YouTube, the World’s most popular video site joins Facebook in the exclusive one billion unique monthly users club. The unique monthly users continue to increase, as content creators upload fascinating videos that go viral.

It’s likely that these numbers will go even higher, as Google extends the YouTube brand with the recently announced YouTube subscription music service.

Bugs In The System

The latest version of iOS, 6.1.3, was released specifically to fix another lock screen bypass bug. Though the initial bug was fixed by the update, it’s clear that locking down devices may be harder than it seems. But don’t get too worried about this vulnerability. It appears to only be affecting iPhone 4 and 4S models, and the hole in security can be plugged by simply turning off the voice dial system.

Always Low Prices – Always

Wal-Mart’s Scan & Go” pilot program is expanding, and will soon be in over 200 stores. Scan & Go works by allowing customers to scan the bar codes of items they want to buy as they shop, using the Wal-Mart App. When customers are ready to finalize their purchases, they’re able to bypass the standard checkout lines, and quickly pay for the items at special self-checkout screens.

With heavy competition from virtual retailers, like Amazon, traditional brick and mortar retail stores are increasingly exploring innovations like Scan & Go in an effort to remain relevant.

Lawyers…Everywhere

It looks like Apple will be defending itself from an onslaught of new patent infringement suits in the near future. Intertrust Technologies has accused Apple of infringing on 15 of their patents, mostly relating to security and distributed trusted computing. Nearly 10 years ago, they successfully collected $440 million from Microsoft over DRM technology patents, so don’t expect the coming legal firestorm to be very easy for Apple.

On-Live, Anything But Dead

Rumors of OnLive’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. With the addition of Silicon Valley veteran Don Gordon as vice president of engineering, the streaming video game service is clearly alive and well.

The company was bailed out by Gary Lauder, who became the chairman, and it’s been reported that 90% of the employees who were terminated are now back on staff. In the seven months since he jumped in to save the company from financial disaster, he says he’s experienced nothing but buyer’s elation.

Big Surprises For The Birthday Boy!

There is apparently a correlation between Twitter and TV ratings. SocialGuide, the company who researched the results, concluded that Tweets can be used as one of the top 3 most dependable metric for viewership. For television advertisers, this kind of news is not only valuable, but it’s an instant game changer. Perhaps as Twitter continues to attempt to monetize their product, we will see Twitter’s use as a metric become their true value.

And speaking of Twitter, today is Twitter’s birthday! More specifically, it’s the 7th anniversary of Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey’s first tweet. The little startup has come a long way since its humble birth in the dorms of NYU, and looking back, it’s hard to imagine in 2006 that people would be Tweeting from space or advertisers would be using Twitter as a fundamental tool for metrics. In these short 7 years, the company has added over 900 employees, over 500 million users, and generates a staggering $140 million in revenue annually.

With users ranging from Justin Bieber to Barack Obama, the mobile app has truly become a cultural icon, connecting the world and serving as a genuine global town square. Today, Twitter serves as the forum which spreads memes faster than anything before it, and as we saw in the Arab Spring, ideas such as freedom aren’t limited to 140 characters. In a way, by celebrating Twitter’s coming of age, perhaps we are celebrating the coming of age of our own social humanity. So Twitter, happy 7th birthday! We look forward to many more successful years to come.

photo credit: Viktor Hertz via photopin cc
photo credit: OURWalmart via photopin cc
photo credit: Stephen Poff via photopin cc