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Amazon Kindle Publishers and Authors to Get More Royalties

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:43:19 +0000

Amazon announced details of a new program in which it will provide a new 70% royalty option for the Kindle, meaning authors and publishers can earn more royalties from every Kindle book that is sold. Under this new option, authors would get 70% of the list price, net of delivery costs. The option will not replace the current option of the DTP standard.

"Today, authors often receive royalties in the range of 7 to 15 percent of the list price that publishers set for their physical books, or 25 percent of the net that publishers receive from retailers for their digital books," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "We’re excited that the new 70 percent royalty option for the Kindle Digital Text Platform will help us pay authors higher royalties when readers choose their books."

Could higher royalties help push e-reader devices further into mainstream usage? Many think they are going to get much more popular anyway. When authors and publishers can get more money out of Kindle books, it’s going to help push more publication of e-books, if not Kindle-specific titles.

Rory Cellan-Jones at BBC News has an interesting piece, which asks, "Is publishing about to have an iPod moment?" It looks at the very real possibility that e-readers will become much more mainstream.

"…2010 is supposed to be the year that publishing’s digital revolution really gathers pace," he notes. "There is now a wide range of e-readers on the market – in the UK devices like the Sony Reader, the Cool-er, and Amazon’s Kindle are all making it relatively easy to download and read e-books."

We recently got an up-close look at the latest Cool-er devices at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas. You can check that out below.

As for the Kindle itself, DTP authors and publishers will be able to select the royalty option that best meets their needs. For that new 70% option, books must meet the following requirements:

- The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99

- This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book

- The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights

- The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.

- Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70 percent royalty will be calculated off the sales price.

The option is only for in-copyright works and is not available for books published previous to 1923, which are public domain. The option will only be available for books sold in the United States.

Related Articles:

> Amazon Sells More Kindle Books Than Real Books On Christmas

> Amazon Kindle Breaks Monthly Sales Record

> Amazon In eBook Deal With Best Selling Author

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Dynamic and Captivating Bus Stop Ads

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:46:22 +0000

This is a collection of some of the craziest bus stop ads I’ve ever seen. They go much further than print to actually captivate and command your attention. Even if you didn’t care about what’s being advertise, you would be interested. Very Dynamic.

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ACT NOW: The Applauding Bus Shelter
The Department of Environment and Conservation wanted to show their appreciation to people who were doing their bit for the planet by taking public transport to and from work. Agency Marketforce Perth set up a number of these applauding bus shelters in high traffic areas around the CBD. Motion sensors in the shelter triggered a recorded applause whenever someone entered.

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Anti-Litter Awareness: Rubbish
Everyday the rubbished found around the bus shelters was picked up and placed inside the bus shelter.

Click for fullview

Australia Post: Personalised Stamp
Australia Post’s online Personalised Post service via bus stop posters.

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Fijitravel: Undressed
This one is straight forward and was done for FijiTravel Resort. Now you see, this tell me that Fiji is well developed because in a 3rd world country, those clothing would be gone by now.

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Fisch Franke: Fish (Fresh as can be)
The living poster / Filled with water and real fish

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Fitness First: Bus stop
A simple and effective ad that measures and displays your weight as you sit on it. Couldn’t this get a little embarrassing?

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IKEA: Messy Bus Shelter
In the full view you get the full story but I must say – it’s not the most visual one of the bulk but it certainly gets attention. Personally it looks like junk.

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Kung Fu Panda: Crash
Nothing needs to be said about this other than awesome. I simply love it. I saw this poster many times around T.O but I’d be blown away if I had seen this.

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Magnum: 5 Senses Hazel Nuts
Magnum is an icon of indulgence for modern sexy women. After the success of Magnum 7 Sins, sales momentum slowed significantly in 2004. A fresh injection of news was needed to stir up excitement, regain the brand’s iconic position and give women something new and exciting to covet. Despite 30% reduced media investment, European women flocked to Magnum’s latest limited edition: the campaign for Magnum 5 Senses reclaimed the brand’s former strengths – stocks ran out by July, single sales increased by 18% in this impulse purchase sector and women rediscovered Magnum as an object of female desire.

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March Against the Terrorist Organization FARC: Hostages
February 4th is March Against the Terrorist Organization FARC. We took the bus stop posters and chained three (3) iconic characters of the Colombian conflict posing as hostages. A woman who reminisced Ingrid Betancourt (hostage for nine years now), a policeman and a farmer, all tied to the posters that held a message as follows: “Since you can do it, go out and march against FARC.”

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Natural Resources Defense Council: Bus shelter
Water is reaching the most unexpected places. Stop Global Warming.

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Omar Calçados (Footwear Store): Silhouette
The project is the installation of a feminine silhouette protected by two red curtains, showing only the film legs and shoes of the collection Omar Footwear. During the night, a play of light emphasizes the silhouette and the collection of shoes, thereby creating the presence of women within box of advertising.

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Osram Energy Saving Light Bulbs – Energy Saver
This outdoor idea not only embraces the media at its disposal but also gives consumers a realistic world of advice to help tackle the current energy crisis in South Africa. The execution ensures that the consumer interacts with the message when a light is triggered by a sensor as they approach the bus stop – illuminating the shelter as well as the message, which reads: “Only use electricity when you need it”.

This bus shelter is a strong reminder of how simple it is to save energy, by switching off a light when it’s not a use. And, so one of the world’s largest energy saving light bulb manufacturers, it shows that Osram is committed to educating consumers on just how easy it is to use energy.

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Perwoll Color Magic detergent: See colors (Color blindness test)
See the full view for the story on this one. You’ll learn it’s quite a clever solution to communicating what their product is about.

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PruHealth: Orange Dispenser
Pruhealth, a UK health insurance provider, turned London bus stops into fruit dispensers. A piece of fruit is delivered to onlookers each minute while stock lasts.

The bus stops have been converted to clear plastic hoppers which display and vend oranges. The instruction is “help yourself”. Each piece of fruit is labeled with the brand and a link to a micro-site containing a DIY health check.

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San Francisco Zoo: Critter Quest
This one is a perfect example of how engaging these campaigns are. To get people connected with the San Francisco Zoo, BBDO West in SF created a multi-media campaign called “Critter Quest”.

People stand in front of a series of local bus shelters and postings at the zoo, which are playfully adorned with everything from horns to butterfly wings and oversized ears. The copy suggests having a friend take a picture of you in front of the bus shelter/postings, and then instructs you to load on the OurSFZoo website . If you’re creative enough, your image might end up in a print ad for the San Fran Zoo’s attempt to reconnect with locals and visitors. Thousands have submitted photos so far – we’re interested in seeing how creative people will get.

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Sky Movies “Knocked Up”: Tadpoles
This one is pretty cool. To promote the screening of Knocked Up on SKY Movies DDB New Zealand collected thousands of tadpoles and converted an Eyelite into a fish tank. Then created a model of an unfertilized egg, full of fish food that the tadpoles were attracted to.

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Toshiba HD: Bus stop (3D effect)
A simple but effective concept to illustration the HD feature.

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Hasbro Cluedo: Bus Stop Killer
This has the potential to serious scare the shit out of some people. Doesn’t it? See pop-up for full story.

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Victoria Bug Zoo: Eyes
The Victoria Bug Zoo is all about experiencing the world of insects and spiders. This TSA, made from a plastic sheet with hundreds of small magnifying lenses, allowed passersby to see through a bug’s eyes.

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Mom Questioned for Posting Photo of Baby Smoking on Facebook

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:21:51 +0000

Topping the list of idiotic things to share on Facebook, 18-year-old mother Rebecca Davey of Southend, Essex (in the UK), posted a photo of her six-month-old son Ollie with an unlit cigarette in his month.

The Daily Mail reports that the smoking baby photo alarmed a few online friends, who reported Davey to the local authorities.

The Facebook photo, which was eventually removed (although later posted by the Daily Mail), prompted Essex police and social services to inquire about the well-being of the baby. They ultimately found that the child was not at risk.

Davey returned to the scene of the crime (Facebook) to offer her insightful analysis of the situation in a special language understood by her fellow friends and status updaters.

Davey wrote, “Some w***** reported me to the police abwt picture off ollie.”

Which was followed up by the ever-so eloquent sentiment, “Why Would SomeOne Do That To Me U Ollie No was taking U Yur Mine for lyfee Darlinggg Mummy Loves You .”

Once supporter wrote, “Some ppl r nosey f****** aint they!! dw ur a good mum they wont hassle u 4 long!!!”

While another pondered, “What chance has the kid got if the family behave like this?”

We hope that Mashable readers are savvy enough to know that posting a photo of your child smoking a cigarette online — unlit or not — is unwise. Should that not be case, let this be one lesson learned through the example of Rebecca Davey.

[img credit: Daily Mail]

Reviews: Facebook, Mashable

Tags: facebook, social media

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Article Marketing Expert Reveals 5 Article Templates for Thought Leaders

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:31:24 +0000

Thought leaders are experts who are recognized among their peers as an authority on innovative ideas within a particular industry. Thought leaders confidently promote their ideas. Most importantly, thought leaders have earned respect from the outside world for their deep understanding of their business, the needs of their clients and the broader marketplace in which they operate.

You can become a thought leader just by writing articles – just like I have. Because I’m found on top websites like About.com Home Business, SiteProNews.com, IMNewswatch and in ezines like John Kremer’s BookMarket.com ezine, I…

Have gained recognition from around the world. For example, I have customers and clients from Australia, Israel, France, Thailand, Taiwan, UK and Greece – and I’m based in the United States.
Get booked for speaking engagements.
Have people coming to me asking if I can do article writing and article marketing training programs.
Have my articles published in hard cover books like “Calling All Authors.”

I’m getting all this attention because I’m publishing free content that makes me the authority on article marketing. And, I’m getting these articles published on top, credible websites and not just article directories where anyone can get published as long as you follow the guidelines.

With that being said, are you ready to start writing articles that make you the “authority” in your industry?

Here Are 5 Article Templates to Help You Become a Thought Leader Fast

1. Case Study Article Template – With this template, you prove to your prospects that you are a true expert who has already gotten results using the formula you share within your article. By writing an article that a) explains a problem that your prospects are experiencing b) gives a step-by-step solution and c) reveals an outcome that your prospects desperately want — you will become the expert in their eyes. You will give prospects no choice but to want to go to your website and get on your list so they can get even more information. For an example of my of a case study article, check out my article: ” How to Promote Your Book to the Top of the New York Times Best Sellers List” .

Go to: http://tinyurl.com/yc7caq6

2. Top Mistakes Article Template – With this article template, you take a stand against what others in your industry are doing. For example, one of my new article marketing clients, James Sinclair who runs a restaurant consulting firm recently wrote an article titled: ” Restaurant Marketing: How $5 Promotions Are Killing Casual Dining Restaurants’ Profits.” Using TGI Friday’s and some other big name restaurants as examples, he proves to restaurant owners that you should not compete with Quick Serve restaurants by offering the same kinds of promotions that they use! Find out what mistakes are being made in your industry and let your prospects know what is going on, why it’s a mistake and what they should be doing instead.

3. Controversy Article Template – One of the best ways to achieve market “thought leadership” status is to stir up the market by taking some gray issues and make them black and white. This is a good opportunity to take current events and provide your expert analysis and supporting reasons why certain issues are good or bad for the market, economy and world.

4. Differentiation Article Template – If you want to be a thought leader then you must show you are different. When we first started ArticleMarketingExperts.com we set our prices at premium levels unseen in the article marketing industry. If we wanted people to invest in our services, we had to show prospects that we are thought leaders in the industry and that we have a different approach when it comes to article submission. That’s why we wrote the article: ” Choosing an Article Submission Service: 10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Spend Your Hard Earned Dollars.”

View the article here: http://tinyurl.com/ydgynb9

5. Your Questions Answered Article Template – If you want to be a thought leader than you have to be willing to provide top, unique information. And, you have to be willing to answer questions that everyone else is afraid to answer. If you can provide the information that your targeted prospects want that is found nowhere else, guess who will be the expert in their eyes. Guess whose sites they will want to visit so they can get even more information. And, guess whose products and services they will buy. So seek out the questions that your audience is asking that no one is answering. Then answer the questions in a Q & A article template.

If you write thought leadership articles using these article templates, you will become the “expert” in the eyes of your prospects, clients and the media (both online and offline.)

To see how you should organize your articles using these templates, check out my Instant Article Writing Templates Kit at http://www.StartWritingArticlesFaster.com

Article Marketing Expert Eric Gruber uses the power of articles to create online opportunities for Internet marketers, small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to experience the benefits of becoming a thought leader in their prospects’ eyes. Now, you can get his instant article writing templates that will help you write thought leader type articles in 30 minutes or less. Just for going to http://www.StartWritingArticlesFaster.com, he’s going to give you 3 of his favorite article templates for free!

Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Article Marketing Expert Reveals 5 Article Templates for Thought Leaders

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Newspapers Design

Web-Design — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:38:36 +0000

As this is one of my first posts on Abduzeedo I decided to write a quite unconventional one. I’m a regular reader of Abduzeedo since about a half year – I’ll never regret – but articles about printed mediums are pretty rare on Abduzeedo. So, in this post I’ll show you some newspaper designs that are great in my opinion. Also, there’s a great video from the TED Talks by Jacek Utko on how design can save newspapers.

If you know other newspapers with great design don’t hesitate in sharing with us. Leave a comment linking some photos so we can take a look at them.

Die Presse am Sonntag

I’m Austrian, therefore it’s pretty normal to subscribe to an Austrian newspaper. “Die Presse am Sonntag ” is the sunday edition of the daily paper “Die Presse”.

They have a great layout and quality journalism, but the sunday edition is even better designed:

Country: Austria
Circulation: about 270.000
http://www.diepresse.com

Hartford Courant

Since many years the Hartford Courant is constantly among the world’s best designed newspapers. I think that especially the typography is awesome.

Country: USA
Circulation: about 250.000
http://www.courant.com/

The Rzeczpospolita

The Rzeczpospolita won an award at the 27th competition of newspaper design of the SND (Society of Newspaper Design). In my opinion this newspaper really deserved this award, although the whole design’s quite conservatie and traditional.

Country: Poland
Circulation: about 200.000
http://www.rp.pl/

Dubai Xpress

A very new (launched in 2007), clear structured magazine.

Country: UAE
Circulation: 80000-10000, weekly
http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/xpress

Chicago Sun-Times

The redesigned look of a popular daily paper in Chicago. In my opinion, the standard of the content is debatable, the design isn’t.

Country: USA
Circulation: about 310.000
http://www.suntimes.com/index.html

The Virginian Pilot

There’s nothing to say about this design, except: Absolutely awesome.

Country: USA
Circulation: about 200.000
http://pilotonline.com/

The Guardian

And, last, but definitely not least, maybe world’s best designed newspaper.

Country: UK
Circulation: about 330.000
http://www.guardian.co.uk

TED Talks

Jacek Utko designs to save newspapers

About the Author

I’m LuKas Salomon a young Austrian design interested guy who is pretty new in the online design scene. I write on several design focussed blogs and gonna launch an own blog soon.

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Microsoft Downplays Internet Explorer Security Hole

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:16:10 +0000

With world governments advising citizens to switch from Internet Explorer to alternative browsers, and an unpatched security hole in at least two major versions of Internet Explorer, Microsoft has to do something to restore faith in their browser. Easiest way to do it, apparently, is saying that other browsers are even worse than IE.

Microsoft’s UK security chief Cliff Evans told Techradar that “The net effect of switching [from IE] is that you will end up on less secure browser,” and that “the risk [over this specific] exploit is minimal compared to Firefox or other competing browsers… you will be opening yourself up to security issues.”

Evans then downplays the seriousness of this problem. “The reality of the risk is minimal, even if you have IE6; you would have to go to a website running the exploit,” he says. Even if we disregard the fact that many very serious browser vulnerabilities work in that way – e.g. you have to visit a website running an exploit to be affected – there’s still the fact that this particular vulnerability isn’t just lab-tested, it’s been successfully used on unsuspecting victims in the real world. This alone makes it as serious as security holes go.

Evans continues to undermine the security record of other browsers. “There are broader risks and issues with other browsers,” he claims, at the same time admitting that the IE vulnerability that caused this entire mess probably isn’t present with other browsers. “I’m not aware that the vulnerability exists in other products, but those products may have other vulnerabilities,” he says.

While one can say that absolutely no piece of software is ever completely secure, this logic is flawed. Microsoft’s IE has a serious, unpatched security vulnerability, and pointing to possible holes that other browsers may or may not have won’t make it go away.

Tags: internet explorer, security, web browsers

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Before & After: AussieMite

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:46:43 +0000

B&B Studio have created the new identity and packaging for AussieMite, a yeast extract from Australia. They have created the identity, packaging expression, stationery, right through to it’s online presence:

“B&B was tasked with creating a more premium look and feel for AussieMite, ‘All we had to keep was the name’, says Creative Partner Shaun Bowen. ‘We built on the heritage of the brand and the naturalness of the product. The aim was to create a distinct and premium brand identity to take AussieMite to the next level and set it apart from the rest of the category’.

The product is a natural yeast extract made from premium GM free ingredients, sourced from responsible farming practices.

AussieMite is due to be relaunched in Australia early this year, with plans to launch in the UK later this year.”

See the previous design after the jump.

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Free Music Monday: 10 Downloads For Your Listening Pleasure

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:37:49 +0000

Greetings, music fans! After a bit of holiday hiatus, we’re happy to report it’s another Free Music Monday for your listening pleasure. If you’ve tuned in previously you’ll know we’re celebrating the #musicmonday tradition on Twitter.

We pick 10 tracks from around the web and offer you either links to the downloads or streams, or embed the streams when possible. Our last feature was a special Video Edition, and this week we’re catching up on the backlog of all your great submissions. Each entry this week includes at least one free MP3 download for your listening pleasure.

1. Brian Ray: “I Found You” — When not busy touring with Paul McCartney’s band, guitarist, bass player, songwriter and native Californian Brian Ray pens solo rock tunes like this. Stream it for free from the previous link and snag a free download too (right-click to save it to your desktop).

2. Róisín Murphy: “Momma’s Place” — Irish producer and singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy is perhaps best known as the former frontwoman for electronica duo Moloko, and has gone on to a critically acclaimed solo career. Right-click for a free download of her latest single, out now with an EP of remixes on iTunes [iTunes link].

3. Impediments: “You Want a Square” — Four teenagers from Oakland are responsible for this fun post-punk garage rock song with surf and psychedelia highlights. Snag a free download by right-clicking, grab another track from the Free Music Archive and check out the band on MySpace.

4. Jump Clubb: “A Frozen Hug” — A little bit of techno, a little bit of disco, a little bit of electropop and some various genres to taste. Grab two free MP3s from their site.

5. Matt McCloskey: “These Times Won’t Last” — Get Austin singer-songwriter Matt McCloskey’s full album as a free download for a limited time — just enter your e-mail address to receive the download link.

6. Milkman: Lactose and THC — San Diego-based mashup artist and producer Milkman has his sophomore release up for sale, but is offering his debut album for free streaming and download.

7. Kirsten DeHaan: “1984″ — Indie singer-songwriter Kirsten DeHaan offers Mashable readers a free download: right-click to snag the MP3 for “1984.” This New York-based artist recently put out the Thorns on a Crown EP, available from her website.

8. Elspeth: “Old Age” — Irish rockers Elspeth are a five-piece indie group who have been gigging widely in the UK since coming together in March 2009. Right-click for a free download of the “Old Age” MP3 and check out more about the band on their MySpace page.

9. Caroline Herring: “Tales of the Islander” — The fourth album from Atlanta-based Mississippi native Caroline Herring invokes Americana roots and iconic folk females with a mix of originals and covers showcasing Herring’s strong and complex vocals. She offers Mashable readers a free download of “Tales of the Islander” (right-click to snag it).

10. The Brothers Streep: “Anna Paquin” — Equal parts humorous and harmonious, The Brothers Streep serve up this tribute to the True Blood and X-Men star for your free download pleasure (right-click to get it). More free tunes are available on their website.

As always, thanks for tuning in! If you like Free Music Monday, please give us a push by sending it to your music-loving friends. You can find the latest edition of this feature by hitting up the Free Music Monday tag page, so please check back. We’ve appended the list of past Special Edition themed Free Music Mondays at the end of this post in case you missed any of the back catalog.

Thanks huge to everyone for the great submissions we’re getting. If you sent us tracks and we haven’t featured them yet, stay tuned for a future Free Music Monday. If you’d like to submit tracks for yourself or an artist you represent, give us a shout at barb AT mashable DOT com. Be sure to send us either a link to an embeddable stream or an MP3 or two we can use (no more than 25MB file size total please) and/or let us know which track(s) you’re willing to provide as a free download. Thanks everyone!

Free Music Monday Back Catalogue

– Alternative Rock Edition
– Covers, Remixes, and Mashups Edition
– Electronica Edition
– Hip-hop Edition
– Labor Day Edition
– Live Edition
– Rock and Pop Edition
– Singer-Songwriter Edition
– Video Edition
– Your Submissions Edition

Reviews: Mashable

Tags: free music monday, mp3s, music, social media

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Creative Spotlight: Un.titled

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:30:45 +0000

Un.titled is a creative agency. They are an enclitic group of thinkers, designers, programmers and artists. Their passion is to engage an audience; tease, tempt, entertain and compel with and elusive mix of big ideas and bold design. Never defined by one media, they move seamlessly between online and offline, creating astonishing brand experiences with some of the world’s most respected companies.

Name: Un.titled

Site: http://un.titled.co.uk

Location: Leicester, UK

Select/Notable Clients: Nike, Clarks, Agenda, Jockey, Lacoste Footwear, Mint Advertising, Sheridan & Co, NTU, Puma, Phoenix Arts, Speedo, Wembley Stadium.

GAGA 2009

Hickling & Squires

NTU Art & Design Invites

Web

Photography

Sponsored by

Advertise on Fuel Your Creativity.
Fuel Your Creativity 2009 cc (creative commons license)

Creative Spotlight: Un.titled

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Vodafone Sells 50,000 iPhones in First 24 Hours

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:44:38 +0000

Vodafone, the fourth carrier in the UK to get the iPhone, had an impressive first day of sales, unloading more than 50,000 iPhones on Thursday alone according to The Independent. To put that in perspective, Vodafone sold 30,000 more iPhones in a single day than Google sold Nexus Ones in a full week.

What’s perhaps most interesting about the news is that in the UK the iPhone is already sold by Orange, O2 (whose exclusive deal with Apple expired at the end of 2009), and Tesco. In fact, Vodafone actually out sold Orange by a ratio of 5:3 for the first 24 hour period.

The Independent writes:

“There had been fears the group would see customers move to rival operators as a result. However, one company insider said: “When we didn’t get the iPhone initially, everyone predicted that customers would leave. These sales figures have proved that wrong.”

This came despite Vodafone offering customers the device on a similar tariff to Orange and O2, scotching talk that a bitter price war was set to break out. Both Orange and Vodafone have instead looked to sell the phone off the strength of their networks. Mr Laurence reiterated yesterday that the “exceptional demand” had been driven by the strength of the company’s network.”

If anything, Vodafone’s initial success with the iPhone clearly demonstrates that each additional carrier matters to Apple’s bottom-line, and may even serve as a bit of foreshadowing for the day that Verizon gets the iPhone in the United States.

Tags: iphone, Mobile 2.0, vodafone

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BitTorrent Community OiNK’s Founder Cleared of Charges in UK Court

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:53:52 +0000

In October 2007, Alan Ellis, the owner of the popular invite-only BitTorrent community OiNK.cd, was arrested in Middlesbrough, UK. The first person in the UK to be prosecuted for illegal file-sharing, Ellis was just found not guilty of conspiracy to defraud in a Teesside Crown Court.

When the IFPI raided OiNK more than two years ago, the case was unique not only because of its location (the UK), but because OiNK was always an invite-only community. You usually had to know someone to get an invitation, and there were very strict ratio requirements, as well as rules regarding quality of uploads.

A large part of the prosecution’s case against Ellis was that he had more than $300,000 in his PayPal account, as well as 10 other bank accounts with about ¬£20,000 spread across them. These funds were from donations that users could make to support server costs and other maintenance fees. Donations were not a requirement to join the site. Disclosure: I was a member of OiNK and made a donation, probably of ¬£25 or so at least once before it was shut-down.

Lots of major BitTorrent trackers were shut down in 2007, but the OiNK case was different not only because of its focus on a private community, but also because the founder was personally charged in court. Ellis’s argument, that OiNK didn’t actually host any of the music, was one echoed by The Pirate Bay owners in their trial, albeit with more pleasant results.

The Chief Superintendent for Cleveland Police told the Yorkshire Post:

“This has been a fair investigation. The jury has been presented with all the evidence and we abide by their decision.”

Tags: bittorrent, law, money, oink

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Online Book Piracy Nearing $3 Billion

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:42:47 +0000

Publishers could be losing between $2.75- 3 billion due to online book piracy, according to a new report from Attributor.

Attributor’s FairShare Guardian service monitored 913 popular books in 14 categories in the fourth quarter of 2009. FairShare tracked the number of successful downloads completed for each of the 913 titles on four file sharing sites that make download data available (4shared.com, scribd.com, wattpad.com and docstoc.com). Across those four sites, a total of 3.2 million downloads took place.

Across the top 25 one-click hosting sites a total download figure of over 9 million copies was projected with an estimated loss of $380 million. Each book’s retail price and category information was collected from Amazon.com.

Among the 14 book categories tracked, piracy was most common in the business and investing category with an average of 13,000 free downloads per title. The professional and technical category trailed followed by science, computer and Internet.

The 913 titles in this study represents works from publishers totaling 13.5 percent of the U.S. book publishing market. Projecting the $380 million value to the entire industry results in total potential piracy of $2.8 billion.

Related Articles:

>Illegal File Sharing In The UK Declines

>Streaming Music Turning Users Away From Music

>French Lawmakers Take Up Revised Internet Piracy Bill

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35+ Fantastic Examples Of Beautiful Flash Websites

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:23:08 +0000

Having a full of animation or jazzy looking flash website is a dream for those who are the admirer of flash work but to find amazing flash websites for inspiration is not that easy. koflash.com is the one stop service place for flash fans to discover amazing flash innovations mankind has to offer. Yes, the mentioned innovations do include all the popular topics like 3D, games, cars, portfolios, etc. Basically, the site is the good step towards all the latest flash goodies existing in this cyber world. The connections you’ll get from koflash will surely be worth your time, whether you’re just roaming around or seriously looking for some flash inspirations. To prove the words above, here are some of the best flash sites koflash have collected over time.

If you want to share more fantastic examples of flash websites so please comment about them below. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at smashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed and you can follow us on twitter and do not forget to become our fan on facebook as well.

The Flagship Experience

Welcome to the American Airlines – featuring Business and First Class service between the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

ELSE Mobile

ELSE offers a totally new definition of what a mobile device can be. ELSE is a totally new concept driven purely by user experience rather than by technology.

Wonderwall

Wonderwall is an interior design firm established by Masamichi Katayama. Its portfolio includes commercial spaces such as retail spaces, restaurant and bars, as well as office showrooms and building complexes that are distinctly unique in design and yet attentive to function.

The Editing Table

Nicola Walbeck

The Wrong Door

The Wrong Door, BBC3’s new comedy series set on The Asteroid

Silenzio

A movie poster maker and marketing agency. The website is directed by Unity, Web artistic direction Jocker / CREAKTIF(Axel Corjon), development, motion design Lab9.

Falcon’s Treehouse

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Falcon’s Treehouse is an experienced design company specializing in master planning, attraction design, special venues, destination resorts, theme parks, media production, museums, science centers, and more.

SeymourPowell

SeymourPowell Product Design Consultancy are experts in Product Design, Product development, Consumer Product research and industrial design consultants. This Product Design Company is based in London UK.

Martin Anderle

Fruit Shoot

Browse the new Fruit Shoot website with how-to videos for beat boxing, soccer skills and much more!

Breathe Architecture

Quality and style are central to Breathe Architecture’s unique sustainable designs. We expertly combine environmental and aesthetic principles to create stunning buildings with a lighter footprint.

History of Flight

Know Your History. Soar through Michael Jordan’s amazing career at History of Flight.

The Sound of Orange RockCorps

You can create your own unique track with your mates and unleash it online. You can also connect to your facebook and you can see which of your friends have already taken part.

Saab Change Perspective

When you look beyond the obvious, you open up to alternative ways of seeing things. As you gain a different perspective on the world, you also bring a certain attitude to everything you do. To Saab, this means building cars unlike any other. Here you can share this view.

addidas outdoor

Real Casual

Cartelle

Cartelle is a creative unit based in Amsterdam, founded by Johnny Slack & Stevijn van Olst. With a small agile team of professionals, Cartelle delivers high quality interactive experiences. Constantly looking for fresh solutions, we offer new creative approaches in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Cloudy Meat Balls

Columbia Pictures’ and Sony Pictures Animation’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children’s book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

JPEG Interactive

Jam is a creative director, an experienced web designer, a veteran Flash developer and the co-founder of Shanghai-based web creative agency 01media.

Imagining Mozambique

The traveling art show collective, ‘Imagining Mozambique’ is a fundraising drive for ASEM, a non-profit organization that helps the children of Mozambique.

LBi Atlanta

LBi Atlanta is a leading full service digital agency. They have developed a successful business by fusing strategy with creativity, and technology to create highly effective marketing and business solutions.

Shinkansen and Love

2Advanced

Coca Cola Zero

Coca Cola Zero – Real Coke Taste, Zero Calories. The official website of Coca Cola Zero. Watch Commercials. Play Games.

Parasol Island

Parasol Island is producing nationally and internationally awarded film, animation and interactive projects for exclusive client portfolio – ranging from companies in the lifestyle and entertainment, as well as, consumer industries.

Hobnox Audiotool

SoInteractive

DigitalKick

Mercedes AMG

Toyota iQ

Toyota iQ – Virtual Test Drive.

Nissan Cars UK

Ocean Recon

Royal Australian Navy Submariners – DefenceJobs

Want to know what goes on inside a Collins Class Submarine? Dive below the surface for a unique view of the inner workings of Australia’s silent fleet. Complete real-life missions to earn your submariner dolphins and experience life beneath the surface.

Oddo Design

This is an award-winning graphic design firm that helps companies build stronger brands, increase sales, improve customer retention, and educate customers and employees. Now located in the Texas Hill Country, just outside of Austin, Texas, the firm was originally established in 1989, in Houston, by Tommy Oddo.

Dvein 2009

Motion and Interactive Studio based in Barcelona, Spain. DVIEN creates Live Actions, Motion graphics, 3D Animations, Flash, and Films.

Sony Bravia

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Who is Steve Jobs? 20% of Britain Don’t Know! [UK Survey Reveals Steve Jobs May Be Involved With a Trade Union, Bill Gates is a Comedian]

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:33:16 +0000

I wouldn’t like to insult our regular readers of TFTS but for those out of the know who are wondering who is Steve Jobs, you guys should know that he’s the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple. What’s up with that you may ask? Well after reading a report that two in ten people in Britain don’t know who the guy is, we decided to shed some light for those who’re trying to find out.

(…)
Read the rest of Who is Steve Jobs? 20% of Britain Don’t Know! [UK Survey Reveals Steve Jobs May Be Involved With a Trade Union, Bill Gates is a Comedian]

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Genius G-Shot HD550T HD Camcorder Announced [Budget G-Shot HD550T Camcorder Starts Selling in the UK Next Week]

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:55:02 +0000

Although Genius took the wraps of its new G-Shot HD550T camcorder four months ago, in October, it looks like they have done a great job slacking off, as we caught wind today that the device finally finding its way to UK customers starting January 18th.

(…)
Read the rest of Genius G-Shot HD550T HD Camcorder Announced [Budget G-Shot HD550T Camcorder Starts Selling in the UK Next Week]

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Vodafone iPhone 3GS UK Availability Confirmed [Vodafone UK to Start Selling the iPhone 3GS, Data Plans & Prices Revealed]

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:24:37 +0000

One month after giving notice that the HTC HD2 will be discontinued for general customers in favor to Apple’s smartphone, today, as promised, Vodafone UK have officially announced that they’re the latest British carrier to bring the new iPhone 3GS to their customers.

(…)
Read the rest of Vodafone iPhone 3GS UK Availability Confirmed [Vodafone UK to Start Selling the iPhone 3GS, Data Plans & Prices Revealed]

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Twitter Grows Internationally, But Very Few Use Location [STATS]

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:42:24 +0000

New data from social media analytics firm Sysomos shows that despite the U.S. traffic flatline, Twitter is still growing in popularity internationally.

Whereas in June of last year the U.S. accounted for 62 percent of all active Twitter users, that number has fallen to 50 percent. Significant growth in countries like Germany, Brazil and Indonesia has contributed to Twitter’s burgeoning international user share over the past six months.

Brazil’s growth from 2 percent to 8.8 percent puts it in second place behind the United States for active Twitter users. The UK is close behind at 7.2 percent. Drilling down into users by city, London, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, New York City and Chicago make up the top five in terms of unique users, but New York contributes the most total tweets at 2.37 percent. The data above was compiled from a study of more than 13 million unique Twitter accounts active between October 16 and December 16, 2009.

Another interesting reveal from the study is how startlingly few Twitter users have enabled the location feature that allows geographic information to be attached to their tweets. Only a paltry 0.23 percent of 10 million tweets Sysomos looked at this week were tagged with their locations.

The geolocation feature has only been live to all since November, though, so it may just take some time for the concept to reach people — and for third parties to build features that really take advantage of the location information. For now, it seems that not many people feel there’s a compelling reason to enable the location service just yet.

Surely Twitter’s push to launch its various language versions, including German, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese, has contributed to its international growth spurt. Do you think international growth is the key to solving Twitter’s growth problem?

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Tags: Brazil, germany, Indonesia, social media, stats, traffic, twitter, united states

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Want to Make Money on Twitter? Take a Look at How Dell Does It

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:19:41 +0000

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

Dell is a shining example of a brand that has managed to turn their Twitter presence into both a customer service and sales outlet. Dell may be a big corporation, but the story behind the $6.5 million they’ve raised from their Twitter presence is one that shines a light on a road to success that any company, regardless of size, can learn from and emulate.

I asked Dell’s Senior Manager for Corporate Affairs, Richard Binhammer — otherwise known as RichardatDell — to elaborate on Dell’s Twitter success. The following are principles extracted from that email interview.

1. The Right Motivation is Key

If you’re simply motivated to make money from Twitter, your heart is in the wrong place. Dell’s strategy is to turn Twitter into an opportunity to build better relationships with customers, which ultimately leads to stronger sales.

According to Binhammer, Dell didn’t initially approach Twitter with dollar signs in their minds, but instead as a listening outpost. “Dell first heard about Twitter at SXSW a few years back and got excited about the listening aspect of Twitter,” he said.

The businesses side of listening was an unintended but welcome bonus to their effective presence on Twitter.

“Dell’s goal has always been to be an online leader and connect with customers wherever they are. It starts with listening and connecting with customers across the Web. This has proven to be invaluable to our business through the years. We see social media connections as a means to further strengthen those direct customer relationships. The added revenue has been a welcome addition to being where our customers are and connecting with them.”

2. Approach Twitter With a Multifaceted Strategy

Dell’s Twitter presence isn’t limited to a single account or purpose. Instead Dell takes a multifaceted approach to Twitter and attempts to serve niche customer communities and interests all over the world.

If you’re just looking for deals, they’ve got an account for that (@DellOutlet), if you just want breaking news there’s an account for that too (@Direct2Dell), and the list goes on.

In Binhammer’s own words, this is how Dell approaches Twitter:

- Direct connections between Dell and customers – listen, learn and engage in direct connections with customers (There are ~ 100 Dell employees using Twitter to connect with customers).

- Subscribe to Dell info – customers can subscribe and get Dell news from our blogs/Ideastorm Twitter.

- Dell offers from businesses – some of our businesses, notably Dell Outlet, publish their latest offers on Twitter.

- More about Dell businesses on Twitter: http://www.dell.com/twitter Here you will see various Dell business accounts such as: Small Business, Dell Canada, UK, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Dell Home Sales, Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, DellOutletIreland and UK and more

If anything, Dell’s all-hands-on-deck approach to Twitter, demonstrates that you need to serve your customers how they want to be served.

For small businesses in particular, Binhammer recommends that you “Make it easy for your customer to talk to you. Do simple things to thank your customers for their business. Ask them for suggestions. Go where your customers congregate, whether it be Facebook or Twitter or elsewhere, and participate in those conversations. Also, listen to your customers in the blogosphere. What they have to say is vitally important to your business.”

3. Don’t Be a Spammer

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many small and big businesses alike use Twitter as a one-way marketing channel with overly promotional tweets.

Spamming your customers on Twitter is a surefire way to get unfollowed and immediately ignored. Of course promoting sales and products is encouraged, but do so in a way that your customers can be receptive to. If you need help defining what that looks like, just ask your followers on Twitter for input.

Dell’s approach, as iterated above, is to serve customers’ interests. The dedicated Twitter account for deals means that they can promote Dell deals to only those customers who have opted in to the purely promotional tweets.

Binhammer advises, “Be yourself and avoid spamming. Making genuine, direct connections with your customers in meaningful ways can only help you deliver what customers want at the end of the day.”

More business resources from Mashable:

- The 10 Stages of Social Media Business Integration
– 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Social Media Contest
– HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI
– HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs
– HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy
– HOW TO: Use a Start Page to Stay Organized
– HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, NoDerog

Reviews: Australia, Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto

Tags: business, dell, List, Lists, MARKETING, money, small business, social media, strategy, twitter

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UK proposal gives copyright immunity to Google

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:27:52 +0000

A proposed amendment to a UK bill would give Google and other search engines immunity from copyright claims, basically giving Google permission to copy anything it pleases.

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Cooking By Numbers Helps You Make a Meal with Whatever’s in the Fridge [Timesavers]

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:49:48 +0000

It’s a drag to get home at the end of a long day and try to piece together dinner from whatever’s in the pantry. Food web site Cooking By Numbers helps you whip something up from the ingredients you have on hand.

To save you the hassle of running out to the store in mid-dinner prep for a missing ingredient, tell Cooking by Numbers what you already have in the fridge and cupboards. It scans its database, then churns out a recipe using stuff you already have in the kitchen. For random recipes that don’t require a specific set of ingredients, click “I Feel Lucky” instead.

Most of the recipes are standard fare—roasts, stews, and so on—along with a few more unique ideas like Apple, Orange, and Cheese Salad. Our favorite was Bacon Surprise: it’s nothing but a rasher of bacon—that’s the surprise.

Cooking by Numbers is based in the UK so measurements are given in metric form, but there’s a handy conversion chart if you need a primer on how many ounces are in a gram. The site also has a section that demonstrates how to master common cooking skills like separating an egg or dicing a pepper.

Cooking by Numbers won’t help you plan your next 12-course dinner party, and most of the meals are hardly gourmet, but it’s a great resource for pulling a quick meal together without an extra trip out to the market. What kinds of meals have you made on the fly with ordinary stuff from the pantry that turned out to be surprisingly fantastic? Share them in the comments.

Cooking by Numbers [via Gigabiting]

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ICD Vega Tablet Shown [ICD Shows Tegra/Android Tablet, UK-only release, 15-inch slate design]

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:25:27 +0000

Tablet maker ICD showed off their fruits of labor from a deal with T-Mobile UK. ICD will release the ICD Vega, a large 15-inch slate-style tablet that will be running Android, and will run on NVIDIA Tegra technology. T-Mobile UK will be offering the phone on contract, tied in with a 3G plan, leading the phone to be subsidized.

(…)
Read the rest of ICD Vega Tablet Shown [ICD Shows Tegra/Android Tablet, UK-only release, 15-inch slate design]

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Google Nexus One Available from Vodafone Germany in February [Google Nexus One to Sell for €149.90 with New Vodafone Contracts]

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:38:43 +0000

Vodafone has been rumored for a while now to bring the Google Nexus One to places it hasn’t already boldly gone to. The phone has been launched in the U.S., UK, Hong Kong and Singapore so far but customers in other markets are waiting impatiently for it despite whatever 3G troubles it might currently be going through.
(…)
Read the rest of Google Nexus One Available from Vodafone Germany in February [Google Nexus One to Sell for €149.90 with New Vodafone Contracts]

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Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways to Help Now

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:25:27 +0000

Want to help the people of Haiti who lost homes, friends and family members in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake yesterday? Well, there are several places online where you can easily and quickly donate without even leaving your desk.

Be careful, though. Some callous people have set up fake charities soliciting donations that won’t really help anyone. The U.S. Better Business Bureau runs a site where U.S. donors can verify that a nonprofit is legit before donating.

Donate on the Web

You have a lot of options on the web; here’s our list of trusted organizations. All of them will accept credit card donations through online forms.

The American Jewish World Service has set up the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to respond to the crisis by supporting a network of organizations it works with.

AmeriCares has pledged $5 million to Haitian quake relief, and is soliciting donations to a general emergency disaster relief fund to help it accomplish that.

CARE is sending relief workers into the city of Port-au-Prince and needs funds to support its efforts. Suggested donations range from $50 to $1,000, but you can name your own amount if you prefer.

Catholic Relief Services has an office in Haiti, and luckily it’s still standing even though one of its neighbors collapsed. The organization is accepting donations of any amount.

Direct Relief International has committed up to $1 million in aid through two on-the-ground partners, and is sending containers of medical material aid.

Oxfam has 200 people on the ground to deal with the crisis, and began its efforts by trying to get clean water to victims of the quake. One of its staffers recorded a podcast describing the situation. You can donate on the American or UK site, depending on where you’re located.

Yele Haiti is sponsored by prominent Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean. You can donate through its website or via text message as described in the next segment.

UPDATE: Google Support Disaster Relief is a website Google has updated to respond to the crisis. Google has promised $1 million in support, but the site is also an easy place to donate money to either UNICEF or CARE. It also provides hospital addresses and links to sources for news on the situation.

Donate With a Text Message

Musician Wyclef Jean has used Twitter to rally web users to contribute to his grassroots Yele Haiti earthquake fund. He’s urged his followers to text “Yele” to the number 501501. If you send the text, the organization will receive $5. The amount will be added to your next cell phone bill. Consider retweeting Wyclef’s updates and get some of your Twitter followers to donate, too.

There’s another texting option spreading through Twitter. You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 via the Red Cross. Thanks to ABC News for pointing these out.

UPDATE: Reader Suggestions

Our readers have also suggested Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and SOPUDEP for our readers in Canada, Ben Stiller’s stillerstrong.org, the United Nations World Food Program, an orphanage near the site called OASIS, the orphanage-supporting organization Hearts With Haiti, Partner’s in Health, Latter Day Saints Philanthropies, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, AMURT, Missionaries of the Poor, World Vision, Convoy of Hope, Compassion International, Episcopal Development & Relief, the Lambi Fund of Haiti, and Food for the Poor. We’re unable to investigate and verify all of these organizations, but feel free to look into them for yourself if you’re looking for other options.

Do you have any other ideas about how to help the people of Haiti? Let us and your fellow readers know in the comments.

[img credit: @CarelPedre and @MarvinAdy]

Reviews: Daily Updates, Google, Twitter

Tags: charity, donate, Earthquake, haiti, oxfam, relief, trending, wyclef jean

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Facebook and McAfee Want to Protect You From Malware

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:30:10 +0000

In the past year, there was an alarmingly large number of Facebook-related scams, viruses, phishing attempts and malware attacks. And though most of these haven’t happened due to Facebook’s error, it’s still very much their problem.

Today, Facebook and McAfee announced a partnership and a program to help Facebook users protect their computers from malware.

If you’re expecting something revolutionary, though, you’ll be disappointed. It’s essentially a discount: to get it, visit the the Protect Your PC tab on the McAfee Page on Facebook. After you become a fan of McAfee, you can download a six-month subscription to McAfee security software for free, and you’ll get a discount on the regular price once those six months are over. However, to enroll with the program (which is only available in selected countries including the US, UK, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and Spain), you will have to supply your credit card number; your card will be charged at the end of the 6-month period.

Tags: facebook, malware, McAfee, social media, social networking

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Launching SAScon – THE Search, Analytics & Social conference

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:27:54 +0000

Infomation about the new Search, Analytics and Social Media conference thats taking place in Manchester, UK in April with key note speakers including Joost de Valk, Richard Gregory and Jon Myers.

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chitter.tv – Watch TV and Tweet about it

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:32:15 +0000

Twitter meets TV. Watch live TV on your PC and tweet about it. Watch shows from all over the world and read what others have to say about it. Watch TV news, sports, entertainment. Includes channels from US, UK, Germany, France, italy, Netherlands.

http://chitter.tv/

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Light Blue Optics Light Touch Revealed [Projector Touchscreen Uses Holograms, Lasers, Infrared Beams]

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:56:44 +0000

It’s only been 2010 for a few days and the future is already here. The UK’s own Light Blue Optics demoed a new device at CES, the Light Touch. The small pico-projector projects a 10-inch display that will respond to human interaction like a conventional touchscreen would.

(…)
Read the rest of Light Blue Optics Light Touch Revealed [Projector Touchscreen Uses Holograms, Lasers, Infrared Beams]

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The Creative Mind Behind the DIBI Conference

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:24:53 +0000

What drove DIBI conference to become a reality instead of just a dream in someones head?

We have a lot of web conferences in the UK including the likes of dConstruct, FOWA, FOWD, UX London and Build. Generally though, the conferences never reach further than Leeds/Manchester. Build took place in Northern Ireland last year so when you look at it, conferences have never been taken further North to the likes of Newcastle upon Tyne/Gateshead where DIBI will be taking place. We have a vibrant web community in the North East of England and it is an ideal place for people to travel to. With an international airport, train and ferry links it is an ideal location.

DIBI has a unique cast of characters speaking. Most of which are very prevalent in the web design community, how is it important to make sure you get people to present who are on top of their game?

We thought long and hard about what we wanted to achieve with the conference. It’s highly prevalent that you must reach out to speakers which are either doing something new or leading various areas of the industry to new places. It’s all well and good saying that you want to set a conference up but when looking at the finer details you want to create longevity and a good sense of hype and communication with the people who will be attending. Codeworks have a long standing commitment with the digital agencies in the North East of England and regularly hold ‘Think and a Drink’ (http://www.thinkandadrink.com/) evening events on a monthly basis.

What are you trying to make your audience aware of? Is it more of a conference where you talk about current trends and happenings or something that will educate them as a whole?

Definitely education. Whilst we’re expecting lots of attendees who are on top of their game, there is always the opportunity for people to learn more. Making sure that the topics are correct for the audience is paramount, attendees expect something different which is what we’re hoping to achieve with DIBI.

Will the success of DIBI determine the if the conference will be around next year or do you already have ideas of doing another?

Codeworks (http://www.codeworks.net) have had major success with other conferences such as Thinking Digital (http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk) and GameHorizon (http://www.gamehorizonconference.com) and we’ll be looking to achieve the same with DIBI. Definitely look out for DIBI being around again next year.

How does DIBI set itself apart from other conferences? It seems the age of the speakers at DIBI is less than others. What else?

DIBI is one of the first two-track web conferences that we know of. The tickets are limited to 350 and we’re hoping for an equal amount of designers and developers attending. They will then form the DIBI 350, a unique set of professionals taking part in the first North East of England Web Conference. It’s unusual to bring both designers and developers together at the same time, we hope that whilst they’re in the same place as each other, relationships can be made and collaborations can happen. With regards to the speakers, we looked around to see who was available so that we could provide a good amount of variation from other conferences. The DIBI Conference itself will be running from 9am till approx 5pm then we’ll be moving on to a Think and a Drink/After Party in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Personal:

What is your typical daily routine?

Typical doesn’t happen for me that often. Every day is usually different. I’ll generally get up at approximately 6.30am get things sorted and make myself a coffee (Starbucks ground coffee FTW) for the trip into the office. I’ll arrive around 7:40am and look over Twitter, I still don’t use an RSS feed and Twitter seems to work well for me. I like to get my emails sorted as soon as I sit down, so the music goes on and before 9am I can usually have all of my replies done. I’ll check my diary to see if I have any meetings but my work pretty much is around the creative and ‘social’ side of Thinking Digital, DIBI then working with the other teams within Codeworks. I get up to alsorts whether it’s designing, writing I’m pretty much busy all day. Head back home approximately 5pm before getting in to other projects or more writing. I love what I do so I probably seem like a workaholic.

What are the three things you could not live without?

1. My macbook and macbook pro (we’ll count those as one)

2. Basecamp (For managing my daily life and all the project I’m involved with).

3. My notebook where I draw or make notes. (I carry this pretty much everywhere these days.)

Do you find time to devote to all of your creative endeavors?

I do, I often think of ideas on the fly and quickly have to tell someone. I’ve set up various blogs over the years but am starting to tailor these back. I write quite often about design on my personal blog (http://www.gavinelliott.co.uk) and have just had an article published in .net (Practical Web Design in the US). I enjoy writing and joining the Project 52 I’ll be publishing a specific post every week. Working out the time between design and writing can be somewhat cumbersome. I’ll be working on a small personal project over the next few months which the design community can use which I’m definitely looking forward to getting started on.

What do you think we will see in the design community in 2010?

I’m hoping there will be a lot more collaboration between designers. I think we’re now finally starting to see the community coming together and learning from each other. In past years there have been a select few who’ve been fortunate to build strong bonds with others but now with all of the social apps we’re seeing more communication with the community as a whole. I would say that the financial climate doesn’t seem to have hit the design/development community so bad over the past year or so however a lot of companies and freelancers have upped their game to hone their skills and decide what is exactly for them and then price themselves accordingly for being a professional in that particular field. 2010 could bring some very specialised designers in to the public spotlight. On top of that we’ll definitely see a surge in mobile design.

Gavin Elliot is the creative mind behind DIBI conference. What exactly is this magical DIBI conference? We will get to that in a minute along with a promo code for the conference and a wicked competition to win a free ticket. But, first we are going behind the scenes with Gavin Elliot- you can also follow him on twitter.

The Skinny on Gavin

Gavin has some notable facts to bring him into the role that he is in today. He worked as a civil servant, a soldier in the Royal Corps of Engineers & ran his own business.

He now works at Codeworks as the Marketing & Creative Executive where he primarily works on looking after the Thinking Digital Conference and other projects within Codeworks.

What is your typical daily routine?

Typical doesn’t happen for me that often. Every day is usually different. I’ll generally get up at approximately 6.30am get things sorted and make myself a coffee (Starbucks ground coffee FTW) for the trip into the office. I’ll arrive around 7:40am and look over Twitter, I still don’t use an RSS feed and Twitter seems to work well for me. I like to get my emails sorted as soon as I sit down, so the music goes on and before 9am and I can usually have all of my replies done. I’ll check my diary to see if I have any meetings but my work pretty much is around the creative and ‘social’ side of Thinking Digital, DIBI then working with the other teams within Codeworks. I get up to alsorts whether it’s designing or writing. I’m pretty much busy all day. Head back home approximately 5pm before getting in to other projects or more writing. I love what I do so I probably seem like a workaholic.

What are the three things you could not live without?

1. My macbook and macbook pro (we’ll count those as one)

2. Basecamp (For managing my daily life and all the project I’m involved with).

3. My notebook where I draw or make notes. (I carry this pretty much everywhere these days.)

Do you find time to devote to all of your creative endeavors?

I do, I often think of ideas on the fly and quickly have to tell someone. I’ve set up various blogs over the years but am starting to tailor these back. I write quite often about design on my personal blog and have just had an article published in .net (Practical Web Design in the US). I enjoy writing and joining the Project 52 I’ll be publishing a specific post every week. Working out the time between design and writing can be somewhat cumbersome. I’ll be working on a small personal project over the next few months which the design community can use which I’m definitely looking forward to getting started on.

What do you think we will see in the design community in 2010?

What drove DIBI conference to become a reality instead of just a dream in someones head?

DIBI has a unique cast of characters speaking. Most of which are very prevalent in the web design community, how is it important to make sure you get people to present who are on top of their game?

What are you trying to make your audience aware of? Is it more of a conference where you talk about current trends and happenings or something that will educate them as a whole?

Will the success of DIBI determine the if the conference will be around next year or do you already have ideas of doing another?

Codeworks have had major success with other conferences such as Thinking Digital and GameHorizon and we’ll be looking to achieve the same with DIBI. Definitely look out for DIBI being around again next year.

How does DIBI set itself apart from other conferences? It seems the age of the speakers at DIBI is less than others. What else?

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AOL Layoffs Begin: 1,400 Jobs to Be Slashed

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:30:20 +0000

In the wake of its relaunch as an independent company, AOL could lay off around 1,400 people starting today, according to a memo to the HR team. It’s not going to be pretty.

We knew this was coming. Back in November, AOL revealed that it was going to need to downsize by 2,500 employees and asked for volunteers. According to the memo, the company found 1,100 people who offered to leave, all of them with voluntary separation packages.

That leaves 1,400 or so to be let go this week in order to reach the 2,500 mark. The memo states that most of the layoffs will occur on Wednesday, but that the process will continue even after January 13. Several European offices, including those in Sweden and Spain, will be closed entirely.

This will be a harsh and tough week at AOL. We’ll try to assess the fallout, both for AOL and for the companies that are likely snatch up the company’s exodus of talent. Here’s the full memo:

Memo to AOL HR Staff

“In November, we announced that the company would take a $200 million charge and that we planned to decrease the size of our global workforce by one-third. Late last year, we offered Voluntary Separation Program to enable employees to decide what was in their best personal and professional interest. We had approximately 1,100 employees opt to join the Voluntary program. At that time we announced the Voluntary program we noted that if we didn’t reach our target reduction of a third we would need to follow the voluntary program with an involuntary action. We did not reach that target.

The next phase of our restructuring plan will include an involuntary layoff. Our process internationally varies by country and is subject to local laws. We began meeting with employees throughout Europe today. For example meetings have already taken place in the UK, Germany and France, and we announced plans to shut down many of our offices in Europe, beginning with those in Spain and Sweden. In addition, we will be beginning the consultative process with the Workers’ Councils in relevant countries this week.

In the United States, we will begin notifying a limited number of individuals impacted by the involuntary layoff today, with the majority of notifications taking place in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 13. As of this point, this layoff will not trigger the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) in any of our locations. For many of the employees impacted in the U.S., Wednesday will be their last day in the office.

Since April, we have been moving through a process that started with strategy, then focused on structure, and has most recently been centered on aligning our costs with the company’s strategy and structure. As a part of this process, we’ve looked at every aspect of this business. We evaluated our competitive position and product portfolio in every market – and we asked the hard questions about areas that were no longer core to the strategy and our profit profiles in the businesses and countries where we operate.

We will be offering packages to impacted employees in the U.S. that will include severance, benefits and outplacement assistance, among other things.

All of our cost alignment work is about ensuring AOL’s sustainability and future success. Project Everest is the completion of phase one of AOL’s turnaround.”

[via Business Insider]

Tags: aol, business

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Search For Movies Anywhere in the World with SpeedCine

Facebook-Web-Design — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:27:54 +0000

The website SpeedCine.com makes it easy for users all over the world to find out what movies are available online and where.

SpeedCine is basically an aggregator of legal movie sites: It helps you find free movies or movies you can rent or buy. SpeedCine tracks Netflix, iTunes, The Auteurs, Crackle.com and dozens of other services, and offers users a choice of options quickly and easily.

This video gives you an overview of what SpeedCine does:

When the site launched this fall, its focus was on the U.S. — because many of the largest services are U.S.-based. However, as founder Reid Rosefelt explained to me via e-mail, that level of specification is far from ideal. The Internet is increasingly melting barriers between countries, and the idea of keeping content segregated for certain geographical locales is becoming increasingly silly.

SpeedCine will soon work all over the world, but the first big focus in the international rollout is the UK, because they have so many different websites. iTunes-UK, Blinkbox and LOVEFiLM are just some of the UK-specific sites that are supported.

In addition, SpeedCine has deals with all six iTunes stores to handle movies and arrangements with companies like TheAuteurs — which have relationships with distributors all over the world — so that people can access content regardless of location.

We think that this site is really brilliant, not just because it is useful — because it is — but because it can really make the process of finding content, regardless of location, easier for users. In turn, maybe the industry will take notice and start taking the initiative to work out rights issues, rather than just ignoring the international community.

How do you find movies online?

Reviews: Crackle, LOVEFiLM

Tags: Film, hulu, netflix, speedcine, theauteurs

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3 Ways Educators Are Embracing Social Technology

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:49:31 +0000

The modern American school faces rough challenges. Budget cuts have caused ballooning class sizes, many teachers struggle with poorly motivated students, and in many schools a war is being waged on distracting technologies. In response, innovative educators are embracing social media to fight back against the onslaught of problems. Technologies such as Twitter and Skype offer ideal solutions as inexpensive tools of team-based education.

Pockets of experimentation are emerging all around the world, and I hope to inspire my fellow teachers with some stories of success. From cell phones to social media, below are three schools that have chosen to go with the flow of popular technology to turn the tide for education.

Skype and Language Learning

Why force students to yawn over a textbook when a real-life native speaker is only a Skype call away? At Marquette University, Spanish students hone their foreign language skills with frequent webcam chats with their English-learning counterparts in South America.

“I absolutely fell in love with this program,” wrote one student. Professor Janet Banhidi, the brains behind the virtual language exchange, said Skype conversation gives students a surprisingly authentic experience. As a teacher (and fluent speaker), she can only give her students limited 1-on-1 attention. With Skype, every student has weekly access to a free personal tutor.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of using Skype is the radical increase in motivation. A whopping 85.3% of Janet’s students kept in touch with their digital pen-pals outside of the classroom through Facebook. “In the end, the best part of this exchange was gaining a friend who I still today talk with on Facebook” said one student. Additionally, though some of her students enroll to simply fulfill a language requirement, many participants have gone on to major in Spanish from the experience. Students who go above and beyond mandatory assignments will be more likely to remember class material and apply it when they get out into the working world.

Mobile Phones

While many schools around the country have declared all-out war on mobile devices, Wiregrass High School took a decidedly different approach, integrating cell phones into the entire educational experience. Students exchange questions and answers with their teachers via SMS and browse classroom blogs for additional instruction. Moreover, as an efficient collaborative tool, students can quickly trade notes or take a snapshot of the blackboard for later studying.

Like with any tool, students do misuse the privilege, but according to the school’s principal the number of cell-phone related infractions is “minuscule.” Perhaps this is because the policy permits students to use cell phones socially between classes, giving them a much needed digital fix throughout the day. Wiregrass’s experience pairs nicely with similar workplace-related research which shows that giving employees periodic down-time with the Internet actually boosts productivity. In the end, fighting pervasive technologies may just sap the energy of everyone involved.

Twitter

Many universities have internal e-mail systems and message boards. But getting students to routinely check these systems for updates can be a chore. As a college teacher myself, my students have been required to participate in group message boards, which is a poor substitute for genuine intellectual curiosity. As a solution, Leicester University in the UK turned to Twitter, hoping that the popular micro-blogging technology would encourage collaboration outside of class. Students were provided with an iPod touch, given instructional materials, and told they had to make a few academic-related tweets a day. Soon, a thriving community grew, complete with @replies and hashtags flying back-and-forth between participants, tutors, and even members outside of the program. Additionally, the study has become an unexpected marketing boon for the university. The Association for Learning Technology noted in its newsletter:

“One year ago, a Twitter search for ‘University of Leicester’ revealed little of interest. More recent searches reveal a growing volume of conversation between existing students, often across institutional boundaries, and also from prospective students, commenting on perceptions of the University and Higher Education in general.”

The university was impressed by the experiment and has begun collaborating with teachers and staff to extend participation throughout the campus. Leicester University joins the growing ranks of major universities, such as M.I.T., that are preparing students with technological and cooperative skills essential to real-life scientific experimentation.

Conclusion

As social media becomes ubiquitous, students prepared for technological collaboration will graduate with a much-needed edge on the competition. Fortunately, in these economically turbulent times, social media is a free and popular alternative to traditional instruction.

More social media resources from Mashable:

- 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships
– Top 5 Must-Read Social Media Books
– Social Media Can Change The World Through Common Ground
– 5 Ways Social Media Is Changing Our Daily Lives
– How Social Media is Taking the News Local
– The Tao of Tweeting
– Sports and Social Media: Where Opportunity and Fear Collide

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59, 3bugsmom

Reviews: Facebook, Skype, Twitter, iStockphoto

Tags: education, higher education, iPod Touch, language learning, learning, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, Skype, students, trending, twitter

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Hale & Hearty products

Facebook-Web-Design — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:30:58 +0000

I’m used to seeing the cherry red dot of the Hale & Hearty logo on the streets of New York, but was surprised to see their products on UK shelves.

It feels like the intention behind this packaging was to create a brand that feels both natural and that it was helping you to make healthy food at home, by use of the hand drawn type and the illustration of the apron.

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Tweetdeck Infiltrates the News Room

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:45:23 +0000

Sky News — a 24-hour UK news site owned by News Corp. — is changing up their entire newsroom to focus more on Twitter.

The organization is installing Tweetdeck on staff computers to stimulate news gathering via social media, according to reports from a UK blog.

The Tweetdeck rollout to staff is scheduled to be completed within the month. While journalists using Twitter is pretty commonplace, an organization-wide rollout is significant. The decision signals a change in ideology around conventional news gathering, and points to the need for journalists to use Twitter to keep pace with the flow of news.

Julian March, executive producer of Sky News Online, made the following statement to Journalism.co.um on the Tweetdeck rollout:

“The big change for us in 2010 is evolving how social media plays a role in our journalism. We no longer ghettoise it to one person, but are in the process of embedding throughout the whole team.”

For those of you who work in more traditional work environments, you can appreciate the significance of software installs on company machines, typically regulated to lock down or limit employee downloads. The vetting of Tweetdeck as an application worthy of a serious news organization is one that should not be overlooked.

Reviews: TweetDeck, Twitter

Tags: media, sky news, tweetdeck

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How Social Media Has Changed Us

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:24:26 +0000

Mike Laurie works at London agency Made by Many where he helps design social digital stuff. You follow him on Twitter @mikelaurie.

Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen social media galvanize thousands over politics, create as many industries as it has destroyed, and offer an abundance of visual and audio entertainment. But has all this incredible change actually changed us, or just the world we live in?

Below are some areas in which social media has had lasting, and arguably permanent effects on the ways in which we live. The question is, are these changes all for the better?

Child Literacy

It stands to reason that children who read and write more are better at reading and writing. And writing blog posts, status updates, text messages, instant messages, and the like all motivate children to read and write. Last month, The National Literacy Trust released the results of a survey of over 3000 children. They observed a correlation between children’s engagement with social media and their literacy. Simply put, social media has helped children become more literate. Indeed, Eurostat recently published a report drawing a correlation between education and online activity, which found that online activity increased with the level of formal activity (socio-economic factors are, of course, potentially at play here as well).

Ambient Intimacy

Lisa Reichelt, a user experience consultant in London coined the very pleasant term “ambient intimacy.” It describes the way in which social media allows you to “… keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible.”

Consider the many communications technologies through history — the telephone, Morse code, semaphore, carrier pigeons, smoke signals — they are all fairly inconvenient and labor intensive. Lisa has hit on the idea that communication has become so convenient that it’s actually become ambient around us. It surrounds us wherever we want it, not necessarily when it wants us. We dip into it whenever we like.

Knowledge Was Power

From his Meditationes Sacrae, published in 1597, Francis Bacon was paraphrased as saying “knowledge is power.” Fundamentally, the more you understand about life, the more chance you have at success. But these days, Wikipedia and Google have democratized information to the point where anyone is able to acquire the knowledge they may want.

As a case in point, I had never even heard of Meditationes Sacrae until I looked up the term “knowledge is power” on Wikipedia. In Bacon’s time, the only people that had access to books and the literacy to unlock the wisdom within were the wealthy with the time and inclination to learn.

Of course, books weren’t the only source of knowledge. Consider blacksmiths, dressmakers, cobblers or sailors who passed their skills and techniques from mother to daughter, from father to son. Back then, the friction that held people back from learning was low literacy, a lack of access to books and very little time. Now, that friction is almost non-existent. That is because of both the ability of computers to replicate information for distribution, and the the way that Google, Wikipedia and blogs have empowered people to share what they know. Now, the only real friction that exists is our own desire for knowledge. It’s there for you — if you want it.

The Reinvention of Politics

A recent report by PEW found signs that social networks may be encouraging younger people to get involved in politics. You only need look at Twitter’s recent impact on the Iran elections, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and even the election of Barack Obama to see that more and more people are getting involved in politics and are feeling they can make a difference.

One of the most popular blogs on the web, The Huffington Post, is mainly political. Politics has a fast pace, and that lends itself well to social media. UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said in June last year that because of the Internet, “foreign policy can no longer be the province of just a few elites.” Twitter even postponed an upgrade because of the important role it was playing in the Iran elections.

These are all signs of both social media’s growing influence in politics, and the growing interest in politics from users of social media.

Marketing Flux

Marketing and advertising is transforming itself from an industry reliant on mass market channels to one which must embrace the power of the consumer and (attempt to) engage in conversations. The traditional approach of wide reach and repetitive messaging is now being replaced by many much smaller, niche and people-centric activities. Advertising isn’t dying, it’s merely changing form. We now have more power and more choice.

News as Cultural Currency

We’re no longer lazy consumers of passive messages. Instead we’re active participants. We now get news through the network we’ve created, and the news we pass to one another says something about us. It tells others what we’re interested in and what’s important to us. We used to call this gossip — and to a certain extent it still is — but unless you were a journalist at a local daily, the amplification that’s now possible through the likes of Twitter, Digg or StumbledUpon hasn’t been experienced before.

Conclusion

Clearly there are skeptics. Susan Greenfield thinks that social networking is turning us into babies, shrinking our attention spans, our ability to empathize, and eroding our identity. She even suggests a correlation between the rise in prescriptions for drugs used to treat ADHD with an increase of time spent at computers. Similarly, Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster recently suggested that social networking causes increasingly “transient relationships,” is “dehumanising” community life and, as a consequence, we are “losing social skills.”

I think they couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone with the slightest experience of using social media knows that it’s about being more social. We are more engaged with friends, we are more literate, more connected, more open to creating new relationships, and generally more interested in the world around us.

What do you think? Has social media changed you? How? For better or worse?

More social media resources from Mashable:

- 5 Ways Social Media Is Changing Our Daily Lives
- 5 Ways Social Media Changed Fashion in 2009
- 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships
- Top 5 Must-Read Social Media Books
- Social Media Can Change The World Through Common Ground
- How Social Media is Taking the News Local

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, SE73, morganl, duncan1890, sodafish, fotosipsak

Reviews: Digg, Google, Iran , Twitter, Wikipedia, iStockphoto

Tags: facebook, Lists, Opinion, politics, social media, social networking, social networks, trending

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Yahoo Further Bridges the Gap Between Internet and TV

Facebook-Web-Design — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:14:17 +0000

Today at CES, Yahoo is expanding its partnerships and making the TV Widget Developer Kit publicly available.

In 2009, Yahoo! launched a pretty cool product known as Connected TV, which is built on the venerable Konfabulator widget platform. Basically it allows users with compatible TVs to access Internet-enabled widgets for stuff like stock updates, weather tracking and even Twitter. Now, you can get your hands on even more compelling technology.

For a primer on what Connected TV and Yahoo TV widgets do, check out this video:

More Hardware Partnerships and TV Widget Providers

Yahoo has already had partnerships in place with companies like LG, Sony, Samsung and VIZIO to bring TV Widgets to their Internet-connected televisions, and they are expanding that relationship to include more VIZIO products (including the next wave of XVT Series models) as well as ViewSonic. Yahoo will also be working with companies like Sigma Designs and MIPS to bring TV Widgets and Connected TV options to embedded devices or chip architectures that are used throughout the consumer electronics industry.

Having a device that supports TV Widgets really doesn’t mean anything unless those widgets can provide cool content. TV Widgets are already available for services like Amazon Video On Demand, Pandora and CBS, plus social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yahoo is also announcing recently signed partnerships with a ton of big-name content providers including:

CNBC: The CNBC TV Widget enables viewers to interact with CNBC’s real-time stock quotes direct from the NYSE and NASDAQ, with real-time watch lists to track favorite stocks and other key analytics, all while still watching TV.

NBC.com: Users can view NBC’s show schedule and full-screen photo galleries, and catch up on favorite shows with up-to-date recaps, cast bios and more.

Napster: Subscribers can browse, search, preview and listen to Napster’s entire catalog of music on-demand, as well as enjoy custom radio stations, playlists and Billboard charts.

RadioTime: Create your personal selection of music from up to 100,000 radio stations.

Sky News TV: Delivers breaking news by text and images to users’ TV sets. It includes seven categories of news: top stories, UK news, sports, business, world news, showbiz and politics.

Dailymotion: Access one of largest web video sites in the world through your TV.

The Weather Channel: Enables consumers to stay up to date with the current conditions, the five-day forecast and access regional radar, all accessible in a simple interface with the ability to look up and save multiple locations.

Betfair: The world’s biggest betting community provides sports enthusiasts with an online entertainment experience to enhance their sports television watching in the UK.

My-Cast Weather: Provides animated Nexrad radar, hourly to seven-day forecasts, StormWatch, cloud information and more across the United States.

Widget Development Kit Finally Gets a Public Release

The Yahoo Widget Development Kit (WDK) has finally been fully released to the public. This means that individual developers or larger content providers can offer their own content through the TV Widget platform.

While the big names are great to have, if TV Widgets and Connected TV in general is going to be anything more than just an unused option that comes with your shiny new TV, it needs to have compelling third-party content. Yahoo has a history of strong developer relationships, so hopefully they’ll foster the WDK platform to encourage innovation and adoption.

What do you think of Connected TV and IPTV in general?

Reviews: Facebook, Pandora, Twitter, Yahoo!

Tags: CES, CES 2010, television, trending, tv widget, widget developer kit

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iriver Story Coming To America [Popular eBook Reader Coming Stateside, WiFi version coming Q2 2010]

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:45:57 +0000

The iriver Story was released in the UK a few months ago to critical acclaim, although America was left out in the cold. Yesterday at CES, iriver announced that the Story was indeed coming to America “later this month” and that a WiFi enabled version was coming sometime in Q2 2010.

(…)
Read the rest of iriver Story Coming To America [Popular eBook Reader Coming Stateside, WiFi version coming Q2 2010]

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Vodafone UK Google Nexus One Availability Confirmed [Nexus One Releasing in Europe in a Few Months?]

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:26:45 +0000

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months you already know that Google have entered the mobile phone market by announcing their own device which goes by the name of Nexus One. We can now give you full specs and features regarding the device, know that it will be subsidized on T-Mobile in the US and that the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong will get their hands on it as test countries. But what about Europe? When is the new Google Nexus One going to be available in Europe?

(…)
Read the rest of Vodafone UK Google Nexus One Availability Confirmed [Nexus One Releasing in Europe in a Few Months?]

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Happy Office = Happy Client (and designer)

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:19:28 +0000

Whilst this is written using my experience as a graphic designer it can really be applied to anyone working from a home office. A comfortable, stimulating work area is crucial to a good output. Here are a few tips to getting the best from your work at home space.

Plants

Adding plants not only adds colour and life but can help to counteract the electromagnetic fields omitted by your computer and any other electrical equipment you may have. These EMF’s are linked to various health and wellbeing issues including stress and fatigue – not good when there’s work to be done! I like spider plants and peace lilies as they’re lovely and green, have lots of leaves and are very easy to look after!

Lighting

Unfortunately, we can’t always have the lovely natural light, especially if others are like me and work a lot at night so what lighting should we choose? Although we’re all encouraged to use energy saving light bulbs I have to admit that in my work space I prefer normal, old fashioned bulbs, preference being the blue bulb. Designed for arts and craft areas I find it omits a bright light that seems less artificial than yellow standard bulbs. It might not seem like a lot but it makes a huge difference to my productivity.

One area I’d like to explore are light boxes rather than traditional lamps, these simulate natural sunlight and are apparently a healthier option. They look good and I’d love to try one out.

Air Quality

Again this is an area people don’t always consider. Working in a rural setting our air quality is pretty good but even if you live in a city there are steps you can take to improve. Things like avoiding aerosols, cleaning chemicals (go natural, a whole other topic!) and again, introducing plants can all help towards creating a purer environment. I’m sure there are people wondering what difference it makes to creativity and output – you’ll just have to take my word for it that it really can help.

I find that anytime over a couple of hours spend on the computer I start to feel a bit unwell. This is similar to motion sickness which some believe is caused by the static from the screen. To help combat this, I wipe the screen each morning with a damp microfiber cloth. Do this at the end of the day also to reduce the risk.

Inspiration

Pictures, books…whatever your chosen form of inspiration make sure it’s displayed. If you have a collection of books don’t let them collect dust in a corner, put them near your computer on a shelf for instant inspiration.

Wall Colours

Colours are very important, instilling different moods and emotion. In your work area you should use colour to your advantage. The biggest single block of colour in your office is most probably the wall space, so make sure it’s not wasted. Shades of white, yellow or blue can be good in the office, one colour alone of combinations of these. Colours to avoid are browns, greys and blacks which can cause a tiredness feeling which is not what we need from a work space!

Distraction

Once, in a time management course I was advised to only have on my desk the project on which I was working. Personally, I find this pretty impossible as I tend to have personal bits, business bits, client bits and more around me! Having said that, I’ve included it in this guide as I think its good advice for someone more organised than me!

A Few Useful Links :

EMFs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation_and_health
Cleaning without chemicals – http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/environment/a/alternateclean.htm
Colours in the home - http://freshome.com/2007/04/17/room-color-and-how-it-affects-your-mood

Vicki Willingham is a freelance graphic designer living in Suffolk, UK. She runs VictoriaAnn Design. You can find out more about Vicki here. You can also find her on Twitter here : twitter.com/Victoria_Ann

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Google Talks to People About Online Auto Habits

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:47:09 +0000

Are you familiar with "Google on the Street"? This refers to a series of videos Google has put together in which it goes out and talks to people on the street about various online behaviors, to see how responses stack up against their own Insights for Search findings.

The videos are periodically posted on Google’s UK Barometer Blog. Topics covered in the past include online shopping, consumer confidence, and travel. The most recent entry paints an interesting picture about how people use the Internet for auto-related services.

People take on the following topics in the video above (you’ll have to click through to watch it on the blog, because it is not embeddable):

- How do consumers use online to help build their consideration list?
- How do people search online?
- Do consumers buy cars online or do they need to visit a dealership too?
- Do people buy parts and book services online?
- What is their perception of branded websites?
- What do brands get wrong/right on their websites?
- What is the role of social media in the decision making process?
- Do people find online video useful and what do they want to see?
- Real time research: How do on and offline world’s fit together?

As long as you’re on the blog, you might be interested in browsing through the past entries in the series by clicking on the " on the street " tag. It’s interesting to see the responses of actual people on different matters, rather than just tables of data.

Related Articles:

> Google and Predicting Search Trends

> Google Shares Proposal for White Spaces Database

> Average Person Spends 13 Hours a Week Online

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Website Performance: What To Know and What You Can Do

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:16:00 +0000

Website performance is a hugely important topic, so much so that the big companies of the Web are obsessed with it. For the Googles, Yahoos, Amazons and eBays, slow websites mean fewer users and less happy users and thus lost revenue and reputation.

In your case, annoying a few users wouldn’t be much of a problem, but if millions of people are using your product, you’d better be snappy in delivering it. For years, Hollywood movies showed us how fast the Internet was: time to make that a reality.

Even if you don’t have millions of users (yet), consider one very important thing: people are consuming the Web nowadays less with fat connections and massive computers and more with mobile phones over slow wireless and 3G connections, but they still expect the same performance. Waiting for a slow website to load on a mobile phone is doubly annoying because the user is usually already in a hurry and is paying by the byte or second. It’s 1997 all over again.

Performance is an expert’s game… to an extent. You can do innumerable things to make a website perform well, and much of it requires in-depth knowledge and boring testing and researceh. I am sure a potential market exists for website performance optimization, much like there is one now for search engine optimization. Interestingly, Google recently announced that it will factor performance into its search rankings, so this is already happening. That said, you can do a lot of things without having to pay someone to point out the obvious.

Know Your Performance Blockers

Performance can be measured in various ways. One way is technical: seeing how fast a page loads and how many bytes are transferred. Another is perceived performance, which ties into usability testing. This can only be measured by testing with users and seeing how satisfied they are with the speed of your interface (e.g. do they start clicking on your JavaScript carousel before it is ready?).

The good news (and hard truth) about performance is that 80 to 90% of poor performance happens in the front end. Once the browser gets the HTML, the server is done and the back-end developer can do nothing more. The browser then starts doing things to our HTML, and we are at its mercy. This means that to achieve peak performance, we have to optimize our JavaScript, images, CSS and HTML, as well as the back end.

So here are the things that slow down your page the most.

External Resources (Images, Scripts, Style Sheets)

Every time you load something from another server, the following happens:

The browser opens up the Internet’s address book and looks up the number associated with the name of the server that’s holding the things you want (i.e. its DNS entry).
It then negotiates a delivery.
It receives the delivery (waiting for all the bytes to come in).
It tries to understand what was sent through and displays it.

Every request is costly and slows down the loading of the page. This is also caused by browsers loading things in chunks (usually four at a time) rather than all at the same time. This is akin to ordering a product from a website, choosing the cheapest delivery option and not being at home between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. If you include several JavaScript libraries because you like a certain widget in each, then you’ll double, triple or even quadruple the time that your page takes to load and display.

Scripts

JavaScript makes our websites awesome and fun to use, but it can also make for an annoying experience.

The first thing to know about scripts that you include in a document is that they are not HTML or CSS; the browser has to call in an expert to do something with them. Here is what happens:

Whenever the browser encounters a