How popular is 3D?

Avatar raised the bar for 3D movies, a bar that other movies just aren't reaching. Many movies end up having less than perfect 3D work done, which in turn, lets down movie seers. In addition, these movies also have very little in their script to make them 3D worthy. An example of this would be the new Jackass movie which has different stunts where things are "thrown" at the viewer where as G-Force did not have much, if any, reason to become 3D.

Another factor coming into play is the glasses required to watched one of these movies. The chance of eye infections (if the glasses are not individually wrapped) has increased as more movies come out. One is relying on the cinema workers to do a trustworthy job of disinfecting used glasses or in some cases, wiping off the viewing contraption.

But don't worry, the newest Harry Potter movie will not be released in 3D as originally planned. Apparently, there was not enough time to add in all the special features needed for this, of which I can say I'm glad.

To read the article, click here

Introducing New Car Features

Halloween brings creativity this year for more than just costume designs. PRnewswire.com shared a story today about how cars are introducing new features for customers. This is a real "Treat" for car buyers, and nothing close to a "Trick."

For Halloween, some of the new car features include Wi-Fi Hotspots and MYFord Touch. The Wi-Fi Hotspots is a system that turns vehicles into mobile Wi-Fi- hotspot, making it a mobile 3G network. Also, The MyFord Touch introduces the interface that works like your smartphone. Advanced Parking Aids steers your car for you when parking and offers multiple wide-angle lens cameras to give the driver a virtual bird's eye view of the car. These are just a few of the new and innovative technologies for vehicles. New media has definitely evolved, and especially changed the marketing for vehicles. 10 Trick New Car Features

Are texting and Facebook worse for teens than TV?

Today's children are breaking barriers of 9,000 texts per month, and spending 1-3 hours a day alone on Facebook. This poses a question of whether or not these things are more harmful to a students academic success then that of their parents who grew up staring at a screen as well, just a T.V. screen. The internet use compared to simply watching T.V. poses different threats that a T.V. can not such as cyber bullying, and free internet porn. Many say that screen time to school work can be mitigated. Overall it was thought that if your kid is still doing their homework then 2 hours on Facebook each night is no different then watching T.V.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101028/ap_on_hi_te/us_fea_parenting_teens_and_screens;_ylt=Ah1l3s6Xh4J9Wazf6SpXCmMDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTM3MDhiYWJlBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMDI4L3VzX2ZlYV9wYXJlbnRpbmdfdGVlbnNfYW5kX3NjcmVlbnMEcG9zAzgEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNmdWxsbmJzcHN0b3I-

Myspace vs Pinterest

I think this is hilarious! First of all let me start of by saying I am NOT a fan of Myspace. In fact, I think the whole idea of redesigning their format is comical. When I read this article about how the new design of Myspace is very similar to the Pinterest website I wasn't surprised. The redesign is almost exactly the same to the Pinterest website! And the fact that former Myspace Director of Technology praised Pinterest's design in his invitation request is extremely sketchy. I wonder how Tom is going to talk his way out of this one.......

Mark Evans: Looking for the Next Facebook

Back in May of this year, Canadian tech blogger Mark Evans wrote an insightful piece on possible competitors to the seemingly unstoppable Facebook social media network. His article is based upon two analogies taken from recent technology history.

The first is that Bill Gates once stated the biggest threat to Microsoft is a developer sitting in his garage. It actually ended up being two developers - the creators of Google. The question now is, will someone ever emerge to truly compete with Facebook.

The other analogy is that Netscape (which is Myspace) was taken down by Internet Explorer (which is Facebook), but when this happened a number of other alternatives also appeared in the realm of internet browsers. So the question posed is what will be the social media equivalent to Firefox, Chrome and Safari be if there are alternatives that emerge.

The full article can be viewed here: http://www.markevanstech.com/2010/05/12/looking-for-the-next-facebook/

Addiction to Farmville drives a young mother to shake her infant to death

Twenty-two-year old Alexandra Tobias of Jacksonville, Fla. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for shaking her 3-month-old baby boy to death. This story is so unbelievable because of the reasoning behind this despicable act. Tobias told officials she became angry after her baby started crying while she was playing the popular computer game, Farmville, on the Facebook social-networking site. Shaken baby syndrome may show no physical signs of injury, but includes symptoms such as:

• Convulsions (seizures)
• Decreased alertness
• Extreme irritability or other changes in behavior
• Lethargy, sleepiness, not smiling
• Loss of consciousness
• Loss of vision
• No breathing
• Pale or bluish skin
• Vomiting

Source: http://health.yahoo.net/channel/shaken-baby-syndrome.html

Tobias' sentencing is scheduled for December, and because of state guidelines, Tobias could face 25-50 years in prison. In my opinion, this woman deserves the death penalty.

Here is a link to the article: http://jacksonville.com/david-hunt/2010-10-27/story/jacksonville-mom-who-shook-baby-interrupting-computer-game-pleads-2nd

Facebook ringing in more jobs for Austin

All you facebook lovers out there....start prepping...you could be employed by Facebook in Austin pretty soon!

In March the Austin City Council approved $200,000 in incentives for facebook to open an office in downtown Austin ann the State of Texas is contributing over 1 million dollars to help.

“The (Austin) area’s world-class educational system and talented workforce give us the means to quickly establish a strong outfit. We also want Facebook employees to have a high quality of life by being part of a vibrant, dynamic environment, and Austin offers all of that and more. We look forward to building our team here in Austin and enjoying all the wonderful things the city has to offer.” Stated Grady Burnet who is a global online sales for facebook.

Austin Facebook plans on making about 200 jobs with an average salary of $54,000. They are looking for positions in inside sales manager, in side sales account executive, inside sales about associate, fraud analyst and fraud investigator.

Not only is the pay pretty good but the benefits aren't to shabby as well...in addition to the 401k and medical/dental benefits. They offer ALL employees free catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, dry-cleaning and laundry services and reimbursement for employees who use public transportation. I can't say if this is a good thing or not though. If your getting offered all this.. that means you will probably be working in your office long hours!

http://www.examiner.com/market-in-austin/facebook-starts-hiring-for-new-austin-office

Mashable's Fast Pitch Competition

Mashable is partnering with Under the Radar, a network of major brand representatives looking for the best and most innovative ways to market a brand, for Fast Pitch. The Fast Pitch competition allows companies to be recognized for customer engagement innovations. Mashable opened the competition on Tuesday, Oct. 26 and the forms can be found on Mashable's website.

This is a great way for a smaller company looking for funding can be rewarded. This year Fast Pitch is focusing on customer engagement and relations. Companies that have been awarded funding, closed partnerships or been acquired after presenting at Under the Radar include LinkedIn, Flickr, AdMob, 3Tera, and others.

Google TV loosing rights to air some shows.

I saw this story in The Wall Street Journal and thought it was interesting. It is interesting to see that people are being so possessive with their programming on the internet. I say this because the internet is supposed to be a tool for sharing in my opinion and the networks are taking that away. If I worked for a network I think it would be more important that my show be seen than be seen on my website. The whole point is getting people to watch your programming and I don't think the medium we choose to use should matter.

Networks, Google Spar Over Web TV

By Sam Schechner and Amir Efrati

754 words

22 October 2010

The Wall Street Journal

J

B1

English

(Copyright (c) 2010, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

ABC, CBS and NBC are blocking TV programming on their websites from being viewable on Google Inc.'s new Web-TV service, exposing the rift that remains between the technology giant and some of the media companies it wants to supply content for its new products.

Full-length episodes of shows like NBC's "The Office," CBS's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and ABC's "Modern Family" can't be viewed on Google TV, a service that allows people to access the Internet and search for Web videos on their television screens, as well as to search live TV listings. Logitech International S.A. and Sony Corp. began selling devices running the software this month.

Representatives for the three networks confirmed they are blocking the episodes on their websites from playing on Google TV, although both ABC and NBC allow promotional clips to work using the service. ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co., CBS is part of CBS Corp., and NBC is a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.

"Google TV enables access to all the Web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners' choice to restrict fans from accessing their content on the platform," a Googlespokeswoman said in a statement.

The move marks an escalation in disputes between Google and some media companies, which are skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate them for potentially cannibalizing existing broadcast businesses.

Over the summer, Google pressed major media companies to optimize their websites and videos to work more seamlessly with Google TV. Some outlets, including Time Warner Inc.'s HBO and Turner Broadcasting networks, did so. Even NBC Universal's CNBC embraced the service, optimizing some content to work specifically on Google TV.

But many other companies declined to specifically optimize their websites, and some held out the possibility that they could block their content from the service, as the three networks are now doing. Some TV executives said they were worried their shows would be lost in the larger Internet.

Some, including Disney and NBC, were also concerned about Google's stance on websites that offer pirated content, according to people familiar with their thinking.

Disney executives, for example, asked that Google filter out results from pirate sites when users search for Disney content, like "Desperate Housewives." But they were unsatisfied with Google's response, according to people familiar with the conversations.

News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting and Viacom Inc.'s MTV aren't blocking Google TV from playing episodes available on their websites. A Fox spokeswoman said "a firm decision has not yet been reached." News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.

For its part, Google has tried to assure broadcasters and content owners such as Disney that Google TV's search feature is optimized to promote their TV broadcasts and website video content rather than pirated content, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In addition, Google has also told broadcasters and content owners they can submit requests to Google to delete unauthorized results from the Google TV search feature, just like they do for results in Google's traditional Web search engine, this person said.

Some shows -- from siblings of the networks that are blocking their content -- were working on Google TV on Thursday.

Shows from the CW network, which is jointly owned by CBS and Time Warner, appear to play on Google TV, as do some from Lifetime, a cable channel jointly owned by Walt Disney Co., Hearst Inc., and NBC Universal.

Google won't directly make money from the sale of the Google TV software, but the software's use will benefit Google's ad-supported Web search engine and is expected to increase viewership of the ad-supportedYouTube site, which is owned by Google. The company also has been in talks with Madison Avenue's media-buying firms to discuss how to sell ads on the Google TV interface without interfering with TV commercials, people familiar with the matter have said.

But the three networks are also not alone in blocking their content. Video site Hulu, whose owners include Disney, NBC Universal and News Corp., also blocks its video from being played through the Google TV interface.

Spokeswomen for both Hulu and Google said the companies are in talks to bring a subscription service to Google TV.

New App that Acts as a Cash Register

The co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, recently created a smartphone application called Square that turns a smartphone into a mobile cash register. Square uses a plastic reader to get credit-card information and process payments through your phone.
You just plug in the plastic piece into the top of your smartphone and it reads the card information then processes the payment. It is a great idea, but I think that the only people who will really benefit from this app would be small organizations or businesses that don't already have a credit card system. The app would also be convenient for sales at fundraisers or for independent merchants. The app charges users 2.75 percent of the transaction cost plus a 15-cent fee, which is in line with what retail stores pay for accepting cards.
Pretty soon the smart phone will be the all in one tool for almost everything.


The app can be downloaded at Square's official website or the app stores for the different operating systems.

Check out the article on CNN to see the list of smartphones that can use the app. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/10/25/square.smartphones/index.html

Former Connally High School teacher accused of asking teens to undress

Biology teacher and coach resigned, Pflugerville district says

This scandal is from a sister school from my high school back in my hometown. I heard about this from my parents, who are both teachers, and I was absolutely disgusted. I couldn't even imagine how someone could do that. Far be it from me to use this as a platform to publicly stating how I feel about scum-bags, but the part that is difficult is for the teachers in that district. My dad said he was really glad that it wasn't a music teacher (like he is) because then it causes an uproar with parents speculating that now, every teacher who teachers [X] topic will be involved in a scandal like this. It's really unfortunate not only for the students and their families, but now the district has to repair its image as well.

Oh. And did I forget to mention that he used Texas State's name in the scandal?

"According to an affidavit, Lolis told a female student sometime from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28 that he would give her $10 if she allowed him to measure her for a project for a physics class at Texas State University."

Disgusting.

Please feel free to read the whole article to see what he did. I really hope Texas State's image doesn't suffer in any way because of this, or other teachers. I wonder if PISD's PR people have had to step in to make comments.

It's not what you know . . .

Or, is it? In this case, it's what AND who. Adam Miller has been dealing with corporations for years. And, has apparently counseled many of them on some major deals. They like him. I guess he's good at it. So, he has left his role as President of the Abernathy MacGregor firm to become a senior advisor at ComCast. http://nyti.ms/9pk6tg

Well, he knows the inside out workings of it. He's been advising the company through its acquisition of GE/NBC. He's been working these kinds of deals for 16 years. And, he's only 40 years old!

Certainly, he has shown his talents for a while. So, it's what he knew. But, how much of Miller's success might be attributed to "who" he knew? How much can he say about networking and his career success? That's a question I'd like to ask him. Certainly, in this career move it was a "who" connection.

No More Photos of the Ex on Facebook

Facebook has solved the problem of having to constantly see photos of your ex in your Photo Memories. Photo Memories are the pictures of your friends that sometimes appear in the top right corner on certain Facebook pages. Facebook uses an algorithm that tracks the pages and photos you look at and who you exchange wall messages with the most. That information is used to pick the photos shown in your Photo memories.

A group was formed to protest the photo memories product mainly because of the constant photos of their exes and yesterday Facebook announced that they were paying attention. Facebook will no longer show tagged photos of anyone you were in a past relationship with. It's nice to know that Facebook is paying attention to users and helping to ease heartache.

Article from CNN.com

Opening Their Eyes

Davis Guggenheim, documentary film director, strives to open the eyes of those who have the means to make a change. With his new film, "Waiting for Superman", Guggenheim attempts to wake up America about our failing school systems. In an effort to spark real change, Guggenheim hosted a last-minute screening of the movie before it opened. The vice president of Microsoft's worldwide education invited Guggenheim and the rest of Microsoft to see the film, and hopefully encourage them to extend a helping hand. The theatre filled with vice presidents, general managers and software engineers, and ended in a standing ovation for Guggenheim's work.

Hopefully Guggenheim's efforts to reach out to large corporations, in an attempt to get support where it's needed, will pay off. I think enticing, and basically slapping companies in the face with issues like this, is a great way to help these schools and kids get the financial support they need. I can't wait to see this film.

Social Media is Just the New Kid on the Block

What’s all this talk about the return on investment of social media?
So when you ask the question, “How do you calculate your return on investment with the use of social media?” you might as well be asking a question like, “How do you measure the value of using e-mail in your business?” This gets tricky. The tangible vs. the intangible.

- written by Lisa Tiereny

Social Media is Just the New Kid on the Block

Social Media is the new technology to get picked on, just like the new kid at school. It was not all that long ago that email was that new student and businesses were trying to figure out how to make it work in their infrastructures, or if it was even worth it.

Social Media is following in this same path as business start asking their bloggers what the real return on investment (ROI) could be with these "silly" social platforms. The communication between customer and business is the true value in the platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Totally your ROI may not come in complete spreadsheets of accounting totals, it comes through content analysis and an overall loyalty for your business.

Washington Post Aks Journalist Not to Tweet

After a controversial guest article was posted on The Washington Post that suggested "homosexuality was a mental health issue" groups took to Twitter to complain and voice opinions against the Post for publishing the article. A staff member tried to defend the article being published that seemed to only fuel the fire. Staffers have been sent a memo asking them not to engage critics on Twitter on behalf of the Post. They have been told not to use their personal accounts or any Post-branded accounts to answer critics.

The article goes on to discuss whether or not the Post should completely block it's journalists from holding a dialogue with readers via Twitter in a time when traditional journalists are being asked to embrace social media. I think the Post does need to limit who has access to responding on their social media but blocking their journalist from engaging in a conversation is not a smart idea.

Mashable article

Hotel Industry and Social Media

Hotels are starting to experiment ways to improve service and connect with customers using social media. One way they are doing so is extending concierge services...you can tweet and the concierge can assist you on needs such as finding a good place for kids, finding a restaurant etc. Another way is by on-site merchandising. Hotels can offer special deals through four square for example going to a boutique and receiving a complimentary glass of wine. Hyatt guarantees answers within 24 hours that are posted on their facebook page. Hotels can also offer last minute deals on social media like Twitter. Many hotels use twitter to communicate promotions and remind customers what they are about. I think it is pretty cool that hotels are jumping on board with social media. It is a great way to interact with their customers and be able to give benefits to these customers.

Read more

I thought I was on American Apparel's website

In case you missed it, about two weeks ago Gap unveiled a redesigned, minimalistic logo. It was one that they thought was "a more contemporary, modern expression." One week later, they decided to revert to the original logo.

The reason? Major social media backlash.

Facebook and Twitter users had a lot to say about the change. Comments directed to the company, as well as to the graphic designers responsible were posted online. Someone even went so far as to create a fake Gap logo Twitter account, as well as Gap logo generators.

I think that it was a poorly planned decision on Gap's part to try to rebrand their image by changing the logo, a logo that is recognized and accepted world wide. At least they listen to their customers/fans.

Click here for the full article.

Facebook fans drown a man in Skittles

Skittles UK launched a campaign yesterday called "Dazzle the Rainbow", challenging Facebook fans to bury David Pheonix with over 2 million Skittles. As more fans tuned into the live video stream on the Facebook page, more Skittles would drop on to Pheonix in 15 minute intervals. Skittles UK posted several videos of Pheonix on Facebook prior to the campaign to promote the upcoming burial. In the videos, Pheonix was depicted similar to the 'most interesting man in the world' appearing to be manly and indestructible. The sole purpose of the campaign was to draw attention to the brand and to gain Facebook fans. It is interesting to see the different ways that companies use their social media presence.

Mashable Article

Skittles UK Facebook

Report: Facebook app IDs invade privacy

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that top apps used on Facebook Inc.'s social networking site have been giving out identifying information on users and sometimes their friends. Many users play games on facebook such as Farmville, Texas Hold'em Poker and Frontierville were a few of the prime offenders.Identifications are being transmitted by the apps to advertisers and Internet tracking companies. These companies can then look up a person's name, even if they have set their privacy safeguards to their account to keep the information private. If the Facebook account hasn't been set up that way it could also be sharing other data including age, residence, occupation and photos.

I will now delete any "game" I do not use on Facebook as well as double check my settings. I hope you all do the same. Soon enough there won't be "privacy."

Learning to practice what you preach

As a leader in all things media, PR Newswire has been a credible source in the communications industry for over 50 years. Ironically the website has not exercised many of the social media tools and tactics that they report on.

This week PR Newswire launched their newly rebranded website which incorporates elements of social media and a more user friendly design.

"Marketing, public relations and investor relations professionals are re-imagining how they approach the development and delivery of content given the increasingly fragmented communications landscape," said PR Newswire CEO Ninan Chacko. "As marketers and communicators have increasingly turned to content as the currency with which they engage their key audiences, PR Newswire has evolved our solution sets to provide audience engagement and workflow solutions, that when combined with our multichannel content distribution network, enable more seamless, ubiquitous, efficient and effective content-centric communications," Chacko adds.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/18/2324681/new-thought-leadership-series.html

It Gets Better Project: Giving Hope through YouTube

Through the recent wave of teen suicides because of anti-gay cyber-bullying, Dan Savage, an author and advice columnist, has decided to use the cyber-world as a platform for his message. It Gets Better.

Dan and his partner launched a YouTube video channel streaming videos of average, everyday gays and lesbians telling their horror stories of bullying, how they got through and the happy lives they lead.
Shortly after, celebrities began to step up and create their own videos to post on the channel.

Savage’s YouTube channel proves that social media can be used for good, just as easily as it can be used to torment others. It proves that people can come together from all over the world to spread hope, rather than hate. His message, along with the others who have created videos for the channel, is an inspiring example of how to use social media for social good.

For the NPR interview with Savage, click here.

Jewel's PR Prank

Singer/Actress Jewel received a lot of media attention this week for the first time in years. What did she do? She went undercover with funnyordie.com to a karaoke bar and sang her songs. When people were astonished at how good she was, she revealed who she was and the crowd cheered. Most people are framing this as a simple prank with no PR motive, but I think differently. Not so coincidentally, her first album in years, Sweet and Wild, was released less than 4 months ago. This is definitely part of the new trend going on with brands and celebrities trying new and different things to get noticed.

For More Information:
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00034076.html

Google TV.

The search engine giant Google, has announced its newest media takeover, Google TV.
Basically, it connects to your existing cable/satellite box and then through a HDMI cable to your TV allowing you to aggregate all available web-based TV sites (except hulu). The interface uses a logitech keyboard that will act as your remote, allowing you to use DVR, change channels on your regular cable, and serach for videos online and through Netflix.

Another attempt to advance the way we watch television, or is Google slowly taking over the world?

Microsoft Windows 7 Phone

As we all read last week in the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is planning on relasing their Windows 7 Phone to compete with the iPhone and Android. There has been some controversy in whether or not the windows phone will be adaptable to sync with mac products. Microsoft has created a software that can de downloaded called Zune 4.7 to support the Windows Phone. Rumor has it they might be in the works of creating a Zune for Mac users.

Windows Phone is to be released with AT&T and rumored to be eventually picked up by T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.

Do you think the Windows 7 Phone will be a threat to the iPhone and Android?

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/10/bad_news_stephen_fry_no_mac_sync_for_windows_phone_yet.html

"Golden Arches Go Green"

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-golden-arches-go-green-104927179.html

In Riverside, California, a McDonald's was certified as a 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.' The McDonald's is 44 years old and renovated with green features and energy savers. The McDonald's has new green features listed:
Light colored hardscape to reduce heat emissions from site,
Native drought tolerant plants to reduce water consumption by landscape,
Low flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water usage,
294 photovoltaic panels to generate a percentage of the restaurant's power consumption, and
Recycled denim insulation inside the building.

This new "green" McDonald's is the fourth in the United States and relating back to public relations, I believe this is a turning point for McDonald's because they are known for so many problems such as their unhealthy food, the waste emitted from the chain and the slaughtering of animals to make the processed foods. I think that if they continue to expand on making their restaurant more earth friendly (along with fixing some other major issues) they will see a great change in their following and supporters.

Feds may be checking out your Facebook profile

The government may now be trying to "friend" you on Facebook in order to look into your life. The two main groups that were mentioned are people trying to get U.S. citizenship and group interests. With the citizenship, the government is wants to make sure that applications actually portrays the applicant's life. The group interests go back to President Obama's inauguration in 2009 when the Department of Defense was trying to monitor different groups to prevent an attack on the president. Check out the story here

This just goes back to what we have been told - be careful what you put on the Internet and who you friend/follow.

This Holiday Season is About Single Serve Coffee

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages by Americans, next to beer of course! The rise in coffee prices Starbucks has recently participated in, may start a trend for other competing shops. This holiday season, advertisers are pushing the single-serve machine. Consumers pop cartridges into the household machines, and minutes later a perfectly measured cup of coffee, espresso, hot chocolate or other java drink is instantly brewed.

Nestle will start the ad-pushing this holiday season. The potential for growth is clear, indicating 60 percent of the coffee machines are sold during holiday months.

Kraft Foods Inc. is in on the competition too. They have "Brew Bot," the robot-like persona that will crew your coffee for you.

Sleek print ads are branded as "unique" and "refined" in magazines such as Vanity Fair and Food & Wine. Consumers are cautious about spending, but the single-cup coffee costs less than $1 per serving; spending anywhere from $100 to $400 on the brewing machines. The $3 for a cup of coffee at a local shop adds up, and this new "Bot" is striving to be the new alternative.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703673604575550191974954922.html?KEYWORDS=coffee

Whrrl Launches New Recommendations Engine

Pelago, the makers of Whrrl, launched a new recommendations engine for the real world. They will offer users information about new and relevant places to go and things to, based on the activity of their everyday life. It is now available on iPhone.

Whrrl previously used their location-based service as friend-finders. Now users join Societies, which are groups of people with similar interests, tastes and passions. Recommendations will appear on the homepage and are sent weekly via email.

Whrrl is also launching an integration with Facebook Places, so users can syndicate their check-in, photos and notes to their Facebook Places feed.

This new recommendations engine can be a useful tool when trying to network with people. Through updates, users can find other people in their industry and connect with them for possible job opportunities. This also shows the importance of being updated on social media technology.

Full Article

Edelman Buys Dutch Healthcare Firm

Edelman has closed a deal giving themselves even more power over communcation in the Netherlands. Hinfelaar PR Life and Health Communications is a Dutch firm with a focus on health and food communications. Edelman already has over 50 employees in the Netherlands with revenues reaching more than 4.2 million euros. Many of Hinfelaar's clients have already been working with Edelman Amsterdam.

The firm founder, Marc Hinfelaar, will join the Edelman management team. Edelman has already aquired three other firms this year including Significa, Vollmer and The Centre.

http://www.holmesreport.com/story.cfm?edit_id=11942&typeid=1&goto=story

Internet Explorer 9

From the continuous rise of Internet use and social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, many major browser makers are developing their next generation. Makers are trying to reach a browser that promises to perform faster, have better graphics, and more social networking. Microsoft Corp. launched a test version of their next browser, Internet Explorer 9, in San Francisco on September 14Th. The majority of users are still using Internet Explorer, but Mozilla has increased its popularity to 23%. The new version is supposed to offer the ability to drag items around on a screen, smaller tics, news flashes with updates popping up automatically without the refresh button, and most of all run faster.

Facebook Faces Possible Loss of its Third Biggest Market

Facebook risks losing members in Turkey, its third biggest market in the world. Recent talks by Turkish officials are on the rise about whether to ban the site after some offensive content was posted claiming one of Turkey's opposition party leaders was "a PKK member." I don't know exactly what it means to be named a member of this group, but obviously the leader of the Turkish political party was offended and wanted the content removed. The issue remains on how to handle the problem as debates among Turkish leaders continue on whether to ban the site, or just remove the offensive content. However, some government leaders have already allowed the site to be banned. With YouTube already banned in Turkey, will the popular social networking site be prohibited in a country representing its third biggest market?

Link to the article: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-ban-turkey-2010-10

Microsoft Announced The First Windows Phone 7

On Monday Microsoft leaked some details about their brand new smart phone, the Windows Phone 7 operating system. The phone will be available on AT&T, who co-hosted the event, and T-Mobile networks stateside beginning Nov. 8 with handsets from HTC, LG, Dell, and Samsung. I think Microsoft was smart to gain AT&T as a network for the Windows Phone 7. It will expand their potential consumers since the majority of the U.S. uses AT&T as their wirless network. Microsoft is hoping to be the next best thing for smart phone technology, but it will be interesting to see how the competition plays out between this new device and Apple's Iphone.
Chief executive officer at Microsoft Steve Ballmer said, "Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience — one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a ‘glance and go’ format."
Although I am true to apple products and am obsessed with my Iphone, if this phone is really what it's cracked up to be you never know if I might just make the switch.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/windows-phone-7-3/

Finally! The Future Is Here! Google cars!

Google has been testing cars that drive themselves. I think this is an awesome concept but cars by Google? It seems a bit odd. In class, we talked about the failure of Xerox trying to launch a computer brand. This failed because people associated Xerox with copy machines, not computers. How does the brand Google apply here? Would any of you drive a car made by Google?

Now these cars are only driving themselves in traffic. This means while a commuter is stuck in traffic on the way to or from work, they can relax by watching TV, playing on the Internet, or doing other things besides paying attention to the road. Personally, I think this is a horrible idea. First of all, I would never buy a car made by Google. Second of all, if these cars launch, they will probably be very expensive. And third of all, I do NOT want to know what some people will be doing while stuck in traffic and not driving because then I'll be distracted and probably get into a wreck.

Google, please stick to the computers and leave the cars to the pros.

Click here to read the whole article.

Tweet Leads to Athlete's Dismissal From Team

University of Oklahoma receiver Jaz Reynolds was suspended indefinitely by head coach Bob Stoops after tweeting, "Hey everyone in Austin, tx....... kill yourself #evillaugh."

The tweet was sent shortly after a University of Texas student committed suicide in a library on campus. Later in the week the Oklahoma and Texas football teams would face each other in the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas, Texas.

Coach Stoops decided to remove Reynolds from the team and stated, "Our rivalry with Texas will not come at the expense of dignity and respect."

This is just one of many instances in which athletes have gotten into trouble for tweets, but is one of few instances in which the consequence was indefinite suspension from the team.

View the full article here: http://bit.ly/aLlhh9

The Supreme Court and the First Amendment - again

It was interesting to note that the Supreme Court would rather pass over some digital First Amendment issues than address them in this session.

http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/2010/10/u-s-supreme-court-not-eager-to-take-on-technology-cases/

Perhaps they want more time to deliberate some of these concepts and problems in their own minds before making a statement that could turn the public's neck around. Perhaps they are awaiting more cases so they can lump several together to address what is free speech and what should be considered protected. The recent case of a student committing suicide after a sex tape of him was posted on the web certainly transgresses the freedom of expression threshold.

What will the Supreme Court hold to be free or protected speech?

Location based smack-down.

I stumbled across this article about location based social media today and thought it was interesting. Facebook is claiming, as of yesterday, to have a patent on location based social media. The problem is that Google had already purchased a very similar patent 2 years before. I think it is interesting that Facebook is saying something about it three years after the fact. I think its convenient that they are claiming the patent when location based social media use is at its peak.

Here is the link to the story:

http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-facebook-google-already-had-a-patent-on-location-based-social-networks-2010-10

Twitter in Hollywood

I am not quite caught up in every aspect of social media quite yet. I have Facebook and yes, I used to do Myspace when I was a super cool high schooler. But I have yet to get a Twitter, so I have been doing some research about how it pops up in social media.

Movies are evolving, just like social media.. so it's only right that they should help each other out. Twitter is an outlet to get publicity for upcoming movies, but also serves as a way to review them after they come out. It can even change the amount of money that comes in for the movie.

"Bruno took in $30 million during its opening weekend, but that figure plunged to $12 million during the film’s second week, with “a high volume of negative tweets” playing a part."
--MediaBistro

It's still not a huge part of movie maker's marketing campaign, but it's a growing source of publicity for new and upcoming movies.

In a poll from examiner.com, there was a poll taken about Twitter and movies.

Does buzz on social media platform Twitter.com affect your desire to see a film?

1. No (58%)

2. What’s Twitter (30%)

3. Yes (12%)

So, there you have it. I don't know if PR people for movie companies should stress out that much about Twitter, but it's an increasing source of possible publicity that shouldn't be ignored.

Research: The Key to Your Next Job Interview

A recent article on careerbuilder.com showed the importance of researching a company prior to interviewing. According to the article, knowing details about the company will be beneficial during the interview process.
It is important that you research beyond what it is available on the company's website. The website is important, but there are several research tools that should be utilized. Reading the company's press releases, following top employees on Twitter, and doing informational interviews with past and current employees are just some of the ways that you can further research a company. Once the interview comes around you can show your knowledge and interest in the company. This could give you an advantage against other candidates.

Facebook to let users create personal groups

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced groups will be coming to facebook this week. He stated that this will be designed to help "the biggest problem in social networking". With this people will be able to make groups for co-workers, family, friends etc with that specific interest they want to discuss "updates" about. People claimed that they would like to post about their interests but feel that they are annoying their facebook friends who aren't interested in that thing they are talking about. With this new "grouping" people will be able to share information with people who are specifically interested in that one thing. Even though facebook already has something that create subsets of their friends, they claimed that only 5 percent of people use this. They want something that more than 5 percent of people will use. Along with this will come other updates as well like "download your information." This is where you can zip everything you've done on the site.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/10/06/facebook.event/index.html?hpt=T2

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign goes Viral

Have any of you noticed a rather alarming number of women updating their statuses starting with, "I like it..." and ending with questionable places? Facebook spread memes throughout the site to promote breast cancer awareness. Women everywhere are updating about where they like to put their purses. The idea is to get people confused and asking questions.

Mashable blogged about the viral campaign, and said the reason it became so popular so quickly was because it does have a sexual connotation. Those "out of the loop" begin asking questions to the facebookers themselves or "googling" the question to understand what is going on.

I think it is a funny idea. Facebook's goal was to confuse women (and men) enough that they begin to ask questions. We can't believe that that many women would write and update about their favorite "places," so we begin to ask questions.

Twitter Launches Promoted Tweets

Twitter is making there version of Facebook's recommendations and sponsors. Twitter already has "Who to Follow" based on who you are already following. Now if you are following a certain brand or company you might have a 'promoted' twitter handle appear in that "Who to Follow" box. Twitter officially launched the promoted tweets today but they are still in the "testing phase" so only a few companies will have their accounts promoted.

It doesn't specify how the "handful of companies" will be chosen. PR practitioners will have to keep watch on how they can get their company as a "promoted tweet" or suggestion to possible costumers.

Personally I don't mind the suggestions to follow a certain company. It doesn't seems as in your face as Facebook's application does.

Here's the article on Mashable

CONNECT: ACL

This weekend is the Austin City Limits Music Festival; ACL made an application (iPhone and Android) for those going to the festival to manage their weekend fun. The app lets festival participants create a custom schedule and keep facebook and twitter updated as the weekend progresses. There is also ACL radio which allows artists to share their bios and music. For those that are not familiar with the layout of the event a map is included with the free app.

The best part about the app is that is comes with a "lighter" for all the rockers out there!

http://www.aclfestival.com/acl-news/2010-iphone-android-app/

LinkedIn's New Feature

LinkedIn is helping those who have graduated from college find a job. It is launching Career Explorer, the new job-finding feature that will be out soon to 60 US universities. With this new feature students can surf through various career paths based on school, level of education and dream industry. These are the different purposes one can use it for:

• To map out career paths. Said career paths are tailored based on your work interests and take the paths of established professionals into account. You can also create and save a bunch of different paths.
• Find connections. This is what LinkedIn specializes in, so it seems a natural addition.
• Learn about your desired job. The site will give you stats like average age of folks with the position you want, as well as geographic distribution.
• Find job openings and recommend people in your network to hit up for help.
• Suggest companies to follow. This functionality was introduced in April, but will likely be very key for recent grads looking to see when positions open up.
• find story here

FB and Twitter: The New Face of TX Campaigns

As the Nov. elections approach, it has become obvious that the candidates have been working to reach voters through their social networks to the fullest potential. Both candidates, Perry and White, have been keeping up with their Facebook and Twitter accounts to deliver their messages to the Texas audience.

Although the two cadidates have been using focusing on different social media platforms (White with Facebook and Perry with Twitter), both feel that they have made a stronger personal connection with their voters by having "real" conversation.

But will the use of social media bring more people (especially young people) to the polls on voting day? And who has been more effective in their social media campaign to governor? I guess, we'll see on Nov. 3.

For more: Virtual Capitol

The Sanctity of Music

Over the years the Internet, and social media, have made life easier. By just the click of a mouse you can find just about anything. However, are certain things becoming too easy? Titus Thomson, a bite blogger, seems to think that social media is changing the music industry. In his blog he goes on the explain that social media completely changed the popularity of his brother's band. Nowadays anyone can make tracks in the comfort of their own home and use any, and all, forms of social media to get buzz generated. From Facebook to personal Web sites, the Internet has made talent scouts job basically obsolete.

This was extremely interesting to me. I love music, but it makes me think how much longer will music stay timeless if it's something everyone can do. While it's awesome that musicians have a new outlet to make themselves heard, what about those who shouldn't be heard? Soon it wont be such a big deal to make it to the "Big Time" when all you have to do is turn on your computer and click "upload".