Facebook rolls out the share button to mobile users

Designed to encourage mobile users to share more types of content with their friends, Facebook is rolling out a new share button for the mobile interface.

Detailed by Techcrunch earlier today, Facebook has launched a share button on the mobile version of the social network and is planning to add sharing capabilities to both the iOS and Android applications at a later date. While the ability to share a particular article, video or picture is commonplace on the Web version of Facebook, mobile users can simply tap on the new share link in order to pass along an interesting piece of content to their friends. When a user brings up the mobile version of the social network, they will notice a new Share button to the right of the Like and Comment buttons. 

Tapping the new share button brings up an interface that allows the user to write a comment that goes along with the shared content. In addition, the user can isolate the post to a specific subset of their friends through groups or post it publicly in order to reach all subscribers.

Once the user is satisfied with the post, they confirm the sharing action by tapping the Share button in the top right corner of the screen. Alternatively, cancelling the post returns the user to the news feed. The new share button is only appearing within the News feed at this point. When visiting a personal page of a friend or a brand, the share button hasn’t been incorporated within the design yet.

The launch of the new sharing feature marks a trend in Facebook’s strategic approach to mobile. While the inclusion of the sharing button isn’t a technical achievement by any means, the priority of improving Facebook’s mobile interface is evident. According to Facebook’s third quarter results, the social network has approximately 600 million active mobile users each month. In addition, about 120 million of those active users check Facebook exclusively through a mobile device. The addition of the share button on the mobile version of the site could result in a spike in the amount of articles, videos and pictures that are shared each day. 

With the addition of the share button for mobile users, this brings Facebook more in line with social network competitor Twitter. On the web version of Twitter, users are encouraged to retweet posts and share them with friends. It will be interesting to see if mobile users on Facebook transition from the Like action to the Share action. Potentially,  it could significantly increase the amount of shared content people find in their News feeds each day and possibly drown out other status updates from friends and family.

However, it could be extremely helpful to brands and advertisers since the share action is more valuable when attempting to spread a particular piece of content. In a related story noted by The Next Web, Facebook is also rolling out a new feed that allows a user to view posts from brands and other pages into a completely separate feed. While posts from those pages will still appear within the News feed, users can visit this page in order to view recent updates only from liked pages.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/facebook-share-button-on-mobile/

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Mobile developer Red Robot Labs snags industry vet John Davison

Mobile games developer Red Robot Labs welcomes their new Director of Content and Publishing John Davison. His history with the gaming industry bring a lot to the table for the start-up.

Mobile games developer Red Robot Labs focuses many of its games on location-specific elements, but with its latest hire, the company may be looking to relocate itself to the top of the gaming world. John Davison, a 20-year veteren of the video game industry, will call Red Robot Labs his new home as he settles into a role as the start-up’s Director and General Manager of Content and Publishing.

Davison’s most recent position prior to this announcement was Vice President of Programming for CBS Interactive Games, which left him as overseer of content for GameSpot and Metacritic. He had also served as editor for Ziff Davis’ network of tech and gaming sites. Essentially, if there is anyone that knows the gaming world, it’s John Davison. 

Red Robot Labs, the team behind the well-received Life is Crime and Forever Drive–both available on iOS and Android–are happy to welcome Davison in from the world of covering gaming and into the world of making them. In a press release from the company, CEO Mike Ouye stated, “As a video game industry veteran with a proven entrepreneurial track record, John is the perfect addition to Red Robot as we aim to disrupt and innovate the mobile space for gamers.”

Davison is already staking his claim for what he plans to bring to Red Robot Labs and the gaming landscape as a whole. “There is a huge opportunity to build new products around the ways that gamers interact and discover content, and the team at Red Robot understands this better than any group I’ve ever come across. We want to empower gamers with technology designed specifically for them.”

Considering both Red Robot Labs’ and John Davison’s track records of innovation, creativity, and community, there’s a lot of promise in this partnership. Gamers everywhere should be on the lookout for whatever may come next from this team.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/mobile-developer-red-robot-labs-snags-john-davison/

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Shazam now recognizes 160 television channels to enhance TV viewing experience

Shazam announced its foray into providing auxiliary content to enhance your television viewing experience in over 160 channels.

Shazam, boasting over 250 million users worldwide, announced today that the app will now support television programming on just about any channel, at any hour.

You may have noticed during American Idol, the Super Bowl, or the London Olympics that a Shazam icon would appear at the bottom corner of your TV screen, during a participating commercial or programming. If you’ve ever bothered to press on “Touch to Shazam,” during a show, additional information about the programming would pop-up on your mobile device. With today’s announcement, Shazam users will be able to access complimentary content through over 160 participating television channels and its users won’t be required to own any cable or satellite television subscriptions.

A Pew Research study from its Internet and American Life Project, which we reported on earlier, is evidence to the growing demand by consumers for additional content that accompanies the television viewing experience. In fact, 52 percent of adult cellphone owners will supplement their television watching with their smartphone. 

Now for those of you that use the Shazam app used while watching television, you’ll be able to find further details about the show that you’d otherwise be forced to tediously Google. Shazam’s television integration will determine what music is playing from the show’s soundtrack, what actors and actresses appear in the program (including other shows that the actors have appeared in), and relevant links to the show’s IMDB and Wikipedia pages, and the official website. You’ll find some interactive and social features that you could access during the downtime during commercials including the latest celebrity gossip about the show and stars, trivia about the show, and a live Twitter feed where viewers can read or weigh in on what other fans are saying about the program.

And if it’s a sporting event that you’re watching, in lieu of cast information you’ll be provided stats, scores, and schedules.

“Over the last year, Shazam has been testing and learning what works by building dozens of custom interactive second-screen experiences for select television shows and events,” Shazam Chief Revenue Officer, Doug Garland, said in a statement. “We’ve applied what we’ve learned to our newly expanded service, and will continue to work closely with our network partners and show producers to build special, unique second-screen experiences for their tent-pole television events and many of the most popular shows on TV.”

Shazam’s also doing what it can to boost its own social integration, a necessity for most apps today. In the coming weeks, Shazam also make its way on your Facebook newsfeed and Timeline when your friends are tagging the shows that they’re watching.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/shazam-blowing-up/

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The Sony Xperia T: the heart of your connected home

Bring the best of your Sony smartphone to your home entertainment system

Control your TV with a smartphone; stream content directly from your tablet to your PS3. The connected home is coming, and the Xperia T is at its heart.

The days when our homes were filled with disparate devices are gone – the future of technology is connection, and Sony offers you the chance to simply share content no matter what device you're using.

Got a Smart BRAVIA TV? Use your Sony Xperia T to access a wealth of content online or switch channels. Use your Xperia Tablet S to stream the latest movie to your PS3 or quickly display your favourite photos from your VAIO laptop on the big screen.

Using the pre-installed apps on your Sony Xperia T or Xperia Tablet S you'll get access to millions of tracks, the latest movies or your entire photo collection on any device.

Streaming the latest album on your smartphone? Use the inbuilt NFC and Sony's Xperia SmartTags to quickly begin playing it through your home cinema system. Bought a video on your PS3? Your universal Sony Entertainment Network login lets you pick up where you left off on your Sony tablet on the go.

We all want to share our favourite photos, so with Sony PlayMemories you'll get 5GB of online storage to see your snaps on your BRAVIA TV, VAIO laptop or PS3 with no hassle.

So get on board with Sony's vision of the connected home: be it TV, tablet, smartphone or laptop you'll have instant access to all the content you care about.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/the-sony-xperia-t-the-heart-of-your-connected-home-1097477

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Zeebox integrates Engage tech to bolster second screen app

Broadcasters will soon be able to send interactive content directly to zeebox

Broadcasters will now be able to use the zeebox to publish polls, promote Twitter battles and add calls-to-action directly within the popular second screen app.

A new partnership with the Chyron digital video service will see the integration of the Engage tech that allows content providers to publish directly within the application for users to interact with.

Adding Engage will allow users to act upon pop-up, on-screen graphics while watching live television, so, for example X-Factor voting could, one day, be done directly through the app.

Anthony Rose, the former iPlayer innovator and CTO of zeebox says this makes it easier for broadcasters to further embrace the social viewing trends through second screen applications.

Synchronised content

"Broadcasters are clamouring to embrace social TV and second-screen engagement, but the combination of fragmented market, myriad of consumer apps, and lack of integration with their existing workflow has - until now - made this a complex and expensive process," he said.

"By giving broadcasters the ability to publish directly into the zeebox platform using their existing tools and production workflow, we're making it as easy for a broadcaster to create a play-along, social TV or interactive experience delivered within zeebox as it is to pop up an on-screen graphic - and that's a huge game changer."

Jim Martinolich, vice president of integration technology at Chyron added: "The second screen applications running on tablets and other devices serve as an exciting new platform for publishing synchronised content that enhances the viewer's experience.

"zeebox is the leading second screen app and its integration with our ENGAGE platform aids broadcasters in creating and managing second screen content without introducing significant new production costs."

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/zeebox-integrates-engage-tech-to-bolster-second-screen-app-1096062

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