By Ben Haber
By Ben Haber
Following Facebook’s controversial new profile layout, the social network launched a new home page this week with a nice fancy world map.
Images of both the old and new home pages are below. As you can see, the new home page is designed to help people connect with people they already know, and emphasizes connections around the world. The older version almost assumes that some people going to the site aren’t quite sure what they can do on Facebook.
New home page:
Old home page:
October 3rd, 2008
By Kyle Austin
(Courtesy of Silicon Alley Insider)
By Kyle Austin
This morning (first reported by Henry Blodget over at Silicon Alley Insider) it appeared that CNN’s iReport had a major, major scoop. An iReport user named “johntw” posted the embedded story above (Update: Not available after 10:40 a.m. ET) at 7:22 a.m. ET. The story on an apparent Steve Job’s heart attack obviously picked-up quick traction (especially with recent focus on Job’s health) and was featured on the front of the iReport Web Page. It had been viewed 5,924 times and Digg’d 152 times as of 10:25 a.m. ET, not to mention the buzz it built in the Twittosphere.
The big problem? The story is completely false.
Kara Swisher reported, via Twitter, that Apple sources have claimed the report is false.
As did Silicon Alley Insider:
We contacted Apple. Katie Cotton, Vice President of Worldwide Communications, replied quickly, saying “It is not true.”
iReport, which launched to industry praise in February of this year, was created to enable citizen journalism for the Time Warner Co. However, even at the time of launch it was unclear how CNN would be editing / moderating the iReport content. “We’ll be telling people in lots of different ways that it’s a post-moderated site,” Susan Grant, EVP of CNN News Services said at the time.
Now CNN will find itself defending the reputation of “The most believable news organization,” despite the fact that it had nothing to do with the initial report (other then creating the iReport portal).
Apple’s stock doesn’t appear to be overly affected by the false news this morning. Although it briefly plunged when the misreport was picked-up by Blodget (Yahoo! Finance illustration below), it is now up 4.05% (as of 10:40 a.m. ET). This is good news after seeing the damage a false news report had on United Airlines stock in early September. However, it once again illustrates how closely Apple’s stock is tied to the health of their visionary CEO.
October 3rd, 2008
By Guest Author
By Lindsey Scott
Last week many of us watched as the wireless world worked itself into a frenzy over the unveiling of T-Mobile’s G1, the first mobile phone to run on Google’s Android operating system. Speculation about Google’s entrance into the mobile market had run rampant in the media for nearly a year as industry experts wondered whether the Internet giant would produce an iPhone killer, or better yet, a “gPhone.” Naturally, expectations for the September 23 preview event were high.
Now that the dust set has settled somewhat and we wait anxiously for the G1’s official launch on October 22, industry experts have had a chance to reflect on the implications of Google’s foray into the mobile space. Yesterday BusinessWeek published an op-ed piece which included some thought-provoking, albeit slightly romantic observations on what Android could mean for the mobile ecosystem.
The gist of the article is that until now, the mobile industry has been by and large an exasperating and overpriced experience for consumers at the mercy of wireless carriers who are “gruff, insensitive bullies” who hide behind “balkanized billing services, huckster-style contracts, and technical obscurity.” The author, Rachel Hinman, argues that T-Mobile could emerge as a hero in the wireless industry because of its decision to partner with Google and embrace a more open, customer-centric model for other carriers to follow.
Putting aside my skepticism about the feasibility of this theory, I have to say that I like many of the ideas Hinman puts forth. She argues that T-Mobile can become a hero in the mobile world by improving the user experience, offering contract-free plans and partnering with compelling brands like Apple and Google. Perhaps her most salient point is that T-Mobile needs to embrace the openness that Android is predicated on:
“If T-Mobile reflects the spirit of the Android platform and the Internet by allowing consumers the freedom and flexibility to do what they want, its service will embody an emerging trend customers have grown to want: Openness. T-Mobile should banish yesterday’s walled gardens and ridiculous proprietary ringtone stores and choose instead to embrace all that Android stands for.”
Ultimately, the implications of this idea go far beyond patching up relations between carriers and their customers or the roll-out of a fancy new cell phone. The end result of this strategy would be more about making Internet access an on-the-go, 24/7 phenomenon and turning our mobile phones into mini-computers.
In the end I think this is at the heart of why Google’s debut on the mobile scene has so many people talking – it represents the convergence of mobile and the Internet. Now all we have to is just sit back and wait.
October 3rd, 2008
