By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
U.S. home builders broke new ground in September at the fastest pace in more than four years and permits also rose sharply in the strongest sign yet that recovery in the construction trade is becoming firmly entrenched.
Construction on new homes accelerated by 15% to an annual rate of 872,000 last month from a revised 758,000 in August, the Commerce Department said. The increase easily surpassed the 770,000 estimate of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
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Work on new single-family homes, which account for about three-quarters of the housing market, rose 11% last month.
Construction on multi-dwelling units such as condos and townhouses climbed an even faster 25%, but that’s a category that can swing sharply from month to month and is thus less an indicator of overall housing demand.
The number of permits requested, however, underscores the likelihood that the housing market’s recovery is finally for real after a nearly six-year slump.
Building permits also shot up to a four-year high, rising 11.6% to an annual rate of 894,000. August’s permits were revised down slightly, to 801,000.
Permits for single-family homes rose 6.7% to an annualized 545,000 rate last month, while multi-dwelling permits increased 20.3% to 349,000.
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Housing party is just getting started
PNC Financial Services Group chief economist Stuart Hoffman takes a look at the housing starts and permits gains with Alisa Parenti in MarketWatch News Break.
In September, housing starts rose in all regions except the Northeast, with construction strongest in West and South. Both regions saw about a 20% jump in new construction.
Before this year the nation’s construction industry had been stuck in its worst slump in the modern era, following the collapse of a housing bubble in 2006.
Super-low interest rates, a modestly improved economy and a receding foreclosure crisis have all contributed to the upward shift in the demand for new homes.
Yet even though the pace of construction is nearly 35% higher compared to a year ago, construction activity overall remains considerably shrunken from its pre-bubble heyday. Before the bust, housing starts surpassed 2 million a year; they would probably top 1.5 million annually if the economy were fully recovered.
Going forward, home sales and construction could still be partly depressed by a slow growing U.S. economy and a high unemployment rate that limits the number of prospective buyers. The jobless rate is 7.8%.
“How far can the rebound go with unemployment where it is?” asked Steve Blitz, chief economist of ITG Investment Research. “From our perspective, not much farther.”
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Apple makes a move, removing Java applet from OSX.
Further pushing toward the idea of a plugin-free internet,
Apple has issued an update to Java for OS X that removes the Java applet plugin. Attempting to use a Java applet through any OS X web browser will now prompt users to download the latest version directly from Java maker Oracle.
This is not the first time Apple has stopped shipping a specific browser plugin with their computers. With OS X Lion, users discovered that their Macs no longer came with Adobe’s oft-derided Flash Player plugin due to its instability and security issues. Apple has long held browser plugins in contempt, especially following the success of iOS, which hasn’t supported browser plugins at all in the past six years.
Just about every Mac Trojan/vulnerability over recent months and years has been related to outdated Java code. This move should close off those attack vectors.
iOS 6. Some things to keep in mind.
Posted by David Harley
Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
Bill Ray points out for The Register that Apple has quietly reintroduced user tracking for advertisers in iOS 6, though Identification For Advertisers (IFA), which allows advertisers to improve their targeted advertising, isn’t quite the same as UDID (Unique Device IDentifier) and is easy enough to turn off if you know where to look for it. (Unlike UDID, which couldn’t be toggled by the user.) Assuming that you prefer to avoid targeted advertising, of course, which is apparently the preference of 66% of Americans. It depends, I guess, on how much you want those services that are economically dependent or semi-dependent on their advertisers. It’s hard to be sociable online these days without using those services. Maybe I’ll come back to that in a future blog.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
Bill Ray points out for The Register that Apple has quietly reintroduced user tracking for advertisers in iOS 6, though Identification For Advertisers (IFA), which allows advertisers to improve their targeted advertising, isn’t quite the same as UDID (Unique Device IDentifier) and is easy enough to turn off if you know where to look for it. (Unlike UDID, which couldn’t be toggled by the user.) Assuming that you prefer to avoid targeted advertising, of course, which is apparently the preference of 66% of Americans. It depends, I guess, on how much you want those services that are economically dependent or semi-dependent on their advertisers. It’s hard to be sociable online these days without using those services. Maybe I’ll come back to that in a future blog.
IE 10 is almost here.
Microsoft says it will provide a preview version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 users in mid-November. The software maker has been suspiciously quiet about its Internet Explorer plans for Windows 7, always promising that the latest version, available in Windows 8, would make its way to the operating system.
In a company blog post, Microsoft's Rob Mauceri explains that a final version will follow after the company has collected developer and customer feedback. "IE10 brings improved real-world site performance and additional standards support to Windows 7 that Web developers have been asking for," says Mauceri. "IE10 on Windows 7 has the same standards based platform for developers to target as IE10 on Windows 8."
It's not clear why the company has opted to ship a preview version instead of final code for web developers. Initial reaction from the comments on Microsoft's blog post suggest that some developers were expecting a final release soon, rather than a preview. "Why preview?" asks one. "We want to develop optimized sites now!" Another says "I thought IE10 rtm would be out on 26th oct along with windows 8. Not happy microsoft!"
In a company blog post, Microsoft's Rob Mauceri explains that a final version will follow after the company has collected developer and customer feedback. "IE10 brings improved real-world site performance and additional standards support to Windows 7 that Web developers have been asking for," says Mauceri. "IE10 on Windows 7 has the same standards based platform for developers to target as IE10 on Windows 8."
It's not clear why the company has opted to ship a preview version instead of final code for web developers. Initial reaction from the comments on Microsoft's blog post suggest that some developers were expecting a final release soon, rather than a preview. "Why preview?" asks one. "We want to develop optimized sites now!" Another says "I thought IE10 rtm would be out on 26th oct along with windows 8. Not happy microsoft!"
More EV's. More Toyota.
The question is, are other car manufacturers paying close enough attention?
Toyota to bring Scion iQ EV to U.S.
Toyota is bringing its Scion iQ EV battery- electric four-seater city commuter car to the U.S. for car-sharing programs.
The iQ EV features Toyota’s newly developed high-output lithium-ion battery which delivers an electric power consumption rate of 104 Wh/km in a compact and lightweight package. In ideal stop and go driving conditions, the 12 kWh battery provides an estimated range of up to 50 miles on a full charge. The vehicle can be fully charged in approximately three hours at 240V. Its 78-inch wheel base and 13.5 foot turning radius makes the iQ EV highly maneuverable in congested areas where streets are narrow and parking is at a premium.
“Approximately 90 iQ EVs will be available for fleet and car-sharing applications,” said Hostetter. “These programs will further expand Toyota’s comprehensive portfolio of advanced technology vehicles which includes the recently-released RAV4 EV, the Prius Family of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, including the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and the FCHV-Adv (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle-Advanced).”
The iQ EV is replete with energy conserving features such as regenerative braking, heat pump air conditioning with a pre-conditioning option, LED high-mounted stop light, heated front seats, and a heated windshield defroster.
The iQ EV is equipped with a timer to match charge completion time with the time the vehicle will actually be driven, to help reduce battery degradation. In addition, there are three driving modes to select from: D range controls the vehicle to use the least amount of power during city driving; S range increases acceleration performance for brisker driving; and a B range that maximizes regenerative braking efficiency. Maximum output from the drivetrain is 47 kW (63 hp) with a maximum torque of 120 lbs.-ft. In S range the iQ EV accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 13.4 seconds, and from 30 to 50 mph in seven seconds. Its top speed is 78 mph.
The iQ EV’s styling resembles something from Lego Land. The front bumper contains the charging port lid which emphasizes the EV’s iconic lack of an upper grille. Two exterior colors are available: Silver and Super Red.
The interior features a high-contrast black and white color scheme with metallic and ice-blue accents. There is a leather wrapped steering wheel and white steering pad cover, the contoured center console symbolizes the battery mounted below the floor and the plug patterned seat fabric with blueish-grey and white stitching completes the iconic theme.
Toyota to bring Scion iQ EV to U.S.
Toyota is bringing its Scion iQ EV battery- electric four-seater city commuter car to the U.S. for car-sharing programs.
The iQ EV features Toyota’s newly developed high-output lithium-ion battery which delivers an electric power consumption rate of 104 Wh/km in a compact and lightweight package. In ideal stop and go driving conditions, the 12 kWh battery provides an estimated range of up to 50 miles on a full charge. The vehicle can be fully charged in approximately three hours at 240V. Its 78-inch wheel base and 13.5 foot turning radius makes the iQ EV highly maneuverable in congested areas where streets are narrow and parking is at a premium.
“Approximately 90 iQ EVs will be available for fleet and car-sharing applications,” said Hostetter. “These programs will further expand Toyota’s comprehensive portfolio of advanced technology vehicles which includes the recently-released RAV4 EV, the Prius Family of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, including the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and the FCHV-Adv (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle-Advanced).”
The iQ EV is replete with energy conserving features such as regenerative braking, heat pump air conditioning with a pre-conditioning option, LED high-mounted stop light, heated front seats, and a heated windshield defroster.
The iQ EV is equipped with a timer to match charge completion time with the time the vehicle will actually be driven, to help reduce battery degradation. In addition, there are three driving modes to select from: D range controls the vehicle to use the least amount of power during city driving; S range increases acceleration performance for brisker driving; and a B range that maximizes regenerative braking efficiency. Maximum output from the drivetrain is 47 kW (63 hp) with a maximum torque of 120 lbs.-ft. In S range the iQ EV accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 13.4 seconds, and from 30 to 50 mph in seven seconds. Its top speed is 78 mph.
The iQ EV’s styling resembles something from Lego Land. The front bumper contains the charging port lid which emphasizes the EV’s iconic lack of an upper grille. Two exterior colors are available: Silver and Super Red.
The interior features a high-contrast black and white color scheme with metallic and ice-blue accents. There is a leather wrapped steering wheel and white steering pad cover, the contoured center console symbolizes the battery mounted below the floor and the plug patterned seat fabric with blueish-grey and white stitching completes the iconic theme.
Are tablets alive and well? Yes I should think so.
The world of PC's might come to a standstill.
Computerworld - Microsoft has exhausted its initial supply of the lowest-priced Surface RT tablet, which now is backordered by three weeks.
On Wednesday, the company's pre-order website noted, "Order now for shipment within 3 weeks" for the $499 32GB tablet.
That model lacks a cover-cum-keyboard.
Microsoft yesterday kicked off pre-orders for the Surface RT, its first entry into tablet design and manufacturing. The Surface RT comes in three configurations: a 32GB model at $499, a 32GB device with a Touch Cover for $599, and a 64GB model with that same cover at $699. Touch Covers are also available separately for $119.99, and the Type Cover, a slightly thicker keyboard with key travel more like that of a lightweight notebook, costs $129.99.
Microsoft's Surface RT pricing 'aggressive,' 'mystifying,' say analysts
Why Acer is wrong about Microsoft Surface
Microsoft 10-K confirms Surface will ship on Oct. 26
Microsoft acknowledges Surface may trigger OEM hostility
First release of Surface tablets to be Wi-Fi-only, sources say
Microsoft Surface tablets may not match iPad battery life
FAQ: What we don't know about Microsoft's Surface tablet
QuickPoll: Can the Microsoft Surface successfully take on the iPad?
Microsoft's Surface tablet no threat to Apple's iPad
LG puts tablet development on hold
More on Surface
The two higher-priced SKUs, or stock-keeping units, remain available for delivery by Oct. 26, the official launch date for Windows 8, its spinoff Windows RT, and hardware powered by both new operating systems.
Although the entry-level Surface RT was out of stock Wednesday, the Type Cover -- which one might expect would be ordered alongside the keyboard-less tablet -- was not. Orders for the Type Cover will be fulfilled by Oct. 26, Microsoft said.
Customers may be opting for the lowest-priced model -- and passing on a keyboard -- simply to save dollars.
"The entry-level product includes no typing solution and is pretty transparently an opening price point gambit," said Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group. "But there's no way to know how many people bought, or didn't buy, one of the covers."
In other words, Baker continued, don't read too much into either the backorder or the fact that the two covers are still available.
Even so, he was surprised that Microsoft offered a cover-less Surface RT. "To some extent, without a [Touch or Type] Cover, then the Surface is just another tablet," Baker said. "With a cover, it's both a consumption and creation device."
Ever since June, when Microsoft unveiled its Surface project -- which also includes a Windows 8 Pro-powered tablet set to ship in late January 2013 -- the company has aggressively promoted the cover-slash-keyboard. In its opening television advertisement for the Surface, which ran Monday night in the U.S., Microsoft almost exclusively focused on the cover.
"Given the focus of the product, Microsoft's concept was, 'This is a new kind of tablet, a new kind of notebook. It's either one and both at the same time,'" said Baker. By offering a Surface RT minus a cover, Baker argued, Microsoft was muddying that message.
"They could have set $599 as the opening price," Baker said, referring to the 32GB Surface RT that does include a Touch Cover.
He was also dismissive of any interpretation of the quick sell-out of the $499 model. "[Sell-outs] don't ever really mean anything," he said. "They could have made just 10 of them, then said, 'We're out!'"
Nonetheless, out-of-stock reports are not uncommon, especially for new devices. Availability of Apple's products, particularly the iPhone and iPad, sometimes even its Mac notebooks, are regularly tracked by the technology media and bloggers as one of the few available clues to sales.
Microsoft may mention the Surface RT, and perhaps hint at early sales, during its upcoming quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. The conference call, which will cover the quarter that ended Sept. 30, is slated to start Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Computerworld - Microsoft has exhausted its initial supply of the lowest-priced Surface RT tablet, which now is backordered by three weeks.
On Wednesday, the company's pre-order website noted, "Order now for shipment within 3 weeks" for the $499 32GB tablet.
That model lacks a cover-cum-keyboard.
Microsoft yesterday kicked off pre-orders for the Surface RT, its first entry into tablet design and manufacturing. The Surface RT comes in three configurations: a 32GB model at $499, a 32GB device with a Touch Cover for $599, and a 64GB model with that same cover at $699. Touch Covers are also available separately for $119.99, and the Type Cover, a slightly thicker keyboard with key travel more like that of a lightweight notebook, costs $129.99.
Microsoft's Surface RT pricing 'aggressive,' 'mystifying,' say analysts
Why Acer is wrong about Microsoft Surface
Microsoft 10-K confirms Surface will ship on Oct. 26
Microsoft acknowledges Surface may trigger OEM hostility
First release of Surface tablets to be Wi-Fi-only, sources say
Microsoft Surface tablets may not match iPad battery life
FAQ: What we don't know about Microsoft's Surface tablet
QuickPoll: Can the Microsoft Surface successfully take on the iPad?
Microsoft's Surface tablet no threat to Apple's iPad
LG puts tablet development on hold
More on Surface
The two higher-priced SKUs, or stock-keeping units, remain available for delivery by Oct. 26, the official launch date for Windows 8, its spinoff Windows RT, and hardware powered by both new operating systems.
Although the entry-level Surface RT was out of stock Wednesday, the Type Cover -- which one might expect would be ordered alongside the keyboard-less tablet -- was not. Orders for the Type Cover will be fulfilled by Oct. 26, Microsoft said.
Customers may be opting for the lowest-priced model -- and passing on a keyboard -- simply to save dollars.
"The entry-level product includes no typing solution and is pretty transparently an opening price point gambit," said Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group. "But there's no way to know how many people bought, or didn't buy, one of the covers."
In other words, Baker continued, don't read too much into either the backorder or the fact that the two covers are still available.
Even so, he was surprised that Microsoft offered a cover-less Surface RT. "To some extent, without a [Touch or Type] Cover, then the Surface is just another tablet," Baker said. "With a cover, it's both a consumption and creation device."
Ever since June, when Microsoft unveiled its Surface project -- which also includes a Windows 8 Pro-powered tablet set to ship in late January 2013 -- the company has aggressively promoted the cover-slash-keyboard. In its opening television advertisement for the Surface, which ran Monday night in the U.S., Microsoft almost exclusively focused on the cover.
"Given the focus of the product, Microsoft's concept was, 'This is a new kind of tablet, a new kind of notebook. It's either one and both at the same time,'" said Baker. By offering a Surface RT minus a cover, Baker argued, Microsoft was muddying that message.
"They could have set $599 as the opening price," Baker said, referring to the 32GB Surface RT that does include a Touch Cover.
He was also dismissive of any interpretation of the quick sell-out of the $499 model. "[Sell-outs] don't ever really mean anything," he said. "They could have made just 10 of them, then said, 'We're out!'"
Nonetheless, out-of-stock reports are not uncommon, especially for new devices. Availability of Apple's products, particularly the iPhone and iPad, sometimes even its Mac notebooks, are regularly tracked by the technology media and bloggers as one of the few available clues to sales.
Microsoft may mention the Surface RT, and perhaps hint at early sales, during its upcoming quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. The conference call, which will cover the quarter that ended Sept. 30, is slated to start Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
In case you wondered. Hacker stats.
Hackers Exploit Software Bugs For 10 Months On Average Before They're Exposed
SHARE:
Symantec's chart shows a distribution of zero-day exploits based on how long they persist before being discovered. The average is close to 10 months. (Click to enlarge.)
Software vendors are constantly on the watch for so-called “zero day” vulnerabilities–flaws in their code that hackers find and exploit before the first day companies become aware of them. But the term “zero-day” doesn’t capture just how early hackers’ head-starts often are: Day zero, it seems, often lasts more than 300 days.
That’s one of the findings of a broad study of hackers’ zero-day exploits by two researchers at the antivirus firm Symantec that they plan to present at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Computer and Communications Security conference in Raleigh, North Carolina this week. Leyla Bilge and Tudor Dumitra used data collected from 11 million PCs running Symantec’s antivirus software to correlate a catalogue of zero-day attacks with malware found on those machines. Using that retrospective analysis, they found 18 attacks that represented zero-day exploits between February 2008 and March of 2010, only seven of which were previously known to have been exploited prior to their public discovery. And most disturbingly, they found that those attacks continued 312 days on average–up to 2.5 years in some cases–before the security community became aware of them.
“In fact, 60% of the zero-day vulnerabilities we identify in our study were not known before, which suggests that there are many more zero-day attacks than previously thought—perhaps more than twice as many,” the researchers write. And they add that their estimate for the average time to discovery of those vulnerabilities may be conservative, too. “While the average duration is approximately 10 months, the fact that all but one of the vulnerabilities disclosed after 2010 remained unknown for more than 16 months suggests that we may be underestimating the duration of zero-day attacks.”
One aspect of zero-day exploits use that’s made them tough to track and count has been how closely targeted they are. Unlike the mass malware infections that typically infect many thousands of machines using known vulnerabilties, the majority of the exploits in Symantec’s study only affected a handful of machines–All but four of the exploits infected less than 100 targets, and four were found on only one computer.
That careful use of zero-day exploits, often reserved for stealthy espionage tactics rather than credit-card harvesting or other for-profit crime, reflects their price. As I reported earlier this year based on conversations with brokers of zero-day exploit code, a single zero-day exploit can cost as much as $250,000, and the fees are often paid in installments based on the vulnerability remaining secret and unpatched.
Unsurprisingly, the study shows that hackers target common software like Microsoft Word, Flash and Adobe Reader. Sixteen of the 18 zero-day exploits discovered and analyzed in the study affected Microsoft and Adobe software.
Symantec's study shows that hackers grab onto new exploits, using them hundreds or thousands of times more often, around the time of their revelation to the public. (Click to enlarge.)
Once a certain vulnerability does come to public light, Symantec’s study shows that hackers quickly pile on to exploit the flaw before it can be fixed by the software’s vendor. In some cases tracked by Symantec, a single exploit jumped from a handful of cases to tens of thousands within days of a bug’s disclosure. (See chart at left.)
Those findings lend some numbers to an issue that’s been a subject of fiery debate in the security community: Whether security researchers should expose vulnerabilities they find to the public or report them privately to the company whose software is affected. Broadcasting bugs to the public, a strategy researchers have labelled “full disclosure,” leads to that spike in attacks before users have access to secure software, as Symantec’s study shows. But in other cases, researchers argue that companies don’t have an incentive to patch bugs reported to them until their users are at risk of being widely attacked. In August, for instance, Oracle waited until thousands of users had been attacked via a bug in its Java program before patching it, despite the fact that Polish researchers had reported the flaw to Oracle four months earlier.
One clear conclusion of Symantec’s study, regardless of that full-disclosure debate, is the value of the benevolent hackers who find and report bugs in software before they’re exploited. Without someone to dig them up and demand they be fixed, those hackable flaws are far more common, and remain secret far longer, than anyone may have realized.
SHARE:
Symantec's chart shows a distribution of zero-day exploits based on how long they persist before being discovered. The average is close to 10 months. (Click to enlarge.)
Software vendors are constantly on the watch for so-called “zero day” vulnerabilities–flaws in their code that hackers find and exploit before the first day companies become aware of them. But the term “zero-day” doesn’t capture just how early hackers’ head-starts often are: Day zero, it seems, often lasts more than 300 days.
That’s one of the findings of a broad study of hackers’ zero-day exploits by two researchers at the antivirus firm Symantec that they plan to present at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Computer and Communications Security conference in Raleigh, North Carolina this week. Leyla Bilge and Tudor Dumitra used data collected from 11 million PCs running Symantec’s antivirus software to correlate a catalogue of zero-day attacks with malware found on those machines. Using that retrospective analysis, they found 18 attacks that represented zero-day exploits between February 2008 and March of 2010, only seven of which were previously known to have been exploited prior to their public discovery. And most disturbingly, they found that those attacks continued 312 days on average–up to 2.5 years in some cases–before the security community became aware of them.
“In fact, 60% of the zero-day vulnerabilities we identify in our study were not known before, which suggests that there are many more zero-day attacks than previously thought—perhaps more than twice as many,” the researchers write. And they add that their estimate for the average time to discovery of those vulnerabilities may be conservative, too. “While the average duration is approximately 10 months, the fact that all but one of the vulnerabilities disclosed after 2010 remained unknown for more than 16 months suggests that we may be underestimating the duration of zero-day attacks.”
One aspect of zero-day exploits use that’s made them tough to track and count has been how closely targeted they are. Unlike the mass malware infections that typically infect many thousands of machines using known vulnerabilties, the majority of the exploits in Symantec’s study only affected a handful of machines–All but four of the exploits infected less than 100 targets, and four were found on only one computer.
That careful use of zero-day exploits, often reserved for stealthy espionage tactics rather than credit-card harvesting or other for-profit crime, reflects their price. As I reported earlier this year based on conversations with brokers of zero-day exploit code, a single zero-day exploit can cost as much as $250,000, and the fees are often paid in installments based on the vulnerability remaining secret and unpatched.
Unsurprisingly, the study shows that hackers target common software like Microsoft Word, Flash and Adobe Reader. Sixteen of the 18 zero-day exploits discovered and analyzed in the study affected Microsoft and Adobe software.
Symantec's study shows that hackers grab onto new exploits, using them hundreds or thousands of times more often, around the time of their revelation to the public. (Click to enlarge.)
Once a certain vulnerability does come to public light, Symantec’s study shows that hackers quickly pile on to exploit the flaw before it can be fixed by the software’s vendor. In some cases tracked by Symantec, a single exploit jumped from a handful of cases to tens of thousands within days of a bug’s disclosure. (See chart at left.)
Those findings lend some numbers to an issue that’s been a subject of fiery debate in the security community: Whether security researchers should expose vulnerabilities they find to the public or report them privately to the company whose software is affected. Broadcasting bugs to the public, a strategy researchers have labelled “full disclosure,” leads to that spike in attacks before users have access to secure software, as Symantec’s study shows. But in other cases, researchers argue that companies don’t have an incentive to patch bugs reported to them until their users are at risk of being widely attacked. In August, for instance, Oracle waited until thousands of users had been attacked via a bug in its Java program before patching it, despite the fact that Polish researchers had reported the flaw to Oracle four months earlier.
One clear conclusion of Symantec’s study, regardless of that full-disclosure debate, is the value of the benevolent hackers who find and report bugs in software before they’re exploited. Without someone to dig them up and demand they be fixed, those hackable flaws are far more common, and remain secret far longer, than anyone may have realized.
Will it work? Social media steps into the spotlight.
With retailers ringing up unusually high sales using Pinterest
—arguably the year’s biggest digital-platform sensation
—marketers are getting ready to pin holiday gift ideas and seasonal content like glittering ornaments to a virtual Pinterest Christmas tree.
“We will post a sharable, interactive gift guide and offer how-to videos and tutorials for looks to help [customers be] party ready,” said Bridget Dolan, Sephora’s vp, digital media. “Pinterest has great potential for the holidays.”
Sephora counts 64,000 followers on Pinterest, a sizable audience for any brand on the young platform—but still not much in terms of social media scale. In contrast, Sephora has 2 million Facebook fans and 712,000 Twitter followers.
But it doesn’t seem to matter how many Pinterest followers brands have; retailers simply hope the buying propensity they’ve seen in recent months continues.
“Our Pinterest referrals spend 70 percent more than nonsocial channels, including search,” said Jane Carpenter, media rep for home furnishings e-retailer Wayfair, which has 1,800 Pinterest followers. “They are 10 percent more likely to purchase when compared to other social channels. And we are on everything—Twitter, YouTube, Facebook.”
Two-and-a-half-year-old Pinterest, per comScore, hit 25 million unique users in September, compared to just 2 million a year ago. Pinterest “is the fastest stand-alone site in U.S. history to reach that [users] level,” said comScore rep Andrew Lipsman.
“It’s been established that more than any other social channel, Pinterest is where folks go to buy stuff,” added Chad White, research director at online marketing firm Responsys. “People don’t go to Twitter to buy products. And it’s well-established that they don’t go to Facebook to buy things.”
Meanwhile, in addition to Sephora’s multimedia pinning plans, merchants have channel-exclusive contests and wish-list tactics in store for the picture-friendly website. Kate Spade New York has 88,000 Pinterest followers and is amped to add the site to its holiday social media mix of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, said Kristina DiMatteo Fields, digital marketing director for the firm. “We will pin content daily,” she said.
Though not just female-skewed brands are looking to Pinterest for yuletide revenues. MLB Shop, the online store for Major League Baseball (11,000 Pinterest followers), is bolstering resources for the social site. “We are going to put bodies on it to make sure our products and promotions are always there,” said Noah Garden, evp of revenue for Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the digital arm of the pro sports league. “What we are seeing right now are good conversion rates.”
And even the Boston Celtics (4,000 followers) believe Pinterest is a slam-dunk for attracting female holiday shoppers. “Our other digital platforms are roughly 75 percent male, so it lets us target a new fan base,” said Shawn Sullivan, CMO for the NBA franchise. “On average, a Celtics item is repinned 17 times. [That viral] allows us to extend the reach of merchandise to fans who otherwise would not have come to our Pinterest page or online store.”
—arguably the year’s biggest digital-platform sensation
—marketers are getting ready to pin holiday gift ideas and seasonal content like glittering ornaments to a virtual Pinterest Christmas tree.
“We will post a sharable, interactive gift guide and offer how-to videos and tutorials for looks to help [customers be] party ready,” said Bridget Dolan, Sephora’s vp, digital media. “Pinterest has great potential for the holidays.”
Sephora counts 64,000 followers on Pinterest, a sizable audience for any brand on the young platform—but still not much in terms of social media scale. In contrast, Sephora has 2 million Facebook fans and 712,000 Twitter followers.
But it doesn’t seem to matter how many Pinterest followers brands have; retailers simply hope the buying propensity they’ve seen in recent months continues.
“Our Pinterest referrals spend 70 percent more than nonsocial channels, including search,” said Jane Carpenter, media rep for home furnishings e-retailer Wayfair, which has 1,800 Pinterest followers. “They are 10 percent more likely to purchase when compared to other social channels. And we are on everything—Twitter, YouTube, Facebook.”
Two-and-a-half-year-old Pinterest, per comScore, hit 25 million unique users in September, compared to just 2 million a year ago. Pinterest “is the fastest stand-alone site in U.S. history to reach that [users] level,” said comScore rep Andrew Lipsman.
“It’s been established that more than any other social channel, Pinterest is where folks go to buy stuff,” added Chad White, research director at online marketing firm Responsys. “People don’t go to Twitter to buy products. And it’s well-established that they don’t go to Facebook to buy things.”
Meanwhile, in addition to Sephora’s multimedia pinning plans, merchants have channel-exclusive contests and wish-list tactics in store for the picture-friendly website. Kate Spade New York has 88,000 Pinterest followers and is amped to add the site to its holiday social media mix of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, said Kristina DiMatteo Fields, digital marketing director for the firm. “We will pin content daily,” she said.
Though not just female-skewed brands are looking to Pinterest for yuletide revenues. MLB Shop, the online store for Major League Baseball (11,000 Pinterest followers), is bolstering resources for the social site. “We are going to put bodies on it to make sure our products and promotions are always there,” said Noah Garden, evp of revenue for Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the digital arm of the pro sports league. “What we are seeing right now are good conversion rates.”
And even the Boston Celtics (4,000 followers) believe Pinterest is a slam-dunk for attracting female holiday shoppers. “Our other digital platforms are roughly 75 percent male, so it lets us target a new fan base,” said Shawn Sullivan, CMO for the NBA franchise. “On average, a Celtics item is repinned 17 times. [That viral] allows us to extend the reach of merchandise to fans who otherwise would not have come to our Pinterest page or online store.”
Mobile security. The inevitable comparisons with PC's.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Security experts haev warned for years that our smartphones are due for a major cyberattack. Like PCs back in the early days -- the 1990s -- mobile phones are largely unprotected by antivirus software, and they're a treasure trove of valuable information.
So why hasn't the smartphone Armageddon happened yet?
Basic economics is one reason. Cyberthieves are making so much money attacking Windows PCs that there hasn't been much incentive to change tactics. It's hard to track down exact statistics on how much money is stolen each year through cyberattacks, but most security experts put the dollar figure in the billions. Once single, recent hack that Verizon (VZ) investigated -- debit card numbers stolen from merchants through secretly installed keyloggers -- resulted in a loss of $20 million.
Microsoft (MSFT) Windows is still the low-hanging fruit. With 92% share of the PC market and a two-thirds share of all Internet-connected devices, Windows is the obvious target to attack if you're a hacker looking to make money.
We're about to hit a tipping point, though. ost people still do their online banking and shopping on their PCs, but those transactions are happening on mobile phones more frequently. Where the money goes, cybercrooks follow.
Here are the scary numbers: Cyberattacks on mobile phones rose by a factor of six this year, according to Intel (INTC) subsidiary McAfee. Four in 10 mobile users will click an unsafe link on a smartphone this year, according to Lookout Security.
Yet less than a fifth of the devices run any antivirus software, according to security research organization SANS. And RSA study shows we're much more likely to click on phishing attacks on mobile devices than we are on PCs.
Still, not even one major cyberattack has hit smartphones. What's up?
The good news is that developers learned from the indtustry's long history of cubersecurity debacles. Smartphone operating systems were built from scratch fairly recently -- not much legacy code here -- and wer designed with strong security protections. Though it's possible, int's incredibly difficult to attack a dvice thorugh one program and then own an entire phone.
Fragmentation is also an unexpected protection. With so many different varieties of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system out there, it's hard to write the right code for a swath of devices.
Even users of Android -- the target of almost all mobile malware -- are far less susceptible to attack than PC users. The growth in mobile threats is dramatic, but the 13,000 different kinds of mobile balware McAfee has found this year is still teeny compared with the 90 million threats it detected for PCs.
Still, experts say it's just a matter of time before mobile catches up.
"The money is in mobile, and that's where they're moving," said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, a security training company. "Malware on mobile phones is going to be as prevalent as on the PC. It's inevitable, unfortunately."
Smartphones have become personal computers that travel around with us at all times. Mobile attacks are difficult, and the smartphone space may never be as homogeneous as the PC market, but crooks follow the cash. As smartphones become our primary devices, the cybercriminals' motivation for targeting them grows. All it will take is one slip up by Apple (APPL) or Google.
"What will happen is one of these smartphone makers will release a new OS or browser, and there will be a hole," said Alan Wlausk, the managing partner of WDDInc., a software development company. "An attacker will exploit that. That's going to happen for sure."
So why hasn't the smartphone Armageddon happened yet?
Basic economics is one reason. Cyberthieves are making so much money attacking Windows PCs that there hasn't been much incentive to change tactics. It's hard to track down exact statistics on how much money is stolen each year through cyberattacks, but most security experts put the dollar figure in the billions. Once single, recent hack that Verizon (VZ) investigated -- debit card numbers stolen from merchants through secretly installed keyloggers -- resulted in a loss of $20 million.
Microsoft (MSFT) Windows is still the low-hanging fruit. With 92% share of the PC market and a two-thirds share of all Internet-connected devices, Windows is the obvious target to attack if you're a hacker looking to make money.
We're about to hit a tipping point, though. ost people still do their online banking and shopping on their PCs, but those transactions are happening on mobile phones more frequently. Where the money goes, cybercrooks follow.
Here are the scary numbers: Cyberattacks on mobile phones rose by a factor of six this year, according to Intel (INTC) subsidiary McAfee. Four in 10 mobile users will click an unsafe link on a smartphone this year, according to Lookout Security.
Yet less than a fifth of the devices run any antivirus software, according to security research organization SANS. And RSA study shows we're much more likely to click on phishing attacks on mobile devices than we are on PCs.
Still, not even one major cyberattack has hit smartphones. What's up?
The good news is that developers learned from the indtustry's long history of cubersecurity debacles. Smartphone operating systems were built from scratch fairly recently -- not much legacy code here -- and wer designed with strong security protections. Though it's possible, int's incredibly difficult to attack a dvice thorugh one program and then own an entire phone.
Fragmentation is also an unexpected protection. With so many different varieties of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system out there, it's hard to write the right code for a swath of devices.
Even users of Android -- the target of almost all mobile malware -- are far less susceptible to attack than PC users. The growth in mobile threats is dramatic, but the 13,000 different kinds of mobile balware McAfee has found this year is still teeny compared with the 90 million threats it detected for PCs.
Still, experts say it's just a matter of time before mobile catches up.
"The money is in mobile, and that's where they're moving," said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, a security training company. "Malware on mobile phones is going to be as prevalent as on the PC. It's inevitable, unfortunately."
Smartphones have become personal computers that travel around with us at all times. Mobile attacks are difficult, and the smartphone space may never be as homogeneous as the PC market, but crooks follow the cash. As smartphones become our primary devices, the cybercriminals' motivation for targeting them grows. All it will take is one slip up by Apple (APPL) or Google.
"What will happen is one of these smartphone makers will release a new OS or browser, and there will be a hole," said Alan Wlausk, the managing partner of WDDInc., a software development company. "An attacker will exploit that. That's going to happen for sure."
Oh Google. What now?
Google told to fix privacy policy by EU data regulators
CNIL's president said Google might face legal action if it did not make the requested changes
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
EU demands Google privacy rethink
Google to pay record privacy fine
Privacy watchdog to meet Google
EU watchdogs have said Google must revise its privacy policy.
It follows the firm's decision in March to consolidate 60 separate privacy policies into a single agreement.
The move allowed it to pool data from across its products, including use of its video site YouTube, social network Google+ and smartphone system Android - potentially helping it target adverts.
French data privacy regulator CNIL - which led the inquiry - said the US company had "months" to make changes.
Google has been told it should give clearer information about what data is being collected and for what purpose. It has also been told to give users more control over how the information is combined.
It has been warned that if it took no action, CNIL would "enter a phase of litigation".
Google said it needed more time to provide a detailed response.
"We have received the report and are reviewing it now," said Peter Fleischer, its global privacy counsel.
Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent
Google had a lot riding on the decision from the EU data protection watchdogs.
The revised privacy policy, which came into force on 1 March, gives its advertisers access to a much richer pool of data from users across its many services.
Now CNIL has issued a critical report on the policy, and called for changes, with a warning that there could be litigation if Google does not respond.
But the search giant has gone into spin mode, pointing out that that its policy has not been ruled illegal and it hasn't been asked to roll it back.
A spokesman was also eager to point out that Microsoft had unveiled a similar privacy code this week.
But Google - like Microsoft before it - is now firmly in the sights of the world's regulators, with an EU competition ruling the next hurdle to clear.
The search firm insists that everything it does is in the interest of its users - its problem is that the world is no longer quite so inclined to see it as a big friendly giant.
"Our new privacy policy demonstrates our long-standing commitment to protecting our users' information and creating great products. We are confident that our privacy notices respect European law."
Although Google has not been directly accused of acting illegally, it has been accused of providing "incomplete and approximate" details raising "deep concerns about data protection and the respect of the European law".
French investigation
CNIL carried out the investigation into Google on behalf of the 27 members of the European Union. Although Greece, Romania and Lithuania have yet to sign up to the findings, non-EU states Croatia and Liechtenstein have done so.
After studying Google's revised policy in depth, the agency said it believed Google had failed to place any limit on the "scope of collection and the potential uses of the personal data", meaning it might be in breach of several of the bloc's data protection principles.
Specifically, CNIL said it was unhappy that users were unable to determine or control what kinds of data were being processed and for what use.
It noted that the revised privacy policy did not distinguish between search engine queries, typed-in credit card numbers or telephone communications.
Furthermore it highlighted the wide range of potential uses Google might have for the data including product development, security, advertising and academic research.
It said that EU data protection laws place limits on such activities and proposed the following changes:
Google must "reinforce users' consent". It suggests this could be done by allowing its members to choose under what circumstances data about them was combined by asking them to click on dedicated buttons.
The firm should offer a centralised opt-out tool and allow users to decide which of Google's services provided data about them.
Google should adapt its own tools so that it could limit data use to authorised purposes. For example, it should be able to use a person's collated data to improve security efforts but not to target advertising.
Auke Haagsma, from Microsoft-funded lobby group Icomp on the Google decision
CNIL's president Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin said the company had "three or four months" to make the revisions, otherwise "authorities in several countries can take action against Google".
'Important step'
UK-based privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch welcomed the news.
"It's absolutely right that European regulators focus on ensuring people know what data is being collected and how it is being used," said the organisation's director, Nick Pickles.
"Unless people are aware just how much of their behaviour is being monitored and recorded it is impossible to make an informed choice about using services.
"This ruling is an important step to putting consumers in control of their personal information and ensuring that companies like Google are not able to easily disregard people's privacy in pursuit of more information and greater profits."
The news coincides with Google's test of a new unified search tool that works across several of its products.
Users involved in the trial are able to check through the contents of their Gmail, Google Calendar and Drive cloud storage services through the main search tool on the site's Google.com homepage.
Participants in a trial can do a unified search of Google's Drive file storage service and other services
The pilot is being limited to participants in the US at this time.
Google still faces the results of a separate investigation by the EU into whether it has abused its position as the most popular internet search tool by directing users to its own services by placing them high in its results.
News site Search Engine Land has also reported that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is "strongly considering" its own investigation into whether Google and others have complied with guidelines for the disclosure of information about how paid advertisements appear in search results and whether the rules should be updated.
CNIL's president said Google might face legal action if it did not make the requested changes
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
EU demands Google privacy rethink
Google to pay record privacy fine
Privacy watchdog to meet Google
EU watchdogs have said Google must revise its privacy policy.
It follows the firm's decision in March to consolidate 60 separate privacy policies into a single agreement.
The move allowed it to pool data from across its products, including use of its video site YouTube, social network Google+ and smartphone system Android - potentially helping it target adverts.
French data privacy regulator CNIL - which led the inquiry - said the US company had "months" to make changes.
Google has been told it should give clearer information about what data is being collected and for what purpose. It has also been told to give users more control over how the information is combined.
It has been warned that if it took no action, CNIL would "enter a phase of litigation".
Google said it needed more time to provide a detailed response.
"We have received the report and are reviewing it now," said Peter Fleischer, its global privacy counsel.
Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent
Google had a lot riding on the decision from the EU data protection watchdogs.
The revised privacy policy, which came into force on 1 March, gives its advertisers access to a much richer pool of data from users across its many services.
Now CNIL has issued a critical report on the policy, and called for changes, with a warning that there could be litigation if Google does not respond.
But the search giant has gone into spin mode, pointing out that that its policy has not been ruled illegal and it hasn't been asked to roll it back.
A spokesman was also eager to point out that Microsoft had unveiled a similar privacy code this week.
But Google - like Microsoft before it - is now firmly in the sights of the world's regulators, with an EU competition ruling the next hurdle to clear.
The search firm insists that everything it does is in the interest of its users - its problem is that the world is no longer quite so inclined to see it as a big friendly giant.
"Our new privacy policy demonstrates our long-standing commitment to protecting our users' information and creating great products. We are confident that our privacy notices respect European law."
Although Google has not been directly accused of acting illegally, it has been accused of providing "incomplete and approximate" details raising "deep concerns about data protection and the respect of the European law".
French investigation
CNIL carried out the investigation into Google on behalf of the 27 members of the European Union. Although Greece, Romania and Lithuania have yet to sign up to the findings, non-EU states Croatia and Liechtenstein have done so.
After studying Google's revised policy in depth, the agency said it believed Google had failed to place any limit on the "scope of collection and the potential uses of the personal data", meaning it might be in breach of several of the bloc's data protection principles.
Specifically, CNIL said it was unhappy that users were unable to determine or control what kinds of data were being processed and for what use.
It noted that the revised privacy policy did not distinguish between search engine queries, typed-in credit card numbers or telephone communications.
Furthermore it highlighted the wide range of potential uses Google might have for the data including product development, security, advertising and academic research.
It said that EU data protection laws place limits on such activities and proposed the following changes:
Google must "reinforce users' consent". It suggests this could be done by allowing its members to choose under what circumstances data about them was combined by asking them to click on dedicated buttons.
The firm should offer a centralised opt-out tool and allow users to decide which of Google's services provided data about them.
Google should adapt its own tools so that it could limit data use to authorised purposes. For example, it should be able to use a person's collated data to improve security efforts but not to target advertising.
Auke Haagsma, from Microsoft-funded lobby group Icomp on the Google decision
CNIL's president Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin said the company had "three or four months" to make the revisions, otherwise "authorities in several countries can take action against Google".
'Important step'
UK-based privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch welcomed the news.
"It's absolutely right that European regulators focus on ensuring people know what data is being collected and how it is being used," said the organisation's director, Nick Pickles.
"Unless people are aware just how much of their behaviour is being monitored and recorded it is impossible to make an informed choice about using services.
"This ruling is an important step to putting consumers in control of their personal information and ensuring that companies like Google are not able to easily disregard people's privacy in pursuit of more information and greater profits."
The news coincides with Google's test of a new unified search tool that works across several of its products.
Users involved in the trial are able to check through the contents of their Gmail, Google Calendar and Drive cloud storage services through the main search tool on the site's Google.com homepage.
Participants in a trial can do a unified search of Google's Drive file storage service and other services
The pilot is being limited to participants in the US at this time.
Google still faces the results of a separate investigation by the EU into whether it has abused its position as the most popular internet search tool by directing users to its own services by placing them high in its results.
News site Search Engine Land has also reported that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is "strongly considering" its own investigation into whether Google and others have complied with guidelines for the disclosure of information about how paid advertisements appear in search results and whether the rules should be updated.
Really a security chip? For what?
Apple's Lightning Cable Contains Possible Security Chip
Wired News | October 16, 2012
Apple?s migration of the iPhone from the 30-pin connector to Lightning connector hasn?t been without its issues. Even with the 30-pin adapter, some older high-end peripherals may not work. Plus, Apple has beefed up the rules for third-party vendors hoping to sell their own Lightning cables. Now a teardown reveals that Apple is getting serious about security or just wants low-quality cables off the market.
Wired News | October 16, 2012
Apple?s migration of the iPhone from the 30-pin connector to Lightning connector hasn?t been without its issues. Even with the 30-pin adapter, some older high-end peripherals may not work. Plus, Apple has beefed up the rules for third-party vendors hoping to sell their own Lightning cables. Now a teardown reveals that Apple is getting serious about security or just wants low-quality cables off the market.
More Google
Celebrating Dart’s birthday with the first release of the Dart SDK
A year ago we released a technology preview of Dart, a project that includes a modern language, libraries and tools for building complex web applications. Today, after plowing through thousands of bug reports and feature requests from the web community, a new, more stable and comprehensive version of Dart is now available and ready to use.
With this version of the Dart SDK, we’ve made several improvements and added many features:
A faster Dart Virtual Machine that on some Octane tests outperforms even V8.
A new Dart to JavaScript translator that generates fast and compact output.
An HTML library that works transparently on modern browsers.
A library to interoperate with JavaScript code.
An easy to use editor.
Pub, a new package manager
Dartium, a Chromium build with native Dart support.
A server-side I/O library.
A language specification describing the Dart semantics, including new features.
Over the following months, we will continue to work hard to evolve the SDK, improve Dart’s robustness and performance, and fine-tune the language while maintaining backwards compatibility.
You can download the Dart Editor from dartlang.org. It comes with a copy of the open-source SDK and Dartium. Thanks again for all your feedback - keep it coming.
A year ago we released a technology preview of Dart, a project that includes a modern language, libraries and tools for building complex web applications. Today, after plowing through thousands of bug reports and feature requests from the web community, a new, more stable and comprehensive version of Dart is now available and ready to use.
With this version of the Dart SDK, we’ve made several improvements and added many features:
A faster Dart Virtual Machine that on some Octane tests outperforms even V8.
A new Dart to JavaScript translator that generates fast and compact output.
An HTML library that works transparently on modern browsers.
A library to interoperate with JavaScript code.
An easy to use editor.
Pub, a new package manager
Dartium, a Chromium build with native Dart support.
A server-side I/O library.
A language specification describing the Dart semantics, including new features.
Over the following months, we will continue to work hard to evolve the SDK, improve Dart’s robustness and performance, and fine-tune the language while maintaining backwards compatibility.
You can download the Dart Editor from dartlang.org. It comes with a copy of the open-source SDK and Dartium. Thanks again for all your feedback - keep it coming.
Now for Google. Gmail search + Google Drive
10/15/12
Find your stuff faster in Gmail and Search
(Cross-posted on the Official Gmail Blog)
When you’re looking for something, you should be able to find what you need quickly and easily without needing to think about where it might be, whether it's in your email or out on the public web. That’s why this past August we opened a field trial allowing you to sign up to get information from Gmail right from the Google search box.
We’ve gotten very positive feedback from those of you testing it out -- such as this note: “The Gmail results feature is awesome! The fact that it's all integrated into one screen is huge.” Many testers have requested being able to find Drive files as well -- as one of you put it, “It would be awesome if I could search my google drive from google search as well :)”.
So starting today, you can sign up for a new and expanded field trial that makes it easier to find your stuff across Google, whether you’re searching on Google.com or searching in Gmail.
In Gmail, as you begin to type into the search box, you'll instantly start seeing relevant emails from Gmail as well as results from Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more:
Similarly, when you search on Google.com, your results will include relevant information and messages from Gmail (something familiar to those who joined the original field trial) and now -- new in this field trial -- also files, documents, spreadsheets and more from Google Drive:
To give this a try, please visit the updated field trial page and select Join the field trial. Please note that this trial is only accessible in English and for @gmail.com addresses (not available on Google Apps accounts). And keep the feedback coming!
Posted by Bram Moolenaar, Software Engineer
Find your stuff faster in Gmail and Search
(Cross-posted on the Official Gmail Blog)
When you’re looking for something, you should be able to find what you need quickly and easily without needing to think about where it might be, whether it's in your email or out on the public web. That’s why this past August we opened a field trial allowing you to sign up to get information from Gmail right from the Google search box.
We’ve gotten very positive feedback from those of you testing it out -- such as this note: “The Gmail results feature is awesome! The fact that it's all integrated into one screen is huge.” Many testers have requested being able to find Drive files as well -- as one of you put it, “It would be awesome if I could search my google drive from google search as well :)”.
So starting today, you can sign up for a new and expanded field trial that makes it easier to find your stuff across Google, whether you’re searching on Google.com or searching in Gmail.
In Gmail, as you begin to type into the search box, you'll instantly start seeing relevant emails from Gmail as well as results from Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more:
Similarly, when you search on Google.com, your results will include relevant information and messages from Gmail (something familiar to those who joined the original field trial) and now -- new in this field trial -- also files, documents, spreadsheets and more from Google Drive:
To give this a try, please visit the updated field trial page and select Join the field trial. Please note that this trial is only accessible in English and for @gmail.com addresses (not available on Google Apps accounts). And keep the feedback coming!
Posted by Bram Moolenaar, Software Engineer
FB again.
As the social media company prepares to influence policy, Facebook's political action committee has raised a sizable amount of money. It has doled out more to Republicans, $140,000, compared with $127,000 to Democrats through the end of September, according to a CNNMoney review of federal records released Monday.
Many companies, much like special interest groups such as trade unions, form PACs to collect funds that they contribute to election campaigns of political candidates.
Some technology companies like Microsoft stayed away from influencing Washington politics in the early days of their formation. But Facebook (FB) has shown a desire to be a political player by creating a PAC last year, even before it became a publicly traded company in May.
It's a recognition on Facebook's part of the influence that Washington politics could play on its business. Any new legislation that could restrict Internet companies from collecting and using members' information would hurt Facebook's ability to turn a profit from its 1 billion-plus users.
"Part of Facebook's value is the information it collects on users,"
said Alex Daley, chief technology investment strategist at Casey Research, an investing research group. "Privacy is the number one concern."
Facebook isn't alone among top technology companies that are giving more to Republicans this election.
For the first time since 2006, the technology industry's corporate giving has doled out more to GOP candidates, $2.78 million, compared with $2.45 million to Democrats, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) have all given more to Republicans, according to monthly filings through the end of August.
Google has given out a total of $652,000 almost equally to both parties, with Republicans edging out Democrats by $500.
Facebook's corporate PAC gave entirely to congressional candidates and did not weigh in on the presidential race.
One reason for heavier Republican giving could be that GOP House members outnumber Democrats.
Facebook would not discuss the company's corporate political giving. Spokesman Andrew Noyes said the PAC supports "candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected."
The company's employees, however, are heavily favoring Democrats. Personal contributions from Facebook employees have totaled $116,300 for Democrats and $53,700 for Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg alone has given $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee and $5,000 to President Obama, and dozens of smaller contributions to congressional Democrats. Sandberg was a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Larry Summers during the Clinton administration.
Many companies, much like special interest groups such as trade unions, form PACs to collect funds that they contribute to election campaigns of political candidates.
Some technology companies like Microsoft stayed away from influencing Washington politics in the early days of their formation. But Facebook (FB) has shown a desire to be a political player by creating a PAC last year, even before it became a publicly traded company in May.
It's a recognition on Facebook's part of the influence that Washington politics could play on its business. Any new legislation that could restrict Internet companies from collecting and using members' information would hurt Facebook's ability to turn a profit from its 1 billion-plus users.
"Part of Facebook's value is the information it collects on users,"
said Alex Daley, chief technology investment strategist at Casey Research, an investing research group. "Privacy is the number one concern."
Facebook isn't alone among top technology companies that are giving more to Republicans this election.
For the first time since 2006, the technology industry's corporate giving has doled out more to GOP candidates, $2.78 million, compared with $2.45 million to Democrats, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) have all given more to Republicans, according to monthly filings through the end of August.
Google has given out a total of $652,000 almost equally to both parties, with Republicans edging out Democrats by $500.
Facebook's corporate PAC gave entirely to congressional candidates and did not weigh in on the presidential race.
One reason for heavier Republican giving could be that GOP House members outnumber Democrats.
Facebook would not discuss the company's corporate political giving. Spokesman Andrew Noyes said the PAC supports "candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected."
The company's employees, however, are heavily favoring Democrats. Personal contributions from Facebook employees have totaled $116,300 for Democrats and $53,700 for Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg alone has given $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee and $5,000 to President Obama, and dozens of smaller contributions to congressional Democrats. Sandberg was a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Larry Summers during the Clinton administration.
FB gets sued for want.
FLINT, MI -- Facebook is being sued by a Michigan company that claims the social networking giant ripped off one of its ideas.
Farmington Hills-based company CVG-SAB is suing Facebook in Flint federal court over its new "Want" button.
Users who click Facebook's want button are taken to non-Facebook sites where they can purchase merchandise.
CVG-SAB claims the feature closely resembles a service it already markets through its website, wantbutton.com, and that it is already causing confusion in the digital marketplace.
CVG-SAB claims it began marketing its own want button in September 2010 to allow consumers to keep a universal list of desired products and services, according to the lawsuit.
Tommy Bahama, Burlington Coat Factory and various other high-profile companies are current customers of CVG-SAB, which claims more than 160 million want-button views.
The lawsuit claims CVG-SAB has received multiple inquires into whether the new Facebook platform has any relationship with its own want button since the trial launch of Facebook's new platform earlier this month.
Farmington Hills-based company CVG-SAB is suing Facebook in Flint federal court over its new "Want" button.
Users who click Facebook's want button are taken to non-Facebook sites where they can purchase merchandise.
CVG-SAB claims the feature closely resembles a service it already markets through its website, wantbutton.com, and that it is already causing confusion in the digital marketplace.
CVG-SAB claims it began marketing its own want button in September 2010 to allow consumers to keep a universal list of desired products and services, according to the lawsuit.
Tommy Bahama, Burlington Coat Factory and various other high-profile companies are current customers of CVG-SAB, which claims more than 160 million want-button views.
The lawsuit claims CVG-SAB has received multiple inquires into whether the new Facebook platform has any relationship with its own want button since the trial launch of Facebook's new platform earlier this month.
Monday, October 15, 2012
A new 911 GT3?
Spy Shots Confirm that New Porsche 991 GT3 will get a PDK Dual Clutch Transmission
We had heard the rumors that Porsche was evaluating a PDK dual clutch transmission for the new 991-generation of its hardcore 911 GT3 in place of the traditional manual gearbox that has been around ever since the series was introduced in 1999, but now we have the first photographic proof of it.
A member of the Gearstage forums spotted prototypes of both the Porsche 918 Spyder and 911 GT3 somewhere in San Francisco, USA, and was able to get close enough to nab some pictures of the 991-series GT3's interior.
Positioned between the leather and Alcantara sport seats on the center console is Porsche's PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission (see more photos in the links below), which sources state will have seven gears.
We still do not know for sure if the German company will offer both a manual gearbox and a PDK transmission, but for better or for worse, the grapevine says it will only be the latter.
As a reminder, the new 911 GT3 will continue to be sport a rev-happy, normally aspirated flat six, though this time, instead of the current model's 4.0-liter engine, it will use the 991's newer 3.8-liter unit tweaked by Porsche Motorsport's division to produce somewhere between 450 and 500 horses.
We expect the 991 GT3 to launch sometime next year.
We had heard the rumors that Porsche was evaluating a PDK dual clutch transmission for the new 991-generation of its hardcore 911 GT3 in place of the traditional manual gearbox that has been around ever since the series was introduced in 1999, but now we have the first photographic proof of it.
A member of the Gearstage forums spotted prototypes of both the Porsche 918 Spyder and 911 GT3 somewhere in San Francisco, USA, and was able to get close enough to nab some pictures of the 991-series GT3's interior.
Positioned between the leather and Alcantara sport seats on the center console is Porsche's PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission (see more photos in the links below), which sources state will have seven gears.
We still do not know for sure if the German company will offer both a manual gearbox and a PDK transmission, but for better or for worse, the grapevine says it will only be the latter.
As a reminder, the new 911 GT3 will continue to be sport a rev-happy, normally aspirated flat six, though this time, instead of the current model's 4.0-liter engine, it will use the 991's newer 3.8-liter unit tweaked by Porsche Motorsport's division to produce somewhere between 450 and 500 horses.
We expect the 991 GT3 to launch sometime next year.
Raspberry PI.
@Raspberry_Pi: Today's 512MB announcement means the Raspberry Pi has the same amount of RAM as a PS3 or the XBOX360.
Perhaps people don't want to give their money away.
We've all heard the story: Electric cars are a flop despite efforts from the government to help.
But new sales data suggests this may not be true after all.
Electric and hybrid cars are now the second-best-selling vehicle class in America behind the Ford (NYSE: F) F-Series. Year to date, a whopping 351,703 hybrid and electric cars have been sold. That's significantly more than the 229,521 Toyota (NYSE: TM) Camry's that have been sold. And the Camry is practically in the dictionary under "sales king." Fortunately for Toyota it also makes up 67% of the hybrid and electric market, so it shouldn't lose sleep over this development.
In addition hybrid and electric cars are the fastest-growing segment of the car market. That 351,703 figure is 73% bigger than a year ago. That's almost a doubling within a year in a large segment!
Yes, all these numbers include hybrids. But the line between electric and hybrid cars has gotten harder to define. The Chevrolet Volt is generally seen as the poster child of "electric car" despite its gasoline range extender. The new plug-in Toyota Prius, on the other hand, is generally touted as a hybrid despite it's ability to go 11 miles on electricity (versus 38 for the Volt). Both these classifications seem somewhat arbitrary and heavily influenced by marketing.
But even unequivocally pure EVs are doing OK. The Nissan LEAF -- which has no gasoline component at all -- has sold 5,212 units this year. That doesn't sound like much, but that's actually better than both of Honda's (NYSE: HMC) hybrid models (the Prius-fighting Honda Insight and the CR-Z), as well as iconic gasoline cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the Porsche Boxster, and the Audi TT.
Despite its success, however, LEAF sales are lagging behind a year ago (down 28%).
Fortunately General Motor's (NYSE: GM) Chevy Volt is more than picking up the slack. Sales of Volts are up 328% to 16,348 units. That's better than the somewhat similarly priced BMW 1-Series or Lexus GS. That's also better than more pedestrian cars like the MINI Countryman, the GMC Yukon XL, or the Nissan Quest. As well as significantly better than the Nissan LEAF and the cars it beats.
The market seems to be saying it will tolerate electric cars, but that it prefers ones with gasoline assistance (like the Volt) to alleviate the much ballyhooed "range anxiety." It will be interesting to see if that preference disappears as very long range EVs -- I'm thinking of the Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Model S -- become more affordable. Based on what we've seen so far my bet would be yes.
But new sales data suggests this may not be true after all.
Electric and hybrid cars are now the second-best-selling vehicle class in America behind the Ford (NYSE: F) F-Series. Year to date, a whopping 351,703 hybrid and electric cars have been sold. That's significantly more than the 229,521 Toyota (NYSE: TM) Camry's that have been sold. And the Camry is practically in the dictionary under "sales king." Fortunately for Toyota it also makes up 67% of the hybrid and electric market, so it shouldn't lose sleep over this development.
In addition hybrid and electric cars are the fastest-growing segment of the car market. That 351,703 figure is 73% bigger than a year ago. That's almost a doubling within a year in a large segment!
Yes, all these numbers include hybrids. But the line between electric and hybrid cars has gotten harder to define. The Chevrolet Volt is generally seen as the poster child of "electric car" despite its gasoline range extender. The new plug-in Toyota Prius, on the other hand, is generally touted as a hybrid despite it's ability to go 11 miles on electricity (versus 38 for the Volt). Both these classifications seem somewhat arbitrary and heavily influenced by marketing.
But even unequivocally pure EVs are doing OK. The Nissan LEAF -- which has no gasoline component at all -- has sold 5,212 units this year. That doesn't sound like much, but that's actually better than both of Honda's (NYSE: HMC) hybrid models (the Prius-fighting Honda Insight and the CR-Z), as well as iconic gasoline cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the Porsche Boxster, and the Audi TT.
Despite its success, however, LEAF sales are lagging behind a year ago (down 28%).
Fortunately General Motor's (NYSE: GM) Chevy Volt is more than picking up the slack. Sales of Volts are up 328% to 16,348 units. That's better than the somewhat similarly priced BMW 1-Series or Lexus GS. That's also better than more pedestrian cars like the MINI Countryman, the GMC Yukon XL, or the Nissan Quest. As well as significantly better than the Nissan LEAF and the cars it beats.
The market seems to be saying it will tolerate electric cars, but that it prefers ones with gasoline assistance (like the Volt) to alleviate the much ballyhooed "range anxiety." It will be interesting to see if that preference disappears as very long range EVs -- I'm thinking of the Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Model S -- become more affordable. Based on what we've seen so far my bet would be yes.
FB how to...
Six Simple Tips For Better Facebook Page Success
If your brand’s Facebook page isn’t exactly the life of the social media party, there’s still hope. Digital marketing agency iCrossing studied the brand pages of Fortune 500 companies for one year and came up with some ways that engagement can be fostered. Although most page administrators don’t have the big bucks to spend on campaigns, the six steps from iCrossing apply to any budget.
Include a call to action
If people aren’t commenting, liking, or sharing posts, maybe it’s because you haven’t told them to. Of the pages that iCrossing analyzed, the company found that posts that contain the word “like” gained 240 percent more likes than posts that did not. Additionally, posts that asked for some kind of input from users garnered 70 percent more comments.
Get to the point
The agency found that to really get through to users, prose or long-winded posts didn’t work. Success was found in shorter, more succinct postings. Questions that were fewer than 144 characters gained 129 percent more comments than longer posts. The iCrossing study explained:
If your question won’t fit in a tweet, it doesn’t belong on Facebook, either. Posts with more than one question generate 37 percent fewer comments than single questions. Questions followed by a link get normal response rates, but links followed by a question seem to confuse people and get 60 percent fewer comments.
Ask for short responses
Just as users don’t want to read long posts, they don’t want to get too technical with their comments. The researchers found that simple, fill-in-the-blank prompts, such as, “My favorite flower is _____,” received 370 percent more comments than when a company posted an open-ended question — “What is your favorite flower?” When pages gave users choices, such as “Paper or plastic?,” posts received a slight bump compared with open-ended queries, with 18 percent more responses. However, iCrossing noted that pages shouldn’t patronize their audiences by delivering specific instructions for replies.
Pin the important posts
Facebook allows page administrators to pin one post, giving it higher prominence on the page. The folks at iCrossing don’t have statistics regarding pinned posts, but they believe that doing so boosts likes and comments. Facebook marketers should include pinned posts in their social media strategies.
Keep a casual, yet appropriate tone
If you’re a bank or an investment firm, you’re probably not going to post happy-go-lucky status updates and viral photos of kittens. However, it’s still important to have a conversational tone on Facebook, iCrossing notes:
After visually reviewing thousands of successful posts, we noticed that a casual, conversational tone was much more engaging than a formal tone. We call it the “water cooler” principle, meaning that there are some tones of voice and topic that will encourage conversation at the office water cooler and others that will drive coworkers away. Hard-sell, condescending, or overtly business-oriented posts consistently performed poorly. Facebook users expect to interact with friends; brands that don’t act like friends will be defriended.
Picture your success
This one is a bit of a no-brainer. People love to look at (and engage with) photos on Facebook. Brands should make sure to post interesting images that will make users click on the post, like it, share it, or comment on it. The agency believes that the old adage of a picture being worth 1,000 words definitely rings true on Facebook. People are more likely to stop and examine a post if there’s a striking image attached to it.
Readers: How have you managed to boost engagement on your Facebook page?
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Posted by Justin Lafferty on October 12, 2012.
If your brand’s Facebook page isn’t exactly the life of the social media party, there’s still hope. Digital marketing agency iCrossing studied the brand pages of Fortune 500 companies for one year and came up with some ways that engagement can be fostered. Although most page administrators don’t have the big bucks to spend on campaigns, the six steps from iCrossing apply to any budget.
Include a call to action
If people aren’t commenting, liking, or sharing posts, maybe it’s because you haven’t told them to. Of the pages that iCrossing analyzed, the company found that posts that contain the word “like” gained 240 percent more likes than posts that did not. Additionally, posts that asked for some kind of input from users garnered 70 percent more comments.
Get to the point
The agency found that to really get through to users, prose or long-winded posts didn’t work. Success was found in shorter, more succinct postings. Questions that were fewer than 144 characters gained 129 percent more comments than longer posts. The iCrossing study explained:
If your question won’t fit in a tweet, it doesn’t belong on Facebook, either. Posts with more than one question generate 37 percent fewer comments than single questions. Questions followed by a link get normal response rates, but links followed by a question seem to confuse people and get 60 percent fewer comments.
Ask for short responses
Just as users don’t want to read long posts, they don’t want to get too technical with their comments. The researchers found that simple, fill-in-the-blank prompts, such as, “My favorite flower is _____,” received 370 percent more comments than when a company posted an open-ended question — “What is your favorite flower?” When pages gave users choices, such as “Paper or plastic?,” posts received a slight bump compared with open-ended queries, with 18 percent more responses. However, iCrossing noted that pages shouldn’t patronize their audiences by delivering specific instructions for replies.
Pin the important posts
Facebook allows page administrators to pin one post, giving it higher prominence on the page. The folks at iCrossing don’t have statistics regarding pinned posts, but they believe that doing so boosts likes and comments. Facebook marketers should include pinned posts in their social media strategies.
Keep a casual, yet appropriate tone
If you’re a bank or an investment firm, you’re probably not going to post happy-go-lucky status updates and viral photos of kittens. However, it’s still important to have a conversational tone on Facebook, iCrossing notes:
After visually reviewing thousands of successful posts, we noticed that a casual, conversational tone was much more engaging than a formal tone. We call it the “water cooler” principle, meaning that there are some tones of voice and topic that will encourage conversation at the office water cooler and others that will drive coworkers away. Hard-sell, condescending, or overtly business-oriented posts consistently performed poorly. Facebook users expect to interact with friends; brands that don’t act like friends will be defriended.
Picture your success
This one is a bit of a no-brainer. People love to look at (and engage with) photos on Facebook. Brands should make sure to post interesting images that will make users click on the post, like it, share it, or comment on it. The agency believes that the old adage of a picture being worth 1,000 words definitely rings true on Facebook. People are more likely to stop and examine a post if there’s a striking image attached to it.
Readers: How have you managed to boost engagement on your Facebook page?
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Posted by Justin Lafferty on October 12, 2012.
WHEN NEWS CONSUMERS GO MOBILE, THEY GET MORE NEWS
How Local Publishers Can Take Advantage of Mobile News Boom
by Amy Gahran, October 15, 2012
A recent major Pew study of mobile news users offers context that could help community news publishers hone their mobile strategy. In "The Future of Mobile News," published earlier this month, the Pew Research Center's Project on Excellence in Journalism offers evidence that news publishers should focus their mobile strategy on the mobile web, rather than downloadable platform-specific "native" apps.
This survey was quite large: From June 29-August 8, 2012, Pew surveyed 9,513 U.S. adults. The report compares this year's data to last year's, and spotted some fast-moving mobile news trends. The report doesn't specifically mention community news publishers or local news (although it does refer often to daily newspapers), but it holds some hidden insights for smaller venues if you read between the lines.
MOBILE NEWS IS EXTREMELY POPULAR
According to Pew: "Fully one-third of all U.S. adults now get news on a mobile device at least once a week. 64% of tablet owners and 62% of smartphone owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly, tying news statistically with other popular activities such email and playing games on tablets and behind only e-mail on smartphones."
This rising tide has the potential to lift all boats in the news business -- but community news publishers may have some special advantages.
WHEN NEWS CONSUMERS GO MOBILE, THEY GET MORE NEWS
Pew found that mobile devices typically increase news consumption. "More than four in ten mobile news consumers say they are getting more news now, and nearly a third say they are adding new sources."
That last sentence might be very good news for community, niche, or ethnic news venues, especially newer digital startups. According to BIA/Kelsey, earlier this year former Google exec (and now Yahoo CEO) Marissa Mayer revealed that 20% of all searches across Google properties are now seeking locally relevant information -- and for searches conducted on mobile devices, that figure doubles to 40%.
Predictions abound that between 2013-2015 the majority of U.S. Internet access will shift to mobile devices. If the share of local searches on these devices continues to grow, then publishers of local and hyperlocal information may gain a significant mobile search visibility advantage. They may attract more new readers through popular aggregators such as Google News, and thus end up getting adopted as regular news sources by more mobile users.
Therefore, local or hyperlocal publishers that both offer a mobile-friendly website and also geocode their content (something that's becoming increasingly important in how search engines determine relevance, especially for mobile search) may be able to leverage mobile to grow their overall audience -- even more so than mass media can accomplish.
As Knight News Challenge winner Ryan Thornburg observed earlier this year, major news outlets that serve a large region face significant accuracy problems with geocoding. This implies that venues which serve a smaller, more focused region might be able to geocode more accurately and reliably -- which in turn might enhance their mobile search visibility and performance, driving even more mobile traffic and attracting new regular readers.
WEB BROWSERS TRUMPING APPS FOR MOST MOBILE NEWS USERS
"Overall, the majority of mobile news users get most of their news on mobile devices through browsers: 60% of tablet news users and 61% of smartphone news users," said Pew. "Less than half as many, 23% of tablet news users and 28% of smartphone news users, mainly go through apps. And 16% and 11%, respectively, say they use apps and the browser equally."
This should be a relief to smaller new publishers, who typically have smaller budgets and fewer technical resources than mass media news outlets -- and who typically have not yet invested much in building platform- and device-specific news apps (unlike many daily and national news venues).
Compared to apps, the mobile web is a far simpler and cheaper publishing option. The mobile web is inherently cross-platform and offers connectivity advantages as well. Inbound story links open quite reliably in a mobile website, but far less reliably in mobile apps -- even when the recipients of news links have the appropriate news outlet apps installed on their smartphones or tablets.
Pew found that Apple device owners tend to have, and use, the most mobile news apps. However, Apple's dominion over the U.S. mobile market is diminishing fast. The iPad's share of the U.S. tablet market is shrinking rapidly (52% this year vs. 81% last year). Similarly the iPhone currently claims only 38% of the U.S. smartphone market, compared to Android's 46%.
SMALLER TABLETS, BIGGER INFLUENCE
Pew found that in the past year the share of U.S. adults who own a tablet device doubled to 22%. "The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners."
Nearly half (48%) of tablet owners have an Android tablet, and about half of these (21%) are Kindle Fires.
Many popular Android tablets cost half or less than the price of an iPad. The least expensive iPad 2 costs $500 -- but the new Kindle Fire starts at $159, the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet starts at $179, and the Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet starts at $199. Consequently, smaller tablets may become a key tool for bridging the digital divide in low-income segments of your community -- and engaging them with local news, information, and civic concerns.
Still, the significance of this shift away from iPads in the tablet market may have as much to do with size as price. In the last year the U.S. tablet market has demonstrated a strong demand for smaller tablets. The iPad is simply too large for a typical purse or jacket pocket, which can hinder its usefulness to mobile users who prize portability.
This week many sources are reporting that on Oct. 23 Apple may finally introduce the long-rumored smaller iPad mini -- a move that could help Apple remain relevant in a tablet market that isn't one-size-fits-all. But the strategic value of this possible Apple move could hinge on price: Google may counter Apple by offering a $99 Android tablet around the same time.
One thing is clear: Smaller tablets have assumed an important and fast-growing role in the mobile market. Any news publisher must accommodate this form factor in the design of its mobile offerings.
The days of "tablet = full-size iPad" are definitely over.
MOBILE IS SHIFTING NEWS DEMOGRAPHICS BY ETHNICITY
Pew found that although blacks are about one-third less likely than whites to own a tablet (14% vs. 22%), blacks also are substantially more likely to use their tablet to get news daily (56%) than whites (36%).
This stands in stark contrast to print news consumption patterns -- where whites (34%) are far more likely to be daily print newspaper readers, compared to blacks (24%) or Hispanics (13%).
U.S. Hispanics, while typically leading in ownership and usage of mobile devices overall, tend to parallel whites when it comes to mobile news consumption.
Pew notes that these demographic trends "may hint at something new. Perhaps tablets and smartphones, which provide ready access to news from any source at lower cost of entry than desktop computers, may translate into a powerful news consumption tool for populations that felt underserved by the media in legacy forms."
While that statement conflates ethnicity with class, it's a point worth pondering, especially for news outlets that focus on serving poor or otherwise marginalized communities.
Infographics by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Amy Gahran is a journalist, editor, trainer, entrepreneur, strategist, and media consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to writing articles and doing educational programming for KDMC@USC, she also covers mobile technology for CNN.com and Entrepreneur.com, and was a cofounder of the hyperlocal news site OaklandLocal.com. In 2006 she won a Knight News Challenge awarded for the Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker project. Her blog is Contentious.com. Twitter: @agahran
This post first appeared on The Community News Leadership 3.0 blog at University of Southern California's Knight Digital Media Center, which aims to help journalists and news organizations succeed in the digital landscape.
by Amy Gahran, October 15, 2012
A recent major Pew study of mobile news users offers context that could help community news publishers hone their mobile strategy. In "The Future of Mobile News," published earlier this month, the Pew Research Center's Project on Excellence in Journalism offers evidence that news publishers should focus their mobile strategy on the mobile web, rather than downloadable platform-specific "native" apps.
This survey was quite large: From June 29-August 8, 2012, Pew surveyed 9,513 U.S. adults. The report compares this year's data to last year's, and spotted some fast-moving mobile news trends. The report doesn't specifically mention community news publishers or local news (although it does refer often to daily newspapers), but it holds some hidden insights for smaller venues if you read between the lines.
MOBILE NEWS IS EXTREMELY POPULAR
According to Pew: "Fully one-third of all U.S. adults now get news on a mobile device at least once a week. 64% of tablet owners and 62% of smartphone owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly, tying news statistically with other popular activities such email and playing games on tablets and behind only e-mail on smartphones."
This rising tide has the potential to lift all boats in the news business -- but community news publishers may have some special advantages.
WHEN NEWS CONSUMERS GO MOBILE, THEY GET MORE NEWS
Pew found that mobile devices typically increase news consumption. "More than four in ten mobile news consumers say they are getting more news now, and nearly a third say they are adding new sources."
That last sentence might be very good news for community, niche, or ethnic news venues, especially newer digital startups. According to BIA/Kelsey, earlier this year former Google exec (and now Yahoo CEO) Marissa Mayer revealed that 20% of all searches across Google properties are now seeking locally relevant information -- and for searches conducted on mobile devices, that figure doubles to 40%.
Predictions abound that between 2013-2015 the majority of U.S. Internet access will shift to mobile devices. If the share of local searches on these devices continues to grow, then publishers of local and hyperlocal information may gain a significant mobile search visibility advantage. They may attract more new readers through popular aggregators such as Google News, and thus end up getting adopted as regular news sources by more mobile users.
Therefore, local or hyperlocal publishers that both offer a mobile-friendly website and also geocode their content (something that's becoming increasingly important in how search engines determine relevance, especially for mobile search) may be able to leverage mobile to grow their overall audience -- even more so than mass media can accomplish.
As Knight News Challenge winner Ryan Thornburg observed earlier this year, major news outlets that serve a large region face significant accuracy problems with geocoding. This implies that venues which serve a smaller, more focused region might be able to geocode more accurately and reliably -- which in turn might enhance their mobile search visibility and performance, driving even more mobile traffic and attracting new regular readers.
WEB BROWSERS TRUMPING APPS FOR MOST MOBILE NEWS USERS
"Overall, the majority of mobile news users get most of their news on mobile devices through browsers: 60% of tablet news users and 61% of smartphone news users," said Pew. "Less than half as many, 23% of tablet news users and 28% of smartphone news users, mainly go through apps. And 16% and 11%, respectively, say they use apps and the browser equally."
This should be a relief to smaller new publishers, who typically have smaller budgets and fewer technical resources than mass media news outlets -- and who typically have not yet invested much in building platform- and device-specific news apps (unlike many daily and national news venues).
Compared to apps, the mobile web is a far simpler and cheaper publishing option. The mobile web is inherently cross-platform and offers connectivity advantages as well. Inbound story links open quite reliably in a mobile website, but far less reliably in mobile apps -- even when the recipients of news links have the appropriate news outlet apps installed on their smartphones or tablets.
Pew found that Apple device owners tend to have, and use, the most mobile news apps. However, Apple's dominion over the U.S. mobile market is diminishing fast. The iPad's share of the U.S. tablet market is shrinking rapidly (52% this year vs. 81% last year). Similarly the iPhone currently claims only 38% of the U.S. smartphone market, compared to Android's 46%.
SMALLER TABLETS, BIGGER INFLUENCE
Pew found that in the past year the share of U.S. adults who own a tablet device doubled to 22%. "The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners."
Nearly half (48%) of tablet owners have an Android tablet, and about half of these (21%) are Kindle Fires.
Many popular Android tablets cost half or less than the price of an iPad. The least expensive iPad 2 costs $500 -- but the new Kindle Fire starts at $159, the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet starts at $179, and the Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet starts at $199. Consequently, smaller tablets may become a key tool for bridging the digital divide in low-income segments of your community -- and engaging them with local news, information, and civic concerns.
Still, the significance of this shift away from iPads in the tablet market may have as much to do with size as price. In the last year the U.S. tablet market has demonstrated a strong demand for smaller tablets. The iPad is simply too large for a typical purse or jacket pocket, which can hinder its usefulness to mobile users who prize portability.
This week many sources are reporting that on Oct. 23 Apple may finally introduce the long-rumored smaller iPad mini -- a move that could help Apple remain relevant in a tablet market that isn't one-size-fits-all. But the strategic value of this possible Apple move could hinge on price: Google may counter Apple by offering a $99 Android tablet around the same time.
One thing is clear: Smaller tablets have assumed an important and fast-growing role in the mobile market. Any news publisher must accommodate this form factor in the design of its mobile offerings.
The days of "tablet = full-size iPad" are definitely over.
MOBILE IS SHIFTING NEWS DEMOGRAPHICS BY ETHNICITY
Pew found that although blacks are about one-third less likely than whites to own a tablet (14% vs. 22%), blacks also are substantially more likely to use their tablet to get news daily (56%) than whites (36%).
This stands in stark contrast to print news consumption patterns -- where whites (34%) are far more likely to be daily print newspaper readers, compared to blacks (24%) or Hispanics (13%).
U.S. Hispanics, while typically leading in ownership and usage of mobile devices overall, tend to parallel whites when it comes to mobile news consumption.
Pew notes that these demographic trends "may hint at something new. Perhaps tablets and smartphones, which provide ready access to news from any source at lower cost of entry than desktop computers, may translate into a powerful news consumption tool for populations that felt underserved by the media in legacy forms."
While that statement conflates ethnicity with class, it's a point worth pondering, especially for news outlets that focus on serving poor or otherwise marginalized communities.
Infographics by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Amy Gahran is a journalist, editor, trainer, entrepreneur, strategist, and media consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to writing articles and doing educational programming for KDMC@USC, she also covers mobile technology for CNN.com and Entrepreneur.com, and was a cofounder of the hyperlocal news site OaklandLocal.com. In 2006 she won a Knight News Challenge awarded for the Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker project. Her blog is Contentious.com. Twitter: @agahran
This post first appeared on The Community News Leadership 3.0 blog at University of Southern California's Knight Digital Media Center, which aims to help journalists and news organizations succeed in the digital landscape.
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