Mashable: Latest 26 News Updates - including “Netflix Streaming App Coming to iPad”

Netflix Streaming App Coming to iPad
Our Choice: The Funniest April Fools Jokes
Happy Birthday, Gmail!
WolframAlpha Drops iPhone App Price by 96% to $1.99, Offers Refunds
Hulu iPad App on the Way, Possibly Subscription Model? [RUMOR]
Travelocity Gnome Moonlights on Chatroulette [PICS]
First iPad Hands-On and Reviews Start Rolling
Rally Up is a Location Based Network For People Who Like Privacy
Take the Confusion Out of Group Payments with WePay
Encoding.com Aims to Optimize Streaming Video for iPad
Facebook vs. Google: The Billion Dollar Battle to Be Your Default Social Profile
12 Fresh Web Tools for Getting the Most Out of Google Buzz
How Much of a Sausage Fest Are Your Facebook Events? [Apps]
Developers More Interested in Android than iPad [STATS]
PREVIEW: The Onion Comes to iPhone on Friday [VIDEO]
Pay for Starbucks with Your iPhone at 1,000 Target Stores
EasyJet Wants to Sell Flights on Facebook
The Mashable Twitter List Directory Launches!
Bing Gives Users Access to Foursquare Data in Maps
The New YouTube Revealed [PICS]
Facebook Bug Exposes Users’ Hidden E-mail Addresses
Google Maps Envelopes Concept Turns Gmail into Snail Mail [PICS]
Justin.tv for iPhone Racks Up 355,000 Downloads in First Week
Google Earth Helps Deputy Make Arrest
10 Amazing Magic Trick Videos on YouTube
Board Games on the iPad: Oh Yes, This is Going to be Big
Judge: Isohunt Must Remove Infringing Content

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 05:27 AM PDT

From day one, the iPad was not only a device for reading e-books and magazines, but also for enjoying video content – despite the fact that it doesn’t support the ubiquitous Flash. Now, Netflix is one of the first to fulfill this promise with a Netflix streaming app for the iPad.

Details are scarce, but a blurb that leaked today pretty much sums it up:

Get Netflix on your iPad. Just download this free app and you can instantly watch TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix.
• Watch as often as you want
• It's part of your unlimited Netflix membership
• Resume watching where you left off on your TV or computer
• Browse movies and manage your Queue right from your iPad
Not a Netflix member? Join today and get a 2-week free trial.

A Hulu app for iPad is also on the way, rumors say. Together with Netflix, it will probably satisfy the TV/video streaming needs of most users, and as the actual launch date approaches, the last pieces of the iPad content puzzle are finally coming together.

Tags: ipad, netflix, streaming, tv, video

Our Choice: The Funniest April Fools Jokes

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 01:50 AM PDT

It’s that date again, folks. If you’ve seen an amazing new service, or something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is, because very few companies take April 1st very seriously. Reports of April Fools jokes are pouring in; like every year, we’ll mention the ones that were either very funny, or amazingly clever.

Last year, some of the stuff we’ve seen has really made us laugh; let’s see what the usual suspects (Google, your staff obviously has too much time on their hands) are up to this year. We’ll keep updating the post, so send us your ideas in the comments.

Everyone’s an admin on Reddit.

We expect a lot from Reddit on this particular day, and boy, have they delivered; today, everyone on the site gets to be an administrator, which results in a) chaos and b) lots of hilarious comments. Hey, I just banned someone!

Google changes name to Topeka

Directly from Google: “Early last month the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We've been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture. Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1AM (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka.”

Nice move. I’ll Topeka Google, and you Google Topeka, OK?

unixkcd

Familiar with Unix? Then you’ll have a lot of fun navigating the popular web comic, XKCD, today. In case your Unix knowledge is a little rusty, start with “ls -al”. It’ll all start coming back from there.

YouTube text videos

YouTube has gone old, old school today by announcing TEXTp, a text-only mode for the service. From their blog: “By replacing the images in the video with a series of letters and numbers, the videos are far less taxing on our system — and have the added benefit of promoting literacy!”

I don’t know what you guys are talking about, I’m still browsing with Lynx, it’s all text to me.

iPhone to iPad converter

Can’t afford an iPad? Why not just convert your iPhone with this magical, mystical, revolutionary dock which magnifies your iPhone’s touch screen to the exact dimensions of the iPad screen? Hey, it’s the same thing anyway, only the size is different, right?

Sophos: Protection Through Distraction

Sophos has made a break-through in how to deal with hackers — planting romantic fiction files to distract the un-invited guests. Hit up the video above to find out how this innovative solution is helping to protect corporate IT systems worldwide.

DeviantART goes Gaga for Twilight

At first glance, popular art community DeviantART seems to be the same as always. But look closer: every user’s icon has been turned into either Lady Gaga or something Twilight-related. Team Jacob FTW.

Firebox Offers Adult Naughty Step

mashable choice funniest april fool firebox naughty step adults

Online UK retailer Firebox has five new products on offer this morning, our favorite of which is the Adult Naughty Step, for a grown-up size version of sending kids to go and think about what it is they’ve done. For only $45, the step provides three steps for scaled naughtiness from quite and really naughty right up to “might go to prison” on the topper-most level.

ThinkGeek Launches the iCade

How cool would it be, asks ThinkGeek, to slide your iPad into a desktop-sized arcade cabinet and rock it old school with some Pac-Man or Space Invaders? We’ll tell you now — it would be AWESOME!!

Reviews: Google, YouTube, deviantART, twilight

Tags: april fools, joke, trending

Happy Birthday, Gmail!

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 12:55 AM PDT

gmail_theme On April 1, 2004, Gmail was launched as an invite-only beta, instantly creating a revolution in the webmail space. Google’s decision to keep their webmail invite-only kept spammers at bay, which led to the overall perception that Gmail is spam-proof. While this notion is far from truth, Gmail to this day does an excellent job of keeping unwanted emails out of your inbox.

Furthermore, by offering storage capacity of 1 GB per user, Gmail dwarfed the competitors which long held the notion that free webmail doesn’t deserve decent storage. It was a one-two combination that made Gmail one of the most popular Google services, and solidified its reputation as a kind giant, which offers free stuff where others charge for it.

Right now, Gmail is one of the most popular webmail clients in the world, and besides the giants of old such as Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, perhaps the only one worth mentioning. It offers over 7400 MB of free storage to users, and it has been the foundation for other Google services such as Google Talk, Google Apps and Google Buzz.

Today, Gmail is six years old and it’s still one of the most important services from Google; many thought that email was dead ten years ago, but today, it doesn’t really seem like it’s going away any time soon.

Reviews: Gmail, Google, Google Buzz, google talk

Tags: gmail, Google, trending, webmail

WolframAlpha Drops iPhone App Price by 96% to $1.99, Offers Refunds

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 09:01 PM PDT

Last year, WolframAlpha made waves with its $50 iPhone app; today the company is announcing a new overall strategy and its starting by launching a new mobile optimized website and dropping the price of the iPhone app to just $1.99. This is all part of WolframAlpha’s new strategy to help get its computational knowledge engine into more hands, in hopes that it can become ubiquitous with knowledge discovery.

This new strategy is being led by Barak Berkowitz, the newly appointed Managing Director of WolframAlpha. Berkowitz wants to make WolframAlpha more accessible and make it available on more and more platforms.

The new mobile optimized mobile website, http://m.wolframalpha.com, is one of the first moves towards achieving that goal. Near the end of 2009, WolframAlpha got rid of its iPhone optimized mobile interface. Now the mobile site is back — but it has not only been optimized for use on the iPhone and other touch-screen devices, great care has also gone into making the app accessible for other smartphones and feature phones on 2G, 3G and 4G networks.

Of course, for iPhone owners (and starting on Saturday, iPad owners), the bigger news it that application has dropped from $49.99 and then its sale price of $19.99 to $1.99. However, the even bigger news — from a customer relations standpoint — is that WolframAlpha will be offering refunds to customers who bought the app at a higher price. Yeah. Let me say that again — if you paid $50 or $20 for the app, you can get a refund.

WolframAlpha has set up a special website http://www.wolframalpha.com/iwantmymoneyback for previous owners. Fill out the form and get your money back. Of course, if you feel like you got your $20 or $50 worth, you can always carry on.

As I said when I originally reviewed the app back in October, WolframAlpha shows tons of potential and the iPhone app can really show off a lot of that utility. Now that the app is at a much more affordable price point — and a free mobile web option also exists — there’s a real chance for more and more people to discover what computational knowledge is all about.

It’s not uncommon for companies to decide to lower the prices on a product — but it is unusual for the company to offer refunds to customers who paid more money. Kudos to WolframAlpha for doing that — that’s a stand-up move.

What do you think of the new WolframAlpha mobile site? Does the new price make it more likely that you’ll try the iPhone app? Let us know!

Tags: iphone apps, wolfram alpha, wolframalpha

Hulu iPad App on the Way, Possibly Subscription Model? [RUMOR]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:50 PM PDT

It comes as a shock to no one that Hulu is most probably working on an iPad app, as four different sources have told the New York Times. Those sources also say the company is interested in testing out a subscription model in the iPad version.

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, who has been traditionally tight-lipped about the topic of subscriptions, seems to have recently warmed to talking about the idea. He told the NYT, “Our mission is to help people discover the world's premium content, and we believe that subscriptions can help to unlock some of that, including sports and movies and premium cable shows. We're certainly open to subscriptions as a complement to an ad-supported model.”

Apparently some of Hulu’s content partners are putting a significant amount of pressure on the site to explore the subscription model. And since moving Hulu’s content onto a new platform like the iPad requires a huge amount of effort not just technically but also with negotiating licensing deals, it would make sense to defray some of that cost with additional revenue streams from something like subscription. One Hulu employee likened the effort required to port Hulu to other platforms like the iPad or mobile devices to “trying to pass the health care bill.”

Kilar also confirmed in the same interview that the site has been profitable for the past two quarters. He said 2009 revenue was over $100 million, and the site could reach that figure already by summer of this year. Still, with content partners clamoring for an even larger revenue slice, subscription might be a logical next step to consider — especially if consumers show a willingness to open their wallets for content on the new iPad platform.

Would you be willing to pay a subscription fee to watch TV on your iPad?

Reviews: Hulu

Tags: business models, gadgets, hulu, ipad, subscription, tablets, tv

Travelocity Gnome Moonlights on Chatroulette [PICS]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:01 PM PDT

Chalk it up to April Fool’s Day paranoia, but when we came across news that the official Travelocity gnome was using Chatroulette for business purposes we were a tad skeptical.

The screenshots sent to us by Travelocity confirm that the gnome is lurking within Chatroulette’s mysterious corridors. His presence there is to motivate video chatters to step away from their webcams and take vacations.

According to Adweek, “The idea is that folks sitting around video-chatting with strangers could use the excitement of travel.”

The iconic gnome gets his point across with signs (see below) that read messages like, “This would be more fun if we were in Rio.” Of course, the gnome isn’t too keen on the penises, and a staffer behind-the-scenes will next those with inappropriate content.

When asked about whether or not the company is tracking activity or offering special promotions, Travelocity representative Joel Frey told us that, “We’re still experimenting so we haven’t applied any measurements just yet. Once we figure out how we’ll move forward we will think about other applications like deals and offers.”

We tend to think Chatroulette is more than just penises, so it’s interesting to see that companies like Travelocity are in agreement. What becomes of this experimental test run remains to be seen, but we think it’s clever nonetheless.

For more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: chatroulette, MARKETING, travelocity

First iPad Hands-On and Reviews Start Rolling

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:22 PM PDT

We’re at countdown T-3 days until the launch of the iPad, and the first official reviews are starting to roll in. ABC News also has the distinction of snagging one of the first video hands-ons, which we’ve embedded below.

The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg calls it “pretty close” to being a laptop killer. the New York Times’ David Pogue takes a unique approach by reviewing the iPad for two audiences: techies and non-techies. How do you know which camp you fall into? If you “have more e-mail addresses than pants” (us: check!) then you’re a techie, according to Pogue.

For techies, Pogue says the iPad is “basically a gigantic iPod touch.” The review for everyone else? “Basically a gigantic iPod touch.” Beyond those two identical takeaway points though, Pogue’s review is a good drilldown into how the device may be perceived and appreciated (or not) differently by the two camps.

PC Magazine also has their review up with some nice video walkthroughs, and USA Today’s Edward Baig also has posted his take on the device: “it’s a winner.”

Check out the ABC News video hands-on with the iPad below too. As the hype machine shifts from light speed into ludicrous speed you’ll have to let us know: do you want one of these things or not?

ABC News Hands-on with the iPad

For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: apple, gadgets, ipad, reviews, tablets, tech, video

Rally Up is a Location Based Network For People Who Like Privacy

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:46 PM PDT

A new geolocation app for the iPhone was released today called Rally Up. What differentiates Rally Up from the likes of Foursquare and Gowalla is that it has a strong focus on privacy and sharing content. Rally Up bills itself as “a social network for real friends” and its focus is on letting people share messages and photos with the people they trust.

To this end, Rally Up takes a very different approach to friends lists and friends management from other social applications. For instance, Rally Up doesn’t integrate with Twitter. What!? I hear you gasp. As the saying goes, “it’s not a flaw, it’s a feature.”

The point of Rally Up isn’t to create or tap into yet another social network, it’s to be able to be selective about who you share information with.

For instance, when you add a user as a friend, you have different options that control how information is shared with them and how information is received by them. This “slider” can be changed at will.

Here are your options:

Real friends – These are people that you want to know about, meaning you will see their activity in your feed and get push notifications of what they are doing. So your boyfriend or girlfriend or your sister are the types of people you might put in this category.
Feed friends – You’ll get updates from these individuals in your feed, but you won’t get push notifications. So your co-workers or your gym buddies might go here. You like to know what they are up to, but you don’t need to be alerted at all times.
Lurk – This is a pretty cool option, it lets you see what your friend is doing but they won’t see your check-ins. Likewise, you won’t get any push notifications about them. So when you’re shopping for a birthday present for someone, you might want to put them in the Lurk category.
Mute – OK, so you know that girl from high school that you kind of sort of remember but can’t really place who keeps friending you on Facebook and LinkedIn and Foursquare? You don’t want to be rude and might feel obligated to accept her as a friend, but you really don’t care about what she’s doing, nor do you want her to know what party you are going to. So mute her. She won’t see your updates and you won’t see hers. If you feel like unmuting later, you can always do so.

When it comes to check-ins, Rally Up has a lot more granularity in that regard too. For instance, you can designate locations as being private. That means that someone can see that you checked in at home, but “home” is never defined by a GPS location. Likewise, if you don’t want people to know details about where you work, you can designate your workplace as being private.

You can also create temporary locations for things like parties or conferences, without having to add those locations permanently to the database. At conferences especially, I always see tons of locations created for a specific event, only for those locations to be discarded after the event is over. Temporary locations make sense because you can check-in, but not clutter up the map for everyone else.

Rally Up also lets you use check-ins to let people know that you are headed to an event. So if you’re en route to a place, you can check-in and your friends can know you are going and then choose to meet you there.

Rally Up also lets you send personal messages and it integrates push notifications to give an SMS effect, but without charging for messages. That’s pretty cool.

Rally Up is free and is available for the iPhone now. As you can see from the above sceenshot, it’s also coming soon to the iPad.

If you want to take advantage of location-based social networks but want more control over who sees what, you might want to give Rally Up a shot.

What do you think about privacy when it comes to location-based networks? Let us know!

For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Twitter

Tags: apple, foursquare, geolocation, gowalla, ipad, iphone, iphone apps, rally up

Take the Confusion Out of Group Payments with WePay

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 04:21 PM PDT

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: WePay

Quick Pitch: WePay makes it easy for groups to collect and manage money online.

Genius Idea: Simple tasks like paying the rent each month can turn into a massive headache when you’re dealing with various roommates’ schedules, pay days and issues like, “Who’s going to spring for the stamps this time?” That’s where WePay comes in. This payment product allows users to collect, manage and spend money — all in one, digital place.

WePay, which has been in private beta for the last six months, launches tomorrow, at which time you can create an FDIC-insured account that you can then share with people in your club, group, apartment, work place, etc. Once everyone has joined, you can send out electronic bills to the members of your group, which they cay pay either via credit card or their bank accounts.

After collecting the money, you can pay your landlord/novelty t-shirt supplier/pizza guy with a WePay VISA prepaid card, paper checks or electronic transfers. It’s free to sign up, but there is a small transaction fee included. Also, make sure you choose a responsible person to head up your group — the creator of the group is in charge of the money and is the sole cardholder on the WePay Visa card.

The service also keeps forgetful people on their toes by sending out reminders and alerting the group creator when members have ponied up. In addition, WePay allows you to create more than one group — so you can use the service to plan a much-needed group jaunt to somewhere sunny, as well as a work dinner.

We here at Mashable are into any services that make our hectic lives easier — especially with the first looming on the horizon. Rent day is no April Fool’s!

What Encoding.com Does

HTTP Streaming gives publishers more options regarding content delivery. AT&T has a history of rejecting applications that serve video that doesn’t include a lower bitrate option. While you can use a Mac or PC to encode your video files in formats suitable for HTTP streaming and then upload the files and the playlist file to your CDN or web server, this is inefficient if you deal with a large volume of video.

As we’ve discussed before, Encoding.com is a company that offers a SaaS-based encoding service for publishers and content creators. You upload your video file to Encoding.com and tell them what format you want it encoded in. They use their cloud-based server grid to do the processing and transfer it either to your CDN of choice or to your web server. You can then tell your website or your iPhone app where to grab the video in a user-friendly format.

Encoding.com has long supported standard .h264 video for the iPhone but now it can do HTTP Live Streaming as well. Furthermore, you can also opt to do HTTP Streaming for the iPad, which means that the data served will be in the right aspect ratio and adjusted to the right video size for the device.

HTTP Streaming is a good option for publishers or developers that are thinking about adding video into applications, but don’t want either full video files built-in (which takes up space) or to risk rejection from the App Store because they don’t have the option to downgrade their video stream.

For more Apple coverage, follow Mashable Apple on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: App Store, Facebook, Hulu, Twitter

Tags: encoding.com, http live streaming, ipad, iphone

Facebook vs. Google: The Billion Dollar Battle to Be Your Default Social Profile

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 03:02 PM PDT

Jim Tobin is president of Ignite Social Media, where he works work with clients including Microsoft, Intel, Nature Made, The Body Shop, Disney and more implementing social media marketing strategies. He is also author of the book "Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing."

“What’s next in social media?” It’s among the most popular questions out there. But while most folks currently answer with “location-based services” (i.e. Foursquare, Gowalla) or “group purchasing” (i.e. Groupon, Twongo, Living Social), the real battle may be between Facebook and Google.

The fight between these two Internet giants to become your default social profile has been brewing for a long time, and the prize is an enormous potential revenue stream. Let’s take a closer look.

Connect It. Buzz It.

Google Friend Connect Image Many sites allow you to become a member using Google Friend Connect. While the benefit of doing so wasn’t always clear, it was one of the first efforts to encourage the use of Google profiles across the web. Google Buzz and its thus-far poorly executed Gmail integration, is another. Google Wave, if widely adopted and used at its full capability (which hasn’t happened yet), would be yet another a compelling reason to use your Google profile as a way to engage with most sites.

At the same time, on many sites, including Mashable, you can use Facebook Connect to leave a comment. If you do, it will grab your profile picture and leave a link to your Facebook profile.

All these features are pretty basic so far, but these are just the recon teams prepping for the coming war. Right now, each company is trying various tactics to condition you to use their service as your default social profile.

Social Commerce is Coming

In April 2009, Forrester released its “Future of the Social Web,” a report that outlines five major eras of social media. The final one, set to begin in 2011, is “social commerce,” in which social networks start to become intermediaries in the buying process.

With programs like Alvenda, where you can buy flowers from within the Facebook Fan Page of 1-800-Flowers, and Payvment, where you can buy from multiple businesses on Facebook using one shopping cart, we’re seeing the early efforts of outsiders to make buying within social networks easy and natural. I believe this will continue. If the process is easy and secure, why wouldn’t users feel comfortable making purchases directly through their social interactions with companies and friends? Because of this trend, I expect Facebook and Google to start generating their own revenue streams from these transactions.

Virtual Goods Worth Billions

Add to this a genuine interest in the purchase of virtual goods (from little Facebook gifts at birthdays to just about everything in the online game Second Life), and you’ve suddenly got a $1 billion market in the U.S. alone.

In China, the market for virtual goods last year was $5 billion, and the larger social networks in China are profitable — something Facebook is reportedly still reaching toward.

Facebook, therefore, now has a genuine interest in having a very secure, very simple e-commerce platform, where you can buy whatever you want with one-click, similar to Amazon’s Kindle Store, and Apple’s App Store.

Make Checkout Portable

So Facebook has Facebook Credits. Google has Google Checkout.

While Google Checkout has always been designed to be used on other sites, in Q2 this year Facebook will roll out its Open Graph API, which will “allow any page on the web to have all the features of a Facebook Page.” If “all the features” includes the ability to make purchases (large or tiny) using Facebook credits, we’ve got something there. Plus, Facebook just announced that they might automatically connect you with certain pre-approved sites without you even clicking a button — a strong move if their goal is to become that default social profile.

Google can counter this by integrating Checkout data (your credit card, basically) with your Google Profile, allowing sites that choose Google to also have the potential for one-click buying. And both Google and Facebook are good at making these programs easy to implement, so the friction for site owners to add that functionality is very low.

Certainly Amazon has also had a long interest in people using its cart functionality on sites, but I’m not considering it here because it doesn’t aim to use your social profile as the hook for connecting – it is a more traditional e-commerce play.

Team Facebook? Team Google?

Suddenly, whether Facebook or Google becomes the default social profile around the web has billion-dollar ramifications. Just ask credit card companies how much can be made by taking just a small percentage of all of those transactions. And with billions at stake, it’s likely to be a real battle ahead.

The winners may be all of us, because to compel us to connect using their services, both companies will have to think about providing a lot of genuine utility. When they get creative, we get better web experiences.

Get it right, make it secure, and I’m there.

Which social network do you think will ultimately triumph and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

More social media resources from Mashable:

- How Facebook Can Become a Money Making Machine
- 6 Easy Ways to Score the Best Deals with Social Media
- 5 Big Twitter Trends to Follow Right Now
- 5 Ways Non-Profits Can Increase Engagement With YouTube
- 4 Tips for Reducing Social Media Stress

Reviews: Amazon.com, Facebook, Foursquare, Gmail, Google, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Gowalla, Mashable, Twitter, google friend connect

Tags: business, e-commerce, facebook, Google, google buzz, google checkout, Google Wave, social media

12 Fresh Web Tools for Getting the Most Out of Google Buzz

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 02:17 PM PDT

Jacob Gube is the Founder/Chief Editor of Six Revisions, a popular web development and design site and the Deputy Editor of Design Instruct, a web magazine for designers. He has over seven years of experience as professional web developer and has written a book on JavaScript. Connect with him via Twitter.

Buzz — Google’s entry into the real-time social web — is becoming increasingly more popular. Because it was launched by an Internet giant and initially incorporated directly into Gmail by default (whether a good idea or not), the service was able to instantly compete with other, more well-established competitors like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace in the crowded social networking arena.

What’s more, with Google’s history of supporting web developers through free and public application programming interfaces (APIs), the opportunity to create web-based tools is abundant.

In fact, many of them are already beginning to crop up, even though the social network is still in its infancy (being less than two months old). Check out this list of web-based tools to help you get the most out of Google Buzz.

Connect with Other Social Networks

1. Buzz Can Tweet

Anything that averts us from doing repetitive work is always a good thing. With Buzz Can Tweet, you have the capability to synchronize Buzz with your Twitter feed, automatically updating Twitter with the same message whenever you post a buzz.

In case you only want to send a Buzz-specific update, it offers an option for selective tweeting only buzzes with certain hashtags (like #twitter).

What’s great about Buzz Can Tweet is that it makes messages longer than Twitter’s 140-character limit easier to deal with, generating a short URL to your buzz update so that your Tweeps can read the message in its entirety.

Since Google Buzz allows the posting and attaching of multimedia items such as images and videos, another bonus to using Buzz Can Tweet is bypassing the need to use a Twitter image or video sharing service to post richer content.

2. HomePuzz

HomePuzz is a web app that integrates Twitter, Buzz, and Facebook into one interface, giving you the opportunity to update all three services at the same time. It’s a singular location for monitoring your social networks and seeing what your friends are saying, whether they use all or only one of the three services currently supported by this web tool.

For site owners and web developers, don’t forget to check out the HomePuzz tools that give you options for incorporating HomePuzz into your website or web app.

Search

3. Buzzzy

If you’re familiar with Gmail’s search syntax, you will no doubt appreciate the built-in search capabilities of Google Buzz (see a list of search methods on Google Help). Native search in Google Buzz blows Twitter’s “advanced” search out of the water, giving you better and more accurate search results.

With that said, mucking around with search syntax can be cumbersome for some people. Enter Buzzzy, a web tool for searching items on Google Buzz profiles. Buzzzy has a near-replicate of Twitter’s advanced search interface, undoubtedly designed for people accustomed to using Twitter’s version.

In case you’re into mashing up web services, Buzzzy offers a REST API to help you leverage its services in your own custom apps.

4. Mini Buzz Search Engine

If you want to read a Google Buzz user’s feed between a certain date range, Mini Buzz is a simple, no-frills search tool that will help you get the job done quickly.

Mini Buzz is bare bones — it only takes three inputs: Username, start date, and end date.

Statistics

5. buzzstats

The site buzzstats highlights how popular a Buzz user is by displaying statistics about their number of followers and the number of people they follow, as well as a chart of their follower growth history. It makes a bookmarkable URL for you to link to for times when you want people to know about your Buzz prowess.

In addition, the web tool automatically generates a small snippet of JavaScript that you can simply copy and paste into a website or blog for presenting a Buzz badge with your stats.

Bonus facts: buzzstats uses Google’s Charting API to display statistics, and their website has a top 20 list of Buzz users, with Mashable claiming the highest spot.

6. Buzz-Charts

Buzz-Charts is an online web tool for uncovering a plethora of stats about a Buzz profile, including the number of posts, where they send out their buzzes, their total number of replies, the total words they’ve used in the past 100 buzzes, and a bunch of other questionably useful statistics. See this live example for a working demonstration of how Buzz-Charts works.

7. BuzzCounter

Integrating Google Buzz as a widget on your website or weblog is made nearly effortless with BuzzCounter.

Using it is simple — enter your Buzz username and it will generate a code snippet that you can copy and paste into your web pages’ source code.

The widget displays your recent Buzz updates and some useful associated links, including one that allows a user to directly comment on updates.

Social Bookmarking

8. Buzrr

With TweetMeme’s popularity skyrocketing to over 3.5 million visits per month, it’s no surprise that enterprising web developers are seeking a chance to parallel the Twitter link aggregator’s success over in the Google Buzz arena.

Buzrr is one such web tool — a social bookmarking site similar to TweetMeme created by Dennis Hettema. Hettema describes Buzrr as “a website that allows you to add a re-buzz button to your blog so your visitors can share your stories on their Google Buzz. Buzrr.com counts the re-buzz action and provides a ranking of the buzziest stories on Buzz.” He adds that Buzrr is “just like TweetMeme and Digg but just with a different source.”"

9. RebuzzThis

RebuzzThis is another social bookmark aggregator that uses Google Buzz as its source. Like Buzrr and TweetMeme, content shared through their RebuzzThis button is presented and indexed on their website.

The service is new, just like Google Buzz, but the site is taking shape nicely, and the creators have plans for improving their public API to give other website developers better opportunities to interface with their service.

10. Njuice Google Buzz Button

Njuice, a web service that monitors the real-time web by scanning social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz, has an online tool for creating a Google Buzz button.

The button currently has six different styles to choose from, and two options for implementation — using JavaScript or a dynamically-generated image served from their servers.

Directories

11. Gone Buzz

If you’re in search of interesting Buzzers to follow, check out Gone Buzz, an online directory of popular users.

A short bio, the user’s location, the number of buzzes, and a rating is presented for each Buzz profile listed on the site. Additionally, if you log in — they use Google’s authentication system so that you don’t have to create an account on their website — you can rate each user profile on a scale of one to five stars.

12. BuzzAware

BuzzAware is an unofficial web-based directory that catalogs Google Buzz apps. They have categories for browser, desktop, web, and mobile to help you quickly discover applications that fit your needs.

Be sure to check out Mashable’s full coverage of BuzzAware.

What other Google Buzz apps have you discovered? Be sure to share your picks in the comments below.

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

More Google Buzz resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Integrate Google Buzz Into Your WordPress Blog
- Google Buzz: 5 Opportunities for Small Businesses
- 4 Ways Non-Profits Can Use Google Buzz
- HOW TO: Integrate Facebook, Twitter and Buzz into Your Gmail

Reviews: Digg, Facebook, Gmail, Google, Google Buzz, Mashable, MySpace, Tweetmeme, Twitter

Tags: Google, google buzz, List, Lists, social media

How Much of a Sausage Fest Are Your Facebook Events? [Apps]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 01:59 PM PDT

Come on, you know that’s one of the first questions that crosses your mind when you get a Facebook invite — whether you’re male or female. Well, wonder no more — there’s a new app on the block that will determine this burning question for you: Sausage Party.

Sausage Party is a nifty Facebook app/website that sifts through the invite list of your events to tell you what percentage of the attendees are male, using the meat product in question as an indicator:

Mashable’s Editor-in-Chief Adam Ostrow and I both tried out the app to gauge the manliness of our current events. Looks like Ostrow is in for a major boy’s weekend:

Meanwhile, there’s nary a sausage party among my various and sundry art shows and musical events.

[via Buzzfeed]

Reviews: Facebook

Tags: facebook, humor, pop culture, social media

Developers More Interested in Android than iPad [STATS]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 01:14 PM PDT

Appcelerator recently conducted a study to find out how much interest developers have in the iPad, iPhone, Android and other mobile platforms.

As the iPad launch nears, we're getting glimpses of more and more iPad applications. But how much interest do developers have in the iPad platform and how has that interest evolved since the iPad was announced?

For this study (which you can download as a PDF) Appcelerator, a company that lets web developers create native mobile applications using a cross-platform toolkit, polled its developers to gage interest in developing on the various mobile platforms when the iPad was first announced and again last week. We followed up today with Appcelerator about its findings.

The Results

In January 2010, developer interest in building an app for the iPad within the year was rated at 90%. Two months later, interest declined slightly to 80%. In March of 2010, overall interest in the iPad fell to 53%, down from 58% in January.

Mobile Developer Survey - iPad March 2010

To put that in perspective, overall development interest for the iPhone as of March 2010 was 87% and for Android was 81%.

Mobile Developer Survey - Tier 1 March 2010

Scott Schwarzhoff, Appcelerator’s VP of Marketing, told me that iPad developer interest is partly based on the size of the development company. Larger developers have less interest in the iPad because they have limited resources and want to support key platforms like the iPhone and Android. Smaller developers, however, can afford to be more bullish about the iPad because getting to the platform early can help them differentiate themselves.

Android Gaining on iPhone

While the iPhone platform remains the most popular mobile platform with developers, Google’s Android is closing in fast.

Since January, Android interest has soared from 68% to 81% — putting it neck and neck with the iPhone. As Schwarzhoff pointed out, the fact that five new Android devices were introduced at CTIA alone — not to mention all of the official and unofficial announcements by other companies — Android is hot.

Mobile Developer Survey - Tier View March 2010

A trend that we’ve noticed here at Mashable is that while Android interest is definitely on the rise, developers by and large are still focusing on developing an iPhone app first and then porting or building an app for Android second. Schwarzhoff said that Appcelerator has seen the same thing: Android is very much one of the two platforms that most developers are looking to support, but the iPhone still takes higher priority.

Still, given the rise of interest in Android — coupled with the number of new products poised to hit market — it’s clear that the mobile race is seriously underway.

BlackBerry and Microsoft Make Big Gains, Palm…Not So Much

Appcelerator classifies the iPhone, Android and the iPad as Tier 1 platforms, or platforms that have the most developer interest. However, when looking at the second tier of platforms — which includes RIM’s BlackBerry and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series, it’s clear that they are benefiting from increased interest as well.

Mobile Developer Survey - Tier 2 March 2010

Microsoft in particular has seen a surge in interest since January (which just happened to be about the same time they unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series). The renewed focus for the upcoming platform and the additional capabilities and features that Microsoft is putting into its next mobile OS has led to more than doubled interest in the platform among developers, going from 13% in January to 34% in March.

As Microsoft releases more tools and shows off more of the abilities and hooks available for Windows Phone 7 Series, they just might be able to entice some interest from more traditional application developers — especially those with enterprise backgrounds.

We expect to see an increased amount of interest in the Windows phone. Microsoft has invested a lot of time and money in educating the public and the development community about its plans. RIM, on the other hand, hasn’t made its biggest announcements about the future of BlackBerry, yet developer interest in that platform has also more than doubled — going from 21% to 43%.

While often relegated to “also-ran” status, BlackBerry is still one of the biggest players in the smartphone space. Not only is BlackBerry still firmly entrenched in the enterprise space, BlackBerry is still increasing its consumer base. That being said, I still think that RIM needs to do some due diligence in how it markets its platform to developers and to end users. Right now, not every application works on every kind of device.

Interest in Palm’s webOS has fallen from 17% in January to 14%. It doesn’t help that some analysts believe the stock is worth $0 and that the PDK, while cool, strikes many as too little, too late.

Mobile Developer Survey - Tier 3 March 2010

Schwarzhoff told me that for a lot of developers, choosing which platforms to support is a bit of a gamble — and Palm increasingly looks like more and more of a risk that just isn’t worth taking, especially if it will come at the expense of platforms like Android.

What Do You Think?

Developers or would-be developers, do these stats match your own thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Android, BlackBerry Rocks!, Facebook, Mashable, Twitter, Windows

Tags: android, appcelerator, ipad, iphone, mobile development, palm, windows phone 7

PREVIEW: The Onion Comes to iPhone on Friday [VIDEO]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 12:58 PM PDT

Popular satirical newspaper and website The Onion is set to debut its iPhone application on Friday. The app seems to be a much more serious mobile play from the publisher than the microfiche app that it launched last year.

The app offers a few different ways to browse stories – recent, popular, and search. Once you're on an article, you can save it for later viewing, share it on Facebook, Twitter or via email, or quickly click to the next story. You can also access and play The Onion's multimedia features – Onion News Network (video) and Onion Radio Network (audio).

The Onion for iPhone will be offered for free by way of an exclusive sponsorship by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, “whose noble offer must be celebrated here for what it is: a selfless act of financial sacrifice committed to ensure that the integrity of journalism as we know it does not perish from the Earth,” according to a statement from the company.

Given we're staring down April Fool's Day and we're talking about The Onion, we'll wait until we see it in the App Store to be 100% certain this is real, but from what we've seen, it does look like a slick app for fans of the publication. Here's a demo video and some screenshots:

Video

Screenshots

Reviews: App Store, Facebook, Twitter

Tags: iphone, iphone apps, the onion

Pay for Starbucks with Your iPhone at 1,000 Target Stores

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 12:30 PM PDT

Here’s some good news for Target shoppers. The Starbucks Card Mobile iPhone application [iTunes link] can be now used to pay for Starbucks purchases via barcode scan at more than 1,000 Target locations across the United States.

Starbucks has also updated the application with support for Starbucks Cards. Users can now register their cards, check their balances and reload empty cards using a credit card.

The news is pretty significant for the coffee retailer and consumers alike. While the Starbucks Card Mobile app looked promising (who doesn’t love the idea of flashing their iPhone to pay for coffee?), in the past it could only be used for mobile payments at 16 retail stores in Seattle and Silicon Valley. By adding the alternative payment option to Starbucks locations inside Target stores and the additional functionality, the company has instantly upped the utility of their application.

We can only hope that the payment trial will be extended to more retail stores in the coming months. If you’ve yet to see the app in action, it’s definitely worth a trip to Target for a test drive.

For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: iphone app, mobile payments, starbucks, Target, trending

EasyJet Wants to Sell Flights on Facebook

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 12:13 PM PDT

European budget airline easyJet is poised to become the first airline company to enable users to plan and book flights entirely on Facebook.

easyJet currently offers a “Holiday Planner” Facebook app that helps fans plan trips with their friends through Facebook and email. Users can coordinate destinations and dates, propose a range of budget options and then invite friends along for the trip.

However, users must go to a destination website to complete the transaction — a step easyJet wants to remove altogether by adding booking functionality to their Facebook app.

Facebook has become a popular platform for hosting marketing campaigns and driving traffic to various destination sites, as Toys”R”Us famously did with their Black Friday preview on Facebook. We’re now seeing a shift toward conducting the entire experience within Facebook – a trend that may render destination sites all but irrelevant. It’s certainly a more convenient option for users who will not have to create a login and store credit card information on separate sites.

It’s a shift that could also generate an unprecedented amount of revenue for Facebook. According to the Department of Commerce, online purchases totaled $134.9 billion in 2009. If companies set up e-commerce functionality on their Facebook Pages, the social network could realistically charge companies for a percentage of those sales in addition to attracting more advertising opportunities. Facebook currently charges developers a whopping 30% of their Facebook Credits revenue.

Would you book a flight through Facebook? What other brands would you like to see open storefronts on Facebook?

[via thenextweb]

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: easyjet, facebook, facebook apps, travel

The Mashable Twitter List Directory Launches!

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 11:41 AM PDT

Twitter lists are a great way to find new groups of people to follow on Twitter, and share your favorite follows with friends. To help you find and follow interesting lists, we’ve created the Mashable Twitter List Directory.

The idea is pretty simple: With help from our partners TLISTS, we’ve organized Twitter lists into 10 categories (plus hundreds of subcategories!), creating a comprehensive directory of people to follow on any topic.

The Mashable Twitter List Directory is a place to find collections of tweeters on any topic sorted by relevance, not by follower count. For instance, you’ll find a list of Mashable Channels to follow on Twitter, or you can follow a list that provides updates from the whole Mashable team.

From Tech and Science to Politics and Causes, plus country-specific lists, we hope the Mashable Twitter List Directory will be a useful resource for those creating and following lists on Twitter. Be sure sign in with your Twitter account to add your lists to the Directory!

PS. Don’t forget to check out Mashable’s Twitter Guidebook and our Twitter channel for Twitter tips and updates.

About TLISTS

Mashable’s Twitter List Directory is powered by TLISTS, a real-time media startup with a directory and search engine that crawls and indexes Twitter lists and users. TLISTS has already crawled more than a half a million lists, and is adding 150,000 lists a month. TLISTS is presently working with mobile apps to integrate its directory onto phones, and has a public API for developers.

TLISTS is funded by tech media luminaries including Chris Dixon, Roger Ehrenberg, Mark Gerson, Strauss Zelnick, and Ron Conway, and based in New York City.

Reviews: Mashable, Twitter

Tags: directory, Lists, tweets, twitter, Twitter Lists, twitterlists

Bing Gives Users Access to Foursquare Data in Maps

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 10:52 AM PDT

Last week we learned that Bing was to add Foursquare data to Bing Maps. Today the company is rolling out those Foursquare features to a subset of users in a new addition to its Maps Apps section.

Those with access to the Foursquare integration can now see nearby checkins and tips on a Bing Map, with the full real-time stream of Foursquare data — mayorships and badges included — flowing in on the left-hand side of the map.

The Foursquare experience can we tweaked to filter for checkins, friend activity or venue search results. The Foursquare Bing Maps app also allows users to login to their Foursquare accounts for more contextual details.

We presume the majority of users will find the new layar of Foursquare data helpful in their plans to place their friends whereabouts or discover new tips at nearby locales. If curiosity and amusement trump utility, however, the Bing blog writes that users can tick a box, “to ‘auto-center the map on new updates’ and watch the map fly around the world as people check in everywhere!”

Do you have access to the Bing Maps Foursquare app? Let us know what you think of this addition to the Bing Maps experience in the comments.

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Bing, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter

Tags: bing, Bing Maps, foursquare

The New YouTube Revealed [PICS]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 10:26 AM PDT

Starting today, YouTube will look dramatically different for everyone. That’s because the Google-owned video website will be rolling out its redesign to all users over the next few hours — the rollout should be complete by 7:00 p.m. today.

You may have already seen elements of this redesign: The actual interface was revealed two months ago. Since then, though, YouTube has tested, iterated and made changes to the new design. Today, however, it feels comfortable enough to roll it out to its millions of daily viewers.

Here at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California, we were briefed on what users should expect starting today and the thought process that went behind each of the changes. Here’s some of what we learned:

The New YouTube: Leaner and Less Cluttered

During its research, YouTube analyzed data on what users wanted on video pages, as well as what features these users interact with (e.g. comments, subscriptions, rating videos). However, at least 37% of YouTube’s users simply don’t want or use these these features; if they could just have a webpage with a title, a giant video and a search box, they’d be ecstatic.

The new video pages are very similar to the redesigned pages revealed two months ago: five-star ratings have been replaced with a thumbs up-or-down system, the “subscribe” button has been moved into a more prominent location on the top of the page and video descriptions have been moved from the right hand side of the video to under it.

During our briefing at YouTube HQ, the company demoed some of the more subtle new features. YouTube has made accessing descriptions, view counts and video stats easier by creating a hover effect (you will see a blue highlight when you hover over descriptions and the view count) and making the entire area clickable. The view count is now placed in a larger font and emphasized more strongly because it’s one of the most critical components of the video page.

The change in how videos are rated makes perfect sense to us (nearly 90% of users clicked “five stars,” essentially rendering a five-point scale useless), but the company has even thought about details such as the size of the like and dislike buttons. You’ll notice that the “like” button is wider than the dislike; this is based on how the average person uses these buttons.

Navigation Simplified

The masthead has also been massively pared down — it’s thinner and focused almost entirely on the search box. YouTube is, after all, the world’s second largest search engine, only beaten by Google itself. You’ll also notice interface changes when you perform searches.

Focus has also been placed on improving advertising and branding opportunities for its top content creators. We were shown an example of a YouTube star transforming her username into an image that definitely pops out to the eye. This all happens on the video page.

The navigation to the next video has also received attention. YouTube doesn’t want you to leave its website until “you’ve run out of videos to watch, which will hopefully never happen.” To that end, the new system works more like a playlist, where videos will play one after another. Even when you perform a search, video playing won’t be interrupted. Autoplay features have also been added.

Finally, expect changes to YouTube’s many mobile interfaces — Google-controlled ones (like the YouTube player on Android) will be changed in the next few weeks to reflect the new changes, while others like the YouTube iPhone player will take some more time.

The individual changes are small, but as a whole they are huge and very notable. YouTube’s trying to refocus its strategy toward stronger user engagement and keeping people on YouTube for longer. The pages run faster and feel less cluttered, so we’re fans. How the average YouTube commenter reacts to the redesign is anybody’s guess, though.

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Android, Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube

Tags: ONLINE VIDEO, redesign, trending, video, youtube

Facebook Bug Exposes Users’ Hidden E-mail Addresses

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 09:34 AM PDT

Last night Facebook experienced a hiccup during an update to the site’s code that publicly exposed members’ private e-mail addresses.

The privacy blunder was first discovered by Gawker — which estimates that e-mail addresses were exposed for 30 minutes late Tuesday night — and has been confirmed by Facebook.

A representative from Facebook explained the glitch in the following statement sent to us via e-mail:

“Last night during Facebook's regular code push, a bug caused hidden e-mail addresses to be visible briefly. The bug was detected within minutes and corrected.”

While bugs are to be expected from startups, glitches occurring within such a massive site are off-putting. Facebook has a responsibility to maintain user privacy, especially now that there are more than 400 million members who trust the site with personally identifiable information like e-mail addresses (which we hand over as soon as we sign up).

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: facebook, privacy, trending

Google Maps Envelopes Concept Turns Gmail into Snail Mail [PICS]

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 09:25 AM PDT

Industrial designers Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik have conceptualized the addition of a “Send Envelope” button that would enable users to quickly send a physical letter — rather than an e-mail — with spiffy Google Maps-esque packaging.

They call the concept Google Maps Envelopes.

Mahtani and Molk envision an automated process where the click of the “Send Envelope” button would print and deliver an e-mail via the United States Postal Service for a small fee.

While Google Maps Envelopes is just a concept, we can think of many occasions — birthdays, anniversaries, holidays — when it seems more appropriate to send a physical letter than an e-=mail. Sending snail mail via e-mail (snail e-mail?) would eliminate the laborious chore of purchasing stamps and finding a post office drop box.

The concept sounds like something the USPS should implement to boost business, even though it does resemble something Google might do to celebrate April Fool’s Day.

[Img credit: Yanko Design]

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: Facebook, Google, Twitter

Tags: email, gmail, Google, google envelopes

Justin.tv for iPhone Racks Up 355,000 Downloads in First Week

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 09:00 AM PDT

It's only been a week since Justin.tv for iPhone hit the App Store, but the live video streaming service is already reporting some big numbers. Specifically, the company says that its app has already been downloaded 355,000 times, making it the number-two free social networking app in the App Store at the moment.

The app [iTunes link], which allows users to view live video, participate in chat and share videos, is also adding a few important features. Most notably, Justin.tv's app is getting push notifications, so any time one of your favorite channels starts live streaming you'll get notification on your home screen.

Justin.tv has also tried to address its crashing issues -– a complaint you'll find in several of the reviews of the app on iTunes. Finally, the company also says it has made its app iPad-ready by adding a higher quality video option that will look just as good as iPhone on the larger screen.

As we saw with Digg's recent iPhone app launch, it seems that fans of Justin.tv are rushing to pick up the iPhone version and propelling it towards the top of the rankings. The visibility that gets one in the App Store also helps attract new users though -– Justin.tv says that 25% of signups in the past week have come via iPhone.

In any event, if you haven't seen Justin.tv's app yet, here's a demo:

Are you using live video apps on your iPhone? Let us know your favorites in the comments.

For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Reviews: App Store, Facebook, Twitter

Tags: iphone, iphone apps, justin.tv, live video

Google Earth Helps Deputy Make Arrest

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:36 AM PDT

Google became true-blue crime-fighting tool for one Florida Panhandle deputy this week. The law man, Deputy Gregory Barnes, recently made use of Google Earth to arrest a man charged with illegally dumping his one-ton boat.

When Dwight Everett Foster abandoned his boat in a subdivision near Pensacola, he probably thought no one would be the wiser — especially since, according to NBC, the vehicle identification number and registration had been removed.

Little did he know that Deputy Barnes had scouted out an archived satellite image of the very same boat parked near Foster’s home, allowing him to arrest the man in question.

The practice of using social media to fight crime is really picking up steam of late, with law men and women making using of everything from Twitter to e-tipsters to nab perps. What do you think of cops using Google Earth to bag do-baders? Is it genius, or are things getting a little too “Big Brother” for your tastes?

For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, jodiecoston

Reviews: Facebook, Google Earth, Twitter, iStockphoto

Tags: Google, legal, social media

10 Amazing Magic Trick Videos on YouTube

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:13 AM PDT

Rabbit in Hat Image Who doesn’t love magic? Whether you’re obsessed with finding out “how they did that,” or you just like to gaze with child-like wonder at a good trick, YouTube has become a wealthy repository of illusion.

As with most things on YouTube, it’s not all about big budgets and high production values. Some of the best magic videos are of the close-up, or street variety, and feature some very skilled craftsmen (and craftswomen) doing what they do best.

We’ve rounded up 10 of these magical treats, each one packing a solid wow factor. So sit back, relax, and get ready to enjoy some fine web-based prestidigitation. And if you have a favorite trick you were hoping to see here, be sure to toss it into the comment “hat” below.

1. The Best Card Trick in the World

It’s the self-proclaimed “best,” but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. In one of the most-viewed card trick videos on YouTube, the anonymous magician asks the Internet to “pick a card, any card,” and shuffles up some impressive results.

2. Cyril Takayama’s Cigarette Magic

Illusionist Cyril Takayama is known for his performances throughout Japan, elsewhere in Asia, and on American television. This clip features a crafty disappearing cigarette that comes and goes between Takayama’s fingers.

Kids: Don’t get into cigarettes, unless you plan to make them disappear like this guy.

3. James Brown: Close-Up Coin Magic

“Professional Opportunist” James Brown has cultivated a style of close-up magic that incorporates sleight of hand, pick pocketing, and English charisma. Watch gleefully as he confuses an old lady with some slick coin and card tricks.

4. David Blaine Turns Coffee into Money

We all know David Blaine for his high profile public entrapments and escapes. But some of the more entertaining work can be seen in his street magic. Here, Blaine turns a presumably downtrodden man’s coffee into a cup full of cash.

Whether or not the man and/or the cup are a plant can be debated. Regardless of the trick’s mechanics, turning coffee into money is nothing new. Starbucks has been doing it for years.

5. Card Control

This card shark doles out a series of hearts, mixes them thoroughly back into the shuffled deck (or so it seems) and reproduces them instantly and in series, as if by…oh, what’s the word…magic. It’s a slick trick, and this oldie-but-goodie magic video is still drawing views over four years on.

6. Classic Cups and Balls

The folks over at MagicGeek.com, purveyors of all things tricky, have whipped up a few videos demoing some of their products. This is the classic “Cups and Balls” trick, found everywhere from the Las Vegas stage to the street corner hustle. Keep your eye on these sneaky hands and see if you can’t judge where the balls will appear next.

7. Street Magic by Timur Yesilfiliz

German magician Timur Yesilfiliz hit the streets of Frankfurt last summer to mystify some unsuspecting strollers. His card tricks are especially wowing because the big reveal often happens right in the participant’s own hand.

The video is in German, but is thoroughly subtitled, and well worth the extra watching/reading effort.

8. Sleight of Hand by Ekaterina Dobrokhotova

You don’t see a lot of women in magic, so it’s refreshing to find Moscow-born Ekaterina Dobrokhotova’s illusionary stylings pop up on YouTube. Ekaterina is less about the shmoozy showmanship of her male counterparts, and all about grace.

Here, she performs some clever coin tricks developed by French magician David Stone.

9. Cap in Bottle Trick

Here’s a trick you can do with any old empty water bottle, provided you’ve sealed some sort of demon pact with the underworld. Whereas many card tricks can be chalked up to clever counting or quick hands, this illusion can be downright jaw dropping for the uninitiated. Alas, a bit of Internet searching can reveal the secrets of this trick and ruin everything, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

10. This N’ That Card Trickery

Last but not least, coming in at over 14 million views, this one-minute clip is a slick execution of a tried and true favorite called “This N’ That.” It only uses three cards, so there’s no deck to shuffle or hide behind — just two hands, some modified playing cards, and a punchy little narration.

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Kamis, 01 April 2010