For bloggers who are thinking of quitting and try their luck somewhere because they think the industry they operate on is shrinking, I say just hold for awhile. Advertising on the net and in blogs is not a declining. In fact, the reverse is happening.

A report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers showed U.S. Internet advertising revenue grew 15 percent to a record US$ 36.6 billion in 2012, with mobile ad revenue growing faster than other types.

The report also stated that mobile ad revenue more than doubled from the previous year to US$ 3.4 billion. It accounted for 9 percent of total Internet ad revenue in 2012. In 2011, the US$ 1.6 billion in mobile ad revenue made up 5 percent of the total. Mobile ads represent an area of growth for many companies, including Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. Facebook started showing mbile ads last year.

Research firm eMarketer, which includes more types of mobile ads in its calculations, expects U.S. mobile ad spending to grow 77 percent in 2013 to US$ 7.29 billion from US$ 4.11 billion last year.

Search ads, where Google dominates, still account for nearly half of all online advertising revenue, at US$ 16.9 billion in 2012, according to the report.

The IAB, which represents media and technology companies, releases online advertising revenue numbers each quarter. Management consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers compiles the data based on information from companies that sell advertising on the Internet.

Brian Wieser, analyst at Pivotal Research Group, called the online advertising growth rate "solid" at 15 percent, but noted that "we can clearly see that if we strip out growth from Google and Facebook, the rest of online advertising likely grew by 3.8 (percent)."

I just saw the latest sneak peek on the upcoming Superman reboot, "Man of Steel", directed by Zack Snyder and it shows a lot of exciting promises.

Aside from trying to present a deeper look at the man behind the tights-wearing hero in action, the film appears to try to correct the misconception that the trademark "S" in the chest means Superman. I may be mistaken on this, but from what I saw Kal-El adopted the symbol "S" from his home planet Krypton as a symbol of hope. But whatever it represents, it still looks "S" to me.

The cast is also full of heavy-weight actors that include Russell Crowe as Superman's biological pop and Kevin Costner as his adoptive father. The footage also showed a compelling glimpse of Michael Shannon's General Zod, who appeared very eager to take on the "Man of Steel."

Snyder, who previously oversaw "300" and "The Watchmen," said he was initially trepidatious about taking on the Superman legend. Not because he thought Clark Kent's alter-ego was retrograde or stale, but because he worried he couldn't do the character justice.

"I wasn't sure I had something poignant to say," Snyder said at the annual exhibition trade show in Las Vegas. He said that meeting with producer Christopher Nolan and reading the story "The Dark Knight" director had cooked up with David S. Goyer ("Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance") convinced him that there were unexplored cinematic depths to the Superman myth.

"He is the greatest superhero," Snyder said. "There's no competition between superheroes, but if there was, he'd win."

Snyder said that he made the film, because he was convinced the story was ideal for the big screen, even though he confessed he knew it would also be seen "on iPads, iPods and iWhatevers."

"We made a big movie," he assured theater owners.

It's a message that played well in a room where exhibitors are already worried that the threat from digital entertainment represents an existential challenge to their livelihoods.

Starring Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane, "Man of Steel" flies into theaters on 14 June 2013.

If you think that Samsung Electronics Co will just let Apple dominate the phone market with their 1Phone, guess again. The Korean company reported that the new Galaxy S4 phone is doing fairly well in the market.

In an outright call for a challenge, the latest flagship phone has a bigger display and new features such as gesture controls compare to iPhone 5.

Other enhancements are found on the software layer, including:

1. Smart Pause and Smart Scroll: based on the Smart Stay technology from the Galaxy S3, these two new features identifies and monitors eye movement and activates functions accordingly. Smart Pause will momentarily stop playing video when the user’s gaze moves away from the device, while Smart Scroll will move the page up or down when the user’s gaze reaches the bottom or top of the screen.
2. Air View and Air Gesture: this software feature is powered by the IR gesture sensor that’s fitted with the new Galaxy S4. Air View allows you to hover your finger over content to display specific details about it, like opening an email or text message. Air Gesture, on the other hand, allows you to give swiping directions without even touching the phone.
3. Group Play: Group Play will allow you to play music to up to 8 Galaxy S4 devices even without Internet connection.
4. S Voice Drive: an improvement to the S Voice personal assistant introduced with the Galaxy S3, S Voice Drive aids in controlling the phone while driving by allowing to send and receive emails and text messages, as well as take and make calls, just by using voice commands.
5. Dual Camera: Samsung has now made it so that certain applications, such as camera and video calling apps, can use both the front- and rear-facing camera at once.
6. S Translator: This feature will allow live text-to-speech and speech-to-text translation of up to 8 languages using only the user’s voice input.

The Galaxy S4 will be available with more than 300 mobile operators in 155 countries by the end of April. Philippine availability has yet to be determined but price is expected to be between PhP 35,000 to PhP 40,000. It will also come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants, and will feature 3G and 4G-LTE connectivity options depending on carrier compatibility.

Smartphone gamers who were used to using Microsoft Windows Phone 8 would be glad to know that they can now play the addictive mega-hit: Temple Run.

Microsoft's Michael Stroh posted in his blog that Windows Phone 8 devices are now the latest home of the addictive game where players "turn, jump and slide" to getting hidden treasure. If this information is correct, then Smartphone gamers will now have a chance to steal the cursed idol from the temple, and run for their life to escape the Evil Demon Monkeys nipping at their heels.

Temple Run allows its users to test their reflexes as they race down ancient temple walls and along sheer cliffs. Gamers need to swipe to turn, jump and slide to avoid obstacles, collect coins and buy power ups, unlock new characters, and see how far they can run.

"In every treasure hunting adventure movie there’s one scene in which the plucky hero finally gets his hands on the treasure but then has to navigate a maze of booby traps in order to get out alive. Temple Run is this scene and nothing else. And it’s amazing." - SlideToPlay.com

Some notable reviews are the following:

• "Most thrilling and fun running game in a while, possibly ever." – TheAppera.com
• "A fast and frenzied experience." - IGN.com
• "Very addicting… definitely a very different running game." - Appolicious.com
• Voted by TouchArcade Forums as Game of the Week
• One of TouchArcade's Best Games of the Month
• Over 200 MILLION players worldwide!

The game features the the following:

• Simple swipe and tilt controls that are easy to use and just feel
• Level up your character and use crazy power-ups
• Original 3D running mechanic combining turning, jumping, sliding and tilting - the first of its kind.
• Play as 7 different characters
• Incredibly fun, just one more time, endless game play

It's Graduation time again and if you are a thank you note writer, then you will be glad to hear about this stylish thank you note from Tiny Prints.

Unless you are not yet aware or too young to appreciate it, thank you notes are a powerful way of expressing gratitude. They are the longest lasting way of saying "thank you" (OK, outside of giving someone a permanent tattoo in their sleep ... but that never works).

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They have perfect designs for graduates to say thanks, thanking people for Easter gifts, for kids, for parents, for business, for literally every occasion. And you get to personalize them by adding your own text, choosing your font, and even uploading your own pictures if you choose.

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