Social Networking on Mobile Devices Skyrockets



More than 72 million Americans accessed social networking sites or blogs via their mobile devices in August, a figure that represents a 37% jump from the same time last year, according to data compiled by comScore.

The bottom line: Social networking by way of mobile devices is on the up-and-up.

comScore estimates that nearly one-third of all U.S. mobile users are now accessing social media services, and that close to 40 million Americans are doing so on an almost daily basis.

“This behavior is even more prevalent among smartphone owners with three in five accessing social media each month,” says Mark Donovan, comScore SVP for mobile.

Of course, with the increase in mobile social activities, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are experiencing a measurable influx in mobile activity.

Facebook’s U.S. monthly mobile audience grew 50% year-over-year to 57 million, while Twitter’s mobile user base skyrocketed 75% to 13.4 million monthly users, according to comScore. LinkedIn also jumped to 5.5 million monthly U.S. mobile users, a 69% increase over the previous year.

The most predominant change in mobile social networking behaviors, according to comScore, is that more mobile users are accessing social media via mobile apps. More than 38 million folks accessed a social networking site or blog via an app in August, representing a 126% change from one year ago.

But with 42 million U.S. mobile users accessing social media sites via a mobile browser, the browser still remains the most popular mode of social networking on mobile — for the time being.


Mobile Social Access


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Facebook Friend Count Linked to Brain Density [STUDY]



All those hours you spend on Facebook may be adding grey matter, signifying greater density, to the part of your brain linked to social skills. Or, perhaps, people with larger areas of the brain for social skills may just have higher than average Facebook friend counts.

That’s the chicken-and-egg problem researchers at University College London are grappling with after finding a connection between brain structure and Facebook activity. The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was based on MRIs of a group of 165 adults who were asked to report the number of Facebook friends they have. (The study doesn’t delineate what is considered “high,” though it refers to Dunbar’s Number, which postulates 150 friends is the limit of the average person’s social circle.)

The research discovered that those with higher Facebook friend counts had more grey matter density in the amygdala, an area the study says was already known to be linked to real world social network size, as well as in other regions including the right entorhinal cortex, which is associated with memory.

“Taken together, our findings show that the number of social contacts declared publicly on a major web-based social networking site was strongly associated with the structure of focal regions of the human brain,” the researchers conclude.

Professor Geraint Rees, director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, told The Guardian it’s too early to tell how the structure of the brain and online social networking activity are connected. “What we’re attempting to do is get an empirical handle using the types of data we can generate to try and start that process rolling.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, Patrick Denker


Q&A with PowerInbox CEO: What I Learned from AngelList, Startup Tips & Tricks


angellist

This summer AngelList took Boston startups by storm. We were constantly hearing success stories and questions on how to get on the site and more importantly how to raise money on it. For those that don’t know, AngelList is an online community of startups and investors [read: Facebook for deal makers]. The site has funded quite a few local startups and will continue to be a driving force for seed and series A rounds here in Boston.

However, as any startup CEO will tell you, raising money is not easy. There is no exact way to do it and every situation is different. AngelList is unique because it attempts to level the playing field for startups. But in talking with a few investors there are clear ways in which you can stand out on AngelList.

What are those clear ways?

We have teamed up with Atlas Venture to bring AngelList founder Babak Nivi to Boston to get the inside scoop on the site and find out how to make the most of AngelList. The event will take place on Friday October 21st at from 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Atlas Venture. Free beers and food will be provided to all guests. More information on the event can be found here.

Because we have had a huge interest in the event we are currently sold out. However, the best two comments below will win tickets to the event. If you cannot make the event, you can still have your questions answered by using the hashtag #ALunplugged or commenting on this piece. We will include all questions in the full event recap after the event.

In hopes of providing some awesome AngelList insight today, I have also spoken with Matt Thazhom CEO of PowerInbox who recently raised  money on AngelList. Check out what he had to say and some tips and tricks he used to raise money.

BI: How long did it take to raise your seed round?

MT: We got our first commitment within a week of posting on AngelList. It then took about 3 months to get to our first closing. We then focused on launching the product. After launch, we focused on the second close and that took about a month.

BI: How many folks participated in it?

MT: 27 (a few VCs and a number of angels, mostly from Boston)

BI: How did you generate interest on AngelList?

MT: Couple of ways:

  • A great referral to AL – Rob Scoble did a video on us at his home back in Feb (http://scobleizer.com/2011/02/26/first-look-powerinboxs-new-email-platform-ma... and right after recording the video he offered to refer us on AngelList. Thanks Rob!
  • If you have any activity on AL, they send out an update on your startup at the end of the week. We took advantage of that by continuously updating our profile every Thursday so that we would show up in the update emails
  • When an investor wired in the funds, we immediately added them to our AL profile. The reason is that AL sends out an email to all the followers of that investor. So that’s a way to get exposure in between the weekly update emails.

BI: Did you have a specific strategy for approaching investors on AngelList?

MT: For the first closing, our goal was to have the bulk of the funds from VCs. Here’s why:

  • It’s easier to get Angels to fill out the round if you have VCs already in the round.
  • If you have agreed on terms with your lead VC, then there is no back and forth on terms when an Angel comes on board.

So in terms of strategy, we worked with our VCs to get larger commitments with a shared goal of doing the first close as soon as possible so that we could get back to launching the product. Once the VCs were on board, they recommended us to angels in their network who filled out the rest of the first close.

For the second closing, our goal was to have as many Boston angels in the round as possible. The reason was that we had just moved to Boston and since we were new to town, we wanted to build as much local support as possible. So in terms of strategy, I used AngelList’s investor search (http://angel.co/people) to find the most active Boston based angels. Jon Pierce had another list that I also used (http://blog.jonpierce.com/post/520863618/bostons-best-angel-investors)

AngelList has a great profile page for each investor (http://angel.co/jfagnan) with links to Linkedin, Twitter etc. I used those services to figure out who in my fledgling Boston network knew the angels I wanted intros to. I then broke the list into manageable chunks and reached out to my network.

A word of thanks to some of the the folks who helped with the intros: Jeff Fagnan and Dustin Dolginow at Atlas Ventures, Jim Savage and Ahmad Jivraj at Longworth Ventures, Trevor Kienzle at Correlation Ventures, Chris Lynch, Joe Caruso, Jonah Lupton, Eric Groves and Alex Fries.

BI: What advice would you offer other entrepreneurs, tips, tricks?

MT: What worked for me is to find a problem that I had to fix because it bothered me everyday. Then don’t give up until it’s fixed. Startups fail because they give up or run out of money. These days it’s usually reason #1. But if you are building something that you want to use everyday, it makes it harder to give up.

When I quit to start PowerInbox, my wife was pregnant with our baby. I then spent 18 months without any income building the team and product before we got funding. What kept me going was:

1. How much I hated the email status quo. Apps in all email is something I want to use as a consumer.
2. The cool product we were building and using everyday. It felt like we were seeing a glimpse of the future.
3. A very supportive family (my wife and baby Alex, my parents, my brother and my uncle)

BI: If you had to go back what would you have done differently?

MT: I would get the MVP done as quickly as possible and then head straight to AngelList

BI: Do you plan on raising money again on AngelList?

MT: Yes, but not anytime soon.

Git Tower 1.2 Released, Shiny! [Video]


Our friends over at Git Tower have announced the release over version 1.2, which includes a whole mess of good stuff.

Among the top new features includes a redesigned and reorganized main screen, which introduces “Status” and “Browse” views. Status lets you get a quick snapshot of your working directory while Browse is designed to let you look at your directory tree from any revision you like.

There’s tons of little improvements in this latest version, and they’ve created a quick video to cover some of their favorites.

As always, Tower is beautifully integrated with Beanstalk allowing you to connect to your Beanstalk account and easily create new Beanstalk remote repositories in seconds.

Grab yourself a copy of the free 30 day trial today.

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Hulu Plus coming to 3DS and Wii, handheld getting 3D video capture


Hulu Plus on Nintendo 3DS
Rejoice Nintendo fans, Hulu Plus is coming to your console of choice... provided you're up on the latest in Nintendo hardware. Both the Wii and 3DS will be getting access to the streaming service's vast archives of TV shows and movies some time before the year is out. Though, you shouldn't expect to see the Galactica popping out of your portable -- this is a strictly 2D affair. A software update coming at the end of November will also deliver the ability to record 3D video with the Nintendo handheld (up to ten minutes) or even stitch together stereoscopic images for stop motion animation that jumps out of the tiny screen at you. With both Hulu and Netflix in tow, as well as the ability to create your own content, the 3DS is actually turning into quite a powerful little portable. For more details, including some game release dates, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Hulu Plus coming to 3DS and Wii, handheld getting 3D video capture

Hulu Plus coming to 3DS and Wii, handheld getting 3D video capture originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boomerang for Gmail Updates, Adds Notes, Reminders, and Recurring Messages [Video]


Chrome/Firefox: Previously mentioned Gmail scheduling tool Boomerang updated this week and now includes the ability to add notes to your messages so you can remind yourself why you delayed them or set them to return on a specific date, and recurring messages that you compose once and will reappear regularly without having to send them again. More »


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First Lady Michelle Obama Sends Her First Tweet [VIDEO]


First lady Michelle Obama has officially joined the Twittersphere with her very first tweet sent Oct. 19 from the MLB World Series. Her tweet went out over the @joiningforces account to answer questions about Joining Forces and to spread awareness about supporting America’s troops.

The first lady joined with Jill Biden, the second lady of the United States, to talk about Joining Forces at — of all places — the first game of the World Series. The choice was appropriate because Game One was dedicated to veterans, service members and their families.

While Obama’s husband might be better known for his social media efforts, the first lady has turned to social media to help promote some of her national campaigns. Let’s Move, which supports healthy living and eating, created a series of YouTube spots and social pages, while Joining Forces has an active social presence and digital tools for volunteering and showing support.

The first tweet, shown below, was actually one of many. Obama and Biden took turns answering a raft of questions up until about 8 p.m. ET.

SEE ALSO: First Ladies of Kenya and South Africa Send Their First Tweets

Most of the questions look as if they were dictated rather than typed, but a first tweet is still a first tweet. Mrs. Obama’s use of social media shows that more and more politicians and political figures are seeing Twitter as a necessary part of day-to-day politics. The question is: How long until the first lady starts up an official Twitter account?

tweet image


More About: obama, Politics, Social Media, Twitter, White House

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The Faraday electric bike shows us all how retro the future will be


This ain't no fixie with a minty fresh paint job, this is the Faraday. Built for the Oregon Manifest design competition, ideas factory Ideo teamed up with bike builders Rock Lobster Cycles to produce this retro-technotastic electric bike. Everything futuristic has been hidden inside the frame: those parallel top tubes hold a series of lithium-ion batteries which juice up the front-hub motor -- all controlled from the green box tucked beneath the seat cluster. Those two prongs up front serve as built-in headlights and the base of a modular racking system, letting you swap out various carrying mechanisms like a trunk or child seat with the pop of a bolt. Tragically, the bike is just a concept -- so unless the teams responsible cave into peer pressure and get it into production, you'll have to use old-fashioned leg power to get you over those steep hills.

The Faraday electric bike shows us all how retro the future will be originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 Essential PR Tips for Startups



Erica Swallow is a technology and lifestyle writer. Sign up for her course on “PR for Startups” to learn more about getting media coverage for your fledgling business.

It can be challenging for unknown startups to garner press attention — budgets are tight, relationships with journalists may not be that strong and explaining a new concept is difficult. Not to mention, early-stage startups usually only employ a few people focused on product and development. Therefore, marketing and public relations are often tackled piecemeal by whomever has time.

Good press, though, can be one of the biggest drivers for startups looking to grow their user bases, and as a result, a pretty important component for success.

As a tech journalist, I’ve been pitched by hundreds of companies and have developed a taste for what works and what doesn’t. Read on for my startup tips.


1. Know What’s Newsworthy


Before you begin pitching your startup, stop to think about what is truly newsworthy, especially to the publications you’re targeting.

Sadly, many startups simply aren’t newsworthy, because they aren’t unique or don’t offer any added value beyond their existing competitors. If your startup is in that boat, it’s really not a matter of figuring out how to pitch your company — instead, you may want to consider improving your product before hitting the pavement.

That being said, if you feel your startup is unique and worthy of coverage, figure out the right angle with which to approach a journalist. A few common ideas include:

  • The startup’s launch
  • The launch of a new product, feature or offering
  • The release of a compelling study or interesting data
  • The company’s response to a current event
  • News of a high profile partnership

Once you figure out what qualifies as newsworthy, begin crafting your message by first understanding all of the details about what you’re pitching.


2. Have a Concise, Value-Driven Message


Before sending out any pitches, take time to craft your company’s message. Be able to explain your startup in one sentence so that anyone — techie or not — can understand its purpose. For example, here is how a few of my favorite startups describe themselves:

  • Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover and book unique spaces around the world online or from an iPhone.”
  • Skillshare is a community marketplace to learn anything from anyone.”
  • Lot18 is a membership by invitation website for wine and epicurean products from coveted producers at attractive discounts.”

Cut down on industry jargon so that any average Joe can understand your pitch with one read.

After you’ve crafted your company pitch, stick to it for everything you pitch — unless, of course, you find ways to improve it over time.

Besides your company’s description, you’ll also need to create a message for the news event you’re hoping to get covered. Figure out how to explain your story pitch in only a few sentences. Journalists get tons of pitches every day — it’s very likely that the journalist you’re pitching will only read the first few sentences of your email.

When finding your voice for the pitch, try not to force a hook. For example, a lot of press releases and pitches that I receive around key holidays try to make the enclosed news sound more relevant due to the upcoming holiday. If the hook is unrelated, though, it just bogs down the message and makes it difficult to understand.

Once you’ve crafted your message, making sure that it is clear and concise, be certain that it answers these questions for the journalist: “Why is this newsworthy? Why should my audience care?”


3. Understand a Journalist’s Coverage Area & Audience


Determine which demographic — and therefore, which publication — would be interested in your startup. Then research which journalists at that publication cover the vertical in which your startup or its news would fall.

Consider making a list of the top 5-10 journalists in your industry that you’d like to build relationships with and then move forward, focusing on those journalists every time you have a story to convey. Read up on the journalists’ articles and get a clear understanding of what each of them covers. When you pitch them, showcase that you follow their work and feel that your startup fits in with their coverage.

You don’t have to come right out and say that you’ve read all of a journalist’s articles to convey that information, though. For the sake of originality, try to stay away from the cliche first sentence of, “I read your recent post called ‘XYZ,’ and I think you’d be interested in my startup.” If you can’t think of a compelling format, go with something like, “I noticed you’ve covered location-based networks quite a bit at Publication X, and I think you’d be interested in learning about how my startup is changing that space by [fill in blank].” Be sure to differentiate your company from ones that the journalist has already covered, however.

While pitching individual writers sounds more promising to many PR folk, you should always determine the official pitching method for your preferred publication. For example, stories for Mashable should be pitched to news@mashable.com. That inbox is monitored at all hours of the day and relevant pitches are forwarded to the correct editors and writers. Contrary to popular belief, news inboxes aren’t always bottomless pits.


4. Customize Your Pitches


People generally don’t like to be part of blast emails, and journalists are no exception. When you want a particular person to cover your story, customize your pitch to be relevant to his coverage area and audience.

Take the extra time to craft custom emails for a small list of journalists that you really want to cover your story. They will most likely notice that you’ve taken the time to write a thoughtful email and be more likely to respond.


5. Avoid Press Releases & Simple Mistakes


I’ve rarely encountered press releases that were helpful. Generally, they are lengthy, full of empty quotes from company reps and tainted with marketing jargon. Just stay away from them. Period. Instead, stick with custom emails.

Now, I know you’ll be tempted to copy and paste information from one email to another — and you should. After all, your company’s description and the news pitch won’t change much. Be careful, though, of copying incorrect information, such as “I love your work on TechCrunch,” when the writer actually works for VentureBeat.

Another common mistake is to misunderstand a writer’s coverage area. Just because a reporter has written about the top startups in Canada doesn’t mean he wants to know about your Canadian printing company.


6. Have Useful Assets Available


As you get down to pitching time, make sure you have all assets ready that a journalist might request, such as:

  • A company or product description
  • Photos relevant to the story
  • Screenshots of the product

In some cases it may make sense to include a screenshot or photo in the initial pitch, but most of the time just mention that you can send over photos, screenshots and more details if the writer is interested in learning more.


7. Consider Timing with Exclusives and Embargoes


Timing is essential when pitching news. You want to give the writer enough time to report, but you don’t want to pitch the idea too soon that the writer forgets about it by the time your company launches or announces the news officially. I personally prefer to receive news one week in advance of the official announcement. And when possible, I love to have the option of covering the news as an exclusive, when a publication is given the right to be the first publication to report on a given story.

Another key term to know is “embargo.” An embargo is “a request by a source that the information or news provided by that source not be published until a certain date or certain conditions have been met,” as stated on Wikipedia.

An embargo is useful if you anticipate that reporters will need extra time to accurately report the news. This gives them time to interview sources at your company, for example, while still getting the story out right when everyone else does.


8. Offer Up Unique Data


When pitching, include data and numbers that support your ideas when possible. In fact, an interesting study, infographic or other data sometimes warrants its own pitch. If your company has gathered proprietary information that tells a compelling story, pitch it.


9. Follow Reporters on Twitter


Make it your goal to build relationships with the group of journalists that cover your industry.

Meeting up for lunch or drinks isn’t always the best option when it comes to keeping the conversation alive, though — oftentimes, a journalist may only want to meet up when you have a story to pitch. After all, he or she is probably busy doing other things.

A great way to stay in touch is to follow your key reporters on Twitter. Writers often tweet when they’re looking for sources, and they share articles and other news that they’re interested in. Use these pieces of information to learn more about each journalist and tailor your communications accordingly.

Furthermore, there’s nothing wrong with a little interaction. When you find something you think a journalist may enjoy, tweet it over. And when he or she shares an interesting article or tweets something entertaining, feel free to interact.

If you’re unsure of who to follow, check out Muck Rack, a list of journalists on Twitter.


10. Reverse Pitch Using HARO & NewsBasis


It’s much easier to pitch a reporter when you already know what he or she is writing. Use tools like HARO and NewsBasis to find and respond to reporter requests for sources.

If your company or someone within your company matches a journalist request, respond by clearly explaining how you could add value to the story. Oftentimes, this type of coverage helps position individuals at your startup as subject matter experts.


Your Questions


Treat these 10 tips as an appetizer for all there is to know about public relations for startups. If you have specific questions or need advice about press for your startup, let me know in the comments below! I’ll do my best to answer all of your inquiries.

Images courtesy of Flickr, bionicteaching, miuenski, ktpupp & iStockPhoto, selimaksan

More About: features, Marketing, pr, press, startup

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