David Lidsky's Blog, page 4834

Facebook May Use Eventbrite to Monetize Events

According to a swiftly removed Facebook page, the social networking giant may partner with Eventbrite to introduce monetized events. That means you can charge an entry fee to the events you organize, and Facebook and Eventbrite can both take a cut.

Some users stumbled onto facebook.eventbrite.com--don't bother going there now, it's been taken down, but before it was removed, Techcrunch snagged this screenshot. It says:

Collect Money for Your Event With Eventbrite

Eventbrite is partnering with...

A Visual Guide to Global Internet Use: Internet Addicts, Don't Move to the Democratic Republic of Congo

[image error]

The BBC put together a great interactive graphic that traces the percentage of a nation's populace that uses the internet every year, from 1998 to 2008--kind of a shorthand for development over the last decade.

The chart darkens each country as its internet-using percentage rises, so you can see the entire world get dramatically darker as the decade goes on. The description from 1998:

In 1998, just a few countries--Iceland, Sweden, and New Zealand--had extensive internet usage. In Africa, the...

Steam Comes to Mac OS, Single-Handedly Turns Mac Into a Legitimate Gaming Contender

Modern Apple computers are viable alternatives to Microsoft Windows computers in just about every way, except in one lucrative market: Gaming. Historically, Windows has been the only choice for computer gamers--until now. Steam is officially rolling out Mac support, and they've single-handedly removed a major selling point for Windows machines. This is big.

Gamers, and the industry that supports their habit, have chosen Windows in the past. Apple has been steadily increasing marketshare, but...

Facebook May Use Eventbrite to Monetize Events, but My Purim Parties Will Always Be Free

This is veeeery interesting: according to a swiftly removed Facebook page, the social networking giant may partner with Eventbrite to introduce monetized events. That means you can charge for entry to your events, and Facebook and Eventbrite can both take a cut.

Some users stumbled onto facebook.eventbrite.com--don't bother going there now, it's been taken down, but before it was removed, Techcrunch snagged this screenshot. It says:

Collect Money for Your Event With Eventbrite

Eventbrite is...

Survey: 75% of iPhone Users Have a Wholly Inappropriate Relationship With Their Phones

Today in insane, hilarious push polls: Apple iPhone addiction among college students. Conducted by Stanford University researchers, this poll actually asked whether respondents feel that their iPods are jealous of their iPhones. However, it missed a golden opportunity to ask if the students felt that their iPhones are jealous of their 30-racks of Natty Light (my estimate: 13.2% say yes).

The researchers surveyed 200 iPhone-owning students, 70% of whom have owned their iPhones less than one...

Think Before You Drink: The Art of the Drinking Straw

Good artists have a way with transforming the materials of everyday life into something memorable. For example: Drinking straws, which a number of artists and designers have used to create some pretty amazing objects. Here's five who've taken the medium down different paths.

Today in Most Innovative Companies

Daily news of note from our Most Innovative Companies, including Hulu, Warner Music Group, Google, and Microsoft

Hulu: Ever see those NFL commercials with the deep-voice growling, "If you want the NFL, go to the NFL"? Can't you hear just hear the true message underneath begging, "If you want the NFL, please stop going to ESPN." Well it looks like the NFL is expanding its operations online by adding a ton of content to Hulu, from team highlights to superbowl classics. Will this be enough to...

Work Smart: Avoid Office Distractions With Time Blocking

The most important decision you'll make today is about what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

[twistage f975f499540cb:]

In an interruption-driven culture, it's too easy to let everyone else decide where your attention goes and how to spend your next 10 minutes. If you jump every time your phone rings, a new email arrives, your Blackberry buzzes, or someone stops by your desk, you're undermining your most important work and costing your company money. A recent study shows that...

Futuristic New York and Sustainable Sao Paulo Projects Win Zumtobel Prize

How can we examine ways that the built environment impacts both sustainability and humanity? The Austrian-based Zumtobel Group created an award that focuses on those contributions in architecture and engineering that can improve quality of life. The Zumtobel Group Awards were announced today with a dozen bright ideas including the two winners: A creative work environment that's completed in Sao Paulo, and a visionary research proposal for a "self-sufficient" New York City.

In the built...

ChatRoulette Sparks "Next" Proxy War Between the U.S. and Russia

Andrey Ternovskiy, the 17-year-old creator of Chat Roulette, is now embroiled in a bidding war that pits the U.S. and Russia against each other over where the company will end up. Could it blow up like Facebook? Or fizzle like MySpace?

Andrey Ternovskiy, creator of Chat Roulette, just might be sitting on the hottest Internet property since Facebook was founded five years ago. But he's not American. He's Russian. And that's putting him smack in the middle of some powerful forces. On the one...