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The business, which is similar to startups in the U.S. like Filld, Yoshi and Booster Fuels, took 10 months to design and receive approval for its proprietary refueling trucks that can withstand the unique stresses of providing logistics services in India.
Together with co-founder Nabin Roy, a serial startup entrepreneur, MyPetrolPump co-founder and chief executive Ashish Gupta pooled $150,000 to build the company’s first two refuelers and launch the business.
MyPetrolPump began operating out of Bangalore in 2017 working with a manufacturing partner to make the 20-30 refuelers that the company expects it will need to roll out its initial services. However, demand is far outstripping supply, according to Gupta.
“We would need hundreds of them to fulfill the demand,” Gupta says. In fact the company is already developing a licensing strategy that would see it franchise out the construction of the refueling vehicles and regional management of the business across multiple geographies.
Bootstrapped until this $1.6 million financing, MyPetrolPump already has five refueling vehicles in its fleet and counts 2,000 customers already on its ledger.
These are companies like Amazon and Zoomcar, which both have massive fleets of vehicles that need refueling. Already the company has delivered 5 million liters of fuel with drivers working daily 12-hour shifts, Gupta says.
While services like MyPetrolPump have cropped up in the U.S. as a matter of convenience, in the Indian context, the company’s offering is more of necessity, says Gupta.
“In the Indian context, there’s pilferage of fuel,” says Gupta. Bus drivers collude with gas station operators to skim money off the top of the order, charging for 50 liters of fuel but only getting 40 liters pumped in. Another problem that Gupta says is common is the adulteration of fuel with additives that can degrade the engine of a vehicle.
There’s also the environmental benefit of not having to go all over to refill a vehicle, saving fuel costs by filling up multiple vehicles with a single trip from a refueling vehicle out to a location with a fleet of existing vehicles.
The company estimates it can offset 1 million tons of carbon in a year — and provide more than 300 billion liters of fuel. The model has taken off in other geographies as well. There’s Toplivo v Bak in Russia (which was acquired by Yandex), Gaston in Paris and Indonesia’s everything mobility company, Gojek, whose offerings also include refueling services.
And Gupta is preparing for the future as well. If the world moves to electrification and electric vehicles, the entrepreneur says his company can handle that transition as well.
“We are delivering a last-mile fuel delivery system,” says Gupta. “If tomorrow hydrogen becomes the dominant fuel we will do that… If there is electricity we will do that. What we are building is the convenience of last-mile delivery to energy at the doorstep.”
Grab — the on-demand transportation app worth $14 billion that is the Uber of Southeast Asia — today announced how it would be using some of the $7 billion or so that it has raised to date: $2 billion provided by SoftBank is being earmarked Grab’s operations in Indonesia — the biggest economy in Southeast Asia — over the next five years, to help it go head-to-head with local rival Gojek.
Specifically, Grab said it and SoftBank met with Indonesian government officials and have agreed to use the money to help modernise the country’s transportation infrastructure and economy with the development of an electronic vehicle “ecosystem”, new geo-mapping solutions, and the establishment of a second headquarters for Grab in Jakarta focused on R&D for Indonesia and the wider region, to sit alongside its existing HQ in Singapore.
Grab has confirmed that this investment news does not affect the company’s valuation as it’s not fresh funding — although it looks like it might lead to another, new SoftBank injection in Grab, too.
“I’d like to invest more… We would invest (in) Grab more, and also encourage to invest more in other companies,” SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said in a press conference earlier today. “We will create a second headquarters of Grab in Indonesia, and become 5th unicorn and also invest $2b through Grab. On top of that, we will invest more.”
Grab last raised money just four weeks ago, $300 million from Invesco as part of a larger, ongoing Series H that it wants to use in part for acquisitions. That round is already at around $4.5 billion, with SoftBank having already put in just under $1.5 billion. This $2 billion is on top of that previous round, the company said today.
The company’s last reported valuation from a couple of months ago was around $14 billion, a figure that we have been able to confirm remains the same today.
“With our presence in 224 cities, Indonesia is our largest market and we are committed to long-term sustainable development of the country,” said Anthony Tan, CEO of Grab, in a statement. “We are delighted to facilitate this SoftBank investment, as we believe by investing in digitizing critical services and infrastructure, we hope to accelerate Indonesia’s ambition to become the largest digital economy in the region and improve the livelihoods of millions in the country.” Indonesia accounts for the lion’s share of Grab’s business in terms of total footprint: its in 338 countries overall, meaning this country accounts for two-thirds of the whole list.
The news puts Grab head to head with another big on-demand transportation startup Gojek: the two were already rivals in the region, but GoJek is based out of Jakarta and has been the dominant player in that specific market up to now.
Indeed, the deal is notable not just for the amount, but for how it casts both Grab and SoftBank as allies of the government, not just accepted as businesses but endorsed as key players in helping improve the Indonesian economy and how the country is able to deliver critical services like healthcare and transportation, as well as give more services to drive the growth of “micro-entrepreneurs” by way of Grab-Kudo, the payments startup in the country that Grab acquired in 2017 for less than $100 million.
Given the track record that companies like Uber have had in locking horns with regulators, this puts Grab immediately into a strong position in terms of introducing and running with new services in the future. Its restaurant delivery business, GrabFood, is already the largest in the region, it claimed today.
Grab said the financial commitment was the result of a meeting between Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group, Anthony Tan, CEO of Grab and Ridzki Kramadibrata, President of Grab Indonesia, at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
“Indonesia’s technology sector has huge potential,” said Son in a statement. “I’m very happy to be investing $2 billion into the future of Indonesia through Grab.”
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan also had words supporting the deal: “Supported by the growing economy, Indonesia has a good investment climate where we are working together to boost the ease of investment in Indonesia,” he said. “This investment is evidence that Indonesia has been on the radar of investors, especially in the technology sector. We look forward to working with Grab, the fifth unicorn in Indonesia, and SoftBank to empower SMEs, accelerate tourism, and improving health services.”
This deal is a win on a couple of levels for Grab.
Most obviously, it’s giving the company a huge injection of capital to continue expanding its business aggressively in what is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, with GDP of around $1 trillion annually.
A well-worn strategy by on-demand transportation companies — typified by others like Uber, Lyft and Didi — is to go big and go fast in order to establish a market presence among drivers and passengers, which can be used as a foothold to expand into other areas like food or package delivery and to then increase prices to improve margins.
Given that Indonesia is Gojek’s home country, and given that Indonesia is one of the biggest markets in the region, this makes it one of the most important territories for Grab to — err — grab.
“Grab is an Indonesia-focused company,” said Ridzki Kramadibrata, president of Grab Indonesia, in a statement today. “Having our second headquarters in Jakarta will allow us to better serve the needs of all Indonesians and those from emerging economies in the region. As a technology decacorn, Grab very well understands the needs and challenges we have here. We are also well positioned to support more high tech industries and infrastructure companies originating from Indonesia.”
On another front, this is an important strategy for the company on the regulatory and government front.
In a climate where it’s not unusual to see companies banned from operating in markets where they have run afoul of officials and the public, Grab is essentially buying its way into working with the state, and actually taking a commercial role in building its infrastructure. This — offering help with building infrastructure and simply passing on some of its experience and learnings — is a route that Didi has also been taking to make its way into new markets.
Grab said that it has invested $1 billion to date in Indonesia before now, and it said that its contribution to the economy in 2018 was $3.5 billion (48.9 trillion Indonesian rupiahs).
Updated to clarify that this is NOT a new infusion of capital, but a specification of how existing investments will be used. Meanwhile, Grab is still raising money and SoftBank said it wants to invest more.
When it comes to VC, vehicles, and startups, Africa’s ride-hail markets are becoming a multi-wheeled and global affair.
The big players such as Uber and Bolt are competing in Kampala and Nairobi—where in addition to car-service—they offer rickshaw taxis. On-demand motorcycle startups are multiplying and piloting EVs with funds from international partners. And many ride-hail companies in Africa are adapting unique product solutions to local transit needs.
In this analysis, I take a look at the leading startups in the mobility space and how the future of transportation on the continent will increasingly come from new entrants.
Africa’s in the midst of digital innovation boom, the components of which are intersecting rapidly across its 54 countries and 1.2 billion people.
Smartphone penetration is improving and in 2017, the continent saw the largest global increase in internet users—20 percent.
By Partech data, the continent surpassed the $1 billion VC mark in 2018. And greater connectivity and venture funding are fueling thousands of startups in every imaginable sector, including digital-transit.
While reliable markets stats for the size and potential of Africa’s ride-hail markets are sparse, there are some indicators of the sector’s potential.
Car ownership and cars per capita in Africa is among the lowest in the world. Parallel to that, any eyes and ears survey of the continent’s big cities reveals that shared transport by buses, cars, or motorcycles is big business that’s already ingrained in consumer culture. Millions of people daily pay fares to pack onto East and West Africa’s Mutatu and Danfo minibuses and Okada and Boda Boda motorbike taxis.
As Africa continues to urbanize, converts to smartphones, and discretionary consumer spending continues to rise—it all adds up to suggest strong potential for conversion to on-demand mobility services.
Unsurprisingly, the most active markets for ride-hail startups and investment in Africa align with the continent’s top spots for VC and tech activity: primarily Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.


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BlackBerry PlayBook to run Android apps
By Nicole Kobie
Posted on 25 Mar 2011 at 08:46
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will run Android apps, Research in Motion has confirmed.
The lack of apps for the device has been seen as a major weak spot for the BlackBerry PlayBook, which runs on the QNX platform, thus rendering apps designed for BlackBerry smartphones incompatible.
To counter that, RIM has created players for BlackBerry Java apps as well as Android apps - opening up access to hundreds of thousands of games and other software.
The apps won't be access via the Android Market. Instead, developers will have to submit their applications to the BlackBerry App World. The apps will run inside dedicated, sandboxed players.
RIM also unveiled its native software development kit for the PlayBook, to let developers create apps that run directly on the tablet.
The dev kit will hit beta by this summer, RIM said, adding it supports C/C++ development as well as HTML5, Flash and AIR.
RIM announced its financial results, saying net profit jumped 32% for the quarter. However, its forecast for the year was gloomier, as RIM said it would see tighter profit margins as it spends heavily ahead of the launch of the PlayBook.
RIM CEO Jim Balsillie said the firm expects to ship "millions" of the device in the coming year, and would release QNX smartphones by early next year.
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domain: news


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[UPDATE] Nope, Apple didn't wise up. As Gizmodo reports 36 hours later:
The joy didn't last long. According to an iPhone developer, the new "Explicit" option available this morning on the App Store submission software is now gone. He just got off the telephone with Apple, who confirmed the removal.
According to the developer, Apple said that, while they are thinking about it, "it's not going to happen anytime soon."With the iPad launch a month away, Apple will be dealing with this much sooner than it thinks.
A developer writes to us and says this might all be academic soon: "Looks like Apple are adding a category called Explicit to the App Store," he says... [adding] "It's available for selection when adding a new app to iTunesConnect although I can't see any sign of it in the actual App Store yet."It sounds like common sense: Deal with the issue without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Along the way, though, Apple still eliminated a reported 5,000 apps, perhaps in an effort to knock the glut of "sexy" apps off the top 25.
If it's wise, Apple can learn a couple lessons from the past week:
- Apple is flushing out money for vague ethics: Many "sexy apps" were in the Top 25 apps -- perhaps the reason for the mass booting -- and several sources report a number one app can get 50,000 hits per day. Apple gets 30 percent of the app price. Even if these apps were the basement-level $.99 price, we're talking tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. It's a lot to give up for a nebulous set of standards.
- Apple can no longer make drastic App Store changes without warning: A "scrubbing" of the App Store might have worked the first six months, but eighteen months and some 140,000 apps later, any major decision will affect hundreds of developers and perhaps thousands of lives. The business community and the consumers themselves will not tolerate fickleness from here on out.
- Apple needs to trust consumers: Unlike Wal-Mart, Apple users identify with the brand as smart, hip, and urbane. Restricting content is in none of these attributes. Did you notice the first collective thought with the sexy app removal? Not protection, but censorship.


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HouseValues' quarterly revenue jumps 75 percent
KIRKLAND -- For the quarter, HouseValues Inc. reported revenue of $25.2 million, an increase of 75 percent from the comparable quarter last year. Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $4 million, up 117 percent from the prior year. Fourth-quarter earnings were 15 cents per diluted share compared with 8 cents per diluted share in the 2004 period.
HouseValues helps real estate agents use the Internet to find new home buyers and sellers.
Comcast, on a hiring binge, plans to add 130 positions
Strong growth in cable, Internet and telephone services is prompting Comcast to hire 130 employees in the Puget Sound region, the company said Tuesday. In the next 90 days, the company hopes to fill about 40 technician positions at its Redmond office, said Steve Kipp, a Comcast spokesman. It also is hiring customer service representatives for call centers in Everett and Fife.
Entry-level wages for the customer service and technician positions will range from about $10.50 to $13.50 per hour, Kipp said.
- Managing household finances Media: Fox7
- Video Marketing Is The Key For Engagement and Revenue: Study Media: Buzz 60
- Want to Make it Big in Business? ‘Million Dollar Listing’ Star Says Take this Class Media: Buzz 60
- Coca-Cola & Marijuana Infused Drinks?! Media: Fortune
- Apple to unveil 3 new iPhones Media: Fox29
- Mercedes-Benz Vision URBANETIC - Into the city of the future with Vision URBANETIC Media: AutomotoTV
- Trump To Apple On Tariff Impact: Make Your Products In The US Instead Of China Media: GeoBeats
- After 84 years, Pacific Steel in Berkeley to close Media: KTVU
- Nike Will Air Colin Kaepernick Ad During NFL Opener Media: Daily Press
- Trump's Tariffs Could Hit $200 Billion of Chinese Goods Media: Wibbitz
- Back Story: Moon Meals CEO LaForce Baker on growth of business Media: Chicago Tribune
- Coca-Cola To Buy U.K. Coffee Giant Costa Limited Media: Fortune
- Harley celebrates anniversary amid controversy Media: Associated Press
- Amazon is Now Reportedly Creating a Free TV Streaming Service That Could Rival Roku Media: Buzz 60
- British PM plans to boost investment in Africa Media: Euronews
- US Army, NASA And Uber Work Toward Making Flying Taxis A Reality Media: GeoBeats
- Local businesses work to rebuild honeybee population Media: Fox5Atlanta
- The 10 Best-Selling Albums in US History Media: Wibbitz
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Overstock to restate financial results, dating back to 2002
NEW YORK -- Online closeout retailer Overstock.com Inc. said Tuesday that it would restate previously reported financial results going back to 2002 to correct how it accounted for freight costs.
The accounting error affects annual financial reports for 2002, 2003 and 2004 and quarterly reports for 2004 and 2005.
The accounting correction will lower the net loss reported in each affected annual period, Overstock said, while boosting inventory as of Sept. 30 by $3.5 million.
The accounting change will also reduce the net losses reported for the 2002 and 2003 fiscal years, Overstock said. The company said it will file amended quarterly reports for each of the first three quarters of 2005 as soon as practicable.
AOL going ahead with fee on mass senders of e-mail
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- America Online is vowing to carry out its plans to institute fees for mass senders of e-mail, despite protests from groups representing 15 million people that claim the move will stifle communications instead of merely halting spam.
Political group MoveOn.org Civic Action, the AFL-CIO labor union and other organizations have criticized the service, which will charge senders a fee to route their messages directly to AOL users' mailboxes without first passing through AOL junk mail filters.
AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., contends the system will help it reduce spam because only legitimate senders of mass e-mail are likely to pony up the fee -- ranging from a fourth of a cent to 1 cent per message. But critics say the system will end up blocking many e-mails from groups that can't afford the fee.
AOL said it was undeterred and planned to offer the service within the next 30 days.
Speaker system for iPod players now available
CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Reaching further into living rooms, Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday introduced a speaker system for its iPod music players and a revamped Mac Mini computer that will let users access music, video and photos across their home networks.
The new Mac Mini looks much like its previous incarnations but is the first to include Intel Corp. chips. With the iPod Hi-Fi system -- priced at $349 -- users can dock their portable players into the speakers and use a remote control to operate it from afar.
Verizon cutting 3,500 jobs from its business division
Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, plans to cut 10 percent of workers in the division that targets business clients as part of the integration of MCI Inc. The cuts of 3,500 jobs are part of a three-year plan to eliminate 7,000 of the Verizon Business division's 35,000 workers, the company said Tuesday.


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After last year’s “Twilight” pic yielded a blockbuster soundtrack, there was no shortage of established and emerging acts eager to contribute tunes to the next installment, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
All the songs on the “New Moon” soundtrack, which hits music outlets Friday from Chop Shop/Atlantic, are previously unreleased and exclusive to the film. Album’s release date was moved up four days after film’s closely guarded music leaked onto the Web Monday.
Album, intensely anticipated by “Twilight” devotees a month before feature’s release, should prove to be a key component in pic’s opening, according to Atlantic Records g.m./exec VP Livia Tortella.
“Summit has a very scrappy marketing aesthetic,” Tortella said. “They know how to work with a record company.”
About half of the 15 acts on the album consulted with “New Moon” director Chris Weitz before penning their tunes, according to Chop Shop’s Alex Patsavas, who co-produced the soundtrack album with Paul Katz, head of Eye2Ear Music and Summit’s music liaison.
“A good number of the songs were the result of meeting Chris and spending time in the cutting room with the already edited movie,” Patsavas said.
Set features indie rock acts like Lykke Li, Bon Iver & St. Vincent, Sea Wolf and Grizzly Bear alongside better-known acts such as Muse (also heard on the first “Twilight” album), Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke, OK Go and Death Cab for Cutie, who cut lead-off track “Meet Me on the Equinox.”
The soundtrack “appeals to a slightly older demographic, a more artistic demographic,” Tortella said.
Patsavas noted the tracks move away from the more hard-rocking feel of the first “Twilight” package to reflect the content of the pic itself.
” ‘New Moon’ has a more somber tone in many ways,” Patsavas said. “A quieter feel for the music seemed to make sense.”
Added Katz: “The music is cool, but it’s a manifestation of the film … It has a lot to do with Chris’ view of things, plus Alex, who is a maven of that (indie-rock) world.”
The first “Twilight” soundtrack has sold nearly 2.3 million copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. Nearly a year after release, it hovers at No. 77 on this week’s U.S. album chart.
The “New Moon” soundtrack was a top Twitter topic all week, especially Wednesday, when the “New Moon” album began a one-day streaming on pic’s MySpace page.
Goth-friendly mall merchandiser Hot Topic will host album release parties across the country at 7 tonight. A tour of soundtrack talent in conjunction with the retail chain is planned.
A major mass merchant will also get into the act: On Nov. 10, an exclusive “New Moon” CD/DVD package goes on sale at Target stores.
Die-hard wax fanatics can buy a 12-inch picture disc (exclusive to Hot Topic) and a deluxe vinyl edition, due in November.
Summit’s film sequel, based on the second entry in author Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular series of novels, opens Nov. 20. Original “Twilight” pic grossed more than $380 million worldwide — $191 million domestic, $192 million foreign.


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Online marketplaces in the United States including Amazon face hurdles in keeping counterfeiters off their platforms and fake merchandise from entering their warehouses. The new programme mimics data exchange programmes by the credit card industry to find scammers and identify their tactics.
Stores and Amazon marketplace sellers can anonymously contribute information and records flagging counterfeiters to a third-party database or use the database to avoid doing business with the bad actors.
“We think it is critical to share information about confirmed counterfeiters to help the entire industry stop these criminals earlier,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of selling partner services, said in a statement.
The Seattle-based retail giant piloted the anti-counterfeiting initiative in 2021 with an undisclosed number of apparel, home goods and cosmetics stores, where counterfeiting is most common.
As part of other anti-counterfeiting efforts, Amazon is also working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on a data pilot that helps the company identify and target low-value e-commerce shipments that may be counterfeit goods or break other regulations.
Discover the stories of your interest
Six million counterfeit items removedAmazon removed six million counterfeit items globally from the supply chain in 2022, the company said in a report earlier this month. The ecommerce firm said that it stopped over 800,000 attempts to create new selling accounts in 2022, preventing bad actors from publishing a single product for sale.
The figure has come down from 2.5 million attempts in 2021, and 6 million attempts in 2020.
“The strategic combination of industry-leading technology and experts are successfully stopping bad actors and making an impact beyond Amazon’s marketplaces and stores – identifying, seizing, and appropriately disposing of over six million counterfeit products in 2022, preventing them from reaching customers and being resold elsewhere in the global supply chain,” the report said.
The report said Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit sued or referred for investigation over 1,300 criminals in the US, UK, EU, and China in 2022.


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Kanye West's Worth Was Listed at $6.6 Billion, Forbes Says More Like $1.8 Billion
Last week, multiple outlets, including Entrepreneur, reported that the artist was worth more than $6 billion, but Forbes has since disputed that figure.
After Bloomberg initially reported that hip-hop entrepreneur and producer Kanye West had become the richest Black man in America earlier this week with a worth of $6.6 billion, Forbes did a recalculation and determined that Yeezy is actually worth $1.8 billion.
According to Complex, after the Bloomberg story was published, the purported combined value of West's Yeezy and Yeezy Gap deal was listed at potentially $4.7 billion, added to additional assets he has, led to the revelation of his net worth being estimated at $6.6 billion. That amount would have made him the richest Black person in the United States.
This is when the Forbes article stated that the $6.6 billion figure was disputed because the calculations that Bloomberg gave were theoretical ones. The $1.8 billion that was determined by Forbes is based on current revenues instead.
Forbes' staff writer Madeline Berg wrote, "West's wildly optimistic approach to his net worth mirrors the approach used by Donald Trump, who insists the value of his name be included in any net worth estimate. Trump, who we value at $2.5, says his brand has an intrinsic value, regardless of actual revenue. West and his camp are making a similar argument for businesses attached to the Yeezy name."
XXL has reported that Vista Equity's Robert F. Smith is actually the richest Black person in the United States as his reported net worth has been estimated at $6 billion. Nigeria's Aliko Dangote is listed as the richest Black person in the world with a reported net worth that amounts to $11.8 billion.
Earlier this month, West released his new Yeezy shoes, the Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites, and it sold out by 7:01 AM on March 6. The shoes were available on YeezySupply.com and Adidas app. Sources say that the shoes had a retail value of $200. Now, people are selling the shoes for double the retail value.
Entrepreneur Editors' Picks
'No One Believed' This Black Founder Was the Owner of a Liquor Brand in 2012. He Launched to Great Acclaim — Then Lost It All. Here's How He Made a Multi-Million-Dollar Comeback.
Inspired by Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover, Here Are 10 Marketing Tactics That Will Help You Make the Most of Big Changes to Your Company
These Brothers Transformed a High School Project Into the Largest Online Soccer Retailer of All Time. Here's What the World Cup Means for Business Now.
'I Just Lost All My Life Savings': Michigan Woman Lost $15,000 in Facebook Marketplace Car Scam
This Founder Was Dismayed by Food Waste in the Restaurant Industry, So She Started a Zero-Waste Grocery Line That Now Caters Events for Nike
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Franchising Could Be the Secret to Reaping the Rewards of a Down Economy. Here Are 5 Reasons Why.


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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether stripes, chevrons, zigzags, color blocks, and other design elements in a cheerleading uniform can be copyrighted.
The Court will hear an appeal from Star Athletica, LLC who is defending a lawsuit brought by Varsity Brands LLC, the world?s largest cheerleading-apparel company. Varsity Brands is alleging that Star Athletica copied five of their proprietary designs.
Varsity Brands has registered copyrights for multiple graphic designs that appear on their cheerleading uniforms and warm-ups they sell. Star Athletica also sells cheerleading gear bearing graphic designs that, according to Varsity Brands, are substantially similar to the designs for which Varsity Brands has valid copyrights.
Star Athletica claims that Varsity Brand?s copyrights are invalid because the designs at issue are unprotectable ?design[s] of?useful article[s].?
Under federal law, a design can be copyrighted if it is separable from a product?s utilitarian or useful aspects. Essentially, the U.S. Supreme Court has to decide where the functional design of a cheerleading uniform ends and the graphic design begins. Star Athletica?s main argument is that the colorful designs of the uniforms are an inseparable part of the uniforms because they identify the wearer as a cheerleader.
The issue to be decided by the Court has come up in various cases around the country, all with different outcomes. Public Knowledge, a non-profit organization that promotes freedom of expression, an open Internet, and access to affordable creative works, said in a brief opposing Varsity Brand, ?that a costume replica may be noninfringing at a San Diego convention but infringing in New York? due to the inconsistencies. The Supreme Court will attempt to come up with a nationwide standard to determine whether clothing designs can be copyrighted.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the nine-month term that starts in October.


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This week's Top 5 articles has you covered on the major storylines and articles on the site this week. Valheim took over the Steam Charts this week, selling over 1 million copies in its first week. We really have enjoyed our romp thus far through the survival game thanks to its common sense systems and beautiful visuals.
BlizzConline 2021 is set to kick off next week, and the gaming giant has you covered with its schedule to the free two-day digital event. If you're looking to what kind of Tank you can be in Ashes of Creation, we've got the information in our developer journal diving into the role and its skills in Intrepid's upcoming MMORPG.
And some industry news as Riot Games, the company best known for League of Legends, has their CEO facing a lawsuit from one of its former employees, accusing the CEO of sexual harrassment. Finally, CD Projekt Red was the victim of a ransomware attack this past week, the company revealed. According to cybersecurity expert KELA, it seems the people responsible have already sold the ransomed source code in the deep web.


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By Nick Rigitano
NSGA Director of Insights and Analysis
DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS (October 17, 2023) – With the 2023 holiday season quickly approaching, NSGA has been keeping note of the holiday sales growth forecasts released by multiple organizations. The overall sentiment from the retail holiday forecasts released thus far is moderate growth expected for the upcoming season with the largest gains being driven by the e-commerce channel.
According to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast, holiday retail sales (Nov. 2022–Jan. 2023) are likely to increase between 3.5 and 4.6 percent compared to last year. Last year’s holiday sales came in slightly higher than expected, growing by 7.6 percent. E-commerce is expected to play a big role again this holiday season and is forecasted to grow between 10.3-12.8 percent.
“We expect healthy employment and income growth to keep the volume of sales growing for the 2023 holiday season,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s U.S. economic forecaster. “Inflation, which accounted for much of the increase in the value of retail sales last year, should moderate. This means the total value of retail sales will grow more slowly than last year. Our forecast also reflects a decreasing pool of pandemic-era savings, both of which will weigh on retail sales and are reflected in our lower projected growth for the season.”
Mastercard is anticipating US retail sales to grow 3.7 percent this holiday season (Nov. 1–Dec. 24), according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures overall retail sales across all payment types. As is the norm in today’s omnichannel world, consumers are expected to shop across all channels with e-commerce expected to increase 6.7 percent and in-store sales to increase 2.9 percent.
In addition, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is expecting retail sales to grow by 3.8 percent year-over-year this holiday season (Nov & Dec). The ICSC noted that 8-in-10 shoppers expect to spend about the same as or more than they did last year during the holiday season. This figure shows a slight uptick compared to the 73 percent of consumers who said the same in 2022, reflecting continued and consistent spending while navigating economic pressures like inflation and higher interest rates. Regarding purchase channels, the ICSC expects consumers once again to take advantage of omnichannel shopping with 87 percent of holiday shoppers planning to shop in-store and 75 percent planning to purchase items online.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is forecasting holiday spending (November and December) to grow between 3 to 4 percent compared to 2022. This forecast compares lower to last year’s holiday forecast of 6-8 percent but is consistent with the average annual holiday increase of 3.6 percent from 2010-2019. Online and other non-store sales, which are included in the figure, are expected to once again be strong, increasing between 7-9 percent. Prior to releasing the forecast, the organization provided a preview of how consumers are expected to shop this year.
According to NRF’s September Consumer Survey, while many consumers planned to start their holiday shopping earlier this year than normal, the majority (58%) said they planned to finish shopping in December. This leaves the door open for many shoppers to take part in the all-important Thanksgiving weekend rush. Last year, NRF reported a record high of 196.7 million shoppers for Thanksgiving weekend, a 6.7 percent increase over the three-year average of 185.3 million shoppers from 2019-2021.
NRF’s October Consumer Survey revealed that consumers planning to celebrate winter holidays expect to spend an average of $875 on gifts, decorations, food and other key seasonal items. This represents an increase of $42 compared to 2022 and is slightly above the 5-year average holiday budget of $866.
As for Canadian retailers, the holiday outlook appears to be unprecedentedly positive. According to the Retail Council of Canada’s 6th annual Holiday Shopping Survey, Canadians are likely to spend $898 on average this holiday season, substantially higher than the $782 they planned to spend last season. To help shoppers decide which retailers to buy from this year, Canadians are prioritizing holiday sales/promotions (66%) and free shipping (55%). They are also looking for in-store exclusives (48%) and distinct online promotions (60%) to provide additional value. Among the retail channels shoppers will turn to, in-store shopping will benefit from value bundles (26%) and product sampling (25%). Conversely, online shopping will be amplified by unique product offers and extended return policies, both at 33%.
Editor’s Note: This story includes updates from NRF on November 7, 2023 and for ICSC and RCC on October 31, 2023. For updates on additional holiday retail sales forecasts as they are released, be sure to stay tuned to NSGA’s bi-weekly scoreboard newsletter as well as NSGA’s website.
TopicsShopping Centers National Retail Federation Holidays Shopping Deloitte Mastercard ICSC NRF Retail NSGA


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SALT LAKE CITY — Boy Scouts set out to the streets Saturday, hoping to collect more than enough food to provide at least 1 million meals for Utah's hungry.
It is the 28th year for the organization's statewide forage for non-perishable food and the largest effort to restock scant shelves at the Utah Food Bank.
"The food gathered across the state will have a great impact on the one in five Utah kids at risk of missing a meal today," said Ginette Bott, chief development officer at the Utah Food Bank. She said 472,000 Utahns live unsure of where their next meal will come from.
According to the Utah Food Bank, one in six Utahns (17 percent) live in poverty.
Bott said the most-needed food items — canned soups and stews, peanut butter, boxed meals and canned meats and vegetables — will be distributed throughout a statewide network of 130 emergency food pantries and agencies that assist families in need all year long.
The bags were distributed empty and then set out for the Scouts curb-side when filled, helping the young boys fulfill their duty to be useful and serve others.
Last year, during the Scouting for Food event, 55,000 Scouts and their adult leaders helped to collect 36.3 million pounds of food and goods — the equivalent of approximately 28.4 million meals for families and individuals in need, according to the food bank.
The Utah Food Bank also served over 200,000 Kids Cafe meals, delivered nearly 42,000 food boxes and filled more than 62,000 kids' backpacks for weekends and school holidays.
Pantry supplies are typically lower in the springtime, statewide, following particularly busy winter/holiday season requests from hungry Utahns.
The food bank accepts food and cash donations year-round at all Harmon's grocery stores, as well as at the main warehouse, 3150 S. 900 West in Salt Lake City. A list of participating pantries throughout the state can be found online at www.utahfoodbank.org.
Email: [email protected], Twitter: wendyleonards


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When the new rules for net neutrality arrive, rest assured the big wireless carriers will be unhappy. But they can take solace in at least one victory. "Zero-rating" programs, in which operators turn their pipes into advertising and promotional channels, will likely remain intact in the broadband regulation -- and might even flourish.
Last week, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), laid out most of the coming internet rules with clarity. Yet he was less clear on another area: "zero-rating." It's a practice that is becoming more common. Carriers, often in partnership with marketers, subsidize the data used by consumers for particular mobile apps or websites.
In January 2014, AT&T launched Sponsored Data, a service that allows advertisers to sponsor mobile data for its subscribers. All other major national carriers are considering similar products, according to multiple executives familiar with the industry. The two smaller players, T-Mobile and Sprint, have deployed zero-rating in recent phone plan promotions.
Amid rapid shifts in the wireless industry, carriers are turning to zero-rating because it generates revenue and appeals to customers. For marketers, zero-rating ensures more consumers view their promotions and engage with their content.
After the new FCC rules are implemented, adoption of zero-rating programs could accelerate. Increasingly, carriers are using mobile data as a weapon in the wireless war. As data grows as a revenue source -- and expense -- for the carriers, they may look to brands to help carry the cost, using an avenue that regulators permit. "The cost to younger 'video-hungry' consumers for mobile use is only going to continue exploding," said Karl Spangenberg, strategy consultant at MediaLink, which works with several telecommunications companies.
Still, the initiatives will face more careful scrutiny, though they will likely be allowed to continue. Gigi Sohn, special counsel of external affairs at the FCC, said the agency would review the practice on a "case by case basis." She described a "safety net" approach, assessing whether internet service providers are hindering consumer choice with their behavior.
"We do not take a position on zero-rating," Ms. Sohn said during a C-Span interview last week. "But if somebody were to bring a complaint -- and they'd have to do -- it would be viewed under that safety-net lens."
According to an FCC spokesman, when the regulation is presented for a vote, zero-rating will not be included in the litany of banned practices.
Mobile data, brought to you by
When AT&T launched Sponsored Data, the carrier touted the potential benefits for advertisers from an array of industries. A healthcare company could sponsor a mobile video on fitness, covering the viewers data bill. Media companies could subsidize movie trailers or new apps they're hawking.
Expedia ran a campaign this fall with Freeway, the zero-rating app from Syntonic, over AT&T's network. Susie Kim Riley, CEO of Aquto, one of ten companies that powers AT&T's Sponsored Data program, said Aquto has managed campaigns for eight advertisers in the past two quarters. She said advertisers see upwards of 200% more engagement on zero-rated content.
"We are seeing encouraging adoption rates by users during the trials because customers respond very positively when content is sponsored," Steven Schwadron, an AT&T spokesman, said in an email. He declined to comment on the advertisers involved or the program's subscriber reach.
The success seems to be breeding imitators. Several wireless carriers in the U.S. and Europe are exploring similar programs to turn their pipes into advertising channels, according to ad-tech executives. And they are all watching the FCC ruling carefully.
"All the operators have skin in the game," said Mr. Greenbaum, "or plan to have skin in the game."
Representatives from Verizon and Sprint declined to comment about their pursuit of sponsored data initiatives. In June, T-Mobile introduced "Music Freedom," a promotional plan allowing subscribers to stream music without data charges. It works like other zero-rating programs, only T-Mobile foots the data bill, not advertisers. Clint Patterson, a T-Mobile spokesman, said the carrier does not run sponsored data initiatives in partnership with advertisers.
The FCC's stance is not finalized. Its first verdict on the regulation comes on February 26th, when the FCC votes on the proposal.
"It's a little bit of reading the tea-leaves now," said Gary Greenbaum, CEO of Syntonic Wireless, another AT&T partner. "It's still unknown."


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More Articles for construction of roads and highways
by Tina Grady Barbaccia In hopes to “provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled,” President Barack Obama on Sept. 8 introduced the bi-partisan “American Jobs Act,” a $447 billion measure he says has a simple purpose – “to put ...
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Wearables Technologies Magazine posted a recent interview with Fit Pay, Inc. Co-founder and CEO Michael Orlando. You can see the complete interview here.
FitPay, a wholly owned subsidiary of NXT-ID, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXTD), is a proprietary technology platform that adds contactless payment capabilities to wearable and IoT devices with very little start-up time, no investment in software development and instant access to the leading card networks. With payment capabilities powered by FitPay, IoT device manufacturers can create customer loyalty, tap into recurring revenue streams, open new markets, and differentiate their products in a competitive marketplace.
Recent Blog Posts
- Garmin® and NXT-ID Subsidiary FitPay Expand Garmin Pay to Visa AccountholdersDecember 5, 2017 - 6:00 pm
- Garmin® and NXT-ID Subsidiary FitPay Announce Garmin Pay Now Live on Garmin vívoactive® 3 SmartwatchNovember 17, 2017 - 1:32 pm
- NXT-ID and FitPay to Exhibit at Money20/20, 2017October 17, 2017 - 8:27 pm
- NXT-ID Subsidiary Fit Pay Selected as a Finalist for 2017 IoT Innovator AwardsOctober 9, 2017 - 2:30 pm


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A Johnston County homeowner says a delivery driver caused extensive damage to his home.
On December 14th, a driver for Amazon was making a delivery to an address on Highway 231 in the Corinth Holders community when the driver accidentally struck the side of the home with the delivery van.
The home sustained approximately $10,000 in damages. No one in the home was injured.
No charges were filed against the driver.


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Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A few major American companies released quarterly and year-end earnings results on Thursday, which mostly beat analysts' expectations.
The software giant announced second quarter results on Thursday that easily beat expectations -- thanks largely to a new cloud product that doubled revenue.
The key cloud product, Azure, grew by 93 percent from last year, the company said.
"Our customers are seeing greater value and opportunity as we partner with them through their digital transformation," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. "Accelerating advancements in AI across our platforms and services will provide further opportunity to drive growth in the Microsoft Cloud."
Earnings were helped by Microsoft's completed acquisition of professional networking site LinkedIn.
Q2 revenue was listed at $26 billion (83 cents per share) with a net income of $6.5 billion. Shares of Microsoft stock have increased by 23 percent in the last 12 months.
The American automaker boasted fourth quarter earnings that met expectations on Thursday, with $38.7 billion in revenue and $800 million net income.
Ford announced full-year revenue of $151 billion and net income of $4.6 billion. Much of that performance was fueled by sales of its F-Series pickups, which Ford said became the best-selling truck in America for the 40th straight year.
"This underscores the substantial progress we are making in expanding our business to be an auto and a mobility company," Ford CEO Mark Fields said.
"We don't have any plans to build any new plants, but clearly we want to continue to grow our business," Fields told Bloomberg.
The parent company of Google announced fourth quarter earnings per share that fell short of expectations -- $9.36. Analysts predicted a per-share earning of roughly $9.64. The company did surpass revenue expectations by nearly $1 billion.
Nonetheless, the company said the Q4 figures are cause for optimism.
"This [quarter's] performance was led by mobile search and YouTube. We're seeing great momentum in Google's newer investment areas and ongoing strong progress in Other Bets," Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said in a statement.
Google did not give details for holiday season sales of the new Pixel phone and Google Home personal assistant. Analyst Neil Doshi estimated the company sold about 1 million Pixel phones in Q4, CNBC reported.


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A startup out of San Diego, California, has made it easy to add a little extra lift to your morning with marijuana-infused coffee pods.
This week, Brewbudz debuted a line of coffees and teas spiked with marijuana flower and encased in single-serve, fully compostable containers. Each pod costs about $7 and is available at select dispensaries in Nevada.
The idea is simple: Sink a pod into your Keurig or Keurig 2.0 brewer, drink, and enjoy a caffeine jolt that comes with a buzz.
Kevin Love, director of product for Brewbudz parent company Cannabiniers, said the company wanted to crack the marijuana edibles market with a low-calorie product that uses a socially accepted delivery mechanism. When they read the stats on coffee consumption, Cannabiniers (whose name combines “cannabinoids” — chemical compounds found in marijuana — and “pioneers”) knew they found a match. Nearly two-thirds of Americans drink coffee every day.
Cannabiniers didn’t come up with the concept. A K-Cup-styled marijuana coffee product first…


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Almost daily the country is awash with more and more evidence of the government’s dismal failures, whether they are in governance or in providing the Pakistani masses with an occasional sigh of relief. Nothing can amplify this fact more than the increasing sugar crisis, a national catastrophe that has the potential to upset the entire dispensation. The crisis has reached its peak as sugar is now out of the reach of most people at a stupendous Rs 120 per kilogramme in some cities. There are doomsday forecasts that the price could rise even higher.
Taking note of this fact, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) convened on Monday and decided that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would have no further control over the import and supply of sugar. In addition, the 350,000 metric tonnes of sugar already stocked with the TCP would be released into the open market for immediate relief to the masses. Although it is quite confusing as to why the CCI, which is essentially a body that resolves issues of contention amongst the provinces and the provinces and the Centre should take up this matter, the post-meeting war of words between Shahbaz Sharif and Babar Awan has ironically put a provincial-federal spin on the issue. Punjab blames the Centre for not importing sugar on time and the Centre blames Punjab for not starting the crushing season. Whilst this blame game gains momentum, the masses continue to suffer from a debilitating shortage of a household staple.
This meeting raises one very pertinent question: when the TCP will no longer be in charge of handling sugar, who will be? If the government is considering the private sector to be the remedy for this crisis, they ought to think again. Considering that the current crisis is one that is at least partly the direct result of private sector avarice, created by an artificial shortage due to the illegal hoarding of this essential item by mill owners and stockists themselves, do we really want to put all our eggs in the basket of a closed cocoon of mafias? The situation is bad enough as it is with many of the country’s main mill owners being part of or having connections with our political set up. There is hardly any accountability or regulation when the profiteers themselves are the ones supposed to make and implement laws. To give the sugar barons official permission to handle and release the sugar supply at whatever rate they please will spell doom for the masses.
We are naïve to think that the private sector will be a panacea for all our ills. Unlike the developed world, we exist in the early stages of capitalism where robber barons have the most to gain. What we need to do is develop a system of government competence where cronyism ends and accountability begins. We need to quit assigning blame and stop listening to people like Nazar Gondal and Raja Parvez Ashraf who claim that sugar is a luxury and electricity cannot be cheaper, therefore we should do without both.Where was the federal government when, in 2009, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association said that there would be a shortage this year and importing sugar was vital? Why has the Punjab government failed to start its sugar crushing season to allay this shortage? These acts of incompetence and antipathy towards the masses have resulted in the severe inflation that we see today. With no end in sight and no one to agitate against this injustice as when mobs spontaneously protested (interestingly because of sugar price hikes) against Ayub Khan, the crisis seems set to get only worse – Dailytimes


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Munich (Germany), January 23, 2017 – G&D will present a comprehensive portfolio of innovative identity management solutions to meet the challenges of securely managing an increasing number of connected digital devices at the Mobile World Congress (MWC, February 27 to March 2, 2017) in Barcelona. As a global leader in mobile security solutions, G&D (hall 7, booth 7A41) will demonstrate products, solutions and technologies enabling seamless identity management from digital banking for financial institutions, security concepts for connected cars and scalable IoT security for enterprises or OEMs to flexible connectivity management for mobile network operators (MNOs) on their way to 5G. G&D manages its customers’ transactions, identities and assets securely during their entire lifecycle.
On a global scale, the industry is being driven by dramatic growth in the number of connected devices. Market researchers expect the number of connected devices to almost double from 15 billion devices today to more than 28 billion connected devices by 2020. Three billion connected digital identities such as SIM cards, authentication cards, mobile devices and wearables, mobile payment services and secure connected car solutions are already managed today using G&D technology.
At MWC 2017 G&D will introduce identity management solutions for a new range of applications. For example, secure banking, based on efficient and Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) compliant video identification, will be showcased. The G&D video ident solution enables secure service authentication, payments and digital signatures.


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‘Fortnite’ phenomenon turns Epic Game developer into billionaire
Epic Games’ Fortnite is played by 125 million globally as of June this year.
Tim Sweeney made Fortnite a phenomenon by doing something that sounds crazy: He gave it away.
That strategy has made him a billionaire.
In an industry chock-a-block with monster hits, such as Candy Crush and Pokemon Go, Fortnite's popularity isn't surprising. Its revenues are. Between the release of the current version in September and the end of May, Fortnite brought in more than $1.2 billion, according to SuperData Research. As of early June, it has been played by 125 million people.
That's powered a revenue surge at Epic Games Inc., the company Sweeney created in his parents' basement 27 years ago. Fortnite alone is on track to generate $2 billion this year, making the Cary, North Carolina-based gamemaker worth $5 billion to $8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Sweeney, 47, is the controlling shareholder.
Fortnite is a global phenomenon, played obsessively by children, rappers, professional athletes and middle-age accountants. It's a cartoonish, last-character-standing, fight-to-the-death battle royale where players thrash one another in a struggle for weapons, resources and survival on a shrinking, storm-ravaged island.
Instead of shelling out upwards of $40 for the game, players buy online V-bucks, a virtual currency they can exchange during play for outfits, called skins, celebratory dances or special missions that can cost as much as $20 each.
"On the revenue side, they've done something that's really unique, which is come up with a perception of exclusivity," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. Many accessories in the Fortnite shop are available on a limited basis, prompting players to buy before coveted items disappear from virtual shelves. "If you see another player in a leopard skin and go to the store and see it's no longer available, you think, Shoot, I've got to move on it next time."
All that commerce translates into some of the highest rates of revenue-per-user in the industry and operating margins north of 50%, according to analysts.
"Epic's valuation has exploded alongside Fortnite's success," said Timothy O'Shea, who covers gaming at Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
Based on the trading multiples of peers Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Blizzard Inc., Epic could be worth as much as $14 billion, though potential buyers would demand a discount due to questions over whether Fortnite could sustain revenue growth, O'Shea said. Even if sales were to fall to $1 billion a year — half of its current estimate — the company could still reasonably command $7.5 billion in a sale, Pachter said.
That's a bonanza for Sweeney and Chinese internet behemoth Tencent Holdings Ltd., which bought 40% of Epic in 2012 at an $825 million valuation. It's still unclear what impact Fortnite has had on Tencent's balance sheet. Three analysts who cover the Shenzen-based firm said they hadn't yet factored the game into their sum-of-the-parts valuations.
While most games hit peak popularity shortly after launch, Fortnite was still drawing millions of new users six months on, thanks to a broadly appealing aesthetic that's more comic mischief than graphic violence. Celebrity fans such as rapper Drake and the Los Angeles Lakers' Josh Hart have pushed it further into mainstream consciousness. French soccer star Antoine Griezmann celebrated a goal in the World Cup final this month by performing the game's "Take-the-L" dance.
As a game that's social, easy to play and hard to master, it's been a particular hit with school-age kids, raising concerns from teachers and parents reporting obsessive playing during class.
Fortnite is no bolt from the blue for Epic. The developer's biggest previous hit was Gears of War, a best-selling franchise for Microsoft's Xbox 360. Epic also owns Unreal Engine, one of two widely used operating systems developers rely on for building games. At first, Epic charged customers to use the software. Sales took off when Sweeney made the product free and instead began collecting a royalty on sales from games made using the software, which have included hits like Mass Effect and Batman: Arkham.
Fortnite also started as a paid product. Launched in July 2017 as a $40 version where players built forts to defend themselves against zombie hordes, the game really took off after Epic made it free and added the multi-combatant style of play.
Its success surprised even Epic. At last year's E3, the industry's big trade show, Epic showed a few reporters the game hidden away in a meeting room. At this year's convention, the Epic booth was entirely devoted to Fortnite, with a replica of the bus that players travel in at the beginning of the game and opportunities for fans to star in videos dancing and hang gliding. That week, Epic staged its first Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am with guests such as comedian Joel McHale and professional gamer Ninja (real name Tyler Blevins) competing in a soccer stadium. In May, Epic announced it would provide $100 million to fund prize pools for Fortnite competitions.
At Epic's office, located in a Raleigh suburb around the corner from a shopping mall, employees have their pick of free ice cream and Hot Pockets. There's a game room, a slide between two floors and giant sculptures of some of the company's video-game characters.
Raised in suburban Potomac, Maryland, Sweeney showed a knack early on for game design and business. At 11, he taught himself to program using the family's Apple computer and made a hobby of dissecting electronics. At 15, he quit his job at a hardware store after noticing that everyone made the same hourly wage regardless of how hard they worked. Instead, he borrowed his father's tractor and began trimming neighbors' lawns, undercutting professional landscapers, according to a 2011 interview with gaming website Kotaku. Sweeney began designing his own games at age 21, packaging them on floppy disks and sending them through the mail.
"Tim Sweeney is a legendary character," said Joost van Dreunen, chief executive officer of SuperData Research Holdings Inc., which provides market intelligence on the gaming industry. "He's a hardworking, outspoken person with a clear vision of what he wants to do."
Despite captivating millions of gamers, Sweeney isn't much of a player himself. He's an avid conservationist and one of the biggest private landowners in North Carolina. After the financial crisis, he bought thousands of acres, mostly in the mountains, aiming to create nature preserves.
Sweeney often wanders the Epic office, leaving large soda cups in his wake. He favours a self-made concoction of 60 percent water and 40% Diet Coke from the company's fountains.
In a 10-year-old video posted online, Sweeney gives a tour of his sprawling home. The lifelong bachelor says he'd never eaten in the elegant dining room and prefers takeout from Burger King. He once owned several sports cars, including a Lamborghini, but he's sold most of them. He drives a 2019 Corvette.
"It turns out having a fast car is an excellent hobby when you're a workaholic because even when you don't have any free time you can always drive to work," he said.
Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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Surface Pro X, a new tablet powered by a custom ARM processor, removable SSD, bigger screen, and all-day battery life.
Microsoft introduces a slew of new Surface devices with AMD and ARM processors as well as a new dual-screen tablet, a phone, and much more.
Microsoft will live stream the next Surface event, which could also feature the unveiling of a new dual-screen device and AMD-powered ...
September 2019 update for Surface Studio devices brings GPU and pen improvements.
Upcoming Surface Laptop 3 may include two screen sizes, including a 13.5-inch and a new 15-inch variant.
Are you in the market for a new Surface? You can now save up to $300 with these deals.
The next big Surface event is happening on October 2, and here's what to expect from Microsoft.
Microsoft latest firmware update is causing Surface CPU to throttle down to 400MHz on some devices, and a fix is in the works.
Ahead of the October 2 event, images leaked onto web revealing design and details of the new Surface devices.


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Ice cream lovers and social activists alike, gathered in Statler Auditorium yesterday in order to listen to Jerry Greenfield of the famous Ben and Jerry’s speak about entrepreneurship. Greenfield was brought here by Cornell Hillel and the Jewish Student Union, sponsored by David and Cheryl Einhorn ’91.
All proceeds from the event were donated to the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina.
When asked if starting a business had been a lifetime goal for him, Greenfield told The Sun, “No. Ben and I were much more interested in eating … many people, it turns out, stop eating when they’re not hungry. Ben and I never stopped.”
His lecture focused on the different ways that his company was able to stray away from the typical stereotype of ‘business’, and really give back to the community.
“There are a lot of people who are going into business who are frustrated,” Greenfield said. “The prevailing wisdom is that you can’t have a successful business and use it to help society as well. [People think] If you try to have a business that tries to give to the people, it takes away from your ability to be successful financially.”
After Greenfield’s partner, Ben Cohen, dropped out of a variety of colleges, and Greenfield got rejected from more than 20 medical schools, they decided to invest in a correspondence course on how to make ice cream. The course cost five dollars split between them.
“When Ben and I started, we didn’t really see ourselves as getting into business. We saw ourselves as Ice Cream makers.”
Greenfield spoke about Ben and Jerry’s history of giving back to communities. He told The Sun about one of the first actions they took in sending out their message through their ice cream.
“The first really interesting thing we did was when we came out with ice cream bars on a stick and called them ‘peace pops,'” he said.
“We used the packaging to talk about Cold War military expenses … peace through understanding activities. It was the first time the company combined using a product and a way to market the product to help address an issue.
“You might have noticed that we ended the Cold War. We take full credit for that,” he joked.
Greenfield explained his reconstructed business theory of the “double bottom line,” attempting to measure the success of the company not just in terms of financial numbers, but also through how much they could give back to the community.
As an example of how they were giving back, Greenfield cited a bakery in Yonkers called Grayson’s Bakery. The bakery does work with people who have suffered from substance abuse, or others in need of public housing. As a way to show that Ben and Jerry’s supported their cause, the brownies in the ice cream flavor “Chocolate Fudge Brownie” are all from this bakery. According to Greenfield, they spent over two million dollars on brownies from Grayson’s last year.
The first obstacle Greenfield ran into was when business men informed him that they could no longer carry their ice cream due to Haagen Daas’ fear of their competition. This galvanized Greenfield to start the “What’s the Dough Boy Afraid of?” campaign, aimed at the Pillsbury Corporation.
When most companies would turn to venture capitalists to invest in them as they expanded their business, Ben and Jerry’s decided to turn to their customers.
“We weren’t very interested [in venture capitalists],” Greenfield said. “If we were going to have a business we were going to have one that was consistent with our values.”
This led him and Cohen to ask Vermonters to buy stock in their company, starting at a $126 minimum. This alternative approach was extremely successful, raising over $750,000.
“One out of every 100 family’s in Vermont was a part owner of Ben and Jerry’s,” Greenfield said.
Greenfield also mentioned that Ben and Jerry’s no longer exists as an independent company. According to Greenfield, they were bought by Unilever about four years ago. Unilever, an Anglo – Dutch conglomerate which owns other products such as Ragu and Wishbone salad dressing, was deemed by Greenfield as an “interesting company.”
“They bought Slim Fast and Ben and Jerry’s on the same day,” he said.
Attendees enjoyed the event, even before they were served unlimited ice cream.
“I think this was a great success,” said Malka Benjamin ’07, Jewish Student Union co-chair of creative development. “We made the decision to not bring a comedian this year, but rather someone with a message. Jerry is very innovative and socially active. He sent a good message out,” She added that Hillel’s efforts toward Katrina relief were appropriate and in line with Ben and Jerry’s message.
Greenfield told The Sun, “what I would like them to take away is to learn from our experience that you can integrate social values right into a company.”
After the lecture, Hillel distributed free ice cream in Statler Atrium.
“Cornell’s Hillel and Jewish Student Union are here to provide an outlet for people to have fun and enjoy themselves,” said Alex Shapero ’06, Jewish Student Union chair. “What can be more fun than ice cream on a rainy day?”
Archived article by Emily Gordon
Sun Staff Writer


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PS Classics To Be Available on Vita Firmware 1.8
Sony reveals the Vita firmware to watch out for.
Sony has said today that PS Classics support will be added to Vita via the system’s version 1.8 firmware update. Although this was previously announced, this is the first time that Sony has mentioned the firmware by number.
Firmware version 1.8 firmware update was mentioned during Sony’s announcement of the PlayStation 2 Game Archives service for PlayStation 3 which hits Japan soon – the latter is already available in the US and Europe.
There is currently no date for PS Vita Firmware V1.8 other than ‘Summer’.
Currently the Vita firmware is 1.69. Hurry up there Sony!


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Maker’s Mark, the first alcohol company to advertise on reddit, is the rare brand that has figured out how to approach the community site in an effective way. In a current campaign centered around this weekend’s Kentucky Derby, Maker’s Mark asked redditors to submit their own whiskey-themed horse names, the most inventive of which will be featured in a “dynamic reddit home page takeover” this Friday.
The response was significant. The Maker’s Mark thread has so far gotten nearly a thousand comments since its introduction last week, surpassing the expectations that the company and its agencies, iCrossing and Doe-Anderson, had for the campaign. And many of the top comments — “Meet your Maker,” “Bourbonic Plague,” “Whiskey Business” — turned out to be exactly what Maker’s Mark was looking for.
Maker’s Mark executives said that advertising works well on reddit when it’s welcomed, not when it’s being forced by brands. The community also rewards transparency, honesty and conversation, the executives said.
For brands, it’s tough to resist the temptation of reddit. The site has 2.4 million users, gets roughly 17 million unique visitors a month in the US, per comScore, and is populated by over 5,000 subject-focused communities (dubbed “subreddits”). That makes it ripe for scaled, targeted advertising.
Advertisers, however, have been slow to get on board. That’s because marketing on reddit is more complicated than porting an existing campaign or buying a few display ads. Reddit is its own community, and like any community, it has its own laws and customs. The problem is that few brands have taken the time to learn them.
And reddit isn’t shy about calling out brands that try to game the system. The popular subreddit r/HailCorporate is dedicated to shining a light on some of the real or perceived brand messaging that often gets posted to the site. Recent targets include Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
“Reddit is a community-based platform. The brands that are successful with it are the ones that approach it as a community member,” said Mike Cole, director of sales and brand strategy at reddit. “It starts with respecting the community.”
Case in point: Not every reddit user was on board with the Maker’s gambit from the get-go. “If I’m to play along in this marketing scheme, what’s my compensation?” one user asked.
Still, the Derby name campaign wasn’t Maker’s Mark’s first trip to the reddit rodeo. In December, the company ran its first reddit display campaign with the tagline “Let it Snoo,” a riff on the name of reddit’s alien mascot. Reactions to that campaign from the reddit community were overwhelmingly positive. “I’m genuinely pleased with this ad,” one user said.
“Deciding to include [the Snoo reference] was a big part of their success. They tipped their hat to the community,” Cole said.
That success is good news, too, for reddit, which has perhaps unfairly developed a reputation for being hostile to marketers. “In a world of social media behemoths, reddit is an advertising wasteland,” said an anonymous agency executive cited in reddit’s ad sales deck.
By trumpeting the success stories of Maker’s Mark — as well as recent advertising successes of Spotify and NewCastle — reddit is trying to change that perception. “You have to make something for redditors, by redditors,” said Cole. “The brands that have figured this out are reaping the benefits of a largely untapped resource.”
Digiday+ Research: Instagram wins over Facebook for role in brands’ holiday marketing
Brands differ on how they use each marketing channel during the holidays -- even when it comes to sibling social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, Digiday+ Research found.
How — and why — Candy Crush is in the midst of a 10th anniversary brand refresh
In the years since Activision Blizzard acquired the Swedish game studio King in 2016, employees at the gaming giant have started to internally refer to their company as “ABK” — that is, Activision Blizzard King. But the corporation’s recent financial reports indicate that “KAB” might be a more accurate abbreviation.
Independent agency Goat invests in influencer strategy for clients as it expands in the U.S.
Everyone is after influencers to up their marketing game. But the secret to success, Goat contends, is in viewing influencers as performance media and using data to deliver clients guaranteed outcomes.
SponsoredHow brands are measuring incremental performance on CTV
Connected TV is unique among other advertising channels because it combines linear television’s storytelling capabilities with digital marketing’s targeting and measurement. As more marketers leverage CTV advertisements to reach relevant and engaged audiences, they also want to understand the real value they are generating with their investment. Incrementality reporting and measurement allow advertisers to measure […]
Marketers bring Web3 to the FIFA World Cup with augmented reality, NFTs and virtual worlds
The month-long tournament, which begins this weekend, will be the first World Cup since it took place in Russia in 2018 long before “Web3” entered the global lexicon. Now, official and non-official sponsors are hoping to harness the hype with a range of NFTs, virtual worlds, augmented reality tools and other trendy tech.
U-Haul diversifies its social strategy to tell people it’s more than moving trucks
In recent years, U-Haul's in-house agency has been working to "better leverage social media for brand loyalty."


text: The color pink is everywhere during the month of October—even in the manliest of organizations like the NFL. Many people are showing support by wearing the designated color of Breast Color Awareness Month, and clothing brands are getting in on the good cause. HUF is honoring the month with a new pink colorway of the popular Plantlife socks. Throughout the month of October, HUF will donate $1 to Keep A Breast foundation for every pair purchased. Visit the HUF website and purchase to show your support.


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General Electric in $49 million settlement over Petters fraud
General Electric Co has reached a $49 million settlement to end a long-running lawsuit over its relationship with Thomas Petters, the Minnesota businessman serving a 50-year prison term for running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
The settlement between GE and a trustee for two bankrupt Florida investment funds known as Palm Beach Finance was disclosed in a Tuesday filing with the federal bankruptcy court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
GE denied liability in agreeing to settle. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The accord removes a potential financial overhang for Boston-based GE, which is trying to cut costs while projecting lower 2019 cash flow and profitability from its core industrial operations. GE lost $22.8 billion and slashed its dividend in 2018.
Petters, 61, was convicted in December 2009 on 20 counts including fraud and money laundering, over what prosecutors called a $3.65 billion fraud.
Prosecutors said Petters bilked investors who thought he was using their money to buy consumer electronics from wholesalers and resell them to big-box retailers such as Costco Wholesale Corp and Walmart Inc`s Sam`s Club.
Federal authorities raided Petters` offices in September 2008 and criminally charged him that December, the same month Bernard Madoff was charged with running his own Ponzi scheme.
Barry Mukamal, the trustee for the Palm Beach Finance funds, which claimed to suffer more than $1 billion of damages, accused General Electric Capital Corp, one of Petters` lenders, of knowing as early as 2000 about the fraud, but keeping quiet to ensure Petters would keep paying its fees.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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As we briefly mentioned on SideDish earlier this week in News Bites, Ichigoh is hosting a Japanese ramen shop from Sapporo, Hokkaido for a three-day pop-up series from February 16 to 18. Here’s more intel for all you soup-slurping ramen fiends who want a taste of uberlegit miso ramen in Dallas.
Owner George Itoh is giving Fukutei Hokkaido Ramen full reign of his Deep Ellum lounge. “It’ll be like his shop,” he says. “The menu will only be his ramen for those three days. He’s old school, so he doesn’t even offer [appetizers] in Japan. It’s just straight ramen. We want to really stay true to that.”
Indeed, Ichigoh’s entire regular menu will make way for the pop-up only, save for a couple of small sides.
Hokkaido is known for its miso ramen and that’s exactly what Fukutei owner Hironori Ito will bring to Dallas. Specifically, his shrimp miso and spicy shrimp miso ramen—something of a trend in Japan right now, says Itoh—made with Argentinian red shrimp, which is like a cross between lobster and shrimp (conceptually, not biologically). “The peel is very red and it’s very flavorful,” Itoh says of the red shrimp—the very same specialty ingredient Ito uses in his ramen shop in Japan.
So what’s the connection between these two distant ramen chefs? A shared noodle company based in Sapporo. And soon, says Itoh, his Ichigoh will also start serving miso ramen too. After six months of R&D, they’ll launch a proper miso ramen (as opposed to ramen with miso broth, a distinction Itoh importantly notes). “The [housemade] miso paste is already done,” he says, while next steps is all about traditional execution: saute that miso paste with garlic, ginger, and a little ground pork. “The heat you introduce makes the miso even milder, rounder.” His will also have pork chashu marinated in sake kasu (the leftover lees that are often used as a pickling agent) and noodles ideal for the miso ramen.
The launch is coming soon, but don’t sleep on the upcoming Fukutei pop-up.
It’s not only the menu that will see the full takeover, says Itoh. “I told him to play his music. He said, ‘I listen to hard rock and heavy metal.’ ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s fine.’”
Fukutei Hokkaido Ramen Pop-Up
Sunday & Monday, Feb. 16 & 17, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., and Tuesday, Feb. 18 until 10 p.m.
Ichigoh, Deep Ellum, prices a la carte
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article listed the pop-up dates as Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday.


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Microsoft has released a beta version of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office that is compatible with Office 2007. The product, officially called Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition Beta (VSTO 2005 SE Beta for short), is available for download here. It was developed under the code name Cypress.
VSTO 2005 SE Beta offers managed-code add-in support for six Office 2007 applications -- Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio and InfoPath. It runs on Visual Studio 2005 Team System, the professional version of Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office.
K.D. Hallman, general manager for Visual Studio Tools for Office, writes about the features of VSTO for Office 2007 here in the VSTO forum on MSDN. These features include support for UI elements such as the ribbon, custom task panes and Outlook's form regions, plus design-time support for InfoPath's form templates.
In addition, applications built on Office 2003 using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office will run with Office 2007, Hallman says.
Soma Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsoft's development unit, writes about the release here in his blog.
Jay Roxe, group product manager for Visual Studio, said in an interview with TheServerSide.NET that the Office System has improved in ways that help professional developers. "I think one of the important things that came out around Office System is that it has really positioned itself as a development platform. You can see that in the things like the XML file format," Roxe said.
"With [this release], Office development gains that level of professionalism that developers have come to expect from Visual Studio," he said. He noted that the established VBA tool set alternative is supported in the newest Office System as well.
The UI Ribbon available for the next Office release could better position Microsoft in the "eye-candy" sweepstakes that distant competitor continues to press with some effectiveness. And that type of updated UI development can't start too soon for some people.
One thing to note, said Roxe, is that, if you used VSTO 2005, when you go to do a Word project, Word opens in the designer. With "SE," there is runtime support, he said, so when a developers go to create a Ribbon UI, they use code only. Roxe said to expect designer support with the future Orca release of Visual Studio tools.
Having a useful tool that was concurrent with Office 2007 was deemed more important, perhaps, than holding the tool back until a full-fledged designer interface for Ribbon UI development was ready.
Greg DeMichillie, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said VSTO 2005 SE Beta was an important release.
"Back in 2001 and 2002, when the development platform made the big jump to .NET, the Office tools were pretty much out of synch with the other development platforms," he said. "They have spent the last five years trying to rebuild some bridges so the .NET platform can be used in a reasonable way to built on top of Office."
However, given that Office 2007 has an entirely new interface, Microsoft still has some catching up to do on the tools side, DeMichillie said.


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Hyundai Motor Co fears a proposed tax on vehicle carbon emissions will slash its domestic sales by up to 10 percent and is pressuring the South Korean government to reverse course, according to people familiar with the matter.
While some experts say the warnings could be overblown, they are a stark reminder of one of the biggest challenges Hyundai faces - how to make greener cars to ward off competition from more fuel-efficient rivals.
Seoul plans to reward and penalise vehicle purchases based on carbon dioxide emissions starting in January next year, hoping to prod consumers to buy electric cars and small cars with greater fuel efficiency.
The scheme, already delayed by almost two years amid strong opposition from Korean and U.S. car makers, could deal a major blow to Hyundai as mid-sized or bigger cars account for 60 percent of its domestic sales.
South Korea's biggest carmaker estimates the proposal could prompt 9 percent to 10 percent of domestic buyers to switch to imported cars, three people familiar with the matter said, quoting Hyundai's own projections.
That suggests its annual vehicle sales could fall by 46,849 vehicles, dealing a 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) blow to revenue, according to Reuters' calculations based on Hyundai's 2013 sales.
"Hyundai was looking into the worst case scenario," when it came up with the 9-10 percent figure, said one of the sources who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. He said the actual impact would be smaller once the government had finished revising the scheme.
A Hyundai spokesman denied the company had produced any such sales projection and attributed it to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. The association declined to comment on its research, citing confidentiality, but said it opposed the tax.
"We want the government to withdraw the plan ... this will only help imported cars gain more market share," a senior association official said.
The current third draft of the scheme, obtained by Reuters, shows Seoul plans to levy up to 7 million won ($6,600) of tax on vehicles that emit more than 126 grams (4.4 ounces) of carbon dioxide per kilometre.
Those emitting less than 100 grams can get subsidies of up to 7 million won, while electric vehicles will receive as much as 10 million won in subsidies.
In a country where 72 percent of vehicles are mid- to large-sized vehicles, the proposal means consumers would face a tax burden of $1


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As the number of coronavirus cases continue to reach unprecedented levels, the full effects from the expected surge from the Thanksgiving holiday still haven't been felt.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning the “full brunt” from people gathering and traveling over the long holiday weekend won’t occur for a few more weeks, as we get closer to Christmas.
"May be a little bit of blip (right now), but we don't expect to see the full brunt of it between two and three weeks following Thanksgiving, so I think we have not yet seen the post-Thanksgiving peak," the nation’s leading infectious disease expert told TODAY.
"That's the concerning thing because the numbers in and of themselves are alarming, and then you realize that it is likely we'll see more of a surge as we get two to three weeks past the Thanksgiving holiday."
Fauci finds this particularly disconcerting as it brings the surge in line with the Christmas holiday and the potential for more gatherings and travel.
"The thing that concerns me is that abuts right on the Christmas holiday as people start to travel and shop and congregate,” Fauci added. “So that's the reason why we plead with them to please, as best as you can, uniform wearing of masks, keep distances to the best possible way you can, avoid crowds in congregate settings, particularly indoors, and if you are indoors in that circumstance, always wear your mask.”
On Thursday, the US reported more than 205,000 new cases of the novel virus, and set a record for the amount of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths in a single-day since the start of the pandemic in March, reported NBC News.


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Bitcoin Soars to Record High Price of $438 November 13 2013
Today the Bitcoin virtual currency reached an all time new high price of $438 per bitcoin in trading today.
Less than 30 Minutes to Return of Bitcoin Trading on MtGox.com
This message is posted on the MtGox.com website:
Trading is halted until 2013-04-12 02:00am UTC to allow the market to cooldown following the drop in price. Read more details on the support. Additionally trading fees will not be charged within 48 hours of trading resuming (until 2013-04-14 02:00am UTC).
There is massive speculation on the #mtgoxlive IRC chat channel as to whether the price will rise or fall at the start of trading.
Bitcoin Trading Falls By %25 to $202 from $266 Within Hours
On the morning of April 10, 2013 Bitcoin lost %25 of its value within hours. This was an expected market correction and should continue to fall thru the day.
*UPDATE 11:21AM PST
MtGox price is now $173, only MtGox orders are NOT going thru without major delay.
*UPDATE 11:21AM PST EXCHANGES HAVE CRASHED, orders will not go thru, MtGox Lag is 76 MINUTES!!!!!
*UPDATE 1:30pm PST
MtGox.com is now back online and trading.
The virtual currency Bitcoin (BTC) reached an all time high price of $162 today on the online trading website MtGox.com.
Last night Bitcoin virtual currency hit a high price of $148. Currently as of 7:30am PST the trading platform website http://MtGox.com is down for maintenance….
Bitcoin Trading Crashes To $38 After .7 .8 Block Chain Fork Bug Announced
Today Bitcoin BTC$ crashed to $38 from $48 following news that a block chain fork has occurred. According to realtime chat on the official Mt.Gox Chat Room, the bug occurred after the .8 Bitcoin software version was released. For more information stay tuned….
Read all about it here! https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=152030.0
MtGox.com has issued a statement stating :
Bitcoin blockchain issue – bitcoin deposits temporarily suspended


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The lockdown had some of the worst effects on the lives of people, some lost their lives, lost their jobs and various other severe problems, Covid also impacted the economic conditions of India, people didn’t have regular food supplies for their families. When it comes to business it gave both negative and positive impacts to the corporates, some were forced to shut their companies, and some opened new branches.
Online Gambling witnessed a jump in its users in the lockdown period, according to a study in University of Bristol as there were no such offline social activities to do online gambling increased six times. With the lockdown outbreak the online gambling industry experienced good positive response from the Indians.
What were the main reasons behind the sudden rise?
- Digital Entertainment
It became the only sort of entertainment for people during lockdown, people spend most of their time on their phones indulging themselves in various online games, online gambling, sports betting, etc.
- Technology advancement
If we consider about digital entertainment technology is a much needed aspect. The great technologies and interfaces provided by the online casinos attracted the Indian audiences towards online gambling. The uninterrupted games due to fast 5G networks is also a reason behind popularity of online gambling.
- Huge variety of games
We all in the lockdown had the tendency to get bored easily, we used to get bore while watching tv shows, playing games so in a situation like that the variety of real cash games available on these online casinos really helped the users in getting stick to the online games. People are more likely to play the games which can give them good chances of winning real money like 3 patti real money paytm cash game, online andar bahar real cash game.
It is easily predictable that there might be substantial growth in online gambling in near future and the Covid lockdown has already provided a good initial base to it. Indian Government needs to introduce some effective rules for legalizing the complete online gambling aspects.
The gambling industry in India holds 15% of the world’s online gambling traffic this clearly shows that online gambling Industry can become a good profit making market in the near future. About the 80% of the local population is somehow indulged in betting related activities for at least once in a year.
Hi guys, I am Faizan, an online casino game enthusiast with over 5+ years of experience. I am passionate about online casino games, and my sole motive is to provide you with all the trustful information regarding online gambling in India. I love to play slots, RNG, and Live Casino games.
My articles have been featured in Cricket Addictor, East Mojo, 1883 and The Bridge.


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Social network spend 'lower than expected' this year
LONDON - Marketing spend on social networks, the most hyped potential ad platform of 2008, will be lower than thought next year, according to a report on US internet spend from web marketing analyst eMarketer.
By the end of this year US advertisers will have spent only $1.2bn on social media ads - down 14% from eMarketer's prediction of $1.4bn in May.
US online social network ad spending represents just 5% of the total $23.6 billion spent online, but the medium has been the marketing obsession of 2008.
eMarketer is curtailing its prediction of social net spending growth by nearly 28% for next year as well, lowering its projection of $1.8bn to $1.3bn next year.
The recession and slower-than-expected revenue growth at MySpace are two main reasons for this cut.
While online advertising has been one bright spot in the economic downturn, its explosive growth is slowing. Marketers are slashing the amount of money they devote to more experimental forms of media - like social networking - as they seek to ensure a return on spend.
In its new estimates, eMarketer revised downward its forecasts for MySpace and Facebook, the two largest social-networking sites by traffic. The biggest share of social-networking ad spend remains with MySpace, which is expected to generate $585 million in ad revenues this year, down 22.5% from earlier estimates of $755 million.
US marketing spend on Facebook will reach $210 million in 2008, down 20.8% from earlier estimates of $265 million.
See ‘Was P&G being anti-social?' at Chris Barraclough's blog
This article was first published on Marketing Direct
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A new winery, 5 Soul Wine Co., is heading to a sprawling Hill Country spot in Spicewood next month. The winery will share an address with neighbors Frontyard Brewing at 4514 Bob Wire Road, with plans to open in November (slightly after the brewery).
The winery will initially offer five wines (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, rosé, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc), which will be available onsite by the bottle or by the glass. Operations manager Chris Arnold emphasized that winery plans to offer wines that they believe are approachable and easy to drink. The grapes for the initial wines were sourced from the central coast of California, but there are plans to include other regions like Oregon and Washington later on. A wine club is in the works, too.
5 Soul will serve light bites in the tasting room, as well as have a shared farm-to-table food truck onsite with Frontyard (they were connected to the brewers through a friend and real estate agent). The shared space will include loads of family-friendly activities like pickleball courts, a playground, and lawn games spread across the nine-acre property.
To combat the spread of COVID-19, the winery will capitalize on all that space with lots of outdoor seating and an e-commerce system guests can use to buy wine and food without entering the tasting room. 5 Soul will also follow all CDC and Texas guidelines on wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitizing.
5 Soul was started by Shannon Grant, who has over 20 years in the wine industry, and Chris Carson, who has a background in commercial building. Their families have five children between them, hence the name. The winery will be open the same hours as Frontyard, although those have not yet been determined.


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Samsung Electronics VP Kwon Oh-hyun revealed that the company is receiving "huge" orders for its upcoming OLED displays with flexible substrates, which it is marketing under the YOUM brand.
Samsung's Korean factories have orders to make no less than 960, 000 flexible OLED panels this year, which is a pretty big number for a fledgling technology. That's why some analysts have been quick to start daydreaming that such a quantity might hint at the Apple behemoth ordering flexible OLEDs for its gadgets.
Highly unlikely, we'd say, considering that Apple hates limiting itself to only one supplier of any given part, although LG is also building assembly lines for such screens. Moreover, between Samsung's own device planned to use flexible AMOLED by the end of the year, and Apple's eventual usage, a million of those panels is nothing really.
Mr Kwon, who is om charge of the components department of Samsung, was quoted to say "We will be mass producing flexible OLED displays from the latter half of this year as the demand from our clients is significant. OLEDs will replace LCDs as the main mobile displays from around 2015 as the screens are thinner and brighter. Samsung has massively invested in OLED-related technologies and will continue to do so."
The biggest advantage of device with plastic screen substrates is that they will be more durable and cheaper to produce. As for the futuristic shapes - let's wait and see how Samsung will use the technology in regard to ergonomics.