comScore just posted its monthly report on online video viewership, and the total number of videos viewed in January slipped slightly as compared with December.In December, 179 million people watched 33.2 billion videos. In January, it was 173 million people and 32.4 billion videos. It’s not a big decline, and we already saw in one of our monthly top webisode round-ups that special holiday content can boost viewership during December, so we know that this probably isn’t indicative of a downward trend.In fact, the larger trend is very much up. YouTube — by far the web video viewership leader — had users watching an average of 93 videos in January. That’s 50% more than a year ago, even though it’s almost a 4% decline since December.YouTube still dominates, though. “Google Sites” (mostly YouTube) accounted for 39.5% of web video views in January. The nearest competitor was Hulu with just 2.8%, followed by Microsoft sites with 1.5% and Yahoo sites with 1.3%.The narrative we’re hearing here is that we’ve settled into something of a groove. There’s an upward trend, but the numbers are still dominated by almost exactly the same outlets. Are there any startups you believe will upset these stats in the future or is this going to be the lay of the land for the foreseeable future?Reviews: Hulu, Yahoo!, YouTubeTags: ComScore, Google, hulu, microsoft, News, web video, Yahoo, youtube
Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:47:39 +0000
A couple of days ago Foursquare’s iPhone application disappeared from the iPhone App Store due to a “hiccup.” If you doubted that was true, worry no more, as the application is back in the store.Here’s the official explanation of what happened:“Last week, Foursquare accidentally released to the App Store a new version of its app before it was totally ready. It was pulled shortly after, unfortunately, many users had already went through the update, and were left stuck with a non-functioning app.”The version currently available is 1.6.1, but the folks at Foursquare say that the redesigned 1.7 update should appear in a few days.Reviews: FoursquareTags: app store, apple, foursquare, iphone, Mobile 2.0, mobile app
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:43:22 +0000
Launching in beta today, Go Tribal tackles the other side of the equation from formal event services like Meetup or Plancast by helping members organize informal group plans. By identifying when users are free and available to hang out, Go Tribal hopes to eliminate some of the hassle involved in coordinating friends for spontaneous group activities.Targeted primarily towards women, Go Tribal’s goal is to facilitate meaningful offline interaction via simple technology that lets users see which of their friends is “down to hang out” at any given time. Members can set status indicators for upcoming dates, allowing peer groups to identify the best times to arrange informal get-togethers. Once a group has agreed upon a physical meetup, members can coordinate on the specifics of time and place, plus use existing social networks like Facebook and Twitter to further socialize the event and send out more invites.We spoke with Founder and CEO Shruti Challa about the service, which will be open to the first 10,000 signups in the U.S. for now. She said the inspiration for Go Tribal arose naturally out of the young founding team (which also includes Chris Baclig, Eric Ma and Amara Humphry), who upon recent graduation from Stanford discovered a lack of tools for maintaining existing friendships in the physical world.“Technology seemed to be getting further away from creating and sustaining relationships in real life. Facebook and Twitter seemed distant, and we wanted to use technology to help create a physical connection,” Challa said of the new startup.Future plans for Go Tribal include integrating more contextual local search and information tools to help members decide where to spend their group time once they settle on a date and time to get together. The startup also plans to eventually work more closely with businesses to help groups influence decisions when they’re actually being made — imagine a coalesced social group with some bargaining power to “shop around” for potential deals and experiences that clubs or venues might be willing to offer in exchange for securing business from a large group.With an interesting twist on local and informal group event organization and a smart road map ahead, Go Tribal is a social service to watch. If you have a chance to check out the service, let us know what you think. What features would you want to see in a service facilitating informal meetups?Reviews: Facebook, TwitterTags: Events, facebook, go tribal, informal plans, meetup, social media, startups, twitter
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:59:09 +0000
Foursquare is battling for your SXSW checkins with a musical scavenger hunt. Rival Gowalla is going to go after them with free gadgets — specifically free Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus devices as part of a promotion the location-based social networking service is unveiling in conjunction with their just-launched app for webOS.The app should hit the Palm App Catalog on Tuesday, and like the company’s applications for other platforms (including its recently launched Android app) it detects your location to show you nearby venues, lets you know where your friends are located, and has a gaming element called “stamps” that can be accrued as you check in to various places.The SXSW connection is part of a push by Gowalla into virtual goods. Users will be able to discover virtual Palm Pre and Pixi devices as they use the application (essentially, the more you use it, the better your chances –- it’s random), and then be able to redeem those at specific parties at the festival to get the actual device. Another partner –- Lomography –- has inserted virtual cameras into Gowalla, that once found can also be redeemed for free gear.This is one way Gowalla hopes to differentiate itself from the competition, and, truth be told, it’s not a bad one. No one wants to leave an event like SXSW empty-handed, and by teaming up with brands to offer free gadgets to users at an event that will be loaded with tech enthusiasts could encourage some splitting (or at least doubling up) of the checkins across services.Now that Gowalla’s starting to catch up in terms of platform support, much of the battle might come down to marketing — where Foursquare has also recently invested heavily by forming partnerships with a host of media companies.In any event, here’s a look at some of the features of the webOS app:Which service will you be using to check in at SXSW? Let us know in the comments!Reviews: Foursquare, GowallaTags: gowalla, palm, webOS
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:53:05 +0000
One of many upcoming tablet alternatives to the Apple iPad, HP’s forthcoming Slate device was teased briefly by Steve Ballmer at Microsoft’s CES keynote earlier this year. HP and Adobe teamed up to offer a couple of video demos of the HP Slate (embedded below), with an emphasis on showcasing its Flash and AIR support.Punctuating even further Adobe’s row with Apple over the lack of Flash on the iPhone and iPad, both videos lay it on thick with emphasis on how Flash support lets you “access the full web and not just a part of it.” The first demo video below shows off photo-sharing and editing, interactive crossword puzzles, Flash games, and more as well as the on-screen keyboard and other elements of the HP Slate user interface. The second video is a 30-second marketing reel showing off the HP Slate in action.We still don’t have any more solid details about what’s under the hood, when the HP Slate will be released or a target price, but these videos are another milestone in the brewing year of the tablet. The HP Slate has the distinction of being one of the few we know about that will run Windows 7. Are you excited about the new tablet form factor, and do you have any favorite in mind that might earn your hard-earned dollars? Will it be the iPad, the HP Slate, the Courier or something running Android? Let us know in the comments.HP Slate Adobe Flash and AIR DemoHP Slate CommercialReviews: Android, Windows, iPhoneTags: adobe, Adobe Air, air, apple, Flash, HP, HP slate, microsoft, Tablet, tablets, Windows 7
Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:31:29 +0000
Google’s latest blog post has revealed what Oscars-related searches topped the hot search list during the Oscars.This is probably no surprise to most of you: Some of the most popular searches were related to stars’ fashion choices. So who topped the list? The leading fashion-related searches were Zoe Saldana’s elaborate, purple Givenchy dress, Miley Cyrus’s Jenny Packham number and Sarah Jessica Parker.Designers who were popular in Google searches included Armani Prive, Elie Saab and Marchesa, who were worn by Amanda Seyfried, Anna Kendrick and Sandra Bullock, respectively.The Hurt Locker led movie title searches — not surprising since it was a (comparatively) limited release that swept the awards at Avatar’s expense. The Hurt Locker also got a lot of blogger buzz. Precious, Avatar and A Serious Man performed well in searches too, but not nearly as well as director Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq war drama.Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, so it’s no surprise that they led in Google searches. Sandra Bullock’s victory speech prompted quite a few searches when she mentioned a kiss with Meryl Streep.Industry figures who were memorialized after they passed away this year got quite a few searches, including director John Hughes, whose memorial by Matthew Broderick and Molly Ringwald prompted viewers to look up several of his films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.The blog post is simply more evidence that though Google’s a useful tool for tracking trends, it’s also a fascinating and amusing toy for taking a peek at the public zeitgeist.Reviews: GoogleTags: a serious man, academy awards, amanda seyfried, anna kendrick, armani prive, avatar, celebrities, elie saab, fashion, ferris bueller's day off, Film, Google, jeff bridges, jenny packham, john hughes, marchesa, matthew broderick, meryl streep, miley cyrus, molly ringwald, Oscars, oscars-2010, precious, sanda bullock, sarah jessica parker, Search, sixteen candles, television, the breakfast club, the hurt locker, zoe saldana
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:43:05 +0000
|
