News Corp. sells ailing Myspace for $35 million

News Corp. has sold Myspace for a fraction of its purchase price, bringing the curtain down on Rupert Murdoch's tie-up with a one-time social networking star that ended up being eclipsed by Facebook.

Myspace, which was bought by News Corp. in 2005 for $580 million, was bought by Specific Media, a digital ad-targeting platform, which said financial terms were confidential.

The News Corp.-owned technology blog All Things Digital put the purchase price at $35 million, however, and said the deal includes slashing about half of Myspace's staff of between 400 and 500 people.

"Myspace is a recognized leader that has pioneered the social media space," Tim Vanderhook, chief executive of Irvine, California-based Specific Media said in a statement.

"The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online," Vanderhook said. "We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation."

Vanderhook said News. Corp. would take a minority equity stake in Specific Media as part of the deal. According to All Things Digital, News Corp. will retain a five to 10 percent stake in Myspace.

Myspace, which was launched in 2003, was the leading social networking site on the Internet when it was bought by News Corp. six years ago but it has been losing members to Facebook for years.

According to tracking firm comScore, Myspace had 21.8 million unique monthly US visitors in August 2005 to Facebook's 8.3 million.

Facebook surpassed Myspace in the number of US visitors in May 2009 and has just kept adding users since then while Myspace's membership eroded, according to comScore.

In May, Facebook had 157.2 million unique monthly US visitors compared to Myspace's 34.9 million, comScore said. Facebook, which was launched in 2004, has nearly 700 million members worldwide.

Myspace chief executive Mike Jones, in a memo to company employees obtained by Silicon Valley technology blogs, said he would leave Myspace in two months after helping Specific Media with the transition.

"While I regret we won't be working together at Myspace any longer, I am very proud of the work we have done here and believe we have performed with excellence -- even under extremely difficult circumstances," Jones said.

Myspace has gone through a series of layoffs, chief executives and makeovers in recent years as News Corp. sought to cut losses at the site and reverse the decline in membership.

As its popularity waned, Myspace has been seeking to reinvent itself recently as a destination for music fans.

Lee Brenner, a former Myspace employee, said Wednesday in a blog post that Myspace's slide was probably the result of a number of factors.

"I'm sure most employees (former or current) will argue that it was poor management, or a need to hit revenue targets once News Corp. took over, or a bottleneck in the technology department, or lack of resources given to their division, or a poor public relations effort, etc., that set the course of MySpace's downfall," Brenner said.

"It is most likely a combination of these factors, along with a 'low attention span' public," said Brenner, writing at a site he co-founded called Hypervocal.

"It probably didn't help to be doing business, and trying to grow, along with all of these issues, in the midst of a global economic crisis," said Brenner, who was Myspace's executive producer of political programming from 2007 to 2009.

News Corp. chief operating officer Chase Carey put Myspace on notice in November saying the losses at the social network were "unsustainable" and the news and entertainment giant formally put Myspace up for sale in January.

News Corp. was reportedly seeking $100 million for the site.

According to the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal there were two leading bidders for Myspace -- Specific Media, the eventual buyer, and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.

News Corp. does not break out results for Myspace in its earnings but the "other" segment, which includes the social network, reported a second quarter operating loss of $156 million, $31 million wider than a year earlier.

News Corp. shares gained 1.25 percent on Wall Street on Wednesday to close at $17.39.

Source: AFP

Google goes social with Facebook rival

Google, the king of internet search but not on the social front, has launched its rival to Facebook, a social networking service called Google+.

"Online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it," Google's senior vice president for engineering Vic Gundotra on Tuesday said in a blog post about the long-awaited social networking initiative from the internet giant.

Unveiling Google+, Gundotra stressed the ability it gives users to separate online friends and family into different "Circles," or networks, and to share information only with members of a particular circle.

"We'd like to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software," he said.

"We want to make Google better by including you, your relationships and your interests."

One of the criticisms of Facebook is that updates are shared with all of one's friends unless a user has gone through a relatively complicated process to create separate Facebook Groups.

"Not all relationships are created equal," Gundotra said.

"So in life we share one thing with college buddies, another with parents, and almost nothing with our boss.

"The problem is that today's online services turn friendship into fast food - wrapping everyone in 'friend' paper - and sharing really suffers," he said.

Google+, located at plus.google.com, is currently being tested by a small number of people or is available by invitation only.

But Google said in a message on the site that it "won't be long before the Google+ project is ready for everyone".

Google unveiled several new tools integrated into Google+, including "Hangouts", which allows for video chatting among friends, "Mobile" for location-sharing and "Huddle" for group text messaging.

Photos and video can be uploaded and shared among Circles using a feature known as "Instant Upload", while an online sharing engine called "Sparks" delivers content from the web into a user's feed.

Google dominates internet search but the Mountain View, California, company has failed to make inroads on the social networking front, where Facebook has accumulated nearly 700 million users and Twitter about 200 million.

Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, speaking at the AllThingsD technology conference last month, took responsibility for the company missing the wave when it came to making services social, saying "I screwed up".

Google's last major foray into social networking - Google Buzz, launched in February 2010 - spawned a slew of privacy complaints and led to a slap on the wrist from the US Federal Trade Commission.

Under a settlement between the US regulator and Google announced in March, Google is required to implement a comprehensive privacy program and will be subject to independent privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years.

Google+ makes its debut as Google and Facebook wage a fierce battle over online advertising dollars and how people navigate the internet.

Google does not send people to Facebook and vice versa, and both companies are seeking to become the chief gateway to the internet.

In May, Facebook was left red-faced after acknowledging it had hired a prominent public relations firm to draw attention to privacy practices at Google.

Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of technology blog SearchEngineLand.com, said in a blog post it was "anyone's guess" as to whether Google+ would be successful.

"If you're happy using Facebook, there seems relatively little to make you want to switch over to Google Plus, at the moment," said Sullivan, who received an early glimpse of the new service from Google.

"Perhaps if there are people who want a Facebook alternative, Google's now got a core to build on for them."

Story by Chris Lefkow www.ninemsn.com.au

Social Media Marketing Brings New Revenues, Customers

Social networks continue to prove their worth as a marketing channel

Social media marketing has been top of mind among marketers and is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Earlier this year, eMarketer estimated that worldwide social network ad revenues alone, not including money that companies spend developing presences on social networks or hiring staff to manage them, would reach $5.97 billion in 2011, a 71.6% increase over 2010.

Already, firms worldwide are seeing returns on their increased investment. According to a survey by office services firm Regus, 47% of businesses successfully used social networks for customer acquisition in 2011, a 7 percentage point increase over 2010. The US followed closely behind the average, at 43%.

China saw the greatest gains in customer acquisition from social networks among all countries studied, increasing from 44% in 2010 to 65% in 2011.

The survey had one other interesting finding: Social networks made the biggest impact for companies that are operating in developed markets. A significantly higher percentage of companies that used social networks for customer acquisition in developed markets, including the US, the UK, Japan and Canada, saw a revenue increase over the previous year vs. those companies that did not use social networks to acquire new business in developed markets.

Companies in developing markets like China, Mexico and South Africa experienced revenue growth whether or not they were using social networks to acquire new business, probably as a result of rapid overall economic expansion.

As companies continue to chase revenue in both developed and developing markets, competition will force marketers to increase investment in new platforms to reach customers. Social networks are proving to be a reliable source of customer acquisition and increased revenues in both, but can provide a necessary edge over competitors in developed markets.

1 in 3 Parents of Teens Snoop on Facebook

 

One in three (34%) of parents of children age 13-19 have used Facebook to learn more about the parents of their children’s friends, according to data from Retrevo. This makes parents of teens the most likely of all parents of children younger than 20 to snoop on Facebook in this way, followed by parents of children age 6-12 (29%) and children age 0-5 (25%).

Almost Half of Parents Have Snooped by Time Kids Hit Teens

By the time children are teenagers, Retrevo data shows 47% of parents say they have used Facebook to learn about their kid’s friends. However, once kids reach age 20 and typically become more independent, parents seem to lose interest in learning more about their kids’ friends through Facebook (18%).

iPhone Parents Most Likely to Facebook Snoop on Kids’ Dates

Overall, 12% of parents have used Facebook to check out who their kids date. Retrevo found that iPhone owning parents (20%) are almost twice as likely to use Facebook to learn more about who their kids date than the average parent, while Droid parents are one-third less likely (8%). Retrevo also found that dads are 30% more likely to use Facebook to learn more about their kid’s dates(13%) as opposed to moms (10%).

iPhone Parents Have Most Facebook Friends

Generally speaking, iPhone parents have more friends than overall parents or Droid parents. Retrevo found that 13% of iPhone-owning parents had more than 500 Facebook friends as opposed to only 8% of all parents and 10% of Droid parents. Similarly, iPhone parents had a much higher percentage of reporting 50-250 friends (55%) than overall (40%) or Droid (38%) parents.

Only 5% of iPhone parents reported fewer than 50 Facebook friends, about one-quarter the rate of overall (18%) or Droid (20%) parents.

iPhone Parents Most Addicted to SocNets

Retrevo found that 14% of all parents feel nervous or anxious if they don’t check Facebook and/or Twitter, and this number more than doubles when looking at iPhone-owning parents (28%), but is basically the same for Droid-owning parents (15%).

iPhone parents are also almost twice as likely (28%) as overall parents (16%) to sometimes neglect responsibilities because they are on Facebook/Twitter, and about one-and-a-half times as likely (18% compared to 11%) to say they have given up activities they used to enjoy because of time spent on Facebook and Twitter.

Interestingly, while Droid parents had similar responses to overall parents for the previous two questions, both iPhone (19%) and Droid (18%) parents are about 50% more likely than overall parents (12%) to admit they feel like they couldn’t stop using Facebook/Twitter, even if they wanted to.

Pew: SocNet Users Age

Recent Pew data shows a gradual aging of social network users, which may reflect increased usage by consumers of parenting age. Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of social network users age 23-35 dropped 20%, from 40% to 32%. Meanwhile, the percentage of users age 36-49 rose 18%, from 22% to 26%. Most significantly, the percentage of users age 50-65 more than doubled, from 9% to 20%.
In total, 52% of social network users in 2010 were 36 and up, a 58% increase from 33% in 2008.

SocNet Users Get Older

The average age of social network users rose between 2008 and 2010, according to data from the Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project. For example, the percentage of social network users age 18-22 fell 43%, from 28% to 16%.

Percentage of SocNet Users 36 and Up Rises

In addition, the percentage of social network users age 23-35 dropped 20%, from 40% to 32%. Meanwhile, the percentage of users age 36-49 rose 18%, from 22% to 26%. Most significantly, the percentage of users age 50-65 more than doubled, from 9% to 20%.

In total, 52% of social network users in 2010 were 36 and up, a 58% increase from 33% in 2008.

Frequency of Use Varies with Site

There is considerable variance in the way people use various social networking sites. For example, 52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platform daily, while only 7% of MySpace and 6% of LinkedIn users do the same.

On Facebook on an average day, 15% of Facebook users update their own status, 22% comment on another’s post or status, 20% comment on another user’s photos, 26% “Like” another user’s content, and 10% send another user a private message.

Facebook Users Have More Close Relationships

The average American has just more than two discussion confidants (2.16); that is, people with whom they discuss important matters. Controlling for other factors, Pew found that someone who uses Facebook several times per day averages 9% more close, core ties in their overall social network compared with other internet users.

Facebook Users Get More Social Support

Pew looked at how much total support, emotional support, companionship and instrumental aid adults receive. On a scale of 100, the average American scored 75 on a scale of total support, 75 on emotional support (such as receiving advice), 76 in companionship (such as having people to spend time with), and 75 in instrumental aid (such as having someone to help if they are sick in bed).

Internet users in general score three points higher in total support, six points higher in companionship, and four points higher in instrumental support. A Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day tends to score an additional five points higher in total support, five points higher in emotional support, and five points higher in companionship, than internet users of similar demographic characteristics. For Facebook users, the additional boost is equivalent to about half the total support that the average American receives as a result of being married or cohabitating with a partner.

ROIResearch: LinkedIn Seen as Most Important SocNet

While Facebook has the highest engagement rate of the “big five” social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube), the highest percentage of online consumers think having a LinkedIn account is important, according to an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics. Data from “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behaviour” indicates 59% of online consumers rate having a LinkedIn account 4 or 5 on a five-point importance scale, compared to 53% giving this level of importance to having a Facebook account.

About the Data: Pew conducted a survey of 2,225 social network users on landline and cell phone from October 20 - November 28, 2010.

Microsoft Kinect has record sales

Microsoft is racking up the records with its motion sensing gaming device - the 'Kinect'

Released late last year, it has already entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling consumer device of all time.

Kinect is a controller-free gaming system that competes with the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 Move.

It has been selling at an impressive rate since it launched in November.

Internet providers unsure on NBN

There was plenty of smiling and hand-shaking as Telstra and the government put pen to paper on an $11 billion deal - seen as one of the last major hurdles on the road to a National Broadband Network.

But as the government celebrates - Internet service providers around the country are sifting through the documents to work out what the deal means for them.

Google 'faces major US antitrust probe'

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is poised to open a formal antitrust probe into whether internet search giant Google has abused its dominance on the web, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The newspaper, citing 'people familiar with the matter,' said the FTC is preparing to serve Google with civil subpoenas 'signalling the start of a wide-ranging, formal antitrust investigation'.

The Journal said the five-member commission will send Google the formal demands for information 'within days' and other companies were likely to receive requests for information about their dealings with Google.

The FTC declined to comment on the report and there was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Mountain View, California-based Google.

Google, which controls around 65 per cent of the lucrative US internet search market, has been the target of numerous antitrust investigations by the FTC and the US Department of Justice in recent years.

But the Journal said the FTC's probe 'is the most serious to date' in the United States because it will examine 'fundamental issues relating to Google's core search advertising business'.

Google makes most of its money from search-related advertising.

The Journal said the probe will look at whether Google 'unfairly channels users to its own growing network of services at the expense of rivals'.

European Union competition watchdogs opened an investigation into similar allegations in November.

Google has faced increasing scrutiny from US and European regulators as it has grown over the years from a scrappy startup into an internet powerhouse.

In April, the US Justice Department approved Google's entry into the online travel sector with its $US700 million ($A665 million) purchase of flight data firm ITA Software but it insisted on a number of concessions from Google.

Several online travel sites, including Expedia, Kayak and Travelocity, had sought to block the Google-ITA deal, claiming it would give Google too much control over the lucrative online travel market and lead to higher prices.

In late March, the FTC reached a settlement with Google over Google Buzz, the social networking tool rolled out last year which spawned a slew of privacy complaints.

Under the settlement announced by the US regulator, Google is required to implement a comprehensive privacy program and will be subject to independent privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years.

Also in March, a US judge dealt a setback to Google's plans for a vast digital library and online bookstore, rejecting a copyright settlement hammered out by the internet giant with authors and publishers.

In 2008, Google abandoned a plan to forge a joint search advertising partnership with Yahoo!, citing a desire to avert a 'protracted legal battle' with US regulators.

Men savvier online networkers

Men are leading the way when it comes to forging professional connections online, a new study has found.

LinkedIn, a professional web-based networking site, studied the details of men and women across a range of industries and looked at the ratio of their online connections.

Of their two million Australian users, they found that men tend to have more online connections than women.

However, there were particular professions and organisations where females dominated the online environment.

These industries included writing and editing, philanthropy and marketing and advertising.

At RailCorp, Origin Energy and Leighton Contractors women also ruled the web.

The top industries where blokes dominated were in the military, capital markets, human resources and newspapers.

Males were also found to be savvier at Queensland Health, Flight Centre and the University of NSW.

Career coach Sally-Anne Blanshard encouraged females to hop online.

'We are in a world where we are time-short, have technology at our fingertips and have ever-increasing demands outside of work,' Ms Blanshard said in a statement.

'I think face-to-face networking definitely still has its place, but I stress to my clients, especially female clients, to build up their networks online.'

ICANN to allow new domain names

The online community has been rattled by a decision by Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) to allow new domain names to be launched next year.

The changes will allow up to 1000 new web variations at a price of $185,000.

This new move will significantly expand the existing regime, although the changes have been limited to .com, .net and .org websites.

These changes are anticipated to allow companies to register unique website names or better protect their existing brands.

Twitter Users Want Businesses to Answer Them

Companies that answer questions more attractive to users

 

Social sites like Quora are designed specifically as question-and-answer venues where users can get expert help, but Twitter often serves as an informal tool for the same purpose. Users might ask their followers for advice, ask the world what a particular trending topic means, or hope for customer service help from a brand.

According to May 2011 research from InboxQ, a service to feed businesses questions from Twitter, Twitter users—especially ones with more followers and thus, presumably, more experience—tend to ask questions with tweets directed at all followers rather than using @ replies or direct messages. This means questions are often not directed at a relevant brand, but many users want brands to answer them anyway.

Eight in 10 Twitter users surveyed worldwide said they thought the answers businesses posted on Twitter were at least as trustworthy as those from regular people, and about six in 10 said they wanted businesses to respond to them on the microblogging service.

Yet just 21% of Twitter users with under 100 followers and 41% of users with over 100 followers said they had actually received a response from a business via Twitter.

Users indicated that more responsive brands would benefit from greater loyalty and purchasing. Almost 60% of respondents said they would be more likely to follow a brand that answered them, and 64% said they would be more likely to make a purchase from that brand.

InboxQ may have an interest in getting businesses to pay attention to questions posted to Twitter, but this research meshes with an already robust body of data about the kinds of interactions many social media users hope to have with brands. Consumers often indicate that they understand and accept the value exchange of connecting with companies in return for information that can help them. And they also often want brands to pay attention to them and not take their business for granted now that they have access to the powerful voice social media provides.

More Brand Fans Say They’re Loyal Followers

Social media friends and followers still say they’re more likely to buy

 

Early research on becoming a fan of brands on Facebook or a follower on Twitter indicated that social media users with brand connections were more loyal and more likely to say they would buy the brand’s products than average. Over the past year, those kinds of connections have become more common, and many brands have grown their fan pages and Twitter followings significantly.

Longitudinal data from ROI Research suggests that growth has not diluted the power of social media connections, which still have a link with customer loyalty.

In 2010, 32% of US social network users told the research firm they were at least somewhat more loyal to brands they were fans of on Facebook. This year, that percentage ticked up slightly, to 34%.

Similarly, 40% of respondents in 2010 said they were more loyal to brands they followed on Twitter, rising to 46% this year. There was also a significant drop in the number of users who disagreed with that claim, from 21% to 13%.

At least half of Twitter and Facebook users said they had become more likely to talk about, recommend or purchase a company’s products after they began following the company on social media. And Twitter users showed a greater level of engagement than Facebook users across all these metrics, as well as in willingness to link to an ad for the product or attend a sponsored event.

Still, many users might want less communication from brands. More than 40% of social network users told ROI Research that brands should communicate with fans only once or twice a month, and another 26% thought weekly communication was sufficient. Only 10% of respondents wanted to hear from brands at least daily.

Top 5 Social Media Scams

We’re wired to be social creatures, and sites like Twitter and Facebook have capitalized on this to great success. According to its COO Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook draws 175 million logins every day.

But with this tremendous popularity comes a dark side as well. Virus writers and other cybercriminals go where the numbers are -- and that includes popular social media sites. To help you avoid a con or viral infection, we’ve put together this list of the top five social media scams.

5. Chain Letters
You’ve likely seen this one before -- the dreaded chain letter has returned. It may appear in the form of, "Retweet this and Bill Gates will donate $5 million to charity!" But hold on, let’s think about this. Bill Gates already does a lot for charity. Why would he wait for something like this to take action? Answer: He wouldn’t. Both the cause and claim are fake.

So why would someone post this? Good question. It could be some prankster looking for a laugh, or a spammer needing "friends" to hit up later. Many well-meaning people pass these fake claims onto others. Break the chain and inform them of the likely ruse.

4. Cash Grabs
By their very nature, social media sites make it easy for us to stay in touch with friends, while reaching out to meet new ones. But how well do you really know these new acquaintances? That person with the attractive profile picture who just friended you -- and suddenly needs money -- is probably some cybercriminal looking for easy cash. Think twice before acting. In fact, the same advice applies even if you know the person.

Picture this: You just received an urgent request from one of your real friends who "lost his wallet on vacation and needs some cash to get home." So, being the helpful person you are, you send some money right away, per his instructions. But there’s a problem: Your friend never sent this request. In fact, he isn’t even aware of it. His malware-infected computer grabbed all of his contacts and forwarded the bogus email to everyone, waiting to see who would bite.

Again, think before acting. Call your friend. Inform him of the request and see if it's true. Next, make sure your computer isn't infected as well.

3. Hidden Charges
"What type of STAR WARS character are you? Find out with our quiz! All of your friends have taken it!" Hmm, this sounds interesting, so you enter your info and cell number, as instructed. After a few minutes, a text turns up. It turns out you’re more Yoda than Darth Vader. Well, that’s interesting … but not as much as your next month’s cell bill will be. You’ve also just unwittingly subscribed to some dubious service that charges $9.95 every month.

As it turns out, that "free, fun service" is neither. Be wary of these bait-and-switch games. They tend to thrive on social sites.

2. Phishing Requests
"Somebody just put up these pictures of you drunk at this wild party! Check 'em out here!" Huh? Let me see that! Immediately, you click on the enclosed link, which takes you to your Twitter or Facebook login page. There, you enter your account info -- and a cybercriminal now has your password, along with total control of your account.

How did this happen? Both the email and landing page were fake. That link you clicked took you to a page that only looked like your intended social site. It's called phishing, and you've just been had. To prevent this, make sure your Internet security includes antiphishing defenses. Many freeware programs don't include this essential protection.

1. Hidden URLs
Beware of blindly clicking on shortened URLs. You'll see them everywhere on Twitter, but you never know where you're going to go since the URL ("Uniform Resource Locator," the Web address) hides the full location. Clicking on such a link could direct you to your intended site, or one that installs all sorts of malware on your computer.

URL shorteners can be quite useful. Just be aware of their potential pitfalls and make sure you have real-time protection against spyware and viruses.

Bottom line: Sites that attract a significant number of visitors are going to lure in a criminal element, too. If you take security precautions ahead of time, such as using antivirus and anti-spyware protection, you can defend yourself against these dangers and surf with confidence.

Copyright (c) 2010 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.

Consumers More Likely to Express Satisfaction via SocNet

Despite common industry wisdom that consumers are much more likely to publicize negative experiences, consumers express satisfaction on social networks more frequently than disappointment, according to an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics. Data from “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” indicates in the case of restaurants, 60% of online consumers use social networking sites to express satisfaction about a purchase, brand or retailer.

This makes restaurants the vertical most likely to receive good publicity via social network. Other verticals with 50% or more of online consumers saying they use social networks to express satisfaction are food brands and household products (53% each) and telecommunications (50%).

Household Products Most Likely to Get Disappointing SocNet Comments

In addition to being the vertical fourth-most-likely to receive positive social network comments from consumers, household products are also most likely to receive negative social network comments. However, only 29% of online consumers say they use social networks to express disappointment in household products.

Interestingly, both the telecommunications (28%) and restaurant (25%) verticals are also among the most likely to receive disappointing social network comments from consumers.

Consumers Most Interested in Education, Sports Points

In terms of offers to win online points that can be redeemed for products or prizes via social networks, consumer interest currently appears tepid. No vertical has more than 50% of online consumers expressing interest in winning points via social network. Education (47%), sports-related (44%) and electronics (43%) are the leading verticals in this area.

Coupons Draw More Interest than Points

When it comes to printable coupons obtained from social networks, online consumers show a bit more interest. Fifty-six percent are interested in receiving printable coupons from educational brands, while 52% are interested in receiving printable coupons from sports-related brands. Interest in printable coupons from brands in the restaurant (49%), auto, electronics and food (48% for each vertical) verticals was also higher than interest in points from any vertical.

Almost Half of Online Consumers Likely to Post Product Content

Other study results show that a combined 49% of online consumers are extremely (5%), very (10%) or somewhat (34%) likely to post interesting or relevant content about a product/service, company or brand such as sale announcements, coupons, new product announcements, interesting videos, etc. on social networking sites.

Interestingly, a combined 60% of online consumers are extremely (5%), very (13%) or somewhat (42%) likely to take action when a friend posts this type of social network content.

About the Data: In April 2011, ROI Research and Performics conducted an online survey of 2,997 consumers age 13 and older who access at least one social network regularly.

Older Facebook Users Catching On to ‘Liking’ Brands

Users ages 55 and up increasingly likely to connect with companies

It took older web users a few years to begin social networking after it had been popularized by the younger set, but they soon became the fastest-growing segment of users on sites like Facebook. Now it appears they are also growing into a specific social media habit that had been more popular among younger adults: connecting with brands.

As recently as September 2010, based on research from Wedbush Securities, it seemed as if Facebook engagement with brands just might not interest users over age 55. At that point, only about one in four of Facebook’s oldest users had “liked” a brand on the site, compared with 60% of those ages 18 to 34.

By November 2010, over-55s had begun to close the gap, however, and by April 2011, nearly half were connecting with brands. Engagement had also risen among 18- to 34-year-olds as well as the 35-to-54 age group over the period. Overall, 59% of adult Facebook users had “liked” a brand as of April, up from 47% the previous September. Uptake among the oldest users appears to have been a major factor in this rise.

Increased engagement among older boomers and seniors suggests that Facebook users of all ages have some interest in connecting with brand pages, rather than appealing only to young adults. Since most older Facebook users still have not “liked” a brand, there could still be room to grow in this demographic. The climbing level of activity among the middle age group indicates that younger boomers could have just as much potential social engagement with brands as millennials and Gen Xers.

Typically, social media users report connecting with brands to get deals and discounts, as well as information about products and special offers. But what brand fans expect can vary. For example, affluent social media users tended to follow brands because of a preexisting affinity for them, and a desire to be kept informed. Many older users will fall into this group, due to the point they have reached in their careers and their longer opportunity to build up net worth.

Facebook 'sorry' for face tagging launch

Facebook has apologised for the way it rolled out new software that automatically recognises users' faces without informing them.

The social networking website admitted it should have done more to notify members about the global launch of the system.

The new feature scans uploaded photographs and attempts to match faces to images already stored on the site.

It then suggests the name of a friend to assign, or 'tag', to the photo.

Although users have the option to switch it off, many complained that they were not explicitly asked if they wanted it activated.

Facebook said that the system was intended to speed up the process of tagging.

It was introduced in the US in December 2010 but has only now been launched globally.

In a statement, the company headed by Mark Zuckerberg said it 'should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them.'

Facebook said it has been contacted by regulators and was responding to their inquiries to 'satisfy any concerns they will have'.

It added that the facial recognition technology would only be applied to newly-uploaded photos.

Users can disable the feature by turning off the 'suggest photos of me to friends' option on their privacy settings.

Graham Cluley, senior consultant at security firm Sophos, said that users' annoyance was less about the product's purpose than the manner in which it was made live.

In his blog, he writes: 'We simply had to wait until Facebook decided to roll it out to our account. Now might be a good time to check your Facebook privacy settings.'

He added that the actual tagging is still done only by friends, but Facebook appeared to be pushing friends to tag each other.

Face-recognition technology is just the latest Facebook product that has sparked privacy concerns.

Facebook Places, a location-based service, was launched last year, broadcasting information about users' whereabouts unless they specifically changed their privacy settings.

At the end of last year, Facebook admitted an 'inadvertent privacy breach', confirming that some of its most popular applications had transmitted identifying information, such as user names, to advertising and internet-tracking companies.

The admission followed a Wall Street Journal investigation which uncovered evidence that some popular Facebook apps had shared user data with internet tracking organisations.

The breach affected tens of millions of users, including those who had set their profiles to the most secure and robust privacy settings.

Facebook insisted the breach did not expose any private user information and is still working with developers to improve the system.

Source: www.bigpond.com

LinkedIn Seen as Most Important SocNet

While Facebook has the highest engagement rate of the “big five” social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube), the highest percentage of online consumers think having a LinkedIn account is important, according to an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics. Data from “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” indicates 59% of online consumers rate having a LinkedIn account 4 or 5 on a five-point importance scale, compared to 53% giving this level of importance to having a Facebook account.

Twitter, YouTube Also Beat Facebook

Twitter (58%) and YouTube (55%) also had a higher percentage of online consumers ranking them as important. Interestingly, although MySpace is widely regarded as having lost significant importance to consumers in the last several years, its importance percentage tied Facebook’s (53%).

LinkedIn Jumps in Importance Since 2010

In 2010, only 41% of online consumers gave LinkedIn a four- or five-point importance rating, meaning this figure has grown 44% in one year. Twitter has grown 45% in this rating, from 40% to 58%. MySpace appears to be rebounding in perceived importance, as 39% of online consumers in 2010 but 53% in 2011 giving it a four- or five-point rating, a 36% increase.

Meanwhile, the percentage of consumers rating Facebook as important dropped 5% year-over-year, from 56% to 53%.

Facebook Dominates Engagement

When it comes to engagement, Facebook is the unquestioned leader. Ninety-seven percent of online consumers visit Facebook at least weekly and 70% visit at least daily. These figures are close to double those of LinkedIn in terms of weekly visitation (50%) 3.5 times higher in terms of daily visitation (20%).

The only other social network with a visitation rate even close to one of Facebook’s is YouTube, with 86% of online consumers visiting at least once a week (11% lower rate).

LinkedIn, MySpace Visit Frequency Declines

Although both LinkedIn and MySpace saw significant improvement in the percentage of online consumers considering them important, both saw their visit frequency decline from 2010. In 2010, 67% of online consumers visited LinkedIn at least weekly, a figure that dropped 25%. Daily visits dropped 10%, from 22% to 20%.

Meanwhile, the percentage of online consumers visiting MySpace at least weekly dropped 41%, from 76% to 45%, and the percentage visiting at least daily dropped 44%, from 41% to 23%. Twitter’s daily visitation rate stayed flat at 44% but its weekly visitation rate declined 14%, from 81% to 70%.

Visitation figures for Facebook and YouTube underwent minimal changes.

Facebook Surges in 2010

Social networking category leader Facebook continued its momentum as it amassed millions of new users and people spent more and more of their time on the site during 2010, according to a February 2011 white paper from comScore. “The 2010 US Digital Year in Review” indicates that Facebook accounted for 10% of US page views in 2010, while three out of every 10 US internet sessions included a visit to the site.

Although MySpace maintained its hold on the number two ranking in the social networking category with 50 million visitors in December 2010, its audience declined 27% and total time spent on the site declined 50%.

LinkedIn emerged as the third-largest site in the category with 26.6 million visitors in December 2010 Meanwhile, number four Twitter climbed to 18% to 23.6 million visitors in December 2010 (not counting third-party app or mobile usage).

About the Data: In April 2011, ROI Research and Performics conducted an online survey of 2,997 consumers age 13 and older who access at least one social network regularly.

Apple fans, developers welcome iCloud

Apple Inc took a big step toward getting people to store and access their data on the Internet as CEO Steve Jobs emerged from medical leave to present the iCloud music-streaming service.

A thin Jobs walked out on Monday (June 6) to a standing ovation from the more than 5,000 Apple faithful at its Worldwide Developers' Conference, outlining a service that could further untether users who rely on storing their data on home computers even as

they walk around with more and more mobile devices.

'The vision that I heard presented this morning was so compelling and so unifying in terms of understanding how people use a combination of desktop and mobile devices that I really think that Apple has nailed it on the head,' said developer Joe Wein.

Systems manager Dave Kaminsky was excited about the new developments but had some reservations about the cloud.

'How do we keep our secure IP from going out to the cloud?' he asked.

Developer Joe Pezzillo said the iCloud confirmed Apple's commitment to the end users of its devices.

'Right out of the gate, (it) is looking like it's going to be extremely competitive with what other people are offering and should be a real boon for users. I mean, ultimately the thing that we saw to day is that Apple has recommitted itself, or continues to have its commitment toward end users and it's trying to do the best possible things for them on all the different devices and now in the cloud,' he said.

Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor whose decision to headline the event assuaged some concerns on Wall Street about his health, said nothing about his health, but strode onstage after James Brown's seminal soul classic 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' blasted over the sound system.

'We think this solution is our next big insight. Which is, we're going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device, just like an iPhone, an iPad or an iPod Touch. And we're going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud. Because all these new devices have communications built into them, they can all talk to the cloud whenever they want,' he said of the iCloud, which lets users play their music and get access to their data from any Apple device -- a crucial capability for users increasingly accustomed to performing tasks on the move.

Jobs looked frail, but it didn't worry the conference attendees.

'Honestly, to me he looks the same as he looked last year and the year before. I hope his health is improving. But he's a great speaker. I don't know how much he's involved in the day-to-day, but I love listening to him speak,' said Kaminsky

'I don't think that he is letting his personal medical struggles get in the way of executing his vision, so I was very impressed by that as well,' said Wein.

Monday was only the second appearance by Jobs in public on his company's behalf since he went on medical leave in January. He shared the spotlight, letting his executive team showcase new features in Apple's mobile and computer operating software, before returning to the stage to launch the iCloud.

Story source: www.bigpond.com

How Social Shoppers Share Local Deals

Social deal site users ages 25 to 44 share offers most

 

Growth in daily deal site usage is still rapid, according to April 2011 site rankings from Compete. The analytics firm reported that visits to Groupon rose 5.4% over March and a dramatic 655.8% over the previous April to 24 million uniques. At the same time, competitor LivingSocial increased unique visitors by 32.7% month over month and 418.4% year over year.

These sites depend not only on consumers purchasing their highly discounted local deals, but also on consumers sharing them. And research from mobile Wi-Fi hotspot provider JiWire suggests many web users are doing both.

In a Q1 2011 survey of its Wi-Fi Media Channel users, JiWire found that 44% made a purchase from a social shopping deal site, such as Groupon or LivingSocial, at least once a month. That includes 14% who do so at least once a week. Fewer than one-third of mobile Wi-Fi users said they never used social deals sites.

Purchasing local deals was more frequent among users under age 45. Those ages 25 to 44 were most likely to purchase a deal overall.

Daily deal sites typically encourage users to pass along offers to friends and family via email or social media, to spread usage virally. The JiWire research indicates the pass-along value of such coupons is high, with more than six in 10 mobile-Wi-Fi-using respondents sharing local deals with their friends.

Those over 45 were least likely to share, but a majority still did so. Respondents ages 25 to 44 were most active in this aspect of local deals as well. In addition, women were slightly more likely to share than men.

Other research also shows that, while usage of social shopping sites is fairly robust among older internet users, millennials and Gen Xers are more likely to be users. Research firm Morpace found in February 2011 that 40.2% of 18- to 34-year-old online consumers used Groupon, compared with 34.1% of 35- to 54-year-olds and 23.2% of those 55 and over.

Online Coupons Reach Nearly Half of Web Users

 

88.2 million US adults will redeem an online coupon this year

A digital revolution in couponing coupled with the belt-tightening of the recession have combined to make coupons cool among more than just those clipping the Sunday circular. Digital coupon usage is now firmly a part of the online shopping experience of millions of US consumers.

eMarketer estimates that by the end of 2011, nearly half of US adult internet users, or 88.2 million people, will have redeemed an online coupon or code for use either online or offline in the past year. By 2013, 96.8 million adults will redeem an online coupon.

“Consumer brands are accustomed to promoting their products in stores and in newspaper inserts,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst and author of a forthcoming report on online couponing. “But as more shoppers make purchase decisions online before taking a shopping trip, brands are following them onto the internet.”

The growth rate for online coupon users is expected to gradually decline through 2013, as most online consumers predisposed to using digital coupons already do so.

Already, household usage of digital coupons has nearly doubled since 2005. Experian Simmons reported that 12% of households redeemed coupons from email or the web that year; it expects that figure to reach 22% in 2011.

“Today’s online coupon users tend to be affluent, highly educated and over the age of 55,” said Grau. “This is valuable input for marketers shaping the different elements of a promotional campaign, such as what products to promote with coupons, where to place the offers and what marketing messages to use.”

Braced for rate rise? Steel for two

The economy recorded its biggest contraction in 20 years in the March quarter, yet economists say interest rates could rise as early as this week. What gives?

INTEREST rates are going higher, and soon. It could be this week, it might be in a month, or maybe the month after that, but they are going up. You can bank on it, economists say.

Talk to practically anyone paid to predict these things right now and they will tell you to expect at least one interest rate rise before the year is out - most likely two.

Two would take the cash rate from 4.75 per cent to 5.25 per cent, adding 0.5 percentage points to your variable home mortgage rate. Some, such as Deutsche Bank chief economist Adam Boyton, expect the Reserve Bank to move on rates as early as this week after the central bank's meeting on Tuesday (the news will be announced on Wednesday morning).

ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan doesn't rule this out but suggests July is more likely.

Commonwealth Bank senior economist John Peters is looking for a move after the August meeting. Either way, all three expect rates are headed higher, and soon.

Incidentally, CommBank's Mr Peters is looking for two rises before the end of the year and another two in 2012. If he's right, you need to start factoring the impact of a one percentage point increase in your variable mortgage rate reasonably soon.

Deutsche's Mr Boyton's call could be seen as gutsy given last week's unexpectedly high 1.2 per cent GDP contraction for the March quarter. But he says this news didn't change the underlying economic story at the macro level. His argument is that while the contraction was sharp, the bounce-back from it will be equally so. ''A lot of people have looked at the economy in an optically different fashion following the 1.2 per cent decline in the GDP, and it does create a bit of a communication challenge for the Reserve Bank. But that's a communication issue rather than an economic issue - fundamentally the big picture hasn't changed.''

Mr Boyton says the Reserve has also established a record of moving on rates at unexpected times in recent years.

Remember the rate increase during the election campaign in November 2007 and the lift last November following a low reading on inflation? So while he admits he's in the minority - a Bloomberg survey of economists says five expect rates to move higher this week, against 23 who don't - Mr Boyton is sticking with it.

''The Reserve has to set policy for the average and the reality is we have strong business investment at a time when we are at close to full employment, so other parts of the economy will have to grow at below average to accommodate this.''

ANZ's Warren Hogan agrees. He says this is the key reason why interest rates need to rise even though big parts of the economy are already struggling. ''We need to get one in pretty quickly so we are set for a significant surge in mining investment, building and construction,'' he says. ''It's a problem we have in Australia; we have very little spare capacity, particularly in the labour market, just as we are heading into a big push-up in investment.''

This is not a short-term issue, either, according to Mr Hogan. ''It's the reality of the Australian economy in the next three to five years - some sectors will do it tough.''

CommBank's Mr Peters says consumers have done their bit by being cautious and well behaved - using 11.5 per cent of their income to pay down debt, a rate not seen since the early 1970s, controlling spending and putting money into term deposits so that the banking sector doesn't need as much expensive offshore borrowing for local home mortgages.

''Even in the first quarter, the domestic demand side was still strong, growing 3.3 per cent in annual terms,'' Mr Peters says.

''But this mining investment boom is going to keep going, and the rest of the economy has got to make room for it.''

Story by Richard Webb http://www.smh.com.au

Incentives Motivate Moms to Refer Brands to Friends

Coupons and discounts among most popular

Whether it’s exchanging stories about shopping bargains, offering product reviews or sharing parenting advice, moms love to trade information and engage in online conversations about themselves and their families. But moms say they would be significantly more inclined to refer a brand or product to friends when offered an incentive. Marketers can boost engagement and motivate moms to spread word-of-mouth about products by providing coupons, discounts, deals and other tangible financial rewards.

lucid marketing reported in April that only 34% of moms surveyed in January 2011 said they regularly use tell-a-friend requests when asked by a business or website, while 63% do so occasionally. However, if offered an incentive, nearly 66% of moms said they would be more likely to refer a brand or website to others.

The mom segment is made up of vocal, tech-savvy, price-conscious consumers who are an important purchase influencer for families and more apt to use incentives than the average consumer. According to BabyCenter, smartphone-owning moms found coupons (55%) and ads that featured nearby deals (34%) to be among the most appealing. While general population smartphone owners also found coupons and local deals attractive, the percentages were smaller, at 37% and 29%, respectively.

Moms are highly engaged in brand conversations and are keen on finding bargains and additional ways to save. Incentives, including coupons, local deals, discounts and product samples, serve as a powerful marketing tool to drive moms to discuss and pass information about products on to their network of friends. With wide social circles and a high tendency to communicate and share ideas via word-of-mouth marketing, moms are extremely receptive to brand referrals and product recommendations from their peers.