Most standard photos don’t fit Facebook Timeline’s cover photo slot, but a new app that launched on Tuesday creates images sized specifically for that purpose.
Dropico’s free Facebook Cover Designer provides a landscape viewfinder for composing shots with Facebook in mind. Users can also pull photos from their camera roll, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket or Instagram to edit within the app.
Once the desired photo is loaded, they can crop, rotate, scale and add filters before uploading it directly to Facebook.
Aside from customizing the photo size, the app’s most noteworthy feature is an effect that creates a cover photo and profile photo from the same image — making the timeline cover look like one image with a highlighted square instead of two photos. Unfortunately, however, the feature is only available with a $.99 upgrade.
For more tips on how to make the most of your Facebook Cover photo, click here.
More About: apps, Facebook, facebook timeline, Photos 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/facebook-cover-designer-app/?utm_source=feedbu...
While not all of Google's aims to change cellphones with its Nexus brand program may have been achieved, it has created some admirable devices in cooperation with HTC and Samsung (way to pass on that one Sony Ericsson). According to Bloomberg, its next step may be to do the same with LG for TVs. As product manager Rishi Chandra mentioned in an interview with us, the next focus for Google TV will center around increasing its ability to personalize the user experience and further enhance content discovery, and anonymous sources indicate LG could get first crack at it later this year. What's odd about this development is that on TVs, so far the two versions of hardware that have debuted already featured software largely free of manufacturer customizations, unlike phones. At this year's CES LG, along with Vizio, is among the first to show a custom skin for the software, along with its new remote. However, the original aim of the Nexus was to work "even more closely with our partners to bring devices to the market that are going to help showcase very quickly the we're working on" so if this can help cut down the long window we saw before the last Google TV update, we're all for it. Google, LG to team up on 'Google TV Nexus' edition for next release? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Bloomberg | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/13/google-lg-to-team-up-on-google-tv-nexus-ed...
LAS VEGAS — CES 2012 is almost over, and so is the nonstop avalanche of cutting-edge products, amazing concept technologies and goofy celebrity appearances. The show is supposed to be a beacon for the industry to predict trends, and if you analyze the haze surrounding the thousands of product unveilings and company announcements, some figures start to emerge from the fog: tablets and slim laptops, smart TVs, fitness gadgets, power efficiency.
But for me, the thing that stuck out most at this CES was an exchange I had with another member of the media after Panasonic’s whirlwind press conference (with a surprise cameo from Justin Timberlake). My friend emerged from the scrum of press and analysts swarming the stage in the post-event mob, greeted me, and asked, “Did they show any TVs?”
I had to think. “Uh….” Then I remembered there was a brief mention. “Yeah, but they spent two minutes on them, tops.”
To be clear, there were certainly TVs in Panasonic’s presentation, but in terms of specifying the models and features — a staple of CES press conferences of yore — there was just a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it acknowledgement. Panasonic only really talked about the television in the context of larger ideas, like its eco initiatives and SmartViera connected-TV tech.
It was a telling omission, and it wasn’t the only one. All over CES 2012 I saw a shifting of focus from hyping technological achievements (Double battery life! Better color! More processing power!) to painting a picture of what those devices really offer, or more specifically, what they connect you with.
The Myth of Consumption
Various companies, particularly Intel, were in a hurry to debunk the so-called myth of consumption. That is, the idea that consumers just want to, well, consume — that they’re mere cattle using today’s tech to seek out and passively “graze” on content — is a fallacy, they say. Today’s digital customers want to create, connect and interact as well.
While that assertion feels spot-on, the raw technology can still impress. That big OLED TV from LG looks gorgeous. Parrot’s Zik headphones are an remarkable piece of design. And those Ultrabooks? Hot.
There’s no question there was some great gear on display in Las Vegas this week, but I think most would agree that the new technology they bring to the table is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Whether a TV gives you 1 million colors or 4 million, or whether a phone runs at 1.2GHz or 1.5GHz doesn’t really matter all that much to consumers. Even the lower specs are good enough for the vast majority of people.
The Real Trend From CES 2012
Besides that, to focus on specs and performance is to miss the larger trend, the one that’s really important. Consumers increasingly want their experience with tech to be social. A fitness gadget, for example, isn’t just about working out — it’s about setting goals, working toward them, sharing your progress with friends and doing it all in a way that makes you feel good about yourself.
This new way of thinking is much more than just adding Wi-Fi or integrating Twitter’s API into a product. It’s a paradigm shift for consumer electronics, and the companies that succeed are the ones who don’t focus on simply building the best TV, phone or gadget. It’s the ones who focus on the overall experience, on what they’re offering that will keep customers coming back, possibly bringing a few friends with them.
Take this one random statistic that flies in the face of conventional wisdom: When online streaming and downloading is factored in, consumers are actually watching more TV over the past few years, according to Nielsen. And this is over a time that’s seen the rise of social networks, casual games and a host of other distractions that should theoretically be keeping people from getting around to catching up on The Big Bang Theory. Why is this happening?
The answer, of course, is that these new services compete for a person’s time to a point, but they also complement the TV experience. Chatter on Twitter and Facebook can sometimes get an audience more excited about a show, or a product, than traditional marketing ever could. Would Glee be as big a hit if it weren’t for the nonstop social-media buzz around it? Could Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones have been as successful with just word of mouth?
Building the Social Experience
It’s not so much a trend as a reality: consumer electronics must go social to stay relevant. That reality was all over CES 2012 in many ways — the proliferation of wireless technology, the widespread integration with mobile devices, the creation of novel apps. Even the move toward more green technology and power efficiency is a kind of social trend, one where consumers seek to connect to their world by making it better in a small but measurable way.
But those trends are just step one. The companies that will be most successful capitalizing on them are the ones who merge all of them into an overall experience: one that’s social, open and empowering. I don’t know if Sony, Intel or Justin Timberlake will come out on top, but to find out who’s winning, just check Twitter.
BONUS: The Tablets of CES 2012
 The XO 3.0 tablet includes the Marvell ARMADA PXA618 SOC processor, Avastar Wi-Fi SOC, standard or Pixel Qi sunlight-readable display, and supports Android and Linux operating systems. Unlike any other tablet on the market, it can be powered by solar energy, other alternative energy sources and even hand-cranks.
Click here to view this gallery.
More About: CES, CES 2012, Facebook, Social Media, social networks, trending, Twitter 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/13/ces-20120-social-media/?utm_source=feedburner&...
Jetsetting from New York to Silicon Valley and everywhere in between helps high-tech travelers gather a wealth of knowledge about life spent in airports and at 35,000 feet. So, if you’ve got a trip coming up, you’ll find this infographic’s insights about the most tech-friendly airports and airlines to be incredibly useful.
For longer flights, you need to be completely juiced up beforehand … or have access to outlets onboard. There are 17,000 outlets in the 40 busiest American airports; that may sound like a lot, but it equates to just 5.5 outlets per gate, on average. That’s not a very favorable ratio when you consider how many people are traveling with smartphones, eReaders, tablets, laptops or any combination thereof. (Tip: Virgin America has outlets in every row of the plane to keep you charged in the sky, so there’s no race to recharge at the gate.)
Even when you’re all charged up, you might not be able to afford being offline for hours at a time, so inflight Wi-Fi isn’t just a nice perk — it’s a must. So it’s good to know that AirTran and Virgin America have Wi-Fi on 100% of their aircraft.
And when you’re managing travel or booking flights, you might think to yourself, “Oh, there’s an app for that.” But you should know that few airlines have apps that are fully functional — Delta’s is ranked the best among all U.S. carriers, scoring 8 out of 10 possible points.
Lastly, in case you didn’t learn how to travel efficiently from George Clooney in Up in the Air, there are some handy tips for expediting your trip through the TSA lines at the bottom of the graphic. Want to take it to the next level? This tech-lover’s jacket could be a helpful tool.
In short, this infographic from OnlineMBA.com highlights pretty much everything you need to know about high-tech travel. Noticeably missing from the airport map are LAX, SFO and Chicago’s O’Hare, but we’ve got you covered with information regarding airport Wi-Fi and Boingo Hotspots.
Infographic courtesy of OnlineMBA.com
More About: infographics, travel, trending 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/12/airport-tech-travel-infographic/?utm_source=fe...
Televised Republican debates are about to heat up — not only between the remaining five party presidential candidates — but between viewers using Twitter. Fox News hopes to open up the digital floor for comments during Monday’s Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a live Twitter debate.
Viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts over Twitter in real-time during Monday’s 9 p.m. ET debate. They can use the debate’s official hastag #scdebate as well as #answer and #dodge to convey sentiments about individual candidates. Simply attach a candidate’s name to #answer — if he has answered the question well — or #dodge — if he has diverted from the topic completely — and the Twitter data analysis system will do the rest. The results will be displayed on FoxNews.com.
Fox News Digital’s Vice President and General Manager Jeff Misenti told The New York Times that questions or concerns attached to these tweets will be incorporated into the conversation.
Fox’s Bret Baier will moderate the debate between former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul from Texas, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The debate follows former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s withdrawal from the presidential race and announcement that he will funnel support he’s seen during the race toward Romney.
SEE ALSO: Fox News, Google Join Forces for New Hampshire Primary
Twitter has stated that the use of social media during political debates gives the U.S. people a way to direct the conversation to topics of interest. The hot topic of the debate tonight may be South Carolina’s 10% unemployment rate. Will that be the center of the digital conversation? We’ll be waiting to find out.
Twitter has also set up a list of politicians, journalists and U.S. election staff for viewers to follow so they never miss a beat The list features Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Fox’s Greta Van Susteran, Bret Baier and CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin.
This is not the first time the social media world has meshed with the political sphere on TV. Fox News and Twitter tracked live reactions during the Iowa debate on Dec. 15. NBC and Facebook also teamed up last week to host an online stream and conversation with a comment widget and digital polls.
Will you be tuning into Monday night’s Fox News debate and contributing your thoughts on Twitter? Let us know in the comments below.
Image courtesy of Flickr, IowaPolitics.com
More About: Fox, Media, Mobile, Social Media, social networking, television, TV, Twitter 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/16/fox-twitter-republican-debate/?utm_source=feed...
The sports media Twitter party is overcrowded and a bit overwhelming. Voices bombard — and often bludgeon — the intellect with “takes” and rumors from all angles. It can be hard to separate the relevant from the reactionary, the entertaining from the downright idiotic.
Here, Mashable provides its latest attempt at cutting through the noise and making sense of the hysteria.
We recently featured sports media’s biggest Twitter stars, by taking a look at who has become huge and how. The 11 writers and broadcasters we profiled have some 6.6 million followers combined. How did they get there? We found that most have a few things in common: They tweet prolifically, they interact directly with followers, and they work for major media outlets like ESPN.
But listing which sports reporters are most popular and why only begins to scratch the surface. Who should sports fans be following for information, updates and analysis? Here we’ll highlight 10 more must-follow Twitter accounts, based on Mashable staff favorites and common reader suggestions.
SEE ALSO: 11 Sports Writers You Need to Follow on Twitter
CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell was the most recommended writer by the Mashable community. Reader Courtney Doman tweeted that Rovell is “easily one of the top follows for solid sports news,” and many others named a favorite as well.
Some of our latest picks work for major outlets such as Yahoo, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. Some are up-and-coming, while others are more under-the-radar. Some, like Rovell, have relatively large audiences. Most don’t. Combined, these 10 sports writers, reporters and websites tally some 750,000 followers — a quarter-million less than Erin Andrews, the third most-popular entry on our last list. But they’ve definitely got something valuable to say, nonetheless.
So click through the accompanying gallery and then weigh in with your thoughts. Who do you follow? Why?
 CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell has written two books and anchored five primetime documentaries. He's even won an Emmy for contributing the the network's 2008 election coverage. Rovell illuminates the machinations that make sports an economic powerhouse, and earns high marks on Twitter for frequent updates and quick-hit analysis. Click here to view this gallery.
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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/16/twitter-sports/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medi...
In a move illustrating the blurring lines between content distributors and producers, Hulu is planning to launch a scripted series, a political mockumentary called Battleground.
Hulu executives, who unveiled the show at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles on Sunday, likened it to an independent movie, but for TV. “We’ve long asked the question, how come the creativity and vibrancy that exists in the indie film world doesn’t exist in TV?” Andy Forssell, Hulu’s senior vice president of content, said in an interview. The reason, according to Hulu executives, is that TV shows are under pressure to score big ratings within a short time. Without those constraints, Hulu can nurture new shows over a longer period.
This isn’t the first time Hulu has tried its hand at content creation. The company launched a reality show called If I I Can Dream in 2010. Hulu is also said to be planning to launch another new show this year, a yet-unnamed travelogue from director Richard Linklater.
Battleground, which follows the campaign of a dark horse contender for a Senate seat, is set to premiere on Feb. 14. Hulu has ordered 13 episodes of the 22-minute show. Hulu’s latest content creation plans put it in direct competition with Netflix, which announced its first original series, Lillyhammer, earlier this month. Hulu also has to vie with YouTube, which is planning to spend $100 million on celeb-studded channels that will start producing original content this year.
Like Netflix, Hulu wants to become less reliant on the studios and networks for its content. That’s an especially pressing concern for Netflix since HBO has decided to stop offering discounted DVDs to the service and Warner Bros. has announced it will delay the introduction of new movies on Netflix and others for 56 days after the discs go on sale, vs. the current 28 days.
What do you think? Can Hulu, Netflix and YouTube become effective premium content producers? Sound off in the comments.
More About: hbo, hulu, netflix, trending, YouTube For more Entertainment coverage: 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/16/hulu-to-scripted-series/?utm_source=feedburner...
What contributes to social media buzz when it comes to television? Well, for starters, grown women tripping on their heels, teleprompter tongue-twisters, awkward comments about Kate Beckinsale and, of course, Tina Fey’s photobomb.
That’s right. Sunday’s Golden Globes made for quite a bit of web chatter. Almost 17 million viewers tuned in to study Hollywood’s elite, which made for more than 1.1 million social media impressions.
Although the New Hampshire Republican Primary followed close behind in terms of social media buzz, last Tuesday’s event didn’t garner as many viewers as anticipated, with only 4.4 million total.
The data below is compliments of our friends at Trendrr, who measure specific TV show activity (mentions, likes, checkins) across Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso. To see daily rankings, check out Trendrr.TV.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, narvikk
More About: features, Social Media, social tv, social tv charts, Trendrr, TV For more Entertainment coverage: 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/social-tv-chart-1-16/?utm_source=feedburner&ut...
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: Farfetch.com
Quick Pitch: Shop the inventories of more than 200 high-end designer boutiques worldwide.
Genius Idea: Eliminates geographic barriers inherent in boutique shopping.
High-end boutiques — think Dover Street Market in London, or L’Eclaireur in Paris — tend to offer, from the perspective of discerning shoppers at least, some of the best product selections in the world. Yet few of those boutiques, lacking the resources or initiative to develop robust, international ecommerce offerings, have made their goods available for purchase on the web.
Enter Farfetch.com. To date, the four-year-old, London-based startup has made the inventories of some 200 boutiques in 12 countries available for purchase through its website. Its catalog of more than 35,000 products draws from well-known names at the luxe end of the fashion spectrum, including Balenciaga amd Yves Saint Laurent, as well as up-and-coming designers (Alexander Wang, Mary Katrantzou) and contemporary staples (Marc by Marc Jacobs, True Religion). The company has a current run rate of $60 million, up 200% year-over-year.
Its customer base is geographically diverse. Fifty percent of buyers come from new or emerging markets, says CEO José Neves. (Neves, interestingly, has a background in both fashion and technology, having founded a software company and a high-end suitwear business in his home country of Portugal while still in school.) The U.S. accounts for about 25% of sales, followed by the U.K., Australia, Brazil and France.
Farfetch.com announced Monday that it has raised a second round of funding of $18 million from Index Ventures, eVenture Capital Partners and existing investors Advent Venture Partners. The company plans to use the funds to continue to expand operations in Europe, North America, Asia and Brazil. Neves says he’s also working to build Farfetch.com’s brand so that the company can rely more on direct traffic, rather than on paid and natural search, to attract customers.
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
More About: farfetch.com, fashion, retail, spark of genius series For more Business coverage: 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/16/farfetch-com-18-million/?utm_source=feedburner...
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