,



    Social networking already reaches nearly 1 in 4 people around the world, or 1.73 billion people. And, according to a new eMarketer reporter, that number is expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2017. Clearly, the industry is in constant transition, and next year it will evolve again, with a focus squarely on images.
    With a camera in everyone's pocket and the web itself becoming high-definition (think bigger images and less text), it's become easier than ever to communicate visually. In fact, between Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr alone, more than 400,000,000 images will be shared daily. Add in Snapchat, Google, and Pinterest, and these numbers skyrocket, further emphasizing that consumers really do want to show, not tell. Here are four ways that social will change in 2014:


    Pinterest will become universal.Pinterest's recent $225 million venture capital fundraising brings its market valuation to $3.8 billion. It's clear, this network is on fire. It's driving traffic and revenue to brands, and it's going to be an even bigger deal in 2014. Retailers, of course, continue to be a big beneficiary of Pinterest, but brands of all stripes will start to recognize that they have to go where their audience is. A significant number of brands will jump into the Pinterest waters in 2014, recognizing that playing catch-up later will be far more expensive than getting smart now. We'll also finally see forward-looking brands from underrepresented industries—i.e. financial service, health care, and industrials—make a bigger push at humanizing their brands using imagery and visual storytelling on Pinterest.



    New ad products will spring up.
    Pinterest and Instagram have both announced that they are experimenting with ads. Brands are lining up, eager to buy reach on these networks, causing ad spending on social to rise. The most successful brands on these networks will be those who are investing now in growing their Pinterest and Instagram presences to better understand how the platforms work and how consumers engage. These brands will use this knowledge to develop ads that look and feel native to the network they're advertising on.
    "In 2014 you'll see more product recommendations from brands and retailers that are influenced by how those products are performing on social networks."



    User-generated content will be embraced.
    Brands want user-generated content. For some time now, brands have been pulling in Tweets and Facebook conversations into their sites. Increasingly, this is starting to look like a censored social listening post: lots of conversations from lots of networks, with brands displaying only the ones they want. In 2014, brands will cut through the clutter and create a more engaging experience by focusing on images. They'll bring visual user-generated content (UGC) into the website and associate those pictures with the products they represent, making UGC shoppable. In other words, consumers can instantly purchase the products their peers are wearing and using. In doing so, brands will also showcase the fans that are celebrating the brand to reward loyalists at social scale.



    E-commerce will get social.Large brands, social media and e-commerce operate in silos and rarely talk. That's going to change. In 2014 you'll see more product recommendations from brands and retailers that are influenced by how those products are performing on social networks. Brands will start harnessing "social cues," such as likes, pins and reblogs to understand what products people share most actively. They will use this information to highlight socially accepted products in emails, on their websites and in stores.
    Gone are the days where the goal of social media was to simply rack up "likes." In 2014 social media will be the key to racking up sales.

    , ,





    Masters of Tech World Google and Microsoft have reportedly agreed measures in a bid to stop yielding results related to child abuse on their respective search sites to introduce changes which will prevent depraved images and videos from appearing for more than 100,000 different searches related with porn and other child abuses.


    Internet search results linked to child abuse are to be blocked across the world by Google

    At last! Google has agreed to introduce changes which will prevent depraved images and videos from appearing for more than 100,000 different searches

    Google Search to prevent links to child sexual abuse material from appearing in our results.

    The restrictions, which have been designed to apply in English countries, that will be expanded to cover the rest of the world and 158 other languages in the next six months.

     
    According to the BBC, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron had asked the two companies, who together handle 95 percent of the online search, to take serious action against people getting access to illegal images.

    However, Cameron has warned that if the measures aren’t appropriately delivered, he would bring forward new legislation.

    Mr Schmidt also reveals that Google has developed breakthrough technology that will allow illegal videos to be 'tagged' so that all duplicate copies can be removed across the internet.

    ,

    Al-Qaeda’s Twitter account has been suspended, five days after it appeared on the social networking site, attracting over 1,500 followers.
    Tweets began appearing on the Twitter handle — which was connected to al-Qaeda’s online forum — on September 24, 2013 and the account was suspended on Sunday.
    Twitter did not give any reasons for the suspension of the account, the New York Daily News reported.
    Using the handle, the terrorist organisation began posting tweets in Arabic. The account gained more than 1,500 followers.
    But on Sunday, when users clicked on the profile, the social media website indicated that the account had been suspended. The suspension followed criticism in the media.
    In the “Twitter Rules” section for the site, the company says an account can be shut down if it is being used to propagate “violence and threats” or is “in the furtherance of illegal activities”.
    The State Department declined to confirm the validity of the account or say whether U.S. officials suspect it is real.
    The account sent out 47 tweets since its launch. Most recently, the account appeared to justify terrorism.
    Last week, a representative for the Somalia-based terror organisation al-Shabaab also set up a Twitter account, but that was also quickly shut down.

    , ,


    black and white dots (like noise on analog TV known as static), each signifying a Facebook profile that pops up when your mouse hovers over it. Created by technologist Natalia Rojas, the site that has managed to display profiles, in chronological order of sign ups, promises not to violate any Facebook privacy rules. And yes, the first dot, is that of Mark Zuckerberg.
    Here's why the project was born: "Because there we are, all mixed up: large families, women wearing burkas, many Leo Messis, people supporting same-sex marriages or r4bia, Chihuahuas, Indian Gods, tourists pushing the leaning Tower of Pisa, selfies, newborns, Ferraris, studio black and white portraits, a lot of weddings but zero divorces, ID photos, faces framed in hearts, best friends, manga characters, politic logos, deep looks, love messages, eyes, memes, smiles, sweet grandparents and some not-yet-censured pictures."
    Find yourself: The site also lets you 'connect' with your own Facebook account to let you find your face # and see where your face appears in the vast density of profiles. Connecting your Facebook account to the app also highlights your friends on the map as larger white dots, letting you see: Who joined first, and who joined last.

    Miami-based Rojas has developed the project using HTML5, Javascript, CSS, jQuery, EaselJS, Ajax, FB API, PHP and MySQL.
    More amazing visualisation tools like Faces of Facebook:
    This is not the first time a developer has tried to visually showcase social profiles and connections on the Internet. 
    LinkedIn's In Maps
    LinkedIn for instance has a map that lets you see your connections called In Maps (http://inmaps.linkedinlabs.com/). The tool displays coloured codes that represent different affiliations or groups from your professional career, such as your previous employer, college classmates, or industries you’ve worked in. You can use the mouse scroll to zoom, click on a connection's name to get more information and label the color-coded clusters to describe your relationships.

    Vizify's Connections for Twitter
    Then there is Vizify Connections (http://vizify.com/connections), that lets you view a visualisation of your Twitter connections. Within seconds, it builds an animated and interactive infographic of your network by creating concentric circles to show how often you've tweeted at/with a person. It categorises people based on their interactions with you. The two broad categories are:
    The Rock: We interact all the time
    The Pal: We interact with some regularity
     

    MIT's Immersion for Gmail, Yahoo Mail and MS Exchange
    Another interesting tool to view a people-centric history of your email life is MIT's Immersion (https://immersion.media.mit.edu). Immersion uses your email metadata including: 'the From, To, Cc and Timestamp fields of the emails in the account you are signing in with' to show your top collaborators. 

    Foursquare's Time Machine
    Foursquare offers a service called Time Machine (https://foursquare.com/timemachine) that crunches the numbers of all your check-ins to display them on a colourful animated geographic map. It also gives stats on Top Categories of places you visit and a total number of checkins.

     
     
    Wolfram Alpha's Facebook Report
    You can also generate a 'Facebook report' (http://www.wolframalpha.com/facebook/) using search engine Wolfram Alpha that has a few visualisations including one that lets you see the structure of your network on the site. However, I couldn't zoom in to my connections using the map and won't recommend this one.

    ,


    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (R) takes his seat for an onstage interview for with James Bennet (L) of the Atlantic Magazine in Washington, September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    By Alina Selyukh
    WASHINGTON | Wed Sep 18, 2013 7:05pm EDT
     
    (Reuters) - Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said revelations about U.S. government surveillance hurt users' trust in Internet companies and that knowing more about the programs would help relieve some of the public concerns.
    In a rare appearance in Washington at an event hosted by the Atlantic magazine, the 29-year-old social media billionaire urged the federal government to tell the general public more about the requests for data it makes to Internet companies.
    Zuckerberg was also holding meetings with members of Congress from both parties to lobby for immigration reform.
    "What I can tell from the data that I see at Facebook is that I think the more transparency and communication the government could do about how they're requesting the data from us, the better everyone would feel about it," he said.
    "From reading in the media, you couldn't get a sense whether the number of requests that the government makes is closer to a thousand or closer to a 100 million. ... I think the more transparency the government has, the better folks would feel."
    Zuckerberg also expressed concerns that the outcry about vast secret spy programs run by the National Security Agency and the U.S. response could alienate other countries and hurt innovation globally. In San Francisco last week, Zuckerberg said the government "blew it" on the spy programs.
    "Response to the NSA issues that have blown up are a big deal for the Internet as a global platform. And some of the government statements I think have been profoundly unhelpful," he said.
    "'Oh, we only spy on non-Americans.' Gee thanks," Zuckerberg said, adding, "We're trying to provide an international service, not get crushed in those places either."
    Earlier this year, Facebook said some 1.1 billion people around the world used its site each month.
    The tech sector has been pushing for more disclosures about government data requests as Internet companies seeks to shake off the concerns about their involvement in vast secret U.S. surveillance programs revealed by former spy contractor Edward Snowden.
    Earlier this month, Facebook joined Yahoo! Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for freedom to disclose aggregate data about the orders and requests for information they receive under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
    On Wednesday, Zuckerberg said the revelations about U.S. online surveillance had a much bigger impact on users' trust in Facebook than any criticisms related to the company's own privacy policies.
    PRIORITY ON IMMIGRATION
    The issue that brought California-based Zuckerberg to Washington was his push for immigration reform, which has prompted him to wade deep into political waters.
    This year, he founded an advocacy group, FWD.us, that lobbies for a comprehensive immigration reform, promoting the concept of building a "knowledge economy." The group has come under fire for ads that backed pro-immigration lawmakers on issues unrelated to immigration, such as oil drilling.
    "We just want to be there to help support folks who are going to have to take challenging positions on something that's going to be controversial but they ultimately believe is the right thing," Zuckerberg said.
    He was scheduled for sitdowns on Thursday with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi as the House of Representatives poses an uphill battle for the immigration legislation, which already has been passed by the Senate.
    Zuckerburg, who ditched his signature hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans in favor of a dark suit and tie on Wednesday as he made his way through the hallways of Congress, said he was optimistic the legislation's chances.
    (Reporting by Alina Selyukh; additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai; editing by Ros Krasny and Leslie Adler)

    ,

    Tata Group on Thursday said that it will launch a full service airline in India in partnership with Singapore Airlines.
     
     
     
    Here are the top 10 facts:

    • Tata Sons has signed a Memorandum of Understanding or Mou with Singapore Airlines to launch the new airline.
    • Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines will jointly invest $100 million to set up the full service airline.
    • In the new airline, Tata Sons will hold 51 per cent, while Singapore Airlines will hold 49 per cent stake. 16 years ago Tata Group and Singapore Airlines had proposed to form a private airline with 40 per cent equity contribution from the Singapore carrier, but the venture was shelved.
    • The proposed airline will be based in New Delhi and operate under the full service model.
    • Tata Sons has already applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board or FIPB for approval to launch the airline.
    • The initial board will have two members nominated by Tata Sons and one nominated by Singapore Airlines.
    • The chairman of the new airline will be Prasad Menon, who has been nominated by Tata Sons, an official statement said.
    • "It is Tata Sons' evaluation that civil aviation in India offers sustainable growth potential. We now have the opportunity to launch a world-class, full-service airline in India. We are delighted that we are partnering in this endeavour with the world renowned Singapore Airlines," Mr Menon said.
    • Details of the airline's branding, management team and products and services will be announced in due course, Tata Sons said.
    • The Tatas already have a partnership with AirAsia to start a low-cost airline in India. It is expected to be operational by October, AirAsia group chief executive Tony Fernandes had said. Indian law allows 49 per cent FDI or foreign direct investment in aviation.

    , , ,


    BusinessWPI based inflation had risen for the third straight month to 6.1 per cent in August. Reuters

    Onion prices in the national capital continue to remain high at Rs 70-80 per kg as supplies are still under pressure.
    Prices of the kitchen staple in Azadpur mandi, Asia's largest wholesale market, were ruling at Rs 60 per kg today as supplies were below normal.
    "Today, there was a marginal increase in the supplies of onion at 9,500 quintals, but that was insufficient to bring down the prices," Onion Merchant Traders Association President Surendra Budhiraj said. 

    Onions prices to ease in 2-3 weeks on fresh output: Sharad Pawar
    He said the prices are likely to remain at this level for the next 10-15 days as most of the stored quantities from last year's crop have been exhausted and fresh supplies from South India are yet to reach the consuming states. 


    Cut-price onions crash attention-seeking Groupon website
    Traders also attributed the rise in wholesale onion prices to increase in prices of the bulb in Lasalgaon Mandi in Nashik, which sets the price trend across the country.
    At Mother Dairy outlets in the city, onions are being sold at Rs 65-67 per kg, while local vendors are selling it at 70-80 per kg, depending upon the quality and location.
    According to National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation data, prices of the politically sensitive commodity at Lasalgaon in Nashik, slightly declined from Rs 58 per kg to Rs 56 per kg today.
    Meanwhile, the Consumer Affairs Ministry had said in the status report on onions that prices are under pressure as 90 per cent of stored onions from last year's crop are exhausted and only 3-4 lakh tonnes are available for consumption.

⬆
Top