Facebook has only five to eight years to live, analyst says

You would think with how ubiquitous Facebook is becoming that they would last more than at least the next ten years, but one analyst opines differently. Eric Jackson, the founder of Ironfire Capital told a CNBC show, Squawk on the Street that he thinks the social network will disappear in the next five to eight years. He said, "In five to eight years they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared. Yahoo is still making money, it’s still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it’s 10% of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it’s disappeared." Jackson says this in response to the disappointing IPO that Facebook had recently.

According to Mashable, Jackson says that the shift of consumer behaviour to the mobile web and Facebook's lack of acceptance of that way of thinking will result in their demise. He says that as we move forward in time, the world is getting more competitive, not less. He adds that those companies that were dominant in a previous generation will find a hard time surviving in the new generation. He said that while Facebook can buy all the mobile applications they want, they will still be a giant website.

Facebook's down in 2020?

Jackson explains his theory of three Internet generations, explaining that Facebook is a member of the second generation. The first generation comprises of companies like Google and Yahoo!, that essentially served as portals to aggregate and organize all the information that was available on the Internet. The second generation is dominated by Facebook and is essentially comprises companies whose aim was to capitalize on the social web. Finally, the third generation includes companies that monetize from mobile web users.

Jackson explains that no matter how successful a company is in one generation, they will have trouble translating their services into another generation. He provides the example of Google, which dominated the first generation, but could not succeed in the social generation. In a similar fashion, Facebook will have trouble moving in to the mobile generation. Facebook has already received flak from potential shareholders, right before the IPO, that their mobile interfaces are free of ads and therefore have no revenue stream. Jackson says that it is this inability, which will make Facebook disappear in the next five to eight years.

News from - http://tech2.in.com/news/social-networking/facebook-has-only-five-to-eight-years-to-live-analyst-says/313282

39 Things You Should Know About Google+

Google's latest attempt at social

This isn't every single thing there is to know about Google+. That could probably be a book rather than an article, and the Google+ Project has only just begun. If Google has its way, it will live on for years. Or it could go the Google Wave route. It's just too early to tell.

Do you think Google+ will succeed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

While we'll no doubt learn plenty more about Google+ as time goes on, here are some quick nuggets to get you a little more acquainted with it. 

1. Google+ is currently available on an invitation-only basis.

2. Google does not consider it a Facebook competitor (at least publicly).

3. Google+ is currently available for download as an app in the Android Market.

4. When you download that app, it splits off the "Huddle" feature as a separate app.

5. Users can post status updates, and these appear on the Google Profile under a tab called "Posts". The +1's and Buzz tabs remain separate. I have to wonder if we'll see Buzz and Posts merge eventually.

6. What is available now is "just the beginning" according to Google. These are just the first features or presumably many more to come.

7. Circles is one current feature. It lets you share things with different people (kind of like Facebook Groups) but with a very different user interface. Watch this video.

8. Another feature is Sparks. This looks for videos and articles it thinks you'll like, so "when you're free, there's always something to watch, read, and share." Filter Bubble anyone? 

9. Hangouts is another feature. It's basically group video chat. Google describes it as "the unplanned meet-up." 

10. Instant uploads is a mobile-specific feature. Photos upload themselves as you take them, and are stored in a private area on the cloud.

11. Huddle is another group-conversation feature for mobile. Essentially, it's group chat. 

12. The stream is basically the equivalent of the Facebook news feed. 

13. When you share something with Google+ it's added to your stream and the stream of everyone you shared with. 

14. The stream shows you what all of your Circles have shared with you. 

15. If you mention a user, using the "+" or "@" symbols, the person may receive a notification that you mentioned them. 

16. You can see who specific posts were shared with in the stream -- whether they were shared publicly, to extended circles, or a limited group. 

17. You can filter the stream by specific Circles.

18. You can chat directly in the stream

19. You can report inappropriate content.

20. You can search for people from the search box at the top of the stream. 

21. Soon, Google says you'll be able to search the stream itself from the search box. 

22. If you leave comments on a post, you can edit or delete them.

23. The same goes for posts, but you can't edit a post's sharing settings after the post has been shared. However, you can delete the post and share again to different circles.

24. You can "reshare" posts made by others (like retweeting).

25. You can "mute" a post. This will let you stop receiving updates from a post, like if the comments get out of control for example.

26. You can use the "Google+ Bar" that appears at the top of various Google products as your connection to the social network. 

27. When you're signed in you'll see your full name or email address displayed with a photo or avatar next to it, to help you identify which account you're currently signed in to.

28. If you've enabled multi sign-in you can sign in to two different Google accounts and switch between them using the Google+ bar.

29. When you sign up for Google+, you're also signing up for Picasa Web Albums, so all photos and videos uploaded to Google+ (including from your phone via Instant Upload) will also be available in Picasa Web Albums.

30. You can use the Google +1 button from the stream. 

31. You can have a ton of friends on Google+. Robert Scoble quickly added over 1,000. 

32. The central user interface is very Facebook-esque.

33. Google+ quickly became the butt of a lot of jokes (and even cartoons), but has also received a great deal of praise thus far. 

34. With Google+ Google adds a "You" link to the recently redesigned (painted black) navigation bar across Google properties

35. You can view public Google+ content without actually being invited (Danny Sullivan has a guide on how to view it )

36. China is already blocking Google+. That didn't take long. 

37. Invitations have been listed on eBay.

38. There are already privacy concerns about Google+ but the Privacy Guide can be found here. 

39. According to the Financial Times article, you can share something within a closed "Circle," but somone from that circle can then reshare it with anyone, and even make it public.  

News from - http://www.fasttreck.in/news/2011/07/02/39-things-you-should-know-about-google.html

Google to launch Android 5.0 Jelly Bean with multiple lead devices?

Google is reportedly working on a new strategy for its forthcoming mobile operating system, Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Internet giant is going to give mobile device manufacturers an early access to the new mobile operating system in an attempt to come up with a more robust ecosystem and to take on arch-rival Apple.

The WSJ report, citing unnamed sources, says the new strategy could be launching the new operating system with multiple devices, doing away with current practice of working with single manufacturer on a "lead device" based on a new Android release. The report says Google may collaborate with up to five device-makers to produce "Nexus” lead devices, which could be either smartphones, tablets or both.

Google has changed its strategy for Android operating system quite often, it's learnt. Back in 2010, Google came up with its self-branded Android-based smartphone, Nexus One; but soon the venture was shut down.

Earlier this year, reports said Google was once again looking to launch co-branded Android devices manufactured by third party device makers through its online store. Another round of reports said Google would come up with own Android tablets this year via Motorola Mobility, the consumer arm of Motorola that Google acquired for $12.5 billion in 2011 and sell them through its online store.

News from - http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Google-to-launch-Android-50-Jelly-Bean_9554.html

Google updates search with new Knowledge Graph

Google's dominant search engine is set for another major revamp, as the Internet giant introduces a new tool called the “Knowledge Graph” – that will provide users with more relevant results. The new Knowledge Graph will appear in the form of short snippets to the right column of its results and provide users more information on a topic and help users explore related items as well. The new feature will be rolled out in the next few days to desktop, mobile and tablet users.

Google's new Knowledge Graph leverages Google-built database of over 500 million people, places and commonly sought queries to provide a brief information about a topic alongside the main search results.

“The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about—landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more—and instantly get information that’s relevant to your query,” Amit Singhal, senior vice president of engineering at Google, said in a blog post. “This is a critical first step toward building the next generation of search, which taps into the collective intelligence of the Web and understands the world a bit more like people do.”

Google's launch of Knowledge Graph comes days after Microsoft revamped its own Bing search engine with deeper integration of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The revamped Bing includes option to feature social results from Facebook and Twitter in searches. Microsoft also added new features to Bing to make the search engine easier to use.

Check out the new Knowledge Graph in the video below: 

News from - http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Google-updates-search-with-new-Knowledge-Graph_9559.html

Top 5 Global Brands

Bangalore: Facebook has over 157 million users from different parts of the globe which allows these companies to grow globally. More the users checking the industry profile the more they get pageviews or likes or comments. Thus giving them the basic idea whether the consumers like their product and brand or not. In a study done by a social marketing firm, SocialBakers, presents the top 5 global brands depending upon the fans on Facebook.

Coca-Cola

Coke is a carbonated soft drink which is sold all around the world in about 200 countries. They have many other flavours of cola drinks.  In 2011, it was regarded as the world’s most valuable brand. This company is located in United States. One of its major competitors is PepsiCo. Coca-cola ads are very famous because it features well renowned actors or pop stars or sports stars. It has also been an element of popular culture. Even though it has been criticized for the adverse health effects still it has managed to stand still in the market. In Facebook, this company holds the first position among the top 5 brands to engage the users and it has almost 42 million fans.

Starbucks

This is an international coffee company and coffeehouse chain which is based in Seattle, Washington. It operates in almost 58 countries and also has grocery stores. It is well known for its drip brewed coffee, expresso based hot drinks and snacks etc. The company also has an entertainment division and Hear Music brand. It markets books, music and film.  It has partnered with Apple to collaborate on selling music. Starbucks stands on the second position on the Facebook’s top 5 brands and has about 30 million fans.

Converse

This company was founded by Marquis Mills Converse in late 30s and was named as Converse Rubber Shoe Company. Another unit was founded by Elisha converse in Malden, Massachussetts in 1908. In 1917 the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. The company became famous when a basketball player named Charles H. Taylor also known as “Chuck” was made the ambassador and salesman and later his signature was added to the All Star patch. Converse is very popular amongst the younger generation and so it ranks third in the list of Top 5 brands on Facebook with 30 million fans.

Red Bull

It is an energy drink which was created by Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian entrepreneur in 1987 in partnership with an inventor of an earlier energy drink, Chaleo Yoovidhya from Thailand. It is the most popular energy drink in the world in terms of market share, with $.5 billion cans sold each year. It has been marketed through advertisements with the slogan “Red Bull gives you wings.” It sponsors many events like Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Racing, and Red Bull New York etc and also endorses with its record label known as Red Bull Records. This holds the fourth position in the list of Facebook’s top 5 brands and has around 28 million fans.

Oreo

It is delicious sandwich cookie and was introduced by Nabisco division of Kraft Foods in 1912. It has become the best selling cookie in the United States. In Canada it is sold under the brand name Christie. It is sold in many shapes and sizes, and also in different flavors. It has a great demand all over the world and is the fifth most engaging brand on Facebook with almost 26 million fans.

News from - http://www.siliconindia.com/news/business/Top-5-Global-Brands-nid-116060-cid-3.html