Curated Stories September 2, 2010

Back in August, after the release of the company’s Android app, I spoke with GetGlue CEO Alex Iskold about how his startup prepared itself for making the move to mobile. The app first launched on the Web, and t…

People in Silicon Valley have focused on the set-top box as the lever to attack the cable industry. Cable boxes blow, but that’s a losing battle.
So why is Apple TV different? Because Steve Jobs has not just…

Alexander B. Howard is the Government 2.0 Washington Correspondent for O’Reilly Media, where he reports on technology, open government and online civics. He’ll be reporting live from the upcoming Gov2.0 Sum…

I’ll tell you one thing I know: the more you post, the more traffic you get.
It’s helpful if the stuff you post is worth something. I try hard to make that always the case. Others don’t try as hard, an…

Facebook is in the process of testing a new feature which lets you subscribe to all the actions of a specific user. In other words, you can receive notifications anytime a specific user takes an action on Face…

When I first start talking about this whole CwF+RtB thing, I tended to focus more on the “RtB — Reason to Buy” part of it, because I naturally assumed that was the big problem. After all, the big thing we kep…

I feel like all I’ve written about the past few weeks is Facebook’s need for a new social dynamic. Specifically, I want Facebook to break their social graph into two: those people who you are friends with,…

I don’t know if you remember the time when social media channels such as instant messaging and MySpace were for teenagers. The evolution of social media is now producing a demographic spread of users that p…

Skype announced today that the latest beta version of Skype 5.0 would up the ante in terms of group video chat, as well as introduce a more stable and sleeker experience for its Windows users.

When the company…

The Web. Open, democratic, leveling, freeing information from closed networks. The wisdom of the crowds. Or so it seems.
I originally came from the enterprise software world (for 10 years) and before that I…

We’ve compiled some stats on death on Facebook and thought we’d share them with you in our first of many infographics. While we typically try not to be morbid, there are some interesting findings, especial…

Now that Facebook has decided to one-up Foursquare and other location-based platforms I thought it might be useful to think about what Facebook Places means for a brand. By now any social media…

Lately, the discussion about texting has mostly focused on teenagers, who now often send hundreds of text messages per day. While voice calling is still the primary use of cell phones for adults, almost three q…

This week NPR presented a two-part piece on “Our Storied Lives.” The text of the story (part 1 and part 2), written by Jon Hamilton, engagingly juxtaposes a preview of an upcoming book by Antonio Damasio wi…

Ever wondered how screenwriters do their thing? Lots of people have, and there’s a whole genre of books out there devoted to helping up-and-comers understand the arcane art of movie-writing. Despite all the…

Analytics are now king. And they should be. (If you’re not already convinced, read Competing on Analytics, one of the best HBR articles I’ve ever read). It’s so much easier to collect and digest numbers on yo…

While introducing Ping, Apple’s new music-centric social network, CEOSteve Jobs mentioned that it would immediately reach a userbase of 160 million people in 23 countries. Sounds impressive, until you remembe…

The fictional character Jack Bauer of 24 was indispensable as an agent for the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). He ignored orders. He went off protocol. That didn’t matter, he was critical to the success…

by Patty Azzarello

How do you motivate people you can’t spend time with in person?
1. Virtual Team Building (literally)
I always did team building exercises when I had my team in a room together. But someho…

For all the to-do apps and reminder services out there, some people, at some times, just want to email things to themselves. To make that lo-fi reminder possib…

Search Marketing isn’t all that different than traditional marketing. And, just like the physical market, you have a plethora of vehicles from which to choose. Optimizing your efforts can get a little co…

A couple of weeks ago I took a look at some examples of how brands collect and leverage Tweeted feedback – which has a positive effect:

This creates favorable social media context around the brand (and thus…

Remember back in 2001, during the good old days (of the internet) when you could actually use Google Adwords as a means to drive quality traffic to your website, at an extremely low investment to the advertiser…

Developers are wasting no time building applications on top of the newly released API for Facebook Places. Earlier this week mobile game SCVNGR announced its integration and today it’s PlacePop.

The stated p…

The following post is part of a series on How to Silo Your Website. You should review, How to Silo Your Website the Masthead, How to Silo Your Website the Breadcrumb, How to Silo Your Website the Content. For…

Alexander Hotz is a freelance multimedia journalist and public radio junkie based in New York City. Currently he teaches digital media at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Follow Alex on Tw…

With a low $99 price point and syncing capabilities with Netflix, ABC, and Fox, Steve Jobs’ newly overhauled Apple TV is primed for parents, not geeks. Brian Ries on how the company is abandoning its early ad…

Yesterday Apple announced Ping, a network which many have suggested will replace MySpace and present a new competitor to Facebook. However Apple’s first shot at building a social network has many flaws. As…

It may not be the most socially acceptable way to check in, but Vlingo has created a way for Android app users to check in on Foursquare with their voices. It’s a speech-to-checkin feature that will save time…

Further examination of Apple’s new social network reveals more problems.
To review from last night’s post:
1. It’s awkward, at least, that it runs in iTunes and not a web browser. There’s no Back button…

We’ve just taken our first tour through Apple’s social network, Ping, and we must admit we’re impressed.
When we first heard about Ping we were skeptical. Who needs ANOTHER social network in their life? But aft…

Ping, Apple’s new social network, is the standout feature in iTunes 10, the most recent update to Apple’s music management application. Within Ping, you can find and follow your favorite bands and your friends…

Five years from now, will we look back on the dismal unemployment that we’re suffering on Labor Day 2010 and see this year as the good old days?

Within today’s official unemployment statistics hides the true c…

Heres an idea for your next performance review: Do what the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies do for their annual evaluation by the board of directors — write a self-assessment that helps guide the conversation….

Facebook, which neither makes nor sells anything physical, takes a big step towards creating a unified online currency by selling gift cards in Target that work for Zynga, PopCap and other 3rd party games.

Posted by Dennis SellersSecond Gear Software’s Elements 1.0 is a great idevice app for writers, especially considering the kludgey workaround you need to sync iWork docs between an iPad and a Mac.

So is Apple TV still only a hobby for Jobs and company? Because if it isn’t, then I’m missing something from yesterday’s presentation when the new iteration of Apple’s set-top device was unveiled. The n…

Excited about your new Facebook page but don’t know what’s next? What does a truly advanced company look like in social business? They can say yes to seven or more of these ten criteria.
We’ve been in…

WiseStamp Brings Your Email Signature to LifeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
On the spectrum of really big marketing tactics, the email signature isn’t terribly sexy, but this little touch can say a lo…

Just about every online retailer out there is looking for ways to utilize Facebook as a channel to enhance their online shopping experience and acquire more customers. Below are 5 useful tools that help retaile…

Copywriters: Want to make more money with case studies?
Then your stories HAVE to SELL.
Join me on Wednesday, September 8 at 9 PDT/12 EDT for a no-cost, one-hour teleclass:
For Case Study Copywriters: 8 Secre…

A response to Spencer Fry of Carbonmade, who recently posted a blog entry entitled: “Down With Social–Social is Immeasurable and a Waste of Time.”
Spencer, I agree to this extent: The phrase ‘Social M…

In my presentations I oftentimes reference a quote from Gartner which says the following:
“By 2010 more than half of companies that have established an online community will fail to manage it as an agent of c…

I honestly hadn’t heard much hubbub about the August 21 New York Times feature on the year’s biggest PR fiascoes (“In Case of Emergency: What Not to Do”), until I read last week’s editorial in PRWeek,…

Virtualization has not stripped Windows of its relevance, a Microsoft official said in response to VMware CEO Paul Maritz’s argument that operating systems are no longer the center of innovation in the IT world…

Hawking’s covered the end of the world, now hes examining the beginning—writing It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the u…

eldavojohn writes “A Michigan judge removed a juror after a Facebook comment and also fined her $250 and required her to write a five page paper about the constitutional right to a fair trial. The juror was ‘ve…

This morning when I woke-up, I found a huge brouhaha around Ping and Facebook. Apparently, these two aren’t BFFs anymore. There was some talk earlier that Facebook and Apple were working closely on a version…

Most of the time, particulary in b2b and luxury sales, the competition is nothing.
“I will buy this treat or I will buy nothing, because I don’t really need anything.”
“I will buy your consulting services, or…

Part of the new iTunes 10 software, announced and launched yesterday, is a significant new social networking feature for iTunes called Ping. It allows you to comment on music, ‘like’ it a la Facebook, or rate i…

Are you the sort who likes to dabble in languages? Who practices the learn-by-doing technique? Who believes that “la pluma es lengua del alma”?If so, you’ll enjoy hours of neuron-growing fun at the Polygl…

by Dennis GraceSo, you have to go to the hospital. You’ve had an accident and the doctor wants to keep an eye on you for a few days. Maybe you need major surgery. Whatever the reason for the stay, a lot a…

It’s back-to-school week… what are you planning on learning this year?

The other morning, I watched the pitter-patter of feet drag their way back to school. The brand-new schoolbags scratched by the pavement…

Is your boss still skeptical about social media? Are you looking for creative ideas for social media executions? Do you have a sense of what you’re looking to achieve? This post is for you. Last week we talked…

Aaron Goldman is an accomplished digital marketer that I know through MediaPost’s Search Insider Summit conference. He reached out to me while writing his new book, “Everything I Know About Marketing I Lea…

AFP – Competition to Apple’s highly successful iPad hotted up on Thursday as Samsung and Toshiba unveiled rival tablet PCs that they hope will steal some of the Californian giant’s thunder.

A couple months back, we discussed the growing trend of some content creators to require some sort of promotion in exchange for “free” content — such as “tweet about our album and you can download a song.” Ap…

Right now, many of you are likely downloading iTunes 10, the latest version of Apple’s media software. The most notable feature in this new version is Ping, Apple’s first stab at building a music social ne…

It’s always really interesting talking with readers about writing. Their questions are always really different from writers’ questions. In the past I’ve never noticed much similarity in the questions I…

Are you addicted to Twitter? Do you have an iPad? Even if the answer to both is “no” right now, after you see Twitter for iPad, those answers are going to change — quickly.
Yes, the wait is over. Launchin…

…as far as I can tell, they in fact don’t ever meet. You can’t leverage your networks on Facebook and Twitter in Ping. It’s another closed Apple system, another Apple universe in a gilded gift box.
It’s not…

Twitter has just announced the service’s official iPad app.It’s free and comes with a slew of touch interface bells and whistles built right in. The app is intended to allow for seamless navigation between…

This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.This is not your father’s world wide web. Thanks to soaring smartphone sales, new tab…

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has called the iPhone and iPod touch platforms “the number one portable game players” on the market, boasting that “the iPod touch outsells Nintendo and Sony’s portable game player…

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for…

It still amazes me when lawsuits actually get filed against sites for things that people write in the comments. Section 230 case law is really well established on this, and you would think lawyers would know b…

Of all topics, this is one of the perennials. People want more traffic, more attention, more awareness to their blog. It’s fair. We work hard on our blogs. We want more attention and traffic. If your busine…

Last year, I started a blog on social archiving – about creating physical archives of digital memories. I’m still fascinated by that, but also wanted to revise again how I could archive in one spot (if po…

Twitter sent out a very strange email to all of its users over night about a few important changes the company is making, including the switch to OAuth that broke many users’ third party Twitter apps yesterday….

Apple made a lot of announcements today, from the new Apple TV to the Ping social network for music built into iTunes 10.Because Apple is entering some new market segments (or, in the case of Ping, some new mar…

While traditional media spends most of their time dissing social media (it is a competitor after all), traditional agencies find social media a rich source for client campaigns. This post takes…

Twitter has just released a new official version of its app for the iPad (iTunes link), and it looks like a strong competitor for Tweetdeck.
I’ve been trying out the new app which, according to the Twitter b…

After reading Chris Brogan’s 50 Power Twitter Tips I started really thinking about how people are using Twitter. The tips are insightful and should be read by everyone who using, thinking a…

TweetConnectivitySocial media brings me closer to people with whom I ordinarily would seldom interact. Family, friends, colleagues. As my co-author Amber Naslund put it once “with social media, my relationshi…

Web analytics is still a missing art in many businesses, not just retail. Analytics is the last station on the investment train ride and is often compromised to pump more money into direct revenue generating…

Apple’s social network for music, Ping, is like an amalgam of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. But the point is to sell more music.

The company said it wanted to keep better track of teachers who were new or who had departed and use more methods of communication.

Remember when you couldn’t figure out where July went? Well, now it’s September.

Summer is indeed coming to a close, but to help soften the blow, ReadWriteWeb has compiled a list of four essential technolog…

I am a huge fan of Om Malik. I just read his post on Apple’s Ping service, and have a difference of opinion. Om points out that it’s great that Apple is finally adding a social layer to their iTunes store….

Facebook has become the social media channel everyone loves and loves to hate. It is a powerful platform to share your content as well as being a soapbox to post your feelings and thoughts whether they are appr…

That online display advertising growth so many digital marketers have been anticipating may be arriving a little early. According to a new report from Rubicon Project, digital ad spending grew 47% during the fi…

Google Apps users got a step closer to full Google-personhood this week, as the company sent invitations to select users to test out a version of Google Apps that includes all the features regular Google users…

Yesterday, Yelp ran its first daily deal in San Fancisco, and it killed.
Yelp’s first deal was for a massage in San Francisco, which are relatively common in the daily deal space — a $110 massage for $49 f…

Apple is well known for applying their corporate (of Steve Jobs’) morality upon anything that happens within their sphere of influence. We have seen this happen more than a few time when it comes to apps but…

As expected, a massive upgrade to the iPod touch was announced earlier today at Apple’s special event. Although the most outwardly impressive revisions come by way of front and rear facing cameras and the ret…

Some people use their email for everything — storing files, emailing notes to themselves, etc. If you fit that description, you should check out Notes for Later. It’s a simple free service that’s useful f…