VentureBeat

Five 'VentureBeat' stories May 2012 - September 2014

Google expands local inventory ads to UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia & desktop users

Jordan Kahn Sep 23 2014 - 10:31 am PT

Google just announced that it’s expanding its local inventory ads first launched for users in the US last fall to more countries starting today. The ads, which promote items from local nearby retailers to shoppers on Google, are now available in the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and France.

Google said today that it will also start showing the ads to desktop users:

We have also expanded support for store-only products and campaigns to desktop devices, enabling retailers to promote stores to the right customers at the right time. For example, you can prioritize showing local products to get shoppers in your doors during the weeks and days leading up to the holidays. As items go out of stock online and last-minute shipping costs increase, retailers who can provide cost-effective, quick in-store purchase options stand out in the crowd

Retailers can get an overview on the program here and users will in the countries above should start to see the local “in store” ads appear in search results.

Confirmed. Google Fiber’s next stop: Austin, Texas

Seth Weintraub Apr 5 2013 - 8:13 pm PT

0 Comments

Update: Confirmed by KVUE

[protected-iframe id=”02a8e8cabc089935b8e9ebf982ceaec3-22427743-13611283″ info=”http://swfs.bimvid.com/player-3.2.15.swf” width=”470″ height=”264″]

Venturebeat got the word from some invites that went out this week.

On Tuesday, April 9, at 11 a.m., the City of Austin and Google will make a very important announcement that will have a positive impact on Austinites and the future of the city. We anticipate more than 100 community leaders and elected officials to be in attendance to celebrate this announcement. The event invitation is attached for your convenience. Although we cannot share the details of the announcement with you in advance, we know readers will want to learn more, so we encourage you to join us on Tuesday.

I’d move to Austin.

Google teams with leading US carriers to form Mobile Payments Committee

Élyse Betters Aug 9 2012 - 12:54 pm PT

0 Comments

There is a new sheriff in town for the mobile payments arena—or at least that’s what VentureBeat described in a report on the newly formed Mobile Payments Committee.

Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman announced the group’s genesis in an interview this morning, where he explained the committee boasts representation from the four leading U.S. carriers.

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile have apparently united to grapple with mobile payments, and it appears Google, PayPal, ISIS, VeriFone, and Intuit are also members, while Verizon Executive Director of Federal Relations Jackie Moran serves as the group’s chair.

According to VentureBeat, the Mobile Payments Committee will:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google CEO Larry Page: Facebook is holding user data ‘hostage’ [Video]

Élyse Betters May 22 2012 - 6:14 am PT

0 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHtPb1GEzF0]

Google’s CEO Larry Page went on the “Charlie Rose” show via PBS last night to discuss an array of topics, but he also made sure to scold newly-public Facebook in regards to users’ data.

According to Venture Beat, Page well-wished Facebook on its IPO, and then he jumped to, “I think it’s been unfortunate that Facebook has been pretty closed with their data.” He also mentioned Google’s openness, and he subsequently criticized Facebook for lacking the ability to import Google contacts when joining the world-popular social network:

“From a user’s perspective, you say, ‘I’m joining Facebook. I want my contacts.’ In Google, we said, ‘Fine. You can get them from Google.’ And the issue we had is that then Facebook said, ‘No, Google, you can’t do the reverse.’ And so we just said, ‘Well, users don’t understand what they’re doing. They’re putting data in, and they don’t understand they can’t take it out.’ So we said, ‘Well, we’ll only participate with people who have reciprocity. And we’re still waiting.'”

Long story short: Google wants to share its users’ contacts with Facebook—if Facebook does the same with Google.

“You don’t want to be holding your users hostage […] We think it’s important that you as users of Google can take your data, and take it out if you need to, or take it somewhere else,” Page added.

The chief executive also touched upon his excitement with Chrome becoming the No. 1 most popular Web browser, the search engine’s confidence in legal issues concerning Oracle and its Java patents in Android, the persistent European Union antitrust investigation, and his hopes for Google Glasses.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Facebook announces App Center for all platforms and devices

Élyse Betters May 9 2012 - 2:33 pm PT

0 Comments

Facebook just announced that it is launching a new App Center—but it is not just for Facebook apps.

9to5Mac reported for months that Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company were planning a web-based alternative store to Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play dubbed “Project Spartan.” Speculation said the project is a framework for apps that would use social hooks, while working inside of Facebook’s ecosystem.

It seems those reports are ringing true, because the highly-anticipated HTML 5-based App Center will give Facebook users access to iOS, Android, web, mobile web, and desktop apps. Interestingly, Facebook reiterated that it is not competing directly with Apple or Google, because the App Center will send users to both the iOS and Android platforms. For example: If you are visiting Facebook’s App Center on an Android Device, and then enter Words with Friends, or one of the many Facebook-compatible games, you will soon beam to that app’s Google Play page for installation. The same holds true for iOS users.

“In the coming weeks, people will be able to access the App Center on the web and in the iOS and Android Facebook apps. All canvas, mobile and web apps that follow the guidelines can be listed. All developers should start preparing today to make sure their app is included for the launch,” explained Software Engineer Aaron Brady in a Facebook Developer’s blog post.

Expand
Expanding
Close