But listings are spread across lots of sites - what the industry needed was a good central search engine for all those vacation home rentals. It’s also a pain to do lots of searches on different sites because you have to enter where and when you want to go, making it a lot more complicated that a standard search engine query.

That’s just what Otalo, which just launched, is doing. They are starting off with 200,000 listings. The company was founded by Michael Giles (the founder of Furl) and Baer Tierkel. The name Otalo comes from the Zen symbol enzo - “O” - with the Finnish word for house - “talo.”

The company will earn commissions from the referral of customers to the various vacation rental sites. By the way, if you always stay in hotels on trips, you should try renting a house sometimes. It’s much calmer and usually a lot cheaper. You can also get great deals at the last minute.

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This isn’t much of a surprise - we speculated on his future back in July when he announced (internally) the shuttering of four of his products (Xdrive, AOL Pictures, Bluestring and MyMobile). That still left him with AOL Mail, MYAOL, the AOL client, Userplane and Truveo, among others. But each of those products seemed to be a better fit in a different organization.

CEO Randy Falco’s memo to AOLers:

Dear AOL colleague,

I’m writing to tell you that Kevin Conroy has accepted a position as President of Interactive Media at Univision. I want to thank Kevin for all he’s done on behalf of AOL during his time here, particularly over the past two years. I’m proud to have worked with Kevin and happy for him as he takes on this new role.

When I arrived here two years ago, I asked Kevin to take on one of the most important and difficult assignments – to completely revamp and revitalize AOL’s suite of products, while at the same time globalizing product development and expanding our reach across the Web. I knew Kevin had the drive and discipline needed to meet and exceed this challenge.

Under Kevin’s leadership, for example, AOL Mail made a dramatic turnaround, with a steady stream of upgrades and globalization (it’s available in 48 locales) that generated a 31% increase in page views last year. Our products are now more open to developers, more widely distributed through widgets and gadgets, and are at long last back on the Mac. The iPhone apps developed under Kevin’s leadership have been huge hits, generating millions of downloads. AOL now has a strong position in video and video search, an innovative partnership with CBS Radio, a strong lineup of toolbars, reinvigorated Winamp and SHOUTcast products, and the all-new AOL Desktop. At the same time, Kevin refined our product lineup so we could devote more resources to our key products.

Having done all this and much more, Kevin told me that he very much wanted to return to his media roots. If you don’t know, Kevin came to AOL eight years ago from BMG Entertainment, and his first assignment at AOL was to build AOL Music, which is now the leading music destination on the Web. At Univision, Kevin will be responsible for developing both online and mobile experiences for the nation’s fastest-growing audience. While we’re saying goodbye to Kevin, it’s my hope that we’ll continue to work with him in his new role.

We’ll be providing transition details about the Products organization soon. In the meantime, please join me in offering Kevin our very best wishes on his future endeavors.

Randy

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Today’s keynote presentation by Phil Schiller has been widely regarded as a relatively lackluster affair. That isn’t to say it went badly - I’m genuinely excited about some of the new software updates. But the Macworld keynote in years past has been home to some very major product announcements, including the Macbook Air, the MacBook Pro, and perhaps most notably, the first iPhone. Investors have learned to expect big things from Apple every January, and for at least the last four years their reactions to the keynote have weighed heavily on Apple’s stock price.

Except for this year. And that’s no accident.

A site called the Keynote Index Fund has tabulated just how big these stock swings have been over the years. In 2006, Apple launched some of its first Intel-based computers, and was rewarded with gains of 10.3% over the two days following the announcement. The next year, the launch of the iPhone and the Apple TV was met with an increase of a whopping 13.5% over the same time period.

But the stock has taken a major hit whenever the keynote didn’t live up to expectations. Last year, Apple released products including Time Capsule, Movie Rentals, AppleTV 2, and Macbook Air - an impressive lineup to be sure, but nothing that could live up to the iPhone release of the year before. The stock subsequently took a 10.7% loss over the next two days.

In the weeks leading up to Macworld 2009, it looked like this year’s show might be headed for a similar fate. Rumors of new products were few and far between, and it seemed like Apple simply didn’t have much to announce. And then Apple dropped the bomb: this would be the company’s last Macworld, and CEO Steve Jobs wasn’t going to be giving the keynote. This spawned countless distasteful rumors regarding Jobs’ health, but it also served to lower expectations. Leading analysts went on to report that “no significant new products [were] expected“. So when Phil didn’t whip out the third generation iPhone this morning, nobody was surprised. The stock dipped a bit, but little more than it would on a typical day.

So what was the damage? A loss of $1.56 (-1.65%). Nothing to cheer about, but looking at years past, it could have been much, much worse. Granted, the figures stated above were averaged over two days, so we won’t know until tomorrow just how big the swing was, but given today’s performance I won’t be surprised if any change is relatively modest.

It’s unlikely we’ll ever know if Steve Jobs pulled out from the show with the direct intention of lowering expectations. But can you picture him presenting a keynote whose major highlights were an 8-hour laptop battery and some software updates? I don’t think he could either.

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Pandora Radio, the personalized internet radio service that has remained among the most popular iPhone apps on the iTunes App Store since its inception in July (and that I’ve previously called the iPhone’s killer app), will be releasing its most significant update yet later today.

Dubbed Pandora 2.0, the application will now include artist biographies, streaming samples for songs you’ve bookmarked, and perhaps most notably, the ability to create a station using a single song (much as you would using the iTunes Genius features). Other features in the new release include a CoverFlow-like view for song history, the ability to share stations with friends using Email, and a song progress bar (which has long been annoyingly absent).

Pandora has been around for years, offering a very powerful music recommendation engine powered by The Music Genome, which employees professional musicians to describe each song using over 150 attribute (or “genes”). Its iPhone app closed out 2008 ranked as iTunes’ top free application overall, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

Update: It looks like you can download the application now here. The application page still shows the older version, but you’ll download the 2.0 version of the app.

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In fact, the whole Netbook market may be making them nervous. Despite the fact that they power most of these devices with their new Atom chip that handles some PC chores well and uses a lot less power (so batteries are smaller and last longer). Intel sees Netbooks as devices for people who can’t afford normal laptops, or as second devices. But it’s clear that a lot of people are buying them instead of normal dual core machines, despite their very serious limitations.

That means that for the most part, every Netbook sold is one less Dual Core that Intel can sell at a higher price and higher margin. Which explains exactly why the company has been publicly criticizing the performance of the machines. “If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out,” said Intel VP Stu Pann at an event last year.

Intel also wants to keep Netbooks at 10 inches or less. Some PC companies we’ve spoken with say that Intel doesn’t want Atom chips in devices bigger than 10 inches, and puts incredible pressure on them to keep Netbooks at 10 inches or less. Dell’s Inspiron uses an Atom chip anyway, but Samsung is using Via’s competitive (and less expensive) chip, the Nano.

We asked Intel if they forbid manufacturers to build Netbooks with larger than 10 inch screens, which is what those manufacturers are telling us (Dell notwithstanding). Their answer: “Intel defines a netbook as a 10″ or smaller screen size. We recommend that OEMs and netbook manufacturers use that guideline as well in order to get the best user experience.”

That’s a nice statement but it’s complete rubbish. There is no performance loss with a 12 inch screen v. a smaller screen (other than power usage). A 12 inch Netbook is just as fast or as slow as a 10 inch one. The only difference is that the user is even less likely to buy a low end laptop with a dual core.

Netbooks are clearly here to stay, and the new models with larger screens and larger keyboards solve two of the three problems I have with them (the last issue is Vista and XP, which runs poorly on these devices, but people are fixing that problem, too).

We’ll soon see 13 inch and larger Netbooks, despite the pressure Intel is putting on manufacturers to keep them at 10 inches. Intel may not agree to have their chips in these devices, but Via, with their excellent Nano competitor, seems more than willing to fill the void.

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MixedInk, a document editing site that allows large groups to democratically create a single collaborative document, has launched its service to the public. The service fuses concepts from Digg and popular wiki sites to create a unique document creation tool that is ideal for groups far larger than you’d normally encounter in the workplace. In conjunction with today’s public launch, the site has also partnered with Slate to create a community-written inauguration speech for President Obama, which will be published on the site in two weeks.

While there are quite a few collaborative document services available (including Google Docs, Zoho, and the just-announced new version of iWork), most of these services focus on letting a small group of people interact. Unfortunately, these services are clumsy for large-scale collaboration with groups of more than a dozen or so people, as it becomes difficult to reach a consensus and certain sections are repeatedly overwritten.

MixedInk is taking a different approach to collaboration, allowing users to draft their documents using a Digg-like voting system. Instead of constantly editing the same document, users are invited to submit their own versions, which can then be voted on and rated by their peers. As they they read drafts submitted by others, users can mouse-over the passages they like most and incorporate them into their own submissions (the system will also suggest popular passages as you write using keyword detection). Over time, the most popular passages and versions float to the top until the entire group is satisfied and voting ends.

MixedInk probably won’t be useful for small groups (it would probably be easier to pick up a phone), but for larger scale initiatives it could become a great alternative to traditional Wiki systems, which often use confusing versioning systems. The system has already been put to the test on some very large-scale documents: over the summer the technology was used by the Netroots community to write its platform.

The service is available for free to users who create documents on MixedInk’s site, with a premium version available for branded enterprise solutions and possible integration into other sites.

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ResizeImage is the simplest and most usable tool I’ve seen to handle quick image resizing and cropping. It’s not as useful as Skitch, which a downloadable application for Macs only, but it works in a pinch.

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Nearly two years ago, Steve Jobs published an open letter to the music industry calling for the death of DRM (digital rights management). He convinced EMI to ditch DRM back in April, 2007, but the three other major music labels held out. Until today. Now all the songs on iTunes are DRM-free, or soon will be.

And, with that, the DRM era of digital music finally can be put to rest. (Amazon’s MP3 store has been selling DRM-free tracks from all the major labels for a year now already). The labels were likely holding out for other concessions from Apple, such as variable pricing (which they got), and the Apple also thankfully convinced them to sell songs over cellular data networks to iPhones for the same price as they could get them on their computers.

But it looks like the labels prevailed in sticking it to consumers on one last point. Anyone who wants to upgrade their entire existing iTunes Library to DRM-free versions of the same songs, can conveniently do so with one click. But it is going to cost you 30 cents a track to do so. That’s right, you have to pay again for songs you already bought. Let’s see, 6 billion songs X 30 cents = $1.8 billion in potential upgrade fees. That’s a music tax, plain and simple. No wonder the music companies finally relented.

It still won’t save them.

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This is very similar to what companies like Crunchies finalist BackType and also uberVU are all about, and I definitely see the need for this type of service: regardless of one’s interests or line of work, dedicated comment search engines make it easy for users to find out what the content and tone of conversations across social media really are. I like the fact that you no longer need to visit every web service that has comments separately in order to find out what’s being said, but that you can go to a single place, do a simple search and find out.

Artiklz also helps center discussion about your blog posts in one location, enabling you to get notifications by e-mail, SMS, IM or a web interface, whenever a new comment is made about your writings on any given service. You can also add a badge to your blog that gives your readers the option to be notified when you post a new article, or when somebody leaves a comment on a given post, and you can even track a specific individual’s comments.

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It’s an annual tradition. Every year at Macworld, Apple releases a smattering of stats that gives a peek at how its business is doing. At this year’s Philnote (Phil Schiller gave the speech instead of Steve Jobs), which was Apple’s last Macworld appearance, the stats were few and far between. A few morsels for the information-starved Apple faithful (and investors). But here they are:

• iTunes has now sold six billion songs (it crossed the 5 billion mark last June).
• Over 10 million different tracks are available on iTunes.
• Starting today, 8 million songs are DRM-free, and all 10 million will be DRM free by the end of March.
• There are now over 75 million accounts on iTunes linked to credit cards.
• In fiscal year 2008, Apple sold 9.7 million Macs
• Mac sales grew twice as fast as the overall PC market.

The last billion songs took about five and half months to sell, which was the same pace more or less that it took Apple to get to its fourth billion (January, 2008) and fifth billion songs (June, 2008). So iTunes sales are no longer accelerating, despite many more iPhones and iPods out there. It makes you wonder what the saturation point is for consumers buying songs from iTunes. One thing to cheer about, DRM is now officially dead (it looks like Apple traded variable pricing for getting rid of DRM), but I’m not sure that is going to spur sales much.

From my own experience, I buy a few albums when I get a new iPod, and then my purchases taper off. I’ve only purchased 139 songs from iTunes over the past five years. That comes to $28 a year. But then, I’m well past my music-buying prime. How much have you spent on iTunes?

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Google Trends, which shows hot queries on Google at any given time, is sporting a nasty item at no. 2 today: a plane flying into two towers.

In July a swastika appeared on Google Trends, leading to endless debate on whether it was an ugly symbol or not. Later that month the site was attacked again. 4Chan was the culprit last time, we’ll see if they’re again responsible.

Here’s the statement Google released last time this happened:

The Hot Trends list is automatically generated by machines and algorithms that detect hot or breaking queries. In this case, it appears that the html code for this query was posted on a popular internet bulletin board, which led to quite a few people searching to find out more about this symbol. The Hot Trends list reflected that surge due to people searching with this query.

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Apple’s Phil Schiller announced at the Steveless keynote at Macworld today (CrunchGear is liveblogging it) that a new version of iPhoto will include facial recognition software. The feature, called Faces, lets you put a name to face, then it tries to find other images with the same face and lets you confirm whether the software got it right. I really hopes this works, because I simply don’t have time to tag the 7,000 images in my iPhoto, 5,000 of which are probably one of my sons. iPhoto will also automatically generate albums that contain photos of the faces you select. Facial recognition is a hard problem to solve. I’ll believe it when I see it.

iPhoto is also adding a feature called Places, which lets you geotag photos or uses the GPS coordinates if they are available. There is a map view now that shows where you’ve taken all of your photos with pins on a map (powered by Google Maps). It is also finally supporting Flickr and Facebook uploading (hopefully, with automatic resizing). Yes, Apple, we want our photos on the Web, where more people can see them. But what’s nice is that the geotags sync with Flickr, and if someone adds a tag on Facebook to one of your photos it syncs back.

I like this direction because Apple is turning iPhoto into a true Webtop app. It should take a look at Fotonauts, which was founded by former Apple technologist Jean-Marie Huillot and is pushing the envelope in this area . Fotonauts lets you turn each album into a Webpage without an expensive Me.com account, and makes it easy to build a social community around each album.

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At 9:24 AM the stream issued an alarming announcement that “Steve Jobs just died”. Moments later this was corrected, with a statement that the MacRumors team didn’t know how it had gotten into the feed. There was quiet for a few minutes. And then things took a turn for the worst, as members of what appears to be the 4chan image-board began flooding the feed with bizarre comments.

Note: We don’t recommend that you visit the site at the moment, as the feed now includes some graphic and disgusting images.

For a working stream of the latest news, check out the CrunchGear Macworld Notes.

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AR is essentially a view of the real world with a virtual overlay. It’s pretty fascinating science that promises to change the physical world as we know it.

So what’s the big deal? Well imagine beginning able to walk around with a pair of sunglasses on that allow you to see the physical world with virtual context. If the sunglasses you’re wearing are AR enabled, your view of the world could be filled with context from sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, and Google Maps. Say, for instance, you’re walking through the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES - your AR enabled device could provide an overlay of Facebook data, including names and recent status updates, right next to the faces within your view.

That sounds pretty far fetched, but we’re not that far off from such a world. Take, for example, the announcement by Vuzix of their new Wrap 920AV pair of sunglasses with both Virtual Reality and AR capabilities. The device comes with a 60 inch virtual screen, the ability to view 2D or 3D video formats, has 6 hours of battery life, and is compatible with mobile devices (including the iPhone), digital cameras, DVD players, game consoles, and PCs.

Vuzix CEO Paul Travers said, “The Wrap 920AV will not just change the portable video industry, but how consumers view and interact with information. From watching a Civil War video reproduction battle reenactment on the actual battleground to walking through the streets of New York City with an animated virtual tour guide, the possibilities are endless.” Available in Spring 2009, you can check out the device in action at CES, Sands Expo Convention Center Booth #73810.

If you still need more proof that AR is permeating our real world already, check out these additional ways to experience AR:

For Enjoyment

AR is already becoming increasing popular for gaming purposes, because it can add a whole new layer of interactivity to games. As you can see from the video, AR Tower Defense for Nokia N95 is a game that uses a real world puzzle, but your phone’s lens changes your view of the puzzle. The two layers combined create a whole new type of gaming addiction.

Educational Endeavors

Watch this short video to see how AR is going to transform the way we learn. From AR books with interactive images and characters, to museums and learning centers with additional virtual layers of information, learning will be an experience that we can interact with and enjoy.

Practical Purposes

We talked about Wikitude AR Travel Guide in our post on how to make the most out of Google Maps. The innovative mobile app is for G1 owners and adds location-based Wikipedia content to the camera lens of real-world places. As the website says, “Users may hold the phone’s camera against a spectacular mountain range and see the names and heights displayed as overlay mapped with the mountains in the camera.”

What Does the Future Hold?

We can’t answer that question, but we can definitely predict that AR will become something you start to hear a lot more about this year. And if you’re looking to build your own AR applications and devices, check out this ARToolKit for more information and resources.

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Well now with Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, you can pop out early and still pop into your web-based meeting, making your boss or client feel like your first priority when you’re actually out on the golf course.

The WebEx iPhone app is free and offers pretty much all the same features you would expect from the web-based version. Meeting attendees can simply access the WebEx via an iPhone join link in the meeting invitation.

Once you’re in, you can view content, which includes documents, applications, and screen shares with annotations, from any computer. You can also see who has joined the meeting, participate in individual or group chat, and adjust audio. I’m so impressed with the application’s offerings that I really want to be invited to a WebEx meeting just so I can see it in full force. Got anything good I can join?

So next time you’re running a tad late to the office and are stressing about hitting traffic, re-evaluate your options and consider taking that meeting while relaxing in bed with your pajamas on. The app, however, doesn’t support scheduling meetings from the iPhone, so you while to tear yourself away from your bed and bust out your laptop for that activity.

More Resources From Mashable

-12 Tools For Kickass Web Meetings

-5 Web 2.0 Businesses That Will Thrive in a Down Economy

-Top 30 iPhone Apps for Organization and Productivity

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We’ve all been there: You’re at a party hosted by that one fabulous friend, and populated with the best of your mutual circle of friends. The atmosphere is almost carbonated with excitement; the guests’ personalities flawlessly compliment each other; and the conversations that abound are infused with intelligence, caustic wit, and a wide variety of knowledge that ensures the complete absence of any pregnant, awkward pauses. Then, it happens: someone appears who just doesn’t…fit.

A similar phenom happens on Twitter. You’re having conversations with your established Twitter friends, you’re broadcasting useful information, news, or links to your followers, and you’re “engaging your Tribe,” etc., when suddenly, someone begins following you who, much like that previously referenced party guest, just doesn’t fit. This is the person whose follow on Twitter you simply cannot bring yourself to return. This is the follow fail.

Run any number of searches on Google or Alexa and you will arrive at a veritable host of articles offering endless lists of tips on “how to get more followers on Twitter.” What you will not find are lists compiled by Twitter “power users” regarding the major reasons why they will or will not return a Twitter follower’s follow when it happens, and this is my gift to you: “The Top Ten Reasons Why *I* Will Not Follow You In Return On Twitter.”

1. You have no user avatar

…or your user avatar is neither a personalized photograph nor reflective of a brand.

More important than whether or not your Twitter profile background is “designed” is how you choose to present yourself in that seemingly insignificant 48×48 pixel square. If that square is empty, impersonal, or otherwise lacking any qualities that will immediately allow me to visually associate it with you, that is an immediate Follow Fail. If I am going to build a Twitter relationship with you, I want to see you, or your brand, and not, however humorous I may find it, a screen capture of a magical leoplurodon.

2. You list no location, no website, or no bio

Clearly, Twitter is all about brevity. So how difficult is it to provide a few additional characters of information that may offer potential followers more impetus to follow you in return? I’ve returned countless follows from users whose Twitter streams I’ve found “meh,” but whose listed blogs, sites, or portfolios were too amazing to not follow, or whose 160-character bios were too humorous/intriguing to pass up, or who were in the same city as me and therefore potential project collaborators.

These fields take two seconds to populate; it would behoove you to take those two seconds to populate them.

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3. Your “website” listed is a MySpace profile

…or, far worse, an AngelFire “page.”

I’ll admit it: I had a MySpace profile…until I deleted it a year ago when it became obvious that only teenagers and musicians were still using it. I also had a GeoCities/AngelFire “page”…for my very first website when I first got on the Internet in 1994. If the Twitter user in question happens to be an actual teenager, or musician whose MySpace presence truly works for them, then fine. But I tend to pass over those users whose proffered web presence is, well, clearly doing it wrong.

It doesn’t take much these days to establish a web presence that seems genuine and thoughtful, and appears to intend to attract and build an online community based on the content it provides. AngelFire pages simply don’t communicate that.

4. You’re following over 1,000 users, have 20 followers, and no updates

…or, worse, one update that includes a shamefully ill-constructed mention of Jason Calacanis.

Who, aside from those running Twitter apps that automatically follow and unfollow followers, would add these Twitter users? While I may every so often and uncharacteristically give these users a chance, simply to see what sort of content, if any, they may eventually provide, the gratuitous mention of any higher-profile Twitterer or web-famous personality means little more to me than that you were properly able to spell “Calacanis” or “Kawasaki.”

5. Your profile features any variation of “Internet expert”

…or “social media expert” and you have very few and/or insubstantial updates.

While I generally loathe any mention of the word “expert” in a Twitter bio, it is particularly egregious when paired with a Twitter stream of only five updates, or one with a plethora of updates that make me question your “expert” status. You’re an “expert” who is only now tweeting about a Twitter app that everyone else was tweeting about two months ago? How awesome for you! #instantfollowfail

6. Your updates clearly indicate that your Twitter activity is always, only, about pushing your own service/product

So, you have decided to use Twitter as an online marketing tool in order to sell your amazing service and/or product, and you make this glaringly obvious. I find this fabulous, because not only must this tactic be working for you, but it also allows me to immediately decide whether or not I want to follow you in return.

Since I do not use Twitter in this manner, I rarely follow any of these users in return, unless said product or service genuinely piques my interest/desire to support it.

7. Your following and my return follow result in a poorly-constructed auto-DM reading, “Thx for the follow! How can I help you get to a 4-Hour Work Week?”

I’ve several Twitter friends who employ the automatic direct message tool upon any new follows, but their messages are carefully crafted and, well, thoughtful, and go far beyond the garden variety “click my junk” automatic direct message. As I am an intelligent, savvy, thinking Twitter user, I am more than capable of reading all about how you can help me get to a 4-hour work week by consulting your Twitter stream, Twitter background, or website. An impersonal automatic direct message from you along these lines does not impress me, it insults my intelligence.

8. Your most recent updates make references to any need to achieve “more Twitter followers”

…or “enough new followers to reach 10,000 followers by midnight!”

For me, Twitter is not a shallow popularity contest, it is about forging interesting connections and conversations with other people. My Twitter followers are far more to me than a simple follower count: they are friends, they are colleagues, they are collaborators, they are peers, and they are sources. To follow someone in return whose only intent is clearly to acquire more followers would be to devalue the esteem with which I hold my other followers.

9. Your Twitter stream indicates a propensity for consistent arguing

I am all for intelligent debate on any topic, and I’ve been lucky so far in meeting Twitter followers who are still able to politely debate about a variety of passionate topics without constant and vitriolic argumentation. If your Twitter stream is filled with nothing but mean-spirited opinions and argumentation that only advance your own beliefs and allow no consideration of others’ views, then my Twitter stream is definitely not for you.

10. You do not engage your Twitter followers

Probably the most important reason why I will not return your follow, though, is if it is glaringly obvious that you do not engage your Twitter followers. Here I suppose I need to make a distinction between those Twitter users who use Twitter to broadcast their content, as opposed to everyone else; these broadcasters, in my experience, are generally the ones who are followed, not those who are following.

Obviously, engaging their followers is not a priority. Twitter is a major platform in social networking and social media, and they aren’t called “social” networking and “social” media for nothing. There are other people out there, and if you are not engaging or interacting with those users who take the time to follow you for whatever reason, that is a huge follow fail in my book.

The three tenets

My list isn’t perfect, and it is definitely personal and therefore biased, but it is a start toward exploring the differences between a successful Twitter follow attempt and an outright follow fail. In the end, and to return to those previously referenced lists of “how to get more followers on Twitter,” I think there are really only three tenets that should be followed should you desire to build a successful and quality Twitter network:

1. Present a cohesive personal brand, or, if presenting a brand is too much for you, simply present a cohesive sense of yourself

2. Always be consistent in your use of Twitter, i.e., become known for the unique ways in which you use Twitter, and stick with what works for you

3. Engage with your network. Genuine engagement with your network of followers will ultimately ensure that your mobile number is retained, and not “lost,” at the end of that fabulous party, and it will ensure that you don’t (too often) commit any serious follow fails.

What do you consider follow fails? Tell us below in the comments.

Atherton Bartelby is a Brooklyn-based graphic designer, art director, writer, blogger, and photographer. An observer by nature, he enjoys studying the fascinating intricacies of interpersonal relationships, the design and media industries, and Internet culture, and faithfully records his observations in his blog, Curious Affairs.

Interested in more Twitter resources? Check these out:

- “HOW TO: Build Community on Twitter”

- “HOW NOT TO: Build Your Twitter Community”

- “HOW TO: Win Friends and Twinfluence People”

- “The 10 Users You’ll Meet on Twitter”

Imagery courtesy of iStockPhoto, cwlawrence, swilmor, Sveta

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To set it up, start here. Enter your Disqus API key (or click the available link to get it), select the correct site for syncing, add your FriendFeed name and remote key, chose between one way sync options or a full sync, and save. That’s it. From now on every time someone comments on your blog post, the same comment will appear on the matching thread of the FriendFeed entry and vice versa.

I just set up the full sync between my blog and Disqus, and the sync seemed to work without a hitch. Now my blog entries will definitely get noticed on FriendFeed when someone comments on my blog. Given that FriendFeed’s algorithm incorporates comments and likes to determine popularity, the ability to sync between platforms is fantastic tool for helping bloggers get the maximum attention and recognition from all FriendFeeders and Non-FriendFeeders alike. It kind of seems like the FriendFeed Comments Wordpress plug-in might be obsolete now.

Additional FriendFeed Resources From Mashable

- Top 10 Web Applications for Friendfeed

- HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Friendfeed

- 7 Desktop Applications for Friendfeed

- 7 Essential Greasemonkey Scripts for Friendfeed

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The acquisition of Flektor made a lot of sense back at the peak of widget mania. MySpace was a huge outlet for posting widgets, and by acquiring Flektor, they’d also be a leading destination for creating them. At the time, we wrote: “[Flektor] allows everything from photo hosting, slideshow, video editing, web cam broadcasting (ala UStream), in-stream quizzes and polls as well as IM and media storage. For something that tries to be so much, they do fairly good job at it.”

Alas, in 2009, it’s all about identity management (MySpaceID) for third-party websites and in-house application platforms. Thus, as MySpace attempts to cut costs along with everyone else in the new media industry, eliminating Flektor wouldn’t be a huge surprise to us, though we’d expect the technology to still be used in some capacity, perhaps as integrated applications on MySpace (the company’s slideshow and poll apps can already be found there).

We’ve asked MySpace for comment and will update when we hear something.

Update (12:20PT): Another source confirms the rumor, noting that the changes are part of a broader plan to integrate Flektor technology on MySpace. Additionally, the source says that “most” employees will still have jobs with the company.

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If you’re like us, you probably noticed that Twitter stopped updating around 10:30am PT. Instead of fail whales swimming across Twitter streams the world round, we’re noticing that things “appear” normal even though updates have come to a complete standstill.

Twitter is obviously aware of the malfunction, and they’re hopefully doing everything they can to restore service. Meanwhile, the keynote is over, Twitter is dead silent, and FriendFeed is still alive and kicking, no downtime, no sad status message.

Thanks for the update Twitter, but you had a whole year to prepare for this event. Shame on you.

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Perhaps, most notably, is the introduction of built-in support for online services Facebook and Flickr in iPhoto ‘09. We think the annoucement pretty much trumps yesterday’s release of Picasa for Mac.

The Facebook and Flickr integration is an exciting new addition to the product that will make iPhoto the dynamic photo sharing application it should be. Now, users who upgrade can automatically send their photos to Facebook and Flickr within iPhoto. As soon as you post new photos of friends to Facebook, notifications are also immediately sent to your tagged friends.

With Flickr, when you share your new photos, locations are shown on Flickr photo maps. Given that the new iPhoto also has three additional much needed features - Face Detection, Face Recognition, and Places - tagging faces, names, and places in iPhoto for online sharing turns into an almost completely automated process.

iPhoto ‘09 also adds new slideshow themes, smart albums, the ability to auto-create titles, transitions, and credits, and even a Places feature for animated travel maps that uses GPS geotagging. Given that iLife comes standard on all new Macs and is just $79 to upgrade ($169 if you upgrade both iLife and iWork), we think you might want to place your order now, despite the fact that it won’t ship until later this month.

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So who are these changes good for? For one, the record labels, which stand to make more money on releases from expensive, top 40-type artists. Meanwhile, as I wrote last night, the drop in prices is good for consumers whose musical tastes fall more into the long tail of iTunes’ huge music catalog. But, for the millions of people who fuel downloads of iTunes’ most popular tracks, this change marks a 30% price increase, which, adds up to a lot of money on an annual basis.

Another footnote to add to the DRM-free iTunes store: as Ben Drury, CEO of 7Digital points out to us in an email, “Downloads from iTunes are still in the AAC file format regardless of whether they are DRM-free … the AAC file format is only compatible with iPods/iPhones and a limited number of other devices. So consumers who buy downloads from iTunes are still restricted to where they can play that music regardless of whether it’s DRM free or not.”

While that only effects a very small subset of iTunes users, it is an interesting piece of fine print on news that will be viewed by many as the signal of the death of DRM.

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Apparently, the site MacRumorsLive.com was hacked, and the perpetrators posted the comment into their live stream. Meanwhile, on Twitter, the @macrumors account has been suspended due to suspicious activity. This is on the heels of yesterday’s Twitter hacking, where the accounts of Barack Obama, Britney Spears, and other prominent users were all compromised and littered with bizarre messages.

So yes, Steve Jobs is alive and well. Expect the ridiculous rumors of his demise to quickly be replaced by outpourings of joy should the icon make a surprise appearance before the keynote is over.

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The blogging site has gone through several changes in ownership since its inception, first being acquired by Six Apart, who then sold it to the Russian media company SUP in late 2007. Unlike competitors Automattic and Six Apart, LiveJournal is a completely hosted blogging solution, blending blogging with social networking features, and the vast majority of its blogs take the form of personal diaries as opposed to more professional, topical writing.

While LiveJournal execs are apparently blaming the slowdown in the economy and ad spending, stats point to an overall decline in interest in the medium. Both LiveJournal and competitor Xanga have seen their traffic decline over the past two years, as social networks like Facebook and MySpace have come to dominate the demographics that the blogging sites target.

Here is LiveJournal’s statement regarding the layoffs:

“LiveJournal Inc. today announced a restructuring of their US and Russian operations to more effectively manage costs in light of the global economic downturn.

LiveJournal Inc.’s headquarters , technical operations (and servers,) legal, administration and the customer service teams will remain in the United States. LiveJournal’s global product development and design will now be coordinated out of its Moscow office. The pooling of resources between the US and Russia will allow the company to build a stronger business model, well positioned to guarantee the long-term success of LiveJournal.

As a result of these changes Matthew Berardo, VP and General Manager of LiveJournal Inc., will be leaving the company along with other valued colleagues. Mr Berardo has played the leading role in consolidating product and design effort to enable the business to more effectively streamline costs during his tenure. LiveJournal Inc. will now be led jointly by Stephanie Gravelle, currently LiveJournal Inc.’s director of finance and administration and Sergei Komarov, currently CTO of SUP (the owners of LiveJournal).”

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Be it in the form of Instant messaging or social networking, there are plenty of free tools out there for you to use to stay in touch with anyone from anywhere. Use these 15 free tools to turn your BlackBerry into a communications powerhouse.

What are some of your favorite ways to communicate on the BlackBerry?

Instant Messengers

AIM - The old guard instant messenger of AIM is available for various models of BlackBerry and includes picture messaging inside of chat, avatars, emoticons, instant login and more.

Google Talk - Google brings their popular instant messenger to the BlackBerry with features such as changing your status, chat logging just like the desktop version, buddy pictures and everything else you could hope for.

ICQ - A favorite of the technical elite for years, ICQ for the BlackBerry gives you the ability to run several chats at once, near real-time updates on which friends are online auto-login and several other features.

Windows Live Messenger - Windows Live Messenger for the BlackBerry allows you to add, delete and block contacts, customize your status message, participate in multiple chats and a bevy of other features.

Yahoo Messenger - Yahoo’s entry into the BlackBerry instant messaging market allows you to view your current contacts list, add avatars, use emoticons and the usual line-up of features.

Social Networking

Facebook - Facebook for the BlackBerry gives you easy photo sharing for models of the phone with a camera, updates on your mail and wall messages. Also send pokes and a heck of a lot more.

Flickr - The perfect application for models of the BlackBerry with a camera, Flickr will allow you to directly upload your photos, resize, tag and even geotag the image if your unit has GPS.

MySpace - The BlackBerry MySpace application allows you to read email and bulletins, change your mood, add comments, post photos and an assortment of other features.

Miscellaneous

Cellity - Cellity is an app that allows you to make calls at cheaper rates, offers reduced fees for text messages, microblogging and more.

iSkoot - iSkoot is a third-party application that gives you full control over your Skype account. You can chat with your contacts, make Skype-to-Skype calls, and even use Skype Out to call international phone numbers, all via your BlackBerry.

LogicMail - LogicMail bring IMAP and POP email support to the BlackBerry. You can also send email via SMTP and view images in mail. Provides support for IMAP folders and a whole lot more.

ShoZu - ShoZu allows you to interact with numerous sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, LiveJournal, Blogger and a whole slew more. Available features vary by service.

Twitterberry - How could you talk about communications on any device without bringing up the ubiquitous Twitter? Enter new messages, get replies, send direct messages, check the timeline and more.

Vlingo - While not a communication app in and of itself, Vlingo is a voice command app that will allow you to speak your text messages instead of having to type them off. Also allows you to voice control other selected applications.

YouMail - While not exactly an application, YouMail is a third-party service that allows you to get new services in your voicemail such as the ability to download, forward, look up missed calls and several other features.

Interested in more BlackBerry Resources?

- “20 BlackBerry Mobile Apps for Organization and Productivity”

- “7 Great Resources for BlackBerry Applications”

- “BlackBerry Toolbox: Themes for Your BlackBerry“

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Free iPhone Apps!

According to CNET, the move would include both music added to iTunes going forward as well as tracks already on the service, from labels Sony BMG, Warner Music, Universal, and EMI (who already has DRM-free tracks on iTunes). While DRM has long been a hot button issue, one has to wonder if the trade-off of higher prices will be worth it to the majority of users.

iTunes, which publishes a list of its 100 most popular tracks at any given time, is dominated by popular, current music. Naturally, that means raising the prices on these tracks will be immediately obvious to tons of users, who might not necessarily think (or even understand the benefits of) DRM-free music is worth paying additional fees for.

Of course, they also might not realize that there are competitors – like Amazon – that offer both DRM-free and a 99 cent (or lower) price point. That said, if pop music isn’t your thing, the changes might be good for your wallet. According to CNET’s report, prices on the long tail of the catalog could drop to 79 cents.

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