While startup companies are often asked about their monetization and member strategies, it's rare that they're asked how they plan on changing the world. At today's Supernova Conference in San Francisco, speakers attacked the subject of social chance and how it applies to business models, technological expertise and mass distribution. Sponsor First up, director of Havas Media Lab Umair Haque, gave his presentation, "Constructive Capitalism." Haque believes that only 5% of those within a given industry measure themselves in what he describes as "thick value". He explains that one of the legacies of our economic downturn is the realization that our understanding of profit is based on "thin value" - a model that has not addressed economic harm from profit and growth. Haque's answer to changing the current economic system is to change the way we think about profit. By employing radically different strategies and value sets, companies change the level of competition and instill "thick value" in entire industries. Pioneering blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash drills down to one such strategy. His latest endeavor Expert Labs is a project that crowdsources expertise from the tech entrepreneur community to answer the questions of policy makers. Dash explains, "If we think outside of our insular communities and use a language that is respectful for all, we can create really transformative things." Dash hopes that by finding new ways to filter expertise we can broaden the depth of information reaching those who make world changing decisions. After giving a number of examples on how tools of production and distribution have been democratized through innovative technologies, Wired editor-in-chief and author Chris Anderson exclaimed, "If the past decade was about finding new post-institutional social models on the web, the next decade will be about applying them to the real world." It's that time when we look back at the past year and reflect on our achievements and failures. As a startup entrepreneur, investor or technologist, how have you taken new business strategies and ideas of social change and applied them to your everyday work? Let us know in the comments below. Discuss

More:
How Startup Companies Can Change the World

A new website aims to publicize the details surrounding the much-maligned iPhone application review process - Apple's secretive procedures that have been under heavy scrutiny this year, especially since the FCC's involvement regarding Apple's rejection of the Google Voice application. Notable iPhone developers have publically called out the company for this "broken" process and some have even announced their retirement from creating iPhone apps, including Facebook app developer, Joe Hewitt , based on philosophical differences with the perceived tyranny of the Apple gatekeepers. Sponsor On the recently launched site, App Rejections , iPhone developer turned blogger Adam Martin, has begun to document individual app rejections in an effort to help the development community understand what they can and cannot expect from the company's stringent, and sometimes seemingly arbitrary, vetting process for new apps. According to the site's About page , Martin writes that "it's now gone from 'easy' to 'tricky' to avoid getting your app rejected by Apple." And since Apple has refused to document or discuss the matter of application rejections, he was inspired to create this website as a place to collect all the known application rejections. The App Rejections site itself is in the format of a basic blog. There aren't catchy headlines, images, or accompanying snarky commentary in the individual posts as you would find elsewhere in the tech blogosphere - especially on TechCrunch where documenting high-profile app rejections has become somewhat of a pet project of blogger MJ Siegler. At the most, Adam may inject a few opinions of his own as to how certain things could be improved, but he clearly isn't on any sort of vendetta against the company. Instead, each post details point-blank exactly why a particular application was rejected, examining information about the APIs used or rules broken in each case. The site also documents when formerly rejected apps finally make it through to the App Store in posts titled "approved" or "overturned," the latter referring to apps whose developers started some sort of appeal process. Although the site is brand-new, with only two pages of posts so far, it could easily become an invaluable resource for iPhone developers confused by Apple's murky review process which can sometimes lead to apps sitting in limbo for months on end before any word from Apple is had. Developers looking to have their personal experience documented on the site are advised to contact Martin via his company's Twitter account, @redglassesapps . Discuss

View original post here:
New Website Publicizes iPhone App Rejections

Virgin Media, one of the UK's leading providers of television / broadband / mobile / phone services, has announced plans to use deep packet inspection technology to track illegal file-sharing activity among around 40 percent of its UK users. Users whose activities are being monitored will not be informed of this fact. The tech comes from Detica, a company better known for working with government data and intelligence agencies than media files and P2P networks. Their CView product is designed to help put an end to illegal filesharing, and with ISPs showing interest, it's unlikely that Virgin's deal will be the last we hear about. Sponsor In a lengthy document on illegal filesharing, Detica outlines how CView can be used to baseline the level of illicit filesharing then continue to measure the same activity as punitive measures are rolled out. The company believes that every ISP has an obligation to reduce illegal filesharing "by an agreed percentage over a period of time," a goal that can only be achieved through accurate, thorough measurement of user activity - this is the very reason Detica created CView. Beyond measuring user activity on P2P networks, CView will not collect data on individual users. Raw traffic data and identification information is reportedly deleted in the closed system and cannot be accessed by a human operator. CView gathers data on peer-to-peer packets in user traffic and then inspects the packets to see whether the content is being shared illegally. Although the tech only examines aggregate traffic data, and although a Virgin spokeperson states that records will not be maintained on individual users, privacy concerns are right behind raining-on-our-parade concerns when one examines the question of monitoring user behavior. Isn't warning, fining, censoring and/or restricting access for infringing users the next logical step? Give us your doomsday scenario - or your vote of confidence for the Detica/Virgin partnership - in the comments. Discuss

More here:
More Trouble for File Sharing: Virgin to Monitor in UK

Three iPhone application developers are cited in an online petition which asks Apple to approve their apps, all of which have been sitting in limbo for months on end. The developers are awaiting word about their new DJ applications which let users mix loops of their own iTunes tracks stored in their iPhone or iPod Touch's music library. In this case, it's speculated that the holdup either has to do with rights issues surrounding the music or possibly the way the apps in question access the music library. But without word from Apple, the developers can't be sure. The delays have angered fans, too, one of whom created the petition in hopes of forcing Apple's hand. Update: One of the applications was just approved . Click through for more info. Sponsor Why the Delay? The three developers mentioned in the fan-posted petition include Amidio, Pajamahouse Studios, and Musicsoft Arts. All three have created DJ applications which tap into a users' own iTunes library. Unlike the DJ applications already available in the App Store, these new apps let users mix their own tracks while offering features like simultaneous playback of multiple tracks, pitch, fade, tempo, and more. Other DJ applications, on the other hand, only let users mix loops that have no rights associated with them. The rights issue may be one of the problems causing the delays. It's highly likely that the labels don't want their artists' songs to be used in this way without some sort of controls in place - if they deem to allow this type of interaction at all. If that's the case, though, the developers simply want Apple to tell them so. Another explanation for the delay may have to do with Apple's current ban on dual access to the iPhone's music library via third-party applications. In order to work around this ban, the developers came up with an alternative method which involves transferring music over Wi-Fi instead. Of course, Apple may see this "workaround" as just a loophole allowing the developers to break the rules while not technically violating any of Apple's edicts. But again, without word from the company itself, there's no way to be sure. The Petition Although the developers themselves aren't behind the online petition, they've been frustrated for some time regarding the delay. For example, a posting on the Sonorasaurus blog reads: "We have been waiting about 3 months now with no word on if we are approved and when we can release. It is nice to see other people taking issue with Apple's system and their interest in getting DJ apps on the platform. So to whomever thought to include us in their petition: Thank you." The petition itself isn't a kindly-worded plea for Apple's attention either, but an angry letter demanding that attention instead: There are more than 20 million of iPhone and iPod Touch users in the world, but there is no decent DJ MP3 application on iPhone/iPod Touch. Why? Because Apple doesn't approve any of them! At least two quality DJ MP3 applications - Touch DJ (www.amidio.com) and Sonorasaurus (www.sonorasaurus.com) are held "in review" since the beginning of the September. That's 8 weeks in limbo which is insane. The developers of the apps are now facing serious troubles because a lot was invested into the production of the apps. Moreover, Apple doesn't specify any reasons for such delays. There's simply no information about what is going on. This is all really weird and absolutely unfair. Later, the petition writer adds that they had become aware of a third application, DJ Player, which was also waiting approval. Similar Apps Already Approved What's really strange about this current delay, writes a blogger on Sonorasaurus.com (the app from Pajamahouse Studios), is that there are applications which have already been approved by Apple that offer similar features as their new app. For example, the Quixpin DJ uses the same mixing feature, Deadmau5 Mix uses the same packaged songs feature, and Air Sharing uses the same file uploading via HTTP feature. And Musicsoft Arts already has an app called the DJ Spooky The Secret Song which uses the same codebase as the yet-to-be-approved DJ Player application. UPDATE: Oddly enough, of the three apps in question, Amidio's application was approved first, having just launched today in the App Store. Are the others far behind? Did the petition catch Apple's eye or is this just a coincidence? We'll have to stay tuned to the other developers' websites and Twitter accounts to know for sure. Fans Care, Too Regardless of what happens, though, it's an interesting development to see fans getting involved in complaining to Apple instead of just the developers themselves. Although we've already seen high-profile pull-outs from notable Apple developers like Joe Hewitt who created the iPhone's Facebook application and Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis who quit after a three-and-a-half month delay in app approval, we've rarely heard complaints from users outside the tech blogosphere demanding the same. Could this mean "regular" folks are now becoming aware of Apple's issues too? Possibly. The 272 people who have signed the petition aren't all Apple developers or tech pundits. They're just people who want these apps approved. Hat tip to iLounge for pointing to this petition. Discuss

Excerpt from:
Online Petition Demands Apple Approve iPhone Apps