Earlier this week, I mentioned that Warner Bros. had purchased a movie pitch from a writer called James Erwin that had started life as a post on Reddit. Ignoring my cynicism over whether or not social media can ever make good movies or television, there’s one problem: What if Erwin didn’t actually own his idea?
The problem seems to be …
Ford’s Microsoft-powered Sync system offers voice-activated control of music and navigation services, but the technology will be expanding to include health and wellness services in the not-too-distant future. On a rainy October day outside MIT’s Media Lab, I hopped in a cloud-connected Ford Explorer for a demonstration by Ford’s …
This Friday, crowds will swarm the Anaheim Convention Center for BlizzCon, the 6th annual celebration of all things Blizzard. Super-fans who don’t make the journey have a much more couch-friendly option—attend via the internet with a virtual ticket. But is the $40 price tag worth it?
Well, the 500,000 people who watched it online …
Time for the fake Lady Gagas to come out of the wood work. At a Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and SVP of Social Business Vic Gundotra dropped the news that it’s okay to have “other forms of identity” on Google+.
Beyond that, they’re also getting branding pages ready, a long awaited-feature …
Good news, Neil deGrasse Tyson fans: Your favorite astrophysicist and company will soon be coming to Amazon. The company announced today that it has struck a deal with PBS Distribution to bring more than 1,000 episodes of PBS shows such as NOVA, Antique Roadshow and Frontline to its Amazon Prime service.
Yes, you’ll also get the …
How social you are on social networks may depend on the size of your brain, according to new research. Or, at least, the size of your superior temporal sulcus, middle temporal gyrus, entorhinal cortex and amygdalae.
The research, from University College in London, discovered that those who are more social in general tend to have …
The Steve Jobs tributes keep coming, from temporary Apple Store closings to Jobs’ official biography, due out next Monday. Add Apple’s new, presumably long-term and maybe even permanent Steve Jobs tribute page to the list.
No, I don’t mean the main page, with its black and white picture depicting a healthier Jobs in the thinker’s …
Rumors of Google opening its own online music store have been floating around for quite some time, especially after the company launched its own cloud music service earlier this year. According to Google’s SVP of Mobile, Andrew Rubin, however, the service may appear sooner than many thought.
The New York Times reported this weekend …
Anatomy of a Facebook scam: “Like” some product and you’ll get it for free—after handing over some sensitive personal information about yourself. The latest round includes “free” gift cards to Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
The $25 gift cards to Tim Hortons may be somewhat believable, though that’s still a lot of money for a coffee …
If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated at the thought that you can’t share in the results of Twitter or Facebook’s efforts to monetize social media, fear not: There’s an app for that. The only catch? You’ll have to join yet another social network.
UberMedia, the company behind apps Echofon and Twidroyd, has created new social …
Watch out, Netflix: There’s a new player in the online video space, with the kind of past history that should probably make you a little nervous. Introducing VDIO, the new streaming video-on-demand service from the people who brought you Skype. And Napster. And Apache. You’ll find some Microsoft veterans in there, too.
The news that Warner Bros. has purchased a movie pitch as the result of posts made on Reddit shouldn’t come as a surprise to many people; if there’s one thing that social media has proven over the years, it’s that it exists as fodder for the creation of “mainstream” media like movies, television shows and music—as well as numerous news …