Social Media

FACEBOOK LAUNCHES NEW TIMELINE LAYOUT — NOW WITH MORE CUSTOMIZATION

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 

Facebook, in their endless tinkering, have started rolling out brand new changes to users’ Timelines. The changes so far have only rolled out in New Zealand, which many industry analysts are chalking up to the fact that “The Hobbit” was so good that New Zealanders should be rewarded.

In reality, whether “The Hobbit” was good or not depends on the status of your virginity, and the Timeline changes landed first in New Zealand and parts of Europe simply because of the time difference.

Early reports confirm that Facebook has rolled out what they are calling a “Collections Manager,” which allows users to easily customize their Timelines. Additionally, users can customize the contents of their right-hand column by adjusting categories like photos, music, books and Instagram integration.

So far, the Timeline changes have been met with a resounding “meh” from our pals in New Zealand, with many questioning why Facebook decided to change anything at all. Not saying that Facebook’s current layout was perfect, but it does seem that the social media company is becoming increasingly obsessive about their layout changes.

Additional changes include a simplified tabbed design in place of the boxes below your cover image, and posts that will be relegated to the left-hand column instead of being split into two columns.

Facebook has declined to comment on the update and instead issued the following fuck-off statement to Mashable: “we are always testing.”

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/01/facebook-launches-new-timeline-layout-now-with-more-customization/

4 PLACES TO FIND FREE SOUNDTRACKS FOR YOUR YOUTUBE VIDEO

A soundtrack usually introduces a story, eliminates awkward silences and makes your video more stylish. Of course, you already know that adding a tacky soundtrack would kill your video — unless you’re successful through making tacky videos.

Even though soundtracks make videos livelier, they can be quite expensive for someone who’s starting out on YouTube. Don’t fall into the trap of using a hit song on your YouTube video without asking for permission. In no time, you’ll have your video removed for copyright infringement or, if YouTube’s generous, possibly lose partner revenue if it goes viral. Here are some low or no-cost places to get the soundtrack for your latest YouTube video.

AUDIOSWAP

When you’re editing your videos on YouTube using the AudioSwap interface, you can add a soundtrack by choosing from more than 150,000 pre-selected tracks. So if you’re looking for comedic relief, you can find a saxophone track similar to the Benny Hill theme. Otherwise, you can choose tracks ranging from cheesy pop to near-classical music.

CREATIVE COMMONS

Yes, you can remix selected Creative Commons footage on YouTube, but did you know Creative Commons also has a one-stop search for fair use music? No need to hunt for every royalty-free music website out there; just go on Creative Commons’ CC search and find what type of music you’re looking for in an instant. As with all Creative Commons files, remember to give credit where credit’s due.

SOUNDCLOUD

SoundCloud is another great place to find music from popular and independent artists. If you’re looking for that perfect soundtrack for your web series, SoundCloud has thousands of tracks available with Creative Commons licenses. Simply download the track you want and mix it into your video.

INCOMPETECH

Founded by Kevin McLeod, Incompetech’s library includes tracks ranging from Italian wedding music to modern beats. McLeod has a blog on the website where he updates fans about his latest soundtracks. If you want the entire royalty-free catalog of his work, it will cost you $78.

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/01/4-places-to-find-free-soundtracks-for-your-youtube-video/

FREE Mobile File-Sharing Service Cloudee Available For Limited Time: Upload While You Can

January 4, 2013


“Free” is the Internet’s favorite word. From freeware to Pirate Bay to TBLOP, anytime the internet masses can score something that should cost them money but currently doesn’t, they are all over it like LOLcats on cheezburgers. And now, the masses have free Cloudee to nibble on.

Basically, this means that the pushers over at Cloudee are trying to get you hooked with a little “freebie” under the guise of “system testing.” Right now, there are no charges on uploading or storage, but expect that loophole to close soon.  Alright, Cloudee, I’ll bite, but when I’m breaking into your house to upload my content free of charge, just remember: you brought this on yourself.

In the end, I’m just curious because it seems that the potential for nefariousness is strong with this app. What’s to stop you from, say, creating a Napster-like collective of copyrighted material? Originally, Cloudee’s dad, Boxee had a partnership with a bit torrent site for downloading legal content, but they had to disable the function because too many third party black hats were utilizing it outside the established parameters. You can’t give a kid a pistol and expect him to not hold up the toy store.We’ll see how this all shakes out, Cloudee.

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2012/09/free-cloudee-available-for-limited-time-upload-while-you-can/




Facebook Adds Voicemail To Mobile Apps, Will Roll Out Internet Calls Soon

January 4, 2013 

Looks like Skype may have a run for its money in 2013. Facebook will be testing out its own VoIP service in the coming weeks, and it has already rolled out an updated messaging service where users can record and send voicemails.

The new voicemail option is currently available on its iOS and Android Messenger apps, and once you update your app, you can send a voice message by clicking on the compose button and then tapping the “+” button below next to where you compose your messages. Once you see the “Record Voice” option, tap it, and when you see the red record button, push and record your message.

Even though Facebook mobile users can now send voicemails, it isn’t the main feature that Facebook’s banking on this year. They’re trying out a VoIP service that will allow you to make phone calls, but that will use your phone’s data plan instead of credits like Skype and Google Voice does. Right now, the VoIP service is only available for Canadian users, but the service will be available for Facebook users worldwide in the coming weeks.

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/01/facebook-adds-voicemail-to-mobile-apps-will-roll-out-internet-calls-soon/

YOUTUBE TO DEBUT SMARTPHONE/TV PAIRING AT THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

January 3, 2013

Traditional, stand-alone remotes are making way for smartphone devices that can send videos from your phone to your TV.Youtube announced in its blog today that it will debut its own mobile/TV pairing at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Later this year, you can choose and send YouTube videos from your Android app to televisions made by Bang & Olufsen, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Philips, Vizio and many others. You can enjoy HD video as well as search for videos and catch up with your subscriptions and your playlists. Just choose your video, select the send-to-TV icon on the top and your phone will act like a remote where you scroll forward and backward, play and pause.

This is YouTube’s latest effort at making its video-sharing site accessible to more devices. Other devices such as Apple TV and Google TV already have mobile/TV pairing capabilities through iPhones and Android phones.

Watch the video below to see how YouTube’s mobile/TV pairing will work for you.

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/01/youtube-will-debut-smartphonetv-pairing-at-the-consumer-electronics-show/

  

INSTAGRAM CLAIMS THAT DATA SUGGESTING A 25% USER BASE LOSS IS ‘INACCURATE’

January 3, 2013

It hasn’t been a happy holiday for Facebook-owned photo site Instagram. After the photo-sharing site unveiled an updated terms of service, which included a new advertising initiative that hinted at selling users’ photos to advertisers, Twitter turned into a veritable Instagram shitstorm.

Almost instantly, users hit Twitter armed with the hashtag #BoycottInstagram. Since then, Instagram has retracted some of their new terms citing “confusing legal speak” as the real culprit. The advertising snafu seemed all but settled until statistics from application metrics company AppData hinted that Instagram lost 25% of its users in the maelstrom.

According to AppData, the loss in users brought Instagram’s user base of 16.4 million down to 12.4 million in one week.
In response to the data, a spokesperson for Instagram issued a statement to Gizmodo saying, “This data is inaccurate. We continue to see strong and steady growth in both registered and active users of Instagram.”
Instagram is disputing the data based on the fact that AppData gathered the figures from Facebook logins and not Instagram logins.

Over the Holiday, the metrics site reported that other applications saw declines as well, which suggests that Instagram’s mass evacuation was probably not in response to the updated terms of service.

However, additional statics from AppData show that Instagram’s daily active users dropped from an average of around 15,000,000 on December 24 to 10,000,000 on December 31. Although the Holiday season is over, Instagram’s daily active users still seem to be dwindling with each passing day.

Source : http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/01/instagram-claims-that-data-suggesting-a-25-user-base-loss-is-inaccurate/