Mashable: Latest 7 News Updates - including “42 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed” |
- 42 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed
- What MySpace’s Tom Anderson Thinks of Google+
- Texting Teens: Typing Replaces Talking [INFOGRAPHIC]
- 3 New Apps For Self Improvement
- GoDaddy Sold for $2.25 Billion
- Tiny Camcorder Takes Wild Rides Aboard Exploding Fireworks [VIDEO]
- This Week in Politics & Digital: Twitter Town Halls & Gay Marriage
- Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]
| 42 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Posted: 02 Jul 2011 03:02 PM PDT      No doubt your summer celebrations this weekend will leave you little time to catch up on reading. To help you out, we’ve compiled a handy roundup of this week’s most helpful, informative and inspiring stories. We’ve celebrated iPhone’s birthday, we’ve pondered celebrity impact on social good, and we’ve laughed over geeky gadgets. This week Mashable overflowed with engaging content. Find out what you missed! Editors’ Picks
Social Media
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & MobileFor more tech news and resources, follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & MarketingFor more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of Webtreats More About: business, facebook, Features Week In Review, gadgets, infographic, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, mobile apps, social good, social media, tech, technology, twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| What MySpace’s Tom Anderson Thinks of Google+ Posted: 02 Jul 2011 01:54 PM PDT   Google+, the search giant’s social network, has just received a strong endorsement from one of the pioneers of social networking: MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson. Tom Anderson, best known as the default friend on MySpace during its early years, co-founded MySpace with Chris DeWolfe in 2003. For years, it was the world’s most-visited social network. In 2005, News Corp. acquired the hot Internet property for $580 million. MySpace would thrive for another year or two, but it wasn’t long until trouble hit the social network. Facebook beat MySpace as the #1 social network in early 2009 (just two-and-half years ago) and soon the site’s traffic fell off a cliff. After several layoffs and failed attempts to save MySpace, it was eventually sold for just $35 million to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake. Tom Anderson, who never has to work again, rarely speaks out about the decline of the company he founded, but earlier today he broke his silence on a Google+ thread, explaining not only his thoughts on Google+, but on the failed vision of MySpace. “My original vision for [MySpace] was that everything got better when it was social — so I tried to build all the super popular things used on the web (blogs, music, classifieds, events, photos) on top of MySpace’s social layer,” Anderson explained in his post. He then reveals that, after years of success, he “choked” and Facebook seized on his vision. But Anderson thinks Google has the opportunity to truly realize his original vision. “Google+ really seems to be primed to make good on that original premise — that everything gets better when it’s social. And unlike [Facebook], Twitter, or anyone else, Google already has the most advanced set of products. And if I can clearly see where this is headed, then I think what we are getting is a much better Google.” We’ve included Anderson’s Google+ message in its entirety. Let us know if you agree with him in the comments.
More About: facebook, Google, Google Plus, myspace, social media, social networking, tom anderson, trending For more Social Media coverage:
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| Texting Teens: Typing Replaces Talking [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 02 Jul 2011 01:04 PM PDT   After a close encounter with a texting teen at a busy intersection recently, we wondered: Has texting taken over as the primary form of communication for today’s teens? We found our answer with this Infographic from Lab 42, which polled 500 social-networking Americans aged 13 to 21. The headline stat: 71% of the respondents preferred texting to phone calling. But we have our doubts about that self-reported 2% who admit texting while driving, a suspiciously low number. An additional statistic not included here: An infographic we created last year showed that adults 18 and older text an average of 10 texts per day, and guys 14 to 17 text 30 times per day — but girls 14 to 17 are the biggest texters of all, sending an average of 100 per day. In some surveys, the overall number is even higher. For instance, according to MSN Money, each American teen sends an average of 3,339 texts per month. Given the tremendous volume of texting going on, we’re hoping the parents paying for all this ponied up for an unlimited plan. Beyond teen texting, we’re certain we text a lot more than phone calling these days, too. How about you?
Infographic courtesy Lab 42 More About: infographic, Lab 42, teens, texting, trends For more Mobile coverage:
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| 3 New Apps For Self Improvement Posted: 02 Jul 2011 11:41 AM PDT   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.
Since Americans have some extra time this weekend for the Fourth of July, we’ve highlighted three startups with products that could help you improve your finances, dating conundrums or skills. If you can make time between barbecue, beer and fireworks this weekend, that is. Meet Your Financial Goals: Payoff.comPayoff.com is something like a goal-oriented Mint.com, with the addition of social features and badges that are geared toward helping you save money. At signup, you declare your primary and future goals, such as “pay off all credit cards.” Then you hook up your accounts (Payoff insists the process is secure) so that you can track your spending and Payoff can reward you for progress with badges and cash prizes. Unlike most financial sites, Payoff thinks users can benefit from a little publicity. Users can share their goals and the badges they win with their friends using social media. It makes money by suggesting “tools” from financial institutions such as checking accounts and prepaid checking accounts for helping you save. The goal is to make financial health more like a game. Whether or not this will be as effective as creating a budget (a feature Payoff skips) remains to be seen from the six-months-old site. But Payoff has earned $3.5 million in capital investment led by FirstMark Capita to put the hypothesis to the test. Go On More Interesting Dates: Datevitation In my personal experience, it’s easy to come up with about five good, creative date ideas. Should a budding romance make it past the fifth date, the rate of movie rentals and Chinese takeout significantly increases. Datevitation allows you to solve this problem and knock out a low-cost birthday or anniversary present at the same time. Customers search through the site’s library of more than 200 illustrated date selections and put together a customizable coupon booklet of dates. Prices for start at $5 for a printed book of five date coupons. More coupons can be added for $1 each. Get Skills: Coursehorse Whether you want to improve your cooking or your stunt trampoline skills, CourseHorse will help you track down a class that works for you (as long as you’re located in New York City). The search engine lets you search by subject, date and time, price, age or neighborhood. When you find one you like, you can enroll directly on the site. More About: bizspark, CourseHorse, datevitation, payoff.com, Startup Weekend Roundup For more Social Media coverage:
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| GoDaddy Sold for $2.25 Billion Posted: 02 Jul 2011 10:48 AM PDT   GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain registrar, has been sold to three private equity firms in a deal valued at $2.25 billion, the company announced late Friday. As a report predicted a week ago, private equity firms KKR & Co., Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures sealed the deal, where they agreed to take on GoDaddy’s debt (update: which the Wall Street Journal says amounts to roughly half the value of the deal). That earlier report indicated the company would be sold for between $2 billion and $2.5 billion. Company founder and CEO Bob Parsons predicted further growth of GoDaddy under its new ownership. He said to the Los Angeles Times, “What these guys see is a company with a lot more potential internationally and more potential to make partnerships and acquisitions. They’ll help us finance and they’ll help us recruit talent.” GoDaddy, known for its sexy Super Bowl ads and controversial CEO with a penchant for elephant killing, has seen significant growth over the past three years, with sales rising by 25% to $947 million from 2009 to 2010. The company projected growth for 2011 to continue that trend, quoting a figure of $1.1 billion for the year. More About: deals, godaddy, KKR, Silver Lake Partners, sold, Technology Crossover Ventures, trending For more Business & Marketing coverage:
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| Tiny Camcorder Takes Wild Rides Aboard Exploding Fireworks [VIDEO] Posted: 02 Jul 2011 09:43 AM PDT You’ll probably be seeing lots of fireworks this weekend, but you won’t be experiencing them from this perspective, shot with a tiny spy camera strapped onto the fireworks themselves. Videographer Jeremiah Warren used an 808 #11 spy camera similar to the one pictured below. Despite its small stature (it’s a mere 2.6 inches long and 1.4 inches wide), the $120 camcorder can shoot and record HD in 720p:   The 19-year-old Jeremiah’s only regret? “I was going to mount fins on the [rockets] to stabilize them, but by the time I got the idea I already shot through my supply, and when I went to get more they had put a ban on fireworks sales,” he says. This is not all Jeremiah does with his video and special effects talent. Check out his YouTube channel here. More About: bottle rocket, fireworks, july 4, spy camera, trending, video For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
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| This Week in Politics & Digital: Twitter Town Halls & Gay Marriage Posted: 02 Jul 2011 08:28 AM PDT   The Republican field is starting to settle despite one giant question mark over Sarah Palin’s potentially presidential head. This week shifted away from the GOP to focus on some serious democratic victories and announcements. And another sexting politician surfaced, just when you thought Weinergate was behind us. Take a look through this week’s big news, including President Barack Obama’s first-of-its-kind Twitter town hall meeting and the passing of a gay marriage bill in New York. Want even more? This weekly series picks out the week’s top stories in the intersection of digital technology and politics. Check it out and let us know what you think of this week’s stories. President Obama Runs Twitter Town Hall On July 6, Obama will take to Twitter to hold a digital town hall. The White House has set up a website (askobama.twitter.com) where people can ask questions and a dedicated Twitter account, @Townhall, where the event will take place. Moreover, Twitter is dropping its 140-character limit for Obama, allowing him to respond to questions in whatever length he desires. All other users will still be bound by the 140-character limit, Death and Taxes reported. Gay in New York
One senator even asked constituents over social networks for their input, and then voted no anyway. The Twitter response was generally positive with state senators and celebrities registering their support. Another Politician Found Sexting
Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, Pgiam, image courtesy of City of Kenner More About: barack obama, gary ball, gay marriage, new york, politics, President, president obama, same-sex marriage, social media, twitter, week in digital politics For more Social Media coverage:
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| Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART] Posted: 02 Jul 2011 07:33 AM PDT   It was a strange week in the Twitterverse as measured by the top trending topics, with random viral memes out in force. The top three trends are less surprising — soccer, an awards show and a celebrity death. Justin Bieber remains on the chart because, well — he went to the dentist. But that’s where the chart starts getting weird. To see the full list, check out the chart below. Because this is a topical list, hashtag memes and games have been omitted from the chart. The aggregate is based on Twitter’s own trending algorithm, and does not necessarily reflect raw tweet volume. You can check Twitter trends from the past in our Top Twitter Topics section. Top Twitter Trends This Week: 6/24 – 6/30
Data aggregate courtesy of What the Trend. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, 123render More About: List, Lists, social media, Top Twitter Topics, trends, twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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Each 
This week the New York State Senate passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and the Twitterverse unsurprisingly jumped to the occasion. The controversial bill spent a lot of time circulating the Senate as Democrats needed a couple of key Republicans to commit to voting yes.
Our first week without a sexting scandal? What a relief! Oh, never mind — there’s another one. City Councilman Joe Stagni from Kenner, Louisiana was literally caught with his pants down thanks to an errant photo posted to the city’s computer server. The image was sent in 2009 from Stagni’s BlackBerry to the city’s female internal auditor. When she forwarded the image to city’s information technology director, the image was put on the server where it could be requested through a public records request. While the image may not be as scandalous as New York State Senator Anthony Wiener’s series of barely-there shots, it’s perhaps another fair warning that if you are a politician, you should not be taking pictures of yourself in various stages of undress.| You are subscribed to email updates from Mashable! To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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