Twitter will launch Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts across its official mobile apps.
This will be the network’s first effort to reintroduce promoted content since a disappointing effort last year, suggests Wired.
This time, promoted content will be integrated into users’ main timelines and search results, rather than featured in a separate area of the screen. The content should also be easily dismissible by scrolling or swiping.
“Twitter announced that sponsored tweets and accounts would soon be rolling out to the timelines, searches and suggested follows seen by users of the social network’s mobile client apps,” indicates the article. “Promoted Accounts will appear immediately in user searches and suggestions with the latest updates to Twitter’s official mobile apps for Android and iOS.”
“Users of third-party mobile clients, of course, won’t see any of that advertising at all — something bound to be a point of continued tension between Twitter and the developers who use its API,” reports Wired.
Sales of virtual goods in the U.S. hit $2.3 billion last year.
According to Frank N. Magid Associates and PlaySpan, this marks a 28 percent increase over 2010.
The firms report that fans of games such as Zynga’s “FarmVille” spent an average of $64 on virtual goods last year.
Nearly half of gamers who purchased virtual items conducted transactions through games played on consoles, while 42 percent made purchases within game apps and 40 percent used prepaid cards obtained at retail outlets.
“Among other findings, only 26 percent have bought virtual goods as gifts, suggesting a bigger opportunity in that area,” suggests MediaPost. “Key factors affecting purchases included price, the genre of the game, friends’ recommendations, user reviews and if a game can be played with friends.”
Just as content owners have been pulling more material from Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus, media companies aren’t jumping into agreements for Apple’s rumored streaming TV service.
“Citing unnamed sources, The New York Post says that media companies are unwilling to agree to Apple’s terms over content packages and pricing,” reports Mashable. “‘We decide the price, we decide what content’ is Apple’s negotiating stance on the matter, says a source.”
The service will directly compete with other streaming services like Netflix as well as cable TV providers.
“It’s possible Apple is designing a service that would enable owners of iOS and Apple TV devices to purchase subscriptions to individual channels, similar to the way users can purchase subscriptions to newspapers and magazines via the Newsstand. Or Apple could bundle those channels together to create its own cable TV-like group subscription offering,” according to Mashable.
Media access management is expected to be a catchphrase at this year’s NAB Show.
Vendors will be showcasing MAM tools that help facilitate more efficient interaction among TV stations’ news, promotion, sales, graphics and engineering departments.
“At the 2012 NAB Show, the top MAM vendors will introduce still more features and greater workflow efficiencies, with an emphasis on automation; more flexible control of media at the station and through mobile devices; and playout to a wide range of video platforms,” reports TVNewsCheck. “Some vendors will even stretch the definition of media management to automatically confirm commercial runs and generate client invoices.”
An early snapshot of some of the top products scheduled to be on display: Invenio MAM software by Harris integrated with its NewsForce server/editing platform; the latest from Avid emphasizing “improvements in workflow orchestration, innovative control of automation and remote access over mobile devices;” advances in scalable long-term storage from SGL; Grass Valley’s channel-in-a-box product; NVerzion’s “systemwide controls, cross-platform operation, automatic ingest from media services and automated commercial traffic and client billing;” and a new cloud-based service for media storage and emergency restoration from Front Porch Digital.
Apple announced Saturday morning that its iOS App Store has reached 25 billion downloads.
The company posted a message on its website: “A billion thanks. 25 times over. The App Store has reached 25 billion downloads. Thank you for getting us there.”
According to Apple, “there are now over 550,000 apps in the store, created by 248,000 registered iOS developers in the U.S. and countless more around the world. The company says it has so far paid royalties to developers in excess of $4 billion,” reports Digital Trends.
“The result of a competition to reward the person who pushed the app download counter to the 25 billion mark is yet to be announced, but someone out there will soon be receiving a $10,000 gift card redeemable in the Cupertino company’s various online stores,” adds the post.
After almost three years of effort, TV Everywhere is still largely unrealized. The biggest obstacle is the need to negotiate separate agreements for online rights.
Meanwhile, alternative online providers are experiencing growth.
Google’s YouTube, for example, is pursuing its own niche channel strategy. Netflix is buying online rights to old shows and funding original programming. Hulu has some 31 million users and growing.
While program producers are anxious to hold on to the $38 billion/year they earn from cable fees, they don’t all agree on how to make their programming available online.
Companies such as News Corp. and Disney want to make their shows available via broadcast, cable and online through Hulu. Others like Comcast want more control over where the consumer can view its shows. Dish Networks is more open to allowing the consumer to decide.
YouTube head Salar Kamangar answers questions during the D: Dive Into Media event and discusses how Google sees an Internet that offers the ability to offer niche and interactive content, with YouTube as the platform for these “channels.”
The creator of “CSI,” for example, is developing a YouTube channel that will be “5D” by getting audience input on the plot endings, the audience will be able to select their own ending, and there will be games around the content.
Kamangar talks about watching a sporting event in a “6D” experience — one that allows you to select your camera views, watch with people you know (possibly with representation of these friends in the stadium), and potentially alter the outcome of the game by getting involved in calling plays.
Google is “catalyzing” these channels with content creators. They want to get viewers to select their favorite channels for extended periods and justify ad rates comparable to traditional TV.
Even ads will become interactive. Viewers will be able to choose which ads they watch and advertisers will be able to interact with these viewers.
Rovi technology is being incorporated into release 2.0 of the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Store, the movie-streaming service for the PlayBook.
“The BlackBerry PlayBook Video Store allows users to watch content moments after a download begins, and the tablet device includes an HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV,” reports Home Media Magazine.
In related news, Rovi announced this week that its Rovi Entertainment Store would be used to power Dixons Retail’s KnowHow Movies video service in the UK.
“The service, launching March 1, offers catalog video titles to connected devices, including HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players and gaming consoles,” explains the article. “Dixons aims to expand the service to mobile devices later this year. The service uses Rovi’s DivX Plus streaming video technology, which includes 1080p video, subtitles and multiple language tracks.”
The New York Times has turned to Tumblr for a photo blog that showcases highlights from the paper’s old news photos.
“The Lively Morgue, as the new Tumblr is called, launched Monday with a black and white photo of news images being sorted in the paper’s physical photo ‘morgue,’ where millions of pictures are stored in filing cabinets and manila folders,” reports Mashable.
Officials say the newspaper has enough images to post 10 archival photos a day for the next 1,900 years.
“Images added so far include a close-up of Yankees catcher Yogi Berra’s gnarled hands, shot in 1965; a policeman, nightstick in hand, watching his beat after a recent nearby double homicide in 1959; and a pair of Philadelphia police officers proudly showing off a captured liquor-smuggling mannequin in Prohibition-era 1930,” explains the post.
The service also includes the option to purchase prints for $169, in addition to featuring marked-up reverse sides of photos. “The reverse sides of the photos are home to a photo-nerd bonanza of information, including how much freelancers were paid for shots, published captions and photos’ sequence numbers.”
While Pew Research says Facebook and Twitter will play “modest roles” in the next presidential election, it is hard to ignore signs to the contrary, suggests author and former hedge fund manager Andy Kessler.
Last election, Facebook had only 50 million users compared to 845 million today. President Obama’s Twitter followers have grown from 4 million to 12 million users.
Facebook and Twitter have closely followed politically-influenced opinions, events and people including Rick Perry’s “oops,” Obama girl, Obama’s insider deals at DOE, and the Republican primaries.
Moreover, political affiliations can be determined by one’s likes and tweets making users a target for political advertising and promotion.
Social media may also be used to influence opinion leaders and grow ideas into blog stories that will eventually make their way into mainstream media.
“Those with social-media ‘influence’ are most likely to help campaigns convert interest into votes. Finding them in the haystack of the real world is tedious and expensive,” comments Kessler in the Wall Street Journal. “But harnessing fast servers and constantly upgraded algorithms to find them on social networks is already happening — and it’ll definitely sway who becomes our next president.”
Warner Music Group is launching its YouTube channel, “The Warner Sound,” that CEO Lyor Cohen says, “will be a unique opportunity for artists to further their creativity, excite their fans and diversify their careers.”
According to Variety: “Channel succeeds similar dedicated YouTube destinations by Pitchfork, Fuse, Bonnaroo and Vice, among others. The online video outlet began partnering with the content providers in October.”
Exclusive new content will include: a SXSW live webcast; “ManTazia,” an experimental film series by Cee-Lo Green; a documentary of WMG acts; and “Staged,” a scripted drama based on lyrics by WMG artists.
“The Warner Sound’s production partners include new media production company Mighty Fresh, which will be responsible for day-to-day editorial and production of original content.,” reports Variety.
Time Warner Cable is testing a broadband service in Texas markets that offers a $5-a-month discount to subscribers who use less than 5GB a month.
The plan could also charge users up to $25 a month extra if they use more than 5GB.
“While that amount of broadband would be plenty for a casual email user, it wouldn’t work for a voracious consumer of online video,” points out the Wall Street Journal. “Streaming just three high-definition movies over Netflix could push a consumer over the five gigabyte cap, according to Novarum, a wireless broadband consulting firm.”
TWC believes the option will be better received than a previous plan that required subscribers to pay based on consumption because users now have the choice of picking unlimited service or getting a discount.
“The move is a small but potentially significant step toward a sensitive subject in the U.S.: charging consumers for the amount of broadband they use,” reports WSJ.
“According to a study last year by Cisco Systems Inc., the average Internet household used 17.1 GB of data per month in 2010.”
Sprint Nextel has announced a streaming app that will allow subscribers to view live TV from an array of networks on an iPhone.
“The app allows its iPhone-owners using Sprint to catch live TV and video-on-demand content on their device for free,” reports The Next Web. “The programming selection includes news, sports and shows from a range of producers that includes ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, The Disney Channel, MTV and Comedy Central.”
The SprintTV iOS app includes a basic free version for Sprint customers and a premium option for $10 a month.
The service also has bundled packages that include Spanish-language and children’s programming.
Spanish-language offerings include: Univision, Telemundo, ESPN Deportes, Cine Mexicano and Azteca America.
Children’s programming: PBS Kids, Sesame Street, BabyFirst TV, Pocoyo and Discovery for Families.
The new Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA) already has its first project underway.
Fox, Warner Bros., SanDisk and Western Digital are coming together for “Project Phenix,” that “will enable consumers to buy, store and playback HD Versions of movies and TV shows at home or on-the-go, easily and seamlessly,” the press release states.
The project is compatible with UltraViolet and the alliance will approve various TVs, tablets and display devices, “so that users will be able to download cloud-based media to compliant WD and SanDisk storage,” reports Engadget.
The project aligns with the SCSA’s goal to secure high-definition content, which comes into competition with popular Internet options like Netflix.
“We’ll see the technology available to license later in the year, which promises to render content ten times faster than streaming media on “over the top Internet” (translation: streaming services),” the article states.
Exceeding expectations, Sony has already sold 1.2 million PlayStation Vitas worldwide and more than 2 million games for the device.
The new Vita launched last week in the U.S. and Europe after its December debut in Japan.
Analysts expect millions more will be sold as the device is launched in other parts of the world. One analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities estimates 4.3 million Vitas to be sold this year.
Even with competition from advancing smartphones, the handheld gaming console has made an impressive start in the gaming market.
“It’s archrival, the Nintendo 3DS, sold about 400,000 units during its launch week in Japan, though it has since gone on to sell millions more,” notes AllThingsD.