Bluefin Labs, a “social TV” start-up that analyzes commentary during TV broadcasts, says it saw 11.5 million comments during tonight’s game. That’s up more than 6x over last year’s broadcast.

(Bluefin competitor Trendrr says they saw a similar leap: They count 15.8 million comments for the game, up from 3.01 million.)

I’ve asked Bluefin if they’ve got any additional insight into the data, and to make sure that they’re comparing equivalent data sets. Last I recall, Bluefin had said that they get a lot of data from Twitter, and less from Facebook, and none from Google+, which wasn’t around last year, anyway.

But assuming Bluefin is comparing apples with apples, the logical conclusions here are that:

A) People are using Twitter and Facebook a whole lot more than they were a year ago; and/or

B) People are using Twitter and Facebook a whole lot more when they watch TV.

More B than A, says Bluefin marketing head Tom Thai, via email: “Sure, social media itself (Twitter, Facebook, etc) has grown in the past year. But the Social TV consumer activity growth has outpaced it. Generally seeing triple digit growth in Social TV.”

That conclusion — again, the two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive — would be good news for both Facebook and Twitter; especially Twitter, which has bet big on the idea that it can provide a “second screen” experience for programmers. CBS strategy honcho Zander Lurie seems like he’s a believer:

Twitter is helping live broadcast events more than axe bodyspray is helping dudes with the ladies

— zander lurie (@zlurie) February 6, 2012

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and I spent a bunch of time talking about that idea last week at D: Dive Into Media, and we’ll have more on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, we’re expecting a series of usage updates from Twitter about tonight’s game. Here’s the first, which would mean more if we had context, so I’ll ask for that.

In the final three minutes of the Super Bowl tonight, there were an average of 10,000 Tweets per second.

– Twitter (@twitter) February 6, 2012

Update: And here, with speed, is some of that context from Twitter PR folks, on other recent high-volume Twitter events:

Tim Tebow overtime playoff win (January 8, 2012): 9,402 TPS

2011 MTV Video Music Awards (August 28, 2011): 8,868 TPS

End of FIFA Women’s World Cup (July 17, 2011): 7,196 TPS

Brazil eliminated from the Copa America (July 17, 2011): 7,166 TPS

We’ll have a liveblog commenting on the game, the commercials, the apps and more, brought to you by tech-and-sports enthusiast Ina Fried, with possible contributions from other staffers, if they can be pried away from the game.

Our coverage will kick off just before the game does. In the meantime, check out our techie guide to the Super Bowl with info on apps, streaming and more.

2:17 pm: It’s still more than an hour to go until game time, but if you want to watch, NBC is streaming the pregame show. http://nflstream.nbcsports.com/

2:23 pm: Sharing a few of my friends’ comments re: The Super Bowl:

“The Super Bowl … keeping Roman numerals alive for 46 years.”

and

“so I heard there’s a Madonna concert on today, with some strange pre-show and post-show entertainment …”

Feel free to email me your observations on the game, the tech and more to ina@allthingsd.com, and I will add in some of them, as well.

2:32 pm: Here’s what NBC’s streaming of the pregame show looks like:

2:35 pm: The NBC app also allows, among other thing, reviewing the ads and switching of camera angles.

2:43 pm: Getting my gear all ready for the game, and to monitor the apps. So far, I have at the ready a MacBook Air for the blogging and, to see the coverage, a Verizon/Motorola Droid Razr Maxx with NFL Mobile. And an iPad. May dig out one or two more gadgets, as well.

2:46 pm: My colleagues at The Wall Street Journal note that there is a traffic jam with folks trying to get to the game — an air traffic jam. I hate when I can’t park my private jet:

3:07 pm: Another shot of my setup as we get ready for the big game.

Meanwhile, it’s time for the starting lineup. Some guy named Manning is starting for the Giants.

The Patriots have some guy named Brady.

3:11 pm: It’s time to meet the players for both teams. And/or heat up the five-layer dip.

3:12 pm: On the commercial front, meanwhile, it’s an ad for Hulu Plus. No Baldwins or aliens, though.

If you miss a commercial, by the way, NBC says you can rewatch it on their site.

Not sure if the same goes for key plays.

3:16 pm: “America the Beautiful,” with Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. I missed who was singing on the TV. Luckily, NFL Mobile on Verizon Droid Razr Maxx is running about 10 seconds behind. Homegrown instant replays.

3:18 pm: Meanwhile, “American Idol” alum Kelly Clarkson is singing the National Anthem. So far I’d put “Idol” up by a touchdown over “The Voice.”

3:20 pm: Cut to commercial for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film “The Dictator,” followed by a Verizon Wireless add for the Droid Razr, which now comes in colors. AJ’s excited: “You know me, I love colors,” he said.

As for me, I’m more excited by the Maxx and its extra battery life. Should have charged it up ahead of time to see if it could make it through the whole game.

Twitter is doing an interesting special Super Bowl page, monitoring how both teams are doing, tweet-wise:

3:26 pm: Meanwhile, on the field, New England won the coin toss and deferred to get the ball in the second half.

3:29 pm: As a reminder to all those enjoying the free livestreaming of the game by NBC, be thankful they have the game rights and not ESPN.

ESPN boss John Skipper told me at our D: Dive Into Media conference that he totally would have charged fans if he had the game rights.

3:38 pm: Quick game update: Giants will have to punt. Patriots will get it back, but deep in their own zone.

3:39 pm: Nice spot for Audi, touting the vampire-crushing power of its headlights.

3:41 pm: Whoa, intentional grounding call. Since Brady was in the end zone, it’s a safety. For you techie, non-sports fans, that’s two points for the Giants, plus they get the ball.

3:45 pm: Twitter is taking note of the fact that hashtags are everywhere in the Super Bowl ads, so far. Hashtags are the new URLs, says Gartner’s Michael Gartenberg.

3:50 pm: It was a catch and a fumble, but more importantly, the Patriots had an extra player on the field, so it’s just a penalty.

3:52 pm: Touchdown Giants, meaning Team Mossberg is off to a rough start, now down 9-0. Sorry, Walt.

3:54 pm: Best Buy just showed their cellphone ad — featuring, among other tech folks, Philippe Kahn, talking about the first cellphone camera. Also featured: Ray Kurzweil, the creators of Shazam, Instagram, Words With Friends and more.

It’s a fun spot.

3:56 pm: Also fun: The spot with a Chevy truck surviving the 2012 Mayan-predicted apocalypse. A bunch of guys in their trucks reunite, along with the Twinkies, which also survived. Not so lucky: The guy driving a Ford.

4:02 pm: Oh boy. Go Daddy at it again.

4:06 pm: Patriots kick a field goal to make it 9-3.

Meanwhile, colleague Joe Brown has dug up some most excellent Super Bowl related tweets, I’ll sprinkle in here:

@TheTweetOfGod notes this will be the last Super Bowl before the Apocalypse; @AndyBorowitz notes that porn sites are seeing a drop in traffic; while @JimGaffigan aptly points out that “The Super Bowl is like the Super Bowl of Super Bowl references.”

Borowitz also hypothesizes that Madonna’s halftime show will provide “a sneak preview of Lady Gaga’s halftime show in 2032.”

See something you like, send it my way to ina@allthingsd.com.

4:15 pm: Nice Volkswagen commercial mixes cute dogs and “Star Wars” to capture two key demographics.

4:20 pm: Aiming for equal time after that Go Daddy ad, there’s one that consists of just David Beckham in his underwear for 30 seconds.

4:23 pm: Interesting playbook for the Patriots, so far. I think it is the BlackBerry PlayBook.

4:28 pm: There are all these apps for making a game out of watching the Super Bowl. Hopefully, there is one that makes the Patriots make a game out it.

4:30 pm: Giants have to punt again, but they pin the Patriots deep again. New England will have it on their own four-yard line.

4:32 pm: It’s retro time, with Lucasfilm touting the 3-D version of “Star Wars,” and NBC touting the 53-year-old version of Madonna.

4:37 pm: Breaking: Teleflora steals ad team from Go Daddy. Then a funny ad from Sketchers, with a dog in tennis shoes.

4:38 pm: Wow, that Cars.com ad was creepy. With a capital “C” and a capital “REEPY.”

4:41 pm: Another tech note: NBC’s livestreaming is being aided by Vertigo, whose CEO, Scott Stanfield, asks everyone to help make the game the biggest streaming event ever.

4:43 pm: Grandma in wheelchair steals back Doritos bag by slingshotting baby to get it. Now it’s Etrade baby and pal “speed dating” in a hospital nursery. Babies are taking over.

4:46 pm: As for that football game thing, it’s almost halftime, with the Patriots in striking distance at the three-yard line, with 18 seconds to go.

4:47 pm: And Mossberg scores. Well, technically speaking, it was one of the Patriots on the field. Anyhoo, touchdown Patriots.

4:51 pm: And it’s halftime.

Or “game time” for many of my friends, who don’t understand why they are playing football at a Madonna concert, anyway.

5:00 pm: Hulu Plus gets another plug. Touts the ability to watch shows on all kinds of devices. Now it’s an evil(er) plan to take over the world.

Meanwhile, Shazam gets a shout-out in a Bud Light ad.

5:01 pm: And now, the moment you have all been waiting for … 1982.

5:04 pm: On the plus side, the wardrobe is fully functional.

5:06 pm: Meanwhile, if you Shazam the halftime show, you get a free LMFAO remake of Madonna.

5:11 pm: Dude, Madonna just stole the football field. We’re going to want that thing back.

5:16 pm: Here’s the Shazam app in action during the halftime show:

5:17 pm: And here’s how Madonna wrapped up her act, as seen on the one screen I haven’t talked about. It’s called a TV — people used to watch stuff on them:

5:23 pm: And, with some final halftime ads from Betty White and Clint Eastwood, we’re back to football. Brady and the Patriots have it just past their own 20.

5:28 pm: Walt carries it in again, as the Mossbergs extend their lead to 17-9.

5:31 pm: Just checked. RIM hasn’t made any personnel moves during this game.

5:36 pm: Some more great tweets curated by our fabulous Joe Brown:

@michaelianblack: Joan Rivers did an amazing halftime show.

@PFTompkins: That oughtta do it. World peace should be here by the next GoDaddy commercial.

@TheTweetOfGod: Patriots 10. Giants 9. Madonna 53.

5:39 pm: Giants did a kick-y thing. Now 17-12 Patriots.

5:39 pm: Update: Fiat also knows how to use sex to sell.

5:42 pm: I want to grab a beer, but I am afraid I might miss a commercial. Or accidentally grab a Bud Light Platinum, whatever that is.

5:43 pm: Meanwhile, NBC is plugging an NBC Sports Talk app.

Madonna gets a shout-out from her peers:

5:52 pm: It’s easy to miss, in all the tweets and ads and Madonnas, but there is actually a pretty good football game going on.

5:56 pm: It’s almost the moment you have all been waiting for … Samsung’s Galaxy Note commercial. It’s kind of like a futchdown.

6:06 pm: Loving the “Ferris Bueller” revamp Honda CR-V commercial with Matthew Broderick. #bueller

First Madonna, now Ferris Bueller. Glad my generation now runs all the companies. Or at least their ad agencies.

6:13 pm: Bud Light gets some “awww” points with its last ad, promoting the beer-fetching rescue dog, “Weego.”

6:21 pm: Woo Hoo. Careerbuilder monkeys. I’ve missed those guys.

6:21 pm: Fourth quarter, 9:24 left to go. You can text your vote to for Super Bowl MVP. Personally, I’ll need another 9:24 to give you my answer.

6:25 pm: Futchdown! Goofy ad for Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablet now on.

Not a lot of stylus fans on Twitter, as Samsung ad is getting roundly panned, as is the product.

6:29 pm: Dow Jones colleague Ian Sherr reports his stream of the Super Bowl is decidedly subpar. “None of the TV ads, and it doesn’t even break at the same time as TV.”

Of course, only at the Super Bowl does one complain there are not enough ads in Internet streams.

“I’ve missed several plays, and they keep playing the same ads with Dwight from The Office and “Act of Valor” over and over again,” Sherr said in a Twitter post.

6:32 pm: Meanwhile, it’s a two-point game, with 3:46 to play.

Giants have the ball, down two on their own 12.

6:34 pm: Throw to the sideline at 50-yard line ruled a catch. Patriots challenge, but looks pretty good. First key use of instant replay this game.

Yep, ruling on field confirmed, and will cost the Patriots a time-out.

6:37 pm: As for that Samsung ad, it was a first-ever commercial for director Bobby Farrelly, who is known for “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb & Dumber” and “Kingpin.”

If you need to re-watch it, it’s here.

I recommend doing so now, as there is another Go Daddy.com ad playing.

6:44 pm: Giants score, but likely would have rather used a little more clock.

New England will still need a touchdown, and have less than a minute to get it.

It’s now 21-17, Giants.

Sorry, was watching the game. First down, but clock clicking. Just 17 seconds left, though.

6:51 pm: Just nine seconds left now, with Patriots near midfield.

6:52 pm: Okay. Five ticks left, so this is probably it for both the Patriots and this liveblog. Hope you were at least entertained!

Incomplete. Giants win, 21-17.

6:55 pm: Disneyland or Disney World? That’s the only question that remains.

You’ll have to take my word for this, but this is exactly what it looks and sounds like on my phone — there’s no drop in quality in this YouTube upload.

What’s truly bizarre is that the live NFL streaming that Verizon does provide is actually pretty good. Or at least it was, when they were offering it for free at the beginning of the season. I don’t know why they’d want to promote it with something that looked like it was made on a Commodore 64.

Also odd: Verizon has made competent, attractive ads for its NFL offering in the past. Here’s one from 2011:

(Image courtesy of Shutterstock/Neil Webster)

And for those who are into both football and geekery, tomorrow is kind of like the Super Bowl. Well, technically speaking, I guess tomorrow is like the Super Bowl for everyone.

Anyhoo. For everyone looking for some tech to go with their gridiron, there are lots of options.

First of all, NBC is streaming the Super Bowl live over the Internet, for those who can’t make it to a television or want a second screen to enjoy even more of the action.

ESPN president John Skipper said at D: Dive Into Media that he thinks giving away the game for free is a bad idea, but NBC paid for the rights, so they get to do what ever they want.

Verizon is also broadcasting the game live to the smallest of screens via its NFL Mobile service. (However, Peter Kafka notes their marketing of said service could use some work.)

Second, there are a ton of Super Bowl apps, including the official ones for both iPhone and Android, as well as a game program. Peanuts are still not downloadable, but content-tagging app Shazam is offering a variety of commercial tie-ins. Check here for even more game-day apps.

And of course, the big game will be the talk of Twitter, to be sure.

Lastly, as a special treat, AllThingsD will be offering live coverage of the game, the commercials and the social-media hoopla. We had so much fun in January with Footballmer, our liveblog mash-up of Steve Ballmer’s final CES keynote and the BCS championship, that we decided to do it again.

This time, though, I’ll actually get to watch the game, rather than having Ballmer duty. I’ll be commenting on the game, the commercials, the tech and the Twitter commentary. Check back tomorrow before kickoff for that.

Inventor Philippe Kahn talks about it in a Best Buy ad running in the first quarter. In a promotional video that ties in to the ad, Kahn shows his first photo, of his newborn daughter, and talks about how the technology came to be.

While not the first time a camera had been attached to a phone, Kahn notes his camera phone allowed the modern notion of instant sharing. A video of the ad is publicly posted on YouTube (though unlisted).

These days Kahn is running Fullpower Technologies, which does some motion control stuff demoed back at our D7 conference. Their MotionX software is a popular iPhone navigation app and their technology is also used in devices like Jawbone’s UP and Nike+ GPS.

Since you might be refilling the snack bowl or taking a bio break when the ad airs Sunday, here you go:

Update: Best Buy wrote me to note that this video is not the ad itself, but rather a longer video expanding upon the ad itself. And the ad will appear in the first quarter, not in the third or fourth, as I originally wrote.

But for those more interested in the postgame highlights and analysis, the inaugural Super Bowl XLVI app from NFL Magazine might do the trick.

The tablet app is meant to be more commemorative than anything else — think of those dust-gathering magazines you collect each year — and it won’t stream the game live.

The app will offer image-rich season recaps for both teams, player highlight reels, polls and Super Bowl history. (No word on whether it includes a slide show of Tom Brady’s hairstyles throughout the years.)

After the game, the app will be updated with 15 to 20 minutes of highlight clips, breakdowns of key plays, interviews with players, NFL.com articles on the game and 360-degree photos.

The video available on the app during and after the game will be “clean” game highlights from NFL Network. Later on, extended highlights from NFL Films, with NBC logos and graphics, will be made available through the app.

The app, which is available on the iPad and on Android tablets, is selling at a pregame discount of $2.99 — which is less than half of the postgame price.

“We’ve seen a lot of fan demand for this,” said Jeff Berman, general manager of NFL Digital Media. “We plan to keep the app fresh for several weeks as we introduce new content, and ultimately provide a kind of lifetime digital keepsake.”

Nielsen data shows that 70 percent of tablet owners and 68 percent of smartphone owners use their devices while watching TV, while a poll conducted by Velti and Harris Interactive shows that nearly 60 percent of mobile users plan to look at or use their mobile device during the game. We’ll likely see some interesting data after Sunday, as well, about mobile usage during the Super Bowl. These metrics are key for advertisers as they try to gauge how many eyeballs are on second — and third, and fourth — screens during big television events.

And what about those Super Bowl ads, you ask? NFL Magazine’s Super Bowl app won’t feature any third-party ads this year, but it will include NFL promotions, as well as ads for The Daily, the tablet newspaper owned by News Corp. (which also owns this site), since the NFL is using The Daily’s technology platform to power the app.

Berman said that since this is the first time NFL Digital has done a commemorative Super Bowl app — it’s the NFL’s first tablet-only app, as well — they’re not focused on signing up a bunch of ad partners to start, though it’s a possibility for future versions of the app.

Revenue generation aside, the app means something else for rabid sports fans: The ability to call up key plays on your tablet whenever you feel like watching them. And rewatching them. And showing them to your friends. And discussing the nuances of the plays.

And unlike a commemorative magazine — which, by the way, the NFL will be producing, as well — the app provides an interactive and updatable experience. Look, Ma, moving pictures!

Here, Hulu returns to the campaign it launched in 2009, which starred Alec Baldwin and involved an alien plan to turn human brains into tasty “mushymush.” You see, your mother was right about TV turning your brains to mush, and Hulu is just the secret weapon to make it happen faster, allowing the aliens to eat more. Get it? And Hulu Plus, its subscription service, is even better.

Naturally Hulu is turning to Twitter, and there’s a hashtag you can use to tweet about what you’re watching to turn your own brain into #mushymush.

The latest installment stars Will Arnett, whom you’ll recognize if you watch shows like “30 Rock,” “Arrested Development” and “Up All Night,” which I don’t, so I, uh, didn’t. Anyhow, enjoy the ad:

Correction: Earlier I said this was the ad, not understanding that the video above is actually a teaser for the real ad that will run on Sunday. Sorry about that.

That is, ESPN thinks it can preserve its traditional premium fees from paid TV distributors, while also making money from online offerings.

Where some in television have worried about “turning analog dollars into digital dimes” (I believe that originated with former NBC CEO Jeff Zucker), Skipper said of ESPN, “We take the dollar and we take the dime, as well.”

ESPN viewership is 99 percent live, Skipper said, and it fights cord-cutters by not giving its content away for free. That’s in contrast to NBC, which will be livestreaming this weekend’s Super Bowl online.

“We have a different philosophy,” Skipper said. “We believe that the content we sell to distributors for a lot of money, that we should not distribute it for free to someone else.”

By contrast, Skipper said, “The Rose Bowl is not available for free. You have to have a paid television subscription, and then you can watch it wherever you want.”

Since 2005, ESPN has made sure that all its content deals include rights for every device. As Skipper put it, “We don’t cannibalize ourself, we use those platforms to cross-promote.”

Further, Skipper says ESPN is well worth the money distributors pay (something that draws a lot of grumbles from others in the industry). It brings in strong local ad sales, and has pioneered 3-D and HD content on television.

“The rates we get from distributors are directly correlated to the value we provide,” Skipper said.

But if you watch the game on the Web, your eyeballs are worth a whole lot less. NBC, which is streaming the entire thing for the first time ever, will be lucky to get anything near a million dollars for that same ad when it runs online.

So why is Comcast’s broadcast network putting the game on the Web, period? Isn’t this the classic analog-dollars-to-digital-dimes trade that Big Media strives so hard to avoid?

Nope, says Rick Cordella, who runs digital for NBC Sports. The network assumes that nearly every eyeball — and every ad dollar — that it gets from the Web this week will be a bonus, because whoever watches online is simultaneously watching on a big TV, the way football is supposed to be watched.

This is supposed to be the classic “second screen” experience that Twitter’s Dick Costolo and so many other digital folks are excited about.

And that makes plenty of sense to me. Many TV guys have gotten plenty comfortable with the idea of streaming their most valuable live sports events online, for free. In most of those cases, the general assumption is that anyone who’s watching on the Web is someone who can’t watch the game on a TV to begin with — see the CBS/Turner Sports livestreams of the NCAA March Madness tournament.

And in NBC’s case, it is packing the Webcast full of extra camera angles and other goodies, including a feature that will let you rewatch every Super Bowl commercial once it’s aired. The assumption is that you’re holding the TV remote in one hand, and controlling your laptop with another.

NBC already does a version of this with its Sunday Night Football broadcasts during the regular season, and the network says it draws between 200,000 and 300,000 unique viewers per game (that’s the source of that Vikings-Saints screenshot, above).

Meanwhile, those broadcasts are the networks’ best-performing shows by a long shot, so it doesn’t seem to have slowed them down. The NFL, meanwhile, reports that Web companion streams of the Thursday night games it shows on its own channel averaged 450,000 uniques.

So Cordella argues that putting the biggest TV show of the year online, for free, is really no big deal. But I’m pretty sure that this attitude isn’t shared by everyone in the TV business, and we might hear a bit about that today at the D: Dive Into Media conference. Curious to see what ESPN boss John Skipper thinks, for starters.

Electronic Arts is predicting that the New York Giants will defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, by a single field goal.

For the past several years, the videogame publisher has been using its hit title Madden NFL to simulate the outcome of the Super Bowl — and in six out of the past eight matchups, it has guessed correctly.

But unlike the camel in the New Jersey zoo that has picked the winner of five of the last six Super Bowls, EA breaks down the score quarter by quarter.

EA simulates the Super Bowl by using artificial intelligence and real data from each team. It even includes variables such as injuries. The simulation is powered by Madden NFL and Xbox 360, the official console sponsor of the NFL.

EA replays the game’s highlights in a video, including Giants quarterback Eli Manning being named MVP for completing 25 of 39 passes with two touchdowns, and the Patriots’ Tom Brady throwing for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Spoiler Alert: To win the game, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes will make a 40-yard field goal, with the final score 27-24.

The commercial was originally supposed to be kept under wraps until game day, but Gawker Media’s car blog, Jalopnik, spoiled the surprise last Friday. Honda put the full ad on YouTube early this morning. Jalopnik says Honda hired “The Hangover” writer/director Todd Phillips to create it.

In the spot, Broderick reprises his role from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” calling in sick from work in Los Angeles, instead of from high school in Chicago. Instead of crooning a karaoke version of “Danke Schoen” during a parade, this time Broderick gets caught up in a Chinese New Year parade. His CR-V is taken for a joy ride, not by garage attendants, but by a valet parker at a posh restaurant.

Here’s the spot, for those of you that would rather just watch it. Maybe … nine times?

The spot depicts a batch of assembly-line robots busily building cars, as an instrumental version of the 1979 Gary Numan hit “Cars” plays happily. All is well until one of the robots experiences trouble and complains to the others, “I’m broken.” No problem, one of the others says, fixes his stricken comrade, and all is again well. Cue the voice-over, saying something about assembly lines that repair themselves. Then cue the corporate logo, aaaand … out.

The spot — which has exactly 100 percent less Ellen Page than the last series of Cisco TV ads — is part of a significant new advertising offensive that Cisco is launching today on television, in print and online. The TV spots will appear during the NCAA basketball games, the National Hockey League’s All-Star Skills Competition, and on CNBC and other business-oriented programming. However, it notably won’t appear during the Super Bowl.

Those robots will be seen again, disassembling and reassembling sections of certain Web sites as part of a series of “site takeovers,” including CNBC and The Street, among others.

The print portion is a six-page “manifesto” that explains ways that Cisco’s “Human Network” plays important and unexpected roles at banking companies and companies that sell chutney, and helps the National Basketball Association push its video around the world. The manifesto will appear in The Wall Street Journal (which, like this Web site, is owned by News Corp.), the Economist and the New York Times.

There will also be a social campaign via LinkedIn that goes after 140,000 C-level executives registered on that network. It will be the first time that embedded video will be used in a LinkedIn campaign. More TV ads will come later this year, as will localized versions of the campaign for international markets.

Last week, I talked with Blair Christie, Cisco’s chief marketing officer, who said that the manifesto in particular is about using the voice of its customers to show how Cisco’s technology can help companies do things they couldn’t do before. Of course, the point they’re supposed to get is that a Cisco intelligent network is what’s enabling them to do that.

Christie says it’s all part of Cisco’s effort to simplify how it communicates about itself. There’s no more muddling of the message. There’s no more consumer division to eat into the perception that Cisco is anything but an enterprise- and service-provider-focused networking company, so no more need for cute ads that overdo awkward jokes about teleconferencing, or showing a giggly twentysomething woman in a virtual fitting room. Cisco is now about transforming how companies do what they do, either by doing it better, or seeing new opportunities. It’s a big message, and a tricky one to get across in 30 seconds during a football game.

I asked Christie about the state of Cisco’s brand before this campaign, and whether or not there were any perceived weaknesses, given its recent troubles, that this ad effort is meant to shore up. “There was actually a lot that was right with our brand,” she told me. “The opportunity we had was clear and simple. Our customer voice is our talent, and that’s what we’re showing, and it’s consistent with our strategy. We use our customers as a test bed, so why not use them as a reflection of our brand? It wasn’t rocket science. But it was the customer voice that was missing.”

Simplifying and streamlining are themes that Cisco is certainly acquainted with of late. It has been doing a lot of those, and indeed, even shrinking itself as part of a broad-based restructuring. The results of that effort are starting to show up in Cisco’s results.

Time will tell if this new advertising campaign will help Cisco effectively reintroduce itself to its core customers; fight off strong competitive thrusts from the likes of Hewlett-Packard, whose networking division marketed itself aggressively against Cisco in 2010; and perhaps press a perceived advantage against Juniper Networks, which has been having its own problems.

What I find notable, or maybe missing from the campaign, are recognizable names of customers doing innovative things. Yes, there’s the NBA, but in the print manifesto, who’s the bank that’s using Cisco’s video TelePresence to interact with customers? Who’s the small chutney company that turned “browsers into buyers”? And who’s the car company with such smart assembly-line robots? It’s a good message that, to my mind, could be made a lot more effective with more specific examples.

And while I grant it’s often difficult to get customers to agree to be named in ads like this — you could almost hear CEO John Chambers’s frustration about not being allowed to name a certain banking customer, about which he was obviously proud, on a recent conference call — the biggest networking company in the world shouldn’t have such a problem. It should be able to brag that this or that household-name bank is an enthusiastic Cisco customer, and that Cisco networks powered the manufacturing of that popular car everyone is talking about right now. That would add some real oomph, and really serve to remind potential customers that Cisco is still, despite its recent missteps, the networking world’s alpha dog.

Anyhow, my critique aside, here’s the robots spot. Enjoy:

Cisco Robots from Arik Hesseldahl on Vimeo.

The new campaign — set to the tune of “Let’s Stay Together,” by Al Green — is much more tame than last year’s ad. The 30-second spot focuses on creating family memories around campfires, swimming holes and hiking trails; memories that often can be made in or near homes — not in hotels.

HomeAway, which operates vacation-rentals marketplaces, including HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com, went out on a limb for its Super Bowl commercial last year. If the point was to generate buzz before filing for its initial public offering, it was a success.

But the Austin, Texas-based company ended up having to yank the ad after drawing criticism over a particularly disturbing image: In the commercial, a doll — which was obviously not a child — was thrown against a wall to demonstrate how cramped hotel rooms can be, compared to more spacious rental houses.

The updated — and more subtle — campaign will air in select markets during NBC’s broadcast of the 69th Golden Globe Awards. Following its debut, the spot will air on the Travel Channel, the Food Network, HGTV and other special promotions, including the Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, the Academy Awards on Feb. 26 and the “Survivor” finale.

Second time’s the charm?

Last year’s winner was “HMU,” for “hit me up”; in 2009, it was “FML” for “(eff) my life.” (And to be fair, I’ve definitely seen those posted by my own friends since — I guess we’re late adopters.)

So here are this year’s dual winners for acronyms in the Facebook status messages of U.S. users: “LMS” for “like my status,” and “TBH” for “to be honest.”

LMS was the “fastest-growing meme of 2011,” by Facebook’s count; in fact, it often went hand in hand with “TBH.”

So if a Facebook user posted “LMS for a TBH,” she would then hand out individualized honest feedback for any friend who pressed the “Like” button next to her status, as in the image at left. It’s kind of wackily complicated, but at the same time a nice gesture.

Facebook released a dizzying list of other year-end trends, as well, through a “Memology” app on the official Facebook page. The biggest global peaks of the year were when Osama bin Laden was killed and when the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl.

Please see the disclosure about Facebook in my ethics statement.

Many viewers didn’t take well to the image, causing Sharples to issue a 1,000-word apology letter and pull the campaign. (The company is currently shopping for a new advertising firm).

This all occurred just four months before the company issued an initial public offering. Fortunately, for Sharples (and the company’s venture investors) that event was a bigger hit than the Super Bowl commercial. HomeAway’s stock closed at $40.21 on Nasdaq, up 48.9 percent from its IPO price of $27. Shares have since hovered around $35.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

As the man who has overseen Groupon’s wild ride to the top of the daily deals market, Mason is routinely called quirky or funny. And, in one of his finer moments as CEO, his appearance was compared to an unmade bed.

His wry sarcasm permeates the company’s culture, with staff writers crafting charming scrips offering a $20 hair cut for 10 bucks. But his humor has also backfired at times, the best example being its Super Bowl commercials, which landed Groupon in hot water.

Here’s the liveblog of Mason and Kara Swisher duking it out for who can be the most clever. Swisher needles Mason about Groupon’s just-announced travel deal with Expedia, and attempts to cajole him into spilling the beans on the company’s looming IPO, and why he turned down a $6 billion offer from Google.

Likewise, Mason deflects her questions with elaborate tales that have little to do with anything.

Expect the unexpected. Here we go:

1:24 pm: We are just waiting for everyone to take the stage, so hold on.

If you missed it, Groupon and Expedia just hours ago announced a partnership for a travel-focused deals service.

1:27 pm: OK, here we go. Kara just took the stage.

Ooh, a hint. Lots of news coming up, she says.

We are starting off with Andrew Mason, CEO and co-founder of Groupon!

1:28 pm: Mason gets on stage and has something he really wants to get off his chest. It’s the Groupon IPO!

Kara: What’s the date for the filing?

Mason says the news is that they still don’t have anything to announce.

Kara: That’s not news!

1:29 pm: Kara challenges him: I heard it’s quite soon.

Mason says nothing, but stares comically, head nodding. Gritting his teeth.

1:30 pm: Let’s change the subject and talk about the picture!

Kara says she thinks Mason looks like a dork in his driver’s license photos, and hands him a present. It’s a 4′x6′ version of his D9 likeness, suitable for hanging in his office.

Whoa, that’s really big.

Mason struggles to roll up the massive WSJ-style illustration.

Mason says the goofy grin in the driver’s license photo is an attempt to look less fat. For the record, Mason is not fat.

1:31 pm: Kara wants to get back to business, and says, seriously, let’s talk about the IPO.

Mason: Seriously? Ok, let me talk about the reasons why generally a company wants to be public.

I run a business, and going public is a way for shareholders to get money. In this day and age, people have a tolerance for companies running over the long term. I don’t think there’s any downside to making a decision like that.

In other words, not everything has to be set in stone about the company’s business before its files.

1:32 pm: Next question. Kara: Did you ever imagine growing this quickly?

We didn’t always grow this fast. We launched in December 2008, and once we figured out a playbook for running in one city, we launched in others.

Today, Groupon is in 46 countries and has 8,000 employees. (That’s probably one employee for every dot in his WSJ illustration.) A year ago, he said they had 1,500.

About half of them are selling, he adds, and most of them are in local markets. In Chicago, there’s a big call center.

It’s a very manual business. We’ve approached relationships with local companies differently than a lot of Silicon Valley companies.

1:34 pm: Kara: People have tried local a million times and it hasn’t worked.

Mason: We don’t have preconceived notions about what local ought to be.

Here come the questions about all the Groupon clones….

Mason hates the clones.

Mason explains why he’s so upset by the clones: We spent two years pivoting before we landed on this model. We are proud of the idea in the way anyone would be if they invented something.

All the clones were drafting everything we were doing. I was a music major, and with music, we call that plagiarism. But in business it’s called competition.

I’m on board now!

1:38 pm: Now Mason is talking about what haunts him the most about his business. Basically, he’s scared it doesn’t grow or evolve fast enough.

Over the course of the year, Groupon has migrated from a sales and marketing company to a technology company with more relevant and personalized deals.

My biggest mistake was waiting to open an office in Silicon Valley. Chicago is a great town, but it doesn’t have the depth of talent that you guys have.

1:40 pm: Kara is now addressing Groupon’s margins, which have been very attractive to date. But with more competitors and partnerships, like Expedia, they may erode over time.

Now Mason is turning it around on Kara, asking her how she thinks Groupon will fail.

(BTW, he interjects that he doesn’t feel comfortable hanging a big picture of himself in his office.)

And we’re back to the interview…

I told you this interview will be all over the place. I hope you are all still keeping track!

1:42 pm: Now, really seriously, Mason says Groupon will continue to have great margins as long as it is providing a great service to its customers–which are the merchants.

As long as we deliver good deals to customers and a good ROI to merchants, the margins will be fine.

Now he’s talking about his two big partnerships: One with Live Nation to provide discounts on events and concerts, and today’s deal with Expedia.

“We know better than anyone that the success of our business has to do with our relationship with merchants. The partnerships are an opportunity to bring our brand and curation with their relationships…We don’t think we’d be able to do it by ourselves.”

1:45 pm: Kara wants to know about Groupon Now, which is location-based offers that consumers use instantly, and how it’s different than what Google announced yesterday with Offers.

Mason said it’s about getting consumers to use Groupons more often, because most of the time they aren’t using a Groupon when shopping or dining.

It’s live in San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

1:47 pm: Mason is now giving a tortured demo. No, sorry, this is not like an Apple keynote.

You hit “Eat Something” to find a deal 0.1 miles away. Or, hey, he asks, why not a spontaneous teeth cleaning?

Mason: We have over 1,000 deals running in Chicago right now in order to pull something like this off. We’ve always existed between gray area between e-commerce and advertising.

People think of it as an alternative to running an ad in the newspaper or on the radio, but this is more like e-commerce.

I love about the product that you can do something when I’m bored. I haven’t gotten my teeth cleaned in six years! (Mason may need a check-up today after all his teeth- grinding.)

1:49 pm: Kara hits him with two questions at once: Is mobile the future? Do you use regular Groupon that much?

No, he doesn’t buy many Groupons, Mason admits. He’s a much bigger fan of Groupon Now. “I don’t like having to plan ahead, I like to be able to buy something and use it immediately.”

1:50 pm: What does he think about Google offers?

Mason: What they really did well is integration with Buzz.

Big laughs from the audience!

But seriously, again without being too revealing, Mason gives standard lines like, “competition is good for the consumer,” and “innovation is good for the space.”

Kara: Why didn’t you sell to Google?

Mason quietly stares. Says nothing. More teeth grinding.

Kara doesn’t give up, and still wants to know the answer. So, she asks: Why didn’t you sell to Yahoo?

Mason laughs hysterically.

The non-serious, but serious answer: We are happy as an independent company. Any company should be happy being apart of either Google or Yahoo.

Mason has a request for Kara: Stop asking questions he can’t answer, so he can stop saying bullshit answers.

1:54 pm: On to something else…Let’s talk about other competitors, like LivingSocial, which is a distinct second.

He lists three categories, where he sees competition coming from in the future:

1. Straight-up clones.
2. Sleeping giants.
3. The ones out of left field.

He says he has to remain focused: “As along as we make a product that people love more than anything else, we’ll be successful.”

1:55 pm: Groupon is very aggressive on international expansion.

Kara asks about China in particular.

We are doing a joint venture with Tencent, we have a Chinese management team running it. We’ve only been there for a few months, so there’s lots of challenges. The big challenge is that there’s a lot of competition already in China. There’s one called Groupon. Really, it’s called Groupon.

1:57 pm: Will Groupon return to TV commercials after the Super Bowl missteps?

Mason said it was a big misunderstanding.

With the Super Bowl commercials, we tried to have a sense of humor. Part of our purpose is to make life less boring for people. That’s what we do with the deals, and what we like to do with the write-ups, and that’s what we tried to do with the commercials.

For us, we though who would seriously believe we would trivialize a cause like this? We gave ourselves too much credit. People believe corporations are more evil than I thought.

2:00 pm: A question from the audience: How big is the local market?

Mason says that globally, local commerce is a $12 or $14 trillion market. “If we get 10 percent of that, we’ll be very happy.”

Mason declines to comment on what percentage Groupon actually has of that.

2:01 pm: Next question from a guy in the crowd says he finds Mason to be a “very charming guy.”

Despite his non-answers, I guess the death stare is winning people over, eh?

2:03 pm: Next a loyal Groupon user from the audience asks about “Groupon burnout” because he often pays for vouchers that he doesn’t get around to using before they expire.

Mason: We hate it when Groupons expire because it does create burnout. He says they don’t see any signs of it.

2:05 pm: Kara builds on that theme asking about all the stories in the paper about merchants who are overwhelmed and burned by Groupon.

Mason said it’s like sexual predators on social networks. Those stories are part of the discovery process of a new industry, but there’s a disproportionate number of stories compared to reality.

“We have a huge team vetting the offers. We only feature great businesses, and that’s why Groupon has been successful. It’s the biggest differentiator,” he said.

Kara says in many ways, Groupon has been a bank for these businesses because they get all the cash upfront from the offers.

Mason: We don’t like that as a reason to use Groupon, so we started doling the money out over time.

2:08 pm: Kara asks next about the wall of magazines that Mason has in the waiting room of his office. They are all of failed companies, like Friendster and Myspace.

Why?

Mason: When I think about the companies that have occupied our space, we are in right now…Companies lose focus on the customer, and they are too celebratory. I want to make sure we have a culture, and that we are still hungry. It’s supposed to be a reminder to our employees. I don’t want them to think they are part of a hip company. We still have to fight every day for our bread.

2:10 pm: And, on that note, that’s it. That’s the end. Thanks for reading.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110601/groupons-ceo-andrew-mason-live-at-d9/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20110420/yahoos-focuses-on-tentpole-events-with-new-head/ http://allthingsd.com/20110420/yahoos-focuses-on-tentpole-events-with-new-head/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:11:25 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=42909 At least one thing in yesterday’s lackluster first-quarter earnings report for Yahoo that got its Microsoft-search-bashing CEO Carol Bartz excited was the Silicon Valley Internet giant’s traffic gusher for big tentpole events such as the Super Bowl and the Oscars.

In fact, Bartz practically sounded like a gushy “Entertainment Tonight” flunky when talking to Wall Street analysts about Yahoo’s Oscar news, games and other offerings. She proudly noted the site’s efforts generated more than a billion pages views.

There will be more of that, it seems, with the elevation of Yahoo exec Sam Silverstein (pictured here) as head of its special events coverage. Sources said it will be a major area of emphasis, given obvious advertiser interest.

It’s all part of a lot of dramatic changes being made in the media unit at Yahoo, which is run by its newish Audience head Mickie Rosen.

Previous to his new duties, Silverstein has been mostly focused on major sports events for Yahoo, but has also been managing content on its front page and in tech and green arenas.

The move to taking over more comes after Lawrence Yee–who led Yahoo entertainment efforts and was once the managing editor of its omg! celebrity site–headed to TMZ.com, the competing and much sassier celebrity site, owned by AOL. His new job is as managing editor of its TooFab site, TMZ overlord Harvey Levin confirmed to me.

Also gone recently is Annette Cardwell, who was managing editor of Yahoo’s Shine women’s site, who is now working as director of digital content and games at Future US, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Now it will be up to Silverstein, who is well-regarded at Yahoo, to run the upcoming Royal Wedding coverage by himself.

William and Kate, as well as Bartz, will be watching.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110420/yahoos-focuses-on-tentpole-events-with-new-head/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20110419/liveblogging-yahoos-1q-earnings-call-get-me-to-funky-town/ http://allthingsd.com/20110419/liveblogging-yahoos-1q-earnings-call-get-me-to-funky-town/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:21:01 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=42815

MicroHoo is funky!

At least according to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz on the Silicon Valley search giant’s first-quarter earnings conference call about its recent financial performance.

Yahoo’s results showed a continued worrisome revenue growth stall, due in large part to a search advertising fall-off, and a still-turning turnaround.

Yahoo reported revenues of $1.06 billion, down six percent from a year ago, on net earnings of 17 cents a share, down 28 percent.

The results were essentially in line with Wall Street expectations.

2:03 pm PT: The call started right on time, as per usual. Maybe they can’t get search right anymore, but Yahoo execs sure know how to start an analysts’ confab.

Bartz started off the call, noting “overall, our turnaround is proceeding on schedule.”

Well, the schedule of a three-toed sloth, I suppose, but it’s on schedule!

Bartz is too smart, though, and quickly noted the problems with search revenue declines, related to its search and online advertising partnership with Microsoft.

Still, she then used the unusual term “funky comparisons” to dismiss the key issue.

But isn’t she the one who struck the funky deal with Microsoft that has resulted in these funky comparisons and these even funkier search advertising revenues?

Just askin’!

Bartz proceeded quickly to noting Yahoo’s advances due to technology improvements, which showed a doubling of impressions to big events such as the Super Bowl and the Oscars.

It’s a good point, since Yahoo–for all its troubles–is still a huge traffic driver, including serving up 1.3 billion page views for the Oscars.

Bartz talked about monetization and said a lot of other stuff, but got to the finances quickly.

“Search was a mixed bag,” she said flatly. You can say that again–but not in a good way.

Bartz tried to put a good-news spin on it, but had to admit that “on the downside [Microsoft's] adCenter is not seeing strong RPS,” she said.

That’s revenue per search and a key number that Yahoo had thought would be better by now.

Bartz noted that the paid search markets internationally will be delayed until MicroHoo gets its act together.

Good idea!

2:16 pm: CFO Tim Morse took over to go through the numbers.

“We had good display momentum around the globe,” he said.

But search was, um, bad. It underperformed, but Yahoo had that guarantee from Microsoft to pay out, which Morse called a “financial floor.”

Morse pretty much read the press release from here on out.

2:24 pm: Bartz was back talking up the huge audience Yahoo has abroad. And it is true–the Yahoo brand is a golden one globally.

Also video consumption is up too, as it is across the Web, in terms of views and time spent. Yahoo’s “Primetime in No Time” got 500 million streams in the quarter.

Bartz turned to mobile, which is weak no matter what she said about the laudable Livestand. It’s one of many in a very competitive market.

Same for social, which Yahoo has essentially abdicated to Facebook. That said, Yahoo has tried to weave social within its myriad of sites and it gets it, especially compared to the socially awkward Google.

Bartz summed up that she hoped everyone gets that profitability and revenue growth were on track to get better, promising more at the investor day in May.

2:30 pm: Q&A time!

The first question is about display growth. It’s a softball, since display was up.

The next is about other revenue growth areas to come.

Bartz–who seemed not so prepped for such an obvious question–ticked off shopping, travel and uuuuuh….

Morse jumped in and talked about making internal connections, which I also did not understand.

An analyst then wanted to “dig into” search problems. I’d say it’s time to call in Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel!

Relative to RPS, Bartz acknowledged it was low and everyone was studying the issue. There is a plan, apparently. Again, Bartz was maddeningly vague.

I missed the next question and then it was back to search.

Bartz was not getting too specific about search, but would say video advertising was going to do well.

She did note that Yahoo expected a dip in Q1 related to search revenue, “but the dip went a little lower than we expected and lasted a little longer than expected.”

Bartz said she had recently sat down with Microsoft execs to go over the problems. How much would I have liked to have been a fly on that wall!

The next question was about video and it turns out Bartz loves the babbling babies too! I knew we had something cool in common.

The next question is about Japan and the possible deal to sell off Yahoo’s ownership of Yahoo Japan!

Morse said diddly, except “we continue to make progress.”

A question about display and possible content verticals.

Verticals Yahoo is interested in, according to Bartz: Entertainment, lifestyle, women, gossip.

“The things people really want to do, they want to disappear,” said Bartz, which was an interesting way of putting it.

Yet another question in what was beginning to feel like an endless call.

It was about Right Media, Yahoo’s advertising exchange. Cleaning it up, etc.

The next question is about communications, as in email.

Bartz even sounded bored and messed up a few words. “I’ve had too many Diet Cokes,” she joked.

Personally, I am considering disappearing into some content, since there is yet another question.

It’s–no surprise–an RPS question!

Funky!

Search guarantee payments from Microsoft are in place for another four quarters. Thank goodness.

Bartz got more detailed about the problems. There is some kind of prediction issue, which she said Microsoft is working on.

Now a local advertising question and its relationship with Facebook.

Bartz grabbed this one by the horns, noting you don’t have to run to the social networking powerhouse to get you a social ad!

It’s about branding with a social component. Which would be, um, Facebook, which was part of Yahoo’s Chrysler campaign referenced by Bartz.

A question about daily deals.

It’s growing, but more at Groupon and LivingSocial, which Morse does not mention.

Finally, the last question.

Another gigantic softball on engagement and Yahoo’s new content platform and some mobile deets query about whether Yahoo can make it there.

Bartz said she was working on it. As to content, Bartz said stats show big lifts.

“The good news is that it’s all in the right direction,” she said.

Up would certainly be good.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110419/liveblogging-yahoos-1q-earnings-call-get-me-to-funky-town/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20110330/electronic-arts-regains-major-league-baseball-license-for-facebook-game/ http://allthingsd.com/20110330/electronic-arts-regains-major-league-baseball-license-for-facebook-game/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:25:56 +0000 Tricia Duryee http://emoney.allthingsd.com/?p=3986 World Series Superstars, the first official Major League Baseball game on Facebook, was published today by Electronic Arts, which is increasing its efforts to bring branded titles to the Facebook platform.

“We are back in baseball,” said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. “It’s been six years since we’ve had the licenses.”

For a while now, MLB has had a third-party exclusivity with EA’s competitor, Take-Two Interactive. While Take-Two still holds a grip on most games, MLB has turned to EA to make its Facebook game.

This may be an early indication that EA’s decision to fork out $275 million to acquire Playfish, one of the early entrants into the social-gaming space, was a step in the right direction.

Still, there are a whole lot of home runs EA must now hit.

World Series Superstars, which launched today in advance of Opening Day tomorrow, challenges players to build teams, manage clubs and compete in games against friends. The game follows three other branded sports titles: FIFA Superstars, Madden NFL Superstars and Sports PGA Golf Challenge. Like the other titles, World Series Superstars is free to play with the option of paying for virtual goods to advance the game further.

Beyond EA’s licensing deal with MLB, the roll-out of the game also hints at the increasing importance of branded games on Facebook.

To date, much of the industry has been focused on what is called original IP, which doesn’t rely on well-known names to spur adoption. Zynga, for instance, has been wildly successful with its own content, ranging from FarmVille to CityVille and Mafia Wars.

A lot of debate recently, however, has centered about whether brands will dominate as the industry matures.

It’s debatable as to whether Zynga or others have become brands themselves, much like Rovio’s Angry Birds on mobile, but EA’s approach has been to leverage the licenses it has and bring games to market on Facebook, such as Monopoly and other titles.

Before EA purchased the social game maker, Playfish had no branded titles.

“We are very focused on extending some of our key brands onto social platforms. We’ve invested a lot since the acquisition, and we are starting to see the fruits of the labors,” said C.J. Prober, Playfish’s VP of publishing and product management. “Playfish is still really new to EA and we have lots of access to great new brands. The mix of brands vs. original IP will be higher in the near term, but will even out over time.”

Prober argues brands are increasingly more important since Facebook started cracking down on how often a developer can post messages to a player’s wall to attract new users among their friend groups.

Facebook said there’s still a mix of both branded and original titles, but that it is starting to see a shift.

“We are seeing some acceleration on the growth of brands coming to the platform…We are moving from the younger, newer category of games to the branded players that have been established on other platforms,” said Katie Mitic, Facebook’s director of platform and mobile marketing.

In particular, she says branded sports games are among the most engaging and best monetizing games on the platform.

“As Facebook Platform matures, we’re seeing high quality games, such as FIFA Superstars and Madden NFL Superstars, emerge and reach a new audience of social game players who may not have typically played online games before,” she added.

For anyone, it’s a large audience to target.

Mitic said more than 200 million people play games on Facebook each month–translated into sports terms, that’s nearly twice the size of the entire audience of the last Super Bowl.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110330/electronic-arts-regains-major-league-baseball-license-for-facebook-game/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20110318/seven-questions-for-salesforce-coms-parker-harris/ http://allthingsd.com/20110318/seven-questions-for-salesforce-coms-parker-harris/#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:30:47 +0000 Arik Hesseldahl http://newenterprise.allthingsd.com/?p=4125 Last week I took advantage of the fact that I was in San Francisco for Hewlett-Packard’s big summit meeting, and stopped by the offices of Salesforce.com. There I met up with Parker Harris, executive vice president for technology, and one of the company’s four founders.

There’s so much going on at Salesforce it’s hard to keep track of it all. We talked a bit about Chatter.com and the result of the company’s efforts to promote it during the Super Bowl, and also about the state of mobile devices and where its priorities are. But I started with a question about Japan.

NewEnterprise: Everyone is talking about what’s been happening in Japan. You have a data center under construction there. Has there been any effect on your plans?

Harris: No. The data center is in Tokyo so it’s outside of the area directly impacted by the earthquake. We chose the location not only for the earthquake-proof nature of the building, but also for access to diesel generators, which have proven pretty important given the power situation. There’s been no interruption at all in what we’re doing.

So what are your pain points, what are you dealing with this year? Judging by your growth I’m guessing the list is long.

The big one is around trust, reliability, availability and scalability as we grow. I would say it’s not the biggest pain point that we have because we’ve been focused on it for so long. We did have a period several years ago when we had a lot of issues. I think a lot of major services go through that: eBay, Google and Twitter are all examples. I think that’s because none of them are the same. They all grow organically as the customers and technology grow. Chatter is a big focus now.

Speaking of Chatter, how did the Super Bowl ad for Chatter.com work out?

The Super Bowl was an interesting challenge because we had to make sure we could handle the load of Super Bowl traffic. We have an interesting relationship with Will.I.Am. He’s a friend of Marc’s. They started in this odd place where he wants to get into technology and wants to expand his brand. And Marc started talking to him about collaboration. And it was kind of a crazy idea. It was kind of a consumer play with the Super Bowl. Chatter.com is kind of a pro-sumer product where we want individuals to use it. We didn’t really think people sitting on the couch drinking beer would use it right away. But we knew it would attract some attention, but the after effect of discussion around the ad, the YouTube video of the making of the ad, and all the talk around it had a good effect. It got me ready to make sure I had a Web site that could handle a lot of traffic. We partnered with Akamai to cache a lot of the static content. We did a lot of testing of the sign-up process during spikes and peak loads.

Did you the see the spike you hoped for?

We saw a huge spike in traffic to the Web site and traffic to the sign-up page through the following week. A lot of it was from phones, from people sitting on the couch. This is part of our transformation to what we call Cloud 2.0 that we’ve been talking about so much. Historically our Web sites didn’t work on mobile devices that well. Our app didn’t work that well. Chatter.com was a case where we did the mobile version first.

What are you working on right now?

With Chatter it’s about adoption, and how do we get people outside your company collaborating with you. We kind of do that now, but there’s stuff we need to do in the product to make it more usable. That would be a big next step for Chatter. In the Service Cloud we want to reinvent the low end. We’re taking Chatter as an influence, and we look at cool little companies like Zendesk, which does a nice job at the low end of the market. We want to reinvent the portal experience with a Chatter influence on the Service Cloud. On the Sales Cloud we want to focus a lot on the sales rep’s experience, and I think mobile is a big factor there. Phones are a big deal, but tablets are an even bigger deal. So we’re doing a lot of design work and experimentation around the tablet experience. And how much do we re-think our experience on the tablet.

I’ve heard some people say that if you want to invest in the future of the iPad and think Apple stock is too expensive, then Salesforce is a good bet because you’re doing so much on that device. Do you think that’s fair?

We’re paying a lot of attention to the iPad. But we’re expanding that to a tablet focus. We definitely think Google’s Android will get a lot of adoption. It’s a fragmented market still but they’ll get there. I think the iPad is still winning in the enterprise. We don’t want to underestimate Android.

What do you think of HP’s WebOS? Léo Apotheker had a lot to say about that yesterday. Do you have any interest there?

We’re not keeping an eye on that right now. We’re looking at Research In Motion’s Playbook and seeing where that goes mainly because we have a ton of people who use the Blackberry in our customer base. It’s still the best email device. I gave mine up for an iPhone, but for cranking through email it’s still better. And because of our close relationship with RIM we’re going to see if there is something we can do with the Playbook. The mobile space is a hard place to make bets. So we’re working hard on our HTML5 strategy so that we can have something that will work that’s cloud based with other devices.

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