Behavioral economics a key factor to realizing the benefits of smarter energy
ARMONK, N.Y., – 25 Aug 2011: IBM today unveiled findings from its “2011 IBM Global Utility Consumer Survey,” which revealed that many consumers around the globe do not understand the basic unit of electricity pricing and other energy concepts used by energy providers. The company also identified a list of crucial behavioral patterns that have the potential to impact how providers communicate and drive motivation amongst consumers.(more…)
*comScore Announces Availability of New YouTube Partner Reporting*
RESTON, VA, August 22, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 180 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in July for an average of 18.5 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in a record 6.9 billion viewing sessions.
YouTube Partner Reporting Now Available in Video Metrix
comScore is now able to provide YouTube Partner Reporting within the Video Metrix offering, for a never-before-seen look at viewership across hundreds of YouTube partners and their channels. This new feature provides a comprehensive and granular view of the unique audiences within different YouTube partner channels, enabling advertisers to more-easily create and optimize campaigns across specific channels to reach desired target audiences. The July data release for YouTube Partner Reporting includes dozens of beta partners, while comScore and Google plan to initiate reporting of more partners with the release of August data. (more…)
*comScore Releases Overview of European Internet Usage for June 2011*
LONDON, UK, 18 August 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of Internet usage in Europe, showing 368.6 million unique visitors went online in June 2011 for an average of 26.1 hours per person. This release highlights Internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated under the European region and provides individual reporting on 18 markets. Among the reportable markets, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Turkey continued to show the highest average engagement, with users from these markets spending an average of more than 31 hours online in the past month. (more…)
*Microsoft employee Carl Greninger helped a team of young students build a working nuclear reactor in his garage. He hopes the project can inspire a passion for physics in students around the country.*
REDMOND, Wash. – Sometimes you have to smash a few atoms to excite people about science.
So says Carl Greninger, a program manager in Microsoft IT Operations by day and full-fledged physics fanatic by night. That’s why he decided to help some young students get hands-on experience with something they couldn’t find in their classrooms: a working thermonuclear reactor.
For the past year, a group of local students – some as young as 13 years old – have met at Greninger’s garage every Friday night to build a type of fusion reactor known as a Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor. Dubbed IEC-9000, their machine has been fusing atoms and producing neutrons since May. It cost about as much as a high-end SUV, weighs 1,400 pounds, and generates temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun. (more…)
*comScore Releases Visitation View of Leading Global Retail and Auction Sites*
Reston, VA, August 17, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on selected global retail and auction sites based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. The study found that of the destinations analyzed, Amazon Sites reached the largest global audience with more than 282 million visitors in June, or 20.4 percent of the worldwide Internet population. Other top brands in the study included eBay, which reached 16.2 percent of global Internet visitors, China’s Alibaba.com Corporation (11.3 percent reach), Apple.com Worldwide Sites (9.7 percent reach) and Japan’s Rakuten Inc. (4.2 percent reach).
“While retail e-commerce has already grown to become a $150+ billion annual industry in the U.S., it still presents enormous upside opportunity across much of the globe,” said Gian Fulgoni, comScore co-founder and chairman. “Technology has changed the way consumers behave, and increasingly they are opting for the convenience and pricing advantages offered by the online channel. Several global retail brands have already capitalized on this global consumer trend, and many other retailers are sure to pursue their share of the pie.” (more…)
*Four Quarters, Four Screens: Catch Yahoo! Fantasy Football on TVs, Tablets, Mobile Phones and Computers*
SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)— Yahoo! named Green Bay — home to the reigning Super Bowl champions — the Official Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football City of 2011, with one in 29 Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football players per capita during the 2010 season. Yahoo! also announced that its No. 1 ranked fantasy football experience will be available across four screens in time for the first NFL regular season game.
Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football is the No. 1 fantasy football platform in the industry — and not just in Green Bay. During the NFL season, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports alone receives more visitors than all of NYTimes.com, and more time is spent playing Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football than is spent on sites such as NFL.com, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NYTimes.com, Amazon.com, Netflix.com, Disney Online, and Wikipedia.* Fans can sign up at https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy. And in 2011 Yahoo! Sports is ensuring that its games capture the changing trends as to how users access information by providing them with access to their teams regardless of device or location. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A robot in a University of Michigan lab can run like a human—a feat that represents the height of agility and efficiency for a two-legged machine. With a peak pace of 6.8 miles per hour, MABEL is believed to be the world’s fastest bipedal robot with knees.(more…)
*40 Percent of Smartphone Owners Use Handset for Gaming* Hamburg, Germany, August 15, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced that, in June 2011, a total of 25.2 million Germans have visited online gaming sites. The category rose by 8 percent compared to last year, and online gaming now […]