Mashable: Latest 24 News Updates - including “17-year-old Australian Boy, Japanese Developer Take Blame for Twitter Meltdown” |  |
- 17-year-old Australian Boy, Japanese Developer Take Blame for Twitter Meltdown
- RIM Tablet May Be Announced Next Week [REPORT]
- Tecca Is a Virtual Assistant for Buying Gadgets [APPS]
- 2010 Holiday Shopping Predictions: Gadgets, Games and Software [STATS]
- Google Sues Illegal Prescription Drug Pushers
- Adobe’s Revenue Is Strong (For Now)
- Six Apart Is No More; What Will Happen to TypePad and Movable Type?
- NGO Leaders From Around the World Share How Tech Has Helped Their Causes [VIDEO]
- How Businesses Are Unleashing Their Employees’ Social Media Potential
- Gmail’s Android App Gets a Froyo-Flavored Update
- Dan Savage Creates YouTube Channel to Help Gay Teens
- How Tech Aided Relief Efforts in Haiti [VIDEO]
- Change Any Web Page’s Design Instantly with Chrome Extension Stylebot
- Visualize Mid-Term Elections with Google Maps
- Twitter Explains Security Exploit
- Starbucks Digital Network to Include Award-Winning Documentary Films
- Top 5 Web Font Design Trends to Follow
- How ICT Can Help Us Meet the Millennium Development Goals [VIDEO]
- Netflix to Announce Video Streaming Service for Canada Tomorrow
- Double Rainbow Guy Now Trying to Cash In with iPhone App [VIDEO]
- LIVE: Watch the UN Digital Media Lounge [VIDEO]
- How Social Media has Changed the Game for Documentary Filmmaking
- Burberry Customers to Shop via In-Store iPads Following Today’s Runway Show
- Top 4 Stories in Social Media and Business This Morning
- 8 Tips for a Killer Mobile Search Campaign
| 17-year-old Australian Boy, Japanese Developer Take Blame for Twitter Meltdown Posted: 22 Sep 2010 04:33 AM PDT      A 17-year-old boy from Australia claims he inadvertently triggered a chain of events that led to thousands of people being affected by a Twitter security flaw yesterday. But it all may have been started by a Japanese developer a couple of hours earlier. Pearce Delphin, or @zzap on Twitter, says he exposed the security flaw by tweeting a piece of code with an onMouseOver JavaScript function, which caused a pop-up to appear when a user merely moves his mouse cursor over the message. Very soon, the code was modified to do other sorts of things – perform auto retweets, open pornographic websites and generally create havoc on Twitter, which lasted a couple of hours until Twitter admins patched the vulnerability. “I did it merely to see if it could be done … that JavaScript really could be executed within a tweet. At the time of posting the tweet, I had no idea it was going to take off how it did. I just hadn’t even considered it,” Delphin told AFP via email. “I discovered a vulnerability, I didn’t create a self-replicating worm. As far as I know, that isn’t technically illegal,” Delphin said. He hopes he won’t get into trouble, but he very well could – the proper course of action in situations like these is reporting such a vulnerability to Twitter. Exposing a security flaw like he did, even inadvertently, is at the very least an error in judgment. However, in this case, the flaw was so elementary and spread so fast that it’s hard to point at Delphin and consider him solely responsible for the damage it caused (which, according to Twitter, was not very big, despite the fact that the flaw was potentially extremely dangerous). Delphin (together with several others, for example Scandinavian developer Magnus Holm) claims he merely modified the idea from another user who had used the code to make his tweets colored, meaning he was not the first to expose the flaw. The “other user” was probably a Japanese developer called Masato Kinugawa said he reported the XSS vulnerability to Twitter on August 14, which was subsequently patched, but he later discovered that the vulnerability was exploitable again. He then created a Twitter account called RainbowTwtr, which he used to prove that the flaw could be used to create colored tweets. This is in line with Twitter’s account of the incident. From Twitter’s official blog: “We discovered and patched this issue last month. However, a recent site update (unrelated to new Twitter) unknowingly resurfaced it.” One thing about the entire incident causes concern: the vulnerability was too easy to exploit, and it spread amazingly fast. Twitter should take a good look at its security before an attack similar to this one causes a lot more damage. More About: hack, security flaw, twitter, vulnerability For more Social Media coverage:
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| RIM Tablet May Be Announced Next Week [REPORT] Posted: 22 Sep 2010 01:46 AM PDT   Citing sources familiar with RIM’s plans, the WSJ claims the BlackBerry maker could show the world its tablet as early as next week, at a developers’ conference in San Francisco. The internal name for the tablet is BlackPad; it will have a 7-inch touch screen, one or two cameras, Bluetooth and broadband connections, and it’s scheduled for a launch in the fourth quarter of the year. Interestingly enough, WSJ’s sources claim the device will only be able to connect to mobile networks through a BlackBerry. As far as the OS goes – and this is the most interesting bit – the same sources claim RIM will use a new platform built by QNX, an OS maker RIM bought earlier this year, instead of BlackBerry OS. Furthermore, BlackBerry is supposed to eventually move the BlackBerry to this new platform, too. That’s quite a bit of info from the Wall Street Journal, and although RIM did not confirm or deny any of it, it paints an interesting picture for the BlackBerry maker. RIM has slowly been losing ground to iPhone and Android phones in the last year, and – if real – these moves show a determination to turn things around. If RIM’s tablet really brings a taste of the new platform that all BlackBerries will share, it won’t be just a competitor to iPad, it will be a major test of RIM’s ability to keep up with the current trends on the market. More About: blackberry, RIM, Tablet, trending For more Tech coverage:
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| Tecca Is a Virtual Assistant for Buying Gadgets [APPS] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 09:28 PM PDT   A new startup launching today is seeking to demystify the process of buying gadgets, starting with a pair of iPhone and Android apps. Tecca describes itself as a “virtual concierge” for personal gadgets by delivering gadget information, reviews, prices and purchase options right from the app. It does this by providing both curated product information and prices as well as original editorial content. “Our goal with Tecca is simple: help inspire consumers to make confident decisions about personal technology and electronics, whether they're purchasing new products or making the most of the devices they already own,” said chairman Ross Levinsohn. Tecca focuses on three core areas: product discovery, product research and product marketplace. The Android and iPhone applications allow users to search and tag its database of gadgets. Once a user selects a gadget, he or she is able to check out photos, dig into features, read user reviews, compare prices and even buy the gadget online.  While Tecca is integrated with several different merchants, Best Buy’s presence is definitely prominent in the mobile apps. This isn’t a surprise; Best Buy’s digital media fund is one of the company’s investors. Tecca was incubated at Fuse Capital; in fact, partner Mickie Rosen serves as the company’s CEO. The company launches today with an iPhone and Android app, but intends to launch a PC and tablet version later this year. image courtesy of iStockphoto, gwmullis More About: android, gadgets, iphone, iphone app, startup, Tecca For more Tech coverage:
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| 2010 Holiday Shopping Predictions: Gadgets, Games and Software [STATS] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 08:37 PM PDT   What’s on your holiday shopping list this year? If you’re anything like the millions and millions of web users around the world, you might be thinking of purchasing a smartphone, a tablet, a gaming consol or a few other geeky essentials for your friends and loved ones — or even for yourself. According to data from Hitwise Intelligence, a web and search analysis firm, what we search and browse for leading up to the end-of-the-year holidays has a strong correlation to what we actually buy, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. This kind of information, while invaluable to retailers and marketers, is also fascinating to us as gadget geeks. We took a look at market share and web traffic stats from the last week of August; here’s a breakdown of how pre-holiday stats stack up for the most popular consumer electronics products: Apple Is on a RollWith major releases throughout the year, Apple’s new iPhone 4, iPad and revamped line of iPods are guaranteed to show strong holiday shopping numbers. This brand grabbed five of the top 20 spots in consumer electronics-related markets for the month of August alone — that amounts to 42.1%.
Most of this attention centers on the iPhone, which launched a new fourth-gen model over the summer, and iPad, which hasn’t stopped making headlines since its debut this spring. But a healthy amount of consumer interest is also focused on Apple’s new iPods. Many of these bite-sized devices hold more data than ever before and are priced to sell. The iPod shuffle sells for $49, and the new touchscreen, iOS-powered iPod nano starts at $149. The company also refreshed its MacBook Pro line this year. In other words, as a hardware manufacturer, Apple had a gangbusters year, rolling out product after product, some of which are entirely new. It would be fatuous to think Apple wouldn’t have an equally gangbusters holiday retail showing.
Still, we’ve been keeping an eye on Android OS’ not-so-slow advance in the mobile market. While this multi-manufacturer platform has a somewhat fragmented set of devices and release dates, we are hearing rumors, “trumors” and verified reports of several exciting, holiday-timed launches. Samsung’s Tab, for example, is an Android-powered tablet that is set to launch later this fall on all four U.S. wireless carriers. The bottom line is that although Apple is the heavyweight to beat in terms of hardware and gadgets, there’s still plenty of room for other manufacturers and retailers to succeed this holiday season. Games and Gadgets Make Great GiftsBy far and away, the two most dominant verticals in consumer electronics will be gadgets and gaming.
Gaming consoles as well as the games themselves are generating a huge amount of interest with consumers, and many companies are planning on holiday launches. Microsoft’s Xbox is taking the lion’s share of consumer interest right now, we feel due in large part to the upcoming launch of Kinect, its controller-free interaction system. Several Mashable staffers got some hands-on (or rather, hands-off) time with Kinect during a visit to Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters; to say we were impressed would be a huge understatement. Kinect’s hardware is priced to sell at $150, and the Kinect bundle will be available to shoppers beginning November 4.
As far as non-Apple gadgets are concerned, HTC’s Desire and Samsung’s Galaxy S line are both performing well. One product that took us by surprise was the Kymera Magic Wand, a gestural remote control that’s half Avatar, half Harry Potter. It’s been available for some time and sells for around $78 (£49.95). What Are Your Predictions?So, what’s topping your shopping list (and your wish list) for the 2010 holidays so far? Are you enamored of the new Droids? Are you eyeing the reduced-price Kindles? What games, gadgets and software are most interesting to you right now, and which do you think would make the best gifts? Let us know in the comments what consumer electronics products are piquing your interest right now, and be sure to give us your holiday 2010 predictions, as well. Image courtesy of Flickr, allerleirau. Reviews: Android, Flickr, harry potter, iPhone More About: apple, gadgets, games, gaming, Hardware, holiday shopping, microsoft, retail, samsung, xbox For more Business coverage:
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| Google Sues Illegal Prescription Drug Pushers Posted: 21 Sep 2010 05:52 PM PDT   Google is doing its part to help rid the web of scammy ads for illegitimate pharmacies. On its official blog, Google says that it has filed a civil lawsuit against advertisers it believes has deliberately broken its rules in regards to obtaining prescription medication. Scores of online pharmacies have set up shop and offer to illegally sell prescription medication over the Internet. Google has had policies in place to prevent these companies from advertising on Google, but ad buyers still manage to get ads through the system anyway. Last year, Google filed a similar lawsuit against “Google Money” scammers. As Google continues to rise in importance to brands and companies, keeping its search results and advertisement sanitized remains crucial for maintaining Google’s reputation. Image courtesy of Thomas Roche Reviews: Google, Internet More About: Google, lawsuits, legal, pharmacy spam, spammers For more Business coverage:
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| Adobe’s Revenue Is Strong (For Now) Posted: 21 Sep 2010 04:52 PM PDT   Adobe released its third-quarter revenue report today, and there are some impressive numbers in there. Adobe said that thanks to “strong performance in each of our major businesses,” it achieved $990 million in revenue during the quarter. That’s 42% increase over the same period last year. However, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Adobe predicted a fourth quarter that would be less impressive than what Wall Street analysts were expecting, though not by much. The result: share prices tumbled a bit in the stock market. Though much of Adobe’s business comes from subscriptions for and purchases of developer tools like Photoshop, most of the public knows Adobe for its Flash platform. Flash is used to deliver rich media content like interactive menus, videos and online games inside the web browser. Adobe is locked in a battle with Apple and some other tech companies, who wish to leave Flash behind in favor of the competing HTML5 standard. HTML5 is supported on Apple’s iPhone and the related devices while Flash is not. While sales of Photoshop, Dreamweaver and other corporate products have been strong, web pundits have questioned Flash’s future. However, the lower earnings projections are likely due to sluggish corporate spending, according to Bloomberg. Companies and freelancers purchase new versions of Adobe software when they’re released, but no radical leaps forward are expected this quarter, and most of the people who have a desire to upgrade to the most recent one already have. More About: adobe, Dreamweaver, earnings, finance, Flash, Photoshop, profit, report, Revenue, shares, stock market For more Business coverage:
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| Six Apart Is No More; What Will Happen to TypePad and Movable Type? Posted: 21 Sep 2010 04:04 PM PDT   Video ad network VideoEgg has announced that it has agreed to acquire blogging pioneer Six Apart, the company behind TypePad and Movable Type. As part of the acquisition, both companies will drop their names and be renamed SAY Media. Six Apart, founded in 2001 by Ben and Mena Trott, is one the pioneers of blogging. Its Movable Type platform brought blog publishing to the masses. Not long after, the company launched TypePad, the blog hosting service based upon the Movable Type platform. Six Apart has had a long history in Silicon Valley and was even once the owner of Livejournal when it acquired its parent company in 2005. In recent years though, Six Apart has been more focused on its advertising business. VideoEgg, which launched at the DEMO Conference in 2005, originally was a video publishing service, but has since rebranded itself as an advertising network. It owns Twig, the “unavoidable online ad” that landed on Typepad last year. The new SAY Media will focus on its advertising network. It claims that advertising technology has not kept up with changes in media. SAY Media’s platform, in the company’s view, is the answer for advertisers that want to reach audiences through modern media. VideoEgg CEO Matt Sanchez will become the CEO of the new entity, while Six Apart CEO Chris Alden is leaving the company. Six Apart co-founder Mena Trott will join the company’s board of directors. The Future of Movable TypeWhile Movable Type and TypePad were among the first of their kind, WordPress has clearly won the battle for blogging platform supremacy. It shouldn’t come as a suprise that Mashable’s readers overwhelmingly chose WordPress over TypePad as their preferred platform. SAY Media says that it will continue to support Movable Type and TypePad, but forgive us if we’re skeptical that will last. The new entity is clearly focused on building out a new-age advertising network, not on building out a blogging platform to compete with WordPress or Tumblr. From what we’ve seen before, we bet it won’t take long for resources to be allocated towards the advertising network and away from Movable Type. It will be the beginning of the degradation of a platform that has already lost much of its relevance, despite hosting The Huffington Post and major blogs from ABC, the BBC and others. Advertising is where the money is for this new organization. While we don’t expect Movable Type or TypePad to go anywhere for a long time, we doubt anything new or innovative will come out of them, either. More About: acquisition, advertising, advertising network, Movable Type, SAY Media, six apart, typepad, videoegg For more Business coverage:
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| NGO Leaders From Around the World Share How Tech Has Helped Their Causes [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com From bringing the World Cup to countries sans technology to preventing rape in embattled lands, technology and social media can and has had a massive effect on communities worldwide. A group of engaging speakers from around the world took the stage in the UN Week Digital Media Lounge (presented by the UN, 92Y and Mashable) to share their thoughts on both their causes and burgeoning technological advances. Niemat Adam Ahmadi, Darfuri liaison officer for the Save Darfur Coalition; Adi Altshuler, founder and president of Krembo Wings; Gerrit Beger, chief of the Youth Section of the Division of Communications at UNICEF New York; and Liel Leibovitz, editor and writer for Tablet led a highly effective roundtable today on the effect they see technology having on their respective causes. From raising money (more than $100,000) via Facebook to help children in Israel with disabilities form connections with other children, to spreading awareness about the situation in Darfur, the speakers on this panel shared some inspiring stories. Check out the video above and let us know in the comments: What do you think of the speakers’ efforts, and what more do you think needs to be done? For ongoing coverage of the Digital Media Lounge check out Mashable’s new Social Good channel. September 23 is Social Good Day. Organize or participate in a meetup in your area to discuss how social media can be used to tackle some of the world's social challenges and issues. Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, World Cup More About: social good, social media For more Social Good coverage:
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| How Businesses Are Unleashing Their Employees’ Social Media Potential Posted: 21 Sep 2010 02:41 PM PDT   Josh Bernoff is Senior Vice President, Idea Development at Forrester Research and the co-author of Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business (Harvard Business Review Press, 2010). We know it’s a brave new world for consumers and brands. If United breaks your guitar, or your Maytag doesn’t work properly, you can take on the company that messed with you via social media — and you may well win. But technology empowerment works both ways. Consumers can take a stand against poor business practices, and brands can empower their customers like never before. Mobile is a hotbed of innovation in this department. Point your phone at a restaurant and see if it's worth an evening out. With the addition of cloud services, you get stuff like the iPhone app from UK car dealer Auto Trader, which can tell you the make, model and the price of used cars just from snapping a license plate photo. To take it one step further, companies that invest in technology and innovation can not only sell more products with digital tools, but empower their own employees. Below, we’ve highlighted some examples of businesses that are using technology creatively to solve customer issues and spur innovation. Workers Already Use Third-Party Tech for BusinessBased on a survey we did late last year at Forrester Research, 27% of information workers regularly use login-required web sites that the company doesn't sanction, like LinkedIn or Google Docs, for work purposes. Around 12% download and use their own applications not provided by the company, like video editors, and 8% are using smartphones they pay for themselves for work purposes. Unlike in Dilbert’s office, IT doesn’t control technology within corporations any more — workers do. I argue that this lack of control inside and outside companies isn't a sign of the apocalypse; it's the beginning of a new way of working — one in which employees know their job is to use technology to solve customer problems. Don’t be surprised if this proposition elicits echoes of The Cluetrain Manifesto. Ten years ago, this idea was radical, and people who espoused it were screaming in the wilderness. Now it's actually working, even at large companies. Principles at Work At Best Buy, CMO Barry Judge encourages staff to come up with "half-baked ideas," which the company works on and then rolls out. For example, Remix is a project which opened up the company’s website API so others could build sites or apps on top of it. Using Best Buy’s wealth of product, pricing and image data, developers could implement useful third-party applications to track rapidly dropping retail prices, for example. Twelpforce, a shared Twitter support service, was programmed by Ben Hedrington, a Best Buy website staffer, in his spare time. It was rolled out by John Bernier, who solved problems like how 2,500 hourly staffers (Blue Shirts, Geek Squad, and the like) could share a Twitter service without violating labor laws. These are empowered employees. At Vail Resorts, CEO Rob Katz radically shifted the company's media policy, embracing short-lead advertising and social media. He hired social media staffers instead of buying magazine ads, and trained the staff on how to turn pictures, videos and tweets into fast-spreading, word-of-mouth ads. At Dell, there are so many social initiatives going on that Manish Mehta, who reports directly to the CMO, runs a council of high level execs who share best practices weekly. The Rise of Empowerment “Heroes”The companies that work like this act quickly. They blunt customer complaints and turn detractors into promoters. They innovate as a matter of course. The reason is that all the employees feel empowered to create and contribute, rather than leave it to their research and developments departments. I call these people "HEROes:" Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives. They typically know more about customers than they do about technology, and companies need more of them. HEROes need tools to understand the challenges they face. They need managers who support them rather than squelch their initiative. They need IT people who give them technology advice, resources, and help them to see pitfalls and risks, and identify when their projects are ready to scale up. This isn't a pipe dream. I've seen HERO-powered companies innovating, and there are more every day. This mentality is the future of daily work, and it’s an inversion in the power structure of companies. The companies that have figured this out have a head start on the rest. Does yours? More Business Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, eaniton Reviews: Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, iStockphoto More About: api, best buy, business, empower, empowered, Forrester research, iphone, productivity, remix, small business, technology, twelpforce, twitter, vail resorts For more Business coverage:
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| Gmail’s Android App Gets a Froyo-Flavored Update Posted: 21 Sep 2010 01:53 PM PDT   The Gmail Android app has gotten a whole new iteration just for devices with the Froyo (a.k.a. Android 2.2) operating system. More than just a facelift, the new version of Gmail for Android [Android Market link] gives users more access to content such as quoted text, threaded messages and replies. And since the Gmail app is now a freestanding application in the Android Market, app updates won’t be dependent on OS over-the-air updates. It also gives Froyo-enabled devices some support for Priority Inbox, the latest and greatest Gmail feature, which itself was released just three weeks ago. If you’re using Priority Inbox in your desktop Gmail interface, the "Important" label on your Android phone will show you all of the messages that are flagged as important. You can also add a shortcut to "Important" on your phone’s home screen. There are also some UI improvements, such as a bar featuring the most important actions, which sticks to the top of the screen no matter how far down you scroll in the message.
In the recent past, the mobile Gmail experience has been a bit trying and was significantly inferior when compared to the web app. We think this new update, however, might make on-the-go Gmail for Android a much more efficient and productive application. Although OS fragmentation remains a concern for Android users and developers alike, more Android devices are getting the Froyo update every day. If you’re not sure whether your device is currently running Froyo, check your firmware. If you’re already using Froyo, get the new, free Gmail app from the Android Market, and let us know your first impressions in the comments. Reviews: Android, Android Market, Gmail More About: android, Android 2.2., Android App, android froyo, Froyo, gmail, Google For more Mobile coverage:
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| Dan Savage Creates YouTube Channel to Help Gay Teens Posted: 21 Sep 2010 01:36 PM PDT   Sex advice columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage has launched a YouTube channel called “It Gets Better.” He’s soliciting videos from fans who want to provide support and encouragement to gay teens who face adversity, discrimination and bullying in high school. Savage announced the new channel today in episode 205 of his podcast. He’s also hinted on his blog that further explanation will come in the next issue of his sex advice column “Savage Love.” The channel was created after Indiana teenager Billy Lucas committed suicide in response to bullying from his classmates, who assaulted him with epithets and told him to go home and kill himself because he was gay. Each video will feature a role model sharing personal experiences that illustrate that life for gays and lesbians improves beyond high school. That’s a theme that has come up in Savage’s columns and podcasts with regularity. Gay teens have written or called Savage in distress, saying they feel isolated and discriminated against by their peers — especially in rural schools. Savage has generally responded that they just need to stay strong and hopeful because when they become adults they’ll have the option of moving to more progressive communities and joining more accepting social groups. Since not every teenager facing these challenges is going to write in for advice, and since many rural schools don’t offer programs to support gay and lesbian teens, Savage launched the channel to reach more people in need of support. He and his husband made the first video (embedded below), and future videos will be picked from user submissions. It Gets Better Debut VideoMore About: channel, dan savage, homosexuality, it gets better, it gets better project, LGBT, podcast, savage love, savage lovecast, sex, sex columnist, social good, teens, the stranger, video, web video, youtube For more Social Good coverage:
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| How Tech Aided Relief Efforts in Haiti [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 01:11 PM PDT Back in January, a massive earthquake shook Haiti, leaving destruction and confusion in its wake. Today in the UN Week Digital Media Lounge (presented by the UN, 92Y and Mashable) , a group of innovation experts took to the stage to discuss how tech functioned in the realm of disaster relief following the tragedy. Adele Waugaman, senior director of the UN Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnerships; Patrick Meier, director of crisis mapping and strategic partnerships at Ushahidi; Oliver Lacey-Hall, deputy chief of the Communications & Information Services Branch at UN OCHA; Nigel Snoad of Microsoft and the ICT4Peace Foundation; Noel Dickover of the State Department and Crisis Commons, spoke about how their respective organizations helped to do everything from create a live crisis map of the country to employ mobile technology to get information back to those in need. Check out the video above and let us know in the comments: What do you think of these relief efforts? What more can we do to make disaster relief more effective in the digital realm? For ongoing coverage of the Digital Media Lounge check out Mashable’s new Social Good channel. September 23 is Social Good Day. Organize or participate in a meetup in your area to discuss how social media can be used to tackle some of the world's social challenges and issues. Reviews: Mashable More About: haiti earthquake, microsoft, social good, social media, tech, UN week For more Social Good coverage:
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| Change Any Web Page’s Design Instantly with Chrome Extension Stylebot Posted: 21 Sep 2010 01:05 PM PDT   One of our favorite web browsers just got a cool new tool in the form of Stylebot, a new Chrome extension that allows you to access and modify the CSS for any web page from within the browser. That’s right — users get a completely customized design experience for any page they choose. The changes they make can be saved for later use and synced across multiple devices. This is great news for you design enthusiasts as well as for end users with specific needs and wants for their browsing experience. For example, the extension makes web pages with small fonts more accessible by allowing users to increase the font size, and it can make browsing the web less commercial by removing ads. Stylebot generates a sidebar full of basic and advanced CSS options that allow the end user to manipulate how content is displayed. This tool is simple enough to be used by a moderately competent consumer, but it also has options better suited for those with web design skills. Stylebot can be used to change font attributes, remove advertising, move page elements, change colors, write one’s own CSS selectors and quite a bit more. Googler Rachel Shearer wrote the following today on the company’s blog: “For example, a Stylebot user with special reading needs might change a webpage by removing images, picking new text and background colors, and even moving blocks of text around. And Stylebot saves the custom style they create, so the next time they access that page the changes will still be there. Even better, they can sync their saved styles across computers so that webpage will always appear with their preferred style.” Check out this brief demo video to see Stylebot in action: Stylebot was created as a Google Summer of Code project by Ankit Ahuja, a computer science student in New Delhi, India. Stylebot is open source and forkable; interested parties can check out Ahuja’s source on GitHub. He said he used elements of other open-source projects, such as Aristo and Firebug, in his work. What do you think of Stylebot so far? Would you use it to prettify the ugliness that is Craigslist, for example, or to simplify content viewing on a news site? Reviews: Craigslist More About: accessibility, chrome, chrome extension, Chromium, CSS, design, designers, Google, google chrome, stylebot, web design For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| Visualize Mid-Term Elections with Google Maps Posted: 21 Sep 2010 12:20 PM PDT
The election map is a detailed visualization of Republican and Democrat leanings across the country; unfortunately, third-party information isn’t included. Google uses ratings from Cook, Rothenberg, CQ-Roll Call and RealClearPolitics to create the maps. Data is updated on the map as it becomes available from the polling agencies. Users can toggle between House and Senate data, or filter data by source. Google’s 2010 election map is just one aspect of the company’s public information campaign to keep citizens informed about local and national politics. You can also check out the Election Center, which lets users submit and access information on voter registration, polling places and more. Google Maps Product Marketing Manager Jesse Friedman wrote today on the Google blog that the election map is powered by Fusion Tables and the Google Maps API. “Even if you're not a programmer,” he wrote, “there’s a lot that you can do with Fusion Tables to manipulate and visualize data, and in the spirit of the season, check out our new tutorial that demonstrates how to analyze Census data by congressional district and share what you've come up with.” You can also embed the map widget, as we’ve done below. Check out some of the available data, and let us know what you think of this tool in the comments. Reviews: Google More About: Google Maps, infographic, politics, visualization For more Tech coverage:
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| Twitter Explains Security Exploit Posted: 21 Sep 2010 11:40 AM PDT   Twitter has posted an official response to the “onMouseOver” security flaw that hit the Twitter.com website earlier this morning. In the official post, Twitter security team member Bob Lord lays out a timeline of the attack, its underlying cause and the scope of its reach. As we noted earlier this morning, using cross-site scripting (XSS), malicious users were able to exploit a security hole on Twitter’s website. The result was that thousands of users found themselves redirected to other websites, and that they were automatically sending tweets to pass the exploit to others. Twitter says that it discovered the hole that led to the exploit last month and patched it. However, a recent update to the site (which Twitter stresses was not related to the new Twitter) caused the hole to resurface. The exploit only affected Twitter.com users and not anyone using the mobile web site or third-party Twitter apps. Twitter says it was notified about the security hole at 2:54 am PT and had the most significant aspects patched by 7:00 am PT. The microblogging service also says that it appears that the vast majority of uses of the exploit were for pranks or promotional purposes. Lord writes that Twitter is unaware of any issues related to the attack that would have any impact on a user’s computer or Twitter account. No account information was compromised, so changing passwords shouldn’t be necessary. While it appears that this incident resulted in more annoyances for users than any long-lasting damage, it is a good reminder of just how quickly even large website can be exploited. For Twitter’s sake, we hope that more code auditing takes place when applying patches to avoid some of these incidents in the future. Reviews: Twitter More About: javascript, malware, mouseover, security, trending, twitter, twitter exploit, xss exploit For more Tech coverage:
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| Starbucks Digital Network to Include Award-Winning Documentary Films Posted: 21 Sep 2010 11:31 AM PDT   Free Wi-Fi has become a staple at Starbucks stores in the U.S. The accompanying in-store Starbucks Digital Network (SDN), which will offer exclusive access to premium content from hand-picked content providers, is still slated for a fall launch. SDN will be instrumental in the company’s designs to capitalize on its free Wi-Fi offering. At TheGrill conference in Santa Monica on Tuesday, CEO Howard Schutlz revealed yet another content partner for the service, documentary film site SnagFilms. SnagFilms currently offers access to 1,600 award-winning documentary titles. Together Starbucks and SnagFilms will co-curate a monthly themed collection of featured films to highlight through SDN. At launch, Starbucks will curate a series of three to six music-themed documentaries, further establishing the coffee retailer’s tastemaker status in the music department. The musical video selection will round out its in-store music offerings alongside its iTunes Pick of the Week card program, which will also be carried over to SDN. Each month, the theme will change but the tenor — great documentary discovery courtesy of Starbucks — will stay the same. From previous conversations with Starbucks's Vice President of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman, we already know that SDN will feature channel content from Rodale, Yahoo, Nick Jr. Boost, DonorsChoose.org and unfettered access to the The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times. Today’s news goes to show that Starbucks is pretty serious about beefing up its entertainment content and delivering on the promised third-place experience. Here’s hoping there’s plenty of bandwidth to go around. Image courtesy of Flickr, Gubatron Reviews: Flickr More About: films, free wifi, MARKETING, snagfilms, starbucks, starbucks digital network For more Business coverage:
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| Top 5 Web Font Design Trends to Follow Posted: 21 Sep 2010 11:13 AM PDT This series is brought to you by the Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program, which provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their applications to millions of Intel Atom™ processor-based devices. Learn more here.   The world of web fonts and web typography is exploding. After years of struggle, we’re finally at a point where using real fonts on the web is a viable option. For web designers, this is huge news because it means a greater degree of control over how content is displayed. For end users, it means a richer web experience. Thanks to web services like Typekit, Fonts.com Web Fonts, Webtype and others, the opportunities to integrate real fonts on the web is getting better all the time. Let’s look at five of the biggest trends taking place with web font and web typography design. 1. WOFF as a StandardThe Web Open Font Format, or WOFF, is edging ever closer to becoming the de facto standardized format for using fonts on the web. Backed by Mozilla, Opera and Microsoft, WOFF allows TrueType, OpenType or Open Font Format fonts to be embedded into web pages. Right now, WOFF support is built into Firefox 3.6 and above, Google Chrome version 5 and above, Internet Explorer 9, and will be supported in upcoming versions of Safari.  Jason Santa Maria and his Friends of Mighty built Lost World’s Fairs as a way to showcase IE 9 and its support of WOFF. This fantastic piece of typographic web art really shows just how great type can be made to look on the web. 2. Big Foundries Jump on BoardWhen Adobe announced that they were partnering with Typekit back in August, it was a big move. Historically, the biggest font foundries have led the resistance against getting fonts on the web. Adobe’s decision was followed recently by the new company, Webtype, a partnership of Ascender, Roger Black and Font Bureau. Similar to Typekit, Webtype offers a way for designers or end users to get high quality fonts for use in their own designs. Last week, Monotype Imaging formally launched Fonts.com Web Fonts and brought many of the most famous Monotype, Linotype and ITC font families to the web. At this stage, nearly every major foundry is either offering fonts with web usage licenses or is considering making their fonts usable on the web. Eighteen months ago, that wouldn’t have been a reality. Today it is. 3. Better Letter Control with Lettering.jsWhen creating the Lost World’s Fairs project, Friends of Mighty realized they would need to have a way to better control individual letters and words to offer proper spacing and better kerning. Thus, Lettering.js was born. Lettering.js is a JavaScript plugin that allows developers and designers to better control individual letters without having tons of messy markup.  As Dan Rubin recently remarked on Twitter, Lettering.js may just end up having a bigger impact on typography on the web than anyone is expecting. 4. Mobile SupportFonts.com Web Fonts service and Typekit both offer support for multiple mobile browsers. This continues to increase as more and more mobile browser makers support various aspects of @font-face and draft specifications like WOFF. It’s not just enough for fonts to look good on the desktop, as more and more web usage shifts to the smartphone, having readable, legible and properly spaced typography on mobile devices will be a bigger and bigger area of interest. Already companies like Monotype and Typekit are working to make sure that fonts look their best on a number of different screen types and sizes. 5. Font Support in Web AppsOne of the most interesting recent advancements in the web font world has been the ability to choose web fonts when customizing an aspect of a web app. Thanks to Typekit and Google’s Web Font Directory, it’s easy for developers to build these tools into their product.  Already many Tumblr themes are coming with Typekit support and new web services like About.me give users the option to customize their typefaces for various aspects of their profile. This is a great use of typography on the web because it gives end-users direct interaction with fonts and lets them see directly how different fonts look together and at different sizes. Web typography is on a tear and we’re at the beginning of a new era of a more beautiful, more legible and more customizable web. Series supported by Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program This series is brought to you by the Intel AppUp℠ Developer Program, which provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their applications to millions of Intel Atom™ processor-based devices. Learn more here. More Dev & Design Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of playgrounder.com Reviews: Firefox, Google, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, Tumblr, Twitter More About: fonts, fonts on the web, monotype, typekit, typography, Web Design Trends Series, web fonts, webtype For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| How ICT Can Help Us Meet the Millennium Development Goals [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 11:08 AM PDT A group of people who fit both within the tech and humanitarian realms took the Digital Media Lounge (presented by the UN, 92Y and Mashable) stage today during UN Week Social Good Summit to discuss how various agencies are employing information and communication technologies to help meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Robert Kirkpatrick, director of UN Global Pulse; Erica Kochi who works in the Innovation Unit of UNICEF, Linda Raftree, adviser for new technology at PLAN’s West Africa Regional Office; Jim Rosenberg, head of social media at World Bank; and Wayan Vota, senior director of Inveneo participated in the intriguing roundtable. Topics ranged from how installing Wi-Fi in Haiti following the earthquake helped speed up response from months to days, to how access to mobile phones has allowed for wider awareness of violence against children. Check out the above video for a truly inspiring look at how ICTs are functioning and can function in the quest to achieve the MDGs in the coming years. For ongoing coverage of the Digital Media Lounge check out Mashable’s new Social Good channel. September 23 is Social Good Day. Organize or participate in a meetup in your area to discuss how social media can be used to tackle some of the world's social challenges and issues. Reviews: Mashable More About: social good, social media, tech, UN week For more Social Good coverage:
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| Netflix to Announce Video Streaming Service for Canada Tomorrow Posted: 21 Sep 2010 10:51 AM PDT   Confirming rumors that circulated months ago, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings will visit Toronto tomorrow to announce a subscription-based, streaming video service for Canadians — the first international expansion of the U.S.-based online video company. Netflix will not extend its DVDs by mail offering to Canada, however. The news comes from a Reuters report that doesn’t provide any information about plans, pricing or availability. We also don’t know exactly what movies and TV shows will be offered yet, but the library will likely be different from the one that U.S. consumers enjoy because Netflix must form separate agreements with movie and TV studios and distributors in each country it enters. According to ReadWriteWeb, Netflix will use Canada as a trial for international expansion. Hastings and other Netflix executives will take some time to see how the service performs there before expanding to any other countries. Hastings has said in the past that he expects Wi-Fi and Netflix to be built into all televisions before long — a good thing, since he believes that the company will live or die by how effectively it transitions from shipping DVDs to streaming videos online. He doesn’t expect to stop shipping DVDs until 2030, though, so we may yet see a Netflix DVD-by-mail service in Canada after all. There’s already an incumbent champion in Canada’s DVD-by-mail market. It’s called Zip.ca, and it also rents DVDs at kiosks like Redbox does in the U.S. Netflix has yet to enter that market, but Zip.ca wants to expand into Netflix’s territory; the company announced plans with CinemaNow to offer online video to Canadian consumers last year. More About: Canada, entertainment, Film, international, Movies, netflix, netflix watch instantly, streaming, streaming video, television, tv, video, watch instantly For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Double Rainbow Guy Now Trying to Cash In with iPhone App [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 09:10 AM PDT   The Double Rainbow guy has an iPhone app now. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, and it will get old very quickly, but hey, it’s only 99 cents. When you load the app [iTunes link], you’re greeted with a colorful message that simply says, “FULL ON.” The next screen is the only screen in the app: It’s just like the default camera app for the iPhone, but it puts a transparent double rainbow “all the way across the sky” in every image. You can tap a chat bubble icon to accompany your photo with the audio from the famous viral YouTube video. It’s simple, and frankly not that great, but it might amuse you for a few minutes, and that’s what $1 iPhone apps are all about, right? Double Rainbow Guy is hosting a contest in which he’ll give a free shirt to the fan who sends him the best rainbow picture made with the app. Between this and the Windows Live Photo Gallery ad, he’s clearly cashing in on his 15 minutes of Internet fame. Here’s a video demoing the new app and announcing the contest. Reviews: YouTube, iPhone More About: App, app store, apple, apple app store, double-rainbow, ipad, iphone, iphone app, iPod Touch, Meme, Photos, viral videos, web video For more Mobile coverage:
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| LIVE: Watch the UN Digital Media Lounge [VIDEO] Posted: 21 Sep 2010 08:53 AM PDT Mashable is proud to be working with the United Nations Foundation and 92nd Street Y to host the first ever UN Week Digital Media Lounge, which starts today. We’ve also added 100 slots for the week to allow more media and bloggers to attend. The conversation about the world's biggest challenges no longer belongs to a small set of voices — it is a global conversation with an increasingly online pulse. As the world's leaders convene in New York, the UN Week Digital Media Lounge offers a dedicated venue that is completely wired and accessible to today's top online voices and up-and-coming bloggers. The Lounge brings the conversations from this historic UN Summit out of the halls of the UN and into 92nd Street Y — where digital media will deliver it to the world. A comprehensive agenda will give bloggers the chance to interact with thought leaders on the most important global issues. Confirmed briefings include experts such as Samuel Kargbo, Department of Health, Sierra Leone; Martha Kwataine, Executive Director, Malawi Health Equity Network; and Steve Cockburn of EndWater Poverty. We will also announce the participation of high-level government officials, UN Goodwill Ambassadors and celebrity advocates shortly. This is truly a unique program bringing the best of UN week to the leading voices in the digital world. AGENDADate: Tuesday, September 20 – Friday, September 24th, 2010 * Schedule is subject to change * Available all day everyday:
TUESDAY September 21st 9:00 AM LOUNGE OPENS 9:30-10:00 AM – Oxfam's "breakfast with the world" 10:30-11:30 AM – UN Goodwill Ambassadors Launch the Digital Media Lounge!
12:00-12:30 PM – ICT4D: innovation & the Millennium Development Goals
12:30-1:00 PM – Free digital massages! 1:00-2:00 PM – Disaster relief 2.0: collaborative technologies & the future of aid
2:00-2:30 PM – Getting the goals back on track: health, hunger, water, & nutrition
3:00-3:30 PM – Reel impact: the power of film to change lives
4:00 – 4:30 PM – A movement to end malaria deaths
5:00–5:30 PM – Global perspectives: technology today, technology tomorrow
6:00 PM – LOUNGE CLOSES WEDNESDAY September 22nd 9:00 AM – LOUNGE OPENS 9:30-10:00 AM – Oxfam's "breakfast with the world" 10:30-11:00 AM – The Media Map Project: Media's Impact on Development 12:00-12:30 PM – Philanthropy goes viral: what girls can teach women
1:00-2:00 PM – KEYNOTE SESSION: Saving 16 million lives – the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health
2:30-4:00 PM – LIVE BROADCAST: Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Special Event "Every Woman, Every Child." 4:30-5:00 PM – Live in the lounge: music, media, & activism
6:00 PM – LOUNGE CLOSES THURSDAY, September 23rd 9:00 AM - LOUNGE OPENS 9:30-10:00 AM – Oxfam's "breakfast with the world" 11:00-12:00 PM -Live big-screen broadcast of President Obama and Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's opening General Assembly remarks 12:30-1:00 PM – Free digital massages! 1:00-2:00 PM – SPECIAL CNN ANNOUNCEMENT! 2:00-4:00 PM – Sessions TBC 4:00-4:30 PM – EXCLUSIVE! Link TV "ViewChange" Film Contest Finalists premiered! 5:30 PM – Cocktails & Conversation 6:30 PM – LOUNGE CLOSES FRIDAY, September 24th 9:00 AM – LOUNGE OPENS 9:30-10:00 AM – Oxfam's "breakfast with the world" 11:00–12:00 PM – Changing the world: one online mother at a time
12:00-12:30 PM – Wrap-up with The Economist: UN Week report card
1:00-2:00 PM – Beyond Oil: Blueprint for an Energy Revolution
4:00 PM – LOUNGE CLOSES Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, Skype, social media More About: digital media lounge, livestream, social good, UN week For more Social Good coverage:
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| How Social Media has Changed the Game for Documentary Filmmaking Posted: 21 Sep 2010 08:16 AM PDT   Alexander Hotz is a freelance multimedia journalist and public radio junkie based in New York City. Currently he teaches digital media at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Follow Alex on Twitter at @hotzington. When filmmaker Andrew Lampard began promoting his documentary Two Summers in Kosovo last fall, he didn't pay much attention to social media. Lampard used his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts to keep his friends informed, but he didn't use any social media tools to promote the movie — something he regrets today. "We could have used social media to connect with more audiences," said Lampard, whose film focuses on the aftermath of the Kosovo conflict. "After the war, Serb and Albanian diasporas popped up all over the West — in Europe, North America, even Australia. Beyond raising awareness among festival programmers, I like to think we could have set up our own independent screenings within the Balkans and these diasporas." While Lampard's film generated some attention in Kosovo, it went largely unnoticed outside of Europe. Could social media have made a difference? Lampard isn't certain, but for his future films, he plans to do what many filmmakers are already doing — using social media to aggressively promote their work. OutreachLike Two Summers in Kosovo, most documentaries are produced by a small team on a tight budget. Since social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are free, it makes sense for documentary filmmakers to take advantage of them. But that doesn't mean that just anyone should be doing the outreach. "You can tell when someone sits down once a day and just blasts a bunch of stuff, having little relevance," said Viki Psihoyos, who developed the social media strategy for the Oscar winner The Cove. Psihoyos, whose husband directed The Cove, stressed that social media tools work best when the people behind them have a genuine passion for what they're sharing. For Psihoyos, The Cove is "her baby," so its online presence is something she takes very seriously. "I have a style that I have developed so I bristle when I see the tools used badly," Psihoyos added. "Blatant marketing bothers me…Yes, I remind people that The Cove will be on Animal Planet, but I also ask who is live blogging it? I like to grow and feed a community." Different National Networks The Cove was successful in the United States, but it was made primarily to change whaling policies in Japan. Psihoyos used Facebook and Twitter to promote The Cove at home, but in Japan she used a platform called Mixi to ensure she reached the Japanese public. "We had to hire translators to set us up on Mixi, which boasts 80% of the market there," Psihoyos said. "From the start, we have been hoping to get the Japanese people aware and active on the issues taking place in Japan." Funding Aside from the ubiquitous Facebook and Twitter, Kickstarter, the online funding platform for creative projects, should be on the radar of every filmmaker short on cash. Despite being barely over a year old, the startup has proved itself an impressive resource for documentary funding. The Delta Smelt (working title), a documentary about the precarious fate of the largest estuary in the western United States, recently reached its $3,500 goal with contributions from 36 backers. Another film, Keepers of the Earth, easily surpassed its goal of $20,000 by raising over $2,500 thanks to over 300 backers. Amazingly, these successes aren’t unusual on Kickstarter. Connecting With Other FilmmakersIt's no secret that filmmakers choose Vimeo, the high-quality video hosting site, to share their clips. But the platform is also a great network for professionals to chat about their craft. Philip Bloom, a veteran filmmaker who has worked for Lucasfilm, BBC and others, uses the site regularly for feedback on his work and to explore the films of his peers. "Many of the colleagues I work with these days I've known from social media — that's how we've become friends," said Bloom. "It's a great way of learning about things and helping each other out. I think it's absolutely essential." Festivals Before the Internet, documentaries typically reached the public's attention once they were featured in a film festival. Social media may have made it easier for filmmakers to get the word out about their work, but now even festivals are using social media to connect with filmmakers and their audiences. Jennifer Nedbalsky, the Program Manager for Human Rights Watch's Film Festival, said the social networking site for group meetings Meetup is important for her community outreach. "It's a wonderful way for audience members to involve friends," said Nedbalsky. "It also multiplies the amount of people you can reach, while taking less work from audience members to share." Theresa Riley, the Interactive Director for the PBS documentary series POV, often learns about the films submitted to POV through everyday social media tools like Facebook, but POV is also experimenting with new methods to promote their filmmakers' work. Recently, POV asked viewers of Food Inc. to host a post-film potluck dinner with friends at their homes. About 130 potlucks were held, and viewers uploaded pictures of their experience on Flickr. POV also hosts live chats with the filmmakers via Cover it Live the day after a film screens. A New Approach? Arguably the most ambitious use of social media by a documentarian is Vaquita.tv, a free web-based documentary project entirely reliant on social media for its promotion. The documentary itself, which is broken into seven web-friendly parts, sheds light on the dire situation of the Vaquita, a Mexican porpoise on the brink of extinction. With about 250 porpoises left, filmmaker Chris Johnson "felt there was no time to spend years making a film to only watch the Vaquita go extinct during [the film's] production and finding a market." The urgency of Johnson's cause is evident throughout the site, and in a recent blog post he even asked, "can social media save a species?" "Social media is a great ally during the production of a project, the marketing of it, and potentially keeping the issues addressed in your film in the media for a long time after someone has watched it," Johnson said. "I believe that you never finish making a documentary film." More Social Good Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, craftvision Reviews: Australia, Facebook, Flickr, Internet, Twitter, Vimeo, iStockphoto More About: documentary, documentary films, facebook, Film, filmmakers, filmmaking, kickstarter, social good, social media, the cove, twitter, video, Vimeo, web video For more Social Good coverage:
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| Burberry Customers to Shop via In-Store iPads Following Today’s Runway Show Posted: 21 Sep 2010 07:56 AM PDT   At 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Burberry will stage its Spring/Summer 2011 show for its high-end womenswear line at London Fashion Week. But the physical catwalk is just one part of this year’s show. In addition to live-streaming the event on its website and making a select number of pieces available for purchase immediately afterward (which the company has been doing since its Fall 2010 show in February 2010), Burberry has also invited customers into 25 of its flagship stores (in 16 countries, no less) to watch the event live via 3×3-meter HD screens. Following the live-stream, employees will distribute iPads to participants so that they can browse and purchase many of the items they’ve just seen via a custom-built app. Orders will be delivered in roughly seven weeks — i.e., several months before the rest of the collection will be available online and in retail stores. The initiative cleverly bridges the gap between the online and retail shopping experiences. Although customers will not be able to examine and try on the garments and accessories in the collection, they will have access to employee advice and assistance, among other benefits — such as “the clothes, the music, the energy and the atmosphere,” Burberry Chief Creative Office Christopher Bailey said in a statement. Undoubtedly, the company’s existing customer base will be more responsive to an invitation for an in-store event, rather than a prompt to log on to Burberry.com to watch the show online, as well. What do you think of the concept? How else can fashion brands use digital technology to make Fashion Week more of a consumer-facing event, and/or bridge the gap between online and retail shopping experiences? More About: burberry, fashion, fashion week, ipad, livestream, livestreaming, MARKETING For more Business coverage:
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| Top 4 Stories in Social Media and Business This Morning Posted: 21 Sep 2010 06:08 AM PDT   Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. We're keeping our eyes on four particular stories of interest today. Twitter “Mouseover” Security Flaw Affects Thousands of Users A new Twitter security flaw has been widely exploited on thousands of Twitter accounts, causing users to see pop-up messages and be redirected to third-party websites when passing a mouse over a link. Among the current list of victims is Sarah Brown, wife of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Until Twitter issues a fix, we advise users to access the service via third-party apps such as TweetDeck, as the bug only seems to affect Twitter's web interface. Update: Twitter has now issued a patch for the bug. Nokia N8 Release Delayed Until October Just two weeks ago, Nokia announced that online orders for its forthcoming Symbian^3 smartphone, the N8, would be delivered “during the last week of September,” and that the device would appear in physical stores in the UK on October 1. Now, the company says it has “decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends” and that it expects consumers will receive their pre-ordered N8s sometime in October. A follow-up blog post from the company claims that the delay is due to a “record number of online pre-orders.” Private Equity Firm Acquires Internet Brands for $640 Million Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has agreed to acquire online media company Internet Brands for approximately $640 million in cash. Internet Brands operates a large number of media, community, and e-commerce websites, including DoItYourself, Wikitravel, Loan.com, Autos.com and more. United Internet AG Acquires Mail.com for Up to $100 Million Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), which owns popular online properties such as Moveline.com, Boy Genius Report, OnCars and Deadline.com, has sold its Mail.com e-mail service and domain to United Internet AG, a multibillion dollar German Internet service and telecom provider. Our sources say the web property was sold for between $50 and $100 million. Further News
Reviews: Google, TweetDeck, Twitter More About: first to know series, Google, Internet Brands, Mail.com, Nokia N8, social good summit, Transparency Report, twitter, United Internet AG For more Business coverage:
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| 8 Tips for a Killer Mobile Search Campaign Posted: 21 Sep 2010 05:54 AM PDT   David Berkowitz is Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation for digital marketing agency 360i, where he develops social media and mobile programs for marketers spanning the media & entertainment, retail, travel, and CPG industries. More than 90% of the U.S. population are mobile subscribers, and with more than 285 million U.S. mobile users, the mobile industry has reached a critical tipping point, and is poised to become an even more powerful entity. The mobile industry is now a fertile ground for brand engagement, and mobile is quickly becoming a key component of the digital marketing landscape. One area brands should be looking at in the near term is mobile search. As mobile devices have become more sophisticated and easier to use, mobile search has become the starting point for consumers on the go. According to the Kelsey Group's Mobile Market View Report, consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices for search-related activities (searches for local products and activities on mobile devices saw a 15% jump from 2008 to 2009). This makes search one of the best ways to reach consumers in mobile, and a great entry point for marketers just getting started with mobile campaigns. Before tackling a mobile search plan, it's necessary to understand how mobile paid search differs from its traditional web-based counterpart:
Here are eight tips for integrating mobile search into your marketing mix. 1. Group Mobile Campaigns SeparatelyMobile search campaigns tend to perform differently from online search campaigns, so you'll want to be able to measure them on their own benchmarks. Additionally, you'll often want to establish different bidding rules for each campaign. 2. Broaden Your ScopeMobile search volume tends to be significantly lower than online search for most keywords. To achieve the best reach, you'll want to target queries more broadly, include more high-volume queries and possibly include additional keywords. 3. Go Local Google Mobile reported that about one in three mobile searches has local intent. If geotargeting matters at all for you with online search, it's going to be vital for mobile, because mobile search is especially useful for local queries. Whether or not they include local modifiers (such as a city name or zip code), consumers searching for "JCPenney" on their mobile phone will expect to find one in their area. According to Google's Retail Advertising Blog, 54% of users who researched online but bought offline used their mobile device to conduct their search. 4. Incorporate Mobile Functionality into the CreativeClick-to-call was somewhat useful online, but it's poised to play a pronounced role in mobile search. Anytime a consumer would benefit by talking to a person, from a booking agent, or someone at a local store, click-to-call can potentially improve conversion rates. For example, travel companies can leverage click-to-call to connect with on-the-go mobile users searching for information on flight schedules and airline tickets. 5. Target Immediate NeedsAd Age reported that 70% of mobile search users complete their task after one hour, compared to 30% on the PC. Make sure copy and landing pages are useful for consumers looking to meet their needs right at that moment. For example, entertainment companies can promote movie listings, theater locations, TV tune-in reminders, album releases, concerts and other live events. 6. Don’t Forget Voice Voice search is making an impact, and all the major search engines incorporate it. A range of other companies have developed offerings here, including Jingle Networks' FREE-411 directory assistance, Naturally Speaking's Dragon search application, and Apple's Siri. Expect renewed innovation in this area during the next two to three years. 7. Target Searches Outside the Query BoxSome mobile searches take place directly from mapping applications. For Google AdWords advertisers, marketers who enable location extensions and opt-in to the mobile content network can have their ads run on Google Maps for relevant queries. Ads can then direct consumers to Google Places listings to get people right to a store. 8. Prepare for Instant SearchWhen Google launched Instant Search recently, it was clear that this will be much more important for mobile devices where every keystroke counts. Marketers will want to make sure their listings rank well for the relevant queries at the top of Google's suggestion list. If this feature proves to be popular with users, you can expect other search engines to follow suit. More Mobile Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Anoshkin Reviews: Google, Google Maps, Siri, iStockphoto More About: business, click-to-call, Dragon, free-411, geolocation, Google, local seach, Mobile 2.0, mobile marketing, mobile search, Search, siri, small business, voice search For more Mobile coverage:
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