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Crowdfunding is a relatively new phenomenon whereby individuals can post a project on a number of sites such as Kickstarter, Crowdtilt, or RocketHub (there are a lot to choose from). Basically, you come up with an idea, post it to one of these crowdfunding platforms, and hope the crowd comes to your project’s rescue in the form of donations or pre-orders.

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Do you keep a journal? Probably not, but if you do, it’s probably a blog. Do you have a photo album on your coffee table? If you’re the old fashioned type, maybe, but most people seem to be using Facebook for all of their photo-storage needs these days. In a world where all of our memories have moved to a digital world, an all like 1 Second Everyday could make a huge splash.

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(Welcome to Mobile News Round-up, the weekly column where we tell you about all of the cool stuff that didn’t get is own post during the week.)

Curious which phone carrier provides the fastest service for your iPhone on a state-by-state basis? This map should sort out your inquiries. Spoiler alert: it’s probably AT&T and if it’s not AT&T, it’s Verizon. Sorry, Sprint fans…but at least you’ve got that unlimited data plan, right?

What’s the future of Google+? Are you still on it? Is anyone still on it? Does it still exist? Apparently. The reasonably new social network had its public launch on September 20th and it’s traffic spiked 1,200%, which sounds great, until you hear about the part where it then plummeted 60% in the ensuing weeks. The current traffic levels are slightly higher than they were before the big launch, but a whole lotta’ people got a taste and decided to retreat to the familiar land of Facebook. Can Google+ survive as a niche network? It’s obviously not as big as Google wanted it to be, so how long until Google attempts a reinvention or pulls the plug? Google engineers accidentally letting their negative feelings on the platform known doesn’t help.

Hey there. Yes, you. The monocle and top hat wearing billionaire who also happens to be an Apple enthusiast. Have you seen this gold plated, diamond encrusted MacBook? I think it’s right up your alley.

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Kickstarter is an independent fundraising website that helps regular people like you and me raise money to do things they’ve always wanted, be it film a movie, or maybe even make an app.

Austinites James Curry, Wiley Wiggins, and Scott Lee have teamed together to create an iPad game the likes of which have never been seen. Lots of people get paid decent salaries to create mobile games, but these guys are doing it in their spare time, and they’re ready to start on some of the more pricey parts of the game. Kickstarter has allowed them to raise money for their game, but also has turned into a neat little marketing tool.

With 21 days left in their Kickstarter campaign, Karakasa Games (as they are called) is already halfway to their goal, with two donors pledging $1000 along with other donations adding up to over $10,000. They’ve been featured on gaming websites BoingBoing and Kotaku, bringing more notoriety and donations to Thunderbeam. They’ve shown us that raising money doesn’t have to be behind closed doors, and we can even turn it into a nice little marketing tool for the future of the game. I, for one, can’t wait to play it!

Take a look at the Thunderbeam Kickstarter campaign, and maybe even donate!

From the “OMG THAT IS AWESOME!” file come the amazing iPod Nano Watch concepts from Scott Wilson and the Team at Minimal.

Take your iPod Nano – and put it into a watch band. Now what do you have? One of the coolest watches ever to grace someone’s wrist. While companies aren’t making apps for the Nano yet, I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens. Especially in light of this sort of thing – different watch faces, different timers, and can you imagine having Netflix or Facetime right there?

When the world gets closer to making comic strips like Dick Tracy a reality, the happier we get!

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