Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “New iPhone, iPad App Lets You Search Inside Local Restaurants”

Using Eats, application users can essentially explore the interior of local restaurants in a virtual walk-a-round fashion, similar in style to Google Streetview for mobile, but infinitely more practical for would-be restaurant diners.

Eats also includes visual search options, social sharing features and filters for users to find restaurants by location, price or rating.

The EveryScape custom-built technology powering Eats is capable of transforming photo stills into three dimensional, user-controlled internal store tours. The application is designed to further the connection between patron and business owner, and business owners can use the service to customize their venue information.

EveryScape is today also announcing the private beta release of its mobile SDK, making available its collection of visual restaurant guides to select iPhone and iPad developers.

The Eats mobile application will be rolled out to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C. in the months ahead. In many ways, Eats is like a next generation version of Yelp for mobile. Interestingly enough, Google may also be experimenting with a similar idea to enhance its Streetview product.

You can watch a demo of the Boston edition of the iPhone application below.

More About: everyscape, ipad app, iphone app, Mobile 2.0, Search

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The price and the launch date haven’t been officially confirmed but the document and the information it contains seem legitimate. Other major U.S. mobile carriers – Verizon and T-Mobile – have already launched the device, and it’s slated to come to Sprint’s stores on November 14.

A quick rundown of the pricing for the Tab reveals that you can either get it for $599 from Verizon without a contract, or for $399 at Sprint and T-Mobile provided you sign a two year service agreement.

At AT&T (provided the document below is genuine) you’ll be paying $649.99 without a contract, but with the same pre-paid mobile data plans you get when you purchase an iPad: 200 MB of data for $15 per month or 2 GB of data for $25 per month.

What do you think, which carrier offers the best deal? Let us know in the comments.

[via Engadget]

More About: att, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Tablet

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The update brings numerous improvements and stability fixes, but there’s no mention of AirPrint; many believed Apple would enable AirPrint wireless printer sharing with iOS devices in the next OS X update.

Some of the improvements in OS X 10.6.5 include improved reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers, stability and performance enhancements in graphics applications and games, and a fix for the delay between print jobs, VoiceOver bug in Safari, and spacing issues with OpenType fonts. For a full list of improvements, go here.

To install the latest version go to the "Software Update" section in OS X.

More About: apple, mac, mac os x, Snow Leopard

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Backwash is an entirely strange and utterly surreal new web series premiering on Sony-owned video site Crackle this November 15.

The 13-episode series largely follows three hapless companions (played by Michael Ian Black, Michael Panes and Joshua Malina, who also wrote and produced the series) after one of them accidentally robs a bank armed with naught but a large salami.

The show features a humongous list of guest actors, including Jon Hamm, John Stamos, Sarah Silverman, John Cho, Allison Janney, Hank Azaria, Michael Vartan, Steven Weber, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Dulé Hill, Fred Willard and others. While some only appear as guest narrators, others will figure into the story arc itself.

“We’ll have 90 minutes of content, released episodically, at a calibre and quality where we can put them out on DVD, sell them on cable or satellite,” said Eric Berger, Senior VP of Digital Networks for Sony. Backwash is just one of the four original series exclusively produced for Crackle each year.

Berger sees one of the key differences between a video site like Crackle and competitors such as Hulu or YouTube is demographic targeting.

Backwash is another way Crackle can reach out to target demographic of males ages 18 to 34. Crackle provides editorial content through its blog and curates video lists that might appeal specifically to that demographic.

The show has taken a while to become reality, according to Malina.

“I initially just started writing it as comic material,” Malina said. “It went through many iterations. I thought it should be a screenplay, onstage, as a sitcom pilot. I never really completed it, I hadn’t really found the right medium for it.”

It was only when Ken Marino, another actor in the series, suggested trying a web series that Malina felt he found its home. “There’s a surreal aspect to it that’s well suited to the Internet.”

Malina said he enjoyed being able to cast and shoot the show without creative restriction, even though web series have historically low budgets and short shooting times. “A big negative is how you make a living doing [a web series],” Malina said. “We just sort of accepted that it was this new area and we’re not going to get rich off of it.”

It seems like this is the standard for most web series regardless of size: Fiscal gains are given up for a tremendous amount of creative freedom. Hopefully shows like Backwash, with its high production values and star-studded cast, can help elevate web series in the mainstream eye.

We’d love to get your thoughts on this subject, especially when the show comes out on the 15th. Is Backwash a one-off celebrity project or can it help to bring exposure to smaller web series that might not have the same resources or talent? Are you looking forward to Backwash? Let us know in the comments below.

More About: crackle, hulu, joshua malina, michael ian black, michael panes, sony, video, web series, web video

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It looks like Facebook’s messaging system about to get a long-awaited overhaul — possibly the rumored Project Titan of earlier this year.

Mashable has just received invitations for a press event this Monday. Unlike previous Facebook events, this one takes place in San Francisco. The company chose not to have its event at its headquarters in Palo Alto due to the Web 2.0 Summit, where Zuckerberg will be speaking. The announcement will place just a few blocks from Web 2.0 at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The invitations we received prominently display the inbox icon used in the company’s iPhone and Android apps. That’s why we believe this event will almost certainly be about a revamping of Facebook’s messaging and inbox system.

In our opinion, the current Facebook messaging system is broken. It is difficult to manage; users are unable to send messages outside of Facebook; and the system can’t handle simple things like attachments and forwarding.

If Facebook really wants to take on Google, it needs to have a far more robust messaging system akin to web-based e-mail. Monday may be the day we see that happen.

What do you want to see Facebook do to its Messages application? What kind of overhauls do you think Facebook will announce on Monday? We want to hear your opinions.

More About: facebook, Facebook Messages, web-2.0

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Ever scroll back through your Facebook profile, only to marvel at how much of your life can be recounted merely by looking at pictures and old wall postings? Well, then you should definitely check out “A Life on Facebook,” which recounts a young man’s life via postings and updates on the social network.

Set to The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black,” (a rather dark choice), this piece centers around a man named Alex Droner, who joins the social networking site and chronicles both heartbreaks and high points. In a time during which films like The Social Network and Catfish depict the rising influence of Facebook, the short film offers an interesting take on the way in which we live our lives online.

The piece was made by Maxime Luère, who — according to Facebook, naturally — is the lead CG artist at Akama Studio.

[via The Next Web]

More About: facebook, social media, viral video, youtube

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Heroku’s Ruby-focused platform is already more than 99,000 apps strong. The startup’s new Facebook App Package will help companies large and small create Facebook apps with ease, using the Facebook Graph API in Ruby.

Some of the Facebook apps already using Heroku include Clobby, the Facebook-based group chat app, and Cardinal Blue, a suite of social games.

Heroku places particular emphasis on its platform’s ability to scale rapidly — something anyone with a Facebook app idea should take into consideration. After all, when you’re launching to a network of 500 million users, you need to be prepared for the admittedly unlikely but nevertheless possible eventuality that your app will be a huge success.

Heroku also claims its platform allows for more productive development, smoother deployment and access to system components such as NoSQL databases, asynchronous workers and memcache — elements the company says “are often critical components of successful Facebook apps.”

Mike Vernal is Facebook’s director of platform. He said in a release, “Heroku makes building and scaling Facebook applications easier than ever. Developers can focus on their app, getting it in the hands of millions of Facebook users quickly.”

We name-dropped Heroku in a recent post about IDEs. As we noted, the Ruby language is growing exponentially in popularity these days, and more and more developer resources are devoted to Ruby.

For more information on how Facebook development via Heroku works, check out the documentation. The package’s suite of tools comes to $1,500 per month, a special introductory price that includes a $300-per-month discount.

Image courtesy of Flickr, rishibando.

More About: App, developers, facebook, Facebook app, heroku, ruby

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Name: Shwowp

Quick Pitch: Shwowp helps you gather your purchase history in one place.

Genius Idea: Say you need a new winter coat but would rather research good deals before buying online. Where do you go?

You could turn to your Facebook and Twitter friends for suggestions or page through online and print magazines, but private-beta startup Shwowp exists to help you surface better buys by harnessing the power of your own purchase data and from your friends.

At launch, Shwowp is a purchase-sharing site where you can input product purchases, share items with Twitter or Facebook, follow friends’ purchase activity and start conversations around products.

Users can also categorize their purchases by type — indicating that something purchased was because “I Need It” or “I Deserved It,” for instance. These categorizations are handy when revisiting your past purchases but will also factor into future features and services offered by the startup.

Yes, the first iteration of Shwowp does resemble the Blippys and Swipelys of the world, but that’s a side effect of Shwowp’s status as a very early-stage startup.

Right now, Shwowp is in the “data-in” phase, explains Co-Founder and CEO Tara Hunt; the company is working to build better tools to help people gather their shopping history. Today, you can e-mail in receipts and add purchases on the site, but the goal is to soon make this a more automated process with mobile applications (with RedLaser integration for barcode scanning) and numerous integrations with third-party retailers through available APIs.

The idea behind Shwowp, however, is much grander than what you can you see during the data-in stage and includes two additional key pieces that more clearly show why the service is important.

The next piece, says Hunt, is the analytics phase. Shwowp will work to provide users with tools so that they can view who their purchases influence and how. The ultimate aim here is to identify micro-influencer niches based on past purchases, so those with the most influence can reap discounts and deals from merchants and marketers.

It’s like Klout scores as applied to shopping — though Hunt plans to eventually tie her micro-influencer data with Klout scores for a more complete picture.

The final piece in the puzzle is what Hunt calls “data out.” In the data-out phase, Hunt envisions users sending out personal RFPs to merchants to get back bids for their purchases. For example, a user would indicate that she is interested in purchasing a new pair of black patent leather pumps, include her influence metrics and then solicit bids — with prices discounted based on influence — from online retailers.

It’s a grand vision that Hunt can certainly deliver — if investors take interest in the idea. Hunt tells Mashable that Shwowp has raised money from friends and family to the tune of $125,000 and is actively looking for seed funding at this time.

Even in its bare-bones state, Shwowp is a compelling product, especially for bargain-hunters looking to surface product recommendations and gather shopping insights from friends. In fact, women are the exact audience Hunt hopes to reach with the site, which is why she’s opted not to go the route of automatically pulling in purchase information from credit cards.

With Shwowp, Hunt hopes to create an environment where female users feel safe, empowered and ultimately rewarded for their influential shopping habits.

Five hundred Mashable readers can signup to get early access to Shwowp here.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Romana Correale

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: bizspark, online shopping, purchase data, purchase-sharing, shopping, shwowp, tara hunt

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Google Refine is a project born of Freebase Gridworks, a data-cleaning tool Google acquired when it bought Metaweb over the summer. Google has since renamed Gridworks and relaunched it as Refine.

Basically, Refine makes it much easier for data geeks to clean up and use big sets of data.

For example, if you’re writing an academic paper, government study or news article that requires you to download and parse spreadsheets from Data.gov or similar source of free information, you might notice all kinds of inconsistencies when you try to sort the data. This is a particular problem when you’re using free, open-to-the-public data that no one has maintained or cleaned up in the past.

Google Refine builds on its Gridworks roots by helping its users correct inconsistencies, changing data formats, extending data sets with data from web sources and other databases and much more. Refine also brings “a new extensions architecture, a reconciliation framework for linking records to other databases (like Freebase) and a ton of new transformation commands and expressions,” according to the official Google Open Source blog.

Here’s the first of three demo videos showing off Refine’s new and improved data-cleaning capabilities:

We can imagine this tool will allow non-programmers who deal with lots of data, including students and journalists doing research, to manipulate and sort data much more quickly.

What do you think of Google Refine so far?

More About: data, foss, Google, google refine, open source, spreadsheets

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Airbnb, formerly AirBed & Breakfast, is a marketplace where users can either buy or sell space. The site is currently focused on living spaces (places to crash for a night across the world), but it can be used to book a space for events or for whatever else you need. It currently has listings in over 8,000 cities in 166 countries.

The company’s new iPhone app finally extends the service’s functionality to Apple’s popular smartphone. Beyond providing a simple interface for browsing and booking different spaces, the app also includes limited-time daily deals and a feature called “What’s My Space Worth?,” which estimates the worth of a space you’d like to list on Airbnb based on size, location and type. It also includes a messaging feature so the host and guest can communicate directly.

Airbnb also released an “Instant Book” feature, which lets hosts eliminate the need to confirm reservations manually by giving users an automatic confirmations.

The biggest news, though, is the new round of funding the company raised; the $7.2 million Series A was led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners. Airbnb previously raised $600,000 in an angel round from Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator and Youniversity ventures. The company says that it will use the new round of funding on product development and to accelerate its global expansion and hiring.

"We expect the greatest percentage of our growth to come from international cities in 2011, and we will continue to focus on the expansion of our international operations in areas such as local payment options to better accommodate our global community,” co-founder Nate Blecharczyk said.

“With the additional funding from Sequoia and Greylock we will be able to take even larger steps… toward our goals."

The startup has had a tumultuous history; before it raised funding from Y Combinator, its co-founders struggled to keep the company afloat. At one point it relied on income from limited-edition novelty cereal (Obama O’s and Cap’n McCain’s) and the maxed out credit cards of co-founder Brian Chesky. It’s a story he told at this year’s Startup School, definitely a talk worth watching:

More About: AirBNB, funding, Greylock partners, Reid Hoffman, sequoia capital, y combinator

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Mashable recently highlighted this music startup’s newly redesigned website as one of the best web designs of 2010. Its full-screen, lean-back/lean-in user experience leaves little to be desired and is an immersive way to listen to great music from independent artists.

Similarly, the company’s iPad app, called Aweditorium brings high-quality multimedia and unique content for a stand-out experience that’s already getting rave reviews.

Through the app, you can view beautiful photography, read lyrics, explore related artists, watch interviews, view high-definition music videos and a whole lot more.

Thesixtyone Co-Founder James Miao told us in an email that ever since the creation of album art as we know it in 1939, the record industry has “captured people’s emotions and imaginations through inspiring, tactile experiences.

“Of course, all this cultural texture was lost in translation when music went digital. Today, it’s a third wheel, low-fi, and exiled to Adobe PDF. Digital music interfaces look like Excel spreadsheets — what kind of backwards society do we live in where we’re limiting the genius of a Thom Yorke or Trent Reznor to a single vertical column?

“And then Apple released the iPad and I told my partner, Sam Hsiung, ‘We’re going to change all of this.’”

That ambition is reflected in the app’s name — the desire to bring the awe and majesty of album art back to music.

Here’s a demo video and interview shot by our good pal Robert Scoble:

Competitors in the very exciting “music-related iPad app” category include the already successful Pandora iPad app and MySpace’s Romeo iPad app. Both of those experiences offer something slightly different to their users, but neither app has the multimedia richness of Aweditorium. Another thing that distinguishes Aweditorium from other music apps for iPad is its focus on independent artists; currently, Thesixtyone works almost entirely with indie artists, although some majors are playing around with the platform, as well.

The app is free and available now in the App Store. If you’re an iPad user, check it out and let us know what you think.

More About: aweditorium, ipad, ipad app, music, thesixtyone

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For webmasters and web surfers alike, seeing a row of a half-dozen “share this” buttons above or below every piece of web content can be both visually distracting and existentially confusing.

Many companies are building work-arounds for this common interaction design problem of the digital age, and Mozilla has just thrown its hat into that particular ring.

F1 gives users an all-in-one frame above the content they’re viewing. Once your accounts are connected, you simply click the tiny F1 icon in the toolbar to share the page you’re viewing with friends on Facebook, Twitter and Gmail. (Those three services were chosen as the first three supported sharing mechanisms for F1 because of their popularity and OAuth implementation.)

In an ideal world, if every web user was a Firefox F1 user, publishers wouldn’t have to provide the usual slew of sharing buttons, and users wouldn’t have to connect their social accounts and login credentials to scores of websites around the Internet. Sharing would be more secure, simpler and (let’s face it) a lot easier on the eyes than it is now.

Here’s a brief demo of the new feature:

As a Mozilla Labs project, F1 is still being expanded. As Mozilla designer Bryan Clark wrote today on the company blog, “[Eventually], the system should know which sharing service you use, and offer to use those! That will require sharing services to advertise to the browser that they offer a sharing API and the browser to see which services you use.

“Furthermore, sharing is not a standardized activity, so some protocol is likely needed for user agents to offer users the service they want without having to know about all of them.”

He also emphasized that publishers can also experiment with this feature; interested parties should check out the F1 wiki for details.

While we’ve seen similar cross-browser, all-in-one sharing frames and toolbars in the past, this offering from Mozilla is particularly well designed. In fact, we wish there was a cross-browser standard for social sharing; all these buttons have got to go at some point.

What’s your take on F1 so far? Let us know your opinions in the comments.

More About: design, f1, Firefox, firefox add-on, interaction design, mozilla, social sharing, trending, web design

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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 Postings

Mashable NYC Office Manager at Mashable in New York, NY.

VP Product at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Front End Web Developer at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

UI Designer at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Tech Reporter at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Business & Marketing Editor at Mashable in New York, NY.

Weekend Editor at Mashable in New York, NY.

VP of Sales at Mashable in New York, NY.

Events Content Coordinator at Mashable in New York, NY.

Events Assistant at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Events Manager at Mashable in New York, NY.

Ruby on Rails Developer at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Mashable Job Board Listings

Front End Developer/Design Engineer at Inflection in Palo Alto, CA.

Digital Marketing Manager at Lookout in San Francisco, CA.

Back End and Front End Engineers at Widgetbox Inc. in San Francisco, CA.

Web & Social Network Professional at Aqua Star in Seattle, WA.

Director, Digital PR at Weber Shandwick in San Francisco, CA.

Director, Digital Public Affairs at Powell Tate in Washington DC.

Director of Product Management – CoTweet at ExactTarget in San Francisco, CA.

Social Media Consultant – CoTweet at ExactTarget in San Francisco, CA.

User Experience Architect – CoTweet at ExactTarget in San Francisco, CA.

Director of Client Services – CoTweet at ExactTarget in San Francisco, CA.

Innovations Manager at Initiative in Los Angeles, CA.

Intern/Community Manager at On the Ball Marketing in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Digital Art Director at The Integer Group in Des Moines, IA.

Community & Social Networking Product Manager at Bloomberg LP in New York, NY.

AVP Product Planning at The Princeton Review in Framingham, MA.

Product Manager at SheSpeaks, Inc. in New York, NY.

Web Architect at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

Vice President of Platform Engineering at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA.

Engineering Manager at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

Director of Technical Operations at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

Emerging Media Strategist at FKQ Advertising + Marketing Inc. in Clearwater, FL.

Account Manager at a confidential company in Los Angeles, CA.

Community Manager at Savings.com in Los Angeles, CA.

Director of Marketing at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions in New York, NY.

Vice President of Portal Products at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA.

Director, Human Resources at UGO in New York, NY.

Director, Digital Practice at Draftfcb in Seattle, WA.

Marketing Manager at Elsevier in Burlington, MA.

Senior Educational Specialist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Senior Java Developer at Equity Trust Company in Elyria, OH.

Account Manager at Sharethrough in San Francisco, CA.

Cloud Expert at SocialStartUpGig in Los Angeles, CA.

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Web Marketing Manager at Logitech in Fremont, CA.

Producer – Digital Sports at Nike, Inc. in Beaverton, OR.

Sr. Web Marketing Manager at Logitech in Fremont, CA.

Web Software Developer at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

Director, Product Development at WeightWatchers.com in New York, NY.

Director of Marketing at Shotfarm in Chicago, IL.

Director of Development at Shotfarm in Chicago, IL.

Social/Community Manager at Digitas in New York, NY.

Associate Director/Producer at Digitas in New York, NY.

Web Designer at Volusion in Austin, TX.

Social Media Strategist at Geary Interactive in San Diego, CA.

Art Director at Corbis in Calgary, Canada.

Senior SEO Manager, eHow at Demand Media in Santa Monica.

Digital Media Project Manager at TMG in Washington DC.

Web Content Strategist/Information Architect at TMG in Washington DC.

Senior Content Strategist at Leo Burnett in Chicago, IL.

Interaction Designers at Arc Worldwide in Chicago, IL.

Web UI Designer/Developer at ELLA Internet Technologies, Inc. in Santa Barbara, CA.

Social Media Engagement Strategist at Citrix Inc in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Electronic Communications Production Coordinator at Brown University in Providence, RI.

Flash Action Script 3 Developer at All Things Media in Ramsey, NJ.

Project Manager at All Things Media, LLC in Ramsey, NJ.

Community & Social Media Managers at Wise Bread in Los Angeles, CA.

Online Communications & Community Coordinator at PetSmart Charities in Phoenix, AZ.

Senior Software Engineer at a startup in Burlingame, CA.

Communications Director at Peace Dividend Trust in New York, NY.

Director of Marketing and Retention at 1800flowers.com in Carle Place, NY.

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).

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Google can’t seem to shake off the controversy surrounding Google Street View; the company is now being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission over whether its street-mapping product has violated Federal privacy laws.

In May, Google admitted that its Street View vehicles had collected data from Wi-Fi networks without permission. The result was a firestorm of investigations from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea and even the U.S.

While some of those investigations are ongoing, the Federal Trade Commission investigation into Google’s data collection policies closed last month. That didn’t prevent the FCC from launching an investigation of its own though.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the investigation has been going on for a while, but the FCC only confirmed its existence today.

While this investigation could end up being closed too, it’s yet another headache for Google and its controversial street-mapping service. Whether the company will actually face charges is another question entirely.

More About: Google, google street view, WSJ

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Taptivate is no stranger to creating apps that plug into social networks — some of its other apps include Formspring client Spring and the official Digg iPhone app — but Friends is unique in that it takes in data from multiple social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.

The Taptivate team provided us with a beta build of Friends, giving us a chance to take a look at the app to see what it’s all about.

Check out this promo video to get a feel for the app:

The app automatically organizes your iPhone contacts with Facebook. This is convenient because it offers you easy access to all your Facebook contacts, while also merging their information with any related address book entries.

Unfortunately, at this point, the app doesn’t equally consolidate LinkedIn and Twitter contacts — but you can still find them and get various info on those friends. You can also view streams of either all your contacts from assorted networks and individual streams, or you can pick and choose groups of contacts you want to keep up with and follow.

Friends also makes it easy to sort content by type — photos, videos and posts. The app also works with photo attachment services to make previewing images and videos easy and you can also directly visit a URL and view it without leaving the app. You can even view “Places” to see recent checkins from your friends, alongside a Google map. Friends supports Instapaper, and you can choose a “Read Later” option for links or posts you find interesting.

The app can also be used to update your status across your social networks. You can selectively update or post to every network you are signed onto. Each network section acts as its own little app of sorts. When viewing a tweet, you can retweet, reply or favorite. When viewing a Facebook status message, you can “like,” comment or view comments.

The app is still in development, but we think it shows tons of promise. The interface is gorgeous, the app is easy to figure out, and the grouping options make sense. We also appreciate that Friends doesn’t corrupt your own address book on the iPhone or iPod touch. And you can even make calls with the app, which is pretty handy.

These days, social mobile apps are a dime a dozen. Finding the right mix of an app that can consolidate multiple channels, while also making the management of those streams easier, is a pretty tough task. From what we’ve seen, Friends is up to the challenge.

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How do you manage your social networks on your mobile device? Let us know.

More About: facebook, friends, iphone apps, linkedin, taptivate, twitter

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In fact, new Facebook applications and early adopter brands will push the trend forward this holiday season. Case in point: Sears and Kmart have become the latest mass merchant retailers to start selling gift cards through their Facebook Pages, just in time for the holiday season.

The two retailers are actually employing eGift Social — a Facebook application readily available to other merchants as well — to power their Facebook gifting program.

Shoppers can visit Sears and Kmart Facebook Pages to purchase themed gift cards for most occasions, holiday-branded ones included, to send to their Facebook friends. The Facebook-purchased gift cards are redeemable in stores or online, and are even posted to the recipient’s Wall (or sent via e-mail).

The two retailers join the ranks of Starbucks and Amazon, two brands also tapping into the friend-to-friend gift card exchange opportunities that Facebook affords.

The online gift card industry is booming and is projected to hit nearly $6 billion by 2014, according to a February report from Javelin Strategy & Research. Realistically, buying and sending gift cards through Facebook is the next logical distribution channel.

As more and more gift card stores find their way inside Facebook, we suspect consumers will respond to the convenience of these digital storefronts and replace the trip to the supermarket’s gift card aisle or the mall with an online visit to Facebook instead.

Image courtesy of Flickr, lechampiondumonde.com

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In a world where social media and pop culture collide, 2009 might've been most remembered for a certain race to 1 million followers. While 2010 has had its share of popularity contests too, we've also seen a myriad of innovative uses of digital media that have both catapulted some previously unknowns to "must follow" status and re-invented the careers of others.

Whether it was playing a key role in shaping the news, creating online personas that went viral and became much more, or using the Internet to connect with fans in new ways, several personalities stood out in terms of leveraging social media in irresistibly catchy ways.

Below, we take a look at some of those people who have made a major splash in the online world in the past year.

1. Ben Folds

While it looks like Chatroulette's 15 minutes of fame might be up, no one was a bigger part of that 15 minutes than musician Ben Folds.

What started with the singer-songwriter broadcasting improv piano tunes from his concerts onto the random video chat site quickly became an Internet meme, especially after the “chatroulette improv piano guy" named Merton emerged.

Because Merton rather closely resembled Folds, speculation ran rampant that the two were actually the same guy. Numerous YouTube videos — some of them originating here on Mashable — added fuel to the fire, though the fable was ultimately disproved once and for all (we think) in a video that the two created together last month.

What started as a clever play on a pop culture phenomenon ultimately became a blueprint for sustaining social media buzz.

2. Conan O'Brien

When Conan O'Brien took over as host of The Tonight Show in mid-2009, one of his first sketches poked fun at Twitter for its banality. Little did he know at the time that mere months later, he'd become the center of a massive user-created digital movement ("Team Coco") as NBC pivoted to shift Tonight Show hosting responsibilities back to Jay Leno.

Following his ouster, Conan quickly moved to capitalize on his Internet momentum, establishing a Twitter account that would serve as his comedic outlet while he sorted out his next career move, which he ultimately decided would be a new show on TBS.

Whereas Conan's Tonight Show played the traditional willfully ignorant-of-technology card, Conan's new show has made social media the centerpiece of a campaign to try and get the masses to shift their late night viewing habits to cable. As a result, we'll soon find out if digital loyalty translates to television ratings.

3. BPGlobalPR

This year's BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in recent times, and the company's much-maligned handling of it had some speculating that bankruptcy might be imminent for the petroleum giant.

Providing comic relief through the whole ordeal, however, was @BPGlobalPR, a satirical Twitter account pretending to be BP's public relations department. With updates like "Sadly we can no longer certify our oil as Dolphin Safe," the account quickly amassed tens of thousands of followers.

As for his inspiration, the man behind the account, "Terry," told Mashable in an interview that "They pay people like me a TON of money to make it look like they're doing stuff, but really we don't have to do much except talk. Our talking buys them time to figure out how they are going to sweep it all under the rug and go back to making lots of money."

While BP eventually closed the oil leak and activity on the @BPGlobalPR account has slowed, the feed served the dual role of both entertaining and reminding the world that BP was not doing a very good job at either closing the leak or communicating effectively with the public.

4. Dan Savage

In recent months, one of the most prominent social issues in America has been the bullying of gay teenagers. In response, sex advice columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage launched the "Its Get Better" YouTube channel, where everyday people have uploaded hundreds of videos providing encouragement and inspiration to gay teens, telling them they have much to look forward to.

It didn't take long for the channel to go viral with openly gay celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris and Ellen DeGeneres contributing video messages. Within about a month of launching, the channel attracted a video from President Obama broadcasting the "It Gets Better" message.

The campaign has been nothing short of inspiring, and we will be following Savage to see how he uses his various social media channels –- which also include a popular blog, Twitter feed, and podcast –- to raise awareness for important LGBT issues going forward.

5. Darren Rovell

It's been a spectacular year for stories about the business of sports, and sitting at the center of it has been CNBC's sports business reporter Darren Rovell.

There was simply no better feed to follow on Twitter than Rovell's as the world of Tiger Woods came crashing down following a car-accident-turned-sex-scandal turned tens of millions of dollars in lost endorsement deals.

Then, when LeBron James made the universally mocked decision of broadcasting "The Decision" on ESPN, Rovell again was the point man for assessing brand and consumer response as one of the world's most highly paid and previously admired athletes suddenly became one of the sporting world's biggest villains.

In between, Rovell's Twitter feed and blog has broken news on everything from TV ratings to jersey sales to free agency moves. To an extent, he's also made the business of reporting on sports sexy, as evidenced by some of the competitors he's now attracting.

What’s Your Take?

Which personalities do you follow via social media? Let us know in the comments or nominate them for the Mashable Awards.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances.

Date: Thursday, January 6th, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm PT
Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas
Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations
Socialize: Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, Plancast, Twitter (Hashtag: #MashableAwards)

Sponsorships are available. Please contact sponsorships@mashable.com for more information.

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

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to nearly 100 million spectators in 300 cities on five continents. In 2010 Cirque du Soleil, will present 21 shows simultaneously throughout the world, including seven in Las Vegas.

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About Research In Motion (RIM)

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. For the latest on BlackBerry products join us at www.facebook.com/BlackBerry.

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The Aro system automatically learns what's important in your life—the people, places, dates and organizations you care about most. In your communications, Aro automatically identifies people, places, events, dates,organizations and locations. From any recognized term, Aro offers quick action menus to speed up your day.

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

About Research In Motion (RIM)

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. For the latest on BlackBerry products join us at www.facebook.com/BlackBerry.

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About Research In Motion (RIM)

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. For the latest on BlackBerry products join us at www.facebook.com/BlackBerry.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, jgroup

More About: ben folds, bp, BPGlobalPR, celebrities, celebrity, conan o'brien, dan savage, darren rovell, internet celebrities, List, Lists, mashable awards, mashable awards 2010, personality

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Trulia’s high mobile adoption rates aren’t concentrated in traditional “tech cities” like Seattle (46%) and San Jose (10%) as one might expect, but rather, distributed throughout the country. One noticeable absence from the top 10 is New York City, which consumer educator Tara-Nicholle Nelson attributes to New Yorkers’ shorter (and often underground) commutes.

About 9 million users log into Trulia’s main site every month to search or post real estate. The app provides much of the information that is available on the site, including photos and listing prices, and also uses geolocation to plot interest points like nearby listings or open houses.

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, thinkpanama

More About: Mobile 2.0, Mobile adoption, real estate, stats, trulia, zillow

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If your blog needs a face lift, the creative types who power the web are here to help. Sometimes a few well-designed, tastefully placed icons can add a little class or creativity to an otherwise neutral theme.

Social media links, which we’d argue are a priority for any blog, are a great opportunity to add some texture. You could always roll with the standard-issue glossy, rounded-edge fare, but for those who want to distinguish themselves, there are more creative options out there.

To help, we’ve rounded up some of the most impressive works of social icon art circulating the web lately. The sets below all feature high-quality, high-detail icons that are easy to download and manipulate, thanks to their high resolutions and transparencies. Best of all, they’re free.

If you use a fun icon set that didn’t make our list, be sure to share the wealth in the comments section.

1. Bulb Social Media Icons

You don’t need a “science” blog to take advantage of these lovely beakers. Anything that evokes knowledge, creativity or experimentation would be a good fit. Nine large icons in this set hit all the hip networks and then some.

2. Latte Art Social Icons

These are just too cute to pass up. There are only four of them, and we wish they were a little larger, but the detail and the theme make them great for your foodie blog or caffeine-infused treatises.

3. Social Snow

These ice cubes are less practical, but they’re so nicely rendered we had to include them. Add them to your refrigeration industry news blog, or if you’re partial to the 3D icons without the ice, they are included in the download as separate PNG files.

4. Yammy Social Icons

Add these social pastries to any blog for a hint of the sweet updates you’ll be posting to Twitter and Facebook.

5. Moleskine Social Icons

Pining for the days when you’d scribble appointments into a book, rather than your Google Calendar? Show your readers that you remember penmanship with these sleek Moleskines.

6. Vintage Social Icons

There’s something about the texture of these swatches that draws the eye. They don’t feel like paper, but perhaps cardboard or fabric. They’d make a great fit for a grungier blog theme, but use them sparingly. Because they are all textured identically, too many of them in a row may detract from their casual, worn-out look.

7. Grass Textured Social Icons

Is your blog full of “nature” and “out-of-doors” things, like “plants” and “animals?” This beautifully textured pack is perfect for green thumb content.

8. Sleek Social Icons

If you’re tired of blue Twitter logos and orange RSS buttons, mix it up a little with these sophisticated, modern, and gradient-infused icons. Each logo comes in six different flavors, and the files are nice and big (420 pixels square). With this many color options and size possibilities, the set is a valuable asset for blogs of any style or hue.

9. Vector Social Icons

This bold set feels like a sticker book, but forgoes the “page peel” effect that can look redundant when you’re using multiple icons on the same page. They’re simple but clean, and the slightly raised look adds that dose of texture that many layouts crave.

10. Creature Social Icons

Short, pudgy social media creepers? Yes, please. There are only four in this set, but they hit the big networks (and an RSS logo), and would make an adorable addition to any fun-sized content.

11. Vintage Postage Stamps

If you added up the cost of all the stamps in this set at current USPS prices, you’d be looking at a hefty bill of $10.12. Fortunately, these virtual stamps are free, and they’ll harken back to ye olde days of yore, when you’d receive things in the mailbox besides piles of coupon clutter.

This set is a great fit for a paper theme.

12. Furry Cushion Social Icons

Do you ever just want to snuggle up with LinkedIn? Me neither. But if you’re blogging about kittens or Muppets, these are a great way to connect your content back to the social web.

13. Painting Social Icons

Even if the only painting you’ve ever mastered is the finger variety, you can still class up your social links with these oil-on-canvas masterpieces.

14. Picasso Social Icons

If Facebook was invented in Spain in 1903, you can bet that Pablo Picasso would have interpreted the logo during his Blue Period.

Or not. But these are still pretty cool.

15. 3D Social Icons

These 3D icons are large, crisp, and classic. The set also contains one of the best Foursquare icons we’ve seen on the web — a commodity that is still hard to find.

16. Breakthrough Social Icons

Place these cracking transparencies over any “surface” and the icon will appear to be busting through from the other side — no Photoshop mastery required.

17. PC Monitor Social Icons

Keep it simple with these elegant flat-panel monitors that display big, bold icons. We can envision these on the side bar of a tech or tech support site with a social presence.

18. Paper Social Icons

Get that “I wrote your contact info on a crumpled cocktail napkin” feeling in convenient digital form with these nicely textured social icons. Each one is rendered a little differently, so they’ll still look good in layers.

19. 3D Statuette Social Icons

These little trophies may not be all that versatile, but the eye-catching crisp 3D renders earned them a place on our list. The files are nice and big too.

20. Puzzle Piece Social Icons

If you’re illustrating a “connected” social presence, these smooth little puzzle pieces are a nice touch. We wish the files were a little bigger, but there’s a boatload of sites and services represented in addition to the social heavyweights.

More Design Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Website Designs That Blew Us Away
- 9 Free Resources for Learning Photoshop
- HOW TO: Customize Your Background for the New Twitter
- 5 Hot Design Trends for Aspiring Bloggers
- 21 Creative Blogger Bio Pages

More About: blog, bloggers, blogging, design, Design Lists, free, icons, List, Lists, social media, web design

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Update: The chat ended at 3:35 p.m. EST. Thank you to those who joined in!
–

The actor recently expanded his reach beyond the small screen with the launch of his site, SoulPancake, and his book by the same name. The project is intended to get people thinking about life’s big questions and discussing what they believe.

We asked you what you would ask the actor if given the chance, and you responded in droves. Sadly, we could only choose five questions from the masses, which I will be posing to Wilson during this here live chat. We’ll also chat about the contents of the book — specifically the chapter titled “Science & Technology.”

So sit back, relax and watch Wilson delve into the deepest reaches of the universe… Or, Facebook, at the very least.

Image courtesy Eric Charbonneau and Vivien Killilea for WireImage.

More About: live video, rainn wilson, social media, soulpancake, television, video

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To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its $200-million-per-year U.S. e-commerce business and the launch of its e-commerce site in the UK, Ralph Lauren is staging a “four-dimensional” light installation on Wednesday night at its flagship locations in New York and London.

Ralph Lauren has architecturally mapped the foundation and contours of its stores on Madison Avenue and New Bond Street, respectively, and will use light to make the buildings look as if they are being rotated, squeezed, disassembled block by block and so forth. From the spaces will emerge 3D replicas of some of the brand’s most iconic images — such as galloping polo players and four-story tall models walking invisible runways — and accessories, such as bags, belts and ties, from the current collection.

The so-called fourth dimension will be a series of additional sensory effects, including sound (music), touch (breezes) and smell (wafts of the brand’s fragrance collection), timed in sequence with the show.

It’s an impressive spectacle that should delight and engage audiences, and has already snagged the media’s attention. But it’s also an expensive one that, because of being staged on a local level, could potentially have limited reach.

When asked why the company had chosen to stage an on-site event rather than a big digital media spend, and how the event would translate into sales, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications David Lauren explained that the event was all about building mainstream awareness for the company.

“We want to make sure we are seen at the cutting-edge of technology and trends [by everyone],” he said. The company also plans to post video footage of the show on its website and mobile applications, hoping the event’s novelty factor will make it “go viral.”

The show, which begins at 8 p.m. ET in New York and 9 p.m. in London, will last a total of 10 minutes and is open to the public. Those who won’t be able to attend in person can check out the behind-the-scenes video below, as well as a video from a similar event Nespresso staged in Brussels in May. We’ll post a full video of the show later this week.

Behind-the-Scenes Video

Nespresso Demonstration

More About: advertising, architectural mapping, e-commerce, fashion, MARKETING, Ralph Lauren

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There's something incredibly adventurous about startup companies. Maybe it's the lack of bureaucracy and office politics. Or the freedom to create ideas and make decisions. Either way, many job candidates are attracted to the startup environment.

But this doesn't mean that startup companies are right for everyone. It's essential to find employees who possess the right qualities to not just survive, but thrive, in a startup.

When it comes to figuring out if a candidate is the right fit, asking the right question is key. There are three different types of interview questions: closed, open and behavioral. Here are examples of each using questions about customer service:

• Do you have excellent customer service skills? This is a closed ended question because the answer is either yes or no. And let me point out, the chances are really low that someone is going to say "No, my customer service skills are really bad."
• How would you handle an irate or difficult customer? This is an open ended question because it gives the candidate a chance to explain the steps to handling a difficult customer. The caution with this kind of question is candidates can give you a beautifully crafted response. But, if ever faced with an irate customer, there's no proof the employee would actually do any of the steps.
• Tell me about a time when you had to fix a challenging customer service issue. This is a behavioral-based interviewing question. The concept behind using this type of question is that past behavior is a predictor of future behavior.

By asking the right questions, recruiters are more likely to find fitting candidates. Outlined below are the top five qualities recruiters look for in startup job candidates, along with details on why that quality is important in a startup environment and sample interview questions for that quality.

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1. Flexibility

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You can call it flexibility, versatility, adaptability, whatever… but the ability to flow with the never-ending changes required by the business is essential. Michael J. Case, managing director for Wahl & Case K.K., whose firm recruits professionals for global organizations operating or starting up in Asia, says they use a line of questioning to determine if a person has been exposed to situations that might force them to be flexible. A typical question might include:

Tell me about a time you worked on a project that was cancelled or changed. What were the circumstances and how did you feel about the changes being made?

Case explains, "We especially want to press hard around this for candidates coming from more traditional, large companies or those known for very ordered cultures. We might also inquire about periods in their life outside of work where they experienced upheaval or unexpected change. Their level of flexibility in private life probably correlates pretty well to the office."

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2. Accountability / Responsibility

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Margaret Hartwig, corporate recruiter for Chitika, an online advertising network, says "Successful startups have no use for sycophants." Individuals have to show they're willing and able to not only come up with ideas, but defend those ideas and implement them. Hartwig shared that Chitika uses a lot of hypothetical situations to take people out of their comfort zone and see how they adapt and think on their feet. A typical prompt might include:

Walk me through an idea that you came up with, implemented, and saw through to positive results. If you got initial pushback from your supervisors, that's even better.

Hartwig added, "Another interview question example: I'm planning on buying a local airport and airline that runs flights throughout the New England area. How would you approach making this into a regional operation? Convince me that your ideas have merit."

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3. Entrepreneurial Spirit

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Nancy King, owner of nelking, whose firm manages every aspect of the recruiting process for startups so they can focus on building the business, sums entrepreneurialism up beautifully. "If you fear being unemployed, think twice about joining an early stage startup. The best startup employees think like entrepreneurs and know that if it doesn't work, they'll just be on to the next thing," she says. To get a sense of a candidate’s pioneering side, ask a question like:

Tell me about a shift you or your company made that fundamentally changed your role, the product or the company. What did you think about the change? How did you contribute to the change?

"You cannot hold onto how things were done in your last company,” King suggests to startup job candidates. “Granted, some of the experience and lessons you learned will be useful. If you start every sentence with ‘Well, when I was with…’ it’s likely, you won't be adaptable to the rapid changes startups naturally embrace. Embrace change or die." As a recruiter, keep your ears peeled for this type of behavior, as it may be an indicator that the candidate isn’t quite ready to make the leap to startupdom.

David Vigliotti, managing partner for Technology Search Partners, a professional recruiting firm, agreed that having an entrepreneurial spirit is important. "Taking a startup position can't be looked at as a 'job.' The position needs to align with who you are, and, in some ways, will define you for the early few years." Another fitting prompt to determine a candidate’s character and go-getter attitude is:

Describe to me a situation where you had to overcome large obstacles to achieve a goal you had set.

Vigliotti also likes to ask candidates about the most successful person they've known in business and how a candidate thinks they got to that level. "You will need to whole heartily believe in the vision of the CEO and the company and love the journey in getting to the ultimate goal, whatever it is. If this type of passion is not inside you for the role or company, you should pass." The same goes for recruiters; it’s a safe bet to pass on candidates who are lacking passion, even if they look great on paper.

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4. Innovative Outlook

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We've all heard that old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Ira S. Wolfe, president of Success Performance Solutions, a provider of pre-employment, sales and leadership assessment tests, shares that turning ambiguity and complexity into creativity and innovation is essential in a startup environment. Ask questions that poke at a candidate’s problem-solving skills:

Describe an event where you were forced to make a make-it-or-break-it decision when you didn't have all the information you needed and no time to get it. How did you make the decision and how did it turn out?

Another way Wolfe likes to understand candidates’ creative thinking process is by asking for their next steps if their company landed a huge account. "Let's say you landed Wal-Mart as a client. You don't have enough financing, the right management team, or a supplier in place to deliver products. What's the first thing you do?"

David Chie, vice president of Palo Alto Staffing Services, a full service administrative and IT staffing firm, believes that innovation must be coupled with a sense of initiative. It's not enough to be flexible or creative unless you can see the need for it and do it on your own.

Describe a time when you observed a problem with a business process and you implemented a new way of handling the business need.

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5. Drive

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Startup environments demand ambition, says Julienne Shaw, senior manager at Consolidated Green Services, a company that helps organizations evaluate and implement energy savings and efficiency solutions. To learn more about a candidate’s level of motivation, ask a question like:

Tell me about a time when you were given a challenging task that you were unfamiliar with. How did you approach the situation and what type of resources did you use?

Shaw explains that being patient is important in a start-up environment. "Working at startups involves working with different types of personalities. Keep an open mind, always stay true to yourself and speak up when you have an opinion."

Most, if not all of these qualities, are desirable in many organizations — it's the combination of all them that aligns with the startup environment. Working in a startup company is a unique opportunity. While in many organizations the goal is to settle in, as Wolfe points out, but in a startup it's "Buckle up!"

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Series Supported by Bantam Live


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The Small Business Tips Series is supported by Bantam Live, a web-based collaboration workspace for small business teams that combines “Social CRM” with project/task management and microblogging communication — all centered within a real-time activity stream. Business teams can share an address book and track contacts and conversations, track prospects and sales pipelines, and organize projects and tasks to get work done. With integrations to social networks, team members can search for keywords and reply to and import new contacts and their real-time profiles into Bantam Live.

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More Hiring Resources from Mashable:

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- The Future of Human Resources and Social Media
- 9 iPhone Apps for Managing the Recruiting Process
- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags to Boost Your Job Search
- How Job Seekers May Use Social Media in the Future
- Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, cosmonaut & Flickr, smemon87

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Reviews: Flickr, iStockphoto

More About: business, job recruiting, job search, Recruiting, recruitment, small business, small business tips, small business tips series, startup, startups

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The Livestream for Facebook application works in conjunction with the Livestream Podcaster software for PC and Mac and gives Page owners the ability to stream live to their Facebook Page with a single click. The application is also fully customizable, supports Facebook chat and has features baked in that encourage Page visitors to share activity on their walls.

While live streaming services like Ustream and Justin.tv have been around for years, they’ve remained relatively niche in nature and have yet to really break outside the tech and entertainment bubbles. Before today, brands could work with these services to build custom live streaming video experiences into their Pages, but for a cost. Facebook, for instance, partnered with Livestream to power its Facebook Live channel.

Livestream’s do-it-yourself Facebook application for streaming video will no doubt help to popularize the live streaming movement for brands and businesses, especially given that the application is free to use, easy to install and works within Facebook’s familiar (and often viral) confines.

The application is now available through Livestream or Appbistro.

More About: facebook, facebook application, live streaming, livestream, video

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Twitter’s Director of Media Partnerships Robin Sloan spoke Wednesday about the role of tweets in the television landscape at the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco. Specifically, he focused on three key areas where he believes Twitter is having an impact on the television landscape: synchronous show tweeting, social viewing and new kinds of content.

Synchronous show tweeting refers to what Sloan described as a new kind of “3-D TV.” He wasn’t referring to actual three-dimensional television though, but more to how tweets and especially pictures can give users a 360-degree look into a particular program or event. He pointed out how tweets showed what was happening backstage and off-camera during the 2010 Emmy Awards. Such methods give users a unique way to experience events and live shows when they are not there.

The second point Sloan touched upon was “social viewing.” His argument is that Twitter is the new EPG (electronic program guide). Instead of flipping through menus or guides to find or interact with television content, users now have Twitter. He specifically cited @106andpark as an innovator in the social viewing space; the BET show utilizes trending topics to gather show feedback and posts tweets about the show so that users feel as if they’re viewing the show with others, even if they’re just alone at home.

The end of the talk touched on how Twitter is creating new kinds of content in the television realm. He cited MTV’s Twitter Jockey (TJ) as an example; Gabi Gregg utilizes Twitter on MTV shows to create discussion around the topics viewers are tweeting about. Utilizing the #VMA hashtag, MTV was able to track who was the most-discussed performer at the show (Lady Gaga was number one, if you were wondering). The end result was that the information Twitter provided helped the VMAs create new content and discussion points for the preshow.

While Sloan’s examples of Twitter integration in television were good ones, it still feels like that Twitter has a long way to go before it truly becomes part of the television experience. Tracking trending topics is nice, but what about users actually controlling programming through their tweets? Could you receive tweets from your friends watching the same show?

One thing’s for sure — there’s still a lot of room for Twitter to grow on the glowing screens in our living rooms.

More About: newteevee, NewTeeVee Live, Robin Sloan, twitter

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The site, which got its start on Twitter by curating breaking news from sources around the world, has had a staff managing the accounts 24/7. Now it’s opening up to let users break news themselves, or help spot news as it’s taking place. “It’s not just about what news organizations publish anymore, but it’s also about what people see,” said Cory Bergman, director of product development at MSNBC.

Spotting Breaking News

The new features include the “Spot” tab on the site, which enables users to submit news finds or photos, tweets or videos they themselves have uploaded, and a “Hot” tab, which shows stories that are most timely, being shared, and up-voted on the site. Right now, the mobile applications don’t have the “Spot” tab, though Bergman said they are currently building it and admits will make the process even more seamless.

Bergman said they kept links on social services rather than enabling users to upload original content. The site isn’t meant to become another one you have to go to for uploading news, Bergman said. He realizes that people are already using other tools for uploads during breaking news, and this simply allows users to help curate the best and have their work featured.

“Currently, the number of stories with eyewitness reports on Twitter, etc., are hit-and-miss, but as smart phones and social media use continues to climb, we believe it will become much more prevalent in the months to come,” Bergman said.

What’s Next?

For now, Bergman thinks the new additions are a step in the right direction to create a social breaking news stream. “When you blend the voice of the crowd and editors who don’t sleep into the equation, I think we can get there,” he said.

So when news breaks, readers will get a real-time news stream of not just news organizations, but what people are publishing through tweets or videos on YouTube — or photos through TwitPic and other services. And though the stream is mostly just that right now, Bergman said MSNBC is looking at unique ways to visualize the information, and that it may be achieved through an iPad application.

The iPhone application is currently pretty simple, including the stream of breaking news and also utilizing the push notifications in the app. Bergman said the current mobile apps are just the beginning and that the company is thinking about ways to integrate live streaming video from mobile, which has some incredible implications in being able to get breaking news video in real-time.

Because BreakingNews started with a social presence and not the other way around, the actual website hasn’t fully taken off and gets only some 50,000 visits a month, according to Compete. But then again, the site hasn’t offered much of anything different from its Twitter account aside from filtering options until now. The added features are a start to a site for curated and social breaking news from the crowd. The only question is whether users will find it useful enough from their other consumption tools and breaking news sources.

What are your thoughts of the new features, and what would you like to see?

More About: breakingnews, msnbc, News, social media, twitter, youtube

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Popular note-taking platform Evernote continues its hockey stick-style growth and is today celebrating 5 million users. Evernote is now signing up new users in record time; the jump from 4 million to 5 million users happened in just 83 days.

The 5 million member-moment came yesterday. The startup experienced a record-setting day of 22,130 new Evernote users — that’s roughly 10,000 more new users than the regular daily average.

Evernote, which just raised an additional $20 million in funding, is in the midst of an aggressive international expansion and is seeing especially fast traction in Spain and Italy of late. As the startup continues to forge stronger presences in countries outside the U.S., we anticipate that this acceleration in new user acquisition will continue to trend upward.

More About: business news, evernote, startup

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Almost exactly a year ago, Google started testing its new AdSense interface with a select group of AdSense publishers. The new design is a reflection on both the feedback from that group and requests for features from the existing userbase.

The new AdSense looks strikingly similar to the new Feedburner interface released last month. We expect that more and more Google Webmaster products will begin to take on cues from these two interface updates.

The new interface has been redesigned to make managing tasks more efficient, has placed controls all in one place and provides more insights into analytical data. You can access the new version of AdSense by visiting google.com/ads/newadsense.

Compare these two interfaces: The top image is the new AdSense interface, while the bottom one is in the old style.

The new tab and module structure is a lot more module, it’s easier to get access to basic information and the layout is much cleaner.

We’re impressed, but now the question is: When will Google Analytics get this sort of treatment? And what do you think of Google’s new UI changes for its Webmaster Tools products?

More About: adsense, Google, user interface, webtools

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Hulu CEO Jason Kilar revealed the numbers during his keynote at the NewTeeVee Live conference. Specifically, he showed off a table of Hulu’s stats during its launch in fall 2007 and from October 2010, month 36 of operation for the company.

Here are the key stats Kilar shared:

• 30 million users.
• 260 million monthly content streams.
• 800 million monthly ad streams.
• 253 content partners. That is up from just two, Fox and NBC Universal, in 2007.
• 352 advertising clients. In 2007, Hulu had 10.
• $240 million in revenue in 2010.

Those are impressive numbers any way you slice it. Still, while the company may be making a quarter billion in revenue, it’s unclear how much it costs for Hulu to deliver those 260 million content streams.

More About: hulu, newteevee, ONLINE VIDEO, video

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Well, those days are over. Now you have myriad channels by which to potentially embarrass yourself while under the influence. And if you’re among the 28% of the population with smartphones, this is true even if you’re out and about and not pathetically staring at your screen at 3 a.m., alone save for your good friends Bud(weiser) and Johnny (Walker).

While we can’t help you cease replacing the emptiness in your soul with shiftless parties in communal living/performance spaces replete with the nectar of glowsticks and Four Loko, we can help you undo — or prevent — some of the damage you will inevitably inflict whilst doing so.

Read on for four ways you can turn back the clock on your Internet indiscretions.

You don’t have to be a rampant partier to benefit from these tools and tips. Even the most stoic among us have moments of insanity in which we fire off missives into the Internet ether we wish we could reverse.

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

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, vitalytitov

More About: cnn, e-mail, facebook, netiquette, social media, Stuff Hipsters Hate

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Today’s reality is that your business needs to be on social media, but the mere existence of your business on sites like Facebook and Twitter doesn’t guarantee a single sale, or even a single referral. In order for businesses to succeed in the social media space, they need to be properly educated on what works and what doesn't. More importantly, business owners need to have realistic goals about what they’ll get out of social media.

When the right tools are used effectively with the right motives in mind, social media can have a huge impact on small business marketing and customer service efforts. You just have to understand how to properly determine and assess the return on investment you're looking for.

I asked a panel of successful Gen Y entrepreneurs how small businesses can go about getting the most out of their social media marketing and how they can convert more of their existing social media followers into paying customers. Here are their responses.

1. Experiment With Social Networks

“Facebook and Twitter shouldn’t be used as marketing platforms, but rather one-to-one direct communications mediums with customers, potential customers, journalists, and other stakeholders. As the population of Twitter increases, and people start following thousands of other people, your message gets lost. Facebook’s news feed algorithm stops marketers from using their Fan Page as a loudspeaker because fans that aren’t engaged won’t see their content anyway.”

- Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, LLC

2. Quality, Not Quantity

“Social media is first and foremost about building relationships. It takes time and consistent effort to see any meaningful results, but the time and effort you spend are worth it in the long run – if you do it right. While it's great to have a large following on Twitter and Facebook, the value of your followers list is all about quality, not quantity. Think of it like this: if you had an ice cream shop and a thousand people a day walked through the door, but 950 of those were lactose intolerant, your high foot traffic wouldn't be making you much money. To convert your social media followers into paying customers, remember ‘WIIFM’ (What's In It For ME). In other words, you have to give your followers a reason to want to do business with you, and that reason has to be a benefit to them. Contests are one great way to engage followers, and if you tie them in with your business and give [a prize] that means something to your target audience, you can see results fairly quickly.”

- Adam Toren, co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com

3. Lead Your Followers Down the Purchasing Path

“Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale once you’ve developed trust and a relationship with a prospective customer. Use your Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account to ask people to take the next step, whether it’s calling you up for a quote or proposal, downloading a whitepaper, or signing up for a trial account. Repeat your call to action regularly, with lots of useful content, information and trust building in between your requests.”

- Matt Mickiewicz, founder of 99designs

4. Engagement = Consumers

“If I could talk to you right now, I'd ask, ‘What exactly are you selling?’ While the principles remain the same, social media is best leveraged by tweaking it slightly to suit the industry. There is also a misconception that social media leads to customers. It doesn't. Social media is a great way to engage with your audience and turn them into consumers. Think about it this way – you have to attract and then convert. Social media is helping you attract the audience and build your community. But, there are two types of conversions. The first is the more common one where someone becomes your consumer. They sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to your blog, or just plain ‘Like’ your Facebook Fan Page. They've taken the first step! Over time, the right ones becomes paying customers. This is the second type of conversion — the paying customer. Use social media to attract consumers, and then turn them into customers over time. Remember, social media is an important but small part of overall online marketing.”

- Shama Kabani, president of The Marketing Zen Group

5. Use Social Media to Make Friends, Not Leads

“Next time someone friends you or replies to you, don’t just say ‘thanks for following,’ or worse, don’t just count them as just another number or dollar sign. Take two minutes and actually look at who this real person is on the other side of the computer and ask how you can help them in an authentic way. Provide them value and become a trusted friend and this relationship building will convert into sales and evangelism for your company.”

- Matt Wilson, co-founder of Under30CEO.com

6. Give Them Something To Talk About

“The key to converting followers to customers is offering them something that they need, or identifying a pain that they are having that you can solve. You’ve done the hard part by finding followers and fans. Once you have followers and fans, it’s just a matter of finding out what value you can provide to them. If they are unwilling to buy from you then it means they are either not truly fans or followers (just happened to accept your request), or that you have not uncovered their pain points to provide a solution. An example with our company is that we had tons of fans and followers of our brand, but not everyone needed junk removal. So we surveyed them to find out what services we could provide to them and learned that moving was one that they needed more often.”

- Nick Friedman, co-founder and president of College Hunks Hauling Junk

7. Numbers Aren't Everything

“To gain paying customers you’ll need to focus on attracting the right followers, and not just on attracting the most. Communicate often with useful information to increase your value, and focus on pitching your product in a genuine way. Make sure you have a professional web presence, and with any luck, you should start noticing your efforts pay off.”

- David Rusenko, founder of Weebly

8. Monetize Other Channels

“The hype around social media doesn’t necessarily translate into sales — in fact, it rarely does. Unfortunately, few people will tell you this because they’re busy hyping the next big thing. For example, I get more than a thousand times the financial ROI from my boring old e-mail list than from my Twitter followers. Now, if your goal is engagement or long-term bonding, social media can be a good play. But if your goal is direct revenue, I would focus on other channels that you can track and measure, such as online advertising and e-mail marketing.”

- Ramit Sethi, New York Times best-selling author, I Will Teach You To Be Rich

9. Show Followers What They’re Missing

“You have to show them what they are missing out on and how your business can be helpful and provide a sense of enjoyment to them as well. Truly engage with them, get to know them, show them your personality and make them want to be a part of what you’re doing. Show them why they can’t live without you and be creative with it.”

- Ashley Bodi, co-founder of Business Beware

10. Remember “Top-Of-Mind-Awareness”

“I would recommend giving limited-time, special opportunities that have a strong call to action to your social media community rather than just simply pointing them to your website. Another way we’ve gotten a return on our social media [channels] is posting video testimonials that our clients give us for our fan and personal pages. This builds credibility in prospects’ minds by showing that we’re busy and that we do good work. It also keeps us in top-of-mind awareness. We’ve had prospects call us often and mention that they just saw a post and thought of us.”

- Michael Simmons, co-founder of The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour

11. Go Freemium to Build Premium

“Building up fans and followers isn't enough — you need to engage with them in substantial ways and introduce them to your product in a way that gets them wanting more. As a thought exercise, you might want to ask yourself what aspect of your product you can offer to your social media community for free. If you provide real value, for free, then show them ways they can spend just a little bit of money to get an exponential boost in value — the next tier of your product offering — you may start seeing greater conversions (and return on the initial investment it took to build that community in the first place).”

- Jordan Goldman, founder of Unigo

12. Foster Genuine Interactions

“First, you may want to rethink how you are viewing social media. If you're looking for an immediate pop in revenue, you're likely to give up quickly on social media and completely miss the larger opportunity it provides. Of course the broader goal of all marketing is to generate sales; however, if you show up on Facebook and Twitter simply to promote your product or service it is likely you'll be ignored. Social media is about genuine interaction and building relationships. By fostering relationships, social media becomes an incredibly powerful tool. Provide interesting content that will generate buzz, provide helpful hints and unique discounts that are only available on Facebook or Twitter. Customers will appreciate the ability to participate in a dialogue directly with your brand and these interactions will show up on customers' news feeds. The resulting brand exposure and word-of-mouth will ultimately pay dividends in the form of new customers.”

- Anderson Schoenrock, co-founder of ScanDigital

What other advice would you give small business owners about getting their social media plans on track? Let us know your tips and advice in the comments section.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- What to Consider When Building an In-House Social Media Team
- 5 Tips for Marketing Online to an International Audience
- What's the Value in a Brand Name?
- 5 Big Brands That Are Rocking the Social Media Space
- 9 iPhone Apps for Managing the Recruiting Process

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alexsl

More About: answers, business, entrepreneurs, List, Lists, MARKETING, questions, small business, social media, social media marketing

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