Vancouver’s HootSuite rolls out new App Directory

Vancouver’s HootSuite has expanded up its online social media dashboard today with the launch of App Directory, a new feature adding integration for YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr and Get Satisfaction to HootSuite’s lineup.

Initially, the new tools will only be available for HootSuite Pro and Enterprise customers but the company said in a release it plans to roll out the new App Directory for all of its 2.5 million users in the near future.

The new integration allows for more than just monitoring on YouTube, Flickr and the other newly added networks. Users will be able to upload, search and comment onYouTube videos and similarly interact with Flickr and Tumblr and particpate in Get Satisfaction support conversations, all without leaving HootSuite. Today’s announcement expands on a social media dashboard that includes support for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks.
The App Directory also allows for third party developers to participate in expanding the HootSuite platform by creating apps.

“We look forward to seeing the unique extensions, mash-ups and integrations savvy developers create for the HootSuite App Directory,” HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes said in a release. “Our rapidly growing customer base is eager for more tools to spark their social media powered campaigns and build their brand online to drive leads and awareness.

“If you have an idea, I encourage you to apply for access.”
The announcement is the latest in a string of new developments for HootSuite. It has been on an acquisition spree, most recently acquiring the location-based marketing tool Geotoko. That followed its earlier acquisition of What the Trend, Twapper Keeper, TwitterBar and Swift App. And the Vancouver company recently raised three million in debt bridge financing.

Amazon’s Bezos Fuels Tablet Wars With $199 Kindle - Bloomberg

Jeff Bezos is channeling Steve Jobs. It’s mid-September and the wiry billionaire founder of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is at his brand new corporate headquarters in Seattle, in a building named “Day One South” after his conviction that 17-year-old Amazon is still in its infancy.

Almost giddy with excitement, Bezos retrieves one by one the new crop of dirt-cheap Kindle e-readers --- they start at $79 --- from a hidden perch on a chair tucked into a conference room table. When he’s done showing them off, he stands up, and, for an audience of a single journalist, announces, “Now, I’ve got one more thing to show you.” He waits a half-beat to make sure the reference to Jobs’ famous line from Apple Inc. (AAPL) presentations hasn’t been missed, then gives his notorious barking laugh.

With that, Bezos pulls out the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s long- anticipated tablet computer --- and the first credible response to the Apple iPad,Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Oct. 3 edition.

Unlike a wave of other tablets that have emerged hopefully only to flop, such as the Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) TouchPad, the Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. Xoom, and the Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)PlayBook, the Kindle Fire has a good shot at turning the newest theater of war in high-tech into a two-tablet battle.

Read More: Amazon’s Bezos Fuels Tablet Wars With $199 Kindle - Bloomberg

Yellow Media halts dividends, takes $2.9-billion charge | Investing | Financial Post

Yellow Media Inc said it will take a goodwill impairment charge of $2.9 billion in the third quarter and do away with future dividends.

The telephone directory publisher has been struggling to switch from print to the digital medium while managing its debt burden.

The impairment charge is a non-cash item and does not affect its operations, the company said in a statement.

The company and its lenders have agreed to amend the terms of its credit agreement following the rating downgrade.

Yellow Media gets about three-quarters of its revenue from selling advertisements in its Yellow Pages and related business directories, but the number of advertisements in its printed directories has been falling at a fast clip.

Yellow Media shares, which were worth around $14 in late 2007, closed at 59 cents on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Read More: Yellow Media halts dividends, takes $2.9-billion charge | Investing | Financial Post

CBC Takes Social Media to Heartland with New Facebook App | Mediacaster Magazine - Broadband & Content

CBC has launched a branded Facebook social game, one that includes special coupon offers and other incentives for fans of its popular series Heartland.

Heartland kicks off its 5th season on Sunday, September 18, 2011, and the app- called Heartland Ranch - will let players tend to injured horses and expand their interaction with the main characters from the show.

Building on game mechanics found in other Facebook games, Heartland Ranch incorporates themes and characters from the series. Building on popular social media tolls, the app is expected to trigger viral activity including peer recommendation, invites and gifting among viewers and friends.

Tom Hastings, Creative Head of Drama, CBC says the engagement factor of the game will attract new viewers to the site and the show.

In return, Heartland episodes will now include special codes within the broadcast that viewers can use to unlock special offers, either virtual items or 'real-world' offers.

Read More: CBC Takes Social Media to Heartland with New Facebook App | Mediacaster Magazine - Broadband & Content

Steve Jobs Isn't That Awesome | Ken Wheaton - Advertising Age

If an alien landed on earth this morning, he'd be forgiven if he thought Steve Jobs was Prometheus, Jesus and Henry Ford all rolled up into one, that all the wails and lamentations, the celebrations and tributes, marked the passing of the world's greatest mind.

Usually, this sort of hagiography is reserved for the dead -- or for the presidential candidate who shares our party affiliation -- during mourning periods in which churlish people like myself usually have to shut up and not say, "Yes, but ..." (with the exception of Christopher Hitchens). But Jobs isn't dead; he's simply resigned as CEO of Apple. So allow me to point out that the man is no fallen angel -- hell, when it comes to charitable use of his amassed wealth, he's not even a fallen Bill Gates -- and he isn't a perfect businessman.

Read More: Steve Jobs Isn't That Awesome | Ken Wheaton - Advertising Age

Online Media Provider Rdio and Polaris Music Stream Prize Nominees | Mediacaster Magazine - Broadband & Content

Online Media Provider Rdio and Polaris Music Stream Prize Nominees | Mediacaster Magazine - Broadband & Content: A new digital media service celebrating Canadian recorded music and the nominees for this year's Polaris Prize is now live online,

Polaris Music has partnered with on-demand music service Rdio to create the Polaris Record Club, an online showcase of the albums that have made the 2011 Polaris Music Prize Short List.

It gives listeners a chance to hear the nominated albums, with Rdio enabling free full album streaming. The service lets listeners share and interact with friends using social media tools like Twitter.

CBC/Radio-Canada kicks off one-year countdown to 75th anniversary

Ottawa, November 2, 2010 – CBC/Radio-Canada officially kicked off today the one-year countdown to the Corporation’s 75th anniversary.

It was on November 2, 1936, that the Canadian Broadcasting Act replaced the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. Through the Act was created a new crown Corporation: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. And with that, a Canadian cultural icon was born.

In CBC’s first broadcast, then Chairman Leonard Brockington told listeners they could expect many new things from their new broadcaster. The Corporation’s governors, he said, have ideas and ideals that are “almost as numerous as apple blossoms in the Annapolis Valley or peach blossoms in the Okanagan.” Today, the Corporation delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services, in multiple languages, from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

GlamMobile launches mobile advertising platform to compete with Apple's iAds - Techvibes.com

GlamMobile launches mobile advertising platform to compete with Apple's iAds - Techvibes.com: GlamMobile is launching a full-scale mobile advertising, content and social platform in North America, with specific partnerships in Canada designed to let brand advertisers reach target audiences on popular portable media devices. The platform comes with GlamEnable, a development tool for publishers who need both a mobile Web presence and in native applications for iOS and Android mobile operating systems.