Equally Creepy And Creative, Cheek’d Is Online Dating In Reverse

The cards also have a short ID code on them, with a URL for the Cheek’d website. When a suitor receives the card, the idea is that they’re so filled with curiosity that they enter the code on Cheek’d and are taken to your profile page. Cheek’d calls it online dating in reverse.

via Equally Creepy And Creative, Cheek’d Is Online Dating In Reverse | TechCrunch.

You get the first month free, and can also get a free deck of five cards (shipping and handling not included.) Past that, you pay $9.95 for a monthly subscription (which basically means you pay $10/month to keep your profile live). Cards you still have to pay for, and decks come in various sizes with corresponding pricing.

Wow.

Fark.com founder links patent trolls with ‘terrorists’

A recent case shows how patent litigation works. EveryMD sued Facebook over an infringement on hosting a home page, posting comments and rating information.

The company has since decided to pursue patent suits against presidential candidates like Mitt Romney over their Facebook pages. EveryMD did not immediately return FoxNews.com requests for clarification.

via Fark.com founder links patent trolls with ‘terrorists’ | Fox News.

In Facebook Deal for Instagram, Board Was All But Out of Picture

Negotiating mostly on his own, Mr. Zuckerberg had fielded Mr. Systrom’s opening number, $2 billion, and whittled it down over several meetings at Mr. Zuckerberg’s $7 million five-bedroom home in Palo Alto. Later that Sunday, the two 20-somethings would agree on a sale valued at $1 billion.

via In Facebook Deal for Instagram, Board Was All But Out of Picture – WSJ.com.

This is unbelievably reckless.

AFP: ‘Good chance’ for SpaceX April 30 launch to ISS: NASA

The main goals of SpaceX’s flight include a fly-by of the ISS and a berthing operation in which the company’s reusable space craft, the Dragon, will approach the ISS and the crew aboard the orbiting outpost will use the ISS robotic arm to help it latch on.

The gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule will carry 521 kilograms (1,148 pounds) of cargo for the space lab and will also aim to return a 660 kg (1,455 lb) load to Earth, said Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager.

via AFP: ‘Good chance’ for SpaceX April 30 launch to ISS: NASA.

Groupon Buys Ditto

Groupon has acquired Ditto.me, a startup that has been offering a location-focused mobile app. Terms were not disclosed.

Ditto is a sort of combination check-in service, recommendation engine and chat app. “See what your friends are doing, when they’re looking for a friend to join them for coffee, what movie they’re going to see, and what their evening plans are,” the company explains on its website.

via Groupon Buys Ditto – Forbes.

Tinychat Now Has 20 Million Registered Users, Hits Profitability

Tinychat, the web-based video chat service, just surpassed 20 million users. Founded in 2009, the company has been on a roll lately and is showing some impressive momentum. Just about a year and a half ago, after all, Tinychat only had about one million users. The company’s co-founder Dan Blake also tells us that the site currently sees about 400,000 daily users and signs up about 50,000 new users every day. The average user now spends a good 22 minutes on the site per session.

via Tinychat Now Has 20 Million Registered Users, Hits Profitability | TechCrunch.

Web freedom faces greatest threat ever, warns Google’s Sergey Brin

The threat to the freedom of the internet comes, he claims, from a combination of governments increasingly trying to control access and communication by their citizens, the entertainment industry’s attempts to crack down on piracy, and the rise of “restrictive” walled gardens such as Facebook and Apple, which tightly control what software can be released on their platforms.

via Web freedom faces greatest threat ever, warns Google’s Sergey Brin | Technology | The Guardian.

He said he was most concerned by the efforts of countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to censor and restrict use of the internet, but warned that the rise of Facebook and Apple, which have their own proprietary platforms and control access to their users, risked stifling innovation and balkanising the web.