Regular readers will know my love for all things location. In particular, these check-in location-based services fascinate me, mainly because I see them as a bridge between social networks as we’ve known it, and actual social interaction in the real world. Foursquare has been my app of choice over the past year (it launched almost exactly a year ago at SXSW). But the latest version of Gowalla has me thinking about switching sides. At the very least, I’ll be using both at all times now.

Gowalla version 2.0 for the iPhone just hit the App Store today. With it, you’ll notice a few different things. First and foremost, the overall look has been updated from a sort of Army green, to a more subtle light green that is much easier on the eyes. More significantly, the toolbar has been reworked so that now social activity is front and center when you load the app, while your own activity is the last tab. Both of these changes are things I’ve complained about since day one with Gowalla, so they’re certainly welcome. But that’s not why I’m excited for the app. I’m excited because it takes the idea of the check-in and extends it.

Specifically, you can now add pictures and comments to check-ins in Gowalla. This makes for a much richer social experience both using the app and the website (the data goes over there as well). As founder and CEO Josh Williams describes in the video below, there were a lot of people who wanted to talk about the social activity on Gowalla, but previously they had to text message or email their friends to say something like “hey I saw you check-in at the restaurant, want some company?” Now, that type of dialogue can take place all within the app.

Now, others have tried to add additional layers to check-ins in the past. Why I think it works with Gowalla 2.0 is because they keep it simple. The application is extremely handsome (since the beginning, everyone is quick to note how good the designers are working for the team) and intuitive. There are only a few basic things you can do, and all are obvious from the main screen. You can either check-in at a venue, comment on your friends’ check-ins (with the new chat bubble in the stream), look at the spots around you, see trips (pre-planned venue excursions), or look at your own activity.

Previously, with Gowalla, I thought the focus was too much on their virtual items. Those are now tucked away in your Passport (your profile). They’re still important, and will be increasingly so for Gowalla’s revenue model (trading virtual goods for real-world items), but they’re not in your face, confusing users.

All that said, there are two downsides still to the service. First, the social activity stream includes everybody that your friends with. With Foursquare, the people currently in the same city as you are highlighted; Gowalla doesn’t do that. I suspect that will be very annoying to my friends not going to Austin this week for SXSW. Their stream will be a constant reminder that they’re not there — and they likely could care less about my check-ins, since they can’t possibly come and meet me.

The second downside is that Gowalla’s API remains read-only. That means while other services can pull out Gowalla’s data, they can’t put anything back in. That means there will be no Gowalla apps besides the ones they make (at least for now). Williams explained the rationale behind this as Gowalla wants to stay in control of the user experience (a rather Apple-like argument). That makes some sense, since there are all these virtual goods that will be flying around, and it will be hard to make sure every third-party app is implementing them correctly. Also, Gowalla is much more strict about its location-based check-ins then say, Foursquare. They’re so strict, in fact, that it’s been an issue in the past (and in some cases, still is), with people not being able to check-in places they’re actually at because the GPS is wonky. At the same time, this helps a lot with gaming the system, and that will be increasingly important as Gowalla strikes deals with partners based around check-ins.

Listen to Williams talk more about the new app, as well as his thoughts on AT&T’s network, some SXSW specials, rivals, and yes, even the news that Facebook is apparently looking at federating some of Gowalla’s (and Foursquare’s) data for its own location offering. He also notes that with the new release, Gowalla is expanding the idea of checking-in to be more of a bucket of elements now, including images and comments. Interesting. (Sorry in advance that I shot the video vertically on my iPhone — gotta stop doing that.)

You can find Gowalla 2.0 in the App Store here. It’s a free download.

Pelago knows that just about every location-based app in the world is seeking coverage right now just prior to SXSW where they will all battle Highlander-style. So they approached me with a pretty smart pitch: curing the “social rut.” What they mean by that is these days, despite the prevalence of social networks, people are actually less social than ever because they’re being roped into playing games like Farmville and Mafia Wars for hours on end. Sitting in their rooms. Alone.

While that may be a part of social networking (a rather large, hugely profitably part), it’s not really social. That’s why location-based networks excite me: they have the potential to bridge social networking with actual social activity. And that’s exactly how Pelago is positioning the latest version of its location-based app, Whrrl 3.

The core idea behind the new iPhone app (which launched in the store today) is that people inspire others to do things. So when you see a friend is out doing something fun, you may want to join them. Or it may entice you to go out and do something else, and hope others see it on Whrrl and join in. It’s the grouping of people with similar interests into “Societies” that is a key to Whrrl 3. For example, a basic society is that each venue in the application has its own set of “regulars.” If you visit the place enough times, you unlock the badge making you a regular, and giving you access to member-level activities, such as recommendations and specials nearby.

One of these societies, launching alongside the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas this week is the Austin Underground which “will provide members with at-your-fingertips access to the hottest parties, events, and other fun things to do at the conference,” according to Whrrl. Over 50 merchants in Austin are participating to provide exclusive offers, apparently. To unlock the membership, you have to check-in at some of the following places: Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Outback Steakhouse, Cool River Cafe, Chuggin’ Monkey, J Black’s, Red Fez and Third Base, and others.

Other key features of Whrrl 3 include Recommendations — you create these (with photos, if you choose), to let others in your social graph (or your society) know fun things to do in an area. Ideas, are recommendations served up to you from societies you’re a part of, your friends, or Whrrl’s algorithms. Fun Facts are shown each time you check-in to a venue, with information about it. And of course, there is a point system (Influence Points) that turn the whole thing into one big game. What’s interesting about Whrrl’s game is that you can get point by inspiring others to do things with the app. Points also allow you to level up in your societies for more special deals.

All of this is an extension of the “footstreams” idea that Whrrl launched last December. That’s where they also first introduced the society idea as well. The key to both of those is about real people doing real things in the real world.  That, in turn, shows what you’re interested in, and allows Whrrl to clump you into these groups with out like-minded people.

So that all sounds great, but will anyone use the app? After all, adoption has been a problem in the past and this isn’t the first time Whrrl is pivoting its product. In fact, they actually did exactly a year ago with Whrrl 2 just before SXSW.

Their main problem is convincing people to use Whrrl instead of the current location-based darlings, Foursquare and Gowalla. That’s going to be difficult because those networks are quickly building up social graphs and once those are established, users are less likely to leave. So Whrrl needs something to differentiate itself, and while their pitch to me is good, it’s an entirely different matter convincing users. And the things that would seem to help differentiate networks like Whrrl actually hurt them sometimes. For example, since location-based services are still new to so many people, it’s best to keep things as simple as possible. But Whrrl is piling on features that, while maybe cool, are likely to confuse new users.

Still, if Whrrl is able to secure some solid deals around Austin to get people using the app and checking-in, that could certainly get people using it. Of course, Foursquare and Gowalla have their own deals too. Then the problem becomes one I’ve had this past week while testing out all these location apps: fatigue. I can’t possibly check-in with each of these apps each time I move from place to place. The people I’m with have started rolling their eyes at me while I take my 10 minutes to check-in to all the different apps.

I’m not saying there can be only one. But one would sure be nice.

Find Whrrl 3 in the App Store here.

Google has just released an alternative player for Google Reader that gives those with a penchant for browsing news the ability to do so in an image-heavy, TV-like fashion.

Dubbed Google Reader Play, the new tool is an experimental Google Labs project that presents stories one by one — based on their Recommend Items technology — using enlarged photos and auto-playing videos (in lieu of text) on a black backdrop. Viewers can redefine categories and star, like or share stories, with those behaviors further contributing to what Google displays.

Google Reader Play could be both an entertainment utility for browsing the web and a complement to your Google Reader experience. Actions that you take in Reader or Reader Play are shared between the two products, and the recommendations in Reader Play are personalized based on the people you’re following in Reader.

Google Reader Play is certainly eye-catching, but it’s more pop than it is substance. In fact, given that Google Reader appeals to fairly narrow audience today, we believe the product was intended to up the entertainment factor and introduce Reader-esque features to a much broader set of users.

It’s nice to look at and worth a try; whether or not that’s enough to attract the attention of those outside the web/tech realm remains to be seen. We do, however, think that Google Reader Play on an iPad or actual TV set, say via something like Boxee Box, would be worth watching.

Tags: Google, google reader, google reader play, tv

Editor’s note: In the following guest post, Fliqz CEO Benjamin Wayne reveals some of the secrets of using video to help boost the search results rankings of your website. Fliqz is an online video platform.

As most search engine optimization (SEO) experts are aware, getting a first-page Google result is harder than ever. Not only do Google’s search and indexing algorithms continue to evolve in complexity, but Google has given over more and more of its search results real estate to “blended” search results, displaying videos and images towards the top of the first page, and pushing down—and sometimes off the page—traditional web results that would have otherwise competed for top rankings.

But where problems arise, so do opportunities. Although Google’s newfound enthusiasm for video has created more competition for fewer traditional search results, it has enabled sites with video assets—even sites that would otherwise score poorly in the Google index—to successfully achieve first-page rankings. In fact, Forrester Research found that videos were 53 times more likely than traditional web pages to receive an organic first-page ranking.

Here’s what a blended search result looks like for the search query “777 built in 4 minutes“:

Those images at the top of the search results are video thumbnails, and today, there’s only two ways to get there:

1. Upload your video to YouTube.

The advantage of this is that you are 100% certain to be indexed into Google’s search engine. This does not guarantee you’ll get a first-page result, but at least it ensures that Google knows your content exists.

The drawback, of course, is that anyone who clicks on a YouTube result will be taken to YouTube, which may be fine if your goal is branding (i.e., you only care that people watch your video). If your goal is driving traffic, as is typically the case with SEO, this won’t be a successful strategy.

Your other alternative is:

2. Video SEO

Video SEO is a set of techniques designed to make sure that:

• Google finds your video content
• Google successfully indexes your video content
• Google will display your video content when specific keywords are entered as search terms

Here’s how to make it work:

You Need Video Content

Google is fairly flexible in what it considers to be video content. You can use actual video footage, but screen captures, slide shows, animated PowerPoint slides, and other content will work just as well. Google can’t actually “see” what’s inside the video content, so it relies on title and other meta-data to determine what content your video actually contains.

Submission, Not Discovery

With traditional web pages, Google utilizes crawlers to discover and index web content. Unfortunately, Google can’t read Flash very well (although it is trying), and as a result, most video content is invisible to Google’s search crawlers. Therefore, the best way to appear in Google’s blended search results is to submit your video to Google using a Video Sitemap. This is similar to an XML sitemap, but is formatted specifically for video, and only contains information about your video content. It is submitted using Google’s Webmaster Tools.

The most common error in Video SEO is to assume that because you have submitted the web page on which a video resides, that the video content itself is being indexed.

You’ll also need to make sure that you have a robots.txt file on all video pages, to ensure that Google can easily verify that the locations on the Web you’ve submitted do in fact exist, and that they contain embed codes which indicate the presence of a video.

Title and Title Tags

When ranking videos, Google primarily considers the match between search keywords and the video title. Although Google allows you to submit other meta-data such as description and keywords, these currently don’t have much influence on your search ranking. Google likes it when the title tag of the page matches the title of the video, and will give a higher weighting for results where this is the case.

Video SEO is Long Tail

Like traditional SEO, you’re much more likely to see results with Video SEO if you target more specific, or longer tail, search terms. A video titled “Dog” is unlikely to produce a first-page ranking, while a video titled “German Shepherd Police Dog” will be more likely to score well in Google’s algorithm. Since Google can’t determine the actual content of the video, you might consider submitting the same video multiple times with different titles that match potential search terms.

New and Small Don’t Matter

With traditional SEO, the age of a website is an important consideration for Google in deciding its ranking. Google also considers things like the number of pages on the site, and the number of links to the site, along with the importance of the places those links originate.

In Video SEO, none of this matters. This means that even new sites and small sites can compete on equal footing with larger and more established players. Publishers who are too small or too new to even consider traditional SEO can still be taking advantage of Video SEO opportunities.

For the Foreseeable Future, Video SEO is a Winning Strategy

As time goes by, Google’s discovery and indexing of video content will no doubt become more sophisticated, and as competition for video results increases, it will become harder for sites to achieve these first-page rankings. However, the number of web pages still massively outnumbers indexed video assets, and for as long as that continues, publishers will have an opportunity to jump to the top of Google’s search results through Video SEO.

With the iPad hitting pre-order in two days and shipping in April, it's important to think about when and why to buy the iPad. Based on our understanding of the product lifecycle and expected moves by Apple's competitors, we foresee big changes in the ultraportable landscape with the ultraportable/netbook as we now know it mutating - or branching - into a new species of media oriented Win7 and Android devices. Here's what we can expect. April 3, 2010 - Big launch. Light crowds at the Apple Store. This isn't huge-huge. It's medium-huge and I don't think you're going to see an army of the pasty arriving at your local shop clamoring for iPads. This is Apple's wait and see product, although I don't doubt between 3-5 million won't wait and see in 2010. May-June 2010 - Chinese knock-offs will flood the market and we'll see a nice collection of weird, mutated slates hitting the more esoteric sites. Nothing major and no big sellers. Summer 2010 - Dell and HP release their devices. Dell's is called the Mini 5 AKA the Streak and HP's as of yet unamed. These guys will wait until the waters have been fully tested before they move with their devices.

Earlier this year, Google landed a “landmark” deal with Global Cricket Ventures, the licensing partner to the Indian Premier League (IPL), which would give them the so rights to live stream cricket matches from the IPL on YouTube. This is a huge deal because the streaming of the 2010 IPL season (which starts on Friday and lasts for 45 days) is the first time a large-scale global sporting event will be streamed; with the reach expected to be at least a half-a-billion viewers. Now of of India’s largest gaming companies, Indiagames, has bought the official gaming rights to the IPL tournament to deliver games around the Indian cricket tournament.

Indiagames will be launching a series of web and mobile apps throughout the next 45 days. The first app, called IPL Indiagames T20 Fever, is an online game that uses Facebook Connect to allow users to create cricket teams consisting of both Facebook friends and IPL professional cricketers. The game will also include micro-transaction support, allowing users to users to virtually buy IPL players to improve their chances of becoming the IPL Champion.

A second, not yet released online game, called ‘IPL Indiagames 140Cricket’ will be based on a “Cricket Manager” concept and will target Twitter and Facebook users to construct and manage teams. The gaming company will also be rolling out a Facebook game as well. Indiagames partnered with Facebook to develop all three of the games.

While the IPL tournament will be streaming on YouTube, the fact that the official game will have a presence on Facebook will certainly draw Indian cricket fans to the social network. This should help give Facebook an edge over rival social network Orkut in India.

Sonos, the Santa Barbara, California based startup that develops of wireless multi-room music systems, is taking a new round of financing from London-based Index Ventures, we’ve heard from multiple sources. Partner Mike Volpi, a forcer Cisco exec who found himself in the middle of a huge drama last year around eBay’s Skype spinoff, will join the board of directors of Sonos.

Volpi will bring real expertise to the Sonos board. As recently as 2007 he ran an $11 billion routing and access products busines for Cisco. He clearly knows how to sell products at scale.

Sonos has been around since 2003 and has raised some $40 million from private angel investors and BV Capital. Until last year the company sold very high end music products that users loved passionately, but the mutli-thousand dollar price point for a complete system made mainstream penetration difficult.

But in 2009 Sonos began selling a new product, the S5 music system, that users control via their iPhone. The S5 is just $400 and has driven “massive growth” says the company.

Like Flip last year, Sonos likely had a choice between selling now or raising new money for major expansion. Flip sold to Cisco. Sonos, it seems, is taking more money, but adding an ex-Cisco exec as well. Perhaps they’ll get their cake and eat it, too.

Sonos wouldn’t comment on this story. But we believe the deal will close and be announced in the next week or two.

When it comes to competition, CNN president Jon Klein fears Facebook. The man at the top of the news network believes that the social network is more of a threat to his business than other broadcast media organizations.

In a recent question-and-answer session with BusinessWeek, Klein specifically states, “We want to be the most trusted source,” and, “I’m more worried about the 500 million or so people on Facebook versus the 2 million on Fox.”

The intriguing statements come just weeks after Hitwise released data showing that Facebook’s new role is becoming that of a news site. As a news portal and discovery engine, Facebook has the power to make or break a story, a power that clearly threatens the rank and file of the old media elite.

Where we discover news is no doubt changing, but that’s not all bad news for CNN. We tend to think that the power wielded by newsies on Facebook could prove to be an advantage for CNN should the network really cater to the social networking crowd.

For example, in recent months we’ve seen the ratings of award shows skyrocket; part of the ratings bump correlates with web denizens experiencing the televised broadcast with their friends, family and followers online. It would seem logical then that TV and online can coexist in a mutually beneficial relationship.

As for CNN’s immediate future, Klein’s comments also indicate distinct strategies for web and broadcast. Moving forward the company plans to continue with video content on CNN.com and ramp up affiliate deals with the likes of HBO and Time Inc.

So where do you get your news: CNN or Facebook?

Disclosure: Mashable has a content syndication partnership with CNN.

[img credt: Pragmagrapher]

Tags: cnn, facebook, media, News, trending, tv

This year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) festival is rapidly approaching. Beginning with the Interactive Media events on March 12th, Austin, Texas will be the place to connect with the brightest in tech and media and get the scoop on some exciting new ventures.

Whether you plan to physically attend or not, social media will be critical to how people connect and share ideas at this world-class event. If you want to keep in touch with all the goings-on, look no further than these tools that you can use on the web, your mobile device, and your favorite social networks.

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For Those Headed to Austin

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While in-person networking is the goal of many, social media will be key in bringing interested parties together across this vast festival that this year is spread across four separate campuses. If you’ll be in attendance, check out these resources for staying connected.

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The Official SXSW First-Timers Guide

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If you’re brand new to SXSW and feeling a bit overwhelmed at the scope, the first-timers guide has a wealth of resources to assist the uninitiated. These include links to online registration (if you still need to sign up), hotel booking, scheduling tools, maps, and this informative video.

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my.SXSW and QR Coded Badges

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The official social network of the festival is my.SXSW, and you are automatically invited to join upon registering. This closed network, just for attendees, allows users to build personalized conference schedules, join exclusive groups, and connect with others at the festival.

The addition of QR codes on registered badges gives attendees with smartphones an added way to solidify in-person connections. Simply scan a new friend’s personalized QR code and you’ll automatically be following him or her within the my.SXSW network.

For additional ways to utilize the my.SXSW network, check out the info on their tools page.

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SXSW2010 Event Calendar on sched.org

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Sched.org is an interactive calendar with social media integration that makes it ideal for festivals like SXSW. An “unofficial” but highly useful calendar has been created for SXSW that will give you an overview of each day’s events, talks and panels.

Sign in with Facebook Connect or Twitter and start compiling a list of the events you’ll be attending. By clicking on a particular event, you can also see who else is attending, and view real-time updates about the event from other attendees on social networks. With a bit of effort, this tool could become your go-to social dashboard and connection builder for the entire festival.

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SitBy.Us

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Social media aficionados will be converging on Austin from all over the U.S. and the world. It’s likely that some of your Twitter friends will be in attendance while you’re there.

Don’t let an opportunity for an in-person meeting slip by. SitBy.Us is a useful tool that lets you see which panels your Twitter friends will be attending, and even where in each room they will sit.

By logging in with your Twitter account (via OAuth), SitBy.Us provides a mobile-optimized web interface that allows you to plan and coordinate panel attendance with people you’re looking to connect with in person (and perhaps even avoid those you don’t!).

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SXSW Badges for Foursquare

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Foursquare has created 16 new SXSW-specific badges for those location-based networkers who are Austin bound. What’s more, if you do unlock a badge, you can track down a Foursquare team member at the festival and claim a temporary tattoo with the mark of honor.

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Cliqset’s SXSW Map

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Cliqset.com has created a real-time map that aggregates all of the geo-tagged activity in the festival area of Austin. Pulling in data from the major location-based social networks (Brightkite, Flickr, Foursquare, Gowalla, Qik, and Twitter), the map will give you a bird’s eye view of who is at SXSW, where they are, and what they’re doing.

Click a pinpoint on the map to expand the user’s status update. It should be interesting to see the map fill up with notes come festival time this Friday.

Disclosure: Cliqset is a Mashable sponsor

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Mashable’s Austin Real-Time

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Looking to connect with like-minded festival goers or other attendees from your hometown? Check out Mashable’s own Austin Real-Time Network. Sign in with your Twitter, Facebook, or Cliqset ID and browse or search for other festival patrons by common interest or location. By adding yourself to the network, you can also share what you’re doing and where you are via your favorite social networks.

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For Those Who Will Watch from Afar

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If you’re not able to make it to Austin this year, don’t fret. The magic of social media and the web can bring the festival within reach. While you may not be able to hob-knob with your favorite tech and music geeks in the warm Austin sun, you can still get your SXSW fix with these resources.

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The Official SXSW Twitter and Facebook Accounts

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Being the socially-savvy team that they are, the crew behind the festival does a good job keeping their fans and followers in the know. If you want to keep an eye on developments in Austin, be sure to add these official channels to your social feeds.

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SXSW Videos

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Though not officially connected to the festival, SXSW Videos is a user-generated destination for footage from the event.

Powered by Viddler, the site lets you browse videos that come out of SXSW (in various categories, including Interviews, Shows, Bands, etc.) as well as upload your own if you’re in attendance.

The content can be a bit of a grab-bag, but if you’re looking for some first-hand video accounts of what’s happening on the ground, check in there every once in a while.

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SXSW Blogs

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Searching for other ways to live vicariously through the SXSW attendees? Dedicated blogs are a good way to stay in the loop.

The Unofficial SXSW Insider’s Guide is a blog/community built with Ning where festival attendees (and interested parties who couldn’t make it) can blog, upload photos, and discuss events.

You can browse the site blog-style to see what people are up to, or connect with individual members to get a more social scoop.

SXSW Baby is another unofficial blog that will be covering the events throughout the festival.

Currently, they have quite a few tips for those who are enroute to Austin. But if you’ll be checking in from home, stay tuned for further updates as the festival kicks off this Friday.

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Mashable’s SXSWi Channel

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Of course you can always stay up to date on the latest news coming from Austin with Mashable’s own channel, dedicated to the Interactive Media portion of the festival. Members of our team will be on the ground in Austin to get you the social media and tech scoops that are sure to break in the days ahead.

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More SXSW resources from Mashable:

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- 3 Things to Do Before MashBash SXSWi This Sunday Night

- Coming to SXSW? Add Yourself to Austin Realtime!

Tags: BLOGS, cliqset, facebook, festival, foursquare, gowalla, location-based, networking, ning, social media, social networks, sxsw, sxsw2010, twitter

Sony has named its forthcoming PlayStation 3 motion controller “PlayStation Move.” The controller is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Microsoft’s Project Natal for Xbox 360 — a way to use motion to play video games instead of (or at least in addition to) buttons.

The controller was originally announced at the E3 interactive entertainment conference last year, but it was not named. Since then people have simply called it “the PlayStation motion controller.” It’s good to have a name to work with even though it’s a straightforward one.

Move is expected to launch in Fall of 2010, right next to Microsoft’s competing Project Natal peripheral for the Xbox 360. Both devices will use cameras to track movements, but the similarities end there. Move uses a spherical light which is tracked by the camera in concert with internal sensors. Natal on the other hand uses 3D camera technology to track the entirety of the player’s body without a controller.

Sony plans to charge under $100 for a package including Move, the PlayStation Eye camera and one game. The pitch: It’s far more accurate than Nintendo’s Wii remote, so it will appeal to hardcore gamers who play difficult games, not just casual gamers who enjoy party games.

Move will be supported by new games Ape Escape, Echochrome 2, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, plus old games LittleBigPlanet, Flower, and Resident Evil 5. Others are planned too.

[img credit: Kotaku]

Tags: GDC, gdc-2010, motion controls, nintendo wii, playstation 3, playstation move, sony, video games, wii remote

Twitter is a part of my everyday life, as it probably is yours. I am often tweeting at home, while I’m working. Many times there is a laundry basket full of clothes next to me and my son’s shoes scattered on the floor right inside the door. I always have papers all over my desk that should be placed neatly in the file cabinet, but somehow that always falls to the bottom of the priority list.

When I saw this short little film recently released with the cutest Twitter birds ever flying in and out of socks in a laundry room with a file cabinet, I could instantly relate and I fell in love with it. There is only one problem, I don’t know if the creators of this film intended it to be a Twitter movie. It seems so obvious to me, but I can’t seem to find a Twitter reference anywhere.

One thing is for sure, when Pleix Piu and Warm and Fuzzy created this film, they wanted us to smile and to be playful for one minute during your day. According to http://www.gangfilms.com, Pleix is a community of digital artists (graphic designers, 3D artists, and musicians) based in Paris. Warm & Fuzzy, Inc. was founded by Edward Grann in 2007 and is an internationally based production company with offices In Paris, Berlin and NY.

This production company definitely lived up to its name, because this film is warm and fuzzy for sure.

Are you going to be in Austin, Texas for South by Southwest? So will I. So will Justin Levy and Colin Bower from New Marketing Labs. While we’re there, I’m definitely up for business meetings with people interested in talking about upcoming projects. I don’t like making set time meetings at the event, because things are a whirlwind. That said, when we get it narrowed down to a day, we can usually do okay on getting a meeting set up.

I’m also going to be out and about for some socialization, naturally. I won’t be going to many of the parties. I just don’t like the crush of the crowds, the loud music, and the waiting in very long lines. I’ll be in the halls and the blogger’s lounge and the Pepsi area at SXSW. I’ll dip in and out of sessions. I’m speaking on Saturday the 13th with Julien at 12-something-PM. The panel is “I don’t trust you one stinkin’ bit.”

On Monday the 15th, I’ll be with Tim Hayden and others at the AT&T Conference Center for part of the day for Get Ready to Live, an event with UT Austin that will explore the future of marketing and where all this social and experience marketing stuff is going.

I’m There To Meet You

Don’t be shy. If there are lots of people, just come on up and say hi. It’s why I’m there. If you’re normally shy, PRETEND you’re not shy. Want some hints on how? Here’s my post on how to be sexier in person.

By all means, make sure you say howdy do. I’ll be there for all of Interactive. I can’t stay for the Music part. That means you have about 5 days to try and connect. I won’t see your @ messages on Twitter, but will dip into my direct messages as often as I can.

The worst thing you could possibly do is tweet me a few days later and say, ” I saw you but didn’t want to interrupt you.” That’s why I’m there. Please come say hi.

The Business Card Thing

Here’s a test. Let’s see if you remember this when we meet.

Unless you want to do business with me, don’t give me a business card. We both know how to reach each other, so unless one of us asks for one, let’s not hand them out. We tend to give out business cards because we’ve been taught this is what to do. It’s not. It’s the old way. In the old way, we just blast people with messages whenever WE need something. In the new way, you and I should only exchange cards if we’re looking to do future business. Otherwise? We roughly know how to reach each other, don’t we?

Save a card. Save the planet. Rewire the way humans do business.

Can’t Wait to See You

This event is quite social. It’s a great way to meet lots of people you haven’t seen before in person. They’re all just people, just like you. Never treat people like they’re gods and you’re there to worship. They’re all just people. The biggest names in the world that I’ve ever wanted to meet are just people. And you know what? If they ACT fancy? That’s because they’ve got low self-esteem. That’s not your issue.

Let’s say hi at the event, okay? And more interestingly, let’s think about what we can do that would have some IMPACT while we’re there.

Good?

Web-based Twitter client Brizzly has three major developments to report: a new free iPhone app, a new Brizzly Guide (which gives trending topics on Twitter their own hub pages as permanent resources for information on the top Twitter discussion items over time), and the acquisition of WikiRank.

The Brizzly Guide is a user-editable area that fleshes out the backstory and adds contextual information to Twitter trends. Loading up the Guide shows the top 10 current trending topics at the left, and either a description of that topic or a prompt to be the first to explain the trend.

Taking cues from wiki-style user-editable sites like Wikipedia, the Brizzly Guide encourages users to curate the landing pages that will act as resources for current and past Twitter trends over time.

The free Brizzly iPhone app is available now in the App Store, featuring multiple account support, lists, photo uploads, saved searches syncing, classic-style retweet functionality, and support for the new Brizzly Guide with user-editable trends and news topics.

Further evidence of Brizzly’s adoption of wiki-style philosophy comes with the announcement of the company’s acquisition of Wikirank, an app that visualizes Wikipedia data and will soon, presumably, help visualize Brizzly data and build out a more robust Brizzly Guide. Wikirank displays popular and trending pages in a clean and easy-to-use interface. CEO Jason Shellen said of the acquisition, “We will be integrating Wikirank technology into the Brizzly Guide over the coming months,” so we should expect to see more from the Twitter client surrounding trending and data visualization in the near future.

Are you a Brizzly user? What do you currently use to monitor Twitter trends?

Tags: brizzly, iphone, iphone apps, twitter

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South by Southwest is a serious event; people from all walks come to Austin, TX for a long weekend of panels, politics, and persuasion. After all that hard work, everyone wants to unwind and get loose.

Here are 15 parties that you can’t miss if you’re in Austin this weekend:

15. Mozilla SxSW Happy Hour - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=310283178032

Whenever Mozilla throws a party, it’s usually a blast. They have good food, free drinks, and lots of schwag.

14. theMIX agency presents (#thePARTY) - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=344022756281

Finding musical performances during the “interactive” part of the conference is actually pretty easy. Bands want to come to Austin a little early and warm up their chops. Performing at this party is Holy Ghost, Classixx, and Sososoon. Over 1,100 RSVPs on Facebook already, so you better RSVP now.

13. The Barbarian Group and StumbleUpon present Forbidden Frontier - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=368573730983

The Mohawk is an awesome venue in Austin. There are different levels and stages and it’s the definition of a dive bar. My kind of party.

12. Girls in Tech SXSWi Happy Hour - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=322011052761

Girls in Tech is a great organization to be a part of. Their happy hour is also located at one of the best Brazilian steak houses in Austin: Fugo de Chao.

11. Firefox Add-ons “All-You-Can-MiniGolf” Austin Meetup - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=335878995899

I don’t think you can ever go wrong with mini-golf. Peter Pan Mini-Golf has 100 confirmed guests and counting. They cap it at 150, so sign up now!

10. Windows Phone Techset Party - http://sxswtechset.eventbrite.com/

Reading the description of this one, you would think Lady Gaga was performing. Techset has been known to throw great parties, so stop by here if you want a great time, and a peek at Microsoft’s latest mobile creation.

9. The SXSW Street Food Scavenger Hunt - http://www.foodspotting.com/guides/51

I’m obsessed with Foodspotting. These guys have been working hard to create a scavenger hunt across Austin.

How could you pass up the opportunity to eat Pancake Tacos or a Korean Hot Dog?

8. Gary Vaynerchuk’s Secret Wine Party

Some of the best parties at SxSW are the ones that are planned at the last minute. In 2009, wine wizard Gary Vaynerchuk threw a last minute wine party (pics).

It was fun because it was spontaneous and unexpected. Gary is planning to do another one this year:

7. gdgt live in Austin - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=337245508795

Ryan Block’s gdgt is having a huge party and meetup at the Austin Music Hall. The list of companies attending is insane, it could be it’s own conference: AMD, AnyClip, Aviary, Boxee, Buffalo Technology, Chinon, Dell, DivX, FLO TV, HTC, Incipio, Logitech, Mimoco, Pandora, Popoplug, Roku, Sling, Sonos, Sony, WD, and Windows Phone.

6. Gowalla Tiki Room - http://gowalla.com/sxsw

Some say that Gowalla has the advantage over any location service because they have the home field advantage (Alamofire is based in Austin).

The tiki-themed party sounds like a blast, with a music performance by Diplo.

To get VIP access to this party, follow these steps:

During SXSW we’ll be scattering hundreds of Tiki Room Digital VIP Passes around downtown Austin. The only way to get yours is to check in with Gowalla at other Austin venues and SXSW events. The Tiki Room VIP Passes on Gowalla will be the only guaranteed way to get into the Tiki Room. If you’re not part of the community already, you should join Gowalla.

So far, this event has more RSVPs on Facebook than any other event (2,634 at the time of this writing).

5. Happy Cogaoke - http://ok.cogaoke.com/

A bunch of geeks signing karaoke.

Especially with contestants like Naylor Swift and Soul Sisters, you don’t want to miss this. Prizes include a bunch of Adobe software and a Gowalla branded iPod.

4. Skip Intro » Hosted by Foursquare, Brizzly, and Katalyst - http://plancast.com/a/1j70

This one is meant to be huge.

Foursquare, Brizzly and Katalyst (Ashton Kutcher’s production company) are throwing down Monday night at Cedar Street Courtyard.

Something else worth noting is that Foursquare will be outside the Austin Convention Center handing out shirts and real-life badges. There will be an actual game of Four square going on too! There are 16 new badges you can collect in Austin this weekend.

3. Ning RVIP Karaoke Lounge - http://ningrvip.com/

Full disclosure: I’m a web developer for Ning. The RVIP Karaoke Lounge will transport SxSW attendees from party to party, while letting them sing karaoke, drink some beers, and flaunt their interests and passions on Ning’s social platform.

A crew of Ning employees have been planning this for months now. We have a Foursquare badge and I’m working on getting a special Gowalla item for the RV. If you are in town, definitely check this one out.

2. Geobash at the Pure Volume House - http://geoba.sh

Location is the hot topic this year, no matter how much you are sick of hearing about it. The Pure Volume House has a lot of cool events you should check out, but this one should be monsterous.

1. Big Digg Shindigg with The Walkmen - http://bit.ly/94bajY

Last year, the folks at Revision3 put on a huge production of Diggnation with Kevin Rose and Alex Albrect. I have never seen so many people gathered in one place to see a “web show”.

This year, The Walkmen are performing, notably one of the biggest music acts to play during interactive week. Big Digg Shindigg is also at one of my favorite venues: Stubb’s BBQ.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Diggnation, you should still check out the Shindigg. There is incredible energy, and it feels like a concert in a dude ranch with beer.

Some other notable parties this year:

The Official SxSW Interactive Kick-Off, Sponsored by UStream - http://plancast.com/a/von

Chaotic Moon Studios Launch Party - http://plancast.com/a/1f51

Groupon Recovery Breakfast - http://grouponsxsw2010.eventbrite.com/

Buzz Out Loud Meetup - http://buzzoutloudsxsw.eventbrite.com/

20×2 - http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/5288

SXSW Digital Speakeasy with AnyClip, blip.tv & Pepsico - http://digitalspeakeasy.eventbrite.com/

Quora Meetup - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=336364702196

#BATHH Big Ass Twitter Happy Hour - http://plancast.com/a/1d4s

State of Now: 140 Conference SXSW Cocktail Party - http://140sxsw.eventbrite.com/

PBS & Friends at SxSW - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=324728630747&index=1

Plancast has been the best place for me to find parties. Also, I have been updating the @sxswparty account on Twitter non-stop. You should follow it to see where all the secret parties are.

Newly independent Aol is still struggling with the fate of Bebo, the social network they acquired for $850 million in 2008.

No one argues that Aol overpaid for Bebo. And the social network has fallen from 22 million monthly unique visitors when it was acquired to just 14.6 million today (Comscore worldwide). But even so, Bebo clearly has some value on the open market.

Despite that value, Aol’s best financial option for Bebo will likely be to abandon it rather than sell it, say corporate tax experts we’ve spoken with.

Here’s why – complicated corporate tax rules will let Aol write off the full purchase price of Bebo if they declare it worthless and abandon the asset. With Aol’s effective tax rate of around 45%, that’s $380 million and change in their pocket in taxes that they’d be able to avoid.

A sale of Bebo would almost certainly be less attractive. If someone were to pay them $100 million for the service, which is optimistic, Aol could still offset the remaining $750 million as a tax loss. But it could only apply against long term capital gains, and Aol doesn’t have any to offset against. They’d have to carry that loss forward and hope for future gains to offset it against.

One corporate tax attorney we spoke with wouldn’t discuss Aol specifically, but did confirm the logic of the approach. Bryan Smith, a partner at Perkins Coie, says “Without getting into any specific facts or companies, it will often be more attractive for a U.S. corporation to simply shut down a subsidiary and claim a deduction for the worthlessness of the stock against ordinary income instead of selling the stock at a distressed price and taking a capital loss, which may only offset capital gains.”

If Aol were to abandon Bebo they couldn’t pull any of the assets of the company back into Aol, say the experts we’ve spoken with. Otherwise it becomes a non-taxable liquidation. If Aol had debt or preferred stock on the books with Bebo, though, they could pull out assets to offset that liability.

Eyeblaster, an online advertising firm, has filed for a $115 million IPO according to a recent SEC filing. This is actually Eyeblaster’s second bid for a $115 million IPO — they filed for one at the same price early in 2008, before the IPO market dried up.

The company makes a variety of products, including MediaMind, which is an ad serving and campaign management tool. Last year the company earned $65.1 million in revenue, up from $44.7 million in 2007. The New York-based company was founded in 1999 and has 36 offices around the world.