Tag Archives: Rob van Alstyne

Control TV: The Truman Show come true?

October 27, 2010 – 3:17 pm

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING A number of Hollywood players are giving traditional reality television concepts a social media reboot with Control TV. The Web series moves Big Brother-style zaniness out of a sealed-off house and into the real world, with the audience dictating one man’s life choices online in real time (Associated Press, […]

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Every picture (quite literally) tells a story

October 21, 2010 – 5:42 am

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING The Photo Album Story Teller lets consumers give voice to their prized pictures (SlashGear.com 9.24.10). The battery-powered device comes packaged with 500 individually coded stickers. Consumers append a sticker to the photo of their choice and then scan the picture with the Story Teller and record their say on […]

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Flipboard: An iPad magazine edited by social networks

August 11, 2010 – 6:33 am

by Robert van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Consumers can now be their own Charles Foster Kane with Flipboard, a free iPad application that produces a personalized magazine experience. Essentially a turbo-charged social media aggregator retro-fitted to mimic an online magazine, Flipboard pulls all the content being shared by Facebook friends and Twitter associates into one convenient […]

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Avoidr keeps frenemies at bay

July 14, 2010 – 7:46 pm

WHAT’S HAPPENING Free Web application Avoidr puts a snarky spin on the location-based services scene by acknowledging that sometimes knowing where not to go is the primary objective (DownloadSquad.com 4.19.10). Built off of traditional LBS network Foursquare, Avoidr cheekily promises consumers the ability to “check where your not-friends are so you can avoid them.” Consumers […]

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CORD-CUTTING CONTEMPLATION

December 16, 2009 – 9:39 am

by Rob van Alstyne As an admitted television junkie, I grab my fix whenever and wherever I can. But with the recent news that yet another round of rate hikes will be coming to my cable service, I’m considering the formerly unthinkable: cutting the cord and going cable-TV-free for the first time since my college […]

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Automotive philanthropy takes a social media spin

September 10, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Cash for Clunkers may grab all the headlines, but Free Charity Cars has the gratis whips. After donating more than 4,000 cars to consumers since 1996, the service is now expanding its operations into the social media sphere with FreeChartiyCars.org. In order to get in on the free auto […]

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JetLev gives you wings to fly (really)

September 3, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Far-fetched flying fantasies will soon become boutique thrill realities thanks to JetLev, a personal jet pack company whose motto says it all: “Stop dreaming! Start flying!” Superman needn’t look over his shoulder just yet; JetLev can get consumers airborne, but flying heights max out at 30 feet and any […]

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Israeli teen helps autos go green

July 8, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING 18-year-old Zion Badash has created a tiny device with huge carbon-footprint impact: a wheel-shaped auto add-on dubbed the Z5 that improves air flow to engines and increases combustion efficiency (The Jerusalem Post 3.15.09). Made of a special alloy and with a suggested retail price of $208, the Z5 has […]

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P.O.S.’ hip-hop/punk mélange hits the sweet spot

March 25, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Minneapolis rapper Stefon Alexander — stage name P.O.S. — found a home atop Billboard’s Heatseekers chart with the February 2009 release of his third album mixing punk rock sounds with hip-hop flow, Never Better. Alexander gained notoriety on the Vans Warped tour, a mecca for tattooed skateboarding youth but […]

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