Why Do People "Follow" or "Like" Brands on Social Networks?

Google's Zero Moment of Truth

The "zero moment of truth" is a marketing concept that deals with the amount of time that lapses between an advertising message and a consumer taking action on the message.

Here's an ebook Google put together about the concept and what it means for marketing and advertising.

Zero Moment of Truth E-Book

You can figure out why Google thinks the concept is important. To the extent there is latency between ad and action, Google thinks it can create quite a nice business reducing latency.

PayPal Sees End of Physical Wallets by 2015

"We believe that by 2015 digital currency will be accepted everywhere in the U.S., from your local corner store to Walmart," says Scott Thompson, PayPal president. "We will no longer need to carry a wallet."

The prediction came as PayPal announced it has reached 100 million active accounts.

PayPal believes that as the lines between online and offline commerce continue to blur, the payment industry’s model for is looking more and more like PayPal’s, says Sam Shrauger, PayPal VP. PayPal has been handling mobile payments since 2006, he says.

PayPal Crosses First 100 Million Active Accounts

Debit Card Fee Rules Issued by Federal Reserve

In a move that apparently settles a nettlesome issue directly affecting the fortunes of retail merchants and banks that issue debit cards (and which indirectly affects the attractiveness of new mobile payment systems built on a transaction fee revenue model), the Federal Reserve Board issued the final version of Regulation II, which sets new rules for debit card transactions. Retail trade groups and banking trade groups have been at odds over the final rules for months.

The “Final Rule” implements Section 1075 of the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” known as the Durbin Amendment.

The rules will go into effect on October 1, 2011 and sets a cap of 21 cents on transactions. That rate essentially lessens the financial sting for card-issuing banks, but also lowers fees for retailers. The original rules might have resulted in limits as low as seven cents per transaction, or as high as 12 cents per transaction.

The rule as adopted allows card issuers to charge up to 21 cents per transaction, plus five basis points of the transaction value. On a $40 transaction, this represents a 48 percent cut in revenue from current rates.

On the other hand, the worst-case scenario for banks would have called for a, which is a 75 percent cut in transaction revenues.

Aside from the direct impact on retailers and card-issuing banks, the rules also create a differently dimensioned revenue stream for any contestants in the mobile payments business that hope to make a business out of transaction fees.

Read more here

Wireless: Where We are Going

There weren’t any surprises in the Federal Communications Commission’s recent report on wireless competition, but one tidbit, already made available by the National Health Interview Survey, is an indicator of where things are going.

The number of adults who rely exclusively on mobile wireless for voice service has increased significantly in recent years. According to the January to June 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), 24.9 percent of adults, or one in every four, lived in households with wireless phones only during the first half of 2010.

In its most recent study, the NHIS found that 30 percent of respondents only used mobile phones during the last half of 2010, an increase of three percentage points since the first half of 2010. In addition, about 16 percent of respondents indicated they received all or almost all calls on wireless telephones despite having a landline phone in the home as well.

More than half of adults aged 25 to 29 (54 percent) lived in households with only wireless telephones. This rate is greater than the rates for adults aged 18 to 24 (46 percent) or 30 to 34 (44 percent), according to the NHIS survey.

Read more here

Tablets Are Changing User Behavior

Today’s early tablet adopters are using print media, PCs, and other devices less often than they used to, according to Sarah Rotman Epps, Forrester Research analyst. Some 31 percent of tablet owners surveyed report they are using their PCs less, while 26 percent are using their notebooks or laptops less.

Of the tablet owners surveyed, 23 percent reported using their portable game player less, while 20 percent said they are using their iPod or MP3 player less. About 15 percent reported using their mobile phone less than they used to.

E-reader use seemed to be lower in about 11 percent of cases, while nine percent reported lower use of their game consoles. Some nine percent say they use television less.

Tablet early adopters, though arguably different from tomorrow’s mainstream adopters, nevertheless seemingly are changing their content habits as well, not just their hardware habits.

Of tablet owners surveyed by Forrester Research, 32 percent reported that their tablet use has been accompanied by less use of print newspapers. About 28 percent say they have reduced use of printed books, while 23 percent indicated they use print magazines less.

Tablets Are Changing User Behavior

Mapping the Mobile Commerce Ecosystem | www.payfone.com

Here's another look at the developing mobile commerce ecosystem, with payments and banking being viewed as parts of the broader mobile commerce landscape, produced by Mooreland Partners.

Payfone | Mapping the mCommerce Ecosystem | www.payfone.com