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Voices From The Revolution: Syria

Sarah Austin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:08:41 +0000

Unrest in the middle east never seems to be far from the healines. Recently Syria has been embroiled in a struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and protesters angry about police brutality and excessive government crackdowns. On the verge of civil uprising, it should be known that Syria has a very turbulant history.

In this video Bear Kittay goes to the Israel Syria border and explores the contrast between the natural beauty of the landscape and the violent history of the region.

For more stories from the revolution check out 18 Days In Egypt

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Sarah Austin at Macworld 2012

Sarah Austin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:45:49 +0000

If anybody knows anything about Sarah Austin, it’s that this girl loves tech conferences. Why? Well.. one of the reasons is the boatloads of free swag! Check it out as Sarah takes Macworld 2012 by storm and tries to gather as much free stuff as she can.

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Edward Saatchi and the Facebook of the Private Sector

Sarah Austin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:32:33 +0000

Sarah Austin sits down with entrepreneur Edward Saatchi. During his work with the Obama campaign in 2008, Edward co-founded NationalField.com, a social networking site designed specifically for private business operations.

The Facebook model obviously works in the public space, but can it improve business operations?

Check out the interview and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Check out NationalField

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Voices From The Egyptian Revolution: Tahrir Square

Sarah Austin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:43:33 +0000

The defining moment of the egyptian revolution, which is still ongoing, happened on January 25th 2011 in Tahrir Square, Cairo. Protestors demanded the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Sarah Austin shares her experience of Tahrir Square from her travels in the Middle East.

For more stories from the revolution check out 18 Days In Egypt

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Niche VS Micro Celebrity and the CBC

Sarah Austin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:48:44 +0000

I recently listened to an old audio program where I spoke on the radio with Merlin Mann. Listen here.

Here’s a fun bit I pulled from a memorable day back in March 2008 when I hit the streets of New York City to find out what other people have to say about niche and micro celebrities.

Shortly after my “field research” I spoke on a panel for CBC radio with Merlin Mann and Theresa M. Senft about micro celebrities.

The program is being edited for a new tech show called Spark, hosted by Nora Young.

Oscar Buzzzz: Eddie Murphy Out

Sarah Austin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:57:08 +0000

The nominations for the 2012 oscars have been announced. Some of the recognized films are “The Artist”, “Moneyball”, and “Bridesmaids”. After Eddie Murphy had been slated to host, the actor pulled out with relatively short notice, to be replaced by academy favorite Billy Crystal.

Who do you think is going to take home the oscars? Let us know in the comments below!

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Trailer Talk “The Avengers”

Sarah Austin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:38:15 +0000

Watch Trailer Talk on Next Movie.com!

This is Trailer Talk! Check it out as some of Sarah’s slightly ridiculous friends watch the trailer for “The Avengers”. With so many superheros, there’s plenty to talk about. Stay tuned for more Trailer Talk coming soon.

Is SOPA Dead?

Sarah Austin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:53:24 +0000

Sarah Austin and friend Danni discuss the recently dropped SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills. Why was there such an uproar about this legislation, and what were the bills really trying to do? Is our internet freedom safe or is the battle just beginning?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Operation SOPA

Sarah Austin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:24:12 +0000

I’m sure most of you have heard about SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act (and the similar PROTECT IP Act, or PIPA). This week the internet came together to protest this over reaching legislation that, if passed, would have seriously infringed upon our freedom of information. Google, Wikipedia, and many other prominent websites “blacked out” their homepages and led the way by raising public awareness.

In this video Sarah Austin, and her friend Dani, embarked on a covert operation and took to the streets of San Francisco to inform the people.

UPDATE: SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today! The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard! Well done!

Trailer Talk: The Dark Knight Rises

Sarah Austin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:24:41 +0000

Watch Trailer Talk! Check it out as some of Sarah’s slightly ridiculous friends watch the trailer for the much anticipated upcoming Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises”. I’m not sure what’s more interesting, the trailer or Sarah’s friends! Stay tuned for more Trailer Talk coming soon.

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Women In Culture: Life In Palestine

Sarah Austin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:43:29 +0000

In another part of Pop17′s women in culture series, Sarah Austin shares part of an interview with Dr. Khuloud Jamal Khayyat Dajani, a Palestinian Doctor of Medicine and Associate Professor in Social Medicine and Health Policy at Al-Quds University. In this segment Khuloud talks about the challeges of growing up in Palestine amidst the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Despite all these problems, she holds on to the hope that things will change.

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CES 2012: TV Review – with Sarah Austin and John C. Dvorak

Sarah Austin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:59:29 +0000

Sarah Austin and tech columnist John C. Dvorak delve into the best new TV’s on show at CES 2012. Some of the featured products include Sharp’s super definition 8k TV, smart TV’s, and the future of Google TV. Also discussed is whether CES is getting too crowded for it’s own good? What do you think? Lets us know in the comments below.
Thanks!

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CES 2012: Waterproofing and Kitchen Tablets – with Sarah Austin and John C. Dvorak

Sarah Austin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:24:04 +0000

Sarah Austin and well known columnist John C. Dvorak discuss some featured products from CES 2012. John and Sarah discuss waterproof smartphones, kitchen tablets, the Nokia lumia 800, and Sarah’s amazonian iphone nightmare. Stay tuned for more CES coverage. Tomorrow we’ll be featuring our best of CES TV review.

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CES 2012: Sarah Austin and John C. Dvorak

Sarah Austin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:05:58 +0000

Sarah Austin and well known columnist and “techxpert” John C. Dvorak discuss CES 2012 (Consumer Electronics Show). Is the popular event losing some appeal? With Microsoft and Apple dropping out, what is the future of CES? John and Sarah discuss, along with some initial product highlights. Stay tuned for more CES coverage with Sarah and John.

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KC Baker’s Words of Wisdom

Sarah Austin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:41:59 +0000

KC Baker, founder of The School For The Well Spoken Woman, shares some inspirational words for women everywhere.

Find out more about KC Baker at http://www.kcbaker.com

And take a look at her interviews with our very own Rebekah Austin
And check us out on Part-1
And check us out on Part-2

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As of 2009 the Dali Llama said “The Western woman will save the world.” And what we believe is that, yes, the western woman will save the world, but only on the condition, once the western woman can learn how to speak up.
For centuries pass women have been economically and socially oppressed. We have been under represented and misrepresented in practically all sectors.

Happy Holidays From Pop17

Sarah Austin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:22:23 +0000

Sarah talks about what she got for Christmas, and wants to hear what YOU got too!
Happy Holidays to everyone out there. Thanks for watching and good luck in 2012.

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Pop17′s James Bond Bloopers

Sarah Austin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:46:58 +0000

Sarah just can’t seem to get an actors name quite right.

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Pop17 Outtakes 2011

Sarah Austin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:32:29 +0000

Some of the best outtakes from the last 6 months. Enjoy!

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Holiday Memories: Dollhouse

Sarah Austin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:20:04 +0000

Sarah Austin talks about one of her worst christmas gifts. Tell us your best or worst holiday memories in the comments below.

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Holiday Memories: Secret Santa

Sarah Austin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:08:22 +0000

Sarah Austin reveals one of her worst holiday memories, which still haunts her to this day. Tell us your best or worst holiday memories in the comments below.

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Holiday Buying Guide: Tech!

Sarah Austin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:25:30 +0000

Sarah Austin and columnist John C. Dvorak discuss some great holiday gift ideas for the tech head in your life. Video games, cool iPhone accessories, and Amazon’s Kindle Fire all make the cut. Check it out as Sarah and John agree and disagree on these gadget gift ideas. Let us know what you think, and what YOUR best gadget gifts are.

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Interview With Gabrielle Bernstein

Sarah Austin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:36:18 +0000

Sarah Austin sits down with best selling author and womens motivation speaker Gabrielle Bernstein. Her first book “Add More ~ing to Your Life: A Hip Guide to Happiness” was critically acclaimed, and led to her second book “Spirit Junkie”. In this interview Gabrielle talks about her current book tour and what she’s working on now.

Check out Gabby’s website and buy “Spirit Junkie” at http://gabbyb.tv/

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Holiday Gift Buying Guide: On A Budget!

Sarah Austin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:15:25 +0000

Sarah Austin and columnist John C. Dvorak discuss some good.. and bad.. budget friendly stocking stuffer gift ideas. USB car chargers and cool retro iPhone cases are just some of the items mentioned here. All for under $20!
Let us know your best budget gift ideas in the comments below.

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Interview With Christine Arylo

Sarah Austin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:49:25 +0000

Sarah Austin sits down with author Christine Arylo. Her book “Choosing Me Before We” is an inspirational guide for all women on how to love themselves. Her website www.madlyinlovewithme.com is also a platform for women to share and experience self-love. Sarah asks Christine about the book, the website, and her role as an inspirational woman in culture.

Check out Christine’s website Madly In Love With Me

And you can buy her new book Choosing Me Before We

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Best Bond Gadgets

Sarah Austin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:58:57 +0000

Everybody knows that James Bond is a style icon. Men want to be him and women want to be with him. One important part of the 007 mystique is his gadgets! Sarah Austin takes a look at some of the most memorable James Bond gadgets. Some of YOUR tweet suggegstions make the cut, as well as Sarah’s top 3. Let us know YOUR favorite Bond gadgets in the comments below.

Fashionable iPhone Apps

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:06:18 +0000

Looking for the best style apps for your smartphone or iPad? From style organizer apps, to style inspiration apps, to individual designer apps, we’ve got you covered. Kate Bosworth sporting a trendy new look? Looking for Ralph Lauren’s new line? These apps will keep you up to date with the latest fashion trends and even give you tips on your own personal style.

These are the best fashion apps of 2011!

Pretty in Pink

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:56:31 +0000

Hey guys it’s me Rebekah. If you don’t know already, I’m pretty big into fashion. I’m always looking for interesting and unique styles. One of the more eccentric fashion trends, originally from japan, is known as “Lolita”

I’ve never dabbled in Lolita before. I thought that it was just a bold Gothic abundance of weirdom. Girls decked out in puffy baby doll dresses, knee-high socks, bows, bonnets, and crazy platform heeled Mary Janes. In Japan, Lolita girls are everywhere and it has become a street fashion subculture. This extravagant style is migrating, and you can now find young American girls dressed in Lolita.

Let’s go in for ourselves and find out some more about this San Franciscan Lolitas.

With Lolita, the dress code is strict, and the first step involves wearing a frilly petticoat. “Baby the Stars shine bright” in Japantown is the perfect place for it!

Lolita fashion is noted for its over the top child fantasy themes and a pastel palette. I feel like a multilayered ice cream cake!

OkOk, so i’m starting to figure out that there are different kinds of Lolita? What about the simple red and black gothic Lolita outfit?? Then there’s the Gothic Lolita, Elegant Gothic Lolita, or EGL as it’s known by those in the scene. And finally there’s the Deco Loli look. The EGL is this…. Deco Loli is rainbow pastels, heavy makeup, and over-the-top accessories.

So there you have it. What a crazy fashion trend. I don’t know about walking around all day dressed like this, but it certainly has a unique look.

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Rebekah’s Innovative Tech 2011

Rebekah Austin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:56:39 +0000

Rebekah gathers some innovative Tech from 2011. Best of all, all of the listed Tech can be incorporated into your wardrobe! Follow us on for the latest updates!
Like us on Facebook for the behind the scenes, pics, videos and much more! http://www.facebook.com/pop17

Black Friday Cyber Monday Shopping Guide

Sarah Austin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:55:18 +0000

Sarah Austin fills you in on the best deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Don’t miss these essential tips!

Cat Viral Videos

Sarah Austin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:17:35 +0000

Everybody knows that cats are king of viral videos. Cute and ridiculous cat videos are everywhere! We can never get enough! A recent video called “Catvertising” turns this internet sensation into a hilarious marketing strategy. Rebekah Austin asks people what their favorite cat video is, and why cats rule the interwebs!

Interact with us at YouTube

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Check out “Catvertising” here

Babes in Thriftland

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:12:45 +0000

A lot of people who live in San Francisco work in TECH because it’s the only sector that’s currently making revenue. But for others like myself, we are young, beautiful and broke. The thrift stores in San Francisco save the day and give you a few opportunities to dress up on a tight budget. Tell us what you think about the best thrift store buys in the comments below.

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Updates all day every day on Twitter

You can tweet Sarah @SarahAustin
You can tweet Rebekah @BekahJAustin

KC Baker’s School for The Well Spoken Woman: Part 2

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:16:31 +0000

In part 2 of our interview with KC Baker, founder of the school for the well spoken woman, KC talks about the school’s focus and some highlights of a recent event. Take a look inside the mind of a uniquely inspiring individual and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Inside The Occupy Movement

Sarah Austin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:41:54 +0000

Sarah and Rebekah go to Occupy Oakland to take an unflitered look into this global movement. People want to be heard. People want change. Sarah and Rebekah give their take on the Occupy movement and talk about what it all means. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Occupy Oakland

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:28:12 +0000

The “Occupy” protests have expanded from their Wall Street origins into a global movement. The demonstrations in the city of Oakland, California are some of the most talked about in the country. Clashes between protesters and riot police have created a sense of tension. Rebekah Austin checks out the Occupy Oakland protests and asks people what it’s all about. Tell us what you think about the Occupy movement in the comments below.

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Gadget Accessory Style Tips

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:41:03 +0000

Do you want the inside scoop on the newest must-have gadget accessories? From Kate Spade iPhone cases to Dolce & Gabbana laptop bags, Sarah and Rebekah Austin have got you covered! Don’t you want your gadgets to have a little style? Well check out these tips and you’ll soon have the most wanted accessories around!

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How Much Do You Love Your iPhone?

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:08:58 +0000

People really do love their phones these days. Especially the new iPhone 4s. Rebekah Austin heads to the Apple store in San Francisco and asks people to choose between their iphone and their boyfriend/girlfriend. Find out just how much these people love their phones, and leave YOUR comments below!

Gadhafi Killed: What Do You Think?

Rebekah Austin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:20:23 +0000

This week Lybian Dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed in his home town of Sirte. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Lybia at the time of his death. Who was Moammar Gadhafi? And was Hillary Clinton’s presence a coincidence? Rebekah Austin hits the streets with these hard hitting and sometimes ridiculous questions. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

iPhone 4s Review

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:03:18 +0000

Rebekah Austin takes a look at some of the amazing features on Apple’s new iPhone 4s. Released last week, the new iPhone has a higher quality camera and better video recording. The “Cloud” is now at your fingertips with this new device, as well as a personal assistant voice recogniction application called Siri. Is this the real deal or should you wait for the iPhone 5? Find out here and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Steve Urkel: The Original Hipster

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:13:04 +0000

Man, those hipsters are everywhere right? Ever wonder where those big glasses and tight pants came from? Rebekah Austin traces this fashion evolution back to none other than Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White). Main character of the 1990′s hit TV show “Family Matters” this uber geek look has hilariously transformed into that ubiquitous hipster look. Fashion must have a sense of irony! Check out Rebekah’s take on this crazy fashion trend and let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Birth of Shaker

Sarah Austin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:00:39 +0000

Sarah Austin and Bear Kittay talk about how they got involved with the new virtual world facebook app Shaker. Israel, Burning Man, and taking the glory at TechCrunch are just some of the topics here. Check it out and find out more about Shaker.

And sign up for free at www.atshaker.com

Fashion Evolution: Tube Top

Sarah Austin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:04:37 +0000

Check out Sarah and Rebekah as they take us through the history of the tube top!

What is The Value of Life?

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:52:10 +0000

Rebekah definitely likes getting underneath peoples skin! Rebekah Austin goes to ask people for http://pop17.com about the value of life. be sure to follow us on twitter and tell us about what you value in life http://twitter.com/pop17

Steve Jobs Greatest Hits

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:44:11 +0000

He changed the world. Through his creative genius he has created some of the best moments in modern culture. Steve Jobs has inspired many people, and he will continue to inspire people with the creative inventions and ideas. Rest in Peace Steve Jobs. He is my Hero. This video highlights these changes. Subscribe! http://twitter.com/pop17

Be sure to watch Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech here —-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=related

Occupy San Francisco Protests

Sarah Austin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:36:52 +0000

Everybody loves a protest! Sarah Austin hits the streets and checks in with the Occupy San Francisco protestors. Does anybody know what’s going on here? Find out for yourself!

The West Bank Wall

Sarah Austin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:31:08 +0000

Sarah’s travels in the year of 2011 led her from Egypt to Palestine, to Israel. While Sarah was touring Palestine wayward to Israel she was able to interview an old time college friend about Palestinian feelings about the West Bank Wall and Jerusalem. This video is a personal interview and a vision of what the West Bank Wall is through the eyes of Palestinians.

Fashion Evolution: Animal Print

Sarah Austin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:27:38 +0000

Where did the animal print come from? Find out here on and subscribe! Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/pop17 Want to know what made Tarzan so sexy? His Animal Print! Find out why here on Pop17. I’m Sarah Austin, Subscribe!

Girl vs Gadget: Boxer Girl Vs. Dell Inspiron 15R Laptop

Sarah Austin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:08:25 +0000

Sarah Austin AKA “Boxer Girl” takes on the Dell Inspiron 15R Laptop. For every plus point, super-geek helper guy Stan takes a punch to the face. For every negative point, it’s the laptop that takes the pain. Who goes down first? Is this laptop worth the money? Will Stan cry? Watch and find out!

Do Dog Owners Look Like Their Dogs?

Rebekah Austin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:39:31 +0000

Rebekah Austin meets some local SF dog owners and asks the heavy hitting question. Do Dog Owners Look Like Their Dogs? See for yourself!

Fashion Evolution: The Stiletto

Sarah Austin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:56:22 +0000

Sarah walks us through the history of the stiletto heel. This sexy footware was brought to prominance with the emergance of film noir in the late 40′s. Now, the stiletto is a staple for most women, worn for business and pleasure. Follow Sarah and Rebekah as we go through some fashion evolution.

Is Telling a Misleading Truth Morally Equivalent To Lying?

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:56:00 +0000

Rebekah went out to Market Street, San Francisco asking people about their personal theory on lying? Are white lies better than blatant lies, or are they both bluntly wrong and sinful? This question takes us back to our morals, and back to justice. Can you justify a time that you’ve lied? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

TechCrunch Disrupt 2011

Rebekah Austin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:08:44 +0000

September 14, 2011
After 3 days of hard campaigning, rough interviews, gutsy presentations and the announced loss the beloved TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, Disrupt came to the conclusion of who would take home the TechCrunch trophy cup. It wasn’t all that romantic though, we saw battlefield finalist suffering from elimination and even some people finding it impossible to get into the event.
What we see is a lot of creative content; from people creating websites and applications to new innovative ways of social networking. Internet companies have been crucible for innovation-and I believe that the internet is a great place to start as an entrepreneur.

At the end of the night it came down to our semi finalist.
Bitcasa was the first to presen, Bitcasa is a software device that has infinite storage capacity. Instead of using a harddrive all of your memory is supported and logged into a cloud. (Only at $10 a month.)
CakeHealth is an alternative source for organizing and paying out your medical bills. CakeHealth takes account for the percents that you and your insurance are due to pay. CakeHealth anticipates and estimates how much your next visit to the doctor will cost-and it’s free.
Talkto: is a smartphone application that allows you to text any local business as easily as you can text your friends and also ensures that you will get a text back. You can use Talkto: on the web or on any wireless device.
Prism Skylabs believes that Vision is the one significant way that people come to understand and experience the world. That being, is why so many people use cameras and camera phones to share what they experience or experienced. Prism Skylabs is a free cloud service that brings physical places online. “Prism Skylabs goal is to transform the world’s multi-hundred billion-dollar camera network investments into a platform for online to offline commerce that creates new revenue steams and new opportunities for businesses to engage consumers.”-Crunch Base
Farmigo is providing an alternative food system by enabling group buying of local food directly from your local farmer. Thus making it reasonable and easy to eat locally and seasonally.
Trello is a web app that is a online task management application that lets you create virtual boards that you can save categories to.
Shaker is second life meets facebook, Shaker is the new frontier of Social Networking. Shaker allows you to contact people on facebook that you wouldn’t be able to communicate with regularly on the internet. Shaker is a social networking platform with individualized avatars that are manifested by your personal facebook account. Shaker connects you with a graphic 2D network of all your direct, mutual, affiliated friends. Shaker is the first gate into the future of social networking, and this is why Shaker won Disrupt at Tech Crunch 2011.

“This is usually my favorite part of the conference. Most things could have gone wrong, we could have lost food and or air conditioning. But tomorrow tomorrow TechCrunch has to start a new chapter. Without Michael Arringoton.” -Heather Harde, currently CEO of TechCrunch

Adobe Youth Voices & Peapod Foundation

Jennifer Schumacher — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:09:07 +0000

Adobe foundation, with the help from a little group we like to call “The Black Eyed Peas”, and their Peapod Foundation have launched a total of five Adobe Youth Voices academies to date that focus on multimedia tools to help youth make a difference!

By providing breakthrough learning experiences for young people, adobe youth voices philosophy is to: “capitalizes on young people’s innate optimism and sense of justice, helping encourage youth to be creative, articulate contributors to their communities.”

You can also download lesson plans for your classroom!
So, what do you say… go get empowered. And tell us what inspires you in the comments below!

Help MTV Launch New Campaign At 2012 SXSWi

Jennifer Schumacher — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:49:27 +0000

Help MTV launch a new campaign at 2012 SXSWi.  We all know about inspiring events like: TED Talks, and PopTech. Don’t get me wrong, we heart these events… hard! However, MTV wants to inspire change, on the spot, with a 60-minute interactive session, where instead of just absorbing thought-provoking ideas, people are given the chance to prove it, by putting those ideas into action.  

So, to make this idea a reality (and here at pop17 we love this idea). MTV needs your help to get it in front of the, and I quote: “Bigwigs to show them it’s not what we say, it’s what we do that counts”. 

Love Your Flawz

Jennifer Schumacher — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:37:21 +0000

From scars and acne, to unusually shaped noses, the media has told us that being our unique selves just isn’t good enough. Well, Caitlin Crosby and Brie Larson think that’s a bunch of bull! They have embarked on the “Love Your Flawz Revolution” an online stage where it’s okay to be uniquely you at loveyourflawz.com…way to go girls!

Check out Love Your Flawz here

And also check out Rebekah Austin’s video about the flaws of the modeling industry here

Should Corporations Support Altruism?

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:42:29 +0000

Philanthropy is used as a form of public relations or advertising- promoting a company’s image through a cause-related marketing strategy. Should corporations engage in philanthropy? Walmart is not only the worlds largest retailer, it’s also the number one most charitable organization. Other major organizations, like Wells Fargo, have been recognized as leaders in investments of non-profit and micro-financing institution.

Do you think it enhances the appeal of a corporation of it has shared values in philanthropy and non-profits?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!!

Video Games: A Silent Killer

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:54:35 +0000

Everybody enjoys their free time; to sit back watch a movie, read a book, surf the net or play a video game. According to the the entertainment software association 72% of the U.S. population plays video games, and that’s an all time high. Earlier this month, Chris Staniforth, a 20 year old avid gamer, died of a blood clot after playing xbox for 12 hours straight. This tragedy leads us to question the very real health risks of video games.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!!

Bart Protests: A Travesty of the U.S. Constitution

Rebekah Austin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:44:59 +0000

July 2nd 2011 A man Charles Hill was shot and killed by BART police. Protesters have been gathering and demonstrating at BART platforms since the murder. People are expressing their concern about the BART protests, many stations have been prompted to shut down in order to avoid protests, and as a result have angered many commuters. Activists have clearly been projecting a message. “Stay there, don’t start randomly marching up and down the streets,” the message read. “This in no way impedes the function of the station itself, and ensures that the public cannot reasonably see us as ‘the protesters who kept me from getting home’ (www.sfgate.com). BART has resorted to cutting off wireless communication services in order to avoid these protests. There is no way of telling who is organizing these protests, or the possible role of social media.

Rebekah and the Pop17 team went out on the streets asking commuters what they think the BART protests are all about.

Steve Jobs Out Of A Job

Rebekah Austin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:17:08 +0000

This week Silicon Valley visionary Steve Jobs resigned from his position as CEO of Apple. His innovation and leadership led Apple to the forefront of the technology industry. From the Macbook to the iPhone, it’s almost impossible to go through a single day without seeing a product that came from the mind of Steve Jobs.

Pop17′s Rebekah Austin asks the people of San Francisco what they think about the resignation of Steve Jobs. What’s next for Apple? What’s the real reason he left? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

Tax The Rich To Help The Poor? What Do You Think?

Rebekah Austin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:53:20 +0000

With a growing global debt crisis, money is on the mind of the people. Last week billionaire Warren Buffet called for the rich to pay higher taxes. Do we tax the rich to help the poor? Or does everybody fend for themselves? Pop17′s Rebekah Austin gets the pulse of the people with some hard hitting questions. Tell us what you think and leave your comments below!

Don’t forget to follow Sarah and Rebekah on Twitter @Pop17

Creating Utopia

Rebekah Austin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:52:28 +0000

Peter Thiel is an American entrepreneur who founded paypal and was the first to invest in Facebook. Thiel is now funding $1.25 million dollars into a project dreamed of by many philosophers decades and millennia’s pass. The Seasteading Institute created the concept of permanent dwelling at sea; cities living outside the territories claimed by major nations.
“To further the establishment and growth of permanent, autonomous ocean communities”

“Do Something” Awards 2011 Preview!

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:33:25 +0000

Jen and Rebekah kick off the Do Something Something Awards by giving you a brief preview of the nominees! There’s Justin Bieber, Daniel Radcliffe, Glee, Pretty little liars, Nick Jonas, and many more! Tune in to see who is what and what is hot!

Check out the rest of the nominees

Beat The Traffic With “Waze”

Rebekah Austin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:16:16 +0000

Pop17′s Rebekah Austin sits down with Michal Habdank-Kolaczkowski, Director of Communications at Waze. Waze is a new social mobile application that provides free turn-by-turn navigation based on live user-generated road conditions. Tired of making one wrong turn and ending up in an hour long traffic jam? Waze is here to help. Check out Rebakahs interview with Michal to find out more.

Stay tuned for another segment with Rebekah and Michal, as they discuss “Carmageddon” – and how Waze helped Los Angeles get through a weekend long closure of the 405 freeway.

Don’t forget to download Waze (for free!!) for your smartphone here!

And follow Pop17 on Twitter @Pop17

Avaaz.org – Making A Difference

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:30:11 +0000

Avaaz.org is a non-profit organization that advocates the importance of societal activism globally. Avaaz ranges from small philanthropic cases in London to global issues at UN conferences. Each individual effort aims to achieve a global community with desires to change the world one step at a time. Go ahead and see for yourself at Avaaz.org

Inside VidCon – Part 4: Lauren Francesca

Sarah Austin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:34:54 +0000

In the final part of Pop17′s “Inside VidCon” series, Sarah catches up with Lauren Francesca, AKA “Iwantmylauren”. Lauren burst onto the scene in 2009 when she teamed up with Tom Small’s “Key of Awesome” YouTube Channel. Her first major contribution was a now infamous Lady Gaga music video parody. The video received over 32 million hits on YouTube, and vaulted Lauren to internet celebrity status. In this video, Sarah and Lauren kick back and talk about her most popular videos, her recent projects, and what’s on the horizen for the lovely lady.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Lauren Francesca’s YouTube Channel

And follow Sarah Austin on Twitter @Pop17

Sarah and the London Riots

Sarah Austin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:20:38 +0000

Pop17′s Sarah Austin and Bear Kittay find themselves on the streets of London in the middle of the most intense and violent riots in a generation. Over the weekend, clashes between police and rioters have spread from London to the whole of the United Kingdom. The chaos began on Saturday night in Tottenham, a district in North London, when a crowd of people gathered to protest the killing of 29 year old Mark Duggan by police. As the violence spread, more and more riot police have been deployed in an attempt to quell the growing unrest.

Sarah and Bear hit the streets, with brooms in hand, to help the local community clean up the extensive damage to homes, businesses and transportation. The power of real time social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter has dramatically increased social interconnectedness and community mobilization, which is on display here in London as people come together to stand up for their rights. As the violence continues, Sarah and Bear ask the people of London what they think about the riots, the role of social media, and what’s going to happen next.

Stay tuned. More to come soon.

Inside VidCon – Part 3: “Katers17″

Sarah Austin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:46:22 +0000

In part 3 of Pop17′s “Inside VidCon” series, Sarah connects with Kate Elliott, AKA “Katers17″ on YouTube. Kate was one of the first video bloggers out of the United Kingdom to achieve YouTube celebrity status. With her irresistible vernacular and razor sharp wit, it’s no wonder she has a large and loyal fan base. Sarah takes a quick stroll down memory lane with Kate, as well as a look into what her future may hold. Don’t miss it!

And don’t forget to follow Sarah on twitter

Inside VidCon – Part 2: Jessica Berry

Sarah Austin — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:07:21 +0000

In Part 2 of Pop17′s “Inside VidCon”, Sarah hangs out with Jessica Berry – one of YouTube’s newest shining stars. Sarah and Jessica talk about her growing fan base, favorite movies, and her collaborations with other YouTube celebrities like DeStorm!

Don’t forget to follow Pop17 on twitter @Pop17..

And subscribes to Jessica Berry’s YouTube channel here

Inside VidCon – Part 1: “Mr. Safety”

Sarah Austin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:34:45 +0000

Sarah heads to LA for VidCon 2011, where all the biggest personalities on YouTube get together at this awesome viral video themed conference. In part 1, Sarah kicks back and talks about internet fame, money, and mean cats with the man behind one of YouTube’s most popular channels, Corey Williams, AKA “Mr. Safety”

Look for Part 2 of Pop17′s “Inside VidCon” soon!

And check out SMPFilms here

Raising The Debt Ceiling – What Do YOU Think?

Rebekah Austin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:46:58 +0000

Our very own Rebekah Austin hits the streets of San Francisco, asking people what they think about raising the debt ceiling. Is the government making a huge mistake? Is the country on the road to recovery? Find out what people are saying.. And leave your comment below!

Putting a default on the United States of America’s debt would be the most horrendous move on the Obama Administration’s neck. People all across the nation are suffering from the amount of decreasing jobs.

By trimming 1 trillion dollars in spending will higher the debt ceiling. Debt only matters as a percent of GDP. Once the country’s debt reaches around 100% of the GDP is when the people of America are put into a frightened state. As long as the U.S. continues to pay off the debt we will continue to receive loans. People on the small scale recycle debt in a day to day basis, and that is exactly what the U.S. is doing-recycling out debt with other nations.

Find Deals Near You With The Leloca Smartphone App

Sarah Austin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:11:36 +0000

Leloca is a soon-to-be-released smartphone app that allows local merchants to offer discounts to nearby consumers. An empty restaurant table, unsold theater seat, or open spa booking, is a wasted opportunity. Leloca merchants instantly attract new customers with geotargeted offers.

Look for Leloca starting September 5th!

King of the Web Empowers Internet Celebrity

Sarah Austin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:50:30 +0000

King of the Web is a start up based in Seattle, Washiongton, focused on empowering online video creators to make videos and post them online. They were gracious in bringing me out for this interview. So fun!

King of the Web is a website where you vote for who and what is awesome on the web. It’s a straight-up democracy. That means that you, your friends, your enemies, and even complete strangers get to decide who becomes King.

China’s Controversial Twitter

Rebekah Austin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:12:55 +0000

All across China, the worlds two largest networks, Facebook and Twitter are blocked by the government. For most westerners who are accustomed to updating their Twitter and Facebook status’s find China difficult.

Comic Con: The People Behind The Scenes

Sarah Austin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:58:35 +0000

Comic Con 2011 is the biggest convention to hit San Diego each summer. In this video we take a look at how the artists form their creative process, how much a comic books costs, and geek culture. If you haven’t experience Comic Con before, it’s one conference you don’t want to miss.

Fandom DIY: Comic Con 2011

Sarah Austin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:47:59 +0000

We went to Comic Con in San Diego, California, to ask people about their costumes and characters. The people at Comic Con are super fans and loving it by making their costumes from scratch. These do it yourselfers show that fandom living takes commitment.

Comic Con 2011 Madness

Sarah Austin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:49:51 +0000

We’re at Comic-con 2011 where people become famous vicariously through their characters. This episode is from 2008 when we visited Comic Con before. Fans come from around the globe for the biggest convention to hit San Diego, California, each year.

19 Year Old Kid Runs A Company?

Sarah Austin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:24:34 +0000

Sarah meets Brian Wong, the founder of kiip (pronounced “keep”), a mobile rewards network, backed by True Ventures. Kiip has raised over $4.4 million in funding to date and is redefining the advertising industry through a “moments”-based value model, versus the traditional attention based screen estate model.

FRIDAY Parody: The Zog from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Sarah Austin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:07:15 +0000

Seth Herzog sat down with me for an interview in New York City. He’s an opening comedian from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Along with Steven Colbert, he performed in their hilarious parody of Rebecca Black’s Friday music video. You can follow him on tiwtter! The show uses social media as a major focus seen in the skits and shorts uploaded to the web.

The Webby Awards Part 2

Sarah Austin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:50:32 +0000

From technology hardware to apps and software, the Webby Awards honor the best of the web. Pop17 attended the red carpet at the Hammerstein ballroom in New York City to ask celebrities and winners about their achievements. Dress by Teri Jon.

Webby Awards: CollegeHumor, Ushahidi, Lisa Lamanelli

Sarah Austin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:50:04 +0000

Lisa Kidrow hosted the 15th annual Webby Awards on Monday June 13th, 2011 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Winners were selected by the people’s choice- voted on by fans- and as voted by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Daniel Radcliffe presented Anna Wintour with the people’s voice award for vogue.com and there were special performances by Norah Jones. Winners and celebrity attendees made their way on the red carpet and the award ceremony ensued. Hailed as the “Internet’s hightest honor” by the New York Times, the awards include websites, ads, film, and apps. Dress by Teri Jon.

Sarah Austin Cameo As Paris Hilton

Rebekah Austin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 02:26:49 +0000

My adorable sister makes a cameo at the end of this awesome Celebrity Crush episode.

An elementary school teacher in New Jersey recently promised her fourth grade students a “big surprise” to congratulate them after an exam. The surprise? a Skype call from Lady Gaga herself.
The teacher was allegedly friends with Gaga before she made it big. Well… apparently not, because turns out the woman who was chatting with the students via Skype was only an impersonator. The teacher’s excuse was that the “real” Lady Gaga backed out at the last minute.

Alleged nude photo of the Gossip Girl star, Blake Lively, were leaked on Tuesday night. The photos were taken on her iPhone in various parts of her bathroom.

Nicole from Boston writes: Hey ladies! Did you guys hear about Paris Hilton’s new album? It’s supposed to be house music. Let’s hope they put enough autotune on that horrific voice of hers!
I’m sure the autotune will not be lacking, Nicole. But sounds like we’ve got something new to pump our fists to very soon!

Watch a new Celebrity Crush daily at Mevio.

Exclusive Announcement: Dan Brown’s New Project

Sarah Austin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:56:43 +0000

Dan Brown is currently the 49th most subscribed director on YouTube, with over 275,000 subscribers and over 5.4 million channel views. Brown has been noted in the media for his newly and widely viewed self-made videos. This channel is where Dan Brown posted his first videos, including his Rubik’s Cube tutorial. In August 2010, he launched “Dan 3.0″, which would be a year-long project in which users could control his life through voting on his actions. Based on these votes Dan has done many notable things the biggest of which is move to San Francisco. He has since discontinued the Dan 3.0 project, citing personal difficulties and lack of viewer interest in the new format of his videos. Subscribe on YouTube to be the first to see his new show launching on July 1st called Delicious Steak With Dan Brown.

Realtime News Reporting: 140 Conf

Sarah Austin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:50:06 +0000

The 140 Conference takes place every year in New York City. We have a great line up for our panel about how news reporting changes over time.

Brian White @BrianKOLD
Sean gardner @2morrowKnight
Jessica Northey @JessicaNorthey
Sarah Austin @sarahaustin

Andrea Syrtash Say’s He’s Just Not Your Type

Sarah Austin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:22:20 +0000

At the TechSet party for Internet week in NYC, I sat down with Andrea Syrtash. She’s a dating & relationship expert, on-air personality and author.

Andrea has contributed to over a dozen relationship-advice books and is the editor of “How to Survive the Real World” and “How to Survive Your In-Laws”. Her last book, “He’s Just Not Your Type (And That’s a Good Thing)”, was released in May 2010 and her next book, “Cheat On Your Husband (With Your Husband)” will be out in September 2011. She is a regular advice columnist and contributor to numerous popular sites including Yahoo, The Huffington Post and Oprah.com; and she is the on-air host of ‘On Dating’, produced by NBC Digital Studios. Andrea has shared advice in various media outlets across the country including on The Today Show, USA Today and NPR, among others. She was recently the subject of an NHK Japan documentary about her work as a ‘love advisor’. Between 2007-2009 Andrea Syrtash was a Google ‘hot trend’, ranking in the top 100 things googled on particular days.

Editorial Modeling Agency’s unrealistic vision of Beauty with the use of Photoshop.

Rebekah Austin — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:00:27 +0000

This fashion stigma is unhealthy for the physical and mental health of many girls around the world, but it doesn’t mean that the agencies are forced to change their ways, with the use of photoshop anyone can look like a model on the cover of Vogue.

Foxl Pocket Size Portable Speaker Unboxing

Greg Wilker — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:52:35 +0000

Boxer Girl Sarah Austin racks up some punches on Stan the Man as they review the Foxl Pocket Size Portable Speaker

Girl vs Gadget – GoPro HD Helmet Cam

Greg Wilker — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:34:19 +0000

Boxer-Girl Sarah Austin unboxes the GoPro HD helmet Cam.

Facebook Pokes and Farmville Spam!

Sarah Austin — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:11:42 +0000

Everyday I get more pokes on facebook and more farmville spam as gifts from my friends.

Lady Gaga’s Judas, Fashion Week FAIL and Talking Dogs

Sarah Austin — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:58:34 +0000

Lady Gaga’s Judas shocks the world. People are interpreting her paralleled song with biblical references as a pop cultural religious movement. Plus, a Hindu Goddess printed swimsuit causes Biblical Outcry & Flag Burning in India against Australia’s Fashion Week. Finally, dogs can talk? LOL!

Microsoft Gets Skype from eBay for 8.5 Billion Dollars

Sarah Austin — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:33:56 +0000

Microsoft purchased Skype from eBay for 8.5 Billion dollars! Skype did buy Qik earlier this year which update the valuation of the company a bit. But do you think Skype is worth 8.5 Billion dollars?

The Go Game

Sarah Austin — Mon, 09 May 2011 06:46:48 +0000

The Go Game stages technology-fueled, creative games and activities for teambuilding, marketing programs, sales training and just pure fun. Based in San Francisco, they stage unique, interactive events and scavenger hunts for groups of 3 to 10,000 players anywhere in the world. Veronica Belmont teams up with popular web bloggers Sarah Austin, Ryan Block, Krystyal Baldwin, Siv Lam, Alex Wawro and Ben Parr for one of the hunts.

This video is made possible by Chevrolet. In accordance to the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I am sponsored, but all editorial content has been created by me and reflects my personal opinions.

Boxer-Girl vs Nikon Coolpix S9100 Unboxing Review

Greg Wilker — Fri, 06 May 2011 17:16:08 +0000

Boxer-Girl finds her self in another epic fight! This time it’s with the Nikon Coolpix S9100

White iPhone4 Rant

Sarah Austin — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:22:29 +0000

I’ve been waiting for the launch of the iPhone4 in white. However, now that it’s here I’m not that into it. Should I be? It’s lost the allure of being fresh and new because the iPhone5 is around the corner, launching this year. Yet it’s still feminine and cute!

Finally: iPhone4 in White!

Sarah Austin — Tue, 03 May 2011 05:28:13 +0000

Typically, for any Apple launch there is a line around the store filled with the biggest fans. However, for the launch of the iPhone4 in white there was little hype. If you think that Apple fanatics buy every new product release then maybe this news is telling of our times. Is it that people don’t like the way it looks or are they just excited for the iPhone5? Rumors have it that the iPhone5 is launching later this year as a thinner more durable model. Exciting!

Summit Series: Featuring Luke Nosek, Bear Kittay, and Michael Vassar

Sarah Austin — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:15:32 +0000

Featuring Luke Nosek, Bear Kittay, and Michael Vassar. Prior to Founders Fund Luke introduced Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, with led to the creation of PayPal. As co-founder of PayPal and served as the company’s VP of Marketing and Strategy. While at PayPal, Luke oversaw the company’s marketing and product efforts at launch, creating one of the first viral marketing programs as well as PayPal’s PayPal’s most profitable product lines. Luke received a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Luke now works at Founders Fund.

Bear Kittay is from New York, NY. He graduated from Utah Wilderness to Oberlin College. He then graduated to Obama for America and spearheaded MusicForDemocracy PAC, San Francisco, CA. He now lives part time in Los Cabos, Mexico working for Kundavi. He calls himself a social alchemist and an advocate of the right brain. Serial entrepreneur and musician, crowdsourcing and activation’s his mission. Kundavi is creating a permanent home for radical innovation in paradise.

Michael Vassar is SIAI’s President, and provides overall leadership of the SIAI as it develops its research capabilities and its role as a forum for discussion of the challenges and potential of artificial general intelligence. He is also responsible for the organization of the Singularity Summit.

My Bear Kittay from Summit Series

Sarah Austin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:41:41 +0000

Summit Series was so much fun! I am so happy I went as an open book. The last night was magical. I met Bear. This is the story of life’s music. A lot of you have been asking to create different channels so that you don’t have to watch all of these vlogs on the main channel. In response to your comments on the videos, I’ll be lifecasting from a new channel, where I’m sure you will see more of Bear, and I’ll go live and post these types of video blogs there too.

Shopping With Friends: Search On Bing Mobile Deals

Sarah Austin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:17:37 +0000

I’m such a braggart when it comes to deals! My favorite girlfriend to brag about what I buy with is Anna Anisin. We mostly either talk about having bought something for a discounted price or having a deal that we want to purchase together as part of a group buying deal.

Have you ever noticed how bargain shoppers always like to comment on their deals? Well, we are the epitome of this type of shopper. I always tell Anna first about my fantastic deals. She’s got such a great mind for finance I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a CFO of a major tech company someday soon.

So many deals, so little time! When Anna and I find ourselves out and about and in need of a good deal, we’re mostly just out of luck. Imagine how cool it would be if you could search only deals near your exact location from your mobile phone. Anna and I just discovered we can do just that because Bing mobile deals – available at m.bing.com on iPhones and Androids – combines location-based services with search. It pinpoints your exact location to serve you up deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, Tippr and more near where you live, work, where you attend conferences, lunches and dinner spots with your friends. Search Deals! And you can team up with your friends to buy dinners, day spa deals, mani pedi deals, etc… by searching first for deals on m.bing.com on the go! I got to make this fun little video where I’m looking for an ice cream deal and am able to get it! Yum yum goodies!

I’m more likely to purchase items when I’m out with my friends like Anna. Anna’s got a great eye for deals online and offline, and not to mention fabulous style! She’s always telling me about the best buys and how to manage my budget. What’s best is we can shop together on the go! We’ve noticed that we seem to be making WAY more purchases when we’re buying on the go! LOL!

When Anna’s not with me, I like to get a second opinion from my other friends. Every once in a while I’ll lifecast from the store where I am shopping and ask my friends to tell me what they like best. Generally, I like to shop with friends, but often times I end up alone because I’m on the go. Thank goodness I always have Bing mobile deals to turn to!

This video is made possible by Bing mobile deals. In accordance to the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I am sponsored by Bing, the decision engine from Microsoft. All editorial content has been created by me and reflects my personal opinions.

Chia Earth: The Whole World In Your Hand

Sarah Austin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 22:12:50 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful Earth Day and helped make Mother Earth a better place for everyone. This is our out-of-this-world video collaboration to highlight all the love and joy that comes from us taking care of our planet. As we strive for a more sustainable future we ask that you also consider what your impact is. All of us share a responsibility to consider our own personal responsibility.

Share this video with your friends by clicking the like and tweet buttons above or copy and paste this link: http://youtu.be/UaPBhmHnaVQ

Rebecca Black Loves Justin Bieber

Sarah Austin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:54:23 +0000

Check out our video from Playlist Live. We made a sing along song with other youtubers as a way to tribute this 13 year old singer. We have to give her props and support! She’s killing it.

Summit At Sea: Interview With Arielle Patrice Scott via Oyster.com

Sarah Austin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 06:22:34 +0000

Summit At Sea’s ship departed from Miami, Florida for Summit Series. This 3 day conference brought in some of the most influential and interesting individuals of our time.

Arielle Patrice Scott sat down with us for a quick interview.

I stayed at The National Hotel, next door to The Delano where the Summit Series kick off party took place. Thanks to Oyster.com I was able to book my travel needs at The National and even go to the Spa for a massage! Oyster helps make it easy to decide on your hotel stay because there are so many pictures of every little detail. You can check out my slideshow of photos from my experience here:

Girl Vs Gadget: Boxergirl Unboxing Samsung QX Note PC- review

Sarah Austin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:09:39 +0000

Boxer-Girl takes on the Samsung QX Note PC with help from her trainer Eddie at the end of the fight it’s Eddie who gets KO! Watch to see.

To Win:
Click the Tweet Button blog post or any of our others click the tweet button and use hashtag #samsungwindows7 in the tweet and you could win the Samsung QX Note PC!

Cruze-arati Parody of Friday from Playlist Live

Sarah Austin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:33:05 +0000

This video is so cute! If you know Rebecca Black’s Friday song then you should know this parody karaoke version brought to you by the Chevy Cruze.

A Soccer Club Making A Better Future For Underserved Youth

Sarah Austin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:17:32 +0000

The Briceño Soccer Club is based in the canal district of San Rafael, California. The children are largely supported by scholarships as the canal is primarily latino community with underserved youth.

The Little Bay Book Launches

Sarah Austin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:05:56 +0000

What a better time to start a new Pop17 show than for the YouTube NextUp program? At midnight last night, YouTube creator’s channel closed it’s application process after being extended a few days. The contest is for an initial seed funding from Google toward any content creator’s channel. Hermione Way and I decided to collaborate on this unique opportunity for the possibility of funding, but more importantly the promotion and support from YouTube. What’s the future of TV? Possibly the YouTube NextUp’s 25 shows. Their unique development program is taking YouTube from viral videos to being about episodic content similar to Blip.TV’s business model.

Little Bay Book is your city guide presented by the tastemakers of Silicon Valley. We will take you to the hot places frequently visited by the Silicon Valley elite. This is our way of showing you the little hidden gems that will further inspire one’s professional work. In this episode, we show you Samovar at Yerba Buena Gardens. It’s the place all the entrepreneurs are hanging out at this week’s Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. You can tweet us or send a message on Facebook to let us know where you want us to go next.

Right now when you visit any Samovar tea lounge and order any green tea 10% if the profits will go toward aiding Japan and the Red Cross in their tsunami relief.

Hot And Not On Facebook

Sarah Austin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:21:50 +0000

We aren’t actually trying to tell you what is hot and not- everyone has their own opinion. This silly video, directed by John C Dvorak, is the first step in developing a more cranky side to pop17. We’re excited for Angry Birds on Facebook!

Say Cheese and Pitch!

Anna Anisin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:25:34 +0000

I don’t know about you but one of the highlights of my trip to Austin at SXSW Interactive this year was the Royale with Cheese Party Sponsored by Canaan Partners. Canaan Partners is a global venture capital firm out of Menlo Park, CA that invests in people who turn visionary ideas into valuable companies. Cannan’s VCs are behind Match.com, DoubleClick, SuccessFactors, Associated Content, Zoosk, Lending Club, Blip.tv, Blurb, Tremor Media, PrimeSense and Kabam.

The idea behid the party was brilliant! All you had to do was pitch your idea! In fact our own Sarah Austin pitched for her fist time at this event. The catch – you only had 2 and a half minutes to pitch! The preasure was on. The party was tastefully set on a rooftop of a brand new Austin hotspot ROIAL – guests gathered and enjoyed free cocktails, tasty miny burgers & pitches.

Other then Sarah pitching for Pop17 – 13 other start-ups pitched to Cannan one of which was our dear friend Chris Hansen the foudner of BAMM.TV

Here is a list of the other 12 startups and founders,brave enough to pitch in front of a large crowd not to meantion the 50K+ viewers who joined us on POP17′schannel LIVE on Justin.tv

Nick Pinkston – CloudFab
Jared Loftus – College District
Sunil Madhu – Hopskoch
Lee Hnetinka – Leetto
Nik Daftary – Moodfish
Nader Ghaffari – Rseven Mobile
Rseven Mobile – Shortform
Sam Alkan – Social Genius
Matt Bijur – Squabbler
Rob Milis – TinyPass
Free Range Content
Sean – NoteHall

After much antisipation from the crowd and diliberation from the judges – TinyPass won taking home the Golden Suitcase!
Congrats guys!

Check out the video of all 14 pitches here:

Watch live video from pop17 on Justin.tv

My 5 Tips for a Quick and Successful pitch:

1. Make sure to have a clear outline – especially if you only have 2 minutes to pitch, know what you’re going to say ahead of time

2. Have a clear objective

3. Make sure to know your competitors and industry like the back of your hand

4. RELAX and breathe…..

5. Have a good closing sentense – make it memorable

Thank you Canaan for such a wondrful evening – can’t wait until your next fabulous party!

Video: Backstage from Microsoft’s IE9 Concert / Launch Party

Anastasia Hilinsky — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:43:43 +0000

Microsoft did a great job promoting the launch of IE9 as they threw their newest browser into the mix. Complete with drinks, a great crowd, a fantastic venue, live music, and above all else free popcorn — this was a great success.

Here’s a short clip of Yeasayer closing out the house last night. Shot from my undercover iPhone 4 backstage because that’s how we roll at Pop17.

@SXSW Pop17.com/Live today between 3pm-1am cst on Justin.tv

Greg Wilker — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:42:58 +0000

Here is a short clip of ShayCarl Power Pressing Hermione Way over his head at the Live Diggnation Party at SXSW 2011, Shot on the Nikon D7000

We will be streaming live between the hours of 3 to 11 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME on Justin.tv
Join us at Our Live Page

Boxergirl VS Snowball: Blue Microphone

Sarah Austin — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:59:49 +0000

It’s easy to use, but not super portable because of it’s size. Initially, a USB mic that’s not only easy to use, but sounds as good on your desktop as it does in a professional recording studio. Meet the Snowball; the world’s first professional USB mic.

Whether you’re recording a guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in the studio, the Snowball can capture it with detail unheard of before in a USB mic.

Girl VS Gadget- Novero Bluetooth Headset

Sarah Austin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:19:37 +0000

This is a headset calling device with a speakerphone for your car. Get this Novero Lexinton collection for around $100. It’s too bad that this headset was designed just for men. It seems like an all around great headset with dual mics, 20 hour talk time, and a case with a built-in battery backup/charger. I mean, it seems silly to cut off half of your potential customer base by designing something just for one sex. Novero does have the Victoria collection of bluetooth necklaces for the women, however. Want!

Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for more shows. Click on the video buttons below to download this episode directly to your desktop, mobile device, or tablet.

YouTube Stars Are Millionares

Sarah Austin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:53:37 +0000

YouTube partners are making over $1 million off of their videos, according to the NYPost. This story comes to you via the Business Insider.

We all knew that a bunch of YouTube stars were pulling in six-figures a year, but who knew that some of these guys (and gals?) have become millionaires? Then again, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise to hear about YouTube millionaires when you look at the whole picture of potential revenue streams in banner, pre-roll and overlay ads in addition to sponsored videos and merchandise sales.

“Sponsorships are where money is right now,” YouTube star Cory Williams of SMPFilms told us in an interview from last September.

Google has also announced that it’s running ads on three billion YouTube videos a week – up 50% from last May. This is a reflection of more partnerships being accepted by YouTube while current partners churn out videos at a faster rate. One trend amongst popular YouTube partners is to create new YouTube channels that attract views from their hardcore fans.

From our discussions with various YouTube partners, we’ve always walked away amazed at how much work and dedication they put into their videos. It’s unknown who the YouTube millionaires are, but we’re sure they’ve done excellent work on-camera and behind the scenes to get those seven-figures.

Girl VS Gadget: Unboxing Asus Eee PC

Sarah Austin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:47:58 +0000

Microsoft was generous enough to send me this brand new ASUS Eee PC Seashell Karim Rashid Collection – 1008P. Thanks Microsoft for asking me to be a brand ambassador this year! Some of the features of this netbook include a mini keyboard, LED backlit screen, Intel Atom processor, and 3MPXL camera.

Will this laptop beat the girl in the battle of the tech? Watch and find out.

YouTube singer Meghan Tonjes’ Ellen appearance

Franchesca Ramsey — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:02:15 +0000

Meghan Tonjes on the January 18th episode of Ellen

YouTube singer Meghan Tonjes was featured on yesterday’s episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show. Ellen has proven to be quite social media savvy using Twitter for special show challenges, regularly inviting viral video stars on her show and recently signing YouTube sensation Greyson Chance to her new record label.

After joining YouTube in 2006, Meghan Tonjes gained popularity by performing unique covers and mashups of pop songs along with her own original compositions. Before performing her latest mash up of Britney Spears and Bruno Mars, which currently has over 200 thousand views, Meghan talked about her experience with online negativity regarding her weight. Despite the criticisms, Meghan continues to keep a positive outlook and suggests the haters “need hobbies”. In addition to being a musician, Meghan is founder/contributor of “Project Lifesize”, a YouTube collab channel dedicated to promoting healthy body images for women. For more info on Meghan or to purchase her full length album, “Be in Want” visit www.meghantonjes.com.

Meghan Tonjes interview and performance on Ellen

Interview with Jolie O’Dell Part 2

Sarah Austin — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:27:55 +0000

Sarah Austin sits down with technology journalist, Jolie O’Dell of Mashable, to discuss writing for developers, school and where she came up with her personal style and brand.

Raise Money For Food Banks on YouTube: Mike Relm For Ready Set Bag

Sarah Austin — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:16:54 +0000

This fun remix collaboration with Mike Relm shows off his skills as indy film, Ready Set Bag, is helping to raise money for the food banks. You should check out Ready Set Bag and follow the film on twitter @readysetbag to try and get more updates and you can see the

Check out Mike Relm’s original video here

Mike Relm is San Francisco’s best known audio and video mash up artist world has expanded far beyond his humble beginnings of a Hip Hop scratch DJ. His obsession with technology and the visual arts has helped him blaze a trail that very few single artists will be able to follow. In recent times, Mike Relm explores mashing up viral videos from YouTube. He is on the rise and definitely worth subscribing to.

Special thanks to MGphenom for collaborating. Please subscribe to MgPhenom and check out his editing film reel

Thanks to our friend, CJ, for participating and Albertson’s market for allowing us to film and dance around the store.

High-Tech Luxury Fashion

Sarah Austin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:29:36 +0000

These day’s H&M is selling designer styles right after they leave the runway. So high fashion is turning to technology to make unique clothes that can’t be ripped off as quickly as other designs can. I sat down with Diana Eng from Project Runway for Forbes to talk about it. Check out the full report on Forbes.

“Want to stand out at a holiday party this year? If money is no object, don a “video gown” from CuteCircuit. This $20,000 dress has motion sensors that make its embroidery glow brighter when you’re moving around fast and dim when you’re standing still. Or slip on a pair of Jimmy Choo Zappa sandals. This $2,495 black patent leather and suede shoe houses a battery that lights up its platform sole. Celebrities like Fergie are fans of the Zappa.

Indeed, technology is infusing every part of our lives, including fashion. Myriad technologies are combining with classic designs to create dynamic “smart fashion” statements that double as unique luxury items…”

Read the full report

Top of the Charts

Sarah Austin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 22:59:18 +0000

One reason why Lady Gaga is so successful with her fans is because her videos are higher quality for the web than they are for TV. Her most popular video is Bad Romance! Social Media is the extra edge that artists need now to extend their reach to find new fans.

A Very Vloggy Thanksgiving

Franchesca Ramsey — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 01:36:09 +0000

James West, an Australian Broadcast journalist has been accidentally CC’d on the Thanksgiving preparation emails of the West Palm Beach Tran family for the past 3 years. Every year he’s dismissed the email chain as spam, but this year he decided he wants to be part of the Trans Thanksgiving festivities. His Vlogs on his quest to “Track down the Trans” are quickly gaining fans around the world as this amazing “You’ve Got Mail”-esque drama unfolds. James reached out to the Tran family by email and is now set to board a 26 hour flight from Sydney to spend his very first Thanksgiving in West Palm Beach. Episodes 2-5 of “Track down the Trans” follows James as he makes the decision to email the family, to even him packing for his trip!

I’m fortunate enough to know the Tran family through my good friend George, Mary Tran’s fiance. Having been to many a Tran dinner party, I can say with the utmost certainty that James couldn’t have picked a better group to celebrate Thanksgiving with. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this heart warming vlog series. Take that reality tv!

Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell on Tech Journalism, Audrey Hepburn and Her Future Goals

Sarah Austin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:49:35 +0000

Sarah Austin sits down with technology journalist, Jolie O’Dell of Mashable, to discuss writing for developers, school and how she came up with her classy personal style.

Windows Phone 7 Unboxing by BoxerGirl

Sarah Austin — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 03:49:57 +0000

The Windows Phone 7 on Tmobile is Microsoft’s late penetration to the smart phone market. This fun video challenges the WP7 HTV HD7 to a battle breaking down it’s features for better or worse.

Geek Fight: Revenge of the Nerds in White Collar Brawler

Sarah Austin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:10:48 +0000

Kai went from the Bay Area to Yale University to unemployment. After a stint at Current Television in San Francisco, Kai decided to launch his own online entertainment company called Portal A Interactive. His first hire was Nate Houghteling, his lifelong friend since elementary school. Nate’s mismanagement eventually doomed the company, but Kai thought quickly and came up with a plan B: to launch a web series where he could pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a fighter. He’ll fight Nate in early December. However, if you want to see a fight before then join us for the Tech Beat Up! This is where Kai and Nate will assist other white collar geeks battle it out in the most epic fight of the year. Sarah Austin will be competing with Zsofia Tallai as her corner girl. Come support Pop17 as we fight Zynga to win the championship.

On Startups, Privacy, Google Street View and Geo-location

Sarah Austin — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:53:36 +0000

Thanks for the comments, ratings, subscribing, sharing, liking, favoring, and overall being awesome! Please follow us on http://twitter.com/pop17 and http://facebook.com/pop17 – We know about Foursquare and Groupon having high valuations, but what about companies like Google and Facebook? Privacy is an issue time and time again. We sat down with Quova to talk about it.

Disclosure: This video is sponsored by Quova, all opinions are our own.

Tia Carrere’s Album Release: Huana Ke Aloha

Sarah Austin — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 17:23:22 +0000

Tia Carrere had a secret listening party for her new album, Huana Ke Aloha, that’s now available on her website. One Republic opened for Maroon5 and Tori Spelling thinks social media should be moderated for kids.

Social Media For Small Business

Sarah Austin — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:59:52 +0000

In 2010 Publishers are shifting from print to digital. I went to the BIA Kelsey Conference in Dallas TX to find out more. Check them out on facebook here

Mad Men Fashion

Caitlin Hill — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:58:18 +0000

The 60′s House Wives ‘Look’ is coming back into style for the fall thanks to AMC’s popular television show Mad Men! This episode of Pop17 was hosted by Franchesca Ramsey & Caitlin Hill.

My First Fashion Week’s Web Show Launch

Sarah Austin — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 10:00:25 +0000

In the spirit of Fashion Week, New York’s Noelle Duan will be hosting a fashion web series called My First Fashion Week. The new web series will show you behind the scenes exclusive footage of Fashion Week that you won’t find anywhere else. For more information on New York Fashion Week news visit their page on Facebook.

3 Simple Ways to Avoid Getting Audited

Anna Anisin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:31:30 +0000

Out of the 141 million tax returns filed last year, almost 1.43 million were flagged for audit; that’s about 1 in every 99 returns.
You can lower your odds of attracting attention from the Internal Revenue Service by following a few simple rules.

1. Report ALL of your income

You absolutely have to tell the IRS about EVERY penny that you make, including cash payments, unemployment benefits, gambling-winnings, dividends and stock dividends. These amounts MUST match the forms that you submit to the federal government by banks, your employer or third party payers.

2. Check and then Double-Check your work

Make sure that you’re very careful with your calculations, because if you’re even 1 digit off, the IRS may potentially note the mismatch and generate an inquiry. I usually check my math twice! If you don’t trust yourself with accuracy, I would hire a reputable accountant. Note* NEVER sign your return until you have reviewed it and make sure your accountant answers all your questions and addresses your concerns. You can also use Turbo Tax it works great and the software won’t make silly mistakes!

3. Be VERY cautious when claiming deductions

Always save all receipts and be prepared to back up every deduction. I would pay attention to car write-offs, charitable donations and business purchases, especially if you’re self employed and make more than 100K. BE PRECISE: Don’t round your deductions to the nearest hundred-dollars. IRS sees rounding of as a red flag that you’re not keeping records.

The bottom line when it comes to tax returns is to be honest and precise.

The War on Trolls

Franchesca Ramsey — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:28:22 +0000

You spent hours writing a new post for your blog, editing a YouTube video or retouching a photo for your Deviant Art page before posting it on the web for all to see and enjoy. And then it happens. Someone leaves you a nasty anonymous comment and suddenly every nice thing said about your work fades away and you’re left feeling hurt and confused. First, welcome to the Internet. Second, Congratulations! You’ve survived your first troll!

Now you’re probably thinking, “Wait a second! what’s a troll and why are they pestering lil ol’ me? I just wanted to post a cute picture of me and my new puppy and now my inbox is blowing up with messages about how ugly and fat I am and that my puppy should be euthanized? What does it all mean!?” Encyclopedia dramatica defines a troll as, “any person who purposely causes controversy in a web community (by posting offensive and crude comments) and disrupts sh*t for his own amusement” Trolls have been getting a lot of media attention lately as their victims are speaking out and fighting back with legal action!

Last month, 11 year old video blogger “Jessi Slaughter” caught the attention of the Internet’s most notorious group of trolls, housed on the 4chan sub board known as /b/. After posting a video of herself cursing and threatening some of her online tormentors along with photos of herself partially clothed, /b/ decided to make Jessi their new target. The all out assault on the young girl included posting her telephone number and home address online which resulted in endless prank calls at all hours of the night, unsolicited pizza deliveries and even sending prostitutes to her home via craigslist. Jessie only made the situation worse by getting her parents involved and posting a bizarre video rant featuring her father in which she proclaims that the trolls are ruining her life and her father promises to hunt down the perpetrators and that “consequences will never be the same”.

The video threat only backfired and turned into a full on meme that has since spawned remix videos, animated photos (known as “gifs”) and photo montages and comics. The Jessi Slaughter meme grew so rapidly that the Today Show even covered the story, interviewing Jessi and her family for a story on Internet bullying. In a strange twist of fate, the child psychologist who was interviewed for the story then became a /b/ target after offering advice on how to combat trolls. When she was invited back to the Today Show for a follow up story she declined the invitation in an effort to avoid further provoking the trolls! New York entertainment blog, Gawker and one of their staff members also came under attack after covering the story and speaking out against 4chan and /b/’s “smear campaign” The police have since gotten involved and have begun an investigation in an effort to uncover the parties behind the online attacks, along with allegations against her parents of child abuse.

Last year, model Liskula Cohen set a precedent in the war on trolls when she sued Google after an anonymous blogger called her a “skank” and “old hag”. Cohen won her case, which resulted in Google revealing the blogger’s identity. The blogger has since filed a 15 million dollar suit of her own against Google for revealing her identity, claiming that they violated her right to privacy. Now a Columbia grad, Carla Franklin, is following suit, quite literally, and attempting to sue an anonymous YouTube commenter after leaving what she claims are defamatory comments on one of her videos.

So what does this all mean? Can you really punish anonymous online commenters for saying rude things or voicing their opinions online? While I believe the trolls that harassed Jessi Slaughter should be caught and punished, I’m hesitant to say that we should patrol all forms of online commenting. In Jessi’s case the harassment moved offline and into real life, which I believe is completely wrong and completely warrants legal action. But in the Cohen and Franklin case I’m sympathetic, but not convinced legal action is necessary or rational. The fact is, trolls are something that EVERYONE deals with on the Internet. You don’t have to be famous or even well liked online to experience anonymous online torments. And while that doesn’t make it fair, expressing one’s opinion isn’t illegal. No matter how offensive or rude that opinion might be. I believe tech blogger Aaron Sumner put it best when he said, “The best thing about the Internet is it gives everyone a voice. The worst thing about the Internet is it gives everyone a voice.”

Being a video blogger and online personality myself, I’ve dealt with all types of online tormenting. I’ve cried many tears over hurtful racist comments on my videos and nasty emails that show up in my inbox. But, over time I’ve realized that the best way to combat the trolls is to just block and ignore. I’ve since set up email filters to move any racist language directly into my trash folder and in the past I would get into arguments with trolls but now I block them without a second thought. When it comes to trolls, I’ve found that not giving them attention is best revenge. Today, there are even browser plug ins that can hide website comments if you aren’t interested in or can’t handle online feedback of any kind. Unfortunately, negative attention is just part of the Internet beast. So what do you think? What’s the best way to handle online trolls or criticism? And at what point do online comments cross the threshold of free speech and enter into harassment?

4 Strategies to Writing an Excellent Cover Letter

Anna Anisin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:24:02 +0000

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent. With unemployment at its highest, many or us are on a job hunt. Once you find that perfect job, you have to make sure to write a strong cover letter. It’s important to change your cover letter for each different position that you’re applying for. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Make sure your cover letter has a strong start. Use an enthusiastic tone, and lead with recent significant achievements or a glowing endorsement. You can also incorporate relevant quotes from a written recommendation that you’ve received.

2. Do your research and indicate that you’re familiar with the business and its specific needs. Visit the company’s website and read about recent news and changes.

3. It’s very helpful to insert HTML links in your letter when sending it via e-mail. That way a potential employer can easily click through to your blog, website, LinkedIn profile and online work.

4. Keep it short and to the point. Your cover letter shouldn’t be longer than a page max.

A good book to read: Cover Letter Magic

Touchscreen Vending Machines Hit Japan

Sarah Austin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:18:23 +0000

Vending machines are the future of fast food and cheap entertainment. In fact, vending machine operators make about 70 dollars per hour. While it may be a lucrative market in this down economy. While the major issue around vending machines are health associations, do you see touch screens being a major trend?

Touch screen vending machines have hit the mainstream with Japan leading the way. Thought up at CES in 2009, the Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas. Vending machines and touchscreens are arguably the two favorite Japanese picks, so it seems natural that they are the fist to do it.

Brian Lam at Gizmodo says, “This vending machine, was spotted by friends at core77 in Tokyo. Instead of the classic rows of actual bottles behind plexi, there’s a virtual shelf of bottles, with small animations provided when each bottle is clicked on. The new design was apprehensively approached by more than a few salarymen, used to feeding yen or suica card bit-change into machines displaying the actual hot and cold drinks above red and blue buttons indicating a just south of scalding gulp or a refreshing quaff of sweet, cold bottled liquid.”

Below is an old video I made about vending machines:

New Kanye West “moving painting” inspires discussion and parodies

Franchesca Ramsey — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:45:21 +0000

L: Kanye West’s “Power” music video. R: Franchesca Ramsey’s Kanye parody “Free Time”

Last week Kanye West premiered his “moving painting” for the song “Power” on MTV, following an episode of The Jersey Shore. Reactions from fans and critics alike have been mixed as the video is completely different from anything audiences have ever seen in the realm of traditional music videos. The main source of confusion and praise seems to be the length, a speedy 1 minute and 45 seconds along with the rather thinly veiled religious undertones. The video is constructed through video collage which is essentially a series of individually shot scenes that were composited together to create an elaborate slow motion tableau.

In a sneak peak video that was released shortly before the video’s debut, director Marco Brambilla gives some insight into his process and what inspired the look and feel of the video. In it, he mentions that his work is geared towards today’s ADD culture and focuses partly on the “seductive nature of technology and how it also alienates us”. With that being said, I think his vision is extremely well executed in the Kanye video and it’s length only adds to the allure of the music and the message. It draws you in, captivates you and just when you’re really getting into it, it’s over and it leaves you wanting more.

A look at the comments on the video’s YouTube page show an audience divided. Comments range from, “This video is EPIC!” to ” Too much demonic and illumaniti symbolism. He’s clearly sold his soul to the devil.” Meanwhile, the notoriously conservative black blogopshere is divided as well, as many think the imagery alludes to Devil worship or ties to the Illuminati, a secret masonite society said to control the government, media and other world affairs. Hundreds of reaction videos, reviews and parodies praising and condemning the video have sprung up all over YouTube since it’s August 5th premiere.

As an artist, comedian and amateur video editor, I leapt at the chance to make my own “Power” rendition. I knew I couldn’t hold a candle to the original Brambilla/West creation, but I was inspired enough to take a page out of Brambilla’s book and create a moving tableau of my own using still photographs combined with Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. I decided to poke fun at Kayne’s reputation as a braggart, along with the speculation that this video confirms that he’s a devil worshiper or part of some secret society. Personally, I think Kanye is smart enough to know that a video as provocative, symbolic and well crafted as this would solicit all type of reactions, both positive and negative. The video is supposed to get you talking and thinking! At the end of the day, all press is good press. The negative reactions to the video just fuel his stardom. Check out the results of my 3 day editing, rapping and animating binge below!

Facebook: Limitations, Live Show and 3 Blondes

Sarah Austin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:39:06 +0000

Watch live video from pop17 on Justin.tv

More than 350 million people around the world are connected by Facebook. The expansive reach and six degrees of separation evolving ecosystem calls for more than 5,000 friends at a time.

I have about 5,000 friends on facebook and thousands of friend requests. I can’t access the requests because they go back so far in facebook that they are not even visible for me to ignore or accept. Furthermore, when someone else tries to add me they get denied because I have too many friends and too many requests. I want to filter out my requests so that at least I have room for more requests from friends that I can actually accept. Because facebook is poorly set up for super social people like me, it looks like I am rejecting friends when in reality all I want to do is include them. Now if you want to be my friend it takes more than a personal note because it is impossible for people to add me. Instead of the axajy box that says add a pesonal note and request a friend, the person adding me gets a notice stating “sorry, you cannot add any more friends or fan pages without removing some first.”

The only way this person can get on my friends list and access my profile on facebook is to go to google and track down my email and email me. Then I have to log on, remove a friend, and add the requesting friend in their place. This is absurd. Zsofia Tallai, in the video above, has a helpful tip: add your fan page to your relationship status in order for people to at least be able to connect with you through your fan page. Anna Anisin‘s prediction is that we will see Facebook start to charge per friend over 5,000. Finally, Mari Smith, social media guru and facebook expert, has several helpful tips and tricks to managing Facebook friend and fan page requests over the maximum.

Now it’s your turn to rant. What are your issues with facebook limitations?

YouTube stars make online video a full time “jobby”

Franchesca Ramsey — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:32:23 +0000

I just read a great article in the NY Post featuring a few of my friends and favorite vloggers, including DeStorm, Meekakitty and TheWillofDC! The article is all about how today, vloggers are becoming successful and profitable micro-celebrities through the YouTube partnership program. Making videos is no longer just a hobby. For these New Yorkers it’s a “jobby”!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with DeStorm, Tessa and Will on camera and off, but I really cite DeStorm as one of my YouTube mentors. When I first met him last year he had only 3,000 subscribers. He knew from day one that he wanted to make it big online and in nine short months he was able to grow his channel to over 100,000 subscribers! Pretty impressive. Check out the full article on these inspiring vloggers on nypost.com and be sure to hit up all of their channels and subscribe!!!

When To Upload For Maximum Exposure

Sarah Austin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:28:49 +0000

After a conversation with Mark Borden, senior editor at Fast Company Magazine, about the best time to publish online, we thought that other people may be interested too. I asked Kym McNicholas: Forbes, Ben Parr: Mashable, Joe Vazquez: CBS 5, John C. Dvorak: Cranky Geeks and Jennifer Van Grove: Mashable, what time they find the best to pitch, tweet, and set facebook status updates.

Check out this week’s interview in Fast Company where the video is featured.

Women In The Technology Sector

Sarah Austin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:20:04 +0000

According to a recent article published in Newsvine, 37 percent of the U.S. workforce reported being bullied at work. Among those who mistreat their co-workers, women were more likely to target other women (71 percent), compared men who bully other men (54 percent.) Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, said, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women” at a conference last year. However, she didn’t point out that it is a society problem because men also are a part of the equation. The argument should not be woman to woman; it should be society as a whole to women in business.
(via Natali Del Conte)

Lifecaster: Sarah Austin Branches Out

Greg Wilker — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:50:57 +0000

Sarah Austin was one of the first live streaming, life-casters popularized on Justin.TV. She gained a massive following online with her personal branding and web casts. Sarah graced the cover of Personal Branding Magazine, Vanity Fair magazine and is known for her comments on CBS, MTV, Fast Company Magazine, G4TV, Gizmodo, Portfolio Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The New York Times, grouping her as a central figure in the new emerging subculture of New York techie night life, described her as “the founder of Pop17, a web site posting her video interviews with tech-world celebrities.” Vanity Fair magazine groups her in America’s Tweethearts for her twitter celebrity status in February, 2010. Sarah Austin is so popular that she has 30,000 followers on twitter, combined, and her online show reaches 60,000 video views per hour on Justin.tv. Sarah’s rated the #1 most influential woman on Facebook by Facebook Grader and Now Public‘s algorithm defines her as the #2 most influential women amongst New York tech bloggers, just behind Arianna Huffington.

Leave a comment, rate, share and subscribe this video if you want to see more videos like this in the future. The footage was shot for The Lights which premiers September 9th, 2010 in New York City.

Kin One Review

Sarah Austin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 08:50:20 +0000

Microsoft and Verizon helped me get my hands on the Kin before launch so I could test it out and tweet about the features. This video is a review of the three pro’s and con’s to the Kin One.

Update: Microsoft Kin was discontinued after only 48 days. Whew! That didn’t take long at all. That’s about the shortest product life-cycle we can remember for this little “smart” phone. Now they are practically giving them away on clearance. Microsoft is discontinuing to use resources and build a tablet computer that will compete with Apple’s iPad. Clearly, they didn’t plan out this early discontinuation. If that had been the case, Microsoft would have launched some super high end fancy product as the end of the life-cycle of the Kin drew. That way they would lure everyone in for a clearance sale and advertise the new (already launched) product for sale.

(New York Times has the story).

Save The Planet, Change The World

Sarah Austin — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:09:16 +0000

Earth day is over, however, Earth Month is not. There is no better time to celebrate picking up trash, reducing waste and reusing products. This video is inspired by Find Your Burt, a website that encourages you to find the environmental side.

On the morning live show, we will be featuring viewers who submit a photo from the Find Your Burt website to sarah@pop17.com.

Go find your Burt with Burt’s Bees. Assets: Phil Sieradzan

Ninja Saves Student From Mugging

Sarah Austin — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:18:43 +0000

The ninja’s saved the day by scaring off some muggers who beat up and stole the iPod and mobile of a student in Sydney. The police are on the investigation and arrest of these muggers.

(via Herald Sun)

Baratunde Thurston Tells All

Sarah Austin — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:46:53 +0000

If you love The Onion as much as I do then you will love this. Baratunde Thurston is the web editor and an all around brilliant and funny guy. Baratunde does a great job at branding his name through working on many publications at one time such as Jack and Jill politics, Future Of, his personal blog, and The Onion.

NER*D’s Favorite Web Moments

Sarah Austin — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:52:58 +0000

The acronym N.E.R.D. stands for “No One Ever Really Dies,” but childhood friends Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, and Shay most certainly used the group to proudly emphasize the nerdier aspects of their musical personalities. Before this side project took shape, Hugo and Williams — as the Neptunes — had established themselves as giants in the field of pop production, whether they were working with hardcore rappers, smooth crooners, or teen pop groups. Although their faces were known to many due to this prominence, N.E.R.D. allowed the duo to take center stage, as rock stars, even if a new alias was being used.

Look forward to their newest album, launching this summer, “Nothing” for a hit track featuring Nelly Furtado.

You may watch this video interview with Pharrell Williams on youtube.
Random: here is a recent image of NERD with Bill Clinton:

Paparazzi Cover, Greyson Chance Is An Overnight Sensation

Sarah Austin — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:44 +0000

At Edmond’s Sixth Grade Festival, Greyson Chance performed “Paparazzi” for his sixth grad chorus. First, Greyson posted this video to Facebook and then to his YouTube channel. I first saw the tweet from Ashton Kutcher and watched the video a few times before tweeting it to Pop17 on twitter.

Today he appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show. Ellen is on it! She follows these trends on twitter and then picks them up for her show. Greyson is 12 years old. He’s the next Justin Bieber. The best part of his video are the young girls in the background who realize they are witnessing the next super star in the making.

Asher Roth Interview

Sarah Austin — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:52:42 +0000

It was a cold foggy Saturday night in San Francisco when we headed over to an auto body shop where a KIN Microsoft concert presented Asher Roth and N.E.R.D. to the makeshift stage. We had a fantastic interview with Asher Roth along with some good laughs. He is so funny, and sweet. Later in the night he rocked our socks off to his hit song “I Love College”. It was a great night! I hope everybody enjoys this interview as much as we do!!
You can follow Asher on twitter here.

Tia Carrere Won A Grammy

Sarah Austin — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:30:20 +0000

She is smart, talented and a role model to other upcoming female musicians.

Rebekah Austin On Kiva

Sarah Austin — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:04:08 +0000

Rebekah Austin’s micro-lending efforts get endorsed by Tia Carrere! Kiva.org is a place where you can make small loans to women entrepreneurs.

Tia Carrere’s Story

Sarah Austin — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:55:40 +0000

Tia Carrere is an internationally-recognized actress and singer best known for her roles in Wayne’s World, True Lies, Rising Sun, and her very own action-adventure series Relic Hunter. Five weeks after her daughter was born, Tia danced her way into our hearts on ABC’s phenom Dancing With the Stars. Originally a singer, Tia returned to her roots three years ago recording her CD ” hawaiiana “- a compilation of classic Hawaiian tunes and a love letter to her hometown. It would be the first of three Grammy-nominated CDs to date. 2009′s ” ‘ikena ” nabbed a gold gramophone for Tia and her childhood friend Daniel Ho, Tia’s co-artist and producer. Although currently residing in Los Angeles, Tia was born and raise in Honolulu, Hawaii, the offspring of Filipino immigrants. In fact, Tia’s great-grandparents arrived in Hawaii by ship to work the sugarcane and pineapple plantations. Their 11 children, including Tia’s maternal grandmother Rae, all worked the fields as well. It is this work ethic and perseverance toward a common goal that was instilled in Tia at a young age and it is this value system that Tia credits with her level-headedness in a town and business rife with delusions of grandeur. Ever mindful of her matriarch’s immigrant roots, Tia Carrere has always made women’s, and ethnic women in particular, organizations a priority. Tia is very excited to be attending 2010′s Gala Event and to shine a light on the exhibit ECONOMICA and all the great work IMOW is doing.

Engage Book Highlight by Brian Solis

Sarah Austin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 01:01:45 +0000

Influence and how it works online isn’t easy to create. Today’s book review of Engage by Brian Solis is a personal highlight of this webcast. His book is so engaging that it’s hard to put it down!

Note: Live show has changed to 9am PST on Justin.tv/pop17.

Violence In Video Games

Sarah Austin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:55:08 +0000

The ethical debate between violence and video games is seen in the press and psychological studies. This Harvard Study, “Violence in E-Rated Video Games” can “increase aggression” in the future generations to come. In an effort to protect children from the harmful effects of violent video games Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to enforce against selling to minors. Michael Willis and Sarah Austin discuss the issue in the below video from marks 6:39 – 30:20 in the time line.

Next thing you know, California will be opening internet addiction clinics, right?

Streamys Take Two

Sarah Austin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:34:56 +0000

Now these interviews were fun! LA brings in the best and brightest creatives.

The Streamy Awards Take One?

Sarah Austin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:05:27 +0000

We went to the Streamy Awards in Los Angelos because we had set up a few interviews to report on. Before arriving to the event I set up, confirmed and secured a press pass with central red carpet placement for my crew and I. There was only one press pass for me and not a press pass for my cousin, Glen Curtis. However, they were as accommodating as possible given a somewhat disorganized situation. The Streamy Awards do not hold a candle to the prestige and value of the Webby Awards. Besides Foursquare, the Webby Awards will always remain Silicon Alley’s gems. Despite a bump in the road, look forward to an excellent Streamy Awards ceremony next year! You can bet next year it will be all over twitter.

My highlight was getting to interview Patrick Duffy! He’s there for his new online video show: PATRICK DUFFY & The Crab. You must watch the show because he is hilarious with the Crab. It’s so random and awkward. LOL! :)

Internet Makeover and Leora Israel On Personal Branding

Sarah Austin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:20:53 +0000

Leora Israel knows what’s hot and not for facebook, twitter and search. Leora’s tip: don’t get caught doing something questionable the next day on facebook by being aware when others take photos of you.

Beto Lopez Sports The Ford Fiesta

Sarah Austin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:56:47 +0000

The Fiesta Movement 2 is here and we have the first exclusive interview with Beto Lopez, aka Mooncricket. Beto is one of three fiesta agents invited by Ford to participate in round 2.

We can all see why Ford sponsors Beto Lopez. Mooncricket can dance, create and sport that car better than a race car driver. For more information about the Fiesta Movement check out this blog post on SarahAustin.com.

SnapShots A Love Story

Sarah Austin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:10:19 +0000

Snapshots is composed of seven love story vignettes, capturing different moments in couples’ relationships. Ranging from first kiss to breaking up, the film unfolds over the course of one day, moving around the neighborhoods of New York City.

Oren Jacob On Ready Set Bag

Sarah Austin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:41:36 +0000

Oren Jacob from Ready Set Bag came on our live show to talk about his film and new web show.

Liz Shannon Miller at NewTeeVee has the story.

SF YouTube Gathering, Vlogging the US Department of State and Jesse Draper

Sarah Austin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:45:02 +0000

The show has been MIA for a little bit because we are in transition with Pop17. We’re busy with the new site launch and setting up a studio at a new location. This is to give you a quick vlog update instead. We’ll be at SXSW through the 17th so you can expect daily vlogs, blogs and tweets all on Pop17.

Nikon is teaming up with yfrog for a site at SXSW. Watchitoo and Nikon are sponsoring Pop17 coverage at SXSW! Yay!

The vloggers who got the most attention at the Vlogvetica gathering were Mitchell Davis and Tessa Violet. We had so much fun!

Jesse Draper runs a show called The Valley Girl where she features the tech elites. Her fun and silly interview style is half acting and half real life. She’s an actress at heart, but has alway carried a special place in her heart for the Silicon Valley business scene. Probably because she grew up around tech and business with her father, Tim Draper.

Congrats to Pop17 corresponded, Rebekah Austin, for winning Hilary Clinton’s Exchanges Connect contest. We will update you on that news soon!

NASDAQ Tech Bubble Bust, Bobby Fisher’s an Idiot, and Design Contest

Sarah Austin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:55:21 +0000

Watch live video from pop17 on Justin.tv

Today is over the top offbeat news. Sarah Austin talks about today being the birthday of Bobby Fisher and Stanford University along with other pop culture news.

Check out the winners of the Design contest!

You should follow us on twitter.

Superbowl Ads, Hubble and Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

Sarah Austin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:23:07 +0000

Rebekah Austin keeps you up to date on the latest pop culture news.

Hot Or Not On Twitter

Sarah Austin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:10:48 +0000

What do you think is hot on twitter? What’s not? These are all my opinions and I’d love to hear yours. Oh, and by the way, you should follow me @pop17 and @SarahAustin on twitter as well as check out TweeterClubs.

Noah K. Everyday inspires DailyBooth and DailyMugShot

Sarah Austin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:20:19 +0000

Noah Kalina is a major trendsetter for photographers in the digital age. His famous project, Noah K. Everyday, hit the top of the charts in 2006 with over 14 million video views and is one of the most viewed videos, of all time, on YouTube. He inspired business models like DailyMugShot and DailyBooth.

Balloon Boy What?!

Sarah Austin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:33:25 +0000

I’m the real balloon girl. Word.

Have you voted yet?

I Beat an Olympian at The Best Of Us Challenge

Sarah Austin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:19:52 +0000

As you know, kids arent as active as they used to be. In a big effort to encourage youth to find interest in sports again, the IOC is launching this challenge to offer a once in a lifetime opportunity for kids to compete against some of the most iconic athletic figures of this generation. And yes, the videos are as hilarious and quirky as they sound.

Whats a better way to empower youth by way of athletic participation than asking them to compete against the very best?Below are a few links more links of Rafael Nadal, Lindsey Jacobellis and Shawn Johnson participating in the aforementioned challenges. Think you can do better? Bring it on, and show us.

Compete in the Best of Us Challenge to compete against Olympic Athletes like Michael Phelps! I’m winning in the hoola hoop challenge, beating techie Veronica Belmont and Lindsay Jacobellis. Ha! Submit a video, unless you’re scared (insert dark and sinister laugh here) boo!