Announced yesterday, ad tech startup Sharethrough told AdWeek that it has developed a new technology called Real Time Templating (RTT), “…that breaks down an ad into it’s individual parts and reconstructs it according to the environment it will run in.” Why is this important? Because it could fundamentally change the way native advertising is used by both advertisers and publishers alike. Publishers can benefit from an increase in ad dollars spent by new brands using native ads due to the new interoperability, and brands can spend more on a tactic that has proven to engage prospects more than traditional banner ads.

The study covered by Forbes, done by Sharethrough and the IPG Media Lab found that consumers were 25% more likely to look at native ads than a banner. They also looked at native ads, or ads that resemble the content around them; like Twitter’s promoted Tweets or Facebook’s Sponsored Stories, Tumblr’s Radar spots or any number of other native ad formats, 53% more frequently.

“Native advertising version 1 was about how make it work. Native advertising version 2 is about how to make it scale,” said Sharethrough CEO Dan Greenberg.

But how does a company run consistent messaging across all these channels efficiently? Up until now, they had to run campaigns on each, hand crafting the copy and layout based on each specific publishers guidelines. The customization required to do this, “…has hampered the adoption of native ads” according to the AdWeek article yesterday.

Another trend in advertising that could be solved by new technology is that of social discovery and finding ways for advertisers to reach consumers in new ways through new channels. Much like native advertising provides branded messaging in a form native to the specific publication, new technology from company VigLink uses messaging native to specific platforms to allow publishers to earn revenue through what appear to be normal links (not affiliate links) posted by individuals or publishers.

The links appear as any other link notes Lindsay Riddell of the San Francisco Business Times, and get embedded automatically, “…on tens of thousands of digital publications including blogs and other media and social websites that pay a kickback to the writer or publisher anytime a reader clicks a link and purchases a product from a retail partner.”

Currently the company has over 30,000 merchants to choose from, and the service works for those with Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress or TypePad blogs in addition to custom integrations.

VigLink advertisers can choose what publishers or individuals they want to work with. And once set-up, a photography blog that mentions the Nikon D7000, for instance (which they would probably link to anyway), can now earn money if any of their readers click the link and end up buying the camera. And the links don’t have to be configured each time like many affiliate links do, and get inserted automatically based on the text of the messaging connected to the VigLink platform.

For more information on Sharethrough you can visit them at http://www.sharethrough.com/, and for more information about VigLinks you can visit http://www.viglink.com.

First published on Technorati as Native Advertising May Have Solved its Scale Problem

Technorati Tags: content marketing, native ads, native advertising, promoted tweets, tumblr radar

What this does is allow publishers to get one step closer to their readers instead of having to rely on middlemen, or third-party newsstands, who typically charge fees and make consuming content more expensive for both publishers and readers. The cross-platform solution supports iOS and Android devices with Windows and Blackberry options in development. MediaWire Mobile allows publishers to create digital editions of their publications and also list those editions directly on Google Play or the Apple Store.

“MediaWire Mobile is a seamless method for bringing print magazine titles to today’s mobile device user. In one fast and affordable solution, publishers can maintain and develop their brand, their unique look, and their readership,” said Clifford Hoffer, CEO of MediaWire.

“We believe our customers, rather than their service provider, should develop and cultivate a relationship with their subscriber base — which is why we not only provide access to all available statistical information, but also pass the lion’s share of the subscription revenue on to the publisher.” ~Clifford Hoffer, CEO of MediaWire

For users who register using their Facebook accounts, and a recent study done by Blue Research and Janrain shows that 77% prefer social login (like Facebook’s), an additional level of insights will be provided. Things like geography, reader habits, interests, demographics and more.

MediaWire claims to be affordable for any publisher, and comes in three editions to meet the needs of weekly, monthly or quarterly publishing schedules, and daily and custom options for publishing are also available at their website http://www.mediawiremobile.com/

Originally published as Taking the Middleman out of Mobile Publishing on Technorati

Technorati Tags: content creation, google play, itunes, MediaWire, Mobile, mobile publishing

Just days before his passing, film critic Roger Ebert was anxiously awaiting the launch of the new RogerEbert.com, calling it, “…a masterpiece of design,” according to Josh Golden, who was named co-founder and Managing Director of Ebert Digital during the launch last Sunday. The debut of the new site was part of the 15th Annual Roger Ebert Film Festival (EbertFest) which took place April 17th – 21st in Champaign, IL. Ebert Digital will take on the responsibility of maintaining the site, as well as general business strategy, operations and product development for Ebert’s mobile apps and The Ebert Club.

What has become the culmination of an extended collaboration between Roger and Chaz Ebert as well as Chicago based web development company Table XI, the new RogerEbert.com contains a complete collection of movie reviews, vignettes and other unseen content from the film critic’s 40+ year career.

Included are 46 years of of archived film reviews, commentary and interviews as well as search functionality to make discovering and finding content easier. Visitors to the new site can search film reviews by star-rating, genre, film title, dates and other parameters. For example, someone looking for only comedies that Ebert reviewed in the 1980′s and gave 3 stars, can now find the full list with a simple search.

“The site focuses on three things: Criticism, commentary and community,” Golden said. “Everything is aggregated in one place. It’s both library and playground for serious film buffs, but it’s easy to navigate for people who are just looking for a good movie.”

The new site will also feature regular contributions from other top-tier critics around the world, and will be vetted by Ebert Digital to ensure content is curated and edited to reflect the, “…consistent high quality and clarity of voice that his fans have loved for generations” notes the release.

Table XI worked closely with several trusted partners to make the content engaging and searchable: FuzzyMath contributed to the interface design, Love Has No Logic designed the front-end functionality, LaCoste Design and Pitch Design Union contributed to branding, and DigitalThirdCoast served as technical SEO advisors.

To learn more, or see the site for yourself visit http://www.rogerebert.com

Article originally published as Newly Designed RogerEbert.com Gets Big Thumbs Up on Technorati

Technorati Tags: ebert club, film reviews, movie reviews, roger ebert

“Getting dinner on the table every night involves more than going into the kitchen at 5 or 6 o’clock. You have to figure out what to make, change your menus to avoid boredom, and frequently run out to get the mango or mushroom soup you need for a recipe you decide to make at the last minute,” said eMeals founder and president Jane DeLaney . “eMeals eliminates all that busywork by supplying a week’s worth of meal plans and grocery lists on your computer and now on your smartphone. It’s like having a personal chef who does everything except the cooking.”

And unlike other apps and sites in the category, eMeals doesn’t require that you search through databases of recipes to find meals. eMeals offers 50 pre-set meal plans designed for a variety of diets including gluten-free, low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, ‘clean eating’, or even one for thepaleo eating style. Once you decide on a meal plan, the service automatically generates 7 different menus and a corresponding shopping list for that week.

You can also specify preferred grocery stores like Kroger, Safeway, Target, Whole Foods and others and the app will dynamically take into account weekly specials that help shape the weeks meals. You can also design a meal plan for either couples or families.

Another interesting and useful feature of the eMeals iPhone app, which comes standard to all eMeals subscribers, is the ability to view recipes on-the-go, if you’re cooking at another family members home for instance. You can also remove meals if you decide to eat out, and add additional items to your grocery list from wherever you’re at.

Article first published as eMeals Launches Mobile App for Planning, Shopping & Saving on Meals on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: emeals, grocery store apps, meal planning, Mobile Apps, shopping lists

According to AdAge’s Cotton Delo, advertisers picked to kick-off Tumblr’s new foray into a growing mobile ad market include GE, Warner Bros. and ABC. Perhaps an anecdotal indication that Karp’s stomach doesn’t turn at the thought of using advertising to monetize anymore, is the lack of any Pepto ads to kick things off. But more likely, it’s this months recent eMarketer report showing that mobile ads will be a $7.29 billion opportunity in 2013, and will continue to grow to $16 billion in 2015. This, along with pressure from a board of directors, who i’m guessing is expecting that monetizing via the native advertising route on it’s mobile apps, instead of some of the previous monetization mishaps is a win for them. The one thing that did resonate was the theme marketplace, where designers can sell custom Tumblr themes with the company getting a cut. This actually proved to be unobtrusive and actually benefit the designer, and Tumblr community as well as generate revenue.

And some of the biggest money-makers with mobile ads, at least in terms of social/mobile publishers, are some that also held out on rolling out native ads for their mobile apps. Companies like Twitter and Facebook didn’t roll out native mobile ads until last year, and whose revenue share is now 7.3% and 21.1% respectively for 2012. eMarketer speculates that the rapid success of both Facebook and Twitter in the space is in large part due to their native ad formats, something Tumblr plans to do as well.

In a statement to AdAge, Tumblr head of sales Lee Brown said, “This mobile advertising opportunity is native to how our consumers experience content on our apps; as a continuous stream.”

The ad image for the new movie, The Great Gatsby (above gif) shows how you can tell which stories are ads, as they are denoted with the word ‘sponsored’ and the dollar sign on the top right. Users can reblog, like or interact with this sponsored content just as they would any other Tumblr post. According to an earlier article in CNET, “Tumblr powers more than 100 million blogs and sees more than 90 million posts created each day,” said Karp, who also bragged previously at a PaidContent event that, “…members spend, on average, 14 minutes per visit,” which as noted by CNET is higher than competitors Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about the new changes, you can read the Staff Blog post over at Tumblr here.

Article first published as Tumblr to Start Showing Ads in Android & iOS Mobile Apps on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: branded content, mobile ads, mobile advertising, native ads, tumblr

Appreciate announced Thursday the release of a personalized service designed to create a customized app discovery experience on Androids marketplace, Google Play. Appreciate hopes to nail app discovery by not only personalizing recommendations based on what’s popular across the network, but also what’s popular with the users’ friends using social network activity, big app data analytics and complex algorithms designed to produce a fresh feed of recommendations for users.

According to a piece by Sarah Perez in TechCrunch Thursday morning, co-founder & CEO Amir Maor shed light on his and co-founder & CTO Yaron Segalov’s inspiration for developingAppreciate, “As the number of apps grew, we found it harder to find good content for our mobile phones,” he says.

Some other features of Appreciate include social search which allows users to see at a glance which friends are using apps that might have been considered as well as personalized app profiles. The app profiles allow users to see the list of apps that are recommended along with why (or why not), by providing a personal match score that takes into account several factors. Users can also see for instance, what power users, like frequent fliers, use for travel apps.

“Everyone knows it is hard to navigate through the apps jungle to find the best ones for you,” said Amir Maor, Co-Founder and CEO of Appreciate. “We created Appreciate to surface those apps that are great for each individual, beyond the best sellers or best advertised. Appreciate delivers a personalized stream of highly relevant apps and also personalizes any app profile for each user to highlight – with a match score showing why they may or may not like them.”

Appreciate is available for free on Google Play here, and plans for an iOS release are slated for later this year.

Article first published as Appreciate Does for Apps What Pandora Does for Music on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: android, app recommendations, appreciate, Apps, google play, personalization

This financing structure, which doesn’t require Foursquare to increase the equity portion of it’s balance sheet prompting  more valuation questions, gives the company more time to fully realize the potential of it’s widely popular location-based recommendation and check-in app. You see, as of now only a select group of the millions who have signed-up to advertise, can actually do so. And this advertising is only displayed on certain pages, and not the most popular ones either, which has limited the ability for the company to drive advertising dollars.

But starting this summer Foursquare will expand it’s ad sales staff from 10 to about 40, and also open up advertising to all the companies it works with. Also notable is the fact that these ads are primarily served on it’s search pages, of which Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley admits to Businessweek, “…was buried in previous designs.” But new upgrades recently rolled-out to it’s mobile app remedy this by focusing more on helping consumers discover new places go, and emphasizing it’s search features.

When the app premiered at SXSW back in 2009, it was a hit. But the full potential of the company, and it’s ability to make money in the growing mobile local advertising market, has yet to be realized. But early data shared with Businessweeks Sarah Frier, from Foursquares Chief Revenue Officer Steven Rosenblatt, show click-through rates above industry averages for mobile ad networks. So perhaps taking the time to build out the core service first, instead of employing thousands of salespeople to deliver what can be argued, are low quality prospects (ahh-Groupon-choo), is worth it.

Speaking to TheNextWeb’s Paul Sawers, Crowley noted, “We have to crunch your 3,500,000,000 check-ins, layer your social data over it, semantically analyze our tens of millions of tips, and take a look at real-time activity around you. We do all that in under a second, all to recommend two or three places that are perfect for you.”

This is a much different approach than the aggressive growth fueled by low-margin ’flash-sales’ advertisers pursued by Groupon, whose stock price happens to be down 69% since it’s IPO back in 2011. But only time will tell what becomes of Foursquares slow growth strategy. But now that it’s focused more than ever on monetization strategy, or so it seems by opening up more advertising channels, and driving users to those channels, we should an pretty good idea of the effectiveness and profitability.

As soon as the end of this year users will be targeted by advertisers based on their location as noted by Frier, “That means when a shopper goes to Best Buy, Samsung will be able to send them ad ad for it’s TVs.”

Article first published as Foursquare’s $41m Buys Time for Company to Locate Revenue on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: FourSquare, local advertising, location based services, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile marketing

As of yesterday, however, advertisers looking to capitalize on mobile search can now direct users to a different type of destination, a Smart Site, as company digital-telepathy calls it. Not quite a landing page or a traditional website, digital-telepathy’s new Impress Smart Sites were launched yesterday to meet companies’ branding and performance objectives, and create a new category of website that blends elements from mobile rich experiences like Nest or Square, and serve the needs of companies running paid search campaigns for a branded experience that also delivers performance.

According to digital-telepathy, companies previously would split their efforts between landing pages and their traditional website. With one being focused on transactions, the landing page – and one focused on branding and company messaging, the website.

The new Smart Sites also come packaged with some extra add-ins like heatmaps powered by crazyegg, user insights powered by Qualaroo and built in A/B testing by Optimizely, all third-party companies whose services are built into the Smart Site. Also included is technology designed to know whether users are visiting from a PC, tablet, smartphone and adapts the display to ensure compatibility on any type of device.

This is important, particularly when running the new Google Enhanced Ad Campaigns, which dynamically targets users switching between devices throughout the day. What has also been called multi-device marketing, targeting users with messages optimized for the device they are on, can be extremely successful, particularly when coupled with a Smart Site to dynamically cater the message to the medium.

Prior to the public launch yesterday, select users participated in digital-telepathy’s beta launch of Impress Smart Sites, of which some insights were shared by the company in their announcement yesterday. Eric Ries, for instance, uses an Impress Smart Site as the web headquarters for The Lean Startup, a business movement he pioneered, which he says lets him, “…more effectively communicate the principals of The Lean Startup, create community among enthusiasts, share new developments and encourage feedback from visitors.”

“Our Beta Impress customers report improved conversion rates by two times or more,” said digital-telepathy founder Chuck Longanecker . “The results are beyond expectations. But it’s not just conversion – customers love what Impress does to elevate their brand online.”

To learn more about Impress you can visit http://www.doyouimpress.com/

Originally published as digital-telepathy Debuts Impress ‘Smart Sites’ on Technorati

Technorati Tags: landing pages, mobile design, multi platform, responsive sites

The integration now allows users to manipulate the way SugarCRM operates, using powerful new BPM tools to graphically view processes and assign values that determine how long particular tasks should take, along with what order each SugarCRM screen displays to users in the interface. The new tools also allow uses to get a better visual representation, and more powerful ways to optimize workflows directly from the SugarCRM interface.

“For years we have listened to Sugar users and partners who have told us that they would like to have a more powerful visual workflow designer and engine available inside SugarCRM, said Brian Reale, CEO of Colosa. “This is not just a loosely coupled web services integration, this is a native module that loads inside SugarCRM and adds all the power of true BPM technology to the world’s fastest growing CRM platform.”

SugarCRM serves over 1 million end-users in 192 different countries, and SugarCon, where this announcement was made, brings customers and developers together for a week of new product announcements, integrations, and this year a look at Sugar 7, the next generation for the CRM platform. New mobile solutions were also unveiled this past week.

Article originally published as SugarCRM Debuts Business Process Management Integration on Technorati

Technorati Tags: BPM, business process management, CRM, ProcessMaker, SugarCRM

The flagship product, WalkMe enables any platform on the web to create interactive on-screen walk-thrus that help users complete tasks, from simple registrations, online banking transactions, trading platforms and even platform specific solutions including virtual support services Desk.com and Zendesk, in addition to Salesforce, LivePerson and Moodle. App developers can also use WalkMe to help users get acquainted with how things work, prompt increases in free to paid users and drive customer adoption of self-service helpdesk solutions.

Businesses who are continually setting up users in Salesforce, for instance, can also automate the process and allow people to set themselves up and reduce the ‘time-to-competence’ with intuitive screen overlays, prompts, balloon tips and more.

The back-end of the service relies on configuration of logic-based rules which an editor can set-up to make each Walk-Thru as specific to individual users as possible. For example, if we’re talking about website registrations, a rule can be set to display different Walk-Thrus to first time visitors and repeat visitors. Also, for Salesforce, rules can be created to run different Walk-Thrus for HR, marketing or sales team members to make customization for these departments included in each different version of the Walk-Thru.

The newest update also features a WalkMe To-Do List, an advanced onboarding feature that automatically guides first time users through an orientation process. For ecommerce companies who require that users register before they can make purchases, this increases ease of use for customers, and also provides site owners with valuable information about where there might be stumbling blocks or what areas need more content, UI improvements or even re-arranging steps to improve signups and purchases.

“In order to add amazing value for our clients, we are constantly working to advance WalkMe’s features, and this system update offers users more control over the kind of information they need to succeed,” said Dan Adika , CEO of WalkMe Inc. “These new features not only streamline the experience for the end user, they also provide vital analytics for site owners that give them the necessary insights to change their Walk-Thrus and related processes. There is no solution on the market that provides the same capabilities and we consistently out-perform on compliance, security, performance, as well as vendor stability and support. WalkMe is the only system that can serve the needs of every business, from a small family-run ecommerce site to Fortune 500 companies with hundreds of Walk-Thrus.”

The service has a free option that allows for up to 3 walk-thrus per month (and up to 300 uses of the walk-thrus), as well as premium versions which are customized based on how companies will be using the service. To learn more, visit WalkMe, Inc. at www.walkme.com 

Originally published as WalkMe Launches Upgraded Interactive Website Guide on Technorati

Technorati Tags: balloon tips, interactive guides, interactive tips, walk thrus, walkme, website guides

The Nimbuzz app takes advantage of Windows Phone’s OS increased native language support, and the new version is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Hindi and Arabic. The cross-platform messaging app allows users to message, video, call, and share data with others for free over wifi connections.

The company claims to be clipping along with 210,000 new registrations daily, and the Windows Phone 8 app comes at a time when it’s partner, Nokia, looks to expand the reach of it’s Lumia portfolio worldwide. “As Nokia expands the reach of the Nokia Lumia portfolio, the reach of Nimbuzz also increases”, notes Bryan Biniak, VP and General Manager of Global Partner and Application Development for Nokia.

The Windows Phone 8 version of Nimbuzz supports locked screen notifications, communication alerts and customizable Live Tiles, which are unique to the Windows Phone’s OS. Users can choose a small tile or larger tile to display on their home screen, which flips between content and lets users choose to either join a chat or view it later. There is also an option to allow the Live Tiles to visually alert users to the number of new unread messages.

“As the early pioneer in mobile messaging, Nimbuzz has witnessed an increasing choice by consumers to use messaging apps for communicating on their mobiles,” said Vikas Saxena, Nimbuzz CEO. “Windows Phone as a mobile platform continues to gain traction around the world and our 150 million and counting customers can upgrade to a Windows Phone device knowing their favorite messaging app is available.”

In addition to the Windows Phone 8 version, Nimbuzz is also available on Android, iOS, Symbian, J2ME in addition to both Windows and Mac desktops.

Originally published as Nimbuzz Launches Mobile Messaging App for Windows Phone 8 on Technorati Gadgets

Technorati Tags: Mobile Apps, mobile messaging, Nimbuzz, windows 8, windows phone, windows phone 8

This gives subscibers the ability to service customer needs by offering support 24-7/365, from either the new iPad app, or any of the other mobile apps provided by Zendesk, including Windows, Android, Kindle Fire, iPhone and BlackBerry. And while doing this from the top of a mountain, or a lake next to a mountain might be epic, the features work just as well from your couch at home.

 ”Our first Zendesk for iPad changed the way customer service was delivered, allowing agents to respond from anywhere. Now we’re changing the way service teams stay on top of their performance, allowing managers to always know how they’re doing and avoid any drop in superior service.” ~Adrian McDermott, Zendesk SVP Product Development

Zendesk first launched it’s iPad app two years ago, and according to Adrian McDermott, Zendesk’s senior vice president of product development, “Our first Zendesk for iPad changed the way customer service was delivered, allowing agents to respond from anywhere. Now we’re changing the way service teams stay on top of their performance, allowing managers to always know how they’re doing and avoid any drop in superior service.”

The new Zendesk for iPad takes into account how people are using it’s current mobile apps for customer support, and according to an infographic put out by the company, mobile app users’ top 3 activities are viewing reports, triaging tickets and scanning queries. Other features like advanced analytics, or administrative functions are best suited to a web-based environment according to the company, and noted in this recent TechCrunch piece.

The new reporting dashboard lets managers navigate updated metrics for companies based on three different views:

1. Leaderboard: Provides a quick glance at metrics like customer satisfaction, solved tickets, response time, and general support team productivity.
2. Ticket Activity: Shows details and trends in the volume of new tickets and the efficiency and quality of agents’ responses.
3. First Response: Provides an interactive dial for viewing how long it took to respond to customer inquiries across various time periods.

Zendesk says that around 60% of it’s 25,000 customers have downloaded a mobile app onto at least one device, and 39% of all accounts have used an iOS app within the past 30 days.

To learn more about Zendesk you can visit them at http://www.zendesk.com/

Originally published as Zendesk Announces New Native iPad App to Enhance Mobile Support on Technorati

Technorati Tags: helpdesk, ipad apps, mobile support, zendesk

“Larky helps them get the discounts on everyday items they’re already entitled to but don’t know about yet. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield members are entitled to discounts at Reebok.com, and paying for USA Today with your Visa card saves you 50% off the list price. But who can remember all these discounts? Larky does, and we’ll let our users know online or at the point of sale so they save money seamlessly and effortlessly.”

Most American’s are members of some sort of loyalty program, club, alumni membership, professional group, etc. In fact, about 180 million people are members of organizations like the AARP, USAA and AAA, and all of these places offer discounts to consumers, but most don’t take the time, or aren’t proactive in the process. Aiming to make this easier, Larky announced a free web-site and iPhone app today that delivers information about discounts and perks at the point at which you’re going to buy something already.

“We’re not trying to convince consumers to make unnecessary impulse purchases,” says Larky co-founder Andrew Bank , who manages marketing, sales and business development. “Larky helps them get the discounts on everyday items they’re already entitled to but don’t know about yet. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield members are entitled to discounts at Reebok.com, and paying for USA Today with your Visa card saves you 50% off the list price. But who can remember all these discounts? Larky does, and we’ll let our users know online or at the point of sale so they save money seamlessly and effortlessly.”

Which sounds pretty convincing, and if you think about all the items you buy every day that you could be saving money on, but don’t even realize, these opportunity costs really start to add up. To get started all you need to do is enter your association memberships, the app then uses a location-aware feature to notify you of savings at a particular store. Larky co-founder handling finance, operations, and technology Gregg Hammerman noted that it’s, “…also a win for the associations and merchants that offer valuable discounts. The associations want to provide value to their members, and the merchants want additional business from these targeted audiences.”

Larky currently has over 1,500 organizations and association partners on board delivering savings to a growing user base of savings hungry consumers. But their aspirations are bigger than just partnering with just the membership organizations, but also mobile payment platform providers, and as that industry gains traction, looks to work with them to ensure consumers are getting the discounts they deserve.

Article first published as Larky Launches App to Save on That Purchase You’re About to Make on Technorati

Technorati Tags: digital coupons, larky, membership discounts, membership marketing

Last year alone, there were 5.7 billion searches performed on LinkedIn, so clearly people are looking for one another, companies and job prospects across the professionally oriented social platform. Improving it’s search feature, LinkedIn hopes to also increase it’s engagement with visitors, leading to more activity across different areas of it’s site.

Improvements to search include a smarter query intent algorithm, which means that the more you search for content on LinkedIn, the more it will understand your intent and provide more relevant results. The auto-complete feature also gets better at predicting what you want the more you use it. Suggested searches work as users type in, “product manager” for instance, showing example queries for people, jobs or companies relating to “product manger”, or whatever the search is for.

Advanced search also got an overhaul with it’s interface, as well as the addition of adding filters like location, company, school, and more in order to better refine results. Automated alerts can also be set-up by users so that they are notified any time the results of ‘saved searches’ change.

You can read the blog post from LinkedIn here.

Article first published as LinkedIn Announces Upgrades to Search on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, professional networking, Social Media, social networking

Released last year, Salesforce Touch is the next-generation mobile development platform for Salesforce, allowing even business analysts to design, build and deploy powerful apps designed specifically for individual company needs through a drag-and-drop interface. What FirstRain did, was build a custom HTML5 ‘drop-in’ component for Salesforce Touch, so now business’s can develop applications that seamlessly tie in customer intelligence and other analytics data in to their Salesforce Touch applications.

“It is exciting to see the rapid innovation that partners such as FirstRain are delivering for our trusted mobile platform,” said Clarence So, executive vice president, Mobile Strategy, salesforce.com. “FirstRain for Touch will provide customers with the right intelligence to help them connect with their customers in entirely new ways and accelerate business success.”

First Rain CEO Penny Herscher was quoted by Erika Morphy of CRM Buyer as stating, “Half of our customers are Salesforce customers, and we work with them to make it easy for them to drop FirstRain into Salesforce.” This new integration should go a long way in helping companies who use both Salesforce and FirstRain to build integrated applications designed to maximize the opportunities of their new business and sales teams. FirstRain also integrates with other CRM providers and social enterprise platforms including Chatter, Cisco WebEx Social, Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics, Jive and Yammer.

Article first published as FirstRain Releases First Customer Intelligence App for Salesforce Touch on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: BI, CRM, customer intelligence, FirstRain, Salesforce

But the decision is already made and no amount of social media outburst, or ‘Save Reader’ campaign is going to change that, so if you’re a fan of RSS, you might be interested in a blog post from social discovery company Digg (now owned by betaworks) saying they would be building a replacement. Apparently Digg has been working on building an RSS reader since 2010, but with the recent Google decision, said in their post they’re, “…moving the project to the top of our priority list. We’re going to build a reader, starting today.”

My guess is, Digg will try to incorporate more social elements in the reader, possibly allowing people to cross-comment on the same things, and be able to see what others are saying in addition to democratizing content and pushing more popular stuff to the top. After all, the idea behind RSS was to help people to digest the massive amount of content that is out there. “Just add it to the Google Reader”. It was a simple way to make content portable, but now there are so many other options with social media, etc.  And now with every brand having a copy editing operation, there’s bound to be more, and separating what’s interesting and relevant content to users will be an important feature in any content consumption tool that attempts to aggregate articles from multiple sources.

And as a sign they are working on a deadline they have posted the following countdown clock which counts the seconds until Google Reader shuts down, and presumably they will have completed work on their own RSS reader, and hopefully a way to import your settings & folders from Reader. As many have claimed to have spent quite a bit of time arranging their favorite items in their Reader accounts in folders.

Most who have responded to the post have commented they like the simple design of Reader (and the cross-platform functionality), but want more social components, sharing capabilities and a way to sort through previous entries. You can share your input and help shape the next RSS reader here, where the company has encouraged those interested to participate and offer their suggestions.

And Digg isn’t the only one out there with a replacement for Google Reader, lifehacker aggregated a good list of other Google Reader alternatives here.

Article first published as Digg Announces it Will Build Google Reader Replacement on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: Digg, Feed Reader, Feedly, Google Reader, RSS

Looking to solve this problem, Chicago based SAFEClickID  launched a unique membership service for home service companies this morning. The membership organization targets home service companies who are proactive about customer safety and security and agree to certain criteria set forth by SAFEClickID. Things like maintaining appropriate licensing, bonding and registration as well as background checks on all employees who work in or around a customer’s home, contract or otherwise. In addition, these approved workers of member companies will be required to carry a SAFEClickID-issued photo ID badge which can be viewed online before a worker arrives.

SAFEClickID differentiates itself from other sites that list scores of companies and charges customers to join and write reviews by placing the burden on the home service companies to foot the bill to prove they are serious about consumer safety and security. Companies also agree to have employees (including contractors) screened every 12-months by a firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, verify completion of these screenings and only dispatch workers to customer homes who pass. In addition, companies also need to agree to internal vetting by SAFEClickID and maintain at least a ‘B’ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

“We don’t want SAFEClickID to be for every single company,” said SAFEClickID founder Howard Hamilton. “We are unlike any other organization in that we do some upfront vetting on the company — not every company will be accepted. We want SAFEClickID’s focus to be quality versus quantity.”

Everyone has a home repair horror story, which is exactly how the idea for SAFEClickID started according to company statements. Hamilton, who worked in sales and wife stayed at home with their young children, urged him to stay after a couple carpet cleaners made her feel uncomfortable. Hamilton said, “It may not have led to a terrible situation or crime, but it was just uncomfortable for people to be left alone with workers.”

Article first published as SafeClickID Targets Home Service Businesses Serious About Security on Technorati.

Technorati Tags: home repairs, safeclickid, unlicensed contractors

Visual communications company AVer Information, Inc. announced the launch of two new products on Tuesday. The TabCam and TabSync improve use of iPads in the classroom by providing charging capabilities for multiple devices as well as the ability for educators to create interactive, dynamic lessons that be accessed by students anywhere, anytime.

TabCam combines an iPad app with a lightweight, wireless camera that allows educators to seamlessly add narration, photos and digital ink to the live presentations that can be shared with a classroom, or made available publicly to the world. TabCam communicates to the app from the camera through a standard 802.11 b/g/n WiFi access point. And just as long as everything is on the same network, the camera will push live video to the app from anywhere.

Lessons can be created on the fly, and display and record video wirelessly while also allowing teachers to type, annotate and highlight over it while live. The digital whiteboard provides for instant lesson sharing to YouTube, Dropbox, Facebook and other platforms once created. This makes interactive lessons much easier for teachers, who previously would have to use a combination of numerous devices, both hardware and software to accomplish the same feat.

“From eTextbooks, apps and more, there is a fundamental difference today in how curriculum is being presented and understood, with iPads leading the way,” says Kris Rangarajan , Marketing Director, AVer Information Inc. “The AVer TabCam solves a missing and critical element by allowing educators to transport their live classroom environment into their iPad lessons.”

The TabSync provides an easy way for administrators to sync, charge and move up to 32 iPads at once. The unit comes with slots designed to fit any sized iPad, and charging and syncing begins once you place a device in the slot and connect the dock connector cable. LED lights on the side correlate to numbered slots and display notifications when iPads are ready for use.

AVer TabCam and TabSync will be available in April and are priced at $599.99 and $1,999.99 respectively. AVer provides all sorts of visual collaboration solutions for education which can be found here.

Technorati Tags: education, educational apps, iPad, technology

The headline last Friday from NPR’s KQED radio station was that Microsoft would be winding down it’s Scroogled campaign against rival Google. Stefan Weitz, Microsoft senior director of online services told KQED, “That part is about finished,” speaking of the campaign looking to make people aware of privacy issues in advertising on Google services, including Gmail.

Official company statements, however made to TechCrunch yesterday declare that, “Scroogled will go on as long as Google keeps Scroogling people.” The statement continues, stating Weitz’s comments are not true and that we should, “stay tuned for the next chapter.” This is at least good news for the conversation around privacy, because inevitably any time the campaign is talked about the issue of what both companies are doing comes up, not just what Google is doing with Gmail.

The campaign aimed mainly at Gmail users, highlighted the fact that Google goes through all your personal email in order to sell ads. Some have speculated that recent Microsoft hiring of former Bill and Hillary Clinton pollster, Mark Penn, played a hand in the campaign. According the the original KQED piece, “…the Scroogled campaign was more reminiscent of political advertising.” It was also noted in InfoWorld, that Microsoft does actually use the email subject lines to target ads, just not the contents of the entire message.

According to Microsoft, the Scroogled campaign has prompted 115,000 people to sign a petition asking Google to stop going through their email. What it doesn’t say though, is that anyone can adjust their ad settings to disallow display based on this personal information, and a number of ot
her things, like blocking certain advertisers if you want. But judging from most recent Gmail user numbers, and the fact that only 0.03% (115k out ouf of the 425 million) of them signed the petition, the campaign doesn’t seem to be resonating. And if you want to opt out of Microsoft’s personalized advertising (yea, they do it too), you can do that here.

Microsoft seems to be focused on a minor detail that really doesn’t set what they are doing to target ads apart from what Google is doing. In fact, some brand marketers say that all this proves, is that Google has better targeting options that help make ads more relevant, providing consumers with additional choices and more value to advertisers.

It’s an important detail too, Google (or Bing) isn’t selling your information to people or businesses directly. They are delivering advertising to a targeted demographic of users. As user ‘squiggleslash’ on Slashdot says, “Google is not selling this information. Nobody can go to Google and say “Here’s $10, tell me if my neighbors pregnant. They aren’t sending identifiable names to Gerber.” Most reasonable people understand that free means you’re going to see advertisements when it comes to online services.

What it has done though, is increase the debate about privacy and ads in general, it’s not just Google who is looking at your email. If you look at the Scroogled.com website under “Our Position”, it states they go through your email also, but, ”…only scans the contents of your email to protect you and display, categorize, and sort your mail.”

Personally i would rather see ads relevant to my personal preferences than simply looking at Windows 8 ads. I realize both are going to scan my email and there isn’t someone sitting there actually reading them, which seems to be what Microsoft is implying, explicitly or not.

At least the Bing it on campaign showcased Bing’s product. All the Scroogled ads seem to do is bash Google, make Microsoft look petty and insinuate that users don’t know the difference between what they do to personalize ads and what they claim Google is doing to personalize ads. If you’re using a free email service there is going to be ads, period, the only question is if you want ads relevant to your preferences (which you can always opt out of btw), or a bunch of Internet Explorer and getting rid of belly-fat ads.

Technorati Tags: Bing, Google, scroogled, scroogling, Search News

Customers can now move to SingleHop’s Public Cloud to handle large traffic spikes, and are only charged for the resources they use. Due to advanced cloud service deployment technology within VMware’s product, cloud servers can be added or subtracted in as little as 60-seconds in order to match demand in real-time. Hourly pricing ensures that organizations pay only for the resources they use, and SingleHop also provides 24/7/365 support from VMware-certified engineers.

“The promise and potential of cloud computing carries with it the need for reliability and responsiveness. The new SingleHop Public Cloud, based on VMware cloud infrastructure technology, gives users of all sizes exactly what they need,” said Andy Pace , SingleHop Chief Operating Officer. “Our new offering combines VMware’s renowned dependability and scalability with SingleHop’s LEAP Control Panel for the ultimate in flexibility and ease-of-use.”

In addition to desktop support, SingleHop’s LEAP control panel also provides mobile support to control physical and virtual resources remotely via an iOS or Android app. You can also create custom rules in a “if this, then do this” type format, which automates resource allocation based on users specifications. Additional information can be found on the companies

SingleHop was founded back in 2006 and raised $27.5M in series A financing last year. The company’s co-founder and CMO Dan Ushman told Pando Daily, their goal for 2013 was “geographic expansion”, and have plans to open a data center in Europe soon.

Technorati Tags: cloud computing, public cloud, singlehop, vmware

Boston based SaneBox, the company that provides smart email filtering services for individuals, announced SaneBox for Teams to allow business to also take advantage of it’s smart email filtering program to help boost productivity. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, an average employee spends about 13 hours a week reading and responding to email. SaneBox claims that it’s email filtering service can save the average worker 100 hours/year.

SaneBox is compatible with virtually every email provider, including Exchange and Google Apps and takes advantage of smart filters, whose algorithm learns over time, which messages are important, and which ones aren’t and sorts them accordingly. You can also get a snapshot view of all your mail to see how things are being sorted, and when you take action on a message by moving it, for instance, the algorithm will note this and route subsequent messages from the sender with the same behavior. So the more you use it, the better it gets at figuring out how you actually use your email, and adjusts accordingly. This is what can save time, but only if the filters being created and used are in line with how you actually use your email.

It’s estimated that only around 40% of peoples inbox contain relevant emails that need to be dealt with right away. Not to say that the others aren’t important, but they can maybe wait to be processed later in bulk. Then there is the percentage that you just don’t ever and should be deleted right away. Addressing the last point, SaneBox provides a SaneBlackHole function, which allows users to zap email from unwanted senders forever with a single click.

Other enterprise level features include Salesforce.com integration, which makes all CRM contacts a top priority, routing messages directly to the inbox, as well as dropbox support, allowing users to save attachments to the cloud, saving space and making sharing, collaborating and accessing easier. There is also ‘bank-level’ security, and nothing to install, which should help adoption by IT managers. There is also the ability to create custom rules and other admin tools included with enterprise use in mind.

“Managers who are looking for a cost-effective way to improve productivity and focus should take a look at SaneBox right now,” said SaneBox VP of Growth Dmitri Leonov. “Thanks to individual users who have discovered it on their own, SaneBox is already making teams happier and more productive worldwide. We’re all for more happiness and sanity in the workplace, so we’ve rolled out new capabilities Teams product to make SaneBox even more enterprise friendly.”

Individuals can try SaneBox free for two weeks, at which point pricing starts at $2.04/month. SaneBox for Teams comes in two packages, $10/month and $25/month, with differences being the number of attachments and additional features.

Technorati Tags: email filters, email management, email management software, sanebox, smart filters

Nextdoor, the social network targeting the ‘hyper-local’ market, announced Tuesday that it has raised $21.6 million in it’s latest round of funding. Led by veteran Greylock Partner venture capitalist David Sze, Nextdoor is trying to build the next big social network for neighbors, block-by-block. Currently Nextdoor has more than 8,000 neighborhoods in the U.S., and members are posting over 500,000 messages daily about lost dogs, babysitters, referrals for local dentists, doctors, plumbers, as well as garage sales, civic minded activities and setting up local community watch programs.

“Every social network on Earth pitches me and I say no to nearly every single one of them.” Sze, who was also an early investor in Facebook and LinkedIn, says he thinks Nextdoor, “has all the hallmarks of being the next great massively valued social network.”

Sze told the LA Times that, “Every social network on Earth pitches me and I say no to nearly every single one of them.” Sze, who was also an early investor in Facebook and LinkedIn, says he thinks Nextdoor, “has all the hallmarks of being the next great massively valued social network.”

“I was fortunate enough to be involved in the early growth years at both LinkedIn and Facebook and have seen how the seemingly simple act of connecting people can lead to major change in the world and create seminal independent companies,” said Sze. “Nextdoor is uniquely positioned to become the social network for your neighborhood and Greylock is honored to lead this round of funding at such a pivotal time for the company.”

Users are required to provide a real name and address to sign-up, and information is only visible to others in the neighborhood. Once signed-up, whether starting a new neighborhood, or responding to an invite by someone you know in your existing neighborhood, users can then see block-by-block, who is on the service. Clicking on a specific residence will bring up information about who lives there, along with other information that is self-disclosed.

Nirav Tolia, who co-founded Nextdoor back in 2010, told Bloomberg News that the company isn’t trying to make money yet because it’s focused on attracting more users. Research from Borrell Associates estimates the market for local online advertising is poised to reach $96 billion this year. But in order to advertise locally online, you have to create the audience first, which sounds like what Nextdoor is rightly focused on at the moment.

“Where you live and who lives around you is an essential part of your life. Yet there is no easy way to keep track of everything that happens in your local community, and it’s even more difficult to stay connected to the people in your local community,” Tolia said. “Nextdoor can change all that. Nextdoor can be the service that connects you to everyone and everything that matters around where you live.”

Along with the funding information, the company also released Nextdoor 2.0, a complete upgrade of their user interface, taking into account the feedback they received from users of the service. Improvements include increased focus on crime and safety, adding a dedicated section for urgent alerts, as well as the ability for police and fire to share updates directly with members, and a ‘nearby neighborhood’ feature allowing members to share information with surrounding neighborhoods.

People can learn more by visiting Nextdoor.com, where users can sign up to become part of an existing neighborhood already in the system, or create a page for a new neighborhood.

Technorati Tags: Local Marketing, nextdoor, Social Media

BlackBerry selected Nimbuzz as a pre-launch recipient of it’s new SDK, allowing them to prepare it’s BB10 messaging app ahead of then Research in Motion’s, BlackBerry 10 announcement. The new app provides free picture and video messaging, file sharing, chat and is the first to integrate GTalk, Yahoo, and Facebook Messenger within a single BlackBerry application.

Other features include an entertainment focused international marketplace, multimedia sharing and social integration – allowing users to post directly to Twitter or Facebook without leaving the app. ABI research projects there will be around 20 million smartphones running BlackBerry10 by the end of 2013, which represents a huge opportunity for Nimbuzz, who is a long-time BlackBerry developer, to add to their already established international user-base.

Nimbuzz has more than 100 million users in 200 countries, and is registering users at a clip of 210,000 per day according to company statements. Nimbuzz is also available on Android, iOS, Symbian, Windows Phone, and J2ME in addition to Mac or Windows computers, which makes it a truly cross-platform communication app. There are also significant data costs savings to BlackBerry users who share files and other multimedia frequently.

“BlackBerry must continue to identify and promote the most successful and unique apps that already reach millions of users worldwide – this focus on advanced functionality and developer engagement will be a catalyst to the platform’s success,” said Vikas Saxena , Nimbuzz CEO. “As an early pioneer in mobile communications, and a long-time BlackBerry developer, Nimbuzz will continue to deliver a powerful, feature-rich experience to BlackBerry users.”

BlackBerry continues to add applications to it’s newly designed BlackBerry World, and at the time of launch had 70,000 different applications.

Technorati Tags: BB10, blackberry 10, blackberry apps, messaging apps, Nimbuzz

The new product is called Smart Stream, and is part of an entirely new redesigned user interface which focuses on how people actually use social media. Smart Stream lets users customize smart filters to view brand mentions by keyword, hashtag, and other variables across platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, blogs (via RSS), and even YouTube. These can then be saved for quick access, and also more importantly, are interactive allowing for engagement directly from the stream including replies, comments, retweets and more.

“The smart stream in Viralheat makes it easy to get a comprehensive picture of social media activity at a glance. The design is user friendly, operates smoothly and delivers actionable insights and trends quickly. Including Google+ and Pinterest is a definite advantage for organizations,” said Joe Nolan, Director of New Media at Men’s Wearhouse.

Men’s Wearhouse is one of more than 12,000 brands using Viralheats social media marketing suite, which is offered in three editions including a free version for up to 5 social profiles, a pro version ($9.99/month), and Premier which costs $99.99/month. Viralheat CTO and co-founder Vishal Sankhla  told Vator News in an article that, “5% of it’s 12,000 mid-market customers pay for premium access.” Viralheat was founded in 2009 in San Mateo, and raised $75,000 in seed funding before securing $4.25 Mil. in series A from Mayfield Fund back in June 2011.

Another unique feature included in the redesign is the ability to access targeted publishing for select social networks that allow you to customize your messages based on timezone, country, city, language and other demographic and psychographic information.

Technorati Tags: Social Media, social media management, social media monitoring, social media platforms, social media publishing, viralheat

Specialty insurance company, Protect Your Bubble, who offers low-cost insurance on everything from small electronics, major appliances to pets and travel announced a new renters insurance category Thursday. According to a national survey by Apartments.com, 67% of renters don’t insure the contents of their dwelling, but are exposed to the same hazards as those who own, and have even higher rates of theft. Reasons why renters don’t buy insurance are many, but Protect Your Bubble cites the perception that policies are too expensive, or that renters are just plain unaware of their coverage options.

“Imagine losing all your possessions – clothes, electronics, appliances and everything else – and having to start from scratch using the money in your bank account,” says Stephen Ebbett, President at Protect Your Bubble. “That would be a financial challenge for just about anyone. That’s why we’re offering renter’s insurance. Protect Your Bubble covers renters by protecting the valuable contents of their living space.”

Policies start at $180 per year, and include coverage of contents and personal liability for leased and rented property for up to 2 occupants. Deductibles are either $100, $250 or $500, and content limits start at $10k, which means even college students living in dorms can still benefit.

It’s also an inexpensive option for tenants who live in properties whose lease requires they provide their own liability and/or renters insurance. Personal liability limits start at $100,000, and even provides a credit to tenants who live in apartments that require coverage and applies a loss free credit feature.

Available online, via mobile app or phone, Protect Your Bubble is offering free ’2-minute’ quotes to those interested, and wants to help protect the little things and moments that enrich lives, in addition to changing the way people think about and buy insurance. Protect Your Bubble’s headquarters is in Atlanta, GA. and the brand is owned by Fortune 500 company, Assurant, Inc.

Technorati Tags: insurance, rental insurance, rental liability