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  • Increasing Demand Sends Instagram Ad Prices Up

    Increasing Demand Sends Instagram Ad Prices Up

    Instagram marketing partner Brand Networks released a new report looking at pricing and the effectiveness of the image and video sharing service’s advertising and how these have changed since it opened its Ads API up last year.

    Do you think Instagram ads are worth paying for? Have you seen success with them? Discuss.

    The report shares the findings of a six-month study of over 1.6 billion Instagram ad impressions served in 2015. It found that advertisers (especially in CPG, fashion, and retail) are flocking to the platform. Advertisers have been heavily experimenting with video ad formats and took advantage of significant dates throughout the holiday shopping season.

    Brand Networks CEO Jamie Tedford said, “We anticipated that pent up demand for programmatic, native advertising solutions on Instagram would drive rapid adoption and eventually scale. However, the pace and scale of investment from our clients in key verticals exceeded our expectations dramatically. This year, we expect to brands from a wider variety of industries will invest heavily on the platform, and experiment with a variety of ad formats—especially video—to stand out in the Instagram feed and reach valuable audiences. In addition to brand-building objectives, we’re also enabling more testing with direct-response ads, as social media users become more accustomed to CTA buttons and more apt to engage in social commerce.”

    The study found that increasing demand caused a surge in pricing.

    “Cross-industry benchmarks for cost-per 1,000 impressions (CPM) on Instagram have climbed, as advertiser competition has increased since the platform first opened its API to advertisers in August 2015,” Brand Networks says. “As part of the mounting groundswell of Instagram advertiser interest, Brand Networks witnessed a fluctuation across industries in cost-per-thousand views (CPM), as global average costs grew from $5.21 in September to a peak of $7.20 in November, before cooling off at $5.94 in December.”

    Total impressions served on Instagram through the firm’s platform increased to 50,000,000 in August (during the beta), then doubled to 100,000,000 in September, and again to 200,000,000 in October. The company expects to deliver over a billion Instagram ad impressions per month by the end of the quarter.

    You can find the full report here.

    A recent report from Locowise analyzed fan growth and engagement on Instagram in 2015, finding that both have been on the decline. The main takeaway from that is that much like parent Facebook, Instagram appears to be headed in the “pay to play” direction.

    According to that report, follower growth was down 88.21% in 2015 while engagement was down 61.43%.

    “In the nine months of studies the follower growth on Instagram has declined 88.21%. From the high of 1.95% in April to the low of 0.23% in December,” wrote Locowise’s Marko Saric. “Engagement rate has decreased as well. From the 2.8% engagement high in April to the 1.08% engagement low in December. This is a 61.43% decrease.”

    “Instagram has gone from one of the most ‘viral’ social networks to a pay-to-play platform during the year,” he added. “If you want to achieve a great growth on Instagram you do need to consider alternative tactics. Organic growth will not get you far.”

    Marketers are of course familiar with similar issues presented by Instagram’s parent company.

    On Facebook’s earnings call this week, COO Sheryl Sandberg said they’re pleased with the growth in advertise adoption of Instagram and the “positive results” advertisers are seeing from it.

    Later in the call, she said, “On the Instagram question, certainly in the short-run, some of the spend is incremental and some of it isn’t. Some of our clients approached us where they have a social budget or Facebook budget and some of that moves to Instagram and some people, it’s incremental spend. In the medium to long-run however, we believe that we’re really well-positioned to take share from other platforms out there. We believe both Facebook and Instagram have this combination of an ability to do great creative with the best targeting in a most sophisticated measurement which shows businesses how we help them move products off shelves.”

    “And we want and we tell our clients we want to be the best dollar, the best euro, the best pound and the best minute you spend. And we really encourage them to measure their ROI and compare us to other platforms. We think that comparison bodes very well for our growth. We also think that continued consumer shift to mobile devices bodes well for our growth as well. That said, we have to continue to execute. We know this won’t be easy. We have to continue to build the right products. We have to continue to measure all the way through from seeing an ad impression to sell. And so it’s up to us to stay focused in the coming year and years.”

    Do you think Instagram ads are worth paying for? Let us know in the comments.

    Image via Instagram (Facebook)

  • VeloCloud Raises $27M to Meet Growing Global Demand for SD-WAN

    VeloCloud Raises $27M to Meet Growing Global Demand for SD-WAN

    VeloCloud Raises $27M to Meet Growing Global Demand for SD-WAN — Series C Financing led by March Capital Partners and Strategic Investors.

    VeloCloud Networks Inc., the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN™ company, today announced that it has closed $27 million in Series C financing led by venture fund March Capital Partners and two additional strategic investors, including Cisco Investments.

    The work depicts Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck jumper carrying an early model of his Apple computer and with a black bin bag slung over his shoulder.

    With today’s announcement, SpaceIL is the first of the 16 Lunar X Prize teams to book a ride off the planet. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first Israeli mission — as well as the first private spaceflight mission — to soft-land a vehicle on the lunar surface. Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL, claimed the group isn’t focused on the competition, but they are confident they can win. “I promise you once we land on the Moon, we’ll look around and see we are the first,” he said.

    Only three nations have ever landed a spacecraft intact on the Moon: the United States, Russia, and China. Many countries have slammed lunar orbiters or probes into the Moon to study its environment, but gently landing a spacecraft is trickier. The Moon is big enough to have a gravitational pull, but it doesn’t have an atmosphere to slow incoming objects. Spacecraft in lunar orbit must fire retro-rockets, very precisely, in the opposite direction of the Moon. That way they can slowly descend without slamming into the rock. It’s a delicate procedure that usually requires a lot of time and money, which is why only government agencies have been able to do it up until now.

    A trait carried over from their debut, luckily for us listeners

    Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances.

    SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)
    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)

    That it was only then, on the homeward voyage, after the encounter, that the final monomania seized him, seems all but certain from the fact that, at intervals during the passage, he was a raving lunatic; and, though unlimbed of a leg, yet such vital strength yet lurked in his Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances, the old man’s delirium seemed left behind him with the Cape Horn swells.

    Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.

    Lauren Mayberry’s lyrics touches on elements of heartbreak

    God the direful madness was now gone; even then, Ahab, in his hidden self, raved on. Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.

    jh123But, as in his narrow-flowing monomania, not one jot of Ahab’s broad madness had been left behind; so in that broad madness, not one jot of his great natural intellect had perished. That before living agent, now became the living instrument. If such a furious trope may stand, his special lunacy stormed his general sanity, and carried it, and turned all its concentred cannon upon its own mad mark. I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and that the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they located my tracks. I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an excellent trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The trail was level and quite broad and led upward and in the general direction I wished to go. The cliff arose for several hundred feet on my right, and on my left was an equal and nearly perpendicular drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.

  • Heather Dubrow Demands Answers from Vicki Gunvalson About Brooks Ayers

    Heather Dubrow of the Real Housewives of Orange County is demanding answers from cast mate Vicki Gunvalson about former boyfriend Brooks Ayers. She wants to know exactly when Gunvalson learned that Brooks Ayers was lying about having cancer.

    On Wednesday, Brooks Ayers issued an apology–but not for lying about having cancer. He claims he falsified documents “proving” he had cancer so those on RHOC would stop doubting him.

    Heather Dubrow discussed the situation with E! News in an interview that aired Thursday night.

    “The root of it is, Brooks is proven to be a con man. Tamra [Judge] has said this for years. I didn’t believe it until this year; now I see it. But the question for Tamra and Shannon [Beador] and Meghan [King Edmonds] and myself is now Vicki’s involvement in it, and when did she know? Because that’s…You know, he doesn’t affect us. He is who he is. He’s gone from all of our lives, I’m happy to say,” Heather Dubrow says in the interview. “But Vicki is in our lives. And when did she know? I think I said in the reunion, ‘We all agree he doesn’t have cancer but when did you find out?’ I said to her. So, I mean, those are the questions.”

    These are very valid questions indeed–the kind that friends deserve to have answered. Did Vicki Gunvalson ruin many friendships by going along with some of Brooks Ayers lives?

    Will Heather Dubrow get the answers she needs from Vicki Gunvalson?

    If not, it will be abundantly clear that these friendships didn’t mean to her what they meant to her costars.

  • Merch By Amazon Is Amazon’s New On Demand T-Shirt Service For Game Developers

    Merch By Amazon Is Amazon’s New On Demand T-Shirt Service For Game Developers

    Amazon announced a new self-service program aimed at game developers to help them sell t-shirts. It’s called Merch by Amazon and encourages developers to “take their fans to the next level.”

    You design the shirts, and Amazon produces, sells, and ships them. It’s a print-on-demand service so shirts only get made when someone actually wants to buy one. The developer earns a royalty for each one purchased.

    “To get started, simply set-up your Merch by Amazon account, upload the artwork for your t-shirt, and push submit – Amazon takes care of the rest,” says Amazon’s Mike Hines. “In a matter of hours, your custom t-shirt is available for sale worldwide on Amazon.com. Once you’ve created your custom t-shirts, you can also promote them in-game on the Android, Fire OS, or iOS versions of your game via Amazon Mobile Ads. Merch by Amazon allows you to delight your players and convert them into advocates for your game.”

    “With Merch by Amazon, you can give your players a fun new way to interact with your brand and take your fans to the next level,” says Hines. “You can start in the morning, and have t-shirts with your artwork available for sale on an Amazon.com product page before the end of the day. To get started, follow the 4 steps outlined below.

    The designs require a 15x18in, 300DPI piece of artwork and a bank account to receive direct deposits for sales.

    Game developers can get started here.

    Image via Amazon

  • Demandware Compares iOS/Android For Shopping

    Demandware Compares iOS/Android For Shopping

    Demandware recently released its Shopping Index for Q2, finding that phones accounted for 94% of the increase in visits and 74% of the increase in basket creation. By the end of the year, it says, phones will be the most trafficked digital shopping device.

    They also looked at how Android and iOS compare. Demandware’s Rick Kenney writes:

    We re-examined the order share and traffic share of the leading touch-based operating systems, iOS and Android. iOS trumps Android when tablets and phones are both factored in, but when we look at phones alone, the story is more interesting. Globally, iOS holds a 15-point lead over Android in order and traffic share, 57% to 42%.

    iOS devices snag a higher average order value over Android, $107 to $96. In certain countries, like Germany, Android actually leads the order and traffic share. On the flip side, luxury apparel shoppers clearly prefer the iPhone, as their share is much more skewed to iOS. What’s the lesson for retailers? When designing experiences for specific operating systems, like native applications for phones, know your shopper. Is your shopper spending $50 or $5,000 on your products? If you simply put an “I’ first, you risk alienating nearly half of your addressable market.

    Print

    Mobile is of course driving email opens these days, and as the holiday marketing season approaches, increased phone-based shopping should mean good things for ecommerce-related email marketing.

    Images via Thinkstock, Demandware

  • Demandware Gives An Update On Buyable Pins

    Demandware Gives An Update On Buyable Pins

    About a month ago, Pinterest announced that it began to launch Buyable Pins on iPhone and iPad, enabling users to purchase items directly from he app from select partners. These include Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, as well as Shopfiy stores and retailers powered by Demandware’s enterprise ecommerce platform, the Demandware Commerce Cloud.

    Demandware announced on Monday that their offering is live, and said it is working with a small number of retailers across different verticals on their initial Buyable Pins rollouts. Gardener’s Supply Company is one such retailer that has already gone live with the pins.

    gardeners

    Cole Haan is also an early adopter. Demandware’s Buyable Pins will be more broadly available later this year, when it will be offered as a “cartridge”.

    “With more than 70 million monthly active users (according to ComScore), 50 billion pins and one billion boards, Pinterest is an active community that is ripe with potential buyers,” says Demandware senior writer Lisa Lee. “In fact, 93% of active pinners said they use Pinterest to plan for purchases, and 87% said they’ve purchased something because of Pinterest.”

    “According to the Demandware Shopping Index, in Q1 2015, phones accounted for 35% of traffic and 18% of orders worldwide, a year-over-year increase of 38% and 59% respectively,” she adds. “That explosive growth is a clear indication that Buyable Pins present an enormous opportunity for retailers to drive conversion and convert browsers to buyers. In fact, Pinterest says that Buyable Pins have been one of the most requested features since the company’s inception.”

    We actually took a closer look at the Shopping Index here. More on what businesses should know about Buyable Pins here.

    Image via Pinterest, Demandware

  • Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Others Demand Specific Privacy Rules for ISPs

    Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Others Demand Specific Privacy Rules for ISPs

    In order to obtain the necessary services that the country’s various internet service providers offer, Americans must give up a lot of personal information. And what those companies do with said information should be a concern of every single American.

    Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and seven other Senators have asked the FCC to implement some specific rules concerning how broadband providers deal with user information and privacy.

    The rules govern transparency, customer consent, and data security.

    The nine Senators – Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal, Al Franken, Patrick Leahy, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren – praise the FCC for their reclassification of boradband as a telecommunications service in February and choosing to “extend the duty to protect the privacy of information that ISPs collect about their customers because of the carrier-customer relationship.”

    But the Senators have some specific privacy rules they want considered:

    “We call on the Commission to adopt a comprehensive definition of Customer Proprietary Network Information as it pertains to broadband. Every click consumers make online paints a detailed pictures of their personal and professional lives. Accordingly, ISPs should be prohibited from sharing this information without user consent,” reads a letter addressed to the FCC. “Data pertaining to internet usage, online activity, and broadband service payments should be included in the FCC’s definition of CPNI.

    The Senators also call for added transparency rules, saying “ISPs should accurately outline data collection policies in standardized model forms – adopted by the Commission with prior input by stakeholders – that are easy for consumers to access, read, and understand.”

    One suggested rule involves notification of data breaches.

    “If a network of database is breached in a manner that could compromise the consumer’s privacy or cause the consumer harm, ISPs must notify consumers about the breach and any actions that consumers could take to mitigate potential harm from the breach.

    The senators also call for “clear, user-friendly” complaint processes.

    This is not the first time this contingent of the Senate has written the FCC on matters of broadband. A dew months ago, this same crew wrote the FCC urging a swift death for the Comcast/Time Warner deal.

    Image via Mredden, Wikimedia Commons

  • Brittney Griner Fights Demand For $20k Per Month Spousal Support By Ex-Wife Glory Johnson

    According to ESPN, Brittney Griner is being asked to pay $20,000 for temporary monthly spousal support by former wife and WNBA star Glory Johnson. Court documents filed in June in Maricopa County, Arizona also state that she is requesting a $10,000 advancement for her attorney’s fees.

    The two basketball players were married May 8 – just a few weeks after a domestic violence incident in their Arizona home on April 22 where both of them were arrested. After this event, the WNBA suspended both players.

    Griner filed to annul her marriage to Johnson on June 4 arguing that she was pressured into marriage under duress by Johnson’s threatening statements.

    Stasy Click, Johnson’s legal representative, stated in the filing that Griner has” far superior control over the family’s financial resources” and that Johnson is “without the necessary financial means to pay for legal representation in this matter.”

    The filing also stated that Johnson is unable to seek employment outside of basketball because she is having a high-risk pregnancy. She is pregnant with twins.

    Click stated that Johnson is currently on a slashed salary from the WNBA due to her pregnancy, which also means she will not be able to play overseas this winter.

    It was also stated that Johnson’s insurance does not cover household assistance, personal trainers, and medical care.

    In vitro fertilization, wedding expenses, and furnishing of the home they once shared drained Johnson’s finances, as stated in the filing.

    According to ESPN, Griner declared that “due to the brief marriage, neither side was in need of nor entitled to spousal support.”

    There will be an evidentiary hearing set on August 17 at Maricopa County Central Building in Phoenix for Griner’s petition and Johnson’s counter-petition.

    espnW tried contacting both parties last Monday but were unsuccessful.

  • Nicki Minaj Demands Equality in Bed and in Business

    Nicki Minaj Demands Equality in Bed and in Business

    Nicki Minaj said in “All Things Go,” from her album The Pinkprint:

    “Life is a movie
    There’ll never be a sequel
    And I’m good with that
    As long as seven years from now I’m takin’ my daughter to preschool”

    Nicki Minaj is talking about having kids again in an interview she did to accompany her Cosmo cover shoot for June.

    “Ten years from now, I will have two children, unless my husband wants three. I will be into my fitness a lot more, I will stop yo-yo dieting, and I’ll be a housewife with careers that I can run from home. I want to be able to cook for my children, bake cookies for them, and watch them grow up. I just want to be Mommy. Take them to school, go to the parent-teacher conference, help them with their homework, and put their work on the refrigerator.”

    The husband Nicki Minaj refers to is her now-finacé Meek Mill.

    Speaking of her relationship with Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj reveals that she has some specific demands when it comes to her intimate relations with Meek.

    “I demand that I climax. I think women should demand that. I have a friend who’s never had an orgasm in her life. In her life! That hurts my heart. It’s cuckoo to me. We always have orgasm interventions where we, like, show her how to do stuff. We’ll straddle each other, saying, ‘You gotta get on him like that and do it like this.’ She says she’s a pleaser. I’m a pleaser, but it’s fifty-fifty.”

    When it comes to equality, Nicki Minaj also insists on that when it comes to pay. She says she researches to see what others make to be sure she is not getting short-changed in business deals.

    “Women are uncomfortable talking about money. I know it’s taboo to discuss it at work. Technically, you shouldn’t, but you need to know what people around you are making. Otherwise, you’re not going to know what you’re worth. You have to ask questions. ‘What is this person getting?’ Do your research. I’ve always been pretty competitive in terms of my pay.”

  • Lucille Ball Fans Demand ‘Ugly’ and ‘Deranged’ Statue Be Removed in the Legendary Star’s Hometown

    Lucille Ball fans are demanding that an “ugly” statue of the legendary comedian be removed from a park in the I Love Lucy star’s hometown.

    Granted, the life-size bronze statue in Celoron, New York, does look more like Conway Twitty, the snake from “Beetlejuice” and actor Steve Buscemi, as fans claim, than Lucille Ball.

    The mayor of Celoron, Scott Schrecengost, has sided with the disgruntled fans.

    Despite the uproar over the statue, it has remained a tourist draw for a legion of Lucille Ball fans since the statue was erected in 2009.

    The campaign to remove the statue began when a resident of Jamestown, where Lucille Ball grew up, started a Facebook page in 2012, called “We Love Lucy! Get Rid of this Statue.”

    A Yahoo! News story about the page started by the resident, who requested anonymity, saying the issue is “not about me; it’s about the statue,” reignited calls for the statue’s removal.

    The resident would like to see the statue removed and a new statue erected outside a planned Comedy Hall of Fame in Jamestown, which is home to the Lucy-Desi Museum & Center for Comedy and the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.

    “Lucille Ball was one of the most talented, beautiful, funny women who ever appeared on television; a pioneer, a giant of television. My only goal is to have a sculpture of her in Jamestown which does her justice,” the resident told CNN.

    “This statue in Celoron is not fixable. I love my hometown and I Love Lucy. Let’s get a new statue that is a real tribute to her memory as the Comedy Queen of Television.”

    The resident’s sentiments about the statue were echoed by Colin Dabkowski, a Buffalo News columnist, who said “its deranged grimace and jagged teeth inspire more dread than reverence.”

    “No one here much likes the statue, and one look tells you why. It looks more like an extra from ‘The Walking Dead’ than arguably the most famous comic actress of all time,” he wrote about statue of Lucille Ball.

  • Bobby Brown Demands Explanation From Nick Gordon

    Bobby Brown is reportedly refusing to let his daughter’s boyfriend, Nick Gordon, see her while she’s fighting for her life in the hospital, and there is now a war of words between the two of them via their attorneys.

    Brown issued a statement through his lawyer saying he wants an explanation from Gordon as to what exactly happened to his daughter with the late Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina, before she was found facedown in a bathtub in her home.

    “Due to Mr. Gordon’s failure to place in tangible form his understanding of the events that lead to the hospitalization of Bobbi Kristina, there is no reason for any additional discussion with him. It appears that Mr. Gordon did not what his understanding of the facts to be subject to the truthful examination of various experts or Bobby Brown himself….”Let me be very clear, Mr. Gordon was offered an opportunity to potentially visit Bobbi Kristina and he declined to meet the terms of any possible visit. Obviously Mr. Gordon is not as desperate to visit Bobbi Kristina as he wants the world to believe,” Brown’s attorneys said.

    Gordon has taken to Twitter to vent his frustrations about not being able to see Bobbi Kristina and to share photos of a new tattoo on his forearm bearing her name.

    Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive on January 31 in a situation eerily similar to the one Houston was found in; according to People Magazine, she had allegedly been using several drugs–including heroin–and hadn’t been able to cope well with the loss of her mother.

    Bobby Brown and his family have not offered many details about Bobbi Kristina’s condition, but the news was released last week that she was taken off a ventilator to have a breathing tube inserted into a hole in her throat.

  • Turkey Demands Facebook Block ‘Insulting’ Pages

    Earlier this month, a day after the terroristic attack on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook and said he is committed to making sure his site is a place where people can “speak freely without fear of violence”.

    Well, what about the fear of a court order and a country-wide ban?

    A Turkish court has ordered Facebook to block various pages that it says are insulting to the Prophet Mohammad. According to Reuters, the request was made by a prosecutor. Apparently, Turkey is threatening to just block the whole site in the country if Facebook fails to comply with the order.

    Let’s go back a couple of weeks and take a look at what Mark Zuckerberg had to say about free expression on Facebook.

    A few years ago, an extremist in Pakistan fought to have me sentenced to death because Facebook refused to ban content about Mohammed that offended him.

    We stood up for this because different voices — even if they’re sometimes offensive — can make the world a better and more interesting place.

    Facebook has always been a place where people across the world share their views and ideas. We follow the laws in each country, but we never let one country or group of people dictate what people can share across the world.

    Yet as I reflect on yesterday’s attack and my own experience with extremism, this is what we all need to reject — a group of extremists trying to silence the voices and opinions of everyone else around the world.

    I won’t let that happen on Facebook. I’m committed to building a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence.

    My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the people of France and the people all over the world who choose to share their views and ideas, even when that takes courage. ‪#‎JeSuisCharlie‬

    As Zuckerberg mentions, Facebook does have a history of refusing to ban content some see as “offensive”. In 2010, Pakistan wound up blacking access to Facebook entirely because the social network wouldn’t censor pages about Mohammed.

    Then again, Facebook does comply with governments and removes content all the time.

    “We restricted access to a number of pieces of content primarily reported by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority and Turkish law enforcement officials under local laws, especially law 5651, which covers a range of offenses including defamation of Ataturk and personal rights violation,” said Facebook in its latest Transparency Report.

    In just six months, Facebook restricted 1,893 individual pieces of content in Turkey. It’s not just Facebook, as Turkey has been cracking down on social media freedoms for a while now.

    It’ll be interesting to see how Facebook responds to this one. On one hand, Facebook has no problem regionally banning content to comply with government requests. On the other hand, this is a hot-button issue and the company’s CEO just made a sweeping statement about free speech.

    To be continued …

    UPDATE: Facebook has reportedly blocked a number of page.

  • Job Listings: Seasonal Workers In Demand

    Job Listings: Seasonal Workers In Demand

    Are you on the lookout for job listings? There are certainly plenty of job listings, but many of those jobs are for positions that many of us don’t have the qualifications for. Depending on your preference, you may be happy to know that seasonal jobs are on the rise.

    WaayTV reports that more retailers are hiring seasonal workers this year than in past years. Specifically, it has found that Wal-Mart is looking to hire 60,000 workers for seasonal positions this holiday season. It’s a 10 percent increase over last year. While a seasonal job only lasts about two months, it’s much easier to obtain than a full time job. Many retailers will hire seasonal positions on the spot so those looking for a quick job over the holidays are likely to get it.

    If retail isn’t your forte, Amazon is also a big seasonal employer. The two months leading up to Christmas are considered the peak season at the online retailer, and it’s always looking for people to work during these peak periods. If you happen to live in an area with an Amazon returns center, the two months following Christmas are considered peak at those locations. Amazon frequently hires seasonal workers on as full-time workers so those looking for more permanent work may be able to find it at Amazon.

    Another opportunity in Colorado is specifically targeted at veterans. The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Department of Transportation is looking for veterans to fulfill snowplow driver and heavy equipment mechanic positions. The city feels that veterans are uniquely trained to tackle the responsibilities inherent to these jobs.

    Full-time work is still hard to come by these days, but seasonal positions will hopefully help some families make ends meet until they can find more permanent work.

  • Best Streaming TV For New On-Demand Age

    Best Streaming TV For New On-Demand Age

    The best streaming TV is out there, waiting to be explored by those who are ready to finally cut the cable company loose.

    Major networks like HBO, CBS, and even Showtime have begun offering stand-alone streaming TV, and others are sure to follow.

    The times when we thought the only choices we had were which cable bundle we would spend out money on are over.

    The on-demand generation and the resulting greater availability of streaming TV have immensely impacted the way we all get our entertainment.

    If you’re new to the streaming scene, here are a few of the best places to start your streaming TV adventure.

    Of course, there are the big ones like Netflix and Amazon Prime, which charge a subscription fee, but the amount of content makes up for the cost.

    Hulu is making quite the name for itself as it continues to become a respectable streaming service. There are ads if you choose not to pay the subscription fee, but the content is impressive. Hulu offers shows from major networks like NBC-Universal, Fox, as well as a handful of their lesser-known subsidiaries.

    This allows Hulu to offer popular shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Battlestar Galactica, The Simpsons, The Office, and Saturday Night Live, among others.

    SideReel is another source of some of the best in streaming TV. SideReel provides links to streaming video from all over the internet, making it great for finding lots of popular videos, but since it’s so loaded with content, it can be a little difficult to navigate.

    If you’re looking for a particular show or network, however, simply using that network’s website’s streaming tools to view streaming TV is sometimes the way to go.

    ABC Full Episode Player, the NBC Video Library, and CBS Video are all great places to look for popular shows!

    Good luck in finding the best streaming TV the internet has to offer!

    Where do you think the best streaming TV can be found?

  • Google: Government Demands For User Data Up 150% Over Past Five Years

    Google released its updated Transparency Report today. This is the tenth update, and shows the number of government demands the tech giant has received for user data in criminal investigations for the first half of the year.

    It also shows how such demands are growing in frequency.

    “Worldwide, the numbers continue to rise: excluding FISA and NSL demands, we’ve seen a 15% increase since the second half of last year, and a 150% jump since we first began publishing this data in 2009. In the U.S., those increases are 19% and 250%, respectively,” says Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security for Google.

    “This increase in government demands comes against a backdrop of ongoing revelations about government surveillance programs,” he adds. “Despite these revelations, we have seen some countries expand their surveillance authorities in an attempt to reach service providers outside their borders. Others are considering similar measures. The efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice and other countries to improve diplomatic cooperation will help reduce the perceived need for these laws, but much more remains to be done.”

    Google also took the opportunity to urge Congress to pass legislation that would prevent the bulk collection of Internet metadata under various legal authorities. It would also let companies like Google be more transparent about volume and scope of the requests they receive. The company also urges them to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that the government has to get a search warrant before seeking user data from service providers.

    You can see the Transparency Report here.

    Image via Google

  • Westboro Baptist Won’t Let Adam Hills Challenge Go; Demand Tickets to Iraq

    When Aussie comedian and talk show host Adam Hills heard that the humanitarians of Westboro Baptist Church were threatening to picket Robin Williams’ funeral, he responded with fiery vehemence. Hills suggested that the Westboro folk go to ISIS-controlled Iraq, instead. Terrorists there are beheading Christians. Surely that is worth protesting. Hills offered to buy any Westboro member who wanted to go to Iraq a first-class ticket.

    The problem was, the Westboro folk were ready to take Hills up on his offer. “Show us the tickets!” they demanded.

    Hills, likely with some legal advice, rethought his offer, and instead made a donation of that amount to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals in the name of Robin Williams. He considered this answering hate with love.

    But the Westboro folks are not going away that easily. On the blog section of their GodHatesFags website, they piled on about “the demon-possessed pervert, Robin Williams”, and demanded Hills keep his promise. They taunted that Westboro had already been to Iraq and were unafraid to return, ISIS or no.

    “[Hills] made an oath before God and everyone that he would purchase these tickets, and he reneged on the oath, so the least he could do is stop being so stingy with his money. We have, in fact, already gone to picket in Iraq. The last time we went, we flew into Amman, Jordan and drove the rest of the way.”

    If Hills is not willing to cough up the tickets, Westboro challenged that he should pay $188,302.50 to St. Jude’s, the price they calculate for tickets to Ammam.

    “[T]he cheapest ticket I can find [to Ammam] is $2,510.70. Let’s use 75 as a nice round number of people who attend Westboro Baptist Church. If I’m doing my math right, that comes to $188,302.50. You can’t pay your way out of hell, Adam Hills, but you ought to put your money where your big mouth is. Cough up the full amount to St. Jude’s.”

  • Demand Media Appoints Sean Moriarty As New CEO, Acquires Saatchi Online

    Demand Media just announced that it has appointed former CEO of Ticketmaster and Saatchi Art, Sean Moriarty, as its new CEO. The company has also acquired Saatchi Online, Inc. which operates online art gallery Saatchi Art.

    Co-founder and interim CEO Shawn Colo has been appointed President and will join the board of directors.

    “Following last week’s spinoff of domain registrar business Rightside, Demand Media will be focused on connecting subject experts and content creators with digital and mobile audiences, with Sean Moriarty at the helm,” a spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews.

    Colo said, “Sean is a proven leader and a strong operator with a broad range of experience that is uniquely suited to our business. I’m excited to be working closely with him as we enter the next phase of the company’s future.”

    “Demand Media is an innovative company with a passionate and creative team. Our businesses are very well positioned in large global categories that people care deeply about, including how-to, health and wellness, humor, and art,” said Moriarty. “I’m excited to work closely with the team in fulfilling our vision of building an important, enduring Internet company that serves creators and consumers.”

    Former CEO Richard Rosenblatt stepped down last October after announcing earlier last year that it would split into two public companies – Rightside being the domains part and Demand remaining the content part. Last month, Demand announced the sale of its Creativebug and CoveritLive properties.

    Saatchi Art, the company says, “is driven by its global community of artists, similar to Demand Media’s Society6 marketplace.”

    It currently has over 45,000 artists selling original work. The acquisition was about $17 million in a mix of cash and stock. Demand says it expects it to quickly contribute revenue of $0.5 million to $1 million per quarter and reduce adjusted EBITDA by $1 million to $1.5 million per quarter.

    Image via Saatchi Art

  • Whysk Is Here to Redefine On-Demand Transportation

    Clickhole, The Onion’s self-described “latest and greatest online social experience filled with the most clickable, irresistibly shareable content anywhere on the internet,” is fun. It really is. It’s a self-aware Buzzfeed. It’s a self-loathing Upworthy. It’s also a smart move.

    And dammit, this is funny.

    Clickhole presents, Whysk. It’s ready to challenge Uber and Lyft in the ridesharing field by offering something absolutely revolutionary – rides that aren’t actually rides. Well, they are rides, kind of.

    Whysk allows you to be whisked away to your location by on-demand monks. Just watch.

    Just perfect.

    Image via Clickhole, screenshot

  • Demand Media Sells Creativebug, CoveritLive

    Demand Media Sells Creativebug, CoveritLive

    Demand Media announced the sale of a couple of its properties on Monday: Creativebug and CoveritLive.

    The company acquired Creativebug just last year. The service provides online video workshops for arts and crafts. Think of it like a Google Helpouts for stuff you’d see on Etsy.

    At the time of the acquisition, a Demand Media spokesperson told us, “They are on the leading edge of two big growth opportunities: e-learning and crafts. The overall market opportunity is huge – the crafts industry has grown into a $30 billion dollar industry and the worldwide e-learning market is around $90+ billion. The Creativebug acquisition accelerates our expansion into e-learing, one of the paid content models that we plan to aggressively invest in during 2013.”

    Apparently that plan doesn’t extend any further into 2014. Demand Media has sold Creativebug to Otter Media, the newly named venture between AT&T and The Chernin Group.

    Demand Media acquired CoveritLive back in 2011. It’s a real-time event coverage provider, which at the time was being used by brand like Yahoo, ESPN, Ford, Time, News Corp., FOX News, and the BBC. Demand positioned the acquisition as a way to expand its social reach. It’s now been sold to ScribbleLive.

    Demand Media’s interim CEO Shawn Colo said, “These divestitures allow Demand Media to refocus attention from nascent businesses in emerging markets to opportunities that are more in line with our overall growth strategy. By streamlining our approach to the business, we can more effectively connect passionate audiences with engaged experts, artists and opinion makers across our consumer lifestyle brands and our Content Solutions partners.”

    The company did not disclose terms of either sale.

    Image via Creativebug

  • Graco Recall: Graco Agrees to US Safety Demands, Recalls 1.9 Million Rear-Facing Infant Car Seats

    Graco Recall: Graco Agrees to US Safety Demands, Recalls 1.9 Million Rear-Facing Infant Car Seats

    The Graco recall has been expanded.

    On Tuesday, July 1, Graco Children’s Products announced that they’d agreed to recall 1.9 million rear-facing infant car seats.

    The executive decision follows a five-month ordeal between the company and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

    Due to mounting pressure from the safety administration, Graco ultimately decided to recall the additional 1.9 million infants seats.

    In February and March, Graco recalled an estimated 4.2 million car seats collectively, due to operational issues with the harness belt.

    However, the company fought not to include the most recently added 1.9 million infant seats.

    According to Times Magazine, Graco did not want to include the 1.9 million seats because although the buckles may have been difficult to unhook over time, the full design of the rear-facing seats are totally different.

    With the infant seat, even if the buckle could not be detached properly, the entire seat could be removed from the base.

    However, the NHTSA cited “the hazards and risks involved in the delay of extricating a child from a rear-facing infant car seat in any emergency situation are significantly increased and rise to the level of unreasonable risk when the harness buckle is difficult to open or is stuck in a latched condition.”

    So, the administrative observation was ultimately the determining factor.

    According to NHTSA, the most recently recalled car seat models include,  SnugRide, SnugRide Classic Connect (including Classic Connect 30 and 35), SnugRide 30, SnugRide 35, SnugRide Click Connect 40, and Aprica A30. These models were reportedly manufactured between July 2010 and May 2013.

    Graco has stated that they would replace buckles on all recalled models. The company has also offered to send new replacements to any customer who makes a request. Customers aren’t even required to own a recalled model.

    Customers can see if their car seat models are included by contacting Graco online at www.GracoBuckleRecall.com or by phone at (877) 766-7470.

    Image via Graco Children’s Products, Facebook

  • Uber ‘Honors’ Pride Week with On-Demand Weddings

    On-demand car company, ride-sharing purveyors, or disruptors of the taxi game – whatever you want to call them, Uber is known for creative marketing stunts. Last year, the company offered to deliver kittens for people to play with. Then, during Christmas, they delivered Christmas trees.

    Now, in honor of San Francisco’s LGBT Pride week, Uber is offering to marry you – on-demand.

    Here’s what an Uberwedding will look like:

    When your UberWEDDING arrives, we’ll get started right away. You’ll first work with our on-site notary to obtain your marriage license. Once the license is official, the violinist will begin to play and the ceremony will commence!

    You’ll walk down an aisle surrounded by flowers from Bloom That and candles from bella j. After you both say “I Do,” we’ll celebrate with dessert from SusieCakes, cheers with champagne from Iron Horse and you’ll receive a gift bag from L.

    If you’re in the area and wish to have a sudden wedding, just open the Uber app and drop a pin where you’d like the wedding to take place. Uber will even provide you with vows, if you’re in too much of a hurry to write your own.

    “From arrival to “I do” will take 45 – 60 min,” says Uber.

    Uber is offering these quickie weddings to people of all sexual orientations, but the emphasis is definitely on the LGBT community, it being Pride week and all.

    So, uh, people aren’t happy about this.

    “We’re thankful to be based in San Francisco, a city that recognizes love doesn’t have to look any certain way. In honor of Pride week, we’re celebrating the inclusive idea that love is love with something that lasts a lifetime,” says Uber.

    Look, maybe this was a sincere attempt at having a little fun over the weekend, and maybe Uber is very supportive of the LGBT community (I’m sure they truly are) – but they had to have seen this coming.

    Maybe just stick with the kitten delivery in the future, ok guys?

    Image via Uber, Twitter