CRUSH: The Great New Media Migration
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the massive lines outside the Apple store have been for the much anticipated, release of the iPad. With over 450,000 sold, it appears that having the iPad will be as commonplace as the iPod. But while there are already 3,000 iPad-specific apps available, there is one thing noticeably absent - Adobe Flash. Apple has banned flash from any of its iPhone and iPad apps, instead choosing only programs developed in HTML5.
Another media mogul Apple is taking a bite out of? Google. Apple is challenging Google's online advertising dominance with the introduction of the iAd platform, which allows advertisers to develop interactive ads within another application. Although Apple CEO Steve Jobs has concluded it won't be able to compete with Google's search advertising, he is hoping Apple can become the leader in the mobile advertising sphere.
The war on climate change is heating up as the NRDC Action Fund rolled out its new media campaign to one-by-one get the 68 Senators who are not actively pushing for comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation to get in the game. And Senators, if you think they aren't serious, just look at the recent activity towards target number one, Scott Brown of Massachusetts...
While the NRDC Action Fund works on the Senate, fifteen-year old Parker Liautaud is showing his commitment to the environment by skiing to the North Pole. His expedition, funded by none other than General Electric, is in hopes of becoming the first person to check in at the North Pole on Foursquare, which will earn him the coveted "Last Degree" badge.
Freedom of speech has been not only a liberty our country holds with pride, but also the source of controversy when it comes to media. Most recently, the forces for a free and open internet have been dealt a blow by the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C., taking away the FCC's power to move forward in it's plans to get more Americans connected to a faster and cheaper internet, and potentially allowing Internet service providers to block internet content they don't like. Luckily this future isn't set in stone, and a majority vote of FCC commissioners could give the power needed to both protect consumers and close America's digital divide. Go to savetheinternet.com to lend your support to this important cause.
The latest news from Twitter is bringing applause from the business community, as the site's plans for a huge redesign shows a greater emphasis on data. Hopefully this will allow better insight into solving the riddle that has plagued many of us, Tweet R-O-I.
And the quest to solve new media riddles brings us to the CRUSH of the Week, where we highlight a number of individuals who are moving up in the world after making the leap from old to new media. Proving once again that the future where new media rules the day, well, is now.
Can Act.ly keep Sen. Brown Green?
If you are someone who regularly makes your views known by participating in petition campaigns, and are also someone who tweets, chances are you have heard of Act.ly. It is a brilliant use of twitter to allow people to not only tweet to sign petitions, but also to allow the person they are petitioning to respond. Case in point: The new Senator from Massachusetts, @ScottBrownMA.
43 tweets tweeted Scott P. Brown : Stand with Mass. and pass the climate bill #Brown2Green
In addition to a letter campaign, the NRDC Action Fund has launched the act.ly petition urging Scott Brown to stand up for clean energy legislation currently pending in the Senate.
Fact is, when he was in the Massachusetts legislature, Brown was a part of Republicans for Environmental Protection, and he voted for Massachusetts to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pact among Northeastern states requiring power plants to reduce emissions or to buy credits from cleaner industries.
At the time, he said:
"Reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Massachusetts has long been a priority of mine. Passing this legislation is an important step...towards improving our environment."
However - his recent comments are cause for some concern:
"It's interesting. I think the globe is always heating and cooling, It's a natural way of ebb and flow. The thing that concerns me lately is some of the information I've heard about potential tampering with some of the information.""I just want to make sure if in fact ... the Earth is heating up, that we have accurate information, and it's unbiased by scientists with no agenda. . . Once that's done, then I think we can really move forward with a good plan."
So is Brown green? At the time of writing, scores of his constituents and several large national environmental advocacy organzations await his response on Act.ly. If you haven't yet, join in posting on the Senator's facebook wall, and pile onto the Act.ly petition.
CRUSH: Rick and Roll
CRUSH is a fast and fun weekly round-up of social media news - Join us on Facebook to keep up with all the latest. What was this week's theme among your favorite social networking sites? Change. Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are all rolling out a handful of new features. Including Twitter's addition of "most popular tweets" to its search capability, a new interactive layout for YouTube, and the introduction of language alterations and community pages from Facebook.
Facebook was especially busy, as it also acquired "Divvyshot", a program that will allow users to tag photos by event. You can expect to see this application in the upcoming months. Music artist John Forte has already gotten a head start on how this might work, pausing mid-set during his latest tour stop in Boston to snap a photo for his morning Twitter feed.
More politicians are beginning to find audiences via social media. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is reaching out to his constituents on Facebook. He follows New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, who did a live stream chat courtesy of the Live Free of Die Alliance a few months ago.
But beware, the power of social media is a double-edged sword. Just ask the RNC, as the release of controversial financial records and activities have been blasted to the public by an army of bloggers, as well as a video mashup of RNC Chairman Michael Steele's speeches to Fat Joe's music video "Make It Rain".
On a lighter note, April Fool's Day did not go by unnoticed. Here's a list of Mashable's favorite pranks from this year.
And of course, we couldn't resist pulling a prank of our own, which brings us to our CRUSH of the Week. Haven't heard of a Rick Roll? Let us introduce you...
Last Call to Help End Relationship Violence
If ending relationship violence were as easy as downloading a song, would you do it? For the last two months, Macy's and Alfani have been giving away free downlaods of Ne-Yo's exclusive song "Heroes". Every time someone downloaded it, Macy's and Alfani gave $1 to the RESPECT! Campaign to end relationship violence. So far, more then $35,000 have been raised to fund projects to help parents to teach their kids non-violence.
Tomorrow is the last day of the program, so I'm blogging to invite you - yes you - to download this song now and send this link to your friends and ask them to do the same.
Right now, an argument in a relationship is turning violent.
Right now, lives are being shattered because people see each other as objects.
Right now, children are learning by example.
Get as many people to download the song as possible - Right now. Download. Post to Facebook. Post to Twitter.
CRUSH: Facebook in the Time of Syphilis
CRUSH is a fast and fun weekly round-up of social media news Can you get Syphilis from Facebook? According to a public health report in Britain, you can blame social media networks for the recent rise in disease cases by making it easier for individuals to meet up for casual sex.
While it's far-fetched to believe Facebook is responsible for STDs, it could be aiding insomniacs. If you've started counting tweets instead of sheep when you're having trouble sleeping, a new study reveals you're not alone. An increasing number of Facebook and Twitter users are checking their accounts when they wake up during the night.
The big news on Capitol Hill this week - the health care bill was passed. But, as expected, along with it came strong reactions from both the left and right. The tweeter who threatened to assassinate President Obama has been taken into custody, and his Twitter account is gone. ABC News does have screenshots of the profanity-laden tweets here. Can 140 for characters still land you 15-20? We'll find out soon. From the left corner, we have the first (of possibly many?) mash-up remix of House Minority Leader John Boehner's "No You Can't" rant with Will.i.am's "Yes, We Can" video from the '08 election cycle.
Google's newest project, which promises to install high speed fiber-optic Internet cables in at least one lucky city, has got mayors across the country going to extreme measures. It started in Kansas, where the mayor of Topeka temporarily changed the city's name to Google, Kansas. And the stunts have only gotten more adventurous, as Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota took a dip in frigid Lake Superior, while the Mayor of Sarasota Florida jumped into a tank filled with sharks.
But someone not happy to be catching the attention of Google? The British Special Air Service. It seems Google camera cars have "outed" a secret base of the SAS by marking the location on Google's maps street view, and the British military and parliament aren't happy about their cover being blown.
That brings us to our CRUSH of the Week, where we would like to take a chance to applaud Google for standing up to China.