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Vine Marketing: Airbnb Launches Video Crowdsourcing Campaign

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August 27, 2013

The Airbnb travel accommodations website teamed with ad agency Mullen San Francisco to launch a new experiment in Vine marketing this past week. The “Hollywood & Vines” campaign will result in a short film composed of six-second Vine videos submitted by consumers. Shooting days ran August 22-25, with assigned shots posted hourly. “If your Vine is selected it will be featured on the Sundance Channel and you’ll receive a $100 Airbnb coupon,” explains the campaign’s site. Continue reading Vine Marketing: Airbnb Launches Video Crowdsourcing Campaign

SmartThings Launches Online Market for Internet of Things

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August 23, 2013

In an effort to promote its own Internet-of-Things devices, startup SmartThings is launching an online marketplace that offers starter kits and an array of devices and solution sets that help manage the home. SmartThings first launched its products via Kickstarter in September, including a hub and variety of sensors to track movement and manage devices, providing users with home automation solutions controlled largely by smartphones. Continue reading SmartThings Launches Online Market for Internet of Things

Industries Find 3D Printing Technology Fast and Efficient

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June 6, 2013

Companies such as General Electric, Ford and Mattel are increasingly turning to 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, in order to help deliver products to customers more quickly. Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, that typically involve cutting or drilling from molds, 3D printing enables a more efficient means of modeling an object on a computer and then printing it with plastic, metal or composite materials. Continue reading Industries Find 3D Printing Technology Fast and Efficient

Twitter: Branded Vines Shared More Than Branded Videos

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May 14, 2013

Video tech company Unruly Media has released Vine metrics to coincide with the celebration of the mobile video app’s first 100 days. According to the research, five Vine videos are shared on Twitter every second and branded Vines are now four times more likely to be shared by users than branded online videos. Weekends are by far the most popular time to share Vines. To compile its report, Unruly Media collected data from more than 10 million Vines over a one-month period. Continue reading Twitter: Branded Vines Shared More Than Branded Videos

General Electric Licenses Patents to Quirky Community

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April 12, 2013

On Wednesday, General Electric announced a partnership with Quirky, a New York-based startup that acts as a kind of social network for inventors. This makes sense for GE as it continues making its push into the so-called Internet of Things, which encompasses various types of devices connected to the Internet – all of which combine to create a constant stream of data regarding how they operate together. Continue reading General Electric Licenses Patents to Quirky Community

Comcast to Buy Rest of NBCUniversal from GE in Early Sale

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February 13, 2013

Comcast is acquiring General Electric’s 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal. Teamed with Comcast’s initial 51 percent acquisition two years ago, the new $16.7 billion deal will result in the cable operator’s full ownership of the film and television giant. Comcast is taking a bold gamble, particularly when considering the uncertain direction of the entertainment industry in the midst of digital change and the growing success of services from the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Continue reading Comcast to Buy Rest of NBCUniversal from GE in Early Sale

Digital Economy: U.S. Companies Push for New Internet Trade Rules

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November 4, 2011
  • “Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, IBM, GE and other top-tier American companies on Thursday urged the United States to fight for trade rules that protect the free flow of information over the Internet,” reports Reuters.
  • The coalition criticized federal requirements for companies to have their data centers within a country’s borders to provide services. Additionally, the group argued against governments blocking access to services such as Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and YouTube.
  • The group says future U.S. trade pacts must “reflect the new realities of the global economy: specifically, the contribution of the Internet toward economic growth, toward job creation and exports,” said Bob Boorstin, director of public policy for Google.
  • “Even when Internet curbs are intended to support legitimate public interests such as national security of law enforcement, businesses can suffer when those rules are unclear, arbitrary, unevenly applied or more trade restrictive than they need to be to achieve their objectives,” suggests the group’s paper.
  • “We want the free flow of data just like we want the free flow of goods and services,” said Nuala O’Connor Kelly, chief privacy leader at General Electric. “In the information age, data is our widget.”

Judge Enters His Own OVD Condition with Comcast-NBCU Final Judgment

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September 6, 2011
  • Consent from the U.S. Department of Justice for the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger has been approved, but with a new condition.
  • Comcast purchased 51 percent of NBCUniversal from General Electric in January, creating a $30 billion business that includes broadcast, cable networks, movie studios and theme parks.
  • At that time, the Department of Justice said Comcast could acquire NBCUniversal only if it ceded control of Hulu and made stand-alone broadband service available at $49.95 per month for three years, but the settlement still required final approval.
  • Last week, Judge Richard Leon delivered final approval, but stipulated that the federal government would monitor whether rival online video services, such as Hulu or Netflix, demand arbitration to license content from Comcast-NBCU for the next two years.
  • The ability of rivals to obtain programming was one of the key concerns of the DOJ and the FCC during reviews of the merger.
  • “Since neither the Court nor the parties has a crystal ball to forecast how this Final Judgment, along with its arbitration mechanisms, will actually function … I believe that certain additional steps are necessary,” Leon said in a court order.

Targeting the Magic Jack Crowd: New Skype Adapter Works with any Home Phone

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September 2, 2011
  • Skype has announced the Freetalk Connect-Me home phone adapter that serves as a conduit between a broadband Internet connection and an ordinary telephone.
  • “It appears that Skype is aggressively going after the Magic Jack demographic and attempting to teach your grandmother how to Skype,” comments Digital Trends. “A new adapter transforms that aging landline phone into an Internet gizmo.”
  • The $40 Freetalk Connect-Me features a simple design of an Ethernet port and two ports for phone lines (allowing users to keep a landline and switch between the two services), and stores up to 100 numbers for speed dialing.
  • “While a user can make free Skype-to-Skype calls, they will have to purchase a plan in order to call landlines from the Skype handset,” indicates the Digital Trends post. “While the initial $39.99 adapter comes with 60 minutes of free landline calling, an more expensive $59.99 model comes with 12 months of landline calls as well as 200 minutes of international calls.”
  • Skype has also announced a new $70 Skype-ready cordless phone from General Electric and the rollout of a rebranded version of Skype Access that provides low cost Wi-Fi access for business travelers.

GE Holographic Discs Intended for Long-Term Archiving

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July 22, 2011
  • GE announced that is has developed the ability to write data on its prototype holographic discs at speeds equal to that of a Blu-ray burner.
  • The new discs use the same form factor as current optical discs, but using a micro-holographic technology, are able to hold as much as 500GB of data.
  • The discs are comprised of a polycarbonate material containing millions of stamped micro-holograms. Gizmodo explains: “When the light source — whose beam is the same wavelength as that of a Blu-ray drive — hits the disc, it erases the necessary amount of holograms to represent the data it’s recording.”
  • Although physical media seems to be losing relevance based on today’s technologies, the discs are intended for long-term archival uses. With a projected life of more than 100 years, they may serve as a solution for long-term storage of digital film and video content.

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