Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “InBed.me Connects You to Other Travelers Before Reaching Your Destination”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “InBed.me Connects You to Other Travelers Before Reaching Your Destination”

InBed.me Connects You to Other Travelers Before Reaching Your Destination

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 05:31 AM 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.

Name: InBed.me

Quick Pitch: InBed.me is a social booking site for travelers.

Genius Idea: Provides an opportunity for fellow travelers to connect with each other before their trip begins.

It is said that travel is not about the places you see, but the people you meet along the way.

This idea is the inspiration behind InBed.me, a social booking site for travelers to connect with each other before their trip begins. The site began with a group of travelers who met in a Brooklyn hostel and shared an understanding that some hostels are not as social as others. To allow people to have more exciting, social experiences during their travels, the group formed InBed.me in June 2011 during Startup Weekend in New York City. The travel site won second place out of 20 startups.

InBed.me incorporates a social feature that provides an opportunity for travelers to see who will be visiting the same destination at the same time. This way travelers can get to know each other online, share tips and plan activities together before they arrive.

“We believe that online travel planning should take advantage of the beauty of the social web,” says Diego Saez-Gil, CEO of InBed.me. “By connecting with other travelers with similar interests going to the same destinations, travelers will be able to get tips and plan activities together.”

InBed.me curates the top hostels and bed and breakfasts around the world based on how social they are. Users can sign up for a new account or sign in with their Facebook account. If you sign in with your Facebook account, InBed.me will create a personal profile for you based on your profile picture, country, first name and first letter of your last name.

Users have full control over what personal information they share with the InBed.me community. They can also personalize their information and add details about their travels in the “About Me” section.

Once you type in your destination and travel dates, InBed.me generates a list of hostels and bed and breakfasts in that city. You can see who will be staying at each place, check out their profiles and find people who share similar interests with you.

InBed.me

Find out who will be staying at your destination.

With access to 25,000 properties in more than 700 cities around the world, InBed.me is a way for travelers to ensure they have a social experience during their stay. The site also helps travelers make better planning decisions based on where their connections have stayed in the past.

“We believe that travel is not only about the places, it’s also about the people,” says Saez-Gil. “That’s why we wanted to create a platform to facilitate these connections.”

InBed.me currently has about 1,000 users and plans to include additional social networks such as Twitter and Foursquare to its site in the future.

The startup’s business model is centered around affiliate bookings: Hostel owners are charged a 10% commission fee for each registration made through the site. The company has raised a significant amount of undisclosed funding from a range of investors, including Fabrice Grinda, Alec Oxenford, Ariel Arrieta and NXTP Labs (TechStars Network).

Inbed.me will officially launch on Wednesday.

Image courtesy of inbed.me, InBed.me

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

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, InBed.me

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Tom Sawyer Gets Google to Paint the Fence for Mark Twain’s Birthday

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 04:47 AM PST


Google is celebrating Mark Twain’s 176th birthday with one of the largest Google Doodles we’ve seen so far, referencing a famous incident from Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” where Tom cleverly gets other boys to paint a fence instead of him.

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He is best known for the first Tom Sawyer book and its sequel, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

He was also a successful journalist, a witty humorist, and quite an unsuccessful entrepreneur, having failed at various business ventures, at one time even forced to declare bankruptcy. Twain was very interested in inventions and modern technology. A venture capitalist of sorts, he invested a great deal of money in the Paige typesetting machine, which was made obsolete by the Linotype, causing Twain to lose most of his investment.

Besides his literary and other achievements, Mark Twain is also known for the fact that he was born during a visit by Halley’s Comet. He predicted that he would die when the comet returns, and he indeed died one day after the comet’s closest approach to Earth in 1910.


The Christmas Google Doodle


Each package gets larger with a mouse-over, and a click on it returns search results pertinent to a specific country or the particular items featured in a scene. This one is from December 24, 2010.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Google, google doodle, Mark Twain

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Squishy Robot Can Move Under Obstacles

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:26 AM PST


A team of Harvard scientists designed a “soft” robot which can move under difficult obstacles by mimicking the movements of certain animals, such as squid and worms.

The robot doesn’t have a hard internal skeleton; it is composed solely of elastomeric polymers and a series of chambers. Using a pneumatic valving system, the chambers can be inflated to create movement, which boils down to a combination of crawling and undulation.

All of this enables the 5-inch robot to crawl, for example, under a glass plate elevated 2 cm from the ground. In a series of tests, scientists were able to navigate the robot through that gap in under a minute.

This type of design makes the robot less susceptible to damage from falls and colliding with hard objects. It does, however, makes it more susceptible to damage from punctures.

Another drawback is the problem of power: the robot is connected to an external power source, which won’t do in real world situations. "There are many challenges to actively moving soft robots and no easy solutions," neurobiologist Barry Trimmer, one of the designers of the robot, said in an email to Washington Post.

Check out a series of videos and a PDF detailing the design of the robot here.

[via Pnas, BBC]

More About: Harvard, Robot, Science, trending

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What the Facebook FTC Settlement Means for Social Media

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:49 PM PST

Facebook magnifying glass

On Tuesday the Federal Trade Commission officially rapped Facebook's knuckles in a broad-reaching settlement on privacy, alleging the social network misled its users on what they were sharing and with whom. The settlement, which lays out a number of specific rules the service must now abide by, requires Facebook to be much more transparent about its privacy practices going forward.

The thing is, Facebook was already doing that. Sure, the requirement that the company must now submit itself to biannual review from a third-party oversight board for the next 20 years sounds heavy, but it's really not. As Mark Zuckerberg said in his response to the settlement, Facebook's made a lot of mistakes with regard to user privacy, but it's certainly learned from them, and its privacy controls now are stronger than ever. It'd be hard to see that third-party board finding much at fault with the Facebook of today, and, with Tuesday's ruling, that'll probably continue.

The effects of the settlement will likely have more to do with other social networks than the original one. The message from the FTC to social media is now clear: if you put the desires of advertisers before the privacy of users, you will be stopped. Just because you're sitting on a ton of personal information that would make marketers drool, it doesn't mean you can monetize it in any way you like.

While that sounds like a chilling message, it's really just a long-overdue standardizing of the practice of opt-in. The smarter companies already know this: that customers who opt-in are more engaged and ultimately more valuable than customers who simply don’t opt-out. Besides, when given the option, users tend to share whatever information they're asked to share, so, even putting the ethics aside, there’s little need for deception.

"Opt-in i think is where everything is going," says Lou Kerner, a social media analyst with Wedbush Securities, a Los Angeles-based investment bank. "Most people will opt-in to almost anything. A lot of younger people assume all the information is freely available anyway. And there are many people who think that using your data to see marketing that's actually relevant to you is a good thing."

Still, those dialog windows that pop up whenever a Facebook app wants to connect with your profile are vague at best. You typically see similar conditions ("This app can access your profile information at any time," "This app can send you emails," “This app knows each and every piece of information you’ve ever shared with anyone,” etc.) for most apps. It would be much more useful if those conditions had something specific to the app you're dealing with, along with an example or two (“Zynga poker wants to see your friends so you can play cards with them”). Maybe Michael Richter, Facebook's new Chief Privacy Officer of Products, could give that a look.

Besides the clear move toward opt-in, another lesson social networks can learn from Facebook's FTC settlement is how to deal with government. While the FTC had some strong words for Facebook, going so far as to say it "deceived" users in the past, it also praised the network for being an innovator and changing the way society communicates. And in the end, the tangible effect of the agreement amounts to a slap on the wrist for the social network. Clearly, Facebook has learned to play nice with Washington, and any other service that deals with the perennial hot-button issue of privacy should take note.

"I think it's a hugely positive step," says Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of the social network Anybeat. "But more important is consumers' understanding of what these technologies are being used for. We've been taught these past few years to just 'share everything,' and I don't think consumers really know what can happen [with their data]."

As far as Facebook's users are concerned, I doubt they will notice any change after today's development. Will there be complaints about Facebook with regard to privacy in the future? Of course. But the settlement provides a template for transparency, so when, say, Facebook's facial-recognition software fully blossoms, you won't start seeing your face in ads unless you opt-in. If Zuckerberg's statement is any indication, Facebook appears to have learned a thing or two after setting off so many privacy tripwires over the years. And if it hasn't, Uncle Sam is watching.

More About: Facebook, FTC, Google, Social Media, trending

Printer Creates iPhone-Sized Newspapers From Your Social Feeds [VIDEO]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:25 PM PST


Berg, a design studio based in London, has unveiled a small printer that lets you create a personalized, paper-and-ink newspaper from your social feeds.

The cube-shaped Little Printer is designed to be cute: It has a stenciled, child-like face, red feet and is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Using an accompanying iPhone or Android app, it can be programmed to print news updates once or twice per day from your preferred news publications, social networks and data-collecting apps, such as Nike+. (Nike, along with Arup, Foursquare, Google and The Guardian, have been named as launch partners.) Updates appear in the form of paper strips about the width of an iPhone and up to 10 inches long.

In an age in which physical media is being increasingly replaced by digital, Berg’s printer is an unusual product. After all, we’ve always gotten our Facebook and Foursquare updates online. Why would we want to start printing them?

Berg CEO Matt Web contends that online information can be made more palatable in physical form. “We love physical stuff,” he said in a statement Monday morning. “Connecting products to the Web lets them become smarter and friendlier –- they can sit on a shelf and do a job well, for the whole family or office –- without all the attendant complexities of computers, like updates or having to tell them what to do. Little Printer is more like a family member or a colleague than a tool.”

He also thinks it’s better for encouraging social interactions. “Paper is like a screen that never turns off. You can stick to the fridge or tuck it in your wallet. You can scribble on it or tear it and give it to a friend,” he observed.


The product will be made available for pre-order in 2012, the first of several connected, wireless products the company has in development.

Although the video below paints an enticing picture, it’s difficult to imagine engaging with the product on a daily basis. I already have a large stack of unread New Yorkers on my desk, and I’m not sure I want to pile receipts on top of them. What is appealing is being able to create a snapshot of all of my top news — general and social — on a daily or twice-daily basis. That’s certainly something I’d like to access and archive in digital form.

What do you think of the printer? Are you interested in owning one?

More About: berg, little printer, printer

4 Pillars of Digital Marketing for Luxury Brands

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:19 PM PST


Duke Greenhill is the founder and CEO of Greenhill+Partners, the premiere agency for bespoke luxury brand marketing. Duke is also available as an independent consultant and speaker at Duke@Greenhill-Partners.com.

We all know the four P's of traditional marketing: product, price, promotion and place. Of course, the four P's still hold true, but they come second to a much more imperative agenda. Successful luxury brand marketing demands substantially different considerations, specifically the four E's: experience, exclusivity, engagement and emotion.

Here’s a closer look at each of them and why they’re important.

1. Experience

During and post-recession, affluent consumers didn't significantly curb their spending, according to The New York Times. While it's true that luxury consumers are still buying, they're also becoming more selective about where they spend. Now, the luxury consumer's purchase decision boils down to a single, simple question: Is it worth it? The best way luxury brands can tip the scales in their favor is to provide unique, compelling experiences.

Burberry just reported that by switching the majority of its marketing budget to digital experiences, it enjoyed a 29% increase in revenue. And the Cayman Island property of my company’s own client, Ritz-Carlton, quickly became the most exclusive private residence in the Caribbean on the heels of its experiential transmedia campaign. The experience a luxury brand provides is a product unto itself; therefore, that brand must devote as much quality to the experience as to the wares it sells.

2. Exclusivity

The traditional marketing paradigm treats exclusivity as secondary, as a derivative of the second P: price. But to luxury brands, exclusivity is far too dear to be viewed so casually. Exclusivity has forever been a linchpin in luxury brand success, and in this increasingly democratic digital world, no aspect of luxury marketing has been more vehemently protected.

But digital marketing does not inherently mean exposing a luxury brand's exclusivity to risk. In fact, digital marketing offers perhaps the most elegant opportunity to control and enhance a brand's exclusivity. It's what I call "prestige technology."

From the St. Regis E-Butler app to Chanel's interactive, gamified Culture microsite, high-tech marketing makes luxury brands appear cutting-edge — a coveted position that leads directly to exclusivity.

3. Engagement

No matter what, engagement relies on one thing: story. Whether a branded video, a website experience or a simple Facebook post, engaging content implies a story — a narrative with a beginning, middle and end. A narrative that makes a participant feel something.

Take Tom Ford's story, for example: He's an ordinary man who dislikes being common. He knows it's his unalienable masculine destiny to achieve, so he chases his destiny. He struggles, but arrives, and in doing so, discovers that true achievement is as much about quiet confidence as it is about wielding great power. Thus, Tom Ford is the label for a triumphant, sexy man who knows that announcing his triumph is best accomplished with many celebratory whispers. Have a look at Tom Ford's marketing elements and you'll see, they all tell a story of triumphant masculine destiny.

When it comes to luxury brands, engagement is synonymous with story, and story sells. Tiffany & Co. reported a 20% uptick in sales after the public and press alike lauded the company's What Makes Love True microsite and Engagement Ring Finder mobile app, two digital marketing elements that communicate Tiffany's powerful brand story about realizing true love.

In today's luxury marketplace, convincing consumers to buy isn't enough. Convincing them to join a brand on a journey is the key, and that's what stories do.

4. Emotion

The first three E's combine to form the fourth and final imperative element of luxury marketing: emotion. Without the deliberate, appropriate application of one key emotion among its customers, long-term luxury brand success cannot exist.

The reason is simple. Luxury brands cater to a consumer that can buy almost any material thing he or she wants. A luxury brand's physical product, therefore, is secondary. Like an experience, an exclusive insider's view or an engaging story, a particular emotion is what luxury consumers are really after.

Consumers are loyal to Burberry because they want to feel "authentic" and "timeless." They stay at the Ritz-Carlton to feel "august." They buy Chanel to feel "triumphant." They frequent Tiffany's to feel "love."

Luxury brands must embrace the fact that their primary products are actually elusive and ephemeral feelings, and that their physical products are mere mediums through which consumers achieve those feelings. Therefore, a luxury brand must determine its emotional value first, and construct its physical and digital manifestations to express and extract that specific emotion.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Alija

More About: branding, contributor, features, luxury brands, Marketing

It Happened in Australia: Could Your iPhone Self-Combust?

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:07 PM PST


Among techies and fans of weird Internet news, it’s become a relatively familiar story: An Australian domestic flight lands in Sydney on Friday. Then a passenger’s iPhone 4 goes wild. There’s “a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow” from the phone, according to a press release from the airline operator, Regional Express.

The passengers and crew all escape unharmed after a flight attendant performs “recovery actions” and the red glow is extinguished. But a significant question remains…what happened?

Also, an even more significant question…could it happen to my iPhone?

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is currently investigating the incident, according to a spokesman for the country’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. “They have the iPhone and will pull it apart,” the spokesman said.

The safety bureau has so far not responded to requests for comment, but in the meantime, Mashable contacted an Apple hardware expert to gain some insight on just what might have gone wrong.

Aaron Vronko is a service specialist at Rapid Repair, a Michigan business he co-founded to service and modify Apple devices. He’s also a expert on all things iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Vronko said the Australian flight fiasco was most plausibly caused by a combination of a defect in the battery cell with a failure in the phone’s battery-temperature management system. This could have been caused by the phone’s owner playing a 3D game while simultaneously charging the phone.

“Watching a video or playing a high-powered game is where max power use can occur,” Vronko said. “Then batteries have a much higher likelihood of cell failure when charging as opposed to not charging.”

The original iPad introduced a thermistor that would physically disconnect the overheating cell from everything else in the device once the cell reached approximately 130 degrees Fahrenheit, Vronko said.

There have been no known cases of an iPad overheating to the point of producing smoke or an eerie glow, as happened with the iPhone in Australia.

With thermistors being relatively inexpensive, Vronko added, one would assume that Apple had included them in all subsequent devices although he couldn’t say for sure. If the phone that self-combusted in Australia had a thermistor, it likely wouldn’t have needed extinguishing.

Nonetheless, Vronko said, the Australian incident was most likely an isolated — or at least extremely rare — incident.

“I wouldn’t necessarily tell people to change their behavior,” he said. “It was probably just something wrong with that particular cell.”

Apple has so far not responded to Mashable‘s Tuesday request for comment.

What do you think? Was what happened in Australia just a fluke? Or does it make you wary of using your iPhone intensely?

More About: apple, combust, explode, iphone, Rapid Repair

Goodbye, Google Bar: Black Strip Turns Into Pop-Up

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:44 PM PST


If you use Gmail, Google Reader, Google+, Google Search, Google Maps — indeed, just about any Google product — you’ve likely become familiar with that black strip across the top of the screen with links to the company’s other services. Google introduced it back in June. Opinions have varied ever since, but many of us have gone with: what on Earth is that ugly thing?

Wonder no longer, because the black bar is going away. In a blog post Wednesday, Google announced it would be replaced with a pop-up that appears when you mouse over the Google logo. There will also be a smaller, less obtrusive light grey bar dominated by a search box.

“Instead of the horizontal black bar at the top of the page, you'll now find links to your services in a new drop-down Google menu nested under the Google logo,” writes technical lead Eddie Kessler — whose Google profile identifies him as a “cat herder” — in an official announcement blog post. “We'll show you a list of links and you can access additional services by hovering over the "More" link at the bottom of the list. Click on what you want, and you're off.”

Kessler describes the new setup as “the next stage in our redesign.” What remains unclear is why Google’s redesign had to go through a “black bar” phase in its evolution in the first place. This is, perhaps, best seen as an illustration of something we’ve pointed out before: that Google’s entire design aesthetic is uninspired and haphazard. We’re still waiting for the company to find its Jonathan Ive of web design.


Detail of Gmail's Latest Interface





The new desktop version of Gmail is hardly recognizable as the Gmail we once knew.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: design, Google, redesign

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What to Expect From Spotify’s ‘New Direction’ Event

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:15 PM PST

Spotify Events

As Spotify gears up for its first-ever U.S. press conference in New York City on Wednesday, speculation is heating up about exactly what the streaming music service will announce.

All Things Digital is reporting that the company is likely to announce that third-party developers can make Spotify's music library available to their own users. These users would then in turn have to pay Spotify for privileges. However, Spotify declined to comment on whether the event will include news about the company expanding its application programming interface (API).

It’s also rumored that an iPad app and a new music store where members can purchase songs directly from the service could also arrive. The latter is a more likely guess since it's already possible for European Spotify members to buy songs from the streaming service.

Spotify – which arrived on U.S. shores just four months ago – sent out press invitations last week announcing that it has “exciting news" to share about a “new direction" the company is taking. The event called "What's next for Spotify?” will stream online and should feature a special guest or two, along with CEO Daniel Ek.

Spotify has been under pressure recently from competitors such as Google Music, the recently-unveiled free service that allows users to upload, share and browse songs, and then listen to them on the go via cloud storage on Android devices.

There has also been an increase in concern among music partners about the impact of streaming on their business. More than 200 labels and publishers pulled out of various streaming services, from Spotify to Napster and Rdio, after a study claimed streaming music was hurting record sales.

Since this will be the company's first time addressing the press in this manner – it didn't even hold a press conference for its U.S. launch – buzz surrounding the event has been big.

Some experts believe that if Spotify opens up its platform to third-party developers, the music industry would be more open to a "music everywhere" concept, similar to how the TV industry gave cable customers access to watch TV programming online and via iPad apps, according to All Things Digital. The move could also entice more Spotify users to sign up for paid accounts instead of using its basic free model.

Spotify's business is growing fast, helped along by its expansion onto Facebook. In addition, the company recently announced that its premium subscription growth doubled in the last year to 2.5 million, making it the largest music subscription service on the Internet. But with the addition of third-party developers having access to the site's catalog, the growth could be much larger.

"What's next for Spotify?" will kick off at 11:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday and Mashable will be there live blogging the event.

More About: Music, spotify, streaming

10 Unforgettable YouTube Videos

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:50 PM PST


1. Super Bass by Sophia Grace Brownlee


I'm not sure if I should be concerned that this 8-year-old knows the words to Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," or impressed that she can rap both verses (clean) and belt out the bridge and chorus like nobody's business.

Rightfully so, the video landed her subsequent appearances on The Ellen Show, as well as a stint interviewing musicians at this year's American Music Awards

.

Click here to view this gallery.

From sneezing pandas to 8-year-old rappers, YouTube has introduced us to some pretty memorable videos over the years.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Viral Video Remixes on YouTube

While most of them started out as personal home videos to share with family and friends, here are ten unforgettable videos that have spun into viral sensations.

More About: Entertainment, unforgettable, viral video, YouTube

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5 Things Journalists Need to Know About Tablets

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:35 PM PST


Journalists and photographers need to rethink how they package – and how they get paid for – their work when it comes to tablet computers. Tablets, predicted to become the reading device of choice in the next few years, will change the demand and market for information.

Those are some of the takeaways from a “Hacks and Hackers” meetup held at Storify headquarters in San Francisco called, “New rules of storytelling: The rise of tablets.”

Talking about the burgeoning demand for touchscreen-friendly information were John Knight, a co-founder and editor of Closed Mondays, whose recent tablet projects include Al Gore’s “Our Choice” and Tim Ferriss’s “4-Hour Chef.”

Here are five more points worth touching on for journalists and photographers when it comes to tablet publishing.

1. There’s No Money in Tablet Publishing – Yet

Once Magazine, launched in September, has a revenue sharing model that will hopefully pay journalists and photographers decent rates for their work. Readers currently pay $2.99 for each edition. When answering a question from the audience about whether tablet publishing provides a decent paycheck, Once‘s Knight said, “No! Just kidding. Sometimes. Well, it could… If we have 20,000 subscribers, it would be decent paycheck. I mean, if we could pay $2,500 for the photos and $1 a word, that would be decent. First, you have to establish yourself. The onus right now is on contributors to market… There’s not a market for us right now any more than there is for contributors.”

2. Your News Organization Is Interested in Them

Back in January, Forrester research predicted that U.S. consumers would buy more tablets than computers by 2015.

In addition to launching hundreds of dedicated apps, news organizations have heeded the call to create content consumable on tablet computers with initiatives ranging from Rupert Murdoch’s iPad-only publication The Daily to a Philadelphia media group subsidizing tablets for readers. The result? The Economist recently reached 100,000 subscribers for its iPad version.

3. Tablet Publishing Isn’t Necessarily About Interactivity or Extreme Stories

Once‘s format doesn’t allow readers to pinch and zoom on photos, for example. “That’s how it was shot and this is how you look at it,” Knight said. He added that the photos are carefully chosen and crafted, and that the reader isn’t the professional, plus it’s more work for the publisher. One of Once‘s more popular stories, Knight said, isn’t “war photography, but a story about a retirement community in Arizona.” The photos chronicle the daily activities of the over-55 members from gymnastics to crocheting.

4. Tablet Publishing May Reverse the Traditional Text-to-Photo Ratio

Once magazine publishes three stories per edition, each story contains 15-20 photos accompanied by 800 words of text, the opposite of your usual word-heavy glossy magazine where two or three pics accompany 10,000 words of copy.

5. Get Ready for the “Bookification” of Content

Rymill’s latest project is the “4-hour Chef,” specifically made for the Kindle Fire. The free app, designed for first-time tablet users, gives a “taste” of the forthcoming Tim Ferriss book of the same title. Launched right after Thanksgiving, it’s a combo cookbook, diet and exercise regime that promises to get readers into fighting shape before the expansive Christmas holidays.

Image via Flickr, windsordi

More About: journalism, journalists, mashable, Photographers, publishing, tablets

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Tumblr Fashion Director Out After Conflicts With Brands, Agencies [Exclusive]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:20 PM PST


Tumblr fashion director Rich Tong is leaving the company, Tumblr has confirmed.

Ahead of New York Fashion Week this fall, Tong came under public fire from individuals from several well-established fashion brands and their agencies. Their complaints? That Tumblr played favorites, building out custom products free of charge for some brands, and declining to return the emails of others who had been long-time supporters of the platform. The startup had also failed to deliver a much-requested analytics dashboard, instead sending out proposals asking for upwards of $10,000 for private events with bloggers on the platform — fees that one industry rep deemed "ridiculous."

Another agency executive, Raman Kia of Starworks Group, recounted an incident where Tumblr backed out of an event agreement with a “highly known fashion retailer” in favor of another brand at the last minute. He wrote:

“After an event was negotiated and agreed upon with Tumblr and our brand had put time and resources into planning the event, Tumblr simply pulled out and gave the event to another brand that they preferred to work with. What made this worst [sic] was the manner in which we the agency and the client were treated.

So far Tumblr has behaved with prejudice, without empathy, and without apology and, in doing so, it has bitten the hand it hopes will feed it someday. So make no mistake Tumblr can not correct this by developing platform analytics – it needs a change of regime and a change of culture.”

The complaints broke out just as Tumblr was closing in on $85 million of venture capital funding. The decision for Tong and Tumblr to part ways was made a few weeks after the the funding was secured, a source tell us. Rumor of his leaving was first reported by Betabeat.

Tong is still phasing out of his duties and is departing Tumblr on amicable terms, Tumblr's communications liaison, Katherine Barna, says.

More About: fashion, rich tong, tumblr

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NFL’s Adrian Peterson Wants to Turn Every Online Shopper into a Benefactor

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:02 PM PST


Dishing out punishment to would-be tacklers nearly as much as he takes it, Adrian Peterson has become one of the NFL’s most feared running backs since entering the league in 2007. Now, the Minnesota Vikings’ star ball-carrier is delivering hits off the field as well, partnering his All Day Foundation with a new browser app called the Giving Assistant to help connect online shoppers with charitable causes this holiday season.

Beyond just the gift of spreading holiday cheer, Giving Assistant users will also qualify to win an all-expense-paid trip for two to hang out with Peterson at this season’s Super Bowl. The Super Bowl trip is the first in a series of monthly prizes including Hollywood set visits, signed memorabilia, and more chances to hobnob with celebrities and athletes.

The Giving Assistant is a free download from West Coast tech company GlobalMojo that installs into a variety of browsers to guide online shoppers to more than 1,000 participating partners who will automatically donate a portion of their sales to programs that help at-risk youth.

“Playing football has afforded me many opportunities, chief among them the ability to help kids,” Peterson said. “It was always in my heart to be able to give back if I was put in that position. With this new technology, everyone can give back…just by doing what they already do online every day.”

Peterson is one of several NFL players — including the Philadelphia Eagles’ DeSean Jackson and Indianapolis Colts’ Dallas Clark — who have partnered in the Football for Good program to help promote health and prevent gang involvement among youth.

To download the Giving Assistant app and find more information about prizes and deadlines, visit FootballForGood.org.

More About: adrian peterson, charity, football, holiday season, online shopping

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Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: 7 Ways to Enjoy the Experience Online

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:08 PM PST


Supermodels won’t be the only ones spreading their wings Tuesday night during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on CBS. The broadcast’s digital team also is strutting their stuff behind the scenes to enhance your online experience.

Before, during and after the televised extravaganza on Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. ET, check out these seven ways to get more from the Angels, their wings and the big event.


Fashion Show 360




Victoria's Secret is giving fans an in-depth look at what happens off the catwalk with Fashion Show 360. The feature gives you a 360-degree view of the fashion show's six themes: Passion, I Put a Spell on You, Angels Aquatic, Ballet, Super Angels and Club Pink.

Fashion Show 360 also has descriptions and videos that reveal each theme's inspiration as well as sketches of the looks that will be showcased on the runway.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: cbs, Fashion Show, lingerie, Victoria's Secret

Revealed: The Report That May Sink AT&T’s Bid for T-Mobile

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 03:43 PM PST

ATT-T-Mobile Merge

AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile isn’t dead yet, but the removal of the application by AT&T, and the FCC’s decision to release its report on the proposed merger could put it on life-support.

As senior FCC officials put it, the agency found that “AT&T had failed to carry its burden in proving that the transaction would be in the public interest” and that the proposed $39 billion merger, which would have created one of the U.S’s largest wireless service providers, “raised substantial material questions of fact.”

The decision to retract the merger application from the FCC was AT&T’s choice and, perhaps, a last ditch effort to save the merger by returning to the commission later with a more palatable deal. However, if AT&T hoped to head off the release of the commission staff’s damning report, it failed.

FCC officials, who approved the retraction, said they did not want to be seen as “suppressing information,” so they are releasing a heavily redacted document to the public immediately.

Among the FCC’s findings in the 190-page document:

An AT&T – T-Mobile merger would not result in the creation of direct or indirect jobs. Direct jobs mean the company is growing and hiring new employees. Indirect job creation could occur, for example, though the expansion of broadband to areas that previously didn’t have it, which would potentially lead to new businesses and new jobs. As the FCC previously stated, it foresees direct job loss as a result of shedding duplicative services, and believes that indirect jobs would shrink, instead of grow.

AT&T claimed that without the merger, its LTE rollout would end at 80% customer population coverage in 2013. The FCC found that AT&T will likely expand to 97% LTE coverage (for its customers) with or without a merger.

Prior to AT&T’s decision to withdraw the application, the FCC had recommended sending the transaction to a judge, essentially agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice, which also sought to block the merger on anti-competitive grounds.

As of now, the ball is back in AT&T’s court. It may still try and have T-Mobile sell off part of its business to Leap Wireless. However, with consumers and the media pouring over this report and, likely, publishing additional, potentially damaging, information, AT&T faces an increasingly uphill battle.

"Competition is the engine of our free market economy and a cornerstone of the FCC's mandate,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement. “Our review of this merger has had a clear focus: fostering a competitive market that drives innovation, promotes investment, encourages job creation, and protects consumers. These goals will remain the focus if any future merger application is filed," said Genachowski.

Mashable contacted AT&T for comment and received this response to the FCC actions:

"The FCC has recognized that it is required by its own rules to dismiss our merger application. This makes all the more troubling their decision to nonetheless release a preliminary staff report on the merger. This report is not an order of the FCC and has never been voted on. It is simply a staff draft that raises questions of fact that were to be addressed in an administrative hearing, a hearing which will not now take place.

“It has no force or effect under law, which raises questions as to why the FCC would choose to release it. The draft report has also not been made available to AT&T prior to today, so we have had no opportunity to address or rebut its claims, which makes its release all the more improper."

Jim Cicconi, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs

What do you think? Should the deal die a quiet death? Let us know in the comments.

More About: AT&T Toggle, fcc, merger, T-Mobile

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Facebook Unveils Its Most Shared Stories of 2011

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 03:14 PM PST


1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Earthquake and Tsunami




This Mar. 15 New York Times interactive graphic compares satellite images of the damages of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Click here to view this gallery.

Facebook has released a list of the 40 most shared stories of 2011 (well, the first 11 months, at least). We’ve collected the top 20 into the gallery above — check it out.

The topics range from sweet (twin baby boys conversing in gibberish) to serious (satellite photos examining the damages of the Japan earthquake).

There were some clear trends. Twelve of the stories relate to parenting or families, while three of the picks are viral videos. Another three are about Steve Jobs.

More suprisingly, all 40 of the stories come from just six online outlets: Yahoo has 13 stories, CNN has 11, the New York Times has 7, The Huffington Post has 7, The Wall Street Journal has one and the Washington Post has one.

Mashable‘s Pete Cashmore wrote the number seven story: You’ll Freak When You See the New Facebook, as one of his regular columns for CNN.

Most of the stories provide unique opinions, such as pieces on “Tiger Moms” and why women remain unmarried. Straight news coverage, however, didn’t fare so well. CNN‘s Steve Jobs, Apple Founder, Dies barely made the list at number 37).

You can see the complete list here.

What was your favorite story you shared this year? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Facebook, News, sharing

Elvis Costello Tells Fans to Steal His Music

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 02:52 PM PST


Elvis Costello really doesn’t want you to buy his reissued boxset of “The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook,” due out Dec. 6.

This isn’t a marketing gimmick; Costello is genuinely advising fans to avoid buying his boxset because of its unfairly high price tag. Instead, they should buy a box set from the “far superior” Louis Armstrong, the singer says.

The request was posted on Costello’s official website under the headline “Steal This Record.” In it, Costello — via his alter ego “the Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly,” Minister of Information — explains:

This beautifully designed compendium contains all manner of whimsical scribblings, photographs and cartoons, together with some rock and roll music and vaudevillian ballads.

Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire.

The boxset, which includes a CD, DVD, vinyl EP, hardcover book and autographed commemoration card, will cost more than $200, an amount Costello apparently fought to lower. His label, Hip-O Records (a subsidiary of Universal), didn’t budge. Now Costello has declared war on behalf of his fans.

The Reverend recommends fans instead purchase “Ambassador of Jazz,” a special boxset from Louis Armstrong that contains 10 remastered albums and a charming imitation suitcase embossed with the Armstrong nickname “Satchmo,” released by the American Legends label.

The Reverend goes one further, telling fans items from the Costello boxset will be available separately at more affordable prices in 2012 — “assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means.”

Costello dispelled any doubt about his unusual suggestion with a follow-up post titled “Let’s make things sparkling clear,” which essentially reposts the information from his initial story.

Costello has built a reputation for his dry wit, sense of humor, and propensity for assuming elaborate and complex alter egos. It’s safe to say Costello is serious about his suggestion.

Will you follow his advice? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, wfuv

More About: Music, piracy

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Verizon’s FiOS TV Coming to an Xbox Near You

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 02:02 PM PST



Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been having one heck of a week. Rumors about the next-generation console and Kinect peripheral are building serious buzz, and the console experienced its best sales week ever over Thanksgiving with more than 960,000 sold. Now, Verizon is announcing Microsoft’s little gaming console that could is getting FiOS TV as early as Dec. 1.

Verizon put the announcement on its forum saying:

“FiOS customers who subscribe to both FiOS TV and FiOS Internet and are Xbox LIVE Gold members can use their Xbox consoles to watch select live FiOS TV channels. No extra hardware. Plus, for the first time, Kinect for Xbox 360 will be integrated into the TV experience, allowing customers to use voice and gesture commands to control their TV viewing.”

Verizon will be putting out a special FiOS TV app that will be available sometime in Dec. It will launch with 26 channels with more to be added. Verizon is loading its deck to ensure a good launch. It unveiled a bunch of deals, bundles and promotions such as a triple-play service for $89.99 per month, limited Xbox LIVE Gold membership and a sponsor spot for Machinima’s Gamers’ Choice Award.

The announcement and promotions seem to show Verizon is taking a much more active interest in video games for both distribution and new customers. Consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 are branching out of their own gaming shells by incorporating video streaming from Netflix, music libraries and of course its built in DVD player. Sony is pushing the PS3 into 3D gaming and programing while Microsoft is incorporating its gesture-based Kinect peripheral into how users browse through all sorts of media content.

With video games now starting to rake in blockbuster-level money, television integration is the next logical addition to video game consoles. Does FiOS on your Xbox 360 sound like a good idea or a recipe for disaster? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Flickr, josh-ferris

More About: game, Gaming, microsoft, verizon, verizon fios, video game, xbox

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Approval Removal: AT&T Allowed to Withdraw FCC Bid for T-Mobile

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 02:01 PM PST


In what is fast becoming the most unusual acquisition attempt in recent years, AT&T is officially no longer asking the FCC for approval for a $39 billion deal that would have handed T-Mobile over to the nation’s largest wireless carrier.

AT&T asked for the FCC’s permission to remove its application last week so it could focus on an upcoming legal battle with another government agency — the Justice Department. The FCC dragged its heels, but announced Tuesday that it would indeed permit AT&T to withdraw its application.

All of which inside baseball means just one thing to the average consumer: AT&T is further away than ever from its goal of snapping up T-Mobile’s customers, cellphone towers and other assets, if it can save the deal at all.

Earlier Tuesday, reports emerged that AT&T was attempting a last-minute legal maneuver to save the deal: selling a sizable portion of T-Mobile's customer accounts and some of its wireless spectrum to Leap Wireless. Leap would then, well, leapfrog its competitors — becoming the fourth largest carrier in the U.S.

The acquisition, which was originally announced in March, was opposed by the U.S. Justice Department, the FCC and other wireless carriers — all of whom saw it as a monopoly threat to the sector.

More About: att, fcc, T-Mobile

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4 Things to Know When Planning a Social Media Contest

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 01:14 PM PST


Gonzalo E. Mon is a partner in the Advertising Law practice at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. Read more on Kelley Drye's advertising blog, Ad Law Access, or keep up with the group on Facebook or Twitter.

Social media has revolutionized the way companies run sweepstakes, contests and promotions. Specifically, social tools have made it easy to accomplish things that weren't possible a few years ago. Maybe too easy.

Some companies forget that social media promotions are subject to various laws, special requirements and unique risks. Let’s review four of the most important considerations before your company takes on a social media promotion.

1. Know Your Terminology

People often use the words "sweepstakes" and "contest" interchangeably, but the words refer to two different things. In general, a sweepstakes refers to a promotion in which prizes are awarded based on chance, whereas a contest awards prizes based on skill. However, don't assume that a promotion is skill-based just because it doesn't include a random drawing. Different regions and states have different definitions of what constitutes a skill, so it’s not always easy to determine which side yours falls on.

Why does it matter? Sweepstakes and contests are subject to different sets of laws. The first step toward ensuring that you comply with the laws is determining exactly which ones apply.

2. Know the Laws

Most importantly, you can't require people to make a purchase or payment in order to enter a sweepstakes. In most cases, you can create a method of entry that involves paying money, as long as you also provide a free method of entry option. Ensure that both methods are treated equally, and that you clearly disclose the free option. Be careful — if you get this wrong, you could be in violation of criminal law.

You have more flexibility to require a purchase in a skills contest, but it's not easy. Remember that states define skill differently, so a promotion that qualifies as skill-based in one state may not qualify as skill-based in another. Moreover, some states prohibit purchase requirements altogether, even if winners were selected based on skill. If you intend to have a purchase requirement, you will have to exclude these states.

Most states require companies to make certain disclosures about their promotions. It’s tempting to simply copy what another company has done recently, but it’s dangerous to assume that another brand got it right, or that its disclosures apply to your plans. In addition to the disclosure requirements, keep in mind that some states may require companies to register, and even to post a bond, before they can launch certain promotions.

There’s a lot to consider before you even begin to research other laws that involve promotions, privacy, intellectual property, tax, etc. If you're not an expert in this area, work with someone who is.

3. Know the Platform Rules

Some social media companies restrict the types of promotions you perform on their platforms. For example, the Facebook Promotions Guidelines state that a user can't award someone a contest entry simply for liking a page. Instead, users and brands must run promotions via apps on a Canvas Page or Page Tab. Facebook also requires companies to make various disclosures, and prohibits brands from notifying winners through Facebook. Check the guidelines for the complete requirements.

Google+ has taken a different approach to promotions. The Google+ Pages Contest and Promotion Policies state, "You may not run contests, sweepstakes, offers, coupons or other such promotions…directly on your Google+ Page." In other words, you can run a promotion on another site and include a link to it on your Google+ Page, but that's about it.

Twitter has guidelines too, but most are designed to prevent spamming. For example, Twitter asks that companies discourage people from creating multiple accounts, and from posting the same tweet repeatedly. For example, a brand that awarded a user who tweeted the same message the most times would likely be in violation.

Violating platform guidelines can get you kicked off the platform, so make sure you know these rules.

4. Know the Risks

Most of the social media promotions recently gone wrong have not failed due to broken laws or platform rules. Rather, companies failed to account for risks inherent to the social media space. Social media is interactive, but remember that the more control you turn over to consumers, the less you’ll have.

Public voting produces some of the biggest problems. If you allow the public to determine a winner, you’ll almost certainly have to watch for cheating. In some cases, cheating can be so extensive that it will derail your promotion. Indeed, some companies have spent countless hours trying to plug holes, respond to complaints and regain control of their promotions. It's fine to allow consumers some input, but don't give them complete control.

Cheating isn't the worst that can happen — lawsuits pose a big threat. For example, Quiznos ran a contest that asked people to create videos showing why their subs were better than Subway’s. Then Subway sued Quiznos over some of the entries. Be careful what you ask customers to submit; if you encourage them to provide problematic content, you may not be able to distance yourself from that content later on.

Before you launch a promotion, spend some time thinking about possible setbacks, and take steps to plug potential holes before consumers exploit them. A little work up front can save you a lot of time, aggravation and legal fees later.

Images courtesy of Flickr, Thomas Hawk, s_falkow, programwitch

More About: Contests, contributor, features, Marketing, promotions, Social Media, trending

Google Maps Now Shows Android Users Indoor Floorplans

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 12:58 PM PST


Navigating the outdoor world has been made extra easy over the years thanks to GPS and services such as Google Maps, but finding your way throughout malls, buildings and airports hasn't been optimal until now.

Google introduced on Tuesday a feature included in its new Google Maps 6.0 for Android update that broadens its maps coverage beyond cities and countries to cover some heavily-trafficked indoor spaces.

"When you're inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help," Google said via its Lat Log Blog. "With the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you’re on and where to go indoors."

Android smartphone and tablet users can view detailed floor plans on their devices when they zoom in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar "blue dot" icon indicates a user's location, and it automatically updates when they switch floors.

The company said it has already partnered with various retailers and transit centers, including the Mall of America in Minneapolis, IKEA, The Home Depot, various Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations, Chicago O'Hare airport, San Francisco International Airport and Narita International airport in Tokyo.

With Google Maps 6.0 for Android, users also can now use a toolbar to quickly navigate through features, from viewing their location on a map and finding GPS directions to discovering which restaurants and stores are nearby. In addition, a new home screen has also been added for its Places feature which highlights popular searches for current locations.

The latest mobile software update is available for download from the Android Market for Android OS 2.1+ devices.

More About: android, Google, Google Maps, Google Maps 6.0

Behind the Scenes of the Mario Kart 7 Ad [VIDEO]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 12:31 PM PST

The new Mario Kart 7 ad looks like it’s probably CGI, right? It might look like it, but it’s not.

The ad for the latest title to hit the Nintendo 3DS is bright, shiny, and fun, just like the game itself, but it’s made of real cars and real drivers, as evidenced by a new behind-the-scenes clip from the ad team.

Check out the official ad above, then get a glimpse of the making of the ad in a short behind-the-scenes clip below.

More About: Advertising, mario kart, trending

The Remarkable Story of How Klout Got Started [VIDEO]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 12:12 PM PST


While recuperating after having his jaw wired shut, Joe Fernandez had to rely on Twitter and Facebook to communicate. Unable to speak to anyone, he noticed how online communication influenced his personal network and set out to create a website that could measure word of mouth and how it scaled.

That website is what we know today as Klout, where Fernandez is CEO. In the video above, Fernandez shares his story with Venture Studio.

Check out new episodes of Venture Studio every Tuesday and Thursday on Mashable.

Follow Venture Studio, in association with Mashable, which is brought to you by Square1 Bank. The show is hosted by Dave Lerner, a 3x entrepreneur and angel investor. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Additional Recent Episodes of Venture Studio:

More About: joe fernandez, klout, mashable video, venture studio

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Tether: Apple Pulled Our App Because It ‘Burdens Carriers’

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 12:09 PM PST


Apple pulled the iTether app from iTunes on Tuesday because it placed too great a burden on the wireless carriers’ networks, according to the maker of the app.

Tether, which created iTether, wrote on its blog that Apple called the company around 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Though Apple pointed out that the app placed too much stress on the carriers, “They offered us no way to remedy the solution…We were very clear when listing the app what the primary function was and [Apple] even followed up with several questions and requested a video demo” before approving the app, according to Tether’s blog. Note: Tether’s site appears to be overwhelmed by traffic; its blog only works intermittently.

Apple reps could not be reached for comment.

iTether went live on iTunes on Monday for $14.99. Customers who bought the app were able to connect their PC or Mac to their iPhone data plan without paying extra fees. The arrangement was particularly attractive if you had an unlimited data plan from Sprint or AT&T (though the latter requires that you are grandfathered in).

Apple’s approval was either accidental, or the company didn’t foresee complaints by the wireless carriers. Either way, the app’s appearance on iTunes, like that of another tethering app that made the rounds in 2010, was short-lived.

Tether’s position is that the carriers would benefit from the app, however. “Our team is very disappointed in Apple's decision,” reads the post, “as we strongly believe we help carriers better monetize their data stream by pushing customers into new data tiers further increasing their bottom-line.”

The post also noted that the app’s average user consumes 200 MB of data per month, versus 300-400 MBs for Netflix, an Apple-approved app.

Despite Tether’s stand, it seems the app is down for good. For those who downloaded the app within that short window, however, there’s some good news. As the post notes, “According to Apple, users who purchase iTether before it was pulled will continue to be able to use the product.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, ping ping

More About: apple, apps, att, sprint, verizon

Microsoft Xbox Kinect Ad Pays Hommage To Hacks

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PST


The new Microsoft Kinect ad shows how the simple gaming device has expanded to something much more due to innovative thinking. The commercial shows how “unexpected things” like program hacks have made the motion sensor detector applicable not just in gaming, but also in the arts, science, education and medicine.

While some of the examples given in the video might be fictional, examples of how the Kinect device can appeal to a broader platform have already been shown on the Internet with DIY user hack projects.

SEE ALSO: 7 Mind-Blowing Xbox Kinect Hacks [VIDEOS]

Watch the video below and see how the Kinect is more than just a fun entertainment device for the Xbox.

More About: Advertising, hacks, kinect, mashable, microsoft, Microsoft Kinect, Xbox 360, Xbox Kinect

Is Facebook Doing Enough to Protect Your Privacy? [POLL]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:50 AM PST


Facebook’s privacy settings have faced scrutiny from users for years, and the world’s largest social network has often reassured them that their personal information would remain private.

But on Tuesday, Facebook agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission, which said that reassurances regarding privacy tweaks in 2009 were “unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.”

As the FTC announced the proposed settlement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a statement in which he promised to work hard to remedy any wrongdoings. “I’m the first to admit that we’ve made a bunch of mistakes,” he wrote. “We can also always do better. I’m committed to making Facebook the leader in transparency and control around privacy.”

Do you believe Zuck? Is Facebook doing enough, or is the FTC settlement only the beginning? Take our poll and let us know.

Below the poll, you’ll find a list detailing what FTC wants Facebook to do and another list explaining Facebook’s next steps. Both lists should help you make an informed decision when casting your vote.


What the FTC Wants Facebook to Do Now

According to FTC’s statement, Facebook is:

  • barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers’ personal information;
  • required to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences;
  • required to prevent anyone from accessing a user’s material no more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account;
  • required to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program designed to address privacy risks associated with the development and management of new and existing products and services, and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consumers’ information; and
  • required, within 180 days, and every two years after that for the next 20 years, to obtain independent, third-party audits certifying that it has a privacy program in place that meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order, and to ensure that the privacy of consumers’ information is protected.

How Facebook Will Handle the Situation

Zuckerberg says Facebook has proactively addressed many of FTC’s concerns prior to Tuesday’s announcement, and that the settlement provides a framework for how Facebook and other companies should approach privacy.

Facebook plans to continue making product changes to meet FTC’s requirements. Zuckerberg says Facebook also will:

  • improve and formalize the way we do privacy review as part of our ongoing product development process. As part of this, we will establish a biannual independent audit of our privacy practices to ensure we’re living up to the commitments we make;
  • create two new corporate officer roles to make sure our commitments will be reflected in what we do internally — in the development of our products and the security of our systems — and externally — in the way we work collaboratively with regulators, government agencies and privacy groups from around the world;
  • serve you as best we can and work every day to provide you with the best tools for you to share with each other and the world. We will continue to improve the service, build new ways for you to share and offer new ways to protect you and your information better than any other company in the world.

In August, Facebook unveiled a privacy overhaul, which involved changes to profiles, status updates, locations and tags (see gallery below for details).


Privacy Controls: Profile Editing




You can edit the visibility of individual parts of your profiles right from the profile editing page. In the past, this had to be done from the Privacy Settings page.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Facebook, facebook privacy, facebook privacy settings, FTC, poll, privacy

5 Artistic Uses of Google Street View

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:36 AM PST


Mark Wright is a freelance arts writer and assistant editor of the Image Source blog.

People are using Google Street View for more than checking travel routes. You can use the mapping tool to test hotel neighborhoods, to take virtual tours of the world's most famous art galleries, or to arrange imagery for innovative photography and video projects.

SEE ALSO: Top 28 Google Street View Sightings

The Google Street View (GSV) car, fitted with 15 directional cameras, captures panoramas from over 30 countries – but not without controversy. In 2010, GSV cars inadvertently collected payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, and a few weeks ago Google offered an opt-out from Wi-Fi tracking to curb further criticism. Similarly, privacy advocates object that the GSV cameras film potential break-ins, men entering adult bookstores and other activities people would prefer not be photographed.

Aaron Hobson's Cinemascapes project helps to remind us that Google's mapping tool still has its virtues. Hobson's photo series includes beautiful images of remote locations found on GSV.

And his photo collections are only the beginning. Read on to discover five creative uses of Google Street View imagery.

1. Aaron Hobson: Beautiful Images of Remote Locations

Photographer Aaron Hobson has combed GSV to find breathtaking images of mountain passes, crossroads and forests heavy with fog. The images proved so popular that last week his website crashed with the weight of 50,000 visitors in one day.

Hobson became "addicted to this world of virtual travel" after using GSV to scout locations for a film he is directing in Los Angeles. Soon he was exploring other places around the globe for his own amusement. "I would start on a remote road in Norway, for example, and just go forward on it for miles and miles," he explained in an email interview. Hobson spent hours on GSV, strolling through empty countryside, tundra and deserts, "remote locations of splendor and beauty."

Hobson doesn't add or remove anything from the original GSV image, and only performs minor retouching. "I probably spend 5-10 minutes retouching each image before it is finalized," he said. "I only use HD street views, so the images are very sharp to begin with."

2. Tom Jenkins: Stop-Motion Adventure

Similar to Hobson's "virtual world of travel," Jenkins' stop-motion animation short, Address is Approximate, follows a lonely desk toy on a cross-country road trip. The three-minute GSV compilation was produced, animated, filmed, lit, edited and graded by Tom Jenkins, who joked to The Atlantic, "I was the only crew member, which made for a depressing wrap party."

The Pixar-esque short has gone viral, generating 1.3 million views within eight days of its upload.

3. Arcade Fire: Childhood Nostalgia

Last year, rock band Arcade Fire, together with director Chris Milk and Google, launched an interactive video called The Wilderness Downtown. The promo for the band's song “We Used to Wait” was coded in HTML5 and designed to showcase the capabilities of Google's Chrome browser.

The experience starts by asking the viewer to enter her childhood address. The browser then splinters into multiple windows and produces images of the viewer's personal geography (if enough footage exists) from GSV and Maps.

Cutting-edge web elements combine to produce a surprisingly emotional experience. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Chris Milk said "Google Maps and Street View embody this contradiction of cold high-tech that can be incredibly emotional when used in the right context."

4. Doug Rickard: A Forgotten America

Whereas the previous artists celebrate GSV's potential for virtual travel and emotional experience, the following collection showcases an incredibly different corner of society.

Photographer Doug Rickard's A New American Picture takes us to the impoverished areas of Detroit, Memphis and Oakland. The GSV photographs offer voyeuristic glimpses of derelict houses and untended roads, a forgotten America captured with mechanical indifference, from high and distant vantage points. Oftentimes people's faces are blurred (Google's solution to privacy issues).

5. Mishka Henner: A Social Statement

Photographer Mishka Henner's No Man's Land series, self-published in book form, collects GSV screengrabs of roadside prostitutes in rural Italy. Henner decided to publish when he discovered online communities that use Street View to share information about the locations of sex workers – one of the darker uses of GSV.

BONUS: 28 Strange Google Street View Sightings From Around the World


1. Birdman




We're hoping this was for a kid's birthday party... In fact, this scene and others were staged by Street with a View as a prank on Google.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: art, contributor, features, Google, photography, street view, trending

Why Your Identity Is Worth $5,000 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:22 AM PST

Your identity is worth almost $5,000 to a criminal. An estimated 9 million Americans’ identities are stolen each year. And a whopping 43% of theft victims know the criminals who steal their information.

That’s according to this ZoneAlarm infographic, which explains common ways identities are stolen including just how much your identity is actually worth and tips for keeping your information safe.

Identity theft costs each individual victim approximately $4,841. That’s the equivalent of roughly 210 hours of work (at the average national hourly wage). It takes 33 hours on average to solve an identity theft case.

Overall, identity theft cost people a total of $37 million in 2010. While high, that number is actually down from $56 million in 2009. Despite the lower total, individuals paid 63% more ($631) in 2010, up from $387 in 2009.

SEE ALSO: 25 Worst Passwords of 2011 [STUDY]

Identity theft doesn’t just happen online, either. The ways your information is stolen ranges from snail mail to computer hacks to dumpster dives.

ZoneAlarm also lists steps to take if your identity is stolen. The main takeaway, however, is to be proactive and track your accounts; only 45% of theft cases are discovered by consumers.

Do you know any great tips for keeping your identity safe? Let us know in the comments.


More About: identity theft, infographics, online security, security

Cyber Monday Sales Top $1.25 Billion in U.S.

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 11:03 AM PST


Following a strong Black Friday, U.S. online sales for Cyber Monday amounted to $1.25 billion, up 22% from 2010′s record highs, according to comScore. In separate surveys, IBM and eBay found that U.S. sales increased by 33% and 24.6% this year, respectively.

Consumers on Monday spent an average of $198.26 per person, up 2.6% from Cyber Monday 2010, IBM found. Shopping peaked at 11:05 a.m. PT/2:05 p.m. ET, and picked up again during the evening hours.

As with Black Friday, the story this year was mobile. More than one in 10 people used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site Monday, and 6.6% of all purchases took place on mobile devices, nearly a threefold increase from 2010. Notably, traffic and sales from mobile devices were higher on Black Friday, suggesting consumers were turning to mobile devices in-store to comparison shop. Yet, total online sales were 29.3% greater than they were on Black Friday.

Social networks also drove a moderate number of sales. Shoppers referred from social networks accounted for 0.56% of all sales on Cyber Monday and 0.53% on Black Friday. Facebook was the big player, generating 86% of all social media traffic.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, zorani

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Tool Reveals Which Celebs, Models Have Been Photoshopped

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 10:44 AM PST

Photoshop Image

Researchers have finally come up with the answer to a question that’s plagued us all for years: “Just how much Photoshopping did that magazine cover model get?”

Researchers at the Department of Science at Dartmouth College have developed a software tool that can rate photographs based on how much they have been digitally altered with programs such as Adobe Photoshop. The proposed tool is part of an effort to bring truth to advertising and restore the perception of natural beauty.

“If the tool is used in the future, magazines and advertisements could have a warning label on images similar to a nicotine ad," Dr. Hany Farid, a professor of computer science and digital forensics at Dartmouth College, told Mashable. "There could be a number at the bottom of the photo revealing just how much it's been altered.”

Farid and Eric Kee, a Ph.D student in computer science at Dartmouth, published their research this week in the journal National Academy of Sciences.

The tool would work on a rating scale of one to five. Farid and Kee created a base metric by analyzing and statistically measuring results from various before-and-after photos. They then correlated these findings with a study group that was asked to rank the amount of photo alteration on a scale of one (very similar) to five (very different). This numbered metric could then be algorithmically applied to photos of, say, celebrities and models to reveal just how much photo-manipulation took place.

“The ubiquity of these unrealistic and highly idealized images has been linked to eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in men, women, and children,” the paper said. “In response, several countries have considered legislating the labeling of retouched photos.”

Although some countries in Europe such as Norway and France have already proposed the concept of labeling altered images, it has yet to be approved. "If legislation to label altered photos is passed then it will be important to have the right technology to determine the extent by which a photo has been altered," Farid said.

“If a magazine is only publishing pictures with ratings of five and you're a model with a high score, there may be incentive for editors to lean back on excessive altering and not be so extreme,” Farid said.

But the rating system would only work if all parties were on board, from the publishing world to legislation. “It's not something you want to rush into," Farid said. "Everyone would need to be in agreement and the right metrics and technology would have to be in place.”

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