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Social platforms are still in their Precambrian era, with new services emerging and consolidating large audiences almost faster than they can be tracked. Meanwhile the social category as a whole is on the cusp of becoming the dominant form of online content, accounting for 16.6 percent of Internet minutes spent as 2011 drew to a close.

Advertisements in Skype first appeared in March. Initial advertisers included Groupon, Universal Pictures and Visa. These ads appeared in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. In a blog post at the time, Skype assured users its plan was to only show ads from just one brand per day in each market where advertising was sold. It also said the ads would not disrupt users' Skype experience with pop-ups or banners in the middle of calls.

Bustamante and his group at Northwestern University whipped up a location-based, augmented-reality Android game called Ghost Hunter to test the theory with students. In the game, a player wanders around her neighborhood looking for ghosts and other monsters, and when the ghouls are in range, the app switches to a live view with an overlay of cross-hairs. The player shoots the ghost and a photo of the location is uploaded.

use NFC sticker to pay for their lunch

A recent study from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has found the adoption of social media usage among Fortune 500 companies has leveled off. Across multiple industries, usage of Twitter, Facebook and blogs in 2011 is level with or below that of 2010.

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.

All cool but who the heck is going to have 73 different apps on their phones to see if baby is breathing or if carbon monoxide levels in their house is about to kill their dog? By Zeus, will someone create an open universal IoT platform.

free online courses/online learning -- expanding beyond colleges and universities.

I love everything about this.

The company has 125 3D printers running in tandem and controlled by a central server. Jobs go in, are printed, and shipped out immediately. They have printed over 25,000 pieces so far for clients like Universal, Viacom, and Chipotle.

University of Texas and Texas A&M are selling sustainable electricity and natural gas now bc of a deregulation in the texas energy market.  each fan that opens an account contributes to the school's sustainability initiative daily 8.3

starting in 2011 all cell phone chargers will be universal. no more mass emails trying to track down a charger?! imagine that. Apple, motorola, samsung and Research in Motion have signed on efficient for users, service providers, and eco-friendly