Pandora is starting a new advertising service that would allow political organizations and candidates to target the majority of the Internet radio service’s listeners based on their likely voting preferences. Pandora is doing this by comparing election results with subscribers’ ZIP Codes and musical preferences. Then Pandora is labeling subscribers’ political preferences based on their musical taste, and if an artist is more popular in a largely Republican or Democratic area. Continue reading Pandora Aims to Build Ad Revenue Based on Voting Patterns

Journalist and ETCentric community member Adrian Pennington forwarded us some interesting news about a possible live broadcasting option for Google Glass. Users of the popular app “Hang w/” can stream live video clips from iOS devices to the Hang w/ site and share the content with friends via Facebook. While the clips are currently limited to streams of three, six, or nine minutes — the technology could possibly be used in the future by Google Glass users for longer broadcasts. Continue reading Live Broadcasting Mobile App Possible Option for Google Glass

YouTube is poised to be one of Google’s biggest assets with potential for billions of dollars in ad revenue, and the video site now has new leadership tasked with making that a reality. Long-time Google exec Susan Wojcicki, formerly SVP of advertising and commerce and one of the company’s earliest employees, is reported to be the new SVP in charge of YouTube. The video site has more viewers than any other like it, and it will be Wojcicki’s job to compete more with TV for ad dollars. Continue reading YouTube Gets New Leadership in its Quest for Ad Domination

If Cisco’s predictions are correct, wearable technology is about to experience a massive growth spurt. The company projects that by 2018, 177 million wearables will make a sizeable contribution to the amount of data consumed around the world. In its annual report on mobile broadband growth, Cisco projects the 10 billion mobile connections around the world will blast through 190 exabytes of data — 11 times the amount consumed in 2013. Continue reading Cisco Predicts Massive Increase in Data Consumption by 2018

Since YouTube simplified its model of ad revenue sharing by letting content producers merely click a button to opt in, it’s seen a sharp increase in the numbers of creators and content — and, subsequently, revenue. A growing number of video producers are earning their livings from the site, though many say YouTube’s substantial cut of the advertising profits makes it less lucrative than what their videos are worth and how much time is spent producing them. Continue reading YouTube Content Creators Question Ad Revenue Sharing Value

Although many have thought that phones are largely used to consume short form content, stats recently released by BuzzFeed suggest otherwise. More than 50 percent of BuzzFeed’s traffic now comes from mobile devices. Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith believes this is partly due to the form factor of mobile devices. They feature a simple singular screen that allows the reader to infinitely scroll through an article without any disruptions, similar to a regular page of a book.  Continue reading BuzzFeed: Consumers Reading Longer Stories on Their Phones

While the distinction between paid advertising and editorial content online can sometimes seem blurred, it was recently suggested that Microsoft was paying Machinima partners to post videos featuring the Xbox One. Machinima’s UK community manager revealed in a tweet (that is now deleted) that video partners were receiving an additional $3 per thousand views for videos featuring the Xbox One. In a related story, Electronic Arts is said to be taking a similar approach with its Ronku program. Continue reading Some Question Stealth Marketing Approach for the Xbox One

Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has quickly transformed from a quirky website into a social media base used by one-fifth of American adults. To continue nurturing this growth, Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann has announced a new business model that will finally start to generate revenue. Pinterest plans to charge advertisers for promoting their products on the site. An analyst at Wedbush Securities believes this has the potential to earn Pinterest more than $500 million in 2016.  Continue reading Pinterest CEO Unveils Revenue Growth Plan for the New Year

Spotify has removed streaming time limits for all users. The company announced last week that it would offer unlimited free music streaming via the platform’s desktop app and on the Web. The move follow’s last month’s announcement that Spotify would offer free shuffled music streaming to its phone and tablet apps. Less than 24 hours after Spotify announced lifting its time restriction, competitor Rdio revealed that it would do the same in the United States. Continue reading Free Music Streaming from Spotify and Rdio is Now Unlimited

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal filed by broadcasters against the Aereo online TV service. Disney’s ABC, CBS Broadcasting, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox are among those who argue that Barry Diller-backed Aereo violates copyrights by using tiny antennas to access broadcast signals without paying fees. Media companies appealed a decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April that denied their request to shutter Aereo while legal issues are being addressed. Continue reading Broadcasters Head to Supreme Court in Battle Against Aereo

During the Yahoo keynote presentation, CEO Marissa Mayer announced a mobile acquisition, introduced a number of new products and services, and entertained the crowd with a “Saturday Night Live” skit featuring actual “SNL” performers. Mayer announced that Yahoo now has more than 400 million monthly mobile users, a figure which excludes social network Tumblr, purchased last year. Tuesday’s presentation was largely about simplifying Yahoo’s business and a focus on content creation and related advertising. Continue reading Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer Introduces New Content and Ad Products

TV commerce firm Delivery Agent will team with H&M to boost sales via the retailer’s upcoming Super Bowl commercial. H&M’s 30-second spot will feature the spring collection of David Beckham Bodywear. Delivery Agent’s tech will allow viewers to purchase products in the commercial through a special app. However, only a fraction of viewers will actually be able to use it, since the purchasing app only works with 2012 and 2013 Samsung Smart TVs connected to the Internet.  Continue reading ShopTV App: Beckham Bodywear to Sell During Super Bowl Spot

The team behind popular contact- and file-sharing app Bump and photo-aggregating app Flock announced this week they will be shutting down the apps to continue work on other projects inside Google. Bump, acquired by Google in September, will no longer be available by the end of this month. Bump and Flock users are encouraged to export all their data by following the instructions that become available when opening either of the apps. Continue reading Google Shuts Down Bump App: Users Have January to Save Data

We recently reported that Gracenote would introduce ad targeting to terrestrial radio consumers in an effort to make radio ads in vehicles more relevant through personalization (the company is expected to promote its next-gen automotive platform at CES). Sony, which acquired Gracenote in 2008, recently agreed to sell the audio-recognition software business to focus on fewer products. In a deal that highlights the growing importance of metadata, the Tribune Company will pay Sony $170 million for the subsidiary. Continue reading Sony Agrees to Sell Gracenote to Tribune Co. for $170 Million

Facebook is positioned to become the number-two seller of digital ads in the U.S. and worldwide for the first time. Mobile growth has been the primary contributing factor to the social network’s rise in position — which had previously been fourth place. Now, Facebook is between Google, at number one, and Microsoft, at number three. Mobile advertising was just three percent of global digital ad revenue in 2010 and has shot up to 22 percent since. Continue reading Facebook to Become the Second Largest Seller of Mobile Ads