Tom Foremski
Latest from Tom Foremski
The Hollow Core in Social Media Numbers: Many are Fake or Empty Accounts
The numbers of users reported by Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many other sites, are closely watched. They reveal trends in adoption and they are one of the few public metrics available to analysts trying to assign value to companies preparing an initial public offering. But how accurate are these numbers? In some anecdotal cases, the ...
MediaWatch: Dan Lyons Calls Silicon Valley Journalism a ‘Cesspool’
Dan Lyons, a columnist for Newsweek, has written a scathing attack on Mike Arrington and MG Siegler, who run CrunchFund, a small VC fund. The former editor and his reporter at TechCrunch, a leading AOL tech news site, are accused of being part of a trend among Silicon Valley journalists to raise money from investors ...
A Tale of Two Letters: Facebook’s Vague Social Mission
Facebook’s IPO documents reveals a far different culture to that of neighboring rival Google Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to prospective shareholders was incredibly vague about his company’s “social mission” and there was no announcement of a charitable foundation — as Google had done when it filed its IPO papers eight years ago. A comparison of the ...
MediaWatch Analysis: Should the Tech Industry Buy the Content Industry?
Should Apple buy Hollywood? Should Google buy the New York Times? Foremski’s Take: People in the tech communities have long discussed the need for tech companies to buy media companies. More recently, there has been discussion about Apple using its $100 billion cash hoard to buy music and movie studios. This won’t happen, for many ...
Facebook Use is Linked to Depression…and More Sex
This study of time spent on Facebook by 425 College students is depressing: MediaPost – Facebook Correlated with Low Self Esteem The study, titled “‘They Are Happier and Having Better Lives than I Am’: The Impact of Using Facebook on Perceptions of Others’ Lives,” … revealed that students who spend a lot of time on ...
Insurance And Finance Top Google Customers In 2011 – Revenue Breakdown
Which industries and companies were Google’s top spenders in 2011? Did you know that “Self Employed Health Insurance” cost $43 per click? Here’s a fascinating infographic that breaks down the $38 billion that Google made in 2011: ...
Capiche? Y Combinator Finds a Key Metric for Success
Paul Graham, a partner at Y Combinator a successful Silicon Valley incubator, writes that he has found a key sign of future success among the startups that are recruited into YC’s twice-yearly mentoring programs. What is this indicator? I noticed a pattern in the least successful startups we’d funded: they all seemed hard to talk ...
Google’s Strategy to Boost its G+ Social Network Risks Harming Quality of Search
Last week Google introduced search results heavily influenced by relevant signals from people’s social circles and promoting G+ content in its search results. The move is an attempt to boost its nascent G+ social network, which has had a rocky start. I predicted that this strategy would attract legions of marketers hoping to boost traffic ...
“Think Fair” – Apple Moves to Become the World’s First Fair Trade Electronics Tech Company
For the first time, Apple has disclosed the identity of 156 suppliers, and said it will become the first tech company to join the Fair Labor Association (FLA). This means that the FLA will investigate Apple suppliers and issue regular reports on their labor practices. “We’re extremely proud to be the first technology company admitted ...
Lithium Technologies is on a Roll, Raises $53m and Plans Move to San Francisco
Lithium Technologies is on a roll – the Emeryville based company recently raised $53.4 million and has a full order book for its enterprise social media platform. Thursday evening Lithium Technologies held a dinner celebrating the publication of its Principal Scientist Michael Wu’s new book, “The Science of Social.” I was very impressed with the ...