Mashable: Latest 26 News Updates - including “Foursquare is Back in the App Store” |  |
- Foursquare is Back in the App Store
- Do iPhone Apps Really Look Good on iPad’s Screen?
- Gowalla Launches on webOS and Vies for Your Checkins with Free Stuff
- HootSuite to Integrate with Foursquare and MySpace This Week
- Oscars Fashion, Winners and Speeches: Google Names the Search Leaders
- Google vs. Yahoo: Who Has the Right Social Strategy?
- HP Slate Demo Shows Off Flash Support [VIDEO]
- Did Blog Buzz for “Hurt Locker” Predict Its Oscar Win?
- Online Video’s Rapid Growth Hits a Speed Bump [STATS]
- Is Google Search Coming to Your TV?
- Mashable’s Weekly Guide to Social Media Events
- Free Music Monday: 10 Free Tracks
- How Job Seekers Are Using Social Media for Real Results
- Betty White to Appear on SNL, Facebook Fans Rejoice
- Tweeting Bike Keeps Festival Goers Updated [VIDEO]
- Gowalla Gets “Food Wars” Passport Stamps
- iPad Gets a Doritos-Themed Parody [VIDEO]
- New Google Tool Visualizes Public Data in Animated Charts
- “The Cove” Movie Uses Oscars to Promote Social Media Activism
- 3 Things to Do Before MashBash SXSWi This Sunday Night
- Steam Brings Portal 2 and Half-Life Series to Mac
- Sandra Bullock Oscar Acceptance Speech in Hot Demand [VIDEO]
- 5 Ways to Use Google Wave for Business
- AT&T Warns Teens: Don’t Text and Drive
- Pandora Could Hit $100 Million in Revenue for 2010
- Social Media Dorks Get an Anthem [VIDEO]
- Bing Takes On “Goliath” Google with Huge UK Ad Campaign
| Foursquare is Back in the App Store Posted: 09 Mar 2010 02:43 AM PST  
Here’s the official explanation of what happened: “Last week, Foursquare accidentally released to the App Store a new version of its app before it was totally ready. It was pulled shortly after, unfortunately, many users had already went through the update, and were left stuck with a non-functioning app.” The version currently available is 1.6.1, but the folks at Foursquare say that the redesigned 1.7 update should appear in a few days. Tags: apple, foursquare, iphone
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| Do iPhone Apps Really Look Good on iPad’s Screen? Posted: 09 Mar 2010 01:17 AM PST 
It seems that these apps, when scaled up to iPad’s bigger screen, simply didn’t look good enough to Steve Jobs, so he decided to scrap them. Writes Gruber:
If true, it would be a pity, because these are quite basic, no brainer apps that everyone uses, especially Clock, Calculator, and the Weather. On the other hand, if these simple apps don’t look good enough scaled up, how will all those thousands of third party apps look? As far as apps go, the iPad experience (at least in the beginning) might turn out to be something that Apple otherwise struggles to avoid: good enough, but far from perfect.
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| Gowalla Launches on webOS and Vies for Your Checkins with Free Stuff Posted: 08 Mar 2010 09:53 PM PST 
The app should hit the Palm App Catalog on Tuesday, and like the company's applications for other platforms (including its recently launched Android app) it detects your location to show you nearby venues, lets you know where your friends are located, and has a gaming element called "stamps" that can be accrued as you check-in to various places. The SXSW connection is part of a push by Gowalla into virtual goods. Users will be able to discover virtual Palm Pre and Pixi devices as they use the application (essentially, the more you use it, the better your chances – it's random), and then be able to redeem those at specific parties at the festival to get the actual device. Another partner – Lomography – has inserted virtual cameras into Gowalla, that once found can also be redeemed for free gear. This is one way Gowalla hopes to differentiate itself from the competition, and, truth be told, it's not a bad one. No one wants to leave an event like SXSW empty handed, and by teaming up with brands to offer free gadgets to users at an event that will be loaded with tech enthusiasts could encourage some splitting (or at least doubling up) of the check-ins across services. Now that Gowalla's starting to catch up in terms of platform support, much of the battle might come down to marketing – where Foursquare has also recently invested heavily by forming partnerships with a host of media companies. In any event, here's a look at some of the features of the webOS app:     Which service will you be using to check-in at SXSW? Let us know in the comments! Reviews: Foursquare, Gowalla
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| HootSuite to Integrate with Foursquare and MySpace This Week Posted: 08 Mar 2010 05:28 PM PST 
HootSuite is one of the more popular Twitter applications, one specifically geared towards power users and businesses. It has been on a roll recently, launching integration with Wordpress and rolling out new updates to its iPhone and Android Apps. While Mr. Holmes didn’t divulge many details about the MySpace and Foursquare integrations, we can make some educated guesses as to how they will work. MySpace integration will most likely look the same as it does in Tweedeck: you’ll gain access to your MySpace feed and gain the ability to update your MySpace status. The Foursquare integration is far more interesting. It could possibly be part of the iPhone and Android apps, as Foursquare is a mobile application and not really meant for the desktop (though we won’t discount the possibility of some web integration). We don’t know the full details yet, but being able to check in and shout via Hootsuite could be a killer use for the Hootsuite app, making it potentially even more useful than Tweetie, TweetDeck, Or Seesmic for mobile. We’ll be sure to ask Mr. Holmes more about these integrations soon and get you more details. Thanks to Shauna Causey for her help on this post. Reviews: Android, Foursquare, HootSuite, MySpace, Seesmic, TweetDeck, Twitter, tweetie Tags: foursquare, hootsuite, myspace, twitter
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| Oscars Fashion, Winners and Speeches: Google Names the Search Leaders Posted: 08 Mar 2010 04:43 PM PST 
This is probably no surprise to most of you: some of the most popular searches were related to stars’ fashion choices? So who topped the list? The leading fashion-related searches were Zoe Saldana’s elaborate and purple Givenchy dress, Miley Cyrus’ Jenny Packham number, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Designers who were popular in Google searches included Armani Prive, Elie Saab and Marchesa, who were worn by Amanda Seyfried, Anna Kendrick and Sandra Bullock, respectively. The Hurt Locker led movie title searches — not surprising since it was a (comparatively) limited release that swept the awards at Avatar’s expense. The Hurt Locker also got a lot of blogger buzz. Precious, Avatar and A Serious Man performed well in searches too, but not nearly as well as director Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq war drama. Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, so it’s no surprise that they led in Google searches. Sandra Bullock’s victory speech prompted quite a few searches when she mentioned a kiss with Meryl Streep. Industry figures who were memorialized after they passed away this year got quite a few searches, including director John Hughes, whose memorial by Matthew Broderick and Molly Ringwald prompted viewers to look up several of his films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The blog post is simply more evidence that though Google’s a useful tool for tracking trends. It’s also a fascinating and amusing toy for taking a peek at the public zeitgeist. Reviews: Google Tags: a serious man, academy awards, amanda seyfried, anna kendrick, armani prive, avatar, celebrities, elie saab, fashion, ferris bueller's day off, Film, Google, jeff bridges, jenny packham, john hughes, marchesa, matthew broderick, meryl streep, miley cyrus, molly ringwald, Oscars, oscars-2010, precious, sanda bullock, sarah jessica parker, Search, sixteen candles, television, the breakfast club, the hurt locker, zoe saldana
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| Google vs. Yahoo: Who Has the Right Social Strategy? Posted: 08 Mar 2010 03:17 PM PST 
Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; YouTube; Wordpress: these companies, built from the ground-up, are mainstays in social media. None of them were created by a large tech company, and all but one remains independent. It’s an interesting phenomenon, when you think about it. Large tech companies have had limited to no success creating their own social media home runs. In an era where communication is increasingly taking place on these channels, the inability of these digital giants to build social networks is rather striking. Two titans in particular are making social media headlines for different reasons: Yahoo has decided not to create it own social network, but is instead striking partnership deals with Facebook and Twitter. Google on the other hand, not only bought YouTube, but it is attempting to carve out its own piece of the social media pie with Google Buzz. Partnership vs. in-house development; content vs. technology; Yahoo vs. Google: which company has the right social media strategy? What are the goals of both companies in the social realm? Do either have a chance against new and nimble startups like Facebook and Twitter? Let’s take a look, shall we? The Yahoo Strategy: Partner in Order to Drive Traffic
Now with new leadership (led by CEO Carol Bartz), Yahoo is trying to make a turnaround and bring back some of the authority it once commanded. The Internet portal is turning to social media as a cornerstone of its growth strategy, but it isn’t focused on acquiring a Twitter or building its own social network, but on creating partnerships that integrate every facet of Yahoo into social networks, primarily Facebook and Twitter. In September 2009, Yahoo announced that it would integrate Facebook Connect in its most popular web properties. The goal was to truly make Yahoo your portal to the web by not only delivering news, email, and finances, but also your social graph and the status updates of your friends. On the flip side, Yahoo would also benefit from the traffic bump that comes with sharing articles and content on Facebook’s news feed. Yahoo has continued to push this partnership strategy in recent months. Two weeks ago, Yahoo partnered with Twitter to give users access to their Twitter feed from within Yahoo, update their status, and integrate Twitter content into the company’s search and media properties. A few days ago, Yahoo Mail hooked up with Facebook, the first integration between Facebook Connect and Yahoo. Yahoo seems content in partnering with the major social services, rather than compete with them. Social media efforts like Yahoo Buzz, the tech giant’s answer to Digg, which hasn’t made a dent in the social voting powerhouse, have likely left a bitter taste in the mouths of its executives. Yahoo is now focused on using social media to generate traffic, eyeballs, and engagement times. The Google Strategy: DominateGoogle’s strategy goes in a completely different direction to Yahoo’s approach; its strategy is also all over the map. Like Yahoo, Google doesn’t have a good record in social media. Google Friend Connect isn’t even close to Facebook Connect in terms of adoption, Orkut never made inroads in the U.S., Blogger has nowhere near the traction of WordPress, and other acquisitions such as Jaiku and Dodgeball haven’t panned out. You’d have a very good argument if you said that Google’s only social media hit has been YouTube, and that “only” cost the company $1.65 billion. Google has a lot more social properties than many people realize, but it’s a hodgepodge of acquisitions (Blogger, YouTube, Picasa) and internally-created services (Orkut, Google Knol, Friend Connect). The company’s batting average, though, has been pretty poor, especially by Google’s standards.  That was before Google Buzz, though. With the launch of its most advanced social product yet, Google’s strategy has finally begun to emerge, and it is a good one. If Google can stir up adoption for Buzz (which it has via Gmail), keep that engagement (this remains to be seen), and launch a standalone version of its social media tool, it can carve out a piece of the (very large) social media pie. Linking or integrating it to YouTube, Picasa, Orkut, Friend Connect, and its other social tools could provide a boost to those services as well. There’s no reason to believe Google will succeed with Buzz, given Google’s social media track record. However, Buzz is the most complete product Google has put out yet and has some strong engagement numbers. It’s riskier than Yahoo’s strategy, but the payoff could be be titanic. Google and Yahoo Are Very Different CompaniesYahoo’s strategy is focused around integrations with already-popular social services, while Google is focused around building and acquiring its own social media powerhouses. While Yahoo does acquire social media companies (e.g. Flickr) and Google has some strong partnerships (e.g. Twitter in Google Real-time search), that’s not the focus of their respective social strategies. The reason their approaches to social media are so different has little to do with their leadership teams or the quality of their decision-making. No, it boils down to one simple truth: Google and Yahoo are very different companies. I argue that Yahoo is, for the most part, a content company, while Google is focused on technology. There was a point where Yahoo was known for its tech innovations, but that mantle has long since passed to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others. I explored this phenomenon in my first Social Analyst column, Content vs. Technology: What MySpace and AOL Have in Common. MySpace and AOL were also tech giants, but at some point lost their technology edge (MySpace lost to Facebook, AOL lost to DSL and Cable Internet) and thus began to focus on ramping up content creation and driving traffic to their web properties. Yahoo falls into the same camp. Because of this key difference between Yahoo and Google, it’s no surprise that they are implementing different approaches. Google’s is focused on building technology that will drive adoption, revenue, and information through its doors. Yahoo’s focus is on bringing more eyeballs to this content and keeping them on Yahoo for longer periods of time. Who Has the Right Social Media Strategy?
If you’ve read this column carefully, you can probably guess that I’m not going to outright declare that one company is “right” or that one is “wrong.” What I want you to take away from this week’s column is simple: your long-term plan and company composition should determine your social strategy. Yahoo is simply better at content than Google. Yahoo Finance is, in my opinion, simply a better product than Google’s version. Its array of hosted news content is bigger, and it owns properties such as OMG, which is doing well as a celebrity news hub. Google doesn’t write its own news or acquire a newspaper for a simple reason: it’s just not their focus, and they wouldn’t be very good at it. Would it make any sense for Google to focus on using social media to drive traffic to its content? The answer is no. On the flip side, Google’s technology prowess trumps Yahoo by large margins. Google can build better technical products (e.g., Search, Gmail, Buzz, Android, Chrome) in a shorter amount of time than Yahoo can, and it can iterate faster than almost any large-scale public Internet company (its rapid privacy changes to Buzz is one good example). These things are no longer Yahoo’s strength. So does it make sense for Yahoo to try to build a social network to rival Buzz, Facebook, or Twitter? Could it really keep up with any of them over the long haul? I severely doubt it. So here is my conclusion: neither company’s direction is “wrong” because each one requires a different social strategy to succeed. Based on their strengths, Yahoo and Google are implementing the right strategies. Now it’s just about executing them. Reviews: Android, Chrome, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, Google, Google Buzz, LinkedIn, MySpace, Orkut, Picasa, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, blogger, google friend connect Tags: facebook, Google, google buzz, social media, The Social Analyst, trending, twitter, Yahoo
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| HP Slate Demo Shows Off Flash Support [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 02:31 PM PST 
Punctuating even further Adobe’s row with Apple over the lack of Flash on the iPhone and iPad, both videos lay it on thick with emphasis on how Flash support lets you “access the full web and not just a part of it.” The first demo video below shows off photo-sharing and editing, interactive crossword puzzles, Flash games, and more as well as the on-screen keyboard and other elements of the HP Slate user interface. The second video is a 30-second marketing reel showing off the HP Slate in action. We still don’t have any more solid details about what’s under the hood, when the HP Slate will be released or a target price, but these videos are another milestone in the brewing year of the tablet. The HP Slate has the distinction of being one of the few we know about that will run Windows 7. Are you excited about the new tablet form factor, and do you have any favorite in mind that might earn your hard-earned dollars? Will it be the iPad, the HP Slate, the Courier or something running Android? Let us know in the comments. HP Slate Adobe Flash and AIR DemoHP Slate CommercialReviews: Android, Windows, iPhone Tags: adobe, Adobe Air, air, apple, Flash, HP, HP slate, microsoft, Tablet, tablets, Windows 7
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| Did Blog Buzz for “Hurt Locker” Predict Its Oscar Win? Posted: 08 Mar 2010 02:01 PM PST 
The data in question comes from The Nielsen Company, who charted all blog posts since the start of February and found that The Hurt Locker’s Best Picture and Director win mirrored the movie’s rise in terms of blog mentions over time. Social media as a whole, however, told a much different story earlier in the week, as Avatar had a massive lead in terms of mentions over the film that eventually beat it out. Back on the blog front, Sandra Bullock’s Oscar-winning performance in The Blind Side helped the film slide nicely into a comfortable third-place spot. We also used Trendrr’s real-time Twitter dashboard to watch Twitter reactions during the Oscars. What’s especially interesting is that while the average tweets per minute for the awards show steadily hovered between 1,500 and 2,000 during the broadcast, there was a drastic jump — with tweets peaking at 5,000 per minute — just before 9:00 p.m, PST when Hurt Locker won the Best Picture award. Clearly the Twittersphere had an instant reaction to the news, whether shock or amusement, as soon as it was revealed that the largest grossing movie of all time would not take home the most important trophy of the year.
[img credit: Oscar.com] Reviews: Twitter Tags: Film, social media, stats, tv
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| Online Video’s Rapid Growth Hits a Speed Bump [STATS] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:47 PM PST 
In December, 179 million people watched 33.2 billion videos. In January, it was 173 million people and 32.4 billion videos. It’s not a big decline, and we already saw in one of our monthly top webisode round-ups that special holiday content can boost viewership during December, so we know that this probably isn’t indicative of a downward trend. In fact, the larger trend is very much up. YouTube — by far the web video viewership leader — had users watching an average of 93 videos in January. That’s 50% more than a year ago, even though it’s almost a 4% decline since December. YouTube still dominates, though. “Google Sites” (mostly YouTube) accounted for 39.5% of web video views in January. The nearest competitor was Hulu with just 2.8%, followed by Microsoft sites with 1.5% and Yahoo sites with 1.3%. The narrative we’re hearing here is that we’ve settled into something of a groove. There’s an upward trend, but the numbers are still dominated by almost exactly the same outlets. Are there any startups you believe will upset these stats in the future or is this going to be the lay of the land for the foreseeable future?  Reviews: Hulu, Yahoo!, YouTube Tags: ComScore, Google, hulu, microsoft, News, web video, Yahoo, youtube
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| Is Google Search Coming to Your TV? Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PST 
The service, which appears to be very much in a limited testing phase, runs on a special set-top box and apparently searches content from both the Dish programming guide, as well as web video services like YouTube. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of The Wall Street Journal’s report dealt less with the service itself and more with the technology that powers the set-top box. Apparently, portions of Google’s Android OS power the Google-enabled device. While Android has been spotted on other devices like tablets and netbooks (or, so-called smartbooks), a move to the embedded device space could be huge. As consumer electronics rapidly shift toward connectivity (hey, it might have taken us 15 years, but now everything is moving at a rapid pace), there are huge opportunities for embedded systems developers. As it stands, most embedded devices use either a custom-built kernel or a modified version of BusyBox, but Google could theoretically offer a framework that would be both free and value-rich for device makers, while also offering opportunities that impact Google’s core business. Of course, this isn’t Google’s first foray into television. Back in 2008, Google AdWords launched Google TV Ads as a platform for companies to buy airtime in various markets. That project hasn’t been as successful as other Google ventures, but perhaps a more direct way of tying search to television would have better results. What do you think about the possibility of having Google on your TV? Let us know! Reviews: Android, Google, YouTube Tags: dish network, embedded devices, google search, google tv, iptv
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| Mashable’s Weekly Guide to Social Media Events Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:29 PM PST 
Is your event not on this list? Contact us at least one month before your event and let's establish a media partnership. Mashable’s Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.  March 8, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: At digiday:MOBILE, discuss the question “Is Mobile The Next Critical Mass Medium?” Discover what the future holds for you and this game changing media platform at digiday:MOBILE in Los Angeles. During this high-level full day event – top Publishers, Agency Executives and Brand Marketers will come together to discuss and debate how to fully utilize the next critical mass medium: MOBILE. DIGIDAY gives media leaders a chance to converge and discuss high level strategies and the future of Mobile Marketing. www.digidaymobile.com. Get $100 off for Mashable Readers with discount code: Mashable.  March 9, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: At digiday:SOCIAL we’ll discuss the question of The New Media Reality: Everything is Social. Are You? During this high-level event, top Publishers, Agency Executives and Brand Marketers will come together to discuss how Social Media is everywhere and is changing everything. DIGIDAY gives media and marketing leaders a chance to converge and reveal high-level success strategies as well as offer insights on how the future of Social Media Marketing will play out for all. Get $100 off for Mashable Readers using code Mashable.  March 9-10, New York, NY: Is your intranet dead or alive? Fire it up at INTRANET INSIDER WORLD TOUR LIVE 2010: Making Enterprise 2.0 Work. Learn how to get the intranet basics right (governance, buy in, usability, etc.), plus how to start down the Enterprise 2.0 journey with blogs, wikis, internal social networks, podcasts and video . Learn what leading edge companies such as IBM, ESPN, Alcatel-Lucent, Deloitte and EMC are doing to “socialize” their intranets for communication, collaboration and bottom-line success. Register today with promo code mashable10 to receive $200 off registration.  March 9-11, 2010, Baltimore, MD: At the Gartner Portals, Content & Collaboration Summit: Evolution in Real Time, you'll learn how to bring your workplace, information, and processes up to real-time speed for greater efficiency. In 3 days, 30+ Gartner analyst sessions, case studies, workshops and roundtable discussions you'll gain a set of tools and insights on Gen4 collaboration, cloud-based portal and content services, social networking, Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0, megavendor wars and more. Save $300 off the standard rate when you register at gartner.com/us/pcc with priority code PCCMASH.  March 10, 2010, New York, NY: Cross Media NYC brings together leaders from all key media industries to discuss, demonstrate, and debate cross media integration and partnerships. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the different media sectors in order to share information and find new opportunities. We want the gaming people to meet the TV people, the publishing people to meet the web video people, and everyone to meet the advertising people but let's be honest, in the end, it's all about the money. Use Registration Code mashable to get 15% off.  March 15-16, 2010, London, UK: At Social Media World Forum, learn from social networks, brands, advertisers and analysts. Hear from leading social networks on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the future. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading analysts. Mention you are a Mashable reader to receive 15% discount.  March 17, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Join SF New Tech, the Bay Area’s largest and longest running monthly tech event, to get an early look at of some of the hottest new tech around. Famous for its sold out events where executives (and the occasional hacker or two) takes to the stage to strut their stuff, SF New Tech is *the* place where early adaptors, developers, influnencers, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers, and regular every-day folks converge to see the latest and greatest technology. Visit sfnewtech.com for details.  March 19, 2010, London, UK: Justmeans' Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement Conference will bring together the top minds in sustainability, marketing, innovation and technology. This executive forum will explore how technology can enable sustainable business by involving stakeholders in the value creation process and will showcase examples of success and failure in this rapidly evolving market. Use this link for a 10% registration discount.  March 22-23, 2010, Paris, France: At Marketing 2.0 Conference, learn from brands’ social media initiatives, advertisers, researchers and analyst. Hear from leading people in the Social Media business on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the upcoming trends in the Social Mediasphere. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading researchers. The socialmash2010 discount code gives you €200 off.  March 22-23 & 25-26, 2010, Hong Kong & Singapore: Join us at the Social Media & PR conference. This comprehensive two-day event sees PR practitioners from leading global brands and agencies come together to share about the best practices, pitfalls to avoid, case studies, how-tos, measurement and ethics of social media in PR. See social media’s relevance to both B2B & B2C, discuss how new & traditional PR avenues can be integrated. Register today. Save 10% when you enter ‘Mashable‘ under ‘How did you know about this event’.  March 22-25, 2010, Dallas, TX: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute's 17th Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: Transportation Security Administration; NASA; Microsoft U.S. Public Sector, CDC; GovLoop; Southwest Airlines; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Army Reserve; City of Sugar Land, TX; Missouri River Regional Library; City of Reno, NV; Texas Parks & Wildlife Department; Deloitte Services, LP; GolinHarris; 2ndSix; & Panetta Communications. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.  March 22-26, New York, NY: Go beyond search at the Search Engine Strategies. Learn the newest trends, strategic action plans, and technology that industry leaders are employing today. Our experts will trace the natural evolution of search exploring topics such as: digital asset optimization, mobile application development, transition from search to discovery and more. SAVE 15% with code MHNY15. Program will focus on cutting edge strategies, tips, and tactics that will be driving search in 2010. Hear from the leading voices in search and digital like Avinash Kaushik, David Meerman Scott, Tim Ash, Ray Comstock and more.  March 23, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Swagapalooza is an experiment in viral media. On March 23rd, the world's most-followed bloggers, tweeters, and digital influencers will gather to judge five-minute auditions from the creators of the latest, greatest, and most unexpected new products. Are you one of the world's top bloggers or tweeters? If so you deserve to be begged for your attention and your following. Your taste and discernment make you the perfect judge of these marketers who will come to cajole, beg, and bribe you with more free stuff than you can imagine… Tickets are free for those who qualify.  March 23, 2010, Sacramento, CA: Northern California Social Media Society Launch Party. Join NCSMS in celebrating their launch. Celebrate with cocktails, appetizers and door prizes; learn about the Society and network with other individuals and businesses. The NCSMS provides an opportunity for their members to collaborate with other individuals and advocates as well as continue to grow social media marketing skills and smarts. Whether you want to learn or lead, this is a great opportunity to be part of an organization which is dedicated to the advancement of social media. The event is free to those who register.  March 23-24, 2010, Berlin, Germany: Learn, discuss and explore the challenges and commercial opportunities that exist within the mobile internet ecosystem and make the most of best-practice perspectives over a two day period offering a programme packed with case studies, roundtable discussions, industry snapshots, masterclasses and fishbowl sessions. Significant discount for Mobile Operators, Online/Mobile Communities, and Content providers! Go to iir-mobileinternet.com/mashable for more information.  March 24, 2010, New York, NY: Social Reputation Management: Protecting and Strengthening Your Brand Across the Social Web is a conference that will share the best case studies on how communicators and marketers listen to conversations, monitor and comprehend what is being said, and engage through the social web. The case studies will be followed by moderated interactive roundtables. Use promo code MASH for a discounted rate of $155.  March 24, 2010, Rutherford, NJ: Learn about how you would grow your business, talk to your customers, interact and engage. Social Media will help your business grow, financially and in relation to your customers. Topics include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogging, etc. This workshop is geared for small businesses that want to grow their fanbase and reach potential customers and make your relationships better with by using the social web. Click over to socialbiz324.eventbrite.com to purchase tickets to the event and use the code mashable to save 50%.  March 24-25, 2010, San Francisco, CA: EyeforTravel's Social Media Strategies for Travel conference goes beyond the 'what is social media?' debates (that were so 2008!) and examines the strategic importance of social media to travel brands. The 2 day conference will share leading case studies, hits, tips and advice from top travel companies including JetBlue, Hilton, Virgin America and more. Use the discount MASHABLE to save $100 on the registration fee!  March 25, 2010, Santa Monica, CA: Join us for more rock solid networking with tech geeks, VCs, entrepreneurs and good folks just like you. Schmoozd is an exclusive social mixer bringing together professionals in marketing, advertising, technology, social media and startups. The event is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, relationship building and deal making. For more information, please visit www.schmoozd.com. Mashable readers get 50% off when registering via this link.  March 25, 2010, Toronto, ON: Join Nick La, creator of the popular blog Web Designer Wall, owner of N.Design Studio, IconDock, and Best Web Gallery for a one-day immersion into WordPress, the world’s most popular publishing platform. If you want to learn how to create your own WordPress themes, understand how to use template tags and conditional tags to format and display the data you want, or how to use WordPress as a content management system, Nick will take you from WordPress Zero to Hero in 7 hours flat.  March 25-26 2010, Atlanta, GA: REtechSouth: The only event in the Southeast that ties cutting edge social media concepts and practices, plus tips and tactics on existing technologies, to the unique challenges of the current real estate market. It's worth attending just to absorb all the expertise that will be in the room, as real estate's best and brightest direct their attention towards your needs. Presented by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Save $29 off registration by using the code Mashable.  March 29, 2010, Portland OR: The social media conference for marketers, Social Fresh is not about concept, but focused purely on case studies from the front lines. Learn what social media can really do for business bottom lines. One day, 35 speakers from companies like Intel, Ford, Comcast, Nike and many more. As well as keynote Peter Shankman. Register now and use coupon code mashable for 15% off.  March 30, 2010, London, UK: The upcoming Hit Me! Social Media and Search event is designed for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to find out the latest practical business advice and information about Social Media and Search. Freshbusinessthinking.com has partnered with Microsoft to deliver this power-packed one day event featuring experts and leading practitioners from the world of social media and search. Stats published by Nielsen show that social media usage has increased by 82% in the last year. The challenge for organisations of all sizes is how to use social media to drive business. Over 1500 delegates have attended our one-day events and the average rating is 8.5 out of 10 – the next one is shaping up to be the best ever with a host of experts on hand to give you the information and advice you need to grow your business online. Mashable readers: get a discount entering promotional code MASHABLE.  March 30-April 1, 2010, San Jose, CA: Become Location Enabled at Where 2.0. Now in its sixth year, Where 2.0 is one of the world’s foremost events dedicated to exploring the emerging technologies in the geospatial industry. At Where 2.0, we expose the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier. Join us and meet the people behind the mashups, the people behind the platforms, and the people looking ahead to the future of geospatial. Find out what’s viable now, what’s lurking just below the radar and how to gain a competitive edge. Register now and save 15% at en.oreilly.com/where2010. Use code whr10mash.  April 5, 2010, New York, NY: You need to be a social media specialist. Today’s marketplace demands it. Content, regardless of medium or platform, is regularly created, curated, commented upon and shared by consumers. If you’re not strategizing to maximize the social component, you’re missing prime opportunities. Register for the IAB Social Media Marketplace to gain insights from Federated Media's John Battelle, MediaLink's Wenda Harris Millard, Del Monte's Doug Chavez, Deep Focus's Ian Schafer, GE's Andrew Markowitz and more. Use code mashable to save $100.  April 7, 2010, Cincinnati, OH: BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media features 8 great case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations. AT&T, Dell, Duke Energy, General Mills, Hilton, Procter & Gamble, Rogers Communications, and Tyson Foods share case studies in corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal. From GasPedal and the Social Media Business Council. Get $39 off registration by using the code ILoveMashable.  April 7, 2010, New York, NY: Attend the Social Media Advertising Consortium's April NYC Salon. Join SMAC members for a lively discussion on how brands are organized around social media. A panel of top brands including IBM and PepsiCo, and agencies will share insights, look at best practices, campaign successes and discuss what's next in measurement and research. Discussion followed by networking, wine & light hors d’oeuvres. The cost is free for SMAC members and $45 for non-members. Mention Mashable when registering to save 10%. Space is limited so register early.  April 7-8, 2010, New York, NY: Strengthen your business with mobile marketing, apps, video, and content at Think Mobile, a conference focused on mobile strategy, marketing, and mobile apps. Learn how to get your brand in front of the right customers, how to handle mobile content, and how to make money in mobile. The full day dedicated to mobile apps will cover building an app team, designing user interfaces, marketing your app, and targeting development for specific platforms. Speakers represent AdMob, Pandora, Nielsen, Bravo, PCMag.com, and more. Register with promo code TMMASH and save 20%!  April 7-9, 2010 Sydney, Australia: ConnectNow is a three day event focusing on the intersection of social media, emerging technologies and enterprise. The first two days is conference, where you’ll learn from international specialists how to leverage off new trends in marketing innovation such as augmented reality, location based services, social search, the real-time web, mobile’s growing dominance and the importance of ’social capital’. Day three is workshop day specifically for non-profits, charities, Government and community groups. Attend ConnectNow and leave equipped with actionable strategies to implement to your business. Register online and email info@connectnow.net.au quoting: Mashablemates to get 10% discount!  April 8-10, 2010, Atlanta, GA: The 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference will bring together more than 1,000 nonprofit leaders, IT innovators, communications gurus, fundraising superstars and nonprofit staffers from all over. You’ll learn the latest trends, practical how-tos, and IT solutions that can optimize your organization’s use of technology and help you meet your mission to create more social good in the world — and you’ll have a good time, to boot. Select “Mashable” from the “How did you hear?” field to receive an $100 discount.  April 12-15, 2010, Santa Clara, CA: The 6th annual MySQL Conference & Expo, presented by O'Reilly Media, brings over 2,000 open source and database enthusiasts together to harness the power of MySQL and celebrate the huge MySQL ecosystem. The O’Reilly MySQL Conference & Expo is a new event that builds on the tradition of past MySQL conferences (previous events were co-presented with MySQL AB and with Sun). This inclusive, innovative event will showcase the full spectrum of the MySQL ecosystem, from global corporations and diverse service vendors to start-ups and grassroots projects. Our growing lineup of speakers, program committee members, and sponsors represent a wide array of some of the most influential companies and projects in the MySQL community. Register now and save an additional 15% at: en.oreilly.com/mysql2010. Use discount code mys10msh.  April 12-15, 2010, Washington, DC: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute's Forum on Social Media for Recruiting in Government & Defense: Using Web 2.0 Technologies To Attract, Retain, And Engage Top Talent To Become An Employer Of Choice, to learn how to incorporate the power of social media into your organization’s recruiting strategy, along with helpful tools, practical tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as the: Internal Revenue Service; Library of Congress; Booz Allen Hamilton; Sodexo, Inc.; U.S. Air Force; Peace Corps; Arbita, Inc.; Panetta Communications; CollegeRecruiter.com; Bold Interactive; Campbell-Ewald; Brazen Careerist & CampusGov. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.  April 12-16, 2010, New York, NY: Attend New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), a non-profit movement formed around a single belief: entrepreneurs change the world. The New York Entrepreneur Week movement gives you the opportunity to actively engage the foremost entrepreneurs, investors and dealmakers both in the State and from around the world. Now is the time for entrepreneurs who have the will and drive to prove they can achieve anything, to stand up and come together in New York State for another groundbreaking NYEW event. Receive 75% off with code: Mashable 2010.  April 16-17, 2010, Royal Oak, MI: FutureMidwest, the region's largest two-day technology and knowledge conference, is aimed at helping professionals successfully add digital strategies to their communications programs. Technology and online tools have dramatically changed the way we do business. FutureMidwest will highlight the effect this transition has had on companies. The conference will feature presentations, group breakout sessions, relationship-building opportunities and influencers who are redefining business in the digital age. For a 50% discount, e-mail your name to hello AT FutureMidwest DOT com with the subject line "It's Happening Mashable." Then go to the Web site and register as a student.  April 16-18, 2010 Montreal, Quebec, Canada: The iPhone Boot Camp offers a three day workshop on iPhone and iPad Development, covering basic to advanced features such as web services, database, core location and animation, audio and camera and augmented reality. The workshops are limited to fifteen developers and is a full 24 hours of training. The iPhone Boot Camp is a well established certificate training program that has trained over 200 iPhone developers in dozens of cities since 2008. Our instructors are all developers with several apps in the store and experienced trainers using proven course material. Most developers are able to develop an app for sale in the app store after completing the training. The course is recommended for software developers that have a basic understanding of object oriented programming. A 10% discount off the discounted early bird rate – already a $400 saving – is offered at the workshop registration page for Mashable readers using the discount code mashable.  April 17, 2010, New York, NY: Seven on Seven will pair seven leading artists with seven gamechanging technologists, and challenge them to develop something new –be it an application, social media, artwork, or whatever they imagine– over the course of a single day. The seven teams will unveil their ideas at a one-day, public event at the New Museum. Participants: Tauba Auerbach, Ayah Bdeir, Cao Fei Jeff Hammerbacher, David Karp, Aaron Koblin, Andrew Kortina, Hilary Mason, Matt Mullenweg, Monica Narula, Marc Andre Robinson, Evan Roth, Josh Schachter, and Ryan Trecartin. Use registration code mash to get 15% off.  April 19, 2010, St. Louis MO: The social media conference for marketers, Social Fresh is not about concept, but focused purely on case studies from the front lines. Learn what social media can really do for business bottom lines. One day, 35 speakers from companies like Ford, Best Buy, Scottrade, Hardees, CMT and many more. Register now and use coupon code mashable for 15% off.  April 19-20, 2010, Washington DC: The annual Politics Online Conference is a decade old tradition where techies come together with elected officials, campaign consultants, hill staff, lobbyists, advocacy professionals, non-profits and more to talk about how technology is, and can be used, in politics. Over the course of two days we will have three keynotes, 28 breakout sessions, and two happy hours. Most importantly we will be giving away eight $1,000 prizes as part of the new Brains On Fire awards. Use discount code mashable to reduce the rate to $450.  April 20-23, 2010, San Mateo, CA: At NewComm Forum 2010, don't miss the premier conference for unlocking the power of the social web for business. Speakers include a who's who of social media experts and practitioners from leading companies. Five comprehensive tracks include: Online Communications & Communities, Social CRM, Markets are Conversations, Understanding the New Media Landscape, and NewComm Essentials. Early Bird discounts through March 12th Use discount code NCF2010MASH to save an additional $100 – register now – seats are limited!  April 20-23, 2010, Bangalore, India: As one the longest running independent developer conferences in India, Great Indian Developer Summit is the gold standard for India’s software developer ecosystem for gaining exposure to and evaluating new projects, tools, services, platforms, languages, software and standards. At GIDS participate in hundreds of practical sessions encompassing the full range of Microsoft computing, Java, Agile, RIA, Web, open source/standards, languages, frameworks and platforms, inspirational keynotes, an Expo Hall featuring dozens of latest projects and products activities, and engage with 80 speakers from around the world and over 3000 IT professionals. Save 50% when using code GIDS10MPR0200 to register at developersummit.com/registeronline  April 21, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Join SF New Tech, the Bay Area’s largest and longest running monthly tech event, to get an early look at of some of the hottest new tech around. Famous for its sold out events where executives (and the occasional hacker or two) takes to the stage to strut their stuff, SF New Tech is *the* place where early adaptors, developers, influnencers, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers, and regular every-day folks converge to see the latest and greatest technology. Visit sfnewtech.com for details.  April 21-23, 2010, Atlanta, GA: The 30th Annual Medical Communications Conference is a three day conference that focuses on improving the communication skills of medical professionals. Attendees will receive one on one media training from seasoned journalists, participate in hands on sessions that utilize the latest Web 2.0 applications, meet agents in publishing and television and receive case study driven examples of how to be a medical expert in all media platforms. CME will be provided for both MDs and RNs. Register now and receive $200 off as a Mashable reader.  April 22–23, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: If you're like most marketers, your intention to react with quickness and quality outpaces your ability. Forrester’s Marketing Forum 2010 connects you with analysts, peers, and industry leaders whose expertise will help you establish and embrace adaptive marketing practices. Call 888-343-6786 and save 20% off the regular rate with VIP code MFXMSH. Discount applies to new registrations only and cannot be combined with other offers.  April 23-25, 2010 Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The iPhone Boot Camp offers a three day workshop on iPhone and iPad Development, covering basic to advanced features such as web services, database, core location and animation, augmented reality, audio and the camera. The iPhone Boot Camp is a well established certificate training program that has trained over 200 iPhone developers in dozens of cities since 2008. The workshop is limited to fifteen developers and is a full 24 hours of training taught by experienced developers and trainers, using proven course materials. Most developers are able to develop an app for sale in the app store after completing the training. The course is recommended for software programmers that have a basic understanding of object oriented programming. A 10% discount off the discounted early-bird rate – already a $400 savings – is offered to Mashable readers on the workshop registration page using the discount code mashable.  April 25-27, 2010, Toronto, ON: Now in its 9th year, FITC Toronto is 3 full days and nights of events, plus one day of optional pre-festival workshops. With some of the most unique and engaging presenters from around the globe, FITC Toronto is an information blitz of over 70 presentations, demonstrations, and panel discussions covering the Creative, Technical, and Business aspects of Flash and digital media. Sandwiched between our legendary FITC parties, abundant networking opportunities, and opped off with the FITC Award Show, it’s three days and nights that will leave you inspired, energized and awed. Buy your 10% discount ticket today using the code: mashable  April 26, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The Future of Money & Technology Summit will bring together the best and brightest thinkers around money, including visionaries, entrepreneurial business people, developers, press, investors, authors, solution/service providers, and organizations who work where cash and commerce collide. We meet to discuss the evolving money ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment. Featured speakers include Ben Parr from Mashable, as well as representatives from Wells Fargo Bank, Kiva, SharesPost, Jambool, Founders Fund, Outright.com, SoftTech VC, and many more. Entering the discount code Mashable will get you 10% off. Look forward to (hopefully) seeing you there…  April 26-27, 2010, St. Louis, MO: Join us for the Restaurant & Hospitality Social Media Marketing Bootcamp. This event provides the practical knowledge and insights required to establish objectives and strategies for your market, properly select the social media platforms to engage guests and monitor and measure the results of these efforts for a greater ROI. This event is presented by RestaurantWorx Consulting and Inside Hospitality. Use the Code “MASHABLE” (all caps) when registering and receive VIP pricing on “Day 1″ or “Day 1 & 2 Attendance” tickets. See complete event details on the event website at RestaurantSocialMedia.com  April 26-28, Berlin, Germany: Embedded Mobile & M2M. Services conference is a great chance to compare approaches to building a profitable Embedded Mobile and M2M business. The opportunities of the Embedded Mobile and M2M market are clear to see. This event will help you to realise them. Visit the website today and book your place at this exciting event. Receive a 10% discount by quoting I2AENMASH when registering. View our website at embeddedm2m.net/mashable  April 28-30, 2010, San Jose, CA: At NSDI ‘10, meet with leading researchers to explore the design principles of large-scale networked and distributed systems. This year’s 3-day technical program includes 29 technical papers with topics including cloud services, Web browsers and servers, datacenter and wireless networks, malware, and more. NSDI ‘10 will also feature a poster session showcasing early research in progress. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet with premier researchers in the computer networking, distributed systems, and operating systems communities. Save an additional $100 by using the discount code NSDIMASH10 upon registration.  April 29-30, 2010, Lawrence KS: Social media is much more than a fad – it’s changing the way the world communicates. The communities in northeast Kansas are at the forefront of this movement and have made the region a hub for innovative technologies and social media use. Because of this, The World Company of Lawrence KS, is hosting a brand new social media event: The Free State Social. The Free State Social will highlight the best in social media from our area and put local innovations and ideas on a national – even global – stage. Our purpose is to educate attendees about the current state of social media, present opportunities for its use and talk about where the industry is headed. The Free State Social will be held on April 29-30, 2010 at the new Oread hotel in Lawrence, Kan. Keynote speakers include Jeremiah Owyang, Ellyn Angellotti, Shawna Coronado, Sarah Evans, Gowalla co-founder Scott Raymond, and Chris Brogan, co-author of the New York Times best-seller Trust Agents. Enter MASHABLE when checking out for a $20 discount on each ticket.  April 30–May 2, 2010, Mountain View, CA: The Wisdom 2.0 Conference brings together staff from technology companies such as Twitter and Google, with Zen teachers, neuroscientists, and others to explore how we can live with deeper meaning and wisdom in our technology age. Speakers include Greg Pass, VP of Engineering at Twitter; Bradley Horowitz, VP of Products at Google; Dave Morin, Senior Platform Manager at Facebook; Ben Parr of Mashable; Loic Le Meur of Seesmic; and many others. Use the discount code Mashable here for special discount.  May 3, 2010, Boston, MA: Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies is the FIRST social media event that focuses on real-life business impact. Not just for entertainment value, hype or buzz, but real-world examples of driving revenue, cutting costs, and energizing conversations around your brand. What can you expect from this event that you won't find anywhere else? Targeted advice for business managers including Market Researchers, Innovators, Brand Managers, Customer Experience Strategists and Marketing Enthusiasts seeking practical, real-life business examples they can translate into their own organization to monetize this powerful medium. Save 15% when using code SOCIAL10MASH at iirusa.com/socialmedia.  May 4-5, 2010, Boston, MA: Drive sales and make social media work for you at MarketingProfs B2B Forum! You'll learn the ins-and-outs of social media as part of your overall B2B marketing mix – from integration and engagement to measurement. Get 1-on-1 access to the best and brightest B2B marketing stars who will share best practices and FREE advice! Plus, our loyal attendees say our events are ridiculously fun, interactive and the kicker is – we have the best Freebies in the biz! (no keychains here…FREE industry research reports & memberships—stuff to help you really drive sales in 2010!) Register today with code MASH to save up to $200!  May 6-7, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The Social Gaming Summit focuses on the intersection of games and the social web. The event will focus on helping social games developers build, monetize, and grow their social games. We’re bringing together the leaders in free-to-play games, social networking, and payments infrastructure for a full day of panels and talks. Speakers represent Gowalla, Five Minutes, Inc., LOLapps, RockYou, Booyah!, Inc., GameHouse Studios and more. Register with promo code SGSMASH and save 20%!  May 11-12, 2010, Toronto, ON: Join us for Social Media – Risks & Rewards. The social media revolution is happening now, and quickly gathering steam. No business can afford to be left behind – and no business can afford to be unaware of the increased legal risks that a Company is exposed to. Learn about implementing and improving social media strategies, protecting your brand, return on investment, legal implications and much more. PLUS…a special address from Kevin Flynn, member of the blogging team for Obama for America. Use promo code 10495MASH to receive 15% off!  May 13, 2010, London, UK: The International Search Summit Innovations will focus on some of the most recent trends, tools and techniques in digital marketing including video, mobile and social networking and offer delegates insight and advice on how to effectively use them in international online campaigns. A range of expert speakers will discuss the latest international opportunities in these areas and offer practical tips for integrating them into an organisation's overall marketing strategy. The Summit will be held at The Barbican Centre in London, and is a must for any marketer targeting multiple markets and/or languages online. Book now with coupon code MASH1305 to receive 20% discount.  May 13, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator, a leading platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to broadcast themselves, is holding its second Vator Splash competition to find 10 promising early-stage startups to present at the Vator Splash event. Enter the competition today and join other onstage presenters, such as Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, gWallet CEO Gurbaksh Chahal, August Capital VC Howard Hartenbaum, Founders Fund VC Dave McClure, Lightspeed VC Jeremy Liew and Mayfield VC Raj Kapoor. Buy your 25% discount ticket here using the code: VatorMashable  May 13-15, 2010, Milwaukee, WI: unGeeked Elite is a Nationwide Marketing and Branding Event. Featuring eight social media gurus and mavens such as Chris Brogan, Jason Falls, Sally Hogshead, Olivier Blanchard and more. unGEEKING is the widespread adoption of trends, strategies, and tools that allow us to enhance and embrace internal and external marketing campaigns, enhance customer service and develop better PR campaigns. Throughout the three days this nationally-focused event participants will learn about positioning your internal and external brand; managing inbound and outbound marketing efforts; facilitating online customer relationships; building strategic public relations campaigns; and monitoring social trends among clients and customers. Mashable readers get an exclusive 25% off the standard pricing with the special code: unGEEKEDMASH  May 14-17, 2010, Chicago, IL: The 2010 NARM Music Business Convention is an annual event with two music-focused programs: 1. The Music Business Crash Course (May 14-15) is perfect for entrepreneurs, musicians, managers and labels. This session explores social media, marketing and sales opportunities in the evolving digital music world. 2. The Annual NARM Convention (May 15-17) brings top industry pros together to meet, share innovations, hear great live music — and discover what's next in music-related digital, physical, mobile, social networking and gaming initiatives. Use discount code mash25 to receive 25% off the non-member rate for the convention.  May 17, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The SF MusicTech Summit will bring together around 700+ visionaries in the music/technology space, the best and brightest entrepreneurs, developers, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment.Entering the discount code Mashable will get you 10% off. Look forward to (hopefully) seeing you there…  May 17-19, 2010, Charlotte, NC: Search Exchange is a 3-day action packed internet marketing conference offering insights into social media marketing, search engine optimization, online reputation management, and pay per click advertising. Learn and network with industry professionals and business owners from around the world. Mashable readers save 10% using code mash10 during registration.  May 17-19, 2010, Munich, Germany: a4uexpo heads to Germany for a two day Conference and expo. Over 30 presentations and panel debates on how to embrace the Affiliate Marketing sector, to include how media owners, agencies and advertisers can utilise Social Media platforms within the channel. Topics also include SEO, SEM, Blogging, Best Practice, Video, Mobile and API feeds. The conference includes access to 3 networking parties and promises to attract the very best entrepreneurs and affiliate marketing specialists from across Europe. Mashable readers can enjoy a 10% discount on registration with the code MASH10.  May 18-19, 2010, Santa Clara, CA: The Social Media Strategies Conference is the premier event for CMOs, Social Media Strategist, Managers, Marketers, Search Marketers, Online Community Managers, Corporate Communications, PR, Marketing, Advertising, and Recruiting Professionals. This year the conference will focus on how organizations are and can leverage Social Media to achieve their business goals. Hear from the experts about this cutting-edge space, how it impacts your business, and how you can leverage it. This conference will feature workshops, interactive sessions, panel discussions, and keynotes from thought leaders. Don’t miss it! To save $100 use the promotion code: mashable  May 19-20, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Gilbane Conference San Francisco 2010 is focused on Content, Collaboration and Customers. Today web and enterprise content management permeate every aspect of an organization. Internal websites, whether in the form of intranets, blogs, or portals and provide efficient ways to collaborate & share knowledge. Customer & internal-facing applications share requirements that call for a number of enterprise content, publishing and infrastructure technologies including multi-lingual, social media, search, and integration software. Our conference is focused on what you should expect from these technologies. Mashable readers get to save an additional $200 – just use discount code MARSH when registering!  May 22–23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA: The You Conference presents a unique opportunity, to learn personal branding, social media, the art of the hustle, self promotion and create a flood of customers. Gary Vaynerchuk (Crush It!), Dave Lakhani (How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying), Peter Shankman (Can We Do That?!), and Geri Druckman will provide an interactive format enabling each attendee to learn the tools & techniques to infiltrate markets, make social media work for you and be successful. Use promo-code: Mashable for a $50 discount.  May 24-26, 2010, Chicago, IL: If you want to learn how to create a Twitter account or Facebook Fan page, then School of WOM is not for you. This conference will equip you with the knowledge you need to ensure "no consumer gets left behind." The curriculum will focus on the power of how great customer service leads to customer recommendations resulting in driving sales, building brands, fostering community, sparking conversations, and influencing a company's culture. School of WOM will ensure that your brand becomes talkable across all consumer touch points. Visit womma.org/schoolofwom and save $200 and receive the early bird rate by using the code: MashableRocks  May 25-27, 2010, The Sage Gateshead, UK: Thinking Digital attracts more than 30 of the world's most innovative, creative, insightful and/or accomplished people to come to The Sage Gateshead, United Kingdom annually in May and talk about their work, inspirations, insights and ideas. Our venue and speakers thereby attract a wonderfully eclectic mix of people from around Northern England, Europe and the world. Mashable readers save 25% using code tdc_mashable here.  May 27-28, 2010, Greenville, NC: The Shift Conference is a free, two-night event for businesses to learn how to effectively use social media for cultural and economic influence. Bringing together speakers who are ‘in the trenches” { no big names here! }, businesses who are using social media on an everyday basis, and a few other surprises, attendees will receive practical information that they can use for immediate real-world application. Please visit CityShift.org for more information.  June 3, 2010, New York, NY: Hatch Match Columbia 2010: A great investor and industry event for one-on-one meetings with people you want to meet and have great conversations that stimulate action. This yearly event draws crowds of 400+ with 30+ investors including Union Square Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Greenhill, Zelkova, NYC Seed, Metamorphic Ventures, and more. Additional experts are made available in the areas of mobile, digital, advertising, legal, etc for you to access in the main room. For more information and sign up go to: hatchmatch2010.eventbrite.com to meet one-on-one with NYC investors. Mashable readers can receive 25% off registration with promo code MASH10.  June 4-6, 2010, Hutchinson, KS: Small Business Social Media Summit – A live, rub elbows, shake hands and sit down across a table from other small business owners event. Some of the most respected social media, internet based marketers and small business peers have come together to share their proven strategies. They will give you real life, no hype and the nitty-gritty details you need to know how to take advantage of the benefits social media has to offer any small business. This is your chance to develop a plan and take what you learn home with you. Register now and save at: smallbizsocialmediasummit.com. Special pricing of $180 for Mashable readers is available here.  June 9, 2010, Mountain View, CA: The Online Community Unconference is a gathering of online community professionals – managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors – to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. As we have found with our past events, the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners. Get $20 off by registering with discount code mashable.  June 11-20, 2010, Washington, DC: Digital Capital Week (#DCWEEK) is a 10 day festival in Washington DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital in our nation's capital. Modeled after Internet Week NY, Social Media Week, FotoWeek DC, Fringe Festival, etc. — DCWEEK will consist of a series of distributed events produced and hosted by individuals, organizations and community groups. Technologists, Artists, Entrepreneurs, Communicators, Govies, and social capitalists of all kinds will participate in panels, workshops, projects and parties. Register at dcweek.eventbrite.com – general admission is FREE.  June 15-16, 2010, Chicago, IL: Building on the success of the 2009 event, The 2nd Annual Health Care New Media Marketing conference will feature presentations from healthcare executives that implemented Web 2.0 strategies and developed quality metrics for evaluating the success of new media campaigns. Over the course of two days, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from thought leaders from major hospitals, healthcare institutions, and social media outlets. Through a series of case studies and forums, attendees will walk away with the tools needed to ultimately reach consumers through new media in an accurate and appropriate. Discount code: MASHABLE get $50 off.  June 29-30, 2010, London, UK: The 2nd annual Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0 World Forum is the perfect event to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud and enterprise 2.0 services and products. Building on the success of the 2009 show, this two day conference and exhibition will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing and enterprise social media industry. The 2010 show will include a free-to-attend exhibition with scenario based workshop area and key service providers demonstrating their products.  July 1, 2010, London, UK: Brand Republic's Achieving Maximum Value From Your Social Media Strategy conference. Learn which social media strategies have yielded proven results, how to build brand awareness, deal with negative PR, gain senior buy-in, measure and monitor your success and integrate your social media campaign with traditional marketing and PR. Roundtable discussions, case studies and presentations from social media experts including: BT, Photobox, Speedo, BSkyB, Facebook, Lastminute.com, Labour Party, Amnesty International, Mirror Group, TripAdvisor, Fatface, Space.NK, SeaFrance and many more. Register online quoting MASHABLE50 and receive an extra £50 off the early booking discount at www.socialmediastrategyevent.com.  August 13, 2010, Nashville, TN: At Big South Social Media Summit, come listen to some of the most forward-thinking business giants from companies like Southwest, SAP, Comcast, Domino's as well as social media loving celebrities who will speak directly on how they drive ROI through social media. Speakers will share real-world success stories, pit falls, and case studies to demonstrate the true value of social media. This summit will allow business leaders to finally understand how social media can propel their business and how to produce real results. More than the mechanics, this is a relatable summit that will open eyes to the power of social media in business. Get 15% off the ticket price by using the vacomash discount code.
Eventbrite is an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite. Reviews: Australia, Facebook, Google, Gowalla, Mashable, Pandora, Seesmic, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, society, video Tags: conferences, Events, mashable, networking
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| Free Music Monday: 10 Free Tracks Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:03 PM PST 
We happily accept your submissions for Free Music Monday as well, and if you’re interested you can find information about how to submit your tracks (or music from artists you represent) at the end of this post. Now without further ado, let’s roll some tracks!
Thanks huge to everyone for tuning in to Free Music Monday! If you find something you like in this feature, please do share it with your music-loving friends. You can always check out the latest edition of this feature, plus all the past editions, on the Free Music Monday tag page, so be sure to tune in each week. We’ve also included the list of past Free Music Mondays at the end of this post in case you want to check out the back catalog. Big thanks to everyone who has submitted tracks. If you sent us something and we haven’t included it yet, stay tuned for a future Free Music Monday. You can submit a track by sending email to barb AT mashable DOT com. Since Free Music Monday is now downloads only, be sure to send us an MP3 or two we can use (no more than 25MB file size total please), or send us a link to listen to tracks you’re willing to provide as a free download. Thanks everyone! Free Music Monday Back Catalog
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| How Job Seekers Are Using Social Media for Real Results Posted: 08 Mar 2010 01:02 PM PST 
We know it’s possible to land a job with social media know-how but the bigger question is how? In putting together this post we turned to those with the most knowledge on the subject matter: individuals who have secured jobs thanks to social media. Because of these personal stories we were able to identify common trends and themes contributing to their real results. Keep reading to hear how job candidates are taking risks, discovering that their online presence has real value, and engineering their own success through social media. Taking Risks
In our research on the subject one thing rang loud and clear — social media sites allow job seekers to take risks, and more often than not those risks are received well by potential employers. Risks worth taking:
Social Savvy With a Touch of Serendipity
You could call these job seekers’ social media success stories serendipitous but the reality is that each of these individuals set themselves up for the chance happening with months, if not years, of intentional or unintentional online breadcrumbs that demonstrate their own unique savvy. Here’s a sampling of people who were able to parlay their social media savvy into solid leads and careers after chance encounters. Todd Armstrong stumbled on a new opportunity by paying close attention to Twitter and following up on a potential lead.
Sue Spaight Moorhead inadvertently networked her way to her current position:
Kasey Fleisher Hickey’s online penchant for discussing her food and music passions landed her a new gig:
Social EngineeringWhen you don’t have time to wait for luck, engineering your own is the second best option. The job seekers we talked to found that social media enabled them to glean the information they needed about the position they were seeking or the individuals staffed at an organization in order to manufacture a bit of their own serendipity. Kevin Thompson may no longer work at SuggestionBox, but the story of how he was able to use social media to engineer his way into a new opportunity is quite remarkable.
Have you used social media to land a job? Tell us more about your experience and tips you have for other job seekers in the comments. Series supported by Gist  Gist helps you build stronger professional relationships by bringing together information from across the web for all your contacts and their companies giving you the right information at the right moment to get a first meeting, deliver an amazing pitch, or just find a better way to make a connection. Gist does all the work for you, assembling a dynamic collection of all your contacts and their companies from your email inbox, your social networks, or even your CRM system automatically building and updating their profiles as new content is published – by them or about them. [Img credit: Zach Klein, Pawel Niewladomski, Darwin Bell] Reviews: Facebook, LinkedIn, PHP, Twitter Tags: business, career, careers, job search, jobs, social media, social networking
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| Betty White to Appear on SNL, Facebook Fans Rejoice Posted: 08 Mar 2010 12:38 PM PST 
When asked at Elton John’s Oscar-viewing party last night whether she would be appearing on Saturday Night Live, the actress answered in the affirmative. We’re not sure in what capacity the comedienne will be taking the SNL stage — whether as host or as part of the “Women of Comedy” special we reported on a few weeks ago, but we’re certain that her nearly 500,000 fans will be pleased to hear the good news. The page was started by ardent fan David Mathews back on December 30, 2009, and has since garnered its share of media attention. White was launched back into the public eye after appearing in a popular Super Bowl Snickers commercial and in the romantic comedy The Proposal, also starring Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Twilight star Robert Pattinson even called her sexy – breaking the hearts of thousands of teen girls across the nation. It certainly has been a banner year for White so far. So what’s next Mathews? “Betty White to Host the Oscars (please?)!” Why not? If you can dream it, you can do it, man Reviews: twilight Tags: betty white, facebook, saturday night live, television, trending
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| Tweeting Bike Keeps Festival Goers Updated [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 12:11 PM PST 
The East Festival — boasting a “uniquely rich creative mix of East London” — will be documented in part by the “Twike”, a two-wheeled creation from Pete Fowler, who is no doubt tired of being described as the Super Furry Animal’s in-house artist. The Twike for the East Festival has been fitted with a cell phone programmed to tweet out messages when it comes within range of key areas of the festival.  Fowler, and the Chance Collective, a London-based digital and social media creative agency behind the project, hopes it will encourage people to follow the bike online – as well as offline around the festival.  If you like the look of this tasty Twitter-themed mode of transport then you can check out the Flickr photo set, as well as see the overall progress of the Twike via a Google Maps mash-up to be released at the end of the festival, or follow the overall festival news via @eastfestival. It’s an innovative use of mobile tech and Twitter to offer a more interactive view of a live event – you can hit the video below for more visuals. Would you follow the Twike? Have you seen a similar set-up to offer tweets from a live event? Let us know in the comments below. Reviews: Google Maps, Twitter Tags: bike, east festival, twike, twitter
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| Gowalla Gets “Food Wars” Passport Stamps Posted: 08 Mar 2010 12:04 PM PST 
Food Wars, which pitches culinary rivals against each other to create “The Best Dish In Town,” will get specially created passport stamps that Gowalla users can collect at filming locations. After checking in to such locations, users will also be able to access specific show information, see the details of the culinary showdown that was filmed there and pick up items specific to the show. The mainstream angle of this TV-themed team-up shows that Gowalla is stepping it up in an effort to compete with Foursquare. Gowalla recently increased its mobile offerings with a full-fledged Gowalla Android app in addition to its iPhone and BlackBerry options. A webOS version is coming soon as well. Reviews: Foursquare, Gowalla, iPhone Tags: food wars, gowalla, travel channel
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| iPad Gets a Doritos-Themed Parody [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:48 AM PST 
According to filmmaker Jeff Chan, this spot was made as part of a Doritos contest in which entrants may create their own spots in an attempt to make them go viral. We’re not sure what the impetus was to merge Apple products and snack food (Perhaps it was the success of the Doritos Super Bowl spot?), but there are some truly hilarious moments in this parody, which captures the tone of the average tech commercial expertly. My personal fave is Evan, the Doritos Genius. Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time the iPad has been compared to a chip. Remember this video? [Warning: This song will be stuck in your cranium all day.] Tags: apple, college humor, doritos, humor, ipad, MARKETING, pop culture, viral video
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| New Google Tool Visualizes Public Data in Animated Charts Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:38 AM PST 
The tool is specifically designed for avid data crunchers like students, journalists, policy makers, and could be seen as Google’s prettified approach to a user-driven computational search engine (think Wolfram Alpha). Public Data Explorer is its own dedicated utility that expands and improves upon existing functionality added to the search experience last year. Interested parties can visually dissect — in time-lapsed animation fashion and in an array of chart types — things like fertility rate by country, employment rates, and the flux of mortality rates in the U.S. Data is provided by the World Bank, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, the California Department of Education and four other public agencies. The visual animation technology comes from Trendalyzer, a service that Google purchased back in 2007. Google Public Data Explorer covers 80 different topics in the public data sector, focusing on the most popular topics as determined by search queries on Google.com. Users can explore ready-made charts or toy with data and reshape the visualizations into line graphs, bar graphs, maps and bubble charts. Charts can also be shared by direct URL or embed. While most of us won’t need this sophisticated of a tool on frequent occasions, it’s easy to see how this data could be extremely useful to researchers and those looking to understand the important trends that happen over time. Reviews: Google Tags: Google, public data, visualization
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| “The Cove” Movie Uses Oscars to Promote Social Media Activism Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:01 AM PST 
During the acceptance speech, dolphin activist Ric O’Barry held up a sign saying, “Text DOLPHIN to 44144.” The cameras cut away to the crowd for several seconds — possibly to avoid taking sides on the contentious issue of dolphin hunting. Viewers who caught it and followed the sign’s instructions were subscribed to text updates and plugged into the larger social media campaign for the film and its cause. Text messages and the web have increasingly played a significant part in activism lately. The American Red Cross ran a very successful text message donation campaign for relief efforts in Haiti, Twitter was used by protesters in Iran to make voices heard and to organize events, and websites like Change.org rally like-minded people around causes with more efficiency than was possible before the web.  The Cove on the WebThe campaign is rooted in a Takepart.com page that links to several ways people can get involved, including the text campaign, a letter-writing campaign, and a Facebook Cause app page with more than 500,000 supporters. The Cove’s Facebook fan page has 115,000 fans at present, and Facebook has been used to organize live-streaming Q&A events with Ric O’Barry. The Cove is also using Zannel to spread the word. The service helps users share videos and images related to the campaign with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. Has The Cove’s Activism Worked?While the impact of the social media campaign can’t be measured just yet, the film itself has caused a major uproar that has made things very difficult for the dolphin hunters who live and work in the Japanese cove that the film documents. Dolphin-hunting season was postponed more than a week after the film made inroads with the Japanese press. When the film was shown at Australian film festivals, officials in an Australian sister city to the town where the dolphin hunting takes place voted unanimously to end the sister-city relationship, though the decision was later reversed. We’ve embedded a brief clip of O’Barry’s texting banner below. Have you participated in campaigns like this? Do you think they do any good or do you believe they’re just preaching to the choir? Let us know in the comments. Reviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: academy awards, activism, Oscars, social media, texting, the cove
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| 3 Things to Do Before MashBash SXSWi This Sunday Night Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:58 AM PST 
1. RSVP on Eventbrite and the Facebook event page so your friends know you’re coming. 2. Add yourself to Austin Realtime, our growing directory of attendees and their social networking updates. 3. Check out our new SXSWi channel for SXSW updates! Some extra notes for attendees:
About MashBash 2010
Join Mashable’s Pete Cashmore, Adam Ostrow, Josh Catone, Barb Dybwad, Jennifer Van Grove, Brett Petersel and myself, along with our sponsors Cliqset and Sony Electronics and SXSWi attendees for a night of networking and music from DJ Chicken George. In addition, there will be a two-hour open bar, strong Wi-Fi, a game room and plenty of surprises! MashBash RSVP DetailsDate: Sunday, March 14, 2010 Many thanks to our sponsors:
Reviews: Facebook, Mashable Tags: MashBash, mashbash sxswi, sxsw, sxswi
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| Steam Brings Portal 2 and Half-Life Series to Mac Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:47 AM PST 
Valve’s first-person shooter games are among the most popular on the PC platform, and they include the entire Half-Life series, Team Fortress 2, Portal and both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. This announcement is no surprise; Valve teased it last week with a series of images mixing Valve properties like Steam and Half-Life’s Gordon Freeman in with classic Mac ad mock-ups. What’s really cool and unexpected: When you buy a Steam game that’s available for both Mac and PC, you’re buying a license to the game on both platforms, so if you have a mix of PC and Mac computers in your life, you can play on all your machines. This month’s issue of gaming enthusiast magazine Game Informer also reported that Portal 2 was coming to Mac and that a Steam beta for Mac was imminent. Now Joystiq is reporting that Valve has officially announced its plans. We’re not sure yet whether Mac and PC users will be able to play online together, but because the developer framework is so closely tied (as Joystiq reports) we wouldn’t be surprised. Stay tuned for updates! Reviews: Steam Tags: apple, gaming, half-life, mac, portal 2, source engine, steam, valve software, video games
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| Sandra Bullock Oscar Acceptance Speech in Hot Demand [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:18 AM PST 
Although The Hurt Locker might have taken home the most gold statues (six wins out of nine nominations), one of the most talked-about moments of the night was Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech for Best Actress. Currently, the speech is being watched by scores of Internet users, according to Google search trends. Bullock won the award for her work in The Blind Side. 2009 was a banner year for Bullock, who not only took home the Oscar for Best Actress (and also the Razzie for Worst Actress) — she also wound up being the top box office star of the year. Talk about a comeback! What was your favorite Oscar moment last night? Let us know in the comments! [img credit: Oscars.go.com] Reviews: Google Tags: academy awards, Oscars, oscars-2010, sandra bullock
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| 5 Ways to Use Google Wave for Business Posted: 08 Mar 2010 09:55 AM PST 
Remember Google Wave? Clearly, Google Buzz has recently overshadowed Google’s other hotly anticipated social communication platform, but before you ditch your Wave account, give it a second try. There are many useful business applications for Wave, especially in situations that call for collaboration with a group or managing a project. Wave can easily allow users to dispense with the formalities (and expenses) of meetings, phone calls, travel, etc. and instead make it easy to collaborate across time and space. Here are five examples of common workplace activities that Google Wave can support. 1. Conferences and Professional Development This one probably seems obvious. Departments can set up Google Waves to discuss what's happening at a particular event. A company with limited funds could send one person to a conference and use Google Wave as a reporting mechanism. Or if several people attend, they can divide/conquer the event and post their ideas and comments in one place. For example Chris Hoyt, author of the blog The Recruiter Guy, set up a Wave for the human resources and recruiting community during last year's Social Recruiting Summit. Both attendees and those of us who were interested but couldn’t make it in person were able to join the Wave. It was an opportunity to gain exposure to the content and learn more about the event so people could budget to attend the following year. One thing I could see emerging from conference Waves are "back channel" discussions. Conference organizers in particular will want to pay particular attention to this and not necessarily view it as a bad thing. If managed properly, it could bring some opportunities for improvement to light during the event. 2. Decision Making and Problem SolvingUsing Google Wave to discuss a company challenge could be very beneficial — especially when all of the players aren't located in the same place. That's exactly why Troy Peterson, CEO of Nibi Software, used Wave to get the company’s development plan finalized. He brought everyone together in a Wave and let the conversation flow. "The real-time document functionality allowed us to have ‘arguments’ and solve problems together that might otherwise have resulted in ‘back and forth’ threads that went on forever." Peterson did mention that adoption was an initial challenge. "Although several of my contacts immediately had Wave accounts, they weren’t necessarily the people I was collaborating with on projects. It required some arm wrestling to get people on board." But the results were worth it. "In the end, we have a succinct document that we have all agreed on and that we can compare short-term objectives against." 3. Project ManagementThe same decision making philosophy applies when you have a project and need to collaborate not only with internal stakeholders, but an external supplier. Google Wave provides an opportunity for collaboration. Hopefully, consultants and/or contractors are able to tap into that dialogue by sharing their Wave account info with client companies. Rachel Levy, Founder/CEO of the startup website WebinarListings, is using Google Wave with her developer. "We have the list of open items in the Wave, so we can discuss each one. I add an open item, and he can ask me a question about it, or mark it as done." The main advantage to using this application was being able to track conversations. This could also be a valuable way to manage the dreaded “scope creep.” You can lay out the entire project in a single Wave once the parameters are agreed upon. Then, you can work through each facet with each side tracking progress and those pesky project deviations. And everything gets documented along the way. New project requirements can even be moved to a new Wave for later consideration. 4. Brainstorming and Idea Cultivation Brendan Gill, with the firm Staircase3, said he and his partners use Google Wave as a medium to organize and facilitate conversations and feedback. "We are a team of entrepreneurs who like to have an idea and make it happen quickly. We use Google Wave to brainstorm our ideas for new business projects. It’s a great tool for collecting a series of conversations, and we use a different Wave for each different idea." Gill explained they would have traditionally used group e-mails for this purpose, but found Wave has numerous advantages, including serving as a centralized repository, and the ability to use add-on features for enhanced productivity. This was especially useful since their management team is located around the globe. "The Ribbit conferencing feature is great for staging an ad hoc conference call. Furthermore, the simple voting widget is a useful way to end each of our Waves where we can stage a vote for a given idea — whether or not we want to put the idea in motion, or just cut it loose." 5. Virtual Meetings and Reduced TravelLet's face it. Bringing groups of people together can be expensive. Depending on the project, Google Wave could help foster dialogue without a lot of travel, phone calls, etc. Gill mentioned using Wave to make edits and adjustments on business proposals without having people travel to a central location. "Using Wave definitely reduces the need for thousand-dollar transatlantic flights and many tons of carbon emissions. Obviously without Wave, we would still use e-mails and teleconferencing, but using a better communications platform has definitely cut a number of flights out of our schedule,” he said. Gill added that, "Collaboration can be done in real-time, if required, which is useful if you're trying to rush out a project that has to happen quickly or not at all. Or for longer-term projects, you can take your time to think about an idea and come back to the plan at any time you like." ConclusionIf you're looking for a way to streamline communications on your next project, Peterson suggests that you "Sign up and use the tool. It may not revolutionize your company’s communications, but it is useful and worth the effort involved in figuring out how it works for your organization." Remember the success of a Wave is contingent upon the active participation of the individuals involved. Waves need engagement, attention and clarity. You can't just ask a question and walk away for a couple days. According to Levy, "The bigger the Wave gets, the slower it gets." Managing activity and open items becomes essential for productivity. How are you using Google Wave to improve your work life? Share your stories in the comments. More Google Wave resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, YanC Reviews: Google, Google Buzz, Google Wave, iStockphoto Tags: business, collaboration, Google, Google Wave, List, Lists, small business
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| AT&T Warns Teens: Don’t Text and Drive Posted: 08 Mar 2010 09:37 AM PST 
Earlier this year, it became illegal for bus drivers or truck drivers to text while driving, but the problem only continues to grow among drivers in general. AT&T is joining in the fight to educate people about the dangers of texting while operating a vehicle by launching a new texting and driving campaign with the slogan: “Txting & Driving: It Can Wait.” In addition to offering a pledge and contract for teens and parents, AT&T has a Facebook page dedicated to the cause, and even a widget you can insert into your own website to show your support. What do you think about the campaign? How do you think wireless companies, parents and the government should attack this problem? Let us know! Tags: att, safety, texting, texting while driving
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| Pandora Could Hit $100 Million in Revenue for 2010 Posted: 08 Mar 2010 08:47 AM PST 
The new estimate comes from a Wall Street analyst quoted in a New York Times profile of Pandora, a company that has narrowly escaped all but certain death several times since its inception in 2000. The Times credits much of Pandora's rise to its wildly successful iPhone app, which doubled signups for the service overnight. Much of it also has to do, however, with the new licensing deal that the company was able to achieve last year that brought royalties down to a much more affordable level that Pandora offsets with both ads and subscription revenue. As for whether these rising tides might lead to Pandora going public, the Times reports that nothing is imminent, but notes that the company recently hired a CFO — the same one that was at the helm of Salesforce.com when it made its Wall Street debut. On a side note, Pandora's success is quite the tale in perseverance. For example, the Times talks of founder Tim Westergren not scoring a venture capital investment until his 348th pitch. In a decade when we've seen countless music startups falter or sold off for pennies on the dollar, Pandora's tale is an inspiring one, and the NYT's profile is worth a read. Reviews: Pandora, iPhone Tags: finance, online music, pandora
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| Social Media Dorks Get an Anthem [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Mar 2010 07:28 AM PST 
With shoutouts to Zuckerberg, Mashable, Valleywag, Gizmodo, LinkedIn, Twitter and tech nerds camped out in their mothers’ basements, this video is all about using your social media cache to attain new levels of irony-spun hipness. According to these tech-savvy dudes, Internet denizens of today are raking in the cash and models whilst rocking skinny jeans and “steady Jerkin’” (it’s a dance craze, guys — get your mind outta the gutter). As the refrain goes: “Social networks what dream are made of.” Apparently, the “New Dork” is the next hot thing. That’s cool and everything, but I’m more stoked that the video features a guy wearing jorts. Check it out below. What do you think of the concept of the “New Dork”? Let us know in the comments. Disclosure: Grasshopper is a past sponsor of Mashable. Reviews: LinkedIn, Mashable, Twitter Tags: humor, pop culture, social media, trending, viral video
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| Bing Takes On “Goliath” Google with Huge UK Ad Campaign Posted: 08 Mar 2010 06:37 AM PST 
It’s therefore no surprise to hear Managing Director and Vice President of Consumer and Online at Microsoft UK Ashley Highfield readily admit Microsoft is the underdog in this battle. “This is a big moment — we are taking out our slingshots and taking on Goliath,” he said. The moment is big, indeed, as Microsoft plans to spend millions of pounds on promoting its search engine, starting with a series of TV ads in the UK next week. According to the Guardian, the ads will emphasize Bing as a decision engine that simplifies information overload and gives users simple, straight answers. Will it be enough to capture some of Google’s enormous market share? In the UK, it’s a frightening 90%, while Bing is at 3%, which explains the Goliath comparison. In the U.S., however, Bing fares much better, which was probably (at least partly) the result of a strong advertising campaign. We’ll see if Microsoft can repeat the same success in the UK. Tags: Goliath, Google, microsoft, Search
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A couple of days ago 
John Gruber of Daring Fireball has an interesting story about the 
Foursquare is battling for your SXSW check-ins with a 
Today at the #140tc Twitter Conference in Seattle, Washington (which I 
In 2006, 
Now for the big question: is Google or Yahoo doing better at social media? Which one has the right social media strategy?
One of many upcoming 
The blogosphere was literally split down the middle in terms of online buzz around the 82nd Academy Awards Best Picture nominees. Both Avatar and The Hurt Locker each maxed out with three quarters of a percent (.75%) of blog post buzz across the web.
comScore just posted its 
Google is testing a new television programming search service in conjunction with Dish Network, according to 
It’s a brand new week, which means it’s time for Mashable's guide to upcoming social media and web events, parties, and conferences. For more upcoming event listings, check out Mashable’s 
Hey there, music fans! Thanks for joining us for 
Whether you’re looking for your first job, exploring a career change, or just setting yourself up for future success, social media sites have proven themselves as important platforms for facilitating connections, demonstrating passions and interests, and ultimately landing you the job you actually want.
In reading through the many stories of those who managed to secure their current gig through social media, the biggest trend seemed to be that a chance tweet, Facebook post, or online connection made all the difference.
The Facebook page 
An ongoing festival in London is offering a unique way of keeping up with happenings: following a tweeting bike on Twitter.
A group of clever 
Google has just launched 
One of the men responsible for The Cove — 2010 Oscar winner for best documentary — used the Academy Awards stage to promote a web and mobile-based activism campaign tied to the film’s save-the-dolphins subject matter.
MashBash SXSWi 2010, Mashable’s annual event at the SXSW festival in Austin, is less than 1 week away! Here’s a checklist for those wishing to attend:
More than 7,000 people have 
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“Cliqset makes it easy for people to share, discover, and discuss content from everywhere on the Web. Cliqset helps you filter through the activity, like status updates, reviews, blog posts, videos, articles, music and pretty much everything that's online, and consume the social stream the way you want to. To connect with Cliqset, visit us at 
Massively popular online games distribution platform 
The 
Sharlyn Lauby is the president of 
The growing popularity of text messaging — 
Online music service Pandora could hit $100 million in revenue this year, which would represent more than twice as much revenue as the company 
It’s a bit funny to hear Microsoft referring to any other company as the “Goliath,” but when it comes to the business of search, there’s no doubt that Google has managed to overshadow Microsoft’s efforts, which prompted Microsoft to ditch Live Search and | You are subscribed to email updates from Mashable! To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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