IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 22 October
22-10-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
eBay revenues up, profits down | MySpace signals change in direction
The Irish Times reports that US software firm Sajan is to create 35 new jobs in Dublin. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also says that EUR15 million in funds for the retraining of Dell workers in Ireland should be released by mid-November, according to Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly. In September, the European Commission approved the grant to help more than 2,000 former Dell workers. Approval has been held up at European Parliament level while the Employment and Social Affairs Committee discussed the issue of companies moving from one EU member state to another. Kelly said he met with the chairwoman of the committee and urged her to fast-track the vote on the Dell money. She told him a vote would take place in Brussels on 11 November.
The Irish Independent reports on an Insurance Institute conference where Facebook's director of operations in Ireland, Colm Long, presented the benefits of social media. The audience heard that one in eight couples who got married in the US last year had met via social media. Long also said that there are 200 million blogs, and 54 percent of bloggers either write or tweet each day. More than a third of these post opinions about products and brands. More than 25 percent of search results for the world's top 20 brands are linked to user-generated content, Long said.
In other news of search results, the paper says that Google searches for 'Meteor' soared more than 3,000 percent during the latest installment of 'The Apprentice', after contestants tried to create a TV ad for the mobile operator's broadband dongle. Meteor's media agency Vizeum said 30 percent of these searchers later visited Meteor's online store while the TV3 show was still on.
The Irish Examiner reports that a verifiable online identity card should be required to access social networking sites in order to protect children from paedophiles, according to a new study. This would confirm whether people accessing sites such as Bebo or MySpace are who they say they are and confirm their age. The report by children's charity Barnardos also called for legislation to allow Gardai to order internet service providers to block sites containing child pornography. In addition, Barnardos wants a dedicated Garda Paedophile Investigation Unit to be highly publicised to deter paedophiles.
The paper also says that demand for PCs is likely to pick up as soon as mid-2010 as a result of Microsoft's launch of Windows 7, according to a senior Dell executive. "Windows 7 is the best quality product launch that Microsoft has had in a very long time," said Dell's president for large enterprise, Stephen Schuckenbrock. "When you consider that Vista was a bust, Windows 7 is a capability upgrade on a scale that has really never been seen before."
The Financial Times reports that eBay has posted third-quarter earnings that suggest the company is starting to turn itself around after years of poorer-than-expected performance. Revenue grew 6 percent to USD2.2 billion, but profits were down 29 percent to USD350 million, or USD0.27 a share. The drop in profitability was on the back of the acquisition of Bill Me Later, a credit service eBay has integrated into its marketplaces and PayPal, and a general shift towards lower-margin but fast-growing businesses. The total volume of goods sold through eBay's marketplaces was up 7 percent to USD12.2 billion, a sign that consumers are returning to eBay for their purchases.
The paper also notes that MySpace's new CEO has said the company is no longer interested in competing with Facebook, in effect conceding defeat in the race to become the largest online social network. Owen Van Natta, a former Facebook executive who replaced Chris DeWolfe at MySpace six months ago, told the newspaper the company instead aimed to become an online hub for music and entertainment. "Facebook is not our competition," he said. "We're very focused on a different space." MySpace has struck a deal with Apple's iTunes to allow users to buy tracks without having to leave the MySpace site.
In other news of Facebook, the Wall Street Journal says the social networking company plans to expand the type of goods users can buy with its virtual currency to include music and other virtual gifts, according to sources. The company is preparing to revamp its online gift shop to allow people to use the credits they buy on Facebook to buy music for their friends and digital gifts sold by other companies. Facebook is expected to take a cut of the transactions.
Free! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 