Chillies Latest News

Microsoft launches ad platform to rival Google

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:45:29 +0200

Microsoft has launched an advertising platform in China in an attempt to grab market share from rival Google, which has been wrangling with Beijing over censorship, state media said on Wednesday.

The US internet giant's adCenter will target Chinese exporters wanting to advertise overseas, said Anderson Liu, general manager of Microsoft's domestic joint venture MSN China.

"It's time to join the market and let Chinese advertisers have more choices," Liu was quoted by the China Daily as saying.

AdCenter helps businesses place advertisements online such as on Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Microsoft hopes revenue from the pay-per-click ads will account for half of MSN China's business in the future, Liu said, without providing further details.

In July, Google parted ways with two Chinese advertisers following its standoff with Beijing over censorship and cyber attacks the search giant claims originated in China.

Google cut ties with Universal Internet Media and Xi'an Weihua Network, two major advertising agencies that worked in eastern and north-western China, the China Daily said, citing Marsha Wang, Google China spokesperson.

In January, Google said it would not buckle to Chinese government pressure to censor its content, and threatened to pull out of the country entirely.

It later effectively shut down its Chinese site google.cn, re-routing mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong.

In March, a group of 27 Chinese advertising agencies sent Google a letter calling for talks over compensation for possible business losses amid the censorship wrangle.

Google's share of China's online market fell to 24.2% in the three months to June, from 30.9% in the first quarter, research firm Analysys International said in a recent report.

Source: News24.com

Apple expected to announce new Apple TV today

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:58:18 +0200

Apple is expected to roll out a new Apple TV that includes support for Netflix.

These latest reports from Bloomberg corroborate rumors of an iOS-based Apple TV that surfaced this spring. With Netflix available on the iPad and the iPhone, an offering for the television set certainly makes sense.

I’ve long argued that the original Apple TV failed to really gain traction with buyers because it was too limited in its media offerings. The reason that Boxee was such a gift to Apple TV owners circa 2008/early 2009 was because it connected the device to lots of different online media sources, including Netflix.

As we’ve noted in past articles, however, the connected device landscape of 2010 is very different than that of 2007, when the Apple TV was first released. In fact, the landscape is very different from even a year ago.

Netflix has successfully executed its “Watch Instantly” strategy and is available on a bevy of devices in the U.S., including the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Roku — not to mention countless Blu-ray players and HDTV sets.

Frankly, we would be surprised not to see Netflix on the new Apple TV. At this point, it almost seems a given. The only question now is whether the connectivity will be built into the device OS or if it will come as an app available on iTunes.

If it is the latter, Apple might just show off some other content partnerships and connectivity options via the App Store beyond Netflix, like Hulu for iTV.

Apple’s press event is tomorrow morning and we’ll keep you abreast of all the announcements and new products as they are announced.

Source: Mashable.com

India will have access to secure BlackBerry data from 1 Sept.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:49:14 +0200

Research In Motion will give India access to secure BlackBerry data beginning September 1, a government source said on Monday, leading New Delhi to put off a decision on whether to shut down the smartphone.

Concerned about militants using the BlackBerry or Internet to plan attacks, India is also pushing RIM, Google and Skype to set up local servers to allow full monitoring of their services.

Shares of Canadian-based RIM rose after the Indian Interior Ministry said the company had offered several ways to allow authorities to monitor BlackBerry communications. The government said it would check their feasibility over the next 60 days.

New Delhi had threatened to shut down BlackBerry email services by Tuesday unless RIM provided a workable way for the government to monitor the data. India has said it wants the means to fully track and read BlackBerry communications.

Indian officials have also expressed concerns over security threats from Internet-based messaging and other services from providers such as Google and Skype.

The Indian government had set a August 31 deadline for RIM to come up with a method to allow email monitoring and avoid a shutdown in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market. On Monday, a source said RIM provided an interim solution.

"They have given some access, which we will operationalize from September 1," said the government source, referring to RIM.

"They will have to provide full access to all communications that go through India. They will have to set up a server in India," the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

A RIM spokesman based in India said the company had no immediate comment, while a spokeswoman at Google said the company was unable to comment as it had had no communication from the government.

Skype said it had also not received any directive from authorities in India.

BlackBerry's reputation is built on its system security and a compromise under pressure from governments could damage the device's popularity with business professionals and politicians.

Apple Inc and Nokia, RIM's two biggest smartphone rivals, may have the most to gain if India blocks BlackBerry services. Nokia said on Monday it will host an email server in India from November 5.

India is keen to retain its position as one of the world's fastest-growing information-technology nations, and a BlackBerry ban would jeopardize its status. A shutdown would also limit the efficiency and productivity of Indian businesses that rely on the smartphone.

"It is a huge hassle, not only for the government itself, which uses the RIM service," said Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton.

"It's not easy to take out all of your servers, put in new servers, take out all the different devices you have in the field, put in new devices. It's a big hassle and a cost," he said.

RIM uses powerful codes to encrypt email messages as they travel between a BlackBerry and a computer known as a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) that is designed to secure those emails.

RIM has said BlackBerry security is based on a system where the customers create their own key and the company neither has a master key nor any "back door" to allow RIM or any third party to gain access to crucial corporate data.

In addition to India, several other countries, most of them in the Middle East, have raised concerns that the BlackBerry could be used to aid terrorism or peddle pornography.

Saudi Arabia, fretful over services such as online pornography, has reached a deal with RIM on access to the BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging service, a consumer product that operates outside of the secure corporate domain. India has also reached a deal until November on Messenger service, according to government sources.

Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have raised similar concerns, with the UAE setting an October 11 deadline for RIM.

Analysts see no easy fix to the standoff as RIM says it has no way of intercepting the data that countries want to access. RIM has denied media reports that say it provided unique wireless services or access to any one country.

A shutdown would affect about 1 million users in India out of a total 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, allowing them to use the devices only for calls and Internet browsing.

Source: Reuters.com

BlackBerry standoff to be discussed at crucial meeting

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:36:54 +0200

Top Indian telecom and security officials are set to meet on Monday to discuss a security standoff with the maker of BlackBerry handsets which could see the phone service banned this week.

GK Pillai, the top bureaucrat in the home ministry, was due to hold a meeting with colleagues from the telecom ministry and security experts to make a call on India's next step.

The government warned earlier this month it would start blocking emails and instant messages sent on BlackBerry smart phones unless the company came up with a way for security agencies to decode the encrypted traffic by August 31.

India, which struggles with a host of home grown insurgencies and threats from terror groups based in neighbouring Pakistan, is worried that if left unmonitored BlackBerry phones could be used by militants.

There were indications late last week that the deadline might be pushed back beyond the cut-off date as BlackBerry's Canadian makers, Research in Motion (RIM), scrambled to satisfy the authorities.

"Everything is possible. If they say we have a solution and ask for time, then we will see," one unnamed official told reporters late last week.

Analysts have noted other security-conscious nations such as China and Russia appear to be satisfied over their intelligence agencies' level of access to BlackBerry communications.

For RIM, whose shares closed at a 52-week low on Friday of $45.99 in New York, striking a deal with India is crucial and would help ensure the company is not shut out of the world's fastest-growing cellular market.

India, which has 1.1 million BlackBerry users, would be the first country to curb its services. But RIM is also facing a threatened ban by the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating with Saudi Arabia on security issues.

Source: News 24

Twitter’s Limitations

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:55:22 +0200

Twitter is such a huge website and a fast growing web 2.0 service that it seems that the possibilities are endless. Well, not so endless, but more so limited. Limits ease some of the strain on the behind-the-scenes part of Twitter, and reduce downtime and error pages.

Current Twitter Limits

The current technical limits for accounts are:
• Direct Messages: 250 per day.
• API Requests: 150 per hour.
• Updates: 1,000 per day. The daily update limit is further broken down into smaller limits for semi-hourly intervals. ‘Retweets’ are counted as updates.
• Changes to Account Email: 4 per hour.
• Following (daily): Note that this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior. You can find detailed page describing following limits and prohibited behavior on the Follow Limits and Best Practices Page. The technical follow limit is 1,000 per day.
• Following (account-based): Once an account is following 2,000 other users, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios. The Follow Limits and Best Practices Page has more information.

These limits include actions from all devices including web, mobile, phone, API, etc. API requests from all third-party applications are tracked against the hourly API limit. People who use multiple third-party applications with their account will therefore reach the API limit more quickly.

What happens if I hit a limit?

If you do reach a limit, Twitter will let you know with an error message telling you which limit you've hit. For limits that are time-based you'll be able to try again after the time has elapsed.

The Update Limit of 1,000 updates per day is further broken down into semi-hourly intervals. If you hit your account update limit, try again in a few hours after the limit-period has elapsed. If you've hit a Follow Limit, see this Follow Limit Troubleshooting page for more information.

Google launches new real time search website

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:10:36 +0200

Google Inc launched a website on Thursday for users who want to sift through news, comments and other information on the Internet in real time, letting them follow conversations on social network hubs such as Facebook and Twitter in one place.

The move expands the Internet search leader's efforts to compete with Microsoft Corp's Bing in letting Web surfers track up-to-the-minute comments and postings and could also be a useful tool for organizations tracking public opinion on everything from a movie to a new product.

Google's effort underscores the importance of real-time data on social media, in an increasingly competitive Internet search arena which it dominates. Microsoft in October also announced partnerships with Twitter and Facebook to provide real-time search results.

A link on search results also lets users track conversations on the Internet -- back-and-forth comments about a particular topic -- in real time, and another click lets users choose to monitor discussions from a specific geographic location in English, Japanese, Russian or Spanish.

Hollywood studios, for instance, can quickly scan initial comments and snap reviews after a movie premieres, or a company can check out opinions on a new product on launch day.

The company has no plans for now to sell advertising on the separate site -- which users could also access from search results generated on the main page.

"It's a great way to find out what people are saying about something ... right now," product manager Dylan Casey said. "Real time search is a core feature of Google search."

Google decided to hive off the separate site after research showed that enough users wanted to limit their Internet trawls to real-time results only. Addressing potential concerns about privacy, Casey added that only publicly available postings are displayed.

To visit the new site click here.

Source: Reuters.com

New Apple iPods expected to launch 1 Sept.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:10:59 +0200

Apple Inc is expected to show off a snazzier line of iPods on September 1, as speculation mounts the consumer electronics giant may also unveil plans to reinvigorate its long-neglected TV project.

Analysts expect the makers of the iPhone and the iPad, which has always labeled Apple TV a hobby, to showcase a new iPod Touch with dual cameras in time for the holidays.

Its shares climbed 1.2 percent. The company has in recent years used splashy September events to showcase new iPod models for the year-end spending spree. It typically also describes tweaks and new features for its iTunes online media store.

Last year's event marked the return of Steve Jobs to the public eye after a long hiatus, during which he underwent a liver transplant. This year, blogs are afire with talk about a souped-up Apple TV, though analysts deem unlikely a major announcement on that front next week.

Sources have told Reuters Apple is in the throes of negotiations with the major U.S. TV networks from Walt Disney Co's ABC to General Electric Co's NBC, hoping to offer TV shows for rent via iTunes for 99 cents per episode.

But those sources also said it was not a done deal. Apple and the media companies have declined to comment.

"From our checks with supply chain and industry sources, we believe potential changes could turn Apple TV into a bigger hobby and a multimillion unit seller," Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros wrote.

Apple will hold the event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where it introduced the iPad in April. This year's invitation carried a prominent picture of a guitar's front, with an Apple logo standing in for the sound hole.

The company's iPods dominate the music- and media-player market, but growth there has moderated in past years and it has turned its attention toward the iPhone and iPad. In the June quarter, Apple said it sold 9.41 million iPods in the June quarter, down from 10.2 million a year earlier.

In contrast, analysts estimate the company sells about 1 million Apple TV units annually.

Still, some analysts expect Apple to eventually revamp -- and enhance -- its long-neglected TV device as the electronics maker continues to merge content with gadgets and ensconce itself in the home.

Wu expects to revamped Apple TVs in stores as early as this holiday, or the first half of 2011.

"In the grander scheme of things, it takes them a step closer" in that effort," Wu said. The device is "perhaps a precursor into a bigger effort to address the home entertainment space down the road."

Source: Reuters.com

Germany stops Facebook checks by employers

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:56:35 +0200

Germany's government is planning a new law to protect employees' privacy, including making it illegal for employers to check on job candidates' private Facebook postings.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday the law would make it illegal for future bosses to ask applicants to become their Facebook friend in order to check out details they would otherwise keep private.

Checking postings made public on the web would be allowed, though.

He said the law will also prevent clandestine video surveillance in the work place - except in public spaces such as supermarkets. Cameras will be allowed if employees know about them, but not in private spaces like lavatories or locker rooms.

The law now has to be considered by parliament.

Source: News24.com

Apple iPad perfect for sumo wrestlers

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:16:23 +0200

Japan's ancient sport of sumo is embracing the latest high-tech, with its governing body set to distribute Apple's iPad to wrestlers who often struggle with smaller cellphone keypads due to their giant hands.

The sumo association said it will hand out iPads to Japan's 51 "stables", or the clubs the wrestlers belong to, with the aim of improving communication among the roly-poly grapplers after some in the past had missed information sent by fax or telephone.

"We will hand out the newest iPads to all the sumo stables to swiftly communicate what we need to," association vice chair Hiroyoshi Murayama said.

The iPad tablet PC, which starts at ¥48 800 ($570) in Japan, was likely chosen because many stable masters do not use computers and wrestlers are not good at punching in messages on their mobile phones with their big hands, Jiji news agency said.

Sumo is trying to overhaul its image after being rocked by a series of scandals including an illegal baseball gambling racket, assault and drug use.

Source: Reuters.com

Lady Gaga to become the world’s top Twitter user

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:55:53 +0200

In a symbolic exchanging of the pop princess crown, Lady Gaga will soon become the world's top Twitter user by overtaking current champ Britney Spears' number of followers.

According to social media statistics service Famecount.com, Gaga recorded 5,635,460 followers earlier today, while Spears had 5,646,028.

With current growth rates, the "Bad Romance" singer should pass Spears' count on Thursday or Friday at the latest.
Spears' brief run at the top of Twitter began less than three months ago, when she overtook actor Ashton Kutcher for the top spot.
Famecount.com confirmed that Gaga's Twitter followers, 16 million Facebook friends and YouTube popularity currently make her the most popular person online. However, the singer's Twitter crown is far from secure.

With Justin Bieber adding 800,000 new Twitter followers a month to his existing 4.5 million, the teen star could pass Gaga within six months.

Source: reuters.com

HTTP Error 502 Bad gateway - What is it?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:41:24 +0200

A server (not necessarily a Web server) is acting as a gateway or proxy to fulfil the request by the client. A Proxy is a computer system/application program that acts as a liaison for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. (e.g. your Web browser) to access the requested URL. This server received an invalid response from an upstream server it accessed to fulfil the request.

This usually does not mean that the upstream server, (a server that provides service to another server) is down (no response to the gateway/proxy), but rather that the upstream server and the gateway/proxy do not agree on the protocol for exchanging data. A Protocol in its simplest form can be defined as the rules governing the syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication.
Given that Internet protocols are quite clear, it often means that one or both machines have been incorrectly or incompletely programmed.

502 errors in the HTTP cycle
Any client (e.g. your Web browser) goes through the following cycle when it communicates with the Web server:
• Obtain an IP (Internet Protocol) address from the IP name of the site (the site URL without the leading 'http://'). This lookup (conversion of IP name to IP address) is provided by domain name servers (DNSs).
• Open an IP socket connection to that IP address.
• Write an HTTP data stream through that socket.
• Receive an HTTP data stream back from the Web server in response. This data stream contains status codes whose values are determined by the HTTP protocol. Parse this data stream for status codes and other useful information.

This error occurs in the final step above when the client receives an HTTP status code that it recognises as '502'.

Fixing 502 errors - general

This problem is due to poor IP communication between back-end computers, possibly including the Web server at the site you are trying to visit. Before analysing this problem, you should clear your browser cache (stored copies of documents passing through the web) completely.

If you are surfing the Web and see this problem for all Web sites you try to visit, then either;
1) Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) has a major equipment failure/overload or
2) There is something wrong with your internal Internet connection (e.g. your firewall is not functioning correctly). In the first case, only your ISP can help you. In the second case, you need to fix whatever it is that is preventing you reaching the Internet.

If you get this problem for only some of the Web sites you try to visit then it is likely to be a problem at those sites (i.e. one of their pieces of equipment is failing/overloaded.) Contact the people at those sites.

Facebook profile and page roadmap update

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:07:32 +0200

Facebook announced plans last October to remove application boxes and application info sections as well as reduce the width of application tabs to optimize for the new profile and Facebook Pages format. They will be moving forward with these changes the week of August 23, here’s what to expect:

Based on feedback from developers, Facebook have committed to the following plans to ensure a smooth transition:
• Boxes. They will notify users via messaging in profile boxes and in the Help Center that the "Boxes" tab, boxes on profiles and Pages, and application info sections will be going away.
• Application Tabs. Next week, they will give Page admins the ability to preview their custom tabs in the new 520 pixel width so they can modify their layouts as needed. All profile and Page tabs will be resized automatically beginning the week of August 23.

These updates are designed to simplify navigation for users, reduce complexity for developers, and enable Facebook to build the next generation of tools for growing business’ with Facebook.

Source: developers.facebook.com/blog

Facebook launches their geo-location

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:19:10 +0200

At an invite-only press event at Facebook’s headquarters, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new service called "Places" that will let users share their location with one another and more easily discover what's around them from within the social network.

Along with telling people where you are, users will be able to include who they're with-that is, as long as they're all friends on Facebook. This information gets pushed out along with the Facebook update and uses the same tagging system that Facebook employs for its photo-hosting service.

Facebook Places is almost here, watch this space.

Source: cnet.com

BlackBerry debate still raging in India

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:17:52 +0200

India will allow BlackBerry's messenger service to continue beyond an August 31 deadline, but could shut down its secure email service if access is not given to its encrypted data by then, a senior government source said.

A technical team from Research In Motion began discussions with India's telecommunications ministry and intelligence agencies on Tuesday, the source said, seeking to address security worries over some of BlackBerry's services.

"Discussions have started today. They will continue this week and whole of next week. Discussions are on both the services," said the source on condition of anonymity.

The government expects some sort of technical solution from RIM to emerge during the discussions, he said.

When asked if BlackBerry would be allowed to operate after August 31, he said: "BlackBerry services, including phone, SMS and Messenger will run, not sure about enterprise mail."

Research In Motion has assured India of manual access to BlackBerry instant messages by September 1, and automated access by year-end. They are yet to get assurances for its more secure corporate email, sources said.

Also on Tuesday, at least three mobile operators confirmed they received letters from the Department of Telecommunications giving them a deadline to put in place monitoring capability for BlackBerry Messenger and secured Enterprise email services.

"We have received a letter... asking us to ensure that legal intervention capability is put in place for BlackBerry services by 31 August 2010," a statement from operator Tata Teleservices said..

New Delhi says it will shut down BlackBerry services if RIM does not allow access to its messaging or secured email, threatening its future in the world's fastest-growing telecoms market.

India is one of a number of countries putting pressure on RIM, which has built the reputation of the BlackBerry, popular with business professionals and politicians, around confidentiality.

Governments such as Saudi Arabia's fear it could become a tool for militants to plan attacks or for those breaking Islamic laws.

A shutdown would affect about 1 million users in India out of a total 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, allowing them to use the devices only for calls and internet browsing.

"The onus is on service providers to ensure that they have some sort of interception mechanism in place before the deadline ends," a senior interior security official told Reuters.

"It is binding upon them and the DoT (Department of Telecommunications), which is the nodal agency, will ensure that it is followed strictly, in the interest of national security."

A source at one of India's biggest telecom operators said the government wanted a "suitable interception and monitoring" solution in readable format for the law enforcement agencies.

According to a government source, RIM has already assured India of limited access to BlackBerry instant messages by September 1.

RIM has lost more than 11% of market capitalisation since the beginning of August, when governments in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they would also consider a ban.

Source: Reuters.com

More rumors about Facebook's 'geo-location' offering

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:34:50 +0200

Kara Swisher at BoomTown says her sources “indicate that Facebook will finally be rolling out its own geo-location offering” on Wednesday.

If this is true, it would fulfill a promise made to developers months ago at Facebook’s f8 conference, when we first thought the feature would launch. Such an announcement would moreover substantiate the subsequent months of “coming soon” rumors and verified quotes we heard from Facebook execs and others.

In May, informants had said the new product’s release was no more than four weeks away. However, Facebook’s crowd-pleasing privacy changes put a hold on the upcoming location feature launch; at the time, we were told several projects in development were tabled while engineers and other staff scrambled to revamp the site’s privacy settings. At a Q&A session during the privacy features launch, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted the debacle had sidelined location plans altogether.

But again in June, Zuckerberg told attendees at a London Facebook Developer Garage event, “We are finishing designing our application soon and hope to offer it soon.”

In short, we’ve heard (and repeated) the words “coming soon” a few too many times when it comes to Facebook’s location plans. We hope that Wednesday, we have something to actually show our readers for a change.

Source: Mashable.com

Telkom officially announces 10Mbps ADSL

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:18:04 +0200

Internet users who need the speed are in for big benefits from Telkom’s latest network upgrade.

Within weeks of rolling out substantially expanded data packages, the company announced that Telkom Internet will increase the speed of it its Fastest DSL offering to “up to10 Mbps”, effective immediately.

Previously, the network was capable of providing Telkom’s Fastest DSL product offering at speeds of up to 4096 kbps. Telkom is now enhancing its ADSL network to support ADSL speeds of up to 10Mbps in all areas which have suitable technology at exchanges to support the upgrade.

All upgrades therefore remain subject to localised line conditions and the type of equipment available at the nearest exchange.

The upgrade is focussed around 4Mbps users who currently sync at full profile speed. This means that 10 Mbps will initially have a limited footprint, but this footprint will increase as Telkom expands its Metro Ethernet E and ADSL2+ presence.

A phased approach was implemented, due mainly to the fact that the number of services that qualify for a 4 Mbps to 10 Mbps upgrade are constantly increasing.

Customers can use an online availability check tool to establish the status of upgrades in their area. The availability checker can be found on the following web pages:
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/dsl/ordering.html http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/dsl/conditions.html

The latest speed upgrade will also be at no additional cost to customers.

The increase in allocated blended bandwidth, together with the improvement in speed, will have significant benefits for a wide range of users.

Source: telkom.co.za

Why it is important to monitor and measure your brand in social media

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 03:56:18 +0200

Whether you are actively developing a social media presence for your brand or just dipping your toe in the deep and ever-changing ocean of social media chatter, you probably realize that monitoring and measurement are quite important. Although there is no shortage of social media monitoring tools, each one is a bit different.

In your search for the right tool(s), you should be looking to both monitor and measure your brand on social media. The two terms are used somewhat interchangeably, and although there is some overlap and similarity in business goals, monitoring and measurement are distinct processes. Let’s take a look at each one in a bit more detail.

Social Media Monitoring

- How it works: Typically, monitoring is performed on a keywords basis. Relevant keywords include your brand name, product name, etc. Based on your keywords, your monitoring system of choice goes out to the social networks you specify, grabs the relevant articles and messages, and hopefully arranges them for easier digestion and action.
- Why it’s important: My favorite analogy for social media is that it’s like the “largest cocktail party in the world.” It’s a room filled with people driven by one desire to communicate, share, digest and relate, while carrying on many independent conversations. Some of these conversations can be about you, your competitors or your industry. Some of these conversations could be people looking for a product like yours. They will talk about all these topics regardless of whether you are listening or not. However, you wouldn’t know any of this if you weren’t listening.

Social Media Measurement

- How it works: Similar to monitoring, your system of choice goes out and looks for articles where that specific combination of keywords occurs. It then tabulates these occurrences and presents them to you in relevant data reports. You need to be able to slice and dice the data by source, date, and other dimensions, as well as drill down to the social media “atom” level — the individual message — if you need to.
- Why it’s important: Unless you are immune from management or client accountability, you will probably be expected to provide some metrics that justify your company’s social media marketing or listening program. But that’s only a part of the story. Constant benchmarking is the only surefire way to know if things are working. Social media is a quickly evolving beast, so if you don’t routinely measure and course-correct, you could be marching down the wrong path. The idea is to “fail fast.”

Social media monitoring and measurement leverage the same data for different business ends. Measurement is crucial for benchmarking and tracking your success over time. It’s what helps you draw comparisons to your competitiors, analyze the huge amount of tweets and blog posts, and condense them to a list of actionable insights. Monitoring, on the other hand, lets you listen and respond in real-time and protect your brand from negative word-of-mouth. Both monitoring and measurement should be a significant part of your social media strategy.

Internet Explorer 9 to launch on 15 Sept.

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:34:35 +0200

Microsoft will be launching the completely revamped Internet Explorer 9 at an event in San Francisco on September 15.

The September event will mark the first time the world will have the chance to play with the beta for the entirely overhauled browser. The first details surrounding IE9 were revealed back in November. Since then, Microsoft has launched four platform previews detailing IE9’s adherence to web standards.

More importantly though, the platform previews tout the browser’s hardware acceleration capability, which we have to say is nothing short of impressive.

Microsoft is serious about its position in the web browser market. While Internet Explorer remains the world’s most popular browser, it has experienced a steady decline since 2004. Recently though, Microsoft’s browser has been staging a comeback, slowly regaining market one percentage point at a time.

Source: Mashable.com

MySpace takes on a new look

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:26:19 +0200

MySpace is revamping its home page. It's looking a little more like its more popular and populous rival, Facebook, even as it attempts to set itself apart.

In simplifying its user home page, MySpace is making users' stream wider and more prominent. The stream is the constantly updated flow of status updates and shared content, much like the news feed that is front and centre on Facebook.

MySpace also is consolidating recommendations, such as games, events and "people you may know", into one section instead of scattering them around the page. And users' photos, videos, music and events will be combined under a "My Stuff" section on their home page.

The redesign is part of a broader overhaul of MySpace, as the site works to stay relevant to its current audience and draw in new users, including those who haven't visited in years.

In setting itself apart from Facebook – which in just a couple of years dethroned MySpace as a media darling and internet favourite – MySpace is focusing on attracting younger users and helping them discover new things.

That has been the site's forte since its heyday, when teens flocked to MySpace to find out about new music and design their often flashy, jumbled home pages. Facebook, meanwhile has become especially popular with the over-35 crowd.

MySpace President Mike Jones said the latest changes are in preparation for a big overhaul in the fall, "so as we turn on the full re-launch it's not a shock to the system."

The goal is to be relevant to 13- to 34-year-olds and help them discover new people and new content.

EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson called the redesign smart, a clear departure from the MySpace of old that was a "cluttered, messy catchall".

"Do I wish it happened sooner? Yes," she said.

But it didn't, and in the meantime Facebook has grown to 500 million. MySpace, which is owned by News Corp, has more than 120 million users worldwide.

"MySpace and Facebook really aren't even competing in the same category any more," Williamson said. "Which is good. For MySpace to be successful they need to carve out their own place."

MySpace remains a go-to place for many new musicians who want to showcase their music and interact with their audience.

If MySpace's overhaul works, making music and entertainment front and centre could help it serve the same purpose MTV did a generation ago. If it doesn't, it could go the way of another once-dominant network, Friendster.

Source: News24.com

Twitter to launch Tweet Buttons

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:03:34 +0200

Twitter is launching an official Tweet Button for sharing articles on websites and counting how many times a URL has been shared, according to documents Mashable has obtained. The Tweet Button could launch as soon as this Thursday.

We’re still diving into the details, but from what we can tell, the Tweet Button is designed to be the most comprehensive counter of retweets and shares across Twitter’s network. It is a single line of code that can be added to any website. There are three versions of the button (110×20, 55×20, 55×63) with five different settings for customization.

The company that is most likely to be affected by this development is Tweetmeme, which powers most of the retweet buttons you see on websites and blogs across the web, including Mashable.

Twitter could be directly competing with Tweetmeme, but we think it’s unlikely that Twitter would just spring this product on the world without talking to Tweetmeme first. We believe it’s likely the two companies have a deal, but don’t know what it would look like as of yet.

Source: Mashable.com