Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Now You Can Use AT&T Billing for Android Market Purchases” |
- Now You Can Use AT&T Billing for Android Market Purchases
- RunKeeper’s CEO on Entrepreneurship & Competing With Nike [VIDEO]
- The Economics of Holiday Gift Giving [INFOGRAPHIC]
- U.S. Deputy CTO Flees White House to Found Startups
- Mobile Phone Software Makes Your Device Intelligent
- Double Rainbow Appears Over L.A., Twitter Explodes in Meme Catchphrases
- iPod touch, iPad & Kindle Top Gadget Searches [STATS]
- Google’s Androids Invade Outer Space [VIDEO]
- Foursquare for Android Gets Photos, Comments & Widgets
- Mashable Is Still Hiring & Other Social Media Job Opportunities
- What’s Going to Be Big in Venture Capital in 2011? [STATS]
- Announcing our Final Holiday MashPack Winner
- Analytics Dashboard Helps Fashion Brands Forecast Sales
- 3 Predictions for Social Good in 2011
- HOW TO: Get Started With Your New Roku Player
- 31 Resources for Reading Up on the Mashable Awards
- Chrome for a Cause Raises $1 Million in 5 Days
- Is the Next PSP a PlayStation Phone?
- Reddit Political Action Committee: We’re Not Happy With the New Net Neutrality Rules
- Why Is Facebook Advertising in Times Square? [PIC]
- More Than 700 Billion YouTube Videos Were Viewed in 2010 [STATS]
- Take a Break From Work E-Mail This Holiday Season
- Geofencing Patent Awarded to Where Inc.
- Merry Christmas From Antoine Dodson, the “Bed Intruder” Guy [VIDEO]
- Beta Tester Offers Look Inside Promoted Tweets
- 5 Predictions for the Music Industry in 2011
- Skype Down for Many Users [UPDATED]
- Microsoft Planning ARM-Friendly Version of Windows [REPORT]
- What Twitter’s Trending Topics Told Us About the World in 2010 [CHARTS]
- Craigslist Adult Services Shut Down Worldwide
| Now You Can Use AT&T Billing for Android Market Purchases Posted: 23 Dec 2010 01:50 AM PST      Android users on the AT&T network now have another payment option in the Android Market – AT&T Direct Carrier Billing. Besides paying for apps with a credit card, you can now simply charge the fee to your AT&T bill. Up until now, T-Mobile was the only U.S. carrier to offer carrier billing in the Android Market. The update has been gradually rolled out to all AT&T users over the past couple of days as an update to the Android Market, which also brings a couple of other improvements. These include new categories: "Media & Video", "Music & Audio", "Business", "Sports" and others. Furthermore, there’s now a 15-minute refund window for payments, and .apk packages can be up to 50 MB in size. More About: android, Android Market, att, billing, Mobile 2.0, mobile platform, smartphone For more Mobile coverage:
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| RunKeeper’s CEO on Entrepreneurship & Competing With Nike [VIDEO] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:26 PM PST Jason Jones has run a marathon in an iPhone suit. He’s secured partnerships with companies like Foursquare to award badges without checking in. But now he faces his greatest challenge: Preparing FitnessKeeper, the company behind the popular RunKeeper app, for battle against Nike. Earlier this month at the LeWeb conference in Paris, I had a chance to sit down with the entrepreneur and talk about the growth of his Boston-based company, which recently raised $1 million in seed funding. He chatted about his larger ambitions with FitnessKeeper (he wants it to be a platform for health tracking across a multitude of device) and the growing threat that is Nike. Earlier this year, Nike released Nike+ GPS, an application that provides a fresh challenge to RunKeeper’s dominance of the mobile running market. Check out what Jones has to say about Nike and FitnessKeeper, as well as his top piece of advice to entrepreneurs in the video below: Reviews: RunKeeper, foursquare More About: FitnessKeeper, interview, LeWeb, LeWeb 2010, Nike, runkeeper, startup, video For more Startups coverage:
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| The Economics of Holiday Gift Giving [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 10:39 PM PST  How much money is lost in gift cards each year? How often are gifts regifted, returned or left unopened? Whose gifts are valued the most? Group payment system WePay has put together the infographic above to illustrate the answer to those and several other questions pertaining to holiday gift-gifting. Among the more interesting findings:
As WePay suggests, it’s perhaps a little wiser to spend more on gifts for yourself this holiday season than for your family and friends. Lead image courtesy of Flickr, flashfire. Reviews: Flickr More About: holiday shopping, infographic For more Business coverage:
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| U.S. Deputy CTO Flees White House to Found Startups Posted: 22 Dec 2010 09:14 PM PST   Andrew McLaughlin’s résumé just got a bit longer; the ex-Googler-turned-Obama-administration-geek is now leaving the political sphere to found startups. McLaughlin was Google’s director of Global Public Policy for five and a half years; he left around June 2009 to work under Aneesh Chopra as the deputy U.S. CTO. As such, he has been an advocate of open government and net neutrality. As a professional, McLaughlin is equal parts über geek and legal eagle; he’s had extensive experience where issues of law and technology overlap. And clearly, he’s no stranger at handling political situations. The one thing we don’t know about McLaughlin is whether he’s cut out for entrepreneurship. We’re unclear what role he’ll be playing as a founder, but we’re definitely excited to hear about what he’ll be doing in the next few months. After all, ex-Googlers have something of a tradition when it comes to founding startups. They’ve got the brain power, tech connections and power to impress VCs and press that few other company alum groups have. The Washington Post reports that McLaughlin’s actually starting two separate companies, both of which revolve around technology development in various communities around the U.S. and around the world. “I’m interested in fostering low-cost, collaborative tech for state and local governments,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Post, “and also in supporting new startups in developing countries, one non-profit the other for-profit.” McLaughlin will also be teaching law after his stint at the White House is finished on Thursday. Earlier this year, the deputy CTO was reprimanded for an ethically questionable e-mail exchange with current Google employees. Reviews: Google More About: andrew mclaughlin, Aneesh Chopra, politics, startups, technology, us cto For more Business coverage:
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| Mobile Phone Software Makes Your Device Intelligent Posted: 22 Dec 2010 08:43 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.
Quick Pitch: Aro is an Android app that connects e-mail, SMS, voice mail and social network updates to the people who sent them so you can find what you need when you need it. Genius Idea: A smartphone is labeled as such because it packs advanced computing power that allows the user to browse the web, install applications and leverage location-based technology. And yet, while the name implies mobile phone intelligence, intelligent it is not. Mobile phone software startup Aro Mobile — currently in beta for Android devices — seeks to become the central nervous system of your phone, processing its information to help improve overall function. It’s a product that has been nearly three years in the making and has far-reaching implications, especially since it’s backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Aro offers a suite of personal information management applications that can index e-mail, text messages, address book entries, social media updates, calendar events, gelocation data and more. Once installed on Android devices, Aro can pluck out more than 100 different types of concepts — such as people, places, events, dates, organizations and locations — from text. It can also understand context and then make intelligent recommendations on next actions. The technology is capable of tracking cross-platform conversations, surfacing contact info from within e-mail, automatically pre-populating meeting fields with contacts and location, and calculating travel time based on your current location and your destination. This is all made possible through Aro’s natural language processing and semantic data analysis technology. Its ability to understand relationships and context improves with time. Users will also like the Aro Stream, a widget that sends a continual stream of automatically selected information floating across the phone’s home screen. Here you’ll see items like missed calls, important meetings, text messages and upcoming events. You can then choose to interact with any of these action items from the home screen. Aro, according to CTO Andy Hickl, was born from the recognition that mobile devices are becoming indispensable to our daily lives. At the same time, we are housing our personal information — contacts, e-mail, messages and events — inside web services, which leads to fragmentation and makes for personal data silos that are difficult to access. Aro offers a fragment-free solution to this problem by making your mobile phone access this information for you. Aro is currently free to use and will soon come pre-installed on select Android devices. There’s no business model in place just yet, but Hickl expressed confidence in the team’s ability to profit through this platform of mobile apps. At some point, Aro will likely apply a freemium model and grant users access to some apps for free and others for cost. Aro has raised more than $20 million in funding from Paul Allen, so the monetization concern is something it can focus on once it has a larger install base. Right now, thousands of users are currently running the Android software, according to Hickl. A version of Aro for iPhone is under development and will be out in the next few months. Aro Stream Aro Email Person Quick Action Menu Messages Results People Results Company Quick Action Menu Automatic Event Event Quick Action Menu Event Disclosure: Aro is a sponsor of the Mashable Awards. Series Supported by 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: Android More About: android, aro mobile, bizspark, kiha software, natural language processing, Paul Allen, semantic analysis, spark-of-genius, startup For more Startups coverage:
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| Double Rainbow Appears Over L.A., Twitter Explodes in Meme Catchphrases Posted: 22 Dec 2010 08:09 PM PST   A double rainbow appeared in the sky over Los Angeles today, and Twitter users just about lost their heads. Full on. All the way. The atmospheric phenomenon appeared in several TwitPics and images from other services; users captured it from airports, from between skyscrapers, from tenement buildings, and on one celebrity-tinged occasion (thanks, Levar Burton) from what appears to be a strip mall parking lot. Already, the term “Double Rainbow” is a trending topic worldwide. Only such a perfect storm of social media and memetic opportunity could have tipped the scales for Twitter’s recently improved, WikiLeaks-defying trending topics algorithm.
We’ve rounded up a few interesting images of the double rainbow, as well. While it’s pretty, we’re not sure it’s instant-worldwide-trending-topic pretty. Its popularity is due to its predecessor, the original double rainbow, and its champion, Paul "Bear" Vasquez (a.k.a. The Double Rainbow Guy). Double Rainbow By TwitPic user Mimiface Double Rainbow By TwitPic user Hannerisms. Double Rainbow By Yfrog user danwhipple. Double Rainbow By TwitPic user KissMeeChuckee. Double Rainbow By TwitPic user (and former Reading Rainbow host, a.k.a. Geordi LaForge, best fictional space-based engineer ever) Levar Burton. Double Rainbow By Plixi user No Restrictions Ent.. So intense. What does this mean? Reviews: Twitter More About: double-rainbow, L.A., Los Angeles, trending, twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| iPod touch, iPad & Kindle Top Gadget Searches [STATS] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 06:18 PM PST   The top search terms for consumer electronics gadgets over the last four weeks include the iPod touch, the iPad and the Kindle. Other top-10 gadgets on the most-searched-for list include the Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii and the iPod nano, which got an exciting refresh this year. These stats come from Experian Hitwise, an intelligence firm with a database of more than 16,000 products in the consumer electronics sector. The analysis is intended to measure consumer demand while also showcasing paid search spending for these keywords.
 These search trends corroborate with other surveys and sales reports from the past few weeks. Online retailers have jumped on the bandwagon for the most popular products, snapping up search terms in an attempt to drive revenue. According to Hitwise, that strategy seems to be working out. More than 54% of searches referrals for the term “iPod touch” were from paid search terms.  Online retailers receiving the highest share of search traffic from the top search terms include Amazon.com, Walmart and Best Buy. Interestingly, Amazon managed to top its competitors in rankings while still retaining the lowest percentage of paid clicks. Does the listing of top consumer electronics searches match your own shopping (or wish) list for the holiday season? Let us know. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hatman12 Reviews: iStockphoto More About: Experian, hitwise, ipad, iPod Touch, Kindle, search results, stats, trending For more Social Media coverage:
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| Google’s Androids Invade Outer Space [VIDEO] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 05:23 PM PST Apparently the Internet, our phones and the world’s roads aren’t enough for Google. Now, the tech giant has sent its Android-powered army to conquer space. Okay, so maybe Google wasn’t interested in seizing the final frontier (not yet, at least), but it did use the Android OS to send seven payloads of Android figurines and Nexus S devices more than 100,000 feet above the Earth’s surface. It was part of a project to collect data at the outermost edge of our atmosphere. Each rig involved placing a Nexus S into a foam cooler loaded with Google Maps for Mobile 5.0, Google Sky Map, Latitude and a custom sensor-logging app. Each payload included an APRS transmitter attached to high-altitude GPS device, a battery for power, a radar reflector, a parachute and a weather balloon. Also, each payload carried different video and digital cameras and Android “astronauts.” Google got great data out of the project, learning that the Nexus S functions just fine at around 60,000 feet and was able to withstand temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius. They even figured out that the jet stream moves at about 130 miles per hour at around 35,000 feet. We still don’t completely trust those Android astronauts, though. They’re up to something. We’re not being paranoid at all. Reviews: Android, Google, Google Maps, Internet More About: android, Google, video, youtube For more Tech coverage:
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| Foursquare for Android Gets Photos, Comments & Widgets Posted: 22 Dec 2010 04:21 PM PST   On Monday, Foursquare released a completely overhauled version of its iPhone app with photos and comments. Today, those same features, along with two new home screen widgets, are being given to Android device owners. The photos and comments features are meant to be an exact replica of those introduced earlier this week. Users can now upload photos during and after checkins, add photos to tips and venue pages, and leave comments on friends’ checkins. The two new home screen widgets are exclusive to the Android version of the app. One allows faster checkins and the the other highlights the most recent activity from friends. Co-founder and CEO Denis Crowley has been teasing the new release and recruiting beta testers all week via Twitter, a method that seems to be working out nicely. “Btw, crowdsourcing beta testing to Twitter (for Android release) is working out great. You['re] finding all sorts of weird edge cases = THANK YOU,” reads one of those tweets. We’ve yet to toy around with the just-released Android version, but if the new features look and feel as slick as they do on iPhone, Foursquare users will not be disappointed. As for BlackBerry and webOS versions, those are slated for an early January 2011 release.  Reviews: Android, Twitter, foursquare More About: android, foursquare, Mobile 2.0, widget For more Mobile coverage:
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| Mashable Is Still Hiring & Other Social Media Job Opportunities Posted: 22 Dec 2010 03:39 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 PostingsAd Ops Manager at Mashable in New York, NY. VP Product at Mashable in San Francisco, CA. Events 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 ListingsStrategy/Creative Director at M80 in New York, NY. Senior .NET Developer at PhoneSheet in Los Angeles, CA. Sr. MySQL DBA at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Digital Media Marketing at Dunham’s Sports in Waterford, MI. Product Manager, Identity Management at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Documentation Specialist at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA. Director, Digital Strategy at Thompson Habib Denison in Lexington, MA. Technical/Development Director at a confidential company in Los Angeles, CA. Associate Media Director – Freelance at Ignited in New York, NY. Digital Media Planner – Freelance at Ignited in New York, NY. National Sales Account Manager, Digital Media at WorldNow in New York, NY. Marketplace Standards Analyst/Lead at AppNexus in New York, NY. Web Editor/Social Media Writer at buildOn in Chicago, IL. Social Media Strategist at Bailey Lauerman in Omaha, NE. Sr. Manager Social Media Marketing at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, NY. PR Account Executive – Consumer Technology at M Booth & Associates in New York, NY. PR Account Supervisor – Consumer Technology at M Booth & Associates in New York, NY. VP Engineering at a social media technology company in San Diego, CA. Web Developer at Disney ABC Television Group in New York, NY. Business Development Manager at 72andSunny in Los Angeles, CA. Creative Technologist at Pencils of Promise in New York, NY. Associate Director – Project Management at Digitas Health in New York, NY. Creative Technologist at Attention Partners in New York, NY. Media Relations Director – Gaming/Video Games at PMK*BNC in West Hollywood, CA. Manager of Information Technology/Lead Developer at Purple Wave in Manhattan, KS. Ad Ops/Client Services Manager at LearnVest, Inc. in New York, NY. VP Engineering and UI Architecture at a confidential company in San Francisco, CA. Web Content Strategist/Information Architect at TMG in Washington, DC. Sr. Digital Creative Producer at Exopolis in Austin, TX. Director, Online Acquisition Marketing at Mindflash.com in Palo Alto, CA. Director/VP of Business Development at Fanscape in New York, NY. Sales Operations Coordinator at (mt) Media Temple in Culver City, CA. Sales Consultant at (mt) Media Temple in Culver City, CA. Email Marketing Manager at UPrinting.com in Van Nuys, CA. Sales Manager at UPrinting.com in Van Nuys, CA. Senior SEO Manager at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Sr. Network Engineer at Demand Media in Bellevue, WA. Sr. Network Engineer at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Associate Content Editor at blip.tv in Santa Monica, CA. WordPress Developer at blip.tv in Santa Monica, CA. Product Manager at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. UI Engineer at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA. Audience Development Director at Time Inc. in New York, NY. Social Media Coordinator at iAnalyst in New York, NY. Sales Executive at Ambrose in New York, NY. Talent Scout at Rockin’ Digital Talent Agency in New York, NY. Analyst, Media Opt & Tech at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA. Director, Interactive Marketing at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA. Performance Test Engineer at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. Sr. Marketing Manager – Lead Generation at Buddy Media in New York, NY. Engineer at Buddy Media in New York, NY. Editorial Director at Logo in New York, NY. Vice President, Daily News at MTV in New York, NY. Customer Support Engineers at Metaswitch Networks in Alameda, CA. Mobile Developers at Metaswitch Networks in Menlo Park, CA. Server-Side Software Engineers at Metaswitch Networks in Menlo Park, 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: Mashable, iStockphoto For more Social Media coverage:
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| What’s Going to Be Big in Venture Capital in 2011? [STATS] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 03:18 PM PST   Venture capitalists and CEOs are showing renewed confidence in the state of venture capital, especially in the IT, digital media, mobile and cloud computing sectors, according to a recently released survey. The National Venture Capital Association polled around 330 U.S venture capitalists and 180 CEOs of venture-backed companies in order to get their predictions for what will happen in 2011. The survey, released Tuesday, paints an optimistic picture of investment in the new year. Of VCs surveyed, 51% said they expected venture investments to pick up in 2011, compared to just 24% who think it will remain the same and another 24% who think it will decrease. Their optimism spans across both later stage and earlier stage investments, and in fact, 30% of VCs intend to increase their co-investments with angel investors. The industry that investors are most bullish about is the IT sector. Eighty-two percent predict a rise in “consumer internet and digital media” investments, 80% predict increased activity around cloud computing and another 66% expect more investments to be made in mobile and telecom. A full 77% of VCs are bullish on health IT. Not every industry is getting the thumbs-up from VCs, though. Only 28% of VCs surveyed believe clean technology will see an increase in investment from last year, and only 38% expect increases in the energy sector. The executives and venture capitalists polled by the NVCA also believe there will be more exit events in 2011. Eighty-one percent of VCs and 82% of CEOs say that there will be more acquisitions in 2011, but while 66% of VCs believe there will be more IPOs, only 44% of CEOs anticipate the same thing. Overall, the report paints a positive picture for the state of technology. Just a year ago, the recession weighed heavy on the collective consciousness. And while we haven’t come close to a full recovery yet, it looks like the engine of the U.S. economy — entrepreneurship — is rebounding. [via CNET] More About: business, entreprneeurship, NVCA, stats, venture capital For more Business coverage:
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| Announcing our Final Holiday MashPack Winner Posted: 22 Dec 2010 03:12 PM PST   Nothing spreads holiday cheer more than the gift of giving. That’s why we gave away a MashPack filled with awesome social media and tech prizes every weekday during the past two weeks. Each pack of the first week had at least 12 prizes, and we bumped it up to at least 19 for week two. The grand prizes got bigger and better throughout the giveaway — with the coveted Xbox 360 with Kinect and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as the final top prize. Other big items throughout the contest included myTouch 4 phones, DJ Hero 2, a Kobo eReader and e-ink watches. Thousands of readers tweeted to win, and the final MashPack went to Jimmy Chung from Wausau, Wisconsin. (Congratulations, Jimmy!) Thanks to all who participated throughout the contest. Another big thanks to our friends at PromoJam for building our Twitter contest page. Keep an eye out for many more giveaways in the new year. Happy holidays from Mashable! Reviews: Mashable, Twitter, dj hero More About: contest, mashable, mashpack, prizes, winner For more Tech coverage:
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| Analytics Dashboard Helps Fashion Brands Forecast Sales Posted: 22 Dec 2010 02:57 PM PST   Online fashion styling community Polyvore today released an experimental analytics dashboard designed to help brands keep track of how their goods are performing on the site over time, revealing what’s popular with consumers before said goods even hit the stores. For those unfamiliar, Polyvore is a three-year-old online community where more than 2 million registered users create sets using product shots of clothing and accessories. These are often accompanied by other elements that help express a certain theme or lifestyle, such as iPhones, Starbucks coffee cups, and book and movie covers.  Although 2 million registered users may not seem like much, the site attracts more than 7 million unique visitors and 140 million page views per month, making it one of the largest fashion destinations on the web. One million fashion sets are created each month. The dashboard enables designers — and anyone else — to see what other brands their items are often styled with. They can also see how individual products are performing day to day (and season to season) based upon how frequently they are used in fashion collages (sets), “liked” and bookmarked for future reference. Brands will be given an overall rank reflecting these criteria. This kind of data was previously only available to companies that ran contests on the site, in which users were encouraged to explore and interact with a set of products for a chance at various prizes, such as trips and shopping sprees. Brands were then able to use that data to predict what items would sell best. This spring, for instance, Diane von Furstenberg ran a styling contest in which a certain wedge shoe that proved to be overwhelmingly popular on Polyvore went on to become a bestseller in stores. Co-founder and Head of Product Management Jess Lee claims that given the shoe’s success in the Polyvore campaign, Furstenberg decided to order more inventory, which proved to be a profitable decision. Now, all brands have access to that kind of valuable data, enabling them to make similar decisions. The dashboard should also offer brands ideas for new items to create. For instance, if users frequently style a given designer’s tees and jeans with leather jackets from another brand, said designer might consider including leather jackets in future collections. Polyvore plans to make more of its data available in future iterations, helping brands and merchandisers track the rise and fall of certain trends, and other tools to help predict what items will sell best in stores. "With the rise of social media, there's an enormous amount of customer feedback For more Business coverage:
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| 3 Predictions for Social Good in 2011 Posted: 22 Dec 2010 02:25 PM PST   Geoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media, Now is Gone, in 2007. The end of the year brings the wrapping up of crucial fundraising drives for many organizations. Looking back at events, several exciting developments occurred in the non-profit social media space. Consider the rise of mobile as a valid giving platform, the great debate about slacktivism and widespread industry belief that social media is moving the needle, crowdsourcing social good hit unprecedented levels, and several new tools arrived that offer grassroots activism and online fundraising. Moving forward, there are still many online challenges for the social good space. The coming year will see more developments as technologists, activists and online communicators work together to try to address issues such as cause fatigue, delivering return on investment and harnessing new and challenging media forms. Here are three social good trends to watch in 2011. 1. Social Middleware Will Make Causes More FunCause fatigue hit an all time high in 2010, in large part because of over communication of vote-for-me contests, an unusually high amount of natural and manmade disasters, and poorly executed social media. More non-profits will turn to social middleware platforms like Crowdrise, Jumo, and a soon-to-emerge next generation Causes to reinvigorate their online efforts and create more fluid grassroots activism and fundraising. These middleware solutions leverage people's inherent networks in Facebook and Twitter and add new functionality to them so causes can better develop campaigns and platforms. New, layered functionality not only engages stakeholders in conversations, but it empowers individuals to create their own social good campaigns and initiatives as free agents. Expect non-profits and individuals who are suffering from cause fatigue and low return on investment from traditional social media tools to seek these more sophisticated answers. The big question is which of these platforms will emerge as social good industry leaders. The race will be to see which platform can get the most causes and active users and may even feature competitive price wars on percentages taken from donations.
2. Causes Will Keep Tinkering With MobileMobile became very interesting in 2010. Haiti fundraising was astounding. Smartphone applications were developed for canvassing and activism. Geosocial networks garnered enough subscribers to merit experimentation with projects that included homeless shelter checkins and museum mayorship battles. At the same time, industry voices raised reasonable criticism about mobile as a valid platform for social good. These concerns range from return on investment with applications to questions about Foursquare’s long-term validity as a geosocial network. The critiques are reminiscent of the social media adoption curve in 2007. The reality of mobile Internet usage shows only an increased year-over-year use by citizens with more affordable and powerful smartphones. This creates an inescapable media platform for non-profits. Look for more experimentation and adoption, and with it the emergence of mobile social good best practices. 3. Improved Corporate Social GoodThanks to social media, the number of campaigns that joined brands with causes to donate a portion of proceeds hit a new high in 2010. At the same time, companies and their non-profit affiliates started to receive push back from online citizens about the value of such efforts, whether their social good efforts had any significant impact and how they related to the brand. As the social web brought new levels of authenticity to general intra-company and personal communications, this new level of online accountability will require a more authentic corporate social responsibility. Look for more core value ties between cause marketing efforts and actual causes in 2011. More Social Good Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, oonal Reviews: Facebook, Internet, Twitter, iStockphoto More About: charity, List, Lists, non-profit, Opinion, predictions-2011, social good For more Social Good coverage:
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| HOW TO: Get Started With Your New Roku Player Posted: 22 Dec 2010 01:51 PM PST   This post is part of the Mashable 10, Mashable’s gift guide of the 10 hottest gadgets that our editors think should be on everyone’s wish lists this holiday season. If you were lucky enough to receive one of those gifts, our handy quick start guides should get you up and running. To view the entire gift guide, click here.
The Roku is easy to use and mostly self-explanatory in terms of features, but we’ve managed to track down some tips and tricks to make your streaming entertainment box as awesome as possible. If you’re the lucky recipient of a Roku box this holiday season, check out our guide. The Roku comes with a bunch of channels pre-enabled on the device, but using the Channel Store, users can add more to their home screen. To do this, on the main Roku screen, select “Channel Store,” then use the remote control to browse through the channel offerings. Once you find a channel you like, just select the “add channel” option. Now, that channel will be accessible in the carousel on the home screen. Channels to Check Out Roku has more than 130 different channels, but these are some of our favorites that extend beyond the Amazon/Hulu/Netflix game.
The Joy of Private ChannelsBeyond Roku’s official channel offerings, there are some interesting private Roku channels that users can add to their boxes to extend Roku even more. Private channels are third-party channels that are either experimental or that aren’t necessarily a good fit for the Roku channels store. Still, these channels can add a lot of functionality to the Roku device. NewTeeVee has a solid write-up on how to use private channels, as well as some channels you might want to enable. To access these channels — which include gems like YouTube — go to Roku.com and log in to your account. If you don’t have an account, take the time to set one up and register your Roku. Once logged in, you can use the “Add Private Channel” option to enter in a special code that will add that channel to your device. Here are some places to find private channels:
Get on the Wireless N TrainBecause Roku is a streaming service, content quality is determined by the speed and strength of your Internet connection. Roku units come with a wired Ethernet cable — which can be a great way to ensure a sustained connection, but unless your house is wired with cat5e or cat6 cables, or you just happen to have a router near your television set, most users are probably going to be using a wireless data connection. The Roku XD, XDS and older Roku HD XR all support Wireless N connections, with the XDS and HD XR supporting dual-band Wireless N. If you don’t already have a Wireless N router (we’re fans of this Netgear model), the Roku might just be enough to push you to an upgrade. Wireless N — even if you are just using single band — can make a huge difference when streaming HD content, especially high-quality stuff from Netflix or Hulu Plus. Content that might sputter or drift between quality settings on an 802.11g connection will play seamlessly on a faster Wireless N connection. This also means that it will take less time to load channels and content. Your ThoughtsIf you have a Roku player, let us know your favorite tips, tricks and favorite channels in the comments! Reviews: Crackle, Flickr, Hulu, Internet, Pandora, Vimeo, YouTube More About: connected devices, connected tv, hulu plus, mashable 10, mashable 10 quick start, MOG, netflix, roku, roku xds, streaming tv For more Tech coverage:
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| 31 Resources for Reading Up on the Mashable Awards Posted: 22 Dec 2010 12:56 PM PST   In preparation for the 2010 Mashable Awards Gala, we’ve been gathering content related to each of the awards categories to help you, the readers, along in the voting process. The final nominees, as voted by Mashable readers, were announced earlier this month, and voting closed on December 15. Leading up to the gala, which takes place on January 6, 2011 in Las Vegas, we have more great surprises in store for you. If you’ve already checked out the full list of finalists and the infographic to accompany it, and you’re looking to learn more about each category and the finalists, the following resources will be of interest. If you haven’t purchased your Mashable Awards Gala tickets yet, what are you waiting for? Do it! Social Media
Startup/Company Web Mobile Social Good Let us know which categories and finalists you’re most excited about in the comments below. 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 be hosted by comedian Baratunde Thurston, The Onion’s Director of Digital, and the remix masters, Eclectic Method, will get the crowd in a party mood. The Awards Gala will also include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. 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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Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications including the BlackBerry® wireless platform and the new BlackBerry PlayBook. For the latest on the BlackBerry PlayBook visit the Inside BlackBerry Blog. Mashable Awards Category Sponsor:
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Images courtesy of iStockphoto, mattjeacock & Flickr: rishibando, dougwoods, New Work City, Josh Kenzer Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Internet, Mashable, Twitter, iStockphoto More About: List, Lists, mashable awards, mashable awards 2010, Mobile 2.0, social good, social media, startups, web For more Social Media coverage:
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| Chrome for a Cause Raises $1 Million in 5 Days Posted: 22 Dec 2010 12:44 PM PST   Web users who installed Google's Chrome for a Cause extension opened more than 60 million tabs from December 15 to 19, effectively raising $1 million on behalf of Google’s partner charities. The extension enabled Chrome users to donate their opened tabs to one of five causes at the end of each day. Google promised to tally up the total tabs and donate funds to these causes — up to $1 million total — as divvied up by user selection. It’s not clear whether a dollar amount was ascribed to each tab opened, but Google seemed pleased enough to donate the $1 million. Extension users responded to the call by raising 60,599,541 tabs for charity; $245,278 will go toward planting trees, $232,791 will be used to provide clean water to people in developing nations, $112,078 will be allocated for shelters in Latin America, $267,336 will help administer vaccinations against meningitis, and $142,518 will be used to publish books by local writers and illustrators in Asia and Africa. Google’s feel-good holiday tab drive is the company’s first Chrome for a Cause initiative, but future extension-driven projects are said to be in the works.  Image courtesy of The Nature Conservancy Reviews: Chrome, Google More About: Chrome for a Cause, Google, google chrome, social good For more Social Good coverage:
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| Is the Next PSP a PlayStation Phone? Posted: 22 Dec 2010 12:42 PM PST   A Sony executive recently offered up some hints regarding the company’s plans for a successor to the PlayStation Portable while chatting with The New York Times. These hints coincide with reports suggesting that the long-rumored Android-powered Playstation Phone is due to hit the market in April. Kazuo Hirai, Sony’s gaming chief, acknowledged the competition on the portable gaming front from platforms like iOS and Android. But, he added, “The games being played on Android and Apple platforms are fundamentally different from the world of immersive games that Sony Computer Entertainment, and PlayStation aims for.” That might be true now, but the smartphone gaming landscape is changing quickly. Epic Games released its Unreal Development Kit for iOS back in September, and the first Unreal Engine game, Infinity Blade, has already changed perceptions about just what kind of games can be created on the iPhone. Likewise, id Software’s Rage HD is nothing short of stunning. And with casual mobile games like Angry Birds exceeding 50 million downloads, mobile gaming momentum is shifting decidedly to the smartphone. The question of whether games can be adequately controlled using touchscreens is an issue that Sony seems to be grappling with. Hirai told the Times that touchscreens work fine for some games, but “you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads.” He added that he thinks “there could be games where you’re able to use both in combination.” The combination of multiple devices in gameplay aligns perfectly with recently leaked photos of the rumored PlayStation Phone. Sources told Pocket-lint Wednesday that the device, developed by Sony Ericsson, was slated for an April 2011 release. Pocket-lint also says that the device will debut at the Mobile World Congress in February. Judging from some of the statements Sony has made over the last few months, our guess would be that the phone, while based on Android, would have its own set of device-specific games and perhaps even its own version of a PlayStation Network store. On the subject of a PlayStation Phone, Hirai stressed the importance of staying on message with the PlayStation brand, telling The New York Times, “We have to come up with a message that users will understand. It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation’s strengths intact.” It seems clear that new PSP, whether that means PlayStation Portable or PlayStation Phone, is definitely in the works. Depending on its execution, a gaming-centric portable device that can also act as a smartphone could be disruptive in what is becoming a very hot space. Reviews: Android More About: mobile gaming, playstation, PlayStation Phone, PSP, sony, video games For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Reddit Political Action Committee: We’re Not Happy With the New Net Neutrality Rules Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:55 AM PST   The FCC passed net neutrality regulation Tuesday. To many Internet users, this law’s implication is vague. How will this improve our user experience and why should we care one way or another about what the government has to say about the net? To one group of users, this law, its implication and why they needed to speak out was clear. Reddit PAC was the brain child of Eddie Geller, a Los Angeles comedian who was upset about the possible defeat of net neutrality. He went to Reddit to express his dismay in a call to arms. “I got sick of being told what we can’t have, because the political climate is about to be 'inopportune.' So, I had the idea that the users of Reddit band together to demand action,” Geller said. He decided to create a political action committee to harness the impromptu support he received for his post, in an attempt to become a serious voice on net neutrality. Geller and his group incorporated, created a website to facilitate grassroots action, traveled to Washington and immediately began to work in tandem with other groups. I spoke with Geller about the impact of the net neutrality vote and his group’s actions to understand more about neutrality from a grassroots perspective. What does your membership look like? Who considers themselves a Reddit PAC member and what constitutes that membership? For legal reasons, I should start off by saying we are now the Open Source Democracy Foundation. We emerged from Reddit and tend to hang out at reddit.com/r/rpac, but out of fear from Condé Nast’s lawyers, we need to make it clear that this organization is not affiliated with Reddit. That being said, much of our membership is young, educated, tech-savy and passionate about politics — particularly net neutrality. Of course, because of the nature of the users of Reddit, we’re a bit of a “Boys’ Club” right now. That’s something we need to work on, because this is an issue that affects women just as much as men, and we want to fight the perception of the Internet as a male-dominated arena. Also, I’d say anyone who’s joined our e-mail list would consider themselves a member. Members can become more involved by commenting on discussions on reddit.com/r/rpac or attending IRC meetings. And some members are volunteers who work on our website, do research or contribute in any number of ways. Why do you care about net neutrality and why should the average user? I care about net neutrality because it concerns me as a citizen and as a consumer. I believe, as Sen. Al Franken recently put it, net neutrality is “the most important free speech issue of our time.” Right now, the barrier to entry to get on the Internet is so low — and that’s great. But without strong net neutrality rules in place, there could come a day where some speech is harder to find than others. If I want to go to DemocracyNow.org to get my news, I can get there as easily as I can get to CNN.com. The same can’t be said for finding those voices on television. And it’s not just finding speech that’s the issue — it's censorship. In 2005, look at what Canadian telecom TELUS did during a dispute with union workers: They blocked subscribers from accessing a site that supported the union members. What if that’s your union? Or in 2007 when Verizon blocked an abortion-rights group from sending out text messages (a decision they reversed and admitted was “incorrect.”) You don’t have to be for abortion rights to realize that the owners of the pipes (the telecoms) could decide that your cause is unfit for the airwaves. As a consumer, I’m alarmed by the story that came out of Wired last week. It showed a slide from Allot Communications and Openet suggesting their companies could “make it possible for your wireless provider to monitor everything you do online and charge you extra for using Facebook, Skype or Netflix.” And if I owned a small business, that would frighten me, too. I might think, “Are the telecoms going to make it harder for users of the Internet (whether it be mobile or wired) to reach my website?” The average Internet user should care because they’re definitely a consumer; they’re a citizen of somewhere; and they might even run a business. In light of that, are you happy with the FCC’s new ruling? Definitely not. We signed on to a letter with SaveTheInternet.com (along with 80 other groups) to tell the FCC their proposal falls short in five areas: paid prioritization, wireless protections, it’s too easily exploitable to loopholes, it opens the door to specialized services, and it puts net neutrality on questionable legal footing. You can find that letter here (PDF link). It would have been great to see the reclassification of the Internet from an information service to a Title II Telecommunications Service. Using the Internet is fundamentally about communication and should be treated as such. Every lobbying entity has a foe. Pro-gun vs. anti-gun. Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. Who is your lobbying foe and why? Our lobbying foes are any groups that are anti-citizen, anti-consumer and anti-small business. Okay, I know that sounds like too much of a political answer, but I’ll be more specific: The telecommunications industry seems to be leading that charge. But if, all of a sudden, these companies started lobbying for making it easier for Americans of all stripes to access the Internet equally, then we’d no longer be on opposite sides. Fundamentally, the companies that are fighting true net neutrality rules are looking for a way to pay for the cost of building out the infrastructure needed to provide the rich content and services of Web 3.0 and beyond. We would like them to do that as well. However, to do that by paid prioritization of traffic, or bandwidth throttling, or other “network controls” creates a fundamentally unfair playing field on the Internet, at the expense of the user. It entrenches the power players, rather than opening up the same opportunities Web 1.0 and 2.0 have brought us. And if these companies want to make their case that these policies are absolutely necessary, I invite them to send someone to http://www.reddit.com/r/rpac to present that argument. We are very open to honest debate and can be swayed by facts and good arguments. What’s been your lobbying strategy so far and where’s it going in the future. We helped deliver 2,000,000 signatures to the FCC with FreePress.net in support of Real Net Neutrality. I also had a conversation with FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to express our concerns with the draft proposal. I imagine we’ll continue with those sorts of efforts, but we need to also be innovative. We need to work with the culture not against it. Jon Stewart dedicated an entire episode of The Daily Show to the 9/11 First Responders bill and now it’s being talked about again. We need to stop decrying our fellow Americans for watching Dancing with the Stars instead of calling their representatives. Instead, we need to be focused on how we get those people to participate. Once we have some of those people, our calls, petitions, and whatever else we do will be that much stronger. If you are successful, what does the Internet look like? An Internet that looks like the one we have now, with very clear rules for how you can’t tamper with it. Name three things that someone who agrees with you can do to have an impact. 1. Go to http://www.theosdf.org and sign up to be on our mailing list — or even better — sign up to volunteer. That sounds self-serving, but I’m a believer in mass, coordinated action. Calling and writing our representatives is crucial — and by all means, please do that! But if you’re back in the 1930s and you decide you want to fight Nazis, you’d probably be better off joining the Army (if you weren’t already drafted) than to just fly over to Europe by yourself with a grenade and a helmet. Maybe people did that, I don’t know. If they did, I’m sure there was a History Channel special on it. 2. Don’t get cynical. It kills me when people decide to do nothing because they think they’ll never win. I wrote my last entry on Huffington Post on this. 3. If you’re in the media, keep talking about this issue! What’s great is someone like Nilay Patel from Engadget (there are so many others, forgive me blogosphere!). Not only is he unafraid to tell his readers the impact this issue is going to have on them, but he’s writing in a forum that’s not political. His posts about net neutrality are sandwiched between iPad rumors and the videos of people hacking their Xbox. That’s fantastic because it tells readers, “Hey, if you’re using an iPad or playing Xbox online, this issue will affect you.” Image courtesy of iStockphoto, claudiodivizia Reviews: Facebook, Internet, Skype, iStockphoto More About: law, legislation, net neutrality, politics, reddit For more Social Media coverage:
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| Why Is Facebook Advertising in Times Square? [PIC] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:42 AM PST   Adding new members at a rate of 700,000 per day, Facebook doesn’t need to advertise. So what’s up with that big billboard in Times Square? The social network is currently running an electronic billboard that promotes Facebook Places at One Times Square in New York. Facebook, however, didn’t pay for the placement. The ad is a tie-in with the Times Square Alliance, which coordinates the dropping of the ball at New Year’s. According to a Facebook rep, the Alliance is working with Facebook Places to get attendees to check in during the event — not for safety reasons, but just as a fun thing to do. “We’re excited to be working with Times Square to remind people to check in over the New Year and share their experience,” says the rep. Facebook launched Places, a location-based service that directly competes with the likes of Foursquare and Gowalla, in August. Since then, Facebook’s major promotional tie-in for the service has been with CNN’s Hero of the Year event in November. Meanwhile, at least one other Times Square billboard will name check Facebook: Jose Cuervo. The tequila brand is currently running an electronic billboard that reruns photos and content from its Facebook page. Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla More About: facebook, new years, times square For more Business coverage:
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| More Than 700 Billion YouTube Videos Were Viewed in 2010 [STATS] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:18 AM PST   YouTube has announced that its users have uploaded more than 13 million hours of video content to its servers in the last 12 months, resulting in more than 700 billion YouTube video views. If you do the math, it means that YouTube’s users have uploaded 850,000 minutes of video and watched 1.9 billion videos per day in the past year. In March, the Google-owned video site announced that its users were uploading more than 24 hours of video per minute. In May, YouTube revealed that it had surpassed 2 billion video views per day. The company also disclosed that it now has around 15,000 partners creating millions of minutes of content. “We're privileged to work with the most passionate and talented partners in the world, who produce and upload videos that inspire us, make us laugh and move us — and, most importantly, change the way we look at the world,” Tom Pickett, YouTube’s director of content operations and online creators, said in a blog post. To celebrate, the video service is giving some of its most successful partners funds to help them create more original content. Five hundred top partners will receive $1,000 credits at B&H Photo in order to help them buy the equipment they need to improve their content’s quality. Some of the selected partners include Mystery Guitar Man, Shay Carl, and one of our favorites, musician Kina Grannis. The whole point of the program is to bring more premium content to the pages of YouTube. Google is reportedly contemplating an acquisition of Next New Networks and has hired Malik Ducard, formerly a senior VP at Paramount. It’s an orchestrated effort to move away from funny cat videos to high-quality content that can be monetized. Reviews: Google, YouTube More About: ONLINE VIDEO, video, youtube, YouTube Partners For more Web Video coverage:
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| Take a Break From Work E-Mail This Holiday Season Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:14 AM PST   ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a computer mouse. ‘Cause y’all are checking your work e-mail on your BlackBerrys under the dining room table. All year long, we shamble through the work week, zombie-walking to and from our cubicles, our eyes dead and cold like those of that hideous teddy bear you bought for your 15-year-old niece because you’re not sure what “kids these days are into.” (Hint: She wants an iPhone, fool!) We are slaves to our computers and mobile devices, forever accessible — pretty soon those of us in New York City will have zero reprieve from the digital realm, as even the subways will be wired. Oh, how the Missed Connections page will suffer with everyone glued to their smartphones all the more. Still, every year, we are given a few glorious national holidays during which we are released from our cubicle-forged chains. And yet, according to a recent study from Xobni and Harris Interactive, 59% of American adults check work e-mail during holidays such as Christmas. And of those people, 28% check e-mail several times throughout the day. The end-of-year holidays are miserable enough — what with the S.A.D., the forced, ritualistic commercialism, the fact that Santa doesn’t exist. (For any kids who wander across this: Just kidding!) Why add to the malaise by logging into Outlook whilst half drunk on eggnog and self-loathing? So, continuing in our recent vein of resolutions and proclamations (Eradicate the emoticon! Keep your digital promises!), we have yet another challenge for you: Cease and desist with the inbox refreshing for at least one day this holiday season. Your inner child (you know, the one that delighted in Lincoln Logs, not the App Store) will thank you. 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, AndyL Reviews: App Store, Missed Connections, Xobni, iPhone, iStockphoto More About: cnn, email, Holidays, netiquette, Stuff Hipsters Hate For more Social Media coverage:
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| Geofencing Patent Awarded to Where Inc. Posted: 22 Dec 2010 11:07 AM PST   Where Inc., the location-based service and media company with a handful of mobile apps for smartphones, has been awarded a broad patent for geofencing technology. Patent number 7,848,765 has been more than five years in the making — filed in May 2005 and awarded on December 7 — and covers Where’s method and systems for geofencing and the associated delivery of applications, content and mobile coupons. The language of the patent details Where’s intellectual property as the following:
A geofence is just a user-defined virtual perimeter for a geographic area. Geofencing technology is already spurring the next wave of innovation around location services. Mobile applications and services are fast applying geofencing technology to enable users to send and receive notifications based on their exact whereabouts. This patent, then, would seem to affect a myriad of companies offering geofencing services. Where indicates that its intentions around using its newly awarded patent are more defensive in nature than aggressive in purpose. “Our strategy with patents is to use them to protect our business. As a growing and successful company, we have become a target and have been on the wrong side of two settlements already. We look at our patents as a shield to protect against predatory trolls, not a tool to stifle innovation,” says VP of Marketing Dan Gilmartin. “We do not see this as a game changer, rather a means through which we can continue to operate and grow our business and continue to innovate without threats.” Gilmartin also shares that the company is currently working on new consumer features that leverage its geofencing intellectual property. Where has raised upward of $18 million in venture capital and debt financing since 2004. It has also made two acquisitions including group-buying startup LocalGinger in September of this year. In October, Where was awarded a separate patent for its Auto-Snap technology. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alexsl Reviews: iStockphoto More About: geofencing, geolocation, patent, where For more Tech coverage:
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| Merry Christmas From Antoine Dodson, the “Bed Intruder” Guy [VIDEO] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 10:06 AM PST Finally, a Christmas song more disturbing than “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” Everyone’s favorite witness, Antoine Dodson, is out with a carol titled “Chimney Intruder” that reimagines Santa as a rather sinister criminal. Dodson, who found a place in the viral firmament after giving an impassioned speech on the news about the attempted rape of his sister, debuted the song on the place where memes go to die, Lopez Tonight. While we commend Dodson on his ability to make proverbial lemonade out of life’s lemons (with his Gregory Brothers-remixed Billboard Hot 100 jam and his own sex offender app), we really hope this song doesn’t make it into the Christmas canon. Somehow attempted rape doesn’t quite spell “Happy Holidays,” if you ask us. More About: antoine dodson, bed intruder, lopez-tonight, music, television, viral video For more Web Video coverage:
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| Beta Tester Offers Look Inside Promoted Tweets Posted: 22 Dec 2010 10:03 AM PST   Bidding for hot Twitter terms is starting to drive up prices for Promoted Tweets, but the program seems to be an effective marketing vehicle, according to analytics firm Mongoose Metrics. The company, one of 20 beta testers for a turnkey Promoted Tweets program from Twitter, today published a blog entry detailing its experience. Kathleen Colan, director of marketing and content for Mongoose Metrics, says that bidding for most terms starts at 10 cents per engagement, which is defined as a retweet, a favorite, a reply or a click. But not all terms start at that rate. Colan says “SEO” started at $1 per engagement. “That was the first kind of weird thing we saw,” she says. “Bidding was supposed to be 10 cents and all of the sudden it was $1.” Twitter rolled out Promoted Tweets in April — initially on Twitter.com, but later on HootSuite as well. On November 1, the tweets began appearing in user timelines. In addition to broadening syndication, Twitter keeps refining the program to make it more of a turnkey solution. Earlier this month, Twitter began offering a form on its website to let businesses express their interest in Promoted Tweets, Trends or Products. Using that form, businesses can purchase terms and set a maximum total spend. Though businesses can fill out the forms now, they can’t actually buy anything, but Colan says Twitter plans to roll out the program publicly in late January or early February. Reps from Twitter could not be reached for comment. Mongoose, which is running 14 distinct campaigns using Promoted Tweets including one for #Mobile and another for #CRM, found the program generated respectable return. For $2,067, Mongoose was able to generate 961,000 Tweet impressions, 18,000 clicks, 220 retweets, 168 replies and 126 conversions. The latter, which Colan defined as someone who went to Mongoose’s site and downloaded a contact form, meant the company was paying about $30 per conversion. Colan concludes that “Promoted Tweets is a valid marketing method for generating conversions as well as brand awareness.” Reviews: HootSuite, Twitter More About: advertising, MARKETING, Promoted Tweets, twitter For more Business coverage:
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| 5 Predictions for the Music Industry in 2011 Posted: 22 Dec 2010 09:45 AM PST   The music industry continued suffering its hardcore identity crisis in 2010, buffeted by the languishing major labels, continued leaks/file-sharing and that most confusing of conundrums: How to get music to fans in a way that makes sense — without losing money. Still, despite the industry’s continuing difficulty to adapt to the digital age in a truly profitable way, we have seen some stirrings of change: the expansion of the online music video oeuvre, more creative and diverse methods of releasing albums (via Ping, Facebook and even mobile apps), and more mainstream, established publications and institutions embracing social media all the more. There’s a lot of noise out there in the music world — and we’re not just talking about the genre — and we’re all hoping that out of that tangle of ideas and sounds comes the antidote that will fix a system that is so obviously in flux. Although I don’t quite see that antidote being concocted this coming year, I do see more trial and error and creativity brewing that could, in the end, lead to the music industry’s eventual rebirth. Either that or it will all implode and we’ll live in eternal silence, but somehow I doubt it. And with that I bring you my predictions for 2011. 1. Subscription Services Will Be Popular, But Not Profitable If Spotify’s $26.7 million loss in 2009 is any indication, subscription services still have a ways to go before they’ll actually become profitable. Hell, Last.fm isn’t even turning a profit yet — although it could be getting close. Still, this year and the end of last year saw services gaining even more steam — MOG launched its all-you-can-eat service in December, followed by Android and iPhone apps, and, most recently, an app in the Chrome Web Store. Rdio also launched to much excitement, and Slacker Radio announced that it would be launching an on-demand offering as well (possibly across a variety of devices to be unveiled at CES). Yes, streaming music services have been around for a while now, but what’s changed in the past year is the number of devices you can access them on — everything from the iPad to Roku to the Xbox Kinect to the upcoming Chrome OS devices. The ability to listen to music on-demand across a variety of devices is sure to be a hit among consumers — it just remains to be seen how these services will monetize. 2. More Artists Will Finally Get Social You know your friend in that band that never gets gigs? The guy who basically has no idea how to use Twitter and thinks Foursquare is a playground game? Well, even that guy is going to start realizing in the coming year that he can’t just keeping sticking his head in the sand where social media is concerned. I mean, Billboard recently tapped Next Big Sound to gather stats for its “Social 50″ Chart; we’re talking about a publication that’s been around since 1894 paying attention to social metrics where artist popularity is concerned. Let’s hear that date again: 1894. So basically the fact that you’re over 30 is no excuse for not having a social media presence. Add to that MTV’s burgeoning interest in the social space — its assignation of a Twitter DJ and the launch of its new music discovery tool — and you’ve got a lot of eyes on the digital sphere. In the coming year, I see more artists following in the footsteps of socially savvy bands like Kanye West (for better or worse), Ben Folds and Pomplamoose, and learning how to use social tools to their advantage. 3. Music Videos Will Continue Their Renaissance Online This past year, a very sizable player entered the online music video space: Vevo, which launched at the end of 2009. In just one year, Vevo has become a very worthy adversary to sites like MTV.com when it comes to hosting music videos, and MTV, for its part, has started amping up its online/on-air video output as well. Now, we’re not saying Vevo has single-handedly sparked the renaissance of the music video, but it has helped give the format a kick in the you-know-what. That platform, coupled with the growing ability of artists like OK Go, Arcade Fire and Kanye West (he’s everywhere on this list) to create true cinematic, and sometimes interactive masterpieces — which are the bread and butter of the viral web — have ensured that online music videos will continue to be eminently shareable in the coming year. 4. Ping Will Never Take Off — Never Apple’s new social network, Ping, launched to much excitement this year, only to disappoint those of us in the media who were keen on replacing MySpace with a new locale for music discovery. Why? Well, there were scant few bands on the site at launch, and two months out of the gate, the site boasted only 2,000 artists. (The process to get an account on Ping is not as simple as creating a username and logging in; Apple needs to vet bands before granting them access.) In the ensuing months, Ping has made an effort to become more social, adding Twitter integration and social playlists, but the site’s focus — predictably — seems to be more on commerce than social. For example: Yes, you can create and share playlists, but you can’t use your own songs to build said playlists — you must assemble them from iTune’s song previews. So, basically, by sharing playlists users are creating free advertising for iTunes rather than trading tunes. Yes, MySpace may be suffering some financial woes (and a bit of an identity crisis), but it’s obviously a much more social sphere than a place for commerce (which may explain the financial woes). Case in point: It just added a suite of fan management tools for artists. Ping may not die this year — Apple is a tenacious beast — but I don’t see it gaining any traction either. 5. Music Piracy Will Not Die Despite the looming spectre of the COICA Internet Censorship and Copyright Bill, people will continue to file share and steal music. They’ve been doing it for 10-plus years and they’re not stopping now. Unfortunately, artists will continue to have to find creative ways to take advantage of the leaky nature of the web by adopting pay-what-you-wish models (a la Girl Talk and Trent Reznor) and taking advantage of the buzz that a leak builds (a la The National). That’s not to say that matters are looking sunny for artists. It’s likely they will have to continue to diversify their methods of garnering cash by ramping up touring and licensing deals. More Social Music Resources from Mashable:
Images courtesy of iStockphoto, enot-poloskun, and Flickr, Hygiene Matters, Taylor Burnes, Robert Agthe, and ste3ve Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, MySpace, Ping, foursquare, iStockphoto More About: apple, arcade-fire, Billboard, facebook, kanye west, MARKETING, MOG, mtv, music, myspace, Ping, predictions-2011, social media, the-national, twitter, vevo For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Skype Down for Many Users [UPDATED] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 09:10 AM PST   It appears that many of the millions of people who rely on Skype are having issues accessing the service this morning. On its Twitter account, the company acknowledged an issue, tweeting: "Some of you may have problems signing in to Skype – we're investigating, and we're sorry for the disruption to your conversations." Some of our staff are able to sign on, but are unable to see any of their contacts. Meanwhile, users are rapid fire tweeting about Skype's downtime. Last month, Skype hit a new usage record, hosting 25 million people on its service concurrently, speaking to both the ubiquity of the service and the problem created when it goes down. Let’s just hope this doesn’t rival the Skype outage of 2007, which saw the service down for an extended period of time. Update (3:20 p.m. ET): Skype has posted an update on its blog, assuring users that the service should return in “a few hours.” Update #2: Skype has explained today’s downtime on its blog, nothing that “Customers using the enterprise version of Skype for Windows may still experience delays signing in.” Reviews: Skype, Twitter, Windows, blog For more Tech coverage:
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| Microsoft Planning ARM-Friendly Version of Windows [REPORT] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 08:49 AM PST   Microsoft might be planning on doing more than just launching (re-launching?) new tablet devices at CES next month — it might also be previewing a whole new version of Windows. As we noted earlier Wednesday morning, reports indicate that Microsoft is planning on unveiling a version of Windows specifically targeted at low-powered devices that run on chips based on designs from ARM Holdings. This operating system, which would not be related to the Windows Embedded CE family of operating systems for mobile and embedded devices (and acts as the basis for Windows Phone 7), would be a departure for the software giant. Historically, Microsoft has targeted x86 processors — meaning those from Intel and AMD — for its flagship Windows OS. According to The Wall Street Journal, it will be this OS (or at least a subset of the main Windows system) that will be showing off ARM support at CES in January. Despite powering the overwhelming majority of desktop and notebook computers, Microsoft has struggled in the smartphone and tablet space. These devices overwhelmingly use low-powered chips, which means they use the ARM architecture as opposed to systems from Intel. These chips not only consume less power (which allows for better battery life), they are also much less expensive when purchased en masse. Part of the reason that the company has struggled is that its operating systems for mobile and desktops have existed as fundamentally separate entities. This is in contrast with its competitors, which include Apple and Google. The same underlying base OS that powers Mac OS X also powers iOS. That means that features between the two systems can be more easily interchanged. The modularity of that system means that the same core can be compiled to run on chips from Intel or ARM. Likewise, the Linux kernel, which is used in Google’s Android, is revered for its modularity and ability to run on virtually every kind of microprocessor. In the past, Microsoft has claimed that newer chips from Intel will be both low-powered and x86-compatible, but realistically, ARM is a problem Microsoft needs to solve. The big question, of course, is when will Microsoft actually release an ARM compatible OS? The Wall Street Journal says that Windows 8 is two years away, which seems like an awfully long time to wait. Perhaps Microsoft has a cut-down version of Windows 8 that can be used on ARM devices that can hit the market sooner rather than later. The success of the iPad shows that simply putting Windows 7 on a touch-screen tablet isn’t going to capture sales. Systems and software need to be designed for the form factor. Reviews: Google, Linux, Windows More About: android, arm, ARM Holdings, iOS, microsoft, tablets, Windows, Windows 8 For more Tech coverage:
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| What Twitter’s Trending Topics Told Us About the World in 2010 [CHARTS] Posted: 22 Dec 2010 08:28 AM PST   Twitter recently released its own list of the top trends of 2010, but we thought we’d take a closer look to see how usage habits have evolved on everybody’s favorite real-time information network. With the help of our friends over at What The Trend, the fine folks who provide us with the weekly dish on what’s hot in the Twitterverse, we offer some insight into a year’s worth of 140 character conversations. The first thing that may strike you about the data below is that tweeters loved their hashtags in 2010. Usage of popular trending tags like #NowPlaying and #FollowFriday surged. Whereas they made up just 9% of the trending topics in 2009, they gobbled up a whopping 40% of the pie in 2010, stealing a good bit of ground from entertainment topics. But entertainment hung on this year, as Twitter has always been the place to share what you’re watching, playing or listening to. Interestingly, music beats out TV in the entertainment vertical, thanks no doubt to the awesome power of Twitter’s boy king himself, Justin Bieber. His only Twitter trend rival, the unstoppable Korean pop group Super Junior, raked in 10% of the music-related trends, falling short of Bieber’s 27%. TV appears to be a more fractured space. While the topic nabbed 30% of all entertainment-related trends, top tweet earner Glee only came out with 5% of that pie. It’s interesting to see music so dominated by a handful of performers while tastes in television appear to be much more diverse. Sports have always been big on Twitter, and none bigger in 2010 than the worldwide obsession with soccer (futbol). Propelled by a deluge of tweets around the 2010 World Cup this past summer, the topic has rarely been out of the top trends, even after the tournament’s conclusion. As you can see from the breakdown below, soccer took home the lion’s share of the conversation with 45% of all trending sports chatter. The data below was compiled by Liz Pullen of What The Trend, who sifted through nearly 20,000 of the year’s Twitter trends from around the world. The top 5,000 of those were aggregated into about 1,400 “topics” so they could be illustrated with clarity in these charts. For more info on a year’s worth of trending topics, head over to What The Trend’s comprehensive Year in Review section. 2009 vs. 2010 HashtagsClick to Enlarge  Click to enlarge Entertainment Click to enlarge Sports Click to enlarge Reviews: Twitter, sports More About: charts, entertainment, graphs, hashtags, social media, sports, trends, twitter, twitter trends For more Social Media coverage:
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| Craigslist Adult Services Shut Down Worldwide Posted: 22 Dec 2010 07:59 AM PST   Craigslist’s Adult Services section, an online red light district that has been the subject of a great deal of controversy over the past few years, has been shut down worldwide, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal confirmed to the AP Tuesday. Craigslist removed Adult Services listings from its U.S. website in early September, following the suicide of 24-year-old Philip Markoff, who had been accused of murdering one and robbing three women he met through listings in the section. Adult Services, which was previously titled “Erotic Services,” was expected to generate $36 million in revenue this year for Craigslist, nearly one-third of the $122 million the entire company has been projected to pull in. “This move is another important step in the ongoing fight to more effectively screen and stop pernicious prostitution ads,” Blumenthal told the AP. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, anykeen Reviews: Craigslist, iStockphoto More About: censorship, craigslist For more Business coverage:
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