An internal Verizon Communications Inc.  (NYSE:VZ) document shows that they see the Wi-Fi Apple iPad as an opportunity.  The internal document reveals that Verizon will focus on calling the 3G iPad as being “overloaded.”  During this past holiday season, Verizon launched a marketing campaign that ambushed AT&T by calling out their coverage map.  This idea seems to be taking a similar approach. [Engadget]

Retweet.com has been sold on Flippa for $250,000.  Retweet.com received about 45 bids total before someone clicked “buy it now.”  Retweet.com aggregates popular links on Twitter.  The service is very similar to Tweetmeme.  Currently Retweet.com does not have any revenue sources. [Mashable]

Street Fighter IV [iTunes Link] is now available on the Apple App Store.  The download size is about 201MB and it costs $9.99.  You can fight using 8 characters in seven different environments. HADOUKEN! [Joystiq]

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) had an event at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California today called Campfire One.  At the event, Google launched a service called Google Apps Marketplace.  

The Google Apps Marketplace is an app store that is integrated with Google Apps.  Developers would be allowed to sell software directly to Google’s business consumers.

- Developers will charge a $100 flat fee no matter what the amount of apps a developer will sell.  Developers will share 20%

- There are over 50 partners with Google Apps as of right now including Aviary and Intuit.

- Google allows users to log in to third party apps using OAuth.

- All apps will be available starting tonight.

[Mashable]

A mysterious person created a Facebook Page that is called MY SISTER SAID IF I GET ONE MILLION FANS SHE WILL NAME HER BABY MEGATRON.  The crazy thing is that he already hit about 764,850 fans so far.  Facebook blocked him from publishing further content because of a terms of use violation.  The due date for the baby is not until August so it is pretty likely that the Page will hit 1 million followers. [Facebook Page via Neatorama]

Go Daddy will be surpassing 40 million domains under management sometime this week.  About 10 years ago Go Daddy had about 17 million domain names registered.  Last year Go Daddy made about $750 million in revenues. [Domain Name Wire]

Joe Biden was visiting Israel and there was no way for The White House to stream a speech that he was giving at Tel Aviv University.  So he decided to use web streaming service called Justin.tv.  The reason why Joe Biden’s use of Justin.tv is interesting is because some users have live-streamed shows and events which led to potential copyright infringement cases.  In November 2008, police investigators had to investigate Justin.tv because a man committed suicide live on the service.  [TechDirt]

Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation Network is the first online service that will be selling HD movies from all the major movie studios.  This includes Universal, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Sony Pictures.  The Xbox 360 was the first console to stream Netflix and the Apple iTunes Store/Xbox 360 offered movie downloads and rentals before the PlayStation Network. [Mashable]

Michigan may be facing tough times with economic recession. In a recent Eminem music video, there is a fact that says: “In 1950 Michigan was 1 of 8 states in America that collectively produced 36% of the world’s GNP.”  However tough economic times, corporate executive greed, and political chaos sent the city into a downward spiral.

But that does not mean that the city has given up on innovation and embracing social media. This is why I’m looking forward to an event called Future Midwest. Future Midwest 2010 is a conference being held between April 16th and 17th. The conference was founded by Adrian Pittman, Jordan Wolfe and Zach Lipson.

Presenters include Blagica Bottigliero, Ken Burbary, Evan Gotlib, Beth Harte, Scott Monty, Tim Schaden, Shiv Singh, Samuel Valenti IV, and Scott Hauman. The event is being sponsored by GM, Ford, and Downtown Royal Oak.

“Long term, the goal is to turn it into a South by Southwest-style event for the Midwest region,” stated Jordan Wolfe in an interview with TIME. “It is going to be a mix of educational and entertainment over two days, focused on digital media, marketing, communications and entrepreneurship.”

I conducted an interview with the founders of Future Midwest.  Below is the result:

AP = Adrian Pittman JW = Jordan Wolfe

1. What inspired you to create a technology conference in metro Detroit?

AP: By the beginning of 2009, many of our larger clients were asking about social media, mobile technology and the like and whether they were tools they could utilize to benefit their businesses. We saw the conference as an opportunity to provide a practical primer on the changing trends in consumer behavior and access online and how to prepare/participate.

JW: I moved back from California mid-2008 and I was shocked by the mindset and lack of energy in the business community. Furthermore, every business networking event/conference I attended was flat and cookie cutter. I see the conference as one small piece that is necessary to create a vibrant business culture that people are excited to be part of. Also, the Midwest, particularly Detroit, is way behind the curve on implementing technology in everyday business. I see this is an opportunity to educate the business community in these areas.

2. Often time there is a misconception that people in Michigan are old-fashioned and the high-tech industry is centered around states like New York and California, how did they overcome these barriers to put together one of the biggest technology conferences in the state?

AP: Having spent parts of my career on both coasts, I can honestly say that Detroit/Michigan/Midwest plays a much larger role in the advancements commonly associated with those regions than people might realize. Within Michigan, however, the perception is different – we’re aware of our contributions even if others are not yet. And everyone here was all too eager to support a conference that will bring our regional innovation in technology to the forefront.

JW: People in Detroit like to talk until they are in blue in the face about the state of the economy, what needs to be fixed and how bad the government is. I have always been the type of person who if I see a problem, I fix it. I do not sit there and talk about it. That has been my approach to the conference. This is a simple supply and demand imbalance. There is heavy demand for unique conferences and events in the area and no supply. All it takes is hard work and truly believing in a vision. That is how we were able to put this together.

3. When putting together a major event, there is a heavy focus on budgeting, choosing the right place, procuring all the marketing materials. How did the team come together and gather all the resources that they needed to put together the event?

AP: I’ve always felt that a professional is only as valuable as their network. It’s even better if that person has a close relationships and a strong track record with the members of that network. This conference is the result of such a network. Groups like Daggerfin, Franco Public Relations Group, iDetroit, General Motors, Urbane Apartments, the City of Royal Oak, Ford Motor Company and Verizon, to name a few, were instrumental. All played a key role in contributing even the most seemingly minute of details. At the end of the day, everyone really believed in the value of this conference and spared nothing to help make sure it happened.

JW: Completely agree with what Adrian said.

4. Are there any other events across the U.S. that the team used as a benchmark when preparing this event? If so which conference were they inspired by?

AP: For me it was TED, SXSW and the Landor conference series

JW: I would have to say TED out of all the conference I’ve attended. Longer-term, SXSW is a good benchmark for us.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be building 5 million iPads in the first half of 2010 according to FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger.  Apple will be launching the device on April 3 for WiFi versions and 3G versions will launch at the end of the month.  Berger expects that Apple will be building 9.3 million iPods in the March quarter, up from 4 million that was predicted.  Desktop units will increase to 1 million from 500,000.  Notebooks are predicted to be at about 1.7 million, up from 1 million.  Berger reduced the iPhone forecast to 6 million from 7.5 million. [Barrons via Techmeme]