Wireless and broadband may be Verizon’s bread and butter, but the company’s future relies on finding new ways to make money from its network. Verizon says its “principal interest” in AOL was the “ad tech platform that Tim Armstrong and his team have done a really terrific job building.” Francois G. Durand,/Getty Images And that’s …
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Tim Armstrong will continue to lead AOL after it’s absorbed by Verizon. Getty Images With advertisers’ dollars in mind, Verizon Communications plans to swallow up AOL and its digital content. Verizon announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal to acquire AOL for $50 per share, for a total value of $4.4 billion. A powerhouse during the dot-com boom more …
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All those other social networks Facebook runs? They’re getting big. James Martin/CNET Facebook is well on its way to building another Facebook. The world’s largest social network has been steadily growing its audience outside its namesake website and mobile app, encouraging people to connect using its Instagram photo sharing network, Messenger communicator app and WhatsApp text message replacement service. The …
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Instagram is beefing up its advertising technology. Jason Cipriani/CNET Instagram is expanding the types of ads it shows in its latest attempt to woo advertisers. The photo-focused social network said Wednesday it is introducing a “carousel” that allows advertisers to post a sequence of photos and a link to a website. The goal, Instagram said, is to make it easier …
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James Martin/CNET Twitter on Wednesday announced it’s acquiring a small New York start-up called Niche, which connects social media stars with brands in order to create sponsored content. Think of it as a sort of talent agency for Twitter and Vine celebrities. Twitter did not disclose terms of the deal, only that it’s signed an agreement to buy Niche, describing …
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It’s best not to drink and drone at the Super Bowl. (But if you do, at least get it to trend on social.) With the big game approaching Sunday, Facebook is gearing up a new advertising strategy: target users with real-time ads based on activity. Real-time ads are what Twitter does best during the Super Bowl, and Facebook hopes to …
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Google is trying to figure out how to make more money on mobile ads. Getty Images For the past few quarters, Google’s finances have been the story of same-old, same-old: Desktop search — its biggest business — is getting stale, but it still makes billions. The story stayed true on Thursday when Google reported lagging revenue, as more people find …
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The number of people accessing Facebook over a mobile device keeps climbing. Facebook’s mobile users are checking in, uploading photos and liking posts at record rates. And that, in turn, is attracting advertisers who pushed up Facebook’s revenue and profit. The world’s largest social network said nearly 84 percent of the 890 million people who used its service daily did …
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Facebook is hoping its data will convince advertisers to shift more spending in its direction. Facebook is expanding its latest effort to attract advertisers: A better way to track how an ad on the site influences a customer’s purchase in the real world. A year ago, the company unveiled a tool that helped advertisers determine whether someone who bought a …
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Looking at the dizzying pace of announcements, acquisitions and new initiatives, you could be forgiven for wondering when Facebook employees will sit back and take a break. Quite the contrary, one of the mottoes floating around the company’s Menlo Park, Calif., offices is that Facebook is only 1 percent through its “journey.” The company has already begun laying the groundwork …
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