New Media BC Industry News

More Talent Walks Out The Door At MySpace: Three Key Employees Go To Gravity

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:11:18 +0000

More bad news for an already bullet-riddled MySpace: three key employees have left the company to join Gravity, a cross-town startup founded by former MySpace COO Amit Kapur, SVP Steve Pearman and SVP Jim Benedetto.

We covered Gravity's launch in December 2009.

The three MySpacer's are Chief Software Architect Chris Bissell (we previously reported Bissell's resignation), Chief Systems Architect Dan Farino and Development Manager Robbie Coleman.

Comscore Study: Social Gamers Want Marketing Offers For Currency

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:44:20 +0000

A new study by Comscore will be released on Wednesday that may give hope to social gaming startups trying to monetize users. 35% of the survey respondents said that they engage in "marketing actions" to earn virtual currency (such as watching a video, filling out a survey, etc.), and 53% said they be willing to consider marketing action for currency if given the choice.

The study was conducted by Comscore, sponsored by Offerpal, and included responses from 799 Comscore panelists who play games on social networks at least once per month. 54% of panelists play games at least daily.

This is good news for game developers who've had their monetization choices somewhat fenced in over the last few months. Gamers 25-34 are the most likely to earn virtual currency for marketing actions, according to the study - 71% of panelists in that age group said they are "very likely" to consider this.

In The SXSW Location War, Loopt Hopes The Correct Weapon Is Events

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:11:03 +0000

With SXSW starting Friday in Austin, Texas, every location-based service out there is right now finalizing updates that they hope will be the one that gets them used more than all the others. Loopt, is betting on events integration.

The latest version of the app, due to hit the App Store tomorrow will feature a new Pulse tab. Here you'll find events populated from a ton of sources including the live music tracker SonicLiving (SXSW is first and foremost a music event, after all) and most notably, Facebook. This pre-population is important, because it means the events will already be in the system so users won't have to do anything other than share it with friends, or check-in if they're going. The feature also uses you current location to show which events are happening around you at any given moment that a lot of people are at.

Google Apps Marketplace: Instantly Connect Your App To 25 Million Users, Profit.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:00:31 +0000

Business to business software can be a tough sell. Online B2B can be even a harder sell. While there is certainly money to be made, unless you're one of the big players, the likelihood you're going to succeed is pretty small. Starting today, Google is taking their roll as one of the big players and extending a platform to boost some smaller players.

Tonight, Google has unveiled their Google Apps Marketplace. This is an app store for enterprise apps in the cloud. Using a set of APIs, these third-party apps can deeply integrate their products within Google Apps, which already some 25 million people are using. And that also includes over 2 million businesses ranging from startups, to small businesses, to Fortune 500 companies.

For customers, this means a one-stop shop for a variety of applications that their business or organization can use. And it's extremely simple to get started with apps in the marketplace ? it just takes 4 clicks, Google says (though that initial click will have to come from your domain admin to approve the use of the app). For developers, particularly small startup developers, it means instant access to more users than they can likely imagine. It also potentially means something more important: money.

Web-Based Productivity Suite Zoho Finds A Place In The Google Apps Marketplace

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:59:26 +0000

Zoho, a web-based productivity suite that was called a "fake Office" by a Microsoft VP, is announcing a significant partnership with Google today. The startup will be a launch partner for Google's recently launched Google Apps Marketplace, which allows vendors to sell applications that compliment Google Apps. Here are our notes from the announcement. Zoho will be integrating two of its over 20 business applications - Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects with Google Apps.

So starting today, Google Apps users will be able to add on-demand CRM app Zoho CRM and project management software Zoho Projects into Google Apps. While Zoho has previously rolled out the ability log-in to its applications via your Google Apps IDs, the two applications have been specially formatted for further immersion into Google Apps with App's extended APIs. IT admins will now have an option to add Zoho Apps to their domains through Google Apps Marketplace. Once the IT admin adds a Zoho application to their domain, all users within the domain will have access to the Zoho Application through Google universal navigation. main will have access to the Zoho Application through Google universal navigation.

iPad Available in US on April 3

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:09:14 PST

Apple today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple?s online store or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

Apple World?s Most Admired Company

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:30:24 PST

For the third year in a row Apple has been named the World?s Most Admired Company by Fortune Magazine ? this year by the widest margin ever. What makes Apple so admired? Fortune explains: ?Product, product, product. This is the company that has changed the way we do everything from consume music to design products to engage with the world around us.? Apple also ranked #1 in Innovation among all companies.

10 Billionth Download for iTunes

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:52:08 PST

The New York Times caught up with 10 billion song download winner Louie Sulcer and asked him about his prize, a $10,000 iTunes gift card. Says the 71-year-old Sulcer,?I don?t think I?ll have to worry about buying birthday and Christmas presents anytime soon.?

iTunes Store Tops 10 Billion Songs Sold

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:53:08 PST

Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store, the world?s most popular online music, TV, and movie store.

Introducing Aperture 3

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 PST

Apple today introduced Aperture 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software. Aperture 3 offers more than 200 new features including Faces, Places, and Brushes. A 30-day trial is now available for download.

UBC Entertainment Administration Courses Starting Soon!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:31:47 -0800

UBC Certificate in Entertainment Administration
Courses Starting March 9

Entertainment Law, Film & TV Financing, Entertainment Marketing, Entertainment Distribution, Production Management for Producers, Digital Media for Entertainment and more...

Full-time and Part-time options available; [...]

Harnessing the Power of a Crowd with Richard J. Goossen

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:16:59 -0800

On March 10th, 2010 in Vancouver, BC, Richard J. Goossen, CEO of MakeGood and author of E-Preneur ? from Wall Street to Wiki: Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur? in the New Virtual Marketplace will be engaging the membership of the International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA) regarding the [...]

Launch of Ericsson Facility at Wavefront and Introduction to Ericsson Developer Program

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:29:35 -0800

Wavefront invites wireless developers to attend its network test lab launch event featuring Ericsson, the world?s leading supplier of telecommunications. The lab will allow developers to test new wireless applications on a carrier grade HSPA+ mobile network connected to Ericsson?s leading edge [...]

CloudCamp Vancouver

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:33:18 -0800

CloudCamp is an unconference where early adopters of Cloud Computing technologies exchange ideas. With the rapid change occurring in the industry, we need a place where we can meet to share our experiences, challenges and solutions. At CloudCamp, you are encouraged to share your thoughts in several [...]

C-Suite - Secrets to Creating Market-Driven Technology

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:49:56 -0800

Featuring past President, COO and CFO of Creo: Mark Dance

Are you struggling to balance the aspirations of your development teams with the feedback from your customers for your next innovative project?

Being able to develop leading-edge technology products and services derived from [...]

FreshBooks among Google Apps Marketplace Launch

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:47:41 -0800

Tonight, Google has unveiled their Google Apps Marketplace - an app store for enterprise apps in the cloud.

The Google Apps Marketplace offers products and services designed for Google users, including installable apps that integrate directly with Google Apps. Installable apps are easy to use [...]

Chevy Volt now comes with mobile app powered by OnStar

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:37:37 -0800

Back in January, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chevrolet announced a joint venture program with OnStar which unveiled the auto industry’s first working smartphone application that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners 24/7 connection and control of vehicle functions and OnStar features [...]

Winning the Cleantech Game ? Real Growth Stories with the VEF

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:20:01 -0800

On March 23rd the Vancouver Enterprise Forum is hosting Winning the Cleantech Game – Real Growth Stories hosted by Yaletown Venture Partners' Kirk Washington.

Cleantech is one of the fastest growing areas of technology and currently the attracting much of the new investment and media [...]

Indochino named as one of America's Most Promising Startups

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:50:41 -0800

Today Business Week's Michael Arndt added Vancouver's Indochino to their America's Most Promising Startups list - an ongoing series profiling new companies from across the country that embody the creativity and resilience common among today's entrepreneurs.
In a profile titled This Business Suits [...]

US Startup Visa Bill - Great News For Canadian Entrepreneurs Looking To Head South

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:01:07 -0800

Remember John Kerry, the Democratic Presidential candidate in 2004 ? Well, couple of weeks ago he introduced a bill in the US Congress on a special visa for foreign start-up entrepreneurs. This bill is the result of extensive lobbying efforts by prominent Silicon Valley folks who figured that [...]

US Considers Some Free Wireless Broadband Service