Archive for small business

Tumblr CEO to Users: ‘Don’t Worry’

May 20, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
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Loyal Tumblr users shouldn't worry about changes that could come to the site, CEO David Karp said Monday night at an event hosted by Yahoo, which acquired his social-blogging platform earlier in the day

Yahoo announced it had acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The move is said to be a part of an effort to attract more users in the 18-to-24 year old demographic and grow its social strategy, but many believe the deal could negatively impact the guidelines and nature of Tumblr.

"We hope the product will evolve even faster than it has before," Karp told Mashable. "That is something we have always been committed to, and the mission to build an audience and the ethos of creative expression and community guidelines — that stuff isn't changing." Read more...

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Tumblr CEO to Users: ‘Don’t Worry’

May 20, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
Davidkarp1
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Loyal Tumblr users shouldn't worry about changes that could come to the site, CEO David Karp said Monday night at an event hosted by Yahoo, which acquired his social-blogging platform earlier in the day

Yahoo announced it had acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The move is said to be a part of an effort to attract more users in the 18-to-24 year old demographic and grow its social strategy, but many believe the deal could negatively impact the guidelines and nature of Tumblr.

"We hope the product will evolve even faster than it has before," Karp told Mashable. "That is something we have always been committed to, and the mission to build an audience and the ethos of creative expression and community guidelines — that stuff isn't changing." Read more...

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9 Social Marketing Metrics That Actually Matter

May 20, 2013 / Scott Gerber / No comments
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Even the most social-savvy business owners can get caught up in the numbers game: counting and recounting likes, followers, fans, retweets, shares. Not to say those numbers don't correlate to how well your business connects with customers online, but 100 shares doesn't necessarily mean 100 sales — and it certainly doesn't measure the potential value of those 100 shares.

For example, were any of the 100 fans sharing that post actually influencers? Did the fans in question sign up for your list, or share and forget? Are your likes and follows actually impacting your sales? Many business owners wouldn't know how to start answering those questions. Read more...

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Seamless and GrubHub Announce Merger

May 20, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
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Popular food delivery companies Seamless and GrubHub announced on Monday that the brands will be merging.

The deal expands food delivery service to 500 cities across the U.S. from 20,000 local takeout restaurants. A new name has not yet been decided.

SEE ALSO: Yahoo Acquires Tumblr, Promises 'Not to Screw It Up'

"The merger will create a combined company well positioned to drive more orders to restaurants, deliver a better experience for hungry diners and enhance services to corporate clients," the companies said in a statement.

In 2012, Seamless and GrubHub — which have both a strong mobile and online platform — sent about $875 million in food sales to local restaurants, bringing in a combined revenue of more than $100 million, the companies reported. Read more...

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Category: Apps & Software, business, grubhub, small business, startups /

5 Mobile Marketing Tools to Reach Customers on the Go

May 20, 2013 / Leyl Master Black / No comments
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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Looking to up your mobile marketing game? Here are five vendors that can help.

1. MailChimp

Email marketing is one of the most popular ways to stay in touch with customers, and there are now many tools that can help you mobile-enable these programs

For example, MailChimp has added a number of mobile features that allow you to view your email campaign stats, see who is tweeting about you and manage your lists and subscribers from your mobile device. MailChimp also offers mobile-friendly templates for your newsletters, so your campaign will look good when users read it on their mobile devices. Read more...

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Solar Chaser Toy Uses Sun to Play With Your Cat

May 19, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
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Even the simplest things in life are getting tech overhauls, so the next time you think it's too much work to wave a laser or string in the air to keep your cat entertained, consider this new toy that is powered by the sun.

Called the Solar Chaser, the device is essentially a cat toy on a wand that sticks to the window with suction cups. When it gets enough light, the toy — which has an accompanying string — will move, encouraging the cat to chase it.

SEE ALSO: Beyond Barrel Roll: 10 Hidden Google Tricks

You can also swap out the dangling toy with your cat's favorite one, too. The Solar Chaser will cost you $40 via SolarChasers.com, but at least you can sit back, relax and watch your pet go crazy in peace Read more...

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Category: small business, startup, startups, Tech, video /

Google Offers Makes Its Way to Google+

May 17, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
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Google's deal-of-the-day service Google Offers is coming to its social network Google+, so users can see and share limited-time promotions directly with their news stream.

Companies participating in the Google Offers program, such as Zagat, Hello Kitty, Nook and Art.com are among the brands who can now share deals with their network on Google+.

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About Google's Big Announcements

"If you follow any of these brands, you'll soon see offers from them in your stream," Dennis Troper at Google said in a post on his Google+ page. "You can save these offers directly from the post." Read more...

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PayPal to Offer Free Payment Processing for ‘Qualifying’ Merchants

May 15, 2013 / Todd Wasserman / No comments
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In a bid to one-up Square, PayPal is offering free payment processing through the rest of the year for some U.S. businesses that use its PayPal Here mobile payment system.

Starting next month, PayPal will offer free credit, debit card and check processing to "qualifying" merchants. The company's announcement didn't outline how such businesses can qualify for the program. Reps from PayPal could not be reached for comment.

When PayPal Here launched in March 2012, PayPal took a 2.7% fee, though each merchant that signed up got a PayPal debit card, which earned the merchant back 1% instantly, taking the cut down to 1.7%. Square charges a 2.75% fee for every transaction, though the company also offers a program in which a participating companies can pay a $275 monthly fee in lieu of the per-transaction charges Read more...

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How Not to Use Social Media: Restaurant’s Epic Facebook Meltdown

May 14, 2013 / Annie Colbert / No comments
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On last week's episode of Fox's Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsey visited Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Ariz. But not even the loud-mouthed British chef could convince the stubborn (and, by some reviewer accounts, delusional) owner to change her ways.

The episode caught the attention of Redditors, who slammed the restaurant's Facebook page with comments, triggering an epic social media meltdown. Owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo posted status updates directed at the commenters, using NSFW language and all caps

While most people who have witnessed a trolling in action know not to feed into it (especially while the caps lock is in use), the Bouzaglos seem to have failed that social media lesson. Read more...

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Category: facebook, Reddit, small business, Social Media, Watercooler /

Pinterest Adds Mentions, Notifications to Mobile

May 14, 2013 / Samantha Murphy / No comments
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Pinterest released on Tuesday updates to its iOS and Android apps, including new mobile features such as search suggestions, push notifications and the ability to mention friends in posts.

The updates may seem small but represent the company's larger efforts to move beyond its web-based presence and make it easier for people to use the platform on smartphones and tablets

On the heels of re-instating the feature to the web-based version, users can now mention other users via mobile within each pin. The feature is intuitive to use through the apps: pinners select the @ sign and type out the name of the person they want to highlight Read more...

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Category: apps, Mobile, pinterest, small business, Tech /
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