|
Crowdsourcing Entertainment Marketing via Social Media June 17, 2013
Movie studios and TV networks increasingly are turning to social media for help with generating buzz about their upcoming releases and programming. Communities are building around favorite movie franchises and TV shows. Have movie and show producers really been listening -- and if they have, has anything changed because of what they've heard? Yes -- and maybe.
|
Nuclear Power, Part 2: Nukenomics June 14, 2013
There's no denying that safety and effectiveness are both critical concerns when it comes to nuclear power, and that's just as true for investors in the technology as it is for those who rely on the energy it generates. Still to be determined is whether small modular reactor designs are feasible as a free-market business proposition without current levels of government-backed investment.
|
|
Nuclear Power, Part 1: A Smaller, Safer Future June 07, 2013
Keeping the lights on in the global industrial world -- never an easy task -- never seems to get any easier. Nuclear energy, which provides nearly 20 percent of our nation's electricity, is at a crossroads. Can nuclear reactors -- the torrid, pulsating, heat-generating hearts of nuclear power plants -- ever be safe enough? Thanks to several new technologies, the outlook is promising.
|
The Linux Standard Base: Order From Chaos June 06, 2013
Imagine going out to do your shopping errands in a world devoid of standards. What would that be like? Without standard sizes, something as routine as buying clothes would be an exercise in frustration. Finding a replacement bulb or buying tires for your car would require unique parts made only by the manufacturer. That's why the world of Linux has the Linux Standard Base.
|
|
Aereo's Audacious Ambitions May 13, 2013
Aereo -- the lawsuit-embattled company that provides Internet-streamed, live, and recorded over-the-air broadcast television content -- may have started a trend. None other than Time Warner may be considering the redistribution of public broadcast content over the Internet too. What it comes down to is that a bunch of micro-antennas in a Brooklyn warehouse may change everything.
|
The App-Driven Gadget Floodgates Are Open May 10, 2013
Peruse any big consumer electronics box-store aisles, and you can't help but notice a new style of peripherals hugging the displays. App-driven devices are appearing on store shelves that let homeowners manage and monitor home systems like thermostats and security using a smartphone or a tablet. There are sensors, styluses and add-ons. Later this year, we'll likely see a plethora of smartwatches.
|
|
Buying Into the Bitcoin Craze May 03, 2013
Although the peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin is unlikely to replace traditional banking, it might have a role to play in e-commerce. The costs associated with Bitcoin transactions are significantly less than with other payment networks. Bitcoin has no central issuing authority and isn't tracked by any authority. However, the currency's value exceeds that of some small countries.
|
The End of Social Media Marketing's Wild West May 01, 2013
The FTC recently updated its guidelines for online advertising to address the growth in mobile and social media marketing. Now a paid tweet has to begin with the word "ad," as obvious disclosure now must be included with all commercial speech. Is the link you're tweeting from an employer? A client? You have to mention that. The new rule: If money is changing hands, disclose it.
|
|
TV Networks vs. Technology: The Battle Rages On April 29, 2013
Earlier this month, News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey threatened to pull the Fox network off the airwaves and convert it to a pay-TV channel. This came following a court ruling that allowed New York City-based Aereo to allow its subscribers to view over-the-air TV broadcasts.
|
Mixing Work and Play: The High-Tech Hotel Lobby April 26, 2013
Work is not only spilling into our leisure time at home, but also taking over our downtime on the road. Work has always eaten into road downtime somewhat, often because of communications inefficiencies. Today overwork is demanded by bosses, globalization, general competitiveness and tight budgets. It's also a response to the seductive call of the smartphone.
|
|
Preparing for a Disaster: Keeping Communications Alive April 19, 2013
Disaster communications tech has become a hot topic, spurred in part by last fall's Hurricane Sandy, where major swaths of New York City were rendered without some business-level communications such as those provided by cell networks. Just how does a business approach mid- to long-term communications continuity in the event of a natural disaster?
|
Tech's Hard-Boiled Progeny: The Data Journalist April 16, 2013
When we think of traditional news gatherers, we might conjure up the image of an obstreperous character brazenly hassling a slimy official for the real story -- or hovering paparazzi harassing a poor celebrity innocently shopping for handbags in Beverly Hills. However, there have been some technology-driven changes since Hollywood handed us those stock characters that could severely alter the picture.
|
|
Boom Goes the Social Media Marketing Dynamite April 09, 2013
Two-way social-media channels, like Twitter and Facebook, have changed forever the methods businesses use to communicate with their customers. Fading into the distance are the days of the one-sided official dispatch. Social media marketing has been welcomed with open arms into the fold, with corporations determined to make it an effective tool.
|
The Video Game Circle Game: What's Old Must Be New Again March 29, 2013
The video game industry has been suffering one of its most notable slumps in recent years. Sales in February were down compared with the same period a year ago. March's numbers have yet to be released, but they will likely reflect some improvement, as a handful of high-profile titles have arrived. These potential blockbusters don't seem all that different but they could offer enough of a twist to get gamers interested.
|
|
I Want My M-WiFi March 19, 2013
Looking for an Internet connection when out and about may soon become a lot easier.
There's been an uptick in public WiFi availability. Recent public WiFi launches include Google's free WiFi project in New York City, starting with parts of Chelsea. London's tube network went hot in 2012 with 92 underground stations WiFi-enabled; Virgin Media is connecting a further 28 stations by the end of March, 2013.
|
Algorithms for Rent: The Price Is Right March 12, 2013
If you've been in the market for almost anything recently, you've probably noticed price fluctuations. You place a bicycle on your Amazon wish list at one price, only to see it shoot up a hundred dollars more a few days later, then drop to a hundred less a week or so after that. Everything from airplane tickets to apartment rentals seems subject to dramatic price changes from one day to the next.
|
|
The Socially Responsible Role of Social Media in Crisis Management March 05, 2013
Hurricane Sandy, which struck the U.S.' Eastern seaboard last October, exemplified the use of social networks in disaster communications. Millions of residents were affected. For many, real-time information was provided through independent, citizen-generated Facebook pages like Jersey Shore Hurricane News and Twitter.
|
Exploring the New World of Travel Apps March 01, 2013
When Richard Rygg, the co-founder of HipGeo, sailed with his family last year through the islands of French Polynesia, he used his company's app to document the experience. The result is a multimedia blog complete with a GPS track of his adventure, and a collection of dozens of geo-tagged photos of sunsets, beaches and bays.
|
|
Consumer Signal Booster: An Electronic Gadget Grows Up February 26, 2013
There's a little-known electronic gadget -- one that's generally not available alongside the colorful big-screen TVs and bass-pounding sound systems in seductive, sparkly urban consumer-electronics mega-stores -- that can be a life-changing device, nonetheless. For some people, it's much more important than the latest 4.7-inch smartphone.
|
Toy Tech: In Search of the Light App-tastic February 12, 2013
The tablet computer craze that has users of all ages launching Angry Birds and making Temple Runs is profoundly influencing toy makers as well. "We are moving into a new realm of toys that the industry finds quite exciting," said Jackie Breyer, editor-in-chief of The Toy Book.
|
See More Articles in Spotlight Features Section >>








Headline Feeds



















