Eleven years after filing the patent application in October 1998, eBay has won a patent that grants it exclusive ownership over its online auction process model.

This is major for eBay and its competitors. eBay’s competitors will now have to change their process or risk being sued. eBay is already the top site in its field having 14.5 million auctions annually. Its nearest competitors only have 1.5 and 1.2 million annually.

However, lawsuits aren’t the real risk. At least, they’re not the immediate risk.  Lawsuits take a long time and a lot of money to follow through.

The next logical step for eBay is not to sue but to license the model to sites that are already using it. Therefore, unlike a series of lawsuits, eBay has yet another revenue stream.

My prediction? The next step is that eBay will have the USPTO publish in its official gazette a notice this patent is available for licensing.

eBay’s competitors can file objections to this patent to modify or cancel it.  However, only a small number of patents are ever canceled.

The patent is called “Computer-implement method and system for conducting auctions on the Internet“.

Here is an abstract of the process:

Methods and apparatus for a system for facilitating electronic commerce transactions with a first data storage location for holding information about an item for auction from a first participant in a data packet network, a verification process that verifies the user identification of the first participant in said data packet network, the verification process confirming a user identification before allowing the participant in said data packet network access to place information about an item for auction in the system, a display process for displaying information of the item for auction to a plurality of data packet network users, the display process displaying an advertisement with the item for auction to the plurality of data packet users, an auction process for receiving bids on the item for auction from at least one of said plurality of data packet network users, the auction process also verifying a user identification from said at least one of a plurality of data packet network users before allowing receipt of the bid and a notification process for notifying the plurality of data packet network participants that said bid was accepted by said system.

Here is a diagram of the process:

[via GoRumors]

Now that the iPhone has been in South Korea for a few months, the numbers are rolling in.

During the first two months after the release of the iPhone, wireless data usage surged over 100-fold in South Korea.  This data was released today by Korea Telecom (KT). KT released the iPhone in an exclusive contract with Apple.  The iPhone was released on December 1, 2009.  Last Friday, KT’s president Pyo Hyun-myung, sent out a tweet saying that customers in South Korea have bought over 400,000 units of the iPhone since its release.

After December 1st, wireless data use among KT’s smartphone users jumped significantly.  This makes sense because iPhone users have more access to the Internet and download a lot more data than regular mobile phone users.  The monthly use averaged 50 million megabytes in December, 2009 and January, 2010.  This is up by 122-fold on the average covering January and November of 2009.  Per person the average wireless data usage person increased by 10-fold over the same period.

The iPhone users in South Korea say they get their applications through the iTunes App Store.  This offers users options beyond build in functions.  On average, they spend $5.40 USD each moth to purchase applications.

Source: Yonhap News Agency – Wireless data usage surges over 100-fold after iPhone’s launch

Once a day, between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood Internet cafe, they fed their baby.  Instead of nurturing their own daughter, they became obsessed with raising a virtual child in the popular role-playing game called Prius Online. The couple were arrested in Suwon, a suburb of Seoul, 5 months after reporting the death of their baby.  The baby’s autopsy showed that she’d died due to a long period of malnutrition.

Chung Jin-won, a police officer, said, “The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life, because they didn’t have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby. They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby.”

Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor at Seoul’s Dongguk University, told the Yonhap news agency that the couple lost track of reality.

“Online game addiction can blur the line between reality and the virtual world. It seems that taking care of their on-line game character erased any sense of guilt they may have had for neglecting their daughter.”

The professor went on to urge the government to create measures to encourage families and neighbors to contact local authorities or hospitals if people close to them show symptoms of online addiction.

This is the dirty underbelly of South Korea’s fast and cheap Internet connections.  Over the last ten years, there have been many stories of Internet addiction and compulsive gaming leading to serious consequences and even death. In 2007, South Korea established an Internet addiction camp to help people overcome their addiction to the Internet.

For more insight, here is a link to a video from a PBS’ documentary on FRONTLINE’s Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier – One Game Too Many (video).

Source:  Gizmodo – Busy Raising Virtual – Busy Raising Virtual Baby, Couple Lets Their Real Baby Starve

In a move believed calculated to guard its market share from rivals like Apple’s iPhone, LG announced that it will release its second generation smart phone with select applications pre-installed. The LG-LU230 phone is scheduled for release in South Korea during the second quarter and will run Google’s Android platform.

The phone will come with the most frequently used applications, including an augmented reality service. The augmented reality app adds information on top of map views shown in the phone’s camera.  For example, when a user places the phone’s viewer on a restaurant the app will provide reviews, menus, and pictures provided by other users and data sources.

“In the past, smartphone users had to download and install all application programs in their new phones,” said Na Joo-young, a spokeswoman for LG. “To address concerns from first-time smartphone users who wanted an easy access to numerous applications, we decided to preload the best applications in our phones.”

Apple introduced its iPhone to the South Korean market in December 2009.  At that time, LG and Samsung held 80% of the market share.  However, last December Apple sold 200,000 units of the iPhone in South Korea. That’s the highest monthly sales total for mobile handsets on record in South Korea.

LG and Samsung sell phones with lower specifications. These phones are cheaper and have less functionality than the more expensive iPhone.  LG and Samsung still dominate the both the Korean and world markets in terms of mobile phones.

However, LG and Samsung only hold 4% of the smartphone market. That market is much more profitable than regular mobile phones which means LG and Samsung are earning less than their rivals who dominate the smartphone market. With this new focus on smartphones using the Google’s Android platform, LG hopes it can gain ground in the smartphone market.

Source: Telecoms Korea – LG Electronics to launch smartphone with built-in augmented reality feature.

According to WSJ.com, Mia Cambronero posted this to a listserv, “will be stepping down from my infamous role as ‘Barack Obama’s twitterer.” She also said in her message. “We’re looking for someone who is available to start immediately.”

If you get the job you will have to maintain the President’s Twitter, Facebook and MySpace accounts.  The Obama campaign made a name for itself leveraging social media to its advantage.  Now Obama has more than 3 million Twitter followers, almost 7.5 million Facebook fans and nearly 2.0 million MySpace friends.

If hired, you will help to carry out grassroots campaigns to advance the president’s campaign for change.  My concern as someone who is a social media manager is the bureaucracy you have to negotiate just to send out a tweet or status update.  However, I’m sure the other aspects of the job balance out the bureaucracy that’s inherent when you work for the POTUS.

Here are the qualifications:

• Excellent writing and editing skills with strong attention to detail; your writing is strong, sharp, and personable
• Strong organizing and campaigning instincts; you can craft messages that move people to act, and you know what actions will achieve the right impact at the right time
• Strong familiarity with social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.
• Ready to work hard; this isn’t a 9-5 sort of job
• Ability to work under deadline pressure
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects
• Passionate about engaging millions of Americans in advancing President Obama’s agenda and changing the country
• Candidates must be willing to relocate to Washington, DC

Do you think you have what it takes? Probably, more important, can pass the security clearance?

If so here is a link to job description and application page: social networks manager.  Good luck!

Google announced on its blog today that they’re “planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States.”  If you’re lucky, Google could be your next ISP!

We’re planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We’ll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

Here is the video explaining the project:

Google has put out a request for information (RFI) from communities interested in being part of this test.  They’re accepting RFIs from local governments, as well as members of the public.  To learn more visit this page.

On a global scale, the USA only ranks 18 in its Internet connection speed with an average speed of 3.9 MBps.

This could be what the USA needs to get some momentum in move to finally get coast-to-coast high speed Internet.

Read More over at TechCrunch.

The search engine market share reports are in. Bing’s share increased from 10.7% in December to 11.3% for January.

That’s an 8.5% increase from a year ago.  In contrast, all of the major players lost market share except for Ask.com.

• Google: 65.4% from 65.7% in December.  However, note that Google is up from 63% a year ago.
• Yahoo: 17% from 17.3%.  Also, Yahoo is down from 21% a year ago.
• AOL: 2.5% from 2.6%
• Ask.com: 3.8% from 3.7.

What’s more interesting than the market share gains are the opinions that Microsoft is buying these market share gains.  Henry Blodget at Business Insider estimates that Microsoft bought Bing’s summer market share gains at the rate of rate of “$667 million per point”.

It’s a high price, however, at this pace, Bing will catch and pass Yahoo within a year.

Sources:

• Barron’s: Bing U.S. Search Market Share Hits 11% In January; GOOG, YHOO Drop
• Business Insider: January Search Results In! Bing Keeps Gaining Share, Everyone Else Loses

This is exciting news, Google has mapped the inside of the San Diego Zoo.  This is the first of its kind for a zoo, and now, no mater where you’re from, you can take a look at the great collection of animals they have at the zoo.

The zoo, which is located in the Balboa Park area of San Diego, recently renovated its interior.  Even for someone who loves that zoo, getting around might be a challenge as they’ve renamed all their areas. There are new roads and paths.  They also rearranged old exhibits and brought in new ones.

You can see all of these changes on Google Maps Street View.  This interior mapping was done with Google’s new “Trike.”  The Trike is “a tricycle-mounted camera specifically designed to photograph and add previously inaccessible destinations.”  Here is the embed to that new feature and the San Diego Zoo:

This is both a logical and interesting development for Google.  From the perspective of strategy, it’s a smart move to start mapping both interiors as well as exteriors as other companies would inevitably start filling the void Google missed.

Until now, Michello, was the only major player working on interior mapping (updated: PointInside is also in this space).  Michello wants to make the world’s inside spaces including college campuses, shopping malls, retail stores, convention centers, airports and much more.

Even though Google has the Trike, Micello has a head start on the majority of interiors.  The company also has a free iPhone and iTouch mobile application: Micello Indoor Apps.  According to Read Write Web, Micello has over 750+ interiors mapped and are adding more.  Their goal is to have 5,000 interiors mapped by the end of 2010.

If you don’t know about the scandal that’s been going on on the US network NBC either you’ve been living under a rock or you don’t live in the USA. ;)

We did cover a part of this story two days ago: Someone Wants To Pay A Million Dollars For Conan O’Brien’s Suitcase?

However, if you missed that, here is a quick summary of what’s going on:

A brief summary of what happened. In 2004, amid worries that O’Brien would leave NBC since he was getting some offers, NBC promised O’Brien that he would take over the Tonight Show in 2009, essentially forcing Leno to retire. Leno didn’t want to retire and was #1 in the ratings, and with 2009 approaching Leno began to get offers from other networks. Fearing Leno would leave and compete against NBC, it offered Leno a show in a primetime slot to keep him at NBC. O’Brien took over the Tonight Show, but hasn’t achieved the same ratings success that Leno was when he left, and Leno’s primetime show has failed for several reasons. Now NBC is moving Leno back to the 11:35 timeslot, and offered O’Brien to keep the Tonight Show, but to start at 12:05. O’Brien has refused. I don’t know when the switch will be made, but for now both shows are currently at the old timeslots, and both hosts have taken several swipes at NBC and at each other.

Since late night talk shows thrive on jokes, this has been fodder for all of the late night talk shows.  Serioulsy, just run a Google search.

However, what’s been hilarious to me are the ads that Conan and The Tonight Show have put on Craig’s List.

Last week they put The Tonight Show on sale:

4 SALE: BARELY-USED LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW – MAKE ME AN OFFER!!! (Universal Studios)

This is a chance of a lifetime to own your very own late night talk show–guaranteed to last for up to seven months!! Really must see to appreciate.

Information for potential buyers:

- Measures 100’ x 100’ x 32’ – plenty of room for a futon!

- Designed for 11:35 but can be easily moved

- Band can be sold separately

- Buyer must honor Barry Manilow booking next Thursday

MAKE ME YOUR BEST OFFER!!!!! (Also willing to trade for Coldplay tickets.)

• Location: Universal Studios
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1551463643

This week Conan has put up an ad in the casual encounters section:

TALL, SLENDER REDHEAD AVAILABLE FOR NIGHTTIME RECREATION – m4ww – 30 (Universal Studios)

- Tall, slender redhead available for nighttime recreation.

- 6’4”, completely ripped, VERY Caucasian.

- Drapes match the carpet.

- Currently homeless, must meet at your place.

- Can go a whole hour (with scheduled breaks every 7-10 minutes).

- Fatties welcome.

- Not afraid to take two people at once, and then a musical guest.

- NOTE: If you want me to perform after midnight, it’ll cost you!

• Location: Universal Studios
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1558679241

We’ll miss you Conan.  Come on Fox! Give him an offer!

Summary courtesy of LJ World.com O’Brien/Leno Controversy

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Someone Wants To Pay A Million Dollars For Conan O’Brien’s Suitcase?

Akamai’s released its quarterly “State of the Internet” report last Wednesday. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about the Internet in South Korea that South Korea topped the list of with an average connection speed of 14.6 Mbps.  This is a quarterly increase of 29 percent and an annual increase of 16 percent.

However, last year South Korea announced its goal to have Internet speeds up to 1 GBps by 2012.  In 2009 South Korea immediately got started to reach that goal.

Therefore, the steep jump between the second quarter and the third quarter probably has a lot to do with them beginning to install the infrastructure to be required for that increase in speed

During the third quarter of 2009, most countries in the top-10 for Internet performance averaged an 18 percent increase in speed from the second quarter.  Ireland came in second for the most improved.  They had a 26 percent increase to 5.3 Mbps.

Due to the significant increase of mobile devices, the report also talked about the mobile market it its report.

The report also ranked countries on the number of cyber attacks.  On that list, China was in the top-10 ranking fourth behind Russia, Brazil and the United States.

Source: CNET – Akamai: World’s Net connection speeds rising