Amazon’s new lineup of Kindle tablets furtively integrates ads that users are not able to remove; the company also made Bing the default search engine on its Kindle Fire tablets, a sign that Google might not be in Amazon’s future plans. Speaking of Google, the search engine is testing out a new layout in what looks to be an attempt to harmonize the experience across tablet and desktop screens. Meanwhile, Groupon has named a new accounting chief. Read on for more news and advice.
Industry News and Perspectives:
Amazon Kindle Gets Cozier With Ads and Bing
Amazon’s entire new line of Kindle tablets will feature ads on their lockscreens with no way to remove them. However, it wasn’t completely clear about this change when presenting the products to consumers. Also, the Kindle Fire is going to use Bing as its default search engine, a sign that Amazon might want to sever all ties with Google. (Marketing Land, WebProNews)
How to Increase Facebook Engagement
If you’re envious of Facebook pages that seem to have great engagement, take comfort in knowing that getting there isn’t all that complicated. Here are five ways to help your brand’s engagement on the social networking giant: 1) run creative promotions; 2) post shareable content; 3) build an intimate community; 4) have a quirky brand; and 5) be a beloved personality. (Social Media Examiner)
Why PPC Is Better Than SEO
PPC offers a more direct way to achieve business goals. It allows you to cast a wider net than SEO can. Among the other reasons why PPC trumps SEO are that it gives you more control, it allows you to establish category leadership and you actually get data. (Acquisio)
Google Tests Search Options Above Results
Google is testing out a new navigational layout by moving the search options (i.e., Web, Images, Maps, Videos, etc.) traditionally shown to the left of search results to a bar that’s displayed above the search results. This layout has been used in its tablet display for a while now, which means Google might be looking to make the experience more consistent across displays. (Search Engine Land)
Why Social Media Is Ruining Marketing
“Social media is one of the worst things to ever happen to the discipline of marketing.” The new digital medium has compelled young professionals to do more talking than listening, and has caused them to lose sight of the audience and understanding who they are. (Mashable)
Daily-Deals News:
A Q&A With Groupon CEO Andrew Mason
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason sat down with the Chicago Tribune and touched on a wide range of topics. Among his points was that the company is playing in the early stages of the local-commerce game, which emphasizes discovery. With regard to the company’s recent loss of top sales staff, Mason points to the importance of strong internal communications. (Chicago Tribune)
Groupon Names a New Accounting Chief
Groupon has named Brian Stevens, formerly with KPMG LLP, as its new chief accounting officer. This might help the company avoid some of the financial and accounting woes its encountered in recent times. (MarketWatch)
67% of Consumers Share Deals via Word-of-Mouth
According to RedPlum and Valassis, 2 out of 3 consumers share deals via word-of-mouth, while 55 percent share printed coupons, 40 percent share via email and 28 percent share via social media. Over the past 30 days, 12 percent of consumers used their smartphones to look for deals via social media. (Daily Deal Media)
Daily-Deals Franchising
What’s happening in the daily-deals industry is similar to franchising. First there are the white-label deal site providers, which license out software. Then there are sites that have feeds that can be parsed out by other deal sites. Even niche deals sites have opportunities to expand through expanding to other cities, adding subdomains and licensing their brand for fees and profit splits. (Daily Deal Media)
Google Lays off Staff at DailyDeal
Google acquired DailyDeal about a year ago for $114 million, marking a success story in Germany. However, Google has reportedly laid off a large number of DailyDeal’s staff, including those in senior positions. This highlights the difficulty of the daily-deals business model. (VentureBeat)
Blogs of the Business:
Fun Friday: Photos
Fred shares a photo he’s proud to have taken to make the point that photo-sharing is a killer app. (A VC)
Convertible Debt
Fred doesn’t like convertible-debt investments and he shares his three reasons why. (A VC)
Mobile and Conversations
Companies in the business of hosting and facilitating live, real-time conversations should do what Twitter has done by making its product work well in mobile. (A VC)
