Erik Qualman's Blog, page 563

Samsung to buy Apple Pay competitor LoopPay

Business Insider reported yesterday that Samsung will buy LoopPay, a mobile payments company.

LoopPay’s technology allows mobile payments through traditional magnetic credit card readers. That means it can theoretically work in a lot more places than Apple Pay, which requires special payment pads to work.

Samsung did not say how much it’s paying to buy LoopPay.

According to a report last year in Re/code, Samsung plans to incorporate LoopPay’s technology in an upcoming flagship phone, likely the Galaxy S6.

LoopPay’s CEO Will Graylin confirmed to Business Insider in January that LoopPay would be integrated in a major new smartphone this year. Samsung will formally introduce the Galaxy S6 at an event in Barcelona on March 1.

LoopPay makes cases for popular smartphones like the iPhone with its payment tech embedded inside. It recently released a case for the iPhone 6. LoopPay also makes dongles for your keychain if you don’t have a smartphone compatible with one of its cases. There’s a metal coil inside LoopPay devices that creates a magnetic field that can “talk” to regular credit card readers.

Image from looppay.com

Because LoopPay works with most standard magnetic credit card readers, it’s compatible with far more point-of-sale systems than Apple Pay and Google Wallet, which require special near field communication (NFC) readers. LoopPay claims it works at about 90% of places that accept credit cards.

LoopPay could also be attractive to retailers because it means they won’t have to purchase new equipment just to accept Apple Pay.

USA TODAY talked with LoopPay CEO, Will Graylin about the acquisition. When asked about how the deal with Samsung came about, Graylin said, “Samsung invested in us in July of last year. They caught wind of us when we launched our Kickstarter campaign. They spent a good part of 2014 looking at how to work with us as a way to deliver a much better consumer experience from the payment side.”

When asked if Samsung was looking to go against Apple Pay Graylin said, “None of us even knew that Apple Pay was going to launch when we first started working together. A lot of the focus was really how do we solve a bigger problem, which is consumer adoption. And consumers are not going to adopt if they can’t use a vast majority of their cards at a vast majority of merchants. Which has always been a barrier.”

 

Article from businessinsider.com and usatoday.com

Thumbnail from shuttershock.com

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5 Principles of Pay-Per-Click Advertising That Actually Works

Traditional advertising wasn’t particularly effective even during its golden age – i.e., most of the 20th century. Most traditional advertising methods work according to ‘spray and pray’ method – they try to cover as many people as possible and hope for the best. When compared to that, pay-per-click offers fantastic value for money – especially today, when people are getting more and more indifferent to advertising they are too used to.

1.      Delegation

If you are a business owner, it may be a good idea to hire a Pay Per Click specialist to handle this direction, at the same time using every possibility to learn more about this trade. Don’t just give the man you hire a free rein – ask questions, seek out alternative opinions, improve your knowledge. Ideally you should have a specialist who will deal with most issues on his own, make meaningful decisions and alter your campaign so that it works better without your direct interference – but at the same time you are supposed to know enough to understand what is happening without having this specialist to tell you.

2.      Very Specific Landing Pages

Your landing page or pages should be extremely specific. When you select keywords, you should have a very clear image of a problem they symbolize and the question the seeker looks to answer. The landing page should contain an immediate answer to this question, without vagueness and trying to serve several different audiences. It is better to have several specific landing pages rather han one that tries to be universal – statistics show that your average visitor makes a decision whether to stay or go in a matter of seconds; if you can’t grasp his attention, you’ve lost.

3.      Concentrate on Search Traffic

Let’s face it: contextual ads on publisher sites usually perform rather poorly. They usually lead to a large number of clicks by people who are simply curious and don’t intend to become anyone’s clients. Some can make an impulsive decision, but they are rare. People you are really after are those who actually look for your product or its alternatives. Try opting out of non-search traffic from Google and compare the results.

4.      A Lot of Testing

No advertising campaign is ideal from the outset – even professionals make many mistakes, even within one campaign. The difference they have from amateurs is that they constantly test their results and immediately dispense with what performs poorly. General rule of thumb is this: wait for at least 200 impressions per keyword and ad text and check its Click-Through Rate – if it is lower than 1%, get rid of it immediately.

5.      Don’t Try to Sell on the Landing Page

On seeing a sale offer on a landing page most people (including you) would smile sardonically and immediately close it. You know this, we know it, everybody knows it, yet a lot of people keep repeating the same mistake. You shouldn’t sell you product on a landing page – you should offer something free and valuable instead, like a free e-book, a video manual with something pertaining to your topic, this sort of thing.

Don’t listen to those who say that pay per click is inefficient – they simply don’t know how to use it.

Thumbnail image from shutterstock.com

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Best Word Counts For Every Type of Social Media Post

Did you know that Facebook posts with only 40 characters receive 86% more engagement than posts with a higher character count? Check out this awesome infographic by SumAll and Buffer to find out how long your posts online should be in order to get the most attention.

Inforgraphic from http://blog.sumall.com/journal/intern... 

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7 Creative Tools for All Who Like Writing for Social Media

Writing is a skill that you have to constantly work to improve. Apart from continuous practice and gaining experience, it is also about passion. In today’s world where everyone has mobile devices to access the Internet, it is also easier for writers to hone their writing skills and to have a simplified process with the help of various online tools and resources that are now readily available on the Internet. By using these tools, you gain more knowledge and skill as a writer and find the most effective means to publish your work.

Writetodone

This website offers The Ultimate Guide to Better Writing where you can discover the secret of finding inspiration; learn the simple ways to double your writing speed and to master the essential skills to become a better writer. Writetodone gives you essential tips that will increase your speed as a writer as well as the quality of content you create. Aside from this useful online guide, the site is also home to creative and informative materials for writers. You can read articles and even enjoy flash fiction contest. To get instant access, you can just provide your name and e-mail.

Bookbaby

One of the most fulfilling achievements a writer can ever make in his or her entire career is to be able to publish one’s work. With the overwhelming popularity of indie writers today, you can also have the opportunity to make your own book and to even sell it worldwide. One site that can help you make and sell printed books or even eBooks is Bookbaby. This site offers a great alternative for those who are interested in self-publishing. The site makes it easier for you to create custom-printed books. Book Baby also aids writers and publishers in selling their books on iBooks, Amazon and in other platforms.

Endnote

Endnote.com is a tool that you can use to search, use and share research content. It is used not just for bibliographies. In fact, you can sync your Endnote library with your other mobile devices. This makes your research easier to access anytime and anywhere. With this platform, you can organize your work as Endnote makes it more efficient for you search for full-text articles and online databases.

Oflowapp

Writers have to come up with creative ideas. This is not an easy thing to do especially since there are times where you are running out of creative ideas. But with the use of online tools like Oflowapp, you can generate creative prompts. This particular app can spark your imagination as there are over 150 creative prompts. This is an inspiration generator app that writers can use to bookmark their favorite methods, create ideas. You can also use this app to set creative reminders.

BestEssayTips

To become a more prolific and proficient writer, you have to constantly enhance your knowledge by reading various online resources. You can learn so many things from other professional writers who have extensive experience and skill in the field. BestEssayTips is home to lots of useful online resources for writers. This site can be used by writers as source of quality writing tips.

Newnovelist

This site is a Windows program that is created to help writers to finish their novels. With its new features, it gives you the technology that you need to make it easier for you to become a successful novel writer. What makes Newnovelist different from other tools is that it also provides creative writing advice. This program is not just a simple tool that you can use for organization. This tool can help you organize your notes as it has a broad range of templates to simplify the writing process. Once you are done, you can finally publish your novel. This program gives you the facilities that you need to submit your work to a publisher or an agent.

Nanowrimo

Writing a novel is definitely not easy. But by using tools like the one provided by Nanowrimo, you can write a novel in a month. This tool is not your ordinary writing tools as it can help you track your progress to ensure that you are right on time. When you sign-up, you get to access lots of useful online resources that you can use. You can also get pep talks and through this platform, you get the chance to interact with fellow writers.

Writing requires time, skill, effort and resources. But with the use of these creative resources that you can access on the Internet, you can achieve your goals as a writer. Whether you are starting a novel or you are about to publish your work, these sites will make things easier and faster for you. At least, you do not have to stress out yourself just to be able to complete and publish your work.

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Twitter introduces TweetDeck teams

Twitter announced on their blog Tuesday morning that they were introducing, TweetDeck teams, a simple way to share access to your Twitter accounts without sharing passwords. The feature is starting to roll out today on TweetDeck for web, Chrome and Windows.

TweetDeck Teams is a simple solution to Twitter account sharing. It enables you to delegate access to as many people as you like, and remove accounts when they no longer need access. In order to use this new feature, you must log in to TweetDeck with your Twitter account. If you are still using a legacy TweetDeck account, it’s time to switch over!

Get started

If you currently manage and share a Twitter account, here are a few steps to get ready to use TweetDeck Teams. Let’s use  as an example.

As the owner of , log in to TweetDeck using the Twitter account credentials, and from the navigation bar, select Accounts.

Select Team .
Type the name of the account(s) you want to have access to .
Select Authorize and an email will be sent to the account. (For this example, let’s say the user being authorized is ). Bo will need to Accept the invitation in TweetDeck to contribute. The email address associated with will receive an email that  has been added to the team.

Tip: If you’re currently sharing your account, you can change the password and revoke app access to ensure that from now on only the people you’ve just added will have access.

This short video is a quick and easy way to see how it works:

Finally, TweetDeck Teams has two types of roles: admin and contributor. As the person who knows the password, you can still Tweet from the account, add or remove team members, view the team and access the account from non-TweetDeck platforms (e.g., Twitter.com, Twitter mobile apps). You can also update the account’s credentials or password.

Admins are users who sign in to TweetDeck with their personal account. As an admin, the user can Tweet from the account (plus build lists, follow or unfollow accounts, send Tweets and schedule Tweets), add or remove team members and view the team. An admin cannot access the account off of TweetDeck or change the credentials or password.

And contributors are those people who can Tweet from and act as the account (plus build lists, follow or unfollow accounts, send Tweets and schedule Tweets). Contributors cannot view, add or remove team members, and can not access the account outside of TweetDeck.

Remember, once you’ve transitioned over to TweetDeck Teams, you should continue to use login verification on your accounts, and encourage your team members to as well. Instead of relying on just a password, login verification introduces a second check to make sure that you and only you can access your Twitter account.

Article by Amy Zima from blog.twitter.com

Thumbnail from shutterstock.com

 

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4 Social Media Marketing Tips to Use in 2015

Nobody can ignore social media marketing anymore, but very few actually understand how to approach it. Most small businesses create an account in Facebook, update it from time to time and leave it at that. However, if you want more than to just tick a corresponding box, you need some actual techniques.

1. Pay Special Attention to Instagram

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social networks (in 2013 it grew a whopping 23%; for comparison, Facebook only grew 3%). It is mobile – which corresponds to current trends, as the sales of mobile devices and the number of users who surf the Internet almost exclusively from mobile devices are increasing at breakneck speeds. It is visual – and visual images are incredibly powerful instruments for creating the needed impression in visitors. It is especially important in case you sell physical goods – after you’ve created a decent Instagram following, you can use it to showcase your items and persuade people to do your marketing for you.

2. Diversification

In the last 12-24 months we saw the rise of many new social networks. Some of them appeared as an answer to perceived flaws in the main players (for example, Ello that started last March stating that they will never sell personal information of their users like Facebook). Others in order to cater to needs of specific groups (Foodie – for food enthusiasts). Still others use some unusual mechanic as a sales pitch (tsu – they promise to share revenues with users based on the popularity of their posts). New social networks seem to spout up like mushrooms and it remains to be seen if any of them will be successful or survive at all – but marketers cannot ignore them, especially if they are aimed at their target audiences.

3. Scommerce

Social networks are getting increasingly eager to serve not just as an advertising ground, but as selling spaces in their own right. Twitter has already made first steps in this direction with the introduction of their Product Cards, but this trend is going to gain momentum, and judging by how quickly things happen in this sphere, it won’t take long for a full-fledged system to develop.

4. Video Is Growing in Importance

Statistics show that video is quickly gaining prevalence as content of choice throughout most social networks – for example, today Facebook exceeds YouTube in the number of video views via desktop, and we are talking about a network that is primarily text and picture based. Clever use of video in marketing is going to become more and more important – probably because of ever-growing sensory overload people experience, as they are getting less and less likely to read even a single sentence from the beginning to an end.

It is doubtless that social media marketing is going to continue to develop in 2015 and we don’t know how exactly it is going to happen. But we know that it is possible to try to be prepared.

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Rumors arise that Apple is building a car

Patrick Kulp from Mashable reported that after months of rumors, it seems increasingly clear that Apple has an electric car in the works.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has a team of up to 1,000 employees working in secret on a branded electric vehicle as part of a project codenamed “Titan.” Anonymous sources told the paper that the initial design of the car resembles a minivan.

The Journal story comes just hours after a Financial Times report that the tech giant was hiring automative experts for a top-secret project. Apple appointed Apple executive and former Ford engineer Steve Zadesky to lead the group almost a year ago, the Journal claims.

Apple may choose not to go forward with the project — but the R&D efforts needed to make a vehicle, such as creating the dashboard software, electronics and a battery that can take a beating over long distances, would still prove useful in developing other Apple products.

The company has been known to explore technologies and build prototypes that never actually make it to the market; the long-rumored “iTV” television still hasn’t arrived, and may never. Even if this project is different, it will likely be at least several years before an Apple car does hit the road.

Apple has previously worked with automakers to create an in-car software platform called CarPlay, which adds many iOS features such as Siri and iTunes to the dashboard of a car.

Apple executives have reportedly met with various contract manufacturers for luxury cars such as Austrian Magna Steyr. In September, the company hired former Mercedes Benz North American R&D head Johann Jungwirth and the company’s industrial design team includes many designers who previously worked at European automakers, according to the Journal. A LinkedIn search reveals that there are at least 46 former employees of Tesla currently working at Apple.

reported that Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, focusing on electric and connected-car technologies, while studying the potential for automated driving, the source said.

“Fully automated driving is an evolution. Carmakers will slowly build the market for autonomous cars by first releasing connected and partially automated cars,” the auto industry source said. “Apple is interested in all the potential ways you can evolve the car; that includes autonomous driving.”

Whether it will build and release an electric car or a more evolved autonomous vehicle remains to be seen, the source said.

But clearly Apple has sharply raised its ambitions in automotive technology. Car technology has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley companies ranging from Google Inc, which has built a prototype self-driving car, to electric car-maker Tesla Motors Inc.

An Apple spokesman in London on Saturday declined to comment on “rumors or speculation”.

Article from mashable.com and reuters.com

Thumbnail courtesy of shutterstock.com

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Twitter and Google Team Up For Search-What It Means For Your Business

Twitter has recently agreed to make its tweet data accessible to Google search. The merger is set to happen in the first half of 2015 and although Google has had the ability to search for keywords in Twitter profiles before this deal, this partnership will make the search apply to tweets quicker and more directly. Since no Twitter account is required to view tweets on Google search, Twitter will see increased traffic and visibility. This deal isn’t just beneficial for Twitter, but for businesses who advertise and operate on the social platform. The new system will allow businesses to reach more people with each tweet and capitalize on the change in search, gaining the most reach with their content.

Stay Current and Timely

With this new system, tweets will be displayed in real time on Google search results, instead of just showing profile information. This algorithm allows information to become seen more, since it will be available on both Google and Twitter. The micro-blogging platform boasts an astonishing 6,000 tweets per second which makes it easy for your business’s single tweet to get lost in the fray of hundreds of thousands of tweets per minute. But if you include keywords related to a trending search, your timely and relevant tweet will be viewed by anyone searching for the subject matter. These topical tweets can be about breaking news, current trends as they relate to your business, or anything that people are searching for. This strategy doesn’t mean spamming your account with a steady barrage of tweets; you don’t want to swamp your feed with white noise for the chance to get one tweet noticed. But be aware of what’s happening both in the world and in your line of business and be the first to deliver the latest tip to anyone searching.

Instant Access

Although Twitter already has its own search function on its site, adding Google search to the equation will help disseminate search results to people with or without Twitter. It’s been found that when Twitter allows Google to crawl its content, the traffic from people not logged into Twitter increases tenfold. With the popularization of multiple social media platforms, the way people receive news and updates has changed. Because of Google’s new approach, which gives users instant access to news and information rather than forcing them to peruse links, users will soon rely on Google alone for timely information. Considering Twitter is one of the most important new sources for this approach, tweets will be an important way of getting noticed and getting more attention for your brand.

Look to the Future of Search

This isn’t the first time Google has had a real time search deal with Twitter. The companies had a similar arrangement in 2009 that expired in 2011 with little explanation for the split from either company. However, when the initial split happened in 2011, Google cited that in the future, its search engine would facilitate real time updates from many different platforms, not just Google+, but also Facebook and newly updated web pages. This latest Twitter/Google renewal may be just the tip of the iceberg as Google expands instant access to many different areas. If that turns out to be the case, plan ahead and build your online presence on multiple platforms, staying timely on all of them.

Consider Your Tweets Carefully

Google keeping an active log of all tweets is a great opportunity for people to find the exact information they need. The only downside is the 140 character limit of Twitter doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the most intelligent or well thought-out conversations. With the intermingled search of Google and Twitter, the search engine could further the reach of genuine, worthy broadcasts, but also the blunders of any company unfortunate enough to not think out their tweets fully. Don’t fall into the trap of creating sub-par content for the chance of a link click. Despite the extended reach, plan and compose your tweets carefully and leave little room for error.

There is always a “next big thing” when it comes to SEO and social media marketing. Google and Twitter had a similar deal from 2009 to 2011, which eventually deteriorated, but even if this newest union doesn’t last forever it’s still a great way to build a huge audience. Your business’s Twitter account, and eventually other social accounts, could be seen by millions with the help of Google search. It’s time to put your best foot forward and show the world at large how great your company can be.

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Banking hackers steal up to $1 billion using malware

USA TODAY reported that an international hacking ring has stolen as much as $1 billion from more than 100 banks in 30 countries in what may be the biggest banking breach ever, a news report shows. The scheme, which goes back as far as 2013, uses malware so sophisticated that hackers have used it to dispense cash from ATMs without any physical contact with the machines, according to the report by Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky Labs. The hackers then sent mules to pick up the cash, according to the shocking report released Monday.

The malware used in the hacks, dubbed Carbanak, targets employees of banking institutions, rather than customers, and suggests a “new era in cybercrime” in which criminals go after institutions’ internal operations, the report said .”The ‘Carbanak cybergang’ operation reported by Kaspersky is no doubt the most daring, most sophisticated, and potentially the most damaging cybercrime directly against banks up to date,” said Fengmin Gong, chief strategy officer at Cyphort.

The Kaspersky report declined to name the banks that have been compromised, but said the victims were mostly “Russian-speaking financial institutions,” and the malware was largely downloaded from Russian.

Still, the problem is global and has targeted banks in China, Ukraine, the U.S., India, Sweden and Great Britain, the report said. The attackers, who also hailed from China and Europe, appear to be “trying to expand operations to other Baltic and Central Europe countries, the Middle East, Asia and Africa,” the report said. Also, the malware may be used to target other institutions, not just banks, the report said.

Mashable said that the hackers seemed to limit their theft to about $10 million before moving on to another bank, part of the reason why the fraud was not detected earlier, Kaspersky principal security researcher Vicente Diaz said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.  ”In this case they are not interested in information. They’re only interested in the money,” he said. “They’re flexible and quite aggressive and use any tool they find useful for doing whatever they want to do.”

Kaspersky is still working with law-enforcement agencies to investigate the attacks, which the company says are ongoing, and no bank has publicly acknowledged the theft yet. So far, Kaspersky has seen evidence of $300 million stolen, but the company believes the total amount is at least thrice as big.

 

Article originally from usatoday.com and mashable.com

Thumbnail image courtesy of securelist.com

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Social Media to Get the Perfect Pitch for Your Business Online

In today’s web world, use of social media can be the best tool for a business to prosper. Any business, big or small, local or global, online or offline can use social media marketing. For many, social media marketing is a powerful medium and that one must take the utmost advantage of it.

There are various ways and strategies to improve your business. Social media is an online activity to not only make your business known but also to draw potential customers. Let’s understand the benefits of social media to get the perfect pitch online for your business:

Social media increases brand value of business. Marketing through social media draws people’s attention towards your business. For every content you use on social media, the visibility of your business increases. People start recognizing your business. Social media networks become channels to voice your brand. This helps in making you more accessible for new customers and more familiar with the existing ones.


Social media marketing helps in increased business exposure. It allows your business to extend beyond geographical boundaries.


It is a cost-efficient and convenient way of increasing brand visibility.


Social media provides limitless opportunities for you to interact with existing and prospective customers. The biggest advantage is that through this medium you can interact with customers in a real-time conversation about your mission, product, services and events.


Social media can also help in lead generation. There are various sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc. that offer paid advertising options. You can use these platforms to reach your prospective business partners or your potential customers. For e.g. Facebook’s Graph Search or targeted paid Facebook ads.


Advertising through the social media can be extremely targeted in a cost effective manner. On the other hand, traditional marketing strategies are more general in nature and not very cost effective. Social media ads can be customized as per demography, age group, gender, profession based etc. so that one can hit the nail on the head. One of the great things about social media is that you can focus your efforts on those who actually have an interest in your company. This means you can gain more customers on per penny spent on advertising.


Use of social media for your business can give your company a competitive advantage. Advertising through this medium is more timely, current and relevant. This can give you a competitive edge over your competitors.


Another advantage of social media is that through Social Media Dashboard you can monitor and assess your social media activities and judge the effect of social media campaign on website traffic, lead generation and actual business conversions.


If your business is active on social media, it can improve your rankings on search engines. This will boost your visibility and help increase your profits.

Irrespective of the size or type of your business, social media marketing can help to give your business the perfect pitch. It can then experience growth and make better profits.

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