Thursday, July 1, 2010

Y! Alert: TechCrunch

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from TechCrunch

Best Buy Trying To Fire Employee Over Those Hilarious EVO Versus iPhone Videos Top
By now it seems like just about everyone has seen the iPhone 4 vs. HTC EVO video (and the rebuttal video ). The video portrays an electronics store employee trying to convince a person looking for an iPhone 4 to buy an HTC EVO 4G instead. It’s hilarious — like all good humor, so funny because it’s at least partially true. But you know who didn’t find it funny? Best Buy. How do I know that? Because they’re trying to fire the kid who made it. The video in question was made by Brian Maupin, a 25-year-old based in Kansas City, Missouri. For the past three and a half years he’s been working at Best Buy selling mobile phones. He’s probably not going to be doing that anymore as Best Buy has suspended him indefinitely and is currently taking the steps to terminate him, Maupin tells us. The reason? The video. The video became so popular (it currently has nearly 1.3 million views on YouTube) that someone at Best Buy corporate saw it. They then put two-and-two together that it was an employee at one of their stores that made it, and the hammer came down. “ They felt it disparaged a brand they carried (iPhone/Apple) as well as the store itself and were fearful of stockholders & customers being turned off to Best Buy Mobile ,” Maupin says. What’s ridiculous is that nowhere in the video does Maupin have anything indicating the fictitious store the iPhone buyer is walking into is a Best Buy. At the beginning, the cartoon employee identifies the store as “Phone Mart.” The character isn’t even wearing the signature Best Buy blue polo shirt — and they’re standing in an outdoor field with a pink tree. In other words, nothing about this video seems to imply Best Buy in anyway. In fact, the only reason it will be tied to Best Buy now is thanks to this story. Maupin says he was asked to quit, which he declined to do, and so they suspended him this morning telling him that he would most likely be terminated after they review it with HR. He expects the decision in the next day or two. “ I issued a statement to them explaining that the video was intended to be comedic and hence, not taken seriously by them or all these stockholders & customers they are worried about [being] turned off to buying from them due to the video ,” Maupin says in his defense. Maupin isn’t sure how exactly Best Buy corporate knew to tie the video to him, but believes they did so because a couple other videos under his Tiny Watch Productions (a little indie film group he made with his friends) YouTube account featured videos referencing him and Best Buy. Maupin says he removed those videos at Best Buy’s request, but refuses to take down the EVO vs. iPhone videos because, again, they in no way reference Best Buy. Regardless of whether he keeps his job or not (which he doesn’t expect to), Maupin is optimistic. “ I see it all as a blessing in disguise. I’ve wanted to start my career in graphic design/animation for so long, I see this as my kick in the pants to go get it ,” he says. And now, for an encore: CrunchBase Information HTC EVO 4G iPhone 4 Best Buy Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Google Pays $700 Million In Cash For Flight Info Provider ITA Top
Google is now in the flight information business. The search giant just announced it is paying $700 million in cash for ITA Software , an essential provider of flight information to airlines, travel agencies, and online reservation systems. ITA raised a massive $100 million series A back in 2006 from Sequoia, Battery Ventures, and General Catalyst. Travel is a huge segment of search and online commerce. Purchasing ITA signals Google’s intention to build out its travel search in a major way. A consortium of rivals including Microsoft, Kayak, Expedia, and Travelport tried to counter Google’s offer last Spring because they all rely on ITA’s data and wanted to keep the company out of Google’s hands. ITA was reportedly holding out for $1 billion, but Google got the deal at the original $700 million price it put on the table. If you search for flights on Google today, all you get is links to results from the big online travel sites. Bing, on the other hand, offers a much richer Travel experience, complete with comparison prices for the same flight from the different travel engines, as well as predictive charts and graphs from Farecast (which was acquired by Microsoft for $115 million in 2008). Bing also gets a lot of its flight and fare data from ITA. Google will use ITA’s data to create “new flight search tools” and promises to honor its existing agreements with partners. But can you imagine Bing paying Google for flight data? When that contract comes up for renewal, the negotiations will be anything but straightforward. CrunchBase Information ITA Software Google Information provided by CrunchBase
 
comScore Acquires Products Division Of Mobile Network Data Company Nexius For $24 Million Top
Analytics giant comScore has just acquired the products division of Nexius, a mobile analytics and data networking compant. Nexius’ products provide analytics that mobile operators can use understand consumer behavior, and to build better networks and experiences. The technologies essentially allow mobile operators to make sense of the enormous amount of data available. comScore tells us they paid $24 million for the products division of Nexius, with $18.6 million paid in cash. comScore has high hopes for the acquisition, stating the the release that it anticipates that the acquisition will add $4 million to the company’s 2010 revenue. That’s actually a pretty significant amount for the company; for the entire (fiscal) year 2009, comScore reported revenues of $127.7 million, up from $117.4 million the year before, an 8.8% increase. comScore, which just went free for startups, has been growing both in revenue and acquisitions. The company acquired Latin American Web Measurement Company Certifica and advertising research agency ARSGroup earlier this year. CrunchBase Information comScore Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Tesla Unveils Roadster 2.5 Electric Sports Car Top
Tesla unveiled its newest electric sports car today, the Roadster 2.5 , just two days after its IPO . The Roadster 2.0 was released only a year ago, and existing customers will be able to buy upgrades to 2.5 features where feasible. Pricing starts at $101,500 after a federal tax credit of $7,500. The company says most of the updates are based on customer feedback. Here’s Tesla’s rundown of what’s new in the 2.5: • A new look, which includes a new front fascia with diffusing vents, and rear diffuser reflecting the future of Tesla design • Directional forged wheels available in both silver and black • New seats with improved comfort, larger more supportive bolsters and a new lumbar support system • Power control hardware that enables spirited driving in exceptionally hot climates • An optional 7″ touchscreen display with back-up camera • Improved interior sound reduction including new front fender liner material make the cabin even quieter CrunchBase Information Tesla Motors Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Apple's War With Google Takes To The Skies With iTunes In The Cloud Top
iTunes in the cloud. We all know it’s coming, it’s just a question of when, and with what capabilities? A story from Boy Genius Report today appears to answer at least one of those questions, and vaguely answers the other. If BGR’s “reliable” Apple source is to be believed, Apple’s iTunes cloud strategy will consist of three parts: 1) Streaming content from Apple’s servers to your devices 2) Streaming content from your computers to your devices 3) Wirelessly syncing content to your devices. If true, that would obviously constitute a major push into the cloud by Apple. It would also likely elevate their war with Google. Currently, Google basically owns the cloud, at least with regard to consumer apps. But one of their major weak points there is entertainment content. They’re hoping to change that this Fall with the launch of Google Music (or whatever it will be called), which will take on iTunes directly. The big selling point of Google’s planned offering (which they talked about at Google I/O this year in little detail) is cloud syncing with devices. In other words, exactly what Apple is planning to offer (again, if this BGR report is true). But Apple has a huge advantage: millions of pre-existing iTunes customers. iTunes customers that are unlikely to leave because so much of their content (the protected variety anyway) is tied to that ecosystem. Google will basically be starting from the bottom, while Apple will be starting from the top of a mountain. One of those will be much closer to this cloud, in that regard. Of course, Google has a proven massive cloud infrastructure, while Apple only does in minor way with MobileMe. But all indications are that they’re working on bulking that up. There’s the massive data center they’re building, and, of course, the Lala acquisition . And they need to. It’s inevitable that iTunes moves to the cloud . The amount of content and storage space needed is simply outpacing storage on devices. For example, if I download a full season of a television show in HD, it takes up dozens of gigabytes. A device like the iPhone only has he option of storing 32 GB currently. Obviously, most people don’t keep all their content on these devices. But going forward, these devices (like the iPad) are more likely to be used as primary content viewers. The only way that’s really feasible is with a cloud streaming and/or syncing service. And this is about more than just music, movies, TV shows, etc — it’s also about apps. From the looks of it, Google won’t be starting from complete scratch with the content offering because they’ll be building it on top of (or adjacent to) their Android Market ecosystem. This means that they’ll also have a potential base of millions of users thanks to those who use apps on Android. (Still, it’s nowhere near the numbers that use iTunes overall.) From BGR: For wireless syncing, we are told it will work pretty seamlessly. Any apps you buy for instance on your iPhone will immediately sync to your computer, changes to your calendar, or notes, or contacts will also automatically update on your computer as well. The first part is exactly what Android is promising with their 2.2 release — so clearly Apple is going to answer that. The second part is a bit odd because that’s already exactly what MobileMe does. Might this new syncing service be built on top of MobileMe? If so, maybe Apple finally is preparing to make it a free service, as it’s unlikely a massive amount of people will pay for it if Google is offering the same things for free. In terms of timing, all BGR will vaguely say is “soon.” At the end of the report, they hint that the new service might come alongside an event in the Fall (or before it). A report earlier this year indicated that iTunes.com (the obvious name for the web-based version of iTunes in the cloud) would launch this Summer. That report said June was a possibility — but obviously that’s already come and gone. Regardless of exact timing, this Fall is shaping up to be very interesting with regard to Apple and Google. Google TV will be out to take on Apple TV . Chrome OS will be out to take on iPads . iAds will be out to take on AdSense. And these new cloud media streaming services now look to be battling as well. [photo: flickr/ dirtymansam79 ] CrunchBase Information iTunes Google Apple Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Department of Desperation: Placecast Tries To Paint Foursquare As Irrelevant To Marketers Top
If you want to know why you can never trust a survey commissioned by a company trying to bolster its market position, just look at the slide above. Placecast , which is a text-messaging advertising service , commissioned a survey by Harris Interactive to measure consumer’s attitudes towards, and acceptance of, text-message marketing on their mobile phones. The survey (embedded below) has some useful data for location-based marketers. But it reads more like pitch deck for Placecast. Guess what it finds to be the most valued activity on mobile phones?  Yup, text messaging.  And what do consumers think about location-based social networks like Foursquare?  Those are the least valued, according to the sample of consumers asked, with only 5 percent of respondents rating it as the most valued activity (and skewed more towards men than women).  In other words, Foursquare is a geek activity.  Geo-marketers should really focus on text messaging, which just so happens to be the business Placecast is in, not those geo social apps where Placecast doesn’t play. The problem with these findings, beyond the fact that they are completely self-serving, is that there aren’t that many people using geo-social networks yet so most people you ask on the street won’t even know what you are talking about, much less rank it as the top activity. Foursquare barely has 2 million registered users.   Everybody with a phone is familiar with text messaging, which is a key feature of the phone. Sometimes people don’t know what they want until you give it to them and they try it. Surveys won’t tell you that. Just because consumers love text messaging does not mean they love to be bombarded by SMS ads.  But the survey tries to paint a picture of growing acceptance.  According to the survey, 28 percent of adults, and 42 percent of those 18 to 34 years old are at least somewhat interested in receiving text-message alerts from marketers.  Now, the key here is that 98 percent of those surveyed say they do not currently get promotional alerts via text message. In other words, it sounds like a good idea because they love text messages, but they haven’t actually been subjected to the constant pestering of an SMS marketing campaign. I’d love to see the number of people who are still open to text-message marketing after they’ve had to endure a few weeks of an overly-aggressive bar owner or club trying to get them to come back in every night. Checking into a place via a geo app like Foursquare or Gowalla or Booyah or Loopt, and getting a promotion from that venue as a reward, or an offer from nearby merchants, is a much more powerful marketing mechanism.  First of all, it is not random and interrupting your daily life.  You get the promotion when you are most likely to be receptive to it at a location that is relevant.  Getting a text message come-on when I walk by a Starbucks is not a good brand experience.  Getting $1 off when I check-in is a good experience. Check-in promotions could become intrusive as well if overused, but so far that is not the case. Obviously, there is a role for text-message marketing. And the survey does shed some light on areas that might be fruitful.  For instance, it is a good idea to send different SMS promotions to men and women.  Women are more receptive to grocery coupons and fashion deals, while men like offers for electronics and sporting goods. View this document on Scribd CrunchBase Information Placecast Foursquare Information provided by CrunchBase
 

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.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)