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In some ways, it’s the Who’s Who of Twitter — the Twitter Suggested Users list. These are the 241 people Twitter currently suggests that new people should follow. Below, a look at who makes it by categories, such as media or sports. Who’s getting Twitter’s love (such as the New York Times) and who’s not (say most other newspapers). To make the breakdown below, I used an account that was following no one on the Suggested Users List. That’s important, because if you follow someone, then they’ll no longer show (that’s why it seemed TechCrunch might have been dropped recently, but they weren’t). NOTE (Sept. 22, 2009): About two weeks after this was originally written, it appears TechCrunch really was dropped from the list. How to get on the list? Twitter blogged in March: We’ve explained that the Suggested Users list is a bit like your local book store’s staff picks but there’s a little more to it than that. Our … [Read more...] about Who Does Twitter Love? Breaking Down The Twitter Suggested Users List

When Google launched the OfficialGoogle Blog back in 2004, it started as sort of a ho-hum event. There wasn'tanything particularly gripping, and some wondered if the company should be moreedgy with its posts. Since then, Google has launched more than 70 additionalofficial blogs over the years. Some have gotten edgy; a few even have comments, but mostimportant, they've turned into an essential communications vehicle for thecompany. A few weeks ago, I sat down with Karen Wickre, who aside from herformal title at Google of senior manager, global communications & publicaffairs, is who I'd best describe as "mother of the blogs." Karen is ultimatelyresponsible for how they all work, and she shared some insight on how Google makes use of blogging.Will the big three of Google - Larry, Sergey and Eric - ever blog? Will comments come to the main Google blog? Will Google's blogging replace press releases? Read on…. Danny: How would you characterize your role in relation to the blogs? Karen: … [Read more...] about Mother Of The Google Blog On Google’s Official Blogging

Did Google sidestep a lawsuit with an acquisition of patents involving electronic phone payments? One initiative that Google has been hard at work on is making it easy for people to make payments electronically by phone. The Google Wallet has been available as an Android app on some phones, and it looks like it’s been moving beyond the need to use near field communications (NFC) to make payments. Last year, on September 8, 2011, E-Micro Corporation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against a group of defendents, including: Google, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corporation, Sprint Spectrum L.P., Nextel Operations, Inc., Sprint Solutions, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Best Buy Co., Inc. and BBY Solutions, Inc. The case was filed in Texas Eastern District Court, and the claim document (pdf) points at the Samsung Nexus S 4G using Google Wallet softward storing credit card, debit card and … [Read more...] about Electronic Payment Wallet Patents Acquired by Google

Google has acquired a mobile company which appears to have a rich technical background in face and object recognition. A hat tip to Ionut Alex. Chitu, who writes about the acquisition of Neven Vision by Google, and makes some very good points on why Neven Vision was a great choice when it comes to bringing mobile technology to Google. Neven Vision appears to be the trade name of Nevenenginering, Inc., which has been assigned a number of patents by the United States Patent Office, and was the successor to another recognition software company, Eyematic Interfaces, Inc. According to the Neven Vision web site, they have a number of offerings based upon the use of mobile technology: Image-driven mobile marketing services Visual mobile search Comparison shopping and m-commerce Enhanced photo messaging Secure data access Field identity verification. The Google blog tells us that the technology from Neven Vision will be useful in helping the Picassa team in “extracting information … [Read more...] about Google Acquires Neven Vision: Adding Object and Facial Recognition Mobile Technology

Google is finally and fully integrating AdMob‘s mobile app inventory into AdWords. The company says, “Starting today, over one million AdWords advertisers will now be able to reach engaged consumers on more than 350 million mobile devices in the AdMob network and in some of the world’s most popular mobile applications.” Google says AdMob inventory includes more than 300,000 mobile apps and reaches people in 23 countries. Google is also making it possible to target specific smartphones and tablets on top of existing mobile targeting options, which include mobile carrier and OS. AdWords marketers will equally be able to target by app category and individual apps it appears. The company is hosting a webinar to discuss the integration and its features today at 1pm Eastern. You need to register in advance. Yesterday the IAB reported that mobile display advertising last year was worth $572 million in the US, compared with $811 million for mobile paid search. Google … [Read more...] about Google Fully Integrates AdMob App Inventory Into AdWords