Ajax Girl

Quarterlife, a made for MySpace TV show that “follows the lives of six twenty-somethings and charts the sometimes excruciating, sometimes comic, often emotional experiences that comprise coming of age as a part of the digital generation” has been picked up by NBC.

The deal is the first time a made for internet program has been picked up by a television network in the United States.

Quarterlife is produced by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, creators of the TV shows My So-Called Life and Thirtysomething.

NBC will air the show from its first episode and will tap into pre-recorded (but yet unaired) episodes, with new episodes put on hold by the writers strike. There is even some suggestion that the purchase by NBC is due to the writers strike; stuck with a diminishing supply of fresh content the theory suggests that television networks will look online and to independent productions to fill the airwaves. If true it’s a new additional benefit from the writers strike for online content creators, who’s smiles continue to widen as the strike goes on.

Trailer for the show below; the lead character Dylan is a video blogger and much of the footage is from that perspective. With mainstream exposure of video blogging on NBC video startups such as Kyte.tv, Ustream, Justin.tv and others along with a YouTube might also end up getting a boost as well.

Quarterlife Trailer

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(via Reuters)

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/186133579/

If participating in PayPerPost wasn’t questionable enough morally before, today it’s now a poisoned chalice as Google has commenced punishing PayPerPost bloggers by completely removing their page rank.

IZEA (the new holding company for PayPerPost) CEO Ted Murphy is not surprisingly calling foul on the move, claiming that it’s part of some sort of censorship conspiracy by Google. Better still Murphy claims that it’s part of Google’s attempts to deny competition because PayPerPost is a “a very attractive alternative” to Adsense.

Murphy goes on to claim that TechCrunch should be punished because our occasional posts thanking sponsors (like this one) is nothing different to what PayPerPost bloggers do.

WTF?

TechCrunch, like many blogs occasionally puts up a post (usually monthly) highlighting our great sponsors, but lets look at one of these posts. They nearly always include the words “TechCrunch Sponsors” in the post title, and are very clear that its TechCrunch thanking our sponsors (”Thanks TechCrunch Sponsors”). There is zero editorial on the benefits for or against the sponsors such as PayPerPost, and it’s clear what the post is about, unlike your typical PayPerPost blog post. We also don’t take money for writing editorial content; TechCrunch publishes posts for and against without favor, where as your typical PayPerPost blog distorts the line between truth and paid advertorial.

Unlike Michael I’ve never been as strong in my dislike of PayPerPost, and although I’ve never used the service myself (I did sign up for an account when they opened so I could review the service) I’m all for exploring different ways for the little guy to make money, even if personally the ethics and morality of PayPerPost has never sat well with me. Yet if PayPerPost ever wanted friends, wild conspiracy centered posts such as this one just say “mad” to me. This looks and smells like a company that is not in a good way, a company that is lashing out as its business model starts to fail around it. I’m predicting Deadpool within 12 months; I can’t see a lot of bloggers being happy with losing Pagerank so we should see an exodus of bloggers out of PayPerPost (particularly ones with traffic) over the next few months. This will leave PayPerPost with inventory deficiencies that will result in diminished revenues making the PayPerPost business model unsustainable going forward.

PayPerPost

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Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/186125090/

Change.org uses social networking to help social causes. The site already has it’s own network for linking volunteers to causes and voters to politicians. Now they’ve also launched a new Ning-like DIY white-label social network for non-profits. For the launch, they’ve already partnered with 50 non-profits, like CARE, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International. Any other non-profit can launch their own network as well, as long as you have a government approved tax ID number. You can sign up for one here.

Like Ning, non-profit pages are part of their overall network and can be redesigned with a variety of modules. Any member of Change.org can become a member of these networks. They have modules for all an organization’s main needs: events, fund raising, forums, blogs, members, and posting photos/video. I really like how Change.org is evolving overall. The site is about connecting people passionate about a particular cause and not engaging in a shouting match or symbolic gestures of online support.

Other useful services for non-profit work include Wild Apricot, Idealist.org, Tree Nation, and Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees.

Ning

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Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/186047204/

Well, that was fun while it lasted - for consumers at least. Yak4Ever has sunk back into the TechCrunch Deadpool after reemerging from it in May. This time it looks as though it’s there to stay.

We first reported on Yak4Ever when it was called AllFreeCalls back in January. The company exploited a loophole in Iowa telephony law that let them provide free international calls to users. The FCC was basically forcing large telecoms to pay the fees of rural phone companies. AllFreeCalls was able to partner with one of these rural companies to route out-of-state calls through them, thereby enabling out-of-state users to take advantage of the in-state kickbacks. For awhile there, users only had to dial AllFreeCalls, punch in the international number they wanted to reach, and voilà, instant savings.

In February, AllFreeCalls was shut down after its rural operator felt too much pressure from a “large USA-based carrier,” which wasn’t all-too-happy about paying $2,000,000 for mostly non-Iowans to save some money. But in May, AllFreeCalls was resurrected as Yak4Ever with a new operator. It provided pretty much the same service, except that now you needed to register with the site and put down the international numbers you wanted to call ahead of time.

Now it looks as though the party is over because the big telecoms have simply stopped paying for it. In a blog post today, founder Pat Phelan says that while “we have been underwriting the costs and expenses of project for the past several months…we cant continue to make these losses on and with no sign of the FCC forcing the carriers the pay us we have to take the decision to shut the service down.” Looks like the buck has finally stopped with Yak4Ever.

Don’t worry about Phelan, though; his new company Cubic Telecom, which also aims to provide free calls but in this case by selling special SIM cards, is doing quite well. The company’s first product, MAXroam, has hit its 12 month sales target only two months after launching at the TechCrunch40 conference.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/186044574/

Mzinga isn’t the only new product launching tonight at the Boston TechCrunch Party. Massachusetts based OurStage is debuting a new iPhone site where anyone can listen to top ranked Indie songs as well.

Ourstage, which launched in March 2007, is a site that lets users rank and buy Indie songs. Artists upload the songs, which users then judge - two song snippets are heard and the user votes for which one he or she likes the best. The result is are constantly updated top lists of songs. The top songs overall or by category are then listed on the site, and two $5,000 prizes are given to the top artists each month.

Users can also purchase any song in unrestricted MP3 format for $.99. Currently the artists receive 100% of proceeds, but starting in 2008 OurStage will begin to take a 30% cut.

Now iPhone users can visit the site and stream any of the top songs - just visit ourstage.com from your iPhone to access the custom user interface, which uses Quicktime to stream the music.

OurStage is taking a different approach to ranking Indie music from other startups we’ve covered. Amie Street, by comparison, simply sets the price of every news song at zero and then begins raising the price as the number of downloads increases. Amie Street was recently funded by Amazon. Also see our coverage of Strayform and SellaBand.

OurStage

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AmieStreet

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Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/186003449/

Professional social network PartnerUp has surveyed 862 real estate, mortgage, and financial workers about their intent to start their own businesses following this summer’s subprime mortgage financial crisis.

The results are thought-provoking: 56.2% of the respondents claimed that they were “seriously considering starting a business within the next 6 months” and 13.4% claimed that they “are [already] in the process of starting a business.” Out of this whopping 70% of workers who have or intend to become entrepreneurs, 42.1% gravitate towards starting something tech-related (”Internet/Web/IT/Technology”). Assuming this survey is representative, almost 30% of this demographic can be expected to try their hand at the Silicon Valley Dream over the next year.

This news can be taken very positively. The credit crunch has made many of these professionals down on their luck, and entrepreneurship could be a saving grace that will not only provide them with new opportunities but create more jobs for others as well. Before you know it, the crunch actually stimulates the economy instead of the other way around. Such optimism is expressed by a respondent’s remark that “starting a business is an incredibly satisfying experience…it is so great to know that you control your own destiny.”

But hold on a second - do we really want ex-real estate agents and bankers heading into tech? It’s worrisome to me that people coming from entirely different industries think they can foster a successful tech startup without needing much familiarity with the industry or exhibiting any technical skills to speak of. The success rate for startups is already frighteningly low, and that’s accounting for people who know what they’re doing. The same respondent quoted above is currently developing JustMyEvents, “an events-based online social network”. Oh boy. I can safely say that we do not need another events-based social network (run a Google search for “JustMyEvents” and you’ll see that the problem lies not only in the idea).

Here’s my advice for professionals coming from completely different industries who think they can achieve fame and fortune on the Internet: think very hard about your idea and business model; educate yourself thoroughly about Web 2.0 trends and concepts; do your homework on competitors; find a team of technically skilled, motivated, and smart individuals who love your idea; and figure out just what you bring to the table (and don’t rely on your “marketing” skills; they won’t be needed until later). Then, and only then, think about switching industries - you’ll save yourself, and your potential investors, a lot of trouble.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/185972394/

In a demonstration of what can happen when someone hacks your iPhone (or any computer-like phone, for that matter), Fast Company commissioned a security expert to to show what is possible:

So we purchased an iPhone for Rik Farrow, a UNIX specialist and consultant from Sedona, Arizona, and commissioned him to crack through its defenses, which he did using H D Moore’s Metasploit, a popular platform for testing security systems. The result is this video, in which Farrow was able to take complete control of an iPhone and demonstrate the ability to eavesdrop on conversations, intercept voice mail and e-mail, and upload nefarious software programs. “Physical access to an iPhone,” Farrow points out, “is not required.” Although in Farrow’s demo the Wi-Fi was turned on — common enough for iPhone users, since AT&T’s EDGE network makes Web surfing slow and laborious — Moore says his exploit can work on EDGE, too.

If you know your target’s phone number, you could text message a link to a malicious Website, which would covertly install a third-party application executing malicious code. The corollary would be to send your target an e-mail with a nefarious attachment; he clicks on it and the attacker “owns” the phone. Or there’s always the “man-in-the-middle” (MITM) attack, which is perhaps the most James Bondian: You sit in, say, Starbucks with a laptop set up, as part of the ruse, to operate as a Wi-Fi access point, so a target’s Web browsing and e-mail pass through your computer first. (How can you tell who has an iPhone as opposed to someone with a standard laptop, rival smartphone, or PDA? Simple — the exploit only works on iPhones.)

The Metasploit hack refernced above has since been closed in the latest patch to the iPhone’s software. But the more iPhones that are out there, the more appealing targets they become. Here’s the video of the hack (warning: watching someone write code in a 6-minute video is worse than watching paint dry—unless you happen to like that sort of thing).

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/185924507/

So tonight’s the big night for our first MeetUp in Boston, with co-host IDG Ventures Boston. Doors open at The Estate, 1 Bolyston Place at 6 pm. Party ends at 11 pm (see info below about the drinking-focused after party). Please bring your IDs for ticket verification.

Here are a few highlights of what to expect:
We are working with Brightcove to host a variety of video interviews with meetup attendees. We will be featuring a series of interviews with technology founders/CEOs and Erick Schonfeld. Thanks to Chris Brogan for producing the video segments. We’ll be adding the video posts using the Brightcove player on the dedicated Boston MeetUp page.

SnapYap will be live videoblogging the meetup. They will also be opening up invitations to their new Video Calling feature for the first 1,000 users that sign up through this link. Try it out!

Attendees will also be enjoying an array of interactive games and contests with cash and prize giveaways: ZoomInfo is raffling off a Nintendo Wii, Moola is giving away $5,000 cash to the winner of an online game and Poker Creations is hosting an interactive poker tournament with cool prizes all night long.

After Hours with TechCrunch: We’ve also decided to continue our social networking at a nearby pub when we’re done at The Estate at 11 pm. Please join us at MJ O’Connor’s, 27 Columbus Avenue at Park Plaza. We’ll keep a tab open until the TechCrunch credit card gives out. Drink your Red Bull today so you can stay up with us!

Thank You Sponsors
We’re incredibly grateful to our nineteen event sponsors who are making tonight’s Boston MeetUp possible.

Please take a few minutes to learn about the services of our hosts on our dedicated Boston MeetUp page and here.

Event Co-Host:
IDG Ventures Boston: early-stage venture capital firm with $280 million under management. The firm is focused on investing in consumer, information and life sciences technology companies. IDGVB portfolio companies that will be represented at TechCrunch MeetUp Boston include Acinion, BzzAgent, go2 Media, GuildCafe, Infobright, Mall Networks, MOBIVOX, SimpleTuition, Transpera and VidSys.

Partner and Product Launch Sponsors:

Brightcove: the market-leading Internet TV platform, used by media businesses around the world to distribute and monetize direct-to-consumer, broadband video programming.

Moola: has created a “Massively Multi-player Rewards Game” (MMRG) that is half loyalty program and half super-jackpot game show with 175,000+ member community.

Mzinga: provides workplace and customer community solutions that transform business processes to produce a more energized workforce, greater customer loyalty, and positive bottom line impact.

OurStage: is the only purely democratic online competition where the fans decide who’s the best in emerging music, film and video.

TripAdvisor: is used 25 million people each month to start their travel plans and who are pioneering the next generation of online travel guides.

ZoomInfo: a business information search engine used to quickly find information about 3.5 million companies and 40 million business people.

Communications Sponsor
PerkettPR, Inc.: provides results-based communications solutions for emerging Web 2.0 companies and established technology leaders.

Product Sponsors
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: is intelligently connecting gamers on a massive scale with its innovative Social Networks at Play™ (SNAP) games.

CoreBlox: is all about enabling people to easily locate and exchange information.

NowHound: is the Internet’s first live-media search, and is launching out of stealth mode tonight during the TechCrunch Boston Meetup.

Power Play Development Corporation is the parent company of Poker Creations, a gaming software development company and National League of Poker, the Internet’s leading poker-centric social media portal.

MyPunchbowl: is a new website for event and party planning with unique features such as: “Pick a Date”, “Save the Date”, “Party Checklist” and more.

SnapYap: is an exciting new suite of live video communications tools, the first of which is launching during the TechCrunch Boston Meetup.

Event Sponsors
Prism VentureWorks: is a Westwood, MA and Santa Monica, CA based venture capital firm built by experienced entrepreneurs in technology and life sciences with approximately $1.25 billion in capital under management across five funds.

You Be the VC: equal parts incubator and American Idol, is a competition to find the best new entrepreneurs in the U.S.

We’d like to also thank Memo Media for making us and our sponsors shine in the digital signage displayed at the meetup; Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV for supplying our delicious wine for the evening; and EventBrite for seamless ticket managment for MeetUp attendees.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/185898668/

Doof, a new London-based startup went into public beta at the beginning of October offering casual gaming wrapped-up with social networking in a good-looking package. Casual games are the mainstream of gaming world, and Mini-Clips is a good example. But they tend not to have an underlying social network, which ought in theory create more traffic and more data about the user.

Doof offers a large range of games from arcade to action, cards and puzzles etc. Users get to create a doof profile which has a personal news feed, list of friends and various ego-boosting features like “bragging rights”, game playing statistics, and similar kinds of features to Facebook, including status updates. You can also rate games and other members creations. The site has leagues, tournaments and various other competitions to keep the community ticking over and appealing to people’s competitive streak. The privately-owned Money Gaming Corporation Ltd in London is the company behind the service, headed up by CEO Liad Shababo. The site is built using Adobe Flex which allows for a certain richness in the interface. Plans include building up the functionality, specifically interactive community features, whilst also growing the games, competitive options, player customisation features and integration options with existing social networking sites and platforms.

I tried the service out but had some trouble with using it on a Firefox on a Mac - it may well have been my machine not their service. But the interface certainly is pretty good looking.

Doof

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Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/185887502/

“Millennials” is the nickname for people born between 1980 and 1995. Last week, 60 minutes ran a story about this generation in the workplace. Here’s what viewers learned about this group from the story:

1. Many Milennials think anyone over 30 can’t be trusted and can’t be counted upon to be coherent.

2. Milennials want to “roll into work with their iPods and flip flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday.”

3. Milennials need someone to teach them that they should cover up tattoos in the office, “especially if you are going to be meeting clients.” They also need to be taught how to eat with a knife and fork and how to work.

4. Milennials think living with your parents while in your mid 20s is “a very smart, wise, economic decision.”

5. Milennials’ parents sometimes phone HR and say, “But my little Susie or little Johnny didn’t get the performance evaluation that I think they deserve.”

6. The best way to keep Milennials as employees is to offer goofy parades, snoozing in the nap room, and plenty of happy hours. Also, managers should shave their head when a goal is reached. Or be in the dunk tank at the summer picnic. “When a senior manager’s willing to do that is, it says we’re all in it together.”

7. Milennials want employers to send a letter to their parents saying, “You know, Ryan did a great job. Yeah, I just wanted to let you know you raised a fantastic son.”

What a crock of shit.

Are you really telling me that 20 somethings don’t know how to use a knife and fork? (Are they potty trained yet?) And they really want managers to write gold star notes to their parents? And they really want to see their managers in the dunk tank at the summer picnic? Dunk tank at the summer picnic?! Yeah, that’s totally what kids are into these days. What on earth is this story talking about?

The unfortunate part: 60 Minutes is like catnip to old people and many of them probably bought into the whole piece. More fuel for the “these darn kids today” fire that older generations seem to love so much.

I guess it’s a constant cycle. “The greatest generation” is always the one that’s about to die. (Really, who can debate them? There’s no one around to argue that the greatest generation was actually those born between, say, 1620-1650.)

And this older group always thinks the latest generation is made up of lazy do-nothings who don’t understand hard work or discipline. It’s like that old Bill Cosby line: “We had to walk to school, ten miles, in the snow, uphill. Both ways!”

Too bad a respected media source like 60 Minutes is pushing this hokum though. I guess they have to sandwich all those Cialis ads with something that demographic will enjoy.

Source: Signal vs. Noise
Original Article: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/708-60-minutes-takes-a-dump-on-millennials