State of the Internet

by krystyl on March 19, 2010

Ever wonder how people are using the internet? Who is using it the most? Thanks to Jesse Thomas, we not have that answer!

By September 2009, there were 1.73 Billion internet users worldwide! Are you as shocked as we are? Check out the video statistics below, and let us know your thoughts!

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

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One of the highlights of the South by Southwest experience is the parties and each year there are a select few that really stand out that you just have to be at. Sure, there are going to be complaints and criticism about things are handled, but for the most part, the party seems just fine. Was the Mashable MashBash one of these events? Sure…I’d chalk this up and say that the MashBash was the party to look out for at SXSW.

Held at Buffalo Billiards in downtown Austin, the Mashable team threw a soiree that rivaled all others that night and the entire venue was nearly filled to capacity, or at least it seemed it was pretty hard to move around. With free drinks (<$4) and entertainment put on by DJ Chicken  George, who said that Mashable can’t throw a lively party. All sorts of ce-web-rities showed up, including Leo Laporte, Robert Scoble, Brian Solis, Michelle Feldman, Drew Olanoff and even Pete Cashmore (well…it was his party, after all).

The party started at 9pm and kept going until 2am when Buffalo Billiards kicked everyone out and we dispersed into the streets seeking the next source of entertainment. The Mashable party was definitely one that I looked forward at my time at SXSW. Definitely something worth going to if you get a chance.

Here are some photos from the event:

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Team Mashable

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
The crowd at the MashBash

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Jeff Pulver

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Gregarious Narain, Drew Olanoff & Jenn Van Grove

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Wm. Marc Salsberry

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Pete Cashmore & Leora Israel

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Robert Scoble with Leo Laporte interviewing Lisa Bettany

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Chris Heuer & Pete Cashmore

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Khayyam Wakil, Drew Olanoff & Brett Petersel

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Having fun at the MashBash

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
Stephanie Agresta and Pete Cashmore

SXSW 2010 - Mashable MashBash
DJ Chicken George

Many more photos from the Mashable MashBash photos can be found online by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Kenneth Yeung

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Larry Chiang writes about hacking business and school. After a Harvard Business School keynote, they wrote: “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. If you read his scandalously awesome “What They STILL Don’t Teach You at Stanford About Getting Revenge” and, “What They STILL Don’t Teach at GSB About Public Speaking” you will like his latest post about Getting VCs to Pitch Us Entrepreneurs.

If you spend 60 minutes reading his stuff, you’ll be street smart by St Patrick’s Day.

Larry ChiangBy Larry Chiang

8 Mistakes Big Brands Make Fighting a Social Media War

Nothing attracts human interest more than conflict.

Mammals love watching mammals fight and its the most popular stuff on Animal Planet. Well, Twitter status updates are all the rage so naturally conflict here attracts the most coverage.

Big brands are notoriously bad at this new medium where the exception is more notable than the norm. The norm = bad

Here are the biggest mistakes I have viewed first hand

-1- Non Transparency.

If you’re a big brand tweeting, who exactly is the voice.

PB Works does it right using a great employee spokesperson David Weekly. And that hottie that does community Christie

-2- Using a logo as your Twitter Pic

Nothing says corporate more than an effen logo as an avatar. Have you seen the graphic designers joke, “Use the cream, ‘Make my logo bigger’”. It’s hi-larry-ass but sad because its true.

Have you seen Duck9 website. We made and keep making that mistake.

-3- Forgetting Sex Sells

Yelp has an incredibly hawt smart female running community.

I don’t know exactly what my point is or was… but I read in a Stanford business book that sex sells. Ka-pow, I just saved you

-4- Learn to Say Sorry

If your brand was a big donkey, apologize.

There was a big venture capital firm that told me I was dumb and that my idea would never work. I wrote a Yelp review and paid $3k for inbound links to my review. They apologized and I dropped it.

-5- Don’t Fire Back

After my review of State Farm, a review was written about my company to mock my experience.

Never fire back.

Cite defendable truths and at least claim to “continue investigations of this internal business practice”

-6- Empower All Employees to Tweet

Remember, in a time where nearly everything records and nearly everyone is part of the media, your employee statements

-7- Remove the Disclaimer

“I’m an employee of Duck9 but these words are my own” is a legal disclaimer that my night school trained attorney can pierce.

-8- The Ostrich, Camel Toe and MooseKnuckle

In short don’t stick your head in the sand if you’re a big brand. In the comments, add your thoughts

-9- How to Recover From a Black Eye
Business is about not hitting the panic button.
One consumer with 20 twitter followers can stain your reputation with a compelling story.

Social Media War party is happening at South by Southwest (SXSW). For the first time at SXSW, there is the Social Media War party. It has the food tab supported by State Farm. And just like life, if State Farm doesn’t pay, I Larry Chiang will.
http://bit.ly/buster10

If you liked this, you may also check:

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Larry’s mentor Mark McCormack wrote this in 1983. He started IMG which represents athletes.

I wrote this in 30 minutes. If I missed something, email me… larry @larrychiang dot com and include your cell in the subject line.

DISCLOSURE: I kick a lot of butt. Text or call me during office hours 11:11am or 11:11pm PST +/-11 minutes on my cell: 650-283-8008.

Larry Chiang is the founder of Duck9 , which educates college students on how to establish and maintain a FICO score over 750. He is a frequent contributor to BusinessWeek. His earlier posts on GigaOm include: How to Work The Room ; 8 Tips On How to Get Mentored ; and 9 VCs You’re Gonna Want To Avoid . You can read more equally funny, but non-founder-focused-lessons on Larry’s Amazon blog .

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Google TV, Supermachine?

by Kristen Nicole on March 18, 2010

Is Google working on a television initiative? There are reports of a possible deal between Google, Sony and Intel, which would be towards the creation of a device that connects to the internet and runs Google’s Android platform. Turning television sets into computers by default, and running a platform that is also in the process of penetrating the mobile market is one way in which traditional media can regain a foothold.

Is this the way in which television finally contends with the internet? By joining forces? For the past few years, the differentiating lines amongst consumer electronics has been getting fainter. The functions of cameras, television sets, radios, computers and cell phones are being fitted into a single device, unifying our multiple media access points.

Finding a way to incorporate more on-demand media options, which can be run through the internet, is another monetization option for brands. Finding another way into the homes of consumers, traditional and new media sectors can act as targeted ad channels. The continued support of these distribution channels will lend some relief to areas such as broadcast television. Cable and satellite companies have been prepping for this era for some time as well, moving into bundled packages providing several data and communication services.

All of this enables the television to run the internet as well as a computer, as well as additional platforms upon which applications can be run. In doing so, the application economy will be encouraged as it expands into yet another media sector.

Interesting stuff, to say the least. Yet Google’s platform is still relatively young and unregulated. On mobile phones, Android still has its own shortcomings when compared to standards such as Apple’s platform. Open-source, Android comes with a slew of potential pitfalls when considering its expansion at this stage in its development. As Apple provides an example for how consumers may react to certain content, the unrestricted accessibility of certain content through Android is a concern Google will need to deal with.

Nevertheless, it seems important for Google to continue to create a presence across many consumer electronics. Finding a way to gt those devices to talk to each other is how Google continues to become a unifying factor for consumers, steadily making it a viable option for an application economy.

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The 2010 edition of the South by Southwest Interactive conference kicked off with a bang at the TechSet & Windows Phone party in Austin, Texas. Held at the Speakeasy, thousands of SXSW attendees flocked to get in on the fun and meet new friends and rekindle old friendships. Thanks to the tandem team of Stephanie Agresta and Brian Solis, the TechSet & Windows Phone party was rocking through the night, complete with a Bing photo booth, musical acts, and a DJ pumping out beats.

All the digerati were out in force this night and surely the TechSet Party help set the tone for the parties during the rest of South by Southwest. From seeing folks like Sean Percival, Robert Scoble, Dave Mathews, Jess Berlin, Chris Heuer, Scott Beale, Adam Ostrow, Adam Hirsch, Wm. Marc Salsberry and many others, the TechSet party was definitely the place to be.

Here are some photos from the event:

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
The hosts for your evening: Stephanie Agresta & Brian Solis

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
Welcome to the TechSet & Windows Phone Party

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
The Speakeasy

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
The line of people waiting to get into the TechSet & Windows Phone Party

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
Jess Berlin, Frank Gruber & Jen Consalvo

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
Chris Heuer, Khris Loux and Nancy Cole

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
Jess Berlin, Melissa Rowley, Brian Solis, Laura Fitton, Reem Abeidoh and Rick Calvert

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
The band entertaining the crowd at the party

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party
Hey look! It’s part of Team Mashable with other attendees!

SXSW 2010 - TechSet & Windows Phone Party

More photos from the TechSet & Windows Phone party can be found online by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Kenneth Yeung

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