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Online Holiday Spending Up Thus Far in 2011

posted on December 12, 2011

We still have around 10 days left in the online holiday shopping season (that’s leaving a few days for shipping by Christmas) and the news thus far to the activity is good despite the worldwide jitters about economic factors. The chart below from comScore tells a story of holiday online sales cheer with nothing but positive numbers.

How much of your shopping this year has been online? More? Less? Do you still get out and press the flesh with those offliners? Sound off on this good Monday morning.

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Cup of Joe: Lessons From An Ex-Real Estate Lurker

posted on December 10, 2011

Real EstateBefore I owned my own business, I worked in-house for a large real estate brokerage. If you want to learn about sales go work for a real estate company. Apart from a handful of support staff most are completely run by sales agents. I learned a lot about sales and business while working there. But the two lessons that stuck out the most were:

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Asian-Americans and Hispanics Top the Early Adopter Chart

posted on December 9, 2011

14.4% of Asian-Americans use tablets on a regular basis. Not a huge number, but when you compare it to the only 10% of blacks and whites, it presents a different picture.

A new study from eMarketer shows that Asian-Americans are on top when it comes to the early adoption of both tablets and ereaders.

Asian-American adoption rates are expected to stay high for the next few years. Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D., stated that this is likely due to the fact that Asians are more educated than average and they have higher incomes. But what’s driving the early adoption among Hispanic users?

Hispanics come in second for tablet ownership with 12.6%. eMarketer predicts that it will be 2013 before Non-Hispanic whites catch up and 2014 before they take the lead.

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Bloggers Get Upset Over Book Review Requirements

posted on December 9, 2011

One of the perks of being a blogger is you often get free items in return for a review. DVDs, food, gadgets, new tech — a good review is an excellent marketing tool, so most companies see these freebies as part of the cost of doing business.

Book publisher, William Morrow, however, is looking to reduce that cost and they want to see a bigger return on their investment.

Earlier this week, the LA Times published the text of a letter that was sent out to book bloggers. It outlines a new system where, instead of getting random books in the mail, bloggers will be asked to choose their review titles from a list.

Nothing wrong with that. It’s more work on the publisher’s part, but it’s targeted so it should make for more and better reviews.

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Google Currents Adds Another Content Curation Option

posted on December 9, 2011

Google has entered the competition for content packaging in the mobile space with its Google Current offering. From the Google Mobile blog

We strive to give you beautiful and simple ways to experience all the content the web has to offer, such as sharing photos on Google+, watching YouTube videos and discovering books, movies and music from Android Market. Today we’re expanding our content offering with the introduction of Google Currents, a new application for Android devices, iPads and iPhones that lets you explore online magazines and other content with the swipe of a finger.

Here is Google’s video explanation for you as well.

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With Facebook Subscribe Button, Be Careful What You Ask For

posted on December 9, 2011

The Facebook subscribe button is now going to be appearing alongside many folks name online and it gives all of us an opportunity to have another look at these folks through their Facebook updates.

I get the general idea but my experience thus far with subscribing to people I am not friends with on Facebook has been spotty at best with most experiences being, quite frankly, VERY disappointing.

If you are unaware of the button here is a description from the LA Times

Facebook has launched a Subscribe button for websites, making it possible for users to subscribe to updates from their favorite journalists and other public figures without leaving their sites.

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Brand Pages Part of Twitter’s New Look

posted on December 8, 2011

Twitter is trying to finish off 2011 with a bang. The service has been a little quiet on the news front as of late and today we have learned why as they have introduced not only a new look but their own version of brand pages.

Fearing they would be outdone by the likes of Google+, Facebook and just about anyone else, the microblogging service (does anyone actually use that term anymore other than the way I just did?) is giving brands their own presence in the Twitterverse or whatever the heck the cool kids are calling it these days.

AdAge reports

Twitter is looking to strengthen its relationship with advertisers by launching brand pages that will be unveiled today as part of a more comprehensive redesign.