Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
First story out for Xconomy
Friday, March 12, 2010
Hearst enters app business
///Want the newest iPhone apps, from the Astros to Angelina Jolie?
The following report was written by Matti Posio, who covers innovation issues in the Washington bureau.
Dozens of new iPhone applications that aggregate highly reliable content about popular topics were announced this morning by LMK, a Hearst digital service.
The new kind of applications called LMK (short for "Let Me Know") deliver content to subscribers on a wide variety of topics, from sources hand-picked by a pool of "expert editors." Among the sources are official media, such as the Washington Post and the New York Times, but also a selection of the most authoritative blogs and fan pages specializing on the app's subject.
Even before official release for sale early on Friday, the apps had been discovered in more than 30 countries by hundreds of iPhone and iPod Touch users who had searched the most popular keywords in the Web's Apple Store during the last 48 hours.
It's not surprising that word of mouth and keyword searches have worked wonders, as the applications aggregate facts, pictures, stories and links about the most discussed celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, Tiger Woods, the Houston Astros (also the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants ... you name it).
The first "passion applications" include cupcakes and Barbie, but may be expanded to include politics and lifestyle or health topics.
The idea behind the launch, says Michael Gutkowski, president of LMK, is to enable consumers to break through the clutter of Internet searches.
"We want to deliver only the most trustworthy information to consumers who can get what they want, wherever they want it," he said.
Gutkowski said the applications are driving user traffic to the original website instead of simply quoting its contents. Google earlier used a similar method to aggregate headlines but led users away from media-company websites, causing an outcry from journalists and publishers.
As people have started more and more to surf the Web while on the go, Hearst has also shifted LMK's strategy from offering website-based solutions to apps created for mobile devices. For now, 66 applications are available, at less than $2 each, but the company plans to introduce thousands more.
Hearst Entertainment & Syndication plans to expand the aggregating service to other mobile platforms such as Google's Android phones, or hand-held devices including the various e-Readers or Apple's iPad, expected to reach customers in April.
Published online at the Houston Chronicle / Texas on the Potomac
http://bit.ly/bpcF0A
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Ahtisaari's visit to Washington, DC
(For use by New York Times News Service clients)
By MATTI POSIO@=
c.2010 Hearst Newspapers@=
WASHINGTON _ President Obama should acknowledge the seriousness of the Middle East crisis, and not give in to ‘’fatigue’’ caused by the precarious Israeli-Palestinian situation and extended domestic debate over health-care reform, Nobel peace-prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said Tuesday.
Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland, said Obama, last year’s Nobel peace prize winner, can’t afford to wait until late in his term to tackle the seemingly intractable Middle East problems, as other U.S. presidents have done. During a visit to Washington on Tuesday, Ahtisaari warned that international leaders should not see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as merely a regional issue, but as a global problem requiring immediate attention.
The Finnish statesman, one of the world’s most accomplished diplomats and a peacemaker with a successful track-record from Kosovo to Indonesia’s troubled Aceh region, noted that mainstream politicians in many Muslim countries _ as well as religious extremists and terrorists _ have hijacked the Middle East peace process for their own purposes.
‘’The plight of the Palestinians is fueling radicalism in other places,’’ he said. ‘’Not dealing with the regional issue potentially has catastrophic results for all of us. That’s why a lasting settlement in the Middle East is the only hope to finding a solution for many other conflicts as well.’’
Ahtisaari, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 2008 for his peacemaking efforts, was president of Finland in 1994-2000. His country joined the European Union during his tenure in office.
Talking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, Ahtisaari said ‘’fatigue’’ caused by lack of progress in the Middle East peace process makes important decision-makers downplay the seriousness of the crisis, even though it causes tensions far beyond the tiny area fought over by Israel and the Palestinians.
This is not the first time that Ahtisaari has urged Obama to act on Middle East issues. In his 2008 Nobel acceptance speech, the Finn encouraged Obama to tackle the Middle East issue during the first year of his presidency, rather than leave it to the very last months, as other U.S. presidents have done.
‘’I hope the president is successful with the health bill and gets it done, so that he can actually concentrate then on some of the major international issues,’’ Ahtisaari said in response to a question Tuesday.
Every U.S. president needs to deal with the problems he has inherited from his predecessors first, Ahtisaari said. ‘’These are the facts of life, and I don’t think any president can escape these,’’ he said.
Ahtisaari compared Middle East peace negotiations to U.N. reforms.
‘’If somebody invites me to discuss the United Nations’ reforms, my staff has orders to say: ‘Absolutely no. He’s not going to waste his time. If you want to have a meeting to discuss what is the timetable for implementing those reforms that we all know need to be done, then he might come.’
‘’So we should not waste our time, but try to get the parties to realize this: Every day we lose not finding the solution diminishes the security in the world. And that has to be recognized. It’s high time to recognize that.’’
Asked about prospects for Middle East peace, Ahtisaari replied: ‘’I’d like to see it happen during my life time. And I am 72 now.’’
Ahtisaari, who currently leads his independent non-profit Crisis Management Initiative, is a regular visitor to major international capitals. In February, the veteran peacemaker counted 25 travel days outside of Finland, spearheading negotiations, peace talks and youth education initiatives across the globe.
(E-mail: matti.posio(at)chron.com)
Ahtisaari's visit to Washington DC
FORMER PRESIDENT OF FINLAND PRODS OBAMA TO PUSH FOR MIDDLE EAST SOLUTION
(For use by New York Times News Service clients)
By MATTI POSIO@=
c.2010 Hearst Newspapers@=
WASHINGTON _ President Obama should acknowledge the seriousness of the Middle East crisis, and not give in to ‘’fatigue’’ caused by the precarious Israeli-Palestinian situation and extended domestic debate over health-care reform, Nobel peace-prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said Tuesday.
Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland, said Obama, last year’s Nobel peace prize winner, can’t afford to wait until late in his term to tackle the seemingly intractable Middle East problems, as other U.S. presidents have done. During a visit to Washington on Tuesday, Ahtisaari warned that international leaders should not see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as merely a regional issue, but as a global problem requiring immediate attention.
The Finnish statesman, one of the world’s most accomplished diplomats and a peacemaker with a successful track-record from Kosovo to Indonesia’s troubled Aceh region, noted that mainstream politicians in many Muslim countries _ as well as religious extremists and terrorists _ have hijacked the Middle East peace process for their own purposes.
‘’The plight of the Palestinians is fueling radicalism in other places,’’ he said. ‘’Not dealing with the regional issue potentially has catastrophic results for all of us. That’s why a lasting settlement in the Middle East is the only hope to finding a solution for many other conflicts as well.’’
Ahtisaari, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 2008 for his peacemaking efforts, was president of Finland in 1994-2000. His country joined the European Union during his tenure in office.
Talking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, Ahtisaari said ‘’fatigue’’ caused by lack of progress in the Middle East peace process makes important decision-makers downplay the seriousness of the crisis, even though it causes tensions far beyond the tiny area fought over by Israel and the Palestinians.
This is not the first time that Ahtisaari has urged Obama to act on Middle East issues. In his 2008 Nobel acceptance speech, the Finn encouraged Obama to tackle the Middle East issue during the first year of his presidency, rather than leave it to the very last months, as other U.S. presidents have done.
‘’I hope the president is successful with the health bill and gets it done, so that he can actually concentrate then on some of the major international issues,’’ Ahtisaari said in response to a question Tuesday.
Every U.S. president needs to deal with the problems he has inherited from his predecessors first, Ahtisaari said. ‘’These are the facts of life, and I don’t think any president can escape these,’’ he said.
Ahtisaari compared Middle East peace negotiations to U.N. reforms.
‘’If somebody invites me to discuss the United Nations’ reforms, my staff has orders to say: ‘Absolutely no. He’s not going to waste his time. If you want to have a meeting to discuss what is the timetable for implementing those reforms that we all know need to be done, then he might come.’
‘’So we should not waste our time, but try to get the parties to realize this: Every day we lose not finding the solution diminishes the security in the world. And that has to be recognized. It’s high time to recognize that.’’
Asked about prospects for Middle East peace, Ahtisaari replied: ‘’I’d like to see it happen during my life time. And I am 72 now.’’
Ahtisaari, who currently leads his independent non-profit Crisis Management Initiative, is a regular visitor to major international capitals. In February, the veteran peacemaker counted 25 travel days outside of Finland, spearheading negotiations, peace talks and youth education initiatives across the globe.
--@=\
(E-mail: matti.posio(at)chron.com)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
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