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Matt Damon Talks Sh*t for World Toilet Day

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:37:58 +0000

ToiletDay.org and Matt Damon want you to donate your voice — that is your Twitter or Facebook voice — to talk shi*t about the global toilet crisis. Starting Monday, individuals can authorize ToiletDay.org to post once daily status updates from either their Facebook or Twitter account until World Toilet Day this Saturday, Nov. 19. If you chose to sign up, ToiletDay.org’s daily posts will be blasted from your account without your review of each individual message. Billions of people around the world lack access to toilets, causing a host of infectious illnesses. Children in developing countries often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies due to poor sanitation, according to ToiletDay.org . More people in the world have mobile phones than access to toilets. The “Talk sh*t all week” campaign is using social media to spark conversations about global sanitation issues. The campaign is using expletives such as “shit” and “crap” to draw attention to the cause with a bit of humor, explains Mike McCamon, chief community officer of Water.org. “We’re talking about something no one knows how to address, and we’re using the words to talk about it,” McCahon says about the campaign’s word choice. SEE ALSO: Bill Gates To Reinvent The Toilet | 7 Ways To Celebrate #WorldWaterDay 2011 Online The first message, being tweeted Monday, says “More people have a mobile phone than a toilet” and uses the Twitter hashtag #TalkShit. Similar updates will be shared daily for the next six days, although you can sign up at any point during the week. If you’re concerned about indefinitely handing over permission to your account, the campaign assures participants their access will only last through Saturday. The campaign is a partnership between Water.org (co-founded by Matt Damon, who lends his voice in videos including the one above), the Gates Foundation , Acumen , ONE , Worldtoilet.org , Change.org and Water for People . It uses similar technology to Water.org’s “ Twitter Twakeover ” this summer, which surrendered the organization’s @Water handle to the user who racked up the most votes from an online competition. Do you think this catchy campaign lingo will help attract new advocates for global sanitation issues? Tell us in the comments. More About: change.org , gates foundation , Social Good , water.org , world toilet day

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Matt Damon Talks Sh*t for World Toilet Day

SMO vs. Engagement: Why They’re Different and How You Can Rock Both

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:01:22 +0000

Many brands and organizations developing digital strategies have moved beyond asking whether Twitter and Facebook presences are necessary. (Yes, they are.) Now the question is: We’re on the social web, so how do we make the most of it? There are two key methods for supercharging your social strategy: social media optimization (SMO) and engagement. Although they’re equally important for getting more people to your website via social networks, far different rules apply for each. SMO implies a scientific approach — updates are crafted with the intention of being seen, and ultimately clicked on, by your audience. Engagement, on the other hand, is about connecting with fans and followers. The idea is to build a community of vested members who will respond to and share your social updates because the content resonates strongly. Here’s an in-depth look at each approach, and how you can combine both tactics to drive the distribution of your content. Social Media Optimization SMO can be valuable for getting more visits to your site. The key is understanding the audience of each social network, as well as when and how they interact with it. This will help you to learn what type of content works best there, and how you can frame that content to be more clickable. In general, a certain audience exists on each social networks. For example, LinkedIn tends to bring in professionals of all ages who are interested in job searching and networking , while Tumblr is popular among young people and the design and fashion communities . However, I advise verifying your account’s demographics statistics either on the network’s analytics program or with a social media management tool that has analytics capabilities. This will give you a sense of the types of users that populate the audience of a particular social site, and whether your community matches that demographic. Timing is also important for SMO. Just as websites have traffic highs and lows, so do social networks. But beware: Your site’s peak times may not match those of your social networks. For example, some people are restricted from logging into Facebook from work or school; therefore, you may notice that your posts on nights and weekends perform better . You should also consider how the EdgeRank algorithm affects when your page’s updates are appearing in your fans’ News Feeds. Another SMO necessity is understanding how people are using the platform . For example, 40% of Twitter users would rather listen than write their own tweets, which means you might not get a ton of response to your question tweets. On Tumblr, the majority of the site’s pageviews come from the user dashboard. If you want it to catch a reader’s eye, it’s wise to format your post properly so that it reads well on dashboard view — not just on the front page. These steps may improve your click-through rate, but remember they’re just one piece of the web publishing puzzle. Engagement While SMO can help bring people to your site, engagement brings the right kind of people to your site. It builds a vested userbase that not only wants to click on your content, but also wants to be involved with it. These readers are valuable because they’re more likely to view more pages, spend more time on your site and contribute to your community by posting thoughtful comments and sharing content to their networks. So what exactly is engagement? It could mean sparking discussion among your followers and responding to their comments, or it could mean recognizing their contributions on your site and incorporating their ideas into your product. In short, it’s not something an intern can accomplish during 9-5 hours. At the most basic level, engagement is about personalizing your organization and giving it a voice that resonates with your community. Keep in mind that the social web is a two-way dialogue. It’s vital to respond to questions and comments from your followers. More often than not, people just want to know you’re listening. Sometimes a simple “thanks for your comment” goes a long way. For more advanced communities, engagement is getting to know your most vested followers on a deeper level. That could mean featuring them in posts by letting their ideas drive your content. A good example of this is Instagram ; the company invited a top user to create photo filters for its latest app version . There’s no scientific formula for engagement. Every audience is different and, ultimately, you’ll need to communicate in a way that best suits your community. Devise a way to foster their passion for your organization and its mission by connecting with and empowering your audience. Conclusion SMO and engagement are separate concepts, yet both are important for getting the most out of your social media presences. Though the terms aren’t synonymous, the strategies should be used simultaneously. By optimizing posts for your various social audiences and by building a community of vested followers, you’ll create an unstoppable social media presence that will not only drive traffic to your site, but will also reinforce your fans’ brand enthusiasm. Images courtesy of Flickr, Kaptain Kobold , chrisjfry , Marc Wathieu More About: community , engagement , features , SMO , Social Media For more Business coverage: Follow Mashable Business on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Business channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad

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SMO vs. Engagement: Why They’re Different and How You Can Rock Both

How Google, eBay, And PayPal Are Gearing Up For A Very Mobile Holiday Shopping Season

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:30:41 +0000

Online holiday shopping reached record levels in 2010. And e-commerce spending is up this year. All signs point to consumers spending even more online this holiday season. I sat down with executives from Google, eBay, PayPal and ShopKick to discuss the trends that are expected to emerge in the e-commerce space over the next few months. They center around mobile, tablets, and deals. PayPal has more than doubled its mobile payments volume since the 2010 holiday shopping season, and we haven’t even hit the thick of this year’s rush. eBay is projecting $5 billion in mobile payments volume in 2010 and this number could increase in the next few months. And Google projects that 15 percent of total search on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping days of the year) will come from mobile devices. Tablet devices are now a part of the online shopping experience and retailers are taking note. Clearly, all signs point to the fact that this could be the breakout year for mobile shopping. Mobile, Mobile, Mobile All of the companies I spoke to unanimously agreed that this would be the year of mobile for the holiday shopping season. Steve Yankovich, head of eBay’s mobile business operations and development, says he expects this to be the biggest year for mobile sales for eBay yet. eBay has said that the company expects to see $5 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2011, and this will be partly buoyed by a strong mobile presence in November and December. PayPal’s Senior Director for Mobile, Laura Chambers, echoes Yankovich’s forecasts and says that merchants are even preparing for the onslaught of traffic to their mobile sites. A number of big retailers, such as Armani Exchange, Guess and The Limited have recently put PayPal’s mobile express checkout as an option for payments on their mobile sites as a way to help the conversion process. “We are seeing strong investments by online retailers for mobile shopping this year,” she says. Chambers says that last year, the peak day for mobile payments for PayPal was December 12, with $4.7 million in mobile payments volume. Now PayPal is seeing $10 million in mobile payments per day, and we haven’t even officially hit the holiday shopping period. Clearly, the mobile payments numbers could even triple from last year to this year. While many consumers may shop on mobile for their holiday purchases, the usage of product search, barcode scanning, and other informative apps will also play a big part in this year’s mobile shopping. eBay’s RedLaser barcode scanning apps have seen scans go up 50 percent over the past year. If you aren’t familiar with how it works, RedLaser will scan the barcode of a physical product and show you where you can buy it on eBay’s properties and where it is available in local store locations around you (via Milo) and for how much. The app has been updated with PayPal functionality so that users can actually buy the product directly from the app. Another shopping app developer who has high hopes for mobile this holiday season is ShopKick. Co-founder Cyriac Roeding says that this year will be the year of mobile for physical shopping. For background, Shopkick automatically recognizes when someone with the free Android or iPhone app on their phone walks into a store. Once a Shopkick Signal is detected, the app delivers reward points called “kickbucks” to the user for walking into a retail store, trying on clothes, scanning a barcode and other actions. Kickbucks can then be redeemed across all partner stores for gift card rewards or for Facebook Credits. User can also receive special discounts on specific products at partners stores like Macy’s, Best Buy or Target. Roeding explains that the cell phone is the only interactive platform you carry with you in a physical store, and retailers are looking to use the platform to help drive transactions. Clearly, a mobile rewards app that offers in-store discounts can help do this. “The internet has caused brick and mortar retailers more trouble than benefit over the past fifteen years. Now retailers are catching on to how the internet can help retailers—that’s where mobile comes in.” Sameer Samat, VP of Product Management for Google Commerce, tells me that the search giant is seeing a growing number of users are making buying decisions using their mobile phone. “We are definitely seeing m-commerce conversions growing and becoming bigger over time,” he says. “But users are also using their mobile phone to search for products and find local availability.” Samat says that Google has seen a 200 percent growth in mobile product search usage and Google Shopper app downloads over the past year. Shopper, which is available for iOS and Android, allows you to find product prices, reviews, specs, local inventory of products at nearby stores, and more. As we mentioned above, Google is forecasting that 15 percent of total search on Black Friday. will come from mobile. “There’s no doubt that users are now making buying decisions using their mobile phone,” says Samat. “And we are seeing m-commerce conversions growing and becoming bigger over time.” Tablets As tablets have grown to be the go-to browsing device, the iPad, and other devices are also becoming a way to shop. And retailers are catching on to this trend. According to a National Retail Federation study, 20 percent of retailers have invested in tablet device apps this holiday season. With this in mind, Google debuted Catalogs in August, an app for tablet devices that includes 200 catalogs from major brands including Anthropologie, Bare Escentuals, Bergdorf Goodman, Crate and Barrel, L.L. Bean, Lands’ End, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Sundance, Tea Collection, Urban Outfitters and Williams-Sonoma. The app is more than just a browsing experience. When consumers find an item they’d like to purchase, they can tap to find it in a store nearby or tap “Buy on Website” to visit the merchant online. Google’s Samat says that “the tablet is the ultimate leanback experience and we see that playing a big role in holiday shopping as a replacement for the mail order catalogs you used to browse through.” PayPal calls it ‘couch commerce’ and believes that tablet commerce will have a record year. PayPal recently reported that consumers who own both a tablet and a smartphone are significantly more likely (63%) to indicate increased overall spending on mobile purchases, versus owners of smartphones only (29%). Owners of both a tablet and a smartphone buy nearly twice as often as those who only have smartphones and more than 40% of dual owners made more than 20 mobile purchases over the past year, compared to only 12% of smartphone-only owners. Forrester just released a report predicting a 15 percent increase in online shopping sales this year to nearly $60 billion, partly due to the increase in consumer-use of tablet computers for shopping. Beyond Black Friday And Cyber Monday Black Friday and Cyber Monday are historically the top-high-grossing online shopping days during the holiday season. But execs expect to see high volumes of online shopping on other days thanks to an increase in mobile shopping and deals. Yankovitch tells me that eBay expects revenue numbers to be well over numbers that eBay saw last year for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but expects to see more activity at times when people aren’t traditionally shopping. The day of Thanksgiving is one of those days, says Chambers. Because people will have their phone everywhere (including at the table), consumers are expected to make purchases on the fly, especially on Thanksgiving evening. In fact, PayPal is predicting that after dinner on Thanksgiving Day will be the first mobile shopping spike this holiday season. Another popular day has been the second Sunday in December, which is one of the last days where people feel confident that items will be shipped in times for the holiday. And Chambers says across the board, Sunday is the biggest day for mobile shopping generally. Deals There’s no doubt that deals, coupons and discounts will be a large part of the online holiday shopping experience, especially with the current state of the economy. According to the recent Forrester report, 58 percent of Americans say they are more price-conscious today than they were a year ago and nearly half believe they find better values online. “I really expect consumers to be deal hunting this season,” explains Chambers. She says that PayPal, which has historically offered special deals for the holiday shopping season, will be bulking up on more consumer deals this holiday season. Samat says that Google has always seen a spike for queries like deals, coupons, and sales during the holiday time and fully expects to see an increase this year. “The consumer desire for a better deal will help give certain product decision tools a big bump,” he explains. “People may take more time this year to find the best possible price.” Deals could also include lucrative holiday shipping offers. In 2010, 45 of the top 50 online retailers offered some sort of promotional deal between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, most of which were a type of shipping promotion. And in 2011, Shop.org anticipates that a record 92.5% of online retailers will offer free shipping and not just as a Cyber Monday promotion. Clearly, there’s plenty of optimism from retailers, and tech companies regarding online spending and shopping this holiday season. And this holiday season is somewhat unique considering the big bet that retailers are making on newer technologies, such as mobile, geo-location, tablets, local product search and more. The big question is how consumers will react to and engage with these technologies over the next several weeks. It could be a very mobile Christmas.

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How Google, eBay, And PayPal Are Gearing Up For A Very Mobile Holiday Shopping Season

3 Free Apps For Getting Things Done

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:20:35 +0000

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark . If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here . Each weekend , Mashable selects startups we think are building interesting, unique or niche products. This week we’ve focused on three new apps that help complete (or even inspire) daily tasks. Any.DO is a social to-do list that’s easier to use than any other we’ve seen. Hailo makes hailing a cab a matter of checking in on an app, and photo game Onefeat inspires creative feats throughout the day. Hailo: A Network For Taxi Drivers And Passengers Quick Pitch: Hailo is a network of licensed London taxi drivers that customers can hail using an app. Genius Idea: Making it easier for customers and taxis to find each other Mashable’s Take: Hailing a cab can be a competitive sport. Taxi drivers have no way of knowing for sure where there are customers who need a ride, and customers have no way of telling them. Hailo aims to help the two parties find each other. Customers can request a ride with a free app. After their license is verified, drivers who register can use their own version of the app to accept those requests. So far the service has signed up about 2,300 of 23,000 London Black Cabs. At the end of a ride booked with Hailo, the cab driver enters the meter fee into his or her app and the customer’s credit card is charged. Hailo takes a 10% cut for making the arrangement. Founder and CEO Jay Bregman says drivers have already charged £1 million in fares through the system. Bregman hopes to expand soon into other cities. He says the company has already met with the Taxi & Limousine Commission in New York City and is actively preparing to launch in the United States. There he will have competition from Taxi Magic , which charges the user — not the driver — to pay for the ride with a credit card. Success for a taxi app is somewhat of a chicken-and-egg problem. On one hand, users won’t want to use an app to hail a cab if there aren’t enough drivers registered to respond. On the other, drivers probably won’t find much use for an app that doesn’t send them customers. Any.DO: A Social To-Do List Quick Pitch: Any.DO is a simple social to-do list. Genius Idea: A to-do list that responds to voice commands and gestures Mashable’s Take: If app stores were physical places, you’d have a hard time throwing a rock in them without hitting a to-do list app. The team behind Any.DO has already proven it can stand out in this crowded space . Their first to-do list product, an app for Android called Taskos , registered more than 1.3 million users. Those users are now invited to migrate to Any.DO. Any.DO helps users create, organize and share tasks with friends, even if those friends don’t use the app. It responds to gesture-based commands such as shaking the phone to remove completed tasks, and it can add tasks through voice recognition. Most of the app’s functionality — sharing, reminders, folders and priorities — is similar to other to-do list apps. What makes it stand out is its simple, intuitive interface. Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors recently led a $1 Million investment in Any.Do, but free apps can be hard to monetize. An Any.DO spokesperson said the business has “a few things in the pipeline” that could generate revenue, but it’s not ready to talk about them. Onefeat: A Photo Task Game Quick Pitch: Onefeat is an iPhone app that turns photo missions into a social game. Genius Idea: Photo sharing apps have taken off in the last two years, but many of them look the same. Take a photo. Add a filter. Post it to your networks. Paris-based Onefeat has added a new twist to photo sharing with its iPhone and Android apps, turning photo sharing into a game. Users earn points that can unlock trophies by completing “feats” such as “Get to the end of the world” or “Take a self portrait” that are proposed by other users. Flipping through feats is as entertaining as completing one yourself, and it’s not surprising that users from Brazil, France and the U.S. are playing regularly. Image courtesy of istockphoto, barisonal Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark , a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today . More About: Any.DO , bizspark , Hailo , Onefeat For more Business coverage: Follow Mashable Business on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Business channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad

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3 Free Apps For Getting Things Done

5 Steps for a Successful QR Code Marketing Campaign

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:37:14 +0000

Hamilton Chan is CEO and founder of Paperlinks , which provides the leading QR code infrastructure for businesses. Codes generated through Paperlinks app can be scanned by the free Paperlinks iPhone app or by any QR code reader on any smartphone platform. While the debate rages on whether QR codes are a passing fad or a marketing phenomenon, those little suckers continue to pop up all over the place. From product packaging to retail signs and even to food , almost any surface in the universe seems fair game for a QR code. However, if brands deploy QR codes merely to claim they are using the latest social media marketing tool, then QR codes are doomed to fall in the “fad” bin, never to realize their full potential. The task for marketers is to use this interactive tool to deliver useful and meaningful experiences to their users. SEE ALSO: Why QR Codes Are Here to Stay So, how can you assess whether you are using QR codes to their full potential? Although very few QR marketing statistics exist, here are a few tips for businesses looking to deliver a meaningful QR code experience. 1. Define Your Purpose The first thing to realize is that QR codes can be as much about utility as they are about marketing. The more your QR code enhances or streamlines the lives of customers, the more engagement you can expect. As such, the most important step in making your QR campaign a success is to think clearly about the purpose of your code. Is the purpose to provide an instructional video, a photo catalog of products, contact information or product suggestions? Or are you looking to incentivize mobile purchasing behavior through coupons and loyalty rewards? What is the advertiser hoping to garner – an email address, social media engagement, a phone call? Are you seeking to provide information about a single product or about the entire brand line? The clearer you are about the purpose of your campaign, the easier it will be to discern whether your goals have been achieved. 2. Call On Your Customers Now that you have defined your purpose, craft a customer call to action. Think of your QR code as a doorway, only you need to explain what’s hidden behind the door. The brief text sitting next to your code should be the world’s shortest elevator pitch. For instance, you’ll see high scan rates if your code says, “Scan this code for an exclusive gift” or “Scan this code for our lowest price.” Be sure to explain any incentive associated with the code truthfully — it will increase trust, consumer interaction and the overall return on your campaign. 3. Design and Usability Is Key Understand that looks matter. Ideally, opt for a designer code rather than a black-and-white checker box. Designer codes earn higher scan-through rates, look better on your materials, and even provide an element of security to assure users that this is indeed the brand’s QR code (and hasn’t been somehow covered over). SEE ALSO: 5 Big Mistakes To Avoid in Your QR Code Marketing Campaign In addition, the design of the mobile landing page is critical. The cardinal sin in QR code campaigns is directing users to your desktop website. Not only does a desktop site provide little added value over what a user could have obtained without the code, but the site usually looks and functions terribly on a mobile phone. If you do not have a mobile-friendly version of your website, consider using one of the many available tools to create one . Using one of these platforms makes it easier to update content in real time and track campaign analytics. 4. Measuring Scans The most important metric of a QR campaign should not be the number of daily scans. Rather, the length of engagement time that your code is generating should be a marketer’s primary indicator of campaign success. If people are spending two to three (or more) minutes on a link, the campaign is a success. The power of a QR code is to transform the user experience from a “quick glance” to a “deep dive.” When users spend a lot of time on your QR site, it shows that you have developed something captivating — a brand worth the interaction. On the flip side, having a low number of scans should not discourage the advertiser, although generating zero scans is a definite red flag. If no one is scanning the code, it’s likely that something is wrong its scanability, or that its placement is not conducive to scanning (think high-up ads on the subway). Another thing to keep an eye on is the number of scans over time. If your QR code has been constant displayed (e.g., in your retail window or on your cashier counter), you should see a long tail of interactivity as people continue to engage with your code. Achieve this by providing fresh content and incentives. Unlike other marketing vehicles (TV commercials and newspaper ads) that typically only generate one big spike in impressions, QR codes allow businesses a consistent promotional tier. If the number of scans drops to zero after the first week, this is a sign that there wasn’t enough allure to the experience. 5. Social Metrics Finally, businesses should look at the points of interaction beyond the QR code experience to judge the success of a campaign. Did a business receive more hits to its website, more followers on Twitter , more fans on Facebook ? While trying out the latest high-tech marketing tools is fun, we must ultimately be driven by results. The QR code experience is limited only by your imagination. The more creatively you can provide a meaningful customer experience, the more interaction your QR code campaign will enjoy. QR codes provide metrics by tying real-world marketing (outdoor signs, magazine ads, etc.) to the mobile web . By being imaginative, purposeful and experimental with campaigns, advertisers and consumers alike can reap rich QR rewards. Image courtesy of iStockphoto , youngvet More About: contributor , features , How-To , Marketing , QR Codes

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5 Steps for a Successful QR Code Marketing Campaign

Google Leaves Trail of Clues to Mystery Musical Event

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:28:36 +0000

One thing Google appears to be learning from Apple is this: how to build buzz around a product launch by being short on details but long on clues. That’s certainly the case with the invite Google sent us and others in the tech press Friday, to an event next Wednesday in Los Angeles. The company isn’t saying what the event is about, exactly, but here are your clues: 1. It’s being held at Mr. Brainwash’s Gallery — yes, that Mr. Brainwash, the videographer and artist of doubtful legitimacy featured in the Oscar-nominated Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop . 2. The title of the invite: “these go up to eleven.” That would be a reference to This is Spinal Tap , of course, and to Friday being 11/11/11 . But don’t get thrown off the scent; the key part of this clue is the plural. SEE ALSO: 11/11/11 Is “Nerd New Year:” Here’s How to Turn It Up to 11 3. The event will be livestreamed at youtube.com/android , and the invite features a waving android logo in the corner. By Jove, Holmes, this may have something to do with Google’s mobile platform! 4. The photo of Mr. Brainwash’s gallery on the invite also features a T-Mobile banner. Random advertising, red herring, or clue? 5. The RSVP link for the event includes “Music 2011″ in the URL. Could we be looking at something so prosaic as a set of speakers? At Google I/O, the company gave us a demo of Project Tungsten , wherein sets of speakers could be remotely controlled via an Android tablet. The speakers would also know to play an album when you swiped a CD embedded with Near Field Communication in front of them. That’s an interesting gimmick, but who buys CDs any more — let alone NFC-enabled ones? We’re hoping there’s something more to the mystery, and look forward to letting you know next week. In the meantime, feel free to add your guesses in the comments. BONUS: Mashable’s Google I/O Coverage Android Honeycomb Goes to 3.1 Ice Cream Sandwich: Android’s Newest, Sweetest Flavor Google TV Gets Android Market Access Google Launches Movies for Android 100 Million Android Devices Now Activated [STATS] Google Music Is (Finally) Here Sneak Peek: Google Music on Android [PICS] How Google’s Music Service Works [VIDEO] Google Music Service To Debut Without the Labels Android@Home Lets You Control Your Lights & Appliances Wirelessly More About: android , Google , Mobile , speakers , T-Mobile For more Mobile coverage: Follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Mobile channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad

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Google Leaves Trail of Clues to Mystery Musical Event

Miss “Most Recent”? Sort Facebook’s News Feed By Recent Stories First

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:31:27 +0000

Over the next few days, Facebook will roll out a “Sort” option at the top of the news feed that lets users select to see Recent Stories First instead of the default Highlighted Stories. The new feature should appease users miffed by Facebook’s move to combine the old Most Recent and Top Stories news feed tabs into a single stream. Until now, the hybrid news feed launched in September forced users to first see what Facebook considered the most relevant content. Some users found these decisions inaccurate even though they have the option to teach the algorithm. The Sort feature lets users prioritize real-time updates over older content that’s been deemed compelling because of Likes, comments, clicks, and the viewer’s relationship to a story’s author. However, it doesn’t split the feed in two. Facebook tells me “The intent behind these updates is to make News Feed easier to navigate while still showing all the news in one place.” Facebook did away with the two-tabbed news feed because a significant portion of the user base never switched to the Most Recent feed from the default Top Stories. This led to a poor experience where they might see the same story multiple times, and miss out on urgent updates like invites to get together with friends or real-time conversations. With Sort, if you constantly visit the site and want to make your own decisions about what’s important, or want to know what friends are up to at that moment, you can set it to Recent Stories First. If you visit infrequently, you can leave it on Highlighted Stories first so you don’t miss popular content even if it was published hours or days ago. One’s Sort setting will presumably persist across sessions so you won’t have to reset it each time you log in. Sort will empower Facebook’s more savvy and critical users to curate their own feed while maintaining a simple experience for those less adept at navigating the social network.

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Miss “Most Recent”? Sort Facebook’s News Feed By Recent Stories First

Lion Install Numbers Nothing To Roar About

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:47:04 +0000

First, let me apologize for the headline. And now, the news. It appears that Mac OS X Lion isn’t exactly taking the Mac world by storm: after brisk initial sales following the July 20 release of 10.7, growth seems to have stagnated. This is based on visitor tracking by analytics firm Chitika , whose latest numbers indicate that Lion is still a long way from catching up to Snow Leopard and even plain old Leopard, which despite being several years old is still making up a fifth of their Mac visitors. Lion? Stalled at 16%, up just 2% from the end of September. It’s a reverse hockey stick. This chart shows the absolute representation of the OS in their stats. If you could zoom out, for perspective, Windows XP and 7 would probably be at around five or six times the height of this portion. What could be the reason for the slow adoption rate, if we can trust these numbers? My impression would be simply that the features aren’t attractive to the average user. While some of the new ideas and features are certainly useful, I confess my own bafflement at how irrelevant most are to everyday use. Few users will see Mission Control and Launchpad and think “yes, these are much better than Expose and a shortcut to the apps folder in the Dock.” Because really, they aren’t much better. Mail, Airdrop, and full screen apps are useless to the many users who have adopted web apps for email, sharing, and daily tasks. Resume and disk encryption are invisible and not really interesting to casual users who don’t understand them (“what, why wouldn’t I quit something when I’m done?”) and won’t see them in action. What’s left of the update apparently isn’t worth the thirty bucks. It’s not that Lion is bad, but I think I understand people’s trepidation to undergo the update process (backing up and so on, easier than ever but still beyond many users) for features that don’t pop. Snow Leopard is fast and stable, and has access to the key apps and services. What’s the hurry? Naturally the numbers will continue to grow, as Lion ships on all of Apple’s popular computers, and sales are better than ever. The rumored Air-style MacBook Pro series would provide a nice boost as well. But the trends suggest that Lion’s road to OS X dominance is going to be a long and slow one.

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Lion Install Numbers Nothing To Roar About

Google+ Pages Age Selector Signals End of 18+ Age Limit

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:46:28 +0000

Judging by the age selector option in the new Google+ Pages that lets admins limit features to those over the age of 18, users under 18 will eventually be able to join the social network. Currently, Google+ is limited to those ages 18 and over, and excludes those ages 13-17 who are permitted to set up a Gmail account. While it was assumed that Google+ would lower its age restriction to the COPPA-compliant 13 and over demographic when it completed its “field test”, the age selector option makes this all but assured. Using the age selector on the Google+ Pages product launched this morning , admins can set it so “interactive features that require the user to be logged in will be limited to users that are that minimum age or older” according to Google+ support . The age options include ‘Any Google+ user’, and ‘Users 18 and over’. The second option would only be necessary if users under 18 could some day use the service. When Google+ first launched and again when it was opened to the public, some were surprised it excluded a demographic known for sharing high volumes of content. That sharing and the willingness of younger demographics to invite their whole network to new services could have helped Google+ grow. Google may have assessed that building in walls to separate minors from the rest of the user base wasn’t a priority. That might not have been the wisest move as I see Google+ as having squandered its initial growth momentum such that it will never attain the wildfire spread of Facebook. That growth may not be crucial to Google’s plans or the service’s longterm success. It could also have helped set more mature norms about the types of content and relationships hosted on Google+. Still, raw user count is important to attracting developers, brands, and more users. Now it seems that when Google+ is ready, it will admit those ages 13-17, and Pages related to topics unfit for minors such as tobacco will be able to exclude logged in youngsters. Furthermore, the potential ability for Google+ Pages to target posts to specific age groups such as minors could be a way to one-up Facebook’s Pages product . Crunchbase GOOGLE Company: Google Website: google.com Launch Date: July 9, 1998 IPO: NASDAQ:GOOG Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps and YouTube. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing them with a rich source of information…. Learn more

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Google+ Pages Age Selector Signals End of 18+ Age Limit

Facebook Acq-hires Mobile Video And Image Editing App Developer Digital Staircase

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:46:25 +0000

It looks like Facebook has just acq-hired mobile video and image app developer Digital Staircase , according to a blog post on the startup’s site. According to Facebook, Digital Staircase’s team will be joining the social network but Facebook has not acquired any of the technology assets from the startup. Digital Staircase has developed a number of apps for video recording, image editing and more. MovieCam, which is available as an iPad and iOS app, is a camcorder app that provides recording features like 8x digital zoom, pause-and-resume recording functionality, and contrast enhancement. The app also allows you to add 18 movie effects and filters while shooting video. iPhone app StereoCam aids in the quick creation of stereo image pairs. A stereo image pair consists of two specially designed images that are placed side-by-side to allow viewers (employing an appropriate viewing technique) to see the depicted scene in full. Another iOS app SmartSplice uses advanced graphics algorithms to improve the speed and ease of creating high-quality image selections and provides image filters and a way to create professional-looking image effects. From the post, it appears that the development team may be adding some of these functionalities to Facebook itself. Unfortunately, Digital Staircase will be removing its apps from the Apple App Store. Dear Digital Staircase customers, followers, and supporters, Hard to believe that it’s been 3 years since we started Digital Staircase. As with any startup, there have been ups and downs, but we’ve always had a blast working with you all to create new graphics apps and tools that make the joy of visual computing accessible. We’re announcing today that we’re being acquired by Facebook to help bring these mobile innovations to a broader audience. Many things may change, but our dedication to immersive experiences will not. In a couple weeks (around 12/05/2011), we will be closing down Digital Staircase as a standalone entity and will remove all iOS products from the Apple iTunes store. Those of you who own apps (MovieCam, SmartSplice, StereoCam, etc) will still be able to use them on your current device. Please look out for new innovations to be added to Facebook. Thanks for all the support, and feel free to contact us at support@digitalstaircase.com for more suggestions, comments, and feedback. We’re always looking for ways to improve the user experience. Thanks, The Digital Staircase Team Crunchbase FACEBOOK Company: Facebook Website: facebook.com Launch Date: January 2, 2004 Funding: $2.34B Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004, initially as an exclusive network for Harvard students. It was a huge hit: in 2 weeks, half of the schools in the Boston area began demanding a Facebook network. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends Dustin Moskowitz and Chris Hughes to help build Facebook, and within four months, Facebook added 30 more college networks. The original idea for the term… Learn more

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Facebook Acq-hires Mobile Video And Image Editing App Developer Digital Staircase