Google has announced plans to add social media-esque updates to its Gmail program. Currently, Gmail users can update their availability through the Gmail chat feature, but it simply consists of “available” or “busy” settings, along with the ability to add a custom message.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Google products YouTube and Picasa will also be part of the status update stream. The new feature will allegedly allow individuals to see status updates, much like Facebook and Twitter. But, the big question is: will the new features include Twitter and Facebook updates as an aggregate or will they rival the two?Continue reading...

As most of the world knows, Google-owned YouTube is all about the little guy. It’s an online enterprise that’s made its fame breaking through the mainstream and giving the underdog (read: non-famous person) a chance – even if the result is 10 hours of videos featuring a marginally talented cat. So, it was no real surprise when YouTube announced its foray into the indie film market.

With streaming movies becoming the new frontier in movie watching, YouTube couldn’t help but jump in on the action. Recently, the online video giant partnered with five independent films from the Sundance Film Festival for its debut into the land of streaming movies. Ten days, 2,684 views and $3.99 per download later – YouTube had its first movie opening, netting $10,709.16. Not a terrible way to make cash in 10 days, but perhaps, for YouTube, not the best way to bring in revenue.Continue reading...