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Target’s New Cartwheel Takes the Long Way Around to Digital Couponing

posted on May 23, 2013

cartwheel collectionsTarget recently launched a new digital coupon app called Cartwheel that is supposed to make shopping more social. It begins with a great idea; personalized digital coupons but from there, the wheel gets a little wobbly.

Here’s how it works. First, you have to log on to the Cartwheel site and sign-up using your Facebook login.  You must have a Facebook account to use the program and that seems like an unnecessary hurdle. The point is to get more people to shop at Target, right? But if I don’t want to give you access to my Facebook account, then I’m out. Hmmm. . .

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Twitter Turns Up Ad Game with Twitter Amplify

posted on May 23, 2013

twitter-bird-blue-on-whiteTwitter is deepening its love affair with TV through new Amplify partnerships.

On the Twitter blog the company toots its own horn but its not like they are saying anything out of line, it’s just the truth.

Less than six months in, 2013 has already been a remarkable year for the nexus between television and Twitter. The vast majority of the online public conversation around TV currently happens on Twitter – 95 percent, according to Crimson Hexagon. Half of all national Super Bowl commercials had hashtags on them, helping guide viewers to the collective conversation. And you can’t turn on the news without hearing a Tweet referenced.

It is getting more and more difficult actually to not see Twitter referenced just about everywhere. Well, don’t expect that pace to slow any in the wake of an increasing number of agreements with properties and advertisers to create a more multi-screen environment for users. The blog post continues

Channel Sponsors

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Twitter’s Two-Factor Account Verification Process Is Live

posted on May 23, 2013

Twitter has had some trouble in the recent past with some high profile accounts getting hacked and the ensuing fallout from those issues. Part of their response was to say that they will be enabling a two-step verification process. At the time that was a promise but now it is in play according to the post on the Twitter blog from yesterday.

Here’s a video for you to get the gist.

So while this is a good first step it may not really be much help to those who really need it. How’s that you ask? Well, TechCrunch’s Josh Constine has this to say

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Majority of Mobile Users Would Rather Engage an Ad Than Pay for an Upgrade

posted on May 22, 2013

The psychology behind how we spend our money is a wondrous thing. I’ll gladly throw down $1 a day for a Diet Coke, but I’m reluctant to spend $1.50 on a box of pasta that would feed my whole family when I can get it for less than that on another day. I’m also reluctant to pay for additional levels on my iPad games. I’ve done it once or twice, but it’s not an easy button push.

For whatever reason, mobile users will do almost anything to keep from paying for an upgrade – including engage with ads.

tapjoy free content

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Will Mobile Ad Platform Accreditation Curb Wasted Ad Spending?

posted on May 22, 2013

logo-iadWith so much going in the Internet and social media space sometimes it feels like you just missed something. After looking at this article from AdAge I had that feeling. It looks at the problem of waste that many advertisers are experiencing in the mobile space and how an accreditation process could give advertisers some solace that what they are paying for is what they are actually receiving.

The article says

The debate over the value of mobile advertising typically focuses on what effect, if any, it has on brand lift, sales and getting consumers into stores. But advertisers have been wasting money on mobile in the literal sense because a significant portion of the ads they’re paying for never properly display on devices.

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The New Flickr is Lovely to Look at But Users Are Crying Foul

posted on May 22, 2013

Yahoo’s had a busy week. First, they took over Tumblr and then they redesigned their old photo storage service Flickr. (Or was it the other way around?)

Flickr’s an interesting beast. Like many aging websites, there was a time when everyone knew it and used it. But in the last few years, people have slowly migrated their photos over to Facebook or Google+ and Flickr’s been on a downhill slide.

In order to renew interest, Yahoo invested in a lovely new design that even made me, the girl with only 35 pictures in her account, come back.

flickr new design

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A Day Later. . . It’s All About Ads on Tumblr

posted on May 21, 2013

panicYesterday, Frank posted the news that Yahoo bought Tumblr. The big takeaway was this quote from Yahoo’s announcement:

We promise not to screw it up.  Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going.  We will operate Tumblr independently.  David Karp will remain CEO.  The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.  Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.

Yahoo (which used to be hip. . . but this is what happens with age) attempted to replicate the kind of wry humor you find on Tumblr with an animated gif that changes from “Keep Calm and Carry On” to the words Yahoo!, Tumblr, then the final graphic you see here on the right.