The cloud: where your games go to die?
For consumers, the cloud's appeal is hard-to-resist.
From music to documents to applications, and everything in between, the ability to access our 'stuff' anywhere we go on any device is an extremely attractive proposition.
Until it isn't.
Five rules for boosting mobile app user retention
With smartphone penetration rising and more and more consumers turning to the mobile web, the opportunity to get your mobile app into the hands of those consumers might seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.
But getting the users you acquire to stick around is proving challenging -- perhaps even more challenging than on the web.
The Path to success is not paved with apologies
Recently, mobile startup Path was caught 'stealing' its users' address books without their permission. Not surprisingly, this created a firestorm in the tech blogosphere.
In response, Path CEO Dave Morin, a former Facebook employee, issued an apology.
Edelman's 2012 Trust Barometer reveals good news for digital marketers
Edelman’s Trust Barometer for 2012, launched yesterday globally and today with specific data for the UK, reveals a "systemic decline in trust" according to the PR agency.
Yet for digital marketers, the growth of the receiver of trust being a ‘person like me’ could spell huge potential.
Is Google shortchanging Android developers?
Android is growing like a weed. According to comScore, Android has extended its lead as the top smartphone platform in the United States, now accounting for 40% of the market.
The ecosystem around Android, however, isn't anywhere near as strong for Android, and Google may have a tough time doing that if it doesn't quickly respond to reports that some Android developers have been underpaid for sales of their apps in the Android Market.
Should you trust a startup?
If you run a business that's active online, or are involved in digital marketing in any way, chances are you've done business with a startup before.
No big deal, right? After all, today's hot startup could be tomorrow's Apple or Google, and even if it isn't, there's no denying that startups are a driving force behind innovation.
But should you always trust a startup? Are there times when joining forces with one is a bad idea?
Can Alibaba restore trust after fraud scandal?
Rebuilding trust with your customers isn't easy following a major crisis. Sadly, relationships that take years to build can be harmed or destroyed entirely practically overnight.
Alibaba, the Chinese business-to-business marketplace that Yahoo owns a substantial chunk of, is the latest company to learn that lesson the hard way.
The revolution will not be socialised, says Malcolm Gladwell. He’s wrong.
Last week the author Malcolm Gladwell poured cold water on the idea that revolution could be instigated by social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
He centres his argument around the American civil rights movement, claiming that the strong bonds forged offline were required to spark action in the streets, where millions ultimately gathered in the 60s to protest against segregation and oppression. Social media, by contrast, forges only “weak ties”, says Gladwell. Not the kind of bonds required to make a difference where it really counts.
I think he’s completely missing the point. Martin Luther King’s status updates and tweets would have helped to spread awareness quickly, encouraging activism, had Facebook and Twitter been available in his day. You can bet your life he'd have used them to spread word.
A connected world cannot be a bad thing for change, in whatever form it takes.
Zara launches in the UK, forgets about Chrome
Today saw the launch of Zara's first (and long awaited) e-commerce site in the UK and, for users of Google's Chrome browser, it isn't looking good, with error messages all over the site:
Chrome may not be the most popular browser, but it is still used by up to 10% of web users, and has been growing market share rapidly, so this seems to be a major oversight.
Study: In the battle for trust online, Facebook trumps Twitter
The social graph is something that the digital world is struggling to understand right now. How important are the connections within your digital social circle? Who are the most important connectors in your graph? How far does influence travel online?
Well, according to a study from Invoke Solutions, it's still real world friends that hold the most sway with consumers online. And while Facebook has made a niche for itself by fostering online relationships between people who are friends or know each other offline, on Twitter there could be trust issues.
