Posts made in May, 2016

on May 31, 2016

By John McCarthy Some 22 per cent of the world’s smartphone users are making use of adblocking technology, making a substantial loss in the kitty of online publishers and websites. The Adblocking Goes Mobile report from PageFair states that 22 per cent of the world’s 1.9 billion smartphone users are blocking ads, noting that use of the services almost doubled in 2015 (90 per cent). Accounting for the majority of this censorship are adblocking mobile browsers that do so by default, most popular in China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan as a means of cutting down on data usage in developing markets. “This report tells a sobering Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 31, 2016

By Adam Flomenbaum My Last Days, a YouTube series that tells the stories of patients with terminal illnesses, debuted in 2012 and quickly became a hit. The first season ended in 2013, but The CW announced two weeks ago at its upfronts that a second season of the show will air as a three-night special. Surely one reason the CW became interested in the series is because the show’s creator and host is Justin Baldoni, who also stars on the network’s hit Jane the Virgin. Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer, and Rainn Wilson’s production company, SoulPancake, are spearheading the project. Also announced at the upfronts, The Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 31, 2016

By John Glenday The Apple Watches’ failure to set the heather alight since launch has filtered through to a decidedly tepid uptake from app developers with the ratio of iOS to Watch apps currently running at a 1,000 to one. According to mobile database Realm, actively used by some 100,000 app developers, the Apple Watch has suffered a dive in interest following a brief burst of excitement at launch with many now bracketing the gizmo as a mere companion piece to the iPhone. This has been fed by a lack of independence in the device, which will only function when tethered to an iPhone. Realm VP Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 31, 2016

By John McCarthy Samsung is looking to bolster the revenue generating powers of its SmartTV line, expanding its on-screen ads beyond the US to Europe. The South Korean firm will soon litter the menus of its SmartTVs with interactive ads, including older models, via a software update, reports the Wall Street Journal. To accommodate the wealth of incoming ad inventory on the TVs, the company is working to expand its ad clients in New York. The move will lessen the company’s dependency on hardware sales, although it could irk SmartTV owners who have already parted with a fair wad of cash to make the move into Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 31, 2016

By John Glenday Australia has announced that it will auction off 24,518 Bitcoins with an estimated market value of £8m in June following their seizure by law enforcement officials. Confiscated from criminals as ‘proceeds of crime’ the haul is reported to have been obtained from a Victoria based drug dealer in 2013 and is only now being considered for sale as the market price for a Bitcoin hits £362, its highest level since August 2014. Australian officials will also be mindful of a looming reduction in the number of new Bitcoins doled out as a reward for miners processing transactions on 14 July, when the Read full story › Source: The Drum...