Business Archives - Page 3 of 12

Pinterest appears to be testing what you see in notifications [Updated]

on April 29, 2014 8:38 AM

Update: My notifications have returned to normal. I hope that it has for others as well.

The notifications section, on both the mobile and tablet apps and the desktop site, of my Pinterest account changed about two weeks ago – and not for the better.

To put it bluntly, the change appears self-serving and lacks an understanding of a fundamental reason Pinterest is addicting – validation. But more on that in a moment.

Previous to the change, each notification showed the specific pin of mine being repinned by others. Now, each notification shows the repinner’s board to which the pin has been repinned. In other words, I have no idea what pin was repinned.

How infuriating!

Comments Off

Business

Heartbleed bug creates massive vulnerability in the Internet’s security, reset your passwords

By Adam Williams

on April 9, 2014 5:32 PM

On Monday, April 7th, the Internet was made aware of a massive vulnerability in security due to what’s being called the Heartbleed bug. Simply put, hackers are able to use the Heartbleed bug, which has apparently been around since 2012, to potentially get secure information that can be used to access your online accounts.

In other words, email accounts, bank accounts, social media accounts, basically the entire Internet is vulnerable.

Comments Off

Business

Hulu and Veronica Mars teach consumers to turn to online piracy

By Adam Williams

on March 25, 2014 9:28 AM

Hulu was founded in 2007 and is owned by NBC Universal, Fox and Disney-ABC, in case you didn’t know. In November 2010, Hulu Plus launched as subscription model with access to additional content.

The idea is to give consumers access to content at an affordable enough rate that they will pay for it and not pirate the content yet still create a profit for Hulu’s owners.

The idea is to make content available “Anywhere, Anytime.” It’s the anytime part that Hulu can’t seem to get right.

Comments Off

Marketing

Was Michael Bay’s CES meltdown a PR disaster or accidental brilliance?

By Adam Williams

on January 14, 2014 7:43 AM

Last week, movie director and producer Michael Bay lost all composure at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) when the teleprompter and he got out of sync resulting in Bay suddenly walking off stage after only a single minute.

What makes this particularly embarrassing was that he was on stage to promote Samsung’s new curved HDTV, as a paid sponsor I’m sure. Losing your wits and leaving your meal ticket high and dry, though, is great content for social media, news and comedians alike (see Tina Fey mock Bay at the Golden Globes).

Comments Off

Business

6 Innovative tech companies to watch in 2014

By Adam Williams

on January 8, 2014 10:57 AM

As the new year begins, there are several innovative tech companies that really excite me as I think about the possibilities. The six companies below, in no particular order, are selected because either they are helping lead a disruption or they themselves are causing the disruption.

I will briefly outline why you should pay attention to these innovative tech companies. And feel free to include in the comments other products or companies that you will be following.

Comments Off

Marketing

Is Pantene’s “Labels Against Women” ad the start of a new brand position?

By Adam Williams

on December 17, 2013 10:23 PM

In November, Pantene launched “Labels Against Women,” a new commercial in the Philippines addressing the unfair treatment of women. In short, the advert shows situations in which a woman is labeled differently than a man despite the same actions. While I 100% support changing the perception of women, that is not what I wish to discuss.

Comments Off

Marketing

Was Amazon PrimeAir really just a masterfully executed publicity stunt? Or is the singularity nigh?

By Adam Williams

on December 4, 2013 12:47 AM

Even if you missed the 60 Minutes special with Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, I bet you’ve still seen the press on Facebook, Twitter, Hulu or just about everywhere on the Internet – Amazon wants to deliver your packages to you within 30 minutes using drones.

Yep, drones.

Comments Off