January, 2012 Google is working on a solution for people to login into their Gmail more securely, while using a public computer. This week they experimented with using a QR code. Although the test is no longer running, Google says there are more to come and users who tested reported having success. To learn more go to Mashable.com.
January, 2012
Wikipedia has chosen Monmouth, Britain as its first attempt at using QR codes to provide awareness about a city. Wikipedia has placed QR codes around the town to allow locals the ability to write articles about what the city has to offer. They call this QRpedia, which was unveiled in April 2011. These codes are currently placed around the world in museums and other institutions to mobilize information for individuals that are seeking to learn more. To learn more about this endeavor please visit Mobile Marketer.
January, 2012
To compete with iOS’ “Siri”, India-based Dexetera has partnered with Q&A site ChaCha to provide support for the mobile application, “Iris”. The mobile app for Android users will provide answers to inquiries sent via the application. ChaCha, a human-managed site, has answered nearly 2 billion questions since launching in 2006, and should be a worthy question and answer partner for the Iris application. To learn more about this collaboration, please visit FierceMobileContent.com.
December, 2011
Luluvise, a social media site aimed only for girls, launched today. Similar to Google+, Luluvise prompts users to invite friends into their inner circles. User posts can also include buttons such as “OMG!” and “SOS”. Although men are not allowed to join, the site features a section where girls can upload information regarding men they are close to such as, “Is he funny?” or “Is he good looking?”. When questioned about legal reprecussions from slanderous material potentially being uploaded, Luluvise replied, “We have good legal counsel and guidelines in place, we also have a takedown policy.” To learn more about this new site, please visit Techcrunch.com.
October 2011
MapQuest launches Vibe, a social service allowing users to find the inside scoop on neighborhoods across the U.S. Vibe Scores will allow users to find neighborhoods that will provide their preferred local experience based on factors such as night life, walkability, shopping, edginess, or the service’s new-found phrase, “burbiness”. Soon a new layer will be added with the ability to win badges, connect with other locals with similar tastes, and track friends. Users will also be able to follow specific locations, and look for deals and news. For more information, please see Mashable.
October, 2011
Amazon has just released its new web browser Amazon Silk. The browser will be available exclusively on the just released Kindle Fire, Amazon’s new color tablet. Amazon Silk will feature a browser that uses “split architecture” that allows for quicker cloud-based browsing. For more info, please visit: http://amazonsilk.wordpress.com
September, 2011
In order to become the social media site for all things social, Facebook has once again updated its functionality. To support continual sharing of information and content, the site has added three new functions: subscribing (friends can subscribe to their friends’ pages, fan pages, and more), Friend Lists (users can organize friends into specific categories and track their activities) and a news-ticker that is updated in real-time. Users will also find their profile pages have been updated, with a new tab for “Friend Activity” in which users can see what their friends, or friends of a particular page, have been doing. To learn more, please visit Mashable.com.
September, 2011
Costa Farms, a leading producer of indoor houseplants, has launched a digital magazine geared towards indoor houseplant lovers. The magazine will provide users with helpful tips on decorating with indoor houseplants, indoor houseplant varieties, as well as information on how plants can help purify your air. “We want to attract gen X and Y who get most of their information digitally — whether online or through their smartphones,” says Jose Smith, president of Costa Farms. “Our new digital magazine connects with this mobile generation and brings them into the conversation about the benefits of houseplants to go truly green and enrich our lives.” The magazine will be released monthly and is available for download on iOS and Android operating systems. Click here to find out how you can get the app.
August, 2011
FedEx is pushing consumers to ship their golf clubs by creating awareness through a rich-media ad on CBS Sports’ mobile app. When on the app, a screen will pop up that appears to be an incoming call from their “golf clubs”. When users click on the ad, they are greeted with a message reminding them to take their clubs with them when vacationing and provides information about FedEx’s club shipping capabilities. If the users don’t click on the ad, they receive a message with a “voicemail” from their clubs asking them to bring them along next trip. To learn more, please visit MobileMarketer.com.
August, 2011
Search website Bing has launched a new app for mobile devices titled, “We’re In”, that aims to help friends get together. Instead of sharing your location for anyone to search and find, this app is intended to coordinate locations for people to gather. Once a user inputs a location and time, an SMS is sent to their friends which alerts them of the gathering. Once friends log-in to the site, they can track the locations of others who have responded to see who has already arrived and who is running late.
August, 2011
Updater is an online service for changing your direct mail address and filtering out junk mail, all for a $14.99 fee. Users can file Change of Address Forms and update them with the businesses, schools, organizations and contacts with their new mail addresses easily online. Another big feature of this service allows users to update their do-not-mail lists online. For more information, please visit Mashable.
August, 2011
The New Yorker has released a free mobile application that allows users to see the events taking place in New York City. Goings On offers a mix of cultural events and places to go for New York residents, such as: listings for movies, art, nightlife, readings, talks, restaurants and more. The app allows users to share these events with their friends through email, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. For more information, please visit Mobile Marketer.
August, 2011
AOL has released a free daily magazine app for iPad devices called Editions that customizes the content for each and every user. Users can choose from up to 15 different topics to be included in the magazine and can edit the content that shows up at will. Editions also localizes the news by providing pages that cover your area’s news and weather, as well as schedules for birthdays, important meetings and other events that the user chooses. For more information, please visit Mobile Marketer.
July, 2011
Foursquare has announced it will be partnering with several daily coupon services to reward users with frequent check-ins. Potential partnerships currently in talks include LivingSocial, Gilt Groupe and AT&T, Inc. Foursquare is looking to leverage its tracking and location services to better tailor deals to its community of users. To learn more about the potential partnerships, please visit WSJ.com.
June, 2011
Google has collaborated a number of their services to create a new search engine called What Do You Love. With the help of groups, trends, maps, translate and many other features, the new search bar provides the curious with small boxes of information on every aspect of their search on one page. The program eliminates the process of changing settings and supplies users with all of their services at once. Videos, a translation, a map, pictures, articles and events pertaining to the specific search are just some of the features provided by the heart-shaped search button. What Do You Love has not yet been released at a large scale and seems to be trickling down into the public from the web savvy. For more information, please see Mashable.
June, 2011
Google launched Google+, a new social media site geared towards grouping users friends into manageable categories. Users can place their friends into “circles”, as well as chat with multiple friends via video chat. In addition, as users note interests while touring the site, Google+ will begin feeding information that fits within the categories noted. Currently the website is at capacity for new users. To learn more, please visit The Google+ Project.
June, 2011
Wikipedia will launch a “Love” button June 29th that will let users send their messages of appreciation to other users through virtual cats, beer and more. The goal of the product, according to a blog post by the Wikimedia Foundation, is to encourage more users to edit and engage with more articles by providing positive reinforcement. For more information, please see WikiLove.
June, 2011
Twitter has created it’s own button for websites to use to quickly follow a celebrity, brand, etc. Rather then sending users to the particular page then asking them to follow the page, clicking the link will automatically follow the page. For those who would still like to check out the page before deciding to follow, a link will be provided next to the “follow” button for previewing purposes. To learn more about this new launch, please visit Mashable.com.
May, 2011
Meetup, the social website that helps groups organize and get together, will be leveraging Facebook to drive groups to get together. A group leader can create a group meetup globally via the application. The Meetup Everywhere application “allows organizations to initiate a Meetup theme and date across their fan base, making it easier for them to spark Meetups around a particular activity or topic.” To learn more, visit Mashable.com.
May, 2011
Vodafone has teamed up with JustGiving to create a free service for making donations in the UK. There will be no fee for users to donate, as they simply text in a special code (specifically created for their charity) to donate up to £10. There are currently 184,000 charities listed within the United Kingdom, and none will be charged for the service. Visit ITPro.com for more information.
May, 2011
Mexico City, Mexico will warn city residents of impending earthquakes via social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. This new initiative will begin on September 19th, 16 years following the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked the city in 1985. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has already been in talks with cell-phone providers to ensure all residents possible can receive the alerts. To learn more, visit Reuters.com.
May, 2011
ClearedJobs.net, a website developed by veterans to support military personnel looking for jobs, will push “Military Month” with a Twitter campaign to provide support to military spouses. While their loved ones are away, Twitter followers who use the hashtag @MilSpouseDay on Monday, May 2 can share notes of support to deployed military members’s family. In addition to finding military members careers post-service, the company also offers a “Social Media and Sandwiches” course where military members can learn how to leverage social media to find job positions.
April, 2011
Flickr is offering a page and contest to crowdsource images from around the world relating to the British Royal Wedding. The website is hoping to capture global perspectives on the wedding. Those from the United Kingdom can have a chance to win a £5,000 honeymoon if users vote their photo the best. To learn more, visit Mashable.com.
April, 2011
Moleskine has launched a notes app for the iPhone and iPad. The app lets users take down notes on the go, while writing on a variety of paper types (ruled, squared, and more). The app also has a feature allowing users to geo-target their notes to create a map of their entries. To learn more, please visit PSFK.com.
April, 2011
Google is now using Latitude to leverage consumer check-ins by providing them with local deals. To differentiate itself from other check-in companies, such as FourSquare and Facebook, Latitude requires users to check in multiple times before they can receive the deals. Initial brands to provide Latitude with deals include Arby’s, Quiznos, and Naturalizer to name a few. The deals can be accessed on mobile via Android’s Google Maps and iPhone’s Latitude. To learn more, visit Mashable.com.
April, 2011
Redken is trying to engage their customers on all channels. They made the mobile apps “Color Me Mobile” and the “Stylist network.” The Stylist Network helps stylists find hair color formulas, has a timer to prevent over-processing, and ask advice from other stylists. Redken also launched a mobile site that lets consumers find their closest Redken salon, lets stylists access brand information on exclusive salon programs on success, and more. These efforts let the salons access the company’s online community and further engages Redken with salon professionals.
March, 2011
Google has announced its plans to launch the “+1+ button, it’s answer to the Facebook “Like” button. The +1 (plus one) button will be available for search results through the site (places, shopping, web results etc) as well as for individual pages. When a user clicks the +1 button, they are giving their “stamp of approval” and recommendation for the link. Soon, users will begin seeing what sites their friends and contacts have +1′ed through Google. Google believes that this new feature will be wildly popular among users since it will give them suggestions from their friends for items throughout their web experience. Google also believes that this feature will increase qualified site traffic for companies who add the +1 feature to their page since they will be able to increase the drive to their page through qualified recommendations from user’s contacts. Companies can work with Google Web Developers to add the feature to their site. For more information, see the announcement by Google.
March, 2011
Tokyo Electric Power Company created a Twitter account for the nuclear power plants damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami–a major concern due to the potential of a nuclear meltdown and radiation leaks. Almost 200 thousand followers signed on in less then a day. TEPCO plans to use the account to notify people of black outs and radiation leaks. The feed is one more way to keep Japanese residents and the world informed about the plants.
March, 2011 Nielsen Wire put together a top ten list for the most popular web brands and travel sites for February that was released this month. According to the report, the top five US web brands are Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, MSN/WindowsLive/Bing, YouTube. The top five travels sites were Google Maps, MapQuest, Yahoo! Local, Expedia and Southwest Airlines. To see the complete list, please visit: <http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/february-2011-top-u-s-web-brands-and-travel-sites/>
March, 2011
Broadcastr, a new iPhone app, lets users record audio, then tag a geo-location for their vocal file. Uploaded files are available for all Broadcastr users to download and listen to. The company has thus-far partnered with companies such as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Fodor’s Travel Guides and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Andy Hunter, co-founder of Broadcastr, said, “We want to change the way people perceive place, and think of place and culture and history. Broadcastr could have an archive in two years that is already invaluable. And in 10 years, it could be you don’t even think about visiting a place and wandering around without it.”
