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Japan scrambles to shore up economy

2011-03-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

The government is struggling to keep the economy afloat amid catastrophic disaster along the Pacific coast [EPA]

Kaoru Yosano, Japan's economics minister has said that the government and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) must strive to ease the public and investors' anxiety, after Japanese stock prices tumbled following the devastating tsunami that hit the country's Pacific coast last week.

"There is no doubt that the government and the BOJ need to make efforts to ease anxiety among the public and investors," he told reporters on Tuesday.

His comments come as the BOJ pumped billions of dollars into the country's financial system to quell fears that the country's banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami, while stocks slumped amid fears of a possible nuclear crisis.

Two cash injections came a day after the BOJ fed a record $184bn into money markets and eased monetary policy to support the economy in the aftermath of the disaster.

The injections have helped stabilise currency markets. But stock markets dived for a second day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average slid more than 12 per cent after prime minister Naoto Kan warned residents near a damaged nuclear power plant in the country's northeast to stay inside or risk getting radiation sickness.

Impact to spread

The BOJ has also moved to try to keep financial markets calm. By flooding the banking system with cash, it hopes banks will continue lending money and meet the likely surge in demand for post-earthquake funds.

But financial analysts say the central bank's moves to bolster liquidity could put pressure on Japan to raise interest rates, particularly since the country is saddled with massive debt that, at 200 per cent of gross domestic product, is the biggest among developed nations.

Vincent Tsui, an economist at the Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera that the economic impact of the disaster will be felt across Asia.

"Because of the close linkage of trade, the possible nuclear crisis that is unfolding will have a great impact on the economies of the region," he said.

On Monday, the central bank's nine-member policy board also voted unanimously to ease monetary policy. It will expand the size of an existing programme to buy assets - such as government and corporate bonds - by $486.4bn.

It kept its key interest rate at virtually zero.

Billions of dollars are also expected to be needed to rebuild homes, roads and other infrastructure requiring public spending that will benefit construction companies but add to the national debt.

The economy will eventually get a boost from reconstruction but "this does not mean that Japan is better off," Julian Jessop, chief international economist at Capital Economics in London, told the Associated Press.

It is a quirk of accounting that destruction of assets is not counted as a reduction in the economy but replacement of those assets boosts economic activity, he said.

J.P. Tokoto Has Decided

2011-03-04T03:02:00.000-08:00

J.P. Tokoto has decided his college destination….

But he won’t announce it until Thursday night at 10 p.m. CST in an exclusive interview with the local Milwaukee Fox affiliate, WITI-TV, at Dave & Buster’s in Wauwatosa, Wisc.

“This is J.P.’s moment so my lips are sealed as tight as can be,” Trevor Trimble, Tokoto’s father, said Wednesday by phone. “I don’t want to take away from his moment.”

Trimble moved the press conference from Friday to Thursday to accommodate the TV station.

The 6-foot-6 wing from Menomonee Falls High is considering Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, North Carolina, UCLA and Wisconsin. He is ranked No. 10 among small forwards in the Class of 2012 by Rivals.com.

On Monday, an assistant from one of those schools told ZAGSBLOG, “I would bet anything it’s either Carolina or Wisconsin.”

Trimble said the family decided earlier this week based on a number of factors.

“Obviously, J.P. has a chance to go to some elite schools,” he said. “They are all elite on that list. Those coaches have jobs to do and roster spots to fill up. We’ve seen everything we can see. We felt it was in the best interest of him to go ahead and make that decision.”

He added: “We tried to all educate ourselves as best we can on what each university can offer and further educate ourselves from a team standpoint on what would be the best fit for J.P. We looked at rosters and the academic support to determine the best fit for him.”

For everyone else curious about the decision, the waiting is the hardest part.

for further details http://www.zagsblog.com/2011/03/02/j-p-tokoto-has-decided/

Memphis In May – Not Just The Beale Street Music Festival 2011

2011-03-04T02:14:00.000-08:00

Many people think that Memphis in May and the Beale Street Music Festival are the same things, and they are….kind of.

Memphis in May is actually a month long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival itself is split into four main events:

The Beale Street Music Festival, which is the kick-off event and spotlights both local and national music acts. This a three day music festival that is held during the first weekend of May in the city’s Tom Lee Park at the foot of Beale Street. Usually about 100,000+ people attend the first two nights of the event, and even larger crowds attend for the big-name finales on Sunday night. This year’s lineup sounds awesome!

International Week, this is a group of events dedicated to the country that is sponsored that year (it will be Belgium this year)

The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, one of the most popular barbecue contests in the country, and I would go to Memphis in May for this part of the festival alone!

Sunset Symphony, a night of classical music. This event has been taking place for 35 years.

Are you planning on attending any of the events? It sounds like fun! Wish I could go!

Gallinari Likely To Be Flipped; Nets, Raptors, Clippers, Cavs Could Be Interested Read more: httpGallinari Likely To Be Flipped; Nets, Raptors, Clipp

2011-02-22T01:17:00.000-08:00

The Nuggets are not expected to retain Danilo Gallinari, according to sources that spoke with Ric Bucher.

The Nets, Clippers, Cavaliers and Raptors are all expected to express interest in Gallinari.

Gallinari was the sixth overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft.

India Godhra train blaze verdict: 31 convicted

2011-02-22T01:14:00.000-08:00

A special court in the western Indian state of Gujarat has found 31 people guilty of setting fire to a passenger train in the town of Godhra in 2002.

The court acquitted 63 other people of conspiracy and murder.

The Sabarmati Express was attacked by a Muslim mob killing 59 people, mainly Hindu pilgrims.

The attack led to some of the worst riots seen in India and left more than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, dead.

Gujarat's authorities were criticised for not doing enough to stop the riots.

Those convicted will be sentenced on Friday. Security is tight across Gujarat and extra police have been deployed in case of communal unrest.

Conspiracy

The attackers were said to have forced the train, carrying Hindu pilgrims from Ayodhya, to stop and then set fire to one of the carriages.

"The court has accepted the conspiracy theory. It was not an accident," public prosecutor JM Panchal is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

GODHRA TRAIN BURNING

27 February 2002: Fire in Sabarmati Express at Godhra kills 59 passengers, mainly Hindus
28 February 2002: Religious clashes begin in Gujarat, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, mainly Muslims.
21 May 2002: Gujarat government sets up a commission to probe the train fire and the riots
3 March 2006: Justice UC Banerjee submits report saying the train fire was an accident
25 September 2008: Justice Nanavati's report describes the train burning as a "pre-planned conspiracy"
September 2010: A special court completes hearing of the train case

Whether or not there was a conspiracy to set the train ablaze or whether it was a spontaneous fire has long been the subject of dispute.

An inquiry commission set up by the state government said in 2008 that the burning of the train was a "conspiracy".

That commission also exonerated Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the deadly religious riots that followed the blaze.

He was accused of failing to halt the religious violence and some opponents said he indirectly encouraged some of the Hindu rioters. But the commission dismissed these allegations.

"There is absolutely no evidence to show that either the chief minister or any of the ministers in his council or police officers played any role in the Godhra incident," Justice GT Nanavati had concluded in his report.

The commission, which examined more than 1,000 witnesses during a six-year period, found that 140 litres of petrol had been purchased as part of what it said had been a conspiracy to burn the train carriage.

The report's findings contradicted an earlier inquiry by retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who found that the coach fire was not deliberately started.

He concluded in 2005 that the fire began by accident.

He said there was evidence to suggest the blaze began inside the train and that it was not fire-bombed.

36 killed in stadium stampede in Mali

2011-02-22T01:06:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- At least 36 people were killed in a stampede at a stadium in Mali after a speech by a prominent imam, the British embassy in the country said Tuesday.

The stampede at the Modibo Keita stadium took place Monday afternoon as the crowd was leaving the facility, said Mohamed Ba, a consular at the embassy. Sixty four others were wounded, he said.

The crowd had come to hear Imam Osman Madani Haidara speak.

"The stadium seats 25,000 and it was absolutely full, as it is every time Imam Osman Madani Haidara gives a sermon," Ba said.

Michelle Wie 1 Shot Back in Thailand LPGA Tournament

2011-02-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

Michelle Wie started out rounds 1 and 2 playing solid golf and just continued that play into round 3 today in Thailand. A great way to start the 2011 LPGA season, playing consistent.

Although Wie had a few bumps early, scoring bogeys in the first few holes, she regained composure and didn’t let it get her off track. Despite the start she finished the round with a 1-under 71. Kim, yesterdays leader, finished the day at even par 72 to hold onto 8-under for the tournament in a tie for second place with Michelle Wie.

The two are chasing the worlds number 1 golfer, Yani Tseng, who had anything but rhythm on the day. Tseng carded five birdies, three bogeys, one double-bogey, before finishing the day with an eagle to move to 9 under and jump out to the lead.

It’s good to see Michelle Wie playing the way she has been. The conditions are back and forth with soaked fairways and greens followed up by beautiful sunshine, making for a difficult day of staying on top of how you should be playing. Instead of folding after a difficult 3rd round start, Wie battled back to show she belongs with the worlds number one.

Michelle Wie is looking to nab her 3rd title on the LPGA tour and begin the year on a high note. To do so, she’ll have to show she can continue those nerves of steel as she’ll be paired with Tseng. Anytime you play with the worlds number one it has to be difficult. When big money is on the line, it has to be even tougher.

Still in contention is Paula Creamer, no stranger to pressure and coming from behind, she’s 2 off the lead, as well as Karrie Webb who finds herself 3 strokes back of the leaders.

JaVale McGee never had a shot against Blake Griffin, but still put on a show

2011-02-20T04:39:00.000-08:00

Blake Griffin certainly had the most entertaining, choir-singing, scene-stealing, crowd-screaming, show-stopping, car-hopping dunk of the night. But overall, he was probably the third-best dunker in Staples Center on Saturday. The best two dunkers were JaVale McGee and Toronto Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan, and both have a legitimate argument that they were robbed from an opportunity to be slam dunk champion.

Not hating on Griffin, just calling it how I see it.

The odds were severely stacked against any participant not named Griffin, since he had the hype, the fan support and most famous name in the competition. He's an all-star who has been a force since he was allowed to play for the Los Angeles Clippers after taking a year off to recover from a knee injury. But when word began to circulate a few hours before the contest that Griffin had planned to dunk over a car, the other competitors really had to start preparing for second place.

I mean, Griffin had the NBA's official vehicle, the Kia Optima, with a Sprite Slam Dunk sticker on the side. That meant he had to make to the second round, because a prop that elaborate, and possibly expensive, was not going to waste.

I happened to be seated near the tunnel, where Baron Davis was resting on the hood, so I knew what was about to go down before Kenny Smith grabbed the microphone, begged people to get out of their seats and said, "We're going to bring the pageantry to the dunk contest."

To top it off, Griffin had the Crenshaw Elite choir come out to sing, "I Believe I Can Fly." No way McGee was going to follow up the dunk with anything better. McGee joked afterward, "Nothing's going to beat the car unless I bring a plane out or something."

Can't touch this. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

McGee certainly tried his best to overcome a second-or-nothing situation, as he brought out two dunks that had never been attempted before in the slam dunk contest. His first dunk -- or rather dunks -- was so ridiculous that I thought he was a tad too ambitious. He had originally thought about raising a prop goal to 12 feet, so that he could dunk flatfooted off the vertical. But after McGee practiced it on Thursday, he didn't like how it looked, so an observer suggested he dunk with two basketball off both rims.

He tried the first time and got it to go down. So he decided to add it to his arsenal. He needed almost the entire two minutes to pull it off, but when he did, it was rather incredible. He got a 50.

"He created that two rim dunk and only a seven-footer with his wingspan could pull that off," said McGee's mom, Pam. "I was shocked."

Pam McGee was enlisted for his second dunk, but only after JaVale McGee flinched and was forced to change his plans. A few weeks ago, McGee came up with the dunk in which he snatched a piece of paper out the net with his teeth before jamming. He had added a tweak for the competition but was unable to attempt in when Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka -- who early had a severely slept-on foul line dunk -- pulled a doll off the rim with his teeth directly before him.

"Serge had did a dunk that was similar to the one, so I switched it around so that I could get a high score," JaVale McGee said.

JaVale McGee had pulled off his three-ball dunk earlier this week in Orlando. Hilton Armstrong was the passer and he put the ball in the right spot for McGee to get it on the first try. He brought out John Wall, who needed a few attempts before McGee could throw them down. He got a 49, only because Brent Barry gave him a nine. I predicted a 50 when I saw it on Wednesday, but Barry should know, as a former champion, that dunking three times while in mid-air is not the easiest thing to do.

McGee had his mother involved, as she walked down an aisle, carrying a red, white and blue in a box and wearing her old Los Angeles Sparks warmup from her days in the WNBA. Afterward, McGee let it be known that it would've been better used in the final round.

"Definitely was trying to get the crowd into it, we knew they was going to be text voting, too," he said. "Most of the people in the world are women, so we felt it was good to get those texts."

Thanks, John. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

McGee earned his trip to the final round, but DeRozan really has a reason to be upset. DeRozan had the disadvantage of going first, but he started out the competition really well, as his Raptors teammate Amir Johnson threw the ball off the basket support and DeRozan jumped underneath the basket, brought the ball between the legs and dunked. He got a 44. It was at least a 47. Canadian exchange rate or something.

The judges made up for it some, when they gave him a 50 for a really nice jam in which he caught the ball of the bounce, brought it down below his waist and nearly banged his head on the rim as he did a reverse dunk.

Now, Griffin's first dunk was a two-handed 360-jam, but I was surprised that he got a 49 right after McGee got a 50 for dunking on two rims. I didn't think McGee's dunk, given the degree of difficulty and creativity, could only be one point better than Griffin's. But it was no biggie, since I wanted to see McGee battle Griffin in the final. I just didn't know that Griffin would get ushered in with some questionable scoring.

Griffin wanted to catch a pass from Davis off the side of the backboard and do another 360-dunk, which would've been insane. But he had to settled for catching the ball of the backboard and throwing down a windmill. It was nice dunk, but certainly not better than DeRozan's between-the-legs 44. Griffin got a 46, giving him the extra point he needed to advance.

Granted, Griffin plays for the Clippers, but DeRozan is born and raised in Los Angeles -- and went to USC. He got no love.

Griffin brought back Vince Carter's arm in the rim dunk in the final round, but McGee added a twist to Michael Jordan's famous rock-the-cradle. McGee's third dunk may have been his best of the night, given the dexterity required to pull it off. He drove baseline, dipped under backboard, rocked the ball and dunked it on the other end.

The irony of the competition? Coach Flip Saunders always criticizes McGee for being a style over substance player, yet McGee was upended because he had more substance than style. Once the decision was left up to fans with cellphones, then McGee had no shot at winning a popularity contest. Most people hadn't heard of the guy until he showed up on Saturday. Griffin trumped McGee with 68 percent of the vote.

On his decisive jam, Griffin had the assistance of two great showmen in Davis and Smith, a former slam dunk champ. "It was actually my idea to use the car," Griffin said. "When they first came to me with the dunk contest idea, they said there was no rules. I was like, 'So I can jump over a car?' Kind of playing around.
"I got the dimensions and all that. Figured I could probably clear it and Baron came up with the choir and Kenny and they all put everything together," he said. "I was actually going to jump over the choir separate from the car, and then Baron was like, 'Why don't you do it together?' So we had the choir position around the car, and then people came in and said you can't cover up the car."

When Griffin hurdled the Kia, Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett waved his hands across his neck and yelled, "It's over." And it was. McGee was so shook after that dunk, he could've dunked from halfcourt and not turned a head. It was a tough act to follow. But Pam McGee still has her own opinion about the real champion.

"In my opinion, my son won the dunk contest," she said. "The dunk contest is entertainment. I think JaVale accomplished what he wanted to do. If you don't know, you better ask somebody, you know who JaVale McGee is now. I think hey, he did a wonderful job."

McGee was happy with his performance and said he would likely compete again. Maybe he can jump over a truck. "Hey," he said. "I might."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2011/02/javale-mcgee-never-had-a-shot.html

Grading the 2011 slam-dunk contest

2011-02-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

The 2011 slam-dunk contest wasn't exactly a return to form -- the 1988 and 2000 competitions won't be shaking in their respective slammin' boots after watching tape from Saturday night's affair -- but the Blake Griffin (notes)-led show was a fun time out.

Griffin did pace the field, as was expected heading in. But he did have a fair amount of competition. Toronto's DeMar DeRozan (notes), Washington's JaVale McGee (notes) and Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (notes) all brought the relative goods. The Los Angeles Clippers forward was still ahead of the group, if barely, becoming the first rookie to win the contest since New York's Nate Robinson (notes) took the crown in 2006.

Click the jump, no dunk intended, for the breakdown:

DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors

Expectations weren't exactly low for DeRozan as he entered the 2011 dunk competition, because we've watched him bound around the league for a year and a half since leaving USC. But after a weak showing last year during a glorified (and hopefully, one-off) dunk-in during 2010's All-Star weekend, one couldn't help but feel dubious as to whether or not the Toronto wing would bring the goods -- especially in a field featuring three forward/centers.

D.D. made it work, though, coming through with a nice reverse dunk off a poor pass from Amir Johnson (notes) (where was Jose Calderon (notes)?) in the first round.

DeRozan attempted a modified version of the Andre Iguodala (notes) bounce-and-reverse from the 2006 contest, but Johnson was out of his element trying to bounce the ball off the basket support. The last part is important. Iggy and others bounce the ball off the side of the backboard. DeMar? He took it off the support itself, several feet away from the board. And, most importantly, several feet away from the rim.

DeMar followed this with a deserved 50 for another reverse in the second round. An alley-oop followed by a windmill, from a guard? Brilliant. Not good enough to move on, apparently. Blame the pass in the first round.

Grade? Give the man an A, only mitigated by a teammate's bad toss.

Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder

Serge Ibaka is around 6-8, so his dunk from the free throw line should have easily registered a 50. It certainly wasn't the most creative turn, even if the Congo-born second-year big man came through with a tribute to his home continent before throwing down, but it was worth a 50. Julius Erving was the same height as Ibaka, Brent Barry (notes) was an inch or two shorter, and they both had a toe or more on the line as they took off from 15 feet away. Ibaka did no such thing, taking off beyond the freebie stripe, and all he could take in were nines from the judges.

His second dunk was pretty contrived. A well-coiffed child actor was brought in from the audience to complain -- into a microphone -- about losing his toy, which was stuck in the net below the dunking rim. The kid was cute, the idea OK, but it grew a little stale rather quickly.

Ibaka proceeded to attempt to oop himself a pass, and dunk while grabbing the stuffed animal with his teeth. As if it couldn't get any weirder, Serge couldn't nail the first dunk, only coming down with the toy in his mouth. No dunk, just a toy in his mouth. The kid had to wait, as if it was ever his teddy to begin with, as NBA workers brought out a ladder (showmanship!) and re-affixed the "lost" toy to the rim. If you're still reading at this point, stop. It was dull and strange, and, yes, Serge nailed the dunk on the second attempt and brought down the lost toy. No amount of over-arching from the judges following their miss on the foul-line dunk could make this one any better.

Grade? Give the man a B, only marred by some bad advice.

JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards

Dwight Howard (notes), the 2009 dunk contest winner, was underneath the TNT microphones as a guest analyst. And while he didn't really offer any sort of insight worthy of repeating, the uncomfortable back and forth between Howard and McGee's "coach" Chris Webber did, for a short time, allow us to believe that McGee was going to attempt a dunk on a 13-foot rim. After all, Webber was coming through with a muddled bit of trash talk sent Howard's way, and after Dwight dunked on a 12-foot rim a few years back, it seemed only natural.

Instead, McGee brought out a second rim not to churn his way to 13-foot heights, but to attempt (and succeed) in dunking on two baskets at once. Or, dunking lefty, while throwing down off a lob on the right-hand rim. It, if your imagination is all that is allowed here, was amazing.

In the second round, McGee dunked three balls at once. Or, as close to "at once" as gravity will allow. It was, again, amazing. After that? He pulled some reach around reverse that would have been fantastic in its own right, but JaVale managed to straighten-out his right hand and dunk on the weak side as if he had started from that end. In all, it was a stunning display of athleticism.

In the third round, after his closest competitor brought out a middling four-cylinder car and jumped over the hood, McGee sort of lost his nerve while attempting his final stuff. After two half-hearted attempts at a lob off the glass and reverse, an embarrassed McGee settled on a bounce off the board and cock-backed throw-down with one hand. Nice, but this was shootaround work. An unfortunate end to a wildly impressive night out.

Grade? Give the man an A, only hurt by the amount of dunk attempts he needed.

Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

Make no mistake, Griffin was the best dunker of the night. At least, he was the most entertaining, and that's without taking into consideration the -- oh, let's be honest -- lame presentation that was his final dunk.

Worst things first. Griffin had a Kia something wheeled out for his final turn, and with a local choir singing "I Believe I Can Fly" beyond the half-court stripe, Blake jumped over the car's hood for a nice two-handed stuff. Now, none of us want Griffin to push things. We kind of like the idea of this guy dominating the league for the next 15 years. But this dunk, this show, was pretty dull.

The rest? The rookie brought it.

A 450-degree throwdown in the first round started things off. A second-round reverse off of a terrible Baron Davis (notes) pass followed. Davis kept us from seeing a dunk contest classic because Blake shifted after a few attempts and took an easier dunk.

In the third round, Griffin dunked from outside the charge circle, and easily fit his elbow into the rim. And while the dunk might not be something you'll tell your grandchildren about, this was a fantastic display of athleticism. He put a basketball in a 10-foot rim with his hand, that was connected to his arm, that was connected to his elbow, that also went into the rim. Any bit of Official Vehicle of the NBA-sponsored nonsense -- and this is coming from a guy who is going to a car show later today -- can't take away from that stunning burst. Blake Griffin deserved to win this dunk contest.

Grade? Give the man an A, tempered only by a dull stuff in the final round.

***

In all? The dunk contest was nothing to write home about.

As an entertainment package? It was great! I dare anyone who isn't on the wrong side of a batch of opiates to tell you that they sat through the entire thing and didn't have fun. Was it the best dunking exhibition we've seen? Clearly not. Were parts contrived? Of course.

Was it a great show? No doubt.

See you next year, Blake. And hopefully, JaVale.

Sandy Bentley’s jewels’ murder case under new investigation

2011-02-20T04:30:00.000-08:00

The link between Playboy’s Sandy Bentley’s expensive jewellery and the murder of two men in L.A. had been made 9 years ago. Now investigators hope that a new show and a $75,000 reward will help them finally crack the case.

The CBS show “48 Hours Mystery: “Playing with Fire” was aired on Saturday night and has inspired fresh interest in the killing of part-time model and doorman Michael Tardio and his friend, Chris Monsoon. The pair was found in a Mercedes SUV shot at close range. The culprit had attempted to burn the car.

Detectives could not find any evidence they could use and no one in the neighborhood had heard shots fire, giving rise to the belief that the murder took place somewhere else and the bodies then driven to another location.

CBS cites retired L.A. homicide detective Bill Cox, who says he still can’t put the case out of his mind. “I think about it quite a bit more than I should,” Cox said. “In all my 20 years of working homicide, I have never run across a case like this one!”

Tardio and Monsoon are believed to have been trying to secretly sell $750,000 worth of jewellery on the night they were killed. These jewels belonged to Tardio’s then-girlfriend and former Playboy bunny Sandy Bentley, whom he met on the Hollywood club scene. The pin-up girl had acquired the valuable items from ex-boyfriend and Ponzi schemer Mark Yagalia before his $40 million Asbury Capital fund collapsed, who claims to have been “madly in love” with her. She, in turn was “madly in love with his money”.

Yagalia estimates that he spent between $6 or $7 million on Bentley during the 13 months they dated. The money went on a house, furs, cars, Rolex watches and jewellery, including an exact diamond and ruby replica of the necklace and earring set Richard Gere gives to Julia Roberts in the film Pretty Woman, costing around a quarter of a million dollars.

Before meeting Yagalia, Bentley was a live-in girlfriend of Hugh Hefner at his Playboy mansion, together with her twin Mandy. According to Hef’s other girlfriend Izabela St.James, who went on to write a book about her experiences at the mansion, Sandy did not treat the octogenarian well and cheated on him repeatedly. Eventually Yagalia found his “ultimate trophy” and Sandy left Hef for good.

The ill-gotten jewels that he was to give her would later cause the killing of two innocent men. Tardio and Monsoon were trying to unload the stash, which was illegally paid for by Yagalia clients’ money and not his own, as federal authorities were under orders to seize it.

Police hope the CBS show will encourage those who have more information to come forward. “There are people who knew something but maybe were fearful,” LAPD Detective Dennis English told the N.Y. Daily News. “We hope now they’ve matured.”

Neither Bentley nor her Wall Street scammer ex are suspects in the case.

Click here to read more about former Playmates Jennifer Lyn Jackson, Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek, Penthouse creator Bob Guccione and Hugh Hefner’s recent engagement to his 24-year-old girlfriend.

Michael Waltrip Takes Emotional Truck Race Win on Earnhardt Anniversary

2011-02-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- An emotional, out-of-breath Michael Waltrip could barely choke out words of thanks after he made a dramatic last-lap pass to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck series 250-mile race Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Waltrip, who usually announces the truck races, swept past Elliott Sadler in a classic Daytona slingshot pass as the trucks sped into the tri-oval toward the checkered flag in a green-white-checkered, two-lap finish after a couple of big wrecks late in the race.

It came on the 10th anniversary of Waltrip's greatest and worst day -- his win in the 2001 Daytona 500 seconds after his car owner Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash in turn four on the last lap.

"I'm just so thankful, Waltrip said Friday night, nearly breathless, with tears and sweat gleaming on his face in the glare of the television lights in victory lane. "I want to thank the fans, man. They keep us going. And they've just been so good to us. It's just very emotional and I didn't know I could push Elliott all the way around there. And I was able to do it.
"I came here to celebrate a life, with my black truck and my 15 car. I didn't come to celebrate a win. But this feels really good. I'm thankful."
-- Michael Waltrip
"God bless Dale and his family and the fans. I came here to celebrate a life, with my black truck and my 15 car. I didn't come to celebrate a win. But this feels really good. I'm thankful."

After making the call of how he intended to win in a radio conversation with SPEED television announcers before the final green flag, Waltrip pulled it off, winning by about six feet, with the right half of his spoiler broken and laying down flat.

As he had done in 2001, Darrell Waltrip made the call as his little brother swept past Sadler and was first under the checkered flag.

"He got him! Mikey! He got him! All right! Yeah! Wooooooo! Hell, yeah," Darrell shouted.

It was Waltrip's first victory ever in the truck series, and his first NASCAR win of any kind since a Nationwide series victory in 2004. "This day was hard," Waltrip said. "I've been emotional all day long."

Sadler and Waltrip pulled away from the field after the green flag dropped for the final two-lap, five-mile sprint to the checkered flag. Waltrip pushed Sadler most of the way, then veered outside coming out of the final turn and edged Sadler at the line. Waltrip celebrated in victory lane with his daughter, Macy.

"If anybody deserves a win in today's race, it's probably Michael Waltrip," Sadler said. "He made a great move at the end. It does ease the pain in the end."

Rogers finished third, followed by Paludo, Kyle Busch and Jennifer Jo Cobb.

The broken rear spoiler could have helped him slice through the air at the superspeedway. But Sadler said Waltrip still would have beat him.

"I think he still would have won anyway," Sadler said. "He made a really good move off of turn four. ... Might have been a little bit closer to the line, but he had a lot of momentum. That's not the reason why. It definitely helped some."

The 103-lap race had few cautions, but two big crashes. Fourteen trucks were caught up in an accident with 26 laps remaining.

The final pileup, involving 10 trucks, happened with four laps remaining. Officials stopped the race for 10 minutes to clean up debris from the 10-truck crash near the start-finish line.

The race was also notable in that Jennifer Jo Cobb's sixth-place finish was the highest for any female in a major NASCAR touring series race at Daytona. Finishing just behind her in seventh was young Jeffrey Earnhardt, Dale's grandson, with his best career finish.

John Wall Wins MVP of T-Mobile Rookie Challenge - Dougie Dunks?

2011-02-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

John Wall dished out a Rookie Challenge 22 assists in leading the Rookies to a 148-140 win over the Sophomores. DeMarcus Cousins had a legit claim to MVP, but Jimmy's 22 assists were just too much, which included a bounce-pass alley-oop to Blake Griffin. Yeah, you read that correctly (the highlight of the game). I thought Wall and Cousins would share MVP, but no gripes with our man taking it all for himself. Cousins was good, but didn't generate the excitement in the game that his stats indicate, and Wall obliterated Chris Paul's record of 17 assists. Whatever, at least the Wizards won something this year.

Cali Swag District performed at halftime, and I was hoping for a Dougie-off between the Rookies and Sophomores, but no dice. You know what, forget it, they didn't even need Cali Swag District, there still should have been a Dougie-off worth maybe 10 pts in that game.

My favorite part of the game, other than the bounce-pass alley-oop, was the final play of Wall getting an off the backboard alley-oop from Cousins. That sounds amazing enough, but it is very possible that Jimmy did the Dougie while hanging on the rim:

My DVR couldn't stop a split second before this shot for some reason, so this is not the best shot. That said, Jimmy's hand definitely went behind the head, a little Prime Time Deion Sanders, but more likely a Dougie move.

For anyone who watched the dunk, I'd like to hear thoughts on whether Wall was trying to do the Dougie here. He was definitely trying to do something as he swung side to side......

PayPal Founder: Facebook Could Become One of the More Valuable Companies in the World

2011-02-18T04:14:00.000-08:00

Max Levchin — Google VP of engineering and founder of PayPal and Slide — argues that Facebook will become a serious contender to become one of the more valuable companies in the world if it can “successfully replace core messaging.”

At the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco, Levchin and Benchmark Capital’s Bill Gurley answered questions about “game-changing technology.” During their fireside chat, the moderator raised the question of Facebook’s unprecedented growth and its impact.

“Facebook has all but successfully monopolized White Pages,” Levchin said, explaining that when you want to find and connect with someone, you go to Facebook. Unlike the White Pages though, Facebook also has information on a person’s interests, likes and social graph.

That alone has turned Facebook into a $50 billion company. However, Levchin says that that becoming the repository for personal information could result “in Facebook successfully replacing core messaging.” If it becomes the web’s primary communication platform, it could become one of the more valuable companies in the world.

Levchin quickly stressed that Facebook’s business shouldn’t be confused with demand generation or demand discovery — a.k.a. search, Google’s specialty. The PayPal co-founder says that he’s read that social graph signals have not been particularly effective in optimizing search-related advertising. Benchmark Capital’s Gurley agreed, arguing that social signals might deliver untargeted ads at inappropriate times.

In fact, Levchin argues that Twitter may be a better advertising platform because following a brand or expert on Twitter is more likely to deliver credible information and advice than your friends, who are likely not experts in biking, finance or other subjects. Gurley, on the other hand, believes there may be a middle ground between search and social by bringing together people with similar interests. For instance, a combination of search and social could help fans of biking in the same city find each other and swap advice and stories.

Levchin and Gurley also discussed the issues facing Microsoft, a lumbering tech giant whose core software businesses are being attacked by the likes of Apple, Google and countless startups. “I think it’s a classic problem of having a massive revenue stream,” Levchin said, explaining that companies with giant revenue streams tend to protect their investments rather than innovate and adopt new and risky business models.

At the end of the firside chat, Gurley made the argument that Google’s Android OS is one the most “disruptive moves in the history of business.” Unlike Microsoft and other software makers, Google gives away its software and sometimes even pays companies to use it. Gurley argues that this is a defensive move by Google to protect its search business. Google makes money off advertising in Android searches and wants to make sure its mobile search business interests are protected. The venture capitalist compared Google’s strategy to protecting a castle by charring all surrounding earth in a 250 mile radius, making it impossible for anybody to come near it.

Jonathan Brandis- Tragic Child Star

2011-02-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

My sister used to be in love with Jonathan Brandis. I drew this picture of him, explaining how my sister liked watching him on the show "SeaQuest DSV" and asked if he could autograph it so I could give it to her for her Birthday (it was 1995, and she was turning 10). A few weeks later I got it backed signed. From what I read, despite getting volumes of fan mail, he would actually reply to fans who wrote to him. He had appeared in films and television since the age of 9.

Fast forward 8 years later, November 11, 2003- Depressed, subject to bouts of heavy drinking, his acting career in a slump; 27 year old Jonathan Brandis decided he couldn't handle his life anymore and hung himself .

I Am Number Four’: Review Revue

2011-02-18T01:05:00.000-08:00

“I Am Number Four” is based on a science fiction novel co-written by James Frey, and movie critics appear to be as enamored of the “A Million Little Pieces” fabulist as Oprah. The plot, centering on a teen alien hiding out on Earth and being hunted down, is being criticized as a “Twilight” knockoff and the film’s direction and script aren’t receiving high praise, either. Will bad reviews affect what is designed to be a lucrative film franchise?

Here’s a sampling of some of the reviews:

“I Am Number Four” is shameless and unnecessary. That’s sad, when a movie casts aside all shame, demonstrates itself willing to rip off anything that might attract audiences, and nevertheless fails. What we have here is a witless attempt to merge the “Twilight” formula with the Michael Bay formula.” [Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times]

“Conceived by Oprah-vilified author James Frey as the beginning of a potential blockbuster franchise, I Am Number Four is nothing but a million little pieces from prior superhero series and the Twilight saga.” [Nick Schager, Village Voice]

“As action films aimed at this audience go, “Number Four″ falls midway between “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and “Twilight” — edgier than “Jackson,” mockingly self-aware, but without the white-hot sexual tension of the vampire movies. And the subtext, that you shouldn’t waste your teen years on stupid risks because you’re needed “for a higher purpose,” makes this a franchise I won’t mind seeing progress to a second movie.” [Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel]

“Screenwriters Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Marti Noxon adapt the novel by Pittacus Lore, the pseudonym for James Frey, best known as the author of the controversial memoir A Million Little Pieces. To their credit, all the subplots involving teenage love, school bullies and fitting in ring true. But I Am Number Four aims to be a sci-fi action movie first and a teen melodrama second and long before its action climax unfolds, one sits wondering if these veteran screenwriters and producers mixed up their priorities.” [Steve Ramos, Boxoffice Magazine]

Jason McCann (Justin Bieber) Shot on His Return to 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' (VIDEO)

2011-02-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/aol-television/big-balls-on-the-daily-show-021711-tv-replay/794275149001
Fans of Justin Bieber have been enjoying him all over their televisions the past few weeks. With his movie in theaters, he's been hitting the talk show circuit hard core and he was a big presence (albeit award-snubbed) at the Grammys. Now, he's back on 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' (Thu., 9PM on CBS) as troubled teen Jason McCann.

SPOILER ALERT!!

This is almost definitely the last time you'll see Bieber on the show. After setting a bomb that endangered the team, he was defiant until the end. He tried to get the driver of the van he was pulled over in killed, and then pulled a piece on the hordes of police.

Now, for his fans who struggle with the difference between reality and fiction, there is no reason to send death threats to the actors who played the police officers who shot him. It's not real. Your teen idol is just fine. You'll just have to look for his next appearances elsewhere.

Career Profile: Miguel Cabrera

2011-02-18T00:56:00.000-08:00

Miguel Cabrera is in the news for his recent drunk-driving arrest, but he is an interesting study as a prospect, as you will see below. . .

Miguel Cabrera was signed by the Florida Marlins as a free agent out of Venezuela in 1999, earning a $1.8 million bonus. He made his North American debut in 2000, playing 57 games for the Gulf Coast League Marlins (.260/.344/.352) and eight games for Utica in the New York-Penn League (.250/.294/.312). His defense at shortstop wasn't great and the offensive numbers were nothing special at all, but scouts were full of praise for his offensive potential, projecting him as a big-time power hitter. I believed the scouting reports and gave him a Grade B in the 2001 book, noting his upside but that it was too early to know how he would develop for sure.

Cabrera moved up to Kane County in the Midwest League in 2001, hitting .268/.328/.382 in 110 games. Again, these numbers were nothing special, but he was just 18 years old and scouts loved him. He wasn't a walk machine, but he kept his strikeout rate reasonably low. His OPS was exactly league average, but I moved him up to a Grade B+ in the 2002 book, writing "projection is critical for players like this, and while it may take Cabrera a year or two to fully break through, I am optimistic." I had him ranked at Number 19 among hitting prospects.

Bumped up to High-A Jupiter in 2002, Cabrera hit .274/.333/.421 with 43 doubles and nine homers, 38 walks and 85 strikeouts in 489 at-bats. This was very good for the Florida State League, especially for a 19 year old. He had transitioned to third base, and scouting reports about his bat remained effusive. I gave him a Grade A- in the 2003 tome, writing that "this is a projection for me" as his skills were still in the developmental stages, but that the large number of doubles was indicating more power to come and scouts were predicting a breakout soon. I ranked him as the Number Nine hitting prospect in baseball.

Cabrera began 2003 in Double-A and the breakout happened, with a .365/.429/.609 mark in 69 games. Promoted directly to the majors, he hit .268/.325/.468 for the Marlins in 87 games, losing rookie eligibility. He hit .294/.366/.512 at age 21 the following year, and he's been one of the very best hitters in the game the last seven years.

Cabrera is a career .313/.388/.552 hitter, 145 OPS+ in 1190 games. He's remarkably consistent, averaging 34 homers a year, hitting .300+ almost every year (his worst batting average after his rookie year was .292), driving in 100+ runs every year, drawing a good number of walks, exceeding a .400 OBP three times so far, earning five All-Star nods. His career WAR so far is 37.3. Despite mediocre defense and the shift to first base, his yearly WARs are great; since his sophomore year his worst WAR mark is 3.00 and he's usually well above 5.0, exceeding 6.0 three times.

The Most Similar batters through age 27: Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Griffey Jr., Hal Trosky, Mickey Mantle, Albert Pujols, Orlando Cepeda, Al Kaline, Andruw Jones, Joe Medwick. Six of those guys are in the Hall of Fame, and Griffey and Pujols will get there. Trosky was a great hitter early in his career but had his career shortened by injuries.

I often say that "rookie ball stats aren't that predictive." In Cabrera's case, he did not dominate the low minors, putting up average numbers. However, he was young for the levels, and while he didn't draw a ton of walks, he didn't strike out that much either. His BB/K/AB ratio was acceptable...it is one thing to have 35 walks against 70 strikeouts in 400 plate appearances. It is quite another to have 30 walks and 140 strikeouts. The scouting reports and projections were always strong, and this was one case that the scouts absolutely nailed.

The question now: will his apparently serious personal problems cause his skills to slip prematurely? There is no way to answer that.

Libya: Security Forces Fire on 'Day of Anger' Demonstrations

2011-02-18T00:45:00.000-08:00

(New York) - The Libyan security forces killed at least 24 protesters and wounded many others in a crackdown on peaceful demonstrations across the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should cease the use of lethal force unless absolutely necessary to protect lives and open an independent investigation into the lethal shootings, Human Rights Watch said.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters took to the streets on February 17, 2011, in Baida, Benghazy, Zenten, Derna, and Ajdabiya. According to multiple witnesses, Libyan security forces shot and killed the demonstrators in efforts to disperse the protests.

"The security forces' vicious attacks on peaceful demonstrators lay bare the reality of Muammar Gaddafi's brutality when faced with any internal dissent," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Libyans should not have to risk their lives to make a stand for their rights as human beings."

Some of the worst violence was in the eastern city of Baida. At around 1 p.m. on February 17, according to sources in Libya, hospital staff put out a call for additional medical supplies, as they became overwhelmed with the medical needs of 70 injured protesters, half of them in critical condition due to gunshot wounds. On the night of February 16, security forces had attacked peaceful protesters with teargas and live ammunition, shooting dead two protesters, according to protesters who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Geneva-based Libya Human Rights Solidarity has confirmed three of the names of those shot dead so far: Safwan Attiya, Nasser Al Juweigi, and Ahmad El Qabili. One protester told Human Rights Watch that a new protest started on February 17, after noon prayers and the funerals of those killed on February 16. Joined by hundreds of other protesters, families marched toward the Internal Security office, chanting, "Down with the regime" and "Get out Muammar Gaddafi." Some protesters filmed the protests with mobile phones and posted them online.

One injured protester in a hospital in Baida told Human Rights Watch that he was sitting near the intensive care unit there and had confirmed that security forces had shot dead 16 people and wounded dozens of others. He said that Special Forces and armed men in street clothes fired live ammunition to deter protesters.

A protester in Benghazi told Human Rights Watch that hundreds of lawyers, activists, and other protesters gathered on the steps of the Benghazi Court calling for a constitution and respect for the rule of law. Early in the day, sources in Libya told Human Rights Watch that security forces had arrested a Benghazi journalist, Hind El Houny, and Salem Souidan, a family member of a group that has been seeking justice for the massacre of inmates in Abu Salim prison in 1996. Security forces also arrested a former political prisoner, Abdel Nasser al-Rabbasi, in Bani Walid.

The protester said he saw groups of men in street clothes armed with knives, later joined by Internal Security forces, charging the protesters to disperse them. The protester told Human Rights Watch that he believed security forces had shot dead at least 17 protesters during the day, mostly near Abdel Nasser Street. Human Rights Watch was able to confirm eight of those deaths.

It appears that the government also has coordinated pro-government supporters to confront the demonstrations. On February 16, subscribers to Libyana, one of two Libyan mobile phone networks, received a text message calling upon "nationalist youth" to go out and "defend national symbols." At around 11:30 p.m. on February 17, a protester in Tripoli told Human Rights Watch that anti-government protests had started in Tripoli also.

"It is remarkable that Gaddafi is still copying the very same tactics that failed Hosni Mubarak so completely just across the border," Whitson said. "Using security forces and armed thugs to deny people the right to express their opposition to the government increasingly looks destined to fail."

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/17/libya-security-forces-fire-day-anger-demonstrations

ABC Correspondent Attacked in Bahrain

2011-02-17T04:04:00.000-08:00

In the latest instance of an American journalist coming under attack while covering the spreading unrest in the Middle East, Miguel Marquez, an ABC News correspondent, was set upon and beaten while covering protests in Bahrain on Wednesday, the network said.

Mr. Marquez was not seriously injured. He had been filing a report from Pearl Square in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, where thousands had gathered for protests on Wednesday, when he was suddenly hit with billy clubs and had his camera yanked from his hands by what he called “a gang of thugs.”

In an audio clip of the attack, which was posted on the ABC News Web site, Mr. Marquez can be heard pleading with his attackers — “No! No! No! Hey, I’m a journalist here!” — and then retreating from the square, where he said the police were aggressively trying to clear the crowds.

“I’m hit,” he says anxiously. “I just got beat rather badly by a gang of thugs. I’m now in a marketplace near our hotel where people are cowering in buildings.’

“I mean, these people are not screwing around,” he adds. “They’re going to clear that square tonight, ahead of any protest on Friday. The government clearly does not want this to get any bigger.”

The demonstrations in Bahrain are part of a wave of antigovernment protests spreading in the Middle East. For the last three days, tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Pearl Square demanding political changes and greater opportunities for work from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, whose family has ruled Bahrain for centuries.

Several other American television correspondents have been attacked in the region in recent weeks. CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Christiane Amanpour were targeted by angry crowds while reporting from Cairo earlier this month, and more recently Lara Logan, the CBS News correspondent, was beaten and sexually assaulted in Cairo while reporting on Hosni Mubarak’s announcement that he was stepping down. Logan received medical treatment and returned to the United States, CBS said.

The Rock returns to WWE Raw and will host Wrestlemania 27

2011-02-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

While it had become pretty clear over the last week or so that The Rock would be the host of Wrestlemania 27, it wasn't definite.

This afternoon, he pretty much confirmed it when he posted this on Facebook:

‎"...FINALLY..." Get ready... DJ

As the last segment of tonight's edition of Monday Night Raw started, it became obvious what was about how to happen. After a display of odd sounds over the PA and images on the Titantron, the lights and screens went off one by one. It was clear that they were priming the crowd to completely explode when they heard those three familiar words:

" IF YA SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.........."

Cue the biggest pop I have heard in my life, as The Rock returned to Raw to announce he was hosting Wrestlemania 27 in a long segment (the show ran 15 minutes long, ending at 11:20 PM Eastern)) where he did all of his shtick, cutting a classic Rock promo where he made fun of Michael Cole when a General Manager email arrived, made fun of John Cena, and interestingly promised as "Dwayne" that he will never leave WWE again.

Dalai Lama’s Nephew Killed by a Car While Walking for Tibet on A1A in the Hammock

2011-02-15T05:05:00.000-08:00

Jigme Norbu, nephew to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, had logged 7,800 miles on 19 walks and on his bike before beginning his latest today, and what proved to be his last–a 300-mile trek starting in St. Augustine and going south. Norbu and two companions were to have ended their “Walk for Tibet Florida” later this month in West Palm Beach.

Norbu, 45, was struck and killed by a passing driver just before 7:30 this evening (Feb. 14) on State Road A1A in the Hammock, across the street from the Adult and Community Education building, some 10 miles north of Flagler Beach and 25 miles south of St. Augustine.Norbu was about three minutes away from his rendezvous point with his companions, who’d gone ahead in late afternoon to wait for him at T.J.’s Seafood Shack, the restaurant. (Just last September, an employee from the restaurant was killed by a motorist while biking home late at night on A1A.) A mile or so south, Damian Collins, owner of the Hammock Wine and Cheese Shoppe, who may have been the last person to speak to Norbu, had set out drinks, food and other provisions for him and his companions, along with a tent–for Norbu–and other accommodations for the others so they could spend the night.found out he was nearby, taking him coconut milk to reinforce him. The sun had just set. He was barely two or three miles north. “He was really smiley and calm and all about what he was doing,” Collins said. He told her: “This is why I’m doing this. Here are some fliers. You’re why I’m doing this.” He wanted to get to Flagler Beach that night. She dissuaded him, citing the distance, and offered him and his companions a place to stay. Back at her shop, Collins, who was on her way elsewhere for the evening, set out a few goods on a picnic table in the backyard–including soap and a towel–and a note: “Tibet Group! Hi! Please make yourselves at home. It is an honor to have you here. Damian.”

It is about the time when Collins was writing the note, or moments later, that Norbu died.

“He was walking southbound and was struck by a car. It’s still under investigation whether he was partly in the road or off the side of the road,” a Florida Highway Patrol trooper at the scene said this evening. At 9:15 p.m., Norbu’s body was still on the west side of the road, covered by a tarp, awaiting the arrival of the medical examiner from St. Augustine (he arrived shortly after, and the body was moved to a morgue in St. Augustine). “He was walking on the edge of the road, on the white line, or very close to the white line, and he was walking with traffic,” the trooper said later.

It’s not clear why Norbu had chosen to walk on the west side of the road: there is a wide sidewalk on the east side of A1A, though the road isn’t lit, and the trees’ canopy obscure what glimmers might help guide a silhouette: Norbu may well have been hugging the white line as his only visible means of navigation. .Norbu was struck by a dark gray 2001 Kia Sportage driven by Keith O’Dell, a 31-year-old resident of Blackwell Place in Palm Coast. O’Dell had a 5-year-old child with him, according to a highway patrol report. (The trooper at the scene said he had two children with him.)

O’Dell appeared willing to speak to a reporter, but his father intervened, said O’Dell was “too traumatized,” and drove him away in a pick-up truck at 10:10 p.m., leaving the Kia on the side of the road. By then O’Dell had spent several hours patiently cooperating with troopers, who had no more questions for him.

The right-front of the Kia was dented. The hood had buckled from the impact. The side mirror’s top plastic frame had chipped in a jagged pattern, likely from the violence of the impact, which also bent back the car’s antenna. The passenger side of the windshield was smashed in, but hadn’t shattered. The highway patrol late Monday evening had not determined whether charges would be filed. Alcohol was not a factor.

Norbu, a father of three, was the owner of a Tibetan restaurant in Bloomington, the Snow Lion. He was the son of the late Takster Rinpoche, elder brother to the Dali Lama. Rinpoche taught Tibetan studies at Indiana University Bloomington, was the founder of the Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center there, and had himself started long treks for Tibet. (Norbu was also overextended: In late 2009, he was “facing nearly $7 million in mortgage foreclosures on high-profile retail properties his company owns around Bloomington,” according to the Bloomington Herald-Times.)

Norbu was joined on his last walk by Donna Kim-Brand, who was providing support and a van, and two other companions.

“I want to personally request your support for the upcoming walk from St. Augustine along the coast to West Palm Beach,” Norbu wrote on a web page devoted to the Florida walk. He’d flown from Indianapolis to Jacksonville on Feb. 13. “On February 14th, our walk will cover over 300 miles and have many oppourtunities (sic.) to share our message of world peace, human rights, and the Tibetan struggle for independence. I am asking for your support on spreading the news of this walk for our global cause.”

Just last December he undertook a 250-mile walk in Taiwan, an especially significant location given Taiwan’s tortuous relationship with China, Tibet’s occupier. In fall, he’d taken a 557-mile walk from Indianapolis to Toronto.

Thinking back on her brief moment with Norbu–no more than a couple of minutes: “I didn’t want to bother him, I didn’t want to stop him,” she said–Collins remembered that she’d had her own Save Tibet bumper sticker on her pick-up truck. It’d been there 10 years. It had long since faded to something barely visible against the metal.

Surprise! Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs' wins Album of the Year Grammy: 'What the hell?'

2011-02-14T00:54:00.003-08:00

As predicted by absolutely nobody, excellent Montreal indie band Arcade Fire beat favorites Eminem and Lady Antebellum for the night’s top award, the Album of the Year Grammy. First thing out of frontman Win Butler’s mouth at the podium: “What the hell?” We couldn’t agree more, but it’s the best kind of surprise, as was their bonus performance of “Ready To Start” right after their acceptance speech (which was weird; is there any way they didn’t know they were going to win given that setup?). Combine this with Esperanza Spalding’s bizarro win in the Best New Artist category and this was an amazing year for underdogs.

What do you think of Arcade Fire’s big win? Did anyone see this coming, or is it totally out of nowhere?

Surprise! Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs' wins Album of the Year Grammy: 'What the hell?'

2011-02-14T00:54:00.001-08:00

Usher: 'I Wish Justin Bieber Won' Best New Artist Grammy

2011-02-14T00:49:00.001-08:00

Usher is bummed Justin Bieber lost the best new artist Grammy to Esperanza Spalding.

"I wish Justin had won," Usher, who discovered the 16-year-old (and poses with him and L.A. Reid on the current cover of The Hollywood Reporter), told reporters backstage Sunday.

PHOTOS: Grammy red carpet's wildest looks

Bieber made a brief appearance with reporters to shoot down rumors that his mom was buying him a home in L.A. as a birthday present.

"I think I might move back to Canada," he joked.

When asked about who he's like to collaborate with, he said, "I would like to work with… [five second pause]… I'm gonna think about that and get back to you!"

Of "Bieber Fever," he joked: "It's an epidemic. I'm not the one who made it up, so talk to my fans."

Where does he see himself in 10 years?

"I'm gonna celebrate the 10-year anniversary of you asking me that question. I'm just kidding. ... In 10 years, I see myself still doing music and still being musical and making good songs and pleasing my fans."

Who Is Skylar Grey? Possibly the 2011 Grammy Awards' Biggest New Star

2011-02-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

In recent months the name of Skylar Grey has been popping up with increasing regularity in the credits for major pop and hip hop fusion hit singles. Then at last night's Grammy Awards, the woman named Skylar Grey hit the stage to sing the dramatic chorus for "I Need a Doctor," the current hit single from Eminem and Dr. Dre. Just who is Skylar Grey?

Skylar Grey is a stage name for Holly Brook Hafermann. She formerly performed as simply Holly Brook and under that name is featured on the Fort Minor hit single "Where'd You Go?" Following that success, Holly Brook released an album Like Blood Like Honey in 2006 that climbed to #26 on Billboard's Heat Seekers chart. She maintained a low profile in the industry until helping co-write Eminem's massive smash hit "Love the Way You Lie." Skylar Grey has stated in a blog for the Grammy Awards,

"When I wrote the chorus to Eminem's 'Love The Way You Lie' featuring Rihanna, I was living alone in a cabin in the woods, with my home studio. I was taking a step away from the industry in an effort to nurture my muses, which had been seriously damaged. I certainly wasn't attempting to write a hit song, but rather channeling what naturally came to me, with no expectations."

Since "Love the Way You Lie" went to #1 on the pop charts, Skylar Grey appeared as a co-writer and featured peformer on Diddy-Dirty Money's hit single "Coming Home," as well as featured performer on the Eminem and Dr. Dre smash "I Need a Doctor." All three of these hit singles were Alex Da Kid productions. He has signed Skylar Grey to a production deal. It looks like stardom is lurking just around the corner.

Grammy Awards 2011: Backstage with Justin Bieber, Usher, Esperanza Spalding, Matthew Morrison, and many more

2011-02-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

As you might imagine, backstage at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards is a press feeding frenzy, with golden gramophone winners—and even some presenters—parading behind-the-scenes to various media outlets to take their questions and revel in the celebratory mood of the evening. The bold-faced names trek from the radio press to TV shows like Extra and—you guessed it—even us here in the print and online world. I resided backstage for the show and waited for folks like Esperanza Spalding, Usher, Justin Bieber, Train, and Matthew Morrison to come and bask with the reporters for a bit. Here’s what minute-by-minute account of what transpired:

6:15 P.M. PT: The band Train, winners for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals for their smash single “Hey, Soul Sister,” are both the first winners of the evening and the first winners to come backstage for the evening. The first question for the group is about their surprising comeback last year with “Soul Sister.” “We’ve been through a lot, and to be here after so many years, it’s such an honor to be nominated,” says vocalist Patrick Monahan. “This was a beautiful comeback nomination. We feel we have many more albums to come that are going to be better. To have won this makes up for things that didn’t even exist.”

Added vocalist/guitarist Jimmy Stafford: “When you’re in a category up against Glee these days, we weren’t expecting it.” Clever. Before they stepped off the press stage, the group addressed the fact that “Soul Sister” became huge, in part, because it was featured in commercials for Reebok, Apple, and Samsung. “Our current single, ‘Marry Me,’ we’re looking for a diamond commercial. So if any of you have inside scoop…” Very funny. They came off as really great, relaxed guys and more than happy about their win.

6:43 P.M. PT: The Black Keys—who won a Grammy during in the pre-telecast awards—come backstage, and amid a few boring questions and answers, they reveal they’ll start work on a new album in March.

7:34 P.M. PT: John Legend appears long after he won his three Grammy Awards during the pre-telecast awards. “I love it every time,” he says, about winning. “I never take it for granted. I appreciate it every time. It’s nice when we can do them on TV, but there were no R&B awards on TV this year unfortunately.” What next for Legend? “I’m in the studio again working on another new album. This time I’m doing it with Kanye. We already did a week of work, and it was already really good. We’re off to a great start. We’ll hopefully have the bulk of it done this spring.”

7:43 P.M. PT: The always-jovial Matthew Morrison from Glee shows up backstage, after he made his introduction of Academy president Neil Portnow. “You have been hounding me all weekend!” he says upon arrival, spotting a journalist who he’s seen at parties all weekend. “How you doin’?” Then he gets to the goods, revealing some details about his forthcoming album, which will be out in May. Morrison collaborated with producers J.C. Chasez (of ’NSYNC), Rob Mathis, and the funnily named Egg White, who’s out of London. He wrote half the album himself, and his first album will be out in three weeks.

What about a few little personal details, like, who his date was tonight and what the heartthrob is doing for Valentine’s Day tomorrow? “My manager was my date—very boring,” he says. “I don’t have a date tomorrow—I’ll be working all day. I’m so boring. I don’t have time to date anyone. My life sucks.” And what did he think of Gwyneth Paltrow’s performance with Cee Lo? “I was so excited for her!” he says. “She’s become such a good buddy of mine. She killed it! And she looked fantastic. My heart was so happy.” And lastly, what’s the latest with Glee? “There are some trannies coming on soon,” he says, clearly joking. “No, I’m kidding. Gwyneth came back on, and we did ‘Kiss’ by Prince as a tango. Next week: Justin Bieber songs!”

7:55 P.M. PT: A very sparkly Miranda Lambert materializes backstage after he win for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song “The House That Built Me.” Naturally, she addresses the song first—and the odd way it ended up on her record. “’The House That Built Me’ was actually pitched to [fiancé and fellow country star] Blake [Shelton],” she says. “When I heard it, I just had this huge connection to it. Blake said, ‘If you have a connection like this with a song, you should probably put this on your record.’ Right before it went to No. 1, he asked if he could have it back, but it was a little late at that point.” Very good-natured. What’s her favorite thing about the Grammys? “I love that the Grammys does collaborations,” she says. “That is a lost art.” And, finally, why didn’t she thank fiancé Blake in her acceptance speech? “I forgot!” she yells before running off the press stage.

8:10 P.M. PT: A sunglasses-wearing Usher, after performing with his mentee Justin Bieber, comes backstage. Immediately, the members of the press immediately ask what he thinks about Esperanza Spalding winning the Best New Artist Grammy over Bieber. “I would have preferred that Justin Bieber would have won Best New Artist,” he admits, and then adds: “I’ve been here before and didn’t win.”

8:12 P.M. PT: Then, surprise! A white-tuxedo-clad Justin Bieber—who’d been waiting in line to come on stage after Usher—crashes the stage and jumps on Usher’s back. Of course, the first question is: What do you think about Esperanza winning over you for Best New Artist? “I think that I’m really happy for her, and uh, I had a great night,” Bieber says diplomatically. “I got to perform with my mentor, which is amazing. Yeah, that’s all I got to say.” Bieber answers a few other silly questions and disappears.

8:16 P.M. PT: But Bieber only disappears for a few moments before returning to the stage with Usher again. Thoughts about his songs being on Glee? “I’m really excited about it,” he says. “My songs are going to be on Glee. I really can’t believe it. This month and this year has been just amazing.” And, two years after stardom, what does he think of Bieber Fever? “I think that it’s just a term, like, that my fans have made and have continued to…,” he says, trailing off. “It’s an epidemic. I’m kidding. I don’t know. I’m not the one who made it up, so talk to my fans.” Lastly, where will he be in 10 years? “I see myself still doing music and still being musical and making songs and pleasing my fans.”

8:48 P.M. PT: The big-haired Esperanza Spalding, who won the Grammy for Best New Artist, waltzes backstage. “It’s just a blessing to be acknowledged in this stage,” she says. “I feel really lucky that I got to be acknowledged on this stage. I got there by doing what’s really dear to my heart.” Spalding tells the story of how she fell in love with the bass but says that she started on the violin, playing that from age 5 to 15. Is it “weird” to win Best New Artist for your third album? “Oh no,” Spalding says. “I mean, weird. I know you don’t mean ‘weird.’ It’s already just weird that I’m here in front of you. For the world that I come from, this is the beginning of the beginning.”

Finally, how does Esperanza feel about trumping Bieber for Best New Artist? “When this is all over, we’re all colleagues again, just like we were before,” she says. “He sold more records than me. We’re doing our thing in our respective fields. He’s unquestionably a talented man. What can I say? I didn’t beat him. I’m taking that thing home. He has great hair, and I have great hair.”

Grammy Awards: Dylan, Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers bring an acoustic fury

2011-02-14T00:21:00.000-08:00

Some classic instrumentation can go a long way, and Mumford & Sons have been a steady-building success story, but the act's run-through of "The Cave" should add some acceleration. The lyrics are mysterious, and the imagery is more foreboding than anything Eminem will cook up tonight, as the band brings plenty of tension to its acoustic works.

The Avett Brothers' "Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise" started slower, but gradually built, and by the time the band starts singing that "darkness" is taking over, the mood and tone of the music reflects it. The moment that everyone was waiting for, however, was the arrival of Bob Dylan, making one of his rare Grammy appearances. He saing "Maggie's Farm," with all of the Avetts and Mumfords backing him. The mike was wobbly at first, but Dylan's voice is wobbly, so it doesn't really matter. It's a song of personal revolution, and standing up to an unjust employer, so it worked well for these recessionary times.

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Premieres Gaga channels '90s dance music on new track celebrating individuality.

2011-02-11T04:59:00.000-08:00

Fun, empowering and over-the-top. Those are the first adjectives that come to mind upon hearing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way." \ Between Gaga's empowering lyrics and the music's heavy club influences, the song is set to appease her fans and pop lovers everywhere who had no idea what Gaga had up her meat sleeves for this highly anticipated single, which debuted early Friday morning (February 11).

At first listen, it sounds a lot like a '90s club anthem that could have been pulled right out Madonna's "Vogue" period, complete with rhythmic spoken-word parts. But upon a closer listen, Gaga's distinct voice makes the song all hers.

"It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M," she says on loop at the song's beginning, "because you were born this way, baby."

As synths crash into a beat, Gaga belts out the song's first verse, "My mama told me when I was young/ We are all born superstars." She then quickly moves into the chorus, and it's clear this song is meant to be heard in a big space. It's fast and hard-hitting.

Gaga sings/speaks in the middle of the song: "Don't be a drag, be a queen/ Whether you're broke or evergreen/ You're black, white, beige, chola descent/ You're Lebanese, You're Orient/ Whether life's disabilities/ Left you outcast, bullied or teased/ Rejoice and love yourself today/ 'Cause baby you we're born this way/ No matter gay, straight, or bi/ Lesbian, transgendered life/ I'm on the right track baby/ I was born to survive/ No matter black, white or beige/ Chola or Orient made/ I'm on the right track baby/ I was born to be brave."

The music fades out momentarily as Gaga sings a cappella before a synthy organ comes back in and she closes out the song, her voice clear and strong. The song is part gospel for her little monsters (particularly the ones who feel persecuted for their sexuality or other differences) and part funky dance tune that anyone could relate to.

The song was written and co-produced by Gaga. Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow also got co-production credits on the track, which will appear on her May album of the same name.

Army Backs Mubarak as Crowds Surge

2011-02-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

CAIRO — As tens of thousands of chanting protesters thronged central Cairo and elsewhere on the 18th day of Egypt’s uprising, the powerful armed forces scrambled on Friday to offer assurances and concessions, endorsing President Hosni Mubarak’s refusal to step down while seeking to defuse the outrage and anger

But it was not clear whether the military’s position would satisfy demonstrators who have previously cast the military as an ally and who want Mr. Mubarak to leave immediately — a demand the military did not come near to supporting in a statement on Friday after a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

In the statement, read out on state television, the military appeared to support Mr. Mubarak’s insistence, laid out in a speech on Thursday night, that he would remain in power until elections are held, delegate some unspecified authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman and oversee constitutional change.

At the same time, in an effort to meet some of the protesters’ demands, the military said it would guarantee the lifting of Egypt’s emergency law once the current protests were over and would defend “the lawful demands of the people.” The law was imposed after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981 — which enabled Mr. Mubarak, then the vice president, to take power. Protesters say it has been used to suppress opposition.

The military’s statement, labeled Communiqué No. 2, followed an announcement on Thursday offering “affirmation and support for the legitimate demands of the people.”

On Friday, the military also promised that the “honorable people who have rejected corruption” and who have demanded reform would not be “pursued.” Many demonstrators fear that if they call off their protests they will face arrest and punishment.

In a direct appeal to the demonstrators to end protests that have forced the autocratic Mr. Mubarak to make once unthinkable concessions, the military said that people should return to work and resume normal life. The turmoil has cost Egypt dearly in terms of its economy, the prestige of its leaders and its vaunted reputation for stability.

The president’s declaration Thursday night immediately enraged hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in Tahrir Square in anticipation of his departure and set in motion a volatile new stage in the three-week uprising.

Western diplomats said that Egyptian government officials had assured them privately on Friday that they had expected Mr. Mubarak’s speech to signal that he was making a more complete exit, permanently and irrevocably delegating all his powers to his vice president.

But Mr. Mubarak’s speech confounded their expectations, leaving military officials and Egyptian diplomats scrambling to reassure their Western allies that Mr. Mubarak had indeed signaled a more definitive break with power, the diplomats said, speaking in return for anonymity because of the delicacy and fluidity of the deepening crisis.

Western diplomats and American officials say that Egypt’s top military commanders, including both the defense minister and the chairman of the armed forces, have told them for weeks that the Egyptian army would never use force against civilians to preserve the regime. Some depicted Mr. Mubarak’s speech as a sign that his power had effectively waned.

“The government of Egypt says absolutely, it is done, it is over,” a Western diplomat said, but “that is not what anybody heard,” in part because Mr. Mubarak’s delegation of power to his vice president did not seem to be irrevocable. But the developments nonetheless reopened the question of who wielded ultimate power in Egypt after the military’s growing intervention.

The military statement, broadcast first by a civilian announcer on state television and then by a uniformed military spokesman, came as the city — and many other places in Egypt — began noon prayers on Friday, the Muslim holy day and the beginning of the weekend, a moment that has been the prelude for large-scale demonstrations since the revolt started.

Several hundred protesters gathered outside the presidential palace in the suburb of Heliopolis, news reports said, but troops backed by armored vehicles and razor wire barricades did nothing to prevent them from assembling.

In the upscale neighborhood of Mohandiseen, about a thousand protesters spilled out of the Mustafa Mahmoud mosque to march on the Radio and Television Building, even though shouting matches broke out as some Egyptians watching them urged them to call off their protest since Mr. Mubarak repeated that he would leave in September when elections are scheduled. But one demonstrator, Mohamed Salwy, 44, said: “Mubarak doesn’t understand. I think these protests are going to have to go on for a long time.”

Once they arrived at the broadcasting center, they were joined by thousands of others, facing a ring of steel made up of a dozen armored personnel carriers and tanks forming a cordon.

Outside the capital, television images showed large numbers of protesters gathering under a sea of Egyptian flags in Alexandria.

it has provoked among protesters.

Feast of our Lady of Lourdes

2011-02-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines – The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France is one of the most frequented Marian shrines in the world. It was built on the spot where Bernadette, a 14-year-old peasant girl, the oldest daughter among the six children of Francois Soubrious and Louise Casterot, had an encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first encounter happened on February 11, 1858. Bernadette and her friends had gone to gather firewood when suddenly, in the hollow of the rock Massabielle, she saw a young and beautiful lady. “Lovelier than I have ever seen,” Bernadette said. She described the lady as clothed in white, with a blue ribbon sash and a Rosary on her right arm. That was the first of a series of apparitions that ended on July 16, 1858.

One day, the beautiful lady told the Bernadette to drink of a mysterious fountain within the grotto. No fountain was to be seen, but when Bernadette scratched at the ground, a spring began to flow. The water from this still-flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power. Many people who visited the grotto have been healed of various kinds of illnesses.

The lady bade Bernadette to go and tell the local priest that she wished a chapel to be built on the spot and processions to be made to the grotto. The priest said he would not believe it unless the apparition gave Bernadette her name. On March 25, 1858, Bernadette reported that the lady told her, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” At that time Bernadette did not have any idea about the term because of her young age but the Church has just declared the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in 1854.

The Church professes that Mary is the Immaculate Conception because she was conceived in her mother’s womb without original sin because God prepared her to be the mother of His Son, Jesus our Lord. Pope Pius X then decreed the universal observance of this feast on February 11, 1907.

As we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, we remember Mary’s Immaculate Conception. We pray on this day that we may have the grace and courage to always do the will of God and reject any occasions of sin. We pray to our Blessed Mother to bring us closer to God. We also pray to God through Mary for the conversion of sinners and the forgiveness of their sins.

Say What? Family Guy’s Seth Macfarlane Doing a Big Band Record? Gets REAL Talent to Play Along

2011-02-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Seth MacFarlane didn’t just create The Family Guy but he also lends his voice to the characters of Peter Griffin, Brian the dog, Stewie and Quagmire. But he’s not just content just doing voices of Rhode Island residents. Nope, Seth MacFarlane won’t be speaking in his next role, he’ll be singing. And as part of a big band no less.

And he got some very talented ladies to lend their talents to his artistic pursuit…

Entertainment Weekly learned that Norah Jones and Sara Barelles will be joining him on the record. The album is entitled Music in Better Than Words and features “hidden gems from the ’40s and ’50s.”

Would you listen to Peter Griffin sing a Sinatra like ditty? Fortunately for us all, Seth MacFarlane has a whole slew of voices in that throat of his, it’ll be interesting to see which one he pulls out for his role as big band singer.

Lindsay Lohan White Dress: Appropriate for Court?

2011-02-11T04:41:00.000-08:00

Lindsay Lohan’s white dress is getting a ton of attention, and not because she looked hot. Rather that she wore such an outfit to court, when facing felony theft charges. Check out pictures here and see what you think!

Personally, I do not think it is a big deal. She was dressed nicely, pulled together, and seemed mature. Sure, maybe she could have dressed more conservatively, like she did here for her previous hearings, but it is not like she dressed to go clubbing.

Lindsay says that the white dress stands for purity and was a statement to prove her innocence.

The dress, seen in the photos below, was a Kimberly Ovitz creation. It fell mid thigh, had a full neck line, and was long sleeved. Very modest, except for the length.

While I was watching her court appearance yesterday on TMZ, Harvey Levin said he didn’t think Lindsay realized the trouble she was in, and she proved that by wearing that outfit.

I don’t agree. I think she was dressed nicely, and looked pulled together. She looked great, healthy, and it is kind of sad people are going to such lengths to find something wrong.

I feel bad for her, she is clearly trying to get her life together. I hope she can. The media is a circus around her. I don’t think many people can handle that kind of fame, and definitely not from such a young age.

Judge Schwartz set her bail at $20,000 — but warned, “If you violate the law, I will remand you and there will be NO BAIL.” The judge also revoked Lindsay’s probation set bail at $20,000 for a grand total of $40,000. She posted and flew outta the courthouse.

So check out the pictures below. What do you think of Lindsay’s white dress for court? Tell me in the comment section!!!

For Allen, 3-pointer record was all about preparation

2011-02-11T04:29:00.000-08:00

Seattle sports fans love to hate the NBA and Clay Bennett and any other entity that did them wrong when the Sonics left town.

Ray Allen

But they are nearly unanimous in their love for Ray Allen.

Jackie MacMullan at ESPN.com has a great profile of Allen, who on Thursday night broke Reggie Miller's NBA record of 2,560 3-pointers made.

The theme? Preparation. And a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

MacMullan writes that Allen has been preparing to break Miller's record for his entire career:

There were the obvious tasks of shooting thousands of shots from each spot behind the arc so that any attempt from any angle would feel familiar, rote, routine. The more subtle groundwork centered on a regimented diet, a controlled sleeping pattern, an increased emphasis on his rigid conditioning habits to strengthen his core and challenge his body.

These provisions are the flip side of remarks from people such as former NBA player (and ESPN NBA analyst) Mark Jackson, a bosom buddy of Miller's, who recently declared Allen was born with the gift of a shooting touch.

"I've argued this with a lot of people in my life,'' Allen said. "When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, 'Don't undermine the work I've put in every day.' Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee, and ask them. The answer is me -- not because it's a competition but because that's how I prepare."

It's a great feature on a player who touched a lot of lives in Seattle. See the full story here.

Leon Russell in spotlight with Elton John album, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Bluesfest lineup

2011-02-10T04:12:00.000-08:00

Leon Rusell, better known has 'The Master of Space and Time' among music lovers, is currently enjoying another stint in the spotlight as he finds himself busy basking in the early success of his collaborative album with Sir Elton John 'The Union', the inclusion in the list of 2011 inductees into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the announcement that he is part of the legedary line-up at the Bluesfest.

Despite their busy schedules, Leon Russell and Elton John appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday to perform 'Hey Ahab' from their Grammy-nominated album 'The Union'. The single 'If It Wasn't for Bad', which sets the tone as an opener on the album, made it to the Grammy nominations list despite the fact that the album was released after the Grammy eligibility period.

Leon Russell and Elton John's association is not set to end with the album as British rock star is slated to induct the American piano man into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Bluesfest, which is considered Australia's "favorite counter-culture, family-orientated, ethnically and artistically diverse music festival," announced on February 9 that Leon Russell was one among the musical geniuses who will be performing at the Byron Bay festival between April 21 and April 25.

Among the other luminaries who will perform at the Bluesfest, which in 2010 won Australian Event of the Year and Best Cultural or Arts Event at the Australian Event Awards, are Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Booker T., Grace Jones, and John Legend.

six-dead-six-injured-in-cork-air-crash

2011-02-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Six people have died and six others were injured when a plane travelling from Belfast City Airport crashed in fog at Cork Airport today, a Cork County Council spokesman said.

Eliza Kruger: Mark Sanchez’s 17-Year-Old Alleged Hookup a Hedge Fund Baby

2011-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

he identity of the 17-year-old high school student who claims she hooked up with Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has now been revealed (as well as her family’s hefty bank account). Eliza Kruger, daughter of Connecticut hedge funder Konrad “Chip” Kruger, is the young blonde who shared her story about being romanced by the 24-year-old football hunk .

Eliza bragged on Facebook about receiving texts from “MARK F–ING SANCHEZ” texting who she met at NYC nightclub Lavo on New Year’s Eve.

OK! NEWS: MARK SANCHEZ’ ALLEGED ROMANTIC RELATIONS WITH HIGH SCHOOLER WOULD BE LEGAL

“You know I’m 17, right?” Eliza recounted of her first conversation with Mark to sports blog Deadspin.com who broke the story about the footballer’s hook up with a young girl (and also broke the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger Jets scandal in October).

Mark replied, “Well, we can still talk, but I can’t see you until you’re 18,”

But Eliza reminded him, “17 is legal in New York.”

OK! GALLERY: MARK SANCHEZ IS BUILT FOR THE BEACH

They kept in touch and Mark gave her tickets to the Jets vs. Bills game. Later that week, they went on a date and after the date came the hook-up.

“Yeah,” she said after being asked if the had romantic relations. “We went back to his place in Jersey after dinner. He lives on a golf course. There was a big storm.”

Eliza also said she made sure to research the legality of dating a minor — 17 being the legal age of consent in New York and 16 in New Jersey.

OK! GALLERY: CELEBRATING THE SUPER BOWL — HOT QUARTERBACKS OF THE NFL!

“He’s a really nice guy, you know,” Eliza told Deadspin. “He’s one of the kindest people, and he’s a genuine person.”

It make sense that Eliza would have the kind of money to spend at swanky NYC nightclubs as her father Konrad Kruger is reportedly a hedge fund man, according to Buisness Insider.

Kruger is a partner in the Stamford, Conn., financial firm Five Mile Capital Partners, and according to court records (via the NY Post) he received a $48 million bonus last year, severance and a deferred-compensation package when he left the firm Greenwich Capital in 2000.

Facebook to launch first mobile phone

2011-01-30T06:58:00.000-08:00

HTC will unveil two new Facebook branded mobile phones next month, City A.M. has learned.

The Taiwanese manufacturer will launch an official tie-up with Mark Zuckerberg’s $50bn (£31.6bn) social network at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

The high-end smartphones will be the first to bear the Facebook branding and colours. It could look similar to the mock-up pictured right, also created by HTC.

It is understood the phones will run on a tweaked version of Google’s Android operating system and will prominently display users’ Facebook messages and news feed on the home screen.

Other areas of integration expected include being able to call or email friends from information stored on their Facebook page.

Facebook has aggressively pushed mobile versions of its social network and industry insiders see this as an attempt to consolidate its position as the world’s leading social network.

Facebook’s Joe Hewitt (who worked on the Firefox web browser) and Matthew Papakipos (a leading member of the Google Chrome browser team) are thought to be behind the launch.

It is unclear if the phone will be tied to a single carrier in the UK.

The phone will draw comparisons to Google’s Nexus range, also manufactured by HTC. City A.M. exclusively revealed the new version of the phone, the Nexus S, would be sold in the UK through an exclusive deal with Carphone Warehouse.

Houston Marathon 2011 Live Coverage and Winners

2011-01-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

Houston Marathon 2011 Live Coverage and Winners - The much awaited Houston Marathon 2011 happened this morning and the United States Running Circuit (USARC) begins Saturday with the race of the Half Marathon Championship 2011 presented by the Aramco Service Company.

Thousand of runners across the country are said to gathered this Sunday moring at Houston for the 39^th Annual Chevron Houston Marathon 2011.

Apparently, Ryan Hall, the American record-holder for the 13.1 miles with a 59:43 he delivered in Houston in 2007, got out-kicked down the stretch to finish three seconds slower than the Moroccan-born Mo Trafeh’s 1:02:17, but he was beaming afterward.

The roaster list of Houston Marathon 2011 will be Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.), an Olympian in 2008 to 10,000 meters, Patrick Smyth (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), the 2010 half-marathon runner-up, 2004 Olympic Games Dan Browne (Chula Vista, Calif.), Jason Lehmkuhl (Minneapolis, Minn.), 2008 Half-Marathon runner-up, and Sergio Reyes (Los Osos, Calif.) 2010 USA Marathon Champion.

On the other hand, the women’s race will face 2009 champion Boulet in a deep field that includes 2010 USA Running Circuit champion Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, Minn.), three-time Olympian Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon champion Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.); 2010 runner-up Serena Burla (Ellisville, MO), and Zoila Gomez (Alamosa, Colo.) and Tera Moody (Colorado Springs, Colorado), the finishing fourth and fifth women’s 2008 Olympic Trials Marathon.

Per history, three-time Olympian Jen Rhines won the women’s circuit, finishing in a 1:11.14 personal best. Serena Burla was second (1:11.38) for the second consecutive year and Nan Kennard finished third (1:12.03). A field of 63 men and 41 women began the race on Saturday under cloudy skies and a temperature of 60 degrees. Hall set the record on a different course in 2007. Mostly flat road Saturday included some hairpin turns that slowed the riders.

U.S. not discussing halting aid to Egypt: Clinton

2011-01-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

- Egypt's military appears to be showing restraint with peaceful anti-government protesters so far and there is no talk at this time about halting U.S. aid to Egypt, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday.

Clinton, speaking on ABC television network's "This Week," added that President Hosni Mubarak's appointment of a vice president on Saturday was only the "bare beginning" of a long-list of needed reforms in Egypt.

Pakistan says law must take its course in U.S. diplomat case

2011-01-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Pakistan on Saturday said its legal process should be respected after the U.S. embassy called for the immediate release of an American diplomat who was arrested after he killed two Pakistanis this week.

The American, identified by Pakistani police as Raymond Davis, told a court on Friday he had acted in self-defense after fleeing what he said was a robbery attempt in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

Davis has been remanded in police custody for six days for questioning.

"This matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected," a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said in a statement.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement on Friday only that a staff member of the U.S. Consulate General in Lahore was involved in an incident involving "loss of life."

In a statement on Saturday, the embassy identified him as a U.S. diplomat who it said had been unlawfully detained by authorities in Lahore, where the shooting took place.

It said the diplomat acted in self-defense when confronted by two armed men and had every reason to believe they meant to harm him, and said arresting the diplomat was a violation of international norms and the Vienna Convention.

In his initial statement, Davis told police that he was chased by the two men soon after he withdrew money from a cash machine. The men approached him when he pulled over at a traffic signal and they pointed a gun at him.

Davis then fired at the men, a police official said. Armed robberies and carjackings are becoming more common in Pakistan, but Westerners are rarely targeted.

The killings are likely to fuel anger against the United States in the mainly Muslim nation where anti-American sentiment runs high and anger at the U.S.-allied government is also growing due to its perceived ineptitude.

BIS outage across multiple North American Carriers

2011-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since we had an outage across multiple carriers and regions in North America, but it looks like BIS email is down for most carriers across the US and parts of Canada. No one is receiving email, but it appears that browser, BlackBerry Messenger, voice and SMS are still working however. It looks like the outage started in the wee hours of the morning today, but there is no word on when they'll be up and running. Keep it here and we'll report anything as it pops up. Jump into the forums for more discussion.

Egypt Mubarak picks vice-president for first time

2011-01-29T07:55:00.001-08:00

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, picked his intelligence chief and confidante Omar Suleiman as vice president, a post Mubarak occupied before taking the top job and which has never been filled in 30 years of his rule.

The step indicates for the first time a possible succession plan and also suggests Mubarak's son, who has long rumoured to be a potential leader, has been pushed out of the picture.

The moves comes after five days of protests that have shattered the image of a country that had long been able to crush dissent and opposition through its vast military and security forces.

It may also indicate Mubarak, 82, will not run again in the planned September presidential elections, when officials had suggested he would stand.

Omar Suleiman, 74, has long taken a close role in key policy areas, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, an issue seen as vital to Egypt's relationship with its key ally and aid donor the United States.

State TV showed Suleiman being sworn in as the vice-president.

The official state news agency carried a brief item that said: "Minister Omar Suleiman has been sworn in this evening as vice president for the president of the republic."

It was not clear if protesters would welcome a move that keeps control in the hands of the military and security institutions.

"He is just like Mubarak, there is no change," a protester told Reuters outside the Interior Ministry, where thousands were protesting, moments after the appointment.

Egypt Shuts Down Internet, Cellphone Services

2011-01-29T05:18:00.000-08:00

In the face of mounting political unrest, Egypt took the unprecedented step of severing all Internet connections and shutting down its cellphone services—with the cooperation of international firms.

Egyptian authorities asked mobile operators to "turn down the network totally," said Vittorio Colao, chief executive of U.K.-based Vodafone Group PLC, which owns 55% of Egypt's largest carrier, Vodafone Egypt

Mr. Colao, speaking Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said the request was legitimate under Egyptian law, but he hoped the government would reverse course soon.

Protests Wrack Cairo

View Interactive

See where key events took place in Cairo Friday.

Regional Upheaval

View Interactive

A succession of rallies and demonstrations, in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Algeria have been inspired directly by the popular outpouring of anger that toppled Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. See how these uprising progressed.

Many of the mobile operators in Egypt, including Vodafone, rely on Telecom Egypt, the incumbent national fixed-line provider, to carry parts of their service. Telecom Egypt is majority owned by the government.

Egypt has dozens of Internet providers, but they rely primarily on five large carriers, including Telecom Egypt, for Internet connectivity.

Starting at 10:12 p.m. local time on Thursday night, Telecom Egypt went dark, followed by the four remaining main carriers over the next 13 minutes, said Jim Cowie, chief technology officer of Renesys Corp., a network security firm in Manchester, N.H. By 10:25 p.m., the country no longer existed on the Internet, he said.

Other countries attempting to undermine or contain political uprisings in recent years—from Myanmar in 2007 to Iran and China in 2009—have also clamped down on Internet access and cellphone use.

But Egypt's crackdown appears unique in both scale and synchronization, particularly for a country with such an advanced infrastructure with so many providers, according to Internet security experts.

"What's shocking about this is that they didn't just take down a certain domain name or block a website—they took the whole Internet down," said Mr. Cowie.

France Telecom SA, which operates a venture in Egypt with its local partner Orascom Telecom, said Egyptian authorities "had taken measures" to cut off its mobile and Internet services in the country, provided through its subsidiary called Mobinil.

Off-road motorcycle racer killed

2011-01-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

A top off-road motorcycle racer died Friday from injuries suffered in a crash during practice at Honolulu Hills Raceway in Taft, Calif., according to published reports.

TRAGIC SPORTS DEATHS

Sports has lost many athletes way too soon. We list a few.

Nathan Woods, 32, was preparing for the opening round of the World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) this weekend. He was airlifted to a hospital and pronounced dead after crashing on the motocross portion of the track, the Taft Midway Driller reported.

“Today off-road Racing lost one of the greatest off-road champions ever to throw a leg over a dirtbike,” WORCS announced on its website.

Woods, from Paso Robles, Calif., was the winningest rider in the history of WORCS, and had won two championships.
.
He is survived by his wife, Amanda, and sons, Nate and Braxton.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Champion-off-road-motorcycle-racer-Nathan-Woods-killed-012911

Official App Store account on Twitter

2011-01-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

Apple has an official Twitter account for the App Store, appropriately named @appstore, which promises "official App Store tweets including our featured apps, exclusive offers, and more."

The first post from the account came only a few hours ago, but there are already 50,000 followers signed up.
One of the questions that people have had with the Mac App Store was the question of "discoverability" of apps on the store that aren't "featured" or on the "top" lists; hopefully this account will be one more way for Apple to get the word out about new apps that you might not otherwise hear about.

If you aren't a Twitter user, you can always follow the RSS feed for the account. If you're on Facebook, App Store is there, too.

Twitter worm leads users to fake and malicious site

2011-01-22T10:29:00.001-08:00

By Suzanne Choney
A nasty worm on Twitter preys on users who click on a shortened link that takes them to a fake anti-virus site for "Security Shield" software. Once there, the aim is to get users to download what is billed as anti-virus protection, but is really malicious code.
If this seems like deja vu, it is: the same worm appeared early last month on Twitter, the short-messaging blog where posts are limited to 140 characters, and website URLs are often shortened to help reduce character count. The worm is using Google's URL shortener, "goo.gl" to entrap users.
"If you make the mistake of clicking on one of the malicious goo.gl links you are ultimately taken to a website which attempts to scare you into believing that you have a virus problem on your computer," writes Sophos' Graham Clueley on the security software company's blog. "You are then frightened into installing malicious code on your PC, and asked to pay money to disinfect your systems."
Clueley wrote that it "isn't yet clear is how the Twitter users found their accounts compromised in this way. The natural suspicion would be that their usernames and passwords have been stolen.
"It certainly would be a sensible precaution for users who have found their Twitter accounts unexpectedly posting goo.gl links to change their passwords immediately," the same advice Twitter itself is offering.

Read More

Get Twitter Followers and friends with Twiends.com

2010-10-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Get twitter friends and followers, facebook fans and grow your community. You can even find people in your own country or with the same interests as you. And there's no auto-tweeting.

Twiends provides introductions to people looking for friends and followers. We use a fair credit system to create the incentive for you to check someone out. When you follow someone you earn credits from them, and vica versa when they follow you. You can decide how many credits you want to offer per follow, and when you run out you remain on the list so people can still follow you if they like. We focusing on making the introduction, and you focus on deciding who you want to be friends with in the long run. Despite our name, we are not a "get followers fast" site or a follower train. You get to choose who you friend and they get to do the same. In saying that though, you will find that a lot people will follow you because you are on the site. Our focus is community building.

What is a credit?

You offer credits to others as an incentive for them to follow you. They can then use the credit to do the same. It is purely a mechanism for encouraging people to check each other out, and it works.

I don't want to follow others, I just want others to follow me.

That's perfectly fine. You can list yourself on the site absolutely free. People will probably still check you out. You can also get credits through other means, such as referring friends or blogging about the site.

I don't want credits, I just want to make some new friends.

That's perfectly fine too. You can find and follow some new friends on the site without listing yourself too. By delisting yourself on your settings page you can still find and follow some interesting people without being listed yourself.

Can I purchase credits?

You can do that on the "credits" page when you're logged in. All purchases are handled securely through PayPal. The credits purchased will appear in your account immediately.

Why can't I set my offer to 1 credit?

The minimum offer is 2 credits, but the site automatically deducts one credit during each follow. That's why offers always appear one credit lower than you set them. If you set it to 2, it will appear as 1. If you set it to 6, it will appear as 5. Deducting one credit during each follow is a very important part of the credit mechanism. It allows us to reintroduce those credits into the system in other ways, such as giving them to new users or to users who refer other users or blog about the site. It creates a better "flow" of credits on the site that encourages a lot of following. If we didn't do this then the credits in the system would inflate, and the incentive to follow others would diminish over time. We would also not be able to offer incentives for referrals and other community growing activities. All of this we have found out through extensive testing and analysis.

How to Use Twitter to Sell: 10 Expert Tips (Sales2.0)

2010-03-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

By Nigel Edelshain, Sales 2.0

Every time I speak at a conference or do a webinar someone asks about Twitter. Seems like that bird is a bit of an obsession these days.

I have a couple of theories on how sales people should use Twitter but I thought I’d check my sanity this week and ask a brain trust of sales experts for their top tips on how sales people should use Twitter. I asked them... “What's the best way for sales people to use Twitter to develop leads?”

Miles Austin, Fill the Funnel
Use Twitter as a “listening” device to gather information and develop an understanding of what is important to your prospects. It is a terrific way to help do your homework. If you want to sell to Ford, create a twitter list of all the keywords, topics, suppliers and competitors of Ford. Twitter provides a very big set of “ears” to listen into the conversation and learn the strengths and challenges of the company. If you sell phone systems, Twitter might help you discover that customers are expressing frustration with call disconnects and trouble hearing the representative when they call for help.

Kevin Popovic, Ideahaus
Twitter is as a channel for sharing information, but its an even better listening device. And in our case, we’re going to listen for sales leads.

Tools, like TweetDeck, can help filter the stream of information (Tweets), much like a cable box helps decode and prioritize the “channels” so we can watch them, one from another. We can create a “channel” for our product and service categories by listening for keywords in the tweets; real estate, business, training, etc. The same words we think our prospects would use if they were search for us using Google.

When a Tweet is detected in the stream it shows it in a list, along with their user name and icon, i.e. a lead.

Its also a great way to demonstrate your experience and expertise in a vertical or specialty. Sharing information on a regular basis that helps, educates and informs establishes you as an expert in the space and a point of contact when they need to learn more (like who to hire or where to buy.)

Anneke Seley, PhoneWorks
Provide something of value to your prospects and customers via Twitter. This could be a simple observation, a quote, or link to an article that's pertinent to the industry, geography or job function you serve, an invitation to an event, a recorded webinar, podcast or video...even content created by your own company such as e-books, white papers, surveys or events that could help increase their trust and engagement. You can also re-tweet something that your prospect or customer tweeted to show you are listening and value their contribution.

David Anderson, MyWay Interactive
1. Rather than look for leads directly on Twitter, I would suggest looking for other sales people on Twitter that would likely have the type of leads you are looking for. Sales people are easy to approach and they like to help other members of the "club". To begin, search twitter profiles by company, title and location such as Cisco, Sales, NY. Follow the sales people of interest to you. Read their profiles and see what they are interested in. Read their tweets. Then call them up and see if you might collaborate on the XYZ account or exchange some contact names.

2. Follow an industry leader in the market you are selling to. this may be the CIO of a major bank. Then follow their followers. Pick those followers who are also bank CIO's. Set up a system to monitor each of their tweets and detect conversations between them on subject areas of interest to your business such as security, virtualization of the data center, training etc. Look at each of their profiles and create news feeds (from Google) to monitor the things they have an interest in (wine, hiking, snowboarding). You then have a warm lead and you can tailor your initial approach to things you have in common.
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Twitter: Bringing You Ever Closer to the Fame Flame

2009-09-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

If you're on Twitter, you already know that it's a drug. It's like a big get-together where you can talk to hundreds of people without committing yourself too seriously and before you know it ... poof ... you've just spent three hours talking about your summer reading. I've made a concerted effort to not let it overtake my life and I've generally succeeded.

But one aspect of Twitter that I find so pathetically alluring is the celebrity follow. Now, my time on Cinematical has already introduced me to a lot of Big Names, and while it's always fun and exciting to meet someone you like onscreen, it's often just work. Often, it's awkward work. I say that not to brag or play down the experience, but to stress that chasing celebrities just isn't my thing. Except on Twitter.

Twitter is like this shadowy, secret party where Hollywood's creme de la creme are eating, drinking, laughing, and filming, and they're coyly letting you watch. They casually drop names and TwitPics, and there's something about that that's so alluring once paired with a timestamp.
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Facebook: Twitter is “in the rear-view mirror”

2009-09-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Twitter may still be the media darling of the day, getting all kinds of attention amid its huge user growth earlier this year. But Facebook, once considered Twitter’s most fierce competitor because it also wants to let users post bite-sized updates online about their thoughts, apparently no longer thinks of Twitter as a threat.

Facebook’s executives aren’t really thinking much about Twitter these days and see it as a niche site which is unlikely to grow — or at least, so they say.

“Twitter is a great company,” said Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook’s vice president of growth, mobile and international expansion in an interview yesterday. “What they do is offer a way to publish information in a very consumable, public way.”

But, he continued, “they’re in the rear-view mirror.”

“To focus on a company with 40 million users that is not growing is not a good idea,” he said, citing Hitwise market share data as evidence of Twitter’s slowdown.

Palihapitiya said the last time he thought about the company was when Twitter board member Bijan Sabet looked him up in April and took him to coffee. (It’s amusing that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone used the exact same “rear-view mirror” language to describe the competition when we talked to him last month.)

Palihapitiya made the comments in a portion of the interview where we asked him about which company — Google or Twitter — is the bigger competitor to Facebook. Other Facebook executives, including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, have also suggested that Google is more of a competitor than Twitter.

Twitter Goes for Broke, if Broke Means

2009-09-16T20:36:00.001-07:00

Is Twitter a billion-dollar company? It is now, according to its investors. People familiar with the company tell me it has raised around $50 million in a funding round that values the start-up, which has no real revenue to speak of, at about $1 billion.

TechCrunch, which first reported the funding, says CEO Evan Williams informed his employees about the new deal at a recent companywide meeting. I’m told the round is all but finished: “If the money isn’t in the bank yet, it will be soon,” a source tells me.

No word on who has invested in the company in this go-round, but it’s almost certain Twitter was able to entice new backers to join its existing investors: Silicon Valley logic dictates that each successive funding round should attract new money.

In February, Twitter raised approximately $35 million in a round led by Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners that valued it at $250 million.

Twitter Goes for Broke, if Broke Means “A Lot of Money”: New Funding Round at $1 Billion Valuation

Posted using ShareThis

Twitter Blog: Twitter's New Terms of Service

2009-09-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

At the start, critics often said, "Twitter is fun, but it's not useful." At one point @ev responded dryly with, "Neither is ice cream." Things have come a long way in a short time. We recognized potential early but users and platform developers would demonstrate how much more Twitter could be. Fostering an open and increasingly important network is not as easily dismissed as it once was—but it's still fun!

Now that we know more about how Twitter is being used, we've made changes to our Terms of Service—these are the basic rules that go along with using Twitter. The revisions more appropriately reflect the nature of Twitter and convey key issues such as ownership. For example, your tweets belong to you, not to Twitter. With these revisions, we expect some discussion so here are a few highlights from the updated page.

Advertising—In the Terms, we leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open as we've said before.

Ownership—Twitter is allowed to "use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute" your tweets because that's what we do. However, they are your tweets and they belong to you.

APIs—The apps that have grown around the Twitter platform are flourishing and adding value to the ecosystem. You authorize us to make content available via our APIs. We're also working on guidelines for use of the API.

SPAM—Abusive behavior and spam is also outlined in these terms according to the rules we've been operating under for some time.

These updates complement the spirit of Twitter. If we've left something out, or the nature of the service changes, then we'll revisit the Terms—there's a feedback link on the page.

Twitter Blog: Twitter's New Terms of Service

All About Latest Sports Action: Twittering Hughes needs to learn lessons

2009-07-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

There’s absolutely no harm in using the social networking sites as means of communicating thoughts to a wider audience but one has to draw a line what’s to be shared publicly and what’s to be strictly avoided.

Even the celebrities, besides the stars in the making, now consider such sites being of some use to them but the wiser ones are selective in sharing their thoughts because the idea, more often than not, is to gain popularity rather than start a controversy.

I am not too sure what exactly was in the mind of Phillip Hughes, a 20-year-old Australian opener into his first year in international cricket, when he chose Twitter, one of the most popular social networking sites, to ‘break’ the news of his axing from the playing eleven for the third Test against England at Edgbaston quite a few hours before the start of the game in wet conditions on July 30.

What Hughes had probably overlooked is the fact that the matters discussed in the team meetings are for their own consumption only and the stories need not to be told outside the dressing room or the hotel wherever they assemble for the brainstorming.

All About Latest Sports Action: Twittering Hughes needs to learn lessons

Twitter Blog: New Front Page!

2009-07-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

New Front Page!

Today we're trying a redesigned front page for folks who are new to Twitter.com. If you're a regular around these parts, then you won't notice the new look unless you sign out of your account. Helping people access Twitter in more relevant and useful ways upon first introduction lowers the barrier to accessing the value Twitter has to offer and presents the service more consistently with how it has evolved.
Twitter Blog: New Front Page!

Emerging Best Practices For Institutional Use of Twitter

2009-06-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

In today’s rapidly developing technical environment there is a need to gain experience of the diversity of new networked services which can be used to enhance institutional objectives. There is also a need to document and share emerging best practices - whilst avoiding the temptation to develop constraining policies too soon - a danger which public sector organisations may be prone too.

As an example I have recently started to record videos of my talks at conferences and publish the videos soon after the event. I am pleased to have received positive feedback on this, including this comment:

Many thanks for providing the video and the Slideshare of your #CILIP-CYMRU09
event. I missed your presentation because I was “on a mission” for the following
speaker at the conference, so I greatly appreciate this opportunity to catch up!
…
You’ve done a lot to dispel this misunderstanding and fear here, in a very
balanced and helpful overview. Joeyanne’s page provides a useful example of how
Web 2.0 isn’t just about Facebook and Twitter, but is the working integration of
a number of tools, all enabling dialogue and sharing. The examples you provide
of the NLW using social web tools also add credibility and weight to these
services.

Such feedback will help in the formulation of best practices and, at a later date, policies on being videoed at events.

Read More Here

Twitter to Launch Verified Accounts to Help Prevent Impersonation

2009-06-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

When public figures and celebrities have people pretending to be them, the self-important get all bent out of shape. Twitter has been ripe for impersonations, despite the ban of such accounts via the Twitter Terms of Service. While Twitter is aggressive in suspending fake accounts, I would argue most people are able to spot these fakes a mile away. That doesn't prevent the impersonated from getting their egos bruised.

For these celebrities and also for the rare down-to-earth ones, Twitter is launching Verified Accounts. It will begin as an experimental offering this summer. The experiment will begin with individuals, though Twitter sees potential in extending verification to businesses in the future.
You'll know if an account is official by a notification on the user's page. Twitter also suggested checking out the official website of the public figure you're interested in to see if they link to their Twitter account.

In the meantime, continue using that brain of yours to spot the fakes. Usually, they're as obvious as the Prado street vendors in New York City.

Posted here

Twitter Blog: Twitter Goes Hollywood?

2009-05-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

The web is abuzz today with talk of a "Twitter TV show." I'm even getting folks asking me if they can audition. Indeed, there are a lot of interesting developments happening in the television space—MTV, G4, CNN, E! and various independent production companies are all leveraging Twitter for fun new projects. There are probably a bunch we don't even know about yet.

Is There An Official Twitter Show?

There is no official Twitter TV show—although if there were it would be fun to cast! In dealing with networks and production companies we sometimes have simple agreements. Regarding the Reveille and Brillstein project reported today, we have a lightweight, non-exclusive, agreement with the producers which helps them move forward more freely.

Our Openness Is Extensive

Twitter is very open. As a result, thousands of different applications, web sites, and mobile interfaces have been created by developers. These different approaches add variety and relevance to Twitter and in general make the ecosystem more interesting. However, Twitter's openness is not limited to the web or even to mobile phones.

During the 2008 presidential elections, Hack The Debate showed us how Twitter could make television interactive and possibly even have a democratizing effect on the medium. The power of Twitter was harnessed to create new, compelling, and engaging programming. CNN was an early innovator with Twitter too. Our openness made it all possible.

Twitter Blog: Twitter Goes Hollywood?

Twitter Blog: Does Twitter Hate Advertising?

2009-05-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

When we speak publicly about how Twitter might become a profitable business, we talk about the idea of commercial usage and then explain that we're still exploring what that means—that's true. We also say traditional web banner advertising isn't interesting to us which is also true. However, to say we are philosophically opposed to any and all advertising is incorrect.

For a long time, we've said that we think there are interesting opportunities related to commercial usage. Businesses and individuals are getting value out of Twitter and we may be able to enhance that. We've just begun exploring in this area—early ideas include account authentication, management tools, and discovery mechanisms. We'll keep you posted.

The idea of taking money to run traditional banner ads on Twitter.com has always been low on our list of interesting ways to generate revenue. However, facilitating connections between businesses and individuals in meaningful and relevant ways is compelling. We're going to leave the door open for exploration in this area.
Twitter Blog: Does Twitter Hate Advertising?

Four stages of the average Twitter users

2009-05-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

There’s a strange phenomenon that happens almost every time someone joins Twitter. They hate it. At least at first.

But many of the people who once hated Twitter — or at least, didn’t quite get it in the beginning — are now many of its most active users and raving fans. So what’s going on here?

There seems to be four natural stages that the average Twitter user goes through from the point of first trying it until the point of fully embracing it and making it a part of daily life. Obviously, not everyone sticks with it and becomes a Twitter devotee, but there’s definitely a growing cadre of people who believe that there’s some magic happening in the Twittosphere

Because I think Twitter can be used as a valuable business tool, it’s worth talking about the four Twitter stages in order to help recognize users in these stages when you’re choosing who to follow and to keep new Twitter users from getting discouraged and missing the opportunities available on Twitter. So here they are:

1. Confusion and indignation

When a person first signs up for Twitter, the first challenge is figuring out who to follow. Twitter now has its “Suggested Users” feature to help people get started. I’ve put together a list of technology personalities worth following on Twitter to help new techies when they sign up for Twitter.

However, even when they find some people to follow, new Twitterers usually look at their Twitter stream and start wondering, “Why would I care what my colleagues are eating for lunch?” or “What’s interesting about a software engineer posting that she’s walking her dog?”

That experience usually leads people to shake their heads and not come back to Twitter for a few days, or even weeks or months.

2. The first “Aha!” moment

Eventually, the user comes back periodically to check Twitter out of pure curiosity. During those casual forays, the person often has a first “Aha!” moment, where they find something really interesting or timely on Twitter that wasn’t available from news, RSS feeds, or word of mouth from their friends.

This could be a piece of news that someone reported on Twitter before it actually hit the wires, it could be a rumor about something that a company like Apple is doing, or even something like NFL teams announcing their picks for the draft on Twitter before they even went up to the podium to make the official selection.

How to use Twitter Business Directories

2009-05-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

If you use Twitter for your business, have you made sure that your business has been added to the different business directories that are associated with Twitter? Did you know that there were Twitter business directories? Well, I’m glad that I’m sharing this information with you just in case you didn’t know.

Image: Newscom.com

Twitter business directories are websites that have intergrated their business listings with Twitter so that you can search and find businesses in specific industries. It is also a way for business owners to share about their businesses or find other businesses to cross-market with.

Below are a few of them:

Twibs: shares on their website that it was created by a small group of people with one purpose: “Give twitter users a place to find businesses on twitter”. We are big believers in the power of twitter to connect customers with businesses. We’re working on making it easy for consumers to find businesses, both local and national. Keep in mind, we’re just getting started, so there may be small glitches and features missing, but don’t worry, we’re working hard for you to keep helping consumers find your business on twitter!
Twellow: according to their website, Twellow.com has been designed from the ground up to help you “cut through the clutter”. Twellow.com is currently grabbing publicly available messages from the Twitter.com micro-blogging service. We then analyze and categorize each of the users responsible for those messages into the various categories found at Twellow.com. By adding these people to specific categories we help you narrow your searching into specific niches where you can find who you are looking for. In addition to Twitter, we’re actively working on adding more social media services to broaden your capacity to find people who matter.
TwitBiz: is a business directory for Twitter. There you can find companies, entrepreneurs, employees and investors who are on Twitter. Besides the tweets from the companies, you can learn more about the people behind the company, its investors and see who the competitors are.
Twitterati: Alltop has a section that lists the top Twitter users although it’s not technically business directory for Twitter. I thought it would be go to share as a resource from the Alltop family.
WeFollow: according to their website, the premise is simple: anyone can tweet to @wefollow hashtags that represent what categories they would like to be listed under. WeFollow sees these @replies and then organizes users based on those hashtags. Common hashtags include #blogger, #entrepreneur, and #socialmedia. WeFollow only allows for three hashtags per person, assuring the directory does not become overly cluttered.

Originally Posted here

Your Guide to Job Search and Personal Branding on Twitter

2009-05-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Twitter--the 140 character social networking site--is becoming increasingly useful for job seekers. It doesn't work for everyone, of course, but it can certainly turbo-charge your networking, a key strategy for successful job hunting. It can also be an effective part of your personal branding campaign.

Here, then, is a (somewhat) definitive link guide to getting a new job (or losing your current one) through Tweeting. (I put this together for a client, so thought it would be nice to share).

Getting Started on Twitter--If you're new to Twitter. . .

Twitter Skills & Culture--You'd think it would be easy to type 140 characters and go, but like all social networks, Twitter has a culture that requires some skill to navigate. Ignore this section at your own risk.

Twitter Vocab--note that using "tw" in a word (as in "tweeps" instead of "peeps" or "twirting" for "flirting") is a fundamental Twittering skill.Or at least it shows you're one of the cool kids.
10 Twitter Etiquette Rules
Top 7 Twitter Commands Everyone Should Know
How to Use @Replies
How to Retweet
To Follow or Not to Follow: That is the Question
9 Useful Sites for Finding People to Follow on Twitter
Find the Right People to Follow on Twitter
How to Unfollow with Class
The Twitter Hashtag: What is it and How Do You Use It?
The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Hashtags

Pimp Your Profile--Think of your Twitter profile as your "digital interview suit." First impressions count.

The Value Of Twitter As Compared To Google

2009-05-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

I recognize that it's becoming fashionable among many to bash Twitter, but for those who have learned how to use Twitter well (as opposed to many who use it poorly), the value of it is quite impressive. I now spend a lot more time using Twitter to find news than I do my feed reader -- and that's amazing to me. However, I think Mark Cuban actually has made the strongest point, noting that in many ways, Twitter is becoming more useful than Google. This isn't to say that Twitter is "killing" Google (x killing y stories are lame), but that many people are finding information via Twitter now, where they used to find it via Google.

Cuban gives an example of trying to buy a car, where there may be a lot of value in being able to message a guru on the type of car he wants to buy via Twitter (or, better yet, finding a few of them). I know I've found Twitter to be useful in this manner. A few months ago, I was looking for a new backpack for my computer -- and I had very specific requirements (such as the ability to carry both a laptop and a netbook at times comfortably). It was quite difficult to come up with a Google query that made sense for such a thing, but I could ask it easily in 140 characters and plenty of people could easily understand it, and then provide thoughts and recommendations. It comes back to two points:

Having real humans respond to a query works well for more specific queries that simply aren't well automated.

Read Full Post here

NYTimes Twitter Account Hacked

2009-05-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Another day, another high-profile TwitterTwitter reviews account gets hacked. This time, it’s one of (many) New York Times’ Twitter accounts, The Moment, which brings news from their fashion blog of the same name.

Well, as noticed by the folks over at Valleywag, at one point a suspicious, spammy tweet showed up on that account. Sure enough, a couple of hours later the NYTimes admitted they were hacked, and apologized to the public.

So, no big damage done, and the issue seems to have been quickly resolved, but it’s another warning for all you tweeple: keep your computers clean and your Twitter passwords safe.

Originally Posted here

Twitter Passes NYT, WSJ in Unique Visitors

2009-05-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

Where do you get your news from? While there's a lot of reasons to visit Twitter online, it's essentially a place to learn about what's going on in your world. For the first time last month, the site saw more unique visitors than the websites of both the New York Times and the Wall St. Journal. Tameka Kee noticed the numbers via traffic analysts Compete.com and posted about them briefly on PaidContent today. Traffic numbers are fickle but Compete competitor Quantcast puts Twitter even further in the lead.

Kee attributes the surge to last month's Oprah, Ashton, CNN lovefest for Twitter. We suspect that is just one of a number of factors. Twitter is also really useful, fun and captivating.

Of course Facebook is much, much bigger - but for some reason non-users tend to take Facebook more seriously than Twitter. It's probably the Harvard connection and the similarity with MySpace. Twitter is a different animal. It's more interesting.

Read Full Story

Twitter Blog: Twitter Search for Everyone!

2009-05-01T03:52:00.000-07:00

Every public update sent to Twitter from anywhere in the world 24/7 can be instantly indexed and made discoverable via our newly launched real-time search. What was that loud noise outside your apartment? Did you just feel an earthquake? What do people think about your company, your product, or your city? With this newly launched feature, Twitter has become something unexpectedly important—a discovery engine for finding out what is happening right now.

Searching Outside the Box

Twitter teaches us new and amazing things every day and a big lesson learned is that search is so much more than a box and a button. As public tweets fly in from around the globe, we analyze them to detect when certain words or phrases occur with higher frequency. These trending phrases are surfaced in the Twitter home page just under the new search box and they're updated throughout the day. Built on our search technology, trends are a compelling if rudimentary way to explore a collective global consciousness.

Twitter Blog: Twitter Search for Everyone!

Tweet Penguin: Infinite chain of your followers

2009-04-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

I ran into a neat site called Tweet Penguin today. Apparently Tweet Penguin is supposed to be a free way to help you find more followers that have similar interests as you.

You can think of Tweet Penguin as another way of doing a chain letter or chain e-mail. That’s is what Tweet Penguin reminds me of anyway. I referred you, someone else referred me, and someone else referred the person that referred me, and so on.

Tweet Penguin is totally free to join so there is no risk involved. In order to sign up, Tweet Penguin just needs your Twitter log in information along with a few of your interests. Don’t worry about providing your Twitter log in in information. This is a standard way of business for the Twitter era. No one is going to hack into your Twitter account and make you tweet crazy messages or anything like that. It’s perfectly safe.

Once you are all signed up Tweet Penguin will automatically send a tweet out to all your current followers. This will notify them that Tweet Penguin exists. Doing this will also expand your current Social Network to new boundaries.

The last thing Tweet Penguin does is give you a personalized link to spread the word about Tweet Penguin. It’s that simple. Tweet Penguin is one of those things you sign up for and then totally forget you ever signed up. The good thing about Tweet Penguin is that even though you don’t remember you signed up, your chain of Twitter followers will be ever growing behind the scenes.

Twitter Telepathy: Researchers Turn Thoughts Into Tweets

2009-04-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

Early on the afternoon of April 1, Adam Wilson posted a message to Twitter. But instead of using his hands to type, the University of Wisconsin biomedical engineer used his brain. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET," he thought.

That message may be a modern equivalent of Alexander Graham Bell's "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you." Brain-computer interfaces are no longer just a gee-whiz technology, but a platform for researchers interested in immediate real-world applications for people who can think, but can't move.

"We're more interested in the applications," said Justin Williams, head of the University of Wisconsin's Neural Interfaces lab. "How do we actually make these technologies useful for people with disabilities?"

The researchers built upon the BCI2000, a software tool pioneered by Williams and Wadsworth Center neural injury specialist Gerwin Schalk. The software translates thought-induced changes in a scalp's electrical fields to control an on-screen cursor.

The BCI2000 is already used by 120 laboratories worldwide, but its communications applications have been largely restricted to messages appearing on a nearby screen.

"A lot of these have been scientific exercises, geared to writing things out but not really doing anything with it," said Williams. "We wanted to say, that's not how a person would want to communicate, especially with the advent of online communications."

The work is special because it meets the immediate needs of locked-in people, said Purdue University biomedical engineer Kevin Otto, who was not involved in the project.

Posted Here

Twitter Blog: Wily Weekend Worms

2009-04-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

On a weekend normally reserved for bunnies, a worm took center stage. A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program sometimes introduced by folks with malicious intent to do some harm to a network. Please note that no passwords, phone numbers, or other sensitive information was compromised as part of these attacks.

The worm introduced to Twitter this weekend was similar to the famous Samy worm which spread across the popular MySpace social-networking site a while back. At that time, MySpace filed a lawsuit against the virus creator which resulted in a felony charge and sentencing. Twitter takes security very seriously and we will be following up on all fronts.

Twitter Blog: Wily Weekend Worms

Cool Collection of Twitter Windows Desktop Apps

2009-04-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

Desktop apps

Windows

Ada - Ada is the perfect little Twitter app with a clean, simple design. It doesn't hog up your desktop or distract you with a million crazy features. See and send tweets, replies and direct messages. Ada runs on both PCs and MACs.
AlertThingy - AlertThingy v2 brings the very latest updates from your favourite social networks direct to your desktop. Plus send Tweets, update your Facebook status, upload photos to Flickr, post to Tumblr and more. With v2 AlertThingy makes it faster and easier to manage the online you. Plus you get the coolest looking RSS reader on the interweb.
BigTweet - BigTweet installs as a bookmarklet and allows you to post to Twitter from any web page. Choose a classic 140 character update, or a 240 character tweet. Insert special Unicode characters and shorten URLs with the Bit.ly API right from the bookmarklet window. Automatically capture the current page title, URL and any highlighted text. No registration is required - only Twitter login credentials are needed.
Bitter - A free social networking client that supports Twitter, Friend Feed, Plurk and Pownce. It is fully featured including the ability to follow hash tags, do Twitter searches, auto-shorten URLs, has color schemes, spell checking, intellisense, and lots more.
BMS Twitter Client - A Windows Twitter Client written in VB .NET based on work by the Yedda Dev Blog. Just unzip and run the executable. Automatically breaks long messages into pieces, including replies. Uses Google to translate your language into one or more other languages - additional multilingual support can be added. New updated version coming soon! By myklami
BMS Twitter Export: - A Windows Twitter Application that exports all Tweets for a given Twitter Account within a given date range to an HTML file and also downloads associated twitpic images. A bit heavy on the API calls so avoid calling it repeated within a given hour. By myklami
Chirrup - A simple Windows client for Japanese
Digsby - A multiprotocol IM client that lets you manage all your IM, email, and social network accounts from one easy-to-use application. For IM, it brings all your buddies into one merged contact list with support for AIM, MSN, Facebook, Yahoo, ICQ, GTalk, and Jabber. For email, it offers notifications of new emails with message previews, as well as, the ability to perform actions such as "Mark as Read" and "Delete" right from the notification with support for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL/AIM Mail, POP, and IMAP. For social networks, it provides a newsfeed of events on the network and the ability to set status with support for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
DX Monitor - An amateur radio application to report worldwide DX activity and alert amateurs to activity from rare countries. Alerts and status reports can be automatically tweeted based on reception reports from DX Summit and telnet links to DX Clusters.
FAROO - A Peer-to-peer Web Search Engine, that integrates Twitter search to discover discussions and people related to the query.
feedalizr - A free deskptop application that allows you to view, rate and comment on what your friends are sharing online. Tweet, upload pics to Flickr, update your Facebook status, keep up to date with your friends’ Google Reader, Digg, Tumblr, YouTube and Last.fm posts on Friendfeed. Use unique filters to reduce the noise. Duplications are filtered out. -- by MIH SWAT
Flotzam - A Mash Up of Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and blogs, completely configurable -- by Karsten Januszewski and Tim Aidlin
Found.im - The Twitter/Facebook client for the person always on the move! Automatically tracks your location (Home, Work, Starbucks, etc.) and combines the information with status updates. Super discreet interface that doesn't bombard you with messages. Microblog and get back to what you were doing. Check out the intro video.
Friendbar- A Firefox toolbar that is the best way to follow Twitter & Facebook updates, and post to Twitter and Facebook
GeoTweeter - Puts the 'where' into your tweets! Messages automatically include a 'schmap.me' link, showing followers your exact location with a configurable map icon: say more about places you visit with an optional photo and star rating.
JabberTwitterBridge -- Java application to update Twitters, Jabber's status (google talk gtalk) and Google calendar together (for example : In a meeting until 15h12) (Twitter to google talk, google talk to twitter, google calendar to google talk and google calendar to twitter) MrCba
jata - jata stands for just another Twitter App. Jata is a Google Talk like Twitter Application which was developed using VB.net and Twiteroo Twitter API framework. This application automatically checks for new messages periodically. You can post your status right from jata post message screen. You can also reply to tweets using this windows application.
KlipFolio - World's smallest personal dashboard to track Twitter Updates, with instant notifications.
L0K8 - a tiny app that auto-updates your Twitter location when you move from place to place. Written by the founder of PBwiki, David Weekly.
MadTwitter -- a clon of Twitterrific for Windows which doesn't require .NET -- by Sacha Fuentes
Media Center Status Application - Updates your Twitter status according to what you do in Windows Media Center and displays your Twitter friends' status updates in Media Center. Requires Windows Vista or 7. By Jussi Palo
Nearby tweets - Find twitterers nearby (or anywhere for that matter). Add to the fun by searching new locations and using keywords. By Brian Cray
OutTwit - OutTwit (Outlook + Twitter = OutTwit) Use Twitter from Outlook.
Post To Twitter - Post tweets from Microsoft Excel. VBA-based add-in for Excel 2000-2007.
Public Timeline Screensaver - Screensaver that shows the public timeline.
Pwytter - Free open source Twitter client written in Python by PJ Coudert. User Interface in 14 languages.
QckTwit -- A simple Twitter app that you can activate anytime by Shift+Alt+T and it would pop up presenting a text box to enter your update quickly. As soon as you press Ctrl+Enter, it will send update to Twitter and get out of your way. Separate box for URL. If your message exceeds Twitter's limit then it will automatically break it down in multiple twits and color those extra chars differently. Open source, requires .Net 3.5 -- by Shital Shah
QKTwit - Super lightweight Twitter client, Written on the Abobe AIR Platform, aims to be feature rich but small and low memory footprint. By Daniel Rivers
sociagami -- sociagami allows you to manage your multiple social network statuses from one beautiful Windows application. sociagami currently supports Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter status.
StickyTweets - An open source, lightweight client written in Win32 C/C++ for Windows XP SP2 or greater. No additional frameworks required.
TeleTwitter - A Windows Twitter application that tries hard to be simple and beautiful, like its web 2.0 name sake.
Threeter Open source Twitter client that makes updating your status easy as 1-2-3: press the hotkey combination, enter your message, press Enter. Easy and really fast, worth a try :-) by Devv
Togi Twitter Client (Update) -- Togi is developed on .NET 2.0 with C# and is a open source software by Oguzhan
triQQr -- Twitter Client for Windows v0.2 with posting, profiles, direct messages and link to homepage of user
TheTwitterBot -- Twitter client for windows. It is an automated robot that can follow by keyword new friends, can stop follow those who don't follow, can update your status by your pre-made messages, can follow those who follow you, can send massive DM, can auto reply to those you follow, etc.
Twadget - A Windows Vista sidebar gadget by Rod Begbie
TwApp! for Windows -- by Harper Reed (Requires .NET 2.0)
Twair a twitter desktop client powered by extjs & adobe air
Tway a simplistic windows client which doesn't disturb you so much
Tweet-SQL is a Twitter Client for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and above. Over 30 procedures allow you to leverage the Twitter API with standard TSQL.
Tweet All About It! -- Tweet any snippet of text directly from your browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox supported). By iElectrify (@sherice on Twitter)
Twessenger -- a Twitter add-in for Windows Live Messenger 8.1. Sets your personal message to your latest tweet! -- by Kunal Kundaje
Twibble for the desktop is a twitter client built on top of the new Adobe AIR platform. It provides easy twitter access in a user friendly way.
Twidget for Konfabulator/ Yahoo! Widgets Post from your desktop.
TwiPing Twitter Contact Management Software. Follow and unfollow large batches of friends and followers with a single click.
Twit4Live -- A Messenger Plus! Live Script that adds twitter interaction to Windows Live Messenger
Twit4Trivia -- A trivia application for twitter featuring more then 64000 questions and various statistics.
Twitsy - Twitsy is a open source, VB.NET Application which shows basic integration of twitter API and .NET Framework 2. -- by rui(JumpByte)
Twitter CLI - Easy to use Command Line Interface allows submitting tweets to Twitter from the Windows CMD Prompt or 'Run' box -- by Jason Fowler.
Twitter Desktop - A How-To for making TwitterVision your desktop background, watch live tweets while working.(not an app)
Twitter Gadget - A Windows Vista Desktop Sidebar Gadget that helps you keep track of all the sweet tweets! Fetches tweets from twitter.com and updates them every 10 seconds.
Twitter It! - A Windows .NET Desktop Application created by Travis James, currently on Version 1.0.
Twitter Submitter - now available. For Windows 95/98/2k/XP (tested) Submit Twitterings to Twitter.com without using a web browser! Submit Private messages as well! (D username message)Kenneth Udut (simplify3@aol.com)
Twitter-Sync (Yahoo Messenger Plugin) - Keeps your Yahoo! Messenger status and Twitter in synchronization. Update your Yahoo! Status to create a new tweet. Your new tweets update your Yahoo! status. Also keeps track of your twitter friends from the main messenger window with alerts, pop-ups + more... -- by WackyB.
Twitterbox -- Twitter client for Windows made with beon widget technology.
TwitterIM -- Get/post updates on twitter using your google chat account (gtalk). Works just like Twitter IM functionality which is currently disabled. Sends message to you on chat if you friends post updates. You can message it and it will update your twitter status. By itsfrosty.
Twitterlicious -- Twitterlicious is a small app that makes using Twitter more fun. It handles all the hard work, leaving you to read and write tweets with the minimum fuss. Best of all, *Twitterlicious is free*!
Twitterlights -- Twitterlights is an integrated feature of i-Lighter 2.1 allowing one-click tweeting and content saving with your mouse -- all free!
Twitteroo 1.4 for Windows released on 13 March 07 (by RareEdge Design Group) - *new* features include font resizing, transparency, sound notifications, built-in URL shortening. Programmable API!
TwitterYM - a tiny ruby script that updates your Yahoo Messenger status with your latest Twitter one (requires Windows and Ruby) - by Alex Brie
Twittget Twitter Vista Gadget, that features a small docked mode, a large float mode and Direct Messaging support. by mayu
TwittIt - A system tray application for easy posting to Twitter by Denis Briel
Twittle - A lightweight Twitter client for Windows (XP, Vista). Clean un-cluttered UI written in WPF. Updates automatically. by Twittle.
TwittMe! - A new Twitter Windows Client 1.0.4. Updates itself directly without user input, keeping it always as bug free as possible. Will open source it when client it's more feature complete.
TwitTray -- A minimalist approach to a desktop Twitter status updater. The program sits silently in your system tray until you want to update your Twitter status. Very tiny and written in old school bulletproof C++/MFC. By kwitcherbitchen.org.
Twtview 1.4 NEW FEATURES: 'pm' lets you see your private messages, 'u twittername' will show any public users homepage. (Jan 27 07). For Win32. View all public timelines and personal timeline without needing web browser. Can be used at the same time as Twitter Submitter W32 to instantly see your submissions. Kenneth Udut
Visual Twit -- a simple Twitter posting client for Windows -- by Andy
Witty -- A Twitter client for Windows Vista and XP powered by the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) by Alan Le
WittyTweets -- A cute Twitter client for Windows Vista and XP by Tweet Feeds
Yakkle! - A free application that integrates together a twitter client, IM client, multi-user voice conferencing, and group desktop sharing services. -- by ZenViva
TweetIE - CloudBerry TweetIE is a Twitter plug-in for IE that helps you to post quotes from the websites you visit with a click of the button and attach a short Chilp.IT URL to the source page.
pbtweet - bookmarklet enhancer for twitter.com on Safari and Chrome. pbtweet shows conversation chain, media badge and RT/via buttons. Other feature: Automatically update timeline. Automatically adding next page when scrolling down to bottom up to 40 pages stable. Many interaction are animated with using CSS3. -- by t_trace

Source: Twitter Fan Wiki

One Lucky tweet can make you $500 Richer

2009-04-06T04:37:00.000-07:00

I came across this interesting new site www.twitchance.com, which is a free Twitter lottery! Yes you heard me free, and I mean FREE CASH! How is that possible you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple; TwitChance gives away money (lottery style) to those who pass along a message (from a sponsor).

TwitChance has been launched silently and the first lottery draw took place on April 6, 2009. The inaugural lottery was sponsored by 6S Marketing (who provided a $500 prize) and the winner was @benjaminluk

I would like to share his jubilant tweets: -

"The payment just came through. Thanks to @twitchance and @6s_marketing, I won $606.01 CAD ($500 USD)! Twitter contests, ftw. Literally."

The idea is to get people to post a message containing a link to a sponsor on Twitter in exchange for the chance to win the TwitChance lottery. Following the run of each message, a winner will randomly be selected and awarded the prize. Consumers make the choice to pass along the message on their own terms and their own time and the sponsor in turn receives amplified outreach to the online world.

Here are a few things to consider:

* Anyone with a Twitter and PayPal account can join TwitChance - it’s free and requires no registration.
* Prizes and sponsors will be new and exciting and changed on a regular basis.
* TwitChance is safe – it doesn’t require the user’s Twitter password.
* Twitter currently enjoys 12 million and growing user ship.

So what are you waiting for...simply visit www.twitchance.com and count yourself in for this free lottery....

I'll be happy if you win $500. Its difficult though :-)

Who think Twittering and watching YouTube videos makes you more productive?

2009-04-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

As I was reading a very interesting study published at dailymail.co.uk which says: - (I have added my comments in blue..)

"Have you been caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? Yeah at times!!! Well now you can tell your manager it actually makes you a harder worker. OK!! Sounds Great to me...but who will be responsible for delay in official tasks?

An Australian study found surfing the internet for fun during office hours actually increased employees productivity by nine per cent. Damn!! that's too much.. so my total productivity will be somewhere around 19% if I use twitter and youtube during office hours :-)

Study author Mr Coker said surfing the net helps workers to rest their brains That's the Catch right there!!!...you need to have a brain for that...hmm

Study author Brent Coker, from the University of Melbourne said 'workplace internet leisure browsing,' or WILB, helped to sharpen workers' concentration.

'People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration,' he said. People then need to "Zone in" back again and how to do it? ...i need a tutorial for that too.

'Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity.' What's the definition of "short and unobtrusive" by the way..

According to the study of 300 workers, 70 per cent of people who go online at work engage in WILB. (workers? ...it can by any worker...janitor..data entry operator...list goes on)

Among the most popular activities are reading online news website, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube.

'Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity,' said Mr Coker.

'That's not always the case.' Whats the probability? 1% may be

However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were online for less than 20 per cent of their total time in the office.

'Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without,' he said."

A lot of people including me now have an excuse of using twitter and youtube in the office and having fun at work and all the responsibility goes to the above research....

Guys...don't be serious...just kidding!!

I seriously think my productivity at work is diminishing using twitter and social media at work and I am now going back to work you guys must not read this article while you are at work..and Don't work too hard...lol

Breaking News: Twitter Search Goes Crazy

2009-04-01T05:31:00.000-07:00

Twitter Blog: Replies Are Now Mentions

2009-03-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

Twitter Blog: Replies Are Now Mentions

Twitter Blog: Salesforce Integrates Twitter

2009-03-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

Twitter Blog: Salesforce Integrates Twitter

#longmarch: A Story of Revolution from Twittering Pakistanis

2009-03-21T01:46:00.000-07:00

The longmarch in Pakistan will be remembered forever as a revolutionary successful movement which took place in a critical situation in Pakistan. The world was watching Pakistan as the million of people came out on the roads, marching towards the capital city to restore the Judiciary.

While the traditional Pakistani media was covering the longmarch to its full potential, the twitter was again the quickest medium to share your emotions with international media. Once again @drawab led from the front in using the twitter to update the entire world with current happenings related with #longmarch.

@guppu took the lead in using the #longmarch for the first time and which was the top ten twittering trend those days. Following are the collection of tweets which tells the entire #longmarch story: -

guppu: got tears in my eyes after listening to an emotional song produced by GEO TV in which BB was urging everyone to participate in #LongMarch
Mar 10, 2009 08:00 AM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Retweeting @longmarch: A list of 380 people has been prepared for arrests in Karachi - beginning tonight or tom #LongMarch

Mar 10, 2009 08:59 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

Jamash: Allah Reham karay, @DrAwab #LongMarch. .. This is so not good :(
Mar 10, 2009 09:04 PM GMT · from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Raids on the houses of the most of the activists of PTI in Rawalpindi #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 02:57 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

LongMarch: We were tasked by Establishment to create violence in Long March - Sheikh Waqas (PMLQ) tells Parliament - Geo Ticker #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 03:01 PM GMT · from TwitterFox · Reply · View Tweet

SanjeevBery: Pakistan TV anchor says Prime Min. Gillani will resolve Long March issue. #Pakistan #LongMarch RT @kashaziz
Mar 11, 2009 05:42 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

sophasnain: Sahiwal Distt Nazim refuses to implement 144..yayy!!! #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 07:16 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

kalsoom82: #LongMarch Police have been ordered to place under house arrest the Sharif brothers, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan.
Mar 11, 2009 07:31 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: PM IS READY TO LEAVE IF HIS DEMANDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY PRESIDENT. Sources #longmarch

Mar 11, 2009 08:20 PM GMT · from TwitterBerry · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Raid on PTI chairman Imran Khan's Home #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 08:49 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Rumour of attacks on #longmarch by Al-Qaeda.But I think, this is being spread by govt. and has no reality. What Al-Qaeda has to do with CJP?
Mar 11, 2009 10:14 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

jasminerafique: Long March: Zardari on Collision Course http://is.gd/mYE2 (expand) - #longmarch
Mar 11, 2009 11:58 PM GMT · from twhirl · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Status update #Longmarch about 35 in new town 40 in malir booked for either MPO (nonbail) or 144 (bailable) appearing tom for bail
Mar 12, 2009 06:13 PM GMT · from TwitterBerry · Reply · View Tweet

sajahq: PAK: reading all the amazing coverage of #longmarch online http://cli.gs/LongMarch http://marchforjustice.wordpress.com/ etc...
Mar 12, 2009 07:11 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

longmarch09: #LongMarch09 Fareed Jan DPO Jakobabad says we will provide dinner to the protesters! #LongMarch http://tinyurl.com/cu847l (expand)
Mar 12, 2009 07:40 PM GMT · from twitterfeed · Reply · View Tweet

adnanbwp: 144 declared in NWFP too. Preparations for arrests of activists and lawyers underway. #longmarch
Mar 12, 2009 09:12 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

pakpoint: Shereen Rehman Resigned http://tinyurl.com/b968oo (expand) #LongMarch
Mar 13, 2009 08:28 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

ammaryasir: Sherry aunty resigns ;P Presidential spokes person Farahat ullah Babar denies the resignation of the information minister #LongMarch

sophasnain: containers with even chemicals are being used to block the long march at Jehlum #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 09:26 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

fan0o: Police brutally torturing lawyers this is totally insane #longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 10:31 PM GMT · from fring · Reply · View Tweet

fan0o: Idiot lahories celebrating basant most areas are calm but in some areas it is at its peak 2 deaths reported #longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 03:40 PM GMT · from fring · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: While other leaders [Lawyers and other political leaders] cant move a mile in a city - Shahbaz and Nawaz roaming free - hmmm ??? #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:21 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Nawaz Sharif will hold the fort in Lahore tomorrow and Shahbaz will hold the fort in ISB on 16th - strategic move - #Longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:19 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Shahbaz Sharif breaks through a police barrier to go to ISB - seems like it was deliberate attempt to allow him to reach ISB #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:17 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

twendly: 10 Most pop. last hr #sxsw, Watchmen, Austin, #blogger, #tech, Aig, At&T, Selection Sunday, #kebab, #longmarch
Mar 15, 2009 10:00 PM GMT · from Twendly · Reply · View Tweet

pakistanigirls: #longmarch This longmarch was actually a challenge to that feudalism. Now we need a new constitution that will bring in real democracy
Mar 15, 2009 10:06 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

guppu: wow - ex MQM member Jaahil online is back with a new 'Insaaf Assalaam' song #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 10:23 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

durrani3: farhatullah babar just said on Dawn news that zardari is asleep now #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 11:49 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

DjFlush: Pakistan is the awaiting the decision that will make its history and Geo is showing ads on 'Slumdog Millionaire' #LongMarch Mar 15, 2009 11:45 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

guppu: Its getting crazy now.. I haven't slept for 2 days already :( #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 11:52 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

DjFlush: Great job by @guppu @DrAwab and @awaisnaseer for covering the #LongMarch
Mar 16, 2009 05:20 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

hasham2: Pakistanis are singing songs of victory tonight #LongMarch
Mar 16, 2009 06:56 PM GMT · from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: 16 March, a new dawn in Pakistan #LongMarch http://cli.gs/trTub2
Mar 16, 2009 09:37 PM GMT · from WP to Twitter · Reply · View Tweet

Young Pakistani Bloggers came into Limelight Using Twitter

2009-03-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

The attack on Srilankan Team at Lahore certainly bleaked the international sports in Pakistan while two young bloggers belonged to Lahore came into limelight, thanks to Twitter.

Both @adnanbwp and @guppu were tweeting live when @DrAwab redirected international media coverage to both of them.

Following are the glimpse of tweets which made them popular: -

@guppu

I am safe and still at college! just came out from the borring class of sociology2:36 AM Mar 3rd from web

was interviewed by ABC Australia about the latest situation in Lahore! a few moments ago!12:51 AM Mar 3rd from web

I am now at university that is just near Liberty! Police just captured a bomb from the park outside our university #Lahore12:23 AM Mar 3rd from web

SAMAA TV website got overloaded and now showing Service 'Unavailable' #Lahore12:19 AM Mar 3rd from web

RT @drawab Why do I sense a potential Pakistan vs India battle of words - WHY do I sense Gov of Pk gearing up to blame India-Deja vu Mumbai12:17 AM Mar 3rd from web

I salute the Police officers who gave their lives while saving Sri-Lankans11:08 PM Mar 2nd from web

@adnanbwp
The provincial goivernment shud step down immediately! as they fail to provide security11:07 PM Mar 2nd from web

Just near the attack place, witnessed everything myself!11:05 PM Mar 2nd from web

Just finished a phone interview with a French journalist for a newspaper article. Thanks @DrAwab for the reference. #Lahore5:45 AM Mar 3rd from web

Pakistani Cricket Captain and Coach leave for the airport to bid farewell to Sri Lanka team. #lahore4:13 AM Mar 3rd from web

Further delay in departure of Sri Lanka players. Special plane from SL coming to Karachi. Players to leave for Karachi at 8AM today. #Lahore4:10 AM Mar 3rd from web

Correction: Just finished a live interview with Chris Roberts on @SkyNews, Londn. I am glad to have the opportunity to give Pakistani View.4:06 AM Mar 3rd from web

Just finished a live interview with Chris Robertson on Sky News, London. I am glad to have the opportunity to give Pakistani view. #lahore3:57 AM Mar 3rd from web

@joebraidwood Thanks Joe. Had a chat with Chris. Thanks for giving Pakistanis the opportunity to come out with our feelings.3:56 AM Mar 3rd from web in reply to joebraidwood

Etehad Airlines delayed at Lahore Airport as it is carrying the umpires, staff and Sri Lanka players. To depart soon. #lahore3:46 AM Mar 3rd from web

White Hyundai PG 2959 left behind by the terrorists. Karachi registered car had taxes paid as late as 1993. #lahore3:45 AM Mar 3rd from web

Has Barack Obama used Twitter as Tissue Paper?

2009-02-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

It has been no tweet since long time from newly appointed president of USA Barack Obama, the last tweet was made on 19th Jan 2009. The whole February was went quiet from him and it was quite disappointing for his 338,633 followers.

As a follower of a great leader people expect a lot more from him because he used Twitter for the election campaign regularly. Although he was not tweeting himself, there must be someone who used twitter on his behalf.

Is this a change of attitude after winning the election? or Is he too busy to use Twitter? ...

He can assign this small task to anyone who can tweet on his behalf if he is too much busy.

The common perception of Barack Obama about using twitter is developing that he used twitter for his election campaign only. If that's so, he should announce the reason for not using twitter publicly.

Googel Goes Twitter : "I'm Feeling Lucky" First Tweet

2009-02-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

Finally @google joins twitter: here are the first few tweets: -

Excited that @app_engine now supports purchasing additional resources to grow your app beyond the free quotas: http://bit.ly/9e5OP
about 3 hours ago from web
Take @pogue's guided tour of Google Labs tips and tricks: http://tinyurl.com/cnguet
about 5 hours ago from web
Google Toolbar is getting "back to basics" with new Google Toolbar 6 for IE. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/cgzqos
about 5 hours ago from web
Check out the new Google Apps Status Dashboard. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/bcnhl8
about 6 hours ago from web

I'm 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100011 01101011 01111001 00001010
about 7 hours ago from web

Digg vs Twitter: A comparison

2009-02-21T23:19:00.000-08:00

For both current and former Digg members, there has been a marked trend towards establishing a presence on Twitter. Some experienced “Diggers,” a commonly used term for those that use Digg, argue that a Digg account is no longer complete without a Twitter account.

This has become especially true since the last algorithm change on Digg. Users are now limited to 200 diggs per day. Go over the limit, and Digg sends an “itchy trigger finger” warning and prevents the user from digging further for some hours. This is intended to elevate the quality of each digg. No digg can be impulsive; the idea is that the user must truly believe the content is diggable.Twitter, on the other hand, can be impulsive. You can retweet your friends’ stuff as many times as you like. In fact, there’s a level of participation on Twitter that is just not possible on Digg.

Former Digg user Zaibatsu offers an interesting case study on how Twitter can help a Digg user.
Zaibatsu: A Case Study“One thing I didn’t want to do, after being banned, was give Digg more pageviews,” Zaibatsu told me over the phone. “Back in June, I started my Twitter account and that quickly snowballed into 35,000 followers. My influence has been greater on Twitter than it ever was on Digg. In fact, I’ve been influencing content on Digg through my Twitter account.”

At the time Digg banned Zaibatsu, he was the #3 ranked Digger with over 10,000 fans. At one time, he was “front-paging,” (a fairly self-explanatory term used by Diggers to denote when an item submitted by a particular user appears on Digg’s coveted front page), as many as 10 times a day. But last year, there was a spate of power-user bannings, and Zaibatsu was one of them.
Most power-users would start a new, incognito account. Zaibatsu was fed up with Digg, though, and he sought a new social media home. He was attracted to Twitter because it offered him what Digg could not.

“On Digg, I would have to wait sometimes 24 hours before the story I wanted to share could get seen,” Zaibatsu explained. “Some good stories got buried. On Twitter, if I like something, I can share it with more than 35,000 people instantly.”

Zaibatsu also pointed out Twitter’s advantage over another tool commonly used by Diggers. Twitter, he believes, trumps IM. “Whenever I log into my Gtalk account, I instantly get 40 messages from people — and I have to respond to them all individually. On Twitter, if someone responds to one of my tweets, I don’t always have to give a personalized response because people understand it’s Twitter.”

The Twitter Advantage on Digg

Obviously, many people on Twitter are also active on Digg. How can Twitter help these people?
One way is by providing limitless opportunities to connect. Under the Digg shout system, you can shout to only 200 people at once — and then have to wait 15 minutes before the next shout. Even then, most Diggers don’t like it when you shout more than three times a day. Overusing the shout system can quickly turn a good story into one that is buried. In fact, most experienced Diggers use shouts with caution. But on Twitter, a tweet reaches all that user’s followers. They, in turn, may retweet an item to all their followers. Many Twitterers are also casual Digg users; if they like a story on Twitter, they might also want to digg it.

Additionally, as Zaibatsu found, there’s a level of social interaction on Twitter that is non-existent on Digg. To interact with a fellow Digger, the only recourse is to use comments or shouts, neither of which are conducive to establishing real relationships. Twitter, on the other hand, allows you to reply publicly and privately to someone by using replies or direct messages, and to do so in a way that does not distract from content.

Another great advantage to Twitter is that there are fewer limitations on what can be posted. For instance, users promoting sales of any kind on Digg is against their policy. If a Digger submits a sales link to a bizarre item on eBay, it could result in a ban.

On Twitter, where marketers and entrpreneurs abound, such links are not a big deal, and may even be appreciated. If a Digger really wants to share something that might violate the Digg TOS, Twitter could be a good alternative.

In summary, if you Digg, you should open a Twitter account (if you haven’t already done so). Twitter provides a greater level of social participation than Digg. Using Twitter, Diggers are able to reach a new and different audience. Twitter also allows users to share content with an audience immediately, and the number of times a user can share quality content is not limited.

Television comes to Twitter

2009-02-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

The small screen is about to meet the small blog. A global video service with operations in Limerick that enables users to make their own online TV channels has developed a fully embedded Twitter client that lets users share video finds on the micro-blogging site.

Limerick-based WorldTV.com, founded by former DJ, Alx Klive, allows users to collect clips from internet-sharing sites, sequence them and brand their own TV channel. Users can even introduce their own TV channel using their webcam.

A new feature also lets users broadcast live to their WorldTV channel using their mobile phone from anywhere on the planet. So far, more than 35,000 people from 168 countries have created their own TV channels on WorldTV. The site attracts over 250,000 unique users per month.

The new Twitter functionality allows users to broadcast messages via Twitter each time they add a new video clip to their WorldTV channel, or periodically if they are adding lots of videos at once.

Fully integrated into WorldTV’s video content management system, the user can also operate their Twitter account without having to leave WorldTV.

“We’ve been avid Twitter users for some time, and having a way to promote and share cool video finds via Twitter has been a major motivation for us to develop this functionality,” Klive explained.

“The success of TwitPic shows that people are keen to share more than just text messages on Twitter.

“We think we’ve created an elegant solution for sharing video finds on Twitter, wherever those videos may be found,” he added.

The new functionality tightly integrates with WorldTV’s popular tools for finding and sharing video clips from a range of supported sites, including YouTube, Daily Motion, Vimeo, Google Video, Blip.TV and many more.

In addition to the Twitter application, WorldTV has revealed a partnership deal with Bollywood TV channel ZoomTV, which opens up WorldTV’s content to a estimated 3.6 billion Bollywood fans worldwide. ZoomTV is the digital arm of Zoom Television, and is YouTube India’s No 1 most-viewed video-content provider across all categories.

Get 1000's Of Legitimate New Twitter Followers On Autopilot! FREE - NO CATCH!

2009-02-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

I just found this site that shows you a way of getting 1000's of new followers
on twitter, I just started using it myself and its starting to work already.

This is what the Site Claims: -

"What If You Could Press Just One Button & Automatically Start Getting 1000's Of Legitimate New Twitter Followers On Autopilot... Even If Nobody Knows Who You Are Now?"

And You DON'T Have To Start Following Thousands Of People To Get Them!

100% White Hat - I HATE Spam!

This system is 100% FREE!

Quick and easy... we don't even need your email!

Works around-the-clock constantly bringing you new real followers!

"Viral System" ensures your following increases exponentially!

So you're looking to get a massive following on twitter?

Check this out here:
http://tweetergetter.com/zeewaqar77

Want to earn some money from your Twitter account?

2009-02-07T03:29:00.000-08:00

Take a look at a startup called ‘Be a Magpie‘, which pays twitterers for posting ad tweets(they call it magpie-tweets) in between their normal tweets. The magpie-tweets are published by them and all you have to do is give them your password. So, unlike TwittAd, which uses Twitter backgrounds for advertisement, ‘Be a Magpie‘ directly advertises through tweets. I’m sure that you will check it!

How actually ‘Be a Magpie‘ works? It allows advertisers to create ad campaignswith a message and some keywords. Then, the system publishes those ads in between regular tweets and you get paid for it! They publishes tweets, on behalf of you, that matches with the topics you are twittering about. How often they publishes the ad tweets or magpie-tweets? Well, it depends on your own choice. You can choose to have one magpie-tweet per 20 tweets or one magpie-tweet per tweet. The default is one magpie-tweet every five tweets. This is very important, as too many ad tweets may annoy your followers.

How muchyou can earn? Your earnings will depend on the total number of followers you have on Twitter. The more popular you are, the more advertisers will compete for a tweet in your timeline and ultimately you will earn more. The value of a magpie-tweet is assessed through automated bidding of the advertisers that compete for advertisements.They will pay you via PayPal, once your accumulated earnings reaches € 50.

So, how to start? Anyone over 18 years of age and a Twitter account can register as a publishers on the Magpie network. Simply enter your Twitter name in their sign-up page and you will get an idea about how much you could earn. If you are interested to go forward, just give them your Twitter password and start earning! Well, in order to get paid, you must have a and I’m sure that you have one.

How to Make Money Online from your twitter Background?

2009-02-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

Today, I spotted a new Twitter relatedservice. It is called ‘TwittAd’ and as the name says, it aims at providing advertisingservice on Twitter profile. In simple words, it utilizes the backgrounds of Twitter profiles for advertising and provides Twitter users a way to make some money!

Like other advertising services, is there any chances of showing intrusive ads through ‘TwittAd’? Well, right now, I don’t see any such possibilities, because of their advertising model. They provides adsthrough background images! In their own words: “Our goal is to not fill Twitter with ugly & obnoxious advertisements. We give advertisers templates and ideas to help keep the integrity of Twitter background images.”

How to start? To sell ads, sign up for an account with ‘TwittAd’and specify the duration and price of your ad space. Then wait for advertisers to buy your space! Having a large number of followers will increase the chances of getting good advertisers. From your account, you can accept or decline ads. If you accept an ad, you need to upload the ad design to the design section of your Twitter account. Once you have placed the ad, notify TwittAd and get paid every hour you serve the ad. You can cash out via PayPal, once your account reaches $20 balance.

For advertisers, ‘TwittAd have provided some example ads on their site. So, if you want to advertise through their service, create your ad in one of their ad formats and look for suitable Twitter profiles for placement of your ad. TwittAd charges 5% as service on your total purchase price.

So, that was all about ‘TwittAd’ I can see that, some users are aready running ads on their Twitter profile backgrounds, by using this new service. But, I have no idea, how much benefits the advertisers are incurring from this service. What you think about this new advertising model? Do you think that it is going to stay? Feel free to give your comments.

Rich Twitter Resource for Twitter Addicts

2009-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Bots
@homerbot - Fan of the simpsons? Homerbot gives one quote from the show in the morning, and one in the afternoon.
@woot - A brilliant electronics deal a day
@sfearthquakes - If you didn’t feel the shakin’ feel it through twitter
@timer - works like a wake up call. usage DM @timer 10 CALL MUM
@twittersecret - get it off your chest you dirty boy you.
@amazon - DM a book title or ISBN to get back a link to the amazon site.
http://www.retweet.com - A good source of new and interesting bots on twitter
@MrTweet a recommendations engine on twitter. Takes a few days to build your recommendations.

Celebs on Twitter (uk celebs)
@Schofe - The silver haired wonder that is Philip Scofield

@AlanCarr - We love you Alan - where fore art thou JLC?
@Wossy - Jonathan Ross wocks the boat
@RealDMitchell - If you don’t know who it is. You don’t deserve to know. I love Peep Show.
@stephenfry - The Actor and comedian. Hat tip to you fine sir.
@johncleese - Fawlty Towers king
@rustyrockets - Russell Brand - Hero of comedy
http://www.celebritytweet.com/ - Find all the celebs you want on this dedicated site.

Usa celebs
William Shatner - Captain Kirk.
Britney Spears - The real Britters. honest.
MC Hammer - Cant touch this? Well now you can. Almost.
Dave Matthews - Singer Songwriter.
Lance Armstrong - pro cyclist.

Meme Tracking
http://www.tweetmeme.com - Popular links rising on Twitter, shows the conversation and the people that have Retweeted
http://twemes.com/ - Rising terms on twitter. Offers RSS feeds of certain #hashtags.
http://twitrratr.com/ - Positive / Negative tweets from users using it. Seems not to be getting much traffic, considering Twitter search has this built in anyway.
http://twist.flaptor.com/ -See Trends breaking in Twitter.

URL tools
http://twitturly.com - Tracks the URLs that others have tweeted. Great for finding links from people that you know you found on twitter.
http://alexgirard.com/twitt/ - Import Twitter Stream links to Delicious. Requires Ruby
.http://mashable.com/2008/01/08/url-shortening-services/ - Loads of URL shortening
Services.

Shrinkers

Having trouble fitting things into 140 characters? Try some of these which will convert to 140 characters, faster than a teenage txt nut.
http://tweetshrink.com/http://www.twonvert.com/http://140it.com/ - also converts to bit.ly, and StockTwits company names.

Visual Enhancements

http://tweetvisor.com/ an alternative twitter interface
http://www.twitpic.com post pictures easily to your twitter stream
http://tweetgrid.com/ - another grid based twitter interface. One of the best ways to see multiple twitter streams together online.
http://www.jigtweets.com/ - Adds an Genius javascript overlay to twitter allowing you to post a location, link or picture from your hard drive. Why isn’t this already there?http://www.tweetworks.com/ - Threaded conversations. Also turns #hashtags into Grouped conversations.
http://www.tweetfeed.com/ - Groups Conversations into Twitter “walls”
.http://www.tweader.com/ - Threaded Conversations
http://www.tweetscribe.com/ -TweetScribe is a service that gives you a twitter feed by topic or search term, instead of by followers.
http://twitterified.com/ - Enhances the Twitter interface. Allows longer tweets, rich text and posting of pictures easily.
http://www.twitsaver.com/ - Superb screensaver of recently posted pictures on Twitter.
http://autopostr.com/ - let your friends automatically know when you have posted to Flickr.
http://twixxer.com/ - Shared Video and Pictures with Twitter.
http://www.twittersoap.com/index.php - Strange Mashup of twitter and mobile blogging site Mobypicture. Tweets are organised into “Episodes”.
http://www.bubbletweet.com/ - Add video to your twitter page.
http://twitterfall.com/ - a twitterwaterfall interface. Neat.
http://flockotweets.com/ - groups your followers into digestable RSS chunks. For easy reading.

Tools
http://twtpoll.com - post poll questions to Twitter. Receive the results from your followers. A great way to do market research if you are a business twitter user.
http://twittonary.com/ - A twitter dictionary. Explains various twitter related words.
http://www.lazytweet.com/ - Ask questions to a larger twitter following. Receive the answers back.
http://twitthis.com/ - Promotion buttons which allows your visitors to easily promote your website or blog on Twitter.
http://twitterreply.com/ - Never miss an @reply - sends replies to your email.
http://www.twitterment.com/ - Alternative Twitter Search Engine
http://tweepsearch.com/ - Search other users followers.
http://twist.flaptor.com/?tz=0 - compare two terms on twitter. Like Google Trends.
Following Tools
http://www.twollow.com - Auto Follow people
http://www.useqwitter.com - From the guys over at Contrast - know when someone unfollows you.
http://www.twitterel.com/ - Find followers with similar interests to you.
http://www.twitterless.com/ - Keeps a graph of your followers.
http://justtweetit.com/ - combines a twitter dictionary with a way to find similar Twitter users
http://twintro.org/ - Ever day twintro tweets a different users updates. Helps you find new and interesting Twitter users.
http://whoshouldifollow.com/ - Who should you follow based on your friends.
http://www.crazybob.org/twubble/ - Who’s in your twitter bubble?
http://twittersnooze.com/ - Put someone on snooze if they are too noisy or piss you off.
http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/ - Helps manage your followers better with Pagination for friends and ordering and sorting. Flash based app.
http://twittertroll.com/ - Twitter search engines which can help you find more people to follow.
http://twitter-friends.com/ -as If you didn’t need more people to follow..Here’s another Friend finding tool.
Tw33t.me - Why follow people. Provide reasons why, and build your own unique page.- @followfinder will suggest new friends to follow.Backgrounds / Icons
http://www.twitbacks.com Free customised Twitter backgrounds.
http://www.twitterbacks.com All a bit naff to be honest, but there are free PSD’s to download and customise.
http://twittertreats.blogspot.com - Wallpaper and Icons blog for Twitter.
http://www.twitterimage.com/ - More custom twitter backgrounds.
http://twitterpatterns.com/ - Twitter background patterns.
26 Awesome Backgrounds from us. Shameless plug I know http://twittershowcase.com/ -- just launched twitter backgrounds site.

Twitter Scheduling / Organisation

http://futuretweets.com/ - Schedule tweets in the future.
http://twuffer.com/ - Similar to future tweets, but sexier site IMO.
http://twittercal.com/ - connect your twitter account with your Google calendar
http://twitresponse.com/ - a Twitter AutoResponder tool

Money Making
http://twitpay.me/ -Receive and send dough via Twitter.
http://be-a-magpie.com/start - Put advertisements in your Twitter stream. Big uproar in the Twitter community about this one.
http://www.twittertise.com/ - Track the traffic you send to your site.

Just for Fun
http://cursebird.com/ - Find out what foul mouthed followers are getting up to. Not for the easily offended.
http://popacular.com/gigatweet/ - Counting the number of Tweets. Pointless but fun to watch the counter count.
http://www.divvoted.com/ Vote for great websites via Twitter.
http://foamee.com/ - Owe someone a beer? Give it to them via Twitter.
http://wasoverheard.com/ - Provides an anonymous way to tweet things which you have recently overheard.
http://twistori.com/ - FunTwitter based tool from Amy Hoy. Find tweets based on Love Hate Think Believe Feel Wish feelings on Twitter.

Ego - Tools
http://www.retweetrank.com/ - Ranks users based on how many retweets they receive.
http://twitter.grader.com/ - Ranks the most popular twitter users with the most influence or followers.
http://twicksize.com/ - measure the size of your twick. Tongue in cheek piss take of recent ego tools.
http://tweetrush.com/ - Graphs out your recent twitter activity
.http://www.twitterposter.com/ - Provides a visual representation of the sphere of influence of a particular twitter user.
http://web.forret.com/tools/twitter-tq.asp - Calculate your Twitter Quotient.
http://twitterratio.com/ - Follower to Friend Ratio.
http://www.twitstat.com/ - Twitter Statistics page updated daily.
http://twit.pix.ly/ - Twitter Avatar combat. Fight!
http://twitterholic.com - How much of a TwitteraHolic are you.
http://twinfluence.com - Whats your Twitter Influence?

Music Tools
http://www.foxytunes.com/twittytunes/ - Tweet what you are listening to on Twitter.
lastfmlovetweet.com - Post the tracks you love on Twitter. Direct from Last.FM.

Location Tools
http://www.twitterlocal.net/ - An Adobe Air application that allows you to watch locations in Twitter.
http://www.citytweets.net/ - Twitter activity in and around your City. Mostly American cities.
http://twittearth.com/ - Live 3d Model of Tweets from all over the world.

Directory Tools for Twitter
http://www.socialbrandindex.com/ - Social Brand Directory organised.
www.twellow.com - Get listed in the Yellow Pages for Twitter
http://www.twitdir.com/ - Another Twitter Directory
http://www.twibs.com/ - Business Directory for Twitter.

Wanna Follow Top 50 Celebrities @ Twitter

2009-02-03T05:45:00.000-08:00

1. Stephen Fry: 98616 followers
Read his Twitter feed at: http://twitter.com/stephenfry
Type of celebrity: Comedian, Actor, TV presenter, Wit
Typical Tweet: “600 people went to the theatre, not to to see Oliver but to compete in a paper & chocolate wrapper rustling competition. Others came to cough”

2. Lance Armstrong: 53813
http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong
Cyclist, record breaking Tour De France Winner
“Got the Knaggs' family/kids over here at the house. 6 kids ripping around. It's madness! Luke and 5 girls. Ha! Have a good weekend everyone!”

3. Britney Spears: 53290
http://twitter.com/britneyspears
“I love Japan! I think all the tiny cars are so cute! –Britney”

4. Rick Sanchez: 48825
http://twitter.com/ricksanchezcnn
American TV news anchor
“i twitter because i need as a journalist to get what viewers think and say. w/out them i'm just another talking head.they complete me, lol!”

5. Shaquille O'Neill: 46296
http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ
Basketball player, Actor
“Anotha sleepless nite, n twitter land, aaaaaggggghhhhhhh, whyyyyyyyyyyyy”

6. John Cleese: 44142
http://twitter.com/JohnCleese
Actor, Comedian
“Thank you everyone for the messages. Remember I am practically dead, barely functional. Your patience is appreciated. Will blog again soon”
7. Jonathan Ross: 43432
http://twitter.com/Wossy
Tv Presenter, Comedian
“You can lead a celeb to twitter but you can't always make them tweet.”
8. Al Gore: 38351
http://twitter.com/algore
American politician, Former US Vice President, Environmentalist
“I'm advocating a US goal of 100% carbon-free electricity in 10 years. If you are interested in the plan, check today's NYT op-Ed on it”
9. MC Hammer: 34042
http://twitter.com/MCHammer
Rapper
“I appreciate all the love (tweets) of congratulations you sent to me about the Super Bowl commercial (Cash4Gold) ...it means a lot..thanks”
10. John Hodgman: 32097
http://twitter.com/hodgman
Comedian
“Desk is clear for the first time since beginning of book tour. Apparently it is made of wood”
11. Jimmy Fallon: 27163
http://twitter.com/jimmyfallon
American Comedian
“Just got 4 deli platters from The Daily Show for me and the staff. Classy peeps. Thanks!”
12. Dave Matthews: 24064
http://twitter.com/DaveJMatthews
Musician
“I been playing different guitars. One looks quite a bit like a strat but Rob Cavallo had it made for me (I liked his).”
13. Neil Gaiman: 17705
http://twitter.com/neilhimself
Author
“Clues you're twittering too much : during an interesting dream, you think "I must twitter this", and start looking in dream for your phone.”
14. Philip Schofield: 17291
http://twitter.com/Schofe
TV presenter
“Just got the viewing figures for DOI last night, best yet .... 10.9 million. Everyone thrilled with that!! If you watched, thank you.”
15. Russell Brand: 15673
http://twitter.com/rustyrockets
Comedian, TV Presenter, Actor
i"m in bed with my cat morrissey. he'd be furious if he knew i was writing this. he conveys affection by milking me, sans consent. grim
16 Alan Carr: 12,294
http://twitter.com/AlanCarr
“Regretting eating that extra portion of tenderstem broccoli, got awful wind. Nearly blew out my scented candle”
17. Demi Moore: 11655
http://twitter.com/mrskutcher
Actress
“Don’t know how this community of positivity was created but I’m grateful to have found you and thrilled to be a part of this. Go Twitterers
18. Arnold Schwarzenegger: 11147
http://twitter.com/schwarzenegger
Governor of California, former actor
“This is about clean air, saving drivers' money at the gas pump, and about reducing dependence on foreign oil”
19. Jimmy Carr: 8827
http://twitter.com/jimmycarr
Comedian
“is performing at Peterborough tonight, then Brighton tomorrow”
20. Kevin Smith: 8379
http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith
Film Director, Actor
I think someone tried to hack into my account. Bummer
21. William Shatner: 7599
http://twitter.com/WilliamShatner
Actor
“Ricardo Montalban was a wonderful man I saw him on Broadway I was entertained by his movies. I loved working with him on the film we made”
22. Snoop Doggy Dogg: 7549
https://twitter.com/snoopdogg
Rapper
“Who's down to ride with Dogg???”
23. Karl Rove: 7233
http://twitter.com/KarlRove
Political advisor
“En route to Miami for a speaking engagement— a discussion on the new Administration and analysis of the general political landscape.”
24. Paulo Coelho: 5722
http://twitter.com/paulocoelho
Author
“I'm diving deeper into Timothy Leary's perception of the world but without the LSD”
25. David Mitchell: 5465
http://twitter.com/RealDMitchell
“Thank you so much for believing I'm the real me! I've double checked and I still am. I'll try and post something informative occasionally”
26. Soulja Boy: 5425
http://twitter.com/souljaboytellem
Rapper
“My video gone take him out the game Lol y'all gone love this sh*t just wait”
27. Charlie Brooker: 5338
http://twitter.com/charltonbrooker
Columnist, satirist, writer
“GATE O’CLOCK (gayt-oh-klok) – Noun. The tipping point at which the suffix “-gate” may be appended to any given scandal”
28. Luke Wilson: 4809
http://twitter.com/LukeWilson
Actor
“It's hard to keep this twitter thing updated! I should hire someone to do this! ;)”
29. Andy Murray: 4758
http://twitter.com/andy_murray
Tennis Player
“In abu dhabi - redirected cuz of fog. Gone with that. Killing treacle on nintendo brain train tho”
30. Rob Brydon: 4673
http://twitter.com/RealRobBrydon
Actor, Comedian
“Almost ten hours of sleep, a modern day personal best!”
31. Joe Trippi: 4644
http://twitter.com/JoeTrippi
Political Adviser
“Completely fueled by Diet-Pepsi during Dean Campaign and since, I unfortunately must report that I do not feel "Forever Young”
32. Graham Linehan: 4071
http://twitter.com/Glinner
Sitcom writer behind Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd
“I'm pro-erotica, anti-vampire”
33. Andi Peters: 4021
http://twitter.com/xxandip
“I'm a Nando's lover. Medium Peri-peri. Yum. All I talk about is food...why not!!”
34. Will Carling: 3115
http://twitter.com/willcarling
“Just about to have a meeting with Rob Jones, a rugby legend from the Valleys!! And a top boy (but can only drink 3 shandys a night!!)”
35. Boris Johnson: 2281
http://twitter.com/MayorOfLondon
Politician: Mayor of London, Columnist
“Sorry everyone for my radio silence. Not been sking but in Davos. Wall to wall bankerfest and crazy busy schedule. Promise to twitter mo ...”
36. Michael Phelps: 2239
http://twitter.com/Michael_Phelps
Swimmer
“Michael Phelps + New Hobby = Poker !!”
37. Jamie Oliver: 2140
http://twitter.com/Jamie_Oliver
Chef
“yeah!great guys,go for it! get involed, talk about pork, cook different cuts, buy british! the recipes are there. and pledge pledge pledge”
38. Elijah Wood: 2118
http://twitter.com/elijahwood
Actor
“Dancing in my underwear like Tom Cruise in Risky Biz, lol”
39. Tim Minchin: 1965
http://twitter.com/timminchin
Comedian, musician, actor
“without wanting to sound too crass, tickets for next month's leicester show have gone on sale. do come”
40. Rachel Bilson: 1720
http://twitter.com/rachel_bilson
Actress
“shopping! shhhhhh”
41. Mischa Barton: 1672
http://twitter.com/MischaBarton
“Hey guys, go check out out my blog where I clear up some rumors you might have read. Don't believe everything you read! ; ) XOXO MB”
42. Yoko Ono: 1199
http://twitter.com/yokoono
Artist
“Every day, I am thankful that I am alive. It's not like we are more deserving than the ones who are running for survival under bombs”
43. Eli Manning: 1328
http://twitter.com/elimanning
American Football player
“big game tonight. home field at stake. feelin good”
44. Regina Spektor: 1293
http://twitter.com/reginaspektor
Musician
“trying to keep up with all the followers! Xoxoxox”
45. George Lucas: 973
http://twitter.com/George_Lucas
Director
“Kids are really loving the new Clone Wars series”
46. Jamie Cullum: 929
http://twitter.com/jamiecullum
Musician
“Wow. As I listen to this new stuff I realise that i've definitely chosen vibe over perfection. All full takes, no editing”
47. Xzibit: 661
http://twitter.com/mrxtothaz
Rapper, TV Presenter
“black and gold is wack and old......LOL”
48. Richard Herring: 513
http://twitter.com/Herring1967
Comedian
“Playing scrabble in cafe Nero after getting too cold for comfort in regents park. Winning of course. Best word so far- patinas 73”
49. Roots Manuva: 388
http://twitter.com/rootsmanuva
Rapper, Musician
“Wassup twitation massive! The slime tour blasted off like a rocket. I'm in norfork now. Can someone tell my aunt delia to pop into the show.”
50. Toby Young: 103
http://twitter.com/toadmeister
Journalist, Broadcaster
“So 38 million Americans watched their new President flub the Oath. Even George "They misunderestimated me" Bush got that right”

How much your Twitter profile worth? Find out here

2009-02-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

So there’s this site Out There called TwitterValue. It allegedly measures how much your Tweets are worth, based on a super-secret “Ph.D algorithm.” Our guess is that it takes into account the number of followers you have, how frequently you tweet, how many @replies you get, etc. Being the vainglorious nerds that we are here at CG, we decided to see how much our Tweets are worth. You’re in for a treat, believe me! Or should I say, you’re in for a Tweet, lol!

• @zeewaqar77(Zee) is worth $136
• @johnbiggs (John) is worth $372

• @ThePeterHa (Peter) is worth $137
• @daamoth (Doug) is worth $31
• @nicholasadeleon (Nicholas, me!) is worth $137
• @GregKumparak (Greg) is worth $137
• @smerrill (Scott) is worth $136
• @frompkin (Dave) is worth $22
• @boilr (Jeremy) is worth $17

That’s a suspicious amount of clustering around the $136-$37 area, no?

For comparison’s sake, the boss himself, @TechCrunch (Arrington), is worth $3,710 and @BarackObama (the president, silly!) is worth $41,150.

Brief History of Twitter

2009-02-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

Dom Sagolla, formerly of Odeo Corp., corporate predecessor of Obvious Corp., the company behind Twitter, tells the story of the micro-messaging service that has caught the imagination of everyone from from tech mommies to cable news networks, sports stars and Hollywood stars. It has become a source of breaking news and rumors. It is the new pulsating heart of the real-time Internet. It was born at a time when Odeo was facing a rather bleak future:
“Rebooting” or reinventing the company started with a daylong brainstorming session where we broke up into teams to talk about our best ideas. I was lucky enough to be in @Jack’s group, where he first described a service that uses SMS to tell small groups what you are doing.

I remember that @Jack’s first use case was city-related: telling people that the club he’s at is happening. “I want to have a dispatch service that connects us on our phones using text.”

Work on the project started on March 31, 2006. @Jack is Jack Dorsey, until recently the CEO of Twitter. He wrote the version 0.1 with Noah Glass, who showed me Twitter, back when it was known as Twttr, at a party in SOMA in San Francisco. That very night I wrote a short blog post about the service:

Twttr has married Short Code Messaging, SMS with a way to create social groups. By sending a text message to a short code (for TWTTR) you can send your location information, your mood information or whatever and share it with people who are on your social-mob! Best part - no installation necessary!

Thanks to an early jump, I got the @Om handle for my Twitter account. Reading that original post, I am amazed at how much has changed in two-and-a-half years. For Twitter, web has become the primary focus. The company has received a $500 million buyout offer, not to mention criticism for not being able to keep the service working all the time.

As Dom points out, over time, much of the original team from Odeo was let go — including Glass. Odeo became Obvious Corp., and, well, the rest is history. Now, the company is rumored to be valued at $250 million and is on its way to becoming the next hot platform on the web.

5 Tips to Increase Your Twitter Presence

2009-01-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

1. Leverage Other Profiles

Do you have an existing online profile somewhere outside of Twitter (big or small)? Use it to springboard into Twitter. If it’s a blog, mention that you’re using Twitter in a post and link to it from your profile and contact pages. If you’re on Facebook use one of the numerous tools available to drag in your Tweets to facebook. Add it to your email signature, business card, mention it in interviews or guest posts that you might do…. etc. The same applies with any online (or even offline) presence that you have - link to your Twitter page and link to it often

2. Tweet and Tweet Often - But Create Space for Reactions

The more active you are on Twitter the more likely you are to have someone find you from within Twitter and add you as someone that they are following. Every Tweet you do comes up on the Twitter Public Timeline - so upping your Tweet numbers can help have you appear more often there.

Warning - Tweet too regularly and about nothing worthwhile and you run the risk of loosing followers. What I’ve found is that on days that I’m more talkative than others that there can come points where I’m talking so much that my followers don’t have room to respond. Twitter can actually become quite confusing once you have too many trains of thought going all at once so I try to stick to one topic at a time and create pauses between them to let others interact.

3. Be Conversational

Apart from a good influx of new followers when I announced I was using Twitter at first the days that I get most new followers are those days that I interact with other Twitter users. Everytime you reply to someone and have them reply to you your Twitter ID appears in the feeds of others which exposes you to potentially thousands upon thousands of other Twitter users. Asking questions is perhaps the best way to get conversational on Twitter. Get 10 people to answer a question you’ve Tweeted and if even just one person signs up from each of those 10 people’s replies to you you have 10 new followers. Just as important is to participate in other people’s Tweets also - reply to their questions and ideas as much as possible.

The key with this approach is to be conversational about topics that will interest others. For example if you ask a very general question like ‘what cereal do you use’ and get a lot of answers - but i suspect you’ll get more answers AND new followers if the question was more relevant to people’s lives in some way (read on for more on this).

Another thought on the ‘art of conversation’ on Twitter is that I find I do better when I’m not talking about me. No one likes to hang around with people who just talk about themselves - so get the balance right between talking about yourself and talking about others and other topics of interest.

4. Provide Value

Tweeting on a personal level is fun and for many that’s as far as it goes - but if you’re interested in growing your Twitter influence you need to provide your followers (and potential followers) with value. It’s the same principle as growing a blog - if you help enhance people’s lives in some way they are more likely to want to track with you and read more of what you have to say. As a result your conversations should ‘matter’ on some level. Sure you can throw in personal tweets and have some fun with it - but unless you’re providing something useful to people (information, entertainment, news, education etc) they probably won’t follow you for long.

5. Tweet in Peak Times

Last week I tracked when I had new twitter followers add me and found (as I expected) that the frequency of ‘adds’ where made during business hours in the USA. My being situated in Australia can have some positives and negatives but one of the things I don’t enjoy about it is that I miss out on a lot of interaction with my followers who are on the other side of the world from me. I try to be online when the US wakes up (evenings for me) so as to make the most of the opportunities of being awake in this overlap time (similarly first thing in the morning for me can be good as my US friends are sometimes still at work or online at home in their early evenings). Tweeting during these times only increases the chances of someone finding you and adding you as someone to follow.

Bonus Tip

These are some of the things that I’ve noticed about my own Twitter follower numbers. I probably should add that for me it’s never really been a concerted effort. I do have the advantage of being able to do #1 quite well quite naturally but my last tip would be to just be yourself and Tweet form the heart. Don’t stress too much about the numbers but connect genuinely with the Twitter followers you already have and let the rest take care of itself!