Moments In Tech 5/31/12
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>> Let Me Count The Ways.. I love great infographics and the folks at Infographics Lab have really hit the virtual bullseye with this tall-scraper entitled, “20 Reason To Switch To Google+.” I’d like to give a special “shout-out” to No. 6—Hangouts and and No. 9—Browser integration (with Chrome). If you aren’t yet using Chrome, you should be, it’s lightning fast, has extensions and user can sign in and see the same bookmarks, etc. across desktop and mobile and tablet. Hangouts is like a communication Tsumnami that hasn’t quite arrived, but will be felt when it does. Hangouts can share docs, plus record the hangout and make it available on YouTube. Absolutely a perfect channel for artists to reach out with fans.
>> Message Heard Round The World.. Thunderclap opened its beta site this week. Jumping on the crowdsource bandwagon, like fundraising site Kickstarter, Thunderclap is dedicated to the idea it can “amplify any message.” Instead of trying to raise funds, Thunderclap raises awareness. Here’s how the site explains its goal, “Thunderclap is the first-ever crowdspeaking platform that helps users be heard by saying something together. It allows a single tweet to be simultaneously retweeted at scale.” To get Thunderclapped a message needs to gather a minimum number of supporters within a limited time. Currently the default settings are 500 supporters within 7 days.
>> iPhone Chirping.. It started as an exclusive AT&T product, but the iPhone is truly breaking down the barriers with this week’s announcement that the iconic mobile device will now be available through Cricket Wireless. Cricket’s prepaid, no-contract model means that costs for the iPhone will be higher upfront. According to reports a 16GB iPHone 4S will cost $499.99. The monthly no-contract plan however rings in at $55 per month for unlimited calling and text. Also included is 2.3 GB of data. Exceeding the data limit results in a throttled back slow down, but not extra costs. Not mentioned is Cricket’s Muve Music Plan (unlimited song downloads) which presently costs an additional $10 per month for Android phones and now has over 600k subscribers.
>>VEVO IPO? Facebook investors have not been overjoyed this week as the company’s stock has plummeted steeply from its recent IPO price of $38. However, that has not kept the social network’s leader Mark Zuckerberg out of the hunt to gain a piece of video site, VEVO. According to the New York Post (5/31/12) it appears that FB and Google CEO Larry Page are both expressing interest in owning or partnering with the video service. Vevo’s is a joint venture of UNiversal Music, Sony Music and Abu Dhabi Medai and is presently valued at about $1 billion according to the Post. Vevo has also hired investment bank Allen & Co to explore all possible options.
