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Carlos Slim bows to Mexico telecoms reform
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil AMXL.MX said on Tuesday it is ready to divest assets in an unprecedented step to cut its market share in Mexican telecoms below 50 percent and escape the burden of tougher regulations.
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Mexico's lower house generally approves telecoms bill
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's lower house of Congress gave general approval on Tuesday to legislation that aims to rein in telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim and broadcaster Televisa to encourage more competition in the phone and TV markets. The approval was a victory for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has faced political opposition and a sluggish economy this year after he pushed a series of reforms through Congress in 2013 that were designed to spur faster growth in Mexico.
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Amazon courts Hachette authors by proposing they keep e-book revenue
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ratcheted up the pressure on Hachette Book Group by proposing the publisher's authors get all the revenue from ebooks sold by the ecommerce company, as both sides try to resolve their bitter months-long contract dispute.
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The Power of Mobility for SMB’s: Join the Twitter Chat July 16th!
Small businesses face many challenges and opportunities in today's business landscape. Mobile technology plays a major role in today's business and while it provides many positive options, it also creates many obstacles for today's small business. Businesses that are looking to grow and better serve their customers need technology solutions that support their ways of working. Securing and protecting confidential information, identifying the right mobile technology, using mobile strategically and implementing a BYOD strategy – these are all challenges faced by small business owners and decision makers. In our hour long twitter chat, we'll cover all the pros and cons of mobile technology and provide tips and strategies that any small business can employ.
To join the Twitter Chat follow along at : #HPGoinMobile
Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Time: 1pm to 2pm ET
How to Follow: Log into Twitter and follow the @HP_Smallbiz handle and add the hashtag #HPGoinMobile to your tweets. You can search the hashtag to watch the full conversation and see who else is participating.
And don't forget, we will be giving away some great prizes to some of our participants!
If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before and feel a little intimidated by it, then check out "How to Participate in a Twitter Chat" from Smallbiztrends and then join us on Wednesday the 16th!
The post The Power of Mobility for SMB’s: Join the Twitter Chat July 16th! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.
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60 Percent of Online Traffic Now Comes From Mobile
If your business depends upon online traffic, you should know. More than half of digital traffic online now comes from mobile devices and through mobile apps.
A comScore report says smartphones and tablets combined now account for 6o percent of all online traffic up from 50 percent a year ago. And 51 percent of that traffic is driven by mobile apps (like those for digital radio such as Pandora or Spotify, digital messaging like WhatsApp or Viber and social apps like Facebook and Twitter.)
Significantly, this is a very different measure than the amount of organic traffic driven by mobile, as cited in another recent report from SEO platform BrightEdge.
That study suggested that about 23 percent of organic traffic to websites now originates from Android or iPhone devices while 12 percent comes from tablets. But this report looked only at traffic originating from mobile search, in other words, someone looking for something using a search engine like Google or Bing via their phone or tablet.
The comScore report examines a much broader cross section of online traffic. It could just as easily be looking at visitors delivered to your website via a link on a Facebook app as from a mobile search for your business on a search engine.
One conclusion is that, while categories like digital radio and photo sites like Instagram and Flickr may draw more activity, for marketers (and small businesses) social media is most important.
In it’s official report, comScore explains:
“While social networking does not rank at the very top of this list among the most mobile-skewing content categories, it is arguably the most important. The #1 category in terms of overall digital engagement accounting for 20% of total digital time spent, social networking now generates more than 70% of its activity on mobile. When considering the category's contribution to total digital ad spending, its rapid shift to mobile marks an important sign of the times for the Internet economy.”
The report adds that:
- Mobile activity on social media has grown by 55 percent over the past year.
- It has also accounted for 31 percent of all growth in Internet activity over the same period.
- Facebook alone accounts for 24 percent of all mobile activity online and its primary app is responsible for 18 percent.
The report should give you a whole new perspective on the importance of social media marketing for your business, especially on sites like Facebook.
Mobile Photo via Shutterstock, comScore
The post 60 Percent of Online Traffic Now Comes From Mobile appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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Your Uncharged Phone Might Not be Allowed on Some Flights
If you travel for business regularly, especially overseas, beware. The Transportation Security Administration may be preventing phones — or other mobile devices like tablets or laptops — from being taken on fights if they can’t be powered up during inspection.
In an official announcement, the agency explained:
“As the traveling public knows, all electronic devices are screened by security officers. During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveler may also undergo additional screening.
TSA will continue to adjust security measures to ensure that travelers are guaranteed the highest levels of aviation security conducted as conveniently as possible.”
The TSA is not being specific about what might become of these devices, whether they might be confiscated or simply not allowed on flights.
The agency is currently saying the measures will only be taken at some airports — mainly overseas in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The efforts come at the direction of Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. In a statement, Johnson noted the “enhanced security measures” would be concentrated at certain overseas airports for direct flights to the U.S.
Though the statement also assured as few disruptions to travelers as possible, obviously loss of a mobile device relied upon for business while traveling would result in a major disruption.
But Johnson also said his office and the TSA would continue to adjust their security measurement as dictated by security concerns.
NBC News reported recently that the increased security measures may be the results of concerns that such devices could be used in terrorist plot.
Since the TSA isn’t giving any information about what airports will be affected — and since these kinds of operations can sometimes be expanded without notice, be sure mobile devices you carry with you are fully charged.
Otherwise, you could loose mobile devices with valuable business data.
Security Photo via Shutterstock
The post Your Uncharged Phone Might Not be Allowed on Some Flights appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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Forget About Amazon, Get Yourself a Google Product Ad
Many businesses including brick and mortar companies have worried in recent years that Amazon is stealing their retail business. This is because Amazon offers many products available in small shops and retail stores and even on some eCommerce sites and does it at a cheaper price.
In fact, Amazon has worked hard to promote its price difference in direct competition to brick and mortar stores, including many small businesses.
Remember the online retailer’s price-check app for Android released just in time for the 2011 holiday season? An iPhone version was launched only the year before.
And more recently, Amazon released its Fire Phone, the company’s first smartphone, with which you can take pictures of any product on a store shelf, search for it on Amazon’s database and buy it there.
But, putting these two items aside for the moment, there is still one big problem with Amazon’s total domination of online retail.
Customers must be searching Amazon specifically to find these products. And many customers looking for products online are likely searching Google instead, Business Insider reports.
Google, it turns out, is squashing some Amazon search results in favor of its own Google Product Ad listings.
The little known ads allow you to list products whether sold on your eCommerce site or anywhere else and get more visibility in Google Searches than if your product was listed on Amazon.
In its official Google Ads center, Google explains:
“Product Listing Ads are search ads that include richer product information, such as product image, price, and merchant name, without requiring additional keywords or ad text. Whenever a user enters a search query relevant to an item in your Google Merchant Center account, Google will automatically show the most relevant products along with the associated image, price and product name.”
Here’s a video to further explain how the Google Product Ad works:
Google says the ads are charged either in a cost-per-click or cost-per-conversion format and are only available to select U.S. residents…so far.
But demand for the ads and what they can do for products is expected to increase dramatically, according to a report by Marin Software, a software creator for the advertising industry.
By the end of 2014, the software company estimates one out of every three dollars paid for Google search advertising will be going to Google Product Ads, reports MarketWatch.
Images: Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Larry Page of Google from Wikipedia, Google Ad from Business Insider
The post Forget About Amazon, Get Yourself a Google Product Ad appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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7 Reasons Printer Ink Costs More Than Champagne
Printer ink costs a lot of money. But have you ever taken the time to figure out why?
I was recently in attendance at Hewlett-Packard’s “Science of Printing” event recently on behalf of Small Business Trends. There, I learned a bit about why printer ink costs are so high and why it’s priced the way it is. Below are seven reasons printer ink is such an investment.
It Takes Time to Develop
They might be small, but ink cartridges definitely aren't simple. Printing companies dedicate a lot of time and effort into figuring out the most effective way to get their ink onto your paper. That research and development costs money and some of that cost is reflected in the cost of cartridges.
It Takes Money to Develop
Ink cartridges include a lot more than just some ink and dye. They also include specialized solvents, water, and other solutions. All of these ingredients serve a purpose, from actually helping the ink adhere to the paper to preventing page curl. They also aren’t cheap.
Wired explains in some detail each of the common ingredients in an inkjet cartridge and how they play a part in everyday printing.
It's Specially Designed for Each Printer
There's not a one-size-fits all ink solution. Companies develop cartridges designed to work with each different device. So that's even more time, research and money that needs to go into each product. Companies release new printers constantly, so they also have to constantly develop new ink solutions.
Name Brands Focus on Quality
Though there are off brands and refills available, the more expensive cartridges that are specially designed for each model are priced as such for a reason. They are optimized to work with a particular printer. This means that the print heads are tuned to release an exact amount of ink and other substances, both during printing and maintenance cycles. Even a slight differentiation can harm your device or impact the quality of your prints, says HP Supplies Technology Specialist Thom Brown.
Budget Refills Can Harm Your Printer
The budget brands and cheap refills aren't designed with a specific printer in mind. So if you use ink that is intended for a daily-use printer on one that is rarely used, it could release too much ink during down time and cause damage. According to Brown, this can lead to a lot of hidden costs including wasted pages, reprints, and replacing faulty cartridges. (HP’s Thom Brown discusses ink affordability in the video above.)
You Use More Ink Than You Think You Do
Printers don't only use ink when printing documents. In a white paper on Ink Usage in Inject Printers, HP explains that cartridges actually release small amounts of ink during down time for servicing purposes. This can push out air bubbles or dried ink that builds up in cartridges if they sit idle for too long.
So if it seems like you don't get a lot of mileage out of each cartridge, know that some of it is used to keep your printer working properly.
You Might Not be Getting the Best Value
If it seems like you really don't get a lot of use out of each cartridge, you could just be using the wrong type of device. If you're a small business that prints documents daily, you need a printer designed for heavy use. If you only print the occasional photo, you need a model designed for that purpose.
HP, for example, has an Officejet line that’s designed specifically for small businesses. These models are designed for heavy use because their maintenance cycles don’t require much down time between jobs, according to Brown.
Both printers and their cartridges are designed for specific types of use. Choosing one that doesn't meet your needs will not only lead to you buying more ink than necessary, but it will also likely mean your printer won't last as long as it should.
Printer Ink Photo via Shutterstock
The post 7 Reasons Printer Ink Costs More Than Champagne appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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