Important events like a gold-medal race will be streamed live on nbcolympics.com, but will not be archived on the Web site until sometime after the prime-time show. Other staples of NBC’s televised prime-time coverage – including swimming, diving, gymnastics, track and field, and beach volleyball – will be treated the same way.

During the London Games, nbcolympics.com will be able to handle as many live streams as there are live events. Spokesman, Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media , said: “Whatever is on schedule that day, if cameras are on it, we’ll stream it.”

 

The mission of TransferWise is deceptively simple; to make moving money from one place to another securely and quickly at a minimal cost.

It employs a peer-to-peer model to get the best foreign currency exchange and transfer rate for end consumers, bypassing banks, and has already saved its early users over half a million pounds since its launch in January 2011.

All TransferWise money transfers are handled according to the real mid-market exchange rates that traditional, big banks receive on the interbank market, only they will charge a heap more for (often hidden) “services” rendered!

Currently, the startup only supports payments through its digital platform between the UK and eurozone countries, but they are obviously looking to expand to other currencies in the near future.

TransferWise’s early-adopting users include expats, international students, pensioners who moved abroad but also, increasingly, small to medium-sized businesses looking to steer clear of the red tape and high cost involved with money transfer today.

More info @ http://transferwise.com

 

Welcome To Earth

Time-lapse footage from 179 different and beautiful places around the planet.

Best viewed in HD and Full Screen

 

Guitar Pee
Interactive Urinals

The “Guitar Pee” is an interactive urinal designed by the Brazilian agency AlmapBBDO that allows you to transform your urinal use into a real Guitar Hero solo!

The “Guitar Pee” is accompanied by a website that lets you listen to “creations” of users! (available only on mobile: guitarpee.com)

 

Al Jazeera (English) have put together some handy step-by-step tutorials for newcomers to the popular social networks, Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Each video explains all you need to know on how to set up an account, from “Following” friends and posting “Tweets” to “Hash-Tagging“, how to update your Facebook status and all about Facebook’s latest feature, “Timeline“, plus an introduction to the world’s newest social network, Google+ including use of one of it’s popular features, “Hangouts“.

Twitter

http://twitter.com

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Google+

https://plus.google.com

 

In commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the loss of Titantic, UK based, The History Press, are utilizing the research of some of the world’s foremost experts, the Twitter account @TitanicRealTime will take you on a trip through time to experience Titanic’s maiden voyage in the most innovative and personal way to date. The crew, passengers, captain, engineers and other key figures will be tweeting as if from 100 years ago to the day, detailing the key events leading up to Titanic’s launch from Southampton on April 10th through to her eventual demise on April 15th.

- Relive Titanic’s momentous voyage from the perspective of those on board
- Over 190 detailed Tweets covering the events of April 14th and 15th.
- Historically accurate Tweets drawn from reliable research.

You can now follow @TitanicRealTime on Twitter to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary!

 

Joining Hughes, Simmons and Elliott in the massive band will be Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan and Gilby Clarke (Guns N Roses), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Ed Roland (Collective Soul), Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) and Billy Duffy (The Cult).

www.rnrallstars.com

The project was the brainchild of Matt Sorum and promoter Gabe Reed.

“We thought it would be a really great idea to put together a band of some of our favorite musicians from the history of rock. I think it’s going to be exciting to go see the hits of Kiss, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Billy Idol, The Cult and Alice In Chains. That’s where the vibe came from.”

The tour will begin April 19th in Asuncion, Paraguay and play mostly in capital cities throughout South and Central America. The last stop on the tour will be May 6th in Caracas, Venezuela.

Tour Dates

APRIL

19th – Jockey Club – Asuncion, Paraguay
21st – Metal Open Air Festival – Sao Luis, Brazil
23rd – Club Geba – Buenos Aires, Argentina
27th – Explanada Monumental – Lima, Peru
28th – Coliseo General Ruminahui – Quito, Ecuador

MAY

1st – Mundo E – Guatemala City, Guatemala
3rd – Stadium Suprisa – San Jose, Costa Rica
4th – Figali Convention Center – Panama City, Panama
5th – Hipodromo De Los Andes – Bogota, Colombia
6th – Campo De Futbol Universidad – Caracas, Venezuela

For updates and more, pay them a visit @ www.rnrallstars.com

 

Raspberry Pi computer in action

The Raspberry Pi computer is just a small green circuit board about the size of a credit card – but it is hoped that it will get thousands of school children interested in programming.

Created by a group of scientists and developers who wanted to improve the state of Britain’s computer science curriculum, the device contains a processor similar to the one used in many smart phones, a memory chip, an HDMI port for a video display, an Ethernet port to connect to the internet and a couple of USB ports.

After plugging in a keyboard, mouse and monitor, children are able to use the Raspberry Pi‘s open-source software to write their own code.

It will cost £22 (approx. $50), with the first 10,000 on release having been funded largely out of the pockets of the scientists behind the charitable Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Rory Cellan-Jones of the BBC met the foundation’s executive director Dr Eben Upton to find out more.

 

An amazing new self-serve bar concept

The Thirsty Bear is a pub in London, United Kingdom, that features Apple iPad driven self-serve beer tap(s) at your table. It also offers a full range of other beverages, such as a growing cocktail list, plus an ever expanding menu of food and even music; all available via your table or bar from their built-in iPad’s.

A novel concept and one that is sure to prove popular in major cities throughout the world over the next few years.

Operated and founded by The Robot Pub Group; they have deployed Apple iPad based displays on each table allowing you to place orders for food and drinks; to surf the Internet; to select tracks on the bar’s Jukebox and to do something you possibly didn’t think of (though you probably did): buy Beer that you can then instantly dispense from the tap on your table!

When in London for business or pleasure and this being the first iPad touchscreen-operated bar in the city, you should pay it a visit!

www.thethirstybear.com

 

This will inevitably lead to a ton of posts on the subject, but in true social media fashion, too much time is going to be spent on the details rather than discussing what matters.

The Timeline Cover Photo

One of the biggest aesthetic changes coming to the new page layout is obviously the Timeline Cover Photo.

The first thing you need to know is that the photo is 850 x 315 pixels in dimension.

That means if you’re going to use a Timeline photo, it should be around that size.

It also means that these photos are HUGE on page, and take up some major screen real-estate:

Best to make it pretty!

This can be intimidating to do for some: many folks don’t want to hire a graphic designer for a Facebook photo, and many aren’t familiar with Photoshop themselves.

Also be aware, there are some important things about these photos that you need to know…

Facebook Timeline Cover Photo Rules & Regulations

Yes, Facebook is trying to enforce quite a few rules with these photos.

This is going to be hugely important in your Facebook marketing efforts, because the rules are pretty strict (and very anti-promotional).

Here’s a rundown of the important ones regarding Timeline Cover Photos…

Timeline Cover photos may NOT contain:

* Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
* Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
* References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
* Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

The “banning” of calls to action is a specifically important one for folks building their pages and marketing on Facebook.

It’s also important to keep this in mind when remembering the next important change…

No More Facebook Landing Pages

That’s right, Facebook landing pages are dead, or, at least to a certain extent they are…

What’s really going on is that Pages can no longer display one of their custom applications as their default landing tab that non-fans first see when they visit.

They can still have these custom applications, but they now cannot be set as the default; the Timeline will always be the default page for all users.

This was likely done to stop the use of the “Like Gate”, or hiding something people wanted behind the landing page, forcing people to “Like” something when they wanted access.

Some have called this an essential part of landing pages, others have decried it as a shady tactic with no long term engagement benefits.

If you were using the landing page to highlight important content, you are in luck though, thanks to the next essential feature…

Pages Can “Pin” Posts for 7 Days

Pages now have the option to “Pin” posts to the top of their Timeline for up to 7 days, highlighting the more important content you’ve posted and allowing it to garner more exposure.

This is done by simply selecting “edit” on a piece of content from your Page, and then selecting “Pin to Top”.

A “Pinned” post will have small ribbon in the right hand corner to signify it as such.

This could be very useful for big brand announcements, for new projects, and for pieces of content that you’ve published that are starting to pick up speed.

It can also be used to “put your best foot forward”, pinning the best content that you’ve posted during the week.

Changes To the “About” Section

The “About” section has always been available for Facebook Pages, but now it’s getting featured more prominently.

Now at the top of your Timeline, there are two different versions available so you may need to update soon.

These versions depend on if your business is listed as having a physical location or not having a physical location.

Here are some screenshots that reflect the two types.

Physical Location:

No Physical Location:

Most websites and personal brands will obviously be falling under the latter, but if your business has been listed as having a location (such as if you’ve listed an office space), you will be using the former type.

Application Boxes Featured More Prominently

Applications that were previously tabs on your sidebar are now featured at the top of the timeline as well.

You are able to choose in which order they appear in. Keep in mind which ones are important when placing them on your page for all to see.

You’re old landing page will also live here: you could feature it at the top, but since it isn’t the first thing new visitors are seeing, it will be drastically less effective and less important.

If you have more than four applications, a drop down menu is needed for the rest; remember that when choosing the order, only the first 3-4 will make the “homepage” for your brand’s page.

Your Page Can Create “Milestones”, Telling Your Story

Your Page now allows you to post about past events as “milestones”, helping you create a compelling storyline for your brand.

You can access this from where you would normally post an update, and utilizing this feature will help you make the most of the new Timeline format (milestones also get attention as they allow for big photo uploads).

The first milestone you obviously have to create is the “Founded” milestone, or when your business/band/etc was founded, after that, you can post subsequent milestones normally.

Over To You…

What do you think of the new Timeline for Fan Pages?

Do you like them?

Will the Timeline work for Pages, or should it have stayed on personal profiles?

What are the strengths of these new Timeline style pages? What are the weaknesses?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments…