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Mashable: Latest 27 News Updates - including “How Biz Stone Promoted Twitter in 2006 [FUNNY]” |  |
- How Biz Stone Promoted Twitter in 2006 [FUNNY]
- Flickr is Now 6 Years Old
- Google Buzz Buttons: The New Way to Share Mashable Stories
- Task Squid: Task Management Meets Activity Streams [INVITES]
- Mashable’s Ben Parr Talks Google Buzz on G4’s Attack of the Show [VIDEO]
- Watch Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk Live Online [VIDEO]
- MySpace CEO Out After Just 9 Months
- Twitter Hires a CFO From Pixar
- Man to Be Locked in Box and Live Streamed to World
- HOW TO: Create and Distribute Effective Online Coupons
- Google Buzz Contest: Win a Google Nexus One
- Iranian Government Bans Gmail
- 4 Elements of a Successful Business Web Presence
- Mashable’s Weekly Social Media & Web Development Job Guide
- New BBC Director Mandates Journalists Use Social Media
- 14 Fantastic Free WordPress Themes
- Now You Can IM Your Facebook Friends With AIM
- Facebook Mobile Now Has 100 Million Monthly Users
- Yahoo Talks Search Strategy and the Microsoft Deal
- Shop Etsy in Pictures
- Love Stinks: 5 Parodies of Google’s Romantic Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO]
- Warner Music Plans to End Support for Free Streaming
- YouTube Adds “Safety Mode” to Keep Videos PG
- Visualizing 6 Years of Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Google Getting Into the ISP Business With Ultra High-Speed Network
- Twitter Is Still Growing Rapidly [STATS]
- Detroit Red Wings Make Game Programs Interactive With QR Codes
- Opera Wants to Bring Its Mobile Browser to iPhone
| How Biz Stone Promoted Twitter in 2006 [FUNNY] Posted: 11 Feb 2010 03:00 AM PST 
Back in 2006, however, it was a tiny blip on the web 2.0 (remember that term?) radar, and Biz Stone had to do whatever it takes to make the name (back then it was Twttr) stick in our mind. The result is below, a (partly intentionally) hilarious video from 2006, with Biz Stone sporting a crazy scientist look, speaking very fast but telling us surprisingly little about the service in 43 seconds of the video’s duration. Credit for finding this gem goes to Say OMG. Tags: biz stone, twitter, video
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| Posted: 11 Feb 2010 12:29 AM PST 
Being 6 years old (nearly the same age as Facebook) makes Flickr almost an old guy on the Internet, as many other social networks (Bebo, hi5) have risen and fallen within that timespan. Although its traffic lately isn’t growing as it used to, it’s still doing well, with users sharing billions of photos there. We wish you a very happy birthday, Flickr! [Image credits: Flickr] Reviews: Flickr Tags: birthday, flickr, photo sharing, Photos, social media
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| Google Buzz Buttons: The New Way to Share Mashable Stories Posted: 10 Feb 2010 09:47 PM PST 
Our new Google Buzz buttons are a first step. To make it work, you’ll need to make sure you’ve set up Google Reader and included that in your “Connected Sites” on Buzz. If you already had a Reader account before setting up Buzz, chances are that’s already set up for you. Try it now: click “Buzz This” to the left of this post! Happy buzzing! — Kudos to Andy Brett on this one. Reviews: Google Buzz, Google Reader Tags: Google, google buzz
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| Task Squid: Task Management Meets Activity Streams [INVITES] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 08:09 PM PST 
Quick Pitch: Collaboration focused on completing the tasks, that ultimately complete the project. Its group tasks done easy. Genius Idea: In the spectrum of project collaboration tools you have the completely freeform Google Wave and structured enterprise tool from SAP called 12Sprints. In the middle is Task Squid, a private beta project management tool (we’ve got invites!) that takes an activity stream approach — designed with productivity in mind — to project collaboration. The Task Squid experience is centered around task management, with you as the focal point. Upon login the service displays the tasks assigned to you or those that you assigned to others. The activity stream also highlights all recent items — tasks, subtasks, comments, files, time — in reverse chronological order and color-coded by type for an overview of all recent project activity. During the initial setup process you can connect your Twitter, Facebook, and Google Calendar accounts. You’ll also want to start the process by predetermining categories — which you can treat like separate projects — for tasks. Those categories will be shown on the right-hand side of the page so you can filter through tasks. Should you wish to be notified of new or completed tasks you can add your mobile number to receive SMS messages for updates. Tasks themselves can be basic notes or robust action items, which means you can include stylized text, rich media (including flash), add files, assign multiple owners, and add a due date. Each task also supports comments (with replies), subtasks, and time entry options. Tasks can even be shared via direct URL or Facebook and Twitter, though login will be required to access the shared task. For those of you with a penchant for aesthetics, TaskSquid doesn’t disappoint. The experience looks and feels clean, and the comments are treated as colored chat bubbles that make back and forth repartee visually appealing. Task Squid won’t work for everyone’s project collaboration needs, but it does get simple task management right. The service is still in beta, but Mashable readers can enter “sparkofgenius” in the invite code field to get in early. That code will work for 1,000 users, so get in there, try it out and let us know what you think in the comments. Reviews: Facebook, Google Wave, Mashable, Twitter Tags: project management, social media, task squid
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| Mashable’s Ben Parr Talks Google Buzz on G4’s Attack of the Show [VIDEO] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 06:04 PM PST 
How is Buzz being used already, and how might the service evolve over the next few months? See and hear Ben's thoughts on that and more in the segment below. Also — don't forget to follow Mashable on Buzz if you're so inclined. Tags: attack of the show, g4, google buzz
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| Watch Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk Live Online [VIDEO] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 05:27 PM PST 
Tags: cnn.com, Jamie Oliver, TED, TED Talks
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| MySpace CEO Out After Just 9 Months Posted: 10 Feb 2010 05:04 PM PST 
Here’s the statement we just received from the company:
Needless to say, this news doesn’t look good for MySpace, who continues to fall further behind Facebook as it tries to reinvent itself as an entertainment destination. The company has also undergone significant job cuts and restructuring — in June of last year, MySpace laid off 30 percent of its staff at Van Natta’s behest. Reviews: Facebook, MySpace Tags: myspace
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| Twitter Hires a CFO From Pixar Posted: 10 Feb 2010 04:28 PM PST 
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ali Rowghani will join Twitter in March, after having worked in finance – most recently as CFO – at the studio since 2001. Twitter CEO Evan Williams tells WSJ that "Ali will be an important member of a growing team focused on creating value for our users and capturing the financial opportunities that result from it." Those opportunities we suspect will include paid accounts, as well as a number of potential advertising models the company is rumored to be working on. Reviews: Twitter
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| Man to Be Locked in Box and Live Streamed to World Posted: 10 Feb 2010 02:31 PM PST 
His only company? A camera. His only social interaction? A hatch that dispenses food and water, as well as a daily clue as to where he is located. He will share said clue with his viewers, who are tasked with finding Shaw by following along with his foibles on the official website and highlighting his location via Google Maps. The viewer who correctly ascertains Shaw’s location — which will free the man from confinement — will win £30,000. If no one guesses correctly, homeboy has to stay under lock and key for the full 30 days. The stunt is a little hokey in a Criss Angel Mindfreak/David Blaine kind of way, but all proceeds go to Help for Heroes, a charity that helps wounded UK soldiers. Viewers will be able to follow along on the Justin.tv site as well as on the “Man in a Box” site, which will also include tons of other content: forums and chats, a tool whereby you can suggest food for Shaw (oh, the trouble that will likely breed), and various videos featuring the box man’s therapist and advisers dispensing wisdom on how to handle isolation. This is undoubtedly a cool way to raise money and generate buzz for a live stream, but you do have to wonder how Shaw is going to hack it. There are places in the world where such treatment is considered psychological torture — and we call those places prison. The stream isn’t live yet, but we’ve embedded it below for anyone who wants to bookmark it in anticipation of the meltdown — I mean, show. Reviews: Google Maps Tags: justin.tv, live video, television
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| HOW TO: Create and Distribute Effective Online Coupons Posted: 10 Feb 2010 01:50 PM PST 
The age of the coupon is upon us. With historically high unemployment and uncertainty about the economy weighing heavily on consumer spending, the humble coupon has enjoyed a resurgence. Both the classic clip-and-save variety and new online options delivered via the web, e-mail, social networks, and mobile phones are popular among consumers. Coupon redemption in the U.S. rose 10% in the fourth quarter of 2008 –- the first rise in coupon use since the early 1990s –- and total coupon redemption reached 3 billion in 2009, according to Inmar. What's more, the use of printable coupons, where people print online coupons and redeem them in stores, rose 308% in the first half of 2009, while 10 million digital coupons were redeemed during the same period, up 25% year-on-year. Price sensitive consumers want deals, and smart local companies realize coupons are a great way to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Increasingly, local businesses are eager to use online coupons as a simple, cost-effective way to attract local customers. But while it's fairly easy to create a coupon online (more on this below) the bigger trick is making sure people find it. To ensure a small business coupon promotion reaches enough people in your local area, a well-planned distribution strategy is crucial. What is an Online Coupon?Before I jump in with some concrete tips on how to create, distribute, and track redemption of online coupons, let's take a step back and answer the seemingly simple question: What is an online coupon? The truth is, an online coupon can mean many things: A small clickable banner on a homepage offering 10% off; a discount offered via e-mail, redeemable online, over the phone, or in-store; a printable coupon consumers bring into a merchant's store or office; or even a limited-time deal offered solely to a company's Twitter followers or Facebook fans. Whether or not you've used online coupons before, now is the time to test the waters. Some 80% of consumers say they would increase coupon use if relevant coupons were delivered online, according to recent research from Prospectiv. Create Your Online Coupon
Next, you'll need to create your online coupon. There are many national coupon sites targeted at large consumer brands, like Coupons.com and Redplum, but they aren't suited to smaller businesses. Small businesses need to reach a targeted, local audience with their promotions, so it makes more sense to create a coupon on a site like Craigslist or Local.com, which let local businesses create and distribute coupons with just a few clicks. You can also create a "coupon" by simply coming up with an offer to send out via e-mail. Distribute Your Online CouponOnce you've created a coupon offer, you need distribution. If your local business coupon isn't getting into the hands of local consumers, what's the point? Here are several free or inexpensive ways small businesses can distribute online coupons. 1. E-mail a coupon to your client list. Allow recipients to print the coupon and bring it into your store, or simply "mention" the promotion to receive the discount. 2. Blog about it. Even if you only have a few customers subscribing to your blog, posting deals will encourage recommendations and new subscribers.  3. Post your coupon on an online business directory site or social network that automatically distributes coupons to targeted audiences via a network of local sites and social channels, such as Facebook, Local.com, or Valpak.  4. Particularly if you are a service business, create a Craigslist posting in a relevant business or service category offering your discount. Even a simple text-only coupon works well.  5. Add a coupon banner on your website that automatically applies the promotion at checkout. To make this work, you need a somewhat sophisticated transactional system that allows you to tie a promotion to clicks on the coupon banner. 6. Use your Twitter and Facebook accounts to offer friends and followers a special discount. Make sure the promotions you offer are compelling and make your followers feel special. They are following you for a reason: To get deals and inside information.  7. Purchase a paid banner ad promoting your discount on a locally-focused advertising network such as AdReady, iPromote, Jivox, or Inflection Point Media. 8. Film a short video clip showcasing your business and post it on YouTube. Add text to the video offering a discount to customers who mention they saw the clip. Don't forget to promote your YouTube video in Facebook, Twitter and on your blog. 9. Go viral. Make your coupons shareable, allowing people to pass the deal along to friends. Try promotions like "Get 20% when you refer a new client," or "Bring in three friends and get 20% off for everyone." Each coupon you send out via e-mail, on Twitter or Facebook, or post online should include a link to "Share this coupon with a friend" so people can easily forward the discount onto their networks. Stats show that sharing now drives upwards of 33% of traffic as search, so it's crucial to make your coupon shareable. 10. Try a social shopping site. Sites like Groupon allow businesses to offer coupons to local customers redeemable only if a certain number of people sign up for the discount, so it's a great way to attract a large number of new customers.  Whatever combination of distribution methods a small business chooses, don't forget traditional methods that have stood the test of time. For example, place printed coupons on your shop's counter, promote your deal via flyers, or continue to include paper coupons in the local ValPak mailer. Even though online coupons are gaining in popularity, tried-and-true methods still work to drive some business. Measure Redemption Always put a time limit or expiration date on a coupon. Once your coupon promotion is over it's time to measure how well it performed to drive sales. If you have a transactional website, use Google Analytics or your other analytics provider to find out how many people clicked on your coupon, and how many of those clicks lead to purchases. YouTube will show you how many people viewed your video promotion. You should also use other more "primitive" methods to track redemption. Ask customers where they saw the coupon they are redeeming in your store (e-mail, your website, a third-party website) and track their comments in a document. After a few weeks, look back to see a pattern of which distribution channels yielded the highest redemption rates. Use Coupons to Build LoyaltyLastly, remember that coupons are more than just a one-time deal. They have the potential to create ongoing customer loyalty. Remember this: on average, according to most industry estimates, it costs nine times more money to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Each time a customer redeems a coupon, it’s an opportunity to connect with them on a personal level. Ask for their e-mail address, or encourage them to write a review of your products or services on local directory listing sites. Ask them to follow you on Twitter or join your Facebook Fan Page, and always follow-up with further promotions down the road. Make sure to deliver something of value to your customers –- don't spam them with unwanted e-mails, but offer compelling, targeted offers that nurture an ongoing relationship. Why not try some unique customer loyalty promotions? Try a coupon sent to only your most loyal customers, or open your shop one hour early for loyal customers, paired with coffee and croissants and a store-wide 15% off discount. Many small businesses offering high-quality products and services mistakenly believe a coupon cheapens their business and makes them look desperate for sales. This is not true. In fact, coupons are cool again. Customers are holding tight to their wallets these days and they won't change their behavior any time soon. There are a multitude of free or inexpensive tools that help small business owners deliver timely, targeted, relevant offers to local consumers seeking deals. With the proper distribution of your coupon online, you'll build sales, increase customer loyalty, and come out ahead of competitors when the economy recovers. More business resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, svengine, gvictoria Reviews: Craigslist, Facebook, Google Analytics, Twitter, YouTube, add, blog, iStockphoto Tags: business, coupons, Craiglist, facebook, List, Lists, MARKETING, online coupons, shopping, small business, social media, social media marketing, social networks, twitter, youtube
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| Google Buzz Contest: Win a Google Nexus One Posted: 10 Feb 2010 01:07 PM PST 
Today we’re launching a contest to spur even richer conversations on Google Buzz. For the next week, we’ll be asking questions on our Google Buzz account about how we should use Buzz, and what you think about the topics discussed that day on Mashable. The most intelligent and constructive comments will win one of two Google Nexus One phones. To enter:
That’s it! The contest is open internationally and we’ll pay shipping worldwide. In order to make the contest international, the Nexus One phones are unlocked without contract. Winners names will be announced on our Google Buzz account on or before February 22. Reviews: Google Buzz, Mashable Tags: announcements, buzz, google buzz, nexus one
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| Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:44 PM PST 
Earlier this week, we wrote about failing Internet connections in Iran. The timing of these problems has been met with suspicion: February 11 (tomorrow) marks the anniversary of the Iranian revolution and gatherings are already being planned to protest against June’s alleged election fraud.
We wrote about Iran’s censorship monster back in June, and it’s clear that the Iranian authorities have no intention of loosening their grip. Twitter was famously a catalyst for communication during the Iranian elections and post-election protests, and Iranian citizens have often relied on networks set up by westerners to send information. While this isn’t a completely unique move — the Iranian government did suspend access to Facebook in the lead-up to May’s election — an all-out block on a communication service and the attempt to move citizens to a state-run service is another story. Even when compared to the Great Firewall of China, this is disturbing and infuriating. The Wall Street Journal also reports that satellite dishes from residential rooftops have been confiscated, as well as mobile phones from some opposition members. Reviews: Google, Iran , Twitter Tags: censorship, gmail, government censorship, iran, iranian revolution, trending
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| 4 Elements of a Successful Business Web Presence Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:26 PM PST 
What's the most important piece of your business's web presence? Your website, of course. Creating a website requires a good deal of thought; it's important to plan what information you want on the site, what the layout will look like, and how you'll connect each piece together. Think of your website as your hub; it's what people will see when they look for you. Here are four elements of a successful business web presence that can help ensure that your first impression is a good one. Before We Begin Your very first step should be to define the goals of your website. Most businesses should have at least three: to create an online presence, to differentiate your business, and to capture leads.
The WebsiteWith our goals in mind, we can begin to explore specific elements of a strong website. The homepage will generally be the initial point of contact with your consumers. A good homepage will answer the questions "What do you do?" and "Why should I trust you?" Consumers will make a split-second decision on whether they'll stay to learn more or go to a competitor. Don't lose them at the start. An "About" page can further reinforce the trust factor. Explain exactly what your company does, in-depth. I want to know who you are, why you do what you do, and what makes you special. This page should make an impact and impress your consumers. Finally, create a "Contact" page. This page should clearly explain to your customers how to get in contact with you. Make sure it outlines your address, phone number, email address, and any other way someone can reach you. You might even want to include a Google Map with directions to your store or office. These three pages create a basic online presence, but not much more. If you want to set your business apart from everyone else, the best way to do that is to create a company blog. The Blog
So why is a blog important? For one, it shows that you know what you're talking about. It helps you identify yourself as an expert or unique. Secondly, a blog is constantly updated. It gives readers a reason to come back to your site. The more contact you have with your consumers, the more likely they are to buy from you. Also, consumers have become savvier and will search out information. They want more than a simple explanation of what your product does. They want to know how to use your product, examples of interesting things people are doing, and how you can make their life easier. After you have a site with information and a blog that is ever-growing, you'll begin to experience a growth in site traffic. It would be a shame to ignore these potential customers. Which leads us to our next step; lead capture. The NewsletterIt's here that we begin building leads from your website's visitors. The first and most important element is a newsletter form. I use Aweber to handle my own personal newsletter sign ups and delivery. I just write the actual newsletter and format it. There are a number of other services you can use too such as MailChimp and ConstantContact; it simply depends on what you want. Do your research and choose a program you like. The newsletter cost quickly pays for itself. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate sales. Getting consumers to sign up for your email list means you no longer have to wait for them to come to you, you can go to them. You can offer your core consumers specials and keep them up to date on new products or changes. Social Media Accounts Another option for capturing leads is social media. Microblogs and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can help you connect with and contact those within your core community. For this strategy to work, your blog should serve as a central hub. The hub sends consumers to your respective social media profiles to build the connection. Businesses with a Facebook Fan page can include a Fan box on the site to make it an easy process to fan the business page. If you have an active Twitter account, consider adding the "Follow Me on Twitter" button. These two elements can help turn a one-time reader into a connected consumer. When you're building an online presence, the most important aspect is your website. It's your hub and your first impression. Are you using the right elements to maximize your website's effectiveness? More business resources from Mashable:
Imagea courtesy of iStockphoto, geopaul, WendellFranks, melhi Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: blog, blogging, business, entrepreneurship, List, Lists, small business, social media, social networks, web
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| Mashable’s Weekly Social Media & Web Development Job Guide Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:25 PM PST  If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter. But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable's job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards: Mashable Job Board ListingsSEO Manager at Experience Project in San Francisco, CA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Graphic Designer / UI Specialist and Creative Ninja at Experience Project in San Francisco, CA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media and Content Management Intern at EMBARQ in Washington DC.
Read more about this opportunity here. Senior SEO Strategist and Provider at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Manager of Social Media at Chegg.com in Santa Clara, CA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Director of Application Services at PETA Foundation in Norfolk, VA.
Read more about this opportunity here. VP / Director of Marketing at rec.fm in Los Altos, CA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Manager at Devine + Powers in Philadelphia, PA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Digital Marketing Consultant at International Center for Journalists in Washington DC.
Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Community Manager at Social Media Link in New York, NY.
Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Specialist at Sittercity, Inc. in Chicago, IL.
Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Developer at Soversa LLC in New York, NY.
Read more about this opportunity here. Group Communications Specialist at Ameritas Life Insurance Corp in .
Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at PrankDial, LLC in New York, NY.
Read more about this opportunity here. Product Marketing Manager at Visible Technologies in Bellevue, WA.
Read more about this opportunity here. Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable's Job Board. Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($80 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace). Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, YouTube, rec.fm Tags: career, hiring, job, jobs
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| New BBC Director Mandates Journalists Use Social Media Posted: 10 Feb 2010 11:24 AM PST 
As quoted in the BBC in-house weekly Ariel, the new director said, “This isn’t just a kind of fad… I’m afraid you’re not doing your job if you can’t do those things. It’s not discretionary.” On the social media front, Horrocks appears to take the stance that Twitter, RSS readers and other social media tools are extremely valuable news-gathering resources essential to the output of journalists working in these digital times. The report details that:
The strong statements mirror the behaviors of other newsrooms actively impressing upon employees the necessity of social media. Media companies like Sky News — who drastically switched up its newsroom to focus on Twitter — are making bold maneuvers to transition into the age of social media. Tags: bbc, media, Peter Horrocks, social media, trending, twitter
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| 14 Fantastic Free WordPress Themes Posted: 10 Feb 2010 11:23 AM PST 
Whether you need a great photoblog layout, personal lifestream, or more business-oriented design, there’s almost surely an existing theme out there worth checking out for your next blog or blog upgrade. And if you’re already a developer or are willing to acquire a small set of template editing skills, you can always modify an existing theme to taste. Have a look at some of our picks for great themes to either drop in as is or use as a starting point for your own tweaking and twiddling. Keep in mind this is only the tip of the iceberg — be sure to let us know about your other favorite themes in the comments! 1. Irresistible For a unique personal blog look and feel, check out the free Irresistible theme from the folks at Woo Themes. It features dedicated spots for your photos, videos, and events lifestream along with your typical blog content. Featuring a nice, clean layout, this theme offers something a bit different from your typical 3-column blog design. 2. Demet For a more magazine-style theme, check out the free premium Demet theme. This 3-column layout is fixed width and banner-ready for 125×125 and 468×60 pixel ad units. 3. P2 The P2 theme was inspired by Twitter, and was designed around allowing a group of bloggers to post short updates. It’s a great option for a cohesive group blog as well as for sites that do frequent liveblogging. Featuring dynamic page updates, threaded comment display, live tag suggestion, real-time notifications, and in-line editing for posts and comments, P2 is a powerhouse for blogs where real-time updates are critical. 4. WPESP Portfolio WPESP Portfolio is a minimalist theme designed primarily for artists, photographers, designers, and others who need more of a portfolio showcase for their work. It combines the benefits of easy and frequent updates with the layout and user interface conducive to browsing visual works. 5. DarkHive For an alternative magazine-esque style in two columns, have a look at DarkHive from the folks at MagPress. It sports a featured content slider for up front promotion of hot stories, auto-generated thumbnails for front page display, an Adsense ready loop between posts and on individual post pages, a 125×125-ready block in the sidebar and more. 6. Google Chrome Here’s an interesting lightweight theme great for a geek-oriented blog, or a site that just wants a nice and clean two column look and feel. Inspired by the browser of the same name, Google Chrome is widget and gravatar ready plus XHTML and CSS validated. 7. Gallery The showcase-style WordPress theme Gallery is built on the Thematic framework and was designed specifically for Smashing Magazine readers. Another great theme for a portfolio or other visual showcase, Gallery is a highly flexible and customizable theme that supports widescreen video embedding with the installation of a free plug-in. 8. Selecta Another very visually-oriented theme, Selecta is great for videoblogs or other sites where video needs to be prominent. With a featured post slider carousel up top to promote your best content, threaded comments, and interest jQuery effects on board, Selecta also comes with six different color schemes to choose from. 9. BlackPower A widget ready theme from the folks at SkinPress, the BlackPower theme features prominent Twitter integration, with your latest tweet appearing in the header. The two column theme also features easy on the eyes typography and a pastel color scheme with black wood effect on a translucent background. 10. Scarlett The Scarlett theme features another great featured content carousel area up top and a real-time scrolling update area in the right-hand sidebar. It also includes a built-in javascript navigation menu, Adsense ready units, threaded comments display and more. 11. Freemium The Freemium theme is a slickly-designed “premium” theme being given away for free thanks to the folks at FreebiesDock. Featuring two widget ready sidebars, a jQuery-based menu, 125×125 ad ready area and more, Freemium is a compelling design at a great “price.” 12. iBusiness A great theme or starting point for a more professional business presence, iBusiness is a modern theme designed to showcase the About section right up front with a prominent image and company blurb or motto. This two column layout is widget ready, SEO optimized and 125×125 banner ready. 13. Meganews Another great option for a magazine or news site, Meganews features a clean story-lead display in four columns plus a right-hand sidebar. It also supports an animated tag cloud and featured content slideshow. 14. Snapshot A great theme for shutterbugs and photoblogs, Snapshot from Woo Themes can also be put to use as a portfolio or design gallery. It also comes with three unique color schemes to choose from as well as options for switching between photoblog and portfolio use. Series supported by Rackspace  Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why. More WordPress Resources from Mashable:
Reviews: Google Chrome, Twitter, WordPress Tags: blogging, BLOGS, design, free, Lists, Web Development, web development series, Wordpress, wordpress themes
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| Now You Can IM Your Facebook Friends With AIM Posted: 10 Feb 2010 11:23 AM PST 
It was already possible to merge AIM’s Lifestream with Facebook’s News Feed — and with Twitter, too. But Facebook’s IM network has always been a bit unfriendly to outside connections. The Mac desktop app Adium supports Facebook, but with frequent disconnections and other issues. Web IM app Meebo has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the social network. It was one of the first to support Facebook, but when Facebook Connect went live, the network asked Meebo to rework its IM network connections around that new framework. The result was a Facebook outage on Meebo. The issue has since been rectified.  AIM uses Facebook Connect to integrate with Facebook IM, too. When you load up the beta for the first time, you’ll see an option just above your contacts to connect with Facebook. Do that and all your Facebook friends will appear in your AIM contact list. You can chat with them just like you can with your AIM buddies. We tried it, and it seemed to work well. It’s Neat, But…We’d still like to see Facebook’s IM network open up completely to third-party applications without any workarounds or hoops to jump through. We just spoke about Google Buzz’s lack of support for Facebook, and this is the same sort of issue. Whether we’re talking about instant message networks or web-based social networks, there are too many islands out there and it’s not easy enough to sail between them. The AIM/Facebook deal is an exciting one. We just wish it wasn’t necessary to begin with. Update: Shortly after we published, Facebook appears to have granted us our wish. The company announced on their blog that they’re opening up Chat to all IM clients. Reviews: Adium, Facebook, Meebo, Twitter, aim Tags: aim, aol, facebook, im, instant messenger
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| Facebook Mobile Now Has 100 Million Monthly Users Posted: 10 Feb 2010 11:09 AM PST 
The 100 million milestone was hit today, and is almost double the usage the mobile service was seeing just six months ago. The rapid acceleration of mobile usage can be attributed to the fact that smart phones — like the iPhone and Android devices — are ubiquitous and that mobile browsing has become a phenomenon of its own. Reviews: Android, iPhone
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| Yahoo Talks Search Strategy and the Microsoft Deal Posted: 10 Feb 2010 10:51 AM PST 
While the world’s second-largest search engine is slated to be sucked up by the Microsoft mothership later this year, the team hasn’t stopped developing new features for its product. On stage, SVP of Search Products Shashi Seth began to discuss Yahoo’s history of search and “misconceptions” of the Yahoo-Bing deal, and still went on about the subject even after the power went out throughout the Yahoo building. Specifically, Mr. Seth spoke about keeping users engaged with Yahoo search until the Bing deal came through (if it is approved, he specifically added). Here’s some of what of the Yahoo team spoke about: Details (More Updates to Come): - Did we mention that the power went out all across the Yahoo building? – Yahoo claims it is winning in the Affiliate market, especially in Asia. - The company is now speaking about how the engine you see on Yahoo won’t be the same as the one on Bing. - Yahoo speaks about search in terms of “The Web of Things,” a metaphor for finding and breaking down information all across the web. - There is a lot of touting of Yahoo’s innovations and search awards. Yahoo, Before and After Bing- Yahoo will have two core pieces on the search results page: search results and advertising. It used its demo to display its innovations and widgets in SERPs. - Yahoo’s now displaying a video touting its search engine. It’s mostly demoing features such as its music player, Yahoo Finance results, auto-suggest, video ads and new “Search Pad” feature, among many other things. - The point seems to be: “We’re a pretty damn good search engine, you can’t ignore us!” And in many respects, Yahoo is right. - Yahoo believes it must hit on three major areas of user experience: finding things faster, exploring what matters and getting things done. -  - Yahoo’s touts another feature: rich information in the search box. Stock quotes, movies or different apps in the Yahoo network. - Yahoo search “is more about discovery” than keywords and links, it stated. - Launched Today: new module discussing the Winter Olympics within Yahoo Search New Features- Time-based views: You can organize news information to show you just news articles published recently on a specific topic. It’s small but useful. - Celebrity view: Search for a celeb and you’ll soon find a module that shows the latest photos, news, and tweets about him. On the left-hand column will be related movies and related people. Nifty, actually. - New feature: a search module within Yahoo! Mail: If someone e-mails you and discusses Jay Leno or Tom Cruise, you’ll find information below your e-mail on those people, complete with videos and news. - Sketch-a-Search: Yahoo has revealed a new mobile product. Want to find a restaurant in a specific neighborhood? Sketch-a-Search lets you draw a boundary on a Google map and pull up just results in that area. Yahoo Search Advertising- Now David Pann, VP Search Advertising, is up speaking about that very subject. - Yahoo recently added enhancements to better align its advertising pricing algorithms. - Yahoo “understands its position in the marketplace.” Mr. Pann admitted that most advertisers optimize for Google campaigns. Yahoo’s goal is now to make it easy to “import” that campaign onto Yahoo’s platform with minimal fuss. - Yahoo has rich media ads. Essentially you can add video, sublinks, text boxes and other things in its advertising search results. Yahoo demonstrated Esurance advertising with a video from the Esurance girl. Reviews: Bing, Google Tags: bing, Yahoo, Yahoo Search
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| Posted: 10 Feb 2010 10:50 AM PST 
PicClick’s Etsy shop centers around visualization and displays images — filtered by category, best match, newly listed and oldest listings — based on search queries. You can also set price parameters to limit results, scroll infinitely and use a slider to increase image sizes for a bigger and brighter look at product results. As it stands, PicClick generates about $1 million in gross product sales per month for eBay and other sellers, so the integration of Etsy could prove to be a powerful sales tool for that site as well. Tags: Etsy, picclick, software
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| Love Stinks: 5 Parodies of Google’s Romantic Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 10:14 AM PST 
Well, you know the old adage: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The rampant success of the spot has touched off a series of parody remakes, many of which have to do with love gone wrong. And that makes sense, given that V-Day is just around the corner. Despite some bright spots in the realm of social media amour, the following videos just go to show that deep within each of us beats a heart not made of spun sugar and love, but rather iron ore and bitterness. Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! The OriginalFor the sake of comparison. The Pop Culture Pot ShotIt wouldn’t be a parody of love and romance without a little Tiger. Will this scandal never die? Google Commercial – Tiger Woods Parody – Watch more Funny Videos The Accidental PregnancyGoogle was kind of asking for it with that whole “how to assemble a crib” thing… The StalkerThis one taps into the inherent creepiness of Google stalking, which will only get worse once Buzz goes global. Love in the ADD EraWait, what am I doing? Oh yeah, writing a stor– Look! A squirrel! Google vs. YahooThis vid takes a long and winding road through Thailand that ends with one, overwhelming sentiment: Should have used Yahoo. Reviews: Google, Hulu Tags: Google, humor, MARKETING, pop culture, super bowl ad, viral video
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| Warner Music Plans to End Support for Free Streaming Posted: 10 Feb 2010 09:45 AM PST 
Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. said, “Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry” and the model “is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future.” Warner’s shift could be a big blow to some music-streaming services. Warner’s catalog includes artists REM, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Aretha Franklin, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, The Grateful Dead, Jay-Z, The Doobie Brothers, Freezepop, Garbage, Jimi Hendrix, Jet, Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Metallica, Morrissey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frank Sinatra and numerous others. Back in 2007, a DRM-free music e-tailer called AnywhereCD closed its doors mostly because it lost Warner Music Group content and couldn’t entice its users to keep coming back for more without those important artists. The timing is poor for streaming site Spotify if its deal with Warner is not renewed. The U.S. launch of European site is probably on the horizon, but without these artists the service could look less attractive to new American users. And the whole situation is a bit confusing; we recently saw reports that Spotify is paying out well to record labels. Reviews: Spotify, rem Tags: internet radio, Last.FM, music, spotify, warner music group
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| YouTube Adds “Safety Mode” to Keep Videos PG Posted: 10 Feb 2010 09:17 AM PST 
So what kind of videos does Safety Mode filter out? Think about things like news coverage of violent events. This content is within YouTube’s Community Guidelines, it might not be something that you (or your children) want to see. If you don’t have Safety Mode right now, don’t fret — YouTube says it is rolling it out to users throughout the day. We like that Safety Mode is opt-in, rather than something you have to seek to disable. It’s also nice that YouTube has decided to add more controls to the overall experience. Now if only they could create a safety mode for stupid comments… What do you think of Safety Mode? Reviews: YouTube Tags: safety mode, video, youtube
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| Visualizing 6 Years of Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 08:43 AM PST 
Facebook was launched on February 4, 2004 and has come a long way from a Harvard-only networking site in the intervening years. In fact, Facebook has undoubtedly become the world’s largest social network, with over 400 million users worldwide and more than 900 employees. Let’s take a closer look at what kinds of numbers and user activity this growth translates to. The following infographic explores Facebook’s growth over the past 6 years. Click for the full-size graphic.  Reviews: Facebook Tags: birthday, facebook, growth, infographic
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| Google Getting Into the ISP Business With Ultra High-Speed Network Posted: 10 Feb 2010 08:24 AM PST 
Google says it will be capable of delivering speeds more than 100x faster than typical U.S. Internet connections with up to one gigabit per second. It will do so at a “competitive” price. The next step in getting this potentially massive project off the ground appears to be teaming up with local governments – Google has launched this website and intros "Google Fiber for Communities" in the video below: Why is Google getting into the ISP business? Here’s the explanation:
Although it sounds like we’re still some time away from seeing Google’s fiber service available on a massive scale, this could represent a massive shift in the Internet ecosystem. Keep in mind that Google has also recently launched its own Public DNS service, as well as an alternative to HTTP that it calls SPDY. The company clearly thinks it can build a better Internet than the one we have today. If it’s successful, Google will not only know what we do on its plethora of services, but also just about everything else we do on the web (especially if Google becomes our ISP). Now, perhaps more than ever, the question of whether or not that’s too much power for one company to have is at the forefront. Update: Google tells us they “honestly have no plans to build a nationwide network” and offered us this statement: “our goal is to develop a trial network in one or more communities that reaches at least 50,000 people, which will enable experimentation to help make the Internet better and faster.” Reviews: Google
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| Twitter Is Still Growing Rapidly [STATS] Posted: 10 Feb 2010 07:23 AM PST 
Diving a bit deeper into the numbers, Royal Pingdom reports that tweet volume grew by 16x from January '09 to January '10. Over the past three months, tweet volume has grown steadily at around 17 percent. In other words, if tweet volume is the metric that matters, Twitter is still growing at a very healthy clip. Questions about Twitter's growth have stemmed from other publicly available analytics data that shows the site is seeing a flat-to-down number of unique visitors hit its website each month. That data though, as has often been pointed out, doesn't take into account those that use Twitter through third-party apps, both on the desktop and via mobile devices. Still, that's not to say that Twitter is adding users as fast as it once was. It could just be that the average Twitter user is tweeting more (Royal Pingdom doesn't offer data on this), not to mention the ever-growing number of automated bots that tweet. In any event, here’s what the tweet growth looks like:  Reviews: Twitter
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| Detroit Red Wings Make Game Programs Interactive With QR Codes Posted: 10 Feb 2010 07:05 AM PST 
After seeing Esquire’s use of augmented reality, the team decided to get creative and make their print program interactive (embedded below) to include digital media accessible via QR codes. The codes in question appear in the program and include a prominent call to action that reads, “Smartphone interactive, scan here.” A mobile device scan of the QR code brings up the following video for fans to watch instantly: Instead of letting fans figure out QR codes on their own (a rather complicated concept to people unfamiliar with the technology), the team got smart and put together an instructional video that now airs on the big screen during games. That video can be seen below:
We’ve seen plenty of impressive social media sports initiatives (especially around the Super Bowl), but this has got to be one of the most innovative approaches to driving home the connection between the team, its fans, online content and the in-game experience. Tags: detroit red wings, MARKETING, NHL, QR Codes, sports
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| Opera Wants to Bring Its Mobile Browser to iPhone Posted: 10 Feb 2010 06:42 AM PST 
Despite this, Opera has announced Opera Mini for the iPhone. At the official page, Opera sounds serious about it, treating it just like they would any other product launch. "This is a unique opportunity to introduce the fast, feature-rich Opera Mini experience for the iPhone, and to showcase our latest beta releases of Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on other platforms and devices. Opera's mission is to bring the Web to the world, and by making Opera Mini available on yet another platform, we are one step closer," says Jon von Tetzchner, Opera’s co-founder. The problem, however, is that this isn’t yet another product launch. As the folks at Opera themselves admit, “Opera Mini for iPhone is not publicly available,” and it’s quite possible that it never will be. Publicity stunt, a jab at Apple or a serious intention to compete with Safari on the iPhone sometime in the future? Time will tell. Still, Opera plans to unveil several interesting products at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which takes place in Barcelona from February 15 to 18. Visitors will be able to try out Opera Mobile 10 beta 3 on Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile handsets, Opera Mobile 10 beta running on Android handsets, Opera Mini 5 beta running on a variety of handsets and platforms, and finally, Opera's cross-platform Widgets Manager beta running on Windows Mobile and S60 handsets. Reviews: Android, Opera, Safari, Symbian S60, iPhone Tags: apple, iphone, opera, opera mini
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