Renting accommodation on airbnb in America is significantly cheaper than staying in a hotel

"But is it actually less expensive to stay at an Airbnb than a hotel? Can you rent an entire apartment for less than the cost of a hotel? We suspected that Airbnb rentals are less expensive than hotels, but are they really?
So, we decide to find out. We looked at every major city in America and compared the cost of a hotel to the cost of renting an apartment on Airbnb. We discovered that Airbnb apartment rentals cost 21.2% less than staying at a hotel. And if you’re on a budget, you can save 49.5% if you decide to stay in a private room at a host’s house instead of staying in a hotel."
Source:  Research by Priceonomics, 17th June 2013
Note - lots more stats given in the full report

The economic impact of airbnb on Paris & San Francisco

"Highlights from these first two reports cover just one year and include the following.
Airbnb produces significant economy benefits
Airbnb generated approximately $240 million in economic activity in Paris
Airbnb generated approximately $56 million in economic activity in San Francisco
Guests on Airbnb stay longer and spend more
The average Paris hotel guest visits for 2.3 nights and spends $584 during their stay. The average Paris Airbnb guest, on the other hand, visits for 5.2 nights and spends $1,151 during their stay.
The average San Francisco hotel guest visits for 3.5 days and spends $840. The average San Francisco Airbnb guest visits for 5.5 days and spends $1,045.
Airbnb hosts rent out the homes they live in
83 percent of Airbnb hosts in Paris use Airbnb to rent the home they live in.
90 percent of Airbnb hosts in San Francisco use Airbnb to rent the home they live in.\
Airbnb hosts use their income to make ends meet
56 percent of Airbnb hosts in San Francisco said they use their Airbnb income to help pay their mortgage or rent.
46 percent of Airbnb hosts in Paris said they use income for essential living expenses such as rent and mortgage payments.
Airbnb brings tourists to new neighborhoods
72 percent of Airbnb properties in San Francisco are located outside the central hotel district.
70 percent of Airbnb properties in Paris are located outside the main hotel districts.
The San Francisco study was conducted in 2012 and the Paris study was conducted in 2013. The Airbnb community has only gotten bigger since the studies were conducted, so we expect these numbers will increase as Airbnb continues to have a positive economic impact in cities around the world"
Source:  airbnb Public Policy blog, 12th June 2013
Press release - San Francisco Study
Press release - Paris Study

140 million NFC-enabled handsets were shipped in 2012

"According to a new research report by Berg Insight, global sales of handsets featuring Near Field Communication (NFC) grew 300 percent in 2012 to reach 140 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.2 percent, annual shipments are forecasted to reach 1 billion units by 2017.
Wider adoption of NFC in mobile phones began in 2011 and accelerated in 2012 when the top-ten handset vendors released nearly 100 NFC-enabled models. NFC technology enables numerous applications such as information exchange, device pairing for establishing Bluetooth or WLAN connections, access control, electronic ticketing and secure contactless payments."

Source:  Contactless Intelligence, 17th June 2013

Groupon has sold a million event tickets

"Groupon, the online deal making company from Chicago, said Saturday that it had passed a 1 million customer milestone for its G-Pass ticket sales.
"G-Pass simply allows customers to worry less about getting into the venue and focus more on enjoying the event. And at the same time, it helps alleviate stress on box office partners," said Groupon vice president and general manager Greg Rudin in statement.
Groupon said the G-Pass has been used for consumers "to enjoy their favorite band, take in an off-Broadway show or cheer on the home team."
Out of the 1 million tickets sold, 700,000 of those were sold this year, which lead the company to say the G-Pass option was "gaining momentum."
The G-Pass option has sold tickets for events as varied as the Bon Jovi "Because We Can" tour, the Joffrey Ballet and Seattle Mariners ball games, the company said."

Source:  UPI, 15th June 2013

Key mobile figures Q1 2013

Click to enlarge

Source:  Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2013

Mobile subscriptions & growth by region Q1 2013

Click to enlarge

Source:  Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2013

FMCG companies are the biggest online video advertisers in the UK

"FMCG advertisers overtook entertainment as the biggest spenders in online video with impressions surging 66 per cent quarter on quarter, according to figures from addressable audience platform Videology.
The report, which marks the third in a series of Videology-led research that will be published exclusively on The Drum, is based on 553,197,168 video impressions in the UK during the first quarter of 2013 – up from the 465m impressions tracked in the previous quarter."

Source:  The Drum, 10th June 2013

Note - Ad tracking based on tracked impressions may be a bit arbitrary - see also Nielsen's Ad Relevance

One third of Americans own a tablet

"A third (34%) of American adults ages 18 and older own a tablet computer like an iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus, or Kindle Fire—almost twice as many as the 18% who owned a tablet a year ago.1
Demographic groups most likely to own tablets include:
Those living in households earning at least $75,000 per year (56%), compared with lower income brackets
Adults ages 35-44 (49%), compared with younger and older adults
College graduates (49%), compared with adults with lower levels of education
The following chart shows the increase in general tablet ownership over time, beginning with May 2010 when just 3% of adults said they owned a tablet computer."

Source:  Pew Internet & American Life Project, 10th June 2013

WhatsApp has handled 27 billion messages in a day

new daily record: 10B+ msgs sent (inbound) and 17B+ msgs received (outbound) by our users = 27 Billion msgs handled in just 24 hours!
— WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) June 12, 2013

"new daily record: 10B+ msgs sent (inbound) and 17B+ msgs received (outbound) by our users = 27 Billion msgs handled in just 24 hours!"
Source:  Tweet by WhatsApp, 12th June 2013

Google bought Waze for $1.3 Billion

"In a bid to outsmart traffic, Google has bought the crowd-sourced navigation app Waze, a Tel Aviv-based start-up.
The search giant reportedly paid $1.3bn (£835m), according to Reuters, although the firm did not disclose the financial terms for the deal.
The Waze app combines online maps with updates from other users about traffic jams, road works and accidents.
It is believed that Facebook and Apple were also interested in purchasing the Israeli firm.
The takeover could help Google improve the accuracy of its own navigation system, Google Maps."

Source:  BBC News, 11th June 2013

The Apple App Store has 575m accounts

"In opening the keynote, Cook noted that the company's online App Store has served up 50 billion downloads in its five years of existence. He said there are 900,000 apps in the store, 375,000 of which were designed for the iPad.
"Just a few hundred from those other guys," he said, in an apparent swipe at rival tablets that run Google's Android system and others.
He also said the App Store has 575 million accounts, "more accounts with credit cards than any store on the Internet that we're aware of.""

Source:  CNN, 10th June 2013

Mobile (inc tablets) accounts for 40% of YouTube views in the US

"Mobile is quickly becoming the new normal for YouTube, and it’s starting to pay off: 40 percent of all of the service’s video views in the U.S. are now coming from mobile devices, a YouTube spokesperson told GigaOM on Wednesday. Worldwide, mobile is now responsible for 25 percent of all of YouTube’s video views."
Source:  Paid Content, 5thh June 2013