Sabtu, 18 Desember 2010

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “SwipeGood: A Charitable Donation With Every Credit Card Purchase”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “SwipeGood: A Charitable Donation With Every Credit Card Purchase”

SwipeGood: A Charitable Donation With Every Credit Card Purchase

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 11:52 PM PST


The end-of-year shopping season is upon us, as is the annual glut of charity drives. What better way to combine our commercial and philanthropic habits than to allow consumers to give a little bit toward social good with every credit card purchase they make?

That’s the precise aim of SwipeGood, a San Francisco-based startup whose founders believe that giving should be simple, constant and ubiquitous.

The process is simple. When you sign up for SwipeGood, all your credit card purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the spare change, as it were, is given to a charity of your choosing. Currently, that list is small, but it includes popular choices such as charity:water and DonorsChoose.org.

On average, SwipeGood users end up donating about $20 each per month. The “spare change” is totaled and charged on a monthly basis. Of those amounts, SwipeGood pockets around 5% — a relatively small amount that serves to cover their operating expenses.

It’s a lot like Bank of America’s Keep the Change automated savings program, but instead of hoarding your nickels and dimes, you’re giving them to folks in need.

SwipeGood is also running a holiday promotion to let users tell their friends and family to support a charity in lieu of gifts this year.

The giving process is generally fraught with sometimes paralyzing decisions. What amount is the right amount — and what can you afford right now? Which charities are more important than others? Should you make a recurring donation? A holiday donation? Should you wait until later in the spring or summer when funding is running low?

By eliminating the decisions and automating giving, SwipeGood hopes that more giving will occur and more good done.

Right now, as far as reading transactions goes, SwipeGood supports American Express and Blippy; it’s soon adding Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo to its list of supported banks.

We look forward to seeing how SwipeGood will grow and expand its lists of banks and charities. We think that this model of small but significant contributions made automatically could add up to a whole lot of social good.

Image courtesy of tomarthur.

More About: charity, social good, startup, swipegood

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Android Devices Dominate Holiday Sales in Mashable Poll

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 11:06 PM PST


What’s been hiding under the wrapping paper at your house this holiday season: Android or iPhone? BlackBerry or Windows Phone 7?

Last week, we conducted a poll asking our readers what they planned to buy — or hoped to receive — as holiday gifts this year.

From the end user’s perspective, it’s a decision that’s often based on marketing and emotions, but from the manufacturers’ and networks’ point of view, holiday shopping is a huge part of Q4 sales. And sales for some of these platforms could use a nice end-of-year boost.

While Apple and Google are enjoying an increasingly brisk tug-of-war for consumer dollars, selling millions upon millions of devices during 2010, Microsoft is refusing to report on initial Windows Phone 7 sales. And BlackBerry devices, though still a huge part of the mobile landscape, are definitely on the decline.

If our readers are any indication of things to come, Q4 is going to look exceptionally bright for sellers of Android devices.

Out of our 1,368 respondents, 41.2% said they were buying or receiving an Android device as a gift this year. Just 30.6% said the same for iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads. Around 12% said they’d be buying or receiving a Windows Phone 7 device, and just 4.1% were planning to give or get a BlackBerry.

What’s even more interesting is that Android smartphones are by far the most popular items to give as gifts, according to our poll, with a full 31.6% of all respondents saying they’d buy or had already bought an Android as a gift for someone else.

While this small sample size might not be indicative of purchasing patterns in the much larger market, we are curious to see how Q4 numbers will pan out for Apple devices, Android devices and especially Windows Phone 7.

Reviews: Android, Google, poll

More About: android, blackberry, Holiday, iOS, iphone, Mobile 2.0, poll, RIM, sales, windows phone 7

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Moodstocks iPhone Apps Scan the World Through Photos, Not Barcodes

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 09:48 PM PST


The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Moodstocks

Quick Pitch: Moodstocks makes iPhone apps that let people scan the world using their smart phone camera.

Genius Idea: There are a slew of applications that let you scan product barcodes to glean more information about them. Moodstocks makes iPhone applications with the same general purpose, but they function in a radically different fashion, scanning items through image recognition instead of barcodes.

All three applications — Moodstock Notes, Contacts and Shopper — work the same way: You snap a photo, Moodstock processes it and you get content associated with the object in the image. Basically, it works a lot like Google Goggles.

In Moodstocks Notes, object scanning is also applied in a social fashion. So you could snap a wine label, book, poster, piece of art or soda can, add your note, and then see what users are saying about the same items. The application aspires to make all objects, with or without barcodes, interactive in nature.

Moodstocks Contacts is an interesting reimagining of the business card application. Once you’ve added your vCard to the application, other users can snap a photo of your business card and use the app to instantly get your contact information. It works without a hitch and makes for a super useful networking tool. The downside here is that business cards are only scannable if the owner has added their contact info to the application.

The Moodstocks Shopper application is exactly what you’d expect: a price comparison application. Just as is the case with the other apps, products are identified via image recognition technology, not barcodes. Since the startup is based in France, however, its database is currently comprised of mostly French products.

All the applications are powered by proprietary image recognition technology. It’s technology that, if perfected, could make the interactive qualities or barcodes and QR codes obsolete.

CEO Denis Brulé says his startup ultimately aims to make sense of images and link them to real world products. Brulé doesn’t view the competition as such just yet. Instead, he finds that all scanning applications are working toward the same purpose of convincing smartphone owners to use their devices in this fashion.

While Brulé seems ready to overlook the competition, we should point out that Moodstocks apps do overlap in purpose with the likes of most QR code apps, Stickybits, MyShopanion, RedLaser and even Barcode Hero. On the function side of things, there are most certainly direct parallels between it and thingd, which seeks to enable the discovery of things and people through photos.

Moodstocks has raised around $650,000 in seed stage funding and plans to develop a business model around licensing its SDK and API.

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Reviews: Shopper

More About: barcode scanning, bizspark, moodstocks, Photos, spark-of-genius, startup

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Learn HTML5, JavaScript and CSS With Mozilla’s Free “School of Webcraft”

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:17 PM PST


Mozilla is getting ready for the January semester of School of Webcraft, a 100% free developer training resource run in partnership with Peer 2 Peer University.

Last semester, the School of Webcraft offered 15 classes; now, Mozilla is trying to get around 30 classes going for the January semester.

Classes will be between six and 10 weeks long; they’ll revolve around topics relevant to web designers and developers, including HTML5, JavaScript and CSS. Previous classes have also included non-developer topics such as organic SEO. Requisite skill levels will run the gamut from novice to expert. The volunteer-run courses will begin on January 26, and proposals for new course ideas are still being accepted.

Students learn through a combination of free and open learning materials, online study groups and hands-on assignments that test their hacking skills.

If you’re a leader in the developer community, you can also step up and lead a course yourself. If you want to organize a class, you’ll get support from P2PU and Mozilla in the form of course design, materials, learning facilitation and other resources.

Registration opens on January 8; until then, you can sign up for the School of Webcraft e-mail list.

Mozilla believes that developer training is “both at the high school and university level… out of date, lousy and losing students.” Another problem is that younger learners simply don’t have access to good web dev learning resources. And certification training is expensive and often out of step with current practices.

By creating a completely free, open training ground for developers and would-be developers of all stripes, Mozilla hopes to remedy some of the problems surrounding technology education.

We fully support this mission; anything that will allow more people to become better informed about and more proficient in web development and related technologies is a win in our book.

Of course, we’d love to see more than just front-end and markup languages explored; but for that to happen, some knowledgeable devs are going to have to volunteer to teach their peers the basics (or not-so-basics) of other programming languages.

More About: developers, education, mozilla, school, training, trending

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Google Ventures Gives $600K to iOS App Maker Miso Media

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 04:39 PM PST


Google has just participated in a seed round for Miso Media, an iPhone and iPad app maker whose product hasn’t yet launched in the iTunes App Store.

The total funding for this round comes to $600,000; other participating angels include Keith Rabois (COO of Square), film producer Laura Ziskin and others.

Miso makes Guitar Hero-like apps that use real guitar fingering, something that’s a bit more interesting to real musicians and more valuable to folks who want to learn to play. In fact, the company even has the sponsorship of C.F. Martin & Co. and the Fender Music Foundation, both heavyweights in the guitar world.

The apps teach users how to play guitar, bass guitar (both four- and five-string), banjo, mandolin and ukelele. Users can learn through scales and tabs, or they can play their way through new and classic songs. Miso’s note-detection tech “listens for the correct note and delivers real time feedback,” according to a statement from the company.

Miso’s applications, simply called Miso Music, have been submitted to Apple and will be available for iPod touch, iPhone and iPad soon.

The app will be available for the introductory price of $2.99. Users can purchase music and instruments within the app for a few dollars more, which makes for a nice recurring revenue opportunity for Miso.

The seed funding will be used to build a larger library of songs for the apps, create a more structured learning system, add more instruments and make more apps for different platforms — and yes, that includes Android, which is part of Miso’s expansion plans.

We’re looking forward to playing with Miso, ourselves. What do you think of the idea behind this app?

Reviews: Android

More About: Google, google centures, guitar, iOS, ipad app, iphone app, miso, miso media, mobile app, music, ukelele

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iPod nano Watch Project Makes Kickstarter History

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 03:58 PM PST


The iPod nano watch kit TikTok+LunaTik is now officially the most successful Kickstarter project of all time.

The all-or-nothing funding site has had its fair share of successes in the past, but the TikTok and LunaTik multi-touch watch kits are on another level. The project reached its conclusion late Thursday evening, bringing in a staggering $941,648 from 13,511 backers in just 30 days. That figure is all the more impressive when you consider that TikTok+LunaTik’s original goal was only $15,000.

The project itself was born after Scott Wilson, the founder of the Chicago-based design studio MINIMAL, first saw the new iPod nano. When we spoke to Wilson last month, he explained it was clear that the device could be a great wrist watch, after seeing the size and shape of the new nano. Wilson wasn’t alone. To date, scores of companies have brought their own iPod nano watch straps or kits to market.

When the success of TikTok and LunaTik became clear, Wilson took measures to ramp up production at the factories in China. Through the course of the project, Wilson has offered up additional updates on the status of the kits, created a website for interested users who missed out on the Kickstarter pledge bonanza at Lunatik.com and promoted other worthy Kickstarter projects.

When speaking with Wilson, it was evident to us that he recognized that actually manufacturing and distributing LunaTik and TikTok would be a massive undertaking. Coordinating with the factories, preparing packaging and handling shipping are not trivial tasks, especially when talking about an order of this size.

Earlier this week, just ahead of the project’s closing date, Wilson uploaded a video compilation of his trip to China, showing off his hands-on time with the manufacturing process.

These updates and this “inside look” at how something moves from concept, to prototype, to finished project, is part of what we thinks makes Kickstarter so special. Beyond just acting as a great way to raise funds, the ability to share updates and include backers in the journey is unique. Aspiring entrepreneurs are encouraged to take notes on Wilson’s approach to making the most out of Kickstarter.

As a backer of this project, I can’t wait to get the final product in my hands — and on my wrist. What do you think about Kickstarter’s potential for funding small and large scale projects?

More About: ipod nano, kickstarter, lunatik, tiktok

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Tumblr Adds $30 Million in Funding

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 03:19 PM PST


It's official: Tumblr has raised $30 million, confirming reports that surfaced last month indicating that the quickly growing lightweight blogging service had taken significant funding.

The SEC filing lists a variety of participants in the round, including Sequoia Capital, Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital.

Spark and Union Square were both early investors in Tumblr and have participated in several rounds of the company's funding. Sequoia — a backer of some of the Web's most iconic companies including Google and Yahoo — is a new investor.

The funding represents yet another big recent investment in the social media and online publishing space. On Wednesday, Twitter announced a major round of funding rumored to be in the $200 million range. Back in July, blog and web publishing platform Squarespace raised nearly $39 million.

For Tumblr, the funding win is good news in what's been a shaky couple weeks, marked by significant downtime and reliability issues with its service.

[via TechCrunch]

Reviews: Google, SquareSpace

More About: sequoia capital, spark capital, tumblr, Union Square Ventures, venture capital

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Google Search Now Alerts Users When a Site Has Been Compromised

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 02:30 PM PST


In its quest to fight malware and spammers, Google is now informing users when a website listed in its search engine has been compromised.

If Google detects that a website has been hacked and altered by a third party, the search engine will display a simple message under the search result in question: “This site may be compromised.” Clicking on the linked text takes you to a page in Google’s help center explaining that site has likely been hacked or otherwise compromised.

The search giant says that it’s using “a variety of automated tools to detect common signs of a hacked site as quickly as possible.” In addition to displaying a warning within search results, Google will also attempt to contact the site’s webmaster via Webmaster Tools and their known contact e-mail addresses. Google notes that it already informs users when they’re about to visit a website with malware through a separate warning page, a feature that has been around for several years.

While not specifically referenced, the notifications feature curiously comes just days after Gawker Media was hacked, compromising 1.5 million commenter accounts. The result was a series of attacks that affected Twitter and dozens of other websites.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bunhill

Reviews: Google, iStockphoto

More About: Gawker, Gawker Media, Google, google search

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A Very Scary Christmas: A Collection of Terrifying, Holiday-Themed Online Videos

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 02:21 PM PST


So I spent many a night, dear readers, mulling over what to get you for the holidays. And today, I decided: The gift of abject fear.

Kidding!

We asked those arbiters of awesome odd ephemera, Found Footage Festival, to curate this week’s YouTube roundup — and they were the ones who decided to scare you senseless.

First check out Found Footage Festival’s frightening picks, and then partake in a few skin-pricklers from the Mashable staff.

Hey, it’s not the holiday season unless someone feels uncomfortable, am I right?

Frosty The Snowman-like Beast

FFF: While trolling thrift stores around the country for VHS gems, we find a lot of Christmas videos, and the best ones all seem to have a bit of a dark side to them. Still, nothing could prepare us for the nightmarish vision depicted in this sing-along video for “Frosty the Snowman,” starring a man named Frank Woehrle and a snowman costume that will forever haunt you.

“O Come All Ye Jingle Cats”

FFF: We don’t want to live in a world where cats can sing and play harmonica. On second thought, who are we kidding? Of course we do.

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny

FFF: The title of this children’s video sounds innocent enough, but what unfolds plays like a disturbing Kenneth Anger film. Seriously, this is one effed up Christmas.

“Get Around Santa”

FFF: As if the crudely-animated, rapping Santa wasn’t enough to dampen your Christmas spirit, along comes a live-action Santa on a Jet Ski.

Donny & Marie Christmas Show

Todd Wasserman: There’s nothing more frightening than the Osmonds, particularly when they’re all gathered in one room. Watch and recoil.

A Christmas Story

Ada Ospina: One of my fave movies but one of my greatest fears growing up. Please note that I never tried this.

Heat Miser Song, “The Year Without a Santa Claus”

Sarah Kessler: Even as a child I knew this was creepy.

The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky

Brenna Ehrlich: I was simultaneously fascinated and horrified by Drosselmeyer as a child. That probably explains my bad taste in men.

Reviews: Mashable, YouTube

More About: found-footage-festival, viral video, youtube

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6 Ways to Market on Foursquare Without a Location

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 01:53 PM PST


Scott Bishop is a director of social influence and author of How To Make Money Marketing Your Business With Foursquare (FT Press Delivers). You can read more of his insights on his social media marketing blog.

Savvy marketers and business owners have flocked to Foursquare to take advantage of their 4.5 million members for one simple reason: Foursquare requires action. Conversations on Twitter and fan engagement on a brand's Facebook Page can be valuable pieces to a successful social media marketing campaign, but user activity at the point of sale is the ultimate objective for us marketers and business owners. We ultimately want action, and geolocation networks like Foursquare deliver the goods.

The marketing opportunities for retail stores on Foursquare are obvious. Users physically check in to a location and if you offer a special, they can redeem it. But even without a special, Foursquare leads to foot traffic, and foot traffic leads to revenue. Pretty straightforward.

But what if you're aren’t a retail store? What if you don’t have a physical location at all? Can Foursquare still help you market your business? Absolutely. Foursquare has already partnered with several large brands without traditional locations such as Bravo and the History Channel. These partnerships were heavily publicized and came with specially customized badges, but they also cost big bucks.

In a world of limited budgets and low-traffic locations, businesses must creatively approach Foursquare's already available options. Here are a few options your business should consider.

1. Acquire Friends, Not Checkins

bastard jeans image

Being an active user is one way to build relationships and create awareness, but understand that Foursquare isn't much for conversation. Don't waste too much time running around town and randomly checking in to every location possible expecting your brand to get traction with Foursquare users. Being active can be important, but most of your Foursquare friends or others checking into the same location won't pay much attention to a brand's check in activity or shouts.

There's more value for you to acquire friends, but like any social media network, your friends should be targeted and strategically selected. Bastard Jeans has done a great job acquiring more than 60,000 friends on its user profile. Now the company has an easy way to get its tips in front of more users.

2. Add Relevant Tips

Adding tips is the easiest and fastest way for a location-less brand to market using Foursquare. The tips you create will be available for any Foursquare user to see, but an additional benefit to adding "friends" is that friends of your account will have your tips pop up when they check in at or near one of the locations where you've left them. So the more targeted friends you acquire, the better chance they'll see your tips.

Tips should be informational, create user value and align with your brand. Don’t just leave a spammy message, adding little value and no relevance. If your tips aren't providing value, you create the opportunity for backlash.

3. Branded Pages

timeout image

Unlike a user profile, a brand with a page does not check in or acquire mayorships or badges, it only leaves tips on other locations. There is also a difference in how users connect with branded pages. Foursquare users "follow" a brand's page, rather than becoming "friends" with them. Branded pages also have more customization options with their header images and description boxes. For larger brands, this is the preferred option. There are many brands with well done pages such as IFC Channel and Time Out Chicago.

4. Add Your Own Unique or Quirky Location

coke image

Just because you don't have a traditional location doesn't mean that you can't add something quirky or creative to market your business. Coke Australia began adding Coke Machine locations that users can check in to, and, in some cases, receive unique specials. Urban Ministries of Durham started adding locations like "tent under the overpass" and “abandoned warehouse” to help spread awareness about homelessness. As long as the locations you create align with your brand or campaign, this can be a successful strategy.

5. Mayor Takeovers

If you don't have a location, take over somebody else's by becoming mayor. Granted, you're going to want to make sure the location of your mayorship is strategic and those checking in are relevant to your business. Take advantage of your title and challenge users with freebies and giveaways when a user unseats your branded account. Have some fun with it.

6. Badge Parties

Few brands have the marketing dollars of Starbucks to create their own personalized badge, but that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of pre-existing badges that Foursquare users want. Partner with a complementary business that has a location and select a badge that users want but may be difficult unlock. For example, the Swarm Badge (50 people), Super Swarm Badge (250 people), and the recently released Super Duper Swarm Badge (500) and the colossal Epic Swarm Badge (1,000) are unlocked based on a large number of people checking in at one place at the same time.

An event designed for participants to unlock sought-after badges makes Foursquare users happy, you create publicity by hosting the event, and the location you’re using will get an influx of foot traffic. Additional promotions and publicity can come from the hundreds and potentially thousands of extra people who see the checkins when users post to Facebook and Twitter.

While Foursquare and other geolocation networks may seem like a no-brainer for retail outlets and food venues, don't discount your own opportunity to market your brand and products. Make sure you have a solid strategy in place that offers value to the Foursquare user community. The options are already available on Foursquare. Now it's just up to your creativity to unlock them.

More Location Resources from Mashable:

- Social Point of Sale: The Holy Grail for Location-Based Marketers
- Why the Best Online Marketing May Be Headed Offline
- HOW TO: Run Location-Based Google Ads
- HOW TO: Become a Foursquare Power User
- How 4 Small Businesses are Using Location-Based Services

Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, foursquare

More About: business, foursquare, geolocation, List, Lists, location, MARKETING, small business, social media, social media marketing

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Pepto Bismol Is on a Social Media Binge

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 01:37 PM PST

Not every brand manager has the stomach to gut the TV and print budget of a venerable consumer brand, but Pepto Bismol’s did.

In July, the Procter & Gamble brand, known as an elixir for upset stomachs, reversed the ratio of its ad spending. Previously, 80% to 90% of its budget went toward traditional media; now that number has been cut to 10% to 20%. Most of the rest will go toward digital media.

That meant a new Facebook Page, a Twitter feed and, most recently, web videos featuring Ken “The Hangover” Jeong. The latter, created by Publicis New York and Funny or Die, show Jeong at the pit of a man’s stomach spraying the pink liquid on some recently ingested cookies.

The emphasis on the brand’s iconic color was no accident; the reason the brand shifted course was that social media conversations about the brand tended to refer to “Pepto Bismol pink,” says Kristen Stutz, assistant brand manager on Pepto. The other conversations were about over-indulgence, which the brand capitalized on with a sponsorship of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. The brand is spending the bulk of its traditional media budget this month with TV versions of the Jeong ad.

The results? The company claims its online buzz jumped 200% year-over-year since the strategy switch, and sales and volume rose 7% for July, August and November. Those results were “atypical” and the “best results Pepto has seen in years,” says spokesperson Elizabeth Ming.

While not many P&G brands have gone as big into social media, Nathan Fox, the brand manager of Pepto, says one Procter brand was an obvious influence: Old Spice, whose “Smell like a man, man” video has been viewed more than 25 million times on YouTube, creating buzz the brand hadn’t had in generations. Next up, Fox says that there will be two or three more “indulgence occasions” between New Year’s and July 4 that Pepto will attempt to turn into social media events. Fox declined to say what those occasions were, for competitive reasons.

Reviews: YouTube

More About: advertising, Pepto Bismol, Procter & Gamble, social media marketing

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Yahoo Claims It’s Not Killing Delicious

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 01:22 PM PST


On Thursday, a leaked slide from an internal Yahoo meeting brought into question the immediate future of social bookmarking service Delicious. A new post on the Delicious blog attempts to clarify the situation, asserting that Delicious will not be shut down, but that its future home will most certainly be outside Yahoo.

After the slide, which shows Delicious listed under the “sunset” umbrella, made its appearance, many speculated that the service’s days were numbered. Fans took to Twitter and other social networking sites to voice their outrage.

Evidence suggesting that the entire Delicious team was fired on Wednesday — the same day Yahoo let go 4% of the company — has only added fuel to the fire. It has become a messy situation warranting official response from Yahoo. And respond it did, albeit not with the most comforting of updates.

“We are not shutting down Delicious. While we have determined that there is not a strategic fit at Yahoo!, we believe there is a ideal home for Delicious outside of the company where it can be resourced to the level where it can be competitive,” the official statement reads.

The note also claims that Yahoo is speaking with potential buyers and that users are not in jeopardy of losing their data.

It’s hard to say what Yahoo’s true intentions are around Delicious. While the party line seems to be that the service was never to be shut down, that message doesn’t match up against other reports. Still, the company does now appear to be motivated to find a satisfactory resolution for users.

Delicious users unwilling to ride out this interim period have a host of other options for bookmarking services. Mashable reporter Christina Warren highly recommends Pinboard, a subscription-based service run by a former Delicious co-founder that integrates with Google Reader, Instapaper, Read it Later and Twitter. There’s also the potential that original Delicious creator Joshua Schachter will build a new clone, though that seems a bit unlikely considering he’s currently working on his new stealth startup Tasty Labs.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Chris Gin

Reviews: Delicious, Flickr, Google Reader, Mashable, Twitter, instapaper

More About: delicious, joshua schachter, pinboard, Yahoo

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How the iPad Changed 2010

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 01:18 PM PST

cnnopinion

Less than one year ago, some technology pundits questioned whether Apple’s so-called “iTablet” would find any buyers. InfoWorld ventured to explain “Why Apple’s rumored iTablet will fail big time,” while VentureBeat’s 2010 predictions included the claim that “tablets will fail.”

Fast forward to the end of 2010, and the iPad is a smash hit. eMarketer predicts that Apple will sell 13.3 million iPads this year, and one survey ranked the iPad as the most-wanted gift this holiday season.

But the iPad has reshaped more than just the device market: From web design to content consumption, we’re seeing the iPad change the world in unexpected ways.

That’s the topic of my CNN column this week.


Read the full column at CNN.com>>

More About: apple, ipad, Tablet, tablets

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How Often Did Authors Use the Word “Internet” Over 500 Years? Ask Google

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 01:11 PM PST


Here’s a nifty little tool to get you through the last grueling hours of Friday afternoon: Fresh from Google Labs comes “Books Ngram Viewer,” a visualization tool that shows you the annual frequency of certain words used in books published between 1500 and 2008.

Predictably, “Internet” was not so popular in, well, the pre-Internet age (check out the above graph to see for yourself), but this viewer is certainly handy for tracking the popularity of terms throughout the decades.

(NB: The word “Internet” seems to pop up a little early because: “Most of those are OCR errors; we do a good job at filtering out books with low OCR quality scores, but some errors do slip through,” according to the “About” section.)

The tool was assembled from data pulled from close to 5.2 million digitized books — which amounts to 500 billion words in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian — and takes advantage of Google’s free, online digital library (which has grappled with its share of legal issues in its time). Users can also download the data and build their own search tools.

Of course, the Ngram Viewer was not intended as a mere diversion — according to The New York Times, Erez Lieberman Aiden, a junior fellow at the Society of Fellows at Harvard, and Jean-Baptiste Michel, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, created this tool as part of a project on language and culture (their paper on the subject is available in a journal called Science).

We imagine that the Books Ngram Viewer could be used not only to track the evolution of language and trends over time, but also to compare and contrast the frequency of certain terms online and in print (perhaps when used in tandem with tools akin to Google Trends).

Test out some words and let us know what you think.

Image courtesy of Flickr, dotbenjamin

Reviews: Flickr, Google, Google Labs, Internet, society, test

More About: books, Books-Ngram-Viewer, Google

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Sports and Social Media: Why the Best Is Yet to Come

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 12:40 PM PST

fan image

Jim DeLorenzo is vice president of Octagon Digital, the standalone digital unit of the world's largest sports marketing firm, Octagon, Inc., which represents more than 800 athletes worldwide and advises startups focused on the sports industry. He is also the founder of Twackle.com, a Twitter-based news aggregation service focused on the sports vertical.

One of the truly great aspects of sports fandom is that it is inherently social. It's just no fun cheering by yourself. Fans want to be around other like-minded fans, regardless of whether that occurs at the actual sporting event, at the local sports bar, or during viewing parties held at our homes in front of a TV.

You would think that there would be no shortage of compelling, cutting-edge startups focused on the sports vertical. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Certainly there are some companies with the right combination of a compelling user experience and robust technology platform, but the unfortunate truth is that the sports startup space is littered with retread concepts that have little chance of succeeding.

Read on for why that is the case, how it might change, and some great examples of websites that are doing it right.

Pro Sports Content is Heavily Protected

Sports content rights holders are vigilant about protecting their content and are not apt to look kindly on any startup that attempts to circumvent the content owner's intellectual property. This is similar to the music industry’s problem, and yet entrepreneurs continue to push ahead with music startups aimed at fundamentally altering the way we consume music.

A more likely reason for the hesitation is that startups are often so focused on the prospect of working with professional athletes (and, admittedly, it is a seductive thought) that their success ends up hinging on buy-in from a significant number of those athletes. For example, in my job at Octagon, I'm approached regularly by startups looking to work with our athletes or for assistance in navigating the sports business community maze and gaining access to leagues, teams or major online sports portals.

There’s Not Enough Value for Pro Athletes

To be sure, a number of professional athletes (Chad Ochocinco comes to mind) have done a great job of using existing social media tools to their advantage and, in some circumstances, creating additional revenue streams. Even Twitter gained a boost from athletes like Shaquille O’Neal hopping on the service during its early days. Embracing social media is increasingly becoming part of the athlete marketing playbook.

At the end of the day, however, most professional athletes are too busy with their day jobs to focus on a digital strategy that likely won’t yield a return on their investment anywhere near the revenue they generate from their player contract or endorsements.

Non-team sport athletes that are more reliant on endorsement dollars are the notable exception here, but even they have difficulty monetizing a digital platform. As a result, these athlete-focused startups often find it difficult to either sign up athletes for their service or, if they do, are then effectively monetizing an athlete's participation to a level where the athlete deems it worthwhile to continue the partnership long term.

The Real Opportunities

Looking at companies that are finding success in the sports vertical, one common theme emerges: They all utilize community and tech-driven platforms that complement — not threaten — rights holders' assets. As a result, they are largely viewed by leagues, teams, etc. as partners that should be embraced, helping to pave the way for their success. Perhaps most importantly, none of their success hinges on athlete participation.

Fans have proven time and again that they want to immerse themselves in every possible way in the sports they love. Now the digital world has allowed fans direct access to not only athletes but, more importantly, other fans in a completely new way. It's a vast new space with incredibly high potential for consumption, and it's this space on which sports startups would be smart to capitalize.

Sports Startups That Get It

Below are four companies that I think approach the sports industry the right way. The success of these startups is a hopeful sign that we will see even more companies adopting this approach. It’s an exciting thought from the perspective of both an advisor to these companies and as a sports fan.

SeatGeek: Going to a game with like-minded fans is the purest form of sports community. That’s where SeatGeek comes in. Using an algorithmic, data-driven approach, SeatGeek takes ticket aggregation to the next level by providing a ticket price forecast functionality (think Farecast for sports and music events). Certainly there are many pieces that make up what is considered a "successful" sports franchise, but a packed house on game night definitely is one of them.

Fanvibe: If 2010 was the year that location-based services began creeping into the mainstream consciousness, then 2011 is going to be when that trend really hits the sports world, with Fanvibe leading the charge. The Fanvibe sports-focused, location-based application allows fans to create on-the-fly communities around specific games and events through its check-in based platform. The NBA, one of the more forward-thinking leagues in terms of utilizing digital platforms, already has integrated the Fanvibe's technology into the NBA's mobile application with "Turnstile" branded functionality.

SB Nation: While on its surface a sports blog network, and thus a content play, SB Nation has a sophisticated publishing and comment platform. As a result, any of the SB Nation blogs for individual pro and college teams are the leading online home for that team's fans. This has not gone unnoticed by professional leagues and teams. Both are now viewing SB Nation as a conduit for communicating directly with passionate sports fans.

Silver Chalice: Silver Chalice is a growing powerhouse in the sports world. To wit, Silver Chalice has developed a premium video advertising platform dubbed "SEASON" to deliver high-quality sports video highlights served alongside contextually relevant articles from SEASON's publishing partners. In other words, SEASON's technology platform enables a user reading an article about last night's game to see an advertising-supported video highlight of that same game next to the article, providing a compelling user experience while also generating revenue for rights holders and publishers.

Disclosure: The author of this post has a business relationship with SBNation.

More Sports Resources from Mashable:

- Top 10 Fantasy Football Sites to Help You Win
- How Social Media Is Changing the Super Bowl
- When Social Media Gets Athletes in Trouble
- 5 Predictions for Athletes on Social Media in 2010
- 5 Social Media Lessons the NBA Can Teach Businesses

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kycstudio

Reviews: Twitter, iStockphoto, sports

More About: social media, sports, startups, web

For more Social Media coverage:

Now You Can Read Instapaper on Kobo Apps

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 12:28 PM PST

Kobo

E-reading service Kobo announced Friday that it is updating its iPhone and iPad apps to include Instapaper integration. Customers will be able to read articles they’ve clipped from the web within the same e-reading app that they use to read their e-books and other digital content.

Users can link their Instapaper accounts to Kobo by entering a user name and password. A new book with an Instapaper cover appears on their virtual bookshelves, and its contents are automatically updated as they add web content to their Instapaper accounts. For now, features like bookmarks, highlights and notes are disabled for Instapaper articles, but other than that the reading experience is similar to an e-book.

The Instapaper integration is the second major update Kobo has made to its apps [iTunes link] this month. Last week, the company added a social reading component to its iPad app, called Reading Life, that allows users to check in to books, win badges and share passages with friends via Facebook.

Plans to add Reading Life to Kobo apps on other platforms are in the works, and this latest update complements the social reading feature nicely. One component of Reading Life, for instance, is an individualized reading profile that includes stats like hours read, books completed and percentage of library completed. Adding Instapaper to the iPad app allows Kobo to include information about the users’ web content in those stats for a more complete profile of their “reading life.”

Reviews: Facebook, instapaper

More About: e-books, e-reader, kobo

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Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy Supporters

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 12:23 PM PST


Thanks to this week's advertisers and partners for enabling us to bring you the latest social media news and resources. Mashable’s sponsors are as social media savvy as our readers!

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From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is now a global entertainment organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has over 5,000 employees, including more than 1,200 artists from close to 50 different countries.

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.

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Aro Mobile is an intelligent mobile experience that includes better email, connected contacts, smarter calendar and improved browsing. The Aro system automatically learns what’s important in your life—the people, places, dates and organizations you care about most. In your communications, Aro automatically identifies people, places, events, dates,organizations and locations. From any recognized term, Aro offers quick action menus to speed up your day.

The unique Aro experience is powered by advanced web services: next generation natural language processing and semantic data analytics services. Aro gives you the power to see through the clutter and focus your mobile life.

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.

Squarespace is a next generation publishing platform that lets anyone create custom websites with zero coding knowledge. If you do happen to be skilled in web design, Squarespace puts all the power and control is in your hands. With world-class hosting & 24/7 support, you’ll never be left out in the cold. Try Squarespace free for 14 days.

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Clickatell was the first provider of Online SMS Gateway connectivity, and after 10 years, is still the leading provider. Clickatell can deliver your SMS text messages to over 818 mobile networks in more than 222 countries and territories.

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Reviews: Android, Apps, BlackBerry Rocks!, Facebook, Gowalla, Mashable, SquareSpace, Twitter, Yahoo!, blog, iStockphoto, profiles.im, social media

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Celebrity Chefs Answer Your Questions on Facebook

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 11:29 AM PST


If the layers of your Dulce de Leche Cake never come together quite as seamlessly as Scott Conant’s, here’s your chance to ask for his assistance.

Food & Wine Magazine is launching a series of Q&A sessions with famous chefs on its Facebook Page today, and Conant, the host of the Food Network show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle is the first host.

The periodic Q&A sessions will feature top chefs posting to the Food & Wine Facebook Page. Answers will come directly from the chefs, so you don’t need to worry that the cooking advice is actually coming from the social media intern.

Today’s chat begins at 2:30 p.m. ET. Conant will offer his tips for holiday entertaining and share recipes from his new restaurant, D.O.C.G. Enoteca, in addition to taking questions.

More About: entertaining, facebook, Food, food & wine, q&a, Scott Conant

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Keep Your Tech-Gift Promises This Holiday

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 11:03 AM PST


As Santa busily sorts the naughty from the nice in a kind of seasonal secular judgment day, it’s time to think back on all the promises you broke this year.

Now, as this montage of moments flits through your head, let’s home in on all those times you’ve sworn you’ll totally give your buddy some good new tunes or your photos of an event. Yeah… fail.

As the Internet has made sharing files and information a snap, we’ve all gotten into the habit of breezily vowing to share our digital goods.

But you could also argue that the Web has contributed to our epidemic laziness. (Case in point: Taking the “outsource my life” stunt to a higher, more penny-pinching level, Fiverr lets you hire strangers to take care of all sorts of odd jobs for you for a mere $5.)

And that laziness, exacerbated by selfishness and an inability to keep a thought in your head for more than three — hey, is that a fruitcake?! — means your intended recipients know your promises to follow up are as hollow as your average citizen’s soul.

Still, if the Christmas movies have taught us anything, it’s that eleventh-hour redemption is totally possible. Here are a few quick tips for morphing from Scrooge’s Doppelganger (pre-hauntings, of course) into Santa himself.

And so begins my Netiquette column — which I write with my Stuff Hipsters Hate co-blogger, Andrea Bartz — this week over at CNN.


Check out the column at CNN.com >>

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Acik

Reviews: Internet, iStockphoto

More About: cnn, Gifts, Holiday, netiquette, Stuff Hipsters Hate, tech

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The Holiday Survival Guide for Social Media Professionals

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 10:53 AM PST


Anthony Rotolo is a professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies and cofounder of enormo.us, a storytelling company that specializes in social media, animation and interactive design. This post was co-authored with Dabney Porte, who is a life coach, social media consultant and international speaker. She is the host of the Twitter chat #smmanners where she educates her following on social media manners.

As self-identified social media addicts, we recognize that not everyone shares our passion for tweeting, posting and checking in. We value these activities because they help us stay informed, share our work with others and build networks of meaningful relationships. But with the holiday season upon us, many will be reconnecting with family and friends who do not use social media in the same way. We can’t help but wonder if some of our loved ones might consider our connected lifestyles to be strange, or worse, rude.

Some family members who have not connected with us through social media may be less familiar with the work and interests we share with our online communities. Even our longtime friends may embrace us as who we’ve always been rather than the person we’ve become since our last holiday together. This disconnect can leave us searching for conversation starters at holiday parties or looking like a Grinch as we take refuge behind our iPhones.

Meanwhile, as we spend time with those we love, we may find ourselves missing some of the people who have become part of our lives via Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. These friends know us as we are today; they are like-minded and share our most current passions.

The desire to remain in contact with our social networks may seem like technology addiction to some, or even a signal that our offline relationships have become less important. However, this view overlooks that both online and offline relationships are formed based on mutual respect and common interests. Social media allows online connections to develop into very real friendships, and it is only natural that we would miss these distant friends during the holidays.

But going home for the holidays doesn’t have to be about distancing from one set of relationships while celebrating with another. It is possible to balance these aspects of our lives during this time. Whether you’re a community manager, blogger or a fellow social media addict, here are a few suggestions to help you survive the season.

1. Reintroduce Yourself

Some of your family and friends may not know what you’ve been up to or understand how and why you connect online, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be interested in learning more. You should feel free to express the most current you, which includes your passion for social media. You will find that you have much more to share when you are true to yourself and speak confidently about your interests in the same way you do online.

2. Talk About Your Online Friends

There is no reason to shy away from mentioning your social media friends during holiday conversation. Non-users may return curious looks the first time you reference someone you know on Twitter, but acting like your social network is the online equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys will only reinforce their skepticism. You understand the value of your network. Allow yourself to acknowledge it.

3. Your Phone Is Not a Shield

It is important to remember that social media is not the only place for relationship building. Our family and friends require the same attention. Although we are used to multitasking between in-person and online conversations, and we usually forgive each other for this, your phone can become a barrier between you and your loved ones during the holidays. Instead of trying to convince your family that using your phone at the table isn’t rude (of course it is), look up and show them you’re interested.

4. Schedule Social Media Breaks

Instead of tweeting with one hand while decorating the tree with the other, plan to check in with your social networks during down times. Step out of the room for a few minutes while you reply to messages, or allow interested family members to have a look at the post you’re reading.

To make your social media breaks more efficient, try creating Twitter lists of the people you don’t want to miss during the holidays, or make a folder in your Google Reader for only your favorite blogs (the rest will be waiting for you when you get back to work). This will allow you to quickly review posts before you re-enter the party, keeping you present and available to the people around you.

5. It’s OK to Have a Silent Night

Holidays are both joyous and hectic. You can allow yourself the freedom to tweet less! And please, no selling. If you’re a community manager, avoid scheduling automatic tweets. Aside from being impersonal, you'll sound like old Mr. Potter talking business when you should be exchanging gifts or sharing a holiday meal.

Apply the same approach to e-mail and other work-related connectivity. Many of us, especially social media community managers, have gotten used to an “always on” approach to our jobs. Unless you work for Ebenezer Scrooge, use this time to relax and disconnect a bit. If not, one e-mail will lead to the next until you’ve missed out on holiday memories.

6. Share Your Holiday With Everyone You Care About

You’ve built your network by being your authentic self. If you choose to be online at all during the holidays, don’t hesitate to share special moments with your social networks. Take the opportunity to tell your online friends what they mean to you, and feel free to blog about your favorite traditions or post a few Instagram pics from your party. This will extend your holiday celebration to include your social media family.

These are just a few suggestions to make the holidays a time for embracing family and friends while remaining connected to the information, inspiration and support you value from your social networks.

We’d like to hear your survival ideas, and we wish you a very happy holiday season!

More Social Media Resources from Mashable:

- Why More Health Experts Are Embracing the Social Web
- For Restaurants, Social Media Is About More Than Just Marketing
- HOW TO: Back Up Your Tumblr Blog
- 4 Effective Tools for Monitoring Your Child's Online Safety
- 5 Crafty Tricks for Creating Killer Photo Memes

Reviews: Facebook, Google Reader, Tumblr, Twitter

More About: etiquette, facebook, Holidays, social media, twitter

For more Social Media coverage:

Coca-Cola Infiltrates Teen Social Network WeeWorld

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 10:01 AM PST


Coca-Cola has crashed the party at WeeWorld, the teen social network, in an effort to reach out to younger consumers.

The cola brand today kicked off an online and mobile tie-in with WeeWorld including a Coke Party Room, a multi-level game called Coke Secret Formula Quest, and free and premium virtual assets like a Coke polar bear, bottles and t-shirts. A home page takeover and Coke billboards are also part of the push.

To sweeten the deal, Coke is also rewarding users with items — like level boosters and currency — to enhance their experience in WeeWorld. Such perks are available for those who find hidden bottles throughout WeeWorld.

Mobile elements of the program include branded asset packs for WeeWorld’s iPhone app, the WeeMee Avatar Creator. WeeWorld claims some 40 million WeeMee avatars globally.

The push is the latest effort by Coke to shore up its teen credentials via new media. Last month, Coke partnered with SCVNGR for a location-based promotion that asked teens to scour Simon Malls properties to find hidden challenges to earn Coke rewards.

More About: advertising, coca cola, MARKETING, social network, weeworld

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Win Xbox 360 With Kinect, “Guitar Hero” & 22 Tech Prizes in Today’s MashPack [GIVEAWAY]

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 09:51 AM PST


‘Tis the season and Mashable has been getting into the holiday spirit by showcasing some of our favorite wish list items in the Mashable 10 gift guide.

But what spreads holiday cheer more than the gift of giving? That's why we've been giving away a MashPack filled with awesome social media and tech prizes every weekday during the past two weeks. Since it’s our final day of the giveaway, today’s collection of prizes is the biggest and best yet.

Today’s grand prize is the coveted Xbox 360 with Kinect and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Other big prizes include a myTouch 4G and E-Ink watch. You’ll find a list below detailing the 22 other fantastic prizes in today’s MashPack — and see information on how to win. Yesterday’s MashPack went to Jason Williams from St. Louis, Mo. (Congratulations, Jason!) For those who haven’t won yet, today is your last chance. Good luck!

Happy holidays from Mashable!

How To Win The Final MashPack

Tweeting for today’s MashPack will end Monday, December 20 at 12 p.m. ET. 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.

Xbox 360 With Kinect

Today’s grand prize is an Xbox 360 with Kinect, thanks to social commerce site Lockerz.com. Lockerz members can earn discounts on electronics like Xbox as well as music and fashions. Kinect brings games and other media to life with pure motion. You become the controller as you direct which movies and music are played with motion or the sound of your voice. Technology evaporates with full-body play, getting you off the couch and engaged in the entertainment experience. In addition to the Kinect sensor, the new Xbox 360 comes equipped with a 4GB hard drive and Xbox Live capability.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock sends players on an epic journey to save rock n' roll. The set list has more than 90 tracks, plus the option of adding songs from previous Guitar Hero games. You’ll find a new set of gameplay features, including the first-ever Quest Mode, which allows players to build an army of rock warriors. It comes with a redesigned guitar controller for the ultimate rocking out experience.

T-Mobile myTouch 4G

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.

Phosphor E-Ink Watch

Phosphor’s new World Time Curved E-Ink digital is on the cutting edge of time telling devices. It has a dual time zone display and provides a selection of 24 time zones. This means you can chose one of the 24 zones for the main display, while displaying a second time zone simultaneously. The watch can also be configured to display just the time of day or both the date and time in either over-sized or conventional-sized segments. There are five total display options. It’s curved case is sleek and ultra-thin, measuring 9.3mm thick. The Phosphor World Time Curved E-Ink watch’s assortment of different functions and display modes can’t be beat!

Sony MHS-TS10 Bloggie Touch HD Camera

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.

Aperion Audio: Audio Link

The Home Audio Link (HAL) by Aperion transmits high-quality uncompressed audio up to 100 feet. This means you can stream music from your computer, home theater, MP3 player or any other audio source to almost any speaker system in your home — wirelessly! With additional HAL receivers, you can stream a single audio source to up to three listening zones, giving you true whole-house audio without running wires across rooms.

iPom

The iPom from Speakeal is a 2.1 stereo speaker system that plays music from a USB Memory stick, SD cards or any other music device that has a 3.5mm output, such as an iPod. You can adjust the volume and which song you’re listening to just by touching the device. It has three speakers that are strategically positioned for 360 degree sound separation and distribution. Bass is adjustable and the airflow design is optimized for consistent sound performance. It has a 3.5mm AUX input jack to connect to your TV, gaming Console, MP3 player or other music sources. It comes in several colors for brightening up your listening experience!

Griffin Technology PowerDockDual

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!

Griffin Technology AirCurve Play

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 Custom-Designed Mashable Laptop Case

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 Madison Photobook

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.

Skullcandy Earbuds

Skullcandy headphones are known for their funky fashion and durable design. Their style is in line with an impressive list of celebrities who endorse the brand, including rap czar Snoop Dogg; snowboarding legends Terje Haakonsen, Mark Frank Montoya and Devun Walsh; skate pros Lizard King, Theotis Beasley and Greg Lutzka; surf rulers Mick Fanning, Owen Wright, Kolohe Andino, the Gudauskas brothers, and Clay Marzo; as well as free-ski greats Tanner Hall, Kaya Turski, and Tom Wallisch.

Merkury Innovations Universal Square Stereo Speakers

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.

Ben Folds’ Lonely Avenue Deluxe Album

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 iPad Case

Hard Candy Cases merges fashion and function to distinguish and protect mobile phones and now tablets 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.

ZAGGsparq 2.0

The ZAGGsparq 2.0 is a mobile device charging unit that plugs into a standard outlet and provides two USB ports to plug devices into. When it’s unplugged, the ZAGGsparq 2.0 carries four complete recharges, so even the most power-hungry smart phones can live on while you’re on the go. It can be used for just about everything portable and chargeable, be it a cell phone or a hand-held gaming device. It also works with iPad, bringing it from 0% to 60% at the same rate as the iPad wall charger.

Desk Pets Skitterbots

The Skitterbot is a speedy legged robot that travels at one foot per second and is controlled by a unique patent pending five button USB remote controller/charger. Made by Desk Pets, it moves forward, backwards, turns left and turns right and stops. The Skitterbot comes in four different colors and four different frequencies, so they can race, battle and explore together. Thirty minutes of charge gives you 15 minutes of play.

Power Support USA iPad Leather Sleeve

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 iPhone 4 Anti-Glare Films

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 USA iPhone4 Designer Collection Cases

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!

Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse

The Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse isn’t your average desktop mouse. It provides the fluid, air-like comfort of the patented ErgoMotion pivot system. The mouse pivots with your natural wrist movement for comfortable and relaxed flexion, preventing cramping, fatigue and injury while promoting comfort and productivity.

Like and Dislike Stamps

Preloaded with ink good for 5,000 assertions, the Like and Dislike stamps let you make your opinion known on tangible things in real life. The idea for the stamp was born in summer 2010 after a joke image of a wooden-handled “Like Button Stamp” circulated on the web. Soon after, the Jailbreak Collective and Nation Studio in the U.K. collaborated to create real Like and Dislike stamps. It’s a formidable duo of approval and distaste.

Twournal Twitter Journal

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.

Reviews: Android, Facebook, Lockerz, Mashable, TweetPhoto, Twitpic, Twitter

More About: contest, giveaway, guitar hero, Holiday, kinect, mashpack, prizes, xbox

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The Angry Birds Finally Get Some Help [COMIC]

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 09:46 AM PST

Asking a smartphone owner if she’s ever played Angry Birds is like asking a kitten if he’s ever coughed up a hairball. Chances are, they’re both doing it right now.

All told, the addictive little platformer has reached 42 million downloads. That’s the population of Bolivia, Mozambique, and Belarus combined. Or, scientifically speaking, a metric crap-ton of mobile gamers.

But while it’s all fun and games on the surface, have you ever stopped to think about the emotional toll all this anger has taken on our colorful, big-boned, oddly wingless little friends?


This comic was illustrated by Kiersten Essenpreis, a New York-based artist who draws and blogs at YouFail.com. For more laughs, check out our previous Mashable Comics.

More Mashable Comics:

- The Existential Trouble With Social Gaming
- HOW TO: Cheat at Foursquare
- We Hold These Tweets To Be Self-Evident
- Cats: They're On the Internet
- The Future of Social Media Parenting
- The Evolution of Mobile

More About: angry birds, comics, games, gaming, humor, mashable comics, mobile games

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Amazon Updates Kindle for Android With Magazine Support

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 09:18 AM PST


Amazon has updated its Kindle for Android app, adding support for newspapers and magazines. Amazon has long offered access to newspaper and magazine content via its Kindle hardware devices, but this is the first time that functionality has been extended to third-party gadgets.

Amazon originally announced its plans to bring periodicals to its iPhone, iPad and Android apps in October. Users can purchase single issues or subscription content for newspapers and magazines from within the Kindle for Android app or from Amazon.com. Subscription content is auto-delivered and content is synced across devices and platforms.

Amazon competitor Kobo introduced periodical support for its iOS apps in October. The approach — as well as the available content — is similar on both services.

We signed up for a trial subscription to The Atlantic to test Kindle for Android’s new periodical support. Each article is accompanied by a small image, but this is still very much a text-based implementation. Still, the reading experience is surprisingly good. While lacking the multimedia enhancements of magazine apps for the iPhone or iPad, Amazon’s approach still offers good navigation and easy readability.

Newspapers and magazines support full text search (a nice touch) and selected text can be defined on the fly by Dictionary.com or looked up in Wikipedia. You can also find other instances of a word or phrase within the publication.

Although this text-centric approach works quite well for smaller screens — like smartphones — we’re unsure how well the experience will translate to larger-screen Android tablets or on the iPad. For publications like The Economist, The Atlantic or The New York Times, the experience is quite serviceable.

For example, we downloaded an issue of a local magazine, The Atlantan, and found the experience to be less enjoyable. Text is still selectable and images can be zoomed in on, but the overall layout suffers from the same problems that many books with graphical layouts suffer when translated to ePub. Reformatting content for touchscreen devices is a non-trivial task, and as it stands, the Kindle implementations of periodical content can’t compete with the solutions offered by Adobe, ScrollMotion or even PDF-based Zinio.

The key advantage of Amazon’s solution lies not in its implementation, but with the buy once, read everywhere strategy, as well as its subscription pricing plans. Like Kobo, which offers similar functionality, this is a great value proposition for consumers who can be reassured that their purchased content is accessible across platforms and devices.

Apple is rumored to be close to launching its own subscription magazines solution. A consortium of major media publishers is also prepping Next Issue, which is self-dubbed “Hulu for magazines.” It’s possible that Amazon could take a more tablet-centric approach for some of its content — much as Barnes & Noble is planning with the Nook. Were that to happen, Amazon’s offering could be much more attractive.

For now, we’re impressed with the Kindle of Android update, with the caveat that this is really suited for text-heavy publications.

Are you buying or subscribing to magazines or newspapers on your smartphone or e-reader? Let us know.


Home Screen




New magazine issues show up on the main home page. Older issues appear in the archives.


Table of Contents




Articles are separated by sections. For newspaper titles, breaking news stories can also be highlighted.


Table of Contents




Articles you have already read appear in grey, whereas unread articles are black.


Article Text




Images are sparse, but text is selectable and a word count is presented for every page.


Article Text




Images are sparse, but text is selectable and a word count is presented for every page.


Menu Options




The menu lets you navigate between articles, go to the table of contents, access breaking news (for newspapers) and adjust text settings.

Reviews: Android, Hulu, Wikipedia, adobe AIR

More About: amazon, android, Android apps, digital magazines, e-readers, Kindle, kindle for android

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LinkedIn Refreshes Polls Feature, Adds More Business Analytics

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 09:03 AM PST


LinkedIn has completely revamped its Polls feature with a slew of new sharing tools and business analytics for breaking down results.

LinkedIn Polls is just like any other polling service: You ask a question, add the potential responses (up to five) and choose how long it will run. Once you do that, you can share it out via your social networks or embed it on your website to gain maximum voting power.

It’s not the ability to poll your audience that makes LinkedIn Polls useful, though — frankly, it has far fewer features than market leader Polldaddy. It’s the analytics that makes it potentially useful. Because it’s linked to LinkedIn, you can break down voting by age, gender or seniority. There’s a benefit to knowing how an executive responds to a poll question or what answer females select the most.

Frankly, most of the Mashable team wasn’t even aware LinkedIn had a polling feature in the first place, but it’s nice to see LinkedIn giving it some renewed attention. LinkedIn’s polling feature can never replace more feature-rich polling applications, but for most professionals, it’s more than enough to get the job done.

Reviews: LinkedIn, Mashable

More About: linkedin, LinkedIn Polls

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75+ Ways to Do Good With Social Media

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 08:42 AM PST

heart charity image

The only thing better than unwrapping a shiny new train set or a brand new pony is being able to give a meaningful (or awesome) gift to someone else. While your wish lists might be loaded with requests for iPads or an Xbox Kinect, there are lots of people out there who are hoping for just shelter, food or clean water.

There are lots of ways to do good using social media or to brush up on some of the most fascinating, innovative companies and non-profits committed to changing the world for the better. We’ve collected a slew of Social Good resources, from infographics to campaigns to social good champions to tips and case studies.

If you’re interested in doing good this holiday season, have a look through the resources below and let us know in the comments how you’re planning to give back for the holidays through social media.

Send a Valentine to a Survivor

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ideabug

Reviews: Facebook, YouTube, iStockphoto

More About: charity, Holiday, non-profit, online giving, roundup, social good, social good roundup, social media

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Social Media Monitor Makes Tracking Facebook & Twitter Brand Growth Simple

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 08:26 AM PST


Wildfire, a startup focused on creating interactive promotions on Facebook and Twitter, has launched Social Media Monitor, a new tool that tracks and compares how brands are performing on Facebook and Twitter.

Wildfire describes Social Media Monitor as “a Compete.com for the social world.” It’s a rather straightforward tool that lets you compare the social performance of different websites, companies or brands on Facebook and Twitter. Say you want to compare Facebook fan growth between Target and Walmart; all you need to do is enter both names into Wildfire and, voila, you are shown a month-by-month comparison of Facebook fan growth. In the case of Target vs. Walmart, Target is the clear winner.

Social Media Monitor is also shareable — any specific analysis or page can be tweeted, “liked,” or shared with friends. You can set up weekly alerts for brands you’re tracking, and add or subtract different brands to your analysis in order to compare their growth against new contenders. Finally, you can embed these graphs onto your website, although they will likely fail to fit your site’s formatting because they have a width of 684px (the maximum for many sites is 640px, the standard for an HD YouTube video).

There are applications like Social Media Monitor on the market today like TwitterCounter, but none that we know of that combine Facebook and Twitter tracking like Wildfire has done. It’s a rather simple tool that provides useful social data at a glance.

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

More About: analytics, social media analytics, Social Media Monitor, wildfire

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“FarmVille for Dummies” Is Real and Available for Pre-Order

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 08:14 AM PST


We have a new frontrunner for the most redundant book title of 2010 award: Wiley's FarmVille for Dummies, available for pre-order on Amazon now.

On sale for $13.14, the book won't be in print until February 15 of next year. But if you can't wait until then to know what's inside, here's how the "only how-to, full-color book available on the game sensation FarmVille" is described on Amazon:

"… Yet, there has been no beginner guide that offers an introduction to newcomers and updates to experienced players … UNTIL NOW! (emphasis ours).

FarmVille For Dummies is aimed at getting novices acquainted with FarmVille rules and regulations, while more savvy players can sharpen their skills and find out how to stay up to date on the latest FarmVille features.

You'll discover how to download the app, create a farmer avatar, and establish your first farm. Then you’ll progress to finding neighbors, purchasing farm cash and coins, shopping at the market, and more."

Unlike other amusing jabs (that proved to be hoaxes or parodies) at what social media and gaming elitists might feel is a fairly sophomoric game, what makes FarmVille for Dummies so amusing is that it is, indeed, real. And truth be told, there's probably a market for it; the game currently boasts some 55 million active users on Facebook, and spinoff CityVille is already parent company Zynga's fastest growing franchise to date.

Unfortunately, however, the book will hit stores a little too late to be the perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite news feed-polluting aunt.

Reviews: Facebook

More About: books, farmville, social games, trending, wiley

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Gap Employs GPS-Equipped Reindeer in Holiday Promotion

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:50 AM PST

There’s no Donner, no Blitzen and no Rudolph in Gap’s latest social media promotion, but there’s plenty of weirdness.

The clothing retailer, working with AKQA, has unleashed an admittedly odd campaign that tracks eight real reindeer (not the flying kind) in a pasture in Lake Crystal, Minn.

The reindeer, which are equipped with GPS, compete in various “contests” including tests for who moves the farthest, fastest, slowest or closest to the North Pole on a particular day. Each one is connected to a different deal. Emma, for instance, will get you 40% off your whole purchase. Chloe will get you all accessories in store for $5 each. (The video above shows the owner of the pasture is fairly perplexed about the whole thing.)

Fans are encouraged to give their preferred reindeer a boost with supported tweets. You’ve got to give points for Gap for trying something different, but so far the Twitter activity seems pretty modest. Will it fly?

Reviews: Twitter

More About: advertising, AKQA GPS, gap, MARKETING

5 Predictions for Game Mechanics in 2011

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:37 AM PST

joystick image

Gabe Zichermann is the author of the critically acclaimed book Game-Based Marketing (Wiley, 2010), the upcoming Gamification by Design (O'Reilly, 2011) and blogs at Gamification.co. He's also the chair of the January Gamification Summit in San Francisco. Mashable Readers are invited to attend with a special discount by using the code GSMASH11 at GSummit.com.

This year was the first time most people heard the term “Gamification,” the process of using game thinking and game mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Although this strategy has always been around us, a combination of factors have made the topic explode onto the scene. These include the rise of Zynga and social games into the largest sector (by reach) of gaming, the demonstrable power of Foursquare's badges and mayor mechanics to engage consumers in simple tasks, and 30+ years of video games everywhere.

But if 2010 was the year we make contact, 2011 promises to truly be the year when game mechanics take over: a potential roller coaster of exciting product, company and organizational launches. And so, here are my predictions for the breakthroughs we'll see in game-powered enterprises.

1. Health Gets More Fun

wii fit image

Getting fit and staying healthy are some of the hardest things to do. Games like Brain Age and Wii Fit have emerged in the past few years, making headlines for their ability to turn exercise –- mental or physical –- into something fun. But while these games haven't yet had much of an impact on our health, hundreds of startups and established companies are leveraging the lessons of those games to create real change.

In 2011, we'll start to see the first successful examples of game mechanics used for health — largely around big data streams and mobile, building off Fitbit, Nike+ GPS and other monitoring and measurement ecosystems. “Gamified” health will look less like games, however, and more like apps that make fitness fun — for example, tying Xbox achievements to gym-based treadmills instead of creating virtual treadmills to run on.

2. Education Hears the Bell

mindsnacks image

Almost everyone agrees that education needs reform. But most efforts to use games to educate children have been failures, largely as a result of designers having to please parents and teachers before kids’ needs are served. With the advent of devices like the iPod touch and tablets however, a new generation of education companies can reach kids with less friction and more feedback.

I believe we'll see the first "trans-institution" apps that connect students across different schools. We'll see the first “gamified” textbooks from publishers while federal and state governments will continue to innovate and support initiatives in education. For adults, applications like MindSnacks, an iPhone app that makes learning languages more fun, will transform how we engage with continuing education. Expect an explosion in apps and services for language, food, finance and geo-location that manipulate game mechanics.

3. Blue Skies Ahead

recyclebank image

Although a number of games have been made to help people change their environmental behavior, few have had much long-term success. More subtle experiences, however, like the "health meters" in the Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf are proving to be a hit with drivers through ambient feedback, like a plant that grows when the car is driven in more environmentally friendly ways.

Companies like RecycleBank have had early success convincing customers to recycle by giving them rewards, and a whole host of electricity and carbon-offset startups are emerging to help consumers reduce their consumption. Big and small companies alike will continue to innovate here, with the support of energy companies and progressive governments; the stakes couldn't be higher.

4. Loyalty Programs Get More Virtual

Airline frequent flyer programs are among the best examples of successful game systems. United Mileage Plus and American AAdvantage together count more than 100 million active "players." Recently, these programs have become more game-like, adding progress bars and competition to their mix to improve user engagement.

At the same time, major online gamification players like Zynga and TopGuest have been striking deals to break down the walls between virtual activities (like checkins) and "real" rewards. From hotel chains to credit cards, reward programs will continue connecting with game-like experiences online. Plan to start earning points and miles in unexpected places and redeeming those points for virtual goods.

5. Big Brands Get Involved

Startups drive innovation, and game mechanics are ripe for exploration with exciting technology and service companies emerging almost weekly in the space. Big brands also understand the need for game-like connections. Traditional advertising continues to lose effectiveness with younger consumers, and customer acquisition costs remain stubbornly high.

Some of the world's biggest brands have taken notice of how game mechanics can help their strategies. In 2011, we’ll be likely to see a handful of major media companies and consumer goods brands launch gamified experiences, with even more to follow in 2012. Expect to see the most innovation in finance, travel and TV.

Next year will be a very exciting year for gamification and customer engagement overall. From small startups working on energy consumption to the world's biggest media properties, tools like points, badges, leaderboards and challenges will be increasingly deployed to create emotional and brand loyalty. That's a fun future we can all look forward to!

More Gaming Resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Use Game Mechanics to Power Your Business
- 6 Reasons Why Social Games Are the Next Advertising Frontier
- 5 Fantastic Web Games We Can’t Stop Playing
- 6 Emerging Social Games Taking the Web by Storm
- How Social Gaming is Improving Education

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DSGpro

Reviews: Foursquare, iStockphoto

More About: game mechanics, games, gamification, predictions, predictions-2011, rewards, social gaming, social media, video games

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