foreclosure auctions

From the Associated Press: “Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis. The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.”

Now we know what the White House meant by Recovery Summer.

The banks are recovering all those buildings from all those deadbeats they should not have loaned money to.

The Associated Press report:

LOS ANGELES – Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis.

The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.

August makes the ninth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis. The previous high was in May.

Banks have been stepping up repossessions to clear out their backlog of bad loans with an eye on eventually placing the foreclosed properties on the market, but they can’t afford to simply dump the properties on the market.

Concerns are growing that the housing market recovery could stumble amid stubbornly high unemployment, a sluggish economy and faltering consumer confidence. U.S. home sales have collapsed since federal homebuyer tax credits expired in April.

That’s one reason fewer than one-third of homes repossessed by lenders are on the market, said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

“These (properties) are going to come to market, but very slowly because nobody wants to overwhelm a soft buyer’s market with too much distressed inventory for fear of what it would do for house prices,” he said.

As a result, lenders are putting off initiating the foreclosure process on homeowners who have missed payments, letting borrowers stay in their homes longer.

The number of properties receiving an initial default notice — the first step in the foreclosure process — slipped 1 percent last month from July, but was down 30 percent versus August last year, RealtyTrac said.

Initial defaults have fallen on an annual basis the past seven months. They peaked in April 2009.

Still, the number of homes scheduled to be sold at auction for the first time increased 9 percent from July and rose 2 percent from August last year. If they don’t sell at auction, these homes typically end up going back to the lender.

More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to RealtyTrac. The firm estimates more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year.

In all, 338,836 properties received a foreclosure-related warning in August, up 4 percent from July, but down 5 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac said. That translates to one in 381 U.S. homes.

The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions — warnings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.

Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate last month, with one in every 84 households receiving a foreclosure notice. That’s 4.5 times the national average.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in August were: Florida, Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are now the main catalysts for foreclosures.

Lenders are offering a variety of programs to help homeowners modify their loans, but their success rates vary. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners can’t qualify or fall back into default.

The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration’s flagship mortgage-relief program have fallen out.

The program, known as Making Home Affordable, has provided permanent help to about 422,000 homeowners since March 2009.

Regardless, many troubled borrowers have seen their efforts to get a loan modification stymied.

Larry Book of Winter Garden, Fla., was one packet away from a permanent loan modification from Chase under the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention plan after more than a year of back and forth and one failed attempt.

But his modification never went through. Instead, his loan was transferred from Chase to IBM Lender Business Process Servicers in July and he was told he owed $9,562.62 and must bring his mortgage current by Sept. 15 or foreclosure proceedings will begin.

“It just becomes too exhausting,” Book said about the modification process. “That’s why some people walk away. But I’ve invested too much and given up too much to just let it go.”

Diana Olick was right - the home price double dip is not only here, it is getting worse. RealtyTrac reported overnight that general foreclosure activity (i.e., default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) — were reported on 338,836 properties in August, a 4 percent increase from the previous month. One in every 381 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. The spin is that this was a modest decline (5%) from August 2009, but represents another inflection point in a trend which up to now had been declining. “The trend lines of decreasing default notices and increasing bank repossessions converged in August, with virtually the same number of new default notices and bank repossessions for the month — a clear indication that the clogged foreclosure pipeline is being carefully managed on both ends by lenders and servicers,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “On the front end, seriously delinquent loans are rolling into foreclosure at an unusually slow rate, while on the back end the dammed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure is moving to REO in steady stream rather than a flood — presumably to prevent further erosion of home prices.” Of course, banks are doing all in their power to prevent the realization by the consumer class of just how much lower home prices have still to go. Most notably, the bulk of the foreclosure action in August occurred in bank repossessions, which came at 95,364 U.S. properties in August, the highest monthly total in the history of the report and about 2 percent higher than the previous peak of 93,777 bank repossessions (REOs) in May 2010. August REO activity increased 3 percent from the previous month and was up 25 percent from August 2009 — the ninth straight month where REOs have increased on a year-over-year basis. In other news, we expect Jim Cramer to come out with another call, like his wrong summer 2009 pronouncement that the bottom of housing is here.

More from RealtyTrac:

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates in August

Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the 44th straight month, with one in every 84 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August — 4.5 times the national average. Nevada maintained the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate despite a 25 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity in August — the 11th straight month where Nevada foreclosure activity has decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Florida foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis for the fifth straight month in August, but the state’s foreclosure rate still ranked second highest among all states. One in every 155 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing in August — 2.5 times the national average.

One in every 165 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, and one in every 194 California housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate.

One in every 220 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate. A total of 2,915 Idaho properties received a foreclosure filing in August, an increase of nearly 9 percent from the previous month and an increase of 11 percent from August 2009. Idaho was the only state with a top 5 foreclosure rate to document a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in August were Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total

California alone accounted for 20 percent of the national total in August, with 69,143 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — a 3 percent increase from the previous month but a 25 percent decrease from August 2009.

Florida accounted for nearly 17 percent of the national total, with 56,877 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — a 10 percent increase from the previous month but a 9 percent decrease from August 2009. Florida default notices were down 46 percent from August 2009 but increased 2 percent from the previous month, ending five straight months of month-over-month decreases in Florida default notices.

Michigan, Illinois and Arizona each accounted for about 5 percent of the national total in August, with 17,764 Michigan properties receiving foreclosure filings, 16,808 Illinois properties receiving foreclosure filings, and 16,510 Arizona properties receiving foreclosure filings.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest in August were Georgia (16,366), Texas (14,290), Ohio (13,479), Nevada (13,385), and Washington (6,760).

Metro foreclosure hot spots continue downward trend

All 10 metro areas with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in August posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity for the second month in a row.

The Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area documented the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, with one in every 73 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, despite a 25 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from August 2009.

Foreclosure activity in Modesto, Calif., decreased 10 percent from August 2009, but the city still documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 95 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August. Six other California metro areas had foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10: Stockton at No. 3 (one in every 100 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Merced at No. 6 (one in 111); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 7 (one in 113); Bakersfield at No. 8 (one in 120); Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 9 (one in 124); and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville at No. 10 (one in 125).

Two Florida metro areas registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 3, with one in every 104 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 5, with one in every 111 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

robert shumake

Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado. Find more Site News news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

ABC <b>News</b> and Facebook team up for election coverage - Lost Remote

ABC News is also partnering with Yahoo! News to do election polling, with results posted on both sites. In addition, the network will be doing daily 15-minute webcasts beginning October 25th at 6:45 am, the idea being that the webcast ...

robert shumake

Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado. Find more Site News news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

ABC <b>News</b> and Facebook team up for election coverage - Lost Remote

ABC News is also partnering with Yahoo! News to do election polling, with results posted on both sites. In addition, the network will be doing daily 15-minute webcasts beginning October 25th at 6:45 am, the idea being that the webcast ...

robert shumake

From the Associated Press: “Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis. The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.”

Now we know what the White House meant by Recovery Summer.

The banks are recovering all those buildings from all those deadbeats they should not have loaned money to.

The Associated Press report:

LOS ANGELES – Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis.

The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.

August makes the ninth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis. The previous high was in May.

Banks have been stepping up repossessions to clear out their backlog of bad loans with an eye on eventually placing the foreclosed properties on the market, but they can’t afford to simply dump the properties on the market.

Concerns are growing that the housing market recovery could stumble amid stubbornly high unemployment, a sluggish economy and faltering consumer confidence. U.S. home sales have collapsed since federal homebuyer tax credits expired in April.

That’s one reason fewer than one-third of homes repossessed by lenders are on the market, said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

“These (properties) are going to come to market, but very slowly because nobody wants to overwhelm a soft buyer’s market with too much distressed inventory for fear of what it would do for house prices,” he said.

As a result, lenders are putting off initiating the foreclosure process on homeowners who have missed payments, letting borrowers stay in their homes longer.

The number of properties receiving an initial default notice — the first step in the foreclosure process — slipped 1 percent last month from July, but was down 30 percent versus August last year, RealtyTrac said.

Initial defaults have fallen on an annual basis the past seven months. They peaked in April 2009.

Still, the number of homes scheduled to be sold at auction for the first time increased 9 percent from July and rose 2 percent from August last year. If they don’t sell at auction, these homes typically end up going back to the lender.

More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to RealtyTrac. The firm estimates more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year.

In all, 338,836 properties received a foreclosure-related warning in August, up 4 percent from July, but down 5 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac said. That translates to one in 381 U.S. homes.

The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions — warnings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.

Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate last month, with one in every 84 households receiving a foreclosure notice. That’s 4.5 times the national average.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in August were: Florida, Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are now the main catalysts for foreclosures.

Lenders are offering a variety of programs to help homeowners modify their loans, but their success rates vary. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners can’t qualify or fall back into default.

The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration’s flagship mortgage-relief program have fallen out.

The program, known as Making Home Affordable, has provided permanent help to about 422,000 homeowners since March 2009.

Regardless, many troubled borrowers have seen their efforts to get a loan modification stymied.

Larry Book of Winter Garden, Fla., was one packet away from a permanent loan modification from Chase under the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention plan after more than a year of back and forth and one failed attempt.

But his modification never went through. Instead, his loan was transferred from Chase to IBM Lender Business Process Servicers in July and he was told he owed $9,562.62 and must bring his mortgage current by Sept. 15 or foreclosure proceedings will begin.

“It just becomes too exhausting,” Book said about the modification process. “That’s why some people walk away. But I’ve invested too much and given up too much to just let it go.”

Diana Olick was right - the home price double dip is not only here, it is getting worse. RealtyTrac reported overnight that general foreclosure activity (i.e., default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) — were reported on 338,836 properties in August, a 4 percent increase from the previous month. One in every 381 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. The spin is that this was a modest decline (5%) from August 2009, but represents another inflection point in a trend which up to now had been declining. “The trend lines of decreasing default notices and increasing bank repossessions converged in August, with virtually the same number of new default notices and bank repossessions for the month — a clear indication that the clogged foreclosure pipeline is being carefully managed on both ends by lenders and servicers,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “On the front end, seriously delinquent loans are rolling into foreclosure at an unusually slow rate, while on the back end the dammed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure is moving to REO in steady stream rather than a flood — presumably to prevent further erosion of home prices.” Of course, banks are doing all in their power to prevent the realization by the consumer class of just how much lower home prices have still to go. Most notably, the bulk of the foreclosure action in August occurred in bank repossessions, which came at 95,364 U.S. properties in August, the highest monthly total in the history of the report and about 2 percent higher than the previous peak of 93,777 bank repossessions (REOs) in May 2010. August REO activity increased 3 percent from the previous month and was up 25 percent from August 2009 — the ninth straight month where REOs have increased on a year-over-year basis. In other news, we expect Jim Cramer to come out with another call, like his wrong summer 2009 pronouncement that the bottom of housing is here.

More from RealtyTrac:

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates in August

Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the 44th straight month, with one in every 84 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August — 4.5 times the national average. Nevada maintained the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate despite a 25 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity in August — the 11th straight month where Nevada foreclosure activity has decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Florida foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis for the fifth straight month in August, but the state’s foreclosure rate still ranked second highest among all states. One in every 155 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing in August — 2.5 times the national average.

One in every 165 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, and one in every 194 California housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate.

One in every 220 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate. A total of 2,915 Idaho properties received a foreclosure filing in August, an increase of nearly 9 percent from the previous month and an increase of 11 percent from August 2009. Idaho was the only state with a top 5 foreclosure rate to document a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in August were Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total

California alone accounted for 20 percent of the national total in August, with 69,143 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — a 3 percent increase from the previous month but a 25 percent decrease from August 2009.

Florida accounted for nearly 17 percent of the national total, with 56,877 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — a 10 percent increase from the previous month but a 9 percent decrease from August 2009. Florida default notices were down 46 percent from August 2009 but increased 2 percent from the previous month, ending five straight months of month-over-month decreases in Florida default notices.

Michigan, Illinois and Arizona each accounted for about 5 percent of the national total in August, with 17,764 Michigan properties receiving foreclosure filings, 16,808 Illinois properties receiving foreclosure filings, and 16,510 Arizona properties receiving foreclosure filings.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest in August were Georgia (16,366), Texas (14,290), Ohio (13,479), Nevada (13,385), and Washington (6,760).

Metro foreclosure hot spots continue downward trend

All 10 metro areas with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in August posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity for the second month in a row.

The Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area documented the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, with one in every 73 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, despite a 25 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from August 2009.

Foreclosure activity in Modesto, Calif., decreased 10 percent from August 2009, but the city still documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 95 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August. Six other California metro areas had foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10: Stockton at No. 3 (one in every 100 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Merced at No. 6 (one in 111); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 7 (one in 113); Bakersfield at No. 8 (one in 120); Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 9 (one in 124); and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville at No. 10 (one in 125).

Two Florida metro areas registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 3, with one in every 104 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 5, with one in every 111 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

robert shumake

Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Photo of the Week: iPad in Colorado. Find more Site News news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

ABC <b>News</b> and Facebook team up for election coverage - Lost Remote

ABC News is also partnering with Yahoo! News to do election polling, with results posted on both sites. In addition, the network will be doing daily 15-minute webcasts beginning October 25th at 6:45 am, the idea being that the webcast ...

Women Making Money

The region’s first Groupon service has reached Beirut in another expansion for GoNabIt which kicked it off with a 61% discount on a girls manicure pedicure at Fadia El Mendelek Salon. Kinda tells you who the people from GoNabIt expect to be purchasing.

GoNabIt which launched back in May of this year immediately became the UAE’s new online obsession propagating deals in line with it’s social e-commerce based model, you can read more about it here.

GoNabIt which is majority owned by Bayt.com has been making a run for their money ever since Cobone.com launched also backed by a regional online giant, namely Jabbar Internet Group.

This launch gives GoNabIt a one city advantage to Cobone.com, but the stakes remain high to claim the title of the region’s number one Group Discount service.

Comments

Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts

1. 
   
   
   

   One thing you're missing here: Craigslist started charging for the Adult Services section at the request of previous Attorneys General with the idea that adding a charge that required a credit card would curtail the use of the section for illegal activities.

   
   
   

   http://www.scattorneygeneral.com/newsroom/pdf/2009/craigslist.pdf

   
   
   

   Posted by: Collin |
   September 8, 2010 6:04 PM

   
   
















2. 
   
   
   

   Ah! Makes sense. Updating the post. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

   
   
   

    Posted by: Adrianne Jeffries |
   September 8, 2010 6:14 PM

   
   
















3. 
   
   
   

   I'm baffled as to why craigslist didn't see the profit issue ahead of time. I'm 100% behind them, but raking in millions just doesn't look good, and makes them an easy target. From day one of charging for Adult Services, they should have been giving 100% of that money to organizations that work to prevent sex trafficking and child prostitution, to make it 100% clear that the money was for filtering, not for profit.

   
   
   

    Posted by: Brad Weikel |
   September 8, 2010 6:17 PM

   
   
















4. 
   
   
   

   I think this is a good thing to do for Craiglist. But I bet that some thousands or maybe millions of dollars will be taken out from earnings in the industry with Craiglist ready to censor. LOL. Thanks for the info.

   
   
   

   Posted by: WebHosting Guru |
   September 8, 2010 7:09 PM

   
   
















5. 
   
   
   

   I'm baffled how an article on ReadWriteWeb could miss the obvious question of free speech on the internet.

   
   
   

   What you have here is public officials (facing re-election) using their office as a pulpit, making legal threats they know to be unenforceable, and lying to the media in order to prohibit speech which they know to be legal. State AGs are literally using a public relations campaign to circumvent an Act of Congress intended to curtail their power against just *this* kind of electioneering. That the AGs happen to be exploiting victimized children in their media campaign is almost incidental to the larger attack on the law and Constitution.

   
   
   

   The Communications Decency Act protects electronic publishers from liability for content produced by users of the system. Absent that immunity there could be no Google, no Blogspot, no Facebook, no WordPress.com, no Digg or Reddit, no Twitter and no comments (like this one) on ReadWriteWeb.

   
   
   

   The moralistic campaigns against 4chan and craigslist all lead to one inevitable conclusion: the publishers of ReadWriteWeb will be criminally and civilly liable for the comments of this community.

   
   
   

   Here's a concept that's new: Has anyone ever substantiated the claims that Craigslist has ever been used for child or human trafficking? Is there even one demonstrable case of this occurring? If not, then the site may have just established millions of dollars in damages for a defamation suit against it's detractors. Yes, Craigslist is a public person, that doesn't mean they can't be defamed: they just have to prove damages.

   
   
   

   Posted by: Baffled |
   September 8, 2010 10:04 PM

   
   
















6. 
   
   
   

   Mobile phone carriers should be banned to provide a phone number to prostitutes as they are also making tons of money from an illegale activity.

   
   
   

   Same thing for people selling cloth, sex toys, etc.

   
   
   

   Posted by: idont |
   September 9, 2010 9:21 AM

   
   





















robert shumake


Fox <b>News</b> Poll: GOPer Raese Leads By Five Points In WV-SEN | TPMDC

The new Fox News poll of the West Virginia Senate race is giving Republican businessman John Raese a solid lead against Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin, in the race to succeed the late Dem Sen. Robert Byrd.

Not the Nightly <b>News</b> : CJR

All that is fun, gossipy, insidery stuff, but what intrigues most in the article is the degree to which the more successful cable players avoid calling themselves journalists, or their craft “journalism,” or even “news. ...

The Best Tweets About Twitter&#39;s CEO <b>News</b>

But the masses have been tweeting up a storm about Twitter's CEO news. By far the best tweet is the one that Dick Costolo himself sent a year ago, foreshadowing the news -- likely unknowingly -- when he first became COO. ...


robert shumake


Fox <b>News</b> Poll: GOPer Raese Leads By Five Points In WV-SEN | TPMDC

The new Fox News poll of the West Virginia Senate race is giving Republican businessman John Raese a solid lead against Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin, in the race to succeed the late Dem Sen. Robert Byrd.

Not the Nightly <b>News</b> : CJR

All that is fun, gossipy, insidery stuff, but what intrigues most in the article is the degree to which the more successful cable players avoid calling themselves journalists, or their craft “journalism,” or even “news. ...

The Best Tweets About Twitter&#39;s CEO <b>News</b>

But the masses have been tweeting up a storm about Twitter's CEO news. By far the best tweet is the one that Dick Costolo himself sent a year ago, foreshadowing the news -- likely unknowingly -- when he first became COO. ...








robert shumake




















The region’s first Groupon service has reached Beirut in another expansion for GoNabIt which kicked it off with a 61% discount on a girls manicure pedicure at Fadia El Mendelek Salon. Kinda tells you who the people from GoNabIt expect to be purchasing.




GoNabIt which launched back in May of this year immediately became the UAE’s new online obsession propagating deals in line with it’s social e-commerce based model, you can read more about it here.




GoNabIt which is majority owned by Bayt.com has been making a run for their money ever since Cobone.com launched also backed by a regional online giant, namely Jabbar Internet Group.




This launch gives GoNabIt a one city advantage to Cobone.com, but the stakes remain high to claim the title of the region’s number one Group Discount service.









Comments




Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts









1. 
   
   
   

   One thing you're missing here: Craigslist started charging for the Adult Services section at the request of previous Attorneys General with the idea that adding a charge that required a credit card would curtail the use of the section for illegal activities.

   
   
   

   http://www.scattorneygeneral.com/newsroom/pdf/2009/craigslist.pdf

   
   
   

   Posted by: Collin |
   September 8, 2010 6:04 PM

   
   
















2. 
   
   
   

   Ah! Makes sense. Updating the post. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

   
   
   

    Posted by: Adrianne Jeffries |
   September 8, 2010 6:14 PM

   
   
















3. 
   
   
   

   I'm baffled as to why craigslist didn't see the profit issue ahead of time. I'm 100% behind them, but raking in millions just doesn't look good, and makes them an easy target. From day one of charging for Adult Services, they should have been giving 100% of that money to organizations that work to prevent sex trafficking and child prostitution, to make it 100% clear that the money was for filtering, not for profit.

   
   
   

    Posted by: Brad Weikel |
   September 8, 2010 6:17 PM

   
   
















4. 
   
   
   

   I think this is a good thing to do for Craiglist. But I bet that some thousands or maybe millions of dollars will be taken out from earnings in the industry with Craiglist ready to censor. LOL. Thanks for the info.

   
   
   

   Posted by: WebHosting Guru |
   September 8, 2010 7:09 PM

   
   
















5. 
   
   
   

   I'm baffled how an article on ReadWriteWeb could miss the obvious question of free speech on the internet.

   
   
   

   What you have here is public officials (facing re-election) using their office as a pulpit, making legal threats they know to be unenforceable, and lying to the media in order to prohibit speech which they know to be legal. State AGs are literally using a public relations campaign to circumvent an Act of Congress intended to curtail their power against just *this* kind of electioneering. That the AGs happen to be exploiting victimized children in their media campaign is almost incidental to the larger attack on the law and Constitution.

   
   
   

   The Communications Decency Act protects electronic publishers from liability for content produced by users of the system. Absent that immunity there could be no Google, no Blogspot, no Facebook, no WordPress.com, no Digg or Reddit, no Twitter and no comments (like this one) on ReadWriteWeb.

   
   
   

   The moralistic campaigns against 4chan and craigslist all lead to one inevitable conclusion: the publishers of ReadWriteWeb will be criminally and civilly liable for the comments of this community.

   
   
   

   Here's a concept that's new: Has anyone ever substantiated the claims that Craigslist has ever been used for child or human trafficking? Is there even one demonstrable case of this occurring? If not, then the site may have just established millions of dollars in damages for a defamation suit against it's detractors. Yes, Craigslist is a public person, that doesn't mean they can't be defamed: they just have to prove damages.

   
   
   

   Posted by: Baffled |
   September 8, 2010 10:04 PM

   
   
















6. 
   
   
   

   Mobile phone carriers should be banned to provide a phone number to prostitutes as they are also making tons of money from an illegale activity.

   
   
   

   Same thing for people selling cloth, sex toys, etc.

   
   
   

   Posted by: idont |
   September 9, 2010 9:21 AM

   
   

foreclosure list

Knut,

I am directing this at your response(#27), not because I wish to attack you personally, but because if I take what you say at face value(ie. knowing nothing about you, your background or your values), I simply could not disagree more.

I like listening to and reading Paul Krugman, he is a feisty jovial fellow who is really good at scoring partisan votes for Liberal Democrats. But the depth of his analysis makes a shallow pond after a long hot summer look deep. His contributions to economic theory rank him right up their with another of America’s great Nobel Prize winning and utterly incompetent economists-Milton Friedman.

I wonder if you learned in graduate school economics that all of the models used, the entirety of the econometric methodology and that the ontological basis of modern economic theory are absolutely and unequivocally bankrupt, not only socially, but morally as well. Some how I doubt that was taught in grad school economics.

Paul Krugman and many liberal elites keep calling out for more and larger stimulus.

Tell me something: Do you give a shot of adrenaline to patient dying of festering cancers, where the patients own cells are actively destroying each other?

No, the last thing we need is another stimulus. What we need will undoubtedly involve government borrowing, but the goal cannot be to return to where we were prior to this slight aberration in the housing market in 2007. Nor can it be to return to the glorious days of Clinton, which produced all of the deregulation that caused this depression.

Americans used their home equity as an ATM to the tune of trillions of dollars of credit. Yet the greatest surplus of credit the world has ever seen did nothing to ameliorate the then current unemployment, the disgraceful poverty in which so many millions of Americans have been forced to live and the profound economic disparity of American society. Instead Americans bought more houses, more cars, more HDTV’s, more Tivo’s and more I-phones and computers. Me. Me. Me. Me. Americans built gated communities to keep the restless downtrodden far away from delusional middle class (dys)utopias. Americans insured themselves so thoroughly that medical costs, acting like a parasite on the collective host of American society, raised costs so high that 40+ million Americans could not afford basic health care.

Americans left whole communities to twist in the wind, or even worse to simply rot(hello New Orleans). Americans allowed their infrastructure to degrade to a level that is more comparable to nations of the South than to other nations of the North, all the while exploiting workers of the South for cheap consumer goods(hello NAFTA), further impoverishing the South so that Americans could merrily shop away at Walmart. And Americans waged outright war on the lower class, turning everything that in any way served the common needs of Americans into for-profit private corporations and outsourced almost all public service of our government and military.

Americans drove ever bigger cars, consumed ever more electricity, polluted more and more and worked hard to sabotage international environmental progress. And Americans killed and killed and killed, each other, and probably close to a million Iraqi’s and Afghan’s and Yemenis and insert-Islamic-state, acting as the worst form of terrorists the world has ever seen(you look more like the man you hate….).

No the American patient does not need a stimulus. Entire industries(payday lenders) have bloomed which do nothing but feed on poverty, always increasing it, for therein lies their profit. Banks became the middle class equivalent of payday lenders for the middle class. And the financial industry treated Americans as if they were the parasites on the backs of the poor billionaires.

No, stimulus is not what is needed. Heavy doses of chemotherapy and medical marijuana is more like what this American patient needs. Consumption as an economic model has failed. Increased demand will not put Americans back to work-it will lead to more off-shoring and outsourcing.

A purging of the financial industry would be a good first step towards recovery. Nationalizing the American health care system would be another good step. Tax rates for the top 2% similar to what America had in the 1960’s could go along way towards righting the wrongs of economic distribution, but let us not forget that in the 1960’s there was nothing equitable about economic distribution, just ask our African American friends.

Of course my suggestions are absurd, but not nearly as absurd as to believe that Paul Krugman’s advice and a return to status-quo-ante is a solution that is going to return this American patient to any kind of healthy vibrancy.

As the Cook County Sheriff, Dart, 48, has cultivated uncommon political street cred among Chicago's typically fractious blocs: liberal reformers, old Democratic Party machine loyalists, latte sippers along the lakefront, barber-shop customers on the South Side, and union hard-hats in the labor halls.

"Tommy Dart is one hot political property," said Don Rose, a longtime political strategist. "He is clearly the main competition for Rahm Emanuel."

Dart, who has yet to announce his candidacy—taking the same coy stance as Emanuel and 15 or so other possible contenders—has garnered glowing press in the last few years.

He reformed policies on foreclosure evictions, busted a prostitution ring on Craig'slist, cracked down on dog-fighting, and won praise among black clergymen for allowing them easier access to inmates in the county jail.

"It's very rare for a white politician," said Pastor Larry Barnes of the Temple of the Living Word Church, "to have earned the kind of trust that Dart has earned in the black community."

Dart has a local Democratic pedigree—his father, Bill Dart, was a lawyer for Mayor Richard J. Daley—and commands a strong following among the precinct hustlers needed for a ground campaign. He is a former state legislator who represented a district that was overwhelmingly African-American.

He is handsome and charming. He is also an Irish Catholic.

Tom Dart, Rahm Emanuel. (M. Spencer Green / AP Photo; Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images

While it is "no longer a prerequisite" to be Irish Catholic to win City Hall in Chicago, as Rose put it, "it certainly doesn't hurt."

• Peter Beinart: Exit Rahm. Left Turn Ahead.
• Lloyd Grove: Obama’s New Fixer
Chicago voters have elected only one non-Irish Catholic—Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor—since 1933.

Emanuel would be the city's first Jewish mayor. William Singer, a former Chicago alderman, can vividly recall anti-Semitic taunts during his bid for mayor in 1975.

"The city has become more mature," said Singer, an Emanuel supporter. "I don't think I'm being Pollyanna-ish."

Emanuel will also face some skepticism among voters about his ties to Chicago. A child of the affluent suburb of Wilmette, Emanuel has spent much of his career in Washington. It does not help that he once misspelled he name of Cub former star Ryne Sandberg and gave the wrong address for Wrigley Field.

Record attendance for Eurogamer Expo | <b>News</b>

This year's Eurogamer Expo, which took place in London across October 1-3, has been hailed a.

BillBoard - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

Buffalo Bills cornerback Terrence McGee had minor surgery Saturday to repair a pinched nerve affecting his left leg, an NFL source told the Buffalo News. The procedure was successful, but it could sideline McGee for up to four weeks. ...

Monday Morning Breakfast &amp; Baseball: Roster <b>News</b> - Twinkie Town

Here's what's making news in Twinkie Town on Monday, October 4.

eric seiger eric seiger

Knut,

I am directing this at your response(#27), not because I wish to attack you personally, but because if I take what you say at face value(ie. knowing nothing about you, your background or your values), I simply could not disagree more.

I like listening to and reading Paul Krugman, he is a feisty jovial fellow who is really good at scoring partisan votes for Liberal Democrats. But the depth of his analysis makes a shallow pond after a long hot summer look deep. His contributions to economic theory rank him right up their with another of America’s great Nobel Prize winning and utterly incompetent economists-Milton Friedman.

I wonder if you learned in graduate school economics that all of the models used, the entirety of the econometric methodology and that the ontological basis of modern economic theory are absolutely and unequivocally bankrupt, not only socially, but morally as well. Some how I doubt that was taught in grad school economics.

Paul Krugman and many liberal elites keep calling out for more and larger stimulus.

Tell me something: Do you give a shot of adrenaline to patient dying of festering cancers, where the patients own cells are actively destroying each other?

No, the last thing we need is another stimulus. What we need will undoubtedly involve government borrowing, but the goal cannot be to return to where we were prior to this slight aberration in the housing market in 2007. Nor can it be to return to the glorious days of Clinton, which produced all of the deregulation that caused this depression.

Americans used their home equity as an ATM to the tune of trillions of dollars of credit. Yet the greatest surplus of credit the world has ever seen did nothing to ameliorate the then current unemployment, the disgraceful poverty in which so many millions of Americans have been forced to live and the profound economic disparity of American society. Instead Americans bought more houses, more cars, more HDTV’s, more Tivo’s and more I-phones and computers. Me. Me. Me. Me. Americans built gated communities to keep the restless downtrodden far away from delusional middle class (dys)utopias. Americans insured themselves so thoroughly that medical costs, acting like a parasite on the collective host of American society, raised costs so high that 40+ million Americans could not afford basic health care.

Americans left whole communities to twist in the wind, or even worse to simply rot(hello New Orleans). Americans allowed their infrastructure to degrade to a level that is more comparable to nations of the South than to other nations of the North, all the while exploiting workers of the South for cheap consumer goods(hello NAFTA), further impoverishing the South so that Americans could merrily shop away at Walmart. And Americans waged outright war on the lower class, turning everything that in any way served the common needs of Americans into for-profit private corporations and outsourced almost all public service of our government and military.

Americans drove ever bigger cars, consumed ever more electricity, polluted more and more and worked hard to sabotage international environmental progress. And Americans killed and killed and killed, each other, and probably close to a million Iraqi’s and Afghan’s and Yemenis and insert-Islamic-state, acting as the worst form of terrorists the world has ever seen(you look more like the man you hate….).

No the American patient does not need a stimulus. Entire industries(payday lenders) have bloomed which do nothing but feed on poverty, always increasing it, for therein lies their profit. Banks became the middle class equivalent of payday lenders for the middle class. And the financial industry treated Americans as if they were the parasites on the backs of the poor billionaires.

No, stimulus is not what is needed. Heavy doses of chemotherapy and medical marijuana is more like what this American patient needs. Consumption as an economic model has failed. Increased demand will not put Americans back to work-it will lead to more off-shoring and outsourcing.

A purging of the financial industry would be a good first step towards recovery. Nationalizing the American health care system would be another good step. Tax rates for the top 2% similar to what America had in the 1960’s could go along way towards righting the wrongs of economic distribution, but let us not forget that in the 1960’s there was nothing equitable about economic distribution, just ask our African American friends.

Of course my suggestions are absurd, but not nearly as absurd as to believe that Paul Krugman’s advice and a return to status-quo-ante is a solution that is going to return this American patient to any kind of healthy vibrancy.

As the Cook County Sheriff, Dart, 48, has cultivated uncommon political street cred among Chicago's typically fractious blocs: liberal reformers, old Democratic Party machine loyalists, latte sippers along the lakefront, barber-shop customers on the South Side, and union hard-hats in the labor halls.

"Tommy Dart is one hot political property," said Don Rose, a longtime political strategist. "He is clearly the main competition for Rahm Emanuel."

Dart, who has yet to announce his candidacy—taking the same coy stance as Emanuel and 15 or so other possible contenders—has garnered glowing press in the last few years.

He reformed policies on foreclosure evictions, busted a prostitution ring on Craig'slist, cracked down on dog-fighting, and won praise among black clergymen for allowing them easier access to inmates in the county jail.

"It's very rare for a white politician," said Pastor Larry Barnes of the Temple of the Living Word Church, "to have earned the kind of trust that Dart has earned in the black community."

Dart has a local Democratic pedigree—his father, Bill Dart, was a lawyer for Mayor Richard J. Daley—and commands a strong following among the precinct hustlers needed for a ground campaign. He is a former state legislator who represented a district that was overwhelmingly African-American.

He is handsome and charming. He is also an Irish Catholic.

Tom Dart, Rahm Emanuel. (M. Spencer Green / AP Photo; Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images

While it is "no longer a prerequisite" to be Irish Catholic to win City Hall in Chicago, as Rose put it, "it certainly doesn't hurt."

• Peter Beinart: Exit Rahm. Left Turn Ahead.
• Lloyd Grove: Obama’s New Fixer
Chicago voters have elected only one non-Irish Catholic—Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor—since 1933.

Emanuel would be the city's first Jewish mayor. William Singer, a former Chicago alderman, can vividly recall anti-Semitic taunts during his bid for mayor in 1975.

"The city has become more mature," said Singer, an Emanuel supporter. "I don't think I'm being Pollyanna-ish."

Emanuel will also face some skepticism among voters about his ties to Chicago. A child of the affluent suburb of Wilmette, Emanuel has spent much of his career in Washington. It does not help that he once misspelled he name of Cub former star Ryne Sandberg and gave the wrong address for Wrigley Field.

Record attendance for Eurogamer Expo | <b>News</b>

This year's Eurogamer Expo, which took place in London across October 1-3, has been hailed a.

BillBoard - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

Buffalo Bills cornerback Terrence McGee had minor surgery Saturday to repair a pinched nerve affecting his left leg, an NFL source told the Buffalo News. The procedure was successful, but it could sideline McGee for up to four weeks. ...

Monday Morning Breakfast &amp; Baseball: Roster <b>News</b> - Twinkie Town

Here's what's making news in Twinkie Town on Monday, October 4.

eric seiger eric seiger

Making Money Online With

It's a geek's dream come true. John Vechey dropped out of college in 1997 to work on a computer game with his pal Brian Fiete. This year, their Seattle-based game company, PopCap, which they founded in 2000 with Jason Kapalka, is on track to bring in $100 million. PopCap employs more than 300 and has offices in Shanghai, Seoul, and Dublin, with studios in San Francisco; Chicago; and Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's first of 35 games, Bejeweled, has sold more than 50 million units. PopCap's secret: Build games so accessible that anyone can play.

I grew up in Wisconsin. My dad's family worked in steel, but my parents were hippies. My dad taught me that it's not worth doing things you don't want to do -- he never worked more than a part-time job. For him, spending time with his friends, family, and women was more important than making money. He had priorities.

My parents got divorced when I was young. I lived with my mom and then moved to Indiana to live with my dad. I've had seven stepdads. My two half-siblings, though, are on my dad's side from his second marriage. He divorced again, and moved into my building in Seattle with my 16-year-old half-brother, who is at my place playing Xbox all the time. He plays all of our games before they're released.

I grew up pretty poor. I bond with anyone who has ever eaten government cheese. I never did extracurricular activities, because I always had a job. When I went to Purdue University, I met Brian Fiete in a programming class. I never had a computer growing up, but I wanted to be a computer engineer. Brian was always the first person done in class, and I was always second. I suggested we make a game together. It evolved into an online game we named ARC, based on an arcade version of paintball. At the time, my GPA was 1.67. I had to choose between working on this game or failing out of college. So I put all my energy into the game.

That was in 1997. People started playing our game online, and then someone named Warpig logged on and said, "Let's chat." That was Jason Kapalka, our third co-founder. He worked at a game company and wanted to license ARC.

We made $45,000, which, when you're 19 and from Indiana, feels like a million bucks. Meanwhile, some friends of the family were next-door neighbors with the founders of Sierra, a gaming company in Seattle. Someone at Sierra called us for an interview, and next thing we knew, Brian and I both left Indiana to work on games for Sierra. After we sold ARC to Sierra for $100,000, we left the company and used the money to start our own business with Jason.

It was not well thought out; more like, Let's live off ramen noodles, play games, and see what happens. We called our company Sexy Action Cool because we thought it was funny; plus, we thought we were going to develop games, not sell directly to the public. Jason and I were working on an animated PG-13 strip-poker game called Foxy Poker that had no nudity but was a really good game. We approached Strip-Poker.com, a porn site, and said, "Why don't you give us a bunch of money and sell our game?" They laughed and said no.

Then we created Bejeweled. I was in Indiana visiting family when I saw this simple solitaire game online -- no animation or graphics, but I thought it was cool. So I sent an e-mail to Brian and Jason with an idea for a game, which Brian created the next day using different colored circles. Jason sent a bunch of gem graphics on Day Three, and by Day Four, Bejeweled -- a really simple game where you match gems -- was done.

We tried to sell it to Pogo, the online gaming site. Yahoo didn't want it, either. We wound up making a flat-rate deal with Microsoft. It became phenomenally successful for MSN, with 60,000 users a day. But we were making only $1,500 a month.

Back then, in 2000, fans started asking for a downloadable version, because everyone was still using dial-up modems and didn't want to tie up their phone lines. So we made one, with better graphics and sound -- and charged for it. I had to convince Yahoo, MSN, and so on that people would play the free version on their sites and then download a better version for $20. And then we'd split the sale 50-50 with the host site. It was a new business model.

We launched in 2001 and made $35,000 the first month. The next month, we made $40,000. We were like, Holy crap! We're finally making money, but it won't last. So Brian and I hang out in Argentina and drink wine for four months. When Yahoo signed on, we moved back.

We didn't know anything about business, so we hired consultants who said, "We'll fix all your problems -- just pay us $100,000 and give us 3 percent of your company." That pissed us off -- if you don't play games, don't give advice on how to make games. They did get us to hire a comptroller. Before that, my aunt was doing the bookkeeping.

We decided from the start to make our games incredibly fun and easy so that they appeal to everyone. We currently have 35. We never think we have the magic formula or assume a hit. And yet every game we've done has made money. It took us three years to perfect Plants Vs. Zombies. We don't track the resources that go into each game. If it's a great game, it's worth a lot of money. If it's a B+ game, it's essentially worth zero.

In 2004, we had 15 employees and turned down a $60 million offer to buy our company. We knew we had to start taking the business side more seriously. So we hired David Roberts, our CEO. He had worked for Apple and Adobe, and he understood we wanted him to grow the business but leave the creative side alone.

When Dave started, we were focused on creating new games instead of supporting revenue streams from each game. Dave changed that. More than 30 percent of our annual revenue comes from Bejeweled, because it can be played on all these different platforms: PC/Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, DS, PalmPilot, iPhone, iPad, in-flight entertainment.

Jason and I interact a lot, and Jason and Brian interact a lot. Brian's working on a game with Jason, and Jason is also involved with the creative direction of the company. There's a power to three -- there's a constant rejiggering and shifting of opinions.

Facebook didn't even exist when we started the company. The iPhone didn't exist. We've adapted and changed and rolled with everything that's come our way. We've constantly integrated our approach to games. We're never perfect. We're always pretty good, but we're always trying to be better.

Social games are the rage these days, but making money from them isn’t easy. Gamers play these titles for free, but Adknowledge is figuring out how game publishers can wind up making money from 100 percent of the players.

Adknowledge’s Burlingame, Calif.-based Super Rewards subsidiary is launching a three-part system for making money from virtual currency in games. That could help boost the engagement of players in social games and help raise the revenue generated from each user, said Adknowledge chief executive Scott Lynn. Adknowledge can offer this money-making system as a one-stop shop for publishers and game advertisers.

The three elements include an in-game overlay, offer banners, and a new offer wall for online game publishers. Adknowledge claims the new platform improves the experience for users and increases the number of paying users in a game. Adknowledge is one of a number of companies that give users the option of accepting special offers in lieu of payment for an online game. You can accept an offer such as signing up for a Netflix subscription in return for virtual currency in a game.

But results show that roughly 75 percent of players do not use offers. Super Rewards can target those missing the offers with an in-game overlay, which brings a single, high-value offer to users within a game. The overlay shows up at strategic moments in a game, such as after the initial load. The offers can include promotional language such as “Get More Coins.”

The offer banner uses the space around the main game landscape, presenting a mini version of an offer wall during game play. Users can pay for virtual items at the moment with direct payment methods.

Publishers using the three-part system include The Broth, whose Facebook game Barn Buddy saw its revenue increase 25 percent after using the new system for just five days, said Broth chief executive Markus Weichselbaum. Other publishers have seen a 45 percent increase in the number of new paying users. Adknowledge said developers have seen a 40-percent increase in the number of first-time payers. Super Rewards’ rivals include TrialPay and Offerpal.

Adknowledge has more than 300 employees and $300 million in revenue, making it the largest privately owned internet advertising network. It was founded in 2004 and has grown through acquisitions. The company has raised $48 million in funding from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Next Story: Game media firm IGN Entertainment to give free office space to indie game startups Previous Story: DEMO: VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall touts tech and farming trends (video)

Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...

<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce: Report

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...

As AOL rushes to local <b>news</b>, Examiner.com is already there <b>...</b>

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. ...

bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off

Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...

<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce: Report

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...

As AOL rushes to local <b>news</b>, Examiner.com is already there <b>...</b>

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

It's a geek's dream come true. John Vechey dropped out of college in 1997 to work on a computer game with his pal Brian Fiete. This year, their Seattle-based game company, PopCap, which they founded in 2000 with Jason Kapalka, is on track to bring in $100 million. PopCap employs more than 300 and has offices in Shanghai, Seoul, and Dublin, with studios in San Francisco; Chicago; and Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's first of 35 games, Bejeweled, has sold more than 50 million units. PopCap's secret: Build games so accessible that anyone can play.

I grew up in Wisconsin. My dad's family worked in steel, but my parents were hippies. My dad taught me that it's not worth doing things you don't want to do -- he never worked more than a part-time job. For him, spending time with his friends, family, and women was more important than making money. He had priorities.

My parents got divorced when I was young. I lived with my mom and then moved to Indiana to live with my dad. I've had seven stepdads. My two half-siblings, though, are on my dad's side from his second marriage. He divorced again, and moved into my building in Seattle with my 16-year-old half-brother, who is at my place playing Xbox all the time. He plays all of our games before they're released.

I grew up pretty poor. I bond with anyone who has ever eaten government cheese. I never did extracurricular activities, because I always had a job. When I went to Purdue University, I met Brian Fiete in a programming class. I never had a computer growing up, but I wanted to be a computer engineer. Brian was always the first person done in class, and I was always second. I suggested we make a game together. It evolved into an online game we named ARC, based on an arcade version of paintball. At the time, my GPA was 1.67. I had to choose between working on this game or failing out of college. So I put all my energy into the game.

That was in 1997. People started playing our game online, and then someone named Warpig logged on and said, "Let's chat." That was Jason Kapalka, our third co-founder. He worked at a game company and wanted to license ARC.

We made $45,000, which, when you're 19 and from Indiana, feels like a million bucks. Meanwhile, some friends of the family were next-door neighbors with the founders of Sierra, a gaming company in Seattle. Someone at Sierra called us for an interview, and next thing we knew, Brian and I both left Indiana to work on games for Sierra. After we sold ARC to Sierra for $100,000, we left the company and used the money to start our own business with Jason.

It was not well thought out; more like, Let's live off ramen noodles, play games, and see what happens. We called our company Sexy Action Cool because we thought it was funny; plus, we thought we were going to develop games, not sell directly to the public. Jason and I were working on an animated PG-13 strip-poker game called Foxy Poker that had no nudity but was a really good game. We approached Strip-Poker.com, a porn site, and said, "Why don't you give us a bunch of money and sell our game?" They laughed and said no.

Then we created Bejeweled. I was in Indiana visiting family when I saw this simple solitaire game online -- no animation or graphics, but I thought it was cool. So I sent an e-mail to Brian and Jason with an idea for a game, which Brian created the next day using different colored circles. Jason sent a bunch of gem graphics on Day Three, and by Day Four, Bejeweled -- a really simple game where you match gems -- was done.

We tried to sell it to Pogo, the online gaming site. Yahoo didn't want it, either. We wound up making a flat-rate deal with Microsoft. It became phenomenally successful for MSN, with 60,000 users a day. But we were making only $1,500 a month.

Back then, in 2000, fans started asking for a downloadable version, because everyone was still using dial-up modems and didn't want to tie up their phone lines. So we made one, with better graphics and sound -- and charged for it. I had to convince Yahoo, MSN, and so on that people would play the free version on their sites and then download a better version for $20. And then we'd split the sale 50-50 with the host site. It was a new business model.

We launched in 2001 and made $35,000 the first month. The next month, we made $40,000. We were like, Holy crap! We're finally making money, but it won't last. So Brian and I hang out in Argentina and drink wine for four months. When Yahoo signed on, we moved back.

We didn't know anything about business, so we hired consultants who said, "We'll fix all your problems -- just pay us $100,000 and give us 3 percent of your company." That pissed us off -- if you don't play games, don't give advice on how to make games. They did get us to hire a comptroller. Before that, my aunt was doing the bookkeeping.

We decided from the start to make our games incredibly fun and easy so that they appeal to everyone. We currently have 35. We never think we have the magic formula or assume a hit. And yet every game we've done has made money. It took us three years to perfect Plants Vs. Zombies. We don't track the resources that go into each game. If it's a great game, it's worth a lot of money. If it's a B+ game, it's essentially worth zero.

In 2004, we had 15 employees and turned down a $60 million offer to buy our company. We knew we had to start taking the business side more seriously. So we hired David Roberts, our CEO. He had worked for Apple and Adobe, and he understood we wanted him to grow the business but leave the creative side alone.

When Dave started, we were focused on creating new games instead of supporting revenue streams from each game. Dave changed that. More than 30 percent of our annual revenue comes from Bejeweled, because it can be played on all these different platforms: PC/Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, DS, PalmPilot, iPhone, iPad, in-flight entertainment.

Jason and I interact a lot, and Jason and Brian interact a lot. Brian's working on a game with Jason, and Jason is also involved with the creative direction of the company. There's a power to three -- there's a constant rejiggering and shifting of opinions.

Facebook didn't even exist when we started the company. The iPhone didn't exist. We've adapted and changed and rolled with everything that's come our way. We've constantly integrated our approach to games. We're never perfect. We're always pretty good, but we're always trying to be better.

Social games are the rage these days, but making money from them isn’t easy. Gamers play these titles for free, but Adknowledge is figuring out how game publishers can wind up making money from 100 percent of the players.

Adknowledge’s Burlingame, Calif.-based Super Rewards subsidiary is launching a three-part system for making money from virtual currency in games. That could help boost the engagement of players in social games and help raise the revenue generated from each user, said Adknowledge chief executive Scott Lynn. Adknowledge can offer this money-making system as a one-stop shop for publishers and game advertisers.

The three elements include an in-game overlay, offer banners, and a new offer wall for online game publishers. Adknowledge claims the new platform improves the experience for users and increases the number of paying users in a game. Adknowledge is one of a number of companies that give users the option of accepting special offers in lieu of payment for an online game. You can accept an offer such as signing up for a Netflix subscription in return for virtual currency in a game.

But results show that roughly 75 percent of players do not use offers. Super Rewards can target those missing the offers with an in-game overlay, which brings a single, high-value offer to users within a game. The overlay shows up at strategic moments in a game, such as after the initial load. The offers can include promotional language such as “Get More Coins.”

The offer banner uses the space around the main game landscape, presenting a mini version of an offer wall during game play. Users can pay for virtual items at the moment with direct payment methods.

Publishers using the three-part system include The Broth, whose Facebook game Barn Buddy saw its revenue increase 25 percent after using the new system for just five days, said Broth chief executive Markus Weichselbaum. Other publishers have seen a 45 percent increase in the number of new paying users. Adknowledge said developers have seen a 40-percent increase in the number of first-time payers. Super Rewards’ rivals include TrialPay and Offerpal.

Adknowledge has more than 300 employees and $300 million in revenue, making it the largest privately owned internet advertising network. It was founded in 2004 and has grown through acquisitions. The company has raised $48 million in funding from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Next Story: Game media firm IGN Entertainment to give free office space to indie game startups Previous Story: DEMO: VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall touts tech and farming trends (video)

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Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...

<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce: Report

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...

As AOL rushes to local <b>news</b>, Examiner.com is already there <b>...</b>

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. ...

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Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...

<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce: Report

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...

As AOL rushes to local <b>news</b>, Examiner.com is already there <b>...</b>

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...

<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce: Report

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...

As AOL rushes to local <b>news</b>, Examiner.com is already there <b>...</b>

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Making Fast Money

There is less than two weeks left until David Fincher's The Social Network arrives in theaters everywhere and the buzz is really starting to get very crazy. I'm not the only one who believes that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (of A Few Good Men & Charlie Wilson's War previously) will be getting the Oscar next year for his script and I definitely think he deserves it. We haven't had the chance to speak with Sorkin, but our friends at the great site MakingOf did get to sit down with Aaron Sorkin for a few minutes to chat about the movie, including its factual accuracy, insanely smart and fast dialogue, and much more. Check out the video below!

Watch the MakingOf interview with The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin:

Introduction:



I am a 22 year old gay adult living in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have a one year technical diploma in Computer Engineering and Web Development. Lately I've had a number of issues in my life that I haven't been able to necessarily ask my family or parents about. So I am hoping I can get your opinion.



Career:



As I mentioned above, I am in the computer industry. Right after I finished my degree I was able to score a job with a fairly great employer. That lasted three months. I quit because the staff where extremely hard to work with on a daily basis. I was teased all the time about my sexuality and although it didn't cross the line as "sexual discrimination" it made the environment way too tense for me. My second job was with a marketing agency as a consultant. It lasted only a month because the company went bankrupt. Since then I've been doing freelancing. I get jobs here and there, basically just enough $ to keep food on the table. I've been applying for jobs for months, and I get interviews but frankly I don't stand a chance because there are so many unemployed "senior people" who are willing to work for my starting wage. I've been to two careers counselors who have not helped me in any kind of way. I'm frankly not sure what to do now. If I go back to college, I'll need to pick an entirely different industry which seems like a huge waste of my degree. Maybe business or marketing. Apparently there are cities that are experiencing growth in my industry but they are far away from where I live. My question is, should I continue to slug it out apply for jobs, move to a new city or go back to school? Also, in your opinion how many years of college is really sufficient to feeling "secure" and making a decent wage in most industry's?



Relationships:



I have trouble meeting boys who meet my criteria locally. By "criteria" I mean, they must be interested in a monogamous relationship because I don't want to get sick and secondly they must be within 5 years of my age and self sufficient enough to be independent. All my relationships have been long-distance.



Drew - I met Drew online two years ago. We instantly "connected" and would talk at-least once a day using video chat because he lived so far away from me. Finally met a year later in person. Things didn't exactly go as planned. We where meeting right as I was finishing college. I basically had to spend *all my money* to see him. He met me in Las Vegas, the trip was planned for a week. I payed for my airfare, hotel ect. He was only able to spend one day / night with me before he had to go back home, to California because of work. That made me upset! but never-the-less the time we had together was something *I do not regret at all*. Fast forward 5 months. He moved to Germany and then back to the states. I really want to see him, but he has no plans for us to "be together", at-least he won't say it to me. That really makes me confused because honestly I love him and I want to be with him. He wants me to fly out to see him again. I'm hesitant, I don't want my heart broken and I don't want to let him go. What do I do?



In the meantime I ended up casually meeting someone else (Garrett) in California and he is kind of like Drew except he actually "wants a relationship" and is more of what I'm looking for. The only downside to Garrett is that he has some anger issues when he gets into complicated situations/problems. This really has no relevance to the situation with Drew but I thought I would mention it for context sake.



I don't mean to seem high on myself or anything but I'm "above average looking" and I do get a lot of dating prospects but like I mentioned its rare for me to ever find anyone really "suitable". Drew or Garrett are probably the closest I'm going to get. Before you say "there's plenty of fish in the sea" let me say that I have dating profiles on all the major websites, get hundreds of messages weekly and do network with most of the gay people in my town. So I feel somewhat justified with that statement. I do want your thoughts though whatever they may me.



Ultimate goals;



For the next questions context - what I want in my life is: (1.) Financial stability. I don't want to worry if I can feed myself or my family and if I can/can't pay my bills. (2.) I want to get out of Canada and live somewhere with no winter. I hate cold and I hate snow. I love the beach, but since I've never really traveled extensively I don't know where this is. (3.) I want a boyfriend who I can trust, and won't leave me for someone more "pretty" when I start to age. I want a real relationship that is friendship first and sexual attraction later. (4.) I want to do good for others using my talents for complex thinking.



Money:



After I graduated college my mom gave me $5000. She is a single parent so that was considered a very generous gift on her behalf. Also, I managed to save $5000 of my own just by being extremely frivolous and not having much of a life. So my bank total is $10 000 at the moment. I want to be very careful with this money, because I feel like its all I have. At the moment, I have a decent car (totally paid off) and no debt. I want to set myself up for the future so I feel secure and can actually have a responsible, healthy life. Given the above information I've provided what should I do with these funds?





Sorry for the length of all this. Thank you for your thoughts! :)

The Morning <b>News</b> | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle&#39;s Only Newspaper

Slog, featuring Dan Savage, is Seattle's most popular News & Culture Blog. Seattle News, Politics, and Arts Blog. The Stranger covers local & national news, politics, restaurants, bars, music, movies and the arts.

<b>News</b> Roundup: &#39;Jersey Shore&#39; Under Fire in Canada, Bret Michaels <b>...</b>

It seems not everybody is DTW (down to watch) the 'Jersey Shore' cast work on their GTL. The macaroni rascals are under fire up North for.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/1 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning, AP. Another day, another post full of Kansas City Chiefs news. The stories died down a bit today. Most stories are now focused on this weekend's games. There are a couple of good ones, though. Be sure to check them out.

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There is less than two weeks left until David Fincher's The Social Network arrives in theaters everywhere and the buzz is really starting to get very crazy. I'm not the only one who believes that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (of A Few Good Men & Charlie Wilson's War previously) will be getting the Oscar next year for his script and I definitely think he deserves it. We haven't had the chance to speak with Sorkin, but our friends at the great site MakingOf did get to sit down with Aaron Sorkin for a few minutes to chat about the movie, including its factual accuracy, insanely smart and fast dialogue, and much more. Check out the video below!

Watch the MakingOf interview with The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin:

Introduction:



I am a 22 year old gay adult living in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have a one year technical diploma in Computer Engineering and Web Development. Lately I've had a number of issues in my life that I haven't been able to necessarily ask my family or parents about. So I am hoping I can get your opinion.



Career:



As I mentioned above, I am in the computer industry. Right after I finished my degree I was able to score a job with a fairly great employer. That lasted three months. I quit because the staff where extremely hard to work with on a daily basis. I was teased all the time about my sexuality and although it didn't cross the line as "sexual discrimination" it made the environment way too tense for me. My second job was with a marketing agency as a consultant. It lasted only a month because the company went bankrupt. Since then I've been doing freelancing. I get jobs here and there, basically just enough $ to keep food on the table. I've been applying for jobs for months, and I get interviews but frankly I don't stand a chance because there are so many unemployed "senior people" who are willing to work for my starting wage. I've been to two careers counselors who have not helped me in any kind of way. I'm frankly not sure what to do now. If I go back to college, I'll need to pick an entirely different industry which seems like a huge waste of my degree. Maybe business or marketing. Apparently there are cities that are experiencing growth in my industry but they are far away from where I live. My question is, should I continue to slug it out apply for jobs, move to a new city or go back to school? Also, in your opinion how many years of college is really sufficient to feeling "secure" and making a decent wage in most industry's?



Relationships:



I have trouble meeting boys who meet my criteria locally. By "criteria" I mean, they must be interested in a monogamous relationship because I don't want to get sick and secondly they must be within 5 years of my age and self sufficient enough to be independent. All my relationships have been long-distance.



Drew - I met Drew online two years ago. We instantly "connected" and would talk at-least once a day using video chat because he lived so far away from me. Finally met a year later in person. Things didn't exactly go as planned. We where meeting right as I was finishing college. I basically had to spend *all my money* to see him. He met me in Las Vegas, the trip was planned for a week. I payed for my airfare, hotel ect. He was only able to spend one day / night with me before he had to go back home, to California because of work. That made me upset! but never-the-less the time we had together was something *I do not regret at all*. Fast forward 5 months. He moved to Germany and then back to the states. I really want to see him, but he has no plans for us to "be together", at-least he won't say it to me. That really makes me confused because honestly I love him and I want to be with him. He wants me to fly out to see him again. I'm hesitant, I don't want my heart broken and I don't want to let him go. What do I do?



In the meantime I ended up casually meeting someone else (Garrett) in California and he is kind of like Drew except he actually "wants a relationship" and is more of what I'm looking for. The only downside to Garrett is that he has some anger issues when he gets into complicated situations/problems. This really has no relevance to the situation with Drew but I thought I would mention it for context sake.



I don't mean to seem high on myself or anything but I'm "above average looking" and I do get a lot of dating prospects but like I mentioned its rare for me to ever find anyone really "suitable". Drew or Garrett are probably the closest I'm going to get. Before you say "there's plenty of fish in the sea" let me say that I have dating profiles on all the major websites, get hundreds of messages weekly and do network with most of the gay people in my town. So I feel somewhat justified with that statement. I do want your thoughts though whatever they may me.



Ultimate goals;



For the next questions context - what I want in my life is: (1.) Financial stability. I don't want to worry if I can feed myself or my family and if I can/can't pay my bills. (2.) I want to get out of Canada and live somewhere with no winter. I hate cold and I hate snow. I love the beach, but since I've never really traveled extensively I don't know where this is. (3.) I want a boyfriend who I can trust, and won't leave me for someone more "pretty" when I start to age. I want a real relationship that is friendship first and sexual attraction later. (4.) I want to do good for others using my talents for complex thinking.



Money:



After I graduated college my mom gave me $5000. She is a single parent so that was considered a very generous gift on her behalf. Also, I managed to save $5000 of my own just by being extremely frivolous and not having much of a life. So my bank total is $10 000 at the moment. I want to be very careful with this money, because I feel like its all I have. At the moment, I have a decent car (totally paid off) and no debt. I want to set myself up for the future so I feel secure and can actually have a responsible, healthy life. Given the above information I've provided what should I do with these funds?





Sorry for the length of all this. Thank you for your thoughts! :)

The Morning <b>News</b> | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle&#39;s Only Newspaper

Slog, featuring Dan Savage, is Seattle's most popular News & Culture Blog. Seattle News, Politics, and Arts Blog. The Stranger covers local & national news, politics, restaurants, bars, music, movies and the arts.

<b>News</b> Roundup: &#39;Jersey Shore&#39; Under Fire in Canada, Bret Michaels <b>...</b>

It seems not everybody is DTW (down to watch) the 'Jersey Shore' cast work on their GTL. The macaroni rascals are under fire up North for.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/1 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning, AP. Another day, another post full of Kansas City Chiefs news. The stories died down a bit today. Most stories are now focused on this weekend's games. There are a couple of good ones, though. Be sure to check them out.

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