In June we had the launch of Apple Music, and saw The New York Times running test whereby they blocked staffers desktop access, and forced them to only use their mobile app. July launched with Facebook’s direct payments option rolling out across the U.S., and closed with more changes to Twitter, as well as some staggering Apple Watch sales statistics. And August had the slow, yet continued dismantling of Google+, the drop of the 140 Twitter character limit on DMs, and Samsung’s challenge to Meerkat and Periscope.
So, to close out the month of August, and the summer (sniff) in true “Things You Need To Know This Week” fashion, we’ll check out YouTube’s new gaming service, Facebook’s challenge to Siri, Apple Watch’s continued domination in the wearables space, and—surprise surprise—Google’s drop in the overall search market share.
Google’s Search Market Share Takes Hit
As I just mentioned, Google’s search market share numbers have dipped. Okay, okay, not by much, but still. According to the latest market share numbers, Google saw a 5.6 percent decrease in year-over-year search market share. Fear not though, folks, the search giant still holds a healthy 65 percent of the U.S. search market.
What’s really interesting about these stats is that Bing appears to be growing. According to a recent searchenginejournal.com piece, “Bing and Yahoo are both up 1 percent each in terms of search market share held in July 2015 compared to the previous month. They’re holding on to 20.3 percent and 12.7 percent of the search market respectively. When you take into account the amount of searches per month that are “powered by” Bing, such as those times when Yahoo returns Bing search results, Bing’s share of the search market is closer to 31.5 percent. Maybe people really do “Bing it.” I, however, do not.
Wearables
So Much For Being Flop, Apple Watch Now #2 Wearable Worldwide
According to a new report from IDC, Apple has catapulted to the number two wearable maker, just behind market leader Fitbit during the second quarter of 2015. But it is a VERY close race, with Fitbit barely edging out Apple for the number one spot, by a slim margin of 0.8 million units. As someone who has owned by a FitBit (premium model) and an Apple iWatch, there’s no comparison. Sure, iWatch is more expensive, but it also delivers more. In every way.
Quoted in a recent techcrunch.com article, Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers had this to say, “Apple has clearly garnered an impressive lead in this space and its dominance is expected to continue…And, although Fitbit outshipped Apple, it’s worth noting that Fitbit only sells basic wearables – a category that is expected to lose share over the next few years, leaving Apple poised to become the next market leader for all wearables.”
In addition, IDC’s report noted that Apple is continuing to tweak its iWatch OS platform, which could also help increase its market share in the months ahead. The next version of iWatch OS, expected to launch in September, will allow for native applications that should substantially improve performance.
Mobile
Marketers Paying More For Targeted Mobile Advertising
Apps and gaming are still the “golden tickets” of digital, and it appears, as the cost per install (CPI) for acquiring mobile users rose in July, that marketers are willing to step up, and spend more, in order to ensure they get the right eyeballs on the right advertising.
Boston mobile marketing firm Fiksu reported that not only are CPIs going up, but CPLU—or the cost for users that open an app at least three times—remains 51 percent higher than the same time last year. It’s definitely getting more expensive to get users for mobile apps and games. According to a post in VentureBeat: “Gaming is in its golden age, and big and small players alike are maneuvering like kings and queens in A Game of Thrones.”
“July’s results reveal the most important metric that marketers should be focusing on: the cost to acquire a loyal user. This month is indicative of what it looks like when marketers spend smarter,” said Micah Adler, the CEO of Fiksu, in a statement. “We can see month over month that marketers are still getting accustomed to this shift in audience targeting, but they are beginning to realize the power of putting the right messages in front of the right people at the right time.”
Facebook Is Testing Siri-Like Personal Assistant Within Messenger
Need a restaurant booked? An appointment? Maybe a gift delivered? Soon, you might not have to look further than Facebook. That’s right, Facebook revealed this week that it is working on a personal assistant service called M, part of its Messenger application. And Facebook being Facebook, isn’t content to just answer users’ questions. Oh no. They are looking to use a mix of artificial intelligence and actual human beings to get your every request fulfilled.
Recognizing its competition form the likes of Apple’s Siri and Google’s Google Now, Facebook says M takes the idea of a personal assistant to the next level. And Facebook’s Messenger platform already has payment options and the ability for businesses to chat directly to consumers built right in, although I’m not really sure how many people (or businesses) are using these things. Nevertheless, they are functions that might likely play a role in the success (or not) of M.
Currently being tested with a few hundred users in the Bay area, there’s no word on when M may be rolling out to users. What do you think? Does that sound like something you might use?
Tweets Will Show in Google Desktop Search Results
Six months since a new deal was forged between Twitter and Google which would allow the indexing of tweets in Google’s search results, the new search feature is finally live.
Although there was an announcement by Google back in May regarding indexed tweets, it was limited to searches conducted using the Google app. This week’s announcement—in a cheeky little tweet—was to confirm that tweets are now included in all English desktop searches.
YouTube
YouTube’s Gaming-Centric Hub Goes Live
“You can also browse backlogs of a particular channel’s videos. Early reviews have indicated that not only is YouTube Gaming pretty good for gaming, it’s nicer than YouTube’s regular interface. The web version of YouTube gaming will be available worldwide starting today. However, the Android and iOS apps will only be available in the US and UK to start with. You can use the links below to download the apps once they’ve finished rolling out to everyone.”
Gaming. I’ve never understood the appeal. But clearly millions do. Smart move, Google/YouTube.
New Feature Helps Gmail and Google Calendar Work Together
Google today announced new functionality that brings Gmail and Google Calendar closer together. If you’re getting emails to your Gmail account that include flight details, hotel info, or restaurant booking, Google calendar will automatically synch up and add those events to its interface. All the important data will be pulled straight from the emails. And, if your plans change? Google calendar will update based on each new email and/or add the revised information.
As Google said, Events for Gmail is mainly being aimed at businesses: “The Internet has made business travel — booking flights and hotels, reserving restaurant tables, buying event tickets, and more — infinitely easier. Adding that information to a calendar, on the other hand, has remained time-consuming and tedious, typically requiring people to copy and paste information from various confirmation emails.”
Users have the ability to delete events, and make privacy settings adjustments as well.
Events from Gmail aren’t available in Google Apps for Government accounts, though Google didn’t explain why. And of course, if you use a Google account that doesn’t have Gmail, the feature obviously won’t be enabled.
Miscellaneous
Kids Try Dark Chocolate For the First Time
Five Year Old Reaction to Becoming Big Brother
photo credit: The Apple Watch with our new iPhone app on an iPhone 5S Gold via photopin (license)