Twitter has released the Twitter TV Book, a breakdown of tweet-based analytics of second screen viewers in the United Kingdom. The analysis includes details regarding user demographics, devices used, television program genres and tweeting habits. Twitter says about 60 percent of the UK’s 10 million active users tweet while watching television. Continue reading Twitter TV Book Examines Second Screen Tweeting in the UK

President Obama signed into law an amended version of the Video Piracy Protection Act, which will allow Netflix and other rental services to integrate viewing data with social media sites. Customers must consent to the shared data, which will share data related to watching, rating, and saving on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Netflix hopes the integration will increase viewing hours and customer subscriptions. Continue reading VPPA Update Enables Netflix to Share User Data on Facebook

The relationship between Hollywood and Facebook may be showing signs of strain. While the entertainment industry was quick to embrace the social network as a marketing tool, major studios are now expressing doubt. “Some industry executives are increasingly skeptical that Facebook ads and promotional campaigns that ask users to ‘like’ a movie can deliver big box-office returns,” writes the Los Angeles Times. Continue reading Studios Question the Value of Marketing Movies on Facebook

“The launch of two new features into the Open Compute hardware specifications on Wednesday has managed to do what Facebook has been threatening to do since it began building its vanity-free hardware back in 2010,” writes GigaOM. These new features mean Facebook has “blown up the server,” says the article, adding that the server has been reduced “to interchangeable components.” Continue reading Facebook Features Could Lead To End Of The Server Business

Wilocity is on a mission to build the fastest Wi-Fi chips in the world. The company, which was demonstrating its technology at CES in a suite at the Las Vegas Hotel, specializes in wireless products that favor 60GHz transmissions, which are faster than traditional Wi-Fi. Regular Wi-Fi connections use the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and have just crossed the gigabit-per-second mark with the 802.11ac standard. Continue reading Wilocity Aims To Build the Fastest Wi-Fi Chips In The World

One component of today’s national gun control debate involves the impact of violent video games, as emphasized by President Obama’s announcement that the government will allocate funds to “study the link between video games and violent behavior.” Other lawmakers have introduced plans to tax video games above a certain rating and to put warning labels on ones that contain violent content.  Continue reading Government To Fund Research On Video Game Links To Violence

Do Aereo’s search marketing tactics prove that the TV service infringes copyright? A coalition of networks suing the company “says in court papers that it needs to examine records from Google about Aereo’s AdWords campaigns. That advertising information allegedly ‘bears directly’ on whether Aereo’s $8-a-month service potentially harms the market — which can be a factor in copyright infringement,” reports MediaPost. Continue reading Aereo: Will AdWords Campaign Prove Copyright Infringement?

As we reported earlier this week, Facebook’s new Graph Search allows users to find answers to questions by searching their own connections and personal network instead of going the route of a traditional open Web search a la Google. According to Variety, the new search tool has the potential to “give media companies more firepower to leverage the social network for content discovery.” Continue reading Facebook Graph Search to Open New Doors for Media Companies

Apple and Google dominate the smartphone software market with a combined 87 percent control, but new competitors hope to chip away at this duopoly. New entrants including Tizen, the Mozilla Foundation and Ubuntu hope that introducing competing operating systems would help convince consumers to purchase products through alternatives to the Google or Apple stores. Continue reading New Mobile Operating Systems Look to Disrupt iOS and Android

Electronic devices and household appliances are going mobile in increasing numbers. And your smartphone is about to go along for the ride. In fact, your smartphone is about to conduct the ride. “In the age of the connected home, your mobile devices are becoming the central command, the brains, if you will, of the entire smarthome experience,” writes Wired. Continue reading Smartphone as Magic Wand: Your Remote Control for Everything

Dozens of iPhone cases were on display at CES this year, but one was a clear standout. The Sensus Touch Sensitive Case by Canopy “brings touch technology to the back and right side of the case, allowing you to interact with your phone in a new way,” explains Wired. Thus, the screen remains unencumbered by the navigating hand as users enjoy the full screen to read or play games. Continue reading Canopy Unveils Sensus Touch Sensitive Phone Case at CES

CES traditionally does not feature many gaming systems, but the changing culture of the industry has allowed video games to find their way into the show. Sony made little mention of its video games in Las Vegas, and Microsoft didn’t have a booth, but other consumer brands helped highlight a new era of video game ecosystem — video games on consumer electronics products. Continue reading New Gaming Ecosystem Emerges: CE Devices Play Games, Too

Republican lawmaker Diane Franklin of the Missouri House of Representatives is calling for a sales tax on all violent video games in response to the recent elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Her proposal is to put a one percent sales tax on such games, after which all proceeds would go to “finance mental health programs and law enforcement measures to curb mass shootings,” details KSDK. Continue reading Lawmaker Introduces Another Proposed Tax on Violent Games

Rumors surrounding new Apple products have always been prevalent, but since the passing of Steve Jobs, swirling speculations are more often correct than not, as it seems the stronghold on complete secrecy within the company has been loosened. That’s one reason A Blog To Watch believes rumors that an Apple iWatch (smartwatch device) are true — and, it also believes, it could hit shelves this year. Continue reading Connected Devices: Will Apple Launch an iWatch in 2013?

Last year, consumers spent a total of $25 billion on purchases made from mobile devices, representing an enormous 81 percent increase from the year before, according to stats from eMarketer. Even so, that total is only 11 percent of all e-commerce sales. So it seems this is only the beginning. Forecasts anticipate continued growth, with mobile sales accounting for 15 percent of all e-commerce sales by the end of 2013. Continue reading Mobile E-Commerce Continues Growth, Especially Via Tablets