Startup Lets You Save and Share Parts of Web Pages - Technology Review

Plenty of simple things are still surprisingly hard to do online. Take saving a piece of a Web page. That specific task is trickier than it sounds. A startup called Clipboard is building a simple solution using some rather sophisticated Web technologies. http://vimeo.com/27539178


Clipboard allows users to select and store pieces of Web pages in a cloud-based account. Users can comment on items, tag them, and search them. The site allows people to keep clippings private, share them with specific people, or offer them to the public. The new site has been in stealth mode until today, but it's now opening up for a private beta test (readers of Technology Review are invited to participate and can sign up here).

Startup Lets You Save and Share Parts of Web Pages

Ironic Reversal in Video, Voice Markets

J.D. Power's annual customer satisfaction survey of video service providers might be interpreted in an ironic way. The survey could suggest that telco and satellite video customers are more happy than cable TV subscribers.

On the other hand, it might be argued that cable customers buying voice services are happier than telco voice customers.

J.D. Power satisfaction study

United States Leads LTE Market

4G Adoption Forecast

Critics often chide the United States for "lagging" in some measure of communications adoption. At various times in the past, that criticism has extended to use of mobile phones, text messaging, residential broadband and advanced mobile applications.

But U.S. consumers have shown an ability to adopt such innovations in relatively short order once the value was perceived. Nobody argues anymore that U.S. consumers somehow lag in use of any of those services.

More recently, the U.S. market has emerged as the leader in mobile applications, smart phone development and now will take leadership in 4G networks as well.

Verizon, MetroPCS, and AT&T will account for the majority of 4G Long Term Evolution connections globally by year-end 2011. Pyramid Research expects that U.S. mobile service providers, with seven million LTE connections, will account for 47 percent of the world’s LTE subscriptions.

Pyramid expects 71 percent of 5.4 million global LTE handset sales will come from the United States in the near term. Separately, Informa Telecoms & Media projects something on the order of 600 million 4G subscriptions in service by about 2016.

The strong demand for mobile broadband in the U.S. market also will allow operators to quickly recoup spending on capital investments. Verizon and NTT Docomo, both the largest operators in their respective countries, each launched LTE in December 2010.

US leads in LTE

Google Getting into the Cloud Music Business?

After introducing a cloud music service with arguably-limited capabilities, Google is in negotiations with the major record labels to expand that service and also open an MP3 store that would compete with Apple and Amazon.


The new service would most likely be connected to Google’s existing cloud service, "Music Beta," which lets people back up their songs on remote servers and stream them to mobile phones and other devices.

Google Said to Be Planning an MP3 Store

Steve Wozniak Is “A Little Afraid” About The Future Of Apple

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he is “a little afraid about the future of Apple” even though “it could go positive.” Some of his concerns are based on Apple’s iPhone 4S product demo. Watch the video.


If you believe Steve Jobs really was a highly-unusual CEO, with a very-unusual way of approaching product development, that is a rational concern. 

He says the company talked about its dual-core processor, but “Steve doesn’t want us to think about dual-core processors, all we need to know is how do we get our answer, how do we connect to the internet… Human things, not technical things.” 


He also says he doesn’t want Apple to go the way Sony went in its products. Steve Wozniak Is “A Little Afraid” About The Future Of Apple 

Should You Be on Tumblr?

Tumblr is a nice platform for blogging. It might not work in every business vertical, though. 


Partly, that's a matter of format, and partly a matter of audience. The Tumblr audience tends to be younger, so short, highly visual blog posts tend to do much better than text-intensive posts. That might not work for some B2B applications where text is more important.

That's another issue. If the subject matter a business blog deals with is not highly visual, Tumblr might not be the optimal choice.


The quick setup and simplicity of Tumblr make it a good choice for those who want to get a blog up and running right now, who can integrate lots of visual elements and where content is visually oriented and light on text as a way of communicating.

The fashion industry was one of the first to embrace Tumblr from a business perspective. See pret-a-portel.

Brands like Oscar De La Renta and Ann Taylor capitalized on the visual nature of Tumblr by publishing photos of the latest fashions, insider pictures and quick bits from the fashion world. Should You Be on Tumblr?

Social Media Revenue $29 Billion in 2015

Worldwide social media revenue is on track to reach $10.3 billion in 2011, a 41.4 percent increase from 2010 revenue of $7.3 billion, says Gartner. Global social media revenue is forecast to reach $14.9 billion in 2012 and $29.1 billion in 2015.



Advertising revenue is, and will remain, the largest contributor to overall social media revenue. Social media advertising revenue is forecast to total $5.5 billion in 2011, and grow to $8.2 billion in 2012. Advertising revenue includes display advertising and digital video commercials on any device including PCs, mobile and media tablets.
            
Social gaming sales will reach $3.2 billion in 2011, growing to $4.5 billion in 2012.

Social media subscriptions will conribute a modest $236 million in 2011 and total $313 million in 2012. Social media revenue

Google Mobile Ad Revenue $2.5 Billion Run Rate

Mobile advertising forecast

Google says its mobile revenue stream has grown 2.5 times in the last 12 months to a run rate of over $2.5 billion. Google mobile revenue at $2.5 billion Mobile revenue, primarily generated by advertising, could represent seven percent of Google's total revenue of $35.7 billion.

Keep in mind that worldwide mobile advertising revenue was forecast to reach only $3.3 billion in 2011,  according to Gartner. Google's run-rate forecast was built using past-year data, and in all likelihood will exceed that level in 2012, it is safe to predict. 


Worldwide revenue will reach $20.6 billion by 2015, according to Gartner. Search and maps will generate the highest revenue, while video and audio ads will see the fastest growth through 2015. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1726614

"Enterprise" Mobility a Reflection of Consumer Behavior

IDC Smart Phone, Tablet Forecast

As has been the case for the last several years, there was a reported "lack of enthusiasm" at the CTIA Enterprise and Applications show.

That meeting has been struggling, some might say, to find a clear mission and role, and some might say it still has not found that role.

Among the reasons, one might say, is that mobile computing and applications are not driven by enterprise users and concerns, but by consumer applications and desires, in the same way that most enterprise innovation now is driven.

Enterprise technology managers controlled the pace and adoption of technology for decades but starting with the launch of the iPhone in 2007, non-technology executives and employees have been demanding the right to use the devices they find so palatable in their regular lives for work purposes. As a result, “enterprise mobile technology” is kind of a misnomer; the dollars, talent, and hype in mobile are going toward companies that are building things for consumers.

Enterprise Still Takes A Back Seat To Consumers

IPhone 4S Sales May Reach 4 Million First Weekend

Steve Jobs

Apple could sell as many as four million units of its new iPhone 4S the first weekend it is available. Available Oct. 14, 2011 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, sales are expected to beat the 1.7 million iPhone 4 units sold on that device's first weekend.

Some observers think sales will be boosted by consumer interest in the last device of the Steve Jobs era at Apple.

“It’s going to easily outpace any previous launch,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. iPhone 4S Sales May Reach 4 Million

Rampant Multitasking, Nielsen Finds

what are smartphone and tablet owners doing while watching TV? Checking email, says Nielsen. Email was the top activity for both men and women during television programming and commercial breaks, in a recent study. In addition, women reported engaging in social networking more than men, while men checked sports scores more often.

1.9 Net New Customers for Clearwire in 3Q

Clearwire Corporation pre-announced third quarter 2011 revenue of approximately $332 million are expected for the third quarter 2011, representing an increase of approximately 126 percent year over year.

Net wholesale subscriber additions are expected to total a record 1.9 million for third quarter 2011, representing approximately 29 percent sequential growth of wholesale subscribers. Third quarter 2011 ending subscribers are expected to be approximately 9.5 million.

All of that could change in the future, though, as Sprint has indicated it will no longer sell Clearwire-capable devices after the end of 2012.

Clearwire 3Q

Sprint Focusing M2M Development on Four Verticals

Sprint is broadening its machine-to machine (M2M) development initiatives to focus on four primary areas: connected transportation; connected meters, sensors and alarms; connected machines, screens and things; and connected personal devices.

Sprint has defined several sub-segments within each of the four M2M growth segments:

Connected Transportation – Fleet / Telematics / Inter-Vehicle Communication (IVC) / IVC Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMS); Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) / Pay As You Drive (PAYD); and Public Safety / Emergency.

Connected Meters, Sensors and Alarms – Utility / Smart Grid; Water / Oil / Gas; Security and Surveillance; and Automation and Control.

Connected Machines, Screens and Things – Automated Teller Machine (ATM) / Point of Sale (POS) / Access / Vending; Digital Signage and Kiosk; Asset Tracking; and Embedded Routers and Modems.

Connected Personal Devices – Personal Gaming and Tracking; Personal Health Management; and Copiers / Printers / Scanners.

Sprint M2M focus

$400 Million to Fix LightSquared GPS Interference?

LightSquared says it will cost the commercial GPS industry as much as $400 million for gear that will eliminate the interference potentially caused by its planned next-generation network.

LightSquared Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben says there are roughly 500,000 commercial precision GPS devices in the U.S. that could be disrupted by its network. But the company has developed a device, which costs between $300 and $800 and will protect GPS devices from such disruptions.

LightSquared says GPS interference fix will cost $400 million

What Irritates People on Facebook

Yes, you can target content on Facebook. But marketers also need to show common sense and good judgment about doing so.

You need to respect people when advertising on social networks, and often, that does not seem to happen.

Social Media Statistics

It's good to quantify, when thinking about mobile social media.

 

"Products are Useless Without a Platform"

"A product is useless without a platform, or more precisely and accurately, a platform-less product will always be replaced by an equivalent platform-ized product," says Steve Yegge at Google. Steve Yegge, Google software engineer. 


He rants about that matter in an "internal memo" that accidentally got published externally. 

Google Platforms Rant  


It might make most sense for those of you who do coding. The larger issue, for those of us who do not code is the importance of platforms. Some of us might use the term ecosystems.  


Those of you who just like gossip will be amused as well. 

T-Mobile USA Extends VoIP Features

T-Mobile’s Bobsled service, a VOIP-based communication platform that initially allowed smartphone owners to call their Facebook friends from their mobile device, has been expanded to provide free calls to any mobile or landline number in the U.S, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world, simply by using their desktop browser.

The move is one more example of what normally happens in competitive markets, which is that the contestants lagging most in a market are most likely to embrace disruptive changes.

Whereas before, Bobsled would allow you to call Facebook friends from a dedicated smartphone application, the service has been adapted to give users the opportunity to call numbers in North America directly from the browser using their desktop computer and iOS or Android tablets or smartphones.

The Android/iOS version currently only supports calls direct to Facebook contacts, but that will be upgraded soon, one assumes. If an iPhone or Android user wants to make free general calls, users will need to log in through the browser interface instead of placing calls directly from the mobile.

Still, using the mobile apps, users already can make Bobsled to Bobsled calls, cross-platform between Android and iOS, and leave voicemails that show up on Facebook contacts’ walls.

It’s also possible to record a voice message and leave that pinned to someone’s wall, rather than actually talk to them.

In effect it’s a clever way for T-Mobile to potentially get onto hundreds of thousands of iPhone home screens, despite being the only major US carrier not offering the new iPhone 4S. The immediate revenue for T-Mobile is nil, of course, but the potential for mind share and awareness at least is enhanced.

"Bobsled Calling" allows users to make high quality calls to Facebook friends and any number in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere a user has an Internet connection, even when they phone isn't available. Bobsled

To download the application on your smartphone or tablet device, click here.

watch the video

The Federal Reserve Plans To Monitor Facebook, Twitter, Google

The New York Federal Reserve Bank is embarking on an ambitious social media monitoring project, starting in December 2010. The key phrase is "monitoring." At least so far, the New York Fed does not seem to have plans to do anything other than listen to what people are saying. 


The Fed will be monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and the broader Web to gauge public response to economic policy. The New York Federal Reserve Bank wants to know how they are perceived, so social media is one way to do so.

That's part of the larger way organizations can use social media. In this case, the aim is "listening," rather than content marketing that would be an outbound attempt to change whatever perceptions the Fed might find. 

The Federal Reserve Plans To Monitor Facebook, Twitter, Google News

22% of U.S. Smart Phones Sold were 4G Capable

About 22 percent of smart phones purchased by U.S. consumers in the second quarter of 2011 were capable of running at 4G speeds. 


A year ago, just three percent of U.S. smart phones sold could run on a 4G network, according to the NPD Group. 

The top four smart phone 4G manufacturers, based on consumer sales in Q2 2011:
1.HTC: 62%
2.Samsung: 22%
3.Motorola: 11%
4.LG: 4%


What the study did not look at, but seems correct, is that "4G" is not yet a distinct "service." It is faster than 3G, which is good, but not yet in any way a truly different "service" than 3G. So far, 4G is a "better pipe," but just that: a better pipe, as a 10 Mbps connection is better than a 5 Mbps connection. 


For 4G is anything more than "table stakes" for mobile service providers, the end use experience will have to change. So far, that hasn't happened. 

20% of Smart phones Sold in Q2 2011 Were 4G-Capable