Hello, Hollywood. On the heels of the Foursquare-Bravo TV deal, news of several additional major media partnerships involving the location-based social networking app have dropped this evening.

According to various reports, Zagat, Warner Bros., HBO, the History Channel and ExploreChicago have all been added to Foursquare’s media and entertainment mix. Here are the partnerships that appear to be live or coming very soon:

The New York Times is reporting that Foursquare has signed a deal with trusted restaurant review service Zagat. Zagat’s official Foursquare page is already live and includes official Zagat rated tips and recommendations that users can add as to-do’s to their Foursquare experience.

Zagat is calling the partnership, “Foodie Love,” and there’s even a new accompanying foodie badge. What’s also interesting is that Zagat.com is extending the partnership beyond Foursquare and starting a “Meet the Mayor” online interview series that will feature discussions with prominent Foursquare mayors.

Foursquare’s relationship with Zagat is clearly an answer to Yelp’s introduction of check-ins, especially given the trusted and prestigious nature of Zagat content.

Earlier this evening we received some intel in our inbox about a Warner Bros. partnership with Foursquare around the studio’s upcoming movie, Valentine’s Day. Per Foursquare’s other big media partners, the deal includes content in the form of tips and to-dos, but these are themed around romance and Valentine’s Day activities. Of course, it wouldn’t be Foursquare without a badge to go with the campaign.

The Valentine’s Day Foursquare page includes text that reads, “Visit and check-in on Foursquare at any of the locations on our Valentine’s Day inspired list of the most romantic places in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston to get a Valentine’s Day badge! Then go see the movie, in theaters on February 12!”

We found HBO’s Foursquare How to Make it in America page via AdAge. The series premieres on February 14th, and although HBO isn’t ready to go on the record about their Foursquare relationship, a page packed with show-related tips is already live. The deal appears to be structured in a similar fashion as the others, and includes the addition of show-specific badges for “Culture, Living, Cocktails, and Nightlife.”

The idea seems to be that viewers can turn fiction into reality and live like the show’s main characters, Ben and Cam, who are “two enterprising Brooklyn twentysomethings as they hustle their way through New York City, determined to achieve the American Dream.”

AdAge is also reporting that the History Channel is exploring similar options with Foursquare, and thanks to a tip sent in via email, we uncovered an ExploreChicago page that is reminiscent of Metro News’ relationship with the location-based game.

ExploreChicago happens to be Chicago’s official tourism site, and the deal includes three Chicago-themed Foursquare badges (which we believe to be the ones above) that users can unlock by checking-in across the city.

Tags: entertainment, explorechicago, Film, foursquare, hbo, MARKETING, media, social media, trending, tv, warner bros, zagat

The 2010 Technology Entertainment Design conference will be kicking off tomorrow in Long Beach, California, bringing the leading minds of many fields together to talk shop about innovation, change, and what the future holds.

As social media has become a game changer for industries across the board, you can bet the experts at this year’s TED conference will have their sights set on peeling back the hype and getting at the core of what social technology has in store for this year and beyond.

Perhaps the best part of the TED conferences is that videos of the talks are archived and free to view right on the organization’s website. Given the wealth of insight we’re sure to see tomorrow, we thought we’d whet your appetite by highlighting a few recent and exceptional talks from TED’s past, with a focus on social media.

We’ll start things off with a real-life social media parable about how the biggest and most effective forces on the web usually take shape by accident. Alexis Ohanian of Reddit.com tells the quick and hilarious story of how the social web provided some unexpected help to Greenpeace in halting the Japanese whaling industry. Internet marketers take note: The meme is all powerful, and it cannot be controlled.

In this talk, consultant, professor and author Clay Shirky discusses the unprecedented immediacy of real-time citizen journalism made possible by social media and the nearly ubiquitous access to mobile web technologies. From the election crisis in Iran to the massive earthquake that shook China in May of 2008, Shirky discusses how media is made on the ground, as-it-happens, via the social web.

With a couple of anecdotes building the ultimate social media case study, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams discusses how a little side project called Twitter became a game-changing phenomenon with the help and input of the very users who made the service a success. From innovative marketing uses to core functionality, Williams provides the evidence for what we knew all along: Users know best.

As social media changes our social lives, speculation has abounded for years on how the web may be disconnecting us from intimate interactions in favor of meaningless quests to rack up followers and “friends.” Not so, says Stefana Broadbent, who explains that social networks function the same way online as they do in real life. While we may have lots of friends, we only really communicate regularly and meaningfully with a handful of them, and social technologies like e-mail, texting, and tweeting allow us to do so more often across time and space.

From professional sports mascots to balloon animal makers, some communities are so extremely niche that they could only properly thrive on the Internet. So argues blogger and author Seth Godin, who believes that our revolutionary new connectedness has brought human culture back to its roots, and that tribes (groups of people mobilized around a shared interest) are the present and future of all web content.

What are your favorite TED talks about social media? Which did we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: future, List, Lists, social media, social networks, technology, TED, TED Talks, twitter, video

Gmail is set to become Google’s next major push into social media. According to The Wall Street Journal, the popular webmail service will soon launch a new feature for sharing content and status updates with friends. [Update: We think Google might announce these features on Tuesday]

As WSJ points out, Gmail users can already update their statuses — sort of — through Gmail’s chat feature. Currently, this feature is more akin to the traditional IM “away message.” However, with this new social push, Gmail will offer a timeline-view of your friends’ status updates, just like on Facebook and Twitter.

Those updates might come from both Gmail and third-party services. According to WSJ, Google-owned YouTube and Picasa will be integrated into the stream. The huge question then is whether or not the new feature will include updates from Twitter and Facebook.

If so, the new features could be thought of more like a TweetDeck or Seesmic, looking to provide an aggregate view of your friends’ social media activities along with the ability to push status updates to the services you use from inside of Gmail. If not, it could be thought of as a major competitor to Twitter and Facebook as Gmail looks to covert its millions of e-mail users into adherents to a whole new breed of social media service.

An issue with the latter, however, is that Gmail has historically added people to your contacts based on e-mail interactions. Hence, this contact list often varies significantly from your friends on social sites where relationships need to be made explicitly.

In other words, your Gmail contacts aren’t necessarily the same people you want to share status updates, photos and videos with. This is an issue that shouldn’t be overlooked in evaluating the new features Google is soon to unveil.

Tags: facebook, gmail, Google, trending, twitter

Life of Riley actor to play a cousin of Nettles's character, Tom Barnaby, in long-running detective drama

Life of Riley actor Neil Dudgeon is to replace John Nettles in ITV1 hit drama Midsomer Murders, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.

Dudgeon, who appeared alongside Caroline Quentin in the BBC comedy Life of Riley, will play a cousin of Nettles' character Tom Barnaby, John Barnaby, who also works in the police force.

Nettles is retiring after appearing in more than 80 episode of Midsomer Murders over 13 years.

Dudgeon will make his first appearance in tomorrow night's episode of Midsomer Murders and then take over when the 14th series of the long-running drama begins shooting at the end of July.

Nettles said: "I wanted to die in noble fashion in the service of my country and then be buried with full military honours in Westminster Abbey. In the event, Tom and his long-suffering wife Joyce will simply retire. It's always better to leave when people want more.

"It has been a joy to be involved in such a long running series, with so many good actors and great storylines. If Neil has half the good times that I have had on Midsomer then he will be in seventh heaven. I am only worried that he is much younger than I am and and a much better actor!"

Producer Brian True-May added: "Although we will miss the huge contribution that John has made to the series, the brand of Midsomer is so strong that I am confident of its continuing success.  We look forward to our new Barnaby tackling more murder and mayhem in Midsomer."

Peter Fincham, the ITV's director of television, channels and online, said:  "We're delighted Neil will carry on the Barnaby name."

Dudgeon's other credits include BBC1's Survivors and forensic drama Silent Witness.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

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Trinity Mirror plc is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts to acquire GMG Regional Media, from Guardian Media Group plc. This acquisition reinforces Trinity Mirror's commitment to regional media and complements the Group's existing portfolio and marketplaces.

GMG Regional Media, which publishes 32 newspapers and associated websites, is formed of two operating businesses: MEN Media and S&B Media. MEN Media publishes 22 titles in the North West of England, including the flagship Manchester Evening News and Metro. S&B Media publishes 10 titles in the South of England, including the Surrey Advertiser and Reading Post. Trinity Mirror will not be acquiring Channel M, the TV station for Greater Manchester and the two local newspapers in Woking.

The businesses made an operating profit of £nil in the 12 months to December 2009 and have gross assets of £8.7 million. The total consideration is £44.8 million as set out below.

The transaction is due to complete on 28 March 2010.

Sly Bailey, Chief Executive, commented: "GMG Regional Media is a perfect strategic fit for our Group. This acquisition, which includes the Manchester Evening News with its proud and rich journalistic heritage, together with the weekly titles and associated websites extends our reach across print and online and is a further step towards our strategic goal of creating a multi-media business of real scale."

Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive, Guardian Media Group, commented: "GMG is mandated to secure the future of the Guardian in perpetuity, and we have a strong portfolio which has to be in the right shape to achieve that goal. The Group board and the Scott Trust have made the decision to sell in light of these strategic objectives. GMG Regional Media is a good business and a publisher of important newspapers. However, we believe Trinity Mirror, as the UK's biggest regional publisher, is best placed to develop this business. This is an agreement that delivers real value for both parties."

Ancillary Information:

Further enquiries:

Trinity Mirror plc
Nick Fullagar                       0207 293 3622
Director of Corporate Communications

There’s no denying it: Google’s Nexus One, although being one of the best Android-based smartphones on the market, isn’t selling well.

One of the reasons behind sluggish sales is lack of true customer support. Who does an owner of a Nexus One turn to in case of trouble? HTC, the phone’s manufacturer, mobile network operator, or Google itself? This issue is still not solved, but at least now Google gave customers live phone support.

Live phone support is available at 888-48NEXUS (63987) and it works from 07:00am to 10:00pm PST; unfortunately, you can’t request tech support, as this line seems to be limited to status and shipping issues. Furthermore, as an international user, my best bet is still going through online forums in case of problems. Google is getting better at this, as they finally realized that providing proper support for a smartphone is a not as easy as launching a support website. Still, Google has a long way to go to make Nexus One users really happy.

Tags: Google, nexus one, smartphone

Viewers watch daily average of 3.75 hours of television – with less than a 10th watching solely on analogue signal

Viewers watched an average of 3.75 hours of TV a day last year, the highest figure since 1992, according to research.

The latest report by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising also found that only 8.2% of UK households relied solely on an analogue TV signal by the beginning of 2010.

This was down from 10.1% three months earlier and 14.3% at the start of 2009, illustrating the effect of the digital switchover process and the continuing takeup of digital TV ahead of the final switchoff in 2012. Three years ago, at the start of 2007, 28.3% of homes were analogue-only.

The IPA found that viewers watched a daily average of 3.94 hours of TV in the last three months of 2009.

This was up from the 3.54 hours on the previous quarter and contributed to an annual average of 3.75 hours, the highest level since 1992, when an average of 3.81 hours was recorded.

Last year's fourth-quarter figure was also the highest since 1992, when an average of 4.03 hours was recorded.

The first and last quarters of the year, with less daylight and fewer people away on holiday, tend to show the highest television viewing.

Last year the highest audience recorded was for the first quarter of the year, when the average time spent watching each day was 3.96 hours.

The IPA's Trends in Television report also found that ITV and GMTV achieved 19% of the total television audience in the last three months of 2009, their highest share since the final quarter of 2007, while BBC1 continued to achieve the highest share of all the terrestrial channels, at 21%.

All five analogue terrestrial channels have seen share fall in recent years as multichannel viewing increases.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

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WSJ is reporting that Google will soon release a new Twitter like feature for Gmail.

The feature is reportedly designed to make it simple for users to share status updates, photos, videos with relevant people in their contact list via stream like interface.

WSJ reports that the feature could be made available as soon as this week, possibly as an integrated feature or initially as a Gmail labs addon.

The feature will apparently link to Gtalk’s status update feature but also  provide a separate area to view a Twitter like stream, presumably with replies/comments too.

Where does Friendfeed come into the picture you ask? Well Google reportedly plans to integrate content that is shared through its YouTube, Picasa photo-sharing service and other services. Integrating Facebook and Twitter status updates should also be presumed likely.

This isn’t Google’s first venture into stream like services. Google acquired Finnish microblogging service in October 2007 only to see it crumble and opensourced late last year. Also, as Silicon Alley Insider notes, Yahoo integrated a similar service into its email service in August last year.

We’ve contacted Google for comment and will update if/when we hear back.

Update:

Mashable notes that the new release could be announced tomorrow morning during an recently announced intimate Google Event. The event is reportedly to announce  major updates to two of Google’s “most popular products.”

Image Credit

iPhone repair shop iResQ claims that it has the front panel component of the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone, and it has posted a few photos to demonstrate a couple of ways the handset will differ from its predecessor.

If these pics are legit, then the new iPhone will actually be one-fourth of an inch taller than all of the previous three models. Presumably this is to make room for a new component — or more than one new component.

iResQ also observes that the front panel has a “reflective, mirror-like surface” near the top of the phone, and speculates that this is a relocated proximity sensor. The current iPhone’s proximity sensor is used to detect when you’re holding the phone up to your ear. If you are, it shuts off the screen to save battery life and to avoid blinding you with light.

If the reflective surface is the proximity sensor, then Apple might be planning to use the sensor for other functions as well.

If Apple is planning to launch a new iPhone this year, it will likely be announced at WWDC this June. We’ll have to wait until then to see if these photos are real. Take a look at the photos below, but remember that it’s best to pile this in with the rest of the rumors for now.

[via MacRumors]

Tags: apple, iphone, iphone 4g, trending

Conservative mandarins still refuse to answer questions on party benefactor's UK tax status

Tory party officials repeatedly refused to say yesterday whether they believe the British public has a right to know the truth about the current tax s­tatus of Lord Ashcroft, the multi-­millionaire who has helped to bankroll the party for almost three decades.

Ashcroft, a deputy chairman of the party, was granted a seat in the Lords in March 2000 after promising to return to Britain from his home in Belize and pay UK income tax by the end of that year.

Since then, the tycoon has repeatedly declined to say if he has made good on that promise, and senior Tories have faced censure from the information commissioner for what he describes as their "evasive and obfuscatory" statements on the matter.

David Cameron declined to discuss Ashcroft's tax status. But he confirmed that the party would vote for a change in the law to ensure peers and MPs must be full UK taxpayers.

In a speech at the University of East London, the Tory leader said: "For years all parties have taken the same view that someone's tax status is a matter between them and the Inland Revenue. That needs to change … anyone who wants to sit in the House of Lords or House of Commons has to be, or has to be treated as, a full resident UK taxpayer."

Sir George Young, shadow leader of the Commons, also declined to answer questions about Ashcroft's tax status, as it is the subject of a request under the Freedom of Information Act. "I think one has to let that take its course," he told Radio 4's Today programme.

The shadow education secretary, Michael Gove, appeared to spread the net on the BBC's Newsnight programme. When asked about Lord Ashcroft, he said he did not know his tax position, but he claimed the Labour party benefited from funds from non-domiciled donors.

Last month, the information commissioner ruled that the Cabinet Office had breached the act by refusing to disclose information about Ashcroft's promise, made to Labour MP Gordon Prentice, and said it had 35 days in which to do so.

The Tories are backing an amendment to the constitutional reform and governance bill to force all MPs and peers to pay UK tax on their worldwide earnings, or leave parliament. That will come into force with the new tax year if the bill, currently going through committee stages, is passed into law. The Tories say this will pose no difficulty for Ashcroft, with a spokesman saying the peer "has said that he is meeting the undertakings given". When asked if that meant Ashcroft had already met his obligations, the spokesman repeatedly stated that he "is meeting" them.

Donations worth millions of pounds made to the Tories from a company controlled by Ashcroft are under investigation by the Electoral Commission over whether the company is eligible to give money.

When Ashcroft's nomination for a peerage was rejected in 1999, William Hague wrote to Downing Street demanding a change of heart because the tycoon intended to become resident in Britain.

Ashcroft also agreed to return to the UK when he settled a libel action against the Times in December 1999. He agreed to the wording of a statement published by the newspaper, which read: "Mr Ashcroft has told the Times that he recognises the public concern about foreign funding of British politics, and that he intends to reorganise his affairs in order to return to live in Britain." In 2004, however, five years after the assurances were given, Lord his main residence was declared in the House of Lords expenses register to be the tax haven of Belize.

Ashcroft's spokesman said he would not discuss his tax status and maintained he did not know the details of any undertakings given to secure the peerage.

Yesterday it was Sir George Young's turn. Here's how some of his fellow frontbenchers have fielded the Ashcroft issue

Andrew Marr One further confusing question to many people: you've been out and about with Lord Ashcroft. Do you know whether he pays tax in this country yet?

William Hague I'm sure he fulfils the ­obligations that were imposed on him at the time he became …

Marr Have you asked him?

Hague I have asked him.

Marr And?

Hague … because I've been asked whether I've asked him before. My conclusion having asked him is that he fulfilled the obligations that were imposed on him at the time that he became a peer.

Marr So does he pay taxes in the UK?

Hague Well that, well that, I imagine that was the obligation that was imposed on him.

Marr So you think he does?

Hague So I think he's fulfilled what was asked of him.

Marr I don't understand ...

Hague Well, you can't expect me to know every detail of somebody's tax affairs. But I have asked him and he has …

Marr But you must have asked him ... yes or no, surely.

Hague I've asked him and he fulfils the ­obligations that were imposed on him …

Interviewer Where does he pay tax at the moment?

Spelman Well, Lord Ashcroft has a duty to comply with British law, in respect ofpolitical donations, and the Conservative party also has a duty as a recipient of those donations to ensure donations are done with compliance to the law, and ... both we as a party and he as a donor has complied with the law.

Interviewer So is he resident in the UK and paying taxes here?

Spelman A donation has to be made by an individual who is, who pays, tax in the United Kingdom.

Jeremy Paxman Your deputy chairman, Lord Ashcroft, a man whose peerage you lobbied for, saying that he would become resident in Britain for tax purposes – can you just tell us, is he resident in Britain for tax purposes now?

Hague I have no reason to think that he has not complied with the commitments that he made.

Paxman That is not the same as an assurance that he is.

Hague Well, it's the truth as I know it.

Paxman Have you asked him?

Hague I have no reason to think that he hasn't complied with the commitments that he made.

Paxman Have you asked him?

Hague I've discussed it with him and that is the conclusion I have come to.

Paxman Have you asked him directly?

Hague I have discussed it with him and I have no reason to think that he hasn't complied.

Paxman Did you say to him, 'Are you resident in Britain for tax purposes?'

Hague I said to him at the time that of course I expected him to fulfil …

Paxman Now.

Hague … commitments …

Paxman Have you asked him?

Hague And I have no reason to think that he hasn't done.

Paxman I'm asking for evidence from you that you have at least been intellectually curious enough to discover whether or not your deputy chairman is resident in the ­country for tax purposes.

Hague As you know I'm rather an intellectually curious person and I have no reason to think that he hasn't complied with the requirements.

Paxman You've never asked him?

Hague I've discussed the matter with him and made clear the expectations.

Paxman You got him the peerage on the basis that he would become resident in this country for tax ­purposes. And you've never asked him.

Hague And I've just given you the answer about that. I certainly have no reason to think he hasn't complied.

So far as I know, he has fulfilled all of his obligations being a member of the House of Lords … I dare say that if you get his lordship on the programme, he will be very happy to answer for you.

Lord Ashcroft's tax status is a matter between him and the Inland Revenue. What I can say and what he has said is that the undertakings he gave at the time of being made a peer are undertakings that he is meeting.

Andrew Marr The information commissioner says that 'statements by senior politicians concerning Lord Ashcroft's undertaking'- that's on tax - 'have been evasive and obfuscatory'. Now can you therefore tell me whether or not he pays tax in this country?

Hague Well let me give you something that's not at all evasive and obfuscatory. David Cameron has called, and the government have then come into line with that, for all members of both houses of parliamentto be treated as if they're fully residentand domiciled in the United Kingdomfor tax purposes, with no ifs and butswhatsoever, from the next financial year.Lord Ashcroft has said that causes him nodifficulty at all, and that he will still besitting there in the House of Lords under those rules …

Marr Does he pay tax as a British taxpayer, as a British citizen, which is a very straightforward question

Hague Well, I'll give you another clear statement, which is that when he was made a peer in the year 2000, he was asked to give certain guarantees about that, and he then implemented those guarantees – and he's assured me that he did. Although what they were in detail was defined between him and the Inland Revenue at the time. I am not a party to that.

Evan Davis Of course there's one bigquestion that hangs over your party, doesn't it, which relates to your deputy chairman, Michael Ashcroft, and what his tax status really is. What are the conditions that were applied when he was awarded a life peerage?

George Young On the question of tax status, there was an all-party amendment on Tuesday to the corporate governance and constitution bill that's now going through, that makes it clear that, as from next year, anybody in the House of Lords is deemed to be domiciled for tax purposes. I hope that resolves the issue. They'll all have to pay tax, like they were you or me.

Davis But it's still quite interesting to know what the man financing a lot of the election campaign activities – what his status is?

Young I think his total funding since the last election is about 5% of the Tory party.

Davis That's a considerable amount offunding to come from one individual, isn't it? Conditions were applied to him, as I understand it, when he became a life peer, that he was resident for tax in the UK. Is that your understanding of it?

Young My understanding is that there is, at the moment, a freedom of information request to the Cabinet Office, to clarify exactly what the undertakings were. I think one has to let that take its course.

Davis Wouldn't it be better for your deputy chairman to just tell us what the conditions were, rather than digging around in theCabinet Office? He's perfectly free to tell us, isn't he?

Young Well, I think that's a matter for Lord Ashcroft rather than for me to clarify.

Davis He's your deputy chairman. It's a party matter!

Young But it's an undertaking which he gave to another body, and that body has been asked for documents. I don't know what those documents contain. We have to wait for the freedom of information process to complete its course. I'm sorry, but I just can't shed any light on this.

• Hundreds of thousands could miss out on a place
• Graduates face 'double whammy' in jobs market

More than 200,000 would-be students are likely to be left without a place at a UK university this year as undergraduate applications reach record levels for the fourth year running.

Applications are almost a fifth up on last year, according to the latest figures from the university admissions service, Ucas. So far, more than 570,000 students have applied for a place at university this autumn, an increase of more than 100,000 on the same time in 2009. Applications close in June.

There was also bad news today for those leaving university this year, as a business body warned that new graduates face a "double whammy" in the jobs market: a continuing fall in the number of vacancies available and no increase in average starting salaries for those who do manage to gain employment.

Last year, about 480,000 people got a place at university, after 633,000 applied. This year, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has confirmed there will be 6,000 fewer places for full-time undergraduates, meaning that more than 200,000 will not be accepted on to an undergraduate degree course if applications continue to come in at the same rate. UK applicants are up 22.1%, while overseas applicants have risen from 55,245 to 71,105 (up 28.7%).

Mary Curnock Cook, Ucas's chief executive, said: "This cycle will be very challenging and competitive for applicants."

Part of the increase in demand for university places may be due to the recession. Applications from the over-25s jumped 63.4%, while those from 21- to 24-year-olds rose 44.8%. There was also a 45.5% increase in people reapplying.

Professor Steve Smith, president of Universities UK – the body that represents ­vice-chancellors – said: "It's inevitable that we are going to see even more pressure on places this year and the strong possibility of many well-qualified students missing out." The figures have fuelled calls for the government to halt its planned higher education cuts.

The minister for higher education, David Lammy, said: "Getting a place at university has always been, and should be, a competitive process. Not everyone gets the grades, and some decide university is not for them. It's early days and students haven't even sat their A-levels yet."

Meanwhile, a survey of 214 businesses by the Association of Graduate Employers (AGR) today has revealed that graduate starting salaries are predicted to remain static for the third consecutive year at £25,000.

Vacancy rates are expected to fall for the second year running, by 1.6%, although this represents a slowing of last year's drop of 9%. Carl Gilleard, the AGR chief executive, said it represented a "double whammy" for 2009 and 2010 graduates, who were the first to enter the workforce having had to pay top-up tuition fees on all three years of their degree.

The survey also contains a warning for graduates considering opting out of today's job market through postgraduate study. Asked to give advice to the "class of 2010", the employers rated continuing with study as the least attractive option, advising them to consider temporary paid work, skills training or unpaid work.

Against the tide of Silicon Valley’s job layoffs, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg was quoted late August 2009 — in a number of media outlets that referred to a Bloomberg report — as planning to hire as many as 500 new staff members in 2009. While the number hired din’t turn out to be that much, I was one of the fortunate people who managed to snag a series of interviews in Q3 & Q4 of 2009. Here’s a summary of my overall interview experience.

First off, I’m not sure how many people Facebook actually hired in 2009, though I do not believe they were anywhere close to their reported quota. But they hired at least one person, and it wasn’t me. Now, it would be foolish of me to reveal too many details about the position I was interviewing for, but I’ll reveal what I’m comfortable with:

1. The position was contract-to-hire, roughly six months, with a possible extension afterwards but no guarantee of a full-time position.
2. During that period, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to create my own outside Facebook applications. However, my would-be-colleague didn’t know the answer and the HR person didn’t answer. So I suspended working on my in-progress apps and doing any writing about Facebook for my clients for most of the latter half of 2009, losing out on earnings I badly needed.
3. The position was NOT for a software engineer. I would be joining a team of one, despite the need for a small team, at least from my perspective as a Facebook user and developer (hint hint). I would have worked with numerous engineers and product managers as necessary. I didn’t officially need coding skills, but it wouldn’t hurt.

My work background in tech is quite varied — a necessity of the market (Toronto, Canada) that I spent most of my career in — a market that did not necessarily subscribe to the idea that having multiple skills is a bad thing. As such, I am fortunate to have a combination of coding, database, business analysis, writing and inbound/social media marketing skills. The career culture here in California seems quite different than even the rest of the USA (what I know of it), let alone Toronto. I’m also used to “asking for the job,” if the interview is going well and the job would be exciting. But that’s not easy to do here given how many layers of interviews there are. Needless to say, it didn’t work out at Facebook, despite being told by the HR person that I was “still in the running.” (Several friends and family members telling me they felt I was being strung along, I didn’t want to believe such a thing — and still don’t. There are all kinds of legitimate reasons for my experience.)

I can only speculate as to why so many layers of job interviews seem to be required here in California — possibly because this is an “at will” state. That means you can quit a job without notice, and also get fired without notice. Given the cost of hiring and training a new employee to fill a vacancy, it’s understandable that potential candidates are given a gauntlet of interviews. I’ve heard of colleagues going through as many as eleven sets of interviews with some of the older web-based giants — especially for manager roles — and even waiting as long 8-12 months for an offer. I’m just not used to that.

Thankfully, I only went through about 3.5 months of waiting overall, though the last six weeks was a period of radio silence, followed by an email that said something to the effect of “thanks but we’ve filled the position.” No other pleasantries, not even a “we’ll keep you on file for future opportunities.”

How did I get an interview in the first place, when so many people are out of work and not even getting interviews? I’d like to think that it’s due to my extensive and varied skills, but admittedly, I have a “network” connection to a Facebook employee. This person, whom I know in real-life, saw the position listed, sent me a message via my Facebook inbox, and asked if I was interested. He then submitted my resume internally. That got me into the interview process a lot faster, though my resume (i.e., collective skills & experience) is what kept me in the running. Here’s a summary of the experience:

1. Started with a half-hour phone interview around mid-August 2009, ending with the HR person saying that they thought I was what they were looking for, and that they’d be in touch.
2. Was given a relevant coding and writing assignment, from my would-be teammate, to be completed within a week.
3. Got a longer phone interview a few weeks later with my would-be teammate and an engineer who didn’t know that he was supposed to ask me any questions. Despite the role in question (non-engineer), the latter person asked me quite technical questions, some of which seemed irrelevant to the position. (Speculation by friends and colleagues is that I was asked simply because my resume shows a great deal of technical background.) This phone interview also involved a surprise quiz, via a special web page. I had to type in the algorithm (aka “pseudocode”) for a coding problem, via a special web form. The interviewers could see my code simultaneously and test it (had it been real web code).
4. Waited for weeks and weeks, with my would-be teammate answering my emails the best he could and the HR person barely answering anything.
5. Finally got a three-hour, in-person interview with four people in early October. This seemed to be going fine for the first few hours, but one interviewer (non-engineer) seemed intent on finding on some sort of flaw with my personality.
6. After six more weeks of waiting, I received a “thanks but no thanks” email. During that time, I was told to be patient while they did “due diligence” with other candidates. (I have no idea how many people I was up against.)

After the three-hour interview session, I became pragmatic, knowing that I had positives to takeaway from the whole experience, even if I didn’t get the position.

Photo credithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

I recently discussed the California work culture with a young colleague whose parents work as managers at a big tech company. Between their advice and my experience, here is what I learned:

1. Even if a certain skill is not going to be required for role you’re interviewing for, you might still get asked related questions. That’s especially true if the skill is listed on your resume. The positive way to look at this is that you might be considered for another position.
2. Some interview questions are designed to get you to say “I don’t know,” and that is actually the right thing to say. That’s a far better response than lying or making something up. The fact is that in a real work situation, you would have various resources available to you that wouldn’t be present in an interview, and interviewers generally understand that. (I stated that my coding skills needed refreshing, that I was limited to responding in pseudocode rather than real computer code, and they agreed albeit subtly.)
3. Not all HR people have their act together, no matter how pleasant they are. In retrospect, I should have continued to work on my Facebook apps and writing. Lesson: Don’t wait. Continue on with your life.
4. Months of waiting for an offer or even any answer is the norm, not the exception, in Silicon Valley. Maybe I’m even lucky I received a response?

While the free meals from the Facebook cafeteria in Palo Alto — and all the other perks — would have been nice, I’m not sure the perks would have been offered to a contract-for-hire. Overall, I’m probably too old for the Facebook culture, who mostly seemed to be in their late 20s/ early 30s. (My would-be-teammate seemed the only exception, though it’s not like I met the entire staff.) Participating in their Hackathons doing all-night coding (or whatever) is something I might have done during college or a select few years afterwards. Now, I like to have a life outside work.

My greatest takeaway: I learned a great deal about the Facebook APIs, which I studied fairly intensively during the 3.5-month waiting period. I’ve used the knowledge gained to continue working on numerous Facebook apps of my own — many of which support other projects non-Facebook projects in progress — none of which I would not have been able to do were I hired on at Facebook. building. Despite that some of the APIs have changed recently, the net result of the interview process is that I have a deeper understanding of how Facebook.com functions, and that helps me both as a user and an app designer and developer.

Job interview photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnjoh/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

In October 2009, after 2.5 years of using Twitter every day, I wrote a piece that explained the limits of Twitter that we’ll have to look past Twitter to see solved, because Twitter doesn’t seem to be trying to solve them.

Tomorrow, we hear, Google will announce a product that aims to take on Twitter. If so, here’s a list of features to look for. Any of these features would give Google a serious edge over Twitter. Maybe they thought of some things I don’t have on my list. It’s always nice to put your stake in the ground. I did it with the iPad with some hilarious results.

So here’s the list of must-have features:

1. Reliability. Twitter still has trouble dealing with high-flow events like last night’s SuperBowl. Lots of Fail Whales. So if Google is able to offer reliability, no matter how much of an advantage Twitter’s installed base is, it won’t matter. When Twitter goes down everyone will reassemble on Glitter.

2. Enclosures. Can you imagine if you couldn’t enclose a picture or an MP3 with an email message? Why do we jump through so many hoops just to tweet a picture?

3. Open architecture metadata. Let developers throw any data onto a status message, giving it a name and a type, and let everyone else sort it out. It would result in an explosion of creativity.

4. Relationships with hardware vendors. I still want a one-click Twitter camera. If I can’t have it from Twitter, I’ll take it from Google.

5. No 140-character limit. I debated this one with myself. At first I compromised and said okay let’s have a 250-character limit, or a 500-character limit. But I really don’t want a limit. If I want to write short status messages, no problemmo. We’ve already made the cultural transition. We know how to do it. But sometimes a thought just can’t be expressed in 140 characters. No one is wise enough to know what the limit is, so let’s just not have one.

6. No URL-shorteners. I’ve explained this so many times. They’re stupid and ugly and they hurt the web. I like it when developers take the time to craft their URLs so they make sense to users. That’s all the shortening we really need and all we should have.

Those are some of my wish-list items. It seems likely Google will offer #1 and #2. Very unlikely they’ll do #3 (they don’t trust developers any more than Apple does). Probably not #4, though it would be easy to get some people from Kodak and Sony to come on stage with them. #5 would take a teeny bit of guts. It’s a perfect way to throw some serious confusion at Twitter. I’d recommend going all the way, but if they can’t go to 500-characters. Get some editors and authors on stage to say how nice it would be. Because they’re making a commitment to their own URL-shortener it seems unlikely they would outlaw them on their status network, but one can hope.

I usually don’t subscribe to the idea that new products aimed at the user base of an established product are “killers” — but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a product as ripe for killing as Twitter. (Lotus 1-2-3 was probably the last great example.)

The hubris of Twitter is the assumption that the product is unassailable because of the features they leave out. Sooner or later one of their competitors is going to test that theory, and I’m pretty sure it’ll prove incorrect. And where they include horrendous features that a competitor might leave out (I’m thinking of URL-shortening) they don’t seem to feel any pressure to take it out. Yet almost every user would enjoy a Twitter with real full URLs that didn’t take up any of the 140-character space. Hard to imagine anyone objecting.

OTOH, Google is a big clunky Microsoft-like company with strategy taxes, and they don’t trust the web or developers, or each other, and their internal politics drive most of the decisions they make. To compete with Twitter is an easy sell inside Google, but to actually have the will to be cut-throat about it, that’s another thing. It’ll probably have to pay homage to Google Wave (remember that?) and therefore will have some elements that are completely incomprehensible. Twitter likely won’t get killed, because Google’s product will likely fall far-short of what’s needed to get us all to think they can be trusted.

The usual disclaimers apply. This is all tea-leave-reading, I have no actual information, and I’m usually way wrong with these prognostications, but it’s still good to share the thought process.

Bonjour! It’s a very exciting day at Experian Hitwise towers today because we have announced the launch of Hitwise France! The Hitwise France service will provide clients with data on website industry and category rankings, Clickstream traffic activity, search behaviour and keyword research. Clients also will have access to additional tools to create custom categories, search term portfolios and customized dashboards.

In order to whet your appetite for all of this exciting Gallic data, we present the first of many insights into French Internet usage…

Google.fr is the most visited website in France, accounting for 1 in every 10 Internet visits

During the week ending 30/01/10, Google France was the most visited website in France, picking up 10.38% of all French Internet visits – equivalent to 1 in every 10. Two other Google-owned properties also appeared in the list of the 10 most visited websites in France during the same week: YouTube at number 4 and Google.com at number 7.

Facebook is the second most visited website in France, accounting for 6.83% of all French Internet visits during the week ending 30/01/10. The site accounted for just under half of all French visits to social networks over the same period, picking up over twice as many visits as second placed YouTube. Skyrock is the third most popular social network in France, and the eighth most popular website overall.

Windows Live Mail (mail.live.com, also known as Windows Live Hotmail) is the third most visited website in France and the most popular webmail service. Orange France Webmail (webmail.orange.fr) is the next most popular webmail service and fifth most visited website overall, while Orange France ranks sixth. The list of the top 10 websites in France is completed by Leboncoin.fr, the most popular Shopping and Classifieds website, at number nine, and MSN France in tenth position.

Social networking is a more popular activity in France than in the UK, but online shopping less so

Search Engines are the most visited category of website in France, accounting for 14.27% of all French Internet visits during the week ending 30/01/10. Social networks and Forums rank second, picking up 12.85% of French Internet visits – more than the 10.61% the industry accounts for in the UK. Shopping and Classifieds websites, on the other hand, account for a higher percentage of Internet visits in the UK (8.74%) than in France (8.44%).

France and the UK have very similar sized Internet populations, so it is interesting to compare the different ways in which the web is used in the two countries. In France, more online time is spent on communication and entertainment than in the UK, with Entertainment websites and Webmail services also picking up a higher proportion of visits. On the other hand, people in the UK are more likely to use the Internet to make transactions and look for information. News and Media, Sports, Travel, and Education websites all account for a higher proportion of Internet visits in the UK than in France.

Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates on Internet usage in France and the UK.

Soren Gordhamer is the organizer of the Wisdom 2.0 Conference, which brings together staff from Google, Facebook, and Twitter with others to explore living wisely in our modern age. Mashable readers can use code ‘Mashable‘ for a discount when registering.

In the era of social media, our networks are much larger than they have ever been, and we have more ways to communicate with those in them. Even if you are not very active on Facebook or Twitter, my guess is that your sphere of communication has expanded significantly in recent years. Who you communicate with and how you communicate has changed radically. This new connected era brings both opportunities and challenges.

In the past we had a set of contacts, all of whom generally knew how to reach us — via phone, e-mail, or regular mail. Today, thanks in large part to social media, we have many different levels of communication, each with a specific purpose and etiquette. When we do not understand the role of these levels, they can become huge time wasters. When we do understand them however, they can help us more effectively engage and navigate these new waters.

Just about everyone, including Bill Gates (who if you have not heard, recently joined Twitter), has learned the importance of having both a means to communicate with people, and a channel where people can respond. Though you can do this on Facebook through comments on Fan pages and in groups, this seems most applicable to Twitter, where people use @replies to send and receive short, publicly viewable messages.

The public reply provides an open and transparent channel for people to interact with public figures, brands, and each other, without the pressure of response that comes with e-mail. Public interactions are a great starting point for engagement that never existed before social media, and if done correctly, can often lead to more fruitful direct communication.

Once a relationship is established through public communication, the next step is often a direct message within a social network. A direct message creates a private connection without opening the floodgates of e-mail. In fact, in may even be preferable to e-mail in the long term.

Why? Especially with Twitter, a DM has a character limit, and can only come from people you follow. If you have ten e-mails (of unlimited length and possibly unknown sources) and ten Twitter DMs, which are you likely to open first? For an increasing number of people, the answer is DM.

Once you make a connection through DM and get permission to follow-up via e-mail, the e-mail is often better received. Facebook, where most people allow private messages, can also be a means to take communication to the next level.

E-mail still has its place in this new era. It allows for more in-depth communication, can be easily forwarded, and sent to numerous people at once. When e-mail is used skillfully, it enables deeper communication. When not used effectively, it can become a huge time drain, as people write lengthy messages without much thought of the time and attention they are asking of recipients.

This fine line makes e-mail tough to master in the social media age. If you’re looking to advance to the next communication level with someone, respect this direct and private channel, and be sure to keep your e-mails succinct and meaningful.

Hearing someone’s voice allows people to get a better sense of one another. While communicating via text, a person can take time to carefully craft his or her words, potentially presenting an image that may not be true or is harder to trust. A phone call allows for more immediate back-and-forth, and can be particularly helpful if a subject matter is delicate or people are considering a more in-depth relationship.

Some time back I was communicating with an editor about an issue that we had bounced back and forth several times. Finally she said, “Let’s chat about it on the phone.” This furthered the dialogue significantly and bypassed what may have taken weeks to sort out via e-mail.

I have met numerous people in person that I first communicated with via social networks. All of these meetings were enhanced by the natural progression of our first digital communication. While at one time face-to-face interactions were the entry point, today, in-person meetings often come at later stages.

Particularly if people are considering working on a project together, an in-person meeting allows for the most in-depth connection. For some people Skype or other video chat may be enough to experience this.

Too often people think communication is only through words, but our bodies communicate as well. They communicate how comfortable or uncomfortable we are discussing a matter, our level of passion for a subject, and our hopes and fears. Meeting with someone in person allows for communication to occur on multiple levels, and people often come away with a much better sense of each other.

In this era of social media when we are reaching out and engaging more and more people, the question is not just “Should I communicate with someone?” but “How should I communicate with someone? How can I build engagement one step at a time?” The more we allow for and understand the importance of all the various levels of communication, the more we can skillfully and effectively use each one.

- Zen and the Art of Twitter: 4 Tips for Productive Tweeting
- The Tao of Tweeting
- How Social Media Has Changed Us
- 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships
- 4 Steps for Effective Online Networking

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL, PaulPaladin, Kohlerphoto, sandoclr

Tags: communication, e-mail, email, facebook, List, Lists, meeting, social media, social networking, social networks, twitter

The Manchester Evening News and its associated titles have been acquired by Trinity Mirror for £45 million in a deal announced today.  It spells the end of the long association between the Guardian (once The Manchester Guardian) and the MEN.

Sly Bailey, Chief Executive of Trinity Mirror , commented: “GMG Regional Media is a perfect strategic fit for our Group. This acquisition, which includes the Manchester Evening News with its proud and rich journalistic heritage, together with the weekly titles and associated websites extends our reach across print and online and is a further step towards our strategic goal of creating a multi-media business of real scale.”   The deal doesn’t include the TV station Channel M. 

If you drill down into the detail of the deal, £37.4 million is to realease the papers from a long term printing contract - but it is still a lot of money to pay for a regional title when the sector is under so much pressure.   The deal may be good news for the title because it moves from a group that does not really believe in the future of regional print to one that is committed to it.   For that reason it probably ensures a longer future for the MEN but whether Trinity can stem the flow of advertising and readers away from regional newspapers in the long term is quite a different question.