To promote its fall lineup, the CW is putting LCD screens running video clips and a live Twitter feed—tweets by and mentions of @CW_Network—in copies of Entertainment Weekly's Oct. 5 issue. This is pretty thrilling, because I wasn't sure print magazines still existed. The move follows the trend of using Twitter to boost new shows (Fox recently premiered Raising Hope on the platform). For the CW insert, Emily Owens M.D. will be the initial focus, and the network says bad language in tweets will be censored, but negative comments will remain. Negative comments about CW shows? On the Internet? Who in their wildest dreams could imagine such a thing? Hey, CW: Bring back Fly Girls and Farmer Wants a Wife! How long must a nation mourn?
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How A Startup Accidentally “Hacked” Shark Tank With A QR Code
If you’re reading TechCrunch, you’re probably already seeing the implications of banning URLs but allowing a full-on configurable QR code on screen are.
“They ban web addresses from all of the materials,” Gee told me, “Yet they were totally cool with me having a QR code, a forever update-able URL.”
When Scan created the QR code for use on the show, it originally pointed to a dummy URL that went nowhere, and monitored it on their dashboard just to make sure the demos would work. In fact, all of Gee’s devices were in airplane mode during the filming, so they wouldn’t have gone anywhere in the first place.
Sass & Bide Launches the World’s First 360-Degree Shoppable Campaign
Australian label Sass & Bide is looking to make a huge splash with a cutting-edge, first-of-its kind ad campaign dubbed “Freetown.” Fronted by high-fashion favorite model Aline Weber and shot by Terry Gates, the digital campaign allows you to manually navigate the brand’s new collection with a full 360-degree view, zooming in and out to view product details and—if you like what you see—shop each item. The campaign “drops” you into Sass & Bide’s latest collection, and you can click on any piece to buy it.
Remember HTC's Google Googles Ad?
HTC took a step beyond QR codes with its ad campaign for the Sensation 4G. Consumers could interact with the ads using Google Goggles. People who viewed the outdoor, print and TV ad could use the Google app to capture an image and get extra content. For instance, if you scan a scene from the TV spot, you can download a video of YouTube star Maria Aragon.
Bus shelter ads in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle also led to the song “Bring Us Closer Together” by indie rock group Hooray For Earth. Digital ads also unlocked custom content from Funny or Die. Deutsch LA created the campaign.
Smartphone Users Worldwide Will Total 1.75 Billion in 2014
eMarketer expects 4.55 billion people worldwide to use a mobile phone in 2014. Mobile adoption is slowing, but new users in the developing regions of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa will drive further increases. Between 2013 and 2017, mobile phone penetration will rise from 61.1% to 69.4% of the global population, according to a new eMarketer report, “Worldwide Mobile Phone Users: H1 2014 Forecast and Comparative Estimates.”
People-Powered Publishing Is Changing All the Rules
Self-publishing used to be synonymous with unprestigious "vanity publishing," where well-off authors who couldn't get their books into print by traditional means paid small, independent presses to publish them. But with the advent of e-books, social reading sites and simple digital self-publishing software and platforms, all that has changed. An increasing proportion of authors now actively choose to self-publish their work, giving them better control over their books' rights, marketing, distribution and pricing.
FiftyThree Files for Trademark on 'Paper' After Facebook App Release
FiftyThree, the company behind popular iPad sketching app Paper, has filed for a trademark on the term "Paper" following the announcement of Facebook’s magazine-style news curation tool, also named Paper.
First discovered by TechCrunch, the trademark was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 30, the same day Facebook initially unveiled its new app. As noted by FiftyThree co-founder Georg Petschnigg in an open letter, FiftyThree was not given advanced notice of Facebook’s plans and was taken by surprise by the app release.
Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop
Marc Jacobs will open the doors to his Daisy fragrance pop-up store in Manhattan on Friday, but unlike other retail locations, no money will be exchanged. Instead, you can walk out with products in exchange for sending tweets, Instagram photos and Facebook posts.
Called the Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, located in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, the concept store is embracing "social currency." By snapping photos and posting messages with the hashtag #MJDaisyChain, visitors are awarded with Marc Jacobs-branded gifts when exiting the store. This ranges from perfume and necklaces to even purses (the best Instagram photo of the day will win a handbag). Each visitor then visits the front counter to receive a gift.
Yahoo Launching Digital Magazines, Starting With Food
Yahoo is getting into the magazine business.
During a keynote presentation at the Consumer Electronics CEO Marissa Mayer announced several new products, including a planned line of digital magazines, starting with Yahoo Food. A similar product is in the works for Yahoo Tech, which is being helmed by former New York Times columnist David Pogue.
Armed With Facebook Retargeting, Shazam Plans to Survive the Social TV Shake-Out
People who use Shazam to "tag" the game's broadcast this year will be shown a new Twitter-like timeline. The live content feed will document the game -- from tweets to photos to ads -- and is designed to keep people using Shazam for the duration. But even if people tune in and out of the app, Shazam has created a new ad-retargeting program that plugs into Facebook.
I am Porter
British online retailer Net-A-Porter.com is promoting the upcoming debut issue of its print magazine Porter with an application that allows consumers to place their photos onto a digital image of the publication’s cover.
The “I am Porter” app is tied into a social media contest, where consumers can enter to win a shopping spree on the online retailer by posting their magazine cover for their followers. Due to the incentive of the contest, these user-generated images will likely spread across social media and create buzz for Porter.
The State of the Android in 2014
It's been an interesting year so far for the Android world. Just a month into 2014, organizational plans for Android have been set and the groundwork laid for the rest of the year. Google sold Motorola's smartphone division to Lenovo, and the reported sales of Android devices are projected to reach 1 billion users for the first time.
Best Buy Early Adopters
Best Buy window displays... smart use of QR!
Bitcoin explores QR codes
Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system.
Inspire the next generation!
Connect young people to the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math.
Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) is a five-year, $100 million cash and in-kind philanthropic initiative to address America’s declining proficiency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), which puts our children at risk of not competing successfully in a global economy.
Using its media assets, TWC creates awareness of the issue and inspires students to develop the STEM skills they need to become the problem solvers of tomorrow.
App Downloads Nearly Doubled on Christmas Day
Three in 10 mobile device owners planned to download apps on December 25.
Mobile devices seem to be entrenched firmly into the holiday spirit: Not only does an increasing share of holiday shopping get transacted on mobile phones and tablets, including on Thanksgiving Day during what used to be designated “family time,” but holiday mobile use goes beyond the utilitarian. Christmas Day has become a major occasion for app downloads.
According to Flurry, downloads of apps tracked by the service were up 91% on Christmas Day compared with the average day during the first three weeks of December. And while this spike is large, it’s smaller than those that occurred in 2011 and 2012, when app downloads more than doubled on Christmas Day compared with a normal day.
Google sells Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion
Google is selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, giving the Chinese smartphone manufacturer a major presence in the US market. Lenovo will buy Motorola for $2.91 billion in a mixture of cash and stock. Google will retain ownership of the vast majority of Motorola's patents, while 2,000 patents and a license on the remaining patents will go to Lenovo. At the deal's closing, Lenovo will pay Google $660 million in cash and $750 million in stock, while the remaining $1.5 billion will be paid out over three years.
Apple Is Falling Behind in the Smartphone Game
Apple increased global iPhone shipments by 13% last year, but its growth rate is lagging behind competitors in the smartphone space — arguably the company's most important market.
In 2013, Apple shipped 153.4 million iPhones, up from 135.9 million in 2012. However, Samsung, one of Apple's biggest smartphone competitors, increased shipments from 219.7 million to 313.9 million, marking 43% growth. This is compared the overall market, which grew by 38.4%.
Daqri
DAQRI is the world’s leading augmented reality developer, providing custom software and creative solutions to clients across a broad spectrum of industries. From groundbreaking interactive consumer marketing campaigns to multi-year industrial manufacturing deployments, we help businesses leverage the latest innovations in computer-human interaction.