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High-profile startup Gravity launched its group conversation website to the public tonight. Founded by three former MySpace executives - Amit Kapur, Steve Pearman, and Jim Benedetto - and backed by Redpoint Ventures and August Capital, Gravity "connects people with shared interests and helps them engage in meaningful and fun conversations." Unlike other social networks that rely on previous relationships, Gravity connects users with others "you should know and should be talking to because they share your passions." Rather than rely on existing social connections, Gravity encourages users to make new ones. Sponsor Using metaphors from astrophysics Gravity allows users to create "Worlds" (topics) that they can "orbit" (follow). This metaphor does not extend to "Amir, the friendly neighborhood dinosaur" that serves as the guide. There are real-time notifications to conversations that one "orbits," and the company indicates there will be an API that allows widgets to be embedded elsewhere. Although Gravity seeks to do something new, the dinosaur might be an apt mascot, for the site seems to be in most respects a combination of forums and groups - two of the Internet's earliest forms of social networking. The threads are organized chronologically, with embedded comments and the ever-popular "like" feature. Liz Gannes wrote tonight on GigaOm that "the back end is a dynamic 'interest graph' with deep analytics about people's participation." She notes though that Om Malik "thinks the company is just hoping to latch onto general tech industry excitement about big data." TechCrunch had in-depth coverage of the companies plans for its data in December. The service has been in private beta since December, and those who are active on Gravity already seem to be pleased with the service and with its look-and-feel. I did get quick and friendly responses to the conversations I started there, although admittedly the topics seemed, well, conversational. Contrast this with an informational site like Quora , a site founded by former Facebook CTO Adam D'Angelo, where users participate less in conversation than in Q&A. SnapGroups , a site started by Yahoo Groups inventor Mark Fletcher earlier this month, is similar as well. Some say there are two types of people in social networking: those who like Facebook and those who prefer MySpace. The difference between Quora and Gravity might just echo this. Discuss
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Gravity: New Form of Fun for Groups or a Dinosaur at Launch?
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We're pleased to announce ReadWriteWeb's latest premium report, Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Analysis of the Leaders, the Challenges and the Future . This report will help you develop a sophisticated understanding of Augmented Reality (AR), the mobile and web technology that places data on top of a user's view of the physical world. The research included will help you decrease your AR development time to market by learning from the first wave of early adopters. AR offers a new marketing and product paradigm for a high impact, high value customer experience. More than 1,000 AR campaigns were kicked-off last year and we expect to see many more in 2010. In this report, we profile key AR development companies, their campaigns as well as development lessons learned. Sponsor Want a quick visual introduction to Augmented Reality? Check out the following video from our friends at Common Craft, just released today and available for licensing from their website . Ready to jump into the nitty gritty of AR for marketing your company's product? That's what our report is for. Here's what you'll find in ReadWriteWeb's latest report . The report is divided into three parts. PART 1: The AR Market Defined - provides a succinct introduction to Augmented Reality (AR), its history, current size, how fast it is scaling and key players in the market. PART 2: AR Supplier Profiles - profiles 10 leading companies specializing in the development of Augmented Reality applications for their clients. PART 3: Summarizes results of a survey of AR developers providing insight on key controversies in the field, project requirements, cost categories and duration of development. Survey of Experienced Developers The survey of experienced developers included in the report has unearthed some information about AR implementations that you won't be able to get anywhere else. How important is it for companies to use existing AR browsers as opposed to building their own stand-alone mobile AR apps? Hidden costs associated with AR app development. Developer experience requirements for AR app development. Timeline for development of AR apps. Total cost and cost break down for developing a Webcam AR project. When live video processing will be enabled on popular mobile phones? This is critical for the next stage of AR, because it will allow for apps that are responsive to what's actually being looked at instead of just what's expected to be in a given location. Also check out our other ReadWriteWeb Premium Reports , which will give you a competitive advantage by enabling you to understand key Web trends such as The Real-Time Web and its Future , and The Guide to Online Community Management . Keep an eye out for our next Premium report coming soon, which will cover best practices for location data acquisition and user privacy! Discuss
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Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Our Newest Research Report
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Fascinated by the cloud and what it means for the future of Web apps, social gaming, open-source and the after life? Then you have plenty to keep you busy if you are heading to SXSW this year. This is part of a series of ReadWriteWeb guides to SXSW Interactive 2010. If this guide isn't your cup of tea, be sure to check back for more information soon! Sponsor Can You Run a 'Serverless' Business? This discussion looks like one of the better cloud panels at SXSW. It features panelists such as Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, who is there to discuss how cloud computing platforms have evolved so that it is possible to run a ''serverless'' business with confidence. Accessibility: What It Is For and Where It is Going How does the cloud affect accessibility? Will cloud-computing allow for a metaphorical curb cut out, allowing access to rich Internet applications? Ahhh - another example of how cloud computing is affecting all aspects of our word. From the SXSW guide: "Could a Software as a Service (SaaS) model deliver assistive technologies as a cloud-based service? The National Public Inclusive Infrastructure (NPII) is trying to do just that. As a facilitator for more rapid deployment of assistive technologies and a means to prototype new business models for emerging assistive technologies, AT could become part of an extensive infrastructure of readily available, electronic curb cuts that allow for seeamless access for a broader range of users than have been included to date." Drupal in the Cloud! Pantheon is an open-source cloud hosting initiative for the Drupal development community. Josh Koenig will examine "The Cloud" as a concept, look at the marketplace for cloud services, and dig into what it takes to build an application on a cloud-based platform. Our Interactive Culture Clouds Were not sure about this one. Looks like it's made for SXSW with its discussions about how business and love meet. We're uncertain how the cloud plays into this one but just about everything does these days, doesn't it? Next! You Developed the Content -- Now Build The Hardware The cloud is sending developers back to the labs to rethink and build new hardware that fits the wave of cloud-based applications in the market. Cool! From the SXSW Guide: "This presentation discusses how software/content developers can use open-source hardware to build devices that integrate tightly with their applications." Become Immortal: Understanding the Digital After Life Now talk about ghosts in the machine. Just think, when we die our identities will float in cloud networks all over the world. This may be the most philosophical discussion around cloud computing that we see at SXSW. It's time to explore the digital beyond! Finally, can one man be a cloud? The cloud is just about anything at SXSW so a man on a bike with a wifi hotspot in his backpack must qualify. Look for "The Jason Cloud," as you walk the streets of Austin. Considering AT&T's service, you may want to hire a bike taxi and follow Jason around for a few days. Discuss
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SXSW 2010 for Cloud Lovers
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For power users, the Twitter website is often just a thing of the past. We've moved on to third party interfaces with multiple columns, special user list navigation, search, and so on. But what about the novice user that wants something more than Twitter.com ? For that, there's Brizzly , a web-based Twitter client that today is announcing the release of its awaited iPhone app, along with a neat feature or two. Sponsor The web-based version of Brizzly takes the Twitter stream and opens it up for the average user. It expands shortened links into full URLs, making it easier to know what you're clicking on, and turns links to YouTube videos or images into just that - embedded images and videos. In a way, it takes the guess work out of Twitter. Today, the company is releasing a full-featured iPhone app that was built off of the skeleton of Birdfeed, the company acquired by Brizzly last fall. The app is a simple and doesn't offer some of the opening up of Twitter that you find on the website, but that would be difficult for an iPhone app to do, with it's limited real estate. Links are shortened and images hidden behind links, but that's as expected. Still, it handles multiple accounts, each of which you can view in its own stream. It also supports lists, mentions and DMs - all the standard stuff you would expect. As we mentioned the last time we wrote about Brizzly, when the company added Facebook to its stream, the tool tries to make the experience of twitter simple for the non-geek. In that way, it interprets and explains Twitter Trends, the hashtags that are most popular at a given time. The Brizzly staff looks at hashtags and writes up a quick little blurb that explains what the Trends are that day and why. The iPhone app prominently contains these guides as a separate tab called "News". Brizzly is expanding on this trend explanation feature with its launch of the Brizzly Guide on its website. The Guide gives each of these trends its own page, which is a "permanent source for up-to-date information on topics people are talking about," it says in its press release. In addition giving these explanations a permanent home, Brizzly has acquired WikiRank, a visualization web application based on Wikipedia data. It will be "integrating WikiRank technology into the Brizzly Guide" the company says in its press release. We can only wonder what will come of that, but it sounds interesting. Discuss
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Brizzly Releases iPhone App
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A ReadWriteWeb Guide OMG! Kevin Rose just touched my shirt! Don't lie - we know you get butterflies at the thought of bumping into iJustine or Robert Scoble at a tech conference. We've pulled together a nice little cheat sheet just for you, friends. Whether you want a simple handshake, and autograph on your iPhone or a chance to pitch your idea for the Next Big Web App, here's ten places, panels and parties where you can track down the Internet famous at SXSW 2010. Don't forget to leave your tips in the comments! Sponsor This is part of a series of ReadWriteWeb guides to SXSW Interactive 2010. If this guide isn't your cup of tea, be sure to check back for more information soon! Justine Ezarik, a.k.a. iJustine Longtime lifestreaming queen iJustine is famously an Apple fangirl, but it's Intel that's giving you the key to tracking her down at SXSW. She's and Intel Insider, and she might be stopping by some of the Intel Insider events , like Frank Gruber's Johnny Cash party or Chris Heuer's Social Media Clubhouse . We don't have hard and fast details on Ezarik's whereabouts, but wherever she is, she'll probably be tweeting, so keep an eye on her Twitter accounts . Christopher Poole Pool may not be a household name in and of himself, but there's nary an Internet user who hasn't been in some way effected by the fun and foul play on 4chan. "4chan - often referred to as a 'meme factory' - has been responsible for the creation of countless Internet memes but is perhaps best known for its exploits. In this conversation, we'll explore the game mechanics of online communities. What fosters creativity in an online community? What design elements can we incorporate to increase interaction? How is the game played?" Baratunde Thurston In "How to Be Black," The Onion web editor and star of Popular Science's Future Of series Baratunde Thurston will "touch on the black online experience (if there is such a thing) included memes, statistics on usage patterns, popular destinations and issues of representation. For example, are black people as represented among the creators, developers and builders of our future or are we more consumer oriented than average?" Violet Blue Our favorite sex blogger will be kicking off SXSW with a presentation on "How to Not Be a Douchebag at SXSW Aimed at both first-time and long-time attendees to SXSW Interactive, this biting and humorous, yet useful panel takes a look at the common actions and behaviors to avoid if you don't want to be described as 'doing it wrong.'" Kevin Rose This year, the Digg founder returns to host Diggnation Live at Stubb's. The Bigg Digg Shindigg was certainly one of the largest events at SXSW 2009, with fans crowding around the large outdoor stage to take pictures and watch Rose shoot the Diggnation episode. But don't expect to meet the man himself unless you've got VIP status for the party. Chris Messina In his talk, "ActivityStrea.ms: Is It Getting Streamy In Here?," Messina will explore the nuances of the real-time web. "From Facebook's newsfeed to Twitter's relentless real-time updates, the metaphor of the 'stream' has taken social networking beyond blog posts and on to rich social activities. Learn about ActivityStrea.ms - the open format adopted by Facebook, MySpace, and Windows Live - and how it's fundamentally changing the social web." Leah Culver This young developer and successful entrepreneur will be hosting the Web Framework Battle Royale. "Which web framework will rule them all? As an audience member you pick the winner! We will present an introduction to a variety of web frameworks including Rails, Django, Catalyst and Sinatra. You can vote for the best web framework in categories such as URL handling, database integration, forms, HTML templating, documentation, testing and deployment." Gary Vaynerchuk The WineLibraryTV founder is a true Web guru and an inspiration to entrepreneurs and content creators around the globe. He'll be giving one of his signature, unforgettable presentations again this year as part of the Interactive Speakers Series. Three years after his web app hit it big at SXSW 2007, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams takes the main stage to be interviewed by Havas Media Lab director Umair Haque in front of a live audience . All we have to say is that you'd better get there early if you don't want to get stuck watching a simulcast in an adjacent room! Molly Wood A last-minute stand-in for Natali Del Conte, Wood has a fanbase of her own. "CNET's Buzz Out Loud will broadcast live from SXSW. While discussing the day's tech news, hosts Tom Merritt, Jason Howell, Molly Wood and others will chat with the audience and invite special guests to talk about what's happening at the show and beyond." Bonus Round! If you stalk him on Twitter, Foursquare, Plancast and Gowalla, you might get to bump into Robert Scoble , as well. Or, you can catch him at the Rackspace party Monday evening. And of course, while we don't consider ourselves celebrities, the RWW crew will be present and accounted for at the PBS/NPR/RWW party Sunday night ! Those are our SXSW Interaction recommendations for web celeb stalkers of all stripes. If you've got suggestions or feedback, let us know in the comments! See you in Austin, folks! Discuss
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SXSW 2010 for Web Celeb Stalkers
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