Revival of Facebook Mobile Ad Revenue: An Excellent Project Showcase

When Facebook launched its IPO in 2012 under heavy expectations, speculations and rumors from investors, public and corporate world; it never knew the bad treatment it was going to get when the prices were reached to half in a period of 3 months. Keen watchers remained stuck to the movement of its stocks in the market. Either Facebook has remained as a secret planner for earning money without disclosing its strategies in advance, or the financial stalwarts have not been able to judge the weakness or strength of its scrip.

There is no doubt that after the launch of its IPO, Facebook had a bad period of struggle in the market. The projected inflows and earnings were not as per the agenda and even during a period of one year after the launch, Facebook's earning from mobile advertising was not as it had anticipated. The speculations and rumors have been sidelined with the latest press release by Facebook where they declared their earnings for the second quarter of 2014. As per the results, Facebook has achieved to increase its revenue to 67%. Its weakest area of earnings through mobile ads has become now quite a strong piece of the overall revenue by having a contribution of 60%.

With increasing profit margins and its end users base, Facebook has become a top most ranker in terms of ad seller. With these results announced, Facebook shares price had a whooping jump by 5% and the current share price of USD 75.2 is almost double of the initial offering of USD 38 IPO.

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/quality-assurance/revival-of-facebook-mobile-ad-revenue-an-excellent-project-showcase/

Some Facts and Figures About WeChat From Reliable Global Sources

An article published in December 2013 on Forbes.com showed very clearly who is the overall winner in mobile messenger application. In fact the major drift in teenager's tendency from Facebook to WeChat in a big way became a serious concern for Facebook. Probably for the first time in last one decade Facebook has faced a major threat and competition. Teenagers among 30 countries were surveyed and following was the outcome when Q1 and Q3 of 2013 are compared:

Graph below, published on Statista shows a fabulous growth in WeChat subscribers which is phenomenal and the credit must go to the company Tencent Inc., China's largest Internet Service Company, that not only knows the nerve of youth but is able to foresee requirements beyond today. 

Top 10 most popular instant messaging  apps in the world by Xinhua and China Daily shows WeChat at number 3 and same is on Eastday in a report published in March 2014.

In a survey/article published in Readwrite.com on "10 Most Popular Mobile Messaging Apps in the World" - WeChat is again on number three.

My Journey Through The New and Innovative Social Bank Account: Jifi

Years back a normal bank account holder in one of the banks was not very happy with the way bank accounts were being managed and handled. He did not find any value in going to bank for any small activity. Things revolutionized and a few years back we had online banking. Lot of new things came into existence that became helpful for bank customers. Online banking removed the barriers of time, physical movement and other formalities. You could login any time into your account, order a draft, print account statement, apply for a new FD, order cheque book, and so on.

Few banks were pioneers in this and others followed. But then a stage came when something more innovative on a global front was in the asking but probably no bank was thinking about it but one. The revolution came in a big way by bridging gap between the social networking and banking. This happened for the first time on global front when Kotak Mahindra Bank came out with an idea turned into reality of an account that is completely focused on two factors – one, catering to the needs of youth without creating any fuss; and two, integrating a bank account for the first time, fully, with top social networking portals, such as twitter and facebook. Gradually this account can be termed as Social Bank Account that takes away the botheration of logging in through your bank’s website, and operating your account’s main activities via your social networking accounts, on twitter and facebook.

What it means is that having a twitter and facebook account is a must to operate your Jifi account and get the connected benefits. What is does not mean is that you still need to follow your bank account opening formalities, though the process has become simpler with Jifi. Keeping youth in mind who are at the verge of finishing their higher studies, starting their career, or have just started their carrier; the account is a ZERO-balance account though initially you need to deposit Rs. 5,000/- at the time of opening your account that you can utilize later for various banking activities. This is a current account, and not a savings bank account. The moment your bank account balance crosses Rs 25,000/-, the additional amount automatically moves into a term deposit account with relevant interest rate as applicable.

Applying for a Jifi account is simple. You have to sign up via your facebook account or an email can be sent requesting for a new account.  The account pays you loyalty points – the more you interact with your bank via twitter and facebook, the more points you get. Though you can transact with your Jifi account through net banking on your laptop, and/ or the mobile app on your mobile; it is highly recommended to keep transacting through your twitter and facebook account so as to keep earning your social points. All these benefits of a Jifi account is in addition to the regular banking activities that are applicable here too like any ATM withdrawals, banking with pan-India branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank, net banking as discussed above, Toll-free number facility and on top of it a Platinum Debit Card.

Definitely when you hear about banking through your twitter and facebook account, security risk comes into mind. All transactions and conversation with the bank is through secured network, so even if the account on twitter of facebook is hacked, the hacker will be able to see only the balance loyalty points and would be able to use those. But in no case the hacker will be able to fiddle with the account related transactions or be able to get the balance in account.

Though the intent is to make it available pan India, currently Jifi account facility is available in 10 major cities viz -  Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Coimbatore and Jaipur.

Press Release: Aircel Launches Facebook For All Its Customers

Press Release

Aircel offers free Facebook access to its customers;

Launches ‘Facebook for All’

New Delhi, March 26, 2014: Aircel, one of India’s leading telecom players, today launched yet another exciting service - Facebook For all providing free access to the social media platform for its customers. Under this innovative service, Aircel enables its customers – both new and existing, to network and be socially active on Facebook in 9 different languages. Customers can have free access to Facebook App, Facebook Messenger and Mobile version on their existing or new connections.

Under this offer, all new customers can enjoy free 50 MB per month data on Facebook for a period of 60 days after activation. On the other hand, existing customers will get free 50 MB data for 30 days to have an uninterrupted Facebook experience. Post 50 MB usage, the subscribers will have the option of using Facebook on their phones at 2p/10KB.

New Customers	Existing Customers
Free 50 MB/ month for 60 days	Free 50 MB for 30 days

Not only this, customers also have the option of benefiting from the Special tariff packs for Facebook which will be as low as 50p/day (Rs. 14/28 days). The pack details are as follows:

MRP	FB Usage (2G/3G)	Validity
Rs. 14	100 MB	28 days
Rs. 5	25 MB	5 days

The service is available in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra and will be available in rest of the circles shortly. 

Announcing the launch of the service, Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel, said, “Aircel has positioned itself well as a data leader by constantly innovating products and services aimed at redefining user experience, especially the youth. Over 75 million people access Facebook through their mobile phones in India and more than 60% of Aircel customers who have data enabled handsets consume internet on their phones. Considering this trend, the launch of ‘Facebook for all’ service is a strategic/natural step to re-iterate our commitment towards increasing data proliferation and usage of internet in the country.”

"India is truly a Mobile first country where millions of people are discovering the internet by connecting with people on Facebook through their mobile phones." said, Kevin D'souza, Head of Growth and Mobile Partnerships, Facebook India. “'Facebook for All’ by Aircel is a great initiative that will make the Internet affordable and we are excited to partner in connecting the world on Facebook.”

About Aircel Limited

Aircel is a leading telecom service provider with pan-India operations. It won 3G spectrum in 13 circles and BWA spectrum in 8 circles and has successfully launched 3G services which is the fastest 3G roll out ever in the Indian Telecom Space. Aircel has been constantly innovating products and services and is credited with making 3G affordable to masses by launching Pocket Internet Smart which offers best value 3G packs. Aircel Pocket Internet Smart gave a boost to 3G adoption in the country as it is a true value for money product that allows consumers to access unlimited 3G data at extremely affordable prices. Aircel has positioned itself as a data led telecom player and has addressed the multi-functionality of a mobile phone in many innovative ways which are Industry firsts, be it the Aircel Pocket Internet, Pocket Internet Games and Facebook Voice Updates on Aircel. Aircel is also a preferred telecom network to launch Apple iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. Recently, the company has become the proud recipient of coveted awards such as Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA) 2012 South Asia by Enterprise Asia, ‘Excellence Award for Security in Telecom 2012’ by Data Security Council of India (DSCI) an institution setup by NASSCOM® and ‘Best in class Learning and Development Awards’ for ‘Innovation in Learning’ and ‘Best Training Venue’ by World HRD Congress 2013. For more information, please log onto our website www.aircel.com and follow us on Twitter @AircelNews

For further information, please contact

Bhavya Suri, Corporate Communications, Aircel @ 8802999046

Press Release: GSMA and Facebook Jointly Aim To Connect the Unconnected

GSMA AND FACEBOOK ANNOUNCE JOINT INITIATIVE TO CONNECT THE UNCONNECTED GSMA and Facebook to Focus Work on Reducing Total Cost of Ownership of Mobile 25 February 2014, Barcelona: The GSMA and Facebook, through its Internet.org partnership, today announced a joint initiative designed to connect the billions of men and women globally that currently have no access to Internet-based communications services. The joint initiative will focus on reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of mobile, given that mobile will be the enabling technology for the vast majority of people in developing markets. “While there are nearly 7 billion mobile connections worldwide, there are only 3.4 billion people that currently have mobile phones,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA. “Mobile will offer many around the world, particularly in emerging markets, their only access to the Internet and the information and communications services it enables. Connecting the next billion is a major goal of the GSMA and we are pleased to be working with Facebook and internet.org to make this a reality.” “We launched the Internet.org partnership last year as a contribution to addressing the challenge of ensuring everyone has affordable access to the Internet,” said Elliot Schrage, VP Communications and Public Policy, Facebook. “Mobile operators are key to meeting this challenge and we are pleased to be able to work with GSMA on making sure that mobile Internet can be delivered in a sustainable and affordable way.” The activities undertaken by the GSMA and Facebook will entail working with governments in developing markets to address key factors that have an impact on affordability and availability. The partnership will focus on creating a sustainable environment to incentivise mobile infrastructure investment and usage, as well as eliminating or reducing existing mobile-specific taxation or refraining from imposing new such tax regimes. The GSMA and Facebook recently issued reports elaborating on these issues. The GSMA study “Mobile Taxes and Fees: A Toolkit of Principles and Evidence” examined the current taxation burden on mobile in 19 countries in developing markets, revealing the significant negative impact of sector-specific taxation in these markets. The research findings demonstrate that taxes on mobile restrict the growth of the sector, as well as consumer uptake of mobile services. Facebook supports the GSMA’s recommendation that governments should take early action to reduce the excessive levels of sector-specific taxes and fees on the mobile industry. The Facebook report “Value of Connectivity” looks at the impact of extending Internet access to the billions of individuals that are currently unconnected. The findings suggest that if developing countries could bridge the gap in Internet penetration to reach levels that developed economies enjoy today, they would experience large increases in GDP growth and productivity and improvements in health conditions and education opportunities, providing a clear potential to reduce poverty and promote long-term economic and social development. Together, the GSMA and Facebook will also address a range of other issues that will improve affordability and help to connect the world’s population to the Internet, such as: maximising the availability of harmonised spectrum to drive mobile broadband adoption; evaluating the establishment of local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs); fostering the development of local Internet content; and examining the effectiveness of Universal Service Funds. The GSMA report “Mobile Taxes and Fees: A Toolkit of Principles and Evidence” is available at www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/tax/research-and-resources. The Facebook report “Value of Connectivity” is available at http://internet.org/press/value-of-connectivity. - ENDS - About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.  For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. About Facebook Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. About internet.org Internet.org is a global partnership between technology leaders, nonprofits, local communities and experts who are working together to bring the internet to the two thirds of the world’s population that doesn’t have it. Media Contacts: For the GSMA Charlie Meredith-Hardy +44 7917 298 428 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 7917 298 428 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting cmeredith-hardy@webershandwick.com GSMA Press Office pressoffice@gsma.com For Facebook press@fb.com Internet@brunswickgroup.com

Happy 5th Birthday to Digg

We all know what Digg is for. In today’s world if we are connected to media, Internet, blogging, news, articles or just tech savvy we need to understand what Digg is doing and what is so unique about it. We need to understand what made it take birth and what milestones it has achieved in the last five years. Let us revisit Digg and understand its core unique features.

Digg.com is a privately held website intended for people irrespective of their geographical limitations to discover and/or share any type of content they find interesting or useful picked from anywhere on the Internet. The simple process is to submit the link and a small brief of any news, picture, video etc. The published content then become public for anyone to either Digg (or vote) or Bury it thereby increasing or decreasing that content’s popularity. The popularity of Digg has encouraged many other sites to provide a Digg link on their site. That way in fact it increases that site’s popularity also where the original contents lie. 14 million stories have been submitted so far meaning almost close to three million stories a year on an average. It is astonishing. More astonishing is the way it has grown. The 4th of December every year since 2004 is celebrated as Digg.com Day.

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So in short, the concept is to dig a fresh story, re-dig an existing story or bury an existing story. The more the same story is dug keeps increasing its count and gives it a greater chance to be promoted to "most popular." Digg.com is really an open forum. Nobody recommends or imposes a story to be dug. It is purely your choice. So people are the real king here. A lot of new features have been announced around its 5th birthday. The best one is Digg 365 which means now you can check top 10 stories on digg.com for a day, a month or a year. So on any day, for a month or for a year, the most popular top 10 stories are available to everyone. There is also ‘facebook connect’ where you can connect your digg.com account with your facebook account so that whatever you submit at digg.com can be published on facebook also. Digg Stack is a real-time most popular stories stack in a span of two minutes. This is really a fantastic feature. This real-time stacking can be downloaded as a screensaver too. There is Digg Swarm where Diggers swarm around most popular stories with an option to click on the stories to read, comment, or keep. The color on a story indicates its popularity scale. Then there is bigspy where the latest submitted stories appear, with their count in red. The font size of the story submitted indicates its popularity.