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<title>Haaze.com / Fernada / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Nokia X2 makes its way to T-Mobile prepaid]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nokia-x2-makes-its-way-to-t-mobile-prepaid</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nokia-x2-makes-its-way-to-t-mobile-prepaid</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nokia-x2-makes-its-way-to-t-mobile-prepaid</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Nokia X2(Credit:T-Mobile)Even as Nokia makes its deal with Microsoft, it still has older Nokia phones to sell. This Nokia X2, for example, is a candy bar QWERTY phone that still runs on Symbian Series 40, and has just showed up on T-Mobile USA's prepaid site. Features include a 2.4-inch display, text and multimedia messaging, e-mail, Opera Mini, a microSD card slot, and only a VGA camera. It will go on sale for $79.99 without a need for a contract.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GE pitches halogens as incandescent bulb stand-in]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-pitches-halogens-as-incandescent-bulb-stand-in</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-pitches-halogens-as-incandescent-bulb-stand-in</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:56 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ge-pitches-halogens-as-incandescent-bulb-stand-in</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Halogens in the shape of a traditional bulb can be about 20 percent more efficient than incandescent lighting.(Credit:General Electric )You can include halogens to the list of lights that can replace traditional incandescent bulbs. General Electric on Monday announced a line of halogen lights, which are available now, in the shape of the familiar incandescent which up to 22 percent more energy efficient. A 2007 law created mandated efficiency levels for home lighting, which is expected to lead to fewer incandescent bulbs, starting with the 100-watt incandescent next year. Governments in other countries have set similar lighting efficiency requirements, which has led to more options for efficient lighting.Compact florescents and large LED bulbs are expected to meet the mandated efficiency levels. Halogens for general lighting or spotlights will comply with U.S. and global efficiency laws as well, GE said. It sells two-packs of the halogens bulbs for between $4 and $7.Halogen is an incandescent technology which offers precise dimming and crisp light, said John Strainic, global product general manager of GE Lighting in a statement. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Monitor buying guide update 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=monitor-buying-guide-update-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Samsung PX2370 continues to garner huge amounts of interest among consumers seeking new monitor experiences. (Credit:Josh P. Miller/CNET)Christmas is about a week away, but I'm sure there are quite a few of you who've yet to even begin your shopping duties yet. I can safely (and smugly) say that I am completely done with mine. If you've been putting off deciding which monitor to buy your chosen certain someone, today's your lucky day. If you've been wracking your brain over the difference between LCD and LED technologies, you're in even more luck. Today I updated the Monitor Buying Guide to include exhaustive information on LED backlighting and how it relates to LCDs. I've tried my best to clear that whole misunderstanding up. You be the judge as to whether I've succeeded.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's tech site contributors to get rewarded]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-tech-site-contributors-to-get-rewarded</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-tech-site-contributors-to-get-rewarded</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-tech-site-contributors-to-get-rewarded</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Microsoft)As a way of saying thank you, Microsoft has launched a new awards program for standout users of its forums and technical sites. The new program, dubbed the &quot;Community Contributor Award,&quot; aims to distinguish users who have put extra effort into the company's online communities at MSDN, TechNet, and Microsoft Answers--three sites that are frequented by some 4 million active users.According to the program's frequently asked questions section, the award can be given to just about anyone, including to those who have created new content for these sites, all the way to moderators who keep an eye out for junk posts and trolls.There is no public voting or nominations to get someone considered for a Community Contributor award. Instead, they are being given to people who have been selected by Microsoft.The program is separate from Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award, which works with nominations and focuses on knowledge and contributions, but is aimed at tech experts. Also unlike the MVP program, Community Contributors are based on the past six months of activity on these sites, unlike MVP's 12. Microsoft famously made plans to cancel its MVP program in 1999 before reversing that decision just a few days later. It now includes some 4,000 members around the world.Those who get the award hold the title for a year, as well as receive a 12-month subscription to Microsoft Press' E-Reference Library, which gives them access to 400 books from Microsoft Press. Microsoft is also offering up a printable certificate they can hang up in their office (or cube), along with an awards logo that they'll be able to stick in their user profile. Microsoft says the first group of award winners will be announced next week, with additional winners each month from here on out. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google Search versus Bing for Windows Phone 7 (review)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-search-versus-bing-for-windows-phone-7-review</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-search-versus-bing-for-windows-phone-7-review</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-search-versus-bing-for-windows-phone-7-review</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google Search is plainer on Windows Phone 7 than we'd expect.(Credit:Google)It wouldn't be a mobile platform if it didn't have a dedicated Google search app, and this week the Big G ratifiedWindows Phone 7's competitive existence with a search app of its own--Google Search for Windows Phone 7.Like others, Google Search uses the phone's GPS to localize searches (on the Samsung Focus, in this case). It hands out search suggestions as you type, but only if you type slowly, we found. It also keeps track of your previous searches, a boon for anyone hoping to bypass typing and repeat a search. Results appear in a browser window, which provides access to image, local, and news results as well as the Web findings.And that's about it. While suggestions and history are nice additions, were hoping for more than a Web shortcut from the Sovereign of Search in its debut Windows Phone app. On the other hand, Bing's more polished app enables voice search and spell check in addition to search suggestions. Bing's results look more striking as well, since they manifest in an app and not in a browser search results page--just as we expect for an integrated search incumbent. Image results and search history are missing' however, Bing's local results for &quot;bagel&quot; were mapped in an image and spot on.Of course, Bing has its interesting splash screen that changes pictures daily, but we have to admit that the app is thinner on features than Bing is on other mobile platforms, like Android andiPhone's iOS. Those Bing manifestations include quick-search options for images, movies, maps, local, news, and directions from that photo-tastic search screen. While Bing offers a richer, more engaging user experience on Windows Phone than Google Search, the lack of all its mobile features is perplexing.Google and Microsoft compete on Windows Phone 7 on two counts. Not only does the Windows Phone 7 platform take aim at Google's powerful and popular Android operating system, Windows Phones also use Bing as its default search client. For example, pressing the search button (magnifying glass icon) runs your term through Bing. Pinning the Google Search app to the Windows Phone start screen would combat that.From a business perspective, such a move channels search revenue to Google on Microsoft phones and away from Microsoft, just as the opposite is true for Bing users on Android phones.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Browser momentum: Chrome has it, IE doesn't]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browser-momentum-chrome-has-it-ie-doesnt</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browser-momentum-chrome-has-it-ie-doesnt</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browser-momentum-chrome-has-it-ie-doesnt</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Chrome sliced away another half a percentage point of usage share from rival browsers in October.(Credit:Data from Net Applications' chart by Stephen Shankland/CNET)For browser watchers, October was a continuation of previous trends: Internet Explorer lost share to Chrome,Firefox and Opera idled, andSafari edged upward.The statistics, based on Net Applications' monitoring of millions of Web sites in its analytics network, show that this summer's resurgence of IE has faded, at least for the present. At the same time, Chrome, now two years old, made its July dip look like a blip rather than a foreboding omen.IE remains the top dog, with usage that dropped from 59.7 percent in September to 59.3 percent in October. Firefox edged down from 23 percent to 22.9 percent over the same period' Chrome grew from 8 percent to 8.5 percent' Safari stayed level at 5.3 percent' and Opera dropped from 2.4 percent to 2.3 percent.IE8's usage changed little from September to October, but Web developers will doubtless be gleeful that the much-loathed IE6 gave up a half a percentage point of share, sliding to 15 percent of worldwide usage. Microsoft is feverishly working on IE9, currently available in beta and platform preview editions, and its usage reached 0.3 percent in September.Chrome is the fastest-changing browser since by default updates are downloaded and installed automatically when the browser or computer is restarted. Net Applications released an illustrative graph showing just how fleeting the life of a Chrome version is: six weeks in the case of Chrome 6.Google is working on releasing new Chrome versions more frequently, which means the number of changes in new versions diminishes. It also means the significance of the version number, which Google doesn't emphasize and calls a mere &quot;milestone,&quot; is even lower. Chrome 6 lasted about 6 weeks before it was essentially replaced by Chrome 7 in a matter of days.(Credit:Net Applications) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AOL picks up The Huffington Post for $315M &8212' so who&'s next]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aol-picks-up-the-huffington-post-for-315m-8212-so-whorsquos-next</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aol-picks-up-the-huffington-post-for-315m-8212-so-whorsquos-next</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=aol-picks-up-the-huffington-post-for-315m-8212-so-whorsquos-next</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AOL has agreed to buy The Huffington Post, the fast-growing Internet-publishing startup backed by a controversial political figure, for $315 million in its third major acquisition of a power player in online media.AOL is essentially handing over its publishing operations to the Huffington Post in the deal. The site&amp;'s eponymous cofounder, Arianna Huffington, will become editor-in-chief of all of AOL&amp;'s news content and oversee every media group within AOL&amp;'s network. That includes AOL News, PoliticsDaily, BlackVoices, SlashFood, and TechCrunch, which AOL recently acquired for $25 million.A recent leak of AOL&amp;'s growth strategy for its media division showed a business ruthlessly devoted to generating more traffic through increased frequency of publication, better search-engine optimization, and more recruitment of talented writers and editors. The new way sets ambitious goals for site editors, requiring writers to post 5 to 10 stories a day and generate at least 7,000 hits per story.Picking up The Huffington Post, of course, immediately ramps up the number of stories AOL publishes and brings a stable of well-known celebrities, like Alec Baldwin, and Deepak Chopra, who contribute blog posts to the site.The deal is not without its difficulties. Arianna Huffington, famous for holding a few grudges herself, now must settle feuds like the insider war of words between the top editors of Engadget and TechCrunch, two well-read technology blogs in AOL&amp;'s stable. Also of note is a lawsuit filed by two Democratic power players over who originally came up with the idea for The Huffington Post, which was originally conceived as a left-wing alternative to the right-leaning Drudge Report, a headline-news aggregator.AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, known as a dealmaker, hardly seems like he&amp;'s stopping anytime soon. The only thing that might slow him down: a lack of new targets. There aren&amp;'t many broad-topic media companies left which would make a visible difference in AOL&amp;'s traffic and revenue.So AOL and its competitors &amp;8212' a group which ranges from online-media giants like Yahoo to old-line companies like News Corp., CBS, NBC Universal, and even AOL&amp;'s former parent company, Time Warner &amp;8212' look like they are better off snapping up the top players in specific categories like sports news, celebrity gossip, and the like.Audience-measureent startup QuantCast&amp;'s list of the largest sites provides a useful guide. The first easily acquired online-media startup to pop up on the list: Zimbio.com, based in San Carlos, Calif. The site stacked with celebrity news and editorially curated. And it fits right in with AOL&amp;'s more aggressive efforts to tailor its content to display prominently on search engines like Google and Microsoft&amp;'s Bing.Among media sites that target women with topics like fashion and gossip, Sugar Inc. and Glam Media, two other Bay Area startups, might seem attractive. But Yahoo and NBC already attract large audience with women&amp;'s properties like Yahoo&amp;'s Shine and OMG and NBC&amp;'s iVillage and Oxygen.AOL recently bowed out of the sports-publishing business by doing a content deal with Sporting News, sidelining its Fanhouse site. But SB Nation, run by former AOL executive Jim Bankoff and backed by venture-capital firm Accel Partners, might find a home in another media empire.The list goes on. Who&amp;'s next Suggest your own deals in the comments.[Photo: World Economic Forum]Next Story: Motorolaa4a4s Xoom tablet priced at $800 for Feb. 24 launch Previous Story: Aircell raises $35M to fuel its in-flight InternetPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: acquisition, mediaCompanies: aol, Engadget, techcrunch, The Huffington PostPeople: Arianna Huffington, Mike Arrington          Tags: acquisition, mediaCompanies: aol, Engadget, techcrunch, The Huffington PostPeople: Arianna Huffington, Mike ArringtonMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[TC Teardown: Who Is Best Positioned To Win The $20 Billion Brand Advertising&nbsp'Prize]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tc-teardown-who-is-best-positioned-to-win-the-20-billion-brand-advertisingnbspprize</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tc-teardown-who-is-best-positioned-to-win-the-20-billion-brand-advertisingnbspprize</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tc-teardown-who-is-best-positioned-to-win-the-20-billion-brand-advertisingnbspprize</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Editor&amp;'s note: Brand dollars are still the biggest unclaimed prize on the interent.  Guest author Steven Carpenter handicaps the players who are most likely to get them.One of the biggest business opportunities in the consumer Internet space is to create products and services that attract a share of the billions of dollars in held-up brand marketing that has yet to find its way onto the web.  With the explosion of various kinds of content and the innovative ways advertisers can segment and track users, why are marketers so reluctant to open up the floodgates  Quite simply, because the current online solutionsa4&quot;search, lead generation, display, videoa4&quot;do not provide a high enough return for these kinds of categories and are not consistent with the image these brands have invested so heavily to achieve.Commensurate with the potential riches, there is an enormous amount of startup energy and experimentation going on in this area.  In this installment of the TechCrunch Teardown, I will look at the four leadersa4&quot;Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Groupona4&quot;and how their new interactionsa4&quot;a4Alikea4, a4Afollowa4, a4Afriend/check-ina4, a4Agroup coupona4a4&quot;are fairing with brand advertisers.The $20 Billion OpportunityAccording to Ad Age, the Top 100 Global Advertisers spent over $100 billion in 2009 across the various print, television, radio, outdoor, and Internet channels' based on data from the previous year, 39 of the 100 had budgets of $1 billion or more (see table 1, click to enlarge). Procter &amp;amp' Gamble, manufacturer of 50 leading brands (such as Tide, Dawn, Pampers, Gillette, and Crest), of which 23 generate $1 billion or more in sales, is the worlda4a4s largest advertiser, spending close to $9 billion annually.  It should follow, then, that the Internet economy as a whole is effected by how the brand managers at these companies decide to allocate their funds online.As you can see from the last column in the table at right, the leading marketers are only spending $1.8 billion, or 2.6% of their total budgets, online, despite the fact that consumers are spending close to 30% of their time on the Internet. Of the top marketers, only General Motors, Disney, Bank of America, and News Corp. allocated more than $100 million to the web.So who has found the best marketing value online  Companies that market and sell financial services, insurance, automotive, communications and media, and consumer technology.  It makes sense: these are companies with products that can be found easily using search, and whose customers are most likely to be acquired online because they can transact online.  To date, Google and vertical content sites such as Yahoo! Finance and Bankrate have been the largest benefactors of these re-allocated dollars.New Kleiner Perkins partner, and former Morgan Stanley analyst, Mary Meeker, estimates that closing the gap between consumer attention and ad dollars spent on the Internet to be a $50 billion global opportunity.  If the Top 100 marketers bring their marketing budgets in alignment with 30% of time spent, I estimate online brand marketing to be a $30 billion global opportunity and $20 billion in the U.S.  As evidenced by Googlea4a4s recent pursuit of Groupon, its traditional CPC and display advertising may not be sufficient enough to meet these marketersa4a4 needs.The Four HorsemenThere are four Internet companies currently best positioned to work with brands to create innovative marketing solutions that will appeal to millions of consumersa4&quot;Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Groupon.  I acknowledge it is not exactly a fair comparison for two main reasons: 1) Facebook has enjoyed a 3-4 year head start on the field and 2) each product has a different use case and thus attracts a different audience with distinct revenue opportunities.  Each company, though, has found its way into the mainstream and now finds itself with an attractive platform for brand experimentation.I see the four product experiences these companies offer on a continuum of online-to-offline interaction on one axis, and requiring passive-to-active behavior on the other.  The Facebook experience, for example, is largely an online one where a user can say something about herself by associating with a particular brand by a4Alikinga4 it.  This is an incredibly passive expression that requires a split-second action with little to no long-term repercussions.  She can choose to visit the brand page and see the news feed at her convenience.Twitter, on the other hand, is a personal tool for gathering realtime informationa4&quot;no one knows which feeds the consumer decides to consume or to ignore.  While Twitter is similar to Facebook in its largely online-focused consumption, it is a much more a4Aactivea4 medium. Users are constantly reminded when they are following a brandsa4a4 information stream.  As soon as the information becomes unimportant, too frequent, or spammy, she will simply cut off the connection.Groupon (which I wrote about in an earlier teardown) is the lightest application, ironically, even though it is the only one of the four that requires a user to make a purchasing decision.  Transactions occur easily online and the offline experience of presenting a coupon is consistent with decades of proven user behavior.As of now, Foursquare asks the most of its users in relation to branded campaigns, but it is also the closest of the four to placing customers in the physical proximity of brands and retailers.How They Are DoingYou can see how the four different interactions 1) naturally lend themselves to different brands and 2) exhibit a large disparity in terms of the sheer number of participants.  And this is not necessarily a bad thing: 44,000 passionate luxury fashionistas at NY Fashion Week may be more valuable to Yves Saint Laurent than 5 million fans on Facebook.It should come as no surprise that the biggest brand in the entire social ecosystem is Coca-Cola with 20 million Facebook Fans.  Whole Foods is the biggest brand on Twitter with 1.8 million followers and the Gap, having sold 440,000 half-off coupons using Groupon, is that startupa4a4s largest brand experiment.Of the top 50 pages on Facebook, 8 of them are leading advertisers and brands, compared to Twitter which doesna4a4t have a single brand in its top 50 users.  Of Facebooka4a4s top 50 brand pages, 31 of them are food and beverage companies, while 11 are consumer products such as Converse All-Stars and Victoriaa4a4s Secret.  The most important takeaway is that brands have a far greater following on Facebook than they do on their own sites. Facebooka4a4s best move has been to convince brands to market their Facebook pages rather than driving traffic to their own websites.The most interesting finding is that what seems to be popular on Facebook is not so on Twitter.  If you click on the table at right an dlook at the top 50 brands on Facebook, the a4AFollower/Fan Ratioa4 (the result of dividing the number of Twitter followers to Facebook fans) does not get higher than 8% (Disney).  This indicates that Twitter might have a more difficult time than Facebook in attracting overall brand dollars with its current product feature set.This is evident when you look in detail at one CPG company and its portfolio of brands.  I did a comparison of the differing success of P&amp;amp'Ga4a4s top brands using the two platforms (click on table at right to enlarge).  In every case except one (Dawn), the branded experience on Facebook is more popular in terms of numbers than on Twitter.  In a few cases, there does not appear to be a reason for even having a Twitter presence.  It is interesting to note that the most followed P&amp;amp'G Twitter account is the companya4a4s own corporate PR team.Facebook still has a lot of work to do and it is far from a foregone conclusion that it has won.  While the lightness of its interaction makes getting to scale easier, maintaining enough valuable interactions on the branded pages and engaging long-term customer interest is a huge challenge.  For example, according to eMarketer, nearly 1/3 of Facebook users who unsubscribed from a branded page simply were no longer interested in it.  And, more to the point, simply because Coke has 20 million Fans does not necessarily mean Coke will pay for the privilege to advertise on Facebook if it cannot see a return.So what brands seem to be working well on Twitter and far better than on Facebook  Daily deals, such as Dell Outlet, Amazon, and Woot, and companies that place customer service and community at the heart of the brand experience, like Zappos and Etsy, exhibit the most lopsided Follower/Friend ratio.  It is important to note that two companies that had horrific customer service challenges over the past few yearsa4&quot;JetBlue and Toyotaa4&quot;have fully embraced Twitter as a direct communications channel.  The biggest driver of Twitter success as compared to Facebook is the timeliness of the information.Twitter, then, is well positioned to capture marketing dollars from companies optimizing for deals, retailers that have frequent specials, ticketing and events, movie studios, television shows, last minute deals, airlines, and hotels.It is still early days for both Foursquare and Groupon in terms of working with big brands.  Foursquare has seen traction with high-end luxury and media brands, likely as a result of its headquarters being located in New York and early media partnerships.  Of course, Foursquarea4a4s long-term viability as a stand-alone a4Acheck-ina4 company is still an open question with Facebook Places breathing down its neck.  This is a strategic move on Facebooka4a4s part to get closer to offline actions, transactions, and local commerce.While Groupon is the defining company of next-generation e-commerce, it has a tougher road in terms of working with brands and large retailers.  These companies tend to be more sensitive to heavy discounting as they dona4a4t want to train their customers to wait for 50%-off coupons.  And, they dona4a4t like to be so indiscriminate with their offers.Overall AssessmentI evaluated the four companies along the six different types of offers and campaigns that I can see consumer brands wanting to engage in:Coupons: Simple discount off purchasesLocation: Physical check-in or product scanLoyalty: Frequency, a4AMayorshipTime-basedSpecial Events: VIPa4a4sInventory Close-OutsBased on my research, while Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Groupon are the best positioned to capture the estimated $20 billion in pent-up consumer marketing dollars, none of the four are currently optimized to execute along all of the necessary dimensions.  There are considerable opportunities for startups to innovate and capture share.  I look for this to be one of the most attractive areas for entrepreneurs in the consumer internet for years to come.Bugatti teardown photo credit: Flickr/David Villarreal FernndezCrunchBase InformationFacebookTwitterFoursquareGrouponInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[What energy secretary Chu says on Solyndra, the decline in green investing]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=what-energy-secretary-chu-says-on-solyndra-the-decline-in-green-investing</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=what-energy-secretary-chu-says-on-solyndra-the-decline-in-green-investing</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=what-energy-secretary-chu-says-on-solyndra-the-decline-in-green-investing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. needs to maintain its lead on innovation in the energy sector given the rise of China&amp;'s growing energy needs and its commitment to cleantech, according to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.Chu likened the energy race to the &amp;''Sputnik&amp;'' movement, an era in which the country was racing to catch up after the Soviet Union eked out an early lead on satellite deployments, sparking concern from President Eisenhower. It was also producing more graduates in science and engineering than the U.S. (Sound familiar) Chu made the remarks in a speech and a conference call with reporters this week.Here&amp;'s a couple of interesting things he had to say:On solar startup Solyndra, which has reportedly taken nearly $1 billion in funding and received a $535 million conditional loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for its second factory, a decision that is now under criticism. The company has come under tough pricing competition from Chinese manufacturers, and recently closed its first facility, laying off 40 workers.On the call Chu continued to stress the importance of policymaking and government support (like loan guarantees) for renewable technologies. Meanwhile, his office sent us a stilted official reply by email:&amp;''Solyndra now plans to double rather than triple production of solar panels by 2013, and construction for the companya4a4s new facility is ahead of schedule. We take our responsibility to protect taxpayer interests very seriously and will continue to work with Solyndra to help them find solutions to current and future challenges.&amp;''On the dramatic decrease in cleantech investing from venture capitalists and how the U.S. can continue to drive investment:In a follow-up note to VentureBeat&amp;'s questions, Chu&amp;'s office pointed out that the DOE&amp;'s loan program has offered $25 billion in commitments in the last 18 months, and created 57,000 green jobs.&amp;''This represents a greater investment in clean energy generation projects than the entire private sector made in 2009, and almost as much as was invested in such projects in 2008 a4&quot; the peak financing year to date &amp;8230' Loan guarantees are crucial.&amp;''On China&amp;'s renewable energy &amp;''playbook&amp;'':&amp;''China&amp;'s not spending state funds&amp;8230'if you look in detail, what they&amp;'re doing, loan guarantees preferential tax treatment &amp;8212' it looks like it&amp;'s out of an American playbook.&amp;''On what the private sector needs to be encouraged to invest:Chu says that what he&amp;'s heard from private sector investors is nervousness about what happens &amp;''if the rules change five years from now,&amp;'' altering the landscape and economics of their original investment.&amp;''What the US needs to do is make long-term policies. It&amp;'s better to have a sustained long-term policy rather than lavish policy that lasts for only a year or two,&amp;'' Chu said. One example of the latter is a solar grant programthat will expire this year and provided up to 30 percent of a project&amp;'s costs. The program&amp;'s chances for renewal look slim, and has set off a scramble in California to approve solar projects before the program ends.Later, via email, Chu&amp;'s office emphasized loan guarantees as a &amp;''crucial&amp;'' part of what they do to spur renewable energy projects.On the possibility of losing out to competition from cleantech companies in Asia and Europe:&amp;''Japan and Korea and China are going in this direction, saying &amp;8216'This is our future,&amp;' and if we in the states don&amp;'t go in this direction, I&amp;'m afraid we&amp;'ll be increasingly importing many of the technologies that we could have been exporting,&amp;'' Chu said. He gave an example of how he recently installed a tankless water heater in his home.&amp;''Therewere no American manufacturers. There was a Korean one, Japanese one, European ones. Kind of scary.&amp;''On attacks from conservatives who seem to be turning against the smart grid and, in Rush Limbaugh&amp;'s case, green cars like the Chevrolet Volt:Chu again framed the discussion as one about innovation, American competitiveness and the future of energy. He pointed again to the advances and investment that other countries are making in renewable energies and infrastructure.&amp;''Ultimately, the American public has to decide. Does everyone else know something we don&amp;'t know, or do we know something everyone else doesn&amp;'t know&amp;''On the U.S.&amp;'s competitive edge:&amp;''This is private enterprise, it has to be driven by the private sector. We lead &amp;8230' but leads can betenuous. You can lose them' you have to fight to gain them back. Once lost, it isn&amp;'t lost forever. We lostthe lead in airplanes, we got it back.&amp;''[Image via Wikipedia Commons]Next Story: Mobile app sales on iPhone and Android soared during Black Friday weekend Previous Story: Is Microsoft readying for a surprise come backPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cleantech investing, green investing, SolarCompanies: SolyndraPeople: Steven Chu          Tags: cleantech investing, green investing, SolarCompanies: SolyndraPeople: Steven ChuIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name).VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[I Have Seen The Future, And It Looks A Lot Like Bump (Without The&nbsp'Bump)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=i-have-seen-the-future-and-it-looks-a-lot-like-bump-without-thenbspbump</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=i-have-seen-the-future-and-it-looks-a-lot-like-bump-without-thenbspbump</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=i-have-seen-the-future-and-it-looks-a-lot-like-bump-without-thenbspbump</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There is something about exchanging information by bumping fists that is deeply satisfying.  What I like most about the iPhone app Bump is that it&amp;'s different. Its features are nifty enough' transfer money, information, and as of last week, music to someone else by tapping your phone against theirs. More importantly, though, it&amp;'s a harbinger of the next wave of the mobile revolution.Unfortunately, that also means Bump is already doomed.Most app developers treat smartphones as little more than very small laptops. Location-based apps are the only real exception, which is why they&amp;'ve provoked such excitement.  But that is obvious low-hanging fruit. Only a very few apps take advantage of the fact that smartphones are constantly with us, portable enough for actions that laptops can&amp;'t perform, and frequently within range of a shifting mesh of other devices.Apple and Google bear much of the blame. In theory, their devices can talk to the nearby world via Bluetooth. In practice, though, the two titans have wired Bluetooth&amp;'s jaw shut. Apple&amp;'s API only permits connections to very simple services (keyboards, headsets, etc.) or other iOS devicesa4&quot;for anything else, developers must join a special program and sign a sheaf of NDAs. Android is far more open, but still requires explicit user approval every time an app asks to connect to a new Bluetooth device.You can see why. Apple doesn&amp;'t want users downloading songs from iTunes and immediately beaming copies to their friends, and Bluetooth is a battery hog and security threat. But there are other solutions, such as an HTTPS-like certification mechanism. The existing restrictions have all but eliminated a whole genre of apps that could have been: for instance, only a tiny handful of multiplayer games allow Android and iPhone users to go head-to-head, and I&amp;'m sure GroupMe would love to form groups out of Bluetooth mesh networks connecting every enabled device in a given room.Alas, Bluetooth won&amp;'t be unshackled anytime soona4&quot;but a whole new kind of connection is about to emerge. Last week Google confirmed that Android 2.3 will support Near Field Communication, as will Nokia and RIM smartphones, starting next year. And judging from Apple&amp;'s recent hiring of an NFC expert , and patent filings for a probably-NFC-powered iTravel app, the iPhone 5 will boast NFC too.(Full disclosure / odd coincidence' the iTravel app currently in the App Store was created by, er, me. Let me stress that it has nothing to do with whatever Apple is cooking up.)NFC opens up a whole cornucopia of possibilities. Phones serving as credit cards, keys, and ID are the most obvious, and least imaginative. Interestingly, NFC can also be used to automatically authorize Bluetooth connections. Next year we&amp;'ll see the emergence of a whole new category of apps and startupsa4&quot;and, hopefully, some new unexpected left-field brilliance. Developers, start your engines.But spare a thought for Bump in this brave new world. What need will anyone have for a service that brilliantly mimics NFC, once the real thing appears They might eke out a year or two as a substitute service for obsolete phones, but beyond that, I&amp;'m sorry to say, the only answer is none whatsoever. So long, Bump. You were a bold pioneer. Cash out while you can, and rest in peace.CrunchBase InformationBump TechnologiesiPhone 4AndroidInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Are you dummies ready for location services]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-you-dummies-ready-for-location-services</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-you-dummies-ready-for-location-services</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=are-you-dummies-ready-for-location-services</guid>
<description><![CDATA[For all of you who are still trying to figure out how to use location-based services for your business, fear no more. We&amp;'ve gotten wind that, come June 2011, Dummies.com, the infamous how-to series from Wiley Publishing will have a new book on the market &amp;8212' &amp;''Location Based Marketing for Dummies&amp;''.The really interesting part of the new Dummies book is that it may bring a bit of good news to the location-based space. While many people have dismissed the location-based market based on recent results (Pew Internet findings, for example, say that only 4% of online Americans use location-based services), clearly Wiley thinks it&amp;'s going to be big.The book&amp;'s authors, Powered chief marketerAaron Strout and Mike Schneider, senior vice president at advertising and interactive agency Allen &amp;amp' Gerritsen, have worked with a number of clients on location-based campaigns.According to Strout&amp;'s blog, topics covered in the book will include:If you&amp;'re a location-based service and are wondering how to get involved, the two authors are looking for help. According to Mike&amp;'s blog,you can send a tweet to@schneidermike with the hashtag LBM4Dto let them know about you.[Full disclosure: The authors announced the new book during a webinar I co-presented for digital engagement agency Piehead, where I work as a social strategist]. Next Story: Three cleantech trends to watch in GE Ecomagination winners Previous Story: Dell loses mobile chief Ron Garriques as it repositions mobile groupPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Allen &amp;amp' Gerristen, dummies, dummies books, location, location based services, location-based, location-based marketing, marketing, Piehead, PoweredCompanies: dummiesPeople: Aason Strout, Mike Schneider          Tags: Allen &amp;amp' Gerristen, dummies, dummies books, location, location based services, location-based, location-based marketing, marketing, Piehead, PoweredCompanies: dummiesPeople: Aason Strout, Mike SchneiderCody Barbierri is a social and digital media consultant. He works for Piehead and blogs about social media at Social Tab. (None of his posts are about clients or their competitors.) Reach him at Cody@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Cody on Twitter.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Three (Lousy) Photos Look To Be The First Taken With The Nexus&nbsp'S]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-lousy-photos-look-to-be-the-first-taken-with-the-nexusnbsps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-lousy-photos-look-to-be-the-first-taken-with-the-nexusnbsps</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=three-lousy-photos-look-to-be-the-first-taken-with-the-nexusnbsps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Well looky what we have here.The other day, Engadget got the first photos of the Nexus S, Google&amp;'s sequel to their Nexus One phone. Now it looks like we may have happened upon the first photos taken with the device.If you look in this Google Picasa album, you&amp;'ll see three random photos that appear to be of nothing. But if you click on the photos themselves and hit the &amp;''more info&amp;'' button, you&amp;'ll see one very interesting thing about these lousy photos: each list the camera as &amp;''google&amp;'' and the model as &amp;''Nexus S&amp;''.Each of these photos was taken last Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, presumably from inside Google (they&amp;'re not geotagged). We know that the company is currently dogfood testing the device, but roll-out to the general public has been slightly delayed. It would seem that this album (and account) is just a for camera tests (the last one for color specifically).One thing that will disappoint some: the camera appears to only be 5 megapixels. But that&amp;'s in-line with Engadget&amp;'s report that the Nexus S is the Samsung GT-i9020, which has a 5 megapixel camera.Next time Google, might we suggest that you select the &amp;''private&amp;'' photo option on your photo productCrunchBase InformationAndroidGoogleInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Yep, Apple Rocketed Past Microsoft In Revenue This Past Quarter By Over $4&nbsp'Billion]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yep-apple-rocketed-past-microsoft-in-revenue-this-past-quarter-by-over-4nbspbillion</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yep-apple-rocketed-past-microsoft-in-revenue-this-past-quarter-by-over-4nbspbillion</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fernada</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yep-apple-rocketed-past-microsoft-in-revenue-this-past-quarter-by-over-4nbspbillion</guid>
<description><![CDATA[When Apple passed Microsoft in market cap this past May, the Microsoft fanboys were out in full force. &amp;''This means nothing.&amp;'' &amp;''Microsoft still makes so much more money than Apple.&amp;'' &amp;''Look at the revenues.&amp;'' Okay, let&amp;'s look at the revenues.Microsoft just posted their earnings for last quarter. The result $16.2 billion in revenue. A very strong number, easily beating what the Street was projecting. But just 10 days ago, Apple posted their revenues for this past quarter. The result there $20.34 billion. Yep.During the last round of earnings results in July, some people had been predicting that Apple would pass Microsoft in revenue (though, for the record, I wasn&amp;'t so sure). But sure enough, Microsoft stayed barely ahead of Apple by about $700 million. But as we noted at the time:It seems quite likely that next quarter Apple will surpass Microsoft in revenue. Assuming that iPhone 4 sales are huge and that the iPad continues to grow, Applea4a4s momentum in revenue is simply too great for Microsoft to keep up with. Apple may or may not hit $20 billion in revenues next quarter (theya4a4re projecting $18 billion, but they always low-ball that number so they can beat it).And here we go. Not only did Apple hit that $20 billion revenue quarter, Microsoft&amp;'s quarter-to-quarter total only went up slightly (around $200 million). And so Apple zoomed right by them.Naturally, it&amp;'s important to note that Microsoft still has a lead in profit a4&quot; $5.41 billion to $4.31 billion a4&quot; but that&amp;'s because one is mainly a software maker (huge margins), while the other is mainly a hardware maker (lower margins). If this trend continues, that will change soon shortly as well. Remember, it&amp;'s the holiday quarter now.Meanwhile, in terms of market cap, Apple now holds a $52 billion lead (remember when there was still some doubt this would happen). And Google is inching closer to Microsoft as well.[photo: flickr/NASA]CrunchBase InformationAppleMicrosoftInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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