Saturday, January 29, 2011

The iPadification of the Web

Design on the Web needs a reboot — and the iPad may provide the push publishers need to toggle the switch. But will smarter-looking online offerings save old media?

Creators of Web content have poured considerable effort into reinventing their websites as top-down, gorgeously designed experiences for Apple’s tablet and other mobile devices, in the hope that what they give away on the Web might turn into something their audience will pay for as an app.

http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/29/ipadification-of-the-web/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Shift in Thinking About Broadband Devices and Usage?

Some observers have less faith in consumer common sense than others do. Some might argue that consumers will not accept reasonable policies and plans related to broadband access for their devices. Up to this point, some might simply point to growing usage, and argue that dire consequences will result if there are any changes in pricing that reflect usage to some significant degree. Others might argue that consumers and providers are rational, and that both are capable of changing usage patterns in ways that provide the value users want, and yet also allow providers the ability to recoup their investments.

Customers are rational, are capable of understanding the consequences of behavior, and so will change their behavior. "Contrary to the popular view, tiered pricing, whereby subscribers pay for the bandwidth they consume, will not signal the death of the mobile Internet," argues Yankee Group analyst Declan Longergan.

Service providers and consumers will learn to live with bandwidth and devices in ways that satisfy their needs, without bankrupting carriers or slowing innovation. "In the same way that the notion of eco-friendly consumption behavior has gradually entered the public consciousness, so too will the idea of network-friendly (and unfriendly) mobile devices," says Lonergan. Service providers and the most sophisticated end-users will pay more attention to which devices make most efficient use of limited network resources and monthly data allowances, and will change. Over time, so will most other people.

read more here

Google and Facebook "Competition" is About Ad Revenue

Google's real competition isn't other search engines like Microsoft's Bing or Yahoo, some would argue.

Nor does Facebook currently face much of a threat from other social-networking sites.

But what some would say now is happening is a struggle between Google and Facebook over user attention, which is related to the matter of advertising attractiveness and hence, revenue.

Targeted Advertising Faces Headwinds

Will the future of online advertising be highly targeted or not? It increasingly seems it will only be partly so. Facing presure from the Federal Trade Commission, both Google and Mozilla (Firefox browser) have introduced ways to opt out of behavioral advertising, which allows ads to be targeted.

Google's solution is an extension for its Chrome web browser that lets users proactively block certain advertisers from serving them behavioral ads. Mozilla's approach would bundle a "do not track" feature with its browser, but require websites and ad networks to agree to recognize such requests from Firefox users.

Microsoft has previously announced its own plans for letting users opt out of such ads as well. Those moves, plus any additional FTC rules, are going to limit the extent to which targeted ads can be delivered.

read more here

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.

The new funds will help fuel Smaato’s international expansion, in particular to extend its presence in Asia from its Asian headquarters in Singapore.

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.

"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.

Mobile's Growth, in Numbers and Pictures

Mobile usage and importance, in stats.

Zoom Wants to Become a "Digital Twin Equipped With Your Institutional Knowledge"

Perplexity and OpenAI hope to use artificial intelligence to challenge Google for search leadership. So Zoom says it will use AI to challen...