What’s happened this week:
- Spotify showcased an updated version of its service which offers video streaming from a number of news and entertainment partners.
- This deal between Google and Twitter means tweets will now get more prominent placement in Google search results.
- Last week saw the first tweet from @POTUS (President of the United States), prompting this comic quip from Bill Clinton, and Obama’s reply.
What we have learned:
- Microsoft conducted research into how attention spans are evolving in the digital age and created an interactive game that allows you to test your own attention.
- Global Web Index released its Q1 results on the latest trends in social networking.
- Research conducted by the Payments Council shows cashless payments overtook cash payments in the UK for the first time in 2014.
Cool stuff:
- This ‘contagious billboard’ detects when people are nearby and displays images of people yawning along with a promotional message for coffee.
- A startup has produced an SDK and new hardware that allows apps on your Smartphone to convert data from a car’s computer into useful information.
- Google is creating an Android-based operating system to run specifically on the ‘Internet of Things’.
- Pizza Hut Hong Kong created special promotional pizza boxes that can be turned into movie projectors with mobile phones.
Where to find more:
- 21 inspiring TED Fellows changing the world in 2015.
- Research conducted by Yahoo Labs which looked at 7.6 million photos on Flickr found that images with filters generate more social engagement.
- UK retailers are missing out on potential revenues of around £6.6bn per year due to poor mobile offerings.
