By Cynthia Herbert :: 4:11 PM
Redditors in the /r/vancouver subreddit have started a thread alleging that social media management company HootSuite has been hiring interns for unpaid positions, a violation of British Columbia law.
The thread, started yesterday, outlines a number of intern positions posted on HootSuite’s website, and also points to sections of Canadian law that clarifies what an intern position is, and how interns need to be compensated to stay on the right side of the law.
Text that had appeared on the HootSuite positions stated, “please note that HootSuite’s Internship program asks for a commitment of 3 months, Monday to Friday with core hours of 9am-5pm and that the role is unpaid.” The company has since removed this designation from the internship postings on its site.
HootSuite responded to inquires about its practices on Facebook. A screenshot of their response is below:
By Paul Thomson :: 2:47 PM
Recent patent filings by Apple Corp. are renewing the rumors that the company is working on an electronic payment system and application, dubbed iWallet.
The filing, reported on April 4, shows a method for conducting a financial transaction. This is the latest in a series of Apple patents for a transactional product. In 2010, Apple filed a patent which covered “a method for conducting a group transaction having a plurality of group transaction members on a handheld electronic device.” And another application for “a method for authorizing a payment in a peer-to-peer transaction.” Other filings that year covered things like NFC in relation to portable electronic devices.
Apple’s most recent filing describes a system that will:
“[Take] a picture of a first code displayed on a transaction terminal using a camera of a portable electronic device; and sending data from the portable electronic device to the transaction terminal to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal using a near field communication channel or another wireless communication channel.”
[Image credit: Patently Apple]
By Cynthia Herbert :: 1:06 PM
Big-box retailer Target set off a firestorm online earlier this week with the naming conventions for one of its Mossimo kimono-style dresses.
The Target website is selling what it calls a Kimono Maxi Dress in two different versions, a regular sized one, and a plus size one. What they chose for one of the names of the colors is what started the controversy.
On the regular size dress category, the grey color is called “heather grey.” For the same exact dress in the plus size category, the grey color was referred to as “manatee grey” – not the best choice of words for a plus size article of clothing now, is it?
Target’s website has been corrected since the online community loudly pointed out the misstep – they grey color for the plus sized category of the dress is now simply referred to as “grey.”
The company apologized directly to the online community on Twitter as well as releasing the following statement:
“We never want to offend any of our guests. We apologize for any discomfort that we may have caused. We are in the process of fixing the discrepancy and updating Target.com so the gray dress will be available in all styles. We’re working on updating our systems right now. We’ll use this instance as a learning experience so we can do better moving forwardâ€
This season, Target is using the color “manatee grey” for items other than clothing, including bedding and towels. Those items will still be referred to with the “manatee” label – however, going forward, Target will ensure the color is not used for apparel items.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 7:39 AM
Electronic Arts (EA) is well known for its games, but its recent app release has nothing to do with games – it is a free social networking app that pairs songs with photographs.
Called Vue, the app is an exploratory project for the gaming company, and is currently only available in Canada and Australia.
The app, for iOS devices, allows users to match up their favorite photographs with their music, and create match-ups that they can send to friends on the Vue network.
Music services for Vue are provided by Rdio and Spotify. See the video below for additional details.
By Paul Thomson :: 1:08 AM
Photo studios inside of Sears and WalMart stores across the nation were shuttered unexpectedly today, as the company behind them, CPI Corp., is preparing to declare bankruptcy.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the St. Louis based company revealed that it is was operating at a $60 million loss.
CPI had notified Sears and WalMart stores about the closings on Thursday, but not all locations have been communicating this information to customers, as many showed up for appointments, or to pick up photos from past shoots to find the studios closed.
The company released the following message to previous customers:
“We are attempting to fulfill as many customer orders as possible. If you’ve had a recent session, your portraits may be available at your Sears, PictureMe or Kiddie Kandids portrait studio.
After many years of providing family portrait photography, we are sad to announce that all of our U.S. portrait studios are now closed. We appreciate your patronage and allowing us to capture your precious memories.”
Customers are encouraged to talk to store management to try and retrieve their photographs from the closed stores.
Photo services for Sears stores had been provided by CPI since 1959, and the company was Sears’ exclusive portrait vendor since 1986, with locations in nearly 800 stores coast-to-coast.