More newspaper giants are struggling.
The Washington Post Co. reported a quarterly net loss, as print advertising revenue plunged more than 30% at its flagship newspaper. The Post posted a net loss of $19.5 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net profit of $39.3 million in the same quarter last year. It was the second time in less than a year that the Post fell into the red. It recorded its first ever net loss in the second quarter of 2008.
Meanwhile, right next door, the Baltimore Sun slashed its newsroom by nearly a third in the latest cuts at the ailing newspaper owned by the bankrupt Tribune Co. Sixty-one staffers in the newspaper's 205-person newsroom were laid off at the end of April. The move came one week after another Tribune paper, the Chicago Tribune, eliminated 53 jobs in its newsroom.
May 1, 2009
Fun Friday: Dancing Parrots
One of the web's biggest viral videos of 2007 was Snowball the parrot dancing to the Backstreet Boys:
Scientists saw this on YouTube and searched for other YouTube videos of dancing animals to discover if these animals really are dancing to music and hearing the beat or are just trained to do some routine. As it turns out, parrots and elephants, like humans, can actually "dance" to a musical beat. For more on this, be sure to check out this NPR story. And be sure to click on the Who Dances Better? Snowball or Napoleon video on the NPR site!
Scientists saw this on YouTube and searched for other YouTube videos of dancing animals to discover if these animals really are dancing to music and hearing the beat or are just trained to do some routine. As it turns out, parrots and elephants, like humans, can actually "dance" to a musical beat. For more on this, be sure to check out this NPR story. And be sure to click on the Who Dances Better? Snowball or Napoleon video on the NPR site!
April 30, 2009
Michigan in May
Are you looking for things to do in Michigan over the next couple weeks? Click here to view a May in Michigan calendar. It lists all types of events, such as the Annual Mackinaw Memorial Bridge Race and the city of Mesick's famous mushroom festival. There are two great events in Frankenmuth this month: the Dog Bowl 2009 and The World Expo of Beer. There's something for everyone.
Interested in Options to Internet Explorer? Here Is a Start
As Technology Librarian John Robertson and I were finishing up a Google Reader class for Library staff recently, we began to talk about different browsers. While we at The Tech Desk use mostly the open-source browser, Firefox, the majority of librarians at Troy use Internet Explorer. We taught the class using IE, but answered some questions about Firefox.
John mentioned that he uses Google Chrome as his browser. Many staff members were curious about it, never having heard of Chrome.
This made me wonder which browsers are being used by our readers. Since we use Google Analytics to track our readership, I was able to answer that question fairly easily.
First, let us look at the big picture. Worldwide, Internet Explorer’s share of the browser market is declining. Now, about 66% of surfers use IE. At the same time, Firefox has increased its market share to around 21%. Apple’s Safari browser makes up 8% of the market, and Google’s Chrome about 1%.
Our readers look a lot like those worldwide. About 57% use Internet Explorer, down about 5% since September 2008, when we started keeping statistics. Firefox use has remained fairly constant at 36%. Apple users are starting to find us in greater numbers, as Safari use is up almost 38%, to 3% of our users. Google’s Chrome, the newest entry in the field, is up 25% since September, to 2% of users.
However you look at these numbers, it is clear that a large percentage of Internet users – somewhere between 33% and 40% -- use a browser other than Internet Explorer.
If you are interested in looking at browser options for your surfing, compare Internet browsers of today and tomorrow.
And to learn more about Google Chrome, check out these short videos from the Official Google Blog. Some of them are pretty good.
John mentioned that he uses Google Chrome as his browser. Many staff members were curious about it, never having heard of Chrome.
This made me wonder which browsers are being used by our readers. Since we use Google Analytics to track our readership, I was able to answer that question fairly easily.
First, let us look at the big picture. Worldwide, Internet Explorer’s share of the browser market is declining. Now, about 66% of surfers use IE. At the same time, Firefox has increased its market share to around 21%. Apple’s Safari browser makes up 8% of the market, and Google’s Chrome about 1%.
Our readers look a lot like those worldwide. About 57% use Internet Explorer, down about 5% since September 2008, when we started keeping statistics. Firefox use has remained fairly constant at 36%. Apple users are starting to find us in greater numbers, as Safari use is up almost 38%, to 3% of our users. Google’s Chrome, the newest entry in the field, is up 25% since September, to 2% of users.
However you look at these numbers, it is clear that a large percentage of Internet users – somewhere between 33% and 40% -- use a browser other than Internet Explorer.
If you are interested in looking at browser options for your surfing, compare Internet browsers of today and tomorrow.
And to learn more about Google Chrome, check out these short videos from the Official Google Blog. Some of them are pretty good.
April 29, 2009
Population and Unemployment Data Charts Now Available through Google Searches
Google has announced the addition of public data comparison charts through Google searches. Currently, only data for unemployment rates and population is available, but Google does promise additional data in the future. Data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Division.
To use this feature, go to Google and type either "population" or "unemployment rate" (remove the quotes), followed by a state or county. Click on the first search result, and a graph will appear showing that data. You will also have the opportunity to add additional states and counties to the graph. For example, here is a graph showing the populations for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties:
Online Shopping Rebates
Recession curbing your online buying habits? How would you like to get a rebate on all the products you buy online? Now you can by joining Ebates. Ebates is an online shopping center and they get a commission from online stores when you make a purchase through their site. But instead of keeping that money, Ebates shares the commission with you. For instance, send flowers to your mom from teleflora and get a 15% rebate. Mom is happy and you get 15% back in your wallet!
Joining Ebates is free and four times a year or more, they'll mail you a check, or transfer the money to your PayPal account. They can even send the money to your favorite charity. Check it out here.
Joining Ebates is free and four times a year or more, they'll mail you a check, or transfer the money to your PayPal account. They can even send the money to your favorite charity. Check it out here.
Twitter Users Don't Last Long
This from Yahoo Tech!:
Today's Twitters are often tomorrow's quitters, according to data that questions the long-term success of the latest social networking sensation used by celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Britney Spears.
Data from Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, found that more than 60% of Twitter users stopped using the free social networking site a month after joining.
"Twitter's audience retention rate, or the percentage of a given month's users who come back the following month, is currently about 40%," David Martin, Nielsen Online's vice president of primary research, said in a statement.
"For most of the past 12 months, pre-Oprah, Twitter has languished below 30% retention."
San Francisco-based Twitter was created three years ago as an Internet-based service that could allow people to follow the 140-character messages or "tweets" of friends and celebrities which could be sent to computer screens or mobile devices.
Twitter, as a private company, does not disclose the number of its users but according to Nielsen Online, Twitter's website had more than 7 million unique visitors in February this year compared to 475,000 in February a year ago.
But Martin said a retention rate of 40% will limit a site's growth to a 10% reach figure over the longer term.
Martin said Facebook and MySpace, the more established social network sites, enjoyed retention rates that were twice as high and those rates only rose when they went through their explosive growth phases.
Both currently have retention rates of about 70% with Facebook having about 200 million users.
Today's Twitters are often tomorrow's quitters, according to data that questions the long-term success of the latest social networking sensation used by celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Britney Spears.
Data from Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, found that more than 60% of Twitter users stopped using the free social networking site a month after joining.
"Twitter's audience retention rate, or the percentage of a given month's users who come back the following month, is currently about 40%," David Martin, Nielsen Online's vice president of primary research, said in a statement.
"For most of the past 12 months, pre-Oprah, Twitter has languished below 30% retention."
San Francisco-based Twitter was created three years ago as an Internet-based service that could allow people to follow the 140-character messages or "tweets" of friends and celebrities which could be sent to computer screens or mobile devices.
Twitter, as a private company, does not disclose the number of its users but according to Nielsen Online, Twitter's website had more than 7 million unique visitors in February this year compared to 475,000 in February a year ago.
But Martin said a retention rate of 40% will limit a site's growth to a 10% reach figure over the longer term.
Martin said Facebook and MySpace, the more established social network sites, enjoyed retention rates that were twice as high and those rates only rose when they went through their explosive growth phases.
Both currently have retention rates of about 70% with Facebook having about 200 million users.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)