Netflix to Possibly come to TV:
Netflix’s Reed Hastings has famously told the media that Netflix’s mission is to become HBO sooner that HBO can become Netflix. Well, Netflix may be coming closer to that reality. Netflix is in talks with many TV providers in the US to be offered in their pay packages. Although Netflix has generally been viewed as an enemy to pay-tv, it is already being offered by Britain’s Virgin Media. Many believe that Netflix will receive much resistance as it fights for its place in TV, because TV executives will probably view it as a “Trojan Horse,” offering movies that will compete with pay-per-view and luring customers from TV altogether. But if Netflix manages to pull this off, then expect a paradigm shift in TV watching.
Facebook buys new startup:
Mark Zuckerberg has a dream. That dream is to bring the internet to everyone. And as time goes by, more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet. Therefore, it wasn’t that big of a surprise when Facebook bought the Israeli startup, Onavo — a company in the business of mobile data optimization. Basically, its data compression software can cut data consumption on smartphones by as much as 80%, the New York Times reports. Approximately 40 Onavo employees will stay in Tel Aviv, instead of being relocated to Facebook’s Menlo Park Headquarters. Onavo is expected to continue to work similarly to Instagram as a standalone-ish company under Facebook.
Google to start using more personalized ads:
Each time we’ve heard the phrase “don’t be evil” associated with Google, we become more jaded to the fact that Google already kinda is. Here’s an example. Soon Google will be using Google+ users’ pictures to advertise for companies. If a user follows a company on Google+ they run the risk of having their likeness (and full name!) published in an ad endorsing said company. These personalized ads are scheduled to be implemented and ready for use by November 11. However, Google has said that users can opt out of being included in such ads by visiting the settings in Google+. This is good news for the 20 people who actually use Google+.