According to a recent report from Strata, a provider of ad systems for media buyers and sellers, Facebook continued to dominate the social media advertising sector with 89 percent of advertisers planning to incorporate the social network into their clients’ campaigns.
Facebook is followed by Twitter at 39 percent, YouTube at 36 percent, LinkedIn at 21 percent and Google Plus at 18 percent.
Strata reports that mobile advertising rose 39 percent from Q3 to Q4, with 83 percent of agencies targeting the iPhone.
“Many advertisers are confident that their business and the economy will return to a strong period by midyear. That sentiment, coupled with strong numbers from the political race, provides an overall positive barometer for advertising in 2012,” explained John Shelton, president and CEO of Strata.
In a related story posted by The Next Web, Hitwise reports that Facebook accounted for 1 in every 5 page views during January, adding that the average visit time was 20 minutes.
“The scary part is that as more people start setting up their Timeline on Facebook, the time on site will increase even more…If that trend continues, people will literally spend hours of their time just giving Facebook every piece of data they have on themselves,” suggests TNW.
According to comScore, Amazon’s fourth quarter growth of 35 percent more than doubled the overall e-commerce market growth, which increased 14 percent in Q4.
The comparison is slightly skewed because Amazon’s results include international sales and mobile phone purchases, which comScore doesn’t track. Even so, Wall Street had estimated a 40 percent growth from the 2010 fourth quarter.
AllThingsD posted several notable findings from comScore’s report:
“The fourth quarter represented the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, and fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates.”
“For the entire year 2011, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13 percent increase from 2010.”
“The categories that grew by at least 18 percent year over year: Digital content and subscriptions, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, toys and hobbies, and computer software.”
“10 days in Q4 surpassed $1 billion in online spending.”
“52 percent of e-commerce transactions included free shipping, representing an all-time high.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan denied a preliminary injunction requested by EMI which would have shut down ReDigi, a site that “resells” digital music.
The ruling means that this case will go to trial and most likely test the concept of digital reselling that ReDigi claims is protected under the “First Sale” doctrine (the doctrine is typically used for the sale of CDs, vinyl records, DVDs and other physical media).
ReDigi scans a user’s hard drive and deletes the music the individual wants to sell. However, the CEO acknowledges there’s no way to know if the person has a copy on another drive.
EMI asserts that ReDigi must make digital copies of the music, which is unauthorized and a violation of copyright law.
If the court rules that it is legal to resell music, it could lead to the reselling of digital movies as well.
Panasonic has announced two new compact cameras designed for rugged conditions.
“The baby of the two is the Lumix TS20, a slimline 16.1-megapixel camera that also offers 720p video recording, is waterproof to 5 meters, shockproof to 1.5 meters, dustproof and even freeze-proof to temperatures as low as 14 degrees F/-10 degrees C,” reports Digital Trends.
The Lumix TS4 is Panasonic’s “top-of-the-line” rugged digital camera, priced at $399 (available in March).
“For this you get a 12.1-megapixel Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens with a 4.6x optical zoom, plus the advanced LSI Venus image processing engine,” explains the post. “The TS4 offers 1080p video recording, a panorama mode and a cool time-lapse setting for recording something changing over a longer period of time.”
Digital Trends asks if this is the direction camera manufacturers should take in order to differentiate their compact cameras from the new crop of smartphones that feature improved camera capabilities. “While there are several rugged smartphones — the Motorola Defy for example — they don’t offer the same degree of camera performance as the TS20 or TS4. [Last week] Sony also announced several new compact cameras, choosing to upgrade the sensors and software without increasing the prices.”
As promised during January’s CES, Vizio is getting ready to launch its new line of ultrawide LCDs.
Vizio’s XVT 3D CinemaWide LCD TV will start at $3,499 for the 58-inch HDTV model (50-inch and 71-inch models are also scheduled).
The new set will feature “its trademark 21:9 aspect ratio (compared to a traditional HDTV’s 16:9) and 2560×1080 resolution,” says Engadget. “It also has an array of specs, measuring the 120Hz Edge LED lit screen at 56.7-inches wide by 29-inches high and 1.8-inches deep.”
Good news for college basketball fans: Vizio says the first set will launch prior to March Madness.
The post includes a 1-minute video promo for Vizio CinemaWide HDTV.
Reuters has launched a new social media dashboard called Social Pulse for following its reporters and providing readers with social data.
“The new tools…connect readers directly with journalists, rank CEOs in social media based on their ‘influence,’ track online discussion of top public companies and pull together the outside content being shared with Reuters’ staff,” reports Advertising Age.
“We really wanted to highlight the great work our journalists are doing on Twitter, so we built a directory that lets users find our reporters, bloggers and editors by category and location so you can drill down to business journalists in India or tech writers in the UK,” explained Alex Leo, director of new products at Reuters.
Sharing content and following reporters on Twitter have become must-have features for news outlets, but Reuters hopes its new Social Pulse tools will provide more than that by powering editorial products.
“Our audience is made up of sophisticated news users, who are not just interested in what’s trending on Twitter but how social can inform their business lives. We set out with the goal of using social media in a way they would find both innovative and addictive,” Ms. Leo said.
Wildfire Interactive surveyed 700 marketers and found that 97 percent say social media marketing delivers positive results for their brands.
According to the survey, 88 percent said social media helps boost brand awareness, 85 percent cited an increase in customer engagement, and 58 percent said social tools generate sales and partnerships.
“It has opened up this whole public communications channel, where we can get great feedback,” said Lindsay Tiles, director of corporate public relations at Charles Schwab. “We’re trying to get people out of the mindset that social media is just for pushing your messages out. It is about communicating, but it’s also about listening.”
“While marketers look at the overall benefits of social media, they are also drilling deeper to determine the value of Facebook fans in particular,” suggests eMarketer. “Among respondents to Wildfire’s survey, 44 percent said Facebook fans are valuable because they help with new customer recruitment. Additionally, 18 percent said Facebook fans have higher conversion rates and another 18 percent noted that they make more frequent purchases.”
“Of those surveyed, 24 percent said they measure the ROI of social media by looking at increases in revenue,” adds the article. “Additionally, 38 percent said they count increased ‘likes,’ comments and interactions on Facebook.”
CNET provides a helpful overview of 4K resolution technology and what we should expect for future TVs. “As if LED and 3D TV weren’t confusing enough, 2012 and beyond will bring an HDTV technology called 4K. It’s being heralded as the next high-def, and manufacturers are already lining up to bring you products.”
The article is quick to point out consumer 4K content is not yet available, but that doesn’t stop the industry from describing the technology as “the last resolution you’ll ever need.”
“Though there are several different standards, ‘4K’ in general refers to a resolution of roughly 4,000 pixels wide and about 2,000 pixels high,” reports CNET. “That makes it the equivalent of four 1080p screens in height and length.”
The article addresses Digital Cinema, 4K standards in theaters and the home, the potential for an improved 3D experience, and expectations for the future of 4K.
CNET concludes: “Even with reference-quality native 4K material, however, a 4K-resolution TV or projector won’t provide nearly the visible improvement over a standard 1080p model that going from standard-def to high-def did. To appreciate it you’ll have to sit quite close to a large screen — sort of like being in the front few rows of a movie theater. But whether it’s 4K or 8K, you can bet that manufacturers haven’t run out of cards when it comes to trying out the next ‘must-have’ feature in the coming crops of televisions.”
The post also includes a video report from CES: “TV technologies that you’ll want next.”
Steve Appleton (51), chairman and CEO of memory chip maker Micron Technology (which makes products under the Lexar and Crucial brands), passed away Friday after his plane crashed at the Boise Airport in Idaho.
“According to the Idaho Press, Appleton was flying alone in ‘an experimental fixed wing single engine Lancair’ aircraft. Just after takeoff from Boise Airport, Appleton told air traffic controllers that he needed to return,” reports Digital Trends.
He announced he was turning back to land, just before losing control of the aircraft and crashing.
Appleton began at Micron in 1983 and was named CEO in 1994. At 34, he was the third youngest CEO in the Fortune 500.
“He lived life to the fullest, and while he enjoyed great success in business and in life, he never lost his intensity or his drive,” said Idaho governor Clement Otter.
Mark Durcan, Micron’s president and chief operating officer, will take on Appleton’s responsibilities until the company’s board of directors appoints a successor.
Google has requested permission from the FCC to test a new “entertainment device” in the homes of some of its employees in four cities over the next six months.
According to an FCC application Google submitted in December, the device would be Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled.
Google asked to test 252 devices between mid-January and July in Mountain View, CA; Cambridge, MA; New York and Los Angeles.
“While details of what the actual device is aren’t included in the application, it almost certainly has something to do with Google TV,” reports VentureBeat. “Using the data transfer process described in the application, the device could be a way for people to grab video content from the Internet and distribute it to all the other mobile devices.”
The posts includes the full description from the FCC application.
“Skype for Windows version 5.8 is out, bringing several interesting features, including full HD video-calling, group screen sharing and Facebook integration,” reports Mashable
The new video calling functionality for Facebook works even with social networkers who don’t use Skype. According to the post: “To start a video call with a Facebook buddy, select the person in your list and click ‘video call.'”
Group screen sharing is available with Skype Premium and allows users to share their screen or an application window with others on a conference call.
Also new: full HD video calls, a push-to-talk hotkey, the ability to hide offline Facebook contacts and Bing toolbar integration. Additionally, the new version claims to address several bugs, “including the one that prevented you from adding a phone number to a group which belonged to a Facebook contact.”
Just three days before the Super Bowl, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shut down more than 300 websites that illegally live stream sports telecasts and allegedly sell counterfeit sports merchandise.
Sixteen of the sites reportedly provided links to pirated versions of live and PPV events for the NFL, NBA, NHL and World Wrestling Entertainment.
“Sports fans may be tempted by illegal streaming websites, but in the end, it is they who pay the price,” explained Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “These websites and their operators deprive sports leagues and networks of legitimate revenue, forcing spectators and viewers to bear the cost of this piracy down the line.”
“The sweeping crackdown, part of an effort dubbed ‘Operation Fake Sweep’ that launched in October, was coordinated with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team,” reports POLITICO Pro.
A similar operation shut down the domains of 10 sites prior to last year’s Super Bowl, but some of the sites reappeared using new Web addresses.
Based on Internet interviews with 7,000 participants, Centris Research suggests that 21 percent of pay TV subscribers plan to make changes in their current services.
About 10 percent say they want to reduce their monthly bills, 8 percent plan to switch providers and 3 percent plan to cancel their service.
The availability of Internet-based video streaming services is steering the decisions of only 10 percent of those who plan changes.
“It is Centris’ view that defending market share will become increasingly difficult for pay TV providers with increased levels of competition and new over-the-top viewing options,” said Centris president Bill Beaumont. “Enhanced pricing and bundling strategies, as well as effective use of elasticity programs, will need to be deployed to successfully compete.”
Asus plans to unveil a redesigned PadFone tablet and phone combo later this month at Mobile World Congress in Spain.
The new device “is essentially a 10.1-inch tablet that has a slot for a 4.3-inch Asus smartphone to plug into it,” explains Digital Trends. “The processor, which is rumored to be a new Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, and other components all come from the phone.”
It will run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and will have the option of connecting to the Asus Transformer Prime keyboard dock.
“The real question here is how cheap it’s all going to be,” suggests the post. “The PadFone is already somewhat expensive since you have to buy the phone and the tablet to really make use of it. If the phone costs $200-$300 (and hopefully it has LTE), then we can’t imagine people wanting to pay more than $100-$150 for the dock.”
Nicira claims its network virtualization platform (NVP) can create virtual networks in minutes, rather than days or weeks. The concept is similar to creating multiple virtual machines on a single PC.
These NVPs are software-based, do not require any additional hardware and can run on any existing network hardware. The only requirement is IP connectivity.
“On Monday the company is officially taking the wraps off its plans,” reports AllThingsD. “Nicira — which I’m told is pronounced like ‘nice era’ — aims to be the vendor of a new networking technology that’s built specifically for the age of cloud computing.”
AT&T, eBay, Fidelity Investments, Rackspace and NTT are already using Nicira. NTT reportedly used it to switch 10,000 virtual machines to other data centers to deal with blackouts that have occurred since last year’s earthquake.
A virtual network would have the potential to significantly impact current network vendors like Cisco, Juniper and HP.
