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After London attack, Facebook says aims to be 'hostile environment' for terrorists
http://dtn.fm/DXH1d
Facebook said it wanted to make its social media platform a "hostile environment" for terrorists in a statement issued after attackers killed seven people in London and prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to demand action from internet firms.
Three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby on Saturday night in Britain's third major militant attack in recent months.
May responded to the attack by calling for an overhaul of the strategy used to combat extremism, including a demand for greater international regulation of the internet, saying big internet companies were partly responsible for providing extreme ideology the space to develop.
Facebook on Sunday said it condemned the London attacks.
"We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists," said Simon Milner, Director of Policy at Facebook in an emailed statement.
"Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it — and if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone's safety, we notify law enforcement."
May has previously put pressure on internet firms to take more responsibility for content posted on their services. Last month she pledged, if she wins an upcoming election, to create the power to make firms pay towards the cost of policing the internet with an industry-wide levy.
Twitter also said it was working to tackle the spread of militant propaganda on its website.
"Terrorist content has no place on Twitter," Nick Pickles, UK head of public policy at Twitter, said in a statement, adding that in the second half of 2016 it had suspended nearly 400,000 accounts.
"We continue to expand the use of technology as part of a systematic approach to removing this type of content."
Twitter Just Launched Emoji For These Indigenous Peoples
http://dtn.fm/P7nQa
For some time there's been a push for Indigenous Australian flags to be made into emoji, but there hasn't been much progress.
Twitter moved one step closer with the launch of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag emoji through hashtags.
It's to help recognise the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum — which removed two discriminatory references against the country's Indigenous people in the Australian constitution, National Sorry Day, and the beginning of the Indigenous round in the Australian Football League.
Click the link for complete article.
Scott Fitch's social media mantra: Pause Before You Post
During the social media presentation Scott Fitch has been asked to give nearly 500 times over the past three years, students hear terms such as digital footprint, cyberbullying and “Pause Before You Post,” the hallmark phrase trademarked by his employer, Jostens.
But there’s one moment that grabs everyone’s attention in almost every jam-packed auditorium he speaks.
Click the link for complete article.
Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Announces Launch of NextTrip Website and Mobile App
Travel and technology company Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) this morning announced the launch of NextTrip, a new travel website and companion mobile app featuring instant alternative lodging rentals (ALRs). The NextTrip mobile app is now available for download on both Android and iOS devices, giving users access to more than 1.2 million instantly-bookable ALR properties, 200,000 hotels, 400 airlines, all major car rental companies and 10,000 tourist activities. “The launch of NextTrip demonstrates how Monaker has solved one of the biggest pain-points in the travel industry — lack of access to instant booking of ALR,” Bill Kerby, CEO of Monaker, stated in the news release. “So, if you book it, you’ve got it. No waiting minutes or hours as you wait to hear back from the property owner. You can now go ahead and book flight, car or tour packages at the same time of your ALR, all on the same site, and without hesitation.” NextTrip is powered by the Monaker Booking Engine (MBE), a cloud-based technology platform that allows for custom integration into virtually any existing booking platform. Monaker aims to leverage this advanced technology to capitalize on the forecast growth of the ALR industry, which is on pace to top $194 billion in 2021, according to Technavio.
To view the full press release, visit http://dtn.fm/jj1Qb
About Monaker
Monaker Group is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to alternative lodging rentals (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) delivers instant booking of more than 1.2 million vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry-first: a customizable instant booking platform for ALR. Monaker’s NextTrip.com B2C website, also powered by MBE, is the first to offer significant instantly-bookable ALR products along with mainstream travel products and services all on a single site. NextTrip also features rich content, imagery and high-quality video to enhance a traveler’s booking experience and assist in the search, decision and buying process for both individuals and groups. For more information, visit www.monakergroup.com or www.nexttrip.com.
About MissionIRNewsBreaks
MissionIRNewsBreaks provide a rapid summary of corporate news that catch the attention of MissionIR. MissionIRNewsBreaks are created by our Team of professional journalists that keep a constant eye on the markets, these posts are designed to inform you on the latest happenings of our clients and other publicly traded companies on our radar. From earnings, acquisitions and agreements to conference attendance and clinical study results, our news breaks keep you up-to-date with the day’s top movers. MissionIR is primarily focused on strategic communications. We have executed countless communications programs to address the needs of companies ranging from start-ups to established industry leaders, gaining valuable experience and the expertise necessary to determine the most effective strategy for any given situation.
MissionIR (MIR)
Atlanta, Georgia
www.MissionIR.com
404.941.8975 Office
Editor@MissionIR.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Mission Investor Relations website applicable to all content provided by MIR, wherever published or re-published: http://www.missionir.com/disclaimer.html
MKGI Announces Launch of NextTrip Website and Mobile App
Travel and technology company Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) this morning announced the launch of NextTrip, a new travel website and companion mobile app featuring instant alternative lodging rentals (ALRs). The NextTrip mobile app is now available for download on both Android and iOS devices, giving users access to more than 1.2 million instantly-bookable ALR properties, 200,000 hotels, 400 airlines, all major car rental companies and 10,000 tourist activities. “The launch of NextTrip demonstrates how Monaker has solved one of the biggest pain-points in the travel industry — lack of access to instant booking of ALR,” Bill Kerby, CEO of Monaker, stated in the news release. “So, if you book it, you’ve got it. No waiting minutes or hours as you wait to hear back from the property owner. You can now go ahead and book flight, car or tour packages at the same time of your ALR, all on the same site, and without hesitation.” NextTrip is powered by the Monaker Booking Engine (MBE), a cloud-based technology platform that allows for custom integration into virtually any existing booking platform. Monaker aims to leverage this advanced technology to capitalize on the forecast growth of the ALR industry, which is on pace to top $194 billion in 2021, according to Technavio.
To view the full press release, visit http://dtn.fm/jj1Qb
About Monaker
Monaker Group is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to alternative lodging rentals (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) delivers instant booking of more than 1.2 million vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry-first: a customizable instant booking platform for ALR. Monaker’s NextTrip.com B2C website, also powered by MBE, is the first to offer significant instantly-bookable ALR products along with mainstream travel products and services all on a single site. NextTrip also features rich content, imagery and high-quality video to enhance a traveler’s booking experience and assist in the search, decision and buying process for both individuals and groups. For more information, visit www.monakergroup.com or www.nexttrip.com.
About MissionIRNewsBreaks
MissionIRNewsBreaks provide a rapid summary of corporate news that catch the attention of MissionIR. MissionIRNewsBreaks are created by our Team of professional journalists that keep a constant eye on the markets, these posts are designed to inform you on the latest happenings of our clients and other publicly traded companies on our radar. From earnings, acquisitions and agreements to conference attendance and clinical study results, our news breaks keep you up-to-date with the day’s top movers. MissionIR is primarily focused on strategic communications. We have executed countless communications programs to address the needs of companies ranging from start-ups to established industry leaders, gaining valuable experience and the expertise necessary to determine the most effective strategy for any given situation.
MissionIR (MIR)
Atlanta, Georgia
www.MissionIR.com
404.941.8975 Office
Editor@MissionIR.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Mission Investor Relations website applicable to all content provided by MIR, wherever published or re-published: http://www.missionir.com/disclaimer.html
Twitter For Apple TV Adds Live, 360 Degree Video And Periscope’s Global Map
http://dtn.fm/EDbT3
Twitter launched a version of its service on Apple TV and other media player platforms last fall in order to deliver its live video content to the big screen. Today, the company is updating its Apple TV app with a couple of new features, including support for Periscope’s Global Map and the ability to watch live 360 degree videos.
The company notes that, with this launch, Twitter is the first Apple TV app to support live 360 degree video.
To try out the new feature, Apple TV owners will use the Siri remote to move around the video to view its content from different angles, offering a more immersive look into the scene.
Click the link for complete article.
Inside Facebook's Plan To Eat Another $350 Billion IT Market
http://dtn.fm/DWjz3
On an ordinary work day in mid-2016, a handful of Facebook engineers were sitting on the couches in a corner of the company's Menlo Park, California, headquarters when one of them tossed out a wacky idea.
He suggested doing something that had never been done before and could potentially upend the $350 billion telecom market.
"It can't be so difficult to build our own system," the engineer said, referring to the telecom equipment that sends data across cables and wireless networks, and which the engineer suspected could be made to operate faster and cheaper than the pricey equipment sold by big vendors like Nortel, Huawei, Ericsson, Cisco or Juniper Networks.
Click the link for complete article.
Twitter Adds Advanced Privacy Controls, New Data Collection Methods
http://dtn.fm/h5EXN
Twitter has announced a new set of advanced privacy options which provide more insight into how your data is being used by the platform, and more control over such information, while they're also boosting their capacity to collect similar insights, based on your web usage.
And while the measures are largely in line with how other platforms are using such data, it's important to understand the implications of these updates - particularly for websites using embedded tweets.
First off, on the new privacy tools - as explained by Twitter:
“We’re expanding Your Twitter Data to give you the most transparent access to your Twitter information to date, including demographic and interest data, and advertisers that have included you in their tailored audiences on Twitter. Each category of data will be clearly marked, and you will be able to view or modify this data directly.”
Click the link for complete article.
Official Twitter Account Of Sweden Was At The Center Of Controversy After The Person Using It Blocked 14k People En Masse
http://dtn.fm/5VKnY
Sweden boasts a very democratic official Twitter account. Every week it’s used by a different person, with the Swedish Institute managing the account overall.
Last week, the account was used by online security expert Vian Tahir. Using a block list, Tahir blocked 14,000 Twitter accounts that were, according to the Institute, “specifically dedicated to aggression, harassment and threats as well as inciting others to behave the same way.” The Institute was going to keep the block list, due to a longstanding rule about keeping previous curators’ blocks in place.
However, at least one person was not happy to be on that block list: Isaac Bachman, Israel’s ambassador to Sweden. According to The Local, other blocked users include author Jonas Gardell, Expressen foreign correspondent Magda Gad, and members of the Swedish Parliament.
Click the link for complete article.
A Brief History of Facebook's Acquisitions on it's Journey to Perfection [Infographic]
http://dtn.fm/jofS2
Facebook is undeniably one of the biggest success stories in technology, and in business.
Now a household name, the company has evolved from a simple networking site for select college students to a multi-billion dollar empire, with close to two billion users worldwide.
So how has The Social Network evolved to became the giant it is today? The company’s extraordinary growth is at least partially attributable to its multitude of acquisitions over time.
The below infographic looks at Facebook's various acquisitions over the years, and how each has contributed to the platform's current suite of products.
Click the link for complete article.
Twitter Founder Biz Stone To Help Jack Dorsey With Culture
http://dtn.fm/Rt3Gn
Biz Stone, a Twitter co-founder who was largely responsible for tending Twitter's culture, says he will now revive that role at a particularly rocky moment for the struggling social media company and its chief executive Jack Dorsey that has led to a string of executive and employee departures.
"My top focus will be to guide the company culture, that energy, that feeling," Stone wrote in a Medium post. "This is where Jack, and Twitter’s inestimable CMO, Leslie Berland, feel I can have the most powerful impact. It’s important that everyone understands the whole story of Twitter and each of our roles in that story. I’ll shape the experience internally so it’s also felt outside the company. More soon."
Click the link for complete article.
How Twitter’s Feed Algorithm Works – As Explained by Twitter
http://dtn.fm/ebSr8
It’s been about a year since Twitter rolled out their algorithm-fuelled timeline. Well, partially algorithm-fuelled –Twitter highlights the top tweets you missed, then mixes some other recommendations in, but for the most part, it still displays tweets from accounts you follow in reverse chronological order, which is important, given the platform’s focus on real-time content.
But whether you’ve noticed the change or not, Twitter’s algorithm has been evolving, and it has helped improve engagement.
Click the link for complete article.
How Facebook is using AI to penalize spammy, ad-heavy websites in its News Feed
http://dtn.fm/ph1Xc
Facebook will curtail the reach of organic posts and ads that link to web pages with too little original content and too many annoying, offensive ads.
Facebook is looking to eradicate any semblance between people’s news feeds and those spammy “recommended articles” boxes littering the web.
On Wednesday, Facebook announced an update to its news feed algorithm that penalizes links to web pages that it considers of low quality. Rolling out “over the coming months,” per Facebook, the update will curtail the reach of organic posts containing these links and block ads linking to these pages from being approved in the first place.
The update will apply to ads running across Facebook, Instagram and Facebook’s Audience Network ad network and to organic posts on Facebook. It will not yet apply to organic posts on Instagram. That may have to do with the fact that only approved accounts can attach links to organic posts on Instagram — verified profiles for Stories and approved retail-related brands for non-Story posts — and those rubber-stamped groups are less likely to use spammy links, otherwise they probably wouldn’t have been approved in the first place.
Facebook is specifically targeting pages that don’t feature much original content but carry a lot of ads, particularly the annoying, offensive types like pop-ups and toenail-fungus ads.
Click the link for complete article.
Monaker Group (MKGI) Reviews Fiscal 2017 Successes
Travel and technology company Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) today reported results for the full fiscal year ended February 28, 2017. Highlights include introducing the first customizable alternative instant booking engine, adding hundreds of properties to the Monaker travel network, and signing of the first major industry partner to integrate its instant booking engine. The company also provided its optimistic outlook for the current fiscal year as its target market is expected to grow at more than 7% CAGR, making it the fastest growing sector of the travel industry. Additionally, the company expects to release NextTrip Phase II in late summer 2017 and increase its inventory of properties from 1.2 million to more than 2 million.
To view the full press release, visit http://dtn.fm/QvaU4
About Monaker Group
Monaker Group is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to alternative lodging rentals (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) delivers instant booking of more than 1.2 million vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry-first: a customizable instant booking platform for ALR. Monaker’s NextTrip.com B2C website, also powered by MBE, is the first to offer significant instantly bookable ALR products along with mainstream travel products and services all on a single site. NextTrip also features rich content, imagery and high-quality video to enhance a traveler’s booking experience and assist in the search, decision and buying process for both individuals and groups. For more information, visit www.monakergroup.com or www.nexttrip.com.
MKGI Reviews Fiscal 2017 Successes
Travel and technology company Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) today reported results for the full fiscal year ended February 28, 2017. Highlights include introducing the first customizable alternative instant booking engine, adding hundreds of properties to the Monaker travel network, and signing of the first major industry partner to integrate its instant booking engine. The company also provided its optimistic outlook for the current fiscal year as its target market is expected to grow at more than 7% CAGR, making it the fastest growing sector of the travel industry. Additionally, the company expects to release NextTrip Phase II in late summer 2017 and increase its inventory of properties from 1.2 million to more than 2 million.
To view the full press release, visit http://dtn.fm/QvaU4
About Monaker Group
Monaker Group is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to alternative lodging rentals (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) delivers instant booking of more than 1.2 million vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry-first: a customizable instant booking platform for ALR. Monaker’s NextTrip.com B2C website, also powered by MBE, is the first to offer significant instantly bookable ALR products along with mainstream travel products and services all on a single site. NextTrip also features rich content, imagery and high-quality video to enhance a traveler’s booking experience and assist in the search, decision and buying process for both individuals and groups. For more information, visit www.monakergroup.com or www.nexttrip.com.
Facebook Lead Ads Just Got A Whole Lot More Useful With Offline Conversion Data
http://dtn.fm/7dJgX
The new Offline Conversion solution aims to help advertisers tie Lead Ads to downstream conversion activity.
Facebook Lead Ads just got a whole lot more accountable by enabling campaign integrations with offline systems such as CRMs, POS or call centers. Facebook launched a new Offline Conversion solution on Monday to automatically connect with CRMs and other systems to upload the outcome of leads generated by Facebook campaigns into their ads manager.
Advertisers will be able to track conversion activity through the sales cycle and map it back to specific campaigns and lead ads. In addition to being able to optimize existing campaigns based on offline performance data, advertisers can also create Lookalike Audiences of lead ad segments using Custom Audiences, retarget lead customers with upsells or new products or sequence ads based on where users are in the funnel.
Click the link for complete article.
Twitter brings its TV app with live video to Roku
http://dtn.fm/2TMFo
On the heels of Twitter’s plans to significantly expand the amount of live streaming video content on its network, the company today is bringing its big-screen video app to a new platform with its launch on Roku devices. The arrival comes over half a year after the TV app was first introduced on Apple TV, Fire TV and Xbox One, and will offer a similar experience that combines live video alongside top tweets.
The Roku launch is a significant expansion for Twitter’s TV app, as Roku today has 14 million active user accounts across both its streaming players and TV sets, as of of the end of March.
Roku says the new app will offer the same live streaming video that’s live on Twitter, including its original programming and live simulcasts in sports, entertainment, news and politics. And like the version already available on other platforms, Roku users will be able to see tweets from Twitter’s network alongside the video they’re watching.
Twitter and Roku worked on the new app together, which is similar to those on other platforms, though it doesn’t offer Periscope support.
Twitter recently announced a number of new deals for video content, including one with Bloomberg which will begin streaming 24/7 news broadcasts on Twitter starting this fall. These will include a mix of live news reporting and video that’s posted on Twitter by users, which Bloomberg will curate and verify to augment its own content.
The company also detailed a number of other deals at its first-ever NewFront presentation in New York this week, including new and expanded sports deals with the WNBA, MLB, NFL, PGA Tour, Player’s Tribune, and Stadium Network, as well as news and entertainment deals with Verge, BuzzFeed, Cheddar, Viacom, Dick Clark Productions, Propagate, IMG Fashion, and Live Nation.
Combined, the deals get Twitter to its earlier stated goal of being able to offer users 24/7 live video content, and help to cement Twitter’s place as a company that’s not just a social network, but one that’s also news and information channel of its own.
With all this video to watch, the Roku Twitter app will allow users to pick and choose which stream they want to watch, Roku says. Users can select any of the live events that are running, regardless if they’re streaming at the same time.
“The Twitter channel on the Roku platform brings together the video and related conversation that surrounds live events to the largest screen in the house,” said Ryan Troy, product manager at Twitter, in a statement about the launch. “Our new channel gives Roku’s audience an easy way to watch live events and see what people are talking about, keeping them connected to what’s happening.”
The new Roku app will be available as a free download starting today in the Roku Channel Store and won’t require users to have a Twitter account in order to use it. The app will work on all Roku devices, including TVs.
Facebook To Hire 3,000 More Staffers To Review Content
http://dtn.fm/F1aXt
Facebook Inc. said it would hire 3,000 more staffers to review content in an attempt to curb violent or sensitive videos on its site without scaling back its live-streaming tools.
The planned hires, announced by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in a post Wednesday, are in response to the Facebook posting of such violent videos as one last month showing a Cleveland man fatally shooting another man. A week later, a man in Thailand killed his 11-month-old daughter in a live video.
Mr. Zuckerberg's proposed fix, which would increase Facebook's roster of 4,500 reviewers by two-thirds over the next year, addresses the amount of time it takes Facebook to remove graphic content, as opposed to preventing its site from being used to display such content. The Cleveland video was up for roughly two hours; the Thailand video stayed up for 24 hours.
"If we're going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly," Mr. Zuckerberg wrote, adding that videos posted on Facebook of people hurting themselves and others in the past few weeks has been "heartbreaking."
The new steps nudge Facebook toward a more active role in policing its site, including being able to stop incidents before they happen. In his post, Mr. Zuckerberg noted that Facebook last week received a report about a man contemplating suicide on live video. Facebook immediately contacted law-enforcement officials, who were able to prevent the incident.
Facebook will still rely on its vast user base to report and flag content, but it is likely to be able to respond more quickly to flagged content with its bulked up team. Mr. Zuckerberg noted that Facebook will continue forging relationships with local officials and will alert them if reviewers sense a user is about to cause harm to him or herself or others.
Mr. Zuckerberg also said Facebook would make it easier for users to report problems to the company so reviewers can more quickly determine if a post violates its standards. The company is also investing in artificial intelligence, in hopes that AI can one day detect violence as it is unfolding, but that technology is a long way off.
Meanwhile, it could be a challenge for Facebook to ramp up its content moderation team to 7,500. Most reviewers are contractors, not full-time employees, and burnout is high, experts and former workers say. A small subset of workers manage live videos.
"It's an incredible commitment of resources. It took them almost 10 years to devote 4,500 jobs to doing this," said Kate Klonick, resident fellow at Yale Law School's Information Society Project and author of a recent paper on content moderation at technology companies. "The only thing I question is being able to maintain quality on content moderation review as they take on, train and update a system for this huge number of new workers."
A Facebook spokeswoman declined to say if the new hires would be contractors or employees, or where they would be hired. They will handle a variety of objectionable content, including hate speech and child exploitation, across text, images and video.
Facebook rushed out its live-streaming tool, Facebook Live, to users last year, with Mr. Zuckerberg touting the format as raw and visceral. But the company wasn't prepared for the extent to which crimes, including suicides and killings, shown on live video would capture the public's attention.
"We're working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner, whether that's responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down," Mr. Zuckerberg said.
Twitter Picks Up Live Programming From Media Companies Including Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, Live Nation And Vox Media
http://dtn.fm/yxUb5
Twitter debuts slate of a dozen live shows, 24/7 channels at NewFronts event
If Facebook is the YouTube of live video online, Twitter seems to have its eye on becoming the Hulu.
At its inaugural NewFronts presentation on Monday, Twitter debuted a slate of new live programs, including a pair of 24/7 live channels and several daily news shows. The programming builds on Twitter’s initial live slate from last year that spanned syndicated news broadcasts, live sports simulcasts and its first original live shows. The lineup could help to wash over Twitter’s failed bid to renew its NFL live deal and to buoy Twitter’s struggling advertising business. Video has become the company’s “single largest revenue-generating ad format,” according to the company’s latest quarterly earnings report, though the format’s rise has coincided with an overall ad revenue decline at Twitter.
Advertisers can buy pre- and mid-roll ads against the new shows and channels through Twitter’s Amplify program. Pre-roll ads longer than six seconds will be skippable, but mid-roll ads will not, according to a Twitter spokesperson.
Twitter will be sharing ad revenue with the media companies producing the programs. A Twitter spokesperson declined to say if Twitter is paying the media companies for any of the programming beyond the revenue split. Update: While the spokesperson originally said the revenue split was the same as Twitter’s Amplify program that has 70 percent of the revenue going to the publishers, the spokesperson later corrected that statement to say that the revenue splits for the NewFronts programs varies and declined to offer specifics.
Click the link for complete article.
Yet More Reasons To Like Facebook
http://dtn.fm/yuUj7
Warnings of higher spending and slower revenue growth normally don't bode well for a company's stock price. That is unless you are Facebook Inc.
The social network's shares have surged 33% so far this year. Already a digital-advertising powerhouse, Facebook is now benefiting from sharpened focus on its photo-sharing app Instagram. That has catapulted the social network's market value north of $440 billion, the fifth highest in the S&P 500 and topping Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
More good news is expected Wednesday when Facebook reports quarterly results. Analysts polled by FactSet estimate first-quarter earnings of $1.12 a share, up 45% from a year ago. Revenue is expected to have increased 45% to $7.8 billion. Facebook has noted that revenue growth is expected to "come down meaningfully" this year as it reaches the limit on how many ads it can show in its news feed. Analysts forecast year-over-year growth of 33% in the back half of the year.
But the positive news surrounding Instagram, particularly as it relates to rival Snapchat parent Snap Inc., is what has investors excited. Facebook doesn't break out Instagram results specifically, but it recently noted that the app has more than 700 million total users, doubling its user base in two years with growth accelerating recently. And " Instagram Stories," a direct competitor to Snapchat launched last summer, now has 200 million daily active users, already surpassing those on Snapchat.
Instagram gives Facebook yet another outlet to show its ads. The app is forecast to generate $3.9 billion in global advertising revenue this year, a 106% increase from a year ago, according to eMarketer Inc. By comparison, Snap is only expected to generate $1.03 billion in revenue this year.
It isn't just Instagram that is thriving. Facebook's flagship app and Instagram, as well as Messenger and WhatsApp, were the four most-downloaded apps in the first quarter, according to Anthony DiClemente, an analyst at Nomura Instinent. Snapchat was a distant fifth as Instagram's lead expanded.
The number of Instagram downloads in the first three months of the year increased 5.1% from the prior quarter, while Snapchat's declined 1.3%, according to Mr. DiClemente. Snap's shares are down 11% from its first-day close even as Facebook has risen 11%.
Granted, there are risks. The social network is counting on growth from video with hopes of winning over traditional television advertising dollars. That is no sure thing, particularly as the company grapples with violent videos and fake news.
Its shares aren't cheap either, fetching 26 times projected earnings over the next 12 months. But a rich multiple hasn't stopped investors in Facebook's nearly five-year history as a public company. If anything, the current valuation is more compelling as it is roughly 30% cheaper than its average since its May 2012 initial public offering.
There is still plenty to like here.
Twitter Joins Up With Bloomberg On Streaming TV News
http://dtn.fm/aFED8
Twitter and financial news giant Bloomberg are joining forces on a 24/7 streaming video service set to launch this fall, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Twitter and Bloomberg will create content solely for the social network, the WSJ said.
It is going to be focused on the most important news for an intelligent audience around the globe and it's going to be broader in focus than our existing network," the WSJ quoted as Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith as saying.
Bloomberg will announce the deal officially on Monday.
Twitter has struggled with user growth. But the Bloomberg deal seems to play to Twitter's strengths — power users and their followers who are interested in breaking news and events.
Twitter shares rose 2% to 16.81 before the opening bell in the stock market today. Last week, the stock leapt 12.6%, gapping above its 50-day line, as Twitter announced much-better-than-expected earnings. Late Friday, CEO Jack Dorsey disclosed that he bought an additional 574,002 shares of Twitter, pushing his total holdings to over 16 million shares.
The Bloomberg-Twitter alliance also comes as publishers are backing away from Facebook Instant Articles. Publishers have struggled to monetize content posted on Facebook (FB) via Instant Articles. And Facebook, which reports earnings this week, has undercut the project by favoring posts from friends and family. Facebook reports earnings on May 3.
Twitter has made forays into streaming TV, broadcasting the NFL's Thursday Night Football last season. But Amazon (AMZN) has won the rights for TNF this season.
Change To The Facebook Pixel Will Now Pass A Page's Click Data And Metadata Back To Facebook
http://dtn.fm/4nlCl
The engine behind Facebook’s tracking and targeting just got an upgrade. The Facebook pixel helps track conversions, optimize ad spends and retarget users. An upgrade to the pixel was just rolled out that will now capture more information, including actions and page structure and data.
The biggest area that marketers should pay attention to is the ability to track actions based on site use. These actions include clicks like an “add to cart,” “click to call” or “purchase.” This should help advertisers gather more data on their site without having to implement custom events. The page metadata that will now be passed along includes Opengraph or Schema.org data included on the page.
According to the Facebook for Developers page, you can also turn off this new upgrade by implementing the following instructions:
If you’d like to configure the Facebook Pixel to not send this additional information, you can add the line fbq(‘set’, ‘autoConfig’, ‘false’, ‘FB_PIXEL_ID’) above the init call in the Facebook Pixel Base code and the Facebook Pixel will no longer send this additional information.
If your pixel was created before April 20, the new functionality will be go into effect on May 20. If the pixel was created after April 20, the functionality will be active now.
Could the UFC stream fights on Twitter?
http://dtn.fm/r5E1s
The social media giant sure seems to think so.
The UFC has long embraced social media as a means of pushing its athletes and its content. So could the promotion wind up streaming live fights on Twitter? According to a high-ranking official of the networking service, it could absolutely happen in the very near future.
In a recent interview with BuzzFeed.com, Twitter COO and CFO Anthony Noto outline his company’s plan to expand its live streaming options and made it a point to mention UFC content as a real possibility.
“We have a really big audience when there’s a pay-per-view UFC match,” Noto told BuzzFeed News. “Should we provide that content to the audience on Twitter that’s not watching it, but might like to after seeing tweets about it? That’s something we’d consider.”
Twitter spent $10 million to air Thursday night NFL games in the 2016 season, but Amazon picked up a similar package for 2017 for $50 million, leaving Twitter with an opportunity to bring on new content.
UFC officials did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.
BuzzFeed news pointed out that while Twitter is losing the NFL, the one-season deal proved a successful experiment by “letting programmers know it was dead serious about live, and demonstrating an infrastructure that could handle millions of viewers tuning in at once.”
Noto agreed.
“It was instrumental [in generating additional interest],” Noto told BuzzFeed News. “It’s a really high-profile brand and one that has really high expectations for product quality. It caused people to come and see if we could deliver.”
Twitter wants to stream live video programming 24/7
http://dtn.fm/mTyf2
- Twitter plans to air live video 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- The plan for 24 hour video will take some time to reach, Twitter COO and CFO Anthony Noto said.
Get ready for nonstop live video inside Twitter.
The company, which reports first quarter earnings Wednesday, plans to air live video 24 hours a day, 7 day a week inside its apps and desktop site, building on the 800+ hours it aired in the first three months of 2017, Twitter COO and CFO Anthony Noto told BuzzFeed News. Call it Twitter TV or The Twitter Network, the always-on realization of Twitter's current live video offering of sports, news and entertainment programming is on its way.
Click the link for complete article.
Facebook tests its News Feed with a new form of Related Articles
http://dtn.fm/Qd8uO
Facebook will show additional articles related to topics many people are talking about before a user clicks to read a story.
Facebook has announced a new test for the Related Articles feature in its News Feed. That feature, launched in 2013, would show related stories right below an article after you read the article and returned to News Feed.
In the new test, Facebook will show related stories before you click to read an article. Based on trending stories — that is, topics that many people are already discussing on Facebook — Facebook will show additional articles from publishers about the same topic, giving readers the ability to read about alternative perspectives and third-party fact-checkers.
Click the link for complete article.
Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Primed to Benefit from Booming ALR Market
The ALR market is booming, representing a major boost to Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) and its successful integration of ALR booking with the traditional travel market. ALR (alternative lodging rental) is the industry moniker used to describe the practice of travelers and vacationers renting homes from private owners rather than utilizing traditional lodging such as hotels. Various forms of this simple practice of linking private homeowners with travelers to secure accommodations has been in practice for centuries. Throughout history, it was common for homeowners to rent space in their homes to weary travelers. Most of the time, private homes were the only accommodations available, and word of mouth identified homeowners willing to rent. Some homes ultimately morphed into full-time hotels, and a delineation occurred between public and private accommodations. Over time, renting directly from homeowners waned as travelers relied on traditional hotels for lodging. It all changed again with the advent of the internet and the ingenious creation of global platforms to link homeowners with those seeking lodging. The ALR market has since exploded, and the number of users just keeps growing. Homeowners and travelers both benefit, while the platform providers generate enormous revenues.
Numerous competitors have sprung up since the inception of alternative lodging rental platforms. Airbnb, HomeAway, Priceline, VRBO and FlipKey are some of the more recognizable names, with multitudes of others vying for the travel dollars. In the U.S. alone, private accommodation rentals totaled about $32 billion in 2016, and that figure is projected to grow to $37 billion by 2018. The revenues and valuations in this sector are enormous. Airbnb is now valued at over $31 billion, and online travel giant Expedia purchased HomeAway for $3.9 billion.
This contemporary peer-to-peer rental of apartments, homes, and spare bedrooms has generated a lot of demand and is hugely profitable for the platform providers that connect these parties. However, even with all the noise and competition, the consumer is still left wanting. Unlike hotel booking, which provides instant confirmation and easy travel planning, all of the current ALR companies still rely on convoluted confirmation systems, typically relying on the homeowner to provide the confirmation. This process has been known to take days or even weeks, leaving the traveler in travel planning limbo. There’s also no way a traveler can book ALR lodging through the convenience of a travel agent. Travelers are forced to utilize multiple sites to book flights, cars, services or entertainment and lack a cohesive one-stop shop to book a vacation. It just didn’t exist in the ALR market, until now.
Technology-driven Monaker Group, Inc. is set to disrupt the status quo in ALR and deliver what the customers want. Monaker has more than 60 years of operational experience serving the tourism industry and has pioneered a proprietary system to provide instant confirmation for bookings. The company has also established an extensive network of travel agents to offer ALR options, an alternative never before provided to travelers. Monaker already has a competitive ALR inventory compared to the largest players in the sector, and, given the disruptive changes Monaker is bringing to the vast ALR market, the company should garner lots of attention from investors looking to profit from the alternative lodging rental industry.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
MKGI Primed to Benefit from Booming ALR Market
The ALR market is booming, representing a major boost to Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) and its successful integration of ALR booking with the traditional travel market. ALR (alternative lodging rental) is the industry moniker used to describe the practice of travelers and vacationers renting homes from private owners rather than utilizing traditional lodging such as hotels. Various forms of this simple practice of linking private homeowners with travelers to secure accommodations has been in practice for centuries. Throughout history, it was common for homeowners to rent space in their homes to weary travelers. Most of the time, private homes were the only accommodations available, and word of mouth identified homeowners willing to rent. Some homes ultimately morphed into full-time hotels, and a delineation occurred between public and private accommodations. Over time, renting directly from homeowners waned as travelers relied on traditional hotels for lodging. It all changed again with the advent of the internet and the ingenious creation of global platforms to link homeowners with those seeking lodging. The ALR market has since exploded, and the number of users just keeps growing. Homeowners and travelers both benefit, while the platform providers generate enormous revenues.
Numerous competitors have sprung up since the inception of alternative lodging rental platforms. Airbnb, HomeAway, Priceline, VRBO and FlipKey are some of the more recognizable names, with multitudes of others vying for the travel dollars. In the U.S. alone, private accommodation rentals totaled about $32 billion in 2016, and that figure is projected to grow to $37 billion by 2018. The revenues and valuations in this sector are enormous. Airbnb is now valued at over $31 billion, and online travel giant Expedia purchased HomeAway for $3.9 billion.
This contemporary peer-to-peer rental of apartments, homes, and spare bedrooms has generated a lot of demand and is hugely profitable for the platform providers that connect these parties. However, even with all the noise and competition, the consumer is still left wanting. Unlike hotel booking, which provides instant confirmation and easy travel planning, all of the current ALR companies still rely on convoluted confirmation systems, typically relying on the homeowner to provide the confirmation. This process has been known to take days or even weeks, leaving the traveler in travel planning limbo. There’s also no way a traveler can book ALR lodging through the convenience of a travel agent. Travelers are forced to utilize multiple sites to book flights, cars, services or entertainment and lack a cohesive one-stop shop to book a vacation. It just didn’t exist in the ALR market, until now.
Technology-driven Monaker Group, Inc. is set to disrupt the status quo in ALR and deliver what the customers want. Monaker has more than 60 years of operational experience serving the tourism industry and has pioneered a proprietary system to provide instant confirmation for bookings. The company has also established an extensive network of travel agents to offer ALR options, an alternative never before provided to travelers. Monaker already has a competitive ALR inventory compared to the largest players in the sector, and, given the disruptive changes Monaker is bringing to the vast ALR market, the company should garner lots of attention from investors looking to profit from the alternative lodging rental industry.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
Monaker Group (MKGI) Has an Advantage in Surging Alternative Lodging Rental Market – Instant Booking Confirmation
Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI) has an advantage in the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market. A research report from CBRE Hotels (formerly PF Hospitality) finds that ALR now accounts for 9% of total lodging units in the 10 largest markets in the U.S. and is a threat to the growth and pricing of traditional hotels (http://dtn.fm/OZw8o). In the ALR war, Monaker Group has the advantage of instant online booking for both alternative and traditional lodging.
Monaker Group is using artificial intelligence (AI) as it develops its website, NextTrip.com. It will offer travel agents and consumers a single all-in-one instant confirmation booking site where a user can book ALR, traditional hotels and airfare — everything for a vacation, business trip or a combination of the two. It is a high-technology company focused on the ALR market with its instant confirmation advantage available across non-traditional and traditional travel.
The total inventory of Monaker Group will reach 1.5 million vacation rentals by June 2017, per the company. Earlier this year, it offered one million accept/request properties, its worldwide inventory of resort properties and even “make an offer” bidding solution options. eMarketer research projects that the digital travel market will reach $817.54 billion by 2020 (http://dtn.fm/0Uhh8). Monaker Group will offer ALR digitally plus traditional hotels on its single site. Bill Kerby, founder, chairman and CEO of Monaker Group, said that its site will be an intuitive and fully comprehensive booking platform.
The CBRE Hotels report shows that major ALR player Airbnb is adding more units at a faster clip than traditional hotels, showing the power of the ALR market. For example, in New York, out of a total of 140,000 lodging units, Airbnb accounts for almost 23,000 units, or 16%, as of September 2016. In Los Angeles, ALR accounted for 12% of the lodging units. The numbers were 11% in San Francisco and 9.2% in Miami, the report showed. The available lodging rental units also translated into total hotel-generated room revenue, with ALR accounting for 6% in Los Angles and about 5% in New York, San Francisco and Oakland. In total, CBRE found that more than 55% of Airbnb’s revenues from October 2014 to September 2015 came from five U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Boston. “I take my hat off to them. They saw an opportunity that the rest of us missed,” Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce noted in a news release. CBRE projected that, as Airbnb grows, its impact will reduce new hotel construction and keep traditional hotel room rates down.
Meanwhile, Monaker Group has a major advantage with its all-in-one instant booking platform. It gives something in the online marketplace that users want but haven’t had before: instant ALR confirmation plus full integration with traditional travel options. Monaker Group said in its investor presentation that it has a mobile app under development that offers users access to its proprietary ALR inventory, real-time booking, an extensive library of videos showing resorts, and even access to online travel agents. Its booking platform is comprehensive for travelers seeking ALR.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
MKGI Has an Advantage in Surging Alternative Lodging Rental Market – Instant Booking Confirmation
Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI) has an advantage in the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market. A research report from CBRE Hotels (formerly PF Hospitality) finds that ALR now accounts for 9% of total lodging units in the 10 largest markets in the U.S. and is a threat to the growth and pricing of traditional hotels (http://dtn.fm/OZw8o). In the ALR war, Monaker Group has the advantage of instant online booking for both alternative and traditional lodging.
Monaker Group is using artificial intelligence (AI) as it develops its website, NextTrip.com. It will offer travel agents and consumers a single all-in-one instant confirmation booking site where a user can book ALR, traditional hotels and airfare — everything for a vacation, business trip or a combination of the two. It is a high-technology company focused on the ALR market with its instant confirmation advantage available across non-traditional and traditional travel.
The total inventory of Monaker Group will reach 1.5 million vacation rentals by June 2017, per the company. Earlier this year, it offered one million accept/request properties, its worldwide inventory of resort properties and even “make an offer” bidding solution options. eMarketer research projects that the digital travel market will reach $817.54 billion by 2020 (http://dtn.fm/0Uhh8). Monaker Group will offer ALR digitally plus traditional hotels on its single site. Bill Kerby, founder, chairman and CEO of Monaker Group, said that its site will be an intuitive and fully comprehensive booking platform.
The CBRE Hotels report shows that major ALR player Airbnb is adding more units at a faster clip than traditional hotels, showing the power of the ALR market. For example, in New York, out of a total of 140,000 lodging units, Airbnb accounts for almost 23,000 units, or 16%, as of September 2016. In Los Angeles, ALR accounted for 12% of the lodging units. The numbers were 11% in San Francisco and 9.2% in Miami, the report showed. The available lodging rental units also translated into total hotel-generated room revenue, with ALR accounting for 6% in Los Angles and about 5% in New York, San Francisco and Oakland. In total, CBRE found that more than 55% of Airbnb’s revenues from October 2014 to September 2015 came from five U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Boston. “I take my hat off to them. They saw an opportunity that the rest of us missed,” Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce noted in a news release. CBRE projected that, as Airbnb grows, its impact will reduce new hotel construction and keep traditional hotel room rates down.
Meanwhile, Monaker Group has a major advantage with its all-in-one instant booking platform. It gives something in the online marketplace that users want but haven’t had before: instant ALR confirmation plus full integration with traditional travel options. Monaker Group said in its investor presentation that it has a mobile app under development that offers users access to its proprietary ALR inventory, real-time booking, an extensive library of videos showing resorts, and even access to online travel agents. Its booking platform is comprehensive for travelers seeking ALR.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
Twitter's @support Account Is Now A Bot
http://dtn.fm/2tBm7
Twitter is currently testing a new way to provide customer support using a bot. The company’s @support account will now be able to provide automated replies to basic questions and complaints.
The bot was officially released by Twitter this Wednesday, but it’s still in its experimental phase, according to BuzzFeed News. Twitter plans on reviewing how users engage with the new bot and will adjust its functionality accordingly. BuzzFeed tried the new bot out, but it was mostly capable of only redirecting them to a website to fill out forms.
Although the feature is still lacking, it’s become an easy way of reporting bad behavior on the site as it allows users to report tweets and accounts that are abusive. The bot focuses on five categories: Accounts, Abuse, Impersonalization, General and #TwitterTips. The Abuse category appears to be the most robust category that's available on the bot, according to Engadget.
Click the link for complete article.
Facebook Now Has More Than 5 Million Monthly Advertisers
http://dtn.fm/kH15s
Over the past year or so, Facebook has attracted a million new advertisers roughly every six months.
Facebook execs continue to caution investors that its advertising revenue growth will soon decelerate. But so far, the social network’s advertising business isn’t showing many, if any, signs of slowing. Case in point: over the past year or so, Facebook has attracted a million new advertisers roughly every six months.
Facebook has announced that more than 5 million businesses advertise on its social network every month. That’s 1 million more advertisers than Facebook had in September 2016 and 2 million more advertisers than it had in March 2016.
As Facebook’s total number of advertisers increases, so does the share residing outside the US. Whereas last fall Facebook said that more than 70 percent of its advertisers were outside the US, now the company claims that share has inched up to nearly 75 percent.
That international growth may be buoyed by Facebook enabling advertisers to buy its ads through their smartphones. Nearly 50 percent of Facebook’s monthly advertisers have created an ad on a phone or tablet, up from 40 percent in September 2016.
And internationally, Thailand has replaced Vietnam as an ascendant advertiser base. Thailand is among the countries whose advertiser bases experienced the highest growth rates in the past year — along with Argentina, Brazil, India and Mexico — and it ranks alongside the US, Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom among countries where Facebook added the most advertisers in the past year. In September 2016, Vietnam was the only country to make both lists.
Will Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Disrupt and Transform the ALR Market?
It’s not just the size, but also the demand and margins involved in the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market that are impressive. Providing a platform where travelers can rent private homes and other non-traditional lodging has proved to be disruptive and transformative to the travel industry. The number of users just keeps growing while home owners and travelers mutually benefit, and the platform providers generate enormous revenues due to higher margins.
The obvious elephant in this arena is Airbnb, which has grown from inception 10 years ago to a valuation of more than $30 billion. Because of the size and demand in the ALR market, other players like HomeAway, Priceline, and FlipKey have staked out territory. Airbnb has about 2.5 million ALR listings in inventory, including homes and rooms of private owners. HomeAway has about 1.2 million ALR listings, while Priceline has around a half million and FlipKey has 700,000. However, unlike hotels, each of these platforms relies on the private property owner to provide confirmation to the traveler, a process which can take days to complete. This doesn’t sit well with travelers trying to nail down travel details. In fact, a recent article in tnooz travel (http://dtn.fm/ULTi5) showed that, no matter how much they may like the economy and locational advantages typically offered by alternative lodging rentals, travelers really desire the convenience and ease of one-stop booking and instant confirmation, as provided by travel agencies.
One upstart travel company is about to deliver exactly what customers want and, in the process, could disrupt and transform the ALR market and perhaps the entire travel industry. Technology-driven Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) has more than 60 years of operational experience serving the tourism industry. This has given Monaker valuable insights into how to best serve today’s traveler and how to deliver ALR options on customer terms. Through its flagship ALR brand, NextTrip, Monaker currently offers about a million ALR listings with another 1.8 million-plus listings in process to be delivered to the travel industry’s fastest growing sector. More importantly Monaker Group’s unique ALR platform, NextTrip.com, is the only platform to offer travelers real-time booking of ALR properties, plus full access to traditional travel lodgings and transportation options, effectively encompassing everything needed to plan and organize vacations. By combining immediate ALR confirmation with all other travel options such as airlines, cruises, concierge services, and rental cars, Monaker will be able to provide the first true all-in-one online booking site.
The tnooz article also highlighted some other shortcomings of current ALR platforms. Survey results showed that over half of respondents would find it valuable if online travel agencies offered ALR options, while less than five percent of business travelers were given ALR options and a third would utilize ALR if offered. Presciently, Monaker already addressed these consumer concerns by delivering white label, real-time ALR solutions to Mark Travel and another 85,000 independent travel agents, in addition to providing links to over 200 corporations. Monaker facilitates the complexity of multiple bookings with multiple variations through integration with artificial intelligence travel platforms.
Monaker, given such technical and strategic innovations in an enormous market, represents breakthrough potential at a bargain price for investors. The company trades in the small cap market with about 11 million shares outstanding and about 6 million shares in the float. Estimates show unusually high insider ownership at around 68 percent of the company. That rate of insider ownership suggests that management and other insiders are convinced that they are on the cusp of disrupting and transforming the ALR market and reaping huge rewards in the process.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
Will MKGI Disrupt and Transform the ALR Market?
It’s not just the size, but also the demand and margins involved in the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market that are impressive. Providing a platform where travelers can rent private homes and other non-traditional lodging has proved to be disruptive and transformative to the travel industry. The number of users just keeps growing while home owners and travelers mutually benefit, and the platform providers generate enormous revenues due to higher margins.
The obvious elephant in this arena is Airbnb, which has grown from inception 10 years ago to a valuation of more than $30 billion. Because of the size and demand in the ALR market, other players like HomeAway, Priceline, and FlipKey have staked out territory. Airbnb has about 2.5 million ALR listings in inventory, including homes and rooms of private owners. HomeAway has about 1.2 million ALR listings, while Priceline has around a half million and FlipKey has 700,000. However, unlike hotels, each of these platforms relies on the private property owner to provide confirmation to the traveler, a process which can take days to complete. This doesn’t sit well with travelers trying to nail down travel details. In fact, a recent article in tnooz travel (http://dtn.fm/ULTi5) showed that, no matter how much they may like the economy and locational advantages typically offered by alternative lodging rentals, travelers really desire the convenience and ease of one-stop booking and instant confirmation, as provided by travel agencies.
One upstart travel company is about to deliver exactly what customers want and, in the process, could disrupt and transform the ALR market and perhaps the entire travel industry. Technology-driven Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) has more than 60 years of operational experience serving the tourism industry. This has given Monaker valuable insights into how to best serve today’s traveler and how to deliver ALR options on customer terms. Through its flagship ALR brand, NextTrip, Monaker currently offers about a million ALR listings with another 1.8 million-plus listings in process to be delivered to the travel industry’s fastest growing sector. More importantly Monaker Group’s unique ALR platform, NextTrip.com, is the only platform to offer travelers real-time booking of ALR properties, plus full access to traditional travel lodgings and transportation options, effectively encompassing everything needed to plan and organize vacations. By combining immediate ALR confirmation with all other travel options such as airlines, cruises, concierge services, and rental cars, Monaker will be able to provide the first true all-in-one online booking site.
The tnooz article also highlighted some other shortcomings of current ALR platforms. Survey results showed that over half of respondents would find it valuable if online travel agencies offered ALR options, while less than five percent of business travelers were given ALR options and a third would utilize ALR if offered. Presciently, Monaker already addressed these consumer concerns by delivering white label, real-time ALR solutions to Mark Travel and another 85,000 independent travel agents, in addition to providing links to over 200 corporations. Monaker facilitates the complexity of multiple bookings with multiple variations through integration with artificial intelligence travel platforms.
Monaker, given such technical and strategic innovations in an enormous market, represents breakthrough potential at a bargain price for investors. The company trades in the small cap market with about 11 million shares outstanding and about 6 million shares in the float. Estimates show unusually high insider ownership at around 68 percent of the company. That rate of insider ownership suggests that management and other insiders are convinced that they are on the cusp of disrupting and transforming the ALR market and reaping huge rewards in the process.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
Live TV Channels Are Heading To Twitter
http://dtn.fm/TD0rl
Twitter might have already broadcast several live sporting events, but it looks like the site is preparing for something bigger. The social networking company is reportedly working to sign deals with networks in order to deliver pay-TV live broadcasts.
Twitter is said to be seeking deals with pay-TV companies that would allow subscribers to watch live TV channels directly from the Twitter app, according to the Telegraph. This service will only work if users are currently subscribed to certain pay-TV services like ESPN. Users will simply have to link their Twitter account in order to start watching live TV channels on Twitter.
Twitter has already done something similar with some NFL games and Wimbledon tennis matches, as pointed out by 9To5Mac. This new pay-TV service would simply be a broader version of that in the sense that the company will have to make new deals with more networks.
As for how this will work, the live TV streams will appear right on top of the Twitter feed. Related tweets will then be displayed as a feed directly beneath the live broadcast.
To be clear, this won’t be a standalone TV service provided by Twitter. Twitter will simply be integrating existing services right on its feed. This is part of the company’s effort to push video content onto its site.
“Bringing the video forward [onto Twitter itself] allows us to give the consumer on one screen the things they’re talking about and [a] timeline of the best tweets on Twitter at that moment in time,” Twitter COO Anothony Noto said. “We wold love to have the Premier League… we would love to have live games and we’ll continue to try to find creative ways to get there.”
Twitter has been failing to attract new users lately. Back in February during its quarterly revenue report, the company confirmed that it had 319 million monthly active users, which is only up by 4 percent from last year.
By pushing more video content to its main service, Twitter could potentially attract new users to the site and strengthen user engagement. Partnering with pay-TV services could also drive Twitter’s advertising revenues in the long run, as pointed out by Forbes.
Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Positioned for Success in Booming ALR Market
With 2.3 million listings and a valuation of more than $30 billion, Airbnb has become the behemoth of the alternative lodging rental (ALR) industry. Concocted 10 years ago to supplement rent, the idea of renting lodging from private home owners has taken off and turned the travel industry on its head. Renting a room or an entire house has gained widespread public acceptance. By providing vacationers with better options and home owners with newfound income, high-margin revenues can be generated by the intermediary. Naturally, this mutually beneficial arrangement for owners and renters has spurred competition in the alternative lodging rental arena. Multiple companies now offer varying forms of online alternative lodging rentals. The ALR market has proven to be so large and lucrative that the owner of one of the world’s largest travel websites, Expedia, acquired HomeAway’s ALR platform for $3.9 billion in 2015.
Even with large valuations for the companies, traditional ALR booking has drawbacks for travelers. Ongoing irritants include the need to employ multiple sites to arrange lodging, airlines, cruises, concierge services, and rental cars. Delayed lodging and travel confirmation is also a continuing source of consternation with travelers trying to book vacation packages. Often taking days or even weeks, travelers can’t even start to arrange for transportation or other services until after confirmation of lodging. In spite of this quandary, most ALR sites require users to fend for themselves when trying to create and book a comprehensive vacation itinerary.
The stand-out strength of Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI) is that it has managed to eliminate these irritants and delays. Monaker now offers a first in the ALR market: instant confirmation for ALR booking. Monaker Group’s unique ALR platform offers these services through its innovative, real-time booking platform NextTrip.com. The company then brings this unmatched new tool into the mainstream travel industry, merging it with conventional travel bookings, so that NextTrip.com is the only platform to offer travelers real-time ALR booking plus access to all the other conventional travel and lodging options needed to plan and organize vacations. There’s nothing else like it.
A technology driven, comprehensive travel company, Monaker Group utilizes multiple divisions and brands, leveraging its more than 60 years of operation in leisure travel, to serve the tourism industry. Decades of experience have given Monaker invaluable insights into how to best serve today’s traveler. On the high end, the company provides highly customizable tours, escorted vacations and travel solutions through its Maupintour subsidiary. Monaker’s Extraordinary Vacations Group (EXVG) platform will soon exploit a largely untapped market by providing timeshare owners the ability to market their unused timeshare, fractional, condo-hotel units to travelers, while the company’s Voyage TV division, with thousands of hours of worldwide travel footage, is utilized to enhance and market travel services across all of the company’s brands.
In the large and lucrative ALR market, Monaker’s real-time booking innovations and comprehensive one-stop services have given Monaker a new and unique position in the travel industry.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
MKGI Positioned for Success in Booming ALR Market
With 2.3 million listings and a valuation of more than $30 billion, Airbnb has become the behemoth of the alternative lodging rental (ALR) industry. Concocted 10 years ago to supplement rent, the idea of renting lodging from private home owners has taken off and turned the travel industry on its head. Renting a room or an entire house has gained widespread public acceptance. By providing vacationers with better options and home owners with newfound income, high-margin revenues can be generated by the intermediary. Naturally, this mutually beneficial arrangement for owners and renters has spurred competition in the alternative lodging rental arena. Multiple companies now offer varying forms of online alternative lodging rentals. The ALR market has proven to be so large and lucrative that the owner of one of the world’s largest travel websites, Expedia, acquired HomeAway’s ALR platform for $3.9 billion in 2015.
Even with large valuations for the companies, traditional ALR booking has drawbacks for travelers. Ongoing irritants include the need to employ multiple sites to arrange lodging, airlines, cruises, concierge services, and rental cars. Delayed lodging and travel confirmation is also a continuing source of consternation with travelers trying to book vacation packages. Often taking days or even weeks, travelers can’t even start to arrange for transportation or other services until after confirmation of lodging. In spite of this quandary, most ALR sites require users to fend for themselves when trying to create and book a comprehensive vacation itinerary.
The stand-out strength of Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI) is that it has managed to eliminate these irritants and delays. Monaker now offers a first in the ALR market: instant confirmation for ALR booking. Monaker Group’s unique ALR platform offers these services through its innovative, real-time booking platform NextTrip.com. The company then brings this unmatched new tool into the mainstream travel industry, merging it with conventional travel bookings, so that NextTrip.com is the only platform to offer travelers real-time ALR booking plus access to all the other conventional travel and lodging options needed to plan and organize vacations. There’s nothing else like it.
A technology driven, comprehensive travel company, Monaker Group utilizes multiple divisions and brands, leveraging its more than 60 years of operation in leisure travel, to serve the tourism industry. Decades of experience have given Monaker invaluable insights into how to best serve today’s traveler. On the high end, the company provides highly customizable tours, escorted vacations and travel solutions through its Maupintour subsidiary. Monaker’s Extraordinary Vacations Group (EXVG) platform will soon exploit a largely untapped market by providing timeshare owners the ability to market their unused timeshare, fractional, condo-hotel units to travelers, while the company’s Voyage TV division, with thousands of hours of worldwide travel footage, is utilized to enhance and market travel services across all of the company’s brands.
In the large and lucrative ALR market, Monaker’s real-time booking innovations and comprehensive one-stop services have given Monaker a new and unique position in the travel industry.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com
Why Facebook Will Continue to Excel
http://dtn.fm/Mk7Lk
Over the past few years, Facebook Inc. (FB) has performed amazingly well and the strong growth story continues heading into 2017. In 2016, the stock surged approximately 10%, but it is already up 23% year to date. The stock hit a fresh all-time high last week and is currently trading around that level.
Facebook reported amazing fourth-quarter results in February. The social media giant detailed earnings per share of $1.41, beating estimates by 10 cents. Revenue came in at $8.81 billion, again surpassing estimates by $300 million.
Click the link for complete article.
Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Set to Disturb Travel Distribution Technology Market
Alternative Lodging Rentals (ALRs) have taken over as a hot topic in the world of tourism. ALR offers customers a more flexible approach to vacations. Depending upon the location, travel consumers can often find larger accommodations for less money, with more facilities such as kitchens, outdoor spaces, and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms throughout the rented space.
Despite different types of travelers looking for different features in their vacation rentals, a recent survey in Tripping.com found that nearly all travelers like to have the same basic things (http://dtn.fm/7Ce50). Although many of those surveyed highlighted the need for a kitchen, good value for their money, a decent level of privacy, and a lot of space, the need for on-site technology was not far behind. Many people like to stay plugged in while away, and this is not limited to just the internet. While Wi-Fi is a major factor, cable and HDTV also came in high on the list of ALR requirements. Also, more than a quarter of those surveyed said they look for smart features when booking an ALR, including smart security systems, smart entry, and smart electronics such as TV.
However, the modern traveler’s tech needs go beyond the accommodation itself. It starts on the booking platform. We live in a world where customers have been given the technology to place orders and book experiences with the click of a button. According to Jen O’Neil from Tripping.com, “Recent trends show that travelers of all ages are gravitating toward the instant booking model, so we expect that the vast majority of properties will be booked instantly within the next few years.”
Unfortunately, booking ALR properties has not traditionally been that easy. Often, customers have to submit a request to the landlord or property manager, discuss their needs, apply to book the property, and wait for approval. Luckily, Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) recently announced that it will soon be launching a real-time booking system whereby customers can book their ALR accommodations and get instant confirmation, just as with air travel or hotels.
In addition, Monaker, through its flagship NextTrip.com, will be giving business and vacation travelers the chance to not only book ALR, but all other travel bookings, such as flights, tours, car rentals, and more. This new system will be the first of its kind, becoming the one-stop travel shop for all consumer needs.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MonakerGroup.com
MKGI Set to Disturb Travel Distribution Technology Market
Alternative Lodging Rentals (ALRs) have taken over as a hot topic in the world of tourism. ALR offers customers a more flexible approach to vacations. Depending upon the location, travel consumers can often find larger accommodations for less money, with more facilities such as kitchens, outdoor spaces, and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms throughout the rented space.
Despite different types of travelers looking for different features in their vacation rentals, a recent survey in Tripping.com found that nearly all travelers like to have the same basic things (http://dtn.fm/7Ce50). Although many of those surveyed highlighted the need for a kitchen, good value for their money, a decent level of privacy, and a lot of space, the need for on-site technology was not far behind. Many people like to stay plugged in while away, and this is not limited to just the internet. While Wi-Fi is a major factor, cable and HDTV also came in high on the list of ALR requirements. Also, more than a quarter of those surveyed said they look for smart features when booking an ALR, including smart security systems, smart entry, and smart electronics such as TV.
However, the modern traveler’s tech needs go beyond the accommodation itself. It starts on the booking platform. We live in a world where customers have been given the technology to place orders and book experiences with the click of a button. According to Jen O’Neil from Tripping.com, “Recent trends show that travelers of all ages are gravitating toward the instant booking model, so we expect that the vast majority of properties will be booked instantly within the next few years.”
Unfortunately, booking ALR properties has not traditionally been that easy. Often, customers have to submit a request to the landlord or property manager, discuss their needs, apply to book the property, and wait for approval. Luckily, Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) recently announced that it will soon be launching a real-time booking system whereby customers can book their ALR accommodations and get instant confirmation, just as with air travel or hotels.
In addition, Monaker, through its flagship NextTrip.com, will be giving business and vacation travelers the chance to not only book ALR, but all other travel bookings, such as flights, tours, car rentals, and more. This new system will be the first of its kind, becoming the one-stop travel shop for all consumer needs.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MonakerGroup.com
Monaker Group, Inc. (MKGI) Meeting Customer Needs by Integrating Alternative Lodging Rentals into Mainstream Travel Marketing
Today, customers have a lot more choice when it comes to booking accommodation for a holiday. Gone are the days when holidaymakers and travelers had no option but to book hotels for their vacations. Now, they can choose from a variety of short- and long-term house rentals, vacation homes, resorts, timeshares, and other Alternative Lodging Rentals (ALR).
Hotel companies are changing their services to suit the needs of a new generation, but, although traditional lodging has not been forgotten, it is starting to face serious competition from ALR. In fact, according to a survey undertaken by OAG published on Tnooz.com (http://dtn.fm/R5Bv6), of the 2,500 travelers questioned, two-thirds being leisure travelers with the rest taking trips for work, more than 50% would like to see accommodations from Airbnb, a major online ALR marketplace, in travel agency search results. Not only this, the majority of these people also stated that they would book such accommodations on an online travel agency if they could. But ALR options still have little or no representation in the mainstream travel industry, especially if the traveler wants instant confirmation of ALR bookings. Whether booking ALR properties through Airbnb or other services, people seeking such non-traditional accommodations still face the time-consuming hassle of waiting for the ALR property owner/manager to respond, unlike with airline or hotel bookings.
In addition, from a business travel point of view, companies seem to still be slow on the uptake. Out of the one-third of those taking trips for business, less than 5% said that their company offers Airbnb as a lodging option. However, a third of those people said they would take advantage of such lodgings if they could.
As a result of this need for integrating ALR into mainstream travel marketing, Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI), a technology-driven travel company, has been developing and will soon be launching the first real-time system for booking ALR, such as vacation homes and unused timeshares, among others, on its NextTrip.com website and mobile application.
Currently, customers wanting to book alternative lodging are having to contact property owners, wait for responses, and wait for confirmation from the potential host. As a result, ALR has been one of Monaker’s key focal points, and the company believes there is a large gap in the market due to the fact that these accommodation options are currently offered separately to other alternatives such as hotels. The convenience of instant booking confirmations and the ability to perform all travel planning and booking from one site represent a major shift in the travel industry, and Monaker aims to be the company to offer it.
For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com