Social media marketing now represents about $1.7 billion in expenditures. Facebook gets 53 percent of that. Twitter gets only about three percent. But I'd watch Twitter.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Social Media Marketing by the Numbers
Social media marketing now represents about $1.7 billion in expenditures. Facebook gets 53 percent of that. Twitter gets only about three percent. But I'd watch Twitter.
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.
Forrester Research Expects Digital Experience to Lead to Market Disruption
"Longstanding structural barriers to innovation are about to collapse," says Forrester Research analyst James L. McQuivey. That belief flows from a conviction that economic assets might now, at least in part, because the cumulative impact of new digital technologies have made a world in which it is much easier for attackers to disrupt existing businesses, including even those with substantial barriers to such disruption.
That is the reason video industry executives are so worried about Netflix, for example. But something more than that is at play. Increasingly, the best products in many industries will build a digital relationship into the experience. In some ways, that is a linear extrapolation from what has been happening for at least a decade, namely that physical products have been incorporating more software as key parts of the overall product value. The typical way we say this is that "all companies are becoming 'experience' companies."
The relationships are probably easiest to see in products with some existing "content" component. That's why Sony began investing in content assets. But the iPod builds on iTunes as smartphones and tablets now build on app stores.
What is harder to see, but will become increasingly more obvious, is that most products, even those without a "content" component, will start to use content more frequently. Most companies create brochures, white papers, data sheets, press releases, websites, videos, podcasts and webcasts. Some create mobile apps and games. All of that is "content." What will change, over time, is the prominent use of other types of content as a routine part of the branding and relationship-building activities conducted by companies.
That is the reason video industry executives are so worried about Netflix, for example. But something more than that is at play. Increasingly, the best products in many industries will build a digital relationship into the experience. In some ways, that is a linear extrapolation from what has been happening for at least a decade, namely that physical products have been incorporating more software as key parts of the overall product value. The typical way we say this is that "all companies are becoming 'experience' companies."
The relationships are probably easiest to see in products with some existing "content" component. That's why Sony began investing in content assets. But the iPod builds on iTunes as smartphones and tablets now build on app stores.
What is harder to see, but will become increasingly more obvious, is that most products, even those without a "content" component, will start to use content more frequently. Most companies create brochures, white papers, data sheets, press releases, websites, videos, podcasts and webcasts. Some create mobile apps and games. All of that is "content." What will change, over time, is the prominent use of other types of content as a routine part of the branding and relationship-building activities conducted by companies.
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.
Retailer Video, Music Services: Means to an End
Observers might wonder about whether Amazon or Apple can catch Netflix in the online video space. Others, including major retailers, seem be in a second tier, despite their other assets. Sears Holdings Corp. became the latest traditional retailer to get into streaming and downloads on Dec. 28, 2010, when it launched movie service Alphaline Entertainment.
That followed Best Buy Co.'s launch last year of rental and purchase site CinemaNow and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s acquisition of streaming service Vudu last February for roughly $100 million.
The retailers say the ventures not only help them gain a foothold in the fast-growing digital entertainment business, but also give them an edge in selling Internet-connected televisions and movie players in their stores.
The retailers say the ventures not only help them gain a foothold in the fast-growing digital entertainment business, but also give them an edge in selling Internet-connected televisions and movie players in their stores.
As with some other players, online video is a means to an end.
Retailers' Video, Music Services Spin Wheels - WSJ.com (subscription required)
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.
India Mobile Banking Gets Boost from Bharti Airtel and Vodafone
“Mobile payments will be the next step for delivering financial services to hundreds of millions of 'underbanked' people or those who are under-served currently, both urban and rural customers, especially in emerging economies," says Gerhard Romen, Director, Mobile Financial Services, Nokia.
Recently, mobile banking got a huge boost with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone announcing separate partnerships with State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, respectively. While Bharti Airtel and SBI have formed an exclusive joint venture, Vodafone has agreed to become a "business correspondent" for ICICI Bank.
There's money in the mobile
Recently, mobile banking got a huge boost with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone announcing separate partnerships with State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, respectively. While Bharti Airtel and SBI have formed an exclusive joint venture, Vodafone has agreed to become a "business correspondent" for ICICI Bank.
While Vodafone manages over 1.5 million retail points for acquiring customers and servicing them, Airtel is present across 5,101 towns and more than 5,00,000 villages. That's a big deal considering that 51.4 percent of 89.3 million farmer households do not have access to any credit from institutional or non-institutional sources.
Only 27 per cent of farm households are indebted to formal sources. Only 13 per cent are availing loans from the banks in the income bracket of less than Rs 50,000.
There's money in the mobile
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.
Africa is the Silicon Valley of Banking
You might say Kenya-based Safaricom (M-PESA) helped start a banking revolution, one coming to the world from Africa. "Africa is the Silicon Valley of banking," says Carol Realini, executive chairman of Obopay, a California-based mobile-banking innovator.
"The future of banking is being defined here," Realini says. "The new models for what will be mainstream throughout the world are being incubated here."
Mobile banking has been available for years in Japan and elsewhere, but only on a limited basis. M-Pesa now has 19,000 agents today. Of Safaricom's 16 million customers, 12 million have M-Pesa accounts — this in a nation of 39 million people.
Finance: Kenya's Banking Revolution
"The future of banking is being defined here," Realini says. "The new models for what will be mainstream throughout the world are being incubated here."
Mobile banking has been available for years in Japan and elsewhere, but only on a limited basis. M-Pesa now has 19,000 agents today. Of Safaricom's 16 million customers, 12 million have M-Pesa accounts — this in a nation of 39 million people.
Finance: Kenya's Banking Revolution
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 Banking: The mobile banking revolution: Nigerian style
There is no shortage of startups focused on the African mobile banking opportunity just in Nigeria. Some of the contestants are "bank focused," and include:
Stanbic IBTC
Ecobank
Fortis MFB
Among the "bank-led" ventures are:
UBA/Afripay
GT Bank/MTN
First Bank of Nigeria
Among the "non-bank led" ventures are:
Pagatech
Paycom
M-Kudi
Chams
Eartholeum
E-Tranzact
Parkway
Monitiz (Is this the Monitise brand in Nigeria)
FET
Corporeti
And that's just Nigeria.
Mobile Banking: The mobile banking revolution: Nigerian style
Stanbic IBTC
Ecobank
Fortis MFB
Among the "bank-led" ventures are:
UBA/Afripay
GT Bank/MTN
First Bank of Nigeria
Among the "non-bank led" ventures are:
Pagatech
Paycom
M-Kudi
Chams
Eartholeum
E-Tranzact
Parkway
Monitiz (Is this the Monitise brand in Nigeria)
FET
Corporeti
And that's just Nigeria.
Mobile Banking: The mobile banking revolution: Nigerian style
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.
M-PESA is the Model for Perhaps 60 Other Ventures
See presentation for a description of how it works.
The basic idea of M-PESA is that the 100,000 small retailers in Kenya who already sell mobile-phone airtime, in the form of scratch cards, can also register to be mobile-money agents, taking in and paying out cash. More than 17,600 retailers have signed up as M-PESA agents—far outnumbering Kenya’s 840 bank branches. When a customer is registered with the system, paying in cash involves exchanging physical money for the virtual sort, called “e-float”, which is credited to his mobile-money account. E-float can then be transferred to other users by mobile phone, and exchanged for cash by the recipient, who visits another agent.
read more here
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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