Tag Archives: produced

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NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is at it again: Pitches NY’s rising tech scene

New York City’s tech-championing mayor, Mike Bloomberg, is at it again with a new video that shows off an inside look at NY’s startup community. From shots of hot co-working spaces like General Assembly, to quotes from NY entrepreneurs themselves, this video is pretty accurate by our standards.

And while non-New Yorkers may find the video self promotional, you can’t blame Bloomberg for trying (well, at least I can’t).

“Brought to you by New York Tech Meetup and NASDAQ OMX, a public service video in support of the companies being conceived and coded in New York. Produced by: HD MADE”

It’s important to note that the city’s support for tech is nothing new. In an introduction to the SXSW panel “Silicon Alley: Startup Ecosystem That Never Sleeps,” Mayor Bloomberg touted New York’s emerging tech scene as the place to be. And while arguments for who will be “the next Silicon Valley” have been done to death, Mayor Bloomberg makes it clear that the city will continue fighting to be the nation’s startup capital.

If you haven’t stayed in the loop on NYC, let’s just say it’s been quite a busy year. Only this month, we saw NY taxi cabs outfitted with slick Square payment systems and iPads, and before that we noted the new initiatives to bring WiFi and cellular reception into our beloved, sticky and often uncomfortably humid subway stations. We also covered NYC’s ambitious open data policy, a subway art app, the BigApps NYC competition and NY’s Facebook photo contest, which taps Instagram and Hipstamatic.

In other words, things are constantly happening here and we’re keeping our eyes peeled for more. Have any NYC news to share? Let us know in the comments below!

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NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is at it again: Pitches NY’s rising tech scene

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5 new ways to monetize your content in 2012

shutterstock 60905446 520x245 5 new ways to monetize your content in 2012

This week’s Pinterest content monetization ‘scandal’ has taught us a lot about the naivety of the modern-day web user.

Yes, platforms like Pinterest (and Pocket-Lint and WIWT) use a tool called Skimlinks to generate revenue from subtle referral links. As Skimlinks CEO Alicia Navarro so aptly explained: “It’s not a secret. We do monetize social discovery, and it’s great”.

For those of you about to fall off your high horse, how else can these sites exist without such revenue streams?

Banner ads are ugly, un-engaging and hated by users, so solutions like Skimlinks are a win/win/win/win (publisher, service provider, advertiser, user). While publishers have an obligation to disclose such arrangements (and you’ll see an example in a minute), providing that box is ticked, we should encourage this approach to content monetization, not scoff at it, because in the end, the user receives the biggest portion of the benefit.

New ways to monetize your content

skimlinks 5 new ways to monetize your content in 2012

In the four years my personal blog has been around, I’ve never made a single pound or dollar directly from it, but I have often thought about the various approaches I could take if I wanted to monetize it.

After reading about Skimlinks this week (even though it has been around since 2008 with roots in London), I have just now decided to apply to be part of its affiliate programme for my personal blog. This means that if you click on any of the Skimlinks links in a post of mine, I can potentially earn a tiny bit of commission from the referrals it generates.

Let’s take a look at 5 new products that can help you monetize your content. Here they are, starting with the aforementioned…

  1. Skimlinks - In their words: “Unlock the cash in your content”. The technology works by converting links and product references into affiliate links that take you to places to make a relevant purchase. You can apply to be an approved Skimlinks partner here.
  2. Cleeng - This works by hiding portions of your content that can only be unlocked if you pay a small fee.
  3. Infolinks - In-text advertising that isn’t so subtle and verges on annoying. But, it has a proven track record of generating revenue.
  4. VigLink - Very similar to Skimlinks, VigLink uses a thing they call LinkWeaver to connect merchants with existing product references.
  5. PivotShare -  The newest kid on the block, this rewards authors and publishers with revenue based on how much a particular community has interacted with the produced content.

Where to from here?

As mentioned at the very top of this post, content requires some form of monetization for it to be sustainable. While the enjoyment of people reading your posts and sharing them on Twitter and Facebook is a vanity boost, it doesn’t impact on the money you have in the bank.

Expect to see a bunch of new and even more ‘covert’ ways of content monetization in the future, and if you want to kick up a fuss about them, have a quick think about what you might lose if aren’t able to create win/win/wins.

Kjersti Joergensen via shutterstock

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5 new ways to monetize your content in 2012