BitTorrent Inc., the company behind the peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol that most torrent sites currently deploy for privacy, is courting advertisers. According to their pitch deck, the company is trying to convince advertisers that their transfer protocol is an ideal marketing platform for publishers and brands alike. Shredding its association with piracy, the company urges advertisers to reconsider it as a “software company that lets users download software, bundles of content and sync content across devices”. Leveraging its high brand awareness and its alleged “counter-cultural position”, the company might just get some brands on board.
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How Netflix Is Using Facebook Integration Right
Netflix has quietly released a new feature that enables the viewers to send recommendations to selected Facebook friends once they opt to link up the two accounts. Instead of just posting the recommendation to your friends’ walls on your behalf, Netflix is actually taking a more respectful approach by sending these suggestions either through private Facebook messages or, if they have also linked up their accounts, via Netflix notifications. (After all, not everyone needs to know your appreciation for 90’s rom-coms starring Julia Roberts.) Brands attempting to integrate Facebook or other social elements into their campaigns should take note of this approach, which respects and protects users’ privacy by design.
YouTube Unveils New “Fan Funding” Feature
YouTube has started testing a new integrated payment feature that allows fans to donate to their YouTube channels of choice. Officially dubbed “fan funding”, this new feature is unlikely to replace revenue from advertising for most YouTube channel owners, but it does mark a significant step in YouTube’s ongoing effort to monetize its growing viewership and making its video content shoppable.
Radiohead Releases New Work Exclusively Thru App
Radiohead is no stranger to releasing new music in unconventional ways—back in 2007, the band made their entire album “In Rainbows” available to download on their official website without a price tag, asking fans to pay however much they wished. Now, the band is exploring new distribution channels by releasing their latest work exclusively on their PolyFauna app, which was launched back in February. The app was initially designed as a companion to their 2011 album “The King of Limbs”, but this new update seems to repurpose the otherwise one-off app with new possibilities. Unlike when Skrillex revealed his new album in branded app one week in advance to its official release, no announcement of a new Radiohead album release has been made at this point.
Yo For Free Moto Smartwatches
Motorola has teamed up with Yo to launch a giveaway campaign on the minimalist messaging app. Yesterday 20 new Moto 360 smartwatches were given away gratis to the first 20 users who “Yo’ed” Moto’s account and clicked on the hyperlink embedded in the returned Yo. This is not the first time a major brand has experimented with Yo, but it did move beyond mere notifications and properly utilized some of Yo’s new features. As the user size of Yo keeps growing, more brands can be expected to follow their audience and try out this new platform.
Oculus Gains Leap Motion Support
Leap Motion, a company that specializes in gesture-detecting sensors, announced that it would offer a mount for some VR headsets, including both developer versions of the Oculus. This is a small step for Oculus as it adds yet another auxiliary support, but it also might just be a giant leap for virtual reality as it points to a controller-free user experience, which would of great help in refining and mainstreaming the virtual reality technology.
How Instagram’s New App Is Helping Brands
Earlier this week, Instagram released a free app named Hyperlapse, which allows users to create speeded-up time-lapse videos and share to Instagram with ease. Some brands have already been taking full advantage of the app to pack more content into their branded videos—a real benefit as most social media platforms put a time limit on video length. In this ever-shifting market landscape, quickly adopting emerging tech tools is becoming increasingly important for brands of all types.
Tech Is Replacing Fashion For Gen Z
For today’s teenagers, fashion might have gone out of vogue. In fact, technology is quickly becoming more of a status symbol than fashion. As noted in a recent New York Times report on the back-to-school shopping, many Gen Z members cite the newest handset as a higher priority than the fashion fad of the season. As tech accessories continue to rise among the younger generations, it is up to brands on both sides to keep up with the trend.
Netflix Petitioning Against Comcast-TWC Merger
As the debate over net neutrality continues to heat up, Netflix is stepping up by filing a 256-page official petition to the FCC to argue against the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The OTT video industry, spearheaded by Netflix, has been one of the most vocal proponents in this ongoing debate. It is within reason for them to oppose the merger between two of largest Internet service providers in US for fear of constricted bandwidth and regional monopoly. Netflix may be doing well enough to afford paying ISPs access fee for better interconnection at the moment, but the merger, if approved, would restraint the growth of smaller companies and upset the current equilibrium.
Facebook Optimizes Mobile Ads Based On Cell Signal Strength
Facebook is starting to allow advertisers to target ads based on the strength of cell reception. This new feature of its ad platform will give advertisers the option distinguish the type of ads they serve—a text-based ad for someone in a remote area with weak reception; a lush video ad for someone in the city covered by strong LTE network. This will not only increase the overall effectiveness of Facebook’s mobile ads, but is also expected to help Facebook’s efforts in emerging global markets where advanced cell networks are not yet common.
