Here is another selection of my favorite articles from the around the web for the previous week. It was a busy week for technology news and a great week for my company after pulling down another award. It was also a good week for the social game and virtual good industries. What was your favorite story of the week?
You can always follow my recommended stories in real-time through theRecommended Reading page or through my Lifestream.
Select Technologies Stories From the Week
- 35 Excellent Ecommerce User Interface Designs
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: Vandelay Design Blog
While user experience is important on all types of websites, it is especially critical for ecommerce websites where visitors will be making purchases. A poor user experience will result in visitors having difficulty finding what they want, frustration during shopping, and many lost sales. In this post we will showcase the design of 35 e-commerce websites for your own UI design inspiration. The sites that are showcased in this post have also been…
- Best WordPress Themes Websites Every Blogger Should Bookmark | Smashing Share
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: www.smashingshare.com
A blogger always need a professional WordPress Theme. When started Smashing Share as a Blogger three months back, I went through all wordpress themes website. There are a lot of paid and free wordpress themes available.
- Marketing more important than quality, says analyst
Published: November 17, 2009
Source: Develop
EEDAR reveals higher marketing spend more influential than review scores
- Zynga secures $15 million in VC funding
Published: November 18, 2009
Source: Develop
Socially networked games studio bolstered in spite of recent controversy
- Please Join Us – PerkettPR’s Virtual Clothing Drive to Benefit Rosie’s Place
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: PerkettPRsuasion – The PerkettPR Blog
2009 has unarguably been a year of many ups and downs, not only here in New England, but across the globe. In Massachusetts alone, we have witnessed the unemployment rate rise as high as 9.3% (October 2009) and my guess is that we all know at least one person who has been laid off this past year or been adversely affected by the struggling economy. As the holidays approach this year, I asked myself and my employees “What can we do as an org…
- America’s Army Most Effective Recruitment Tool for U.S. Army
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: Serious Games Source News
The Washington Examiner reports that America’s Army is a more effective U.S. Army recruitment tool than "any other method of contact," according to recent Army testimony to Congress. America’s Army is a series of first-person shooter titles developed in cooperation with the U.S. Army. The PC version of America’s Army is available as a free download from the U.S. Army’s website, and commercial versions are sold for the Xbox and Xbox 360. The artic…
- Four New Approaches to Mobile Payment
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: ReadWriteWeb
It’s official, money transfer and mobile payment are among the most popular and lucrative mobile applications. In a report released earlier this week, Gartner identified the top 10 consumer mobile applications based on revenue, loyalty, consumer value and market penetration. At today’s Under The Radar Mobility Conference four mobile payment players battled for the title of best in show. Sponsor Bling Nation:This service allows users to pay usin…
- Facebook’s Valuation Skyrockets to $9.5 Billion
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: Mashable!
While Facebook’s userbase has been consistently growing for years, its monetary value has been less than consistent. Facebook stunned the world in October 2007 when a Microsoft investment valued the company at $15 Billion. The recession hit Facebook’s value hard though, dropping it all the way to $3.7 Billion in February of this year. Facebook’s value has been fighting back ever since. In July, its value reached $6.5 Billion after a fre…
- SOLD: Skype Now Worth $2.75 Billion
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: Mashable!
Last week, after months of bickering and lawsuits, the Skype saga finally ended. eBay, which bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005, settled outstanding litigation with Skype’s founders. The result: Skype now owns all of its technology, the founders received 14% of Skype and two seats on the Board of Directors, eBay keeps 30% of Skype, and the rest is owned by outside investors. That was last week. Today, Skype CEO Josh Silverman announced th…
- Inside Virtual Goods: What Portion of Social Gaming Revenues Come From Offers?
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: Inside Social Games
This is a post by both Justin Smith and Charles Hudson When we set out to write the Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2009-2010 research report earlier this year, we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the payments ecosystem throughout all popular virtual goods markets in the US, especially the booming world of social games. Given the explosion of payment companies focused on the social gaming market – from mobile payments…
- Cats for Gold: turn your glitter to litter!
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: Boing Boing
catsforgold.com: Sell your old gold and jewels and get cats delivered right to your front door. An internet riff on the troubled online pawn shop Cash for Gold. (via Calpernia Addams)
- 3DVIA Takes Best Use of Video Category at the MITX Awards
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: 93South – Thoughts on New England Web 2.0
A bit of self promotion, but I was impressed with this years 14th annual MITX Interactive Awards but I was even more excited to also walk away with an award. 3DVIA took the Best Use of Video category for a lead generation site we released with the talented folks at Genuine Interactive who conceived and produced the concept. In addition to being a MITX Technology Award judge, this is actual the second MITX Award that I have been connected with b…
- Nearly 40% of marketers plan to boost budgets :: BtoB Magazine
Published: November 19, 2009
Source: www.btobonline.com
Yeah…who are these marketers, I want names!
Find information on B2B Marketing strategies and tactics. BtoB Magazine offers information on email marketing solutions, search engine marketing strategy as well as valuable business to business directories and BtoB lead generation articles.
- Designing Social Interfaces: Overview and Practical Techniques
Published: November 17, 2009
Source: Smashing Magazine
The standard approach to interface design is to craft a channel that allows you to easily and efficiently control hardware or software; it’s all about the interaction between people and computers. But today, the two entities on each side of the user interface are changing: it’s no longer about people interacting with computers, but rather about people interacting with people through computers.This is the nature of the social Web. Social…
- 10 Absolutely New & Stunning Portfolio WordPress Themes for Non-Designers
Published: November 17, 2009
Source: Inspired Magazine
Nevermind you’re not a designer. These days just about any kind of freelancer needs a porftolio as much as he needs a blog. And why would you use another platform than WordPress, our beloved free incredibly popular weapon of choice? Here are some of the newest and most eye catching themes released in the last few days. And be sure to check 10 Cool Photo Portfolio and Gallery Themes and 15 FreshThemes To Get The Coolest Portfolio For You Or Yo…
- CSS Box Model: The Foundation For Improving Your CSS
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: instantShift
The CSS box model lies behind everything you do in CSS. Every element is defined by a rectangular box that encloses that element. Understanding how the box model works is a key to understanding CSS and having greater control over your layout and presentation. Let’s dive right in and talk about what the CSS box model is, how one box affects the boxes around it, and some common browser issues when displaying CSS boxes. In nutshell, the box model…
- $875K for Swipely
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: Xconomy
startups, deals, IT Ryan McBride wrote: Swipely, a Providence, RI-based startup that was quietly launched earlier this year, has raised $875,000 of a planned $1 million equity financing, according to an SEC document filed last week. Angus Davis—a co-founder of the voice-based Internet search and services provider Tellme Networks, which was sold to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and became a subsidiary of the Redmond, WA-based software giant in…
- News: Microsoft launches social networking tools on 360
Published: November 17, 2009
Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News
Microsoft has launched a host of new community features for the Xbox 360 platform, with Facebook, Twitter, last.fm and Zune functionality all now added to the consoles services. The new functionality, previewed at a London event last night – at which Taio Cruz and Paloma Faith both performed – will enable users to post to Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as listen to music via Last….
- Adam Smith Video On The Story Of Xobni
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: OnStartups
As noted in my previous article on startup marketing, I had the opportunity to speak at the MIT Startup bootcamp recently. My friend, and an all-around great guy, Adam Smith (founder of Xobni) spoke earlier that day. Adam did a great job capturing the experience of starting a company and watching a company grow. Adams both brilliant and articulate. Well worth watching the video. Here are some quick notes from the video (to help entice…
- Chrome’s Sample Extensions Add Gmail Checking, Feed Subscribing [Google Chrome]
Published: November 17, 2009
Source: Lifehacker
If you’re running Google Chrome’s development version, or a Mac or Linux nightly build of Chromium, you can already install three sample extensions from Google developers. Two of them add some pretty nifty Gmail and feed conveniences to your browser. They’re the same kind of sample extensions we’d featured back in May, but re-implemented in the fashion of Chrome’s new extension system. If you’re running an up-to-date developer’s version of Chrome…
- Augmented Reality App Provides Virtual Fitting Room for Shoppers – ClickZ
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: www.clickz.com
Augmented Reality App Provides Virtual Fitting Room for Shoppers
- Brightcove Debuts “Express” Video Hosting
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: Xconomy
IT, video, Media Wade Roush wrote: To make it easier for small Web publishers to host videos on their sites, Cambridge, MA-based Brightcove will announce today that it is rolling out an “Express Edition” service starting at $99 per month. The company’s previous lowest-end offering cost several hundred dollars per month. At the new $99 monthly level—which doesn’t require a monthly contract, as previous Brightcove packages did—u…
- Thanks Microsoft, Hello Google
Published: November 16, 2009
Source: Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing
Thanks to all the fine people at Microsoft. It was an interesting ride. Four years, 11 months, and 20 days, and I enjoyed every one of them. Well, except for the last few days, that was not fun at all. I hope I played a small part in making Microsoft more approachable, friendly to startups, and easier to work with. Microsoft is a different company, a better company, than when I joined 5 years ago. There are more new people who joined Microsoft in…
- Amazing Star Wars Tauntaun costume
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: MAKE Magazine
Check out the amazing build log of this Star Wars Tauntaun costume, Scott (the maker writes)… TaunTaun costume, 2009 for the Exotic Zone ball in Sacramento. I’m wearing the Luke Skywalker outfit for this shoot. On Halloween my buddy Brian wore the Luke outfit, and I was his spotter dressed as Han Solo. Sorry bout the shaky camera, my wife was walking and holding our daughter in the other arm. Read more | Permalink | Com…
- Web Design Trends: Testimonials Design
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: Noupe
Testimonials from happy clients are an important part of any service business’s website, lending trustworthiness and experience to a business. Showing those testimonials in their best light is important, as you want visitors to see them without allowing them to dominate your site’s design. One great way to figure out how to design the testimonials on your own projects is to look at how others are doing it. There are five predominant trends in…
- Growing Pains at Hulu
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: www.adweek.com
Advertising industry information from Adweek. Read inside stories on advertising, creative, and client – agency relationships.
- Social Gaming Roundup: Tencent, Xbox, Billboards, and More
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: Inside Social Games
Twitter and Facebook coming to Xbox 360 this week — Microsoft’s console is getting more social on November 17, when the two social services launch as a software download. You’ll be able to do things like access Facebook and Twitter from within the machine. Sony’s Playstation 3 is also getting Facebook integration, it appears. Xbox 360 console game Assassin’s Creed gets virtual goods — You can now buy outfits from the game in the Xbox…
- ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 14 November 2009
Published: November 14, 2009
Source: ReadWriteWeb
We’ve added a couple of more events to this week’s events guide. You can download the entire event calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans. Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in…
- List of the biggest launches in video game history
Published: November 14, 2009
Source: VentureBeat
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is by all accounts likely to be the best-selling video game of all time. It could top 7 million units worldwide on its first day alone, an incredible achievement despite the fact that the economy is still in a pretty weak state. Here are the biggest sales records in the game industry for opening day sales. At the bottom, we’ve also included a list of the biggest first-week sales for games in a chart from VGchartz….
- The Top 5 Social Media Stories This Week
Published: November 14, 2009
Source: Mashable!
From a Twitter TV deal to a new Google programming language, it’s been a surprising week on the web. Here’s our pick of the top 5 stories this week, from the serious to the bizarre. 1. From Twitter to TV: Sh*t My Dad Says Gets CBS Deal – A Twitter account got a TV deal…has the social media and mainstream media fusion gone too far? 2. Google’s Plan to Make the Web Twice as Fast – The web is about to get SPDY, writes Barb Dybwad. 3. GO:…
- Mockingbird: Wireframes on the Fly
Published: November 14, 2009
Source: Emily Chang – Designer
As a UI/UX designer, I’m constantly looking for new tools and methods to allow me to more rapidly create initial user flows and to prototype an application. Mockingbird is a new online tool that let’s you create and share wireframes quickly and with interactivity. It uses a simple drag and drop UI library, gives you the ability to link multiple pages together by making elements clickable, and makes it easy to share your wireframes with cli…
- Playfire: A Social Community For The Addicted Gamer
Published: November 14, 2009
Source: ZePy
Playfire is the global community for gamers.In the site you can get a killer profile, track news and discussion for your favorite games, and follow your friends’ progress in games. Playfire was founded in 2007 by Kieran O’Neill, Seb Hayes Ben Phillips, has a kickass team, and is backed by a number of world-class investors. According to Playfire’s official site the service is in beta and tallies 245,000 users and 40,000 games. As all free o…
- Google: Social Search Down Till Monday or Tuesday
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: Mashable!
Sometimes there’s an advantage to calling something “experimental”. Google Social Search, the much heralded new way to combine Google results with data from your social networks, went down today, we reported earlier. Now Google has responded to our inquiry, explaining that the service will be inaccessible until Monday or Tuesday. No reason has been given for the downtime. Google wrote to Mashable via email: The Google Social Search ex…
- The History of the Internet in a Nutshell
Published: November 15, 2009
Source: Six Revisions
If you’re reading this article, it’s likely that you spend a fair amount of time online. However, considering how much of an influence the Internet has in our daily lives, how many of us actually know the story of how it got its start? Here’s a brief history of the Internet, including important dates, people, projects, sites, and other information that should give you at least a partial picture of what this thing we call the Internet real…
- 40 Free High-Quality WordPress Themes
Published: November 12, 2009
Source: Smashing Magazine
High quality free WordPress Themes have become harder and harder to find in the past year, with the influx of premium themes, more and more designers and developers are selling themes (and rightly so, they do amazing work). However, the quality of freely available themes has improved as well; in fact, some themes are very advanced and professional and can serve as a solid foundation for your next designs.There are a lot of choices out there…
6 Responses
Dave,
Thank you so much for including – and linking to – our post about helping women at Rosie’s Place. It’s a very good cause, and so easy to do! I am appreciative of your help in spreading the word. People can donate clothing via mail/UPS/FedEx or if they’re in the Boston area, we’ll be picking up donations this week and are happy to arrange a pickup if they contact us.
Alternately, folks can donate monetarily via the ChipIn widget on our post, here (includes all details for shipping, etc., as well): http://bit.ly/2fOKoF
Thanks so much and Happy Holidays,
Christine Perkett
PerkettPR
http://www.twitter.com/missusP
No problem!
Bookmarked this. Thanksgiving owing to you looking for sharing. Unequivocally value my time.
I have already read some of the post listed here and they are really worthy to be in your list. Thanks for sharing those I haven’t read yet.
Great posts,
I have great detail from it.
Hi Dave, I’ve just @ twittered you about this same topic: Would you be interested in info. about the trade and investment advantages and STEM talent pool that Ontario has to offer Boston?
Here’s an interesting opportunity for you: to meet tech economic development execs from the Ontario Technology Corridor cities of London, Ottawa and Waterloo Region to discuss synergies between the tech communities of Boston and Ontario. What do you think? They are in Boston tomorrow and Friday.