The Future of Search: Social Relevancy Rank

FriendFeed has recently launched a search feature, and so Facebook search must be coming soon.

Real-time Web search (of streams of activities) is a hot topic right now. Everyone, including Google and Microsoft, recognizes the value of using trusted contacts as filters. What was once called social search is now called real-time search, but this time it will really happen. First, it will be applied to streams and then to the Web in general.

What we are about to get is a Social Relevancy Rank. Whenever you search streams of activity, the results will be ordered not chronologically but by how relevant each is to you based on your social graph. That is, people who matter more to you will bubble up. How does this work? Well, there will be a formula, just as there is a formula for Page Rank.

Solution 101: Rank by Friends and People You Follow

Here is an idea so obvious that it is surprising Twitter has not implemented it already: front-load search results with people you follow. When you search for, say, "Wilco" on Twitter today, the results are in the chronological order. That is not really relevant because you do not know who most of these people are. But if instead you could see people you follow, the search results would be much more useful.

This is not possible on Twitter today, but it already works great on FriendFeed. There, results are filtered or ranked based your social graph. This is not difficult for FriendFeed to do because, on the one hand, it knows who you care about and, on the other, it applies its advanced feed search technology to your social graph:

This sounds awesome, but there is a problem. "Wilco" works well as a query because the band has just released a new album, but many other queries would return no results. Simply put, your friends on Facebook and people you follow on Twitter can't possibly have an opinion on every topic you may be interested in. This is a problem of sparse data: trusted opinions are scarce.

Small Worlds and Taste Neighbors

To solve the problem of sparse data, we need more data... obviously. One possible solution is to incorporate other sources that you trust (i.e. broaden your social graph). As a next step, search results could rank people you may not be directly following but who are being followed by people you follow. Or in Facebook-speak, friends of friends. You could argue that you are not familiar with their opinions and so cannot yet trust them, but given the small world phenomenon, their contributions are often just as valuable.

Another step could be to include people with similar tastes, so-called taste neighbors. This approach is common among vertical social networks such as Last.fm, Flixster, and Goodreads. These networks have ideas about which people, other than your friends, are like you. However, this is a costly calculation and takes time. In order for Twitter to do something like this, it would have to compare people based on links or perform semantic analyses of tweets over time. Yet even though this is a difficult problem, it will be solved in time.

The Influencers and the Crowd

Aside from using the "second degree" of your social graph or taste neighbors, a Social Relevancy Rank could front-load influencers. In the absence of any other metric, someone who is followed by hundreds of thousands of users is likely more relevant to you than someone you don't know at all. Using number of followers as a weight might be a good way to order the rest of the activity stream.

In general, combing through countless tweets from strangers is not terribly useful anyway. Just as people have stopped looking at anything beyond the first page of results on Google, sifting through pages of tweets in chronological order gets tedious quickly. What needs to be incorporated into the Social Relevancy Rank is the aggregate sentiment of the crowd: a score that tells you yay or nay and gives you an opportunity to drill into more results if you choose.

The Quest for the Perfect Filter

There is no such thing as a perfect formula. Even Page Rank isn't perfect. Yet we all use it and find it useful. Much as Page Rank has been adapted and tuned to search the web, Social Relevancy Rank will evolve over time to help us make sense of endless streams of activity. This ranking will have a profound impact on how we tap into our friends' opinions.

It will change the face of general Web searches in time, too. Today, results are automatically ranked by relevancy and freshness. Once Social Relevancy Rank is factored in, search results will be re-ordered based on social relevancy.

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http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/technorati-to-launch-twittorati.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-unveils-new-search-features.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/twitter-search-to-index-pages-and.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/yahoo-upgrades-search-engine.html

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http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/rate-of-tweets-per-second-doubles.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-unveils-sms-service-for-africa.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/yahoo-ceo-stop-comparing-us-to-google.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/future-of-facebook-usernames.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/googles-schmidt-rips-microsofts-bing.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/history-and-future-of-computer-memory.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/kosmix-tries-to-avoid-google-search.html

http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/dispute-finder-intel-program-finds.html

Source:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/future_of_search_social_relevancy_rank.php

Tags:

FriendFeed search feature, Facebook search, real-time Web search, Google, Twitter, Twitter search, PageRank, Microsoft, trusted contacts as filters, social search, Global IT News, Social Relevancy Rank, metrics,

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HP Web-Connected Printer: No PC Needed

Hewlett-Packard on Monday introduced an Internet-connected inkjet printer that lets people print coupons, movie tickets, maps, and other items from Web sites without having to turn on a PC.

The HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web has a 4.33-inch touch screen for navigating to sites. The printer includes software for accessing Web content from HP partners, including USA Today, Google, Fandango, Coupons.com, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, Web Sudoku, and Weathernews.

HP also launched HP Apps Studio, a site for downloading future applications for the printer. HP has included application programming interfaces with the printer's software platform for third parties to build software and make it available through the Apps Studio, a strategy made popular with Apple's launch of the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The new printer can connect directly to the Internet through a wired orWi-Fi connection. The device also supports Bluetooth for printing directly from digital cameras and other devices.

HP's pitch with the new product is its ability to go directly to Google, for example, and print out maps or a person's weekly calendar, or to print movie tickets or supermarket coupons from Fandango and Coupons.com, respectively. Users can also view, print, and upload photos to Snapfish, HP's photo-sharing and printing Web site.

"By giving people access to the content they want at the touch of a finger, the ability to customize their printing experience and create their own apps, and enabling easy one-touch wireless setup, we are driving a significant shift in how people will be printing in the future," Vyomesh Joshi, executive VP of the Imaging and Printing Group at HP, said in a statement.

Besides printing, the HP printer also faxes, copies, and scans documents. The device is scheduled to ship this fall and will sell for $399. HP's latest printer reflects the company's strategy to keep its consumer printing business growing at a time when people can access photos, maps, and other content on and off the Web through a smartphone or mini-laptop. While HP is making printing off the Web easy, it remains to be seen whether the convenience is worth the cost of the printer, ink, and paper.

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/peripherals/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218100736&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

Tags: HP Photosmart, HP, Touchsmart Web, USA Today, Google, Fandango, Coupons.com, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, Web Sudoku, Weathernews, App Store, iPhone, iPod Touch, HP Apps Studio, Snapfish, Bluetooth, Global IT News,

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Ballmer: All Traditional Content Will Be Digital In 10 Years

Steve Ballmer said Wednesday that the global advertising economy has been permanently “reset” at a lower level, warning that media companies should not plan for revenues to bounce back to pre-recession levels.

Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Ballmer argued that traditional broadcast and print media would have to plan business models around a smaller share of the advertising market, as revenues continue to move to digital outlets. “I don’t think we are in a recession, I think we have reset,” he said. “A recession implies recovery [to pre-recession levels] and for planning purposes I don’t think we will. We have reset and won’t rebound and re-grow.”

Ballmer, named media person of the year at this year’s festival, also painted a bleak picture for the future of traditional media, arguing that newspaper publishers have failed to generate new revenues from the digital opportunity. He said that within 10 years all traditional content will be digital and yet, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) aside, publishers are failing to generate serious digital revenues.

“All content consumed will be digital, we can [only] debate if that may be in one, two, five or 10 years,” added Ballmer. “There won’t be [only traditional] newspapers, magazines and TV programmes. There won’t be [only] personal, social communications offline and separate. In 10 years it will all be online. Static content won’t cut it in the future,” he added.

“Some say that the ad-funded model has not led to profitability. Google’s search site makes money but past Google is there a publisher with an ad-funded or fee-based model that has made lots of money? No.”

For media businesses to successfully evolve they must provide the right combination of context and relevance to make a compelling online proposition for consumers, according to Ballmer. “There are problems with digital advertising. Start with content and the website environment and [ask] is it suitable for advertising. [That] question is somewhat in the balance as we move forward,” he said. The old approach of simply trying to replicate a print newspaper online is doomed to fail, Ballmer added.

During a question and answer session after his speech, Ballmer was also asked about Microsoft’s interest in acquiring Yahoo.“We have no interest in acquiring Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). What we have said is that we will continue to remain open to a partnership with Yahoo,” he responded.

Source: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-microsofts-ballmer-all-traditional-content-will-be-digital-in-10-years

Tags: Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, Technology Prediction, Digital content, Analog content, google, Yahoo, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Ad-funded model, Global Best Practice, Print media,

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Singularity University Launches

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – June 25, 2009 – Singularity University (SU) — the new academic institution with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address “humanity’s grand challenges” — today announced the selection of 40 students to represent the inaugural class for the Graduate Summer Program (GSP). Singularity University narrowed the final 40 students from a pool of more than 1,200 candidate applications around the globe. The summer program begins on June 29, 2009, based at its campus on the NASA Ames Research Park.

SU also announced that leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, ePlanet Ventures, joins SU as the newest Corporate Founder to support the institution.

Singularity University is modeled after the successful International Space University, founded at MIT in 1987, which has become one of the leading interdisciplinary, international and intercultural institutions for the study of space. The Graduate Summer Program is a nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating.

A Look at the Summer Class

Students for the inaugural summer program were chosen based on their level of expertise in individual “tracks,” demonstrated entrepreneurial and leadership skills, and their commitment to addressing and solving important issues facing our world.

“The level of interest from candidates around the world exceeded our initial expectations,” said Dr. Ray Kurzweil, co-founder of Singularity University.

“We received applications from expert candidates in over 60 countries, so competition was very tough for the 40 open spots. Narrowing the field was challenging. The selected students embody the key characteristics, experience, and ‘start-up mentality’ we believe are required to address our grandest challenges today and tomorrow.”

The summer class is composed of 26 men and 14 women, ranging in age from 22 to 47 years old. The 13 nations represented are: USA, Canada, Israel, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, India, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and Russia.

Specific experience and expertise in one of the ten key fields of study, or “tracks,” was required to secure a spot in the inter-disciplinary institution. The number of student experts in each of the ten tracks are: future studies and forecasting - 5; policy, law and ethics - 7; finance and entrepreneurship - 5; networks and computing systems - 6; biotechnology and bioinformatics - 3; nanotechnology - 2; medicine, neuroscience and human enhancement - 4; AI, robotics - 3; energy and ecological systems - 2; and space and physical sciences - 3.

“It’s rare that a new university comes into existence, and we are proud of the students representing this first class,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder of Singularity University. “Ray Kurzweil and I look forward to seeing what this stellar combination of students and faculty will produce throughout the course of the program. The potential is unlimited. And, we truly believe Singularity University will positively impact humanity.”

Venture Capital Support Behind SU

ePlanet Ventures joins SU as the only venture capital firm at the Corporate Founder level, with a donation of $250,000. In addition to financial support for SU, the firm will mentor students as they develop projects and new business ideas, a partner will serve as an advisor and lecturer on the Finance and Entrepreneurship track, and sit on the Board of Trustees. Google is an existing Corporate Founder.

“The close alignment of our goals with SU made the partnership a natural fit,” said Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures. “ePlanet Ventures was founded to support innovation in technology and sciences, and has been a leader in discovering disruptive innovation and promoting cross-border migration of technological innovation, business models and entrepreneurship. We anticipate great ideas and global solutions to come from SU with the expert concentration of students, faculty, and other supporters. We’re thrilled to be a part of this innovative venture from the start.”

Interest in sponsoring Singularity University has been strong since its founding, and nearly all its financial supporting positions have been filled. Three positions are still available to join ePlanet Ventures and Google as Corporate Founders, and SU is in discussions with a number of the Bay Area companies to fill the remaining positions. Please visit the Founders’ Circle for more information on corporate and individual sponsorship.

Looking Forward

Singularity University will offer 3-day “C-level” and 10-day “mid-level” executive management programs in Fall ’09. Exact program dates will be announced later in the year. Interested candidates can submit applications and request additional information at www.singularityu.org/interested

ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY

Singularity University (SU) is an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges. With the support of a broad range of leaders in academia, business and government, SU hopes to stimulate groundbreaking, disruptive thinking and solutions aimed at solving some of the planet’s most pressing challenges. SU is based at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley. For more information, go to www.singularityu.org.

ABOUT EPLANET VENTURES

ePlanet Ventures is a leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, with international offices in London, New Delhi, Bangalore, Shanghai, and Beijing, as well as a presence in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. ePlanet Ventures has funded over 80 innovative high-growth companies worldwide, including landmark deals Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Skype (sold to eBay for approx. US$3B in 2005), and Focus Media (NASDAQ:FMCN). ePlanet is one of the leaders in promoting the cross-border migration of technological innovation, business models and entrepreneurship.

The Firm has made investments in sectors such as the Internet (consumer Internet, Internet services and applications), wireless communications and applications, VoIP and other broadband services, entertainment, semiconductor design, life sciences and other emerging services sectors. The firm has won the China Venture Capital Association Exit of the Year 2005 for Baidu, and the European Venture Capital Association Deal of the Year 2005 Award for Skype, and has been profiled in FORBES Feb. 2007 as a “Pioneer in Global Venture Capital.” Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures was recently profiled in FORBES MIDAS List 2008 as a top 10 venture capitalists in the world.

Source: http://singularityu.org/news/2009/06/su-launches-press-release/

Tags: Singularity University, ePlanet Ventures, NASA, Silicon Valley, International Space University, MIT, Graduate Summer Program, Ray Kurzweil, Peter Diamandis, Google, Entrepreneurship, Global Development News,

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Yahoo CEO: Stop Comparing Us To Google

Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz asked shareholders to stop comparing the Sunnyvale Internet company to Google, its biggest rival, at a sparsely attended and subdued annual meeting Thursday morning.

The meeting marked a break from the past, when shareholders have repeatedly voiced their disappointment with Yahoo's management and its failure to respond to competitive threats and increase the value of the company's shares. Last year, shareholders withheld support from the board of directors in record numbers after the company rejected a bid from Microsoft to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion or $33 a share.

"I was hoping that the Microsoft deal would go through, not because I'm a big Microsoft fan but because I don't think the share price will get that high again," said Richard Hackenbery, who became a Yahoo shareholder in 1999. Hackenbery and his wife, Marilyn, drove from Berkeley to the meeting, which was held at the Santa Clara Marriott, to hear Bartz, who became CEO in January, replacing co-founder Jerry Yang.

Yahoo's shares traded at $15.53 on Thursday, up 8 cents and up from a low of $8.94 in November last year. At the meeting, Bartz said if and when there is a deal with Microsoft, they would announce it; otherwise, she had "nothing to say." Yang, who sits on the board of directors and holds the title Chief Yahoo, attended the meeting but did not address it. He later chatted informally with shareholders. David Filo, the other co-founder, did not attend.

Directly addressing shareholders for the first time, Bartz said they should think of Yahoo as the largest online media company, "the place where millions of people come to check what is important to them every day and organize their lives." She also described how she was streamlining Yahoo's organizational structure and shutting down poorly performing properties, which she described as "space debris."

When asked why Yahoo continues to lag Google in financial performance and employee productivity, Bartz said it was time to stop comparing the companies to each other because they have different business models. "Please, this direct comparison model to Google is not fair and is frankly not relevant," she said.

While Google is purely a search-advertising company, search is only part of Yahoo's business, she explained. Bartz also said that Yahoo did not have a "vision problem" but that it had an "execution problem," which it was working hard to fix.

"I was very impressed with her," said Marilyn Neuterman, a retiree living in San Jose. "She gave good, clear answers and conducted a nice meeting." In formal business at the meeting, shareholders re-elected the board of directors and followed the company's recommendation on four additional proposals, including three that dealt with appointing an accounting firm, the stock plan and employee stock options. Shareholders vetoed a fourth proposal that would have given them a say on executive pay.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_12688924?source=email

Tags: Yahoo, Google, Carol Bartz, Jerry Yang, David Filo, Microsoft, Santa Clara Marriot, Global IT News, Shareholders, AGM, Annual General Meeting, Search, Chief Yahoo, Executive Pay, Online media,

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YouTube Uploads Soar After iPhone 3G S Ships

Mobile uploads to YouTube jumped 400 percent last Friday, the day that Apple released its iPhone 3GS, which contains a video recorder function and easy sharing features.

In the last six months, meanwhile, the Google-owned video site has seen mobile uploads increase by 1,700 percent, the company said in a blog post.

"This growth represents three things coming together: new video-enabled phones on the market, improvements to the upload flow when you post a video to YouTube from your phone, and a new feature on YouTube that allows your videos to be quickly and effortlessly shared through your social networks," YouTube wrote.

To take advantage of its increased uploads, YouTube issued a challenge to video creators -- make your video go viral through social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter and YouTube will feature it on its homepage. Just upload your video with the "mobiletest" tag, share it with friends, and Tweet the link to @youtube.

"We'll give you one week to spread your test video far and wide, after which we'll take a look at the most popular clips and feature a few on our homepage in a special "mobile upload" edition of our Spotlight Video," YouTube said.

Also today, YouTube announced that it is rolling out the updated version of its channel design to all new users. All existing channels will roll over to the new version by July 15.

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/zd/20090625/tc_zd/241763

Tags: YouTube mobile, iPhone 3G, Facebook, Twitter, mobiletest tag, YouTube spotlight video, Google, Global IT News, Youtube mobile video competition, Youtube channels,

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Google, Facebook Launch Persian Services

(AFP) - Internet giant Google has unveiled a Farsi translation service to help Iranians "communicate directly" to the world, while Facebook has launched a version of its site in Persian, they said Friday.

The Internet has played a key role in allowing some Iranians to communicate since last week's disputed presidential elections and many international media outlets have used services like Twitter and emails in their coverage. "We feel that launching Persian is particularly important now, given ongoing events in Iran," Google's principal scientist Franz Och said, announcing the addition of Farsi to Google Translate, its free online service.

Like YouTube and Twitter, "Google Translate is one more tool that Persian speakers can use to communicate directly to the world, and vice versa -- increasing everyone's access to information," he added in a posting on Google's official blog. Meanwhile, Facebook engineer Eric Kwan said on its blog: "Since the Iranian election last week, people around the world have increasingly been sharing news and information on Facebook about the results and its aftermath." He added: "Today we're making the entire site available in a beta version of Persian." Several thousand people posted a "thumbs up" reaction to the news, denoting their approval.

The BBC reported that Google and Facebook had speeded up work on their projects because of huge interest in current events in Iran. Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been declared the winner of the elections, provoking major protests on the streets of Tehran by supporters of his principal challenger, moderate former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Many young people have been taking part in the protests. Meanwhile, the BBC also said Friday it has increased the number of satellites carrying its BBC Persian television service to countries including Iran. It said in a statement that the Hotbird 6 satellite which carries BBC international TV and radio services had been subjected to "deliberate interference" since last Friday. Services will now be available via three other satellites.

"This is an important time for Iran and many Iranians are turning to the BBC for impartial and independent news and information during this crisis," said BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks.

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090619/tc_afp/iranpoliticsinternetgooglefacebookmedialanguage_20090619160723

Tags: Google, Twitter, Facebook, Farsi, Iran, BBC, YouTube, Hotbird 6, Franz Och, Peter Horrocks, Eric Kwan, BBC Persian Television, Google Translate, Global Best Practice,

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Google’s Schmidt Rips Microsoft’s Bing

Earlier today, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) CFO Patrick Pichette said the company was still analyzing Microsoft’s search-engine revamp—and wasn’t ready to comment.

Well, apparently, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is more than ready. Excerpts from his interview on Fox Business Network:

—“It’s not the first entry for Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). They do this about once a year.”

—“We think search is about comprehensiveness, freshness, scale and size for what we do. It’s difficult for them to copy that.”

—“You earn (share). You don’t buy it with ads, you earn it and you earn it customer by customer, search by search, answer by answer.”

Schmidt gave a similar interview to CNN earlier this month, where he pretty much said the same thing about Bing, and mentioned this key point: “They have some advantages with the Windows monopoly, where they can encourage people to use Bing, probably unfairly. Lets see what the users choose.” And also professed his unabashed love for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle, doesn’t say much on a question about YouTube

Source: http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-google-ceo-schmidt-rips-bing/

Tags: Google, Bing, Microsoft, Search, Eric Schmidt, Fox Business News, Patrick Pichette, Amazon Kindle, CNN, Global IT News,

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Why VeVo Could Become The Hulu Of Music

Universal Music has apparently seduced a cortortium of indie labels, A2IM, to join its video site Vevo. That follows last week’s news that Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music Entertainment has also signed up for VeVo, which Universal is launching with help from YouTube, the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) video site.

Assuming it doesn’t run into some unforeseen obstacle, VeVo could easily become a mainstream digital platform for the struggling music industry, much like Hulu has become for the TV industry.

—The labels will probably work together better this time, providing consumers with a robust, complete content offering. The labels likely learned their lesson from the failure of digital music download services launched in the early 2000s, including pressplay (Sony and Universal) and a venture powered by MusicNet (EMI and BMG).

Consumers rejected those services for their complicated licensing procedures and lack of choice in the acts offered for sale. This time around, it looks like the labels are ready to be more collaborative—a release announcing Sony’s participation said it would include a broad array of its artists on the site.

—Demand for digital music videos is strong, and different types of programming could increase users’ appetites. Four of the top-five professional channels on YouTube are music related—Universal Music, Sony Music, Britney TV and Hollywood Records.

So there is no question that people are watching and listening to a lot of music online. Most of the videos on these channels are fairly basic; Universal has said it plans to complement its usual offerings with exclusive interviews, reality programming and exclusive performances.

—Advertisers will likely embrace the service. Many video sites are evolving to try to meet advertiser interest in professional content. YouTube recently started streaming professional TV and movies, while competitor Metacafe, responding to advertiser feedback, added more professional content and organized it in hubs. Music reaches an elusive, young demographic, which, of course, is attractive to advertisers. One caveat:

As of now, it appears that Universal Music Group will be selling the ads for VeVo, and it remains whether people steeped in promoting records can also sell premium ad packages.

Source: http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-why-vevo-may-be-the-hulu-of-music/

Tags: Vevo, hulu, digital music, universal music group, youtube, google, yahoo, sony music entertainment, metacafe, Hollywood records, A2IM, musicnet, EMI, BMG, Global IT News Blogspot,

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New Web Site Tracks Other Site's User Policies

A new Web site will track policies imposed by popular Internet sites such as Facebook and Google, hoping to help users spot potentially harmful changes.

Introduced Thursday, TOSBack.org, the brainchild of privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, will track terms of service modifications within hours of an update.

The site will compare old and new policies side by side and highlight changes. With about two dozen sites covered already, TOSBack.org plans to add more agreements, from credit card, bank, cable TV and other companies.

Tim Jones, the EFF's activism and technology manager, hopes the site will help avoid debacles such as the one faced by Facebook in February. Changes to Facebook's terms of use over control of content went unnoticed at first. But amid protests that Facebook might hold sway over content indefinitely, the company agreed to solicit user feedback.

The site reverted to the previous terms of use policies as it tried to resolve the issues raised. Ultimately, Facebook let users vote on revised terms, which clarify that users own their information, not Facebook. But Jones said many Web sites change their terms of service all the time and often don't notify users.

"Terms of service policies are obviously really important. They form the foundation of your relationship with almost every site you visit on the Internet," he said.

"But almost no one really has time to read them or the legal background to read them." TOSBack.org aims to make the general public more aware of user agreements and how it affects them, Jones said.

Tags: Facebook, Google, TOSBack, Electronic Frontier Foundation, GlobalITNewsBlogspot, Policy tracker, Terms of use, Terms of service,

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_12529768?source=email

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Google Android Steals The Show At Computex Taiwan

The Computex Taipei 2009 electronics show ended Saturday after a week-long display of new gadgets, including netbooks, ultra thin laptops made with new Intel chips and several surprises surrounding Google's Android mobile phone operating system.

 

The show's final numbers were down nearly across the board from last year, but not by much considering the global recession andfears surrounding the H1N1 swine flu.

 

An estimated 100,000 people visited Computex Taipei 2009 from around the world, down slightly from 106,517 last year, according to figures from the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The totals include 32,178 international buyers, down from 34,685 last year and 1,712 exhibitors, down compared to 1,750.

 

The only figure that improved was the amount of booths rented, which rose to 4,498 this year, from around 4,000 last year. The 2008 comparison figures were taken from last year's closing press release from Computex, important to note because show organizers did not offer the figures on the 2009 press release, instead saying most of the 2009 numbers were up between 1 percent and 5 percent over last year.

 

A TAITRA official was unable to immediately explain the discrepancy in the figures. Chinese companies at Computex's first ever China pavilion complained deal-making was slower than they had expected. Chinese network equipment maker Shenzhen Yichen Technology Development found 30 percent to 40 percent more buyers at the show last year compared to this year, a representative manning the company's booth said on the last day of Computex.

 

The representative blamed the economic downturn for what he said was a smaller turnout at the exhibition than last year. The aisles of Chinese company booths were empty compared to other areas of the exhibition. This was the first year Chinese companies were officially welcomed at Computex, though JCG was one of a group that attended last year by registering as Hong Kong-based companies. Political differences between Taiwan and China have kept the presence of Chinese firms to a minimum in the past, but growing bonds between people in both places has turned out to be a boon for business.

 

Over 130 Chinese companies had booths this year, according to TAITRA. One first-time exhibitor, southern Chinese laptop vendor and designer Guangzhou Darling Industrial, also perceived a low turnout. The company did not secure the four to five business partners it expected to find, said a representative at the company's booth. The company also hoped to form partnerships with companies from outside Taiwan, but Taiwanese businesses were the main attendees, she said.

 

The company has not decided if it will attend next year, she said. Some companies blamed the sluggish global economy for the apparent lack of deals, while other said fear of the swine flu may have kept potential buyers away.

 

Taiwan put several measures in place to guard against swine flu, including hand wipe stations at the front doors of the exhibition areas and infrared scanners capable of detecting fevers via heat that international airline passengers had to walk past on their way to passport control.

 

The number of new gadgets and announcements did not show any signs of slowdown from last year. Computex served as a coming out party for Google's Android mobile operating system in devices outside the smartphones for which it was designed.

 

Mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm showed off a previously unannounced version of Asustek Computer's Eee PC based on its Snapdragon processor and running the Android OS. Asustek pioneered netbooks and has used other Linux OSes in its netbooks in the past, but prior to Computex it had almost completely changed over to Microsoft Windows XP, which is the most popular OS for netbooks.

 

The new Eee PC also lacked the Intel Atom microprocessors that have become ubiquitous in netbooks. Instead the device, which is thinner and lighter than current members of Asustek's Eee PC netbook lineup, uses a Snapdragon chip with a 1GHz ARM processing core. The chips use less electricity and give off less heat than Atoms, so the mini-laptops they're in do not require cooling systems such as heat sinks or fans.

 

Qualcomm, Freescale Semiconductor and Texas Instruments call the devices smartbooks. The smartbooks on display at Computex looked a lot like netbooks, with 10-inch screens and full keyboards, but they can run for eight hours on a three-cell battery, compared to two or three hours for a netbook with a three-cell battery.

 

One potential benefit of the devices aside from their long battery life is easy connectivity to mobile phone networks for wireless Internet surfing. But one downside is that since they use ARM microprocessors instead of x86 processors such as Atom, they will miss out on the huge library of software made for x86 chips, though software can always be revamped to run on the ARM processors.

 

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) also showed off a smartbook running Android, on chips from Texas Instruments.

 

Acer may become the first company to put out a netbook with Android in the third quarter of this year if it can beat some rivals, such as China's Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies, which has said its Android netbook is undergoing final testing.

 

What's unique about Acer's new Aspire One netbook with Android is that the processor inside is an Intel Atom, not an ARM-based chip. Acer worked with a Taiwanese Linux distributor to port Android over to x86 processors, a first for the OS.

 

Not to be left out, MIPS Technologies worked with software developer Embedded Alley to port Android to the MIPS chip architecture, which the companies also showed on devices at Computex.

 

Several other companies displayed their first-ever Android-based gadgets, including Inventec Appliances, which showed a smartphone and handheld computer and Kinpo, which displayed a handheld computer. Other vendors such as BenQ, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Garmin-Asus vowed to catch up with Android-based products of their own.

 

There were a number of other notable devices shown off at Computex, including thin, light laptops created around Intel's CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) microprocessors from every major Taiwanese producer, such as Acer's Timeline laptop series and Asustek's U-series.

 

New netbook designs were on show, including Gigabyte Technology's TouchNote T1028 netbook running Microsoft Windows 7 and sporting a 10.1-inch touchscreen that swivels around and folds down to transform it into a tablet PC. Other netbooks and nettops with Nvidia Ion graphics chips inside were available at several booths, while e-book devices were also out in force.

 

One nice aspect of Computex is that unlike other trade shows that show off concept devices and cutting edge technologies that may never make it to market, the majority of what's shown in Taipei is on store shelves ahead of year-end holidays.

 

Tags: Computex Taiwan, Taiwan, ECS, Intel, Acer, Global IT News, Taipei, Google, Google Android, BenQ, Kinpo, Asustek, Inventec Appliances, netbooks, Nvidia, nettops, Gigabyte Technology, Garmin-Asus, smartphones, MIPS Technologies, computer chips, MIPS chips, Aspire One notebook, linux, android netbook, intel atom, shytone transmission technologies, Computex Taipei 2009, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, TAITRA, snapdragon processor, Shenzhen Yichen Technology Development,

 

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090606/tc_pcworld/computexattendancefallsbutandroiddazzles_1

Posted via email from Global Business News

YouTube for TV

YouTube unveiled this week YouTube.com/XL, a revamped version of YouTube.com/TV that is intended to be viewed on a television set or on a large PC screen. 

This YouTube.com/XL (YouTube extra large) works on any Web browser that can be connected to a TV, whether it is a game console, a PC or another device.  It can be controlled not only with a keyboard, but also with some remote controls (including Android phones). 

Rather than a donwloadable app for viewing, like Hulu desktpop , YouTube is choosing to go all browser, no plug-in required (It is an AJAX-powered IU). Not all the YouTube content is available here. Many content providers have been reluctant to allow television viewing of full-lenght episodes they post online. 

 

Tags: youtube, youtube XL, youtube for TV, google

 

Source: http://iblnews.com/story.php?id=48175

Posted via email from Global Business News