Archive for July, 2008
LG15 is Ending Tomorrow. Really, It Is.
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
LG15 has been around for what, a couple of years now? And it’s finally coming to an end tomorrow. For real this time. Thanks to YouTube, a “webcam,” and some great lighting, LG15 quickly grew in popularity and formed quite a cult-like following. And I’m serious about the cult part. As the LG15 series progressed and we all learned to love the hokiness of it all, the production team behind LG15 also found that an online web series could easily lend itself to an interactive relationship with its cult-like followers, with last year’s season finale ending in a bit of a wild goose chase where some fans were chosen to become part of the show.
From the looks of it, the series finale of LG15 won’t be quite so melodramatic this time around, but it will be quite epic, with 12 hour-long episodes that will begin airing tomorrow at 8 am PST. An episode will be released every hour for 12 hours, so this will be an all day affair, just like KateModern’s finale. Get ready. If you are indeed saddened by the end of LG15’s run, you may be comforted in knowing that EQAL, the production team behind LG15 and KateModern, have a few things up their sleeves for a new online series, which will premiere in September.
EQAL hasn’t released any further details, but the system used for both LG15 and KateModern seemed to work well, as they appealed to a pretty large demographic and found mutually beneficial ways in which to integrate with social networks and media-sharing sites. The beauty of EQAL’s execution was its ability to leverage social media for what it is, both embracing and pushing forward the way in which online media is created, distributed, and consumed.
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KateModern’s 12-Hour Finale Binger
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Trolls: This Is It. Your Last Week to Insult Us (and win prizes for it anyhow)
Strutta Turns Videos into a Spectator Sport
KateModern to Go Off the Air
LG15 Lands Exclusive Deal with MySpaceTV
SummerMash New York City Gets Ready for its Close-Up
60+ Resources for Big Brother Fans
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
My name is Sean P. Aune and I am a Big Brother fan. It’s not always an easy thing to admit, but every summer I plant myself in front of the television for three months and yell at the contestants I hate.
For those unfamiliar with the show, a varying number of people enter a “house” (really a decorated sound stage at CBS), spend 90 days scheming to vote each other out, and the winner takes home $500,000. The show has a different format here in the USA than it does anywhere else in the world, but it is still part of the huge global brand.
Since season 1, the show has been transmitted 24/7 over the Internet, with people going to websites to post constant updates about what is going on in the house. It was almost social media before there was a social media. So give these 60+ Big Brother resources a look and discover the show, or walk down memory lane, exploring past seasons.
(Our own Adam Ostrow is also a fan, but I’m not sure he’ll fess up, so I’m doing it for him!)
Official Sites
Big Brother After Dark - Page from Showtime channel, Sho 2, for the late night live show that plays every night during the season. Has a chat room powered by Meebo for fans to discuss the latest happenings in the house.
Big Brother Official Site - The official site of Big Brother USA on CBS that features houseguest profiles, episode videos and more.
Real Player Subscription Page - For those who just can’t get enough of these people trapped in a soundstage/house, you can subscribe to the 24-hour feeds.
Fan Sites
BigBrotherAccess.com - Done in a bit of a news style with nice large warnings for potential spoilers, and news on some of the other “houses” around the world.
BigBrotherChatter.com - During the Big Brother seasons the chat is open to all, during the off-season you must subscribe.
BigBrotherFanClub.com - Though its name mentions the show, it does cover various reality shows, but has a heavy emphasis on its namesake.
HamsterWatch.com - Lots of analysis of how the show is going, breaking it down by each player/hamster.
JokersUpdates.com - Hyper-active forums that are almost difficult to keep up with and are policed for the most minor of infractions, which can actually get in the way of discussion. 24/7 updates of what is happening on the live streams during the course of the show. Been around since the first season, making it one of the oldest fan sites.
Monty’sTV.com - Monty’s has been following the show since season 1 and always has up to the minute information.
MoreBigBrother.com - Recaps, commentary, analysis and more of the current season of the series.
PowerOfVeto.com - Forums, vidcaps, video and more to help feed your addiction.
RealityBBQ.com - Started off as just a Big Brother site, but has now expanded to numerous reality shows, but with a heavy focus on their roots.
RealityFanForum.com - Has discussion areas and live feed updates to keep you up to date on what is happening in the house.
SillyHamsters.film.com - Hamsters is a nickname for the contestants and this blog follows the action in the house with live blogging during the live eviction episodes.
WeLoveBigBrother.com - Updates, news, forums and more from this site dedicated to the show.
Big Brother 10 Houseguest Sites
Maybe it says something about the people who get on Big Brother, but it seems every season that MySpace is the Big Brother houseguests’ social network of choice, and the profiles are always hideously designed. We did not add any profiles or fan pages that were set to private (surprisingly many were).
Angie Swindell’s Official Fan Page on MySpace - Run by a fan, this page is for fans of Angie Swindell.
April Dowling’s Official Fan Page on MySpace - A public page for fans of April to show their appreciation.
Jessie Godderz’s Official Fan Page on MySpace - Official fan page of Mr. Natural Iowa 2008, and current Big Brother houseguest, Jessie.
Keesha Smith’s MySpace - Big Brother houseguest and waitress at Hooters chain restaurant.
Libra Thompson’s Official Fan Page on MySpace - 31-year-old mother of two from Spring, TX.
Michelle Costa’s MySpace - 28-year-old from Cumberland, RI.
Big Brother 9 Houseguest Sites
Adam Jasinski’s Facebook Page -The winner of Big Brother 9 comes to Facebook.
Adam Jasinski’s Personal MySpace - As with most Big Brother contestants, he also has a MySpace page.
Alex Coladonato’s Official Fan Page on MySpace - A DJ from Staten Island, NY who appeared on season 9 of Big Brother.
Amanda Hansen Official Fan Forum - Houseguest from season 9 that is best known for saying “bueno” every 10 seconds while in the house.
Chelsia Hart’s MySpace Page - Though she said many times in the house she was horrible with computers, she’s giving MySpace a go.
Jacob Heald’s MySpace Page - One half of the first couple eliminated from the house.
James Zinkand’s MySpace Page - Better known as Crazy James, the houseguest with the pink mohawk.
Jen Deez’s MySpace Page - Was the real life girlfriend of Ryan, and part of the second couple evicted.
Joshuah Welch’s MySpace Page - A rabid fan of his alma mater, University of Texas, Joshuah was well-known for his outbursts.
Matt McDonald’s MySpace Page - A roofer from Boston who is probably best known for trying to dodge the constant advances of fellow cast member, Natalie.
Natalie Cunial’s MySpace Page - The Bikini Barista from “the Beaver State” constantly chased “her Matty” around for affection.
Neil Garcia’s MySpace Page - Was partnered with Joshuah, but left the game after a week due to matters of a personal nature that were never revealed.
Sharon Obermueller’s MySpace Page - 24-year-old from Kansas who was evicted with Jacob, but came back when Neil left and ended up taking fifth place.
Sheila Kennedy’s MySpace Page - A former Penthouse Pet of the Year, Sheila was a 45-year-old single mother… ya know?
Big Brother 8 Houseguest Sites
Daniele Donato’s LiveJournal - The second place finisher’s blog since she left the house.
Daniele Donato’s MySpace Page - Daughter of the ultimate winner of season 8.
Dick Donato’s MySpace Page - Better known as EvelDick, he went on to win the season much to every other person’s amazement.
Eric Stein’s Official MySpace Page - Eric was the big twist of the season as “America’s Player”.
Jen Johnson’s MySpace Page - Jen was… a Jenius? Not sure how you describe her and keep it sane sounding.
Jessica Hughbanks’ MySpace Page - Entered the house as part of the enemies twist, ended up dating Eric for a time after the show ended.
Joe Barber’s MySpace Page - Another part of the enemies twist, went out fairly early.
Kail Harbick’s MySpace Page - Multiple business owner from Rainbow, OR.
Mike Dutz’s MySpace Page -Mike… does anyone remember Mike doing anything of significance?
Nick Starcevic’s MySpace Page - Was after Daniele in the house, ended up dating Jen out of the house.
Zach Swerdzewski’s MySpace Page - Came in third for the year.
Big Brother 7 - All Stars is not getting a listing as all the contestants were from previous seasons.
Big Brother 6 Houseguests
Howie Gordon’s MySpace Page - A player in season 6 & 7, he has the MySpace page that seems to be required of all players.
Howie Gordon’s Personal Website - Was also part of season 7, one of the few former houseguests with a dedicated website.
James Rhine’s Official Site - Always seemed to win Power of Veto just when he needed it the most.
Janelle Pierzina’s MySpace Page - Another season 6 player to return for season 7, and she even showed up in season 8 as a challenge host.
Janelle Pierzina’s Official Fansite - Has a forum, media and chats occasionally attended by Janelle herself.
Kaysar Ridah’s MySpace Page - Returned in season 7, All Stars, arguably one of the most popular houseguests ever.
Kaysar Ridah’s Official Site - Official fan forum for the former houseguest.
Michael Donnellan’s MySpace Page - MySpace page for the artist of the houseguests.
Michael Donnellan’s Official Site - Official site for Michael’s artwork, he was Kaysar’s secret game partner in the house.
Sarah Rejsa’s MySpace Page - Was James Rhine’s partner and girlfriend in the house.
Big Brother 5 Houseguests
Adria & Natalie Official Site - The hidden pair of twins in the house who played as one when the season started and then as separates.
Holly King’s Official Site - An actress with an incredibly squeaky voice that had an in-house relationship with Jase.
Marvin Latimer’s Official Site - Maybe he was inspired by the twins, because Marvin seems to be selling ways to lose weight now.
Earlier Big Brothers
Dr. Will Kirby’s Official Site - Winner of season 2, appeared in season 7, now appears on Dr. 90210.
Eddie McGee’s MySpace Page - Winner of season 1, now making his own short movies.
Marcellas Reynolds Official Site - Appeared in seasons 3 and 7, was long considered to have made the worst move in the history of the show when he failed to use the Power of Veto on himself in season 3.
Mike “Boogie” Malin’s Official Site - Appeared in season 2 and 7, going on to win the All Stars game.
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Digg Launches New Mobile Version with Optimized Interface
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Since the launch of the iPhone 3G, the past couple of weeks have been prime time for companies to launch new mobile sites. Digg is taking advantage of the new surge of interest in mobile applications to reveal its upgraded mobile version of Digg. If you don’t have the new iPhone, it’s all good.
The new Digg mobile site isn’t necessarily an iPhone app–it just looks cooler on the iPhone than the Blackberry. Upgraded features for Digg’s new mobile version include multiple views of popular stories, improved usability for surfing between stories, and faster page loads. You can also add stories to your Favorites while logged in. This new mobile version is designed to operate more like the Web version of Digg, so navigation overall has been improved, specifically the ability to tab between topics and consume more content throughout the site.
The release of the new mobile version also coincides with Digg’s reported traffic increases due to its new recommendation engine. It’s clear that Digg Founder Kevin Rose looks to mobile as the future of media consumption. Ensuring that Digg’s own mobile version is as easy to navigate and interact with as its Web version is important in the grand scheme of things.
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AirBed & Breakfast: For Obama’s Sake, Skip the Hotels
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
AirBed & Breakfast made its debut earlier this spring when it introduced itself as a service that connects spare rooms with people in need of a place to sleep. With an event as large as SXSW, hotel prices often skyrocket and are usually sold out as the event approaches. AirBed & Breakfast had a great idea in matching people with spare rooms in their homes with those out-of-towners in need of an affordable alternative to pricey hotels.
When I first reviewed the site, I mentioned that its niche could easily be expanded (even beyond events), but AirBed & Breakfast is remaining event-specific for now. The latest housing project the 
service plans to tackle is the Obama nomination speech at the Democratic Convention next month. Lucky for AirBed & Breakfast, it had plenty of practice with SXSW and has an early start for the upcoming convention. There will be an expected 75,000 people in attendance, and so far AirBed & Breakfast has 328 people with available rooms, ready and waiting for Obama supporters.
I still hope to see some deeper integration with other travel planning services and social networks, but AirBed & Breakfast is doing well to help establish a niche marketplace that empowers individuals and is contributing to the larger movement of a consumer-driven market, currently only supported via the Web.
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On YouTube, YouChoose Obama
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New Service Lets You Get an “earfl” of Stories and Gossip
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
earfl is like Twitter for phone calls. Instead of sending in an SMS update, you can just dial a number and say a little something. The recording will be linked to your account on the Web, and can then be shared with family and friends. Attach an image if you’d like–this makes audio recordings (especially those from the phone) more interesting.
Stories can be rated, commented upon, emailed out to friends, or embedded into other social networking profiles or websites. earfl also features groups, so you can connect with others regarding a particular topic of interest. Another useful feature is the ability to send a recording to another user and invite them to participate. For this option, earfl will actually grant them a redemption code that allows them to submit a recording without having to set up an account.
Each public story has a ShareThis button, so items can easily be spread to most major social media networks and bookmarking sites. And while ShareThis allows these stories to be sent to other microblogging tools like Twitter, an automated option for users would be helpful as well, especially if they’re looking to diversify their content for redistribution purposes.
Even though we’re seeing a lot of development in this industry, with BT acquiring Ribbit and a number of other applications finding ways to leverage vocal commands and conversions for multimedia purposes, earfl still fights an uphill battle, as there are a number of other services (besides Twitter) like Pownce and Utterz that are present in the microblogging domain and support multiple file types. To that end, having additional options like speech-to-text conversion and SMS and email distribution options could help earfl straddle more aspects of the microblogging market.
Delicious Without the Dots. Version 2.0 Delivered.
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
So “soon” really did mean “soon.” Props to the Delicious crew for making it happen this time around.
There it is. The new Delicious. It looks good, huh? It shares some characteristics from the “heritage edition,” but it seems to carry a bit more in the way of currency. If you liked what came before, you’ll probably find the new one a nice fit. Kind of like buying a new pair of shoes that, by default, feel good. You still have some breaking-in to do, but the new style probably won’t slow you down much.
Delicious is promising three primary things with the 2.0 tag: more speed, overhauled search (also said to be a leadfoot), and, of course, a fresh design. As the company describes in its latest blog post:
…we’ve updated the user interface to improve usability and add a few often-requested features (such as selectable detail levels and alphabetical sorting of bookmarks). Our goal has been to keep the new design similar in spirit to the old one, so all of you veterans should be able to jump in without any confusion. At the same time, we’re hoping that newcomers to Delicious will find it easier to learn.
Delicious is welcoming feedback for the new version at the Delicious Discussion Forum. No special access key needed. As long as you have a valid account registered with the service, you can tell the gang what you love and what you don’t. Don’t ask for the dots back, though. That probably won’t happen.
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Mashable Rocks: Connect with us on FriendFeed
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
In this week’s Mashable Rocks series, we feature FriendFeed, a lifestreaming application we’ve covered many times. Mashable is also pleased to introduce integration of FriendFeed in our blog posts, meaning that you can now leave comments on FriendFeed and have them show up on Mashable beneath the corresponding story.
We have also established a presence on FriendFeed, with a room for Friends of Mashable.
You can follow the rest of the Mashable staff who actively use FriendFeed here:
* Pete Cashmore
* Adam Ostrow
* Tamar Weinberg
* Adam Hirsch
* Kristen Nicole
* Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins
* Sean P. Aune
We hope to see you on FriendFeed in the future!
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Former Googlers Team Up to Launch FriendFeed
FriendFeed Brings Twitter Back
Socialmedian Opens Up Combining Many of the Best Ideas in Social News
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Socialmedian, a social news site that we’ve tracked the progress of over the past few months, is now open to everyone.
While a lot of the bases have been covered in our previous coverage, give Socialmedian credit for a nicely paced launch and responsiveness to its alpha users. Today’s public launch includes 350 “user-generated features” as founder Jason Goldberg likes to call them, and the site already has more than 1,000 daily active users – not too shabby considering that until now the service has been invite-only in the hyper-competitive social news space.
The ongoing enhancements and relatively active community were very visible in a tour of the site that Goldberg gave me yesterday. A lot of the ideas behind the service are very familiar if you use products like Digg, Friendfeed, and Google Reader.
You can follow different topical news groups – which are a collection of activities from people interested in the same topic (called News Networks) - or subscribe to updates from other users (called Newsmakers). On your homepage, you can then filter between the activities in your News Networks and the activities among the Newsmakers you’re tracking. Activities tracked include “Clipping” a story (akin to Digg with bookmarklet and all) or commenting on something on Socialmedian.
Looking beyond those features – which on the surface seem like a hybrid of Digg and Friendfeed – is where Socialmedian potentially gets very interesting for news junkies, and it comes in the form of providing feedback to the service. You can vote on each story’s relevance, rank topics in the order of importance to you, and upgrade the frequency at which you’d like to see stories from specific sources. So, hypothetically, if you want to customize Socialmedian to show you more stories about social networking, from Mashable, you can do just that
Beyond these features are where I draw the analogy to Google Reader. The “sharing” options associated with each item on Socialmedian allow you to either email it, Tweet it, or perhaps most interestingly – share it with one of your News Networks. Additionally, you can send a “Snip” (akin to a Note in Google Reader) to your networks.
If that’s not exhaustive enough, Socialmedian also acts as a profile aggregator, using the Google Social Graph API to pull in your profiles from various networks. While right now, this only leads to your profile displaying links, eventually it will turn Socialmedian profiles into yet another lifestreaming aggregator, but with a focus squarely on news according to Goldberg.
In addition to opening up its door to everyone, Socialmedian – which to-date has consisted of Goldberg and a team of programmers in India - is also for the first time disclosing its list of investors. Among the high profile people and organizations backing the company to the tune of $600,000 so far are WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.
Clearly, Socialmedian has been paying attention to a lot of the trends in social news and aggregation in readying its public launch. It’s an impressive effort, but if there is one big drawback, it’s that the site does require a big investment from the user. Versus sites like Digg where you can passively browse the top content in your preferred high-level categories, to really get the most out of Socialmedian, you need to be active in the form of following other users, joining different News Networks, and continually using the feedback loops that the service provides. On the other hand, that investment might be well worth it for those that are drowning in information overload.
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Pownce Launch Party Tonight - Pownce to Exit Private Beta
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Vigster Sets Out to Become IMDB for Video Games
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Vigster is a new gaming community that launches to the public today, and it’s setting out to become an online resource for video game lovers everywhere. Similar in format to Shelfari, users can create a virtual representation of their game “shelf” displaying games they own, have played, and would like to play.
For each game on the site, users can also give reviews and ratings, begin discussions and layer in as much additional information as possible. That includes screen shots, videos, and other data that could be deemed useful. In this sense, Vigster is much like a wiki for video games. In Vigster’s own words, the community-driven content enables the site to become an “IMDB for video games.”
This informational portal approach is clearly what Vigster is going after with its new site, and for furthered development I’d love to see more personalized options for recommendations and related content available throughout the site as well. The video gaming community has a lot of options for online networking, so any additional customization Vigster can provide would be useful.
Linking profiles to established wish list or additional online retailers, as well as applications on Facebook or MySpace and even participation in open standards for portable media recommendations are a couple of ways Vigster could expand its feature set and offer more practical and interactive outlets for users.
Google Gets Official OK for Street View in UK
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
UK residents have lived under the watchful eye of cameras for a while now, but still Google’s Street View initiative, an effort to photograph roadways and any structures adjacent to the tarmac, both east and west of the Atlantic, was required to undergo examination by the Information Commissioner after hearing from worried citizen rights watchdogs at Privacy International. Today it is said that the IC is officially satisfied with measures promised by Google to protect privacy and safety (blurring of faces of passersby, vehicular license plates, and image removal), and the company has been allowed to proceed as planned.
According to BBC News, the issue of privacy pertaining to roadway and streetside photography was first raised as a relatively high-profile concern earlier this month, when Google announced its intention to venture down lanes in a “few European countries.” The go-ahead given to Google ensures that it won’t be very long before the UK receives the same treatment many American cities have already.
The only resistance to Google Street View to be publicly reported in recent months, which in fact led to the complete removal of coverage for a specific area, was when the Minnesota community of North Oaks, a private jurisdiction, requested that it be removed when it was decided that Google had not gained the authorization to document it. Google complied.
Of course, any comparison with Google’s efforts and those of the UK government to surveil society, as I made a point to do in the introduction, must include mention that one project is privately managed while the other is government-led.
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