Google's Larry Page says Glass privacy fears will fade

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZsNqMXVWUjgdV1hR57NdUp5cQ6Vln_Miu6cGP8nd75y5AwyEnNVGv9NJ7fdigl9fIqwybdvPdwbS_sYIvtSYopnKL3nY4srVzmXIqhXPrR48StuRlsKiPcud8zP2r18kt7yqZH7xaeE/s1600/Google+Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZsNqMXVWUjgdV1hR57NdUp5cQ6Vln_Miu6cGP8nd75y5AwyEnNVGv9NJ7fdigl9fIqwybdvPdwbS_sYIvtSYopnKL3nY4srVzmXIqhXPrR48StuRlsKiPcud8zP2r18kt7yqZH7xaeE/s640/Google+Glass.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Google chief <i><b>Larry Page</b></i> assured investors Thursday that privacy fears about the company's coming Internet glasses will fade as people incorporate the eyewear into their lives.</span><br /> <span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "People worry about all sorts of things that actually, when we use the product, it is not that big a concern," Page said while fielding questions at an annual shareholders meeting at the company headquarters in Silicon Valley.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "You don't collapse in terror that someone might be using Glass in the bathroom just the same as you don't collapse in terror when someone comes in with a smartphone that might take a picture."</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Page's remarks came in response to a shareholder's expressed worry that Google camera-enabled, Internet-linked eyewear is "a voyeur's dream come true."</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "Obviously, there are cameras everywhere," Page said, after taking a quick poll to find that nearly everyone at the gathering had smartphones capable of taking photos.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "I love using Google Glass," he continued, noting that the company had "gone through some pains" to safeguard people's privacy.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Google last week put out word that it won't allow facial recognition capabilities in applications being tailored for Glass at its release expected later this year.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "We won't add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place," Google said in an online message aimed at software developers creating applications for Glass.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "With that in mind, we won't be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time," the message continued, revealing how the company intends to refer to software designed for the devices.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> In May, a group of US lawmakers asked Google to answer questions on the privacy implications and possible "misuse of information" of its Glass project.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Some small establishments in the United States have vowed to ban Glass due to worries about how being able to discreetly take pictures or video might be seen as invasive by patrons.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Facebook, Twitter and major news organizations have already tailored applications for Glass, which has only been made available to developers and a limited selection of "explorers" who paid $1,500 each for the eyewear.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Envisioned uses range from practical tasks such as shopping or delivering local weather reports to sharing real time video streams or playing augmented reality games in which the world is the board.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Glass lets wearers take pictures, record video, send messages or perform other tasks with touch controls or by speaking commands.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Glass connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi hot spots or, more typically, by being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones. Pictures or video can be shared through the Google+ social network.</div> </div>

Google's Larry Page says Glass privacy fears will fade

Google chief Larry Page assured investors Thursday that privacy fears about the company's coming Internet glasses will fade as peo...

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Facebook prepare to display ads inside users newsfeeds for marketing

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DwdQtDZJLgtqUG1t3IX5Y05Xyc0ozvBX4kGgrN52cDGrINifedjlWehsxjNJWZelG3_D1wmVPEMsnwd0RsMAlSMfV0oGqoXrvnLjQbpJ7f4ZNkfpPHwgShxn0x4K7If_uI02KJzoKmg/s1600/Mark+Zuckerberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DwdQtDZJLgtqUG1t3IX5Y05Xyc0ozvBX4kGgrN52cDGrINifedjlWehsxjNJWZelG3_D1wmVPEMsnwd0RsMAlSMfV0oGqoXrvnLjQbpJ7f4ZNkfpPHwgShxn0x4K7If_uI02KJzoKmg/s640/Mark+Zuckerberg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Facebook Inc is eliminating various types of advertisements on its website in an effort to simplify a system that it acknowledged was confusing marketers.</span><br /> <span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> The world's No. 1 social network, which is seeking to revive revenue growth, will still display ads inside users' newsfeeds and on the right-hand side of its web pages. But it will sharply reduce the options marketers can choose for those so-called ad units.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "What we realized is that even though every ad product is really good on its own, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. It should really be simpler," Fidji Simo, a Facebook product manager for ads, said at an event at the company's Menlo Park, California headquarters on Thursday.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> The changes will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months. Facebook said the streamlined system would not affect pricing on its ads, but would not comment when asked how the changes could affect overall revenue.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Advertising accounts for 85 percent of Facebook's revenue, and it is trying to reinvigorate revenue growth following a sharp slowdown early last year.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> With consumers increasingly accessing Facebook on mobile devices such as smartphones, Facebook has scrambled to roll out new types of ad formats suited to small mobile screens. </div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Facebook has also begun letting advertisers show ads based on users' Web browsing history and has introduced tools that allow marketers to better measure ad effectiveness.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> The company is widely expected to introduce video ads this year, but it made no mention of them at the event on Thursday.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Facebook shares have fallen about 15 percent so far this year, compared with the Dow Jones industrial average's 14 percent rise.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> As part of the changes, marketers will no longer be asked to choose from a list of 27 different ad units. Instead, marketers will pick from six or seven objectives, such as driving foot traffic to a real-world store or generating "likes" for a company's page.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> "Offers" ads for product discount coupons, for example, will no longer be a separate category for online merchants. Instead, a general ad unit will include the link for a coupon.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Merchants with brick and mortar stores will still have a separate "offers" ad unit.</div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> <br /></div> <div style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline-style: none;"> Facebook executives noted that marketers will still be able to select ads that run only on mobile devices or on personal computers.</div> </div>

Facebook prepare to display ads inside users newsfeeds for marketing

Facebook Inc is eliminating various types of advertisements on its website in an effort to simplify a system that it acknowledged was c...

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