“When I started writing FFHS, it originally followed a larger story arc with multiple characters told through the eyes of this character. But as the followers grew, the nature of the account changed. If I wanted to keep growing, I had to understand that most people would not go back and read every tweet I had written. This made a larger story more difficult. So when the numbers rose, I abandoned the narrative, for the most part, and tried to create easily digestible, more retweetable content. That’s pretentious-bullshit-speak for jokes. I started writing one-off jokes.”

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/funny-twitter/

Name: commentto

Quick Pitch: Comment anywhere.

Genius Idea: Commentto is a browser add-on service that allows users to highlight, bookmark, comment, save and share bookmarks and excerpts on websites.

Do you ever want to add extra knowledge to a news story or other content on the web? Well, browser add-on commentto lets you comment on anything you want.

Commentto allows users to highlight paragraphs on websites and add additional notes or comments. Users can also save information from a webpage to a personal commentto account folder. In the commentto popup, users can edit the title of the clip, add comments, and place the excerpt into a folder. Commentto does not track website history, but keeps a digital record of the websites and excerpts saved.

This add-on feature is especially helpful for those doing research and want to return to a webpage at a later date. Students could benefit from sharing notes, too. It can also be a useful tool for programmers, or anyone really.

“I code everyday, and many times I search online for solutions to problems I have with my code,” said Kandarp Dave, the founder of commentto. “When I find a solution, all I do is select, and save the information to commentto.”

Dave started working on commentto in 2009 while he was studying computer science at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He earned a master’s in computer science in December 2011 and now his complete focus has turned to his startup. Commentto relaunched last month with a shinier exterior. Dave said he listened to feedback from its 185 users to make the site better, faster and easier to use.

He has built commentto solely with his own funds. The add-on has not been profitable, but Dave hopes to accept advertising in the future.

“I started commentto, because I was really bothered that I always had to comment at the end of, say, a news article,” he said. “That’s not really a conversation. If we want to bring real-world conversations online, we have to provide users a way to comment anywhere.”

Mostly Dave’s friends and social network are the ones using the site. He hopes more will try it out. To start using commentto, sign up for the add-on’s free service and then download the browser extension on Firefox or Chrome. From there, a user can comment on anything on the web and save content to folders. Watch Dave’s video to see the browser add-on in action.

“Once you start using it you will really love it,” Dave said. “It is very easy to use.”

The positive side to this add-on is knowledge could be more widely shared. The down side — comments could clutter the web or be completely inaccurate. Although, only those who have the commentto add-on can see comments.

Will you use commentto? Tell us why or why not in the comments below.

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.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/commentto/

We live in a world where new digital products are solving problems daily — from managing our finances to remembering the groceries. Often, they’re solving problems we didn’t know we had, like the need to connect several times a day in 140 characters or less. Occasionally, they’re creating new problems (but that’s a topic for another conversation).

What we’re just starting to see, and what is for many the most exciting trend in technology, is the emergence of digital products designed specifically to provide social services at scale. This isn’t a rant about the death of the traditional non-profit, but a birth announcement. Non-profits (and other organizations aimed at making a social impact) are taking new approaches that look less like direct service and more like Google. These aren’t just brochure websites. They’re tools — proprietary, unique and scalable. And this means there’s an increased need for talented digital product managers in the social sector.

Let’s take a quick look at where organizations have been focused for the past several years; we’ll call it Non-profit Digital Engagement 1.0.

In this phase, a handful of tools came to dominate our understanding of how non-profits could engage in the digital space. Specifically, these were tools that enabled people to email Congress, sign a petition, tell-a-friend, send a letter to the editor or make a donation. This toolset focused on two activities: fundraising and advocacy — raising money and making noise. Those activities are important for most organizations, but they represent only a small slice of how non-profits actually aim to create change. And partly as a result, too many organizations were applying the same tools to engage people around wildly different problems.

So, what’s next? In short, less focus on tools that aim to engage more people with causes, and more focus on a new wave of customized digital tools that provide social services at scale to constituents.

Some examples:

• Kiva: This is an early one, but one worth noting. Kiva created a digital platform to connect small-dollar funders with nascent social entrepreneurs. This let it scale its model in a way that would have been nearly impossible had it not put a significant focus on technology.
• Brighter Planet: Actually a for-profit company, Brighter Planet is a great example of using digital thinking to find new ways of adding value to social causes. It created the CM1 platform to calculate carbon impact and opened it up with APIs that allow others to plug in and do the same. MasterCard has signed on and will soon be providing carbon impact reports to its corporate clients based on its employees’ travel habits. Brighter Planet has focused on a specific need, and it’s offering a scalable solution for it.
• Google’s Haiti Person Finder: When an earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, Google teamed up with the State Department to rapidly create a tool that let people submit and search for information about missing loved ones. It has since deployed it several times for other disasters, including the 2010 earthquake in Chile and the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan.

These examples go beyond the traditional paradigm of raising more money and sending more emails to Congress. They are each providing a real service in a constituent-centric, scalable way that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

A corollary to this promising growth in digital services is that it’s going to require more money invested in work that is traditionally viewed as ‘overhead’ in the non-profit world; namely, the significant staff time, design and development costs associated with creating and maintaining great digital products. Donors will have to think differently about investing in these types of projects. And organizations that hope to undertake them will have to lead the way by educating and inspiring donors in new ways.

For those groups that do want to create and scale digital services like these, the key to success will be putting the right people with the right power in the right positions. There is still a dire need for campaigners and organizers — no question about it. But as often happens in this still-evolving field, we’re seeing a new core role emerge naturally: the digital product manager. Product managers — people who can envision, build and market digital tools that add real value — will play an increasingly critical role. Good product managers thrive on strategic thinking, but are also obsessed with ensuring that the final detail is just right. They care as much about design as about sustainable coding. They are tireless, tenacious and patient.

As many have already noted, we can’t solve all of our problems with technology. But technology has opened up new opportunities for organizations to create scalable, innovative services in the social sector. And we’re just beginning to realize the implications of that shift.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/nonprofits-digital-platforms/

Want to create an app for Facebook’s Open Graph? The mobile space presents a huge opportunity to create cross-platform social games, said Carl Sjogreen, director of product management at Facebook, who spoke to a packed conference center filled with IT insiders about Facebook’s projections for the mobile social gaming and app space for this year.

“You sort of had to have a PhD in Facebook to build an app on Facebook,” he said. Now, with the new Open Graph he said they want to encourage people to create cross-platform social apps.

“If you are building a social application….it’s really important to think about cross-platform,” he said.

Social apps are not as straightforward as creating an iOS or Android app. If you have an app that doesn’t allow you to play with friends who have different devices, that problems trumps any visual features lost by creating a cross-platform device. Social applications need to be inherently cross-platform.

What users want, he says, is to create a dynamic Facebook timeline that tells their story — whether that means they’re sharing the games they play, vacation photos or their favorite recipes.

“For the platform to be complete, we need to have all of that,” he said. “We have millions of people playing games on Facebook every day and that’s an important part of their experience.”

The moderator, AJ Glasser of InsideNetwork, asked Sjogreen about Facebook’s vision for how the API should work 12 months from now. Sjogreen said he’d like to create a better experience with games on the Open Graph, without interruptions and many opportunities to share.

“I think the potential for games is really huge,” he said. “We want to help every user find an app that makes sense for them.”

Pinterest has been one of the most successful apps recently launched through timeline integration.

Facebook’s mobile web platform launched a late last year. This allowed users to access apps integrated with Facebook while on their mobile devices, in addition to desktop computers.

“It took all applications that made the web platform so appealing and made them available on mobile,” Sjogreen said.

More than half of Facebook users access the site on their mobile devices. There are already 60 million people who engage with mobile apps on Facebook.

Late January, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore talked to Facebook’s Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose to discuss Facebook’s ultimate goal behind all of the recent integrations with various apps, games and web tools. Rose said Facebook wants to be a “social graph” for all of its users.

Would you like Facebook to be a one-stop-shop for what everyone is doing on the web? Are you an app developer creating a mobile app for Facebook’s Open Graph? What are your thoughts on this? What do you think about Facebook’s plans for the future of social gaming and mobile? Tell us in the comments.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/09/facebooks-social-games-in-2012/

Fans of The Bachelor are all too familiar with this season’s over-the-top contestant Courtney, who makes snide comments at the camera and likes to take off her bikini top.

Now, a video has popped up on YouTube that has turned some of her signature phrases — from “Winning!” to “I do modeling” — into a catchy Auto-Tune clip.

The contestants are vying for a rose from winemaker Ben, and Courtney has rubbed many of them the wrong way, and this video shows why.

This is not the first time YouTube users have turned pop culture moments into Auto-Tuned videos. The best example of which is Antoine Dodson, whose “Bed Intruder” news interview was turned into a video by Auto-Tune The News and went viral. He was later given the opportunity to shoot a reality television show pilot.

What’s your favorite Auto-Tuned video? Let us know in the comments.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/09/bachelor-courtney/

Perkins was on the receiving end of an especially savage slam by Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin last week. Griffin took a pass on the left side of the court and leapt from just inside the lane. He absorbed a body blow from Perkins, then rose higher in the air and threw the ball through the rim from a nearly impossible distance.

The moment was immediately immortalized on YouTube, where it went viral. Twitter exploded, too. Both Perkins’ and Griffin’s names trended on the network, and players from around the league tweeted astonished reactions.

But Perkins thinks that LeBron, as one of the league’s signature stars, was out of line when he joined the chorus with this tweet saying that his own incredible dunk from the night before had been topped by Griffin:

Dunk of the Year!! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!! Wow!! I guess I’m #2 now. Move over #6

— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 31, 2012

“You don’t see Kobe tweeting,” Perkins told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday night. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play.

“They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him,” Perkins said.

Perkins won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, while LeBron — fairly or not — has been widely maligned for his inability to bring home the trophy even once in his eight-year NBA career. Perkins is regarded as one of the league’s toughest interior defenders and an ideal role player at center.

Following the massive dunk by Griffin, a rumor spread online that Perkins had quit Twitter as a result of the attention and mockery. Perkins joined in December, but his account, @perk5yunghawg, no longer exists. It’s unclear, however, if he deleted the account following Griffin’s dunk or prior to the very public humiliation.

Do you think LeBron was out of pocket for his Perkins tweet? Do you think Perkins was wrong for calling him out? Let us know in the comments.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/perkins-lebron-dunk-tweet/

Doctors can now save lives and office space with the latest cloud-based technology that will let them view live medical endoscope scans (medical images of internal organs) on their Apple iPads.

Current endoscopic images are generally viewed on bulky video monitors plugged into the wall. The new wireless endoscopy tools created by Envisioner called Endosync will mobilize doctors and maybe help them better diagnose illnesses in patients.

Here’s how it works: A wireless endoscopy transmitter hooks up to a traditional endoscopic camera that goes inside a person’s body. It transfers live video footage of internal organs through an encrypted Wi-Fi network to an iPad app called eGoPad. Doctors can view the footage live on their iPads and make audio notes.

SEE ALSO: 5 Useful iPad Apps for Doctors, Patients and Med Students

The technology is in its final stages of development and should be released in March.

What do you think of Endosync’s innovative medical technologies? Tells us in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Envisionier Medical Technologies, Inc.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/endosync-on-ipad-video/

News that popular social bookmarking site Pinterest might be generating revenue by adjusting and tracking the links attached to user-generated pins made the rounds online on Wednesday — but according to the site’s affiliate tracking partner, the concept is hardly a new one.

A report by social media blog LLSocial brought attention to the fact that Pinterest — which allows users to collect and share things they like on the Internet — is using a service called Skimlinks to add affiliate links to products.

“Is Pinterest receiving revenue from tracking user-generated pins? Yes, but there is nothing negative about it,” Skimlinks CEO Alicia Navarro told Mashable. “Affiliated networks help companies monetize their sites and there’s nothing illegal or wrong about it. It’s common, effective and smart. It should be celebrated.”

It’s so common, in fact, that about 18,000 retailers are working with a network of 26 affiliated partners, Navarro said. Publishers from small blogs to bigger companies such as Pinterest work with affiliated partners so when a link directs a visitor to a retailer involved in the affiliated network and makes a purchase, the merchant will pay the affiliated network, who will then pay the publisher. Skimlinks takes about 25% of the generated affiliated revenue.

SEE ALSO: 7 Pinterest Clones: Can You Tell the Difference?

“The advertiser or retailer pays only if the user makes a purchase,” Navarro said. “Pinterest is one of many companies using services like this, and it’s become an ubiquitous practice in online marketing, like investing in banner ads or texting programs.”

However, the cause of concern by some was that Pinterest doesn’t disclose that it modifies its links by adding a tracking code on the site.

“As most bloggers are aware, when you use an affiliate link in your post, you need to provide some type of disclosure either by it clearly being an ad, mentioning it is an affiliate link or at a minimum providing some type of prominent disclosure that your site features affiliate links,” LLSocial said. “This is done because you have a financial interest in promoting the product.”

Although Navarro said the company endorses disclosure, it’s up to the publisher: “I’m sure many publishers and media outlets don’t go out of their way to make it known to users about who their advertising partners are,” Navarro said.

For more information on affiliated networks and how Pinterest is using the service, visit Navarro’s latest blog post on Skimlinks here.

Do you think Pinterest should make it more clear that they are adding tracking code to user’s pins? Or do you think it doesn’t matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

BONUS: A Pinterest Timeline

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  How to Get Old Facebook Back

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  10 Essential YouTube Tips and Tricks

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  15 Best ‘Sh*t People Say’ Videos

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  5 URL Expanders to Help You Avoid Spammy Links

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  10 Awesome Accessories Featuring the Vintage Apple Logo [RAINBOWS]

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  5 Fun Ways to Find New Videos on YouTube

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Pinterest is launched to a closed beta. Later it will move to the email invite system it currently employs.

Pinterest made the list of Top 50 Most Interesting Websites of 2011, according to Time magazine.

In October, the site surpassed 421 million pageviews, which means that each of its 3 million users spent a lot of time browsing Pinterest. That would be an average of 140 pageviews per user.

Pinterest is now in the top 10 websites in traffic in the category of social networking, which adds up to 40 times the number of visits it had six months before.

Traffic Pinterest sent elsewhere has risen dramatically, making it a top five referrer for several apparel retailers, according to internal data from Monetate.

Pinterest beat YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January, according to a Shareaholic study. Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic, while Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newcomer, accounting for 3.61% of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17% of referral traffic.

Image courtesy of Shareaholic.

Pinterest made the list of Top 50 Most Interesting Websites of 2011, according to Time magazine.

In October, the site surpassed 421 million pageviews, which means that each of its 3 million users spent a lot of time browsing Pinterest. That would be an average of 140 pageviews per user.

Pinterest is now in the top 10 websites in traffic in the category of social networking, which adds up to 40 times the number of visits it had six months before.

Traffic Pinterest sent elsewhere has risen dramatically, making it a top five referrer for several apparel retailers, according to internal data from Monetate.

Pinterest beat YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January, according to a Shareaholic study. Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic, while Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newcomer, accounting for 3.61% of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17% of referral traffic.

Image courtesy of Shareaholic.

Check Out More of Mashable’s Coverage of Pinterest

• How to Get a Pinterest Invite
• How Pinterest Is Changing Website Design Forever
• 7 Tips for Planning a Wedding on Pinterest
• Pinterest Drives More Traffic Than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn Combined [STUDY]
• 21 Must-Follow Pinterest Users

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/pinterest-affiliated-links/

Facebook amended or added 26 new documents to its SEC filing and these updated documents provide more color on Facebook’s stock allotment and its relationships with other companies.

As first reported by Business Insider, that includes a more detailed look at how Facebook and Zynga work together.

In original IPO filing, it was revealed that Zynga accounts for 12% of Facebook’s revenue. That news was enough to lift Zynga’s stock and made clear that the relationships is symbiotic.

The amended filings include a Developer Addendum effective as of May 14, 2010 that discloses the developer relationship between the two companies.

The documents says, in part:

The parties acknowledge that FB desires to enable Zynga to build the Zynga Platform on top of the Facebook Platform, and the parties desire to, amongst other goals set forth herein, work together to increase the number of users of each party’s products and services.

The parties further acknowledge that Zynga is making a significant commitment to the Facebook Platform (i.e., using Facebook as the exclusive Social Platform on the Zynga Properties and granting FB certain title exclusivities to Zynga games on the Facebook Platform). In exchange for such commitment, the parties have committed to set certain growth targets for monthly unique users of Covered Zynga Games.

In essence, what this agreement says is that in exchange for building atop Facebook’s platform, Zynga got Facebook’s assurance that it would meet certain growth targets.

Those growth targets are based on a linear weekly growth rate for web and mobile. In exchange for meeting these targets, Zynga promised exclusivity of its titles on the Facebook Platform and promised exclusive mobile integration.

There are more documents in the new filing that also look interesting and we’ll be following the wider story as it develops.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/facebook-zynga-agreement/

Mobile game developer Wooga recently ranked as the third most popular game developer in terms of monthly active users (MAU) on Facebook with more than 40 million players each month. The company has so far released six games: Brain Buddies, Bubble Island, Monster World, Happy Hopsital, Diamond Dash and Magic Land.

On Wednesday, Wooga announced the launch of new games Diamond Dash and Magic Land for Facebook. The games are available in seven languages. Versions that sync to mobile devices will soon be launched as well.

The characters in Wooga games — unicorns, princes, trolls and buck-toothed giraffes, for example — combine a Disney-like wholesomeness with the madcap look of video game characters, such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario.

Wooga, based in Berlin, was founded in 2009 by Jens Begemann, Philipp Moeser and Patrick Paulisch.

The company says it experienced 185% user growth in 2011, and plans to add 100 new employees this year.

“Wooga’s growth is organic in every sense. Only 5% of our new users come through paid ads and 40% through viral features, with the remainder coming from cross-linking through our existing games,” CEO and co-founder Jens Begemann said in an interview.

Just this week, the bipartisan, tech-promoting organization TechNet released a study, which found that apps have created nearly half a million jobs in the United States since 2007, dubbing the result the “app economy.”

Do you play Wooga games? What do you think about them? Tell us in the comments.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/wooga-40-million-users/

February 8, 2012 by Lauren Indvik

Fashion label Diane von Furstenberg is teaming up with mobile video app Viddy to stage a near-live, behind-the-scenes experience during New York Fashion Week.

Staffers from DVF and its social media marketing agency will be using the iPhone app, which is often described as “Instagram for video,” to shoot 15- to 30-second clips that will populate a designated tab on DVF’s Facebook page. Videos, the first of which will be posted Wednesday, will include backstage interviews with Furstenberg and her creative team, model castings, hair and makeup runthroughs, as well as shots of looks minutes before they go down the runway.

Each segment will be approved on-the-spot by Kate Sroczynski, senior director of digital at DVF, and posted directly to the Facebook tab. Since the tab isn’t compatible on mobile, the company will be posting some videos to its Facebook Wall and to Twitter.

The experience is designed to give fans a more intimate — and frenetic — look at show preparations. Sroczynski says she and her team were inspired by the “Tweetwalk” Burberry staged last September, during which the London-based fashion house shared photos of each look on Twitter moments before they hit the runway. Viddy’s ease of use and short timeframes give the brand a way to deliver a “Twitter-esque” experience through video on Facebook, Sroczynski explains. “Our fans really respond well to behind-the-scenes content and any contact with Diane,” she adds.

The brand will still be streaming its show from the photographers’ pit on youtube.com/liverunway beginning Sunday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. ET, as well.

In other Viddy news, the Venice, Calif., startup announced Tuesday that it raised $6 million in Series A financing led by Battery Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to bring the app to new devices and platforms — including Android smartphones and tablets, and the iPad — as well as new geographical territories.

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Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/diane-von-furstenberg-viddy/

Do you know a dominant Type-A personality like Mark Cuban but can’t seem to get on his radar? Do you work with sensitive touchy-feely people at work but have trouble relating? How can you influence your customers, the people you work with or your social community? Sally Hogshead is the former Creative Director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, an agency working on some of the world’s top brands, and is an expert in observing human behavior — especially what Hogshead calls “triggers” in various personality types.

According to Hogshead there are seven triggers that can be used by marketers in social media and other channels to influence engagement, purchase decisions and other sought after metrics. These seven triggers, like a set of golf clubs, can be used to foster different results in order to influence (or fascinate) other people.

Check our our interview with Hogshead to learn about each of the seven triggers, her book, Fascinate, and how to use the triggers to get ahead at work and make people pay attention to what you say.

More Recent Episodes of Behind the Brand:

• How Kawasaki Motorcycles Is Using Social Media to Get Ahead [VIDEO]
• Why Gary Vaynerchuk Tells it Like it Is [VIDEO]
• How Toshiba Uses Social Media to Make Products Its Customers Really Want [VIDEO]

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/fascinate-video/

Smart-flashcard startup Brainscape launched a new deck of flashcards called Tech Startup Genius on Wednesday that promises to protect you from this situation. The free iPhone app, personally authored by Brainscape founder Andrew Cohen, includes three sets of flashcards: people you should know, orgs you should know, company formation basics and fundraising basics.

Cohen put the cards together using lists from popular websites, third-party evaluations and recommendations from his peers in the startup world. What made the deck and didn’t, in other words, was mostly subjective.

“If I had a different name for this, it would be ‘The basic stuff I wish I knew when Brainscape started two years ago,’” Cohen says.

Brainscape flashcards, including the new tech deck, are different than paper index cards in that they incorporate learning theory. Questions in Brainscape apps require recall, not multiple-choice selections, ask users to reflect on answers by noting their confidence in them, and use those confidence grades to determine how often each card should be spaced in a deck.

The startup’s 40 apps have been downloaded almost 1.5 million times and cover topics ranging from GRE prep to mythology. Cohen says the company brings in about $300,000 in revenue per year.

They’re good flashcards, but they’re still flashcards. Don’t plan on leaving the “Tech Startup Genius” app with any better chance of creating the next big thing than you had going into it.

“It’s not so much teaching you how to build a company, it’s teaching you how to survive at a cocktail party,” Cohen says.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, FuzzBones0

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/startups-brainscape/

Like many privacy issues, the news spread quickly over the Internet. Path CEO Dave Morin replied to the developer, Arun Thampi, saying that the issue was “an important conversation” that Path took very seriously. The contact information that’s uploaded to the company’s servers is only used to help a user find friends and family quickly, Morin said.

He further explained that Path has an opt-in for its Android app, and that one would be added to the iOS version as soon as Apple approves it.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of things. A commenter on Thampi’s original post pointed out that Path needn’t upload an entire address book to find a user’s contacts. Matt Gemmell suggested that the app could analyze a user’s address book locally on the phone itself, only uploading data essential to identifying friends on the network. Morin replied saying it was a good idea.

SEE ALSO: 5 Privacy Tips for Location-Based Services

When asked why the app wasn’t opt-in in the first place, Morin deflected, saying that Apple’s App Store guidelines “do not specifically discuss contact information.” Another commenter disagreed, saying that Path, without the opt-in, violates section 17.1 of the guidelines, which read:

Apps cannot transmit data about a user without obtaining the user’s prior permission and providing the user with access to information about how and where the data will be used

In addition, a commenter on The Verge pointed out that Path’s practice of uploading address-book information appears to be at odds with its own privacy policy, which states that the app collects only information users voluntarily provide, and does not include a user’s address book in a list of information types it collects.

Although the wording is opaque, it could be argued a user agrees to provide that information just by installing the app, and the list of information collected doesn’t appear to be comprehensive. Once all versions of the app become opt-in, it’ll be more in line with the policy.

Regardless of Path’s fix, many users have left negative reviews on Path’s App Store page in the past 24 hours, with some promising to delete the app. “Privacy invasion” and “shame on Path” are typical comments and reviews, most giving the app just one star (out of five).

Reps for Path didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

What do you think of Path’s privacy mess? Is it much ado about nothing, or is it seriously violating its users’ trust? Have your say in the comments.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/path-address-book-controversy/

What happens when Apple iPhone 4S’s mobile assistant Siri sprouts legs and holds a grudge? Take a look at the Youtube video being shared like crazy and scaring people into doing menial phone tasks for themselves.

“Psycho Siri” explores what could happen with the technology that speaks to you — and it’s going viral on YouTube.

Eighteen-year-old aspiring filmmaker Andrew McMurry and his brother, 21-year-old Nathan McMurry, starred in and produced the film in about a week. “Psycho Siri” starts off with Nathan finding an iPhone on the ground outside class without any apps or a SIM card, but with Siri fully loaded.

The four-minute clip has already garnered more than 346,700 views since its YouTube launch Feb. 3.

“I am overwhelmed by the amount of great responses the video has been getting,” Andrew told Mashable. “People seem to really like the whole ‘Siri turning into a psychotic murderer’ idea.”

Andrew says he wanted to incorporate Siri into a film because of the recent advancement of artificial intelligence and it’s something he thinks about often. Plus, the “monotone computer voice” creeps him out.

SEE ALSO: iPhone 4S: Siri Politely Answers 10 Absurd Questions

“My main intention wasn’t to make [people] question technology, but to simply entertain them,” he says.

This video reminds us of another creepy Siri video called “Siri: The Holiday Horror Video.” After watching this short film, how do you feel about Siri?

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Brett Jordan.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/viral-psycho-siri/

Everyone knows that dreaded feeling of being out of town and realizing you left your phone charger at home.

A new charging concept created by Francois Rybarczyk takes the panic out of the situation. It turns the phone’s battery into a removable module with a built-in plug that folds out. Since the charging plug is built into the module, you’ll never be without a power supply.

Called the Autonome (pronounced “autonomy”), the charging module does away with any power cables. The Autonome supplements another battery in the phone, so you can power it up and then hook it back up to the phone to charge it.

An image posted on design site Yanko Design (you can see it in the gallery below) shows Rybarczyk’s plan for a charge that takes only 30 seconds to complete — impossible using today’s technology (unless the battery holds only a miniscule charge). Some emerging technology suggests fast charging could happen soon though.

There are other concepts in the works that could simplify the charging equation. Nokia recently tested a solar-powered phone, but concluded that the device was hard to keep in direct sunlight and that it limited usage time.

Another concept aimed at making charging easier was through a USB wall socket called U-Socket, which switches a wall outlet with two extra USB charging ports.

Of course, the Autonome is only a concept for now, but some enterprising company could buy into Rybarczyk’s idea.

Would you use the Autonome? What are some ways you make your phone battery last longer? Let us know in the comments.

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Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/07/autonome/

“I am grateful for everyone who has heard the love in ‘I Won’t Give Up,’ and I’m excited to see how the song translates into so many visual interpretations.” Mraz told Mashable on Tuesday.

Mraz, who is one the most-followed users on photo-sharing mobile app Instgram, won’t have to wait to see his challenge to fans come to life. Users have already submitted more than 3,000 pictures (see gallery above for examples), including one from pop star Selena Gomez. Here’s her entry:

This is my #iwontgiveup photo. Hana is so beautiful and one of the most incredible people I’ve met. Love you instagr.am/p/GsCcPYRuws/

— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) February 7, 2012

Instagrammers have until Feb. 20 to join the contest. Mraz will then choose 25 winners, who will be invited to meet him at a private showcase in New York City. CanvasPop plans to print the top photos on large-format canvas, and Mraz will sign them at the gathering on March 8.

SEE ALSO: Instagram Users Snap Spectacular Shots at Sailing’s Toughest Event [PICS]

“This contest is all about reaching out to fans and developing a personal connection with Jason’s inspiring song (listen below),” says CanvasPop director of marketing Spencer Callaghan. “We feel the same way about our Instagram print service; it transforms the images from pixels on a screen to a treasured piece of art.”

Instagram is no stranger to having celebrities and the masses — 15 million users at last count — use its service. Just last month, U.S. President Barack Obama joined.

SEE ALSO: Lady Gaga’s New Social Network Resembles Pinterest, Reddit [PICS]

Apple dubbed Instagram its App of the Year in 2011, and company founder Kevin Systrom just appeared in Best Buy’s Super Bowl ad.

“The iPhone and Instagram have given people the ability to create art through casual photography,” says Mike Mignano, director of digital product development at Atlantic Records, Mraz’s record label.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/07/jason-mraz-instagram-i-wont-give-up-contest/

Whether you’re single, attached or celebrating with the kids, these Boards have something for everyone. Some users have Pinned craft or DIY ideas, while others have embraced the sweeter side of the holiday with sugary recipes galore.

SEE ALSO: 15 of the Most Popular Pictures on Pinterest

Take a spin through the gallery, and let us know in the comments which Pinterest Boards and users have inspired you this Valentine’s holiday.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Pink Sherbet Photography

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/07/pinterest-valentines-day/

A whopping of 70% of people who responded to a SodaHead poll would ditch Timeline if they could. Some 20% like it and 10% of survey respondents do not have Facebook accounts.

The survey asked 1,327 people what they thought about the soon-to-be mandatory Facebook Timeline.

The countdown to full-adoption of Timeline started two weeks ago, when Facebook announced that users would see notifications on their home page and then have seven days to clean up their Timelines. Facebook hasn’t set a specific date for the universal adoption of Timeline, but it should happen “within a few weeks.”

Facebook Timeline has made some users worried about privacy since viewers can look through each year of a person’s Facebook life in a few clicks. Facebook gives you seven days to make the switch, so you have enough time to hide the content you would like to keep private.

SEE ALSO: Facebook Timeline-ageddon: Why Now?

The Sodahead survey looked at the respondents’ genders, ages and geographical locations. Men and women equally dislike Timeline, each at a 77% rate.

While few like Facebook Timeline, Millennials are more likely to accept Facebook’s new look — 30% of 18 to 24-year-olds like Timeline. The next closest age group to embrace Timeline is 13 to 17-year-olds (27%) followed by 25 to 35-year-olds (23%).

A recent survey of Mashable readers, meanwhile, found that 79% of more than 1,500 respondents wished the new feature were optional.

Have you enabled your Facebook Timeline yet? Tells us what you think of it in the comments below.

Infographic courtesy of SodaHead

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/07/dislike-facebook-timeline/

Amazon’s Prime Instant Video is currently a part of Amazon Prime program, which provides members with unlimited two-day shipping and other benefits for $79 per year.

In September, Amazon inked a video deal with Fox; previously, the company signed deals with CBS, NBC, Sony, Warner Bros. and others.

The addition of Viacom to that list is another sign that Prime Instant Video might soon become a full-fledged competitor to Netflix and other streaming video companies. Google and Verizon are also expected to launch an online video streaming service in 2012, which should make for a very interesting year.

The competition for the streaming video crown is also heating up in the UK, where Netflix recently launched its service to compete with Amazon’s LoveFilm.

[via Reuters]

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/amazon-viacom/