David Moth

Google's privacy row with Apple highlights problems with EU cookie laws

Google is reportedly one of a number of advertisers that have been bypassing Apple’s privacy settings to track the browsing habits of Safari users.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), code placed in display ads installed cookies in internet browsers without the user's permission.

by David Moth 20 February 2012 14:14pm 2 comments

New social network caters for coffee lovers

A new social network aims to connect people from around the world through their mutual love of coffee.

‘Over Coffee’ markets itself as a site about “coffee, people, travels, and about the shared experiences that take place over a cup of coffee.”

by David Moth 20 February 2012 12:45pm 5 comments

Social shooting range promotes new Twisted Metal PS3 game

Video games are now a $10bn industry, so it’s no surprise that ad campaigns are becoming more elaborate as developers seek to grow sales in this booming market.

Last week Sony broke new ground by allowing gamers to fire a real machine gun at a set of targets in the desert after logging in through Facebook or Twitter.

by David Moth 20 February 2012 11:21am 1 comment

Facebook mobile could make $1.2bn in first year from six key markets

Facebook could generate $1.2bn from mobile advertising in its first year from just six markets, according to research firm MobileSquared.

This would put it second only to Google, which is expected to generate $2bn from mobile ads in 2012.

The six markets included in MobileSquared’s estimate are the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - which have a combined total of 185.3m Facebook users.

by David Moth 20 February 2012 10:58am 1 comment

47% of UK online population don't like targeted ads based on social media activity

Almost half of UK social media users don’t like seeing ads based on their profile activities, according to new data from YouGov.

The study also found that 44% of respondents would not be more positive about a product their friends have followed or liked and 43% are unlikely to talk about a brand on a social media site even if they heard something positive about it.

by David Moth 17 February 2012 13:10pm 4 comments

Twitter opens up self-serve ad platform to 10,000 new advertisers

Twitter has opened up its self-serve ad platform to another 10,000 marketers as it ramps up efforts to monetise its service.

Self-serve ads launched last year but initially only 100 companies were involved in the test phase.

by David Moth 17 February 2012 11:58am 1 comment

Glamour creates 'shoppable wall' for Fashion Week

The trend for virtual shop windows continues in New York this week, with Glamour magazine offering consumers the chance buy a range of beauty items during Fashion Week.

This scannable display differs from previous QR code shop windows however as it uses SnapTags developed by SpyderLynk.

by David Moth 17 February 2012 11:34am 2 comments

Q&A: blinkx's Suranga Chandratillake on connected TV

Much has been written about connected TV and its predicted growth for 2012, yet so far it has failed to truly gain popularity among consumers.

Questions remain about the services viewers want to receive through their TV set, and who really stands to benefit – hardware companies, e-tailers or advertisers?

by David Moth 17 February 2012 09:59am 0 comments

Facebook to roll out timeline to brands and verify high profile accounts

Facebook’s oft-derided timeline format will soon be rolled out to brand pages in an effort to introduce a more consistent look to the site.

AdAge reports that the new brand pages will be launched in beta with a handful of partners and then be released to additional marketers in stages.

Presumably Facebook has a longer-term plan for creating revenue out of this, but initially the move will cause a headache for businesses that have spent a lot of time (and money) creating their existing pages.

by David Moth 16 February 2012 13:36pm 6 comments

Channel 4 reveals motivation behind social engagement

As part of Social Media Week Channel 4 hosted an event yesterday that provided some insight into the ways it is using social to drive engagement with its TV programmes.

It currently has 150 Twitter accounts and 100 Facebook pages, and recently launched genre-specific pages to build a captive audience that can be used to develop new shows.

by David Moth 16 February 2012 12:35pm 1 comment