The New Wave of Selling on Mobile and Social

original article: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/29/the-new-wave-of-selling-on-mobile-and-social/

With holiday shopping around the corner, sales are expected to soar, and an increasing number of those will be coming from e-commerce platforms.
Important to note as well, the devices that consumers will be using to complete their purchases: mobile has become increasingly important and m-commerce transactions are exceeding already strong forecasts. This is the result of increased trust and comfort on the consumer side, but also of technological improvements on the retail side: sellers now offer mobile optimized sites and shopping specific apps that facilitate the checkout process and the whole process in general. Retailers and marketers now have access to a wealth of information about their target consumers' preferences and by leveraging that data efficiently, they could lead them to the products they are most likely to be interested in, thus increasing the likelihood of conversion. Social networks offer new possibilities for brands: by offering loyalty programs to users who connect to their brands through their social networks, they can better expand their reach since individuals trust the opinion of their peers more than they do advertising efforts that come directly from the brand itself. Ultimately, by integrating the power of the social platform with the shopping experience, conversions and consumer acquisitions are more likely to occur.

Solving The Persistent Security Threats for The Internet of Things

Original article: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/28/solving-the-persistent-security-threats-for-the-internet-of-things/

As companies invest increasingly into new technologies and all kinds of connected devices, consumers are becoming more and more concerned, and rightfully so, about the security of the information they are sometimes unwittingly providing.
The industry is evolving quickly as it is still in its infancy stages, and defining a security framework in which to operate is extremely tricky, if not almost impossible. Because the very nature of the Internet of Things requires devices of all sorts to be constantly connected, hacking threats are also pretty much constant and highly likely to occur. Devices in the space are often produced with the user experience in mind, and security concerns are often relegated to an afterthought.
There are ways to tackle rising concerns and data encryption may need to be prioritized to secure more sensitive data.

Twitter And Vine Choose Hearts Over Stars and Smileys

At first glance, it may seem like an inconsequential tweak, but switching the way users interact with content on the Twitter managed platforms may actually have a significant impact on engagement and the metrics generally used to measure it. Indeed, by aligning the "visual" language with that of other popular social networks like Pinterest or Instagram, it may lead users to engage more with the content that is generated on both Twitter and Vine. By including and testing the new "likeability" combo on Twitter and Vine, the company has been able to gage how much users appreciate a more global language to signify appreciation and engagement on the platforms they interact on daily/weekly.

Original article: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/03/heart-heart-heart/#.dc3kwd:v2C5

Facebook Here, Google Now

The battle to win the "personal assistant" market is on and both Facebook and Google have a right to win. Google has almost unrivaled data, access to email information, flight times, etc, which means that it's voice activated assistant can provide a useful and informative service. Google Now can even provide information on traffic, best routes from the office to the home. Google Now On Tap can even link to your downloaded apps and gather information from there.
Facebook has other potential benefits. It's newly launched M service, and it's most recent voice activated service, which is as of yet, still unbranded, can gather information that feels maybe more personal and more interesting: friends' birthdays for example.
Both companies can provide services that complement each other.

Original article: http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/26/facebook-nowtifications/

Here's Where Amazon and Google Could Make Their Next $100B

Forrester predictions establish that "public cloud services" is the key to future revenue making opportunity, which would establish Amazon and Google as even bigger players than they are today. Microsoft is also set to win but not to the same extent, as enterprise adoption of cloud services ramps up at an increasing rate meaning that the key to growth will be in "public cloud" rather than "private". What Amazon and Google do and can continue to do is set cloud services that are not only available to them, but also to other consumers, allowing businesses to "set their own software without having to build hardware to support it". It is likely that Amazon will leverage its platform and customer base to expand in the space and establish itself as one of its leading players.

Original article: http://www.wired.com/2015/10/amazon-google-make-next-100-billion/

Facebook Tests Video Feed to Sidestep YouTube With Friendly Discovery

Facebook has been focusing on video for a while, and now with its new feature, it seeks to keep people on the platform longer by providing content that users are likely to enjoy. A combination of videos liked by you, by your friends and trending on social networks will be available to view on a centralized dedicated feed on Facebook.
The goal is to provide a seamless experience for the user, who no longer has to search for specific videos or wait between clips. This focus on video is part of Facebook's strategy to capture a growing ad revenue generated from video ads.
Additionally, Facebook is actively protecting content creators against uploaders of non-original content for monetization purposes, ultimately making the social platform a more attractive destination for publishers.
Facebook video is not a direct alternative to YouTube, where you might go search for something you intended to watch, but rather an option to discover content you didn't know you wanted.

Original article http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/13/facebook-video-feed/

Twitter's snazzy new Project Lightning is going to save everything (they hope)

Few were surprised when Twitter's founder and interim CEO, Jack Dorsey, was appointed the company's new CEO this week. Back for a position he already held in the past, investors hope that Dorsey's return will help the company enter a new era of growth.
Under his new leadership, Twitter seeks to re-establish itself as a key player, thanks to product launches and updates in the pipeline.
Twitter has been struggling to keep users and to attract new ones recently. Competition is fierce and the platform does not seem to offer any particular differentiating advantages with respect to other social networks. The announced launch of Moments, a feature which will allow users to add snippets of video to their feeds for live event coverage is part of a larger strategy to turn the network into the choice destination for news, a market that Facebook seems to be taking over quickly than expected.

Original article: http://mashable.com/2015/10/05/twitter-project-lightning-dorsey/#.DT.u1QtIZqM

Twitter Polls Are An Awful Idea

Twitter's financial difficulties were broadly covered when former CEO Dick Costolo stepped down and Jack Dorsey returned to temporarily run the company. Since then, we've been waiting for the social sharing site to roll out new features, hoping that they'll be groundbreaking enough to revive the company.
Yesterday, the possible imminent launch of polls were announced. Users will be able to introduce polls in their tweets. The ability for individuals or brands to gage interest in a product or an opinion by simply asking a yes or no question. The article makes a fair point. While technically this would provide Twitter with the substantial data it craves, it also limits the provision of nuanced opinions, limits the freedom of expression that lures users onto the site to begin with and seems to benefit brands more than it does consumers.
The feature has not yet been rolled out and while it may be an interesting thing to explore, it also displays its many limitations for a company that was built on freedom of expression.


Original article http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/25/twitter-polls-are-an-awful-idea/

Websites know you're using ad-blockers and they're coming for you

Users are increasingly using ad blockers to stop ads from interrupting their browsing experience when they go online, often forgetting that these ads generate the revenue that keeps the websites whose content they consume alive and running.
As the use of this type of software increases, publishers are finding workarounds to counter their spread, even offering the alternative to subscribe to newsletters or premium content. This is a real concern for publishers as ad blockers not only target desktop readership but are now also making their way to other devices such as mobile via specific apps.
The "counter attack" is an opportunity for publishers and content creators to educate content consumers in how the business model operates. An understanding that content is only free because it's supported by either ads or subscriptions is necessary, and readers who refuse to acknowledge this may not deserve to have access to the content in the first place. Publishers are now coming up with alternatives to capture revenue from those who are fed up with ads. This trend is set to grow, just like ad-block use has in recent times.

Original article
http://mashable.com/2015/09/12/passive-agressive-ad-blockers/#Kw0HNSSaLSks

WhatsApp Hits 900M Monthly Users, Edges Closer To An Actual Business Model

The 19bn price point that Facebook paid to acquire WhatsApp, the cross-platform messaging app last year, raised a few eyebrows. Mostly, because it was unclear how the company would monetize the free messaging platform's growing user base.

Contrary to other acquisitions by the social media giant, and the lack of immediate success, unlike Instagram, WhatsApp's revenue generation has remained a mystery and with it, so has what Facebook paid to acquired it. With a quarterly steady growth in Monthly Users and as the updates for the Messenger app become clearer with the introduction of "M", a personal concierge service that connects users to brands, it seems that that's what might be in store for the mobile-first application.

This would be a new strategy that steps away from more "traditional" forms of digital advertising and as WhatsApp is set to break the 1bn user barrier, an exciting one.

Original article
http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/04/still-not-hatin/#.dc3kwd:HkuR