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"Ingress, the Alternate/Augmented Reality (AR) game from Google's Niantic Labs, is a major evolution of mobile gaming. Apparently, it's also a good way to get arrested. According to a post on Reddit (I know, I know - but stay with me on this), an Ingress player in Ohio was detained by police for his in-game actions. Specifically, he was "hacking a portal" near a police station. His phone had technical difficulties, which led him to linger by the portal/police station for a bit, catching the eye of local law enforcement and leading to the detention. After the original post, other Ingress players responded with similar stories. One aroused suspicions by wandering around an empty parking lot at night. Another, trying to hack a portal next to an air traffic control station, had to run from the local sheriff. A third was called in for questioning after hacking a portal outside of a "high-traffic drug area.""

Cody also acts as a kind of virtual coach. When users first load the app, they're asked to identify their goals - from losing weight to building muscle tone to de-stressing. For now, the app just surfaces original content about workouts, healthy living and other topics that match up with those goals. But, ultimately, Javid said, the plan is for Cody to learn from users' activity and recommend articles, workouts, people or places that fit their interests. In time, he added, the app could integrate with fitness tracking devices to get an even more comprehensive view of each user.

More and better video

"Sony has announced that it will be launching the first 4K video distribution service for consumers, giving 4K TV buyers their first real source of content. We don't have much information about the service, but it will be launching in the US this summer, both potentially creating a 4K market and giving Sony an edge. It's something Sony originally tried with 3D, trying to handle all facets of the feature from content creation to distribution and playback. "We intend to expand the world of 4K content from beyond the cinema to TV dramas and commercials," Sony's Kaz Hirai said during the conference at CES. Sony has already announced a series of remastered 4K Blu-rays, and as with 3D, the company is trying to sell studios on the benefits of 4K. Meanwhile, it's announced the first-ever 4K OLED prototype TV and new models of its consumer-ready 4K TVs. In the US, though, super high-def digital distribution could be hampered by ISPs, which aren't likely to look kindly on the stress this will cause their pipes."

"The video walls tell the Lacoste story, while promoting merchandise through the evolution of the product. The content tells the brand story from conception, to the first clothing line and materials used, and segues to current days where there are many colors available based on the original concept of René Lacoste. The content was developed by Lacoste and is updated remotely by Lacoste headquarters."

Last year Burt's Bees created an interactive billboard featuring thousands of tear-off product coupons to promote a new line of hydration cream. Originally placed in Minneapolis, the billboard has since been donated to the urban gardening students at Durham School of the Arts in North Carolina. Repurposed as a rain catching system, the billboard captures more than 6,300 gallons of rain water each year for use in the school's community garden.

Victoria's Secret is building its loyalty program with a new mobile photo sharing contest that rewards consumers with shopping sprees for snapping creative pictures. Victoria's Secret will then judge the entries based on creativity, photo quality, originality and consistency with the brand's image. Four winners will be chosen each week for a total of 16 winners. Each winner will receive a $500 shopping spree.

new original content magazine in the UK specifically designed for iPhone

Magic Leap origin story?

On Friday, the company issued an earnings restatement saying they'd actually lost $64.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 rather than the $42.7 million they'd originally reported.

Unlike an Amazon or traditional online commerce site, Tip or Skip focuses on the imagery of what is beautiful and being liked online and allows users to follow what's trending and send them to the original place where it can be bought, "The difference between liking something and 'tipping' something is that tipping will actually let you track, organize and really thinking about if you want to share that product. 

"Amazon's new lineup of tablets don't just differ from the original Kindle Fire in their hardware. Like last year's cheapest Kindle e-reader, all three new models - that's the Fire, the HD 7, and the HD 8.9 - will display Amazon's "Special Offers" promotions and advertisements on their lock screens. Unlike the low-end Kindle, however, Amazon isn't offering the devices in more expensive, ad-free models, nor is it making mention of any way to opt out for a fee."

"Photos and videos have become key social currencies online. 46% of adult internet users post original photos or videos online that they themselves have created. We call them creators. 41% of adult internet users take photos or videos that they have found online and repost them on sites designed for sharing images with many people. We call them curators."

Original web programming

Google+ hangouts On Air - for public figures, celebrities and users with large number of followers. Whereas the original Hangouts were limited to groups of ten, with one host and nine participants, the new version allows everyone beyond the participating group to watch the hangout as a YouTube live stream. The host can broadcast the session to specific Google+ Circles or to the public on Google+.

In a reversal of today's content publishing model, print magazines pretty soon could start looking a lot like their app equivalents. "The next redesign of our titles will see them redesigned with our tablet versions in mind," magazine publisher Future's tablet editor-in-chief Mike Goldsmith told an industry forum this month. As publishers extend their print titles to iPad, they can choose either to repurpose the paper originals, which can seem lazy and ill-suited to the touch screen, or to custom-produce interactive apps with a native interface in mind, which is expensive.

Goal: The Wild Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the wilderness, started the Forever Wild Rhino Protection initiative to save Rhinos from extinction due to hunting in Asia.  Problem: Like all non-profits they had no money to create awareness and get support.  Insight: People don't always pay attention to these types of serious causes, but they sure seem to have a lot of time to watch silly viral videos on the internet.  Strategy: Find a way to have the message integrated into these silly viral videos... for free.  Solution: Download the top trending viral videos from YouTube, edit part of the video to include messaging about their initiative, re-upload the video with the same exact title as the original and call it YouTube Interventions. 

New PR firms focus on turning brands into media producers to generate earned media without relying on the media industry for coverage.