A card from the Reincarnated Track Notes app.

"I'm still Snoop Dogg. Snoop Lion is an extension of Snoop Dogg. He's the fine-tuned Snoop Dogg, the perfection of Snoop Dogg in so many words."

The fine-tuned version of Snoop Dogg showed up an hour late to last night's panel at the Soho Apple Store. Given that he's Snoop, though, that's basically the same as being on time. When he finally strolled onstage, he was wearing a leather jacket and leather gloves, despite the warm spring weather. Also, sunglasses. At 9 p.m., inside the Apple Store.

He wore them the whole time. 

Snoop was there for a brief chat about Reincarnated, the forthcoming documentary about his trip to Jamaica, where he recorded an album of the same name, delved deeper into Rastafarianism and picked up the Lion bit. "I don't believe you choose the spirit. I believe it chooses you," he explained of his mid-life embrace of a message of peace and love.

But because this is 2013, the project is accompanied by a "Track Notes" app, created by the L.A.-based Cashmere Agency, using software from a local startup called Citia. And so we were treated to the sight of a gangsta rap legend pitching us on his app.

"You get a personal experience of the birth and the creation of the song, where it came from," he said. "A lot of times, when we buy music, we just download it so fast that we never get the story of the birth of the song."

"I go back to the 70s when I first was able to buy records, and the records would always have great album packaging," he added. "I just wanted this to be more up close and personal with a throwback feel to it."

But don't make the mistake of thinking that Snoop's online 24/7.

"I like finding things that are completely different, so it's kinda hard to say that my day is based on looking through the Internet or flipping through YouTube, cause I'm different. I don't do the Worldstar thing, I don't do none of that." He added, "I'd rather make news than look at news."

"And you're on Twitter. You do the Twitter thing," interjected the moderator.

"Sometimes," Snoop replied. "I do the Instagram thing all the time."

(Photo: Flappity)

Reddit's primary stoner subreddit, r/trees, boasts close to 450,000 subscribers and an untold number of high lurkers. Apparently, even Snoop Dogg (sorry, Snoop Lion) is a fan: the legendary rapper has signed on to help Reddit with its first official "feel good awards event," appropriately dubbed The Munchies.

According to a post published to r/trees by Reddit general manager Erik Martin, "the online world needs an annual feel good event for 4/20 and /r/trees is just the place to host the party." Because when we think about what the Internet really needs, the first thought that comes to mind is definitely a weed-themed awards event.

Because stoners refuse to be burdened by THE MAN, there are no limits to how The Munchies will operate: users will submit category ideas and nominations in The Munchies thread, on which they will then vote. On 4/20, Snoop will announce the winners by video.

Redditors are already chiming in with their highdeas: "I vote Lion King for Movie of the Year." Cool.

Gallery gurl.

Yesterday night, Vine, the video-clip sharing app Twitter acquired back in October, held its launch party at Marquee. Yes, that Marquee. DJs spun above a lighted sign with the hashtag "#party," and users obliged by Vine-ing the experience.

There was the meta-Vine of people Vine-ing at the Vine launch. And, because no one got the memo, an attempt to do the white man's Harlem Shake. Although our favorite had to be a guest appearance from "Gallery Girl" Chantal Chadwick.

Chantal from "Gallery Girls" at last night's Vine party: vine.co/v/b6Egw5WnxTT

— Rex Sorgatz (@fimoculous) February 22, 2013

"I guess the interesting thing was that it wasn't a tech-heavy crowd," one guest told Betabeat. "This sounds strange to say, but it felt more like a cultural event, almost something you would have witnessed in pre-millennial NYC." Hey, if the bubble fits.

As for Vine itself, by February 19 the app--which hung in the top 10 spot for the first week of its existence--had fallen to number 73 in the rankings of free apps, according to AppData. Maybe everyone needs to up their video game?

(Photo: Instagram via TMZ)

Snoop In Startupland According to TMZ, Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight buried the hatchet at AV Club in Los Angeles this week. And who should take credit for the amicable reunion but Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who was photographed in the VIP section along with Snoop, Mr. Knight, and venture capitalist and Uber advisor Shervin Pishevar.

.@uber making peace in the LBC: tmz.com/2013/02/22/sno…#sugeANDsnoop cc/@shervin @snoopdogg

— travis kalanick (@travisk) February 22, 2013

Snoop, who's palled around with Sean Parker and Mark Zuckerberg in the past, is slated to appear at SXSW Interactive next month to promote Leap Motion, a hand gesture controller. Hey Mike Judge, you may want to take a gander at our reporter's notebook.

Type-uhoh Brit Morin, founder of Brit + Co. and wife to Path founder Dave Morin, might have run into a little autocorrect problem. "Catch this week's BritList for your daily dose of dishonesty," she tweeted last week.

Dishonesty? Either that's a typo, or Ms. Morin had some sort of come-to-Jesus moment about the real truth behind the perilous world of crafting.

(Photo: Twitter)

Trivial Pursuit Techstars' former managing director, Dave Tisch, may have recently left the incubator, but that doesn't mean he's resting on his laurels. Mr. Tisch Instagrammed a slightly humblebraggy photo showing some spoils from a recent trip to Dave & Busters. "Successful evening dominating trivia," he captioned the photo, which showed hundreds of arcade tickets flowing out of paper cups. The real question is what he brought with those tickets. Our bet's on the 2006-era iPod.

(Photo: Instagram)

Caught with his pants down New York Times technology writer Nick Bilton is really, really excited for both Google Glass and Apple's rumored iWatch. Like, so excited he doesn't even give a f*ck about pants. Can't say he's not dedicated to his craft.

https://twitter.com/nickbilton/status/304666533190332416

FacePlace Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In hits bookstores in March, and feedback is already trickling out. One reviewer? Mark Zuckerberg, who popped into a Facebook conversation and said, "I think 'radically realistic' is a very good description of what you write in this book." We can't say we're entirely surprised "work harder" as a solution to gender inequality would appeal to a workaholic kid billionaire.

Who needs Zuck's support when you've got Ms. Sandberg's infinite self-confidence, though? She recently appeared in the documentary Makers saying, "I always thought I would run a social movement." Well all righty then!

(Update, 2/26/12) Turns out, there's a little more context to that line about running a social movement, beyond what the New York Times quoted Ms. Sandberg as saying. The Grey Lady has issued a correction:

In a video excerpt, which accompanied the article online, she said: “I always thought I would run a social movement, which meant basically work at a nonprofit. I never thought I’d work in the corporate sector.” She did not merely say, “I always thought I would run a social movement.”

Robot rock Who can resist a little hashtag trolling?

#ifihadglass my individuality would serve the collective. Shields lowered, ready to assimilate... #resistanceisfutile twitter.com/smart/status/3…

— Steve Martocci (@smart) February 20, 2013

Baby, baby, baby A social media mystery to ponder, from Twitter biz dev VP Jana Messerschmidt: "Photos of babies on Facebook annoy me, while Vines of babies make my day. Why is this?" We're going to guess it's the cooing noises.

Meme-tastic! (Photo: Politicker)

If your week was as hellish hectic as ours, you must be in need of a stiff drink. Pour yourself a cocktail and get comfy: here comes this week's rumor roundup.

Step Away from the Crackberry! In case you missed all the Instagrams, Mayor Bloomberg performed some titillating acts of Startup Theatre on the stage at Gracie Mansion Tuesday night. The crème of tech society, including MakerBot's Bre Pettis, General Assembly's Adam Brimer, Yipit founder Vinny Vacanti, Google trends & insights editor Caroline McCarthy, Sailthru's Aubrey Sabala, chief digital officer Rachel Sterne Haot and her husband, LiveStream founder Max Haot, gathered on the lawn for canapés and cocktails to celebrate NYC Connects 2012.

To enhance his usual Silicon Alley cheerleading, Mr. Bloomberg opted for props on the podium, like an array of Warby Parker sunglasses and a Seamless delivery guy, who shlepped takeout up on stage. The spotlight was enough to lure Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky out of Twitter hiding. Besides one of the guests complaining about a scripted "Hello world" joke that fell short, everyone seemed to eat up the promotional opportunities.

While Mr. Bloomberg and his girlfriend Diana Taylor eagerly examined the new MakerBot Replicator 2 on display, however, another executive was also milling about: Google chairman Eric Schmidt, pecking at his BlackBerry rather than tapping at an Android device. Mr. Schmidt! Haven't you been warned about this before?

Snoop No More? Earlier this week, we wondered how the $15 million Andreessen Horowitz just ploughed into Rap Genius would affect the startup's street cred. Marc Andreessen, you see, also happens to have donated (a small fraction) of his billions to Mitt Romney--along with fellow Republicans like race-baiting Scott Brown and the Tea Party's only hope for the White House, Paul Ryan. And if our Yeezy history lessons and Nikki Minaj's recent brush with satire have taught us anything, it's that rappers and Mitt don't mix.

Signs of a potential rift in-the-making surfaced via Snoop Dog's Instagram today when he republished Twitter personality @DragonflyJonez's reasons not to vote for Mitt. Good thing for the site's founders--who appear to have some habits in common with Snoop--that the rapper has a verified account on Rap Genius, but hasn't actually contributed anything.

Weissman, Party of One After a long week of product launches, Reddit k-holes, and funding news, there is nothing Betabeat likes so much as a 90s Netflix marathon. It looks like Union Square Ventures partner Andy Weissman had the same idea:

Thinking about dipping into Party of Five this weekend, see if it holds up after all these years

— Andrew Weissman (@aweissman) October 5, 2012

Dr. Jack Shephard before he ever crashed into that damn island? Jennifer Love Hewitt before she was relegated to a John Mayer punchline? We're getting nostalgic already.

Here Comes Baby Ex-Googler and newly minted Yodeler Marissa Mayer gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, September 30th. "Baby boy Bogue born last night. Mom (@marissamayer) and baby are doing great--we couldn't be more excited!" tweeted her husband Zachary Bogue. But it turns out the baby doesn't have a name, and instead the Mayer/Brogue couple is doing what any young techie couple would: they're crowdsourcing for names.

According to an email sent out by the couple, published by Forbes:

Hi All -

Zack and I welcomed BBB (Baby Boy Bogue) into our family last night.

He arrived exactly one week ahead of schedule at 22:22 p.m. on 9/30/12, weighing 8 lbs 14 oz and is 21″ tall.  He is now officially BBBB – Big Baby Boy Bogue!  We are all very happy and excited.  Name TBD – suggestions welcome!

With love and happiness,

Marissa & Zack

We're guessing "Larry" is completely out of the question.

Stalking 2.0 When Vox Media director of marketing Callie Schweitzer asked Onswipe cofounder Jason Baptiste if his stalker was still around, our ears immediately perked up. Turns out a stranger had been checking into Mr. Baptiste's apartment and Onswipe HQ on Foursquare and it was starting to get creepy. Luckily, Mr. Baptiste assured us it was "nothing serious." Besides, Foursquare stalkers are so 2010. The real people to worry about are the creeps who like every single one of your pictures on Instagram. Photos of artisanal meals aren't that inspiring.

Media Mogul Melee BuzzFeed cofounder Jonah Peretti and Gawker publisher Nick Denton took the kid gloves off this week and engaged in a rather amusing sparring session on Twitter. When Mr. Peretti disingenuously congratulated Mr. Denton on Gawker landing at #101 on Business Insider's Digital 100 List, Mr. Denton replied with his trademark brand of British-tinged snark: "We've always been asked: in your quest for traffic, what would you not do? Buzzfeed has provided the answer. Thanks, @peretti"

Somebody make some popcorn.

Bizzy Dev It looks like one of Betabeat's "poachables" has gone and gotten herself poached! On her Tumblr, Andrea Hong, a senior manager of business development at AOL, announced that she'll be joining NewsCred, a New York City startup that wants to reinvent "how and where content is sourced, distributed, published, and paid for," as the company's director of content. We hope she enjoys NewsCred's snazzy new office!

Beef by the Book Just this week we got an official update on the progress of Sheryl Sandberg's work-in-progress Lean In, which is proceeding apace on its path toward becoming the women-in-tech equivalent of Bossypants. 

But it seems Ms. Sandberg may have a rival in the long-form arena. Intellectual gadfly Evgeny Morozov (whom we last saw stirring the pot with the audacious suggestion that the Internet isn't always a wondrous freedom-granting elixer, as well as trash-talking TED) is finishing up his own tome, and just recently he hinted arcanely that Facebook's COO might be in for a very academic diss: 

Am I going a bit overboard in this new book using Bernard Williams to bash Sheryl Sandberg? Well, yes. But at least it's FUN.

— Evgeny Morozov (@evgenymorozov) September 30, 2012

We simply can't wait to learn how the British moralist relates to Ms. Sandberg, and we long for the arrival of the inevitable New York Review of Books essay hashing all this out.

As always: Overheard a juicy tidbit about impending departures or imminent acquisitions? Dying to dish about startup blunders or frothy financing? Holler at your girls: tips@betabeat.com

Addiction. (Photo: flickr.com/mrsdkrebs)

Miserable stock price and managerial exodus be damned, Zynga's still got its celebrity fans. The AP reports that many of them--Edward Norton, Jonah Hill, Snoop Dogg, and Eva Longoria included--have signed up for a star-studded Words with Friends Tournament. They will be competing for a $500,000 donation to the charity of their choice.

Says the AP:

"We had the idea to do a celebrity tournament some time ago when it became apparent that the game was a hit among celebrities," said Travis Boatman, senior vice president of mobile at Zynga Inc. "It seems like everyone from Katie Couric to Snoop Lion is into the game."

Two things: 1) Snoop Lion? Are we really cooperating with that? 2) Poor Alec Baldwin, whose dedication got him thrown off a plane, must be feeling really under-appreciated right now.

Oh, and just in case you had any doubts about the promotional bent of this little shindig, Mr. Boatman continued:

"It's really inspirational for the team to see how 'Words With Friends has become part of the cultural mainstream, and I think it has struck a chord because it's not just a game, it's a way for people to connect and keep in touch with each other."

Indeed, last year GQ witnessed Zynga's powers of connection mid-interview:

GQ; Have you guys ever played each other?
Fabolous: Nah, but we got to now. Yo, Big, what's your handle?
Big Boi: [Hilarious, redacted name]. What's yours?
Fabolous: [Hilarious, redacted name].
Big Boi: Let's do it then.

Lest you assume all this indicates that your fave celebs are unexpectedly talented at the English language, it's worth taking a look at this irate Marketwatch screed, which complains of all the two-letter words accepted and concludes, "If you are not consistently winning at Words With Friends, it is not because you are dumb. It is because you are not dumb enough."

Sorry, Edward Norton!

Hence, he spends a lot of time taking pictures with other famous people, looking awkward. Let us demonstrate, because it is a summer Friday and none of you were working anyway.

In the meantime, Mark, chill out. You are making us nervous.

(twitter.com/cliffdailey)

Airtime, the Sean & Shawn bred startup that launched earlier this week, has slowly grown on us. Our initial reaction was in line with the majority of the Internet's: "Okay, it's Chatroulette without penises." But the more we've used the service, the more its benefits for networking, flirting and stymying boredom have revealed themselves.

But the thing is, since the site hasn't really hit critical mass yet, you tend to run into the same types of people over and over again. They're almost always very nice, but in our experience, they also almost always fall into one of the below five categories.

1. Journalists

Okay, this reporter is part of the problem, but few seem to be as in love with Airtime as the navel-gazing, network-savvy media elite. While the new app has been extensively reported on, few of our Facebook friends who aren't explicitly involved in media or tech seem to have caught on to the trend. We tend to wait to grant an app "phenomenon" status until it has been adopted by our Kardashian-obsessed, text-messages-in-her-sleep 20-year-old sister.

2. Startup Evangelizers

No where has the "everybody's a CEO" meme been more obvious than within the hallowed video chat grounds of Airtime. The vast majority of folks we've bumped into on the service are founder or executive-level startup employees. And, inevitably, when they ask us what we do, we are subjected to an impromptu pitch session on why their company is the Next Big Thing.

3. People You are Purposefully Not Facebook Friends With

Remember that dude you had a short but torrid Thing with back in college, and now sometimes you see each other in line for coffee and you make that unspoken "I'll pretend not to see you if you pretend not to see me" pact? Yeah, you're not Facebook friends with him for a reason, and you sure as hell don't want to run into him on Airtime.

4. The Lost, Lonely Men of the Internet

If this Businessweek piece is to be believed, a whole lot of dudes are looking at Airtime like it's a video chat version of OkCupid. We definitely had the experience of running into some flirty young men--one, in fact, who could barely bridle his joy as he blurted out: "You're a girl!"

5. Famous business leaders/investors/B-list celebrities

We all know Zuck uses it. So do Jessica Alba and Justin Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, as well as Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley and Zynga cofounder Mark Pincus, who users apparently confuse for each other. Assumedly Olivia Munn, Jim Carrey, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg and Joel McHale use it too, since they were present for its launch. Personally, we're still waiting for Ryan Gosling to catch on.

Mr. Parker (flickr.com/mager)

Airtime, the super stealth video startup from Napster cofounders Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning, is launching at a press event this morning at Milk Studios in NYC, and celebrities on Twitter are apparently really, really excited about it. It's perhaps unsurprising, though, considering the company that Shawn & Sean are used to keeping: Airtime's investors include Ashton Kutcher, will.i.am and Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun. But who knew Martha Stewart was so plugged in to the startup scene? Perhaps Nick Bilton was right about tech being the new Hollywood.

We, too, are looking forward to the launch of Airtime, but could Sean & Shawn maybe fix their website first?

UPDATE: Jimmy Fallon is apparently hosting this thing.