Analysis - Facebook expects a breakthrough in the market for mobile advertising services

It seems logical for Facebook .. To take advantage of the company and great customer loyalty and a half billion users to their services via mobile phone as a way to open the market for portable devices advertisers.
But the problem is that there are reasons for the limited success so far to announce via mobile devices are the reasons for not dissipate any of them in full. Even if Facebook succeeded, others put the market with tremendous opportunities in mind may have difficulties to achieve the benefit.
Facebook was announced last week for new ways to deliver advertising companies to its users, including via mobile devices for the first time by displaying marketing messages within the Games news for its members as part of efforts aimed partly at generating regular income before a planned initial public offering.
The move would open the mobile market to advertisers after that remained untapped for a long time but is unlikely to open the market wider than that.
Despite the strong demand from advertisers and the vast difference between the time spent by consumers to use their mobile phones and the amounts spent on advertising the machines, it is still major obstacles in the way of advertising via mobile phone.
This is because advertisers failed to penetrate the mobile devices only through search results to ads Google engine to reasons such as limited screen size and lack of good websites for mobile devices and resistance to invasion of privacy is more space from your computer.
There are many experiments conducted by telecommunications companies and advertising agencies and software companies to find ways to deliver ads tailored to people based on their places and take advantage of a boom in sales of smart phones without raising the ire of customers.
In Britain, for example, create a mobile phone companies, including the three major joint venture Vodafone says it will allow advertisers to contract from one place to campaigns aimed at the general public in addition to the availability of vouchers offers and promotional programs for the shops.
The three companies have 70 million common any more of the total population of Britain because many have more than one device, but this figure is small compared to the number of subscribers of Facebook's 425 million and who often walk in on the location of the mobile phone.
Facebook might succeed where others have failed, as will appear as materials newsworthy messages so that the user says brand "enjoy" or he bought the product through Facebook making it appear closer to the personal recommendation of the announcement.
Vermes says Marco president of Upstream, which managed the marketing of digital advertising campaigns across mobile devices for companies such as Coca - Cola, Nestle and Shell "can not come and boast brand itself directly.
"I see that they are allergic to their way with great caution."
With regard to the time of exposure to the media, more than a quarter will be on a mobile device any more than the proportion of television which does not exceed 22 percent, according to a study released last week during a conference held devices Universal in Barcelona and prepared Anmupai the largest network of independent advertising agencies phones in the world.
But the share of portable devices the size of the global annual spending on advertising, amounting to around half a trillion dollars not to exceed two percent, while television attracts about 40 percent.
Even companies like Apple with the weight of struggling to make an impact.
And hopes and advertising agencies and mobile operators that allows the rapid spread of smartphones, Tablet PC - the devices can connect to the Internet and with large screens and the ability of handling the largest - to announce new opportunities through mobile devices.
And advertising agencies can be more creative than ever before bringeth for example layers of videotapes or interactive screens that open when the user clicks on the announcement allowing the experience more interesting and new ways to measure the degree of participation.
Recently designed for the technology company Seltr advertising campaign for mobile devices Starbucks where users clicked on the declaration of taking them to the screen where they can design your display with Venjanam Separate designs in the gallery on the Internet.
David Goosen says Managing Director, European Communications Unit Nielsen Company research "because it is a very personal device we will see higher levels of participation This would encourage higher levels of response."
But the personal nature of your phone is a double-edged sword.
According to survey results announced Upstream two weeks ago, most of the adults in the United States and Britain, they find ads on mobile devices and disturbing less than one-sixth of browsing the web via a mobile device click on these ads for their contents.
But for those who implement it properly, the awards can be huge.
In October, Google said that the top advertising market associated with the search results that the rate of its revenue from mobile services increased to more than a lesbian to 5.2 billion dollars annually.
But consumers do not view the results of research on it while the ads in the fact that many users are willing to reveal their positions via a mobile device to use services such as Google Maps help provide a more personalized results.
Also expanded in Twitter Offers Advertising via mobile devices last week might work for the same reason which is considered by many to be the same Ngredatha care advertising is news.
Now, Facebook plans to use the knowledge gathered by the members and bring them through voluntary personal details and show a certain admiration Made to present a competing view Google.
Says Karl-Heinz Land Manager social networking sites with the company Micro Strategy for Research and analyze the data that Facebook for companies "turns to Facebook to Favorites largest in the world.
"Social networking, mobile devices and the local community .. These are the three forces that make the perfect wave. Facebook makes it very easy now."
However, privacy concerns are a major source of risk for any company seeking to exploit the commercial users' data, especially if they have information that a high degree of privacy, such as those available to Facebook.
Google already is facing a backlash on its new policy to collect all the data it gets from its services to search and e-mail and network YouTube and Google plus social networking, which was considered a step to help them compete with Facebook.
It may not be aware of Facebook users necessarily volunteer to broadcast when buying something on the news Tgaymathm may raise the results of that embarrassment for them.
Perhaps users that an announcement is a high degree of customization for the more stirring unease when it is on a personal device such as the phone in their pocket, which can determine their position when it is on a computer.
Paul Lee says research director of technology, media and telecommunications at Deloitte Advisory "does not like people with ads targeted to a high degree of customization because it may seem a bit scary," adding that the campaign deliberately, sometimes deliberate integration of ads is relevant to the original goal.
Some mobile phone operators who have a huge amount of data on their customers, but they failed to capitalize on that information substantially or decided not to do so they are the best party to work with advertisers and they provide the best protection for consumer information.
Ronan says Donny unit manager or 2 Britain, a subsidiary of Telefonica, "simply does not require that our model of economic squeeze money from any data available to us. If our approach is that I have improved service to clients, and if he gets more of them, they become a legitimate exchange."
Some companies and telecommunications services already approved by the customer to receive free minutes for advertising or other benefits.
Blake and allied media company specializing in portable devices with operators Orange and T - Mobile and Aircel broadcast message between one and four marketing messages per day to customers who agree to participate in exchange for minutes or discounts.
The company raised the size of audience the author mostly of young men to four-fold to four million people last year and helped its partners from the telecommunications companies to reduce the proportion of participants who move to other services.
In Turkey, carrying about eight million subscribers in Turkcell waiting advertising messages in return for free minutes. And now, one third of Turkcell revenues from Internet services via mobile devices comes from marketing.
But in general, the revenue from mobile phone operators marketing are small while the Giants managed to exploit the Internet in their networks to push ahead with their services and reap the advertising revenue.
So far, Facebook seems to be achieved the right balance between privacy and earn money, but Vermes of Upstream says that the road is fraught with risks, especially with the company opening the door to private investors who are waiting impatiently for profit.
He adds, "are aware that mobile phone you have to declare a lesser extent, and not to make it appear as an advertisement .. but there is no way to ignore the fact that you asked users if they would rather not happen without a doubt something of this at all."
Additional reporting by Leila Abboud and Kate Holton
Georgina of Prodan Source: Reuters

France says that the election in Russia is not perfect

Said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Monday that the Russian presidential elections were not perfect, adding his voice to international criticism, but said that France was ready to work with Vladimir Putin.

And highlighted reports of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe highlighted the problems in the elections that took place on Sunday after official results showed Putin's victory by about 64 percent of the vote.

Juppe said during a news conference in the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France "elections were not perfect. This is less to be said."

Juppe said, "Putin was re-elected by a large majority and it will continue to France and its European partners to participate in a relationship with Russia."

Source: Reuters

TV: Video of a hospital in Homs shows torture

Video footage showed secretly filmed and aired on British television on Monday what it said were Syrian patients subjected to torture by the medical staff at a government hospital in the Syrian city of Homs.
The axis of Homs intensive military campaign to protest against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The United Nations says that more than 7,500 civilians have died in about a year of political violence in Syria.
The British Channel Four television it had obtained a video footage of the horrific scenes in the military hospital in Homs. Photos and employee of this footage, secretly and smuggled out of the French news photographer known only as "Manny."
He said the employee who filmed the video for Manny, "I saw detainees being tortured with electricity shocks and beatings with whips and batons and broken legs. And they play their feet to break their legs."
He added: "They are conducting surgical operations without anesthesia ... I saw them beat the heads of detainees in the walls. Restrict patients in the family. And depriving them of water. Others have linked their genitals to prevent them from urinating."
The video showed that the fourth television channel said it could not verify it independently wounded blindfolded chained in the family. There was a rubber whip and electric wire on a table in one of the wings of the hospital. Some patients presented signs of what it's like being beaten.
The hospital employee said that the men were some of the soldiers who refused to carry out orders and other civilians. He noted that the youngest was 14 years old.
The Syrian army out "clean up" on Monday in the city of Homs, where he was the Red Cross is trying to reach Pope Amr former stronghold of the opposition.
He accused opposition activists of Syrian troops torture and killing of civilians and other crimes but their reports are difficult to verify because of government restrictions on independent media.
Source: Reuters

New footage of survivors escaping Concordia disaster (VIDEO)

The Italian coastguard has released black-and-white footage of survivors of the shipwrecked Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia getting into lifeboats after the vessel ran aground off the coast of Tuscany last week.

Rescue efforts continued on Tuesday as teams used controlled explosions to break into the stricken vessel in a bid to find survivors. 

The three explosions carried out early on Tuesday morning should allow firefighters and scuba divers better access to the parts of the ship which were not searched earlier.

The authorities say estimates of the number missing on the huge vessel have increased to 29, while six bodies have been found, Reuters reports. 

The captain of the Costa Concordia is accused of “human error” over the cruise liner crash. Some media suggest he was sailing far too close to land to salute to a friend on the island of Giglio.

Costa Chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi told a press conference Monday that Costa Crocier, the owner of the stricken vessel, has blamed the tragedy on “human error” by the captain, saying he made “an unapproved, unauthorized maneuver” to change ship's course.

The captain Francesco Schettino's is under close investigation as he faces accusations he abandoned the vessel before ensuring all of the people aboard were safely evacuated.

The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew, ran aground after hitting a reef off the Italian coast late on Friday night

Source: Russia Today

US prosecutors file extradition papers for Kim Dotcom

Prosecutors for the United States government have filed the necessary paperwork to begin the possible extradition of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom to America.

Dotcom, the 38-year-old founder of the file-sharing storage site, was only recently released on house arrest after serving five weeks behind bars in New Zealand where he had been residing. Dotcom was arrested on January 20 for his alleged involvement in an online conspiracy that authorities say stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the entertainment industry. Last month authorities in New Zealand awarded Dotcom bail, a decision which prompted US officials to file an appeal. The judge overseeing the case dismissed that request, however, and now Dotcom will await an extradition hearing, expected for this August.

A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice said Monday that the court had received America’s extradition request on Friday at Auckland’s North Shore District Court, although the court says it will not be publishing the details of the papers at this time.

Crown Law, legal advisors to the New Zealand government since 1875, are handling the case on behalf of the American authorities. The group had but 45 days to file the extradition after the January 20 raid that resulted in the arrest of Dotcom. Friday’s filing fell just shy of that deadline.

American authorities attest that by operating Megaupload.com, Kim Dotcom and his associates managed to swindle $500 million from the music and movie industry by infringing on the copyrights of material illegally shared on the site. The US is expected to lob a series of charges against Dotcom, including racketeering, which would carry a 20-year prison term. Three other associates allegedly to be involved in the website have been tied to the case as well.

Speaking to New Zealand’s 3news last week, Dotcom said that the high-profile raid on his home and the subsequent arrest was politically motivated and charged that the US is wrongfully going after his while letting Google and YouTube get away with essentially the same practice.

“If you read the indictment and if you hear what the prosecution has said in court, at least $500 million of damage were just music files and just within a two-week time period. So they are explained Dotcom. “So it's really, in my opinion, the government of the United States protecting an outdated monopolistic business model that doesn't work anymore in the age of the Internet and that's what it all boils down to,” he added.

Dotcom had previously told reported that he would fight any extradition charges and was confident that he would come out on top.

In the aftermath of the shut-down of Megaupload, several similar sites have voluntarily thrown in the towel to avoid prosecution on par with what American authorities are attempting to do to Dotcom. Rick Falkvinge, of the Swedish Pirate Party, tells France’s Owni.edu that file-sharing will continue to thrive online, however, no matter what maneuvers authorities attempt.

“People like to share, they want to share, and they will always find new ways to do so,” says Falkvinge. “You can’t stop them.

Source: Russia Today

Larry Flynt will pay $1 million for a Washington sex scandal

Pornographer and publishing giant Larry Flynt has put a price tag on his passion for annihilating the careers of politicians. The Hustler magazine publisher will pay $1 million for dirt on corrupt congressmen.

The self-proclaimed “smut peddler who cares” took out a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post this weekend, asking readers to reveal stories of "infidelity, sexual impropriety or corruption” involving members of Congress. Should someone step forward and provide an account worthy of one of Flynt’s many publishing endeavors, he is offering $1 million for the details.

Flynt, who founded Hustler 40 years ago, has been a critic of the US government since entering publishing. In addition to launching a series of off-shoot publications, he has spent the last several decades dabbling in political advocacy, even briefly running for the governorship of California in 2003. He has also been the subject of several high-profile First Amendment cases.

Unlike his other print products, there are no powerful pictures or snazzy headlines on the full-page advert Flynt took out in the Post. Instead, the porn giant put down a pretty penny on a costly classified ad that relied on the bold bounty of $1 million for details on a current United States senator, congressperson or “prominent government official.”

“Can you provide documented evidence of your claims?” continues the ad. “Larry Flynt and Hustler Magazine will pay you up to $1 million if we chose to use your material and publish your verified story.” The publisher insists that all calls and correspondence will be kept strictly confidential and provides both a 1-800 number and email address for interested snitches.

Flynt has yet to publically discuss if his ad has brought in any of the breaking news that he is hoping for, but if history is any indication, a revelation might only be down the road. 

In the midst of a Republican-waged war against Democrat President Bill Clinton at the height of the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, Flynt offered a similar bounty for dirt on a Republican Party politician. Back then he sought info on any GOP official having "an adulterous sexual encounter" like Clinton’s, and ending up receiving claims that portrayed a Republican congressman in a negative light.

In 1999, Louisiana Representative Bob Livingston was expected to take on the role of House speaker after Newt Gingrich resigned after the previous year’s election. Livingston ran as the only Republican candidate for speaker in a GOP-controlled House and was poised to take the title and carry through with the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. Flynt, however, said his call for arms yielded dirt on Livingston, who in turn admitted to an extramarital affair and promptly resigned as Speaker-elect. Clinton, of course, was acquitted of impeachment shortly after.

Flynt has also claimed to have come into possession of proof of Gingrich’s own affairs before the former Speaker acknowledged them to the public, but chose not to discuss them as the speaker had already offered his resignation.

Last year, Flynt extended a job offer to former Congressman Anthony Weiner after a scandal involving the representative’s Twitter account forced him to resign. “I feel that your unfortunate resignation is a prime example of unfounded political pressure and the hypocrisy that has invaded democracy in Washington DC,” wrote Flynt.

The Washington Post claims that their Sunday edition reaches over 1.7 million readers — in the DC area alone.

Source: Russia Today

‘Everyone could have been saved’ – Concordia tragedy survivors

They still can’t sleep at night since the Costa Concordia put them through the ordeal of their lives. A Russian couple that made it ashore safe and sound believe every passenger could still be alive had the rescue operation been better organized.

They are just two of the passengers from over 4,000 people onboard the massive cruise ship Costa Concordia. Denis Golovkin and Olga Gridneva still have trouble sleeping at night.

“I don't understand how they couldn’t have rescued everyone considering the liner sank no further than half a kilometer from land, in warm weather,” says Olga.

Sixteen bodies have so far been recovered and 16 people are still missing after the 290-meter long cruise liner struck a rock near the Tuscan island of Giglio.

Olga and Denis got onboard only two and a half hours prior to the disaster at the port of Civitavecchia. For them it was just the beginning of their cruise, as the liner was picking up passengers along the way.

The couple had just had dinner – incidentally, to the tune of the Titanic theme song – and were back in their cabin when the ship hit the reef.

“Our glasses, laptops and cellphones flew off the table,” Olga recalls. “The boat went too close to the shoreline where it wasn’t supposed to be. And we certainly felt it, like a really strong crash or shaking…”

They grabbed their life vests and Denis suggested taking warm clothes, considering the temperature outside was 12 degrees Celsius.

“I thought that we might actually have to jump overboard,” Olga says, “nobody was supervising us, we spent an hour and a half on the deck, and the speakers were saying, "Don't worry, everything is fine…” It was very scary. It was a large ship, the height of a multi-storey building. When a sensible individual starts thinking that they might have to jump overboard they assess their abilities and realize that they don’t feel like jumping from this height at all.”

There were hardly any crew members in sight helping people. This Thursday, Italy's top-ranking Coast Guard official, Marco Brusco, said that the Concordia’s Captain Francesco Schettino lost "a precious hour," which made evacuating the ship even more difficult. Had the order been given earlier, "the lifeboats could have been launched calmly, people could have been reassured," Brusco said in Senate testimony.

Instead, the evacuation was chaotic. No one knew where to run, what to do and no instructions were given out so a lot of people couldn’t leave the ship for quite a while. Denis and Olga were lucky to get off in one of the first lifeboats. Olga says that passengers were totally misinformed about what was going on and that no one had a clear picture of the real state of affairs: “Nobody told us to go out on deck. We did that on our own, following our instincts and based on what we could see and understand.” 

Hours later, safe but still tense, people recounted their stories to each other. Many said there wasn’t enough room in the boats, with the situation only worsened by the fact that it was difficult to get the boats down to the water from the upper decks, especially on the portside where it proved simply impossible. Denis, an experienced seafarer, says the crew wasn’t up to the task: “I saw a crew member climb into the boat. He could hardly start the engine. On top of it all, before mooring at the pier, we had been circling and circling for a long time. In other words, the boat was driven not by a specialist.”

There were also reports that rich Russians were buying seats in the lifeboats – but Olga dismissed them with conviction in her voice: “One should bear in mind that this cruise was mostly for economy-class passengers. There were no particularly rich Russians on this ship.”

Twice the size of the Titanic and three times the length of a football pitch, the cruise ship Costa Concordia would have been much worse off had the tragedy happened further away from the shore and in colder waters. So far, the tragedy on the Concordia has claimed 16 lives. However as divers continue to comb the submerged parts of the ship, neither Denis nor Olga can comprehend how there could have been any casualties at all: “In the heart of Europe. There must have been enough lifeboats for everyone had the rescue operation been at least somewhat organized, or had there been some instructions. If so, I believe we wouldn’t have lost anyone.”

Watch the full interview on RT’s Spotlight

Source: Russia Today

Dozens dead, hundreds injured in Argentina as train crashes into platform

At least 50 people are reported dead and over 600 injured after a train crashed in a busy station in Buenos Aires. Dozens were trapped inside a damaged carriage but were eventually rescued.

According to reports the passenger train was going too fast and failed to slow down approaching the station. At the time it hit the platform its speed was 26 km/h. The train hit the stopping barrier of the platform, crushing the front carriage. The engine and first car were crushed together. One of the carriages was driven nearly six meters into the next.

Passengers said windows exploded as the tops of the train carriages became detached.

Between 1,000 and 2,000 people were traveling on the train. Police say 50 were killed, including one child. Around 30 passengers remained trapped for several hours in the train but all have now been taken to safety. Buenos Aires TV stations showed emergency workers cutting through the roofs of carriages in order to evacuate them.

Argentina’s transportation authority said 461 of some 600 injured were taken to hospital.

Officials in Buenos Aires say the train was in good order and the brakes worked well. It is not yet clear what exactly caused the accident.

“This train left the shop yesterday. From what we know, it braked without problems at previous stations,” Ruben Sobrero, union chief on the Sarmiento line, told Radio La Red.

Argentina has decreed two days of mourning following the accident and cancelled the official carnival celebrations that were due to take place on Friday, the Buenos Aires Herald reports. President Kristina Fernandez de Kirchner has expressed her condolences to the families of the victims.

Reuters / Enrique Marcarian

Reuters / Enrique Marcarian

Reuters / Enrique Marcarian

Source: Russia Today

Anonymous geek-topia: Hackers change Hungarian constitution

In Hungary, IT workers retire at 32 and get pensions equal to 150 per cent of their salaries. That’s according to Anonymous’ version of the Hungarian Constitution, which they posted after hacking the website of the Constitutional Court.

“Ideals and rulers of tyranny, or dictators represent but short periods of history. The people have the right to eliminate tyranny or rebel against it,” said the “new constitution” written by the Anonymous hacker group. 

The hackers have made their own adjustments to basic Hungarian law. Thus, according to the group’s version of the constitution, IT workers not only get to retire early on a luxurious pension, but are also exempted from paying tax. 

The text of Anonymous’ “ideal” constitution was swiftly removed from the court’s website.

Anonymous has wide experience of launching such IT attacks. They have succeeded in taking down the websites of large security companies, law-enforcement organizations or government agencies, including the White House, the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.

On February 29 Interpol arrested 25 members of the group in Europe and South America. Not surprisingly, the group downed Interpol's main website in response.

Source: Russia Today