Ajax Girl

LiveWorld is a publicly traded company that’s been around since 1996 and is best known for its white labeled social networks. These are online communities that LiveWorld helps clients build up around their existing brands, and they often take a good deal more time and effort to set up than communities created on top of self-service platforms like Ning or KickApps.

However, LiveWorld is making a significant foray into “out-of-the-box” communities with the release of LiveBar, a widget-like site addition that brings community features to any website using only one line of JavaScript.

The LiveBar consists of a thin strip that sticks to the bottom of the browser window and displays social content related to the page. It’s reminiscent of Facebook Chat or the upcoming community instant messaging offering from Meebo. But instead of facilitating instant messages, the LiveBar shows three types of user contributions: Conversations, Soapboxes, and Shouts.

Conversations are essentially lightweight forum threads where users can post messages and solicit responses. Soapboxes are akin to blog posts and Shouts are like tweets in that they’re restricted to 140 characters. In the LiveBar’s simplest implementation, these pieces of UGC are associated with individual URLs, so when you move from one page to the next, you see different content.

However, they can also be tied together into so-called bundles so that discussions form across pages that relate to each other. The LiveBar can also be rolled out across multiple sites on different domains, with bundles providing social glue around pages and sites that were formerly fragmented.

The biggest downside to the LiveBar (which could also be seen as its greatest virtue) is its discreetness. Visitors are prone to overlook it entirely because it sits so low and short on the page. To combat this tendency, LiveWorld has developed a suite of widgets that hook the LiveBar into the actual page layout. The widgets can be used, for example, to print the most recent conversations or solicit new ones. I expect that most publishers will deploy these extra widgets to get the most bang for their buck. After all, the LiveBar isn’t free; like other LiveWorld services, it’ll cost you thousands of dollars just to get it up and running.

LiveWorld plans to add more flexibility and functionality to the LiveBar over time, with chat in particular on the way. This will put LiveWorld in direct competition with Meebo, although Meebo’s specialty in online instant messaging should make for a superior product.

Both Tulane University and A&E Biography already plan to use LiveBar on their respective sites.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qucJEXJsGD4/

The Vice Fund invests in companies, both domestic and foreign, engaged in the aerospace and defense industries, owners and operators of casinos and gaming facilities, manufacturers of gaming equipment such as slot machines, manufacturers of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and brewers, distillers,
vintners and producers of other alcoholic beverages.

For good measure be sure to also pick up McDonalds, Yum (they own Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), and some pharmaceuticals that specialize in blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity drugs, and you might just get rich in this new “we’re fucked” economy.

Source: Signal vs. Noise
Original Article: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1245-the-vice-fund-the-ultimate-investment-for-todays-financial-environment

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), a massive, extremely popular website detailing all aspects of many movies and television shows, has finally added what the site has curiously been missing all along: full-length movies and TV shows.

The Amazon-owned site will now offer 6,000 full length movies and TV shows free of charge from Hulu, CBS, Sony Pictures Television, and hundreds of independent filmmakers. The content will rotate (much as it does on Hulu), depending on the content-owners’ wishes. IMDB will host and stream some of the video itself, but appears to be using embeddable players from Hulu and CBS where possible.

Unfortunately, the site’s implementation of video leaves something to be desired - it feels as if IMDB doesn’t really want to be a destination site for video content, and that this was just tacked on. It’s apparently impossible to browse through a list of available content - the site instead tells you to search for the shows you like one by one (there is a featured list, but it only displays a fraction of the content available).

The site’s interface is also a letdown when it comes to sorting through items with multiple pieces of content, like a television show. After visiting the webpage for Arrested Development (easily one of the best shows in recent memory), I found that episodes were listed out of order with poor descriptions.

And figuring out what you can actually watch will likely confuse many first time visitors. After browsing to the webpage for “Superman”, I was presented with a greyed-out “Watch It” button, which was accompanied by a link to Amazon’s Video On Demand service. Unsure of why I couldn’t click “Watch It”, I promptly looked to see if I was missing a codec or needed to sign into the site. Turns out this is just a bad design choice on IMDB’s part - if you can watch a video the button will be gold, you can’t watch it if it’s grey (why not just say “You can’t watch this here”?).

IMDB is one of my favorite sites on the web - I’ve spent countless hours browsing through movie trivia, forums, and top 100 lists. It’s nice to see that the database is finally incorporating video, but it could be doing so much more than links to Hulu embeds. Instead of including video as footnotes to database pages, the IMDB should create a consumer-friendly content portal, leveraging its database to serve as a powerful recommendation and review engine.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/O-6jJkVHPDI/

iPhones and Blackberries with all-you-can-eat data plans may be commonplace in Silicon Valley, but for the vast majority of mobile phone users in the United States, data plans are still an unneeded luxury. That said, nearly every phone built in the last decade includes SMS - the immensely popular text messaging format that now counts over 2.4 billion users worldwide.

To capitalize on the ubiquity of SMS, a number of companies such as Pizza Hut and Amazon now allow users to place orders and query information using some basic commands in a text messages. Unfortunately, these commands are clunky and impractical for most users (for example, to order my favorite Pizza from Pizza Hut I would need to enter “O FAV”).

SmartTouch, a mobile software company that launched at last week’s TechCrunch50 DemoPit, is looking to fix this. The company has developed a suite of basic widgets for mobile phones that visualize these SMS services, allowing users to navigate through an intuitive menu instead of having to remember keywords and commands. As CEO John McDonough explains, it’s sort of “like moving from the days of command line MS-DOS to Windows 3.1″.

At launch the site is offering a widget bundle that includes support for Amazon, Chase Bank, Facebook, Google, and over 20 other widgets, with more on the way. Widgets are currently available on phones running Windows Mobile 6, with plans to expand to more platforms by the end of the year.

SmartTouch has a good idea, but the technology behind it seems extremely basic - essentially assigning commands to buttons on the keypad. The fact that it’s also a download also hinders it, as the people who this will appeal to most probably won’t be comfortable downloading new software onto their phones. But if the company can partner with manufacturers and come as a default app on new handsets, it could become a very popular way to incorporate extra functionality into even the most basic mobile phones.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UgNxhUwAI4o/

Not reading MobileCrunch yet? Why the heck not? While a MobileCrunch post or two might make the jump over to TechCrunch each week, there’s a ton of good stuff each day that you’ll only see on that side of the fence.

Here’s some stuff you may have missed on MobileCrunch today:

• NetShare gone from the App Store for good
• BlackBerry Storm images leak out from Verizon employee briefing
• Tellme adds sports scores to its voice powered search service
• Enthusiasts bring TouchFLO 3D interface to a bunch of additional HTC handsets
• Sony Ericsson: Xperia brand “not tied” to Windows Mobile
• BlackBerry Storm prep papers show up at Verizon stores
• HTC Touch 3G product page spotted early, too
• AT&T set to roll out BlackBerry Bold in Week 4 of September?
• HTC Touch HD gets its product page a bit early
• Flutter: It’s MMS for the iPhone.. sort of.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/A3udKriDhTo/

Today, we are releasing 100 tickets for “The Web Starts at the Grassroots” Roundtable Discussion prior to the TechCrunch Austin Ventures Meet-Up at Pangaea. Tickets are $50, with all of the proceeds benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The Roundtable will be held at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center located on the University of Texas at Austin campus, starting at 3:00 p.m. (Austin Time) on Thursday, September 25. This will be similar in format to the Mobile Web Wars Roundtable I hosted in July—two dozen founders, CEOs, VCs, and execs in a room talking about a single issue, live streamed over the Web. The Roundtable will focus on how to use the Web to build grassroots support for startups, brands, politicians, and social causes.

Tom Ball, a partner at Austin Ventures, is helping me put the Roundtable together. So far, the growing list of participants includes:

• Greg Bettinelli, VP Corporate Development at Live Nation
• Vinay Bhagat, Founder of Convio
• Andrew Busey, CEO of Challenge Games
• Matt Corey, VP of Marketing Golfsmith
• Jeff Dachis, Founder and former CEO of Razorfish
• Jay Hallberg, Founder and EVP Marketing of Spiceworks
• Brett Hurt, Founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice.
• Paul Korzilius, Manager of Bon Jovi
• Sean McDonald, Director—Community | Conversations at Dell

That’s right. Bon Jovi’s manager is going to be there. I am very excited about that. (Korzilius also formerly managed Cher, Queen, Cheap trick, and the Scorpions). The point of the Roundtable is to explore how effective grassroots marketing and organizing on the Web really is compared to more traditional forms of mass-media marketing. If you have questions for the panelists or topics you’d like us to explore, please suggest them in comments. Or if you are a startup founder or grassroots organizer for a political campaign or philanthropic cause and want to join the Roundtable, email me. We still have some openings. (Anyone from the Obama or McCain campaigns would be particularly welcome).

Tickets for “The Web Starts at the Grassroots” will also provide you with entry to the TechCrunch Austin Ventures Meet-Up. Reserve your tickets now , as we only expect to release one additional round of tickets prior to the event.

The TechCrunch Austin Ventures Meet-Up will be held at Pangea, where we will feature local start-ups and other sponsors, starting at 5:30 p.m. (central time) and running to 10:00 p.m. (or whenever they kick us out). We also have a handful of three-day passes to the Austin City Limits music festival, including backstage access and admission to the Austin Venture tent, to give away to sponsors and designated attendees.

Sponsorship opportunities and demo tables are now available for companies to show off their products. If you want to support the event, please contact Jeanne Logozzo or Heather Harde. If you are a member of the press wanting to cover the event, please contact Sarah Ross.

Attendee identification will be checked at the door. Tickets are not transferable and not refundable. If you use your name to purchase multiple tickets, your guests must arrive with you to check in at the door.

We look forward to seeing you in Austin.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/5-ijvgrDVzA/

Just asking. Tech stocks closed down almost 4 percent today (3.24 percent since Thursday), versus almost 7 percent for financial stocks. Google is only down 1.05 percent. Amazon is down 1.35 percent. But Apple is down 5.76 percent. And RIM is down 7 percent (Wall Street banks are a big customer).

Did anyone buy any tech stocks today?

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Fh7FMGvdGjw/

Google announced Monday that it has launched Google Gears for Apple’s Safari browser on Mac OS X.  All Safari users running Mac OS X (Windows isn’t supported yet) can now access Gears-enabled sites like Zoho Office and the YouTube Uploader.

Google also announced Monday that it has released Google Desktop 5.8 for Windows, which the company claims, will increase performance and make it a more agile service.

According to Google, it performed a number of operations to determine where the slowdowns in Google Desktop were occurring. After finding those issues, it was able to cut memory usage by over 50 percent and fixed issues where third-party applications were causing Desktop and the computer itself to slow down.

To improve performance on the front-end, Google installed a service that will analyze all the Gadgets running on the Desktop and inform users when it’s slowing it down. At the same time, a malware indicator was added to ensure certain Gadgets are not stealing information from others.  (Kind of makes you wonder, huh?)

Both the Google Gears and updated Google Desktop for Windows are available now.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/V0L-sv29X8I/

Apparently Yahoo has caught the bizarre marketing bug. Today the company has launched “Start Wearing Purple”, a campaign that is trying to capitalize on the color’s reported association with “innovation and imagination” (I always thought it was tied to royalty). Purple has long been Yahoo’s official color, though the logo displayed on its homepage is now a striking red.

The campaign is centered around the web portal Start Wearing Purple, which includes features like “Purple Picks” - a daily series of links to things which the Yahoo team has deemed Purple-worthy. There’s also a special Flickr Account celebrating all things purple. And over at Purple Pranks, you can watch a few bizarre setups led by Improv Everywhere’s Charlie Todd. Highlights include an elevator full of people singing a song about their favorite color whenever a stranger walks in.

The coolest component of the campaign is Purple Bikes. Yahoo has outfitted a fleet of 20 purple bicycles with solar powered cameras, GPS, and mobile Internet connectivity, which are now making their way across a dozen cities around the globe. The bikes will be taking (and automatically tagging) snapshots every sixty seconds, which chronicle each traveler’s journey on a special Flickr map. You can read more about the Purple Bikes over at CrunchGear.

So is Start Wearing Purple a total bust? Major corporations launch marketing campaigns like this all the time in order to increase brand awareness and show their users that they have a soul. And as far as these campaigns go, Yahoo seems to have done a good job - the improv videos are funny, the bikes are cool, and the site is fun to play around with. Still, I can’t help but wonder if the marketing dollars could be better spent convincing me to actually use Yahoo once in a while.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/V5scGFP2FuM/

A slew of companies rely on Google’s AdWords system to bring users to their sites. But in an attempt to improve the quality of AdWords, Google will unveil a new judging system in the next few days that could have a major impact on current AdWords users.

The most important change the company announced Monday has to do with how it calculates the AdWords Quality Score. Google said that it will now calculate quality in real-time as a Google user performs a search, along with its current practice of analyzing click-through rate. Google also said that it will less frequently analyze landing page quality as well.

Google is also eliminating its “inactive for search’ moniker for those keywords that would yield few (if any) impressions. The company said that all keywords are now available on Google.com and although the company said those keywords will probably still yield less than ideal results, they may add some impressions for those sites using them.

Finally, and perhaps the most controversial, Google announced that it will replace “minimum bid” prices with “first page bid estimates,” which will probably see rates go up. According to Google, on those keywords that have few advertisers bidding for placement, the new bid estimate should be close to the old minimum bid. But for those companies that want first-page placement on keywords that are more popular among advertisers, the cost could be “significantly higher.”

Google didn’t give any word on exactly when the new system will be rolled out, but it should happen in the next few days.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/vpOI7LWJINw/