The founder of Yandex Ilya Segalovich passed away over the weekend at the age of 48. The?technology?father of Yandex, perhaps Russia’s top search engine site, succumbed to brain failure and stoppage of breathing.
Segalovich grew up in what was then a Soviet province of Kazakhstan. In high school, he met Arkady Volozh. Years?later, in 1993, with the?Internet/World Wide Web in it’s infancy, they came up with ‘a quick search engine for the end user’. It took a while to develop, but?by 1997, their search?engine was?launched for the Russian nation to use. In 2000, he and Volozh named it?Yandex. By 2011, Yandex was worth more than eight billion dollars.
But perhaps he’ll be recognized for things he did outside the computer world. In 1993, he and his wife founded a charity called Children of Mary. This organization helps give orphans education, employment and a decent shot at life. Many people praised him not for his business savvy, but his work as a human being and citizen of the world. Russian politician Alexei Navelny commended him for his modesty and finding ways to hold political leaders accountable, like making an app for election journalists.?Fellow Russian?Internet sharks say?he was a man not corrupted or spoiled by money,?fame or other trappings of success.
Maybe what they say really is true. Despite Segalivich’s wonderful contribution to technology, he’s getting more props for what he did as a man and how he carried himself. Makes us think about ourselves, doesn’t it?
The ESPYS were held July 17. Watching that show makes me think of how close modern technology, especially social media, has bridged the gap between them and everyone else. This is especially true for Twitter. So I looked for the most entertaining tweets of the summer so far.
10 Jose Conseco: “Welcome to Twitter (expletive)…”. Nothing like broadcasting an old rivalry for all the world to see.
9. Metta World Peace: “I’m so happy to be Metta this morning because at 4 am…I turned into the Geico lizard…” I?don’t get it either, but with his colorful Tweets, I had to put World Peace on this list.
8. RGIII:?He Tweeted?how “pleasantly surprised” at how good?The Internship was. Remember that Google movie starting Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn last month? I’m glad someone was pleasantly surprised.
7. Nazem Kardl: This Toronto Maple Leaf center criticized ‘it’ couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian for?naming their baby North West. “Get a hold of yourself!” Well Nazem, what to?you expect from a?man who thinks he’s God?
6. Johnny Manziel: “…I appreciate all the love and support over the past couple of days.”?He showed love to his supporters after some not so flattering reports of?Johnny Football’s off-the-field activity.
5. Andrew Shaw: “Best feeling ever! Wooooooo!” This Chicago Blackhawk center summed up the feeling of winning the Stanley Cup, NHL’s richest prize.
4. Gosder Cherilus: “How do you survive 27 years of jail…to change a country and the world…Big ups to you Nelson Mandela!” This Indianapolis Colts tackle gave?respect to one of the?greatest civil rights leaders and heroes of our generation.
3. Adam Jones: He literally laughed at Heat fans who left before the infamous Game 6 of the NBA Finals was over, and tried to get back in when the Heat made a comeback. “Hahahahahahaahha! Bandwagon.” Jones has a point. After 2010, there were an awful lot of Miami Heat fans all of a sudden.
2. Chad Johnson: He tweeted about being sentenced to 30 days in jail due to a probation violation. The sentence was triggered by him slapping his lawyer on the butt during proceedings. He closed the tweet with “See you in 30.” He was out in 7.
1. Steve Cishek: His MLB All-Star Game tweet said, “Nothing like Mariano Rivera running out of that pen.” He paid tribute to a retiring future Hall of Famer. He got the whole arena into it and echoed their sentiment. His tweet may have made baseball history.
The owners, stockholders and employees?of Facebook?woke up glowing this morning. Their stocks are up 26%. But perhaps what’s most celebratory is their ad revenue.
Their ad revenue in mobile ads?nearly doubled?in just two quarters, from $373 million in Q1 2013?to $656 million in Q2 2013. Now, their total ad revenue?makes for 41% of all?Facebook revenue. Facebook?CFO David Ebersman credits News Feed ads that give great returns to advertisers. Mobile advertising is fairly new territory for Facebook. Up to last year,?they’ve been so heavily dependent on desktop ads, to the point where they’ve gotten criticized from all sides for it.?Another reason Facebook?mobile ads are growing?is because?Facebook users are growing. ?Daily active users have jumped 27% in the last year; monthly users increased 21% in the last?year (that number is now over a billion). But mobile users have jumped?a whopping 51% in the last year.
A-ha! I think I’m adding two plus two together. This is why they’ve struggled on Wall St. since they’ve got on the NYSE. Now that mobile users are increasing, now they’re investing in mobile?ads. And as annoying as some of these ads can be, it looks like they’re paying off. But will it last? Experts say Facebook stocks could go to and past $38. But will they stay up and increase and run with it after this breakthrough?
I see it all the time, even when going out with family and friends. In the midst of loud music and conversation, someone pulls out their device and either posts or takes a picture on Facebook. I’ve done it myself. Apparently, I’m not the only one.
Announced yesterday, there are now 100 million people who use Facebook on their phone on a monthly basis. They made an interesting statement about developing nations like India, Philippines and Indonesia. According to their own statement, many in nations like these can get the app on?a 20 dollar cell phone. It goes on to say the Facebook app reaches 3,000 different?phones. They can do this by?using less data than most Java apps. They also have Facebook for Every Phone, a program powered by Snaptu, an Israeli based technology company. What Snaptu does is use servers to study how mobile apps work, and use this knowledge to help Facebook get on low end phones.
So that’s how they do it. It’s a good strategy. Many people in developing nations can’t afford the hundred of dollars smartphones and other devices (like iPod Touch). So if Facebook can get their app on cheaper devices, I say more power to them. It makes good business sense. Socially, it can put a damper on things. Can you imagine people in these countries spending dinner hour keeping up with Facebook friends instead of conversing with their own family? Isn’t there enough of that in this country?
Remember when Apple Maps was released? Remember what a disaster that was? At first you don’t succeed, try again, or in this case, just buy another company.
It looks like Apple is acquiring Hop Stop. Hop Stop is a website that tracks public transit in cities across the US, Canada and some places in Europe. For me, it especially helps when I’m traveling in other cities. It’s great for getting?one from point A to point B, especially?for?one on foot, bus?or subway. It even tells you when the next bus is coming. ?Also included is Locationary Inc., which focuses on business-based maps. Apple hopes to?ease up their relations with?Google maps. Google maps are the most popular free app at the App Store. Hop Stop is one of the most popular free navigation apps.
I tell Apple now, if this acquisition does go through, don’t spoil a good thing! Hop Stop is fine the way it is; I speak that on experience.?I’ve seen other examples of how corporate takeover of a smaller entity ruins the smaller entity. I hope that doesn’t happen here.?I see and respect why Apple wants to make this purchase; just don’t mess it up. Will Hop Stop make Apple a star in the mapping game?
Yesterday, Netflix made history with it’s Emmy nominations. Yes, this is a growing phenomenon. Here are some reasons I like Netflix.
10. No More Video Store Runs: Remember when you had to rush to the video store and endure long lines, bad?attitudes and take the risk of?your movie being sold out?
9. The Free Trial: At first I thought this was too good to be true. Maybe it was: after that one month trial, I was hooked!
8. Old Shows Given New Life: When FOX cancelled Arrested Development, I was upset! But Netflix gave it another chance, and it’s getting a cult following as well as critical acclaim. Who is laughing now?
7. No More Fighting Over TV: I’m not the only one! When someone insists on watching this reality TV garbage, I can log on my laptop, or even iPod Touch, and watch something far more meaningful.
6. No More Late Fees: Have you ever had a late fee from a video store, even the library? They made credit card companies look like Dr. Phil! I used to work at a video store, and you should have heard the overdue calls we made!
5. Travel Entertainment: Okay, I’m one who thinks all flights should have entertainment again.?But even on trains and buses, ?there is Netflix to entertain me, during delays, storms, even crying babies.
4. Easy Access: You can’t escape it, no matter how bad you may want to! It’s available on most of the technological outlets available, from Apple to Microsoft.
3. Breaking New Ground: You can read yesterday’s article. This year was the first time a web series was nominated for an Emmy. Let’s hope they get it!
2. Movies Galore: I wish they had a bigger library, but I’m just thankful with what they have now! I’m glad I found some obscure B movies here, and would like to see more.
1. New TV Shows: Shows like House of Cards are making a statement. And I’ve seen House of Cards, and this show could give Scandal a run for it’s money. Despite critical bashing, Hemlock Grove isn’t that bad, either. I smell a trend coming.
Before you write this off as a promotion, I know there are plenty of things wrong with Netflix. So are you a fan or no fan?
