TheSunnyMag: How Larry Page reimagined Google and selected stories

Here goes our weekly magazine of stories curated from around the world. In this edition: Twitter Is Said to Be Worth $9 Billion as BlackRock Buys Shares. Redesigning Google: how Larry Page engineered a beautiful revolution. Has Facebook’s Zuckerberg Forgotten How to Change the World? and more.

Inc.

Twitter Is Said to Be Worth $9 Billion as BlackRock Buys Shares: Twitter Inc. was valued at about $9 billion after early employees sold $80 million in shares to a fund managed by BlackRock Inc three people with knowledge of the matter said. The sales were overseen by Twitter Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani, said one of the people yesterday, who asked not to be identified because the transactions were private. Twitter is helping early shareholders realize part of the value of their holdings while letting select investors obtain equity in the fast-growing Internet company before it holds an initial public offering. The deal with BlackRock, the largest money manager, marks an increase in the blog-site’s value since 2011, when an investment led by DST Global valued Twitter at $8 billion, people with knowledge of the plan said then. More here.

Redesigning Google: how Larry Page engineered a beautiful revolution: Something strange and remarkable started happening at Google immediately after Larry Page took full control as CEO in 2011: it started designing good-looking apps. Great design is not something anybody has traditionally expected from Google. Infamously, the company used to focus on A/B testing tiny, incremental changes like 41 different shades of blue for links instead of trusting its designers to create and execute on an overall vision. The “design philosophy that lives or dies strictly by the sword of data” led its very first visual designer, Douglas Bowman, to leave in 2009. More here.

New new world

Has Facebook’s Zuckerberg Forgotten How to Change the World? If anyone understands the power of disruptive technology, it’s Mark Zuckerberg. And yet when it comes to solving the toughest issues of our time, the Facebook (FB) chief seems remarkably reliant on money. As he prepares to host his first fundraiser on Feb. 13 for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie—a man whose popularity has already sparked millions in donations—Zuckerberg might consider the lessons of his own business. Few pursuits demonstrate the power of social media like U.S. politics. More here.

/roots

Jan. 25, 1979: Robot Kills Human: A 25-year-old Ford Motor assembly line worker is killed on the job in a Flat Rock, Michigan, casting plant.1 It’s the first recorded human death by robot. Robert Williams’ death came on the 58th anniversary of the premiere of Karel Capek’s play about Rossum’s Universal Robots. R.U.R gave the world the first use of the word robot to describe an artificial person. Capek invented the term, basing it on the Czech word for “forced labor.” More here.

Why We Should Build Software Like We Build Houses: With widespread access to free, online coding courses and tools, “coding” has become the new writing – the everyman’s skill. So Wired asked Leslie Lamport, winner of the IEEE John von Neumann Medal and an expert on distributed systems (known for saying “A distributed system is one in which the failure of a computer you didn’t even know existed can render your own computer unusable”) for his opinion on … writing code. More here.

Entrepreneuring

Chanda Zaveri’s extraordinary story would have been just another dream dashed had she stepped out of her Kankurgachhi home in a trousseau back in 1984 rather than sneak out to a life of challenges.The Telegraph writes about a Calcutta girl who fled home & marriage at 17 to return as a millionaire US innovator. Read here.

Technicolor

Spy Bases: 9 Secretive HQs of the World’s Intelligence Agencies: Architecture is a language, one used by institutions to say something about themselves. The same basic principle is true for the world’s spy agencies. All show their secrecy in their buildings, while some may appear starkly utilitarian, and some may even be frightening and alienating. But they also have their quirks and differences, whether it be an isolated complex hidden by trees, in a location that’s never been officially disclosed, or a prominent complex built by superstar architects and put on prominent display in the middle of a capital city. From Virginia to Berlin to Moscow, here are nine of them.

Gadgetvice

Unlocking Your Mobile Phone Is No Longer Legal in the US: Mobile phones purchased beginning Saturday can no longer be legally unlocked by U.S. consumers to enable them to work on different networks. The reason, as we reported three months ago, was that the U.S. Copyright Office is no longer granting unlocking an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA makes it illegal to “circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access” to copyrighted material, in this case software embedded in phones that controls carrier access.  More here.

iPhone 5S, a Plastic Version and iPad 5 Reportedly Coming This Year: It’s been about three months since the fourth-generation iPad appeared, which of course means it’s time for the rumors that the fifth-gen model is on the way, and we’ll throw in rumors of the next iPhone as well. Jeremy Horwitz over at iLounge got the opportunity to check out what is said to be an accurate model of the redesigned fifth-generation iPad. It shares the same design aesthetic as the iPhone 5 and iPad mini, with chamfered edges and minimal bezels just large enough to accommodate the camera and home button. More here.

Lifehack

Tony Hsieh’s Rule for Success: Maximize Serendipity : Tony Hsieh is a serial entrepreneurco-founded Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer he now runs. He’s also co-founder of the Downtown Project, which is seeking to revitalize Las Vegas’s downtown. He spoke with Inc. reporter Issie Lapowsky. “My fascination with serendipity started in college. I think for most people, college was the last time it was normal to just randomly run into people all the time. As you get older, you drive to work, see the same people every day, then go home. But the best things happen when people are running into each other and sharing ideas,” says Hsieh. More here.

Get Inside Your Customers’ Heads: Understanding your customers is the universal rule for entrepreneurs. Successful businesses understand their customers’ characteristics, demographics, and buying habits. Exceptional businesses gain additional insight into what their customers see, hear, think, and feel. How do you go about this? Make better use of your data, shift to a more customer centric business model,  Explore what your customers truly want, not just what they are asking for, says Inc. More here.

Big picture

Indian Startup Braindrain to USA : A (disturbing) trend that’s for real: For Indus Khaitan, the co-founder at Bitzer mobile, being in India just didn’t work out. Last weekend after a four year stint in the country, Khaitan moved back to the bay  area in the United States where Bitzer is headquartered. When in India, it became difficult for him to do 1 am calls and still be in a “solid mood” to give a walk through of the mobile enterprise platform they have built. Khaitan is not the only startup guy who has moved to the bay area from India recently. More here.

.Gov

Hackers claim attack on U.S. Justice Department website: Hackers sympathetic to the late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz claimed on Saturday to have infiltrated the website of the U.S. Justice Department’s Sentencing Commission, and said they planned to release government data. The Sentencing Commission site, www.ussc.gov , was shut down early Saturday. Identifying themselves as Anonymous, a loosely organized group of unknown provenance associated with a range of recent online actions, the hackers voiced outrage over Swartz’ suicide on January 11. More here.

Instagram Asking For Your Government Issued Photo IDs Now, Too: Over the past week, a number of users of the popular photo sharing app Instagram and parent company Facebook have been locked out of their accounts and prompted by both services to upload images of their government issued photo IDs to regain access, as CNET first reported on Tuesday. Concerned users seeking to regain account access have turned to several outlets online, including Yahoo Answers, to try and determine whether or not the prompts asking for images of their IDs are real or are hacking attempts.  More here.

Related posts:

1. TheSunnyMag: A Startup which sold for $176 mn two days after launch & best stories of last week
2. Larry Page’s Commencement Speech at Michigan – Inspiring
3. DailyDose: Is Microsoft building its own Google Glass like device?

Link to full article

Read More

White House Petition Calls for Architects of China’s Great Firewall be Denied Entry to the US

A user-submitted petition has gone up on the White House website that calls for the chief architects of China’s censorious Great Firewall to be “denied entry to the US.” If the petition reaches 95,160 signatures by February 23rd, then the White House will, under this new suggestions scheme open to US residents, be obliged to comment and perhaps take action. So far, this appeal to block the GFW builders from US soil has garnered 4,840 signees.

The petition comes with a link to a list of three individuals who were instrumental in China’s complex system of web censorship. Top of the list is Fang Bingxing, who is thought to have begun work on the GFW at the behest of authorities in 2000. Initially only blocking smaller dissident websites, the web filtering system was taking down major sites like YouTube by 2007. In 2011, Fang, a PhD in computer science, was the victim of a George Bush-style shoe attack that, according to the pranksters involved, was “on target.”

Click to enlarge.

In full, the petition reads:

People work on information technology always need to communicate and exchange knowledges between countries. If some of them use their skills and technology for blocking people to use internet for certain governments, all the other countries should boycott such behavior.

If they apply to enter US, for example to attendant technology conference, as a responsible government has always valued freedom, it reasonable to deny it.

The list of GFW suspects is up on Gitgub, the social coding site that was briefly blocked by the GFW last week, only to be mysteriously made accessible again a few days later.

Do you think the petition is a valid idea? Let us know in the comments.

(Hat-tip to @majunspace for spotting this on Twitter)

The post White House Petition Calls for Architects of China’s Great Firewall be Denied Entry to the US appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Link to full article

Read More

5 steps on how to increase your referral marketing effectively on social media

Elton Kuah, marketing director for Enrich Social Media, shares key steps on how to make referral marketing effective on social media.

Referral marketing is a systematic way to maximize word of mouth recommendations through customers and fans. Companies usually reward customers and contacts – what we call word of mouth marketing – to spread the word about the benefits of their products and/or services as much as possible.

WIN-WIN for ALL

This word of mouth marketing strategy is indeed a WIN-WIN situation for ALL, the companies, the marketers and the customers:

• Companies and businesses will get more customers which they will not be able to get on their own
• Word of mouth marketers get rewarded with a percentage of the sale as a thank you or referral fee
• Customers get to use a good product or service which they may not even know about on their own

Wikipedia.org provides a classic example of how referral or word of mouth marketing has helped Dropbox, a well-known company offering online storage space, skyrocket their customer base:

“Dropbox – In 2009, Dropbox implemented a referral program to encourage their users to tell their friends about Dropbox. Their referral program had a two-sided incentive for sharing: the person who a sign up for Dropbox through a referral link gets more space than through a normal sign up, and the referrer gets additional space as well. According to Drew Houston, the Co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, at the Startup Lessons Learnt Conference on 23 April 2010, the referral program was inspired by the Paypal Sign up Bonus program. The referral program permanently increased their signups by 60%. Referrals account for roughly 35% of their daily signups (as of April 2010)”

So, how does referral marketing take place?

Referral marketing takes word of mouth from the spontaneous situation where one is engaged in a casual conversation with their friends to one where maximum referrals are generated on a deliberate basis. In either case, word of mouth referrals is built upon trust which is built upon social capital.

Now, let’s ask ourselves this question:

“Do we like strangers trying to sell us something?”

I don’t know about you but I’m capable of just hanging up the phone when I receive a cold call in the midst of doing something.  Am I being rude? Well, in my humble opinion, I do not trust them and I felt I do not owe the caller anything and that I am not obliged to listen to what they have to offer if I’m not in the mood.

Effectively, when there is no trust, there is no business. And trust is built upon relationships which also known as your social capital.

So, in order to build a successful referral marketing business, word of mouth marketers need to spend enough time to build their social capital by:

• Participating in networking activities to widen their contacts, whether online or offline
• Building their relationships with their network on an ongoing basis to help each other mutually

Without a deliberate effort to build a sizable social network, a word of mouth marketer’s reach is naturally limited to a small circle of family and close friends or co-workers and colleagues and the results will be insignificant.

Here’s how social media changes the medium from ‘1 to 1 marketing’ in traditional method to ‘1 to many’ to increase referral marketing opportunity.

Here’s the 5 step method which startup entrepreneur to build their referral marketing. LinkedIn is being used to illustrate the examples but the principle can be applied in other social media platform such as Facebook and Twitter.

Step 1 – Optimize your social media profile. In about you section, it is recommended to write of what you do, who you help and the results you help them create. You can also include a catchy tagline of a business hook that resonates with your customer to your business.

An example of good profile as per below;

My premium SMS system helps small and medium business owner to increase their brand awareness regularly in customer minds for them to remember you regularly and automatically, which the results can lead to increased sales opportunity up to 200% using our system.

Step 2 – Support with your recommendation or social proof (For example in LinkedIn, this is supported by recommendation by your peers. In social media profile you have, the key points are to mention the specific benefit of how the clients have benefitted from using your service. This specificity can be mentioned in terms of time saved, specific task done and result of work.

Step 3 – Connect with potential leverage partner – for example, if you are a speaker, you will work with companies doing event management, sales person, internet marketer and media agencies to increase your exposure and reach. If you are doing a traditional business, your referral partner could even come from your suppliers.

In business terms, this is called as contact sphere and you can use keywords in Face book Search and LinkedIn to find and connect with such partners.

Step 4 – Building relationships with your online network on a regular basis to help each other mutually. This can be done via valuable e- newsletter updates, articles to educate your targeted audience, and even have a small meet up event to engage your online audience if possible to enhance the social capital connection and possible business opportunity.

Mentioning of loyal customer online that engages with your business is important to make your customer realize that you do care for them and as proof for other  potential customers online to connect and engage with yourself.

Step 5 - Once a business deal is secured, you may want to reward incentives to your loyal customer to refer more of the clients to you. This can be done via referral apps such as ‘Refer Friends and Win iPad 2″ for illustration purpose.

About the author

Elton is the marketing director for Enrich Social Media, an online advertising company specializing in internet marketing services, online coaching, consultancy platform and hotel booking solutions. He is currently an International E-Coach of Youth Employment Network (YEN), a partnership of the United Nations, International Labour Organization, and World Bank and in his social media industry, a certified member of Social Media Summit USA by Social Media Examiner. Elton has also published a co-authored book called ‘Are You Ready To Be Next Entrepreneur’ which his story has been reviewed by world known personalities worldwide. He can be contacted at Linkedin and Facebook at linkedin.com/eltonkuah or facebook.com/eltonkuah

 

The post 5 steps on how to increase your referral marketing effectively on social media appeared first on e27.

Link to full article

Read More

e27 Recommended Reading List #2

Other than reporting news, e27′s editorial team reads extensively and we want to share with you some valuable takeaways. Here’s our reading list for the week.

Facebook’s graph search and the end of privacy by obscurity, by Matthew Ingram

Snippet from the article:

“It may seem absurd that someone might say they “like” racism, or that anyone would actually search for that behavior and make use of it somehow. But if we have learned anything from the era of big data, it is that if the information is available — as dirty or questionable as it might be — someone is going to make use of it, and not always in the way you would like them to.”

What I really enjoyed about the article:

One of the most important happened this week. Social network giant Facebook launches their new social-graph search. The author highlighted what the new feature means and how much we make public without even realizing it giving really solid arguments to support his points. The article also talked about how we are losing the protection of obscurity and how clicks you may not even remember are being analyzed. If you want to read more about what the whole Facebook’s graph search means, there are a lot of excellent articles linked by the author. Fascinating.

- Jacky Yap, Writer

Read also: e27 Recommended Reading List #1

If, Why, and How Founders Should Hire a “Professional” CEO, by Reid Hoffman

Snippet from the article:

“To remain successful, you have to be passionate about that kind of work as well.  Ask yourself, “What am I focused on?  What am I world-class at? What am I really committed to?”  The answers will help you determine if you should bring in a CEO.”

What I really enjoyed about the article:

The article tries to address the age-old issue in startups and even established businesses: whether to bring in a professional CEO or run the business as a CEO and founder. There is a difference, after all, between a “Founder-CEO” and a “Founding CEO” and neither is necessarily better. It depends on the circumstances and strategies surrounding your business. Another question to be answered is how a founder will remain relevant as a driving force in the startup once you have actually hired a professional CEO. Will you be like Sergey Brin’s and Larry Page’s Google, which saw even bigger success when they hired Eric Schmidt to helm the company in a “triumvirate” setup? Or will you be like Apple, which languished when Steve Jobs was edged out of the picture in the mid-1980s in his so-called “first act” only to return to success later on when Jobs came back onboard?

- J. Angelo Racoma, Senior Writer

 

Investor Pitches: 5 Things You’re Doing Wrong, by McAdory Lipscomb, Jr.

Snippet from the article:

“Now you’re ready. You start your business conversation with a business point: “I am here to raise $500,000 to grow my business. Let me tell you about it.” (Don’t give a range: If you say $400,000 to $600,000 the investor hears $400,000. You started a negotiation at the wrong place.)”

What I really enjoyed about the article:

Simple yet straight to the point on one thing, you are going in for a business pitch. Do investors care how awesome your team is? Or how innovative your product is and whether you are the first to develop this amazeballs technology? Maybe. But most of the time, they want to hear something that can make their money grow. They are investors, not a charity organisation.

- Joash Wee, Editor

The post e27 Recommended Reading List #2 appeared first on e27.

Link to full article

Read More

Chinese Gamer Murders Two, Burns Down House When Internet Cuts Out

A spotty internet connection can be a real annoyance, but a gamer in China surnamed Zhao took things to a whole new level at an internet cafe in Renqiu, Hebei. When the connection dropped while Zhao was playing a favorite web game, he got angry and sought out the owner of the cafe at his nearby home. The two got into an argument after the owner (surnamed Ren) suggested that Zhao had downloaded a virus that caused the drop, and Zhao began to hit Ren with his fists. Ren, trying to protect himself, brandished a hammer (though he didn’t strike Zhao with it), and Zhao responded by grabbing scissors and stabbing Ren repeatedly. Ren tried to counter with the hammer, but Zhao grabbed it and began smashing him in the head until he fell to the ground, dead. When Ren’s wife came over, Zhao smashed her in the head with a hammer too, also stabbing her with the scissors and a nearby kitchen knife.

Having murdered the couple in their home, Zhao then set the place ablaze and tossed the murder weapons into the fire. It wasn’t until the next morning that Ren and his wife were found, and although the incident happened in December, Zhao wasn’t arrested until this month. Murder is a capital offense in China, and given the fact that Zhao’s was a double murder with no real provocation, he can probably expect a short trial followed by a bullet in the back of his head.

The Chinese gaming news is full of stories about addicted gamers overreacting when their favorite games have been taken away, but clearly, Mr. Zhao has long since crossed the line between “entitled douche” and “total psychopath.” If there’s anyone out there who feels like Zhao when bad internet connections take your favorite games away, please, seek help.

(via QQ Games)

The post Chinese Gamer Murders Two, Burns Down House When Internet Cuts Out appeared first on Tech in Asia.

Link to full article

Read More

Exclusive: Travelmasti acquired by Via

New Delhi based travel package site, TravelMasti has been acquired by Via.

The company which earlier raised funding from BCCL in 2007 is present (offline) in Dehradun, Rajkot, Jamnagar,Surat cities through its Travelmasti Lounge Network.

The online travel industry has been facing heat owing to lower margin and the recent court ruling banning airline transaction fee is going to erode the margins further.

And that’s why companies like MakeMyTrip and Yatra started diversifying into non-flight business (i.e. hotels/car bookings etc) in order to decrease their dependency on flight business.

Makemytrip recently acquired Thailand’s ITC group for $3.2 million and prior to that, acquired Hotel Travel Group for $25million.

For Via, TravelMasti acquisition provides the much needed depth in holiday package business.

More details as we get them.

Related posts:

1. Travel industry wrapup: MMT to foray into bus ticketing, Expedia to enter Indian market
2. Online Travel Industry in India – the story so far
3. More Drama in the India OTA space: Travelocity & Expedia set to arrive

Link to full article

Read More