Google's attempts to "do no evil" and defend Wael Ghonim may have raised the Russian government's ire.  Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin has been quoted blaming more than one executive for contributing to the Egyptian revolution. According to a new Reuters article, Sechin said, "Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly-placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there." Assuming that quote's … [Read more...]

Sometimes I can see it in their eyes. During a speaking appearance, I'll look out at the audience and see fear. Not the "Big F" kind of "Run for your lives, citizens!" terror that you see in a B-movie. No, I am talking about the kind of fear that makes you stop and check things out just one more time before trying something. The fear that causes you to wait for someone else to make the first move. I see it all the time in digital marketing. … [Read more...]

So far, the Sony-versus-the-PS3-Hackers war has been largely fought to a stalemate.  True, Sony has perhaps the bigger victory with the GeoHot ruling, but that clearly hasn’t stopped the hackers from counterattacking Sony’s position. Sometimes, with a little help/friendly fire from Sony themselves. However, if the reports are true, Sony has had enough, and they are trying to end this war once and for all by introducing an … [Read more...]

Ford said today it has launched an “Electrified Vehicle Facebook” page in an effort to educate and share information with people about its electric offerings. The Electrified Vehicle Facebook page offers users links to videos and photos of Ford's electric vehicles. Users can participate in discussions, take polls, and ask the company questions about its electric offerings.     "People who are passionate about … [Read more...]

MySpace, which has long enjoyed a reputation for being a good place for individuals to get familiar with different bands, may soon become even more useful to up-and-coming musicians.  MySpace Music has partnered with Songtrust in an effort to introduce better music publishing management services. An official statement on the matter explained, "Songtrust is the first online rights management solution that empowers all songwriters to take … [Read more...]

Google said today it has awarded a $2.7 million grant to the International Press Institute (IPI), based in Vienna, to sponsor the “IPI News Innovation Contest,” a project aimed at creating breakthrough ideas in digital news. Grants will be awarded to non-profit and profit organizations working on digital, including mobile, open-source technology created by journalists and/or for journalists and distributed in the public interest. … [Read more...]

Brightcove and LG Electronics have announced a partnership to expand online video content on LG's Smart TVs. "The deal enables Brighcove's 2,700+ customers – brands including New York Times, Fox, A&E – to extend their reach into the living room via LG's Smart TVs, while LG is able to increase the high-quality online video content available through apps on these TVs," a spokesperson for Brightcove tells WebProNews. "Connected TVs are … [Read more...]

The combined value of The Andy Griffith Show, Cheers, Frasier, every Star Trek series, The Twilight Zone, and Twin Peaks is in many ways incalculable.  They're some of the greatest series ever made.  But if anyone was wondering, the cost of yesterday's Netflix-CBS deal was probably in the neighborhood of $200 million, according to a new estimate. Peter Kafka wrote this morning, "Barclay's analyst Anthony DiClemente figures Netflix will pay … [Read more...]

Recall, it was not too long ago that Foursquare released their latest developer toolset, the foursquare API v2. Recently, in an effort to bolster the developer community and kick start more Foursquare-based apps, the company hosted their first Hack Day event in New York. According to the Foursquare dev blog, some 150 developers showed up at the event including geeks from around the States and even a few from Canada. Foursquare hosted a … [Read more...]

Sports-seeking cord cutters might have reason to rejoice, or at least reason to hope:  there’s a possibility YouTube will become a major player in the way sporting events, specifically, the NBA and the NHL, will be consumed by their fans. After the success YouTube enjoyed from streaming of cricket from the Indian Premier League, Google’s online video service is looking to expand its reach by including the NBA and NHL in their sports … [Read more...]