The Wait Is Over: Viber Releases Android App, Boasts 12 Million Active Users

Viber, which lets iPhone users call and send messages to contacts over 3G and WiFi, free of charge, has been teasing its Android app for a while now. Last May, the VoIP startup finally released an Android app in beta, but only to a limited subset of some 50,000 users. Today, they’re officially launching the application for all. The app includes several features exclusives to the Android version, such as a full call screen whenever a Viber call is received, pop-up text message notifications and a default dialer setting that enables users to use the Viber dialer for all their phone calls.

Your online presence, captured in a single QR code

There’s no doubt the venerable business card has served generations of meeting attendees well, but today’s highly networked era seems to call for something more. Much the way the MingleStick helps translate physical meetings into online ones via a dedicated device, so Skanz uses QR codes to capture and share users’ online presence. Now in private beta, New York-based Skanz lets users convey all their online details through a single QR code. To do that, they simply visit the Skanz site and enter all the information they want to share. The result is a QR code that can be affixed to the back of a mobile device or displayed on a wrist band. Either way, every time users meet someone they’d like to follow up with later — whether for business purposes or otherwise — they simply scan each other’s QR codes with a free accompanying app for instant access to the relevant information. Slated to launch later this month, Skanz will offer virtual QR codes for free; stickers will cost USD 5, wristbands will be USD 15 and cell-phone covers will be priced at USD 20, according to Consumer Reports. The video below explains the premise in more detail:

The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About

Against my better judgment , I took advantage of Lee Kolbert’s generous offer today of providing Google+ invites to her Twitter followers. I’m still trying to figure out how, and if, I’m going to find the time for another network (for those of you who don’t know, Google+ is Google’s brand-new effort to create a Facebook-like social network), but enough people whose judgment I respect seem to think it could be a valuable tool. So I’m going to spend some time checking it out.

Top 5 Business Uses For The iPad

Sure, the iPad is a great device for viewing videos and photos, playing games and surfing the Web, but it can also be an excellent addition to the workplace. Working on the iPad extends beyond connecting to a remote desktop, sending e-mails or drafting text documents. These are five of our favorite ways to use the iPad for business. 1. Filling out forms

The next five social media trends and their impact on marketing

Remember when we talked about social media and mainstream media as two different things? Not anymore. Today, social media is the mainstream media. True, on Google + we may be talking about the novelty of Google +. And there may only be a few of us puttering around on Percolate or scrolling up and down on Shuush. But despite the never-ending introduction of new social platforms, social media in one form or another has pretty much become everyone’s primary source of content and interaction. So what does it mean now that we’ve all joined the conversation, mastered the art of engagement and embraced the concept of transparency? Your guess is as good as mine. But one place to start thinking about it might be the following trends. Read more: http://edwardboches.com/the-next-five-social-media-trends-and-their-impact-on-marketing#ixzz1SBbNivzv

Foursquare Check-Ins Now Part Of Klout Algorithm

Klout users who pay close attention to their own Klout score and the scores of their friends, business partners and other users will now discover that the company has added Foursquare check-ins to the mix, adding more user based information to their overall social reach algorithm. Foursquare is added to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn which was added to the program in June

TweetLevel & BlogLevel: ‘GPS’ for navigating influence online

Edelman, one of the world’s largest independent PR firms, today launches two web-based platforms designed to enable companies to identify key online influencers on specific topics. TweetLevel and BlogLevel are free to use, and are designed to be used by brands as social media planning and measurement tools. TweetLevel finds the influencers on Twitter, and BlogLevel does the same for the blogosphere.

Can Facebook and Google+ Coexist?

The two Internet giants are going head-to-head in a social networking battle, but cooperation could be the key to their survival. By Megan Geuss, PCWorld Jul 12, 2011 5:30 am Like oil and water or like peanut butter and jelly? Google+, the search giant’s new social network, has everyone in the tech industry speculating about whether it’s "the Facebook Killer."

Airbnb takes on Europe. Will it revolutionize the industry, again?

Three years ago, Airbnb was a tiny startup that no investor wanted to touch. Whether not returning emails, or providing a flat out, “No” the San Francisco based firm had a “snowball’s chance in hell” of getting out of the gate. According to co-founder Brian Chesky, noted angel investor Paul Graham, “even thought it was a terrible idea.”

10 key insights into Google+

For the last few days, Google+ has dominated the news. We are impressed with the interface, real time updates, and of course the Circles but the service still leaves us wanting. Here are our top 10 insights into Google+ so far: 1) Google+ came to take the place of Facebook and Twitter, no doubt about it. And it may just do so. This has happened before (i.e. Friendster, 6 Degrees, MySpace). But it won’t happen so quickly or easily. It will take a long time to capture the hearts and minds of 700 million users.