Well, Twitter stocks have fallen tremendously since January 2014. In one 24 hour period last week, stocks fell over 12 percent. The numbers I’ve looked at projected the percentage of people joining Twitter in 2014 will be far lower than in any other year. The Atlantic article points out the followers they do have aren’t as active as they once were. I’ve heard people say the only time Twitter makes noise is when a major story or stunt comes out, like the infamous Oscar selfie (which turned out to be scripted as an advertising ploy) or the NBA scandal involving former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
But don’t go making funeral plans for Twitter just yet. Twitter just acquired MoPub, a mobile advertising site expected to give them advertising power. Thanks to MoPub, Twitter will probably reach several times the amount of followers it already has. They’re whispers that in the near future, Twitter will be a news platform, even for non-Twitter subscribers. The way mainstream media is today, I think a lot of people will welcome that. So do you think Twitter is really dying? Or is it just evolving?
Let’s talk about Net Neutrality. It’s the belief the same Internet company that provides you with home service should provide you with mobile service. It guarantees you quality service without the blocking, confusion or mind games. This freedom has allowed social media to explode over the last eight or nine years. Those days could be numbered. Now the FCC is coming up with a plan to keep Net Neutrality, but it? includes: Using a loophole, a loophole that allows major Internet/communication companies to create slow and fast lanes how they see fit. It allows Internet service providers to negotiate backroom deals with website and app creators. Rates will likely vary, and free services could get bumped into the slow lane.
Now you may say to yourself, “These companies will do right by the people.” Will they? Ever hear of a saying, ‘When the cats are away the rats will play?’ If this loophole is exploited, what’s to stop these companies from deciding which site or app gets first class bidding? Service providers could also use this loophole to censor certain freedoms of speech. So you support a cause the powers that be don’t like? Off to the slow lane for you, pal. That’s my concern here. So is the new Net Neutrality going to keep protecting all involved? Or is it going to open a Pandora’s box for exploitation and censorship?
I said it once. It bears repeating. If you get any news on Facebook, especially about celebrity deaths, check other sources!
I was proven right. Yesterday as I scrolled down my Facebook page, I read about the alleged death of World? Wrestling Entertainment legend Undertaker, real name Mark Calaway. Right away, something didn’t seem right, and I figured it was another Facebook Hoax. I did a little more investigating, and I was right. Mr. Undertaker’s ‘death’ was a cruel hoax started on social media. These rumors claimed Undertaker died from a head injury suffered at Wrestlemania 30 on Sunday, April 13, 2014, during a match against Brock Lesnar. While he did suffer an injury during this brutal match, he was treated at a nearby hospital and released the next day. The Undertaker is alive and well, thank you very much.
This comes in the the wake of the real sudden death of Ultimate Warrior. He was a WWE Champion in the early 1990s. So was that their pull? When one pro wrestler really dies, now they want to follow that with some trick in hopes people will believe it? I must admit, when Warrior died, I checked mainstream sources to make sure it was true. At best, I want to think the people who published this Undertaker death hoax got really bad information. If that’s the case, learn a lesson. It’s always, always critical to check your sources and information. But I think something way more sinister is going on here. I think this was a deliberate attempt to fake someone’s death. If this was supposed to be a joke, I and millions of others didn’t get it. Did they think about this man’s family and friends when they spewed this hoax? I wonder if they will be legal ramifications because of this. There should at the very least be a very public apology from the hoaxers. I doubt it will happen. What should be done about this?
Mobile apps are such a part of daily life today we sometimes take it for granted. Go back just five years and you’ll see a different picture. With the app game changing, ways of promotion are changing.
In comes MoPub Marketplace. It’s one of the biggest mobile app exchanges around. It handles over a billion devices worldwide and 130 million ad requests a month. Mobile advertising is so powerful today they can send ads to over 241 million Twitter users…at the same time. And there’s the mobile ad suite being tested on twitter. If tests go well, this suite would enable advertisers to better promote mobile apps. Advertisers like Seat Geek, Gree, and Get Taxi are leading the charge. Advertisers can also start up campaigns on Twitter Publishing Network with more ease than ever before.
Why am I even talking about advertising? Because maybe there’s someone reading this whose a small business owner whose in need of advertising. Maybe there’s an ad exec who need to promote a business and doesn’t have all the money in the world. Twitter is setting up a good network for that. That’s what I like about online advertising. It levels the playing field, well, it does more than TV or radio advertisement. So I compliment what Twitter and other groups here. Some may complain this will lead to more ad bombardment on Twitter and other social media. My question for that is: You’re not paying for Twitter, Facebook or You Tube, are you?
I know I’ve talked about this many times, but I think it bears repeating. America’s viewing habits are changing. Cable TV is dying a slow death and online videos are taking over.
Now, Yahoo wants a piece on the online streaming pie. Rumors have it Yahoo wants to produce four comedy series, 10 episodes a piece, and with budgets in the millions per series. Before you send amateur videos made in your basement to Yahoo, they’re only interested in using experienced TV directors and producers. This is just one in many steps Yahoo is or has taken to boost ratings and revenue. They’ve hired former news anchor Katie Couric and actor/producer Alexandra Wentworth to host segments exclusive to Yahoo. Then there’s talk of acquisition of News Distribution Network Inc. for around $300 million.
Right now, Yahoo ranks fifth in online video properties, with nearly 45 million as of January 2014. But rival Google/You Tube is #1, with over 157 million videos in that time period. Their nearest competitor, Facebook, has over 84 million. So obviously, if Yahoo is trying to compete, they have a long way to go. But I think these are steps in the right direction. If I were CEO Marissa Meyer, I would host both professional and amateur videos. On one hand, you have well done and even Emmy worthy (House of Cards) programming that will attract viewers and advertisers alike. On the other hand, allowing amateur videos will give more people an equal playing field and to express themselves. And who knows how many stars will be born? Do you think Yahoo can successfully compete in the online video streaming market?
Some time ago, I blogged about Turkey’s censorship on social media, mostly because Turkey’s prime minister Erdogan got caught in scandal.
Turkey’s court system took up the issue. They ruled in favor of…the people! They ruled the ban on social media sites like You Tube violates human rights. Twitter was included in this social media ban, but Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that ban violated the nation’s laws. The court in Ankara said the You Tube ban was too broad and instead of blocking the whole website, it just allowed the blocking of 15 videos. But Prime Minister Erdogan is hardly backing down. According to Reuters, Erdogan says he will comply, but doesn’t respect the ruling.
At this point, who cares what Erdogan respects? I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but anybody with that much leadership and authority who would censor all of social media to cover his own foul ups will get little respect from me. I do have respect for the Turkish court system. They listened to the people. You think the people wanted their social media shut down? They didn’t. They painted graffiti I.P. addresses for people to get to their social media addresses. So I salute the Turkish people and courts for taking a stand against censorship and borderline tyranny. What can other nations learn from Turkey?
