Google announced an amazing first quarter for 2012, with growth of 24% over the same period last year. Total turnover for the quarter was US$ 10.65-billion and its cash stockpile grew to US $49.3- billion. Of greater significance was the more than doubling of the search giant’s net income which rose 60% to US$2.89-billion, compared to the same period in 2010. That this performance came from a traditionally subdued quarter makes the results even more impressive Google surprised the market a ...

Rumour has it that Spotify is looking around for yet another huge round of investment, one that would take the company’s valuation from around US$1-billion to over US$3-billion. One might ask why a company that seems wildly successful to most always needs new investment. How, with over 2-million paying subscribers, does Spotify continuously end up far in the red? How much in the red you may ask? 2010 saw it post a reported loss of US$42 million... (up from US$26 ...

"Why do we need a blog" is often the reaction when some suggests it as part of a business’ strategy. The thing is, your blog is your most powerful tool and a key driver of your social media strategy. Why? Well continuous updates and punchy messages can easily increase user heighten interest, provide ongoing regular information and give you a reason to engage with them on an ongoing basis. Social media is no longer an outcast in the business world ...

The term social media refers to a set of web-based and mobile tools, technologies and platforms that enable connection, communication and collaboration in ways never before possible. Hopefully you’ve cottoned on to this by now. The problem is that this definition doesn’t encompass the undeniable impact social media has had on society and business. I’ve been saying for years now that social media is not about tools, but about people. I believe that companies that grasp the ethos behind social media ...

You could sense a nervous tingle as North Korea announced plans to send a rocket into space. Was it real, or just a front for deploying intercontinental nuclear missiles? Then one of the world’s most isolated nations invited foreign press in for the launch. It was hoping to show off in a big way. It all suddenly seemed legit and, for some, a little more frightening. Then the whole thing blew apart less than a minute after take-off. While some ...

This was inevitable, in fact I am a little surprised it took this long. Wikileaks infamous leader will be coming to a small screen near you in a few short days. At least that's according to a tweet from the organisation's official Twitter account. THE WORLD TOMORROW:NEW ASSANGE TV SHOW AIRING ON Tuesday 17 April 2012Julian Assange has completed (cont) tl.gd/gunqv7— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 13, 2012 Assange -- who has been under house arrest for 500 days -- has completed ...

Facebook announced that it will be updating the vanity urls of its users to match their Facebook email addresses. What’s that you say? Facebook forcing change on people without giving them an opt-out option? Queue the pitchfork-waving virtual mob. Before you go storm castle Facebook though, bear in mind that this change won’t actually do much more than give your timeline a url that actually makes sense. It’s also a not-so-subtle attempt by Facebook to push its email service, which ...

Apple’s has rejected claims from the US Justice Department that it colluded with some of the world’s biggest book publishers to fix prices. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the charges were “simply not true”. The US government has previously sued Apple, along with five other publishers, for conspiring to fix the price of ebooks. It later negotiated a compromise with three of the publishers, which could result in cheaper ebooks for consumers. ...

You know we love geeking out to some of Hollywood's latest offerings, so of course we weren't ballistic when we saw the trailer for Loopers. It's a time travel assassin flick with corporate influences, high-tech time travel and a bit of film noir. Oh, and did we mention the time travel? The upcoming film is directed by third time director Rian Johnson and stars the smoldering Joseph Gordon-Levitt, action veteran Bruce Willis, and ever-present Emily Blunt. In ...

YouTube’s partner programme is what allows people to make money -- real money that is -- from the video-sharing platform. For most of its existence, it’s been available to a select few. All that’s about to change. The Google-owned service announced that it would be opening up the programme to all YouTube users. YouTube claims that, as long you live in one of 20 eligible countries, the process of becoming a partner is fairly simple: YouTube uploaders in these countries ...