Fabrizio Giordano

The world’s biggest video game fan site is going social. IGN Entertainment is announcing today that it has created MyIGN, a social network for game fans.

By adding a social layer on top of a web site that is visited by 12.7 million gamers per month (the larger network of IGN game sites has more than 18 million unique visitors per month), IGN hopes to adapt with the times and keep gamers engaged on its site for a longer period of time. You could call it the “gamification” of IGN, which will essentially create a meta game that rewards users for social behavior.

Peer Schneider, senior vice president and publisher at IGN Entertainment, said in an interview that MyIGN will let gamers earn social points for participating in discussions. They can write blog posts to get points and see their rankings rise in relation to their friends. They can also see what their friends are posting on a Facebook-like news feed.

Although IGN is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and its sister company is MySpace, IGN developed the technology for the social network within its own division. The home-grown effort allowed IGN to tailor its social network to what gamers want.

“We created it because gamers are not currently served by social networks,” Schneider said. “If I post what I really feel about a game on Facebook, I’ll get odd comments from non-gaming friends and family. In our setting, you can feel comfortable talking about gaming. No one else has nailed it.”

With MyIGN, you can follow certain editors at IGN like the ever-popular Jessica Chobot or game industry luminaries. You can get updates on your favorite games (IGN covers more than 60,000 of them) and tell your friends what you’re playing.

The company is starting with a beta test now that includes a news feed. At some point in the future, IGN will launch features such as matching friends in game matches. Eventually, Schneider would love to be able to offer instantaneous game demos or game purchases via digital distribution. (IGN’s GameSpy property currently handles matchmaking services, so the technology is already available). The most active members will level up.

So far, a small handful of gamers are testing the social network and they are engaging quite heavily, Schneider said.

“They are going nuts over this,” he said.

One of the main goals of the social network is to make it easier to discover new games through your friends and to reduce the number of clicks you have to do in order to get to the content that you want. There are rivals out there, such as Raptr, which has more than a million users. But this space is likely to evolve as companies learn to combine game fan sites, digital distribution of games, and social networking — all at once.

Companies: Ign Entertainment, News Corp, Raptr

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eWise, an online payments and financial management solutions company, has secured $12.1M in funding, it announced today.

The round was led by prominent European tech investor Balderton Capital, and included Total Technology Ventures, Patagorang, and Allen & Co.’s Roger Allen and Stanley S. Shuman.

Founded by Alexander Grinberg, who also heads the company, eWise is headquartered in the United Kingdom, and has expanded its market services to the United States, Australia, and China. Utilizing its new funds, eWise hopes to realize the widespread use of Secure Vault Payments (SVP) in the US.

eWise’s chief concern is to assure security — it says customers should make payments safely and confidently, either through its person to person solution, eWise Pay Anyone, or their its banking e-payments solution, eWise Pay By Account.

eWise’s new board member, Balderton partner Dharmash Mistry, said “In SVP, the compelling yet simple proposition of allowing customers to pay for online purchases through their own bank accounts, we believe that eWise has developed an innovative game-changing payments solution.”

Tags: epayments

Companies: Allen & Co, balderton, ewise, total technology ventures

People: alexander grinberg, dharmash mistry

Ever been frustrated because you wanted an app, but didn’t have the money in your account to pay for it right then and there? Well, put your frustrations in a bottle, because you can now pass those charges right along to your carrier bill. Can you say “budget”?

That’s right, we’ll all be more likely to blow a gasket when our cell phone bills arrive. According to the Android Developers Blog, the option will now be available during a paid app checkout to pay later, at which point the charges will be move over to your cell phone bill to be paid with the rest of your carrier charges. Just remember to keep an eye on it, or maybe keep a list… $10 doesn’t always sound that bad when you don’t have to pay it on the spot.

[via Android Developers Blog]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

Android apps soon to be charged to your carrier bill

Chuck Norris Rejects FarmVillain – Apparently Chuck Norris is more powerful than Steve Jobs as the FarmVille spoof app, FarmVillain, makes its fourth failed attempt to be approved by Apple for release in the App Store. The reason? It includes Chuck Norris who “has previously objected to other applications that include features that use his name or likeness, and believes that such features infringe his rights.”

Virtual Goods Create Results for Brands – In a new research study from appssavvy, the real world value of virtual goods as they apply to brands has proven to be a most valuable opportunity. Among the highlights, it increased brand awareness anywhere from 44.5-69.8%. Mobile ad awareness was increased by 60.1-74.2%. Purchase intent was shown to have increased 31.5-62.8%.

Raptr Upgrades to 1.0 – Social gaming tool, Raptr is getting a big upgrade this week. Beyond its cross-platform buddy list (Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Xfire, etc.), the service is stated to now support messaging on any instant messenger network including Facebook, AIM, and Yahoo. Additionally, the developers note that it will now dynamically generate a profile for users based on the games they play and achievements they unlock.

Super Rewards Monetizes TinierMe – At the Casual Connect conference this past week, Super Rewards announced that the developer behind social MMO TinierMe, GCREST, will be using the company to monetize itself through virtual currency.

TinierMe Adds Japanese Icon – In addition to the monetization announcement, GCREST has also debuted the appearance of the Japanese icon, Hatsune Miku in the culturally saturated TinierMe. Players will now be able to acquire limited edition virtual items for their avatars as well as have the chance to listen to free music from the anime-singer.

SupersonicAds Partners with BigPoint, Playdom, & Watercooler – International virtual currency monetization firm, Supersonic Ads, announced three new partnerships at Casual Connect this week: BigPoint, Playdom, and Watercooler. Players of these developers’ games will now be able to earn in-game currency through SupersonicAds’ targeted advertising and offers.

Shockwave Launches Virtual Goods Platform – Earlier in the week, casual gaming portal, Shockwave, announced its first virtual goods platform. Using Shockwave Cash, players will now be able to purchase in-game items across any number of the site’s games.

Real Networks Partners with Live Gamer – In more virtual goods news, Real Networks has teamed up with Live Gamer. The latter will power the virtual goods transactions within Real’s social gaming platform, GameHouse.

Sony Working with Codename – PlayStation 3 virtual world PlayStation Home is set to be transformed into a social gaming space. Partnering with indie label Codename, Sony has announced that the company, along with other international developers, will develop exclusive new games for the virtual world.

Heyzap Introduces Heyzap Arcade – Hot on the heels of its $3 million in funding, Heyzap is launching its newest product, Heyzap Arcade. Now, users will be able to add up to 30,000 games to their website with only one line of code. Already, the tool has been adopted by social network platform, Ning.

Zindagi Teaches Entrepreneurship with Social Games – In order to teach students (ages 10-15), a startup called Zindagi is working on a game that combines social game mechanics, problem solving, education, and real money management, says ReadWriteWeb. According to the developers it is “FarmVille meets Mint.com” and will teach kids concepts such as budgeting and saving, using actual money.

GameCoins.com Sees Success with “Missions” System – Introduced at E3, Sometric’s GameCoins.com‘s new “missions” system sought to create a fun means to intertwine game online mechanics and marketing campaigns. Now, the company is reporting that it is tracking an 86% completion rate with over 50% of those players earning extra virtual currency by telling their friends about it on Facebook.

Scvngr Adds “Bumping” to Location-Based Games – Scvngr is attempting to further socialize location-based games with a new means of checking in. Using the app of the same name, users will be able to complete in-app challenges by physically bumping their iPhones together.

Developers have been able to add commenting to Like buttons since April, if they have used the XFBML implementation of the social plugin. Today, anyone using the iframe version can also add commenting.

That’s one of a few upgrades that the plugin is getting, Facebook said today. The company explains that to get commenting in the iframe, you should use a standard layout at least 450 pixels wide.

Another key new addition is the ability for administrators of Open Graph Pages (a web page with a Like button on it) to publish to multiple Pages at once using the Graph API. Previously, you were just able to publish to people who had liked a single page, one page at a time. The result is that marketers and other Page owners can now more quickly broadcast to a wider range of people’s news feeds.

Finally, the company is allowing analytics parameters to help make Like button activity easier to track.

Zuckerberg Interviewed on ABC – Facebook CEO gave an extended interview to ABC’s Diane Sawyer this week in which he discussed “The Social Network,” the 500 million user mark, the current ownership dispute and a possible IPO.

Facebook Updates Events Emails – Facebook recently updated the email interface for Facebook events this week, going from a text-only view to a more graphical interface matching with its latest events page changes.

Power.Com, Facebook Suit Decided – After more than a year, the Power.Com v. Facebook lawsuit was settled this week. A federal judge gave a multi-part ruling. Power.Com did not commit a crime by allowing users to violate Facebook’s terms of service to access their personal information by “automated means.” But, when Power.Com changed its IP address to do so, it might be a crime. And the judge also dismissed summary judgement against both companies.

Facebook Relies on Users for Clean Content – As more people began to upload images to the Internet the business of screening these images for offensive content became a big business. The New York Times reported this week that, oftentimes, the low paid content reviewers suffer psychological trauma related to their jobs. As the article also describes, Facebook (like many other web companies) relies on users to flag objectionable content, which is later reviewed by employees in Palo Alto, Calif. or Dublin, Ireland. Some of Facebook’s content is outsourced, but not most of it, according to a company spokesman.

San Francisco’s Facebook Use – Facebook posted an interview with San Francisco City/County’s CIO Chris Vein discussing how social media might replace government web sites and the role sites like Facebook play in providing city services.

Sarah Palin, Facebook and a ‘Social Experiment’ – Former Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin wrote a controversial Facebook note this week that was automatically removed after blogger Brian Ries posted a screenshot on Tumblr urging others to flag the note as “hate speech.” Ultimately, Palin’s note was reinstated by Facebook and Ries said the result of the experiment was that freedom of speech on the Internet is still hazily defined.

Adobe Integrates Facebook Ads – Adobe Systems announced it was adding tools to its software this week that would allow online marketers to better integrate with Facebook ads. Specifically the changes will allow marketers bid for ads on Facebook through Omniture, a recent acquisition, and a company that has been an Ads API services provider for months.

Coca-Cola’s Facebook Faux Pas – Coca-Cola was forced to pull its Dr. Pepper Facebook promotion this week after the application published pornographic messages on underage users’ accounts. The app took over a users’ status updates.

People Hate and Love Facebook – A recent survey by ForeSeeResults led many to conclude that Facebook’s devoted user base hates the site. But as TechCrunch examines, the survey has issues. It struggles to explain, for example, why 57% of respondents visited Facebook every day, yet ranked the site worse than Wikipedia, even though only 20% visited that site every day.

Facebook in Patent Trial – Facebook was in court this week to defend itself in a patent-infringement trail. The suit revolves around a patent for managing electronically stored data issued in 2006 to Michael McKibben and Jeffrey R. Lamb, who work for Leader Technologies Inc.; they’re asking for royalties and for Facebook to stop infringing on their patent. Facebook said it didn’t misuse the technology and the patent doesn’t cover social networking anyway. Facebook has been habitually taken to court over extremely broad prior patents, and these cases have tended to not go anywhere.

BranchOut, Facebook’s LinkedIn? – Startup BranchOut launched a Facebook application this week that aims to provided LinkedIn-style business networking on Facebook. A very thorough review here.

Discovery Channel Connect Mimics Facebook - Campfire created a Facebook Connect integration for the Discovery Channel’s “The Colony” project. Essentially “The Colony” is a simulation of what a global pandemic would do to civilization via social media; electing to utilize Facebook Connect pulls up a users’ network in a simulated social network revolving around the pandemic. Users see (fake) posts from their Facebook friends encouraging them to survive the pandemic.

Zuckerberg on ‘The Simpsons’ – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to guest star on the popular television show “The Simpsons” in the upcoming season. He will play himself and tell characters on the show that even billionaires drop out of school.

Apple ha pubblicato sul proprio sito una pagina dedicata alle prestazioni dell’antenna dell’iPhone 4 nella quale vengono riportati i test comparativi effettuati con un BlackBerry Bold 9700, un HTC Droid Eris ed un Samsung Omnia II.

Nei video viene mostrato come il fenomeno dell’attenuazione del segnale radio si manifesti in modo analogo sui quattro smartphone nel momento in cui vengono afferrati con il palmo della mano.

Nella pagina è presente anche il video completo della conferenza stampa ed il link ad una pagina dedicata ai laboratori Apple. L’azienda ha investito ben 100 milioni di dollari per dotarsi di 17 camere anecoiche nelle quali vengono misurate le prestazioni delle antenne in varie situazioni per prevenire eventuali problemi di ricezione.

Disponibile il video della conferenza stampa nella pagina dedicata all’antenna dell’iPhone 4 é stato pubblicato su Melablog.it alle 00:00 di sabato 17 luglio 2010.

It’s no secret that developers can install an Android emulator on their pc for testing and general Android debauchery. The only real issue? Not being able to use the Android Market inside the emulator… until now.

The How-To Geek has recently released an article showing aspiring geeks and tinkerers alike how to enable and use the market from within an emulated Android environment. It’s not exactly a one-click solution, but most of the people emulating Android on their computer should be able to follow it just fine. So, if you’re ready to take a little time and try it out, check out the article below.

[via How-To Geek]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

How to enable and use the Android Market in an Android emulator

Despite claims that the age of privacy is over, many Internet users continue to have privacy concerns, particularly as more and more of our personal data is stored and shared online.

Having a privacy policy for your startup is important then in terms of meeting the legal requirements for protecting your customers’ personal information. But it’s also important in terms of building trust of people who use your products and services. And while, granted, not everyone is going to click on the link to read your privacy policy, that doesn’t mean you can avoid addressing this topic. And in fact, how you address privacy issues might be a way that sets your startup apart from your competitors.

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A privacy policy does not need to be a lengthy, jargon-filled legal document (although you might want legal counsel in drafting it). While Microsoft’s privacy policy clocks in at around 4000 words and Google’s contains around 1800, the search engine DuckDuckGo posted its privacy policy today: clear, concise, and 10 words. “By default, DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information.”

The bulk of DuckDuckGo’s privacy page addresses “why you should care” and explains the ways in which other search engines track and store your information. It’s an important distinction for DuckDuckGo as the startup positions itself as a search engine that not only delivers less spam- and ad-filled results, but that protects the privacy of its users’ searches.

The privacy policy that your startup drafts will vary depending on your business, the kinds of data you capture, and your intentions for it. But in general, here are some things your privacy policy should address:

1. What information do you collect?
2. How do you collect the information?
3. How do you use the information?
4. What control do users have over their personal data?
5. How do you protect users’ information?

DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg contends that “too many startups copy and paste the longest one they can find because they want to cover all the bases. I think a better approach is to speak in readable English directly to your users. If you are storing information, just explain why.” Being transparent will go a long way towards building your users’ trust – and hopefully, their business.

Photo credits: Flickr user Let Ideas Compete

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