Hashtags On Facebook Would Open Up Exploration And Discovery Way More Than Graph Search

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The hashtag (#), which is a hallmark of Twitter’s userbase wanting to categorize content, is rumored to become a part of Facebook’s Graph Search . The company is tinkering around with the notion , but not much is known about how far along the social network is with it. While the hashtag isn’t a concept owned entirely by Twitter, the company has helped to make them popular with mainstream users. The most important usage of the hashtag hasn’t been for branding though, its been to bring uncategorized information together into a discoverable and scannable way. how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. Read more »

Facebook Poke App Is Frustrating as Hell

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Facebook Poke: Startup Screen Poke, the new iPhone app from Facebook, lets you send short messages, photos and videos to friends that automatically self destruct after a few seconds. If you have the Facebook app on your phone already, logging in is effortless. Click here to view this gallery. I was never a big poker on Facebook . When I joined the social network in 2007, giving someone a "poke" was still pretty common. It was a connection that stopped short of an actual friend request, a way to test the waters of a reconnection with, say, an ex. The new app, Facebook Poke (as it's listed in the App Store ), doesn't have much in common with poking of old. It's essentially a clone of other texting apps where all the messages have a built-in self-destruct. It's ideal for clandestine activities, shall we say. Here's how it works: Let's say you have a sudden urge to send one of your Facebook friends a photo of a, er, cucumber. Read more »

R.I.P.: 10 Products That Were Discontinued in 2012

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1. Apple White MacBook Although actually discontinued in 2011, 2012 was the year the white MacBook got the official " End of Life " status. Popular with students, the white MacBook had been the budget option for Apple users since 2006. Image courtesy of Apple Click here to view this gallery. This year, quite a few products disappeared from the market, as technology inevitably marches on. Whether they got pulled for being faulty or just weren't commercially successful, these 10 examples have virtually expired. SEE ALSO: 10 iPad Wallpapers Full of Winter Cheer Take a look through the gallery, above, for the 10 products we've chosen to highlight. Share in the comments, below, any other gadgetry you've noted that has been removed from shop shelves in the last 12 months Read more »

Paying For Downloads Is Lame, And We Had No Idea We Were Doing It

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You know that annoying kid in junior high that used to give you his lunch money to hang out? That’s what incentivized mobile app downloads are like. Or rather, it’s that kid’s mom or older brother paying you to hang out with them. So when we were blindsided by saw this post by our founder Michael Arrington earlier today, about the TechCrunch iOS app being offered in exchange for a whopping 9 premium plays of Goobers Vs. Boogers* , we didn’t believe it. That’s not the TechCrunch app, we said. It has to be a clone Read more »

$140,000 Kickstarter Project Learns: Don’t Mess With Apple

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How would you like a portable battery that could charge any kind of phone -- including the latest iPhones -- without any kind of adapter. That was the whole thrust of Pop , a rechargeable battery that would have built-in cables for almost every kind of port, the Lightning connector included. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it was. Pop is dead before it even went into production, even though it had a very successful Kickstarter campaign that raised almost $140,000, more than double its original goal. Why is it dead? It's because Apple has the final say on which devices use its connectors, and it had issues with the Pop Read more »

With Digital Media On The Rise, Disney Investment Arm Steamboat Ventures Raises $85 Million Fund

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Well here’s a small bit of news before we enter the long holiday weekend: Disney’s investment arm, Steamboat Ventures , has raised a new $85 million fund, according to an SEC filing . The new money will allow Steamboat — and by extension, Disney — to continue making investments in digital media, as the market continues to heat up. Like other investment portfolios linked to major media conglomerates, Steamboat tends to makes strategic investments in startups that focus on digital video, gaming, and advertising — basically all things that could facilitate Disney’s embrace of digital media. Example companies in its portfolio include content-delivery network Edgecast Networks, encoding technology provider Elemental Technologies, online ad startup FreeWheel, and portable camera maker GoPro, all of which seem to be doing fairly well. The firm has had its share of successes, such as Playdom, which was bought by Disney for more than $750 million in 2010, as well as Pure Digital (acquired by Cisco) and GreyStripe (bought by ValueClick). But not all exits have been totally successful — Move Networks was sold to Dish in what appeared to be a fire sale . Nevertheless, now seems to be a good time to be investing in digital media, particularly online video and technologies that help support it. With YouTube emerging as a viable platform for video distribution and monetization, the promise of alternative online video content sources looks like it’s finally being realized. Meanwhile, a ton of traditional media companies — like Disney — are moving their video and gaming portfolios to new platforms to take advantage of new online, social, and mobile distribution outlets. Read more »

In Latin America, Women Are Breaking Barriers To Entrepreneurship

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Editor’s note:   Maria Rocio Paniagua currently works as a project manager at  Innku , one of the top mobile and web workshops in Mexico. She is very passionate about all things technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. Follow her on  Twitter . The lack of women in technology in Latin America and the Caribbean is an issue whose cause has deep roots. Latin American women generally are not expected or encouraged to enter the hard sciences and engineering — medicine being one of the biggest exceptions. And unfortunately, private and public programs have yet to be developed or don’t provide the necessary resources to effect change. One exception is Chile, where public and private programs look to foster startups and entrepreneurship. Contrast this with what’s been happening in the U.S. and Europe: The high positions that women hold, especially in the tech sector, as well as the entrepreneurial support they enjoy, has helped to create a trickle-down effect, resulting in more women in tech. In Latin America and the Caribbean, however, the numbers haven’t moved much Read more »

Guidebox Launches To Become Your On-Demand TV Guide And DVR For The Web (And The iPad)

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Are you a fan of TV? Do you like to watch TV on the Web? How about on your iPad? Do you hate not knowing where to go to catch up on all your favorite TV shows? Then I have a website for you. San Francisco-based Guidebox brings together full show and episode data from all the various websites and apps that have TV programs, ranging from aggregators like Hulu and Hulu Plus to branded network websites like CNN.com and CBS.com. As a result, it has what the most definitive collection of full episodes available all in one place. That said, Guidebox is all about TV — and just TV. It doesn’t care about movies, it doesn’t care about web video Read more »

Spin Magazine Halts Print Publication

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Spin became the latest magazine to pull out of print, halting production after 27 years. The publication, which is owned by Buzzmedia, broke the news to subscribers on Friday: " Spin has halted publication of our print edition to invest more deeply in our digital properties, including Spin.com, Spin Play for iPad, and Spin mobile," the company wrote on its site . "Special arrangements have been made with alternative publishers to fulfill your Spin print subscription for the remaining term: you will automatically receive your new magazine in the mail, with the option to ask for a full refund. We appreciate your patience during the transition of your subscription." Two weeks after the onl… Continue reading... More About: magazines , spin magazine Read more »