our optimization strategies around”, concludes Wisnefski.
Tags: Kenneth C. Wisnefski, new domain structure and SEO, WebiMax
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing | Comments Off
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