We have been busy working hard on Treemo.com and other sites that we have built.  Recently, on Treemo.com, you may have noticed the ‘Bulk Upload’ button appearing next to the ‘upload’ button.  This is our new ‘flash’ upload tool that we launched in the last few weeks.  This allows users to upload as many files as they want and all different files in one, easy-to-use page/application.  We have other uses for this that will be coming soon, so please have a play with it.  Also, please notice the sound it makes when you’re finished uploading.

Comments ‘paginated’ on mobile.  We just pushed out over the weekend a new way to show comments on multiple pages.   While we really like all the comments on one page, some of our users on older phones were having issues with our most commented items.  We are exploring different ways to put comments on items as we want the conversations to continue to flow.  We have always ordered comments with most recent last (well we actually tried most recent first for a couple of days), but with ‘paginated’ comments it can break up the flow, we’re pushing out another fix for this later today and hope it works out for you all.

We have several new features coming in the next few weeks, so please come back and check it out.

Here is the release:

KEYS LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE “AS I AM” MOBILE CONTEST TO SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE AND CELEBRATE SUPERWOMEN AROUND THE WORLD

Seattle - JANUARY 29, 2008 - Multi-Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, producer, actress and philanthropist Alicia Keys recently partnered with Seattle-based Treemo (http://www.treemo.com) to launch the innovative “As I Am” contest, a mobile and web contest to support the Keep A Child Alive (KCA) charity. The contest directly benefits KCA as Treemo will donate $1 to the cause for every unique user who enters the “As I Am” contest, up to $10,000.

Keys is the Global Ambassador for Keep a Child Alive, a charity providing an urgent response to the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa. KCA provides comprehensive AIDS care to over 20,000 people living with AIDS; including provision of life-saving AIDS medications, nutritional support and treatment for AIDS-related illnesses. They also provide care and support to thousands of children who have lost their parents from this devastating disease. KCA uses 100% of public donations for the cause, a fact very few charities can honestly claim.

“This contest and Treemo’s support will not only increase our ability to spread the word about the realities of this pandemic, but also recruit more potential donors who can easily see they can indeed save the life of someone who needs their help. It’s only $1 a day to sustain a life; it’s time we all start giving a buck,” said Leigh Blake, Founder and President of KCA. For more information about Keep A Child Alive, visit http://www.keepachildalive.org/

The “As I Am” contest celebrates the third track on the album titled “Superwoman” by allowing fans to create a Treemo.com account at http://alicia.treemo.com and upload via their mobile phone or web, a photo, video, or text, telling a story about someone they know who is a “Superwoman.” Since launching, the contest has generated over a thousand entries from throughout the US, each full of rich personal stories of courage, admiration, and heart-felt nominations.

“Keep A Child Alive’s mission is to empower and inspire people to act and save lives. Now my fans can share with me in real-time, from anywhere anytime, their own personal stories of empowerment and help support KCA’s efforts,” said Alicia Keys.

At http://alicia.treemo.com, users may browse all the contest entries, receive updates on Alicia’s favorites, and download ring tones of her hit tracks “No One” and “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” from her number one multi-platinum selling album As I Am.

The contest will be promoted via a nationwide Top 40 radio campaign in major urban markets, from KKDA in Dallas to KUBE in Seattle to WJMN in Boston and more. Each of these radio stations will review the contest entries and select three winners to receive an iPod Touch and an As I Am CD signed by Keys. Each station will then choose three semi-finalists to compete for the grand prize concert trip giveaway to see Alicia Keys on tour in the United States. Fans may text ALICIA to 873366 to receive contest news and view the latest entries via their mobile phones. Entries for the “As I Am” contest must be received at http://alicia.treemo.com by February 28, 2008. For complete Contest Rules, visit http://alicia.treemo.com/static/contest_rules
As I Am Contest Radio Shortcode: Text ALICIA to 873366

“We are thrilled to partner with Alicia to power the ‘As I Am’ contest and contribute to Keep a Child Alive,” said Brent Brookler, Treemo’s CEO. “Within the entertainment industry, we are witnessing the arrival of forward thinking artists like Alicia who are paving the way in the industry with integration of web and mobile community features to better connect with fans. Treemo’s platform allows these artists to promote their brand and social causes with powerful social media tools and creative campaigns that reward fans for participating in the artist’s community.”

Banner and Widgets

<a href=”http://alicia.treemo.com/”><img src=”http://alicia.treemo.com/images/asiam/asiam_ad_250.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Do you know a Superwoman? Let Alicia Know! - Alicia Keys ‘AS I AM Contest’ - Your Chance to Win: VIP concert trip, iPod Touch, Autographed CD - Tell Your Story Today - Treemo - Keep A Child Alive” height=”250″ width=”250″ /></a>

<a href=”http://alicia.treemo.com/”><img src=”http://alicia.treemo.com/images/asiam/asiam_ad_468_60.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Alicia Keys ‘AS I AM Contest’ - Do you know a Superwoman? Let Alicia Know! - Treemo - Enter Now” height=”60″ width=”468″ /></a>

Founded in 2007, The Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) is a non-profit international organization established by individuals and businesses in the diamond and jewelry industry and others who are committed to the empowerment of Africa. We believe education is one of the most critical elements that powers society and empowers individuals to realize their full human potential.

Here is our quote from the press release announcing D.E.F.’s new web site:

“Treemo is committed to providing D.E.F. with the latest tools in new media and mobile community, so that D.E.F. supporters, worldwide, can learn about D.E.F. stories and see, first hand, how their support for education in Africa is making a difference in the lives of Africans,” emphasized Brent Brookler, CEO of Treemo. “With the D.E.F. community available via mobile phones, a technology with far greater reach than internet technology in Africa, D.E.F. will be able to capture and share the stories of African Youth, who are D.E.F. educational recipients, and publish digital media instantly to D.E.F.’s Community across Web and Mobile Community sites.”

We are honored to be working with D.E.F. and look forward to the beginning of a long relationship with their team on being a positive force in the empowerment of Africa.

Check the contest here.

Our judges felt that her entry was most original, creative and marketable and therefore took the top prize of $1000!!

Congrats ‘justplainjen!!’

Rachel and her guest - her sister - have arrived in NYC for the concert.

Check out her channel right here:

The winner will get two tickets to see Velvet Revolver at Jones Beach on August 18, 2007 (NY), airfare for two, and accommodations for two nights in New York City.  Farecast is sponsoring the airfare.

The entries are flowing in here but we are still looking for that entry that seals the deal and will be going to NYC on us at Treemo.

Thanks and good luck!

I’ve been developing mobile applications since 1999, early WAP, SMS, MMS, J2ME, BREW, and now back to WAP or XHTML or mobile internet through Treemo. The iPhone is shedding the light and pushing the mobile internet to the mainstream - at least the tech savvy mainstream. All this hysteria is good for ‘mobile data.’ There is a ton of talk about about how this could change the whole ecosystem.

Do I think it’s going to change everything? No. It takes a long time for phones to go ‘mainstream’ - it will take years if the iPhone is a huge hit to become a major phone to ‘build’ to. Is it going to be a force in the mobile world? Yes, but not sure to what effect immediately, but I will not count it out. Will Treemo develop something specifically for the iPhone? Yes. Not because we think this is the biggest opportunity ever, but.. go to next question.. Will it take long for us to develop? No, because our platform is built for this kind of stuff. You should see a iPhone specific ‘view’ within a couple weeks of the iPhone coming out. Am I going to wait in line to get one? No - not into that waiting on line stuff, but if you have one, please send my way.

So, we’re excited about the iPhone as it will draw more attention to mobile internet applications and bring competitors up a notch. It will drive mobile data - AT&T is going to have a great run with this. Everyone who buys this phone will also buy the $20/month ‘all you can eat’ data plan. Treemo will look and run great on the iPhone and we’re psyched to see it on there.

Come back in a few to see Treemo on your iPhone.

In the meantime, on a personal note, my wife and I had our second daughter, Lilia, on May 20. A photo of her on the scale was on Treemo less than an hour after she was born ;).

Here is a preview of what’s coming… more news and pontification I promise..

We quietly, or not so quietly released ‘80′ last week as well - while not too many obvious web features, there is a lot ‘under the hood’ including full international support. Does that imply something for the future? Hmm.. not sure.. Anyway, we had a couple issues on the mobile application with this release, but all better now. We also added ‘mobile preferences’ with ‘block user’ and other default preferences for notifications and privacy of content now all accessible from the mobile.

We are gearing up for a big release very soon - date TBD - it will be a summer gift. More news coming soon..