NEWS: AdMob 'Plugs in' to Mobilize the WordPress Community

Web Culture/Blogging/Marketing/Mobile
Found on: businesswire.com

Could mobile ready versions of blogs powered by Wordpress be the next big thing to hit the blogosphere?

Businesswire.com is reporting that mobile web developer extraordinaire, Andy Moore is working with AdMob, to launch a free mobile WordPress plug-in that may do just that.

Businesswire post:

Mobile innovator Andy Moore of Web2Txt has teamed with AdMob, the world's largest mobile internet advertising Marketplace, to launch a free mobile plug-in for popular blogging tool WordPress. The new offering will enable the global WordPress blogger community to both go mobile quickly and then immediately start to monetize their content from advertising revenue. The announcement was made today at Ad:Tech 2007 in San Francisco, California.

WordPress is a popular open source blogging tool used by thousands of blogs including top ranked TechCrunch, MobileCrunch, Venturebeat and Schobelizer. Andy Moore of Web2Txt, a dotmobi certified mobile web developer, has built a plug-in to enable WordPress bloggers to extend their reach by publishing for mobile phones. The WordPress plug-in integrates AdMob code that gives bloggers the option to include ads in their posts.

NEWS: Burnett, MySpace get political

Social Networks/Myspace/Politics
Found on: variety.com

Emmy-award winning television producer Mark Burnett has teamed up with Myspace to launch "Independent" a new hybrid online-reality-social network-television show.

A quick shout out to my boy Yau Man - hope you win!

Variety's post:

Mark Burnett Prods. is partnering with MySpace to discover the modern-day Mr. Smith.

The two entities are behind “Independent,” an online project targeted to become a full-fledged TV series built around a search to find the next great politician.

The show, timed to the 2008 elections, hasn’t yet been pitched to networks. It comes with a $1 million prize … and a catch: Winner must donate the money to a political cause or use it to run for office.

“This is the ‘American Idol’ of political action,” said Burnett development head Roy Bank. “We’ve been exploring for a while how to do something in and around what is going to be the topic on everyone’s tongues next year — the elections. We wanted it to be legit, and there’s no greater democracy in play right now for people in their 20s than MySpace.”

INDIE FINDS FOR YOUR UNCOMMON LIFE

Social Networks/Myspace/Profile/Blogger
Found on: Popyourit.com

MissMalaprop.com is the brainchild of Mallory, a 23-year-old indie craft enthusiast living in New Orleans.

MissMalaprop is an indie driven, community based blog that showcases independent artists, designers, eco-friendly products and what’s really going on in New Orleans, her hometown.

MissMalaprop’s blurbs:

MissMalaprop.com spotlights the best in independent designers & artists, eco-friendly and sustainable products, New Orleans & Gulf Coast based businesses and issues, and people & organizations who are working to make the world a better place.

I believe that one person can make a difference and that everyone can be that person.

Twitter of the Week - Swimming with the fishes?

Social Networks/Web Culture/Twitter
Found on: twitter.com

Admiral Ackbar is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, he's basically a giant talking squid. Ackbar (that's what his friends call him.) also happens to be one of my favorite twitters that I follow, but since he hasn't made a new post in almost a month now, I'm thinking he's probably dead and swimming with the fishes somewhere - bummer.

Ackbar's last post:

Picking up distress signal from inside a strange nebula. Taking in the fleet.

Some other memorable posts:

Just received transmission from an old friend. I can get a free Y-wing if I signup for a few free trials and get six friends to do the same.

The Imperials have just delivered a large wooden horse to our shipyard. What a great gift. Moving it into the base now.

Random Flickr Slideshow 4

Social Networks/Flickr/Photos
Found on: Flickr

Embedded Flickr Slideshow 4 (photos of random people, rockstars and things - fun.)



I leached these great photos from Delineated's Flickr set

It's our one year anniversary!

Mypopspace is celebrating it's one year anniversary today!

I can't believe it's been 12 months and a little over 400 posts since my very first blog entry.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my wife Molly (aka Mangopopstar) for tolerating all the late nights and the geeky dinner conversations about web 2.0 and how social networks are going to take over the internet - love you hun!

I'd also like to thank everyone who's sent an email with either a kind word about the site or encouraging me to continue.

Thanks for your support -pop!

Twitter mashup spotlight of the week.

Social Networks/Website/Twitter
Found on: twittervision.com

This week's Twitter mashup spotlight is called Twittervision:

It's a real-time geographic visualization of posts to Twitter and boy is it ever addictive.

Like Twittervision? Follow David Troy the mastermind behind the mashup.

Alanis Morissette "My Humps" video parody

Web Culture/YouTube/Videos/Comedy
Found on: Youtube.com

Who says that Alanis Morissette needs to lighten up and get a sense of humor?



Youtube Stats(as of this post):

Views: 577,941
Comments: 1257
Favorited: 2597 times

Some of my favorite comments:

Sle3pyyx3

the only reason Alanis Morissette did is coz she cant get a song back in the charts coz she is fucking shit so she has to make fun of some one who is doing really well with their career

kathrynkavs

OMFG U ARE AN ASS HOEL

Thanks for the link Jacob - yo yo!

NEWS: US Army's computer game recruiting plan takes fire

News/Web Culture/Youth Trends
Found news.yahoo.com

The United States Army has invested an estimated 2 million dollars sponsoring an online gaming channel on the popular GGL website. The channel is centered around a first-person shooter based on the Army's training manual; groups opposing the war are calling this sponsorship as a blatent attempt to find new recruits among young online gamers in the prized recruiting age range of 17 to 24.

Yahoo News post:

Anti-recruitment groups are slamming a US Army deal to sponsor a computer war game channel, charging that real war is no game.

In June, the Army is set to sponsor a channel at the Global Gaming League website, a popular spot for Internet computer game lovers.

"It is part of this campaign for the last 20 years to invade youth culture with militarism," Project on Youth and Non-military Opportunities co-founder Rick Jahnkow told AFP.

"It affects the way young people think. It affects their world view. That is a very dangerous thing."

NEWS: MySpace offers news recommendations

News/Social Networks/Myspace
Found: hosted.ap.org

Last week Myspace jumped into the "News Service Business" and with it's non-Digg like features (the rating system is based on a scale of 1 through 5) I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised but Newsvine is still my favorite site for news-aggregation and Mike Davidson is still my hero!



Hosted AP post:

The popular online hangout MySpace entered the news business Thursday with a feature that lets its users determine what items other members see.

MySpace News brings to a much larger audience the user-recommendation capabilities already available through Digg and Time Warner Inc.'s Netscape. It also marks the site's further inroads into becoming an Internet portal akin to Yahoo Inc. and others.

YouTube Offering 50/50 Revenue Split with Users Next Week?

News/Social Networks/YouTube/Videos
Found on: Mashable.com

Mashable.com is reporting that YouTube may offer a revenue-sharing model for their users as early as next week -- basically, offering a 50/50 revenue split similar to the one that their rival Revver.com offers.

Mashable post:

YouTube may offer a revenue-sharing model for their users, taking an important step in that direction as soon as next week.

The option to insert a video ad before or after an uploaded clip, with an offering to split the ad revenue 50-50 with users, is said to be in the works. With the issues surrounding pirated videos on the site as well as many advertisers not being able to ensure the type of content that their campaigns will be shown alongside, it’s no wonder that an ad revenue-sharing model has yet to be installed.

NEWS: Microsoft sheds light on Flash rival

News/Web Culture/Web Browser/Video
Found on: news.com

Microsoft's so called Flash "Killer" Silverlight, was announced at the NAB show in Las Vegas yesterday.

The Web browser plug-in will be available for both PC and MAC platforms and will play web videos as well as display interactive Web applications.

Microsoft's initial focus will be developing partnerships with advertising agencies, media and entertainment companies.

CNET post:

On Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft launched Silverlight, a Web browser plug-in for playing media files and displaying interactive Web applications.

The company intends to release a beta of Silverlight, formerly called Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere (WPF/E), at the Mix07 conference for designers and Web developers in Las Vegas later this month.




Bonus Link:

Stealing the limelight from Adobe?
With the rapid rise of Web video, the competition between Microsoft and Adobe is set to intensify.

White Chicks & Gang Signs

Web Culture/YouTube/Video/Comedy
Found on: Youtube.com

This has to be one of the funniest Youtube videos - EVER!



Youtube Stats(as of this post):

Views: 935,844
Comments: 3281
Favorited: 5489 times

Some of my favorite comments:

Soccerchick274

gayyy but it was funny
but seriously..
since when are the PEACE and ROCK ON signs considered GANG signs...? lmfao wow.

MikeG82

why do they make those signs? glad to see i'm not the only one that thought they looked retarded

Help Save Pandora and Internet Radio

News/Web Culture/Politics/Internet Radio
Found on: blog.pandora.com/pandora

Internet radio as we know it is in dire straits and could potentially be wiped off the web.

A recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC will almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora which will basically shut them down and put them out of business.

You can do something about it, here's how:

Pandora Blog post:

To add your voice to this movement, please take a minute to sign the PETITION urging your representatives in congress to act at the new website Savenetradio.org.

And please share this petition link with friends: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541

NEWS: Groundbreaking Internet Drama to Air on UK's Top Social Network

News/Social Networks/Web Culture/Videos
Found on: sys-con.com

The team that brought us the world's most popular interactive drama: Lonelygirl15 is teaming up with Bebo.com to launch a spin-off called "Lonelygirl15 presents... KateModern," this should prove to be a really smart move on Bebo's part.

sys-con.com post:

Lonelygirl15 was launched last summer and the program has since been viewed over 50 million times. Bebo was founded in 2005 and has over 31 million users worldwide who spend an average of 29 minutes on Bebo each day.

Following the massive success of Lonelygirl15, "Lonelygirl15 presents... KateModern" will expand from the original storyline to that of a teenage university student in London and her struggle to balance her complex social life with the dark forces that shadow her. Containing all of the best loved elements of Lonelygirl15, "Lonelygirl15 presents... KateModern" will leverage the high involvement of its fan base, enabling them to post messages for the show's characters, exchange plot ideas with each other and upload their own videos to the characters' profile pages.

NEWS: MySpace Store Looks Promising?

News/Social Networks/Myspace
Found on: mashable.com

Mashable.com is reporting that the long anticipated Myspace store may actually come to fruition.

On a side note, I noticed that Peter made his post around 1:30 AM this morning - god, I wish I had that kind of stamina again.

Mashable post:

Another good sign for MySpace-eBay and Bebo-eBay - a report being released on Tuesday from iProspect once again shows that web users make buying decisions based on information gleaned from social sites: 1 in 3 Internet users say they made purchase decisions based on information from social networks and sites.

NEWS: Keep track of your friends with The Coop

News/Social Networks/Firefox
Found on: labs.mozilla.com

A set of new tools could make Firefox the next Myspace?

I'm not quite sure about that but what I do know is these new social-centric tools could mean some serious trouble for Flock - the net's best social web browser currently out.



Mozilla Lab's post:

Just a few years ago, one of the most popular uses of the internet was to send jokes, cute pictures, and news stories to friends and family (social networks) via email. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find that not a lot has changed except the medium. Now one of the most common uses of instant messenger services and social networking sites is to send people links to jokes, cute pictures and interesting news stories.

This behavior isn’t at all surprising - it’s friends sharing experiences, the very backbone of social interactions and friendships. It’s also unsurprising that most “Web 2.0″ services have a feature that makes it easy for you to build a social network so that you can share things more easily, or subscribe to a friend’s activity as a way of keeping in touch.

2000 Leon Beyer Riesling Comtes d'Eguishem

Social Networks/Corkd/Wine
Found on: corkd.com

The 2000 Leon Beyer Riesling sounds pretty serious and pretty amazing.

Desertvino's review:

If you've never tried a dry Alsatian Riesling, this may come as a shock. This is a serious, earthy white wine that will not only pair with traditianal foods for white wines, but will also stand up to just about any food you would pair with Pinot Noir. Not for sipping as an aperitif. Rich golden color, Nose of minerals, earth and white fruit. Taste is dry, rich and earthy. Little petrol, but minerals and earth dominate carried on a strong backbone of white fruit and crisp acidity. This wine was marvelous with mushrooms, carp ravioli with asparagus and even with blutwurst. Complex and just outstanding.

• Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Winery: Leon Beyer
• Vintage: 2000
• Varietal: Riesling
• Country: France
  
• Region: Alsace
• Price: $40.00 USD
  
• Description: Dry,Grand Cru Alsatian Riesling from Eichberg vineyard
• Created by: desertvino

MySpace competition? The world is big enough

News/Social Networks/Website
Found on: latimes.com

MySpace continues to dominate in North America but overseas it's a different story - Social Networks like the Friendster, Bebo and Google's Orkut are thriving.

LA Times post:

The online social networking site was on track to become the Internet's next big phenomenon a few years ago until an upstart called MySpace eclipsed it in popularity and media attention. But being spurned by America's fickle teenagers doesn't mean the budding social networking site went into hibernation or shrank to cater to a few true believers. While MySpace may continue to dominate in North America (more than half of its 100-million-plus accounts come from the United States), Friendster, Google's Orkut and other general-use social networking sites are thriving overseas.

In the Philippines, for instance, Friendster is used by an estimated 87% of the country's 8 million Internet users. About 70% of Friendster's 40-million-person user base comes from Southeast Asia.