5 Reasons HTML5 Apps are Hard to Monetize

Edith Yeung is the head of marketing at Dolphin Browser, the world’s first gesture, voice and add-on-enabled mobile browser. She is also the founding partner of RightVentures, which focuses on cloud and mobile investments. You can find out more about Dolphin on the company blog.

Even though the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) doesn’t expect full HTML5 implementation until 2022, there is no shortage of great apps out there already based on HTML5. This is because HTML5 offers some distinct advantages over its counterparts, including improved graphics and animations, dynamic data storage features, and geolocation support.

That said, some hurdles remain, particularly with apps. Below are five big reasons why HTML5 apps are difficult to monetize.

HTML5 app discovery is extremely tough for one big reason: There are no well-known sites where you can find them. Sure, Facebook’s App Center and the Mozilla Marketplace offer HTML5 apps, but most people aren’t aware that these sites exist, and they aren’t optimized for mobile devices.

This is a huge issue. If no one knows where to find your app, or that you even have an app, distribution and promotion suffers and it’s impossible to ever gain a substantial number of users.

Developing HTML5 apps is not as straightforward as building desktop web apps. In the mobile world, there are multiple operating systems, a number of different browsers, various screen sizes, and thousands of devices that developers have to consider.

With a great deal of complex animation and graphics running on mobile web apps, the user experience on an unsupported browser or device can suffer. Frameworks like PhoneGap and Sencha are great tools, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, and they will need support from browsers and device markers. Without their support, it is very difficult to achieve the build-once, deploy-everywhere ideal.

The advertising model for native apps is expansive, well defined, and can be very lucrative. It’s also something that’s been cultivated over several years and has healthy competition and diversity among the players.

But there is not yet a standardized ad platform that enables advertisers to develop one HTML5 ad and deploy it on multiple Apple, Android, BlackBerry or Windows devices. A few companies are starting to build their own HTML5 ad networks, but there is no model that those developers are comfortable with and that have demonstrated profitability.

When the latest version of Angry Birds goes live, users need only jump into their respective app store and within a click or two the app is purchased and loaded on their phone. Their credit card information is saved in the app store, which users tend to trust as a secure environment, making app purchases as safe and easy as it gets.

There are a number of payment tools out there for web apps, but there is no standardized payment framework that is secure or easy enough for prime time. The Chrome Web Store integrates Google Checkout, but it’s a vendor-locked solution and not accessible to everyone. Unless the HTML5 community can find a way to replicate the native app payment process — or define a new, secure and convenient way — consumers are going to be uncomfortable.

People understand how native apps work — download them from a marketplace directly to the phone’s home screen — and are comfortable with them. They see the process as a simple, safe, and painless one. But downloading HTML5 apps is a different process, one consumers are not used to and, thus far, have been reluctant to try.

The larger question, though, may be whether consumers will adopt a more web-oriented view of the world, one where apps are downloaded through a browser, or whether HTML5 will instead interact with native apps to form a hybrid environment.

The benefits of HTML5 are clear — write once, deploy everywhere — but there are still many monetization, performance, and technical limitations that are preventing the mobile community from going “all in.”

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6 reasons Spain could be Europe's next debt-crisis victim

After a weeks-long lull, the European debt crisis is once again rearing its ugly head. This time, Spain is in trouble, and if you thought Greece was bad, you might want to avert your eyes for this one. Spain's economy is the fourth-largest in Europe, and it's twice as large as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal — all previous bailout recipients — combined. Spain's failure would likely spell the end of the eurozone, the 17 countries that use the euro currency, and would send shock waves through the global financial system. Here, six reasons Spain's economy is in trouble:

1. Rising debt...

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6 Reasons Why You Need to Choose Twitter

Twitter the micro blogging site has gained momentum to a large extent over the years. Today, in the context of social networking, Twitter is referred along with Facebook. Everybody seeks the potential Twitter has with its equivalent when they look for a medium to communicate. The Twitter service has social networking, instant messaging and micro-blogging features. It is designed for the people in general and also for the business community.

Twitter is popular among bloggers, techies, online marketers who are keen to promote their business and products online. People can stay connected with their family and friends with quick messages.

In this article, I’ve tried to bring out the six reasons why need to choose Twitter and how it can prove beneficial to you.

1. Twitter to make connections: Twitter allows you to stay in touch with your family, friends, colleagues at work and business partners in any part of the world. You can tweet your updates from anywhere and checkout what your friends are upto. If you are new to Twitter, use the Find People link on your Home page and search for people. You will be able to search by location and also by the choice of words used in their profile.

2. Real time information: Many people prefer to share on Twitter because they found real-time information more useful. For example while you shop, you tweet about the freebies given at the shop. This real-time information conveys an interesting news and conversations among friends begin. This type of information is valuable than an older or outdated one.

3. 140 characters @Twitter: A tweet measures just 140 characters of informal communication which means you convey a specific informal message. Twitter allows people to give updates briefly. As the tweet’s strength is minimum, a reader finds brevity in that. Tweeting in Twitter is super fast and easy to read. You can post updates frequently using the website on your PC or Mac or on an iPhone. Twitter is a communication tool which has the rapid response characteristic.

4. Power of re-tweet: When you press the re-tweet button for any tweet, you share and spread the tweet with the Twitter community. You can tweet your blogs and see how it spreads like a wild-fire. Followers who find your blogs worthy may re-tweet to their followers and the network grows on.

5. Tools to find friends: It is essential that we keep up with people in order to get business updates that can help us enhance our business. Here is a list of tools that will complement with Twitter and give the best network. Select the Twitter search tool that you want to use.

TweepSearch: This tool allows you to perform a specific search from the list of people following you.Twellow: You can find people related to your industry with the help of the Twellow tool. As you can find people organized according to their industry, you can search for the desired people and choose to follow them.Twitter Local: Get updates from people based on location with Twitter Local.Twitter Search: Twitter Search tool is similar to Google search. When you search for a term, the search results lists the tweets which has the term or is a combination of terms. You can also search by Hashtag to view all Tweets with that tag. Advanced Search options offers specific search facility. Use the Advanced Search option to search based on people, location, attitude or links.

6. Promote your blog and social bookmarking submissions: If you have a blog and would like to promote it, Twitter can help you to a great extent. You can tweet with a link to your latest blog post.

Your blog tweet can bring more followers to your profile and instant responses in the form of views. You can also explore other blogs available in Twitter. Discover new authors and add them to your feed reader. Read through the different blog posts and if you think you can better them, ask for suggestions and get ideas from tweets. In Twitter you can request votes for your submissions at Digg and add votes for people who you feel deserve a vote for their submission at sites like StumbleUpon or Delicious.

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9 Awesome Reasons to Use Infographics in your Content Marketing

We live in an age of “Big Data“..which means there is more data than ever before.

In one day we create 1.5 billion pieces of content, 140 million tweets and 2 million videos.

Trying to make sense of the mountains and oceans of data that are now part of our knowledge world due to computers, mobiles and the web is a daily challenge.

Do you bookmark, file it or Evernote the link or PDF?Do you punch the reference into your iPhone or iPadDo you grab a pen and jot it down on your beloved Moleskine notepad?

We constantly are attempting to organise, collate and curate information that pours at at as from screens in a torrent.

Consuming that data is like drinking from a fire hose.

They are a mix of design, writing and analysis that are ideal for an age of big data. (just like you see at the top of this page)

Some other examples can be found here -”6 Fantastic Facebook Marketing Infographics“.

Infographics are a visually compelling communication medium that done well can communicate complex data in a visual format that is potentially viral.

They take deep data and present it in a visual shorthand.

“Infographics” is one efficient way of combining the best of text, images and design to represent complex data that tells a story that begs to be shared.

Recent research from Barbara M. Miller and Brooke Barnett discovered this about “Infographics”

“On their own, text and graphics are both useful yet imperfect methods for communication. Written language allows an almost infinite number of word combinations that allow deep analysis of concepts but relies heavily on the reader’s ability to process that information. Graphics may be easier for the reader to understand but are less effective in communication of abstract and complicated concepts. … combining text and graphics allows communicators to take advantage of each medium’s strengths and diminish each medium’s weaknesses.”

Does your industry need to present data in an effective manner to communicate and engage its customers and prospects?..Then infographics could be part of the answer.

I noticed the power of Infographics about 6 months ago when I included it in  blog article and was surprised by the traffic response. On taking a closer look at its popularity, I decided to use Google “Insights for Search” analytics to determine the increase in the interest in the keyword “Infographics” as reflected in search volume increases since 2004. I discovered that since just prior to the start of 2010 to the beginning of 2012, infographic search volumes have increased by over 800% in just over 2 years.

Statistics from the social network Digg reveal that since 2007, infographics on Digg have increased by 250 times!

Now that is a trend wave worth catching!

When it comes down to it Infographics they may be a compelling but why use them?

There is one thing that I have discovered while blogging is that people love facts, figures and statistics. Add some compelling images and graphics and …”voila“, you have addictive content!

Human beings are highly visual and because 90% of of the information that comes to the brain is visual you need to tap into that “optic nerve”

Due to infographics attractiveness the capacity for them to be shared on social networks and become viral is much higher than ordinary text content.

When designing, developing and publishing an infographic the code to put it on a WordPress blog or website is provided as an embed code. This then creates an automatic link from their site to yours.

In a world where online publishing is now visible globally at the push of a button, infographics can provide global coverage that local print media could never do.

Creating an infographic that is embedded with your logo and brand displayed is a powerful means of creating a greater “Brand Awareness”

An infographic that is linked and compelling by its nature will drive traffic to your website band blog as people “share” and “click”

The viral nature of the infographic medium makes people link to your site and Google will index your website higher due to Google’s “Page Rank” algorithm. This increases the importance that search engines pace on your site.

The research required to create an infographic will display your knowledge and position you as an expert on your category or topic.

The challenge with infographics is creating them.

There are new tools and platforms emerging that make creating them easier such as Statsilk.com and Visual.ly

Have you created or used infographics? Have they driven traffic and created more brand awareness for your business?

Look forward to hearing your stories.

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Tech Life: 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Be an Early Adopter

Early adopters of new technology are, God love ‘em, those folks who are the first to embrace manufacturer innovations in the marketplace. In my day, they were first family on block to get a microwave or a VCR. Today, they’re the first to have an LCD TV or smartphone. These are the consumers that manufacturers dream of and often cater to. They are plugged into tech trends and they don’t mind standing in line or camping out all night to indulge their new-gadget habit. They respond to buzz, and they create buzz. They are product evangelizers and brand ambassadors who reset the standards of everyday technology and they’re responsible, in part, for the embarrassment you feel as you tuck that old flip phone back in your pocket.

But early adoption isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I think there’s a very real downside to the rush and blush of new technology. So take some comfort in your four-year-old flip phone and that hulking, boxy, analog TV. Here are eight reasons why you shouldn’t be an early adopter. (See also: Frugal Advice for the Gadget Addicted)

New technology means higher retail costs. Efforts to quickly recoup R&D expenses and the factors of supply and demand all skew the price of new devices in favor of the manufacturer. It can take years for market forces to normalize and reflect the real value of an item.

A first generation product implies a third and fourth generation. Typically, the greatest technological advancements are reflected in second generation releases. At that point, consumers have had a chance to test the earlier product in the harsh laboratory of everyday life. Speed, energy efficiency, memory, and software choices all tend to improve later on.

Similarly, any kinks and bugs are most glaringly apparent upon a product’s initial release (ala the early antenna issue and short battery life of Apple’s iPhone). Consumers complain and manufacturers correct a product’s shortcomings in later releases.

Since the greatest improvements usually happen between a product’s first and second generation, first-gen versions have lower resale value. Just try unloading that early iPod, if you’re not convinced.

With their patents firmly in place and other manufacturers scrambling to figure out how to match the wizardry, first generation products have very little competition. Low competition means little choice, and little choice means higher prices for consumers.

Early adopters of new technology become de facto product testers, pointing out bugs and product issues that may or may not be addressed with a first generation patch. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to work for free — I’ll gladly let someone else use his piggy bank to be a guinea pig.

Newly launched products often suffer from minimal service levels since manufacturers can’t always accurately predict popularity or performance. Later versions usually have a more established (and therefore more robust) support infrastructure.

Let’s face it — novelty is part of our attraction to new products. The only thing better than getting something new is getting something that’s new to the world. But what do we do when the novelty wears off? How can we be sure the new product will become an indispensable part of our lives, or merely a brief rung on the evolutionary ladder of bigger, better, faster, and more mobile?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing early adopters or questioning their place in consumer culture. They’re an essential category of willing buyers that lets the rest of us enjoy less expensive and more refined products. I salute the buyers of those early $2,500 LCD TVs and $600 iPhones. You’ve taken the hit that we more cost-conscious consumers just refused to take. We thank you; our wallets thank you.

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Why I Love Gift Cards: 5 Reasons Gift Cards Make Perfect Holiday Gifts

Gift cards tend to have a bad reputation, perhaps because the receiver thinks they are too impersonal. But I would much rather get a gift card (or cash) than something I can't use or clothing that doesn't fit. There's nothing worse than having to return a gift. Not only can it be a hassle, but it's also difficult to explain to your aunt why you aren't wearing that argyle sweater vest she gave you for Christmas.

If you are looking for that perfect gift, here are a five reasons gift cards can make life easier for you and the person receiving. (See also: 5 Reasons Why You Should Give Kids Cash for the Holidays)

Whether you are buying a gift card from someone's favorite clothing store or giving free downloads from iTunes to the music lover in your life, gift cards guarantee that people will love what you give them. They have the freedom to pick out whatever they want, and you are relieved of the stress of finding something perfect for everyone. Gift cards are also ideal if you are buying for in-laws you don't know that well. Amazon sells everything from books to kitchen sinks, so purchasing gift cards from a general retailer will also help guarantee that there's something for everyone, even the picky people in your life.

If you are purchasing gifts for a lot of people — a dozen or more nieces and nephews for instance — you can budget a dollar amount for each card. This also prevents arguments over which cousin got the better gift, because everyone gets the same amount of money. And it saves you the time shopping for each person. Plus, even if you get a gift receipt, returning gifts can be a headache, especially right after the holidays when customer service lines are backed up to the entrance of the store.

You don't even have to leave your house to do your holiday shopping thanks to the convenience of the Internet. Most stores offer online gift cards, and you can personalize them with graphics and personal messages. A lot of retailers even have an option to email an electronic gift card to someone, which is convenient for you, and it helps the receiver keep track of the card. If you are one of those last-minute shoppers, you can send an e-gift card at any time, even on holidays when most stores are closed.

Personally, I don't shop for myself that much because I don't put aside a lot of money in my budget for it. But if someone gave me a gift card to my favorite kitchen store, I can think of nothing I'd like to do more than wander around looking at iron woks and sharpening stones. If you know the person well, you will know exactly the stores where they would most like to shop. There's also the option of giving movie gift cards, or buying a card from someone's favorite restaurant. It's always nice to know that you are giving something loved ones will enjoy picking out for themselves, and treating someone to dinner and a movie is always appreciated.

For practical people who never spend money on themselves, give them a gift card from a place where they can purchase something they need, or may not have the money for. I would gladly accept a $50 gift card for groceries, for instance. Don't forget pet owners could always use more cat litter or dog food. And for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life, money is always an option.

Don't spend all your time waiting in lines and being choosy over gifts this holiday season. Save yourself the trouble and just go for the gift card. It will make everyone happy, including your wallet.

How do you feel about gift cards? Are there other reasons you like giving them? Discuss in the comments section below.

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