This and That: 04.10.10

+ After a crazy work week, I'm just now catching up on my feed reader and all the cool news out there. So of course, some of this and that might not be so new...to you.

Foursquare and FT do deal to unlock paid content.

The partnership is limited to specific areas on Foursquare, which lets users “check in” at various locations via their mobile phones, alerting users they’re connected with. The FT has chosen a number of cafes and businesses situated within business districts and schools such as Columbia, Harvard and the London School of Economic, among others. When Foursquare users check in at a designated spot, they can earn points that will ultimately unlock the FT.com’s online subscriptions, which can run from $183.04 for 52 weeks (or $3.59 per week) for unlimited access to $299 ($5.75 per week) for mobile access included as part of a premium sub.

It's an interesting new way to partner with Foursquare, rather than just receiving badges, it's akin to unlocking a coupon. Bigger question is will it work? Not sure it will convert those who are getting free subscriptions to then decide to pay for it afterward.

DigitalBuzzBlog points out the upcoming Square app, which provides mobile credit card processing app for the iPhone and iPad. Currently in a pilot program, it includes a card reader that plugs into the headphone jack to swipe credit cards, debit cards and even gift cards where applicable. Neat.

The NYTimes reports on Apple getting into the ad-space selling business. They have developed basic software for its mobile devices, including the iPhone that has a built-in advertising system, meant to be used by the developers who have created apps.

iAds would offer ways to build complex interactive ads into apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple said it would sell and serve up the ads and give developers 60 percent of the revenue from ads that run in their programs. Kais Makhlouf, vice president for strategic partnerships at the online ad agency Nurun, said larger app makers would not want to sacrifice ad revenue to Apple and would most likely sell their own mobile ads. But for “a new developer who wants to test the market and start putting ads on his app, this opportunity will be amazing,” he said.

Mr. Makhlouf and other industry executives say Apple is likely to add a location component to its mobile ads so, for example, coupons from local stores could show up on a person’s phone. For now, Apple does not permit developers to show such location-based ads on the iPhone.

Bart Decrem, the chief executive of Tapulous, which has created popular music games for the iPhone and iPod Touch, said his company would wait and see how the iAd system worked before deciding whether to use it.

“There are a lot of important questions we don’t know the answers to yet,” Mr. Decrem said. For example, he said, how much ad inventory will be available? And will a developer have to choose between Apple’s ads and those from other mobile ad networks?

Friends over at BrandFlakesforBreakfast have pointed out this awesome campaign going on by Mudlark and The Royal Shakespeare Company. Their new production, "Such Tweet Sorrow" incorporates the audience (and people in the twittersphere) into the production. Fabulous! More to be revealed by the group next week.

What's hot to watch: Pixels by Patrick Jean