Hollywood Considering $20-$30 Movie Theater Sidestep [Movies]


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Hollywood Considering $20-$30 Movie Theater Sidestep [Movies]


Time Warner Cable just pitched the major Hollywood studios a new idea: "home theater on demand." It would allow people at home to watch movies just 30 days after they're released in the theater for $20-$30. More »




Hollywood Los Angeles California - Arts - Movies - Theaters - Indoor Theaters


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Facebook CEO: We Will Add Simpler Privacy Controls


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Facebook CEO: We Will Add Simpler Privacy Controls

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Facebook users’ privacy concerns in a column in the Washington Post on Monday.

Zuckerberg admits that users find their privacy settings confusing, and promises new, simplified settings “in the coming weeks”. The public statement follows a private email exchange with a blogger in which he admitted “we’ve made a bunch of mistakes“.

The majority of Monday’s column (the thrust of which is quoted below) doesn’t really provide us with new information. It’s the standard patter about Facebook’s mission, and the company’s belief that sharing makes the world a better place. But Zuckerberg does outline a plan to revise the site’s privacy settings:

Facebook has been growing quickly. It has become a community of more than 400 million people in just a few years. It’s a challenge to keep that many people satisfied over time, so we move quickly to serve that community with new ways to connect with the social Web and each other. Sometimes we move too fast — and after listening to recent concerns, we’re responding.

…The biggest message we have heard recently is that people want easier control over their information. Simply put, many of you thought our controls were too complex. Our intention was to give you lots of granular controls; but that may not have been what many of you wanted. We just missed the mark.

We have heard the feedback. There needs to be a simpler way to control your information. In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use. We will also give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services. We are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible. We hope you’ll be pleased with the result of our work and, as always, we’ll be eager to get your feedback.

I find Zuckerberg’s private response far more impressive than this public one. His

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Google checks the rear view mirror, sees the competition spinning wheels.


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Google checks the rear view mirror, sees the competition spinning wheels.

A lot can be said for the announcements at this past week’s Google I/O conference, but most of what we’ve heard around the Internet tends to come from one of two camps.  Either Google has just laid down the gauntlet, or the company has simply lost its mind and is reaching for viability.


As we look back over the events of the past week (and even the few months previous), one thing continues to ring in my head: Google is succeeding in the blind spot of others.  Now, I won’t lay out a claim like that without backing it up, so here’s what I see.


Google TV


When Google announced Google TV, it didn’t really surprise anyone.  We all knew it was coming.  However, I ‘m not sure that anyone took into full view the extent to which Google had planned this project.


Unlike its closest competitor, Apple TV, Google TV seems considerably less like a back burner project.  Where Apple TV has gone blind toward evolving, Google is coming out of the gates with a plethora of options.  Apple failed to launch with anything more than a set top box that, while beautiful and full of options, is becoming very quickly dated.


Google came out swinging, providing options across the board.  Want a TV with Google integrated?  Sony will handle that.  Only need a set top box?  Google’s got you covered.  Want all of that to mesh with your existing equipment?  Done.  Where Apple’s xenophobia lingered, Google came in and simply made a product that will do what we want it to do, without the need to be tethered to anything else.


Android 2.2 – FroYo


The beauty of open source really comes into play here.  Android phones are being activated at a break-neck speed, and features are rolling out quickly.  Of course, we can’t talk about features without mentioning the fragmentation across the Android customer base, but that matter is being settled via natural selection of the technology life.


Both Microsoft and Apple have seriously goofed in this past year.  MS had something very special with Widows Phone 7.  It honestly has a lot of potential.  But I will almost wager that it will be...

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Foursquare Columns Bring Location Streams Front & Center


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Foursquare Columns Bring Location Streams Front & Center

One of the major new features included in Tweetdeck’s desktop update today was Foursquare integration. Seesmic and Hootsuite also have Foursquare functionality in their web browser based clients. Not only do these integrations work great, but they do something that the Foursquare API was meant for in our opinion: they make location streams come alive.


Foursquare only


First of all, if you use Tweetdeck desktop or Seesmic or Hootsuite web and are not on Foursquare, or prefer another location/check-in app, you now in our opinion have two options: either join Foursquare, or send Tweetdeck/Seesmic/Hootsuite emails begging them to include your service’s API (assuming they have an API – Gowalla, for one has half an API, but Brightkite and now Latitude have full read-write APIs). We’re not judging  any of these services here, we’re only saying that Foursquare’s API is currently the only one that is getting this treatment, which is a shame, but until the others get the same treatment, Foursquare rules the hill.


One caveat for this post: we use location services a lot, and on Foursquare, like other services, we have a fair number of friends (or whatever they’re called) so our streams refresh often. Just like any social media service, if you follow too many or too few people, your stream isn’t nearly as interesting, and location services are no different.


Why it’s important


This kind of visualization has the power to change how location is consumed (and to a lesser extent created as users can check-in from their laptops, but compared to mobile check-ins, laptop check-ins are few and far between). Here’s how it will change: instead of wading through your Twitter stream to find or catch Foursquare updates of where people are and what they are doing, with the dedicated column, these updates are pushed to you all in one place. Simply put, these streams can offer a lot of information in a condensed format. The new version also supports a map mode of all of your friends’ recent check-ins, as well as geotagged tweets (which again, are few and far between).


The whole experience is a very visual one and somewhat hard to translate here into the written word – but trust us, if you haven’t tried it before, its compelling. One thing that we would like to see, however, is an emphasis (another column option perhaps) on trending/hot places that people are checking into. While not too useful late at night when you’re out and about (again, this is only avai...

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TweetDeck Adds Foursquare, Google Buzz and Filters


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TweetDeck Adds Foursquare, Google Buzz and Filters

As we noted yesterday, the launch of the new Google Buzz API means that applications like TweetDeck, Seesmic, Plancast and Boxee can now integrate directly with Google Buzz. Seesmic Desktop released its first version with Google Buzz support yesterday and today TweetDeck joins the Google Buzz party.

The new version of TweetDeck also adds support for Foursquare, enabling users to view updates, see venue information, check in from a venue and more. Tweetdeck also now supports custom URL shorteners, better video upload and scheduled updates.

One of the features we’re most excited about testing out is global filters. Tired of seeing Justin Bieber take over your TweetDeck? Just create a filter to hide any messages that include “Bieber” or “Twieber.”

TweetDeck version 0.34 is available for download now or you can update your existing version of TweetDeck to get all the new stuff.

Check out the video below for an overview of all the new features.



For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook



Tags: foursquare, google buzz, software, tweetdeck,

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Quit Facebook Day Wants You To Take Your Leave

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNextWeb/~3/uoU0_mmVuhI/

Are you annoyed enough with Facebook to completely quit the social networking giant? Are you sufficiently concerned about your privacy to finally sever the ties with the website?

Controversy has been running hot in recent weeks as privacy and usability changes stemming from Facebook’s F8 conference have left many users feeling jilted and abused. Enough is enough, some people say, and they are organizing.

Enter their creation, Quit Facebook Day (QFD). On May 31, the set date for QFD, a horde of people who have previously pledged to leave Facebook will do so en masse. Their stated concern seems reasonable enough: “We just can’t see Facebook’s current direction being aligned with any positive future for the web, so we’re leaving.”

Is It Working?

No, even with sizable free publicity from writers who found it interesting (see this post) the event has failed to sign up very many participants. At the time of writing, a meager 3215 people have promised to quit. Hardly an impressive count.

Not to denigrate the actions of the individuals, but as Facebook is growing by more than 500,000 people a day, 3,000 or so people quitting will not even cause a blip on their radar.

It Is Still Early

The 31st is nearly two weeks away, and by then the event may have found new momentum. After all, things do spread virally online these days; the QFD might catch a fad wave of its own.

Will the event, even with a surge of support change what Facebook is up to? No it will not, and that is to be expected. Facebook is shooting for the middle of the road, the mass market, and thus fringe groups cause it little worry. You cannot grow as Facebook does without being utterly mainstream. If some technologically minded people stage a small protest and leave, so be it.

Facebook is not merely winning, but is crushing its dwindling competition. The Facebook-Twitter race aside, Facebook has little in the way of serious threats to its business.

Will You Join In?

If you want to take part in QFD head to their website, and pledge to quit by giving them your Twitter username as proof of intent. You can have the website send you a reminder by email if you feel so inclined.

Since I last checked some 12 new people have made the promise to take the no-Facebook plunge. Will you join them?

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Foursquare Growing Like Crazy: Up To 600,000 Check-Ins Per Day

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/X-dn9L6c4g4/foursquare-growing-like-crazy-up-to-600000-check-ins-per-day-2010-5

Dennis Crowley has it good

Foursquare, the hot mobile "check-in" app, has basically doubled in usage over the last two months.

Responding to criticism for Foursquare's recent downtime, the company said it's now handling an average 600,000 "check-ins" per day.

That's basically double the less than 400,000 check-ins per day in late March -- just two months ago -- and up about 5X from when it hit 1 million check-ins a WEEK in February.

That's impressive, and we expect these numbers to keep increasing as more people join Foursquare.

But just as important as Foursquare's check-in growth is its ability to do something meaningful with the check-ins.

There's a lot of people in the mobile industry who think that check-ins will be a commodity in a few months; that everyone including Facebook and Google will be offering them.

So Foursquare will either need to be the single most-important check-in infrastructure, OR it will have to continue to add value to its app AFTER people have checked in. (Or, ideally, both.)

That's where big bizdev deals like its recent Starbucks coupon promotion are so important.

Don't miss: The fabulous life of Dennis Crowley, the most wanted man in Silicon Valley →

Join the conversation about this story »

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Facebook Will Shortly Announce 500 Million Users


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Facebook Will Shortly Announce 500 Million Users

In the next few weeks Facebook will officially cross the 500 million user mark, placing the size of the social network at 67% larger than the total population of the United States.


According to AllFacebook several Facebook sources have confirmed an event to celebrate the momentous occasion. This massive landmark comes amid a difficult time for the company in the public sphere, with numerous pundits criticizing the company over privacy concerns.


As we noted earlier today, some users are sufficiently disenchanted by those concerns to host a day dedicated to quitting Facebook as a group protest against the company.


AllFacebook further points out that at current trends Facebook should cross 600 million users and one billion dollars in annualized revenue this year. Far from a startup, Facebook is about to become a billion dollar company in terms of revenue.


Next up? An IPO is a logical next move. Then again, Facebook might just want to wait until they get one billion users before going public. Hardly a stretch for the company it seems. At 500 million users some 7.3 percent of the world’s population will be using Facebook.


Image credit.




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Nestle Meets Greenpeace’s Demands Following Social Media Backlash


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Nestle Meets Greenpeace’s Demands Following Social Media Backlash

Today Nestle announced a “zero deforestation” policy in partnership with The Forest Trust (TFT), which will initially focus on amending its palm oil purchasing practices. The move follows a full blown Facebook attack initiated by Greenpeace earlier this year.

Eight weeks ago, Greenpeace UK released a provocative YouTube video calling into question Nestle’s methods for acquiring palm oil. Greenpeace claims that the company’s practices contribute to rainforest deforestation and used YouTube as a platform to shock viewers with a video that likens eating a Kit Kat to eating an orangutan (the graphic video is embedded below).

The video caught the attention of Nestle, who had it removed from YouTube and consequently incited Greenpeace to rally the troops to call, send emails and leave chastising comments on Nestle’s Facebook Page. The situation created by the cacophony of updates worsened after a Nestle representative threatened to delete any comments by users whose profile pics included an altered version of the Nestle logo.

What followed is quite remarkable from a social media standpoint, and has much to do with Nestle’s more aggressive plan to alter its palm oil practices. Greenpeace U.K. touts, “With nearly 1.5 million views of our Kit Kat advert, over 200,000 emails sent, hundreds of phone calls and countless Facebook comments, you made it clear to Nestle that it had to address the problems with the palm oil and paper products it buys.”

Nestle is most certainly changing its tune, and its par...

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