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10 Resort Escapes Worth the Splurge

2012-02-02T05:51:00.000+08:00

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IN MIDDLE EAST, BAN URGES STEPPED-UP EFFORTS TO RESOLVE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

2012-02-02T02:10:00.001+08:00

IN MIDDLE EAST, BAN URGES STEPPED-UP EFFORTS TO RESOLVE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
New York, Feb 1 2012 1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Israelis and Palestinians to take steps that will build trust and ensure an environment conducive to sustained negotiations, voicing his hope that the nascent talks begun last month between the two sides will continue.

"This is a critical moment for Israel and the region," Mr. Ban said in remarks during a joint press conference with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.

This is Mr. Ban's fourth visit to Israel as Secretary-General, and it is part of his wider visit to the Middle East that includes stops in Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories in an effort to help move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators began preparatory talks at the start of last month in Amman under the facilitation of King Abdullah II of Jordan and that country's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

In his meeting with Mr. Peres, the Secretary-General stressed the need for positive actions on the ground to contribute to an environment conducive to successful negotiations. He also discussed the status of the peace process with Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

In remarks prepared for a press encounter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Ban said he is encouraged that Israelis and Palestinians have re-engaged in direct talks and remained hopeful that direct, frequent exchanges between the parties will continue.

"I also hope that Israel will be forthcoming with its own concrete proposals on territory and security, as called for by the Quartet [the diplomatic grouping consisting of the UN, European Union, Russia and the United States], in order to reach agreement on all final status issues before the end of this year. The success of the Amman talks is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians."

The Secretary-General commended Mr. Netanyahu's commitment to a two-State solution, adding that this is the moment to display further leadership to ensure that negotiations continue.

"A credible political horizon is imperative for the emergence of a Palestinian State living in peace and security side-by-side with Israel," he said. "The consequences of inaction would be grave for either side."

Following his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Ban stated that a viable Palestinian State is long overdue.

"I continue to believe that a two-State solution can be achieved – and that the way to achieve it is through negotiations that resolve permanent status issues such as borders, security, refugees and Jerusalem," he said in the remarks prepared for the press conference in Ramallah with Mr. Abbas.

He also commended the Palestinian leader for the State-building efforts of the past several years and discussed with him ongoing tensions, including continued settlement activity and settler violence.

While in Ramallah, the Secretary-General also met with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Foreign Minister Ryad Malki, as well as with Palestinian civil society groups and graduates of the UN's annual media training programme for Palestinian journalists.
Feb 1 2012 1:10PM
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REFUGEE CHILDREN IN TANZANIA LEARN ART BASICS IN UN-SPONSORED WORKSHOP

2012-02-02T02:10:00.000+08:00

REFUGEE CHILDREN IN TANZANIA LEARN ART BASICS IN UN-SPONSORED WORKSHOP
New York, Feb 1 2012 1:10PM
In a novel way to impart new skills to children while improving their social interaction, the United Nations refugee agency has sponsored an arts workshop for refugee pupils from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Tanzania, where they were introduced to the basics of painting with water colours, pastels and acrylics and making collages.

About 140 pupils from primary and secondary schools, 100 of them Congolese from the Nyarugusu refugee camp in north-western Tanzania attended last week's course, organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and the Ujamaa Art Gallery based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital.

"This is like fresh air for the refugee children. They are excited," <"http://www.unhcr.org/4f2952249.html">said Belgian art teacher Soline de Laveleye, who conducted the workshop with three of Tanzania's top artists – Obadia Mbise, Thobias Minzi and Haji Chilonga. "They help each other and are keen to share their experiences. Some are even making new friends," she said.

The initiative is the first of its kind in Nyarugusu refugee camp, but UNHCR and the Ujamaa Art Gallery are considering continuing the project and incorporating other art forms, such as drama, music and literature.

"This project has brought the two groups [refugees and Tanzanians] closer together and fostered their interaction," said Oluseyi Bajulaiye, UNHCR's representative in Tanzania.

Baraka Danford, 16, said: "This is like magic, it is a big gift to me," adding that he had never used colours before but could sketch.

The youngsters painted and drew, experimenting with line, colour, shadow and light. Some depicted the things they saw around them, while many delved into their traumatic past for inspiration, including images of soldiers and guns in DRC.

An exhibition of the best works created by the young Congolese and Tanzanians at the workshop will go on display starting 15 February at the Ujamaa Art Gallery.

Proceeds from the sale of paintings, drawings and collages will be used to organize more art and educational projects to benefit refugees and host communities.

"These kids are hungry for it and we would like to give them a chance to develop their skills and make a positive impact in their life," Larna Mashiba, the gallery's director.
Feb 1 2012 1:10PM
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KENYAN COURT SENTENCES MEN WHO KILLED UN HUMANITARIAN WORKER TO 56 YEARS IN PRISON

2012-02-02T01:10:00.000+08:00

KENYAN COURT SENTENCES MEN WHO KILLED UN HUMANITARIAN WORKER TO 56 YEARS IN PRISON
New York, Feb 1 2012 12:10PM
The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Josette Sheeran welcomed today the decision by the Kenyan High Court to sentence five men to 56 years in prison each for the murder of a WFP staff member in 2008.

Silence Chirara, a Zimbabwean national, was coordinating WFP's logistics operation for South Sudan when he was ambushed and killed while driving a UN vehicle in the town of Lokichoggio, in northwest Kenya. He was 37.

"Nothing can be done to replace the life of this dedicated humanitarian and father, but justice has now been allowed to run its course," WFP said in a <"http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-executive-director-josette-sheeran-welcomes-sentencing-action-murder-wfp-staff">statement. "These stiff prison sentences send an important message that those who harm humanitarian workers shall be brought to justice."

WFP staff members said their thoughts were with Silence's wife and his two children. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms any attack on humanitarian workers. When action is taken, this serves as a deterrent to groups or individuals who are targeting humanitarian staff in their places of work," the statement read.
Feb 1 2012 12:10PM
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NEW UN INITIATIVE AIMS TO HARNESS POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO FIGHT GLOBAL HUNGER

2012-02-02T00:10:00.001+08:00

NEW UN INITIATIVE AIMS TO HARNESS POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO FIGHT GLOBAL HUNGER
New York, Feb 1 2012 11:10AM
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a week-long campaign in which users of the popular online trivia game Freerice can recruit their friends to help bring food to the world's most vulnerable populations.

<"http://freerice.com/freerice6">World Freerice Week, from 6 to 11 February, will have as its theme "6 Degrees of Freerice," according to a <"http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-launches-world-freerice-week-fight-hunger-through-power-social-media">news release issued by the Rome-based agency, which is calling on Freerice fans to recruit six friends to join in the online fight against hunger.

"Imagine what we could achieve if we each invite six of our friends to help us donate rice to hungry kids. Freerice allows everyone to make a real-world impact with just the click of a mouse," said Nancy Roman, WFP Director of Communications, Public Policy and Private Partnerships.

With each correct answer on <"http://freerice.com/">Freerice, 10 grains of rice are donated to WFP to feed hungry people around the world, paid for by sponsored banners on the site. Players can choose from 45,000 questions in a range of subjects, including flags of the world, chemistry and literature, and in six languages.

Freerice currently has over one million registered players, who together have donated nearly 100 billion grains of rice to feed almost five million people since the game's launch in 2007.

During World Freerice Week, players can create groups on Freerice.com that include "Freerice6" in the group title. Group founders can ask their friends to join and to each invite an additional six friends.

Prizes will be given to the group founders who have the most people in their group or whose group has donated the most rice, as well as to the individual who has donated the most rice during the week.

"Almost one billion people go to bed hungry every night," said Ms. Roman. "With 6 Degrees of Freerice, we're on our way to harnessing the power of online networks to make a difference in the fight against hunger."
Feb 1 2012 11:10AM
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UN OFFICIAL URGES ASIAN COUNTRIES TO COMMIT TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL BY 2030

2012-02-02T00:10:00.000+08:00

UN OFFICIAL URGES ASIAN COUNTRIES TO COMMIT TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL BY 2030
New York, Feb 1 2012 11:10AM
A United Nations official today <"http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1147&cHash=2fa31b97645dfd17fce5a9346f4d79c0">urged Asian countries to commit to achieving sustainable energy for all their citizens by 2030 by increasing access to and the efficiency of renewable energy sources.

"Reaching the goal of sustainable energy for all will require action by all countries and all sectors to shape the policy and investment decisions needed for a brighter energy future," said Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Chair of UN-Energy Kandeh K. Yumkella.

Globally, one person in five lacks access to modern electricity and twice than number – three billion people – rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating. In developed countries, the problem comes from a substantial waste of energy.

"Industrialized countries must accelerate the transition to low-emission technologies. Developing countries, many of them growing rapidly and at large scale, have the opportunity to leapfrog conventional energy options and move directly to cleaner energy alternatives that will enhance economic and social development," Mr. Yumkella told the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

To tackle this issue as well as stimulate economic growth and the preservation of the environment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which seeks to ensure universal access to modern energy services, double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix within the next 20 years.

To guide this initiative, Mr. Ban appointed a high-level group of global leaders from business, finance, government and civil society to mobilize and facilitate commitments to action which will help drive change. Mr. Yumkella, a co-chair of this group, told participants at the conference that new commitments and investments in sustainable energy were critical for Asia's development.

"I strongly believe that now more than ever, the world needs to ensure that the benefits of modern energy are available to all and that energy is provided as cleanly and efficiently as possible. This is a matter of equity, first and foremost, but it is also an issue of urgent practical importance," he said.
Feb 1 2012 11:10AM
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SOMALIA: UN ENVOY DEPLORES MURDER OF RADIO STATION DIRECTOR

2012-02-01T23:10:00.000+08:00

SOMALIA: UN ENVOY DEPLORES MURDER OF RADIO STATION DIRECTOR
New York, Feb 1 2012 10:10AM
The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned the recent murder of radio station director Hassan Osman Abdi and called on the authorities to carry out an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"I am shocked and saddened by the killing of Hassan Abdi, one of the most prominent journalists in Somalia," the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Augustine P. Mahiga, stated in a news release.

Mr. Abdi, 29, a journalist and director of Radio Shabelle, was shot dead on 28 January in Mogadishu, the capital of the Horn of Africa nation. His murder has also drawn the <"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/director_general_condemns_murder_of_somali_journalist_hassan_osman_abdi_and_urges_somalia_to_improve_media_safety/">condemnation of the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova.

Mr. Mahiga, who is head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), welcomed the public condemnation of the killing by Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and called on the Transitional Federal Government to conduct a "full, independent investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice."

UNPOS is working with the Transitional Federal Government and its offices in providing constitutional guarantees necessary to safeguard freedom of expression and the protection of journalists in the country.

"Fostering media independence and pluralism is an essential part of the process of establishing lasting peace and stability in Somalia," stated Mr. Mahiga.
Feb 1 2012 10:10AM
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ITech News Net

2012-02-01T21:23:00.001+08:00

ITech News Net

Olympus SZ-12 Compact Long Zoom Camera
Lenovo IdeaPad Y470p Notebook with 1GB Radeon HD7690 Graphics
Samsung GALAXY S Advance Mid-range Smartphone
Olympus TOUGH TG-320 Rugged Digital Camera

Olympus SZ-12 Compact Long Zoom Camera

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:13 PM PST

Olympus brings a new compact long-zoom digital camera, the SZ-12 (known as SZ-14 in Europe and Australia) featuring a powerful 24x optical zoom lens with 25mm wide angle that utilizes high performance ED glass (Extra-low Dispersion glass) and Olympus’ double-sided aspherical lens technology. To deliver clear images even in low light, the camera offers the Dual Image Stabilization, combing sensor-shift image stabilization with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds.

The SZ-12 sports a 14 Megapixel image sensor and a 3-inch LCD display. It is equipped wit TruePic III+ image processor and supports high-speed 7fps sequential shooting. Using the Super Macro mode, the SZ-12 can focus as close as 3cm away. At the front of the camera you can find the new, retro-chic “smart grip” that helps you hold the camera securely cutting out blur caused by imperceptible camera shake. In addition to Scene Mode that select the best settings for you to take shots, the SZ-12 also includes Magic Art Filters for adding special effects to images and videos. Its Telephoto Macro captures all the rich detail of small subjects like flowers from inches away.

The Olympus SZ-12 captures videos in HD 720P resolution and provides HDMI output so you can bring pictures and videos taken to a HDTV to share with your friends and families. The SZ-12 will be available in March in silver, black and red for $199.99.

[Olympus]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:42 AM PST

Lenovo launches its new IdeaPad Y470p, an affordable yet powerful notebook for entertainment and gaming. The new Y470p model replaces the GeForce GT 520M on regular Y470 with a AMD Radeon HD 7690 graphics card with 1GB of video RAM. It is powered by a Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz processor and 8GB of DDR3 RAM.

Lenovo’s Y470p comes with 750GB hard drive and a DVD SuperMulti burner. It has a 14-inch 1366×768 LCD display and a 2 Megapixel webcam. In addition to WiFi 802.11b/g/n, the notebook also packs Bluetooth and offers HDMI output. It is loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y470p starts at $799.

[Lenovo][Electronista]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:22 AM PST

Samsung is adding to the GALAXY line the new mid-range GALAXY S Advance smartphone. The new phone, as its name tells, is an advanced version of the GALAXY S. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 768MB of RAM. It will be shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. The Advanced GALAXY S has a curved glass design that enhances handling of the phone and fits the user's facial form easily and naturally.

The GALAXY S Advance has a 4-inch 480×800 Super AMOLED touchscreen and supports Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS/GPS and WiFi 802.11b/g/n connectivity. A 5 Megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash and a 1.3 Megapixel front camera should be enough for snapshots and video chat. The Android phone will be pre-loaded with Samsung TouchWiz UI, Samsung Apps, Polaris Office as well as ChatON, Readers Hub, Music Hub and Game Hub.

The Samsung GALAXY S Advance supports quad-band 850/900/1900/2100 HSPA 14.4Mbps and quad-band GSM/EDGE networks. It will be released starting from February in Russia then in CIS, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America and China.

[Samsung]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:51 AM PST

Olympus is launching a new rugged digital camera, the TOUGH TG-320, for active consumers. Designed to take hard knocks of everyday life, the camera is waterproof to 10 feet, shockproof to withstand five-foot drops to the hard ground, freezeproof to operate in freezing snowstorms (to 14 degrees Fahrenheit), and dustproof.

The 14 Megapixel TG-320 comes with a 3.6x optical zoom lens, TruePic III+ image processor and a 2.7-inch LCD display. It features dual image stabilization (Sensor-shift image stabilization and high ISO sensitivity) to deliver clear and blur-free images. It provides Intelligent Auto mode and Beauty Mode to help you take ideal pictures in different conditions. It supports 3D image capture as well. There are also Magic Art Filters that allows you to express your creativity with up to 12 special effects for your photos and HD movies.

The TOUGH TG-320 records 720p HD video and has HDMI output. Heading to the US in February, the rugged camera will be available for $179.99 in red and blue (yellow and white colors will be available in other markets).

[Olympus 1|2]

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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “VW’s Sequel to ‘The Force’ Super Bowl Ad Features Dog, Vader [VIDEO]”

2012-02-01T21:14:00.001+08:00

Mashable!

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “VW’s Sequel to ‘The Force’ Super Bowl Ad Features Dog, Vader [VIDEO]”

VW’s Sequel to ‘The Force’ Super Bowl Ad Features Dog, Vader [VIDEO]
Kazuo Hirai Is Sony’s New President and CEO
NASA Launches Facebook Game to Test Space Program Knowledge
Project Unbreakable Gives Sexual Abuse Victims a Voice in Pictures
Men Must be Graduates of Elite Universities to Join New Invite-Only Dating Site
Are These the 10 Funniest Super Bowl Commercials Ever?
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VW’s Sequel to ‘The Force’ Super Bowl Ad Features Dog, Vader [VIDEO]

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:01 AM PST

A chubby dog gets in shape to chase a Beetle in Volkswagen’s long-awaited sequel to its “The Force” Super Bowl ad from last year. And don’t worry, there’s a shout out to Star Wars as well.

Mark Hunter, CCO of Deutsch LA, which created “The Force” and the new ad, “The Dog Strikes Back,” acknowledges that the former ad was a tough act to follow. “The pressure is on because we did that great ad,” he says. “We don’t mind. That’s what we’re in this business for.”

Hunter jokes that the Deutsch team went to work on the new ad shortly after the whistle blew in the 2011 Super Bowl. Actually, work began in earnest about six months ago. Over that time, the agency went through many, many concepts. “I would be surprised if the raw number of script ideas was less than 200,” he says.

One of the challenges was to somehow work in a Star Wars reference. Hunter says the online Star Wars community is one of the reasons that last year’s ad caught on. One major difference is that most advertisers are dropping their complete ads before the big game. Last year, VW was among a more select group.

The timing, however, is the same: The Wednesday before the big game. Within a day, the video had received more than 150,000 views. However, VW’s teaser for this latest ad, “The Bark Side,” already has racked up 10 million views since hitting YouTube Jan. 18.

Does “Dog Strikes Back” live up to the hype? Sound off in the comments.

1. "The Bark Side" (Vokswagen)

Not surprisingly, the sequel to the most-shared ad of last year's Super Bowl, and of all of 2011 for that matter, is leading the pack this year. Volkswagen released this video last week showing dogs barking to the tune of Star Wars's "The Imperial March." So does that mean there will be dogs in this year's ad? More Star Wars? We'll know soon enough.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Advertising, Marketing, Super Bowl ads, TV, Video, VW, YouTube

Kazuo Hirai Is Sony’s New President and CEO

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:08 AM PST

Kazuo Hirai is Sony‘s new CEO and President, replacing Howard Stringer, the company has announced.

The change is effective April 1st, and comes after a couple of rough years for Sony, with 2011 being particularly troublesome.

The company’s earnings were on the decline; even worse, Sony had to deal with a huge PlayStation Network outage. The fact that Sony’s PR department handled the matter rather clumsily did not help, either.

As president of the Consumer Products & Services Group at Sony as well as chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Hirai is already considered to be one of the most powerful executives in Sony. His main tasks will be turning Sony’s TV business around and finding a way to compete with Apple in the mobile gaming arena.

“The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses – primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains. The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony's diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways," Said Hirai in a statement.

"Kaz is a globally focused executive for whom technology and the cloud are familiar territory, content is highly valued, and digital transformation is second nature. (…) It was my honor to recommend him to the board for the positions of president and CEO, because he is ready to lead, and the time to make this change is now," said Stringer, who will now become Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Image credit: Wikipedia, Tokyoship

More About: ceo, Kazuo Hirai, sony

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NASA Launches Facebook Game to Test Space Program Knowledge

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:45 PM PST

How much do you know about the NASA space program, Earthling?

NASA has launched a multi-player Facebook game to test just that. Space Race Blastoff poses a series of surprisingly tough questions — for example, who launched the first liquid-fueled rocket? — that cover a range of space-related topics including history, technology and science. There’s even a pop culture category.

Users play the game by choosing an avatar then answering a series of 10 multiple-choice questions. They can compete with other players or just play solo. Players can also earn additional points if they are able to correctly answer bonus questions following the initial 10-question round.

NASA released the game through Facebook to leverage the social network’s massive audience and make the game something players could enjoy with friends.

“Space Race Blastoff opens NASA’s history and research to a wide new audience of people accustomed to using social media,” David Weaver, NASA’s associate administrator for communications, said in a press release. “Space experts and novices will learn new things about how exploration continues to impact our world.”

Space Race Blastoff is NASA’s first multi-player online game, but the agency has a history of adeptly using social media to connect with the public. In September, NASA announced plans to invite 150 of its Twitter followers to a “tweetup” event at a live spacecraft launch. A number of astronauts have active Twitter accounts as well; Ron Garan, or Astro_Ron, even has more than 88,000 followers.

Will you play Space Race Blastoff? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Facebook, NASA

Project Unbreakable Gives Sexual Abuse Victims a Voice in Pictures

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:05 PM PST

Pictures can capture a moment, express a feeling or, with Project Unbreakable, help sexual abuse victims take control over the violence done to them.

Project Unbreakable was created in October of 2011 by Grace Brown, a 19-year-old studying at New York’s School of Visual Arts, as a way to address sexual abuse by empowering its victims.

The Tumblr features images of abused men and women holding up signs with a quote from their attacker. The images are presented simply, often without so much as a blurb or caption. Brown has photographed dozens of the images herself but she’s also received email submissions from people as far away as Abu Dhabi. The site has a whiff of PostSecret but with a much different goal in mind.

Project Unbreakable doesn’t pretend to be a self-help blog, and Brown is quick to point possible victims to professional services, such as RAINN, on the site.

The site is, however, more than just a photo project. The images — whether taken by brown or submitted from afar — are calm and strong, allowing the victims space to own their experience. Yvonne Moss, a rape survivor and activist, described the project as “a way for victims to take the power back of the words that were once used against them.”

It’s powerful material that shows a glimpse into the grotesque and sometimes awful banality of sexual abuse. Victims of extreme violence and incest are just as frequent as victims raped by friends or even significant others. If anything, Project Unbreakable shows that sexual abuse occurs in many ways, shapes and forms.

Brown has expanded the project with profile pages on Facebook and Twitter and will host a photography day in Washington on March 3 to encourage more women (and men) to share their stories.

Project Unbreakable walks a fine line but does it have the right idea? Can art — and the Internet — really help heal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Grace Brown, Project Unbreakable

More About: charity, Social Good, Social Media

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Men Must be Graduates of Elite Universities to Join New Invite-Only Dating Site

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:46 PM PST

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Sparkology

Quick Pitch: Sparkology is an invite-only luxury dating site for young professionals.

Genius Idea: Sparkology members must be college graduates and the men must have graduated from the nation’s top institutions

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Sparkology was started to help the smart, reserved, hopeless romantic guy win. This new invite-only online dating site allows only college graduates to join and the men are held to an even higher standard — all must be verified graduates of U.S. News & World Report’s top 50 universities, top 15 liberal arts schools or top international schools. Many of the men already on the site studied law, medicine or business.

The business model might seem discriminatory, but Alex Furmansky, the founder of the site, stands behind his site that he says is successfully making matches. He was inspired to start the website back in college, when he noticed the loudest most obnoxious guy at the bar always attracted the most attention and got all of the girls.

“If you’re looking for more than just a quick lay, and you’re not loud, it’s hard to find a partner,” said the University of Pennsylvania graduate.

Before launching, Sparkology held focus groups to ask young professionals what’s wrong with the current online dating sphere and also asked what users want from a dating site. Furmansky discovered that people wanted to have find quality dating matches who were highly educated, motivated and active.

“The problem is the current mass market [for dating sites] is amplifying the bar scene,” Furmansky said. “I believe there has to be a better approach to dating where the guy with the wine and flowers wins.”

In the focus groups, women said they wanted ambitious guys who graduated from prestigious schools. Men wanted women to be educated, but didn’t care much about where women attended school. Sparkology created its rules for the site based on this information.

“There’s so much grime in the online dating industry,” Furmansky said. “I’m running Sparkology with a high standard of ethics. It might hurt our growth in the early days, but maintaining a brand of trust will be worth it.”

Sparkology launched in October 2011 aiming to bring courtship to online dating. Sparkology prides itself on being classy and sophisticated. Furmansky hands out personal invites sealed with a wax stamp to educated singles he approves of. The company even teaches its men users about courtship, manners and how to be classy. Back in November, Sparkology invited 50 of its guy members to an event where they received fashion advice and learn about fine scotch.

“I cant promise that every guy is going to be ambitious,” Furmansky said. “But Sparkology’s pool of men is like day and night compared to Match.com.”

Sparkology is supported by an under $500,000 seed fund. The site has 10 employees, including four concierges, who give dating advice and help guys plan dates. They also monitor the site and respond to user feedback.

About 1,200 members have joined Sparkology. The site is exclusive to New York now, but the brand plans to start up in San Francisco, Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago. The site doesn’t cater to gays and lesbians, but Furmansky says the site will in the future as his company grows.

The pricing model is different than most dating sites, too. Guys pay $2 for a spark, which is one message to a girl he is interested in. Girls pay $15 per month to use Sparkology and can send messages without paying any extra fees.

“This pricing model works because women know guys can’t send spam,” Furmansky said. “Guys send fewer messages and women are more likely to respond to messages if they know they’re genuine.”

So what do you think of Sparkology? Is its elitism appealing or outraging?

Images courtesy of Sparkology

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: online dating, Sparkology

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Are These the 10 Funniest Super Bowl Commercials Ever?

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:02 PM PST

1. Sprint

This ad from 2006 shows off a Sprint phone's advanced theft-deterring technology.

Click here to view this gallery.

The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest day in American football. It’s also the advertising world’s shining moment.

Brands and agencies pull out all the stops to make an impression on the game’s captive audience. Most frequently, they turn to the bizarre and the offbeat, seeking to burn messages into viewers’ brains with humor.

Who can forget the beer-shilling frogs whose guttural utterances joined to say “Bud-wei-ser”? Or the Monster.com kids with decidedly underwhelming ambitions in life? Last year, a young Darth Vader wannabe elicited laughs for Volkswagen.

And the ads had better be funny; commercial slots are going for a whopping $3.5 million a pop this year.

But with so much sensory overload on Super Bowl Sunday every single year, it can be hard to keep track of the best 30-second spots of all time. Here, Mashable shares with you a top-10 list put together by the team at MentorMob, a content curation and aggregation startup based in Chicago.

Maybe you don’t agree with this list, though, and think the MentorMob folks forgot a few classics. (Ribbit.) No problem. MentorMob’s model allows its users to edit public playlists of videos and webpages as they see fit. So if you want to add something, just click on this link to head over to the MentorMob site, and sign in to make your changes.

What do you think is the funniest Super Bowl commercial ever? What are you going to add to this list? Let us know in the comments.

BONUS GALLERY: Who to follow on Twitter for the Super Bowl XLVI scoop

1. @SuperBowl2012

The official account of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee is a must-follow for fans going to the game. It will function as one of several channels directing fans to entertainment venues and addressing logistical concerns from the committee's social meda command center.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Advertising, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI

What Humans Want: More Domestic Robots [STUDY]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:45 PM PST

People would like to have their own Rosie the Robot — think The Jetsons — and would even borrow money to buy a robot that could complete domestic chores.

A survey from the marketing analytics firm Persuadable Research shows that 68% of people surveyed would like to use a robot for domestic purposes such as cleaning windows, washing dishes and doing laundry. “Moving things” topped the list of desired robot tasks, with 55% of respondents saying they would like a ‘bot to help with this chore.

Others said they would like a robot to act as personal assistant, reminding them of appointments and errands to run. Also, babysitting children or the elderly was a task many people would like to designate to a robot.

The majority of survey respondents said they’d want a robot that looked human-like, with a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine, and with customizable features.

Thirteen percent of people who said they would pay for such a robot said they would fork over more than $15,000. But the majority said that they’d pay a maximum of $999.

The fantasy of a robot to take your place at work or complete difficult tasks is an idea that people began tinkering with decades ago.

Scientists and researchers are already creating and perfecting robots to do dangerous work, for example enter war zones or demolished buildings. Some robots can already be used for environmental monitoring.

Robot owners can already activate their machines from remote computers with MyRobots, a self-described “Facebook for robots.” Which is kind of like messaging your very own Rosie the Robot and asking her what she’s doing at that moment. Some robots can even mimic your emotions.

But there’s yet to be an all-in-one, chore-completing, personal assistant robot. For now, though, the Roomba can let you check “clean floors” off your to-do list.

Would you like a robot to help you with tasks? What would you have it do and how much would you be willing to pay for it? Tell us in the comments.

More About: robotics, robots

The 10 Most Blatant Design Ripoffs in Social Media

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:24 PM PST

Pinspire vs. Pinterest

It doesn't get more blatant than this. Pinspire is pretty much a pixel-for-pixel Pinterest clone, created by the serial digital ripoff artists at Rocket Internet. It's a bit obscene just how much of a copycat Pinspire is -- from concept to functionality to the cursive-style logo. Will it be as lucrative for the Rocket's Sawmer Brothers as their other projects, an eBay clone they sold to the real auction site for $50 million or the European deals site that Groupon gobbled up? Or will someone finally serve them with a cease-and-desist letter? If that happens, someone please pin it.

Click here to view this gallery.

In the world of social media, discovering that worthwhile original idea for your app or website is by far the hardest thing to get right. It’s so hard, in fact — and the field so potentially lucrative — that many parties who jump into the field tend not to bother. Why should you create something original when there are so many successful sites and services that you can just rip off?

At least that appears to be the thinking behind many Internet companies whose concepts, web design or apps appear to owe a lot to other, more successful forebears. Once you start looking, it’s not hard to find digital ripoffs. At best, they’re quirky homages inspired by a successful digital brand. At worst, they’re ersatz imitators looking to cash in on someone else’s idea — just a step or two above malware.

Perhaps that’s a little harsh. After all, the humor writer Josh Billings once said, “About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment.” If you substitute “web designer” for “writer,” he may have been talking about the state of digital design today. After all, it would be impossible to find a design that isn’t at least a little derivative.

SEE ALSO: Top 5 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Still, there’s a difference between borrowing some core design ideas and wholesale imitating. In social media, where the essential premise of connecting and sharing with your friends provides a basic architecture, perhaps the line between the two is blurrier than in other fields. After all, Facebook was called a MySpace clone, which was called a Friendster clone before that. But they are (and were) nothing like each other.

While building on existing concepts will always be part of design, so too will mimics, where the cloning is so pervasive and total that the site is nothing more than a copy of the original, merely slipped into a different skin. Here are the 10 most flagrant design ripoffs in social media today, at least to Mashable‘s eye.

More About: BlinkList, Copycats, delicious, DianDian, digg, DZone, Facebook, foursquare, Funded By Me, hacker news, heello, instagram, kickstarter, picplz, Pinspire, pinterest, reddit, scvngr, Social Media, tumblr, Twitter, web design, yammer

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Facebook Post Seals Guinness World Record

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:01 PM PST

Facebook broke a Guinness World Record this week — and no, this doesn’t have to do with the company’s much-anticipated IPO.

Fans of the Zynga game FrontierVille sought and set a World Record, posting over 1,001,600 comments on a single item. If nothing else gives away the string of more than 1 million comments, the name of the group — Ffgpioneers/gwr/attempt — states the purpose of the charade was to land in The Guinness Book of World Records.

Tracey Hodgson’s Oct. 30, 2011 post received comments from 107 FrontierVille fans over the last three months, more than doubling the previous record set by Italy’s Roberto Esposito, according to Guinness World Records.

The record setting post read, “hi all!!! , hope everyone is ok today , this is ‘the one’, please talk about anything you like here, whatever you want to talk about, change topic whenever you like also, just have fun , . so how are you all today?( please someone speak quick or i’ll have no nails left!!!) ;-) x x x.”

Hodgson says she took up FrontierVille after her daughter started playing on her Facebook account. She wanted to set the record to show the strength of the FrontierVille community, with which she had become deeply involved.

“I began to play myself, and then got involved in helping with the game’s community groups as an administrator,” she told Guinness. “My friend Nattie Murphy saw the previous record and suggested I try to break it — it sounded like a great idea for our group to show what we are capable of when we work together”

According to Hodgson, the record was set largely due to four of the 107 commenters.

What do you think, is this a proud display of the FrontierVille community’s unity or a big waste of time? Let us know in the comments.

BONUS: 10 Classic Video Games You Can Play Online for Free

1. The Oregon Trail

The game that made dysentery fun was released as a Facebook app last February, much to the delight of grown-up school children everywhere. It's now social, of course, but the decision whether to ford the river is all your won.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: comments, Facebook, frontierville, world record, Zynga

Hulu’s Super Bowl Teaser Has Arrested Development Theme [VIDEO]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:37 PM PST

Hulu is teasing its new Super Bowl campaign and its plot to turn human brains into “mushymush.”

The ad will star Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Up All Night) as the latest “TV star” who is surreptitiously trying to rot Earthling brains, thanks to the magic of Hulu Plus.

As teasers go, we’re pretty happy with the multiple Arrested Development references in this spot.

Hulu started its ad campaign focused on the Evil Plot to Destroy the World (using television) back in 2009 with Alec Baldwin. Since then, the service has created spots featuring Seth MacFarlane, Denis Leary and Eliza Dushku.

Hulu is encouraging viewers to join the Evil Plot by using the #mushymush hashtag on Twitter and following @HuluPlus.

The full ad will air on Feb. 5, 2012 during the Super Bowl. As in years past, Hulu will profile all of the Super Bowl ads in its AdZone.

Let us know what you think of the guy in the $3,000 suit doing a Hulu Plus ad in the comments. Come on!

Photo courtesy of Hulu

More About: hulu, hulu plus, Super Bowl, Super Bowl ads, Will Arnett

5,000 Pound Crab-Like Robot Can Walk On Asteroids

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:21 PM PST

Gravitational pull on most asteroids is pretty low. That’s why NASA’s rover ATHLETE (All Terrain Hex Limbed Extra Terrestrial Explorer) — with its dexterous arms and the ability to crawl across low-weight environments — could become useful in the future to explore rocky space surfaces and treacherous conditions.

ATHLETE was created by NASA’s Johnson and Ames centers, Stanford University and Boeing.

Scientist are currently testing out this half-scale model, which is already pretty large — 13 feet tall, and with six legs. The six legs can life to step over boulders or dip in terrain when moving across a rocky surface. The machine has depth perception and various cameras all around it to observe any obstacles that might prevent it from accomplishing its mission.

Right now, ATHLETE is bare, but the final version will be covered with a payload weighing in at about 32,000 pounds, plus tools. Each of the Explorer’s arms can pick-up a tool, any tool — shovels, grippers, drill bits, etc.

In theory, the rover may not need to land softly using rockets but be able to engage its bendy legs to absorb impact and land on surfaces like a spider.

“We’ll also be able to possibly push-off and bounce from place-to-place,” says Chris McQuin, the task manager and team leader for the Athlete project featured in NASA’s video.

The team is also looking into using gaming systems like Xbox to control advanced robots. A human control would use the robot as their avatar to direct the machines even when the robot is thousands, even millions, of miles away. For example, you move left, the robot moves left, you crouch down and pick something up, so does the robot. Scientists are also researching ways to determine the condition of the rover after it travels to scavange on a far-away planet or asteroid.

What’s your reaction to this robot? Tell us in the comments.

More About: Asteroids, NASA, Robot, robotics, space

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YouTube CEO: The Future of Content Is Niche Channels

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:06 PM PST

The way consumers access and consume media is changing rapidly, YouTube head Salar Kamangar believes, and YouTube is evolving to accommodate it.

“We’re entering the third wave of media,” Kamangar said during an on-stage interview with AllThingsD‘s Peter Kafka in Laguna Nigel, Calif., Tuesday. “The first wave was the broadcast networks. The second wave was cable networks. Now it’s about giving people exactly what they want to watch today,”

People have specific interests in a variety of topics — say, yoga and stand-up surfing — but it’s difficult to find a continuous stream of video content catered to those interests, Kamangar contends.

YouTube is looking to bridge that void by developing channels that are more topically specific and interactive than what viewers are currently able to find through traditional, one-way broadcasting channels. The online video network has invested $100 million in developing premium content channels catering to subjects such as business news, food, dance, education, pets, fashion and fitness.

YouTube is also seeking to develop a lean-back viewing experience. “Right now [on YouTube], you watch a three-minute video, and every three minutes you have to decide what you want to watch next,” Kamangar said.

YouTube wants audiences to be able to watch more passively, he added: “The idea is that you’ll subscribe to a channel and you’ll go and just keep watching.”

So, while YouTube is striving to differentiate itself from traditional broadcast TV in some respects — namely, in serving niche interests — the video platform is working to function more like it in others.

But there are risks. YouTube is rolling out 100 premium content channels this year: a number that some viewers will no doubt find overwhelming. And there’s as yet no visible indication that users want a more passive viewing experience from YouTube.

Kamangar admits that it’s “very difficult for any of us [at YouTube] to predict what will be successful,” but that it’s essential to experiment.

“We’d rather be early than late,” he added.

More About: AllThingsD, Media, ONLINE VIDEO, Salar Kamangar, YouTube

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Vevo Made $150 Million Last Year

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:50 PM PST

Vevo generated $150 million in revenue last year, President and CEO Rio D. Caraeff revealed at AllThingsD‘s media conference on Tuesday.

The two-year-old music video platform, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media, has paid out $100 million to content owners over the past two years, he added.

“So you’re making money,” AllThingsD‘s Ina Fried observed.

“We’re making money,” Caraeff confirmed, smiling.

Central to the company’s success has been its embrace of channels beyond its own, Caraeff said. Vevo serves content not just on its own site, but on third-party platforms including Facebook, YouTube and XBox. The company never strove to create value through scarcity, he explained. “It’s about ubiquity.”

Vevo is now seeing 3.5 billion video views per month, 800 to 900 million of which are from the U.S.

Vevo is setting its sites abroad in 2012. The company is planning to relaunch its site in the first quarter, and is working to make its content and its apps available to six more countries this year, Caraeff said. Vevo is also looking to build on its range of programming, combining music and fashion, for instance, and ramping up its offering of live recorded events.

Although Caraeff wants to bring some more variety to Vevo’s programming, he insisted that the company’s “head, heart and wallet are firmly driven by music. We’re not trying to be all things to all people.”

When asked about the his vision for Vevo’s future, Caraeff said that he sees a tremendous amount of potential for growth. “We do think in a relatively short period of time we can generate well in excess of a billion dollars in revenue,” he said. “We wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t a big opportunity. We’re not building a nice small business.”

More About: Media, Music, vevo

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Why Social Recommendation Services Need to Get Even More Personal

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:34 PM PST

Yen Lee is the founder and president of Uptake, a social travel company that pairs personalized recommendations from friends with an extensive, searchable catalog of expert and consumer travel insights.

Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon user reviews aren’t enough anymore. Crowd insights are no longer meaningful to the individual simply because they’re “user generated.” People don’t care about finding the needle in the haystack — unless they trust the needle in the first place.

  It used to be that consumers would get purchase recommendations from acquaintances, salespeople, and perhaps even celebrity endorsements on TV or radio. Today, the web offers vast access to a variety of products and services, and countless channels by which to acquire them. The diversity of choice has powerfully influenced consumer preference, but very often, it has left the consumer in a state of flux.

Therefore, a new consumer is emerging, along with evolving web discovery technology that will impact his decision-making process. These three factors will be especially important for today’s new era of social recommendation services.

Trust: In the past, a crowd’s wisdom and insight rendered its recommendations valuable. Today, we not only seek recommendations from qualified strangers, but also from people we already know. Socially connected consumers value and trust the opinions of friends more than the input of strangers.
Taste: The increase of emotional and personal disclosure on social networks has allowed services to mine networks for unique and powerful insights that boost social experiences both on and offline. We can now tap these preferences to depths we never before imagined. Businesses can build powerful recommendation engines using these insights, triggering user discovery at astonishing rates.
Time: Consumers don't have the time to sift through the web’s mass of information and insights, especially when we can just ask people we know, and rest assured that their insights are sufficient.

These trends prove that today’s consumers share one overarching priority: personalization. And some companies are already catching on. Spotify took music to a new level by personalizing playlists by taste, and also by enabling sharing with people meaningful to its users. Much the same, Etsy‘s Facebook connection lets people discover gifts for friends based on Likes and interests.

  Likewise, travel is an innately social experience. We ask people about destinations, share our photos, meet new people on trips, and even plan trips together. However, travel has historically been weighed down by booking and planning processes that lacked recommendations or personalization. Recently though, companies are responding to a new breed of traveler — one that prefers the unbeaten path, the locals-only establishments and one-of-a-kind adventure. However, today’s travelers also want approval from their social circles — trusted friends with similar tastes, who won't waste their time with irrelevant information.  

For each of the companies mentioned above, friends provide trusted advice to validate and enhance the consumer experience, making it meaningful and worth the investment. In a year or so, we'll see that companies will address trust, taste and time to generate ultra-personalized recommendation services for their users.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, OrangeDukeProductions

More About: consumer reviews, contributor, Etsy, features, social recommendation services, spotify, travel

Petitions Demand Apple Improve Foxconn Conditions

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:10 PM PST

Two online petitions beseech Apple to improve working conditions in the Chinese factories that make its products.

The petitions, both filed within the last two weeks, follow a renewed round of criticism directed at the company over labor practices at overseas facilities like the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China.

One petition, created on Change.org, asks that Apple “protect workers making iPhones in Chinese factories.” It has already amassed 150,000 of the 200,000 signatures it hopes to gain.

The second petition, from SumOfUs.org, calls upon Apple to make an “ethical” iPhone 5. The petition argues that Apple’s record quarterly earnings mean that it can force suppliers to improve the treatment of factory workers.

According to Cult of Mac, 35,000 individuals signed the SumOfUs petition in its first 24 hours.

While reports on living conditions at the factories, suicides and factory accidents have been covered in the tech and business press over the last three years, the story has received renewed mainstream interest in the last month.

A Renewed Focus on Labor Conditions

In early January, the radio program This American Life aired an episode titled “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory.” The episode took a closer look at the issue, using an excerpt from performer Mike Daisey’s one-man show as its base. Daisey, a lifelong Apple fan, traveled to China to see the conditions of the Foxconn factory for himself.

Following the airing of the program, Apple released its annual report on labor conditions. For the first time, Apple listed its suppliers by name. The company also announced that it would be the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association. Many labor advocates still criticized the company, however, for not making better progress in enforcing compliance with its suppliers.

Topping things off, The New York Times ran a series of articles looking at Apple’s manufacturing relationship with China. The second article took a more critical look at Apple’s role in supplier relations. In a company-wide email, Apple CEO Tim Cook promised to “dig deeper” into the allegations against the company and its suppliers.

Apple One of Many

Of course, Apple isn’t the only company that uses Chinese suppliers and factories to make its products. Foxconn, the company most frequently cited in petitions and reports, is the world’s largest maker of electronic components. The company’s major customers include not just Apple but Amazon Sony, IBM, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Asus, Samsung, Panasonic, Motorola, Nintendo, Microsoft, Vizio, Nokia and Intel.

Other companies also face labor issues in China. Between 3,000 and 4,000 workers staged a protest at a Sanyo factory in Shenzhen in mid-January. That followed a threat of mass suicide by Xbox 360 line-workers at Foxconn. Foxconn was able to negotiate deals with the protesters.

Still, Apple’s position as an admired brand — both in the United States and abroad — seems to hold the company to a higher standard. As a result, we see multiple petitions calling for an ethical iPhone yet little is mentioned about ethical Galaxy Nexus phones or ethical video game consoles.

In the apparel industry, public pressure forced companies such as Nike and The Gap to improve labor conditions in their factories. Time will tell if the electronics industry sees similar changes.

More About: apple, china, factory conditions, Foxconn, labor, petition

Amazon Rides Kindle Fire to Huge Growth, but Profits Are Down

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:52 PM PST

Amazon is growing fast. But that growth is outpacing its ability to make money, if the company’s quarterly results are any indication.

Virtually every area of the company experienced double-digit growth over the same period a year earlier. Net sales were up 35% to $17.4 billion in total revenue. Sales by third parties on the site increased by 65% and now account for 36% of all the items sold on the site. Revenue from media — books, music and video — was up 14% worldwide. And in the nine weeks before New Year’s, Kindle sales were up a whopping 177% over the previous year.

Nevertheless, Amazon’s fourth-quarter net income was just $177 million, down from $416 million a year earlier.

“We’ve been investing heavily,” said Tom Szkutak, Amazon’s chief financial officer, during the company’s earnings call. “We’ve seized a lot of opportunity in front of us. There are some challenges with economic activity in Europe, and the Thailand floods, but we think those things will work themselves out over time.”

SEE ALSO: iPad to Kindle Fire: You're Irrelevant

Besides world economic issues, what also may be shrinking Amazon’s profits is the Kindle Fire tablet, which the company reportedly sells at a loss in order to rope customers into using its digital services. Amazon sold millions of Kindle Fires over the holiday, and although those customers may ultimately prove to be a reliable source of continuous revenue, the cost of subsidizing their hardware is high.

However, the Fire is also heating up media sales, which the company says were particularly strong in North America. Amazon says it’s planning to invest even more in offering content through the Kindle and Amazon Prime memberships.

“We’re very pleased with the growth we’ve seen in our digital content that we’re offering as part of Prime,” said Szkutak. “What we can’t see yet is what’s happening with free trial conversion. It’s early, but we like what we see so far, so that’s why we’re continuing down the path of adding more content to Prime.”

Curiously, one more area of growth in media was physical books. Szkutak said said the category picked up by double digits in Q4, despite the record sales of Kindle ereaders.

Do you think Amazon’s strategy of winning loyal media customers with cheap harware will pay off in the long term? And why do you think it’s selling more physical books? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

BONUS GALLERY: Amazon Kindle Fire Unboxing and Run-Through

Amazon Kindle Fire: Main Bookshelf Interface

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: amazon, Kindle, kindle fire

Facebook Timeline and Users: Not Quite a Love Affair [POLL RESULTS]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:34 PM PST

When news broke last week that Facebook Timeline was coming to all Facebook users, it answered the question many people had been wondering: “What’s taking so long?” However, now we’re faced with a more pressing question: Is Facebook Timeline for All what all really wants? Mashable‘s poll sought to answer that burning question.

By one measure, the answer is, “Perhaps not.” At least that’s the sentiment Mashable’s poll, which asked, “How are you affected?”, uncovered last week.

In the poll, exactly 50% of nearly 1,600 respondents said they currently have Facebook Timeline.

However, a survey of the results would indicate that while some users are receptive to Timeline, most aren’t thrilled about the prospect of the feature becoming universal. In fact, 79% of more than 1,500 voters wish that Facebook Timeline were optional.

Of course, it should be noted that this data is merely anecdotal, and shouldn’t be seen as a comprehensive overview of how users feel about Facebook Timeline. Additionally, users were not required to answer all the questions, so some discrepancies persist. Regardless, it’s worth pointing out that the results don’t yield a landslide of early support for the new product.

Do you have Facebook Timeline?

Exactly half of responders already have Facebook Timeline.

Click here to view this gallery.

We also asked our Facebook community to tell us what they’d change, and the responses were tremendous. See what they had to say here.

The poll remains open, so feel free to add your perspective if you haven’t yet by answering questions below, or pose a question of your own.

Facebook Timeline: How Are You Affected?

More About: Facebook, facebook timeline

10 Tips and Tricks for the Facebook iPhone App

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:20 PM PST

1. Change Your Cover Photo on the Go

You can now change your cover photo from the mobile app.

Head to your profile and tap on the camera icon, displayed at the bottom-right of your cover image.

You will now have the option to snap a new pic, or select one from your iPhone's Camera Roll.

Click here to view this gallery.

As you’d expect, Facebook‘s iPhone app is exteremely popular. App version 4.1 comes complete with the new mobile Timeline design, so we thought we’d take a look at some tips and tricks for getting the most out of the app experience.

Eager for a better way to manage your notifications or more quickly access your BFFs? Try these 10 handy hints to become Facebook iPhone app fluent.

SEE ALSO: How to See When Someone Unfriends You on Facebook

Take a look through the gallery for our useful hints. Share yours with the Mashable readership in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kevinjeon00

More About: Facebook, features, How-To, iphone, iphone apps, tips and tricks

You’ll Download Physical Objects Sooner Than You Think, Thanks to Kids Like These

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:03 PM PST

File-sharing site The Pirate Bay caused an Internet stir last week when it introduced a new content category called “Physibles,” essentially designed to allow people to pass one another physical objects for download. The term refers to data files that are actually able to become physical objects via 3D printing technology.

Before long, The Pirate Bay said in a blog post, “you will print the spare parts for your vehicles."

Some saw the announcement as an overhyped publicity stunt. Others saw a powerful revolution of how humans acquire essential goods. But one expert Mashable spoke with this week said that 3D printing is indeed bound for the mainstream — and even sooner than The Pirate Bay might think.

“If you want to draw that parallel, we are kind of in the early 1980s of the computer industry right now, when it was just moving from mainframes into home computers,” said Hod Lipson, a Cornell University associate professor of both Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Computing & Information Science.

“I see a big future for 3D printers in personal-scale applications that will unfold over the next decade.”

That big future will probably include kids like Riley Lewis and Vernon Bussler (right and left, respectively, in the accompanying photo).

Riley and Vernon are eighth graders. Along with a small cohort of classmates at Discovery Charter School in the Bay Area, they’re already getting pretty deep into the world of 3D design and printing. After Riley developed a strong interest and aptitude for 3D printing a couple of years ago, a company called 3D Systems donated a 3D printer worth several hundred dollars for him to use at school.

The class of some dozen students is one a very small number of middle school labs beginning to delve into the emerging industry. The group’s work has been featured in a Popular Science blog post, and they have already produced items including dice, jewelry and replacement parts for the printer. Their progress reflects a tangible future for the medium that exists outside of exclusive laboratories and research facilities.

“It’s just amazing to have an idea and then be able to create a perfect rendition of it, something you can physically hold and touch,” Riley told Mashable.

Vernon said that their classmates react with “a combination of ‘that’s cool’ and ‘I don’t get it.’”

According to Lipson, more and more people will begin to “get it” in the coming years.

“When you unleash this capability to make physical objects in any shape or form, the implications are tremendous in nearly every aspect of our lives,” he said.

In its blog post announcing “Physibles,” The Pirate Bay claimed that “You will download your sneakers within 20 years.”

But that will actually happen “a lot sooner,” said Lipson, who co-authored a report on printing physical objects for the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Lipson said he foresees 3D printers existing in a variety of different scales and applications. Machines at home might produce food and toys. (A team led by Lipson unveiled a food printer last year.) Neighborhood centers analogous to Kinko’s or Home Depot might provide more high-end services. And specialty shops might print their own replacement parts, for example an auto body shop printing spare car parts.

Meanwhile, kids like Riley and Vernon will continue to passionately tinker away, not dissimilar to how home enthusiasts helped high-powered institutions develop the computer decades earlier. Riley said he is especially enthusiastic about pursuing the printing of physical objects into college and beyond.

But what does Riley most want to print right now? “Another 3D printer,” he said.

What do you think the future holds for 3D printing? What do you most want to print at home? Let us know in the comments.

Photo courtesy of Dave Lewis

More About: 3d printing, the pirate bay

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The Florida Primary, Live on Social Media

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:47 PM PST

Tuesday is Primary Day in Florida, and thousands of social media users have been tweeting, sending photos and lighting up Facebook with posts about the presidential contest.

Throughout the 2012 presidential election, White House hopefuls have been taking to social media in the fight for the Oval Office. Meanwhile, journalists have been using tools like Twitter, Twitpic and Facebook to cover the election for the voters. And those voters, in turn, are using the web to make their opinion about the candidates heard loud and clear.

As Tuesday’s primary unfolds in the Sunshine State, Mashable is sharing the best examples of social media’s use during the showdown. Follow us to learn how politicians, journalists, media outlets and voters are using social media during the primary.

We’ll be updating this page throughout the night:

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, manley099

More About: 2012 presidential campaign, Politics, Social Media

Florida Primary: Can Social Media Predict the Winner?

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:31 PM PST

The Florida primary is shaping up to be an important battleground in the war for the Republican presidential nomination, and it’s getting plenty of attention on social media.

Mashable asked social media analysis company Fizziology to determine the sentiment around each of the remaining candidates and compare it to recent polling data.

In the latest poll from the American Research Group (ARG), which was carried out by live interviewers from Jan. 29 to 30, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (with 43 percent) leads former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (with 31 percent). Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul are following far behind, with 13 percent and 9 percent respectively.

So, polls are predicting a Romney win with a close showing from Gingrich but little competition from Santorum or Paul. Does the social sentiment data match up?

According to Fizziology’s analysis, Romney created the most overall social chatter (139,886 relevant mentions), followed closely by Gingrich (137,122 mentions). Rick Santorum had a dramatic increase in positive sentiment, but Fizziology also found less overall chatter around him (31,173 mentions) — suggesting a smaller but more focused support base.

Fizziology noted that the volume of social media posts around a particular candidate has closely mirrored that candidate’s performance in a particular election. Therefore, its data predicts a much closer battle between Romney and Gingrich than that predicted by the ARG poll.

Meanwhile, negative sentiment is on the rise for Romney, which Fizziology believes to be a byproduct of the increased scrutiny received by a frontrunner. Fizziology found that he has 48% negative sentiment and 10% positive sentiment (42% of Romney-related posts were neutral).

Check out Fizziology’s graph on the top 3 candidate’s (per the ARG poll) positive sentiment throughout the nomination process thus far:

Fizziology’s methodology works by using humans to analyze and interpret the sentiment of posts on the “big 3:” Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

The company’s process isn't a scientific poll. However, we’ve found in the past that social media sentiment has lined up with election and caucus results very well.

So is it useful to look at social media sentiment ahead of an election? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TPopova

More About: 2012 presidential campaign, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

Facebook to File for $5 Billion IPO on Wednesday [REPORT]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:15 PM PST

Facebook will file a preliminary prospectus for its long-awaited IPO Wednesday morning, but the company will raise less than expected — $5 billion — according to a report.

International Financing Review cites “sources close to the deal” who say the company is planning to raise half of the previously reported $10 billion because it decided to “start with a conservative base before deciding whether to increase.”

The company will then offer shares to the public in May, pending a “smooth registration process with the SEC,” according to the report. Morgan Stanley will lead the effort, though Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan are also included on the list of intial bookrunners.

Reps from Facebook could not be reached for comment.

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About Facebook's $100 Billion IPO

The timing of the IPO had been reported last Friday by The Wall Street Journal. Facebook also halted trading in secondary markets for three days last week, another signal that the move was coming.

An upcoming share offering would also explain Facebook’s product roll outs of late. Last week the company announced it would be rolling out its new profile template, Timeline, to all users, at a speed that left us scratching our heads. The week before it revealed 60 apps that are tightly integrated into Timeline, and announced a process for developers to create more Timeline apps.

If and when Facebook does file its S-1 paperwork, it will be forced to enter a "quiet period" — without product announcements, interviews or any other public statements.

2004: First Offers Turned Down

Facebook launches with humble beginnings that most people have seen dramatized in The Social Network by now. It was a small social site backed by only a little money, and limited just to the undergrads at Harvard. Right out of the gate, Facebook turned down offers from an unknown investor and Friendster, each offering $10 million. This was, of course, when the company was still called TheFacebook.

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More About: Facebook, facebook ipo

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Obama’s Google Hangout Wins Over Republican Questioner

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:04 PM PST

If you watched President Obama’s Google+ hangout Monday night, you saw two interesting exchanges between the president and Jennifer Wedel, a 29-year-old Texas mother of two.

It turns out that Wedel’s digital meeting convinced her to vote for Obama in this year’s presidential election — despite her support for the GOP.

During Monday night’s Google+ hangout, Wedel, whose husband is an unemployed semiconductor engineer, grilled Obama about his less-than-satisfactory response to her question about visas for foreign workers. Later in the evening, she challenged the president’s response to a California high school student asking about college education.

Obama promised to take a look at the resume of Wedel’s husband, suggesting that someone with his skills shouldn’t be having trouble finding work.

“I meant what I said,” said the president during the hangout. “If you send me your husband’s resume, I’d be interested in finding out exactly what’s happening right there, because the word that we’re getting is that somebody in that kind of high-tech field, that kind of engineer, should be able to find something right away.”

Afterwards, Wedel, who described herself as a “good Republican,” is now planning to vote for Obama in this year’s presidential election.

“I didn’t vote for him four years ago. But I have been so disappointed with the presidential race. I haven’t seen anybody who would have been a good replacement. I know how Obama is now. I know how he rolls. So I’d probably vote him back in,” said Wedel in an interview with The Atlantic.

“I (feel) like I know him a little more,” Wedel said. “There was a connection. He should definitely do this with more people. I’ve seen some of what they do with YouTube, but this is way better than that. I hope that what happened today doesn’t mean that they back off.”

SEE ALSO: President Obama's First Google+ Hangout: How'd He Do?

Indeed, it doesn’t sound like the White House has any plans to back off from digital engagement.

"President Obama had a great time with yesterday's first-ever virtual town hall event, which offered the sort of genuine back and forth the White House strives for in all of our online engagement efforts, whether through social media, WhiteHouse.gov's We the People online petitioning system or otherwise," White House director of new media Macon Phillips told Mashable.

"Meaningful online engagement isn't easy, but it's a highly effective way to tackle the challenges facing our country and discuss the best ways to move forward, including the policies the President laid out in his State of the Union address."

Wedel said she first submitted her visa question over YouTube, after seeing the red phone icon that advertised the Google+ hangout. Last Friday, she received a call from Google, who later sent two employees to Wedel’s home to help set up for the event.

By the time the hangout began, Wedel was all smiles.

“Seeing (the other participant’s) smiles, I could feel their energy, even though they weren’t in the room. You can’t see emotion in text, but there was something different about this. That’s when I thought, this is going to be cool.”

At the end of the night, Wedel gave her husband’s resume to Google.

Do you think the Google+ Hangout was an effective way for the president to reach out to voters? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, lillisphotography

More About: 2012 presidential campaign, barack obama, Google, Google Hangouts, hangouts

eBay CEO: NFC Payments Need Standardization to Succeed [VIDEO]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:53 PM PST

Mashable’s Davos coverage is presented by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment.

eBay CEO John Donahoe sat down with Mashable CEO and founder Pete Cashmore to talk about the future of ecommerce and mobile commerce at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as part of Mashable and Scribd’s Documented@Davos series.

In 2012, Donahoe expects to see even more people making mobile payments and buying things online on their mobile phones. He said that eBay’s mobile app now boasts 65 million users that did $5 billion in business in 2011. He mentioned that 2,300 cars were purchased every week on the mobile app as well.

“People are shopping in line at Starbucks, or when they’re bored at a meeting in work,” Donahoe said.

Donahoe said that eBay acquired RedLaser, a barcode scanning app that allows users to compare prices in the store with prices online. He added that the app now has the capability to cross-check prices at other stores based on your location.

“The line between e-commerce and retail is blurring rapidly. People are shopping in between retail and online,” he said.

Donahoe also added that PayPal can be used at some stores now, ahead of near field communication (NFC), which he doesn’t believe will be widely adopted until it is standardized.

Do you shop eBay or use apps like RedLaser to find good deals? Tell us in the comments.

Documented@Davos

Mashable is working with Scribd on a program called Documented@Davos, where we'll be interviewing young leaders, technology pioneers and forward-thinking organizations to share the important issues being discussed at Davos with everyone online. You can follow along with the hashtag #DavosDocs.

Here’s the lineup of leaders who will be interviewed for Documented@Davos:

Coverage presented by BMW i

Mashable’s Davos coverage is presented by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment.

More About: Digital Davos, ebay, ecommerce, features, mashable, mobile payments, nfc, paypal

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RIM Backtracks After Twitter Users Hijack Hashtag

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:42 PM PST

Like McDonald’s before it, RIM has found there’s a reason open-ended Twitter campaigns are called “bashtags.”

The trouble started on New Year’s Eve, when the brand sponsored Dick Clark’s show and ran a billboard in New York’s Times Square: “Let’s #BeBold in 2012.” RIM claims it received more than 35,000 “appropriate” responses to its billboard ad. The responses, which included consumers’ resolutions for the coming year, were used to make the infographic below.

RIM used a superheroes motif for the infographic, creating what it called “the Bold Team.”

That led to hundreds of brand-bashing responses. “Let’s #BeBold and make a super #GoGoGirl with magic spatula powers she can come up with a strategy to save herself before @Blackberry dies,” wrote @Naweed Khan. “@blackberry You are boldly running your company into the ground #BeBold”, said benihime33.

RIM’s spin, outlined in a blog post, is that #BeBold isn’t a campaign per se, but a “bit of fun.”

“As we looked at the resolutions and the data, majority patterns and categories emerged. We decided to organize the data and share it in a fun way, and the result is the infographic. This is not a new ad campaign,” reads the RIM blog post. RIM reps could not be reached for further comment.

RIM’s attempt at a semantic fig leaf appeared to merely draw attention to the non-campaign. By Tuesday afternoon, most of the #BeBold comments on Twitter were about RIM’s lack of marketing prowess, rather than users’ takes on what it means to be bold.

David Berkowitz, vice president of emerging media at digital agency 360i, says brands with big vulnerabilities like RIM should avoid hashtag campaigns. “Hashtags are ripe for brandjacking, but some brands are more ripe for getting their hashtags jacked than others, Berkowitz says, adding that Apple and Virgin would be unlikely to suffer the same fate. “RIM is in a tailspin,” says Berkowitz. “It’s tough to do much with their marketing when their business is in transition, to put it mildly.”

The hashtag itself was another problem. Says Berkowitz: “If Delta does a campaign to win a free flight and uses #flydeltafree, it won’t be attacked in the same way as if it uses #whyilovedelta that invites sarcasm.”

More About: Advertising, blackberry, Marketing, RIM

Martha Stewart Considering Web-Only TV Show

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:30 PM PST

Martha Stewart is looking into producing web-only video programming, the TV personality and business magnate suggested on stage at AllThingsD‘s media conference Tuesday.

Stewart’s company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is looking for new outlets for Stewart’s daytime show now that her contract with the Hallmark Channel is coming to an end. The New York Times reported that the channel did not wish to renew the series, which runs its last episode in May, because of low ratings and high studio costs.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia President and COO Lisa Gersh, who joined Stewart on stage, said that the company is now considering all of the places Stewart’s programming could live beyond TV. MSLO is already distributing video through marthastewart.com, its mobile apps and on online video platforms like YouTube.

Because Stewart has a robust ecommerce business — one that spans books, magazines, office supplies and even pet furniture — it’s possible Stewart could forgo TV in favor of a profitable web series supported by a mix of online advertising and ecommerce.

“Is a web-only presence really sustainable?” AllThingsD‘s Walt Mossberg asked.

“If the web presence is about selling products, about merging retail and media, it could,” said Stewart. “That’s the beauty of our business.”

More About: AllThingsD, Martha Stewart, martha stewart living omnimedia, Media, ONLINE VIDEO, TV

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Will the iPhone 5 Have NFC? MasterCard Exec Hints at an Answer [VIDEO]

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:20 PM PST

In a recent interview, MasterCard‘s chief emerging payments officer dropped a hint about the yet-to-be announced iPhone 5: the next smartphone from Apple might include near field communication technology.

Fast Company‘s Austin Carr chatted with Ed McLaughlin from MasterCard about when payments via mobile devices might become the norm. Some platforms already allow for payments like this — for example, Google Wallet, which is available only on Android and limited devices — but the big question mark is the iPhone.

“I don’t know of a handset manufacturer that isn’t in process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready,” McLaughlin said. When asked if that included Apple, he stumbled: “Um, there are…like I say, [I don't know of] any handset maker out there. Now, when we have discussions with our partners, and they ask us not to disclose them, we don’t.”

Check out the video above to learn more. Is this a clear enough indication that we might see NFC-enabled iPhones soon? Do you think Apple could revolutionize mobile payments in the same way it changed digital music? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, ozgurdonmaz

More About: apple, iPhone 5, mashable video, mastercard, nfc

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NBC to Dissect Super Bowl Ads in Post-Game Google+ Hangout

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:09 PM PST

When Google first rolled out Hangout video chats for Google+, part of the plan involved allowing hanger-outers to watch YouTube videos together. While many questioned the usefulness of the feature, we’re now seeing what Google had in mind all along: a Super Bowl post-game Hangout where users dissect the big game’s commercials.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t part of the Google+ Master Plan at the initial unveiling, but a Hangout based around Super Bowl ads does strike us as one of the better uses of the service’s YouTube integration. Google’s partnering with NBC to run the Hangout, tapping sports business reporter Darren Rovell to host.

"The day after the Super Bowl is when people head back to their office water coolers to discuss what they loved and what they didn’t," Rovell said in a press release. "Our conversation is about taking all those water cooler conversations and bringing it to a national, digital stage."

SEE ALSO: Who's Winning? The Most-Shared Super Bowl Ads So Far

As part of the deal, NBC will promote YouTube’s Ad Blitz, the page where the site asks users to vote on their favorite Super Bowl ads. In turn, YouTube will serve up NBC ads and promos for the big game all weekend. This marks the first time YouTube has had any kind of partnership with the Super Bowl broadcaster. Rovell will reveal the winning ad of the Ad Blitz on his CNBC show, SportsBiz: Game On on Feb. 17.

Google+ Hangouts are generally limited to 10 users, but some users can create “Hangouts on Air,” which expand beyond that limit by allowing others to watch the Hangout as a live stream on YouTube.

Love the idea of an official Google+ Hangout about the ads? Will you join? Let us know in the comments.

BONUS: The Most Popular Super Bowl Ads So Far

1. "The Bark Side" (Vokswagen)

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More About: Google, nbc, Super Bowl, Super Bowl ads, super bowl commercials, YouTube

Google Will Start Country-Specific Censorship for Blogs

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:59 PM PST

Google figured out Twitter‘s trick for avoiding universally censoring content weeks ago, but it managed to go unnoticed — for a while.

That is, until TechDows wrote about Blogger‘s plan for country-specific URLs Tuesday.

At some point “over the coming weeks,” Google’s Blogger will begin redirecting users to country-specific domain names — think Google.fr in France rather than Google.com — to avoid universally removing content that would not be tolerated in specific jurisdictions.

A Blogger support post, “Why does my blog redirect to a country-specific URL?,” last updated Jan. 9, explains that Google is using the method to limit the impact of censored content.

Readers will be redirected to sites with their own country’s domain name when they try to visit blogs recognized as foreign, as determined by their IP addresses.

“Over the coming weeks you might notice that the URL of a blog you’re reading has been redirected to a country-code top level domain, or “ccTLD.” For example, if you’re in Australia and viewing [blogname].blogspot.com, you might be redirected [blogname].blogspot.com.au. A ccTLD, when it appears, corresponds with the country of the reader's current location.”

SEE ALSO: Relax: Twitter's New Censorship Policy Is Actually Good for Activists

If you would like to see a non-affected page, you can direct to google.com/ncr (NCR stands for “no country redirect”), which places a short term cookie that temporarily prevents geographical redirection.

Google says migrating users to local domains will help promote the freedom of expression while allowing the flexibility to abide by local law.

Do you think censoring content by specific countries is a good move for freedom of expression? Let us know what you think of Google and Twitter’s moves.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, serts

More About: blogger, censorship, Google, trending, Twitter

Want to Speak at TED? Now You Can Audition

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:48 PM PST

The speaker list at the Technology Entertainment Design conference, TED, has included well-known names such as Bill Gates, Al Gore and Jane Goodall.

But with an audition tour the organization announced Tuesday, the roster could soon include a new name: yours.

TED will host auditions in 14 countries on six continents this spring. Anybody can submit an application on the TED website, and include a short video if they’d like, but auditions are invite-only. Favorites from live auditions will record short videos to post on TED.com for public voting, and the top 50 most popular contenders will be considered for TED 2013 programming.

The organization began to open its prestigious and arguably elitist speaker selection list to contributions from the general public last year, when it launched a video audition application process. That process, which culminated in a live audition in New York, resulted in about five speakers for next month’s TED2012 conference.

TED expects to choose many more speakers, about half of its list, from its new live audition process.

That’s an ambitious goal. The invite-only conference is known for bringing the world’s top thought leaders together. Surely there are top thinkers with fresh perspectives who also have low profiles, but it could be hard to find them.

The description of the auditions on TED’s website says the organization is looking for “undiscovered talent,” perhaps “the inventor,” “the teacher,” “the prodigy” or “the artist.” It is not, it says, looking for “product-hawkers, jargon-junkies, dullards, wafflers, motivator wannabes, self-promoters, spouters of new-age fluff.”

But if the American Idol audition process is any indication, TED will likely sort through much of the latter category in its selection for the former.

Photo credit: James Duncan Davidson / TED

More About: TED

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