How People Use LinkedIn

No surprises here. LinkedIn is the social network most used for business and professional purposes. Click the image twice to enlarge it.

LivingSocial Seeks $1 Billion IPO

LivingSocial, the social shopping business, is seeking to raise about $1 billion from an initial public offering, valuing the Web firm at between $10 billion and $15 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The company has chosen three banks—Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank AG and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.—as the lead underwriters for the IPO.

LivingSocial Seeks $1 Billion IPO

The post-Google+ World

One Facebook developer says Google+ represents an end to the Facebook monopoly. "If Google is able to build a user-base similar in size to Facebook and they offer strong or stronger viral channels, I would be happy to build Google viral functionality into apps," says Chris at Momentus Media.

The other potential advantage is the ability to create a channel for niche content. Facebook tends to be better at highly-popular content, less good at fostering content and communities based on niche interests, which is 99 percent of all content, some might argue.

The post-Google world: A Facebook Developer’s Perspective

How a Drum Shop Uses Social Media To Sell Cymbals

Even products that are highly personal, such as a drummer's cymbal, can be sold online if social media, audio and video are used properly, the experience of the Memphis Drum Shop suggests. The issue with cymbals is the sound, which historically has been difficult to capture except inside a physical store.

The Memphis Drum Shop has a dedicated YouTube channel that demonstrates the sound various cymbals make. The videos let drummers hear a “virtual test” of what the cymbal will sound like. The channel has been up for a little over four years, and has amassed over 20 million views. Of course, from a marketing perspective, the big implication is that, by providing a way for prospects to test the product remotely, Memphis Drum Shop can sell globally, without the requirement for a physical visit to the store.

How a Drum Shop Uses Social Media To Sell Cymbals

Top Reasons Why People "Follow" Brands on Facebook

A study suggests 37 percent of Facebook users and 44 percent of Twitter users connect with brands using social media to stay in the loop on special offers. About 70 percent said they had used social media to participate in a contest or sweepstakes.

That means social media users are looking for deals and will likely register for contests (or other things) in order to do so.

Top Reasons Why People Follow Brands on Facebook

Dwolla Says Its Grid Payment Network Is More Secure than Card Networks

Dwolla says its "Grid" transaction network will be more secure than the Visa and MasterCard card networks. 


"Every time you swipe your card, you're leaving behind the actual information that would be used with that card," says Ben Milne, Dwolla founder and chief executive. "Every time you engage in a transaction, you're leaving behind information in places you don't even know you're leaving it."

That's an exposure potential users, merchants, card issuers and transaction networks must live with, to some extent. "What we're trying to ask is, if they had or could start over today, would they knowingly let merchants or hardware providers store credit card information that could be used to commit fraud?" says Milne.

That same question can be asked about most parts of the payments business, in fairness. Were we starting over, today, we might lean on customer-owned terminals and access rather than retailer-owned terminals and access, for example.

Most of the $1 million per week in transactions coming through Dwolla are online payments, says Milne. The highest dollar transactions are business-to-business transfers and consumer-to-business payments such as rent. But the new growth is in mobile, Milne says.

Read more.

Half of Mobile Users Use a Banking App Weekly?