Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #27

Stories This Week: How to get an App Store refund, Brands shuttering Facebook stores, iPad3 rumors, Flickr being made over to look more “pinterest-y.”

1. How to Get a Refund from the App Store

[Gizmodo] How to get a refund from the App Store in 5 simple steps

My Take: Like the author suggests, “only refund apps that don’t work. Developers need to eat too.“

2. Why are Brands Shutting Their Facebook Stores?

[Bloomberg] The Gap, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and Gamestop have all opened and closed shops on Facebook in the last year.

My Take: Facebook, and social media in general, works great for customer engagement. When brands push product it stops being social. You already have a ecommerce website, people know how to find it – you don’t need to push product on social channels. FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER NEEDS – NOT YOUR OWN!

iPad 3 case

3. iPad 3 Rumors

[Fast Company] Fatter. Better screen. Larger camera aperture? Early Fall release.

My Take: Part of the fun is trying to figure out what Apple has up its sleeve. So far the rumors aren’t that enticing

4. The iPad 3 is Coming: Where to Sell Your iPad 2 & Why You Should Do It Sooner Than Later

[BostInno] If you’re going to upgrade to the iPad3 and you want to sell you current iPad, you have about 2 weeks. Rumor has it the iPad3 will be announced on March 7th. After the announcement, your current iPad will lose 20-25% of its value. But can you live without an iPad3 ~6 months?

My Take: My iPad2 is fine. It has no hardware or software problems.  I can’t see me upgrading. I may skip a generation and pick up an iPad4 in *gulp* 2013!?!

5. Flickr Gets a Makeover, Looks Like Pinterest

[Mashable] Flickr gets a new user interface in late March. It will have a new design and new features and will borrow heavily from Pinterest.

My Take: Flickr hasn’t had a major facelift in…ummm…ever? But it’s being besieged on all fronts by cloud photo storage vendors and social network services. Yet it has a devoted, paying community.  Will this update be enough to “fix” this Yahoo property?