SceneTap and the perils of 'anonymous' data gathering
A man walks into the bar...
That's the start of countless jokes, but it's not a joke for SceneTap. For the Chicago-based startup, a man walking into a bar is just another event that can be tracked and analyzed.
Thus far, SceneTap has tracked 8.5m such events at more than 400 bars and nightclubs using cameras that allow it to determine how crowded a bar is, the approximate ages of patrons and male-to-female ratios.
Facebook: the social (engineering) network?
Facebook is the world's largest social network and arguably it knows more about many individuals than any other organization.
The data it collects from the hundreds of millions of users it serves has enabled Facebook to build a billion-dollar advertising business, and serves as justification for Facebook's valuation, which may top $100bn when the company finally makes its public debut.
Developing a model for agency maturity in a digital world
Digital technologies are having a transformational impact on the communications environment but whilst much analysis has been conducted into implications for client-side marketers, a relative paucity of research exists into how agencies are adapting their processes, offerings and capabilities.
Econsultancy's The Progression of Agency Value: Developing a Model for Agency Maturity in a Digital World report, conducted in partnership with Adobe, examines how agencies need to evolve across four key pillars of maturity: data, technology, skills and culture.
Netflix: the algorithm company
If you were asked to think of one company that is defined by its use of algorithms, you might name Google.
And for good reason: the search giant's algorithms are not only at the heart of its success, but for many, they're the source of constant hope and fear as changes to them can literally make or break businesses.
Conde Nast serves up tablet data to advertisers
It remains to be seen whether tablets are the future of publishing or not, but one thing is undeniable - they will be an increasingly important part of the publishing landscap
So it's no surprise that major publishers like Conde Nast have been investing heavily in making sure their publications are available on devices like the iPad.
You need an API, but not one like ESPN's
Are you a sports fan? Are you a developer? If you answered yes to both questions, ESPN wants to talk to you.
Why? Because the sports media giant has jumped on the API bandwagon and is courting developers who can take its content and data to build cool sports apps.
Groupon pushes deeper into travel with Uptake acquisition
Groupon may be a multi-billion dollar company, but the daily deal market has lost quite a bit of its luster over the past year. From consumer fatigue to merchant nightmares, the daily deal isn't going away but will likely have to evolve sooner than later.
One of the ways Groupon is addressing this is by tapping into different markets. For instance, it's experimenting with outdoor kiosks that target deals to tourists in popular U.S. cities.
In the digital data dance, consumers lead
We’re living in the era of the digital data deluge. Think about how often you check your bank balance online versus going to a teller, how many emails you receive a day, the number of hours you spend on your smartphone not making phone calls.
Consumers leave contrails of data as a result of their digital interactions, and this behavioral data creates opportunities to drive customer acquisition, reduce operating expenses, and make faster, better decisions.
But there are also some fundamental problems.
Path caught storing users' unencrypted data
Today developer Arun Thampi discovered his entire address book including full names, emails and phone numbers was being collected by the new social app, Path.
In trying to make things easy for users, Path uploads your address book to their servers so you can easily connect to your friends and family on its network.
The problem is Path doesn't tell you it's going to do it.
'Digital IQ' crucial to business: report
Just how important are things like mobile technology, social media and cloud computing to businesses today?
Can a business expect to survive and thrive if it doesn't stay on top of the latest trends in technology? According to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the answer is, not surprisingly, 'no.'
