Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Google Maps Navigation Now Works in Canada and Most of Europe” |  |
- Google Maps Navigation Now Works in Canada and Most of Europe
- Gmail Gets a New and Improved Chat Window
- Moonit.com Plays Astrological Matchmaker on Facebook
- Is Facebook Getting Bigger Than Google? [STATS]
- Consumers Duped By Fake Bank in New IE8 Ad [VIDEO]
- iPhone App Offers Weather-Specific Style Suggestions
- Google Rolls Out Its New and Improved Search Index
- Mashable Media Summit Keynote with Pete Cashmore and Dr. Sanjay Gupta [VIDEO]
- Twitter to Change Links and How They Are Displayed [UPDATED]
- How Dana White Built a UFC Empire with Social Media
- HOW TO: Install Safari Extensions
- Crowdrise: Edward Norton Presents DIY Fundraising Site
- Behance Brings Creative Meritocracy to the Design World
- The Onion to Launch News Show… From the Future [VIDEO]
- REVEALED: Improv Everywhere Was Behind “Tourist Lane” Stunt
- Red Cross and URDB Break Record for Most SMS Donations in One Room
- HTC EVO 4G Is Completely Sold Out
- Recording Industry Wants $1 Billion From LimeWire
- Starbucks Used Social Media to Get One Million to Stores in One Day
- Twitpic Launches Face Tagging
- Smartphone Faceoff: HTC Evo 4G vs. iPhone 4
- Lady Gaga’s Extravagantly Artsy “Alejandro” Premieres on YouTube [VIDEO]
- Yahoo’s Social Media Science Experiments [VIDEO]
- Twitter Hits 2 Billion Tweets Per Month
- Foursquare Now Experimenting with Badge Rewards
- BP Buys Top Google Result for “Oil Spill”
- The New York Times Tells Apple to Pull Pulse iPad App
- College Humor CEO Shares His 10 Web Content Urban Legends
- SummerMash 2010 Tour Call for Sponsors
- Join Mashable in Celebrating Social Media Day
| Google Maps Navigation Now Works in Canada and Most of Europe Posted: 09 Jun 2010 04:55 AM PDT  
According to Mobiflip.de the list of newly supported countries is as follows: Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Google Maps Navigation is still completely free for owners of Android devices, and it supports voice commands and voice search, street view, traffic warnings, as well as POIs and step-by-step directions. Check out a video overview of Google Maps Navigation below. For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookTags: android, Google, Google Maps Navigation, gps, turn-by-turn
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| Gmail Gets a New and Improved Chat Window Posted: 09 Jun 2010 01:51 AM PDT 
Even if you don’t have the plugins required for video chat, you’ll see an icon that will install the required plugin, after which you can carry on with the chat. Google says it expects the number of people using the video, group and voice chat features rising dramatically after this improvement. For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook
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| Moonit.com Plays Astrological Matchmaker on Facebook Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:52 PM PDT 
Quick Pitch: Moonit is a social compatibility engine that helps Gen Y users gain insights into their romantic, platonic and professional relationships. Genius Idea: Whether you take astrology seriously or not, it’s fun to think about. Moonit’s creators know this, so they integrated astrological matchmaking with the web and Facebook with a tool simply called “The Matchmaker.” The Matchmaker doesn’t just make romantic matches; it also determines compatibility for friendship and business relationships. It just needs the names, genders and birth dates of both parties. Type those in (or import them from Facebook using Facebook Connect) and you’ll be given a match assessment that includes a percentage rating and a couple quick paragraphs about why the pairing is good, bad or just average.  Once you’ve found a good match, you can use Moonit to notify those friends through Facebook that they’re a match in an attempt to hook them up. The Facebook integration is neat, but there are a couple problems. Since there’s no search field for friends, you have to scroll through the list to find the people you’re looking for. It’s a bit of a pain to find the person you’re looking for when you have hundreds of Facebook friends, even though they’re organized alphabetically. Also, the app imports birthdates from Facebook, but if the person you’re importing doesn’t list his or her birth year, just his or her birth month and day (a very common practice, we’ve found), the whole birth date is left blank. Those two quibbles aside, I’ll admit I spent too much time today matching up friends, testing the matchmaking on both happy and unhappy couples, and doing a little preliminary astrological scouting for prospects among the single women with whom I’m Facebook friends. The algorithms and the medium may have changed, but the core appeal is a time-tested one. Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
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| Is Facebook Getting Bigger Than Google? [STATS] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:37 PM PDT 
In fact, networks such as Facebook have been pushing hard against the biggest names in web search, including Google, for several months now. As Hitwise reported recently, Facebook’s overall web traffic pulled ahead of Google’s for the first time in the U.S. in March of this year. Now, we’ve learned that in the UK, people are visiting social networks more than they’re visiting search engines. Facebook dominates the current crop of social networks, accounting for the majority (55%) of all social site visits. When compared to the wider web, Google gets around 9.3% of all web traffic, while Facebook captures just over 7%. But when UK stats for all search engines were stacked up with data from all social sites, social networks accounted .55% more traffic than search engines. This is a first-time occurrence, but as you can see from the charts below, it’s a trend that’s likely just starting to take off.
Compare that graph with these long-term stats from Alexa showing global pageviews for Facebook and Google; we can clearly see that at least one social network is on the rise.  While social networks such as Facebook don’t pose an immediate threat to search engines for their core functionality — organizing the web and helping people find content — they do pose a large threat to search engines’ largest revenue source: advertising. If you were Google, would these kinds of numbers be worrying to you? Do you think that search engines are, in some ways, on the decline? Or is Facebook’s meteoric rise simply changing the paradigm a bit more than we expected? For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Google, Twitter Tags: facebook, Google, search engines, social media, social networks, stats
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| Consumers Duped By Fake Bank in New IE8 Ad [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 07:55 PM PDT  Last night, Microsoft kicked off a new television ad campaign focusing on the safety of its Internet Explorer 8 browser. The spot — which can be viewed above — shows real New Yorkers getting scammed into handing over personal information at a Microsoft-fabricated bank. The message is that the same types of scams happen online and IE8 can protect you from bad guys while you browse. The fake bank experiment highlights just how gullible we can be when the promise of money is dangled in our face, and may scare viewers into choosing IE8. Look for more ads of this variety to be released in the coming weeks. In other Microsoft browser news, the company is touting that IE9 is faster than Apple’s new Safari 5 browser. We’ll let you be the judge of that. For more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Internet Explorer, Twitter Tags: IE8, internet explorer, MARKETING
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| iPhone App Offers Weather-Specific Style Suggestions Posted: 08 Jun 2010 05:54 PM PDT 
Quick Pitch: Feather Report is an iPhone application that tells you what to wear based on the weather. Fashion + Weather = Feather Report. Genius Idea: It’s one thing to dress appropriately for one’s body type and a given occasion — it’s another to manage both of these things and select clothing that befits the weather. Enter Feather Report, an iPhone application [iTunes link] that delivers your daily weather forecast and a host of women’s clothing suggestions to go with it. You can also plan your ensembles ahead of time by searching the “outfit database” according to weather (warm rain, hot! hot! hot!), occasion (ball game, date night) and body type. If you’re planning on traveling, you can adjust the zip code as well. If you run across a suggestion you like, you can shop for the piece directly from your iPhone and/or save it to your favorites. The app is an extension of creator Melisa Russo’s blog, which assembles an outfit each day depending on the weather in New York City. While the app offers some fun style inspiration, it was not precise enough to help me decide whether or not I should wear a jacket or a cardigan or a cashmere versus a linen scarf, which would have made it truly useful. And while I appreciated that I could tailor the suggestions to the occasion and body type, I would have liked to have seen suggestions for different kinds of work outfits, more budget options (currently only an “under $100″ category exists under the “occasion” drop-down) and selections for men. What do you think of the app? What other features would you like to see? Share your ideas in the comments.  Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
Reviews: blog Tags: bizspark, fashion, feather report, iphone app, spark-of-genius
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| Google Rolls Out Its New and Improved Search Index Posted: 08 Jun 2010 05:21 PM PDT   Google has announced that it has completed the rollout of Google Caffeine, the new and improved web indexing system that now powers the world’s largest search engine. In August of last year, it was revealed that Google was working on a new version of its search engine. The project, dubbed “Caffeine”, was initiated in order to create a faster, more accurate indexing and search system. It was also meant to better handle rich media and real-time content. It’s been a while since we heard about Caffeine, but today Google says that Caffeine is live on Google’s servers. Here’s how indexing on Google Search now works, according to the technology giant:
With content being generated faster than ever, the changes make sense. The Bing threat is still there as well, making it imperative for Google to remain ahead of the game with its search technology. You may not notice the changes in the individual searches you make, but it’s very likely you’ll feel the impact of Caffeine in the days, months, and years to come. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Google, Google search, Twitter
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| Mashable Media Summit Keynote with Pete Cashmore and Dr. Sanjay Gupta [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 04:55 PM PDT  Today, Mashable founder and CEO Pete Cashmore took the stage at Mashable’s Media Summit to be interviewed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, renowned neurosurgeon and CNN’s general medial correspondent. They were joined by CNN.com general manager KC Estenson for a chat about journalism, blogging and the Internet. They touch on trends such as citizen journalism, the spread of news via social media, appealing to different audiences with different kinds of content, the evolution of editorial gatekeeping, and the delicate balance between speed and accuracy when the web meets reporting. Take a look at this fascinating conversation about the intersection between new and traditional media, and let us know what you think in the comments. Disclosure: Mashable has a content syndication agreement with CNN, including Pete Cashmore’s weekly CNN column on tech topics for a mainstream audience. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Internet, Mashable, Twitter Tags: cashmore, internet week ny, interview, media summit, pete cashmore, sanjay gupta, video
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| Twitter to Change Links and How They Are Displayed [UPDATED] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 04:27 PM PDT 
In a blog post aptly titled Links and Twitters: Length Shouldn’t Matter, Twitter’s Sean Garrett announced that the company is taking a new approach to URLs. Not only will all links on Twitter.com and Twitter apps be “wrapped” in t.co links, but how they are counted against the 140 character limit. These change will occur throughout the summer. What’s Happening with t.coThe first change is the auto-wrapping of links with the t.co short URL. This URL will replace twt.tl, which the company has been using to shorten links in direct messages for several months. However, you won’t see t.co appear very often, if at all, on Twitter.com or your favorite Twitter app, because the company is changing how links are treated on the platform. Whenever it’s possible to display a longer link, Twitter will display that URL information so that users aren’t fooled by obscure links that turn out to be malware. Twitter’s example is http://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/0446563048/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275966329&sr=8-1%22, which links to Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s new book. In a text message, you’d see the link automatically turned into a t.co link (due to the SMS character limit), but on Twitter.com, it will display either part of the link (amazon.com/Delivering-), the page title, or the entire link. What will exactly be displayed has yet to be decided. Second, t.co links will be routed through a service that will eventually make t.co part of the Promoted Tweets algorithm. That means the links you click will determine what ads are displayed in Twitter’s new system. Twitter is also looking into providing analytics from t.co data for companies using Twitter’s commercial accounts service. The routing will also check whether the link in question comes from a malicious source, thus preventing malware and phishing attacks. Finally, and most importantly, Twitter is changing how links are counted. This part of the announcement wasn’t in Sean Garrett’s blog post, but was instead posted on the Twitter Development Talk Google Group:
Summary/Update/Correction: As my friend MG points out, links do actually count against against the character limit, but only after link wrapping. The actual displayed text can (and likely will) be over 140 characters, but each link counts as 20 characters. We’ve confirmed these details with Twitter. For now, only a few accounts have t.co capabilities, including Twitter’s @rsarver and @raffi. However, that will grow throughout the summer as the company tests the link wrapping service. We’re still digging through the information, but while we do that, we want your first impressions. Will this change Twitter for the better or for the worse? Let us know in the comments. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: bit.ly, t.co, trending, twitter
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| How Dana White Built a UFC Empire with Social Media Posted: 08 Jun 2010 03:21 PM PDT 
I had the opportunity to pick White's mind about how he leveraged social media to beat his competition. Below are several keys to his success. Social Media Boot CampMuch of the UFC’s commitment to social media outreach comes from White himself, an avid Twitter-er. In order to bring his organization up to speed, White hired PR firm Digital Royalty to teach the fighters how to properly use social media. He gave the fighters a simple instruction: "I want you to Twitter your asses off," recalled Amy Martin, Digital Royalty's founder and CEO. Digital Royalty ran a one-on-one boot camp with the fighters, churning out 200 new media mavens over the course of three days. After the boot camp, fighter education is still an ongoing effort. "We're constantly doing one-on-ones with them," Martin said. "They also have my personal email address and mobile phone number." In addition to education, Martin helps orchestrate a real-time "behind the scenes" look at the fighters preparing for a match, video blogging their outlook on the fight. A guest fighter live-tweets from the official UFC account during each event. All this gives die-hard fans as much interaction as they can possibly handle. "The volume is pretty intense," she said. Martin maintains that the UFC's openness and willingness to experiment with social media has been the key to their success. Many large sports franchises are still just dipping their toes in the social media ocean, and are missing an opportunity to capture fan enthusiasm as a result. Raw HonestyWhite is known for his unflinching honesty and his confidence to share even embarrassing or shameful moments with his fans. These important traits have become part of the UFC’s social media brand. When one of the UFC's star fighters breezed through a prizefight with noticeably little effort, for example, White gave this apologetic interview (which has been viewed over one million times). Transparency, outreach, and openness are now more important than ever, as social media allows fans to subvert traditional channels and voice their opinions directly. White is willing to meet them halfway, foregoing false showmanship in order to genuinely connect with fans: “Some fights are going to be the best fights you’ve ever seen, and some are going to suck,” White said. “And I think you’re better off to go out and talk about why the fight sucked and you know, be honest about it. You’re not going to fool anybody." The Power of TwitterBefore broadcast media would air the fights, the UFC was vaulted to popularity through direct interaction with fans on fighter enthusiast blogs. Now, in order to scale with the UFC's global reach, White has a new favorite sounding board: Twitter. "I love Twitter," said White. At more than one million followers, it’s clear that the love is mutual. White's unusually strong commitment to @reply's and real-life meet-ups has cultivated an incredibly responsive audience. During the run-up to big fight in Montreal, a marketing agent asked White how he quantified Twitter. White responded, "How do you quantify billboards? How do you quantify newspaper adds? You can't quantify it. But let me show you how [expletive] strong this is." White and his dinner companion strolled over to a local gas station at 11:30 p.m. and tweeted his location. About 36 seconds later one fan had shown up, after three minutes White estimated there were about 100 fans at the gas station. "Twitter is amazing," he gushed, "you can talk directly to your fans instantly." A pessimist could chalk up White's commitment to fan interaction as a crude PR calculation. The more he talks, however, the more it's likely that White is a textbook case of what happens when someone has an unmitigated passion for their job. "Why would I not want to talk to somebody who loves what I do just as much as I do," White said. "Makes no sense to me… I could sit there and hang out and talk with the fans all day."  For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookMore social media resources from Mashable:
Reviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: amy martin, dana white, digital royalty, social media, twitter, ufc, youtube
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| HOW TO: Install Safari Extensions Posted: 08 Jun 2010 02:44 PM PDT  Yesterday Apple unveiled Safari 5, which now includes extensions. Unfortunately, extensions are still in their nascent form and you’d have to be somewhat of a sleuth to even track down the functionality, let alone find and install extensions. For those of you ready to test the waters of Safari extensions, here’s how: Enable Extensions Safari Extensions is technically a developer-only feature at the moment. So first things first, you’ve got to turn on the developer tools to enable extension functionality. Here’s a step-by-step guide to do just that:
If you follow the above steps, the Preferences menu will include a new “Extensions” tab where you can manage Safari extensions. Find and Install Extensions The official Safari Extensions Gallery will open later this summer. But, there’s extensions already out in the wild; you can find some of them via the Safari Extensions Tumblr, an unofficial gallery showcasing several extensions. To date, extensions are limited but include things like Amazon Search Bar, Reload Button, Scribefire, Gmail Checker and AdBlock. Extension installation is fairly straightforward: Simply download and open the extension file and a prompt box will ask if you want to install the extension. Click Install to automatically update your Safari 5 browser with the extension. [via Lifehacker] For more Apple coverage, follow Mashable Apple on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Lifehacker, Safari, ScribeFire, Twitter Tags: Safari 5, safari extensions, Web Development
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| Crowdrise: Edward Norton Presents DIY Fundraising Site Posted: 08 Jun 2010 02:09 PM PDT 
Visit the site and you’ll be greeted with an invitation to “start your own fundraiser.” You can also contribute to existing campaigns or visit user profiles (including those of celebrities like Norton, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Paul Rudd, Kristen Bell and Will Ferrell) to see which causes they’re supporting or running. Norton worked with the team behind the website for his Maasai Marathon fundraising run (which raised $1.2 million in two weeks) to create a broader initiative that doesn’t focus on one cause, but instead gives people the tools to work together on any social good campaign. Crowdrise distinguishes itself from other social good websites like Change.org by employing irony and irreverent humor (not a surprise, given some of the celebs involved) but it also has points and prizes to give people an incentive to participate and give. Nonprofits that have already signed up on the site include Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, The Art of Elysium, Oceana, City Year, the Conservation Lands Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, Partners in Health and Malaria No More. At the Mashable Media Summit, Norton said that social networking sites are about “personal narrative” in the sense that individuals want to create a narrative that represents their lives and values on the web. Crowdrise helps them do that with their passions for specific causes, then share the results. Norton says that an average intern should be able to set up a fundraising campaign in just 15 minutes. Presentation by Edward Norton (Crowdrise)Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter Tags: charity, crowdrise, edward norton, fundraising, internet week ny, social good, social media, social networking
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| Behance Brings Creative Meritocracy to the Design World Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:54 PM PDT 
As a company, Behance has a number of products designed to help organize the creative world. The Behance Network, a network that lets artists and designers show off their portfolios, is one of our favorite ways to find a designer online. The Behance Network receives more than 26 million page views per month and includes Behance.net, plus sites that Behance serves like FashionServed.com and PhotographyServed.com. This week, the Behance Network received a big update and an overhaul that was 16 months in the making. The new version has not only an updated visual design but it also better highlights Behance’s network hub partnerships. AIGA, MTV and the Art Director’s Club all use Behance to power their portfolio sites and to let users submit art for sponsored contests and events. A really cool feature of the new platform is an algorithm that organizes content by location, quality, genre and the work experience of the artist. Behance is calling this a “creative meritocracy,” based on the idea that the best talent can rise to the top and be seen by more relevant people. Later this summer, Behance users will have even more opportunities to connect with potential employers. Behance and LinkedIn will be partner together to enable LinkedIn users to find and access the many creative portfolios hosted on Behance. This is a great move for creative professionals who are looking for a way to get their work out there and get noticed. Reviews: Behance Network, LinkedIn Tags: behance, graphic design, internet week ny, portfolios
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| The Onion to Launch News Show… From the Future [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:41 PM PDT 
The show, whose launch will mark the first time The Onion plans to sell digital content directly to consumers on an exclusive basis, promises to bring viewers so-new-it-hasn’t-happened-yet news via “state-of-the-art wormhole satellites… from the year 2137.” According to The Onion, “More than 125 years into the future, the Onion News Network remains the world's most powerful media empire, dispensing the finest news, commentary, and swooshy graphics 24 hours a day directly into the right eye of every viewer through technology called 'EyeStreaming.'” Naturally, this is all a spoof (for those out there who don’t get less-than-subtle humor) — but a spoof that seems firmly rooted in present-day issues. In the world of the future, a catastrophe called "the Burndown" has rendered the world virtually unlivable — IE, there’s scarce food and water, no laws or social institutions and a thug of a President reigning over it all. Picture a planet populated by robots, humans bred to be slaves and a Doomsday Machine (that keeps malfunctioning, to everyone’s disappointment), and you’ve basically got The Onion’s vision of the future. Sunny, no? Although the show will premiere this summer, Web Editor Baratunde Thurston gave Mashable a sneak peek at the official trailer today, as well as at a three-minute clip of a segment called “The Gaza Scrap,” which depicts the battle between the last remaining Palestinian and the last remaining Israeli on earth. Keep your eye on The Onion’s site for future updates, or follow them on Twitter: @ONNFutureNews. The Onion has been working on some pretty exciting projects lately: Comedy Central recently picked up the Onion Sports Network pilot for a 10-episode run to air in 2011, and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) is collaborating with the parody outlet to create half-hour cable TV series called Onion News Network, also set to premiere in 2011. Given today’s announcement, and the media outlet’s mounting cache, it will be interesting to see how the public reacts to this content-for-purchase plan. Will you pay to partake in the funny? Future: News From The Year 2137For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter, picture Tags: business, humor, internet week ny, money, the onion, web video
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| REVEALED: Improv Everywhere Was Behind “Tourist Lane” Stunt Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:20 PM PDT 
During today’s conference, Todd explained how the “Tourist Lane” spread across the web — from a single photo posted to a blogger’s Tumblr (with no prodding from Todd or Greenspan) to major media outlets. Until now, the identity of the artist had been a secret, but many delighted at the message behind the work, which is in keeping with Improv Everywhere’s mission: to cause hilarious public disturbances (remember the Ghostbusters stunt and the No Pants Subway Ride?). Interestingly enough, the famous lane on 5th Avenue and 22nd Street isn’t Greenspan’s first “city-planning” endeavor; he’s been doing street art like this since April 1 (April Fool’s Day). “I had been placing them around the East Village and Lower East Side for about a month before I ran into Charlie Todd from Improv Everywhere,” Greenspan told us. “He was collaborating with the ad agency I work at and we started talking about our personal projects. When he heard about my lanes, he thought it would great to combine street art with performance art, and add a theatrical and participatory element to it.” “Up until the Improv Everywhere film, I haven't publicly taken credit for the tourist lanes at all,” Greenspan says. “The 5th Avenue line event seemed like a fun, theatrical way to come forward and no longer be the ‘Mystery Artist.’” And what was Greenspan’s initial inspiration for the fabled lanes? “After being stuck behind one too many pieces of rolling luggage, and hundreds of camera-wielding human pylons, I decided to take action on behalf of all New Yorkers. I hope I have helped in some small way.” Todd, for his part, explained his motivation thusly: “Personally, I just thought it was a hilarious idea, and I was really excited to be able to bring it to life with Improv Everywhere. Obviously it would never be practical to actually implement a tourist lane, but it was tons of fun to see the reactions of both New Yorkers and tourists as they encountered it.” For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: humor, internet week ny, pop culture, viral video, web video
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| Red Cross and URDB Break Record for Most SMS Donations in One Room Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:15 PM PDT 
Dan Rollman, the founder and president of the URDB, took the stage at the summit today along with Wendy Harman from the American Red Cross to ask the assemblage to donate $10 via text to the charitable organization. Well, after whipping out their smartphones of choice, the crowd managed to raise $2,210 (the previous record was for raising $390 after the earthquake in Haiti during at URDB live event). The Red Cross has been doing some amazing fund-raising of late via text — it managed to raise millions of dollars for Haiti earlier this year. Mashable was happy to be part of online history today, and to set a record we’ll be happy to see broken. Check out the video below if you missed out on the action: Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com [img credit: Carissa GoodNCrazy] For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter Tags: humor, internet week ny, Mobile 2.0, pop culture, red cross, Text, URDB
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| HTC EVO 4G Is Completely Sold Out Posted: 08 Jun 2010 01:07 PM PDT 
We knew that the device was shattering Sprint sales records right and left, and now it appears that demand has been so blisteringly hot that the EVO is actually unavailable pretty much everywhere. If you manage to find a secret stash of these phones or to Meanwhile, the HTC EVO 4G is neck and neck with the iPhone 4 in our weekly Faceoff Series (be sure to cast your vote if you haven’t yet). If you were one of the perhaps sizable demographic waiting to see Apple’s latest phone before picking up your next smartphone of choice, are you bummed that the EVO is currently unavailable? Let us know in the comments. For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: android, HTC EVO 4G, iphone 4, Mobile 2.0, sprint
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| Recording Industry Wants $1 Billion From LimeWire Posted: 08 Jun 2010 12:46 PM PDT 
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood ruled in favor of the RIAA in the lawsuit, finding that users of the LimeWire service committed a “substantial amount of copyright infringement” and that its developer, the Lime Group, did not take “meaningful steps to mitigate infringement.” In a new court order issued Monday, the RIAA indicated to Judge Wood that the “amount of statutory damages awarded in this case easily could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars (if not over a billion dollars).” It’s an astronomical sum and yet par for the course for the music industry, which has consistently sought extremely high damages in file-sharing cases — in some cases up to $150,000 per track (conveniently though, media conglomerates rarely perceive the same gravity when outed for piracy themselves). It seems clear that the RIAA is laying the groundwork for an all-out battle to completely destroy LimeWire and the Lime Group along with it. This is yet another bloody chapter in a long and weary war surrounding content distribution on the Internet. What are your thoughts on the RIAA’s ambitions: is it plausible LimeWire deprived them of over $1 billion? [img credit: pokpok313] For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Internet, Twitter Tags: file sharing, lawsuits, legal, Lime Group, limewire, p2p, riaa, software
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| Starbucks Used Social Media to Get One Million to Stores in One Day Posted: 08 Jun 2010 12:25 PM PDT 
As we noticed, activity on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook became electric on the day of the event as the free pastry news spread in digital form. Bruzzo’s credits fans with the idea to use social media to drive new business, and his remarks confirm that the swell of social media activity drove customers to visit Starbucks stores in droves. Bruzzo also speaks to the success of the company’s Tax Day green initiative to get customers to bring in their own tumblers in exchange for free coffee, which — like Free Pastry Day — was primarily promoted online via their Facebook Page. Also, the company’s MyStarbucks Idea has generated more than 80,000 ideas and Bruzzo credits Product Manager Brad Nelson for helping them tap into the power of Twitter. Right now there’s no big brand better embracing social media than Starbucks. The coffee retailer has managed to dominate on Facebook, made news as the first company to offer a nationwide Foursquare deal, and was selected to try out Twitter’s Promoted Tweets ad platform before other advertisers will have the chance. [img credit: Thomas Hawk] For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: internet week ny, mashable media summit, starbucks, trending
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| Posted: 08 Jun 2010 11:23 AM PDT 
Just as you do on Facebook, you can now tag images of you and your friends and acquaintances on Twitpic. Below the image in question, just click the blue link reading “Add/Edit Faces.” When you tag your pics, you’ll also have the option to tweet out who you’ve tagged. You’ll be able to add real names and/or Twitter usernames to the pics, and others can see the tags when they mouse over the picture. Users will be familiar with the Facebook-like interface. Here’s what the feature looks like on the site:
Last week, the service added the ability to group your photos based on the event at which they were taken. In practice, this feature works a lot like a Flickr set, letting users organize, define and showcase their pictures quickly and easily and making the discovery process easier for both humans and web crawlers. Twitpic has also just reached its 10 million users mark and is gearing up for more group and geo-location features from this service. To get a better idea of where Twitpic might be heading in the months to come, you can check out this video interview with Twitpic founder Noah Everett on the future of Twitter-based photo sharing. Are these new features going to make Twitpic more interesting, fun and useful for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Flickr, Twitpic, Twitter Tags: Photos, pictures, Tagging, twitpic, twitter
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| Smartphone Faceoff: HTC Evo 4G vs. iPhone 4 Posted: 08 Jun 2010 11:09 AM PDT 
Last week in our Web Faceoff series, we asked you, the readers, to help us answer a question: Where do you get more of your news: Twitter or newspapers? At least among Mashable’s readers, social media was the clear winner. Twitter dominated the faceoff with 1,005 (52%) while newspapers as a whole only garnered 418 (22%). 282 of you said neither, while another 211 voted that both were equal sources of news.
This week’s competitors are none other than the iPhone 4 and the HTC Evo. Both phones come with a front-facing camera, but they quickly differentiate from there. While the iPhone has iOS 4.0, the Evo runs Android 2.1 and sports a 4.3″ screen, far larger than the iPhone 4 (though it does Retina Display). So which phone has your loyalty? Check out our comparison, and then cast your vote! Let us know by Thursday, June 9th at 12:00 PM PT, and be sure to let us know why you chose the Evo or the iPhone 4G in the comments below. Faceoff Series: Overall ResultsWeek 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Week 11: Week 12: Week 13: Week 14: Week 15: Week 16: Week 17: Week 18: Week 19: Week 20: Week 21: Week 21: Week 22: Week 23: Week 24: Week 25: Week 26: Week 27: Week 28: Week 29: Week 30: Series supported by Buick  This Web Faceoff series is supported by Buick. [newspaper img credit: DRB62] For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Android, Bing, Boxee, Chrome, Digg, Facebook, Firefox, Foursquare, Gmail, Google, Google Buzz, Google Docs, Gowalla, Gtalk, Hulu, Mashable, Pandora, Posterous, Seesmic Desktop, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, TweetDeck, Twitter, TypePad, Windows, WordPress, Yelp, aim Tags: faceoff, htc evo, iphone, iphone 4, Mobile 2.0, poll, polls, web faceoff, web-faceoff-miniseries
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| Lady Gaga’s Extravagantly Artsy “Alejandro” Premieres on YouTube [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 11:02 AM PDT 
“Alejandro” is the third single from Gaga’s 2009 album The Fame Monster, and it’s darker in tone than the bubbly, tongue-in-cheek “Telephone.” The video draws elements and visual stylings from the expressionist film movement of pre-Nazi 1920s Germany. Gaga’s usual influences of glam rock and Michael Jackson are obvious. Mix those and German expressionism with some steam punk, military uniforms, light bondage and a bra with assault rifle barrels attached to it and you have a quintessential work of Gaga art. The video was shot with help from fashion photographer Steven Klein, and while the Madonna influence is always present in Gaga’s work, it’s especially hard to ignore the strong homages to Madonna’s “Vogue,” “Like a Prayer” and “Justify My Love” in this one. The 24-year old Lady Gaga (real name: Stefani Germanotta) is the biggest pop music artist recording today, having sold 15 million albums and 40 million singles. She quickly reached one billion views on YouTube, beating every other currently producing pop music act. We don’t need to ask you to let us know whether you think Gaga is worth the fuss or not. By now, most everyone has made up his or her mind, and we expect to see that in the comments! Watch the VideoFor more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter, michael jackson Tags: alejandro, entertainment, Lady Gaga, music, music videos, pop, the fame monster, vevo, viral videos, youtube
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| Yahoo’s Social Media Science Experiments [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Jun 2010 10:56 AM PDT  Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com Duncan Watts is a scientist — a social media scientist, to be specific. Watts, the director of Yahoo’s Human Social Dynamics Group, gave a presentation at the Mashable Media Summit this morning where he talked about the academic and scientific approach to researching social networks and social communications. In this video, Watts shows examples of some of the social science experiments that Yahoo has undertaken over the last decade. The presentation is a really interesting look at much of the actual research, development and science that goes into monitoring social networks, with the goal of having a better understanding about how these systems work so that those tools and networks can be improved. What do you think about the scientific element of social media? Let us know in the comments! [img src: Hyku] For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: internet week ny, Science, social media, social media science, Yahoo
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| Twitter Hits 2 Billion Tweets Per Month Posted: 08 Jun 2010 10:49 AM PDT 
Just over a week ago, we reported that Twitter hit the 15 billion tweet mark. The service announced its ten billionth tweet just a few months before that, and hit the one billion tweet milestone back in the fall of 2008. Twitter’s growth curve is clearly accelerating. Costolo also stated that the service sees around 135,000 new registrations each day; we’re not sure how many of those new users are unique people versus new accounts for business or other purposes. Another unknown is exactly how many of these registrations end up being regular users of the service and how many accounts drop off after a month or two. To take a closer look at some of Twitter’s stats, including adoption, attrition and actual tweet content, check out this infographic on Twitter’s growth. As Twitter becomes a larger part of Internet and general media culture, these kinds of stats point toward the company’s eventual, inevitable graduation from startup to corporation. Numbers such as these come as great news to advertisers, and that fact surely will help Twitter’s revenue, which in turn bodes well for an acquisition or — perhaps more likely — an IPO. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Internet, Twitter Tags: 2 billion, growth, internet week ny, stats, tweets, twitter
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| Foursquare Now Experimenting with Badge Rewards Posted: 08 Jun 2010 10:18 AM PDT 
These interesting tidbits were revealed today when Foursquare Co-founder Dennis Crowley took the stage at the Mashable Media Summit to field questions from our Editor-in-Chief, Adam Ostrow. The question-and-answer interview spanned a variety of topics including revenue potential, growth and future plans for the service. We’ve embedded the entire interview below and have also extracted some of the key points and big reveals. Badge RewardsPerhaps the biggest news — apart from the impressive growth metrics — is that Foursquare is addressing badge fatigue by experimenting with adding value to badges — which Crowley describes as “digital candy.” Crowley used Internet Week as an example, stating that users who check-in at an Internet Week venue will unlock a special badge. That badge — when presented to bouncers — will guarantee users priority entrance into some Internet Week parties and events. Foursquare already makes it possible for businesses to offer specials around mayorships or checkins, but the badge rewards system could be the equivalent to a modern day VIP program. The company is still testing the concept, but there’s obviously huge potential here. CNN World Cup Badges  CNN and Foursquare have joined forces to release two CNN World Cup badges: South Africa Explorer and Super Fan. Foursquare users who follow CNN can only unlock the South Africa Exloper badge by actually venturing to South Africa to attend the World Cup. The rest of us, however, can grab the Super Fan badge by checking in to World Cup viewing parties and soccer-friendly pubs. Some of the more than 100 badge-eligible venues will also be seeded with tips from CNN staffers. Revenue Potential and the FutureAs discussed above, Crowley mentioned that Foursquare is closing in on 1.6 million users. While Crowley appears genuinely surprised by user adoption, the rapid rise in members and checkin acceleration over the past year, he also doesn’t believe growth will slow anytime soon. The future for Foursquare will be defined by adding more value to service, which Crowley says will happen through more partnerships and more sophisticated features. The hope is that the company can engineer ways to encourage interactions between users who are checked-in to the same venue. In terms of revenue, Crowley says that company is generating money and that it’s helped to offset expansion costs. He also sees a myriad of monetization opportunities, but did make it a point to state that they are not profitable, and that profitability is not something Foursquare is focused on right now. To that end, we expect the startup to reveal funding news in the near future, especially given that Crowley insinuated as much during the interview. VideoFor more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter Tags: foursquare, internet week ny, mashable media summit, media summit
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| BP Buys Top Google Result for “Oil Spill” Posted: 08 Jun 2010 10:02 AM PDT 
BP’s PR problems are severe. U.S. President Barack Obama said this morning that he’s talking to experts so he can determine “whose ass to kick.” The outrage has been particularly clear on the web, where a fake Twitter account was set up to mock BP’s PR efforts, and nearly half a million Facebook users have rallied behind “boycott BP” pages. One design firm even put together a Firefox extension that blots out all the web’s mentions of BP with oil stains. Companies buy sponsored links (which are clearly labeled as such) at the top of search results so their side of the story is the first a member of the public sees when he or she searches for information. The links at the top of the Yahoo and Google results link to BP’s “Gulf of Mexico Response” page, which hosts articles and videos explaining how BP is trying to resolve the environmental crisis. The satirical BP Twitter account is running wild with this news, publishing mock tweets like “We’re paying Google a lot of money to make sure you only have access to the best possible info on the oil spill: our info,” and, “By the way, we made it so if you google image search “oil spill” or “bp” you’ll see some great celeb sideboob pics. #bpcares.”   For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Google, Twitter, spedr.com – firefox extension Tags: ads, advertising, bp, Google, gulf oil spill, MARKETING, oil-spill, pr, PUBLIC RELATIONS, search engine, Yahoo
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| The New York Times Tells Apple to Pull Pulse iPad App Posted: 08 Jun 2010 09:07 AM PDT 
The Times demanded that Apple pull the app because it “infringes The New York Times Company’s rights,” and Apple acquiesced to the request. This is all according to a report from Kara Swisher at All Things Digital, who was notified by the developers when their application was pulled. Pulse is nothing more than a sophisticated and highly stylized RSS reader (as seen below). Still, Senior Counsel Richard Samson wrote to Apple demanding the app be removed because it “makes commercial use of the NYTimes.com and Boston.com RSS feeds, in violation of their Terms of Use. Thus, the use of our content is unlicensed.” Samson also takes issue with the fact that “the app is delivered with the NYTimes.com RSS feed preloaded, which is prominently featured in the screen shots used to sell the app on iTunes.” What Samson doesn’t appear to realize is that the application is driving traffic and page views to The New York Times website, making it a more visible media source to downloaders. The rub is that this is a paid application, arguably much better than the Times’ own app, and thus it could be said that Pulse monetizes Times’ content better than the Times itself. Embarrassing as it may be, it’s still no more criminal than any other paid RSS reader on the market. We’re guessing that Apple only pulled the app because of its relationship with the Times, but both parties are guilty of some very poor decision making. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and the app will return to the App Store. Update: All Things Digital reports that the app [iTunes link] is now back in the App Store.  For more Apple coverage, follow Mashable Apple on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: App Store, Facebook, Twitter Tags: Apple iPad, ipad apps, media, new york times, pulse ipad app
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| College Humor CEO Shares His 10 Web Content Urban Legends Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:32 AM PDT 
In true Internet entrepreneur style, Van Veen started College Humor in his dorm room — now it’s an operating business of IAC with more than 10 million unique visitors a month. Although it now produces TV shows, films, live tours and books, Van Veen told the audience that the web always remains at the center. And how did the site gain such high standing on the web? And how can brands capitalize on such cache? According to Van Veen, by being hyper aware of the 10 Web Content Urban Legends, which are as follows: Ricky Van Veen’s 10 Web Content Urban LegendsMyth #1). People will want to watch your branded content: Why would anyone watch this? If you don’t have a good reason, don’t make it. If your goal is 75% to entertain and 25% to sell a product, you already have a handicap. - Brands need to be flexible. IE, College Humor is a racy site — so if you want to partner with a media outlet like this, its content will be racy. Embrace that. To remedy this issue, you can present content that is not explicitly branded, and then reveal your involvement later. Myth #2). People will be patient with your content: 35% tune out soon after starting to watch a web video. Also, one third of web activity is executed while watching TV. - So, get to the point — quickly. Myth #3). People will find your content: Your video will not necessarily go viral. Over-saturation is not the key, either. - Have a strong seeding strategy. Myth #4). The Internet is a level playing field: A link on Drudge Report yields more results than some dude’s blog. - Tap into power users. Myth #5). We have no idea why things go viral: There are no rules for making a viral video. But all viral videos give the user a reason to pass it on. This all has to do with identity creation: What does passing this video on say about me? - College Humor has a hit strategy: Only hit for nines and 10s. Myth # 6). Experience beats documentation: We have a new generation that puts documentation above experience. It’s all about Flickr feeds and Facebook status updates. It’s basically high-tech bragging. - if you’re a marketer, create experiences that allow people to show off how cool they are. Myth #7). You should build your own community and tools: The web values simplicity and openness. Don’t limit the openness of your project. Make all tools open and easy to share. Don’t build your own features — if you want people to share photos and whatnot, use Facebook and Flickr. You get much more exposure and reach in that way. Myth #8). Keep things professional: Show the people behind the scenes. It gives your site personality and makes it sticky. Personality drives your brand. Post photos of staff as well as videos and other content. Perez Hilton does this really well, according to Van Veen. Myth #9). Traditional media is irrelevant to the web: TV is not over. Content creators are always working to get to TV and film — that’s where the money is. The average American watches 151 hours of TV a month, so that’s nothing to sneeze at. You get a stamp of approval thusly. Myth #10). People will create good content for you: This is the biggest myth of all. SoBe StudiosVan Veen topped all of this off by announcing the creation of SoBe Studios, a production studio that creates content centered around the SoBe brand. According to Van Veen, this partnership adheres to two of the rules laid out above: 1). SoBe is partnering with established brand with a history of creating good content. 2). It’s working directly with College Humor to create something that people will actually want to watch. And what exactly are they creating? A series, which was filmed at South by Southwest, based on SoBe’s "re-skin" campaign — which involves the drink company redesigning the labels of the SoBe Elixir and Tea bottles called Mr. Vicarious. In true metamorphosing spirit, the show centers around two comedians — Paul Scheer and Nick Kroll — who live vicariously through three actors dressed up as different characters, including a karate sensei, a massage therapist and a caricature artist. What do you think of Van Veen’s presentation? Will you tune into Mr. Vicarious tomorrow? For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Flickr, Internet, Twitter, eXperience Tags: college humor, Food, humor, internet week ny, MARKETING, money, viral video, web video
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| SummerMash 2010 Tour Call for Sponsors Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:31 AM PDT 
The Mashable team will kick things off in Seattle on Saturday, July 10, and continue the festivities in San Francisco on Thursday, July 14. We take a small break and are back on the road with stops in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, August 5, NYC on Monday, August 9, and we finish the tour in Chicago on Wednesday, August 11. If you’re in one of these cities, or nearby, we want to meet you. Team Mashable will be in full force at all of the events. And it wouldn’t be SummerMash without appetizers and open bar in each city. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of influencers in each community as well as event sponsorship promotion on Mashable. Full Tour sponsorships are available and will secure your spot in all five cities. Local sponsorships are also available in each city. Spots are limited and filling up fast. Please e-mail sponsorships@mashable.com for more information. Each city will also have live-streaming interviews with attendees thanks to our video partner, Watchitoo. This gives you the opportunity to tell the world about what you’re working on. It also allows you to join each city virtually. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for partnership and ticket sales announcements. Again, just as a reminder, below are the dates and places where we will be. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter Tags: Announcement, Events, mashable, SummerMash U.S. Tour
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| Join Mashable in Celebrating Social Media Day Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:01 AM PDT 
On Wednesday, June 30, we’ll be organizing meetups in cities where we have staff using Meetup Everywhere. So come join us for drinks in New York City or San Francisco or anywhere. Because we can’t be everywhere, we encourage you to attend or organize a meetup in your community using our Meetup Everywhere page (or by creating a meetup using the widget below). Social media has changed our lives. It has not only changed the way we communicate, but the way we connect with one another, consume our news, conduct our work, organize our lives, and much more. So why not celebrate? For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on FacebookReviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: announcements, Events, mashable, meetup everywhere, social media day
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In October 2009, Google released 
Chatting in Gmail is simple enough: click on a contact, and a chat window will open in the lower right corner of the screen. Finding video, group and voice chat was a bit harder to find, but now Google 
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 
Name: 
According to the analysts at Hitwise, social networks in general are more popular than search engines in some parts of the world.
Name: Feather Report
In an effort to remove the obscurity of shortened links and to prevent malware and phishing attacks, Twitter has begun the rollout t.co, its official URL shortener, along with some major changes to how the microblogging platform handles links.
When the media refused to cover the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the league cultivated its own massive following through grassroots social media rapport. Now the 
Actor Edward Norton (Fight Club and American History X) spoke today at the 
At the 
If real-time news isn’t good enough for ya, The Onion has the remedy: Future: News From The Year 2137, a new video project the satirical media outlet unveiled today at 
The Universal Record Database — a rad online resource that allows the Average Joe to make and break a myriad of records online — succeeded in breaking the record for most online donations made by text message in one room today — all with the help of the attendees of the Mashable Media Summit.
Were you still deciding whether or not to pick up that shiny new 
After 
Starbucks’ Vice President of Brand, Content and Online, Chris Bruzzo, is on stage at the 
Just one week after announcing 
This week, we’re jumping away from social media and into smartphones. In the past, we’ve compared 
Here’s “
According to Twitter CTO 
Foursquare is fast-approaching 1.6 million members and has just released CNN World Cup badges.
BP has purchased sponsored links that appear at the top of 
Just seven days ago, The New York TImes Bits blog 
In an effort to better connect with Mashable’s community of readers and partners, we’re teaming up with 
As far as we know, there is no official Social Media Day. But we do think there should be one. So we invite you to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue by attending or organizing a | 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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