Rockmelt Gets an iPhone App: The “social media web browser” developed to be a one stop solution for a users web needs (chat, rss, twitter, Facebook, and more) has submitted an iPhone app to Apple. While there are currently alternative browser for the iPhone, it’s not the web viewing functionality that’s appealing, its the extra features. Rockmelt promises seamless sync between PC and iPhone browsers, allowing the user to access all the social features. While the PC browser is interesting, there hasn’t been much talk about it since launch, leaving many to assume it didn’t catch on like they hoped. GigaOm
Foursquare meets Monopoly: Location based gaming is something mobile has always promised but rarely delivered on. While Foursquare and Gowalla have a game aspect to them, how strong is it really? Turf, a Kickstarter project, attempts to combine checkins with a Monopoly style of buying and building property. It’s an ambitious attempt and will have to work to gain a user base, but the 8-bit style give it a unique feel. Advertisers and brands can even get in on the ground floor for cheap ($1k) and receive a unique location, personalized trophy, and more. Definitely worth checking out. Turf
Bid Successful – Ebay Buys Where: Continuing its trend in building a better online to offline experience, Ebay has purchase Where for an undisclosed sum of money, although Where did raise almost $20 million in funding. Where offers geotargeting apps and built a location based opt-in ad network. There’s a lot of speculation on what can be will be accomplished with this acquisition, but with privacy concerns heating up, the speed at which they come to light will most likely be slowed. TechCrunch
Bit.ly’s News.me Blessed For Launch: NY Times, Associated Press, Forbes, and AOL, and more are onboard for the launch of News.me, a curated social newspaper that utilizes Bit.ly links to build its content. The publishers on board can take advantage of designing how their content looks and in exchange for having it ad free in News.me, they get a share of the $0.99 a week users pay. News.me has some safe guards to prevent pay wall jumping and make it beneficial for more publishers to join up, as source-specific following isn’t possible. AllThingsD
Kindle Launching Library Lending: While there’s no hard date, Amazon has announced that 11,000 libraries will offer Amazon Kindle E-Books to be lent out. The specifics are fuzzy, leaving more questions than answers. What will the library consist of? How long and how many times can you check out a book? Sounds promising, but there’s potential for it to be too limiting to care. Amazon
More in Media
Earnings from social and search players signal that AI will be a long-play investment
Giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft say investors and advertisers might have to wait longer for AI to generate a better return on investment.
Why some publishers aren’t ready to monetize generative AI chatbots with ads yet
Monetization of generative AI chatbot experiences is slow going. Some publishing execs said they’re not ready to add advertising to these products until they scale or can build a subscription model first.
Media Briefing: Publishers who bet on events and franchises this year are reaping the rewards
Tentpole events and franchises are helping publishers lock in advertising revenue.