Sunday, March 11, 2012

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Marvel and Aurasma Show Off New Line Of Augmented Reality Comics Top
Marvel ARToday at SXSW, Marvel announced a partnership with tech startup Aurasma to lets users watch video trailers of books they see in stores, as well as 3D animation, recaps, and other augmented reality extras by holding their phones up to comics. That means 3D super heroes will soon be stepping out of your print books. Marvel will release free iOS and Android apps to power the augmented reality experiences as part of its Marvel ReEvolution revamp. New lines of "Marvel Infinite Comics" written especially for digital are also on the way. Check out our video of the augmented reality demo here...
 
How Tablets Will Transform Construction Top
paperpileThe basic process of any construction project goes like this: A person with a lot of money (called The Owner) decides that, for whatever reason, they want a building and so they go hire an architect. This architect in turn hires a bunch of engineers and all of them start furiously designing the building until The Owner seems happy enough to move forward. Once that happens, the design is printed on piles and piles of paper and then handed to the construction team who starts the actual construction. This is, of course, a gross oversimplification, but the interesting thing to note is that this entire exchange of information is digital — up until the point where the actual construction takes place.
 
KPCB's Bing Gordon: How To Tell Amateur Founders From The Pros [TCTV] Top
binggordonDon't be fooled by Bing Gordon's buttoned-up sounding job title as a partner at top tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers -- he's known as easily one of the most fun people to talk to in the tech industry. So when we saw him in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Interactive conference this weekend, we pulled him aside for an interview with TechCrunch TV.
 
Social Super Tuesday — How the 2012 Candidates Stacked Up On Facebook Top
obama facebookEvery vote counted on Super Tuesday with the results coming down to Mitt Romney narrowly beating Rick Santorum by only 0.8% in the Ohio primary. While some may argue that the issues elevated Mitt above the rest, as a social marketer I can't help to wonder if social savvy determined the winners and losers.
 
Facebook Mobile Is Ditching 2-Click Like Button For A 1-Click Like Bar Top
New Like Bar Before Being Clicked DoneFacebook is slowly rolling out a mobile interface change that lets you Like or comment on posts with a single click, I discovered this week and the company has confirmed. By making it quicker to Like, Facebook will be able to gather more data to refine its feed sorting algorithm while making content consumption faster and arguably more enjoyable. Previously, you had to tap a '+' button beside posts to reveal separate Like and comment buttons, but soon all users will click on different sides of a combined Like / comment bar to leave feedback. Sure, this is a subtle change, but it will affect over 110 million iPhone and Android users every day, plus everyone who visits m.facebook.com. With its rich-media feed stories, streamlined feed reading will help Facebook compete with Twitter's inherently less exhausting text-only mobile feed.
 
Jetsetter Moves Beyond Flash Sales: Recommendations Now A Third Of Its Business Top
jetsetter-logoJetsetter, the exclusive travel community for globetrotters, seems to be on a roll. In recent days, the company has announced a dozen some new corporate partners, a handful of new sale formats to entice customers, and new distribution partnerships with high-profile sites like Kayak, The Economist and the vacation rental service HomeAway. But while many think of Jetsetter as a flash sales for travel site, it's been finding growth in other verticals: curated recommendations and personal service.
 
Walmart Buys Facebook Birthday And Holiday Reminder App Social Calendar Top
Social CalendarIt looks like retail giant Walmart has made another acquisition. The e-commerce giant has bought Social Calendar, an app on Facebook that allows you to get birthday and holiday reminders by email and SMS, and to post personalized photo cards and other virtual greetings on friends' Facebook Walls on their birthdays. Here's the message posted on Social Calendar's site: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ("Walmart") completed its purchase of Newput Corporation's Social Calendar products, services and website. We remain committed to providing the highest level of service that you have come to expect with Social Calendar. Your service with Social Calendar will continue without any interruptions, and you will be notified in the future of any material updates or changes to your service.
 
Nike To Open First-Ever API To Developers At Backplane's SXSW Music Hackathon Top
Screen shot 2012-03-10 at 9.08.54 PMLast month, Jason wrote about the announcement that Backplane -- the new interactive, visual platform that's part Pinterest, part Tumblr and Ning -- will be using its star power to stage an unusual event at SXSW: A music hackathon. The startup, which is backed by Lady Gaga along with a host of Silicon Valley VCs, is hosting its so called "SXSW Managers Hack," a unique event for SXSW and music tech. The hackathon will be judged by music industry veterans, like Scooter Braun (the guy who helped bring you The Bieber), President of Jay-Z's Roc Nation Jay Brown, and Lady Gaga's manager (and Backplane Co-founder) Troy Carter, as well as reps from Spotify, Pandora, and SoundHound.
 
Paul Graham Wants You To Build A New Search Engine, Inbox, Or Be The Next Steve Jobs Top
paulgrahamAs a founding partner at Y Combinator, Paul Graham has seen more startup pitches than the average Joe. In a new essay, called "Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas", Graham makes the case that the ideas with the most disruptive potential also happen to be frightening due to the sheer ambition they would require from entrepreneurs to turn them into reality. Yes, there is an amazing amount of talent in Silicon Valley; there has been for years, and there will be for years to come. While the tech industry continues to produce world-changing hardware, software, and consumer web companies, there is a sense that the current landscape is lacking the kind of deep innovation that once defined the industry. Last September, at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Max Levchin and Peter Thiel went so far as to say that innovation today is actually "between dire straits and dead."
 
The Economics Of Emotion Top
msnThe most recent commercial for the BMW i3 and i8 concept cars is a great example of something enlightened marketers have known for years: emotion is the key driver behind purchasing decisions. Yet, today, most businesspeople still follow the old adage, "Emotions and business don't mix," relying on rational data to drive decisions instead. Doesn't the advertisement make you want to buy a BMW? Don't you want to feel cool or look more successful, technology-forward and progressive? Well, that desire is emotion at work. Steve Jobs inherently knew the emotion of his consumers was critical currency in building the Apple phenomenon, and with over 1,700 CMOs admitting that building an enduring connection with consumers is a top priority in a recent IBM survey, leveraging emotion is fast becoming a top business imperative.
 
Eric Chu Steps Away From Overseeing Android's App Store, Jamie Rosenberg Expands Role Top
eric-chuThere was more than meets the eye with this week's rebranding of Android Market as Google Play. Accompanying the new name and look is a shift in how the store is being managed. Eric Chu, who has worked on the Android team for four-and-a-half years, is stepping away from overseeing Android's app store and is exploring other options inside Google. Jamie Rosenberg, who has been a director of digital content for Android and was the public face for the Google Music launch, gets increased oversight for apps and games inside the store. (His title isn't changing though.)
 
3 Predictions On The Future Of Enterprise Software Top
future_enterprise_social_software_smlThe first image that comes to my mind when I think about business computing is the dystopic scene from the 1984 Apple commercial: A swarm of employees wearing the same uniforms and marching in unison into their offices where they are forced to use certain devices and software. They sit down in front of their PCs, open a business application their company paid millions of dollars to implement and, in a disciplined manner, fill out forms to populate the company's database so their managers will be happy. The Anya Major in this dystopic scene is the consumerization of enterprise software. The term "consumerization" was first used, in the context of enterprise software, by Kevin Efrusy from Accel Partners back in 2008. You probably heard about it before. Heck, there's even a SXSW panel discussing this subject, which means it really went mainstream. What is missing from the conversation though is a good look at the root causes and more importantly, at the implications of this phenomenon.
 
100Proof App Shows How Getting Drunk Is Killing (Or Saving) You Top
100Proof6 drinks for an 160-pound, 30-year-old male? That'll take 2 days off your lifespan. Just in time for SXSW, 100Proof is a mobile web app from healthtech startup 100Plus that calculates how your drinking shortens or even lengthens your lifespan. Cute graphics shows you how much sex or time boxing a kangaroo you'd have to spend to work off those calories. Founder Chris Hogg tells me 100Proof delivers the serious message of being mindful of your habits but with a fun tone, and that it previews some of the functionality the full 100Plus app will offer when it launches. He also shared with me some real-time data from the app like that 50-somethings are drunker than those in their 40s, and that Android users drink more than those on iPhones.
 
Sexy IPOs Versus SaaS-y IPOs Top
saas1IPOs are hot again. Naturally, the press is focused on high-profile offerings like Facebook's. But, I think there is a more important group of companies going public: Smaller, less sexy Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startups. Think of it as the Sexy IPOs versus the SaaS-y IPOs. They aren't household names, but the most recent SaaS IPOs (Cornerstone, Jive, Brightcove and Bazaarvoice) are doing better in the public markets, on average, than the Sexy IPOs of LinkedIn, Groupon and Zynga.
 
Harvest Co-Founder: "Solve A Real Pain Point, And Don't Be Afraid To Charge For It" [TCTV] Top
HarvestintvwRight now the enterprise software space is growing rapidly, but so are the number of users who need it, especially freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, and developers. That said, companies who provide services like time-tracking need to evolve in order to meet the growing demands of their users. I sat down with Danny Wen, co-founder of time-tracking service Harvest, who knows all about this. His service, which launched as a web app, has gone on to be available on both iOS and Android, and most recently, as a Mac desktop app.
 
Wikipedia Completes Transfer Of Sites Away From GoDaddy DNS Top
wikimediaPart of the long-running (and far from over) SOPA/PIPA battle was the drawing of lines in the sand by Internet companies. While most recognized the danger of that irresponsible and short-sighted bill and took action against it, some companies supported it strongly and even testified to that effect in Congress. GoDaddy was one of those companies, and while it later tried to undo the damage its position had done (the new CEO seems a little more in touch), the Internet isn't so good at forgetting or forgiving. Among the many, many sites that pledged to leave GoDaddy's DNS service was Wikipedia, and after three months of work, they've finally done so.
 
StartupBus Day Four: San Antonio to Austin [TCTV] Top
RackspaceBusThe "buspreneurs" have arrived in Austin! The StartupBus, which began a four-day journey from San Francisco/Silicon Valley on Tuesday morning, completed the final leg of the voyage yesterday. The teams of entrepreneurs hoping to debut new products at South by Southwest Interactive arrived by way of San Antonio, where they received an enthusiastic welcome at Rackspace. "We live in a magic moment of innovation and entrepreneurship right now," remarked Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier as the StartupBus teams took another break from the road. Take a look at the video to see how apps like Expensieve have become reality. And as the entrepreneurs pull into rainy Austin, they share what they gained from this whirlwind experience and where they hope to go from here.
 
The Spanx Woman Is Worth A Billion?! My Key Takeaways Top
spanx-logo-2006I'm a complete sexist. I want women to look as good as possible. And I'm not the only one. Women want to look as sexy as possible. That's why they buy hundreds of millions worth of form-fitting Spanx every year. And now Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx is worth a billion according to Forbes. She took Justin Timberlake's advice. A million is not cool. A billion is cool. So what happened next? In the past 24 hours I've heard three different guys say something to the affect of, "She? She is worth a billion? Huh. I guess anyone can be worth a billion." As soon as someone says that they are scratched off my list of people I want to spend time with. I only like to be around positive people who celebrate success.
 
DiCaprio-Backed Mobli Pushes Major Revamp for SXSW Top
mobliNot to miss an opportunity to make an impression upon hipsters, Mobli is going to squeeze all the juice it can get out of SXSW with a major app revamp, and a party in Austin to boot. Mobli, which counts Leonardo DiCaprio as one of its investors ($4M funding to date), is dubbing the new version, 'Mobli 2.0'. Personally I feel they should have gone with 'The New Mobli' — zing! Besides a Pinterest-inspired interface, the new version packs a major upgrade to the camera, along with a set of features to edit, touch-up and enhance photos, all bundled under a new section in the app called, 'Darkroom'. Rebuilt from the ground up, the new camera now includes real-time tilt-shift and even real-time video filters. Focus can now be locked and white balance set. This is on top of the 18 brand-new photo filters, superimposed gridlines and a self-timer.
 
At SXSW? Because Paul Carr Is, Launching His Book Today At Bookpeople In Austin Top
Screen Shot 2012-03-10 at 8.32.11 AMJack McKenna here, checking in from South By Southwest to support my old buddy Paul Carr. He may have told me off not so long ago, despite my fine work here over the years. But, we've talked it out and patched things up. You know how things go with bloggers. Anyway, Paul is also in Austin right now, launching the US edition of his book 'The Upgrade: A Cautionary Tale of a Life Without Reservations.' He's doing a reading this afternoon at 5 pm at Bookpeople, (603 N. Lamar, Austin, Tx). I'll be there, and apparently some 'characters' from the book are going to be in the audience too. Also, as Paul tweeted a few days ago… I'm going to spare you the tweet embed, actually. Let's just say the guy is shameless.
 

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