Webware

Buy a virtual cupcake for breast cancer, on Facebook

Facebook has introduced all sorts of interesting things to social networking culture. It began with a poke, and more recently allowed you to set people on fire (virtually, of course). As of yesterday, users are able to purchase and send virtual gifts (in the form of emoticons) to their friends on the service for $1 each, to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and promote breast cancer awareness.

The icon set was designed not by Facebook but by Susan Kare who made the icons for the first Mac, including the notorious bomb icon which showed up every time … Read more

Piping in with Yahoo Pipes mashup builder

Ever think that we're just scratching the surface when it comes to mashing up Web data feeds? Yahoo apparently thinks so, too.

On Wednesday, the Web giant released a beta of Yahoo Pipes, a hosted development tool meant to make it easier to build mashup applications that combine different Web feeds. (See this CNET News.com story on Yahoo Pipes for more information.)

The idea is that people use a visual layout form to wire together a series of structured data feeds. Mashups, obviously, can be developed, but Pipes is supposed to make the process of developing them easier, … Read more

What happens when Web 2.0 goes real-world?

As some of you may know, I host a weekly video feature on our sister blog Crave, where I talk about fun tech-related stuff that's going on in New York City. This week, my video turned out to be rather Webware-related, so I'm posting it here for you as well. In this clip, I go over to Etsy Labs, the new real-world communal space opened by online handmade craft marketplace Etsy. It's a really cool convergence of the online and offline, in a way that kind of made me wonder--will the next iteration of the Web see … Read more

MeeVee adds personalized Web content

We checked out MeeVee in September, and cited its lack of integration with recording and viewing services. Today, MeeVee has strengthened its viewing service with two new features: personalized networks and community video. Essentially the site lets you pick out your favorite shows and then aggregates relevant videos from hosting sites like YouTube and EVTV1 (with several more on the way). Clicking on any of these videos will actually take you outside of the MeeVee site, but there's a helpful frame put on the top of the screen to direct you back. We're told MeeVee is moving to … Read more

The Brave New Web? It's all business

Boston -- I moderated a panel entitled "Where Do I get My Web 2.0?" at the MIT Enterprise Forum's "Brave New Web" event this morning. We had four execs from companies that make Web tools (Phil Hollows, FeedBlitz; Brian Shin, Visible Measures; Scott Smigler, Exclusive Concepts; and David McRaflane, Nexaweb) and services on the panel, talking to an audience of entrepreneurs about business models, customer interaction, and start-up funding.

What I found most interesting about this audience was how quickly it steered the conversation towards big business. Out here, it appears, entrepreneurs want to … Read more

Giving the little guy a piece of the Web media action

BOSTON--So-called user generated content is being built into the business models of forward-looking media companies as they venture out onto the Web, according to experts who spoke today at the MIT Enterprise Forum's Brave New Web conference on Wednesday. (See this CNET News.com story.)

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of online video company Brightcove, said that Web is a tiny fraction of the overall media industry but that's changing because media companies are starting to distribute video over the Web. Brightcove itself is building social media features to its video distribution system which will allow people to post … Read more

Kaneva: MySpace + Second Life mash-up

Part social network and part 3D virtual world, Kaneva also throws in a dash of YouTube, with media sharing for pictures and Flash video. I received news of the service today, but Kaneva has been kicking about since late 2004. Essentially you begin with a standard social-network profile, then earn prestige points to work your way up a site leaderboard until you're invited to join the 3D social world, which launched its beta in April of last year.

Points are given as rewards for adding content to your profile and interacting with other Keneva members. Once you join the … Read more

Foneshow puts podcasts on your phone

Boston -- I just saw a new company that lets you listen to podcasts on your phone: Foneshow. It's a two-person company, but I'm impressed by how well the small team has thought through the mechanics of taking audio shows and porting them to a phone.

It works like this: you subscribe to a podcast either from the Foneshow site or from the podcast's home page (if the publisher has put a Foneshow sign-up on the page). Then, whenever there's a new episode of your podcast, the system sends you an SMS message with a unique … Read more

Web news roundup: John McCain, Flip, Gmail, Amazon and TiVo, Ransomeware, Vodafone and MySpace

>> Senator to propose surveillance of illegal images. John McCain wants to give surveillance duty to your Internet service provider and to Web sites to crack down on child pornography. All questionable images would be flagged and sent to the authorities with your IP address. (CNET News.com)

>> Flip launches. Conde Nast's answer to MySpace and other social networks. The service, aimed at teenage girls, lets you create a scrapbook of sorts in the form of a flip book. Your flip book can then be shared on other services. (Mashable)

>> Gmail leaves beta. Lately … Read more