Twitter’s Expanding Postings

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Twitter is going to give you more if you post links to other sites. At least, users will be able to see an expanded view of content from new partner sites, such as the Wall Street Journal and MSNBC.Twitter said the expanded postings will show video, photos and longer excerpts of news stories from a broader list of media partners. The service begins rolling out to website and mobile users today, Michael Sippey, product team director at San Francisco- based Twitter, said in a blog post.

“This is going to cause people to stay on twitter.com, because all of the sudden you have a little bit more information,” said Brian Blau, an analyst at Gartner Inc. “You can read the next tweet and stay on the site, being a more valuable consumer of the site.”

The service will be available on Twitter for Apple’s iPhone and for devices that use Google’s Android soon, Sippey said. The company, with more than 140 million users, expects to generate at least $1 billion in sales in 2014, two people with knowledge of the matter have said, based on advertising demand.

Source: BloombergBusinessweek

Instagram Your iPad Or iPhone Case

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Casetagram is a company that wants to make your photos into a unique iPhone or iPad case. Simply log into the site with your Instagram account and choose your base color: black, white, or transparent. Then pick the photos you’d like to use on your case, and the company will make a case using your photos. The iPhone case is $35, and the iPad case is $55. There are several different templates to choose from, so it’s time to unleash your creativity!

 

 

Microsoft Buying Yammer For $1.2 Billion

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The rumor mill has been buzzing that Microsoft is spending $1.2 billion to acquire Yammer, which has been called “Facebook for business.” Yammer provides a secure way for employees to communicate and share files, and links with several Microsoft products, including Outlook.

Microsoft may be looking to add support to its Office software suite, and provide better social networking tools, especially for business. It’s also possible Microsoft may be looking to use some of Yammer’s features with Xbox Live. Microsoft acquired Skype last May for $8.5 billion, and has been busy integrating that software into its other businesses.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Should Mobile Studios Seek Out Publishers For Marketing?

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Digital publishing is a wonderful thing for many developers, but they all face a common enemy: discovery. According to analyst Jesse Divnich of EEDAR, this could be a signal that most mobile developers should partner with publishers to get noticed in the App Store.

“Discovery is simply an analogue for marketing, which has traditionally been one of the key roles and reasons for partnering with a publisher and it would be an erroneous suggestion to imply that the burdens of marketing now shift entirely to the developer-although I do agree that developers must have a say in the messaging process,” he said.  “App discovery shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of developers, nor should it fall on Apple.”

This could underscore just how important publishers still are, even in a digital world.

“I do believe that the absence of publishers in the digital environment is significantly impeding developer’s success,” Divnich remarked. “We have seen various ad networks and ‘pay-for-install’ programs form in an attempt to solve the discovery issue; this has only led to the rise in the cost of consumer acquisition, creating an even pricier barrier for independent developers. It really is an inefficient form of marketing; unfortunately it remains one of the few discovery tools developers can access.”

Source: GamesIndustry International

Rise To The Challenge

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Warner Bros. Pictures and the Chrysler brand have teamed up to bring fans the opportunity of a lifetime surrounding the July 20 release of The Dark Knight Rises, the much-anticipated conclusion to the blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy. The “Imported from Gotham City” contest, allows fans to create an original co-branded TV spot featuring these two iconic brands. The top three finalists will be announced online while director/writer/producer Christopher Nolan will select the winning spot, which will debut on television around the release of the film.

Contestants will have two weeks to create their “Imported from Gotham City” original commercial utilizing a suite of assets, including Chrysler 300 car footage, film footage and music, which stems from the trailer that contestants can remix for their spot. At the conclusion of the contest, a gallery of submissions will go live on Saturday, June 30, kicking off a four-day public voting period when fans can weigh-in on their favorite Gotham City collaboration.

The winning spot will be determined by a number of judging criteria, including public vote, originality, creativity, memorability and brand effectiveness. Warner Bros. and Chrysler will debut the winning commercial on national television the week of the film’s release — watch for specific date and airing details to be announced shortly. The winner will receive a trip to Hollywood to finish their spot alongside a professional editor before traveling to New York City to attend the red carpet premiere screening of The Dark Knight Rises on Monday, July 16.

Playing off Chrysler brand’s “Imported from Detroit” advertising campaign, the contest pushes the realm of the user-generated contest to a new level, allowing fans to take to the driver’s seat and test their creative skills within the world of Gotham City.

Apart from the winning contest spot, Chrysler will unveil another 30-second, co-branded television spot titled “Imported from Gotham City” in celebration of the partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Stacy Wall, the spot was designed and shot to look and feel similar to the world of the The Dark Knight Rises. Featuring a 2012 Chrysler 300, the spot will make its broadcast debut on Tuesday, June 19, on the NBC network. A 60-second spot will also run online. Once live, both spots will be available on the Chrysler brand YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/Chrysler.

For fans of the film, “Imported from Gotham City” merchandise including t-shirts and hats will be available for purchase at Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” site at www.ifdstore.com.

For more information and the official rules regarding the “Imported from Gotham City” contest, visit www.importedfromgothamcity.com {link no longer active}.

Sony: PlayStation Mobile To Counter ‘Junk’ On App Stores

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Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation Mobile initiative – which will see PlayStation branded games available for mobile and tablet devices running the Android operating system – hopes to offer an alternative to poor quality products already available on other mobile marketplaces.

Previously known as PlayStation Suite, users will be able to access the PlayStation Store to download games on certified devices from manufacturers including Sony Ericsson and HTC.

The service is currently in open beta with the SDK available freely – although Jim Ryan, European boss of the company has said that Sony is taking a hands-on approach to development to ensure games and other content reach a certain level of quality associated with the PlayStation brand.

“There are many internal ways in which we’ll achieve this and many of which are still work in progress,” he said. “[We’re] ensuring that anything that is offered on this platform is of proper PlayStation quality and that people feel comfortable and safe that they are not going to inadvertently stumble upon any of the junk that exists in that wider marketplace.”

“It’s a significant business challenge because it’s our brand that’s at risk here and it’s our responsibility as a platform holder in multiple directions to ensure we do that. Can we be completely laissez faire I don’t think so because then we’ll end up just like all the rest and that can’t happen,” he added.

There are over 50 software houses working on content for PlayStation Mobile, which will also work with the recently released PlayStation Vita handheld. Sony hopes PlayStation Mobile will act as a gateway to home devices, as well as opening up established brands to new formats.

“If we get it right it could be very significant,” he said. “We see this as a real opportunity. It builds the ecosystem and gets us everywhere.”

Source: GamesIndustry International

Draw Something Gameshow Coming To CBS

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Reports are that CBS has won a bidding war for the pilot of a primetime gameshow based on the mobile game Draw Something. The project, put together by Sony Pictures Television, Ryan Seacrest Prods. and Embassy Row, is likely to be fast-tracked on the network.

The gameshow will have both everyday people and celebrities play the game for cash in front of a studio audience. The hope is that the audience at home will be able to participate in some way and win prizes by competing with the people playing on the show.

Zynga recently partnered with Ford and Telemundo for unscripted series Great Escapes, which included product integrations for Ford vehicles and Zynga games.

Source: Variety

Google Play Gets First Microsoft Title

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Microsoft recently launched a My Xbox Live companion app and they have announced their first Android game on the Google Play Store. The game will be the mobile port of Kinectimals, also available on iOS.

The Android version also connects with the Xbox 360 version of the game. The standalone game can unlock five new animal cubs for the Xbox 360 version.

Kinectimals can be downloaded right now on Google Play for $2.99 {link no longer active}.