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Mashable: Latest 25 News Updates - including “Number of Tweets Gone Wild for Some Users” |  |
- Number of Tweets Gone Wild for Some Users
- How the Nexus One Was Created [VIDEO]
- Astronaut Tweets Beautiful Earth Images From Space
- Siri Assistant Turns Your iPhone into a Personal Assistant
- Apple to Developers: No Location-Based Ads for You
- Facebook Passes the 400 Million User Mark
- Congress Asks NBC Why Hulu Blocked Boxee
- Seesmic for Android Adds Multiple Account Support
- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models + Live Video = One Sexy Stream
- Facebook’s Major Redesign Emphasizes Search and So Much More
- The Amazon vs. Macmillan War Isn’t Over Yet
- The Simpsons Couch Gag: There’s an App for That
- Google Street View to Add Store Interiors? [RUMOR]
- How Social Media Helps One Small Business Connect with Fans
- WordPress 1.0 Now Available in BlackBerry’s App Store
- Facebook Profile For Holocaust Victim Brings History to Life
- Apple’s iPad: Will it Improve the Web?
- Beach Webcam Helps Save Tourist’s Life
- 5 Real Challenges For Non-Profit Texting Campaigns
- How Social Media Is Changing the Super Bowl
- Elmo Has an iPhone (and an iPhone App)
- Sneak Peek: Monster’s Super Bowl Social Media Blitz
- Vanity Fair Launches iPhone App for Oscars Predictions
- Sirius XM Radio Now Broadcasts to Your BlackBerry
- iPhone Apps Get Web Previews
- AT&T Finally Lets You Use SlingPlayer with Your iPhone Over 3G
| Number of Tweets Gone Wild for Some Users Posted: 05 Feb 2010 03:12 AM PST 
We’ve emailed Twitter and asked them what’s happening. It seems that besides the unusually high number of tweets for certain users, everything else is normal, so there’s no reason to panic just yet. Tags: social media, tweets, twitter
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| How the Nexus One Was Created [VIDEO] Posted: 05 Feb 2010 01:03 AM PST 
The videos are being gradually rolled out; two are already live, and the other three will appear in the next three days. Other than soothing music, cool animations and 3D models, they do contain some interesting information. For example, the folks at Engadget and Android Central noticed there’s a car dock there, and another dock with an integrated spare battery charger, which aren’t yet available in stores. Check out the first video in the series below. Tags: Google, Mobile 2.0, nexus one
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| Astronaut Tweets Beautiful Earth Images From Space Posted: 04 Feb 2010 10:02 PM PST 
It’s the next logical step now that the first real-time tweet from space milestone has been passed. Flight engineer Soichi Noguchi is now sending back images via his Twitpic account as the ISS orbits the Earth. Check out a selection of some of the pics below, and you can find more at Astro_Soichi’s Twitpic. Astronaut Jose Hernandez, who flew on the Shuttle Discovery mission STS-128, has also posted some imagery from his mission to Twitpic as well. Twitpics From Space Mount Fuji, Japan. 3,776m. The highest mountain in Japan.  Port-Au-Prince, as of Feb 3. Three weeks after the earthquake.  Maldives Islands, Indian Ocean. [via io9] Tags: astronaut, Earth, NASA, social media, space, twitpic, twitter
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| Siri Assistant Turns Your iPhone into a Personal Assistant Posted: 04 Feb 2010 09:02 PM PST 
Check out this screencast to see more of what Siri Assistant can do: Siri was born from SRI’s CALO Project. The CALO Project (or Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes) is the largest Artificial Intelligence project in US History. DARPA invested $150 million into CALO over the course of 5 years. What was learned from CALO has been implemented into Siri. Using natural language understanding (think the Dragon Search and Dragon Dictation apps for the iPhone) to connect with existing services and APIs and traditional search components, Siri can become very adept at helping people get things done. Siri has more than 30 different partners whose APIs the app can plug into when answering a request. These include services like OpenTable, MovieTickets.com, Eventful, StubHub, Taxi Magic, Rotten Tomatos, Bing, Google Maps, and Yelp. This list of partners will continue to expand over time. What I was particularly impressed with is that if you have existing accounts with these services, you can log in to them and have Siri remember those credentials — so you can get your OpenTable points or use your MovieWatcher card. Siri will also offer up results from Bing if it can’t find something with one of its partners, so you aren’t just limited to the services that are integrated at the API level with Siri. When I think about the best use cases for something like Siri, I think about when unexpected things come up — say you need to book a flight to a different city and also get a hotel room and taxi — and time is of the essence. It’s much easier and faster to say what you need than to have to go through the manual search mechanisms. Siri gets better the more you use it, can adapt to the places you frequent, and can use technologies like geolocation to find better results. You can correct it with text input if the voice recognition isn’t right and also use traditional text input to get results. Siri Assistant is free and available right now in the App Store. It’s an amazing first glimpse of a Jetsonian type of future. Now all I need is my jetpack and my robotic maid! What do you think about the advancements in voice recognition and how they are changing how we can get things done? Let us know! Reviews: Bing, Eventful, Google Maps, Yelp Tags: iphone app, siri, siri assistant, voice recognition
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| Apple to Developers: No Location-Based Ads for You Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:54 PM PST 
The specific text reads: “If you build your application with features based on a user’s location, make sure these features provide beneficial information. If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.” Developers began noticing the “App Store Tip” and suggesting the underlying message is that Apple wants to reserve location-based ads for themselves to either utilize or control. Other outlets picked it up, largely agreeing with that analysis. We do know Apple acquired mobile ad network Quattro Wireless, ostensibly to make a concerted push in this space, which stands to become extremely hot over the next few years. We don’t yet know what their exact plans are, but this developer-facing post certainly seems to hint at Apple’s intent to heavily mediate how location-based advertising will be handled on apps for the iPhone. For now, developers should brace themselves for rejection if a submitted app contains a hook that “primarily” enables local ads. What do you think: is the developer tip an early warning sign about Apple’s own mobile advertising foray, or is there an alternative explanation for alerting developers about local ads? [via ReadWriteWeb and Gizmodo] Tags: -local, advertising, apple, iphone, iphone apps, location, location based advertising, Mobile 2.0
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| Facebook Passes the 400 Million User Mark Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:22 PM PST 
Two months ago the social network hit 350 million, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg reminds us that number was less than half of today’s 400 million mark a year ago. It took the site about three months to climb from 300 to 350 million users and only about two months to gain another 50 million, indicating Facebook’s explosive growth is actually still accelerating. Zuckerberg also mentions some upcoming announcements followed by an all-night Hackathon coding session. We’ll be on the ground at Facebook HQ to cover the upcoming new features, so sit tight for more birthday news on the way. Reviews: Facebook
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| Congress Asks NBC Why Hulu Blocked Boxee Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:45 PM PST 
Today during the Congressional hearing to investigate Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBCU (you can watch the full length video of the hearing below), Representative Rick Boucher asked Zucker flat out about the company’s exclusion of Boxee users from accessing Hulu content. Zucker’s reponse:
In a blog post, Boxee CEO Avner Ronen responds to Zucker’s claims of illegal content access. He explains that the workaround that currently allows Boxee users to watch Hulu shows is to simply use a web browser for access. Just like Firefox or Chrome users can watch Hulu content, so can Boxee users: “We don’t ‘take’ the video. We don’t copy it. We don’t put ads on top of it. The video and the ads play like they do on other browsers or on Hulu Desktop. And it certainly is legal to do so.” Considering neither Mozilla nor Google (nor Microsoft or other browser makers) have distribution deals with Hulu, it’s hard not to concede that Boxee has a valid point. What do you think: should Congress intervene to prevent a company like Hulu from blocking access to particular web TV companies, be it Boxee or otherwise? Reviews: Boxee, Chrome, Firefox, Google, Hulu Tags: boxee, Browsers, congress, hulu, internet tv, nbc universal, software, tv
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| Seesmic for Android Adds Multiple Account Support Posted: 04 Feb 2010 04:50 PM PST 
In an email to us, Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur outlined some of the features of the newly upgraded app, which should become available for all users around 5:00 PM PT. The biggest one, as we said, is the ability to add and manage multiple accounts, something that I have sorely desired on my Nexus One. Just like the Tweetie or TweetDeck apps for iPhone, the Seesmic app allows you to swap accounts and cross-post at the same time. While multiple accounts is the biggest new addition, it isn’t the only one. Seesmic now remembers your scroll position, loading up new tweets on top of where you left off in your timeline — Tweetie users should be familiar with this feature. If you are not a fan though, it can be turned off. Other additional features include an extra large font size, automatically updated profile information (a big gripe of mine), auto-correcting your words and sentences, and the ability to change your Twitter password from Seesmic for Android. I’m installing the build now. In the meantime though, here is Loic talking about the new features: Reviews: Android, Seesmic, TweetDeck, Twitter, tweetie Tags: android, seesmic, twitter, twitter app
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| Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models + Live Video = One Sexy Stream Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:44 PM PST 
The web broadcast promotion is part of the Sports Illustrated Group’s SI Swimsuit 24/7 campaign, presented in conjunction with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As the models attend events in New York and Las Vegas, SI will use its Ustream channel, Facebook Page and ExtraMustard site to bring the models to fans via live webcasts. While you can expect a Q&A session with the cover model and red carpet event coverage, we imagine that bikini-clad model close-ups will be at a minimum. Per the schedule we’ve included below, however, you can get a glimpse of models learning trapeze skills and hear what they have to say about their various risque shoots.
More Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: Bodypainting | NBA Dancers | Danica Patrick | Tennis Stars | All Models | Video Collection If you can’t handle the anticipation, some video footage from the SI vault should hold you over until next week. [img credit: SI Vault] Tags: live video, media, social media, Sports illustrated, ustream
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| Facebook’s Major Redesign Emphasizes Search and So Much More Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:36 PM PST 
- Facebook is celebrating its sixth birthday today with a dramatic redesign of the homepage that millions of people see when they log on every day. We’ve already seen images of this new design in the past, and all the things we said to watch for are included. It places a new emphasis on search and lets you sort through much more information without ever leaving the homepage. You can even send messages without navigating away. Facebook confirmed to us that the redesign is already rolling out to users. Everyone will get access to the new homepage shortly, and Facebook plans to post an update to its blog announcing the changes later today. In the meantime, the lucky few who have the new homepage are posting pictures on their blogs, Twitter, and elsewhere. The best repository we’ve seen is Matthew Sanders’s Posterous; it’s where we got the images in this post A More Powerful Homepage The pics show a much larger and more prominently placed search bar, which is just another example of how Facebook means business with search. Facebook added real-time search features several months ago, and many of its recent privacy changes were made in the hopes that users would make some of their updates public so others could search for information just like they already do on Twitter and some other networks. Many of the items (like groups and events) that were kept in the Applications menu in the bottom left have been moved back to the left sidebar on the main page. Rather than taking you to a new page, these now open within the main window where the feed usually appears. Notably absent are the Friends lists. These may still exist for the purpose of the privacy features for updates and profile info, but we don’t see them as sorting options for the news feed in the images that have come out. Hopefully they’re still running in the background somehow. If you have a lot of friends, the noise can be too much if you don’t break them out into groups. Easier MessagingInstant messaging and the e-mail-like message inbox have been moved out of the periphery as well. Not only can you check your inbox from a dropdown menu at the top, you can send messages from there as well — again, all without leaving the front page. Your IM contact list is no longer hidden in a popup menu in the bottom right; it’s now in the left sidebar.  Reviews: Facebook, Twitter Tags: facebook, Search, trending
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| The Amazon vs. Macmillan War Isn’t Over Yet Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:21 PM PST 
Last Friday, Amazon yanked Macmillan books off its digital shelves. The move was a response to Macmillan’s demands for an increase in e-book prices and an agency pricing model where the revenue would be split 70/30. Eventually Amazon surrendered to Macmillan’s demands, stating that it would offer Macmillan books on its terms and let customers decide whether higher e-book prices were reasonable. Or at least, that’s what Amazon said. You still can’t buy Macmillan books from Amazon, though, and now the book publishing giant has fired back with full-page ads in The New York Times and Publishers Marketplace. The AdsThe NYT ad is a subtle dig at the world’s largest online retailer. The ad is specifically for The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. As TechFlash notes, Macmillan clearly intended to poke fun at Amazon with the line, “Available at booksellers everywhere except Amazon.”  The second ad is a message to authors and publishers in Publisher’s Marketplace from Macmillan CEO John Sargent. In it, he states that the two companies have been “in constant discussions” since the weekend. He states that Macmillan is intent on changing the business model, but intends to work with Amazon in good faith “to find a way forward.” However, it provides no details about when the standoff may conclude. You can read the full text on Teleread, but the point is this: The Amazon-Macmillan saga isn’t over, and it doesn’t look like a conclusion’s going to come anytime soon, if these escalations are any indication. Apple must be loving this. Tags: amazon, apple, Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, business, Macmillan, money
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| The Simpsons Couch Gag: There’s an App for That Posted: 04 Feb 2010 02:36 PM PST 
The clip is currently on the front page of YouTube’s Most Viewed section, and we’ve embedded the Hulu video below. This isn’t the first time Apple has shown up in The Simpsons. A little over a year ago, the Simpsons family went to the “Mapple Store,” a place full of “MyPods.” The episode featured a lot of inside tech geek jokes, like a keynote from “Steve Mobs.” Recently, there was an episode dedicated to sending up social media, Twitter, blogging, Facebook and Skype. This clip is just 30 seconds long, so if you don’t have 20 minutes to revel in the Mapple Store or social media episodes, this is a more manageable bite of tech humor. Reviews: Facebook, Hulu, Skype, Twitter, YouTube Tags: apple, iphone, television, the simpsons, tv
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| Google Street View to Add Store Interiors? [RUMOR] Posted: 04 Feb 2010 02:17 PM PST 
Oh Nuts — a New York nut and candy retailer — e-mailed the blog outlet claiming that someone from Google “came to their store to take pictures for a new Google Maps product,” and that “they took pictures of the inside of the store, every 6 feet, in all directions. They also took pictures of products.” Oh Nuts accompanied this bit of intel with the photo seen below, which shows a nondescript man with camera equipment photographing the store (as seen by the store’s security cameras).
At the moment we have no way to confirm if the addition of in-store images to Google Street View is a legitimate product in the works (obviously those photos could be staged). We e-mailed Google for comment, and an official representative gave us the same statement that was communicated to Search Engine Land: “We are always experimenting with new features for Google Maps. We have nothing further to announce at this time.” The non-confirmation is not a denial, which definitely piques our curiosity. Should the intel be legit, we think it would be an interesting experiment and evolution of the current Google Maps Street View functionality. One thing that does add up is the fact that Google Street View has its origins in New York City (the city was one of five populated with images at launch), which means any additional enhancements to the offering would likely begin in New York as well. In some ways, being able to virtually browse through a store without having to physically walk in could be a big timesaver, but in other ways it could be conceived as more intrusive than necessary. While we wait to see what comes of this rumored new product, we’d like to leave you with the following video as a parting thought. Remember, Google Street View is watching. [img credit: Search Engine Land] Reviews: Google, Google Maps Tags: Google, Google Maps, google street view, trending
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| How Social Media Helps One Small Business Connect with Fans Posted: 04 Feb 2010 01:26 PM PST 
Customers of Seattle-based bag manufacturer Tom Bihn are as passionate about the product as the company's 22-person staff. The company's namesake has been designing and making bags for more than 20 years. He always has a sketchbook, regularly works on up to 10 designs at once and always sews the prototype of the new product himself, according to the company's Web site. Tom Bihn has a Seattle factory showroom/retail store that is open to the public one day per month. Otherwise, the bags are available exclusively through its Web site. The company's social media presence is rich with customer experience about their products and photos of bag-toting fanatics all over the world. What makes Tom Bihn's social media efforts successful? Among the keys are product passion and that the social media networks are updated regularly. Engagement is going on among members on these platforms, not simply the company broadcasting promotional messages. Each social media platform has unique Tom Bihn content that doesn't overlap with the other platforms the company is on, yet at the same time, they're integrated and linked to each other.  "All of us at Tom Bihn are fortunate to work for a company that makes truly innovative and high quality bags — bags that we are proud to stand behind, bags that we use ourselves," said Darcy Gray, vice president at Tom Bihn, in an email interview. "While Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, our blog and the Tom Bihn Forums give us an endless variety of ways to communicate who we are to our customers, we don’t think those efforts would resonate if we weren’t so excited about our company and what we do." Gray manages the Tom Bihn Facebook Fan Page, forums, blogs, Flickr and Twitter. She said updating them is a lot of fun and works on them whenever she checks her iPhone. Yash Khemani, a longtime customer and friend, is the master behind the Tom Bihn channel partner videos on YouTube.  She said engaging directly with customers began with the TomBihn.com forums. "In 2006, it occurred to us that our customers and potential customers could get significant value from talking with each other as opposed to just with us. They could share their experiences of their Tom Bihn bags, offer advice for selecting the right bag to new customers, and post reviews/pictures of their experiences with their bags," she said. She said the company's success on social media starts with their bags and that social media tools have given them more powerful ways to connect. "Anytime a company is given more ways to directly communicate with customers, it’s an opportunity for growth. Tom Bihn designs all of our bags himself. Interest in a particular type of bag might encourage him in a certain direction," Gray said. For example, Bihn is in the process of designing, among other things, a personal carry-on travel bag and a camera insert. If we see a lot of interest in the Tom Bihn forums and on Facebook in the camera insert, it might influence the company to release that product first. "We’re still who we’ve always been, doing what we’ve always done, we’re just able to be closer to the pulse of our customer base," she said. Engagement Began With Forums TomBihn.com's user forums have been active since 2006 and have 1,823 members. Threads range from 30 to more than 700. Topics include company news, reviews, pictures and video and travel news. The company curates forum posts such as those of photos on its blog. Blog Is Central HubThe company's lively blog is a mainstream hub of the latest company information. It features everything from e-mail reviews from customers with photos to timeline rundowns on new product launches to hints on new products that are top secret, but coming soon. A-Ha Moments On Flickr The Tom Bihn Flickr group has 278 items posted and more than 115 members. The stream isn't just photos of people wearing their bags while traveling or at the airport. Informative photos show how much can fit inside a bag (and weight) and how items look once they're in the bag. What's also interesting are the user comments. Someone commented on a photo in the Flickr group that they had been looking everywhere for a photo of that exact bag and wanted to know if the bag was still available. Another person chimed in that they were also looking for that same bag. Two-Way Enagement On Facebook Tom Bihn's Facebook fan page has more than 500 members. There are posts to the wall a few times a week by both fans and the company. Gray posts status updates such as photos and links to new products, reviews as well as shipping deals. One post even calls for fans to submit questions they would like to ask Tom Bihn himself for an upcoming e-mail newsletter. The company also incorporates its blog posts and YouTube Channel videos into the fan page. Demo Videos On YouTubeTom Bihn has had its own Channel partner page since 2006. The page has received nearly 20,000 total upload views. Videos are uploaded about every two weeks and most clips have several hundred views. The videos are thorough demonstrations of a bag’s features — often by Tom Bihn himself. They cover topics including what he uses a particular bag for, items he fits in which compartments, accessories he uses with it and what the bag is made of. Tweets Are Content Mix Tom Bihn's Twitter account @tombihn is a well-branded Twitter profile page with the company logo, photos of products and contact information. There's a good mix of retweets, company mentions on Twitter, thank you messages for customers who visited its factory showroom, announcements of new product updates, and even travel regulation notices from the Transportation Safety Administration. Tweets also incorporate links and photos from the company's blog. Gray said that seeing Tweets (like these below) makes them realize that this feedback might have never made their way to them if email or phone was the only way of communication with their customers. "You can’t go wrong with a @tombihn,” a Twitter user said. Another tweet: "Rains like today in Chicago make me happy I have a good @tombihn bag, I’m soaked, but the computer is nice and dry.” More business resources from Mashable:
Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube Tags: blog, blogging, business, facebook, fashion, flickr, forums, MARKETING, online marketing, small business, social media, social networks, twitter, youtube
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| WordPress 1.0 Now Available in BlackBerry’s App Store Posted: 04 Feb 2010 01:00 PM PST 
You can check out this video to get a taste of what WordPress for BlackBerry is all about: Version 1.0 includes some awesome features, including the ability to record and upload video from your phone — plus support for 3gp and 3g2 for older BlackBerry devices. If you haven’t given WordPress for BlackBerry a try or if you just need to upgrade, you can grab it for free from the BlackBerry App World. As a former BlackBerry user, I think it’s wonderful that this app is finally out. Despite being such a popular platform, the BlackBerry often gets overlooked when it comes to apps — even apps that can take advantage of some of BlackBerry’s best features, like its keyboard. BlackBerry users, do you use your device to blog? Let us know! Reviews: WordPress Tags: blackberry, Mobile 2.0, Wordpress, wordpress for blackberry
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| Facebook Profile For Holocaust Victim Brings History to Life Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:09 PM PST 
The profile functions as kind of a piecemeal storybook, with Polish status updates in Henio’s voice as well as photos and other updates in the third person that tell his tale. Henio’s own voice is simple and touching, as you can see in the selection below. (Rough Translation: “I am seven years old. I have a mom and dad. I have a favorite place. Not everyone has a mom and dad, but everyone has their favorite place. Today I decided that I will never leave Lublin. I will stay here forever. In my favorite place. With Mom and Dad. In Lublin.”)
According to the AP, not everyone is happy with the project — the news company cites Adam Kopciowski, a historian at Lublin’s Marie Curie-Sklodowska University who specializes in Jewish studies, who thinks that writing in the dead boy’s voice is ethically unsound and amounts to “abuse toward a child that has been dead for the past 70 years.” Others have also raised the fact that the page — much like Doppelganger Week — violates Facebook’s TOS. Still, Henio’s cousin makes very clear in a note on the profile that the young boy’s voice is meant to be purely speculative, and that he is to function as a symbol:
And judging by his 3,000+ fans, scores of thankful wall posts and avalanche of virtual gifts, people have become enamored of the long-lost boy.
Aside from being a touching memorial to a tragically departed boy, Henio’s profile is also a fascinating use of social media as an educational tool. Some of us have probably visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Upon entering, you receive a passport depicting someone who experienced the Holocaust, and throughout your tour through the museum, you learn his or her fate. Henio’s page brings this experience to another level, allowing you to interact with the boy, and to learn about his life in a way that integrates fully into your own social media experience. This profile only goes to show how sites like Facebook are no longer silly time wasters or places to troll for your next collegiate hookup, they provide us with news, entertainment, advertisements and, now — as more and more people are seeing it as both a news portal and source — education. I recently became a friend of Henio’s, will you? Reviews: Facebook, news Tags: facebook, holocaust, social media
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| Apple’s iPad: Will it Improve the Web? Posted: 04 Feb 2010 11:56 AM PST 
With many video sites and online games likely to be inaccessible to iPad users, the decision could confuse web users and dent Flash’s popularity. But is Steve Jobs doing us a favor by (reportedly) encouraging developers to drop Flash in favor of HTML5? That’s the topic of my CNN column this week. Check out the column at CNN.com >>Tags: adobe, apple, Apple iPad, cnn, Flash, HTML5, ipad, steve jobs
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| Beach Webcam Helps Save Tourist’s Life Posted: 04 Feb 2010 11:48 AM PST 
According to the BBC, the unnamed photographer “had become lost after walking onto ice off St Peter-Ording to photograph a sunset,” and Kristen Stielow spotted him via a webcam operated by St Peter-Ording’s local tourism board. Police were then able to locate the lost German tourist and guide him back to shore by flashing their car lights. The happy ending to this latest incident is yet another reminder — much like the iPhone app that helped save a man’s life after the Haiti earthquake — of how technology we may take for granted on a daily basis can be used for greater purposes. [img credit: BBC]
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| 5 Real Challenges For Non-Profit Texting Campaigns Posted: 04 Feb 2010 11:27 AM PST 
Close examination of texting-based fundraising reveals a wide variety of barriers for 501c3s, including the use of mandatory foundations and ASPs (application service providers) to interact with carriers, a stringent vetting process to become accepted, limited donation amounts of $5-$10, limited short codes, and shared costs with partners (in some cases, the wireless carriers). Even after setting up text-based fundraising mechanisms, non-profits face the challenge of limited function integration, and appealing to donors. “The key is a campaign's ability to raise awareness,” said Steve Largent, president and CEO, CTIA-The Wireless Association. “Alicia Keys appeared on American Idol and urged viewers to donate to Keep a Child Alive, and raised about $500K. When then-candidate Obama urged his constituents to donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund as Hurricane Gustav approached New Orleans in September 2008, the Red Cross realized $250,000 in donations. Similar campaigns around the Southern California wildfires a year earlier, however, did not fare nearly as well.” Given the many aspects of texting, from technology to communications, non-profits need to consider SMS with their eyes wide open. Causes may even want to consider alternative mobile channels for communications and fundraising. Here are five things non-profits should consider before pursuing texting. 1. Texting Costs Non-Profits Money While all of the carriers and their non-profit texting partners waived fees for Haiti relief, most causes shouldn’t expect such treatment. Non-profits have to pay set up fees with wireless partners like mGive and the Mobile Giving Foundation, which can range from $3,000-$10,000 in some cases. There are additional costs for short codes. If a non-profit elects to use a shared code, it can reduce costs. Having a unique short code can be beneficial for branding, such as the Red Cross’s 90999 code, but these are more costly. “Creating a unique shortcode can take several weeks and is the most expensive option,” said FrogLoop’s Allyson Kapin. “However, it does give non-profits the opportunity to brand themselves around a code as well as launch different types of fundraising appeals and action alerts.” “The non-profit ends up paying roughly 5-10% of the amount raised back to the Foundation and the ASPs for the short code, reporting and messaging costs associated with campaigns,” said Kristin Ivie, a Social Citizens blogger. “Just like there are costs for online giving services and direct mail campaigns, text campaigns require some level of effort and funds to run.” 2. Non-profits Must Work with a Third PartyIt’s not as simple as calling one of America’s big four carriers and setting up a short code. The wireless industry has set up approved third party vendors to vet non-profits. These third party players have stringent requirements to ensure causes meet state charitable solicitation registration requirements. “These organizations are instrumental in vetting the charities and non-profits that want to participate in mobile giving campaigns; managing the setup of the actual short codes the charities use for their initiatives; helping the charities market their mobile giving programs to potential donors; and ultimately reducing the costs associated with implementing these programs,” said Sprint Spokesperson Crystal Davis. But there are additional requirements including a $500,000 minimum of revenues, effectively locking out small non-profits. “Carriers set strict standards for the Foundation to follow with vetting and approving non-profits,” said Tony Aiello, CEO of mGive. “Some requirements include 990 tax returns, Letter of Determination, certificate of good standing, bylaws, and in some cases audited financial statements.” 3. Limited Capabilities
Texting requires an event, such as a celebrity request, a concert, or unfortunately, a catastrophe to compel people to donate en masse. Repeated solicitations in general communications can repel potential donors. Further, other limitations include the ability to interact with texters and garner their contact information. “The big challenge for non-profits is that they don’t get the donor info from the cell companies — the non-profit just gets a check from their text donation provider 30 to 90 days after folks make the donations,” said Lucy Bernholtz, principal author of the Disrupting Philanthropy: Technology and the Future Social Sector report. “This is problematic; as knowing who the donors are and being able to keep in touch with them is as important as the donation. Ironically, many donors will love text donations because they keep the donor’s information anonymous.” 4. Integrating Texting Into the Larger Mix There’s a lot of excitement about texting as a fundraising mechanism, but it offers more than that. Texting campaigns have been used for all sorts of non-profit activity, including notifying interested Democrats about then candidate Barack Obama’s choice of Senator Joe Biden as Vice President. If discouraged by fundraising options, non-profits can use text messsages for other opportunities. While mobile applications are sexy, SMS marketing offers communications benefits, too. Non-profits can push URLs, facts and opportunities to parties who opt in to such lists. The sky (or organizational creativity) is the limit. “Instead of just focusing on fundraising via mobile, engage members with other meaningful opportunities such as volunteering locally, text breaking news related to your campaigns, launch a poll, etc,” said Allyson Kapin. “Because it's text messaging, you can actually engage in some back and fourth conversations rather then just pushing out alerts or appeals and having one-way conversations.” 5. Other Options Exist There are more options than just texting for mobile. The great news about the mobile Internet revolution is the certain rise of non-profit applications on the iPhone, Android, and other platforms. If a non-profit wants to look at creating a mobile opportunity, general applications such as social good based The Extraordinaries offer powerful choices. Further, the cost of making an application has dropped dramatically, with iPhone (and soon Android apps) accessible to any organization for just hundreds of dollars. While these early low-cost applications are RSS based platforms, increased functionality is coming quickly for non-profits. “What's been successful for us is opening up the mobile content distribution capability,” said Daniel Odio, president of PointAbout, creator of the AppMakr service. “By the end of March, there will be notifications for activism such as rallies or fundraising web pages. The notification pops up as an alert, and the user logs in. It's that simple.” From a fundraising standpoint, some of the same barriers exist for vetting charities. Apple bars organizations from fundraising with apps because they can't verify the authenticity of the organization. Yet is seems like it’s only a matter of time before an online solution like Facebook Causes or Ammado offers a mobile option for donations. “The convergence of the mobile handset and the traditional desktop computer is taking place right now so many new solutions are on the horizon,” said mGive’s Tony Aiello. More social good resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, macroworld [Image Credits: karpov the wrecked train, futureatlas.com, Gonzalo Baeza Hernández] Reviews: Android, iStockphoto Tags: charity, giving, haiti, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, non-profit, nonprofit, SMS, social good, text message, text messaging
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| How Social Media Is Changing the Super Bowl Posted: 04 Feb 2010 11:05 AM PST 
Everyone from the advertisers and the NFL to fans and athletes are getting in on the social media Super Bowl action like never before. In fact, we’re seeing advertisers play up their controversial Super Bowl spots in social media channels, with online denizens weighing in with their candid thoughts. Of course there are also advertisers who are taking the straight and narrow path via their Facebook Fan Pages, offering fans the ability to share and and participate in Super Bowl-inspired Facebook activities. Below we’ll look at the entire social media picture as it pertains to the Super Bowl and round up what we’ve seen and expect from advertisers, the NFL, fans and athletes. AdvertisersSuper Bowl advertisers are using social media in three very unique ways this year: 1. To Manufacture Controversy:
2. To Generate Buzz Around Spots:
Several advertisers are using Facebook tie-ins to pump up the volume on online chatter about their spots. Instead of going for cheap controversy, they’re using their Fan Pages to inspire fans to share content and participate in Super Bowl-themed activities that are spreading virally via Facebook, ensuring that social media mentions are mostly positive in nature (per Alterian SM2’s analysis included below). Let’s take a look at a few of the Facebook-savvy brands capitalizing on the Super Bowl via social media.
3. Skipping the Super Bowl for Social Media
For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi will not have a Super Bowl ad. The soft drink maker has opted instead to spend $20 million on a social media campaign dubbed the Pepsi Refresh Project. The idea behind the campaign is to encourage people to submit ideas to refresh their communities, and site visitors can vote on the ideas they like best. Ultimately, Pepsi will select and fund the most popular crowd-sourced ideas. So far the campaign has been a huge social media success. According to Alterian SM2 data (see below), Pepsi tops all Super Bowl advertisers in total number of mentions and overall online reach. NFL
For the first time ever, the NFL is officially participating in the Super Bowl mêlée. The Tag the Super Bowl #SB44 initiative encourages fans to tag their tweets and Flickr photos with the SB44 hashtag. The football organization is aggregating all tagged content and presenting it in a unique and interactive user interface, giving anyone the ability to visually explore tweets and photos. Fans and Athletes
Fans are turning to Twitter and Facebook to weigh in on the big game and the advertisers like never before, and the social media activity will only continue to increase as we get closer to game time. In fact, what will be especially interesting to watch is the online chatter about the Super Bowl ads that will continue long after the game. Given that sites like Hulu have a tradition of posting the Super Bowl spots online, we know from years past that the advertisers and ads will remain hot topics as social media fans continue to watch, share and discuss the top spots during the following week. Another unique element to this year’s Super Bowl: This is the first year NFL players are tweeting en masse. It’s also the first time that fans will have this much unfettered access to the athletes uncensored opinions and game-day activities. For example, Chad Ochocinco will bring us the Motorola-sponsored OCNN to cover all angles of the games, which will include commentary from other players he has recruited to his news crew. We also expect other players to share their experiences extensively, which is why we’ll be following Twitter Lists like the one below. Social Media AnalysisAlterian SM2 has been tracking the Super Bowl advertisers since early December. It has just released the latest version of its social media analysis and the findings are quite interesting. We’ve embedded the entire report below, but here are a few key takeaways:
Super Bowl Social Media Results 3 Feb 10 BonusEarlier this morning I appeared on NBC San Diego to talk about the Super Bowl and the Social Media. The segment is embedded below. [image courtesy of iStockphoto, spxChrome] Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Hulu, Twitter, YouTube, iStockphoto Tags: chad ochocinco, coca cola, godaddy, MARKETING, Pepsi, social media, sports, trending
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| Elmo Has an iPhone (and an iPhone App) Posted: 04 Feb 2010 10:23 AM PST 
From video games to CD-ROMs to websites, Sesame Workshop has been able to connect with kids and their parents. Last fall, the first Sesame Street app for the iPhone was released, and this week, a new app, Elmo’s Monster Maker became available. You can watch the video to see what the app is all about here: It’s pretty cute and the fact that the video was designed just for kids is pretty indicative that Sesame Workshop sees this as a growing audience. CenterNetworks commented that these sorts of apps could be a huge driver for the iPad, and I have to agree. Visual storybooks especially could be perfect for a tablet, especially if it adds in touch-sensitive interactive features. Plus, games like the Monster Maker and other apps from companies like Disney and Nickelodeon mean that even more entertainment titles make the iPhone — or the iPad — a compelling competitor to things like the Nintendo DS. What do you think about mobile apps for kids? Let us know! Reviews: iPhone Tags: elmo's monster maker, iphone app, sesame street
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| Sneak Peek: Monster’s Super Bowl Social Media Blitz Posted: 04 Feb 2010 09:58 AM PST 
The Super Bowl is a really interesting event because it is one of the only occasions where advertising breaks are almost as anticipated as the next play. Try to change the channel during a commercial break at a Super Bowl party and see what happens (warning: don’t do this if you are at my house — I will hurt you). Consumers are actively engaged in the commercials, which is one reason advertisers are willing to pay such high prices for ad time. For a company like Monster.com, which focuses on helping people find jobs, the Super Bowl is also an opportunity to get the word out about how its business has evolved. I spoke with Ted Gilvar, the Executive VP and Global Marketing Officer for Monster about the theme of the company’s Super Bowl ad and how it is also going to integrate itself with social media. Starting ViralEarlier this week, Monster launched the website Fiddle a Friend. Right now if you go to the site, all you’ll see is a video of a fiddle-playing beaver, currently stationed in a subway, hoping to attract attention. This beaver (who has his own Twitter account) will be the star in Monster’s Super Bowl ad.  By starting with an ambiguous landing page and engaging in social media, Monster hopes to attract attention, interest and anticipation to their ad. The AdThe premise of the ad is that Monster can help you find your dream job. Monster was nice enough to offer us a few seconds of their actual spot, so you can check out this sneak peek: The Site After the Super Bowl ad runs on Sunday, FiddleaFriend.com will become a microsite where users can send their own customized greeting cards, starring the beaver, to their friends on Facebook and Twitter. And like JibJab’s Elf Yourself campaign, these can be customized with your own photos.  The Message Monster has undergone lots of changes over the last few years. In addition to yesterday’s announcement of the HotJobs acquisition, the company has invested in new technologies and systems that make Monster not only a better job search tool, but also offer users and companies a better way to connect and plan. Monster’s new 6Sense search technology has greatly improved search results for users that uses a more semantic approach that also builds on Monster’s experience in helping people find and post jobs. In tests of the new technology, we found the results to be vastly improved over the previous iteration of Monster’s search. Additionally, Monster has expanded its service offerings for job seekers, both in planning tools for switching careers, or connecting with other people who are in the same field. These innovations are important to Monster, because with the advent of job-boards and even sites like Craigslist, Monster needs to set itself apart from the competition. The goal of the Super Bowl and ancillary campaign is to both entertain and call attention to these new features. What do you think about how companies are using social media in conjunction with high profile ads for events like the Super Bowl? Let us know! Reviews: Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter Tags: monster, monster.com, Super Bowl, Super Bowl ads
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| Vanity Fair Launches iPhone App for Oscars Predictions Posted: 04 Feb 2010 08:59 AM PST 
The app is called Vanity Fair Hollywood, and you can use it to read Vanity Fair’s Hollywood coverage leading up to the Oscars in March. If you feel like you’re informed enough to make a prediction, you can use the app to vote for which person or film will win an Oscar in each of the major categories. Since there are 10 Best Picture nominations this year, your odds of coming out on top are lower than usual, but if you’re confident you can share your predictions with your Facebook friends via Facebook Connect. You can form a betting pool with your friends within the app and compare your picks in the leaderboards after the Oscars have aired on March 7. Vanity Fair is trying to engage its readership using technology and social media — a progressive plan for a print publication. The app is sponsored by L’Oréal Paris, whose products are featured in the “Gift Bag” tab of the app. If you want to learn more about the app, this is a great time to try out iTunes’ new web preview pages for apps. Head over to the iTunes app page for additional details and images. [via The Business Insider] Reviews: Facebook Tags: Film, iphone, Mobile 2.0, Oscars, vanity fair
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| Sirius XM Radio Now Broadcasts to Your BlackBerry Posted: 04 Feb 2010 08:46 AM PST 
Sirius XM is trying to win ground by streaming its programming online both via the web and mobile devices. An iPhone app launched last year. Now BlackBerry users get to try out the 120 channels of exclusive programming, which includes talk shows from CNN, Fox News, Playboy and Oprah. There’s also an abundance of sports coverage and commercial-free music. Unfortunately, licensing issues prevent Sirius XM from giving BlackBerry owners its star talk show host — Howard Stern. Sirius XM is offering a seven-day free trial to BlackBerry owners, but once that trial is over they’ll have to spend $13 per month to keep listening. Supported handsets include the Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Bold 9000, Bold 9700, Tour 9630, Curve 9800, Curve 8520 and Curve 8530. Tags: blackberry, Hardware, music, research in motion, Sirius, sirius xm, xm
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| Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:44 AM PST 
Now, when you hit those direct links, iTunes will still want to load the page (assuming it is installed), but you’re also going to get to see all of the app information, screenshots and review information on a regular web page. Take a look:  You can still choose to view an app in iTunes, and you’ll need to use iTunes, either on your phone or your Mac or PC, to make a purchase. Still, it’s yet another indicator that an iTunes.com or similar solution is in the works. We wouldn’t be surprised if this had an iPad component to it as well. Regardless of the reasons, we’re just glad that Apple is making it easier to access iTunes content outside of iTunes. What do you think Apple is planning on doing with iTunes? Would you like to see a web-based version of the popular music player? Let us know! [via Lifehacker and TechCrunch] Reviews: Lifehacker Tags: app store, itunes, itunes preview, music, software
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| AT&T Finally Lets You Use SlingPlayer with Your iPhone Over 3G Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:28 AM PST 
Until now, SlingPlayer was only available over Wi-Fi, which means it was pretty much unusable in most situations where you actually needed it. Now, owners of Slingbox who purchase SlingPlayer ($29.99 in the App Store) can watch TV shows on their iPhones, provided they’re in 3G range. Although it has approved SlingPlayer over 3G, AT&T points out that optimization is still a big deal when it comes to mobile apps such as SlingPlayer. “Collaboration with developers like Sling Media ensures that all apps are optimized for our 3G network to conserve wireless spectrum and reduce the risk that an app will cause such extreme levels of congestion that they disrupt the experience of other wireless customers. Our focus continues to be on delivering the nation’s most advanced mobile broadband experience and giving our customers the widest possible array of mobile applications,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. To make sure app developers are following guidelines, AT&T will provide them with wireless network optimization requirements for video and other apps by the end of the first quarter at its Developers Program website. Tags: iphone, Mobile 2.0, SlingPlayer, tv
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Google has launched a series of videos on its official 
One of the astronauts currently in residence on the International Space Station is using 
At the beginning of the week, Dag Kittlaus wrote a post for Mashable about the 
Apple has posted a 
Facebook is 
Boxee and Hulu have had a 
Seesmic for Android, one of the platform’s most popular Twitter apps, has just gotten a major upgrade that should become available in the next few minutes in the Android marketplace. Among the biggest new features: managing multiple accounts.
Update: 80 million users will have the new design live tonight.
We thought that the 
Just days after releasing 
Texting offers limited capability. Donations are capped at $10, much less than the average online donation. For example, 
2010 is the year social media and the Super Bowl are officially converging.
Sesame Street is one of my favorite brands, not just because Grover is amazing, but because over the last 40 years, it has never been afraid of innovating and embracing new technologies.
Back in November, Apple quietly rolled out 
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