Fifteen times NBA All-Star player Shaquille O'Neal has retired from the National Basketball Association.

Social media start-up Tout.com catapulted into the limelight when O'Neal, one of the most celebrated players in the NBA, chose the company's real-time video status update application to announce his decision to retire and reach out to his millions of fans.

Tout enables iPhone users to "in one click" capture quick 15-second video messages that are instantly pushed out to friends, family, followers -- or the whole world -- through Twitter, Facebook, SMS and email.

"In addition to being one of the greatest basketball players of our time, Shaquille O'Neal is one of the savviest social media influencers out there," said Michael Downing, founder and CEO of Tout. "We were thrilled that he instantly understood the potential of Tout. Shaq now effectively has his own real-time media network through Tout, instantly updating his nearly four million Twitter followers and two million Facebook fans, determining the programming solely with his iPhone."

O'Neal is using Tout to share real-time updates, from breaking his retirement news directly to his fans to the formal press conference scheduled for Friday, June 3. Shaq will be using Tout as his own personal media network, updating his Twitter followers and his Facebook fans directly with new and exciting developments in his life following his retirement from the NBA.

Available for free download in the Apple App Store, Tout makes it simple to capture life's moments via an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS or iPad2 and instantly share 15-second video status updates to friends, family or the whole world through Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS and iPhone contacts. The Tout application also alerts users to new Touts, and allows them to watch real-time updates from people they "follow" and Touts that are popular that day. At Tout.com, anyone can browse the community of popular users and see their most recent updates as they Tout them. Tout will be available for Android in July.

About Tout

Headquartered in San Francisco, Tout is a social media technology company whose iPhone application enables real-time video status updates that can be shared instantly with friends, family or the whole world through Facebook, Twitter and iPhone contacts. The Tout application enables users to capture quick 15-second videos in 1-click. These real-time updates are then shared in real-time directly from the iPhone or the iPad and on Tout.com. Tout is a technology spin-out of SRI (Stanford Research Institute). Check us out at www.tout.com, or follow us on Facebook and on Twitter @Tout.