Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest Issue No. 558
24-03-2011
by Deirdre McArdle
Mixed week for Apple | Google and China square up on Gmail issue
INM outlines online expansion
The Independent News and Media (INM) group announced plans to expand its internet business this week, as it revealed that advertising revenue for 2010 dropped by 6.9 percent year-on-year. CEO Gavin Reilly said that ad revenue would remain flat this year; however, the group's online plans could well play a key role in boosting that figure in the long term. It is to partner with online recruitment portal StepStone to launch a jobs site and has also signed heads of agreement to acquire a 50 percent shareholding in car sales site CarsIreland.ie.
In another hookup, it will team up with Australia's APN to establish an online coupon site called GrabOn. The site is set to launch in May. INM will own a 30 percent share in the venture, with APN holding the remaining 70 percent. GrabOn will target the happening online coupon market, which so far has been dominated by Groupon, owner of the CityDeals.ie site.
Groupon CEO to step down
In separate, but related news, Groupon's president and chief operating officer, Rob Solomon, announced he is to step down, after working at the firm for just one year. He told the Wall Street Journal he is stepping down partly because "Groupon got really big".
Indeed, the online coupon site claims to have over 50 million subscribers in over 45 countries. It completed a USD950 million funding round in January, and is said to be planning to launch on the stock market over the next year or so. Solomon decided to step down following consultation with Groupon's chief executive and founder, Andrew Mason. "I agree with Andrew that we really need a much different type of operator to take it to the next level," he said.
Finally for Groupon news, newspaper The Irish Times has been ordered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to transfer the domain name Groupon.ie to Groupon Europe. WIPO said the newspaper's explanation for taking the name lacked credibility and its reason for registering the site was to "in some way take unfair advantage". Read more about the decision here.
Mixed week for Apple
Following its remarkable launch in the US on 11 March, the iPad 2 is set to be released in 25 new markets on Friday, 25 March, including the UK and Ireland. While exact sales figures for the iPad have not yet been released, analysts suggest it may have sold as many as 1 million units over its launch weekend. Steve Jobs has simply said that demand for the device has been "amazing". In a statement he said: "Customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it. We appreciate everyone's patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone."
Meanwhile, Apple faced criticism this week in light of the controversial so-called 'gay cure' app that made it onto the firm's App Store. The app, which promises 'freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus', had been on sale on the App Store since 15 February. This week the app was apparently removed from the store, though Apple has not commented on the app or its removal. Over 140,000 people signed a petition addressed to Steve Jobs to remove the app, which was backed by Christian group Exodus International. Apple's strict policy for approving apps has been criticised frequently by developers; however, at times some apps, such as this 'gay cure' app and the 'baby shaker' app, have made their way onto the store.
Also this week, Apple sued Amazon over its use of the phrase "App Store", accusing the online retailer of trademark infringement. In a complaint filed in federal court for the Northern District of California, Apple asked the court for an injunction stopping Amazon from using the name, as well as unspecified damages. "Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple," Apple said in its complaint.
Google and China square up on Gmail issue
There was a tinge of déjà vu this week when news broke that Google and China were again at loggerheads, this time over the internet giant's Gmail service. Earlier this week Google blamed the Chinese government for problems accessing its email service from China. Google said it started getting complaints about interruptions in access to Gmail "around the time" that calls for protesters to gather for a "Jasmine Revolution" appeared online last month, according to a company spokeswoman. Jasmine Revolution was the code name given to the uprising in Tunisia and has ongoing associations with other anti-government protests in North Africa and the Middle East.
In a short statement about the Gmail issues, a Google spokesperson said: "There is no technical issue on our side. We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail." For its part, China has denied the internet firm's claim, with Jiang Yu, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, calling it "an unacceptable accusation," according to Reuters. The Chinese government has made no further comments about the issue.
Google and China have had somewhat of a fraught relationship over the past year, including an incident in July 2010 relating to the Google.cn website.
Twitter celebrates fifth birthday
Monday, 21 March marked the fifth birthday of one of the most popular social media sites out there – Twitter. Five years ago, founder Jack Dorsey sent one of the world's first tweets, "just setting up my twttr". Since its launch in 2006 the micro-blogging site has grown to 200 million users worldwide. In recent years subscriber growth has rocketed; in a blog post co-founder Biz Stone said that while it took 18 months to sign up the first 500,000 users, Twitter now signs up around 500,000 users every day. These users send around 140 million tweets per day, or 1 billion every eight days. All these tweets add up to just 20 terabytes of data, according to Twitter.
Over the past few years Twitter's role as a communications tool has evolved from a way to update friends on your day-to-day activities to become a useful means of communicating during times of civil unrest like the 2009 crackdown on protestors in Iran, and natural disasters such as the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Twitter was also used effectively by US President Barack Obama in his presidential campaign, and more and more companies are seeing its value as a marketing tool.
Despite persistent rumours that Twitter is readying itself for an IPO, Stone recently set the record straight, indicating that there are no plans in the near future to launch on the stock market. Speaking to Reuters at the World Economy and Future Forum in Seoul at the beginning of March, Stone said an IPO wasn't even being spoken about "internally" as it's "too far off". He also said the site wasn't planning any new investment over the next 12 months. Analysts have estimated Twitter's value to be between USD3 billion and USD4 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 