london

Twitter hushing tweets country-by-country

Twitter tells the little blue bird to hush – but only in certain countries. In a sharp policy turnaround, Twitter has announced that it will now exercise the ability to withhold tweets depending on the rules and laws of specific countries. Previously, the social network had held firm to a stance of refusing to censor tweets that may contravene a country’s laws. However, until recently, the only way in which Twitter could block a tweet was to delete it across the service globally. In an official blog post yesterday, Twitter stated: “As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content. “Until now, the only way we could take account of those countries’ limits was to remove content globally

Go here to see the original:
Twitter hushing tweets country-by-country

london

What’s a QR Code?

Never heard of a QR Code? Or maybe you have but you don’t really know how to use them. For retailers and consumers alike they can provide genuine benefits. First off, what is a QR code?

The rest is here:
What’s a QR Code?

london

What’s a QR Code?

Never heard of a QR Code? Or maybe you have but you don’t really know how to use them. For retailers and consumers alike they can provide genuine benefits. First off, what is a QR code? QR is short for Quick Response and it’s a matrix barcode which has been widely used in Japan for many years. They started originally in the car industry. The code is shown as a collection of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background

View original here: 
What’s a QR Code?

london

Street view ventures indoors

Google has launched a pilot project that lets users take Street View indoors for an inside look at popular spots like restaurants, hotels and shops, along with more unusual interiors like gyms and vehicle repair workshops. The initial rollout is limited to London and Paris, along with several other cities in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. To help avoid privacy complaints, the new scheme will roll out on a voluntary basis, where business owners can opt in to be included. For the time being, large chains, hospitals and lawyers’ offices will all be excluded from eligibility A Google spokesperson told the BBC : “Building on the Google Art Project, which took Street View technology inside 17 acclaimed museums, this project is another creative implementation of Street View technology, to help businesses as they build their online presence.” “We hope to enable businesses to highlight the qualities to make their locations stand out through professional, high-quality imagery.” Google creates the 360-degree images using fish-eye and wide-angle lens cameras to give users a virtual glimpse inside some of their favourite shops and restaurants. However, the search seraph also noted that business owners must warn customers and employees prior to the photo shoot, and similar to Street View, will blur out or refuse to publish images of bystanders. Sarah Cordey from the British Retail consortium said: “Retail is always a competitive sector, but this is particularly true at a time of failing disposable incomes. “Many retailers are increasing their online presence and use of technological innovations, to this is a development some businesses will no doubt consider with interest.” Digg | delicious | Reddit | Google | Twitter | Sphinn | StumbleUpon | YahooBuzz | Facebook | Mixx | Contact bigmouthmedia

Read the original here: 
Street view ventures indoors

london

Samsung’s Virtual Assistant annoys the boss

The battle for best smartphone rages on between Apple and Samsung with voice command features front-and-centre in both the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy SII. One of the most distinguishing features of the iPhone 4S is Siri – a voice-operated ‘personal assistant’ that lets users speak to their phones to send messages, ask questions, place phone calls and more. Samsung’s Virtual Assistant – powered by Vlingo – works in much the same way. When users double-tap the home screen button they are greeted with an automated voice asking “What would you like to do?” Vlingo said of its Virtual Assistant in a blog post : “Voice talk enables users to do social updates, messaging, email, hands-free communication via InCar, voice dialling and search and more. “They will also be able to initiate commands simple by double-tapping the home screen button, making it easier than ever to get things done while on the go.” Samsung announced its ‘major partnership’ with Vlingo – the brains behind Virtual Assistant – just four weeks before the latest version of its flagship smartphone – the Galaxy SII – launched. Vlingo’s technology, built on the back of software from another partnership with Google , has been pre-installed in every Galaxy SII smartphone and, unlike Siri, gives users no opportunity to turn it off. While since the launch of the iPhone 4S Siri has received a lot of attention and a largely positive reception, according to the Guardian , Galaxy users are growing irritated with their virtual assistant

Original post: 
Samsung’s Virtual Assistant annoys the boss

london

Ordnance Surveyors use Twitter to share progress

In a bid to get the general public on their side, Ordnance Surveyors are now using Twitter to detail their day to day activities. Paul Beauchamp of the Ordnance Survey team said he hopes that by using the microblogging site, surveyors will face less resistance from the public and “help people understand better the role they play”. A lack of general understanding surrounding the role Ordnance Surveyors has encouraged the team to embrace social media and reach out to the public. For the first time, fourteen surveyors across the country will tweet as they go about recording and measuring changes for the map. The Twittermap allows users to find out what the surveyors in their area are up to and gain insight into the role of the Ordnance Surveyor’s office. Work is constantly underway on the OS Mastermap as surveyors up and down the UK record the ever-changing landscape of the country, with up to 5,000 alterations every day. The map is used for everything from directing ambulances to planning bus routes or feeding GPS systems, which can be accurate to a couple of centimetres. Beachamp said: “Working in a range of roles, from surveyors mapping the outer reaches of Scotland and inner city London to a member of Ordnance Survey’s Flying Unity, each will be tweeting as they go about their work and providing an insight into modern mapmaking.” Though the prospect of tweets about recording where houses have been put up or taken down, where roads are built or streets renamed may not exactly seem riveting, Beauchamp detailed some of the more hair-raising exploits of the surveyors. “I was told recently about a surveyor and his boss who had to ask a landlord for permission to measure on his land.

Read more from the original source: 
Ordnance Surveyors use Twitter to share progress

london

Google Wallet opens for business

Google Wallet has officially launched on its first smartphone, in collaboration with Citi Group and Mastercard, with the promise of other credit card giants soon to follow suit. According to CNET , Visa and American Express, as well as a number of other mobile wireless carriers, have announced their own plans to launch similar services. The service, first announced in May, makes use of Near Field Communications (NFC), allowing users to swipe or tap their phones to pay by credit card rather than reaching for their wallet. Vice president of payments Osama Bedier wrote on the Google blog : “With Google Wallet, you can tap, pay and save using your phone and near-field communication (NFC).” “Google Wallet enables you to pay with your Citi Mastercard credit card and the Google Prepaid Card, which can be funded with any of your existing plastic credit cards. “Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets. “This is just the beginning, and while we’re excited about this first step, we look forward to bringing Google Wallet to more phones in the future.” Early adopters of the service will also benefit from a $10 free bonus to their Google Prepaid Cards if they set up the Google Wallet service on their phones before the end of the year. The service is currently only available to a small handful of people using the Nexus S 4G smartphone in the United States. Google is the first service to break into the market with a digital wallet but with competitors already planning to follow suit, it’s only a matter of time before near field communication comes to the UK

Excerpt from:
Google Wallet opens for business

london

‘I can haz mazterz?’: academia goes viral

Does the phrase ‘can has’ mean anything to you? Do you await office emails delivering Jedi squirrels or dramatic chipmunks to break up your work day? Or are bully cats on YouTube something you can’t get enough of? Well, these phenomena, known as memes, are now being put under the microscope by academics. A meme is a concept first identified in the 1970′s by Richard Dawkins, who identified memes as ideas, catchphrases, tunes and fashion. In the information age, however, they have been associated with goofy iconography, such as illiterate felines. One of the key drivers of the meme culture is the ‘bored at work’ idea, as people want short pieces of entertainment that have a feel good factor attached. “Any kind of art is alleviation of boredom,” writer and blogger Cole Stryker told the Independent

Original post:
‘I can haz mazterz?’: academia goes viral

london

Facebook flushes away competing concerns

Adults living in Britain would rather live without a toilet than Facebook, a study recently found. Carried out in conjunction with its exhibition ‘Water Wars: Fight the Food Crisis’, the London Science Museum asked participants to rank the things they couldn’t live without. Exhibition manager Sarah Richardson described the results from the survey as “crazy”. “To say you can’t live without material things over drinking water is crazy. It seems having fresh drinking water is something that many of us take for granted,” she told The Daily Mail . The survey intended to demonstrate how important clean drinking water is, but when the results came in, there were some curious findings.

Read the original post:
Facebook flushes away competing concerns

london

Get Connected to the Digital World at ad:tech London 2011

If you are a digital marketing or advertising executive in Europe, you owe it to yourself to attend ad:tech London 2011 on September 21-22 at the National Hall in Olympia. Not only will you have a chance to network with other bright minds in the field and share new concepts and ideas, but you’ll have a unique chance to hear from some of the leading names in the industry. ad:tech London 2011 is your chance to learn about the future of the digital world from the people who are shaping its direction.

Original post:
Get Connected to the Digital World at ad:tech London 2011

Next Page »