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The rise of the messaging economy

May11
by on May 11, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, messaging, SMS

messaging economy

This post was brought to you by CM Telecom, a leading global mobile service company for messaging and payments.

In just a few short years, text-based communications have become a staple for companies ranging from enterprise giants to startups and independent app developers. Brand-to-customer interactions that were once limited to in-person interactions, phone calls, and mail are now taking place over multiple social networks, emails, SMS, live chat, mobile push notifications, and more. It’s almost impossible to quantify the number of options that people have for communication. “Messaging seems so obvious, but when you think about trends over the past decade, the explosion of messaging really represents a paradigm shift,” says Rob LoCascio, CEO and founder at customer intelligence…

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Why we need violent video games

May11
by on May 11, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, video games, violence

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This story was written by Dana Goldstein for The Marshall Project , a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletter, or follow The Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter. Americans have long been drawn to the idea that violent movies or video games can provoke actual delinquency or serious crime. In 1963, the Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura performed an experiment in which one group of pre-schoolers watched films and cartoons of adults beating “Bobo,” a clown doll. When kids who witnessed Bobo’s travails were later left alone with the toy, they were…

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The 18 best blogging and publishing platforms on the internet today

May11
by on May 11, 2015 at 12:16 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Business Apps, Insider

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Despite ongoing cries that blogging is slowly dying, there are still tons of people looking to start new blogs for the first time or move to a better home on the Web. We wrote a comprehensive guide to blogging platforms two years ago, but the landscape has changed dramatically in that time, with new entrants and technologies offering completely new approaches to writing. Here’s our ultimate guide to the best places for getting your blog set up for the first time, or as a new home for those who are tired of what they’re already using. A quick primer WordPress Squarespace Posthaven…

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Ninja Blocks chose the right way to close its cash-strapped Kickstarter project

May11
by on May 11, 2015 at 11:56 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Product Updates

NinjaBlocks
It’s true, Ninja Blocks, the Kickstarter startup that pledged to use Canonical’s Snappy Ubuntu Core OS for its Internet of Things (IoT) devices, has gone bust. However, while it’s not that much of a surprise to hear of another Kickstarter project failing to live up to its promises, it has done so in about the best way it could. We see plenty of failed attempts, and most of those quietly disappear never to be heard of again. Ninja Blocks’ swan song should serve as an example for others of how to fail with grace – and when to recognize the end is…

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Carphone Warehouse introduces its iD mobile network with free data roaming in 22 countries and capped plans

May11
by on May 11, 2015 at 11:43 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Mobile

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Carphone Warehouse is launching its own mobile network – iD – in the UK tomorrow. It will be available from all Carphone Warehouse stores, online and through selected Currys and PC World stores. The new service has some of the most competitive 4G plans and roaming rates on the market iD offers free data roaming in the form of ‘Takeaway’ plans which start at £25.50 per month and cover usage in 22 countries including the US and Australia, which puts it ahead of Three’s ‘Feel at Home‘ service that currently covers 18 countries. The countries covered are: America, Australia, Spain, Ireland,…

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