Amazon Hires People To Make Color Kindles (AMZN)

More Newspapers Put Up New York Times-Like Paywall

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us mexico fence

MediaNews is following the Financial Times and the New York Times by building a metered paywall for two of its papers in May, Bloomberg reports.

Under the plan, MediaNews will grant access to "as many as 25 'premium' articles monthly, after which they'll have to pay an undetermined fee unless they subscribe to the print newspapers," company president Joseph Lodovic told Bloomberg

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Google Rebuilds the Tower of Babel with Real-Time Language Translation

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/ANwPqjly7FQ/google_rebuilds_the_tower_of_babel_with_real-time.php

googlelogo6.jpgIf our attempts at getting such simple information as bus schedules or account balances from automated voice recognition systems are any indication, then we imagine Google has a lot of work to do in its latest endeavor - real-time, spoken-language translation.

According to the Times UK, Google is working on developing software for a mobile phone that would translate what you were saying into the language of the speaker on the other end of the line and vice versa.

Sponsor

As you may have noticed, Google already has a hand in the translation business, with its web page translation service. Google Translate currently translates between 52 languages, which includes a number of languages with completely different alphabets.

The Times UK spoke with Franz Och, head of Google's translation services, who said that this new service should be up and running and "work reasonably well in a few years' time."

"Everyone has a different voice, accent and pitch," said Och. "But recognition should be effective with mobile phones because by nature they are personal to you."

Och is referring to the fact that the software would have the opportunity to learn your accent, dialect and general manner of speaking over time, becoming more accurate. But we can only imagine the difficulty of the task ahead, especially with languages such as Mandarin or Cantonese, which are tonally based. In Mandarin, for example, the word "ma" can have four different meanings according to the tone used. If the speaker uses the first tone, a constant high pitch, then the word means "mother". If they use the third tone, a dropping then rising pitch, however, the meaning changes to "horse".

The fun doesn't stop there, the Times UK article points out, as handling the vast number of accents and dialects is also an immense task. Much like the web-based translation that Google does, though, the system would become more accurate over time, essentially learning from its experience.

We hope that one of the first things it learns is not to call our new Chinese friend's mother a horse.

Discuss


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The Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

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Twitter was abuzz this week with chatter about the iPad, performances at The GRAMMYs and relief efforts in Haiti.

Some of the top trends were predictable (Mashable’s Ben Parr successfully guessed at four of the ten last week), while others were unexpected.

The tendency for Twitter users to sign off with “Goodnight” has made that a top topic this week, while the “Retweet If” meme gathered momentum. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl is the dominant topic today, although these stats were compiled before the big game: its true popularity will be seen in next week’s list.

Here’s a roundup of the top 10 topics on Twitter this week, courtesy of our friends at WhatTheTrend. As this is a topical list, hashtag memes like “#UKnowUBrokeWhen” and “#thatsanono” are not included.

You can find previous weeks’ Twitter trends in our Twitter Topics section.


Top Twitter Topics This Week


Rank
Topic
Top Index This Week
Change
Description
#1
iPad
1

Steve Jobs, head of Apple, announced the iPad on 1/27/10. It will be available for purchase in March, 2010. On the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Show, Steven Colbert pulled an iPad out of his jacket (Trends: iPad, Apple iPad)
#2
Grammys

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards aired on 1/31/10 with great performances from Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Pink, Taylor, Drake, Wayne, Eminem, and a wonderful MJ tribute. (Trends: Grammys, Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, #goodlucktaylor, Grammy’s, Grammy Awards, Kanye, Drake, Eminem, American Idiot, MJ’s, Ciara, Maxwell, Eminem)
#3
Haiti
2
-1
On January 12, 2010 an earthquake measured at 7.3 devastated the country’s capital. A week later, on the 20th, an aftershock of magnitude 6.1 struck. People are Tweeting about other charitable efforts along with recordings of song to support relief.
#4
Shorty
Award
2

The Second Annual Shorty Awards honor the most popular producers of short content on Twitter. Award winners are recognized in 26 official and 100s of user generated categories. This topic first trended when nominations were submitted and now people are casting votes for different categories.
#5
Follow
Friday
2

Follow Friday is a tradition where people tweet the names of others who they believe are fun/interesting to follow.
#6
Happy
Groundhog Day
2

Groundhog day is an American tradition. A groundhog is used to determine whether we have 6 more weeks of winter due to the animal seeing his shadow after emerging from his burrow. (Trends: Happy Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil)
#7
Super Bowl
4
-3
The Indianapolis Colts play the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, the culmination of a season of National League Football play. The Super Bowl is treated almost as a holiday in the United States, with many people holding parties, some just to watch the commercials during the game.
#8
Goodnight
5

Usually a person’s last tweet of the day. They’re telling us they’re going to sleep now and wishing us the traditional ‘Goodnight’. This can trend at many different times due to the different time-zones of Twitter users.
#9
Retweet
If
3

Simple eme: "Retweet if x" where "x" could be "Crazy for Justin Bieber" or, at this point, anything. Also, there is a meme "Retweet if #idothat2"
#10
Lost
3

The two hour premiere of Lost’s sixth and final season aired 2/2 on ABC in the USA. (Preceded by an hour long recap of the first five seasons.)

Tags: Top Twitter Topics, trends, twitter

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9 voordelen van Twitter voor overwerkte B2B redacteuren

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“Here are some benefits of using Twitter – even if you are an overworked B2B editor” schrijft Dan Blank, Director Content Strategy & Development bij Reed Business Information in New York. Blank sprak met een aantal B2B redacteuren bij Reed over Twitter en proefde er een hoop weerstand. Waarom zou een redacteur van Chicken Farmers Daily z’n beslommeringen op Twitter delen, als slechts 2 procent van z’n volgers kippenboer is? Speciaal voor mokkende B2B redacteuren zet Dan Blank de voordelen van Twitter nog ‘ns op een rij.

Brand Awareness
Je bent van mening dat je je doelgroep al precies weet te bereiken op de manier dat zij dat willen? Niet dus. ”Twitter is a really powerful (and fun) way to extend your brand, and to use it to connect people with ideas and each other. Even if you feel that Twitter is not mature in your market yet, social media will clearly be a big part of the media equation in the future. Do you want to be the last holdout, while your competitors build their presence and find new ways to engage your audience?

Connection
Twitter is laagdrempeliger dan e-mail. Het stelt je doelgroep in staat om jou te bereiken met vragen, reacties of complimenten. “As an editor covering a niche market – this is a CRITICAL part of your role. Likewise, Twitter allows you direct connection to folks that are hard to reach: either at high levels, or embedded deep within a company.

Research
Twitter stelt je in staat om op ieder moment te proeven wat leeft onder je doelgroep, in plaats van het reguliere marktonderzoek. “This keeps you in tune with your audience in small ways each day, slowly shaping how you integrate this information into your editorial strategy.

Product Improvement
Via Twitter kun je kleine wijzigingen aan je product testen en promoten. “Want to A/B test two different layouts of a newsletter that you sketched out – ask your Twitter followers. Even if only 5 people respond, that could double the number of opinions you had weighing in already.”

Brand Differentiation
Informatie mag dan een ‘commodity’ worden (zelfs in nichemarkten), de expertise van je medewerkers is door de concurrentie niet eenvoudig te kopieren. “Twitter allows all staff members, even designers and sales people and interns to gain stature in the online world, in small simple ways each day.

Events
Twitter voegt waarde toe aan events. Ervoor, tijdens en erna. “It is an incredible opportunity to connect people not just with information, but with each other during industry events“. Als jij dat niet zelf doet, doet je concurrent het wel.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Jouw volgers op Twitter kunnen jouw artikelen retweeten en zo weer delen met hun volgers. “It is thrilling to see people become advocates for your brand and your work.

Reporting
Twitter biedt een geheel nieuwe informatiebron voor journalisten. “News and analysis comes in a constant stream on Twitter, and is an opportunity for journalists to extend their reach.

Build Your Personal Brand
Nu in deze economisch slechte tijden het ene na het andere magazine sneuvelt en redacties inkrimpen, is het voor redacteuren belangrijk te denken aan hun positie op de arbeidsmarkt. Je weet maar nooit of je ontslagen wordt. En dan? “Twitter is a critical way to build your personal brand online, make connections with people you respect, and learn a new skill that is becoming a core part of journalism in the 21st century.

Tot zover de voordelen van Twitter voor B2B redacteuren. Maar wat te doen met het probleem van ‘te weinig tijd’? Twitteren kost nou eenmaal tijd. Dan Blank eindigt z’n artikel daarom met “a few tips on ways you can leverage Twitter without overwhelming yourself“.

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The Rise of Tablets, and Why You Should Care

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ipad notes imageEven before Apple announced the iPad last week, the Internet was going tablet-crazy. After speculation, literally years in the making, finally came to a crescendo, the public reaction has been decidedly mixed. Discussions about what’s missing and why the announcement was a disappointment have been covered from nearly every angle.

However, whether Apple’s iPad ultimately succeeds or fails, it is yet another sign of an emerging device class. With Google, Microsoft, and others investing in researching tablet-style computers, this is a trend that will not begin or end with the iPad.


The Tablet Redefined: A Media Pad


microsoft tablet imageThe concept of tablet computing is hardly a new idea. Although prototypes of tablet or pen-input based computers go back to the late 1970s, the first big industry push for pen computing came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The GO operating system and later PenWindows were lauded as the next big innovation. Pen computing never took off. Undaunted, manufacturers decided to try again, and almost ten years ago, Microsoft introduced its Microsoft Tablet PC platform. Again, the concept never gained traction.

What’s different about this new wave of tablet devices is that the intended use cases for the device have evolved into something completely different. These new tablets are not being presented as a replacement for the existing computer but for an ancillary type of platform. The new tablets are also not being primarily targeted at business users, but at home users instead. The usage cases are more tightly defined as well. The new tablet devices are about accessing and consuming web content.

Plus, unlike tablets of decades past, these new devices come on the heels of similar devices with similar usage cases: Smartphones.


A New Device Class


When you think about what this new wave of tablet computers offers — easy access to the Internet, a way to watch video, portability without being a smartphone — you might think, “hey, that’s a netbook.” And you would be right. However, the netbook, despite its early aspirations, has never been able to define itself as a separate class of device.

The problem with netbooks is that the form factor is too similar to that of a traditional laptop. In fact, as time has gone on, the line between a netbook and a CULV notebook has blurred to the point that the two categories have almost become one. Plus, because the physical appearance of a netbook is so similar to that of a traditional laptop computer, the expectations of the overall experience are often higher than the devices can adequately offer.

Steve Jobs commented during the iPad launch that people buy netbooks because they want cheap laptops. This is by and large completely true. What this wave of tablet computers is doing is repackaging the intended purpose of a netbook into a form factor that doesn’t confuse its abilities.


But Do We Really Need Another Gadget?


gadgets imageThe fact that tablets and smartphones seem so similar on its face have many people questioning the need for this new device category. It’s true, in the beginning, tablets will become a secondary product. I don’t think that any tablet maker is going to advertise their solution as a complete replacement for a main computer. Instead, this is for people who want to have something larger than a smartphone, yet more portable than a regular laptop, to use to access content.

Touch-input is key here. Yes, the ability to use add-on accessories is important, but touch is one of those features that instantly makes a product easy to use and also limits the need to carry add-ons like a stylus or other input device.

Consumers might not need a tablet device or media pad any more than they need to have multiple TiVos or Blu-ray players, but many will want them and buy them anyway.


Don’t Count Out Students


ipad books imageBeyond just entertainment, tablet computers have one huge, huge area of potential: Education, specifically college textbooks. Already textbook publishers are lining up to support the iPad. I have long believed that whatever eBook platform could conquer textbooks would end up winning the battle of this generation of technology. Why? Because this is an area ripe for innovation.

College students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks every semester — textbooks that are heavy, that are sometimes out of date as soon as they are published, and that don’t fit well with the existing digital lifestyle of today’s students. Even without subsidizing the initial device price, I know that students would flock to using a tablet computer if they could get all of their textbooks, have the ability to make notations, get online updates and see supplementary information all in a device that weighs under a pound and can fit easily in a backpack.

The convenience factor alone makes it a killer device. Mark my words, whoever is able to get textbook publishers and universities on-board en masse first will ultimately win the eBook market.

The great thing about tablet computers is that they aren’t just eBook readers. They can offer additional content experiences as well.


What Do You Think?


Tablet computers are coming. By the end of the year, a variety of tablet devices will be on the market. Do you want one? How do you see it fitting in with your existing lifestyle. Let us know!


More iPad resources from Mashable:


- 9 Upcoming Tablet Alternatives to the Apple iPad
- Will Apple’s iPad Change Mobile Gaming?
- 4 Reasons the Kindle is Dead, 4 Reasons It’s Not
- Why Apple Could Have Etched “iPad” Into Some Rocks and Sold Millions

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, 4×6, abalcazar

Tags: analysis, apple, Apple Tablet, chrome, computers, google tablet, ipad, Tablet, tech

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Amazon and Macmillan Agree: You Should Pay More for eBooks

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Macmillan printed books and eBooks began to return to Amazon last night following a dispute over Amazon’s $9.99 eBook pricing scheme. Under the agreement, publishers can now raise prices to up to $14.99.

Macmillan, which was later joined by fellow publisher Hachette, requested the price increases over fears that Amazon would undercut its hardcover sales.

Amazon reacted by pulling all Macmillan books, but later conceded to the publisher’s demands. Under the agreed agency model, Amazon will receive 30% commission on sales.

Will you pay up to $14.99 for eBooks? Let us know in the comments.

[via The NYTimes]

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Facebook Roundup: Email Rumors, FB Security Risks, Music App, Haiti, European Privacy and Ads

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InsideFacebook/~3/iJMGVFiCIZ0/

Facebook Email-Style Message Upgrade Coming Soon? – The company has long suggested that its messaging service could use an upgrade — the feature is an important part of the site, and has replaced email for some users. Now, Facebook is working something called “Project Titan,” and employees are even calling it “the Gmail killer,” TechCrunch hears. Potential features include “full POP/IMAP support” so people could download or otherwise read and respond to Facebook messages from other email clients, and the ability to have your Facebook vanity URL as your email name (yourname@facebook.com). Note: Gmail creator, FriendFeed cofounder and now Facebook employee Paul Buchheit says: “No, I am not working on anything related to email :) (nor do I plan to).”

Pew Study: Facebook Most Popular Among American Adults – A study entitled “Social Media and Young Adults” from the Pew Internet & American Life Project was released this week. One finding concluded that blogging has declined for young people but increased slightly for adults 30 and above; the report also noted that wireless connectivity use is rising for young people. A large percentage of American teens, 73%, use social networking sites, 47% of adults do and 72% of 18-29 year-olds use them. Among adults 52% said they have two or more different profiles, with Facebook being the most commonly used online social network, 73% of adults reported maintaining a profile there.

39% of Facebook Users Donated to Haiti – Facebook’s Facebook Global Disaster Relief page, which launched shortly after the recent Haiti earthquake, recently surpassed 250,000 fans. Videos with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as links to a whole host of charities, are included on the page. A joint survey between Facebook and The Nielsen Company found of Facebook users in the U.S., U.K. and Australia: 32% donated money, 4% donated goods, 3% donated both, 21% haven’t yet given but plan to and 13% donated via text messages — 23% in the U.S.

European Commission to Revamp Privacy Laws in Response to Facebook – The European Commission announced this week that Facebook and other social networking sites may face regulation if they fail to adequately protect users’ privacy. Plans for comprehensive new laws governing data protection and privacy are in the works, given that rules currently date back to 1995. The commission is concerned specifically about Facebook, as well as other social networks, but also other technology, such as radio frequency identification, behavioral advertising and airport security. The changes are set to revise the commissions 1995 Data Protection Directive.

Print Facebook Ads Receipts – Wednesday Facebook announced that a printer-friendly version of billing receipts for Facebook ads. Those who have accounts for Facebook ads may now see a printer-friendly version of their billing manager receipt, which includes a Facebook logo and address and other billing info. The feature is available in the Billing section of the Ads manager for each transaction, the Printer-Friendly Version button is in the top-right corner of the page. Facebook said the changes are intended to streamline accounting and tax processes for customers.

Study Says Facebook is the “Most Dangerous” Social Network – A survey of 500 companies across the globe found that more than 70% reported spam and other infections arrived via social networks in 2009 and 2008, last year 72% of these companies were concerned about security breaches due to employees’ use of these networks. Facebook especially, as 60% named Facebook the riskiest network of the bunch, partly due to the fact that it’s the largest social network and also because new privacy settings expose more member-generated content to the entire Internet. Of course, saying Facebook is the riskiest doesn’t mean that it is actually risky for the typical user.

Facebook Set to be Globe’s News Reader – Facebook is set to become the world’s top news reader, according to a post from Experian Hitwise this week. Although Google Reader has most recently been the leading news reader, last week it only accounted for .01% of upstream visits to news and media websites, whereas this number was 3.52% for Facebook there’s a graph at the link. Facebook, according to Hitwise, was the fourth most popular source of visits to news and media sites last week.

Mystery Facebook Music App Appears, Disappears – This week some Facebook users found a mysterious Music application on their list linking to Facebook.com/music, but it didn’t work, linking instead to the news feed. Facebook then said they removed the application, said it might have been a bug and that Facebook has no plans to launch a music service.

Facebook Moves to Dismiss Click Fraud Lawsuits – Facebook has moved to dismiss litigation brought by several marketers as the result of click fraud this summer, arguing that Facebook’s contract with RootZoo and other online marketers provides that they must pay for all clicks — despite fraud. MediaPost reported this week that Facebook alleges in its motion that cost-per-click advertisers had to check a box agreeing to terms and conditions, including: “I understand that third parties may generate impressions, clicks, or other actions affecting the cost of the advertising for fraudulent or improper purposes, and I accept the risk of any such impressions, clicks, or other actions.” The case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

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The Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

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The Internet has made the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, going up against a Chinese dissident and a Russian human rights activist among others.

The nomination was made after a petition by the Italian version of Wired Magazine, which cited the Internet’s contributions to “dialogue, debate and consensus through communication”. Signatories include Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi, and organizers say the nomination will make for a legitimate entry.

Legitimate or not, it’s unlikely that the Nobel Committee would choose such an unlikely winner this year: as the AP reports, last year’s pick of Barack Obama proved controversial given his short time in office. This year’s choice is likely to be a conservative one.

What do you think? Has the Internet improved the world through better communication?

Tags: internet, nobel prize, trending

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