The new funds will help fuel Smaato’s international expansion, in particular to extend its presence in Asia from its Asian headquarters in Singapore.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Smaato Raises More Money for Mobile Ad Network, Especially in Asia
Smaato has gotten a new round of funding. Singapore’s EDBI led the $7 million round, with participation from existing shareholders including global private equity firm aeris CAPITAL.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Blekko Takes "Curated Search" Mobile
Blekko, the curated mobile search engine, has released Android and iPhone applications. Says Blekko CEO Rich Skrenta, “In a world where people want the most relevant answers on the go, mobile search is becoming increasingly more significant.”
The app has a sparse interface which allows you to view search results whether or not you are logged in with your Blekko account. With the exception of Facebook integration, the app pretty much runs the gamut of features found on Blekko itself, most notably the ability to search by /slashtag or curated topic. Results are sorted by most relevant and by date.
The app has a sparse interface which allows you to view search results whether or not you are logged in with your Blekko account. With the exception of Facebook integration, the app pretty much runs the gamut of features found on Blekko itself, most notably the ability to search by /slashtag or curated topic. Results are sorted by most relevant and by date.
"Curation" is an important concept these days. We used to call it "editing," in some circles, but the principle is the same. There's a firehose of information blasting at people every day. So it is helpful to cull the "good stuff" from the noise. People who do that used to be called "editors." At museums, we call them "curators." The job is the same: pick out and organize the good stuff thematically.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Mobile's Growth, in Numbers and Pictures
Mobile usage and importance, in stats.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
85% Of Teen Brand Word-Of-Mouth Occurs Offline
Online marketing and messages generally are seen as important these days. But a new study finds teens, who exchange opinions and information about brands more than consumers as a whole, use word of mouth.
It's true that teens are twice as likely, compared to the general public, to hold brand conversations online. Still, just 13 percent of teens' brand discussions take place online (including email, texting/IM and social networking), compared to seven percent of the general public's discussions.
Contrary to what we might expect, relatively few of those conversations take place online, according to the latest findings from TalkTrack, an ongoing study conducted by market research firm Keller Fay Group, which specializes in word-of-mouth (WOM).
It's true that teens are twice as likely, compared to the general public, to hold brand conversations online. Still, just 13 percent of teens' brand discussions take place online (including email, texting/IM and social networking), compared to seven percent of the general public's discussions.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
"Sponsored Stories" by Facebook Not Seen as "Ads"
Facebook's "Sponsored Stories" program clearly is an "advertising" program, but it is intentionally designed not be be seen as such.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
U.S. Tower Business Reaches Maturity
The U.S. tower industry has reached the maturity stage of the growth cycle. Here are eight reasons why some believe that.
1. Tower companies are moving into international markets to increase their portfolios. Exhibit 1 – American Tower added 8,000 towers in 2010, but only 1,000 were in the U.S.
2. A close look at financial statements shows that revenue growth is coming from existing tenants rather than from new towers.
3. More money is chasing towers than there are towers available. Several tower industry veterans with millions of equity investor funds at their disposal cannot find towers for sale.
4. The build to suit market is ultracompetitive. Many firms that have built towers to meet carrier new site needs have left the market as competition has erased profit margins.
5. Tower companies are seeking other uses for their cash. The most common tactic is to buy out the leases under their towers. Others are considering increased dividend payments
6. At least one major tower company is considering changing to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) structure. REIT status provides significant tax benefits to companies who pay out large portions of their earnings as dividends to their investors.
7. Tower Companies are developing additional service offerings for the carriers in order to find new revenue growth engines. Likewise, tower companies are investing in ownership of fiber and microwave networks that carry wireless traffic from cell sites to switching centers.
8. Tower companies have traded upside revenue for from new rents for 4G equipment in exchange for extending the term length on their existing collocation agreements.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
IMF to US: take care of deficit, or else
U.S. officials must act quickly to control government deficits or face slower growth and even more difficult choices in the future, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday in a report criticizing the tepid U.S. response to its rising public debt.
The IMF warning comes as federal officials grapple with a congressional projection this week that the annual deficit will reach a historic $1.5 trillion this year. This was the latest report to raise concerns about how massive government debts in developed countries could undermine the global economic recovery.
“The U.S. has a lot of credibility. This does not imply their credibility can last forever,” IMF fiscal affairs director Carlo Cottarelli said as he released the IMF study. It concluded that the United States is falling behind on a promise it made to other top economic countries to halve its budget deficit by 2013.
The IMF warning comes as federal officials grapple with a congressional projection this week that the annual deficit will reach a historic $1.5 trillion this year. This was the latest report to raise concerns about how massive government debts in developed countries could undermine the global economic recovery.
“The U.S. has a lot of credibility. This does not imply their credibility can last forever,” IMF fiscal affairs director Carlo Cottarelli said as he released the IMF study. It concluded that the United States is falling behind on a promise it made to other top economic countries to halve its budget deficit by 2013.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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