Twitter 2012: Bigger and More Ads


People predicted rioting when Twitter decided to post ads within its feeds. However, those protests never materialized. Instead, Twitter was used to mobilize protests in the streets in Egypt, Yemen and Tunesia.

The two instances are related. As Twitter became a globally recognized entity, it also began efforts to monetize itself earnestly in 2011. As previously mentioned, Twitter’s successful introduction of advertising was one of the big social media marketing trends of the year. Despite warnings from some Twitter purists, users didn’t seem to mind more ads on Twitter, perhaps concluding that Twitter was, after all, a for-profit business.


Growth Via Advertising


Though many perceived Twitter’s 2011 ad rollout as an unalloyed success, eMarketer noted a few hiccups here and there. Twitter’s international expansion took longer than promised, and a self-serve ad product didn’t materialize until the end of the year — even then, for just a handful of advertisers.

Concerns aside, eMarketer is still bullish about Twitter’s prospects in the coming year. The researcher reckons that Twitter will post $259.9 million in revenues in 2012, an 86.3% jump from 2011. Debra Aho Williamson, the author of the report, wrote that although Twitter has a smaller audience than Facebook, marketers have posted “solid engagement rates” with Twitter’s ad products that outperform Facebook’s in some cases. (That’s fairly faint praise, however, since the click-through rates for Facebook are notoriously low. Facebook, however, has sought to reframe the argument by justly noting that CTRs are a poor measure of an ad’s success.)

Twitter doesn’t provide much transparency into its advertising performance, but some partners, notably EA, have touted an 11% engagement rate in the U.K. for a Promoted Trends campaign. Moreover, users don’t seem to mind ad products like Promoted Tweets, according to research from Lab42.

The onrush of advertising to Twitter isn’t just hype. It’s rare that a day goes by in which Twitter’s home page doesn’t sport a Promoted Tweet, Promoted Trend or Promoted Account by one advertiser or another. Twitter doesn’t divulge the pricing for such campaigns, but the Wall Street Journal pegged the price of a Promoted Tweet north of $100,000.

Now that the Twitter ad machine is up and running, the company is looking to expand its footprint. In September, Twitter opened a London office, its first international outpost for sales. That month, the company also began accepting political ads, broadening its variety of advertising.

With the company clearly on a growing path, the obvious question is whether an IPO is in the near future. Officially, at least, there are no such plans. “We can stay private and grow the business the way we want, as long as we want,” CEO Dick Costolo told The Mercury News in December. “We never think about or talk about when we want to go public.” (Twitter could not be reached for comment for this story.) Yet Twitter just bought a fancy new headquarters in San Francisco designed to accommodate far more than the company’s current 700 or so employees.


Possible Complications


Of course, there was once a time when MySpace was the next big thing, and Second Life appeared to be the marketing platform of the future. Twitter seems to be on a tear at the moment, but alas, things change. Though it seems unlikely, there’s a chance Twitter could jump the shark or experience a Netflix-like fall from grace.

How? For starters, Google+ could really take off and, realizing its SEO benefits, users and brands could begin focusing on the network more — at Twitter’s expense. Likewise, Facebook’s addition of subscriptions could usurp Twitter’s role as a celebrity platform. More celebs could follow Ashton Kutcher’s lead by leaving the tweeting to professionals, which would result in a duller experience all around. Brands, assessing the damage that Kenneth Cole and Chrysler suffered due to errant tweets, could decide it’s time to cut losses and shutter their sparsely followed accounts. Finally, Twitter might simple expire like any other fad, as users move on to something else.

Another possibility is that Twitter could get acquired and change in a fundamental way. Imagine, for instance, that Google decided to buy Twitter and absorb it into Google+. The post-IPO Facebook could also be a buyer.

Crazy, you say? Remember that YouTube was once a separate company as well.

While the scenario is plausible, the idea of a new competitor or a group of competitors stealing Twitter’s thunder seems far-fetched. Five years after its founding, Twitter is now a global brand name and a symbol of social media-enabled freedom. There simply will never be anything like Twitter again.

Image courtesy of Flickr, tantek

More About: features, Promoted Tweets, Social Media, trending, Twitter, Twitter advertising


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/12/27/twitter-predictions-2012/?utm_source=feedburne...

Can Apple Become the Next Big Content Creator?


Nathan Safran heads the research department at Conductor, a leading SEO technology firm. Formerly, Nathan was an analyst for Forrester Research‘s consumer product strategy group, where he researched trend studies, consumer attitudes and behaviors toward technology adoption. Nathan blogs at exceljockey.com.

The status quo for visual content has always been that its creation, delivery and consumption have clearly delineated borders. Content creators make it, cable providers deliver it, and viewers consume it on the big screen in their living room.

In the last few years, however, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the visual content landscape. For the first time since the advent of cable television in 1948, the lines are blurring as the quality of content created by non-prime networks — and even individuals — continues to improve. Plus, content increasingly reaches us over the Internet, consumed on whatever screen we happen to be in front of.

As rumors about an Apple television continue to gather steam, many believe that a content package of some kind will be part of any new iTV offering.

Yet for potential content creators like Apple, formidable challenges lay ahead, for instance, when it comes to attractive subscription packaging. And license holders are loathe to upset the traditional TV network model with its predictable payment model. What else lays ahead?


Who will Control User Experience?


According to recent reports, Apple could be developing a new TV (or line of TVs) that will likely carry a premium price tag and new content consumption options. This type of situation could leave a significant portion of consumer experience outside of Apple’s control. (Although, it’s not the first time Apple’s user experience has fallen outside of its control: iPhone service is controlled by cell phone companies.) So Apple may find itself at the mercy of the content creators who are licensing their content in new ways.


Apple as “Content Facilitator”


Perhaps it’s time for Apple to get into the content creation business and license its own content. Imagine if the company approached a number of successful producers and convinced them to create an Apple series, for instance, “TV Series X by Steven Spielberg, exclusively on iTunes,” or Quentin Tarantino, or Tom Hanks.

However, “content creator” doesn’t imply that Apple become the new Disney. “Content facilitator” is the more accurate descriptor, suggesting that Apple target other established, successful creators to generate compelling content that Apple would then exclusively distribute.


Exclusive Content will Drive Hardware Sales


To be sure, Apple will still need ongoing participation from traditional content holders. After all, any new content consumption package will have to include access to Glee, Grey’s Anatomy and other popular programming. But if Apple succeeds with compelling content, its exclusivity will help drive hardware sales, particularly if Apple actually releases a TV. And driving hardware sales is one of Apple’s primary goals, according to Steve Rubel, EVP at Edelman: “Seems like Amazon and Apple are really opposites. Amazon uses devices to sell more content. Apple uses content to sell more devices.”

Yes, it will be costly for Apple to develop its own content, but the company has plenty of cash in hand. Plus, non-traditional content holders have already begun acquiring content; see Netflix’s recent resuscitation of the popular Arrested Development series, and its acquisition of Fincher’s House of Cards, for which the company outbid HBO.

What I am suggesting, however, is that Apple take it further than Netflix by applying Apple development principles/excellence to content creation. That is, Apple pursues exclusive content development, then applies its high standards of excellence to the process of content creation.

For Apple, succeeding in any way with content facilitation will be a step toward loosening the grip content licensing has on the holistic user experience. The company will need to:

  • Drive hardware sales. Apple will need to generate exclusive content, accessible across the full spectrum of Mac/iOS devices. Plus, a new Apple TV will drive new hardware sales and increase stickiness for existing customers.
  • Create control with user experience. If the content is compelling enough, Apple will succeed in challenging the control license holders currently hold over the Apple user experience, at least as far as content consumption goes.

Those who insist Apple is outside of its wheelhouse and should leave the job of content creation to traditional creators need to realize the potential of future content practices. As Steve Jobs pointed out, things are the way they are only because people no smarter than you said they are.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, CostinT

More About: apple, Apple TV, content production, contributor, features, TV

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/12/27/apple-content-creator/?utm_source=feedburner&u...

Airtight brings Apple's Airplay to your Google TV, makes Cupertino and Mountain View play nice

Airtight
We've seen Airplay work its way into Android phones thanks to apps before, but what if you to reverse the equation? What if you want to stream not from, but to a desert-flavored player. Well, it's little more than a proof of concept at the moment, but Airtight does just that -- turns your Google TV into an Airplay-compatible receiver. You'll obviously have to be running the latest OS update to enable Market access, and the you'll pay $0.99 for the privilege of tinkering with the still rather rough app. For the moment there is no support for streaming music (only videos), anything with DRM is wont play and mirroring is but a dream. But, it works, and that's all that matters... right? Hit up the source link for more details and to purchase it now.

Airtight brings Apple's Airplay to your Google TV, makes Cupertino and Mountain View play nice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/27/airtight-brings-apples-airplay-to-your-goo...

How to Create Buzz for Your Startup Using Social Media [Infographic]

Social media can be a blessing or a nuisance for startups. When used correctly and effectively it can become an extremely powerful and cheap marketing tool. Your startup’s product can spread virally through networks and be the tipping point for future success. Social media can also work against you. It can provide a large platform for naysayers to voice their opinions and as Kayak found out recently, it can be a huge mishap for public relations. It is very important to carefully craft and execute a social media marketing strategy.

This robust infographic from Udemy will give you some incredibly useful tips and tricks on creating buzz for your startup. From creating a launch page to connecting with the right people, creating a marketing campaign and blogging, these tips are worth a look. My favorite – MAKE GREAT CONTENT. It also lists pros and cons of the most popular social networks – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, how to track your results, and what you should be measuring in order to maximize return.

 

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2011/12/27/how-to-create-buzz-for-your-startup-using-soci...

Edward Burns and the Socialization of Indie Cinema


“Twitter has fundamentally changed the way I make films,” film director, actor, writer and producer Edward Burns told me. At first blush, that might seem like an audacious statement, but in an era when full productions can get funded on Kickstarter and feature-length films are shot on consumer DSLRs, that boldness gives way to practicality.

Thanks to social and digital, the independent film movement is in a sort of renaissance. Not since the rise of the “indie” movement in the 1990s — when unknown filmmakers like Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez rose to prominence — has there been so much disruption in the business of filmmaking.

It’s a world that Burns knows well. In 1995 Burns’s debut film, The Brothers McMullen, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Shot for just $28,000, the film would gross over $10 million at the box office, becoming one of the biggest independent films of its era.

Sixteen years later, Burns is still making films without the aid of expensive crews, big studio contracts or pricey equipment.

Burns’s latest film, Newlyweds, is now available on VOD and Vudu. It comes to iTunes on Dec. 30, 2011. Although the film will have a small theatrical run in Chicago and San Francisco next month, VOD and iTunes are the delivery methods of choice.

We spoke to Burns earlier this month as he prepared for the Newlyweds film release. He talked about the changing nature of making film and the importance of social media to tie it all together.


The $9000 Movie Budget


One of the more remarkable aspects about Newlyweds is that it was shot in 12 days for $9,000. Burns laid out the budget process on Twitter and explained the process on his YouTube channel.

Burns used the Canon EOS 5D Mark II to shoot the film, along with a few stock Canon lenses. The quality of the output that filmmakers can get from prosumer DSLRs like the Mark II is stunning. Furthermore, he believes we’re only two or three generations away from having cinema-quality video sensors in our smartphones. The film director further reduced costs by using natural lighting and having cast members wear their own clothes and do their own makeup.

Burns talked about the very real implications these changes are having on young filmmakers.

“When I was in school making McMullen, I had to scrimp and save to buy film stock. You usually got poor-quality film stock or ends of other reels. That’s why movies from that era have that grimy, grungy look. A kid coming out of film school today won’t have that problem.”

Of course, lower barriers to entry also mean increased competition. Still, Burns doesn’t see this as a bad thing. “Why shouldn’t filmmaking experience the same disruption that every other industry has experienced?” he asked. “It’s happened in music and literature. Why should filmmaking be any different?”


The Growing Importance of Social


Edward Burns credits Ted Hope for convincing him to join Twitter. Hope, a prominent independent film producer in New York City, explained to Burns it was crucial that he find 500 followers to share and promote his message. Hope’s thesis — which he has since revised to include 5,000 fans — is that connecting with the people that really care about your work is the most effective way of getting things seen.

Twitter has fundamentally changed the way I make films.

Hope was right. Since joining Twitter, Burns has found numerous opportunities to answer questions from fans, share insights about his filmmaking process and, of course, promote his projects.

For his last project, Nice Guy Johnny, Burns was able to crack the top six in iTunes the week it was released. “This was a film with no budget, absolutely no money for marketing — outside of traditional morning show press stuff — that appeared next to major box office hits.”

Studios spend tremendous amounts of money raising awareness as to the digital and home video availability of their films. Edward Burns was able to accomplish that with Twitter.

Burns turned to the social web while working on Newlyweds as well. When it came time to get a poster for the film’s debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Burns turned to the online community. Fans voted for their favorite submissions. The winner of the poster contest not only got to keep the rights to his artwork (he’s now selling prints and t-shirts on his own website), he also got flown in for the premiere.

When it came time find a song for the closing credits, Burns once again turned to the online community and then chose the winner from the submissions.

Although Burns hasn’t cast anyone directly using YouTube, he agrees with our assertion that online video is the new casting tape.


The Film


Watching Newlyweds, I would never have expected that its production budget was only $9,000. The film is endearing, funny and real, a story about a newlywed couple whose “honeymoon” stage comes to an abrupt end thanks to some unexpected drama from both sides of the family.

It’s very Woody Allen-esque, reminiscent of Husbands and Wives and Hannah and Her Sisters in its understanding of relationships.

After watching Newlyweds, I was struck by how difficult it is to find a good relationship film — be it comedy or drama — in the theater. Even harder to find are those smaller ensemble films. Once a staple in cinema, these types of stories are often pushed to the sidelines in lieu of franchise films, family comedies and big-budget action films.

Thankfully, in the era of iPads, connected HDTVs and more widespread indie distribution, filmmakers are still able to tell these types of stories.

More About: edward burns, filmmaking, independent film, YouTube

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/12/27/edward-burns-newlyweds-indie/?utm_source=feedb...

Where Do You Put The Presents?: Portal X-Mas Tree

portal-christmas-tree.jpg This is a Portal'd Christmas tree. It's my last Christmas related post until at LEAST November of next year. Kidding, I can't actually make that promise because what if a really badass Santa post comes along in March? You know what they say: honesty is the best policy. Personally, I think a good refund policy is even better, but what do I know? I'm just a guy who refills shampoo bottles with water and returns them to Walmart. A Very Portal Christmas Tree [reddit] Thanks to SaraDevil, who agrees a Christmas tree you can't put presents under is just taking up space.

from Geekologie - Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome http://www.geekologie.com/2011/12/where-do-you-put-the-presents-portal-x-m.php

Suppliers to Begin Preparing 32" and 37" Apple Television Sets in Early 2012?

Digitimes reports that Apple's suppliers are set to begin preparing materials for the new Apple television set during the first quarter of 2012, with the company reportedly targeting a launch for the second or third quarter of the year. Apple is said to be initially working on 32-inch and 37-inch sizes.
The supply chain of Apple will start preparing materials for iTV sets in the first quarter of 2012 in order to meet Apple's schedule to launch the new display products in the second or the third quarter of 2012, according to industry sources. [...]

Media reports in Korea also indicated that Samsung Electronics started producing chips for the iTVs in November 2011, while Sharp will produce the displays for the new TVs.

While the new television sets will reportedly integrate most if not all of the functionality of the current Apple TV set-top box, sources also indicate that Apple is likely to release an updated standalone Apple TV box next year as well.

While rumors of an Apple television set have been floating around for quite some time, they gained steam several months ago when Steve Jobs was quoted in Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of him as saying that he had "finally cracked" how to create a revolutionary interface for a television product. Rumors have since suggested that Apple is working on a Siri-enabled television set that would be introduced by 2013.


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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page http://www.macrumors.com/2011/12/27/suppliers-to-begin-preparing-32-and-37-ap...

How Tech and Social Media Companies Cashed Out in 2011


A colleague here at Mashable proposed an Onion-style spoof story entitled “Google Buys Everyone,” which would detail how the search giant hoovered every company in existence. As Homer Simpson once said, “It’s funny because it’s true.”

Google‘s insatiable appetite for other companies was just one of the business narratives of 2011, though. The other was the handful of social media IPOs that were eager to align themselves with the loony Dot-com era, a baseless comparison if there ever was one.

Whatever the case, for a lot of folks in the social media/tech industry, 2011 was a good year to cash out. Here’s a look at the two primary methods: going public or getting acquired (often by Google).


Linking In to Wall Street


Social media’s first test of investor enthusiasm came in May, when LinkedIn went public. Judging by the initial success, LinkedIn passed the test with flying colors. Shares doubled on May 19, the day the company went public, and though they have fallen off a bit since, were still way above opening price at press time.

LinkedIn’s roughly $6.4 billion valuation is mostly based on hope of future growth. The company turned a small ($4.5 million) in its second quarter, but then lost $1.6 million in its third quarter. However, the network grew its revenues by 126% that quarter and it keeps bulging with new subscribers (the current figure is 130 million). With three revenue streams — advertising, recruiting and premium subscriptions — LinkedIn is one of the safest social media investments, but at this stage, is bent on growth over stable profits.

LinkedIn’s rather pacific IPO was followed by another low-key IPO for Pandora Media in June, but in July the debt ceiling standoff and the European monetary crisis spooked the market. That caused another of the year’s most anticipated IPOs, Groupon’s, to be delayed until November.

Though Groupon had a strong showing the day it went public, within a few weeks, the stock had fallen so far that it just about wiped out any gains achieved that first day.

And Zynga, which had also pushed back its IPO after the summer’s market crash, eventually moved ahead with its plans to go public late in the year. However, it also suffered a dip in stock price.

Given the limited amount of companies going public and their ho-hum stock performances, the comparison between social media IPOs and the Dot-com bubble is pretty weak. The latter era actually lasted from 1995, when Netscape went public, until the 2000 Super Bowl, which was notoriously flooded with Dot-com ads for companies that would cease to exist within a year or two.

In comparison, the trickle of social media IPOs will likely end whenever Facebook goes public (reports say that will happen next April). You call this a bubble? Somewhere, the Pets.com sock puppet is laughing.


The Ever-Expanding Googleplex


Speaking of the ’90s, the federal government smackdown of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion T-Mobile takeover rings familiar of the days when the Department of Justice was considering splitting Microsoft in two. Citing the possible effect on wireless competition, the DOJ filed suit to block the merger in August. The FCC soon piled on too. The deal is now dead in the water.

Government action likely reined in some of Google’s ambitions. Though one report had Google sizing up Yahoo for an acquisition, Google’s biggest real-world scrutiny is likely to come from its pending $12 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility.

That proposed acquisition would cap Google’s 2011 spending spree, which included restaurant rating firm Zagat, social data startup PostRank, CleverSense and AdMeld, among others.

Google’s high profile has caught the attention of the feds. In August, in an appearance that many compared to Bill Gates’ 1998 testimony before the Senate, Google chairman Eric Schmidt was questioned by the Senate Judiciary about Google’s effect on competition. Despite its many acquisitions, perhaps Google will be able to avoid the wrath of antitrust regulators by learning from Schmidt’s deft handling.

Similarly, Microsoft, made its own huge acquisition in 2011, the $8.5 billion purchase of Skype. With its $30 billion-plus war chest, Microsoft is rumored to be looking for other buys as well, including Nokia, which would be an interesting hedge against the Google/Motorola entity.

Apple’s $81.5 billion in cash dwarfs Microsoft’s booty, however. Anticipating Apple’s moves is tough, but linking the company to a potential acquisition target has become a favorite parlor game among bloggers. As the year draws to a close, though, Apple has mostly resisted the urge to snap up other, smaller companies, hence that huge stockpile of money.

Perhaps Apple’s reluctance was based on Steve Jobs’ disgust for startup founders whose only goal was to sell their companies for a quick buck. Even if Apple holds to that philosophy, though, such savvy entrepreneurs will still have a lot of potential sugar daddies to choose from, including, of course, Google.

Image courtesy of Flickr, cambodia4kidsorg

More About: apple, Business, Google, groupon, ipo, microsoft, startup, Zynga

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/social-media-ipos-acquisitions-2011/?utm_sourc...

New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps

If you have that new iPhone you received for the holidays, you're probably looking to load it up with some apps that will enhance your mobile experience. Let me suggest some of the best of the free apps. Of course, everyone will have their own list, but here are my 5 favorites that I think most new iPhone users will love to use and to show off their new iPhone.

If you're a news junkie, by all means get Zite, newly released for the iPhone. It sets you up with news categories of interest to you, then learns what you like by keeping track of stories you click on. Over time, it gets smarter and smarter, so in essence it creates a personalized magazine for you. Their are other news readers and aggregators, but the presentation of stories in Zite and its ability to learn make it my first choice.

Glypmse is one of my very favorite apps, the kind of app I would pay for if it wasn't free. While some of the location-tracking functionality it offers is covered by Apple's iOS 5-only Find my Friends feature, Glympse is more flexible and cross-platform to boot.

With Glympse you send a message (email or SMS) to someone with information on your location; the link is set to expire when you want it to, so your friends can't track you indefinitely as they can with FmF. Let's say you are meeting someone for lunch. When they get your message, they click on the included link, and Glympse loads a map showing a moving pin (that's you) along with your ETA. The person you are meeting doesn't need an iPhone, just any web-capable device, including laptops. It's a great service, and in practice I've found it to be super reliable.

Tango does what Apple's FaceTime won't do, which is to allow you to video conference with another cellphone using 3G (FaceTime requires WiFi). Tango has added clients for Android and Windows Phone, so it's a great way to visually keep in touch with friends. I even tried it with a friend touring China and it worked. An update last week allows you to leave video mail for your Tango buddies.

For more intellectual pursuits, try the recently released TED app. It's a collection of great talks from people in the arts, literature and the sciences. The app has been updated to work with Airplay, so you can stream the audio to another device like an Apple TV 2. I try to watch a TED talk at least once a week, and it's always a treat.

Finally, for pure fun, try Action Movie FX. From the creators of the new Mission: Impossible movie, you can add rather impressive special effects to your own movies. With the free version you can add a missile strike or a car crash to your own video. It looks great, and the price is exactly right. Reviews are glowing. There are some other modules you can buy, like a tornado or helicopter crash, but I was fine with the free effects. It's more fun than you should be allowed to have for free.

Enjoy that new iPhone. These free apps should help get you started. I'll add one bonus free app to the mix. Don't forget the free TUAW iPhone app to help you keep up with the latest and greatest Apple news. Happy Holidays!

New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2011/12/26/new-iphone-try-these-must-have-free-apps/