Happy Friday! This week’s Pica Picks features some interesting articles about technology and social media that ecommerce retailers should know about. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, are now trying to incorporate e-commerce onto their sites. This could either be a huge hit or miss for Facebook, Twitter, and ecommerce retailers. In other news, a recent study found out that half of smartphone users do not want to be tracked online, primarily because of privacy issues. Buzzfeed’s Pinterest insights, Apple’s OS X Yosemite, and a rumored HTC smartwatch are also featured in this weeks Pica Picks. Enjoy!
Monday
Why Facebook and Twitter are Embracing Ecommerce
On July 17th, Facebook announced that it would be testing a buy button. This button appears on ad and Pages posts, and allows users to purchase advertised products without ever having to leave Facebook. The same day, Twitter then announced that it had acquired CardSpring in order to help it bring an “in the moment commerce experience to its users.” Why are social media sites embracing e-commerce? By introducing commerce options, it might help Twitter and Facebook bring in some extra revenue while keeping users active on the site.
Tuesday
Nailed it: Buzzfeed Cracks the Pinterest Code
After Facebook, Pinterest is Buzzfeed’s second biggest source of social referrals. According to Dao Nyugen, Buzzfeed’s Vice President of growth and data, “Pinterest is huge. It’s giant. It’s regular. I wouldn’t say it’s predictable, because very few networks are, but it’s untapped.” Pinterest has huge potential to be a traffic source, but companies aren’t paying attention to it or using it correctly. Buzzfeed is excelling at Pinterest because they are using it with the appropriate insights.
Wednesday
Half of Smartphone Owners Don’t Want to Be Tracked Online
According to a study done by Punchtab, called “Mobile Tracking: Are Consumers Ready?”, most consumers aren’t ready to be tracked on their smartphones. The study asked how consumers would feel about being tracked in order to receive personalized messages on their smartphone. 50% of the participants in the study said they weren’t ready to be tracked online and privacy was one of the biggest reasons.
Thursday
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Apple’s OS X Yosemite Beta Preview
Apple’s new version of OS X Yosemite is coming out for Macs this Fall and Apple is giving a chance to one million users to test it out for free in order to gather feedback. TechCrunch got to preview Yosemite early and it offers plenty of great new features that enhance the user experience. If you are interested in testing out OS X Yosemite to see these cool features for yourself, you can sign up for the Beta Program here.
Friday
Leaked: Here’s What the Next Google Smartwatch Will Probably Look Like
HTC released a promo video that might just have a sneak peak of its next smartwatch in it. If you look closely, around 35 seconds into the video a smartwatch that bears resemblance to others currently in the market appears on a HTC employees desk. Could this be HTC’s newest smartwatch?
