The Sony Playstation 3 community has been up in arms recently over the latest software upgrades from the parent company. A few weeks ago PS3 makers released firmware 2.40 and that update cause several PS3’s to go dead aka brick. PS3 makers quickly pulled the software from the network and they are now planning on releasing PS3 2.41 firmware update which should fix any problems. If you are a PS3 owner make sure to wait before you upgrade to be 100% certain that this update is good and will not brick your PS3 system.
PS3 2.41 Update Coming Wednesday
July 8th, 2008 — Web 2.0
Hulu.com Sucks Cause TV Sucks
June 18th, 2008 — Web 2.0
There has been a lot of talk recently about how Hulu.com is the YouTube killer and how YouTube is scrambling to make money. But I’ve had my Hulu.com account since the site when into private beta and sorry but it’s just not that interesting cause..truth be told TV sucks. Going through the list of online TV shows on Hulu.com I rarely find anything that I would spend my time watching. Unless I really want to spend my time watching reruns of are you Smarter then a 5th Grader or Paradise Hotel 2, then I just don’t see what the hoopla is over Hulu.
And the movie selection is extra lame at best. I enjoy my free movie and anime via Netflix way better then watching anything on Hulu. So don’t believe the hype. Hulu still sucks, has no community element to it what so ever, no cool video clips of crazy people acting silly, no music video 1975 that I love to watch over and over again. So don’t believe what you read by online analyst. Hulu still sucks!
Hands on with MS Surface
June 18th, 2008 — Web 2.0
Where to Get FireFox 3
June 17th, 2008 — Web 2.0
Today is Firefox download day. They want to break the world record for most downloads of a software in one day. But their website has been down since 1pm. So if your looking to get the software then click here to get the windows version.
T-Pain Launches Online Only Record Label, Nappy Boy Digital
June 9th, 2008 — Web 2.0
T-Pain has been making a lot of noise in the music business. With tons of hits under his belt he is now branching out into his own record label. But he’s not going the traditional route. Nappy Boy Digital is an indie record lable and will focus on web distribution of music.
“My life and career so far has been about breaking barriers and this label allows me to continue that by delivering hit songs in real time, no red tape, just good music,” said T-Pain to the press. “You’ll hear us in the clubs and on radio too, but you can discover our tracks where people spend most of their time, online. I’m very proud to be out front on an idea like this.”
T-Pain will use this as a means to promote his own music but will also promote Jay Lyriq, Tay dizm, Young Ca$H, and Sophia Fresh.
Check out Tay Dizm f/ T-Pain and Rick Ross in Beam Me Up
eViplist vs Global Grind pt 2: And the Winner is?
May 27th, 2008 — Web 2.0
So last week we did an experiment where we posted items from the site to eViplist and to Global Grind to see which site would bring in the extra traffic. We posted one item on a tuesday and another item on a wednesday. So one week later we checked our sites traffic sources via Google Analytics to see which ranked higher.
So now for the results:
It was a close match but eViplist won out over Global Grind by bring in an extra 2 visitors then Global Grind. eViplist was our sites 60th ranked traffic referral while Global Grind came in at #69.
So while neither site will bring you 100,000 visitors like the Digg effect, if your looking to get more traffic from the urban market then eViplist is probably the way to go. But don’t count out Global Grind, they have a lot of good things going for them …they just need better focus. Maybe Global Grind and eViplist should merge into one site and then become the ultimate bookmarking site for the urban community.
ProHipHop.com Looks at the Failure of Niche Hip-Hop Social Networks
May 19th, 2008 — Web 2.0
Prohiphop.com recently took a look at some of the niche Hip-hop social networks out there and the current state if very grim. Prohiphop took Streetcred.com, Blocksavvy.com, Loud.com, and xxlblocktalk.com and compared them against GlobalGrind.com and came up with this chart via Compete.com.
As we can see from this chart Global Grind is coming out on top but only after taking a nose dive from a big Jan. 08 traffic spike. The traffic has fallen by 50% but still comes out on top for the time being. The other social networks traffic really don’t even make a major dent or noise in the online web space. With a ton of other sites out there doing millions of page views a month these Hip-hop social networks need to take a long hard look at this business models and marketing plans.
The Global Grind won’t be king of the hill for to much longer as eViplist.com is making huge waves on the net. A comparison char between the two urban/hip-hop bookmarking sites has them almost neck and neck in terms of unique visitors. eViplist.com share with us their numbers openly and they are doing well over 1 million page views monthly and making a nice amount of cash on top of that. Global Grind might have Russell Simmions on their side but eViplist.com has the ear of the people and 1000% growth rate making them the one to watch.
CBS News Acquires CNET for $1.8 Bil.
May 15th, 2008 — Web 2.0
CBS is making a big money play today as they have just brought out popular site CNET for $1.8 billion! DAMMMNNNN!!!
Here is the Press Release:
CBS to Become a Top Ten U.S. Internet Company with Unparalleled Content and Reach, Boasting Approximately 200 Million Monthly Unique Users Worldwide CNET Networks’ CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, CNET News, UrbanBaby, BNET, CHOW and Search.com, Among Others, To Be Combined with CBS Corporation’s National and Local Interactive Businesses
NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) has entered into an agreement to acquire CNET Networks, Inc., it was announced today by Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, CBS will make a cash tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares of CNET Networks for $11.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $1.8 billion. The acquisition will make CBS one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the United States, with a combined 54 million unique users per month, and approximately 200 million users worldwide.
“There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks,” said Moonves. “CBS stands for premium content and unparalleled reach, and CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience. Together, CBS and CNET Networks will have significant additional exposure to the fastest- growing advertising sector and can accelerate our growth through a number of new content, promotion and advertising initiatives. We could not be more pleased with the prospect of adding CNET Networks and its tremendous team of people to the CBS family. I look forward to working with Quincy Smith, Neil Ashe and the considerable combined talent at both companies, as we build upon our success.”
Based in San Francisco, CNET Networks owns many of the Internet’s leading entertainment, news and information sites including CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon and TechRepublic. The company, which reported significant profits in 2007 on revenues of $406 million, has a large international footprint, particularly in China.
Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s stable of dynamic and growing interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms, and the distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites and reaches 82% of all online users in the United States.
“The core businesses of CNET Networks and CBS Interactive represent near perfect category symmetry in premium online content,” said Quincy Smith, President, CBS Interactive. “Together we will have a terrific opportunity to not only grow our established businesses, but to build new attractive verticals of content as well. This is the beginning of an era for both CBS and CNET Networks; plus, it’s going to be great to work with Neil and his team, many of whom I have known for many years.”
“We’re thrilled to join CBS and combine our interactive media experience with CBS’s world-class content,” said Neil Ashe, Chief Executive Officer, CNET Networks, Inc. “CNET Networks operates some of the most important premium online brands, serving the most sought after online audiences. Today’s announcement brings together two organizations that complement each other and working with Leslie, Quincy and the talented people at CBS, we look forward to taking our business and our brands to the next level.”
“We look forward to completing the acquisition of CNET Networks and the terrific benefits it brings to CBS as Quincy, Neil and their combined teams build upon our success,” Moonves concluded. “At the same time our strong cash flow allows us to pay among the highest dividends in the industry, and we are committed to continue to pay our attractive dividend to return value to shareholders.”
The Board of Directors of CNET Networks has unanimously approved the merger agreement and unanimously recommends that CNET Networks stockholders accept the tender offer and tender their shares.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Creative Releases YouTube Friendly Camera called Vado
May 13th, 2008 — Web 2.0
Creative is gunning for the YouTube generation with the Vado camera. For $100 you can get a cheap rechargeable camera. It’s as tiny as a deck of cards and if you want something small that can fit in your pocket you should pick this up.
Scarlett Johansson Launches Music Career on Imeem
May 13th, 2008 — Web 2.0
So who doesn’t love Imeem? It’s really one of the coolest music sites out there right now. So today Hollywood hottie Scarlett Johansson decided to promote her new album on the social media site. You can check out her page, listen to the songs, and see if she can really sing or is she just another actress wannabe singer. The music has a very sullen and slightly dark sound, so it’s not what you would have expected. Check it out at http://www.imeem.com/scarlettjohansson
