Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “JolieBox Brings Beauty Samples by Subscription Service to Europe”
Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “JolieBox Brings Beauty Samples by Subscription Service to Europe” |
- JolieBox Brings Beauty Samples by Subscription Service to Europe
- Siri’s Abortion Stance, and 4 Other ‘Insensitive’ Technologies
- The 10 Most-Retweeted Pics of the Week
- 10 Proven Strategies of High-Performance Teams [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Facebook Buys Gowalla [REPORT]
- San Francisco’s BART Sets Guidelines for Shutting Down Riders’ Cellphones
- Watch Santa Yoda, You Must [VIDEO]
- Verizon’s 4G Droid Tablets to Ditch Xoom Brand? [VIDEO]
- Condom Ad Disguised as Facebook Friend Request From Your Future Son
- Audi Exec Criticized for Tweeting Behind the Wheel
- Facebook Tests Negative Sentiment Analysis Feature For Pages
- Apple Will Remove Carrier IQ — How To Block It On Your iPhone Now [PICS]
- Should the Geneva Conventions Be Applied to Video Games?
- Bacardi Uses Facebook to Simulate a Party Experience
- BlackBerry Bust: RIM Takes a $485 Million Hit on the Ailing PlayBook
- Make Your iPad Look Like an Apple I With Retro Docking Station
- 8 Great iPhone Apps for Music Lovers
- How Microchipped Jerseys Are Changing Hockey Fans’ Experience
- Facebook to Open New York Engineering Office
- TouchFire: Is it the iPad’s Ultimate (Typing) Accessory?
- Carrier IQ: We’re Not Wiretapping You
- Most Adults Go Online for No Particular Reason [STUDY]
- Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy Supporters
- 12 Fun Holiday Cards for Geeky Season’s Greetings [PICS]
- FTC Targets Acai Berry Seller That Used Fake News Sites
- Verizon Gains $3.6 Billion of Wireless Spectrum
- Top 10 Tips for Better Content Marketing
- 5 Big Reasons CEOs Should Get Social [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Zynga Looks to Raise $1 Billion From IPO
- ESPN: A Mobile Example to Emulate
| JolieBox Brings Beauty Samples by Subscription Service to Europe Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:01 PM PST      The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Quick Pitch: Get four to six sample-sized cosmetics products delivered to your door each month. Genius Idea: JolieBox, which shamelessly pitches itself as the “French equivalent of Birchbox,” is quickly advancing into additional European markets. On Friday, the startup acquired Boudoir Privé — the “UK equivalent of Birchbox” if you will. Boudoir Privé’s existing team will become JolieBox UK. Like Birchbox, JolieBox delivers a “Beauty Box” containing cosmetics products from high-end manufacturers for €13 ($17.42) per month. (Birchbox’s costs $10 per month for four to five samples.) Samples range from moisturizers and fragrances to hair conditioner and makeup. Lancôme, Laura Mercier and L'Occitane are among the more than 30 brands which have participated in the service. Unlike BirchBox, Joliebox does not allow users to purchase full-sized versions of the products they ship out on their site — a missed revenue opportunity, in our opinion. The company does however provide information about where subscribers can purchase full-sized products. The less than one-year-old startup has approximately 10,000 subscribers, and raised €1 million in funding from Alven Capital in October. No additional expansion plans have been announced to date. 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: beauty, Birchbox, bizspark, joliebox, spark-of-genius For more Business coverage:
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| Siri’s Abortion Stance, and 4 Other ‘Insensitive’ Technologies Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:00 PM PST Siri Comes Out Against Abortion When a blogger asked his readers to see how Siri responded to questions about abortion clinics, he had no idea what he was starting. Siri's unhelpful answers to questions about where to go for an abortion led to widespread condemnation, forcing Apple to eventually clarify the matter as a mere oversight that would be fixed. Siri, after all, is in beta. In any case, if you ask it specifically for things like Planned Parenthood, the answers tend to be a little better. Click here to view this gallery. When it was discovered that the new voice assistant on the iPhone 4S, Siri, didn’t identify nearby abortion clinics when asked, it created a firestorm of controversy. After the story circulated widely (with even the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation chiming in on the issue), Apple spoke out, saying that the omission was completely unintentional and that it would be amended in a future update. It’s far from the first time technology has displayed inadvertent insensitivity to social issues or politics. Gadgets, software, and equipment are only as perfect as the humans who made them, after all, and if history is any indication, that’s pretty imperfect. From webcams that don’t recognize people with a certain skin tone to video technologies that make certain people sick, technology sometimes stumbles upon politically incorrect landmines in its at-times clumsy march toward the uncharted future. Engineers can’t predict every possible use of a piece of software or hardware, and sometimes feelings are hurt in what they exclude, typically not by design. Siri accidentally wading into the abortion debate is just the latest chapter in this saga. It won’t be the last. Do you know of a case of technology inadvertently behaving badly that we missed? Let us know in the comments. More About: HP, Lists, siri, technology, voice recognition, webcams
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| The 10 Most-Retweeted Pics of the Week Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:13 PM PST   A book led this week’s most-retweeted pics, but it wasn’t from the Twilight or Harry Potter franchises. Even more impressively, the image wasn’t from a teen idol, but from a guy with a relatively small Twitter following who nonetheless calls himself @AWomansBlessing. There was also a nice tribute to Sean Taylor, the Redskins’ free safety, who was killed four years ago and a continuing effort to locate a missing little girl. Otherwise, teen idols dominated the list, particularly One Direction, a British band with a low profile in the U.S. but whose members’ every tweet seem to be followed closely back home. Once again, the data, via Skylines, which covers the week ending Dec. 2, just took into account photos from the English-speaking world. The ranking you see is also a snapshot of the time period. If you click through to the original, the tweet counts will invariably differ from the period in which Skylines made its determination. "Very Hungry Caterpillar" This week's most popular photo was not posted by Justin Bieber, One Direction or any other celebrity. Itt was posted by Kid phr3sh, a.k.a. @AWomansBlessing (over 22.000 followers) who is, according to himself, a gift to women. The image shows the cover of popular children's picture book 'A very hungry caterpillar' by Eric Carle. The tweet says: '90's babies...retweet this pic if you remember this book lol'. Apparently a lot of people do remember the book, since it was by far the most-retweeted image of the week, with more than three times as many retweets as the second most-retweeted picture. Click here to view this gallery. More About: justin bieber, Most-Tweeted Pics, Skylines, Twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| 10 Proven Strategies of High-Performance Teams [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 05:07 PM PST Ronald Brown is a successful startup CEO with an extensive background in technology and consumer marketing. His new book, Anticipate. The Architecture of Small Team Innovation and Product Success is available via iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Who drives product innovation? The answer is small, entrepreneurial development teams — better known as “agile teams” in the high-tech industry. These types of teams are obviously essential for startups, but many large companies approach team-building in the same way, especially those that lead the industry in terms of product revenue. This is not to say the corporation doesn't play a crucial role — it most certainly does — but mostly by creating an environment for success, by removing obstacles, setting a clear vision and providing essential tools and training. What are the essential elements — the genetic structure, if you will — of a high-performance team? After poring through 60 years of industry research and talking to dozens of companies, I've identified 10 core innovation strategies of new product leaders.   Image courtesy of iStockphoto, francisblack More About: Business, contributor, features, infographics For more Business coverage:
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| Facebook Buys Gowalla [REPORT] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:27 PM PST   Facebook has purchased location-based service provider Gowalla, according to a report. CNN Money cites “a source close to Gowalla” who says Facebook has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. The majority of Gowalla’s employees, including founder Josh Williams, are set to move from the company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters to Facebook’s in Palo Alto, Calif., to work on Facebook’s Timeline feature, according to the report. “It’s a perfect match,” says the unnamed source quoted by CNN Money. “As far as the big picture, Gowalla’s vision is about people telling stories, and Facebook’s vision for Timeline is about stories about important moments in life.” A rep from Gowalla declined comment on the report, citing a policy against reacting to “rumors and speculation.” Reps from Facebook could not be reached. Meanwhile, Gowalla’s chief rival, Foursquare, released a statement about the apparent move: “Congrats to Josh and the team in Austin. Here at Foursquare, we continue to focus on building an amazing product and growing our 15,000,000-strong community.”
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| San Francisco’s BART Sets Guidelines for Shutting Down Riders’ Cellphones Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:16 PM PST
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) agency’s board of directors approved a policy on Thursday allowing cellphone service to be interrupted under extraordinary circumstances that pose a substantial public risk. Analysts say similar sets of protocols will likely become increasingly common as mobile technology continues its spread into everyday life. “This is a new frontier we’re entering,” BART communications officer Jim Allison told Mashable on Friday. “Five years ago, we didn’t even have cellphone service underground.” BART’s new policy comes after the agency faced widespread controversy this August for shutting down cellphone service to impede a planned protest following the fatal shooting of an knife-wielding man by BART police in San Francisco. (That shooting came less than two years after a BART officer shot and killed an unarmed and physically restrained man early New Year’s Day in front of a train crowded with holiday revelers.) Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned the intentional service interruption this August, which in turn triggered a new round of protests. On Friday, ACLU attorney Michael Risher criticized BART’s new policy but praised the agency for creating a formal set of guidelines. “I hope other agencies of all types will learn from what happened with BART and realize that this isn’t something to be taken lightly, but only to be used in specific circumstances, and adopt their own policies,” Risher told Mashable. BART spokesman Allison said such specific circumstances could include a known terrorist threat or planned attack. In 2004, a series of coordinated bombings of commuter trains in Madrid used explosives detonated remotely by mobile phone to kill some 200 people. “I think it’s a good thing because it clearly defines the type of situation in which a cell phone service interruption could become necessary,” he added. “It doesn’t leave it undefined so there can be questions after the fact of why we would do this.” But ACLU attorney Risher said the new policy still leaves excessive room for interpretation. “In addition to explosives and hostage situations, they talk about including speech that includes specific plans to destroy district property, which could include something like ripping down a poster,” Risher said. “We have a hard time believing BART is going to push the boundary that way but wish the language were stronger.” At a downtown station on Friday, San Francisco resident and occasional BART rider Christopher Ingram said that he disagrees with the new policy, which he finds to be impractical. “It’s like saying if we have the guy planning the next 9/11 attack we can torture him,” Ingram said, incredulous. “You’re never going to have that, and communication is too essential nowadays.” What do you think? Should government agencies ever be allowed to shut down cellphone service? Should there be specific guidelines, like BART just adopted? How do you weigh public safety against freedom of speech? More About: BART, cell phones, government, San Francisco-San Jose
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| Watch Santa Yoda, You Must [VIDEO] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:38 PM PST
Looking for holiday greetings to send to the Star Wars geek in your life? Santa Yoda is here to help. In this adorable video — one part ad for LEGO Star Wars — Yoda fills in Kris Kringle’s cozy red suit, preparing gifts for the Star Wars cast in the form of spaceships. All is going well until Darth Vader sends the sleigh tumbling to the floor in pieces. The video is just one found on the LEGO Santa Yoda micro site, which also includes weekly prize giveaways and holiday-themed polls. For each free ecard card sent, LEGO will donate one toy to the U.S. Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots, with the goal of giving one million toys this season. Here’s another option. Watch this duo build the 15-foot Santa Yoda in San Francisco’s Union Square in time lapse. Yoda’s message: “Spread holiday cheer with LEGO Star Wars, you must.” Your third choice of holiday card: Darth Vader’s neighbors’ holiday spirit gets in the way of his solitary night of watching Star Wars: The Padawan Menace. More About: Lego, viral-video-of-day, Winter Holiday Season For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Verizon’s 4G Droid Tablets to Ditch Xoom Brand? [VIDEO] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:24 PM PST Verizon is on the verge of adding two tablets to its Droid line, both with 4G LTE connectivity, CNET reports. The tablets, made by Motorola, are successors to the original Xoom, but will actually have the name “Xyboard.” Both tablets are slated to launch before the end of the year. Why the change? Probably because the Motorola Xoom was a flop. Hyped as the first proper competitor to the iPad because of its large, 10.1-inch screen and tablet-optimized software (Android 3.0 “Honeycomb”), the Xoom was expected to challenge Apple’s dominance in the tablet market. But the Xoom was hampered by a high price point and poor marketing and sales never took off. The Xyboard clearly aims to change that. By adopting Verizon’s Droid brand, the tablets will be positioned as top-of-the-line products. The tablets take their design cues from the new Motorola RAZR, which Verizon considers its flagship phone. The Xyboard will sport a Gorilla Glass screen that comes in two sizes: The 10-inch version is aimed at business customers and will include a stylus while the 8-inch model will be a more media-centric device, much like Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Both tablets will apparently run Honeycomb at launch instead of Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich.” This is surprising since Ice Cream Sandwich is designed to unite the phone and tablet strains of the Android’s operating system. According to the report, both tablets will have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Both will be able to videoconference thanks to dual cameras on the tablets, one 5-megapixel in back and one 1.3-megapixel cam in front. Verizon will sell Xyboard but Motorola will sell the devices to overseas markets as the Xoom 2. Either way, it’s difficult to see the new tablets succeeding unless the price is right. Neither Verizon nor Motorola would comment on the tablets’ final price tag. So far the only tablet that appears to have put a dent in the iPad’s market share is the Kindle Fire, which is expected to sell approximately 4 million units by the end of the year, according to IHS iSuppli, thanks in large part to its rock-bottom $199 price. Can the tablets take on the iPad? And what do you make of Verizon dropping the “Xoom” title? Sound off in the comments. More About: droid, ipad, Motorola, tablets, verizon, xoom, Xyboard
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| Condom Ad Disguised as Facebook Friend Request From Your Future Son Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:51 PM PST   An advertising campaign from Olla Condoms, which sends Facebook users unsolicited friend requests from their yet-to-be-born sons, has attracted plenty of attention — but is also a violation of Facebook policy. The promo video (see below) for the “Unexpected Babies” campaign from Brazilian agency Age Isobar details the ad’s concept: Take a male user’s name, create a new profile using that name with “Jr.” tacked on the end, and send a friend request to the unsuspecting user. When he visits his virtual son’s profile, he sees a condom ad from Brazil-based Olla. Facebook, however, expressly forbids fake profiles. The condom ad campaign appears to violate several policies found under “Registration and Account Security” in Facebook’s Terms. And Facebook’s Help Center even has a section to report fake accounts that “list a fake name” or “don’t represent a real person.” While fake profiles can sometimes entertain, they more often than not lead to unwanted consequences. For example, earlier this year, one woman unsuccessfully used a fake profile to dig up dirt on her husband — and instead found herself in a fake-murder plot. What do you think of Olla Condom’s ad campaign? Watch the video below and sound off in our poll. More About: Advertising, Business, Facebook, Social Media, viral marketing
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| Audi Exec Criticized for Tweeting Behind the Wheel Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:44 PM PST An image of an auto-industry employee resting an iPad on his steering wheel while driving has created a stir online as automakers ramp up efforts to bring greater awareness to the dangers of using technology on the road. Andy White, senior social media manager for Audi, tweeted a picture to his followers earlier this week testing out a new in-car multitouch feature on his iPad while sitting in his car in Virginia. It’s against the law to text while driving in that state. White has since sent out a tweet to apologize for the incident: “Sorry ’bout that — #distracteddriving is bad! Don’t tweet, even if stuck in traffic. The iPad photo was ill advised.” White told Mashable the image was sent in jest and his car was stationary at the time. “[My] photo was clearly intended as a joke and was taken at the rear of a long traffic jam while totally stationary,” White said. “Now, I know that doesn’t excuse it completely and have already made a public apology to that effect.” In July, about 4,000 Volkswagen and Audi employees signed a pledge to never text from behind the wheel. The news of White's tweet was first reported by two writers that called his tweet irresponsible. “Automakers need to understand that if you're hiring individuals to represent your brand, it's your responsibility to both train these people to be the best public face and keep a pulse on their public interactions,” wrote blogger Melanie Batenchuk of BeCarChic on the issue. But White said that both writers — Batenchuk and Joseph Rose of The Oregonian — have also tweeted pictures from behind the wheel in the past. White's response: “Hypocritical much?” This is not the first time an auto-industry executive has been under fire for tweeting behind the wheel. Scott Bartosiewicz, a former employee of Chrysler's social media team, sent out a tweet laced with profanity from behind the wheel last year that was intended for his personal account, but was mistakenly uploaded to his work account. He was later fired from the company. More About: audi, distracted driving, tweets, Twitter
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| Facebook Tests Negative Sentiment Analysis Feature For Pages Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:35 PM PST   Facebook is testing out a negative sentiment analysis feature for its recently upgraded Page Insights product. When page administrators – who are in the test pool – click on the “engaged users” metric, they’ll currently see the number of Facebook users who commented negatively in response to a brand post. First reported by Wise Metrics’ blog, ClickZ News confirmed the test status of the feature. An email we received today from Palo Alto, CA-based Facebook read, “What you’re seeing on that blog is a test – Facebook is constantly running tests to improve the way the site runs and functions, but we don’t have anything else to share at this time.” The test seems to represent a shift from Facebook’s perspective. When asked about negative sentiment analysis in October, David Baser, a product manager for the digital giant, told ClickZ News, “When we’ve researched this, we have found the vast, vast majority of content is positive. So we don’t believe today there is any need for us to get into sentiment analysis products.” - Christopher Heine, ClickZ More About: Facebook, facebook insights
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| Apple Will Remove Carrier IQ — How To Block It On Your iPhone Now [PICS] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:12 PM PST As controversy continues to swirl around Carrier IQ, which stores data and sends it to cellphone service providers, Apple has confirmed that it stopped supporting the software in iPhones — and will remove it completely from future iPhone software. “We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update,” Apple said in a statement to All Things D. “With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. “We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.” So how do you block Carrier IQ right now, if you’re using iOS 5 or greater on your iPhone? Follow our simple guide: 1. Find the Settings app  
Click here to view this gallery. In short, here’s how to stop data from being automatically sent: For Android users, there’s an app for you to find out if Carrier IQ is on your phone. Here’s how to remove it manually. The irony of this situation: your cellular provider already gathers reams of data about where you’re going, what websites you’re accessing, who you’re texting, and a lot more. Keeping diagnostic data from being sent to the cellular provider is not actually going to give you much more privacy than you already give up by using a smartphone. The problem with this little piece of software that’s baked into iOS is that it’s storing a small amount of that data on your iPhone itself, which could be mined and looked at by nosy people doing forensics on your handset. But if you’re not careful about covering your tracks, prying eyes can also see your browser history, texts you’ve sent and received, calls you’ve made, location data and a lot more. According to security experts and Carrier IQ who spoke to CNET, the purpose of Carrier IQ is to gather data so cellular companies can diagnose network problems. So if everyone disables data uploading, carriers will have a harder time with network upkeep. Will you be blocking Carrier IQ — or is it a lot of fuss over nothing? Let us know in the comments. More About: Carrier IQ, Diagnostic Data, iOS 5, iphone For more Mobile coverage:
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| Should the Geneva Conventions Be Applied to Video Games? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:02 PM PST Could playing video games make you a war criminal? The International Committee of the Red Cross is looking into whether realistic war video games should be bound by international laws such as the Geneva and Hague Conventions. If the committee finds that the laws do apply, they could ask game studios to adhere to the laws or even petition governments to regulate war video games, Kotaku reported. The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties and protocols created after World War II to establish international law around the humanitarian treatment of victims of war. The conventions prevent, among other things, the use of torture, inhumane treatment, hostage-taking, and excessive violence. The International Committee of the Red Cross upholds the Geneva conventions in all manner of armed conflict, but they recently gathered at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva to discuss whether their mandate extends to virtual victims in video games. The event harkened back to a 2007 study held by TRIAL, a Geneva-based organization that monitors and reports on international crimes. The study examined 19 games set in real-world war environments to see if the games adhered to international law and found that:
Anyone who has played a first-person shooter video game has seen some pretty grizzly digital action. Characters are blown up by rocket launchers, recently killed characters have full clips emptied into their bodies, civilians or unarmed combatants are shot and that’s not even counting the sometimes brutal multiplayer arenas where its not uncommon for players to gloat over kills by shooting or even miming sexual acts. Of course, it’s just a video game. Those aren’t real wars and those aren’t real people being blown up or defiled. After beating a game, no player wants to then sit through a mock war trial for the civilian they accidentally shot in the first mission. These moments are, however, real concerns in modern warfare. The International Committee of the Red Cross, to the best of our knowledge, isn’t trying to stop wholesale the violence that occurs in video games but rather to give those acts context by applying the very real international laws that govern modern combatants. It is less about curbing game violence and more about creating realistic (and ethical) conditions in war games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3. International war laws wouldn’t apply to every type of game. Sci-fi shooters such as the Halo series would be exempt since the Geneva Conventions don’t apply to marauding aliens (yet). But the International Committee has some difficult questions to answer even if it can get war games to adopt the conventions. For example, how can they be so concerned about modern shooters but turn a blind eye to possible actions in open-world games such as Grand Theft Auto? (Critics of video game violence often use the GTA series as an example since it allows players the freedom to, for example, have sex with a prostitute and then kill her.) An integral part of GTA is the criminal lifestyle and avoiding arrest. The criminal acts may sometimes be heinous but at least there is an in-game punishment system. First-person shooters are starting to implement similar controls. For example, killing a civilian in Modern Warfare 3 will force the player to restart a mission. “It would mean a wasted opportunity if the virtual space transmitted the illusion of impunity for unlimited violence in armed conflicts,” the TRIAL study stated. Where do you stand on video game violence? Would the conventions ruin your in-game fun or help the games become even more realistic? Sound off in the comments. More About: games, Gaming, video games For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Bacardi Uses Facebook to Simulate a Party Experience Posted: 02 Dec 2011 01:46 PM PST   Bacardi launched a holiday promotion Friday that uses your Facebook data to create an immersive, personalized video experience. The campaign, dubbed “Unwrap the Night,”, recreates the sights and sounds of walking into a house party from a first-person perspective. After opening the door, you’re warmly greeted by clusters of attractive, trendy strangers as you make your way to the makeshift bar. (Apparently, this is what house parties are like if you bring a bottle of Bacardi rum.) Your Facebook data makes appearances throughout. Your best friend’s name appears when you glance at the screen of your mobile phone. The drinks menu is made up of concoctions your closest friends have developed — and named after themselves. Your own photo appears in a Andy Warhol-like montage on the wall. The experience isn’t just personal — in an uncanny sort of way — it’s also interactive. You select a drink from a menu. A DJ booth allows you to mix two tracks on with settings for tempo and volume. You can also use your mouse to pan a full 360 degrees around the room.  It’s a pretty cool experience altogether and, like a video Indie band Arcade Fire released last year, takes advantage of the web to move beyond what traditional video can offer. The only drawback? It was done in Flash, thus hampering the app’s accessibility for mobile devices. Try it out for yourself and let us know what you think. More About: bacardi, Facebook, Marketing For more Business coverage:
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| BlackBerry Bust: RIM Takes a $485 Million Hit on the Ailing PlayBook Posted: 02 Dec 2011 01:25 PM PST   BlackBerry maker Research in Motion announced that it will take a $485 million write-down in relation to its PlayBook tablet. RIM describes the charge to its fiscal third quarter as mostly noncash and a result of a lower inventory valuation. RIM also lowered its earnings, revenue and shipment projections for the rest of the year. The PlayBook debuted in April to tepid reviews and has failed to gain any major market traction. RIM said it shipped 150,000 PlayBook devices in the third quarter, down from 250,000 in its second quarter and 500,000 in its first quarter of availability. RIM has attempted to revive PlayBook sales by lowering prices — including Black Friday/Cyber Monday specials marking the tablet down as low as $199 for a 16GB unit. RIM blames poor sales of the PlayBook on a number of factors — including delayed software updates. The PlayBook shipped without native email, calendar and contacts applications. RIM is now planning on releasing an update that includes those functions in February. The Wall Street Journal cites some analysts who think that the PlayBook write-down might be the least of the companies worries. The Journal quotes RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky as saying, “This is more about the declining [BlackBerry] momentum in the midst of what was supposed to be a strong product cycle.” RIM continues to lose market share in the North American smartphone market. BlackBerry is still hugely popular in some regions of the world, but Android, iOS and even Windows Phone are starting to supplant it in terms of developer appeal, phone features and hardware. Despite writing off nearly half a billion dollars on the PlayBook, RIM says it remains committed to the tablet. More About: blackberry, playbook, research in motion
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| Make Your iPad Look Like an Apple I With Retro Docking Station Posted: 02 Dec 2011 01:20 PM PST   Geeks nostalgic for the all-in-one look of vintage Apple products can now add a dash of retro to their gadget with the iStation, a docking device reminiscent of an Apple I desktop. What set Apple apart in the early days of personal computers was the bundle design that integrated the keyboard, speakers, and monitor within one shell. Even those not wistful for technology designs of yore can appreciate the prospect of occasionally using an iPad more as a desktop. Available in a faux woodgrain finish with a white keyboard or white glossy finish and white keyboard, the iStation is compatible with both the iPad and iPad 2, as well as iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Each unit comes with an iStation in your color of choice, Bluetooth wireless keyboard, USB charging cable for the keyboard, 3.5mm mini-stereo cable, built-in stereo speakers, and an AC power adapter; and for $86, it’s a fairly affordable tech frill. Check out a video walk through of the iStation:
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| 8 Great iPhone Apps for Music Lovers Posted: 02 Dec 2011 12:27 PM PST 1. iHeartRadio Have you moved away and want to listen to your old radio station? Are you sick of the same old music your radio station plays over and over again? This app offers more than 800 radio stations from around the country in the palm of your hand. Separated by genre or location, iHeartRadio caters to your music taste and provides you with a catalog of more than 11 million songs. Click here to view this gallery. Gone are the days when you have to sift through every CD or continuously turn the dial on the radio to find the perfect song. Whether you are a music junkie or need help selecting music based on genre, finding your favorite music has never been easier. There is an assortment of radio-centric iPhone apps that bring us music based on genre or artist, most notably Pandora or Spotify. Here are a few other selections that you might want to take for a spin. Image courtesy of Flickr, Fey Ilyas More About: apps, features, iphone, Mobile, Music
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| How Microchipped Jerseys Are Changing Hockey Fans’ Experience Posted: 02 Dec 2011 11:43 AM PST   Electronic breakthroughs — from home radios to instant replay to stadium Jumbotrons — have revolutionized the way spectators experience sports from the stands and the couch for decades. Now, one National Hockey League franchise has added technological fan apparel to that list of changes. This year, the Tampa Bay Lightning introduced a replica team jersey equipped with a radio frequency chip embedded in the sleeve that fans can scan at stadium stores to receive discounts on refreshments and team merchandise for all season ticket holders. The promotion has worked — it helped spur a nearly twofold increase in season ticket sales this year. According to Brad Lott, the team’s executive vice president of service and operations, the unique innovation — believed to be the first of its kind in the sporting world — was spurred by lagging season-long fan support in an area of the U.S. known for attracting migrants from other parts of the country. “Initially we just wanted to give all season ticket holders a jersey,” Lott says, adding that the home team’s colors would sometimes be outnumbered by visiting teams’ jerseys. “Then that morphed into the idea of a chip.” Season ticket sales have boomed from some 6,000 last year to about 11,000 this year, Lott says. The chip isn’t the only difference in the exclusive new jerseys — the Lightning also added a patch identifying wearers as “Season Ticket Members” and gave their most loyal fans the option to personalize the backs of their jerseys with custom names and numbers. “Fans already feel more like a part of the organization,” Lott says. “Now at home games we have our bowl filled up with about 70% Lightning jerseys.” Shane Edgar, a Lightning season ticket holder for 16 years, is one of those fans proudly sporting the exclusive shirt to Tampa Bay games. He said the microchip and personalized jerseys have enhanced a sense of unity among fans. “Initially there was a little more in the way of head-nods,” says Edgar, a 56-year-old real estate agent originally from Toronto. “And we were all looking to see who and what each other were supporting and what cause we would all put on the back of our jerseys.” When Edgar and other season ticket holders scan the quarter-sized chip embedded in their jerseys’ right sleeve, they receive a 25% discount on all concessions and 35% on all merchandise purchased at the arena. Each chip also has a unique ID, allowing the team to track who buys what, which Lott says will allow the team to analyze the most effective future deals and promotions. And Lott says there are many more bonuses to come. “We’re already hoping to roll out stored value, where fans who don’t want to bring cash to the game can just pay for things using the chip. We’re hoping to roll out a new feature each year.” Lott credits Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, a hedge-fund manager who bought the team last year, for infusing the organization with a culture of progressive innovation. Edgar clearly agrees. The back of his personalized, microchipped jersey reads “Vinik” with the number 1. “It’s my way of saying thanks for what you’re doing for this organization,” Edgar says. “Any time a fan is recognized and rewarded for their support it can’t help but produce more interest at the fan level.” More About: hockey, jeff vinik, microchips, NHL, sports, tampa bay lightning, trending For more Business coverage:
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| Facebook to Open New York Engineering Office Posted: 02 Dec 2011 11:18 AM PST   Facebook is expanding its engineering operations to the East Coast of the U.S. with a new engineering office in New York City, the company announced Friday. The office will open early next year, according to a statement issued by the company. Applications are now being accepted at facebook.com/nycjobs. "New York has a strong history of innovation and is home to thousands of talented technical people, and we want them to help us solve the challenges of designing and building the next generation of Facebook," said Mike Schroepfer, Facebook's vice president of engineering. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was part of the press event announcing the new office, proudly noted that this is Facebook’s first engineering operation outside of the West Coast. Serkan Piantino, a longtime Facebook engineer, will head the company’s engineering efforts in New York. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, was joined at the press conference, which was held in the company’s Manhattan headquarters, by Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s head of engineering, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg. “We are looking for the smartest folks. And after detailed analysis, the best place by a large margin was New York,” said Schroepfer. Bloomberg urged other tech companies to move to New York City. “I think you’ll find this is the best place to recruit and retain the world’s top talent,” he said. “Don’t wait for your competitors to move here and get the best talent.” Sen. Schumer provided some levity during the press conference, noting that both he and Bloomberg have actually met one Facebook employee “over 26.” He then glanced over at the 42-year-old Sandberg. The Facebook exec also joined in the fun. When Schumer said, “It’s hard to say that a company has changed the way we live.” Sandberg shouted from the side, “Go ahead, say it.” Schumer then continued, "but in the case of Facebook, it really has.” Sandberg said Facebook did not know how many engineers they would hire next year. “We’ll hire as much as we can,” she said. She also noted that the company would probably need more office space. In a follow-up interview, Mashable asked Sandberg why Facebook was hiring engineers in a city where engineering talent is already scarce. “New York is a great place to live,” she said, noting that it can sometimes be difficult for those educated on the East Coast to make the move west. She did not confirm whether CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be spending more time in New York, or if an existing group of Facebook engineers would be moved from the West Coast. More About: Facebook, trending For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| TouchFire: Is it the iPad’s Ultimate (Typing) Accessory? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 11:12 AM PST   Anyone who has ever tried to type on an iPad can understand why TouchFire — a simple keyboard overlay that makes typing easier — has raised almost $100,000 on Kickstarter. Instead of inserting a string of babble into your prose as usually happens when you rest your fingers on the iPad’s keyboard, TouchFire doesn’t set off a single key when you rest you fingertips on the product. Its defined keys make typing while looking away from the screen possible, and its silicon body is an improbably thin and flexible solution to a problem that is usually solved with clunky plastic add-ons. “Everyone else, when they think about a keyboard,” says TouchFire co-founder Steven Isaac, “they try to replicate what a mechanical keyboard is.” Isaac doesn’t come from a mechanical engineering background. He worked on an operating system for one of the first tablet-like devices in the late 80s and early 90s, helped develop Internet Explorer 1.0 and led the team that launched MSN.com. But he was inspired to build his first piece of hardware when the iPad came out. “I thought, this is everything we dreamed of 20 years ago [when working on the tablet], but the input still sucks,” he says. He recruited his co-founder, Brad Melmon, to help make the keyboard more than twice as thin as a credit card and easily rollable to the side of the iPad when not in use. Magnets on the keyboard’s sides snap it into place to type and snap it to the iPad case for storage. The secret patent-pending sauce is a group of small microstructures in each key that allow fingers to rest on them at any angle without touching the iPad. When the device does finally go to market (as of now, an undefined date), Isaac expects it to retail for about $45. Not so bad for a prototype that had its first of 49 iterations created in a garage with an exacto knife. “This really was just two guys in a garage,” Isaac says. “And who knows, it could end up changing the world.” In the video above, Isaac demonstrates the silicon iPad keyboard at Mashable‘s offices in New York. More About: apple, ipad, iPad keyboard, keyboard, kickstarter, trending
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| Carrier IQ: We’re Not Wiretapping You Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:52 AM PST   Carrier IQ, the beleaguered wireless metrics provider, “vigorously disagrees” with anyone who says it violates wiretap laws — and insists its software “makes your phone better” by delivering information on device performance to wireless operators. The company admits a great deal of information on a cellphone is “available” to it. But Carrier IQ re-asserted that its software doesn’t record or transmit any actual content. For example, the software can tell if a text message is sent accurately, according to the company’s statement, but the software doesn’t know what was said. In a video posted on YouTube, system administrator Trevor Eckhart appeared to demonstrate that Carrier IQ logs users’ every keystroke. Carrier IQ denies this, and some security experts agree. Dan Rosenberg, a senior consultant at Vital Security Research, told the Los Angeles Times that he had reverse-engineered the software and found that it didn’t record keystrokes, but used “keystroke events” as part of the application. What that means: Carrier IQ’s software can confirm when a button was pressed, but that doesn’t mean it’s sending a log of those button presses back to the company’s servers. Now Carrier IQ explicitly states that this doesn’t happen: “Our software does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video,” the company’s statement reads. As a matter of law, Carrier IQ says, your privacy is protected. As a condition of its contracts with carriers, personal information must be respected; Carrier IQ says it operates under the laws of the “applicable jurisdiction.” The three biggest cellphone user complaints are dropped calls, poor customer service, and short battery life, Carrier IQ says. Describing itself as an “agent of the operators,” the company says its software can help wireless providers optimize better address all of those complaints by providing them with information about exactly how well devices run on their networks. Is Carrier IQ a benign facilitator or the mobile equivalent of Big Brother? And what should happen to the company now? Let us know in the comments. More About: Carrier IQ, cellphones, Mobile, privacy, spyware For more Mobile coverage:
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| Most Adults Go Online for No Particular Reason [STUDY] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:01 AM PST  Americans are going online to pass the time more than they were just a few years ago, according to a new study. A report from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that about 53% of young adults ages 18 to 29 go online on any given day for no particular reason except for a diversion or just for fun. About 81% of people in this demographic said they have done so at least occasionally. The study — conducted among 2,260 adults ages 18 and over on landlines and cellphones — has a margin of error of 3.7%. But it's not just young web users that turn to the Internet during their down time — about 58% of all adults or 74% of online adults said they use the Internet this way, up from 45% of adults who said they did so in a Pew survey conducted in 2006. Pew noted that the growth of people using the Internet as a "destination for fun" coincides with the rise of broadband connections, social networking and video. The trend also suggests that the Web is becoming a competitor to other kinds of other leisure activities. “These findings are one of our main signs about how deeply Internet use has woven itself into the rhythms of people's lives,” lead author Lee Rainie told Mashable. “When they have some down time, more and more of them are finding the Internet a fun, diverting place to spend their leisure moments. It's not necessarily surprising to see that this is a favorite pastime of young adults. It is a bit surprising to see that the incidence of this use has grown in every age demographic. The Internet is not just the playground of the young.” The study did not ask respondents specifically how they are spending their time online for fun. More About: Internet usage, Pew Internet Center's Internet & American Life Project, trending For more Tech coverage:
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| Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy Supporters Posted: 02 Dec 2011 09:12 AM PST
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| 12 Fun Holiday Cards for Geeky Season’s Greetings [PICS] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:48 AM PST 1. "May all Your Christmases Be #FFFFFF" Wish someone a white Christmas the hexidecimal way.... Cost: $6 for six Click here to view this gallery. Sending out season’s greetings to your friends and family is a delightful holiday ritual. We all love writing and receiving cards, but how about spreading some season’s geekings this year? From pixel art to binary code to Pac-Man, we’ve found 10 gorgeous greeting cards that will show off your geekiness as you send out your holiday wishes via good, old-fashioned snail mail. Take a look through the gallery for our fun selection. Let us know which ones you’d stick a stamp on in the comments below. More About: Christmas, features, gallery, geek, greeting cards, Holidays 2011, trending For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| FTC Targets Acai Berry Seller That Used Fake News Sites Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:29 AM PST   The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint with the State of Connecticut to stop LeanSpa LLC, an Orange, Conn.-based weight loss company that has allegedly used fake news websites from affiliate marketers to promote its products. The FTC also says the company made deceptive claims and told consumers they could receive free trials of acai berry and colon cleanse products. The FTC alleges many consumers ended up paying $79.99 for the trial and were roped into recurring monthly shipments of products that were difficult to cancel. The defendants netted more than $25 million from U.S. consumers as a result, the FTC says. This is the FTC’s eleventh case involving fake news websites and the promotion of dietary supplements. In April, the FTC charged 10 companies with similar practices. It now has a consumer alert to help customers avoid deceptive claims, as well as a video that talks about the risks of free trials, which the FTC says are often used to market acai berry supplements and similar products. The parties have agreed to a court order temporarily halting the conduct of Boris Mizhen, LeanSpa and two other companies Mizhen controls. The order also continues an asset freeze, appoints a temporary receiver and gives the receiver, the FTC and the State of Connecticut immediate access to the business premises, the FTC says. The LeanSpa website now says the product is sold out and the company is no longer taking new orders. According to the FTC, the defendants hired affiliate marketers to create fake news sites promoting their products. What’s more, the fake sites appeared to be objective, with names like channel8health.com, dailyhealth6.com and online6health.com. The stories included headlines like, “Acai Berry Diet Exposed: Miracle Diet or Scam?” and “1 Trick of a Tiny Belly: Reporter Loses Her ‘Belly’ Using 1 Easy Tip.” The FTC says the stories also sometimes displayed the logos of reputable news sources, like CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The fake reporters claimed to have lost weight quickly and included links to sites where consumers were offered samples. The FTC says the affiliate marketers earned a commission for each consumer who signed up for a trial. The complaint also says consumers were encouraged to provide credit or debit card information to receive the samples for a small shipping and handling fee, but were later charged $79.99 for one of the products or $158.98 for both. Additionally, some consumers were allegedly charged before receiving the samples or before the trial period ended. – Lisa Lacy, ClickZ More About: acai berry, FTC, scams
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| Verizon Gains $3.6 Billion of Wireless Spectrum Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:03 AM PST   In a $3.6 billion deal, Verizon Wireless just bought a large chunk of wireless spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. As spectrum sales go, it’s rather large — just a billion less than the record-setting $4.74 billion Verizon paid for part of the former UHF band in 2008. The 122 licenses that Verizon’s picked up could reach about 80% of the U.S. population, or 259 million people. Comcast and the others, under the joint venture SpectrumCo, originally picked up the spectrum in a 2006 government auction for $2.37 billion. The terms of the sale go beyond just a simple exchange, however. According to the press release, the cable companies and Verizon will effectively become agents for each others services. Comcast et al. will eventually have the option of selling Verizon service on a “wholesale basis.” The companies also are partnering to develop technologies that better integrate wireless and wireline services. While the agreement has potential to create many new product innovations, the implications may conflict with some fundamentals of Net Neutrality, which generally holds that services should should not be given preferred status over an Internet connection, regardless of who’s providing that connection. In the Federal Communication Commission’s recently published rules on Net Neutrality, however, some exceptions are made for wireless services. In the release, Neil Smit, president of Comcast, says the agreements will enable the company to focus on providing mobility for the company’s Xfinity services. Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said the new spectrum will enable the company to improve its rapidly growing 4G LTE network. The spectrum is exclusively in the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band, which involves microwave frequencies from 1,710 to 1,755 MHz as well as 2,110 to 2,155 MHz. The band is intended for data use on mobile devices. Back in 2006, the FCC auctioned of big parts of the AWS band to various wireless companies (most notably T-Mobile) as well as SpectrumCo, a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Sprint, and Bright House. Cox and Sprint have since exited the partnership. Comcast is the big fish in that pond, owning 63.6% of SpectrumCo, netting it $2.3 billion on today’s sale. Time Warner’s and Bright House’s slices amount to $1.1 billion and $189 million, respectively. The deal is subject to approval by the FCC and review under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act, which deals with antitrust law. An FCC spokesman told Mashable: “When the applications come before us, the FCC will undertake a thorough, fair and fact-based review of the proposed transaction.” More About: AWS, comcast, net neutrality, time warner, trending, verizon, wireless spectrum For more Mobile coverage:
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| Top 10 Tips for Better Content Marketing Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:54 AM PST   Heather R. Huhman is the founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. You can connect with Heather and Come Recommended on Twitter and Facebook. As the old saying goes, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Don’t let the same thing happen to your new product. This is where a solid content marketing plan comes to the rescue. 1. Determine Organizational GoalsAsk yourself: What is my goal, and how is my content marketing plan going to help me accomplish it? These are things that need to be thought out before determining your content. By doing so, you can tailor your content marketing plan accordingly. Each goal should be measurable and have a deadline by which you perform this measurement. For example, increase website traffic 25% by Jan. 1, 2012. 2. Identify Target AudiencesThe next step is to figure out exactly whom you are targeting. This means researching everything about the audience to whom you will be delivering your content. Ask them questions, research website traffic data and determine their demographic information, including age, gender, education, location, etc. 3. Develop Key MessagesWhat exactly does your audience want/need to hear? In general, determine what will differentiate you and your product, as well as what will help you to achieve the goals you have set. The end result should be one to three main messages, each with one to five sub-messages that offer a bit more detail. 4. Decide on Overall Content Marketing StrategiesThere are three different types of content marketing strategies: long-form, short-form and conversations (e.g. sharing). 5. Draft an Editorial CalendarDeveloping a plan is one of the most important steps to content marketing. However, it should be flexible. After all, things can always change. This is where an editorial calendar comes in. It should include strategies, specific tactics, suggested headlines, content deadlines and allocated responsibilities. This is a fairly major undertaking, but you'll be thankful for your hard work once it's complete — and you’ll save time in the long-run. Not sure where to begin? Check out The Content Grid V2 by Eloqua and JESS3. 6. Develop ContentIn order to even begin the marketing aspect of a content marketing plan, you need to develop the content you are going to use. It needs to be unique and different. Go back to your key messages and subtly incorporate them into the content without overtly selling your product. Content marketing is about creating trust through education and information, not using traditional sales tactics. 7. Establish RelationshipsIt's time to start building a relationship with your target audience. This means tapping into existing communities by sharing and commenting on their content, as well as establishing your own communities across various social networking platforms. 8. Spread the WordDetermine industry keywords that are not only relevant to your product, but also are going to generate enough buzz. Search engine optimization (SEO) can play a huge role if you research thoroughly. For example, make sure the tags you're adding to your blog posts are going to generate traffic, since this can help you get found in the first place. I'm a huge fan of both Scribe SEO and InboundWriter to help you accomplish this. 9. Measure EffectivenessAlthough this is one of the last steps, it's one of the most important. By measuring the effectiveness of your content, you can determine whether or not your plan needs to be altered, or whether it’s working in the first place. 10. Change the Plan As NeededIf something isn't working, change it up. Be sure to pay attention to results, and then use them to your advantage. Have you used content marketing in order to launch a product before? What were the steps that you took in order to do this successfully? Images courtesy of iStockphoto, BrianAJackson, keso More About: Business, content management, contributor, features, How-To, Marketing, Social Media For more Business coverage:
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| 5 Big Reasons CEOs Should Get Social [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:18 AM PST   Over the past few months, we’ve introduced you to some of the most impressive CEOs in the digital marketing and tech space. While the businesses have flourished online, so too have the social profiles of the CEOs — they realize the power of Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms, and they use them regularly. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of the five posts in our Social CEO Series. Below that, you’ll find an infographic that highlights data about how some in the C-suite are using social media sites, how they consume news and the benefits of being a socially savvy CEO. 1. Why Richard Branson Always Makes Time for Social MediaWhere most corporate blogs still house formal announcements, the Virgin Group website hosts a blog written with Branson’s first-person flair. Many of them read like diary entries. Branson’s Twitter, Facebook and Google+ profiles are all equally personal and active. Much of what he posts is related to his many philanthropic efforts. But other times, he’s just tweeting his thoughts or writing about his active globe-trotting lifestyle. Here, he explains why he puts in the effort. Read the full story here. 2. Why Evernote Bet the Company on Mobile & Social MediaAt the helm of Evernote, an emerging digital note-taking empire, is the personal-memory-assistant-obsessed Phil Libin. As a blogger, active Tweeter and Google+ neophyte, Libin is the quintessential social CEO, and he bet the success of his company on mobile and social media before it was cool to do so. Read the full story here. 3. How Jetsetter’s CEO Keeps the Travel Conversation Flowing With Social MediaDrew Patterson is the CEO of Jetsetter, a two-year-old travel startup and member of the Gilt Groupe luxury flash deal family. The site offers 20 to 40 sales each week on “Jetsetter-verified” hotels, villas and adventures all around the world to its two million members. The site uses social media to maintain a dialogue about travel with consumers about travel. Everything from dream destinations and honeymoon planning to customer service and feedback is filtered through social media. Read the full story here. 4. How Kiva.org’s CEO Uses Social Media to Spark a Dialogue of ChangeWhat does it mean to lead a non-profit in the social media age? For Matt Flannery, the CEO of micro-lending network Kiva.org, it’s about maintaining personal connections with thought leaders and engaging in constructive dialogue with his organization’s supporters. The site, founded in 2005, has grown up with social media and matured with the platforms that are now so active in driving awareness to causes and campaigns. After lending more than $241 million to entrepreneurs in developing countries, we can’t help but wonder if the worlds of micro-finance and micro-communication have somehow become intertwined. Read the full story here. 5. How Social Media Helped Kate Spade Become a Global BrandIf our play-by-play coverage is any testament, Kate Spade New York ranks among the strongest brands in the online marketing space. From Twitter and Tumblr to Instagram and online video, the quality and strength of voice the fashion and lifestyle label has brought to each new platform is consistently impressive. We spoke with Craig Leavitt, who joined Kate Spade in 2008, about the fashion company’s gains in digital media and ecommerce, the latter of which is approaching triple-digit growth this year. Read the full story here. The Social CEO Infographic courtesy of Voltier Digital, based on research from CEO.com More About: evernote, features, infographic, jetsetter, kate spade, kiva, virgin america For more Business coverage:
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| Zynga Looks to Raise $1 Billion From IPO Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:02 AM PST   Online gaming company Zynga filed IPO documents with the Securities & Exchange Commission Friday, pricing its shares between $8.50 and $10. If successful, the IPO will bring Zynga between $850 million and $1.15 billion at a maximum $7 billion valuation. For comparison, the market cap of one of the largest gaming companies in the world, Activision Blizzard, is $14.2 billion. Famous for its popular social games such as FarmVille and CityVille, Zynga originally prepared to file for an IPO several months earlier, but the IPO got delayed due to volatility on the stock market. The $7 billion valuation is significantly lower than predicted; in May, Zynga was trading in the private markets at a valuation of around $10 billion. Considering the mixed feelings about Internet company IPOs in the investment community, the recalibration may not be all that surprising. On one hand, Facebook’s initial public offering, which might happen in 2012, could end up as one of the largest IPOs in history, bringing back nice memories of Google’s $23 billion IPO in 2004. On the other, Groupon’s shares sunk after the company’s IPO in November, though Groupon shares did bounce back a bit after the end of its quiet period. Zynga does have a few things going for it. It plans to sell quite a large stake of the company: 100 million shares (14.3% of its total), which might help reduce volatility. Its valuation is lower than expected, and the company is profitable, with earnings of $30.7 million for the first three quarters of 2011. If all goes as planned, Zynga will hit Nasdaq under the ticker name ZNGA in mid-December. What do you think? Will Zynga’s IPO be a success or a bust? Would you buy Zynga’s shares? [via New York Times] Zynga's New Headquarters There is a Zynga RV at the entrance. Click here to view this gallery. More About: games, initial public offering, ipo, social gaming, trending, Zynga For more Business coverage:
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| ESPN: A Mobile Example to Emulate Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:49 AM PST   When both my young niece and my not-so-young husband enthusiastically praised ESPN’s push notifications in the same week, I took notice. These are regular people — a teacher and an architect — not marketers or techies. I already knew from my son, a super fan, that of the myriad sports publishers, ESPN is the alpha and omega. So I was delighted to learn that ESPN would be presenting at the Mobile Marketing Association Forum in L.A. The more I learned about ESPN’s approach to mobile, the more I felt it really got it right. ESPN’s commitment to providing a superior user experience reminds me of one of the great successes of email marketing: DailyCandy. Serving a vastly different audience than ESPN, DailyCandy built a million-subscriber list and a multi-million dollar program with a laser focus on quality content, writing and graphics. ESPN projects its commitment to quality across mobile sites, apps, and notifications. If you compare ESPN.com on a tablet and smartphone, you’ll see an excellent example of responsive design, created in HTML5. As Ethan Marcotte explains in this great article, “Fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries are the three technical ingredients for responsive web design, but it also requires a different way of thinking. Rather than quarantining our content into disparate, device-specific experiences, we can use media queries to progressively enhance our work within different viewing contexts.” ESPN representatives echoed this concept, stating that they “follow the content, not the device.” As Jakob Nielsen advises, both the mobile and tablet sites have a link to the full site, serving users seeking deeper content that didn’t make the cut for the mobile version. I was impressed that registration was optional and simple, and that when I went to the full site, it recognized, in real time, that I was a mobile registrant. “Welcome! You originally created your account on a mobile device. We’d like to know a bit more about you.” A few basic questions plus an email opt-in followed. This is a great way to connect the dots between site visitors (mobile and full) and email subscribers, while building the email list and collecting useful demographic information for advertisers. Speaking of advertisers, those people who pay for all this great content, ESPN seeks to help them make their ads “as great and cool as our content and respectful of the user experience.” A commitment to the user experience is apparent in everything the company does. ESPN advises that you consider what you want your products to be known for and see whether that’s consistent with user feedback. The company even monitors incoming emails for comments about mobile products (and gets almost 50 per day!).  The ESPN app strategy is to “super serve our super fans” with content that supplements the mobile sites. While there are several apps available, ESPN seeks to stop its proliferation and “do fewer apps better.” The most popular app is ScoreCenter, the source of the push notifications that earned high praise from my family members. They like the granularity of the options – you can select the team and types of notifications you want to receive, adhering to what I call the mobile mantra: I want what I want when I want it. It’s amusing to hear the push notifications sound around the room after each touchdown and field goal. You may not hear it as often as I do, being a Packers fan, but you’ll find it’s a beautiful thing; the sound of a superior mobile strategy in action. – Melinda Krueger, ClickZ
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