Mashable: Latest 25 News Updates - including “20 Mouthwatering Instagram Pics [FOOD PORN]” |
- 20 Mouthwatering Instagram Pics [FOOD PORN]
- Angry Birds Fans Can Now Play on Facebook Timeline
- Shapeways CEO: 3D Printing Will Fuel Creative Commerce
- Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week
- European Space Probe to Search for Life on Jupiter’s Icy Moons [VIDEO]
- 10 iPhone Cases That Help Support Good Causes
- 5 Social Media Activities for Your Next HR Training Session
- 47 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed
- For Lower-Profile Olympians, Social Media a Key to Branding Success
- 6 Sizzling Must-Have Gadgets for Summer
- Shopping App NetPlenish Is a Win for Consumers and Sellers
- Life-Size 3D Holograms Bring Us Closer to ‘Teleportation’ [VIDEO]
- Why Marketers Should Get to Know Customers’ ‘Digital Selves’
- Show Us Your ‘Supermoon’ Photos
- Why Online Organizing Is Changing Politics: ‘It’s the Network, Stupid’
- Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]
- ROFLcon: What the Internet Talks About Offline
- Why Marketing Is Broken and How to Fix It
- Alcoholic Spray Promises a Few Seconds of Instant Intoxication [VIDEO]
- Why the Future of Social Is in the Palm of Your Hand
- 3 Signs That It’s Time To Quit Your Job
- Google Could Face $10 Million Fine For Tracking Safari Users
- ‘Supermoon’ Tonight! Tips to See Year’s Biggest Full Moon
- U.S. Army Captain Dies During Skype Session
- Here’s the Best Time to Share on Pinterest
- How Will We Interact With Technology in the Future? [CONTEST]
| 20 Mouthwatering Instagram Pics [FOOD PORN] Posted: 05 May 2012 04:15 PM PDT
Instagram users often get a bit of flack for oversharing their food photos. Now that the photo-sharing app is available for iOS, Android and possibly soon Facebook, we expect the user base and the photo uploads to surge. But that’s not to say all photos aren’t worth sharing. Sure, maybe there are a swarm of users who like to share photos of their Subway sandwich, but there are also tons of gorgeous pictures of food and beverages that will make your mouth water. We’ve collected photos from Instagram users, professional photographers and even chefs to present you with 20 of the tastiest photos. (Note: You can’t actually eat them.) Do you think your food photos have what it takes? Let us know in the comments. 1. Jamie Oliver To celebrate his daughters' birthdays, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver shared this beautiful cake with his followers. Click here to view this gallery. Series presented by T-Mobile  The Best of Instagram Series is presented by T-Mobile. The 4G Tweet Race is a week-long campaign starting May 3 that pits Twitter users against one another in a daily, frantic race for retweets. Players register on the official Tweet Race page on T-Mobile’s Test Drive, and each racer’s tweets must contain three elements: #4GTweets, http://t-mo.co/4GTweets and @TMobile, and must be submitted during the race to be eligible. There are 7 races over the course of the week, and the winners of all 7 heats will face off in a final race on May 15th to see whose social graph is quickest. The winner of each heat will win a new HTC One™ S phone with a year of T-Mobile's Unlimited Value service, and the final winner will take home a cool $4,000. Image courtesy of Jamie Oliver More About: Best of Instagram Series, features, Food And Drink, instagram, mashable
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| Angry Birds Fans Can Now Play on Facebook Timeline Posted: 05 May 2012 03:57 PM PDT If you thought your productivity was low because of all the time spent on Facebook Timeline, it’s only about to get worse for Angry Birds fans. Rovio announced on its official blog that popular mobile game Angry Birds can now be embedded and played on Facebook Timeline through Share & Play. Now, users can fling scowling birds at green pigs directly on the Facebook Timeline, then challenge friends to beat their high scores. Players can also embed the game on blogs and webpages, including Tumblr and WordPress. The HTML-code will keep track of high scores without any game downloads. Watch the video above to see how to bring the game to your favorite online spot. Will you download Angry Birds on your blog or Facebook Timeline? Tell us in the comments if you think sharable Angry Birds is a good idea. Image courtesy of iStockphoto/Graffizone More About: angry birds, Facebook, rovio For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Shapeways CEO: 3D Printing Will Fuel Creative Commerce Posted: 05 May 2012 03:21 PM PDT      Although 3D printing has been around since the ’80s, it only recently moved out of specialty prototyping shops. As the technology becomes more accessible — allowing anybody to design anything they want — it could revolutionize the way products are made and distributed. “We think it will give rise to a creative commerce,” said Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen on stage at Mashable Connect Friday. Shapeways was one of the first companies to put a consumer spin on 3D printing. The startup’s website allows designers to upload their wares for printing and sell the results in an Etsy-like store. Those without design experience can tweak existing models to their liking before printing them in one of 25 different materials, including stainless steel, ceramics and sterling silver. Weijmarshausen says the company printed 750,000 products in 2011. He expects “many times more this year — millions.” The other company most often credited for the rise of the consumer 3D printing trend is MakerBot, which sells 3D printers for about $1,700. So how does the trend toward 3D printing products, rather than just prototypes, change the world? “Products will get better, quicker because you don’t have stock that you have to sell,” Weijmarshausen says. “You can do new versions tomorrow. You can do version seven in a week. And that way, we will get products that are much more relevant to us.” 3D printing allows designers to iterate quickly and without risk, which means they can incorporate feedback immediately. Instead of getting a loan, paying a manufacturer, putting it through retail channels and hoping it sells, designers can make just as many units as they sell. If they have new ideas or feedback, they can incorporate them immediately instead of waiting until their latest version sells out. The technology has already lowered the barrier to creating new products, but we’re not quite ready to abandon mass production. For one thing, 3D printing is still a lot more expensive than buying a mass-produced item. A custom ring costs $40, a bracelet can be $100 and a small vase costs about $50. While those prices aren’t at the most expensive end of their respective categories, they make printing large items impractical. “It’s lot of money for this vase,” said Weijmarshausen, referring to the $50 model sitting on the podium. “But at the same time, it's the only vase in the world that looks like this…As this technology becomes more and more popular, I think the cost will come down.” MashableConnect-Friday-616px006
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| Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week Posted: 05 May 2012 03:08 PM PDT 1. Pac-tivity   The Tupac hologram keeps turning up in our top 10. It is already famous on social media, but what about a movie career? This week's number one is this Tupac #hologram parody, posted to Twitter by @RatchetPictures (950+ followers). Click here to view this gallery. The upper echelon of popular Twitter pics this week dealt with cuteness, beauty and even some truth. And in between, there were reminders that all was not as it appeared. As the new month began, protest pictures found their way to Twitter, and as the week progressed, comedy took over. We certainly had no shortage of pictures from which to choose, sifting through 42 million to select this week’s top 10. Check out the full analysis for this week’s pics from our partners at Skylines, who created a custom algorithm to allow us to find these needles in a haystack the size of this planet. Gracing us with her insight is Skylines’ writer and analyst Julie Donders (@IkbenJulie), who makes sense of these sometimes chaotic selections with her spot-on captions. SEE MORE: Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week Don’t miss this eclectic mix of comedy, chaos, creativity and courage as we bring to you this week’s Top 10 Twitter Pics. In case you missed them, here are last week's Top 10 Twitter Pics. More About: Top 10 Twitter Pics, trending, Twitter
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| European Space Probe to Search for Life on Jupiter’s Icy Moons [VIDEO] Posted: 05 May 2012 02:17 PM PDT The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this week that it’s spending $1.3 billion on a 2022 mission to explore Jupiter’s largest moons. Watch the video above to see why scientists are hopeful that the Jovian system is a sweet spot for extraterrestrial life. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will attempt to find simple life forms (and maybe even alien fish?) deep within the oceans of the giant planet’s moons. The spacecraft will launch in 2022 from Kourou, French Guiana, and arrive at Jupiter in 2030. It will collect samples from the “diverse Galilean moons” — Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto — for three years. Where would you like to send the next space probe? Tell us in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of ESA For more Dev & Design coverage:
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| 10 iPhone Cases That Help Support Good Causes Posted: 05 May 2012 02:10 PM PDT 1. Mophie Juice Pack Plus - (PRODUCT) RED If you've got the cash to spare, this Mophie case is win-win -- extended battery life for your mobile and 5% of the net profits go to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS. Cost: $99.95 Click here to view this gallery. If you’re in the market for a new iPhone case, why not consider buying one that will help a good cause? A portion of the sales of these 10 cases, covers and skins go to charity. Whether you want to fight cancer, raise awareness or help to end hunger, we have a case for your Apple mobile that will make a difference. Take a look through our worthy selection in the gallery above. Let us know in the comments below about any other iPhone accessories you’ve seen that help a good cause. More About: accessories, apple, features, iphone, Social Good
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| 5 Social Media Activities for Your Next HR Training Session Posted: 05 May 2012 02:01 PM PDT   This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. There's a new dilemma in today's training world: Is it prudent to allow technology devices in the classroom? One school of thought is that there should be absolutely no distraction — technology won't be tolerated and should not be incorporated into a professional training environment. But a new way of thinking is to encourage smartphones, laptops and tablets. Make them a part of the session, since today's training participants are multi-taskers. Trainees may want to tweet, post pictures and take notes to add a valuable interactive element to their own learning experience. In this new school of thought, trainers are becoming facilitators. It’s a great opportunity to introduce trainees on how to properly engage with social media to add a professional benefit to not only their own employment but also to the company at large. Adding social media is a terrific means to spark conversation before, during and after a training session. Here are five examples of training sessions that provide students with a great grasp on how to wield social media for the good of the company. 1. Facebook Before you TrainPrior to a learning event, a trainer can create a Facebook group for participants. This page can be used to solicit and convey information about the program. In addition, videos can be posted prior to the session to provide background information for participants. You can also post materials using document sharing systems such as Google Docs or SlideShare. Some of the advantages to using a Facebook group prior to training include: getting participants engaged with the trainer, breaking down any barriers between the group and starting a discussion about the subject prior to meeting. All of these are good ways to engage the group before the formal training session starts. 2. Start Networking on LinkedIn Objective: Recruiters are online, companies are online, job seekers are online and you should be too. A professional profile is a necessary tool in our social media-focused world, so there’s no excuse not to have one. Technology: LinkedIn Activity: Ask participants to set up a LinkedIn account, then give them tasks. For example, ask them to connect with five people they know, update their profile with their current job, make at least one recommendation and join one group. Discussion: Talk with new users about the experience. What did they learn about the platform? What tasks were easy and difficult? Where can they see the advantages of using this social networking site in the future? 3. A Map of Our TeamObjective: Great for virtual teams to build a stronger sense of team identity and the individuals on the team. Technology: A location-based map service like Google Maps or Bing Maps. If your company wants to implement a custom or branded map, OpenStreetMap is a great option. Activity: Assign each team member a unique marker or pushpin. Team members can place the pushpins on the map anywhere to identify landmarks related to them, including details where appropriate. Examples of relevant locations are where a person currently works, the location of corporate headquarters or regional offices and the locations of key customers or vendors. You could also include the city or campus where a participant went to college, the farthest place you've ever traveled or the location of your first job. Discussion: Ask the group about how sharing information helps to build teams and how geography plays a role in a person's work style. Source: The Big Book of Virtual Team Building Games by Mary Scannell, Michael Abrams and Mike Mulvihill. Published by McGraw Hill. 4. Customer Service Role PlayObjective: To practice customer service recovery situations. Technology: Twitter Activity: Create a Twitter account that simulates angry customers. Then, assign participants the following roles: customer, sales rep, manager and operations department. Then give the group an assignment. For example, a customer might complain that his equipment isn't working. The team should work together to troubleshoot and offer a solution. Discussion: Ask the group if they were able to solve the problem and how they accomplished the task. This can also be a great activity to discuss clarity in communications. Source: Social Media for Trainers by Jane Bozarth. Published by Pfeiffer. 5. Tweet Your Training Another consideration is to create a Twitter hashtag for your training session so participants can read through all of the tweets. After the session, the hashtag can be used to post a summary of key points and articles or blogs of interest. Trainers can host Twitter chats or a guest speaker to keep the conversation going, as a method of increasing learner retention. ConclusionAdding social media to training isn't creating a distraction; it's a way to engage people with the tools that most of us are already using in our lives. What better way is there to enhance the learning experience for everyone involved? Would you incorporate social media into a training session or do you wish your company would train you in social media? Let us know in the comments. More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum:
More About: features, mashable, open forum, Social Media, training For more Business coverage:
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| 47 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Posted: 05 May 2012 01:58 PM PDT   Mashable won a Webby Award for our business coverage, so how on earth could you let yourself miss our latest digital media resources? Just kidding — for whatever reason you couldn’t keep up this week, check out our features roundup for the best social media, business and tech resources. This week, we’ve covered mobile trends that your company needs to watch out for, rules for responding to customers online and specs on the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 that are pretty cool. We also have a ton of content from Star Wars Day, a list of quirky and downright strange YouTube channels and infographics on Apple‘s worth, the presidential campaign, mobile commerce and other hot topics. We also announced the date of Mashable‘s Social Media Day 2012 (June 30) and listed ways you can participate! Enjoy this week’s resources. Editor’s Picks
Social Media
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & Marketing
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile
For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, courtneyk. More About: Business, COMMUNICATIONS, Features Week In Review, Social Media, Tech
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| For Lower-Profile Olympians, Social Media a Key to Branding Success Posted: 05 May 2012 01:36 PM PDT   Ricky Berens is a world-class athlete, but he’s no Michael Phelps. The two teamed up to help the United States win a relay swimming gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and will probably both participate in the 2012 Games. But outside the pool their lives couldn’t be more different. Berens can still walk down the street without being mobbed by autograph seekers, while Phelps is an internationally-known celebrity who has appeared in advertisements for some of the world’s biggest brands. Phelps’s fame and instant recognizability have helped him land sponsorships and marketing deals, likely without lifting a finger. But Berens says athletes such as himself — who excel at lower profile sports yet aren’t global icons like Phelps or track star Usain Bolt — need something to help level the personal branding playing field and increase their visibility and business potential. Enter social media. “You’re not getting all the TV time, so you have create your own story,” Berens told Mashable in an interview. “Social media gives me a chance to do that.” Berens began boosting his social presence, primarily on Twitter and Facebook, about a year ago with consulting help from the new media marketing company Spiracle Media. Since then, he’s says he’s secured sponsorship deals with BMW, Got Chocolate Milk and TYR. Those deals were made possible by a number of factors, but Berens says he’s sure his social media efforts played a crucial role. On Twitter, he chats with fans frequently, motivates young swimmers and gives followers windows into his day-to-day life. When someone asked last fall if he could defeat his girlfriend, fellow U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni, in a breaststroke race (her specialty) he posted this video to Facebook. He even recently built his own re-vamped website, tinkering for a few months in WordPress and only calling in outside help a couple of times. “I think businesses are starting to realize the potential of having social media as one of their main channel,” Berens says. “So when they look to sponsor athletes, they want to see how big of a following they have on Twitter and Facebook and how involved they are.” That especially applies to athletes like him. Outside swimming, Berens points to decathlete Bryan Clay and sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross as other under-the-radar Olympians who do stellar jobs leveraging social platforms. “We only come up once every four years, so the hardest part of our job is to keep people remembering us,” Berens says. “Social media has really helped and changed how we can keep the spotlight in the years we aren’t in the Olympics.” Image courtesy RickyBerens.com More About: olympics, Social Media, sports For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 6 Sizzling Must-Have Gadgets for Summer Posted: 05 May 2012 01:31 PM PDT   For the Summer Gadget Series, our Mashable tech experts road-tested some of the hottest tech toys around to spice up your arsenal of vacation must-haves. On this list is a little something for every kind of weekend warrior. Whether you’re into high-velocity white water rafting, taking in the sights of exotic locales or simply hosting a swanky backyard shindig with your close friends, these tech treasures will suit your needs — with snazzy design to boot. And if you’re looking to splurge for summer, you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck. Here’s a roundup of the six gadgets we reviewed that will maximize your summer experience — click through the links to get a full, hands-on review of the product. Are you eying a tech must-have for your warm weather escapades? Let us know in the comments. 1. Eton Rukus Solar
What It’s Good For: Sharing music with others anywhere by pairing wirelessly with your phone. If the sun’s up, the party can keep going for hours. Who It’s Good For: Anyone who wants an easy way to add music to an outdoor gathering. Limitations: There’s no radio on board, so the Rukus is useless without a Bluetooth-enabled player. Bottom Line: For the size, sound and price, nothing beats this sleek little number and creates an instant party wherever you are — especially without needing an outlet or batteries. 2. Jawbone Jambox
What It’s Good For: Wireless, portable audio and speakerphone calls Who It’s Good For: Anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled laptop or phone Limitations: High price. Bottom Line: You don’t have to compromise on style, sound or size with the Jambox — but it will cost you. 3. Pebble Watch
What It’s Good For: Accessing your smartphone while on the go, from your wrist. Who It’s Good For: Smartphone owners who love to use apps for running, swimming, biking and multitasking. Limitations: It’s still in production and the first round of orders is closing soon. Bottom Line: Pebble is the first smart watch to seamlessly work with the iPhone and Android, and there’s a reason why users are clamoring to order a sleek, smart-looking Pebble. 4. WowWee Cinemin Slice Pico Projector
What It’s Good For: Projecting movies, video games and photos onto your walls, ceilings or even the side of your house. Limitations: You’ll need to be in a dark place to get the best video quality, and the projector is only capable of displaying images 60 inches in size. Bottom Line: The Cinemin Slice can spice up your traditional movie watching experience, and it lets you show videos from your smartphone, computer or tablet with several people at once in a unique way. 5. Canon PowerShot G1 X
What It's Good For: Shooting great photos in challenging situations (like moving targets or low light) without the hassle of a full-featured DSLR. Who It's Good For: Budding photographers who want to level-up from everyday point-and-shoots or pros looking for a secondary camera. Limitations: The retro design takes some getting used to, and it falls down on extreme close-ups. Bottom Line: The camera delivers on its promise of shooting great pics, but it’s the compact and cool design you’re really paying for. 6. Eco Terra Rugged and Waterproof Boombox
What it’s good for: Sharing tunes from your smartphone or MP3 player with others while keeping your device protected against the elements. Limitations: The boombox’s design may be too bulky to carry with you while rafting or kayaking. It’s also pretty heavy, which can make it difficult to tote along for longer journeys. Bottom Line: The Eco Terra Rugged and Waterproof Boombox can be a great option for sharing music with others by the lake, on the beach or anywhere else other music players might be damaged by the great outdoors. But, you should be ready to lug it to wherever you’re headed. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PeskyMonkey More About: features, mashable, roundup, Summer Gadget Series
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| Shopping App NetPlenish Is a Win for Consumers and Sellers Posted: 05 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT   NetPlenish CEO Dave Compton believes “there are two types of shoppers: convenience and price-driven.” Compton says his wife was faced with a common shopping problem — having to visit multiple stores to find the best deals. It was a weekly challenge for her to find a particular brand of dog food at the best price. So Compton and his NetPlenish co-founder Steve Markowitz created their app to let merchants compete for sales based on who has the best-priced in a given week, addressing the consumer problem of having to shop at multiple stores to get prime deals. Even more convenient, items get shipped to you in 3-5 days. Need something ASAP? Overnight shipping is available too. The cost of shipping depends on the number of items and where they’re from — order around 25 or more items and shipping is typically lowered. The free app was launched in the iTunes app store and for Android on Thursday. The app is connected with dozens of major merchants including Target, PetSmart, Sephora, Sears and OfficeMax, and the company is continuing to add more. To use the app, input your grocery list by way of scanning and — boom — the app’s price comparison software, called Shop Genius, compares the price of that product at various stores to find you the lowest real-time price. Right now, you can only input items by scanning. “What we are really focused on are the things you buy over and over again,” he said. Compton said he also wants to make checking out easier. There’s no need to re-type your credit card information into the app each time you shop. You register your card once and are done forever. From then on, you tap the “purchase” button to buy products and have them shipped to your home. The app shows your total pricy tally including shipping and tax before you purchase. Whether you’re convenience or price-driven, NetPlenish serves both shopping styles. But I wondered: Are the savings cancelled out by the shipping costs? Even if shipping does cut into saving rates, Compton argues that the app’s ability to turn a 45 minute shopping trip into a 45 second task is a game changer. I used the app to scan the barcode from some items on my desk: a bag of prepackaged almonds, some tins of a popular brand of tea. I even went into the fridge to scan the barcode on a bottle of mustard and some coffee creamer. But nothing I scanned was available on NetPlenish (sigh), which was surprising because Compton said they have two million products registered. As good an idea as this is, I suppose the developers will need some time to add more items or fine-tune the scanner. But nonetheless, a smart idea that should improve with some tweaking. What do you think about NetPlenish? Would you use it? Tell us in the comment. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, bowdenimages More About: apps, online shopping, shopping For more Business coverage:
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| Life-Size 3D Holograms Bring Us Closer to ‘Teleportation’ [VIDEO] Posted: 05 May 2012 01:14 PM PDT Researchers were inspired by Star Trek-like teleportation to create the TeleHuman cylindrical telepresence pod. A long tube is outfitted with six Microsoft Xbox Kinect sensors, a convex mirror and a 3D projector. The TeleHuman pod lets users “teleport.” Their image is beamed to another translucent cylindrical pod with a 3D projector. TeleHuman makes it so people can walk fully around the 3D image when talking. This technology allows full interaction between people in different places. They can talk and interact as if face-to-face. The team says it’s the closest thing to zapping into thin air and traversing space. The image created by the TeleHuman is not your average hologram. The Human Media Lab team takes it to the next level by incorporating more control and “human-scale” interaction. Natural face-to-face “gaze and eye contact” are preserved in the process. Other natural components of conversation researchers kept intact include the 360-degree motion of the bodies, fluid movement and the realistic image size. TeleHuman, created by Roel Vertegaal, is highly recommended for your next in-office video conference. Watch the above video to see why. Another application of the 3D-projection technology is the BodiPod. The team also created the BodiPod application, which projects a full-scale, 360-degree model of the human body. Individuals can stand in front of the life-size image and use in-air gestures, pointing and moving forward and back to study human anatomy using the model. Would you consider using life-size holograms for company meetings? Sound off in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, gnackgnackgnack More About: Mobile, Tech, Video
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| Why Marketers Should Get to Know Customers’ ‘Digital Selves’ Posted: 05 May 2012 01:10 PM PDT   Today’s marketers are under-utilizing the large amounts of personal data their customers are sharing publicly every day, according to Adobe’s senior manager of social-media products, Chad Warren. By looking at their customers’ activity not just on social networks but all over the web, brands can potentially engage with them in ways that are much more meaningful. When brands successfully connect with customers around the things they love, advertising ceases to be a commercial endeavor and instead becomes simply useful information, Warren said during a presentation at Mashable Connect in Orlando, Fla. While many brands use personalization techniques to reach their customers, Warren says it’s often one-dimensional, isolated to a single activity, medium (such as television) or social network. “There’s not enough focus and emphasis on gathering and understanding all these signals that our customers are sharing with us, either explicitly or implicitly,” Warren said, “And pulling those things together to build a greater understanding of who our customers are and what it is what they want, and then acting upon those things.” Warren envisions tying together “signals” customers are sending out from many different places — from Facebook profiles to Amazon wish lists to Pinterest boards — to get a full picture of a customer’s “digital self.” The final step is to act upon the information, possibly overhauling everything from the creative to the target demographic. As an example, Warren cited Acer. The company’s marketing effort around the Aspire S3 Ultrabook utilized that type of data after customers signed up for an online sweepstakes. Acer used the data to pinpoint different kinds of customers beyond its initial target demographic — for example, women who buy high-end clothing. By engaging with customers in those places, with creative material tailored to match, the company managed to more than double engagement with its customers, and experienced a ten-fold increase in Facebook fans. The key to reaching customers in this way is action, Warren said. After realizing the importance of data, a company should not make it an afterthought. It needs to be built into the marketing process from the beginning. How do you think companies can better implement personalized marketing? And as a customer, how do you feel about marketers using your publicly available “signals?” Share your thoughts in the comments. MashableConnect-Friday-616px006
Click here to view this gallery. Mashable Connect SponsorsBuddy Media is the social enterprise software of choice for eight of the world’s top ten global advertisers, empowering them to build and maintain relationships with their consumers in a connections-based world. The Buddy Media social marketing suite helps brands build powerful connections globally with its scalable, secure architecture and data-driven customer insights from initial point of contact through point of purchase. For more information, visit http://www.buddymedia.com. AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com. Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com. Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated ‘A’ (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now. Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com. The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation—providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. More About: adobe, digital marketing, social analytics For more Business coverage:
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| Show Us Your ‘Supermoon’ Photos Posted: 05 May 2012 01:04 PM PDT
Tonight the moon will be full, but that’s not what makes tonight’s moon super. Tonight is also the closest the moon will pass to earth in 2012, meaning it will appear bigger than normal in the sky. For night sky watchers and photographers, this is an excellent opportunity, and we’d like to see what you’re seeing. Send us your photos of tonight’s full moon by dragging them to the photo widget at the bottom of this post. Or, you can tweet them to @mashableHQ using the hashtag #MashMoon. Where will you be observing the moon from? More About: photography, space
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| Why Online Organizing Is Changing Politics: ‘It’s the Network, Stupid’ Posted: 05 May 2012 12:52 PM PDT   Joe Trippi, campaign manager for Howard Dean’s underdog 2004 presidential bid that began and ended on the web, has a piece of advice for anybody running a political campaign: “It’s the network, stupid.” Trippi, who literally wrote the book on digital politics, told a packed house at Mashable Connect that the Internet and social media are sparking a society-wide revolution on a scale not seen since Gutenberg invented the printing press. The Internet, said Trippi, is helping to build an “army of Davids” engaged in an all-out struggle to wrestle power from the “Goliaths” of the old power structure: special interest groups, Super PACs and political parties that are resistant to change. Those groups make up the “old guard,” said Trippi, who have joined “The Church of Gotta Stop This Now” — “this” being a fundamental change to the status quo of worldwide politics thanks to online organizing. “[The 2012 election] will be a very big, titanic battle about what will be the future,” said Trippi, who considers Super PACs — political organizations that can collect unlimited funds from unlimited donors — the “Goliaths” of our age. “46 people have contributed two-thirds of every dollar given to every Super PAC in the U.S,” added Trippi. “If Super PACs win, what you’ll see on the day after this election are 16 people running in 2016 and instead of creating the most impressive social network in history, they’ll be speed dating billionaires to get their money because that’s how they know they can win.” The Network RisesThe alternative to Super PACs and their billionaire-funded coffers, said Trippi, is online political organization at the grassroots. Trippi highlighted the Obama campaign’s digital strategies as an example of the Internet’s power to organize a movement. The Obama team (and other campaigns) can collect information about supporters via Facebook, who can then connect based on voters’ location or interests. “The Obama campaign’s Facebook strategy is all about data collection,” said Trippi. “The ‘I’m In’ campaign is collecting supporter’s information, including where they went to school and where they work. Once the campaign has that data, it opens up a whole new way to connect people.” For Trippi, it’s this retail, one-to-one politics that can revolutionize how political campaigns are run by making them about personal connections instead of Super PAC money. However, Trippi pointed out that President Obama recently decided to start taking Super PAC funds — a sign, to him, that the pendulum swing of political power is still on the side of the powers that be. “President Obama must be thinking, ‘Shoot, I can’t unilaterally disarm against [Super PACs],” said Trippi. “So the billionaires are already re-writing the rules of politics.” The Empire Strikes BackTo Trippi, Obama’s decision is just one indication that those in power will try everything to preserve the status quo. Despite this, Trippi remains hopeful that, ultimately, the online “Army of Davids” will prevail — and he pointed to the successful struggle against the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA, as an example of such a victory. “The pro-SOPA camp was the ‘Church of Gotta Stop This Now,’” said Trippi. “And the anti-SOPA crowd was a case of “Davids” fighting back.” For Trippi, the victory of the anti-SOPA group was an indication that eventually, the “Davids” will be victorious. “All of the powerful groups are fighting hard to stop whatever the hell this is,” said Trippi, talking about online activism. “[Those in power] are going to stall, fight and try everything they can to make [online activism] go away. They’ll try to change laws, hold up the Internet and take power back if they can.” “They won’t succeed, but they’re going to try,” he added. More About: barack obama, Politics, US
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| Posted: 05 May 2012 12:40 PM PDT
1. Samsung Galaxy S III My, my -- isn't this a lovely phone? The heavily anticipated Samsung Galaxy S3 III was finally revealed this week, and it looks just as beautiful as its spy pics. The third-generation handset in the Galaxy series improves upon its forebears, bringing a relatively huge 4.8-inch touchscreen, a faster camera with near-zero shutter lag and the latest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android. It's packing serious horsepower under its hood, too, running a 1.4GHz quad-core processor that Samsung says is twice as powerful as its predecessor, and consuming 20% less battery power. It even has speech recognition capabilities similar to the iPhone's Siri. I particularly like its "Pebble Blue" color, but it's also available in white, shipping this month in Europe and everywhere else in the world this summer. Click here to view this gallery. This week, the tech came rushing at us at a frenetic pace, more futuristic than ever. Even though all of the products and designs we picked this week look like they came straight out of a science fiction movie, some of them harken back to their heritage in the previous century. This week, we spotted a trio of sensational smartphones, two of which are now available and one that might be in a few months. We found a couple of the most exciting aircraft we’ve seen in a long time, a watery hotel with the most spectacular view ever. Add to that a couple of devices that will ease the burden on road warriors and an astounding audio device whose powerful punch belies its diminutive stature, and you have a complete complement of technological goodness. Browse through our Top 10 Tech This Week, where even if you haven’t had a spare second to check the pulse of the week’s technology, we’ll catch you up right here in short order. Here’s last week’s Top 10 Tech. Series presented by Chivas  Top 10 Tech is presented by Chivas. Access a world of exclusive insider benefits – private tastings, special events and the chance to win a trip for you and three friends to the Cannes Film Festival. Join the Brotherhood. More About: features, mashable, Top 10 Tech, trending
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| ROFLcon: What the Internet Talks About Offline Posted: 05 May 2012 12:19 PM PDT   The people of the Internet took the weekend off to come together in real life at this year’s ROFLcon, a conference about web culture and those who’ve become famous from it. Take one step into the conference, and you’ll see Nyan Cat merchandise, a guy with a boombox blaring Rick Astley, and a lot of people fan-girling over Internet celebrities like Antoine Dodson and Chuck Testa. But beyond the advice animals and Cheezburger swag, the conference also features academic conversations on topics like memes and the Syrian Revolution, managing a community on massive sites like Reddit and YouTube, and defending the Internet. Harvard professor and Internet Society boardmember Jonathan Zittrain opened the conference with a keynote that expressed how Internet meme creators and re-creators can use their power for good when they “look for a pathos in the world and try to capture it.” Zittrain also believes that the base of every meme is an unguarded authenticity — something which strikes us to the core. For example, this photo of a girl smiling in front of a burning house. It was one bizarre moment, captured at the right place, at the right time. On the other hand, the Internet is a force to be reckoned with. That same power which users hold can have the opposite effect on the person who becomes the meme, as we’ve seen time and time again. Some take what the web has given them and roll with the punches — for example Scumbag Steve. But should these people be forced to live at the mercy of web? Zittrain believes that we should have the technology to give the people who don’t want to become a meme the respect they deserve. "I would love to see the technologists among us build an infrastructure native to the web that lets you — as the subject or creator of an object, a data object (a meme maybe) be able to tag it — and declare something about your relationship to it," says Zittrain. The trio behind MemeFactory wrapped up the first day of ROFLcon with a similar theme, stating that the Internet should uphold its responsibility. The panel brought up Reddit’s issue with child porn, and called the often freewheeling community out for not striving to be as conscientious about racial and sexist content. The panel also talked about memes in mainstream media, and how they are often poorly reported on. In big, bold letters across three projection screens were the words “The Internet isn’t funny anymore.” MemeFactory believes that instead of worrying about other social sites “stealing” memes from where they originated, we simply enjoy and let others enjoy. “Basically, what we’re calling for is an Internet armistice,” the panel proposed. What do you think about the ethics of Internet culture? Is it really possible for us to live in peace on the web? Share your thoughts in the comments. More About: features, internet celebrities, Meme, ROFLcon
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| Why Marketing Is Broken and How to Fix It Posted: 05 May 2012 11:55 AM PDT   The marketing world needs to stop being so afraid and start solving problems, according to Cindy Gallop, an entrepreneur and consultant whose prescription for growth calls for synthesizing creativity and data collection. Gallop, who spoke at Mashable Connect Saturday morning, critiqued the current state of marketing, which she believes is driven by fear. “Fear is the single worst dynamic in business,” she said. “Decisions made out of fear are always very bad decisions.” Such trepidation, predicated by the economy, has caused marketers to become much more cautious, hence the emphasis on data collection in lieu of risk-taking. In Gallop’s view, though, this array of data has caused paralysis. Lacking any single standard for tracking data, marketers are merely analyzing. To get over that, Gallop recommends a DIY approach: “You should decide what you are and what you want to measure,” she said. “Design your own metric system.” After that, she says marketers should tap that data to improve their marketing. “The new creativity is data-informed,” she said. A self-styled system should also be more transparent about its data collection. In an age of transparency, Gallop says marketers should approach their relationship with clients on social media the same way they’d do it in real life. “When you meet someone you like, you want to know about them, so you ask them and you tell them things about yourself,” she says. “You reach a point where essentially on both sides you’re saying, ‘I want you to know me.’ That’s the relationship you want to reach with consumers.” Yet Gallop thinks transparency alone isn’t enough, noting that advertisers are now judged by actions, not claims. As an example of this new type of “action branding,” she cited Levi’s decision to raise $2 million for the down-on-its-luck town of Braddock, Pa., in 2010 and feature it and its young mayor in an ad campaign. It’s unclear how effective such solutions are in the real world. Though there were doubtlessly other factors at play, the ad campaign seems to have helped Levi’s sales — the company’s 2011 revenues rose 8%. However, a similar program from Pepsi appears to have had a disastrous effect on sales and that brand recently abandoned the approach. MashableConnect-Friday-616px006
Click here to view this gallery. Mashable Connect SponsorsBuddy Media is the social enterprise software of choice for eight of the world’s top ten global advertisers, empowering them to build and maintain relationships with their consumers in a connections-based world. The Buddy Media social marketing suite helps brands build powerful connections globally with its scalable, secure architecture and data-driven customer insights from initial point of contact through point of purchase. For more information, visit http://www.buddymedia.com. AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com. Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com. Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated ‘A’ (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now. Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com. The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation—providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. More About: Cincy Gallop, mashable connect For more Business coverage:
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| Alcoholic Spray Promises a Few Seconds of Instant Intoxication [VIDEO] Posted: 05 May 2012 11:29 AM PDT The product featured in the above video may be the perfect accessory for a Saturday night. Meet the “Spray That Makes You Drunk” — WA|AH Quantum Sensations — created by scientist David Edwards and designer Philippe Starck. The WA|AH spray lets users skip breakfast, lunch and dinner and go straight to drinking. The product promises the short-term effects of alcohol — without the hangover or embarrassing moments. The new gadget premiered at a Paris exhibition recently and will hit store shelves in Europe soon. The small lipstick-sized metallic canister holds around 2 milliliters of alcohol — 1000 times less than a cocktail, says the Daily Mail. But, the spray’s creators say the “shock is immediate, like a sensorial alarm.” The spray will cost 20 Euros or around $26 a vial. Would you spend $26 on the alcoholic spray? Sound off in the comments.
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| Why the Future of Social Is in the Palm of Your Hand Posted: 05 May 2012 10:52 AM PDT   When I leave the house in the morning, the first thing I check is that I have my phone with me. It’s not my keys nor my wallet, but my phone that I’m most worried about forgetting. My mobile device has become my lifeline in a lot of ways — and I know I’m not alone. When I walk outside, it seems hard to find someone who’s not on their phone. Whether they’re looking up directions on a maps app, checking in to their current location on Foursquare or taking a photo with Instagram, many of us rely on mobile devices to get things done efficiently and conveniently — and to stay connected. Long before Facebook bought Instagram last month, the mobile social networking boom was upon us. The $1 billion acquisition was just the icing on the cake. This was the jumping off point for a discussion on stage at Mashable Connect with myself, Brett Martin, co-founder and CEO of Sonar, Steve Jang, co-founder, chief product designer and CEO of SoundTracking, and Bart Stein, co-founder of Stamped on Saturday. Here’s a little bit more about what we talked about and why we’re certain mobile social networks are the communities of the future. Self-Expression in Real TimeSocial networks were built on the notion of sharing. Whether we’re revealing interests, photos or life moments, these platforms have become the ultimate vehicles of self-expression. The features built into mobile devices, such as cameras and GPS, enable even the most casual tech user to easily create his or her own media. Mobile editing and social apps help the content individuals produce to be more sophisticated, while remaining personal. “I think people are excited to take a bit of their everyday life with their phone and augment it toward something beautiful and emotional to share,” says Steve Jang, co-founder and CEO of Soundtracking. “As long as there is a captive audience that is responsive to this stream of personal media captured and shared on the fly, then I think we’ll continue to see people flock to these mobile communities.” Thirty-eight million Americans use mobile devices for social networking almost every day, comScore reports. It’s even surpassed gaming as the most-engaged mobile activity, according to Flurry. Like Jang said, these numbers will continue to rise alongside our desire to produce and engage with personal media. As more people access social networks from smartphones and tablets, they’ll realize these devices do more than make sharing easier and content creation better. They also allow for instantaneous connections. “It’s no longer good enough for some of us to come home from vacation or a night out to post our photos and thoughts,” says Brett Martin, co-founder and CEO of Sonar. “We’ve become so used to real-time sharing that it feels irrelevant to post pictures of and reactions to things that happened mere hours ago.” This real-time self-expression was essentially non-existent before the rise of mobile devices — and now it’s the norm. We’ve become accustomed to knowing what’s going on with our friends and family or favorite celebrities and organizations at the moment it’s happening. This allows us to feel as though we’re experiencing these activities with them, radically changing how we feel and, ultimately, connect. Stronger RelationshipsThis increased connectedness can help us feel closer to our contacts, both fortifying existing relationships and forging new ones. Apps such as Face Time allow us to stay in touch with friends and family overseas while others, like Martin’s Sonar, help us discover new contacts through shared connections. These are the users “that know the value of relationships,” Martin says. But those get togethers with friends where you look up and everyone is tweeting, checking in or uploading a photo instead of talking face-to-face, makes you wonder: Is mobile social networking really helping us make the right connections? Jang says the stigma of people ignoring their IRL friends to engage on these networks “is outweighed by the benefit of being to stay in touch with a much larger group of friends and family and see, read, and listen to a vivid (albeit fleeting) snapshot of their lives.” For Martin, it’s certainly a concern. “But the best apps won’t need to hold you hostage to the screen,” he says. Rather, they should add dimension to relationships and enable you to engage with others in unprecedented ways, making it “easier than ever to make and maintain real life relationships,” says Stein. Enriched LivesAt the core of any community is connecting people with a passion for a common interest. When it comes to mobile, the plethora of social apps make it easy for users to connect around any hobby or activity, no matter how niche or mainstream. Whether you’re looking for a restaurant or a relationship, apps allow you to do what you want to do better — right along with your community. “The best communities being built by mobile app creators today are the ones that already existed offline, but hadn't been provided with technology and tools to enrich their experiences and relationships,” says Stein. “There must be a distinction made between the apps that add utility and improve people's lives rather than those designed to waste time — the former actually improves relationships and the quality of interactions rather than diminishing them.” When asked if, as mobile app creators, they consider themselves community builders, Jang and Stein say the goal of each of their apps is to help an existing community build on what it’s already doing. For Soundtracking, it’s helping the music community share and engage with the songs they already love. For Stamped, it’s about providing people who enjoy sharing their favorites with technology that makes this easier. What’s Next?Mobile social networks are the communities of the future. So, what’s on the horizon for this up-and-coming space? Here’s what the panelists had to say:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL MashableConnect-Friday-616px006
Click here to view this gallery. Mashable Connect SponsorsBuddy Media is the social enterprise software of choice for eight of the world’s top ten global advertisers, empowering them to build and maintain relationships with their consumers in a connections-based world. The Buddy Media social marketing suite helps brands build powerful connections globally with its scalable, secure architecture and data-driven customer insights from initial point of contact through point of purchase. For more information, visit http://www.buddymedia.com. AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com. Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com. Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated ‘A’ (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now. Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com. The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation—providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. More About: community, mashable connect, mobile social networking
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| 3 Signs That It’s Time To Quit Your Job Posted: 05 May 2012 10:40 AM PDT   Tony Morrison is the Vice President of Business Development at Cachinko. Find him on Talent Connection and connect with Cachinko on Facebook or Twitter. In the recent years, we have heard in the news some pretty creative “Take This Job and Shove It” stories. Joey quit his job with the support of a marching band and posted the event on YouTube. A Jetblue flight attendant quit his job, grabbed a beer and then slid down the emergency chute of the plane he was on. But, in probably the most significant public resignation of 2012 thus far, Greg Smith, a former Goldman Sachs vice president, wrote a personal manifesto of the company’s faults. It landed in the New York Times, garnering national attention and even online parodies. Smith has been lauded by various groups as a "folk hero" for speaking out against Goldman. For 143 years, Goldman Sachs was a trusted financial institution, but the company has been in the news with more bad press than good for over a decade. However, the truth is that the repercussions of your actions are more likely to be career-limiting for you than they are to ever result in change within the organization. Resignation for any reason, general dissatisfaction or genuine cause, is a serious career decision, and a personal one. Publicly bad-mouthing your employer is one of the worst things you can ever do to your career — even if you think it’s justified. 1. Your Values Do Not Align With The Company's Values
It is stressful to be in a situation when you are asked to carry out practices that contradict a company’s written policies or stated values, or that conflict with your own personal values. The cognitive dissonance alone can drive an employee up the wall. You may decide that the reasons for leaving are mainly because your personal values do not fit with an organization’s values (even if at one time they were aligned), or you may decide to leave because an organization does not even live up to its own values and contradicts its own written rules of professional conduct. Figure out what values are most important to you and what brings you job satisfaction. 2. You No Longer Enjoy Your Job
If you really have to force yourself to be happy at work, then it is time to move on. Unhappiness at work, or dreading even going to work, is a sign of some underlying problem. The problem doesn't have to be with the company either. Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed in your role, or your job is no longer challenging. If your job is not personally and professionally fulfilling, and there is no way to achieve that satisfaction where you are currently employed, then maybe it’s time to consider a change of employment. You only pass this way in life one time, so choose your path well and do what makes you happy. 3. You're Surrounded By Irresponsible Behavior
Leadership, by its very nature, must be able to create vision and influence others to achieve that vision. Smith blamed leadership for many of the negative behaviors that Goldman allegedly practices towards its clients. He believed that Goldman Sachs leadership was not practicing the values of the organization and lacked personal integrity. No matter if the behavior is unethical or downright senseless for the longevity of the company – it's logical, and justifiable, to leave a toxic work environment. If You Want to Quit, Then QuitQuitting your job in this economy may not be the wisest decision you can make. But, when you have considered all of the alternatives and you know there is only one thing left to do, being able to see the writing on the wall can make it easier to make the right choice for you and your career. As for how to quit — it is always best to keep that just between you and your employer. What do you think? What are some other good reasons for quitting? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Social Media Job ListingsEvery week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, gulfix More About: features, goldman sachs, job search series, jobs, mashable, trending For more Business coverage:
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| Google Could Face $10 Million Fine For Tracking Safari Users Posted: 05 May 2012 09:54 AM PDT   Google may see the costliest repercussion from its alleged Apple Safari privacy breach coming from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC may fine Google more than $10 million for violating Internet privacy according to Bloomberg, citing “a person familiar with the matter” in its report. "We will of course cooperate with any officials who have questions," Google spokesman Chris Gaither told Bloomberg. The Mountain View-based company was caught tracking user activity on mobile Apple devices. The search giant is accused of violating federal laws and user privacy by installing cookies and trackers onto default Apple Safari browsers. Google allegedly bypassed Safari settings with a software trick, maneuvering around the Safari limitations on third-party tracking using “special computer code.” The Wall Street Journal first reported the Google Apple Safari tracking in February. The code was first spotted by Jonathan Meyer, a researcher at Stanford University’s The Center for Internet and Society. Meyer described the “Safari Trackers” in a blog post. Google removed the Safari code after the WSJ report was published. In Google’s rebuttal, the company said it was only trying to get the Google “+1″ button on many different websites. They said the code was not collecting any personal information from users at all. How will a hefty fine affect Internet privacy for users? Tell us in the comments if you think the fine will persuade more companies to abide by privacy laws. More About: apple, Google, ipad, iphone, privacy, safari
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| ‘Supermoon’ Tonight! Tips to See Year’s Biggest Full Moon Posted: 05 May 2012 09:12 AM PDT   If the full moon looks a bit bigger and brighter in tonight’s sky, you’re not seeing things: It’s just the “supermoon” — the biggest moon of 2012. And there’s a meteor shower from Halley’s comet peaking tonight, too, adding to the sky show. Editor’s note: Send us your supermoon pics here! The full moon of May will hit its peak overnight tonight and early Sunday (May 5 and 6) just one minute after the moon makes its closest approach to Earth. The timing means the moon, weather permitting, could appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon, an event scientists have nicknamed the “supermoon.” The moon will be at its fullest at 11:35 p.m. EDT (0335 Sunday GMT) just after hitting perigee, the point in its orbit that brings the moon closest to Earth. The technical name for the event is a “perigee moon,” though NASA and other scientists have dubbed May’s full moon as the supermoon of 2012. The moon will be about 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from Earth, about 12.2 percent closer to our planet than when the moon is at apogee, its farthest point. The average Earth-moon distance is about 230,000 miles (384,400 km). The last time a supermoon occurred was in March 2011. That supermoon was actually closer to Earth than the moon will be tonight by about 248 miles (400 km). [Amazing Supermoon Photos from 2011]
Big moon rising A good time to watch is during moonrise or moonset. At these times, due to reasons astronomers don’t fully understand, the moon can appear much larger than when it is higher in the sky. But the view is actually an optical illusion (also known as the “moon illusion“). The moon is no larger than it is when it’s overhead in the night sky and you can prove it yourself. Here’s how, when the moon is low on the horizon measure its size with a ruler or your thumb and forefinger. When it’s higher up in the sky, try again. The distances will be the same. For observers in California, the moon will rise at about 7:37 p.m. PDT, while skywatchers with a clear horizon on the East Coast will see it rise at 7:46 p.m. EDT, though you can find the exact time for your location using the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The extra big full moon of May can mean higher tides on Earth, an effect called “perigean tides,” but there is no chance of the supermoon posing a threat to Earth. “In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual,” astronomer Tony Phillips wrote in a NASA supermoon alert. “Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (6 inches) — not exactly a great flood.”
Meteors from Halley’s comet The supermoon is not the only celestial sight gracing the evening skies this weekend. Tonight, the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower will hit its peak, promising up to 60 meteors per hour for skywatchers with optimum viewing conditions (clear weather and away from city lights). The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is one of two “shooting star” displays created by dust left over by the famed Halley’s comet as it makes its 76-year trip around the sun. The Orionid meteor shower in October is the other meteor show from the comet. While the supermoon is expected to outshine the fainter Eta Aquarid meteors, NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke predicts that some bright fireballs may be visible. Cooke and his observing team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have already recorded several bright fireballs from the Eta Aquarids and are looking forward to seeing more tonight using the agency’s network of all-sky meteor cameras. “Ideal viewing conditions are clear skies away from city lights, especially just before dawn,” NASA officials wrote in an Eta Aquarid meteor observing guide. ” Find an area well away from city or street lights. Lie flat on your back on a blanket, lawn chair or sleeping bag and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors. Be patient — the show will last until dawn, so you have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.” Views from NASA’s all-sky cameras are available to view the Eta Aquarid meteor shower remotely here: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/allsky.html
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| U.S. Army Captain Dies During Skype Session Posted: 05 May 2012 08:39 AM PDT   U.S. Army Captain Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, died during a Skype video call with his wife on Monday. Clark was an army nurse stationed in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom at the time. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown, according to CNN. The army will be investigating the cause of death, according to William Beaumont Army Medical Center officials in El Paso, Texas. Clark was based in Beaumont with the A Company and Troop Command. “We are entrusting the military with investigating and with finding out what happened to Capt. Clark,” Bradley Taber-Thomas, Clark’s brother-in-law told The Associated Press on Friday. Clark’s wife Susan witnessed her husband’s death during a routine video chat. “Although the circumstances were unimaginable, Bruce's wife and extended family will be forever thankful that he and his wife were together in his last moments,” the wife and family stated in an official statement. U.S. and Australian troops lined up for his final send-off from Afghanistan, according to CNN. His body was flown to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. He was honored in a dignified transfer on May 3. The Texas-based medic, originally from Addison, Mich., is a longtime resident of Spencerport, N.Y. Funeral services will be held in his Upstate New York hometown. A memorial service will be conducted in Addison, according to the El Paso Times. Clark is survived by his wife and two daughters. Clark’s family and friends have created a Facebook page honoring the army hero that is open to the public for comments. Images courtesy of Facebook CPT Bruce Kevin Clark Memorial Page, U.S. Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation More About: Skype, u.s. army, video calls
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| Here’s the Best Time to Share on Pinterest Posted: 05 May 2012 08:04 AM PDT   If you’re doing most of your sharing on Pinterest from the office, you’re doing it wrong. The best time to share things on Pinterest is Saturday morning, according to data from Bitly, the URL shortening service. Hilary Mason, Bitly’s chief scientist, revealed the nugget during a talk at Mashable Connect in Orlando, Fla. Bitly keeps track of clicks on the links created by its users, and where they’re coming from, aggregating the data to create actionable information. In addition to the Pinterest factoid, Mason said a story’s half-life — the time it takes to receive half the clicks it will ever get — lasts 2.8 hours on Twitter, 3.1 on Facebook, 7 hours on YouTube and “longer” on StumbleUpon and Tumblr. Bitly also looks at usage of devices. Bitly says it’s seeing 12% of clicks coming from mobile devices. While all device use rises and falls based on wake/sleep patterns, most phones, tablets and computers follow similar patterns of use each day. One notable exception: Game consoles, which jump on Thursdays, something Mason attributed to college students using them to mainly watch YouTube videos. Typically, content follows a “burst and decay” pattern, with a huge spike of clicks early in its life cycle that drops off rapidly, then slowly. The pattern can repeat as the content spreads to other networks or gets shared by influencers.  As an example, Mason cited the recent video ad campaign by PopChips that had actor Ashton Kutcher in brown face, imitating an Indian man. The videos received several spikes of interest, including after a few prominent people suggested the ad was racist and again when the offensive ad was taken down. Bitly’s data also reveals which social networks command the most attention online. Based on preliminary research into what people share and what people click on, Bitly ranked the most attention-getting social networks:
For content creators, Mason had some pointed advice for better engaging an audience: create content with a community in mind. “Creating things that people want to tie into their identity is the best way to make them spread,” she said. Do you agree with Bitly’s conclusion that Pinterest is best used Saturday morning, or its ranked list of social networks? Have your say in the comments. BONUS: The Top Photos From Pinterest1. Hands Picture by photographer Jorge Rimblas, posted via Edris Kim on Pinterest. Click here to view this gallery. Mashable Connect SponsorsBuddy Media is the social enterprise software of choice for eight of the world’s top ten global advertisers, empowering them to build and maintain relationships with their consumers in a connections-based world. The Buddy Media social marketing suite helps brands build powerful connections globally with its scalable, secure architecture and data-driven customer insights from initial point of contact through point of purchase. For more information, visit http://www.buddymedia.com. AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com. Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com. Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated ‘A’ (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now. Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com. The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation—providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. More About: bit.ly, Facebook, pinterest, social networks, stumbleupon, trending, tumblr, Twitter, YouTube For more Social Media coverage:
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| How Will We Interact With Technology in the Future? [CONTEST] Posted: 05 May 2012 07:39 AM PDT
Whether it’s function keys on a mainframe, the trackpad on a laptop, or a touchscreen on a smartphone, product interfaces are constantly changing to improve usability. Soon we may not even use our hands to control technology — if Google’s futuristic glasses come to fruition. We want to hear what you think: How will the way we interact with technology change over the next 30 years? Tell us for a chance to win a limited edition Microsoft Arc Touch mouse. Microsoft created this one-off product to celebrate 30 years of hardware, and only 30 of these mice were made. We have one to give away, so we’re looking for an exceptionally creative or insightful answer to determine the winner. Take a look at the limited edition Arc Touch mouse below, and send us your response for a chance to win! SEE ALSO: Microsoft: 30 Years of Hardware and a Few Surprises How to Enter the Contest
Please see our full contest rules here. Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse
Click here to view this gallery. Images courtesy of Microsoft More About: accessories, community, Contests, Gadgets, microsoft, Tech
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