Web stats for the London 2012 Olympic Games

Just a small slice of the 70-page, London 2012 Olympic Games – Digital Report Web stats: 431 million visits 109 million unique visits (on average, each person visited four times) 15 million app downloads 4.73 billion pageviews (on average 11 page views/visit) 4.7 million followers on social networks Data: 1.3 petabytes of data served 117 billion …

NBC hits ratings gold, best ever – despite extensive online features, streaming events

NBC’s London Olympics ratings defy expectations NBC’s ratings are on track to outdistance numbers from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which many TV industry executives had figured would be a high-water mark. The last Summer Olympics to consistently attract such large crowds were the Montreal Games in 1976 — long before cable TV networks began splintering the audience. Wow, …

Have you heard of Social Advertising? — It’s the next big thing in online ads

A possible shift in the advertising landscape? From an email Jonah Peretti, the CEO of Buzzfeed, sent out to employees and investors:   This same lucky shift made our business model work for the first time.  A couple years ago, we were trying unsuccessfully to sell social advertising to a market that only wanted to buy …

How change.org was turned into the internets biggest tool for social change

“The idea was to build every possible tool for nonprofits, social fundraising, skills based volunteerism, a blog network…really big, unobtainable objectives,” said Ben Rattray who, at 22-years-old, founded Change.org. “We failed.” Rather than giving up, he pivoted. Instead of attempting to provide every technological service to anyone trying to make an impact, the business narrowed …

Obama campaign launches iPhone app, Obama for America – 100 days till the election

With the 2012 election less than 100 days away — 98 days, to be exact — Team Obama is giving its supporters, volunteers and voters a digital push. The president’s campaign and the Democratic Party have launched Obama for America, a mobile app that packs election information, grassroots organizational tools, campaign news and more into …

Kayak to IPO under the name KYAK, valued at $1 billion

Kayak is expected to start trading tomorrow, after waiting nearly a year for the turbulent IPO waters to subside. Later this afternoon, Kayak is planning to sell 3.5 million shares at $22 to $25 each, to raise as much as $100 million, according to its latest document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But …

Coursera adds 12 more prestigious universities – free online education grows

As we wrote back in April, there’s no doubt that the Internet is revolutionizing education, as more and more companies continue to emerge and alter the way we learn. We’ve kept a close eye on edX, Khan Academy, Academic Earth, P2PU, Skillshare and Codecademy, and rounding out that list is Coursera, one of the youngest …

Listen to the soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises – free online!

As part of our countdown to the release of The Dark Knight Rises, we have a very special treat for you today. Below you can listen to the film’s Hans Zimmer soundtrack in its entirety, giving you a taste of the atmosphere and action you’re in for come July 20. Listen to The Dark Knight …

A map of the world’s undersea cables – as $5 billion-worth more comes online

…The rest of the world is continuing to demand more broadband, and the industry of undersea cables and long haul broadband providers has spent up to $5.5 billion to meet that demand with new cables coming online in 2012 and 2013, according to TeleGeography. The analysis firm released its latest submarine cable map that shows all of the …

Amazon Studios selects four TV projects for online streaming – further Netflix competition

Just a month after we brought you news that Amazon Studios was calling for original comedy and children’s series projects, the company announced today that it has selected its first four projects, choosing three comedies and one children’s show. The company has switched its focus to four TV projects, they are:   The 100 Deaths of Mort Grimley – Where …