Voices

Tweeting to Sell Cars

Car companies have long tapped high-profile celebrities to spread word of mouth about new cars by test driving them around town. Now they are turning to a similarly powerful but cheaper source: young social-media influencers who have strong online followings.

The Facebook Movie: Sorry, Mark–But Critics Like It, They Really Like It! (Plus the Taiwanesed Version!)

The Facebook movie is finally here, the reviews are in and–no surprise–the critics are raving. After all, it was done by Hollywood pros with director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, who have apparently transformed the appalling badly penned and very fictional book “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal” by Ben Mezrich into some bit of cinematic art. But that’s not BoomTown talking, so here is a rundown of five reviews by top critics.

The Facebook Movie Is Here, the Critics Love It–So Let the Panels Begin!

The world of Facebook did not stop last Friday–although its unusual downtime was kind of spooky–when “The Social Network” made its debut in New York. The much-anticipated movie opens wide this Friday for all to see what the hubbub is about. And for everyone in Silicon Valley to debate over, of course. BoomTown too.

Voices

Customers Inspire the Socialization of CRM

The Altimeter Group released a new report on social CRM today, and while analysts release reports all the time, this is different. The report is free to read and share under creative commons. This is a big disruptor, one that reflects the socialization of information and the spirit of social media. By giving away insight, Altimeter ignites change and thus brings its report to life.

Voices

Women Outnumber Men on Social-Networking Sites

When it comes to social-networking sites, women are more plugged in than men, according to data analysis by Brian Solis, president of Silicon Valley public-relations firm Future Works. Mr. Solis used Google Ad Planner to determine the gender breakdown of users signed up for the most popular social-networking sites and found that in most cases, women outnumbered men. “The point of interest that’s worth review and discussion is that in social media, women rule,” he wrote.

Girls in Tech "Journalism 2.0" Panel: Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick

Last night, BoomTown moderated a really interesting panel for an organization called Girls in Tech, titled “Journalism 2.0 RoundTable.” Girls in Tech describes itself as a “social network enterprise focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of like-minded, professional, intelligent & influential women.” With those lofty requirements–combined with the fact that I was a girl when we had yet to land on the moon–I have no idea what I was doing there.
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Kara Visits Demo09!

There was no doubt, given the continuing economic collapse and all the joy that brings, that Demo09 was going to be a much tamped-down and sober affair this year. But there were still a lot of interesting start-ups being featured in the main ballroom and demo “pit,” such as a cool “touch book” offering, a strange hooking-up-in-a-bar smartphone app and a plethora of ideas that obviously got their inspiration from the iPhone from Apple. As in: touch, swipe, interact! (Which is the official BoomTown motto, in point of fact.) Here’s a video I did of Demo09, which ends today.
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A New Angle on Silicon Valley

Well-known pundit and entrepreneur John Furrier has a new blog called siliconANGLE, which went live yesterday and which he said will be a “collaboration blog for friends and colleagues.” The site will cover the social Web and also tech trends, but Furrier said it will try for “deeper” analysis of the news.
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