Net Briefs - October 2015

QUICK HITS

EBAY RETOOLS SELLER RATINGS

Good news for merchants marketing their goods on eBay's marketplace - seller ratings will no longer be negatively impacted by returns, exchanges or by late shipments that have been determined to be outside of a merchant's control. Under a new set of metrics, eBay will base seller ratings on delivery and service, as illustrated by the volume of seller-canceled transactions for out-of-stock items that can't be fulfilled and cases that are closed without seller resolution. The new rules are expected to take effect in Feb. 2016.

MARKETING SILOS PERSIST (STILL)

Despite all of the omnichannel chatter, marketing initiatives are still operating in silos. A report from PR firm Hotwire found that 46 percent of respondents tend to run their campaigns in isolation, with 30 percent stating that their campaigns are not designed for multichannel use. Another surprising finding was the breakdown of channel spending. Online advertising, for example, is included in just 52 percent of marketing budgets, while social media is used in 27 percent of budgets and SEO is used in only 21 percent.

WHO'S DOMINATING THE SOCIAL LOGIN WARS?

Customer identity management company, Gigya, released data that revealed end-users have a strong preference (66 percent) toward using their Facebook credentials to log into other websites. In comparison, the second-most used credential was Google+ at just 20 percent, followed by Twitter at 6 percent.

WHO GOT PAID?

$23 Million

CartoDB, location-data analysis and visualization company, closed a $23 million Series B investment round led by Accel Partners, with additional participation from Salesforce Ventures, Earlybird Ventures and Kibo Ventures.

$35 Million

Crossbar Inc., a resistive RAM (RRAM) technology provider, completed a $35 million Series D funding round. Tyche Partners, Oriza Holdings and Cheerful Link joined the company's existing investors in the round.

$4.2 Million

XOR Data Exchange, a data analytics company that creates transparent permission-based data exchanges, secured $4.2 million in Series A funding led by Fenway Summer Ventures and participation from existing investors in Chicago Ventures and KGC Capital.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Which social network is the most valuable to your Web-based business, and why?

To answer this question and possibly be included in an upcoming issue of Website Magazine, visit wsm.co/octqotm.

POPULAR WITH WM READERS

4 Habits of Successful Web Designers

It is no longer enough for Web designers to develop a functioning site. In 2015, they need to also take consumer expectations into consideration and compete against the growing do-it-yourself industry.

>Keep reading at wsm.co/habitspros

Check Your Tech: Considerations to Make When Launching Apps Worldwide

Success or failure can depend on a company's ability to quickly adapt and prepare for the unexpected, including the varying network and carrier speeds across the globe.

>Keep reading at wsm.co/techglobal

How to Get More Positive Reviews on Yelp

Some positive reviews on Yelp get buried unbeknownst to business owners. Now, it is time for companies to give those reviews a virtual "push" to make them visible to online researchers.

>Keep reading at wsm.co/pushyelp

APP WATCH

Foster Teamwork in the Office

Did you know that just 38 percent of professionals find their company's intranet effective when it comes to helping them learn more about their coworkers? Fortunately, LinkedIn is making it easier for colleagues to get acquainted with its new Lookup app.

Through the app, users can easily find, learn about and contact their coworkers, making collaboration initiatives easier than ever. At launch the app is only available for iOS.

Discover more apps at ApplicationMagazine.com

#WEBTECHWATCH

See what has the 'Net community all abuzz with Website Magazine's #WebTechWatch series, a monthly roundup profiling both emerging and established technologies and some of the most useful solutions for today's Web workers. If you have a digital product or service you think deserves a mention, tweet @WebsiteMagazine with the hashtag #WebTechWatch.

+ Bumpsale: Sell digital products using incremental pricing automatically.

+ AdPushup: Optimize a publishing website's advertising layout for increased revenue.

+ Solid: Help meeting attendees prepare, focus and receive action items.

+ Sketchboard: Collaborate, brainstorm and problem solve.