Apple Presents a Patent System For Buying And Selling iTunes 2nd Hand Digital Content

We’re living in a digital world these days, and more and more of our music and video is being consumed via online methods. Apple’s iTunes is one of the forerunners when it comes to offering music, movies and indeed TV shows to customers all over the globe. Even today though, there are some people who don’t want to buy their content online and would rather pick up CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays instead.

If you talk to these people, one of the main reasons for their reluctance to buy online content is the fact that they can’t sell that content at a later date. Being able to move discs on has created a vibrant 2nd-hand market for all manner of content, but that’s just not possible if you buy from iTunes, for example.

In order to help ease such concerns, Apple has patented a new system that would make it possible for people to buy and sell 2nd-hand content at will, removing possibly the last roadblock to online content domination and perhaps putting the final nail in the coffin for solid state distribution.

The patent itself allows for content to be moved between users, with the rights to play that content being transferred along with it. This would allow for authentication to play that content to be switched from the seller, to the buyer. Importantly, there would also be a revenue model which would see a a portion of the sale money going to the copyright holder – something that has always been a stumbling block when it comes to such ideas.

Interestingly, Apple is not the only retailer of digital content to peruse the idea of offering a 2nd-hand market. Amazon, too, has its own patent for such a system, with the addition of the ability to lock content after it has changed hands a given number of times.

Both Apple and Amazon know that content is the key to keeping users within their own ecosystems, be that iTunes or Amazon’s own solution. Offering the ability to sell that content on to other users could see more skeptical people trying out the wares on offer by both Apple and Amazon and as a result, hardware sales could increase.

With that in mind it’s not difficult to see the motivation for Apple here, but as always, it will need the green light from copyright holders before anything gets pushed out into the market.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology

How You Can Use Google+ to Enhance Your Business

Google’s algorithm that informs how search results are ranked constantly evolves. However, one element is clearly important: how your business fares on Google+.

So in case 250 million users, 150 million of which are active, isn’t enough reason to entice you to incorporate Google+ into your company’s social media marketing, ranking higher in search results is definitely a reason to get involved. That and the fact that Google adds more than 10 million new users each month.

While Google hasn’t come out and said exactly how Google+ figures into its SEO equation, social media experts have a pretty good idea of how it all works. “Google is using the number of +1s, shares and general activity on Google+ as a ranking factor in the personal results of logged-in users,” said Mike Arnesen, senior SEO analyst at SwellPath. “This even extends out to the second degree, so friends of your friends will be affected when you +1 pages.”

None of that means you have to go to Google+ to do anything. Working similarly to Facebook and Twitter buttons, +1 buttons on your site allow your customers to recommend your site and/or blog posts. And Arnesen insists the +1 button should take priority over other social networks. “Having Google +1 buttons on your website are vastly more important than having Facebook Share or Like buttons on your site,” he said.

Should you want to take your business to the next level, however, you’re going to need to get more involved in the social sphere. You can start by filling out your Google+ Local page, in particular your About page, making sure it’s filled with relevant keywords. Don’t be thrown by the fact that you already have a Google Places page. Google simply ported all Places pages over to Local pages, so if you have one you have the other.

Then you have to build a fan base, in much the same way you would with Facebook or Twitter: through engaging others. “Share things that your target audience is interested in, +1 things that your fans are sharing, comment on their shares,” Arnesen said. However, avoid asking for +1s in the way that you’d ask for Facebook Likes. Arnesen says, “Users on Google+ seem to be more hesitant to engage with brands just because.” Instead, give them a reason to support you and you’ll likely do well.

There are no set rules for how often to post or how much is too much, according to Arnesen. But he recommends you post a few times per day during regular workweeks.

What’s more important is to make sure you’re sharing more than just content specific to your business. Arnesen recommends a 1:4 or 1:3 ratio between your content and content from external sources. Regardless of the source, posts with images always do better than those without. They’re more visually appealing and will get you more +1s. Also, experiment with text markup in your updates using boldface or italics.

If you start with these basics, you’ll have a thriving community in no time and will then be able to take on social ninja status by expanding your reach to Google Events and Google+ Hangouts. But you first must crawl before you learn to run. [Mashable]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology