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Google Quietly Invests Over $100 Million in Zynga, Readying Google Games

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5584118/google-quietly-invests-over-100-million-in-zynga-readying-google-games

Google Quietly Invests Over 0 Million in Zynga, Readying Google GamesWhoa. TechCrunch reports that Google has invested between $100 and $200 million in Zynga, the social gaming behemoth behind Farmville, Mafia Wars, and others, in preparation for the launch of Google Games later this year.

TechCrunch’s “multiple sources” say that Google itself, not its venture capital division Google Ventures, has invested between $100 and $200 million in Zynga, a huge power play presumably with the aim of eroding Facebook’s social media dominance.

It seems that Google sees Zynga as the best way to hit the ground running with Google Games, a social gaming service from the search company that’s set to launch later this year. TechCrunch points to this job opening for “Product Management Leader, Games” at their Mountain View campus as proof that we’ll be seeing a lot more about Google’s move into gaming in the near future.

With Google Me, the company’s purported Facebook killer, continuing to take shape, this major investment in Zynga is just further proof that Google is making a very serious effort to hit Facebook where it hurt, namely, the farms. [TechCrunch]

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Monday, July 12th, 2010 news No Comments

Blockbuster’s Last Gasp to Occur in 2011 [Rip]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5584255/analyst-blockbusters-last-gasp-to-occur-in-2011

Analyst: Blockbuster's Last Gasp to Occur in 2011Blockbuster? We knew it was dying, courtesy Redbox, Netflix and the changing ways people consume their entertainment, but when will it finally expire? Probably next year, according to one analyst and the company’s own balance sheet. Updated.

It’s a balance sheet that’s continually losing money, with the latest blow coming last quarter, when Blockbuster bled $65 million, reported 24/7 Wall St analyst Douglas A. McIntyre. Life’s become so dire, in fact, that Blockbuster is mulling Chapter 11 to eliminate debt.

While the remaining 6,000 stores is nothing to sneeze at (my late hometown one not amongst them), there is precedence for massive, simultaneous closures in rival Movie Gallery. That company had 2,400 stores, you see, and it shuttered them all back in February.

Ending on a positive note, the company could have a Redbox/Netflix hybrid future with its existing supermarket kiosks and mail service. So here’s hoping that happens, some people can keep their jobs, and Blockbuster’s predicted “demise” in 2011 is merely a metamorphosis into something a bit leaner and meaner. Competition is good, and all that.

Update: Reader Josh writes in with an additional bit of depressing news for Blockbuster:

[W]hen considering the future of Blockbuster kiosks, Blockbuster doesn’t actually own any of kiosks. NCR owns and operates all of them. Blockbuster just gets a small licensing royalty for them. So, Blockbuster definitely doesn’t have a chance at sustaining itself on those kiosks.

Ho hum. [Yahoo via Neatorama]

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Monday, July 12th, 2010 news No Comments

Google Rolling Out "Google Me," Their Facebook Killer, Very Soon [Unconfirmed]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573953/rumor-google-rolling-out-google-me-their-facebook-killer-very-soon

Well this is kinda wacky. Citing a “very credible source,” Digg founder Kevin Rose tweeted that Google is readying “Google Me,” a social service intended to go toe-to-toe (face-to-face?) with Facebook. It’s like Google stalking, but official, and thus marginally less creepy!

Google Buzz, their most recent foray into social networking, was not a resounding success (read: total privacy shitshow) and I imagine there’s some lingering skepticism about Google’s ability to actually keep all of its users information on lockdown.

Then again, they already know just about everything there is to know about you, so maybe it’d be easier to forget Facebook altogether and just click a button in Gmail that says, “Yes! Cull your extensive records to make a “Google Me” profile in my best image, selectively including the photographs and personal interests likeliest to get me laid.” Kidding, kidding, I promise that’s not what I’m all about. Seriously! Google me! [Kevin Rose via Runnin Scared and SF Weekly]

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Sunday, June 27th, 2010 news 1 Comment

When ads invade license plates, you know the end is near

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5568729/california-license-plates-to-become-electronic-billboards

California License Plates Are the Next Electronic BillboardsYou probably paid a bit too much for your car, but you know what would really be the cherry on top of that upgraded paint job? A mini electronic advertisement that’s completely out of your control!

The California Legislature is considering a bill that would begin the research process of digital license plates—license plates that would replace age-old stamped metals. From what we can tell, the system would display your normal license plate number whenever your car was in motion. But stop for four seconds, and the plate switches over to advertise a service or product.

Of course, politicians are quick to remind the public, the ad revenue for a state that’s $19 billion in debt is only a small reason for turning every citizen’s car into a cheesy mobile billboard. Drivers will also be able to further customize the plates with personalized messages and support for their favorite sports teams.

It’ll be a tragedy when California eventually falls into the ocean, but I’ll tell you, the state is really taking proactive steps in shortening the mandatory 3-week mourning period. [MercuryNews]

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Monday, June 21st, 2010 news No Comments

ABC’s subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/27/abcs-subscription-video-plans-leaked-in-consumer-survey/

5 27 10 abc600water ABCs subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey?

At Engadget HQ, we take great care not to trumpet the claims of a web survey, as it’s always difficult to tell who’s actually doing the surveying — and even if we could, consumer surveys are all about a “what if” that may never actually come to pass. That said, it looks like maybe ABC is conducting a study asking folks whether they’d be interested in a subscription to an ABC.com streaming video service, and maybe that service might have a wide variety ABC shows, past and present, fully on-demand. Sound familiar? Interestingly, the subscription would seem to be offered alongside the existing free service, and both paid and free would have advertising, though reduced by 20 percent for those coughing up the fee. You can find a list of potentially potential shows included in the gallery below, forwarded to us by an anonymous tipster; we tried to take the survey ourselves, but were promptly rejected for our love of FlashForward.

Gallery: ABC’s streaming subscription service survey?

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ABC’s subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, May 28th, 2010 news No Comments

Offermatic Gives You Sizeable Discounts Based on Your Spending Habits

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5532835/offermatic-gives-you-sizeable-discounts-based-on-your-spending-habits

Offermatic Gives You Sizeable Discounts Based on Your Spending HabitsThe best discounts are for things you actually buy. Free web service Offermatic uses your credit card, through the same back-end as Mint.com, to offer 40-90 percent discounts on products similar to what you’ve already purchased.

If you’re not squeamish about providing financial information to financial scanning sites like Mint.com, Offermatic is a pretty sweet deal. You register your credit cards with Offermatic through their secure system, which then scans your purchases and spits back out high-discount offers from their advertisers, made to match your interests. You won’t necessarily get coupons for the exact stores you shop at, but the examples seem to be highly related.

Depending on how much you spend, you can also make up to $15 a year back per card (though, to be honest, we’re not about to spend $1,000 a month just to get $15 back at the end of the year, and we wouldn’t recommend you do either). But getting 40-90 percent off some pretty popular stores isn’t bad for a free service. For the folks on the fence about how Offermatic makes their cut, here’s what their FAQ has to say:

  • If your service is free, how do you make money?
    We make money by saving you money. We get a commission from the advertiser when our users purchase their offer through us.
  • Do you sell my personal or individual data?
    Never. When we send you an offer from one of our advertisers, it’s based on your anonymous purchase history. Advertisers do not know your name, email address, or location. Only if you choose to purchase an offer will that information be provided to the offer merchant so you can redeem the offer with them. We do not – and will not – provide or sell any personally identifiable information in order to present you an offer.

So, if you’re less than frightened about card-watching sites like Mint or Blippy, Offermatic is a deal you’ll want to take a closer look at.

Offermatic [via TechCrunch]

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Friday, May 7th, 2010 news No Comments

Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/07/mark-cuban-foretells-netflix-demise-sees-a-future-filled-with-o/

10x0507m3uibhcyuba Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on demand video

To call Mark Cuban eccentric would be akin to describing the ocean as wet, but what’s not so often acknowledged about the Dallas Mavericks owner is the sharp mind and commercial nous that have gotten him to the position of hiring and firing millionaire ball players. One of Mark’s recent blog posts, entitled “The future of TV … is TV,” got the attention of NewTeeVee, who sought to debunk his contention that VOD (video on demand) services from cable operators would become the primary means by which we consume digital media in the future. They cite the growing success story of Netflix’s digital distribution model, as well as the 12 million hours of March Madness video consumed via CBS’ web portal, in arguing that web streaming is indeed the great new hotness.

Mark’s response tackles Netflix head on, and points out that the company’s rapid growth is about to start working against it, with movie studios and other content providers likely to jack up prices and demand further concessions from the streaming service as it turns into a real competitor to cable companies. According to him, Netflix is presently getting its content at prices that are unsustainable, and his prognostication is that content owners seeking bigger levies — together with the expansion of VOD choice, which he sees as foolproof compared to the overwhelming complexity that web streaming entails — will lead to Netflix passing costs on to the consumers and losing out to cable operators. Irrespective of whether you agree with him, the whole exchange is well worth a read. Use the links below to get filled in.

Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, May 7th, 2010 news 1 Comment

Twitter gains mass awareness but usage remains light

AWARENESS

2010 – 87% awareness

2009 – 24% awareness

2008 – 5% awareness

USAGE

2010

- 1,500 million pageviews per month (71 pageviews per month avg)

- 162 million visits per month (8 visits per month avg)

- 21 million unique visitors per month

Arbitron Figures

2010 – 7% active users (use at least once per month)

2009 – 2% active users

Source: http://www.digidaydaily.com/stories/digital-content-today-arbitron-posts-twitter-numbers

Digital Content Today: Arbitron Posts Twitter Numbers

Media usage tracking company is reporting some surprising numbers on Twitter usage. According to a report in RadioInk, a webinar fromArbitron/Edison Research revealed that 87% of Americans are now aware of Twitter, up from 24% in 2009 and just 5% when the question was first asked, in 2008. But in looking at how many Americans are active users of Twitter — defined as using the service at least once a month — that figure came in at 7%, or about 17 million people, up from 2% in 2009.

Those are huge numbers to be sure, but less that what the blogosphere and assumed ubiquity of Twitter actually seems to be. Edison VP/Strategy & Marketing Tom Webster said awareness of Twitter has soared over a very short period. Webster compared Twitter usage to that of Facebook, the “10-ton gorilla” of social networking, with about six times as many users as Twitter although awareness of the services is roughly equal, and said, “Given that awareness per se is not a constraint, I think the smartest thing you can say about this particular graph is that Twitter has yet to articulate its value to mainstream Americans.”

Arbiron/Edson says that 18% of active Twitter users access the service several times a day and 15 % report they use it at least once a day, while 22% say they’re on Twitter at least once a month. But more than half — 53% — of active Twitter users don’t post tweets themselves and are instead, Webster said, “driven to go there as consumers of broadcast content.”

Other data:
•    About 51 % of active Twitter users are white, 24% are African American — about twice the percentage of African Americans in the general population. The study speculated that African Americans may use Twitter more “conversationally” than other users.
•    About 19% saying they’re “among the first” to buy or try new products, compared to 10 % of the population as a whole. 25% say they buy or try products before others, but not first.
•    They’re also inclined to access the Internet from several locations, and 63% access social networking from a mobile phone, compared to 35 % of all social-network users. And for Twitter users, Webster said, SMS is “pretty much like oxygen”: 92% use SMS, and 73% text multiple times a day.
•    About 42% of monthly Twitter users say they use the service to learn about products and services, and 41% use it to post their own opinions about products, while 31 % seek others’ opinions.

Active Twitter users report spending four hours a day online, compared to about two hours for the general population. But, Webster noted, “the other media here aren’t proportionately lower.” Twitterers spend two hours, 41 minutes a day with radio, compared to two hours, five minutes for the general population, and they spend three hours, 22 minutes with TV, compared to three hours, 25 minutes.

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Monday, May 3rd, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Music Downloads and Streams In Cold, Hard Dollars

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5516791/music-downloads-and-streams-in-cold-hard-dollars

Music Downloads and Streams In Cold, Hard DollarsJust how much moolah do musicians earn from online downloads and streams? For the artist to earn the US minimum wage ($1,160/month), they need 12,339 iTunes downloads or 849,817 streams on Rhapsody.

Lady Gaga apparently made just $167 from 1 million streams of Poker Face on Spotify—to earn minimum wage from that service, an artist needs 4,549,020 streams, according to statistics. Brain-fodder for the aspiring musician, for sure. [Information Is Beautiful]

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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 Uncategorized No Comments

AdAge: AOL to Sell or Shut Down Bebo in 2010

Move Comes Just Two Years After Portal Spent $850 Million to Acquire Social Network
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — AOL will shut down social-networking service Bebo if it can’t find a buyer, the company said in a memo to staff on Tuesday.
arrow AdAge: AOL to Sell or Shut Down Bebo in 2010 FULL ARTICLE

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Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 Uncategorized No Comments