Will People Stick with Verizon's Droid?

The iPhone is the king of smartphones. It's appeal lies in its reliable operating system based on Mac OS X and its aesthetics, which Apple continues to win awards for. Undoubtedly, many other phone makers such as Samsung, LG, Blackberry, and now Motorola have begun to produce top quality phones. The iPhone's ability to navigate the internet in a fashion reminiscent to that of a computer web browser is not only one of its strongest assets, but also opens the door for mobile distribution of media content.

According to this article from Macworld.com, Verizon's Droid smart phone has been deemed a potential "iPhone killer" because of find craftsmanship by Motorola and a solid operating system coded by Google. With that, pre-orders of the phone have surged and internet buzz for the phone has been built on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Yet Verizon's pricing scheme may come to a surprise to many who thought they'd have the freedom to use their phone similar to iPhone users.

Verizon is charging for tethering, the ability to give internet access to devices without access, through your mobile phone. iPhone users are exempt from this cost because AT&T has chosen not to implement it at this time. The article explains that Verizon will be charging an additional $30 a month for a separate unlimited data plan to cover tethering- that's already on top of the contract monthly fee and the original $30 per month unlimited date plan for SMS/MMS, web browsing, etc.

It begs the question, what does Verizon believe it will gain from the multiple costs associated with Droid and will it ease some of the costs long after the phone's launch? Apple has since lowered the cost of its phones and altered its phone plans with AT&T since the phone's launch in 2007.

For more on Verizon's plans for the Droid, read the article from Macworld.com:
"Verizon Droid tethering will cost you"

Microsoft Strikes Search Deals with Twitter, Facebook

If Facebook users weren't already concerned about privacy issues, they better get ready for the latest deal struck between software giant, Microsoft, and with social media titans Facebook and Twitter.

With hundreds of millions of users and log-ins each day, Facebook and Twitter have become hot spots for internet traffic. For Microsoft, which is losing ground in the web browser and search engine market, this new deal will bode well for their brand new search engine, Bing. The deal will allow certain aspects of Facebook profiles to be indexed, like status updates and wall messages. With Twitter, Microsoft is just refining its relationship with the service by making "tweet" search results rank-able or indexed by relevance. It would also make it so that links in tweets can be directly accessed through Bing search results. Yet this deal is not exclusive given that Google also has its own agreement with Twitter.

Not many details about the Facebook arrangement have been published- both due to the project's implementation sometime next year and Facebook having to redraft a new Privacy Policy for users. In the past, Facebook users have been very vocal about privacy issues and have forced Facebook to interact with users in shaping future privacy options. Privacy is less of an issue with Twitter given the nature of tweets... people sounding off on what they think and how they feel to the world without having to be a member of Twitter.

You can read more about this deal at MacWorld.com

Are Small Businesses Engaged in Social Media?

The almost sudden advent of various forms of social media has provided the business world with an entirely new avenue for marketing. With the amount of such marketing content we are presented with on a daily basis, it is hard to believe that any business is not taking advantage of social media. In a recent cnet article, Caroline McCarthy highlights two conflicting studies on small business use of social media.

A study done by Citibank revealed that the majority of small businesses do not yet see the business value in social media, or do not have the resources to get into it. A study done by Internet2Go, provides results quite incongruous to this, claiming that nearly half of all small businesses are on facebook and the same proportion are on twitter. The second study, however, only polled members of MerchantCircle, which are businesses already utilizing, or on their way to utilizing, social media.

Citibank's results expose the large obstacles small businesses are faced with when it comes to social media. Small businesses lack the time and people required to manage this marketing avenue, as it demands high amount of maintenance and attention. And while the survey done by Internet2Go may be slightly biased and inaccurate, it does serve to show how simple it is for businesses to get into social media.

Source: Are Small Businesses Chugging Social Media Kool-Aid?