It’s no secret that we don’t like Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), the outdated 10+ year old browser still used by 15-25% of people on the web. Last year, we called for IE6 to die so that the web could move on with new innovations such as HTML 5.

Now Internet Explorer, specifically IE6, is under fire again after a critical IE vulnerability was implicated for the attack on Google’s infrastructure by Chinese hackers. While IE6 criticism is not a new phenomenon, last week’s events give those of us who advocate for the abolition of IE6 (myself included) new ammunition.

Whether you work for a company that won’t get rid of IE6 or have parents that just don’t see the need to ugprade, here are five new reasons to upgrade or switch browsers:

1. Your security and your company’s security are at risk: There’s no other way to lay it out: if the security of Google, Yahoo, and around 20 other companies were compromised due to people still running IE6, then your security is at risk too. Upgrading after a hacker uses this exploit to steal your information is simply too late, especially if you hold sensitive customer data.

2. World governments are suggesting you switch browsers: Both Germany and France have issued warnings about Internet Explorer, asking citizens to switch to prevent the same type of breach that affected Google.

3. Even Microsoft wants you to drop IE6: The Microsoft Security Research & Defense Blog specifically addressed the flaw and the risk of attack by platform. The most important part of the post was that they “recommend users of IE6 on Windows XP upgrade to a new version of Internet Explorer and/or enable DEP.”

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has asked people to voluntarily upgrade, but it is the first time that it’s been in response to an exploit or vulnerability. Think of it like a recall: would you keep driving a car that Toyota, Ford, or GM says could malfunction? Don’t make the same mistake with your computer’s security.

4. Not wanting to upgrade from Windows XP isn’t a legitimate excuse anymore: One way to delete IE6 is to upgrade your OS — both Windows Vista and Windows 7 run upgraded versions of the IE browser.

We understood why people didn’t want to upgrade when their choice was Windows Vista, but now that a very stable, solid, and secure upgrade is on the market (Windows 7), there’s no excuse not to upgrade. Yes, it’ll cost you up front, but it’s far cheaper than having your data stolen.

5. This will not be the last massive IE6 security breach: This flaw was unknown before Google’s groundbreaking China announcement. And it’s not the first flaw ever found with the browser — there are at least 142 vulnerabilities in IE6, 22 of which are not yet patched. Would you use armor that had 142 weak spots?

Last week’s series of events drove home just how dangerous and idiotic it is to run the long-broken IE6 browser. It should be a wake-up call to IT departments and users around the world: if you keep running a browser from 2001, you are throwing your online security right out the window.

Reviews: Google, Internet Explorer, Windows, Windows Vista

Tags: IE6, IE6 must die, internet explorer, microsoft

The Facebook group I’m With COCO (the same one that we wrote about last week) organized rallies to support The Tonight Show’s Conan O’Brien in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Seattle today.

Artist Mike Mitchell, who designed the now almost iconic group image, is tweeting the I’m With COCO rally right now, TwitPics and all.

The L.A. crowd is assembled right outside the studio where Conan and crew tape The Tonight Show, and they’re accompanied by stuntman Steven Ho, who was one of Conan’s first guests on the show. He made a YouTube video to promote the movement. The group has more than 300,000 fans.

The protesters are using signs courtesy of Signazon featuring the I’m With COCO image. The Facebook event page for the L.A. event has 1,600 confirmed guests and just over 1,000 maybes. Chicago’s event: 549 confirmed, 481 maybes. That’s a mighty impressive turnout for a show host who’s already definitely out of a job for now. Here’s the first TwitPic of the event.

Reviews: Twitpic

Tags: conan o'brien, facebook, i'm with coco, tv, twitpic, twitter

Joshua-Michéle Ross is SVP of Digital Strategy with Fleishman Hillard. He blogs at opposableplanets.com.

Social media has a loyal tribe of disciples. We follow each other on Twitter, connect on Facebook, read each other’s blogs and listen to each other at conferences. We provide each other moral support and though we are a minority, we have religion and we are here to change the world (I’m not joking).

Most importantly, we share stories. These stories are all about finding common ground and building a defensible position on the what/why/how of our new orthodoxy; what is “social”, why you need it, how it actually works and how you measure it.

In this giant food-mill of collective meaning making we are defining the significance of new terms and putting our arguments to the test. Like any self-interested group however, we easily slip into dogmas that serve our purposes but may not serve our clients. Lately I have become increasingly aware of the oversimplified answers that social media consultants apply, often regardless of business context.

So let me be the first to tell you: Social media may not be for you — yet.

Are You Willing to Act? Can You?

One of the most common issues big organizations have with social media is a reasonable fear that customers will air their grievances on a company-sponsored platform such as a blog, Twitter or Facebook page. The nearly universal response to this fear, one that has been hammered home at every conference, and in every blog post is, “your customers are already saying these things about you. Wouldn’t you rather have them talking on your site?” This response rings true because, by and large your customers are online –- and they do have the means to talk about you. If you are a sizable company and you look around it is very likely that someone, somewhere has said some pretty shocking things about you. Sometimes they even work for you.

The hackneyed “you better join the conversation” is often an appropriate response. But it isn’t always the appropriate response.

First, there is a difference between isolated criticism that a company may receive here and there on the Social Web from people of varying influence and veracity, and painting a target on your back by hosting that conversation.

Second, and more importantly, when an organization makes an investment in social media it is a constructive opportunity to consider not only what could go wrong, but why it could go wrong. In other words, what are the valid criticisms that customers and employees might have and what you are willing to do about it. If you aren’t willing to consider the former and have no power concerning the latter, social media might not be your best bet.

Be Prepared to Change All too often the person making the social media investment has little control over (1) the quality of the product, (2) the pricing strategy, (3) the terms of use, (4) the company’s stance on cause-based issues (political, environmental, etc.), (5) the quality of customer service, and the list goes on. Yet these are often exactly what the customer wants to talk about.

All too often the person making the social media investment has a narrow mandate — quarterly growth — that exists within a parochial frame of reference (“it’s still marketing, isn’t it?”). All too often the company has not thought through (or perhaps willfully ignored) what its response to criticism will be.

So it might not be the best idea to “join the conversation” if you just want to make your quarterly numbers. Don’t create a Facebook Fan Page if your product is a letdown. Don’t use Twitter if your intern will be running the campaign. Above all, don’t engage in social media if you aren’t prepared to change in the bargain.

Ultimately if your company is willing to take the feedback and turn it into action, then social media is a competitive game changer. Connecting with customers, partners and employees can drive innovation, decrease cycle time, improve customer service and so on. This usually involves bringing various internal constituents to the table; marketing, customer service, product development, legal etc. But social media isn’t for every company or every situation. It has a transformative power but, like fire, not everyone is ready to wield it without getting burned.

More business resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy
- The 10 Stages of Social Media Business Integration
- 18 Online Productivity Tools for Your Business
- HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry
- HOW TO: Use a Start Page to Stay Organized
- 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Social Media Contest
- HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI
- HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, timsa, lisegagne, topshotUK

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto

Tags: business, List, Lists, small business, social media, social networks, strategy

Greetings, music fans! After a bit of holiday hiatus, we’re happy to report it’s another Free Music Monday for your listening pleasure. If you’ve tuned in previously you’ll know we’re celebrating the #musicmonday tradition on Twitter.

We pick 10 tracks from around the web and offer you either links to the downloads or streams, or embed the streams when possible. Our last feature was a special Video Edition, and this week we’re catching up on the backlog of all your great submissions. Each entry this week includes at least one free MP3 download for your listening pleasure.

1. Brian Ray: “I Found You” — When not busy touring with Paul McCartney’s band, guitarist, bass player, songwriter and native Californian Brian Ray pens solo rock tunes like this. Stream it for free from the previous link and snag a free download too (right-click to save it to your desktop).

2. Róisín Murphy: “Momma’s Place” — Irish producer and singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy is perhaps best known as the former frontwoman for electronica duo Moloko, and has gone on to a critically acclaimed solo career. Right-click for a free download of her latest single, out now with an EP of remixes on iTunes [iTunes link].

3. Impediments: “You Want a Square” — Four teenagers from Oakland are responsible for this fun post-punk garage rock song with surf and psychedelia highlights. Snag a free download by right-clicking, grab another track from the Free Music Archive and check out the band on MySpace.

4. Jump Clubb: “A Frozen Hug” — A little bit of techno, a little bit of disco, a little bit of electropop and some various genres to taste. Grab two free MP3s from their site.

5. Matt McCloskey: “These Times Won’t Last” — Get Austin singer-songwriter Matt McCloskey’s full album as a free download for a limited time — just enter your e-mail address to receive the download link.

6. Milkman: Lactose and THC — San Diego-based mashup artist and producer Milkman has his sophomore release up for sale, but is offering his debut album for free streaming and download.

7. Kirsten DeHaan: “1984″ — Indie singer-songwriter Kirsten DeHaan offers Mashable readers a free download: right-click to snag the MP3 for “1984.” This New York-based artist recently put out the Thorns on a Crown EP, available from her website.

8. Elspeth: “Old Age” — Irish rockers Elspeth are a five-piece indie group who have been gigging widely in the UK since coming together in March 2009. Right-click for a free download of the “Old Age” MP3 and check out more about the band on their MySpace page.

9. Caroline Herring: “Tales of the Islander” — The fourth album from Atlanta-based Mississippi native Caroline Herring invokes Americana roots and iconic folk females with a mix of originals and covers showcasing Herring’s strong and complex vocals. She offers Mashable readers a free download of “Tales of the Islander” (right-click to snag it).

10. The Brothers Streep: “Anna Paquin” — Equal parts humorous and harmonious, The Brothers Streep serve up this tribute to the True Blood and X-Men star for your free download pleasure (right-click to get it). More free tunes are available on their website.

As always, thanks for tuning in! If you like Free Music Monday, please give us a push by sending it to your music-loving friends. You can find the latest edition of this feature by hitting up the Free Music Monday tag page, so please check back. We’ve appended the list of past Special Edition themed Free Music Mondays at the end of this post in case you missed any of the back catalog.

Thanks huge to everyone for the great submissions we’re getting. If you sent us tracks and we haven’t featured them yet, stay tuned for a future Free Music Monday. If you’d like to submit tracks for yourself or an artist you represent, give us a shout at barb AT mashable DOT com. Be sure to send us either a link to an embeddable stream or an MP3 or two we can use (no more than 25MB file size total please) and/or let us know which track(s) you’re willing to provide as a free download. Thanks everyone!

Free Music Monday Back Catalogue

- Alternative Rock Edition
- Covers, Remixes, and Mashups Edition
- Electronica Edition
- Hip-hop Edition
- Labor Day Edition
- Live Edition
- Rock and Pop Edition
- Singer-Songwriter Edition
- Video Edition
- Your Submissions Edition

Reviews: Mashable

Tags: free music monday, mp3s, music, social media

There’s an Phone app that will help you pass the bar exam and become a legit lawyer, but it will set you back $999.99. It’s called BarMax [iTunes link], and it hit the app store just a couple of days ago.

The version that’s up there now has content for the California bar, but the fact that it’s called the “California Edition” seems to imply that other versions will come.

The app was put together by “top iPhone developers” (the iTunes description doesn’t say who exactly) and Harvard law lawyers, and it includes 1,371 real MBE practice questions, practice essays, audio lectures, more than 1,000 flash cards, and e-mail support with Harvard lawyers (they’re really hitting the “Harvard” thing home here). It looks like a complete package — something you’d expect from a desktop app, not an iPhone app. And as steep as $1,000 sounds, the BarMax website claims that it’s one-fourth the cost of a prep course covering the same material.

It seems like this would do at least as well on the BlackBerry platform as it would on the iPhone platform, but the developers haven’t said anything about plans for other platforms.

Reviews: BlackBerry Rocks!, iPhone

Tags: apple app store, barmax, iphone

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: CheckingFinder.com

Quick Pitch: CheckingFinder.com is a search engine that offers users the ability to find, compare and open a high-interest checking account.

Genius Idea: Although the big U.S. banks might seem like the only choice around, smaller institutions can offer lots of perks, including higher interest rates, a lack of ATM usage fees and no minimum balances. If you’re willing to do your banking online, you can get an account with the best banks, even if you live in another state. That’s where CheckingFinder comes in.

Just enter in your zip code and you’ll get back a list of banks (all insured by the FDIC, NCUA or ASI) that you can open a checking account with. Most have a very low minimum deposit, require no minimum balance or monthly fees and will credit you a certain number of ATM fees each month.

What’s the catch? Well, some banks will require that you use an account for a certain number of transactions or that you have a direct deposit or bill pay system setup. If you don’t meet the requirements, you can still have the free account with no penalty, you’ll just get a base interest rate and have to pay your own ATM fees.

You can also sign up for an account in a process that CheckingFinder.com claims takes about seven minutes. Some banks will even offer free savings accounts in addition to the checking account, so if you’re interested in that, look over your options.

If you’re looking for alternatives to the bigger banks, CheckingFinder.com is a good place to start your search.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines).”

Reviews: PHP

Tags: banking, banks, checkingfinder.com, finance

It’s a brand new week, which means it’s time for Mashable’s guide to upcoming social media and web events, parties, and conferences. For more upcoming event listings, check out Mashable’s Events section.

Is your event not on this list? Contact us at least one month before your event and let’s establish a media partnership.

Mashable’s Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

January 20-22, 2010, Washington DC: Social Media for Defense and Government is a unique forum on the embracement, implementation and utilization of new media platforms that meet the Government’s goals of transparency that allow for more efficient internal and external communication. As the public develops their use of online tools for their personal, career and business development goals, DoD & Gov’t have made it their mission to reach the public via these new forms of media. The forum will provide insight into technologies including Twitter and Facebook as well as advanced elements such as the Government’s general information page, blogs, and closed social media suite. Mashable readers get an exclusive 20% discount off the standard pricing with special code IUS_MASH_SMTM_#1 when registering!

January 23, 2010, Virginia Beach, VA: Social Media @ The Beach is a place for anyone looking to “get their feet wet” and explore social media. It’s an interactive conference with the laid-back atmosphere of a meet-up. The January event will focus on two main goals: boosting personal social networking skills and developing professional social media marketing strategies. The event is open to everyone, drawing community members of all ages, backgrounds and levels of social media experience. Enter mashable for the discount code to receive 15% off ticket price.

January 26, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator.tv, a leading platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to broadcast themselves, and provider of news and information through VatorNews, and Girls in Tech, a social network enterprise focused on education and empowerment of influential women in technology, are hosting the Catalyst Competition to find five women-led startups across any stage to present at the Catalyst Conference. Ten finalists will be selected by their peers through an online competition. Join the competition today and get the vote out.

January 27-28, 2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Enterprise Social 2.0: RIP or ROI? This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximize business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions. Use promo-code MASH14 for a €100 (Euros) discount for the 2 day conference registration fee.

January 28, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The ARF Industry Leader Forum — Putting Listening to Work is an interactive event to help advertisers, agencies, media and research companies determine how to use social media and digital behavior for their listening strategies. Learn how to use listening, evaluate listening applications, develop a listening strategy, integrate it into your existing research program, create an action plan and apply insights garnered. Attendees will receive The ARF Foundations Series – Listening tool, an $895 value, featuring 25 case studies and 30+ company reviews how listening is used for consumer insight, customer service, new product development, reputation management, competitive benchmarking, and breaking into new applications like media planning, targeting and predictive modeling. Speakers include: Jeremiah Owyang, digital media strategy superstar and blogger and Partner, Customer Strategy, Altimeter Group, Toyota Motor Sales, Saatchi and Saatchi Wellness and LinkedIn. Mashable readers can use promo code ARFMASH to save $100.

January 28-29, 2010, Bilbao, Spain: The biggest Search Engines: Search Marketing and Online Marketing Event starts the new year in the north of Spain: Bilbao the TIC city! SC Bilbao will offer 9 professionals workshops, 8 Conferences and the glorious Closed Party! 2 days of learning and networking at “Palacio Euskalduna” . Come and share with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, SEMPO and the best Internet experts. There’s a special 30% discount on Conferences for all Mashable readers using the promotional code: ILOVESEARCH.

February 1-5, 2010, New York, London, Berlin, Toronto, San Francisco, São Paulo: Social Media Week’s second annual conference will take place between February 1st – 5th, 2010 simultaneously in New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto and São Paulo. The five day conference will explore the profound impact that social media has on culture, business communications and society at large. The week-long conference is designed as a series of localized events, which city partners are responsible for organizing. Over the course of the week and in each city, programs will span a variety of formats, ranging from talks, presentations and panel discussions, to interactive workshops, seminars, networking events and drinks receptions. RSVP here.

February 4, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator, a leading platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to broadcast themselves, is holding its inaugural Vator Splash competition to find 10 promising early-stage startups to present at the Vator Splash event. Enter the competition today and join other onstage presenters, such as Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Smule CEO Jeff Smith, August Capital VC Howard Hartenbaum and Google Ventures VC Bill Maris. Buy your 25% discount ticket today using the code: VatorMashable

February 8, 2010, Tampa, FL: The Social Media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one day, case study rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Tampa will have 30+ speakers including Chris Barger of GM, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group, and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). Get 15% off if using code mashable.

February 8-10, 2010, Philadelphia, PA: The 9th Annual ePharma Summit is the most innovative digital marketing event for pharma. Year after year, hundreds of marketing professionals from leading pharmaceutical companies attend ePharma for incomparable access to insider information for optimizing their brand strategy and perfecting consumer relationships. Join us next February to collaborate with industry leading industry minds and perfect your digital strategy by pursuing true e-marketing innovation. The 2010 event is packed with fresh case studies, hands-on workshops, hot topic debates, facilitated roundtable discussions, and live audience polling sessions. Register with Priority Code XP1506MASH to save 15% off standard registration!

February 8-11, 2010, Washington, DC: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: CIA; IRS; U.S. Army Public Affairs; National Wildlife Federation; U.S. Department of Agriculture; City of Raleigh, NC; U.S. Navy; Morris County, NJ; U.S. Department of State Roanoke Public Libraries, VA; Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency; Department for International Development, Government of the United Kingdom; NOAA; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; National Defense University; City of Richmond, VA; Porter Novelli; Booz Allen Hamilton, and more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

February 9-13, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Macworld 2010 is a five-day event that educates, entertains and immerses attendees in the Apple products community. A comprehensive expo hall offers access to hundreds of Mac products and services, paired with expert advice, demonstrations and instruction. Macworld conference programs feature industry leading minds, presenting cutting edge product training on the topics attendees most want to see. From Mac Power Users to creative professionals to first-time users to Enterprise computing professionals, Macworld has the conference content, special presentations and exhibit hall attractions that create what has been called “Mecca for Mac Users”. Get 15% off as a Mashable reader.

February 10, 2010, New York City: The Online Community Unconference East is a gathering of online community professionals – managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors – to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. As we have found with our past events, the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners. Mashable readers are entitled to a discount by registering here with code mashable.

February 15, 2010, Barcelona, Spain: The Mobile Premier Awards recognize the year’s best in Mobile Startup Innovation and are the largest open, global startup competition in the mobile industry. The awards are the point of reference in startup premiers during the Mobile World Congress and are organized in collaboration with some of the main networks in the industry. Participation to the awards is free and open to any startup with a mobile angle. Sign up at www.mobilepremierawards.com and take your chance to walk the red carpet in Barcelona!

February 16, 2010, San Diego, CA: BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media features 8 great case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations. Starbucks, Clorox, USAA, Intuit, Avery Dennison, Community Medical Centers, State Farm Insurance, and the Navy Office of Information share case studies in corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal. From GasPedal and the Social Media Business Council. Save $39 off registration by using the code ILoveMashable.

February 17, 2010, Atlanta, GA: Startup Riot is an annual event that focuses on giving fifty startups an opportunity to present, in three minutes, to a large audience of investors, corporate business development and M&A representatives, and other interested parties. Attendees are pre-screened so the room is never filled with service providers, job hunters, or others who are not the target audience. Selected presenting entrepreneurs pay nothing to attend. In 2010 we will move to a bigger venue for the event and the always popular after-party. Also new in 2010 are prizes for presenters and attendees. We are currently accepting applications to attend and present.

February 19, 2010, London, UK: What game changing technologies are on the horizon? What new business models will drive growth and value? Who will evolve? Who will go extinct? London Business School’s fourth annual Technology Summit explores these and many other questions on the eve of a brand new decade. The Summit promises to be a watershed event for the London technology community. It brings together global thought leaders at the intersection of enterprise, consumer interest and emerging technology for an exciting day of provocative discussions. Come to hear fresh business insights from Facebook, Skype, Goojet, Advent Venture Partners, DoTheGreenThing.com, INQ Mobile, IDEO, BT Design and many others. Buy your 10% discount tickets here.

February 19-21, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: SCALE 8X is the 8th Annual Southern California Linux Expo. As the premier community run Linux / Open Source conference, it will feature tutorial sessions designed to show users of all skill levels what Open Source can do and how to do it. Whatever your interest is in Open Source, SCALE 8x will have something for you. Mashable’s readers can receive 40% off registration with the promo code MASH8.

February 19-21, 2010, Miami, FL: The Miami iPhone Boot Camp offers a three day workshops on iPhone Development, a full 24 hours of training in Obj-C and the iPhone SDK 3.0, from basic to pro iPhone application development. The workshop is part seminar, part training, part hack-a-thon and students get plenty of hands on exercises. Limited in size the workshop is taught by iPhone developer Ben Sgro. He has released four iPhone applications to the appstore RapLyrics, RapLyricsRaw, 5KQuotes, WisestOne. His current project is a 2D engine that will power a series of game. The training is a great way to jump start your iPhone app development and save weeks of effort trying to figure out the iPhone SDK on you own. Currently the early bird rate is in effect, a savings of $400 and a 10% discount to Mashable readers using entering discount code mashable on the registration page: miamiiphone.eventbrite.com/

February 22-24, 2010, New York City: From authoring, editing, and layout to distribution and consumption, new technologies are changing all aspects of publishing. TOC will help you navigate these changes and understand how to apply them to your business or organization for a more profitable future in publishing. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in conversations that are shaping that future as often as they are describing it. The fourth annual O’Reilly TOC Conference is your opportunity to join those inventing the future of publishing. Register now and save at: en.oreilly.com/toc2010/public/register. Save an additional 15% when you use the Discount Code: toc10mas.

February 22–25, 2010 San Diego, CA: Online Marketing Summit, the premier educational event for marketing professionals, is coming to San Diego this February. Join your marketing peers as they share ideas, hear from expert practitioners, and learn best practices in the areas of: Social Media, Search, Email, Analytics, and more – in a completely vendor free environment! Register now and receive 25% off using discount code MASHABLE.

February 23, 2010, Milwaukee, WI: Think Tank Live! Search Marketing & Social Media Summit. An Internet marketing conference focused on using digital marketing and social media to drive strategic business results, increase profits, and lower costs. Be prepared to learn: Emerging best practices for key online marketing channels • Align your business for customers on the web • Create a strategy to increase clients and profits. Topics: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • SEM / Pay Per Click • Web Analytics • Social Media • WordPress. Our speakers are professionals from Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin who are committed to providing high level insights to provide real-world results for your business. To register, visit ThinkTankLive.com. Please use discount code Mashable for $50 off.

February 23-26, 2010, San Jose, CA: At FAST ‘10, explore new directions in the design, implementation, evaluation, and deployment of storage systems. Learn from leaders in the storage industry, beginning Tuesday, February 23, with ground-breaking file and storage tutorials by industry leaders such as Brent Welch, Marc Unangst, Michael Condict, and more. This year’s innovative 3-day technical program includes 21 technical papers, as well as two keynote addresses, Work-in-Progress Reports (WiPs), and a Poster Session. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet with premier storage system researchers and industry practitioners from around the globe. Register by February 8 and save! Mashable readers get $100 off using code FASTMASH10.

February 26-28, 2010, Washington DC: The Washington D.C. iPhone Boot Camp offers a three day workshops on iPhone Development, a full 2 hours of training in Obj-C and the iPhone SDK 3.0, from basic to pro iPhone application development. The workshops are part seminar, part training, part hack-a-thon and students get plenty of hands on exercise. The workshops are limited in size and taught by iPhone developer Matt Campbell, iPhone developer with several apps in the app store and author of the popular book “How to Make an iPhone Application” The training is a great way to jump start your iPhone app development and save weeks of effort trying to figure out the iPhone SDK on you own. Currently the early bird rate is in effect, a savings of $500 and a 10% discount to Mashable readers using entering discount code mashable on the registration page: dc1.eventbrite.com/

March 1-4, 2010, Ottawa, ON: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: ON Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care; Parks Canada; Communications Community Office; City of Ottawa, ON; Public Safety Canada; Indian & Northern Affairs Canada; Toronto Police Service, ON; Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre; Human Resources & Skills Development Canada; Northern Lights Canada; Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation; Royal Bank of Canada; Genome Alberta; Business Development Bank of Canada; Thornley Fallis Communications; Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing, & more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

March 2-4, 2010, Santa Clara, CA: Search Marketing Expo – SMX West content is so compelling, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned before leaving the conference. Over 50 super-charged sessions on PPC, SEO, local search, search-friendly design, and social media marketing will help you flourish today, tomorrow and in the future. Whether you’re new to search or have years of experience, employed at a Fortune 500 company or run your own business or agency, you’ll be a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer after attending SMX East. Featured keynote – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Get 3 jam-packed days of content for only $1145 if you register by January 30th and use discount code smx100mashable. For more info visit smxwest.com

March 4-5, 2010, Chicago, IL: At SOHO’s 2-Day, “The Co-Alignment of the Corporate and Personal Brand,” a Strategy Framework, develop your exclusive copy of “The Draft,” SOHO’s 16-page social communications policy workbook for businesses and corporations. The focus in 2010 is co-aligning the corporate brand with internal and external communications. SOHO brings to you presentations, case studies and Town Hall meetings with Chris Brogan and Dan Schawbel, and other experienced practitioners. For more information and to register, please visit Sohobiztube.com. Use discount code MashableChi for a 20% discount on a 2-day “The Draft” ticket.

March 6th, 2010, Cape Cod, MA: Geek Girl Tech Boot Camp – Cape Cod 2010 is going to rock! Geek Girl Boot Camps are full-day technology “unconferences” for women, taught by women, of all ages and knowledge levels where you can find workshops on everything to do with computers and the Internet! Workshops include PC and Mac, Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), Photoshop, QuickBooks, Blogging, Podcasting, WordPress, Google Tools, Dreamweaver, Video, Inbound Marketing, digital photography, and more. The workshops are designed for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. There are Discussion Groups and an all day Help Desk. The Mission of Geek Girl Camp is to educate and empower every girl and woman at every age level, on every skill level, at every income level on computer technology with fun and provide a legacy by giving back and paying it forward. Mashable readers get an exclusive $30 discount off the standard pricing of $139 with special code mashable2010 when registering!

March 8, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: At digiday:MOBILE, discuss the question “Is Mobile The Next Critical Mass Medium?” Discover the what the future holds for you and this game changing media platform at digiday:MOBILE in Los Angeles. During this high-level full day event – top Publishers, Agency Executives and Brand Marketers will come together to discuss and debate how to fully utilize the next critical mass medium: MOBILE. DIGIDAY gives media leaders a chance to converge and discuss high level strategies and the future of Mobile Marketing. www.digidaymobile.com. Get $100 off for Mashable Readers with discount code: Mashable.

March 9, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: At digiday:SOCIAL we’ll discuss the question of The New Media Reality: Everything is Social. Are You? During this high-level event, top Publishers, Agency Executives and Brand Marketers will come together to discuss how Social Media is everywhere and is changing everything. DIGIDAY gives media and marketing leaders a chance to converge and reveal high-level success strategies as well as offer insights on how the future of Social Media Marketing will play out for all. Get $100 off for Mashable Readers using code Mashable.

March 9-10, New York, NY: Is your intranet dead or alive? Fire it up at INTRANET INSIDER WORLD TOUR LIVE 2010: Making Enterprise 2.0 Work. Learn how to get the intranet basics right (governance, buy in, usability, etc.), plus how to start down the Enterprise 2.0 journey with blogs, wikis, internal social networks, podcasts and video . Learn what leading edge companies such as IBM, ESPN, Alcatel-Lucent, Deloitte and EMC are doing to “socialize” their intranets for communication, collaboration and bottom-line success. Register today with promo code mashable10 to receive $200 off registration.

March 9-11, 2010, Baltimore, MD: At the Gartner Portals, Content & Collaboration Summit: Evolution in Real Time, you’ll learn how to bring your workplace, information, and processes up to real-time speed for greater efficiency. In 3 days, 30+ Gartner analyst sessions, case studies, workshops and roundtable discussions you’ll gain a set of tools and insights on Gen4 collaboration, cloud-based portal and content services, social networking, Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0, megavendor wars and more. Save $300 off the standard rate when you register at gartner.com/us/pcc with priority code PCCMASH.

March 10, 2010, New York, NY: Cross Media NYC brings together leaders from all key media industries to discuss, demonstrate, and debate cross media integration and partnerships. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the different media sectors in order share information and find new opportunities. We want the gaming people to meet the TV people, the publishing people to meet the web video people, and everyone to meet the advertising people but let’s be honest, in the end, it’s all about the money. Use Registration Code mashable to get 15% off.

March 15-16, 2010, London, UK: At Social Media World Forum, learn from social networks, brands, advertisers and analysts. Hear from leading social networks on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the future. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading analysts. Mention you are a Mashable reader to receive 15% discount.

March 19, 2010, London, UK: Justmeans’ Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement Conference will bring together the top minds in sustainability, marketing, innovation and technology. This executive forum will explore how technology can enable sustainable business by involving stakeholders in the value creation process and will showcase examples of success and failure in this rapidly evolving market. Use this link for a 10% registration discount.

March 22-23, 2010, Paris, France: At Marketing 2.0 Conference, learn from brands’ social media initiatives, advertisers, researchers and analyst. Hear from leading people in the Social Media business on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the upcoming trends in the Social Mediasphere. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading researchers. The socialmash2010 discount code gives you €200 off.

March 23-24, 2010, Berlin, Germany: Learn, discuss and explore the challenges and commercial opportunities that exist within the mobile internet ecosystem and make the most of best-practice perspectives over a two day period offering a programme packed with case studies, roundtable discussions, industry snapshots, masterclasses and fishbowl sessions. Significant discount for Mobile Operators, Online/Mobile Communities, and Content providers! Go to iir-mobileinternet.com/mashable for more information.

March 23-24 2010, Berlin, Germany: Learn, discuss and explore the challenges and commercial opportunities that exist within the mobile internet ecosystem and make the most of best-practice perspectives over a two day period offering a programme packed with case studies, roundtable discussions, industry snapshots, masterclasses and fishbowl sessions. Receive a 10% discount by quoting I2AF9MASH when registering. Significant discount are also available for Mobile Operators, Online/Mobile Communities, and Content providers! Go to iir-mobileinternet.com/mashable for more information

March 24-25, 2010, San Francisco, CA: EyeforTravel’s Social Media Strategies for Travel conference goes beyond the ‘what is social media?’ debates (that were so 2008!) and examines the strategic importance of social media to travel brands. The 2 day conference will share leading case studies, hits, tips and advice from top travel companies including JetBlue, Hilton, Virgin America and more. Use the discount MASHABLE to save $100 on the registration fee!

March 25, 2009, San Jose, CA: Get real about social media at SocialTech 2010—the only conference dedicated to teaching B2B high-tech marketers how to harness the power of social media. You’ll learn from B2B marketing leaders at companies like IBM, Intel, SAP, HP, Adobe and Cisco how to use social media to achieve real, measurable business results. Enjoy networking and keynotes from Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, and Jeremiah Owyang. Can’t make it to San Jose? You can join us online. Register today and save 10% with coupon code MASH10!

March 30-April 1, 2010, San Jose, CA: Become Location Enabled at Where 2.0. Now in its sixth year, Where 2.0 is one of the world’s foremost events dedicated to exploring the emerging technologies in the geospatial industry. At Where 2.0, we expose the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier. Join us and meet the people behind the mashups, the people behind the platforms, and the people looking ahead to the future of geospatial. Find out what’s viable now, what’s lurking just below the radar and how to gain a competitive edge. Register now and save 15% at en.oreilly.com/where2010. Use code whr10mash.

April 28-30, 2010, San Jose, CA: At NSDI ‘10, meet with leading researchers to explore the design principles of large-scale networked and distributed systems. This year’s 3-day technical program includes 29 technical papers with topics including cloud services, Web browsers and servers, datacenter and wireless networks, malware, and more. NSDI ‘10 will also feature a poster session showcasing early research in progress. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet with premier researchers in the computer networking, distributed systems, and operating systems communities. Save an additional $100 by using the discount code NSDIMASH10 upon registration.

April 30–May 2, 2010, Mountain View, CA: The Wisdom 2.0 Conference brings together staff from technology companies such as Twitter and Google, with Zen teachers, neuroscientists, and others to explore how we can live with deeper meaning and wisdom in our technology age. Speakers include Greg Pass, VP of Engineering at Twitter; Bradley Horowitz, VP of Products at Google; Dave Morin, Senior Platform Manager at Facebook; Ben Parr of Mashable; Loic Le Meur of Seesmic; and many others. Use the discount code Mashable here for special discount.

May 4-5, 2010, Boston, MA: Drive sales and make social media work for you at MarketingProfs B2B Forum! You’ll learn the ins-and-outs of social media as part of your overall B2B marketing mix – from integration and engagement to measurement. Get 1-on-1 access to the best and brightest B2B marketing stars who will share best practices and FREE advice! Plus, our loyal attendees say our events are ridiculously fun, interactive and the kicker is – we have the best Freebies in the biz! (no keychains here…FREE industry research reports & memberships—stuff to help you really drive sales in 2010!) Register today with code MASH to save up to $200!

May 17-19, 2010, Charlotte, NC: Search Exchange is a 3-day action packed internet marketing conference offering insights into social media marketing, search engine optimization, online reputation management, and pay per click advertising. Learn and network with industry professionals and business owners from around the world. Mashable readers save 10% using code mash10 during registration.

May 17-19, 2010, Munich, Germany: a4uexpo heads to Germany for a two day Conference and expo. Over 30 presentations and panel debates on how to embrace the Affiliate Marketing sector, to include how media owners, agencies and advertisers can utilise Social Media platforms within the channel. Topics also include SEO, SEM, Blogging, Best Practice, Video, Mobile and API feeds. The conference includes access to 3 networking parties and promises to attract the very best entrepreneurs and affiliate marketing specialists from across Europe. Mashable readers can enjoy a 10% discount on registration with the code MASH10.

May 19-20, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Gilbane Conference San Francisco 2010 is focused on Content, Collaboration and Customers. Today web and enterprise content management permeate every aspect of an organization. Internal websites, whether in the form of intranets, blogs, or portals and provide efficient ways to collaborate & share knowledge. Customer & internal-facing applications share requirements that call for a number of enterprise content, publishing and infrastructure technologies including multi-lingual, social media, search, and integration software. Our conference is focused on what you should expect from these technologies. Mashable readers get to save an additional $200 – just use discount code MARSH when registering!

May 25-27, 2010, The Sage Gateshead, UK: Thinking Digital is overtly inspired by the TED and PopTech conferences in America. We attract more than 30 of the world’s most innovative, creative, insightful and/or accomplished people to come to Hall Two of the Sage Gateshead, United Kingdom annually and talk about their work, inspirations, insights and ideas. Our venue and speakers thereby attract a wonderfully eclectic mix of people from around Northern England, Europe and the world. Mashable readers save 25% using code tdc_mashable here.

June 15-16, 2010, Chicago, IL: Building on the success of the 2009 event, The 2nd Annual Health Care New Media Marketing conference will feature presentations from healthcare executives that implemented Web 2.0 strategies and developed quality metrics for evaluating the success of new media campaigns. Over the course of two days, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from thought leaders from major hospitals, healthcare institutions, and social media outlets. Through a series of case studies and forums, attendees will walk away with the tools needed to ultimately reach consumers through new media in an accurate and appropriate. Discount code: MASHABLE get $50 off.

June 29-30, 2010, London, UK: The 2nd annual Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0 World Forum is the perfect event to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud and enterprise 2.0 services and products. Building on the success of the 2009 show, this two day conference and exhibition will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing and enterprise social media industry. The 2010 show will include a free-to-attend exhibition with scenario based workshop area and key service providers demonstrating their products.

The Mashable Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

Eventbrite is an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite.

Reviews: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mashable, Seesmic, Skype, Twitter, WordPress, linux, video

Tags: conferences, Events, mashable

If you were one of the million-plus viewers who tuned in during 2008 to watch the adorable antics of this famous litter of puppies, you’re in luck: The second wave of pups — from the original mother — has arrived. Get ready for cute overload.

The first round of pups became a viral sensation after their San Francisco owners set up a webcam to monitor their movements while at work, streaming footage of the puppies live via Ustream. The cam was set up at the beginning of October, and by October 13, three million viewers had spent 1.2 million hours taking in the doggie drama. Hell, the cam even won the People’s Voice Webby Award. It was a veritable phenomenon, feeding off of people’s proclivity for adorable creatures.

Sadly, around Christmas, all the puppies — save one — were adopted, leaving us with a gaping void where our heart of hearts used to be.

Well, canine lovers can now rejoice, because it appears as though as of today, the dogs are back and cuter than ever. Behold:

Free TV : Ustream

Reviews: ustream

Tags: humor, live video, Shiba Inu Puppies, ustream, video, viral video

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.

Social media allows us to discover, connect, and engage with new people of interest. While most people are open to new connections and receiving messages from people they don’t know, there is a fine line between reaching out and “spamming.” The challenge is to make a connection clearly and effectively without wasting people’s time.

Many of us are on both sides of this relationship — sometimes making the connection, sometimes receiving the invitation. To help navigate these waters a little better, I’ve outlined seven key lessons for improving your social networking skills.

1. Find a Person’s Preferred Communication Channel

If you want to contact someone you have never communicated with before, do some research. Find the person’s preferred communication channel. If they have a website, check out their contact page and see if they encourage people to contact them in a particular way, and follow their suggestion.

It also helps to discover what level of participation they have on various social networks (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) to see which places may be best to engage them. When is the last time they posted on Twitter or Facebook? Do they respond to the @replies they receive on Twitter or comments on a Facebook page? Get a sense of their preferred means of communication, and make contact where they are.

Lesson: Go where they are.

2. Say Just Enough

This cannot be emphasized enough, and it is probably my toughest challenge. In the age of social media, we may be able to get the attention of more people, but we get it for a much shorter amount of time. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make, is that they send long e-mails or social media messages explaining all the reasons they want to connect. You are likely have not earned not earned the five minutes of the recipient’s time that it will take to read that message.

Brevity is built right into Twitter, making it a great platform for making a first connection. However, if you use other channels, keep it simple. If there are 700 words you eventually want to get across, include only 50 in the first contact. Let the person choose if he or she would like more. You can fill in the rest later. I prefer a less complete 50 words than 700 words that tell me more than I need to know.

Lesson: Less is more.

3. Don’t Expect a Response

I often see e-mails with phrases like “Please respond,” or “please get back to me.” Unless it is an old friend or a colleague, if you are contacting someone new, you are not entitled to a response. If the person wants to get back to you, he or she will. It is much better to say “If this is not of interest, feel no need to get back to me.”

At times I hear people complain because they reached out to someone and never heard back. The fact is most people do not have the time to get back to everyone who contacts them to say, “not interested.” Open a door without adding pressure. There may be times to follow-up, of course, but don’t do so with resentment or frustration.

Lesson: Say what you need to and then let it go.

4. Clarify Early

This may seem like common sense, but don’t wait for the last line of your message to say that you want to meet for lunch, or ask your contact if he’d like to speak at an event. Put it right up front. If he cannot provide what you’re looking for, he’ll know sooner rather than later, and will appreciate you for it.

Lesson: Say it up front.

5. What You Want is Not the Point

You may think that what you want is a phone call or lunch meeting to discuss your big idea. But communication is more than any one project or meeting. What you really want is an authentic connection.

In a very real way, it doesn’t necessarily matter if the person is interested in discussing your project idea. What matters is whether you are making a connection.

If you focus on the relationship more than the specific request, and the person has a pleasant experience reading your opening communication, it is likely the door will remain open for possible collaboration in the future, and the next e-mail you send will more likely be fruitful.

Lesson: No one knows what the future may hold, so make the moment count. Ensure the door stays open, even if no one is walking through it right now.

6. Be Open Without Needing

Needy never goes over well. Statements like “I really need to talk to you,” or “it is essential that we speak,” show your general insecurity. There is a huge difference between being open to collaboration and “needing” it.

Do not make contact until you find that place in yourself that is totally comfortable with any outcome, including a strong “no” or no response at all. Only then can you make authentic contact. When you do, openness rather than need will come through in your words.

Lesson: Speak from openness rather than need.

7. Give Space

The key questions people have when someone new reaches out to them, particularly those who are quite busy, are “Do I have time to bring this person into my network? How much time will they take?”

Therefore, it is generally not helpful to send too many e-mails. Doing this may send the signal that you are going to take a lot of the recipient’s time and send numerous e-mails every day, and communicating with you will take great effort.

Instead, give communication some space. Unless something is very timely, let a bit of time pass before sending a response. Let communication have some breathing room. Once there is some level of trust, you can experiment with more immediate information exchange.

Lesson: Focus on thoughtful instead of continual contact.

Do you have any other tips for better networking using social media? Do you agree or disagree with any of these tips? Let us know in the comments.

More social media resources from Mashable:

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

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, iqoncept, PaulPaladin, chromatika, stuartbur

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iStockphoto

Tags: business, facebook, List, Lists, networking, small business, social media, social networking, social networks, twitter

What started as a highly addictive pastime for early adopters to alert their friends of their whereabouts and compete for virtual mayorship of their corner coffee shop, is steadily evolving into a global vehicle for individuals and businesses to garner social capital. With tech evangelists and small businesses exploring the potential power of Foursquare and other location enabled services, it was only a matter of time before change makers in the non-profit and social enterprise ecosystem “checked-in” and began finding innovative methods to rally support for their causes.

1. Rewarding Volunteer Loyalty

Just as the first Foursquare Mayor of Spud Brothers was rewarded with a free meal for customer loyalty, an activist who frequents a particular venue could be compensated with donations, supplies, or community outreach support.

Restaurants that monitor customer regularity based on Foursquare data could give free meals to local food banks. Drug stores could issue over the counter medication and toiletries to homeless shelters. Nightclubs that hold open mic nights could allow their mayors to get up on stage and deliver calls to action. Non-profit leaders could hold meetings at local watering holes that track Foursquare usage in exchange for outdoor signage promoting their cause. The possibilities are endless.

2. Turn Check Ins Into Dollars

Turning social media participation into tangible currency has proven to be a popular trend in the last year. Created to spread cancer awareness and draw attention from users and potential corporate sponsors, Twitter hashtags such as #BeatCancer and #BlameDrewsCancer penetrated the social stratosphere. Location based application creators are following suit and making socially responsible participation easy for users.

Last month, Foursquare teamed up with New York Tech Gives Back and Pepsi to raise funds for Campinteractive, a non-profit organization that provides inner city youth with technical training and outdoor recreational programs. From December 6 to 13, Pepsi donated $0.04 to Campinteractive for every check in point added to the Foursquare leaderboard.

A new mobile application called CauseWorld is baking that idea by issuing “karma points” to users when they check in at local businesses affiliated with the service. Large brands such as Kraft and Citi, which are carried at those locations, turn the points into dollars and allow customers to choose a cause among a list of nine different charities.

3. Crowdsourcing Crisis Information

The open source project Ushahidi, which was originally designed to track post-election accounts of violence in Kenya, uses user-generated reports and Google Maps to monitor crime, devastation, and peace and relief efforts around the world.

The Ushahidi website currently has an option on its front page for users to submit real-time reports and track information connected to relief efforts in Haiti.

While the first generation of the Ushahidi platform has been used predominantly in Africa, it’s recently spread to the United States. Atlanta Crime Maps, for example, traces criminal offenses in the Atlanta metro area.

Non-profit consultant Beth Kanter contributed to this article.

More social good resources from Mashable:

- 3 Powerful Social Good Trends in 2010
- 4 Social Good Trends of 2009
- Why Social Media Is Vital to Corporate Social Responsibility
- 5 Essential Tips for Promoting Your Charity Using Social Media
- 20 Ways to Change the World in Only 15 Minutes a Day

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, HelleM

Reviews: Foursquare, Google Maps, Twitter, iStockphoto

Tags: charity, foursquare, gowalla, location, location-based, location-based service, Mobile 2.0, non-profit, social good

Now that the Golden Globes are over with, it’s time for the Grammy Awards preparations to go into full swing. First up in the media blitz: CBS Radio has launched an Internet radio station that plays selections from Grammy-nominated artists. You can listen to it using a web-based player on your computer or the CBS Radio app on your iPhone or BlackBerry.

Artists featured on CBS streaming radio station include Jay-Z, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Bon Jovi, Silversun Pickups, Taylor Swift and several more.

CBS Grammy Radio is part of a large assortment of CBS Radio stations, including AOL Radio and Yahoo! Music stations. It’s linked from the official Grammy Awards website, CBS’s own site for the Grammys and other CBS Radio station sites. The station subtly suggests you buy ringtones for most of its songs by placing a “Get Ringtone” button over the album cover for the current song.

There’s even a DJ — a novel concept in a world flooded with Pandora and the like — but as far as we can tell, she mostly plugs the Grammy awards ceremony by listing nominees.

The Grammy awards will air on CBS on Sunday, January 31 at 8:00 p.m. PT.

Reviews: Pandora

Tags: cbs, grammy awards, music, radio

Last week, some enterprising fans created a visual guide to the Apple Tablet rumors. Today, the French website Nowhere Else has done something similar for the next generation iPhone. The image highlights the various rumors surrounding the next version of the iPhone (the iPhone 4G if you will) into one annotated graphic.

An OLED display, 5-megapixel camera and a release date between May and July appear to be the most likely rumors (and we agree that those all sound like very distinct possibilities). Also ranking high are rumors of a front-facing camera, dual-core processor with more RAM and a touch-sensitive case.

As for the removable battery rumor, 60% likely or not, we don’t see that happening. Apple has moved its portable line to built-in batteries; it seems unlikely to us that they would add a removable battery to the iPhone.

You can check out a larger version of the image directly at Nowhere Else. What do you think of this roundup? What features would you like to see in the next iPhone? Let us know!

[img credit: NowhereElse.fr]

Tags: apple, iphone, iphone 4g, trending

The amount of money Conan O’Brien will get in a settlement with NBC and from a deal with a new TV network will likely be equal to at least a few percentage points of the entire online video market. Still, that’s not stopping Revision3 from offering O’Brien a job via an open letter.

While the online video network doesn’t specify a price — and the letter is obviously very tongue-in-cheek — they’re most likely a comma or two out of Conan’s asking price. Nonetheless, when you think about what’s unfolded over at NBC, the online outfit offers a number of compelling reasons that Conan should consider such a move:

- Ad spending in online video was up 35% in 2009

- No air time: People can watch Conan’s show at any time

- No censors: While NBC might be claiming the Masturbating Bear is their intellectual property, Conan can push the envelope even further on the web.

Is that enough for Conan to consider it? Almost certainly not, but I don’t think we’re far from a major entertainment personality testing the waters of an online-only show.

When you consider the benefits that Revision3 mentions, the huge audiences we’re starting to see for celebrity-themed live video (and the built-in audience for watching it on-demand on YouTube), and Internet-connected television, the stars are beginning to align for a Howard Stern-Sirius type moment for the medium. Just don’t bet on that moment being a Conan-Revision3 deal.

Reviews: YouTube

Tags: conan o'brien, media, nbc, ONLINE VIDEO, revision3, television

Many citizens are remembering the great activist and orator over at YouTube today by creating videos reenacting his speeches.

The YouTube homepage will feature videos of Dr. King’s famous words — those that are ingrained in our memories and those we might not be as familiar with.

Check out the videos below, and — if you are so inclined — head on over to the YouTube blog to learn how you too can be featured on the site.

One user reenacts Dr. King’s speech at Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, in condemnation of the Vietnam war.

Bellevue High School adds its own unique spin to “I Have a Dream.”

Tags: martin luther king day, video, web video, youtube

A couple of days ago we wrote that the German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology advised German citizens to switch from Internet Explorer (regardless of the version they use) to an alternative browser for security reasons.

Now, the French government has issued a similar advisory, pointing out that Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 all share a similar vulnerability, which allows malicious hackers to remotely execute arbitrary code.

The fix? CERTA (Centre d’Expertise Gouvernemental de Réponse et de Traitement des Attaques informatique) proposes a switch to an alternative browser.

This is another serious hit for the world’s most dominant web browser, but also one that’s been losing its marketshare in the last couple of years. Alternative browsers — Firefox, Opera, Safari and others — may not have a perfect security record, but all of them have always been perceived as safer alternatives. This latest vulnerability, discovered after the cyber attacks on Google, does nothing to change that notion.

Reviews: Firefox, Google, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari

Tags: france, internet explorer, microsoft, software, web browser

Brett Favre chose a strange post-game celebration song after the Vikings beat the Cowboys today: the viral video hit “Pants on the Ground.”

The song, which originated on American Idol and became a web sensation this week, also received a tribute from Jimmy Fallon in the form of a Neil Young parody version.

Far exceeding Idol’s age limit of 28, 62-year-old Larry Platt missed out on a recording contract, but might still have a one-hit wonder if the song is ever released.

Brett Favre: Pants on the Ground

Larry Platt: Pants on the Ground — American Idol

Tags: brett favre, pants on the ground

The Social Analyst is a weekly column by Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr, where he digs into social media trends and how they are affecting companies in the space.

We’ve seen some major world events unfold on the social media stage this week, the biggest being Google’s threat to pull out of China and the Haiti earthquake.

Google’s actions have brought attention back to the long-standing Internet censorship that blankets China, while the destruction in Haiti has mobilized hundreds of thousands to open their wallets and their hearts.

Just like the Iran Election crisis, people are again assessing the impact of social media on the world. It’s clear that social media has the power to impact world politics and the lives of billions, but some have overstated what social media can actually do. We need to understand what social media really is in order to utilize it effectively for social good.

Let me explain by highlighting a few examples of social media’s impact on the world stage, and then concluding with how I view social media’s impact in the larger context of mobilization and world discussion.

The Iran Election Crisis

During summer 2009, the world’s eyes were fixated on Iran. Questions were raised after Ahmadinejad was declared the winner over rival Mousavi in Iran’s Presidential elections. The abnormalities and potential tampering of the vote resulted in massive protests that engulfed the Islamic nation.

Social media’s role in the Iran Election Crisis started with #CNNFail, but that was only the beginning of social media’s role. With the Iranian government clamping down on information and enforcing censorship, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube became the primary mediums for bringing information out of the conflicted nation and spreading notes between dissidents.

Take a look at the Iran Election social media timeline we built if you want to see its full impact. Key moments in the crisis, especially death of Neda, were recorded and spread like wildfire, creating an outpouring of support for the protesters. Twitter’s role was so important in fact that the U.S. government got involved in scheduling Twitter’s downtime.

In the end though, social media didn’t topple any governments, although it has helped shift the political climate in Iran. In some cases the use of Twitter in Iran was overstated, yet the result is that the tipping point for Iran is close, thanks to social media.

The Haiti Earthquake

After a magnitude 7.0 earthquake (and multiple aftershocks) devastated the nation of Haiti, social media became the medium in which everybody spread the word. Dramatic Haiti earthquake Twitter pictures swept across the web, while tech giants mobilized.

The most impressive part of social media’s impact on Haiti has to be the charity text message campaign that has already raised more than $10 million for Haiti victim relief. Social media spread the word, technology made it possible.

It’s not all perfect, though: the money raised is small compared to the relief coming from world governments and donations face 90 day delays. Still, social media for social good is becoming more and more effective with each crisis.

The China-Google Standoff

While we are still far from the conclusion of this messy affair, Google’s threat to pull out of China has already had a dramatic effect in both social media and political circles.

Politically, China has been put under pressure. The U.S. government has thrown its support behind Google, though it’s doubtful that the Obama administration will get involved in the end.

More importantly though, social media is being used to lift China’s blanket of censorship. Social tools, while many are blocked by the Chinese, can get through China’s great firewall. We have the tools to undo censorship in China. Google’s efforts have re-ignited the debate over censorship, but they won’t break the barrier.

Breaking Down Social Media’s Global Impact

In all three cases (China, Haiti, and Iran), social media has had an impact, especially as the course of events evolved. Real-time communication platforms like Twitter and Facebook have spread the word about what’s happening within these nations, long before the mainstream media prints the story. These tools have also created a level awareness we’ve never seen before.

We have to be realistic, though: new media isn’t going to stop censorship, overthrow oppressive regimes, or heal the people of Haiti alone. Social media has transformed communication, media, and the transmission of information, but it still takes people on the ground to pull people out of the rubble or to fight for freedom.

Just as Paul Revere embarked on his midnight ride to warn that the British were coming, social media acts as both the first warning and the rallying cry for mobilization. In the end though, social media is just a collection of tools. It’s up to us, the people, to make the real impact on our world.

Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Google, Iran , Twitter, YouTube

Tags: china, Column, Earthquake, Google, haiti, iran, politics, social media, The Social Analyst, trending, U.S.

The New York Times is likely to announce a metered payment model for its website within weeks, according to a widely cited report from New York Magazine. If the report is correct, readers would be able to view a few pages before being prompted to subscribe.

The motivation is clear: online ad revenues aren’t enough to replace plummeting revenues from the printed page.

Opinion is divided on the matter: online readers are accustomed to free content, and the New York Times competes with all sorts of outlets (including blogs like this one). Erecting paywalls may drive readers toward these free outlets and sacrifice reach in exchange for maintaining revenue. Putting some content out of reach also threatens the newspaper’s “link revenue” – Google’s PageRank is a currency of sorts that drives attention and traffic, but bloggers cannot link to articles they can’t read. Critics could also also cite the fact that Times’ first attempt at building a paywall – TimesSelect – was a failure.

Yet if readers are ever to be sold on the payment model, which the WSJ claims is working in that instance, little time remains to change user behavior. Proponents might also argue that maintaining revenues is critical to keeping quality high.

What do you think? Would you become a subscriber if the NY Times website began to charge?

Will You Pay for The New York Times online?(online surveys)

Tags: new york times, pay, Times