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A regularly updated resource of information and news items.

It’s Apple Watch time!

April 10th, 2015

Pre-order your apple watch today CLICK HERE

Here’s what Jonathan Ivy, Chief Apple Designer thinks about the new apple watch: One of the things that struck me was how often I’d look at my watch and have to look again quite soon afterwards, because I hadn’t actually comprehended what the time was. If I had looked at something on my phone, because of the investment involved in taking it out of my pocket or my bag, I would certainly pay attention. I quite like this sense of almost being careless and just glancing,” said Apple’s Jony Ive

Here’s the watch spec:
Apple Watch Specs & Hardware

Sizes: 38mm and 42mm: 38 mm: 21.2 x 26.5 mm, 33.5 mm (1.32 in) diagonally, 272 x 340 pixels,
42 mm: 24.3 x 30.5 mm, 39 mm (1.5 in) diagonally, 312 x 390 pixels
Versions: Apple Watch , Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition complete with a variety of strap choices for each model
Retina touchscreen display with Force Touch, and sapphire glass or Ion-X glass cover depending on model
Taptic Engine and built-in speaker for instant tactile feedback
Custom S1 SiP (System in Package) chip
Sensors: accelerometer, built-in heart rate sensor
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC support (for Apple Pay payments)
Digital Crown Home button
18-hours battery life and MagSafe charging
Compatibility: iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus
Apple Pay and Siri support


Facebook: What’s Next For Messenger?

April 2nd, 2015

Summary

  • FB’s introduction of payment in FB Messenger suggests that it will be the leading mobile communication platform for FB.
  • WhatsApp will be increasingly irrelevant as FB is most likely to convert WhatsApp users into FBM users.
  • Expect further service offerings to include dining, travel, wireless services, taxis, etc to be added to the FBM ecosystem.

FB’s introduction of payment in FB Messenger rather than in WhatsApp is a clear indication that FB Messenger will be the leading mobile communication platform for FB and that WhatsApp users will eventually be migrated to the FB Messenger platform with the goal of driving FB penetration higher. This suggests that FB’s acquisition of WhatsApp is purely for user acquisition and a defensive move against the emerging Asian mobile communication peers.

At the time of the acquisition, it was apparent that FB was falling behind the mobile communication/social networking trend and it was critical for FB to gain a presence in this space. WhatsApp’s acquisition provided FB with the user base and the time for it to formulate a plan to counter the Asian threat, and this justifies the premium FB paid for WhatsApp at around $42 per user when peers are valued at roughly half of that.


Are We Too Obsessed With Facebook?

March 25th, 2015

Are We Too Obsessed With Facebook?

It’s not long until we’ll be saying that everyone on the planet has a Facebook profile- the man in London to the child in shanty Bombay.

It might not be quite there yet, in fact 100’s of millions off, but those who do have a facebook profile are becoming more obsessed with Facebook everyday.

One out of every 13 of the global population and three out of four Americans is on Facebook, and one out of 26 signs into Facebook on a daily basis- staggering numbers.

The graphic below shows what we’re talking about in terms of numbers-

 


Need a kidney, please RT

March 25th, 2015

social media is changing organ donation

At any given time, upwards of 100,000 people across the US are awaiting an organ transplant — and now some of them have figured out how to jump to the front of the line. By launching online petitions or soliciting donors on Facebook, some patients are able to find an organ they desperately need faster than conventional means usually allow.

The phenomenon is raising new questions and concerns for doctors and bioethicists, some of whom worry that social media threatens to turn organ donation into “a popularity contest.” In the US, the distribution of organs from deceased individuals is carefully orchestrated in an effort to be as equitable as possible: recipients are selected based on factors like medical need and ability to withstand the procedure itself. But as The New Yorker points out, living donors can decide who gets their organ — and such decisions are increasingly influenced by online entreaties.


Social media and driving: Know the rules

February 27th, 2015

 

If you’re aged 17 to 29 or a van driver you have probably checked your mobile while driving.

Researchers looked at habits in England and Scotland and found these groups of motorists most likely to look at mobile messages at the wheel.

Unsurprisingly, they found texting and using social media is now a bigger issue than drivers making calls.

But is glancing at Facebook off limits? We check out the rules:

  • You definitely can’t hold your phone
  • It is illegal to use a mobile phone held in the hand while driving or while stopped with the engine on.
  • This has been the law since December 2003.
  • If you break this law, even if you are otherwise driving safely, you could face a fine of £100 and three penalty points on your licence.

What about hands free?

If you are deemed not to be in control of a vehicle while using a hands-free phone you can still be prosecuted.

The penalties are the same as for using a hand-held phone.

But watch out because…

You only need to be seen using a mobile phone while driving by police to be prosecuted.

But, if your driving is bad, or if there is a crash while you are using the phone, you could be prosecuted for careless driving, dangerous driving or, if someone is killed, for causing death by careless or dangerous driving.

Fines can be much greater and prison becomes almost certain if a death is caused.

So stay safe guys!


Snapchat to charge £50,000 per day for 1 advert!

January 16th, 2015

With the ability to reach millions of viewers a day, the strong video focused messaging app promotes itself as a TV-style commercial space for the ad world. In late October, 2014, the app started rolling out paid ads. Universal Pictures were the first, advertising their film Ouija.

Sponsors pay for ‘Snaps’, short videos and photos, to show up in users ‘recent update’ feeds. Brands like McDonald’s, Samsung and Macy’s have jumped on the bandwagon early.

Photo and video ads of major events like the American Music Awards appear in the ‘Our Stories’ live feed.

Brands are being asked for a $750,000-a-day commitment if they wish to advertise to Snapchat’s estimated 100 million monthly users.

 

“From a monetization perspective, they are looking for fewer, bigger, better”, an agency executive said.

Advertisers have been told by the Snapchat team that ad placement is reserved for top brand category leaders as their ads could potentially reach tens of millions of views a day.

“We have clients for whom Snapchat works really well, it’s good for a product launch or a rebranding”, the agency executive explained.

McDonald’s and Universal have had success advertising product and movie launches through the app but sources say the program lacks sophistication.

Snapchat is unable to break down who is watching the ads because of its limited reported capabilities. At this stage, brands will never know who is actually watching as there is no way to determine how many women compared to men viewed your ad or age breakouts.

On January 5, Milward Brown Digital released analysis of the first six Snapchat ads and found that viewers enjoyed 60% of ‘Our Stories’ and 44% of ‘Brand Stories’.

Snapchat ad campaigns had a “significant positive impact on key brand metrics including ad awareness and brand favorability”, says the study.

But with rates significantly higher than its competitors, “it is difficult to go forward with Snapchat at the prices they are quoting”, an executive explained.

Do you think the price is too high?


An interesting overview of social networks from a 19 year old

January 9th, 2015

Social media has undergone another significant change from rising in popularity with teens to being adopted by adults and now niche apps appearing to regain some privacy and importantly ‘coolness’.

Working through the popular networks here is Andrew Watts’ summary of the major networks:

Facebook: he explains teens have very little interest in Facebook but nonetheless check it regularly as a way os staying in contact with some people. He explains Facebook is:

‘Something we all got in middle school because it was cool but now is seen as an awkward family dinner party we can’t really leave’

Instagram: is the number one and most popular platform amongst teens because:

‘I’m not terrified whenever I like something on Instagram that it will show up in someone’s Newsfeed and they’ll either screenshot that I liked it or reference it later [and] I am not as pressured to follow someone back on Instagram, meaning my feed is normally comprised of content I actually want to see’

Snapchat: second on the list in popularity with the huge advantage that it has less social pressure:

‘There aren’t likes you have to worry about or comments—it’s all taken away. Snapchat has a lot less social pressure attached to it compared to every other popular social media network out there. This is what makes it so addicting and liberating. If I don’t get any likes on my Instagram photo or Facebook post within 15 minutes you can sure bet I’ll delete it.’

Twitter: Watts suggested that it was a niche network and whilst some were religiously using it, many are not using it at all

‘a lot of us simply do not understand the point of Twitter’

Do you agree or suggest other networks that are rising in popularity?

 

 


Instagram now bigger than Twitter

December 12th, 2014

Instagram says it has the potential to “change the world” as it announced it has overtaken Twitter with 300 million users.

The company’s CEO Kevin Systrom described the milestone as “exciting” and said the company would “continue to grow”.

Twitter claims to have 284 million users accessing the network each month.

Facebook, which boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users, bought Instagram in 2012.

Kevin Systrom said: “Instagram is about seeing a live pulse of the world right now, it’s not just about taking a photo of a cute baby or a cute dog.”

Instagram is also introducing verified accounts similar to the blue tick symbols used by Facebook and Twitter.

 


Why Yahoo acquiring BrightRoll is significant to BeBirbal

November 14th, 2014

As Facebook did in July of this year, Yahoo have today acquired a video advertising platform, BrightRoll. It follows the $500 million acquisition of LiveRail by Facebook and clearly demonstrates the intent of tech’s major players, video is about to be the next big thing.

It’s another clear indication that these companies recognise video is a growing trend and with statistics like two-thirds of mobile data expected to be video by 2018, it’s no surprise. Naturally this is great news for BeBirbal and confirms that whilst video usage and delivery is still in its infancy, it’s no longer a prediction for the future of tech but a movement that is now occurring and companies are acting accordingly.

What it also tells me interestingly, is that BeBirbal’s competitors who have been using video or follow a similar concept to our app, started too soon. It’s only now that users can easily record and share their videos with the improvements of their devices, wifi connectivity and 4G availability, which has previously hampered the rise of video and subsequently, video apps. However, with those barriers now being eliminated, the explosion of video can be set off.

It’s another exciting time for BeBirbal, another indication that all the facts create the perfect environment for the app to be adopted and finally that whilst the likes of Facebook and Yahoo are buying ad platform companies, they’ll also want to be acquiring the content providers to display their ads. Now it’s down to us to deliver!

From BeBirbal’s Tumblr page


Marketing or Hustling?

October 17th, 2014

I’ve been running an online marketing business for the last 4 years and sometimes marketeers are the most infuriating people to work with and be involved in meetings with. There’s a whole load of technical terms being thrown in that I don’t understand and people who have clearly got into the job because it seemed like an easy option when they had to make a career choice.

I see a thousand weird and wonderful ideas that people dream up to launch a new product or what they would do if they were marketing a startup, few of them ever execute their wild plans and many give in when they don’t appear to be getting any response.

The last couple of weeks I’ve sent out so many emails without responses that I checked with the web developer whether my emails were working! The intention was good I thought- contact app devs who were in the app top charts for photography and video that had an editing video app or downloader app and suggest that we could cross promote each other’s apps. I got one response from about 50 emails but I now have a lead. Was that good or bad marketing or the right attitude to not give up?

I’ve had to accept that much of my efforts at this stage will be noticed by very few, or no one. I’m tweeting, posting on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Medium, YouTube videos and posting on Google+ and even one like/comment/share sends me in to a fit of excitement. I have to tell myself that these things will grow, you sadly can’t start the tornado from day one, it all starts with a gentle gust of wind! So again, is that marketing that requires a special skill or just the right attitude to keep going when it makes no sense at all to do so?

 

 


 
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The Total Image Group Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 02595342
The company's registered office is: 12a Melbury Court, 14 Lindsay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH13 6AT