Mashable: Latest 27 News Updates - including “Startup Aims To Build Billboards That Target You, Personally” |
- Startup Aims To Build Billboards That Target You, Personally
- Wedding Entrance Dance Gets the Royal Treatment From T-Mobile [VIDEO]
- Help Your Favorite Band Get Major Gigs by ‘Liking’ & Following Them
- Our Favorite YouTube Videos This Week: The Mythical Creature Edition
- Twitter’s Status: More Robust Than It May Seem
- T. Rowe Price Invests $190.5 Million In Facebook
- There Is One Thing Missing From Google’s +1 [OPINION]
- Popular YouTube Series Annoying Orange Moves to TV
- Can Color Prove Its Worth With a Silver-Screen Partnership?
- Lady Gaga & Britney Spears Amp Up Facebook Fan Engagement Before Album Releases
- Obama Says White House Tech Is 30 Years Behind
- What Can a $6,400 Toilet Do for You? [VIDEO]
- ROFL? Randtxt Lets You Trade Laughs With Strangers via Text
- Why the U.S. Should Stand Behind its Commitment to Open Government Data [OPINION]
- How HTML5 Is Influencing Web App Development
- Skype Reveals Android Security Risk
- Tiny Personal Aircraft Is Ultra Light, Relatively Cheap [PICS]
- Lady Gaga’s New Single “Judas” Leaks to the Web
- Watch Coachella Live on YouTube Starting Today
- Would You Play the Startup Lottery?
- Tech Cereal: Part of a Connected Breakfast [COMIC]
- Radiohead’s Vinyl-Only Record Store Day Release Leaked to YouTube
- 9 Tips for Small Business Success on eBay
- Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy Supporters
- Google Faces Antitrust Complaints Over Mobile Search in South Korea
- Joan Rivers’s Head Pitches Svedka Vodka [VIDEO]
- Rebecca Black’s “Friday” Hits 100 Million Views on YouTube
- 5 Simple Web Apps For Saving Time at Work
| Startup Aims To Build Billboards That Target You, Personally Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:43 PM PDT      Digital billboards that display different ads depending on who is looking at them were once only found in Minority Report. But a recently launched startup aims to make targeted billboard advertising as ubiquitous as targeted online advertising. Immersive Labs introduced its smart billboard technology at TechStars‘ Demo Day in New York on Thursday. The software combines video analytics with environmental factors and Twitter and Foursquare information to decide what the best ad to display at that moment is. If a young man is looking at an ad, for instance, the billboard will know to show an aftershave ad instead of a tampon ad. If the room is loud, it might not show an ad that has an audio component. If Twitter or Foursquare data indicate that there’s a sports game going on in the area, it might show a Nike ad instead of a FedEx ad. The video analytics technology that Immersive Labs uses is not new. Many digital billboards already have web cams that can determine the relative age and gender of people who are looking at them, as well as how long each person stands in front of them or looks directly at them. Advertisers use them to gauge the effectiveness of ads and decide which ads to post in what areas. Immersive Labs’ innovation is the technology that instantly changes a billboard ad based on this video identification and other enviornmental information. The software learns what works and improves over time. In a test at a Boulder Prana store, changing ads in this way resulted in a 60% improvement in engagement (as measured by time that people looked at the ads according to the video analytics system). Several pilot locations are in the works including the St. Louis Rams stadium and JFK International Airport. CEO Jason Sosa says he expects to have a product ready to sell on a larger scale in three to six months. You might remember the scene in Minority Report when ads change to target the people who are walking past them. It’s half amazing, half creepy. Sosa says he hears the name of the movie every day in relation to the project, but he doesn’t think that Immersive Labs’ smart billboard is similarly creepy. The billboards save anonymous data, but not images. “If you use a service like Amazon, have a Facebook Page, or even carry a cellphone, there is data being collected about you that is a lot more personal than anything we’re collecting,” Sosa says. More About: advertising, Immersive Labs, MARKETING, minority report, smart billboard For more Startups coverage:
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| Wedding Entrance Dance Gets the Royal Treatment From T-Mobile [VIDEO] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:29 PM PDT Why didn't anyone else think of this? On the eve of the royal wedding, someone at T-Mobile got the bright idea of adapting the 2009 viral video hit Jill and Kevin's Wedding Entrance Dance for the royals. The brand, which is known for orchestrating flash mobs, went all out, even hiring lookalikes for the stunt. The original video, which has racked up 64 million YouTube views, has had imitators before, including the JK Divorce Entrance Dance, but no one else used it for branding purposes. Jolly good, T-Mobile. More About: advertising, MARKETING, T-Mobile, viral videos, youtube For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Help Your Favorite Band Get Major Gigs by ‘Liking’ & Following Them Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:21 PM PDT   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: WHOOZNXT is a fan management platform for bands; it rewards performance opportunities to the artists that amass the most fans during any given time period. Genius Idea: Harnessing the power of your fans to score gigs. If you’re in a band, you probably have fans (unless you’re terrible, but even Rebecca Black and Nickelback have fans … I digress). Said fans are likely devoted to you after a fashion, so why not leverage them to grab your piece of the limelight? That’s the idea behind WHOOZNXT, a new platform from NXTM, a service responsible for the digital presence of acts such as Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Lenny Kravitz. NXTM was founded by former MTV executive Jeff Yapp. WHOOZNXT debuted at SXSW, offering bands the chance to play on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as slots at Rachael Ray’s SXSW events. So how exactly does the platform work? Bands can sign up for free (I signed up to test it out using my future band name, Velvet Baby Lane) and connect their WHOOZNXT profile to all their social network pages and profiles. The site then presents the band with analytics, courtesy of PeopleBrowsr and WiseWindow, showing how many fans they have, how that number has changed over time, and the band’s sentiment score. Artists can also see their most influential fans so as to connect with them accordingly.  Bands are then assigned a bracket based on how many fans they have, which determines what kinds of opportunities they might receive. The Platinum Tier includes artists with a total fan count more than 25,000 fans; the Gold Tier fan count is 5,000 to 25,000; and the Silver Tier is for artists who have fewer than 5,000 fans. Each month, artists will be entered into a pool of opportunities; those who amass the most fans during that period are eligible for said opps. Bands are not automatically booked if they get the most fans — the venue or gig in question is involved with the final selection. The site also provides artists with tools to help grow and manage their fanbase, including a band website builder, an e-store builder, a “publish everywhere” tool for all your content, and a widget builder to create media players. English metalcore band Asking Alexandria used the platform during SXSW during which time they amassed 90,000 fans, helping them land a gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live! . “Our system identified them as the band to watch at SXSW before general media was talking about them,” says Yapp. “However, the people that were well aware of them were their fans. … When we approached the Jimmy Kimmel Live! team about Asking Alexandria, it was not a band they were tracking. When we showed Scott Igoe, music executive, the rate of Asking Alexandria’s fan growth, it was an easy decision for Scott to make.” “This week marks the most successful point of our career to date as we debuted at #9 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was such a surreal experience,” says Ben Bruce, guitarist for Asking Alexandria. More and more, services are turning to fans when it comes to advancing the careers of up-and-coming artists. There’s My Major Company, a fan-funded record label, and Crowdbands, a crowdsourcing platform that lets fans vote on a variety of band decisions, to name just a couple. “Programs and venues are looking for the exact same thing we all are: the artist that draws the largest fanbase to their shows and events,” says Yapp. “Technology now enables a new type of ability to accurately count fans.” What do you think of this new, fan-based trend? Image courtesy of Flickr, susieq3c 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: music, spark-of-genius, startup, WHOOZNXT For more Startups coverage:
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| Our Favorite YouTube Videos This Week: The Mythical Creature Edition Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:57 PM PDT   Sometimes, the weekend can seem like a glimmering mirage — a moon-spangled unicorn standing on the horizon of fantasy. In short: Sometimes, the work week sucks. For all those out there lusting for Saturday through Sunday, the YouTube Roundup theme this Friday is Mythical Creatures. I think we all showed enormous restraint in not geeking out and including Google’s cloud-based music service, don’t you? Nyan CatMatt Silverman: As far as I know, a flying musical cat with the body of a Pop Tart is mythical. In a related story, I can't stop watching this. Charlie The UnicornAda Ospina: Hey Charlieeeeee! Monty Python, Killer RabbitTodd Wasserman: Just in time for Easter! My Little PonyBen Parr: "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" is the Internet meme you probably haven't heard about. Yet. But I warn you now: it's spreading faster than a RickRoll on YouTube and twice as deadly. Literal Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer ParodySarah Kessler: Harry Potter, obviously. LA Font, "Fine Lines"Brenna Ehrlich: This band sent me their video the other day. It has a flying laser dog. Yessssss. Lead mage courtesy of Flickr, scorpiorules58 More About: favorite-youtube-videos, viral videos, youtube For more Video coverage:
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| Twitter’s Status: More Robust Than It May Seem Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:19 PM PDT   In the beginning was a word, sketched on a legal pad. And the word was Status. That was the working title used by programmer Jack Dorsey in 2000, when he designed the service that was to become Twitter six years later. An urban-design geek, Dorsey envisaged a city full of people buzzing short messages at each other the way taxi dispatchers and bike messengers do. Where are you? What’s up? What’s your status? Today, five years after its inception, Twitter’s status seems in flux. On the one hand, it is a vibrant virtual metropolis beyond Dorsey’s wildest imaginings. It has garnered 200 million citizens from every corner of the world, yet manages to be more orderly and simple than that noisy Facebook megalopolis down the road. There are no annoying Mafia Wars notifications here, no targeted ads, no anxiety-producing friend requests — nothing but real-time messages from whomever you’re interested in, be they Lady Gaga or the girl next door. On the other hand, all is not well in Status City. This week’s cover story in Fortune warns that Twitter usage appears to be flatlining. One hundred million of those citizens are absent altogether, and Twitter.com has fewer visitors per month — about 20 million — than MySpace, according to comScore. The company has a steady hand on the tiller in new CEO Dick Costolo but lacks a visionary product leader (Dorsey is equally focused on his next company, Square). It still suffers from irritating outages and isn’t turning a profit. And as CNN reported on Wednesday, UberMedia, the company behind mobile Twitter apps like Echofon, is planning to build a rival microblogging network, one that may shun the famous 140-character limit. So are the buzzards circling over Status City? Should tweeters head for the hills or prepare to move to a competing town with fewer regulations? In a word: no. The city that Jack built is a lot more robust — and unrepeatable — than it may seem. More About: cnn tech, social media, twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| T. Rowe Price Invests $190.5 Million In Facebook Posted: 15 Apr 2011 05:09 PM PDT   Financial services holding company T. Rowe Price diclosed investments in a number of web companies on Friday, including $190.5 million in Facebook. T. Rowe Price said that it had paid $25 per share for Facebook stock, which it distributed over 19 different mutual funds. It also disclosed previously reported but unconfirmed investments of $71.8 million in Zynga and an $86.8 million stake in Groupon. The filings were made public on the company’s website. In the past, the firm participated in a $100 million round for Twitter and has also invested in Ning and YouKu.com. Collectively, these investments are a small percentage of the $482 billion the company has under management, but they do indicate a growing interest in privately held web startups as investment opportunities. Facebook raised funds earlier this year from Digital Sky Technologies and Goldman Sachs in a $1.5 billion round. The social network was recently valued at $65 billion, and it is expected to file for an IPO no later than April 2012. More About: facebook, groupon, ning, T. Rowe Price, YouKu.com, Zynga For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| There Is One Thing Missing From Google’s +1 [OPINION] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 04:04 PM PDT
Something about Google's +1 doesn't add up. The search giant's social media initiative, well covered by this outlet, represents a big change in thinking. The concept, revolutionary enough, is that instead of trusting a search engine's algorithm to deliver the most relevant search results, one should trust their friends' preferences, along with the preferences of all other searchers. Both concepts are viable today. Generally speaking, Internet users are well accustomed to receiving recommendations from friends, solicited and unsolicited, and then acting on them. We are also largely comfortable trusting the feedback of strangers, whether they tell us a book on Amazon is worth reading, a hotel on TripAdvisor is clean, or a restaurant on Yelp has the best lobster frittata you've ever tasted. A big selling point of sites like Amazon, TripAdvisor and Yelp is the input of millions of consumers. If those sites relied solely on algorithmically generated recommendations without consumer input, they might not be nearly as successful. Yet with search, we are so dependent on the algorithm. Search is so complicated that an algorithm better know what's more relevant, or all hope is lost. Why trust our friends and strangers when we can trust the masterwork of the world's best engineers slaving away for over a decade? With +1, Google told us to change. This process of change has three significant challenges:
All of these challenges to the process pale in comparison to a challenge of perception that can shake the foundations of Google's image. The +1 listings must be different enough for users to care. If the results with the most +1's are dramatically different from the order proffered by Google's algorithm, that means either the people or the algorithm are wrong. Which listing should users trust? Google for once is ambiguous, suggesting that there are two right answers. In reality, the difference between the two answers must be small, as for the vast majority of queries, there are only 10 natural results displayed out of potentially millions or billions of pages, so Google's algorithm remains the true arbiter. Yet it still feels like there's a chance for Google to be wrong, and that goes against more than a decade of users' faith in the doctrine of Google infallibility. What +1 lacks most is Facebook. Soon after +1 launched, a browser plug-in was released that shows the number of Facebook “Likes” for any search listing in Google. While the plug-in is currently a bit sluggish, it is fast enough to make its likes far more noticeable than +1's. Facebook's concept of liking has been ingrained quickly enough to catch on, so it also benefits from a “first mover” advantage. That in turn reveals the answer to our mathematical problems. Google +1 will forever be -1 as long as it doesn't incorporate Facebook activity. Today, at least, Facebook has the richest data for most Internet users' social connections. Yet there is value in Google +1 with peers influencing search results, so Google +1 without Facebook adds up to far more than zero. How much of a positive it is remains a mystery. Like most math problems throughout history, there is an answer out there, waiting to be discovered.  Interested in more Social Media resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.More About: 1, Google, Google +1, Opinion, Search, social media For more Social Media coverage:
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| Popular YouTube Series Annoying Orange Moves to TV Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:03 PM PDT   Annoying Orange, the popular YouTube series about just that, is primed to make its way to your TV soon. Management/production company The Collective has joined forces with Annoying Orange creator Dane Boedigheimer to create six episodes of the show, according to Deadline. Conrad Vernon (Monsters and Aliens and Shrek 2) will executive produce the show and Tom Sheppard (Pinky and the Brain) will write it. Annoying Orange is following in the footsteps of another popular YouTube show, Fred (another The Collective project), which scored a TV movie on Nickelodeon. Annoying Orange is already an extremely popular web series (and, now, iPhone app) — it has more than 560 million views, 50 million monthly viewers and is the eighth most subscribed YouTube channel of all time — so we wager that a TV version would be well-received by the pre-existing fan base. We talked with Boedigheimer about what the show will entail. Check out our Q&A below: How far along are you in the production process? I can’t talk about placement and/or networks just yet, but we are in the preproduction stage at this point. Shooting begins very soon. Lots of really talented people are on board and it’s exciting to see all of it coming together. What will the show look like? At it’s core it will look a lot like the web series. We will continue to use realistic-looking animation assets, so that the Annoying Orange world resembles our own, but there will also be many kinds of other style of animation/filmmaking incorporated as well. The biggest change will be locations. Whereas the characters mainly live in the kitchen in the web series, now they will live on a fruit cart that can end up in any location at any time…whether it be space, prehistoric times, or Canada. Will there be new characters/voices? Yes! Lots of new characters actually. There will still be the core group – Orange, Pear, Passion Fruit, Grandpa Lemon, Grapefruit, Midget Apple, and Marshmallow (all still played by the same people), but now we’ll have other characters that live on the fruit cart with them too. We’ll also have a main human fruit cart vendor that can interact with the fruit. Why translate a popular web show to TV? I love challenges. Every time I do a new video online I try to incorporate something new that challenges me and forces me to learn something new. This is kind of an extension of that tactic, on a much bigger scale. Obviously the web show is simplified because you only have a few minutes to work with each episode, but with TV you have the ability to really incorporate a lot of story and open up the world these characters live in. It’s a challenge to make that kind of transition, and one that I’m really excited about. On top of that, Orange has a very respectable following online, and I think being able to create a TV show that works in tandem with the web series would be huge. You could do so many things with cross promotion and driving traffic to each medium. It’s exciting! What has the reaction been so far? Overall the reaction has been positive. I’ve seen a few comments here and there where people say, “Orange is getting a TV show? The world is ending! He’s so annoying!!!” And those always give me a good chuckle. You know why? Because you know exactly what the show is about from the title. It’s called the Annoying Orange. Anyone expecting a life-altering experience is barking up the wrong tree. Sometimes people just need a good laugh. Plain and simple. Fans of Annoying Orange are ecstatic to see the transition to television, and honestly, it seems like most people are excited to see what happens even if they aren’t fans, because if Orange can make a successful to jump to TV, that opens the door for many other web entities to do the same thing. More About: annoying-orange, tv, viral video, youtube For more Video coverage:
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| Can Color Prove Its Worth With a Silver-Screen Partnership? Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:41 PM PDT   Color, the oft-maligned iPhone app that made its flashy $41 million debut in March, is now the bedfellow of 20th Century Fox. The app will serve as the studio’s leading social media lady for its Water for Elephants New York movie premiere event Sunday. Fox and Color have teamed up to turn the red carpet experience into a group photo-sharing extravaganza. The photo and video moments shared by attendees via Color will be pooled together in a Water for Elephants group, as well as aggregated and shared on the web. “Fox will also have one of the film’s producers and some of the talent taking videos and pictures using the app as they make their way down the carpet,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Color’s big-screen close-up, courtesy of Fox, is the type of deal that makes sense for the startup as it struggles to prove its worth to media and application users. The application’s greatest flaw is that if there are no other Color users within 150 feet, there’s nothing to see or do in the app, making for a very black and white experience. Contrived scenarios such as this will ensure that application users have the experience its makers intended. And, we can expect to see many more of these types of partnerships, perhaps with bands and musicians in the future, according to statements made by co-founder Peter Pham to The Hollywood Reporter. Water for Elephants stars Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson and will premiere on Sunday at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. More About: color, entertainment, Film, iphone app, MARKETING, startup For more Startups coverage:
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| Lady Gaga & Britney Spears Amp Up Facebook Fan Engagement Before Album Releases Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:19 PM PDT   In the past month, fan engagement on Lady Gaga’s and Britney Spears’s Facebook Pages went up dramatically — just as the artists either dropped or plan to drop new albums this spring. According to New York startup FanGager, Lady Gaga was the third most engaged Page on Facebook in March (up from number 10 in February) and Spears is presently at number nine (she wasn’t even listed on the chart excerpt we featured last month). Spears‘s new album, Femme Fatale, dropped this month (along with a few videos leading up to its release), and Gaga‘s disc, Born This Way, (a single from which leaked today) is due out on May 23, so the rise in fan activity makes sense. Fans are flocking to the pages to see what the artists have to say about the impending new music, and the artists are posting content to keep fans primed for the album release. (It was also Lady Gaga’s birthday in March, which prompted a ton of engagement from fans.)  Moreover, both artists take a personal approach to communicating with their fans: Gaga seems to do so directly on a rather consistent basis, and Spears signs all posts that she pens herself. It’s also interesting to see which artists are coming out on top when it comes to fan engagement — even without a new album. Boy King Bieber topped the list in March, as well as February. Granted, the kid is an Internet phenomenon among the teen girl set, but he also seems to be extremely engaged with his following on Facebook, posting frequently and asking his fans questions. Katy Perry has also climbed the charts — up to number four (like Spears, she wasn’t even present on the chart last month). The musician has been extremely active of late, touring, appearing on American Idol, and topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in a row with “E.T.,” featuring Kanye West. (“E.T. premiered last month, explaining the spike in fan activity.) However, Perry is also extremely engaged with her Facebook following (or her social media manager is). The Page asks fans to recreate the star’s look in “E.T.” and consistently posts new pictures of the singer and her followers. This kind of dedication is the reason why Perry’s following was nominated for an MTV OMA for best “Fan Army.” Yes, a lot of these artists have entire teams dedicated to their web presences, but there are some lessons musicians can glean from the likes of Bieber and Gaga: It may feel like shilling to constantly update Facebook and Twitter, but in reality you’re building connections with those who matter most when it comes to the longevity of your career. If you’re silent leading up to your album release, tour, etc, no one will be listening when the music starts. More About: britney spears, facebook, fangager, katy-perry, Lady Gaga, music, social media For more Media coverage:
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| Obama Says White House Tech Is 30 Years Behind Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:09 PM PDT   The president is getting frustrated with antiquated technology in the White House. Appearing at a fundraiser in Chicago, President Barack Obama said the White House is not exactly a high-tech workplace: “When it comes to technology, we are like 30 years behind.” First, he had to fight to get that special secure BlackBerry, and even now, he has to settle for an older model. Now this? Before he got to the White House, he said he was expecting “really cool phones and stuff.” If the president of the United States can’t have the latest technology, who can? Surprised at the out-of-date White House, according to ABC News, the president was overheard saying, “I’m the president of the United States. Where’s the fancy buttons and stuff, and the big screen comes up? It doesn’t happen.” Could it be that the president is beyond technology? For instance, he doesn’t need any keys or automatic door locks, because all doors are always opened for him. He doesn’t need the most high-tech car, because he’s had one specifically built for him. He doesn’t need speech-controlled devices, because there are humans to do his bidding. And he did mention that he has an iPad. What do you think he’s missing? More About: blackberry, obama, tech, White House For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| What Can a $6,400 Toilet Do for You? [VIDEO] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 01:17 PM PDT Is the world ready for the Kohler Numi, a super-luxurious toilet with its own on-board foot warmer, a built-in music system, a heated seat that automatically goes up and down and a special bidet attachment, all controlled by a touchscreen with a 20-foot range? Ready or not, Kohler Numi is now available for $6,400, and if you’re into high-tech design and desire a level of decadence unforeseen until now, this device might be for you. Like most high-end toilets from Toto — such as the high-end NeoRest that costs around $4,000 — and others, there is a bidet function in the Numi, using a retractable wand-like device to spray you in just the right places, and its temperature, power and aim are all easily adjusted with that touchscreen remote. When the spraying is done, there’s a fan that blows warm air to dry you off. To entertain you in the meantime, there’s a built-in music system with FM radio and auxiliary input, so yes, you could conceivably plug your iPhone into this toilet. Too bad there’s no Bluetooth capability, but those well-heeled enough to have such a toilet could build that into their bathrooms separately. Take a look at Gizmodo’s video if you’d like to see the Numi’s robotic seat in action, triggered by a motion detector so that your hands won’t have to touch anything toilet-related. Just think, this could be the end of toilet seat up/down arguments. It also looks like a good spot from which to tweet. These types of toilets are ubiquitous in Japan, but they have been slow to catch on in the U.S., according to Kohler representatives. You don’t need to buy an entire toilet of this type to enjoy the benefits of its bidet functionality, however. I have a Kohler C3 toilet seat that does a lot of the same bidet, deodorizing and drying functions as this one, and believe me, if Americans knew what it was like to own such a device, they might be willing to spend some serious money for it. Maybe $6,400 is a bit steep, but $800 for a comparable bidet seat (called a washlet in some quarters) could be possible, and some cost a lot less than that. How about it, commenters? Could these kinds of devices catch on in the U.S. or elsewhere? Video courtesy Kohler, Inc. More About: $6400 toilet, Bidet, Kohler Numi, Toilet, Washlet For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| ROFL? Randtxt Lets You Trade Laughs With Strangers via Text Posted: 15 Apr 2011 01:00 PM PDT   If you’re looking to add a bit of inanity to your Friday, look no further than RandTxt, a new app for swapping texts with strangers. RandTxt, from the founders of Envolve, is a Chatroulette-like service for people who want to exchange silly questions and get back even sillier answers dreamt up by wannabe comedians with a penchant for NSFW humor. The app is powered by Twilio. Here’s how it works: Text a question to (646) 392-7263. As soon as you do, you’ll get back a question from another texter. Answer it. Then, wait for the answer to your question to roll in. You’ll either be bored to tears, ROFLing or itching to text in again. RandTxt anonymizes all users, but does lift texters’ area codes to add identifiers to the question-and-answer threads that it posts to the RandTxt website. Anyone can check out the website to read, vote on and share these meritless, but occasionally clever exchanges. Here’s a sample exchange:
“The whole point of the site is to be funny,” says RandTxt creator and Envolve co-founder Andrew Lee. Lee was poking around with Twilio and Node.js technologies last week to better understand and apply them to Envolve, the two-year-old startup he co-operates. RandTxt was born after a few hours of tinkering, released on Sunday and then showered with immediate adoration from the Hacker News, Reddit and 4chan crowds. The toy project has processed nearly 9,000 SMS messages in five days and is seeing healthy spurts of traffic to its website. “We’ve never seen this much excitement about something,” says Lee, who compares the instant hit of RandTxt to Envolve, which took more than a year to find traction. As for why, that’s anyone’s guess. So, can RandTxt turn into a legitimate business of its own? “It’s so young, we don’t really know,” says Lee, “but right now we’re using it as a testing ground for ideas around social interaction.” More About: Envolve, randtxt, SMS, texting, twilio For more Startups coverage:
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| Why the U.S. Should Stand Behind its Commitment to Open Government Data [OPINION] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:26 PM PDT
In his inaugural speech, President Barack Obama pledged support for open government initiatives, including the creation of websites that provide access to valuable but not sensitive government data. This initiative promoted transparency, accountability, collaboration and citizen participation by putting government data online. Data.gov was launched in May 2009 as a result, and this incredible site provides nearly 300,000 data sets and almost 1,000 applications developed by government and private enterprise. Government has embraced the web as a platform to provide data to the public and to other entities inside and outside the government sector. Open Government Data (OGD), or government data that can be accessed online and used by others, is a pioneer idea that empowers people and enhances government accountability. We recently learned that Data.gov and similar websites will receive significantly decreased funding from the U.S. government. Without continued financial support, some government websites will go dark. That’s unfortunate, considering the two years of work spent to create and launch them. The latest offering from the House Appropriations Committee included only $8 million for the Office of Management and Budget's open government program, which funds the development and maintenance of sites such as data.gov. This offering is significantly less than the requested $35 million. If we fail to fund open government projects, not only does the United States lose, but so does the rest of the world, which looks to the United States and United Kingdom as the leaders in modern government transparency initiatives. To date, we have witnessed an impressive adoption of open government initiatives globally. Some 15 nations plan to model their open government platforms using data.gov as an example. Recently, OGD feasibility assessments conducted by my organization in Chile and Ghana have revealed the need and desire to establish open government initiatives in those countries. Improving government transparency and accountability in these markets enhances public confidence in systems of government and attracts foreign investment in local businesses. In addition, innovative commercial opportunities are made possible based on the availability typically-hidden government data. And for all who are interested in cost-effective governance (who isn't?), OGD initiatives have produced savings on U.S. government expenditures. According to U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, the IT dashboard provides an estimated $3 billion in savings per year to the American taxpayer. Such projects also help government agencies identify water quality changes, bad roads and areas with high crime rates. Let's not lose the significant benefit of open government data work after so much effort, time and money has gone into building these resources that are already proving to more than pay for themselves. I urge you to contact your local representatives, and ask them to fully fund U.S. open government initiatives or sign the Sunlight Foundation's "Save the Data" petition that is urging congressional representatives protect funding for open government projects. Interested in more Dev resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DHuss More About: apps, data, development, government, open data, Opinion, politics, tech For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| How HTML5 Is Influencing Web App Development Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:51 AM PDT
With Firefox 4, Google Chrome, IE 9, Safari 5 and Opera all offering better, more robust support for HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, we’re already seeing glimpses of what is possible and what the web of the future may look like. Let’s look at some of the aspects of HTML5 that are already making their mark on web app development. Better Typography and Custom Fonts The Web Open Font Format, or WOFF, might technically be part of the HTML5 specification, but WOFF, SVG and the CSS3 @font-face specification are all commonly used additions to HTML5. The adoption of web fonts, whether it’s using WOFF, services like Fonts.com, Typekit or the Google Web Font API is increasing at a rapid pace. This development gives content creators, brands and developers a way to better express and control the most important part of an app or website — the text — without having to rely on images or Flash implementations that don’t always work well for translated text or with search engines. Since first highlighting this trend last year, the number of web apps that support custom fonts using Google, Typekit, Fonts.com or any number of other solutions has only increased. We expect this to continue, especially as adoption of the latest and greatest web browsers continues to grow. Frameworks, Boilerplates and Toolkits Last year, Paul Irish and Divya Manian introduced HTML5 Boilerplate to the world. Over the last seven months, the project has exploded and grown in both scope and support. As we said last year, HTML5 Boilerplate is not a framework. Instead, it’s a template that can be modified by developers for their own use. HTML5 Boilerplate 1.0 was released on March 21, 2011 with support for optimized build scripts, a custom boilerplate builder, and perhaps most excitingly for app developers — support for lighttpd, Google App Engine and NodeJS, as well as old favorites Apache, Nginx and IIS. The number of websites using HTML5 Boilerplate continues to grow and evolve. Other companies like Sencha are also working to bring better and more evolved frameworks and toolkits to web app developers. The upcoming Sencha Ext JS 4 is a JavaScript framework optimized to support HTML5 and other web standards. Examples in the Wild When Google launched its Chrome Web Store last December, it was one of the best showcases of what HTML5 web apps could offer users. Over the last few months, more apps have been added to the store and more companies have started to optimize or rewrite their web apps specifically with HTML5. TweetDeck is one of the most popular Twitter clients on the desktop and is revered by users. Chrome TweetDeck (or ChromeDeck) was one of the big standouts last winter, and it continues to set a high standard for what users can expect from a web application. It’s also the most popular app in the Chrome Web Store. Earlier this month, TweetDeck announced the limited beta for its TweetDeck Web product. Built using HTML5, TweetDeck Web takes the core of the TweetDeck Chrome app and applies it to other platforms and browsers. The goal is to make the TweetDeck experience browser- and device-agnostic, and it is part of TweetDeck’s broader strategy approaching mobile and desktop apps. Creative web app company Aviary introduced Feather, its HTML5 Photo Editor, last year. Feather isn’t only a lightweight image editor with lots of cool effects. It can be seamlessly embedded into other web apps to give additional functionality to developers who don’t have time or money to create their own solutions. In April, Aviary announced its plans to open up its Effects API to web and mobile developers. This will allow developers to easily add effects and filters, auto-correct photos and create thumbnails or quick crops without needing user interaction. The Future is BrightI firmly believe that we will continue to see the worlds of web applications and desktop apps converge. It’s already happened with email, chat and social communication — the next step is to make it viable for data processing, multimedia and, ultimately, web development itself. HTML5 is going to play a big role in enabling web developers do more with pure web apps, without needing to rely on third-party plugins or extensions. As browsers become better attuned and optimized for the evolving HTML standard, the opportunities will only increase. Series Supported by Elsevier  The Future Web Series is supported by Elsevier‘s SciVerse Application Marketplace and Developer Network. In 2010, prominent science publisher Elsevier launched SciVerse to provide developers with access to ample research data so they can build apps on top of trusted scientific content. SciVerse also sponsors "Apps for Science," a $35,000 developer challenge to accelerate science. Learn more. More Dev and Design Resources from Mashable:
HTML5 Logo by W3C More About: Aviary, Future Web Series, HTML5, html5 boilerplate, sencha, tweetdeck, web app development, web apps, Web Development, web fonts For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| Skype Reveals Android Security Risk Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:38 AM PDT   Skype said on Friday that data from its Android app may be vulnerable — if a user unwittingly installed a malicious third-party app to his or her device. Last month, Google removed 21 apps from the Android Market after the blog Android Police alerted the company that the apps contained malware and were being used to collect user data. After removing the apps from the store, Google also invoked a kill switch to remove them from the phones of users who had the misfortune of downloading the junk. Skype says it only recently became aware that personal information from its users — including items like cached profile information and instant messages — could have been accessed from these malicious apps. Android Police uncovered the vulnerability earlier this week. To be clear, this only impacts Skype for Android users who installed malware from the Android Market or from various third-party app stores. Even then, it isn’t certain that this information was accessed. Still, any users who downloaded those apps should change their password, and check their Skype instant messages for sensitive information that could be used to access other accounts. Skype says it is working to protect users from this vulnerability in the future. It will secure file permissions in Skype for Android so that data isn’t accessible from apps that gain root access. The fallout from this revelation will likely be minor, but it’s a good reminder that mobile applications aren’t as secure as we might think. Companies big and small should adopt best practices in sandboxing and encrypting user data so that information is protected from unauthorized access. More About: android, Android apps, android malware, malware, security, Skype, skype android For more Mobile coverage:
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| Tiny Personal Aircraft Is Ultra Light, Relatively Cheap [PICS] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:24 AM PDT   There’s no shortage of tiny planes in which to risk your life, but a minuscule water-borne aircraft called Flynano could bring flying to a whole new group of enthusiasts. Designed by Finnish aeronautical engineer Aki Suokas, this single-seat “microlight” aircraft will be available in three models — a 20 kW electric version, a 24 hp gasoline model, and a 35 hp gasoline-powered racing version. Flynano takes off and lands on water and flies up to 43 miles at 76 mph. It’s built of carbon fiber composite, making its surprising 154-pound weight light enough for it to be flown without a pilot’s license. According to Flynano:
Soukas and his company say they’re officially launching the aircraft at the Aero 2011 show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, which started on April 13 and goes through April 16. They say the plane is “in the air now.” And according to GizMag, these tiny floating airplanes will be available in July of this year, and the most-expensive model will cost $39,000. The aircraft industry is rife with exaggerated claims and missed ship dates, so we asked Soukas to send us pictures or video of this plane flying at the Aero 2011 show. We found one pic of the aircraft sitting still at the show, but it’s not clear whether it’s a full-sized prototype or whether it will fly. We haven’t gotten a response from Soukas yet, so meanwhile, take a look at this gallery of fanciful artist renderings of this tiny plane, and that single shot of the aircraft itself. Commenters, could this be the real thing or is it vaporware? Takeoff Flights will begin and end in the water. Electric Version Check out the specs here. G240 Model Gasoline powered, this model has a 24 hp engine and a cruising speed of 80 mph. Series R Model Built for racing, this one has a cruising speed of 93 mph. On the Show Floor Is this a full-sized flying prototype, or is it a scale model? Pic courtesy of GizMag. More About: Airplanes, Flying, Flynano, Microlight Aircraft, Personal Aircraft For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| Lady Gaga’s New Single “Judas” Leaks to the Web Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:34 AM PDT   Another day, another music leak. This time, Lady Gaga’s hotly anticipated single, “Judas,” has made its way onto the web — just a few days shy of its April 19 release date. The song, off of the upcoming album Born This Way (which drops on May 23), is already getting tons of buzz on Twitter and around the web. It also seems as though the song will be coming to iTunes Friday, least according to gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who tweeted a few hours ago: “Exciting news, Little Monsters! I’m hearing that the official version of @ladygaga’s new single, #Judas, may be coming SOON – and on iTunes!” We’ve reached out to Interscope Records to see if this is true and if the alleged early release has anything to do with the leak. Album leaks are becoming standard fare nowadays. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy leaked a few months ago, and The National’s new disc, High Violet, popped up online early as well. The band got creative after the leak, premiering a high-quality, advance stream of the disc on The New York Times's website. Take a listen to the song below and let us know what you think. According to MTV, the jam depicts Gaga’s version of the Bible and is accompanied by what will likely be another controversial video. Gaga’s last single, "Born This Way," is the fastest-selling single to grace Apple's iTunes store worldwide, so we wonder how this new tune will fare. [via Pop Crush] More About: judas, Lady Gaga, leak, music For more Media coverage:
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| Watch Coachella Live on YouTube Starting Today Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:07 AM PDT The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicks off today and runs through April 17 near Palm Springs, California, but even if you reside in Nowheresville, Nebraska, you can still catch all the action — on YouTube. Starting at 4:00 p.m. PT, you can park yourself at your computer and take in sets by The Drums, Cee-lo Green, !!!, Warpaint and my current favorite, YACHT. YouTube has streams for each day of the fest, with channels featuring different acts playing simultaneously. My recommended acts for Friday are: Titus Andronicus, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and, as I said, YACHT. The video-sharing site has the whole lineup of streamed shows on a special, dedicated page, which also includes a ton of related content that you can watch right now. YouTube has streamed concerts and events in the past, and more and more music lovers are becoming privy to live shows they would have otherwise missed. Vevo also recently announced that it will be live streaming Bonnaroo in June. Now that YouTube has amped up its live video platform, we imagine that events like this will only continue to become more ubiquitous. More About: coachella-2011, live video, livestream, music, vevo, video, youtube For more Media coverage:
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| Would You Play the Startup Lottery? Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:24 AM PDT   A man in Denmark is setting up a lottery that would allow startups to trade 1% of their equity for a user base. Startups that participate in the Startuplotto will set a minimum number of sign-ups for which they’re willing to part with their equity. The lottery will introduce one company every month to members of its listerv, who can enter the lottery by signing up for the startup’s service. If enough people sign up, then the equity will be raffled off to one of those new users. So far, about 2,000 people have signed up for the listserv, but Startuplotto creator Thomas Bro imagines lottery participant limits as high as 750,000 users. “Startups get money from investors and use it get PR, this is just another way to get to potential users,” Bro says. “And maybe you don’t need to put in 10% or 15% maybe you can do it with just 1%.” Considering that non-founding CEOs usually receive around a 5% equity grant, 1% is not an easy number to persuade startups to part with. Yet Bro says he’s managed to get about 10 startups to sign up. Among them are a startup-management software company, a visual shopping search engine and a training tool for swimmers. Bro also plans to put his own startup up on the lottery list when it’s out of stealth mode. At this point, there is little risk for these companies. If they set their limit at 100,000 users, for instance, Bro still needs to add about 98,000 members to his listserv before 100% participation would result in a raffle. There’s no downside to sending out a free introduction email to the 2,000 people who are already signed up to receive the emails. But that’s not how Bro is selling it. He’s enlisted the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers to manage the lottery and potential equity transaction. Niels Henrik B. Mikkelsen, a partner at PwC, confirmed that the firm “expects to accept this assignment” though it has not yet entered into a formal agreement because the first drawing is not expected to take place until three to five months from now. What do you think of this marketing strategy? Would you sign up? More About: Startup lotto, startup marketing For more Startups coverage:
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| Tech Cereal: Part of a Connected Breakfast [COMIC] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:01 AM PDT As the great American author and humorist Mark Twain once said, “Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal.” Wait, is that right?   Mashable Comics are illustrated every week by Kiersten Essenpreis, a New York-based artist who draws and blogs at YouFail.com. More Mashable Comics:
More About: apple, comics, facebook, Google, humor, mashable comics, social media, tech, twitter For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| Radiohead’s Vinyl-Only Record Store Day Release Leaked to YouTube Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:36 AM PDT In case you didn't know, Saturday is Record Store Day, an event designed to drive fans back to brick-and-mortar record shops. But the day is being marred by — you guessed it — an Internet leak. In particular, Radiohead's contribution to the day, intended to be a limited edition vinyl with two previously unreleased songs, has already shown up on YouTube. A low-quality rip of “The Butcher” is in its entirety above. “Supercollider” is below. If you live in the U.S., this is pretty much the only way you'll be able to hear the tracks at the moment. The vinyl version of “The Butcher/Supercollider” will only be available in "extremely limited" quantities in the UK, Europe and Japan, according to Radiohead fan site At Ease. Radiohead's release comes after another experiment with vinyl — a version of the band's new album, King of Limbs — that will start shipping May 9. That version, called “The Newspaper Album,” costs $48 with an MP3 download and $53 with a WAV download. Launched in 2008 to support the 700-plus independently owned record stores in the U.S., along with hundreds of international stores, Record Store Day is celebrated on the third Saturday every April. This year, the Beastie Boys are also supporting the event, but because they couldn't get their 7-inch single "Make Some Noise/Make Some Noise (Passion Pit remix)" into stores by April 16, RecordStoreDay.com will sell an "extremely small" number of the singles online. The site says the sale is "a very rare move." More About: radiohead, Record Store Day, vinyl, youtube For more Media coverage:
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| 9 Tips for Small Business Success on eBay Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:02 AM PDT   Scott Gerber is the founder of Sizzle It!, a New York based sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals, and the Young Entrepreneur Council. He is a serial entrepreneur, internationally syndicated columnist, angel investor, public speaker and author of the best-selling book Never Get a “Real” Job: How To Dump Your Boss, Build a Business and Not Go Broke. Over the last decade, many new technology platforms have transformed everyday Janes and Joes into entrepreneurs and sidepreneurs, and perhaps none moreso than eBay. In the current economic climate, supplemental and secondary incomes are becoming even more necessary, and eBay has become a new source. A recent national “Youth Entrepreneurship in America” survey conducted by the YEC, Buzz Marketing Group and LegalZoom found that nearly 15% of young respondents polled reported that they were eBay sellers. However, like any business, having a product, no matter how unique, doesn’t guarantee success. An open platform that allows individuals of any skill level to participate will always fuel inherent competition from those who are skilled and unskilled alike. This is especially true for a website like eBay, where there can be anywhere from one to thousands of people on the platform selling the exact same thing as you. In order to earn real revenue from eBay, you need to stop thinking like you are selling on one site and instead think like a global online marketer. I asked a panel of young entrepreneurs how users can build up and market their eBay businesses to become successful online retailers. 1. Don’t Just Sell – Educate
Provide useful information and resources to people engaging in [your chosen field] as a job or a hobby. 2. Positive Reviews!
Personally reach out to each one of your [customers] and ask for a review. Another thing you should do is help [to make] the buying decision easier with good pics, well-written descriptions and detailed shipping and payment options. Devesh Dwivedi, BreakingThe9to5Jail.com 3. Service Can Always Add to Your Unique Value Proposition
Make yourself accessible and your company personal. Add a unique “voice” to your copy to create more rapport and get back to people quickly. 4. Tell Great Stories to Differentiate
Stories resonate. Appeal to the feelings people will get from the experience, not the part itself. Ryan Stephens, Ryan Stephens Marketing 5. Branch Out All Over
Make sure when you’re posting to put in your utmost effort. If your listing looks genuine, has high-quality pictures and all the information, buyers will pay more. 6. Show Your Expertise With Video
It also gives you a chance to share your knowledge and build trust at the same time. 7. Stand Out from the Crowd
Be the “expert,” not just another store front. Jerry Piscitelli, Portopong LLC 8. More Info Creates Trust
Provide transparent reviews, more pictures, 360-degree tours, technical information and all the info they’d ever want to know before making a purchase. Being this type of resource will make your retailer a trusted source online. 9. Instead of Customers Coming to You, Go to Them
Interested in more Business resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.Image courtesy of Flickr, brianc More About: business, ebay, ecommerce, MARKETING, yec For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy Supporters Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:46 AM PDT
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| Google Faces Antitrust Complaints Over Mobile Search in South Korea Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:26 AM PDT   Two South Korean search engines have filed antitrust complaints against Google, claiming the company is abusing the dominance of its smartphone platform Android to stifle mobile search competitors. Daum and NHN Corp together hold some 72% of the mobile search market, far more than Google’s 15%. But the two companies, which filed a complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission, claim that Google has partnered with smartphone producers and prohibited other companies from pre-installing search on their devices. And that’s why Google’s mobile search market share has been rapidly growing, the companies claim. “Google’s market share in the local Internet search market only accounts for around 2%, but due to such an unfair act, its share in the mobile market is fast rising in Korea, and it stands at around 15%,” a NHN spokesman said. Google has denied these allegations, claiming it’s not pressing device manufacturers to use its search engine. “Android is an open platform, and carrier partners are free to decide which applications and services to include on their Android phones,” Google said in a statement. However, according to NHN, Google is using indirect tactics to force device manufacturers to use its search engine. For example, NHN claims that Google has delayed certifying the use of its software for handset makers that refuse to use Google search, and Daum claims it has evidence of similar practices from Google. Google’s Android dominates the South Korean smartphone market, with an estimated market share of 60% as of January 2011. [via Bloomberg] More About: android, Antitrust, Google, South Korea For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Joan Rivers’s Head Pitches Svedka Vodka [VIDEO] Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:50 AM PDT Joan Rivers, last seen as a shock punchline in Go Daddy's Super Bowl ad, is now making a cameo in a Funny Or Die video for Svedka vodka. Or, more accurately, Rivers's head is making a cameo. The premise of the video/ad hews to Svedka's long-running, head-scratching campaign motif that it's the year 2033 and Svedka is the number one vodka brand. While a previous Funny Or Die video for Svedka imagined what reality shows would look like 22 years from now, this one takes on TMZ (featured here as TMI). Apparently, "semi-living legend" Rivers will still be around at that time but preserved as a head in a jar like Richard Nixon in Futurama. As the Harvey Levin stand-in banters with his TMI reporters, a flashback shows Rivers losing it with the press. Is this the future of advertising? Or is it just an advertising campaign's view of the future? Maybe it's best to contemplate this sort of thing after a few shots of vodka. More About: advertising, funny or die, joan rivers, MARKETING, svedka vodka For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Rebecca Black’s “Friday” Hits 100 Million Views on YouTube Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:36 AM PDT   Happy Friday, ya’ll! To celebrate this weekend-bordering day, we bring good tidings: The fact that Rebecca Black’s “Friday” has reached 100 million views on YouTube. Yup, Black’s ode to mundanity is now among the ranks of the Boy King Bieber himself. In fact, Black’s vid reached the big 1-0-0 (times one million) quicker than Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” According to YouTube, it took “Friday” one month to hit this milestone, while “Baby” took two months and eight days. Both singers, it so happens, have also or will also be covered by the Glee cast. We’re not exactly sure what this says about our culture at large. YouTube says of the video’s rapid growth: “Black’s video exists as both a standard viral clip and a music video with some staying power, which could account for its longer tail.” Or maybe Ark Music Factory has somehow discovered the formula for the perfect pop song: Simple enough to appeal to the dimmer section of the population, yet insidious enough to get trapped in the cranium of the hardened music lover. Now, excuse me — it’s Friday and I need to queue up my jam. More About: Friday, music, Rebecca Black, viral video, youtube For more Media coverage:
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| 5 Simple Web Apps For Saving Time at Work Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:16 AM PDT   This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Much has been made of some excellent mobile and tablet apps that let users stay productive on the go. But let’s face it — the majority of your work is still done at your desk, and much of it, perhaps, in a web browser. And despite all your settings, apps and software, there are always those little pain points that cost you time and productivity. They’re not major issues, but little tasks that could be quicker and easier. Enter the humble web apps that, while overshadowed a bit by the smartphone revolution, are still the bread and butter bookmarks of daily workplace productivity. We’ve highlighted five free online tools that are simple, clean, and built to knock out those cumbersome work tasks, no downloads required. Got a few bookmarks that you can’t get through the work day without? Share the wealth in the comments. 1. Zamzar There are few things more frustrating than receiving an important file that you can’t open. Zamzar is an online tool that can convert a wide range of file formats. Simply upload the file, choose the output format, enter an email address, and you’ll get a new version in your inbox. Converting text documents may not seem like an incalculable feat, but Zamzar can translate many audio and video formats as well. Handy! 2. Ge.tt Email attachments can be cumbersome, especially with larger files. If you’re looking for a dead-simple way to share in the cloud (especially if you’re still lamenting the death of Drop.io), give Ge.tt a go. Two clicks will upload your images, docs, zip files, etc. and generate a tidy link that you can ping over to your co-workers. They can view certain files in their browser or download whatever they need from the package. Ge.tt storage is temporary (unless you create an account), so use it for quick transfers, not cloud archiving. 3. Ninite Setting up a new PC is a surefire way to kill your day. Connecting the cables and transferring your data is only half the battle. Then you need to hunt down all the apps you use regularly. Ninite streamlines the process. Check off all the browsers, readers and media players you need on your new machine and download them all in one shot via an automated installer. Best of all, Ninite eliminates the extra “junk” (toolbars, add-ons) that sometimes come packaged with common applications. 4. CopyPasteCharacter If you work on any legal, scientific or multilingual documents throughout the day, you may have a need to add certain symbols to the text that are not immediately available on your keyboard. You could go into the special characters map in your word processor, or if you’re feeling particularly nerdy, memorize the Alt key codes that you need. But better yet, why not throw open a browser tab with CopyPasteCharacter.com and snag your symbols with one click? You can even copy the HTML values if you’re working in code. 5. LucidChart Need a visual aide to get your point across? PowerPoint has its flaws, and Photoshop requires some requisite skills even if you’re just doing the basics. LucidChart, on the other hand, is a drag-and-drop way to create impressive flowcharts and diagrams right in your browser. Pop your shapes onto the graph, pull down some arrows, add descriptions, colors and titles, and you’ve got a professional diagram you’d be proud to show clients. A free LucidChart account allows two people to collaborate on a document, 25 MB of online storage, and a maximum of 60 objects per document. Inexpensive paid options offer more collaborative and storage features. There’s also a handy Chrome browser app. Interested in more Business resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kemie More About: apps, business, List, Lists, productivity, small business, trending, web apps For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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Name: 
David Berkowitz is Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation for digital marketing agency 
Steve Bratt is the CEO of the 
Over the last 12 months, the momentum behind 
Stand out from competitors by becoming a resource — and not just a retailer. Create an email newsletter, blog post or Facebook Fan Page targeting your customers and fellow enthusiasts.
To succeed on eBay, focus on getting as many positive reviews as possible because that’s what brings the new customers’ confidence in your product as well as in you as a seller.
If competitors are selling the same or very similar products, focus on what can differentiate yourself: service. One of the greatest complaints people have about purchasing things online (especially eBay) is ambiguity and difficulty [making] contact.
I believe the saying goes, “Your customers don’t want a drill, they want to hang something on the wall.” There’s nothing all that interesting about an auto part, but a father/son fixing up an old vehicle together, or a grandpa restoring an old truck before his granddaughter turns 16 is compelling.
I would recommend that you branch out to other ecommerce platforms in order to expand your business. Don’t just list your products on eBay, post other ones on Craigslist, Amazon and, when the time is right, create your own site.
Share videos about the products you sell and tips that you can offer to potential buyers. People like to know who they’re buying from, especially with online stores.
If you know the product you are selling well and have a good customer base already, try creating some 
The scary part about buying online is that you never know exactly what you are getting. Give more information about the product than they’d be able to get anywhere else.
By monitoring relevant keywords and setting up alerts through platforms like Hootsuite, Google Alerts and SocialMention, you can find potential customers who have a need for the products you are selling. By monitoring who is talking about restoring cars, you have the opportunity to add to the conversation, direct them to your store and hopefully make a sale.
Offered at the 
Mashable uses 
Since 2007 
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