Home � � Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “This iPhone 4 Costs 8 Million Dollars”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “This iPhone 4 Costs 8 Million Dollars”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “This iPhone 4 Costs 8 Million Dollars”

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This iPhone 4 Costs 8 Million Dollars

Posted: 15 Oct 2010 01:37 AM PDT


Stuart Hughes, the British jeweler known for his expensive remakes of popular gadgets, is at it again, this time with a diamond-clad iPhone 4 with a price tag of 5 million pounds, or roughly 8 million dollars.

The handmade bezel contains approximately 500 individual flawless diamonds which total over 100ct; there’s 53 additional diamonds in the back, and the main navigation button is made of platinum, holding a single cut 7.4ct pink diamond. If you know diamonds, all of this probably means something to you; to us, it just sounds really, really expensive.

Only two of these will ever be made, so don’t worry: if you buy one, the chances of bumping into someone who has the exact same phone at a party are quite slim.

More About: apple, are forever, diamonds, iphone 4, Stuart Hughes

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The Original Microsoft Windows 1.0 Press Release

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:00 PM PDT

On November 20, 1985, a small technology company out of Bellevue, Washington launched a 16-bit graphical operating system for the PC. Originally called Windows Premiere Edition.1, it soon became the foundation for the world’s most prevalent operating system and for one of the most dominant technology companies in history.

25 years later, Microsoft is a household name and co-founder Bill Gates remains the world’s wealthiest person. Back in 1985 though, there was no guarantee of success or knowledge that Windows would dominate the world. It was the beginning of a revolution in computing.

Earlier today, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie resurfaced some of Microsoft’s history in a recent post on his personal blog. In a sealed packet in his office, he uncovered the original press kit for Windows 1.0 and decided to put the documents online. It’s a fascinating look into the beginnings of computing and into a technology that has fundamentally changed our world.

From the company’s original press release:

Microsoft Windows extends the features of the DOS operating system, yet is compatible with most existing applications that run under DOS. Windows lets users integrate the tasks they perform with their computer by providing the ability to work with several programs at the same time and easily switch between them without having to quit and restart individual applications. In addition, it provides a rich foundation for a new generation of applications.

“Windows provides unprecedented power to users today and a foundation for hardware and software advancements of the next few years,” said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. “It is unique software designed for the serious PC user, who places high value on the productivity that a personal computer can bring.”

Windows 1.0 was the beginning of the Control Panel and the Clipboard, but more importantly it was the beginning of an era that brought personal computing to billions of households worldwide.

[via Seattle PI]

More About: DoS, microsoft, microsoft windows, Ray Ozzie, Windows

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How Lijit Hopes to Turn 12,000 Publishers into $6 Million in Revenue

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 07:44 PM PDT


This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Every Thursday, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they’re doing to grow.

Lijit is the alternative site-search platform that powers the search experience on the more than 12,000 sites that make up The Lijit Network.

As a startup that has been around since mid 2006, Lijit might be easy to write off as past its prime — and that would have been a fair assumption last year when the company pulled in a “modest” $80,000 in revenue for 2009.

CEO and Founder Todd Vernon tells Mashable that since the introduction of its new Ad Services platform in early 2010 that everything has changed. “As of September, the company was on $3M annualized run-rate revenue and we expect to close December at $6M in annualized run-rate revenue,” he says.

Annualized run-rates are merely predictions around revenue, but Vernon goes on the record to discuss how Lijit — which has taken approximately $17 million in funding over the years — is inching its way towards profitability.


From $80K to $6M in Revenue Potential


Vernon tells Mashable that, to date, 2,000 publishers (17% of the entire network) have opted-in to Lijit’s ad platform. As such, these publishers automatically display targeted display advertising — served up by Lijit brand partners — based on search data to site visitors. The Lijit offering is a click-through based publisher-alternative to Google AdSense. Publishers, advertisers and Lijit all take a cut of the display ad action.

The introduction of the Ad Services platform has been the most significant catalyst of growth. In early 2010, The Lijit Network was seeing 200 million monthly pageviews, but now — post Ad Services release — that number is closer to 800 million pageviews and 55 million uniques per month.

The company has finally settled into some serious revenue potential, but it’s been a long time coming. “The network more than doubled in the first half of 2010 and if we knew that was going to happen as fast as it did, we would have pushed on the ad platform faster,” Vernon admits.


Publisher Positive


Lijit attempts to differentiate itself from its bigger search competitors by offering free search and site analytics, and, perhaps more importantly, treating publishers as partners.

“We help really great publishers monetize their site … but it is more of a partner relationship than a faceless ad network relationship,” says Vernon on Lijit’s hands-on approach.

Vernon credits these relationships as an important driver of growth. “We help them build their business,” he explains, “Publishers like working with us and agencies want us to help them connect with publishers so it's a win-win.”


Growth via Mobile


Lijit is also inadvertently attracting new publisher signups through its newly released Lijit Stats [iTunes link] iPad app for publishers. With the iPad app, Lijit publishers can watch their web analytics in real-time with data that includes reader geography, online site mentions and search queries.

“You can literally see a new person hit your site less than two seconds after it happens,” explains Vernon.

Lijit Stats for iPad is just a few days old, but is already seeing a great response, reports Vernon. “I have been shocked with the interest so far. It's literally driving new service adoption even though it was designed for publishers already using our service.”

An iPhone version of the stats application is said to be coming soon and could help further Lijit’s mobile app-inspired growth spurt.


Run Rates and Reality


When Vernon points to a projected annualized revenue run rate of $6 million in December, he’s predicting that the company will make $6 million from December 2010 to December 2011. Those are ambitious predictions to say the least, and we’ll be much less skeptical once the company converts more of its publisher network into ad platform users.

If anything, though, trends in online advertising certainly help these predictions sound more plausible. As Mashable’s Lauren Indvik reported earlier this week, “Display advertising, which includes banner ads, digital video, rich media and sponsorships, garnered more than $4.4 billion in the first half of 2010, a 16% increase over the same period in 2009.”

Images courtesy of teamstickergiant, Tarable1, Flickr


Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark


BizSpark is 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.

More About: ad network, bizspark, Lijit, Search

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The Average Teenager Sends 3,339 Texts Per Month [STATS]

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 05:59 PM PDT

Texting

If you needed more proof that texting is on the rise, here’s a stat for you: the average teenager sends over 3,000 texts per month. That’s more than six texts per waking hour.

According to a new study from Nielsen, our society has gone mad with texting, data usage and app downloads. Nielsen analyzed the mobile data habits of over 60,000 mobile subscribers and surveyed over 3,000 teens during April, May and June of this year. The numbers they came up with are astounding.

The number of texts being sent is on the rise, especially among teenagers age 13 to 17. According to Nielsen, the average teenager now sends 3,339 texts per month. There’s more, though: teen females send an incredible 4,050 text per month, while teen males send an average of 2,539 texts. Teens are sending 8% more texts than they were this time last year.

Other age groups don’t even come close, either; the average 18 to 24-year-old sends “only” 1,630 texts per month. The average only drops with other age groups. However, in every age bracket, the number of texts sent has increased when compared to last year. Texting is a more important means of communication than ever.

In 2008, the main reason anybody got a phone was for safety, even among teenagers. That’s not true anymore. 43% of teenagers now say texting is the #1 reason they get a cell phone. Safety is #2 with 35%, while 34% of teenagers say they get cell phones to keep in touch with friends.

Texting is also supplanting voice calls — 22% say SMS is easier than a phone call and another 20% say it’s faster. Voice usage has decreased by 14% among teens and is decreasing in all age groups under 55. 18 to 24 year olds use the most minutes, but every age group between 18 and 55 talks on the phone more than the average teenager.

While voice may be on the decline, data and app usage is on the rise. According to Nielsen, data usage among teens has quadrupled, from 14 MB to 62 MB per month. In a role reversal, teen males use more data than their female counterparts: 75 MB vs. 53 MB of data. App and software downloads also increased by 12% among teens in the last year.

These stats are eye-popping, but what’s even more amazing is that these numbers only keep rising. Texting, data usage and app downloads are nowhere near their peak, but one has to wonder: how many texts is the average teenager actually capable of sending? What’s the limit?

What do you think of these stats? Do any of them surprise you? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Mobile 2.0, Nieslen, SMS, stats, texting, trending

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Google’s New Billion-Dollar Businesses

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 04:43 PM PDT


During today’s Q3 earnings call, Google not only discussed its impressive earnings, but it did something it has never done before: It broke down the numbers from some of its key businesses, including YouTube and mobile.

Google CFO Patrick Pichette made it clear in the call that not only had Google never disclosed these numbers before, but it’s something it probably won’t do in the future, either. This was a one-time glimpse into the current state of Google’s mobile, display advertising and YouTube businesses.

Here are the key numbers that Google SVP of Product Management Jonathan Rosenberg shared during today’s call:

  • Display advertising: The company's annualized run rate for display ad revenues is approaching $2.5 billion, according to Rosenberg. Google called its next billion dollar business, and that it’s already here. Much of Google’s display ad business comes from its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick.
  • YouTube: While Google didn’t reveal specific revenue numbers for YouTube, the company did say it is monetizing 2 billion views per week, up 50% from last year. Recent reports suggest that YouTube is approaching $1 billion per year in revenue.
  • Mobile: The annualized run rate for Google’s mobile business is $1 billion this year. That means, if things stay on track, mobile will become yet another billion-dollar business for the search giant. As a note, this is really more about Google’s mobile ad business and less about Android, which is free for companies to use.

Google didn’t reveal these numbers just for kicks; it wanted to make clear that search isn’t the only revenue-generating arm of the Google empire. Google needs these divisions to grow in order to expand its online empire. While Google has search and AdWords pretty much figured out, we get the feeling that the search giant hasn’t come close to tapping into the true revenue potential of its other businesses. The growth of these businesses will be something to watch.


Reviews: Android, Google, YouTube

More About: android, business, Google, Mobile 2.0, youtube

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Starbucks and L’Oreal Test Location-Based SMS Coupons in UK

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 04:05 PM PDT


UK network provider O2 has partnered with location services platform Placecast to enable brands to automatically deliver targeted SMS and MMS to more than one million opted-in O2 customers based on their exact whereabouts.

O2 Media, the mobile marketing arm of O2, has signed on Starbucks and L’Oreal as the first two brands to test the location-based messaging service in the UK for a six month trial period. The O2/Placecast partnership lets Starbucks and L’Oreal fence off geographic zones and push SMS discounts to O2 customers who enter those areas.

Starbucks is offering O2 customers 50% off discounts — delivered via SMS and redeemable at nearby stores — on its Starbucks VIA Ready Brew product. The discount will be delivered to individuals who have expressed an interest in food and beverage. As for L’Oreal, the makeup brand will dole out a buy-one-get-one-free discount on a hair care product to customers interested in beauty.

If you’re an O2 customer, you will start receiving offers from Starbucks, L’Oreal and other brands that sign-on, if you’ve opted-in to the O2 More program, are 16 years of age or older and have shared your interests.

While O2 serves as the gateway between brand and mobile consumer, the network promises not to share your data with partner brands. The carrier also regulates SMS delivery frequency to a maximum of one per day.

The partnership between Placecast and O2 is a first of its kind in the UK and one that we find quite interesting. The combination of geo-fencing technology and carrier distribution is a potentially huge, and device-independent, way to deliver mobile marketing messages to the consumers who want them.

Image courtesy of Darwin Bell, Flickr


Reviews: Flickr

More About: geofencing, l'oreal, MARKETING, mobile coupons, o2, Placecast, starbucks

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TED Brings “Ideas Worth Spreading” to the iPad

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 03:22 PM PDT


TED, a small nonprofit dedicated to spreading the ideas and reflections of leading minds, released its first official app Thursday morning, which is available exclusively for the iPad.

The free app [iTunes link] provides a more convenient and engaging experience for viewing TED’s streaming library of nearly 800 video presentations on the device. Users can browse videos by date, popularity and keyword. A special Themes section lets users explore groups of videos that address the same question or topic, such as “What Makes Us Happy?” and “How the Mind Works.”

Each video can be viewed in high or low-quality mode, and is accompanied by a short biography of the speaker, summary of the talk and links to related content. Presentations can be downloaded and saved to a Saved Talks section for offline viewing.

What’s special about the app — besides the wealth of fantastic video content it contains — is its Inspire Me feature, which allows users to create video playlists that fit their mood (such as courageous, inspiring or funny) and the amount of time they have available.

Although the Inspire Me and Saved Talks features take the app a step beyond the web experience, there are plenty of opportunities for improvement in other areas. The video quality isn’t fantastic and doesn’t scale well on the iPad’s screen. In-app commenting would be a welcome addition, alongside other options for sharing content, such as e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.

TED says a second iteration, complete with video subtitles, is in the works. A version for the iPhone and iPod touch are slated for release in the first quarter of 2011, the nonprofit claims.


Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iPhone

More About: ipad, ipad app, TED

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HOW TO: Accept Credit Card Payments on Mobile Devices

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 02:38 PM PDT


This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

In recent months, a few new mobile payment solutions have launched to allow for accepting credit card payments via mobile devices — a small business owner’s best friend.

In fact, when using one of the available services, retailers of any size — even a farmer’s market vendor, babysitter or upstart vegan donut maker operating out of a kiosk — can start selling their products to anyone with a credit card.

The three services profiled here — Square, Intuit GoPayment and PAYware Mobile — hail from experienced entrepreneurs and seasoned payment veterans, and each offers a slight variation on the same idea that you can accept payments from anyone, everywhere.

These variations, however, are significant depending on the type of business you run and the amount of transactions you plan to process. You can use the information below to help in the decision-making and merchant setup processes. Make sure to pay special attention to transaction fees, hardware costs and merchant restrictions or requirements.


1. Choosing the Right Service


Square: Square is a startup from Jack Dorsey of Twitter fame, which means you can expect the product to be attractive, and the service to be slick, consumer-friendly and receive regular improvements on an iterative basis. As a startup, Square lacks the powerhouse financial names attached to the other options, though it does purport to exceed industry security standards.

The actual Square card reader that you’ll be using to process credit card payments is quite small, which makes it a bit trickier to use and more fragile than the bulkier solutions that are built-in to iPhone cases.

Squares, however, are device-independent, which means they can be plugged in to any device so long as it has an audio jack — a huge advantage over the competition. The startup has already released software for iPhone and Andriod devices. Plus, right now, you can already use Square on the the iPad and process payments on a larger screen — an experience that is quite elegant in practice.

With Square, both service setup and the card reader are free, and there are no contracts or monthly minimums required. The service costs are on a per transaction basis — 2.75% plus $0.15 per swiped card and 2.5% plus $0.15 per keyed-in transaction. One downside to Square is that the service will only deposit up to $1,000 per week into your bank account, the rest is deposited in 30 days.

Intuit GoPayment: GoPayment is the result of a partnership between popular iPhone accessory maker Mophie and Intuit.

You can buy the all-in-one package, which is essentially an iPhone case with a card reader at the bottom, at Apple Stores and online for $179.99. The Mophie hardware is compatible with iPhone 3G and 3GS only, but the Intuit GoPayment software is available on a large selection of phones.

You’ll also need to pay for Intuit’s GoPayment service and set up a merchant account in order to process payments. The service is $12.95 per month (which is waived for the first two months), and you’ll also pay 1.7% and $0.30 per swiped transaction. The keyed rate is 2.7% and $0.30 per transaction. There are no setup or cancellation fees, or monthly minimums.

GoPayment also reportedly processes and authorizes payments in seconds, and funds are then immediately deposited into your business bank account.

Verifone’s PAYware Mobile: PAYware Mobile is similar in style and function to GoPayment, and you’ll need the PAYware Mobile hardware — a thick sleeve-like case for your iPhone — and accompanying iPhone application in order to begin accepting payments via credit card entry or swipe. The sleeve works with iPhone 3G and 3GS only, supports end-to-end card data encryption and comes with a stylus for signatures.

The hardware can be found at select VeriFone distributors, including Apple, which retails the PAYware Mobile Card Encryption Sleeve for $149.95. The service has per transactions similar to other providers, but rates are less concrete and vary based on criteria like type of business and risk.


2. Setting Up Shop


To use Square, you’ll need to create a merchant account and provide a U.S. bank account, Social Security number, and U.S. mailing address. First, create an account on the web or via mobile app, then follow the link sent via e-mail to set up a merchant account.

Once you’re approved to accept payments, Square will send the card reader in the mail. You’ll also need to download the Square iPhone [iTunes link], iPad or Andriod app before you start accepting payments. From within the apps, you can, then, specify whether you want to include a field for tips (by percent or by dollar amount). Square also offers a web-based business dashboard so you can view transaction history in real-time or download it to your desktop.

Intuit’s GoPayment merchant service application process takes about 15 minutes to complete and can be done online or over the phone. You’ll need to supply business, contact and financial information, including estimated sales figures. Once activated, you can use the complementary iPhone app [iTunes link], and manage your account and view all transactions via the Intuit Merchant Service Center.

VeriFone’s sleeve comes with an installation guide in the box, and there’s also a quick install guide available for download.

You’ll also need to download the iPhone application [iTunes link] and set up and activate a merchant account via the app before you can begin accepting payments. In the application settings, specify tip percent, sales tax and PIN entry grace period, as well as toggle options on and off to reverse the keyboard, or prompt customers for a tip or email address.

This solution is a bit more complex than the others, and there’s a comprehensive mobile user guide that you’ll want to review prior to use.


3. Promoting Your Payment Options


Regardless of the provider you choose, once you do the legwork and set up yourself with VeriFone PAYware Mobile, Intuit GoPayment or Square, make sure to tell your customers that you’re now accepting credit card payments.

Create physical display signs to add to kiosks, booths or tables; change your e-mail signature; update your website; remember to include relevant text in your e-mail newsletters; and don’t forget to share the news with your Facebook fans, Twitter followers and other social network supporters.

If you’ve used any of the above-mentioned credit card payment services for mobile devices, let us know about your experiences in the comments below.


More Business Resources from Mashable:


- 13 Branded Mobile Apps That Got It Right
- 5 Ways to Use Google Voice for Your Business
- Top 5 Emerging Brand Trends on Facebook
- HOW TO: Advertise Inside Social Games on Facebook
- How Businesses Are Unleashing Their Employees' Social Media Potential


Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iPhone

More About: business, credit cards, GoPayment, intuit, Mobile 2.0, mobile payments, PAYware Mobile, small business, Square, VeriFone

For more Business coverage:


MobileMe’s New Calendar Available to Everyone

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 02:01 PM PDT


Apple has just made the new MobileMe Calendar interface and featureset available to all MobileMe members.

The new MobileMe Calendar, which mimics the iPad’s calendar app, has a number of new features, including support for CalDAV, sharing calendars for family and friends and publishing group or team calendars.

Apple’s announcement page includes instructions and an FAQ for getting started. To enable the new calendar, just sign in to me.com/calendar and click the “Upgrade now” logo in the lower left corner of the web page.

Users that have already been using the beta version of the new MobileMe Calendar can continue using the app as usual.

One of the great new features for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users is the new support for push notifications across devices. If you have already used Google Calendar with your iOS device, you know how useful this can be, especially for appointments.

Mac users can manage their MobileMe calendars from iCal or BusyCal (the public beta for BusyCal supports CalDAV and MobileMe). PC users can use Outlook 2007 or 2010.

One thing that I do wish that MobileMe would add would be the ability to subscribe to external CalDAV calendars within MobileMe itself. You can do this in iCal, for example (and in BusyCal), and you can manage to keep that calendar in sync with your iOS devices. Still, it would be great to be able to see all of your calendars within the me.com web interface.

One thing I enjoy about MobileMe is the ability to keep my contacts and calendars synced over the air across devices. I’ve been using the new MobileMe Calendar beta for several months and haven’t had any problems with my local Mac calendars, my various Google calendars or my device-specific iPhone or iPad calendars staying in sync and accessible.

What do you think of the new MobileMe Calendar?


Reviews: Google, Google Calendar, MobileMe, iPhone

More About: apple, busycal, Google Calendar, iCal, mobileme, mobileme calendar

For more Mobile coverage:


Yahoo Down

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 02:00 PM PDT


Yahoo -– one of the most highly trafficked websites in the world –- is currently down (as of 5:40 p.m. ET). [Update: As of 6:10 p.m. ET, Yahoo appears to be back online]

The homepage of Yahoo is simply showing a plain text "Server Hangup" message in the browser. However, Yahoo verticals like Sports, News and Finance appear to be working just fine.

While almost certainly unrelated (but an amusing coincidence), the downtime comes hours after Google posted massive earnings and less than a day since new rumors surfaced that AOL and a number of private equity firms may be putting together a plan to swoop in and acquire the languishing Yahoo.

In any event, we've contacted Yahoo to see what the issue might be and will update here if we learn more.


Reviews: news, sports

More About: Yahoo

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Google Shares Soar on Impressive Earnings

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 01:41 PM PDT


Google has posted its latest earnings report, and early indications suggest that investors are more than impressed, with shares of the company trading up more than $40 after-hours (about 7.5%).

The company posted revenue of $7.29 billion for its third quarter, representing 23% growth from the same period last year and about a 7% jump sequentially.

In a statement, CEO Eric Schmidt cited strength in areas the company has recently expanded – like mobile (AdMob) and display (DoubleClick) for some of the growth. “Our core business grew very well, and our newer businesses — particularly display and mobile — continued to show significant momentum," he said.

The earnings report follows numbers released yesterday by IAB indicating that the online advertising market just completed its strong first half and its strongest quarter on record.

Google now has more than $33 billion in cash on hand — $11 billion more than it had at its disposal last year despite its accelerated pace of acquisitions and renewed hiring of new employees.

With the company moving into areas as diverse as wind power and automobiles, don't expect the investments to slow down. Schmidt added that the company, "[remains] committed to aggressive investment in both our people and our products as we pursue an innovation agenda.”


Reviews: Google

More About: earnings, Google, investing

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Why Twitter Influences Cross-Cultural Engagement

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 01:21 PM PDT

Twitter Culture

Jessica Faye Carter is an award-winning author and columnist. Her company, Nette Media develops social media technologies for women and multicultural communities, and she blogs at Technicultr.

Twitter functions as a real-time information network, but has become increasingly influential in the area of cross-cultural engagement. The diversity of the site's user base and its open architecture have led a wide range of cultural groups to use Twitter to raise awareness about issues that matter to them, highlight certain aspects of their culture, or just have a laugh.

Of course, that's hardly unusual in the world of social technology. What's different on Twitter is that a wide range of cultural activities are taking place in full view of others who are often unfamiliar with the cultural mores they are observing. This inevitably leads to some level of cultural exploration. Joel Johnson of Gizmodo, whose own exploration was somewhat questionable, observed that "the joy of discovery that can come by weaving a stranger’s life into your own."

On some level, this isn't surprising, since we already use Twitter experimentally for all kinds of things unrelated to culture. We might be intrigued by a comment we see in the Trending Topics, and we visit the person's profile to see if it’s someone we want to follow. Or we see a Trending Topic we've never heard of and want to know what's going on. We learn about the news of the day, what's going on with friends, and pop culture, so it's a natural next step to look at people across cultures.

With that in mind, let's examine why Twitter, moreso than other popular social networks, has become a hub for intercultural engagement.


A Step in a New Direction


Justin Flitter, a New Zealand-based customer advocate for Zendesk observed several benefits of intercultural communication on Twitter. "[It] makes cross-cultural communications more open and fluid," he notes. "Accents, tone, body language and other subtleties are reduced when it’s just text on screen," which can make it easier to interact with others across cultural differences. Apps like Twinslator, Tweetrans and Twanslate allow you to tweet in other languages, and Twanslate's Firefox add-on translates others' tweets into your language of choice.

But even without the third party apps, there is a universality of shared experience that underlies interactions on Twitter. Nancy Perez, CEO of Social Media Wired, sees Twitter as a place of shared human experience, noting that "the interests, behaviors, thought processes, speech patterns and daily commonalities of life translate [Twitter] conversations into the universal language of humankind."

Flitter also points out that shared interests often trump separators like cultural context and jargon on Twitter. Twitter chats (here's a list of them) are an excellent example of shared interest. People across a wide range of cultural contexts convene at regularly scheduled intervals to discuss topics that are of personal or professional significance to them. We also see this phenomenon during major events that cut across cultural contexts, like the Superbowl, World Cup, political events and entertainment award shows. People interact across cultures because they're all interested in what's taking place.


Open Design


Twistori Image

The openness of Twitter’s architecture helps users explore the various cultural groups tweeting around them. User connections are made asymmetrically, so that we can begin the process of learning about others even without reciprocal engagement. The trending topics function semiotically as a signal to users that some issue, person or event is generating major interest in one of Twitter's many communities. They're also an implicit invitation for users to weigh in on the issues du jour. "Twitter is like the ticker tapes you see in Times Square," says Halley Suitt, chief editor of Communispace. "It's entertainment and it's a voyeuristic medium."

Dave Peck, a social media strategist at Bullfrog Media, likes this open aspect of Twitter and points to its facilitation of connections and learning as beneficial. "The concept of Twitter as a communication tool is truer to the idea of ’social networking,’ because by definition it is a system of interrelated conversations that help us to meet, learn and discover." Learning new information, whether about people, institutions or events, is the essence of Twitter.

In addition to connections, Twitter's search function and an array of third-party apps make it easy for users to tap into the vast amount information available through the site. These apps serve a range of purposes, from the aesthetic (Twistori, Twitpic) and the connective (Tweet O'Clock, WeFollow), to the utilitarian (Hootsuite, Tweetdeck) and even the comedic (Billie Tweets, LOLquiz). The wide range of services available to Twitter users is another indication of the breadth of diversity on the site.

The openness of Twitter has played a role in all kinds of cultural events, from the profound to the lighthearted. In the face of political elections and unrest, Twitter allowed those sympathetic to the plight of Iranian citizens to document news and events using the #iranelection hashtag. During the World Cup, Brazilian fans and supporters tweeted Cala Boca Galvão ("Shut up, Galvão") to express their annoyance with well-known sports commentator Galvão Bueno and his constant stream of chatter during the matches.

Supporters and detractors of Proposition 8 in California used #Prop8 to highlight news and updates in the voting process and subsequent legal challenges. Black Twitter users protested Slate's use of a brown Twitter bird in an article about black people on Twitter, posting absurd statements about and artistic variants of the #browntwitterbird — including one with dreadlocks!

What's really interesting about these topics is the diverse user bases that they enveloped. The groups tweeting on these topics weren't monolithic; they were a mixture of people, some with an interest in the issue, other casual observers, and occasionally jokesters who wanted to point out humor or irony in the situations at hand.


B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Culture)


Open architecture is only one of the site's benefits. Another is its bring-your-own (or create-your-own) culture ethos. Gaurav Mishra, a social media strategist based in New Delhi, India, observes that each user's Twitter context is self-developed. "Each one of us curates our own community on Twitter," he suggests, "by following friends, strangers, celebrities, news feeds or hashtags." Part of bringing your own culture occurs by developing your social graph.

Twitter's own cultural identity isn't singular — it's more like an amalgam of overlapping, diverse identities. So it's fitting that the site allows users to express various aspects of their cultural backgrounds. In the U.S., discussions on culture tend to center around ethnicity or gender because those distinctions are readily visible. But the cross-cultural interactions on Twitter include numerous other dimensions of difference: age, political affiliation, religion, sexuality, abilities, national and regional origin, economic status, military service, physical size — you name it. It's refreshing for users not to feel boxed into a defining characteristic.

Twitter is also a blending of our online and real life worlds. Most users' Twitter streams include contacts from their offline networks along with new connections made through the site. Sonya Donaldson, editor of Tech & Sensibility, recognizes this dual nature of community found on Twitter. "[I] see Twitter as being segmented, and to some extent reifying offline social connections as much as it is helping us make new ones," she notes. So it's up to us; we can stay within our social circle or make a foray into new relationships. But the potential for intercultural interaction is there.


I Tweet, Therefore I Am


Making connections is only part of Twitter's culture; it's also about users making a statement of their existence. "It's sort of like 'I tweet, therefore I am,' " said Suitt, remarking that that people and communities use Twitter as a way of letting the world know that they exist.

It follows naturally, then, that a large part of communication on Twitter is "shout outs," as Suitt describes them. The @messages and the retweets are all in some sense a form of publicly recognizing others. Suitt points out that when Kanye West joined Twitter, he immediately began posting messages that literally said "shout out to ____," directed toward various Twitter users. And he did so numerous times.

What difference does a shout out make? It's an affirmation of sorts; an acknowledgement that another person is present. For individuals and groups that feel ignored — or even people just having a bad day — being recognized can be gratifying in its own way. This makes Twitter an attractive outlet for every kind of agenda, because it gives a voice to people whose causes might have otherwise received limited attention. So it's not surprising that groups feeling marginalized are increasingly active on Twitter.


It's Not Utopia


While Twitter has the potential to change how we engage interculturally, it's not a cross-cultural utopia. Users aren't holding hands and singing Kumbaya. Stereotyping and culturally divisive language still exist on the site, just as in real life. Recent articles about cultural groups on Twitter reinforce stereotypes related to gender and ethnic populations, including white people. There is still a long way to go in terms of intercultural understanding on the site.

Documenting cross-cultural interactions and engagement on Twitter is useful because it encourages others to move past boundaries and bridge gaps using their social graphs. As Johnson put it in his article: "You should follow a few people on Twitter who aren’t like you." To that I would add, more than a few. And while you're following them, it's worth remembering that Twitter provides a very incomplete picture of cultural norms. But despite this limitation, Twitter remains a useful starting point for intercultural connections.

While Twitter's abbreviated format makes it easily accessible for many, it can also be a drawback when it comes to intercultural engagement. Joe Gerstandt, a diversity and inclusion strategist, notes that "Some conversations simply need more than 140 characters," and he adds that "cross-cultural communication can involve a fair amount of context and complexity." So even though users are bringing multiple layers of identity to Twitter, it's difficult to explore the depths of those layers online. Instead, Gerstandt suggests using Twitter to initiate intercultural exchanges and a combination of in-person and online interactions to forge deeper cross-cultural connections.

Ultimately, Twitter is a useful tool to facilitate cross-cultural interactions, but the lion's share of the responsibility to engage across boundaries still falls on us. As Mishra observes, "[H]uman beings have a strong tendency to prefer the familiar, so we pay attention to people with a shared context and treat the rich Twitter public stream as background noise … in practice, Twitter’s ability to promote cross-cultural communication is limited by our own willingness to engage in it."


More Twitter Resources from Mashable:


- HOW TO: Customize Your Background for the New Twitter
- Kanye West and How Twitter Has Changed the Way We Communicate
- HOW TO: Help New Users Stay Engaged on Twitter
- 10 iPad Apps for Twitter Power Users
- Top 10 Twitter Tips for Bands, By Bands


Reviews: Apps, HootSuite, TweetDeck, Twitpic, Twitter, WeFollow, World Cup

More About: culture, engagement, social media, twitter, twitter trends

For more Social Media coverage:


Obama Answers Tweets During Town Hall Event

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 12:59 PM PDT

President Obama will participate in an hour-long youth town hall event airing on MTV, BET and CMT this afternoon, starting at 4:00 p.m. ET. Notably, he'll be answering a number of questions submitted via Twitter.

The event will take place before a live audience of approximately 250 young people, who will also submit questions during the event.

Those participating in the event via Twitter have already started submitting questions, which can also be viewed on MTV's Twitter Tracker (as seen below). Questions are sorted into different categories that can be identified by hashtags such as: #myGreatestFear, #askEconomy and #askBailout.

The town hall's hosts (representatives from MTV News, CMT and BET) will directly ask the president a select number of questions submitted via Twitter.

In the meantime, the Twitter Tracker will provide a real-time graph of tweets with audience reactions during the event, similar to social media efforts employed during the MTV Movie Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.

While the town hall can be viewed on TV, it will also be available via live stream on each of the channels' respective websites. Viewers will also be able to watch the live video stream on the right-side panel using New Twitter, which is now available to all Twitter users.

The event will begin airing shortly, and will also air at 4 p.m. PT due to a tape delay.


Obama Town Hall Twitter Tracker


Reviews: Twitter

More About: barack obama, mtv, New Twitter, twitter

For more Social Media coverage:


3 Creative Social Good Campaigns that Will Make You Smile

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 12:38 PM PDT

Darius Image

Frank Barry, professional services manager at Blackbaud and blogger at NetWits ThinkTank, helps non-profits use the Internet for digital communication, social media and fundraising so they can focus on making an impact and achieving their missions. Find Frank on Twitter @franswaa.

I'm consistently amazed by the unique, creative and fun ways non-profits are using social media to do good in the world. Mashable recently highlighted a number of unique social good campaigns, and the social good channel is full of stories focused on using social media for social good.

Non-profits continue to lead the way and explore how to use social media to do good in the world. And the creativity and inventiveness behind some of the recent social media-powered cause campaigns I’ve seen deserve recognition. Below are three social cause campaigns that will put a smile on your face.


1. 999 Bottles of DMD Research on The Wall


Darius Goes West 2st Birthday Campaign

I recently wrote about Darius Weems and the Darius Goes West project on Mashable, but there's more to be told about this incredible group of savvy social media users. They continue to impress with the ingenuity in coming up with new and inexpensive ways to raise money and awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

In celebration of Darius’s 21st birthday, they created a social good campaign called "999 Bottles of DMD Research on the Wall" that allows anyone to “buy” Darius a “drink” to support the cause. According to the Darius Goes West team, "Darius doesn't want any alcohol for his birthday. Instead, Darius wants to spend his special day helping scientists come up with a concoction that will slow the progression of DMD – the #1 genetic killer of children in the world – in young men his age."

By using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the 999 Bottles of DMD Research on the Wall campaign was able to raise almost $15,000 online in a very short amount of time, with most gifts being less than $21. Make sure to check out the Drink Wall where you can see all those who have supported the cause and bought Darius a drink.


2. The Goslabi (a.k.a. Wasabi) Challenge


If you thought the 999 Bottles of DMD Research on the Wall campaign was creative, then you'll really love the Goslabi Challenge, another innovative idea from the team at Darius Goes West. There's one simple question driving this campaign: "If swallowing a spoonful of the flaming hot sushi spice known as wasabi could have an effect on a fatal disease, would you do it?" Interesting challenge, right? The campaign cleverly makes that absurd notion a reality by using spoonfuls of sinus-clearing wasabi to raise money.

The campaign is simple. First, sign up for the challenge and make sure to set a fundraising goal. If you’re not interested in accepting the challenge and swallowing a dose of wasabi, you can still participate by sponsoring a spoon. Second, go out and ask your friends, family and anyone else you know to help you reach your goal. Being that Facebook is such a key part of the Darius Goes West community, Darius and team made it simple to challenge your friends on Facebook. Third, once you've reached your goal, grab your video camera and prepare to eat one spoonful of wasabi. Finally, make sure to upload your video for everyone to enjoy.

You've got to hand it to this team of creative and passionate folks for their continued efforts to raise awareness and money for DMD, while simultaneously having a lot of fun.


3. Send a Valentine to a Survivor


Send a Valentine to a Survivor

Love146's Send a Valentine to a Survivor campaign made hundreds of families smile last Valentine’s Day. The campaign goal was simple: mobilize the Love146 community via its members’ social media outposts (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) to create personalized Valentine’s Day cards that would then be sent to the families of Round Home, a safe home for children in the Philippines who have been exploited in the sex trade.

In a matter of days, Love146 received hundreds of Valentine’s Day cards and raised a little money along the way. In fact, you can still give a gift online to support the cause. Make sure to check out the Flickr stream or the slideshow below to see all the creative and encouraging valentines.

Check out the resulting Flickr Slide show:

What social good campaigns have you participated in or seen that brought a smile to your face? Let us know in the comments.


More Social Good Resources from Mashable:


- Why Social Media is Reinventing Activism
- How and Why PepsiCo Engages in Social Good [VIDEO]
- 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Social Good
- How Social Good Has Revolutionized Philanthropy
- 5 YouTube Projects That Are Making a Difference


Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter, YouTube

More About: cause campaigns, Darius Goes West, List, Lists, love146, non-profit, non-profits, social good

For more Social Good coverage:


HBO Offers Discounts for “True Blood” Checkins

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 12:00 PM PDT


In a partnership with HBO, entertainment checkin service GetGlue is now offering True Blood fans a way to save on show-related products through checkins. The discount announcement follows news that GetGlue saw a 25% bump in activity for September, surpassing 10 million ratings and checkins for the month.

True Blood fans who checkin to the show via GetGlue will now receive a 10% discount at the True Blood shop, an HBO online store that sells memorabilia and DVDs. GetGlue members who have accrued higher True Blood status, as fans and superfans, will receive up to 20% off products.

HBO and GetGlue are also awarding the True Blood fan voted the most knowledgeable by peers with a $50 gift card.

The HBO-sponsored discount is a first for GetGlue, though the AdaptiveBlue company promises similar rewards from additional partners in the coming weeks. “Most existing sticker partners are going to roll out discounts in three to four weeks,” says AdaptiveBlue CEO Alex Iskgold.

App users now have a tangible incentive to check in to their favorite entertainment entities. But, the future may hold a much more rewarding reason to check in to shows if Iskgold gets his way. “We are aggressively moving into discounts for cable bills,” he says. “It will take us a bit longer, but I am optimistic.”

In tying checkins to discounts, we’re starting to see the idea of a show “fan” become less ephemeral and more grounded in actual identity, repeat social activities and purchase behaviors. If GetGlue can prompt True Blood addicts to demonstrate their show affinity through checkins — even if the motivation is to get the discount — then there’s a real business incentive for other networks, and even cable companies, to follow HBO’s lead.

More About: checkins, getglue, hbo, MARKETING, true blood, tv

For more Entertainment coverage:


Top 5 Developer Questions About HTML5 Answered

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 11:38 AM PDT

HTML Questions Image

Paul Gubbay is vice president of engineering for design and web at Adobe. He has spent the past 25 years working in the software industry with a specialized focus on creative and web professional tooling and solutions.

There's been a lot of talk lately about HTML5 and confusion about what it is, what can be done with it today, the best way to learn it, etc.

With so much hype in the marketplace, I wanted to tackle the questions we hear most from creative professionals who want to take advantage of HTML5 but are unsure about how to get started.


1. What is HTML5?


In its simplest form, HTML5 is the evolution of HTML. Interestingly, it has become a “catch all” term for many technologies that can move the web forward, including CSS3, SVG and Canvas. What it offers most web professionals is a new set of functionality for creating richer interactivity for websites and applications across multiple screens. Due to the adoption of WebKit on mobile devices, HTML5 is gaining a lot of traction around smartphone and tablet development. In its early days, HTML5 will feel incremental in terms of how users can take advantage of it. But as the ecosystem evolves, frameworks and tooling will enable web professionals to create a new world of interesting experiences including applications that are accessible on a variety of devices.


2. Can I Use HTML5 Even if Users Have Outdated Browsers?


Although HTML5 is still in its infancy, there are several ways users can employ new language elements while ensuring that content degrades gracefully on unsupported browsers. There are plenty of articles on the web that discuss these techniques. For example:

  • Developers can work conceptually with new structural elements such as Header or Footer by creating classes with the same name and attaching them to divs within a user's page.
  • You can take it a step further by using the new HTML5 elements today with a combination of JavaScript and some CSS to ensure compatibility with older browsers.
  • Developers can leverage JavaScript libraries such as Modernizr that take advantage of emerging technologies (HTML5, CSS3) while providing control over older browsers that may not support this functionality.
  • Developers can use HTML5 forms with new Input elements and types to provide richer functionality on modern browsers that support them with no penalty on older browsers where they will degrade gracefully to text inputs.

Of course if you are just targeting mobile browsers, you can take advantage of many more HTML5/CSS3 features. The mobile browsers that are primarily based on WebKit provide a lot more support, although there are still some inconsistencies across different implementations.


3. What Should Designers and Developers Learn First?


Developers should start incrementally by expanding their skills with technologies they already understand. Leveraging new functionality in CSS3 is a great place to begin. I also recommend following blogs to stay on top of what’s going on and keeping an eye on the different JavaScript frameworks that are springing up. There is a lot of innovation happening around mobile frameworks and runtimes right now. Some good resources to watch include:

Developers should also make sure they keep in mind the platforms they are building for, because the gating factor right now is browser support.


4. Am I Behind the Times?


9 Elements HTML5 Canvas

Hype about a particular technology can often lead to designers and developers feeling like they're behind the curve, but that just isn't true with HTML5. While there are some really cool examples out there today, in reality it is a much smaller subset of web developers that can create them, and the content works on an even smaller subset of devices.

There are significant hurdles to face when developing for devices, in addition to the typical cross-browser desktop compatibility issues everybody experiences. How do you take advantage of hardware acceleration? How do you take advantage of device APIs (e.g. touch, geolocation, offline cache, etc.)? What do you do when device APIs are not consistently accessible through the browser implementations?

Look for JavaScript frameworks and tools that can abstract across these differences and provide a set of building blocks that work consistently across the devices you are targeting. While there are many exciting capabilities being made available, most users will need to be pragmatic in their approach.


5. Why the Wait?


The gating factors right now for the widespread adoption of HTML5 are the browser vendors and the HTML5/CSS3 specification. Similar to the browser wars in the early days of the web, there is a significant amount of innovation happening within the browsers themselves. WebKit is becoming the predominant browser for mobile devices, but there are multiple implementations. Firefox and Chrome continue to push the boundaries on the desktop, with IE9 now joining the race with deeper support for HTML5/CSS3. While fast innovation is good news for web pros, it also creates inconsistency. This is where the Spec comes into play. The Spec drives the standard that all browsers need to adhere to. However, the Spec will not be ratified for many years.

Most web pros will be well served by standardizing on frameworks and tooling that can help them take advantage of the new functionality while degrading gracefully on the browsers that are still behind. Sites such as HTML5 Readiness can give users insight into what is and isn't supported across Browsers.


What Is Adobe’s Stance on HTML5?


This is a question we get a lot at Adobe. As the current landscape continues to evolve rapidly, we believe people will benefit from implementing a hybrid strategy where Flash and HTML5 technologies are both utilized depending on the business need. For instance, if you are building an enterprise RIA with a multi-function team that needs a strong development framework, ubiquity across devices, and one vendor behind the technology, then Flash makes a lot of sense. If you are building a dynamic website that targets desktop, tablet and mobile, then HTML5/CSS3 is likely the right technology. In short, there will be places where HTML5 makes the most sense and provides basic interactivity, but there will always be a place for richer interaction and guaranteed consistency, and that's where Adobe feels that Flash technology excels.


Conclusion


There's no question that designers and developers should familiarize themselves with HTML5, learn what capabilities are currently supported, and, most importantly, where those capabilities are available based on the audiences they're trying to target. Users shouldn't make the mistake of falling in love with a particular site element and charging ahead only to find out that it doesn't work at all in a browser that matters to their customer.

These are exciting times for designers and developers. We have some great challenges and opportunities in front of us that will have a huge impact on the future of the web. I can't wait.


More Dev & Design Resources from Mashable:


- 10 Captivating Time-Lapse Design Videos
- A Beginner's Guide to Integrated Development Environments
- 5 Hot Design Trends for Aspiring Bloggers
- 5 Tips for Developing a Global-Friendly Website
- HOW TO: Customize Your Background for the New Twitter


Reviews: Chrome, Firefox

More About: adobe, Browsers, chrome, css3, Firefox, html, HTML5, IE9, List, Lists, questions, tech, web design, Web Development, web standards

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Involver Raises $8M for Social Media Marketing Services

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:58 AM PDT


Social media marketing company Involver announced Thursday an $8 million Series C round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

While many of Involver’s marketing efforts revolve around Facebook, the company’s platform also includes integration with Twitter, LinkedIn and mobile applications.

Right now, the startup supports more than 200,000 installed applications and allows brands to reach more than 325 million “fans” across Facebook and other networks.

Involver is built to scale for large enterprises. Its customers include the White House, Foster Farms and Sony/RCA Records. Facebook itself used Involver to create the leaderboard for its FIFA World Cup page on Facebook Sports.

At least since the beginning of this year, enterprise-level tools for social media management and social media marketing have been in high demand. In response to this demand, the company announced its Audience Management Platform (AMP) over the summer. This social media dashboard allows brands and agencies to manage, monitor and schedule updates across Facebook, Twitter and the broader social web. It also gives users actionable metrics, an important part of measuring social media ROI.

Clearly, AMP sent all the right signals to investors, as the company has been on something of a fundraising tear this fall. It announced a $1.6 million Series B just last month. To date, this brings Involver’s funding to $10 million.

Involver, a San Francisco-based company, was founded in 2007.


Reviews: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

More About: bessemer, business, facebook, funding, involver, vc, venture capital

For more Business coverage:


4 Game-Changing Trends in Web App Design

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:47 AM PDT

The Web Design Trends Series is brought to you by the Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program, which provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their applications to millions of Intel Atom™ processor-based devices. Learn more here.


Web applications are one of the greatest revelations of the Internet. It's a development that is largely specific to the Web 2.0 era, but their significance will be in effect for generations.

The web app is a signifier of a fundamental shift in computing. It’s representative of the cloud and our newfound ability to decentralize our technical lives and spread ourselves across desktop computers, mobile devices and pretty much anything else connected to the Internet.

But web apps are driven by trends, and trends move fast. So if you’re slaving away on a mobile app, here are four trends that you might want to consider before coding yourself into irrelevance.


1. Location


It’s not that location started with Foursquare, but it took Foursquare’s simple badge system to make the world pay attention. If your web app isn’t location aware, people are far less likely to be aware of it. With web juggernauts like Facebook launching Places and Google shifting product rockstar Marissa Mayer to location and local services, it’s safe to bet on geolocation.

These days, it’s easier than ever to to make your app location aware. HTML5 features a native location protocol (try finding yourself with an HTML5-compliant browser), and with a few easy lines of JavaScript, your app can be pegging latitudes and longitudes in no time. And, according to SimpleGeo’s Andrew Mager, HTML5’s location protocol is doubly useful for mobile web apps, because it doesn’t hog battery resources by constantly running GPS.


2. Data Portability


Internet dwellers have railed against the classic walled gardens of the web for years. It stands to reason then, that as we entered the Web 2.0 era, developers should have been prepared for this. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case and, while your data is your data, there was a long period where you could only use it in the place it was created.

Now, there has been a gradual shift toward portability and many of the once guilty parties are taking steps to enable you to take your data with you wherever you choose. Services like Posterous have strongly pushed the envelope here in getting developers to ease up, but those initiatives were still, in several cases, stonewalled.

It wasn’t until October 6, when Facebook got hip to data portability, that this became a true trend. That announcement should be considered a death knell to any web app hoping to make a buck while keeping user data proprietary.


3. Mobility


It’s happening so fast that it’s hard to see the lines beginning to blur, but web apps and mobile apps are becoming indistinguishable from one another. Sure you can install an app on your Android or iOS device, but some of the best mobile implementations have avoided coding unique apps and focused on the mobile functionality of their web apps.

Perhaps the most shining example of this transition is Shaun Inman’s Fever. This RSS reader installs directly on your web server and is arguably the best RSS reader on the face of the planet. It’s also fully functional on most modern mobile devices by simply visiting the same URL that you’ve set the reader up on. No extra lifting, just one unified experience.


4. HTML5


It might not be completely ready for primetime yet, but if you’re not preparing for HTML5, you’re preparing for obsolescence. Incorporating features that make many of the oldest bastions of web plugins redundant, HTML5 is the future of the web. Video playback, geolocation, drag-and-drop media and more are all built-in.

When the the World Wide Web Consortium finally ratifies the HTML5 standard, you’ll probably start hearing more talk of Web 3.0 than you can possibly stand.

These four trends are some of the biggest ones in the web app world right now. Add your own thoughts on trends that are revolutionizing the way we create and use web apps in the comments below.


Series supported by Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program


The Web Design Trends Series is brought to you by the Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program, which provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their applications to millions of Intel Atom™ processor-based devices. Learn more here.


More Dev & Design Resources from Mashable:


- HOW TO: Be a Hybrid Designer/Developer
- 6 New Mac Apps for Designers and Developers
- Flash vs. HTML5: Adobe Weighs In
- 10 Free Web UI Kits and Resources for Designers
- Top 10 Accessories for Typography Nuts [PICS]

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, mbortolino & Flickr, Anne Helmond


Reviews: Android, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Google, Internet, Posterous, iStockphoto, video

More About: data portability, design, geolocation, HTML5, location, mobility, Web 3.0, web apps, web design, Web Design Trends Series, web-2.0

For more Dev & Design coverage:


Mozilla Names SAP Mobile Exec as New CEO

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:27 AM PDT


Mozilla Foundation, the creators of Firefox, has announced that it has chosen Gary Kovacs, senior vice president of mobile products at SAP and former general manager of mobile at Adobe, as the new CEO of the non-profit.

“I'm very happy to introduce Gary Kovacs as our new CEO for the Mozilla Corporation,” current CEO John Lilly said in a blog post announcing the change. “I think he's going to be great for Mozilla, and that our broad community will like him and be well served by him.”

Earlier this year, Lilly announced that he was stepping down from his post and joining Greylock Partners, citing his love of the startup world and five years of service as reasons for his transition out of Mozilla. He said at the time however that he would stay on until Mozilla found the right person to replace him.

Now Mozilla has found that executive. Kovacs became the senior vice president for mobile products after joining SAP through Sybase, which was acquired by SAP earlier this year for $5.8 billion. Before that, Kovacs was a VP of product and the general manager of mobile for Adobe.

His hiring says a few things about Mozilla’s strategy for Firefox and its other products. Kovacs has a strong product and mobile focus. Firefox has been facing stiff competition from the likes of Microsoft and Google, whose browsers (IE9 and Chrome, respectively) boast faster speed and new innovations in hardware acceleration, speed and security. His mobile background makes it clear that Mozilla takes the mobile versions of its browsers seriously. The non-profit released Firefox 4 Beta for mobile last week on Android and Symbian devices.

“We talked to a lot of people, and Gary stands out for the way he bridges these skill sets,” said Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker. “He melds the fundamentals of a good executive with a powerful understanding that Mozilla's non-profit, public benefit mission drives everything we do, including those activities which might look like ‘business as usual’ to a casual observer. Gary brings a deep understanding of the mobile space and rich media from his time at Macromedia / Adobe and Sybase. Both of these areas are critical to the future of the Web.”

Did Mozilla make the right choice? What do you think of this appointment? Let us know in the comments.


Reviews: Android, Chrome, Firefox, Google

More About: Firefox, mozilla

For more Business coverage:


RedLaser Now Scans QR Codes

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 09:58 AM PDT


Popular barcode-scanning, comparison shopping iPhone app RedLaser has just been updated with support for QR code scanning.

eBay-owned RedLaser released the new version of the application earlier this morning, also piping in eBay and Half.com listings for product barcode scans — a nice bonus of the June acquisition.

RedLaser [iTunes link] has already been downloaded more than 5 million times, making it perhaps the most mainstream user-friendly barcode scanning app on the market. Now that RedLaser possesses QR code scanning capabilities there’s no need for app users to download a separate application or go elsewhere for their QR scanning needs.

Plus, more than 100 application makers have used the RedLaser SDK to integrate barcode scanning functionality into their application experience. That SDK is also getting a makeover, courtesy of eBay, to allow for even more options like VIN barcode scanning and gift card scanning.

We think QR codes are on the verge of becoming a breakout trend in the U.S. In 2010, we’ve already seen a number of creative QR code marketing campaigns, brand initiatives and paper product replacements. With QR code support, RedLaser will play conduit between brand and consumer even more so than before.

Image courtesy of clevercupcakes, Flickr


Reviews: Flickr, Get Creative

More About: ebay, iphone app, MARKETING, qr code, redlaser

For more Mobile coverage:


Flash 10.1 Tops 1 Million Downloads on Android Phones

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 09:45 AM PDT


Flash 10.1 has officially surpassed the 1-million-downloads mark for Android smartphones, according to information we’ve just received from Adobe.

The software has been in public beta since Google’s I/O conference in May, but it wasn’t available in the Android Market until about two months ago.

We heard that Flash would be coming to Android back in February, when Adobe unveiled its mobile offerings at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. At that time, the Open Screen Project, a consortium of more than 70 web and mobile companies from around the world, was hoping to make Flash a consistent part of mobile platforms.

Google confirmed that Froyo (a.k.a. Android 2.2), its latest and greatest mobile operating system, would support Flash back in April, and so the stage was set for a smooth collaboration. This interaction represents a 180-degree difference from the relationship that Adobe has built with Apple; iPhones , iPads and web-connected iPods won’t be supporting Flash anytime soon.

We’re still waiting for AIR apps on Android phones. The AIR runtime is currently available for the Android market, but AIR’s SDK for developers won’t be available until later this year.

We’ve been running Flash on a few of our Android devices around the Mashable office, and we’ve had pretty good experiences with it so far. What do you think of the Android-plus-Flash experience?


Reviews: Android, Android Market, Google, Mashable

More About: adobe, air, android, Flash, Mobile 2.0

For more Mobile coverage:


CSS Inventor Talks About the Web’s Visual Future [VIDEO]

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 08:59 AM PDT


The Web Development Series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.

Mashable spoke with Håkon Wium Lie, the CTO of Opera Software and the inventor of CSS, a few weeks ago. It was a pleasure and an honor to speak with one of the true web pioneers.

Mr. Lie spoke with us about the history of CSS and why it’s important. He also showed us some of the new features that are in the CSS3 spec, like rounded corners, inset text and drop shadows. We’ve been writing about some of these new features, including the <video> tag (which is actually part of HTML5, but is often associated with CSS3) and web fonts over the past few months and we’ll continue to touch on more and more of these trends. Now that the elephant in the room (Internet Explorer) is finally embracing the modern web, thanks to the new IE 9, implementing these features makes more and more sense.

If you want to learn more about CSS3, you can check out some of these resources:


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More Dev & Design Resources from Mashable:


- 11 Trends in Web Logo Design: The Good, the Bad and the Overused
- Top 5 Web Font Design Trends to Follow
- 5 Tips for Aspiring Web App Developers
- Flash vs. HTML5: Adobe Weighs In
- 6 New Mac Apps for Designers and Developers


Reviews: Internet Explorer, Mashable

More About: CSS, css3, hakon wium lie, interviews, opera, web browsers, web design, Web Development, web development series, web standards

For more Dev & Design coverage:


Dolby High Definition Audio Coming to Netflix

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 08:21 AM PDT


Netflix subscribers who stream video will soon get a major audio enhancement. On October 18, Netflix will bring Dolby Digital Plus 5.1-channel surround sound to its “Watch Instantly” Internet streaming service. The feature will be available first to PlayStation 3 owners, with additional platforms, like the Xbox 360, receiving it over time.

This is a major leap for Netflix. Dolby Digital Plus is a high definition audio format that supports up to 7.1 channels of surround sound, so there is some room to upgrade. It had previously enabled high definition video on a portion of its media, but the addition of premium sound will make it an even more viable competitor to physical media like DVDs.

The fact that the service is launching first on PlayStation 3 will come as a disappointment to many, but it could just be a case of Netflix trying not to play favorites. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the first console to get Netflix streaming back in November 2008.

No word yet on when Netflix Dolby Digital Plus will be hitting other platforms, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

More About: audio, dolby, high-definition, netflix, streaming video, video on demand

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How Much Are Social Media Shares Worth? [STUDY]

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 08:04 AM PDT


Popular event ticketing site Eventbrite used its in-house social analytics tools to study the effects Facebook shares, tweets and other social sharing behaviors have on ticket purchases.

Looking at data from the past 12 weeks in aggregate, Eventbrite found that each social media share equates to $1.78 in ticket sales, with Facebook shares proving to be the most lucrative. As such, Eventbrite believes social commerce — or transactions driven through sharing on social platforms — to be the next big trend in online commerce.

Eventbrite’s data is especially telling; here’s the breakdown: one share on Facebook equals $2.52, a share on Twitter equals $0.43, a share on LinkedIn equals $0.90, and a share through e-mail equals $2.34 in sales. The easy takeaway is that Facebook shares are almost six times more effective than tweets and three times more rewarding than LinkedIn shares.

The report also details, “For Eventbrite, Facebook is now the #1 referring site for traffic to the company's site, surpassing Google. Each Facebook share drives 11 visits back to Eventbrite.com.”

Eventbrite’s data and social commerce findings are, of course, by all means singular to its ticket-selling business and recognized brand name. For most businesses, individual shares will not convert to as high of sales.

Still, web services with online commerce components could learn a thing or two from the startup’s social integrations — Eventbrite excels at making it ridiculously simple for event organizers and RSVP’d guests to share events via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or e-mail.


Reviews: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter

More About: eventbrite, facebook, social commerce, social media, twitter

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6 Tips on Starting a Digital Business from the Founder of Pandora

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 07:31 AM PDT


The Digital Entrepreneur Series is supported by Egnyte. Egnyte Hybrid Cloud File Server delivers critical business infrastructure — online storage, file sharing, collaboration and backup — at LAN speeds. Visit www.egnyte.com to learn more.

With more than 65 million listeners, a huge money-making mobile business and plans to make it into your living room and car, Pandora is the web-based streaming music service to beat.

It’s easy to forget that Pandora was once a troubled startup on the brink of ruin. Having launched in 2000, the now 10-year-old company has been plagued by expensive track royalties for most of its existence (and still is). In 2008, Founder Tim Westergren openly stated that Pandora was facing a “pull-the-plug kind of decision.”

Westergren is now singing a much different tune — thanks in no small part to Pandora’s wildly popular iPhone application and the company’s ability to serve highly targeted advertisements. In an e-mail exchange with Mashable, Westergren opens up about his 10-year tenure with Pandora and expounds upon important decisions, missteps and lessons learned over the years.


Raise Money Much Earlier Than You Think


Pandora has raised upward of $55 million in investment funding over the course of its 10-year lifespan. Those funds have helped the service stay afloat in difficult times and have given the team room to innovate around new and emerging platforms for internet radio.

Westergren, then, knows a thing or two about the venture capital process and advises other startups to go after funding aggressively early on.

“After your seed round, I'd say raise money much earlier than you think you should. It'll always take longer than you expect, and you don't want to be anywhere near running out when you're negotiating a term sheet,” Westergren says.


Adapt to Trends


“Mobile has truly opened the gateway for Pandora to inherit the next era of radio listening,” Westergren says.

The company’s mobile app strategy shift began with the release of its iPhone application in 2008. With that single decision, the company discovered that, in fact, it is more a mobile company than anything else — mobile now accounts for 50% of the business — and one poised to capitalize on music listeners transitioning from broadcast radio to internet radio.

“Smartphones have completely redefined our company and our category. They have made Pandora truly an anytime, anywhere experience — both technically, and perhaps more importantly, in the minds of consumers,” Westergren says.

Pandora refocused its business around mobile at just the right time, quickly turning the metaphorical corner toward profitability after adapting to a new trend in mobile music consumption.


You Don’t Need to Base Your Business in the Valley


There’s an ongoing debate about whether a startup needs to be based in San Francisco or the neighboring Silicon Valley in order to thrive. Pandora has proven that a startup can stay relevant even with a home base in a less trendy neighborhood.

“When we launched in 2000, there was nothing left in [San Francisco],” Westergren explains. As such, Pandora set up shop across the San Francisco bay in Oakland, Calif., and, “That turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise.”

“Oakland has been great; reasonable rents, a thriving downtown, affordable housing prices (a great boost for recruiting), and an incredibly responsive and supportive City Hall that has helped us in innumerable ways,” he says.


Earn Employee Trust and Loyalty


Pandora’s employees pushed through the company’s much publicized troubled times, so we asked Westergren what he did as a leader to keep the team motivated.

“That really starts with hiring,” he says. “We hired great people and then we earned their trust and loyalty.”

On the trust and loyalty front, Westegren further explains, “I think our team feels respected, empowered, and genuinely excited about the company's mission. We treat people fairly, we are transparent about our decision-making, and we lead by example. That's about all you can do.”


Manage the Pace of Innovation


Ideas abound inside Pandora’s Oakland-based headquarters, so one of the company’s biggest challenges isn’t driving innovation, but rather massaging the team’s feverish ingenuity into a controlled, business-supported process.

“We're lucky in that we have a team of product designers and engineers who are restless. They're never lacking for ideas to improve or expand Pandora. I would say our challenge is more around managing the pace of innovation while tending to the needs of the business in the near term,” explains Westergren.


Believe in Your Idea


“The best piece of advice I can give to entrepreneurs is don't be shy about believing in your ideas — even if folks around you think you're crazy. Entrepreneurship requires a little crazy. Just be prepared for a long and often uncertain journey. The good stuff doesn't come easy,” says Westergren.


Series Supported by Egnyte

The Digital Entrepreneur Series is supported by Egnyte. The Egnyte Cloud File Server allows organizations of any size, from small businesses to large enterprises, to deploy online file storage, backup, sharing and collaboration, in one secure, centrally-managed and easy-to-use solution. Egnyte employs a hybrid cloud model that enables fast local edit capabilities and offline access to files. It also offers mobile access to provide users with secure file sharing capabilities from their smartphones. For more information, please visit www.egnyte.com or call 1-877-734-6983 (1-877-7EGNYTE).


More Startup Resources from Mashable:


- How 7 Startups Are Building Their Online Communities
- 5 Ways to Use Google Voice for Your Business
- Life After Microsoft: 15 Startups Founded By Ex-Employees
- 5 Beautiful Tumblr Themes for Small Businesses
- How Businesses Are Unleashing Their Employees' Social Media Potential

Images courtesy of Pandora, and Flickr, Thomas Hawk, brunkfordbraun


Reviews: Flickr, Mashable, Pandora

More About: business, Digital Entrepreneur Series, List, Lists, online music, pandora, pandora radio, small business, tim westergren, tips

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20 Years Later, “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out” Gets Reimagined on iPhone [SCREENSHOT]

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 07:12 AM PDT


Boxing icon (and more recently supporting actor in “The Hangover”) Mike Tyson is set to make his return to the video game world with a new title for iPhone and iPad.

Children of the ’80s (and maybe the early ’90s) probably have a recollection of the Nintendo video game "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out," in which you work your way up the boxing ranks to fight Mike Tyson, who was at the time, heavyweight champion of the world.

Perhaps capitalizing on Tyson’s re-emergence in the public consciousness, Rock Software has created a similar experience for iPhone that will hit the app store next month. Users will fight as a character named "Little Sammy," going through 10 boxers and then getting the opportunity to take on Tyson.

Amusingly, Rock Software CEO John Shahidi has worked his own friends and acquaintances into the game — they’re the 10 guys you fight leading up to Tyson. "There's my high school buddies. Tyler is a friend who was a bully; Luke is another friend who was the first of my friends to have kids; Franco (Italian boxer) is my best friend and lawyer," he told us.

The game will sell for $0.99, but Rock Software plans to further monetize by letting users buy other athletes that they can use in the game. The company does digital work for other flamboyant sports stars including Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and Floyd Mayweather Jr., so we can imagine these in-game purchases being a fairly strong supplemental revenue stream.

Here’s a sneak peek at what the game will look like:

More About: iphone, iphone apps, iPhone games, mike tyson, rock software, video games

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Nokia N900 to Get Dual Boot to MeeGo

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 07:02 AM PDT

n900

Owners of Nokia N900, originally based on Nokia’s Maemo platform, will be able to dual boot their device into the MeeGo operating system with the next firmware update.

The Nokia N900 is somewhat of a testing platform for Nokia. It is the last smartphone running Maemo 5, which is to be replaced with MeeGo, a joint project between Nokia, Intel and the open source community. Although it was launched 10 months ago, its hardware is powerful even by today’s standards, and it’s nice to see Nokia give users a way to upgrade the device to a brand new operating system.

With that said, MeeGo is still in early stages of development, meaning that you can expect bugs and problems, some of which can be really nasty. As Nokia puts it, “If you start playing with call software under development, you need to watch after your phone bill.”

However, if you’re brave enough to try out MeeGo on the N900, the best course of action is waiting for the next N900 firmware update (PR 1.3), which will allow dual booting Maemo and MeeGo on the device. According to the official MeeGo blog, the PR 1.3 update is “quite close now.”

More About: Maemo, Meego, Nokia, Nokia N900, smartphone

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This Morning’s Top Stories in Social Media and Tech

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 06:47 AM PDT


Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. We're keeping our eyes on three particular stories of interest today.

AOL Looking to Acquire Yahoo [REPORT]

AOL and several venture capital firms are in talks to buy Yahoo, according to The Wall Street Journal.

AOL's current market value is roughly one tenth of Yahoo's.

Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group are rumored to be in on the deal. Yahoo is working with Goldman Sachs to defend against a potential takeover, three sources have told Bloomberg. Neither company is willing to make an official statement at this time.

Verizon to Carry iPad

Apple announced this morning that its iPad device will become available for purchase in Verizon stores nationwide beginning Thursday, October 28. Verizon will offer all three versions of the iPad Wi-Fi model, bundled with a Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot and an optional monthly access plan of up to 1GB of data for $20 per month.

All three Wi-Fi models will also be made available at AT&T stores on the same date.

New Version of Skype Features Heavy Facebook Integration

Skype 5.0 for Windows has just been released with a slew of improvements and new features, most significant of which is the inclusion of a Facebook tab that allows users to SMS, chat or call their Facebook friends via Skype right from the News Feed.

A comparable version for Mac is coming soon, Skype assures us.

Further News

  • The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has teamed up with Facebook to reduce the amount of hate speech and anti-gay bullying that goes on around the Internet, the organization announced.
  • Effective today, Facebook members can now credit their friends’ Starbucks cards without ever leaving the site, thanks to an update added today to the Starbucks Card Facebook application.
  • Social media analytics service Klout, well-known for its Twitter influence measurement scores, has finally launched a version of its platform that determines your influence on Facebook.
  • NASA has teamed up with Gowalla to offer users a range of virtual rewards (a.k.a “pins”), such as virtual moon rocks, a NASA patch, a spacesuit and a space shuttle, for checking in at agency-related venues around the company.
  • Launched amid much fanfare just last week, iPhone app Instagram [iTunes link] has already garnered more than 100,000 signups, according to Co-Founder Kevin Systrom.

Reviews: Facebook, Internet, Skype, Twitter, Windows

More About: aol, apple, att, facebook, first to know series, ipad, Skype, starbucks, verizon, Yahoo

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Verizon iPad Coming October 28

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 06:18 AM PDT


Apple and Verizon Wireless announced this morning a partnership that would bring the iPad to Verizon Wireless Stores across the U.S. on October 28. While the collaboration won’t see Verizon compatible technology embedded in the iPad, it will bundle the iPad Wi-Fi with a Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot.

Verizon Wireless will offer three iPad Wi-Fi + MiFi bundles: the iPad Wi-Fi 16GB for $630, the iPad Wi-Fi 32GB for $730 and the iPad Wi-Fi 64GB for $830. Verizon will also introduce a special monthly access plan for iPad customers of up to 1GB of data for $20 a month. In contrast, AT&T offers up to 2GB of data for just $25 per month. Verizon iPad users will, however, have the option of purchasing the standard 5GB data plan for $60 per month.

The announcement comes as speculation behind a Verizon iPhone have reached unprecedented levels. Just days ago, “a person who is in direct contact with apple,” leaked information that a CDMA iPhone was in development and would hit shelves early next year. The rumors gained further credibility as it was picked up by both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

On Monday, Microsoft held an event in conjunction with AT&T to launch Windows Phone 7, a collaboration that could be indicative of the end of AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity. Nevertheless, AT&T also today announced that it too would begin carrying the Apple iPad in its stores on October 28. But it should be noted that even Wal-mart will soon be selling iPads, so perhaps this is all just Apple making a retail land grab before the holidays.


Reviews: Windows Phone 7

More About: att, exlusivity, ipad, iPad Wi-Fi, tablet computing, verizon wireless, VZW, Wireless

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Buy Your Friends Starbucks on Facebook

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 06:09 AM PDT


The generous types among us now have a convenient way to treat friends to Starbucks from afar. Facebook members can credit their friends’ Starbucks cards without ever leaving the site, thanks to an update added today to the Starbucks Card Facebook application.

“Give a Gift” is the new feature that makes the Facebook exchange of Starbucks currency possible. Starbucks Card Facebook application users in the U.S. and Canada can use the application to load between $5 and $500 to a friend’s registered Starbucks Card.

To “Give a Gift,” app users are walked through a six-step process where they select a friend, specify an amount, choose a theme, pen a personal note, pay for the gift and then can share their generosity via status update with the rest of their Facebook friends.

The Starbucks Card Facebook application was previously introduced back in April to provide customers with a way to manage their Starbucks Cards on Facebook. Starbucks credits their community site, My Starbucks Idea, with the “Give a Gift” idea. The idea was first suggested by user Suz01 on March 3, 2008; the idea has since attracted more than 42,000 votes, making it the eighth most popular suggestion of all time.

"It's great to bring another customer-inspired idea to life that enhances the customer experience in our coffee houses and within our digital communities. The new 'Give a Gift' feature on the Starbucks Card App provides a quick, fun gifting solution for our customers who want to surprise a friend on any occasion," says Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks’s vice president for brand, content and online.

Starbucks has an especially strong presence on Facebook with more than 15 million fans. The application update is a wise move that will not only satisfy brand fans who requested the feature, but may also inspire more Starbucks Cards transactions due to sheer simplicity.

Image courtesy of Flickr, cafemom


Reviews: Facebook, Flickr

More About: facebook, facebook application, MARKETING, social media, starbucks

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