Posts tagged Report
Report: Microsoft Did Shop Bing To Facebook
Apr 25th
You know that rumor about Microsoft shopping Bing to Facebook? It sparked lots of speculation about whether that would be a good move for both companies. Turns out it did happen, according to a report in the New York Times citing executives who made overtures to Facebook on behalf of Microsoft…
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5,000 Dangerous Android Apps Says Trend Micro Report
Apr 24th
Did you know there are 5,000 new Android apps that can harm your device or steal your data – including extreme cases, such as a Russian fake version of Google Play that would add charges to your mobile bill? Those nuggets are included in the latest quarterly security roundup from Trend Micro’s Labs. The report, released last week, breaks little new ground but makes information on the latest threats accessible in a very concise and attractive format.
Another scheme in Japan resulted in the police there arresting six individuals involving a one-click billing scheme. Typically, as shown in the diagram to the right, a user would visit a compromised site, click on a link to play a video, and end up with an infected device. The Japanese scheme netted some $150,000.
Another nasty piece of business is what is called “Ransomware,” which is a set of malware that infects a user’s machine and holds his or her files hostage. Sometimes, the software will encrypt part of your hard drive, demanding money before allowing you to decrypt the files. In one case, users saw a splash screen that demanded they pay a 100 euro fine for viewing porn or other questionable material on the computer.
Ransomware is now branching out to other countries in Europe, and has a big footprint in the U.S., as you can see here:
Part of the problem is that installing a mobile app is so easy, many users do it almost unconsciously, so it often doesn’t get the same kind of due diligence that desktop applications get. Combined with the willingness of many Gen Yers to share personal information, and it’s easier than ever for the bad guys to spread malware and steal your data, your money, or both.
As part of its security scanning efforts, TrendLabs processes more than four terabytes of data each day and analyzes some 8 billion URLs and 200,000 IP addresses. The report also includes the company’s top 10 blocked URLs or malicious domains.
It is well worth a closer read.
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DEMO Report: 3 Startups Vie to Take Photo and Video Sharing to the Next Level
Apr 19th
A picture is worth a thousand words, and at the DEMO Spring 2012 conference, three innovative startups are hoping to turn those words into dollars. No doubt with visions of Instagram’s $1 billion payday dancing in their heads, these photo- and video-sharing app makers vied to take the concept to the next level.
San Francisco-based TourWrist showed off its iPhone and iPad app that can take 360-degree panoramic photos. In mid-May, the company plans to add features to stitch multiple panoramas together, similar to Google Street View. In addition, people can link their panoramas to Facebook profiles.
The panoramas can also be linked to brands, which is how founder and Chief Executive Charles Armstrong hopes to build a profitable business, with the free iPhone and iPad app driving buzz. Panoramic views of hotels, real estate and tourist attractions are only a few of the possible commercial applications.
“I find Charles’ products to be visually stunning,” Bill Gurley, a general partner at Benchmark Capital, said on an investor panel after a string of demonstrations, including TourWrist. “Especially if you get to hold it and play with it, where you’re just like blown away. He’s accomplished something truly remarkable.”
Despite the impressive technology, TourWrist requires some work to learn, which could make widespread adoption a struggle. The company also has to transition from a free-app maker to one that sells its technology to businesses.
Charlottesville, Virginia-based Arqball adapts that panoramic approach from photos to interactive video. The company’s free app can create a 360-degree interactive video, using a a slow-moving ArqSpin spinner accessory – sold by Arqball. The user places an object on the spinner and takes a video of the object using an iPhone or iPad. Arqball hopes to get traction with consumers, and eventually sell the software to businesses for use in online retail. A new labeling feature should be attractive to retailers.
But Arqball, too, may not be easy enough to use to attract a lot of consumers. On the business side, the company must find a way to stand out among competitors. “The type of stuff that Arqball is doing will no doubt increase convergence on commerce,” Jason Krikorian, general partner at DCM, said. “The question is really on how to make money.”
While Arqball focused on futuristic interactives, San Francisco-based Daemonic Labs went old-school, demonstrating its Dabble application for creating digital postcards with the iPhone camera. After taking a picture, users create a card, add text and then pin the image on a map that can be shared with other Dabble users. In essence, the app lets people create and share photo journals.
While the app seemed to work well enough, observers questioned whether the features were enough to make Dabble stand out. “I find this notion about (saving) memories a little blurry,” said panelist Claire Lee, head of the emerging business team at Microsoft. “There are a lot of people trying to do it.”
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More Advertisers Flocking to Facebook Despite Rising Ad Costs [Report]
Apr 19th
Facebook Ads CPC, CPM and Cost per Fan have all increased over the past year, even as engagement has slumped. Changes in Facebook ad display formats, competition, and how advertisers use Facebook may all contribute to the increased costs.
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DEMO Report: Startup Creativity Through Variety
Apr 19th
Entrepreneurs demonstrating their latest ideas at the EMO Spring 2012 conference showed that inspiration travels in many directions. The young companies that took the stage Wednesday to kick off the three-day startup fest in Santa Clara, California, demonstrated a surprisingly wide variety of software and Web services.
Unfortunately, one thing most of the new companies share is the lack of a clear plan for building a profitable business. Typical for today’s startups – particularly in the mobile and cloud markets, but even in e-commerce – the strategy of choice seems to be building as large of a user base as possible, then trying to figure out how to make money later.
E-Commerce Startups Focus on Video
Nevertheless, among the more than 30 startups that put on demonstrations, some had potential. Austin, Texas-based Cinsay raised eyebrows with what it called “container commerce.” The company has figured out a way to embed an online store in a video player, so viewers can buy products without having to go to a separate website. The player can conduct transactions even when embedded in a social network or third-party website. “If they can find a way to get people to buy in-line like that, it would be a huge game changer,” said Will Price, chief executive of advertising company Flite, in a panel discussion following the presentation.
Irvine, California-based e-commerce startup Looqiloo has launched in beta a cloud service that lets people upload videos of product reviews. If someone buys the product, Looqiloo shares revenue with the product distributor and the reviewer. While that sounds good on paper, thin retail margins make it hard to imagine there would be enough money to go around. “There’s a bunch of cleverness here, but where’s the meat?” asked panelist Tom Gillis, chief executive of Bracket Computing. “I like the fact that they pay the different agents; that’s cool. But from what pool of money is that drawn?”
Cloud Computing Meets Scrapbooks – and Transcriptions
But perhaps the coolest startup on display was Mountain View, California-based NotesCloud. The site lets people grab video, pictures and articles and create their own online scrapbooks, which can be shared. NotesCloud’s templates make it possible to build impressive-looking books. “I think the applications (for the service) are almost endless,” gushed panelist John Dillon, chief executive of cloud platform provider Engine Yard. “I was blown away by that one.”
Another cloud service panelists found impressive was Switzerland-based Koemei, which transcribes online video and audio. The transcription shown was multiple times more accurate than Google’s similar service. “The accuracy was really high,” Dillon noted. But Price was concerned about the intellectual property rights. If the company didn’t license its technology from an established voice-to-text software maker, such as Nuance Transcription Services, then there could be a problem in the future. “I love the application, but if they’re licensing Nuance, that’s one thing. If they’re not, then I’d be concerned about what their intellectual property rights are,” he said.
Infographics Are Hot
Finally, Washington, D.C.-based Knoema jumped on the hot trend for infographics. The service can slice and dice data gathered online and use it to present simple infographics. The startup has already collected more than 500 data sets on various topics that users can query. Users can also upload their own data. “It’s one of those businesses that could have increasing returns as more people use it and more people share data, add abstractions on it and analytics,” Price said. “I thought it was an impressive product.” Other observers were concerned that like Wikipedia, Knoema might have difficulty in maintaining the reliability of its data.
And as with many other startups debuting at DEMO, it’s not clear how Knoema will make money. “It’s one of those businesses where there could be a very good premium model,” Ping Li, partner at Accel Partners, offered hopefully.
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Paid Search Revenue Hit $14.8 Billion in 2011, Up 27% [Report]
Apr 19th
Paid search remained the dominant ad revenue driver in 2011, accounting for $14.8 billion of the record $31 billion of all online advertising last year, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, prepared by PwC U.S.
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Creating an “Opportunity Report” – PPC
Apr 19th
Creating an “Opportunity Report” to Show How to Get More Out of Your Accounts A lot of marketing managers and C-level executives I run across really aren’t sure how good their AdWords account is. That’s certainly to be expected because, in general, the people expected to evaluate the performance aren’t really experienced in PPC enough [...]
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7 Tips for Better Facebook Ad Performance [Report]
Apr 16th
Agencies enjoyed higher CTRs than in-house marketers, while those pointing ads outside the Facebook ecosystem can expect a higher CPC. Social Fresh’s new Facebook Ads survey combines helpful insights with five industry expert tips for marketers.
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Report: MSIE Sees Greatest Traffic During Work Day; Chrome Picks up in Evenings
Apr 12th
The last year has been a wild ride in the world of web browsers. Chrome has been quickly gaining on Microsoft Internet Explorer’s (MSIE) market share, which traditionally has made up the majority of web browser market share – originating from Microsoft Windows dominance of personal computer industry. It has often been said that the [...]
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Report: Search Engine Market Share, March 2012 Update
Apr 5th
The search engine market remained relatively stable in the month of March. Google solidified its position as market leader with a gain of 4.8% in share, propelling it to control over 75% of the overall market. Yahoo’s share fell by 5% in March, although it still remains the second most popular search engine. Ask and [...]
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