WebProNews

NASA Invites Twitter Followers To Space Shuttle Launch

NASA is inviting its Twitter followers to view a space shuttle launch in person at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is hosting the Tweetup on November 11 and 12. The space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch at 4:04 p.m. EST, November 12 on its mission to the International Space Station. NASA will invite the first 100 people who sign up online. An additional 50 will be added to a waiting list. Registration opens at noon EDT on Friday, October 16.

MySpace Tackles Data Center Costs

MySpace has taken a rather huge step towards reducing its data center costs: The company announced that it's replaced old servers using mechanical disk drives with Fusion-io's flash memory products, and the benefits are almost literally off the charts. According to a statement, "The power and cooling costs of Fusion's ioDrives are less than one percent that of the hard disk arrays, and rack space usage is reduced to zero, as ioDrives are embedded directly within even the smallest of servers." 

Target Launches Digital Newsstand

Retailer Target has partnered with digital publishing company Zinio to offer a wide selection of magazines online. The online newsstand offers single issue, subscription and archived issues at discounted prices. Target says the move complements the e-reading devices it sells online and in its stores. "We are excited to partner with Zinio to offer our guests the unique ability to access digital publications," said Steve Eastman, President, Target.com.

MySpace Gives Users Offline Marketing Opportunity

MySpace and Titan have partnered to launch a three-week joint promotion to bring MySpace users' messages to over 300 digital screens in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dublin, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, and Birmingham. Titan is the largest transit advertising sales company in the US, and provides advertising on bus, rail, bulletins, telephone kiosks, and street banners.

Apple And LG Rank High In Consumer Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners has increased significantly over time as manufacturers continue to improve their offerings, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates. Satisfaction among consumer smartphone owners has increased 14 index points (on a 1,000 point scale) from just six months ago, while satisfaction among business owners has increased by 43 index points from 2008 as these devices have become more stylish, customizable and user friendly.

Android May Power New Barnes & Noble E-Reader

Reports indicate that another new e-reader is on the way, this time from Barnes & Noble.  The interesting thing - or at least the interesting thing that makes this development connect to the search industry - is that Barnes & Noble's e-reader will supposedly use Android as its operating system.

Government Adds New Features To Flu Website

Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has introduced new features to the government's flu website in an effort to better educate the public.

Email Open Rates Up 18%

For the fourth quarter in a row email open rates were up across a number of industries, according to a new report by direct marketing firm Epsilon. Open rates increased 18.2 percent from the second quarter of 2008 with click rates (5.9%) remaining stable. The quarterly analysis was compiled from 6.5 billion emails sent by Epsilon in April, May and June 2009, across multiple industries and 200 clients. Average volume per client rose 10 percent from last quarter and 20 percent year-over-year.  

Scribd Launches Document Reader For Media Sites

Social publishing company Scribd has launched a free version of its document reader for select media companies and blogs. Companies involved in the initial launch include The New York Times, Los Angles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post and Mediabistro. The new Scribd reader includes a Scribd watermark and allows media companies to embed source materials such as court filings and memos in articles. Scribd says its reader will increase people's time on a site and extend brands across the Internet. More than five million Scribd readers have been embedded online.

eBay Launches Green Shopping Campaign

eBay's Green Team has launched a six-week "re+purpose" campaign designed to get people to make more sustainable shopping choices and increase awareness about green products. eBay's re+purpose campaign starts today with a partnership with The Uniform Project, an organization that is focused on raising awareness about sustainable fashion.