Users can purchase game locations which include NY, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, etc., while StrayBoots is working on a release with Time Out NY to highlight the night life NY has to offer.  Players pick from a game category like restaurants or museums and can participate with others or play solo.

StrayBoots is also working on iOS and Android apps.

TechCrunch

Image via CrunchBase

In the 90′s 55 Broad Street in the Financial District was home to Sun and Cornell University.  To this day, the building’s website reads, “Center of NY’s Tech Community and Center of Creativity,” but early efforts by Sun and Cornell to put NY on the tech map came up short, according to thisisgoingtobebig.com.  According to the blog,  the attempt to throw a physical building into the tech community failed without the seeds and connections from the community itself.  The network surrounding the potential NY tech boom early on was made up of investors and champions who did not find themselves invested wholly in the idea.

The article continues in that these days, incubators, such as General Assembly, TechStars and Brooklyn Beta are fostering growth and prosperity in the tech community.  They can dedicate full-time resources necessary to create events that bring together entrepreneurs.

thisisgoingtobebig.com

In an interview with NY1, Chan spoke about the NY tech scene today while at Internet Week NY, saying that, “there are a lot more people in NY who can melt the technology and media business together now.”  He also thinks things are more “steady and planned,” as opposed to the 90s when there were only a few “spectacular infusions of cash.”

NY1

NY Convergence

• Twitter – @nyconvergence
• Free daily e-newsletter
• Free iOS App & Android  App
• Widget
• RSS feed
• Facebook
• Amazon Kindle
• Google Gadget
• Amazon Appstore

“Reel Jobs. Reel Proud. Real New Yorkers.” — is what the newest PSA campaign launched by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) states.  The initiative’s videos and artwork spotlighting various NYers working behind the scenes in film and TV production is being distributed in multiple platforms throughout the city including local AMC movie theaters, taxis, on TV, in the subways, etc.

Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the MOME, said, “when you pass a film crew on your way to work, we hope this ‘Reel Jobs’ campaign will remind you that you’re actually passing your fellow New Yorkers where they work.”

A recent Boston Consulting Group’s study found that the TV and Film industry generated $7.1 billion for the city and created 1300,000 jobs for NYers.

NYC.gov

Barry Diller (Photo credit: johnkoetsier)

After starting his career in the mail room at the William Morris Agency, then going on to work at ABC, where he masterminded the “Movie of the Week” program.  Barry Diller led Paramount Pictures and created the TV network Fox with Rupert Murdoch.  According to recent profile in New York Magazine, he is constantly pushing the boundaries of traditional television, and as the head of NY-based Internet company IAC, the 70-year-old has not let up.

In his office, Diller spends most of his time on media and entertainment  and is highly interested in online TV, which is why he recently invested in and launched NY-based Aereo, a new  subscription service that allows users to watch broadcast TV on mobile devices, circumventing traditional TV by using dime-sized antennas based in Brooklyn.  Aereo, however.  is currently entangled in a lawsuit with the big networks who fear that Aereo is hijacking their broadcast signals.  Of Aereo, Diller says to New York, “that it has the possibility of being disruptive.”

“I was always only interested in things that were not already being done,” continued Diller when questioned about his future-focused mentality.  He forecasts, “now along comes the potential creative destruction brought by a different distribution methodology, the Internet. And we’ll see what happens.”  He believes that the advent of the Internet being brought to the mass-market creates “new alternatives” to traditional broadcasting, and feels that the cable companies will be forced to innovate.

Diller believes that the Internet is a truly remarkable means to bring individual productions to the world, saying to New York, “just the idea that that system wasn’t co-opted or controlled by interests is a miracle. It’s very much worth preserving.”

New York Magazine

main street of Fort Lee in NJ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Police in Fort Lee, NJ  have announced an initiative which will see $85 fines being issued to jaywalkers who are using their devices to text, according to ABC News.

Thomas Ripoli, Fort Lee’s chief of police, said, “it’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they are going and they are not aware.”  He mentioned that there has been three fatal pedestrian accidents in his borough, home to 35,000 people, and believes the fines will make the streets safer.

To advertise the fine-to-be, police officers handed out pamphlets during a short grace period in March.  According to a Stony Brook University cited by ABC News study, texters were 60 percent more likely to veer off their paths than non-texters.  Eric Lamberg, co-author of the study, said, “we want to raise awareness that a real disruption occurs because of texting.  Texting disrupts your ability much more than does talking.”

ABC News

Entrepreneurs quoted in the study said a city vying to be the nation’s leading technology hub should have better infrastructure. Startups can have either Verizon FIOS or Time Warner Cable, but not both, leaving a critical hole in their backup. Others said their Internet goes down regularly. While NY’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) has established broadband in parks, large swaths of cheaper, industrial sections of the city have no broadband access at all.

Fledgling tech companies wanting to set up shop in these locations would have to pay a telecom company around $80,000 to dig up the streets and lay cable.

The Village Voice

Mayor Bloomberg announces launch MappedinNY.com at Internet Week NY (credit: Scott Rosenblum)

This morning at Internet Week NY HQ in SoHo Mayor Bloomberg released  the Made in New York Digital Map (MappedinNY.com), which shows the locations the city’s tech start-ups and posts job opportunities.

The map, created by Internet Week New York in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the NYC Economic Development Corporation shows over 600 hometown startups, investors and co-working spaces in the boroughs.  The website reads: “The Made in NY Map is a living resource that reflects New York City’s dynamic innovation ecosystem.”

According to VentureBeat, the map is an easy way to find start-ups and incubators, which seem to pop up daily in NYC.  Bloomberg said, “creative people want to be around other creative people, and creativity is driving the tech industry.”

Rachel Sterne, NY’s chief digital officer, added, “the message is loud and clear: that New York is open for business.”

VentureBeat

Image via CrunchBase

With Facebook‘s upcoming IPO this Friday, several Internet Week NY attendees weighed in — including IAC chairman and senior executive Barry Diller, who said to Adweek, “I wouldn’t pay attention to [the stock] for several years.”  But not everyone shares Diller’s wait-and-see approach.

Clara Smith, CEO of social marketing at Hearsay Social, believes that “the IPO will benefit ecosystem of companies that have built up around Facebook.”  Such companies in that ecosystem are using the offering to announce new products and platform updates, like NY-based Buddy Media, which announced that advertisers can track conversions (in mobile measurement) to see which posts lead to video views or contest entries.  It will also allow brands to run polls, product or photos and videos for mobile users.

According to Adweek, Buddy Media also plans to add Pinterest Capabilities with more details to come.

Adweek

elevator (Photo credit: Jose R. Borras)

If an unauthorized person were to gain access to the central server controlling NY’s elevators and boiler systems, the potential for casualty would be enormous. Access to the network allows a user to set speeds at which elevators operate, and raise heat on municipal boiler systems, causing explosion.

After random testing on the various servers in the city, several holes were found in the network. As a result, New York City Housing Authority has opened the floor to proposals for a viable defense infrastructure, accepting deliverables only this month. Hence, according to Network World, the city agency has employed the company neuroFuzzto work on a solution, with chief technology officer Andres Andreu at the helm.

The ideal system would track traffic into the network and detect suspicious activity based on authorization and whether the commands are in line with established safety protocols. The final decision will be made with the balance of financial feasibility and effectiveness in mind.

Network World

Image via CrunchBase

On July 7, The Wiki World’s Fair/Free Culture World’s Fair will be held on Governor’s Island and will feature an arcade-themed minigolf course by FIGMENT, sculpture garden, and treehouse. The combo  wiki-picnic and civic celebration in the area of event is part of the Great American Wiknic, as well as Wikimania Takes Manhattan, hosted by Wikimedians and Free Culture Alliance NYC.

A rain date is scheduled for July 8.

ISOC-NY

Photo: Lloyd Trufelman

NYers can connect with the city’s tech community through NY’s fifth Internet Week which began today and runs through May 21.  Vying for dominance over tech giant Silicon Valley as the hottest tech hub in the US, David-Michael Davies, founder of the event, told NY Daily News, “it’s a week where the city’s Internet industry comes out from behind their screens.”

With over 250 events, attendees of the festival will hear from speakers such as David Karp, founder of NY-based Tumblr, and Jonah Peretti, CEO of NY’s BuzzFeed.  Events are centered around tech companies in the arts, music, travel, fashion, advertising, etc., and startups will have the chance to pitch to investors and meet leaders in the NY tech field.  Naama Bloom, head of communications for NY-based Harvest (producers of NYC Walkabout) said, “there are opportunities for really intimate, in-depth conversations with CEOs and technology officers about how they think.”

Davies, who sees internet week as an embodiment of the spirit of NYC, said, “the technology community is one more part of what makes New York great and it’s a way to see that firsthand.”

Photo: Lloyd Trufelman

Companies have been known to leave NY as their ranks swelled and they could not afford the rent and employee salaries.  But, for tech companies, NY is the new destination for growth possibilities, according to Crain’s NY Business.  Ex-Boulder, CO-based Next Big Sound, analyzer of data for the music industry, found a home in burgeoning Silicon Alley.  Alex White, CEO of the company, said, “our clients are in New York.  It’ll cost us more, but the ability and speed with which we’re able to develop products will be accelerated.”

Drawn by the thriving ecosystem funded by private investors and incubator labs, companies like Tykoon, a platform to teach children about money, left Charlotte, NC in January to have access to software developers.  Spling, a social media startup from Philadelphia, PA, came to the city in April because company co-founder Josh Miller “missed the grit and grime.”

To get his business to the next level, Charles Phillips, CEO of ex-Atlanta, GA-based Infor, said, “we needed to build a strategy around innovation.”  This move will help Infor modernize its business software products and Phillips believes, in comparison with Silicon Valley, that NY would be “younger and more aggressive and take more risks.”

Engineers in the city number fewer than that of Silicon Alley, however, there are less companies competing for the talent.  “I would argue New York has a better ratio of data scientists to startups,” said Roger Ehrenberg of NY-based IA Ventures.  Mark Bruinooge, co-founder of Tykoon, said, “it’s an easy place to meet and connect and collaborate, and evolve an idea very quickly.”

According to The New York Times, the online edition of the book will serve as an important tool for lobbyists and journalists when researching particular agency information. However, the directory is still a work in progress, as some of the more extensive information has yet to be uploaded.

The New York Times

Image via CrunchBase

Not long since Gawker Media launched its new commenting system, CEO Nick Denton has said that the company will be building a new sales team focused on helping advertisers participate in the engagement with potential customers through links and in-page transactions.

As technology has led to a shift in the marketing world from quantity to quality, he is hoping that this new comment engine will help companies interact and converse with consumers and help build a longer, more profitable relationship.

When asked by GigaOm what prevents firms from simply posting on the section without paying Gawker, Denton says that for paying companies, Gawker will “recruit and identify a client’s spokespeople and advocates, advise them on web etiquette and language, and help make their most persuasive case.”

GigaOM

DNAinfo won for exclusive content, crime reporting, feature photo, spot news, and spot news photo, in addition to the top prize, the Golden Keyboard Award for its coverage on the NYPD’s Muslim surveillance program. They have also followed big media stories such as the John Edwards scandal.

Capital New York

The startup was introduced at the New York Tech Meetup last week. It allows users to buy ad tools or sell their own via a P2P file sharing network. Sellers simply upload their file with a brief description, as well as a price tag. Folio then takes 30% of each transaction.  According to The Next Web, they currently have 3,500 on the waiting list to sign up.

Though Folio holds no liability for any copyright infringement that may occur from any of the files, they have the obligation to remove any infringing material that comes to their knowledge.

The Next Web

To choose the seven panels at the event, the public was crowd-sourced to make Internet Week more accessible.  David-Michel Davies, co-founder of Internet Week, said, “the event is a place for people to come together, rather than being siloed into these industry verticals.”

With locations spread around all of NY (the home base is at 82 Mercer St.), event-goers will find that most events are free if RSVPed.

Forbes

Joe Weisenthal

Weisenthal, who delivers quick and original insight in his writing, gets his economic data from his Bloomberg terminal and puts together about 15 posts during his 16 hour day showing charts and lengthy analysis.  He manages about 12 reporters and attempts to constantly improve the look and content of the website, all while keeping up to date with events enough to have his financial predictions coincide with Wall Street.

Of his opinions and forecasting, Weisenthal said to the Times, “I used to be criticized as too conservative.  Now I’m criticized as too liberal. But as long as I feel that I’m not just making a partisan argument, I don’t think it harms your credibility to take a strong stand.”

The New York Times

Business Insider using my Dew sans vodka (Photo credit: tsand)

Former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget became famous in 2003 after being banned from the securities industry. During his stint at Merrill Lynch, he was accused of delivering positive ratings on stocks to the public, and then disparaging them in his private emails.

Since then,  he has entered the blogosphere. While his job still entails the analysis of stocks and their respective companies, as well as forecasting future trends in the market, the premise in which Blodget does this is a different world. He is now co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Business Insider, which in recent years, has become hugely popular as a sort of tabloid financial/media/tech focused Web publication.

Though he tells The Wall Street Journal that regrets his abrupt departure from the finance world, he has certainly started anew in an industry that has grown tremendously in recent years.

The Wall Street Journal

Joshua Boltuch, CMO, said to Crain’s New York Business that, “there isn’t another site that does this.”  Honestbuildings.com began in mid-March and as of last week, added 250,000 commercial and multipurpose buildings.  Subscribers (contractors) can pay to have their names listed higher in the cue and can also list their past projects.

Crain’s New York Business

Image via CrunchBase

HackNY will be holding its Internet Week fundraiser at The Prince Building  at Foursquare‘s HQ on Wednesday, May 16 at 7 p.m, located at 100 Crosby Street in Soho.   Supported by multiple NYC User Groups, 10gen, ZocDoc and Thrillist, the event is a celebration of the ‘work HackNY does for New York City,’ as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.

Meetup.com

Deutsch: Logo der Hearst Corporation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a recent interview with Folio, Brian Madden, general manager at Hearst, discusses the importance of social media in the publishing industry and the particular role it plays at Hearst’s 20 magazine brands. According to Madden, the new social media team will work closely with other departments to turn “insights into action.” They will assist in creating a link between the social community and Hearst to expand audience and engage consumers. The group will also help grow revenue through social media.

Currently, the team has three members, but the integration of the group into other departments makes it a collaborative company effort. From 2010 to 2011, traffic to Hearst saw a 250% increase. The new social media group plans to make it grow even further to over 300% over the next year.

Madden says there are 5 notable trends in the industry: a large portion of traffic is now coming from social media; consumers are getting recommendations through social media rather than search engines; individuals have begun to purchase products via social media; the social graph, Facebook’s mapping of user’s networks provides rich and useful data; and Google+’s intertwining of search and social has created a unique platform for finding new products and services.

Folio

Now, with audiences used to the disintermediated structure of online  content, and the iOS platform offering a wide array of interactive design options, Punch! is hoping to ricochet off of Spy’s editorial and design legacy into the 21st century.

Capital New York

The devices, 10 iPods for the waiters and three iPads at the bar, are loaded with point-of-sale app POSLavu.  When asked why he uses the Apple devices over a traditional POS system, Salazar said, “the price.  Devices, plus software for the bar totaled about $7,000, compared with traditional point-of-sale systems like Micros and Aloha that can run upwards of $20,000, including hardware and long-term contracts.”

Orders placed by the wait staff are printed via wireless network in the kitchen, so order flow is smooth.  When asked by Crains about shortcomings of the technology, Justine Hidalgo, a server at the pub, said, “People think we are texting when we take their order.”  Salazar believes that WiFi is the largest concern facing his tech-savvy pub.  “When the Internet doesn’t work, neither does the POSLavu. And the iPods often struggle to communicate via local WiFi network in the large, crowded space.”

Crain’s New York Business

New York Daily News logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to Capital New York, it is believed that Daily News will soon be expanding its online presence into a site called Daily News America, geared towards national news. Similar to the print edition, the site will feature easily digestible content on national news and celebrities, as well as feature picture galleries. The new site aims to increase readership for Daily News and NYDailyNews.com, which currently stands at approximately 10.2 million unique visitors per month compared to competitor nypost.com, which has about 6.6 million. Also, according to Capital, Daily News America would “seem to present a potential synergy with another publication in News owner Mort Zuckerman’s media stable: U.S. News & World Report.”

The project will be headed by Ted Young, former editor of Mail Online, who is expected to start in June.

Capital New York

Official logo of Atlantic City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New Jersey is looking to become the first state to legalize online gambling after a State Assembly panel yesterday approved a bill allowing Internet wagers despite Governor Christie’s veto of a similar bill sometime last year. NJ Senator Raymond Lesniak has expressed interest in legalizing online betting before the state of Nevada does..

According to supporters, the final passage of this bill would bring in $300-$400 million in additional revenue to the state, much of which would come from licenses that cost about $200,000 for casinos. A portion of this would go towards programs to aid problem gamblers. This is similar to legislation that passed last month in the NJ Senate.

The Press of Atlantic City notes, however, that even once the bill is passed, participants would have to wait another nine months before they can begin placing bets.  Also, licenses are limited to only casinos whose servers are located in Atlantic City. One of the other main concerns is that the growth in casino gambling will be offset by a decline in horse race bets, thus producing little benefit.

Press of Atlantic City

Image via CrunchBase

The New York Times has started advertising digitally on sites such as New York Magazine, Gizmodo and Bloomberg in their most recent push to attract more readers to their digital subscriptions.  The Times has been using video ads on sites that line up with specific topics (politics, invention, creativity and relationships).

Laura Langdon, VP of marketing for the Times said to Poynter, “we really wanted to speak to people more in-depth about the value of The New York Times and the richness of the content in it.”

The Times hired voice-over artists and a company to create original music for the ads, which according to Poynter, adds energy to the videos without losing focus on the message.  Nat Whitten, script-writer for the ads, said, “In the videos, we’re not lecturing to you, we’re opening a lens.”

Poynter

OrderGroove

Greg Alvo, CEO and founder of OrderGroove, said to the Report, “from a consumer point of view, I’ve always wanted to put things on autopilot and set up subscriptions for products I purchase frequently.”  The platform is integrated into the client’s site keeping branding seamless.  The technology also introduces email marketing and promotions which help increase customer retention.

“When I started the business, most people maybe thought about the subscription model, but it was kind of an afterthought. Now it’s a top initiative for most of our clients.” said Alvo.

The New York Enterprise Report