Look! Up in the sky! It’s a cloud, it’s an asteroid, it’s a rising star… It’s all three, and more, in today’s Signal.
Google Officially Launches Google Drive (Mashable) Google Drive, Google’s 5GB cloud-storage service, has lift-off. The new service integrates with Google Docs and allows users to access files from anywhere, as well as collaborate on documents with colleagues in real time. Interesting features include smart tagging, image recognition, OCR technology, and the ability to access and open 30 file types. Google is offering all users 5GB of storage for free. Yep, that’s a lot of spreadsheets!
Tech Billionaires Plan Audacious Mission to Mine Asteroids (Wired ) No one can accuse our industry of thinking small. Scientists with NASA’s Near Earth Object Program estimate that nearly 9,00 asteroids larger than 150 feet in diameter orbit near the Earth. Some could contain as much platinum as is mined in an entire year on Earth, making them potentially worth billions each. Cue a new venture called Planetary Resources, Inc., which plans to send robots into space to scout those asteroids for precious metals. Backed by wealthy entrepreneurs, including Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, and former Microsoft chief architect Charles Simonyi, the gamble could reap huge rewards for those adventurous enough to take the risk.
Video Is a Rising Star Among Content Marketers (emarketer) According to a report from ContentWise and the Custom Content Council published last month, North American marketers spent $40.2B to produce and distribute content marketing in 2011, up slightly from $40.1B in 2010. Print garnered the majority of budgets (58.7%) in 2011; investment in electronic content formats, such as websites and email, were down slightly; and podcasts and other audio marketing formats showed no change. But — and it’s a big but — spending on other forms of content marketing, including events and video, rose 44.4%. Lots more info inside.
Smart Stats: CMO Tenure Up (Digiday) On the hunt for new statistics that have implications for digital marketers, Digiday, in its third installment of “Smart Stats, asked a number of industry experts to talk about what each stat means for brands. In this most recent part, the experts include Walter Knapp, FM’s own EVP of Platform Revenue, who was asked to comment on data suggesting that the average click-through rate online for display ads is .07 percent, and the average click-through for re-targeted ads is about .7 percent.
Six Questions: Chris Mohney (AdWeek) Chris Mohney, the new EIC of Tumblr explains his role, plans for the site, and the company’s goal — to feature stories that cover creative work and creative people working in, or interested in, the Tumblr community. “It’s about supporting the atmosphere,” he said, “and the perception that Tumblr is a receptive home for creative people.” Mohney will also “ramp up staff postings” and introduce new departmental blogs. This newly created EIC role is a big deal, folks. (video)
NewFronts: DBG Unveils Secret Slate of Digital Programming (imedia connection) Digital strategies that intend to close the gap between online video and the traditional marketplace took center stage at DBG’s NewFront. DBG presented a sneak peek at its plans for this year and a highlight reel in the format of a mock Broadway musical. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, don’t forget about FM’s NewFront event tomorrow, April 25, at Tribeca Cinemas in New York, noon-2pm.
Study Shows Google Drives 85% of SMB Traffic, but Social Media Still Converts Higher (TNW) Brad McCarty shares stats from BringShare, a company that spends a lot of time analyzing what’s happening of the Internet in relation to small business. If you own a small business and you’re spending all of of your time going social, you might be missing the bigger picture, according to McCarty. “It’s important to have that conversion,” he admits, “but Google is still the source for how people are discovering small business online.”
Why Spotify Wants More Than Ads From Brands (Digiday) Spotify’s chief revenue officer Jeff Levick reveals what the company has a hankering for: Partnerships based on mutual value creation, opportunities to reach global markets, and successes communicating through content (including great apps) that Spotify isn’t just for advertisers that have plans around music, but also for brands looking for highly-engaged social and mobile audiences.
Web Users Deserve Local TV Access Without Cable: Diller (Bloomberg) IAC’s Chairman Barry Diller, who will speak at FM’s Conversational Marketing (CM) Summit next month, appealed to the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing today that examined how new Internet-driven technology is changing television viewing. Urging legislators to rewrite communications laws to reflect blurring lines between Internet, cable and broadcast providers, Diller said what so many in the industry have been thinking for quite some time: “You’ve got to rewrite the communications act. …It’s overdue given the Internet.” Yeah, that relic of 1996 needs a makeover.
Facebook Reveals Revenue, Profit Slide Ahead of IPO (Reuters) Facebook reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, and blamed the (surprising?) decline on seasonal advertising trends. In an updated filing with the U.S. Securities, Facebook said that net income slid 12 percent to $205 million in the quarter, from $233 million a year earlier.
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FM’s program of the day is our CM Summit in New York, this May14-15. It’s the kickoff event to Internet Week, and features some of the best minds in Internet media and marketing. We welcome Julius Genachowski, Chair of the FCC, to our stellar lineup!
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