Google's One Pass hurriedly graduated yesterday from University
in Berlin hot on the heels of the announcement of Apple's subscription service.
The online content payment platform is available to publishers in the UK, US, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The subscription billing application will be making its way
onto smart phones, tablets and computers in the UK, mainland Europe and the
States now.
How it works?
Readers who purchase content from a One Pass publisher can
access their content on tablets, smart phones and websites after signing in
with their Gmail email and password.
The social gaming market is predicted to reach $1bn in 2011, a result of investment by big brands using games to engage consumers. One of the drivers for this investment is the development of technology leading to a deeper integration of social technology and online gaming, making it more attractive to a wider audience (as shown in both US and UK research).
Branded social games and virtual world environments can provide consumers with the chance to immerse themselves in an online environment dedicated to their favourite film franchise (such as Lord of the Rings Online) or book (like Scholastic’s upcoming Horrible Histories world, based on our HuzuTech platform).
But the most important development that’s opened up the market is the ability to include a social element to games. This stops the game becoming the domain of a single player and opens it up to allow players to chat to each other, share scores and information, and effectively market the game on the brand’s behalf by bringing friends in and posting updates to their existing networks (like Facebook).
A new initiative announced by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), sees the launch of IC tomorrow, a platform for content owners and app developers to test drive ideas and applications with a closed group of consumers (sign-up here) using content from major content owners including Sony Music, Getty Images and Crytek.
The platform will host 20 consumer trials focused on the creative industries including music, TV/film and publishing, with a total fund of £200,000 up for grabs to support six month-long trials on the platform. Entrepreneurs are being encouraged to use the platform which will also include mentoring, as well as up to £10,000 per project funding and access to premium content.
Some brands are actively scared about using their social channels to provide customer services, but they don’t realise the opportunity they’re missing.
In general the thinking goes something like this:
- If we let people leave negative remarks, then they will put off other potential customers.
- It’s impossible to solve every problem through social channels – so why try?
- If someone has to answer all the queries, that will mean having to hire more staff.
Let’s look at each of these in detail.
Congratulations to the 31 leading UK digital companies that have been selected for this year's UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Mission to SXSW Interactive 2011.
This trip will see the companies travel out to Austin, Texas for a five day trip in and around South by South West Interactive, one of the largest conferences focused on digital media and technology.
Each of the companies is listed below, don't hesitate to drop them a line directly to arrange a time to meet up in Austin, or follow their progress via their Twitter accounts below. You can follow the UKTI team's coverage of the mission on Twitter @uktiatsxswi.
UKTI SXSW 2011 Mission Companies
A key mistake made by brands when they first enter the social sphere is to forget that they’ll need a way to measure the tangible success of their efforts. Effectively brands leave themselves unable to measure the ROI of their social activity and as a result it can very easily become a wasted effort.
When you first engage through sites such as Facebook or Twitter it’s very easy to be fooled into thinking that a million online followers is an end to itself, but if you haven’t at the very least considered a future strategy for turning your new online friends (followers and fans) into *real* customers, it’s highly unlikely to happen on its own.
Just as with any other marketing campaign, clear objectives should be set right from the start that can be clearly measured and analysed in order to tell you exactly how successful your activities have been.
In amongst the 100+ events of Social Media Week London, plans are progressing rapidly for this year's trip to the incomparable South by South West Interactive 2011.
If you've not been before, be warned, it's not like any other conference you've been to before. In an attempt to ready yourself, mentally, if nothing else, we're planning to put together some tips for Brits heading out to Austin.
In the meantime, here's a brilliant slideshow from Dave Delaney that has some crucial tips on how to get the best out of South-by (if you want to sound like a local):
There's lots of rather fantastic things happening during Social Media Week in London, and the latest addition is from the lovely folks at Skype.
To celebrate Social Media Week, they're giving away free WiFi through Skype Access, the single-click Internet access feature, in New York, San Francisco, Rome, Paris, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Istanbul and most importantly London for the duration of the festival.
From 0001 GMT on the 7th February 2011 to to 2359 GMT on the 12th February 2011, Skype Access will be free to use for up to 60 minutes, so you can surf the web, send email and make free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls at Skype Access-enabled WiFi hotspots in cafés, hotels and airports in New York, San Francisco, London, Rome, Paris, Toronto, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Istanbul.
I'm not sure if there's an awards season per-se for the digital world, but they seem to be cropping up thick and fast at the moment.
And who doesn't like a shiny gong to add to their awards cabinet? Below are details of four sets of awards from the digital, marketing, content and start-up worlds. In their own words, here you go:
So close...just three more sleeps and it's Social Media Week London, there's now almost 100 events listed on the website, which can make it a little tricky to figure out what's on, and more important where tickets are available.
We've put together this handy list of all the events, sessions, gatherings and networking events that still have capacity. This is by no means the whole list, which you can see on the Social Media Week London schedule.
So without further a-do, for your delectation:
