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Car Rental Company Avis To Buy Zipcar For $500 Million
Jan 02, 11:25AM
Car rental company Avis has announced its intent to scoop up Carsharing company Zipcar for $500 million. Zipcar went public in April of 2011.Oh, The Places Tumblr Can Go
Jan 02, 10:31AM
Nothing says Internet opportunity like a social media juggernaut. Tumblr, the meme-olicious, gif-tastic, photo-fabulous, (but also occasionally) thoughtful blogging platform that attracted 167 million visitors and nearly 18 billion pageviews in December, is certainly no exception. The site now ranks as the 11th-largest in terms of traffic, according to Quantcast. (That's down slightly from November, when it broke into the top 10 with 170 million monthly visitors globally.) But with all that activity comes the inevitable question: What next? Here's a look at five areas where Tumblr has moved, and may move more toward, in the year ahead. Advertising. Tumblr is very much one of the social media startups that was built for scale first, revenue later. And it's been wildly successful with the former, bringing over 17.8 billion pageviews in December worldwide across its network of 80 million+ blogs. But in 2012, the company got a little more serious on the latter point and introduced a new revenue stream based around ads – not straight display ads but “sponsor products” that promote Tumblr blogs based on brands or specific events. Given that the company's founder and CEO David Karp has made it clear he's not a big fan of ads, it seems as if this were meant to counterbalance in-stream ads like Twitter's Promoted Tweets or Facebook's Sponsored Stories. Tumblr places the sponsored products out of the stream on actual pages, only suggesting them at a time when users are searching for interesting content promoted through Tumblr's Spotlight pages and its Radar of randomized, buzzy images. An example Spotlight post is below, with a little dollar sign to signify that they’re not editorially selected or organically generated: All fine and well, but earlier today, I got to wondering just how successful these ads are, or how much Tumblr is actually pushing them. Flicking through all of the Tumblr spotlights, I saw a total of six advertisers (seven if you count the two different ads for Standard Hotels). And these were by no means spread across all of Tumblr's 50+ spotlight categories. And through many, many refreshes on different pages, I actually never managed to catch a single Radar ad. In short, in-your-face ads these are not. It may be intentional to keep these numbers way down to maximize impact, but considering the amount of traffic Tumblr gets, it seems like even a few more wouldn't compromise the experience that much. Target audience. BranchA Secret Is No Longer A Secret Once You Tell The Internet
Jan 02, 7:00AM
Sure the headline of this post is just common sense, but I feel like we all need a reminder this holiday season, especially as all the salacious photo evidence from the past couple of nights is just hitting Facebook. For those of you that have been busy drunkenly accumulating that evidence and not reading tech news over the holidays, a couple of things happened this past week that make this reminder especially pressing. In an amazing confluence of events over the break, Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi posted a photo of her famous family trying out the Poke app to her "Friends" on Facebook. Then she tagged her sister Arielle in it.The Income Rich Take One For The Team. Thanks!
Jan 02, 6:24AM
I love talking about taxes. Our President and both houses of Congress have finally all agreed on a deal on this whole fiscal cliff mess. I’ve been holding my breath on this because I thought for sure that I’d be paying a lot more in taxes this year. But I dodged the bullet. All venture capitalists did, actually. Nothing the government agreed to in the last few days actually affects the asset wealthy in this country. If you’re a Hollywood agent barely getting by with a million dollar a year salary and two ex spouses, your life sucks right now. You’re going to have barely any money left over at the end of each month for cocaine with the tax increase. Small business owners will also take a hit because their business profits are considered income in most cases. Luckily I’m not in any of the groups who are being affected much. I have some money in the bank from selling TechCrunch a couple of years ago, which of course isn’t taxed on an ongoing basis. So I’m good there. And even better, there hasn’t been a word mentioned about the carried interest loophole. Most of the money I make now comes from investments from CrunchFund. And the vast majority of that is what’s called carried interest. Even though I’m investing other people’s money, the government calls it a capital gain. So instead of paying 39.6 percent on that money (I won’t call it income), I pay only 15 percent (or maybe 20 percent under the new rules – it isn’t clear to me). In other words, income is a sucker’s game. Carried interest rocks. Everyone wants the rich to pay more in taxes. They’re thinking about Mitt Romney and Warren Buffet when they say “rich people.” But really rich people like that are totally protected. Their accumulated wealth can only be touched by inflation. And if they’re in the hedge fund game, most of their “income” is taxed at just 15 percent. Which is why Warren Buffet can pay a lower tax rate than his secretary. And why, even after calling for tax increases for the rich, he’ll still be paying a lower tax rate than his secretary. Kill This Loophole Many of us benefiting from it have been asking for it to end for years because it is so vastly unfair. It’s not often that something is soSamsung CEO Lee Kun Hee Warns Employees About Increased Competition
Jan 02, 4:57AM
Samsung Electronics may currently be the world's leader in sales of mobile phones and TVs, but chairman Lee Kun Hee has told employees that the Korean company must watch its back as new competitors surface and the global economy continues to drag.References To iPhone 6, iOS 7 Reportedly Seen in Developer Log
Jan 02, 2:51AM
The iPhone 5 just finished its global rollout, but it looks like leaks about the iPhone 6 are already starting to surface. An iOS developer saw a device named "iPhone 6,1" running iOS 7 making requests from an IP address within Apple's Cupertino campus, according to TNW. The iPhone 6 is expected to be released by the middle of next year. TNW says that "although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple's Cupertino campus leads us to believe that this is not one of those attempts."New Year, New Tech, Same Old Problems
Jan 02, 2:00AM
There's been a ton of innovation happening over the last several years. Yet, there are several places that haven't been touched much by technology, or at least places where technology hasn't gone far enough. Here are a few markets where I'd personally like to see innovators continue to push the limits.Obama Promised Public Policy Negotiations. Secrecy Has Failed. So, Why Not Try YouTube
Jan 01, 9:31PM
One universal silver lining to any abject failure is that it presents the opportunity to test out radically different ideas. President Obama has largely ignored his campaign promise to hold policy negotiations in public. But after yesterday's epic budget compromise fail, it seems like a reasonable time to revisit that campaign promise and livestream talks over YouTube-- because the federal government can't do any worse than failing to perform one of its only mandated responsibilities.Study: 75 Percent Of The World's Heads Of State Are Now On Twitter
Jan 01, 8:14PM
You know how some naysayers still like to dismiss Twitter as nothing more than a time wasting website where people talk about the sandwich they're eating? Here's another rebuttal for them. A new survey from the Digital Policy Council (DPC) shows that 75 percent of the world's heads of state have a presence on Twitter. The DPC's annual study evaluates a total of 164 countries, and found this year that 123 of them have a head of state that is on Twitter, either with a personal handle or an official government one.The Mobile Apps I Used The Most In 2012
Jan 01, 7:02PM
In the early days of TechCrunch, Mike Arrington used to share a list of his favorite products - those he couldn't live without - which he had used over the course of the year. Want to flashback? Check out 2007. 2008. 2009. 2010. But given that one of the biggest themes in 2012 was mobile, I thought it would be nice to take a moment here at the end of the year to talk about some of my favorite apps of the year, as well as how I use them.FounderDating Launches #NoRegrets2013, A New Year's Initiative For Budding Entrepreneurs
Jan 01, 6:00PM
Does one of your New Year's resolutions involve finally committing to that wacky startup idea that you've been thinking about for months or years? If so, FounderDating is launching a new program called #NoRegrets2013 to help you go beyond idle dreaming. In some ways, that's what the organization does already — it connects founders in 18 cities through an online network that's balanced to include 50 percent engineering-focused members and 50 percent non-engineering. You could probably look at this new effort as a big membership drive. But this time, FounderDating is making it particularly easy to get involved. You just go to the No Regrets page and enter your idea, then, according to founder Jessica Alter, "We help them get going."Keen On… 2013: Why Old Platforms Will Persist This Year [TCTV]
Jan 01, 5:00PM
One of technology's most persistently prescient crystal ball gazers is Betaworks CEO John Borthwick, a guy who - from Summize to Tweetdeck to bitly to Digg to his latest baby tapestry - always thinks ahead of the crowd.New Year's Resolutions, Internet-Style
Jan 01, 4:05PM
It's that time of the year again: it's time to promise to go on diets we won't stick to, miles we won't run, and projects we won't complete. Maybe, this year, it's time for a change? For 2013, I'm making a list of New Year's resolutions that I actually might be able to keep. This time around, my resolutions will be internet and technology-focused - things I actually care about and enjoy - which betters the chance that I'll be able to stick to my goals...well, at least until March.Per These Leaked CES Pics, Sony Is Actually Capable Of Making A Memorable Android Phone
Jan 01, 3:59PM
Quick! What's Sony's current high-end Android phone? Anyone? Yeah, Sony has a problem with brand recognition, one it likely hopes will be resolved with a big CES debut next week. While that could still happen, Sony's Japanese press site just prematurely posted pics of the Xperia Z "Yuga" and the Xperia ZL "Odin". And, surprising, the phones actually look like something worth remembering.Le Parcel, Because Tampons And Monthly Subscription Services Go Hand In Hand
Jan 01, 2:34PM
If ever there was a consumer product suited for monthly subscriptions, it would be tampons. It only takes one midnight trip to the pharmacy for you to agree with me. That's where Le Parcel comes in. It's a new startup that lets you choose which brand of feminine hygiene products you'd like to have shipped to you monthly, along with some chocolate of course.The 2013 Enterprise Guide For Dummies
Jan 01, 11:00AM
The enterprise -- I get a sideways glance when I tell people it's what I cover. People want to know why I find it so compelling. They ask because truly they have no goddamn clue what the hell the enterprise is in the first place.The Top 25 TechCrunch Posts From 2012
Jan 01, 5:00AM
Twenty twelve was a big year for tech news. Facebook went public, Instagram was purchased for $1B, and Apple released rehashes of previous products. But that's just a small sampling. The list that follows is which stories you, our fantastic readers, read the most throughout the last year in order of their popularity. Some stories are predictably at the top, but others are surprising. A story about Bruce Willis and iTunes ranks higher than the most read post concerning the Apple/Samsung patent trial.Apple Partners With Local Publishers To Launch EBook Service In Japan
Jan 01, 3:26AM
Apple will launch an ebook service in Japan fueled with content from top local publishers, according to Japanese financial publication Nikkei (via The Digital Reader). Apple will begin selling Japanese language ebooks later this month for reading on iPhones and iPads. iPads currently hold about a 60% share of that country's tablet market in terms of units shipped in April to September.Legimi Wants To Be The 'Spotify For Ebooks' With A Business Model That Relies On You Reading Less
Jan 01, 2:00AM
Legimi is definitely a startup I'll be watching closely in 2013. Put simply, it aims to be the 'Spotify for ebooks,' in which for a monthly subscription, users get access to a potentially infinite library of reading material, all accessible via the cloud. But more than that, this Polish startup, whether it succeeds or not, epitomises the collision of old media business models with new technology and new consumer habits.2012: The Year Crowdfunding Was Kickstarted Into The Mainstream
Jan 01, 1:00AM
There we were, circled around a bachelor party campfire and drunk on keg beer, discussing the viability of using Kickstarter to fund a sex toy startup. My buddy Dan (he goes by Dangerous D at karaoke) had designed and handmade a compact speed controller for small vibrators (pic below). He was selling them at $75 a pop and apparently - I have yet to see or try one - they were getting rave reviews. Dangerous D's Magic Box, he called it. Another friend and I were passionately trying to convince him to quit his job as a bank manager and start a sex toy startup. We were positive, and a bit drunk, that all he needed was a successful Kickstarter campaign. The video would obviously be key.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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