Curated Stories July 12, 2010

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.While virtual business cards are be…

3Crowd, a startup that provides management tools for cloud-based services, is announcing the public availability of its platform, CrowdDirector.

Founded by BitGravity co-founder Barrett Lyon, 3Crowd’s managem…

Google made a big move today, announcing a new tool called “App Inventor” that, in theory, will allow normal people without programming experience to make simple apps for Android phones.
Most people obviously w…

Reader Joe Bezdek writes:

Hi Matt.

I recently listened to the podcast episode about REWORK (I’m a bit
behind) and I noted that you were the person who initially reviewed
all the previously published 3…

For more than 25 years, pioneer psychologist and seeker Carl Jung’s Red Book was hidden away inside a Swiss bank vault. A huge gorgeous volume bound in red leather, also known as Liber Novus (The New Book),…

Google has announced the pending availability of App Inventor, a visual development software for the Android platform. Depending on your perspective, Android is the most or second most exciting mobile operatin…

A new study from Trend Micro shows that more workers around the globe are using social networks while in the office and on the clock.The survey took a look at the habits of 1,600 Internet users from the U.S., U…

Google-backed Foursquare-rival SCVNGR just partnered with the Boston Globe and Boston.comJoin the conversation about this story »

When I first saw the headline for this story my first reaction was to check my calendar to see if we had skipped the better part of a year or something. This has to be some form of early April Fool’s joke ri…

Popular stream reader TweetDeck turned two on July 4th, and founder Iain Dodsworth just put up a post giving an update on the company’s progress. Tweetdeck now employs 15 people and recently raised more tha…

When Facebook announced their “Like” button back in April, we wondered if GetGlue — an app that lets you show affinity and expertise for pages all over the Internet and includes Foursquare-like badges and…

Any power user or RSS lover that reads a lot of Mac-centric blogs may have heard of Instapaper which is most easily defined as “A simple tool to save web pages for reading later.” After only four days, I’…

Apple has posted a note to its support website which details how to deal with FaceTime behind firewalls. Firewalls are usually present in schools, business, and ultra secure households.
Here’s Apple’s instruc…

By Cara Brooke Schultz Social media can be defined as “activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media…

In an attempt to make it easier for dissidents in countries such as China and North Korea to communicate without fear of government sanctions, researchers at Georgia Tech have developed software that can hide…

I often run across early stage companies in a real quandary about how much money to take in their first round of funding.
That is, the round just beyond the Ramen noodle eating, avoid starvation round that is u…

Last year, an Annenberg-Berkeley survey entitled “Americans Reject Tailored Advertising” published to considerable attention. It, and similar studies, found consumer harbor aversions to behaviorally targeted…

by Aldebra Schroll, MD
As the oil continues to pour into the gulf from the BP oil rig, we are witnessing not only an environmental disaster but a potential health crisis too.
It is not just the…

Frank Barry, professional services manager at Blackbaud and blogger at NetWits ThinkTank, helps non-profits use the Internet for digital communication, social media, and fundraising so they can focus on making…

The blogosphere has been abuzz with word that Google may be developing a social network after Digg CEO Kevin Rose tweeted a few weeks ago that he’d heard a “huge rumor” that Google was planning to launch…

“When Networking Events Feel Like A Drag” talks about the power of face-to-face contact for small businesses. The piece recommends using Highrise to keep track of your contacts.

Networking is about building a…

Legendary underground comic writer Harvey Pekar died today. He was 70-years-old. Pekar’s seminal autobiographical comic book series, American Splendor, will forever embody the genius and influence he brought t…

You have probably heard Hans Rosling’s presentations on world population using the cool Gapminder software before. In his latest presentation — his sixth for TED — he mixes in some analog technique as well….

The Hufffington Post has grown extraordinarily since its launch five years ago. The news site/aggregator has more than 12 million monthly unique visitors, should be profitable this year, and is on track to surp…

Warsaw, Poland – Sid-On, a leading maker of children’s and productivity apps, today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Share Board 1.0 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Shar…

Despite all the cool productivity porn modern technology has birthed, the Holy Grail for me is simple: I want to create and edit plain text from anywhere (desk…

As we prepare to roll out our upgraded statistics tools, we’re taking a look at some of the fastest growing Facebook Pages over the past week. While there are extremely popular pages that are gaining million…

It looks like Google’s Place Pages are moving into the limelight today, as they have begun appearing in a prominent position at the top of Google search results.

Mike Blumenthal first reported the pages appea…

Harvey Pekar, creator of the American Splendor comic, has been found dead in his home.
Police responded to a call from Pekar’s wife at around 1am, and found his body “between a bed and a dresser.” Pekar�…

In the last two years, $40 billion worth of loans to small business loans have evaporated, and correcting the problem should be “front and center among our current policy challenges,” said Ben Bernanke, Chairma…

Design Observer has a slideshow of Michael Zinman’s unusual collection: signs he has purchased from panhandlers.

I did engage with all the individuals I purchased signs from, and quite often, my offer of purch…

The VC industry is starting to shrink with some rapidity, according to data released today by National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Thomson Reuters. The trend, which first started in 2008, has only ac…

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourse…

I learned of Barry Poltermann when I came across his company, About Face Media, the tagline of which is “Let’s tell your stories.” I’m delighted that Barry responded to the maximum number of questions…

At its Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, D.C., Microsoft isn’t just “hardcore” about tablets, the company is also ramping up its cloud computing efforts and has announced that eBay will be one o…

An over-watered lawn can lead to fungus and other problems and an under-watered lawn leads to burnout and looks horrible. Check your lawn’s water needs with a…

There’s something surprisingly tragic about Apple’s latest touching, brilliant commercials for the iPhone 4’s FaceTime. At the end of each of these commercials — the first four below are vignettes about…

I think Google’s App Inventor tool that enables anyone to program an Android app could be profound. But then, I thought Buzz was a big deal, so what the hell do I know?

Is it possible that the App Inventor…

(This is the second of a five-part series about SEO for hyperlocal blogs/web sites. Future editions will be published on the next three Mondays.)
One of the common mistakes business owners make is waiting until…

Building links is still a big topic with SEOs and site owners alike and we’re all a bit fed up with trying to get reciprocal links. While it may be more fun, using social media channels to build links take…

After initially saying that the iPhone 4′s reception issues were no big deal, Consumer Reports has changed its tune, recognizing that the software fix won’t he…

Jing is great for quick informal sharing of images and videos. However, TechSmith also offers Camtasia for Mac and Camtasia Studio for Windows. Camtasia packs in all kinds of recording, editing and producing…

Once a foreign concept, digital art can now be seen in galleries, shops, and even the cover of the New Yorker.While artists have had access to computer-based tools for years, we’ve also collected some resourc…

Barnes Noble has developed NOOKstudy, a free (as in beer) software suite that could make the average college student’s life a little easier. The software, which will be available for the PC and Mac, gives st…

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I’m not shy about voicing my opinions. Yes, I will complain when something is not up to par, especially service. In my mind, it’s the easiest to fix, because all i…

A couple of months ago I read a BMJ editorial by Rhona Flin, Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, in which she argued that experiencing or witnessing rudeness at work makes you more li…

According to a study at Sun Microsystems, mentees were promoted five times more often than those without a mentor. Eighty-eight percent of respondents to a Center for Creative Leadership survey believe that hav…

Everyone is going nuts about the latest Apple iPhone ads, which feature normal people using FaceTime video chat to laugh and cry together.
As far as we’re concerned, the jury is still out on whether Apple’s new…

Location-based social network Gowalla is teaming up with CNNMoney for Money magazine’s annual “Best Places To Live” list. The top towns on the list have their own Gowalla hot spots, which are linked to…

Your bottom line is bottoming out. Your customers are looking elsewhere. Your well of new ideas has run dry. What can you do?
You could turn to your accountant for money-saving schemes, or hir…

During its annual Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft introduced (a limited production release of) the Windows Azure platform appliance, the company’s cloud services platform for deployment in customer and…

This morning there’s news of an end-user app development tool from Google.
I’m from Missouri when it comes to these things.
This idea of a once-and-for-all development tool is like the Divining Rod of…

Macs try to be good and warn you about opening program files that just came off the internet. For those who download a lot, or for files that get stuck with th…

Microsoft is selling a box that allows you to use its Azure cloud-computing software in your own data center. eBay will test it first.Join the conversation about this story »

Were gearing up to write a lot of research about mobile marketing (and mobile content, and mobile commerce) in the next few months — and wed love your help in benchmarking the state of the industry. No matte…

When planning a social media campaign, inevitably the
question of measurement will arise. Now that we’re realising that follow counts
aren’t the be all and end all, ROI in social media has become an increasin…

As a longtime customer of PRWeb, I’ve seen many changes over the years. The oldest optimized press release I could find of mine that’s still online dates back to mid 2001 and in the years since, it’s been…

Kevin Kelly argues that the most important breakthrough in the history of mankind was the invention of language.Before language, we were wild animals. After language, humans as a species took a huge leap forwar…

The bar for customer service is admittedly still not very high across the board. In many, if not most cases, it’s because of business issues that keep an organization from focusing on the product or service…

I met Jacob Morgan for the first time (in person) when he spoke at the PRSA T3PR Conference in June. I was impressed with his presentation on social CRM. For those of you who don’t know Jacob, he is a tho…

Hybrid Theory |ˈhīˌbrid thee-uh-ree |: The fusion of creative and communications, combining earned and paid media to enliven ideas, unite communities, amplify stories and spark desired outcomes.
Part One of…

Just rediscovered this wonderful piece of text in my file marked “Bad Writing”. If I recall correctly, it’s from a magazine that my local council sent to all the residents in the borough.

“Better infor…

Wondering what apps to install on your iPad? Here are 50 of the apps I’ve installed on mine.
Take a look, and add to the list in the comments.
Business/Productivity

Pages – Word processor….

LeBron James’s choice to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat is a major personal branding catastrophe. Not just because he’s leaving the place where he grew up, but because he…

This might seem like a silly question but is it ok to use a news story for the basis of a novel? The story in question is about 3 particular non-celebrity teenagers. I’m fascinated by what happened and would li…

Whatever the size of your business, there are several pitfalls we all face when putting together a marketing strategy and sticking to it.
These include daily tasks, too much research to do, the temptation to he…

Noise is a common complaint about social media. We often say there is too much worthless chatter. When we say this, we’re complaining about content. It’s of no value to us; it’s all noise. For people like…

Everyone wants a good start to their week, right?
We’ve scoured the world to find seven inspirational thoughts, quotes and ideas to help you get your week to a good start. Here they are!
B…

Ars Technica’s Nate Anderson reports on questions to the FCC from US Senators who wonder if our National Broadband Plan involves a willingness to be a decade behind the most progressive countries when it come…

It’s been about 90 days since the f8 Facebook Conference and the debut of OpenGraph, a platform consisting of publisher plugins, semantic markup and a developer API. Every new vehicle needs time for a shakedown…

Lately, group-buying sites and other companies that use discount-deals as the core of their business have become a red-hot trend, with Groupon spreading through cities around the world at a frantic pace and cou…

Several days ago we wrote that Twitter’s analytics team was about to launch a new project. Twitter VP of Communications Sean Garrett denied there was anything earth-shaking going on.

“I wish we were launching…

Google is launching a new tool on Monday that lets anyone create an app for Android phones.Google App Inventor claims to enable non-coders to develop complete, working Android apps by connecting a series of “…

When you first look at Google App Inventor for Android, it may not look like much. That is to say, it’s ugly. But as with many Google services, beneath a layer of homeliness, there appears to be much more und…

Life on the web is full of search terms and human filtering. Even good results often require some effort to determine which has the information we seek. There are several services attempting to help with this p…

Got an idea for a smartphone app? If you’ve got an Android phone you might be able to build it yourself, thanks to App Inventor for Android, a new Google Labs program for Windows, OS X, and Linux that’s de…

It’s inevitable. If you are successful as a blogger, people are going to steal your content. You’ll wake up one morning to a Google Alert, notifying you that your name was mentioned on another blog.

Photo…

Regardless of the line of business you’re in, you’re bound to run into a few customers who will put your patience and communication skills to test. Some need you to spend more time explaini…

Let’s have some fun with my buns. Cinnamon buns, that is.
One of the myths we recently discussed on {grow} was the claim that every business needs to use social media in its marketing strategy.
So what de…

I saw an interesting post in a forum the other day – the original poster was complaining that one of his suppliers hadn’t been able to complete his work, but was blogging every day, was pos…