Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “LG Launches Optimus 2X, World’s First Dual-Core Smartphone” |
- LG Launches Optimus 2X, World’s First Dual-Core Smartphone
- If Santa Doesn’t Have a Magical GPS, He’s Probably Using MapQuest
- Everyone Uses E-mail, But Less and Less People Blog [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Facebook on Track for $2B Revenue in 2010 [REPORT]
- Say Hello to the New Flipboard [PICS]
- Career Services Startup RiseSmart Announces $3M in Funding
- New Event Ticketing Site Applies Priceline Model to Buying Tickets [INVITES]
- Google Fiber Coming to One Lucky Community in 2011
- Eclectic Method Mashes Up the Mashable Awards [VIDEO]
- YouTube Transforms Its Homepage into a Giant Newsfeed [PICS]
- Facebook Brings Facial Recognition to Photo Tagging
- Social Media Job Openings at Mashable and Other Great Companies
- Gaming Is the Top Segment for Electronic Holiday Gifts [REPORT]
- Yahoos: Mashable is Hiring a VP Product
- P&G Scientists Offer a Holiday Rap for Bounty
- Play Virtual Eggnog Pong With a Web Cam and a Robot
- YouTube Looks to Become Its Own Video Production Company [RUMOR]
- Announcing Mashable SXSWi House 2011
- Twitter Raises $200 Million in New Funding
- Clicker Gets Personalized Recommendations and Facebook Integration
- HOW TO: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
- Why Your Smartphone Will Replace Your Wallet
- ooVoo Releases Android App for Six-Way Video Chat
- Pepsi Refresh Project Netted 61 Million Votes
- Bing Takes a Page from Google’s Playbook With Revamped Image Search
- Bit.ly Makes Bundled Links Easier for Groups to Edit and Share
- Bing Has 90 Million Users, 48% Growth Since Launch
- Win a Holiday MashPack With myTouch 4G & 21 Awesome Tech Prizes [GIVEAWAY]
- Zipcar Raises $21 Million to Finance Expansion
- Innovative Advertising Firm Tops Technology 500 List [SPONSORED]
| LG Launches Optimus 2X, World’s First Dual-Core Smartphone Posted: 16 Dec 2010 04:27 AM PST      Dual-core smartphones have been touted as the future of the smartphone industry for years now, and now we finally get to taste that future with LG’s Optimus 2X. The world’s first smartphone with a dual-core procesor – a 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 – also features a 4-inch WVGA screen, 8 GB of memory (expandable up to 32 GB via microSD memory cards), a 1,500 mAh battery, a 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p recording capabilities and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video calls. It also has an accelerometer, a gyro sensor, and a micro-USB port. It supports HDMI mirroring, which lets you expand content on external displays to full HD quality. The phone can connect wirelessly to DLNA-compatible devices, such as home network devices and HD TV sets. LG Optimus 2X will initially ship with Android 2.2, but will later be upgraded to the latest version of the OS, Android 2.3. The device will first be available in Korea next month, followed by a later launch in more countries in Europe and Asia. More About: dual-core, LG, Mobile 2.0, Optimus 2X, smartphone For more Mobile coverage:
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| If Santa Doesn’t Have a Magical GPS, He’s Probably Using MapQuest Posted: 16 Dec 2010 03:39 AM PST   Say you’re a jolly fat man in a red and white coat and you want to deliver millions of toys to children on a list the size of a small city. Your GPS is broken and you’re on a tight deadline. How do you know where to tell your reindeer to guide your magical sleigh? The answer: you pull up MapQuest on your laptop, of course. Why MapQuest instead of Google Maps, you might ask? Well it’s because the AOL-owned mapping and directions tool has added a new language called “Santa Speak,” which helps you navigate your merry sleigh through traffic. Of course, one has to wonder why Santa’s worried about traffic. Don’t his reindeer know how to fly? And doesn’t Santa have some magical powers that help him miraculously avoid cars, airplanes and migrating birds? The new “feature” is actually an easter egg the site started rolling out sometime this morning. By clicking on the flag at the top of the page and choosing “Santa Speak,” you too can pretend your car is delivering presents to all of the good little girls and boys. We have to admit, we were pretty amused by MapQuest’s holiday cheer. As far as we know though, we’re not going to be called into toy delivery duty anytime soon. That’s why we’re going to be tracking Santa with Google Maps over hot cocoa instead.   Image courtesy of Flickr, Stephanie Wallace Photography More About: aol, Christmas, MapQuest, Santa, santa claus For more Social Media coverage:
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| Everyone Uses E-mail, But Less and Less People Blog [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 16 Dec 2010 01:49 AM PST   Pew Internet has updated its data on how different generations are using the Internet for 2010, and the results clearly show that the older generations are catching up with younger internet users, even surpassing them in some online activities. The Milliennials – those aged 18-33 – are more likely to engage in many online activities than older generations, namely social networking, using online classifieds, instant messaging, playing online games, listening to music, participating in virtual worlds and reading blogs. Users aged 34-45 or the Gen X and, however, are more likely than Millennials to visit government websites or get their financial information online. Compared to last year’s report, most of the activities Pew Internet has covered in its report have increased in popularity in all age groups, especially social networking, which is hardly surprising given Facebook’s stellar growth to 500 million users and beyond. Interestingly enough, blogging is not one of them, as only half as many online teens blog compared to 2006, while users aged 18-33 also blog less than before. Overall, virtual worlds and blogging aren’t very popular in any age group, which probably indicates that tools such as Facebook and Twitter – which also enables users to express themselves online – have substituted blogging for many users. E-mail, on the other hand, has become nearly ubiquitous, even among adults aged 74 or over. To get the results, Pew Internet surveyed a sample of 2,252 adults, aged 18 and older between April 29 and May 30, 2010, while the data for teens aged 12-to-17 dates back to a survey of 800 teens, conducted June through September 2009. Check out the infographic from the report below, and read the full report here.  Images courtesy of biscotte, Flickr, Pew Internet More About: generations, internet, Internet usage, online, Pew Internet For more Social Media coverage:
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| Facebook on Track for $2B Revenue in 2010 [REPORT] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:07 PM PST   Forget the $1 billion figure thrown around earlier this year; sources close to Facebook financials say the social network is closer to reporting revenues of $2 billion for 2010. If these reports are accurate, Facebook’s annual revenue would have more than doubled since last year, when the company made around $800 million. While astronomical compared to most startups’ revenues, these figures are hardly a surprise to anyone familiar with Facebook’s advertising and virtual currency advances over the past 12 months. The company now competes with Google for online ad dollars from major brands as well as small businesses who need targeted marketing with high ROI. In fact, Facebook serves around 50 billion display ads per month and is on track to serve 1 trillion display ads for all of 2010. And when it comes to revenue from virtual currency — revenue that comes, in a roundabout way, directly from Facebook users themselves — Facebook is seeing more cash all the time. The blockbuster success of casual games from studios such as Zynga add up to more coin in Facebook’s coffers when users pay with Facebook Credits; for every dollar the user spends on Facebook Credits, the social network gets 30 cents. Virtual currencies aside, the lion’s share of Facebook’s revenue still comes from advertising and marketing — a game that Facebook is really just beginning to play well. Right now, Google and Facebook are both ramping up for an epic battle for location-based ad dollars, especially where small and medium-sized businesses are concerned. How Facebook performs in 2011 may have a lot to do with how it competes in offering a compelling and effective location-based marketing platform for businesses of all sizes. Reviews: Facebook, Google More About: facebook, facebook credits, Revenue For more Business coverage:
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| Say Hello to the New Flipboard [PICS] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 09:01 PM PST   Flipboard, which Apple recently named the iPad app of the year, has released a new edition of its popular social news reader for the tablet device. Now users can now browse photos from their Flickr streams and stories from Google Reader as well as items shared by Facebook and Twitter friends, all in Flipboard’s [iTunes link] signature magazine-style format. In addition, users can also now post Facebook status updates, tweets and photos from anywhere within the app, and they can easily share favorite content across networks (e.g., share a favorite tweet to Facebook and vice versa). It’s also easier to navigate between and zoom in on items shared across these networks. App users can sort through content by looking at shared and starred posts as well as individual folders (though not unread items, unfortunately) on Google Reader as well as favorites, groups and other feeds in Flickr. I love how the looks from fashion bloggers I have favorited on Flickr automatically assemble into inspiration boards in the app. Users also have more options for sifting through Facebook content. Instead of seeing only the entire Facebook news feed, users can opt only to see their friends’ photos or receive news just from their groups, friend lists or Pages they like. But Flipboard isn’t just about sorting through the content users currently consume on their desktops and mobile devices; it’s also designed to help them discover great new sources of information. Flipboard has dozens upon dozens of curated news and photo feeds, and makes it easy to add new ones to users’ existing repertoire or to the table of contents for quick front-page access. The goal, co-founder Evan Doll says, is to make Flipboard “the one place you can go to get your social content fix altogether.” While it’s not quite there yet, the latest version of Flipboard has certainly eliminated my need to have a separate app for perusing my Google Reader feed. And with more partnerships with magazines and other publications, it could conceivably eliminate my need to have separate app for those publishers as well. Do you use Flipboard? What other apps do you use to read news on the iPad? Screenshot Gallery    Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Google Reader, Twitter, pages More About: facebook, flickr, Flipboard, google reader, ipad, ipad app, media, twitter For more Tech coverage:
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| Career Services Startup RiseSmart Announces $3M in Funding Posted: 15 Dec 2010 07:58 PM PST   RiseSmart, a Silicon Valley-based startup we’ve had our eye on for a couple years, has just announced a new round of funding: $3 million in equity financing for the expansion of its services into new geographic areas and the ongoing development of its technology. Two years and a week ago, we discovered RiseSmart, a concierge-like service for executive job search that cost its members $43.95 per month. The latter product, called SmartRedeploy, is a solution for efficient layoffs; we think of it as charamelody. Reviews: Flickr More About: funding, norwest, RiseSmart, startup, storm ventures For more Business coverage:
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| New Event Ticketing Site Applies Priceline Model to Buying Tickets [INVITES] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 07:21 PM PST   New event ticketing site ScoreBig is launching out of private beta today to offer members a Priceline approach for buying tickets. The members-only site lets users bid on sporting, music and theater tickets for the opportunity to save up to 70% off retail prices. At launch, ScoreBig’s ticket inventory includes more than 600,000 tickets available in markets across the country, though major metropolitan hubs such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are likely to have the highest concentration of tickets. Users can search or browse for tickets, select an event and then name their own price for a general seat area, with regions highlighted based on one to five star ratings. Bids are processed in real time, and ticket purchases are fee-free and include free delivery. ScoreBig does work to help guide the user’s expectations around what offers may or may not be accepted. Events are marked with red, orange and yellow tags to denote what percentage other users are saving. Plus, should a user place an extremely low bid, the site will show a low bid alert and allow the user to adjust the price. Once a bid is placed, accepted bids are immediately billed to the user’s credit card, while rejected bids present the user with alternative “buy it now” offers. The startup works with venues, sports teams, promoters, artists, entertainment properties and others to come by its unsold seat inventory and shares a percentage of its revenue on tickets sold with partners. The idea behind ScoreBig is rather obvious, explains CEO and founder Adam Kanner, who says that industry folks wrestle with unsold inventory that exceeds hundreds of millions of tickets each year. ScoreBig is an idea whose time has come. There’s yet to be a value market in the ticketing business, whereas the travel and apparel industries have their own liquidation or aggregation outlets, says Kanner. Kanner, as a former VP for the NBA, speaks from industry experience and has surrounded himself with a team of veteran industry professionals also familiar with live ticketing sales. ScoreBig has already already scored big with angel investors and venture capitalists, raising $2.5 million in a seed round and $6 million in a Series A led by Bain Capital Ventures for a total of $8.5 million raised pre-launch. ScoreBig plans to maintain its members-only status for the foreseeable future, but 200 Mashable readers can get insider access by signing up here.  Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sjlocke Reviews: Mashable, iStockphoto More About: event tickets, scorebig, startup, ticketing For more Startups coverage:
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| Google Fiber Coming to One Lucky Community in 2011 Posted: 15 Dec 2010 05:59 PM PST   Google’s ambitious high-speed Internet project, Fiber, will be coming to one of more than 1,100 applying communities sometime in early 2011. The company was to announce the lucky community by the end of this year; however, the demand to be part of the Fiber project was so great that plans have been slightly postponed. Fiber was announced back in February. The project had the search giant venturing into ISP terrirory by delivering broadband to between 50,000 and 500,000 users — and broadband such as the world has not yet seen, reportedly around 100 times faster than typical Internet access. The goal was to create an at-scale testing ground for better, faster web apps. And unintended consequence was the rush of pitches from communities around the United States. One city even changed its name to Google to better its chances of getting Fiber. By March, more than 600 communities had applied. Now, with almost double that number of applying communities, Google is finding it needs a bit more time to choose the right environment for Google Fiber. The application process is closed, but the selection process is being extended into the beginning of next year. Here’s a map of communities that have applied. The small beige dots represent governments that have applied, and the large brown dots represent communities where more than 1,000 residents have applied.  Google Fiber has already been implemented in around 850 homes of staff and faculty at Stanford University. Google says this trial is showing broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second. Reviews: Google, Internet More About: broadband, fiber, Google, google fiber, internet, ISP For more Tech coverage:
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| Eclectic Method Mashes Up the Mashable Awards [VIDEO] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 05:01 PM PST We’re excited to share with you this video preview of what attendees of the Mashable Awards can expect. Remix masters Eclectic Method will be VJing and DJing the Mashable Awards Gala on January 6, 2011 in Las Vegas, alongside comedian Baratunde Thurston who will be hosting the awards show. In anticipation, Eclectic Method has put together this mashup video that includes all things Vegas and Mashable — double rainbows, Angry Birds, showgirls and Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore. Watch for more appearances by Thurston as we near the big event. The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands, and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances. Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)  Thanks to Our SponsorsMashable Awards Gala Partner:
Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to nearly 100 million spectators in 300 cities on five continents. In 2010 Cirque du Soleil, will present 21 shows simultaneously throughout the world, including seven in Las Vegas. For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com. Mashable Awards Online Partner:
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Influxis specializes in the deployment of creative streaming solutions. Services include large scale deployment, mobile streaming, turn-key applications, and enterprise support with custom network options. With the unique combination of a worldwide network, knowledgeable developer support and nearly a decade of streaming media experience, Influxis is an essential partner to businesses, advertisers, developers, educators, and others who seek expertise in innovative streaming. Reviews: Angry Birds, Facebook, Foursquare, Internet, Mashable, Twitter, awards More About: Baratunde Thurston, eclectic method, mashable awards, video For more Social Media coverage:
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| YouTube Transforms Its Homepage into a Giant Newsfeed [PICS] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 03:49 PM PST   YouTube has unveiled a new version of its homepage with the singular goal of turning it into a destination rather than an afterthought. YouTube has been quietly testing a new version of the homepage for over a month now, but starting today, the video website is letting all of its users opt into the new homepage. At first glance, it doesn’t look all that different — there aren’t any radical changes to the design. However, there have been several changes to the user interface that YouTube hopes will draw visitors to the homepage more regularly. The biggest difference is the “combined list,” which is essentially a newsfeed combining your subscription, friend activity and recommendations. The company put all of these elements together because it wanted to make the experience simple and seamless, unlike the previous version, which is filled with recommendation boxes and pushes the newsfeed below the fold. Personalization was also a focus of the homepage redesign. Videos can be deleted from your homepage, and videos you’ve already watched will be grayed out so you know what you still have left to watch. The new homepage also loads more video content, resurfaces your most recent liked and favorited videos and places links to your inbox and video comments more prominently. We’ve included a screenshot of the new YouTube homepage and the old one below. Let us know what you think of the redesign in the comments. New YouTube Homepage Classic YouTube Homepage Reviews: YouTube More About: Google, youtube, YouTube Homepage For more Web Video coverage:
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| Facebook Brings Facial Recognition to Photo Tagging Posted: 15 Dec 2010 03:45 PM PST   Facebook Photos, one of the social network’s most popular features, is getting a big and potentially controversial upgrade with a new feature that automatically suggests who users should tag in photos based on facial recognition technology. The new feature, Tag Suggestions, will begin rolling out to U.S. users next week, according to Facebook Vice President of Product Chris Cox. He told us that the product utilizes technology that was built in-house, as well as some technology that came from partners. Cox did not disclose the partners Facebook worked with for Tag Suggestions, although we have our suspicions. Tag Suggestions is fairly straightforward. Whenever you’re offered the chance to tag groups of your friends in an album, Facebook will utilize its facial recognition technology to group similar faces together and automatically suggest the friend you should tag them with. As you can see in the screenshot below, Facebook fills in the “Who is this?” box with its suggestion — all you have to do is click the “Save Tags” button to accept.  Cox says that suggestions will only appear when its algorithms have “high confidence” of who’s being suggested. Unlike Face.com, Facebook doesn’t reveal its certainty level and wouldn’t reveal what percentage actually correlates to “high confidence.” The social giant is also preemptively addressing the potential privacy issues that will be brought up from automatic, algorithmic tagging. Users can opt out of Tag Suggestions by going to their privacy settings and disabling the “Suggest photos of me to friends” feature. This release is part of a bigger effort to upgrade Photos. Earlier this year, Facebook launched a slew of upgrades, including bigger thumbnails, group tagging and drag-and-drop photos. This may be the biggest upgrade for Photos yet, though. Photo tagging is considered a chore by many users, yet it is the company’s most popular product. “Photos are by far the most engaging content Facebook has ever had,” Cox told us earlier today. By vastly simplifying the tagging process, Facebook expects that its millions of users will tag more photos, which will create millions of new engagement points and social connections, making it that much more addicting. Reviews: Facebook More About: facebook, photo tagging, trending For more Social Media coverage:
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| Social Media Job Openings at Mashable and Other Great Companies Posted: 15 Dec 2010 03:27 PM PST
If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter. But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable's job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards: Mashable Job PostingsEvents Manager at Mashable in New York, NY. Ad Ops Manager at Mashable in New York, NY. VP of Sales at Mashable in New York, NY. Events Content Coordinator at Mashable in New York, NY. Ruby on Rails Developer at Mashable in San Francisco, CA. Mashable Job Board ListingsTalent Lead at Hulu in Los Angeles, CA. Web Optimization Analyst at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Inside Sales at The Search Monitor in Orlando, FL. Business Development Manager at The Search Monitor in Orlando, FL. Vice President of Platform Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Digital Product Manager at New York Media in New York, NY. Digital Publicist/PR Manager at UrbanDaddy in New York, NY. Partner Program Engineer at Metaswitch Networks in Alameda, CA. Internet Business Specialist at Murphy Oil USA, Inc. in El Dorado, AR. User Experience Architect/Designer at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD. Junior Software Engineer at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD. Rails Developer at LifeKraze in Chattanooga, TN. Senior Manager, Interactive Development at American Express in New York, NY. Director of Human Resources at WorldNow in New York, NY. Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com in Chicago, IL. Community Manager at Newark in Chicago, IL. Social Media Manager at Brigade Marketing in New York, NY. Manager, Technical Architect at Organic, Inc. in New York, NY. Creative Director at AdGenesis LLC in New York, NY. Web Producer at Interactive Partners in New York, NY. Manager, Systems of Engagement Development at AIIM International in London, UK. Manager, Online Customer Acquisition at Art+Culture Editions in New York, NY. Senior Product Manager, New Programs, Pogo at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, CA. Innovations Manager at Initiative in New York, NY. Project Manager at OMD Ignition Factory in New York, NY. Software Engineer at S7 Labs in New York. VP/Dir, Search Marketing at Digitas in Chicago, IL. Intermediate Social Media Marketing Specialist at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA. Public Relations Manager at Return Path in New York, NY. Technology Researcher, Integrated Digital Experiences at Accenture Technology Labs in San Jose, CA. Digital Art Director at The Integer Group in Des Moines, IA. Social Media, Online Community, & UnMarketing Czar at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA. Android Developer at Handmark in Texas. Director of Social Media Strategy at Likeable Media in Boston, MA. Manager, Network Operations at ReachLocal in Los Angeles, CA. Communications/Connections Specialist at It Works Global in Bradenton, FL. Training Producer at Lynda.com in Carpinteria, CA. Senior Analyst, Media Operations & Technology at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA. Sr. Content Product Manager – Rich Media at Lynda.com in Carpinteria, CA. Client Loyalty Team Member at Buddy Media in New York, NY. CSS Producer at Buddy Media in New York, NY. Senior Web Designer at Constant Contact in San Francisco, CA. Director, Marketing Operations at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA. Sr. Software Engineer at BlueCava in Irvine, CA. Website Designer at Easton-Bell Sports in Van Nuys, CA. Account Manager at Sharethrough, Inc. in San Francisco, CA. Social Media Sales Consultant at Meltwater Group, Inc. in Chicago, IL. Senior Solutions Developer at Organic, Inc. in New York, NY. Web Architect at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. New Media Strategist at Masterworks in Poulsbo, WA. Engineering Manager at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA. Director of Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Java Developer at Gifts.com in West Hollywood, CA. E-commerce Merchandiser at World Vision in Federal Way, WA. Sr. Interactive Producer at 72andSunny in Los Angeles, CA. Sr. Associate, Regulatory Review at Digitas Health in New York, NY. Marketing and Business Development Manager/Director at SheFinds Media in New York, NY. Director of Technical Operations at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Front End UI/Graphic Designer at Smarter Social Media in Santa Monica, CA. Product Manager, Digital Advertising at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Product Manager, Demand Studios at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Mashable’s Job Board has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at here.
Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace). Image courtesy of iStockphoto, YinYang Reviews: Hulu, Mashable, iStockphoto
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| Gaming Is the Top Segment for Electronic Holiday Gifts [REPORT] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 02:23 PM PST Consumers this holiday season are seeking video game consoles, smartphones and cameras — but on the cheap, if possible, according to the Giftmeister 2010 Holiday Gifting Trend Report. The findings, based on the purchases of 20,000 Giftmeister customers from the past 30 days, show video games/video game consoles are the number-one category shoppers are seeking this year. But among women, cameras topped the list.   Such shoppers are likely to have a “techno geek” on their list as well. Some 22% of consumer electronics gifts for males are for the techno geek in their lives, while a “music lover” or “gaming geek” each garnered 11%.
E-readers are also big, according to the report — particularly Amazon’s Kindle, which beat out Apple’s iPad in that segment. “E-readers and tablets are hot, hot and hot,” says Uzair Dada, the CEO of Iron Horse Interactive, Giftmeister’s parent company. Giftmeister, the personal consumer electronics shopping service, didn’t exist one year ago, so it can’t provide comparisons to last year, but Dada did say with confidence that e-readers and tablets are more popular than they were during last year’s holiday season, because, for the most part, those products didn’t exist one year ago either. Despite the popularity of consumer electronics, however, many are — not surprisingly — taking a frugal approach this year. Sixty-one percent of respondents are budgeting less than $100 for a gift. Only 6% plan to spend in excess of $500. The most popular gift in the $200-plus range is a laptop, which 18.5% of consumers planning to spend in that range are considering.
One not-so-surprising finding: Only 27% of consumers reported that they were shopping for a woman’s electronics gift while 73% were buying something for the man in their life. “It [Giftmeister] is gadgety — is geeky — so it is kind of the stereotypical male,” Dada said.  Graphics courtesy of the Giftmeister More About: consumer electronics, e-readers, game consoles, Giftmeister, holiday shopping, video games For more Business coverage:
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| Yahoos: Mashable is Hiring a VP Product Posted: 15 Dec 2010 02:03 PM PST   Yahoo’s job cuts this week are somewhat of an aberration: While Yahoo appears to be shedding product people, the vast majority of Valley companies are actively hiring product talent. Mashable is among those companies, and for those Yahoos interested in building innovative applications with small teams of developers, we’ve got a job for you. Mashable is currently hiring for a VP Product to manage our development efforts. We’re looking for someone with a technical background, four or more years product management experience and a “ship fast, ship often” mentality. The full listing and information on how to apply is on our job board. Reviews: Mashable More About: Layouts, product manager, vp product, Yahoo For more Social Media coverage:
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| P&G Scientists Offer a Holiday Rap for Bounty Posted: 15 Dec 2010 01:48 PM PST Challenging Procter & Gamble’s staid public image, the company’s Bounty brand is getting jiggy this holiday season. In a sequel of sorts, Bounty’s Paper Towel Gang yesterday released a catchy viral video showing the brand’s scientists demonstrating the product’s strength vs. an unnamed competitor. Though Bounty is able to absorb three gallons of water while holding pool balls, the rival cannot, leading the rapping, auto-tuned scientist to declare, “Bounty holds those pool balls like Atlas holds the world.” Bounty’s crew first made the rounds in March when the scientists did a similar trick with 11 pool balls and a fishbowl. In a holiday twist, this time the duo is summoned to a snow globe factory that ran out of paper towels. Still not convinced? Well, did you know that you can use Bounty paper towels to make a straight jacket or a sumo wrestler’s outfit? More About: advertising, MARKETING, P&G, viral videos For more Business coverage:
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| Play Virtual Eggnog Pong With a Web Cam and a Robot Posted: 15 Dec 2010 01:06 PM PST   There’s nothing like pairing nostalgia for the good ‘ol days of college beer pong with holiday cheer. Which is exactly what ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi LA and digital shop Deeplocal have set out to do by hosting four days of virtual eggnog pong, a.k.a. Nog Pong, to prove their ability to put together a dynamic social media campaign. Interested parties can head over to NogPong.com and enter a queue to play a game of Nog Pong with an assemblage of Saatchi & Saatchi employees between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. PT, who will appear on webcam decked in festive holiday gear. The employees will use their arms to throw Ping Pong balls across a table at a formation of cups filled with eggnog, while visitors on the other end (a.k.a. you) will make similar shots using a robot (the “Nogbot”) to take aim and fire. To create the Nogbot, a team of Deeplocal employees reverse engineered a ping-pong practice machine and replaced its interior with their own wiring and microcontroller to control its movements. They then devised a web-based API to communicate with the robot, allowing users to aim and shoot balls at different speeds and directions from their computers. I tried to get into the game yesterday and found myself number 722 in the queue — no game. Those who are similarly impatient can still participate, however, by chatting (or, you know, trash-talking) players from Saatchi by tweeting to @NogPong. For each shot made, a donation (amount not disclosed) will be split between The Amanda Foundation, Free Arts for Abused Children and New Directions. Thus far, the promotion has attracted approximately 6,000 unique visitors and 800 Facebook Likes. In addition, 35 Saatchi employees have collectively consumed one gallon of nog, one gallon of rum chata, six cases of beer and one half-gallon of whiskey. The games will run until December 17. More About: eggnog pong, MARKETING, saatchi & saatchi la For more Entertainment coverage:
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| YouTube Looks to Become Its Own Video Production Company [RUMOR] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 01:01 PM PST   Less than two weeks after Google acquired on-demand video service Widevine, the search giant’s video property is said to be exploring a premium content acquisition of its own. YouTube is in talks to buy Next New Networks for an undisclosed sum, according to the New York Times. The New York-based company is the independent online video producer behind more than 25 branded networks and popular Internet programming, distributed through YouTube, that regularly appears in our most watched video series. In 2010, Next New Networks produced two of YouTube’s most watched videos of the year. The $26 million venture-backed startup is also celebrating more than 1.2 billion video views across its network properties for the year. The reported acquisition would align nicely with the previous Widevine purchase and would help Google’s YouTube get into the video content production business. YouTube, then, would double as a destination site for its own premium content, material that it could monetize against better than the standard user-generated fare. Image courtesy of Flickr, Laughing Squid Reviews: Flickr, Internet, YouTube More About: Google, Next New Networks, Widevine, youtube For more Business coverage:
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| Announcing Mashable SXSWi House 2011 Posted: 15 Dec 2010 12:53 PM PST   The Mashable SXSWi House 2011 will break the mold of the traditional SXSWi events schedule. Working with SXSWi and our partner sponsors, we will create a two-day platform that will include private events, VIP networking hours and large open parties. From Sunday, March 13 to Monday, March 14, Mashable will be hosting a combination of private events, open houses, meet-and-greet opportunities and, of course, two nights of parties. Sunday night will be the return of MashBash SXSWi. (In case you missed last year’s MashBash SXSWi, here’s a recap.) And Monday night will be a brand new Mashable event; details to come soon. The events are open to all 21+ SXSWi badge holders; see below for details on how to RSVP. Sponsorship opportunities are available via sponsorships@mashable.com. In addition to the events, the Mashable editorial team will be in Austin in full force. Last year's coverage included the "SXSWi 2010: The Complete Social Media Guide" and live updates and analysis on our dedicated SXSWi channel. Key DetailsDates: Sunday, March 13, 2011 – Monday, March 14, 2011 Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Mashable More About: mashable, mashbash sxswi, sxswi For more Social Media coverage:
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| Twitter Raises $200 Million in New Funding Posted: 15 Dec 2010 12:37 PM PST   Twitter has closed its latest round of funding, securing a reported $200 million at a whopping $3.7 billion valuation. According to All Things Digital, the lead investor in the round is Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). Twitter confirmed a “significant new round of funding” on its blog. With the funding, Twitter has now raised an estimated $360 million. The company’s last major round came in September 2009, when it closed $100 million in funding at a valuation of around $1 billion. At that time, Twitter was a quickly growing social networking site without much of a business model to speak of. Since then, the company has introduced a variety of revenue streams, most prominently its Promoted Tweets and Trends products, which appear to be on their way to wider rollout in the new year. The company has also seen some significant personnel changes, with former COO Dick Costolo replacing Evan Williams as CEO back in October. Around that time, Twitter reported that it had 300 employees in total. Although one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms, the deal represents the first investment KPCB has made in Twitter. KPCB is also one of the lead investors in the Facebook-led sFund and previously launched the iFund for investing in iOS apps. According to All Things Digital, KPCB beat out DST Global to get the Twitter deal. DST, you may recall, has recently been the lead investor in massive funding rounds for the likes of Facebook and Zynga. Reviews: Facebook, Twitter More About: funding, social media, twitter, venture capital For more Business coverage:
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| Clicker Gets Personalized Recommendations and Facebook Integration Posted: 15 Dec 2010 12:34 PM PST   Clicker, a website that bills itself as a TV guide for Internet content, has just launched a revamped homepage, complete with full Facebook support, personalized programming guides and uncannily accurate programming recommendations. When Clicker launched last year, we were really impressed with its ability to aggregate video content from across the web. The company has expanded its offerings to include apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android, Boxee, Google TV and the web. The net result is that Clicker is one of the most comprehensive ways to find out what content is viewable online and where. Today, Clicker is flipping the switch. Instead of simply just showing you what you can watch, the service will now also let you know what you should watch. Clicker calls this the “What’s on for You” feed and it’s what you now see on the Clicker homepage. The page is completely personalized and it sucks in content from the new Clicker Predict, displays what shows are trending amongst your friends on Facebook, what shows are popular with other Clicker users, Clicker staff picks and new additions to your queue.  This streamlines the discovery process. You can still search for specific shows or access your Clicker queue, but the new page does a much better job of highlighting new and recommended content. Clicker Predict: TiVo Suggestions on SteroidsClicker Predict is Clicker’s new prediction and recommendation algorithm. The Clicker team has been hard at work on this feature for nearly a year, and the results are pretty spectacular. Using more than 50 implicit and explicit signals from your own behaviors, the behaviors of your friends and the behaviors of people who share your viewing styles, Clicker can offer up programming recommendations that are almost uncanny.  I liken the experience to TiVo suggestions — which I still think is one of the best suggestion engines around. However, because Clicker Predict is also plugged into the viewing suggestions and habits of your friends, it has a lot more granularity. Clicker has a little Predict icon that will show you why a certain program was recommended to you when you hover over it. For instance, Clicker tells me it thinks I’ll like 30 Rock (a show, incidentally, that I love) because I “like Sitcoms, Romantic Comedy and Parody & Spoof shows” and my interest in themes like “witty remarks, sarcastic characters and quirky characters.” It will also show me what friends like the show and what other shows I might also like. I was a bit freaked out in the demo yesterday when one of my predictions was Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre — based on my likes of Jim Henson’s Storytellers and other Muppet shows. As a little girl, I adored Faerie Tale Theatre. Full Facebook IntegrationLots of services are integrating with Facebook. Other recommendation and content services aimed at media — like Miso, PHILO and GetGlue — all let you “check in” to content and let you get recommendations from friends or from other members of the service. What makes the Clicker approach different is that Facebook isn’t a one-way interaction; it’s push and pull. That means that when you like something on the web or you like a Page for a topic, that all influences the recommendations and suggestions for Clicker Predict. It also means that the trending topics amongst your friends and friend recommendations come from their likes and their interactions with Facebook. This is pretty powerful because it doesn’t make it necessary for all of your friends to sign up with a Clicker account. It also gives Clicker Predict a better baseline of what to predict because it can use not only what you watch online, but also what you like. Future of TV?Clicker is an interesting service because it isn’t providing the content, it’s just surfacing what’s available, making it easy to access and now bringing in recommendations and more social features. More and more content is accessible online, but it’s navigating that content that has become difficult. I can very easily envision a future where Clicker — or something like it — replaces the on-screen TV guide on my television set. Reviews: Android, Boxee, Clicker, Facebook, iPhone More About: clicker, facebook, hulu, iptv, netflix, online content, tv guide For more Tech coverage:
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| HOW TO: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile Posted: 15 Dec 2010 12:34 PM PST The Better Profiles Series is supported by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com.   With more than 85 million members in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is a professional social network worth using, understanding and optimizing. After you’ve covered the basics of setting up your LinkedIn presence, features including recommendations, applications, LinkedIn Answers, and the Resume Builder can add value to your profile. Many of these highly useful features, though, are often overlooked or underused by newcomers. We spoke with four LinkedIn aficionados to get their top advice on making the best use of these tools. Read on for their thoughts and let us know which tips you’d add for optimizing LinkedIn profiles in the comments below. Cover the Basics The first step to spiffing up your LinkedIn profile is to fill in as much information about your work experience as possible. It’s your online resume; pay as much attention to it as you would your cover letter or paper resume. Sharlyn Lauby, president of Internal Talent Management, HR blogger and guest contributor for Mashable, believes that a person’s LinkedIn profile should, at minimum, reflect his or her current situation. That includes an up-to-date headline along with information about his or her most recent position. A recent photo and contact information are also musts. If you’ve covered those bases, our experts recommend focusing on making connections, joining groups, getting recommendations and posting status updates. Once again, the focus should be on quality additions in each of these areas. “[A status update] is a great place to share an article of interest or something new you've been working on. People do comment on status updates, so it's a nice way to start a conversation,” says Lauby. If all else fails, just follow LinkedIn’s built-in status bar for recommendations on how to complete your profile. When you hit the 100% mark, though, don’t think you’re finished; there’s plenty more to be done. Ask for Meaningful Recommendations Astute recruiters aren’t going to take your word for granted when you describe your top-notch abilities. Instead, just as in offline recruiting, they will want to hear from those who have worked with you and have a grasp on your working style, personality and skills. That’s where recommendations come in. Lauby notes that gathering recommendations is all about quality over quantity. “If someone has dozens of recommendations that are generic in nature, it's not as valuable as a handful that are specific about a person's experience and contribution.” Focus on asking for meaningful recommendations from your supervisors and colleagues who work closest to you. Before sending out a request on LinkedIn, approach each contact in person to explain the importance of his or her recommendation. Adding a personal touch to your request will probably result in a better response rate, as impersonal, default requests can sometimes fall on deaf ears. Be sure to thank each of your colleagues who recommend you on LinkedIn, and consider returning the favor with a follow-up recommendation. Use Value-Added Applications One of the hidden jewels on LinkedIn is its ability to incorporate applications. Check out its Application Directory for a taste of apps that can spice up your profile. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
These apps give visitors to your profile a better idea of who you are as a person and job candidate. Lauby also recommends checking out the Events app, which enables you to discover professional events and indicate which ones you’re attending, giving you more opportunities to connect with fellow attendees. Become an Expert With LinkedIn Answers LinkedIn Answers is a Q&A platform that enables members to demonstrate their business acumen by answering questions from other members. When questioners choose another user’s answer as best, that user gains points of expertise. These points rank members on the Answers leaderboard, called “This Week’s Top Experts.” We asked three of this week’s top experts about their best practices on using the product. Each of these experts spend a few hours per day answering up to 50 questions daily, which is the maximum for 24 hours. Cristina Falcão, lawyer and pharmaceutical manager at Farmácia F. in Portugal, says that the biggest reason for using Answers is networking. “‘Expertise’ [points] is given by the person who asks and categorizes a question. Networking is about meeting people, sharing knowledge, and helping each other,” she said. “I enjoy learning from other professionals and the input from other users’ real life experiences is priceless.” For Falcão, Answers is a platform for demonstrating expertise, as well as a platform for getting answers to her own pressing questions. “I consider it my daily marketing investment,” said Christine Hueber, a social media and search marketing strategist, referring to her activity on LinkedIn Answers. She said she usually answers questions until she reaches the daily maximum. Her dedication has paid off thus far, as she now sources most of her clients from LinkedIn. She explained:
Hueber isn’t alone in having benefited from being an active Answers user. Dinesh Rãmkrishna, NeST technologies business development manager, agreed that his input has been rewarded in the form of “connections, friends, well wishers, business queries and job offers.” All three experts recommend answering questions in areas that you are well-experienced in — they also get lots of great feedback for answering questions about how to use LinkedIn, in general. Use LinkedIn’s Resume Builder Tool Remember when crafting the perfect resume entailed sitting at your computer for hours, using the perfect action verbs and nitpicking the formatting? Sadly, much of that process has remained unchanged for decades, but formatting is getting a bit easier, with tools like LinkedIn’s Resume Builder. The tool enables LinkedIn users to craft resumes by simply choosing a template and customizing the content. Lauby commented on Resume Builder’s usability:
If updating your resume in Microsoft Word, again and again, is one of the monotonous tasks you’d like to shake, check out Resume Builder the next time an update is needed. These recommendations will help LinkedIn users utilize their profiles as much as possible. Which tips would you add? Let us know in the comments. Series Supported by Gillette The Better Profile Series is supported by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com. More Tech Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of Flickr, Lars Plougmann & tychay Reviews: Flickr, LinkedIn, Mashable, TripIt, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube More About: better profile series, business, how to, linkedin, LinkedIn Answers, resumes, social media, social networking For more Business coverage:
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| Why Your Smartphone Will Replace Your Wallet Posted: 15 Dec 2010 12:01 PM PST   The day when near field communication (NFC) will help replace plastic credit cards, coupons and loyalty program cards with a wave of a phone at a payment terminal has been long anticipated. Wireless NFC technology enables devices, including mobile phones and payment terminals, to communicate with one another or read special tags. Its short-range signal, convenience and built-in security make NFC an apt choice for mobile payments. Its efficacy persuaded companies like MasterCard, American Express, and Visa to join the NFC Forum in 2004 shortly after it was founded to advance the use of the technology. Today, the possibility that this technology could replace a wallet full of plastic seems not only likely, but imminent. Samsung’s Nexus S, the first NFC-enabled Android phone, will be on sale at Best Buy starting December 16; Nokia has announced that all of its Smartphones starting in 2011 will support NFC; and Apple recently hired an NFC expert. Jeff Miles, the director of mobile transactions worldwide at NXP Semiconductors, which co-invented NFC with Sony in 2002, says he expects more than 70 million NFC-capable handsets to be manufactured in 2011. "As far as what will happen with it, who owns the keys and all of that, none of that has really been determined,” Miles says. Players in multiple industries have made strides toward putting virtual wallets on consumers’ mobile phones. Here’s how some of them have been approaching the opportunity to transform the way we make purchases. Credit Card Companies Contactless payment terminals for MasterCard's PayPass, American Express’s ExpressPay and Visa's payWave could also be used to accept the tap of an NFC-enabled phone for payment. In essence, the terminals, which are installed in all U.S. McDonald’s, CVS Pharmacies, Home Depots and other merchant locations, are the beginning of a “tap-to-pay” infrastructure. MasterCard, for instance, is now accepted on about 265,000 contactless payment terminals that would also be able to accept an NFC-enabled phone. Considering that the company has about 29 million locations worldwide, this is far from a complete infrastructure. But it's a start. "Definitely we're seeing a lot of interest and support, and I think 2011 is really going to be a year when we really start seeing commercial deployment," says James Anderson, head of mobile for the company. Although NFC-enabled devices have been available in various markets for quite some time, with the exception of a handful of pilot projects, they haven’t been used for payment. In order to safely use the technology with checkout terminals, a “secure component” also needs to be either embedded in the phone, in a SIM card, or through MicroSD cards. Visa recently made mobile contactless payments available using a MicroSD card solution that can be inserted into the phone's existing memory slot. Wells Fargo announced this month that it would launch a pilot of the payment option with 200 of its San Francisco employees. In the meantime, credit card companies have started programs to get customers used to the idea of tapping their phones to pay. MasterCard customers that bank with Citibank, for example, can ask for a mobile PayPass tag to attach to their phone to enable tap-and-pay. The adhesive chips use the same NFC technology that would be embedded in some phones. Mobile Network Providers Last month, an unlikely partnership of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile announced a new initiative called Isis that will create an NFC contactless payment network for the three companies’ combined 230 million customers. Ryan Hughes, the VP of business development at Verizon Wireless and an Isis spokesperson, sees the joint venture as a signal to merchants that they are committed to mobile payments. "[Our announcement] was actually an opportunity for us to say to the merchant community that this is happening; it's going to be real, this is not a science project for us, and we have the opportunity on our side to put the technology in a lot of consumers’ hands, and it's a rallying cry for banks and merchants that the time has come," Hughes says. Because the companies are working together on the payment network, merchants will only need to update their terminals once in order to provide service to all three mobile networks’ customers. Barclay’s “Barclaycard U.S.” will be the first card on Isis's planned network, although Isis says that it will welcome other banks and mobile carriers that want to join in the future. Isis is planning to use Discover's own payment network and its existing terminals that accept Discover's Zip contactless payment cards. When it launched in November, Isis was expecting to launch a product within 18 months. MasterCard and other credit card companies have created similar partnerships with mobile networks outside of the U.S. Mobile carriers have large customer bases and relationships with handset manufacturers to make sure that NFC technology is included in new handsets and to create a common set of technology standards. “We’re in a place where we will have conversations with all parties interested, including banks and [telephone companies], to get to a place that would benefit everyone,” Anderson says. Starting a brand from scratch and a payment network that people trust is a substantial investment, but Hughes thinks that Isis might distinguish itself by doing more than replicating a plastic card experience. While Hughes didn't mention anything specific that Isis has in mind, there are opportunities to integrate similar store loyalty programs, checkins and other capabilities that mobile apps have already started to provide for in-store shoppers. PayPal, Bling Nation and Other PlayersWhile mobile phone networks and credit card companies are trying to turn your cell phone into a type of credit card, PayPal is trying to use NFC to make its online-only system viable in the physical world. The company has partnered with Bling Nation, a Palo Alto startup that has been installing contactless payment terminals at local merchants since 2008. When users attached an NFC-enabled sticker to their phone, they could swipe to make payments and receive rewards. Previously, Bling Nation users were paying from accounts at partner banks. Since this summer, they've also had the option to pay using their PayPal accounts. Boku, a company that makes online purchases easier by allowing customers to use their mobile phone numbers at checkout, has also expressed interest in entering the physical world as a payment option. In Boku's case, online purchases are currently charged to the customer's phone bill. How exactly the addition of physical payments would take place remains unannounced. Other companies are focusing not only on payment, but on replacing the loyalty program cards, coupons and other cards most people carry in their wallets. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Google purchased Zetawire, a startup that held a patent application for “mobile banking, advertising, identity management, credit card and mobile coupon transaction processing,” and little else. Startups like Placepop, AisleBuyer and Coupious have taken less comprehensive approaches to trying to replace your wallet. Still, companies like Boku increasingly see your wallet as unnecessary. As Boku’s co-founder Ron Hirson says: “I think us carrying around a wallet full of plastic will absolutely go away, and I think that billing methods will live inside the phone, and that's where we'll be.” More Mobile Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, photo_smart Reviews: Android, Google, iStockphoto More About: discover, mastercard, Mobile 2.0, Mobile contactless payments, near field communication, nfc, NXP, tech, technology, trending, Visa For more Mobile coverage:
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| ooVoo Releases Android App for Six-Way Video Chat Posted: 15 Dec 2010 11:46 AM PST   Online video chat service ooVoo has released an application for Android that extends its six-way video chat service to mobile with support for video chat over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G networks. ooVoo Mobile for Android currently works on HTC Evo and Samsung Epic devices. The service enables users to video chat with up to five other ooVoo users — a user base that is said to be upward of 20 million — on Android, PC or Mac. The application also includes free user-to-user voice calls, text chat, contact list integration and video calls to non-ooVoo users. The mobile application is free and we’re told there are no fees associated with the mobile service at this time. ooVoo’s online video chat service, however, charges users who want more than two-way video chat, so we’d anticipate that these fees will carry over to mobile eventually. Video chat has become a much-hyped feature ever since Apple released FaceTime for iPhone 4. Several companies including Yahoo, Fring and Qik have been quick to release mobile applications that enable cross-platform mobile video chat that work over Wi-Fi or 3G. ooVoo believes its offering is the first to work over 4G and is superior to the rest in terms of quality, though without testing it ourselves, we can’t yet verify that claim. ooVoo Mobile for iPhone and iPad is said to be in the works and is slated for an early 2011 release. Reviews: Android, Fring, Yahoo!, video More About: 4G, android, facetime, ooVoo, video chat For more Startups coverage:
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| Pepsi Refresh Project Netted 61 Million Votes Posted: 15 Dec 2010 11:19 AM PST   Pepsi’s social media/philanthropic Refresh Project got more than 61 million responses and funded various initiatives including the construction of 26 parks and playgrounds in 2010, according to the brand. The program, which Pepsi chose to focus on rather than take part in the Super Bowl this year, not only funded various philanthropic initiatives presented by consumers (outlined below), but set the benchmark for engagement, says Shiv Singh, head of digital for PepsiCo Beverages North America. “It was such a new, different initiative that goals weren’t established,” says Singh. “We had no sense that each idea would get so much response.” Consumers cast 61 million votes— compared to about 89 million for the 2010 U.S. general election — on refresheverything.com to make a case for their various causes, the company said. Pepsi has pledged to give away $20 million via the program. To date, the program has given about $14.6 million to fund 352 ideas. The site also got 1.6 million comments. Pepsi will advertise its Pepsi Max brand in the 2011 Super Bowl, marking a return to the game, but Singh said that the brand remains committed to the Refresh Project in 2011. “We’re absolutely not moving away from this,” he says. “We’re coming back in 2011 with the same amount of funding.” Pepsi announced in September that it planned to expand the Refresh Project internationally. Here’s the list of Refresh Project-funded causes in 2010:
More About: Pepsi, pepsi refresh, social good, social media For more Business coverage:
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| Bing Takes a Page from Google’s Playbook With Revamped Image Search Posted: 15 Dec 2010 11:09 AM PST   Microsoft has unveiled a revamped version of Bing Image Search, one that looks and feels a lot like the image search overhaul Google launched earlier this year. At its Bing Search Summit in San Francisco, Microsoft demonstrated the redesigned product. The search engine completed the rollout of the new image search interface earlier this morning. Bing Image Search now utilizes a grid format to display images side-by-side. There are options for displaying image results in small, medium and large formats. The large format includes traditional meta data on each image, such as filename and file size. There’s also a new feature called Smart Tabs. It breaks down a user’s search query — Microsoft’s example was Casablanca Movie — and provides relevant and related search queries, such as “Casablanca Flower” or “Casablanca Lily.” Back in July, Google’s Marissa Mayer, then the head of search, unveiled a revamped version of Google Image Search. It brought bigger thumbnails, the removal of Google Images frames and the release of Image Search Ads. It looks like Bing has taken a few cues from its Silicon Valley rival. Reviews: Bing, Google More About: bing, Bing Image Search, Google, google image search, image search, microsoft For more Tech coverage:
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| Bit.ly Makes Bundled Links Easier for Groups to Edit and Share Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:59 AM PST   Bit.ly has just expanded its service again with a feature that will delight groups of people who love to share links. Bit.ly, the web service that condenses links into bite-sized phrases that are easily tweeted, already added a powerful Bundles feature last month, letting users package multiple links into one URL. Now the company’s made those bundled links easier to edit, acting like a wiki page where multiple users can add additional links to the mix. For instance, a group of golfers can quickly package multiple links to websites of their favorite courses, resulting in a huge page of links for all their golfing friends to enjoy and expend with links of their own. All these links could be represented by a single shortened web address and shared on Twitter for all to see. Here’s an example of how SpaceX built a group of links for its recent Falcon 9 launch. This curation tool could evolve into a new type of web experience similar to a wiki, where teams of users can recommend and edit links along with their far-flung teammates, resulting in living documents that can be changed and amplified on the fly, then seamlessly shared. Just think: These bundles could be nested into bigger bundles, and so on and so on… Oh bit.ly, the places you’ll go! Reviews: Twitter More About: bit.ly, bit.ly bundles, links, new products, sharing, web services, wiki For more Social Media coverage:
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| Bing Has 90 Million Users, 48% Growth Since Launch Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:33 AM PST   Microsoft is saying that its Bing search engine now has more than 90 million users and has grown by nearly 50% since its launch a year and a half ago. At its Bing Summit in San Francisco, Microsoft Senior Vice President of Research and Development Satya Nadella provided an audience of journalists with an overview of the search engine’s current state. He started by pointing to a recent comScore report concluding that Bing now commands 11.8% explicit market share, up 48% since its launch in June 2009. Specifically, Bing claims it has seen 72% growth in “heavy and medium users.” One area Nadella made sure to highlight was “vertical” growth. He said that the growth of specialized searches in areas like music, travel and shopping have been phenomenal. He cited music specifically as experiencing “8x growth.” Nadella wrapped up his state of Bing speech by touting some of its mobile stats. He said that the search engine has experienced 224% mobile app growth and 5.5 million iPhone app downloads, making it one of the most popular iOS apps of 2010. He also noted that Bing now has a footprint in 28% of the U.S. market, thanks to its partnership with Yahoo. Even when you combine Bing and Yahoo’s market shares, it’s still less than half of that of Google, whose market dominance hasn’t been seriously threatened since Bing’s introduction in 2009. And while Microsoft may be happy with Bing’s growth, it is still losing billions of dollars for the company. Reviews: Bing, Google For more Social Media coverage:
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| Win a Holiday MashPack With myTouch 4G & 21 Awesome Tech Prizes [GIVEAWAY] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:26 AM PST   ‘Tis the season and Mashable has been getting into the holiday spirit by talking about this year’s most gift-worthy gadgets and inviting readers to get together at Mashable Holiday Meetups. Now we’re celebrating by giving you awesome social media and tech prizes. Every weekday for the next two weeks, we’ll give away a Holiday MashPack filled with at least 12 wish list items. A different grand prize will be added each day, and this week our packs are even bigger and better. We’re getting bigger and bigger. Today’s grand prize is a T-Mobile myTouch 4G, E-Ink Phosphor Watch and an HP Photosmart eStation. Plus, you’ll find a list below detailing the 21 other fantastic prizes in today’s MashPack — and see information on how to win. This weekend’s MashPack went to Bob McClenahan from from from Napa Valley, California. (Congratulations, Bob!) For those who didn’t win this weekend’s pack, go ahead and try your luck today. Happy holidays from Mashable! How To Win Today’s MashPackTweeting for today’s MashPack will end Thursday, December 16 at 12 p.m. ET. To enter the contest, connect through Twitter (for those viewing in RSS, click through to this page). Please use your real identity in the submission so that we may contact you via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook to let you know that you’ve won. We’ll contact the winner after the contest closes. The contest is limited to those 18 and older in the U.S. For contests and prizes, also make sure to “like” us on Facebook. HP Photosmart eStation – C510a
T-Mobile myTouch 4G
Phosphor E-Ink Watch
Sony MHS-TS10 Bloggie Touch HD Camera
Aperion Audio: Audio Link
Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse
Like, Dislike Stamps
iPom
ZAGGsparq 2.0
Desk Pets Skitterbots
Griffin Technology PowerDockDual
Griffin Technology AirCurve Play
Caseable Custom-Designed Mashable Laptop Case
Picaboo Madison Photobook
Skullcandy Headphones
Merkury Innovations Universal Square Stereo Speakers
Ben Folds’ Lonely Avenue Deluxe Album
Hard Candy Mobile Phone Cases
Power Support USA iPad Leather Sleeve
Power Support USA iPhone 4 Anti-Glare Films
Power Support USA iPhone4 Designer Collection Cases
Twournal Twitter Journal
Reviews: Android, Facebook, Mashable, TweetPhoto, Twitpic, Twitter More About: contest, gadgets, giveaway, Holiday, mashpacks, prizes, tech For more Tech coverage:
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| Zipcar Raises $21 Million to Finance Expansion Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:02 AM PST   Popular car-sharing service Zipcar has raised $21 million in a Series G round led by Meritech Capital Partners with participation from Pinnacle Ventures. The new funding signals that the company’s previous plans to go public may have been put on hold. Founded in 2000, Zipcar’s hourly car rental service now includes 500,000 members and 8,000 vehicles providing service to metropolitan areas and college campuses in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. In June, Zipcar filed for a $75 million IPO to help fund operations and allow for debit remittance. This financing round will likely be used instead for those purposes and help further finance fleet growth and expansion. The funding announcement also comes just one day after Google Ventures and August Capital put an undisclosed sum into new car-sharing startup competitor RelayRides — its first round of financing. RelayRides approaches car-sharing in a much different fashion and instead allows users to make their own cars available for rental, earning 65% of the rental fees for doing so. RelayRides installs devices in its user-generated fleet that track and unlock cars. It’s a strategy that could help the young company avoid the pricey costs of maintaining its own fleet. Image courtesy of Flickr, akseabird Reviews: Flickr More About: car sharing, funding, relayrides, Series G, zipcar For more Business coverage:
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| Innovative Advertising Firm Tops Technology 500 List [SPONSORED] Posted: 15 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST   This post is brought to you by Lead411, a sales lead generation site that provides business e-mail lists, company addresses, executive e-mails, and phone numbers. For more information on sponsored posts read here.
That's what got the opt-in advertising company at the top of Lead411's Technology 500 list. The list includes the fastest growing technology companies based on highest percentage revenue growth from the year 2007 to the year 2009. "Pontiflex is exactly the kind of company you'd expect to see on the Technology 500 list," said Tom Blue, founder of Lead411.com and the Technology 500, "They're innovating in new ways, and are changing their industry for the better." The Technology 500 included a variety of sub-industries within tech: advertising, consulting, hardware, software, Internet, specialty and telecom. Other top finalists include the people SaaS provider PeopleMatter; Digitalsmiths, which provides video metadata solutions; ticketing and e-commerce solutions company accesso; and Enterprise Flash Drive developer Pliant Technology. "Companies like Adeptol and ecoATM are making our world easier, and are providing unique solutions in areas like electronic recycling and mobile applications," said Blue, "I personally would like to see more of these companies on next year's Technology 500 list." To view the entire Technology 500 list, visit the award's website. Here are the top 20 finalists of the Technology 500: 1. Pontiflex, Inc. 2. Scale Computing 3. Collections Marketing Center (CMC) 4. accesso, LLC 5. Pliant Technology, Inc. 6. Digitalsmiths 7. Charter Auction LLC 8. WorkSpace Communications 9. Pendo Systems Inc. 10. Pyntail 11. PointAbout 12. Oggifinogi 13. ADEPTOL 14. PeopleMatter 15. ecoATM 16. WorthPoint Corporation 17. Spongecell 18. 365 Hangers 19. Evangelyze Communications 20. PerformLine, Inc (This post is brought to you by Lead411, a sales lead generation site that provides business e-mail lists, company addresses, executive e-mails, and phone numbers. For more information on sponsored posts read here.) Reviews: Internet More About: sponsored
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One of today’s grand prizes is this HP Photosmart eStation printer, which features ePrint convenience. The printer also enables you to get prints you want from the web using customized apps. “Combine full Web browsing with high-performance printing, faxing without a Phone line, copying, and scanning with our Photosmart eStation – C510a. It features a detachable, full-color, 7″ touchscreen that doubles as a wireless digital companion and control panel for remote printing.”
Today’s grand prize is a myTouch 4G Android phone. The new myTouch features a 3.8-inch WVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, an 8 GB microSD memory card, and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video. It was designed by HTC, and it runs the latest version of Android: 2.2. It also has a second, front-facing camera and video calling capabilities, as well as Wi-Fi and HSPA+ connectivity. The myTouch 4G has made a name for itself in Hollywood with pop star Pink and her husband Carey Hart, both fans of the phone.
Today’s second MashPack grand prize is a cool Phosphor E-Ink watch. “The new World Time Curved E-Ink digital watch offers the ability to select from 24 time zones for one display mode, while optionally displaying a second time zone simultaneously . The dual time zone display can also be configured to simply display the time of day or both the date and time in either over-sized or conventional-sized segments. These unique capabilities are packaged in a sleek, ultra-thin, curved case only 9.3mm thick. Incredibly versatile, the new World Time gives you an assortment of different functions and display modes.”
Sony’s Bloggie Touch camera captures Full HD video and 12.8-megapixel still shots with the simple touch of its single record button. The large touch screen showcases your photos and videos, which are stored on built-in memory. Its size makes it readily available from your pocket or purse, and you can easily upload your photos and videos to your favorite social networking sites while you’re on the go.
“The Aperion Home Audio Link (HAL) transmits high quality uncompressed audio up to 100 feet – this means you can stream music from your computer, your home theater, your MP3 player or any other audio source to almost any speaker system in your home! If you use one or two additional HAL Receivers (optional), you can stream a single audio source to up to three listening zones, giving you true whole-house audio without running wires across your room. ”
“For Desktop use, it's time to get rid of that old-fashioned "laser mouse" and upgrade to the comfort of the Whirl™ Desktop Mouse with ErgoMotion™ — the world's first truly ergonomic desktop mouse. No other desktop mouse provides the fluid, air-like comfort of the patented ErgoMotion™ pivot system.”
“The stamps first made waves online in summer 2010, when Nation posted a joke image of a wooden-handled " Like Button Stamp" on its website. The picture received so much attention that Nation decided to produce the product, along with a dislike stamp, selling a few hundred sets over the past six months. Jailbreak recognized its potential immediately, contacting Nation shortly after seeing the concept and eventually negotiating the rights to mass-produce and globally distribute the stamps.”
Key features: “2.1 Stereo Speaker System; Plays music from USB Memory stick or SD card or any other music device that has a 3.5mm output, such as iPods; Humanized Touch Volume Control and music control; Adjustable Bass; 3 Speakers positioned for maximum sound separation and distribution; 12W Subwoofer; Total output of 18 Watts; Airflow optimized design for consistent sound performance; Bass Reflex Technology; Designed to deliver 360 Degrees of Sound; 3.5mm AUX input jack to connect to TV, Gaming Console or other music sources such as iPod; Eco-Friendly and RoHS Compliant.”
“The ZAGGsparq 2.0 plugs into a standard outlet and provides two USB ports for charging mobile devices. Unplugged, the ZAGGsparq 2.0 carries multiple charges with it – four complete recharges for most power-hungry smart phones. Perfect for everything from cell phones to hand-held gaming systems. Dead batteries and expensive spares are a thing of the past. The ZAGGsparq will take the iPad® from 0% to 60% and at the same rate the iPad® wall charger charges the iPad®.”
“SKITTERBOT, by Desk Pets® is the fastest legged robot commercially available that travels at an amazing one foot per second and is controlled by a unique patent pending 5 button USB remote controller/charger. SKITTERBOT moves forward, backwards, turns left and turns right and stops. Four different colors and four different frequencies allow racing, battling and exploring. A 30min recharge = 15min of play.”
Your iPad and your iPhone (or your iPod) get seats of honor in PowerDock Dual’s built-in charging dock, while the valet dish is a resting place for your change, keys and whatever else might live in your pockets. It has an AC power supply with four international plug adapters, 10 watt (2 amp) charging for your iPad and 5 watt (1 amp) charging for your iPhone or iPod. The screens and speakers are unobstructed while the batteries get charged, so you can listen while you watch. It’s perfect side table entertainment!
The AirCurve Play acoustically amplifies the speaker of your iPhone without batteries, cables or electricity. It collects the sound from the built-in speaker of your iPhone, amplifies it in a built-in coiled waveguide, and projects it out into the room. AirCurve’s transparent polycarbonate body lets you appreciate the waveguide’s graceful curves, inside, that do all the work. Its internal engineered waveguide requires no power, making it a perfectly portable audio/video conference phone, and self-contained music player and video viewer.
Caseable, a startup based right in Mashable HQ’s backyard — Brooklyn, New York, creates handmade, customized cases for just about any size laptop or tablet. You can get any look you’d like by handpicking your colors for each detail — even the zipper! Caseable made specialized 15-inch Mashable cases exclusively for our holiday MashPack winners. They’re quite snazzy, if we might say so ourselves.
Picaboo photo books can be fully customized by dragging-and-dropping photos and captions anywhere on your pages. You have complete creative control with powerful-yet-simple editing options. The Madison’s heavyweight, archival quality lay-flat pages are ideal for highlighting panoramic, two-page spreads, and the paper's pearlescent sheen coating adds a luminous glow to your photos. The elegant custom cover features a photo of your choice under a protective laminate and a full-grain glove leather wrap around the spine and back cover is available in five colors.
“From the mangroves of Madagascar to the Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, wood is all around us. Wood sounds good; we use it to make xylophones, drum sticks, claves and castanets. It’s even in clarinets, for crying out loud. If headphones had been used a thousand years ago they would have been wood. Holua are made of wood, and they sound good…really good.”
The Universal Square Stereo Speakers are just one example of Merkury Innovations’ fun and stylish electronic accessories. These battery-free speakers will work with audio devices featuring a 3.5mm audio jack. The slim design and exciting metallic colors can complement any decor. Their compact size make them convenient for toting from room to room in the house or packing up for a friend’s party.
Lonely Avenue contains 11 new songs featuring music by Ben Folds with words by Nick Hornby for what The Huffington Post calls “one of the most interesting collaborations of the year.” This special deluxe edition includes the album on CD and vinyl, four short stories by Nick Hornby and 15 images by acclaimed photographer Joel Meyerowitz, all in a hardbound, 152-page book.
Hard Candy Cases merges fashion and function to distinguish and protect mobile phones from the wear and tear of daily use. It’s one of the fastest growing brands in the Apple accessories industry with distribution in the United States, Singapore, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, France, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Indonesia, Ireland, UK and Malaysia, among others.
Constructed with premium quality leather, the Power Support USA iPad sleeve protects while complimenting the aesthetics of the device. The sleeve’s soft inner lining prevents scratching while using this sleek carrying case. Its clean design and superb manufacturing techniques make for high-quality iPad protection.
Power Support USA films protect your iPhone 4 screen from scratches, dirt and dust while reducing glare, fingerprints and smudges. It’s specially formulated to be compatible with retina display and resist glare and fingerprints while protecting your screen. The static cling adhesive film leaves no residue if film is removed.
Power Support has teamed up with cutting-edge designers Tibi, Rachel Pally and Rory Beca to create a set of super stylish air jackets. Measuring under 1 mm, the jacket snugly hugs the back of your iPhone 4. You can keep your phone protected from dings and scratches while looking fashionably fresh with the Power Support Designer Collection. It’s a win-win for any iPhone 4 owner!
Twournal allows you to create, buy and sell Twitter books printed from your tweets. All Twournals have color covers, can include replies and Twitpic/Tweetphoto/Yfrog pictures in color or black and white. You can choose a custom picture for your front cover. Select which tweets you want to start and end at. And you can add a dedication message to appear after your title.
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