GigaOM
Sun Apr 24 04:25:54 EDT 2011
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What Next for Last.fm, the Great Survivor? - In the four years since CBS bought online radio service Last.fm, the site hasn’t changed radically. Now, however, the London-based music service is looking for its second act — and product chief Matthew Hawn tells GigaOM what that might mean.

What Is a Book? The Definition Continues to Blur - The word "book" used to be so simple -- now there are e-books, and blogs that become books, and long pieces of journalism published by startups like Byliner and The Atavist. If you're an author, it's a time of incredible chaos, but also incredible opportunity.

What Makes Apps Delightful? - With over 650,000 apps seeking our attention, it is not an easy task for apps to get our attention. In order to be successful and stand out, the mobile apps have to have little friction and in the process overcome smartphone & mobile web's three limitations.

Google’s Daily Deals Service Emerges to Take on Groupon - Four months after Groupon turned down Google's $6 billion buyout offer, the search giant appears to have built what it couldn't buy. The company has begun rolling out Google Offers, a new discount offer service that seems to be created in the mold of Groupon.

The NYT: Portrait of an Old Media Giant in Transition - The New York Times' latest financial results are a snapshot of a traditional media giant that is trying desperately to move into the digital future, but keeps getting dragged back down by the weight of its legacy businesses, whose health continues to decline.

Can Your Phone Sense and Send You a Deal? - Visa has been working with the Gap on a campaign that provides discounts and promotions via text message when users make certain transactions on their Visa card. The program shows how mobile offers and discounts are incorporating more intelligence, which will be key for success.

Researcher: iPhone Location Data Already Used By Cops - The news that Apple devices keep a record of your movements has generated plenty of coverage. Now, however, one researcher says not only has the knowledge been public for some time, but it’s already being used by security researchers and law enforcement agents.

Loopt Looks for Engagement in Location Q&A - Location-based app Loopt is looking beyond the check-in and trying to engage users by providing them information about what they should do they they arrive. Loopt is introducing Loopt Qs, a lightweight real-time question and answer feature that allows users to get answers to popular questions.

News.me, Trove & Newspaper For Me - News.me, which grew out of an experiment by the New York Times, and Trove -- which is backed by the Washington Post -- have very different takes on customizing the news and making it social, but both are part of a growing trend towards personalized media.

Foursquare Shifts Focus From Present Tense to Future - Foursquare has been grown to almost 10 million users by connecting them in the present tense to their location. But the company sees a much brighter future in focusing on the future movements of its users, said Dennis Crowley, who spoke at the Where 2.0 conference.

Amazon Launches Library Lending, But Who Owns the Books? - Amazon is launching a Kindle lending program for libraries, and while there are some interesting features included, the plan raises questions about who controls the content in these books, and what happens if Amazon or its publishers change their minds about the terms of the deal.

Sponsor post: Enterprise 2.0 Boston — Building Social Business - Don’t miss collaboration’s defining event, where you will learn about the latest enterprise-focused social strategies. Register with code CPBDEB17 for a Free Expo Pass or to save $100 on conference passes.

Local, Mobile Ambitions Driving eBay’s Purchase of Where - EBay is buying location-based service and ad network WHERE in a deal that gives it added ability to drive more local and offline commerce. The pick-up will add important talent and technology to eBay and PayPal as they look to become more locally relevant to users.

Europe Takes One Small Step Toward Net Neutrality - Europe's long-awaited position on net neutrality is finally here — and it looks like business as usual, with telecom companies retaining the right to block or throttle traffic in return for making the life of consumers a little bit easier.

The New Early Adopter Trend: Shilling for Startups - I've noticed an irritating trend in the startup world: After adding my email to a launch page, I get asked to submit a few of my friends' email addresses in exchange for a higher place in line or earlier access. It's annoying, but it apparently works.

RockMelt Goes Mobile With iPhone Offering - RockMelt is set to launch a mobile version of its browser, which integrates social media tools. RockMelt’s move into mobile this week comes just one month after the public debut of its desktop browser.