Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Twitter Acquires Mobile Security Firm Whisper Systems” |
- Twitter Acquires Mobile Security Firm Whisper Systems
- Apple Founding Documents Up for Auction
- 10 NBA Twitter Accounts to Watch as Lockout Ends
- Add Panoramic Photo Tours To Any Website With TourWrist
- Britney Spears Is Google+’s Most-Followed User
- Cyber Monday Shoppers: Beware of UPS Shipping Email Scam [VIDEO]
- 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART]
- Tablet Owners Define New Category of Shoppers [INFOGRAPHIC]
- This Is Thriller: What Chilean Students Can Teach the Occupy Movement
- Facebook Will IPO as Early as April 2012 [REPORT]
- Cyber Monday Sales Up 15% So Far Today
- Woman’s First Webcam Experience Turns Into a Giggle Fest [VIDEO]
- Google Music’s Cyber Monday Deal: $1.99 Albums
- 15 Fantastic Cyber Monday Deals at Best Buy
- The Economist’s Profits Increase as Digital-Only Subscriptions Top 100,000
- Scam Targets Angry Birds Fans on Android Market [VIDEO]
- Bieber Beats Kim Kardashian as Most Searched Person of 2011
- Google+ Launches Guide for Politicians and Candidates
- Do Opt-In Lists Really Perform Better Than Opt-Out?
- New Kinect Will Read Lips and Know if You’re Sad [RUMOR]
- Follow the Leaders: A New Who’s Who in Foreign Policy on Twitter
- Apple iPhone 4 Self-Combusts on Australian Flight
- StyleCaster Media Group Raises $1 Million as it Nears Profitability
- Virgin America Lets You Rent and Name a Plane for $60,000 [VIDEO]
- 8 Top Apps and Services for Streaming Your Favorite Movies
- Violent Video Games Disrupt Emotion and Cognition in Young Men
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up Your Corporation or LLC
- Female Online Gamers Have More Sex [INFOGRAPHIC]
- 10 Must-Have iPhone 4S Accessories This Holiday Season
- The Evolution of Google Search in Six Minutes [VIDEO]
| Twitter Acquires Mobile Security Firm Whisper Systems Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:17 AM PST      Twitter has acquired mobile security company Whisper Systems for an undisclosed amount, both companies have confirmed. Whisper Systems’ portfolio includes services such as Flashback, which offers encrypted backups for Android devices, and RedPhone, which provides end-to-end encryption for calls made on Android devices. “We’re looking forward to bringing our technology and our expertise into Twitter’s products and services,” says Whisper Systems’ dev team in a blog post, adding that some services will be interrupted as the company transitions into a part of Twitter. Whisper Systems is a small company, consisting only of two employees: security experts Moxie Marlinspike and Stuart Anderson. Marlinspike is the author of several well-known cyber security tools, including SSLstrip and wpacracker. It’s unclear what, exactly, Twitter plans to do with Whisper Systems, but it’s not too far-fetched to imagine Twitter offering a service with an added layer of security to enterprise users. In any case, having a top-notch security expert such as Marlinspike will surely benefit Twitter, which has had its share of security issues in the past. More About: acquisition, mobile security, security, Twitter, Whisper Systems For more Business coverage:
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| Apple Founding Documents Up for Auction Posted: 29 Nov 2011 02:23 AM PST   The original founding documents of Apple Computer Company from 1976 are up for auction at Sotheby’s, for an estimated $100,000 to $150,000. The papers include two typed documents signed by “Stephen G. Wozniak”, “steven p. jobs”, together with amendments. The buyer will also receive a Statement of Withdrawal signed by “Ronald G. Wayne,” a paper that documents Wayne relinquishing his 10% stake in the company for $800. Wayne later received an additional $1,500, but it’s still a bad deal, given that Apple is now worth some $350 billion. [via 9to5 Mac] More About: apple, auction, founding documents, trending For more Business coverage:
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| 10 NBA Twitter Accounts to Watch as Lockout Ends Posted: 28 Nov 2011 07:44 PM PST Basketball fans around the world rejoiced following the news this weekend that a National Basketball Association labor agreement appears imminent, with a shortened season likely to begin Christmas Day. Here are 10 must-follow Twitter accounts to keep basketball-starved NBA fans entertained through the final labor negotiations and into the new season. Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments. @TrueHoop   Curated primarily by Henry Abbot, ESPN's top basketball blog is a collection of original writing, links and partner content from around the web. The Twitter feed lets you quickly preview what you might want to read. Click here to view this gallery. More About: NBA, Social Media, sports, trending For more Social Media coverage:
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| Add Panoramic Photo Tours To Any Website With TourWrist Posted: 28 Nov 2011 07:10 PM PST   The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Quick Pitch: TourWrist turns panoramic photos into virtual tours that are easy to embed on websites. Genius Idea: Making the virtual tour an accessible marketing tool. While 73% of homeowners say they’re more likely to use a realtor who offers to make a video, just 12% of real estate professionals have YouTube accounts. “What that says to me is that there's a divide between consumer demand for a more comprehensive picture of the places that they're paying for and the tools that marketers have to provide it,” says Charles Armstrong, the CEO of TourWrist. TourWrist aims to make adding comprehensive visual tours of any space easy for tourism, real estate and other businesses. The company’s website and iPhone app allow consumers to browse through collections, or “tours,” of panoramic photos that they can spin, zoom and drag in any direction. The tours are embeddable, so marketers can add them to their websites in the same way that they’d add a YouTube video.
TourWrist has attracted panoramic photographers by focusing more on distribution — a browser-friendly interface and tour format — while other apps on creating the image. Since the startup launched in January, photographers have used a third-party panoramic image tool to create the photos they upload to TourWrist, but Armstrong says TourWrist will add its own image creator in December. Its own image creation tool could help make the platform appealing to not just professionals and marketers, but also anybody visiting a space — and that could result in a more honest view of the places people pay for. As Armstrong puts it: “The average marketing person is getting pretty good at taking a picture of a room with a wide angle lens and making a dingy two-star hotel look like a five-star Ritz-Carlton,” The bootstrapped startup isn’t bringing in any revenue, despite having as many as 20,000 people download its free app in a week and counting organizations such as ReMax and the University of Florida among its users. Next year, it will add advertising and begin offering an ad-free premium service with additional interactive features. While Google and Bing have both made moves toward providing panoramic views of businesses, Armstrong is betting that businesses and consumers will embrace the opportunity to show off their surroundings themselves if it can be done in a way that doesn’t seem to require computer scientists. “We've made it easy to do something that frankly we think should have been easy to do before,” he says.  Image courtesy of MarketMeSuite, MarketMeSuite Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark  The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today. More About: bizspark, photography, tourwrist For more Business coverage:
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| Britney Spears Is Google+’s Most-Followed User Posted: 28 Nov 2011 06:25 PM PST   Ahead of her early 30th birthday this week, Britney Spears has recently dethroned Google CEO Larry Page as Google+’s most-followed person. Roughly 775,000 people follow the pop star’s Google+ account. In comparison, 15.4 million fans “Like” her Facebook page and 11.4 million followers monitor her Twitter activity. Google+ was once dominated by techies and the usual early adopters but has been attracting big-name celebrities and brands, who regularly post and incite heavy engagement. Three of the top five most-circled users, for example, are Spears, Snoop Dogg and Tyra Banks, according to Social Statistics.  Rounding out the top five is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who doesn’t have any public posts The pattern of music makers accumulating large fan bases on social networks appears to steadily be spilling over into Google+. Twitter users helped Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Spears secure the most followers on the popular microblogging site. Musicians on Facebook have experienced similar growth on their fan pages and recently on their personal pages thanks to Facebook’s Subscribe button. BritneySpears.com features a gigantic Google+ icon, which likely contributed to her building the service’s biggest following. Google unveiled Google+ as an invite-only beta social network in June, eventually opened it to the masses in September and now has north of 40 million users. Bonus: The Coolest Google+ Profile Photo Hacks1. Brian Rose We'd expect the Google+ photos community manager to know his way round the new service, but we still can't help be impressed with his clever and creative concept. Click here to view this gallery. More About: britney spears, celebrities, Entertainment, Google, Music, Social Media
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| Cyber Monday Shoppers: Beware of UPS Shipping Email Scam [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:44 PM PST Scammers are using Cyber Monday to try and spread malware through malicious emails. The scam involves emails that appear to be from UPS, telling the recipient that a package they sent has not been delivered and inviting them to click a “track package” link. Those links, of course, direct unsuspecting Web users to infected sites. Learn more about the scam and how to avoid it in the video above. More About: cyber monday, online shopping, security
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| 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:33 PM PST Which program created the most social media buzz this past week? As we’ve seen in charts past, social television participants tend to gravitate toward singular, news-making broadcasts. Before, it was awards shows — this week, Trendrr’s social TV chart gets political. CNN’s Republican National Security debate last Tuesday spawned educated chatter throughout the social air waves. Also, The X Factor climbed up one spot to number-one in in the broadcast category, while the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ran the middle-road at number six. Finally, scroll down to the bottom of the chart for a nostalgic dose of Nickelodeon. Hey Arnold! The data below is compliments of our friends at Trendrr, who measure specific TV show activity (mentions, likes, checkins) across Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso. To see daily rankings, check out Trendrr.TV   Image courtesy of iStockphoto, narvikk More About: features, Social Media, social tv, social tv charts, Trendrr, TV For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Tablet Owners Define New Category of Shoppers [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST The increasing number of tablet owners in the U.S. is changing the way people shop from in-store to online — 20% of all mobile ecommerce sales now come from tablets and 60% of tablet owners have purchased goods using a tablet. Tablet users spend an average of one hour and 35 minutes on their devices and typically spend 10-20% more on purchases than shoppers without tablets. By 2016, mobile commerce is expected to increase to $31 billion in the U.S. – a tremendous jump from only $3 billion in 2010. Since tapping away on a tablet in the comfort of your home helps beat long lines and crowded department stores, it’s no surprise that tablet owners are willing to spend more time and money shopping online. Check out the infographic below to see how tablets are directly affecting ecommerce in the U.S., a trend that is expected to continue for the next five years. Do you shop online more from a tablet than other devices?   Infographic by Vertic More About: ecommerce, infographic, online shopping, Tablet For more Mobile coverage:
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| This Is Thriller: What Chilean Students Can Teach the Occupy Movement Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:16 PM PST Here’s a new tactic for Occupy Wall Street protesters to consider: dressing up as zombies for a mass performance of “Thriller”. That’s what thousands of members of Chile’s growing student protest movement did in June, gathering for a Michael Jackson-inspired flash mob outside the home of President Sebastian Pinera. Videos of the performance have gone viral in Chile, with multiple YouTube posts gaining tens of thousands of views each. It’s hardly the first time an international Thriller tribute video has hit YouTube; the most notable was created by prison inmates in the Philippines in 2008. But this may be the first example that was linked to a specific protest. Chilean students, upset over the fees charged by their country’s largely privatized school system, are leveraging social media in a unique way, according to Katie Manning, a reporter for a group of online newspapers in Chile called Mi Voz. Chilean students are “pushing beyond the social-networking boundaries established by other global protests,” Manning writes Monday on Wired. When protesters occupied the Chilean Senate building last month, urging a national vote on education issues, they livestreamed the sit-in via YouTube, as well as a service called TwitCasting.tv, offering a more complete picture than the quick clips typically shown on local television networks. Students have turned to social media as not just an organizing tool, but a way to tell their stories “without the censorship that occurs in traditional media,” says one activist. Social media is extremely popular in Chile, according to the research firm comScore. Chilean student protesters have launched an English-only Twitter account to better communicate with reporters, sympathizers and observers around the globe. While the mass “Thriller” performance may have generated the most buzz so far, even that moment came with some calculated serious undertones, according to one student quoted at the time. “Public education is dying, so we took this Michael Jackson creation and we united to this movement that is dying, the zombies,” he said. “At its heart, that’s what it is. And behind each zombie, there’s a family. This has much deeper meaning.” So allegorical zombies going viral on YouTube — that may be a page the Internet-savvy Occupy movement can take from the Chilean students’ playbook. What do you think about Chile’s use of social media? Is it really much different from that of Occupy protesters and other global movements in Greece, Spain, Libya and elsewhere? And could “Thriller”-themed protests catch on worldwide? More About: chile, Occupy Wall Street, Social Media, thriller, Twitter, zombies
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| Facebook Will IPO as Early as April 2012 [REPORT] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 03:42 PM PST   Facebook will make its long-anticipated move to go public between April and June 2012, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Monday. The report, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” says that Facebook is considering raising $10 billion in an IPO that could value it at more than $100 billion. This is consistent with a report in June that used the same eye-popping number of zeros to describe Facebook’s expected valuation. If realized, the valuation would make Facebook’s IPO one of the largest in history — more than four times as big as Google’s $23 billion IPO in 2004, and likely one of the 10 largest IPOs of all time. While the first rumors of Facebook’s impending IPO predicted that the company would go public during the first quarter of 2012, recent reports had suggested that the offering had been pushed back to “September or later.” The Wall Street Journal‘s sources cautioned that Facebook has not made any final decisions in its internal discussions about the timing of its filing — and that market conditions will ultimately determine how much money the company seeks and the value of the company. Mashable has contacted Facebook for comment and will update this article with any additional information.
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| Cyber Monday Sales Up 15% So Far Today Posted: 28 Nov 2011 03:34 PM PST   Total online sales were up 15% for the first half of Cyber Monday as consumers snatched up discounts at thousands of online retailers worldwide, according to IBM. That’s promising — particularly given that Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion in the U.S. last year, and many consumers already shelled out record amounts of cash online this Black Friday. What’s interesting about this Cyber Monday is the number of people turning to their mobile devices to make purchases. According to IBM, 7.37% of online purchases took place on a mobile device during the first half of Monday, a figure that is expected to pick up later in the day after consumers leave their work computers. PayPal also reported strong mobile payment numbers for the first half of Monday, up 516% in volume year-over-year. If you’re shopping online this Monday, you may want to check out these deals we’ve rounded up from Amazon, Best Buy and Target. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter More About: cyber monday, Holidays 2011, shopping For more Business coverage:
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| Woman’s First Webcam Experience Turns Into a Giggle Fest [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 03:02 PM PST
Webcams, amirite? Here’s a totally refreshing, embarrassingly honest video about one woman’s first brush with a webcam. If you can make it past about a minute and a half of infectious giggling and merriment you find out the video was taken to send love to Lisa’s family. The actual meat of the message is standard fare — she needs to feed the cats, clean up, watch Dancing with the Stars — but the real point is capturing that moment when we were first charmed by tech. Lisa spends most of the video trying to wish “Mesha” but inevitably breaks down into fits or marvels at how weird it is when she turns her head. Simple joys, but who hasn’t been there. The real highlight comes later in the four-minute run time when she discovers you can add clip art to a webcast and then promptly cycles through themes. We have to give props to Mesha for not only recognizing the comedic/sweet potential of the message, which was posted to her Facebook profile. Also, a tip of the hat to Mesha for MacGyver-ing what looks like an iPhone stand to film the video off-screen. Have you tried to get your older relatives to use a webcam? Share your stories in the comments below. More About: Video, viral, viral-video-of-the-day, webcam
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| Google Music’s Cyber Monday Deal: $1.99 Albums Posted: 28 Nov 2011 02:35 PM PST   Google Music has just slashed prices for popular albums to the tune of $1.99. Like many companies on Cyber Monday, Google is working to sway consumers into opening their virtual pocketbooks — although this is its recently-launched music service’s first foray into holiday discounts. Google Music’s $1.99 promotion applies to fresh albums from Coldplay, Rihanna, Drake, Justin Bieber, David Guetta, Mary J. Blige, LMFAO, Florence and the Machine, Lady Antebullum and other artists. The deal also includes A Very Gaga Holiday, which features songs from Lady Gaga’s A Very Gaga Thanksgiving TV special. The music store and cloud storage service, which left beta and went live Nov. 16, is similar to Amazon Cloud Player and iTunes Match in that it lets users purchase and upload other files to the cloud. Amazon reduced prices on Cyber Monday to as low as $4.99 per album. Cloud music services in the past have offered steep sales to bring in more users. In May, for example, people who bought Lady Gaga’s Born This Way album for $0.99 through Amazon also scored 20 GB of cloud storage. Google Music: What You Need to Know Google Music is free to all users, and includes access via the web, desktop and mobile devices. Click here to view this gallery. More About: android, cloud storage, Google, google music, Holidays 2011, Mobile, Tech
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| 15 Fantastic Cyber Monday Deals at Best Buy Posted: 28 Nov 2011 02:25 PM PST 1. Apple MacBook Pro The 13.3" MacBook Pro is normally $1,199.99, but today it's on sale for $1,049.99. Click here to view this gallery. If this were Black Friday, by now you’d be exhausted, attacked over a $2 waffle maker and all the things you want would be out of stock. Instead, you’re shopping safe and warm at home or secretly in your cubicle at work. To reward you for being such a smart shopper, we’ve looked through Best Buy’s Cyber Monday deals to bring you the most noteworthy. From Smart TVs to insanely cheap laptops, the electronics store has not skimped on its online deals this year. Have you done your holiday shopping online? Tell us your success stories (or biggest failures) in the comments. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, nico_blue More About: best buy, cyber monday, e-commerce, Holidays 2011
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| The Economist’s Profits Increase as Digital-Only Subscriptions Top 100,000 Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:52 PM PST   The Economist is having a very good year so far: Not only has the publication reached a significant digital milestone, having sold more than 100,000 digital-only subscriptions to date, but print circulation is also up 3% to nearly 1.5 million copies for the first half of the year. Profits have risen accordingly. Operating profit rose £26.2 million on revenue of £164.3 million for the first half of 2011, up 6% from the first half of 2010. In addition to doubling sales of digital-only subscriptions, which cost $185 per year, some 300,000 print subscribers are also now reading the digital edition each week. The Economist also increased web traffic to 7 million unique visitors per month, up nearly 50% from last year. “Our results show that we are gaining from the growth in 'lean-back' reading on tablets and e-readers, which seems to play to our strengths,” Editor in Chief John Micklethwait said in a statement. He also attributed the newsweekly’s success to globalization and the spread of English. The Economist isn’t the only magazine whose print and digital operations are dually benefiting from a strong digital focus. Both print and digital ad revenues were up in The Atlantic‘s third quarter, which the publication attributes in large part to its “digital-first” strategy. More About: Media, The Economist For more Business coverage:
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| Scam Targets Angry Birds Fans on Android Market [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:50 PM PST Scammers posted a number of fake games on the Android Market over the weekend, purporting to be titles from Rovio, the company that makes “Angry Birds.” Google, however, appears to be on top of the situation and has removed the fake apps. Nonetheless, it’s a reminder to be cautious when shopping the open Android Market, as we explain in the video above. More About: android, angry birds, rovio For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Bieber Beats Kim Kardashian as Most Searched Person of 2011 Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:46 PM PST It’s no secret that the world caught Bieber fever in 2011. Teen pop star Justin Bieber was the most searched person of the year on Bing.com, knocking out Kim Kardashian for the coveted top spot. Search engine Bing announced on Monday its “most searched” lists for 2011, which includes celebrities, tech products, TV shows and news stories. Kim Kardashian didn’t fall too far behind Bieber. Kardashian dropped to second place, still ahead of Jennifer Aniston (third) and Lindsay Lohan (fourth). Jennifer Lopez soared to the fifth-most searched person this year after not even making the top 50 in 2010. The Middleton sisters (of Royal Wedding fame) also received a lot of search attention in 2011, thanks to Kate Middleton’s marriage to Prince William in April — Kate came in at number 12, Pippa at 21. Although the royal wedding was the most-searched celebrity event of the year, Prince William didn't even make the top 100 list. President Barack Obama also took a hit, placing 49th on the list, down from fifth place in 2010. The high-profile trial of Casey Anthony was the top searched news story of the year, followed by the death of Osama bin Laden, Hurricane Irene, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the death of musician Amy Winehouse, respectively. Tech gadgets also brought in a lot of searches this year. Microsoft’s Xbox was the most searched consumer electronics product of the year. Speculations about the iPhone 5 came in fourth. Surprisingly, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol edged The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part One for the most searched movie in 2011. The Jersey Shore was the third most popular reality TV show, ranking behind American Idol (one) and Dancing with the Stars (two). Snooki was the most searched cast member of the Jersey Shore, receiving twice as many searches as the runner-up J-Woww and six times as many as DJ Pauly D. The most searched viral video of the year was “Friday” by Rebecca Black. Would you have ranked anyone higher? Any conspicuous omissions? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of Flickr, cukuskumir More About: bing, celebrities, celebrrities, justin bieber, Search For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Google+ Launches Guide for Politicians and Candidates Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:23 PM PST   Google+ has released guidelines for politicians, political organizations, governments, activists and campaigners, in effort to acquaint the demographic with the search engine giant’s five-month-old social network. The guide provides political types with a step-by-step walk through for creating a page. “By creating a Google+ Page for your public office or campaign, you and your staff can promote an issue, platform or cause across the web,” the post says. “Regularly posting interesting content, engaging with your followers by asking questions, and sharing photos and videos are all ways to keep people coming back for more.” The post highlights five ways politicians and campaigns can use Google+: to share content, express support, tailor content through circles, host hangouts and share photos. It notes some early adopters’ usages, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ polling of his constituents, France’s two leading political parties, UMP and Parti Socialiste, campaigning efforts, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s search for people to add to his circles, and the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Hangout for the Inaugural Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture. Have you spotted any candidates, politicians or political organizations making great uses of Google+? Share accounts you follow in the comments. More About: candidates, Google, Politics, trending
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| Do Opt-In Lists Really Perform Better Than Opt-Out? Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:10 PM PST   This is one of those things that most email marketing experts agree on – but we’ve little recent data to prove the point. My theory is that it’s such “conventional wisdom” that people have stopped testing it – the same way they don’t do any more studies to see if smoking causes cancer. Those in the know are in agreement. But it was still exciting to be able to analyze data from one of my clients, a large household-name organization where some business units are using opt-in to build their email lists and others are relying on lists that have been purchased from a third party, making them opt-out. This organization relies on a single third-party organization for their list purchases. It’s a legitimate list broker that is well-respected in its industry and provides business, not consumer, email addresses to my client — along with demographic and other information to allow for segmentation and targeting. This isn’t some fly-by-night, $300 for 1 million email addresses operation. For this analysis, I looked at email metrics from the beginning of 2010 through Q3 2011. I narrowed the field to eight business units that are strictly opt-in and seven that are strictly opt-out. All together there were over 330 million email messages that were assumed delivered (did not bounce) in this period; 137 million were sent from the opt-in business units, with nearly 195 million being sent from the opt-out business units. So how do you think the opt-out lists performed compared to the opt-in lists? The NumbersOpen rates for the opt-in business units were, on average, 82% higher than the open rates garnered by the opt-out business units. To put that in perspective, let’s look at Q3 2011. Here the opt-in business units had 14.9% of their email messages opened, compared to just 8.5% of those sent by the opt-out business units. Over the course of these seven quarters, recipients opened over 21 million messages from the opt-in units; fewer than 17 million of the opt-out business units’ messages were opened, even though they sent nearly 60 million more emails.  The variance in click-through rates was even greater; on average the opt-in business units saw more than double the click-through rate garnered by the opt-out business units. For Q3 2011, that was the difference between an average click-through rate of 3.1% for the opt-in business units versus 1.7% for those that didn’t have prior affirmative consent to send email messages. Over the period studied, the opt-in business units received nearly 1.5 million more unique clicks and nearly 2.5 million more total clicks than the opt-out business units. Even though the opt-out business units sent 43% more email messages.  The last metric I analyzed was click-to-open rate. Here the results were surprising. While the opt-in business units clearly bested the opt-out units on opens and clicks, the 2011 click-to-open rate variance was much smaller. The opt-in lists still performed better in Q3 2011, but only by 6%. The average variance over the entire period was 17%. In 2010, the variance was much higher, ranging from 12% to 41% by quarter.  So what does this mean? Based on this analysis, people that have actively opted in to receive email open and click-through at much higher rates than people that have been added to a list without their knowledge. But the trend in 2011 is showing that the percentage of those who click on an email once they have opened it is very similar. So the opt-in is getting more people to open the email, but it’s not getting a significantly higher percentage of that group to then click on it. The data that wasn’t included in this analysis is the most important: conversion rate and revenue generated. As with many large organizations, that information lives outside the email reporting platform and it’s difficult to identify and tag revenue generated directly from an email message. It shouldn’t be, because the technological capability is there, but it is. Still, let me leave you with one thought: if you’re looking to build a successful email campaign that maximizes the raw number of people that open and/or click on your email messages, then this analysis suggests that opt-in is indeed the way to go. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, barisonal More About: analysis, data, mailing lists, Marketing, mashable For more Business coverage:
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| New Kinect Will Read Lips and Know if You’re Sad [RUMOR] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST   Open the pod bay doors, Kinect 2. The next version of Kinect — Microsoft’s hands-free, gesture-controlled gaming peripheral for Xbox 360 — is rumored to have such high processing power that it can read lips and even detect the emotions of its user. If that sounds scary, well, yeah, it’s a little scary. If it’s true, it also means the next generation of consoles are going to be super fun. Eurogamer spoke with an anonymous source who spilled the beans on the new Kinect and potential plans for the next generation of Xboxes. The Kinect 2 will so improve its voice recognition and motion sensing that it will be able to determine which direction players are facing, their facial expressions and track the pitch of volume of player voices to measure different emotional states. The current Kinect does a good job at recognizing voice commands and body movement but it is restricted by its USB interface. Kinect 2, according to Eurogamer‘s source, can feed the Xbox more information and have a higher resolution CCD (charge-coupled device). The Kinect 2 rumors add to the gossip mill surrounding Microsoft’s next generation Xbox. Microsoft is supposedly building two models; a less expensive box aimed at casual Kinect players and a souped-up model for hardcore players with a higher price tag. The consoles could arrive as early as 2012 though the actual date will probably be later. Some notes: The report from Eurogamer is probably reliable though not necessarily revolutionary news. It makes sense the new Kinect will have enhanced motion sensing and vocal recognition. The rumor that the peripheral can detect emotional states is a little more interesting but it’s unclear how this will fit into a game or media-browsing scenario. Anonymous sources are usually a cause for question, especially when there is no attribution or affiliation, for example “an anonymous source from Microsoft,” or “a source that didn’t want to be named because he/she are bound by contract.” Microsoft told Eurogamer it “does not comment on rumour or speculation,” though that shouldn’t count as a rejection or refutation. Image courtesy of Flickr, bfishadow More About: game, Gaming, kinect, microsoft, Video, video game, xbox For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Follow the Leaders: A New Who’s Who in Foreign Policy on Twitter Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:49 PM PST Foreign Policy, a magazine and website dedicated to global politics and economics, released its 2011 list of top global leaders active on Twitter. Included are politicians, economists, journalists and political activists. Here’s a sample: @ClintonTweet   The Clinton Foundation uses Twitter to highlight the work of the organization, which aims to address global problems through collaboration on many levels. Click here to view this gallery. Which global leaders do you follow on Twitter? Let us know in the comments below. More About: Politics, social networking, Twitter
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| Apple iPhone 4 Self-Combusts on Australian Flight Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:27 PM PST   Passengers on Australian flight Regional Express ZL319 had an unfortunate surprise Friday, when a passenger's iPhone 4 started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow. Luckily, no one was harmed, according to a Regional Express press release. According to the report, the iPhone 4 mishap occurred as the Lismore-to-Sydney plane was landing.
Although rare, iDevices do sometimes malfunction. In fact, earlier this month, Apple issued a recall notice for the first-generation iPod nano, over a battery issue. While the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has yet to announce what caused the iPhone malfunction in this case, the photo suggests a battery-related issue. As TNW suggests:
Our advice — If your iDevice begins getting significantly hotter than expected, turn it off and contact Apple immediately. Otherwise, assume this type of story is an isolated incident. For more Mobile coverage:
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| StyleCaster Media Group Raises $1 Million as it Nears Profitability Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:20 PM PST   StyleCaster Media Group has raised $1 million in Series A-1 funding from a number of notable individuals in Silicon Valley, including Owen Van Natta, former EVP of Zynga, CEO of MySpace and CRO of Facebook; David Ko, chief mobile officer at Zynga; and Mike Keriakos, president and cofounder of Everyday Health. StyleCaster operates two sites: StyleCaster.com, which brings in 2 million monthly uniques on average, and BeautyHigh.com, which brings in about 500,000. Each offers a mix of opinionated, aggregated news content and multimedia-rich features designed to appeal to style and pop culture enthusiasts in the 18 to 35 age demographic. The company also sells ads across a network of other blogs. StyleCaster was founded in New York City in January 2009 and is on track to reach profitability this year, CEO Ari Goldberg tells us. The company has 25 full-time employees, including a sales staff of eight. Goldberg says the sites’ average CPM lies between $25 and $35, although the sales team tends to focus on integrated brand campaigns (such as the one with Diet Coke, below) over banner ads. Although the Series A-1 will help the company further invest in its marketing and sales efforts, Goldberg says the funding was driven less by a need for capital than a desire to bring in some high-profile investors. Next up? The company plans to unveil a redesign of Stylecaster.com in mid-February with an emphasis on tools for social interaction. More About: fashion, Media, stylecaster For more Business coverage:
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| Virgin America Lets You Rent and Name a Plane for $60,000 [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:12 PM PST Virgin America has offered up a private flight for you and your friends via Gilt Groupe, as well as the opportunity to name the plane you fly on. The flight for you and up to 146 friends is listed for $60,000 on the exclusive deals site. Find out more about the unique deal in the video above. Do you think someone will be able to round up their friends for the deal, or will a marketer swoop in for the naming rights? Let us know what you think of the campaign in the comments below. More About: cyber monday, gilt groupe, mashable video, trending, virgin america For more Business coverage:
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| 8 Top Apps and Services for Streaming Your Favorite Movies Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:02 PM PST
Nothing says holiday travel like getting delayed at the airport for an hour or two. Watching movies on your mobile device is a crucial way to pass the time, and in many cases, video streaming services can be free. Here’s a look at the top stream-worthy apps for your viewing pleasure. 1. Air Video Priced at only $2.99, Air Video is one of the best streaming apps on the market, providing access to your entire video collection anytime and anywhere. Instead of synchronizing videos to watch them on various devices, Air Video allows you to watch them over the air without the hassle of sharing, converting and downloading files. It also gives iPad users access to content purchased via iTunes by streaming it through Safari. Click here to view this gallery. Series supported by smart  The Trendsetter Tech Series is supported by smart. Test drive the space saving, eco-friendly, totally unique, smart. Visit smartusa.com to find a new smart center near you. smart — unbig. uncar. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, brentmelissa More About: features, hulu, mashable, Movies, netflix, streaming movies, Trendsetter Tech Series
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| Violent Video Games Disrupt Emotion and Cognition in Young Men Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:52 AM PST   Video games may not rot your brain but they can change the way you think, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America reveals. The study shows one week of playing violent video games can create changes in brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control in young adult men, a PR Newswire statement says. The study took a random sample of 22 young adults (18 to 29) with little exposure to violent video games. Half were asked to play a shooting game for 10 hours at home for one week and then stop for one week. The other group was asked not to play any violent video games for the same two-week period. All 22 men underwent an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) at the beginning of the exam, after one week and at the end of the two weeks. During the fMRI, the men were asked to complete simple emotional and cognitive interference tasks — actions designed to limit a subject’s ability to game a response. They were asked to press buttons associated with colors and to count while words signalling violent actions were flashed next to non-violent action words.
“These brain regions are important for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior,” Yang Wang, M.D., assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, told PR Newswire. There has been a long and controversial fight between people who say violent videos games are bad for kids and game activists who say there is little to no scientific evidence. Before the radiology study is taken as fact it’s important to acknowledge some caveats. The study has a relatively small sample size. The researchers — Tom Hummer, Ph.D., William Kronenberger, Ph.D., Kristine Mosier, D.M.D., Ph.D., and Vincent P. Mathews, M.D. — only studied 22 young men, only half of which were asked to play a violent video game. Their research was supported by the Center for Successful Parenting in Indiana. It’s unclear which game those 11 young adults were asked to play or if any of the subjects were exposed to other factors such as movies or music with similarly violent materials. It’s similarly unclear whether the results were because of the violence in the video game, the duration of time playing the game, or if the study would show similar results for a larger — or older — group of people. Mashable has reached out to some video game studios for comment and is waiting on a response. The study may not be conclusive proof but it’s sure to raise the heat on the low-boiling controversy around video games and young minds. What’s your take? Is the study damning evidence, dismissible nonsense or an important new talking point? More About: Gaming, studies, video games For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up Your Corporation or LLC Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:47 AM PST   This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. The portrait of today's worker is undergoing a fundamental shift. Fueled by advances in cloud-based, social and mobile technologies, companies are choosing to gain agility and savings by leaning on an always-on virtual workforce of contingent workers. According to Freelancers Union, there are approximately 42 million Americans who make their living independently — that's 30% of the workforce. Forget about a traditional 9 to 5 at the office. Workers in this new gig or freelance economy find that they need to become their own marketing experts, accountants, sales and IT gurus. And somewhere along the way, small business providers, contractors and freelancers need to grapple with selecting a business structure. Forming an LLC or corporation can be a relatively quick and easy process, but most small business owners aren't exactly experts in tax and business law. There are a bevy of mistakes that can have a significant impact on their business; here are six of the top mistakes. 1. Selecting the Wrong Business EntityThe LLC (Limited Liability Company), S Corporation and C Corporation are the three most common types of business structures in the U.S. These structures have some distinctive features, so picking the right option is important. An LLC is great for small businesses that want liability protection, but also want minimal formality and paperwork. The S Corporation is a pass-through entity for federal taxes (like the LLC) and is great for small businesses that can qualify. Lastly, the C Corporation files its own tax report and isn't appropriate for most freelancers, unless you plan to seek funding from a VC or your tax adviser specifically advises you. Here are some examples of common mistakes made when choosing a business structure:
2. Incorporating in the Wrong StateDelaware and Nevada are hot states for incorporation. After all, Delaware offers some of the most developed, flexible and pro-business statutes in the country, and Nevada has become a popular choice due to its low filing fees and the lack of state corporate income, franchise and personal income taxes. However, these benefits are more advantageous to larger companies. If your business has less than five shareholders, incorporate in the state where your business has a physical presence. Otherwise, you'll be dealing with too many hassles and fees for operating out-of-state, including difficulty opening a business bank account, appointing a mandatory registered agent, and fees for operating as a 'foreign entity' in your own state. 3. Incorporating Without the Necessary Business Licenses A corporation or LLC is not the same as a business license. Most businesses are required to get some form of local, state or federal license. This can be true for a freelance writer working from home, so you should check with your local city hall or county office to see what kind of license you may need. Most business licenses are inexpensive to obtain and are much cheaper than having to pay costly fines for operating without a license. 4. Not Keeping Your Corporation or LLC CompliantYour job isn't over once your applications are in and your LLC or Corporation is formed. You must keep your business entity in compliance. If a plaintiff shows that you have not maintained your LLC/corporation, your “corporate shield” can be pierced, making your personal assets vulnerable. This means you must:
5. Believing the Corporate Veil Equals Unlimited Liability ProtectionIt probably goes without saying, but you cannot use your LLC or Corp to protect yourself if you engage in any kind of fraudulent or unlawful acts. If you break the law, you will be held personally accountable. 6. Not Incorporating At AllThe biggest mistake is assuming your business is too small to worry about forming an LLC or Corporation. In today's uber-litigious society, it's wise to separate your personal and business finances. By staying as a sole proprietorship, you're putting all your personal assets at risk. So, even if you're putting in 80-hour weeks to drum up new business, make some time to incorporate or form an LLC. You'll be able to scale your business far more smoothly and securely for years to come. Image Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user walknboston More About: companies, features, incorporation, LLC, mashable, mistakes For more Business coverage:
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| Female Online Gamers Have More Sex [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:26 AM PST Gamers rejoice: female online gamers are more social, happy, sexually and physically active than their non-gaming counterparts, according to a Harris Interactive survey of 2,000 U.S. adults. Gaming is a stress reliever for most of these women (61%), while 16% game online to connect with others. This GameHouse infographic, first published in VentureBeat, compares the characteristics of women who game online and those who don’t. The study found that 55% of online gamers are women and 45% are men, although the infographic only details findings about women. Female online gamers are more social than their non-gaming counterparts. Forty-one percent socialize at least once each day in person compared to 31% of non-gamers. They’re also more active on social networks, with 88% of gamers socializing online at least once each day compared to 71% of non-gamers. More than half of all gaming women (64%) are either married or live with a partner. Fifty-seven percent have sex and 38% have sex at least once a week. Non-gaming women are less sexually active, as 52% have sex and 34% have sex at least once a week. Thirty-eight percent of female gamers, compared to 28% of non-gamers, have children under the age of 18. The most popular time of day for gaming is between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., possibly after many moms have put their children to sleep. Are you surprised by the positive behaviors, such as being more social and happy, associated with online gaming?  More About: Gaming, infographic, online gaming, trending For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 10 Must-Have iPhone 4S Accessories This Holiday Season Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:10 AM PST The Gold POP by Native Union For the old-schooler on your list, look no further than the limited Gold POP, which includes shiny gold plating and is just $59.99. The accessory includes speaker and microphone. Click here to view this gallery. Thanksgiving is over and the holiday shopping season is in full swing. With this in mind, we present our list of the top 10 iPhone 4S accessories for 2011 — from cases to cars to money-holders and more. More About: apple, iphone 4, iPhone 4S, trending
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| The Evolution of Google Search in Six Minutes [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 10:38 AM PST
Google has come a long way since it started as a research project in 1996, and it may only be just getting started. The company posted a video and timeline that highlight the evolution of Google and hint at what to expect from the search engine giant in the future. The video, called “The Evolution of Search in Six Minutes,” is a follow-up clip from one that Google posted earlier this year that shared the methodology behind search ranking and evaluation. “Our goal is to get you to the answer you're looking for faster and faster, creating a nearly seamless connection between your questions and the information you seek,” said Ben Gomes, Google Fellow via a Google Blog post. “That means you don't generally need to know about the latest search feature in order to take advantage of it— simply type into the box as usual and find the answers you're looking for.” But it wasn’t always so simple. From making the web easy to navigate through an overwhelming amount of content to getting ads up on the site, the video touches on how Google morphed into what it is today. On September 11, 2001, Google users were searching for “New York Twin Towers,” but the results had nothing relevant to the tragic events of the day, according to Google Fellow Amit Singhal: “Our index was crawled a month earlier and of course there was no news in that index,” Singhal said in the video. “We placed links to all of the news organizations such as CNN right on our front page, saying please visit those sites to get the news of the day because our search is failing you.” Google knew that if it could crawl news quickly and provide multiple viewpoints about the same story to users, the results could be dynamic. That was the birth of Google News. The timeline also highlights the implementation of Universal Search, which returns results such as images, videos and news, in addition to basic web pages. The company later introduced Quick Answers at the top of the page for a wide variety of topics, including flight times, sports scores and weather. Google said it remains focused on developing faster ways to search and save time, whether its shaving seconds off searches with Google Instant or helping users search from their phones with Voice Search. “Our users need much more complex answers,” Singhal said. “My dream has always been to build the Star Trek computer. I would be able to walk up to a computer and say, ‘Hey, what is the best time for me to sow seeds in India given that monsoon was early this year?’ People will be looking for answers to more complex questions.’” Although the company didn’t shed too much light on the future of search, there’s a good chance it could look very different moving forward. “If the past is any indication, we don't know what search will look like in 2020, but we wouldn't be surprised if it looks nothing like it does today,” Gomes said. Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, LICreate More About: Google, google search, trending For more Dev & Design coverage:
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