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DIC Entertainment launches first kids’ online cartoon channel

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index.jpgDIC Entertainment (DIC) has launched Kewlcartoons.com, the first online video channel dedicated to new and classic cartoons for families and children. The site serves as a one-stop entertainment destination, as well as bridges together the web communities from DIC’s array of renowned brands.

Kewlcartoons.com features 24/7, on demand channels of free streaming animated television series from DIC’s library of over 3000 half-hours of programming, including Dino Squad, Inspector Gadget, The Littles, Liberty’s Kids, as well as live-action series such as Cake, and much more. The community also features imkewl chat, games and more. The site is uniquely designed to work for both PC and Mac users.

In 2008, Kewlcartoons.com is projected to grow substantially with the launch of new property sites for DIC brands, including Eloise, Beginner’s Bible, and Inspector Gadget, celebrating its 25th anniversary, and with the addition of hundreds of more hours of DIC programming.

Originally posted on February 13, 2008 @ 10:41 am

Study analyzes positive effect of online reviews on e-commerce

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PowerReviews released a whitepaper entitled “Merchant and Customer Perspectives On Customer Reviews and User-Generated Content.” The whitepaper surveyed dozens of online retailers for their insights on how online reviews have been implemented and used, as well as analyzed the measurable business results. The paper is the follow-up to “Social Shopping Study 2007,” which was released in November 2007.

Findings to take note include:

• 59% of merchants interviewed cited the customer experience as the most important factor in the addition of customer reviews to their site.

• 79% said the product page is very successful as a product review hub. In contrast, the home page had varying degrees of success with 37 percent reporting strong successes.

• Merchants indicate that there is less reliance on customer service as the reviews answer some of the questions that otherwise must be handled on a one-off basis.

• The unbiased nature of reviews (where they are more transparent and trustworthy) engenders customer trust and that trust translates into loyal, lifelong shoppers.

• Merchants were generally surprised by the number of positive reviews, another hidden truth. Initial fears of heavily negative reviews never materialized for any of the merchants interviewed.

Originally posted on February 12, 2008 @ 7:47 am

Amazon.com’s diamond sales up by 100% in fourth quarter of 2007

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Amazon.com, Inc. announced that diamond sales in its jewelry store increased more than 100 percent in fourth quarter 2007 compared with fourth quarter 2006.

Everything from pendants to stud earrings to create-your-own engagement rings were extremely popular with Amazon customers this past holiday season. The 14k White Gold Journey Curve Pendant, Platinum Diamond Stud Earrings and the 2 Carat Round Cut Stone were among the top sellers. Diamond-encrusted watches and various black diamond jewelry also did very well; Amazon added over 150 new black diamond styles in the fourth quarter alone. One of the leading top sellers was the Black and White Diamond Infinity Pendant, and top-selling diamond watches in the fourth quarter included the Cartier Tank Divan 18k Yellow Gold Diamond Mini Ladies Watch, the Chopard Happy Sport Ladies Watch and the Movado Kara Watch.

In addition to the increase in retail diamond sales, gemstones did extremely well during the fourth quarter. Top-selling gemstone styles included the 14k White Gold Coated Swiss Blue Topaz Teardrop Earrings, the 14k White Gold Round Blue Topaz and Diamond Pendant and 14k Yellow Gold Channel Set Round Coated Blue Topaz Hoop Earrings.

Originally posted on February 12, 2008 @ 6:38 am

Microsoft agrees to acquire Danger Inc.

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Microsoft Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Danger Inc., the company responsible for the software and services powering many popular consumer handsets. The acquisition will align Danger’s nearly 10 years of expertise in the mobile consumer space with Microsoft’s vision to provide innovative and compelling mobile experiences to a growing base of customers.

Danger Inc. provides services that allow people to keep in touch, stay organized and keep informed while on the go through real-time mobile messaging, social networking services and other applications – all blended together on a single phone that is intuitive and customizable.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Originally posted on February 11, 2008 @ 1:55 pm

JupiterResearch sees steady growth for online personals

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Online dating and personals will increase from $900M in 2007 to $1.9B in 2012, according to the recently published JupiterResearch report, “US Paid Content Forecast, 2007 to 2012.”

Despite the grave outlook in some press reports, there are no signs that the eruption of social networks has burned the paid online personals market. Personals remain one of the larger paid content categories online. Only music and games are bigger, or attract more than 10 percent of online users.

Originally posted on February 11, 2008 @ 5:13 am