With more than 27,000 applications in Apple’s iPhone store, it can be tough to keep up with all of the cool stuff. After all, about 100 new applications have been added every day since the store was unveiled in July.

But never fear. Redmond’s Mobui thinks it has figured out an effective way to help people discover new apps. It’s called AppsWeLike, and it’s launching today in a private beta at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. The idea is pretty simple really. It allows iPhone application developers to insert recommendation lists of other apps within their app.

But here’s the interesting twist. It also allows those application developers to earn affiliate revenue if their recommendation — say a mobile game or music app — results in a sale.

The company explains how it works:

Developers and publishers who join the AppsWeLike network will have the opportunity to earn iTunes affiliate program commissions on applications purchased through their referral lists. Mobui is offering the AppsWeLike network free of charge to developers and publishers in exchange for a portion of the iTunes affiliate referral commissions.

Mobui is offering the service for free during the beta period, though it may take a 30 percent cut of the iTunes affiliate revenue. Of course, many apps already have a low price point of 99 cents or so. And once Apple takes its cut of 30 percent cut, there’s not a heck of a lot leftover.

But with so much clutter in the app store, it is becoming harder and harder to find the good apps without a personal recommendation. I bet we’ll see more solutions like this in the future.

In fact, AdMob is working on a similar concept. TechCrunch reported two weeks ago that the mobile advertising company is looking to launch a mobile app exchange where developers could devote a portion of their ad space to promoting other apps.

Mobui’s Anne Baker says there are differences, with AdMob’s developers donating banner ad space for the promotion.

"Mobui, on the other hand, is letting developers insert these recommendations as lists within their application so they don’t have to sacrifice valuable ad space to do it," said Baker.

Eventually, she said Mobui could turn its offering into a mobile advertising program where developers could post both recommendations and sponsored app lists.

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and Zillow rides to the rescue of the battered newspaper industry?  

With U.S. newspapers cutting staff and turning off the printing presses, Zillow.com is seeing new opportunities to help the battered industry. The Seattle online real estate startup is offering its technology to the Web sites of 180 newspapers, according to The New York Times.

“Newspapers have been left for dead by a lot of people,” Zillow Chief Operating Officer Spencer Rascoff tells the Times. “Readying their obituaries is very premature.”

Zillow.com first announced a partnership with 11 major newspaper companies in November 2007, including Hearst Newspapers, E.W. Scripps, Lee Enterprises and MediaNews Group. Zillow is looking at ways to increase advertising revenue and grow audience, which stood at 8.8 million unique visitors in March. (That compares to 7.5 million unique visitors in January.)

Among the newspapers establishing co-branded real estate sites with Zillow are The Tampa Tribune, with The Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem Journal set to launch in the coming months, according to the press release.

Sounds a little bit like Stephen Colbert’s line this evening about whether the Internet is killing newspapers. "To find out, I will check Google News," he said.

Zillow co-founder Rich Barton has always described his startup as a media company, one of the reasons why we put him on our list of 12 Seattle techies who could help save the Seattle P-I.

I have an email into Zillow to see if they are working with the Seattle P-I or The Seattle Times as part of its newspaper partnership.

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and Microsoft health care program to be featured on PBS’ Frontline  

Frontline will tackle the problems in the American health care system tonight with a program titled "Sick Around America" on KCTS-9 at 9 p.m.  And while it will focus on the millions of people who are uninsured or under insured, it also will hold up Microsoft’s health benefits as a positive example.

The press release notes:

At its best, American health care can be very good. For Microsoft employee Mark Murray and his wife, Melinda, their employee health plan paid for eight years of fertility treatments and covered all the costs of a very complicated pregnancy. “If it wasn’t for our health insurance,” Murray says, “we wouldn’t have a baby boy right now.” The Murrays’ medical bills totaled between $500,000 and $1 million, and their plan covered every penny.

But beyond large, high-wage employers like Microsoft, FRONTLINE learns that available, affordable, adequate insurance is becoming hard to find.

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Microsoft reiterates H-1B support despite layoffs, tough economy  

In a new blog post, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith voices continued support for the H-1B visa program that Microsoft and other technology companies use to bring foreign guest workers into the United States. Smith’s post, titled "Appreciating our Immigration System," come in advance of the annual window in which companies file for the visas.

The post makes it clear that Microsoft isn’t backing down from its position on the issue despite criticism from U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and others who say the company should have laid off foreign guest employees before it let go of any Americans in its recent cutbacks. The issue is controversial among people who believe the visas aren’t in the best interests of U.S. workers.

Smith notes that Microsoft is working, through various programs, to improve worker training and education to fill U.S. high-tech jobs.

"But it will take time to reverse the past decade’s declines in computer science graduation rates among U.S. citizens," he writes. "And the larger point remains – isn’t it in America’s best interests to keep the world’s top talent working here in the U.S., using their skills and ideas to invent the breakthrough products of tomorrow that will drive our economy and create jobs?"

In a January letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Grassley contended that, "during a layoff, companies should not be retaining H-1B or other work visa program employees over qualified American workers.  Our immigration policy is not intended to harm the American workforce" Grassley added the company has "a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times."

In his new post, Smith points out the continued cap on H-1B visas. "Because of these limits, many very valuable employees may not be selected for H-1Bs this year.  For many, this means that they will have to leave – taking their skills, innovation, inspiration, and valuable economic contributions with them, at a time when America needs them the most."

 

 

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