Google+ Becoming a Referral Traffic Machine

After only two weeks Google+ has become the largest social (i.e., non-search) referrer of traffic to the LAUNCH blog. As you can see from the Chartbeat snapshot, Google+  handily beats Twitter at sending traffic back to publishers (Facebook does not even appear).

Most of this traffic is coming from our founder Jason Calacanis’ Twitter account (100K+ followers), Google+ account (10K followers) and Facebook page (4,900 friends). Interestingly, even though the Google+ account only has double the Facebook page, it is sending roughly 10 times the traffic. TechCrunch has also reported a large amount of traffic from Google+.

What is it about Google+ that is causing massive referral traffic?

In a Google+ discussion of this question, Hashim Warren of BET said, “People are just in exploration mode, and are clicking every link. When things calm down here, we'll see if people begin ignoring their stream.”

A number of folks have pointed out that Google+ has attracted the tech elite/early adopters, the right audience for tech-focused content and people who are more likely to click.

And as MyLikes founder and CEO Bindu Reddy pointed out, “Tweets disappear quickly. Popular posts keep coming back up on G+.”

Follow this Google+ discussion here.

* Disclosure: LAUNCH founder Jason Calacanis is an angel investor in Chartbeat.  

Google+ Becoming a Referral Traffic Machine

After only two weeks Google+ has become the largest social (i.e. non-search) referrer of traffic to the LAUNCH blog. As you can see from the Chartbeat snapshot, Google+  handily beats Twitter at sending traffic back to publishers (Facebook does not even appear).

Most of this traffic is coming from our founder Jason Calacanis’ Twitter account (100K+ followers), Google+ account (10K followers) and Facebook page (4,900 friends). Interestingly, even though the Google+ account only has double the Facebook page, it is sending roughly 10 times the traffic. TechCrunch has also reported a large amount of traffic from Google+. http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/05/google-plus-sharing/

What is it about Google+ that is causing massive referral traffic?

Hashim Warren of BET says, “People are just in exploration mode, and are clicking every link. When things calm down here, we'll see if people begin ignoring their stream.”

A number of folks have pointed out that Google+ has attracted the tech elite/early adopters, the right audience for tech-focused content and people who are more likely to click.

And as MyLikes founder and CEO Bindu Reddy said, “Tweets disappear quickly. Popular posts keep coming back up on G+.”

Follow this Google+ discussion here:
https://plus.google.com/103716847685048716973/posts/Su1YPYsaa7T

* Disclosure: LAUNCH founder Jason Calacanis is an angel investor in Chartbeat.  

Larry Page Posts on Google+ -- while on Google's Quarterly Earnings Call

If you want to know how seriously Larry Page is taking Google+, look no further than the fact that he posted to his Google+ profile during the call.

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IZEA "Goes Public" Then Pumps Stock in Laughable Infomercial

Startup IZEA, formerly PayPerPost, has long-been derailed as a joke in the technology industry due to its smarmy business tactic of paying people to covertly blog about products for cash.

Goofy CEO Ted Murphy’s antics have been largely harmless, but his latest move to “go public” and unabashedly ask people to the buy the penny stock is dangerous. The video features a pounding dance track and “get rich quick” infographics that are so over the top they feel more like an SNL skit than what most could consider a classic pump-and-dump scam.

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Internet TV Network The Wired City Promises to Make Everyone Live in Public

WHAT: People broadcasting themselves from home will interact with each other as they attempt to earn their way onto a "Star Trek"-style set where everything is wired and recorded. Those on set will spend much of their time monitoring streams and communicating with those at home, led by a captain who has earned his or her way into that role. Thousands (and eventually) millions of hours of footage will be distilled into a one-hour prime-time broadcast each day.

“Citizens” of the The Wired City -- limited to the U.S. to start with -- will be able to purchase backdrops and uniforms they can use in their home studio.

In other words: massive multiplayer online game meets reality TV. Raising money now on Kickstarter.

LAUNCHER: Josh Harris, who founded research firm Jupiter Communications in the mid-1980s and the internet broadcaster Pseudo.com in the late 1990s. He famously created a wired bunker in Soho that the authorities shut down and wired/recorded his and his girlfriend’s home life before he cracked (both experiences are captured in the documentary “We Live in Public,” the Grand Jury prize winner at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival).

In 2007 Josh founded the short-lived Operator11, which let people create their own live web shows (though the original premise was The Wired City).

WHY: People want their 15 minutes of fame. It’s technologically feasible, and enough people have webcams and broadband internet connections to participate. Plus, it hasn’t been done yet.

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Sparrow Mail Launches 1.3 Version to Add More Gmail-Like Features

WHAT: Simple email client for Mac that allows you to browse conversations, reply in the same window, create and edit labels, and bring all your email accounts into one place and view a unified inbox. Connect to Facebook to see photos of friends emailing you. Feels like Twitter and uses many of the same conventions as Gmail though it supports all IMAP accounts. Available from Mac app store for $9.99.

Sparrow's 1.3 version adds option to archive messages you respond to, support for drag-and-drop (e.g., your mail into other places, attachments to mail), ability to see all labels on your sidebar, ability to hide your sidebar and see only your inbox, and improved scrolling.

Next up are iPhone and iPad apps, and the company is considering making a Windows client as well. Also, look for more Facebook integration.

LAUNCHERS:  Dom Leca, CEO, previously co-founded a company that made iPhone and iPad apps. Hoa Dinh Viet, lead engineer, has worked for Apple and Amazon, and Jean-Marc Denis heads up design.

WHY: Mail clients are too cluttered. Apple’s mail client is good, but the software doesn’t get updated all that often. Having your mail on your machine -- not in the cloud -- is reassuring.

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