It’s just the beginning, however, and today we’re launching two more features that make +1 buttons more useful for users and publishers alike.

Sharing with your circles on Google+
Clicking the +1 button is a great way to highlight content for others when they search on Google. But sometimes you want to start a conversation right away—at least with certain groups of friends. So beginning today, we’re making it easy for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from the +1 button. Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new “Share on Google+” option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share.

+Snippets
When you share content from the +1 button, you’ll notice that we automatically include a link, an image and a description in the sharebox. We call these “+snippets,” and they’re a great way to jumpstart conversations with the people you care about.

Of course: publishers can benefit from +snippets as well. With just a few changes to their webpages, publishers can actually customize their +snippets and encourage more sharing of their content on Google+. More details are available on the Google Webmaster blog.

We’re rolling out sharing and +snippets globally over the next week, but if you’d like to try the new +1 button now, you can join our Google+ Platform Preview. Once you’re part of the Preview, just visit a site with the +1 button (like Rotten Tomatoes) and +1 the page. Thanks for all of your feedback so far, and stay tuned for more features in the weeks and months ahead!

Facebook plans to add a series of photo filters to its mobile application in the coming months with the hopes of drawing off fans of Instagram, the popular photo-sharing application.

The new feature has been ready for some time, according to two engineers who work at Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, hopes his engineers and artists create more filters before releasing the new product. Both Facebook engineers asked not to be named as they are not allowed to speak publicly for the company about unannounced products.

The engineers said Facebook will introduce almost a dozen photo filters, including some that are similar to Instagram like old-style camera lenses and grainy film. Facebook will also try to introduce new styles of filters with the hopes of drawing users away from other photo apps.

The engineers also said that Facebook attempted to acquire Instagram over the summer, but to no avail.

Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, declined to comment about acquisitions or Facebook’s plans to release competing software. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.

Facebook might have more competition to worry about than just Instagram. Programming code found in the upcoming release of Apple’s iOS 5 shows a series of new photo filters that are likely to be integrated directly into Apple’s mobile platform, MG Siegler of the blog TechCrunch noted earlier this month.

Instagram has grown voraciously since its debut less than a year ago. The company now boasts more than eight million users. In February Instagram raised a $7 million round in funding led by Benchmark Capital.

Of course, some of those forecasts could be as shaky as the future of Myspace or as solid as the future of Facebook. We’ll leave it up to you to decide how many of these predictions are tweet-worthy:

• Facebook will top 1 billion worldwide users by the end of 2011, according to Likeable Media. Now, the social media site has more than 600 million users.

• E-mail will enjoy a “full resurrection” in marketing, according to Twitter investor and best-selling author Tim Ferriss. “E-mail addresses are a safer long-term investment than social media features. … Among 20- to 35-year olds, at least, their physical addresses change more frequently than their e-mail addresses,” Ferris said.

• Google’s next big attempt at social media will be a big failure, Likeable Media predicted.

• Retail brands will increasingly combine the power of discounts with the power of social shopping by offering special promotions through platforms such as Facebook and Foursquare, according to MSLGroup.

• As opposed to the current retweet and favorite functions, Twitter will add a “like” button or another lighter-weight way to approve of tweets, according to Likeable Media.

• “Growing mistrust”—particularly about privacy—will make it more difficult for marketers to gather “friends” and followers through social media programs, according to Forrester.

• A group of “disruptive” technologies—cloud, mobile devices and apps, broadband connectivity, social networking and analytics—will move beyond “early adopter” status to form a “new mainstream” platform for growth in the IT industry and for IT vendors, according to IDC.

• Tumblr will emerge to join WordPress as one of the major blogging platforms, according to Likeable Media.

• Social networkers will realize they’re online friends with too many co-workers and acquaintances, according to MSLGroup. As a result, they may scale back their Facebook friends or turn to social networks that are more private.

• Big-name social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will struggle to balance user experience and privacy with profit-making priorities, according to MSLGroup.

• Facebook’s new messaging product will have a “significant impact” on personal e-mail and will harm Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail, according to Likeable Media.

• New social spam filters will stop many of companies’ tweets and status updates from reaching consumers, according to Forrester.

• The most successful marketing programs won’t be conducted within Facebook, according to Forrester. “Facebook doesn’t own social media in 2011,” the firm said. Successful marketers will “think outside the Facebox,” Forrester predicted.

Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

Now, all I got from this video is “what happened in Tucson is everyone’s fault but mine.” It’s like I’ve been saying all along, no apology for using the graphic on her webby that included crosshairs on Gabrielle Giffords’ district — even though she scrubbed her site of that graphic before the blood could dry on the pavement outside the Safeway store and she sent out one of her spokesidiots to claim that those weren’t crosshairs anyway, but were surveyor symbols. Signs of a guilty conscience? That would assume Palin HAS a conscience.

Do I hold Caribou Barbie personally responsible for Jared Lee Loughner shooting up that Tucson parking lot. Nah. Do I think Caribou Barbie has contributed to a political climate that makes this kind of massacre not only possible but likely?

Oh, yeah! She’s right up there with Limbaugh and Beck and Hannity and O’Reilly and the Blond Robots on Fox News in carrying the blame for THAT. For THAT aspect of this tragedy, her hands are DRIPPING with the blood of innocents. And, since the Huffington Post reports that the sales of Glocks have gone through the roof, I fear there will be MORE blood spattered on Caribou Barbie’s pretty little flag lapel.

However, I would just like to go on record to say that if there is one thing that I don’t think Sarah Palin is guilty of, it’s “Blood Libel.”

What, exactly, IS “blood libel”?

What makes this situation outstanding is the violation was not noticed by Villegas, his caddie, a rules official or even a fan standing near Villegas watching. The rule was pointed out by a fan at home watching the tournament. The fan decided to “Tweet” about it to a few select people including the PGA TOUR who eventually reviewed the tape and ultimately decided it was a penalty. I believe this was the right call based on the rule but it’s how we got to this conclusion that bothers me.

Why Fans Are Not Part of The Game

1. A fan is not part of the game. At what point did we as fans become part of the game? Every sport makes it a point to remind fans they are not officials, players or coaches. We are simply people who love the sport and enjoy watching it. If we could play it, we would. We can’t, so we watch. Our only connection to the game is our passion and respect for what these guys do. That’s why we spend money to watch them play. We are fans.
2. I’m guessing rules officials or anyone directly involved in a tournament is not allowed to bet on the sport. How do we know the fan calling in doesn’t have a bias against the player for some reason. Did he make a wager on the round which and this would impact his bet? Fans have this luxury, rules officials don’t. The PGA TOUR can not rely on fans to do their work.
3. There is an obvious delay from the time a fan can report something to the time it is relayed to the player or rules officials. In hockey or football, when a play is reviewed it’s done before the next play occurs. The impact on the game is immediate. This violation, which occurred on hole 15, was not brought to the attention of Villegas until Friday long after he signed his scorecard making it official. Had he been notified immediately, he would have been penalized two strokes and I would be writing about something else today. Is there no limit on when we can penalize someone? Can I watch tapes of every US Open for the past 10 years and look for a violation, call it in to the USGA and have them take back a trophy or money? Give me a break.

1. Slash your pre-trip expenses: Most of us have a habit of raising our expenses to match our income. Instead, live like a monk. Pretend you’re making just above the poverty wage (say, $15,000). This will force you to slash spending faster than we’re slashing forests in the Amazon. Downsize your car, home, and social spending. If you’re making $30,000, then within a year, you’ll have about $15,000 saved. If you’re making $50,000, then pocket over $30,000. Now you’re ready to travel…

2. Chop your travel lodging costs: Make hostels your luxury spot. Favor couchsurfing half the time and camping the other half. You’ll spend less than $300 a month of lodging.

3. Eat simply: Skip restaurants. Cook for your couchsurfing host. Buy from street vendors. Support local farmers by buying fruits and veggies. Get skinny.

4. Travel slowly: Expensive transport (like taxis and rented cars) destroy your budget. Instead, hitchhike, because it’s easier and safer than you think. Take mass transit to meet the locals—that’s one reason you’re traveling, right?

5. Minimize discretionary spending. It’s stunning how fast some tourists blow through their money on going to every museum, boat tour, and souvenir shop. Before you go to the $50 festival, remind yourself that you could travel for three more days with that.

You don’t need to take all these steps, but the more you take, the longer (and farther) you can travel. You can travel for $1,000 month, although some vagabonds do it for much less. Don’t buy the $30,000 sports car or remodel your bathroom. Instead, use that cash to travel nonstop for up to three years! Experiences are worth more than objects.

Who would direct it? This ended up being something I needn’t worry about. David Fincher signed on the dotted line to take the reigns. This is pretty funny as he was one of the guys that came to mind as I watched the film. He came to mind because the movie felt a little bit like Fincher’s Zodiac. I believe he can make this a worthwhile endeavor.

The bigger question was who were they going to get the role of Lisbeth Salander, portrayed incredibly by Noomi Rapace in the original films. The role fell to Rooney Mara (younger sister of Kate Mara who has been in films like Shooter and 127 Hours), who had a small role in The Social Network but is probably more known for taking over the Heather Langenkamp role of Nancy in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. I cannot say I was terribly happy, you see I am still a bit stuck on her mumbling Nancy. She just does not seem to have the screen presence to be able to play such a charismatic and intense role as Lisbeth.

Courtesy of W magazine, the first official images of Mara in character have come out. I still have my doubts, but the images are intriguing. Perhaps she can do it. I am still going to wait to see footage. I think it best to be cautious at this point.

Focused on local advertising, Groupon with a revenue of $500 million says it has 35 million subscribers worldwide, 50% of whom are in North America and has a retailer base that spans across 300 markets in North America and Europe. Its strengths are in primarily its deal making capability in the social networking sector that Google has been unsuccessfully trying to penetrate since the last few years.

The Chicago based marketer which had a sales force of just 200 a year ago has been expanding almost every month and now has a 3100 member team on the road and hundreds of sellers on its network. The Groupon parties move from store to store, and restaurant to restaurant bringing with them the bulk buyers usually the social media friends, some of whom become permanent customers to the venue visited.

When Google first got discussing the acquisition with Groupon this summer, its investors focused on valuation estimated the Groupon price as $1.4 billion. But Groupon by selective releases of megadeals it clinched managed to arouse interest and raise its valuation fourfold in a mere 6 months, which was surprising considering Google’s clout and reputation for picking up startups. Facebook meanwhile launched Facebook deals to ensure that it was not left stranded should such a liaison occur.

Though Google investors would be worried considering the high price offered, its stock price fell by nearly 4.5 % to $555.71, Google could argue that it was a opportunity that had to be encashed in order break into the local advertising market where Google had invested billions of dollars in the form of Google mapping and location tools and made synergistic acquisitions like boutique.com Besides it would give data and insights the marketer had due to its long term association and interaction with fortress Facebook, which has barred Google search from entry.

Tablets have been on the market for a few years but never as a serious challenger to the laptop or the PC. However, as user need increasingly moved towards mobile and voice-based devices, the 10” touchscreen Apple iPad scorched the charts, and is all set to sell a whopping 10 million units in the last three quarters of 2010.

As Apple slipped on third-quarter forecasts, managing to sell 4.09 million units of the iPad against a forecast of 4.5 million pieces by analysts due to supply chain problems, Steve Jobs admitted that Apple was riding a tiger by the tail. The tablet market demand was inherent, without pushing sales. It was only because consumers were not getting a reliable and adequate functionality-based product that made the early day tabs bomb in the marketplace.

Six months after the Apple blitz, Samsung launched the first serious rival to iPad, the 7” touch screen Galaxy Tab based on Android OS, first in Europe and later in US. The US model of Samsung Galaxy Tab is sold through the four mobile operators and attractively priced from $399 to $599 down payment and balance through monthly bills, almost half the down payment of iPad. Its luxury version, unveiled yesterday at Amsterdam’s famed Millionaire fair, came with a bluetooth headset and a leather case costing a cool $1,000.

• 41% of first marriages
• 60% of second marriages
• 73% of third marriages

Some of these divorcees are going as far as purchasing a Wedding Ring Coffin and throwing divorce parties with all the bells and whistles!

You read that right. For the low price of $34.95 (plus tax & shipping), you will receive your very own wedding ring coffin made of solid wood with a dark, glossy mahogany finish. It measures in at 6 ¼” long x 2 ¼” wide x 2 3/8” high and is lined with black velvet. The ring insert will snugly hold your ring as you lay it to rest.

Your coffin will also come with an engraved brass plaque with a personalized message written by you or a standard one such as “Six Feet Isn’t Deep Enough” or “I Do…NOT!!” That’s not all. Four metal handles and a split lid is included in the design. It’s your choice whether you prefer an open or closed casket.

Jill Testa, owner and founder of Wedding Ring Coffin, was inspired by her own story. She realized, after 20 years of marriage, the prince she had been kissing was actually a frog. She rid her home of all photographs and memorabilia of her ex-husband, then went as far as smashing her wedding ring with a hammer at the very place the couple first met. That’s when the idea hit Testa. The ring was in need of a final resting place.

Atlanta divorce attorney Melody Richardson has purchased a few coffins as gifts in hopes of helping clients move on. “I just thought they were hysterical,” Richardson stated in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

So if you have a good sense of humor but are still grieving, a wedding ring coffin may be your ticket to moving on. In the words of Jill Testa, “Bury the past and move on to a new tomorrow!”