How Do You Cultivate Innovation ?

Being innovative means solving a problem in a unique and creative way. Companies like Google, Apple, GE and Facebook have made billions because innovation is a principal value in everything they do. Given the positive associations with it, every organization likes to think it fosters innovation, but unfortunately, the truth is often much different. This week's Culture Beat explores the qualities of truly innovative cultures. How does yours stack up?
Promoting Pride in the Individual and the Organization
According to research recently published in the Journal of Business Venturing, which looked at two decades of data on 62 countries, both individualistic and nationalistic cultures support innovation. While it’s not a major surprise that individualism is strongly associated with innovation, a more intriguing finding is that cultures that value the success of the group and have high degrees of patriotism also encourage innovation in their people. Countries like Japan and Sweden, for instance, are traditionally more collectivist but are also extremely innovative.
Employing Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is a management style that seeks to positively impact the attitudes and behaviors of followers. Frequently described as high-energy and high on passion, transformational leaders are focused more on success of the people responsible for the outcome than the success of the outcome itself. Such managers promote intellectual curiosity, open communication, performance rewards and professional development. They are able to articulate a clear vision for progress and, by appealing to the moral high ground, serve as an inspirational role model for employees. Michael Dell of Dell, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Lou Gerstner of IBM and Martin Luther King Jr. are oft-cited examples of transformational leaders.
Giving People Permission to Fail
True innovators know that hitting upon a successful idea is a process of trial and error, and more often than not, you have to experiment with several approaches before finding one that works. Cultures infused with innovation are not risk-averse and don’t hold people back by always insisting on a revenue-winning outcome. By giving employees the freedom to fail, organizations also open themselves up to spectacular wins. Sounds a bit like transformational leadership, doesn’t it? And one need only to look at Microsoft to see it in action.

Don’t Restrict the Focus to R&D
Throwing some budget at research and development departments, or launching a siloed “innovation committee” will not definitively move your culture in the right direction.  Instead, employees in all areas of the business must be encouraged to weave innovative thinking into everyday tasks and projects, and should be rewarded for doing so.
Innovative Cultures Don’t Need Gatekeepers
Fast Company Co.Design bloggers Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen claim that there is a new type of professional in American businesses specifically tasked with innovation. “Innovation custodians” are middle managers assigned to oversee innovators and their processes. “Innovation word-slingers” are external consultants who lead in-house innovation workshops. The problem with innovation professionals, say Skibsted and Hansen, is that they rarely have the maverick outlook that it takes to innovate in a substantive way. Also, innovation should be an attitude that organically runs through the heart of an organization and cannot be easily implemented by a manager with a to-do list.
Do you think your culture breeds innovation?  What advantages and disadvantages do small businesses have in this regard?
Alexandra Levit is a former nationally syndicated business and workplace columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success. Money Magazine’s Online Career Expert of the Year, she regularly speaks at organizations and conferences on issues facing modern employees.

12:49 by Robert dawne · 1

Finding Your Small-Business Calling on Vacation

Most tourists enjoy shopping, but two former corporate executives took it a step further by importing the products they discovered on vacation.
Debby Ruth, an executive on the fast track at a major cable television company, fell in love with Hester van Eeghen’s quirky and colorful handmade leather bags on a shopping trip to Amsterdam in 2004.
“I was absolutely mesmerized and spent half a day in Hester’s boutique,” recalled Ruth, who is now the exclusive U.S. importer of van Eeghen’s handbags, gloves and wallets via Hester van Eeghen U.S.
Ruth admits she never planned to start a small business. But when she was laid off in 2008, she decided to invest her severance package in her own venture: selling van Eeghen’s goods in the U.S.
Amsterdam or Bust
Contacting van Eeghen to discuss the potential business venture was the first challenge. “It took eight months to reach her,” Ruth says. “Hester is one of the busiest women you’ve ever met. I finally hopped on a plane and flew to Amsterdam—without even having an appointment.”
When they finally met over dinner, they explored ways to sell the Italian-made purses, gloves, wallets and briefcases to American fashionistas. Van Eeghen’s hand-sewn bags are pricey, retailing for around $900 for a purse and $300 for leather gloves.
But Ruth’s persistence paid off and so far, the relationship has been positive, according to van Eeghen.
"Working with Debby on the HVE US online boutique was a natural way to have a greater presence in the United States,” said Hester Van Eeghen via e-mail. “We have found the American customers in our Amsterdam shop to be very enthusiastic about my designs. I thought creating the online boutique first would be an ideal way to reach as many people as possible but in a way that was organic."
A Walking Billboard
Soon after van Eeghen made Debby Ruth her exclusive U.S. distributor, Ruth tapped her husband, Tim Lenz, to help her design the sophisticated, minimalist website. Lenz also shot all the photos of van Eeghen’s wares.
Launched in 2010, sales have grown steadily. Ruth said she and van Eeghen split the revenue on the bags sold via the U.S. website. She declined to reveal the financial details of the arrangement or share annual revenues for the privately held U.S. company.
“Our goal is to get big enough to open physical locations,” Ruth says. Meanwhile, she is a walking billboard for her product. “Whenever I’m carrying one of Hester’s bags, people stop me to ask where to buy it.”
Boutique Bubbly
While Debby Ruth found a new career importing handbags, Ruth Frantz, a beverage industry executive, also had a life-changing experience while vacationing abroad. She was visiting several small, mostly family-owned vineyards in France when she was inspired to import the boutique champagne into the U.S. Frantz felt confident she could pull it off, having worked on the global marketing of Ketel One Vodka for a major liquor distributor.
“There are about 4,000 champagne producers in France, yet most Americans only know Moet and Veuve Clicquot,” Frantz says.
Her mission is educating Americans to enjoy the sparkling wine more freely. It’s a challenge, because most Americans drink champagne only for special occasions, Frantz says. Europeans, however, drink champagne to kick off an evening of eating and drinking.
She created a character called Henri and founded Connecticut-based Henri's Reserve about two years ago. For sale is a gift package called the “Guaranteed Seduction Kit” for $300, which includes truffles and candles. One top seller is the $160 "tasting kit" featuring three bottles of champagne and pre-printed cards for making notes about the different wines.
Scaling Up
Frantz depends on food writers, wine bloggers, Facebook and other social media platforms to spread the word about Henri’s Reserve. “We started very small and now it’s all about scaling up,” she says.
Because importing liquor to the U.S. is highly regulated and complicated, Frantz relies on Robert Houde, a Chicago-based wine expert, to manage the logistics. “I source the wines and get them into the country for Ruth,” Houde says. “Our customers really like that these are real wines from real vineyards, versus mass blended wines from big companies.”
Small restaurants looking to set themselves apart from the competition by offering a selection of unique, boutique champagne are a growing percentage of Henri’s Reserve's sales. The privately held company does not release revenues, but Frantz says that although she started the business during the recent recession, sales are growing.
Have you ever drawn business inspiration from a vacation?

12:43 by Robert dawne · 1

5 Branding Tips for Your Launch

Branding is an essential part towards building a sustainable business. As an expert, I’ve seen a lot of companies succeed or fail based on their brand identity. People are willing to spend more money on companies that they’ve heard of before and those that have a strong reputation. If you fail to establish a strong brand identity, your competition will beat you and you will be forced to compete solely on price–which will stunt growth. Here are five ways to ensure that your brand is successful when you launch your company:
1. Logo and Website Design
We live in a culture that wants things to be aesthetically appealing. Having a firm understanding of what your business says in a visual sense can help you create a design and feel for your branding collateral.
The visual aspect of your logo and website should speak in both literal and figurative terms, about the character of your business. If you are a wholesale wine distributor, it make sense to have a bottle or a glass of wine in your logo, or perhaps you want something a little subtler. A bundle of grapes or a wine barrel could work just fine. Decide what characteristics you want your business to stand for about the industry you’re in, and try to visualize it. This will enable you to describe to developers what look you're going for. Your logo and website will define your business both online and offline, so make it something you’re proud of.
2.  Social Network Business Profiles
These sites are an important part of your online influence, and a great avenue to reach your customers. Once you’ve decided that a business profile is for you, I would recommend looking into other companies you look up to, and note what they’re doing well with their profiles. You want to generate content that your fans will find interesting, and want to share. Some of this information can be deals, or information on products or services you provide, but you might want to also post articles or videos you find helpful, useful, or entertaining.
3. SEO
As a small business owner, the hardest obstacle you’ll have to overcome is being “seen." The Internet is littered with small business websites all vying for the same small corners of the web. It’s imperative you focus on driving more traffic to your site, and drive up your search engine optimization. Social networks can help a lot, as well as having a blog as part of your site. Identify ways you can reach your customers (advertising, partnerships, etc.) and take the necessary steps to get your name out there. The more unique visitors you can drive to your site, the better your Google rank will become, which in turn makes you more visible online.
4. Publicity
PR is another great way to make yourself visible both online and offline. If you’re involved in any sort of charitable work, alert local media so they might want to cover it. Position yourself online as an expert in your field, and make yourself available for comments and opinions. Target smaller publications and blogs at first to build up your persona, and create working relationships with the media. PR can get very expensive very quickly if you pay for it, so as a small business it makes the most financial sense to take care of it in-house. I offered to write articles for various publications on and offline to build up my reputation, which has to led to many free PR opportunities for my company.
5. Testimonials
Once your business is up and running, make sure you connect with your customers so you understand what is working and what isn’t working. Don’t be afraid to tweak your product or service, and be receptive to feedback. It’s important to understand that no matter how much experience you have in business, you never cease learning how to do business better. When your clients are happy and vocal about your product or service, ask them for a testimonial. You can share these on your site, and it will prove your worth to other potential customers as well as instill trust in possible future clients.
Dan Schawbel is the managing partner of Millennial Branding, a Gen-Y research and management-consulting firm. Subscribe to his updates at Facebook.com/DanSchawbel.

12:01 by Robert dawne · 0

Study Finds Interns Not Getting Hired.

Newly minted college graduates are caught in a bind. More than ever, first-time job seekers need to have an internship or two on their resumes to be competitive applicants. But internships are rarely a shortcut to full-time employment; a survey released last month showed half of employers haven’t hired any interns in six months.
The findings help explain why half of all recent college graduates are jobless or underemployed, says Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, a Generation Y research and consulting firm in Boston, which commissioned the study.
No Guarantees
"Employers have high expectations of interns, yet they don’t hire interns and they don’t hire into full-time jobs,’’ Schawbel says. “ A lot of people think if they get an internship it will magically turn into a job, but those expectations are gone.’’
Experience Inc., a career services provider for colleges, conducted the study by examining the hiring practices and employment needs of 225 companies in its data pool of 100,000 U.S. companies.
The survey found that employers believe students need to pay their dues as interns; a majority of survey respondents said job-seeking students should perform more than one internship and 87 percent of respondents said an internship should last at least three months. But spending a semester as an underpaid underling is no guarantee to employment. Of the companies surveyed, only 16 percent said they hired at least half of their interns. More than a quarter of companies surveyed hired none of their interns as full-time workers.
“Students should strive to have as many internships as possible before graduation and not rely on a single employer for a job offer,’’ says Schawbel, who says he landed seven internships in college.
Not All Doom and Gloom
But there is good news for the 1.7 million college students who are earning diplomas this spring. Nearly 90 percent of employers surveyed say they are going to hire more recent graduates this year.
The study found that a third of companies are recruiting engineering and computer information systems majors and nearly a third have sought liberal arts majors. Just 18 percent are recruiting finance and accounting majors combined.
What Employers Really Want
Taking junior year abroad shouldn't make or break a resume; fewer than half of employers said that a graduate’s global perspective was vital. Just a little more than a quarter of employers said they prized a graduate having years of experience.
Nearly all employers view communication skills as being important or very important when hiring entry-level workers, the study found. Employers also cited positive attitudes and teamwork skills as nearly as important.
Companies prize soft skills—such as clear writing and sharing information—over hard skills and view the soft skills as ones that are hardest to find in new recruits, Schawbel says.
Check the Attitude
But having the right skills won’t suffice if a student flubs an interview. More than 40 percent of employers in the study reported being turned off by how unprepared students were in interviews and a quarter found the interviewees showed a bad attitude.
Schawbel says that while most employers aren’t on the Web hunting for students, students must look there, and everywhere else.
"You got to use everything at your disposal: networking, career services, joining philanthropy groups, using the social networks, getting active on LinkedIn groups,’’ he says. “ My whole mantra is, you can’t rely on anything.’’
Has your business taken on interns? How many have you hired for permanent positions?

11:56 by Robert dawne · 1

How to Pave the Way for Innovative Thinking.

A fun part of owning a business is dreaming up new ways to make money. It can be an immensely satisfying creative process, and the payoff is very tangible. But the rules aren’t obvious. Here are two coaching tips that can help make your team succeed at the innovation game.
Think Big But Accept Small Successes 
As a college student in the early ‘60s, I worked for a company that created programmed learning texts. Out of curiosity, I worked through one of the courses, Introduction to Computing, and had something akin to a religious experience. It quite literally changed my life. I became an evangelical proponent of what computers could do, and sought salvation for my over-drawn bank account as a disciple of IBM.
My plan was to start the first computer service bureau in Albuquerque. I dreamed of leasing a computer, renting a building, and hiring programmers. We’d offer innovative automated accounting services to companies with bookkeepers that punched the keys and yanked the handle on mechanical adding machines.
One major problem: in those days, the cheapest computer I could find cost $2,000 a month. Compared to the $35 a month I was paying for a used Nash Rambler, the cheapest car I could find, that was a fortune.
I had big dreams, but a small success helped me start my first business. I took my newfound computer expertise to a business school, and landed a job teaching programming.
When I asked if I could use their computer during the hours it was idle, management agreed out of nothing more than pure goodness. I lost a lot of sleep writing a payroll program, landed a contract with the Village Inn Pancake House when I figured out how to handle tips, and Business Computer Services was born.
I learned you don’t have to swing for the fence. The arrangement I had with the school wasn’t a base hit, more like an intentional walk, and it was far from my original grandiose plan. But I was in the game.
Don’t Hobble Your Team With Strict Rules
Bill Veeck, twice owner of the White Sox and other teams, is best known for “Grandstand Manager Day” when he gave yes/no cards to fans in the bleachers allowing them to vote on decisions usually reserved for managers—steal, change pitchers, bunt, walk. The team won 5-3, and broke a four-game losing streak.
More than a publicity stunt, giving people control is a huge motivational factor. Conversely, the best way to hobble an innovation opportunity is to follow a policy of “we'll do it the way we've always done it.”
In the ‘80s I took a job as head of an intrapreneurial division of a computer company. We were charged with creating new products that would use a bleeding-edge technology called CD-ROM. HR rounded up an extraordinary selection of existing employees and talented potential hires. Before long, we had a team of brilliant people that could have taken us to the moon if we’d decided that was the direction to go.
But I had two problems: the head of the IT thought I was encroaching on his turf and management didn’t understand that rigid rules stifle the innovation process.
Nevertheless, we prevailed and three of seven new products highlighted in the company’s annual report came out of our division.
Moral of the Story
Innovation needs to be nurtured, encouraged, and protected from politics. A hush-hush division of Lockheed, unknown to everyone else in the company (and the world) and free from the usual corporate rules, built the U-2, the highest-flying aircraft in the world and the SR-71, the fastest aircraft in the world. Today, the Skunk Works is a synonym for innovation.
In a rapidly changing world, innovation is fundamental to business success. Everyone on your team has to be an innovator, and you have to both encourage it and remove obstacles to creativity.
Tom Harnish is a serial entrepreneur. Always on the bleeding edge of technology, he learned what works (and what doesn't) leading projects, products and companies to success (mostly). He can't play a lot of musical instruments.

11:51 by Robert dawne · 2

Mark Pincus On Zynga’s Facebook Addiction: “We’ve Never Thought Of It In Terms Of Attachment (Or Detachment)”

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus took the stage today at D10, and of course because Facebook is all people can talk about after its IPO two weeks ago, he got asked and asked and asked again about Zynga’s “attachment to Facebook.”
“Zynga is very tied to Facebook,” Kara Swisher brought up immediately, describing the two stocks as “tethered together.” Indeed, Zynga makes up 15% of Facebook’s revenue, and Facebook makes up most of Zynga’s.
“They’re really important not just to us.” Pincus said, “Facebook is providing a new part of [the ecosystem's] stack, there is now a social stack and an app stack.” Pincus went on to describe the social graph as “magical” but expressed concern at Facebook’s pace of innovation on mobile, “On the web they’ve been really important with regards to distribution.”
Pincus called out for more mobile discovery options, and referred to Android and iOS as platforms that held just as much importance for the future of Zynga. “Discovery and the return path to apps still needs innovation on mobile,” he emphasized.
In order to address the lack of a unified place to discover apps of mobile, Pincus brought up that Zynga had aspirations to become this platform, aiding third parties in the distribution of social games, an ambition that Swisher compared to that of Xbox Live. But it’s sort of tough to become a platform while you’re still addicted to another.
Because Pincus didn’t clearly address how its reliance on Facebook for its primary revenue was being dealt with strategically inside Zynga, The Verge’s Josh Topolsky asked the CEO again about Facebook during Q&A, “How are you going to get detached from Facebook?” Topolsky said, “What is your actual strategy for being a business on your own?”
“We’ve never thought in terms of attachment or detachment,” Pincus responded, “We have a 90 to 10m rule, which means that if a platform can bring us 10m DAUs in 90 days then we invest at scale. Facebook met that rule and Android and iOS have the potential, he said.
“I think of it like the evolution of TV.” Pincus explained. “People wanted to watch TV but our desire to watch TV wasn’t created by the networks, it was a relationship between us and content. People have a latent interest in playing independent of the platform and we are willing go anywhere.”

11:13 by Robert dawne · 0

If The Spec Is Dead So Is The Nexus Tablet

It seems the much-rumored Google Nexus Tablet is nearing release. Citing Basemark benchmarking reports, the device is supposedly codenamed Grouper, running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and employing a 7-inch, 1280 x 768 display powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3. If true, this means the upcoming tablet will likely lack 4G wireless connectivity since Nvidia’s latest SoC is incompatible with current 4G chipsets. Without 4G, and since this is a forward-thinking Nexus device, it’s safe to say that the tablet will lack a data wireless radio of any sort and will instead ship with just WiFi.
Besides, even without the compatibility issues (which might be resolved), Google will not be able to launch a wireless-enabled tablet at a Kindle Fire price. They can’t in essence eat their Jelly Bean and have it too.
Much like the so-called spec, performance is dead. It’s meaningless in today’s post-PC devices. Either the device, such as a tablet, works, or it does not. A quad-core chip like the Tegra 3 used here does not improve Angry Birds. There is simply an expectation by the consumer that a device works, and if it does not, then it’s worthless. Comparing clock speed or data throughput between different modern SoCs is worthless. Consumers are shopping for functionality rather than performance. A Nexus tablet without 3G/4G is doomed to the niche market.
Google recently started selling unlocked Galaxy Nexus smartphones from the Google Play storefront. This in theory could also work for wireless tablet. For whatever reason Android tablets with wireless connectivity are strangely tied to 2 year wireless data contracts. This makes them horrible buys compared to the iPad that’s sold with just an extra surcharge for the option. Not only do these tabs generally carry a similar price, but they lock buyers into a 2-year contract that greatly inflates the overall cost. In a perfect world Google would bypass the carriers, and sell an unlocked Nexus tablet in this same storefront — expect a WiFi model to be available there, though.
The Nexus brand has always been a sort of geek device, targeting Android’s core audience rather than the general consumer. Even the name, a nod to Blade Runner, is an inside joke among its users. But a Nexus Tablet is supposed to be something different. It’s supposed to be a Google’s answer to the iPad and the Kindle Fire.
Ignoring different platforms, the iPad and Kindle Fire hold a dominant chunk of the total tablet marketshare. For various reasons pure Honeycomb tablets do not sell in overwhelming numbers. Simply put, most of the Android tabs from Samsung, Motorola and Asus are priced similarly to the iPad and do not offer a significant advantage. The Kindle Fire is different, though.
Amazon got the Kindle Fire right. By pricing it at $200 and skinning it with a consumer-friendly GUI, the tablet targeted the huge audience of curious onlookers. It didn’t need 3G wireless to sell versus the iPad. The low price was justification enough.
Amazon wisely built the tablet around its robust content offering, allowing the retailer to sell the tablet with a very slim margin. Traditional tablet makers like Samsung and Motorola do not have this luxury. These consumer electronic companies need to turn a profit from the hardware. Amazon, and Apple for that matter, can rely on retail channels to make up for the smaller margins on the device itself.
Google is going to have the same problem with the Nexus tablet. It’s unclear if Google Play can provide enough back-end revenue to support a low price for the Nexus Tab. It’s rumored to retail for $199 to $249, providing a Honeycomb (or even Jelly Bean) alternative to the Kindle Fire. Today’s rumor peg the device with a top-of-the-line Tegra 3 SoC and a quality screen. These are not inexpensive parts like Amazon uses in the Kindle Fire. Samsung sells its less capable Galaxy Tab 7.0 for $349. But without wireless connectivity, the only advantage Google has will be price. Without a low price and wireless connectivity, the Google Nexus Tablet will be just another also-ran Android tab.

11:09 by Robert dawne · 1

Microsoft Launches Office 365 For Government

Google scored an important win over Microsoft a few weeks ago when it won a $35 million U.S. government contract to bring its cloud-based office solution to the Department of the Interior. Microsoft’s legacy solutions, of course, remain a staple in government offices, but as more and more agencies want to move their productivity and collaboration services to the cloud, Microsoft is running the risk of losing out in this lucrative market. Today, however, the company is launching a new service that should give more of its government customers, which tend to have very strict data security and privacy regulations, the option to move to the cloud. Microsoft’s new Office 365 for Government is, in the company’s own words, “a new multi-tenant service that stores US government data in a segregated community cloud.”
Google touted its ISO 27001 certification for Google Apps for Business last week, which Office 365 for Government also qualifies for. Just like its predecessor, the Business Productivity Online Suite Federal, Microsoft’s new service also supports a plethora of other certifications, including SAS70 Type II, the US Health Insurance Portability, Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the US Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Microsoft also plans to support Criminal Justice Information Security policies soon. The service will soon offer support for IPv6 as well.
The major difference between Microsoft’s enterprise solution and this government cloud is that the government data lives on its own segregated infrastructure. Besides this – and the additional certifications – Microsoft’s government solution includes virtually the same services as the enterprise version, including Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and Office Professional Plus. Given that Microsoft’s enterprise solution is also now FISMA certified, this new service is mainly meant for agencies that have requirements beyond this certification.

11:05 by Robert dawne · 1

Apple Store Down for Updates

The Apple Store is currently down, which could signal that new Apple products are about to be launched.
The sign on the Store says “We’re busy updating the Apple Store for you and will be back soon.”
It’s interesting to note that the “Store Down” sign has changed significantly from the sign Apple used in the past couple of years. Furthermore, the sign seems to be slightly crooked — somewhat odd for Apple, a company known for perfectionism.
Recent rumors pointed to an update to Apple’s MacBook lineup. A couple of weeks ago, we heard that the new 15-inch MacBook might be a significant departure from the current design, with a retina display and an ultra-thin profile.
Another likely culprit for the store being down, however, is the Nest Learning Thermostat, which appeared in the store earlier today. Also, it’s possible that Apple is simply fixing technical glitches with the Store.
After the store comes back up, we’ll let you know if we see any changes.

10:58 by Robert dawne · 1

Google+ Local Unlocks the Power of Zagat

Google+ rolled out on Wednesday a new ‘Local’ tool that allows users to share and find information about nearby places — from museums and spas to restaurants and hotels. In addition to tapping a user’s network or “Circles,” the new service also incorporates information from Zagat, which Google bought last year.
The new “Local” tab, located on the right-hand side of Google+, encourages users to learn more about the places around them. For example, by searching for a restaurant or store through the tab, a Google+ page will appear with photos, as well as Zagat scores and summaries, reviews from people you know and other information such as addresses and hours of business.

Google is leveraging its acquisition of Zagat in September 2011 to bring more than 35,000 reviews and scores across 100 countries to the Google+ community. The latest “Local” effort is a year in the making, according to Google.
“This takes any place that your friends have touched and provides you with interesting and relevant search results,” Avni Shah, director of product management at Google, told Mashable. “You can also filter based on aspects that might be important, such as ‘People Like You’ and really give you the information you need from the people you trust.”


When logged in to Google+, this information will appear in Google searches and via Google Maps and mobile. The capability is only available for Android phones now, but Google said it will roll out to iOS devices soon.
Those not signed in to Google+ will still see Zagat reviews and recommendations pop up while doing a search, but only users who are signed in will gain a deeper look at where their friends like to dine or restaurants that might be a best match for your taste.
“Since your friends haven’t always been to the places you want to go, if you are going to London or Bangkok, Google+ Local will look at places you have rated highly before and make similar recommendations,” Shah said.
Want to make a reservation after oogling your friends’ favorite spots? You can do that too, thanks to Google+ Local’s integration with Open Table.
“We want to build a community based on a sense of trust, and we will continue to roll out new features and tools that reinforce that that concept,” Shan said.

10:33 by Robert dawne · 1

Tim Cook Honors Steve Jobs, and Faces the Future

If there’s such a thing as a master class for new CEOs, I think Tim Cook held it last night. In a warm, funny, smart and highly controlled interview with All Thing D‘s Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the 10th annual D Conference, the still-newish Apple CEO expertly handled dozens of questions on everything from Apple’s relationship with Facebook, which he says is good, to its steady migration into the TV business, to “pain in the ass” patent wars. It was a performance that would have made his friend and mentor, the late Steve Jobs, proud.
Throughout the interview (a transcript of our live coverage is here) Cook never lost his cool or good humor, and stayed on message.
While never offering any tangible product update information (though some believe he more or less buried the Ping social network), Cook did paint a clearer picture of who he really is as a CEO, the devotion he has to the company and to carrying forward Job’s vision without the need to “be” the legendary company founder. “Steve was a genius and visionary. I never viewed my role was to replace him. Steve was an original. I don’t think another one of those is being made… I never felt the weight of being Steve.”

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True Believer

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Cook, who has been with Apple for 14 years is a true believer and explained that he knew he wanted to join Jobs at the company within five minutes of meeting him at their first interview in 1998. He told me that he was attracted to Jobs’ apparent lack of interest in money and desire to move heavily into the consumer space, at a time when the rest of the industry was heading in the opposite direction. Cook was so entranced, he resigned his job at Compaq the next day and essentially never looked back.
Despite his obvious admiration for Jobs, Cook was well aware of the late CEO’s quirks. He recounted how Jobs could passionately argue one position and then, a day later, just as passionately support the opposite position. “Jobs would flip on something so fast, that you would forget that he was the person taking a 180 position.” Mossberg said they had video evidence of this characteristic and Cook retorted, “You’ve got proof. I saw it daily.” He also refuted the widely held belief that Steve Jobs was the product sole curator. Cook said that now with Jobs gone the “curator role moves around as it always had.” If Steve Jobs were there, continued Cook, “he’d say, ‘no one person does it all.’ ”
Cook has, it’s clear, fully embraced the role of CEO. He called the Job “his oxygen” and relished the new responsibilities and the unique customer engagement Apple enjoys. He described Apple customers as “a different breed” and spoke of the privilege of getting thousands of e-mails a day from customers.

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Patents, Their Way

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Cook, though, didn’t just effortlessly handle the softball questions. He managed some interesting Jobsian logic on the difficult question of patents. Yes, he acknowledged that Apple is engaged in patent disputes, but Apple never, he said, goes after “standards essential” patents. In other words, a patent that, say, might define how you connect to a 3G network. Owners of those kinds of patents “have a responsibility,” said Cook, to “license them on a fair and reasonable” basis.
When Apple goes after others for patent disputes, though, it’s invariably for something Apple has built. Complained Cook, The whole thing is “a pain in the ass. Is it a problem for innovation? From our point of view, it’s important that Apple is not the developer for the world. We can’t take all the care and finish all the painting and have someone else put their name on it.”
Still, when Kara Swisher tried to draw Cook into some negative commentary on Google, Cook demurred, saying he did not want to talk about other companies. Though the exchange left us with little solid information about the state of Apple’s patent battles, we were still oddly satisfied. Cook may not be Jobs, but he clearly possesses some of his persuasive gifts.
Repeatedly, Cook buffeted back questions on future product developments and business activities, though he did promise great things from Siri, continued engagement in the Apple TV space and possible blockbuster acquisitions. He said all this without offering any real news, telling the audience only, “We’re going to introduce some great stuff.”

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Rise of the Tablet

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Cook spent a lot of time talking about the rise of the tablet market, which he still thinks is in the “early innings,” and, like Jobs, was able to slip in the occasional veiled dig at the competition. “We didn’t invent tablet market. It was there. We invented the modern tablet market,” he told Mossberg.
Perhaps the most interesting exchange came when Cook explained that Apple would “double-down on product secrecy.” Apple is famous for how it manages its limited product lineup roll-out, with levels of secrecy that, reportedly, extend inside the company so only those groups working directly on a future product know exactly what it is. Again Cook offered no specific example but did add that the company would now balance that secrecy by “being the most transparent” in other areas, more specifically, how it manages its supply chain.
Cook said Apple is working hard to improve conditions at the Foxconn manufacturing plant where many of its most popular products are assembled. Still the change is not coming easy. As Apple tries to reduce the long hours some Foxconn employees work, Cook said it’s finding resistance from employees who want to work a lot of hours, quickly earn overtime hours and bring the money back to their more impoverished hometowns in China.
When Jobs died last October, it was, Cook recalled, “absolutely one of the saddest days of my life.” Cook mourned, but then “last year someone kind of shook me and said, ‘It’s time to get on.’ ”
Getting on means Cook “will change things” at Apple. But one thing he won’t change is its culture of excellence: “Not accepting good or very good. That’s embedded in Apple.” He made it clear that, going forward, this would be his Apple: “I love museums, but I don’t want to live in one. Steve taught us to not focus on the past. Be future focused.”

10:22 by Robert dawne · 0

New Site’s Algorithm Promises Bra Shoppers a Perfect Fit

It’s cold, you’re in a room with unflattering fluorescent lights and a full-length mirror, and a stranger wants to wrap your bust in measuring tape. That’s what buying a bra is usually like.
A startup called True & Co has a different experience in mind.
Its founders spent two months visiting San Francisco bra sellers, enduring near-daily bra fittings, in order to distill the process of fitting a bra down to an online survey. Their website, which launched on Wednesday, asks women to answer questions such as “What is the style of your best-fitting bra?” and “Does your bra hurt?” instead of taking out a measuring tape.
The site then recommends a handful of styles from its collection of more than 200 bras and asks users to pick three. It picks two more for them based on an algorithm and, after asking for a $45 refundable deposit, ships them the box of five brassieres. Women keep what they want and send back what they don’t. Shipping is free, and True & Co adjusts future recommendations based on what worked and what didn’t.
Online bra shopping is not an easy code to crack, and — aside from one other startup that fits bras based on women’s favorites — its’ not a niche that many entrepreneurs have attempted to fill.
“The bra is a complex garment that has 20 different components,” says True & Co co-founder Michelle Lam. “They are fit on models…if you are a woman that doesn’t look like that fit model, the bra won’t fit.”
A woman’s size can, for instance, vary between two styles from the same brand because they were fit on different models. True & Co’s algorithm will translate the difference.
Lam says that during the startup’s private beta, 500 women who took the survey on average said that three of the five bras fit them (if you have ever bought a bra, you will recognize this as a small miracle).
“The footwear market is almost double the size [of the intimate apparel market], and women enjoy shopping for shoes,” Lam says. “What potential could this be if women actually enjoyed the experience?”

10:17 by Robert dawne · 1

How Stan Lee Became a Social Media Superhero "EXCLUSIVE"

by Sam Laird

 Excelsior! At 89 years-old, comic book legend Stan Lee shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the creative force behind iconic Marvel characters, including Spiderman, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, is more digitally connected than many whippersnappers half his age.
Lee will launch his own comic convention — Stan Lee’s Comikaze, Presented by POW! Entertainment — in September. The event is partnering with the location-based social engagement app Buzzmob to provide exclusive content to fans at the show, as well as connect those unable to attend.
Mashable recently sat down via Skype video chat with the Generalissimo himself, as well as with Comikaze CEO Regina Carpinelli. We talked comics, tech and social media — areas in which Lee also excels.
On Twitter, he’s amassed about 280,000 followers and tweets regularly from his home and office computers. (“I wear out a keyboard a week,” says @therealstanlee. “That’s how hard I hit them!”) He also just launched a new YouTube channel, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes.
Buzzmob, meanwhile, will give Comikaze a sophisticated level of social and mobile interaction. The app functions as a mini-social network for fans in attendance, letting them see who else is nearby and what else is going on at the convention, while simultaneously allowing Lee and other organizers to send out timely contests and notifications. But that’s not all — comic book fans who can’t make it to Los Angeles for the show can check in for a digital experience.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in Cambodia or Temecula,” says Carpinelli. “We want everyone to be a part of the show.”
Read on to see why Lee and Carpinelli partnered up for Comikaze, how Lee practically invented social media (you’ll be surprised), and his thoughts on how technology has changed the world of comic books. Also, stay tuned for one more upcoming treat — the entire Skype conversation in video form.

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Q&A With Stan Lee

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So what’s your first convention going to be like?
Lee: It’s going to be fan-tastic! I’ve always wanted to have my expo, my own comic con. But that’s not my business — I don’t know how to run them. Then I met Regina! She said, ‘Stan, how would you like to be a part of Comikaze?’ I had been to the first Comikaze, and it was wonderful! So I said, ‘By all means.’ Not only am I part of it, she put my name in front! It’s now Stan Lee’s Comikaze.
I’m real excited about this — it’s going to be a fan convention. The fans are everything, they’re going to be thrilled, they’re going to see new things they haven’t seen before. It’s going to just be the most fun convention there has ever been.
Carpinelli: And tickets are only $15! It’s jam-packed with amazing guests. Stan invited Todd McFarlane, and Elvira’s coming and doing all kinds of interactive content…
Lee: The Mistress of the Dark!
Carpinelli: We’re all about our fans and doing something awesome for our community. Eventually we’re going to take over the world.
Lee: Why haven’t we already?
What’s Buzzmob’s social integration going to bring to the table? How’s that going to help Comikaze?
Lee: We’re going to accommodate all the people who can’t make it, and we’re going to be in touch with them on the web! We’re going to have all sorts of things on the web for people to participate. I’m going to let Regina talk about it because, for one thing, she’s prettier than than I am, and my throat is getting hoarse.

“Keeping up with technology is really important. Anyone can have a regular convention. We want to change how conventions are made.”

Carpinelli: If you’re at the show as an attendee and you log in, you get exclusive content: downloads, contests with magical gifts and prizes. If you’re in a panel room, but there’s something else going on, you could still be following that on your phone. But the greatest thing is, if you can’t be at the show because you live far away, you can still log in and get special stuff and see videos and photos. It’s just like being at the show — but on your phone.
There are also two websites you want to go on. One is ComikazeExpo.com. Then Stan has an amazing site called TheRealStanLee.com. Stan is such a tastemaker, and he’s always at the front of technology.
Lee: No, no — she didn’t say I’m wearing a pacemaker. I am a pacemaker!
Carpinelli: A tastemaker!
Lee: Oh — a tastemaker. Okay. Well, I’m a pacemaker, also.
That seems like a pretty cutting edge approach for a comic convention. Why did you guys feel like it was so important to introduce that mobile, social element?
Carpinelli: Keeping up with technology is really important. Anyone can have a regular convention. We want to change how conventions are made.
Lee: We want to change how the world goes on! See, we can’t bear the thought of one human being missing out on all this wonderment. That’s why, through Buzzmob, if we can contact everyone in the world through the web and let them be part of all these great things we’re doing, its almost as if we’re performing a great public service, you see.
I think we shouldn’t have to pay taxes, because what we do is for the good of all mankind. I’d say more, but I’m getting all choked up emotionally.
Carpinelli: I keep trying to get Stan to run for president.
Lee: How about King of the World? President seems so local.
Was it easy or hard for you to get into Twitter, and why do you keep up with it so diligently? Not every 89-year-old man is doing that.
Lee: I always try to be out there somehow. One of my big fears is that somebody anywhere in the world might forget me, and I must never let that happen.
Twitter was easy to get into. When I was doing the comics, I had a column called “Stan’s Soapbox” that ran every issue of every book, and I would just talk about anything I felt like — of course, I made it incredibly entertaining and knowledgable for the readers. But Twitter is the same thing.
Twitter’s only the beginning of your social media expertise, though. What’s up with your new YouTube channel, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes?
Carpinelli: What is going on is they have all these fantastic, fabulous shows. There’s Stan’s Rants, where Stan complains about things — and it’s amazing. There’s Cocktails With Stan, where he sits with Jenna Busch, and they have drinks and interview these amazing people.
Lee: But we never drink too much! For our younger viewers out there, one sip and that’s all we have.
Carpinelli: There’s also an awesome show called Adrianne Curry’s Super Fans. She’s this beautiful model, reality show host — and huge, giant nerd. You can send in your videos and tell Adrianne how nerdy you are and why you are the biggest super fan, then she shows up at your house and looks at all your nerd stuff.
Lee: Somehow I feel like the conversation is never as interesting when it’s not about me.
Carpinelli: Elvira also launched an interactive web series with us, called Elvira’s Horror Hunt. Amateur filmmakers can send in their horror films. The winner gets flown out to L.A. and gets a screening of their movie with a red carpet premier at the Vista Theatre. The next day, they’ll be a guest at Stan Lee’s Comikaze.
Lee: I hope everyone is taking copious notes. There may be an exam!
Here’s a question from our reader, wdeg: “You’ve had an incredible career and could easily be kicking back on an island somewhere enjoying the fruits of your labor. So, why aren’t you retired? What keeps you getting up motivated every morning?”

“Most guys say, ‘I can’t wait to retire so I can do what I really want to do’ — play golf and so forth. But I’m already doing what I really want to do!”

Lee: I wouldn’t dare retire, because when I think of all the enjoyment that I bring to people out there, I know I couldn’t deprive them. It wouldn’t be fair for me to not let them enjoy me as much as humanly possible.
Carpinelli: Stan’s a giver.
Lee: That’s right. And I love the fans and want them to know I’m always there for them. See, most guys say, ‘I can’t wait to retire so I can do what I really want to do’ — play golf and so forth. But I’m already doing what I really want to do! Please don’t make me have to spend time on the golf course. That would be like a prison sentence!
This one’s from another Mashable reader and fan of yours, Manny Redruello: “If Twitter and social media had been around during the early stages of your career, how do you think you would have used it then?”
Lee: Well, I didn’t have Twitter, but I had my column and we had letters pages in the comic books, where readers would write letters. You know the reason I wear glasses now? Because I strained my eyes! I read every damn letter and answered as many as I could. I was writing to them and they were writing to me, and it felt like I had a million friends all over. So that was my Twitter in those days.
And I never thought of them as fans — they were friends. Everyone who writes to us and tweets to us now — these are friends of ours, and you’ve got to be good to your friends. You can’t be on the golf course when your friends need you.
Carpinelli: It’s amazing to see how gracious he is to his fans, and how they respond. I’ve seen people cry when they meet him. It’s fantastic.
Lee: You notice when people say nice things like that, I never interrupt? I let her talk and talk. About people crying to meet me, though — I hope that isn’t taken the wrong way.
Carpinelli: They’re tears of joy!

“Everything changes. Everything advances. To me, most of the changes are improvements. We can’t live in a way where we say, ‘I like the old stuff better!’”

A number of readers had questions along these lines: How have you seen technology change comic books over the past couple decades, and do you think it’s been good for the industry?
Lee: When it comes to stories, no change at all. We could write a good story today that was like an old story — there’s no difference. But some of the comic books have a whole new look now — they look like beautifully illustrated tablets. They look like paintings, rather than just regular comic book drawings, and it’s the addition of the computer coloring and computer lettering.
There are some purists who feel that we ought to go back to the old comics, that they were more like real comics. But everything changes. Everything advances. To me, most of the changes are improvements. We can’t live in a way where we say, ‘I like the old stuff better!’
It’s impossible to go back to yesterday — you have to keep moving along with today and tomorrow. To me, what makes the arts so much fun is that they keep changing with the times….Hey, that was a great speech!
Thumbnail image courtesy Gage Skidmore, Flickr.

10:10 by Robert dawne · 1

Pepsi to Provide Free Music Downloads on "Twitter"

Pepsi will begin curating new music for fans on Twitter through a year-long partnership with the messaging platform, both companies announced Wednesday.
The “Live for Now Music” initiative is an extension of Pepsi’s recently launched “Live for Now” global campaign, will offer free music downloads, music videos and a series of pop-up concerts this summer and fall. Every Wednesday for the next 52 weeks, Pepsi will offer videos providing an overview of the artists, music and music news trending on Twitter that week.
In addition, @pepsi will offer free downloads from the Amazon MP3 store for fans who follow the brand on Twitter and use the hashtag #PepsiMusicNOW in their tweets. The brand will also use Twitter to announce pop-up concerts, which it will offer on-demand afterward for fans who want to watch it later.
The deal comes about two weeks after Twitter announced another long-term deal with ESPN to create custom ad programs around major sporting events. Twitter, which makes most of its money from advertising, is poised to post ad revenues of $259.9 million this year, according to eMarketer.

For Pepsi, the deal is a social media twist on a promotion it has run before: In 2004, the brand rolled out an ad scored by Green Day’s rendition of “I Fought the Law” that announced 100 million free downloads via iTunes.

09:59 by Robert dawne · 1

Facebook’s New App Center: Everything You Need to Know

Facebook’s upcoming App Center may look a lot like the Apple App Store and Google Play, but it’s not exactly their competitor.
Instead of selling apps that integrate with Facebook, the new App Center will refer users to other app stores where they can buy them.
Confused? You’re not the only one. After Facebook announced the new feature on Wednesday, “I don’t get it” was a common response.
We’ve answered below some of the most common questions about how the App Center will work, what apps it will contain and why Facebook built it. Let us know if you have another question we missed.

So Facebook is going to have an app store now?
Yes, but not in the same sense that Google and Apple have app stores. What Facebook has announced is more of an app showcase. In addition to apps built on Facebook, it includes apps that use Facebook Login, regardless of whether they’re iOS, Android or web apps.
Does that mean I can buy iOS and Android apps on Facebook?
No. Though you will find iOS and Android apps in the App Center, you will be directed to Apple’s App Store or Google Play to actually download the apps.
Facebook announced on Wednesday that it will allow developers to charge for “apps built on Facebook” for the first time, but is not clear whether users will purchase apps directly from the App Center.
What are “apps built on Facebook,” and how are they different than iOS and Android apps that integrate with Facebook?
Apps built on Facebook are web apps viewed and used within the Facebook site. They get a special page within Facebook where they load. On the other hand, apps with Facebook integrations such as Draw Something and Pinterest are built on external platforms, but they interface with Facebook for login and other social features.
Couldn’t I spend money on apps built on Facebook before?
Yes. Previously, Facebook has allowed in-app purchases within these apps, but it has not allowed developers to charge for apps themselves.
Social game maker Zynga, for example, has previously been able to charge for items like blueberries or game advantages within Farmville. Now it will have the option to charge for Farmville itself.
How will I access Facebook’s App Center?
Facebook’s App Center will launch on the web as well as within the iOS and Android Facebook apps.
What will the App Center Look Like?
It will look a lot like Google Play or the Apple App Store. Each app will have a detail page, which includes a five-star user-rating system. A screenshot of the prototype that Facebook engineer Aaron Brady included in a blog post about the center includes sections for recommended apps, friends’ apps, top apps, trending apps and top-grossing apps.
“We use a variety of signals, such as user ratings and engagement, to determine if an app is listed in the App Center,” Brady wrote.
Hasn’t Facebook launched something like this before?
Sort of. When Facebook first launched Facebook apps in 2007, there was a dedicated applications area where users could browse apps from third-party developers. Users currently locate Facebook apps through the same search bar they use to find people, groups and events.
Why would Facebook launch something like this?
As Brady put it in his blog post, “The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook — whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web.”
Facebook wants developers to build mobile apps that integrate it. Reaching Facebook’s 900 million users through the App Center is another incentive for them to do so.
The showcase also encourages makes it easier to discover apps built on Facebook, many of which integrate Facebook’s payment system Credits. All games built on Facebook are required to use Facebook Credits to accept payments (except when they’re running on iOS), and Facebook takes a takes a 30% cut of all purchases made with Facebook Credits. That’s why as of February Zynga accounted for 12% of the social network’s revenue.
Facebook will also presumably take a 30% cut of the purchase price for upcoming paid apps built on Facebook.

12:12 by Robert dawne · 1

Why Microsoft Is Being Left in the Dust

Alex Goldfayn’s new book is called Evangelist Marketing: What Apple Amazon and Netflix Understand About Their Customers (That Your Company Probably Doesn’t). He is CEO of the Evangelist Marketing Institute, a marketing consultancy with clients that include T-Mobile, TiVo, and Logitech. Follow him @alexgoldfayn.
There are now a number of companies — Apple, Google, Amazon, and others — that have Microsoft in their rear-view mirrors, disappearing quickly on the horizon in a cloud of dust.
That kick of dust in the company’s face is being emitted by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Amazon’s Kindle, and Google’s search and cloud domination. Microsoft’s own wild lunges into various technology segments are also contributing considerably to it being left behind. Take the company’s recent partnership with Barnes & Noble, where it took 18% of the Nook e-reader for $605 million in cash and future guarantees. This was a move to compete with Amazon, but can it really compete?
If you want to know why Microsoft’s share price has been flat for 11 years while Apple, Amazon, and Google shares have soared, this is why. Microsoft is not innovating aggressively. It is not leading categories or blazing trails. No, it’s acquiring aggressively as a shortcut to innovation. That isn’t working. Its own history suggests as much.

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Microsoft Has Not Capitalized on its Partnerships and Acquisitions

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Last year, Microsoft announced a broad strategic partnership with Nokia, presumably to use Windows operating systems and software on Nokia’s smartphones. This was 15 months ago. But last week, a report found that Apple and Samsung generated 99 percent of the profits in the mobile phone category. Nokia, which once enjoyed more than half of all mobile phone profits, made zero.
In 2009, Microsoft acquired a 10-year license to use Yahoo’s core search technology, which later became the Bing search engine. Today, Google’s search market share is a dominant 66%, with Microsoft’s Bing a very distant second at 15%. After spending billions building and marketing Bing, Microsoft is barely visible in Google’s rear-view mirror.
Finally, what of Microsoft’s Skype acquisition a year ago? It’s too early to tell, but here’s a fact worth noting: The Wall Street Journal reports that 85% of Microsoft’s revenue comes from Windows and Office software. The rest of it? Barely a blip.
And so, Microsoft is proving, like many have before it, that acquiring companies outside your core competencies are recipes for failure. Remember when Cisco purchased the Flip video camera, at the time one of the most popular consumer electronics products on the planet? How did that work out? In 2010, HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion, but we haven’t seen any industry-altering smartphones from HP.
Conversely, consider Apple’s acquisition of Siri: a technology that immediately and profoundly complimented and enhanced its iPhone. It fit obviously and very successfully.

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Microsoft Does Not Need to Compete with Amazon

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Another major problem with Microsoft’s partnership involving the Nook is that there is simply no need for it to compete with Amazon. This is like Best Buy focusing all of its efforts on its ecommerce site while neglecting its one major competitive advantage: its brick-and-mortar stores. This is also like Research in Motion spending a year building its atrociously received tablet, the PlayBook, while neglecting its core competency of Blackberry smartphones.
Microsoft dominates the competition in computer operating systems and software. Computers are dying, right? And yet, in May 2012, there is no Microsoft Office for tablets and smartphones. Millions of iPads and Android tablets are being adopted in corporate environments, and most of those customers would be happy to spend $70 on Microsoft Office for each device. Except, it does not exist.
I can only guess why: because with its many categories, acquisitions and partnerships, Microsoft is physically incapable of putting its full focus behind converting its desktop products to mobile devices.

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Microsoft is Going Wide, Not Deep

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Which brings me to the third and final big problem with Microsoft’s Nook play. It is keeping with the strategy of going as wide as possible. Microsoft is not, and cannot be, all things to all people. In fact, no company can.
Here’s the truth: The wider you go, the more priorities you focus on, the less chance you have to be successful. But when you go deep, you can dominate. (See Apple, and Amazon.) When you go deep, you can continue perfecting. You become the world’s expert on a certain specialty. Apple is seen as the world’s expert on smartphones and tablets. Amazon is the accepted leader in online shopping and electronic reading. It’s because these two companies relentlessly focus on their strengths, saying no to nearly everything else. No. That’s a word Microsoft should consider trying out before it gets left in the dust permanently.

12:05 by Robert dawne · 1

Facebook Inches Into Craigslist Territory With ‘Highlighted Posts’

Facebook is testing a product called “Highlighted Posts” that potentially puts the company into the online classified ads arena dominated by Craigslist by letting users amplify their status updates.
The feature — discovered by Stuff, a New Zealand blog (which is unaffiliated with the U.K. publication of the same name) — is being tested with a “small percentage of users” right now, a Facebook rep says. The fee for using Highlighted Posts, meanwhile, runs from zero to “a couple of bucks.”

When asked who would use the product, the rep gave the example of a small band plugging an upcoming gig or someone selling their car. The latter appears to be new ground for Facebook since the company hasn’t previously offered users the ability to amplify their status updates. If the program is successful, it could let Facebook enter the online classified market, a segment that the IAB pegged at $2.6 billion in 2011.
It’s unclear how the program — which is similar to new ad products aimed at corporate users — would work and if it would function along the lines of Reach Generator, a Facebook ad product that ensures that a high percentage of people in your network see your post.
The rep stressed that Highlighted Posts is one of many products the company is testing right now.
The introduction comes a week before Facebook’s expected IPO. Facebook filed an amended S-1 form on Wednesday highlighting the fact that its advertising growth hasn’t kept pace with its exploding user base.

11:59 by Robert dawne · 0

Today’s Top Stories: Mark Zuckerberg’s Hoodie, Sony’s Powerful LTE Smartphones

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. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Hoodie a “Mark of Immaturity”
Mark Zuckerberg went to a meeting in New York on Monday with potential investors wearing a hoodie, and analyst Michael Pachter thinks it’s a mark of immaturity. “I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money,” Pachter said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
Sony Unveils Two LTE Smartphones for the Japanese Market
Sony has unveiled two powerful LTE smartphones to be launched in Japan this summer: The Xperia GX and the Xperia SX. The first smartphone sports a dual core, 1.5GHz CPU, a 13-megapixel camera and a 4.6-inch screen, which makes it one of the most powerful devices in Sony’s lineup.
The Xperia SX is much smaller, with an 8-megapixel camera and a 3.7-inch screen. The device weighs only 95 grams, and Sony claims it’s the lightest LTE device in the world right now. Both devices will launch with Android 4.0.
Twitter Debunks Hacking Claims
Reacting to the claims that 55,000 Twitter accounts have been hacked with users’ credentials posted online, Twitter said those claims are largely false. Those accounts are mostly duplicates, Twitter claims, or contain the username and password information for suspended spam accounts.

11:10 by Robert dawne · 0

HTC EVO 4G LTE Comes to Sprint May 18 for $199

HTC’s EVO 4G LTE smartphone will be available from Sprint starting May 18 for $199 with a two-year contract, Sprint has announced.
The device sports a 4.7-inch HD 720p Super LCD display, a 1.5 GHz dual core CPU, an 8-megapixel camera on the rear plus a 1.3-megapixel one on the front and Android 4.0.
Other features of note are Beats Audio support, a 2000mAh battery and a kickstand for longer video viewing sessions.
Although one of the device’s selling points is support for fast data transfer via LTE, users will have to wait a while to start enjoying it. Sprint plans to launch its LTE network mid-2012, with Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio being the first cities to get it.
The HTC EVO 4G LTE can be pre-ordered from Sprint over at www.sprint.com/evo4glte.

11:06 by Robert dawne · 0

Facebook Launches Crisis Tools for Military Service Members

A new Facebook program provides military personnel, veterans and their families with customized resources when their content is flagged as harmful or suicidal.
It is an extension of a suicide prevention effort Facebook launched in December, which lets friends alert the social network when other users express suicidal thoughts by clicking a link next to the comment. Facebook sends an email with suicide prevention resources to the author of the comment.
“While this is helpful for a military family, there are several specific resources provided to our nation’s military that we wanted to make sure they were aware of at their time of need,” military support organization Blue Star Families, which along with the Department of Veterans Affairs partnered with Facebook for the effort, wrote in a statement.
Facebook engineers developed a way to help identify military members and their families, and it will now send them military specific resources such as The Veterans Crisis Line when their content is flagged.

In a survey of 2,891 military family members by Blue Star Families, about 10% said they had considered suicide and 9% said they knew a service member who had contemplated suicide.
When they were asked what military leaders should do concerning the issue, the most common response (23%) cited the need to eradicate the stigma that still surrounds seeking mental health support or counseling.
“Indeed, many comments mentioned leaders telling military members to ‘suck it up,’ or ‘soldier up,’” write the authors of the study.
With 86% of military families on Facebook saying they use the service daily, it makes sense for the network to serve as a private referrer to military-focused suicide prevention resources.

11:00 by Robert dawne · 0

Coda Electric Sedan Zooms Into California

Name: Coda

The World at Work is powered by GE. This new series highlights the people, projects and startups that are driving innovation and making the world a better place.
Big Idea: The new, all-electric car company is offering potential owners (in California only) to design and reserve their own electric vehicle for only $99.
Why It’s Working: Focused on reducing vehicle emissions while also providing a wallet-friendly and eco-friendly option for consumers, Coda aims to make a major splash in the consumer electric vehicle industry — and the automotive industry at large.

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Ladies and gentlemen, charge your engines. Consumer car industry newcomer Coda Automotive is making electric car ownership much more affordable.
Priced at $37,000 (not including federal incentives), the four-seat Coda sedan contains a lithium-ion battery and an active thermal management system that ensures the battery’s temperatures are regulated inside the vehicle for maximum use. Alloy wheels and an eco-friendly interior come standard in the vehicle, but you can also upgrade to leather seating and a premium audio system. You can also chose the color of your Coda, which comes in white, black, gray, silver, dark blue or red.
According to the company, the Coda sedan can travel 125 miles on one full charge of its 31kWh battery pack. The EPA has a more conservative (but still impressive) estimate of 88 miles on one full charge. Anecdotal evidence has also shown that the car can travel even further on a single charge, depending on how fast the driver is going and the nature of the roadway. However, there’s an extra cost of installing a proper charging station, which is not included in the vehicle price.
“What sets Coda apart is that we’re a 100% all-electric company dedicated to developing cost-effective and efficient EVs and energy storage systems,” says Thomas Hausch, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Coda. “Since day one, we’ve focused on developing a safe, affordable battery system to support the deployment of EVs and renewable energy globally.”
Coda is based in Los Angeles, with an assembly plant in Benicia, Calif. As for the nuts and bolts, the body of the Coda sedan is purchased from Great Wall Motors, the fastest growing car manufacturer in China. But the auto company leaves the battery to its team of engineers, who develop and design the battery to fit performance goals. The battery is assembled by Lishen Coda Energy Systems — a joint-venture between CODA and China-based lithium-ion cell manufacturer Lishen.
Coda Automotive began as Miles Electric Vehicles, founded by Miles Rubin in 2007. Rubin’s initial idea was to create a clean-technology vehicle and lower our dependence on fossil fuels while cleaning up the environment. The company made small electric vehicles universities and other institutions before branching off to become Coda. The idea, says a company spokesperson, was to develop an EV around an already existing body and modify the car to match the market’s needs.
The auto company is working with existing dealerships to sell the sedan. If you want to drive it off a lot, there are a handful of showrooms in California, but eventually there will be a major roll-out to other states. There are also five “experience centers” in California where you can test drive the car and learn about EVs — but you can’t buy one there. For now, the best bet is to place an order for a customized vehicle on the manufacturer’s website at a paltry cost of $99.
There is also a new Coda model on the horizon, with a slightly beefier battery pack. Think of it like a V4 versus a V6 engine — the larger battery, when fully charged, should last up to 150 miles. This Coda starts at around $39,900 and will be available to consumers in the coming months.
A spokesperson for Coda won’t say how many vehicles have been sold so far, but said the company would be releasing that information in the future.

10:30 by Robert dawne · 0

New York Court: Viewing Online Child Porn Is Legal

Viewing pornographic images or video of underage children on the Internet is legal, according to a New York State appeals court in one part of a decision about the fate of a college professor whose Internet browser had more than 100 such images stored in its cache.
The court’s decision found that looking at child pornography on the Internet without downloading it to a hard drive isn’t the same as “possessing” it, which New York State law prohibits.
“Merely viewing web images of child pornography does not, absent other proof, constitute either possession or procurement within the meaning of our Penal Law,” Senior Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick wrote in his majority opinion. “Rather, some affirmative act is required (printing, saving, downloading, etc.) to show that defendant in fact exercised dominion and control over the images that were on his screen.”
The prosecution in the case, wrote Ciparick, failed to prove that Kent was aware of the existence of a web cache, making it impossible for him to have knowingly downloaded — and therefore possessed — the child pornography to his browser’s cache.
Professor James D. Kent, an assistant professor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was given a one-to-three year sentence for possession of child pornography in 2009.
Kent took his computer to a student IT specialist for a virus scan after complaining that it was running slowly. The scan detected the pornographic material in Kent’s web browser. He maintains that somebody else used his computer to view the material.
The court dismissed one of two counts of promoting a sexual performance of a child and two of the 143 counts of possessing child pornography with which Kent was originally charged. It upheld the other counts, which were tied to a folder on Kent’s machine filled with thousands of images of child pornography.
Nathan Z. Dershowitz, Kent’s lawyer, told msnbc.com that the real problem in the case is “legislation is not keeping up with technology,” as the court system serves only as an umpire applying the rules as passed by lawmakers.
All judges in the case expressed intense disapproval of child pornography.

New York Child Porn Ruling

10:16 by Robert dawne · 0