Best of the web: 26 April

Best of the web: 26 April

Facebook's Friends; A sticky wicket; For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal; Ridiculous Ideas That Made People Ridiculously Rich; Manchester United is world's richest club, says Forbes.

April 26, 2010 9:09 by Rasha Reslan

Facebook’s Friends

Millions in revenues are rolling in for the makers of applications that run on Facebook’s 400 million strong social network, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

The biggest hit is FarmVille with estimated revenue of around $450 million this year. Zoo World, Pet Society, and Happy Aquarium are all expected to make around $100 million.

See if your favorite app made the list here.

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A sticky wicket

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is widely regarded as a status symbol of India’s emerging clout in the global economy. The prestigious cricket league will end its third annual season on this month, giving the appearance that turning a tidy profit on the game is mere child’s play.

But this being a real man’s sport, The Economist this week wrote a provocative piece that looks at allegations of “corporate sleaze,” tax evasion, and fishy betting.

The IPL is reportedly valued at around $4 billion and boasts millions of fans, following their every move via TV, YouTube, and mobile phone.

IPL’s boss, Lalit Modi, “one of the world’s most powerful and charismatic sports administrators,” could lose his job in all this mess, and junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor already has.

Throw in some Dubai-based “friends” and a South African model, and you’ve got the hottest sports scandal of the week – “much more entertaining… than the IPL’s knockabout sort of cricket,” the Economist includes.

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For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal

A “super-secret version of the next iPhone” was left at a bar in California, creating frenzy of excitement among Apple geeks, as the model has not yet been formally unveiled, The New York Times reported.

Bad news for the folks at Apple, who asked for their phone back. But not before pictures of it hit the web over the weekend.

Gizmodo , a technology website, posted pics of the phone along with a detailed analysis of its features. Gizmodo claims the device belonged to an Apple engineer, who mistakenly left it at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City.

The phone was then supposedly snatched up by someone who, in turn, sold it to Gizmodo for $5,000, the New York Times said.

Gizmodo claims it received a letter late Monday night, from Bruce Sewell, Apple’s senior vice president and general counsel, requesting the phone back.

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Ridiculous Ideas That Made People Ridiculously Rich

Remember the goofy, yellow smiley face that seemed to be popping up everywhere we looked – on buttons, stickers, and signs? Well, according to Business Insider this week, that revolutionary little idea earned somebody and estimated $500 million in profit.

So, if you have a million dollar idea of your own, you might want to check out Business Insider’s list of “Ridiculous Ideas That Made People Ridiculously Rich.” It might encourage you to go public with your own get-rich-quick scheme.

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Manchester United is world’s richest club, says Forbes

Forbes ranked Manchester United as the most valuable football club in the world, topping $1.8 billion in value, the BBC reported this week. Second place went to Real Madrid at $1.3 billion, and Arsenal came in third at just over $1.1 billion.

Liverpool, Chelsea, and AC Milan all made the top ten.

Valuations were based on data that included income from broadcast rights, sponsorship, and sales of tickets and merchandise. And Forbes reckoned that increasing sponsorships and strong media revenues make the teams a good bet for investors, as well.