A "Star Is Born" 2011

A "Star Is Born" 2011 - Hungarian talent contest sorting

Twitter launches Promoted Trends with Toy Story 3

Image via CrunchBase

Twitter has launched its first promoted trending topic, as bosses of the microblogging site explore further options to turn the social network's success into a profitable revenue source.
The first topic to receive the Promoted Trend treatment is Disney-Pixar's new animated film Toy Story 3, released in cinemas this weekend. By clicking the yellow promoted link, users of the site will be taken to the latest tweets about the film, headed by a Promoted Tweet published by the advertiser at the top of the results.
According to Computerworld, Promoted Trends are highlighted on user pages as a supplementary addition below the top 10 current trends. Twitter has confirmed that topics can only become promoted if they are already being actively discussed in the Twitter community.
Twitter explained: "Promoted Trends are a new advertising concept we began testing this week; they are an extension of our Promoted Tweets platform.
"With Promoted Trends, users will see time-, context- and event-sensitive trends promoted by our advertising partners. These Promoted Trends initially appear at the bottom of the Trending Topics list on Twitter and are clearly marked 'Promoted.' As conversations about the topic increase, Promoted Trends may move up the list."
The first Promoted Trends were launched on Thursday, and Twitter will base the future of the advertising model on its success. Analysts are praising Twitter for developing a business model that will not impact on the all-important user experience, by making Promoted Trends minimally invasive.
"People will tolerate advertising as long as it lets them do what they want to do," explained Ezra Gottheil, analyst at Technology Business Research.
"As with Google, users know someone has to pay. Users prefer it to be painless. Advertising that doesn't get in the way is generally welcomed."

Lifestyles of the Animated and High

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Shaggy isn't the only drug fueled cartoon character. Here is a list of some other famous addicts in the cartoon world and their drug of choice.

read more | digg story

Jason de Caires Taylor Underwater Sculptures

Image by **Mary** via FlickrSeries of underwater sculptures located in Grenada, West Indies. All designed to create an artifical reef.

visit www.underwatersculpture.com for full details. Category:  Film & Animation