At home

The afternoon of Dec. 31 varies greatly depending on your game plan. If it involves snuggling on the couch with takeout and television, I won’t stick my nose in and complicate the matter. But if after two hours of Kathy Griffin and chicken chow main you’re feeling restless, I suggest a round of dance video games. This way, you can stay entertained, get in your token dance moves, and remain as much of a hermit as your heart desires. Dance Dance Revolution, Just Dance, and Dance Central are all good options.

For those looking to use their evening productively, DIY community Instructables offers fun projects to occupy the hours and make them more festive. My favorite is BaR2D2. This mobile robotic bar includes a motorized beer elevator, ice mixer drawer, six-bottle shot dispenser, and computerized drink mixer. For those feeling less ambitious, check out this how-to guide for LED throwies. It is a fun, at-home, and inexpensive way to jazz up your space without the frustration of confetti. All you need are diffused LEDs, lithium batteries, and tape. The Huffington Post also published a great guide to NYE crafts to add a little sparkle and flair to any gathering, large or small.

Party preparations

For those of you planning to be around other people, chances are you will need some sort of a party ensemble. My preferences lean toward excessive amount of shimmer, sparkle, sequins. If you are looking for style inspiration, online lifestyle publication DailyCandy offers a dazzling array of fashion and beauty tips to keep you looking glamorous all night long. I also like the outfits on the Asos Fashion Finder (for both men and women) and, of course, Pinterest. Before the festivities begin, get feedback on your outfit on Fashism. Users post a photo of what they are wearing, ask a question, and people in their social network can “love it,” “leave it,” or offer a comment.

If you are throwing the one throwing a party, a bevy of apps can help with the planning process. Simple Soiree makes it easy to plan a party from your iPhone, with tools to manage guest and shopping lists, menus, decor, and entertainment and any other To-Dos. Pocket Cocktails apps include a thorough mixology guide complete with images, recipes, and tips. Home bartenders can search by category and collect favorite drinks for easy reference. Looking for guidance on holiday party fare? Check out the Epicurious guide to New Year’s Eve. It has articles for everything from a family-friendly feast to dishes to pair with sparkling wine.

Heading out on the town

If you are an energetic soul braving the New Year’s crowds, you will probably want to have an intended destination. I am all for going with the flow, but on New Year’s, that attitude can often result in standing outside a club trying to convince the bouncer to let you in at midnight and giving him a hug at midnight. This is not fun. Trust me. If you haven’t made your plans in advance and are looking for an event at the last minute, Eventful offers a comprehensive events guide to local nightlife, entertainment, concerts, and venues. If you are simply looking for a cool bar or restaurant nearby, Facebook’s new “Nearby” feature is a quick and easy way to discover businesses with your friends’ seal of approval, as is Foursquare.

Nothing can ruin New Year’s Eve like making bad choices, so it is important that while out cheering and toasting, you make sure the good times stay good. It is easy at house parties and open bars to lose track of how many drinks you have had. DrinkTracker is an iPhone app that lets you keep a record of what you have been drinking, and it uses personal information from your profile to estimate your blood alcohol content. DrinkTracker automatically compares your alcohol intake and metabolic removal rate to keep your BAC current and will let you know when you have reached your “target.”

Oftentimes, the things one does whilse inebriated can have longer lasting effects than a headache. Thus apps like Drunk Blocker and Textalyzer are useful, because they prevent communication under-the-influence. Revelers create their black list of contacts and the app won’t let you drink and text.

Midnight

New Year’s just wouldn’t be New Year’s without the festivities in Times Square. The Times Square Official New Year’s Eve Ball app for iPhone and Android lets people join in the fun at a comfortable distance. The app features live video streaming of the activities, including the official show’s opening ceremonies, musical performances, celebrity appearances, the countdown, and the midnight Ball Drop. Users can also access content about the history of the celebration, send e-cards, and share photos. Once the ball has dropped and it is time to party like its 2013, revelers can celebrate with this Champagne Popper app from Maxim. Before the chaos ensues, you can preload a message and choose contacts, who will receive a greeting from you at midnight. It lets you spend more time drinking actual champagne and kissing, and less time texting everyone you know at 12:01 a.m.

Getting home

At the end of the night, once you have downed a few flutes of champagne, sung “Auld Lang Syne,” and hopefully received some sort of New Year’s Eve love whether it be real or digital, it is important to get home safe. Check out VentureBeat writer Christina Farr’s guide to technology that gets you home safely.

Happy 2013 everyone!

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Arianna Huffington is taking a step back from her role of directing all content across tech/media company AOL, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Huffington became Editor-In-Chief of all AOL media properties in February 2011 after her Huffington Post news site was purchased by AOL for $315 million. Since then many leaders at AOL’s other publications have had trouble working under her, often leading to talent departures. Engadget, TechCrunch, and Joystiq are among the publications with the heaviest talent losses.

“What I asked for is for us to be more independent, to have technology, marketing and [business development] now into Huffington Post, so that we can accelerate all our growth, and for me to be freed up to just concentrate exclusively on HuffPost,” Huffington said during a startup event Thursday.

While Huffington frames the changes to her authority to something she asked for, some have speculated that it was part of an overlying riff developing between herself and AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong — something she denies.

Huffington’s new role is said to focus her efforts on growing the HuffPost’s international expansion as well as furthering the publication’s push to transform into an Internet TV network.

Photo via Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

AOL is planning to launch a new streaming video network branded under its Huffington Post web news site, the company announced Thursday.

The new network will feature live streaming video content 12 hours a day during the week from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. ET, according to a THR report. Founding Huffington Post editor Roy Sekoff will head up the new network, which will be produced in AOL’s New York City and LA studios by a staff of 100 employees.

AOL said the new network will be available on a variety of streaming media platforms, such as Roku, Boxee, Google TV, Playstation, and others. The company also said its open to the possibility of launching a cable network further down the line, according to the THR report.

The target audience will extend from the main HuffPo website while catering to mobile devices. Sekoff described the content as “a never-ending talk show” that will “mirror the Internet experience.” The network, which is expected to launch in early summer of 2012, aims to create 30,000 on-demand clips.

Given some of AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong’s bold statements about growing the company’s video presence during yesterday’s Q4 earnings call, the news about the new network isn’t very surprising. The choice to transform the Huffington Post into a video network also makes a lot of sense. Armstrong said 70 percent of Huffington Post articles contain embedded videos. So, by producing the bulk of those videos in-house, AOL will be able to gain more leverage on advertising.

Garlinghouse was in charge of the Applications and Commerce Group and headed up the company’s Silicon Valley operations from its Palo Alto office.

The news of Garlinghouse’s departure comes admist a slew of high-profile defections among Aol’s media properties.

Today, it was reported that TechCrunch senior editor Heather Harde left the company. Also, TechCrunch senior editor Sarah Lacy left the company this week for unspecified reasons according to Bloomberg.

While employed by Yahoo, Garlinghouse circulated his Peanut Butter Manifesto, a document which did a deep dive into structural problems at the company, and which was published in full by the Wall Street Journal. When Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired in September, Garlinhouse famously tweeted “ding dong the witch is dead.”

Since Aol and The Huffington Post joined forces as part of $315 million cash acquisition that formed the Huffington Post Media Group, the exodus of talent from Aol has been a running theme. The company has had a high turnover rate for journalists in particular, and in March laid off more than 400 full-time writers across its verticals.

Several key members of gadget and technology blog Engadget left in a huff after Arianna Huffington was installed in their boss. They reformed as a new entity, The Verge, while publishing briefly under the site title This Is My Next.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

AOL is expected to lay off 400 to 500 people in the U.S. starting tomorrow, according to a report citing unnamed sources in AllThingsD.

The New York-based internet giant is expected to eliminate jobs in targeted areas of the company. Chief executive Tim Armstrong (pictured right, with Arianna Huffington of the Huffingtong Post) signaled that the layoffs were coming last week. The moves reflect AOL’s big push to make more money and redefine itself in an age of ever-increasing media competition.

Sources said that no staffers will be let go in the network group of the ad sales unit. But editorial and other media product groups will be hit. The company has more than 5,000 employees, so the layoffs add up to 8 to 10 percent of the company.

AllThingsD said that Jonathan Dube, AOL’s vice president of news, is among those leaving. He joined AOL in November after leaving a position as president of ABCNews.com.

The content side of AOL is taking the brunt of the layoffs due to overlap with the Huffington Post, the web site created by Arianna Huffington that AOL bought for $315 million in a deal that closed on Monday. Huffington is now running all of AOL’s content efforts. AllThingsD didn’t say whether the moves would affect TechCrunch, which AOL also bought recently.

AllThingsD also wrote that 400 jobs will be eliminated in India and 300 more will be transitioned to contractors there.

[image credit: wowelle]