The people at Google are total jerks. It’s like they somehow infiltrated the office and began throwing dust into the air just as I hit play on their Mother’s Day ad. With my allergies acting up, I can’t help but tear up a little during their latest Mother’s Day ad. It’s incredibly endearing and I feel like hugging my mom now.
Thanks, Google, for not going to sentimental cheesy route like every other advertiser who tries to guilt trip me. Because really, I don’t feel terrible for not using Google +. Sorry, but I do like your video! Yay!
Have you ever wondered what your shoes would say if they talked? Now you don’t have to as Google and Adidas unveiled the Talking Shoe, their new joint project, at SxSW. Sure there are other tech shoes out there that can track how far you can run but can they tell you to get off your lazy butt? Well The Talking Shoe can since it has a speaker built into the shoe’s tongue and is capable of saying up to 250 phrases. Of course, it can also track your performance, give you feedback, and help share your info on social media.
While as amazing as that sounds, what’s even better is that the shoes are sassy! Not only does it come with the iconic three-striped Adidas design and Bluetooth technology, but it appears to possess some British snark via its computerized Brit accent. Personally I would have loved it if they got Michael Cain or Adele to do the voice-over of the shoes, but that would be too much of a good thing. This would be great for those of us who need some trash talking and insults to incite some motivation to hit the gym. May I suggest a surly Simon Cowell, an intimidating Naomi Campbell, or a terrifying Gordon Ramsay to shame us into shape? Just a suggestion.
Fashion wise, I like how they incorporated the Google colours into the sleek black shoes. Read more…
Secretsupernatural on Tumblr is on to something. She just had to wonder what happens when you googled Nicholas Cage and Tumblr. For a reference, here’s what you get when you simple Google Nicolas Cage:
And here’s what she got when she googled Nicolas Cage + Tumblr:
Best thing ever, right?
Well, as the inquiring journalists that we are, we just had to see what comes up when you google Nicolas Cage and any other website. Here’s what we found.
1. Nicolas Cage and Facebook
2. Nicolas Cage and Instagram
I literally cannot believe it. Did I use the word “literally” in the correct context? Anyone who has any basic knowledge of grammar would say no. Or you might say yes, but then I would say you were wrong. At least up until today.
Dictionaries have begun expanding their current definition of the word (which is ‘without exaggeration’) to include that ‘literally’ can now be used for affect. And no, these are not dictionaries created by random teenagers trying to prove their parents wrong.
Oxford is doing it…
Webster’s is doing it…
Even Google is doing it!!
This is literally insane. Literally.
There’s a bit of debate in the office about how cheesy these year in review compilations are by now. Google just released its annual “Zeitgeist 2012: Year In Review” and Facebook also released their version, chronicling the biggest trends of 2012. The Google compilation is filled with the most world-changing headlines of the year, including the Olympics, Arab Spring, US presidential election and the Red Bull stratosphere jump.
While watching, I was sitting there completely awestruck and uplifted by all the inspiring things that happened this past year, reflecting inwardly where my place in the UNIVERSE is. You know, kind of like Taylor Swift when she wins an award.
Meanwhile, some of my coworkers were unfazed, having watched too many inspirational year in review compilations mixed to Coldplay songs. Where do you stand? Are you still moved by these end of the year compilations or are they getting too cheesy? Also, what do you think was the craziest, world-changing zeitgeist of the year?
Watch it here
Remember when Aziz Ansari told us about the first time 50 Cent learned what a grapefruit is? He felt like he was witnessing an important lesson in the rapper’s life — a lesson most people learn at age five.
I feel the same way with this clip of rapper DMX learning to use Google for the FIRST TIME. Apparently, he’s been avoiding computers and has never even felt inclined to Google himself. He’s basically going on with life as though he lives in the early 90s, which is incredibly surprising for someone in his industry.
Luckily, New York radio station Power 105.1 was there to help DMX search his name for the first time and his utterly confused reaction is priceless. I’m pretty sure this little lesson will go down in Internet history. And we can all say we witnessed a very important day in DMX’s life.
The top rated comment on YouTube right now? “Cocaine 1 – DMX 0.”
Watch it here:
Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Hoodie Allen, a rapper from New York.
Hoodie Allen has been writing lyrics and rapping since he was a little kid. Now, at 23 years old, he’s released three mixtapes and one album. Although he remains unsigned, Allen has established a name for himself as the king of summer anthems. On May 1, he’s heading to Chicago as part of his All American tour.
Origins: Plainview, New York
Real name: Steven Markowitz. The name Hoodie Allen comes from his childhood nickname “Hoodie.”
Known for: Hoodie Allen is known for his lyrical prowess and feel-good music, which includes candid storytelling and witty punchlines.
Used in a sentence: ”Long Island-bred, Jewish and nerdy, Hoodie Allen dissolves rapper stereotypes like it’s his day job… oh wait, it is.”
File next to: Asher Roth
Download now: No Interruption
Fun facts: Read more…
Imagine Google and Apple as people.
Would they get along? Would they be friends?
Well in this video, we can see what could possibly happen.
Sparks fly when G-Male,the imagined Google version of the perfect boyfriend, meets Siri, the imagined Apple version of the perfect girlfriend).
How cute. I guess opposites really do attract.
It was only two years ago that Hoodie Allen was working at Google and now he has one of the top selling albums. Earlier this week he had the number one album on iTunes, beating out Nicki Minaj, Adele and One Direction.
Bio on speed: Allen grew up in Long Island, went to UPenn and worked at Google’s California offices. He’s 23 and has no major label behind him.
How’d he do it: Allen connects with his fans through social media, not to mention he has some pretty good tracks and a sense of humour. His album All American, which came out on Tuesday, went number one following the singles for “No Interruption” and “No Faith in Brooklyn.” The rapper also has a song called “James Franco” in which a bunch of mini James Francos are let out across Los Angeles. How can you go wrong?
Listen to now: We love the soft piano riff in “No Faith in Brooklyn.”
“No Faith in Brooklyn”
Google has teamed up with Justin Bieber to launch the new Chrome browser. The ad is pretty cool as it shows how the Internet and social networking gave rise to the pop star.
It’s also a pretty smart move by Google considering Bieber will share the ad with his millions of fans following him on Twitter and Facebook. Well played for Google and the Bieber.
What do you think of the ad?
Google is unveiling a digital music service without any licensing deals after proving unable to come to an agreement with major labels, reports Billboard.
The service, which was introduced during a keynote today at a conference in San Francisco, will allow users to upload their music library to a personal online storage locker, where they can stream and download files from Internet connected devices.
This is pretty much the same as Amazon’s Cloud Drive, but with a few differences. Google’s service is available on a limited, invite-only basis limited to U.S. users and those wanting to use the service will have to request an invite at music.google.com, with priority given to those with the Motorola Xoom tablet and to attendees of the conference.
Additionally, Google is also limiting the number of songs that can be uploaded to the music locker to 20,000. The service is free while in beta, and the company would not comment on what future pricing options it may have planned.
“We’ve been in negotiations with the industry for a different set of features, with mixed results,” Google director of content partnerships Zahavah Levine says. ”[But] a couple of major labels were less focused on innovation and more on demanding unreasonable and unsustainable business terms.”
Seems like a cool idea. People definitely like fast technology, so this whole streaming and downloading thing sounds promising. But the idea also has some flaws. It’s limited availability is definitely not going to help them – people want things while its hot, and if they wait too long, nobody will want it in a couple months when it’s widely available.
Google has been really pushing forward these days, though. First the Android getting really great reviews and now this. Does Apple have some competition?
Lady Gaga is always on the hustle, and now she is hocking Google’s Android phone in Japan. The commercial features Lady Gaga and a cool remix of “Poker Face.”
According to PerezHilton the remixed track has now become the eighth most downloaded tune on iTunes Japan. So she gets paid to appear in the commercial, along with earning some extra bucks on the downloads.
Very smart Ms. Gaga!
The first smartphone based on Google’s Andriod mobile platform could be in the U.S. market as early as October, according to an article that appeared at appleinsider.com (Apple Insider). The ‘Dream’ phone (named via the Internet community) from Google is expected to be the only Andoid phone available in the United States this year, and will be sold exclusively through Y-Mobile, the country’s No. 5 wireless carrier, reports Apple Insider.
Similar to the popular iPhone, Dream will have a full touch-screen and will be able to run numerous applications written by third-party developers for the open-source Android operating system, according to Apple Insider. Android is a software platform and operating system based on the Linus operating system, developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance.
The Dream handset will also feature a physical five-row keyboard that can be exposed by sliding the display component upwards, according to the article. While there has been lots of buzz created by the new device, those familiar with Dream have described it as ‘big and bulky’ and not as sleek as the iPhone, reports Apple Insider. The article also reports that the Android software is said to be inferior to the iPhone, and is not as user-friendly as the Apple mobile device.
The Dream, however, is just one of numerous devices that Google is testing with its new mobile Android software. Other models of smartphones from different manufactures may start be released next year as well, which may compensate for the shortcomings of the HTC handset model that currently supports the Dream, according to AppleInsider.
The Google/Digg acquisition negotiations were going smoothly as of last Tuesday, and the two companies were in final negotiations in the $200 million range. However, by late Thursday or Friday, Google decided to walk away from the deal, according to techcrunch.com.
By the time Google had walked away from the deal, they had had already reviewed Digg’s technology and financial statements. The negotiations were in the ‘term sheet’ stage, by which point the buyer already has a very good idea of exactly what they are purchasing, according to techcrunch.com.
Two sources close to the companies said that an issue that arose during the technical due diligence was to blame for the breakdown of the deal. Another source indicated that the issue was more personality driven, and that Google decided Digg’s top team wasn’t a fit for the search engine enterprise, according to the article.
The deal appears to be dead, and is the latest addition to the long list of failed Digg acquisition deals, including Yahoo Inc. Techcrunch continues saying that when a company is ‘left at the altar’ of an acquisition deal, other buyers are typically hesitant to step up.
Considered inevitable by some, and following in the footsteps of Revver, eefoof and the like, YouTube has announced it will be sharing revenue with its users.
Chad Hurely, CEO and co-founder of YouTube, announced new platforms that would allow the popular video site to share revenue with their users and with copyright holders whose intellectual property may be used in such videos without consent.
In a video posted on YouTube from the World Economic Forum, Hurley discusses YouTube’s future.
YouTube is developing audio fingerprinting, which will allow them to identify music that is being used in one of their users’ videos. If a copyrighted song is identified, some of the ad revenue generated from other people viewing that video will then be shared with copyright holders. Hurley says YouTube is currently “talking with the studios, networks and labels.”
In the next part of the interview, Hurley announces plans that would pay users for content they have uploaded.
While he says they are certainly going to move in that direction, he explains the lag by saying they did not want to develop a system based solely on monetary rewards.
Rather, they wanted to establish a strong user base and a large community before engaging in revenue sharing.
“When you start out with giving money to people from day one, they will just switch to the next provider that’s paying more. We feel that we are at a scale now that will be able to do that and really still have a true community around video.”
While this probably won’t make you rich, exact details are still unkown.
Google and Viacom, which owns MTV among many other media outlets in the United States, have inked a deal which will see the web business expand itself even more.
Reuters is reporting that under the new deal, Google will insert content from Viacom’s television shows into its Ad Sense program as a means of advertising (for example, short clips of “Sponge Bob Square Pants,” the MTV Video Awards or “Laguna Beach”).
If the deal works between Viacom and Google, it is expected Google will be able to sell its Ad Sense to other companies.
On top of the initial deal, Google will also have bonus episodes of shows like “South Park” and “Jackass” available for user download for $1.99 (essentially the same deal MTV currently has with iTunes).
Rumours have been swirling around for the last few months about a possible sale or partnership between AOL and a big Internet firm.
At the time, the companies vying for this partnership included Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Comcast. However, when Yahoo and Comcast removed themselves from the negotiations, it appeared that Microsoft was the new front runner. With a massive bank account and with the most to gain from such a partnership, it seemed like only a matter of days before the deal was announced.
If Microsoft were to sign the deal, it would be a significant blow to Google, who already receives about 10% of its search queries from AOL. But late Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has now become the sole runner in the deal that could see them taking a 5% stake (approx. US$1 billion) in AOL, boosting AOL’s value to some US$20 billion.
The news sent Google’s shares soaring to a new high of $432.50/share. Although the deal has still not been formally announced, an announcement is expected sometime this week. Should Time Warner confirm that it has in fact entered into an agreement with Google, it would be another blow to Microsoft, who has been eagerly trying to catch up to Google in the online advertising field.
Google is taking over the Internet, one company at a time.
Google Inc. is reportedly preparing an online-payment system that would compete with PayPal, the largest internet payment system and the top choice of the eBay auction site, according to the New York Times.
The Times reported that an online retailer has been approached by Google to help them with this new venture.
Some people have already named the new system “Google Wallet”, according to Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, who told The New York Times that several of his clients referred to this as the name of the payment service.
Google’s flagship search engine and its Froogle shopping service attract Internet customers but the company only gets revenue from selling ads that appear next to search results.
This service would allow Google to compete with eBay as well as with the popular free site Craigslist.
A payment system would help Google bring individuals and small businesses who are not authorized to accept credit cards online into its marketplace, says the Times.
As word spread of Google’s plans, eBay Inc. shares fell Monday as analysts believe Google’s plans to expand into electronic payments would overwhelm the online auction web site’s PayPal business, reported Business Week Online.
Shares of eBay Inc. fell 61 cents to $37.44 on Monday afternoon trading of the Nasdaq.
PayPal is one of eBay’s most profitable sources of revenue, accounting for $233.1 million of eBay’s total first-quarter revenue of $1.03 billion, says Business Week Online.
