Last year the Lab spent some time researching the future of credit card payment systems. Our findings convinced us that peer to peer payments and alternative payment platforms would eventually reign. While sites like PayPal and eBay had paved the way, we wanted more flexibility and ease in making purchases. For example, a few months back I filled out the online form for PayPal, but I still haven’t verified the bank account PayPal made a two cent deposit into several days after I signed up (to confirm the account for security reasons). Consumers want the exchange of dollars to be safe, but they also want it to be instant and easy. Really, really easy. That’s why we were excited about the then secret platform code-named “Squirrel” from Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey.
Now, Squirrel has been unveiled as Square. As the company tells it, the platform came out of a real need that was not being met: “In February 2009, Jim McKelvey wasn’t able to sell a piece of his glass art because he couldn’t accept a credit card as payment. Even though a majority of payments has moved to plastic cards, accepting payments from cards is still difficult, requiring long applications, expensive hardware, and an overly complex experience. Square was born a few days later right next to the old San Francisco US Mint.” Continue reading “From cash to credit to cellphones”
A lot went down in the Twitter universe last week. Let’s begin this week with a look back at the week that ‘twas.
Proponents of net neutrality were dealt a harsh blow last week when a U.S. appeals court ruled that the FCC could not stop Comcast from slowing service on peer-to-peer file sharing site BitTorrent. The unanimous written decision from the judges never rebukes net neutrality philosophically, but claims the FCC overstepped its powers in the realm of broadband regulation.
Social commerce is white hot. Not surprisingly, a recent report from Foresee Results indicated that Facebook is by far the most effective way for retailers to woo would-be shoppers. The report indicates that, of the 69% of online shoppers who are social media users, 56% have chosen to “friend,” “follow,” or “subscribe to” at least one store brand on Facebook. And 49% of those who follow brands through Facebook want to hear about deals, and 45% want to browse products. To address the needs of brands and retailers in the online and social spaces, the Lab recently partnered with startup social commerce engine, Adgregate. The Lab was excited to learn about Adgregate’s ShopFans product because it provides the “glue†to tie conversations happening in the social graph to conversions in the store.
The iPad is here — and with it, apps. And games. And ads. The iPad arrived on April 3. 
