MySpace Failing Faster
It used to be the blinged out king of the Internet. Now, MySpace is failing faster and faster. According to Comscore, MySpace dropped by 14.4% from 73 million visitors to 63 million visitors between January and February of 2011. Parent company News Corp. is in the middle of a sale process and the accelerating decline in traffic translates into a huge loss in revenue. One person with knowledge of the discussions said “It’s like slowing down at the scene of an accident. Everyone wants to take a look at how bad things have become.”
It seems that partnering with Facebook, rebooting the site, and letting various celebrities take over the site were still not enough to attract any eyeballs to MySpace.
via TechCrunch
Apple Pulls “Gay Cure” App
An app from Christian group Exodus International aimed at “homosexual strugglers” has been removed from iTunes. 145,000 people signed an online petition demanding the app be removed, but it’s still not clear if the app was removed because of the petition or for some other reason. Apple has yet to release a formal statement on the matter. Until they do, the online petition is still being pushed at change.org.
Does that means Apple has pulled the app, like more than 140,000 customers have asked? It’s hard to tell; Apple hasn’t issued an official statement yet. Until they do, it’s important that we keep up the pressure, so that Apple hears loud and clear that “ex-gay” therapy deserve no place in the App Store.
via Cult Of Mac
Color Gets $41 Million Pre-Launch
Have you heard of the new “elastic” social networking app, Color? Most people haven’t yet, but they’ve already raised $41 million from Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank. As the Color team put it, “That’s more than they gave Google.” Why is so much money being dumped into this company? Many say it’s because of the technology.
Color dynamically creates your social network based on who is physically near you. The focus of the app is in sharing photos. This means that your social network won’t really consist of your actual friends unless those friends happen to be in the vicinity. The app uses all the features of your device to figure this out, including GPS, your camera, and your microphone. It’s actually kind of creepy.
My take on the whole thing is that Color won’t be all that interesting to most users (you cannot even use the app if you don’t have GPS activated or are alone), but the technology in play here will allow ridiculous amounts of data to be collected from those that do use the app. At this point, Color has had a lukewarm reception, but is evolving fast. Get it for Android or iOS at color.com.
via TechCrunch