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Intel releases Pocket Avatars, a chat app that maps your facial expressions onto silly characters

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web

Intel Reports Quarterly Earnings
When you think of Intel, you normally think of PC chips, but the company is bucking expectations today with the release of a social app for iOS and Android called Pocket Avatars. The app offers video-like mobile messaging, but it relies on cartoon avatars to relay your facial expressions. Intel VP Mike Bell told TNW that the firm’s Intel Labs division often comes up with futuristic new technologies that never become products. Bell, however, decided that the face-tracking system was too good to pass up. The company ran a beta test of the app last summer. Pocket Avatars uses your…

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How to identify, build and retain social media influencers

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 2:08 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, How-To's, Social Media

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This post is brought to you by Simply Measured.

Influence on social media is a function of follower count and thought leadership. This leadership can occur within a specific topic, industry, content-type – even a hashtag. Influencers are power users and authorities; they lend credence to products or services and they elevate conversations. In the loud world of social media, Influencers are experts – trusted voices with social capital. First question to consider: are you an Influencer? 1. Identify Influencers To grow your influence, start by determining your current status and identifying Influencers amongst your of followers. No matter how large or small-scale your operations might be, start with what…

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Delectable adds near-instant wine label scanning to its iOS app

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 1:58 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web

wine
Delectable released version 4.0 of its wine discovery app today, allowing users to take a picture of a wine bottle and have it recognized within seconds. Previously, the app took a few minutes in the background to process the text on a label. Moving to instantaneous scanning took Delectable a few years to work out as it had to put together a dataset for virtually all possible wines. The app got its start as a place for recording which types of wines you were drinking. Users then hook into expert reviews and social features in order to learn more about their wines and…

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Netflix will release its first original chat show hosted by Chelsea Handler in early 2016

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 1:18 pm
Posted In: Around the Web

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Netflix is already working on a dizzying number of original shows, but it’s just added a new genre to its growing repertoire of exclusive content. Starting in early 2016, the company will premiere a talk show hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler, featuring guest interviews and jokes about “topical entertainment and cultural issues.” Original shows such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black have raised Netflix’s profile tremendously. For either show, the release of a new season is now highly anticipated and it’s become a powerful reason for new and existing users to maintain their monthly subscription. The…

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Twitter’s evolution as a broadcasting platform continues as it acquires live-TV clipping service SnappyTV

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

TV
Twitter has announced it’s acquiring live-TV clipping service SnappyTV, a platform used by broadcasters and rights-holders to edit and distribute snippets of live TV across the social sphere shortly after they’re first aired. Launched in 2010, San Francisco-based SnappyTV has been been partnering with the likes of FOX Sports, NBC Sports, CBS, HBO, and NBA. It basically lets broadcasters distribute near real-time video clips across the Web and social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook. For example, if you were to follow the NBA Twitter account, you may see something like this, or this on Facebook: Post by NBA….

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