Mashable!

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• Apple to Woolworths: Your New Logo Is Too Apple-y
• Adobe Flash on Every Phone (Except iPhone)
• Sesame Street Does an iPod Ad Spoof [VIDEO]
• Cli.gs URL Shortener To Shut Down
• Digg To Launch iPhone App [Video]
• ESPN Fantasy Football is Down
• Twitter's Value: 5 Eye-Popping Stats
• A Small Business Guide to Wikis

Apple to Woolworths: Your New Logo Is Too Apple-y Posted: 05 Oct 2009 04:35 AM PDT When it comes to defending their trademarks and logos, no company is more fervent than Apple. If they could challenge Victoria School of Business and Technology for having a logo too similar to theirs, then you can certainly expect them to sue Woolworths, especially if Woolworths' trademark application is a blanket one, extending to electrical goods and technology. Woolworths nowadays sells a wide variety of goods. A Woolworths spokesman said: "While we can't rule anything out, we haven't got any plans (when it comes to computers and gadgetry) at the moment." But is their logo an apple, or does it even look like one? The Australian-based Woolworths claims that their logo is simply a stylized "W" paired with an "abstract leaf symbol". One could, however, also say that it's a stylized person with outstretched arms, or an "apple being peeled". Woolworths has tried to avoid using the word "apple", and the designer of the logo, Hans Hulsbosch, claims Apple is taking thingss too far. "Based on this logic, they would have to take action against every fruit-seller," he said. However, one has to admit that the two logos have similarities, and that there's actually a good chance (unlike the Victoria School of Business and Technology's case) of Woolworths selling devices similar to those sold by Apple. What do you think? Are Apple's and Woolworths' logos too similar? Is Apple protecting its logo too vigorously? Please, give your opinion in the comments. Tags: apple, logo, Woolworths

Adobe Flash on Every Phone (Except iPhone) Posted: 05 Oct 2009 12:08 AM PDT The story about Flash on smartphones (or lack thereof) has been dragging on for so long many of you will surely be surprised it wasn't solved by now, but luckily, we're getting there. At the MAX conference in Los Angeles Adobe is showing off Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones. In short, this is the version of mobile Flash you've been waiting for. You can expect faster rendering, lower memory consumption and less battery drain. Most importantly, all (but one) major platforms are supported: Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, webOS, and BlackBerrys, and we can expect Flash for most of these somewhere in the first half of 2010. All these companies have joined Adobe's Open Screen Project, but one very important company is still missing: Apple. This is no longer a surprise; the relationship between Adobe and Apple has been that of an ex-boyfriend and the husband; they politely nod to each other when they meet but they don't really attend the same parties. A hint of hope is instilled in our hearts every time the topic is brought up; the phrase we usually hear is "we're working on it". However, once Flash starts being a part of the experience on every other smartphone, I bet that Apple is really going to start working on it, unless they want their beloved iPhone to look shabby in comparison. Reviews: Android Tags: android, blackberry, iphone, Palm webOS, Symbian, windows mobile

Sesame Street Does an iPod Ad Spoof [VIDEO] Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:37 PM PDT Was Sesame Street this current when we were growing up? Along with the Mad Men spoof that's being widely shared online, the children's TV show released a clip this week in which Big Bird, Elmo and Snuffy celebrate the letter "D" with an iPod ad-inspired video. (Perhaps "current" is the wrong word, since these Apple ads are far from new.) We'll assume the idea was cleared by Apple's eagle-eyed legal department, and can't wait to see other Sesame Street Apple ad parodies: Snuffy playing a stoned Ellen Feiss, perhaps? Which Apple ad parodies would you suggest Sesame Street tackles next? Let us know in the comments. Tags: ipod, sesame street

Cli.gs URL Shortener To Shut Down Posted: 04 Oct 2009 06:22 PM PDT In a move that will once again lead some to question to longevity of the URL shorteners used to shrink links on sites like Twitter, the popular Cl.igs service has announced on its blog (via CenterNetworks) that it is shutting down. The service has tens of thousands of users and directs tens of millions of URLs per month. The site's founder writes: On Sunday, 25 Oct 2009 at 12:00:00 GMT, the service will stop accepting new short URLs and will stop logging analytics. The forwarding data will be retained so that forwarding can continue for at least till the end of November; after that, there are no guarantees as to how long the service will continue to forward the short URLs to their destinations….Shortly (in a few days), I'll be deploying a mechanism to export your data. It is almost done and just needs a bit more testing before I'm comfortable releasing it. The service cites costs and time spent on customer service as major factors for the closedown, plus the challenge of monetization. Another likely factor: Bit.ly, as the default URL shortener on Twitter, is currently on a roll and pushing out many of its smaller competitors. It's worth noting, however, that Cl.igs is a member of 301works, a group which aims to prevent broken URLs when services shut down. Is there hope, then, for our Cl.igs URLs? Reviews: Twitter

Digg To Launch iPhone App [Video] Posted: 04 Oct 2009 04:36 PM PDT Digg is set to debut a new iPhone app, according to an interview with the news site's founder, Kevin Rose. The revelation was somewhat unintentional: video podcasters Arnt Eriksen and Thomas Moen were interviewing Rose during the FOWA conference in London and spotted him playing with the new app. When the pair inquired about the application, Rose replied: "You're not even supposed to know about that…nobody knows about that". He was, however, happy for the pair to leave the revelation in their podcast. Separately, Digg is planning to expand to the "long tail" of content, Rose explains, serving up home pages for many different subject areas. The change could mean that Digg becomes a more reliable traffic source for publishers: currently it's an all or nothing scenario. Will you be using the Digg iPhone App? Let us know in the comments. [via Digg] Reviews: Digg

ESPN Fantasy Football is Down Posted: 04 Oct 2009 01:39 PM PDT Sports websites and services have a habit of failing at weekends. In mid September, NFL Fieldpass and Gamepass failed on the NFL's opening weekend. Today it's ESPN that's feeling the hit of Sunday traffic: the site's Fantasy Football service is down, with users complaining that they can't login. There's no word yet on when uptime will be restored, and in the meantime, users are venting their frustrations on Twitter (screenshot below). Are you experiencing problems with ESPN logins? Let us know in the comments. Reviews: Twitter

Twitter's Value: 5 Eye-Popping Stats Posted: 04 Oct 2009 01:10 PM PDT Just over a week ago, Twitter announced its fifth round of funding. While not officially disclosed, the recent cash infusion is estimated to be around $100 million. Twitter's new estimated worth? – $1 billion. With all of this valuation talk floating around, we became interested in just how fast Twitter's worth has skyrocketed. It seems that VC Expert's Private Equity Data Center (PEDC) was curious as well, so they decided to analyze all of Twitter's financing rounds, from the first one in July of 2007 to last month's $100 million cash infusion. We took a look at the PEDC numbers and some research of our own. We've picked five statistics that speak to the unprecedented growth of Twitter as a service and as a company. Prepare yourselves for some shocking numbers: Twitter's Value: 5 Eye-Popping Stats 1. According to PEDC's numbers, the price of a single share of Twitter has increased by 239,619%, from a measly $0.00667 per share to a much stronger $15.9824. 2. Twitter's $100 million round is over 1025 times the amount of money they raised in its very first round of funding. In July of 2007, Twitter raised $97,500. 3. In five rounds of funding, Twitter has raised an estimated $153 million (some peg it a few million dollars higher). Since the day of its initial round of funding, Twitter has been given an average of $187,356 per day by its investors. 4. Using that same time frame and its current $1 billion valuation, Twitter's worth has grown by $1,223,990 per day. If you start with the day of Twitter's inception (the first tweet from Twitter's Inventor and Chairman, Jack Dorsey), then Twitter's worth has grown by around $772,797 per day. 5. Twitter has yet to make a single cent in profit. We'll let you be the judge of what that means. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Data table courtesy of the PEDC, Image courtesy of iStockphoto, tforgo Reviews: Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: twitter, valuation

A Small Business Guide to Wikis Posted: 04 Oct 2009 10:50 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. Streamlined communication, collaboration, and information sharing are all vital aspects to building a successful small business. You need to build ideas as a team, record past successes and failures, and have your employees keeping each other informed on their current work so your company can avoid overlap. Social technology has risen to meet this challenge over the last few years. And while there are a lot of social tools to choose from, one type stands out for this type of collaboration: the wiki. The unique communication model inherent in the wiki makes it ideal for becoming a central business tool for your entire team. The following is an overview of using wiki software for small business: What Exactly Is a Wiki? A wiki is web software that allows you and others to create and edit interlinked web pages. This means that you can very quickly create a page (let's say "New Ideas") and then add information. The key is that anyone can edit the page (or in our case, add and comment on new ideas), which makes it a very powerful collaboration tool. What Are the Benefits to Small Businesses? 1. Sharing information: Anyone can edit a wiki, thus one person can add an idea while others refine it and add their expertise. The result ends up being one cohesive idea by the group rather than a series of scattered thoughts. 2. Tracking revision: You'll always be able to see the history of any idea or page. 3. Archiving Information: You find that, as you build up a wiki, you are creating a repository of information. This means you can add legal documents, old memos, and anything else that might be useful to your team in the future. 4. Easy to use: Once you understand the syntax, it's much easier to create a new wiki page than a new web page or blog post. What Options Exist? While there are hundreds of wiki software choices available, a few are better suited for business. Some recommended wikis include: - MediaWiki: the software that runs Wikipedia - PbWorks: a full collaboration and wiki site - Twiki: has been used by major companies including Yahoo If none of these suits your needs, a comprehensive list of wikis can be found on Wikipedia. Additional Tips While there is no right or wrong way to use a wiki, it's best if you learn the ins and outs of the software, especially the syntax. Be sure to get your entire team on the same page as well – wikis stagnate if they are not embraced by the entire company. Finally, be sure to keep it organized by using indexes and tracking changes. If you want to learn more, the O'Reilly guide to wikis is a recommended read. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, joxxxxjo Reviews: Wikipedia, iStockphoto Tags: business, pbwiki, small business, wiki, wikis