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Angry Birds boss doesn't see Piracy as a bad thing

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:36:00 GMT

Rovio boss Mikel Hed has said he doesn't necessarily see piracy as a bad thing when it comes to Angry Birds.

Speaking at the Midem conference in Cannes, the Angry Birds maker explained the company sees efforts to pursue pirates in the court system as 'futile' - so long as pirated products are not harmful to the brand or ripping off fans.

"We could learn a lot from the music industry, and the rather terrible ways the music industry has tried to combat piracy.

"We have some issues with piracy, not only in apps, but also especially in the consumer products," he said. "There is tons of merchandise out there, especially in Asia, which is not officially licensed products."

Hed also explained he believes there is a lesson to be learned from the music industry - namely, approaching customers as fans, rather than users.

"We took something from the music industry, which was to stop treating the customers as users, and start treating them as fans. We do that today: we talk about how many fans we have," he said.

"If we lose our fan base, our business is done, but it we can grow that fan base, our business will grow."

Hed also took the opportunity to discuss new avenues for the popular mobile game, saying the company hasn't ruled out working with musicians in the future.

Rather than just a game, Rovio sees Angry Birds as its own channel - where users are spending as much time in the app as they are with their favourite TV shows.

"Already our apps are becoming channels, and we can use that channel to cross-promote - to sell further content," he said.

"The content itself has transformed into the channel, and the traditional distribution channels are no longer the kingmakers."

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Facebook announces Hacker Cup

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:48:00 GMT

Calling all hackers - Facebook has announced its second annual worldwide Hacker Cup challenge.

According to the social network's official announcement: "Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook. Whether we're building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm, or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we're always hacking to find better ways to solve problems."

Open to engineers everywhere, Facebook's competition lets programmers from across the globe compete against each other to prove their hacking chops.

Participants will be judged on accuracy and speed as they race to solve algorithmic problems to advance through the five rounds of programming challenges.

The Hacker Cup commences on 20 January 2012 with a 72-Hour Qualification Round, where each registered competitor will be presented with three problems. Every competitor who correctly solves at least one problem will advance to the Online Round 1.

Three Online Rounds will thin the herd of coders, with Facebook flying the top 25 competitors to its Menlo Park, California headquarters for the final round of competition on 17 March 2012.

The winner will receive the coveted Hacker Cup trophy and $5000 (£3221). Other prizes include $2000 (£1288) for the second place winner and $1000 USD for the third. Competitors coming in fourth through 25th will receive $100 (£64) and the top 100 hackers will get an "awesome" t-shirt.

Last year, nearly 12,000 programmers participated in the first Hacker Cup and Petr Mitrichev - ironically a Google employee from Russia - took home the inaugural top prize.

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Facebook hands out Visa cards to researchers

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:25:00 GMT

Facebook continues to build on the success of its bug bounty program, offering vigilant developers custom Visa cards as a reward for their efforts.

"White Hat Bug Bounty Program" Visa debit cards are being awarded to researchers and developers for finding and reporting security holes on the social networking site directly to Facebook rather than making the information public.

The incentive program was instantly popular with users - Facebook awarded more than $40,000 (£25,716) to developers who reported security bugs in its first month.

After receiving the Facebook Visa cards, researchers can use them to make purchases or create a PIN and take money out from an ATM. The program also allows Facebook to add more money to the cards as researchers continue to report bugs.

Facebook's security response team manager Ryan Mc Geehan told CNET the new initiative is Facebook's way of doing something special for those who help keep the social network free from malware and hackers.

"Researchers who find bugs and security improvements are rare, and we value them and have to find ways to reward them," Mc Geehan said.

"Having this exclusive black card is another way to recognise them. They can show up at a conference and show this card and said 'I did special work for Facebook.'"

Mc Geehan also said the company will continue to find ways to make researchers and developers feel valued.

"We might make it a pass to get into a party, for instance," he said. "We're trying to be creative."

By reporting confirmed bugs, researchers can make between $500 (£321) and $5000 (£3210) for their efforts, and according to Mc Geehan, Palo Alto has already paid-out to more than 81 researchers.

"Whenever possible we're going to try to load-in White Hat researchers into products early - as soon as they are in production." This, Mc Geehan says, will help Facebook "get an early warning on anything they find."

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Facebook introduces private Page messaging

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Facebook is making it easier for brands and consumers to communicate with one another in private.

The titan of the social network recently began rolling out a mechanism that will allow brands to communicate privately with consumers via their Facebook Pages.

However, unlike with Twitter, where either party can initiate a direct message, Facebook will require the individual initiate the conversation.

Using a "Message" button on a brand's Page, consumers will be able to privately message companies - much like they currently do with their "friends". Once that is done, though, the conversation is open to both parties.

The feature will also allow brands to privately respond to comments or posts on their Pages.

Social media has long been marketed as a tool for one-on-one engagement with customers, but has to date primarily been used as a one-to-many platform.

Private Page messaging opens up the possibility for more effective one-on-one communication and a greater level of customer service on Facebook. It also has the added benefit of allowing brands to more discretely address customer feedback.

"This could perhaps reduce the airing of dirty laundry that a lot of brands experience when angry consumers take to the brands' Facebook Wall to communicate something negative," Jake Wengoff, global director of social media strategy and research at the research firm Frost & Sullivan, told Direct Marketing News.

But, social media experts are also warning of the potential negative side effects of increased private communication.

A Page's visibility and worth is increased by its fans' interactions with their friends, such as comments and shares. More private messages could ultimately lead to fewer public comments and somewhat curtailed growth.

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Brand pages coming soon to Google+

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:49:00 GMT

Google's coffers have been filling fast since the launch of Facebook rival Google+, and the firm looks set to cash in further as Vic Gundotra suggested brand pages will be coming soon to the fast-growing social network.

According to CNet.com, Gundotra - Google's senior vice president of engineering - told audiences at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco that brand pages would be coming to Google+ "imminently".

While sharing the stage with Sergey Brin - a Google co-founder, Gundotra added that brands have already expressed an "overwhelming interest" in establishing a commercial presence on Google+.

Gundotra also let slip that Google+ will soon be available - "Not days ... a little bit longer than days" - to businesses that use Google Apps.

Google Apps, he said, now has 4 million customers. However, user levels are expected to spike sharply as corporations sign-up in a bid to get the most from Google+'s social, digital marketing and advertising offerings.

Google+ is also expected to become more appealing to advertisers, marketers and brands over the coming year as Larry Page said the firm plans to use Google+ as a channel and G+ data to better personalise search and target ads.

Page said: "It's still incredibly early days for Google+, because our goal is actually far bigger than the individual feature launches themselves.

"Our ultimate ambition is to transform the overall Google experience, making it beautifully simple, almost automagical, because we understand what you want and can deliver it instantly.

"This means baking identity and sharing into all of our products so that we build a real relationship with our users.

"Sharing on the web will be like sharing in real life across all your stuff. You'll have better, more relevant search results and ads."

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Facebook 'now linked into the largest commerce ecosystem'

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:49:00 GMT

eBay announced yesterday at Innovate, its developer conference, it will integrate Facebook's Open Graph 2.0 into its global commerce systems to create social shopping experiences. These systems will be part of X.commerce, a new business unit that also includes PayPal and Magento.

"Facebook is now linked into the largest commerce ecosystem," X.commerce's vice president and general manager Matthew Mengerink said.

This is significant because it allows Facebook access to eBay's 25 million sellers and 97 million users, who make an estimated $60 billion worth of transactions on its site annually.

"Technology is changing the way consumers shop, and eBay Inc.'s integration with Facebook will make shopping social for consumers and retailers worldwide," Mengerink said in a statement. "Retailers and developers need a technology-driven global commerce partner to help them engage and connect with consumers anytime, anywhere.

"By making eBay's technology and global commerce platforms available to developers and retailers through X.commerce, we are that partner, enabling commerce, changing the way people shop."

According to Katie Mitic, Facebook's director of platform and mobile marketing, since users no longer have to 'like' a song to listen or share it, the social site's bringing it to commerce.

Expanding the 'like' function, Facebook users will now be able to 'buy', 'want', 'own', 'review' or 'recommend' products. These can then be shared with friends and family.

"This takes word-of-mouth marketing and puts a bullhorn to it," said Mitic during her speech on Wednesday morning. She also mentioned in a statement that the new service would enhance an already social activity - shopping.

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Blogger haven Tumblr takes in $85m investment

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:12:00 GMT

Tumblr is the latest social outlet to see a surge in spending cash, as venture capitalists - including Sir Richard Branson - poured $85 million into the start-up.

First reported by the New York Times and subsequently confirmed by the company itself, Tumblr found the financing through Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners, the Chernin Group, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures and Sequoia Capital in addition to Branson.

"This additional capital allows us to continue to scale our business and give real focus to the further development of Tumblr," chief executive and founder David Karp said in an email.

Tumblr launched just under five years ago as a more social alternative to traditional blogging services. Incorporating features such as simple 'reblogging' - similar to retweeting, only on a larger scale - the site has grown to become a powerhouse in the social media sphere.

A report published by Nielsen earlier this month confirmed the surge of the social standout, saying it had nearly tripled its number of unique US visitors in just one year - and purely on word of mouth advertising.

The New York-based firm also recently eclipsed 10 billion total posts, based on nearly 30 million unique blogs, and all signs lead to an IPO for the company some time in 2012.

According to Karp, monthly page views grew from two to 13 billion over the course of 2011, making the new found financing even more important.

"It is incredibly important to us that we work with partners who understand our vision and share our ambition to build the best platform for the most creative people in the world,"

In an email disclosed by the Wall Street Journal, Greylock investor John Lilly likened the site to the early days of other sites now at the top of the social ladder.

"At Greylock we see some of the same early dynamics in Tumblr that led us to invest in Facebook, Pandora, and LinkedIn, and so are very excited to add Tumblr to that list," he said.

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Companies pull the plug on social networking sites at work

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:24:00 GMT

A third of UK companies are blocking their employees from using social networking sites on the job, a recent study found.

According to the Financial Times, more companies have been restricting access to social networking sites over fears of hacking and other security issues.

The news comes following a survey by Clearswift that reported the number of companies seeking to restrict access from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook over the last year jumped from 9 to 19 per cent.

CEO of Clearswift Andrew Wyatt said: "Businesses have reacted to the series of high-profile data leaks and have become increasingly nervous about it usage from the workplace."

"Social networking sites often have little to do with data-loss incidents, but they have become guilty by association, because they are seen as having an impact on a company's brand."

Companies have come up with a range of solutions to thwart the use of social networking sites at work - anything from restricting access to reminding employees not to use the sites by displaying a pop-up when they sign in from work.

While many managers see the benefits of using social media to generate business, fears over security and compliance prevent them from integrating social media into their business model.

Wyatt said: "Rather than embracing new channels of communication, companies have clamped down and become overtly defensive, which is consequently stifling avenues of growth."

Although security fears remain a major concern for employers, 31 per cent of businesses in the UK say they plan to invest more money into using these sites for corporate communications next year.

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Consumers go digital to control and filter brand interaction

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:49:00 GMT

A new survey has revealed web-savvy consumers are turning to digital technology in order to filter and control their relationship with brands.

According to Brand Republic, a new poll of 1,000 consumers and 200 marketers shows 82 per cent of consumers utilising digital technology feel as though they only receive the marketing material and information they want, when and through the media channels they want.

Marketers previously estimated just 30 per cent of consumers would feel in control of their brand interactions.

Experts also seem to have misjudged the marketing channels consumers feel are most appropriate.

25 per cent of consumers surveyed said they still receive "inappropriate marketing materials", while marketers expected the figures to be much, much lower.

Only 9 per cent of consumers polled felt SMS marketing was appropriate. Marketers expected 25 per cent of consumers to be open to SMS marketing.

Just 4 per cent of customers approved of being contacted directly by brands through social media. Meanwhile, marketers estimated that 5 per cent of consumers would like to be contacted directly through social media.

Marketing expert Murray Dudgeon told the publication that marketers, now more than ever, need further insight into how their consumers and target demographics are both using and interacting with digital platforms and channels.

He said: "For the first time, we have been able to quantify the shift from push- to pull-marketing. Consumers are using technology to filter out messages they don't feel are appropriate. We can also infer that some marketers are still working in silos and do not enjoy a 360-degree view of their organisation's marketing activity.

"In some ways, the industry has created Frankenstein's monster. By doing such a good job of marketing technology and digital services, they have breathed life into consumers' ability to control the relationship between brand and individual.

"Now more than ever, marketers need the insight to understand when and where it's appropriate for brands to join the conversation with consumers."

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Poor spelling could cost websites millions

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:36:00 GMT

Poor spelling could cost e-retailers millions in lost sales - with a single spelling mistake estimated to cut online sales by half.

According to BBC News, both a leading dot.com entrepreneur and e-commerce experts believe that a single spelling error could be enough to shake consumer confidence and devastate online sales.

Charles Duncombe, director of Just Say Please - a group that runs travel, mobile phones and clothing websites, urged companies to look to professional copywriters after finding his own e-revenues doubled after simple on-site spelling errors were corrected.

Spelling, Duncombe said, is important to the credibility of a website. Poor spelling, he argued, can undermine a website's authority, causing users to question whether it is legitimate and safe to use.

He further added that spelling has become increasingly important to e-retailers as web users have become increasingly concerned with fraud and identity theft.

Poor education standards had caused many graduates and prospective employees to display poor English language and communication skills, Duncombe said, making it difficult for online businesses to secure staff that can produce effective copy for the web.

"I know that the industry bemoaning the education system is nothing new, but it is becoming more and more of a problem with more companies going online," he said.

"This is because when you sell or communicate on the internet, 99 per cent of the time it is done by the written word."

William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, supported Mr Duncombe's views, adding: "when a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelt word could be a killer issue."

Dutton added that while spelling and grammar errors may be tolerated among friends or on social networks, spelling mistakes on a home page or commercial offering could raise serious sale-slowing concerns regards trust and credibility.

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