Apple beats Android on Christmas Day
Here’s one category where Android is still no match for Apple: mobile shopping.
On Christmas Day, Apple’s iOS devices were used to make 23 percent of all e-commerce orders, according to a report Thursday from IBM. Phones and tablets running Google’s Android, meanwhile, only accounted for 4.6 percent. IOS customers also spent $93.94 per order, almost twice the amount of the average Android shopper.
Mobile devices in general have emerged as a more common way to buy things online, gaining ground on personal computers. They were used for almost 29 percent of Internet sales, up 40 percent from 2012, IBM found. Smartphones were more popular for browsing, while consumers spent more money when using tablets.
Apple’s iPhone and iPad have maintained their edge as shopping tools, even as Android products sell in far greater numbers. Android, which is used by Samsung Electronics and other top manufacturers, accounted for 81 percent of smartphone shipments last quarter, according to International Data Corp. Apple had 13 percent of the market.
Pinterest and Facebook also helped drive online shopping on Christmas, IBM found. Customers referred to sales through Pinterest, an Internet-scrapbooking startup, spent almost $87 per order, while those referred through Facebook spent $72.
Still, customers that came from Facebook were four times more likely to make a purchase than the Pinterest users, possibly because they trust their Facebook friends more, according to the report.
Google drops Rap Genius from search
Google has removed Rap Genius from the top of its search results after it was discovered that the popular music lyrics website was trying to trick the tech giant into giving it better search rankings.
Now, when users search for “Rap Genius” on Google they won’t find any direct links to the music website, which lets users and artists annotate song lyrics. Instead, the results point to news articles, social media accounts and Rap Genius’ Wikipedia page.
Google took down Rap Genius after it was revealed that the website, which received $15 million in funding from Andreesson Horowitz last year, was offering bloggers exposure through its social media accounts in exchange for links to its website on their music blogs.
One of the important factors in the algorithm used to determine Google’s search rankings is how many pages link to each website, so by asking bloggers to link to Rap Genius in exchange for the exposure, the lyrics website was taking the linking into its own hands.
Rap Genius’ tactics came to light after the website posted a status on Facebook asking bloggers to join its affiliate program.
John Marbach, a tech entrepreneur, emailed Rap Genius for more details and later published the website’s response.
After the questionable tactics were revealed, the head of Google’s webspam team, Matt Cutts, announced on Hacker News that the company was investigating the music lyrics website.
Since then, Rap Genius has apologized for its affiliate program and has said that it is working with Google to make sure it complies with Google’s policies. Rap Genius also said that its rival lyrics websites also practice the same types of strategies.
Being delisted by Google can be a death sentence for websites since they get most of their traffic via the search engine.
Users come to Rap Genius after searching for song lyrics and usually finding Rap Genius at the top of the page.
Free Facebook offered by U.S. carrier
For years, Facebook has been cutting deals with telecom carriers in developing countries like India and the Philippines to offer free Facebook access to cellphone customers using simple phones with no data plans.
Now, for the first time, Americans will be able to get free Facebook, too, even if they don’t have a mobile data plan.
In January, GoSmart Mobile, a little-known low-cost prepaid service from T-Mobile US, will begin bundling free access to Facebook’s social network and instant-messaging service with all of its mobile plans, including a basic $25-a-month unlimited voice plan. The service is primarily aimed at smartphones that run Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android software, but it will also work on the cheaper, more basic devices known as feature phones.
For GoSmart, which is sold primarily through independent shops in urban areas, free Facebook is a way to differentiate itself from other prepaid cellular brands - including the more upscale offerings that T-Mobile sells under its own brand and through its MetroPCS unit.
As in other markets, the free taste of Facebook, including access to videos and other multimedia content embedded in the service, could also persuade some GoSmart customers to upgrade to plans that include data.
For Facebook, which has 1.2 billion users worldwide, the benefits are less clear.
GoSmart’s customers number in the hundreds of thousands, so any increase in Facebook usage will be minimal.
Business, Pages 22 on 12/30/2013