Walt Mossberg says, “Back in the early days of handheld devices, Microsoft dubbed its contender the “Pocket PC” and, indeed, designed it to emulate a small version of a Windows PC, because the PC was the main — often the only — way to perform digital tasks. My, how things have changed. Over the last seven years, since the introduction of the iPhone, the PC has gradually been dethroned by the smartphone (and to a lesser extent, by the tablet) as the key digital device. PC sales have fallen significantly in recent years, racking up their worst annual sales ever last year, while smartphone... [...]

Scott Gerber says, “Some of the best ideas and products come from strong business partnerships. Partnering with a company your size (or bigger) can also supercharge your growth efforts. But as with all relationships, it’s important to do more than scratch the surface when vetting potential partners—and putting systems in place to guide the relationship as it develops is important too. Twelve entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) explain the specific steps they took before signing on the dotted line, below. Ask for References  Resumes are great, but most people can stretch... [...]

Pamella Neely says, “Guest posting is still an effective way to help build a business or a reputation. It’s survived the ups and downs of Internet marketing fashion, built thousands of careers, and has adapted to the tectonic shifts of Google’s algorithm updates. That’s even after Google’s anti-spam czar, Matt Cutts, said in January of 2014, “So stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done.” When Matt Cutts says something like that, most SEOs cross the technique off their list forever. Usually, so do the rest of us. But you have to read the rest of what Cutts said to really understand... [...]

Matt Asay says, “Despite starting as a “cancerous” and purportedly “anti-American” blight on the software world, open source has come to be as American (and capitalist) as apple pie. Everyone uses it, big companies like Facebook bake it into their standard development practices and practically no one questions its value anymore. Which is interesting, because it’s by no means clear that your software needs to be open source. Before you make assign your code to The Community, here are some considerations that should factor into your decision”. The Pros And Cons... [...]

Noah Kulwin says, “We at Re/code had a wonderful Fourth of July, and are hoping that you did, too. In case you missed any of the big headlines this holiday week, we have you covered with the news that powered Re/code: Why didn’t Twitter buy Soundcloud? Well, one theory is that the cash they didn’t spend on the music streaming service just enabled them to purchase Tap Commerce, an adtech firm, in a deal valued at around $100 million. Twitter also brought aboard a new CFO in former Goldman Sachs banker Anthony Noto, who helped guide Twitter through the IPO process. Lastly, it seems... [...]

Melih Oztalay says, “LinkedIn has evolved into an advertising channel worth considering for your business. In “Using LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates to Promote your Business,” my article last week, I addressed how to reach a highly targeted group of prospects by inserting your company updates into their personal profile feeds. This form of advertising allows you to get involvement by LinkedIn members directly with your company updates. Before that, in “Using LinkedIn to Attract Consumers, Prospects,” I addressed how to utilize your personal profile in LinkedIn to validate your credentials,... [...]

Peter Kafka says, ““Shoppable TV” — the notion that it would be cool if you could sit on your couch and order clothes you saw people wearing on-screen — is one of those ideas that people have been chasing since Web 1.0. Justin Fuisz was trying to do it, too. Then he had a better idea. Or, at least, one that is easier to fund: Instead of using the tech his startup had built to create a commerce business, he is building an ad play instead. Fuisz Media’s new pitch is that it can make Web ads more interactive, which is supposed to make them more valuable. The basic idea is that its software... [...]

Owen Thomas says, “You may notice that the site you love has a new look. But the visual refresh, while substantial and welcome, is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve changed far more in the deep infrastructure of ReadWrite. Since its earliest days, one of ReadWrite’s core obsessions has been the tools used to create the Web. And yet for most of our history, we didn’t have the resources to make the most of those technologies ourselves. That changed two and a half years ago, when Say Media acquired ReadWrite. Say Media is a media company and a technology company. Some organizations... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Ask.com, Bing, and Yahoo drive far fewer consumers to publishers’ websites than Google, but visitors who arrive via those three search engines tend to stay longer during visits and view more pages, and they are less likely to exit after reading only one page, according to a recent analysis by Shareaholic. Below, key findings from the report, which was based on organic search traffic data collected over six months (December 2013 to May 2014) from the sites of 300,000+ publishers reaching an audience of more than 400 million monthly unique visitors. Engagement The... [...]

Stephanie Chan says, “YouTube may face some challenges as it moves toward the mainstream, but it isn’t standing still on the technological side. Here are eight new tools for video creators YouTube execs Matthew Glotzbach and Oliver Heckmann—the site’s director of product management and VP of engineering, respectively—previewed at the unofficial YouTube convention VidCon last week. A few are available now, but most are are still coming attractions. Keep your eyes peeled, YouTubers. 1. Sound Effects YouTube’s Audio Library already featured hundreds of free songs; now... [...]