Mashable: Latest 9 News Updates - including “More Turmoil at Nokia: Head of Mobile Solutions Anssi Vanjoki Resigns” |  |
- More Turmoil at Nokia: Head of Mobile Solutions Anssi Vanjoki Resigns
- YouTube Starts Testing New Live Streaming Platform
- Army Commander Will Tweet From War-Torn Afghanistan
- 5 Indie Films that Couldn’t Be Made Without Social Media
- 10 iPad Apps for Twitter Power Users
- MySpace Defeats Ping in Reader Vote
- If Google Maps Were Real: An Artist’s Vision [PICS]
- 5 Popular Startups and How They Got Funding
- Follow the 2010 VMAs with MTV’s Twitter Tracker [APP]
- 29 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
| More Turmoil at Nokia: Head of Mobile Solutions Anssi Vanjoki Resigns Posted: 13 Sep 2010 02:13 AM PDT      After recently hiring a new CEO, the former head of Microsoft's Business division Stephen Elop, Nokia now needs to fill in another very important position, as the current head of Mobile Solutions Anssi Vanjoki has handed in his resignation. This wouldn’t be too strange if Vanjoki himself weren’t only recently placed at that position. Vanjoki didn’t give a reason for the resignation, but it’s not too far fetched to assume that the new CEO and Vanjoki did not see eye to eye on how to lead one of Nokia’s most important units. “I am committed, perhaps even obsessed, with getting Nokia back to being number one in high-end devices,” Vanjoki said in July, in his first blog post on his new job. His enthusiasm back then wasn’t too convincing, and Nokia’s smartphone strategy seemed more like a patchwork than a solid, futureproof plan. According to Nokia, Anssi Vanjoki will continue to lead the Mobile Solutions unit for six more months. “I am one hundred per cent committed to doing my best for Nokia until my very last working day. I am also really looking forward to this year’s Nokia World and sharing news about exciting new devices and solutions,” said Vanjoki. [Image credit: Nokia] More About: Anssi Vanjoki, Mobile 2.0, Nokia For more Mobile coverage:
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| YouTube Starts Testing New Live Streaming Platform Posted: 13 Sep 2010 12:27 AM PDT   YouTube has announced it will start a two-day trial of their new streaming platform, which enables broadcasters to stream live video directly into YouTube channels. YouTube has been dabbling with the live video streaming realm for quite some time now, having previously offered a live stream of a U2 concert and Indian Premier League cricket matches. Now, it’s taking it a step further, with a platform that will finally bring something akin to live TV to YouTube’s vast audience. All broadcasters need for a live stream is either a webcam or a external USB/FireWire camera, and the platform also includes a live commenting module. It’s a test drive, however, and YouTube warns there might be some bumps along the way. For starters, YouTube has brought in four content partners: Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood. The test platform will be live in the next two days, starting at 8:00 a.m. PT; you can find the neatly embedded schedule of programming below. Reviews: YouTube For more Web Video coverage:
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| Army Commander Will Tweet From War-Torn Afghanistan Posted: 12 Sep 2010 07:32 PM PDT   A British army commander will tweet updates about life in the military while serving a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. It’s an unlikely task considering the life-and-death security issues involved. The soldier is Lieutenant Colonel Dougie Graham, and he commands the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland — a sizable force of 450 soldiers. He’s currently in talks with his own commanding officers to work out exactly what he can and can’t include in his Twitter updates. The battalion actually already has a Facebook page, so social media isn’t a new thing for them, but Graham hopes that a frequently updated Twitter account will help connect him and the men and women serving under his command with their families back home. Telegraph, our source for this story, quotes Graham saying, “I would like to be able to give people a feel for the reality because it's not all fighting, it's not all bombs and bullets.” Military officials around the world are understandably concerned that soldiers could create risks for themselves, their campaigns and others should they inadvertently share information on social media that would be useful to enemy forces. But the initial concern has been easing up lately. The United States military recently reversed a general ban on social media that was imposed by certain branches such as the Marines. There are myriad caveats and potential exceptions, of course, but it’s a step for soldiers who want to stay in touch with friends and families while fighting abroad. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Fribble Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto More About: afghanistan, Army, dougie graham, military, scotland, social media, trending, tweet, twitter, war For more Social Media coverage:
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| 5 Indie Films that Couldn’t Be Made Without Social Media Posted: 12 Sep 2010 06:22 PM PDT   Michael Bennett Cohn has a master’s degree in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California. He also ran the online advertising campaign that launched the first-generation Amazon Kindle. The ability of memes to travel quickly through social media has created unprecedented possibilities for independent film. Even directors without access to major studio distribution and publicity departments can use social media to appeal directly to their potential audience. The indie films that find the most success online tend to be personal takes on already-popular stories. As always, social media success results from finding a way to make one's individual genius resonate with a crowd. Here are five popular indie films that the world may never have seen without social media. 1. Sita Sings The BluesNina Paley animated her own version of the ancient Indian legend of Rama on her Titanium G4 Powerbook. When music companies demanded exorbitant fees for the 80-year-old songs that she'd already included, she released the film under the Creative Commons license. Her blog attracted the attention of a public television station in New York, which proceeded to broadcast the film. Before long, fans were holding their own screenings and sending Paley a cut of the take. 2. Browncoats: RedemptionFirefly was a 2002 cult sci-fi/Western hit from Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The new show was canceled after just one season and a spin-off movie. Director Michael Dougherty has harnessed that energy with the promise to set a new story in the Firefly universe and donate all the profits to charity (although most independent films are lucky to break even). Firefly fans call themselves "browncoats," and they celebrate every post on Dougherty's production blog. The film premiered at Dragon*Con last weekend. 3. The Hunt For GollumAppendices to The Lord of the Rings allude to many stories left untold. Director Chris Bouchard decided to tell one of them, and tie up some loose ends between The Hobbit and The Fellowship Of The Ring. He set off with five thousand dollars, an HD video camera, and not a shred of permission from the Tolkien estate. Fortunately, Tolkien Enterprises eventually gave Bouchard leave to stream the movie online for free (downloads aren’t allowed). The Hunt for Gollum has had over six million views in about a year and a half. 4. Born of HopeFellow Tolkien fan Kate Madison submitted her vision of Aragorn’s birth as an entry into a fan film festival. After the project grew bigger than expected and Madison had spent her life savings, she released a trailer for the film online. The trailer, and the related "Don't Give" fundraising video, were so popular that they brought in another $26,000 in donations; enough to finish the film. The cast and crew of 400 weren't paid; Madsion motivated them with nothing more than the chance to breathe life into Tolkien's universe. Born of Hope has been viewed over 1.5 million times in less than three months. 5. Batman: Dead EndIt was director Sandy Collora who first showed the world that an independently financed, Internet-distributed film could actually be good enough to see in a theater. Batman fans rallied to it partly because they were tired of the Batman movies coming out of Hollywood. More Web Video Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, dpmike Reviews: Internet, batman, iStockphoto More About: aragorn, batman dead end, born of hope, browncoats: redemption, dragon*con, Film, firefly, indie, indie films, joss whedon, jrr tolkien, lotr, nina paley, sitra sings the blues, the hunt for gollum, the lord of the rings, trailer For more Web Video coverage:
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| 10 iPad Apps for Twitter Power Users Posted: 12 Sep 2010 05:16 PM PDT   Hillel Fuld authors a blog about technology and marketing at Technmarketing.com. You can follow him on Twitter. Since its debut into the tablet market, the iPad has sold well over three million devices. The iPad’s App Store is a quickly growing market with 25,000 apps already available for download. There are a ton of apps that take advantage of the iPad’s large, vibrant display. While most people associate the multimedia interface with flashy games or online magazines, it also can be applied to social networking and data consumption. Of all social networks, the quantity of Twitter apps for the iPad suggests that while both Twitter and the iPad are starting to enter mainstream consciousness, both are used daily by a large early adapter community. There are countless options available to the iPad owner looking for a solid Twitter app. The following are 10 feature-packed and user friendly options we found. If the iPad Twitter app you enjoy using isn’t on the list, share it in the comments below. 1. Osfoora HD What stands out about Osfoora HD is its user interface; it’s beautiful and takes full advantage of the large iPad screen. It also includes all the standard and advanced Twitter features including Instapaper integration to save links for later reading. One of the disadvantages of Osfoora HD is the inability to quickly read the thread leading up to a tweet. It requires you to click on the tweet, which opens a new view that includes the "In Reply To" option. Price: $2.99 2. Twitteriffic Twitterrific for the iPad is one of the most popular choices among iPad Twitter users for good reason. It’s feature-packed and has clickable links and profiles directly in the main stream — something missing from many of its competitors. While it’s listed as “free” on iTunes, there have been some grumblings in the comments about a $4.99 features update. The standard version will net you basic options and control over one account. It’s missing some basic features like “Reply All,” as well as a missed tweets count. Price: Free / $4.99 upgrade 3. Flipboard Flipboard needs no introduction. The "social magazine" for the iPad made tremendous waves upon its release. It is first and foremost an app for consuming content from various sources but with its Twitter list and profile integration, it’s a pretty impressive standalone Twitter app as well. While it is a great Twitter app for consuming information, it lacks many of the advanced features found in almost all of the apps on this list. It only supports the native RT option, there are no geolocation features, and there is no option to carry out a conversation with your Twitter followers from within Flipboard. Price: Free 4. Tweetings HD While Tweetings HD might not be as well known as Twitteriffic or Tweetdeck, its iPad app definitely competes with the best of the them. What is unique about Tweetings HD is its one-click access to any one Twitter list right from the sidebar of the main screen. Tweetings also has push notifications, which makes it stand out from the rest. However, one of the apps’ major shortcomings is the lack of live clickable URLs in the timeline. Clicking on a tweet will open a new pane, which can be an annoying extra step. Price: $3.99 5. Echofon Pro One of the most popular iPhone Twitter apps, the iPad version of Echofon Pro does not disappoint. It includes all the advanced features expected in a modern Twitter app with one notable addition: Echofon Pro allows you to reply to various tweets with one single response. So, if 10 people wish you "Happy birthday," you can reply to all of them with one "Thank you." This is not to be confused with the nearly universal “Reply All” option. Price: $4.99 6. Twittelator for iPad Twittelator for iPad has some unique features like inline photos from your friends’ tweets, a full chat view of Twitter conversations, and others. However, the standard view does not utilize the entire 9.7″ display, which some might say is a waste of potential. Price: $4.99 7. Twitrocker Twitrocker is not as well known as some of its competitors, but it’s just as good if not better than the rest. Twitrocker also comes in a free version for those who’d like to test it before shelling out $4.99. Twitrocker includes all of the features you would expect to see, including full list integration, bit.ly support, multiple account support, and many others. There are two unique aspects to Twitrocker. First of all, your password is not saved in the app, but rather you log in using Twitter OAuth. Second, unlike almost all the apps on this list, Twitrocker offers “unread” counts on your various Twitter lists, meaning you can see how many new tweets are waiting for you. It’s a nice addition to an already polished app. Price: $4.99 8. Tweetdeck Tweetdeck is one of the most popular clients on the various platforms. There is a Tweetdeck for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and most recently Android. What is unique about the iPad app compared to others on this list is the ability to swipe between columns, offering quick access to replies, DMs, Twitter Lists, search results, or many other configurable options. Price: Free 9. Twitepad Twitepad is an interesting app with a clever approach to information consumption. The app is similar to Tweetdeck in that it is based on the multi-column interface, but it’s different from the others in terms of the overall user experience and customization tools for composing and arranging your multiple feeds. Price: $1.99 10. Twitter Twitter for iPad, the official app from the folks at Twitter, is stunning. The experience includes multiple layers for opening URLs and profiles, and the app has every possible Twitter feature you can imagine. The app has some nice gesture-based features such as swiping down on a tweet to reveal the thread leading up to it, as well as “pinch” to reveal the sender’s profile. It would have been nice to include the old RT option, one-click access for your lists, and an auto-fill for Twitter names. Still, given the features and backing from Twitter, this app looks like it could beat out the competition. Price: Free More iPad Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of Flickr, tsevis Reviews: Android, App Store, Flickr, TweetDeck, Twittelator, Twitter, Twitterrific, iPhone, instapaper More About: apple, apps, ipad, List, Lists, social media, twitter For more Apple coverage:
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| MySpace Defeats Ping in Reader Vote Posted: 12 Sep 2010 04:02 PM PDT   In the battle for supremacy over the music scene, it looks like MySpace is still king. Ping launched with much fanfare as the flagship feature of iTunes 10. The music social network gained over 1 million users in two days and has quickly been adopted by music artists like Lady Gaga and Jack Johnson. It steps onto MySpace’s turf in the world of music social networking. Does Ping spell trouble for MySpace? Which social network do you prefer for music? Those are the questions we posed in our most recent Web Faceoff. After the polls closed and the votes were tallied, MySpace came out on top. 42.3% of you (785 votes) said that MySpace was your preferred destination for music, only while 27.4% (509 votes) chose Apple’s still-young Ping social network. A full 24.9% of you said you weren’t a fan of either social network, while 5.3% said it was a tie. Commenter Jeffrey Murphy probably spelled it out best:
What’s your opinion, though? Will Ping eventually become a powerhouse in music, or will MySpace continue to dominate? Or is there another social network that will wipe the other two out? Let us know in the comments. Reviews: MySpace, Ping More About: music, myspace, Ping, poll, web faceoff For more Battles coverage:
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| If Google Maps Were Real: An Artist’s Vision [PICS] Posted: 12 Sep 2010 03:01 PM PDT   The above image is one of several from Alejo Malia that depict a world in which all the elements of Google Maps — place markers, public transit symbols and even the yellow street view guy — are completely real and physical objects looming over our buildings, streets and heads. He uploaded this set of images (titled “Google’s World“) yesterday, but it’s not his first literal imagination of the technological world of the web; he also produced an image that incorporated Facebook’s “Like” button into a real photograph. Here’s the rest of the “Google’s World” set. Enjoy, and be sure and tweet your appreciation at Malia if you like his work. [Via Gizmodo]     Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Google Maps, Twitter, YouTube More About: alejo-malia, art, artist, flickr, Google, Google Maps, google's world, illustrations, Illustrator, pics For more Tech coverage:
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| 5 Popular Startups and How They Got Funding Posted: 12 Sep 2010 01:41 PM PDT   This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology. Why do web startups raise money? And how? These are two questions that account for a huge corpus of tech and financial discussion. Despite the complexity involved in these questions, their answers can be condensed into an eight-word statement: Someone somewhere thought he’d make his money back. If you consider a few notable fundraising efforts from popular web startups, you begin to see how this aforementioned hypothetical "someone" might think his investment would be prudent and even profitable. Here are five popular web startups we’ve seen raising large amounts of money since the 2008 downturn, and a quick look at how they were able to do so. 1. Groupon Groupon offers daily discounts for local businesses; these coupons can be redeemed only when a significant number of people choose to use them. For example, Groupon recently partnered with Gap to offer shoppers $50 worth of clothing and accessories for $25. While daily deals and critical-mass coupons are fine and dandy for retailers and consumers, Groupon also takes its cut. The company usually keeps half of the coupon price and is expected to report $400 million in revenue for 2010. Groupon has brought in increasing interest from investors. Since its relatively modest $1 million angel round in 2007, this startup has gone on to garner a total of $173 million over the past three years, the vast majority of which was raised after the 2008 economic crash. After collecting $6.8 million during its Series A round of funding, Groupon managed to bring in $30 million during its Series B round in December 2009, which was led by Accel Partners. Its headline-making $135 million Series C was led by Digital Sky Technologies, the famous investors behind Zynga and Facebook. Without question, having a revenue stream as a core part of the company’s main product is a popular feature (with VCs) of funded startups. Groupon has that covered. Aside from the value the product offers, at scale, it also is intended to generate massive amounts of revenue. Unlike some social networking apps that require partnerships and advertising dollars to support an unrelated product for end users, generating revenue is Groupon’s most basic function. 2. Zynga Zynga, creator of popular casual games, including FarmVille and Mafia Wars, boasts a revenue model based on small end-user transactions in virtual currency, which users spend on virtual goods. Zynga has proved that microtransactions at the scale of Facebook's platform are big business worth serious investment. Despite violating a core tenet of web startup wisdom: Never build your business on someone else’s platform, Zynga has racked up huge rounds and equally huge valuations. All told, Zynga has taken $519 million in funding, the bulk of which was raised after December 2009. In that month, the company closed a $180 million Series C from such firms as Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Sky and others. And in June 2010, Zynga took a $300 million Series D from Google and SoftBank. With more than 56 million Americans playing social games, it's no wonder why investors are putting down serious money in this industry. 3. Twitter Since its launch in 2006, micro-blogging service Twitter has become a social media darling, raising a total of $160 million since its 2007 Series A. The company raised $135 million over two rounds in 2009 from such firms as Benchmark, Morgan Stanley, Union Square and others. Notably, all this money was raised before Twitter had found any significant source of revenue. This fact bucks a major trend in investment (that VCs like to see clear revenue stream before investing), but Twitter pulled it off because of one major factor: People. Not only was the service growing exponentially, but it also had the endorsement (and daily usage) of pop culture celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake. But nothing topped Twitter’s Oprah appearance, a watershed moment that brought a deluge of mainstream attention and a glut of new users. Between the escalating adoption and increasing media attention, Twitter has become an opportunity investors can't turn down. 4. AsanaFacebook Co-Founder Dustin Moscovitz and Facebook engineering lead Justin Rosenstein teamed up after leaving Facebook to found Asana, a startup that is reportedly building project management software. It is still in early development and hasn't launched a product yet. This is one case where the product is presumed to be a sure bet because of the past experience and intellectual caliber of its creators. Sometimes, a startup can raise money with nothing but pure pedigree. When a handful of big tech company engineers leave the mothership to found a startup, as happens in Silicon Valley from time to time, they can often drum up a round of funding before pencil meets paper. Over seven months in 2009, the team was able to raise $10.2 million in two rounds of funding. In this case, investors are banking on Moscovitz's and Rosenstein's past successes. In a way, it's as if they are investing in Beethoven’s next symphony or Van Gogh’s next canvas (i.e. the next Facebook). 5. Ustream Finally, there’s Ustream, a live interactive broadcast platform, which raised an impressive $75 million round of funding earlier this year from SoftBank. Previously, the startup had brought in nearly $13 million between a small 2007 seed round and a 2008 Series A. That's a huge jump. Despite a range of competitors in the online video world, including YouTube, Ustream has made its mark on the live video market. Ustream has demonstrated mass-scale success in this arena by brokering deals to show live online footage of red carpet events, celebrity press conferences and even the 2008 Presidential Inauguration. While challenging an industry leader like YouTube isn’t usually a prudent path to funding, doing so successfully through innovative technologies and user acquisition strategies can pay off. More Business Resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Sage78 Reviews: Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube, iStockphoto, ustream More About: asana, business, groupon, small business, social media, startup, startups, tech, trending, twitter, ustream, vc, venture capital, Zynga For more Business coverage:
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| Follow the 2010 VMAs with MTV’s Twitter Tracker [APP] Posted: 12 Sep 2010 12:30 PM PDT   MTV has launched an app called the MTV VMA Twitter Tracker. It’s a web-based, visual app that displays trending topics and tweets related to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, which will air on MTV tonight at 9:00 PM ET. A similar app was used in conjunction with 2010 MTV Movie Awards three months ago. We’re actually more impressed with the design, features and performance of the VMA version. It has a much cleaner look and it’s easy to navigate. When you first load it up, you’re presented with a total count of VMA-related tweets and huge images representing the top four topics; presently those are #vma, #ladygaga, #justinbieber and #kanyewest. In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past year, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber are the pop music Queen and King of the Internet and social media, and Kanye West made huge headlines last year for his on-stage outburst during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. Kanye recently used Twitter to apologize to Taylor, so we expect he’ll be on his best behavior this time around! You can click along the top of the app to view any of the top 50 topics. You’ll see the number of tweets per minute for that topic, and little artifacts bounce around the screen, each representing a tweet. Just click on any of the topic images to read a recent tweet about it or to write your own tweet inside the app with the associated hashtags already plugged in. Finally, look at the bottom of the screen to see a timeline showing peaks and valleys in VMA-related Twitter activity. It’s all very cool, and while it’s no replacement for Twitter’s own website or whatever third-party client you use, it’s a helpful and flashy supplement. MTV is currently the most popular music website, and social media plugins are the norm for the network. There’s even a VMA badge on Foursquare this year. Reviews: Internet, Twitter, justin bieber More About: 2010 video music awards, 2010 VMAs, App, mtv, music, social media, television, tv, twitter, twitter tracker, video music awards, video music awards 2010, VMA For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 29 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed Posted: 12 Sep 2010 11:08 AM PDT   With school finally starting in earnest, we understand if you missed one or two of our essential resources from the past week or so. The 29 lists and reviews below will get you fully caught up on all things social. Our Social Media section takes a look at the next five years in the field, and breaks down the new Vogue.com. Tech & Mobile can help you get around New York City, learn about tech’s biggest names, or learn more about Apple’s new app guidelines. Business tools come with tips for scoring a digital PR job, trends in social media advertising, and a look at emerging social media platforms. Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time. Social Media
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile
For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Google, Google Voice, Mashable, Twitter, WordPress More About: business, facebook, Features Week In Review, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, small business, social media, tech, technology, trend, trending, twitter, youtube For more Social Media coverage:
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