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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Facebook Finally Adds HTTPS Support”

Posted by Ashim Adhikari on 5:44 AM // 0 comments

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Facebook Finally Adds HTTPS Support”

Facebook Finally Adds HTTPS Support

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 03:21 AM PST


Facebook has finally added the ability to access the site via a HTTP Secure (HTTPS) connection, which should drastically increase security for users.

HTTPS provides a combination of the HTTP and SSL protocols, enabling encrypted communication between your computer and a web server. Without it you’re exposed to sniffing attacks on the network; for example, if you’re using a public Wi-Fi to access Facebook via plain HTTP, someone using the Firesheep add-on for Firefox can easily retrieve your data. HTTPS makes it a lot harder to do that.

The feature is available as an option on the Account Settings page. If you don’t see it yet, don’t worry: Facebook will be gradually rolling it out over the next couple of weeks.

Those who are concerned about online security probably know that it was possible to access Facebook via HTTPS for quite some time now, for example using the HTTPS Everywhere Firefox add-on, but some of Facebook’s features, for example chat and photo uploads, did not work properly over HTTPS.

Unfortunately, even Facebook’s implementation of the protocol will not be perfect. “Some Facebook features, including many third-party applications, are not currently supported in HTTPS,” writes Facebook’s Alex Rice in a blog post, promising that Facebook is working hard to resolve these issues. Furthermore, if you choose to enable HTTPS, you should know that it will slow down your Facebook experience, as encrypted pages take longer to load.

More About: facebook, HTTPS, security

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Desktop Notifications Now Warn you of New Gmail Chat Messages and E-Mails

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 01:56 AM PST


If you’re one of those folks who has to keep checking your Gmail inbox for new messages every two minutes, here’s a cure: Gmail now lets you receive desktop notifications for new chat messages and/or e-mails.

To turn the feature on, click on Settings in the upper right corner of Gmail, scroll down and choose whether you want to be notified of chat messages, e-mails, or only important e-mails.

The new feature is HTML5-based and currently works only in Chrome, but Google says it’s working to make notifications part of the standard web platform.

Desktop notifications are nothing new and we’ve seen dozens of third-party apps that do it (GWatchman, for example, is a good choice), so if you don’t want to be dependent on Google Chrome, you can use one of those. Still, it’s nice to see Google recognizing this feature as important and integrating it into Gmail, which is still being improved upon at an amazing pace, with new features showing up almost on a weekly basis.

More About: desktop notifications, gmail, google chrome, HTML5

Happy 1st Birthday, iPad [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 01:07 AM PST

January 27, 2010 brought the launch of Apple’s iPad tablet device — Thursday marks its first year.

Leading up to its launch, the world was all atwitter with a number of rumors — Would it be called the iSlate? When would it be released? Would it just be a giant iPhone? There was even a comprehensive picture created to document all the iPad rumors. One year later, rumors of a second generation iPad are now rampant.

Now is a great time to look back on the device’s success thus far and ponder its future. To celebrate the iPad’s first year, the folks at OnSwipe created this infographic:


More About: apple, infographic, infographics, ipad

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The Social Web’s Say on the State of the Union [STATS]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 11:37 PM PST


Before, during and after U.S. President Barack Obama‘s 2011 State of the Union address last night, the social web was abuzz with political commentary. But what were we all talking about, and how do our tweets, posts and updates reflect on national sentiment about the President and the country’s general position?

Data gathered from Twitter (courtesy of Tweetbeat)and Facebook (courtesy of U.S. Politics on Facebook) paint an interesting picture. Americans are a politically chatty bunch, if nothing else, and their web-based public messages prove it.

In fact, tweets about the State of the Union address far outnumbered tweets about other events of the day, including tweets about the upcoming Super Bowl. Tweetbeat counted around 400,000 tweets about the State of the Union address, and 100,000 appeared in the first hour of the event itself.

That huge volume of tweets got broken down by keyword for a more colorful image of what exactly Americans and others were talking about during the President’s address:

Spending, healthcare and jobs were also high in the rankings of keywords contained in Facebook status updates during the address, with government spending far outstripping other topics:

On Twitter, the ten most talked-about people were:

  1. Barack Obama
  2. John Boehner
  3. Joe Biden
  4. Michele Bachmann
  5. Gabrielle Giffords
  6. Michelle Obama
  7. Samuel Alito
  8. Robert F. Kennedy
  9. Antonin Scalia
  10. Gary Allen

However, on Facebook, Bachmann’s name appeared in far more updates than did President Obama’s:

Did you tune in to watch the State of the Union address, either online, on the radio or on television? How do you think the President did? We welcome your opinions in the comments.

More About: 2011, barack obama, facebook, obama, Political, politics, social media, SotU, state of the union, twitter

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First Look: Sony’s “Next Generation Portable”

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 10:57 PM PST


Sony rolled out its next-generation PlayStation portable gaming system today, with similar appearance to its current PlayStation portable, but with a higher-resolution 5-inch 960×544-pixel OLED touchscreen.

Calling it the “Next Generation Portable” (but it’s clearly marked PlayStation), Sony showed a new user interface similar to the iPhone. It’s controlled by what Sony says are the first dual analog control sticks. Also on board are social gaming capabilities, location-based games, and compatibility with Sony’s PlayStation 3 gaming console.

A surprising feature are touch controls on the front and back of the unit. It’s also equipped with front and rear cameras, motion sensors, and both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. Sony didn’t say which processor would power the hand-held gaming device, mentioning it would be the “most advanced.”

Sony says its PlayStation portable gaming system will be available at the end of this year, in time for the holiday season.

Images courtesy of Engadget

More About: gaming, Next Generation Portable, PSP, sony

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Google Engages in Subtle Form of Censorship

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST


Google, the company that fought censorship in China and vowed not to censor even anti-Semitism, has begun a subtle censorship campaign of its own.

As of today, if a Google search user begins typing in a term such as “BitTorrent,” Google’s Auto Suggest feature stops listing possible terms as soon as he types the second “T” in the word. Likewise, it won’t auto-complete the pirate-familiar words “megaupload,” “utorrent” or “rapidshare.”

On the other hand, search terms of often-used pirate haunts such as the controversial site Pirate Bay, as well as Isohunt and torrent client app BitComet will still autocomplete normally.

According to Torrentfreak, BitTorrent, Inc. VP of Marketing Simon Morris objected to the new rules in Google’s algorithm:

"We respect Google's right to determine algorithms to deliver appropriate search results to user requests. That being said, our company's trademarked name is fairly unique, and we're pretty confident that anyone typing the first six or seven letters deserves the same easy access to results as with any other company search.

“A quick search for 'BitTorrent' currently returns a variety of legitimate and useful links, including company information, our software, our open-source protocol, and more. What Google may not realize is that our technology is used for many purposes that provide significant value to the technology industry, companies, artists and consumers at large."

This is a subtle form of censorship, and at first glance it seems trivial. However, even though the censorship is slight, it still indicates Google’s willingness to change its search protocols to satisfy the needs of a certain business group, in this case members of the entertainment industry.

To be fair, Google could be protecting itself from lawsuits or other legal action, because providing a method for pirating movies and music is currently illegal in many jurisdictions. But pirates will still be able to search whatever terms they want — they just won’t get any help from Google with its Auto Suggest feature. For example, users can still type the entire term “BitTorrent” and Google will dutifully search for it.

Let us know in the comments if you think Google will go further with its censorship, what role the entertainment industry has in this, and what the implications are for Google TV.

More About: Auto Suggest, bittorrent, censorship, Google

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HD Voice Makes Cellphone Calls Sound Near-Perfect [VIDEO & POLL]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 08:27 PM PST

Heard of HD Voice? Introduced last September by UK wireless carrier Orange, we were intrigued by the tech’s promise of higher-quality cellphone sound and better noise reduction. Now there’s proof that it works.

The video above was produced by Martin Stanford from Sky News in the UK, and it shows you the dramatic difference between the usual sound of a cellphone call compared with HD Voice technology.

HD Voice is only offered so far on a few cellphones (and only on Orange in the UK), and it doesn’t work quite like other cellphone calls, using 3G to transmit and receive signals. In addition, both phones must be using the HD Voice service to enjoy this kind of sound quality.

The service works Adaptive Multi Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), tech that’s been around more than a decade. If the provider has a newer 3G network, according to VoIP Universal, all that’s required to update coverage is a software patch.

However, there’s not much incentive to change over to the HD Voice standard, because those users who paid extra for it might be disappointed because of the limited number of people they be able to talk to with HD audio.

On a personal note, I’ve long suffered with terrible cellular sound, which invariably drops words and distorts speech to such an extent that I can’t remember the last time I had a cellphone call where someone didn’t ask for something to be repeated.

It seems to me that over the past decade, we’ve been trained to accept inferior sound on cellphones, quietly accepting terrible quality, and only complaining if calls are dropped.

This is not a contrived video presentation — here’s another example from Engadget of the astonishing difference in HD Voice’s sound quality.


[via Ubergizmo]

More About: cellphone sound, Cellular providers, HD Voice, Orange, sound quality

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New Company Crowdsources Location-Based Talk Radio [INVITES]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 07:59 PM PST


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

Name: Broadcastr

Quick Pitch: Broadcastr allows anyone to upload audio stories and organizes them geographically. Listeners hear top-rated stories that were uploaded nearby.

Genius Idea: The written word was democratized by blogging, then microblogging. Broadcasting video became an activity for the common person after YouTube launched in 2005. But audio, for the most part, is still waiting for the platform that will give everyone a fair shot at being heard.

Broadcastr aims to launch that platform sometime next month. The startup’s site and mobile apps will allow anyone to upload audio, and it will organize the submitted stories by location. Listeners can hear stories that were uploaded nearby, choose to listen to stories in a specific category, or both. Highest-rated stories are played first, and people can share stories they like with their social networks or follow the person who submitted it.

The product, as co-founders Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum envision it, will be a way to connect with your neighborhood, an audio walking tour for anywhere in the world, and a living history in addition to good entertainment.

Recently Broadcastr partnered with The National September 11 Memorial & Museum to put stories from witnesses, first responders and others affected by the terrorist attacks onto the platform. Other partners include UNICEF, various well-known comedians and other talented storytellers that the founders encountered through their work as the editors of a literary magazine.

“If we have good examples of stories in all different categories, that can inspire people to add their own stories in a similar vain,” Hunter says. “Each story acts as a paradigm for a different way that it can be used.”

Right now only about 400 users are posting stories to Broadcastr’s private beta. But there’s a waiting list of about 3,000 people who will get invites after the launch.

Hunter and Lindenbaum have a variety of revenue streams in mind that they hope to implement once the user base is established. The most important relies on location-based advertising through a “promotions” channel that will allow users to choose what deals they would like to hear about (listeners could, for instance, listen to sales going on at the stores they are passing as they walk). After the first year, these promotions might also be intermittently played in between user content, much like an advertisement on Pandora.

Whether or not advertisers find the angel-funded platform to be valuable territory largely depends on whether it catches on with users. With people uploading 24 hours of video to YouTube every minute (which unlike Broadcastr requires both a camera and the courage to get behind it) and a great start on gathering compelling content, we’re not sure why it wouldn’t.

Broadcastr will DM 100 priority invites to Mashable readers who follow the company on Twitter and retweet this article.

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

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

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DavidBukach

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Land a Great Job in Tech or Social Media

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 07:22 PM PST


If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards:

Mashable Job Postings

VP Product at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

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

Regional Sales Director at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Regional Sales Director at Mashable in New York, NY.

Events Content Coordinator at Mashable in New York, NY.

Ad Ops Manager at Mashable in New York, NY.

Community Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Editorial Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Marketing Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Copy Editor at Mashable in New York, NY.

Editorial Assistant at Mashable in New York, NY.

Mashable Job Board Listings

Worldwide Creative Content Manager at Sonos, Inc. in Santa Barbara, CA.

Director of New Media at CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield in Owings Mills, MD.

VP, Group Director at Reprise Media in New York, NY.

SEO Associate at Uncommon Goods in NY.

Online Editor and Social Media Strategist at Movements.org in New York, NY.

Sr. UX Designer-Developer at Southern California Public Radio in Los Angeles, CA.

Platform Product Manager at Subutai Corporation in San Francisco, CA.

Digital Account Group Supervisor at GolinHarris in New York, NY.

VP Digital Communications at Powell Tate in Washington DC.

Social Media Intern at Ideas United LLC in Decatur, GA.

Senior Business Analyst at Tough Mudder LLC in NY.

Event Planner at Tough Mudder LLC in NY.

Digital Community Manager at Weber Shandwick in New York, NY.

Digital Community Manager at Weber Shandwick in Chicago, IL.

Software Developer at CheckAlt Payment Solutions in Los Angeles, CA.

iPhone Developer at Foursquare in New York, NY.

Marketing Manager at Foursquare in New York, NY.

Social Marketing Program Manager at IMRE in Maryland.

VP Marketing at Border Stylo in Los Angeles, CA.

Cloud Application Developer at Blank Slate in NY.

Manager, Project Management at Digitas Health in New York, NY.

Senior Account Executive at Syndicate Media Group in New York, NY.

Marketing Manager at Elsevier in Burlington, MA.

Sales/Marketing Assistant at Click 3X/Clickfire Media in New York, NY.

Senior Drupal/PHP Developer at APCO Worldwide in Washington DC.

Search Engine Marketing Specialist at Vistage International in San Diego, CA.

eCommerce & Social Media Manager at Malia Mills in New York, NY.

Account Manager at GoldRun in New York, NY.

Mgr, Creative/Visual Design at Hotels.com in London, UK.

Web Designer at St. Louis Post-Dispatch in MO.

Digital Project Manager at Mirrorball in New York, NY.

Online Marketing Manager at PriceGrabber in Los Angeles, CA.

Web Designer at Singlebrook Technology in Ithaca, NY.

User Interface Designer at Singlebrook Technology in Ithaca, NY.

Web Application Programmer at Singlebrook Technology in Ithaca, NY.

Senior Project Manager at Rauxa in Costa Mesa, CA.

Sr. Social Media Reporting & Research Analyst at Spring Creek Group in Seattle, WA.

Fashion Media Account Executive at a local boutique in New York, NY.

Social Media Strategist at Calysto Communications in Atlanta, GA.

Digital Account Director at Ascentium in Bellevue, WA.

Full Stack Engineer at Future Advisor in Seattle, WA.

Account Executive at Synaptic Digital in New York, NY.

Director of Viral and Social Marketing at Flixlab in Palo Alto, CA.

Social Media Director at a boutique PR firm in New York, NY.

Digital Account Director at Digitas Health in Philadelphia, PA.

QA Enginer at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA.

Senior Community Manager at Social Media Link in New York, NY.

Digital Marketing Manager at Stonyfield Farm, Inc. in Manchester, NH.

Manager, Digital Marketing at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in Anaheim, CA.

Senior Usability Researcher at Tableau Software in Seattle, WA.

Senior Frontend Engineer at Raptr in Mountain View, CA.

Senior Backend Engineer at Raptr in Mountain View, CA.

Freelance Community Manager at Digitas in New York, NY.

Director of Media and Digital Communication at Pernod Ricard USA in New York, NY.

Marketing Associate at Insight Cuba by Cross-Cultural Solutions in New Rochelle, NY.

Social Media Account Manager at 3CSI in Novi, MI.

Technical Writer at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Interactive Technology Designer/Developer at Discovery Communications in New York, NY.

Social Media Sales Consultant at Meltwater Group in Mountain View, CA.

Web Producer at NJ.com in Jersey City, NJ.

Front End Software Engineer at Demand Media in Santa Monica, CA.

Interactive Web Developer at Brandmovers in Atlanta, GA.

Social Commerce Leader at Handmade Spark in NY.

VP of Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

Sr MySQL DBA at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

Online Marketing Manager at Time Inc. in New York, NY.

JavaScript Engineer at Meebo in Mountain View, CA.

Senior Growth Regulatory Program Manager at Deluxe Corporation in Minnesota.

Marketing Coordinator at TMG in Washington DC.

Assistant Director at Rodale in New York, NY.

Associate Community Manager at Gotham Inc. in New York, NY.

Manager, Web Platform and Asset Management at Sony Music Entertainment in New York, NY.

Project Manager at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Buddy Media University Associate Trainer at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Associate Finance – A/R at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Account Manager at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Production Intern at Campfire in New York, NY.

Marketing Intern at BurdaStyle in New York, NY.

Social Media Marketing Manager at Avvo, Inc. in Seattle, WA.

Web Designer / Developer at NetReach Technologies, LLC in Ambler, PA.

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.

Find a Web 2.0 Job with Mashable

Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, YinYang

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Switching to Verizon? Sell Back Your AT&T iPhone at Macworld

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 06:22 PM PST


e-Cycle, an official buyback and recycling partner of Verizon Wireless, will be buying back AT&T iPhone units onsite at Macworld Expo 2011.

Macworld Expo runs from Thursday January 27 through Saturday January 29 in San Francisco. Attendees can visit the e-Cycle booth and trade in their old iPhone units for cash.

The Verizon iPhone launch is just around the corner, a fact that is giving many AT&T iPhone owners cause for consideration. e-Cycle is taking advantage of the opportunity to accept in-person buybacks.

According to e-Cycle, only 10% of the roughly 130 million phones discarded each year are recycled. Not only do many of these phones still have resale value, passing a phone on to a new owner is a lot better for the environment than tossing the device in a landfill.

If you aren’t going to be at Macworld, e-Cycle has an online buyback tool for both the iPhone and iPad. Payout depends on the model of phone and its condition. As an example, we were offered $160 for our not quite year-old 32GB iPhone 3GS. Depending on how far along you are in your contract and how much you originally paid for your iPhone, selling the old unit could offset a significant portion of a Verizon iPhone’s cost or the AT&T early termination fee (ETF).

e-Cycle says that it scrubs all devices using “the industry’s most rigorous mobile data security measures,” and phones traded in at Macworld will be wiped of all user data upon receipt.

What do you usually do with your old smartphones? Let us know in the comments.

More About: att, e-cycle, iphone, Macworld, Verizon iPhone

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Americans & TV: How Social Media Users Watch Video [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 05:19 PM PST


Researchers at Lab42 did a study of social media users, surveying 400 adults earlier this month.

Using applications within Facebook and MySpace, they found out that even bigger changes are underway in TV land, and viewers are doing lot more of their TV viewing online.

In this exclusive graphic, you can see that viewers, particularly those under 34 years of age, are more willing to watch TV shows online. And, an overwhelming majority of the respondents are recording their TV shows on DVRs such as TiVo.

It’s no surprise that social media users are a lot more tuned in to video on the Internet, but the most unexpected statistic was that at least 72% of those aged 34 and younger are watching TV shows online.

Looks like that prediction we heard last year that online video will quadruple Internet traffic by 2014 might happen even sooner than expected.

According to Lab42, the 400 respondents were equally distributed across age groups and income levels.

[via Lab42]

More About: Americans & TV, cut the cable, infographic, social media, survey

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Facebook Launches Group-Buying Prototype

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 04:28 PM PST

money image

Facebook is currently testing a new feature called “Buy With Friends,” which allows users to get discounts on virtual goods purchased by their friends.

Here’s how it works: A user makes an in-app purchase using Facebook’s currency, Facebook Credits, and shares it in his or her newsfeed. A friend sees the purchase and can then buy the same item at a discount directly in the newsfeed.

Currently, the feature only works for certain in-game purchases of virtual goods. Developers determine the items and terms of the promotion.

Speaking at the Inside Social Apps Conference in San Francisco Tuesday, Facebook’s head of commerce product marketing Deb Liu said that during early tests, more than half of users chose to share their purchases with friends, Forbes reports.

Although Buy With Friends is currently restricted to virtual goods, we can easily envision how this feature could be expanded to include physical goods as well, especially as more and more retailers set up shop on Facebook. The prototype could be Facebook’s way to participate in the kinds of group-buying offers recently popularized by the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, pavlen

More About: buying with friends, facebook, facebook games, group buying, groupon, LivingSocial, trending

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“Oregon Trail” & “Carmen Sandiego” Games Coming to Facebook

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 03:45 PM PST


The Learning Company has posted trailers for both Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego casual games that it plans to launch on Facebook in February. The games are being developed by Blue Fang Games, whose previous titles include Zoo Kingdom on Facebook and Lions Pride on iOS devices.

The trailers for the two new titles should bring back lots of memories for people of a certain age. The Oregon Trail game appears to have some obvious social twists on the iconic trek across the country (like being able to form a "wagon party" with your friends), in addition to more traditional "Trail" activities like crossing a river or hunting for buffalo.

Meanwhile, Carmen Sandiego appears to engage users in a global search for criminals, with the ability to enlist the help of friends along the way. We can imagine some other obvious features too (like leaderboards) with opportunities for virtual good tie-ins, though The Learning Company and Blue Fang haven't revealed full details yet.

Of course, these companies are far from the first to try to profit from the combination of nostalgia and social media. There's already an Oregon Trail game for iPhone, while an upcoming release from Rock Software is a play on the once popular Nintendo game Mike Tyson's Punch-out.

What remains to be seen is whether such nostalgia can drive sales. After all, the biggest enthusiasts for these titles are all far beyond the age the games – which are somewhat educational in nature — were originally intended for. That said, most of us at Mashable can easily see a work day or two lost come February when Oregon Trail drops.

Video: “Oregon Trail”

Video: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”

More About: blue fang games, casual games, facebook, facebook games, Oregon Trail, the learning company, trending

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LinkedIn Now Allows Advertisers to Target Users by Job Title & More

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 03:23 PM PST


LinkedIn is now allowing advertisers to target users based on job title, company name and LinkedIn group level. Previously, advertisers could only target users based on geography and industry.

Social networks like Facebook have long given advertisers the ability to target users based on shared information about gender, interests and relationship status, among other things, without compromising their personal privacy. It’s part of what’s made Facebook such an attractive platform for ad buyers, who have come to expect the same capabilities from other social networks, including LinkedIn.

LinkedIn says that in early tests, click-through rates have been three to four times greater for clients who distributed targeted ads compared to the site’s average.

[via ClickZ]

For more Business & Marketing coverage:

10 Fan-Made Apple Product Concepts We Wish Were Real [PICS]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 03:13 PM PST

Thanks to Jonny Ive and his talented team, Apple is certainly no slouch in the design department. But that doesn’t mean fans can’t have their say about what products they’d like to see in the future.

We’ve found ten cool Apple design concepts from around the web that we think could make pretty sweet products in their own right.

Take a look through the gallery below for some futuristic fun and let us know which designs you’d like to see gracing Apple Store shelves soon.


1. Tribook





Anyone who uses a dual-screen setup will appreciate this idea. You could multitask like mad while the extra wide touchpad would offer even more gesture controls.


2. iShow




This portable projector would be the perfect companion for your iPhone, letting you share content with others wherever you are.


3. iPod Slide




As the name suggests, the iPod Slide offers a slide-out touchscreen display as well as exterior controls for easy media playback when you're on the go.


4. MacBook Touch




The MacBook Touch is not a dual-screen laptop, it's a foldable OLED touchscreen device that offers some serious screen real estate when open.


5. iRing




The iRing concept gives you remote Bluetooth control of your iDevice. Twisting the ring would adjust the volume, while buttons would play, pause and skip.


6. MagicBook




This futuristic design sees the keyboard disappear at the touch of a button to be replaced with a giant magic trackpad.


7. GameDock




Apple hasn't had much luck in the gaming console department, but it has seen amazing success with gaming on its iOS devices. This great idea docks your iDevice, hooks it up to a big screen and adds some controllers and a hefty chunk of hard drive for saving your gaming progress.


8. Docking Storage




For the ultimate Apple fan, this Docking Storage would make your monitor the center of your iWorld with three docking options for your entire collection of Apple gadgets. Tidy.


9. OS Calculator




This fun design offers the Mac OS's calculator recreated in real life.


10. iPhone Color




No great tech advancements here, but a splash of official color for the iPhone and iPod touch wouldn't go unappreciated. How about it, Apple?

More Apple Resources from Mashable:

- 10 Intriguing Apple Patents to Get Excited About
- 5 Vintage Apple Products That Time Forgot [PICS]
- 10 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Apple
- The Evolution of the Apple Mouse [PICS]
- 10 Vintage Apple Ads That Time Forgot [VIDEOS]

More About: apple, concept designs, concepts, gallery, pics

For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:

How Videos Go Viral [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:51 PM PST


In the past three weeks, almost 10,000 Facebook users have “liked” this brief clip of the world’s cutest dog playing with a chew toy. Coincidence? Or spot-on calculations leading to a viral sensation?

How videos get passed around the web — in other words, how they “go viral” like the latest strain of influenza — is more a science than an art. Certainly, creativity is a factor; but there are also tried-and-true formulas for online video success. And the most important factor of all is optimizing for shareability.

For example, on average, a 15-second clip will get passed around nearly 37% more than a slightly longer clip, and Facebook accounts for three-quarters of online shares of video clips — by far more than e-mail and Twitter combined. You’ll also have more luck if you aim your clip at 18- to 34-year-old adults and/or at women; both those groups share far more video content than their peers.

Given those factors, it’s not surprising that the above-linked video, a female-targeted Facebook clip, was so widely viewed and shared.

Take a look at this infographic, which was created by Brian Sieber based on insights from The Jun Group, and in the comments, let us know how you generally share and find out about new and interesting videos online.

Click image to view full size.

Lead image courtesy of iStockphoto, Kronick

More About: infographic, social media, video sharing, viral video, virality

For more Social Media coverage:

Netflix Working on Deep Facebook Integration

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:39 PM PST


Speaking of its evolution from a DVD-by-mail service to a provider of streaming video on a multitude of devices, Netflix revealed in its earnings report on Wednesday that it's "working on an extensive Facebook integration."

That comes as little surprise to us, since the company posted a job listing for a "Facebook Integration – Engineer/Architect" back in December.

What's interesting, however, is the Netflix's evolving thinking about the future of its business. The company goes on to say in its report that, "we are starting internally to think of our available market as the number of active mobile phones in a territory … because that is the number of people who have the means to subscribe to a service like ours." The company already has apps for iPhone and Windows Phone, and confirmed it will have apps available for some Android devices later this year.

Beyond mobile, Netflix is also benefiting from the growth of connected devices, noting that "Windows and Mac laptops, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo Wii – are the most popular devices for watching instantly from Netflix." Interestingly, it says that Apple TV has already passed iPad in terms of the hours its customers spend viewing content.

Facebook integration, of course, would make all of that significantly more social, with obvious integration possibilities including the ability to "like" movies, share Instant Queues or get suggestions based on what your friends watch. In turn, we could see Netflix's growth accelerate even further beyond the 7.7 million new subscribers added in 2010 (versus 2.9 million in 2009, with more than 20 million now in total).

All of that said, there are also a few reasons to be less optimistic about Netflix's prospects, namely competition from the likes of Hulu, Apple and Amazon. There's also the high price the company pays for content, though it notes its rapid subscriber growth is helping keep its library competitive.

For the moment, however, it would appear that Netflix is positioned to keep riding a number of big trends in tech and entertainment, and we’d be surprised if it falls short of its target of 21.9 million to 22.8 million total subscribers by the end of the first quarter.

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Sundance & Kickstarter Collaborate to Get Filmmakers Funded

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:30 PM PST


Kickstarter has been instrumental in getting scores of film projects off the ground of late — including the first partially Kickstarter-funded film to go to Sundance, The Woods. Now, the fundraising platform is making that use case official with a new collaboration with the Sundance Institute.

To kick off this meeting of minds, Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler held a series of workshops at the Sundance Film Festival this week. In the future — beginning this spring — the Sundance Institute will showcase alumni projects on Kickstarter.com (including films, shorts, plays, etc.), asking other alumni and film fans to kick in cash to fund said films. Sundance.org will also feature these projects, as well as interviews with the filmmakers.

Sundance Institute alumni are those who have participated in film, theatre and music programs run by the institute, which Robert Redford conceptualized in 1981.

"Technology now allows filmmakers to fund and make films in ways we could never have even conceived. Just as we did 30 years ago, the institute is responding to a need, with a responsibility to help the individual artist," Redford says.

When we covered The Woods‘s inclusion in the Sundance Festival, we noted that filmmakers would soon have to find a way to distinguish themselves from the masses when it comes to attracting the Kickstarter audience’s attention. Well, it seems as though Kickstarter and Sundance have devised a fitting method.

Additionally, the institute plans to build an online hub of resources giving users tips on distribution options, funding strategies and other areas. Facebook will also be participating in this program, helping alumni reach fans through the social networking site. In the past, Facebook has helped build out the pages for films like Waiting For Superman.

Photo by Calvin Knight

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Bud Light Challenges Facebook Fans To Guess Its Super Bowl Ads

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:25 PM PST


Leading up to this year’s Super Bowl ad smackdown, Bud Light is inviting its Facebook fans to guess the storylines to each of its three Super Bowl ads via an app called "Unlock the Spot."

Once all three spots have been correctly called out, Bud Light will reveal a fourth, 90-second, Internet-only ad exclusively to its fans.

The brand has started posting images from each of its Super Bowl commercials, and in the coming days, two additional images will be posted for each. We’ve also uncovered a few more photo and video previews for those enthusiasts hoping to break the secret quickly.

The commercials are part of the “Here We Go” campaign, which features average-Joe characters in everyday situations that turn into adventures once Bud Light hits the scene.

Earlier today, Bud Light also released this sneak peek teaser called “Office Bike-a-Thon,” which directs viewers to its Facebook Page:

The Facebook tie-in is more than just an afterthought — Bud Light’s websites features an “Unlock the Spot” takeover, with no other functionalities visible.

Each year, Super Bowl advertising seems to get more social, and Anheuser-Busch is keen on staying ahead of the curve. Last year, for example, Budweiser — another Anheuser-Busch beer brand — urged Facebook fans to vote for which ad it would air during the big game.

This year, the Budweiser and Bud Light Super Bowl spots will be available on the websites, Facebook pages, mobile sites and YouTube pages of each brand, immediately following the game.

Here’s a look at the “Unlock the Spot” Facebook app. What do you think of this strategy — is it a good way to engage fans or does revealing snippets devalue the game-day excitement?

More About: ads, Bud Light, budweiser, budweiser ads, facebook, Super Bowl, super bowl ad, Super Bowl ads, super bowl commercials, Unlock the Spot

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Twitter Scraps “You Both Follow” Feature, Tries “Connections” Instead

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:05 PM PST


Twitter has just quietly pushed out a new feature called Connections that shows you what users you have in common with other users. Namely, Connections displays what users follow you both and what users you both follow.

You can see the new feature on the right side of any user’s Twitter profile. You can also see Connections features in the Followers and Following tabs in a user’s profile.

Last year, Twitter showed off a You Both Follow section — right around the time it also started playing with You Should Follow recommendations in the same column on the site — but both features were destined for further tweaking.

Connections gives users a slightly broader set of information than just mutual followed users.

An e-mail from a Twitter rep said, “We launched this to make it easy for you to see the connections that you have in common with other users. Basically, we’re focused on the mainstream market around the world. We want to make the Twitter experience easy and enjoyable.”


Connections is just one way that Twitter is attempting to make its product better for new users and non-technophiles. “By exposing accounts that you and another user have in common, ” said our source, “you will now know how those accounts are connected to other accounts you already follow. As a result, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about which accounts to follow.”

What do you think of the Connections sections so far? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, PeteSimon.

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Google Previews Its Tablet-Optimized Android Honeycomb OS

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 01:53 PM PST


Google released Wednesday a platform preview for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and an updated set of SDK tools.

This preview offers the best glimpse that we have seen thus far of the tablet-optimized Android. At CES earlier this month, Google showed off Honeycomb alongside the Motorola Xoom tablet.

The Xoom will be the first Android-based tablet to run on Honeycomb and it is expected to hit the market before the end of the quarter.

For developers — or interested users — who want to get a better idea of what Honeycomb will look like, Google has created an Android 3.0 Platform Highlights page.

Google also details some of the new features for both users and developers.

New Tablet-Friendly Interface

The iPad might be Honeycomb’s competing target, but the UI approach — at least from what we can see so far — is much more similar to the BlackBerry PlayBook. Google says that it wants to focus on what people love most about Android: multitasking and rich notifications.

To that end, the layout is widgetized and stackable, with open app windows or screens on display alongside icons. Like Android for smartphones, Honeycomb supports multiple home screens that can be customized at will.

We’re really impressed by the preview of the web browser in Honeycomb. It adopts a full-screen tabs-on-top organizational approach akin to what we see in Google Chrome and in Chrome OS.

We can see tabs as an excellent way to navigate through web pages, especially on devices with 10-inch screens. Google also says that the browser will give users the option of synching their bookmarks with Google Chrome on the desktop.

For Developers

Honeycomb will bring developers a new UI framework in which to build apps. Google also notes that developers can augment their applications to work as subcomponents called Fragments, which will allow developers to offer up a way to present content on multiple screen sizes. In other words, within the same application, developers can separate views for the smartphone or a widget panel on the tablet, or for the full tablet experience.

Honeycomb also features a new animation framework and hardware-accelerated 2-D graphics. As expected, Honeycomb will also support multicore processors.

A nice bonus for video developers — Android 3.0 will support HTTP Live Streaming.

Start Playing Now

The latest version of the Android SDK includes an early Android 3.0 system image for use with the Android emulator. It also includes a new emulator skin to help replicate the new size of Android devices.

You can download the latest version of the SDK from the Android developers page and start trying out some of your existing apps.

What do you think of Honeycomb? Let us know in the comments.

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Why Are Social Networks So Addictive? [OPEN THREAD]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 01:37 PM PST


“The Social Network Addiction” was the topic of discussion at a panel in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

The panel, which was moderated by Loïc Le Meur, the founder and CEO of Seesmic, included Google’s Vice President of Search Marissa Mayer, professor and author Clay Shirky, Linkedin Executive Chairman and founder Reid Hoffman, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, and several other great thinkers.

With the average time spent on social networks accounting for 22.7% of our time spent online, the panelists attempted to answer why social networks are so addictive, but more importantly, addressed how they are changing our lives.

We’d like to open this question to our readers: What is it about social networks that makes them so addictive? And have how they changed your everyday lives? Let us know in the comments.

Mashable’s CEO Pete Cashmore is attending the summit. He will be posting his observations and photos later in the week.

Image courtesy of Flickr, World Economic Forum

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E-Readers in Africa: Non-Profit Brings Thousands of Books to Ghanaian Children

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 01:25 PM PST

ereader image

Worldreader.org is testing the idea that e-readers are libraries you can fit in your pocket. The non-profit is piloting a new campaign that would deliver e-readers, like Amazon’s Kindle, to children in Ghanaian schools. The e-readers will function as all-purpose textbooks by providing instantaneous access to the thousands of books now digitally available.

E-readers require a high initial investment and access to the Internet; however, they take up very little space and don’t incur shipping and production costs that can make it expensive to send a library’s worth of reading materials to remote regions in developing countries. Provided the devices don’t break, it’s also a brilliant way of making sure that students can read the most recent editions and releases via digital storefronts.

Worldreader.org tested the idea in Barcelona, Spain and last March, at the OrphanAid African School in Ayenyah, Ghana. For the study, Amazon donated 20 Kindles and associated accessories, including covers and power adapters. Because Internet connectivity was an issue, organizers pre-loaded textbooks and other selected reading materials to ensure the students could properly use the devices. A class of sixth graders then used them for their classes and education for 10 days. You can read the full study here.

Worldreader.org found that the students were quickly able to learn how to use the readers within hours of receiving them. Advantages of using the readers include their ease-of-use compared to laptops, and that they are relatively devoid of distractions like open Internet, chat services, or Facebook.

According to Susan Moody, Worldreader.org’s director of communication, the organization hasn’t had any problems with theft or “missing e-readers.” It has also made sure a ground technician is around to help with any IT problems or questions the community might have. While Worldreader.org has been using Amazon’s kindle, Moody says the organization is “e-reader agnostic” and “will be working with manufacturers to share specs for a ruggedized e-reader built for the needs of the developing world.”

Moody says overhead was very low and that donations go directly to e-reader and program costs. Most people, including herself, volunteer their time for the cause.

Because of the success of its initial trials, Worldreader.org launched a pilot case study last November in Ghana, this time reaching more than 500 students across six different Ghanaian schools. One of the most surprising results was the quantity and variety of books the students downloaded. Among the thousands of books students downloaded over the Winter holidays included titles like War and Peace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and ESPN: The Football Playbook along with magazines and papers like The New York Times. One teacher in particular downloaded 178 titles including works by Nietzsche, Shakespeare, The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates, and Tales of Old Japan.

The non-profit has shown an equal interest in delivering local culture. It has partnered with eight African publishers to digitize local content and textbooks. It now has permission from the Ministry of Education in Ghana to take the program across the country, reaching millions of school children. The organization’s workers hope to expand the program to other parts of Africa and eventually to developing countries and continents across the world.

Is this a brilliant way to bring current education to little-served locales or a false-application of new technology? What do you make of the program and some of its findings? Let us know in the comments below.

More About: education, ereader, ghana, Kindle, social good, trending, worldreader.org

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7 Hot Trends in Mobile App Design

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 01:08 PM PST


The Mobile App Trends Series is sponsored by Sourcebits, a leading product developer for mobile platforms. Sourcebits offers design and development services for iOS, Android, Mobile and Web platforms. Follow Sourcebits on Twitter for recent news and updates.

The mobile application space is exploding. Users increasingly turn to smartphones and tablets to consume and create content, whether on the go or on the couch. The iOS App Store and the Android Market both have app collections in the hundreds of thousands.

Like web or desktop apps, mobile application design is often trend-driven. As mobile platforms have evolved over the last few years, some of the common design practices of the past have ceded to new styles and techniques.

We’ve scoured the App Store and Android Market to highlight seven of the hottest trends in mobile app design.

1. The “Instagram” Effect

In the words (we think) of Pablo Picasso, “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” That adage is true for most creative endeavors and it can certainly be applied to the mobile phone space.

In the past few years, we’ve seen apps like Facebook for iPhone and Twitter (new Tweetie) influence the direction and UX paradigms in mobile applications. Loren Brichter introduced the pull-to-refresh gesture in the first version of Tweetie for iPhone back in 2008, and the technique has since become so commonplace, it has been adopted on multiple app platforms and applications.

Instagram is already proving itself to be the Tweetie or Facebook of 2011. Photo sharing apps are exploding right now, and Instagram is leading the pack in terms of features and user interface.

Need proof? Check out the recently redesigned Picplz for iPhone. The navigational structure of the app has been augmented to mirror Instagram in terms of functionality (which is great, because that makes it easy to use both apps). Likewise, the app now handles filters in a similar way.

We fully expect to see photo apps adopt Instagram’s navigational structure, feed browsing display and instant effects preview well into 2011.

2. Bold, Primary Colors and Gradients With Minimal Gloss

Color is becoming an increasingly popular way for developers to make their apps stand out from the competition.

The first wave of apps created for touchscreen devices often mimicked Apple’s native iOS applications. This makes sense. After all, those components are included within Xcode’s Interface Builder.

What we’re seeing more of, however, is a move away from the iPhone blue and gradient stripe background and a shift to bolder primary colors and gradients. The glossy button look popularized by the Web 2.0 era has been eclipsed by more matte finishes.

Having strong colors in an application can create emotive responses from users, sometimes deeming an app more memorable. If a user remembers an application, he just might pick it up again.

3. Retro Photo Viewfinders

Apps like Hipstamatic and 8mm Vintage Camera [iTunes link] are a great example of how modern technology can be retrofitted to the past.

The real-time video effects within 8mm help create the experience of using an old analog movie camera to capture video. Likewise, the smaller lens window in Hipstamatic — which obscures the full capture area, just like on a real toy camera — is a dead ringer for using an old Holga.

Apps like Instagram and Picplz have shown that applying filters is a great way to make sharing photos more fun. The apps that apply filters in real time, as an image or video is being captured, usually invoke more retro-realist design choices.

4. Texture, Texture, Texture

Along with the trend of bolder primary colors, app developers are also shifting to using textures and patterns in their application backgrounds.

Wood panels are a popular choice and semi-transparent menu items often look great on these types of backdrops. Some apps, like Jamie’s Recipes use textures in the overlapping elements as well.

Texture-driven app designs often use inset text and various levels of transparency.

Texture can add a tremendous amount of personality to an application, but developers should be mindful of how text and button elements look on top of the background. The wrong color choice can make content unreadable or buttons hard to find.

GO Launcher for Android is a good example of how a textured background and shelf paradigm can be applied to the standard Android homescreen.

5. Smooth, Clean Gradients and Shadows for Depth

Some of the trends in mobile app design can be directly traced to the same trends in web design. A big trend in web design is a move towards clean, minimalistic designs.

We’re seeing this in mobile apps as well, particularly with menu and navigational headings. Rather than using the standard iOS or Android menu paradigm, developers are creating their own layouts that, while still appropriate for a finger, look more elegant.

Using shadows to create the perception of depth can give these buttons and interface elements a more “touchable” look and feel, while also appearing more striking.

These shadows can work particularly well in apps that don’t have a simple list view interface. For instance, in the XfinityTV app, the left channel bar can move independently from the main programming section. Rather than just use a grid, Xfinity added shadows to clearly designate both sections. The user can instantly sense that the elements are separate and can be controlled independently.

6. Text Driven Interfaces

We can credit Microsoft and its Windows Phone 7 for making text a mobile design trend.

The earliest mobile apps, of course, were largely text based because text loads quickly over a slow connection and doesn’t require an advanced rendering engine.

Modern mobile apps don’t need to rely on text but as Microsoft has shown us, when used appropriately, text-driven interfaces can be highly usable and great on the eyes.

The best apps that embrace a text-centric approach are those that use text appropriate in context. Text works best when it is large, easy to read and unencumbered by other interface elements.

For example, Weather Quickie is a very sparse weather app that simply tells the weather in the context of current conditions. For instance, “colder than yesterday” or “tomorrow will be warmer than today.” By not showing specific temperatures or forecast conditions, the app is easy to read and understand on the go. Icons can add context for conditions like rain or snow.

Likewise, Trickle is a Twitter app that display tweets in a very readable way, one tweet per screen. You can then choose to favorite or retweet that message before scrolling off to the next. By showing only one tweet per page, the app can be used much more passively than traditional Twitter clients.

7. Thin Sans Serif Fonts

As mobile apps evolve, developers are shifting away from the standard app fonts and utilizing more custom weights, styles and sizes. Like shadows and depth contours, many of the design cues for typography in mobile apps come from the web.

Thin sans serif fonts — usually with some level of drop shadow — are increasingly common place in desktop web design.

On mobile devices, the combination of thinner type and high resolution screens often makes for a more readable experience. It also helps differentiate apps. Thin sans serif fonts are often coupled with text-driven designs or with designs that utilize background texture.

Although some apps are including their own custom fonts for logos or header elements, simply changing the weight and size of a font can make the system default (Helvetica Neue on iOS and Droid Sans on Android) appear totally different.

Your Thoughts

What are some of the design trends you are seeing in mobile apps or that you hope to see more of in the future? Let us know.

Series Supported by Sourcebits

The Mobile App Trends Series is sponsored by Sourcebits, a leading developer of applications and games for all major mobile platforms. Sourcebits has engineered over 200 apps to date, with plenty more to come. Sourcebits offers design and development services for iPhone, Android and more. Please feel free to get in touch with us to find out how we can help your app stand apart in a crowded marketplace. Follow Sourcebits on Twitter and Facebook for recent news and updates.

More Mobile Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Predictions for Mobile in 2011
- Why Mobile Shopping Could Be As Big As Online Shopping
- Mobile Development: 5 Tips for Small Businesses
- 22 Essential Resources for Android Owners
- The State of the iOS App Store [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Mom-Focused Daily Deal Site Plum District Raises $8.5 Million

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 12:54 PM PST


Daily deal site Plum District has raised $8.5 million in order to expand beyond the 20 districts where it currently offers deals. The Series A funding is led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Plum District attempts to differentiate itself from the increasingly crowded daily deal space by targeting mothers and their families. The site’s deals, which range from products like children’s clothing to services like portrait photography, are “sourced” by mothers who earn commissions for bringing in deals from local businesses. These women also help promote the deals using their own blogs, social networks, and discussion boards.

Even with this tweak to the daily deal business model, Plum District faces stiff competition from some of the biggest online companies. Last year, Yelp and AOL both announced their own daily deal features. And last week, Mashable learned that Google also plans to join the game.

On the other hand, none of these giants have attempted to target a specific demographic. And as far as niches go, Plum District has probably picked the most promising one. According to estimates by eMarketer, the demographic controls about 80% of household spending. While other sites like Daily Deals for Moms have their sights set on the same space, dominating it is still up for grabs.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, zorani

More About: daily deals, funding, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Moms, Plum District

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With New Finance Chief, Can Quora Make Money?

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 12:24 PM PST


Quora, the suddenly and inexplicably hot Q&A startup, has just hired a new staffer with a huge body of experience in startup finance: Marc Bodnick, formerly a partner at private equity firm Elevation Partners.

The current team is heavy on engineers and designers — particularly a handful of ex-Facebook geniuses — who have labored long and relatively quietly to produce a beautiful and functional product in terms of UI. In fact, we named Quora one of the best user experiences from 2010.

But the one missing piece from an otherwise interesting startup is revenue.

Bodnick — whose hiring was first reported by CNN Money — had some success in that area. At Elevation Partners, he was responsible for some major fund-strengthening deals with Yelp and Facebook.

About a year ago, Quora co-founder Adam D’Angelo wrote on the site, “It’s hard to plan ahead too far on the Internet because things change so quickly, but there’s a good chance that advertising will end up as some component of our business. There are a lot of other options, too, but our focus as a company is on building Quora as a product, and our costs are low enough now that we can afford to delay worrying about monetization until later.”

That was written in December 2009; as of January 2011, no ads have yet appeared on the site, and Quora’s business model is still a mystery. As Quora’s new finance chief, could Bodnick take Quora from a cool product to a profitable company?

Stay tuned for details as we try to find out more about Bodnick’s exact role at Quora.

More About: CFO, quora, Revenue, startup, startups

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YouTube Stars Chad, Matt & Rob Return with “Treasure Hunt” [VIDEO]

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 12:18 PM PST


Chad, Matt & Rob, a group of filmmakers best known for YouTube’s first interactive movie, The Time Machine: An Interactive Adventure, are back with a new show called The Treasure Hunt.

The Treasure Hunt went live today with the above video, which is the first of nine films that total about 40 minutes. As with previous Chad, Matt & Rob YouTube films, viewers can use YouTube Annotations to click on the screen and link to another video. “Treasure Hunt is our Indiana Jones,” says Rob Polonsky, the “Rob” in the group.

Though the group’s last production, The Teleporter, included Unilever’s Axe as a sponsor, The Treasure Hunt has no sponsor. “This one is us,” Polonsky says. “We didn’t want a sponsor.” Chad, Matt & Rob’s previous YouTube shorts have received 50 million views in aggregate. The average short gets 1 million to 2 million views.

The new release was produced by Fremantle Media’s Atomic Wedgie, which is in the process of developing a TV show based on The Treasure Hunt.

More About: chad, Matt & Rob, youtube

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New Android App Helps You Determine if a Product Is a Good Buy

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 12:01 PM PST


Smoopa, a startup co-founded by former Googler and MIT graduate Mendel Chuang, has launched its price comparison, barcode scanning application for Android.

The app uses a custom built barcode scanner and a database of more than 12 million products to help Android owners ascertain immediately if they’re getting a good price or if they’re getting hosed.

Smoopa users select their location — as sourced from Foursquare’s database of places — and scan a product barcode. Once the in-store advertised price is specified, Smoopa compares it against prices from Walmart, Buy.com, Tiger Direct, Best Buy and a handful of other outlets, factors in online shipping costs when applicable, and spits out a green or yellow color-coded recommendation. Green is a good buy, yellow is a bad one.

The good or bad buy recommendation is what sets Smoopa apart from a bevy of price comparison competitors such as ShopSavvy or MyShopanion. The green or yellow marker is a hard-to-miss indicator that users can (ideally) have confidence in. The startup uses its own good price formula; the formula factors in price history as sourced from third-party sellers or inputted by other Smoopa others.

Users can optionally track a product and receive alerts should its price dip below a specified threshold. The application also features a history tab so users can keep track of what they have scanned and where. This information is also accessible via Smoopa’s website.

Smoopa’s four-person team is based out of Boston and currently operating off a friends and family round of financing that, when coupled with affiliate revenue, should keep the startup afloat for the forseeable future. An iPhone application and additional features are also said to be in the works, according to Chuang.

More About: android, barcode scanning, price comparison, smoopa, startup

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New York Times To Publish E-Book About WikiLeaks

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 11:55 AM PST


The New York Times announced Wednesday that it plans to publish its first e-book, titled Open Secrets: WikiLeaks, War and American Diplomacy, about last year’s WikiLeaks releases.

The e-book will describe how and why the Times came to publish the documents, and include “expanded profiles” of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, the Army private who was charged in July 2010 for allegedly supplying Assange with the classified information. (Manning is currently being held in “maximum custody” at the Marine Corps Brig in Quantico, Virginia.) It will reprint many of the cables and war logs alongside “detailed analyses” of those documents, as well as explore the impact WikiLeaks has had on American diplomacy and government secrecy, the Times said in a statement.

The e-book will be made available through major e-booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Google eBookstore and Apple’s iBookstore, on January 31 — just 11 days before the physical copy of The Guardian‘s book on WikiLeaks hits shelves.

An excerpt from the introductory essay by New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, which describes how the Times first got involved with WikiLeaks and the deterioration of its relationship with Assange, is available as an online preview.

Shortly after the announcement, WikiLeaks tweeted, “NYTimes does another self-serving smear.Facts wrong, top to bottom. Dark day for US journalism,” with a link to the preview.

More About: amazon, e-book, media, new york times, wikileaks

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Formspring Adds “Smile” Buttons to Show You Like a Q&A Post

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 11:38 AM PST


In a move that will make its already popular service even more social, Formspring has added “smile” buttons to every Q&A post on the site.

Formspring‘s new smile buttons are a lot like Facebook’s “like” buttons: a generic vote of approval that doesn’t require too much commitment from the end user.

The button appears beneath each post; next to it, you can see icons for each person that’s “smiled” at that post. You can smile at as many posts as you like, but you can only smile at each post once.

If you’re feeling narcissistic, you can smile at your own post, and if you’re feeling grumpy or indecisive, you can “un-smile” a post, as well.

While Formspring’s Q&A can be anonymous, smiles are linked to the user’s account, making the site a little more social and a little less solely introspective. Because each profile will appear in the list of people who smiled a Q&A post, users are now exposed to a slightly broader circle of online acquaintances and friends.

Also, your followers will sometimes see your smiles in their feeds, and soon, everyone will be able to see your Formspring smile history.

Since yesterday’s launch, the buttons have already generated 1 million smiles across the site.

Another recently added social feature is Formspring’s respond button, which publishers can place on their websites to encourage a Q&A-format dialog around content.

Smile and respond buttons are hopefully part of the startup’s path toward even more onsite interaction. Formspring tells us the company has plans to roll out more features and extensions over the next couple months; we’ll keep you posted as news breaks.

Right now, the company says its web-based Q&A gets around 10 million responses a day — that’s double the amount of activity the startup was claiming when its most recent round of funding was reported back in November. Considering this growth, it’s no surprise that Mashable named Formspring one of 2010′s most promising startups.

More About: formspring, formspring.me, link button, q&a, smile

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