American banks show ads during online banking
If you're using Facebook or Gmail, you're already used to it: ads in the sidebar that are based on the contents of your e-mails, wall posts or likes. Now, the American company Cardlytics has gone a step further by creating software to show ads during online banking.
The Social Network
On October 13, I went to see The Social Network, the movie about Facebook and its founders. I already blogged about the movie here, saying I couldn’t wait to see it, so I was very happy that the Association for Internet Marketing (the AIM) invited me to go see the Belgian avant-première.
Mobile Vikings allows you to make free phone calls using wifi
As you can see from the banner on the right, I am a Mobile Viking - and proud to be! Two months ago I transferred my number from Mobistar to Mobile Vikings and ever since I've been calling and sending free text messages for only 15 euro per month. Of course, this is what the average provider is offering you, but with Mobile Vikings I'm surfing the web completely free. No little than 2 (two) Gb are included in the 15 euros!! This matches Mobile Vikings philosophy of providing free mobile internet everywhere.
Facebook, the movie
In 2009, Ben Mezrich wrote a book called 'The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal' and depicted how Facebook's founders invented Facebook and saw their social network become the biggest in the known universe. Mezrich was not unequivocally positive, as can be deducted from the book's title. Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, is said to visit decadent parties and have sex with tons of girls. As you can imagine, this upset certain Californian billionaires...
Now that the book is turned into a movie called 'The Social Network' by David Fincher Zuckerberg and Co. are even more pissed. They are constantly lobbying the movie's producers; but without result. The rumour goes that one scene contains Sean Parker, co-founder of both Napster and Facebook, with in the background some topless teenage girls serving coke to partygoers.
Can't wait to see the movie!
Telenet test breedbandinternet in je auto
Sinds juni voert Telenet tests uit over het gebruik van breedband internet ...in je auto! Dat meldt De Standaard. De mogelijkheden zijn legio.
De technologie is gebaseerd op het 4G netwerk of Long Term Evolution (LTE) netwerk.
Telenet verwacht dat 4G een realiteit is in België tegen 2012.
De technologie is gebaseerd op het 4G netwerk of Long Term Evolution (LTE) netwerk.
Telenet verwacht dat 4G een realiteit is in België tegen 2012.
Summer trends on Social Media in Belgium
According to Alexa, Belgium can be considered rather conservative concerning social media websites. With a second place in its Belgian Top Sites rankings, just behind Google, Facebook is omnipopular in Belgium. According to GoogleAdPlanner some 3.800.000 Belgians visit Facebook regularly.
Youtube is the third most popular website among Belgians. Wikipedia is on spot 8.
Compared to January 2010, with a ranking 13, Belgian Netlog switches places with Blogger that becomes number 12.
Compared to January 2010, Badoo is the top winner, with a gain of 36 places on Alexa's Belgian Top Sites list. Badoo is a UK based international social networking site available in 16 languages (also in Dutch).
Twitter use in Belgium nearly doubled the passed year. The website jumps 26 places and becomes the 21st most popular website among Belgians.
LinkedIn, which is mostly aimed at professionals and business networking jumps 23 places and hits spot 44.
Other winners are blog service WordPress (8 places) and photo sharing service Flickr (5 places).
Big loser is MySpace (that loses 24 places in the Alexa ranking compared to January 2010). Netlog loses 1 place.
Youtube is the third most popular website among Belgians. Wikipedia is on spot 8.
Compared to January 2010, with a ranking 13, Belgian Netlog switches places with Blogger that becomes number 12.
Compared to January 2010, Badoo is the top winner, with a gain of 36 places on Alexa's Belgian Top Sites list. Badoo is a UK based international social networking site available in 16 languages (also in Dutch).
Twitter use in Belgium nearly doubled the passed year. The website jumps 26 places and becomes the 21st most popular website among Belgians.
LinkedIn, which is mostly aimed at professionals and business networking jumps 23 places and hits spot 44.
Other winners are blog service WordPress (8 places) and photo sharing service Flickr (5 places).
Big loser is MySpace (that loses 24 places in the Alexa ranking compared to January 2010). Netlog loses 1 place.
Use Social Media for Investor Relations?
Is it possible for a company's Investor Relations department to use Social Media? Of course, not every platform will be as efficient to communicate an IR department's message. Also, today, traditional IR management remains possible without Social Media. What is more, a lot of financial analysts and traders indicate they do not use social media, because their bosses won't allow them access to websites like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
However, already today, these media are being used for IR by some international companies. If Stock Exchange Enlisted Companies want to be pioneers, or want to keep up with the pioneers, they have to be present on Web 2.0.
What follows is based on my own research. Let me begin with Wal-Mart who started tweeting with @walmartnews only since January 13, 2010. The account is used on a daily basis; mainly for tweeting on Corporate Social Responsability but also on Industry related news like the company's strategy and, when relevant, on Q or Y results. The Wal-Mart account is followed by 1,740 people and promoted on investors.walmartstores.com. To control the account, an application called CoTweet is used. Wal-Mart also has several other (local) Twitter accounts that are used for Marketing and Customer Relations.
Wal-Mart also has a YouTube channel which exists since February 11, 2006 and is of course used for distributing commercials, but also features clips on CSR. At least every day, someone comments on a Wal-Mart video clip.
Although Wal-Mart has several Facebook pages (one has has about 1,193,000 people ‘liking’ it and almost every hour somebody posts to its wall), it does not use Facebook for IR.
Companies that do use Facebook for Investor Relations are Cisco and Lafarge. The Cisco Facebook Page also links surfers to a myriad of other social media accounts. Several other Facebook Pages, several Twitter accounts, several blogs, two Flickr accounts and two Youtube channels. One of those channels has a ‘Financial’ playlist, which features clips with CFO Frank Calderoni and CEO John Chambers discussing the quarterly Results. Allegedly, Chambers prefers video to text because of his dyslexy.
Other companies using Twitter for IR are KBC Group (a bank and insurance company) and Bekaert (a steel manufacturer) who post links to their press releases on their Twitter account. Bekaert even launched a separate 'annual report' website which constantly links to social media.
Interactive billboard against agression
Public service employees in the Netherlands face aggression and violence on the streets more and more often. Onlookers unfortunately do not intervene often enough when they encounter a situation like this. A live interactive billboard in Amsterdam and Rotterdam is used to place people in a similar situation witch confronts them with their inactivity. A great idea!!
Rumors on Google working on iPad competitor
The American newspaper Wall Street Journal claims to know that Google, together with Verizon, is working on a tablet computer. The device will be the result of a deepening synergy between Google and Verizon and should be a fearsome rival for Apple's iPad that connects to wireless networks via AT&T.
Verizon's CEO Lowell McAdam said: "We're looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience." However, he declined to give any further details on the timing and manufacturer of such a tablet. Google and Verizon already brought out smartphones together, like the Motorola Droid, which runs on Google's Android software.
Google confirmed that it is working on hardware and carriers to create lightweight computers that run its software.
Verizon's CEO Lowell McAdam said: "We're looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience." However, he declined to give any further details on the timing and manufacturer of such a tablet. Google and Verizon already brought out smartphones together, like the Motorola Droid, which runs on Google's Android software.
Google confirmed that it is working on hardware and carriers to create lightweight computers that run its software.
Google Chrome is faster than lightning (but does it guarantee privacy?)
The last couple of weeks Firefox constantly blocked and I got ennoyed with those "That's embarrasing"-screens. I do have to admit I always have alot (alot!) of tabs open. Nonetheless, a couple of days ago, I started using Google's browser Chrome and up 'till now I like it! It's lean and smart and seems to be stealing alot of browser market share from Internet Explorer. IE saw its share go down to 60% and Chrome saw it up to 7% in the couple of months it's been launched. Chrome seems to (be able) to handle those myriad tabs better. Or at least Chrome's extensions.
And here's the rub! Most of those extensions seem to infiltrate your browser history and personal settings. That is why, up 'till now, I haven't installed any extension. First I would like to have some certainty about privacy...
In any case: Chrome is fast,
or so its makers claim in their bizarre but beautiful commercials...
And here's the rub! Most of those extensions seem to infiltrate your browser history and personal settings. That is why, up 'till now, I haven't installed any extension. First I would like to have some certainty about privacy...
In any case: Chrome is fast,
or so its makers claim in their bizarre but beautiful commercials...
Belgians do not trust social network sites
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The Belgian media agency InSites Consulting tested an audience of 2.800 internet users in 14 different countries.
They found that Belgian internet users are reluctant to trust Facebook an other social network sites, or in any case the companys behind the sites.
Only 28% of Belgian surfers say they trust Facebook. 34% has considerable doubts about Facebook's trustworthiness.
This was even worse for local social network site Netlog. Only 21% of Belgian surfers trusts the Belgian-based SNS (which is available in more than 30 languages and mostly targets teenagers).
44% distrusts Netlog.
Remarkably, sites that target professional audiences get more confidence.
LinkedIn, for example, is trusted by 42% of Belgian surfers.
"Consumers hear alot of crazy stories about privacy policies, but mostly they are just not well informed" says InSites Consulting.
InSites discovered 81% says to think twice when putting something on the net.
79% indicate they are more reluctant to accept online 'friends'.
Source: T-Zine
:
The Belgian media agency InSites Consulting tested an audience of 2.800 internet users in 14 different countries.
They found that Belgian internet users are reluctant to trust Facebook an other social network sites, or in any case the companys behind the sites.
This was even worse for local social network site Netlog. Only 21% of Belgian surfers trusts the Belgian-based SNS (which is available in more than 30 languages and mostly targets teenagers).
44% distrusts Netlog.
LinkedIn, for example, is trusted by 42% of Belgian surfers.
"Consumers hear alot of crazy stories about privacy policies, but mostly they are just not well informed" says InSites Consulting.
InSites discovered 81% says to think twice when putting something on the net.
79% indicate they are more reluctant to accept online 'friends'.
Source: T-Zine
Wikipedia for dummies
Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia that everybody can contribute to and edit articles in. Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Americans Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Wikipedia is one of the most frequently visited sites in the world. The name is a combination of 'wiki', which is Hawaian for 'fast' and affix '-pedia', which obviously refers to 'encyclopaedia'.
Before 2002, Wikipedia tried to raise money via advertising. Users did not like this, however. Now, the website is managed by Wikimedia, which survives on donations.
In 2001, less than a year after its founding, Wikipedia contained more than 20.000 articles in 18 languages. Today, the website has 15 million articles in 262 languages.
On september 9, 2009, the English Wikipedia reached 2 million articles and became the world's biggest encyclopaedia. It broke the Yongle Encyclopedia record, which had been the biggest since 1407.
Source: De Standaard
Before 2002, Wikipedia tried to raise money via advertising. Users did not like this, however. Now, the website is managed by Wikimedia, which survives on donations.
In 2001, less than a year after its founding, Wikipedia contained more than 20.000 articles in 18 languages. Today, the website has 15 million articles in 262 languages.
On september 9, 2009, the English Wikipedia reached 2 million articles and became the world's biggest encyclopaedia. It broke the Yongle Encyclopedia record, which had been the biggest since 1407.
Source: De Standaard
Wikipedia is for men
The average Wikipedia contributor is 25, has no wife, no kids and high educated. He writes 6.4 hours per week for Wikipedia. Only 12.5% of the contributors are women.
As we all know, Wikipedia is the product of a worldwide network of volunteers, whose work is used by millions all around the world.
Research, conducted by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind Wikipedia and the United Nations University Merit, disclosed that both volunteers and users are mostly men.
Only 30% of Wikipedia's users are women. And a small 12.5% of Wikipedia's contributors are women.
When researchers asked women why they did not contribute, they indicated they knew too little and had no information to contribute. Also, one out of four women say they do not feel comfortable editing other people's work.
One out of three gives the most obvious answer: "I do not have the time to contribute".
Having free time is quite important to contribute to Wikipedia. On average, a volunteer spends 6.4 hours per week contributing and editing. If you add up every contributer's hours Wikipedia has 5.091 people working full time for the encyclopaedia.
Since free time is so important to contribute to Wikipedia, mostly students are represented among the volunteers. Also, mostly high educated people are writing and editing articles.
Curiously, most Wikipedia contributers think classic encyclopaedias are more trustworthy than Wikipedia. But Wikipedia is faster and easier to consult.
Source: De Standaard
As we all know, Wikipedia is the product of a worldwide network of volunteers, whose work is used by millions all around the world.
Research, conducted by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind Wikipedia and the United Nations University Merit, disclosed that both volunteers and users are mostly men.
Only 30% of Wikipedia's users are women. And a small 12.5% of Wikipedia's contributors are women.
When researchers asked women why they did not contribute, they indicated they knew too little and had no information to contribute. Also, one out of four women say they do not feel comfortable editing other people's work.
One out of three gives the most obvious answer: "I do not have the time to contribute".
Having free time is quite important to contribute to Wikipedia. On average, a volunteer spends 6.4 hours per week contributing and editing. If you add up every contributer's hours Wikipedia has 5.091 people working full time for the encyclopaedia.
Since free time is so important to contribute to Wikipedia, mostly students are represented among the volunteers. Also, mostly high educated people are writing and editing articles.
Curiously, most Wikipedia contributers think classic encyclopaedias are more trustworthy than Wikipedia. But Wikipedia is faster and easier to consult.
Source: De Standaard
Facebook gets more dynamic
Recently, Facebook changed an important aspect of its Community Pages. Before, you had to 'join' Pages about Eminem or Lagavulin. Since March, you can 'like' them, like you 'like' a friend's status update or photograph. This offers Facebook users the chance not to commit yourself to a Page by joining and be in the fans list, but still express affinity.
Today, Facebook is innovating and updating this. Since Community Pages are not run by individuals, they don't have a wall or send updates to users' feeds. Instead, they will import streams of related, public content from user status messages.
For example, if you write a status update like "I love this new product at Wal-Mart", Facebook will recognize the term 'Wal-Mart' and will import my update to the Wal-Mart Community Page.
Also, Community Pages will include relevant information from Wikipedia under a special tab.
For more information, check out Mashable.
Today, Facebook is innovating and updating this. Since Community Pages are not run by individuals, they don't have a wall or send updates to users' feeds. Instead, they will import streams of related, public content from user status messages.
For example, if you write a status update like "I love this new product at Wal-Mart", Facebook will recognize the term 'Wal-Mart' and will import my update to the Wal-Mart Community Page.
Also, Community Pages will include relevant information from Wikipedia under a special tab.
For more information, check out Mashable.
Improved Google Docs
Do you think those MS Office tools are way too expensive? Looking for a better alternative? Maybe Google Docs can help you.
I used to think Google Docs was really clumsy and did have the necessary tools to shape my documents how I'd like to. Now, this has all changed. Slowly but surely, Google is able to compete with MS Office. Plus, your documents are available on every computer, so no hassle with memory sticks; you can share files with friends directly, so no hassle with e-mails and twenty 'final' versions of one document. And on top of that: it's completely free!
Google Documents now allows you to make drawings, graphs, charts, presentations, spread sheets, text files - and to share them with your team. Everybody who's working in a team on a shared document is familiar with the problem: several team members edit a document and in the end important adaptations get lost.
Now, everything is stored in the 'cloud' so everybody works in one and the same document. You can chat with other users, while editing a document. You can work with several users in one document at the same time and adaptations are shown live on screen. Letter by letter you can follow changes made by team members.
Source: T-Zine
I used to think Google Docs was really clumsy and did have the necessary tools to shape my documents how I'd like to. Now, this has all changed. Slowly but surely, Google is able to compete with MS Office. Plus, your documents are available on every computer, so no hassle with memory sticks; you can share files with friends directly, so no hassle with e-mails and twenty 'final' versions of one document. And on top of that: it's completely free!
Google Documents now allows you to make drawings, graphs, charts, presentations, spread sheets, text files - and to share them with your team. Everybody who's working in a team on a shared document is familiar with the problem: several team members edit a document and in the end important adaptations get lost.
Now, everything is stored in the 'cloud' so everybody works in one and the same document. You can chat with other users, while editing a document. You can work with several users in one document at the same time and adaptations are shown live on screen. Letter by letter you can follow changes made by team members.
Source: T-Zine
BBDO, a worldwide advertising agency
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network which was was founded 1928 by four Americans named Barton, Durstine, Osborn and Batten. It is the largest of three global networks (BBDO, TBWA and DDB Worldwide) in Omnicom's portfolio.
The agency has 17,200 employees in 287 offices in 77 countries.
BBDO aims to deliver the 'Total Work'. "At BBDO, the Work encompasses every kind of creative content that can touch the consumer and reinforce the brand". The company's extensive list of clienst includes: The Economist, Pepsi, Ikea, FedEx, BBC News, General Electric, Campbells, Gillette, Motorola, Chrysler, Pfizer, Wrigley and Unicef among many others.
BBDO distinguishes between 'Above The Line' and 'Below The Line' communication. ATL focuses at mass media campaigns, BTL wants to create small, local or specifically targeted (often inexpensive) campaigns. However, the company is aware that boundaries are shifting and constantly goes 'Through The Line'.
Source: BBDO, Wikipedia, guest lecture by J. Vandepoel (VVL BBDO)
The agency has 17,200 employees in 287 offices in 77 countries.
BBDO aims to deliver the 'Total Work'. "At BBDO, the Work encompasses every kind of creative content that can touch the consumer and reinforce the brand". The company's extensive list of clienst includes: The Economist, Pepsi, Ikea, FedEx, BBC News, General Electric, Campbells, Gillette, Motorola, Chrysler, Pfizer, Wrigley and Unicef among many others.
BBDO distinguishes between 'Above The Line' and 'Below The Line' communication. ATL focuses at mass media campaigns, BTL wants to create small, local or specifically targeted (often inexpensive) campaigns. However, the company is aware that boundaries are shifting and constantly goes 'Through The Line'.
Source: BBDO, Wikipedia, guest lecture by J. Vandepoel (VVL BBDO)
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