Want to catch up with what happened in the digital world this week? Our weekly cheat sheet will fill you in on everything you missed while you were scrambling to meet deadlines and put out fires.
Read about Facebook’s new Graph Search, how smartphones are consuming more data than tablets, 3D motion sensors capturing shopping behavior in stores, and more!
1. Facebook launches personalized search function
Facebook is looking to help you find more relevant connections between people, places, and things with the the launch of Graph Search earlier this week. This new feature will allow you to combine phrases such as “friends in Los Angeles that like to surf” to help you find people, photos, or other information that has been shared on Facebook. Graph Search is an attempt to compel users to engage more with Facebook by Liking pages, checking into places, and adding more interests to their profile page.
2. Smartphone data usage trumps tablets
According to a report by Arieso, smartphones are now consistently consuming more mobile data than tablets for the first time. iPhone 5 users have the largest amount of data consumption, demanding 50% more data than iPhone 4S users and four times as much as iPhone 3G users. New devices, richer content, and the shift to LTE networks are big reasons for this growth in data usage.
3. Shopperception maps out in-store shopping behavior
A system called Shopperception may bring key insights into in-store shopping behaviors for retailers. The system places 3D sensors around store shelves that will track how people interact with products in real-time. A heat map will also detect which products were picked up the most and which were avoided. Data from Shopperception will allow brands to better assess how their products are performing and act in real-time to consumer shopping behavior at the point-of-sale.
4. ibitz activity tracker for kids sets fitness goals for TV time
Kids these days seem to spend a lot less time outside and more time inside playing with electronics. The ibitz fitness trackers will help parents get kids off the sofa and away from smartphones, tablets, and TVs and encourage more physical activity. The trackers can be synced with mobile devices to set activity levels for the day and monitor how much physical activity a child is getting. The system allows parents to lock their children’s electronic devices, and kids can only unlock their devices if they meet the activity levels set by their parents.
5. Montaj takes mobile video editing to a new level
Another player in within mobile video editing has emerged to fight its way past YouTube Capture and Socialcam. Montaj allows users to stitch together clips to make a video montage to share with friends. The app forces users to break down videos into 5-second clips, stitch them together, apply filters and add music. The cool part about it? If you don’t feel like going through each individual process, just shake your phone and the app brings up new edits, filters, and music. You can then fine tune your video from there.
