Tokoni gives marketers social networking tools to build customer loyalty
Tokoni launched its new Community Platform today, providing companies with the tools they need to create branded social networks and online communities for their customers. The Cupertino, Calif. company says that providing consumers with a social, interactive channel to offer feedback will inspire greater brand loyalty and eventually hike sales.
Tokoni’s Community Platform provides features that allow customers to share their experiences with particular companies and products with confidence that their voices will be heard by… Continue Reading
Skype founders sue eBay for copyright violations
Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis filed suit today against eBay, the owner of their the intenet telephone technology since 2005, alleging that the auction site violated a copyright agreement that it wouldn’t share the proprietary code powering the service.
The suit is officially being brought by Joltid, another company owned by the duo — which, incidentally, also founded video-sharing site Joost. The trouble started when eBay moved on plans to sell off most of… Continue Reading
Joost removes Volpi as chairman, complicating eBay’s Skype sale
Mike Volpi, the former chief executive officer of online video site Joost who stepped down in July, has now been removed as chairman by the company’s shareholders, and is under investigation for his activities during his leadership.
Many are questioning Volpi’s dual roles at Joost and Index Ventures — a thorny subject involving eBay’s sale of Skype. He joined the private equity firm in June when Joost officially threw in the towel on becoming a web television… Continue Reading
PayPal blackout hits e-commerce
EBay-owned payments service PayPal has said that its vision is to become the “electricity” for e-commerce, i.e., the underlying technology for all payments on the web. So I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that, as happens once in a while with electricity, PayPal experienced a blackout this morning.
PayPal posted on its blog about the outage, reporting that “PayPal started experiencing site issues that affected the ability to send and receive money,” followed by an update… Continue Reading
Roundup: CalPERS nosedives, eBay beats the street, Hollywood picks World of Warcraft director
Ebay whups analysts with $327M profit – Bloomberg reports that the most-visited U.S. e-commerce website has reported sales and profit that beat analysts’ estimates. The San Jose, Calif., company reported second-quarter net income of $327.3 million, or 25 cents a share, on $2.1 billion in revenue. PayPal and Skype grew impressively, but the company’s marketplace sites such as Shopping.com didn’t do so well.
CalPERS takes its worst plunge ever — The California Public Employees’ Retirement System yesterday… Continue Reading
Roundup: Twitter’s ready for its close-up, Apple says yes to the Kama Sutra, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Twitter on the tube – More producers are turning to the micro-blogging service for television-based projects, and the site is only too happy to go Hollywood.
Auctions on the way down for eBay — The site is frantically trying to reinvent as its core business starts to decline in earnest. The Wall Street Journal has the details.
The Apple of North Carolina’s eye? — The state may be changing its tax policies to lure technology companies,… Continue Reading
Can eBay rebrand itself as the Web’s Wal-Mart?
Ebay has a problem: It’s viewed as a quirky second-hand bazaar. That has stunted the company’s growth, as shoppers in search of instant bargains bypass eBay in favor of Amazon or Google.
eBay’s Buy It Now button, in theory, lets shoppers instantly consummate a purchase. In practice, the Buy It Now button often looks like Click Here to Pay Too Much.
That’s important, because CEO John Donahoe aims to revive the pioneer auction firm’s stalled growth by… Continue Reading
Roundup: Street View blinded, curtain to rise on new PS3 and more
Here’s the latest action:
It’s a pirate’s life for Asia — A new study indicates that software piracy is growing rapidly in Asia where the number of computer owners continues to skyrocket.
Street View’s prying eyes — Google must reshoot footage for its maps Street View tool in Japan after receiving complaints that the cameras were mounted high enough to see over residents’ fences. Earlier this week, the search company was banned from collecting images in Greece, also due… Continue Reading
eBay’s Q1 earnings dip despite Skype, Paypal boost
eBay has just released its first quarter financials for 2009, beating analyst estimates. But, like many other tech companies, the online auctioneer wasn’t exactly immune to the lagging economy.
By the numbers, the San Jose, Calif.-based company cleared $2.02 billion in revenue for the quarter, representing a $171 million loss year-over-year. Though a sizable decline, these figures still beat analysts’ predictions which pegged the auction site around $1.94 billion.
On a per-share basis, eBay’s Q1 net income amounted to… Continue Reading
In a surprise, eBay announces Skype will have an IPO in 2010
Contradicting rumors that it would sell Skype back to its founders, eBay announced today that it would separate the Internet calling business from eBay’s core auction business through an initial public offering in the first half of 2010.
A lot can happen between now and then, including bids from private equity firms to buy the division, which eBay bought for $2.6 billion 2006.
But John Donahoe, chief executive of eBay, said that Skype is a great stand-alone… Continue Reading
StumbleUpon leaves eBay, starting up again on own two feet
Social news discovery site StumbleUpon can be a great way to find interesting stories, which is why some of us wondered why auction site eBay bought it for $75 million in late 2007. Perhaps it was going to offer ways for news readers to buy eBay products? Apparently things never ended up fitting. StumbleUpon has spun itself out of eBay and is once again a startup, it announced today. This follows rumors last fall that… Continue Reading
eBay allows third-party developers to add apps to site
Massive auction website eBay has opened its platform to accept applications from third-party developers, adding to the range of tools for the site’s professional and casual sellers. This summer, the site will essentially open an app store filled with widgets and apps (for free or at a price) built by outside developers.
To throw out a few examples, apps on eBay can help sellers automatically manage their shipping and inventory processes, allow them to gather market… Continue Reading
Tekarma centralizes product reviews, customer support (invites)
Tekarma, a web site that compiles user-generated product reviews and tips in one place, launched its private beta last week. For now, the site is focused primarily on electronics, household items, cars, video games and sporting goods. Users have the ability to upload a product, or edit information for any of the others, including specs, description, reviews, FAQs, web resources, a general discussion board and even product surprises they my have encountered. Follow the link… Continue Reading
Former eBay CEO Whitman eyes governor’s office
Meg Whitman, former chief executive of ecommerce giant eBay, has taken her first step in a run for the California governor’s office. Whitman announced on her new campaign website today the formation of an “exploratory committee” to seek the Republican nomination.
Despite never having held elected office, Whitman has already enlisted backing from prominent Republicans — most notably former Governor Pete Wilson, who is chairing her campaign. Whitman doesn’t have a full platform up yet, but… Continue Reading
EBay: PayPal and Skype can’t save declining marketplace
E-commerce giant eBay just announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008. Revenue is down, but the San Jose, Calif. company did manage to beat analysts’ earnings expectations. It reported revenue of $2.04 billion, down $145 million from the same period in 2007, earning 41 cents per share (non-GAAP). That’s 2 cents higher than analysts expected.
The source of eBay’s decline is its core product, the online marketplaces, including eBay.com, Shopping.com, StubHub.com, and others. Collectively,… Continue Reading
Roundup: Meg Whitman for governor?, Sling Player for the iPhone, Picasa for Mac and more
Here’s the latest action:
Meg Whitman, governor of California? — That’s the rumor following Whitman’s resignation from the boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble and Dreamworks SKG. Current Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (yes, the Governator) will leave office in 2010, and term limits prevent him from seeking re-election. Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, and, like Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has hinted that she may run. One potential rival in the primary could be Steve Poizner, the current… Continue Reading
Online holiday shopping drops 3 percent
Surprising no one, online shoppers cut back on their gift-buying this year. Web sales during the holiday season dropped three percent compared to the same period last year, according to data from comScore. This is the first time online holiday sales have dropped since comScore started collecting e-commerce data in 2001.
The numbers are barely above those included in the report on last-minute shopping that comScore released a week ago, and for good reason — that… Continue Reading
How Amazon stole Christmas?
Online retailer Amazon is hawking its holiday sales traffic today, claiming a single-day company record of 6.3 million items ordered on December 15. But the report lacks hard numbers, and another new report points to hard times for all retailers – including those online. Amazon is benefiting from more people shopping online than ever before, but at a time when most have less money to spend.
Overall U.S. retail sales fell 2.5 percent in November and… Continue Reading
The Grinch pays a visit to eBay
The holiday season hasn’t brought its usual good tidings to auction-based marketplace eBay this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. Site traffic for November and December fell off 16 percent from last year; transaction revenue has slipped 28 percent to $1.44 billion; and some users have reported a decline in individual sales of up to 40 percent versus 2007. Some analysts are even predicting the San Jose, Calif. company will post its first decline in… Continue Reading
Facebook recruits a new director (or two) from eBay
Daniel Levy is the new director of risk management at social network Facebook. He has formerly held senior leadership positions at eBay-owned online payment company Paypal. In his new role, Levy (pictured) will be working with the Facebook operations team to figure out how to help the company manage risk, especially in terms of its finances. Among other things, he’ll be analyzing how to protect the company’s advertising revenue stream, drawn from more than 10,000… Continue Reading