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These are the spirits of innovation past: 11 products and services that Google axed. Not everything Google touches turns to gold

WaterForward transforms the concept of pay-it-forward into a viral philanthropy campaign for clean water projects. "I believe there's an enthusiasm around giving that we would hope to infect the world with," says charity: water founder Scott Harrison, whose breakout nonprofit has raised over $40 million for clean water projects worldwide

We all have busy lives, and catching all the good shows on TV is one of the things that gets missed in the daily grind. Here's how you can get your television fix, and in ways that are convenient for anyone

It's not enough for video game makers to hype new franchises and titles with a sleek ad campaign and a trailer, these days. They're running huge events--like BlizzCon, today--sometimes at a loss, to keep fans engaged.

Bill Nguyen launches startups with haste, never researches the competition, and makes the same mistakes "again and again." So why do people keep giving him so much money? td p {padding:10px !important;font-size:12px !important;font-family:arial !important;line-height:1.2em !important;} "I make the same mistakes with every single startup," says Nguyen, pictured here at Color headquarters

Verizon has a new service called Facetones , a mobile app that creates and displays a video slideshow of your friends’ Facebook photos whenever a call from them comes in or you call them. The app, which syncs your phone’s contact list with your Facebook friend list, is created by Vringo , a provider of software platforms for mobile social and mobile video services

Greenpeace's successful campaign to get the toy company to change its packaging has lessons for future plans to target large companies to improve their behavior: Amp up the humor and go viral. Sometimes it takes humor to make a serious point.

A New York City translation tech venture, Smartling , today released a host of new features and services to help users translate their websites, mobile, and other digital content into many languages, quickly, affordably, and accurately.

What's a small business to make of Facebook, Google, and HopStop offering up ad space free of charge? Facebook made a splash last week when it announced a plan to offer $10 million in free advertising to small businesses starting in January. The company says the move allows small entrepreneurs test the waters of social media advertising—and simultaneously helps Facebook usher in a new wave of loyal advertisers it hopes will stick around for the long haul.

Giftiki , launching today, says it is a "gifting engine and social commerce platform that will alter the act of gift giving as we know it." The site was brought into existence because nowadays "with so many friends to appreciate--both online and off--it’s tough to give substantially to each and every one." The site has partnered with American Express, utilizing its new digital payments platform Serve as a "future redemption option" and while that's being set up, recipients can cash in their gifted dollars, converted into "Giftiki dollars" at Amazon.com and a number of brick-and-mortar retailers like Macy's and Starbucks, or choose to get the cash as a freely convertible AmEx gift card.

"It's for anyone in health care who is thinking about innovation," says ILN director Chris McCarthy.

Productivity is a hot topic because so many people (especially entrepreneurs) are productivity-challenged.

Betabrand's techies are beating fashionistas at their own game. Memes are helping build this e-commerce business one web-friendly, gimmicky item of apparel at a time

The social network is watching your every move, and your friends. And while it isn't as nefarious as Big Brother, do we really want our profiles to become another marketing space?

A mobile app that lets people send gift cards to friends is not the work of a deals company. But it is using discounts to deliver customers--especially the specific demographics individual merchants want--into brick-and-mortar stores. Daily deals have exploded into a $4 billion industry almost overnight because there’s no shortage of merchants who would like to lure online customers into their real-world establishments.