2013/01/25
The Internet of Things: Hardware with a Side of Software
2013/01/21
Verizon Software Developer Outsources His Job to China, Gets Fired
You can either call this dumb or genius, but one thing's for sure, this Verizon software developer did have a lot of extra time on his hands after outsourcing his job to China for just 20% of what he was making, pocketing the rest. He was fired after his employer discovered that he was interested in Reddit, eBay shopping, and watching cat videos during working hours. Continue reading for more information.
According to the company: "So he allegedly outsourced his work to China. Yes, all of his work. He did nothing at all -- workwise, that is, according to Verizon. However, the Verizon folks say he also attempted to perform this liberating ploy simultaneously on other companies -- presumably he was accepting freelance projects on the side. What some might find amusing -- or even dispiriting -- is that his employers valued him highly, as the work was of an excellent standard."
[Source]
2013/01/17
DCM Dealer software platform mines social media for stock sentiment, Wall Street licks its chops
In this episode of "What could possibly go wrong?!", allow us to introduce you to DCM Dealer. Billed as an "online trading platform," this here project was whipped up by the same London-based investment outfit (DCM Capital) that went belly-up after losing some $40 million in assets in just one month during the summer of 2011. Granted, that was a pretty tough time in the market, and it did manage to squeeze out a 1.9 percent gain in the period it was open, but it's still worth keeping in mind. Now, the firm is hoping to catch a second wind with a tool that mines Twitter, Facebook, and the whole of social media in order to pick up clues about the public's view on a stock. Reportedly, it'll spit out real-time ratings from 0 (negative) to 100 (positive), giving investors yet another "leading indicator" on what to invest in flip for a quick buck.
Founder Paul Hawtin confesses: "This is not some kind of holy grail of buy-sell signals that's guaranteed to make you money. This is an additional layer of market information...markets are driven by greed and fear, so if you can understand fear and quantify it in real-time, you could use that to protect yourself." We'll leave it to the 99 percent to comment on the idea below.
when.eng("eng.perm.init")2013/01/16
Y Combinator-Backed InstallMonetizer Is A Selective Ad Network For Desktop Software
InstallMonetizer is an ad network for desktop software developers, a group that co-founder and CEO Vince Mundy says he once belonged to himself.
“We looked really really hard to find legitimate sources of income [from free downloads],” Mundy said. “We found that there were other developers facing the exact same problem, so we created InstallMonetizer.”
If a publisher is part of the company’s network, an offer from a related advertiser will appear after a consumer installs the software, and the publisher gets paid for each install. Large desktop software companies can already make money this way, but smaller publishers might not reach a large enough audience, so by bringing a bunch of publishers together, Mundy said InstallMonetizer can “help high-quality software developers monetize the same way larger companies do.”
It’s a well-estalbished model in the world of smartphone apps, but there are similar desktop networks, too, such as Opencandy and W3i. One of the main things that sets InstallMonetizer apart, Mundy said, is the fact that the company provides non-personally identifiable data, allowing advertisers to target specific groups of users and to see whether the ads are not just driving downloads but actual usage, too.
The company also claims to be extremely picky about the publishers that it works with, checking domain ownership and anti-virus history, then ultimately rejecting 95 percent of applicants.
InstallMonetizer actually launched two years ago, and it was part of the winter 2012 class at Y Combinator, but it hasn’t sought out any attention from the tech press until now — something that Mundy attributed to just being really busy.
The company says that it now works with more than 9,000 publishers. It’s profitable, and the number of installations that it’s driving doubles every two or three months. It has also attracted high-profile investors, raising $500,000 from Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Garage, Fenox Venture Capital, SV Angel, and Transmedia Capital.
InstallMonetizer.com helps software developers generate additional revenue from their installations. Most software developers lose revenue from 95% of their free/trial installs. We help them monetize these lost installs. Our publishers experience 60-85% conversion and earn between $0.25 to $1.00 per install. Our backend provides detailed stats to keep developers informed on their earnings. We work with quality advertisers. Our software publishers are assured we NEVER have spyware/adware products in our co-bundle. Watch our รข€oHow it...
› Learn moreY Combinator is a venture fund which focuses on seed investments to startup companies. It offers financing as well as business consulting along with other opportunities to 2-4 person companies looking to take an idea to a product. Y Combinator looks for companies with “good” ideas over companies with experience and a business model. The company made its first investments in Summer 2005. Y Combinator selects companies to finance and consult with twice a year. They are located in...
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