by Paul Joseph
December 31, 2010
Featured
2010 has been the year for Facebook. Amongst all the highs and lows, the news that came last will end the year on a high for the social networking king — Facebook is the most-visited website in the United States, overtaking Google. Experian Hitwise revealed that Facebook got 8.93% of all visits, while Google got only 7.19% of visits. In the 2009 report of Hitwise, Google was at the top while Facebook was third. Yahoo mail was second last year, but came down to third this time. Facebook was also the most searched team of 2010 and of 2009. Facebook has already overtaken Yahoo in terms of unique page views world wide and is nearing Microsoft and Google. Facebook growth rate is much greater than that of the web giants. On Christmas Facebook got more visitors than Google, according to Hitwise. Will this be repeated on New Year? 2010 has seen the company through thick and thin. It had hit the 500 million users in July. It has nearly 600 million users now and 700,000 users join daily. Analysts are claiming that Facebook will have over 1 billion users by 2011 end. The CEO himself, Mark Zuckerberg has evolved from a college kid to an executive and also anointed Time’s Person of The Year. The movie depicting the early days of Facebook, “The Social Network” portrayed Zuckerberg as a negative character. But, Zuckerberg himself has improved his public persona. He is no longer the exec who carries a business card saying, “I am CEO… Bitch” but a person who deftly handled an appearance in Oprah and interviewed the former President George W. Bush. He announced a donation of $100 million to the New Jersey schools and pledged half of his wealth to charity. The year has also seen lot of new features getting added to the website. A few worth mentioning would be, Facebook Credits, improved privacy settings, Facebook Places, Facebook Messages, improved photo sharing experience, social plugin and open graph and new profile design. All of these features have attracted more users to the social network. The growth of Facebook is credited to its business plans and talent acquisitions. The companies which Facebook has acquired helps it grow further. Octazen Solutions, Divvyshot, Sharegrove, next Stop, Chai Labs, Hot Potato, Drop.io, Zenbe and Walletin have all been acquired by Facebook. They are all working on various projects which will make our experience on the social network even better. Facebook’s valuation has also grown and it stands at around $60 billion. Analysts are also claiming that Facebook’s valuation is now greater than that of the giants Yahoo and eBay. A survey by Glassdoor revealed that the company is the best place to work in the U.S. The CEO was also ranked highly by the employees. All is not well for Facebook, though. The company has already faced scrutiny and legal battles surrounding its privacy practices. In May, this went to an all new level when a movement called “Quit Facebook Day” gained traction. Every new feature that the company launched is welcomed with suspicion and outrage. But, it is not just the users who are suspicious, it is Facebook which allowed its growth. Facebook apps passed personal information to third party apps, but according to the company this was against company policy. Transparency in the privacy system is what is needed here. Mashable CEO, Pete Cashmore in an interview with Bloomberg said that 2010 has been a great year for Facebook but 2011 will be even better. Facebook is no longer just a social network which has grown but a brand that is here to stay. Facebook as a brand will compete with the likes of Google and Microsoft for years to come. It is not just Cashmore, but others are also making this prediction. But, what will happen in the future depends a lot on whether the company decides to go public. SEC is has its eyes on Facebook. When the company does decide to go public, its independence might be at stack which in turn will affect its momentum. Nevertheless, we should congratulate Facebook for al the feat they achieved in 2010. But, will 2011 be the year Facbook conquers the web? REGISTER FOR WATSUMMIT – INDIA’S FLAGSHIP SUMMIT ON DIGITAL MEDIA REGISTER NOW! Related Posts Facebook Takes Down Yahoo, Eyeing Google And Microsoft? Facebook dominates online display ads in the U.S. Will Women Drive The Future Of The Internet? WATFive: Twitter-Facebook Traffic Stats, Yahoo’s New IM, Google Lighter Factor, Transmute, MobileFacebook Is The Future Of The Web BLACK?
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by Paul Joseph
December 28, 2010
Featured
In three days time, 2010 will take its exit from the stage. The year saw an unprecedented growth in the field of technology; especially in smartphones segment. More than ever before, there have been discussions about them everywhere. Smartphones: Around the world in 365 days Smartphones have many takers including the aristocratically rich guys, hardcore tech geeks, busy business executives and professionals among others. The craziness for smartphones is attributed to factors such as cheaper price tags, ever expanding social networking universe, peer pressures and viral marketing strategies by their manufacturers. Invariably, iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones are the ones that have ruled the roost. Popular gadgets like MP3 players, digicams, gaming consoles and navigation devices could not compete with smartphones as the entire functionalities have been embedded in them thereby capturing the market by leaps and bounds. Gone are the days when mobile phones were just meant for making calls and texting. Youngsters today are not wary of shelling out extra bucks to own smartphones which, apart from the normal calls and SMS, allow them to check emails, browse internet, edit documents, do social networking, record better videos, click clearer pictures and provide navigation while in an unknown place. Perhaps, manufacturers have left no stones unturned to attract every category of people. For those who cannot afford the global brands, especially those in countries like India, there are local and Chinese smartphones, which provide more or less the same features at an economical price. There are about 500 million smartphones users around the world and this figure is expected to reach 1 billion in the next three years. Apple and RIM continued to lead the market followed by other players like Samsung, HTC and Motorola. The Indian Scene Micromax is one such Indian company which has revolutionized the smartphones market. Two days back, another company Intex also announced an Android based smartphone for Indian market. The market for smartphones in India looks promising with more than 7 million handsets, which is a 30% growth from the previous year. And by the year 2015, smartphones are touted to garner about 25% of the total mobile phone market in the country, which has now more than 600 million subscribers. Almost all the major players have made their grip of the market stronger in India, except Nokia, which seems to be losing out in the competition mainly to Android phones . Apart from these, there are also bigger versions of them, incidentally called tablets that have begun to capitalize the market. With Apple’s iPad, Dell’s Streak and Samsung’s Galaxy, Indians now have plethora of choices. PCs and Laptops would be a passe very soon in the face of smartphones. And with 3G pictures becoming clearer, there will be a huge surge of smartphones in a year or two. On A Lighter Note Smartphones make life simpler and make life filled with fun and joy. Apart from the aforesaid functions, there are exciting games and applications that make users happier. For instance, Angry Birds and iPhone’s Lets Golf are the most sought after games. Also, apps such as those in healthcare segment can certainly help it become better and easier. Smartphones are much better than mobile phones that existed some five years ago in terms of wider screens, intuitive UI and lots of applications. And more than anyone can imagine, they surely are changing the way we live. In USA, the Army has announced that it would be issuing Smartphones, either iPhone or Android phone, to its soldiers. That indicates its rising popularity. The Road Ahead Experts have predicted that as many as 500 million smartphones would be sold in 2011 as against 179 million and 270 million in 2009 and 2010 respectively. While the figure may rise or fall, it is quite certain that smartphones are here to stay. However, at this point it is difficult to announce the verdict as to who will be the market leader in the arena. All said and done, the year 2010 fits the bill to be called the year of smartphones considering the pace it has picked up and the revolution it has experienced. What do you think? REGISTER FOR WATSUMMIT – INDIA’S FLAGSHIP SUMMIT ON DIGITAL MEDIA REGISTER NOW! Related Posts Android Users Are The Biggest Network Hogs Android To Become Asia’s Most Popular Mobile OS? Will Tablets Touch Success In India? Apple And Motorola Battle It Out Over Patents Apple Sues HTC In A Not-So-Veiled Attack On Android
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