At this week’s Mobile World Congress, Facebook chief exec Mark Zuckerberg explained to a packed crowd why he believes Internet.org will eventually help carriers convince consumers to increase spending on mobile content. The Facebook-backed service, currently available in countries such as Paraguay and Zambia, is designed to offer those in emerging markets free access to the social network and some other online applications. For many new users, this would represent their first time surfing the Internet. Continue reading Zuckerberg Pushes Potential of Internet.org at Telecom Confab

The Beam is part LED lightbulb and part projector. Users can screw it into a light socket or place it on a flat surface and project content anywhere. The small-scale device has an onboard computer to access content on the Web. It can also project games or movies from a smartphone or tablet. The smart projector has a corresponding iOS and Android app for operation and programming commands. Beam Labs Inc. is offering the $399 Beam device as part of its Kickstarter campaign that ends March 24. Continue reading Smart Projector Displays Content from Your Phone or Tablet

Facebook has unveiled two new iOS apps designed for people working behind the scenes. Designers now have a tool that lets them prototype the interface of an app without writing a single line of code. The Origami Live app will then roughly translate the design into code with the click of a button. Facebook has also created a new app for advertisers so that they can schedule or even create their Facebook ads from their phone. Facebook Ads Manager provides metrics on the ad’s performance. Continue reading Facebook Releases New Apps for Advertisers and Designers

According to a new report from eMarketer, digital-image bookmarking site Pinterest is poised to become the newest social favorite with advertisers since its users typically “pin” and “repin” items that paint a compelling picture of consumer interests. These interests often focus on specific products, services, travel ideas and other areas that could lead to purchases. The researcher suggests that 2015 will be a critical year to determine whether or not Pinterest can generate a serious advertising business. Continue reading New Report Points to Major Marketing Potential of Pinterest

Comcast, the largest cable company in the U.S., could potentially soon have more Internet subscribers than television subscribers. During the last quarter, the company’s video users increased by only 6,000 to 22.4 million, while its broadband subscribers jumped by 375,000 to nearly 22 million. The diminishing gap could be a sign of the times, with an increasing number of consumers becoming more interested in services such as Amazon and Netflix, as opposed to traditional TV. As a result, Comcast is working to attract more broadband users. Continue reading Comcast Subscriber Shift Points to More Web Than TV Users

Tumblr’s new Creatrs initiative aims to pair some of the site’s most popular artists with brands to create a more authentic approach to advertising. With about 420 million monthly viewers, Tumblr has become a popular avenue for brands to target consumers. The problem however, is that brands have yet to figure out how to effectively reach them. The launch of Creatrs is an attempt to educate brands about how to best promote and market themselves on unique social media sites like Tumblr. Continue reading Tumblr Teams its Top ‘Creatrs’ with Brands for Sponsored Ads

Facebook and Twitter were used in compelling new ways during this year’s Academy Awards for advertising, live blogging and live streaming. Facebook reported an upswing of 21 million global users recording 58 million Oscar-related interactions. According to Nielsen, 13 million U.S. Twitter users watched the Oscar telecast, a 6.5 percent drop from the previous year. However, the show’s overall TV audience in the U.S. dropped by 16 percent, suggesting that the Twitter numbers can still be considered a victory for the social platform. Continue reading Oscars: While TV Viewing Declines, Social Media Scores Victory

Last year’s selfie by Ellen DeGeneres during the live Oscar telecast set a new Twitter record and launched 3 million retweets. Not surprisingly, yesterday’s 87th Academy Awards had an impressive social presence, from ABC live-streaming its backstage show on Facebook to news organizations live-blogging on assorted social networks and Facebook launching its new real-time Trending Oscars experience. According to Twitter, the most tweeted-about nominees and performers included Lady Gaga, Patricia Arquette, Alejandro Iñárritu and John Legend. Continue reading Academy Awards Have Strong Presence on Twitter and Facebook

Yahoo is wooing app developers with a new mobile development suite that makes it easier to build apps with search, integrate ads into the code, and analyze app performance. Yahoo is hoping that the development suite will not only encourage developers to build new apps, but also build apps that host its advertisements. Flurry Analytics, a Yahoo acquisition, will provide users with a collection of new tools designed to analyze their app’s performance and securely share that information with others. Continue reading Yahoo Unveils Mobile Development Suite with Analytics and Ads

Facebook believes that it can charge marketers more money to advertise to “influencers,” the individuals responsible for sharing information that often causes spikes in the local share rate. The social network recently patented a new method to determine exactly who those influencers are. Unlike the methods of other Internet companies, Facebook does not measure the influence of an individual by the number of followers or connections, but rather the percentage of followers who re-share content. Continue reading Facebook Patents a Unique Method for ‘Influencer Marketing’

Twitter’s new tool that analyzes the performance of mobile apps is now handling about 5 billion sessions per day from app developers. The tool is called Answers, and it is part of a larger set of free tools called Fabric. Twitter released Fabric in October to encourage the growth of the mobile app ecosystem by offering tips to improve performance and design, and making Twitter easier to integrate into third-party apps. Answers competes with services such as Google Analytics and Flurry. Continue reading Twitter Mobile App Analysis Tool is Popular With Developers

On February 25, ABC will air an episode of “Modern Family” called “Connection Lost” that addresses how parents attempt to communicate with their disinterested children via technology. The production marks a first in that it was shot almost exclusively on mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2. During the episode, the TV screen will often resemble character Claire Dunphy’s MacBook screen featuring a mock-up of Apple’s OS X Yosemite (the show was produced in October when Yosemite was still in beta). Continue reading ABC to Broadcast Sitcom Episode Shot on iPhones and iPads

Social bookmarking service Pinterest is adding new features that will allow people to download new apps and purchase their favorite furnishings and clothing directly from the site or mobile app. Pinterest teamed up with Apple to launch “App Pins” last week, so that users can discover new apps as part of their searches and download them without leaving the Pinterest app. Since the service is used by many for discovery, Pinterest may also integrate a “buy button” into pins as early as this year. Continue reading Pinterest Looks to Help App Discovery and In-App Purchasing

The latest trend in artificial intelligence involves implementing a much more efficient microprocessor rather than a whole cloud computing system to power deep learning research. These microprocessors, or graphical processing units (GPUs), are great at math-crunching skills, which makes them ideal for deep learning networks. Now, companies such as Google, Facebook, and various labs that run supercomputers, are using GPU-based computers to power their AI and deep learning operations. Continue reading AI: GPU-Based Computing is Proving Ideal for Deep Learning

Facebook is launching a new feature in Facebook Groups that may finally take a bite out of Craigslist. The feature will enable users to post listings, find posts about items for sale and set pickup locations. The popular social network previously attempted to unseat the 20-year-old Craigslist in the classifieds business, but the venture never took off. Despite its crude appearance, Craigslist still gets 50 billion page views monthly in the U.S. alone because it already has so many users. Continue reading New Selling Feature on Facebook Groups Similar to Craigslist