Kindle For Mac is Coming
An Amazon spokesperson in contact with Fast Company told the magazine: “Yes, we are working on a Kindle app for Mac.”
The move is a smart one: having the Kindle software available on all PCs and Macs radically extends the range of devices that can connect to the Kindle Store. But whether this is a move towards being more open is debatable: for now, anyone switching from a Kindle to another e-reader cannot move their books over.
Reviews: KIndle
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MobileMe Gallery For iPhone Appears in the App Store
January 15, 2010 - 01:08
Tags: app store, Apple, iphone, mashable, Mobile 2.0, News, Social, social networking
Posted in Social | No comments
You have a MobileMe subscription and an iPhone, do you? Then you can now download a free, Apple-made app called MobileMe Gallery [iTunes link] that will let you easily browse your MobileMe photos and upload more from anywhere.
You can flip through your existing photos in typical iPhone finger-gesture fashion or take new ones with your phone and upload them to the MobileMe cloud. There’s an option to send photos both new and old to friends and colleagues via e-mail, and the app views videos, too.
You can also use MobileMe Gallery to browse friends’ photos; any friend you’re following will have a blue dot next to his or her name when he or she has uploaded new photos. Chances are you’re sharing your photos on Facebook, Flickr or TwitPic directly because not all your friends have Macs or iPhones, but the Gallery app could be helpful for keeping up with friends if you do hang with a bunch of other Mac enthusiasts.
As is the case with many other Apple products, design is prominent; there’s a sliding ticker of recent photos at the top of the app to give it some extra style. If you want to see how it works firsthand before downloading it, there’s a quick tour video over at Apple’s MobileMe product page. We can’t embed the video, sadly.
Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, MobileMe, Twitpic
Tags: app store, apple, iphone, Mobile 2.0
iPhone App Tells You When You Get Defriended on Facebook [Updated]
January 14, 2010 - 21:28
Tags: defriended, facebook, facebook connect, iphone, iPhone App, mashable, News, Social, social networking, Unfriend
Posted in Social | No comments
There’s a 99-cent iPhone app in the App Store that will let you know when an old friend, coworker, ex or family member decides they’ve had enough of you on Facebook.
Defriended [iTunes link] keeps track of who your Facebook friends are and lets you know when you lose someone. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding — they clicked “unfriend” by accident. Or maybe it’s war. Either way, thanks Defriended!
The app — created by Dennis Harrison — uses Facebook Connect to import all your friends when you first run it. It checks for changes each time you load it up after that. New friends are placed in the “New friends” column, lost friends go to the “Defriended” column.
When Mashable’s Brenna Ehrlich unfriended me (just the latest turn in an ongoing, passive-aggressive workplace feud), I loaded the app and immediately saw that she’d been placed under “Defriended.”
I experienced some choppy performance when flipping through a long list of friends on an iPhone 3G, but other than that the app seemed to work well. Its entry into the marketplace is well timed. “Unfriend” was the Oxford dictionary’s word of the year in 2009.
Alternative: Facebook Friends Checker for Firefox
This isn’t the first tool we’ve seen for catching people unfriending you. A few months back we wrote about the Facebook Friends Checker script for users of the Firefox web browser. It’s not quite as easy to get going — you have to install Greasemonkey then import the script — but the functionality is similar. It doesn’t list new friends and old friends, but it will put up a very hard-to-miss notification panel when someone unfriends you.
UPDATE: Our readers report that the app is giving them the error “Invalid API key specified: The application you are trying to access does not exist or has been disabled.” We aren’t getting the error but the app won’t work for us, either.
It’s probable that Facebook has disabled the Connect functionality for the app. The Facebook Platform developer agreement states “You must not notify a user that someone has removed the user as a friend” because that would “circumvent our intended limitations on core Facebook features.”
The app is still in the app store though, so there are bound to be a lot of wasted dollars until Apple pulls it.
UPDATE 2: Facebook has confirmed in an e-mail to us that the app was blocked for violating the developer agreement. “While we cannot remove an application running on another website or platform, we will ensure that applications that access Facebook user data adhere to Facebook Platform policies,” they said. It looks like Apple has pulled the app from the App Store, too, though. Sorry, folks. The show’s over. Maybe you’ll just have to count your friends by hand — though if you don’t notice they’re gone without an app, you’re probably fine without them!
Reviews: App Store, Facebook, Firefox
Tags: defriended, facebook, facebook connect, iphone, iphone app, social networking, unfriend
Haiti Quake Relief: How Tech Helps
January 14, 2010 - 21:10
Tags: Earthquake, haiti, Haiti earthquake, mashable, Social, social good, social media, social networking
Posted in Social | No comments
Social media has a reputation in some circles for being all talk and no action: fundraising campaigns get viral buzz but credit card payments provide a major barrier to online donations.
With the Haiti relief efforts, we’re seeing something different: The Red Cross has raised more than $4 million in a text messaging campaign spread on Twitter and Facebook.
What changed?
That’s the topic of my CNN column this week.
Check out the column at CNN.com >>
Tags: Earthquake, haiti, haiti earthquake, social media
Survey the Damage in Haiti With Google Earth
January 14, 2010 - 20:31
Tags: GeoEye, google, google earth, haiti, layer, maps, mashable, News, Satellite, Social, social networking, trending
Posted in Social | No comments
You can now get a satellite’s-eye view of the devastation in Haiti with Google Earth. Google worked with satellite imaging company GeoEye to put together a map layer file that provides up-close views of the wreckage of government buildings and more in the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Download the file to check it out. It’s in KML format, and it should load in Google Earth automatically if you have that desktop app installed. Alternatively, you can just pull it up in the web-based Google Maps app.
If you switch the layer on and off for some before-and-after perspective, you’ll see just how serious the damage is — as if the pictures circulating on Twitter and other places on the Internet weren’t harrowing enough already. Here’s an embed with the data to make things even easier.
You can help relief workers, orphanages and other critical services in Haiti by donating on the web. We’ve put together a list of places you can go online to do that. You can even donate $10 by texting “HAITI” to 90999; the Red Cross has collected more than $3 million that way already.
Reviews: Google Earth, Google Maps
Tags: GeoEye, Google, google earth, haiti, layer, maps, satellite, trending
Thousands of Archived Tweets Mysteriously Disappear
January 14, 2010 - 00:47
Tags: bug, mashable, Social, social media, social networking, tweet, twitter
Posted in Social | No comments
Where did all the tweets go? Tens of thousands (if not more) of older tweets have simply disappeared on highly active and highly followed Twitter accounts, including the @Mashable account.
I’ll use @Mashable as an example: The Pete Cashmore account has tweeted more than 20,000 times in its history. Yet the tweet count has dropped from that number to 518 at the time of this story. When we tried to look back, we couldn’t find or access tweets older than December 23.
We’ve noticed the problem on a lot of other accounts as well. Popular Twitter users @Adventuregirl is also missing many of her tweets, and nothing can be found from before December 12. @CNNbrk, @aplusk, and many others have also been affected.
Most likely, this is a temporary bug. We’ve e-mailed the Twitter team about the problem and will update when we receive a response.
Tags: bug, social media, tweet, twitter
Mashable’s Weekly Job Listings in Social Media & Marketing
January 13, 2010 - 22:19
Tags: mashable, Social, social networking
Posted in Social | No comments
If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.
But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards:
Mashable Job Board Listings
New Media Coordinator at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL.
You’ll be responsible for New Media Content and Communication and contributing to and supporting Shedd’s online communication initiatives, with a 40% focus on Great Lakes conservation awareness and 60% on marketing.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Interactive Media Producer at Alliant Credit Union in Chicago, IL.
The successful candidate in this role manages the execution of Internet-related projects from concept through development and delivery.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Web Content Administrator at CareFirst BCBS in Owings Mills, MD.
The Web Content Administrator is responsible for directing the development of websites to support business areas, including making changes and enhancements using CareFirst’s content management system or other web development tools.
Read more about this opportunity here.
User Experience Architect at Hayneedle, Inc. in Omaha, NE.
The User Experience Architect will lead the conceptualization, planning and information architecture for retail ecommerce applications and design prototypes for usability testing.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Interactive Designer at Hayneedle, Inc. in Omaha, NE.
The Interactive Designer works closely with Creative, Product development, and IT to establish a branded interactive experience through the use of relevant program language.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Account Planner at Sigma Group in Oradell, NJ.
The Account Planner embraces clients and consumers as partners in the process of developing marketing communications, using their input to inform and inspire creative ideas, and guide and validate the resulting integrated marketing campaigns.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Online Marketing Associate at Ferrazzi Greenlight in New York, NY.
You will be the Big Kahuna of our online customer acquisition efforts (email, website, print, newsletters, SEO/SEM, social media, affiliate sales, and events to maximize online revenue), as well as manage initiatives that deepen relationships with existing customers.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media/Marketing Unpaid Internship at Recessionwire in New York, NY.
Recessionwire, a website featuring news, advice, perspective and humor about the recession and recovery, is seeking a marketing/social media intern to help increase brand awareness, drive traffic, expand a loyal user base — and maintain the buzzy profile that Recessionwire has enjoyed in the media, the blogosphere, and with our readers.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Marketing Expert at Action Marketing Group in Boulder, CO.
A Boulder, CO based experiential marketing agency is bolstering its digital capabilities and is seeking field experts to help lead the evolution of the agency into a stronger, more digitized culture
Read more about this opportunity here.
User Interface Developer at Discover Home Network in San Francisco, CA.
Homeboodle.com (.NET shop) is looking for a talented and energetic front-end developer to lead the interface side of development for a new and innovative housing-related web based application.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Marketing Intern at Root Orange in Silver Spring, MD.
Root Orange is seeking someone to provide support with our in-house online marketing initiatives as well as to contribute creative thinking on how to virally spread the word.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Group Account Director at 360i in New York, NY.
360i is looking for a Group Account Director who will be responsible for representing the agency on multiple pieces of business while consistently championing 360’s digital offerings (SEM,SEO, Emerging Media, Customer Insights, Design & Development and more) among senior level clients, both existing and new.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Production Designer – Advertising at EdgeCore in Cedar Falls, IA.
EdgeCore is looking for a talented, motivated, and experienced individual in the production of printed materials for a National, Fortune 100 company.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Sales Consultant at Meltwater Buzz in London, UK.
The position offers complete account responsibility from first contact to end negotiations, and account management.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Vice President of Human Resources at Bazaarvoice in Austin, TX.
The ideal candidate will possess a background in business and be an innovative leader with functional knowledge and experience in Human Resources.
Read more about this opportunity here.
PHP Developer and Social Networking Guru at Giantnerd in Boulder, CO.
Ideal candidate is extremely hard working, extraordinarily talented, entrepreneurial, THINKS OUTSIDE THE BOX, has great problem solving skills excellent intuition for user interface, and is extremely passionate about open source applications, web 2.0, mobile applications, social networking and social commerce.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Specialist at Break Media in Beverly Hills, CA.
You will be responsible for writing public-facing blog posts, commenting on articles and videos in the community, and Facebook/Twitter updates, all with correct grammar and tone.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Director Social Media at Demand Media in Austin, TX.
In this position, you will play a pioneering role in the convergence of content and social media.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Account Executive at CUnet in Paramus, NJ.
The ideal candidate will coordinate and execute interactive media plans, lead generation and special projects in accordance with the client’s objectives and budget parameters.
Read more about this opportunity here.
National Sales Manager at CUnet in Paramus, NJ.
The National Sales Manager is responsible to lead CUnet’s efforts to sell our suite of interactive media products and services to higher education clients.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Senior Developer at Odopod in San Francisco, CA.
Senior Developers lead project development at Odopod. They are responsible for planning and implementing the code that drives our projects and collaborating with other developers and vendors to execute on larger projects.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Developer at Odopod in San Francisco.
Developers support Senior Developers on project development. They are able to independently research and complete development tasks assigned to them.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Associate Director of Interaction Design at Odopod in San Francisco, CA.
Odopod is organized into multidisciplinary teams of 5-8 designers and engineers. Each team is led by an Associate Creative Director and a Senior Producer. Your job is to lead your team to create great work.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Online Marketing Manager at Simon & Schuster in New York, NY.
The Online Marketing Manager position will be dedicated to title specific online marketing, servicing the imprints of Simon & Schuster.
Read more about this opportunity here.
E-Communications Assistant at Animal Humane Society in Minneapolis, MN.
You’ll provide support for developing e-marketing and fundraising program which seeks to build a base of annual supporters and service users for the Animal Humane Society (AHS) by using web-based technology.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Marketing Campaigns Manager at Bazaarvoice in Austin, TX.
The Marketing Campaigns Manager will support and execute on demand generation programs and broader marketing and sales needs. This is an opportunity for an organized, action based, technically sophisticated marketer to play a key role in our Marketing team
Read more about this opportunity here.
Graphic Designer at Greenopolis.com in Houston, TX.
The Graphic Designer must be an Adobe rockstar who can easily create and convert designs into stunning web design, collateral materials, brand IDs, presentations, and more.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Webmaster at Greenopolis.com in Houston, TX.
The Webmaster implements web pages, answers emails from users, facilitates contests and promotions, maintains content and oversees day-to-day management of Greenopolis.com and its affiliated sites.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Brand Manager at Greenopolis.com in Houston, TX.
The Brand manager will plan, develop, and direct the marketing efforts for the Greenopolis brand across its various embodiments as a web destination, rewards program and real-world recycling application.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Marketing and Social Media Intern at Star Fleet Yachts in Kemah, TX.
A marketing internship at Star Fleet gives individuals the opportunity to learn more about the entertainment yacht and marketing industries while also becoming an important component of our business.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Associate Communications Director at Corporate Accountability International in Boston, MA.
The Associate Communications Director will increase Corporate Accountability International’s presence in the media, campaign visibility and name recognition by managing and expanding our press program, with a particular emphasis on deepening relationships with key media.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Manager, Online Marketing Production at Share Our Strength in Washington DC.
This position supports the organization’s online marketing efforts, managing the production flow for 5 web sites and email marketing efforts for 4 different fundraising platforms.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Interactive Marketing Specialist at Compass Knowledge Group in Orlando, FL.
You would be reponsible for managing paid search marketing (pay-per-click) accounts such as Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN Ad Center among other things.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Insider Writer and Editor at Environmental Defense Fund in New York, NY.
We are looking for an experienced communicator to write and edit Insider, the Environmental Defense Fund staff-only intranet.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media and Community Outreach Manager at Tuvel Communications in Washington DC.
We’re looking for a Social Media and Community Outreach Manager to manage independent contractors on a variety of projects and campaigns.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Web Producer at X PRIZE Foundation.
The main function of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Web Producer is to curate, aggregate, and create high quality content that is organized and accessible through our websites and social media services.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Metromix Product Analyst at Metromix in Chicago, IL.
We’re looking for smart people to help build Metromix into a thriving business with a strong national brand – and have fun doing it.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Freelance PHP Developer at HUGE in New York, NY.
The Freelance PHP Developer will participate in development efforts on projects for external clients. He or she will work with the account team, interaction designers, and graphic designers to design and build interactive solutions for clients.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Senior Account Executive at Electric Artists in New York, NY.
The Senior Account Executive will support the client’s overall online marketing, PR, social media and promotional initiatives through expert ideation and project management.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Sports Social Media Project Intern at The Foundation for Tomorrow / Sports Media Challenge in Charlotte, NC.
Join the team that plans and executes a comprehensive social media campaign to support this worthy charity event.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Editor (Internship) at United Nations Development Programme in New York, NY.
The interested candidate will assist the Web team in the evaluation, editing and organization of UNDP’s network of sites
Read more about this opportunity here.
API Engineer at Network for Good in Bethesda, MD.
To support our growing business, Network for Good is seeking an energetic and hard-working API Engineer to coordinate the development of new partner sites, ensure that partners can easily connect and utilize Network for Good’s API, and implement a strategy for working with outside technical partners.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Front End Web Developer at Partnership for a Drug Free America in New York, NY.
The ideal candidate will have at least 1-2 years of experience as a web developer.
Major Responsibilities:
Read more about this opportunity here.
Online Sales Manager at Earth.org in ANYWHERE.
We are a small, open-minded, and dedicated team looking for a few good people to work independently at the workplace of their choice – be it a beach in Goa, a cafe in Paris or your bedroom in San Francisco.
Read more about this opportunity here.
PHP Web Developer at The Table Project in Minneapolis, MN.
We’re looking for an energetic, passionate web developer who deeply loves the Church and online social networking.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Freelance Writers at Demand Studios in San Francisco, CA (telecommute).
To support the recent growth of these websites and their visitors’ demand for high quality articles, we are looking to add experienced and highly motivated freelance writers to our team.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Coordinator at Ashoka’s Changemakers in Arlington, VA.
The Social Media Strategist/Community Mobilizer will invigorate Changemakers’ communications strategy for accelerating social change by signaling action opportunities within our community.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Manager at Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD.
The Social Media Manager acts as the primary relationship builder with our communities of fans on sites like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Online Marketing and Editorial Specialist at Human Rights Campaign in Washington DC.
The Online Marketing and Editorial Specialist reports directly to the Marketing Director and is responsible for ongoing communication of the Human Rights Campaign’s online properties and building online brand awareness.
Read more about this opportunity here.
.NET Information Systems Specialist at Center of Arts Management and Technology in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Information Systems Specialist is responsible for design, construction and maintenance of custom database solutions for outside client base relevant to the research and service mission of the Center for Arts Management and Technology (CAMT) at Carnegie Mellon University.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Deputy Communications Director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in New York, NY.
Based in IAVA’s New York City headquarters, the Deputy Communications Director will work closely with the Communications Director and the Communications Associates on all communications efforts for the organization.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Vice President of Information Technology at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.
We are seeking a Vice President of Information Technology who is a highly technical individual, experienced in designing and managing infrastructures that provide a variety of web applications and e-mail services to millions of individual users, daily.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Communications Specialist at WWF Canada in Ottawa, CA.
WWF-Canada seeks a dynamic, bilingual, well-rounded Communications Specialist with writing and strategic communications experience ideally honed in politics, advocacy or conservation.
Read more about this opportunity here.
.NET Web Developer at Girl Scouts of the USA in New York, NY.
The Web Developer designs, develops, and/or tests Web applications. She/He performs maintenance and modification or enhancements for the organization’s existing systems and applications.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Outreach Specialist at Citizens Utility Board in Chicago, IL.
The Citizens Utility Board, an Illinois-based, non-profit consumer advocacy organization, is seeking a Social Media Outreach Specialist to promote its new energy management web tool (CUBEnergySaver.com) and to help manage its social media presence.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Marketing Consultant at NAS Recruitment Communications in Cleveland, OH.
We are seeking a Marketing Consultant to promote the effectiveness of our innovative solutions for employment branding, candidate engagement and client return.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Office Admin at Undercurrent in New York, NY.
You are a digitally saavy individual who is passionate about organization, efficiency and workflow. You are ridiculously detail oriented.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Senior HR Leader/VP Minister of People at Hulu in Los Angeles, CA.
We are seeking a world-class senior executive to serve as the company’s full-time leader on all things talent.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Specialist at HIV Research Section in San Francisco, CA.
The Social Media Specialist will work closely with different study teams to develop online strategies to maximize recruitment efforts as well as maintain an online presence.
Read more about this opportunity here.
PHP/Drupal Developer at Chicago Public Radio in Chicago, IL.
Chicago Public Radio, (WBEZ 91.5 FM) is seeking to hire a full time Web Developer.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Interactive Senior Account Executive at BFG Communications in Bluffton, SC.
This position works closely with clients, as well as the agency’s account, strategy, creative, design, and tech groups to develop and manage the planning and execution of multiple interactive projects at one time.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Blogger – IT Security at Alertsec Xpress in Stockholm, Sweden.
We are looking for an innovative IT security blogger, preferably with an already established network.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Marketing Communications and Social Media Specialist at Cheng & Tsui in Boston, MA.
The ideal candidate is a talented and results-driven marketing professional who will develop and drive all social media, communications, and messaging strategies.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Vice President of Marketing/New Media at Statcom/Jackson Healthcare in Alpharetta, GA.
As the Vice President of Marketing, you will have the opportunity to create and drive the strategic marketing and new media plan for this early stage, high-growth healthcare software company.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Social Media Outreach Expert at MWKS in Los Angeles, CA.
We’re seeking an Experienced Social Media Outreach Expert to help us on a digital WOM campaign starting soon for a major retailer.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Director of Online Media at Corbis in Seattle, WA.
The Director of Online Media will be responsible for generating new customers and traffic to Corbis’ web properties with a heavy focus on performance and ROI.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Community Manager at Corbis in Seattle, WA.
Corbis is seeking a social media expert hooked deeply into the digital ecosystem of blogging, social networks and online communities.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Director of Premium Products and Services at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.
We are seeking a Director of Premium Products and Services that will work closely with the Executive Team to define the overall strategy on Premium Products and Services of Synacor.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Interactive Account Director at Beeby Clark + Meyler in Irvington, NY.
Beeby Clark+Meyler, a fast growing leader in integrated marketing and advertising solutions, seeks an experienced Marketing Consultant to help manage an expanding client base and contribute toward the development of our business.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Associate at MrYouth in New York, NY.
Microsoft is seeking a knowledgeable, charismatic, and motivated student to become a Student Insider and blog about Microsoft’s new software.
Read more about this opportunity here.
Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable’s Job Board.
Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($80 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).
Reviews: Facebook, Hulu, Mashable, MySpace, PHP, Twitter, YouTube, blogger
Has the App Store Really Lost $450 Million to Piracy?
January 13, 2010 - 19:40
Tags: android, app store, Apple, iphone, mashable, Mobile 2.0, Money, News, piracy, Social, social networking
Posted in Social | No comments
As the mobile application space becomes larger and larger, cracked software and piracy — problems that have plagued the desktop software market for years — become more prevalent and a larger concern for app developers.
The website 24/7 Wall St. is estimating that the iPhone App Store has lost $450 million to piracy and cracked downloads. Although we’re not denying that App Store piracy is a very real concern, we do take issue with the methodology and estimated numbers in this report.
Mobile App Piracy: A Quick Primer
As iPhone detractors are always keen to point out, mobile applications, and, in turn, mobile application piracy, is not a new issue. The Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms have been battling the problem for the better part of a decade, and the Palm Classic- and JDK-compatible platforms even longer than that.
However, with the big push to acquire newer smartphone platforms like the iPhone and Android, plus the industry shift to platform-specific app stores, mobile application piracy has started to take on a new face.
In February of last year, one-click cracking tools and an over-the-air cracked app store were developed for the iPhone and iPod touch. While only available on jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch devices, this type of software showcased the trivialities of cracking and distributing paid mobile applications.
Lest you think this phenomenon is just limited to the iPhone, Android app developers have been complaining about the effect the Android Market return policy has had on app piracy for months.
The bottom line is that this is a real issue and it does impact developers, which in turn impacts the development ecosystem as a whole, including users. But how big is the problem?
The Report
24/7 Wall St. is claiming $450 million has been lost to piracy in the iTunes App Store alone, but we have some very real problems with the way that figure was determined.
The biggest red flag is that 24/7 Wall St. assumes that paid iPhone applications have a piracy rate of 75 percent. How did they come to this conclusion? Using some past piracy usage examples from apps from Fishlabs and other developers, they came to the conclusion that for every app purchased, three more were downloaded from cracked sources.
Now, this might be true for games like iCombat and others from Fishlabs — but this certainly isn’t going to be the case across the board. It might be more fair to say that the piracy rate for games in the App Store is 75 percent, but even then you would need a much larger sample size and various tracking methods if you wanted to be accurate.
Additionally, 24/7 Wall St. is estimating that 17 percent of the 3 billion apps downloaded from the App Store were paid apps — or 510 million. They then multiply that by three (using the previous ratio) and assume that 1.53 billion apps have been pirated. Then, the report multiples that figure by $3 (the average price of a paid app) and gets $4.59 billion. Assuming that 10 percent of app pirates would have actually purchased the app in question, that’s how you get $459 million in lost revenue.
I’m not a statistician, but even I can see that that’s really, really reaching.
Over-inflating Figures Doesn’t Help
Here’s the biggest problem I have with throwing around figures like “$450 million lost in piracy” — it doesn’t help the situation at all. Most people take piracy statistics with a grain of salt, anyway, and when they dissect the nature in which those figures were calculated, are more likely to write-off the entire issue. That certainly doesn’t help the game developer who sees that X percent of her usage statistics are coming form people who didn’t even pay for the app.
Instead of inflating figures, why not talk about what could be done to help curb (not solve, you can’t solve piracy in the digital age) the problem?
Both Google and Apple have policies in place that make it difficult for developers to fight against app piracy. Google’s return policy for the Android Market is a particularly wide loophole; there has to be a middle ground between letting users return an app within 24 hours and just using the system as a “buy/request refund/restore from backup” scheme.
Because Apple so tightly controls its developer ecosystem, developers are in a sense beholden to Apple to make sure that the encryption linking apps to specific devices is stronger. Because only jailbroken phones can use cracked apps, an obvious solution would be making the devices harder to jailbreak. That’s easier said than done, of course, but the fact remains that the onus really shouldn’t be on developers who have no control over how to sell their apps and have limited options in securing them.
What do you think about this report and mobile app piracy in general?
Reviews: Android, Android Market, App Store, Google, iPhone
Tags: android, app store, iphone, money, piracy
YouTube Star Derrick Ashong Gets Show on Oprah Radio
January 13, 2010 - 17:25
Tags: Celebrities, derrick ashong, derrick ashong experience, Internet Radio, mashable, News, oprah, oprah radio, Political, politics, satellite radio, Sirius, Social, social networking, xm, youtube
Posted in Social | No comments
Derrick Ashong became a minor Internet celebrity after a video of him talking politics at a 2008 Democratic debate went viral and got more than a million hits. Now he’s going to have his own live radio talk show on Oprah’s XM and SIRIUS radio station.
Expect social media to play a part in the format, both as a subject of discussion and as a means of communication with listeners. Oh, and the show will stream online at the Oprah Radio website, too.
Who Is Derrick Ashong?
It turns out that Ashong’s not just a random guy on the street: The eloquent 34-year-old graduate of Harvard University has been doing speaking engagements all over the world. He’s spoken at the London School of Economics, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the United Kingdom’s Parliament. His subject of choice has been the passion of Barack Obama’s young supporters.
Social Media Is Part of the Show
His new show on Oprah Radio will debut 12:00 p.m. EST on January 23. That’ll be it’s regular timeslot, too. Subjects will include politics, pop culture, music, the arts and — here it is — social media. He plans to answer questions received via social media channels, although it’s not clear yet which services he’ll use and in what ways.
All that seems like a good fit for Oprah’s network, since she has an established record with both Obama supporters and Twitter.
Ashong says the show “will challenge my listeners every day, in every moment, in every decision to push our world towards a brighter light. It will bring a passionate, global perspective to radio.” That’s some high hype, but you’ve got to at least be intrigued by the show’s social media origins and angle, regardless of whether or not the content and viewpoint appeal to you.
It looks like all some people need to create a bright future for themselves is passion and a YouTube channel. That shouldn’t come as a surprise these days, though.
UPDATE: We previously reported that the show would debut earlier than its regular timeslot, but that was an error stemming from time zone confusion. The show will debut at noon Eastern on January 23 and it will continue to air Saturdays at noon from then on.
Reviews: YouTube
Tags: derrick ashong, derrick ashong experience, internet radio, oprah, oprah radio, politics, satellite radio, Sirius, xm, youtube
Criminal Taunts Police On Facebook, Gets Caught
January 13, 2010 - 17:24
Tags: Crime, criminal, facebook, mashable, News, scotland yard, Social, social networking
Posted in Social | No comments
A British man who has spent the four months following his prison break taunting police with clues and rude gestures on Facebook has finally been caught by Scotland yard.
After he disappeared from a minimum-security prison in Suffolk in late September, the man (named Craig Lynch) posted status updates about what kind of steak he was eating, the temperature, and his New Year’s plans, stopping just shy of giving police enough information to find him. He even posted profile pictures with signs mocking his pursuers.
He was caught in southern England last night, but the AP report on the subject doesn’t say whether or not he was caught as a result of his social networking shenanigans. The Mirror reports that he broke out “close to the end” of his seven-year aggravated burglary sentence. Were 40,000 Facebook fans and a few parties worth making his situation worse in the long run? Probably not.
The “About Me” section of his Facebook profile said: “You’ll have a laugh with me but it will end in tears. It always does.”
Reviews: Facebook
Tags: crime, criminal, facebook, scotland yard, social networking
All The Apple Tablet Rumors Condensed Into One Picture
January 13, 2010 - 17:15
Tags: Apple, apple tablet, mashable, Mobile 2.0, Social, social networking, tablet
Posted in Rumors, Social | No comments
Yeah, we know. There have been so many Apple tablet-related rumors that it’s getting impossible to track them all, let alone determine which are actually likely to become reality.
That’s why you’ll love this visual guide to Apple Tablet rumors, courtesy of The Green Room blog. The rumors are represented by colored tags, with each color determining how likely the rumor in question is to happen. Over at TGR, you can find the sources for all the rumors in the picture. Check out the picture after the break; a bigger version is here.
[images courtesy of TGR]
Tags: apple, Apple Tablet, rumors, Tablet
