Archive for May, 2011

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Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Twitter Says ‘Cheese!’

According to TechCrunch, Twitter has plans of launching a new photo sharing service for its users this week. Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief executive will be speaking tomorrow at the D9 conference in California, and many are speculating that he will make an official announcement then.

This new endeavor will not be welcomed by companies like Twitpic and Yfrog, who have profited from Twitter not having their own image-sharing service. These third party services allow you to post a link to your Twitter account, which directs you to either Twitpic or Yfrog where users post their pictures. While the details of a Twitter photo sharing service are scarce, if they make it possible to upload photos to Twitter directly, rather than having to link to a different site, it would undoubtedly become the preferred way for Tweeters to share photos. Bye-Bye middle man!

 

Rep. Weiner’s Uncomfortable Situation

As far as controversies go, the big one in the news this week involves lewd photos being sent from Representative Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account (please try to control your giggles) to a Seattle college student. Weiner claims that his account was hacked and that the whole thing is just a prank; however he has decided to hire a lawyer to investigate and possibly press criminal charges.

The congressman’s stance on the sticky situation he has found himself in? “At a time when the GOP is playing games with the debt limit, a member of the Supreme Court is refusing to recuse himself from matters he has a financial interest in, and middle class incomes are stagnant, many want to change the subject,” he said. “I don’t. This was a prank, and a silly one. I’m focused on my work.”

 

Twitter Teams up with AdGrok, Minus the CEO

The folks over at Twitter made an official announcement today confirming that it has acquired AdGrok, a keyword bidding company, stating ““@AdGrok Is Going To @JoinTheFlock“. The most intriguing and surprising part of this new partnership however is the news that Antonio Garcia-Martinez, CEO of AdGrok, is not following his company in its move to Twitter, but rather has taken a job at Facebook. Garcia-Martinez will be acting as project manager of the Facebook Ads team, which means that he will be competing with Twitter.

When asked publicly about the change, AdGrok stated “When Twitter approached us and asked if we’d be interested in working on their monetization platform, we realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up. The fact that the Twitter team is both smart and user-focused only made our decision easier.” How very PC of you, AdGrok.

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Weekly Wrap – Facebook Friday

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Zuckerberg Says Pre-teens Should Be Allowed on Facebook

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg made a statement this week claiming that kids under the age of 13 should be able to access and use Facebook, despite warnings that it puts children at risk for harassment and predators. He went as far as to say that he will fight for kids to use his social media site, claiming that it has educational benefits.

Currently, the age limit for Facebook use in America and Britain is 13 years old; however, Facebook is being criticized for not sticking to and regulating those restrictions enough. Some say it’s easy for kids under 13 to create an account, and with such terrifying scenarios like online bullying and sexual predators on Facebook happening, it makes sense for Facebook to be under fire.

Would you allow your pre-teen to use Facebook?

 

Facebook is Singing a New Tune

Remember when everyone used to have their favorite song on their Myspace page? That was pretty cool…until Myspace wasn’t cool anymore. Well, now Facebook is teaming up with Spotify, a music streaming service which will allow Facebook users to listen to and share music through Facebook. There are rumors that the deal between the social media giant and Spotify may happen in only two weeks.

Basically, how it works is Facebookers will click on a Spotify icon on the left hand of their Facebook news feed, which will allow them access to Spotify’s library of songs. The cool thing about it (other than having over a million songs to choose from) is that users will be able to listen to the same song as their friends at the same time.

Here’s the kicker: it may not be available in the US right away.

 

Faceflix? Netbook?

Time reported today that Facebook and Netflix are in talks to join forces to integrate content and “take over the world as we know it”. If the merger is true, I would say that’s a fair assessment. Apparently, should this deal take place, Facebook would only work with movies and shows already licensed by Netflix, rather than licensing content itself. Zuckerberg’s comment on the subject (and the aforementioned Spotify deal) was as follows:

“Listening to music is something that people do with their friends. Music, TV, news, books — those types of things I think people just naturally do with their friends. I hope we can play a part in enabling those new companies to get built, and companies that are out there producing this great content to become more social.”

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HBO Connects the Dots

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

HBO is taking a stab at a social media platform, calling the new project HBO Connect. The venture will allow fans of widely popular HBO series like True Blood, Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm to become more interactive with other fans, actors, and those behind the scenes.

HBO Connect was introduced as a “second screen experience”, meaning fans will be able to interact with their peers in real time on their smartphone or computer, while watching their favorite show. The cable giant released a soft-launch of HBO Connect this Tuesday, and is expected to add more features in June when summer television series kick off.

HBO Connect is made up of the following 5 key features:

*Pulse –  displayed on the homepage of HBO Connect and shows in real time what series is being clicked on a shared at that moment.

*Feeds – feature that displays Facebook and Twitter streams, trends, user lists, and allows users to customize and filter their individual page

*Conversations – feeds of conversations that fans will be able to have with actors, and people behind the scenes, from their favorite HBO shows.  Scheduled question and answer sessions thus far include Janina Gavankar from True Blood, Wendell Pierce from Treme, and Thomas Jane from Hung, among others.

*Visualizers – essentially pop-ups of trending topics, keywords and hashtags that can be repositioned as each users sees fit.

*Connections – listings of where else to find each show on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with visuals of your friends on Facebook who “Like” a particular show.

The premium cable network’s goal is to spark viewers interests and keep them tuned in even after a series has wrapped. From what we have seen thus far, HBO Connect seems like a pretty simple, non-intrusive, free way to do so.

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Medical App Makes Smartphones Even Smarter

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Smartphones have never been so smart! There is now an app called ResolutionMD Mobile that doctors can use to scan a patient’s brain in order to diagnose a stroke. The medical app is available for the iPhone, iPad, and the Android, and gives doctors the astounding ability to distinguish whether a patient has suffered from a stroke and prescribe treatment faster than ever before.

This advancement in technology will make a major difference in the early diagnoses and treatment in stroke victims, allowing actions to be taken sooner and more accurately, which improves the outcome tremendously. For every 15 minutes that a patient is kept waiting for a diagnosis, the effectiveness of the medication is reduced by half. So, when they say that every second counts, they mean it.

ResolutionMD Mobile is designed to scan images of the brain with what specialists at the University of Calgary are calling “nearly the same accuracy as when they use a full diagnostic workstation”. However, some medical experts have been resistant to the idea of reading a scan off of a 3.5 inch screen. The app is meant to be used in emergency scenarios, after all, and doctors worried that it was not trust worthy.

Fortunately, image compression, microprocessors and wireless-data bandwidth have all been improved so much so that ResolutionMD Mobile has won over most of the critics, making it an extremely useful tool for doctors when they do not have other equipment available.

For patients who live in more rural areas, ResolutionMD Mobile will save lives. Ross Mitchell, a medical professor who worked closely on the app at the Canada University commented on the effect it has already had in rural Arizona saying “The patients are being treated remotely, and they stay remote”.

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Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

TweetDeck on Deck

According to “sources close to the deal”, Twitter purchased TweetDeck for over $40 million (in a combination of cash and stock) on Monday. The new app will serve as a way for Tweeters to organize the way in which their tweets are displayed. The acquisition has not yet been confirmed by Twitter, despite the fact that papers finalizing the deal were signed on Monday. The Twitter camps only comment? “For all those who might be curious, we continue to not comment on rumors,” tweeted by @twitterglobalpr last night.

 

Email Notifications on the Horizon

Soon all Twitter users will be able to receive email notifications, per their specifications, telling them what is happening regarding their account and followers. Each user will have the option of turning the notifications on or off and will have the following options (among others) to choose to be notified when they occur: direct message, retweets, mentions, and new followers.

 

Palin’s Camp Makes Waves on Twitter

Sarah Palin is no stranger to Twitter drama. This time, however, the news-worthy Tweets are not statements made by Palin. The Daily Caller chose Twitter as the forum to publish messages from Palin spokeswoman Rebecca Mansour that slam published some conservative personalities such as Red State Editor-in-Chief and CNN contributor Erick Erickson, Mitt Romney, and even Palin’s daughter, Bristol. Time for damage control.

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eZanga Sets Out for New England XPO for Business

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

eZanga.com takes to the road for the 3rd annual New England XPO for Business on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 from 9am-5pm at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. This trade show is expected to draw an upward of 10,000 attendees and over 300 exhibitors. If you plan to attend this highly acclaimed business-to-business marketing event, stop by eZanga’s booth #324 and drop off your business card for a chance to win a free iPad! Visit the eZanga Fan Page to follow our team!

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Happy Birthday to eZanga.com!

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

Today at eZanga, we are celebrating 8 years of business! Rich Kahn, CEO, and Beth Kahn, CFO founded eZanga.com on May 23, 2003. This anniversary marks 8 years of growth in the search advertising industry, 8 years of hard work and dedication, and 8 years of living by our “work hard, play hard, eat hard” philosophy.

The idea for our beloved frog mascot, Jimmy Hoppa, was born out of the tragic story of a real-life frog, who got himself stuck in concrete during the building of the Kahn’s home. While that unlucky frog was not able to be saved, he is still remembered as the original eZanga frog.

Thanks and congratulations to all of our employees, customers, and friends! We look forward to many more birthdays in the future!

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Ashley Paige Fashion Show – Jimmy Hoppa on the Red Carpet!

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

eZanga.com is sponsoring the Ashley Paige fashion show at the Cannes Film Festival today in the beautiful French Riviera! Since this will be the first fashion-related appearance for the company, were sending out a special guest. Jimmy Hoppa is rumored to have a packed schedule of rubbing elbows with high-profile celebrities!

The fashion show kicks off tonight at 9pm and will highlight the latest line of knit bikinis and swimwear from Ashley Paige, celebrity designer and former reality star (Her show “Bikini or Bust” revolved around the world of her high-end boutique in Hollywood, CA).

The event title “The Luminous Era” is sure to draw a star-studded crowd. Keep an eye out for Jimmy Hoppa hanging out with stars like Kate Hudson, Fergie, and the Kardashian sisters, all of whom are clients of Paige. Check back at our fan page for the pictures!

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Netflix is the Champion

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Netflix now holds the title of the biggest source of internet traffic with nearly 30 percent of broadband traffic during peak hours. Analytics company, Sandvine, which sells network services software to ISPs, reported the news in their Spring traffic report 2011. The video streaming giant even surpassed peer-to-peer file sharing, which has historically been tough to beat.

The interesting part of this new stat is not simply that Netflix is “winning the race”, but that for the first time the largest source of internet traffic is paid for.  This mean ‘buku’ bucks for Netflix and its advertisers.

Competitive internet search providers see it differently, however. They are arguing that TV shows and movies streamed from Netflix online are an overwhelming burden on their networks. Some companies (AT&T in particular) are even considering changing their price points depending on each user’s GB usage.

Unfortunately for those of you who are avid Netflix viewers, this might be the future in internet bills for you. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the “data will surely stoke the debate on usage-based pricing for Internet consumption, which companies like Netflix–with 23 million users– warn could curb consumer appetites for watching streaming video online.”

Nonetheless, an unlimited month of TV and video viewing per month cost just $9 as of now. How can cable compete with that?

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Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Well, we’re excited to tell you about another project we’re testing out here at eZanga.com. Much like our weekly Facebook Friday blog, we are launching a Twitter Tuesday update, which will deliver to you the latest news related to Twitter, Tweets, Twitterers, and everything that is Twitter-ific. For those of you who aren’t quite tuned in to the jargon surrounding the social media site, Webopedia is a great tool. So, whether you’re a Twitter expert or a Twitter newbie, eZanga.com is a great place to get the weekly news in a one-stop-shop.

 

Gaga Hits the 10 Million Mark

Lady Gaga’s little monsters (as she likes to call her fans) are plenty! She became the first person to have 10 million followers on Twitter. “10MillionMonsters! I’m speechless, we did it! Its an illness how I love you. Leaving London smiling,” was Gaga’s response to the impressive news. Just a few weeks ago, the social media queen launched a contest on Facebook for charity which will utilize her many Facebook fans. Hopefully she introduces something similar to her Twitter followers.

 

Officer Twitter Tracks Stolen Laptop

Web analyst, Sean Power, utilized the power of Twitter and Prey tracking software that he installed on his laptop to track down the thief who stole his MacBook in New York last Thursday. With the help of other Twitter users, Power was able to live tweet a map of sorts directing followers to the culprit. One follower actually confronted the man, asking for the laptop…and the man conceded! Oh yea, and Power watched online from Canada while all this crime-solving happened!

 

Rihanna Follows Chris Brown

So what is the correct Twitter etiquette when it comes to following your physically abusive ex-boyfriend? It seems as though Rihanna doesn’t care to beg the question, which is angering her fans. The pop star is now following Chris Brown, with whom she endured physical and mental abuse which all played out in the court room…and in the public eye. It is because of this dramatic and emotional past between the pair, that her many fans are disappointed that she have any contact with the man. What type of example do you think it sets? Is this crossing a line?

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