Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn among Stellar Lineup of Top Celebrities Leading Connected Conversations in Cities Across America
Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Phylicia Rashad, Ann Compton, Jane Pauley, Fran Drescher, Joy Behar and Others in a Stellar Lineup of Top Celebrities Leading Connected Conversations in Cities Across America
SMART TALK Connected Conversations Announces 2009 Celebrity Line-Up
SMART TALK Connected Conversations is pleased to announce an unprecedented all-star line-up for its 2009 experiential events season, through which accomplished actresses, authors and athletes, among others in this year’s impressive line up, share their stories with SMART TALK audiences in premiere — yet intimate — theater settings across the country.
More than ever before, SMART TALK patrons experience that rare combination of entertainment and education, through performances that are more than lectures; they are interactive and connected conversations. 2009 season starts with a kickoff event in each city:
Cincinnati — JANE PAULEY — Wednesday, January 14th — 7:30 pm
Des Moines — JOY BEHAR — Thursday, January 15th — 7:30 pm
Minneapolis — JANE PAULEY — Tuesday, January 27th — 7:30 pm
Milwaukee — JANE PAULEY — Wednesday, January 28th — 7:30 pm
New Brunswick — Goldie Hawn — Monday, February 9th — 8:00 pm
Wilmington — GOLDIE HAWN — Tuesday, February 10th — 7:30 pm
“SMART TALK has a rich history in all of these cities,” said Bob Benia, SMART TALK CEO and Founder. “Since 1992, we’ve been bringing amazing and accomplished women to thrilled audiences at premiere venues across America. This year, in addition to our better than ever celebrity line-up, we are enhancing our program even more with a new name, a new look, and our newly-redesigned Website, www.SmartTalkWomen.com, which offers added features and functionality. Add to this new sponsors and partners, including MORE Magazine, and the 2009 season promises to be our most rewarding yet,” Benia added.
Benia also explained why SMART TALK is not offering tickets to individual events in 2009, but selling full subscription packages only. “This Series facilitates important connections — to the other women there and even on some level between the events themselves. SMART TALK is about relationships. It’s a complete experience — one that shouldn’t be missed,” he said.
2008 SMART TALK subscribers will have the first opportunity to renew their same seats, change their seating location or add seats to their order for the 2009 season. Renewal information will be mailed to last year’s subscribers in each city in the beginning of October (exact dates vary by city). Subscriptions for remaining seats will go on sale to the general public at the end of October (dates vary by city). For more Series information, including specific procedures for each city, visit: http://www.smarttalkwomen.com/.
Marketers have also embraced SMART TALK Connected Conversations, recognizing this unique opportunity to reach thousands of active and vibrant female consumers. With major corporations such as DuPont, Bank of America, Principal Financial Group and Hy-Vee on board, sponsorships are quickly filling up. A few slots remain in select existing markets, and sponsorships will also be available in as many as six additional markets for the 2010 season. For more information, contact Diana Deibler (515) 681-2317.
About Smart Talk Media LLC
Smart Talk Media LLC is North America’s premiere producer of women’s live programming through experiential events featuring well-known and compelling individuals. SMART TALK Connected Conversations(TM) (SMART TALK), a subscription-only speaker series provides its audiences with inspirational, connected conversations — from renowned entertainers, political figures and other accomplished individuals. Conversing with SMART TALK patrons on a range of highly-relevant and timely topics, the performers share their real, very personal views and life experiences in a way that is intimate, empowering and, above all, connected to the lives of women everywhere. SMART TALK combines its speaker series and other event elements to provide a platform for unparalleled, women-centered experiences that are always one part entertainment, one part education, and all parts connected. The series is currently offered at premiere theatres in Des Moines, IA; Cincinnati, OH; Wilmington, DE; New Brunswick, NJ; Milwaukee, WI; as well as Minneapolis, MN. Several more cities are in the planning. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart Talk Media LLC, the producers of SMART TALK have been bringing women together since 1992. For more information, please visit http://www.smarttalkwomen.com/
COMPLETE NATIONAL SMART TALK ROSTER - 2009
(Exact lineup varies according to city):
DIANE KEATON
An Evening With Diane Keaton
GOLDIE HAWN
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
BILLIE JEAN KING
Pressure Is A Privilege
Ann Compton
Stories Behind The Headlines
Sylvia Earle
Blue Is The New Green
Phylicia Rashad
From The Heart
JANE PAULEY
Practical Inspiration
LIZ GILBERT
Eat, Pray, Love
VICTORIA ROWELL
The Women Who Raised Me
JOY BEHAR
Joy Schtick
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Embracing The New Midlife
FRAN DRESCHER
Turning Lemons Into Lemonade
LEE WOODRUFF
Life Changes In An Instant
Source: SMART TALK
Search Activity for Sarah Palin Outnumbers Joe Biden 2200 to 1
John McCain Jumps Ahead of Barack Obama on this Week’s Lycos Top Search List
Tina Fey and Dancing with the Stars along with Toni Braxton are Among Big Search Gainers on Lycos
The Lycos 50 for Week Ending Sept. 27, 2008
Lycos, a leading provider of social publishing, media and search services, today announced the following information from The Lycos 50, the most popular Internet search terms and trends for the week ending Sept. 27, 2008.
Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending Sept. 27, 2008:
1. Paul Newman 600 %
2. Dancing with the Stars 533 %
3. The Office 480 %
4. Tina Fey 425 %
5. David Blaine 400 %
6. Lindsay Lohan 395 %
7. Toni Braxton 340 %
8. Criss Angel 275 %
9. Heroes 233 %
10. Halloween 170 %
Search Gainers:
While polling numbers show Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (#43) leading his Republican rival Sen. John McCain (#42), McCain has the lead in web search activity on Lycos, generating 20 percent more online interest than his Democratic opponent. But it’s Gov. Sarah Palin (#12) who continues to drive the most search interest. Although Palin dropped out of the top 10 this week, she is still more popular than actress Megan Fox (#13), the WWE (#15) and hip-hop star Kanye West (#16). And in comparison to her vice presidential rival, searches for Palin outnumber searches for Sen. Joe Biden 2200 to one. Biden is the least searched of the political candidates, registering search activity far below the top 50 terms on Lycos, receiving as many searches as song lyrics and school loans. Meanwhile, search popularity for actress Tina Fey catapults 425 percent since returning to Saturday Night Live portraying the Republican vice presidential candidate. And Dancing with the Stars struts onto this week’s top 10 Movers and Shakers list, with search activity increasing five-fold over the past week, while online interest in DWTS contestant Toni Braxton more than triples following news of Braxton’s recent health issue. Prior to beginning a demanding regiment for Dancing with the Stars, Braxton experienced a heart problem called Microvascular Angina. Most patients with Microvascular Angina, also known as Cardiac Syndrome X, suffer pain when doing extraneous exercise. The condition hasn’t stopped the Grammy-winning singer who plans to continue competing on the popular ABC series.
About Lycos, Inc.
Lycos, Inc. operates search and social media web sites that foster online communities, including the new Lycos Cinema community, bringing people together one flick at a time. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, Gamesville.com, Lycos Mail, Webon, WhoWhere.com and The Lycos 50(TM). Lycos, Inc.
Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Lycos, Inc. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Source: Lycos, Inc.
Gale Launches New Online Content Marketplace AcquireContent.com
Filed under: Site Launches, Tech News, press release
AcquireContent.com Provides Scaleable Content Syndication and Creation Services for Businesses
Gale announces the launch of AcquireContent.com, a new online content marketplace that highlights Gale’s high-quality and unique content assets and provides robust content licensing, syndication and content creation services to Web site owners, media outlets, publishers, research database providers, Internet start-ups and other businesses. From magazines and newspapers to comprehensive encyclopedias and directories, businesses will find large volumes of dynamic, accurate content at AcquireContent.com.
A service of Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, AcquireContent.com offers over 10,000 unique sources of content covering more than 500 different topic areas. The site features content that is both diverse and compelling, covering a wide range of consumer interests, from the latest business trends and health and wellness research to how-to topics, pop culture, entertainment and more. Gale’s content will engage all types of audiences: from research professionals to general information seekers. The site enables businesses to find the content they need quickly and provides on-site tools to easily bookmark collections of content that they are interested in licensing.
AcquireContent.com offers several flexible licensing programs, allowing businesses to get just the content they need. Potential clients and existing partners can also work directly with Gale representatives to commission the creation of original, custom content developed just for their site and optimized for maximum search engine discoverability. Content can be easily integrated into a business’s site or service with AcquireContent.com’s platform services. Gale can also create custom, white label solutions for online businesses including hosted web pages, search widgets, and e-commerce.
“Content is still king, especially when it comes to building a successful business online,” said Paul Mouton, Director of Business Development at Gale. “With AcquireContent.com, you have instant access to a massive volume of unique and engaging content. And, if we don’t have exactly what you need, we have the capability to quickly create custom content that addresses your needs specifically.” With its success in serving the information needs of libraries, school, universities, and businesses for over 50 years, Gale is expanding its already strong position in the online content marketplace with AcquireContent.com, by providing scaleable content syndication solutions for any business.
For more information, contact Lindsay Brown at lindsay.brown@cengage.com
About Cengage Learning and Gale
Cengage Learning, formerly Thomson Learning, delivers highly customized learning solutions for colleges, universities, professors, students, reference centers, government agencies, corporations and professionals around the world. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs — from homework help to health questions to business profiles — in a variety of formats — books and eBooks, databases and microfilm. For more information visit: www.cengage.com or www.gale.com.
About AcquireContent.com
Located at http://www.acquirecontent.com/, AcquireContent.com is Gale’s online content marketplace, and the single source for content licensing, syndication, and creation services for businesses and organizations. Offering more than 10,000 unique sources of content in over 500 different topic areas, AcquireContent.com provides scaleable content solutions for any business.
Source: Cengage Learning and Gale
SGN Launches iBowl for iPhone
Filed under: Product Launches, Tech News, press release
Using the iPhone’s unique accelerometer technology iBowl simulates a mobile bowling alley where you swing your iPhone like a bowling ball
Today, on the heels of the release of the hugely popular game iGolf, SGN, the leading social gaming company, has launched iBowl. Like iGolf, iBowl leverages the innovated accelerometer mobile technology platform for the iPhone to let bowling fans, sports and gaming enthusiasts play on-the-go.
“We are continuing to push the boundaries of social gaming to engage all gamers and enthusiasts in innovative ways through our creative use of platforms such as the iPhone,” said Shervin Pishevar, CEO of SGN. “The success we have seen with iGolf demonstrates the demand for this kind of entertainment for all audiences.”
Pishevar continues, “SGN is committed to developing social games for all audiences across all platforms and leading the industry with mobile applications that push the social networking envelope.”
iGolf and iBowl are the first two games in a series of iPhone and mobile gaming applications that will be available over the coming months. To play iBowl, the user depresses the ‘BOWL’ button on the touch-screen interface throughout the swing and releases the button at the end of the swing to direct the bowl down the bowling lane. By twisting your wrist while you swing the iPhone the player can create spins and control the direction of the bowling ball. Updates to this game will be available by October 13, 2008.
Today iGolf has been chosen as a ‘Featured Game’ in the Apple App Store. With over 900,000 downloads to date, iGolf is a leader in downloaded games for the iPhone.
The development of iPhone games marks SGN’s expansion in mobile and social gaming technology, heralding its commitment to expanding the “social graph” established on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Hi5 across multiple platforms and form factors. SGN is taking its extensive experience in the development of original and engaging game play an applying cutting-edge technology to create a compulsive game play experience.
About SGN
SGN is the largest developer of social networking games and applications. SGN’s current network of games commands over one million game players per-day across multiple social networking platforms including Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. For more information go to www.sgn.com.
Nokia Launches Pioneering Comes With Music Digital Entertainment Service
Filed under: Breaking News, Product Launches, press release
New Service Offers Customers Unprecedented Freedom and Value
EMI Music, Independents and Music Publishers Join Offering
At the Nokia Remix event held today in London and Singapore, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced the debut of its pioneering Comes with Music digital entertainment service which offers consumers a new way to discover and enjoy music. Customers who buy a Comes With Music device will be able to explore and enjoy a diverse catalog of music of international and local artists with unlimited access to millions of tracks for a year, keeping the music once the year is over and revolutionizing their digital music experience.
“Comes With Music sets a precedent for consumer value and convenience that the rest of the digital entertainment industry is already copying,” said Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of the Nokia entertainment and communities business. “Trying out a music recommendation is spontaneous as customers can download without worrying about the cost of an album or a track - the freedom and simplicity of the service is unparalleled. And Comes With Music gives you unlimited access to the millions of tracks in the Nokia Music Store and the music is all yours to keep - because it’s not a revolution unless you get to keep your music.”
Comes With Music offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue and customers can keep all the music that they have downloaded at the end of the year to continue enjoying their music collection. Comes With Music will be available across a range of Nokia devices, including the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - also announced today and the Nokia N95 8GB and Nokia 5310 XpressMusic. With more than 10 million units sold globally since its introduction last year, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is the best selling music phone in the world.
EMI Music has joined as the latest major label to support Comes With Music.
“With the launch of Nokia’s Comes With Music, fans now have a new avenue to find and enjoy music from EMI’s catalogue, and our artists have a powerful new way to reach their fans,” said Douglas Merrill, president, digital business, for EMI Music. “By encouraging music discovery in an innovative and consumer-friendly environment, Comes With Music will continue to push experimentation in the digital music industry.”
Comes With Music will also feature a tremendous selection of independent music, courtesy of deals with The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), Beggars Group, IODA, the Ministry of Sound, PIAS and Pinnacle. These companies join Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group in supporting Comes With Music. Nokia has also secured music publishing rights from CELAS on behalf of EMI Music Publishing, GEMA on behalf of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, SACEM on behalf of Universal Music Publishing, as well as the MCPS-PRS Alliance.
The United Kingdom will be the first market to offer Comes With Music with sales planned to start on October 16, 2008. The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music edition is expected to cost GBP 129.95 and people can pre-register their orders for Comes With Music devices from Carphone Warehouse at http://www.carphonewarehouse.com.
http://www.nokia.com/comeswithmusic
Notes to Editor:
For multimedia material on the Nokia Remix, please visit http://events.nokia.com
For print quality photos, please visit http://www.nokia.com/press/photos
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable customers to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
About EMI Music
EMI Music is the recorded music division of EMI Group Limited, one of the world’s leading music companies. EMI Music represents artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Televisa Music, Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin.
http://www.nokia.com
Source: Nokia Corporation
The Privacy Council Launches Together We Can End SPAM Junk Mail and Unsolicited Phone Calls
Filed under: Launch Events, Site Launches, press release
The formation of a Global Privacy Council designed to set firm standards around online privacy has been announced today. In addition to bringing together industry leaders to protect personal privacy on the Internet, The Privacy Council provides a low-cost service for individuals who wish to be removed from the major junk mail, telemarketer and SPAM email lists. The Privacy Council’s website also publishes regularly updated articles about the latest personal privacy and security issues.
Junk mail destroys roughly 100 million trees per year, and it’s estimated that 44% of junk mail is thrown away without being opened. In addition, the majority of emails sent today are unsolicited marketing emails (SPAM). For these reasons, The Privacy Council’s list-removal service appeals to everyone from the environmentally conscious to those who simply want to clean up their email inboxes.
The Privacy Council is a joint venture of Yovia and HD Publishing Group, two Florida-based marketing companies. As marketers, these companies sought to take the lead in the movement toward reducing unwanted emails, phone calls and junk mail. They also understand the need to educate the public about privacy and security issues.
The Privacy Council is currently seeking marketers to aid in the fight against unwanted paper, telephone and online solicitations. For more information on how to join The Privacy Council, email privacycouncil@yovia.com or call (904) 242-2669 x 101.
HD Publishing:
Since 1996, HD Publishing Group has been pioneering data-based people search products on the web. As aggregators of more than 3.1 billion public records, HD Publishing understands the value and necessity of personal privacy. The Privacy Council was founded by HD Publishing, on the premise that people deserve a way to control the phone calls, emails and junk mail they receive.
For more information: http://www.hdpublishinggroup.com/
Yovia:
Yovia is a community of people who spread the word about things that matter. In just a few months, it has become a fast growing and influential organic network of people and websites. Based on the premise that traditional advertising methods are both ineffective and annoying to consumers, Yovia was founded to enable people from around the globe to talk about new products, discuss key issues, and in general become one cohesive group.
For more information: http://www.yovia.com/
Source: HD Publishing Group