Thursday 25 August 2011

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Steve Jobs Resigns, Facebook To Release Photo Filters: This Morning’s Top Headlines”

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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Steve Jobs Resigns, Facebook To Release Photo Filters: This Morning’s Top Headlines”

Steve Jobs Resigns, Facebook To Release Photo Filters: This Morning’s Top Headlines

Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:54 AM PDT

Social Media News

Welcome to this morning’s edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. We're keeping our eyes on five particular stories of interest today.

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Steve Jobs, co-founder and two-time CEO of Apple, offered his resignation via a letter to the company's board Wednesday. He will be succeeded by Tim Cook. Shares of Apple fell by as much as 7% in after-hours trading.

Facebook Surpasses 1 Trillion Pageviews Per Month

Facebook garnered more than 1 trillion pageviews per month in June and July, according to data from Google-owned ad network DoubleClick.

Facebook To Release Photo Filters?

Following a failed attempt to acquire Instagram, Facebook will roll out up to a dozen photo filters in a mobile application release, according to a report.

Google +1 Button Now Shares Directly to Google+

Google has upgraded the +1 button with several new features, including the ability to directly share a webpage to Google+.

RIM Launches BlackBerry Music App

RIM has announced cloud-based music service that lets subscribers locally store and stream a maximum of 50 songs for $4.99 per month. Subscribers can also connect to the music libraries of others to expand their own.

Further News

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59

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Droid Bionic “Rules All Machines” In New Ad [VIDEO]

Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:27 AM PDT


Motorola has put up a new teaser video for its upcoming smartphone, Droid Bionic, featuring a sci-fi setting, evil robot, and a scantily clad, sword-adorning lady.

The actual phone, unfortunately, is nowhere to be seen, but we’re lead to believe it will “rule all machines” when it finally hits the market.

Since the Droid Bionic has been in the news since the beginning of the year (with the originally planned release date moving from Q2 2011 to September 2011), we actually have a pretty good idea what that means: a 4.3-inch 960 × 540 pixel screen, an 8 megapixel camera as well as a 2 megapixel front cam for video chats, a 1 GHz dual-core CPU and 1 GB of RAM.

Check out the video below and tell us how you like it in the comments.

More About: droid, droid bionic, Motorola, video

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Rachael Yamagata’s New Album Cover Created on the iPhone

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:53 PM PDT

It’s not just fashion photographers that are embracing camera apps for the iPhone — musicians are too.

When it came time for singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata to create the album cover for her upcoming release, Chesapeake, the musician didn’t look for an expensive digital SLR camera. Instead, she reached for her iPhone.

The album artwork and packaging for Chesapeake were created using the iPhone app Camera+ [iTunes link]. The popular iPhone app has moved more than 3 million copies in the last year and is a hit with fashion photographers and musicians alike.


We asked Yamagata about why the iPhone was chosen as the creation tool for this album’s artwork.

“A lot of the best spontaneous moments of making music happen when no outsiders are around and this includes photographers,” Yamagata said. “It’s been pretty standard in my experience to keep the studio a sacred space of sorts, and it’s surprising how even the best intended energy of someone new can throw off the vibe of the session. That said, it was a perfect thing to be able to capture these moments in photographs on our own.”

She added that her drummer Victor Indrizzo took most of the shots featured in the album artwork, noting that “the picture quality is so good and the app so effective, that the moment was allowed to shine and not be lost.”

Using a phone and an app also made taking the photos more affordable, while giving off a DIY vibe that fits well with the album’s aural aesthetic.

Using camera apps to create analog-style art is a growing trend. In July, an eight-page print spread in the magazine Everyday Food was comprised of photographs taken with the iPhone app Hipstamatic.

More About: camera, iphone, iphone camera apps, iphone photography, music, photography, rachel yamagata

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Publisher Aims to Revolutionize How-To Genre With iPad Books

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:19 PM 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.

Name: Open Air Publishing

Quick Pitch: Open Air Publishing advances the how-to genre with high-quality, multimedia books for the iPad.

Genius Idea: Jon Feldman, then a management consultant at Booz & Company in New York, was reminded this past January that New Year’s resolutions are often more pleasurable to conceive than execute.

For several years running, Feldman had resolved to learn how to order and appreciate wine, to play poker skillfully and to acquire a new fitness routine, but repeatedly failed to do so.

“There’s never been a great way to learn things like this,” he points out. “Classes are hard to find, or at the very least they’re expensive and inconvenient, and online video is generally low-quality and uncurated. It’s difficult to learn something like wine appreciation and poker skills on YouTube.”

Books, whether printed or electronic, are flat and two-dimensional, he adds, and learning a skill from a show (like, say, cooking) is difficult because it requires both recording the show and going online for recipes and other information.

This frustration, coupled with what he saw as untapped potential on Apple’s market-leading iPad device, inspired Feldman to leave consulting to start Open Air Publishing this past April. The company, which just hired its third employee away from College Humor (where Feldman once worked), published its first how-to book for the iPad in August.

Speakeasy Cocktails [$9.99, iTunes link] is authored by Rob Willey, a so-called cocktail journalist who has done extensive freelance work for Details, among others. He worked with leading New York City mixologists Jim Meehan of PDT and Joseph Schwartz of Little Branch to compile and demonstrate the techniques readers would need to create more than 100 elegant cocktails on their own.

It’s a solid book even without the multimedia features — although the multimedia features, particularly the elaborately staged videos, elevate it from a how-to guide to something rivaling a small group class (minus, of course, the ability to ask questions and solicit a little extra help now and then).

Open Air is planning to release several more books in the fall, although Feldman declined to say what they were. (“We don’t want to signal anything to our competition,” he explained. “If we even have competition yet.”) A list of “coming soon” titles on Open Air’s site suggests that wine, dog training, billiards, photography and jewelry making could be on the way.

The company raised an undisclosed round of angel funding earlier this year. Authors are compensated in part through royalties, although it’s unclear whether they receive an advance and, if so, whether that advance is significant.

Speakeasy Cocktails Trailer

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: bizspark, ipad app, open air publishing, publishing, spark of genius series

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StubHub Launches Mobile Ticketing System With San Francisco Giants

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 09:50 PM PDT


Attending a Giants game? Skip printing tickets at home and use a StubHub mobile ticket for admittance instead. The new service from eBay-owned ticket marketplace StubHub will update its mobile applications for iPhone and Android with support for mobile ticketing Thursday.

Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants is the first organization to partner with StubHub. The Giants will begin accepting mobile tickets at its Thursday, August 25 game against the Houston Astros. Additional markets are said to follow in the months ahead.

With the update, fans who purchase tickets from StubHub — on the web or via mobile app — can access mobile equivalents in the “My Account” section of StubHub’s iPhone and Android apps. App users can then show a bar code on their phones in lieu of a printed ticket for admittance into AT&T Park.

StubHub, explains director of product Mats Nilsson, is the first ticketing company to introduce a fully-functional large-scale mobile ticketing system. The reason, he says, is because the company has the technological know-how and industry relationships required to bring something like this to market.

Nilsson says that beyond giving customers a more convenient way to access and use tickets, StubHub hopes to use the mobile ticketing system as a means to learn more about its buyers.

The release also marks an ongoing war of innovation between ticketing companies. Tuesday, Ticketmaster introduced interactive seat maps with Facebook integration.

StubHub invited Mashable to preview the technology at Tuesday’s Giants game against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The system, designed to add a new layer of convenience to the ticket buying and admittance process, has its quirks. Regulations require StubHub to show the legalese on each mobile ticket, which means app users will need to zoom in and enlarge the barcode on a phone’s screen before presenting it at check in.

Guests who opt to redeem mobile tickets will also receive small paper printouts after their tickets are scanned. The printout is meant to ensure that guests can access seats and gain reentry without having to again show a phone to stadium staffers.

Altogether, the new mobile ticketing features should appeal to StubHub ticket buyers. StubHub customers, says Nilsson, have clamored for mobile tickets ever since the company debuted its first mobile application for iPhone.

More About: ebay, mobile tickets, san francisco giants, StubHub

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After Steve Jobs: Why Apple Won’t Change [OPINION]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 09:19 PM PDT


Even for a man who likes his product launches planned in minute detail, Steve Jobs’ exit from the role he has inhabited for the last 14 years was meticulously well-executed.

Jobs’ resignation letter hit the wires several hours after the New York Stock Exchange had closed for the day, allowing major investors time to digest the news. The letter was direct, simple and moving, as we’ve come to expect from Jobs’ public pronouncements. But most importantly, it made clear that this moment had been planned for some time. The letter was immediately followed by a press release from Apple, which revealed that Tim Cook had already been installed as CEO by the board.

And that “new role” Jobs referred to in his letter? Chairman of the Board. He wouldn’t actually be leaving the company. He would, as his letter said, still be “contributing to [Apple]‘s success.”

In short, it’s hard to imagine a smoother transition to the Cook era at Apple. And that reflects the fact that not a lot is actually changing here. Let the markets react how they may, and let analysts criticize Apple for not announcing its succession earlier; this, as we all know, is not a company that likes to launch anything ahead of time.

Unofficially, of course, we’ve been in the Cook era for some time. Tim Cook, the son of a shipyard worker, has been running Apple’s day-to-day operations as COO since 2007. He served as temporary Apple CEO in 2004 and 2009, while Jobs underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant respectively. And he has been effectively occupying the top job again this year, since Jobs took medical leave in January.

Part of Jobs’ business genius is that he has set up a company that can run like a well-oiled machine without him at the helm — which is, after all, the ultimate goal of any CEO. Jonathan Ive, Apple’s maestro of product design, will ensure that future Apple devices look and feel as beautiful as ever. Senior VP Scott Forstall is the software guru for iPhone and iPad. Cook makes the trains run on time — and given that he left then-secure Compaq for then-moribund Apple in 1998, his instincts have a good track record.

The only question mark truly hanging over Apple: How will Cook handle its world-famous product announcements? Nobody can anchor a keynote like Jobs, certainly not the understated Cook or the overly enthusiastic marketing chief Phil Schiller. If Apple (and the world) is lucky, Jobs will be well enough to launch the iPhone 5 this fall. And if not, he’s certainly given his replacement plenty of time to prepare for the spotlight.

For a foretaste of how the new CEO might do, check out Cook’s commencement speech at Auburn University last year:



More About: apple, steve jobs, tim cook

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Andrew W.K., Soulja Boy Sing in Converse-Hosted Zombie Bash [VIDEO]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT


Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.



Here’s a very 2011 approach to advertising: Sneaker brand Converse created a studio called Rubber Tracks where bands can record their music. Converse isn’t a music publisher, though, just a sort of patron to the arts.

The latest fruit of this arrangement is this video featuring Matt & Kim, Andrew W.K. and Soulja Boy singing “I’m a Goner,” a jaunty tune about death. The video doesn’t shy away from the subject matter, with a Night Shift-like party in a morgue replete with dancing zombies.

The message: Next time you want to dance on someone’s grave, suit up with some Converse kicks.

More About: Converse, soulja boy, viral-video-of-day, youtube

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HOW TO: Space Out Your Tweets Without Being Online All Day

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:07 PM 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.

Name: Buffer

Quick Pitch: Buffer helps you build a tweet queue and spreads out your updates over time.

Genius Idea: Separating the reading and tweeting actions.

You know that guy on your Twitter feed who posts 10 tweets in 10 minutes? It’s not his fault, say the founders of Buffer. Tweeting is just set up inefficiently for people who aren’t browsing the Internet all day, but prefer to read in chunks.

“When you read stuff is not necessarily the best time to share it,” Buffer co-founder Leonhard Widrich says. “You want to read it, and you don’t necessarily want to immediately engage in a conversation. Maybe it’s late at night and nobody sees your tweets.”

To solve this problem, Widrich and his cofounder Joel Gascoigne created a simple solution. Buffer is a tool that helps users create a queue of tweets as they’re reading, and then arranges those tweets to hit their feeds throughout the day.

According to the startup’s analysis of a 2,000-user sample, on average Buffer increased click-through rates on tweets by 200% in the first three weeks after sign-up — probably because they tweeted more often and at times of the day when more people are using Twitter.

What makes Buffer worthwhile is that you never need to actually visit the website. It makes extensions for every major browser that allow users to add tweets directly from the page they want to share, adds an option next to Twitter’s reply button for saving retweets to a queue (this feature is limited to the Chrome extension) and is making efforts to integrate with readers.

“If we have the best algorithm, but it’s just a web dashboard and you always need to go there and put your tweets in, it’s going to be really hard for you,” Widrich says. “But if it’s everywhere you go, if it’s in your reader…it will make the sharing experience for you a lot easier.”

Recently tweet reader Strawberryj.am put a Buffer button in its app. Buffer hopes to have a publicly available API ready within the next month so that other services can easily do something similar. The more services that add Buffer, the harder it will be for a Twitter client (or Twitter itself) to squash the startup by simply creating a similar feature.

“We never want to be a client, we really just want to take the experience of how we share on social networks and improve that.”

Buffer’s revenue stream is solely sourced from its premium accounts, which allow more than one Twitter account and a larger tweet queue. Of the startup’s about 30,000 users, about 2.5% have converted to its paid version.

Buffer’s chrome extension adds an option next to Twitter’s reply button for saving retweets to a queue.

Image courtesy of Flickr, ilse

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: bizspark, Buffer

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5 Must-Try Products From Y Combinator’s Demo Day

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:41 PM PDT


Sixty-three fledgling startups demoed their big ideas in front of investors and members of the press at Y Combinator’s Demo Day on Tuesday.

Of the massive batch — Y Combinator’s largest to date — 32 companies now have products in the wild. With so many to choose from, we decided to feature the five most practical consumer applications best suited for Mashable readers.

“Out of 63, statically, there’s probably an Airbnb or Dropbox in there,” Y Combinator founder Paul Graham said to the crowd. “Question is, which one?”

It could be one of the consumer-focused startups below. Of course, you’ll be the ones to decide their ultimate fate. Try out the products below and tell us in the comments what you think.


Kicksend




Pitch: Use Kicksend to send files of any size to any email address or anyone in your social graph.

The Basics: Kicksend has a straightforward file-sharing experience. Select or drag-and-drop files to share, specify to whom you want to send your files, add a message, choose privacy settings (optional) and hit Send.

You can also build lists of friends, participate in private conversation threads related to files, import Google contacts, view stats and receive delivery notifications.

Why We Like It: Easy signup via Facebook or Twitter -- making for even easier list creation -- and pretty application interfaces.

You've got plenty of choices in the file-sharing arena, but Kicksend's approach is modern, elegant and accessible to the average web user anytime, anywhere.


Codecademy




Pitch: Codecademy is a site where beginners can go to learn how to code.

The Basics: Users complete simple and quick coding exercises in the browser, and earn badges for their achievements. The only coding skills required are the ones you learn along the way.

In five days, Codecademy has signed up more than 250,000 users who have completed more than 2.75 million exercises. Most users, the startup says, are spending an average of an hour on the site.

Why We Like It: Codecademy makes coding both accessible and fun for everyone -- Mashable reporters and readers included. Even the sign up process is a simple lesson in coding.


Snapjoy




Pitch: Snapjoy stores and organizes the world's photos.

The Basics: Use Snapjoy to store your photos in the cloud for universal access or backup. The service will automatically organize your photos into events based on photo contents. You can then choose to share photos or moments with friends via email.

So far users are responding nicely to the new cloud-based alternative to photo storage. Snapjoy's 2,500 users have uploaded more than 1.8 million photos in the 16 days since it first launched.

Why We Like It: Automatic photo organization and a "Remember When" photo shuffler. Plus, Snapjoy's Shoebox desktop uploader makes it a breeze to upload your entire photo collection in minutes.

1,000 Mashable readers can sign up to get access to Snapjoy.


Picplum




Pitch: Picplum automatically prints and ships photos to friends and family.

The Basics: Upload your best photos to Picplum and it will send 4 x 6-inch photo prints to designated recipients each month. The photo-printing service is tailored toward new parents who want a more automated way to send shots to their family members.

For $7 per month, Picplum will print and send a set of 15 4 x 6 photo prints to a single recipient. You can add additional recipients for $7 more per person, per month.

Why We Like It: Because you can email all your shots to photos@picplum.com, Picplum makes for a simple send-it-and-forget way to share digital captures with relatives.


Debteye




Pitch: Debteye offers users automated credit counseling on the web.

The Basics: Debteye has condensed the usually manual and laborious process of credit consolidation into a self-service software program.

Use Debteye to review your credit, get a personalized debt plan and work your way out of debt. The service provides users with three different types of debt relief programs: debt settlement, debt management or debt snowball. It also comes up with monthly budget based on your lifestyle.

Why We Like It: Practical, consumer-friendly tools for getting out of debt faster.

More About: Codecademy, Debteye, Kicksend, Picplum, Snapjoy, startups, trending, y combinator

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10 Iconic Steve Jobs Moments [VIDEOS]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:56 PM PDT


The career of one of America’s most innovative businessmen has been more than just a string of moments, but these 10 peeks at Steve Jobs’ formidable presence will remind you of why his resignation is such a momentous event.

From his cocky early days launching Macintosh, to his triumphant return to the company, to his jeans-and-black-shirt days of the iPod, iPhone and iPad — he kept keynote attendees and employees alike on the edge of their seats until his last “one more thing.”


Steve Jobs demos Apple Macintosh, 1984


Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh to the world. Computing would never be the same.


1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial


Ridley Scott's famous "1984" commercial for the original Macintosh continues to find imitators, even today. In 2011, Motorola attempted to spoof the classic ad in a promotional spot for its Xoom tablet.


Steve Jobs and Microsoft at Macworld Boston 1997


When Bill Gates appeared on-screen at Macworld Boston in 1997, the audience reacted with boos and hisses. Still, the decision to partner with Microsoft and have Microsoft commit to producing software for the Macintosh was one of the most shrewd -- and likely one of the most intelligent -- decisions that Jobs made upon his return to Apple.

Although many incorrectly believe that Microsoft "bought" Apple in 1997, the reality is, without Microsoft's investment and commitment to developing Macintosh software, the company may have had a more difficult time getting its next line of products to the market.


The First iMac Introduction


The iMac helped set the standard for the modern Apple even as we know it today. Designed by Jonathan Ive, the iMac was sleek, modern and affordable. This was not the Macintosh of the early to mid 1990s, it was something new.

With the iMac, Apple became cool. We can vividly remember looking at the egg-shaped all-in-one design with the hockey puck mouse and famous lack of a floppy drive and being transfixed. The iMac marked the beginning of Apple 2.0.


The First iPod Keynote (2001)


Nearly ten years ago, Apple debuted the iPod. Famously ridiculed and dismissed by Slashdot, it would be several years before the device would become iconic, and in the process, change Apple fundamentally as a company.

The premise behind the iPod was simple: 1,000 songs in your pocket. Its the execution that set the device apart from everyone else.

In 2003, Apple flipped the switch again, with the launch of the iTunes Music Store. In a post-Napster industry, most were skeptical that iTunes could drive music sales. Eight years later, iTunes is the number one music retailer by a large margin.

Ten years on, the iPod is getting long in the tooth, but it still remains the leader in its product category.


Steve Jobs presents the iTunes Phone


After the iPod started to achieve massive success in 2003 and 2004, the rumors of an iPod phone started to swirl.

The first attempt to bring a product like that to the market was in the form of Motorola's Rokr. The Rokr tried to capitalize on the success of the Razr, while also adding compatibility with iTunes.

Still, the device was a dud. You can see Steve Jobs' own frustration with the device in this demonstration. The Rokr was an example that only Apple could build an Apple product.


Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005


Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University in 2006 is one of our favorite Jobs moments. It's riveting, inspirational and every bit as good as any Apple product keynote.


Introducing the new iPhone PART 1


All hail the Jesus Phone. The iPhone changed the mobile industry. Full stop. The mobile world and ecosystem that we know today would not exist in the same way that it does now without the iPhone.

The iPhone also changed Apple as a company and helped further cement Jobs' place in history.


Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Together: Part 1


Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are two of the most powerful and influential men of our times. Seeing them together at D5, just ahead of the iPhone's US launch, was amazing.


Apple iPad: Steve Jobs Keynote Jan 27 2010 Part 1


In January 2010, Apple changed the game again with the iPad. Like the iPod and iPhone, the critics dismissed it and predicted its failure. Its success has outpaced nearly every other technology product launch in history and is having a seismic impact on education, publishing, media consumption and computing in general.

The PC era might not be over, but I'm willing to bet that the computer I use every day in ten years will have a lot more in common with the iPad than it does the MacBook Pro.

More About: Jobs resigns, steve jobs, video

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Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO: Twitter Reacts

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:09 PM PDT


In response to the resignation of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, many media and technology professionals took to Twitter to share their feelings about the news.

Jobs is stepping down as Apple CEO and handing over the day-to-day running of the company to Tim Cook, but will stay on as Chairman of the Board.

Jobs was heralded as “the greatest leader our industry has ever known,” the “most important person in personal technology,” and as a “genius.” Due to Job’s lingering health issues, several wished for his health and well being.

SEE ALSO: Tim Cook Named Apple CEO | Apple Stock Falls | Share Your Steve Jobs Moments

If you have seen other reactions you feel we have missed, please let us know in the comments below. Also, please feel free to share your memories of Steve Jobs’ lengthy and influential tenure as Apple CEO in our Open Thread.


@urnhart





@harrymccracken





@hodgman





@JasonHirschorn





@Commodity_Bull





@Benioff





@thejoelstein





@PerfectMarket





@bobduffy




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Steve Jobs’ Resignation Letter

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:01 PM PDT


This is the resignation letter Steve Jobs sent to the Apple board:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

SEE ALSO: Jobs Resigns | Tim Cook Named Apple CEO | Apple Stock Falls

More About: apple, resignation letter, Resigns, steve jobs, trending

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Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second and Third Acts in Business History

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 05:53 PM PDT


Earlier this evening, Steve Jobs stunned us all with the news that he is resigning from his position as CEO of Apple, Inc. Jobs took a medical leave of absence in January — his second since 2009. He will remain as Chairman and will be succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook.

Steve Jobs’ stellar career is already the stuff of legend. He co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, the company’s first mass-market product, the Apple II, helped ignite the personal computing revolution. When IBM released its PC in 1981, it was largely in response to the Apple II.

In 1984, Jobs unveiled the Macintosh. Announced with the most famous Super Bowl ad of all-time, the first Mac introduced a mainstream audience to user-interface concepts — pointing and clicking on a desktop — that are still in use today.

Despite its polish and appearance, the Macintosh was not able to match the commercial success of IBM’s PC (and other PC compatible systems) — or even match the sales of the Apple II.

The NeXT Chapter

Disagreements over the vision and style of Apple forced Jobs out in 1985. After resigning from the company he founded, Jobs went on to start NeXT, a company that aimed to bring his vision of personal computing and programming to educators, engineers and designers.

NeXT wasn’t the success that Jobs hoped that it would be. It didn’t fulfill on its promise to change the computing industry — at least, not at first. But Mac OS X is a direct descendant of NeXTSTEP, the operating system developed by Jobs’ team at NeXT. Objective-C, the programming language that is still used in Mac OS X and in iOS, was developed at NeXT.

It’s easy to think NeXT’s track record was unsuccessful. But the technology products that have made Apple not just a successful company, but the most valuable company in the world, are direct descendants of work done at NeXT. iOS simply wouldn’t be iOS without the work that Jobs fostered at his second company.

And by buying NeXT, as Apple did in 1997, it was buying back Steve Jobs himself — who soon ousted the hapless Gil Amelio as CEO.

Pixar and the Future of Animation

Of course, Jobs’ business legacy is about more than just Apple. In 1986, Jobs acquired a small animation studio called Pixar. It would be Pixar, not Apple, that would bring Jobs major success in the 1990s.

After years of toiling away in obscurity, Pixar hit the big time in 1995 with Toy Story, the first completely computer animated full-length motion picture. In 2006, Jobs sold Pixar to the Walt Disney Company for more than $7 billion. Jobs became a member of Disney’s Board of Directors — and the company’s largest shareholder.

While the success of Pixar should be largely attributed to director John Lasseter, the decision to acquire the company and invest in its technology in 1986 is a great example of Jobs’ vision and understanding of the future.

A Second and Third Act of Success

Since returning to Apple in 1997, Jobs has lead his company through the most phenomenal turn-around story in business history. Since taking over as CEO in 1997 — initially, he said, for an interim period — Apple’s stock has increased nearly a hundredfold.

1998′s introduction of the iMac and the 2001 introduction of the iPod led many to call Apple’s early 2000s renaissance the “most successful second act in business history.” But it has been in the last four years — since the introduction of the iPhone — that Apple has utterly dominated. Earlier this month, Apple overtook Exxon as the most valuable company.

It’s not just marketing rhetoric to say that the iPhone, and now the iPad, has changed everything. As we noted in June, “every major smartphone that has gone into production since the iPhone’s release has, in some way, been a response to the iPhone itself.”

This is even more true of tablet computing. From Samsung to HP, Acer to Asus, the tablets that currently exist in the marketplace are direct responses to the iPad. HP’s TouchPad was perhaps the most direct descendent — with everything from its form factor and scree resolution mimicking the iPad. We all know how that story has ended.

An Unknown Future

Steve Jobs leaves the company he co-founded in tremendous shape. With tens of billions of cash on hand, products that sell out as fast as they can be produced, and an ecosystem that continues to expand, the company’s future footing is solid.

Moreover, one needs look no further than Disney to see that it is possible for corporations to continue to succeed, even without their visionary founder at the helm.

More About: apple, business, steve jobs

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Facebook Wanted to Buy Instagram, Will Release Photo Filters Instead [REPORT]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:58 PM PDT


Following a failed attempt to acquire Instagram, Facebook will roll out up to a dozen photo filters in a mobile application release, according to a report from The New York Times Bits Blog.

Several Instagram-like photo filters are ready for release, two unnamed Facebook engineers cited in the report say, but the release date is unknown at this time.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pushing engineers and artists “to create more filters before releasing the new product,” Bits reports. “Facebook will also try to introduce new styles of filters with the hopes of drawing users away from other photo apps.”

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Facebook photo filters. TechCrunch reported in June that Facebook was working on a spin-off photo-sharing application for iPhone. Screenshots obtained by the blog indicated the app would have “location elements, likes and comments, multi-picture mode, filters, multi-user albums, face-tagging, and more.”

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom declined to comment on whether Facebook attempted to acquire his startup over the summer. Representatives at Facebook could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

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What Are Your Favorite Moments of Steve Jobs’ Career? [OPEN THREAD]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:52 PM PDT


As soon as Steve Jobs‘ resignation announcement became public on Wednesday, the social web was flooded with emotion. Site commenters, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit users alike mourned the departure of one of the most renowned tech innovators of our time.

No doubt Jobs has made a lot of memorable moves in his 35-year career. From launching the first commercially successful mass-produced microcomputer in 1977 to being named CEO of the Decade by Fortune in 2009, he’s nowhere near short of accomplishments. The products he’s envisioned and created over the years have helped shape the way we think about and interact with technology on a daily basis. He inadvertently changed lives across the globe.

We’d like to hear your favorite memories of his well-fulfilled career. Was it watching the Ridley Scott-directed Macintosh ad during Superbowl XVIII? Or maybe buying your first iPod introduced you to the world of music discovery?

Tell us how the innovations of one of the most iconic company leaders have affected you. We’re all ears.

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Tim Cook Named CEO of Apple [VIDEO]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:33 PM PDT


Following Steve Jobs’ resignation announcement, Apple has named Tim Cook its new CEO.

Cook, 50, joined Apple in March 1998. According to Apple, before Cook joined the company, he was vice president of corporate materials for Compaq and was “responsible for procuring and managing all of compacts product inventory.” Before that, he was COO of Intelligent Electronics’ reseller division.

This won’t be the first time he’s run the company, which he did for two months in 2004 when Steve Jobs had surgery for pancreatic cancer and again in 2009 when Jobs had a liver transplant.

SEE ALSO: Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

The calm, quiet executive with a Southern accent is said to never raise his voice, starts sending emails to his subordinates at 4:30 a.m., and according to Fortune, can be a tough leader:

“I’ve seen him shred people,” says a former executive who now works for another consumer electronics company and refused to be quoted by name. “He asks you the questions he knows you can’t answer, and he keeps going and going. It isn’t funny, and it’s not fun.”

Since January of this year, Cook has been responsible for day-to-day operations of Apple, with Steve Jobs still said to be holding final decision-making authority — until today.

Here’s a video of Cook from 2010, delivering the commencement address at his alma mater, Auburn:

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Apple Stock Falls Following Steve Jobs’ Resignation

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:20 PM PDT


Shares of Apple fell by as much as 7 percent in after hours trading on Wednesday, following the news that Steve Jobs was resigning as CEO, effective immediately.

Trading in Apple had been halted prior to the news, which was revealed in a statement by Apple around 6:34 p.m. ET. As of 6:59 p.m. ET, with shares once again trading, Apple was down more than $20 per share at $356.

Since Jobs re-joined Apple as CEO in 1997, the company has seen its share price rise nearly one-hundred fold. Recently, Apple took the title of world's most valuable company from Exxon Mobil, though the oil giant has since regained a small lead.

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Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:42 PM PDT


Steve Jobs, co-founder and two-time CEO of Apple, offered his resignation to the company’s board Wednesday.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”

Jobs has been in poor health for some time. In January, he announced that he would be taking a medical leave of absence from the company. He returned to the public spotlight in March to help launch the iPad 2.

Jobs advised the board to “execute our succession plan” — by naming Tim Cook to replace him. Cook, formerly the COO of the company, has been standing in for Jobs since January and was widely tipped to be his successor. Cook also stood in for Jobs during his bout with pancreatic cancer in 2004. “The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," said board member Art Levinson, chairman of biotech firm Genentech, in a prepared statement.

SEE ALSO: Tim Cook Named Apple CEO | Apple Stock Falls | Share Your Steve Jobs Moments

Jobs will not be leaving the company altogether, and the move was clearly well-planned in advance. He has been elected chairman of the board, Apple said Wednesday, and Cook will be joining the board, effective immediately.

“I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it,” Jobs wrote in his resignation letter to the Apple board. “I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.”

Apple stock was down 7% in after-hours trading but rallied and was down just 5% by 7:50 p.m. ET — suggesting Apple’s succession plan had calmed the markets.

Here’s a look at some of the most iconic moments from Steve Jobs’ career at Apple:


Steve Jobs demos Apple Macintosh, 1984


Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh to the world. Computing would never be the same.


1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial


Ridley Scott's famous "1984" commercial for the original Macintosh continues to find imitators, even today. In 2011, Motorola attempted to spoof the classic ad in a promotional spot for its Xoom tablet.


Steve Jobs and Microsoft at Macworld Boston 1997


When Bill Gates appeared on-screen at Macworld Boston in 1997, the audience reacted with boos and hisses. Still, the decision to partner with Microsoft and have Microsoft commit to producing software for the Macintosh was one of the most shrewd -- and likely one of the most intelligent -- decisions that Jobs made upon his return to Apple.

Although many incorrectly believe that Microsoft "bought" Apple in 1997, the reality is, without Microsoft's investment and commitment to developing Macintosh software, the company may have had a more difficult time getting its next line of products to the market.


The First iMac Introduction


The iMac helped set the standard for the modern Apple even as we know it today. Designed by Jonathan Ive, the iMac was sleek, modern and affordable. This was not the Macintosh of the early to mid 1990s, it was something new.

With the iMac, Apple became cool. We can vividly remember looking at the egg-shaped all-in-one design with the hockey puck mouse and famous lack of a floppy drive and being transfixed. The iMac marked the beginning of Apple 2.0.


The First iPod Keynote (2001)


Nearly ten years ago, Apple debuted the iPod. Famously ridiculed and dismissed by Slashdot, it would be several years before the device would become iconic, and in the process, change Apple fundamentally as a company.

The premise behind the iPod was simple: 1,000 songs in your pocket. Its the execution that set the device apart from everyone else.

In 2003, Apple flipped the switch again, with the launch of the iTunes Music Store. In a post-Napster industry, most were skeptical that iTunes could drive music sales. Eight years later, iTunes is the number one music retailer by a large margin.

Ten years on, the iPod is getting long in the tooth, but it still remains the leader in its product category.


Steve Jobs presents the iTunes Phone


After the iPod started to achieve massive success in 2003 and 2004, the rumors of an iPod phone started to swirl.

The first attempt to bring a product like that to the market was in the form of Motorola's Rokr. The Rokr tried to capitalize on the success of the Razr, while also adding compatibility with iTunes.

Still, the device was a dud. You can see Steve Jobs' own frustration with the device in this demonstration. The Rokr was an example that only Apple could build an Apple product.


Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005


Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University in 2006 is one of our favorite Jobs moments. It's riveting, inspirational and every bit as good as any Apple product keynote.


Introducing the new iPhone PART 1


All hail the Jesus Phone. The iPhone changed the mobile industry. Full stop. The mobile world and ecosystem that we know today would not exist in the same way that it does now without the iPhone.

The iPhone also changed Apple as a company and helped further cement Jobs' place in history.


Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Together: Part 1


Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are two of the most powerful and influential men of our times. Seeing them together at D5, just ahead of the iPhone's US launch, was amazing.


Apple iPad: Steve Jobs Keynote Jan 27 2010 Part 1


In January 2010, Apple changed the game again with the iPad. Like the iPod and iPhone, the critics dismissed it and predicted its failure. Its success has outpaced nearly every other technology product launch in history and is having a seismic impact on education, publishing, media consumption and computing in general.

The PC era might not be over, but I'm willing to bet that the computer I use every day in ten years will have a lot more in common with the iPad than it does the MacBook Pro.

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Bon Iver & James Blake Collaboration Lands on YouTube

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:34 PM PDT

A new collaboration between Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and British electronic musician James Blake premiered on BBC Radio One on Wednesday. The song, entitled “Fall Creek Boys Choir,” was then uploaded to YouTube for the whole world to hear immediately afterwards.

The collaboration and track were first revealed through social media. Blake posted a cryptic message on his Twitter on August 17, hinting at the new song and the date August 24. Today, he posted another mysterious tweet, announcing the premiere of the track at 7:30 p.m. UK time. The BBC’s Huw Stevens played the track and spoke briefly to Blake about the collaboration. The partnership began when Blake and Vernon met at the South by Southwest music festival this year.

According to the YouTube page, the track will be available on iTunes on August 29. The page also contains text that reads: “Enough Thunder – Oct 2011.” Pitchfork reports that this is the name of a new song Blake has been performing live. Could this hint at a full album coming from the duo?

Do you like the new song? And what do you think about putting hit tracks up on YouTube for everyone to hear? Let us know in the comments.

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AmazonLocal Daily Deals Service Comes to New York

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:00 PM PDT


AmazonLocal, the online retailer’s daily deals service, is heading to New York City.

Amazon will start offering daily deals in coming weeks to customers in four regions — downtown, midtown and uptown Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn. Early deals include 50% off tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s newest show, Zarkana, in Midtown, $13 for $27 worth of cupcakes at Brooklyn Cupcake and $15 for $30 worth of groceries at any Upper East Side Gristede’s supermarket. (The Upper East and Upper West Sides are considered “Uptown.”)

In coming months, Amazon plans to offer deals from affiliated websites as well, including $25 for $50 to spend on jewelry and watches on Amazon and $25 for $50 to spend at 6pm.com.

The entry into New York comes after Amazon launched AmazonLocal in Boise, Idaho, in June. AmazonLocal is now in 30 locations, including San Francisco; Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Orlando, Florida. Amazon is also an investor in LivingSocial and ran a very effective promotion in January offering a $20 Amazon gift card for $10.

Mike George, vice president of AmazonLocal tells Mashable that the market is big enough for several players. “I don't necessarily believe there will be one winner in this space,” he says. “There’s a huge amount of invention going on.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, Eve Abreu

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Find a Job in Social Media, Marketing or Design

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 02:24 PM PDT


If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable‘s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable‘s job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards:

Mashable Job Postings

Community Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Graphic Design Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Editorial Intern at Mashable in New York, NY.

Tech Reporter at Mashable in San Francisco, CA.

Mashable Job Board Listings

IT Director at Magnum Photos in New York, NY.

PR and Social Media Assistant at Mark Allen & Company in New York, NY.

Art Director at Spring Creek Group in Seattle, WA.

VP Digital Strategy & Business Development at NBC Universal in New York, NY.

Digital Intern at Cohn & Wolfe in New York, NY.

Director, Mobile Marketing at An Omnicom Company in New York, NY.

Social Marketing Manager at HBO in New York, NY.

Director, Business Development at EveryBlock in Chicago, IL.

Associate Manager, Search Engine Marketing at Time, Inc. in New York, NY.

Digital Content and Project Manager at CIT Group in Livingston, NJ.

Associate Director of Digital Media at University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, MA.

Web Content Specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD.

Director, Production-Interactive Marketing at THQ in Agoura Hills, CA.

Social Recruiting Ambassador at The Lampo Group Inc. in Brentwood, TN.

Membership Recruitment Specialist at Word of Mouth Marketing Association in Chicago, IL.

Senior Social Media Strategist at Morpheus Media in New York, NY.

Digital Advertising Specialist at Cobalt in Seattle, WA.

Senior Manager, Social Media Creative at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, NY.

Senior Staffing Specialist at Hospira in Lake Forest, IL.

Executive Assistant at Opportunity International in Oak Brook, IL.

Digital Publicity Manager at John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in Hoboken, NJ.

Media Strategist at noise in New York, NY.

Sr. Digital & Social Account Executive, College Sports at MELT, LLC in Atlanta, GA.

Digital Marketing Manager at MTV Networks, Logo Channel in New York, NY.

Senior Vice President of Product Management, MTV & VH1 Digital at MTV Networks in New York, NY.

Manager, Social Media & Community at Shutterfly in Redwood City, CA.

Community Manager at Piictu in New York, NY.

Software Engineers (Drupal 6) at Vibio Inc in San Francisco, CA.

Google: Support Engineer, DART Enterprise at Google Inc. in New York, NY.

Digital Account Manager, Social Media at Global Communications Agency in Shoreditch, UK.

Media Manager at Luminosity Marketing in New York, NY.

Lead Engineer at Synacor in Atlanta, GA.

Senior Engineer at Synacor in Atlanta, GA.

Social Media Strategist & Manager at RDA International in New York, NY.

Manager, Public Relations – News Group at Time, Inc. in New York, NY.

SEO Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.

Social Media Specialist at Overdrive Interactive in Allston, MA.

Customer Support Manager at Farmigo in New York, NY.

Ad Operations Analyst at TBG Digital in San Francisco, CA.

Mashable‘s Job Board has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out here.

Find a Web 2.0 Job with Mashable

Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, YinYang

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Saudi Woman Briefly Detained for Driving During Ongoing Campaign

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:55 PM PDT

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

A Saudi woman, defying the country’s ban on female drivers, has been released after she was briefly arrested while driving to her daughter’s office in the city of Jeddah.

AFP reports that Najla Hariri was released after her husband came to the police station. Before being released, Saudi women arrested for driving have previously had to sign a pledge promising not to drive again — but Hariri says she did no such thing.

“I have not signed any commitment that forbids me from driving,” she told AFP, adding that she also repeatedly told police that no law in Saudi Arabia actually forbids women from getting behind the wheel.

According to a translation of a tweet from Hariri’s daughter, Dalia, Hariri was also able to leave the police station without paying a fine or ticket.

Though no written law keeps women in the kingdom from driving, religious edicts enforced by religious police have made the country the only one in the world where women are not allowed to drive. The women generally rely on hired drivers or male family members for transportation.

As a result, a number of women organized Women2Drive, a social media-based campaign, calling for Saudi women to drive their own cars on June 17. Though the ban has yet to be overturned, small numbers of women have continued driving since the date passed. According to AFP, Hariri — who campaigns for women’s rights — has driven around Jeddah a few times since mid-May without arrest.

Numerous women have driven around different Saudi cities, often posting about their efforts on sites like Twitter and Youtube, without much incident. But there have been a few arrests along the way. Five women were arrested in late June, also while driving around Jeddah. And in May, Manal al-Sherif — a key Women2Drive organizer — was arrested after posting a YouTube clip of herself driving around the city of Khobar. The women were released after pledging that they wouldn’t drive again.

News of Hariri’s release seems to have struck a positive chord on Twitter, where the #Women2Drive hashtag continues being used daily. @Zaki_Safar, a 26-year-old Saudi man, tweeted: “Releasing Najla Hariri after she refused to sign pledge is an enormous positive turn in the whole #Women2Drive saga.” And Saudi American Twitter user @Ana3rabeya tweeted at Hariri (@hariri65) herself, saying, “You are a Great Woman, I have a lot of Admiration for you. Thank you for taking a Brave Stand on #Women2Drive.”

Zaki Safar Tweet

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3 Reasons Tomorrow’s Tech Industry Will Be More Culturally Diverse

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:46 PM PDT


Shane B. Santiago is the president and chief creative officer at SBS Studios, a digital creative agency with offices in Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington, D.C. Connect with SBS Studios on Facebook and Twitter @sbsstudios, and follow Shane at @shanebsantiago.

The issue of diversity is frequently brought up across industries. It's popularly framed in the context of top-level executive positions at Fortune 500 companies, head football coaching jobs and elected government officials. But what does this conversation look like when we discuss it in the context of digital media, given its prominence in today's modern culture?

In the interactive and social media realm, the user-to-creator ratio is staggering when it comes to minorities. At one time, this could be framed in the context of access, which landed minorities on the wrong side of the “digital divide.” But as technology becomes less expensive and more ubiquitous, some of those issue have been addressed — and yet the disproportionate ratio persists.

SEE ALSO: Search Stereotypes: What Web Content Reveals About Cultural Biases

So how can this ever-increasing minority access and use translate into industry positions? And does the type of use dictate whether or not digital interest will eventually equate to more agency positions?

While strides continue to be made by organizations like ADCOLOR – a coalition that aims to promote diversity and inclusion in the advertising, marketing and media industries — the industry stereotypes are prevalent. The cultural perception (and projection) of digital creatives are the young, hip, black-rimmed glasses-wearing white guy or girl with a messenger bag. Perhaps most importantly, how does the culture picture the leaders and CEOs of digital agencies or media?

Despite these hurdles, I am confident that there is a changing tide when it comes to diversity in the digital and social media worlds.

1. Social Media Users Are Becoming More Diverse

According to a 2010 report from Merkle, a higher percentage of Asian Americans, Hispanics and African Americans use Facebook, YouTube and Twitter than those classified as “non-ethnics.” This poses the question: Can you effectively serve a demographic that isn't employed at the highest levels of your organization?

According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, black and Hispanic Americans in the 8- to 18-year-old age bracket spend more time than white Americans on computers, playing video games and using mobile devices. This young demographic may soon be at the helm of the industry, leading the charge of digital entrepreneurship.

2. Diverse Leaders Are Already Emerging in the Digital Space

There is a fairly new presence of prominent, diverse leaders in the digital media industry. Naveen Selvadurai (co-founder of Foursquare), Wayne Sutton (TriOut/SocialWayne) and Raissa B. Nebie (CEO of Spoondate) are a handful of leaders whose work and prominence may be indicative of a larger trend of diversity. These particular companies are highly visible in the space and are known for forward thinking. We can hope that young minorities can look to them for inspiration as they pursue their goals in technology.

3. Organizations Are Working Hard to Encourage Diversity in the Digital Space

Sometimes, it's simply a matter of raising awareness — sending a message that you can be an important part of the digital media industry. There are a growing number of organizations that equip diverse youth with the knowledge and tools to start a digital career — take George Mason's Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity as an example.

Organizations like the New Media Entrepreneurship Accelerator hosted several visiting minority-led startups during the summer of 2011 in Silicon Valley and provided access to industry events, mentorship and a valuable co-working environment.

While there's still work to be done, the digital user community will naturally mirror the changes in our society. And with the help of these initiatives and leaders, we hope to see it reflected in the industry as well.

*Source: Merkle, View from the Social Inbox: 2010

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Blacqbook

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Redbox Will Give Free Rentals to Facebook Fans Thursday

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:59 PM PDT


Redbox is offering an incentive to “Like” the brand on Facebook: a free movie.

The movie rental brand is using its Facebook Page to give out a code, redeemable Thursday, for a free rental. Redbox’s existing 3.3 million Facebook fans can access the deal, as can consumers who “Like” the brand.

Existing or new fans can also send out free one-night DVD rentals to friends and family members with the “send movie to a friend” button.

The move is the second big social media promotion this month for Redbox. Earlier in August, the brand began offering discounts for customers who checked in via Foursquare.

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EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Analysis Vindicates Gingrich in Followers Scandal

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:45 PM PDT


Former House Speaker and GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was correct in his explanation for why he has relatively few active accounts among his 1.3 million Twitter followers, an analysis requested by Mashable has revealed.

Earlier this month, Gawker published allegations from an anonymous former Gingrich staffer, who said the candidate had bought most of his Twitter followers. (Thousands of dummy Twitter accounts are available for sale on eBay for anyone who wants to boost his or her follower count.) One analysis of Gingrich’s account suggested that a mere 8% of his followers were real.

Gingrich’s explanation for the mass of inactive accounts was that they followed him while he was on Twitter’s Suggested User List. The SUL was a list of more than 200 accounts users might want to follow; Twitter promoted it in 2009 and 2010. There were 10 politicians on the list, including Al Gore, John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jordan’s Queen Rania and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

If Gingrich was correct, all of the politicians on the SUL would have roughly the same composition of followers. So we asked Topsy, a social media search company, to conduct an exhaustive, weeks-long analysis of the followers of every politician on the SUL.

The result: No matter which way you slice it, nearly all political accounts on the SUL have the same levels of inactivity among their followers as Gingrich.

For example, 76% of Gingrich’s followers have posted no information about themselves in the bio section of their profile. But the same is true for 68% of Rania’s followers, 74% of both Booker and McCain’s followers, 78% of California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s followers and 79% of California Gov. Jerry Brown‘s followers.

“The followers of SUL politicians are not very active on Twitter,” says Rishab Ghosh, co-founder of Topsy. “Between 74% and 90% of their followers haven’t tweeted in the past month, and 30% to 41% have never tweeted at all.”

So which SUL politician has the most inactive followers? Step forward Mufi Hannemann, former mayor of Honolulu. Of Hannemann’s followers, 82% have no bio, 59% have Twitter’s default profile image (versus 52% for Gingrich), and only 7% have posted in the past month (versus 14% for Gingrich).

Ironically, the two political accounts on the SUL that are not actual people — @whitehouse and @downingstreet — have far more active, human-like followers than any of the above accounts. Downing Street, the home of the British prime minister, comes off particularly well: Just 28% of its followers have no bios, 8% have the default profile image, and nearly half of them have posted in the last month.

So there is no smoking gun to suggest that Gingrich, or any of these politicians, bought any of their followers. But what this kind of analysis also reveals, says Topsy, is how hard it is to say which Twitter accounts are for real and which aren’t. Spam bots are getting more sophisticated; many now have fake profile pictures, fake bios and generate fake tweets. “The fact is, a large proportion of all Twitter accounts are inactive anyway,” says Ghosh.

Sorting the humans from the fakes is a problem that companies like Topsy — and Twitter itself, which now has more than 200 million accounts — will be wrestling with for years to come.

Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Flickr

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The Social Music Network: Napster Documentary in the Works

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 12:36 PM PDT


The story of Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that disrupted the music industry, will soon be told in documentary form.

The documentary will track the rise and fall of the music network launched by college student Shawn Fanning in 1999. Alex Winter, Bill from the Bill and Ted films, will direct it.

As Deadline reports, Winter originally signed a deal with MTV Films to make a narrative, scripted version of the story in 2002. A decade later, Winter is still passionate about the project. VH1, which backed Winter’s 2008 film Anvil: The Story of Anvil is financing the film.

Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker will both be participating in the project. Fanning created Napster from his dorm room at Northeastern University. Parker, an early employee at the company, was featured prominently in The Social Network, which inaccurately identified him as Napster’s creator. Parker is now an investor in the legal music-streaming service Spotify.

Speaking with Deadline about his interest in the Napster story, Winter said:

“The rise and fall of Napster and the birth of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology created by Shawn Fanning when he was a college student, changed music to movies, and made possible everything from Julian Assange, WikiLeaks to the iPod and Facebook.”

He added that “it is a fascinating human story, where this 18-year-old kid invents a peer-to-peer file-sharing system, and brings it to the world six months later.”

Aside from the 2004 documentary, Some Kind of Monster, which touches on the impact that Napster and backlash from lawsuits filed against the P2P service had on the band Metallica, this is a story that hasn’t been explored in the cinema.

Considering Napster’s significance to the music industry and to the tech industry as a whole, not to mention the success of The Social Network, it’s about time. We look forward to learning more about this film.

More About: alex winters, Film, Movies, music, napster, p2p, the social network

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HOW TO: Use Social Media for Disaster Preparedness & Response [LIVE VIDEO]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 11:36 AM PDT

The day after areas around the U.S. experienced earthquakes – that caused little or no damage — and days before Hurricane Irene is expected to reach the East Coast, Facebook is hosting a live video chat with disaster agencies to discuss the role of social media before, during and after these sorts of events.

SEE ALSO: Earthquake Exchange: Our Favorite Social Media Reactions

The discussion will include representatives from the American Red Cross, NOAA’s National Weather Service and the Department of Health and Human Services.

You can join the conversation and pose questions to the speakers on the wall of the Facebook event. It begins at 3 p.m. ET.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Eric Hood

More About: disaster, facebook, Hurricane Irene

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Facebook Surpasses 1 Trillion Pageviews Per Month [REPORT]

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 11:26 AM PDT


Facebook garnered more than 1 trillion pageviews per month in June and July, according to data from DoubleClick.

The Google-owned ad network found that Facebook received approximately 870 million unique visitors in June and 860 million in July, exceeding the known number of users by more than 100 million.

Each visitor averaged approximately 1,160 pageviews in July and 40 per visit — enormous by any standard. Time spent on the site was around 25 minutes per user.

Meanwhile, another third-party study indicates that Facebook activity is declining, a suggestion that the social network has firmly dismissed.

We’ve reached out to Facebook to confirm the numbers and will update this post accordingly.

[via RWW]

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Google +1 Button Now Shares Directly to Google+

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 11:12 AM PDT


Google has upgraded the +1 button with several new features, including the ability to directly share a webpage to Google+.

“Beginning today, we’re making it easy for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from the +1 button,” Google SVP of Social Vic Gundotra announced in a blog post. “Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new ‘Share on Google+’ option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share.”

In the past, clicking the +1 button only shared content to a tab on a user’s Google+ profile. This is in contrast to the Facebook Like button, which posts an article on a user’s Facebook wall. Now that Google has its own social network, the search giant can match Facebook’s button functionality.

Google also announced the addition of +snippets to the +1 button. A +snippet is simply the link, image and description automatically generated when a link is shared on Google+. These +snippets make content more engaging on the Google+ social network, which is why the search giant is giving publishers the ability to customize their snippets. Publishers can customize the code of their +1 button to tweak what gets displayed in a +snippet.

Google says the +1 button has been growing rapidly since its introduction in June. The button is now embedded on more than 1 million websites, garnering a total of 4 billion daily views. Those are impressive numbers, but the success or failure of the +1 button will be measured in clicks, not views.

More About: Google, Google Plus

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Why the EPA Wants You to Design America’s Next Top Environmental App

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:55 AM PDT


The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles — it delivers smart mobility services. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to transform the way they develop applications that serve wide and diverse audiences. They are currently running Apps for the Environment, an app development challenge — with a deadline of September 16 — that is meant to encourage the public to come up with new ways of leveraging EPA data.

"The premise for a long, long time has been that the government knows what is best for folks," says Robin Gonzalez, acting director of the Office of Information Analysis and Access within the Office of Environmental Information. "We collect data from the people we regularly work with — industry — and others and try to put it into digestible formats which usually come out as sets of reports or raw data sets. The EPA has a number of large databases, such as Envirofacts, and is looking forward to “seeing what kind of apps students and developers come up with using our data."

The Challenge

Gonzalez says this challenge presents a different way for a government agency to operate. It lets the market dictate how years of valuable EPA data can be put to good use.

The Apps for the Environment challenge welcomes individuals, independent programmers and corporate programmers to participate in developing apps for consumers, business-to-business and even government-to-business scenarios (or vice versa). The three categories for entries are Professional, Student and People's Choice, with one winner to be chosen in each category.

The apps submitted must address one of the Seven Priorities from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, such as taking action on climate change or building strong state and tribal partnerships. The apps should also be useful to individuals or the community at large. Developers can get ideas from webinars available on the site, which consist of audio interviews, slideshows and transcripts.

Even non-programmers can contribute to the challenge by submitting ideas for potential apps. The EPA's challenge currently has 90 app ideas on their site, including:

  • An app that would identify nearby recycling centers for disposing household hazardous waste
  • An app that combines air toxics data from the EPA's National Air Toxic Assessment (NATA) database with environmental public health data from the Centers for Disease Control and National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program to identify areas with high emissions that also have high incidences of disease
  • An app that identifies all available beach advisories and/or closings near a user’s current location
  • An app that allows users to compare the environmental impact of two products, such as grocery and household products

Developers are encouraged to either submit apps based on their own ideas or peruse dozens of app ideas from others. There is even a Hack-a-thon taking place on Labor Day weekend and hosted by American University that aims to bring together developers and teams from universities throughout the area, professional coders, as well as EPA data specialists. The goal will be to develop apps for the competition.

App Contests Are Going Mainstream

While app challenges aren’t new (take NYC Big Apps, the Civic Apps Challenge in Portland, Oregon and even a DC apps challenge called Apps for Democracy), what makes the EPA Apps for the Environment challenge different is that it is national in scope. The EPA challenge also encourages the use of not just EPA data sets but data from other agencies as well.

The EPA announced Apps for the Environment in June 2011 on the heels of another national app competition supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) called myHealthyPeople Challenge — a part of the Health 2.0 Developers Challenge for rapid app development. The goal of the HHS apps challenge was to develop a custom Healthy People 2020 app for professionals, advocates, funders and decision makers who are using the Healthy People initiative to improve the well-being of people across the country. Challenge winners were invited to meet with HHS leadership to demo their apps and to strategize additional development opportunities. The Healthy Communities Institute won the first place prize of $2,500 for its online dashboard that checks the status of all the HealthyPeople 2020 goals in Sonoma County to assess and improve local community health.

The Reward

On November 8, the EPA will present awards to the Apps for the Environment challenge winners in a high-profile event in Northern Virginia. At the same event, the Department of Energy (DOE) will announce details about their upcoming apps challenge. As federal agencies pass the apps challenge baton, they can learn from their predecessors and their own experiences in accelerating the development cycle through crowdsourcing. Additional federal agency apps challenges can be found on Challenge.gov.

Gonzalez acknowledges that apps challenges are a form of crowdsourcing for app development, and while their current app challenge doesn't include a monetary award, he says the EPA is exploring several models of payment for future app development initiatives.

"We're looking to streamline the app development process, looking at this as a model that will inform that process going forward," says Gonzalez. "We don't expect to get everything for free, obviously, but at the same time we want to do this in a more innovative and more competitive way than exists today."

Gonzalez says he has a team in place examining how their initial apps challenge effort can lead to future challenges and future app development work at the EPA. The goal is to look for different ways than the traditional model of determining the app they want produced, writing up specs, putting out an RFP, letting vendors bid on it and then picking a winner who then builds the app. By getting the public involved, new opportunities may arise that wouldn't have come out of the usual RFP process.

Once the winning apps are chosen, the EPA will not own any of the apps. As long as the information retrieved from the EPA's data sets is not misused in any way, the completed apps are property of the respective developers, who can then market and sell the apps themselves. The challenge winners will be invited to present their apps at the November awards ceremony to an audience that will include representatives from the EPA and other federal agencies, the media and even venture capitalists.

And more apps challenges are on the horizon for the EPA.

"What we currently develop is what we think is best for the public. Our thinking is changing," says Gonzalez. "We believe that there's a whole lot of innovative ways to approach development of our applications."

Apps challenges are the EPA's move in a more open and inclusive direction.

Series Supported by BMW i

The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles; it delivers smart mobility services within and beyond the car. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.

Are you an innovative entrepreneur? Submit your pitch to BMW i Ventures, a mobility and tech venture capital company.

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