Mashable! |
- Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Twitter Goes Crazy
- iPhone OS 3.1.2 Now Available
- (How Much) Does Google Need Twitter?
- iPhone Internet Tethering: AT&T's Still Not Ready
- Three Wolf Moon: Internet's Favorite T-Shirt Stars in The Office
- Ping: Free iPhone-to-iPhone Text Messaging
- Hulu Embraces Publishers, Linux Users with Shiny New Tools
- Barnes & Noble to Launch Kindle Competitor, in Color [Video Interview]
- Twitter Launching in More Languages, Wants You to Help Translate
- Digg's New Ad Format Matches Popular Stories With Advertisers
- Tracy Morgan Answers the Internet's Call and Joins Twitter
- 4 Things Old Media Can Learn From the Music Industry's Last Decade
- Tweet Your WordPress Posts Automatically With Publicize
- AverageCats Celebrates Mediocrity With LOLcats Parody
- 8 Awesome Mashups Made Possible by APIs
- Rock Band for iPhone Is Coming, And It Looks Awesome [PICS]
- Colton Harris Moore: Facebook's New Folk Hero
- Redux Turns Your Twitter and Facebook Streams Into Pure Entertainment [Invites]
- Twitter Is Frozen in Time
- Watch NASA's Exploding Moon Rocket Live on NASA TV
- Twitter's New Rumored Business: Improving Google and Microsoft's Search Engines
Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Twitter Goes Crazy Posted: 09 Oct 2009 04:09 AM PDT 
The official site of the Nobel Foundation is dying under the sudden surge of traffic, but the list of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates has already been updated, as you can see in the screenshot below. This is a somewhat surprising move by the Nobel Committee, since Barack Obama simply hasn't had enough time as president to do all that he had set out to accomplish. Still, Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, claims that the prize was awarded based on Obama's work so far. "We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future but for what he has done in the previous year. We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do," he said. Twitter is currently overwhelmed with tweets related to the event, and is at times unresponsive, but it's still holding on. Dozens of topics related to the award and Obama are currently extremely popular on Tweetmeme. If Twitter manages to go through this eventful day (NASA's LCROSS project, as well as Miley Cyrus quitting Twitter are also popular topics) without a meltdown, it'll be quite an accomplishment for the service that's so often troubled with downtime. Reviews: Tweetmeme, Twitter |
Posted: 09 Oct 2009 12:38 AM PDT 
The new version should fix most commonly reported problems: iPhone suddenly losing network access (side note: this has occasionally happened to me even before version 3.1), video stream crashing, and the device not waking from sleep in certain sitautions. Owners of iPod Touch, rejoice: there's an update for your device's OS, too. |
(How Much) Does Google Need Twitter? Posted: 08 Oct 2009 10:44 PM PDT 
Clearly, Google sees great value in Twitter and its real-time search. It also faces new, stiff competition from Bing and even Facebook. The news of the deal poses an important question, though: Does Google need Twitter? And if so, how much? The answer to that question could be the difference in the Google vs. Bing battle. From Google's PerspectiveWhile Google has a lot of core competencies, realtime search is not one of them. While it has tried to answer the Twitter threat Twitter has posed, it's also admitted that Twitter's realtime search is superior. After all, Twitter's the one with all of the realtime content – the tweets. With its primary competitor already integrating Twitter into its search engine, it can't afford to be beaten in this rapidly evolving area of search. Facebook and Bing have already made big moves, and Google's in the unusual position of being behind. Google also has few options for catching up. Since Microsoft owns part of Facebook, a partnership between the two is out of the question. Google could create its own technology, but it won't have the content. Thus, Google needs Twitter. Thus, the question is how much does Google need the microblogging startup? Google Needs Ammo to Fight Bing + Yahoo + FacebookGoogle is under fire (and losing searches) from the likes of Twitter, Bing, and Facebook, and the damage could be much worse if it doesn't act. Thus it has a strong incentive to get a data-mining deal done. It also has an incentive to outright buy the startup, but it's likely the bidding price would be well beyond what it paid for YouTube. Now think about another hypothetical: what happens if Bing gets a deal done, but Google doesn't? Bing has access to the full firehose of Twitter data, dating back to the beginning. It can integrate trending topics and realtime data to improve its search algorithms. All the while, Google is left with only Google Trends as its source of real-time information. While good, Twitter's data is better. How much does Google need Twitter? A lot more than people think. The web is moving towards realtime, and if Google's left as the dinosaur in this area, it could have an effect on the search engine market. Google + Twitter is the search company's best shot at competing with Bing + Yahoo + Facebook. Reviews: Bing, Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube Tags: facebook, Google, Silicon Valley, twitter |
iPhone Internet Tethering: AT&T's Still Not Ready Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:05 PM PDT 
Even though tethering will likely carry a monthly fee, AT&T's already stressed network isn't ready for thousands, if not millions, of tethered iPhones. It's the same reason that it delayed the rollout of MMS. But with MMS now out and AT&T's recent support for VoIP via 3G, you'd think tethering wouldn't be far behind, right? Wrong, according to the Wall Street Journal's Digits Blog. We're just going to have to wait a while longer. While it's likely that tethering will arrive late this year, it's still embarrassing that many non-U.S. carriers supported both MMS and tethering right off the bat and AT&T is still struggling, months later. Apple has been dropping iPhone exclusivity in other countries recently. A lack of tethering support only provides Apple more incentive to drop the agreement. |
Three Wolf Moon: Internet's Favorite T-Shirt Stars in The Office Posted: 08 Oct 2009 08:24 PM PDT 
If you're not familiar, the shirt is something of Internet lore, and has at this point attracted more than 15,000 reviews, dozens of hilarious parody photos (Steve Jobs wearing it is my favorite), and might lead to a book deal. Update: We have video, via @jonrest … And the perfect image too, via @Error601. Thanks guys! Tags: the office, Three Wolf Moon |
Ping: Free iPhone-to-iPhone Text Messaging , Posted: 08 Oct 2009 08:20 PM PDT 
Quick Pitch: Ping! is simplified iPhone-to-iPhone messaging with push notifications (also works with iPod Touch). It uses a unique Ping! ID, and works similar to Blackberry Messenger so that messages can extend to friends anywhere in the world without text messaging costs. Genius Idea: Although text messaging has come down in cost over the years, it's still not free. A number of mobile applications work around that though, and let you send free messages to other users. Ping is one such application — after you download it for 99 cents from the iPhone app store [iTunes link].  That is of course the downside of the app – it's only for iPhone to iPhone messaging, so it can't quite replace text messaging if your friends use other devices (or, don't sign up for Ping). TextPlus, another app we've reviewed, actually does the opposite, letting you use an iPhone app to send text messages to any phone number, though we've heard that they plan to add app-to-app messaging as well. The ideal messaging app would seemingly have a version for multiple platforms (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, etc.) and also support texting to non-users. That's likely the direction most of these companies will ultimately move in, but we're not quite there yet. Spark of Genius Series Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
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Hulu Embraces Publishers, Linux Users with Shiny New Tools Posted: 08 Oct 2009 06:44 PM PDT 
Now its experimental division, Hulu Labs, has launched two additional products just in time for the new television season. The first is actually an update to Hulu Desktop: it now works in Linux. The other product, Hulu Publisher Tools, is simple but could have a big impact on the future of Hulu embeds. Hulu Desktop's new compatibility with Linux assures that Hulu's slick desktop app for watching TV is available on all three major operating systems. They got the Linux version out surprisingly quickly. Heck, there's still no Chrome for Mac and it's been over a year, much less the Linux version, so we applaud Hulu's speed to market. The other new labs feature, Hulu Publisher Tools, is basically a directory of the most relevant and popular videos on Hulu at any given time. In the past, if Jay Leno were to break some news on his show and you wanted to embed a clip on your blog, you'd have to take the time to create the right embed on Hulu (a tedious process). Now if you're a publisher, you'll find it on Publisher Tools, pre-made for embedding. You can even use the Publisher Tools to quickly make a playlist of daily highlights.  Both features are relatively small and are meant for small audiences, but these types of features add up. If Hulu receives even 2% more embeds because of Publisher Tools, it's a major win for distribution, ad revenue, and branding. The company is really making good use of Hulu Labs, and it's likely to pay off. Reviews: Hulu, linux Tags: hulu, ONLINE VIDEO, video |
Barnes & Noble to Launch Kindle Competitor, in Color [Video Interview] Posted: 08 Oct 2009 04:28 PM PDT 
As the largest book retailer in the U.S., the company's entrance into the digital eReader space could set off heated competition with Amazon's Kindle, that just received a price cut and an international version. Like the Kindle, though, Barnes & Noble's device will connect wirelessly to download books from its online e-book store launched in July. The cell carrier who will provide wireless support is not named, but rumors from as far back as April hint at a Sprint partnership for the device. There's no pricing information yet either, but Barnes & Noble's reader will have to compete in the marketplace with the now $259 Kindle and somewhat higher-priced offerings from Sony and Irex. Casting a Wide NetThe company seems to be adopting a fairly wide strategy in its adoption of the digital marketplace, also having committed to powering the content store for the forthcoming Plastic Logic Reader, an 8.5 x 11-inch E-Ink device more closely akin to the Kindle DX large-format version. It also offers an eReader software application compatible with Apple's iPhone and BlackBerry devices as well as both Macs and PCs. It's interesting, then, that they're also apparently still getting into the consumer electronics game by releasing their own branded device. Still, with a brick and mortal advantage over online-only bookseller Amazon, they may be able to take advantage of marketing opportunities for such a product in a way Amazon simply can't do. In pretty much any scenario, the eReader market is heating up. Do these primarily single-function devices have a future? Or will they be usurped by the brewing tablet war? [UPDATE]: We had a chance to interview Barnes & Noble at the CTIA conference and have some more details about the forthcoming eReader embedded below. Tags: amazon, barnes & noble, books, e-ink, ebooks, ereader, Kindle, publishing |
Twitter Launching in More Languages, Wants You to Help Translate Posted: 08 Oct 2009 03:48 PM PDT 
The project sounds quite similar to what Facebook has done to translate its site into more than 70 languages. Facebook, however, is a far more complex site requiring many more translations than the Twitter project will likely entail.
Clearly, translations are a huge opportunity for Twitter to expand its reach. Facebook has grown quickly around the world on the heels of its Translation project, and is even starting to make inroads in regions dominated by other social networks, like in Brazil, where Orkut remains top dog. While Twitter Translations might be invite-only for the moment, we invite you to share your own translations of Twitter features in the comments Reviews: Facebook, Orkut, Twitter Tags: twitter |
Digg's New Ad Format Matches Popular Stories With Advertisers Posted: 08 Oct 2009 03:46 PM PDT 
Part of that process has been trying to include users in ads – for example, the ability to digg (or bury) sponsored stories. Now, the company is launching another format that doesn't break far from the traditions of the site: Digg Content ads. It's hard to find too much fault with that concept – it's about as non-invasive as advertising as you can get and incorporates content that Digg users have already demonstrated they like. Digg says the format is currently in limited release though, so most users probably won't see the ads yet. Reviews: Digg Tags: digg |
Tracy Morgan Answers the Internet's Call and Joins Twitter Posted: 08 Oct 2009 03:10 PM PDT 
He must have gotten the Internet's memo, because @RealTracyMorgan is now tweeting up a (mostly NSFW) storm.  The effort promptly went viral — or at least successful enough to achieve its goal. Think of those millions of informed children! Fan of 30 Rock or not, will you follow Tracy on Twitter? Or is the flood of celebs to Twitter so 5 minutes ago? Reviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: 30 rock, celebrities, facebook, omgicu, tracy morgan, twitter |
4 Things Old Media Can Learn From the Music Industry's Last Decade Posted: 08 Oct 2009 12:44 PM PDT 
What the news industry is experiencing now, the music industry started dealing with 10 years ago – falling revenue and a migration to digital. Ten years on, the music industry is still coming to grips with the changes. A new force – iTunes – has emerged and with it, the iPod, the MP3 and a shift in consumption that has resulted in 95% of music downloads resulting in no payment to the creators, at least according to IFPI data. As the news industry faces up to the digital challenge, it's worth looking at the music industry's last decade to understand what the news business has coming. Its future success will depend on:
What follows is a list of four things the news industry can learn from the music industry's last decade. 1. Rumors of your death will be greatly exaggeratedThe 'death' of the music industry has been playing out now for a decade. And yet, millions of people still buy CDs. Even though they're freely available on P2P networks and cheaper in a digital format, physical CDs still matter to people. Even vinyl still matters to people. It's safe to say then, that there will be fewer newspapers sold in ten years, but there will not be none. The music industry exists because people love music. Some businesses in that industry might be less profitable now, but people still love music as much as they ever did. The newspaper business exists because people need news. Profitability is wilting, but in a world overloaded with messaging from all manner of sources, the need for original, exclusive, highly relevant and genuinely useful content has never been greater. Lesson: Just like people still want music, people still need news. The news industry isn't dying, but it must evolve to avoid stagnating. 2. The print industry's brand will sufferThe music industry has copped a beating over the last decade — much of it has been deserved. There are countless examples of insanely disproportionate lawsuits that have outraged reasonable music consumers. Combine this with the lingering notion that major record labels are suit-filled factories with a taste for vulnerable, indie blood and you can start to see why the music industry gets blamed for all of music's ills. The print industry might have the same coming. Earlier this year, the Associated Press board voted to "pursue legal and legislative actions" against those using content without permission. Aggregators will be the first targets of these actions. The AP has also committed to a remarkable plan which will see it charge up to $2.50 per word for use of its articles.  Rather than embracing the notion of "do what you do best and link to the rest" and maximizing the value of the link economy, the AP appears to be choosing the litigious route. When the music industry stared down Napster and BitTorrent, it too chose the path of litigation. And while litigation effectively throttled Napster (and a number of subsequent players) it did little to slow the spread of illegal downloads and nothing to engage a generation of consumers embracing a new form of consumption. The legality of aggregators who reprint an excerpt of text and link to it is a gray area. As the argument over the nature of copyright for print online develops, expect the boundaries of 'fair use' to be tested. If we learn from the music industry's experience, we can expect any fallout from the testing to splash on to the news industry at large. Lesson: Learn from the mistakes that the music industry has made. The news industry's brand might suffer, but the decline in public perception can be mitigated by embracing new forms of content distribution. 3. The ecosystem is the problemMusic industry people see the digital opportunity. However, seeing an opportunity and making the most of it are two different things. One of the major issues for the music industry in the last decade has been evolving the music ecosystem away from making, selling and distributing physical CDs and towards new digital distribution models. Artists, managers, labels, publishers, press, distributors, packagers and producers are all still to some extent entrenched in traditional ways of thinking about the music industry. Innovation has to overcome the combined inertia of all these forces to see the light of day.  The news industry will have the same problem. Anyone who makes a living off the process of supplying, writing, editing, printing and distributing printed piles of paper all over the country will have to be transformed if the news industry is to embrace the digital opportunity. Most importantly, consumers will always prefer free. Regardless of whether its music or news, it's hard to convince people to pay for something they're accustomed to getting for free. There are plenty of smart people in the news business with smart ideas about how to evolve. News Limited's Australian CEO John Hartigan had this to say:
Hartigan understands the problem and sees the opportunity to embrace new ideas. But ideas and insight aren't the issue, execution is. Lesson: The news industry has great ideas, but execution will remain a problem until it learns to let go of old models of reporting, distribution, and consumption and evolve. 4. This is the end of one-size fits allIt used to be that music fans had one main way to consume musical products – the CD. What the music industry is now learning is that music fans come in all shapes and sizes and are willing to consume all types of musical products, from free to outrageously premium. News is no different. It's no longer about one paper for all people. It's about news distilled from many different sources, delivered many different ways on a range of platforms.  People have shown they will pay for premium products in specific niches. The success of publications like Monocle is testament to that. Best described as the Economist of lifestyle magazines, Monocle isn't just a magazine, but a multi-platform brand encompassing the magazine, a physical store with Monocle branded merchandise, and a web presence that publishes text, audio and video content. Consumers engaging with Monocle can buy the magazine in stores, they can access content for free online, they can pay to engage online more deeply or they can go to a Monocle store and buy Monocle products. The news industry is going to have to develop a similar model that matches multiple products, at multiple price points, through the right channels to the right consumer. This is starting to happen, but there's a long way to travel before people understand that a stand-alone, general news website isn't a sustainable business model. Lesson: Independent music artists have found a way to make money by developing new, innovative value-add models — the news industry must follow suit. A decade ago, the record industry was blindsided by the shift to digital. Analyzing the impact of that change is a worthwhile exercise for anyone with a stake in the future of news. Where do you think the news industry should be heading? Leave your thoughts in the comments. More journalism resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ProfessorVasilich, TriggerPhoto Reviews: iStockphoto, news Tags: journalism, Lessons, List, Lists, music, newspapers, old media |
Tweet Your WordPress Posts Automatically With Publicize Posted: 08 Oct 2009 12:41 PM PDT 
Today the Publicize feature gets a major addition: the ability to send your posts to Twitter. You can go with the default tweet or customize the message, and override the automatic settings on a per post basis as well. To enable the new feature, head over to your Dashboard: My Blogs admin page. In the Publicize column, check off the Twitter column for each of the blogs you'd like to enable to auto-tweet. You'll be asked to authenticate each blog via OAuth, after which you'll see a "Publicize" section at the bottom of the Publish box each time you write a new post. To override any of the settings for an individual post, just click the Edit link in the Publicize section. You can edit the text of the tweet or turn it off altogether for that post. Note also that the connection settings are per blog and per user, so if you run a multi-author blog each individual writer will have to authenticate to their own Twitter account (or to whatever account is preferred). If you're a Wordpress.com user, will you be implementing the automatic Twitter posting? Reviews: Twitter, WordPress Tags: publicize, twitter, Wordpress, wordpress.com |
AverageCats Celebrates Mediocrity With LOLcats Parody Posted: 08 Oct 2009 12:01 PM PDT 
These cats are not riding invisible bicycles, spying on you from ceilings or cultivating their ninja skills. They're just simple, unachieving, downwardly mobile cats who pose no threat to the established order. These cats debunk the myths surrounding the LOLcats' exaggeration of superfeline abilities. AverageCats cannot shoot lasers, join the Army, or operate iPod touches. They are simply unspectacular, which turns out to be surprisingly funny as well. You know your internet meme has hit the big time when other internet memes spring up to spoof it. What's your favorite AverageCat? For that matter, what's your favorite LOLcat? Let us know in the comments so we can forcibly derail everyone's workday with an overdose of cute. Tags: averagecats, internet memes, lolcats |
8 Awesome Mashups Made Possible by APIs Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:35 AM PDT 
In this feature we'll celebrate some of the great mashups we know and love that were made possible by the existence of APIs. We know there are metric tons more great mashups out there, so be sure to let us know your favorites in the comments too. Without getting too far into techno-babble land, APIs basically define a set of ways other third-party programmers can access the data and some of the functionality of a web service. It's a level of abstraction that can be very powerful for allowing different applications to share data and functionality. Thanks to APIs, new programs can be built up that take advantage of one or more services in ways the original creators might not have intended or even imagined. That allows the creativity and ingenuity of the developer community at large to shine by creating highly useful new services without requiring complicated licensing protocols and fees or even specific partnerships between the companies. Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the great examples of mashup services out there using a number of different APIs in a variety of different realms and topic areas. 1. MapsKrieg MapsKrieg mashes up Craigslist apartment and housing listings with Google Maps to make a terribly convenient and visual way to find your next place to rent. HousingMaps is a similar service. 2. Trendsmap Another map mashup, Trendsmap mashes up Twitter Trending Topics with Google Maps as well as with the What the Trend site. The result is an impressive real-time map of Twitter trends across the globe. 3. LivePlasma Launched way back in 2005 as a music relationship engine, LivePlasma more recently added movies, directors and actors to its visual search engine. If you search for an artist/band or movie/director/actor you like, you can get a visual map of related items of possible interest to you. Liveplasma makes use of Amazon's API to pull relationships and details about individual items. Similar visual recommendation mashups include TuneGlue and musicmesh, both for music. 4. Spell With Flickr This is a simple little tool with a lot of "wow" factor: Spell With Flickr simply takes your input string of text and generates a "ransom note"-style image out of letters in various styles and fonts from Flickr. If one of the letters isn't to your liking, simply click on it to generate a different letter. You can get a Javascript badge or raw HTML version of the resulting image to embed on your site, or simply take a screenshot to grab an image version. 5. TweetMyGaming For gamers who Twitter, or gamers who just want to get a sense of what games people are talking about and playing at any given moment, Tweet My Gaming is a mashup of the GamerDNA games database and the Twitter API. It pulls in relevant tweets about games and aggregates them into individual game pages, plus generates charts of what games are most talked about among Twitterers in real-time. 6. TimeTube A mashup of the YouTube and timeline app Dipity's APIs, TimeTube takes a search string and maps out related YouTube videos on a timeline. This is a great way to visualize certain news trends and events that have decent representation on YouTube (check out the pictured Kanye West video timeline for a good example). 7. InstantWatcher The InstantWatcher app makes use of the Netflix API to present a film and TV catalogue filtered completely by the "Watch Instantly" dimension. In other words, if you want to browse only the titles on Netflix that can be added to your Instant Queue and streamed, this is the site for you. 8. Wheel of Lunch This fun app makes use of the Yahoo Local Search API to provide an entertaining way to pick a place to eat. Input your zip code and optionally a type of cuisine into Wheel of Lunch and get a Wheel of Fortune-style interactive graphic to help you choose where to eat. Let us know about some of the other outstanding mashups that float your boat. Thank you APIs and open-minded developer communities for providing the great ecosystem that made this feature possible! Series supported by PayPal X Innovate 2009  PayPal X Innovate 2009 is PayPal's first dedicated developer conference. Here you'll have the absolute inside track on how to capitalize on all of PayPal's products. Learn from hands on tutorials about PayPal APIs and listen to keynote from industry luminaries including Tim O'Reilly and see showcase of cool developers. Register for $49 with the code ppblog3 or join us at $50 if you are a student. Reviews: Craigslist, Flickr, Google Maps, Mashable, Twitter, YouTube, gamerDNA Tags: api, application, developer, Lists, mashup |
Rock Band for iPhone Is Coming, And It Looks Awesome [PICS] Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:01 AM PDT 
Its time may have come. EA Games, maker of the popular Rock Band game for consoles, may have previously been hush-hush about an official Rock Band iPhone/iPod Touch game, but the silence is over. EA Mobile is making a splash at CTIA today with the announcement of Rock Band for iPhone. The application is no joke. We've seen it in action and can confirm that is the real deal, with gameplay almost identical to the console version including the ability to play with up to three additional players via Bluetooth. The Real DealDon't be fooled by impostors, Rock Band for iPhone is legit. It may have taken a year to build, but the mobile version matches everything you've come to love about the original, right down to the awesome graphics and the ability to hear mistakes. Of course, you're playing on your iPhone, so you'll use your fingers to tap to the rhythms of four different instruments. The app comes with 15 songs – familiar tracks from past and present – with 5 additional songs that you can unlock as you complete the World Tour, as well as options to buy more. The game supports single-player game play, multi-player mode over Bluetooth, and Facebook Connect integration for inviting friends to play. Just as is the case with the original, Rock Band for iPhone offers four different instruments that you can play: vocals, drums, bass, guitar. Each option offers a game experience that is unique to each instrument, so you're playing the actual drum part when you select "drums," and so on. Should you sync up with friends and play over Bluetooth, be prepared to be blown away. The real-time gaming experience is incredible, as yours truly can attest to, and even goes so far as to highlight other players' activities on your device as they happen. Olivier Proulx, Senior Producer at EA Mobile, believes that what the Rock Band app really has to offer over competitors is an unmatchable, high-quality music experience. He also believes the depth of the game is unique, and that it's "easy to learn, but difficult to master." The application launch date is up in the air, as it's subject to Apple's approval, but EA Mobile says it should be available in a few weeks. Also undetermined is the price, but we're pretty sure you can expect to pay for this bad boy. More Rock Band for iPhone Photos      Reviews: Bluetooth Tags: iphone application, rock band |
Colton Harris Moore: Facebook's New Folk Hero Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:00 AM PDT 
Police are currently trying to find Moore, who is suspected in numerous burglaries in the area, and, much more intriguingly, stealing small airplanes and crash landing them. On Facebook, the "Colton Harris Moore Fan Club" (and yes, there's a t-shirt too) has attracted nearly 3,000 members. The group's description:
Although Moore's crimes may be intriguing, he is dangerous. In his most recent suspected encounter with police, he shot at a sheriff's deputy. Furthering the legend though, this segment that aired on the Today Show this morning: Tags: colton harris moore, facebook |
Redux Turns Your Twitter and Facebook Streams Into Pure Entertainment [Invites] Posted: 08 Oct 2009 08:57 AM PDT 
Back in July, the big news with Redux — which is currently in private beta (but we have invites) — was its TV Mode. Today, the site is announcing support for importing your Facebook and Twitter feeds. The result is a time-wasters dream and it is awesome. Bring Your Twitter and Facebook Streams to LifeIn its last iteration, Redux was already an extremely solid social entertainment engine. Using the site or the handy bookmarklet, users could share photos, videos or links with their friends or in a specific interest channel. Other users could then comment on those items, give props and share those links via Twitter, Facebook or MySpace.  Now, Redux has added the ability to import your Twitter and Facebook streams directly into Redux. What this means is that when your friends tweet or share a link via Facebook or Twitter, instead of just seeing the short-url, you'll actually see the item being linked. If it's a video, you can play the video immediately within Redux. If it's an image (like a TwitPic), you can view it immediately within Redux. Redux only grabs tweets or status updates that are linking to other content, so you don't get bogged down with other status updates. Your friends don't have to be Redux members for their public streams to show-up and you can still give props or comment on the content. If you comment on a tweet, for instance, that comment with a link to the source is sent out over Twitter if you choose. As they like to say, "it's the most efficient way to waste time on the web." Prepare to Lose All Productivity (in a good way)Redux is totally addictive — and it's designed to be. I find myself having to tear myself away, otherwise I'll never get any work done. That's not that different from a lot of other social services, except, in my experience, Redux kept me entertained and discovering cool stuff. When I talked to Frank Nawabi and Daivd McIntosh — the co-founders of Redux — earlier this week, they told me that one of the reasons they created the service was because it was so difficult to find good videos and good content on services like Vimeo or YouTube. It makes a lot more sense to see what your friends or people who share your same interests are sharing or watching, rather than trying to sift through a pile of videos — no matter how "popular" they might be. Frank and David told me that the average user spends over an hour on Redux at a time. I can believe it! Especially with something like the TV Mode, which just continuously shows you videos from your friends, the overall network or from a specific channel, becoming sucked into the service isn't hard. The FutureThe site has grown pretty organically and the Redux team reaches out to the community to get feedback on what's working, future features, etc. David and Frank told me that they are looking at brinigng the TV Mode of Redux to something like Boxee or set-top boxes in general — and I think that this could be brilliant. I have Boxee running in my living room and being able to tune into to the best web content from either my friends or a certain channel would certainly be a great way to relax and waste even more time! We've Got InvitesStop listening to me wax poetic about Redux and try it for yourself. Mashable readers can go here to sign-up for the beta. Give Redux a try and tell us what you think! Do you like the idea of a visual social web? Reviews: BigTweet Bookmarklet, Boxee, Facebook, Mashable, MySpace, Twitpic, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube Tags: facebook, redux, social sharing, twitter, youtube
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Posted: 08 Oct 2009 08:23 AM PDT 
Many user's timelines haven't updated in nearly an hour, and on my account, all of my followers and people I'm following are missing. Yikes! Somewhat ironically, Twitter search still appears to be working in near real-time, so you can see other users complaining about their timelines not updating. Update: As of 9:20PT, Twitter is "currently investigating a problem causing many users' timelines to be delayed."  Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hidesy Reviews: Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: twitter |
Watch NASA's Exploding Moon Rocket Live on NASA TV Posted: 08 Oct 2009 06:38 AM PDT 
Well, the time to sit back, relax, grab some popcorn and watch the mission as it unfolds is drawing near. Early tomorrow, on October 9, 6:15 a.m. EDT/3:15 a.m. PDT, NASA will start a live TV broadcast that will include live footage from the spacecraft camera, real-time telemetry based animation, expert commentary, and possibly some live footage from the 88-inch telescope located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. You can also follow the mission on Twitter and on Facebook, as well as read the latest info on the official blog. NASA claims the final stage of the mission will be "spectacular", so we'll set our expectations to "crazy high". Reviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: facebook, moon, NASA, twitter |
Twitter's New Rumored Business: Improving Google and Microsoft's Search Engines Posted: 08 Oct 2009 06:37 AM PDT 
In fact, just last week, Google launched a new search option that allows users to filter search results to show only links that are new within the last hour. However, competition might not even be necessary. According to The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital, Twitter is talking to both Google and Microsoft about licensing deals that would allow them to integrate Twitter data into their search engines.
Continuing, All Things Digital says that such deals would be worth "several million dollars" to Twitter and potentially include ongoing revenue sharing. There are of course plenty of search engines that already utilize Twitter data, and Bing actually already launched one. Twitter could conceivably provide added value in the form of a truly full feed that includes all tweets (currently, Twitter search only goes several days back). It's certainly an interesting new twist on the evolving Twitter business model story, that points towards the company's desire to remain independent and become financially viable, as opposed to get acquired by someone like Google or Microsoft. Now, we'll have to wait and see if this actually happens, or gets filed away with the seemingly dozens of other Twitter business rumors we've seen pop up in recent months. Reviews: Bing, Google, Twitter Tags: Google, microsoft, Search, search engines, twitter |
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