Red Karaoke upgrades iPhone, iPad and Android devices into a portable karaoke machine!

Singers of the world unite! Today, our client, Red Karaoke, launched their awesome new mobile application for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, further cementing them as the international, online, karaoke kings that they are. The app turns your device into a karaoke machine with a library of over 45,000 songs. Queued music and scrolling lyrics show you what’s next while the camera allows you to easily record and share your karaoke performances. It’s pretty sweet!

Last week, we had some special guests over to the (still) new office for a sneak preview of the app with Red Karaoke’s CEO and founder, Miguel A. Diez Ferreira.

Fact- The word “karaoke” or “empty orchestra” comes from the Japanese word for “empty” (kara) plus the first part of the word “orchestra.” But, hooked up to the stereo via HDMI or even mirrored via AppleTV, the Red Karaoke app makes it seem like the orchestra is anything but empty.

Most everyone took a turn at singing their favorite karaoke classics including “Hotel California”, “Piano Man,” and more… Of course, the whole gang chimed in on “Piano Man.” La-di-da-di-di-da…

So if you like karaoke, go try out Red Karaoke for yourself. You won’t regret it!

The announcement was made via PR Web and the Red Karaoke Blog.

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The Top Ten Creepy Stalker Songs To Put In Your Creepy Stalker iOS Device

Yesterday the news broke that Apple iOS devices have been secretly tracking and storing their movements for over a year. Privacy advocates, tech pundits and even politicians got involved almost immediately. We thought we would get in on the media maelstrom and offer a slightly different take on these revelations.

Here, then, are our top ten creepy stalker songs to play on your creepy stalker iOS device.

10. Every Breath You Take – The Police

9. I Will Posses Your Heart – Death Cab For Cutie

8. #1 Crush – Garbage

7. I Love You . . . I’ll Kill You – Enigma

6. You Belong To Me – Carly Simon

5. My Best Friend’s Girl – The Cars

4. Protect Ya Neck – Wu-Tang Clan

3. I Will Follow – U2

2. Sunglasses at Night – Corey Hart

1. Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley

Grouped{in} Launches Group Messaging App – Brings Tacos To SXSW

Are you interested in keeping up with the latest news and happenings from SXSW? Do you love delicious tacos, Rube Goldberg machines and dunk tanks? Then read on, friends.

Stage Two client Grouped{in} is bringing their recently launched mobile group messaging app to SXSW in Austin, Texas, along with a boatload of fun events and activities. There will be live updates from KXAN weather man Jim Spencer, an outdoor activity group with RunTex- did we mention that there will be tacos? There will be tacos.

Grouped{in} is the only group messaging app that allows you to simply communicate across multiple channels – including Facebook, email, phone, SMS and Twitter.

A full itinerary is available here. If you want to meet up with the Grouped{in} gang in Austin (or anytime, really) email meghan@stagetwo.com.

Sphero Heads To SXSW – Named Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator Award Finalist

Sphero is heading to SXSW in Austin this week and is a Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator Award finalist.

There’s a lot going on here, so please pay attention.

Mashable House Geek Games

Sphero will be at the Mashable House Geek Games with a brand new game developed specifically for Southby. Come out and experience Pepsi MAX Sphero Bowling at the Geek Games on Monday.

Plutopia: The Future of Play

Sphero will also be at Plutopia: The Future of Play from 6:30 till Midnight on Monday the 14th. This “sense event” features emerging technologies such as augmented reality, robotics and more.

Below is Sphero’s full schedule for SXSW. If you’d like to set up a time to meet in Austin, just reach out to meghan@stagetwo.com.

Sunday March 13th

10am – 5pm Find us in and around Austin!

6pm – 11pm Techcocktail

Monday March 14th

2pm – 5pm Mashable House Geek Games

5pm Accelerator Award Presentation Round 1

6:30pm – Midnight Plutopia: The Future of Play

Tuesday March 15th

10am – Noon Find us in and around Austin!

Apple Announces iPad 2

Apple's iPad 2

Engadget had a great live blog from Apple’s media event this morning, where Steve Jobs and others introduced the iPad 2. As expected, the iPad 2 has a slimmer form factor and more processing power than the original tablet from Apple. It also has front and rear facing cameras and a gyroscope. The iPad 2, which comes in both white and black, will ship March 11th along with iOS 4.3, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Other features touted during today’s announcement include a 10 hour battery life and updated Garage Band and iMovie Apps.

Jobs took this opportunity to highlight Apple’s first mover advantage in the tablet space. He remarked, “many have said this is the most successful consumer product ever launched. Over 90% market share . . . our competitors were flummoxed.” In fact, the iPad has sold more units than every other tablet PC ever sold.

But jobs went further to differentiate Apple from other consumer electronics manufacturers. First, he defined the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad as post-PC devices. He then stressed Apple’s commitment to delivering technology to the arts and humanities.

“It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology is not enough. It’s tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it’s the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive (emphasis added).“

Apple has dominated the tablet space in past year. As we blogged earlier, other companies need to innovate – rather than imitate – if they want to compete with the iPad 2.

CES By The Numbers

The following numbers were compiled during Stage Two’s journey to CES this year.

Number of Clients Named Finalists for iLounge’s Best of Show CES 2011: 1

Broadcast Interviews Held: 7

Number of Clubs We Talked Our Way In: 6

Number of S2 Clients Named Mashable Awards Finalists: 1

Number of Articles Published Mentioning S2 Clients: 199 (and counting)

Number of Stage Two Clients Featured in this Wall Street Journal Article: 2

Alcoholic Beverages Consumed: 94

Times Clients Appeared Live on G4 TV: 1

Press Briefings Conducted: 343

International Articles Posted: 7

USA Today Video Interviews Delivered: 2

Number of Cigars Smoked: 4

Number of Tweets Sent: 296

Total Hours of Media Training Provided To Clients: 53

Client Mentions in Rolling Stone: 1

Impressions Delivered: Millions

Number of Miles Walked: 129

Times We Ate Reese’s instead of Dinner: 3

Number of Colds Caught: 1.5

Ars Technica Articles Published: 1

Number of Business Cards Collected: 384

Number of Filets ordered: 1

Wall Street Journal Covers Orbotix, Pogoplug at CES

Special shout outs to two Stage Two clients – Orbotix and Pogoplug – who feature prominently in a new Wall Street Journal article from CES.  Lizette Chapman writes a strong piece that focuses on tech start ups showcasing their products at the Las Vegas trade show. Quoting at length from the article:

[Orbotix] like so many of the 3,000 others exhibiting here, is launching – at no small expense to his company or his investors.

“This is the show. Everyone’s here,” said Paul Berberian, CEO of Orbotix Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based company that makes a robotic orb that you control with your iPhone.

[SNIP]

Not too far away, Cloud Engines Inc. CEO Daniel Putterman also had chosen CES to launch his company’s new product. Founded in 2007 and employing 40, the San Francisco-based company is exhibiting its personal cloud device, Pogoplug, at Sony’s booth and at ShowStoppers, a press and analyst schmoozefest.

“We could have spent millions of dollars to have a booth here, depending on size and location,” he said, barely audible amid the noise emanating from the blogger’s lounge in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall. Putterman said his company, which raised a $15 million Series B round from the Foundry Group, Softbank Capital and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners in December, will ultimately spend in the tens of thousands.

“We’re a small company, so when we spend money on marketing and education, we want to make sure it’s worth it.”

Congrats to Orbotix and Pogoplug for rising above the noise at CES this year!

Stage Two’s Marie Domingo Attends Spuler Media Ethics Symposium

Recently, Stage Two’s Vice President of Public Relations Marie Domingo spoke on a panel at the 3rd Annual Spuler Media Ethics Symposium. The event, held at San Jose State University, covered Social Media and PR Ethics and also included Q and A from audience members. Other panel speakers included Jonathan Hirshon, Shel Holtz and Ellen Leanse.

PR and Journalism students mainly attended the function where industry veterans discussed honesty, transparency and social media ethics. The panel spoke candidly about their careers in PR and brought up some of the more difficult decisions they have had to make in the past.

Marie Domingo Knows Media Ethics

Marie Domingo stressed the need for honesty and transparency in all interactions for PR professionals.

“Sometimes clients will ask you to do things that you may not agree with,” she said after the panel discussion. “Trust your instincts. Ask for guidance if you feel conflicted. As you work your way up the ladder there will be critical decisions at times.”

Domingo also highlighted personal integrity: “Ethics is a personal thing. When it comes to PR, it is what separates you from the others in the pack. Having integrity is good for business and your own career. It is how you build your reputation. Be honest about who your clients are and who you are. Online and off.”

One of the thornier questions that came up was if the ends ever justified the means. Domingo mentioned Greenpeace and PETA as examples of companies who wanted to do good but sometimes engaged in questionable acts to achieve noble goals.

She also spoke to building a personal and corporate reputation through a solid work ethic and top tier client list.

“There will always be bad apples in this industry,” Domingo said. “There will be bad companies and unethical PR firms. The key to building a reputation for excellence in tech PR is to only work with the best and the brightest. It’s a cliche, but good companies shouldn’t work with shady Media Relations Outfits and good PR agencies should strive to work with reputable clients. It makes a difference. Word will get out if you lay down with spammy folks.”

When Social Media came up, she was quick to point out the need for honesty online. “There is sometimes a tendency to game the system. Especially on the internet when people can comment and post links anonymously. Stating what your interests are when posting is key. The internet is smart. You can’t trick it. Keeping your conduct above reproach is more effective in the long run, anyway.”

Stage Two is committed to ethical Public Relations and Social Media Outreach. We are pleased to have Marie leading all of our PR efforts in an honest and transparent manner.

Stage Two helps to feed those in need during Social Media Week

Today, the entire team from Stage Two spent the entire morning helping the community. For the second time this year, we were honored to participate in some community service at the San Francisco Food Bank to do some social good – a perfect tie in to Social Media Week in the city. Joining us this time were Alyce Lindquist, the president of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley chapter of the Social Media Club and Dana Oshiro, writer for tech blog ReadWriteWeb.

While last time we had a good time packaging orzo pasta, this time we were needed to package cabbage and oranges that would be sent to schools and other non-profit agencies who would distribute the goods to those who needed it. You might think it was tedious work for the three hours, but it was really fun to talk with other volunteers and the employees there about the Food Bank’s mission.

To help highlight our efforts to bring social good to Social Media Week, both Jeremy and Dana Oshiro were guests on the Social Media Hour – a weekly podcast that highlights different trends in the industry and is hosted by storyteller and thought-leader Cathy Brooks. You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking here.

At the end of the day, our reward was hearing how much we have helped the community. For just three hours, we packaged around 12,000 pounds of food! If you consider the fact that 150,000 people in the city alone go hungry every day, the amount that was done in such a short time just by volunteering speaks volumes and can greatly help the people that truly need it.

To help out at the San Francisco Food Bank or to learn more about what you can do, please click here.

Here are some photos from our time at the SF Food Bank (and even a short video!)

Most of the entire gang that helped out today at the San Francisco Food Bank

Team Stage Two and volunteers packaging cabbage

Jeremy Toeman doing some social good

Even the oranges were happy for the help!

David Speiser helping to package some oranges

Mielle Sullivan with her specially formed orange

Jeremy Toeman just can’t stop himself from packaging oranges!

Camping out to kick off Social Media Week in San Francisco

Today marks the beginning of Social Media Week around the world. Social media enthusiasts gather in Berlin, London, New York, Sao Paulo, Toronto and here in San Francisco. To kick off the week, Chris Heuer & Kristie Wells of Social Media Club organized the Social Media Camp in the Presidio. Designed to be both a conference and an unconference, today’s event centered around helping people understand social media. Presenters offered much more than a “101″ view on social media and gave lively and informative discussions on things like how you can measure your return on investment, creating a social media business, understanding the synaptic web, professional storytelling and a panel that addresses the reality of the real-time web.

If you’ve never been to an unconference before, the standard model is that at the beginning, the attendees submit panels that they are interested in participating in, typically as a speaker/panelist. Once voted on, the ones the majority find interesting are placed into different times. Essentially the agenda isn’t set until that actual day so participants will be able to have a thorough and customized plan for the day.

The Social Media Camp opened with three great keynotes. The first one was by Echo founder Khris Loux who talked about the synaptic web and how the depth of connections was a powerful mechanism designed to continuously bring important information to our attention. After that, Ribbits/BT’s Vice President of Web Services, Kevin Marks, took the stage to promote the chief communication officer before Cathy Brook’s thought-provoking keynote on personal storytelling and why the hell we are really matters.

Afterwards, the agenda went into full swing with breakout “camp” sessions and more panels that helped educate and influence the way people used social media. According to the organizers, the hope was that the attendees would enjoy hearing from leading voices in social media and make some connections with people of different backgrounds.

Even our very own Jeremy Toeman took part in helping to educate folks at Social Media Camp. During the last panel, he teamed up with Collecta co-founder Brian Zisk and ReadWriteWeb’s community manager & blogger/reporter Jolie O’Dell to wage battle on the reality of the real-time web. It was a lively debate on how people how people have & are responding to customers almost immediately and even presented some great takeaways.

When all was said and done, the attendees left hearing from these “thought leaders” on a wide arrange of topics. It wasn’t about how to use Twitter or what benefit you could get from Facebook fan pages or anything elementary. The Social Media Camp helped teach people how to communicate using social media with an emphasis on listening and customer service. It was all about understanding the fundamentals of social media and not about transparency, authenticity, credibility or any other buzz word imagined.

So for the opening day of Social Media Week, I’d say it was a good one. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more in the next few days.