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There Is No Difference in Usage Between Unlimited Data Plans and Tiered Data Plans [Data]
Hey Carriers. We need to talk. You know how you said you were going to start throttling high data usage users in hopes to preserve bandwidth? That’s bullshit, apparently. It’s only because you want to get us onto tiered data plans so you can charge us overages. With hate, everyone.
Seriously. Validas, an analytics firm, analyzed 50,000 cellphone bills from AT&T and Verizon to see if throttling was a necessary evil to conserve bandwidth. However, the numbers point to no. Instead, Validas guesstimates that it’s because carriers would rather have us on tiered data plans for the overage fees. According to Validas:
“When we look at the top 5% of data users, there is virtually no difference in data consumption between those on unlimited and those on tiered plans — and yet the unlimited consumers are the ones at risk of getting their service turned off. So it’s curious that anyone would think the throttling here represents a serious effort at alleviating network bandwidth issues. After all, Sprint does seemingly fine maintaining non-throttled unlimited data for its customers.”
The point being, throttling the Top 5% of unlimited data users seems to be unnecessary because the Top 5% are using the same amount of data on their tiered plans anyway. Go figure, carriers trying to squeeze a dime out of a nickel. [BGR]
A Truly Embarrassing Chart For Wall Street Stock Analysts
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-chart-shows-why-wall-street-stock-ratings-are-a-joke-2012-2
Only five percent of ratings on companies in the S&P 500 are sell ratings.
That’s right: 95 percent of ratings tell investors to hold or buy and only 5 percent say you should sell.
The following chart comes from FactSet via Cullen Roche:
Henry Blodget recently offered a few reasons why you rarely see sell ratings:
- Most stocks–especially growth stocks–generally trend up over the long haul, so saying SELL often means betting against the odds and/or making a short-term timing call.
- Stocks with excellent fundamentals don’t often go down just because they’re “expensive”–instead, they just get more expensive. So saying “SELL” based solely on valuation often sets the analyst up to be wrong.
- The lack of SELL ratings makes SELL ratings sound like a complete condemnation of the company, to the point where it seems the analyst has a vendetta against it. The more polite way to tell people to sell, most folks on Wall Street whisper, is to say “hold”–or just ignore the stock altogether.
- The issuance of a SELL rating often drives a stock down, hurting investors who own it. These investors will not usually say “thank you.” Instead, they’ll want your head.
- Most investors are long-only, meaning they can only buy stocks, not short them. Thus, “SELL” ratings are only useful to hedge funds and investors who already own stocks.
- Most companies refuse to talk to analysts who hit them with SELL ratings, thus reducing the analyst’s ability to gather information about the company.
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See Also:
- The Nationwide Mortgage Settlement Protects Banks From Some Litigation, But Here’s Where They’re Still Exposed
- PRESENTING: The Most ‘Liked’ Wall Street CEOs
- SHOCKER: Wall Streeters Are Juicing To Be Better At Their Jobs
Verizon and Redbox team up to launch streaming and physical media service later this year
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/06/verizon-and-redbox-team-up/
It once was a rumor but now it’s real: Verizon and Redbox are joining forces on what is said to be the “best of both worlds” — a service that will offer both physical media and streaming content for subscribers. Details are slim at this point but the supposed “Project Zoetrope” will offer DVD and Blu-ray media in addition to on-demand streaming plus downloadable content. The Netflix-like service will be launching in the second half of this year and, while “multi-platform” support for “devices” is mentioned, it’s not stated whether any of those will be non-Verizon. Though, Big Reds’ claims that it will “erase all technological boundaries” does make us slightly optimistic. Still, we’ll have to wait a few more months to know for sure.
[Thanks, Kevin]
Verizon and Redbox team up to launch streaming and physical media service later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I Don’t Think I Want Polaroid’s Android Point And Shoot Camera Yet [Cameras]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5875014/i-dont-think-i-want-polaroids-android-point-and-shoot-camera-yet
Polaroid is trying to stay relevant in the digital age with a camera that’s an Android mashup with a 3x optical zoom, 720p video, a 16 MB sensor and, well, a lot of head scratch.
The Android OS that powers the phone does have interesting capabilities—you’ll be able to edit photos on the fly, for example. And while it’s got WiFi and Bluetooth, there’s no always-on Internet connection, which makes it a little puzzling to me, as it’s not meant to replace your phone, and I’m not sure a 3x optical zoom is worth carrying two devices for, given how fantastic some of today’s phone cam capabilities are.
But. There was one really interesting thing about this camera that I’d love to see Polaroid is in talks with carriers to add data capabilities. It doesn’t have any yet, so this was really vague. But it’s likely going to have some sort of 3G capabilities at launch. I’d love to see that happen, and I’d love to see it get a speaker (right now while it has a microphone, it does not have a speaker). Combine data, a great camera, and Android and you’ve got a pretty great little go-anywhere VOIP phone that won’t force you to lock in a monthly minutes plan.
In any case, this thing will be out in the Fall, maybe with a data plan. No pricing. Could be interesting. Could be very much not so.
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Even Walmart Is Snapping Up Social Media Companies (WMT)
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/even-walmart-is-snapping-up-social-media-companies-2012-1
Walmart wants to transform itself into a social media retail mega player and it’s backing that desire by investing millions of dollars into its young, little-known development lab, @WalmartLabs.
Born in April with the $300 million purchase of Kosmix, @WalmartLabs today announced its fourth acquisition, a mobile app company called Small Society known for writing apps for clients like the Democratic National Committee and Starbucks.
@WalmartLabs had previously bought mobile point-of-sale app maker Grapple. It also snapped up location-aware mobile ad company OneRiot.
The co-founders of Kosmix, Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman, are the leaders of Walmart Labs. Each has been granted the title of senior vice president of Walmart Global eCommerce and head of @WalmartLabs.
Their goal is to have Walmart create the next great shopping experience by melding physical stores with online search and social media input.
“We are at an inflection point in the development of ecommerce. The first generation of ecommerce was about bringing the store to the web. The next generation will be about building integrated experiences that leverage the store, the web, and mobile, with social identity being the glue that binds the experience,” said Anand Rajaraman in a blog post when @WalmarLabs was launched.
Using what it calls its “Social Genome” applications, it scans Twitter and other social sites to seek out and analyze consumer trends. The team is also writing mobile apps for shoppers.
What’s interesting is that Walmart would rather build its own than use some of the many social media tools for retailers already on the market, even from big IT companies like Oracle and IBM.
So far the group has launched a classic iPhone and iPad shopping app and one called ShopCat for Facebook users. ShopCat scans Facebook friends’ profiles to recommend gifts for them from Walmart, RedEnvelope, Barnes & Noble, and ThinkGeek.
But the team clearly has bigger plans for changing the way everyday people shop for everyday items. And it looks like @WalmartLabs has only just begun: it’s got a career section 25 jobs long.
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See Also:
- After Three Years Of Bootstrapping, RJMetrics Raises $1.2 Million From Fab’s CEO And SoftTech
- The Newest VC Discrimination: If Your Startup Has A Small Team, Investment Is Harder To Get
- These Are The Top Paying Tech Positions In New York Right Now
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And Now You Can Use Facebook To Share Your Citibank Rewards Points With Your Friends
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/citibank-turns-rewards-into-social-currency-2012-1
NEW YORK (AP) — Credit card rewards are the new social currency.
Citibank customers can now use Facebook to pool their rewards points online.
The bank on Tuesday launched a Facebook application that lets users team up to use their points, whether it’s for charity, a group gift or a personal goal. Citi says it’s the first bank to offer such a feature.
The app builds on a service Citi introduced last year that lets customers transfer points to one another on the bank’s homepage. After getting feedback, executives decided to expand the rewards sharing capability and offer it through social media.
“Now we’re delivering it to where customers are every day,” said Ralph Andretta, who heads Citi’s loyalty programs and co-branded cards.
Andretta noted that customers will have far more flexibility with their points, whether it’s to help a friend fly home from college or team up for a big-ticket reward. The company is giving away 2,500 free rewards points to each of the first 4,000 customers to sign up.
To get started, customers download the ThankYou Point Sharing App, which is linked on Citi’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/citibank.
Customers can then start a rewards pool by naming a recipient and explaining its purpose. The recipient of the points maintains control of any contributions, so it’s best if you know and trust that person.
Pool recipients must be individuals and cannot be an organization, even if the intended goal is a charitable donation.
Users can promote their goals by sharing links on their Facebook pages or privately inviting other Citi customers to contribute. Donors can see the total number of points a cause has amassed.
The app can collect personal information from Facebook profiles. But Citi says it does not share any customer account information with Facebook.
The program isn’t only for credit card holders either. Citi checking account customers can also earn ThankYou points. Citi introduced its lineup of ThankYou credit cards last year.
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See Also:
- FLASHBACK: Remember When Wall Street Christmas Parties Were Awesome?
- The Funniest Part Of Michael Lewis’ New Column Is The Brutal Bank Of America Diss
- PAST AND PRESENT: The 11 Most Influential Women In Wall Street History
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Google Violated Its Own Evil-Free Policies While Promoting Chrome [Google]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5872566/google-violated-its-own-evil+free-policies-while-promoting-chrome
The first rule of not being evil is: don’t do things you think are evil. So it’s a shame that Google has violated its own policy by giving bloggers cash in exchanges for writing about its browser, Chrome.
Google, or perhaps more likely its advertising firm Unruly, has managed to sponsor bloggers to chew the fat over Chrome, reports SEO Book. Some of them talk about how great Chrome is for small businesses, and most contain a Google promo video.
Meh, that’s kind of fine, right? Mmm, the thing is, paid-for links to the Chrome download page would be just fine according to Google’s rules — as long as they were tagged up as “nofollow” links. That’s supposed to let PageRank know that a link was paid for so as to exclude it from search rankings.
But, uh, some of the links didn’t follow that guideline.
OK, so this isn’t too bad: it isn’t like Google is culling small kittens, granted. And it could in fact be an innocent mistake on the part of the bloggers. But what it more likely indicates is that Google is getting so large that it can’t help but trip over its own policies. And at that point, it becomes difficult to hold an entire organisation up to its existing ethical codes.
So, don’t be evil. At least, if you can remember what you mean by evil. [SEO Book via TechCrunch; Image: brionv]
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What Cliched Work Phrases Would You Retire? [Communication]
Source: http://lifehacker.com/5866409/avoid-using-these-cliched-phrases
If you’ve worked in an office, chances are you’re surrounded by people who use cliched phrases like “touch base” and “circle back” every time they’re in a meeting, delivering a presentation, or giving a speech. Whether or not these phrases once had meaning, they’ve long since lost their meaning for many. They’ve actually got the opposite effect now, because they’re so cliched. So which phrases should you avoid? Meeting Boy has a list.
Here are the top ten in his poll of 25 (hit his site to see more).
- think outside the box (16%)
- circle back (15%)
- synergy (14%)
- it is what it is (13%)
- touch base (13%)
- at the end of the day (13%)
- let’s take this offline (12%)
- low-hanging fruit (11%)
- value-added (11%)
- proactive (10%)
If you know anyone who uses these phrases feel free to show them this post. You can’t blame the words, but it’s worth keeping your language fresh and cliche-free when possible to avoid weakening the point you’re trying to make. You’ve heard my take (and Meeting Boy’s), but let’s hear your most hated work cliches.
The Most Hated Buzzword | Meeting Boy
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Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/comscore-android-continues-to-boom-rim-and-microsoft-decline/
Continue reading ComScore: Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline
ComScore: Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Days of Single Purpose Devices Are Numbered – Digital Cameras vs Cameraphones
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Dr. Augustine Fou is Digital Consigliere to marketing executives, advising them on digital strategy and Unified Marketing(tm). Dr Fou has over 17 years of in-the-trenches, hands-on experience, which enables him to provide objective, in-depth assessments of their current marketing programs and recommendations for improving business impact and ROI using digital insights.
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