Web Design Cool

Yesterday, Steve Jobs boasted of iTunes’ 160 million users when introducing Ping, Apple’s new social music network. But anyone wading into the service this morning will find an empty community save a few artists (Lady Gaga, Yo-Yo Ma) and a few potential followers (Rick Rubin). Sure, early adopters are always a small crowd–but this is Apple, not some start-up. Shouldn’t we expect Ping to be a vibrant social network? Shouldn’t there at least be some auto-integration with my other networks, namely Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter? Apple thinks so–the company even claims that iTunes 10 users can connect to Facebook. Yet that connection is nowhere to be found. Here’s why.  Read more... (451 words, 8 images, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

How do artists connect with their fans? Twitter? MySpace? Facebook? Try iTunes.

At the Apple press conference today, Steve Jobs unveiled Ping, a music social network seamlessly integrated into the latest version of iTunes 10. Consumers can use the service to follow friends and artists, post thoughts and opinions, view custom top song and album charts, as well as concert listings. Ping launches today, and with Apple’s massive leverage as the largest music provider in the U.S., iTunes will instantly become a huge competitor to other social networks, and a big asset for both consumers and record labels.  Read more... (496 words, 11 images, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

What I learned by activating my online influence (without the help of Ellen DeGeneres).

Outovation. That’s far-out innovation.

While you were sleeping, innovation was getting sweary and looking for a bunker to hide in.

1. We all know that, in life, timing is everything. And so, what to make of the fact that, as the British Labour party goes to the polls to determine its new leader, the party’s most successful leader, Tony Blair, releases his memoirs. Anyone looking eastwards towards Blighty may see a slightly putrid cloud arising above the island. That‘s what bombshells being dropped look like.

This winter, skiers and snowboarders will be hitting the the slopes in a whole new way. Rather than just flying through moguls or sailing off half-pipes, mountain-goers might soon be “checking in.”  Read more... (480 words, 9 images, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Pew has just revealed results from its Internet and American Life Project survey and found that the fastest growing demographic adopting social media is folks over 50.   Read more... (336 words, 7 images, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

BETWEEN TWO FERNS: Galifianakis’s funnyordie.com talk show makes A-list guests uncomfortable. | Photograph by Armando Gallo/Corbis

Succeeds in the moment with a blazing wit — and a matching business model.

Funny or Die CEO Dick Glover has no idea what shows his site will be featuring when you read this. “Unless you tell me BP’s going to do another oil spill,” he says.

This interview is part of our ongoing series related to The Influence Project.  Read more... (978 words, 8 images, estimated 3:55 mins reading time)

When I thought the ad for the internship position at Smashing Magazine about six month ago, I replied within half an hour. I wrote my response quickly because, for once, I didn’t have to exaggerate my enthusiasm. I was genuinely interested in the position and confident that I fit the job.  Read more... (1999 words, 11 images, estimated 7:60 mins reading time)

Bits of Aaron Sorkin’s script for the David Fincher-directed film about Facebook, The Social Nework, have bounced around the Internet for a while. We got our hands on what seems to be the almost final entire script. Since Sorkin has a way of making folks labor through moody buildups–and this film is, at its heart, a melodrama about rich, white, geeks battling for privilege points (and, okay, innovating)–we thought we’d offer up some of the better lines. Call it free marketing for the film, which is out in October.  Read more... (301 words, 10 images, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)