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The Daily Texan SPORTS Page 12 Davy Crockett would be proud Monday, November 16, 2009
iPhone apps’ use increases exposure By Jim Pagels Daily Texan Staff As social networking becomes more popular, more businesses are attempting to connect with their consumers by entering the iPhone-application market. These applications range from handheld banking services to fantasy football reports. “For all of these businesses, the main goal is interacting with customers on a closer level,” said Marc Lesnick, organizer of the annual Social Networking Conference, which educates business managers on how to navigate the online community. Lesnick said most businesses create social networking tools such as iPhone applications simply to connect with their customers in hopes of attracting more business and boosting sales. “Most corporations have engaged in social networking because it is an adjunct to their business,” he said. “They’re communicating with their customers and making them more happy, but they aren’t [generating revenue] from the iPhone applications themselves.” Application developers can set any price for their applications that are sold through the Apple iTunes App Store. Apple takes a 30 percent commission from the transaction, although many developers choose to distribute their applications for free. The growth of third-party applications has exploded since Apple began allowing developers to create content in July 2008. It took only nine months for users to download one billion applications, and today, there are more than 50,000 applications available. Texas Student Media recently launched their own iPhone application that distributes content from The Daily Texan, The Texas Travesty, KVRX and TSTV. “We just felt like people really like to be able to use that [medium] for consuming our content, particularly the student demographic,” said Frank
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LIFE&ARTS PAgE 7
Tent revivalist attempts to spread the gospel
Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
lar American songs and traditional Hindi songs to create a unique a cappella experience. “Most of us grew up in the United States, but we’re still very much tied to the culture of our parents,” said Nikhil Marathe, the choir’s music director. “That transfers into a musical sense. By infusing these two types of music, we’re connecting with our heritage but still remaining contemporary.” The choir has produced several albums, always using the name Penn Masala despite vary-
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Buyers feel ‘sting’ of crackdown
Peyton McGee | Daily Texan Staff
Senior Police Officer Lawrence Davis shines a flashlight in a suspect’s face on the side of Georgian Drive in North Austin on Thursday. The suspect was pulled over after he and another man attempted to sell crack to an undercover police officer on Sam Rayburn Drive. He was arrested and charged with manifesting drugs.
APD undercover operation results in eight drug-possession arrests aLONg FOR THe RIDe By Bobby Longoria A man dressed in black with old English letters on his shirt waves a white towel to oncoming traffic, whistles at them and asks “What do you need?” He is a crack dealer with rocks in his pocket looking for a customer — and he’s a cop. In an effort to suppress Aus-
tin’s crack cocaine market, the Austin Police Department made eight drug possession arrests Thursday night during a sting operation in the Georgian neighborhood of North Austin. APD’s tactical units conduct drug sting operations, which encompass weekly buy operations that target dealers, and reversal operations that target buyers two to three times a year. “It gains control back of the neighborhood that essentially is under siege,” said APD Sgt. Eric De Los Santos. “The goal of this is to make sure or try to
Hindi singing group hits high note By Audrey White Daily Texan Staff The Indian Students Association and the UT chapter of Nourish International brought University of Pennsylvania a cappella choir Penn Masala to UT for a benefit concert Friday. Penn Masala is the world’s first Hindi a cappella choir, and its popularity has led them to perform internationally since their inception in 1996. Made up of 12 IndianAmerican students, the choir performs a fusion of popu-
TOMORROW’S WEATHER
ing lineups as students graduate. Ankit Dir, the president of the choir, said performing is the most important way to develop a following. The group’s last performance at UT was in the fall of 2007. “We like to go to new places to develop a fan base, but we also like to return to places that have an existing fan base and a supportive fan base, and UT is definitely one of those places,” Dir said. Varun Jindal, publicity chair for the Indian Students Associa-
Curt Youngblood | Daily Texan Staff
The singing group Penn Masala, performs during the UT Indian Students Association’s fall fundraising event in the LBJ auditorium Friday night. Penn Masala is the world’s first Hindi a cappella group and was formed in 1996 by a group of students from the University of Pennsylvania.
tion, said the event was successful and served as a great benefit concert. “During the week, we were selling tickets, and we were scared that maybe the auditorium would be empty. But the day of the event, everything fell into place,” Jindal said. “Even the group itself was very happy and said it was one of the best shows they have had.” Around 700 people came to the concert, raising $2,500 for Nourish’s summer project in Ecuador. The group’s fundraising goal for the year is $5,000. The group will send five to 10 representatives for a two to three month venture to help a group of indigenous tribal women establish a sustainable business and become financially independent using their native arts and crafts. Suchi Pahi, Nourish’s international project director and a biology and government senior, said their organization is unique because they fund the project and are involved with its execution. Last summer, they went to Guatemala and helped women there establish a shampoo and soap business that has maintained success. “We actually send our own people and all of the money,” Pahi said. “And all of our projects are sustainable. We follow the philosophy of ‘Teach a man to fish.’ These arts and crafts are part of [the Ecuadorian women’s] culture, we’re just giving them the financial acumen to take it further.”
recapture that neighborhood from [crack users and dealers] and spread them out so these families and this neighborhood can have some normal semblance of life.” De Los Santos supervised the operation that was run by approximately 50 officers in surveillance, processing and undercover roles. He said that on Wednesday officers observed about 40 dealers on the street. Officers began the operation around 7 p.m. Thursday night by first clearing the street of any persons who might have poten-
tially interfered, including other drug dealers. Undercover officers were appropriated into two groups: one stood at the opening of the street, flagged potential customers and directed them to an officer of the second group selling crack cocaine. A hidden camera coupled with several microphones recorded the deals. Once the transaction finished and the customer had the crack in his possession, officers leapt out and arrested the individual for
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Business alliance urges consumers to shop local Austin retailers attempt to attract pre-recession profits during holidays By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff This holiday season, some local retailers are hoping that the relative strength of the Texas economy will boost consumer confidence enough to draw in shoppers like in pre-recession times. In the past year, local business owners have seen a downturn in revenue, said Dean Lofton, the executive director for the Austin Independent Business Alliance. The alliance, however, has several ideas in mind to encourage residents to support independent businesses, including hosting the seventh annual Austin Unchained challenge on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Austin Unchained asks residents to purchase only from locally owned merchants for one day in hopes that consumers will eventually break the habit of solely shopping at chain stores. People do not need to make extra purchases. They are just asked to buy what they normally would from independent businesses instead of chains, Lofton said. Last year, independent businesses in Austin showed a 4 percent increase in sales tax revenue the week of Austin Unchained, the largest increase in two years, according to the alliance’s Web site.
“With local business owners seeing slower sales, it’s more important than ever to buy local,” Lofton said. “We need to draw attention to not only the cultural value of these businesses, but also the economic impact they make on Austin.” Lofton said two studies of the Austin economy inspired the alliance to begin Austin Unchained to help people realize how shopping locally circulates more money into the city’s economy. A 2004 Big Box Retail and Austin report stated that if everyone in Austin shopped locally for one day, $14 million would return to the Austin economy. In 2002, BookPeople and Waterloo Records & Video generated a combined $6.9 million in the local economy compared to less than $1 million from Borders, according to the most recent comparison report released by Civic Economics in 2003. To reach more consumers, the alliance and affiliated businesses have used social media Web sites like Twitter and Facebook, Lofton said. The association has also recently purchased five commercials to air on Time Warner Cable, Lofton said. The Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area ranks as one of the top economies in the United States, but consumers do seem to be spending less based on how much sales tax the city has
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