The Google Versus Facebook Advertising War.

The Google versus Facebook advertising war is far from nearing the finish line, but the playing field has been significantly leveled in recent weeks. Facebook has grown mobile advertising over 76% in the last quarter, bringing in over $656 million. Google, on the other hand, had second-quarter results that fell shy of expectations, and they’re watching their ad prices weaken each quarter.
Why Facebook is Gaining Ground
All the big guns have found adapting to a mobile world more than a little challenging, but Facebook has finally gained some ground, and that has made all the difference. New mobile formats like newsfeed ads, which provide direct marketing messages smack dab in the middle of a user’s feed, have shown massive ROIs and success rates for advertisers.

Google Helps Funnel Advertising Dollars to Facebook
Earlier in the summer, Google launched a revamped version of Gmail, adding a tabbing system that places promotional emails in a separate category. Their intended results, on one level, appear to be working – marketers sending unsolicited messages (read: spam) are watching open and click-through rates plummet.
The result: many are spending more advertising dollars on rivals like Facebook. So while Gmail is providing a great service to users by weeding out the unwanted solicitations, they are encouraging thwarted marketers to fund their biggest competitors. With no end in sight to this trend, this could prove extremely costly long term.
Facebook is Still on Shaky Ground
Despite the stellar recent earnings results, and huge ROI rates on items like the newsfeed ads, Facebook is still walking a tightrope poised above a pit of rabid users. Their most successful advertising ploy, those pesky newsfeed ads, require a tremendous balance; they could so easily turn-off the masses, rendering results into a veritable nosedive, that it’s hard to bank on long-term success.
There’s plenty of speculation that the initial boon of the ads centered around the newness, and lack of awareness from users. Many have reported that now that they’re on to ads in feeds, they will no longer be duped into clicking.
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg recently stated that the company had increased the variations and quantities of newsfeed ads, despite worries that doing so might alienate more users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that, “Right now, ads on average make up about 5 percent, or one in 20 stories on the newsfeed. In recent studies, people have told us they notice the ads more. So we’re going to invest in improving the quality.”
This is a danger zone. Zuckerberg clearly states that users are getting wise to their newsfeed ways, so rather than scale back the quantity, they are looking at quality – i.e., how to continue to trick users into clicking advertisements. This wreaks of a strategy that won’t end well.
What It All Means to Marketers and Business Owners
Now that you know the lay of the land, let’s talk practicality – where should you be spending your marketing dollars?
Facebook’s newsfeed ads are a definite consideration, but only if the expense makes sense for your efforts. Shaky or not, they are still garnering impressive returns, and you’d be wise to get in on the game early in case this turns sour and ceases to yield impressive results.
Of course, don’t even think about counting Google out. Their advertising prices have softened, and that’s great news to advertisers on a budget. If SEM (paid search buys) are part of your short term strategy, nothing beats Google AdWords for creating excellent results, as long as your AdWords profile is intelligently optimized.
If you’re engaging in online ads without considering your mobile audience, that alone could be a dicey decision. If you happen to run a business that’s solely, or predominantly, seeing web-based traffic, there’s obviously no need to branch out to mobile. For most of us, however, mobile is fast becoming king of the platforms? If that’s the case for your traffic and sales, advertising via mobile outlets is a must.
Don’t just consider Google and Facebook as your only options, either. One of the main reasons they have struggled to see decent profits in this space is the fierce amount of competition. Apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Path are seeing fantastic growth. It’s very possible that mobile will be a space dominated by lots of key players, not the 2-3 behemoths that get the market share online. Be sure and research the most prominent mobile players in your industry, and if there are some that make sense for your advertising buys, take a chance and see how it fairs.
Ultimately, your efforts should focus on organic search and website conversions – those give you longevity and protection from the volatile world of online advertising. Within your marketing hybrid module, however, are many viable advertising options – with Google and Facebook continuing to take top billing.

Google Chrome Released A Slew Of New Apps That Are Intended To Increase Its Functionality And Make It More Smartphone And Tablet Friendly.

Google Chrome today on its fifth birthday released a slew of new apps for its web browser that are intended to increase its functionality and make it more Smartphone and tablet friendly.

Chrome made the announcement on its blog and listed some of what consumers can expect to see with the new Chrome apps.

Users can now work offline without an Internet connection, connect to the cloud to save and access documents, photos and videos on their hard drive or Google Drive and interact with their connected devices through USB or Bluetooth.

As well, apps now update silently and automatically, Chrome syncs its user’s apps so he or she can continue working on any desktop, anywhere, and the Chrome App Launcher is now available so apps can be launched individually outside of Chrome right from the task bar.

So – what kind of apps does Chrome have up its sleeve? The Pixlr Touch Up  app lets users quickly touch up, crop, resize and adjust photos from their computer or Google Drive. It comes with a myriad of different photo effects and works offline, so users can edit on the go.

Wunderlist is a to-do list app, which features voice dictation and desktop notifications, which remind users of timely tasks and team updates. And for those on the move, users can take their tasks with them from computer to computer, and work on or offline.

Finally, Cracking Sands is an action-packed racing game that allows users to race against other participants via the Internet, and is compatible with Xbox controllers connected via USB.

Google Lawyers Asks Court to Dismiss Gmail Scanning Lawsuit

Google attorneys are asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking the ban of automated scanning of Gmail messages for the purpose of serving up relevant ads to it users.

The class action complaint, a multi-district litigation, says Google’s scanning of e-mail messages is illegal because it is being done without the sender’s or the recipient’s consent. The lawsuit also accuses Google of breaching the Federal Wiretap Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act because it reads e-mails not only to filter out spam, but for the express purpose of targeted advertising.

Google lawyers, however, say the lawsuit is an “effort to criminalize ordinary business practices that have been part of Google’s free Gmail service since it was introduced nearly a decade ago.”

“While Plaintiffs go to great lengths to portray Google in a sinister light, the complaint actually confirms that the automated processes at issue are Google’s ordinary business practices implemented as part of providing the free Gmail service to the public,” Google lawyers say in a court filing.  “This is fatal to Plaintiffs’ claims.”

Google says all users of its service, including the plaintiffs, consent to targeted advertising and the use of automatic spam filters as laid out in Gmail’s privacy policy when they sign up for the free service.

Under the ‘How we use information we collect’ heading in its privacy policy, Google says it uses “the information we collect from all of our services to provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads.”

The company’s lawyers also pointed out that Gmail is a free e-mail service, which means Google has to make its money off of advertising as opposed to services that charge users a fee.

“Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use Web-based e-mail today cannot be surprised if their e-mails are processed by the recipient’s [e-mail provider] in the course of delivery,” reads an earlier court filing.

Google is also using Smith v. Maryland, a 1979 Supreme Court decision that upheld the collection of electronic communications without a warrant, to back up its dismissal request.

Google has been lambasted by privacy advocates for its stance.

Consumer Watchdog, the most vocal advocate group, is urging anyone who cares about their privacy to stop using Gmail.

“Google has finally admitted they don’t respect privacy,” says Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project director John M. Simpson in a press release. “People should take them at their word; if you care about your e-mail correspondents’ privacy don’t use Gmail.”

Microsoft has launched an updated version of Bing video search.

Microsoft has launched an updated version of Bing video search in a clear bid to outdo chief rival and search engine giant Google.
Bing has released a completely re-imagined search experience that was “designed from the ground up.” It includes improved navigation and high-resolution pop-out previews that are both larger and more informative allowing for quicker discovery of videos.

Main Key Features.

Pop-out Hover Preview
 An update to Bing’s preview mode means users can now simply hover the cursor over the video thumbnail to see a short preview. With more information and favicons from the top sites displayed below the video, search is made easier, the blog reads. Also new below the clip are view counts, descriptions, and bolded search terms in titles as well as a control to adjust the volume of the video.
Improved Filters
 “The resolution filter now takes into account common video sizes such as 720 and 1080,” the blog post says. “The source filters are also more specific to the segment for which you are searching.” Users can also sift through the clips by date to make sure the most recent — or the oldest, depending on preference — videos are available.
Video Overlay and Improved Navigation
 Once a user finds the clip he or she wishes to watch, Bing offers up a video overlay that enables the user to easily browse to the next video without having to leave the collection. The user simply clicks on the carousel at the bottom of the light box to peruse the next video.

Microsoft Announced To Contribute With Nokia To Enter The Mobile Phone Market.

One of the top American software company Microsoft is going to buy Nokia (Finland’s Telecom Hardware Company) hand set in Rs. 48,564 INR Crores. The deal will be in cash. As per the deal Microsoft will have access to all its products, services and their patent technology.

Microsoft is making a massive investment in its mobile future with the $7.2-billion purchase of Nokia’s handset and services business, announced by the companies today. The Redmond software giant has been slow to enter the mobile phone market and, as a result, has been left far behind by chief rivals Samsung and Apple. If its multi-billion dollar deals with Nokia — which is best known for its Lumia devices — is approved by the Finnish company’s shareholders and meets regulatory approvals, Microsoft will be positioned to make a noticeable impact on the Smartphone market. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

As part of the deal, Nokia will grant Microsoft a 10-year non-exclusive license to its patents and Microsoft will grant Nokia reciprocal rights related to HERE, it mapping and location services. Nokia will also grant Microsoft an option to extend this mutual patent agreement to perpetuity.
The deal between the two companies is not completed unexpected — Microsoft and Nokia have been partners since February 2011.

The purchase, Microsoft said in a press release, will allow the company to increase its share and profit in the Smartphone market “through faster innovation, increased synergies, and unified branding and marketing.”
Nokia, on the other hand, gets much-needed cash infusion for the remainder of its business interests: network infrastructure and services, mapping and location services and technology development and licensing.
After a thorough assessment of how to maximize shareholder value, including consideration of a variety of alternatives, we believe this transaction is the best path forward for Nokia and its shareholders, said Nokia board of directors chairman and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa in a press release.
Steve Ballmer, who recently announced his upcoming retirement as Microsoft’s CEO, described the deal as a bold step into the future — a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies.
Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services, Ballmer said. “In addition to their innovation and strength in phones at all price points, Nokia brings proven capability and talent in critical areas such as hardware design and engineering, supply chain and manufacturing management, and hardware sales, marketing and distribution.”
Stephen Elop — who following today’s announcement is stepping aside as Nokia president and CEO to become the firm’s executive vice-president of devices and services — said the deal will bring a number of talented new people to Microsoft.

Dubbed Telegram Chat App for iOS.

Software development company Digital Fortress has released its inaugural app, dubbed Telegram.
Owner Pavel Durov, who also happens to be the creator of Russia’s largest social networking site Vkontakte, says his product is quite simply an English-language chat program with the capability to exchange files between users. It will soon expand to include voice and video communication.

One of the perks of Telegram is that it’s free, but it’s currently only available for Apple iPhones. Durov says an Android version is being developed, however. Although Durov is Russian, Telegram was developed by his U.S.-based company Digital Fortress and is geared toward U.S. consumers.
The app will serve as a tester platform for MTProto, Telegram’s data exchange protocol developed by Durov’s brother.
As reported by VentureBeat, “if the test is a success, a new set of social and/or user location specific functions may be added to the messaging service, as Durov believes that  ’other messengers lack’ these unique features.
Durov claims Telegram is a safer, faster way for users to transfer data and messages between each other, going as far to say that messages sent using the app can’t be “bugged by third parties.”
Earlier this year, rumours circulating around the Internet suggested Durov and Digital Fortress was working on a new social networking site named “Telegra.ph” that would lure users away from his Russian social networking site. Durov promptly denied such rumors.