New Apple Tablet Evidence Surfaces: Around 50 Test Devices Identified

A new report by mobile analytics firm Flurry concludes that the Apple Tablet indeed exists, that about 50 test units are housed at Apple’s headquarters, and that it is primarily a media machine for gaming.

Flurry’s analytics platform, because it’s run on thousands of different applications worldwide, is able to measure data such as OS, location, and engagement. In its data, Flurry has discerned that a group of about 50 devices are running the yet-unreleased iPhone OS 3.2 software, all of which have been geographically pinpointed to be located on Apple’s main Cupertino, CA campus.

Flurry concludes that these devices are most likely the fabled Apple Tablets that we expect to be announced on January 27th, though the company traces testing on these devices back to “as early as October of last year.” App usage has increased dramatically this month, consistent with what we’d expect for an Apple-built tablet.

Approximately 200 of the apps that Flurry tracks were downloaded onto these mystery devices. Approximately 75% of the apps downloaded, ~150, fall into the gaming category, with entertainment, books, and lifestyle apps being the next most popular. Here’s a graph depicting the downloads:

While this is no confirmation of the unicorn-like tablet, it is some of the strongest evidence we’ve seen yet. We’d expect that any copies of the device would be placed under secure lock-and-key at Apple’s HQ and that it would be able to run iPhone apps.

One interesting observation: this device seems to run the iPhone 3.2 software, rather than the iPhone 4.0 OS that is rumored to be unveiled this week. Could that mean that the device Flurry has identified isn’t the tablet, or that iPhone 4.0 won’t be ready for release for several more months? We’ll find out on Wednesday.

source: http://mashable.com/2010/01/24/flurry-apple-tablet/

Facebook Phasing Out Microsoft Ads in Favor of More Social Formats

When Microsoft invested $240 million to take a small stake in Facebook at the then gargantuan valuation of $15 billion, the deal was as much about securing an ad deal as an equity bet. But now, Microsoft is seeing some of its advertising pulled as the social network continues to build out its own ad options and revenue models.

According to BusinessWeek, Facebook (Facebook) has dropped Microsoft’s banner advertising in several international markets, and is considering doing the same in the US. Currently, Microsoft serves fairly generic banner advertising on Facebook, but the social network is pushing more engaging formats, like brands promoting their Pages and encouraging users and their friends to become fans.

Perhaps then, this a sign that Facebook’s social ads are performing well and its business is maturing – so much so that the company needs to grab back some of the inventory that has previously been filled by Microsoft. At this point, that looks more likely than any sort of riff between the two companies, whose deal also includes Bing powering web search results on Facebook.

Recent estimates suggest that Facebook is on track to bring in more than $700 million in revenue for 2010.
source: http://mashable.com/2010/01/20/facebook-microsoft-ad-deal/

Google Changes How It Handles Synonyms

In a post on the Official Google Blog, Google opens up the curtains a bit on how it handles synonyms in search queries and results. It’s a fairly detailed peek inside one aspect of Google’s search algorithms — an aspect that Google says affects a lot of searches:

“…our measurements show that synonyms affect 70 percent of user searches across the more than 100 languages Google supports. We took a set of these queries and analyzed how precise the synonyms were, and were happy with the results: For every 50 queries where synonyms significantly improved the search results, we had only one truly bad synonym.”

Google shares an example of a bad synonym: substituting “pc” as a synonym for “precision” in a search query like [dell system speaker driver precision 360].

Google also says it’s changing how synonyms are displayed in search results: Rather than only bolding direct variants of words (like “photos” for “pictures”), Google has “extended this to words that our algorithms very confidently think mean the same thing, even if they are spelled nothing like the original term.”

On his personal blog, Matt Cutts follows up the official post with some words of advice for webmasters:

“Think about the different words that searchers might use when looking for your content. Don’t just use technical terms–think about real-world terms and slang that users will type. For example, if you’re talking about a “usb drive,” some people might call it a flash drive or a thumb drive.”

The official post also mentions that users can turn off synonyms by putting a plug sign (+) before a word in your query, or by putting the query in quotation marks.

Not mentioned in either post is that you can use the tilde symbol (~) to force Google to show additional synonyms (and related words) for your query. For example, a search for [~murder statistics] leads Google to bold words like “crime,” “crime statistics,” “suicide statistics,” “criminal,” and more.

Vodafone Sells 50,000 iPhones in First 24 Hours

Vodafone, the fourth carrier in the UK to get the iPhone, had an impressive first day of sales, unloading more than 50,000 iPhones on Thursday alone according to The Independent. To put that in perspective, Vodafone sold 30,000 more iPhones in a single day than Google sold Nexus Ones in a full week.

What’s perhaps most interesting about the news is that in the UK the iPhone is already sold by Orange, O2 (whose exclusive deal with Apple expired at the end of 2009), and Tesco. In fact, Vodafone actually out sold Orange by a ratio of 5:3 for the first 24 hour period.

The Independent writes:

“There had been fears the group would see customers move to rival operators as a result. However, one company insider said: “When we didn’t get the iPhone initially, everyone predicted that customers would leave. These sales figures have proved that wrong.”

This came despite Vodafone offering customers the device on a similar tariff to Orange and O2, scotching talk that a bitter price war was set to break out. Both Orange and Vodafone have instead looked to sell the phone off the strength of their networks. Mr Laurence reiterated yesterday that the “exceptional demand” had been driven by the strength of the company’s network.”

If anything, Vodafone’s initial success with the iPhone clearly demonstrates that each additional carrier matters to Apple’s bottom-line, and may even serve as a bit of foreshadowing for the day that Verizon gets the iPhone in the United States.

source: http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/vodafone-iphone-sales/

The Big List: 2010 Marketing Predictions & Resolutions

Here we are, starting the second full week of 2010. Chances are good that you’ve already made your own marketing resolutions for the new year, or perhaps penned your own set of predictions for what 2010 will mean to online marketers. If so, you’re not alone; there’s been a lot of thinking about the new year amongst internet marketers.

Just like last year, I’ve been collecting links to as many articles as I could find that offer predictions and resolutions for 2010 to create the following big list. And you’re welcome to let me know what I missed down in the comments.

SEO

• Search Engine Land: Link Building Trends For 2010
• Search Engine Watch: 5 New Year Resolutions for Search Marketers in 2010
• Acidgreen: SEO Trends in 2010: Search Engine Optimization Techniques for Online Marketers
• Internet Marketing Inc.: Three 2010 SEO Trends to Look Out For: Social Media, Onpage SEO & Link Diversity
• Small Business Trends: SEO Trends to Watch for in 2010
• SEOptimise: 20 SEO New Year’s Resolutions for 2010
• Search Engine Land: 6 New Years Resolutions For In-House SEMs
• Search Engine Journal: 2010: A New Age For Search Marketers
• SEOmoz: 8 Predictions for SEO in 2010
• David Harry: White Coat SEO resolutions for the New Year

Search Marketing/PPC

• Search Engine People: My 3 PPC Resolutions – Why 2010 Will be Defined by Mobile, Facebook and the Website Optimizer
• PPC Without Pity: Three PPC Predictions For 2010
• Search Engine Land: My PPC New Year Resolutions
• Search Engine Watch: Search Marketing 2010: Plan ahead by looking back
• PPC Hero: 5 PPC Resolutions for 2010
• Search Engine Land: Five Search Marketing Predictions For 2010
• Web.com: 5 Pay-Per-Click Trends to Watch in 2010
• Google: Think2010: Personalization and accountability (Google AdWords video series)
• Search Engine Land: 2010 Planning: 3 Tips To Improve Search Results Next Year
• eMarketer: eMarketer Weighs In on 2010: Online Advertising & Usage

Local/Mobile Search

• GigaOM: Will 2010 Finally be the Year of Location?
• Local SEO Guide: Local SEO Predictions 2010
• Mashable: Location, Location, Location: 5 Big Predictions for 2010
• Small Business Trends: Five Can’t-Miss Mobile Marketing Trends For 2010
• Search Engine Land: Predictions For The Changing Local Search Landscape In 2010
• Marketing Charts: Top 10 Wireless Predictions for 2010

Social Media

• Social Media Explorer: Five Things We Should All Do In 2010
• Mashable: Facebook: 5 Predictions for 2010
• ReadWriteWeb: 10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010
• Dan Zarrella: My Predictions for Social Media Marketing in 2010
• DreamGrow Digital: 22 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2010
• Social Media B2B: 11 B2B Social Media Predictions For 2010
• eMarketer: eMarketer Weighs In on 2010 Trends: Social Media & Paid Content
• Search Engine Land: 12 Social Media New Year’s Resolutions For 2010
• 10e20: 6 More Social Media New Year’s Resolutions For 2010
• Harvard Business Review: Six Social Media Trends for 2010
• 451 Marketing: Top Social Media Strategists to Watch in 2010
• SmartBlog on Social Media: Looking ahead to 2010 with Shiv Singh

Video

• Reel SEO: 11 Predictions for the Online Video Industry in 2010
• VidiSEO: 2010 Video Marketing Predictions

Analytics

• Search Engine Land: 5 Web Analytics New Year Resolutions
• Avinash Kaushik: Five Sweet Web Analytics Resolutions To Kick It Up A Notch

General Online Marketing

• Online Marketing Blog: 5 Online Marketing Resolutions for 2010
• Conversation Marketing: 11 internet marketing trends to ignore in 2010
• Search Agents: The Search Agents Predictions for Online Marketing in 2010
• Search Cowboys: Disa Johnson’s 2010 predictions
• Online Marketing Blog: 5 Top Email Marketing Tactics for 2010
• Ad Age: 9 Digital Marketing Mistakes I Won’t Make Next Year
• Hit Search: 43 Internet Marketing predictions for 2010
• MediaPost: 10 Things Changing Marketing In 2010
• Mashable: Marketing in 2010: It’s All About the Data
• Fast Company: 10 Marketing Predictions for 2010
• Search Engine Land: 5 Things On My B2B Wishlist For 2010
• Jeremiah Owyang: 2010 Trends: More Speed and Integration (video)
• eMarketer: Seven Predictions for 2010 from eMarketer’s CEO
• Forrester: 2010: The Year Marketing Dies…
• eMarketer: eMarketer Weighs In on 2010 Trends: UK & Europe
• Online Marketing Blog: SES Chicago: Internet Marketing Tips for 2010
• Web Profits: 2010 Online Marketing Predictions
• Evan Carmichael: The Top 50 Marketing Blogs To Watch in 2010

Miscellaneous

• Small Business Trends: Public Relations Trends for 2010
• Kosmix: Some predictions for 2010
• ineedhits: Our Search Wishlist for 2010
• Small Business Trends: Top Web Design Trends For Small Business In 2010
• John Battelle: Predictions 2010
• PR Squared: 2010 Predictions for Communications
• New York Times: Five Tech Themes for 2010
• TechCrunch: Ten Technologies That Will Rock 2010
• New York Times: Five 2010 Predictions About Tech Companies
• Google Operating System: Predictions for Google’s 2010
• USA Today: Ask an Expert: Top 10 Trends in Small Business for 2010 (Part 1)
• USA Today: Ask an Expert: Top 10 Trends in Small Business for 2010 (Part 2)
• CNN: 2010: Year of digital distraction?
• Web Design Ledger: Web Design Trends for 2010
• iMedia Connection: 9 digital trends to watch in 2010
• Digital Media Buzz: Top Digital Trends For 2010
• CNN: 10 Web trends to watch in 2010
• Trendwatching: 10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010

source: http://searchengineland.com/big-list-2010-marketing-predictions-resolutions-33200

Near Me Now: Google’s Mobile Homepage is Location Aware

Go to Google.com in your iPhone or Android browser and you’ll see a small new addition to the homepage: a tiny Near Me Now option below the search box. The new functionality turns your location into an automated search query and makes finding or learning about places in your immediate vicinity a no-brainer.

The U.S.-only functionality uses GPS on your device to pinpoint your whereabouts and sort nearby results — right on the Google.com mobile homepage — into the following functional categories: Explore right here, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and ATMs and banks.

In fact, the “Explore right here option” serves up an instant drop-down menu, providing you with results that are literally right in front of you. You’ll immediately get a quick glance at a venue’s Place Page rating and its distance from you. As a result, the simple and smart addition to the mobile Google experience is bound to be both a big time saver and a boon for Place Pages.

It’s no mystery that Google is trying to attack mobile location-based services and customer review sites like Foursquare and Yelp head-on, and actively promote its Place Pages. This update is a natural progression to help it do just that. We do have to wonder, however, as to why the functionality isn’t a part of the Google Mobile app yet.

source: http://mashable.com