Twitter: Advertising Could be the Business Model

Twitter started with just six advertisers and now has about 40, including Starbucks, Ford and Microsoft, says Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. Twitter expects to have more than 100 advertisers by the end of the year.

Last week, Twitter added three avenues of advertising. Promoted Accounts, which began immediately with Xbox and HBO, allows companies to pay Twitter to suggest that people follow their free Twitter accounts, based on shared interests.

Twitter also began publishing ads on Twitter apps, starting with HootSuite; before, ads had appeared only on Twitter’s Web site. Twitter will split the ad revenue evenly with HootSuite and the other companies that make apps.

Twitter, After Number of Users Surges, Turns to Ads

Microsoft Plans Windows Mobile Ad Blitz

Microsoft might spend as much as $100 million to market its new Windows Mobile operating system.

Microsoft says the effort will be 'competitive' with Verizon's $100 million saturation campaign for Droid phones last year.

Microsoft Swings at IPhone, Android in Windows Phone Push

What is Different About the Past 2 Decades of Job Recovery?

Looking back several decades at job recovery from a recession, you would note that job growth, particularly in the foundational private sector, was robust in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, private sector job growth has been anemic in recoveries. When you have a two-decade pattern such as that developing, one has to ask structural questions. What has changed in the last two decades, compared to the previous decades?

And, oh by the way, since we are looking at a two-decade sort of problem, it would be naive to suggest we can magically remedy the underlying problem or problems in a short period of time. Something other than "just a recession" seems to be happening. The issue is "what is happening?"

When "Free Public WiFi" is an XP Bug

When a computer running an older version of XP can't find any of its "favorite" wireless networks, it will automatically create an ad hoc network with the same name as the last one it connected to, including "Free Public WiFi."

Other XP ccomputers within range of that new ad hoc network can see it, and will remember the ad hoc connection, in turn.

Microsoft has eliminated the network in more recent versions of Windows. It also created a fix to the problem for the older version of Windows XP — Windows XP Service Pack 3 — but many people still haven't updated their computers.

The point is that there isn't quite so much "free public Wi-Fi" available as some might think, but that is just a bug that requires a patch.

The Zombie Network: Beware 'Free Public WiFi' : NPR

Orange Mobile Exposure 2010 Study Reveals European Mobile Media Users Choose Browsers Over Apps

Users seem to prefer browser apps over mobile apps about 70 percent of the time, a survey suggests.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Orange-Mobile-Exposure-2010-prnews-968643210.html?x=0&.v=1

Android OS Now Number One for Sales Share

Android now appears to be the top operating system for new buyers of smartphones, according to Nielsen.

Unified Communications Suites for Small Business

A brief video on what unified communications is, and how a small business can use it.

Unified Communications Suites for Small Businesses

Making the Leap to VOIP

A short video tutorial on how a smaller business can make the jump to IP telephony from legacy voice.

Making the Leap to VOIP

Apple Will Report Over $20 Billion In Quarterly Revenue, Blogger-Analysts Predict

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-will-report-over-20-billion-in-quarterly-revenue-blogger-analysts-predict-2010-10?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+%28Silicon+Alley+Insider%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Web service creates mobile version of a web site

Very useful.

http://fuelingnewbusiness.com/2008/08/28/mobile-marketing-for-advertising-agencies/

How Carriers Can Crack the App Discoverability Nut

To sell an app, a user first must find it.

http://jkontherun.com/2010/10/09/how-carriers-can-crack-the-app-discoverability-nut/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%29&utm_content=Twitter

NTT, Olympus Augmented Reality

http://www.fastcompany.com/1693829/ntt-olympus-dream-up-wearable-ar-monitor-that-doesnt-look-ugly?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+shovelarts+%28Shovel+Arts%29&utm_content=Twitter

Apple On Augmented Reality Apps

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/10/apple-shining-spotlight-augmented-reality-apps/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AppAdvice+%28AppAdvice%29

7% of Households Have Abandoned Video Service, Study Suggests

Wedbush Securities analyst James Dix says research suggests consumers are getting rid of their cable and satellite TV services to a greater extent than they're dumping their Internet connections. He thinks that means they are substituting Web video.

In a survey of 2,500 consumers, seven percent said they had stopped using basic cable service and 12 percent reported cutting their premium cable or satellite services. Two percent of respondents cancelled their Internet connections.

Dix also found that cord cutting was more related to income than age, despite the common view that younger consumers would be among the first to abandon traditional pay TV.

Homes with income under $50,000 cancelled basic cable at the highest rate, 8 percent, while only 3 percent of higher-income homes, those at $100,000 and above, axed basic cable, according to the survey.

Study shows consumers choosing Internet over cable in 'cord cutting' decisions

Microsoft Closing In-Game Ad Unit

Microsoft reportedly is closing will its in-game advertising unit Massive. Microsoft acquired Massive in 2006.

At the time of the acquisition, the exuberance for dynamic in-game advertising was at a peak. Since then, Microsoft’s Xbox Live has become a more-compelling venue for Microsoft, in part because Microsoft keeps all ad revenue it earns from Xbox Live, while it must share Massive’s ad revenue with game providers.

more here