millennials

Apple's iPhone dominates mobile ad impressions in Q1

Apple's iPhone is, by far, the most dominant device in the mobile ad market, according to new data from Millennial Media's Mobile Mix report.

The iPhone accounted for 15 percent of all mobile phone impressions hitting Millennial Media's ad network during the first quarter. RIM's BlackBerry Curve and Motorola's Droid Razr trailed far behind with 4.4 percent and 4 percent of all impressions, respectively. The Samsung Droid Charge and the BlackBerry Torch rounded out the top five with 3.4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

Millennial Media's data is taken from the … Read more

Another sign Facebook IPO's getting close

Facebook's upcoming monster-size IPO has led to plenty of speculation -- about demand for the stock, about what it will mean for Facebook, about how it might drive up the valuations of the zillions of startups hoping to ride the Facebook exuberance wave.

And, more to the point, about just when exactly it will happen.

For all you tea-leaf readers out there, clues abound, and I'm here to offer up some fresh ones. Check out the video clip below from a panel I hosted here at CNET headquarters last night with three big startup investors: Dave McClure of … Read more

Holy market mania: Millennial Media shares soar on first day

Understandably, some people are making comparisons to 1999.

Millennial Media, a giant mobile advertising platform that rose up to take on the likes of Google and Apple, saw its stock nearly double on its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares were priced last night at $13 each, and closed at $25.

The company, which helps create ads for smartphones and tablets, is the largest independent player in this booming market. Its revenue rose 117 percent in 2011 to $103.7 million, although the company is still losing money. Such a stock debut is sure to … Read more

Charles River Ventures raises $375 million startup fund

Charles River Ventures today announced that it's keyed in a $375 million fund to continue its investments in technologies.

CRV intends to focus investments from its latest fund on startups with, "disruptive technologies, teams and business models." Startups like Hubspot, Vlingo, Yammer and Zendesk, all count themselves among CRVs investments.

"CRV has seen consistent liquidity from our portfolio over the last decade, with 21 major liquidity events, IPOs and company acquisitions since the collapse of the bubble," said CRV general partner Izhar Armony.

In addition to its strong startup portfolio, CRV boasts a number of … Read more

The challenge of wooing Generation C

The C in "Generation C," not surprisingly, stands for connected. If you've ever been ignored by a twentysomething in an elevator who's too busy texting to hear your plea for a sixth-floor button push, you already know what Nielsen's getting at.

According to the 2011 U.S. Census, people in this newly labeled age group (formerly called Gen Y, or the Millennials, or Generation Next, or sometimes just "those kids with some college education who are largely unemployed but building iPhone apps in their spare time") make up just "23 percent of the U.S. population."

After crunching the numbers in its U.S. Digital Consumer Report for Q3-Q4 2011 (PDF), released today, Nielsen determined that this 23 percent "represent an outsized portion of consumers watching online video (27 percent), visiting social-networking/blog sites (27 percent), owning tablets (33 percent), and using a smartphone (39 percent)." (Smartphone and tablet owner information was taken from more than 300,000 surveyed volunteer participants.)

As a proud cable cutter who watches hours upon hours of streaming content; is on Twitter so much my boyfriend has tried (unsuccessfully) to ban it from the dinner table; owns an iPad "because I honestly need it for work and life"; and has a panic attack if my smartphone is farther than arm's length from my person, those stats sound about right. … Read more

Amazon Kindle Fire lights up mobile ad network

Amazon's Kindle Fire was one of the hottest devices tracked by ad network Millennial Media in November though it didn't debut until halfway through the month.

Millennial Media's November Mobile Mix report found that the number of ad impressions on the Fire grew at an average daily rate of 19 percent, slightly outshining the growth of the first iPad in early 2010.

"We're not just seeing millions of impressions, we're seeing a monthly run rate of hundreds of millions of impressions," said the report of the Fire.

The Kindle Fire is also facing … Read more

Android's lead over iOS hits 2x mark on mobile ad network

Android continues to inch its way higher as the leading mobile OS on Millennial Media, according to the ad network's October Mobile Mix report.

Google's mobile platform grabbed 56 percent of all ad impressions on the network last month, double iOS's 28 percent share, figures that include both smartphones and tablets together. Android has been the leading mobile OS on Millennial Media's network for almost a year now.

Among the rest of the pack, RIM's BlackBerry OS took home a 13 percent share, leaving 1 percent each for Nokia's Symbian, Microsoft's Windows Phone, … Read more

Android easily outpaces iOS on mobile ad network

Android captured 56 percent of all ad impressions on Millennial Media's mobile network over the third quarter, outshining Apple's iOS, which accounted for only 28 percent.

Looking at the third quarter as a whole, Millennial Media's latest Mobile Mix report crowned Google's OS the top platform in the Connected Device and Smartphone category, which includes both tablets and phones.

Android scooped up the lead over the past year "due in part to their contrasting strategy to iOS, allowing multiple device manufacturers to have access to their platform," said the report. "Device manufacturers have … Read more

Android use surges on mobile ad network

Android continued to scoop up a healthy share of users on Millennial Media's mobile ad network in August, while growth for Apple's iOS was relatively flat.

For the month, Android ad impressions jumped 48 percent over July, giving Google's mobile OS a 54 percent slice of the ad network, according to Millennial Media's August Mobile Mix report. In contrast, Apple's iOS failed to gain much ground from July, leaving it with a 28 percent share.

However, numbers from month to month aren't a direct comparison because the August data included both smartphones and connected … Read more