• Google Wave – officially a failure, but lessons learnt along the way.
• Of the 95pc of the Irish population who access the internet from their home, 96pc of those do so through a broadband connection, which includes mobile broadband, according thto the latest ComReg survey, carried out by Milward Brown.
• Android OS device sales to surpass iPhones iOS by 2012. Tech industry analyst iSuppli predicts that Android will be used by 75 million smartphones by 2012, up from 5 million in 2009. Meanwhile, iOS usage will amount to 62 million in 2012, up from 25 million in 2009.
• Apple’s iPod has been singled out as the reason for more than 17 accidents per day in the UK. The situation has been dubbed “iPod Oblivion”.
• Paypal’s mobile application for Android was updated this week with support for a new feature: bump technology. Users can bump their phones to send money. “Bumping money” is also possible through the Paypal iPhone app.
• Have two gmail accounts? Want to access them in the same browser? Now you can – read more on the official Gmail blog.
• Active Twitter users are the most influential online, being three times more likely to impact on a brand’s reputation through syndicated Tweets, blog posts, articles and product reviews than the average consumer according to a report by ExactTarget.

• Exemption will allow iPhone JailBreaks – the Library of Congress ruled this week that it was legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get “lawfully obtained” programs to work. iPhone owners who like to tinker with their phones and move outside of the Applesphere now have the ability to legally do that.  Read more on The New York Times.
• Android Market eatcher AndroLib says 100,000 apps been submitted to Android Market since its public debut, up from approximately 5,000 in June 2009. Techcrunch reports.
• Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, confirms Microsoft is working on ipad competitor.
• Google Rolls Location-Based Mobile Display Ads that show users nearby services. Check out Adweek’s article.
• Irish online display ads are performing 7pc more strongly than the equivalent medium in the UK, according to online publishers. But, at just 10pc of the ads market, Ireland is behind the UK where online is now 30pc of the ads market. Intrigued – read more on Silicon Republic.
• SKY 3D – Europe’s first 3D channel – will launch in Ireland on Friday, 1 October, and will be available to Sky+HD subscribers with 3D-ready TVs.

• Highly influential US magazine, Consumer Watch, posted a scathing consumer review on the iPhone 4 this week, where it highlighted a loss of reception when the mobile was held in a certain way, resulting in their decision to not recommend the phone to consumers. The result? A massive $10 billion wiped off Apple’s share value overnight. There is now mounting speculation that Apple might issue a recall as they have called a press coference for this Friday. Read more here.

• As part of its social media strategy, the government unveiled a new social-friendly site, MerrionStreet.ie. Run off wordpress, it promises to deliver a dynamic web presence that will include Flickr photography, videos, Facbook status updates and Twitter feeds. More on The Irish Independent.

• Wieden & Kennedy”s Old Spice campaign just gets better and better….this week, our “manly man” hunk, Isiah Mustafa,  is actually delivering personalised messages to some of the world’s most influential bloggers. Get the lowdown on WeAreSocial’s blog.

• The high-speed Exemplar network developed by our friends at InTune, is being unveiled to the Irish public today as the “Smart Network”. Read more here.

• Starbucks have become the first brand on Facebook to collect 10 million fans, (Lady Gaga being the first person). Key to success is their ongoing conversation and promotions that see lots of fans enjoying free coffee. See what Inside Facebook has to say on the subject.

• And finally ….Chatrolette rolled out local and custom channels this week. no prize for guessing the most popular channel….yes, you were right.

Some headlines that caught our attention this week:

• Apple launches its iAds mobile advertising platform in the US today (1 July) to attract advertisers to its range of products including the iPhone and iPad. The company will sell, produce and host the advertisements, but will let developers keep 60% of the revenue generated by the ads, while Apple will keep 40%. iAds will launch in the UK in September.More on Brand Republic.

• Amazon buys Woot.com, a popular online store that anticipated profitability by 2043, for an undisclosed sum. More on chrisbrogan.com.

• Eircom has won the lucrative contract to install the communications facilities at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin 4. The infrastructure inclues the latest fibre internet and voice services. Read more on Silicon Republic.

• As of today, every Finnish citizen now has a gauranteed legal right to at least a 1Mbps broadband connection, putting it on the same footing as other legal rights in the country such as healthcare and education. Will Ireland follow suit? More at TheNextWeb.

• Online personal finance management service, Wesabe, is closing its doors, claiming it can’t take care of its obligations to assistance and security. Read more on ReadWriteWeb.

• And should you be traveling to America or Canada soon, remember to avail of free wifi in Starbucks as of today! More on TheNextWeb.

Tapedtogether is an experiment in crowdsourcing and online content curation resulting in a Summer Playlist for 2010 featuring an eclectic mix of artists from Frank Sinatra to DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, all put together on a website inspired by the iconic artwork of Saul Bass.

Similar to NBCs Olympic coverage, CNN brings you the World Cup Twitter tracker an easy way to stay up to date with the buzz about the games.

David Perez sold his soul for 1 week to Twitter. He wanted to go to the Advertising Festival in Cannes and Leo Burnett agreed to send him, the only condition was he had to partake in a social media experiment where he did everything his Twitter followers commanded him to. What would you get him to do? He’s already tattooed the ‘fail whale’ on his arm!

It’s summer and the weather is nice! Now is not the time to be eating in front of your work computer, get involved and take back your lunch while the sun is still shining!

http://asherrothmusic.com/
The concept for this site was simple: Musician Asher Roth wanted a unique way to share his day to day experiences with his fans. The result: Asher carries around a card which has an illustration of the website printed on it. He takes on-location pics holding the card, with the resulting photos uploaded as the landing page for the website. Visitors to the site navigate using the card as the primary interface. What’s really nice is the use of FLARToolKit so the graphic elements change to match the colour of the card. Note: this concept is best explained by visiting the site for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/drivetheateamvan
Always wanted to drive the A Team van? Now you can! Created to promote the new A Team movie, this game was developed using Google maps. On completion of a level, players receive a preview clip for the upcoming release.

http://www.work-club.com/blackboard/
Discover every single line ever written on The Simpson’s Springfield Elementary School blackboard! It only took 2 days, 20 white markers, 288 lines and 7,697 characters….

http://www.youtube.com/canneslions
The YouTube Cannes Young Lions Ad Contest is back this year with a brief for WaterAid. Each entrant had 48 hours to make their video and post it to the YouTube channel. They have a week to promote their ad to get public votes which will be taken into account to decide the ultimate winner. With two days left to vote, do your bit and vote!

He was dubbed by The Telegraph as Malcolm Gladwell on speed. He has written a book called HERD.

Mark Earls has a really interesting take on human behaviour.

Mark’s presentation yesterday morning at the Marketing Society’s “The Nature of Our Ways” Event was excellent. His basic theory is that we copy each other’s behaviour and we learn that mimicry as babies and it’s a deeply ingrained physiological function in our minds. He offered little bits of evidence in support but you can expect the book contains more. He provides a new lens to look at the same question we all ask – why do consumers choose one brand over another and how can we influence that choice?

Simply, consumers don’t care about brands as much as we marketers would like to believe. Copying purchase behaviour short hands a lot of thinking which we would have to do in a world without brands. Is this car reliable, does it have good engine, does it have four tyres…it’s a lot easier to say oh, it’s a Ford Fiesta, lots of people have them, it must be good. Thinking takes effort, copying doesn’t.

Advertising, he claims, isn’t the best medium at mobilising this sort of copying behaviour but social media (in all its guises) is the best way to do it. So for example he showed how Amazon peer reviews of books are a good example of solving a book purchasing problem…copy a previous reader.

In Cybercom, we sometimes use psychology to understand consumer behaviour and a lot of things we’ve learned fit well with Marks theory. We’re not as yet convinced that his book is the wonder drug for marketing, but neither is it just another pop-planning book. It’s a theory with real practical use.

In truth, the time was too short to really get into his thinking, but our planners just bought a copy (on Amazon of course!) and suggest you copy them!

It was a great final presentation for the Marketing Society in a fresh and original series from this year’s committee and signed off Valda’s year as chairperson perfectly. Well done everyone.

http://www.admongo.gov/
Get yourself Aducated! Admongo is a fun game which aims to educate a younger audience about the wonderful world of advertising.

http://tweettrumps.com/
The old school favourite playground game Top Trumps has been digitalised! This clever project was developed in 24hrs at WarbleCamp (expect a few bugs…) and pits mutual Twitter followers against one another.

http://offices.colgate.edu/SeniorProfiles/SeniorProfiles.asp
With an increase in the number of Irish graduates seeking work abroad in recent years replicating this digital yearbook, created by Colgate University and incorporating Google maps, could be the way that Alumni keep in touch in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/wearefordogs
Pedigree’s adoption drive campaign is continuing with the release of a new video. Pedigree have pledged £1 each time this and future instalments are viewed, so get watching!

Our wonderful friends at Concern are looking to recruit an e-marketing leader as a permanent staff edition to this highly recognised Irish charity.

Topline Job Description:
We are now seeking to appoint an e-marketing professional. This person will to deliver Concern’s online fundraising campaigns.

Working with selected suppliers the individual will lead on developing online marketing in communication with relevant stakeholders. The individual will also act as the liaison with key external suppliers.

The e-marketing leader will be the primary liaison between business units and the web team, will develop and maintain a comprehensive calendar of proposed marketing campaigns, assist fundraising management in prioritisation, and will support teams in delivering e-marketing campaigns.

Interested?
Apply online via http://www.concern.net/jobs or email your CV to camden.reception@concern.net by the closing date, this Sunday May 16th.

Berocca Boost, in conjunction with Cybercom, has launched its first Facebook page with Berocca Boost Ninja. Berocca Boost introduces a really nice application, ‘Ninja Brain Games’. Through the Facebook wall, the Berocca Boost Ninja shares Ninja wisdoms with his mortal friends – in Ninja speak of course.

Users can choose from three games divided into concentration, reflexes and memory categories. Megatask, under concentration games, is particularly addictive. While initially quite simple, more obstacles are introduced and so far, very few have managed to complete the game. Can you? Game on!

The creative for Ninja Brain Games engages the user with its bright colours and sharp design. Berocca Boost has kept the navigation simple and straightforward allowing the games to function easily. Three more games will be added to the app over the coming weeks.

The Ninja Brain Games leaderboard shows how users perform per game, overall and against their Facebook friends. Each week the top 50 scores on the leaderboard are submitted into a draw to win either an Electric Picnic or Oxegen ticket. Brain smart and festival fit – you can’t go wrong!