Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Y! Alert: TechCrunch

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from TechCrunch


Facebook Ads Can Now Be Optimized To Drive Any On-Facebook Action, Such As In-App Purchases, Shares, Offer Claims Top
Facebook Ads Conversion TrackingMarketers don't actually want clicks, they want the downstream conversions and the return on investment that follow. So today Facebook begins allowing advertisers using its API to ask it to show their ads to people most likely to take any specific post-click action on the social network, such as sharing a brand's content to the news feed, buying virtual goods in their apps, or redeeming one of the new Facebook Offers at a local brick-and-mortar store. Previously Facebook's Ads API and self-serve tool only permitted optimization for clicks, Page Likes, app installs, and check-ins. Data on conversions 1, 7, or 28 days after a click will now appear in the Ads Manager. Rather than having to deduce what demographics are most likely to convert, and being unable to tell if those conversions came straight from ads, today's improvements give advertisers more transparency, and will make it easier for a much wider range of businesses to earn money from Facebook marketing.
 
Labor Of Love: Developer Creates iPad App To Help His Autistic Brother Top
autismateWhen Jonathan Izak graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, he decided to put his new degree in Computer Science to very good use. In an effort to help his 10-year old autistic brother Oriel communicate and learn new tasks, he developed a new iPad app called Autismate to try and simplfy the process. I got the chance to speak briefly with Izak, and he told me that Autismate came about because existing hardware solutions available on the market weren't getting the job done. "They're big, bulky, and expensive," he said. "Some of them can be between $9,000 and $12,000, and provide only limited functionality." So what makes Izak's solution any better?
 
Microsoft PM "Resigns" Via Video, Joins Justin Kan's New Startup Exec Top
guitarresignExec, the new TaskRabbit competitor from Justin.tv's co-founder, Justin Kan, has just hired a new designer it seems. Or so she sings. In a video posted to YouTube by one Karen X. Cheng, she sings and strums - rather nicely, in fact - to the tune of "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" about  how she's leaving behind her job Microsoft, where she spent three years compiling Excel code, and is now "hopping on a plane to San Francisco" to join Exec. "The next time that I touch a spec will be at a startup called Exec. My PM days have expired, I've taken a job as a designer." Now that's going out with a bang!
 
Obvious, CrunchFund, True Ventures And Others Back Online Community For Local Neighborhoods And Cities, Neighborland Top
NeighborlandThe Obvious Corporation, the ideas incubator and firm started by Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jason Goldman, has announced its latest investment—online community Neighborland. While it's unclear how much the startup raised, other backers include True Ventures, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, CrunchFund, and Voodoo Ventures. From the startup's site, it appears New Orleans-based startup Neighborland is an online community for local neighborhood residents to share their ideas and insights for cities, support neighbors' ideas, and connect with fellow residents who share similar interests. It aims to provide residents, neighborhood organizations, economic development groups, and municipalities with a simple platform to "connect and make good things happen." And it's a centralized place where people can share ideas and figure out how to make those ideas a reality.
 
RingCentral Launches New Mobile, Cloud-Based Phone System For Businesses Top
RingCentralCloud-based phone systems provider RingCentral is debuting a new version of its platform that allows businesses to setup, manage and use their phone system from mobile devices. RingCentral, which is backed by Scale Ventures, Cisco, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, DAG Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank, markets an advanced, cloud-based replacement for legacy phone systems in the form of a hosted business phone platform with voice and fax functionality. The platform includes auto-receptionist, multiple voicemail boxes, call routing, business answering rules, extension dialing, call transfers, and integration with Smartphones.
 
Fruux Keeps Your Calendars and Contacts In Sync Between All Of Your Devices Top
fruux_contactsKeeping your calendars, contacts and tasks in sync between all of your devices is still a bit of a hassle - especially if you use different operating systems and vendors. Germany-based Fruux, which was founded in 2010, offers a simple and elegant solution for keeping your contacts and calendars in sync between all of your phones, tablets, laptops and desktops. Sure, you could use iCloud or Google's services to sync your data between your devices, but that locks you in to one vendor and once you throw in apps and operating systems from different companies, things can get complicated fast. Fruux aims to simplify this process by offering a unified syncing service based on open protocols and the CardDAV and CalDAV standards.
 
Hey, Remember FriendCaller? It Just Launched 7-Way Mobile Video Chat Top
promo_videogroupcall_iphone_7_wayFriendCaller, a Skype alternative which, let's face it, we haven't heard much from in years, is today launching new web and mobile apps that support up to 7-way group video chats at once. The addition comes on the heels of FriendCaller's earlier expansion this year into multi-point video and voice conferencing, the company says. In addition to the seven video participants, the new apps also support 20 participants in a voice-only chat.
 
Gadget Review Battle! The Logitech UE Air Speaker VS. The Sony RDP-XA700IP Top
reviewbattle-docksTwo gadgets enter, one leaves. It's that simple. Welcome to the TC Gadget Review Battle where two competing products are pitted against each other. No wishy washy conclusion based on an arbitrary numbering system, just a reliable buying recommendation. These two speaker docks couldn't be more similar. They both use the same overall design, have nearly identical feature sets and the same $399 price tag. But one is a Sony and one is a Logitech. Well let's get to it: The Logitech UE Air Speaker vs the Sony RDP-XA700IP.
 
Spotify Details New Global Partnership With Coca-Cola Top
spotifyRight now I'm sitting in a room covered in Spotify and Coca-Cola logos. That's because Spotify and Coke have just announced a global partnership to help both brands expand their ubiquity. The folks at Coke explained that music has always been a huge part of Coke's marketing efforts, going all the way back to a series of ads featuring Ray Charles nearly 50 years ago. That said, the partnership will focus on four key pillars: global, technology, social, and a commitment to music. Spotify explained that Coca-Cola will be a huge factor in bringing Spotify to new markets and new corners of the world.
 
Forecast Takes The Hassle Out Of Ambient Check-Ins Without Draining Your Battery Top
forecast_logoThere are a number of different schools of thought about how useful Foursquare-like check-ins really are. Forecast, especially, is taking a very different approach from most of Foursquare's competitors by emphasizing where you are going to be later in the day over just checking in at a location when you arrive. Now, with the latest version of its iPhone app (an update for the Android app is coming soon), the company is taking this concept a bit further. Instead of just telling people where you will be, the app will also automatically check you in when you arrive at a location (assuming you opt in for this service) and let your friends know that you have arrived.
 
Analysis: Chinese PC Market Will Grow 12% In 2012 Top
chinaIf you were wondering where all the PC growth was, look East, young person. IHS, formerly iSuppli, expects that desktop sales will rise 8% and Ultrabook sales will take up 15 to 20 percent of notebook shipments. Windows 8 and Intel's Ivy Bridge are to be driving factors in PC growth this year. In comparison, IDC found that 2011 PC shipments shrank in Europe and the United States by 9%.
 
Internet Ad Revenue Reaches $31B In 2011, Mobile Up 149 Percent (IAB Report) Top
iab logoInternet ad revenue revenue grew 22 percent in 2011, to $31 billion, according to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report. That's an all-time high.The final three months were also the all-time best quarter at $9 billion, an increase of 20 percent from the same quarter in 2010.
 
It's Official: AT&T To Launch $199 HTC One X On May 6 Top
attonexWell, there you have it. After turning plenty of heads at this year's Mobile World Congress, HTC's latest and greatest handset now has an official release date for the United States. AT&T has just announced that the HTC One X will hit store shelves on May 6 with a $199 price tag (2-year contract included, of course), and that pre-orders for the hotly anticipated handset will begin on April 22.
 
PowerInbox Goes Plug-in Free With Email Client API; Adds Apps For Instagram & Pivotal Tracker Top
2 - UnifiedInboxPowerInbox, the email platform that lets you run apps for Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Google+ inside your inbox, is today launching its new "Connect API" which allows its service to be directly integrated into third-party mail clients without requiring users to install the PowerInbox software. To kick off the launch, PowerInbox has partnered with a few lesser-known email brands (sorry, no Gmail), including UnifiedInbox, SMAK, and Fuser. In addition, the service has expanded its lineup of email apps to now include Instagram, Pivotal Tracker, and a Boston-based restaurant called Boloco.
 
Cloud Emailer Mailjet Hits 1 Billion Emails Sent, Launches Apps For Tracking Emails In Real Time Top
mailjet-mobileMailjet, a cloud emailing service for tracking marketing and transactional emails, has just launched a mobile application for its business customers offering real-time email tracking. Within the mobile application, users can monitor email deliveries, plus keep an eye on metrics like bounces, opens and clicks. The company, which just rolled out a new version of its platform a couple of weeks ago, is also announcing today that it nearing 1 billion emails served. For those unfamiliar with Mailjet, the startup is taking on more established and VC-backed players like SendGrid, Postmark, and Mailgun, to name a few. The service targets businesses who need to buy or rent SMTP email servers, by offering a cloud-based solution. Emails sent out through Mailjet are tracked in a number of ways, including through the use of specialized links, transparent images that tell Mailjet how many times it was displayed, through the analysis of SMTP exchanges for bounces and deliveries, and more.
 
Q&A With Bill Amend, Creator Of FoxTrot (And Certified Geek) Top
AmendHeadshotAs we noted yesterday, cartoonist Bill Amend has released three sets of his popular Foxtrot comic strips as $1.99 downloads. This move, prompted by the creation of Apple's iBooks Author software and, more important, the rise of the self-publisher, is probably one of the first times I've seen a "traditional" comic strip enter the e-book realm in this way. I wanted to find out what Bill Amend was thinking. Luckily, he played along. TC: What made you try this? How did this compare to the "traditional" book release system? Amend: The first time I played around with an iPad on launch day all I could think about was how awesome it would be to somehow get my comics on this thing. Unfortunately, the comic strip eBooks I'd seen all tended to be a little clunky for my tastes, so I assumed I'd need to build a custom reader app, which proved too big a task for me. And then iBooks Author came out and changed everything. You have no idea how much fun it was to make these things. I love working with the people at Andrews McMeel on my print books, but the finished product always feels like their creation more than mine. These iBooks are all my doing and it's a great feeling.
 
Calling All Startups: TechCrunch New York Just Posted Office Hours Top
OfficeHoursClipArt_0The other day, I had the idea to open up Office Hours here in New York. And when I say "I had the idea," I mean that I stole it from Mike Butcher who had the brilliant plan to do the same thing in Europe. There's no reason to get all long-winded, so I'll just hit you with the specs.
 
The Noteboard Is An Amazing $10 Foldable Pocket Whiteboard Top
headerTraditional whiteboards are great for nearly everything but portability. Scribbling down physics problems? Sure. Impromptu game of tic-tac-toe? Of course. Folding up and putting it in your pocket? Not really possible with a normal whiteboard. But the Noteboard isn't a normal whiteboard. It's a dual-side, foldable whiteboard that might just change the world (but probably not).
 
Uber Experiments With Lower-Priced Taxis In Chicago Through Newly Launched Labs Group, 'Garage' Top
uber-2Back when Uber launched in San Francisco, it was heralded as a service that would disrupt the taxi industry by providing black cars on-demand via mobile phones. Thus far, the service has gained a loyal following, and expanded to a number of cities including Seattle, New York, Paris, and Chicago. Today, we're seeing a possible evolution of Uber with a new experiment in Chicago—using Taxis. Here's how Uber works. The service allows you to order a black car to come to your location via an Android or iOS app. You can actually track your car as it comes to your location as the app tracks the car via GPS. Payments are handled automatically by charging the card you have on file (no swiping necessary and gratuity is included), and it costs at least 50% more than a taxi. But you can order comfortable transportation on demand, which to many, is well worth the premium.
 
Marketo Buys Social Marketing App Developer Crowd Factory Top
crowd-factory-pictureMarketo, a company that provides an on-demand marketing software that allows businesses to optimize their sales and marketing efforts has acquired Crowd Factory, a startup that creates white-label social marketing applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Crowd Factory's social marketing applications allows marketers to amplify and optimize campaigns, and view social-analytics and interactions. The platform allows marketers to add social applications and messages to every channel – Facebook Pages, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds, landing pages, websites, banner ads and emails.
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.

No comments:

Post a Comment