Google is continuing to improve its Mobile App Analytics to ensure businesses are getting as much data as possible to improve customer experience.
Coming soon to mobile analysis are: Mobile App Analytics Play Integration and Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps.
According to a Google blog post, these changes will better allow users to understand their customers’ habits, wants and needs.
By integrating Mobile App Analytics with Google Play, Google is giving app developers and marketers a more “complete view of the Play acquisition funnel in one clear, easy to understand report,” Google said.
As part of the integration, users will be able to access:
Google Play traffic sources — This allows users to better comprehend the traffic sources and Google search keywords that attracted new users. Campaign sources will aid users in modifying their app marketing mix to zero in on the campaigns and programs that attract the highest quality traffic.
Google Play views — This feature helps users understand how many views their app is receiving in Google Play from each campaign or source.
Installs — This shows the number of users who installed the user’s application from Google Play and determines which sources are successful at driving installation.
New users — This tool shows how many people actually launch the app.
Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps
“Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps launching in beta, you can dynamically configure your mobile applications on Android and iOS server-side,” the post reads. “You can hone your app for various audiences, and you’ll never get caught by old versions or forgetfulness again.”
The app uses Google Tag Manager’s rule-based serving engine and management interface so developers can easily make changes to their application, even after it has been downloaded. The Google Tag Manager web interface enables changes to be made quickly and go live in seconds.
To be one of the first to try GTM, sign up for the whitelist after visiting the Google Tag Manager site to create an account.
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Congress Raises Privacy Concerns With Google Glass – Congressional Committee Sends Letter to Google Demanding Answers
Google has issued a cease-and-desist letter to rival Microsoft demanding the software giant halt its distribution of its new YouTube app for Windows Phone by May 22.
According to the missive — originally obtained by The Verge and now on Scribd — Google says the Microsoft app breaches YouTube’s terms of service because it allows users to download videos from YouTube, prevents ads from being shown in clips and plays videos Google’s “partners have restricted from playback on certain platforms (e.g. mobile devices with limited feature sets).”
Google and its content creators are both hit in the pocketbook by the “violations” because Google loses ad revenue which, in turn, impacts the content creators who are paid through AdSense.
The following is an excerpt from the letter addressed to Microsoft’s Windows Phone Apps and Store general manager Todd Brix:
Content creators make money on YouTube by monetizing their content through advertising. Unfortunately, by blocking advertising and allowing downloads of videos, your application cuts off a valuable ongoing revenue source for creators, and causes harm to the thriving content ecosystem on YouTube.
In addition, your application overrides specific decisions made by some content creators to keep their content from displaying on certain types of devices, which in many cases are due to exclusive distribution arrangements those content creators have with third parties. YouTube’s agreements with creators give them choices in how their content is presented and distributed, and your application takes away that control.
The YouTube Terms of Service and API Terms of Service, posted at http://www.youtube.com/t/terms and https://developers.google.com/youtube/terms were written to protect content creators from this type of abuse. They clearly prohibit downloads of videos from the site and prohibit accessing any portion of YouTube videos by any means other than through the use of an authorized YouTube player. They also bar applications that modify, replace, interfere with or block advertisements placed by YouTube in videos.
In addition to violating those provisions of the Terms of Service, your application also uses YouTube’s protected trademarks in ways that likely confuse consumers as to the source of the application and whether it is affiliated with or approved by YouTube. The YouTube API Branding Guidelines (https://developers.google.com/youtube/branding) state that you may never use the YouTube logo or the YouTube name in conjunction with the overall name or description of your application, product or service.
There are now more than one million channels earning revenue through the YouTube partner program, ranging from channels containing content from aspiring young stars and educators to well-known shows from large media companies and news organizations. We are proud to say that thousands of YouTube channels are making six figures a year. We were surprised and disappointed that Microsoft chose to launch an application that deliberately deprives content creators of their rightful earnings, especially given that Windows Phone 8 users already have access to a fully-functional YouTube application based upon industry-standard HTML5 through the web browser.
Google’s chastisement of Microsoft didn’t stop with just a letter, however.
CEO Larry Page got a few digs in at Microsoft during his speech at Google I/O May 15.
Page complained about Microsoft choosing to incorporate Google Talk into Outlook so people can use Google chat along with its Web-based e-mail service, but not enabling Google to make use of Microsoft’s instant messenger via Gmail.
“If you take something as simple as IM (instant messenge), we’ve had an open offer to interoperate forever,” Page said. “Just this week Microsoft took advantage of that by interoperating with us but not doing the reverse which is really sad, and not the way to make progress. You need to actually have interoperation, not just people milking off of just one company for their own benefit … I’m sad that the Web is not advancing as fast as it should be. We certainly struggle with people like Microsoft.”
Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw slapped back at Google in this statement to CNet: “It’s ironic that Larry is lending his voice to the discussion of interoperability considering his company’s decision — today — to file a cease and desist order to remove the YouTube app from Windows Phone, let alone the recent decision to make it more difficult for our customers to connect their Gmail accounts to their Windows experience.”
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Google, Microsoft Feud Continues
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Google, Microsoft Feud Continues – Google Accuses Microsoft of Violating YouTube’s Terms of Service
Ohio Man Awarded $10,000 App Store Gift Card
An Ohio man will be downloading apps for free for the rest of his life thanks to a $10,000 App Store gift card courtesy of Apple.
Apple awarded Brandon Ashmore with the card after the Mentor resident downloaded the 50 billionth app — Say the Same Thing by Space Inch — from Apple’s popular store.
The company — which opened in July 2008 with just 500 apps — said customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of more than two billion apps per month.
“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” Apple senior vice-president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue said in a press release.
“The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”
The App Store offers more than 850,000 apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries. The App Store has 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines, games, business, news, sports, health and fitness and travel.
Facebook, Twitter Launch Google Glass Apps
Facebook and Twitter both announced apps for Google Glass May 16 allowing users to share photos and posts via the wearable computing device.
With Twitter for Google Glass, tweets will automatically include ‘Just shared a photo #throughglass.’ The app allows users to keep up with the people they follow on Twitter through mentions, DMs and tweets. Users can also reply to, retweet or favorite tweets.
To use Twitter on Glass, simply go to google.com/myglass and turn on Twitter.
Facebook for Glass allows users to share photos taken with Glass.
“Built by Facebook, this app allows you to upload photos from Google Glass directly to your Facebook timeline,” said Facebook employee Erick Tseng in a blog post. “You can also add an optional photo description, just by speaking it. We look forward to exploring Facebook experiences across new types of mobile devices; this is only a first step.”
To use Facebook on Glass, users must visit their MyGlass page and click the Facebook card to turn it on.
To share photos from Glass to Facebook, visit the MyGlass website and click the Only Me, Friends and Public cards to add them as sharing contacts.
Apple CEO to Address Congress on Corporate Tax
Apple CEO Tim Cook will recommend a “dramatic simplification” of corporate tax laws when he speaks before Congress May 21.
The changes Cook will propose will also encourage companies to bring more of their offshore funds home to create jobs and conduct research and development, the Washington Post reported.
Cook has declined to give further details on his plan.
It is thought Cook’s appearance before congress is a bid to take some of the off the iPad maker which recently has been on the defensive about its offshore tax practices.
“I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas,” Cook told Politico. “We don’t do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I’d like to be really clear on that.”
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Technology News Briefs — May 17, 2013
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Technology News Briefs — May 17, 2013