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| Want to Book Restaurants You Find on Foursquare? This Startup Helps | |  The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: Reserve My City Quick Pitch: Reserve My City makes it easy to book restaurant reservations on your Foursquare to-do list. Genius Idea: A seamless way to make reservations at the restaurants you discover on Foursquare. Discovering restaurants and adding them to your Foursquare to-do list is easy -- but forgetting to actually go to those restaurants is even easier. That's why Eugene Leychenko founded Reserve My City, a Foursquare add-on that lets you book restaurant reservations. The add-on makes it easier to finally make it to the restaurants you discover and to explore other hotspots nearby. Whenever you find a new restaurant and add it to your to-do list, Reserve My City immediately sends you a personalized e-mail with the restaurant location and a "Reserve Now" link that lets you make reservations on OpenTable. Based on proximity to the restaurant and your individual taste, the e-mail also includes recommendations for places to grab a drink before dinner, and places to enjoy dessert after dinner. Here's what the e-mail looks like: "Reserve My City is a real seamless, frictionless way of going from 'Okay I found this place' to 'Now I'm actually going to this place,'" Leychenko told Mashable in an interview. Developed in January, Reserve My City is currently working on a "look-alike" feature - if a Foursquare user adds a restaurant to their to-do list that is not on OpenTable, Reserve My City will recommend a similar restaurant that does accept reservations through OpenTable. The startup has about 500 users. In the future, Reserve My City plans to base its business model on partnerships with businesses such as dating and travel websites. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bagi1998 Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today. |
| Why Automating Social Media Marketing Could Hurt Facebook | | 12:39:14 AM | Jeremiah Owyang |
|  Jeremiah Owyang is an industry analyst on customer strategy and partner at Altimeter Group. As author of the blog Web Strategy, he focuses on how corporations connect with their customers using web technologies. What if there was a way to determine the best time to share your tweets, Facebook updates, and response-worthy content? And what if you could automate the entire process? That's the thinking behind a new wave of companies that claim to have social media communication down to a science. Recently, I analyzed nearly a dozen vendors in this burgeoning field, which I call the "social performance" category. These firms offer software tools and methods that analyze, plan, deliver, and measure media such as ads, content, and conversations published in social channels. For a price, of course. Although the business is young, there are a lot of players out there already. New entrants include Adobe Social, which employs Adobe acquisitions Context Optional and Omniture; BuddyMedia, which is optimizing earned content to be ads with its Brighter Option acquisition; Bazaarvoice, which has introduced a solution to launch social ads outside of traditional social networks; and Webtrends Social, which tracks social content off domain, ads and their performance back to the corporate website; and finally, Wildfire which has partnered with Adaptly to measure the paid-to-owned transition. In addition, there's also a focused group of companies which help with optimized publishing including: Crowdbooster, which measures and optimizes when content should publish; Prosodic, which analyzes the who, what, where, and aids publishers; Shoutlet, which helps companies manage complex publishing at scale; SocialFlow, which offers a solution to optimize content resonance and publishing timing; Tigerlily, which optimizes social content to publish by theme, audience and location; and UberVU, which first mines the data then optimizes content to be published. For any marketer looking to get a handle on their social media marketing, these companies have a solid selling proposition. Some of them claim that average click-through rates could increase up to 50%, drive up more fans, and even influence larger order values or the ability to drive additional sales. Ultimately, though, these vendors have the potential to not only improve branding, but to disrupt Facebook's business as well. Here's how: Alternative social networks could emerge. The firms could take what they've learned from the social media ads they run on Facebook and apply that information to outside the network. Bazaarvoice has already used its earned content to create new forms of social ads that can appear off-domain of Facebook and Twitter. Brands could integrate paid, owned, and earned. Brands will start with content publishing optimization, analyze this content and re-purpose earned content into social ads ala Facebook's sponsored stories (or its new premium ads.) Expect the media buyer to bring her chair closer to the corporate social strategist as they work together to reach communities like never before. Social media agencies might get in the ad game. Social media agencies will no longer offer community engagement only, but now start to offer media buying in social networks, then become or combine with existing digital agencies. The term "social media agency of record" dies out and we return to "agency." The category could heat up. This would make firms prime acquisition targets. Likely suitors include existing direct and performance marketing software companies, which would incorporate them into their suites. As the tools become standard, social media content created by brands will start to become automated as these tools suggest what to say, when to say it, and to whom. There is, of course, one possible downside to the spread of social media automation. As marketers become more targeted and eventually predict what content an audience will want, authenticity could leave the room, making social yet another over-branded, corporate medium. Consumers will then question if they're speaking to a real-life community manager or an automated robotic script. In this scenario, consumers will move on to a non-bastardized channel that we've yet to see, and the cycle will start anew. Meanwhile, Facebook's social ads will have lost much of their potency. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, MaxUser |
| Barnes & Noble Says Kindle's 'Not That Good in Bed' | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 11:14 PM | Lauren Indvik |
|  Although mentioning your competitors' products is a no-no in most advertising campaigns, the latest print ad for Barnes & Nobles's "GlowLight" ereader may be an exception. The ad cheekily tells Amazon's Kindle device that it's "not that good in bed." The ereader, called the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, has a simple value proposition: It lets you read in the dark without disturbing the person next to you. Most E Ink ereaders, including the rest of Barnes & Nobles's line as well as the Amazon Kindle, can't be read without without a bright overhead, clip-on or external light. The new Nook is lit up by LEDs embedded in its top edge. In addition to the two print ads above, Barnes & Noble also released a video spot highlighting the device's main advantage: The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight costs $139 for the Wi-Fi-only version. Amazon's equivalent device, the Kindle Touch, also costs $139. What do you think of the ads? Do you think it's ever a good idea to mention a competitor's product in an advertisement? Let us know in the comments. |
| eBay to Open Large Tech Office in NYC | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 10:38 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  eBay announced its plans to open a large office in New York City Thursday, making it the latest Silicon Valley-based company to bring new tech jobs to the Big Apple. eBay will open a technology center located at 625 6th Avenue in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood this fall. The office will include the Hunch team, a site eBay acquired in late 2011 that makes recommendations based on user preferences, and will also house more than 200 people in the next few years. The office will be focused on building eBay's recommendation technology and data analytics. SEE ALSO: How eBay Is Getting Back to Its Social Roots "There is a great trend propelling tech forward in New York, which started when Google opened up a large office there," Chris Dixon, general manager of eBay New York and co-founder of Hunch, told Mashable. "We will be hiring new people and looking at expanding positions in the future. We are very excited." In January, eBay opened a new tech center in the Seattle area, which is focused on data mining. The move comes just one day after Microsoft announced it will be opening a research lab in New York City. Meanwhile, Facebook announced in December that it would open a New York engineering office. Do you think New York could be the next big mecca for tech companies? Let us know in the comments. BONUS: Microsoft Research: Bringing Sexy Back |
| Are Facebook's Shares Priced Too High? [POLL] | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 9:06 PM | Todd Wasserman |
|  The Facebook IPO continues its long march towards actually happening. The company cleared one of its final hurdles on Thursday when it announced a range for it's opening-day stock price of between $28 and $35. Instantly, the Internets began debating the Goldilocks conundrum: Is it too high? Too low? Just right? Now we'd like you to weigh in. An IPO is, after all, an an initial public offering. And you're the public. Do you think this stock is priced attractively? Or should it have reflected the iffy performance of other recent social media stock introductions? Take our poll, and let us know in the comments if your view is more nuanced. Are Facebook's Shares Priced Too High? |
| 65+ Hot Events in Business and Social Media | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 8:38 PM | Lauren Hockenson |
| 
From digital advertising conferences to programming hackathons and everything in between, you'll definitely find a swanky locale to suit your professional and personal interests from the selection of more than 65 events on Mashable's new Events Board. Whether you're an event organizer or an event-goer, our Events Board is an essential resource for helping you build relationships, engage face-to-face and learn about new trends in the business. In addition to featuring events all over the world, exciting new listings are always added to Mashable's Events Board in a variety of industries. Every week, we round up five freshly-posted events that you should definitely add to your calendar. Keep checking the board for the newest listings of conferences, meetings and expos spicing up the tech scene around the world. Business The Cable Show 2012 Date: 5/21/2012 - 5/23/2012 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Cable networks and providers unite for The Cable Show 2012, an annual conference that discusses the power and capabilities of cable in the digital world. Many cable personalities will speak at the event, including Conan O'Brien, Piers Morgan and Erin Burnett. For those located in New England and along Eastern seaboard, Amtrak is offering a special 10% discount to attendees of the conference. Social TV World Summit Date: 5/22/2012 - 5/23/2012 Location: London, England Focusing on in-depth discussion of social media integration and multi-screen interactivity for television programs and properties, the Social TV World Summit will include expert advice from companies such as Shazam, Trendrr and Facebook. The two-day conference will also feature an exhibit floor and multiple networking sessions throughout the schedule. Structure 2012 Date: 6/20/2012 - 6/21/2012 Location: San Francisco, California Hosted by GigaOM, Structure 2012 will discuss the state and future of cloud computing. With speakers from Amazon, AppFog and IBM, Structure 2012 will comment on the business, structure and technology of cloud computing. In addition, GigaOM will host a LaunchPad, granting the opportunity of an unknown company to show off its product to conference attendees. Sales for tickets end on May 19, and nominations close on May 11. Social Media PR News Social Media Summit & Taste of Tech Date: 6/21/2012 - 6/22/2012 Location: New York, New York PR News Social Media Summit & Taste of Tech is actually two events in one. PR and communications professionals are invited to attend either conference, which focus on key takeaways for marketing and communications throughout all social media platforms, or to combine both for the most insights and networking. May 18 is the last day for the event's Early Bird rate, which takes $100 off the general admission combined event rate of $1,295. The Google+ Photographers Conference Date: 5/21/2012 - 5/23/2012 Location: San Francisco, California Google+ photographers will come together in Northern California for The Google+ Photographers Conference. Hosted by Kelby Media Group, the conference will offer training and tips for photographers looking to get the most out of their Google+ account. Also, if you register now, you will get speaker Guy Kawasaki's book and OnOne software for free. Want to promote your upcoming event on Mashable's Events Board? Click here. |
| LinkedIn Spends $119 Million on SlideShare -- the YouTube of Slideshows | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 7:10 PM | Brian Anthony Hernandez |
|  Professional social network LinkedIn on Thursday snagged presentation-sharing platform SlideShare for $118.75 million. Often described as the "YouTube for slideshows," SlideShare has let people store and share presentations as well as documents, PDFs, videos and webinars since 2006. The website now attracts 29 million monthly visitors, while LinkedIn sees 107 million unique monthly visitors. LinkedIn -- now 161 million members strong -- also announced quarterly earnings Thursday, setting Q1 revenue at $188.5 million compared to $93.9 million last year. The SlideShare sale is expected to close this quarter with 45% of the $118.75 million coming as cash and 55% as stock. "This deal enables professionals discover people through content, and content through people," Deep Nishar, LinkedIn's svp of product and user experience, said Thursday. "We're excited to figure out the best ways our offerings will work together to help professionals around the world be more productive and successful." SEE ALSO: 7 Ways Businesses Can Get More Social With SlideShare SlideShare hosts more than 7 million presentations, which have been embedded on nearly 1.5 million different domains. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner says SlideShare's purpose "aligns perfectly" with his company's mission. LinkedIn, which launched an iPad app in late April, previously acquired real-time search startup IndexTank in October 2011 and email startup Rapportive this February. Learn more about the acquisition in this SlideShare presentation: LinkedIn and Slideshare View more presentations from LinkedIn |
| Facebook IPO: Zuckerberg Will Make at Least $846 Million | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 6:38 PM | Sarah Kessler |
|  Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to make at least $846 million when the company goes public. Facebook announced on Thursday that it will sell 337.4 million shares at a price range of $28 to $35 in its initial public offering. According to the company's filings with the SEC, Zuckerberg will be selling 30.2 million of his own shares. On the low end of the price range, that would make him $846 million richer. On the high end, he would net $1.05 billion. According to the filing, most of that money will go to paying Zuckerberg's taxes. Which, considering the 60 million shares the CEO will acquire through an outstanding stock option, are about to increase significantly. Facebook's valuation of $88 billion or more would make it the most valuable U.S. company at the time of its IPO, which was most recently reported to be set for May 18. The record is currently held by Google, which was valued at $23 billion when it went public in 2004. Additional Facebook IPO Coverage Facebook IPO Reveals How It Made $3.71 Billion in 2011 10 Giant Things Less Valuable Than Facebook Zuckerberg to Potential Shareholders: Facebook Is on a Social Mission Facebook IPO Filing Flings Open the Social Network Kimono Facebook: Zynga Generates 12% of Our Revenue and We Need Them Sheryl Sandberg Was Facebook's Best-Paid Employee in 2011 |
| Shareholder Alleges Yahoo CEO Lied About His Computer Science Degree | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 4:47 PM | Todd Wasserman |
|  Dan Loeb, an activist investor in Yahoo, is alleging that CEO Scott Thompson lied to shareholders and the SEC about getting a computer science degreeand is calling on the board to take immediate action. The letter also accuses Director Patti Hart of misrepresenting her degree from Illinois State University as one in marketing and economics though she actually got a degree in business administration. Loeb, the CEO of Third Point, which owns 5.8% of Yahoo, wrote that he discovered that Thompson didn't hold a degree in computer science by doing a "rudimentary Google search." He then verified with Thompson's alma mater, Stonehill College, that Thompson's degree is actually in accounting, according to the letter. Loeb continues: Furthermore, Stonehill College informed us that it did not begin awarding computer science degrees until 1983 -- four years after Mr. Thompson graduated. We inquired whether Mr. Thompson had taken a large number of computer science courses, perhaps allowing him to justify to himself that he had "earned" such a degree. Instead, we learned that during Mr. Thompson's tenure at Stonehill only one such course was even offered - Intro to Computer Science. Presumably, Mr. Thompson took that course. Reps from Yahoo could not be reached for comment, but a Stonehill rep confirmed that Thompson got a degree in business administration, not computer science and that the college didn't offer a computer science degree until 1983. Third Point's latest missive comes amid a proxy fight between the company and Yahoo. The row began in late March after Yahoo named three directors to its board after failing to reach a compromise with Third Point, which had recommended its own list of nominees. Thompson, a former PayPal exec, became Yahoo's CEO on Jan. 4. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
| Shazam: The Secret to Better TV Engagement? | | Thursday, May 03, 2012 4:24 PM | Lauren Hockenson |
|  The Modern Media Agency Series is presented by IDG. As marketing budgets and priorities shift, tech vendors must embrace digital and social media to change how they relate to prospects. IDC's Rich Vancil surveyed marketers on spending plans. Learn more. In a single decade, UK-based company Shazam has evolved from a basic song identification service to a worldwide gateway to second-screen experiences alongside some of the world's biggest television shows and events. According to the company's website, Shazam services more than 200 million people over seven major mobile platforms in more than 200 countries, and 1.5 million new users gravitate towards the app every week, helping to keep the app in the top 10 most downloaded apps of all time in iTunes. This year has also been a banner year for Shazam's integrations into major live events -- the company offered exclusive content and a second-screen experience for viewers of both the Super Bowl and the Grammys. The company has also found permanent installations on primetime network television series, including the incredibly popular reality show American Idol. "There's just been a tremendous scale of growth," says Shazam's EVP of marketing, David Jones. "That's why a lot of TV shows, networks and advertisers want to work with us -- the reach and the fact they can innovate with us at scale to drive results." So what is it about the service that makes it irresistible to advertisers, TV shows and even audiences? Turns out, there are plenty of benefits for advertisers and TV shows alike to interact with viewers through Shazam's interface, and people are responding to the added value that "Shazaming" brings to ads and shows. Mashable spoke with Jones about the strides the company has made via its ultra-popular media integrations. Skyrocketing Engagement with Shows Right now, 85% of Shazam's users take advantage of the platform through television -- Shazaming shows and ads equally. Jones says that often the intent is to find out what song is playing while on TV, but the company is seeing a noticeable shift towards second-screen activity. This has been to the benefit of many networks looking to boost their primetime ratings. Channels like SyFy, Bravo and USA have embraced Shazam because of the engaging content the app can provide while the user is stalled at the commercial break. "We can identify exactly what you're watching, take you straight into the right place and launch a user into a rich, satisfying experience," Jones explains. One of the TV shows to capitalize on Shazam's platform is Covert Affairs, a one-hour spy drama on the USA Network. Jones says that the series promoted its Shazam partnership in two meaningful ways: short promotional ads that reiterate the Shazam capabilities and a "call to action" -- the circular "S" -- that pops up in the corner of the screen during a show. Jones says that from the call to action, users can grab extra content quickly and save it for commercials. only needs to be up there for five seconds, then it gets the value processed and it works," Jones says. Through Shazam, Covert Affairs not only offered playlists that feature music from the show, but also provided exclusive behind-the-scenes content with the show's stars, Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. Jones explains that this added content provides an exclusive experience that keeps viewers engaged in the show from episode to episode. Increased viewership, of course, is why networks are so attracted to Shazam's capabilities. "The whole idea is to bridge you from one episode to the next and to turn a casual viewer into a fan." Jones adds. Premium Ad Interactions Shazam rang in 2012 with a bang, ramping up to tackle the biggest live sports event in America -- the Super Bowl. The entire game was Shazam-enabled to give up-to-the-minute statistics on the battle between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Even the halftime show took its turn with the platform: Users who Shazamed Madonna's performance were granted access to a set list, a live blog and even a free LMFAO remix of Madonna's newest single "Give Me All Your Luvin." But, of course, Shazam offered second-screen experiences for the real Super Bowl attraction: the advertisements. Shazam has been supporting advertisements in earnest since 2010, with clients like Dockers and Old Navy. For the Super Bowl, Jones says Shazam works with clients to find a seamless and unique way to produce compelling content. "We try to bring content within the app so it's right there, but in some cases we need to link off to third-party, mobile optimized sites," Jones explains. Jones says that more than a quarter of all Super Bowl ads were Shazam-enabled, including commercials from Best Buy, Ford and Pepsi. Jones adds that viewers were 25 times more likely to access Shazam's second-screen content when prompted with a call to action, quite like the successful Shazam strategy of Covert Affairs. For example, the Pepsi commercial above, when Shazamed, not only led to a customized platform that offered access to the song and full music video, but also led to Pepsi's community board and social sharing to other platforms. Across the board, engagement in Super Bowl ads through Shazam was very high. "Becauseknew the Super Bowl was Shazam-enabled, people were Shazaming ads even when there was not a call to action on the screen," Jones says. "Some of them got very pleasant surprises and special offers." Jones added that the amount of Shazam-enabled ads created a community that provided continued engagement throughout the event. "People were in the habit, more than during a typical viewing period, to use Shazam with their ads," Jones adds. Live Event Perks Just a week after the Super Bowl, Shazam provided second-screen capabilities to another major American live show, the 54th annual Grammy Awards. Jones says that the company built a rich experience that revolved around the night's nominees and performers. There was even a live blog that was constantly updated to provide the audience with links to relevant music and tips on how to purchase it. One of the night's most popular features was one in which Shazam users could enter a contest to win for tickets to next year's awards. All of these features were rolled into Shazam's second screen experience -- but Jones says that the platform wasn't keen on hogging the spotlight. "Working with the Recording Academy and CBS, we promoted the Grammy app and another app to get a rich set of content experiences surrounding the Grammys," Jones explains. Throughout the course of the night, there were over half a million "Grammys" tags on Shazam, with no on-screen calls to action or promotions by CBS. The night was successful and also presented a new set of challenges to the Shazam team. "By definition, there's only one event, so we have to customize the experience for that one event," Jones explains. "Everything is riding on nailing the experience and adding a ton of value for the users." So Why Use Shazam? The bottom line? Jones says that incorporating Shazam into television -- whether through ads, scripted series or live television -- equals increased engagement. When comparing Shazam's tags to Facebook Likes or tweets, data from an average show indicates that there are more tags through Shazam than tweets and Likes combined on day of air. "In five or so seconds on screen,you can literally double the engagement that you're getting on social media through these rich Shazam experiences," says Jones. And it keeps getting bigger -- Shazam is expanding even further into television events in the U.S. and UK, and more ads are also employing the platform for increased engagement. If the second screen really is the wave of the future, then Shazam is ready to ride that wave towards success. Series presented by IDG
The Modern Media Agency Series is presented by IDG. Tech marketers have told IDC that more than half their 2011 budgets went to digital programs and company websites. And, this year social marketing, websites, and direct marketing will benefit from the biggest budget increases. IDC's Rich Vancil says the shift in budgets mean marketers need to form new relationships with their IT and sales colleagues. See the research and recommendations here. Photo courtesy of Shazam. |
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