Lenovo Introduces the New Chromebox Micro

Lenovo announced its new Chromebox Micro media player, an ultra-thin (and affordable?) device running with ChromeOS.

Press release, here.

 

Amazon in talks to buy MGM Studios for $9bn

Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy the historic MGM Studios for $9bn (£6.35bn). MGM is one of Hollywood's most famous studios, with its Leo the Lion logo and an almost century-long history. The sale would give the technology giant's Prime streaming service access to a vast back catalogue of iconic content.

Read here: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57153680

How the API economy is powering digital transformation

Application programming interfaces (APIs) make the modern digital world go round. (...) APIs are the glue that holds most software together in 2021.

The benefits of APIs in modern software development are manifold, but at a top level they help power the shift from monolithic on-premises software to the cloud and microservices-based applications. Smaller, function-based components are easier to maintain, with individual developers or teams assuming responsibility for a specific part. 

READ HERE: 

https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/17/how-the-api-economy-is-powering-digital-transformation

Facebook to Acquire Kustomer

Facebook to acquire Kustomer: 

The social network was said to be paying close to $1 billion for the maker of customer relationship management software.

(...)

The deal could provide businesses and customers more support for interactions that occur on Facebook and its other apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger. More than 175 million people contact businesses using WhatsApp, Facebook said.

Read more here: https://nyti.ms/3lrWITU

RIP Tony Hsieh from Zappos

Tony Hsieh, Longtime Chief of Zappos, Is Dead at 46

Tony Hsieh (pronounced shay)

In the early days of online retailing, he realized that the key to success was making people feel comfortable and secure shopping on the internet.

In the nascent period of internet commerce, Mr. Hsieh was a visionary who realized that getting customers to feel comfortable and secure buying online was the key to success and growth.

To do that, employees in the call center had to engage customers as if speaking to an old friend, with authentic-sounding welcoming banter. He also realized that buyers needed to try on shoes, so Zappos offered free overnight shipping and free return shipping, often sending customers multiple pairs at a time.

Mr. Hsieh, a soft-spoken and introspective executive, developed a philosophy of business built around the idea that happy employees were the conduit to satisfied customers who would return again and again.

>>>>>> Tony Hsieh, Longtime Chief of Zappos, Is Dead at 46 https://nyti.ms/2Jo2hoW

SoundCloud has unveiled The Upload, a feature to help listeners discover even more new music

Following Spotify’s Discover Weekly and Apple Music’s personalized playlists, SoundCloud has unveiled a new feature to help listeners discover even more new music.

Music discovery and personalization has become a way for streaming services to attract and retain users.

More about The Upload - 9to5mac.com

The upload is here: https://soundcloud.com/discover

35% of Snapchat’s daily users aren’t reachable on Facebook and 46% can’t be found on Instagram

Snapchat have reasons to claim that it has a base of young, obsessed users who can’t be reached as easily anywhere else.  According to Bloomberg, App Annie reports that:

"on an average day, 35 percent of Snapchat’s daily users in the U.S. aren’t reachable on Facebook that same day, and 46 percent can’t be found on Instagram. About 61 percent of Snapchat’s fans aren’t watching YouTube on a given day, either." 

More at www.bloomberg.com

Google Ad Crisis Spreads as Biggest Marketers Halt Spending

Google’s advertising crisis went global after some of the biggest marketers including AT&T Inc. and Johnson & Johnson halted spending on YouTube and the internet company’s display network, citing concern their ads would run alongside offensive videos.

Bloomberg:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-22/at-t-halts-spending-on-some-google-ads-after-youtube-controversy

Customer Service Chatbots Are About to Become Frighteningly Realistic

A startup gives chatbots and virtual assistants realistic facial expressions and the ability to read yours.

MIT Technology Review:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603895/customer-service-chatbots-are-about-to-become-frighteningly-realistic/?set=603954

Amit Singhal, on mobile and search. #MustSee # MustListen

Amit Singhal, former Google’s SVP for search and "a giant force inside the company", talks about 3 important things: mobile, mobile and mobile. Yes, search also. Click on the image and watch the full interview at Code/Mobile conference.

Facebook updates its CPC definition

Facebook is unrolling an updated CPC definition that will affect both CPC (which may go up) and CTR figures (which may decline).

Until now, CPC accounted for all clicks including likes, comments, shares, clicks to a website, clicks on "continue reading," and others. CPC will now account only for clicks related to a given ad objective, like clicks to visit another site, call-to-action clicks that lead elsewhere (like "Shop Now"), or clicks to install an app, for example. Engagement clicks (likes, comments, and shares) will no longer be counted.

Read more about How Cost per Click is Measured on Facebook.

E-commerce 3.0 for Walmart

Amandeep Singh Junejan, senior director for cloud operations and engineering at WalmartLabs:

"Ecommerce 3.0 is all about combining distribution so that all inventory is available to all customers all of the time, involving integration of the digital and physical worlds."

Read more at ComputerWeekly.com

Reuters: Amazon in talks to buy online luxury retailer Net-a-porter

Amazon.com is in talks to buy online luxury retailer Net-a-porter in what could be the biggest acquisition yet for the e-commerce giant, but the negotiations are in early stages and could fall apart, Forbes reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Reuters

Why Content Really Isn't King And What Actually Is

Great content :-), by Ross Simmonds

HTTPS as a ranking signal

At Google I/O, a few months ago, Google asked for “HTTPS everywhere” on the web. Now, there's an official announcement that the search engine will start using  HTTPS as a ranking signal.

"For now it's only a very lightweight signal — affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than other signals such as high-quality content — while we give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS. But over time, we may decide to strengthen it, because we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web."

Read more at Google's WebMaster Central Blog

Like, like.... like a vision: how Facebook-Obsessed Are You?

#AmazonCart - Twitter teams up with Amazon

Twitter teams up with Amazon: #AmazonCart -  Add it Now. Buy it Later. Shop from within Twitter.


 

The Narrative Clip, recording your life log

The Narrative Clip, a wearable camera able to create a continuous life log for the user. A tiny, automatic camera and app that gives you a searchable and shareable photographic memory.

http://getnarrative.com


#lifelogging 

Lifeloggers (also known as lifebloggers or lifegloggers) typically wear computers in order to capture their entire lives, or large portions of their lives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelogging

Amazon to Hire 70,000 Full-Time Workers for the Holidays

Amazon announced Tuesday that it plans to hire 70,000 full-time workers for its fulfillment centers to keep up with increased demand during the holidays, something like a 40% increase from last year's seasonal hiring, suggesting that the company is optimistic about growing consumer demand this year.

Read more: Mashable

Is the web dying?

Is The Web Dying? https://medium.com/p/b2977dbee814