Mashable: Latest 10 News Updates - including “37 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed” |
- 37 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed
- Top 5 Mashable Comments This Week
- Whitney Houston’s Funeral: Mourners Pay Tribute On Twitter
- 5 Best New Apps Worth Downloading This Week [PICS]
- ‘Playing With Your Phone While Sitting on the Toilet’ Gets a Tribute [VIDEO]
- Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]
- Who’s Winning the Twitter and Facebook Presidential Election? [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week [PICS]
- Antennagate: iPhone 4 Customers Win Class Action Lawsuit [UPDATED]
- Whitney Houston Funeral: Online and TV Viewing Guide
- The Quick and Dirty Guide to Tumblr for Small Business
| 37 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Posted: 18 Feb 2012 03:10 PM PST      What better way to end Social Media Week than by catching up on all of the new Mashable digital media resources you may have missed? This week we’ve covered a special hack to trick out your Pinterest boards, ways for your business to avoid a hashtag disaster and a rundown of the tech skills companies are looking for in the coming year. You’ll also find the 10 best digital and tech-related quotes from TED Talks, reasons why Twitter is sexier than Facebook and paradoxes that are shaping the future of mobile commerce. We even had a wedding proposal via infographic on Valentine’s Day! Look no further for this week’s very best resources on technology and digital culture. 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, RapidEye. More About: Business, COMMUNICATIONS, Features Week In Review, Social Media, Tech
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| Top 5 Mashable Comments This Week Posted: 18 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST   We’re back again with another roundup of the top Mashable comments of the week. In this weekly segment, we showcase the week’s best comments on our site. We’re always looking for thoughtful comments that engage the community and drive more conversation, as well as those that make us laugh. This week, the Mashable community most discussed topics included Twitter’s reaction to the death of Whitney Houston and Apple’s announcement of Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Take a look at this week’s top comments on Mashable: Twitter Reliability Jonathan Lynn shares his view on the relationship between traditional media and social media when the rumor of Whitney Houston's death spread on Twitter. Original comment posted on: Click here to view this gallery. If you haven’t commented on a Mashable article before, check out Mashable Follow, our content curation and social tool, as well as our comment guidelines to learn more. We’d love for you to join the conversation. Remember to comment on next week’s articles for a chance to be in the top comments roundup. More About: comments, community, mashable follow, top comments For more Social Media coverage:
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| Whitney Houston’s Funeral: Mourners Pay Tribute On Twitter Posted: 18 Feb 2012 02:37 PM PST Whitney Houston's Funeral   NYT reporter Sarah Maslin Nir took this photo (used with permission) of a funeral guest holding the program. Click here to view this gallery. Actor Kevin Costner, music producer Clive Davis and musicians Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys were among the friends and family that gathered for the funeral of Whitney Houston on Saturday. About 1,500 attended the nearly four-hour-long event, but many more paid their respects by watching a live stream online. Mourners both at the funeral and those watching from afar shared their thoughts on Twitter. We’ve gathered some of them in the gallery above. More About: Twitter, whitney houston For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 5 Best New Apps Worth Downloading This Week [PICS] Posted: 18 Feb 2012 01:30 PM PST Clear for iPhone   Clear is a new task management app with a beautiful user interface. All navigation is entirely gesture-based, so you can add to, reorder and maintain several lists entirely by pinching and swiping your iPhone screen. While you'd have difficulty using it to manage a major project (the app has no calendar, due dates or integration with other app), it serves the needs of day-to-day living with simplicity and elegance. $.99. Click here to view this gallery. From the risque to the semi-offensive, there were many interesting new arrivals in app stores this week. We sorted through them to find the apps we could actually imagine using and selected the best five of them to highlight in the gallery above. We hope you enjoy this week’s 5 best new apps. More New App Resources from Mashable This Week:
More About: apps, best new apps, clear, Clik, NPR, Ravn, trending, WinZip
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| ‘Playing With Your Phone While Sitting on the Toilet’ Gets a Tribute [VIDEO] Posted: 18 Feb 2012 12:32 PM PST “We’ve all had that feeling coming about, staring at the wall and nothing comes out,” raps musician Paul The Trombonist in his latest YouTube music video. The song’s subject matter is something Mashable‘s digitally minded readers can relate to, and summed up in its decidedly non-metaphorical title: “Playing With Your Phone While Sitting on the Toilet.” “I was literally playing with my phone while sitting on the toilet and was like, ‘There has to be a song about this,’” Paul explained in an interview. “It’s a subject no one talks about but it’s something everyone does.” And so the song and video were born. Paul (real last name Nowell) says it took him about a month to produce the track. He says he was going for a vibe that was a combination of the D12 and “cool, laid-back, West Coast-ish, because I live in LA.” A freelance producer and professional musician who graduated from the elite Berklee College of Music, Paul also lends his own jazzy trombone improvisations to the track. He shot the video in one day with help from some friends before pulling an all-night editing session on Saturday and posting it to YouTube Sunday morning. It’s been featured on the mobile news site AndroidCentral, although its view count hasn’t blown up. At least not yet. The song reflects a universal truth. A recent study by the marketing agency 11mark found that about 75% of people have used their mobile phone while in the bathroom. Apparently 20% of men have participated in work-related calls from the loo, and 13% of women have as well. Android users are more likely to use their phones while in the bathroom than iPhone users are, at 87% to 77%. Clearly folks agree with Paul when he intones during the video’s outro, “Man, this technology really helps it go dowwwn…Glad I live in this time period.” Do you play with your phone while you’re sitting on the toilet? What do you think of the video? Let us know in the comments. [As a side note, in the course of interviewing Paul we learned that he actually made a Mashable-themed music video last August. Check it out here!] More About: Mobile, smartphones, Toilet, trending, YouTube For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Posted: 18 Feb 2012 12:06 PM PST 1. Mithos Electromagnetic Vehicle   Flight of fancy, or real car? Its name will give you a clue: "Mithos" -- closer to mythology than reality. As far-fetched as it seems, designer Tiago Miguel Inácio is serious, calling it "essentially a celebration of the future, each day closer to reality." This zero-emissions supercar has a terrain-scanning system (what, no robot driver?), instant torque response with its 1.5 MW electromagnetic motor, and then we get into the fantasy world with quantum boost technology that lets the car magnetically levitate over some sort of future roads, and it's even teleportation-ready. No word on whether its phasers are set to stun or kill. Dream on, Tiago, but we certainly got a kick out of your forward-looking design. [via Endpoint] Click here to view this gallery. It’s been another big week for Top 10 Tech, with jaw-dropping devices that will make you feel like you’ve awakened in a future world. As we separated the junk from the gems this week, we were astonished to find a car that’s more spectacular than any we’ve ever seen, and even though it’s a design concept so far, it’s probably pointing to a future of electromagnetism, levitation and maybe even teleportation. Beyond the ridiculous, we found the sublime, with a convenient new remote control that you plug into your iPhone, an interesting shape for a camera design, a great idea for USB connectors, and spectacular ways to make you fly like a bird — or even sling angry birds in space. So come along with us as we take you into space, on adventures and expeditions, show you some spectacular ideas and concepts, and accompany you into the future itself — right here on our latest Top 10 Tech This Week. Here’s last week’s Top 10 Tech. More About: angry birds, iphone, Mass Effect 3, Razer, Top 10 Tech, trending
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| Who’s Winning the Twitter and Facebook Presidential Election? [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted: 18 Feb 2012 11:34 AM PST President Barack Obama’s Facebook and Twitter following leaves Republican presidential candidates in the dust. The president has more than 25 million Facebook Likes and more than 12.5 million Twitter followers. Since his 2008 campaign for president, Obama has changed the way the public engages with political candidates running for office. He was and still is the social-media-savvy candidate who reaches out to voters on the online platforms where they communicate. President Obama’s social media accounts are primarily run by his campaign staff, but Obama signs the tweets he writes with -BO. In October 2011, Obama found one more way he could connect with young voters: by joining Tumblr, a blogging site used by tons of young people. Other candidates have followed Obama’s tech-savvy lead. They have signed up for social media platforms and their staffs post regularly. On average, the 2012 presidential candidates post to their accounts two to five times per day, according to PRMarketing.com, who created the infographic below. When it comes to followers and Likes, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich split second place. Romney comes in second with 1.4 million Facebook Likes, while Newt Gingrich has 1.4 million Twitter followers, ranking him the second most followed 2012 election candidate, although many of his followers’ accounts are inactive. A former Gingrich staffer told Gawker that Gingrich purchased Twitter followers on eBay. Ron Paul is the third most followed candidate with more than 862,000 Facebook Likes and more than 130,000 Twitter followers. Rick Santorum is next to last with nearly 130,000 Twitter followers and more than 138,000 Facebook Likes. Gary Johnson, the libertarian who has been in and out of the race, has the least amount of Facebook Likes and Twitter followers, but he is building his following. He has more than 23,000 Twitter followers and 149,000 Facebook Likes. Check out the infographic below. Twitter and Facebook numbers have increased for all candidates since the infographic was made. Followers and likes don’t always translate to endorsements, but do you think a candidate’s following could turn into votes? Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, manley099   More About: infographic, Twitter, U.S. presidential election
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| Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week [PICS] Posted: 18 Feb 2012 11:08 AM PST 1. Grammys   On Feb. 12, the Grammys were awarded to several artists, including Adele, who received 6 Grammys. Kelly Osbourne (@MissKellyO, more than 1,6 million followers) attended the awards show and posted this picture of her and Ellen Degeneres's favorite singing duo Sophia Grace and Rosie. If you don't know who these two are, have a look at this video. Osbourne's tweet read: "Look who I just ran into on #eredcarpet #grammys." Click here to view this gallery. The past week was unusually eventful, and the pictures on Twitter reflected a lively week of Grammy awards, fashion news, protests and grieving the loss of a pop superstar. We sifted through 45 million pictures submitted to Twitter during the week, and using our supersecret and ultra-effective algorithm developed by social media search engine Skylines, we found the cream of the crop. If you’d like to know more about the selection process, see the full results from Skylines. If you missed them, here are last week’s Top 10 Twitter Pics. More About: Skylines, Top 10 Twitter Pics, trending, Twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| Antennagate: iPhone 4 Customers Win Class Action Lawsuit [UPDATED] Posted: 18 Feb 2012 09:47 AM PST   A class-action suit against Apple for iPhone 4 antenna reception problems has reached a settlement in the “antennagate” case, with a preliminary approval granting U.S. residents who bought the phone either $15 in cash or a bumper case from Apple. According to CNET, the preliminary approval was made on Friday afternoon in a settlement of 18 consolidated lawsuits. The combined suit alleged that Apple was “misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale and servicing of its iPhone 4 — particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and related software.” More information is forthcoming about the class action suit, which has its own website to handle claims. iPhone4settlement.com is not operational yet, but when it goes online, those who bought an iPhone 4 can find information about how to claim their $15 or iPhone Bumper from Apple. When Apple released the iPhone 4 in June of 2010, it didn’t take long for customers to discover reception problems with the new design of the phone. Complaints of dropped calls and diminished reception swirled around the Internet, picking up the nickname “antennagate.” The reception problem was traced to a gap in the metal casing around the phone, which also served as the antenna. Two sections of that antenna were bridged by the palms of users’ hands as they held the phone. At first, Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs accused users of improperly holding the iPhone, telling his customers to "Just avoid holding it in that way." After delaying three weeks, Apple offered either a full refund of the iPhone or a free bumper case that solved the reception problems. Giving away all those bumper cases to iPhone 4 users cost Apple $175 million. It’s unknown so far if customers who already received one bumper case from Apple would be able to receive another as a settlement for this lawsuit. However, it stands to reason that whether customers choose to receive the $15 payment or the bumper case, they’re entitled to an additional settlement whether or not they received Apple’s bumper case in 2010. We’ve contacted Apple for comment about the lawsuit and information about the settlement, and will update this post when we get a response. UPDATE: We spoke with Apple’s Director of iPhone Public Relations Natalie Harrison, who said “This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010.” So if you got a free bumper case for your newly purchased iPhone 4 in 2010, you won’t be getting another free one, or the $15, according to Harrison. This settlement will only involve those iPhone 4 buyers who didn’t want a free bumper case, nor did they want to return an iPhone 4 for a full refund. More About: Antennagate, apple, class action lawsuit, iphone, trending
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| Whitney Houston Funeral: Online and TV Viewing Guide Posted: 18 Feb 2012 07:52 AM PST The Whitney Houston funeral service takes place Saturday at Noon Eastern Time at the New Hope Baptist Church, her childhood place of worship in Newark, New Jersey. Although the service will be private, there’s a variety of ways for you to watch it on television and online. According to TMZ, which received an invitation to the funeral, the memorial is being characterized as a “home going service” rather than a funeral. The invitation included a picture of a smiling Whitney Houston, along with the following text:
As you can see in the video above, streaming coverage from Ustream has already begun. Here are other outlets where you can view the funeral online:
Expected to attend are Clive Davis, Aretha Franklin, CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, Tyler Perry, Kevin Costner, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston’s cousin Dionne Warwick, ex-husband Bobby Brown and Stevie Wonder. Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are expected to perform, according to MSNBC. @MariahCarey  
Click here to view this gallery. More About: live streaming, trending, whitney houston For more Entertainment coverage:
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| The Quick and Dirty Guide to Tumblr for Small Business Posted: 18 Feb 2012 07:10 AM PST   This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. With the rise of Pinterest and Tumblr’s astounding growth, it seems that 2012 may be the year of the visual platform. Tumblr surpassed 15 billion monthly pageviews in January, and Pinterest is driving some serious traffic to retailers. We’ve already covered some best practices for brands on Pinterest, but if you’re looking to mix up your content creation, try Tumblr. To date, there have been 16,827,658,845 posts on the site, so isn’t it time you get it on the action? As with any other platform, there are pros and cons to consider. But with the popularity of Tumblr and the ease of setting up, customizing and maintaining your blog, we suggest you at least check it out — there’s a very engaged Tumblr audience waiting to see your content. Here are some tips to help you get started. Set Up Your Tumblr Pick a password and designate a URL for your Tumblr — the URL will be www.anything.tumblr.com. You can’t host the blog on your website’s domain, but you can set up a custom domain so it matches your website (such as mashable.com/blog), place a button on your site or even link out from your site’s navigation to make it seamless for your users to consume your Tumblr content. Then, customize your blog. Pick a theme, choose colors, pick a font, upload a header and a profile picture and write a little “about me” section. There are some great themes for small business, and the Mashable team recently pointed out our favorite themes, too. You can choose more of a collage layout if you’re going for a Pinterest-y, image-heavy look, or you can opt for a linear, news-feed layout. Getting all that set up shouldn’t have taken you too long. Now, let’s start tumbling! What to Post “Blogging” no longer evokes a visual of someone sitting in a coffee shop writing about life all day. With the 140-character limit on Twitter, we’ve lost our attention span for 1,000-word musings. We want simple, palatable content in many different forms. Tumblr has helped to redefine what it means to blog and has made it infinitely easier and faster to do so. Visuals do particularly well on Tumblr, but there’s more to the site than pictures. On your dashboard, you’ll see seven options — text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio and video. Here are some great uses of each kind of post:
 To make a post, just click the icon of the media type you’d like to post. From there, it’s pretty simple — upload the picture (or video or audio) and fill out all of the fields. Be sure to tag the post with relevant terms, since searching through tags is a great way for people to discover your content. You can publish the post now or schedule it for later. The latter is a great option for time-strapped entrepreneurs — you can set aside some time each week to hammer out a few posts and then space them out over time to keep your page active, while you’re out doing other things, like running your business. Click the box to send the post to Twitter, to allow for easy distribution. Much like Pinterest, you should go beyond just trying to push your product on Tumblr — try to embody a lifestyle. Sure, you can post product pictures, but don’t be so pushy; instead, be human. If you have a clothing company that just got samples in, show how excited you are and make your Tumblr audience feel special by giving them a first look — try posting something like, “Just got first samples of our new product line! Take a peek!” with some pictures. You can also post about your brand’s history (i.e. where’d your slogan come from? Who designed the logo? Who’s the person answering customer service calls?), along with anecdotes about customer interactions and pictures of office celebrations to give people a behind-the-scenes look at your business. Now more than ever, people want to know from whom they’re buying products, so Tumblr is a great way to let them see how great your company is. This helps build loyalty — and your bottom line. What Now? You’re all set up, and you’ve rattled off a few posts. Are you worried it’ll be tough to maintain your business’ Tumblr? Use the mobile app (see above) for easy blogging. You can even text your update from an SMS phone or update your Tumblr via email — just email your custom Tumblr email address (hint: it’s an @tumblr.com email address, not your login). If you’re an Instagram user, you can also set up the photo-sharing app to send your stylized images to Tumblr, which can add some flair to your blog and help you kill two birds with one stone, by updating two platforms in one simple move.  As you get in the flow of things, you should start seeing an influx of followers and activity. When you log on to your dashboard, you’ll see the river of content you’ve created, along with notes about who liked or reblogged a post and who started following your Tumblr. Give them a follow back, and then you’ll start seeing their posts when you log in — comment, like and reblog to engage with the audience and build relationships. Where to Look For Inspiration A new undertaking can be daunting, so we’ve gathered up some great small business Tumblrs and explained a bit about what makes these blogs special. Hopefully they’ll inspire you to blog even more.
Here, we’ve covered the nuts and bolts of Tumblr. Below, you’ll find some tips to get your business even more exposure, and check out Mashable‘s guide for building your brand on Tumblr. Does your business have a Tumblr? If not, are you inspired to start one now? Let us know in the comments below. 1. Use Tumblr Curation as a Compliment to Original Content The short-form, fast-paced nature of Tumblr lends itself well to content curation. The platform is optimized for creating collections of bite-sized media. With the click of a button (the "reblog" button to be precise), you can instantly post someone else's Tumblr content on your own. Businesses can leverage this to create their own curated resource for all of the interesting things they observe in their niche. Of course, curation works best when accompanied by original content, or when a slant or opinion is appended to the curated work. This is why many businesses choose to use Tumblr as a supplement to a longer form WordPress or Typepad blog on their own domain as part of a stock and flow content strategy. Click here to view this gallery. More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum:
More About: blogging, open forum, Small Business, trending, tumblr For more Business coverage:
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