Miramax Launching Multi-Title Facebook Movie App In U.S., UK & Turkey; Paid Content
Miramax is launching the largest-scale Facebook streaming movie venture yet, the latest in a series of moves to make the most possible from its rich catalog. The Miramax eXperience is now live first on Facebook with 20 titles for rent in the U.S. and 10 each in UK and Turkey; France and Germany are due in the near future.
The Takeaway: Facebook users can rent the films for 30 Facebook credits, the equivalent of $3; the rental is active for 30 days but the viewing window is 48 hours once you start to watch. But is there a “desire” to watch films from within Facebook? We can’t wait to see the stats on how successful this program is. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Facebook
Reading: 14 Best Practices for Brands to Grow their Audiences in Social Media
Excellent post from Brian Solis on the challenges facing businesses seeking to succeed in the social space, and 14 ways to overcome them. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: Google guns for Apple with Motorola
Interpublic sells half of Facebook stake; The Guardian
Interpublic Group, the US marketing services giant that owns ad agency networks including Lowe and McCann-Erickson, has sold half of its stake in Facebook for $133m. Michael Roth, the chief executive and chairman of IPG, said the “ubiquity” of Facebook has now reduced the strategic value of the investment, while admitting the value of the stake has skyrocketed.
The Takeaway: Is Facebook losing its cache in the business world? Maybe a bit, but since IPG only owned less than 1% of Facebook, it’s not likely this will have a monumental impact. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: Twitter Acquires Sharing And Discovery Platform Bagcheck
Google, Oracle Still Battling Over Android E-mail; PC World
Google and Oracle continue to tussle over a potentially damaging e-mail in the ongoing lawsuit over alleged Java patent violations in the Android mobile OS.
The Takeaway: Oracle sued Google in August 2010, alleging that Android violated a number of patents held by Oracle on the Java programming language, which it acquired through the purchase of Sun Microsystems. Google has denied any wrongdoing. A trial has been scheduled for Oct. 31, but Alsup has indicated he’d like the companies to settle the matter before then. Only time will tell how this legal matter is settled. Like most cases like this, the complexities could favor either party. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: New Google Search for iPad
Facebook Offers $500 Bounty for Reporting Bugs; PC Magazine
Facebook is offering a $500 reward for reporting bugs on its site.
The Takeaway: Although it is great that Facebook is getting into the bug bounty game, they are charging far less than bug bounties offered by companies like Google or Microsoft. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: Google grabs facial-recognition ‘ware firm’
Google grabs facial-recognition ‘ware firm’; The Register
Google has bought a facial recognition company called pittpatt.
The Takeaway: The acquisition looks a little curious in light of comments by Eric Schmidt at Google’s ‘Big Tent’ privacy conference in May to the effect that facial recognition technology creeped him out, and in which the company co-founder seemed to state that Google would not make use of such technology. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: Why Google + is Not the Facebook Killer it Thinks
Why Google+ is Not the Facebook Killer it Thinks it is; Technorati
Google+ has attempted to usurp the King of Social Media, Facebook. While it will start things with a slightly changed interface, it will not be the change that we are all looking for, as the Google insight into social media is the same as it was, and the same as it will be until a fundamental shift in ideas occurs.
The Takeaway: Despite the majority of truly innovative products that Google has developed over the years, the move into the Social Media space makes Google and Google+ a big, yes, you guessed it, copycat. Continue reading
Jonah Berger: How to Create Viral Content for the Web
The Science of Creating Shareable Content
Do influencers really exist? How to craft viral content? What is the return on relationships? These questions, among others, were on the table at United Insight’s Contagious Marketing: The Science of Word-of-Mouth in the Age of Social Media conference on June 30th. Continue reading
Digital Week in Review: Google+, Facebook Skype and More!
Google+ More Right than Wrong. For Now; Information Week
After several fizzled attempts at social networking — from Buzz to Wave — Google at last is getting it more right than wrong. Via its on again off again beta, Google+ is generating a ton of interest.
The Takeaway: So far, so good for Google. What’s less clear is whether Google can build this into a lasting impression product that gets long-term, engaged use from current Facebook users. There is a lot Google is going to have to do to get there. Continue reading
Can Justin Timberlake Make MySpace Cool Again?
MySpace (remember MySpace?) was brought back to the attention of the interwebs in late June when ol’ Uncle Rupert at NewsCorp sluffed it off to online ad firm Specific Media for $35 Million. That dramatically low purchase price, in light of the $580 Million NewsCorp paid for it in 2005, is the first morsel to chew on in this social soap opera. The second juicy tidbit is that uber-celeb Justin Timberlake wound up holding the ownership stake in MySpace at the end of the deal. Always nice to see a filthy rich superstar still shopping the sale rack.
At this point in time, no one can question Timberlake’s creative talent or his global popularity. Even if his work does not fit your personal taste, his brand power is undeniable. This certainly is a motivation for Specific Media to make him their Top Friend in this venture, and must have them more eager than anyone to discover the answer to the $35 Million question: can Justin Timberlake make MySpace cool again?
