‘Technology’

Smartphones Replace Devices as the Main Gadgets for Just About Everything

Smartphones replace devices such as GPS, personal planners, video cameras, digital cameras and landlines. In addition, reports indicate that mp3 players are no longer so popular because the users already have such built-in on their phones.

Almost a third of smartphone users have replaced devices such as radios with radio receiving phones. No longer do people have to purchase a separate alarm clock or even a normal wrist watch because they have it all in one compact device. The younger generations even use their phones as DVD players while almost a fifth of smartphone owners utilize the phones for Internet connectivity at home.

Even the desktop computer is in danger of getting tossed aside as studies indicate that almost a quarter smartphone users have replaced devices such as personal computers with their smartphones or tablets according to the Prosper Mobile Insights™ Mobile Survey conducted in June 2011.

Pay With Your Phone

The paper and coined based wallet may become an extra in future as smartphone and tablet users have indicated that they will not mind to pay for in-store purchases with the phones. Not all users, however, at this stage feel comfortable in swiping their phones to make payments, but as people get used to the convenience, they sure will want to be able to pay in such a way.

The ease with which one can get more applications is important. If you want a new alarm clock in the conventional sense, you have to purchase such and should you want to travel, it will be extra baggage. When you, however, want a new clock for your phone, which is pretty accurate, simply visit the marketplace online and download the app for free or at a nominal fee if you care.

Increase in Popularity

Smartphones may not yet be so popular in South Africa as in the USA where are a quarter of the population already have the devices, but locally, the trend of replacing devices with smartphone apps is also picking up fast.

The ease with which one can access the Internet from the phone, quickly answer a call, SMS, listen to the radio, get a weather forecast, find stores near you, keep track of your appointments, live the social life at Facebook, MXit, Twitter and YouTube, and at the same time have games is what makes the smartphone technology so popular. It is pocket size and in the case of a tablet – almost handbag size. It definitely beats having to carry a bulky notebook around.

At present the majority of users still have broadband Internet connectivity at home and office apart from their phones or tablets. As such, they are dual users and with time will not mind getting rid of all the extras for a streamlined experience. Devices such as laptops, radios, digital cameras, and GPS systems may very well fall away completely in future.

Cost Effectiveness

Apart from streamlining and thus having fewer things to use and carry around, users have also indicated that the cost-effectiveness of using the smartphone for everything also contributes to the popularity of the technology to replace other devices.

In South Africa, a smartphone could replace a device-based solely on economics. Many of the poorer citizens don’t have computers and Internet access, but with the smartphone and tablet technology they can now have radios, clocks, personal planners, mp3 players, and DVD players as well as computing facilities and Internet access all on their phone. Economically it makes sense to purchase one device to cover all the other uses.

Internet Connectivity

The majority of such users also use their phones to access the Internet, connect to social media sites and to download their emails on a daily basis. The most popular of course, with no surprise are Android, BlackBerry and iPhone technologies. At the back of the pack are those of Windows and Palm. Even the normal television screen is in danger of being replaced as device by smartphone and tablet technology as the younger generation also use such for watching programs although not yet in South Africa.

Apps Marketing Is Growing

In another survey done by Oracle, in 2010 more than half the users indicated that they believe their smartphones would completely replace devices such as digital cameras in a couple of years. Almost half the users reported an increase in usage of the devices for data. The apps market has grown tremendously with everyone of the users having access to free and fee based apps. Paying for the apps is still not popular as only about a quarter of users, according to the Oracle survey, have paid from apps.

Users share location based data, play urban location based games and in general use the devices as prime communication and social tools. With phone users in the USA already using their phones in some instances to pay for in store purchases, South Africans are typically more sceptical although many have done Internet cellphone banking.

Security and Privacy Concerns

One of the main concerns aired by mobile users is the security aspect of the phone. Some are concerned about the secure transmission of data and communication via the devices, whilst others, especially in South Africa, are concerned with theft and possible access to all their information because of such. Users are happy to use the phones for price comparison shopping and to get products reviews.

Online Marketing Strategies Must Change

Website owners must take not of the changes in the way people access the Internet. If, any website owner wishes to keep a slice of the market, it is recommended to adapt marketing strategies including web design to adapt to tablets and smartphones. If a person is stubborn in this regard, a large and growing segment of the market can be completely lost. Ads must be delivered in a way that will be read. Surveys have indicated that the majority of text messages are read in the same day and most within five minutes of receiving.

The smartphones replace devices because of cost-efficiency, compact designs, speed of access, and ease of use. Keep such in mind when driving any online marketing campaign as the mobile users are hardly ever without their much loved all-in-one devices.

The Piracy Bay Highlights the File Sharing Copyright Infringement Controversy

Peer to peer (P2P), file sharing networks and file share hosts, so-called torrent hosts or  torrent search engines such as The Pirate Bay, Napster, Supernova.org, TorrentSpy and isoHunt have all come under fire for so-called copyright infringement or the facilitation of copyright infringement.

Most recent, is the controversial ordering of two Dutch cable companies to block access to The Pirate Bay website. Although the owners of the website have already been found guilty of copyright infringement facilitation, the website is still fully functional. Users can still download and share music, videos, games and other content.

Although file sharing may be illegal in some countries, not all countries are equally strict on such. The Pirate Bay is a Swedish based website, and with millions of users around the world, it certainly has a lot of support. Indeed, the governments will have a hard time in tracking down every single user of such sites.

Indeed, one doesn’t necessarily need a website or search engine to download torrents. With numerous P2P networks facilitating file sharing, it can become a full time job for police around the world to track and shut down every single network.

There is also the question of whether file sharing is illegal. Not all files shared are copyright protected. Public domain works can be freely downloaded and distributed. Many authors or creators of works share such works under shareware and freeware licenses. Most of them welcome file sharing as such ensures that their works can be distributed to more people.

Anti-piracy group BREIN and other firms in the entertainment industry, including EMI and Sony Universal Music, originally brought the case against the owners of The Piracy Bay. A Swedish court ruled for jail sentences and a hefty fine trailing in the millions.

The issue has highlighted the plight of musicians, film companies, record houses and television producers regarding piracy. Whether it does constitute copyright infringement or piracy to share a file with another person for personal usage remains a hotly debated issue.

Torrents

With torrents, a user downloads not from one person alone, but can download from several persons. Rather than downloading one large file from a single supplier, such is thus downloaded in many bits from several sites or computers acting as sources on a network. This is done simultaneously and there is normally no fee involved. With a person downloading only one bit from one seeder for instance, and the rest from several peers in the network, one is thus not technically involved in infringement if the file is downloaded for personal use or so everyone thought, until recently.

Torrents differ from the normal P2P networks in the sense that one doesn’t have to subscribe, but where the users actively share files. Users are encouraged to share their files which are known as seeding. Users, who only download and don’t seed, are penalized. Such users are known as leeching agents. Torrents download at amazing speeds and with an open source code; file sharing communities are becoming exceedingly popular.

Torrent Engine

The Pirate Bay has adverts, which makes it different. However, since it doesn’t actively host the files, but is rather a search engine to find torrents, some controversy still surrounds the banning of the site. Some arguments have been made that the site owners were enriched because of their advert income, but the counter arguments state that the costs for running such a search engine are extremely high and that the advert income thus just covers the costs.

Napster at the other end indexed and made the files available. As such the site was involved in copyright infringement and not just facilitating such or finding torrents for the purpose. A recent jury verdict in the USA highlighted the danger for personal computer users when it comes to file sharing. A verdict was awarded against a woman for wilfully sharing music files. Although the verdict was reduced based on her downloading and sharing files for personal usage, it shows that consumers should expect to be act against for large quantity file sharing.  Although most of the attention is focused on file sharing websites and Internet service providers allowing for such consumers may in future be cut off from services if they are found guilty of such actions.

What are the Consequences of File Sharing?

The heated debate continues with some arguing that file sharing causes lower ranking music albums to struggle whilst the high ranking albums get a boost. The smaller artists thus feel the brunt of file sharing effects.  In the same group the feeling is that author’s creativity is negatively affected. Some sources, however, suggest that it doesn’t affect the sales of albums and that the sales of books, films and music albums have increased rather than decreased because of file sharing.

Whether or not torrents or P2P file sharing communities should be allowed to exist is another hotly debated issue.  Understandably, musicians, actors, artists and writers want to benefit commercially from their work. With that in mind, it has been suggested that sites such as The Pirate Bay be allowed to exist, but that a membership fee should be charged. Proceeds can then be shared amongst the contributors to the site.

It seems a plausible solution, but not one that will be accepted by large entertainment companies needing a lot of profit. The sheer volume of administration can be another problem when it comes to royalty payments.

SOPA

The Stop Online Privacy Act, a bill being discussed in the US Senate and House may significantly change the online environment for millions of users who will no longer be able to download and share files. Google and Facebook are some of the larger players opposing the Bill while supporters include the large entertainment companies. If the bill passes through, it could mean that the US government would be able to block out certain sites deemed to be involved or facilitating illegal downloading and file sharing.

Google, Facebook and YouTube may lose thousands to millions of visits and ad revenue. Content creators may also feel the pinch. As such the opposition to be bill is extremely strong. What do you think? Should Internet file sharing sites be blocked out and should consumers be prosecuted for downloading and sharing files in P2P networks?

The web strike against SOPA and PIPA is to go ahead on Wednesday 18 January, 2012. The web is to be a dark and silent place with many of the major sites going on a black-out. The occasion – SOPA and PIPA. One the 18^th of January 2012, the unprecedented will occur. Never in the history of the Internet have so many sites protested censorship at once. Wikipedia will also strike in protest against SOPA and PIPA as will thousands of other sites.

Do Your Homework Today

If you have research to do, it will be best to get to work today as for tomorrow, you will find the web on strike against SOPA, PIPA and web censorship. The protest across the web is against the Internet censorship bills to be voted on in the USA Congress on 24 January 2012. The idea behind the blackout, including the Wikipedia strike, is to create enough public opposition against SOPA in the USA House and PIPA in the Senate.

Core Protest

Protesting sites state that web censorship attacks the very core of the Internet. It takes away freedom of speech, creativity, and privacy. Should a government not like what is said about it on a website, it will be easy to ban the site and block access to it, pretending that it has violated copyright through file sharing facilitation or the likes. The Internet belongs to the users and not the governments of the world. If the USA is allowed to enact SOPA and PIPA, they will in effect exert control over the information flow on the web.

Wikipedia Will Not Be Available

Sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit are at the forefront of the all-out strike against SOPA, PIPA, and web censorship. If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your browser, you may very well find it offline tomorrow. DowntownMiamiNews.com will also join the SOPA Blackout. According to them, the MPAA and RIAA, as driving forces behind the bill are the only ones to benefit whilst thousands to millions of users will be negatively affected by the regulations.

Even if you haven’t paid any attention to the information war between large corporations, including the likes of Google, Wikipedia and Facebook and the USA government hoping to push through legislation to censor the web and to prevent online piracy, you will be affected by the all-out one day blackout strike.

Wikipedia is a popular research source on the Internet, used by students, writers, and the general public to get a background on any topic before conducting more in-depth research. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, announced that the site will not be available for a full 24 hours in support of protest against the shutting down of sites such as The Piracy Bay and other file sharing sites and the proposed bills.

Entertainment Companies Support SOPA and PIPA

At the other end of the spectrum, the movie and entertainment companies fight hard to get SOPA and PIPA through because they lose money according to them, because of piracy, file sharing, and illegal downloading of movies and music on the Internet. Wikipedia has warned students to do their work early because the site will be off for the whole of Wednesday.

The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has indicated that such laws will help to fight piracy and general intellectual property theft. According to them, the protest in the form of a web strike or black-out distracts from the real issue of ongoing piracy. They feel that foreigners, that is users outside the USA, are stealing from the USA by means of downloads; facilitating downloads, and file sharing.

Large Sites Join Opposition to Legislation

Notably, rather useful sites and resources on the Internet are against the proposed SOPA and PIPA including WordPress and TwitPic. WordPress provides free content management blog templates, plugins and resources and with such has the right to oppose such bills. As a free resource with contributions from developers around the world, willing to share their knowledge, it is understandable that they will oppose legislation.

Online Piracy is a Problem

Online piracy is definitely a huge problem for the entertainment industry, but although the large companies complain that file sharing costs them millions in revenue, research reports have indicated that book, music and film sales have increased rather than decreased because of or despite file sharing practices.

Information Flow at Risk

The dynamic nature of the Internet is in jeopardy should the USA be allowed to control web access to so-called pirate sites or file sharing sites considered as facilitators of intellectual property theft. It does, however, ring alarm bells even with free information contribution sites such as Wikipedia since legislation will open the doors for more web censorship. It creates the risk of a completely USA controlled Internet.

Google has indicated that they support such a web strike because SOPA would allow for governments and companies to take action against so-called perpetrators without a proper trial or investigation. The free flow of information is at risk with such legislation.

Internet companies joining the web strike said the proposed legislation — SOPA in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate — would allow operators no real chance before government actions could be taken against them. The web strike also including the Wikipedia blackout is a desperate cry-out by the public against web censorship and control over the information flow and freedom of expression that will come about with SOPA and PIPA.

Voting to Go Ahead

The USA Chamber of Commerce has reacted to the proposed web strike with an announcement by Steven Tepp (Chief Intellectual Property Counsel) that concerns about the bills have already been addressed including the wholesale blockage of infringing sites. Accordingly, the criminal activity of intellectual property theft is robbing companies of their rightful income.

The web strike against SOPA and PIPA will reach far and wide with many Facebook pages also joining. It is expected that as many as 5000 websites could join the black-out. There are even sites promoting the black-out in protest with the inclusion of an HTML code or JavaScript in the site’s theme. People are encouraged to Tweet about the blackout and to join the strike effort by adding their sites to the protest sites such as ProtestSOPA.org and Sopastrike.com.

The Apple and Samsung patent battle has been going on since April 2011. The giant Apple has sued Samsung for infringing on their iPad and iPhone designs. The patent infringement case is battled across borders from Australia to Europe.

Ban of Galaxy Tablet and Smartphones in Australia Lifted

The Samsung Galaxy Tab. 10.1 as the alleged patent infringing object was removed from the shelves of Australian shops because of an injunction filed to court by Apple. It obviously was a strategic move as the court order came only days before the big shopping spree for Christmas started.

More recently Samsung Australia admitted that because of the court ordered injunction the Samsung brand name got free and welcoming publicity. Indeed, it seems as if the court order backfired against Apple in their patent battle. With the public prepared and now in waiting for the Samsung tablet that will be returning to the shelves after a sales ban on the Galaxy tablet, orders have already rolled in for the tablet.

Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus will also ride on the free publicity gained through the patent battle. It is perhaps something worth waiting for as it is the first smart phone that will have features such as facial recognition for user identification and with the cool bump app available, the phone users will be able to share information and pictures with other users by simply bumping their phones against each other.

Bump App

Although reviews about Bump seem to indicate that it is a slightly more complex process than advertised, it is still a feature that will be well appreciated by Android-based mobile phone users. Although Samsung certainly received a lot of free publicity because of the patent battle, the company has lost a lot of money because of the retraction from the shelves.

Free Advertising for Samsung Galaxy

According to reports, no indication has been given regarding the exact amount lost, but Samsung has indicated that they appreciate the awareness created for the Galaxy Tab. The company plans to take Australia by storm with units and looking at the orders already rolling in, it seems that a shortage can be expected in the market. This can in turn drive up market prices as well as create even more desire for the tablet.

What will perhaps count in Apple’s favour in terms of market share is the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Previous indicators have shown that consumers are not so eager to pay just as high prices for Android-based mobile phones and tablets as will be the case for iPad and iPhone technology.

Samsung Market Growth

The expectation is that Samsung will take larger chunks of the market in the coming 24 months, putting it just behind Apple on the top tablet chart. Fans of Android tablets will be glad to know that the 7.7 inch version is expected to hit the world market early in 2012 with the 8.9 inch version to be released only later. Samsung has already reached the top spot in the Australian mobile market in 2011.

Google took a risk with the Galaxy Nexus with the Android platform, but at the end it paid off. iPhone may still be in the lead overall, but one must take note of the underlying patent battle between the giants. As competition heats up, more court battles may become everyday news. Although Samsung has been delayed in the release of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 through the Apple court injunctions, with the ban on sales lifted just before Christmas, it has indeed come in their favour.

Although media attention focused on the Australian court battle, many markets around the world suffered the consequences of the ongoing Apple and Samsung patent battle, including the USA and Europe. Tyler McGee, who is the VP of Samsung telecommunications in Australia, has noted to news reporters that the whole patent infringement court battle between Apple and Samsung may have contributed to a loss of marketing sales drive because of the severe interruptions.

Mere curiosity can lead to consumers reading up on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and also to experiment more with Android tablets and smart phones in the upper price range.

Is it the End of the Apple vs. Samsung Patent Battle?

Maybe in Australia, Samsung has won the battle for now, but similar patent infringement battles are still in the pipeline in countries around the world. The prices of the two giants are similar and because the products fall within the same class, the competition is just starting to heat up.

Apple has failed to convince the High Court to give them a hearing. As a result the decision reached by the Federation Court was duly overturned in favour of Samsung. The battle has been going on for several months over two aspects only. Apple has accused Samsung of infringing on their intellectual property rights in terms of the multi-touch browser capacity as well as heuristic features.

It is not only in Australia where Samsung has been victorious, but also in California USA, where Apple’s request for a ban on sales of the Galaxy smart phones and tablet was rejected. Apple has indicated that they plan to appeal.

Retaliation by Samsung

If anyone has ever questioned the value of a patent, they should just follow the gigantic court battle between Apple and Samsung. Although Samsung has been on the receiving end of accusations, the company has also moved to take legal action against Apple for technologies used. In a similar manner, Samsung was defeated because their request for a ban on sales of Apple iPhone 4S in France was turned down.

With Samsung’s Galaxy SII being the direct competitor of the Apple iPhone 4S, the company went dirty in its fight with a pan indented ad about the capabilities of its smart phone pitted against the iPhone in a rather subtle manner.

The end of the Apple and Samsung patent court battle is not even near. With some 30 or more patent battles fought in numerous countries, it should be good reading for the next couple of months.

 

You may have heard that Google takes videos serious and if you want to attract traffic in future that you will have use videos in combination with solid and fresh content at your website. If you have wondered about how to market on YouTube, it is your lucky day.

Why Marketing On YouTube Works

One of the benefits of marketing with videos is that you have viral marketing work in your favour. When a user sees something at YouTube that they like, they tend to share the link with friends. Most people share their likes and links at Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. Once there others like it and share it again. Your only important task when you market on YouTube is to get the video noticed, liked and shared. Once done you can be assured that the grapevine will do a lot of the work for you. Rapid exposure can thus be gained at a fraction of normal web marketing costs.

How To Market Effectively With Videos On YouTube

Certain principles must be followed to ensure maximum exposure and optimal return on any video marketing campaign. Note that content must still be good if you hope to attract a large audience, but instead of focussing on long videos giving away everything, you want them to be bite size, just enough to spark interest and a viral campaign.

Short Is Better

As mentioned, long videos are not the best. Keep the videos short ensuring that the user doesn’t have to wait for buffering. Most users want video clips that are shorter than 60 seconds. Respect their time and you are already one step closer to an effective YouTube marketing campaign. If you can, make the videos 30 seconds or less. Rather break up the video than have one long video.

Break The Video Apart

When the YouTube video is broken up in short pieces, you have more videos and thus more exposure. Chances are that once the viewer enjoyed or appreciated the first part that they will also click on the second and third parts.

Remix Concept

You may not like the idea of someone remixing your video, but if you want it to become truly viral, you should make it as easy as possible for others to remix and use the clips in their own videos. Note that they will do you a favour when remixing and reposting. As such help them to do their part of the job.

Stay Away From Direct Advertising

Few people go to YouTube to watch boring ads. They want something funny, crazy, shocking or useful, but don’t give them a straight advert. Viewers may click on the video if it is a straight ad, but don’t expect them to share such. Only ads like the latest Nando ads get viral status. If you thus want to create a straight advert video, know that it will have to be awesome.

Get Attention

Create a public outcry through the shocking technique or one that is so useful that someone will want to return to it often or will want to share it with others. Here the headline will play an important role. You want the YouTube viewers to become curious.

How To Attract Thousands Of Views

Once you have created the video which will be used in the YouTube marketing campaign, you have to get the views. Fortunately YouTube already has tremendous traffic and all you have to do is to tap into the audience power to market your videos. To get the views, you need to land the video on the Videos page and preferably on the most viewed videos for the day. This will make the video more prominent and one that will get the clicks because it will no longer have to compete with millions, but only a few for that specific day. The ultimate goal is to get it as high on the video page rank as possible for maximum exposure.

How To Market The Video To Get To The Top Viewed Page

The vehicles to use for getting to the most viewed page of YouTube can vary. Don’t use only one. The idea is to create an effective marketing mix. Blogs are excellent vehicles. Allow for embedding of your videos in the blogs of viewers. You can even pay blog sites to embed videos. They will become affiliate marketers. Another place to get the wheel rolling is a relevant forum or two. Be careful though, as you don’t want to spam the forums. Just start a thread and then embed one of your videos.

Although MySpace may seem dead to some, it is still effective enough. Announce the new video and then embed the video at one of the sites which will allow for such. Next stop is that of Facebook. With millions of users and people loving the idea of sharing, linking and conversing about hot topics on the Internet, you will have a whole community marketing your YouTube video in a short period.

Start by sharing the video with everyone in your friend list and do the same with your Google Plus account. Next, give incentives for people to share the videos. Place an advert at Facebook to let people watch the video and like or share it. Use the Facebook setup to link back to the original video at YouTube.

Use newsletter campaigns where the link to the video is shared with the subscribers to your company newsletter. Your video, once it reaches the top viewed list for the day, will feature for two days and then will go to the most viewed list for the week. Make sure it is a hit and you will have an awesome number of people view it over seven days.

It is hard work, but if you struggle with doing it even when you know how to market on YouTube, get in the help of experts such as iLeadOnline. Such companies can also assist with the title optimization, commenting on the video and releasing it together with other related videos in your profile. In addition, the team can handle the tagging and tracking part to ensure ongoing success.