Wanna make a hit song? The ’standard’ way of doing it is learning to play an instrument, finding a couple more musicians, practice, create some songs, find a publisher……or you can scrap all that and let the YouTube community do the entire work for you. I’ve Got Nothing is a song that’s been entirely crowdsourced. A youngster called Charlie McDonnell, together with three other teenagers, have created the project as part of BBC’s ChartJackers, an attempt to break into the UK music charts without…well, pretty much everything: money, producer, studio, even musicians. Here’s the official description of how the song was created:“The lyrics of the song are made up of YouTube comments, compiled into a song by another YouTuber. The lyrics were released and then YouTubers wrote a melody for the lyrics, and we picked our favourite. We held YouTube auditions via video response to pick the band, found the producer of the song through YouTube, and the music video is made up of literal interpretations of the lyrics, clapping and singing along, by YouTubers!”The resulting song and the video, which you can see below, follow the “standards” for a viral hit: extremely catchy melody and a happy video with young people singing along. While it’s hard to predict if it’ll become a huge hit, it definitely has the ingredients, and the community to support it. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how far can such an effort go, competing with professionally produced songs and videos that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Reviews: YouTubeTags: viral video, youtube

  Originally an experimental branch of the Mozilla project, a new web browser was launched on November 9, 2004: Firefox 1.0. Its aim was to reduce Mozilla’s bloat (if you remember those early days, the Mozilla Suite consisted of a web browser, mail client, news reader, irc client; it even had a web page creator called Mozilla Composer), and it was an instant hit among users and developers alike. Five years later, and Firefox holds a quarter of the browser market, and while technically not being the most popular (Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still clings to that honor), it’s definitely the most prominent browser, with thousands of plugins (add-ons, they’re called), a busy developer community, and over 330 million users. As for the future, Christopher Blizzard over at hacks.mozilla.orghas some idea about that; it can be summed up in three words: privacy, video, and mobile. From the blog post:“Over the next five years everyone can expect that the browser should take part in a few new areas – to act as the user agent it should be. Issues around data, privacy and identity loom large. You will see the values of Mozilla’s public benefit mission reflected in our product choices in these areas to make users safer and help them understand what it means to share data with web sites.Expect to see big changes in the video space. HTML5-based video and open video codecs are starting to appear on the web as web developers make individual choices to support a standards-based, royalty-free approach. Expect to see changes in the expectations around the licensing of codecs.And over the next five years mobile will play an increasingly important role in our lives, and in the future of the web. The decisions of users, carriers, governments and the people who build phones will have far-reaching effects on this new extension to the Internet and how people will access information for decades to come.”Mozilla plans to celebrate this milestone by throwing parties (oh no, not that again) around the world. The campaign is called “Light the World with Firefoxâ€�, and it will include shining the Firefox logo in cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Rome and San Francisco. Find out more at www.spreadfirefox.com/5years/en-US/.Reviews: FirefoxTags: birthday, Firefox

  We know there are a lot of interesting and unique uses for Twitter. We’ve seen Twitter used for customer service, tweets to monitor power usage, and even 140 character marriage proposals, but we never thought about it being used to quickly respond to incidents such as a kid being bit by an otter.Earlier today, a group of Twitter enthusiasts (including me) gathered at the San Francisco Zoo for a zoo tweetup. While in most respect it was your standard gathering of Twitter nerds with phones tweeting and Twitpics flying, the tweetup was unique because of the involvement of the zoo via Twitter.After seeing initial tweets about the upcoming event, the zoo provided anybody who came to the tweetup with a discount, a penguin encounter (videos below), and even access to the normally off-limits Avian Conservation Center.While this is a great example of using Twitter to reach out to and please customers, it isn’t the only way that the San Francisco Zoo (@SFZoo) utilizes Twitter. In the 3 minute clip embedded below, animal keeper Anthony Brown discusses some of the unique stories of how Twitter has helped improve the zoo, including how it has helped find lost phones and even how the zoo respond to a kid being bit by one of the river otters after finding out about the incident via Twitter. Oh, and don’t forget about the two penguins huddling around him.Social media, once a phenomenon localized to early adopters, has quickly spread into nearly every channel. The fact that a zoo is using Twitter to interact with its visitors and to know about what’s happening on its grounds in real-time is just another amazing example of the power that social tools provide us. Here’s Anthony’s explanation of how the zoo uses Twitter. Enjoy!BONUS: The Penguins of San Francisco ZooWe did visit a zoo. It would be a shame if we didn’t embed at least one clip exclusively about cute animals:Reviews: TwitterTags: penguin, San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco-San Jose, twitter, zoo

  Google Wavedebuted in a whirlwind of buzz and expectation, and yet few of us have managed to make it part of our workflow. What is Google Wave good for anyway? Those use cases are still emerging, it seems.Here’s an interesting one: Charlie Osmond at the FreshWorks blogpoints out that Twitter hashtags – adding the conference name as a hashtag on a tweet – aren’t an ideal solution to tracking a conference. In fact, Google Wavecan do a better job, as proven by the recent Ecomm conference, at which delegates were all given Wave accounts and collaborated on Waves relating to each presentation.Rather than a stream of disconnected Tweets, the result was a wiki-like page of annotations which evolved over the course of a presentation. Conference organizers also created a Wave directory to aggregate all the Waves relating to each presentation, plus a Wave where delegates could submit their feedback to make the conference better next year.The screenshots below make a pretty good case for using Wave at conferences. What other interesting use cases have you seen?Google Wave from Audience Watching PresentationReviews: Google Wave, TwitterTags: Google Wave, twitter

  If the iPhone is indeed coming to Verizon in 2010, as rumors suggest, is it odd that the network’s latest attack ads on AT&T put the iPhone front and center?The new holiday ads from the company tackle AT&T’s (lack of) 3G coverage yet again, in a theme similar to the “there’s a map for that” campaign. It’s possible, however, that Verizon is attacking AT&T rather than the phone itself, essentially saying: nice phone, shame about the coverage. Nonetheless, the ads are a slap in the face to AT&T, which just filed a lawsuitover the “there’s a map” campaign.What do you think: are the new Verizon ads effective?Thanks to EricTric for the tip.

  If you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone, listen up: a worm is reported to have broken out in Australia that targets owners who have not changed the default password after installing SSH. The worm’s behavior is somewhat amusing: it changes your background to a photo of Rick Astley, then looks for other phones on the network to infect. That said, the exploit could easily be used by hackers with malicious intent for more nefarious purposes. If you have a jailbroken iPhone and you’ve installed SSH without changing the default password (from “alpine”) you need to do so to avoid such attacks. If you have not jailbroken your iPhone or iPod Touch and installed SSH, you are not affected.Sophos writesof the exploit:SophosLabs is analysing the worm’s code, which suggests that at least four variants have been written so far. One of the attributes of the latest variant (labelled the “D” version) is that it tries to hide its presence by using a filepath suggestive of the Cydia application.The source code is littered with comments from the author suggesting the worm has been written as an experiment. One of the comments berates affected users for not following instructions when installing SSH, because if they had changed the default password the worm would not have been able to infect them.You have been warned!Tags: exploit, iphone, jailbreak, trending, worm

  For those hoping for a re-enactment of the Kanye/Taylor Swiftviral video that became an Internet meme, SNL didn’t deliver the goods last night. There was, however, a nod to one of the biggest Internet fads of the year, as guest host Taylor Swift included a mention of the event in her “Monologue Song” (video below).For those wishing to relive the meme one more time, check out our Top 10 Kanye West Interruption Parodies.For international viewers, versions of the clip are still availableon YouTube.Reviews: YouTubeTags: kanye west, taylor swift

  Stuck in a cubicle all day? Hit a brick wall on that project? Not sure what to do next with your life? You need some inspiration, and you’re in luck because the web is full of inspiring stories captured on video. Video is the perfect vehicle for an inspiring story because it can make the story come alive like no other medium. Below is a list of 7 of the most of the inspiring videos on the web, embedded so you can watch them here. Each video, which range in length from 3 to 20 minutes, has an inspirational message to impart. If you know of any other inspiring videos, please share them in the comments.1. William Kamkwamba: Harnessing the WindWilliam Kamkwamba was 14 when he built a windmill from scrap parts in order to provide enough electricity to power 4 lightbulbs and 2 radios in his home in his tiny village in Malawi. Kamkwamba’s story first came into the global spotlight when he spoke at the TED conference. He recently did a followup TED talk.Kwakwamba’s inspiring story teaches us to dream big.2. Jason McElwain: Autistic Basketball PlayerAutistic basketball player Jason McElwain spent most of his high school career cheering his team on from the bench as team manager — until the final 4 minutes of his final game as a senior. McElwain didn’t waste any of his opportunity to get in the game, pouring in 7 shots and finishing the game as high scorer.McElwain, who never complained about being left off the roster, shows us that attitude is everything.3. Cat Lainé: Empowering Local CommunitiesCat Lainé, who is the Deputy Director at the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, talked at the BIF-4 conference last year about how she and her colleagues empower communities in developing nations to change from within. Lainé believes in using human capital already within local economies to solve problems and develop solutions that work locally.Lainé teaches that solutions are often right in front of your nose. 4. Blake Mycoski: Creating Sustainable CharityBlake Mycoski didn’t just want to start a charity to put shoes on the feet of children who needed them — he wanted to do something more sustainable, something that didn’t rely on asking for donations. So Mycoski started TOMS Shoes, a for-profit company that gives one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell. Mycoski’s inspiring message is about the necessity of innovative thinking.5. Geoffrey Canada: Closing the Achievement GapAccording to Geoffrey Canada the American school system is broken when it comes to teaching children in inner-city schools, and most people wouldn’t disagree with him. But Canada’s inspiring approach to fixing the problem is something that no one before him had tried — a complete overhaul of the social infrastructure. Canada created a “conveyor belt” in a Harlem neighborhood that touches the lives of children and their families from birth through college.Canada shows us that sometimes you have to take a radical approach.6. Ben Underwood: Seeing While BlindBen Underwoodwas blind, but while he was alive, he got around almost as well as people who can see, and even played video games with his friends. That’s because he had done something that’s very unusual: Ben Underwood taught himself how to echolocate. Underwood trained his ears to listen for the echoes that tongue-clicking sounds that he produced made as they bounced back off of objects. He then processed that information to figure out where physical objects lie around him.Though Underwood sadly passed away earlier this year, his inspirational story proves that no obstacle is insurmountable.7. Lewis Gordon Pugh: Utilizing ExtremesLewis Gordon Pugh has swum in every ocean in the world, and was the first person to swim at the North Pole, where the waters are below zero degrees centigrade (which is the freezing point for fresh water). Pugh uses his extreme swimming feats to shed light on issues of worldwide importance such as global warming.Pugh teaches us that you should strive to push yourself to your limits.See also: Top 7 Places to Watch Great Minds in ActionImage courtesy of iStockphoto, cmisje.Reviews: iStockphotoTags: inspiration, List, Lists, video

  From disliking on Facebook, to the launch of the Motorola Droid, to the debut of Twitter Lists, it’s been an exciting week in the social media and tech space.Here’s our pick of the top 10 stories this week, from the serious to the bizarre.1. HOW TO: Use Twitter Lists– Twitter has launched Lists, a new way to organize people you follow on Twitter. Josh Catone tells us how to get the most of the new feature.2. 10 Ways You Can Use Twitter Lists– More Twitter List goodness, this time with real-world examples of Twitter list usage. 3. LEAKED: Microsoft Courier Tablet User Interface Details– Microsoft is working on a slick-looking tablet. Now interface details have emerged.4. Google Dashboard: Now You Know What Google Knows About You– Google this week launched a single location to find all the data the company is storing about you. 5. BREAKING: Rollout of Twitter Retweet Feature Has Begun [PICS]– Twitter is set to support retweets as a native feature. Some users already have access.6. Now You Can Dislike Stuff on Facebook (With a Firefox Plugin)– Facebook’s “Like” feature is a handy way to show props for a status update, photo or link … but what if you want to express dislike? Facebook has no such feature natively, but a Firefox plugin lets you do much the same thing. 7. The Top Internet Memes of 2009– What were the top Internet memes of the year? We look back at a year in Internet culture.8. T-Mobile Down Nationwide– T-Mobile suffered a major outage this week, affecting users across the country.9. Motorola Droid’s New “Stealthâ€� Commercial [Video]– The Motorola Droid is here, along with a new ad that includes stealth bombers and cowboys.10. Out of Control Forklift Driver Destroys Vodka Warehouse [VIDEO]– A video of a forklift crash went viral on YouTube this week, making for an amusing diversion.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AndrewJohnsonReviews: Facebook, Firefox, Google, Twitter, YouTube, iStockphotoTags: social media

  The Open Web Awards: Social Media Edition, our annual contest highlighting the very best the web has to offer, is gaining momentum. We’ve had 300,000+ nominations made for 60,000+ individuals, companies, websites and applications. If you haven’t nominated yet – and you can nominate once per category per day – now’s the time to do so. Nominations close November 15th, after which we move to the final vote.A few high-level stats:- 300,000+ nominations made- 60,000+ nominees- Most categories have less than 50 votes separating the 1st- and 2nd-placed nomineeNominate in the Open Web Awards 2009>>Thanks to our Partner: MOTOBLURMOTOBLURfrom Motorola was built expressly for the way people communicate today. It’s the only service that automatically delivers and organizes your conversations, contacts and content from all your favorite sites and sources in easy-to-manage streams. Whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, text messages, Gmail or work e-mail, MOTOBLUR keeps track of it all and serves it up on a customizable home screen and integrates it through the phone. Plus, with MOTOBLUR you have peace of mind, because all of your info is backed up and secure. Discover MOTOBLUR on Motorola CLIQ available at T-Mobile. It’s time to spend less time managing life and more time living it.Reviews: Facebook, Gmail, MySpace, TwitterTags: openwebawards.mashable, owa

  Each week we do a Lunchtime Pollto get a sense of what tools Mashable readers use and which of today’s services and apps are your favorites. Last week we asked you about your favorite Facebook apps, and we have the results below.As it turns out, like much of Team Mashable, many of you aren’t actually using too many Facebook applications these days. That’s probably what Facebook is hoping to turn aroundwith some upcoming changes to Applications.Still, from those of you who responded both here and on Facebook, there were some clear winners in the Facebook Apps department. Perhaps expectedly, social games figured prominently on the list. Take a look below to see the Top 10 as voted by you. Is your favorite Facebook App not represented here? Let us know in the comments.Top 10 Mashable Reader Facebook Apps10. Pet Society9. Status Shuffle8. Desktop Notifications7. Restaurant City6. Scrabble5. Bejeweled Blitz4. Twitter3. Static FBML2. Mafia Wars1. FarmVilleSee also: Top 10 Mashable Reader iPhone AppsImage courtesy of iStockphoto, ericsphotographyReviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto, pet societyTags: facebook, facebook apps, facebook platform, poll, social gaming

  Last week we reported on Google’s new music discoveryfeatures. The Google music search endeavor is partnership between Google, MySpace, Lala, and several others to make music search and discovery a primary feature of the Google experience.In fact, Google music search does more than just return a few track listings; it offers up audio streaming, one-click purchase options from iLike and Lala, and now even exclusive contentfrom artists.Google music search has broad implications for the music space, and in this post we’ll explore three of the most significant implications around a music search service powered by Google, and dissect how some of the industry’s current heavy hitters could be in for a wake up call.1. iTunes: Market Share Will DeclineIt’s been a process years in the making, but Apple’s iTunes store, with the help of the ubiquitous iPod and the hot iPhone, has become the destination for not only buying music but also for measuring the success of songs, albums, and artists.Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the staggering statistics. Earlier this summer, the NPD Group found that songs purchased from the iTunes marketplace now account for 25% of the total US music market, which includes both hard and soft copies. CNETalso reported that “for the first half of 2009, iTunes itself snagged a 69 percent share of the overall digital music arena, trailed far behind by Amazon.com with 8 percent.”With a 69% hold over the digital music market, iTunes is sitting pretty, but Apple’s music business is far from secure in being the undisputed victor in future years. The new music search features in Google aren’t some separate product that searchers have to track down, but instead offer instantaneous music discovery that works without extra thought or calculation. The reality is that music discovery is built into the search experience for each and every search, and those results are featured prominently at the top of the page, instead of buried at the bottom like Social Search.Googlers already search for songs, artists, and lyrics en masse, but the immediate click-to-listen and buy options that Google now provides could very well make them less likely to take the extra step back over to iTunes. Here’s why: music search results include streaming audio tracks, powered by MySpace, who don’t forget, owns iLike, and by Lala. You’ll also notice that that Lala and iLike’s downloadstores, and not iTunes, are the two click-to-buy options. Essentially what’s happening is that Google, the primary online starting point for the masses, is now directing you to purchase your music from iLike or Lala (and taking a cut of the purchase price). The iLike and Lala download stores both just got some major Google juice, and that’s a problem for Apple’s iTunes, who simply can’t compete with Google on search as it pertains to music discovery. iTunes won’t falter immediately, but Google, MySpace, and Lala have the opportunity to put a dent into iTunes’ once impenetrable stronghold over digital music downloads.2. Google: This Generation’s BillboardBillboard’s top 100 music charts are still important indicators of what’s hot in the music space, but having an album or song on iTunes’ top charts is becoming even more important for artists who want to remain relevant and popular in the eyes of younger audiences.Google’s new play in the music space puts them in a prime position to not only sell music, but to also dissect music trends, which could make them this generation’s Billboard.Think of all the data that Google already has around music search, combine that with their growing knowledge of what searchers are streaming on Google, and what they then go on to buy, and you have a data set that could be leveraged for insightful music industry analysis.We could easily see Google launching a music trends product that would match the style of Google Trends, and indicate the highest frequency music searches, highlight related searches, and attempt to identify news and blog posts influencing the trends. They could also potentially tie in music sales and online streams, for a full perspective of what’s happening in the music milieu.3. Myspace: Relevant Once AgainMyspace is on a fast track to becoming the web’s biggest joke. Once at the height of social media glory, they’re now Facebook’s ugly sister and everyone knows it, especially now that their US traffic has fallen off a cliff.As tempting as it may be to push MySpace off into the waters of obscurity, we think this cruise ship-sized social network may have avoided becoming the online Titanic with their recent moves in the music space.Let’s start by granting Facebook the social network gold medal. They’ve won that competition. But, MySpace is slowly repositioning themselves as the music destination, and the strategy just might pay off with their significant role in Google’s music service. Already a great resource for bands, MySpace now has a very excellent music video product, and their own music download store, courtesy of the iLike buy, with Google as their sales force.MySpace, with Google’s blessing, is well on their way to becoming the site that mainstream web audiences associate with online music. Given that Facebook is nowhere to be found in Google’s music picture, MySpace could be headed towards victory in a new genre.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, njmcc.Reviews: Facebook, Google, MySpace, iStockphotoTags: google music search, ilike, itunes, Lala, myspace

  We’ve had a number of close calls here during our Web Faceoffseries, but this wasn’t one of them. This week we pitted TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktopagainst each other in a bar room brawl for favorite Twitter client. Now, the results are in.Whereas last week’s Windows 7 versus OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard battle was a close one, with Windows 7 going the distance to outlast the current Mac OS, this week’s showdown had a big winner.…and TweetDeckwas it, with a full 71% of the vote (3294 votes) as compared to Seesmic Desktop’s 23% (1055 votes). Six percent or 260 of you just couldn’t decide and went for the Tie option.What did you think of the results? Did the best Twitter client win? Let us know in the comments! And of course, don’t forget to tune in again on Monday for the next round of our Web Faceoff series (and check out all the past winners below).Web Faceoff: Overall ResultsWeek 1:- Mozilla Firefox vs. Google Chrome- WINNER: Firefox, 4600 votes (Chrome: 3310 votes, Tie: 911 votes)Week 2:- Tumblr vs. Posterous- WINNER: Tumblr, 1809 votes (Posterous: 1496 votes, Tie: 256 votes)Week 3:- Pandora vs. Last.fm- WINNER: Last.fm, 1187 votes (Pandora: 1156 votes, Tie: 122 votes)Week 4:- Twitter vs. Facebook- WINNER: Facebook, 2484 votes (Twitter: 2061 votes, Tie: 588 votes)Week 5:- WordPress vs. Typepad- WINNER: WordPress, 2714 votes (Typepad: 267 votes, Tie: 357 votes)Week 6:- Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard- WINNER: Windows 7, 3632 votes (Snow Leopard: 3278 votes, Tie: 121 votes)Week 7:- TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop- WINNER: TweetDeck, 3294 votes (Seesmic Desktop, 1055 votes, Tie: 260 votes)Reviews: Chrome, Facebook, Firefox, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Pandora, Posterous, Seesmic Desktop, Tumblr, TweetDeck, Twitter, TypePad, WordPressTags: poll, seesmic desktop, tweetdeck, twitter, twitter clients, web faceoff

  Many signs point to the Apple and AT&T agreement that makes the latter the exclusive carrier of the iPhone within the US coming to an end within the next year. For starters, non-exclusivity has been profitable for Applein other parts of the world. Moreover, even AT&T’s CEO acknowledgesthe deal won’t last forever.And while Verizon might be all about showing off what Droid doesright now, a new report suggests it could become the first carrier other than AT&T to offer iPhone on American soil, starting in the second half of 2010.According to a report obtained by Apple Insider, “Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone due in the third quarter of next year that will enable the company to sell a single global handset to all carriers, and specifically to Verizon Wireless in the USâ€� – the significance of CDMA being that it’s the standard that Verizon’s network uses, versus AT&T’s GSM. As you might suspect, there’s currently no comment from Apple or Verizon, but it’s not the first time the two companies have been linked. Just last month, a report surfaced suggesting that Verizon and Apple were already testing a 4G versionof the iPhone. While we await more details, we can’t help but be amused by how we might end up looking back at the current attack ad battle taking place between Verizon, AT&T, and Appleif a Verizon iPhone comes to fruition. Tags: apple, att, iphone, verizon