Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: Main Headlines

Siri likes Nokia best

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:13:00 GMT

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Which is the best smartphone of them all? Well - according to Siri, it's the Nokia Lumia 900.

Apple's virtual assistant was caught behaving badly - when users asked "what is the best smartphone ever?" over the weekend, Siri overlooked the iPhone it calls home in favour of the Nokia Lumia 900.

"We were certainly flattered and honoured," Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson told the BBC.

To find answers to user queries, Siri makes use of the Wolfram Alpha database, which compiles data and available reviews from the internet to find information, explaining the quirk answer.

"The bottom line is that Wolfram has ratings from Best Buy, and it's not trying to weight those in any particular fashion such as number of reviews or number of purchases," Danny Sullivan told CNET.

"The Lumia rates tops on Wolfman because four people gave it 5 stars, versus 86 people who give the iPhone 4S an overall rating of 4.7."

However, as a server based application, Apple can also provide a direct answer rather than gleaning it from the database - engineers quickly twigged to Siri's bad behaviour, presumably opting to provide their own answer to the cheeky question.

Now, when users ask "what is the best smartphone ever?", Siri responds with "Wait... there are other phones?" or "The one you're holding," or "You're kidding, right?"

"Apple position Siri as the intelligent system that's there to help, but clearly if they don't like the answer, they override the software," Nokia spokeswoman Tracey Postill joked to the Sydney Morning Herald.

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Most Facebook users don't click on ads

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:36:00 GMT

Most people do not click on Facebook ads according to a new survey by CNBC and Associated Press.

Figures show 57 per cent of Facebook users never click on or use any of the commercial content on the site, as well as another 26 per cent stating that they rarely do so.

This is a blow to the social networking giant as its commercial plan for public flotation is mainly based on users responding to adverts. The CNBC/Associated Press report comes on the same day as General Motors announced they will no longer advertise on Facebook, due to the lack of impact their ad campaigns had had on users.

GM is the third biggest advertiser in America and their abandonment of Facebook as a platform shows up a major flaw in the social network's flotation strategy.

"This does highlight what we are arguing is the riskiness of the overall Facebook business model," said Brian Wieser, Internet and media analyst at Pivotal Research Group, to the Daily Telegraph.

"It is not a sure thing. It sure looks likely that it will be one of the most important ad-supported media properties, but it's not certain because there will be marketers who are challenged to prove the effectiveness of the marketing vehicle."

GM will carry on maintaining its free Facebook pages, using them to promote products and services.

Facebook will reportedly start trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. Despite the advertising strategy and revenue problems, there is strong investor demand with its offering increased by 25 per cent to raise $15 million.

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Twitter reaches 10 million UK users

Tue, 15 May 2012 02:01:00 GMT

The UK now has the fourth biggest number of Twitter users in the world after the US, Japan and Brazil. These figures were released on the one year anniversary of the opening of Twitter's London office.

According to Twitter, it now has 140 million users worldwide, with Britain having 10 million users of the service alone. 80 per cent of these users access Twitter through their mobile phones, whereas only 55 per cent of users do so worldwide. Despite the growth in Twitter use, the site is still small compared to Facebook, with 30 million UK users and 800 million users worldwide.

However, despite being smaller than its social networking competitor, Twitter has come in for some controversial press over the last year. Firstly Ryan Giggs was named on Twitter as the man in a court case covered by an injunction, and then later in the year, the website was cited as a tool for rioters across Britain.

There were claims rioters were arranging meeting points and times using Twitter, Facebook and BlackBerry Messenger. Suggestions that police could be given powers to block social media during times of unrest were also tabled.

As a result, Twitters UK general manager Tony Wang has announced the company will be hiring a public policy manager to work more closely with Parliament and the Police.

Mr Wang told the BBC they are looking to work with "the government, various ministries, members of parliament as well as law enforcement.

"There are a number of different needs that they have - and there's a lot of very unique ways that they're using Twitter."

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Twitter delivers to user inboxes

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:49:00 GMT

Twitter is taking it to the next level, and has unveiled a new 'weekly email digest' feature that will give users a summary of the biggest stories from their twitter feeds over the course of the week.

The new feature comes thanks to the microblogger's acquisition of Summify - a Vancouver start-up that gathered news from a user's social network and compiled the information into daily emails.

Users can opt into the new feature and receive emails highlighting stories and related tweets from the people they follow.

"Stories feature a design similar to the recently updated Discover tab, emphasising who shared each story beneath summaries to help you decide which ones matter most to you," Twitter Growth and International Director Othman Laraki wrote in a blog post.

"Click any headline to finish reading the story, add your take by tweeting directly from the email, and see related Tweets from the people you follow."

Speaking at the Wired conference in New York earlier this month, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo admitted "onboarding" new users was a challenge for the microblogging platform.

To combat this, the company also recently launched its new more personalised 'Discover' tab, aimed at helping users find new followers and stories based on their existing activities.

"This new email digest also features the most engaging Tweets seen by the people you follow, even if you don't follow who wrote them," Laraki continued.

"You can see who from your network retweeted or favourited these Tweets and click "View details" to retweets, favourite, reply or view the conversation around them."

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iPad adverts drop '4G' claims

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:36:00 GMT

Apple has removed any mention of "4G" from its iPad adverts due to objections from the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in the UK. 4G is currently not available in Britain and the iPad will not be compatible even when it is.

The 4G claims were included in adverts for the newest iPad back in March. This version of 4G is a technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), and is now being used in the USA. However, when LTE is eventually implemented in Britain and Europe, it will use different frequencies than the US version.

As a result, the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK received a number of complaints, and this led to the body investigating Apple's claims - the tablet maker eventually conceded and changed adverts claiming 4G capabilities.

However, the ASA had to initiate a second investigation after customers complained again that the 4G claim was being used in the iPad adverts. Apple now says it has amended the 4G terminology to remove further confusion.

"Carriers do not all refer to their high speed networks with the same terminology," Apple said in a statement, reported by the BBC.

"Therefore we've decided to use 'wi-fi + cellular' as a simple term which describes all the high speed networks supported by the new iPad.

"The advanced wireless features of the new iPad have not changed," it added.

A spokesman for the ASA told the BBC that it had been working closely with Apple to alter the iPad's advertising accordingly.

"We will be checking the amendments to ensure they adhere to the Advertising Code," he said.

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Thompson out, Levinsohn in at Yahoo

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:25:00 GMT

Disgraced Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has stepped down after a paltry four months at the helm and has been replaced by the company's global media head Ross Levinsohn.

His abrupt departure comes following a major embarrassment for the flagging internet giant, after 'errors' appeared on Thompson's biography in a regulatory filing - the incident prompted shareholder Daniel Loeb to call for yet another management reshuffle.

In addition to naming Levinsohn interim CEO, the company is also set to name Loeb a company director, and is reportedly close to reaching an agreement about a number of new directors he had previously suggested.

The shuffle marks the latest attempt to steady the company - not to mention a significant victory for its most vocal shareholder, Daniel Loeb - and joining the board is Michael J. Wolf, along with Fred Amoroso, who will act as chairman.

In a leaked internal memo, Levinsohn told employees:

"Today's announcements lay to rest the unfortunate and serious distractions surrounding our senior leadership and the composition of our Board going forward. I know that Fred and the new Yahoo Board are looking forward to working constructively to stabilize the leadership team and to further accelerate the progress we have made in reinvigorating Yahoo.

"Today's announcements really boil down to this: following these changes, a transformation and renewal at Board levels that began in August of last year is now complete.

"In spite of the very bumpy road we've travelled, we are achieving genuine and meaningful successes in the marketplace every day and heading in the right direction," he added.

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'Pay to promote' tool tested by Facebook

Fri, 11 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT

A system that would allow Facebook users to pay to promote or highlight their posts is currently being tested by the social media giant. For a small amount of money, users could ensure their post shows up to family and colleagues in a more visible manner.

The option to promote posts has been popping up for Facebook users in New Zealand, with the feature subsequently reported by Stuff.co.nz. The testing indicates Facebook is interested in seeing how many users would pay in order to make their posts more visible.

"We're constantly testing new features across the site," Facebook spokesperson Mia Garlick told Stuff.

"This particular test is simply to gauge people's interest in this method of sharing with their friends."

Garlick said Facebook was trialling the feature at several different prices, including offering it for free. This means that, during the trial, members may be asked to pay a range of amounts to use it.

Users were reportedly offered the choice of completing the transaction by PayPal or credit card. No prices have been confirmed yet and the spokesperson would not confirm when the test will end, or if it would be rolled out to other parts of the world.

The imminent floating of Facebook on the stock market, compounded by its fear of mobile growth impacting ad revenue, has led to the company investigating more money-making ideas.

"We're going to see a lot more ideas like this where they are testing out different ways to try to make money," commented Ian Maude, internet analyst at Enders Analysis, in an interview with the BBC.

He said, despite rapid growth over the last few years, a slowing of income over the last six months meant that Facebook is attempting new ideas to find additional income streams.

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Bing to launch personalised search sidebar with help from Facebook

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

Microsoft's Bing announced yesterday that it will add a new social sidebar to its search results pages, using data from Facebook and other social platforms to help users find information most relevant to them. The changes will be rolled out in the United States in coming days.

Bing explained the motivation behind the redesign by saying 90 per cent of people prefer to listen to their friends when making decisions. The announcement was accompanied by a video previewing the new personalised search results pages.

The Bing Team wrote about the changes in the company blog: "We value input from our friends and opinions from experts but at the same time want comprehensive, relevant and unbiased results.

"Recent attempts at social search haven't unlocked the full potential of tapping our social networks," the post said. "And the reason is pretty simple - social in search hasn't mirrored how people do things in real life."

The new social sidebar will appear on the right side of every results page for those signed in to Facebook. It will feature personalised data related to each specific search query, such as a list of 'Friends Who Might Know' - based on Facebook likes/interests - and a list of 'People Who Know' - based on their renowned expertise in the field.

It will also allow users to 'Ask Friends' and will include an 'Activity feed' synced with the Facebook newsfeed.

The Bing Team continued: "People have become as important as pages and search needs to evolve to embrace these changes. The challenge has been to figure out how to integrate the information you care about with the people who can be most helpful to you in getting stuff done."

This latest endeavour by Bing is yet another example of Microsoft's growing partnership with Facebook. However, speculation remains that Facebook may one day start its own search engine.

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Twitter contests US subpoena demanding user's tweet history

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:25:00 GMT

Twitter has challenged a New York State court order seeking the message history of one of its users, an activist who participated in the Occupy Wall Street protest. The micro-blogging site disputed the subpoena, saying it would force them to break federal law.

The subpoena, issued 20 April, seeks the tweet history of Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris. Harris is being prosecuted for alleged disorderly conduct while protesting on the Brooklyn Bridge in October of last year.

Prosecutors believe Harris' tweets on the day of the protest will reveal he was aware of police orders not to block traffic and proceeded to do so anyway.

On Monday 7 May, Twitter filed a motion to quash the subpoena. The motion concludes that the federal Stored Communications Act and Twitter's terms of service give users ownership of the content they post.

At the centre of the dispute is this question of whether the individual Twitter user owns his or her tweets, or if they belong to the site. The judge in the case ruled that Twitter, not the user, owns the tweets.

Ben Lee, the lawyer representing Twitter in this case, said in a statement to AFP:

"Twitter's terms of service make absolutely clear that its users 'own' their own content. Our filing with the court reaffirms our steadfast commitment to defending those rights for our users."

The question of who owns content posted on Twitter could have greater implications than the outcome of this case alone.

The topics of libel, slander and hate speech on Twitter and other social networking sites have also fuelled discussion in recent months. In March, a Twitter user received jail time in the UK after posting racist tweets about footballer Fabrice Muamba.

By distancing itself from the content posted by its users, Twitter could also ensure protection in future cases of this nature.

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Facebook fears mobile growth will threaten revenue

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:36:00 GMT

Social media giant Facebook is concerned that its long-term financial prospects may not be all that rosy, owing in part to more users accessing the site on mobile devices.

As the company prepares its initial public offering for stock market flotation - which reportedly values the company between $77 billion and $96 billion - measures to combat slowing ad revenues are being put in place.

The firm's slowing revenue growth is a result of an increasing trend for Facebook users to abandon their laptops and access the network by mobile phone, it said. This does not mean the site is losing users; however, Facebook can only provide limited space for ads on the mobile version of the site, therefore decreasing the amount of possible income from ads.

"Growth in use of Facebook through our mobile products, where our ability to monetise is unproven, as a substitute for use on personal computers may negatively affect our revenue and financial results," Facebook said in its regulatory filings.

So far, Facebook has only dabbled in advertising on the mobile version of the site. March of this year saw the insertion of 'Sponsored Stories' into the mobile site's News Feed. However, Palo Alto fears this will not be enough to halt dropping advertising incomes.

During 2011, 85 per cent of the company's $3.7 billion revenues came from advertising placed on the main website. Facebook said more than half of its users accessed their account from a mobile or tablet in March, a number that could rise and impact ad impressions.

Comscore also picked up on this growing trend: "Social networking proved to be a particularly popular activity on smartphones with several brands demonstrating exceptionally high engagement, in some cases higher than the corresponding time spent by users via traditional web access.

"Facebook once again led the pack among social networking brands, with the average Facebook mobile user engaging for more than seven hours via browser or app in March."

In a bid to prevent the revenue slowdown, Facebook announced its intentions to launch App Centre, which will allow software developers to sell their apps directly on the network for the very first time. Facebook will take a 30 per cent cut of all apps sold on the site in an attempt to open up another lucrative income stream.

Unless desktop usage makes a resurgence, the online may see more initiatives like this launched by Facebook to shore up its earning power.

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