Applied Sciences NYC Ushers in a New Phase for Roosevelt Island

Author’s Note: This is one of a series of blog posts that are related to assignments from my business reporting class.

In the 1970s Roosevelt Island was like the combination of Hill Valley in Back to the Future and Back to the Future II says Jonathan Kalkin, a mixture of an idyllic 1950s small town and something more futuristic.

Roosevelt Island with a view of Manhattan

The island was outfitted with the last technology: electric buses, an aerial commuter tram, and an automated vacuum collection system that removed waste from the streets.

“It was a World’s Fair kind of place of the future,” said Kalkin, a former Roosevelt Island Operating Committee (RIOC) board member, “and then it all stopped.”

But as a proposed site for a city project to bring a science and tech research institution to New York City, all of that may change and Roosevelt Island may catapult back to the future once again.

The establishment of this institution, called Applied Sciences NYC, on Roosevelt Island would signal an unwritten phase in the community’s Development Plan and intensify the economic and demographic shifts focused around the retail sector and affordable housing that are just now brewing in the community.

NBA Fan Scores Dream Job, Twitter with the Assist

The 76ers offered a job to a fan this week after his Twitter antics caught the attention of the Philadelphia team, reports Mashable.

Last week the NBA team launched a fan-voting contest to choose a new team mascot. The choices were narrowed down to three: Big Ben, a version of Benjamin Franklin; Phil E. Moose, “one of the most regal animals to roam the wild,” according to a team press release; and B. Franklin Dogg, “the All-American pet.”

But the 76ers marketing team had failed to register Twitter accounts for the nominated mascots. Fortunately for them, two very dedicated fans - Jerry Rizzo, 23, and Hunter Coleman, 22 - stepped in, set up accounts for @PhilEMoose and @BFranklinDogg and started promoting the contest.

From Tuesday to Friday, @PhilEMoose acquired 500 Twitter followers and @BFranklinDogg acquired 200 followers.

The pair also set up Facebook and Google+ accounts for the characters in the hope of getting the word out about the contest.

American Atheists Create Their Own Christmas Tradition

The group hopes their Lincoln Tunnel billboard will ignite another media flurry.

Last Christmas, the American Atheists and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights went to war. The battle site: the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. The weapons: billboards.

It all started when the American Atheists posted a billboard depicting the Three Wise Men with the line “You KNOW it’s a Myth.” Then the Catholic League, backed by an anonymous donor, countered with a billboard showing the infant Jesus with Mary and Joseph that read, “You Know It’s Real: This Season, Celebrate Jesus.”

Together the two groups spent about $40,000 in media and garnered at least as much in free press for their causes.

This Christmas the American Atheists have bought a billboard at the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel once again and are launching the second year of their “You Know It’s a Myth” campaign in what seems a ploy reap further publicity.

Courtesy of American Atheists

Their holiday billboard features images of Jesus, Santa Claus, the Devil, and Neptune and reads, “37 Million Americans know MYTHS when they see them. What do you see?”

Black Friday Sales Boosted Online

While many stores opened at midnight on Black Friday in order to offer shoppers the option to start their holiday purchasing early and beat the rush, it seems many shoppers decided to skip the crowds altogether and start their holiday shopping online.

Courtesy of Jay Lopez

While Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, has traditionally been the day set aside for great online deal, this year Black Friday online sales were up by 24.3% over last year, according to an IBM study of 500 retailers.

As part of this, sales on mobile devices increased to 9.8% this year, up 5.6% from 2010. And there was a large increase in shoppers using mobile devices to research in-store and online bargains, as mobile traffic surged to 14.3% from 5.6% the year before.

It should come as no surprise that the majority of this mobile shopping was done on Apple products, with the iPad and iPhone accounting for 10.2% of all online retail traffic on Black Friday. As other studies have shown, iPad shoppers were more likely to complete a purchase than those using other devices.

Undercover Twitter Campaign Launches Wendy's W Burger

Are Google+ Brand Pages Worth Your Company's Time?

Much has been written about Google+ brand pages in the last couple of weeks, but all you want to know is whether you should bother signing up or not. Below is an overview of Google+ Pages and why it might be worth your time.

Google+, the search engine giant’s answer to Facebook, has amassed more than 40 million users since it launched in June of this year. While it is still nowhere near close to the 800 million users that Facebook has, the social network is continuing to grow and returning users have increased since the launch of Google+ Brand Pages last week.

What is Google+?

Like Facebook, Google+ is a social network that allows users to create profiles. The distinguishing feature of the site is that users can place their friends in different social groups called “Circles.”

Circles is just one of the social products that make up Google+. Other features include Sparks (the recommendation engine), Stream (the newsfeed), Hangouts, Games and Photos.

Google+ is designed to be an extension of Google and is integrated into the entire Google universe, including the toolbar, which has been updated to include links to users profile and updates.

Click here for Mashable's Complete Guide to Google+.

Walmart Launches Holiday Apps

Walmart seems to be investing a great deal of time and money in mobile and digital media these days.

Last month they launched Facebook pages for their local stores through a social media app.

Now, just in time for holiday shopping, Walmart is launching new iPhone and iPad apps that link online and in-store shopping. They store is only one in a number of retailers that have realized the important role that mobile devices play in shopping and are trying to capitalize on it for the holiday season.

McDonald's Sweden Adjusts Prices for Student Budgets

If McDonald’s latest ad campaign in Sweden tells us anything, it is that student loan worries are not only plaguing the minds of Americans.

American students are borrowing twice what they did a decade ago, after adjusting for inflation, according to the College Board. In 2009-10, 56% of full-time undergrads at public colleges had student loans and 65% of undergrads at private universities had student loans, according to The Huffington Post. And for the first time, student loan debt exceeded credit card debt.

Retailer May Be the Next Big Winners with Tablets

Courtesy of eConsultancy

Tablet owners love their news apps, but as it turns out they also love to do something else on their tablets: shop.

63% of tablet owners have made an online purchase with their device, according to the study Understanding Mobile Audience from Jumptamp, a mobile ad network. In comparison, only 31% of mobile phone owners have used their device to make a purchase and 83% of PC owners who have spent some dough online.

“Why I Made Myself Radioactive,” by Andrew C. Gottlieb, Salon.com

Author’s Note: This is one of a series of blog posts that are related to assignments from my business reporting class.

Courtesy of Salon.com

I was cruising the internet and reading the day’s news one morning a couple of weeks ago, when I happened across a headline on Salon.com that made me stop my mouse in its tracks. “Why I Made Myself Radioactive,” it read. It reminded me of Spiderman and while I am really more of a Batman fan the title had sparked my curiosity. Click.