María Socorro Rosario | Managing Director | Intuic Puerto Rico 11/29/2011
MASH MY WEEK! Summary of outstanding news about the Internet, technology, and social media from November 21–26:
We are living in an era when even the economy is becoming digital. As the Internet has advanced, innovations in social networks and information and communication technologies have influenced evolution in the international financial system. Thus, new startups focus on delivering the financial services remotely via the Internet. Today we present Weemba, an online lending platform.
Do you want to be the best Santa Claus? We are a few weeks away from Christmas and merchants are creating attractive offers for their customers. JCPenney enters the competition with an innovative proposal of gift cards using QR Codes.
Without a doubt, the dark side of the Internet in recent years has been piracy. Since Napster, many websites and users are being prosecuted for illegally offering or downloading copyrighted content. Now major content producers change their strategy and decide to open their products to the web for a fee. The last such alliance was between Pixar and Disney with YouTube. We present the current proposal.
Weemba: The online loans platform
Banking’s participation in the Internet Era has opened a world of possibilities and streamlined processes that used to require a lot of time. Today, we can pay our bills, check our bank accounts, make transfers, and now, thanks to the website we will present, we can borrow money online.
Weemba is an Internet platform that connects loans applicants (whether they are individuals or companies) with a group of financial entities that operates in the country.
How does it work? First, you must register on the website; you must be 18 years old, have a bank account, and be a resident. After entering your personal and financial information, you will be able to make the loan application. It must include reason for requesting the loan, amount of money requested, and proposed terms of payment.
The big difference from the traditional process is that instead of going to each financial entity, now your request is visible to all of them, saving you time and increasing your chances of getting the loan.
Weemba is available in Argentina <www.weemba.com.ar>, Spain <www.weemba.com.es>, and the United States <www.weemba.com>
JCPenney: Personalized gifts with QR Codes
Christmas is coming and merchants are trying to increase the season’s sales. To attract customers, the JCPenney stores have incorporated QR Codes into its promotion campaign. Under the slogan, “We make Christmas affordable, you make it yours” JCPenney has an interesting value-added proposal giving its customers the opportunity to personalize their Christmas gifts.
During this season, shoppers at the JCPenney stores will be able to record a voice message to be encrypted within a QR Code on a gift card.
The message recording process is very simple. First, the buyer scans the code and calls a phone number where he or she will be asked to record a message. Once this is done, the card is gift-wrapped. The person receiving the gift will be able to retrieve the message by scanning the QR Code.
A simple and creative idea, this one is very likely to be copied by others around the world.
Disney and Pixar movies on YouTube
More and more organizations and companies make alliances to combat Internet piracy together. It seems that one of the alternatives to illegal downloading of content is to offer the same content at a much lower cost than the original.
Several agreements have been signed between producers and online platforms. An example is a deal Facebook made with Warner Bros. earlier this year to allow movie rentals through the social networks.
Now, three giants get together: YouTube, representing the major online video platform, joins with Disney and Pixar, two of the main content producing corporations.
After long negotiations, YouTube at last will be able to stream movies online from these companies. More than 3,000 movies are available already, and gradually the menu will include the most important ones, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Cars”. Movies from NBC, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. will also be available.
The movies may be rented and watched via computer or a YouTube application. Rental prices will vary from US $1–4, depending on the movie, and they will be available for 24–48 hours after rental.