About .me wants you to be the face of its new times square Billboard advertising campaign

Leena Rao is currently working as a writer for TechCrunch. She recently finished graduate school Medill School of journalism at Northwestern University, where she studied business journalism and videography. From 2004 to 2007 she helped lead Congresswoman Carloyn Maloney advocacy and community relations in New York. She graduated from Columbia University in 2003, where it was ... ? Read More

Personal profile run About.me, which is owned by our parent company AOL, looking for the person About.me and kicks off contest feature profiles posted on the site in a new advertising campaign.

For the background of About.me offers free people profile pages. On the page selected profile may include your name, bio and links to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites that contain information about you. Users can download high-resolution photos to a site that makes it look pretty sleek profiles and professional with a minimum of effort. You can check out co-founder Tony Conrad profile here.

The company intends to launch a massive ad blitz and tries to find the person campaigns on existing and new users. New and existing users of About.me will be invited to participate in the contest on their profile and once opted in, any visitor can vote on this profile page About.me will be featured in the campaign. The contest has just started a few hours ago and already gaining buzz on Twitter.

Three lucky About.me users who have the greatest number of votes will be featured in the campaign in the autumn (which includes the shield of the New York Times Square, as well as other billboards, taxis and in-flight announcement) and will be delivered in New York, together with the guest to participate in a special event for kickoff shield campaign. Seven runners-up will also be featured in billboard and other ads.

On the last day of voting is 20 September, so the time is to get your face on times square!

Disclosure: As TechCrunch belongs to AOL.

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Urbandig the application wants to take you to the experts local tours

Alexia Tsotsis currently works at TechCrunch as a writer. She is also a blogger who attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. She majored in writing and art, moved to New York shortly after the end of the work in the entertainment industry and media. After four years of his life in New York and to attend courses in New York. ? Read More

The newest addition to the app space in local detection, an iPhone app Urbandig is designed to help you find a Novel local experience. To make this team, which consists of former Myspacers Mike Macadaan, Daniel Lehman and others pulled the domain expertise of local bloggers like LA Weekly Assistant music editor Rebecca Haithcoat and Bay Area foodie Daria Pino summer tomato, with a view to creating thematic tours as where you can see the amazing live music in La or grab a taste of local SF food.

Co-founder Macadaan tells me that this expert curation as an application intended to compete with crowdsourced tips and advice features apps like Yelp or Foursquare.

"We create original experience on picking the curator site and what to do once you're there," he said. It also underlines the fact that Urbandig, the Village Voice "Best Of" app focuses on unusual activities as "Cougar Dens" tour, spotlighting places to find the "Cougars" (oh just Google and search for the Urban Dictionary definition) on the prowl in SF or "Heaven" hangover, "escape, where to scoop up the best food hangover in La. "This is quality over quantity, uncensored voice expert," he said.

Users can open the Urbandig application and view the collection place for SF, New York, LA and Vancouver, sifting tours through both the city of GEMS, drink, movies, food and music, or curator and proximity. In addition to a small tour description and tutors notes on each page where you can see each tour stop on the map, and check out at various locations on the tour through Urbandig.

Because the application will do anything these days without some sort of social function, Urbandig allows you to save tours and places outside and share them with friends on Facebook. After friends (going to the profile and clicking on the parameters of the wheel) will allow you to fill in your feed to their activities.

Urbandig hopes to eventually support at least 30 locations, to Portland, New York, Austin, Minneapolis, Chicago and DC before the end of the year and also plans on coming to Android in early 2012. Initialization commands and Angel.

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The Federal Government wants you! (And your ideas App)

Chris Velasco — mobile enthusiast and writer who studied English and marketing at Rutgers University. Once upon a time he was a News intern for MobileCrunch, and between them, he worked in wireless sales at best buy. After graduation, he returned to the new TechCrunch for mobile as a full-time writer. He counts the advertising works, musical theater ... ? Read More

The Government of the United States is not a stranger to the app game: they have already developed more than 50 Smartphone applications and mobile sites for daily use, ranging from applications to find local alternatives to petrol stations with those that may be a sign of leaves you photographed. The app runs the gamut of federal arsenal exactly, but it doesn't seem enough. USA.gov blog has announced that, before 15 September, ordinary citizens like you and I can submit ideas for the next application is big government.

This gesture of openness is now accepting materials on Google Moderator, and several people have already thrown their hats into the ring. My favorite so far? LarryM of Baltimore is a good one:

"Collect and publish the latitude and longitude coordinates of the current Government, which are open to the public (e.g., social security district offices) so that the mapping programs such as Google maps, Bing can display exactly".

Personally, I would like to see an application that uses the device's location services to determine which States and the district is in and display recent activity from the Congressman. Nothing like some local accountability in the Palm of your hand, right?

Since Google Moderator is used to manage all these materials, users can essentially upvote good suggestions, so inevitably vague or trollish views won't make it too far. There is already a question sentence or two (including one that no proposal at all) in the mix, which understandably not garned much love.

USA.gov blog does not say that the most popular proposals will certainly do so at the drafting stage, but if "win" choice is technically feasible and quite novel, it must stand a decent chance of becoming a reality. If you're chomping at the bit has a chance to have a Government to translate your app idea to life, then mosey on over to the site and release — I'd love to see that thoughtful audience like ours can come up with.

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2005, Zuckerberg wants to take over the world

Alexia Tsotsis currently works at TechCrunch as a writer. She is also a blogger who attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. She majored in writing and art, moved to New York shortly after the end of the work in the entertainment industry and media. After four years of his life in New York and to attend courses in New York. ? Read More

Huffington Post found this a fascinating 5 minute interview with Mark Zuckerberg Facebook's Palo Alto Office in June 2005. The clip apparently is part of a 40-minute interview on the documentary about millennials shot Ray Hafner and Derek Franzese.  Interviews that have never been shown in full, and if I were Hafner and Franzese I would figure out a way to make that stat, especially the post social network.

Zuckerberg's initial vision, "an online directory for colleges ' seems remarkably short-sighted, in view of the fact that Facebook users are now 11% of the world's population and 35% of the world's population. In retrospect, Zuckerberg can would put fratty red beer Cup (fun fact: he turned 21, also co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, does a keg stand).

However, at that time, the site that Zuckerberg, modestly referred to as online directory for College, entered only 800 schools. the fact that Zuckerberg impressed seeing people using TheFacebook at College parties and by reports of people logged on at the international level suggests interesting as strategic has been a meteoric rise of social networking.

Its purpose at the time was extended to all United States colleges and 2000 when asked what was then the founder of Facebook said, "there does not need to be more. Many people are focused on capturing the world or the biggest things to do and get most users ... There is a level of service we can provide when we are in the College network, we would not be able to provide if we went to the other types of things. "

This is far away from Facebook's current motto, "make the world open and connected." But of course, hindsight is 20/20. I mean how else do you explain Zuckerberg and Reed Hastings, what makes this CNN "10 people who do not have a value list in 2006. Hilarious copy below.

In business, time is everything. Therefore, we'll give Zuckerberg credit for running his online social directory for students, just as is now getting craze of social networks. He also built his right, quickly making Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet. But there is something to say about knowing when to take the money and run. Last spring, Facebook reportedly turned down $ 750 million buyout offer, instead, as $ 2 billion. A bad move. After selling over Rupert Murdoch's Fox for $ 580 million last year, MySpace is now second most popular Web site. Facebook grows too-but given that MySpace quickly became the industry's 80-million-user Gorilla, it's hard to imagine who will pay billions for the also-ran.

Five years, an eternity in Internet time.

Facebook is the largest social network in the world, with more than 500 million users. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in February 2004, originally as an exclusive network for students at Harvard University. He ...

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DuoDater wants to make online dating more social and less uncomfortable (offers here)

RIP Empson-writer at TechCrunch. He did not find friends here, he is here to win and you don't forget it. You can contact him at rip [at] techcrunch [dot] com ? more

Last month, Nick Paumgarten penned a lengthy article for The New Yorker detailing the growth of online dating and the impact it had on Web culture. Among other things Paumgarten implies some eye-opening statistics on the industry, including the fact that paid dating sites have become collectively, billion-dollar industry that "one of the six new marriages is the result of meetings on Internet dating site", and that online dating is now the third most common way for people to meet.

While most early blush (or stamp) around using an online platform for continuing relations wear, some friction, which has always been there still exist: from awkwardness in online networks, the potential risk of meeting eStranger, relying on algorithms to find your "compliant", etc. and more ironic for the interaction between intermediaries, most online dating sites to connect users with new people, while remaining detached from their actual social life. As Paumgarten, online dating is still remains inherently isolated.

Michael wig and Andrew Flachner, founders of the new dating site called DuoDater, agree that there are still some very fundamental problems with the current approaches to online dating (and, well, dating in General). The creation of an online dating profile can be difficult; It's hard to find the correct thing to say about yourself that will help site, either algorithmically or not, will help to pick the right person said the co-sponsors. Not to mention the facts that messaging stranger may be somewhat arduous process, and meet them in person without much background, awkward and sometimes unsafe.

Thus, the San Francisco startup offers a platform that aims to be a bit more social and less intimidating, that model championed by current dating sites: double date. DuoDater is aimed at men and women in their 20s and 30s who want to communicate and meet new people with the co-pilot. The co-founders, think that by allowing users to have a friend with their parties on the date, the interaction may be more natural and (we hope) a less awkward way to communicate and make friends.

DuoDater also built in such a way as to make a dating profile less nerve-racking process. The site offers "profile", the Duo only requires users to write a few sentences about myself individually, to the main attraction is included for creating joint description of steam daters can work together to fill. Flachner said that, so far, DuoDater in users find this less problematic and easy approach to dating profiles.

The founders also think their model provides a higher level of accountability than is generally characteristic of Individual dating, as users are less inclined to use a trick photo corners and exaggerated or romanticized descriptions of when they know, a close friend will see it and can call them on it.

DuoDater also adds a "featured Topic" idea, so new users can get up and running more easily and get out there and test the model.

When I asked whether they had considered the founders dating option group, they said that their market research and due diligence have shown that users prefer double dating with the latter because it still provides a level of intimacy that makes the experience feel like a real date, not the packages (PA) with handle, social gathering.

The founders said that, although there are several successful group, dating sites, profile group to take attention away from individuals and organizations access to a large group of people can be a hassle is that many are familiar with.

Of course the inherent risk to DuoDater in the model is one of the major players in the online dating space, like Match.com, PlentyOfFish and eHarmony, OK Cupid, you can create your own double-dating service and quickly have run to beat in terms of user base. But Flachner said that he thinks DuoDater is well positioned as an alternative, because it focuses on the casual atmosphere of double dating and centered around the events and experiences, instead of relying on algorithmic models (potentially less "human" approach) to connect to specific people.

DuoDater offers an interesting spin on traditional dating model and, indeed, it is surprising that this model is not something that is done on a large scale. Of course, this may be justified; without a paid model this is hard to learn to make money and double dating organically bring their own problems. DuoDater is currently free to use, and start the initialization of at this point, it will draw on its beta version to test the waters of whether this approach truly viable and scalable. Fee-based premium service may be at its future road map, too.

For readers who want to do some early test double dating platform click over to DuoDater.com and enter code "techcrunch" invite for access.

Let us know what you think.

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The useless wants to be your Go-To online resource for Outdoor Gear (and give you cash back)

RIP Empson-writer at TechCrunch. He did not find friends here, he is here to win and you don't forget it. You can contact him at rip [at] techcrunch [dot] com ? more

For outdoor inclined, there are hundreds of places to make the online purchase of equipment and clothing. Outdoorsmen and women can just site their favorite brand, whether REI, backcountry, Moosejaw or Patagonia, but there's really not much in the way of aggregating in outdoor retailers. (Although there are European sites such as GearZone.) As comparison shopping, loyalty discounts and coupon sites removed in niche verticals, naturally, the outdoor industry find their way into the mix.

Active startup junkie, founded in 2009 that again this week, aims to be a niche resource, which brings together the largest brands in outdoor gear and clothing industry and allows users to share their opinions on these retailers and get cash back for shopping.

The active addict cooperates with more than 100 branches, including those mentioned above, to create a competitive market for retail sale, which will vie for the biggest names new clients based on how much cash back they could earn by using Active useless, which, given the price of a new pair of skis may be of interest to fans of the cash-strapped outdoors.

The active addict is essentially a type of Ebates model for industry cash back open, in which users can browse through the site's database of over 80 000 items to compare prices from retailers by clicking on the site of the seller to buy the product, earning cash for every purchase. (ShopStyle encounters on the open market of Ebates).

Every 3 months, active useless cashes out of the user account created, after which he will recharge account at Paypal or donate the money back in one of the non-profit partners, startups, such as the Nature Conservancy.

However, the goal here is not just to create clean coupon or deal site, copy and paste of Ebates or fat wallet model, says founder and CEO Kevin Mcinerney, but to create a full-featured community in the world of sport outdoor action. The active addict not only allows users to compare prices of equipment from the outdoor brands and make purchases, but also offers content on adventure, action sports news, original videos, as well as reviews of gear from writers and users of the site.

In the near future, actively useless plans to roll out of the remuneration system, a la Gogobot or Consmr, where users would be incentivized to write detailed, in-depth reviews of products and equipment. More reviews of users and the more they are active on the site, they will receive badges and awards, as well as discounts and deals from its launch retail partners. The site also has "social wall" where users can keep tabs on their friends buy and browse and publish recommendations or suggestions for gear.

In its current form active useless is positioning itself as affiliate marketing platform for open brands, drive traffic to Web sites of these brands and, through partnerships, taking a cut of income from sales and marketing efforts. Although brands in all industries using affiliate marketing through the rewards program, loyalty, comparison shopping and all third party strategy for some time, the user is often unaware of such partnerships, and how to compare or cash back site (both active useless) profit from this relationship.

McIerney said that he wants active useless as far as possible be in these forms transparent and instruct the users of the site of the Commission, which it receives from its retail partners, including offering lionshare those profits for their users.

"In the end, as this user, and because it's their cookie we hunt, we want our customers experience the upside of these relations, McInerney said. "We want our customers to trust us, and we believe that transparency and benefit sharing is a good way to do this."

The active addict currently raised $ 150 K in Angel funding and expects further investment as it moves forward with its awards program.

For more check out the video below and let us know what you think. As an active useless better meet the needs of users and become the go-to resource for niche industry outside?

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