Digital House Hunters

 

With one photo, HomeSnap automatically pulls up real estate details

By Nicholas Deleon Friday, June 29, 2012

A recently released app may prove to be the most powerful weapon in house hunters’ arsenals.

Developed by Sawbuck Realty, HomeSnap is a free iPhone app that automatically tells prospective home buyers everything they’d ever want to know about a house, including its price, the local school district and how long it’s been on the market. It does so by utilizing the smartphone’s built-in GPS and compass: Users merely snap a photo of the house, then HomeSnap automatically finds your location and pulls in the relevant information from the multiple listing service database.

Though HomeSnap is clearly designed for home buyers — Sawbuck Realty receives 30 percent of a real estate agent’s closing commission — the app works for any home in the U.S., even if the house isn’t for sale. In that case, HomeSnap estimates the house’s value based on the value of other houses in the area.

If all of this sounds a bit like Shazam, well, you’re right on the money, as Sawbuck Realty directly compared the app to the music identification service when speaking to The Daily at a recent event in New York.

DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY FROM iTUNES

Nicholas.Deleon@thedaily.com@nicholasadeleon

Editorial: Why Newspapers Are a Better Ad Buy posted: 6/28/2012

Editorial: Why Newspapers Are a Better Ad Buy
posted: 6/28/2012

• Read Comments
• Print Page

by: Jeff Fleming

Impact, reach, and results. Three words marketers crave and three words newspapers deliver more effectively than any other advertising medium. A comprehensive advertising package of all things digital coupled with print. Yes print, that in-your- face broadsheet that offers advertisers a chance for impressive, bona fide visual impact. In fact, a recent NAA study revealed that “print users rate highly the utility of print advertising (44 percent) and that they usually notice it (41 percent).” Yes print, the platform Facebook and Twitter don’t offer.

Last month, General Motors stopped advertising on Facebook, concluding that its paid ads don’t have a big impact on consumers — 900 million users and Facebook can’t deliver; what a pity. GM is no slouch when it comes to marketing research and investing ad dollars. Why pour $10 million into Zuckerberg’s pocket when you can capitalize on social media’s doctrine of sharing innovative and relevant content for free?

In a statement, GM said, “In terms of Facebook specifically, while we currently do not plan to continue with advertising, we remain committed to an aggressive content strategy through all of our products and brands, as it continues to be a very effective tool for engaging readers.”

NAA’s recent Newspaper Multiplatform Usage Study provides insight on how and why newspaper consumers access news and advertising content through various channels. The findings clearly define the benefits of newspapers’ multiplatform effectiveness. The study reports, “each platform has different usage and characteristics and values for readers; however they all share important daily newspaper brand benefits, including having advertising information that consumers act upon.”

NAA extracted the highlights of the survey and created a simple but powerful advertisement that accentuates newspaper reach and engagement across all platforms. The five points include:

• Newspapers reach 74% of Internet users in an average week across multiple platforms and devices.
• More than 161 million adults read newspapers in print, online, and on mobile devices in the past week.
• Multiple platforms are used by 54% of consumers who access newspaper content in an average week.
• Newspaper media consumers act on newspaper digital ads — 66% took action on an ad in the past month.
• Newspaper circulars are used by 73% of newspaper media users in an average month.

Social media is an effective tool for connecting readers to readers, but when it comes to connecting readers to advertisers, the newspaper multiplatform reigns supreme. Are you listening, GM?

Google Shows How To Master SEO in 10 Minutes

For Tablet Users, Video Trumps All Other Content Types

From eMarketer.com

JUNE 27, 2012
 
 Fifty-four percent of tablet users watch video on their tablet on a weekly basis

It may be no surprise that tablet users are embracing online video in a big way. According to a March 2012 study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and research consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates, accessing content and information was the top reason US tablet users reached for their devices, at a considerable 94%. Video was the most popular content that tablet users sought, followed by getting weather information and local news.

Business-related content, such as financial information and checking the stock market, fell fairly low on the list, indicating a more entertainment-focused device experience for most users.
Short-form news and entertainment videos trumped long-form movies or television shows as the most popular videos watched by tablet users. A lofty 92% of those who consumed video on their tablet said they viewed short-form news and entertainment videos on a regular basis. Moreover, 64% viewed user-generated videos, like YouTube videos, on a regular basis. Fewer than half of the respondents said they watched full-length TV shows and movies on their tablet regularly. This suggests that tablet users are more apt to snack on the device—use it for short periods of time, as opposed to hour-long blocks.

In general, tablet users watched video more frequently than smartphone users. According to an April comScore MobiLens study, 53% of US tablet users watched mobile video or TV at least once that month, compared to only 20% of smartphone users. This is likely because of the tablet's larger screen size and its role as a couch companion.

eMarketer projects nearly 70 million US consumers will use a tablet by the end of 2012. By 2015, over half of all internet users will be tablet users. This tablet growth rate means that video is also likely to flourish. As marketers consider their tablet video strategies, they should keep in mind that shorter video content is consumed on a more regular basis than long-form content.

Corporate subscribers have access to all eMarketer analyst reports, articles, data and more. Join the over 750 companies already benefiting from eMarketer’s approach. Learn more.

Zero Moment of Truth - ZMOT

Tablet User Becoming Older; Gender Gap Disappearing

Tablet User Base Becoming Older; Gender Gap Disappearing

4 in 10 tablet users (defined as owners or regular users of a tablet) are between the ages of 35 and 64, per June 2012 survey results [pdf] from the Online Publishers Association. And that user base will only solidify over time: further data from the report indicates that 46% of new buyers are in that age range, including 31% who are between the ages of 45 and 64. Overall, the report concludes that the tablet user base is trending older, as the proportion aged between 8 and 24 has fallen 8% over the past year, while the proportion aged 35 to 54 has grown 8%.
Data from comScore also released in June finds an even greater share of tablet owners aged older than 35: according to that report, 49.3% of the tablet audience is aged between 35 and 64, while an additional 6.8% are over 65.
As recent research from the Boston Consulting Group finds Millennials to be rapid new technology adopters, the OPA results showing increased use among older groups may be another indicator that tablets are moving out of a “new technology” perception and into mainstream adoption.

More Women Adopting Tablets

Data from OPA’s “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User Wave II” indicates that while tablet usage skews male, that situation is also beginning to change. Women, who made up 51% of the almost 2,500 total survey respondents, accounted for 44% of the tablet user base, up 4% from the previous wave of the survey. And among respondents who do not currently own a tablet but plan to purchase one in the next 12 months, 52% are female.

Affluent Over-Index in Tablet Usage

Compared to the overall survey sample, higher-income households (HHI) clearly over-index in tablet usage. For example, respondents with an HHI of at least $100k accounted for 20% of the tablet user base, as compared to 12% of the survey sample. Similarly, those with an HHI of at least $50k accounted for 59% of the tablet users, versus 41% of the total sample.
According to the comScore figures (see link above), three-quarters of the tablet audience has a household income of more than $50k.

Ads Lead Almost 2 in 5 to Purchase

Ads certainly appear to have an effect on tablet users responding to the OPA survey. 38% report having made a purchase within the past 6 months after seeing an ad on their tablet. Among tablet users who are purchasers of content such as newspaper subscriptions or books, ads play even more of an influence, driving 54% to a purchase.

Other Findings:

• 31% of the survey respondents reported being either tablet owners or regular users. 94% of those indicate they own their tablets.
• The proportion of tablet users who are very satisfied with their device has risen from 50% in 2011 to 58% this year.
• 74% of tablet users are on their device at least daily. This translates to an average of 13.9 hours per week spent using a tablet.
• One-third of tablet use is occurring outside the home.
• The most popular tablet activity is accessing content and information, at 94% of respondents, up from 87% in 2011. According to a University of Missouri report released in June, 84% of survey respondents who own an Apple iPad access news provided by news organizations for an average of 7.3 hours per week.
• A majority of tablet users responding to the OPA survey said they prefer reading on tablets to reading on mobile phones, computers, newspapers, and magazines. In fact, the University of Missouri report found that among mobile media owners 55 and older, 75% use an iPad for leisure reading, and average 5.8 hours a week for this activity.
• 85% of the OPA survey’s tablet users multitask on 2 screens, and two-thirds do so on 3 screens.
• 23% of tablet applications downloaded in the past year by users were paid apps.
• The types of content most commonly paid for by tablet users are magazines, entertainment, sports, and weather.
• Tablet users are almost 3 times more likely to prefer a free app with ads (54%) than to pay slightly more for an app with no ads (19%).
• The most popular types of products researched on a tablet in the past 6 months are consumer electronics (37%), restaurants/fast food (36%), media and entertainment, and retail and apparel (both at 35%).
• Tablet users purchased an average of $359 in products from tablets in the past year.

About the Data: The OPA report is based on a survey conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. The data comes from a nationally representative online survey of 2,540 internet users between the ages of 8 and 64. Data was collected from March 19 through March 26, 2012.

Internet Trends 2012 - Mary Meeker

Economic History of the Last 2000 Years in 1 Little Graph

Economic History of the last 2000 Years in 1 Little Graph

How the Internet is Ruining Your Brain

 

http://mashable.com/2012/04/10/brain-internet-infographic/comment-page-3/

Excellent Campaign and Landing Page Idea

Interactive Advertising "Dunk Tank" Campaign - Times Square - Awesome!

Google TV

 

Download and listen to the presentation