Wal-Mart Acquires OnRiot For Social Media Sites

Wal-Mart Supercenter Torreon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OneRiot is a social and mobile ad targeting startup now owned by Walmart.   While the financial terms of the acquisition have not been revealed, the startup is joining with Wal-mart Labs.
OnRiot has changes its model of doing business, by closing down the search portal that used real-time and now monetizes exclusively through the use of real time advertising.  The startup has also moved to provide a service targeting social services using apps with embedded mobile ads.

OneRiot first made its peak into the world of advertising during 2009 with the introduction of RiotWise.  This ad format placed the emphasized content into position using the real-time feed.  Later they introduced Trending adds by RiotWise.  These streaming adds correspond to the topics that are trending in the user's social web.  They are self refreshing and a self service edition of RiotWise.

Today, OneRiot provides opportunities for advertisers to target segments of their audience on mobile devices.  This allows targeting for busy moms, techies, sports fans and fashionistas.  Use of targeting and segmentation allows the advertisers to focus on the interest profiles of their audience, conversations and social influences.  The audience profiles of OneRiot are created through mining as well as analysis of public social streams such as Twitter.

The capability for this style of data mining was the attraction for Wal-mart to Onriot.  Walmart has announced that OneRiot has developed useful technology that can help advertisers make the most of Facebook and Twitter.  The ads displayed are customized to interest of customers.

Wal-mart seems to have made interesting investments in the areas of social media, mobile devices and targeted spaces.  Earlier in year, they acquired Kosmix.  This company also joined Walmart Labs, and is now integrating the technology into both the mobile and online offerings of the company in sites such as Facebook, the e-commerce website and other places on the web.

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Kelley Blue Book Used Cars

2010-2011 Kia Soul photographed in Chantilly, Virginia, USA. Category:Kia Soul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kelley Blue Book's online website, at kbb.com, recently declared the KIA Soul to be among the "coolest" cars in its price range ($18,000 or less.) KBB considers cars for their awards using the criteria of fuel efficiency, technology features, and style. Kia Motors America, the manufacturer, proudly announced that their car has earned this accolade in each of the last two years. The fact that KBB has impartially recognized the car's stylishness, affordability, features and "coolness" does not come as a big surprise to the company--consumers have noted these advantages also, making the Kia Soul among the most popular consumer choices in Kia's line. The cars popularity has generated a lot of customer traffic to Kia's car lots, both new and used.

The judges summed up their decision by describing the Kia as both fun to own and to drive. The final selection was made from a list of various makers' automobiles. The award for 2010 groups cars according to car value, and uses the Kelly Blue Book values for new cars, separate from the more well known Kelley Blue Book Used Cars. Their book uses the prices at which new cars are actually sold, rather than the suggested retail price--the "sticker" price put on cars by the manufacturers and car dealers.

This is not the first award the car has received, although being the "coolest" is special. It has also been recognized as the Best Family Car, Top Family Car, Top Safety Pick and Best Hatchback. These awards represent opinions from various organizations totally independent of each other and KBB. Features such as Bluetooth integration, iPod friendly audio input jack and adaptations for wireless phone are examples of the advanced technology features that got the attention of the judges in each of these organizations. These are all features you can examine when you want to find out what makes a car the coolest one around.

Kia Soul comes in a variety of versions, each with different types and combinations of features. They are the Soul, the Soul+ or Soul! There is also a Soul Sport model. The style and features aim to please young buyers, especially young buyers with very active lifestyles. The car's association with the well known Geek Squad, which drives it along with Volkswagens and Chevrolets, has also enhanced its public image and popularity. The Kia Soul is in some very good car company--other winners recently have included the Mazda3, the Mitsubishi Lancer, and Honda's Civic and Fit models.

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Back To School Shopping With Sales Tax Holidays

In 2005, North Little Rock voters approved a two-year, one-percent sales tax for construction of the Dickey-Stephens baseball stadium on land adjacent to the Broadway Bridge. In 2007, it became the home of the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team affiliate of the MLB Anaheim Angels. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the United States, parents of school age children know very well what that term "Back-To-School" means. This is a time during the first part of August that parents must make purchases of school supplies and clothing in order to prepare their children for school. Luckily, for those in the sixteen states that offer it, this also means special sales tax holidays to help families financially. Whether they are buying uniforms, school supplies or books, parents can take advantage of buying the items tax-free during this time. During the first weekend of August, residents in North and South Carolina, Virgina, Alabama, Florida, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Iowa, Oklahoma and Missouri have this advantage. Texas and Georgia have their sales tax holidays the second weekend of August. Maryland chooses to have its holiday the entire week of August 11 through 17, while Connecticut participates the week of August 18 through 24.

Retailers often choose to include extraordinary sales during this time to increase their revenue. Parents should look at this shopping time as having the sales potential of Black Friday. This means get to the store early and be prepared.

Shopping for back-to-school items can be very costly. However, for those who are lucky enough to live in a state that has a tax holiday, the stress of spending money can be eased.

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Information About Investing In Google

English: The corner of Wall Street and Broadway, showing the limestone facade of One Wall Street in the background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently Brent Callinicos, Vice President of Google, recently posted on his blog that reminded accountants and treasurers that their sale of Motorola's set top box business is a terminated operation. However, those who are thinking about investing in Google do not seem to be taking this into account. For instance, a lot of Wall Street's analysts who cover Google haven't echoed these thoughts.

The result of the failure to recognize this ceased business operation is that the price of stock shares have dropped by approximately 1 billion dollars, which means that the profit per share is down by approximately 0.40 cents. Even Doug Anmuth from J.P. Morgan has lowered his numbers to 11.4 billion dollars in revenue and 10.19 dollars in EPS for the month of December. The street average is 12.3 billion dollars and EPS of 10.54 dollars.

It is anticipated that Google will provide their outcome after they close on January 22. This may cause those who are investing in Google to become somewhat confused, especially when they first receive the numbers. This is because it may seem as though Google has missed both the top and the bottom line. Of course, this depends upon the results' effect.

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I Cannot Pay My Taxes, HELP!

English: Debit Card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

About 27% of taxpayers annually need to pay the IRS when they file their tax returns. If you are one of these individuals, you need to figure out how you are going to pay. When you have the amount needed, you can use a debit card, mail a check with your return, or have the funds withdrawn from a savings account.

If you cannot pay the amount, then you can use a credit card or setup a payment plan with the IRS. Pay as much as you can by the tax deadline and wait for the IRS to tell you how much a month additional you should pay. An Online Payment Payment Agreement will give you up to 120 days to pay off the balance. Find this form on the IRS website, IRS.gov.

IRS Form 9465 gives you more than 120 days to pay the IRS for the taxes you owe. This is considered an installment agreement and is available with the major tax preparation software packages including TurboTax. There is a small fee to setup the installment agreement but if this is your only choice, it is the way to go.

Consider all the costs involved when deciding how to pay your taxes when you file your 2014 tax return. If the APR on a credit card is high, then going directly to the IRS could be your best plan of action. Just make sure that you have everything setup prior to the filing deadline or you could face additional fees and penalties, making your debt burden even bigger.

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Obamacare, Taxes, And TurboTax: What's The Connection?

English: This is a diagram depicting the percentage in US who have no health insurance by age. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A recent survey shows that nearly 50% of Americans don't know the tax reporting requirement for health insurance. All taxpayers will need to report their current health insurance status on their 2014 tax returns. Since tax-filing season is about to begin, Intuit ran the TurboTax Health Survey with Harris Poll. Most Americans know very little about the connection between taxes and health insurance.

Still A Lack of Knowledge Surrounding Obamacare

As dictated by the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, Americans need to prove that they own qualifying health insurance. They need to prove this on their 2014 taxes in order to avoid a tax penalty. Over 62% of uninsured Americans know they're required to pay a penalty if they lack health insurance. However, 87% of those same individuals don't realize that the penalty to avoid this penalty has already passed.

TurboTax Set To Help Taxpayers With These Issues and Others

Health coverage purchased in the current open enrollment period through February 15 won't apply to this year's return. They'll apply to 2015's returns filed in 2016. Even though open enrollment is currently underway, Americans still don't know the connection between healthcare and taxes. TurboTax will warn Americans about such deadlines and show them how to fix these issues in the future. Of course, those with coverage before the deadline won't face any penalties.

Other Information From The Survey

Nearly 90% of Americans have health insurance, but residents of the South have lower coverage rates than other regions. Also, almost 50% of Americans aren't aware of premium tax credits that exist to make health insurance cheaper for low-income families. Nearly 75% of Americans with coverage from an exchange plan to renew their coverage for the following year. TurboTax currently offers a free resource for taxpayers concerning Obamacare at TurboTaxHealth.com, which users should visit immediately.

Casino Bankruptcies In Atlantic City And Their Repurcusions

English: The Showboat Casino in Atlantic City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Labor Day weekend was the last business weekend for the Revel casino. Being a major taxpayer, together with the other three casinos exiting the market, a dip in tax collected by $10 billion is expected. The casino that had an initial capital of $2.4 billion has sunk into bankruptcy twice besides having a short life span.

The casino is not new to trouble as it walked into its first major loss before construction completion when Morgan Stanley left. This was in 2010 and it ended up opening two years late. The loss that amounted to $1.2 billion was a rough start. The competition from casinos in the neighbouring towns saw the management change strategies. The emphasis was on entertainment especially for the younger generation as opposed to gaming. The revenue in Atlantic City collected from gaming activities almost halved between 2006 and now.

With persistence losses even during peak periods, the casino has had to change strategies often. The first in line was the building plan that was adjusted to create more public space and one instead of the two hotels planned for. The closure on Monday was signified by few revellers, few independent restaurants open and fewer than usual dishes on the menu. Present were state troopers to avert any possible act of vandalism. This is after the Atlantic club closure was marred by such acts. The casino bankruptcies in Atlantic City will adversely affect the economy.

With a record four casino bankruptcies in a year, the Atlantic City, the loss of employment opportunities is evident. The Showboat casino went down before the Revel while the Trump is set to close down on 16th September. The employees had mixed feelings. Some opted to work till the end while others were sceptical and took off for early vacations.

The cancellation of the bankruptcy proceeding of Revel AC Inc shortly after the closure of Revel was an unexpected twist of events. Claims of deals made with landlords, creditors and other stakeholders are credited for the twist. With decline in competition and the strategic location of Revel on the Oceanfront, David Berliner of BDO Consulting, New York anticipates a great deal. Though the property will lay low for a while before being sold, it is expected to raise an amount much lower than the capital used.