ITV

Tag: Google

  • Delhi Court stays proceedings against 13 websites accused of undermining national integrity

    Delhi Court stays proceedings against 13 websites accused of undermining national integrity

    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has stayed the proceedings against 13 websites, including Facebook and Google, on a complaint which accused them of promoting “class enmity” and “undermining national integrity”.

     

    Citing denial of assistance from the American authorities, Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja stayed the proceedings against the websites, including Orkut, YouTube, Yahoo and Microsoft.

     

    The court said: “The proceedings qua accused (13 accused websites)… Have already been stayed due to denial of assistance by the US department of justice,” the court said.

     

    The court said recording of pre-charge evidence against other accused websites would commence from 28 September.

     

    The complaint was filed against the websites by transparency activist Vinay Rai for allegedly committing offences like selling obscene materials to the youth and hatching criminal conspiracy.

     

    The central government earlier told the court that the US authorities were unable to execute the request for assistance in serving summons on these US-based websites.

  • YouTube’s founders challenge Vine and Instagram with new video app

    YouTube’s founders challenge Vine and Instagram with new video app

    MUMBAI: After months of teasing, the wait is finally over: Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who brought forth the video-sharing site YouTube, are taking the wraps off their newest project, a video creation app called MixBit.

    Versions for Apple mobile devices and the Web are already live, and an Android version is due in coming weeks.

    On the surface, MixBit resembles two other leading video apps, Twitter’s Vine and Facebook’s Instagram. As with those apps, users press and hold the screen of their smartphone to record video. Instagram users can capture up to 15 seconds of video, a bit longer than Vine’s six-second maximum. MixBit allows 16 seconds.

    But as the name suggests, MixBit is all about mixing and editing video. Both the app and a related website, MixBit.com, are aimed at making it easy to clip and stitch together snippets of videos. Simple tools built into the app allow users to edit each 16-second clip and combine up to 256 clips into an hour long video. The final product can then be shared on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus or the MixBit website.

    Think of it as “shoot, mix and share.” You don’t even have to do the shooting – the MixBit site allows anyone to snip and remix any publicly shared video content.

    In fact Hurley said encouraging users to remix other people’s videos to create new works is the principal goal of the service, which is the first big product to emerge from Avos Systems, the start-up he co-founded with Chen two years ago. (The company has received funding from the venture arm of Google, which bought YouTube, as well as from Innovation Works, Madrone Capital and New Enterprise Associates.)

    “The whole purpose of MixBit is to reuse the content within the system,” Hurley said in an interview. “I really want to focus on great stories that people can tell.”

    The ability to create those more complex video stories could give MixBit an edge, at least momentarily, over Vine and Instagram, which are growing rapidly. Vine has no editing tools and Instagram introduced rudimentary ones recently.

    But one crucial decision by Avos is likely to hold it back: the app is totally anonymous and communal. Users cannot post their videos under a name, and they cannot comment on each other’s work.

    Showing off is a big part of modern internet culture. The competition to create popular videos helped build YouTube into the powerful force that it now is, and it propels social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

  • Facebook hires its first CMO ever

    Facebook hires its first CMO ever

    MUMBAI: Facebook has hired Gary Briggs as its first chief marketing officer; most recently Briggs was an adviser to the head of Google (Motorola Mobility) division.

    Facebook VP and CMO Gary Briggs

     

    Briggs is officially replacing VP-product marketing Eric Antonow who used to handle company’s marketing efforts since last two years and now he will work with Facebook head of consumer marketing Rebecca Van Dyck.

     

    Briggs will be responsible for product marketing, platform marketing and events, communication design, brand marketing and content strategy for Facebook.

     

    In his earlier stints, Briggs was a CEO of Plastic Jungle (a gift company); he has also worked for EBay, PayPal and PepsiCo.

     

    In a statement given to adage, Briggs said “Facebook isn’t just a company. For more than a billion people, it’s their connection to the friends and things they care about most. Telling the story of such an important and still very young brand is an incredible opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started.”

  • Google asked to remove 100 million ‘piracy’ links in 2013

    Google asked to remove 100 million ‘piracy’ links in 2013

    MUMBAI: That is double the number it received for the whole of 2012 and a sign that publishers are stepping up their battle against internet piracy.

     

    Copyright holders send millions of “takedown” requests to Google every week in an attempt to make pirated material harder to access online.

     

    Many of the takedown requests made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other national copyright laws are generated by third parties, or reporting organisations, on behalf of copyright holders.

     

    Google began publishing all such requests in its Transparency Report in 2012 and since then the number has risen sharply, as rights holders have made greater use of the reporting system.

     

    In the past month alone Google received requests to take down nearly 14 million links from its search results, relating to 3,200 copyright owners.

     

    One digital content protection specialist, Degban, makes requests for about 300,000 link removals per week on behalf of clients and has asked for nearly 31 million web pages, or URLs, to be removed from Google’s results so far, reports the search firm.

     

    The website domains concerned are almost entirely person-to-person file-sharing services, such as Fenopy.eu, extratorrent.com, torrenthound.com, filestube.com and bittorrent.com.

     

    More than half of Degban’s URL requests were made on behalf of Froytal Services, a pornography producer, giving an indication of the kind of content people are sharing online.

     

    But other major copyright owners making the most takedown requests included the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) and its member companies, the Recording Industry Association of America, and various film studios, such as Warner Brothers.

     

    There are concerns that some of these takedown requests may not be accurate.

     

    For example, Microsoft recently asked by mistake for links to its own sites to be deleted.

     

    The embarrassing request was made on Microsoft’s behalf by LeakID, an anti-piracy specialist, according to Torrentfreak.com.

     

    A growing number of sites accused of aiding piracy are now blocked to UK web users, including the Pirate Bay, Kickass Torrents, H33T, Fenopy, Movie2K and Download4All.

  • YouTube is worth up to $21.3 billion

    YouTube is worth up to $21.3 billion

    MUMBAI: The cover of Fortune Magazine’s latest issue shows a few dozen camera lenses arranged into the shape of a familiar “Play” icon below the words “How YouTube Changes Everything.”

     

    In the cover story, senior writer Miguel Helft takes a look at the world’s largest online video streaming site through a business lens, from its 2006 acquisition by Google, to the ascent (and acquisition) of YouTube multi-channel networks, to the $100 million YouTube originals initiative, to the recent outcries of some online video producers about how YouTube must alter components of its current business and advertising strategies or soon face a content creator diaspora that will give rise to alternative revenue sources and video platforms.

     

    Aside from a semi-in-depth take on YouTube’s business activities, one of the most interesting statistical takeaways from the article is a guess at YouTube’s current revenue numbers and valuation. Barclays estimates the company to have made $3.6 billion in revenue, and for that number to increase 20 per cent to $4.3 billion in 2014.

     

    The London-based multinational banking and financial services company also estimates YouTube’s operating margins to be around 30 per cent to 35 per cent, putting the total value of YouTube between $15.6 billion and $21.3 billion. As Helft writes, “At the low end, it would mark a nearly 10-fold increase from the price Google paid in 2006. At the high end, it would make YouTube a third as valuable as Facebook.”

     

    Not bad for a $1.65 billion acquisition in 2006 with no revenue.

  • Google plans device to bring Internet shows to your TV

    Google plans device to bring Internet shows to your TV

    MUMBAI: Making a new move into internet television, Google will start selling a $35 gadget that will plug into a high-definition TV and stream video from Netflix, YouTube and other sources.

    The two-inch device, dubbed Chromecast, is aimed at replacing set-top boxes and can be controlled by both Android and Apple smartphones or computers. Google said it will also stream music or even show web pages from computers using the Google Chrome web browser.

    Analysts said the device could be a disruptive move by Google to compete with Apple and other tech companies that want to bring internet services to the television set. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps tweeted that it represents a “smaller, more elegant approach” compared with Google’s previously halting efforts at similar products.

    The new Chromecast gadget looks something like a USB memory stick but packs far more capabilities. When plugged into a TV set, Google said the gadget will connect both to a home wireless router and to other devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptop computers. Anyone in range can then use their smartphone or computer as the “remote control” – to select a video from YouTube or Netflix, for example.

    The Chromecast takes its cue from the selected device but then streams the video or other material directly from the internet, through the home router, so the smartphone’s battery doesn’t drain, Google representatives said.

  • Pak govt not interested in giving access to YouTube: Lahore HC

    Pak govt not interested in giving access to YouTube: Lahore HC

    NEW DELHI: The Lahore High Court has observed that it appears that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is least interested in drafting a mechanism that could open (unblock) YouTube in Pakistan.

     

    The observation was made earlier this month in ‘Pakistan Internet Freedom’ (Bytes for All Vs Federation of Pakistan).

     

    However, the Deputy Attorney General informed court that Google did not respond to the request and seemingly has no interest in this case and so did not appear in court. Earlier, it was learnt that a legal representative of Google was going to appear before the court.

     

    Bytes for All, the petitioner of the case, informed that PTA was misleading the court and that it had the mechanism to filter the unwanted blasphemous and anti-social content on internet.

     

    “While PTA has the technical capacity to block individual URLs to keep the rest of the platform accessible, they had been denying their ability to do so”, the petitioner argued.

     

    A filtering solution is already in practice at Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) who hired the technology from a Canadian firm Netsweeper.

     

    According to the petitioner, Netsweeper technology is being implemented in Pakistan on PTCL for purposes of political and social filtering, including websites of secessionist movements, sensitive religious topics, and independent media.

     

    Several times, the Pakistan government and its regulatory bodies have announced that they lack a technical capability to block specific URLs in Pakistan and for that they require filtering software. Other than this, government representatives have been demanding Google to open its office in Pakistan so that legal affairs could be controlled in a better way.

     

    An official of the ISP while commenting on the situation said, “It is very easy to provide complete access to YouTube archive and filter the unwanted content at the same time. If government is seriously willing to resolve the issue, ISPs can install the filtering software on their end. This will ensure filtered access to entire YouTube”.

     

    Meanwhile even as PTA had claimed last year that that it had blocked the access to the videos on YouTube that are anti-Islamic, many leading Pakistani ISPs are still making it possible for people to access those videos (without even using any proxy) which are actually the trailers of the movie titled Innocence of Muslims.

     

  • Google’s North America web traffic bigger than FB, Netflix and Instagram combined

    Google’s North America web traffic bigger than FB, Netflix and Instagram combined

    MUMBAI: Search engine giant Google on an average day reportedly handles 25 per cent of web traffic running through North American internet service providers (ISPs) which makes it bigger than Facebook, Netflix and Instagram combined.

    Founder of Deepfield, the internet monitoring company, Craig Labovitz said that over the past year Google has become pervasive not just in Google data centers, but throughout the North American internet and 62 per cent of smartphones, tablets and other devices that tap into the internet from throughout North America connect to Google at least once a day. According to the report, Google’s lion share of the web traffic comes from YouTube and the growing traffic is the reason why Google is building data centers as fast as possible and has data centers on four continents.

    Google has added thousands of servers called Google Global Cache servers to ISPs around the world which store the most popular content from Google’s network and then serve it directly from the ISP’s data center, rather than streaming it all the way from Google’s data center.

    Labovitz said that Google and Netflix’s move into so many of the ISP network operation centers is likely to be followed by other internet giants like Apple and Facebook, the report added.

  • First IAA Knowledge Seminar on an industry specific subject on 2nd August, 2013 in Mumbai

    First IAA Knowledge Seminar on an industry specific subject on 2nd August, 2013 in Mumbai

    Mumbai: Chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA) has organized an industry specific Knowledge Seminar for the realty sector on digital media. Digital has emerged as India’s 3rd largest medium and very few real estate developers have exploited its full potential. This seminar will enable an understanding and appreciation of this important medium which real estate developers can apply, and thereby benefit from, in this fast-changing communication era.

    In the words of Srinivasan Swamy, President IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development Asia/Pacific, “through this Knowledge Seminar, the Indian Real Estate industry gets a new perspective on digital as a medium, grasp global trends, and hopefully apply these for better marketing solutions. When the economy is difficult and many real estate projects are not finding ready buyers, a cost effective medium like digital can help the realty sector. I hope many will participate and benefit from it”.

    Titled ‘Real Estate in a Digitized World’, this internationally aligned Seminar to be held on 2nd August, 2013 at The Trident, BKC, (Agenda Attached) will have prominent Speakers representing leading international Companies in Digital and Social Media including Group M, Google, Addikt, Wolff Olins and Panel speakers from Microsoft, Madhouse, Netcore & Magicbricks. The Guests of Honour will be Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director, Hiranandani Constructions & Steve Waugh, the legendary Australian cricketer.

    Across the world, digital and social media have become the platform to create, impact, and foster brand experiences. The Seminar will address how marketing strategies of the real estate industry will be enhanced by this technology revolution. It will work as a practical guide to learn and apply the new world medium.

  • Google joining other tech companies in race to launch pay television

    Google joining other tech companies in race to launch pay television

    NEW DELHI: Google is joining several other technology companies in the race to launch an online version of pay television and has recently approached media companies about licensing their content for an internet TV service that would stream traditional TV programming.

    A report in The Wall Street Journal quoted by CASBAA says if the Web giant goes ahead with the idea, it would join several other companies planning to offer services that deliver cable TV-style packages of channels over broadband connections.

    Intel Corp and Sony Corp are both working on similar offerings, while Apple has pitched various TV licensing ideas to media companies in the past couple of years.

    Google has made overtures to some programmers in recent months about the initiative, sources said.

    In at least one case, Google has provided a demonstration of the product, according to a person who saw the demonstration. Google did not immediately have a comment.

    If launched, the internet-TV services could have major implications for the traditional TV ecosystem, creating new competition for pay-TV operators that are already struggling to retain video subscribers.

    Existing online-video players like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com offer on-demand TV, but the latest efforts are aimed at offering conventional channels, allowing consumers to flip through channels just as they would on cable, as well as on-demand programming.

    There is no guarantee Google, or any of the technology companies, will be able to strike licensing deals.

    Media companies are nervous about undermining their lucrative arrangements with existing distributors by licensing to new online pay services.

    The media companies are more focused on expanding online and on-demand availability of their programming through current distributors, say media executives.

    While they are open to licensing their content, they generally give the best prices to the biggest distributors.

    To get decent rates for so-called over-the-top TV services, Google and other companies will almost certainly have to accept the standard programming bundles that cable and satellite operators pay for – packages that include highly popular and less popular channels.

    This is the second time Google has gone down this path. About two years ago Google had conversations with media companies about a similar service but the discussions did not get very far, it is learnt.

    Still, the environment has changed since then: not only are several other technology companies actively working on similar services but pay-TV providers are also asking entertainment companies for nation-wide streaming rights.

    While none of those other discussions has yet resulted in any new services that could soon change. Intel, which plans to launch its service by year-end, has had discussions with several media companies to acquire broadband-service rights for more than a year.

    It is unclear whether the company has yet struck any major programming deals. But it may at least have a name. Documents disclosed last week indicate that the company may call the service OnCue.

    The status of Sony’s plans is not clear either although one media executive said Sony could launch its service before Intel.

    As previously reported, Sony plans to beam its service over broadband connections to Sony-made devices, which include PlayStation gaming consoles, TV sets and Blu-ray players. A Sony spokesman declined to comment.

    Apple has met with resistance from media companies throughout negotiations to license content, said people familiar with the situation.

    All tech companies looking to launch a video service face a fundamental strategic challenge: If they can’t beat cable or satellite TV on pricing and offer the same lineup of channels, it is not clear why consumers would switch.

    One answer, backers say, is that the technology companies can develop far better interfaces to watch television than the clunky programming guides pay-TV operators offer now.
    Indeed, many media executives said they are impressed at the slickness of slick Intel’s set-top box and guide.

    Google has taken several other steps to expand in television and online video in recent years, including financing original programming for its online video site YouTube, launching regular cable service on its Google Fiber network in Kansas City, and developing a Google TV software to be installed on cable TV set-top boxes.