Mashable: Latest 15 News Updates - including “Startup Lets Users Anonymously Share Credit Card Debt with Potential Lenders” |
- Startup Lets Users Anonymously Share Credit Card Debt with Potential Lenders
- Mashable Weekend Recap: 23 Stories You May Have Missed
- Apple Testing Gesture-Based Lock Screen for the iPhone?
- A Mixed Night For The Social Network
- Swipely Swaps Public Purchase-Sharing for Private Savings
- Google Glitch Disables 150,000 Gmail Accounts
- Oscars 2011 Vote: Best Motion Picture of the Year [POLL]
- Oscars 2011 Predictions: Another Perspective [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Is Apple’s Design Guru Quitting?
- The Oscars and the Death of the Water Cooler
- Facebook’s Growing Role in Social Journalism
- 5 Apps for Enjoying the Oscars
- How to Watch Oscars 2011 Online
- 6 Slick Ways to Customize Your Kicks Online [PICS]
- The Social Network’s Journey to the Oscars
- Facebook Like Button Takes Over Share Button Functionality
| Startup Lets Users Anonymously Share Credit Card Debt with Potential Lenders Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:06 AM PST      The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Quick Pitch: ReadyForZero is a free online financial tool that lets you track credit card debt, explore options, and make and follow a plan to eliminate it. Genius Idea: Public, anonymous snapshots that help issuers verify users’ credit card balances. ReadyForZero co-founder and CEO Rod Ebrahimi had a light bulb moment when his girlfriend, who recently graduated with a Ph.D. and $24,000 in debt, turned to him for help with paying down her credit card debt. At the time, the couple used a makeshift solution — just your run-of-the-mill spreadsheet — but Ebrahimi realized that her challenge was a universal one. And so, Ebrahimi set out to build financial software that could empower consumers to consolidate and manage their debt, and ultimately gain access to better credit and lower interest rates. ReadyForZero, launched just weeks ago, is that tool. Users can link their credit card accounts, and the application will give them insight into how to pay down their debt with progress charts, payment guidelines, activity tracking and overall debt review.  It’s a simple idea with big potential — the total U.S. revolving debt is upwards of $800 billion, per the Federal Reserve’s calculations. Already, more than 5,000 users have signed up, and 20% are using it on a daily basis, according to Ebrahimi. Monday, the Y Combinator startup — it’s raised an additional $260,000 from PayPal, Mint and Google veterans — is releasing public snapshots, a feature that should take the service beyond a simple tracking site. Public snapshots are an opt-in feature that lets users anonymously put their credit card balances on display for potential lenders. The snapshot, which lives at an anonymized URL and uses a borrower number instead of a real name, shows the user’s total balance across ReadyForZero-verified credit cards, overall APR, and balances and interest rates per card.  The idea is to give users the power to prove their progress and make a case for themselves as an ideal loan candidate, and get better deals. Today, public snapshots are an early build that will evolve to include more options — like showing cash flow and other anonymized spending data — over time. Lending Club has teamed up with ReadyForZero at launch to let debt consolidation applicants include their public snapshots during the application process. “We want to shift power back to the people,” says Ebrahimi, “so they can be in control of their data.” Ebrahimi believes users will want to use the feature to improve their financial situation, arguing that the potential benefits of exposing credit card balances will outweigh privacy concerns for those in debt. ReadyForZero sees a future with much more lender and issuer partnerships. Ebrahimi envisions a scenario where lenders would compete — in terms and APRs — for borrower business, based on their public snapshots. “We’re laser focused on creating the easiest way for people to get out of debt,” he says. For the millions in credit card debt, one can only hope the mission proves successful. Image courtesy of Flickr, reallyboring Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark  The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today. More About: financial services, readyforzero, spark-of-genius, startup, y combinator For more Startups coverage:
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| Mashable Weekend Recap: 23 Stories You May Have Missed Posted: 28 Feb 2011 04:30 AM PST   It was the weekend of the Oscars, and the buildup was intense with infographics and a variety of stories. We didn’t even let it bother us when our favorite, The Social Network, walked away with fewer statuettes than we had hoped. Elsewhere, we found a new capability in Facebook, saw a video from an unusual vantage point of the Space Shuttle Discovery lifting off for the last time, and found a trio of free ways to use an iPhone to save money on the quickly inflating expense of gasoline. No need to worry that you missed so much — we’ve laid it all out for you right here. Start your Monday off right, and see for yourself: News and Opinion Essentials
Helpful Resources
Weekend Leisure
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| Apple Testing Gesture-Based Lock Screen for the iPhone? Posted: 28 Feb 2011 02:41 AM PST   Apple is testing a new type of lock screen on the iPhone, similar to the gesture-based lock screen on Android phones, 9to5Mac reports. The screen is based on a 3×3 dot grid, and the user must swipe the dots in a correct sequence to unlock the device. The lock/unlock system and even the look of the application seem to be nearly identical to the Android version, which is why 9to5Mac speculates that this new lock screen will never reach the hands of the consumers. Instead, it is likely to be used internally, for example in the apps used by Apple retail store employees. What do you think? Would you like to see this type of lock screen on your iOS device? Please, share your opinions in the comments. [via 9to5Mac] More About: apple, gesture, iOS, iphone, lock screen For more Mobile coverage:
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| A Mixed Night For The Social Network Posted: 27 Feb 2011 10:02 PM PST   It was a great night for The King’s Speech and Inception at the 83rd Academy Awards Sunday — and a somewhat more disappointing outcome for their main rival, David Fincher’s The Social Network. Fincher’s movie, a fictionalized account of the rise of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, won a total of three Oscars. Writer Aaron Sorkin, also known for West Wing and A Few Good Men, won Best Adapted Screenplay (it was based on Ben Mezrich’s book “The Accidental Billionaires”), while Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor won Best Original Score for the movie’s haunting music. It also won an award for Best Film Editing. But The Social Network had been nominated for a total of eight awards — and had been hotly tipped for Best Picture until The King’s Speech started picking up buzz several months ago. It failed to win for cinematography, Best Actor, Best Director or Best Picture. The King’s Speech won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Colin Firth. Chris Nolan’s dream-within-a-dream Inception also won five, including Best Special Effects for its stunning computer-generated imagery. For The Social Network‘s fans, it will be especially disappointing that the movie won awards for sound, vision and script — but apparently was not better than the sum of those parts. And in what seemed almost like a snub, Sorkin’s acceptance speech was the only one to be cut short by the Academy’s “play them out” music. Still, for a movie that’s all about a nerd who fights to be popular but fails to fit in, it seems an appropriate outcome. More About: academy awards, Best Director, Best picture, Movies, oscar, the social network, trending For more Media coverage:
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| Swipely Swaps Public Purchase-Sharing for Private Savings Posted: 27 Feb 2011 09:00 PM PST   “We don’t think people want to share their purchases. Period,” says Angus Davis, founder and CEO of Swipely, a purchasing-sharing startup similar to Blippy. That no longer is the case. Effective immediately. Swipely, having processed tens of millions of transactions under the original model, is course-correcting after raising more than $8 million in funding and exiting private beta just seven months ago. Swipely will roll out a completely overhauled version of the site on February 28, starting in Rhode Island (the startup is based in Providence), with a remodeled mission to save users money at local businesses. The new Swipely offers users a private experience — in stark contrast to public purchasing-sharing — that now rewards them for swiping their credit cards at local merchants. Swipely users, should they associate their credit cards with their Swipely accounts, can swipe at participating local merchants to earn cash back rewards, loyalty points and extra incentives for sharing reviews on social networks.  The idea, says Davis, is to free consumers from the necessity of printing coupons or carrying loyalty cards in order to redeem discounts and earn rewards. “Merchants can attract new customers with an incentive, and bring them back with points to build loyalty,” he adds. Swipely has signed on more than 75 local merchant partners in the Rhode Island area who are willing to pay to participate in this loyalty-meets-customer-acquisition alternative to Groupon, Foursquare or Shopkick. Renowned Providence restaurant Nick’s on Broadway, for instance, will give Swipely users 25% cash back on their first purchase, a loyalty point for each dollar spent and 10 bonus points should they also share a review.  The new Swipely experience is focused on savings, but users also can use the website to understand their shopping history and check out applicable, deal-related Facebook and Twitter updates from the businesses at which they transact. Unfortunately, Swipely users in regions outside Rhode Island will continue to experience the now-expired purchase-sharing experience. Davis hopes to introduce national audiences to the new experience within a month. Swipely’s new local deals approach is not entirely dissimilar from Offermatic’s automatic credit card deals offering. Swipely, however, sticks to local merchants as opposed to big brand names. It’s an approach that needs an aggressive sales team, which may make it difficult for the startup to introduce a fully baked version of the new site and mission to additional markets. Still, this idea appears more promising than the last — the (once) local merchant-focused Groupon generated $760 million in revenue in 2010. Swipely investors are also confident in the startup’s decision to attack a foreign, albeit large, market opportunity, according to Davis. Ultimately, this new bet on local merchants is grounded in Swipely’s business-friendly approach, or so it hopes. “We’re not trying to create a one-night stand between merchant and customer,” says Davis. “We’re trying to create a lasting marriage.” Image courtesy of Flickr, swipely More About: deals, local business, loyalty, purchase-sharing, rewards, startup, swipely For more Startups coverage:
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| Google Glitch Disables 150,000 Gmail Accounts Posted: 27 Feb 2011 08:01 PM PST   Google, we have a problem. About 150,000 Gmail account holders woke up to a nightmare this morning, with all their e-mail, attachments and Google Chat logs gone. What happened? Google explains that “less than 0.08%” of all Gmail users were affected by the bug, which completely reset accounts, even down to the detail offering a welcome message to those users when they first logged on today. They, and especially visitors to the Gmail Help Forum, were not amused. But there’s good news here. The way Google is explaining it on its Apps Status Dashboard: “Google engineers are working to restore full access. Affected users may be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts.” In an earlier message, Google wrote, “For those Gmail users reporting missing messages, our engineers are working to restore them as soon as possible.” So maybe this is not so bad after all. As long as Google restores the messages, all we had was a big scare. Will Google restore all the messages? We’ve contacted a Google spokesperson, and will let you know when we hear back. Meanwhile, I’m going to back up all of my Gmail forthwith. But wait a minute -– how do you back up Gmail? Here: This is a free application for Mac, PC and Linux called Gmail Backup. I gave it a try and it’s easy to use. After a quick download, you just give it your credentials and it begins downloading all your e-mails, backing them up securely no matter what Google decides to do. After 30 minutes, it had downloaded 2.4% of my e-mails, so this is not going to take forever. It’s probably time well spent. [via Engadget] More About: e-mail, Gmail Glitch, Google, outage, trending For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| Oscars 2011 Vote: Best Motion Picture of the Year [POLL] Posted: 27 Feb 2011 05:22 PM PST   We’ve taken two buzz readings, watched all 10 movies nominated for Best Picture, and wrung our hands over which movie will win the highest honor of the film industry. There’s only one thing left to do, short of waiting until the winner is announced: vote on it ourselves! So, Mashable readers, let’s hear it. What’s your pick for Best Picture?
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| Oscars 2011 Predictions: Another Perspective [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 27 Feb 2011 04:17 PM PST   Who will take home the hardware tonight at the Oscars 2011 awards ceremony? Here’s another perspective, leveraging the power of social media to find out which actors and films were talked about most, this time in an infographic created by the Meltwater Group. This infographic confirms most of what we saw yesterday in that Webtrends pre-Oscar buzz graphic, with a notable exception. The methodologies for the two graphics were similar, where for this graphic, the Meltwater Group started tracking three award categories (Best Picture, Actor and Actress) back on January 25, gathering data from blogs, comments, video, Facebook, and microblogs such as Twitter to arrive at this data. Meltwater went further, cross-checking back to January 20, “to make sure the conversation was generally about the nominee in relation to the Oscars.” Meltwater admits that “The most talked-about nominees are not necessarily going to be the ones who are named the winners by the Academy,” saying that it is presenting its data as more of a fun way to see which films and actors are being talked about the most. Webtrends’ data collection differed from Meltwater’s, even though both admit that this more of a popularity contest than a predictor of winners. Webtrends counted both English- and Spanish-language mentions of films or actors, and didn’t count video in its data gathered. However, it had Inception taking the win for Best Picture with The King’s Speech trailing far behind in seventh place. The other two categories were remarkably similar, where Webtrends matched the Meltwater estimate of James Franco winning the Oscar for Best Actor, as well as Natalie Portman taking on the trophy for Best Actress. Why do you think there was such a discrepancy between the Best Picture nominees, even though the methodologies of the two studies were similar? Graphic courtesy Meltwater Group More About: facebook, infographic, Meltwater, Oscar Nominees, oscars-2011, predictions, social media For more Social Media coverage:
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| Is Apple’s Design Guru Quitting? Posted: 27 Feb 2011 03:08 PM PST   Is Jonathan Ive, Apple‘s senior vice president of industrial design, packing his bags and moving back to the UK? Worse, did Apple tell him if he moves back to England he can’t keep working for Apple? That’s what the Times of London is reporting. According to the Times (behind a paywall) and the Daily Mail, Ive received an option grant in 2008 that’s now worth $30 million, and if he sold that stock, his combined net worth would be $128 million. The designer (called Jony Ive by his friends) has been “at loggerheads” with the Apple board about the amount of time he spends in the UK, where he would like for his two children to go to school, the report notes. According to the Times, an anonymous pal of Ives was quoted as saying, “unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them.” Why is Ive so important, anyway? The 44-year-old designer is the head of the industrial design team that created most of Apple’s iconic products. He’s known as the driving force behind the design of the iPod, iPhone, today’s iPad and the upcoming iPad 2, all the MacBooks and the iMac, among others. Given the illness of Steve Jobs and Apple’s murky succession plan, this latest story about Ive could be another upcoming obstacle for Apple, spurring further worries about the future of the company. However, an Apple spokesperson told the Times of London that any claims of Ive wanting to move to England are “speculation.” We’ve asked Apple to tell us whether the report of Ives’s situation is true, and we’ll let you know as soon as we receive a response. Will Ive cash in, hanging up his Apple hat for good? Perhaps a quote from Ive might yield clues: “Apple stood for something and had a reason for being that wasn’t just about making money,” he said in an interview with the Design Museum. We’re thinking whether Ive stays with the company or leaves to spend more time with his family in England, it won’t have anything to do with money. More About: apple, design, Industrial design, ipad, iphone, ipod, Jonathan Ive, Jony Ive, macbook, trending For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| The Oscars and the Death of the Water Cooler Posted: 27 Feb 2011 02:15 PM PST   If advertisers have their way, a lot of the Oscar buzz this year will have nothing to do with the best picture nominees. As with the Super Bowl, advertisers during the second-biggest advertising night of the year (the Academy Awards are known in the industry as the “Super Bowl for Women,”) are trying to inject themselves into social media conversations happening during the event. But while the Super Bowl was all about the ads, this time the TV spots are something of a sideshow. The ads themselves often serve as plugs for a Facebook page or other online activity, which marketers expect viewers to engage in during the event. That’s a stark difference from the Super Bowl. There wasn’t a lot of live-event tie-in activity at this year’s big game, probably because the action of a football game moves too fast for Twitter commentary. The Oscars are a different story, though. “You tune in 15 minutes before the game starts, you watch the preamble then everyone tunes out,” says Hayes Roth, chief marketing officer of Landor Associates, of the Super Bowl. By contrast, “this is all about the run-up,” he says. “It’s a different kind of event that’s interactive in itself. There’s anticipation about who’s going to win and there are a lot of winners. It’s a much more convivial atmosphere.” Real-Time MarketingHence the live coverage blitz this time around. SprintNextel, for instance, is sponsoring People.com’s red carpet coverage, while Gilt Groupe has snagged Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian to tweet about the show on the luxe retailer’s behalf. Not to be outdone, Trident Vitality gum will sponsor a feature on PerezHilton.com that aggregates Twitter posts from readers and celebrities. Mercedes, meanwhile, is partnering with GetGlue to sponsor stickers given out by the TV social networking app during the show. It’s no wonder marketers are keen to exploit the possibilities of the Oscars in real time. The reality is you just can’t get millions of people together very often at one time to focus on anything. Viewers of canned programming such as sitcoms or dramas can skip ads in a DVR, but with a live broadcast, they have no choice but to sit through the ads or at least try to amuse themselves during commercial breaks. “This is a big event, the last of the water-cooler shows,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and director of research at Horizon Media, who added that social media has given awards shows such as the Oscars a huge boost. In 2008, the Oscars drew about 32 million viewers. Last year, 41.7 million people tuned in. Likewise, the Grammys had 19 million viewers in 2009 vs. 26.5 million during 2011′s telecast. “Two years ago, these awards shows had really bottomed out in terms of viewing,” he says. “But there’s a huge upswing in ratings that can only be attributed to social media.” But social media doesn’t just amplify the ratings. It also condenses the discussion time about the event, putting Adgate’s analogy in a new light. “We’re witnessing the death of the water cooler,” says Josh Rose, EVP and digital creative director for ad agency Deutsch LA. “Now we’re simultaneously witnessing and talking about these events. If you’re not part of that discussion, you’re too late the next day.” Nevertheless, David Rosenberg, director of emerging media for ad agency JWT in New York, says that the upside for brands in events like the Oscars is huge. “When done properly, brands get a lift by the immediate impressions that are generated on air as well as by being attached to the content and stories people share online—perhaps from two-screen viewing. The earned media potential here is great.” “DVD Extras”But how exactly should a marketer tie-in with a live event over social media? Rose likens the current approach by many to DVD extras — interviews and behind-the-scenes events on a DVD that are related to the main feature, but not a part of it. Thus, the craze for red carpet commentary, which mimics the DVD commentaries that are standard for many movies on video these days. An alternative approach is to use the ads themselves as a jumping-off point for discussion. This is the tack favored by J.C. Penney, which will run seven TV spots during the show and two during the pre-show. The brand is buttressing that presence with local market buys that feature “Because I’m Addicted” fashion blogger Geri Hirsch, who will display her J.C. Penney styles live on the brand’s Facebook page. That page will also offer a “Shop like a Celebrity” sweepstakes dangling a trip to Manhattan. Best Buy, meanwhile, will center its online push around its ad. The retailer is using its Facebook page to host a charity auction for clothes worn by Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber in an ad that runs during the telecast. (The ad is the same as the one that ran during the Super Bowl except for it has a different ending, which was chosen by fans on Best Buy’s website.) Whether consumers will welcome such brands into the discussion remains to be seen. For his part, Rose thinks that, given the fragmentation of media, marketers will have no choice but to try to find ways to tie in to all kinds of events, whether they’re the Oscars, the Olympics or even — far trickier — the uprising in Egypt, just so they can stay part of the ongoing social media discussion. “People rally around a 24-hour news cycle,” he says. “There are opportunities for brands to quickly respond in any situation.” Photo courtesy of iStock, Samlyn_Studio. More About: academy awards, advertising, oscars-2011, social media, trending For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Facebook’s Growing Role in Social Journalism Posted: 27 Feb 2011 01:29 PM PST   A Facebook-only news organization? It was only a matter of time. The Rockville Central, a community news site in the Washington, D.C., area, will move all its operations and news coverage to its Facebook Page starting on March 1. This risky move by the site’s editor, Cindy Cotte Griffiths, highlights Facebook’s growing role as a platform for journalists to use for social storytelling and reporting. When it comes to journalists using social media, Twitter has been the go-to platform for real-time reporting and reaching out to sources, largely because it’s a public platform and most of its content is accessible. But with Facebook continuing to scale and in some ways become more public, it offers journalists an arsenal of content types beyond 140 characters and an alternative destination to connect with new sources of information. Though Facebook did receive a lot of credit and praise in aiding Egyptians in organizing themselves during what’s become known as the January 25th Revolution, it has also been highly utilized by journalists reporting on the events surrounding the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. Riyaad Minty, the head of social media at Al-Jazeera English, said the events have demonstrated Facebook’s important role in journalism by enabling reporters to actively monitor the unrest and situation on the ground. Minty said it has helped Al Jazeera English track what is about to happen, such as planned protests, gather valuable information in real-time and find valuable sources who can then talk on air with Al-Jazeera journalists. Though Twitter remains the prominent social platform for journalists to adopt into their toolkits, a quiet shift is taking place toward Facebook as reporters discover its utility and application in their work. A 500+ Million-Person Directory of SourcesOne of the key advantages of Facebook over other social platforms is the sheer number of potential sources it presents for journalists. At National Public Radio, its 1.5+ million-member Facebook community is invaluable for finding sources, said Eyder Peralta, an associate producer on NPR’s social media desk. “There hasn’t been any query that we haven’t gotten good sources for,” Peralta said. From finding high school dropouts to people who have recently been laid off from their jobs, Peralta said the organization regularly posts inquiries for sources as status updates on its page and receives hundreds of valuable responses. “We’re using it as a megaphone, and people have always been extremely helpful.” An advantage of Facebook is that users are able to privately message anyone on Facebook without having to be their “friend.” So after a reporter or producer sees a source they want to interview, they’ll contact that person through a private message from his personal Facebook profile. In some cases, users will even volunteer their phone numbers in the comments for a reporter to get in touch.  However, searching Facebook for a specific kind of source can be difficult, Peralta said. The search functionality is time-sensitive, and doesn’t include many targeting options. Although for stories in which journalists are trying to learn about a specific individual, the search functionality and learning about a source’s network of friends or their activity can be helpful. With more than 500 million people on the platform and 70 percent of them being outside the U.S., the chances of finding and contacting a source are quite good. “Facebook provides reporting at scale,” said Malorie Lucich, Facebook spokeswoman. Lucich explains that journalists have always listened to the people in their communities and brought together their collective voice by telling those stories. Facebook just makes it easier to bring this practice online and makes it more accessible and efficient, she said. Minty at Al Jazeera English said its reporters used Facebook to get a “pulse on reality.” While covering demonstrations and unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, they were able to track activity on Facebook to see what protests were being planned and immediately connect with people involved as sources. “It has allowed us to get a true sense of what average citizens in some countries are thinking and planning,” he said. Social StorytellingThere are 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook each month. That includes news stories, links, notes, photo albums and more. With so much content flowing into the news feed, journalists are finding a voice by amplifying and reporting quality content to interested readers. "Facebook has dramatically transformed the way journalists do their jobs.” - Ian Shapira, Washington Post Journalists such as Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times have expanded their distribution and sourcing to Facebook. Kristof, who has more than 200,000 people who like his page, has used the page to post regular updates from his reporting. Starting with the Egyptian Revolution to his latest coverage of Libya, Kristof has posted detailed descriptions and reports about what he’s seeing and information he’s receiving. Kristof isn’t the only example, however. Ian Shapira, a staff writer at The Washington Post, used Facebook status updates to tell a moving story about a family’s sorrow. Explaining the process by phone, Shapira said he and his editor decided the story of Shana Greatman Swers, who had died due to unusual pregnancy complications, was best told through her status updates, which had a natural and powerfully personal narrative to them, enabling him to tell the story in a way that a standard print piece would not have been able to. “Facebook has dramatically transformed the way journalists do their jobs,” Shapira said. “It’s become an essential tool, making our jobs far more efficient.” Shapira’s reporting shows that sometimes Facebook activity is at the core of the story. Jennifer Preston, social media reporter at The New York Times who has experience in managing the news organization’s Facebook Pages from her previous role as Social Media Editor, tracked the activity around the We are all Khaled Said Facebook Page to investigate how it fueled outrage in Egypt and contributed to a bigger movement. Preston said she went back and read the status updates over last six to seven months from the page, using Google Chrome and Google Translator and could see how this page evolved into such a highly engaged community nearing one million members, and learned that the death of Khaled Said created tremendous outrage over police abuse. “Understanding how these tools work so that you can listen in on the conversation and understand what is going on is key,” Preston said. “That said, there is nothing like shoe-leather reporting to get the story and get it right — and to be there to capture the voices of the people in real life.” Community Content & More ToolsIn some cases, news coverage would have been impossible without Facebook. Libya is a great example of that, Peralta from NPR said. Even while its own reporters and other foreign press were banned from the country, NPR was able to get photos and videos posted by users in Libya, Peralta said. “Having the power of a very big community you can tap into, take their pulse very easily and quickly is quite powerful,” he said. Although Facebook is focused on personal relationships, it has been gradually inching to a more public platform in part due to changes to its privacy settings. By using tools such as Openbook or FBInstant that enable easy searching for public information on Facebook, journalists are able to find information they are looking for that is tied to specific news events or people. And the trend toward more public information with new features on the site, such as Facebook Questions, which is entirely public, will only further Facebook’s utility as a tool for journalism. Features like Questions and Facebook Places will offer journalists more tools for their reporting. Questions, for example, could be utilized to find specific sources, poll a group of people for their opinions, or find experts on topics and, well, get questions answered.  Minty said Al Jazeera English used Facebook to encourage users to submit content from demonstrations and protests directly to Al Jazeera, which they would publish through its citizen journalism platform, Sharek. However, Minty also cautions that journalists still need to verify information being received or posted on Facebook to make sure that it’s reliable. For example, in some cases protest pages and information was set up by immigrants living abroad and the information wasn’t coming from people living in the actual countries where the events were taking place. Journalists need to fact check by getting in touch with people on the pages to get a better understanding of who is behind the online identity, he said. Facebook-Only News Sites?Whether it’s through a Facebook Application — built to be a destination for news and discussion — or a Facebook Page that users can subscribe to and receive posts in their News Feed, news organizations are experimenting with building Facebook-only news portals to take advantage of the social distribution on the platform and an existing audience. The Rockville Central is taking its community news site to Facebook and will focus on curation and civic engagement, instead of duplicating content others have produced. Of course, the big disadvantage is it can’t host its own ads, which isn’t the site’s goals. A larger news organization, Boston.com, which is dependent on ad revenue, has built a Facebook News Application called “Your Boston” using NewsCloud’s Open Source application platform.  In many ways, the application functions like a news site of its on within the Facebook platform. Users are able to comment on and share stories, ask questions, contribute to a calendar and even post ideas. The most active participants are rewarded by being featured as top users. ‘Incredible’ Distribution & CommunityWith so many users on Facebook, it serves as a great distribution platform. Minty from Al-Jazeera English said each of its Facebook posts gets a lot of feedback, often receiving more than 1,000 comments. But more importantly, he said, Facebook makes it easy for readers of their content to connect and engage with one another. “The interactivity and ability for people to discuss the news is what is most beneficial to us,” Minty said. Al-Jazeera English also added its live stream to all of its Facebook Pages, and the number of views has been “incredibly high” since launching, Minty said. It doesn’t force its readers to go to a site, instead encouraging them to consume the content where they are most comfortable — on Facebook, he said. When breaking news happens, they post an update notifying its readers that a live event is happening and they can watch it directly on the page. The page also became an alternative destination when people in the U.S. were unable to access its website’s live stream. Minty said they took to Twitter and Facebook, letting readers know they could still access its live stream on its Facebook Page.  “Facebook is an incredible distribution platform,” Minty said. It is indeed, as evidenced by the fact that Al-Jazeera English‘s Facebook Page has had 150 million post views since January 25th, according to Minty, and its Arabic page has been growing at a rate of 10,000 new “likers” per day. Training JournalistsFacebook has been ramping up to improve its relationship with media organizations and journalists. Last July, the company announced its efforts to help media organizations make better use of their products to increase engagement, traffic and more. Since July, the average media organization has seen more than a 100% increase in referral traffic from Facebook, Lucich said. The company is also looking to work directly with journalists by providing training and resources into how they can best utilize the platform, and by taking feedback on how the platform can be improved, Lucich said. With that in mind, the company recently posted a new position for a Journalist Program Manager, which will be in charge of programs and projects that help journalists use Facebook as a reporting tool. “We're only just beginning to see what's possible with social journalism, as innovative journalists are reporting, finding sources and engaging with readers through Facebook Platform and Facebook products,” Lucich said. “The possibilities are endless.” More About: facebook, journalism, social media, social networking For more Media coverage:
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| 5 Apps for Enjoying the Oscars Posted: 27 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST   Tonight is Oscar night and that means that Twitter and Facebook streams will soon be filled with quips about who is wearing what, the jokes that bomb or land, and of course, who is taking home the big awards. Like the Grammy Awards and the Golden Globes, Oscar is finding his way into the 21st century. Check out these mobile and web apps that can help augment and enhance the Academy Awards experience: Vanity Fair Hollywood: Oscars Edition This special edition of the Vanity Fair Hollywood app is a treat for iPhone and iPad users alike. The free app lets users fill out their own Oscar ballots. Users can also compare their picks with their friends on Facebook. Users can also follow Oscar tweets, see photos from the red carpet and get a glimpse of the famed Vanity Fair Oscar party. Oscar Backstage Pass The $0.99 iOS app gives users a backstage look at the Oscars. As we noted in our original review, the app is designed to let users view the red carpet from several angles and get a backstage glimpse of the action taking place off-screen, all while enjoying the Oscar experience on TV. This app, which will continue at the post-awards Governors Ball, is the biggest digital push that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has ever done. E! Live From the Red Carpet E!'s Live From the Red Carpet app for iOS and Android is a great way to watch the red carpet coverage on your mobile device. See who E! is interviewing live look at pictures and photos from past award shows and connect via Twitter to share your thoughts with friends. We love E!'s commitment to pushing its red carpet coverage across digital channels. Check In With Get Glue |
| How to Watch Oscars 2011 Online Posted: 27 Feb 2011 12:28 PM PST   Tonight’s the big night when the Oscars 2011 awards ceremony broadcasts on ABC starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time. But that’s just the ceremony itself — there’s a lot more to see online. If you’re looking to watch the whole broadcast online, there’s Oscar All Access from Oscar.com, a new premium experience that will cost you $4.99. Starting at 6 p.m. Eastern, it’ll offer an unprecedented amount of coverage with 24 live cameras positioned around the red carpet area, in the Kodak Theater and at the Governors Ball afterward. Some will be shooting in a 360-degree field of view, giving you the ability to pan around the festivities as you wish. The service promises live views from within the venue during the ceremony, backstage looks, and sneak peeks at the stars during commercials. You’ll even be able to sneak into the director’s control room during the show. Beyond that, there are apps for the iPhone and iPad they give you all that coolness except for that 360 cam, for $.99. Too rich for you? That same site, Oscar.com, will be showing a more conventional view of festivities starting at 6 p.m. Eastern. You won’t get those multi-camera views of the $4.99 premium service, but according to spokespeople from the site, “Oscar.com will be live streaming content from the awards throughout the evening — from the Red Carpet through the ceremony — which will be in addition to the content airing on television. So fans can actually log on to Oscar.com at any point during the night and see content from the awards show." Beyond its streaming video offerings, you can create an account at the Oscar.com site, and there’s an Oscar ballot where you can vote for your favorites and share them with others. There’s also an area showing what the stars are tweeting about during the show. The AP and Livestream are back again this year with red carpet coverage starting at 6 p.m. Eastern, and if you “Like” AP Live on Facebook you can watch the red carpet coverage there. On the AP Live Facebook page, you can post comments and questions for AP Global Entertainment Editor Alicia Quarles, and she’ll be checking her iPad for those during the show. Keep an eye on Twitter during the broadcast, especially the Oscars stream where there will be no shortage of comments, information, catcalls and accolades. And, here are 5 apps that can further enhance your Oscar experience. More About: broadcast, facebook, live streaming, Oscar ballot, oscars-2011, trending, tv, twitter For more Media coverage:
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| 6 Slick Ways to Customize Your Kicks Online [PICS] Posted: 27 Feb 2011 11:20 AM PST   You’re not still wearing off-the-peg sneakers, are you? Tut, tut, how very 2009. With a wealth of affordable personalization options online, nowadays you can easily create your own customized footwear. We’ve found six online solutions that will help you design funky footwear that’s unique to you. So why not show off a bit of your creativity and stand out from the rest of the boringly-shod crowd? If this sounds good, then put your best foot forward and take a walk through the gallery below. Let us know in the comments which design-your-own services you’ve tried out and if you haven’t yet, then the ones that you like the look of. 1. NIKEiD Nike's well-established customization service lets you start with one of the company's designs and change it to suit your taste, or start with a totally blank canvas. The service is perfectly suited to anyone looking for proper training shoes, rather than fashion sneakers. With the ability to change the color of every element of the shoe's design, you can create a cool custom pair of kicks that will stand out from the crowd on any court where you play. As well as personalize the color-way of your new shoes, you can change the text on the heel, and then when you're happy with your design, share it to your social networks and add it to the NIKEiD gallery. Sample cost: Nike Air Mogan iD -- $105 2. Vans Customs Vans keeps its service simple with just four shoe types to customize, one of which is its now-classic slip-on number in both white and black. As you'd expect from the brand, as well as colors, there's a wide range of contemporary patterns to choose from, and in the case of the slip-on shoe, you can mix and match designs. As well as starting with a totally blank shoe, you can start with a patterned model and than tweak it to your heart's content, choosing different colors for the binding, foxing, collar lining and even the elastic gore (the stretchy bit on the top!) Sample cost: Slip-on -- $60 3. Converse Design Your Own Converse's "Design Your Own" service is seriously fun -- and offers far-reaching customization options. There are around 20 types of sneaker and baseball boot styles to choose from as your blank canvas. As well as a palette of vibrant colors to pick from, there's also a ton of funky, and in some cases unusual, patterns. Perfect for those who pay strict attention to detail, you can change the color of the laces, the eyelets and even the stitching! There is also an option to add text to the heel of the shoe -- with a choice of two fonts to select from. Sample cost: Chuck Taylor All Star Ox Canvas -- $67 4. mi Adidas Offering a variety of sneaks to personalize, Adidas's take on the customization process is comprehensive and changes with the shoe you choose. For example, with the Gazelle (pictured) you can make each stripe a different color while the mi adizero Rose design process will see your name laser-etched on the shoe's bumper. Or you can pick a personalized number to appear on the lace's tag. This means it's worth playing around with the web-based design app to see what options each shoe offers; just don't get too carried away and order the set! Sample cost: Mi Gazelles -- $95 5. Sole Creator Sole Creator takes customization to the extreme with its online design service offering tons of backgrounds, a huge album of clip art, the ability to draw designs freehand, add as much text as you can fit on, and even upload an image. With brands to choose from such as Converse, Vans, DYO and Ethletic, it's worth noting that Sole Creator offers worldwide delivery, so it's a great option for those outside the States (because many of the U.S.-based in-house sneaker design services don't ship internationally.) Sample cost: From around £25 (approx $40) 6. SneakArt If you're on a budget and don't want to splash out on a whole new pair of shoes, but still want to personalize a pair, then SneakArt offers flexible, durable, waterproof, adhesive skins in a massive range of patterns so that you can DIY your own designs in the comfort of your own home. Sample cost: From $19 per sheet More Fashion Resources from Mashable:
More About: adidas, clothing, Converse, custom, customization, fashion, gallery, Nike, personalized, shoes, sneakers, trainers, Vans For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| The Social Network’s Journey to the Oscars Posted: 27 Feb 2011 10:12 AM PST   The 83rd Annual Academy Awards are rapidly drawing near, and the question on everyone’s (in the tech realm) mind is: Can a movie about Facebook win the Oscar? The Social Network, the Aaron Sorkin-penned, David Fincher-directed, black horse of 2010, has trod a long road to the Oscars. While it’s now nominated for numerous awards — including Best Film — the movie was once a veritable joke. We’ve been following the “Facebook Movie” for years now, all culminating in tonight’s festivities. Which is why we’re taking a look back now at its genesis. Check out our roundup below and let us know in the comments: Will the Academy “Like” the “Facebook Movie”? Oh, How We LaughedWhen screenwriter Aaron Sorkin expressed his interest in making a movie about Facebook, our reaction was, shall we say, less than supportive? Aaron Sorkin Explains HimselfAfter agreeing to write the screenplay, Sorkin said of the film, "it's the fastest I've ever said yes to anything," signing on after getting to page three of the 14-page book proposal from Ben Mezrich that producer Scott Rudin had optioned for the film even before The Accidental Billionaires was completely written. And Then The Film Is GreenlitAaron Sorkin wrote the script, which was based on Ben Mezrich's book, The Accidental Billionaires. David Fincher (Fight Club), came on as director. Casting Rumors BeginMichael Cera and Shia LaBeouf? We think not. The Film Is CastJesse Eisenberg was cast as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake as Napster co-founder Sean Parker, and Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who had a falling out with Zuckerberg as the social site started to really take off. A Release Date Is AnnouncedThe film was set for release on October 15, 2010. In reality, the movie came out on the third. The First Poster Hits the Web And Then Came the First TeaserColumbia Pictures released the very first teaser trailer for the The Social Network. Like the poster, the teaser was sparse in its detail, but intriguing and provocative at the same time. Trent Reznor Signs on to Score the FilmReznor was initially going to take some time off after touring, but once director David Fincher started asking him about scoring the upcoming flick — and after the rocker had read the script — he changed his tune. Facebook's Founders Talk About the "Facebook Movie"Facebook's co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moscovitz both expressed some measure of disapproval where The Social Network was concerned. And Then The Full Preview HitIt spawned a ton of catchphrases. And Then There Were ParodiesMany ParodiesOne MoreThe Film Uses Twitter to AdvertiseSony Pictures became the latest big brand (as of that date) to buy a spot on Twitter's trending topic list, using the microblogging site's new ad platform to promote the trailer for The Social Network. Mashable Talks With Trent ReznorWe decided to talk with Reznor about the experience of scoring a movie in its entirety, the state of the music industry, and, of course, social media on the whole. The Mashable ReviewChristina Warren dove into the most buzzed-about film of the year in an in-depth review. A Cadre of Entrepreneurs Dissect the FilmDavid Karp (founder of Tumblr), Soraya Darabi (co-founder of Foodspotting) and Ben Fisher (co-founder of Lean Startup Machine and Adopt a Hacker) talk with Mashable about The Social Network following a screening in New York. Mashable Founder Thinks Zuckerberg Should Like the FilmMark Zuckerberg need not worry, according to Pete Cashmore. The Social Network ultimately paints Zuckerberg as a tireless visionary who stops at nothing to achieve his dream. The Facebook Staff Goes to the MoviesThe Facebook staff essentially rented out the Century Cinemas 16 in Mountain View, California, where upwards of 1,200 staffers saw the film. The Film Tops the Box OfficeThe Social Network pulled in $23 million in its opening weekend. That's not a soaring success (analysts expected it to do $25 million), but it was enough to top the national box office. Mark Zuckerberg's Take on The Social NetworkMashable‘s Ben Parr chatted with the Facebook founder about the controversial film, and while Zuckerberg skirted questions about his opinion of Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of his early years, the 26-year-old CEO did say he's interested to see what effect The Social Network has on entrepreneurship. The Social Network Racks Up Awards From the National Board of Review
And Then Hits The Golden GlobesHere is the rundown of nominations/wins that The Social Network received at the Golden Globes:
And Is Nominated For Many Oscars
And The Oscar Goes To…Stay tuned… Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment More About: Aaron Sorkin, david fincher, facebook, Film, mark zuckerberg, oscars-2011, the social network, Trent Reznor For more Media coverage:
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| Facebook Like Button Takes Over Share Button Functionality Posted: 27 Feb 2011 07:52 AM PST   Say goodbye to the Share button because the Like button is taking over. After months of updates to its Like button, Facebook has released an update that fundamentally changes the button’s functionality to that of a Share button. Now after hitting the Like button, a full story with a headline, blurb and thumbnail will be posted to your profile wall. You’ll also be given an option to comment on the story link. Previously, only a link to the story would appear in the recent activity, often going unnoticed by users. Though users may now think twice about hitting the button, given how prominently it will appear on their walls and in their networks’ newsfeeds, it should ultimately increase traffic to publishers’ websites. Facebook has slowly been rolling out updates to its Like button and has stopped developing the Share Button. Facebook Spokeswoman Malorie Lucich told us that while the company will continue to support the Share button, Like is the "recommended solution moving forward." However, Lucich today called it a test, saying “We’re always testing new products that Perhaps the change was necessary. Because it was never made clear to users that the Like button would function differently than the Share button, many never understood what it meant to click Like on a piece of content. Making the result the same as the Share button could build stronger user expectations, ultimately fashioning a better user experience.  We want to know what you think. Do you “like” the new button? More About: facebook, like button, social networking, social plugins, trending For more Social Media coverage:
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