celebrities

Pop Culture Web Publisher BuzzMedia Lays Off 20 Percent of Staff, Restructures

Peter Kafka in Media on February 28 at 6:10 am PT

The company behind sites like Spin and Idolator lets go of 50 people, plans to hire 25 others.

People Tries to Boost Subscriptions by Selling a New iPhone App

Peter Kafka in Media on December 13, 2012 at 4:00 am PT

Meet Celebwatch, a Twitter/People.com mashup. You can pay Time Inc. a buck a month for it, but they’d prefer to give it away.

News Byte

Plaor Hires Former Zynga Designer for Social Games-Celebrity Mash-Up

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 12, 2012 at 8:30 am PT

Plaor, a Los Angeles-based social games maker that hopes to allow fans to interact and play directly with celebrities, has hired former Zynga poker designer Shawn Carnes to the position of Director of Game Design. The company said that Carnes will focus on designing the company’s flagship product, Hollywood Poker, which is live on Facebook and will launch soon on mobile.

Ahead of the Holidays, OpenSky Releases Its First TV Commercial

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 1, 2012 at 2:31 pm PT

The Internet retailer will begin airing the 30-second spots today on Bravo, the Food Network and HGTV.

News Byte

Words for Charity: Zynga Launches Celebrity Mobile Games Challenge

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on September 26, 2012 at 2:30 am PT

Win a chance to play Words With Friends against John Legend, Snoop Lion or Eva Longoria — but not Alec Baldwin – in Zynga’s first-ever Words With Friends Celebrity Challenge. Zynga is partnering with American Express — and a few other celebrities — to give $500,000 to charity. The games begin tomorrow and end Oct. 3.

CES 2012: Snooki and Bieber Are In, Gaga Is Out!

Lauren Goode in News on January 7, 2012 at 1:00 pm PT

One thing the annual Consumer Electronics Show is known for, electronics aside, is the smattering of celebrities roped into tech-product promotions.

Viral Video: Oscar Host Billy Crystal Is a Yeti?

Kara Swisher in Media on January 6, 2012 at 1:19 am PT

Hooray for Hollywood!

Murdoch & Son Visit Parliament and Return With a Big Helping Of Humble (and Shaving Cream) Pie

Kara Swisher in Media on July 19, 2011 at 6:36 am PT

News Corp. CEO and majordomo Rupert Murdoch tells British lawmakers he is sorry on the “most humble day of my life”, survives a surprise attack and loses his jacket. Other than that, the hearing turned into a what didn’t the Murdochs know and when didn’t they know it Q&A session.

WhoSay Brings Social Media to the Stars (Video)

Liz Gannes in Social on June 28, 2011 at 9:19 am PT

Have you noticed that lately an increasing number of tweets from famous people are tagged “via WhoSay”? What is this WhoSay app — and if it’s good enough for Steven Tyler and Tom Hanks and Eva Longoria, can you use it too? Not unless you’re famous.

Voices

Terrell Owens Loves His Fans, and More From Twitter Analysis

Jared Diamond, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in Social on June 17, 2011 at 1:55 pm PT

Despite all the tired wisecracks about the triviality of Twitter’s content and the supposed narcissism of its users, it’s clear that the popular microblogging site has established itself as a playground for celebrities.