Delving into Digital Marketing?: 4/27/14

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Ranking The Annoying (And Entertaining) Kids Of 'Star Trek'

"Star Trek" had a hard time with young characters, but they're not all Wesley Crusher.
Ranking The Annoying (And Entertaining) Kids Of 'Star Trek'

The Air Force Could Finally Give You A Decent Wi-Fi Connection

The Air Force is eying a new kind of wireless network.
The Air Force Could Finally Give You A Decent Wi-Fi Connection

Disneyland From The Air, Then And Now

Forced perspective, an old trick of Hollywood set designers, makes the fairy-tale castle appear bigger than it actually is. But from 2,000 feet up, that illusion breaks down.
Disneyland From The Air, Then And Now

How Up-to-Date is Your Social Media Marketing Expertise?

How well do you know your social media marketing? Test your knowledge on the latest developments. This one is a bit tricky!

Today’s quiz was created by Chris Kilbourn. Chris is the VP of Strategy at Fit Marketing, an inbound marketing company that helps companies hack their growth. You can request a free consultation with him here.

How Up-to-Date is Your Social Media Marketing Expertise?

This Is Why You Don't Heckle A Comic

You might be drunk enough to think you can do a better job, but this is proof that it's never a good idea.
This Is Why You Don't Heckle A Comic

The Man Who Integrated The White House Press Corps

Until 1944, black reporters were barred from the White House Correspondents' Association. Harry McAlpin changed that.
The Man Who Integrated The White House Press Corps

Kevin Space And Fallon Sing A Barbershop Version Of 'Talk Dirty'

This is what Jason Derulo was missing the whole time.
Kevin Space And Fallon Sing A Barbershop Version Of 'Talk Dirty'

Comcast and EA in Talks to Stream Video Games to TV, Report Says

EA Sports: It's in the game — and could soon stream to your living room.

The video-game developer is in talks with Comcast to add popular titles such as FIFA Soccer and Madden NFL to the cable provider's X1 streaming cable box, according to Reuters.

Bringing video games into homes via the Internet — and without having to spend hundreds of dollars on consoles — has quickly become a new battleground for streaming boxes. Apple TV provides some games, as does Amazon's Fire TV. A deal with EA would help Comcast better compete

Console sales for Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 have been reasonably strong, with the latter outshining its rival. A move by Comcast to bring fan favorites to a streaming box could end up cutting into that market Read more...

More about Comcast, Sony, Playstation, Ea, and Media
Comcast and EA in Talks to Stream Video Games to TV, Report Says

4 ways to build a successful remote team

Above: Double Robotics' Telepresence robot makes a cameo on The Good Wife

Image Credit: CBS

Mass mobile adoption, the growth of online productivity tools, and the emergence of a work-from-home culture are breaking down traditional geographic boundaries when building a company. The new virtual office delivers agility and scaling advantages, while cutting down on overhead costs – but the thought of taking the leap and building a remote team can be daunting.

While technology has helped companies be lean, distributed and efficient from anywhere in the world, it also can be alienating when it comes to team communication, being productive, and growing your culture. In this post, we’ll describe four main components to successfully building a remote team: Staff, Communication, Culture, and Processes.

Staff

The single most important aspect of building a remote team is ensuring that the people you hire are “remote work compatible.” It’s critical to select staff that are self-motivated, autonomous, and comfortable working alone. As the saying goes, “Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole.”

As a CEO or manager, you must really trust your people. However, trust is earned. One tactic that works well is bringing on a remote employee as a 90-day contractor-to-hire with clearly set goals that, once achieved, will graduate them on to full-time employment. These 90 days allow for trust to be built, but also safeguards companies from taking on the commitment of a full-time employee before they’re sure the person is a good fit.

Being (and hiring) based on purpose also helps immensely. If you are confident in the underlying motivation behind your team members, you know that they’re going to do their best towards this goal each and every day. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check in on them, but it allows you to not try to micromanage, which is a nightmare to do remotely.

Communication

Having the right team in place is one thing, but facilitating consistent, effective communication is perhaps the biggest challenge facing managers who are building a virtual team. Each team member may be a self-starter and independently productive, but – if they all have their heads down all day and fail to communicate – businesses miss out on the efficiency gains collaboration can offer.

At the center of good remote communication is choosing the right software. You’ll likely need to experiment with the different tools available — Skype, Google Hangouts, Sococo, etc. — to try and facilitate the feeling of a real virtual office. At karmaCRM, we use software called Sococo. Their user interface is actually an office (top down floorplan layout) so reaching out for a voice chat with a co-worker is as simple as clicking on their name.

Once you have a tool selected, you’ll want to establish processes for regular team check-ins. Consider having a 15-minute daily stand-up call (no longer than that) with your team. This stand-up call should recap what was accomplished that day, as well as any challenges and obstacles they might be facing.

You can use Google Docs to keep track of daily and weekly meetings so anyone from your team can review them as needed, and managers can keep track of progress. Without regular meetings where you hear (or ideally, see) your team members, it can end up feeling like you’re all alone, which can decrease team morale and negatively affect motivation and culture.

Culture

Unfortunately, even with regular communication in place, culture doesn’t just come automatically. Thanks to companies like Apple, Google, and Zappos, company culture is quickly becoming acknowledged as one of the core pillars of a successful company. Simply put, it cannot be ignored.

It’s very easy for a remote team to be void of culture by default. Much of the communication happens through email, chat, and web based tools instead of at the water cooler or over lunch. This makes it that much more important to encourage fellowship and team building whenever possible.

There is no one-size-fits-all for establishing and building a remote culture, but here are some suggestions for good ways to start.

Video Lunches

Not to be confused with regular business communications. This is about getting to know your colleagues. Taking video meetings a step further, you can encourage virtual lunches, where each team member gets lunch and then video chats as they eat. The only rule is that non-business be discussed during these lunches so team members get to know each other’s hobbies, interests, etc.

Establish a Company Book Club

Having a book club does a few things for your company: 1) establishes a focus on constant learning and improvement within your team; 2) allows you to see and share other people’s perspectives on the material you read; and 3) keeps everyone on the team sharp and growing together. Sharing insights and seeing its benefits applied is both inspiring and motivating. Keep in mind, this only works if you have team members that willing to read, and managers that are willing to listen.

Business Retreats

Not all companies can afford this, but if yours can, the best form of remote team building is eliminating the remote altogether. Getting together in real life a few times a year can do wonders for keeping morale and communication high. Even as a non-remote team, these getaways are critical for team building. It doesn’t need to be a role-playing seminar; it can be a vacation, a day in the mountains, or anything that encourages some type of positive fellowship and camaraderie.

Productivity

Who cares about culture and communication if you’re not actually able to be productive when it comes down to it? Just because you hire the right, capable people, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to suffer performance bottlenecks when trying to get stuff done.

Of course, it depends on your business, but having web-based, collaborative tools at the center of your business operations is a great way to ensure this happens. We lean heavily on Google Docs, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), help desk software, and a few custom-built tools to help keep projects rolling and everyone on the same page. Without data and project centralization, it’s easy for team members to get out of sync and not have a clear understanding of priority.

Here’s what each of these web-based, collaborative tools offers, and why they’re so important:

Google Docs

Google Docs is a fantastic tool for document sharing and collaborating. By leveraging folders, sharing permissions, and allowing in-doc comments, everything and everyone is updated in realtime. We lean heavily on Google Docs for organizing and referencing company processes, following meeting agendas, outlining projects, and reporting on monthly company metrics.

CRM

The value and necessity of CRM are increased exponentially when applied to a remote team – but don’t settle for just any CRM; you’ll need a web-based CRM so everything is accessible online from anywhere, anytime. A good CRM should keep you focused on the next task at hand, help you prioritize your follow-ups, and keep everyone in sync about customer status. The right CRM tool should actually automate a lot of this for you, effectively freeing up your time for prospecting and customer service.

Help Desk

Remote teams need a support system that is transparent and reliable. There are many other support systems out there (Desk, HelpScout, etc), but Zendesk is our favorite. Customers prefer “self-service” options, which frees up the team to focus on proactive customer support. Zendesk allows you to deeply customize the customer-facing knowledge base so you can brand it, optimize the user experience, and ensure your customer is always only a few clicks away from the information they need. This greatly increases customer satisfaction while decreasing support tickets that your team has to answer.

Conclusion

Despite it’s challenges, there isn’t a passing day where I don’t appreciate the benefits of having a remote team. It’s empowering, flattening, and allows us to remain nimble as we grow. Four years in at karmaCRM, and we’re still bootstrapped. Without the cost and agility benefits of a remote team, we wouldn’t be able to do it. Our team is spread all over the world, leveraging the best talent for the best price.

If you take the leap, consider it an ongoing experiment, always subject to change and improvement. Feel free to reach out and tell me about it. I’d love to hear your story! This is my no means an exhaustive guide, but hopefully it will help you avoid a few of the pitfalls we experienced along the way. Now go forth and build the next Google. Outwit your slower minded competitors and make your business stronger by embracing change, by embracing remote.

John-Paul Narowski is the founder of karmaCRM, a simple web-based CRM software focused on small businesses. He draws on several years of bootstrapped startup experience, having built a virtual team in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before moving karmaCRM’s headquarters to Denver, CO – all without skipping a single beat.

Are you making or losing money with marketing automation? VB is working with marketing expert Ian Cleary to investigate marketing automation ROI. Help us out by answering a few questions, and we'll help you out with the data.

4 ways to build a successful remote team

Why We Report: Turn Reporting Into Action [Webinar Recording]

Reporting. As digital marketers, we know we have to pull reports and make sure goals are being met. It makes our clients happy, it makes our bosses happy. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of metrics and analytics…before …

Read more at PPCHero.com
Why We Report: Turn Reporting Into Action [Webinar Recording]

Social Media Jobs: Alloy Entertainment, ‘Sonoma Magazine,’ Pace Communications

This week, Alloy Entertainment is hiring a senior editor of digital, and Sonoma Magazine needs a digital content editor. Pace Communications is seeking a director of digital strategy/social media, and United Way of New York City is on the hunt for a copy manager/editor. Get the scoop on these openings below, and find additional social media jobs on Mediabistro.

Senior Editor, Digital Alloy Entertainment (New York, NY)

Digital Content Editor Sonoma Magazine (Santa Rosa, CA)

Director, Digital Strategy/Social Media Pace Communications (Greensboro, NC)

Copy Manager/Editor United Way of New York City (New York, NY)

Director of Online Marketing and CommunicationsCatholic Relief Services (Baltimore, MD)

Find more great social media jobs on our job board. Looking to hire? Tap into our network of talented AllFacebook pros and post a risk-free job listing. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Social Media Jobs: Alloy Entertainment, ‘Sonoma Magazine,’ Pace Communications

Senior Editor, Digital Alloy Entertainment (New York, NY)

Digital Content Editor Sonoma Magazine (Santa Rosa, CA)

Director, Digital Strategy/Social Media Pace Communications (Greensboro, NC)

Copy Manager/Editor United Way of New York City (New York, NY)

Director of Online Marketing and CommunicationsCatholic Relief Services (Baltimore, MD)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Social Media Jobs: Alloy Entertainment, ‘Sonoma Magazine,’ Pace Communications

Samsung’s Gear Fit is a striking — but empty — beauty (review)

Image Credit: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

What's next in mobile? Find out at MobileBeat, VentureBeat's 7th annual event on the future of mobile, on July 8-9 in San Francisco. Register now and save $400!

With every one of its gadgets this year, Samsung has shown that it has learned from its mistakes.

This started with the Galaxy S5, and it’s particularly true for the $200 Gear Fit, a device that sits somewhere between a health tracker and a dedicated smart watch. It has none of the big problems of Samsung’s ill-fated Galaxy Gear smartwatch from last year — unlike the older gadget, the Gear Fit is sleek and well-designed, and it sports a few useful features. Most important, it’s something you might actually want to wear all day.

While everyone is eagerly awaiting Apple’s rumored wearable — the “iWatch” — Samsung has actually managed to craft a device that, on the surface, looks similar what many want from Apple.

Dig a little deeper, though, and the Gear Fit’s issues quickly come to light. But while the Fit isn’t Samsung’s ideal wearable yet, it’s a sign that the company is getting closer.

Good: Sleek design, potentially useful health-tracking features

The Gear Fit is such a huge leap ahead of last year’s disastrous Galaxy Gear that it’s hard to believe that the same company developed them. Where the Galaxy Gear is bulky and ugly, the Gear Fit is slim and sleek.

Its 1.84-inch curved touchscreen is unlike anything I’ve seen before on a wearable. The screen is bright and beautiful, even though it’s not displaying rich media such as photos. I often found myself staring at the screen just to admire it.

The Fit sports a plastic shell and watchband, which makes it surprisingly light. You can also easily swap in alternative watchbands to dress it up a bit or match your outfits. The Fit is also easy to place on your wrist, unlike the awkward clasp on the Galaxy Gear. (It’s similar to, but more convenient than, the clasp in Fitbit’s wearables, which I’ve consistently found difficult to snap in place.)

You can view the screen in vertical and horizontal orientations. I preferred the vertical mode, as it was easier to read on the Fit’s curved screen without twisting my arm awkwardly. The screen is smart enough to light up when you hold up your wrist, though that could be problematic if you’re wearing the Fit in a dark theater.

On top of looking good, the Fit packs in a bunch of features you may actually want to use in a wearable. It can count the steps you’ve taken, track your heart rate, and track your sleep. The Fit also has a few exercise modes for tracking your runs and biking sessions, all of which you can synchronize with Samsung’s S Health apps on its Android smartphones.

After wearing both my Jawbone Up24 and the Gear Fit together for several days, I found they both counted a similar amount of steps. But the Fit was far weaker in other respects (more on that below).

As a smartwatch, I found the Fit to be much more useful than Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. It can display notifications from your Samsung phone (things like incoming calls and texts), and you can also use the Gear to control music playback on your phone. Given the Fit’s very limited screen, it’s smart enough to shoot you back to your phone to view lengthy messages.

The Fit went through two to three days of average use before I had to recharge it. Charging involves snapping on a plastic micro-USB adapter to the back of the Fit, which you can then plug into any micro-USB cable (the same one you use to charge your Android phone).

While more convenient than the Galaxy Gear’s bulky charging case, the Fit’s charging adapter is tiny, which often left me scrambling to find it in my bag and charging corner. (Making the charging adapter a bright color instead of just jet black would be a big help.)

Bad: Other health trackers offer more, software remains weak

The Fit is a clear indicator that Samsung has matured quite a bit when it comes to hardware, but it’s also a reminder that the company’s software skills need some work.

The device synchronizes only with Samsung’s S Health app on its Android phones. But while S Health has gotten better since it debuted two years ago, it’s still a fairly basic app. It was also surprisingly unstable in my testing. I had to reinstall it a few times on my Galaxy S5 to prevent it from crashing regularly.

It’s been easy to ignore S Health entirely, but with the Fit and Samsung’s other wearables, it’s become an integral app. That’s a problem, as I had constant issues synchronizing the Fit with S Health. The data the app provides isn’t as useful as what you what Fitbit and Jawbone’s health apps turn in.

The Fit runs on a custom mobile OS — not Android or Samsung’s Tizen software — which means you’re also stuck with Samsung’s apps for now. Third-party support may eventually open up, but the Fit would also have to sell well enough to get developers interested.

While I appreciate Samsung’s focus on a handful of useful fitness features, I also wished it was as capable as dedicated health trackers. It can’t count stairs, like some of Fitbit’s wearables, and some of its exercise modes feel like it tracks your progress arbitrarily.

The Fit is also far weaker than the Jawbone’s Up24 when it comes to sleep-tracking. It has no capability to track whether you are in light or deep sleep, and it has no special alarm to wake you at the proper sleep phase (one of my favorite features in health wearables).

Samsung tried to push the needle a bit by including a heart-rate monitor in the Fit, but I found it surprisingly inconsistent. I’m not sure if it’s a hardware or software issue, but the Fit failed to read my heart rate about 70 percent of the time. Eventually, I just gave up on the feature.

It’s also a shame that the Gear Fit is only compatible with Samsung’s most recent phones. That’s true for all of Samsung’s wearables at this point, but it clearly limits its potential audience.

Verdict: Feature-packed, but ultimately empty

Samsung deserves credit for the Gear Fit’s stunning design. Ultimately, it’s a gadget that tries to do too much, and it doesn’t end up doing anything very well.

It’s not nearly strong enough as a fitness gadget, especially when its more capable competitors are well under the Fit’s $200 price (Fitbit’s premium fitness gadgets start at $100, while Jawbone’s Up24 is $150). And while it’s a decent smartwatch, you’re likely better off snagging a Pebble or waiting until something better comes along.

On the bright side, all of Samsung’s wearable struggles could lead to something great in the future. Samsung is one of the first partners for Android Wear, Google’s wearable platform, which means it won’t be too long until we see a Samsung wearable that works across any Android devices.

Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest Sout... read more »

Samsung’s Gear Fit is a striking — but empty — beauty (review)

15 Things the Kentucky Derby and Coachella Have in Common

The Kentucky Derby gallops into Louisville on Saturday, May 3. So prepare for Instagram pics full of lavender bermuda shorts, Vine videos spilling with champagne and more fascinators than you can throw up in

The event comes mere weeks after Coachella 2014, the bohemian, flower-strewn musical utopia — or the sweaty desert sandstorm that just happens to have music, depending on your point of view

In truth, the two crowds couldn't be more different. In the east, you'll find ladies clad in pearls, platform shoes and Lilly Pulitzer prints. In the west, it's ironic snapbacks and a joint your brother hid in the crotch of his boxer briefs Read more...

More about Fashion, Entertainment, Features, Kentucky Derby, and Music

15 Things the Kentucky Derby and Coachella Have in Common

10 DIY Fashion Tricks Every Man Should Know

Guys, have you ever had one of those mornings when nothing seems to goes right?

You attempt to shave your neck-beard, but your dull razor leaves your bathroom looking like a murder scene. Then after getting ready, you realize your shirt is wrinkly, your sweater is fuzzy, your shoes stink, your belt no longer fits and you're suddenly aware that your tie is seven years out of fashion.

Don't worry, we've got your back bro. All of these problems can easily be solved with a shower beer, and a few DIY tricks that every man should know. Read more...

More about Fashion, Lists, Diy, Man, and Men
10 DIY Fashion Tricks Every Man Should Know

Mashable's Guide to the Kentucky Derby

There is a super-big horse race on Saturday, and people will be talking about it. Here's what you need to know:

What is the Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Derby is what horse people call a Grade I stakes race for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses. It’s been held every year since 1875 in Louisville, Kentucky, always on the first Saturday in May, at the Churchill Downs racetrack. It's been called “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports” or alternatively, “The Run for the Roses,” because, well, it lasts for two very exciting minutes, and its winner is draped in a blanket of roses. Read more...

What’s all this talk about a Triple Crown?

More about Kentucky Derby, Entertainment, Us, and Sports
Mashable's Guide to the Kentucky Derby

Hugh Jackman: I Almost Castrated Myself With Wolverine's Claws

The actor had a close call with his razor sharp talons while shooting a naked scene.
Hugh Jackman: I Almost Castrated Myself With Wolverine's Claws

The Long History Of Horse Racing's Addiction To Doping

Fifty years after the 1964 Kentucky Derby, revisiting the race and its implications for drugs in the Sport of Kings.
The Long History Of Horse Racing's Addiction To Doping

Willie Nelson's Old Tour Bus Is For Sale On Craigslist

The beauty above is a 1983 Eagle that gets an eco-friendly seven miles per gallon when the generator is running. It's got crushed velvet curtains, and — just a guess here — a few dozen places to hide your weed.
Willie Nelson's Old Tour Bus Is For Sale On Craigslist

Is Instagram’s move to replace Foursquare with Facebook Places premature?

Jonathan Barouch is CEO and Founder of location-based analytics company Local Measure. About a month ago, a subset of Instagram users noticed something a little unusual when snapping Lo-Fi shots of their coffees. When they went to tag a photo of their non-fat almond milk vanilla lattes to the cafe’s location, Instagram appeared to have replaced its list of recommended “location names” to Facebook Places, where users had previously had access to the “powered by Foursquare” list. Some blogs suggested that this was just a test to experiment the results of migrating some of their users to Facebook’s own place database while...

This story continues at The Next Web
Is Instagram’s move to replace Foursquare with Facebook Places premature?

Here's What Happens When You Try To Eat 12 Donuts From 12 Donut Shops In One Morning

One man’s epic journey to prove one donut is never enough.
Here's What Happens When You Try To Eat 12 Donuts From 12 Donut Shops In One Morning

Princes And Princesses Among 50 Egyptian Mummies Unearthed

Offering hopes for tracing the family secrets of the ancient pharaohs, more than 50 royal mummies have emerged in Egypt's Valley of the Kings from a tomb long sealed by rubble and little suspected of harboring royalty.
Princes And Princesses Among 50 Egyptian Mummies Unearthed

Friday, May 2, 2014

This Is 'The Most Advanced Camera Ever Built'

It's housed in an old computer tower, shoots video in 16 bits and ever supports floppy disks. What more could you ask for?
This Is 'The Most Advanced Camera Ever Built'

Beautiful, Unsettling Photos Of Suicide Locations

Landscape photographer Donna J. Wan’s imagery is hazy and unsettling, a strange transformation taking place when one understands the perspective of the view.
Beautiful, Unsettling Photos Of Suicide Locations

The Japanese Go All ‘Footloose’ To Protest Nightlife Crackdown

Police enforcing an archaic law have decimated the country’s nightclubs — and unhappy clubbers have responded with dance protests. But a court verdict might end the crackdown.
The Japanese Go All ‘Footloose’ To Protest Nightlife Crackdown

How A Florida Kid's 'Stupid App' Saved His Family's Home

Michael Sayman is not your average tech entrepreneur. For one thing, he’s 17 years old and taught himself to code using online tutorials he found via Google.
How A Florida Kid's 'Stupid App' Saved His Family's Home

In 16 Years Of Teaching, Nothing Has Disrupted My Classroom More Than Snapchat's New Update

No one was more excited about the update than Snapchat's target demographic: teens. And no one could have used a warning about the huge in-app changes more than high-school teachers, such as Tracie Schroeder, who tweeted this out yesterday afternoon.
In 16 Years Of Teaching, Nothing Has Disrupted My Classroom More Than Snapchat's New Update

Landslide Kills At Least 350 In Afghanistan, Hundreds Still Missing

At least 350 people have been killed and many more are missing, the UN says, after a landslide hit the north-east Afghan province of Badakhshan.
Landslide Kills At Least 350 In Afghanistan, Hundreds Still Missing

Come and Work with WordStream – a Cook Associates ‘Up-and-Coming’ Employer!

I don’t know about you, but after six years of headlines telling us how badly the economy is doing, I’ve just about had enough of the doom and gloom. How about some good news for a change?

According to Cook Associates, Inc., an executive search firm with offices in Boston, Chicago and New York City, the job markets here in the Hub and the Big Apple are on the mend after enduring a nasty slump during the second half of last year.

Even better news is that WordStream was named one of Boston’s “up-and-coming” employers after enjoying one of our strongest quarters ever in Q1 2014 and bringing more than 20 new staff members on board – myself included!

In its Q1 Digital Jobs Index, Cook revealed that hiring was up 2.2% during the first quarter of 2014 in Boston and 4.6% in New York City.

In Boston, 200 internet and digital media companies added 375 jobs in Q1. In New York City, 376 companies added 1,700 jobs (just this once, we’ll let the bitter Boston/New York sporting rivalries slide on account of all the new jobs being created and the fact that its Friday and all).

Boston Q1 Job Growth

Boston’s top company in terms of headcount gained in Q1 was Wayfair (who, coincidentally, have offices in the same building as WordStream – no wonder the lines for the elevator are so long first thing in the morning), with Care.com, Amazon, HubSpot and Google rounding out the top 5.

Aside from WordStream, other up-and-coming Boston-based companies mentioned in the list include mobile app marketing company Localytics, inbound real estate marketing firm Placester, hyperlocal social app CO Everywhere, and quantitative internet marketing firm AdHarmonics.

New York City Q1 Job Growth

Google emerged as the leader in terms of new Q1 hires in the Big Apple, with Amazon, Facebook, Yelp and Spotify close behind in the top 5.

Notable mentions in New York’s up-and-coming category include handmade ecommerce marketplace Etsy, website-building platform SquareSpace, ethical eyewear retailer Warby Parker, and real-time information discovery service Dataminr.

Got What It Takes to Work with WordStream?

Come and work with us! We’re an active bunch.

WordStream has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, and everything we’ve accomplished is a result of the hard work and dedication of our people. We’re growing rapidly, and are always on the lookout for talented individuals who want to work with us in our mission to help businesses of all sizes leverage the power of paid search.

We’re currently hiring for a range of positions, from sales and marketing to UX and software engineering:

Product Manager
Senior Software Engineer
Front-End Software Engineer
Senior UX Designer
Customer Success Specialist
Inside Sales Representative
Business Development Representative
Paid Search Strategist
Customer Success Account Executive
Customer Marketing Specialist
Customer Success Associate – International Client Focused

To apply for one of these positions, check out our jobs page, and if you’ve got what it takes, come and grow with WordStream. We can’t wait to hear from you!

This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.

Come and Work with WordStream – a Cook Associates ‘Up-and-Coming’ Employer!

What Happens in One Minute on the Internet? [Infographic]

As millions of new Internet users log on every month, the numbers relating to the flow of information becomes ever more staggering. An infographic from analytics software provider Domo, attempts to quantify just how much data is generated in one minute online.

First thing’s first: Email is still a dominant sharing tool. Internet users send more than 200 million emails every minute. Searching Google is the second most-popular activity on the Web with more than four million queries every 60 seconds.

Surprise, surprise: Facebook holds dominion when it comes to social networks, with users posting nearly 2.5 million pieces of content. YouTube users upload a staggering 72 hours of content, while Twitter users tweet 277,000 times, and Vine users shared 8,333 clips. WhatsApp users share 347,222 photos, which actually beats Instagram, where there are only 216,000 new photos shared per minute.

Internet users also seem to love the same things online as they do offline: shopping, music and dating. For good or ill, Tinder users swipe 416,617 other users, Pandora users listen to more than 60,000 hours of music and Amazon makes $83,000 in online sales.

To be staggered by more statistics, see the infographic below. Don’t forget to compare it to Domo’s similar infographic from two years ago to see just how much more we’ve crammed into a minute.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What Happens in One Minute on the Internet? [Infographic]

New Antitrust lawsuit suggests that Google has a monopoly on internet and mobile search

According to a new antitrust lawsuit that was filed yesterday, Google is said to be violating antitrust laws by maintaining an illegal monopoly — not only on Internet search but mobile search as well. This has supposedly affected the search market adversely while inflating the cost of devices of competing companies.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for Northern California. It accuses the Mountain View company of using Android as a way to maintain the monopoly through secret agreements with device makers. These agreements require companies to load Google’s suite of apps onto their devices. Known as Mobile Application Distribution Agreements or MADAs, the agreements have been made with mostly all Android vendors. These agreements essentially help partners facing lawsuits of their own in funding, technical support and other assistance.

The complaint seeks class action status and claims that these secret agreement restraints on trade are designed to allow Google to maintain its control of Internet and mobile search. This is done by requiring companies to set Google search as the default. As the lawsuit puts it:

“As Google well knows, consumers do not know how to switch, nor will they go to the trouble of switching, the default search engine on their devices, so this practice is a highly effective means of ensuring that consumers will use Google search to conduct general Internet queries rather than one of its competitors’ search products.”

Essentially, the lawsuit suggests that if companies — bound by these MADAs — were able to use other search engines, Google’s search competitiors would be able to refine their search processes making them more effective, in turn, making Google work harder at improving its own search process. Plaintiffs also claim that if rival search engines were able to compete for default status, device prices could be subsidized by OEMs, thus lowering the cost to the end consumer. Steve Berman, a partner in consumer right law firm Hagen Berman had this to say in a statement.

“It’s clear that Google has not achieved this monopoly through offering a better search engine, but through its strategic, anti-competitive placement, and it doesn’t take a forensic economist to see that this is evidence of market manipulation. Simply put, there is no lawful, pro-competitive reason for Google to condition licenses to pre-load popular Google apps like this.”

According to Google, however, search and Android are, in fact, not mutually exclusive:

“Anyone can use Android without Google and anyone can use Google without Android. Since Android’s introduction, greater competition in smartphones has given consumers more choices at lower prices.”

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the court system. We’ll keep you updated as it does. Stay tuned!

source: c|net

Come comment on this article: New Antitrust lawsuit suggests that Google has a monopoly on internet and mobile search

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New Antitrust lawsuit suggests that Google has a monopoly on internet and mobile search