Mediaboss Marketing

This morning, however, there came a T-shirt U-turn. First, Jacques Rogge, the chairman of the International Olympic Committee, and then Hugh Robertson, the Olympics minister, said Pepsi T-shirts were fine. Mr Rogge was speaking on the Today programme; Mr Robertson was speaking at a press conference in the Olympic Park itself. Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi. All this free publicity was making me thirsty.

But in any case, both the minister and Lord Coe can surely afford to relax. As regular viewers of televised sport will know, cameramen are interested in only two types of spectator: i) obese Newcastle United fans in tears, and ii) fruity young women. Anyone outside those two categories can turn up with the Pepsi logo tattooed on their forehead, for all your average cameraman cares they wont make it on screen.

Mr Robertson, incidentally, is the last person youd expect to see in a Pepsi T-shirt. Formerly an officer in the Life Guards, he is smart but ruddy-cheeked, and looks the sort of man who is never entirely happy in anything other than an Army uniform or a Barbour jacket.

Pepsi aside, his message was that the Olympics will inspire people to take up sport something theyll certainly need to do after the Games, what with all the McDonalds, Coca-Cola etc that theyll have guzzled at the behest of the sponsors.

Bradley Wigginss triumph in the Tour de France, the minister said, should prove similarly inspirational. I absolutely think it can lead to an increase in participation. You know, more middle-aged men in Lycra. And, hopefully, some younger females as well

Mr Robertson was speaking on behalf of his boss, Jeremy Hunt, who was otherwise engaged at a meeting about Games security. Mr Hunt did find time, however, to appear on The World at One, where he informed listeners that, for Bradley Wiggins, no honour is too little. He must have meant it, because he said it twice.

I wonder what Britains littlest honour is. After all that Mr Hunt has done, it may well be the job of Culture Secretary.

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Olympics sketch: 'And now, a very rude word from our sponsors...'

Annie Dalton confirms that her great-niece, Veronica Moser, 6, was among those killed Friday's Colorado movie theater shootings.

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

Updated at 3:39 p.m. ET: As victims and relatives began to return Saturday to the theater where a gunman killed 12 people in Aurora, Colo., a 6-year-old girl was confirmed to have been among the victims.

Veronica Moser, 6, died in the shooting rampage Friday morning, her great-aunt, Annie Dalton, told NBC News.

Fifty-eight other people were injured in the shootings. Twenty-eight remained in area hospitals Saturday afternoon, seven of them in critical condition. James Eagan Holmes, 24, a graduate student at the University of Colorado-Denver, was arrested outside the theater, clad in black body armor and armed with three weapons.

Veronica's mother, Ashley Moser, 25, was shot in the throat and the abdomen. She remains paralyzed in critical condition and hasn't been told of her daughter's death, Dalton said.

"This is just a nightmare right now," Dalton said. "It's a nightmare.

"Eveything's surreal. It's just surreal."

People who attended the midnight screening of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" were allowed to return to the theater Saturday to retrieve their automobiles, which were left behind during the evacuation and subsequent investigation. Some of them left flowers and flags as tributes.

Victims of Colo. shooting include sailor, aspiring sportscaster

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Anxious for word of missing moviegoers, some families get the worst news

Whether you're using a laptop as your media center or you just need to quickly turn off your music to take a call, Flutter is a great app that lets you use hand gestures for simple media control.

Smartphones and tablets are spoiling us for our other devices. It's so easy to swipe, tap, and gesture our way through our mobile lives that we sometimes get frustrated with more traditional tech like laptops. Flutter aims to help solve one small problem in a fun way -- playing and pausing music quickly -- and it works great. Here's how to use it:

That's it, for now. It's almost ludicrously simple, but it's a great way to control your music quickly.This teaser pageimplies that the brains behind Flutter are adding a skip feature to the app, and I am certainly looking forward to that, and whatever else they cook up. Here are some more pieces on media players:

Thanks toThe Red Ferretfor the tip!

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Control media using hand gestures with Flutter

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee will sail in to unchartered waters next week when the Games open in London, at the mercy of the millions of fans around the world on Facebook and Twitter who will give instant reaction to everything that unfolds.

The explosion of social networking offers huge opportunities to the IOC, but with much of its revenues dependent on the billion-dollar deals agreed with broadcasters, the body overseeing the Games will also have to protect those long-held rights.

Fans inside a stadium will be allowed to use their smartphones to film Usain Bolt on the track or Michael Phelps in the pool, but they will not be allowed to upload it to Facebook in a ruling that may surprise many tech-savvy fans who now upload clips on a regular basis.

Anthony Edgar, head of media operations for the IOC, freely admits that he does not know what to expect in London following the explosion of social media, with some 900 million people using Facebook in 2012 compared to the 100 million who used the site just four years ago at the time of the Beijing Games.

"Yes you can't hold a camera when you're running down the 100 meter straight and do an exclusive broadcast. That's for the broadcasters," he told Reuters in an interview. "But you can certainly talk about it. You can certainly take photos of it. And you can certainly write about it.

"We're having to deal with things now that didn't exist in Beijing, with a voice that wasn't so loud in Beijing. Everyone is allowed to film who goes into a venue ... but it's for personal use only."

YOUNGER AUDIENCE

Ian Maude, an analyst in online media at the British-based Enders Analysis firm, said he thought it could pose a huge challenge to the social networks and IOC, as many fans will not know the rules.

"Everyone has a mobile phone which is also a video camera these days and they're going to want to record the moment for posterity," he said.

"I think there will be an issue with people not realizing the rules but also some people could think about how much they've paid for those tickets and they may not care about the rules anyway."

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Social media throws up new challenge to the Olympic Games

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Apartment Guide, a leading resource for apartments for rent nationwide, today earned victory in the Atlanta market Social Madness competition, a matchup of Atlanta-based companies vying to show leadership in social networking influence. By beating 10 large company category competitors in the Atlanta market, Apartment Guide now moves on to national bracket competition, potentially facing companies such as FedEx Corp., Target and Southwest Airlines for the honor of being named the organization with the most social influence.

Were pleased to have come out on top in the Atlanta competition and hope to further validate our emphasis on social media as a key business driver when we compete in the upcoming national phase, said Arlene Mayfield, Senior Vice President, PRIMEDIA and President, Apartment Guide, Rentals and Homes divisions. Social media tools are highly effective for extending our advertisers reach, driving more qualified leads and facilitating faster filling of vacancies, and this is why weve embraced the technology so wholeheartedly.

During the local market phase lasting from June 1 July 16, Apartment Guide garnered 6,507 votes earned through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn activity and direct votes during competition. In total, 127 companies competed in the Atlanta market. In moving on to the national phase, the company will be one of 64 entrants, seeded according to total points earned during the local rounds. The national competition consists of seven weeks, from July 24 Sept. 10. Head-to-head matchups based on seeding (#1 seed vs. #64 seed, #2 seed vs. #63 seed, etc.) will take place each week for the first five weeks, as the 64-company field is narrowed to two finalists. The two finalist competitors will participate in a two-week final round, with the company receiving the highest vote total from the start of local competition through the end of the final round being named the victor.

We encourage all individuals connected to us through social channels including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to cast their votes and show their support, said Mayfield. Well face intense competition from well-known organizations, but we know our social presence is strong enough to help Apartment Guide prove worthy of inclusion among industry leaders.

The Social Madness competition is presented by Capital One Spark Business. The 43-city local and national promotion, designed to measure the growth of companies social presence,involved thousands of companies in three categories based on organization size large (500-plus employees), medium (100-500 employees) and small (fewer than 100 employees).

About Apartment Guide

A 36-year apartment industry expert, Apartment Guide helps millions of consumers nationwide find an apartment through innovative Internet, mobile and social media solutions. A trusted brand, it is a primary apartment search resource, offering potential renters content-rich apartment listings and information. For more information visit http://www.apartmentguide.com or http://www.listonapartmentguide.com.

About PRIMEDIA

PRIMEDIA helps millions of consumers nationwide find apartments, houses for rent or new homes for sale through its category-leading web sites and mobile applications, including ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, RentalHouses.com and NewHomeGuide.com. PRIMEDIA continues to simplify the consumer home search and drive leads that result in occupancies for property management companies, landlords, new home builders and real estate professionals. PRIMEDIA was acquired by TPG July 13, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.primedia.com .

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Apartment Guide Wins Large-Company Category of Atlanta Social Media Competition