How would you like to help determine which projects will receive some of the $4.7 billion in federal funds allocated for broadband improvement around the country? Well, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has the job for you — as a volunteer grant reviewer. That’s right, when the government wants to give out $4.7 billion (only $1.6 billion in this first round) in 14 months it has to cut some corners to make sure it can handle the load. That means bringing on citizens to review grant applications. From the letter calling for volunteers: Continue »
Where Will $4.7B in Broadband Bucks Go? You Decide!
When It Comes to Links, Color Matters
Without realizing it, you are a guinea pig for Google’s engineers. Gmail uses a slightly different shade of blue for its links — this one, #2A5DB0 — than the main Google search page, which uses #2200CC. Google’s engineers wondered if the difference in link color would alter the rate of clickthroughs — is there an ideal shade of blue that encourages people to click links?
To find out, Gmail’s users were randomly tested with 40 different link colors, ranging from blue-with-greenish to blue-with-blue-ish. Google discovered that blue-ish links encouraged more clicking than greenish — so the search giant stuck with blue-ish. It’s only natural for Google to want you to click more: The more links you hit, the more time you spend online, hopefully looking at Google’s ads. As for why people prefer bluer links? I suspect they’ve come to expect them to be blue. So, when confronted with a greener link, they are less likely to click it. That’s just my unscientific theory, though — what do you think? And which color would make you click more?
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MySpace U.S. Ad Sales Expected to Fall While Facebook’s Rise
The folks over at MySpace sure have a lot on their plate, and the pressure is mounting. It’s no secret that the News Corp.-owned social network is playing catch-up with Facebook’s rising traffic, and the expiration date on its advertising deal with Google is looming. Now, in addition, U.S. advertising spending on MySpace is expected to fall 15 percent in 2009 to $495 million, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a study from research firm eMarketer.
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, and the rest of the MySpace team better start making headway with their turnaround strategy for the social network — and fast, or falling behind in traffic won’t be its only Facebook-related worry. U.S. ad spending on Facebook is expected to rise 9 percent to $230 million in 2009, and the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is on track to exceed MySpace in advertising dollars by 2011, according to the Journal. Though Van Natta has been shaking things up at MySpace with a series of layoffs in the U.S. and abroad, it’s going to take more than downsizing to help the floundering social network regain the status it once held — if it can at all. Continue »
With Real-Time Search Booming, OneRiot Launches API
Want to know what’s going on right this second? Real-time search engine OneRiot is launching (right now!) an API that widget and app makers can use to tap into its stream of real-time content. The search engine, which is focusing heavily on real-time content — social networks, freshly uploaded videos, and newly created blog articles — helps users find what’s happening right now on the web. It’s a booming business. Continue »
Intel and Qualcomm Are Dueling With Dollars
Wireless dealmaking has remained a fairly bright spot during the recession, according to an overview of venture investment and M&A in the industry released today by Rutberg & Co. The boutique investment bank focuses on digital media and wireless deals, and says it’s seen the dollar amount of deals in the wireless industry fall to $1.2 billion, a 43 percent drop from the first half of 2008. The number of deals, meanwhile, fell 31 percent, to 121. The most active investors in the space? Qualcomm and Intel.
Qualcomm is defending its mobile turf against Intel’s encroachment, and strategic investments appear to be a weapon both are deploying in an attempt to get an edge. Continue »
Updated: State of the Internet: Globally, Broadband Continues to Grow
Updated with new maps from Akamai: Akamai, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that has built a content delivery network that spans the globe, will soon be releasing the latest edition of its “State of The Internet” report, which looks at some of the key Internet developments, including growth in network speeds, actual connections and the number of web sites. I got an early look at the first-quarter 2009 report, from which I have cobbled together some interesting stats. 
Continue »
EMC Snagged Data Domain, So What’s Next for NetApp?
Data Domain today finally agreed to be acquired by EMC for $33.50 per share, triggering payment of a $57 million break-up fee to NetApp. For EMC the buy is very much about “keeping your friends close but your enemies closer.”
Storage efficiency (notably de-duplication) is the enemy of a business model predicated on pushing more disk capacity out the door year after year (GigaOM Pro note, sub required), which is why customers we spoke to would have preferred to see such a disruptive technology remain in the hands of an independent vendor. And where, exactly, does this leave NetApp? Continue »
Mobile Broadband Is a Luxury Keeping the Cloud Out of Reach
Almost half of those currently subscribing to a mobile broadband plan are willing to cut such plans in order to make ends meet, according to research from Strategy Analytics (profiled at eMarketer). Two-thirds would keep their in-home broadband, while 48 percent would dump mobile data plans. Of course they would. Any thinking person who looks at the costs per megabyte realizes that like buying diapers in airports, you’re paying a premium for convenience. So it’s not as difficult to give these plans up when times are tough.
But those stats also make clear that the promise of ubiquitous mobile computing hasn’t become as important to the average consumer as it may be to us here at GigaOM. Simply put, plenty of people can live without constant access to the cloud. As much as we love our smartphones, mobile broadband access over a 3G network is still a luxury for most.
Indeed, paying up to $60 a month for 5 GB or $40 for around 250 MB isn’t for the faint of heart, or the thin of wallet. We’ve worried how the recession would affect mobile data plans, especially as employers stopped subsidizing them. However there are signs that wireless data may become less expensive. MetroPCS and Leap Wireless both offer cheaper mobile data plans, while Verizon recently introduced its MiFi device, which uses the 3G network to deliver a Wi-Fi signal.
Since it requires no software, multiple people could share the MiFi. My husband and I each have a data connection and are thinking it might make sense to consolidate down to one. As wireless broadband speeds get faster through HSPA or LTE network upgrades in coming years, more consumers may join the few folks out there who already use their wireless data plans as their primary web connection — eliminating a home broadband bill entirely. I don’t recommend that step for multi-user homes or for heavy video streamers, however.
Is Cisco Finally Serious About the Consumer?
While most of the tech world was abuzz today with the announcement of Google’s Chrome OS, another piece of interesting news slipped through the cracks: Cisco announced that Ned Hooper is being promoted to chief strategy officer.
With the appointment, Hooper enters a much bigger role at the company. He will not only continue to be the lead for consumer acquisitions, but he’ll help shape overall Cisco strategy and acquisition activity. And if Hooper & Co. can tie the pieces together, we may now have a new and very serious entrant to fight the big boys in the connected consumer marketplace. Continue »
How Will Google Chrome OS Change Gaming?
Google’s Chrome OS has added a very interesting wrinkle to the future of online gaming. As we reported back in May, Google reportedly plans to fully integrate O3D, the company’s rich 3D graphics plug-in, into the Chrome browser by the end of this year. That gives Google a platform for game development that’d be a seamless part of its OS when it’s released next year. A number of developers are already creating games for O3D; for instance, here’s a demo for Infinite Journey (a screenshot of which is on the left), a visually engaging, Mario-style title showcased at the recent Google I/O conference. If consumers embrace netbooks pre-installed with Google OS, I think we’re likely to see O3D become an increasingly popular platform for games — at the expense of Windows-based PC games and web-based games powered by Flash.
But what do game industry insiders make of Chrome OS? I just reached out via email to several leading CEOs; here’s a sampling of their takes: Continue »
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