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More Londoners than ever are using contactless payments to get around the capital, and now, a new initiative called "Penny for London" is asking commuters to add charitable donations to their daily routine, too. The idea is that every time you use a contactless card to pay for travel, you also put aside a nominal amount -- between 1p and 10p -- for charity. Then, at the end of the each month, Penny for London charges the accumulated total to the same card, and forwards the money on to the Mayor's Fund for London, Cash for Kids, The Prince's Trust and other charitable organisations.

"Google's "Smartphone Launch Predictor" study found that 52 percent of purchase-related searches occur before a smartphone is launched. According to Google, the key to a successful smartphone launch is getting ahead of the release and marketing early. "One of the biggest factors is getting early buzz. Getting early buzz is key [for a successful smartphone launch]," Google Industry Director for Tech Kyle Keogh told ClickZ. The study found that the earlier a firm markets a smartphone the more likely they are to succeed in sales. According to Google, an extra 1,000 news stories put in place weeks before a launch can lead to a 9 percent spike in smartphone sales. Google's research discovered that users tend to do general product searches in the week during launch. After launch, it was discovered that consumers dig deep and search for key specifications on a device. Video is also becoming a key research tool for consumers shopping for a smartphone. According to the study, video views for smartphones increased 60 percent this year. Google says that if a smartphone gets over 1 million video views during launch week it will likely sell over 1.3 million units."

"Walmart began recruiting top Silicon Valley talent and acquiring start-ups last year. For instance, Walmart acquired Kosmix, a company that specializes in making web design more seamless, for $300 million. That team has been working for over a year to fix Walmart's systems and improve its website.  Walmart is investing in the "social gifting" market. A year ago, Walmart launched "Shopycat," which makes gift recommendations based on friends' Facebook profiles. The site is now called "Walmart Gifts" and allows customers to log in and get personalized recommendations based on Facebook and Twitter profiles.  The retailer got a better search engine. A dozen top engineers took 10 months to build it, and while the company won't discuss sales figures, they said the new system is more user-friendly. "If you search for cotton socks now, you'll actually find them," Manjoo writes.  Walmart is trying to lead the charge in same-day shipping. Its at an advantage considering that 96 percent of Americans live within 20 miles of a Walmart.  Walmart is investing like crazy in its mobile app. "Walmart imagines that as you go through an average day, you'll remember things you need--milk, bread, a new tennis racquet, a toy truck for your nephew's birthday--and tell the voice-enabled Walmart app. The app will list each item's location inside your local Walmart and include product info; eventually, it will also learn your preferences and offer recommendations. And once you're actually in the store, you'll be able to summon an associate to help you," Manjoo says. "

"Here are five lessons in the art and science of storytelling I learned by studying the pros ... 1) Adopt a newsroom mentality Make content development a core part of the way you do business - just as it is in journalism. Embed it in every department. Hire journalists just as LinkedIn, Qualcomm and others have done. Curate voices like we do on edelman.com. 2) Hand-craft your content for each venue Some companies try desperately to create singular pieces of content that can be simply be dumped in different places. That no longer works. Instead, hand-craft your content for each venue. Jonah Peretti, Buzzfeed's co-founder, summed it up best when he said: "Twitter is for your head, while Facebook is for your heart." 3) Cultivate superstars who have a POV News and information, to some degree, is commodity content - it's everywhere. Deep, thoughtful analysis, however, is in high demand. Just as the New York Times has Nate Silver and ESPN has Bill SImmons, you too can grow and cultivate rock stars who create thoughtful content with unique analytical point of view. 4) Be relentlessly data driven Speaking of Mr. Silver, if there's one thing he taught us this year it's that data rules. Follow in his footsteps in not only how you use data to inform and deliver your storytelling but also in how you measure your results. Many newsrooms, for example, now have real-time dashboards that help shape their decisions. 5) Let constraints fuel creativity Finally, it's often hard to convince management to put resources behind content until there's proven ROI. However, constraints can breed creativity. The Wall Street Journal's daytime video network, for example, was challenged to cover the Olympics without footage. So instead it creatively turned to using puppetry - and with great success. Be creative to get around constraints."

Smartphones are on a fast track to become the primary device for both creating and consuming digital content. According to the Pew Internet for the American Life Project, already a full 31% of Americans who own internet-capable phones browse the web primarily from their phones. These numbers are actually higher in emerging markets. What's more, there are at least three other factors at work here. First, images are global. They eschew all language and cultural boundaries. Photography is the only true universal medium. Nothing comes close. Second, images are distributable. The bandwidth required to transmit photos is minimal, yet the opportunities for quick, creative expression are plentiful. As of this writing, Apple's App Store alone has over 10,000 iPhone apps in its photo category -- many of them for editing. Photoshopping has been democratized. Finally, images are digestible. You can glance at a picture for as short or as long as you want. Photos are a non-linear, shared consumption experience. The same can't be said for video or even text.

French CitéGreen, a site that rewards participants with points - redeemable for gifts and discounts - whenever they perform actions that are good for the environment.  consumers simply register for free and indicate what types of actions they'd like to have rewarded - carpooling or recycling, for example. Through its partnerships with local communities and relevant agencies, CitéGreen then accounts for each action automatically

Anyone who unlocks the badge will be entered in a sweepstakes for a year of free burritos (one per week). Ten runners up will get a burrito party for ten of their closest friends. Each check-in above the three required to earn the badge counts as an additional entry to the sweepstakes

"More than a third (36%) of rich media full-page ads used video, and 28% of campaigns used in-banner video in Q2 and Q3. Interaction rates for custom buttons in that ad format -- for getting more information or viewing photos or video, for example -- ranged from 2.2% to 10.8%. For rich full-page ads, Rhythm says adding a mini video player boosts interaction rates for the units by 30%, to 3.8% to 12%."

While Shazam for TV has continued to grow, Shazam's music footprint still has a big affect on social TV. It's no surprise that many times users take out Shazam to uncover a song they're listening to on TV. Even for a recent WWE  episode there were over 1,000 tags, without any call-to-actions on TV. The most popular songs were:  "Voices," "Break the Walls Down," "Radio" and "I Came to Play," which are the entrance anthems for:  Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Zach Ryder and The Miz, respectively. Additionally Shazam has shared with Lost Remote some of the most Shazamed songs during TV from June. British dubstep band, Nero, gained 100K tags since 7 June 2012 when the record was first used in the new ad campaign for HP dm 4 Laptop. Keeping with British acts Alex Clare's 'Too Close' gained 312K tags this month thanks to the record's inclusion in Internet Explorer ads. Some of these tags have been driven by radio, but generally we've seen that big spikes in traffic for 'Too Close' coincide with TV play. So far 'Too Close' has been tagged over 2 million times worldwide! Lumineers 'Ho Hey' scored 91K tags this month thanks to the inclusion of 'Ho Hey' in the new Bing commercial. Dire Straits 'Walk Of Life' gained 31K tags thanks to its use in a Burger King ad. TV shows also drove huge engagement this month. Suits (Caught A Ghost 'Time Go' was used and scored 12K tags) and Pretty Little Liars (The Strange Familiar 'Unwanted' 4K tags) both scored highly. The Middle East 'Blood' saw a huge rise in tags when HBO broadcast the film Crazy Stupid Love which uses the track. 'Blood' scored 29K tracks in June.

Robots. Mind control. Mobile games. Social films. Been there, done that. That is, if you're B-Reel. Last year, Ad Age's sibling publication, Creativity, named the Stockholm-headquartered outfit its Digital Production Company of the Year. It was an easy call, based on groundbreaking projects including the Cannes Cyber Grand Prix-winning "Wilderness Downtown" for Arcade Fire (directed and conceived by Radical Media's Chris Milk and Google's Aaron Koblin) and the much-buzzed-about LiveDrive for Mitsubishi, from 180, Los Angeles. Yet B-Reel's output during the past 12 months has proved even more impressive. A small sampling of the work includes a "Minority Report"-style retail interface for telecom provider 3Sweden; a Rube Goldberg-inspired browser puzzle for Honda and Wieden & Kennedy, London; a social-media-created film for Intel/Toshiba via Pereira & O'Dell; and yes, some really great commercials.

"Kids looking for an Android experience without a phone bill have no shortage of options, but the MG is a bit different. By teaming up with BillMyParents, it lends kids a sense of financial freedom in their interactions with the Play Store, and a host of unique and exclusive apps streamline the experience. The price of entry isn't astronomical either -- it'll be $170 when it launches this holiday season, and early bird supporters can snag one for a paltry $99 on Kickstarter. That's not bad, for what amounts to a darn decent media player running ICS. Check it out for yourself at the source link below."

The aptly named app development firm Hiccup has finally fixed a major meow mixup: The interface in their free iPad app, "Game For Cats," allowed felines across the world to download premium content add-ons by accident. Like many iPad gaming firms, Hiccup opted to go for a freemium profit model. Their game comes loaded with a screen emulating a laser pointer, whose darting red dot is irresistible to most cats. But screens displaying other forms of virtual catnip--a mouse on a string, for example--cost 99 cents as DLC (downloadable content). There was only one problem: Early versions of the game had a user interface that made it extremely easy for cats to purchase the DLC with their paws--taking their human guardians (but not their credit cards) completely out of the equation.

"At any rate, the 10.4 million figure seems to be at least marginally good news for Foursquare, which, according to one investor capital source, is having to work harder for funding these days than in years past. ComScore earlier this year reported Foursquare drew just between 5 million and 6 million users monthly from March to June.  The Nielsen number is likely informative for brands still in the consideration stage about cultivating their Foursquare presence through organic features on the app or via the platform's nascent ads offering. Whether or not it's a good number for three-and-a-half-year-old Foursquare is probably a matter of opinion. And it's worth noting that Nielsen ranks the geo-social company only behind Facebook (78 million) and Twitter (23 million) in terms of July mobile app users. Overall, Foursquare usage, per Nielsen, was up 118 percent during the month year-over-year."

Another example of donations linked with check-ins for the holidays. Aflac donates $1 for every Macy's foursquare check-in, and donated $1 for every GetGlue check-in to the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade. 

Today the lofty Times Literary Supplement--"the leading international forum for literary culture"--will run an unusual advertisement: It's for an iPad app. The app, "The Tempest," is essentially an enhanced e-book version of the Shakespeare play. (You know, the one with Prospero, Miranda, the island.) It's loaded with features--including an audiobook version read by professional actors, inline commentary from Shakespeare scholars, and social tools for your class or study group--and is available from the iTunes store for $9.99.

Attempting to conquer the same social/hyperlocal space as Patch and more niche apps like Yardsale, Nextdoor, which launched to the public last October, lets people create Facebook group-like communities for their neighborhoods, free of charge. From the Village Voice to Foursquare to Everyblock, everyone has tried, but the problem of how to effectively create location-based social networking is a conundrum for many reasons. In order to mitigate the largest barrier to entry, trust, Nextdoor has you verify your neighborhood address either via snail mail or via credit card - purposefully introducing friction.

Activated by gestures, touches and movements, visitors can be trigger different sounds such as "athletes' heartbeats, shoes squeaking, arrows hitting a target, etc" which will then be synced up to remix Mark Ronson's "Anywhere in the World." But for what purpose is Coca-Cola doing this? The company's official statement: The visionary pavilion has been inspired by Coca-Cola's global campaign for London 2012 - Move to the BeatTM - that aims to connect young people to the Games by bringing together their passions for music and sport. The pavilion forms part of Coca-Cola's Future Flames campaign for London 2012, which aims to recognise and reward the best of the nation's youth and shine a spotlight on emerging talent to inspire other young people to pursue their passions.

Flock is not just a brand new app; we see it as a brand new *kind* of app.  While most apps today jockey for our ever-dwindling time and attention, attempting to become one of the apps that we think about the most, Flock is different.  We designed Flock so you don't have to think about it at all.  You just live your life like you already do.  Spend time with your friends and family; take photos with whatever camera app you prefer.  There's no work for you at all, really.  Flock uses new battery-friendly location technology and sophisticated algorithms to magically know which of your Facebook friends you are with when photos are taken.  After you leave your group hike, or the night out on the town, or Thanksgiving dinner, Flock will check if anyone wants to share the photos they took and then bring those photos together into a single group album for everyone to enjoy.  And because most photos taken by iOS devices are geotagged, Flock can even work backwards in time from before you installed the app!  So if you and your friends and family install the app today, you'll likely unlock lost memories that were trapped on each other's phones for years.

Endorse for a Cause gives charities a percentage of sales from any online retailer users can nominate charities widget for certain sites that allows you to share on facebook and if friends purchase the item EFAC will donate affiliate fees to a charity earn points, win badges, prizes for raising money