15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn
Microsoft has invested $240m (£117m) in social networking site Facebook in exchange for a 1.6% share of the company. That puts a value of $15bn (£7.3bn) on a firm that has only been in existence three and a half years.
So why does Microsoft think Facebook is worth $15bn? Here are 15 possible reasons....
1. The network has gone viral in the last 12 months, with more than 50 million users worldwide and a user base that is growing faster than great rival MySpace. According to Facebook, it adds 200,000 new users each day.
2. The average user spends 3.5 hours a month on Facebook - more than the average user on rival MySpace - which is increasingly attractive to advertisers.
3. Facebook is the current Web 2.0 darling - popular with ordinary users and "tech heads" alike.
4. US research reveals that Facebook users come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college than MySpace users - increasing that attraction for advertisers.
5. Microsoft's investment makes them a serious player in the growing market of "social advertising". Social network profiles are full of personal data that users voluntarily hand over, which is very useful for targeting adverts.
6. Sixty percent of Facebook users are outside of the US - so Microsoft's investment buys access to a global audience quickly and simply.
7. Facebook is the new web: The decision to open up the network to outside developers turned Facebook into a destination for many uses, like messaging, photos and video. Of course, as Facebook is on the web it could never really be the new web.
8. Every major content firm with an online presence is either working on a Facebook application or has already launched one - from Google to the BBC.
9. According to a report, 233 million hours of work are lost each month in the UK due to staff looking at social networks. Advertisers can now target people when at their desks.
10. The openness of Facebook is attracting a wealth of talented developers who can launch their applications to millions of users quickly.
11. Facebook messaging is the new e-mail. Everyone feels stressed from a deluge of e-mail from unwanted people and companies. But Facebook messages are always from friends.
12. Facebook's "status updates" have become the easiest way to let friends know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any given moment.
13. Facebook thrives on playful applications such as Pirates, Zombies, Super Wall and Top Friends, which have made the network a place to play as well as communicate.
14. Facebook is the acceptable face of blogging - you can reflect your life and personality online without being seen as a "blogger", which often carries a geeky stigma.
15. Facebook is worth $15bn only because Microsoft says so. The value of Facebook is based on a 1.6% share of the firm being worth the $240m Microsoft paid for it. Microsoft and Google were in a bidding war for a slice of the firm and both companies have large pockets. This was not just business, this was personal, according to some analysts.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Apple iPhone debuts in UK stores
Apple iPhone debuts in UK stores
Customers rushed to buy the new handsetsApple's much-hyped iPhone has finally hit shelves in the UK.
Staff cheered as throngs of excited customers made their way into Apple's flagship store in London.
A small number of Apple fans keen to get hold of the handset had started queuing at stores overnight and numbers swelled to around 300 for the launch.
First out of the store with the £269 internet enabled device was 20-year-old north London student Tom Jasinski who said "It was worth the wait".
"I got here 26 hours ago," he told PA. "It is a great piece of hardware. It is a great thing and I love it."
The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones described the scene in London as "mayhem".
He said before the doors opened at the store, Apple staff were walking up and down the lines of people "whipping them into a frenzy".
The internet enabled handset has also gone on sale at more than 1,300 other stores around the UK with each customer limited to two handsets each.
The first European handsets were sold at the T-Mobile store in Cologne, Germany just after midnight on Friday morning.
T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom said it had sold over 10,000 iPhones in Germany by late afternoon.
"It was love at first sight," one 50-year-old man told Reuters news agency.
The iPhone will go on sale in France on 29 November and Asia in 2008.
Lock-down
Although the wait is over for some fans, there are concerns that consumers are only able to use the phone with the 02 mobile network.
GEEK TEST
N95 versus iPhone
The phones can be unlocked for use on other networks but this voids the warranty and could break the device if software updates from Apple are installed.
As many as 250,000 users in the US have unlocked the device using free and paid-for software to make the phone work on different networks, and to load third-party software not supported by Apple.
Critics have pointed out that the device, while boasting an innovative user interface which makes it simple to use, lacks technology found in rival phones.
The iPhone only works on slower 2G networks, limiting its usefulness as a mobile web browser, but it does also connect to wi-fi hotspots.
In the UK, iPhone owners can connect to the net for free at thousands of The Cloud's hotspots.
Greg Joswiak, head of marketing for the iPhone, denied that the phone had sacrificed function over form by choosing 2G.
"We wanted to make sure that we had a very small device and good battery life. You can't do that today with 3G.
Talk time
"It's just too power hungry, which is why most 3G phones have nowhere near eight hours of talktime."
GEEK TEST
Fans queuing
One of the iPhone's big rivals, the Nokia N95, has four hours of talk time on a 2G network, while Apple's device has up to eight hours, according to technical specifications provided by both firms.
Customers have to pay in advance for the iPhone and cannot get it free on a mobile contract.
The Apple phones costs £269 and the minimum monthly contract with O2 is £35.
Jonathan Arber, an analyst with Ovum, said: "In the long term it will be interesting to see how consumers will react to having to pay for this device.
"Obviously in the UK most consumers are used to getting their devices for free."
Mr Arber also pointed out that the UK mobile market is predominantly made up of pre-pay users.
I don't like be imposed upon as to which network I want to switch to
iPhone unlocker Daryl
"That's a huge section of the market that is not going to be purchasing an iPhone. In the contract segment there are a lot of people who are not going to pay £35 a month.
"But for a large group of people the iPhone is certainly an attractive proposition."
According to analysts M:Metrics 10% of 16,000 mobile phone users surveyed in the UK expressed strong interest in buying the iPhone.
Fifty per cent of the survey sample with a strong interest had not paid for their current phone and almost half were on a pre-pay contract.
'Love experience'
Apple has sold 1.4 million iPhones since it went on sale in the US and O2 and T-Mobile are expecting strong sales.
Graham Gilbert was the first to buy the iPhone at the London storeMr Joswiak said: "People love their experience with the iPhone. They don't love the experience with other phones. That is why our sales are through the roof."
"We assume that the device will find a very good reception on the market," said Rene Bresgen, a spokesman for Deutsche Telekom, owners of T-Mobile in Germany.
More than a 1,000 O2 shops, Carphone Warehouse stores and Apple shops are expected to sell the device.
Some iPhone owners in the UK have not been content to wait for the official release and have bought the device in the US and unlocked it for use on any network.
One owner, called Daryl, told BBC News he had bought 14 phones in the US for himself and friends and unlocked them.
He said he had unlocked his original phone because he didn't want to be tied to one network.
"I like the current network I am on and I'd like to stay with that network. I don't like be imposed upon as to which network I want to switch to.
"Also the actual O2 network doesn't have very good coverage where I live; Orange has good coverage where I live, that's why I chose them first, and why I want to stay with them."
Customers rushed to buy the new handsetsApple's much-hyped iPhone has finally hit shelves in the UK.
Staff cheered as throngs of excited customers made their way into Apple's flagship store in London.
A small number of Apple fans keen to get hold of the handset had started queuing at stores overnight and numbers swelled to around 300 for the launch.
First out of the store with the £269 internet enabled device was 20-year-old north London student Tom Jasinski who said "It was worth the wait".
"I got here 26 hours ago," he told PA. "It is a great piece of hardware. It is a great thing and I love it."
The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones described the scene in London as "mayhem".
He said before the doors opened at the store, Apple staff were walking up and down the lines of people "whipping them into a frenzy".
The internet enabled handset has also gone on sale at more than 1,300 other stores around the UK with each customer limited to two handsets each.
The first European handsets were sold at the T-Mobile store in Cologne, Germany just after midnight on Friday morning.
T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom said it had sold over 10,000 iPhones in Germany by late afternoon.
"It was love at first sight," one 50-year-old man told Reuters news agency.
The iPhone will go on sale in France on 29 November and Asia in 2008.
Lock-down
Although the wait is over for some fans, there are concerns that consumers are only able to use the phone with the 02 mobile network.
GEEK TEST
N95 versus iPhone
The phones can be unlocked for use on other networks but this voids the warranty and could break the device if software updates from Apple are installed.
As many as 250,000 users in the US have unlocked the device using free and paid-for software to make the phone work on different networks, and to load third-party software not supported by Apple.
Critics have pointed out that the device, while boasting an innovative user interface which makes it simple to use, lacks technology found in rival phones.
The iPhone only works on slower 2G networks, limiting its usefulness as a mobile web browser, but it does also connect to wi-fi hotspots.
In the UK, iPhone owners can connect to the net for free at thousands of The Cloud's hotspots.
Greg Joswiak, head of marketing for the iPhone, denied that the phone had sacrificed function over form by choosing 2G.
"We wanted to make sure that we had a very small device and good battery life. You can't do that today with 3G.
Talk time
"It's just too power hungry, which is why most 3G phones have nowhere near eight hours of talktime."
GEEK TEST
Fans queuing
One of the iPhone's big rivals, the Nokia N95, has four hours of talk time on a 2G network, while Apple's device has up to eight hours, according to technical specifications provided by both firms.
Customers have to pay in advance for the iPhone and cannot get it free on a mobile contract.
The Apple phones costs £269 and the minimum monthly contract with O2 is £35.
Jonathan Arber, an analyst with Ovum, said: "In the long term it will be interesting to see how consumers will react to having to pay for this device.
"Obviously in the UK most consumers are used to getting their devices for free."
Mr Arber also pointed out that the UK mobile market is predominantly made up of pre-pay users.
I don't like be imposed upon as to which network I want to switch to
iPhone unlocker Daryl
"That's a huge section of the market that is not going to be purchasing an iPhone. In the contract segment there are a lot of people who are not going to pay £35 a month.
"But for a large group of people the iPhone is certainly an attractive proposition."
According to analysts M:Metrics 10% of 16,000 mobile phone users surveyed in the UK expressed strong interest in buying the iPhone.
Fifty per cent of the survey sample with a strong interest had not paid for their current phone and almost half were on a pre-pay contract.
'Love experience'
Apple has sold 1.4 million iPhones since it went on sale in the US and O2 and T-Mobile are expecting strong sales.
Graham Gilbert was the first to buy the iPhone at the London storeMr Joswiak said: "People love their experience with the iPhone. They don't love the experience with other phones. That is why our sales are through the roof."
"We assume that the device will find a very good reception on the market," said Rene Bresgen, a spokesman for Deutsche Telekom, owners of T-Mobile in Germany.
More than a 1,000 O2 shops, Carphone Warehouse stores and Apple shops are expected to sell the device.
Some iPhone owners in the UK have not been content to wait for the official release and have bought the device in the US and unlocked it for use on any network.
One owner, called Daryl, told BBC News he had bought 14 phones in the US for himself and friends and unlocked them.
He said he had unlocked his original phone because he didn't want to be tied to one network.
"I like the current network I am on and I'd like to stay with that network. I don't like be imposed upon as to which network I want to switch to.
"Also the actual O2 network doesn't have very good coverage where I live; Orange has good coverage where I live, that's why I chose them first, and why I want to stay with them."
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Gambling
"Gamble" redirects here. For other uses, see Gamble (disambiguation).
The term gaming[1] in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; i.e.: a “gaming” company offers (legal) “gambling” activities to the public.[2]
While almost any game can be played for money, and any game typically played for money can also be played just for fun, some games are generally offered in a casino setting.
"Beatable" casino games
The term gambling has many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. Currently, in Western societies, it has an economic definition, referring to "wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods".
Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period of time.
The term gaming[1] in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; i.e.: a “gaming” company offers (legal) “gambling” activities to the public.[2]
Legal aspects
Because many religious authorities generally disapprove of gambling to some extent, and because gambling can have adverse social consequences, most legal jurisdictions limit gambling to some extent. Some Islamic nations prohibit gambling; most other countries regulate it.[3]
Many jurisdictions, local as well as national, either ban or heavily control (by licensing) gambling. Such regulation generally leads to gambling tourism and illegal gambling. The involvement of governments, through regulation and taxation, has led to a close connection between many governments and gaming organizations, where legal gambling provides significant government revenue, such as in Monaco or Macau.
Under US federal law, gambling is legal in the United States, and states are free to regulate or prohibit the practice. Gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931, forming the backbone of the state's economy, and the city of Las Veas is perhaps the best known gambling destination in the world. In 1976, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1990, it was legalized in Tunica, Mississippi; both of those cities have developed extensive casino and resort areas since then. Since a favorable US Supreme Court decision in 1987, many Native American tribes have built their own casinos on tribal lands as a way to provide revenue for the tribe. Because the tribes are considered sovereign nations, they are often exempt from state laws banning gambling, and are instead regulated under federal law. Additionally almost all states have legalized gambling in the form of a lottery.
Because contracts of insurance have many features in common with wagers, insurance contracts are often distinguished under law as agreements in which either party has an interest in the "bet-upon" outcome beyond the specific financial terms. E.g.: a “bet” with an insurer on whether one's house will burn down is not gambling, but rather insurance — as the homeowner has an obvious interest in the continued existence of his/her home independent of the purely financial aspects of the "bet" (i.e., the insurance policy).
There is generally legislation requiring that the odds in gaming devices are statistically random, to prevent manufacturers from making some high-payoff results impossible. Since these high-payoffs have very low probability, a house bias can quite easily be missed unless checking the odds carefully.[4]
Many jurisdictions, local as well as national, either ban or heavily control (by licensing) gambling. Such regulation generally leads to gambling tourism and illegal gambling. The involvement of governments, through regulation and taxation, has led to a close connection between many governments and gaming organizations, where legal gambling provides significant government revenue, such as in Monaco or Macau.
Under US federal law, gambling is legal in the United States, and states are free to regulate or prohibit the practice. Gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931, forming the backbone of the state's economy, and the city of Las Veas is perhaps the best known gambling destination in the world. In 1976, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1990, it was legalized in Tunica, Mississippi; both of those cities have developed extensive casino and resort areas since then. Since a favorable US Supreme Court decision in 1987, many Native American tribes have built their own casinos on tribal lands as a way to provide revenue for the tribe. Because the tribes are considered sovereign nations, they are often exempt from state laws banning gambling, and are instead regulated under federal law. Additionally almost all states have legalized gambling in the form of a lottery.
Because contracts of insurance have many features in common with wagers, insurance contracts are often distinguished under law as agreements in which either party has an interest in the "bet-upon" outcome beyond the specific financial terms. E.g.: a “bet” with an insurer on whether one's house will burn down is not gambling, but rather insurance — as the homeowner has an obvious interest in the continued existence of his/her home independent of the purely financial aspects of the "bet" (i.e., the insurance policy).
There is generally legislation requiring that the odds in gaming devices are statistically random, to prevent manufacturers from making some high-payoff results impossible. Since these high-payoffs have very low probability, a house bias can quite easily be missed unless checking the odds carefully.[4]
Casino games
While almost any game can be played for money, and any game typically played for money can also be played just for fun, some games are generally offered in a casino setting.
"Beatable" casino games
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevance, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users. Another class of techniques, known as Black Hat SEO or spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that tend to harm search engine user experience. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques and may remove their listings.
The initialism "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers", a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevance, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users. Another class of techniques, known as Black Hat SEO or spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that tend to harm search engine user experience. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques and may remove their listings.
The initialism "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers", a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
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