Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, currently generating buzz for her performance in “12 Years a Slave,” is the only actress who is campaigning for an Oscar through social media engagement this year. Nyong’o has gained a significant number of followers on Twitter and photo-sharing site Instagram. She has been actively linking photos of herself in magazines and retweeting mentions of her appearances on both sites, which has helped her gain publicity during the ramp-up to this weekend’s Academy Awards.  Continue reading Actress Generates Pre-Oscar Buzz Using Twitter and Instagram

At Digital Entertainment World, Jake Katz and Amrit Singh of Revolt TV discussed how they are reaching their millennial peers. Curation is key, said Amrit. For news, his goal is to be first, right, and “identify the relevant narrative.” Although they call themselves a cable network, they have a large bicoastal (LA, NYC) staff working on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and other social media in real time during the broadcasts. Millennials prefer phones and tablets; 34 percent of the Revolt TV audience won’t watch a television screen. Continue reading Digital Music and File Sharing Addressed at DEW Conference

The AllSeen Alliance has announced that Technicolor is joining the organization as a premier member and will contribute its Qeo technology. According to the press release, Technicolor will work with Qualcomm Connected Experiences and the AllSeen Alliance to accelerate the unification of ecosystems related to the “Internet of Things.” Qeo was developed as a secure and future-proof communication framework that enables a user-friendly experience for connected devices and services. Continue reading Internet of Things: Technicolor Brings Qeo to AllSeen Alliance

Lee Lanselle of Entertainment Development Group and AsiaParks Partners Limited forwarded us a write-up from The New York Times regarding how the information-sharing habits of open source software may soon become a standard in other parts of business. Many companies are discovering the benefits of exposing things once kept secret to a larger population. The pursuit of efficiency, speed and positive change may soon even lead to companies sharing information among competitors. Continue reading Info Sharing: Companies on the Verge of Becoming More Open?

Broadcasters and other media organizations are contemplating a move to an Ethernet-based facility for their live streams for a range of compelling reasons: flexibility, simpler cabling, better economies of scale and an easier move to Ultra HDTV. At an HPA Tech Retreat panel on “Professional Networked Media,” Fox Network Engineering & Operations Vice President Thomas Edwards led a panel of broadcast executives working to make that a reality. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Transitioning to an Ethernet-Based Facility

How to advance broadcasting to its next iteration was the topic of two sessions at the HPA Tech Retreat this week, one a panel moderated by Ericsson SVP TV Technology Matthew Goldman, and including representatives from Fox, Sinclair Broadcast Group, CBS, CBC, PBS and Cox Media Group, and, second, a discussion led by former Fox Engineering President Andy Setos, with broadcast executive Jim DeFilippis joining via Internet from the Sochi Olympics. Continue reading Execs Discuss Era of Advanced Broadcasting at HPA Retreat

Journalist and ETCentric community member Adrian Pennington forwarded us some interesting news about a possible live broadcasting option for Google Glass. Users of the popular app “Hang w/” can stream live video clips from iOS devices to the Hang w/ site and share the content with friends via Facebook. While the clips are currently limited to streams of three, six, or nine minutes — the technology could possibly be used in the future by Google Glass users for longer broadcasts. Continue reading Live Broadcasting Mobile App Possible Option for Google Glass

For the first time, federal prosecutors are targeting people who have illegally distributed pirated versions of apps for Google’s Android operating system. Numerous individuals are currently under investigation, and four men from Oregon and Florida have been charged with copyright crimes. The Justice Department is pursuing criminal charges, rather than going the traditional route with cease-and-desist letters from copyright holders or civil suits, in order to send a strong message to deter piracy. Continue reading Android: Justice Department Fight Against Piracy Goes Mobile

The growing flood of news delivered via the Internet has created a dilemma for readers: how to efficiently sift through the never-ending treadmill of information. Facebook’s new Paper app and the newly updated media-reading app Flipboard are both trying to leverage the effectiveness of a traditional newspaper teamed with the convenient functionality of a smartphone app. According to one review, Paper helps provide a broad view of the news, while Flipboard is easier to personalize. Continue reading News Apps Review: Comparing Facebook Paper with Flipboard

In response to the evolving user base of popular social networks such as Facebook, a new venture called Blend hopes to return social media to a younger crowd with its app designed exclusively for undergraduate students. San Jose, CA-based Blend currently enables users to share photos and win gift cards, but has plans to become more of a social network with interactive features like commenting. Founded in May 2013, Blend has nine employees, including its three young co-founders. Continue reading Social Network Attempts to Recapture Early Spirit of Facebook

Online photography community 500px is launching a commercial licensing marketplace called Prime that plans to charge licensing fees starting at $250. 500px says Prime is different from other licensing services because regardless of the license or who purchases the images, member photographers will earn 30 percent of proceeds for each photo sold. 500px is hoping “to fundamentally change the way photos are licensed” by “changing the way photo licensing companies work with photographers.” Continue reading 500px Aims to Revolutionize Photo Licensing with Prime Service

Through its new Data Grants program, Twitter is opening its archives to academics who want access to the data — and it’s all free. The data goes back to 2006, and social scientists and researchers can submit applications until March 15th to request access to old tweets. Until now, Twitter has only made this data available to partner companies for a fee starting at $500 a month. Twitter previously worked with Johns Hopkins University to predict where flu outbreaks will hit; this project hopes to make similar research possible. Continue reading Twitter Makes Its Data Available to Academics with New Grant

Social media platform Facebook celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. Pew Research Center reports that 57 percent of American adults and 73 percent of teens 12-17 currently use Facebook, with adult use on the rise. According to Pew, 64 percent of adult users visit the site daily, up from 51 percent in 2010. And while teens’ relationship with Facebook may be complicated and evolving, Pew notes that younger users are not abandoning the site, as some reports have recently suggested. Continue reading Facebook Turns 10 This Week: Pew Releases Survey Results

Last week, Facebook finally unveiled Paper, its much-anticipated mobile app that allows users to enjoy a personalized news stream. The app is launching today for the iPhone (an Android release has yet to be announced). Paper is essentially staffed by a computer algorithm and human curators, based on links shared by Facebook’s 1.2 billion users. Paper offers news in sections, similar to those of a newspaper, and uses smartphone tech such as gyroscopes and sensors to help drive interactive navigation. Continue reading Paper: Facebook Launches Mobile App for Streaming News

The Tribune Company-owned digital music data service Gracenote is making headway on an Internet radio program that would let other companies and brands use its technology for their own music apps. The technology behind Gracenote — Rhythm — could be used for radio services by consumer brands and car companies, especially those in other countries where Pandora is not available. Tribune acquired Gracenote last month for $170 million. Continue reading Gracenote Plans to Collaborate on Internet Radio Platform