In an effort to encourage more digital movie sales, Sony’s new initiative, Vudu Extras+, is letting people who buy movies via Walmart’s online video service share extras like behind-the-scenes footage on Facebook and Twitter. The idea is that if added bonus content is available, people will be willing to pay for it — and happy to share. Sony says 40 percent of people who buy Blu-ray discs usually watch the extras, which is reason enough to offer this new option. Continue reading Sony Launches Shareable Extras to Inspire Movie Purchases

Facebook is looking to expand its Graph Search algorithms to account for the use of slang and expressions, and translate them into searchable key words. The company adjusted its search algorithms in January, and the changes mostly worked. The new algorithms signal the beginning of new ways to search user information using natural and nuanced language, and provide more personalized ads. Other tech companies are looking into similar technologies. Continue reading Facebook Turns to Deep Learning to Grow Search Possibilities

Social TV ads are coming to Facebook in an effort to compete with Twitter’s television advertising model. Now, advertisers will be able to reach Facebook users online at the same time an ad is running on TV. For example, an advertiser that airs a commercial on a local station in Los Angeles will be able to simultaneously target users in Los Angeles who are logged in to Facebook at the same time. And that’s some prime real estate. Continue reading Advertisers to Reach Users on TV and Facebook at Same Time

According to Facebook, referral traffic from the social network to news and publishing sites has increased by more than 170 percent in a year’s time. This number is just an average, for the percentage is greater for certain sites. Partners including Time, BuzzFeed and BleacherReport have experienced significant increases. Numbers released by social Web tracker SimpleReach indicate that Facebook drives more traffic than any other social platform. Continue reading Facebook Leads Social Platforms in Driving Referral Traffic

Facebook yesterday announced an upgrade that enables mobile app developers to run video ads in the News Feed on iOS and Android devices. Advertisers can use video creative in their mobile app ads, which lets developers pay to promote apps through the social network’s mobile News Feed. According to Facebook, customers will have the option to click play in order to watch videos featuring mobile apps before installing them. Continue reading Facebook Update Adds Video Content to Mobile Advertising

Facebook announced this week that it would allow teenage users between 13 and 17 to make their posts public so that they can be seen by anyone on the social network, underscoring the competition between today’s social platforms to reach the teen audience and attract advertisers. Previously, the posts of teenage users could only be viewed by friends and friends of friends. While drawing criticism from privacy advocate groups, the move will enable Facebook to operate more like its rival Twitter. Continue reading Facebook Under Fire for Decision to Make Teens’ Posts Public

A study by Nanigans, one of the largest buyers of Facebook ads, indicates that mobile ads on Apple’s iPhones generate 1,790 percent more ROI than mobile ads on Android devices. The study, which looked at more than 200 billion ads on Facebook with a focus on retailers, suggests that mobile advertising on Android actually costs more than it returns. The study also notes that Facebook’s desktop ads over the past year experienced a 375 percent increase in click-throughs and 152 percent jump in overall ROI. Continue reading New Study: Facebook Ad Profit Higher with iOS than Android

Facebook and Pinterest are the clear standouts when it comes to referral traffic from social networks. While Facebook leads the pack, accounting for more than 10 percent of traffic to publishers in September, Pinterest holds second place, driving more traffic than Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit combined. According to data from social plugin service Shareaholic, collected from 200,000 publishers, Pinterest drove 3.68 percent of traffic to publishers in September, about three times as much as third-ranked Twitter. Continue reading Social: Facebook, Pinterest Drive Most Traffic to Publishers

A new app from London-based Obvious Engineering allows iPhone users to easily capture and share 3D images. Seene is compatible with Apple’s iPhone 4S and higher, and browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Safari that support WebGL for 3D. It works by aiming your phone at a subject and moving around to record different angles. The progress is then overlaid on top of a video feed, resulting in a “seene” that builds automatically, which can be shared via social tools. Continue reading Capture and Share 3D Images with the Seene App for iPhone

During the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013 in Orlando, Florida, the IT leaders at Gartner identified the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends expected for 2014: mobile device diversity and management, mobile apps and applications, the Internet of Everything, hybrid cloud and IT as service broker, cloud/client architecture, the era of the personal cloud, software-defined anything (SDx), Web-scale IT, smart machines, and 3D printing. Continue reading Gartner Outlines the Top Ten Strategic Tech Trends for 2014

Google announced that beginning in November, it may display users’ names, photos from their profiles, ratings and reviews in social advertisements, an approach called “shared endorsements.” Social ads can potentially reproduce the word-of-mouth endorsement from friends as an online experience. Google may face a challenge to get users comfortable with the idea of giving endorsements, while some question their value and others raise privacy issues. Continue reading Google to Debut New Social Advertising with User Information

Twitter has finally developed a more robust full-screen experience with its new app designed specifically for Android tablets. The app, introduced last Thursday, will initially work only with Samsung tablets, but will be made available for other Android tablets by the end of the year. Twitter has added some Samsung-specific innovations, including simultaneous multi-app views; a Twitter widget that delivers breaking news, sports, and photos; and the ability to annotate images in tweets. Continue reading Twitter Releases New Mobile App Designed for Android Tablets

Marketers are increasingly looking to smartphones and tablets to reach consumers, as spending on mobile advertising more than doubled during the first half of this year. According to new estimates from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, mobile-ad spending in the U.S. totaled $3 billion in the first half of 2013, up from $1.2 billion the previous year. In related news, research firm IHS projects that the number of Internet-connected video devices will pass 8 billion by 2017, a figure that should also be of interest to advertisers. Continue reading Mobile-Ad Spending More Than Doubles in First Half of 2013

Magine’s cloud-based TV service currently allows users to scan TV schedules, surf channels, rewind programs and access archived content via their tablets, smartphones or computers. Starting early next year, European users will be able to do the same with their smart TVs when sets from LG, Panasonic and Philips’ venture with TPV Technology will come preloaded with the Swedish company’s cloud TV software. Magine is demonstrating the system this week at MIPCOM in Cannes, France (October 7-10). Continue reading Leading Smart TVs to Include Magine Cloud Service in Europe

Smartphones can collect massive amounts of personal information, such as where users go, what they buy, and when they go to sleep. But current Web browser tracking software has become less effective for ads and cannot follow users across their devices. Based on the shift toward mobile, tech and advertising companies are looking into new ways to track consumers on their tablets and phones, while targeting them with specialized ads across all devices. Continue reading Startups Create Advanced Tracking of Users Across Devices