SoundHound Unveils Hound Voice Recognition Platform

SoundHound, maker of the popular music identification app, has unveiled Hound, its app combining voice recognition with search technologies. Available on Android to start, Hound was designed to become a user’s \"go-to app\" for everything from checking the weather or the stock market, to placing a phone call, to playing voice-enabled games.

Hound looks to outperform other voice services by combining voice recognition and natural language understanding in real-time to deliver faster and more accurate results than those previously available with other services.

Hound is now available in private beta for Android, and is coming soon to iOS. The platform will launch with a series of \"domains,\" with general Web search considered a single domain. Other domains include tasks and searches based on navigation, local search, weather, stocks, hotels, flight statuses, time zones, geography, news, photo and video search, mortgage calculation, currency conversion and many others.

Hound will evolve with additional topics going forward, thanks to SoundHound’s new developer platform, Houndify. In addition, the Houndify platform will allow developers to utilize SoundHound’s Speech-to-Meaning technology and create voice-enabled experiences in their own apps.

Among Hound’s launch partners is Expedia, which will allow users to search for hotels based on specific criteria and/or location, using long, complex sentences the platform can understand. SoundHound provided an example search command: \"Show me pet-friendly hotels near the Golden Gate Bridge, with three or more stars under $200, excluding bed and breakfast.\"

In a statement, Keyvan Mohajer, CEO and founder of SoundHound, commented on Hound:

Hound will redefine the way we interact with devices, information and services. We believe in a world where we speak to the things around us just as we speak to each other, and we have worked tirelessly for nearly a decade to create the technology that realizes this vision.

Users interested in joining the Android beta are encouraged to download Hound and request an invitation.

Four Things You Need to Know About Content Curation

Marketers recognize the growing need for timely, relevant content that can engage audiences, but developing original content on a consistent basis can be too costly and too time-consuming. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Study: Millennials Get Political News from Facebook; Baby Boomers Stick with Local TV

Most millennials get their political news from Facebook, while local TV is the source for most baby boomers, according to a new report from Pew Research Center.

Pew surveyed nearly 3,000 adults that belong to three generations — millennials, Gen X and baby boomers — on their political news consumption habits, and its findings included:

• 61 percent of millennials get political news from Facebook during a given week, while 60 percent of baby boomers do so from local TV. Just 37 percent of millennials get political news from local TV, and only 39 percent of baby boomers do so from Facebook. Gen X fell in the middle, with 51 percent getting political news from Facebook and 46 percent from local TV.

• Twitter was a less common source of political news across all three generations: 14 percent of millennials said they got political news via Twitter in the past week, versus 9 percent of Gen Xers and 5 percent of baby boomers.

• 24 percent of millennials say at least one-half of the posts they see on Facebook are related to government and politics, compared with 18 percent for Gen Xers and 16 percent for baby boomers.

• Flipping the script, 19 percent of baby boomers reported seeing no political posts on Facebook, versus 11 percent of Gen Xers and 10 percent of millennials.
• 31 percent of baby boomers who pay attention to political posts on Facebook say they posts they see are mostly or always in line with their own views, versus 21 percent for Gen Xers and 18 percent for millennials.

• Nearly one-half of respondents across all three generations said they follow news organizations, political parties or issues groups on Twitter — nearly one-half for news organizations or reporters, about three out of 10 for candidates or parties and 29 percent to 37 percent for issues-based groups.
• 32 percent of baby boomers reported seeing politics-related tweets as at least one-half of the tweets they read, compared with 24 percent for millennials and 20 percent for Gen Xers.
• Flipping the script, the numbers were similar for all three generations when it came to respondents who said none of the tweets they see is related to politics: 24 percent for millennials, and 21 percent apiece for the other two groups.

Pew Research Center director of journalism research Amy Mitchell said in a release announcing the new study:

When it comes to where younger Americans get news about politics and government, social media look to be the local TV of the millennial generation.

We are only beginning to understand the complex interactions of personal choice, friend networks and algorithms in the social media space. As the research continues, these data suggest there are fundamental differences in the ways younger and older generations stay informed about political news.

Readers: How does your consumption of political news compare with Pew’s findings?

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

What It Really Takes to Emotionally Connect With Customers

I don’t like how people have downplayed the role of emotion. Emotions and decision-making go hand-in-hand. When it comes to marketing, you can’t neglect the role that emotions play. Once you recognize this, however, it brings up an important question: How do you emotionally connect with your customers? There are two features. It starts with [...]

The post What It Really Takes to Emotionally Connect With Customers appeared first on The Daily Egg.

How Does A Solar Panel Work?

In researching the topic of “How does a solar panel”, we find contradictory information on how energy is produced by the panels and the cells themselves. A number of solar cells should be connected in series to achieve a usable voltage for use with a storage device or electric.

The electricity generated by the panel is a direct current (DC) that is usually identified by their negative and positive terminals. As also has a battery positive and negative terminals, the cells operate in a similar manner.

In a serial connection, two cells, which have 4 terminals (2 positive and negative 2) may become a larger cell when you simply connect negative to 1 on the positive (positive to negative and vice versa). What remains is just one negative and one positive, but the tension of the two panels (0.5V + 0.5V = 1V) were added. Two cells have become larger cell. Similarly, when you have 12 cells in series can be simply connected by connecting all the positive and negative aspects that will end no matter what you do with just one negative and one positive at both ends.

In a parallel connection, the same two cells, which have 4 terminals (2 positive and negative 2) are wired differently. One positive terminal is connected to a negative terminal 1-1 positive and negative (positive to positive and negative to negative). Both cells have not become a big solar cell instead began to work together to amplify the current, measured in amperes (A). Here we can probably say that two son became a great thread, in this case, two positive have become a large positive advantage and the same goes for the negative child. Parallel connections are used only when it has reached the target voltage over a series connected solar cells. A series of 36 cells can generate about 18V (36 x 0.5 = 18V) and 18V this is the ideal for charging a 12V battery voltage. If you want to charge quickly, you have to add more solar cells but must keep the same voltage (18V), and it is therefore necessary to connect the next set of solar cells in a (positive to positive and negative to negative) parallel.

If you connect three groups of solar cells connected “in series”, it is called a connection to 3 strings of solar cells and the 3 channels is called a solar module or modules. It becomes a solar panel integrated when all other components such as the chassis, the backsheet, the glass cover and the junction box.

A solar panel in turn can be connected to another solar panel also in series or parallel depending on the design of the photovoltaic system. Several series-connected solar panels, said panels 12, also considered a chain when connected in parallel to another channel or more other channels. Several strings of solar panels are then called a matrix or sun.

Importantly, in a series arrangement, the voltage (V) and then added in a parallel arrangement, AMPS (A) increases. Voltage multiplied by the amplifier results in determining Watts (VXA = W)

At this point, you should be able to understand the relationship of small solar cells on its larger counterpart, the solar panel. If you can build a solar panel, then in principle, you can also build a large solar panel equivalent to a solar power plant.

Everything depends on you to buy solar cells, but make sure you ask the right amount based on the solar panel to do what is something in this article will cover the latest how-to articles cells. Also be aware of the electrical output of the solar cell is important for the amount of electricity you need to get. Typically, a solar cell has a voltage of 0.5 V and its rated capacity is about 4Wp. I hope this information helps you in your search for “how a solar panel works.”

A Simple Guide to Overcoming Ad Blindness for Publishers

Posted by Trumplier

Ad blindness is one of the main reasons publishers must rethink their monetization strategies. When it comes to dealing with this phenomenon, advertisers typically have multiple options at hand. Still, there are steps you can (and should) take on the supply side to successfully deliver ads to audiences.

The psychology behind ad blindness: detection theory

Ad blindness is rooted in the human ability to filter out unnecessary information—the psychological mechanism studied within the framework of detection theory. Due to this inborn capability, we ignore everything similar to those advertisement types we find irrelevant or unappealing.

However, this doesn't mean users overlook all ad units. Although we might not be looking at ads intentionally, we still see them from the corners of our eyes and our brain processes them, as argued by iMedia’s Brandt Dainow. In fact, people are inherently capable of tracking and discerning fairly evanescent signals.

That’s why we notice almost everything important that enters our field of perception. In a sense, we are biologically programmed to ignore information noise, while retaining the ability to instantly detect and process everything worthwhile.

With this in mind, the bottom-line objective for publishers is to serve ads visitors find worthwhile. While this may be difficult to achieve, there are tactics you can apply to decrease ad blindness rates in a non-disruptive manner.

These tactics constitute the groundwork of an efficient monetization strategy.

Monetization fundamentals: adding value to ads

Ultimately, you need to promote ad relevance, quality, value, and viewability if you want to trigger the audience’s attention in a non-disruptive manner. Although these factors won’t provide you with an instant remedy for ad blindness, understanding them essential to ensuring you serve the right ads to the right audience.

1. Ensure relevance with real-time bidding

Consider real-time bidding (RTB) as a practical way to serve highly relevant ads on your website. This approach is based on auctioning highly targeted ad impressions with advertisers competing over the users who are most receptive to their ads. All available user-related information (e.g., demographics, location, and online behavior) is collected and analyzed to guarantee that the displayed ad creatives are relevant to the audience’s interests.

You can also opt for direct campaigns with advertisers that make full use of big data analysis. The most convenient way to do this is to cooperate with online advertising companies (including ad networks and supply-side platforms) that have both the hardware and experience needed to make the best use of these technologies.

2. Promote quality with non-standard ad formats and creative thinking

Know the industry standards—particularly, the guidelines created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)—and make sure your advertising network or supply-side platform (SSP) follows them. In particular, keep an eye on IAB “Rising Stars”, because new, high-quality visual solutions have a good chance of sparking your visitors’ interest.

However, following best practices is just one of the ways to improve ad quality and battle ad blindness. Another powerful method is to provide support for creatives with unusual, stand-out design. In order to do this, you need to supply non-standard ad space and ensure the demand for it. You can achieve this goal through direct cooperation with advertisers, or with the help of networks and SSPs that offer custom advertising models. These two examples will serve as a good basis for your own monetization solutions:

• Homepage skins (also referred to as wallpapers) are creatives displayed in the background of the main content and user interface elements. Ad units of this type are typically paired with traditional banners.
• Custom ads with a strong emphasis on aesthetics are ideal for websites with a minimalistic layout. Full-screen ads of this type are used as one of the monetization tools by WeTransfer.

3. Choose value over volume

Investigate the possibility of cutting the amount of remnant inventory (ad space and impressions) used for low-quality, non-targeted ads. Although this tactic may cause a short-term reduction in revenue, you will likely countervail negative effects with higher profit from high-value campaigns within the course of a couple of months.

As argued by Roger Williams from Maxifier, this approach will eventually lead to better user experience, increased demand for ad space, and higher cost per 1K impressions (CPM). More importantly, it directly addresses the main cause of ad blindness: the audience’s negative reaction to the overabundance of low-quality, irrelevant ads served on many websites.

4. Increase ad viewability

Focus on viewability (i.e., the ratio of all displayed ads to the ones the can actually be viewed by users) as a key metric that will be especially important for advertisers in 2015. According to this infographic from Google, an ad unit is considered viewable if at least half of its pixels are displayed on the screen for at least one second. The average publisher’s inventory viewability was only 50% in November 2014. This implies that a very large portion of ads wasn't (and isn't) shown to the users. You can improve the situation by following these tips:

• Experiment with placing 300x250, 728X90, or 320X50 units just above the fold, not directly at the top of the page
• Opt for vertical banners that stay within users’ range of vision for longer periods of time
• Place some ad units below the fold (as this pattern accounts for 40% viewability rate)

By working on increasing your viewability, you ensure that more creatives are regularly in the visitors’ field of view, which increases the odds for these banners to be clicked on.

Ad placement tips: Hacking the detection theory

By applying the “monetization fundamentals” tactics, you promote valuable ads that have better chances at getting your visitors’ attention. You can also approach detection theory, viewability, and user experience in a more aggressive manner—and use specific placement patterns that prompt users to click on ads. While this approach is easier to implement, the effects it produces are rather short-term.

1. F-shaped reading pattern

Apply the results of eye-tracking studies to your monetization tactics. The research from Nielsen Norman Group proves that there is a very particular way most people scan through web content. Jacob Nielsen describes this near-universal reading pattern as “F for Fast.” In most cases, users read the first sentence or heading, move down and read another line, and then proceed to skim through the text vertically. Place the ads somewhere along this route to prompt people to look at the creatives.

2. Near-content placement

Place your ads closer to the main content to gain more attention from your audience. Essentially, this method works for the same reason native advertising does—site visitors care about and focus on content. For this reason, users are much more likely to fix their eyes on the ads located in the vicinity of or inside the post (e.g., between paragraphs or photos). Consequently, this setup accounts for a noticeable increase in click-through rates (CTR).

3. Welcome pages

Explore the potential of using welcome page ads on your website. This placement pattern is based on displaying a nearly blank page with an ad before showing actual content to the users. This way, the chances a visitor will actually pay attention to the ad skyrocket (compared to traditional placement patterns).

Although this approach adds prominence to commercials, users’ reactions to welcome pages may be negative, especially if they load slowly. This is why this advertising model should always be subject to A/B testing. Still, welcome page ads are successfully applied by several top-level publishers, including Forbes, The New York Times, The Atlantic and Merriam-Webster.

The bottom line

To build an effective monetization strategy, publishers must start by promoting relevant, high-quality, viewable creatives. Location patterns provide additional results, but require frequent rearrangement. You can then add other ad placement solutions to your system to increase the overall performance of your monetization strategy. Still, the ultimate recommendation is to complement your content with advertisements that users will find relevant and valuable.

(All images provided courtesy of the author.)

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Mobile Game Roundup: Cartoon Survivor, Breach TD and More

As we reach the end of another week, mobile app stores have been updated with a slew of new games for iOS, Android and other mobile devices. This week, Zen Studios released its Portal Pinball table on mobile, based on the popular Portal series of console games, while Zynga expanded its FarmVille franchise with the release of its FarmVille: Harvest Swap match-three game.

Finally, gamers looking for a deeper experience can find it in QCF Design’s Desktop Dungeons, which offers randomly generated dungeons for limitless gameplay on tablets.

As usual, this week’s lineup of new releases offers a little something for everyone. Here’s a look at some additional games released on mobile this week.

Cartoon Survivor (Free on iOS) – The debut title from Spunge Games, Cartoon Survivor is a level-based runner, challenging players to navigate obstacle courses as a colorful Doo Doo bird before time runs out and the dynamite strapped to his back explodes. In each course, the Doo Doo bird runs automatically, and gamers tilt their device to move left and right on the path. Gamers tap to jump or tap and hold to glide, and will collect coins as they complete each course. Players choose a difficulty before each stage, determining the number of stars available as rewards and the time limit to complete the course. As players collect coins, these can be spent on new costumes for Doo Doo bird, or helmets with special abilities.

Chaos Rings III ($19.99 on iOS, Android) – A full-scale RPG for mobile devices, Square Enix’s Chaos Rings III introduces players to the city of Neo Paleo and the planet Marble Blue. Gamers will control Nazca as he makes his way to Marble Blue in search of treasure, new lands and \"mythical beasts.\" The game promises over 100 hours of gameplay, including a lengthy story mode and a separate battle mode with new battle mechanics.

Snack Truck Fever (Free on iOS, Android) – This level-based puzzle game from Square Enix and Duello Games sees players tapping and dragging to create lines of matching ingredients. Each level has a different goal, from collecting a large number of base ingredients to feeding police officers coffee and donuts, and so on. Power-ups help gamers complete difficult stages, and players earn up to three stars on each level, depending on their final score.

Zombiebucket (Free on iOS) – From One More Level and Submachine Factory, Zombiebucket is a survival match-three game, challenging players to survive the zombie apocalypse by tapping and dragging to create lines of two or more touching zombies of a single color. As players create matches, additional zombies fill the bucket, with larger matches triggering the appearance of power-up zombies, capable of clearing large groups of zombies from the screen. Players will collect Superzombies as they level up or complete specific tasks (like creating a chain of 10 zombies, for instance), with the game’s overall goal being to survive as long as possible before the bucket completely fills.

One More Dash (Free on iOS) – From SMG Studio, developer of One More Line, One More Dash is a survival game based on timing. In the game, players guide an orb through a series of circles, each defended by at least one rotating barrier. Players must tap at the right time to dash forward and avoid these barriers, but have a limited amount of time to take each shot before the game ends. While it is sometimes possible to bounce off of a barrier and try again, some circles are defended by spiked walls, which instantly destroy the orb when hit. Gamers complete missions and collect currency as they play, which can be spent on new visual themes for the game.

Pits of Death ($0.99 on iOS) – Designed to resemble a retro experience from the 1980s, Rebisoft‘s Pits of Death sees players exploring tiled dungeons by swiping to choose a movement direction at each crossroad. The goal of the game is to find an arrow somewhere in the dungeon, and use it to kill a dragon also hidden somewhere on the grid. A warning appears when players are near the dragon or a pit, with falling into a pit ending the game and generating a new dungeon. Players can find rope used to escape pits, but should ultimately expect to fail repeatedly before claiming victory over the dragon. Pits of Death is also available as an Apple Watch game.

Dungeon Trackers (Free on iOS, Android) – From Joycity, this RPG mixes card collecting with traditional RPG elements as players take on the role of a summoner, capable of capturing and controlling creatures to defeat enemies. The game offers over 300 creature cards to collect, which relate to others in a “rock, paper, scissors” elemental mechanic. Users create a team and take it into battle, tapping on individual characters to attack, or swiping on character portraits to unleash special skills. Players can explore the world through the main story, or earn extra loot in special dungeons. Finally, a multiplayer mode allows users to battle other players.

Intergalactic Bubbles (Free on Android) – A 3-D bubble shooter from Hellscape Games, Intergalactic Bubbles challenges players to remove moving bubbles from the screen before they reach the cannon at the bottom. Players can upgrade a series of abilities over time, or use power-up bubbles to escape tricky situations. The game is coming soon to iOS.

Candy Crush Soda Saga (Free on Amazon) – Previously released on Facebook, iOS and Android devices, King’s popular match-three game is now available for Kindle users. The follow-up to the original Candy Crush Saga offers 390 levels at launch, and introduces players to a new square match mechanic, as well as soda bottles used to fill the screen with purple soda.

Funny Farm (Free on iOS) – Following its release on Android and Facebook, Eva Studio’s Funny Farm is now available to download on iOS devices. The level-based match-three game challenges players to defend their field from pests by completing a different goal in each stage. These tasks include removing specific crops wrapped in worms, dropping key items to the bottom of the screen and more. Players can use power-ups to complete tricky levels, and will earn up to three stars on each stage, depending on their final score.

Sproggiwood ($9.99 on iOS, Android) – A roguelike from Freehold Games, Sproggiwood takes players on an adventure inspired by Finnish mythology, challenging them to explore randomly generated dungeons and decorate their own town. Dungeons are filled with monsters and traps, and players can tackle these as one of six different classes. Sproggiwood is best experienced on iPad 3+, iPhone 5+ and iPad Mini 2+.

World of Madagascar (Free on iOS, Android, Amazon) – From JumpStart, World of Madagascar is based on the DreamWorks franchise Penguins of Madagascar. The children’s multiplayer game has been created with the help of educators, and includes grade-specific content for children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. In the game, players join the team of spy penguins from the films, and work to rescue baby animals from Dave, an evil Octopus. The game was originally released on the Web in late 2014, and is coming soon to Windows Phone. The Android and Amazon versions are also not yet available, as of this writing.

Breach TD (Free on iOS) – Developed by Space Rhino Games, Breach TD began as a successfully crowdfunded project on Kickstarter, with the final product mixing tower defense gameplay with real-time strategy and MOBA elements. In the game, players are challenged to defeat the Void army using powerful guardians, with the goal of sealing the breach between dimensions. Before each battle, players choose from an expanding list of guardians, and choose two battle cards containing buffs like magic damage or healing effects, as examples. Each match is split into two phases: building (buying and placing guardians on a grid for battle, or upgrading structures) and combat (guardians defend their bases and battle in the middle of the lane). During battle, players can use battle cards and mercenaries to take over the opponent or strengthen their defenses. Breach TD will receive a three-on-three multiplayer mode and team vs. team battles in future updates.