Mashable: Latest 18 News Updates - including “Mashable Weekend Recap: 40 Stories You Might Have Missed” |
- Mashable Weekend Recap: 40 Stories You Might Have Missed
- Sony to Cut 10,000 Jobs [REPORT]
- Sephora Gives Its Shopping Experience a Makeover
- Levo League Offers Career-Building Resources to Gen Y Women
- 5 Social Entrepreneurship Startups You Should Know Right Now
- 7 Videos Tailor-Made to Fascinate Your Cat
- Behind the Scenes at 9 Hot Tech Startups [PICS]
- Google Glasses on Famous Faces [PICS]
- 7 Mobile Apps for Discovering and Creating Poetry
- Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]
- James Cameron Shows What Really Happened to the Titanic [VIDEO]
- 200 Ryan Gosling-Themed Easter Eggs Hidden in New York City
- The Ultimate Digital Easter Egg Hunt [VIDEO]
- Top 25 Most Social CIOs: Who’s the Most Active in Social Media? [CHART]
- Could CISPA Be the Next SOPA?
- What to Do When A Potential Employer Asks for Your Facebook Password
- The Top 10 Chocolate Ads on YouTube
- Web Reacts to Death of ’60 Minutes’ Anchor Mike Wallace
- 10 Adorable Bunny-Themed Gadget Cases
| Mashable Weekend Recap: 40 Stories You Might Have Missed Posted: 09 Apr 2012 04:56 AM PDT      As the holiday brought out the best in people, reveling in their Easter eggs and double feasts this weekend, there was still plenty of digital, tech and social news breaking all over the world. That’s why we were here having tons of fun finding all the coolest stuff we could, all weekend long. And find stuff we did, with dozens of Easter eggs both digital and of the chicken ova variety, videos galore, and more gadgets than you can shake a stick at. And revolving around all that? People interacting with each other, taking social media up a notch with the new darling of the Android community, Instagram, along with lots of other useful and powerful tools we discovered. We’ve found a plethora of figurative and literal Easter eggs for you, so now it’s your turn — go on your own hunt for valuable treasure, uncovering the gems we’ve set aside for you here in the Mashable Weekend Recap. News & Opinion Essentials
Helpful Resources
Weekend Leisure
More About: features, mashable, Weekend recap
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| Sony to Cut 10,000 Jobs [REPORT] Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:43 AM PDT   Sony plans to cut 10,000 jobs, or about 6 percent of its global workforce, Nikkei reports. The layoffs will most likely happen in Sony’s chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations, Nikkei claims, but it’s not clear whether Sony will cut its workforce in Japan or overseas. The move comes after a dismal yearly forecast and a change of leadership, with former executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai replacing Howard Stringer as president and CEO. According to Nikkei‘s sources, Sony might also request that its seven executive directors — including Stringer — return their yearly bonuses. Sony hasn’t officially confirmed the report, but Hirai is set to brief the company’s business plan on Thursday, April 12. As of March 2012, Sony globally employes 168,200 people. [via Reuters] For more Business coverage:
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| Sephora Gives Its Shopping Experience a Makeover Posted: 08 Apr 2012 11:49 PM PDT   Sephora is getting a little more digital. Today the beauty chain rolled out an completely updated website with Pinterest and Instagram integration, an updated mobile site, and officially launched a program that will bring iPads to the store’s sales counters and put iPod touch point-of-sale devices in the hands of many of its sales associates. "Beauty has passionate shoppers, and Sephora is the mecca of beauty" Julie Bornstein, Senior Vice President of Sephora Direct told Mashable. She describes today’s updates as "Where beauty meets intelligence." Pinterest integration is something that many brands have started to embrace, however, Sephora is taking that integration a step further. Every item on Sephora’s online store now has a "Pin It" button you can click to add the item to one of your boards on the site. Where Sephora takes its Pinterest integration to the next level, however, is in its own Pinterest account. Starting today shoppers will be able to browse the Pinterest boards of Sephora employees, and see what products are their favorites. "These are people who get to try ever product," Bornstien says, which gives their opinions of what products are best a little more weight.
The company has also added a new feed on Instagram where you can get a behind-the-scenes look at Sephora and its staff, as well as what trends are hot in the beauty world –we hear a color called Tangerine Tango is making headlines these days. In addition to the Pinterest integration, every product on the new website has been tagged with 25 different characteristics such as target age group, ingredients, and price so you can narrow down a particular search while you shop. The tagging process took a team of 50 employees 5,000 hours to fully index and tag. The result Sephora hopes is a incredibly targeted and personal experience when shopping on its site. Products on the site also now have color views, so if you’re looking for something like a purple eye shadow you can hover over the color and see what that product would really look like. Sephora.com also now offers store availability information, so you can find out if the eye shadow you need is in stock, and keeps track of your past purchases and samples you’ve received (including those in store) so you can keep track of your purchases and use that information to make future ones. For instance, if you purchased a lip gloss you loved while on vacation, you’ll be able to see exactly what it was on the site and be able to order it right then or find out whether it’s available at the Sephora near you. That information is also available in the mobile version of the site. While you’re at a Sephora store you can use your iPhone to scan products off the shelves and read reviews. The company has also added iPads to the Beauty Center in 20 of its stores that can be used to navigate the website, as well as view the menu of services available at the center. Store associates are now equip with iPod touch point-of-sale devices –something that has been in testing for the past 6 months— that can be used to make purchases or reference the store’s website while on the move. Digital is a huge part of Sephora's business. The company has seen a 300% increase over the past year in mobile shopping on its website, with 70% of its mobile traffic coming from iOS devices. iPad traffic to Sephora.com is up 400% in Q1 of 2012 over the same period last year, and 20% of all of the traffic to the site comes from mobile devices. "Digital is a must for the future of retailing," says Bornstein. "With social, digital, mobile and website updates, we’re giving our clients the most personalized experience ever seen in the beauty industry, and connecting clients with our experts in ways that are most relevant to them. We’re excited to makeover the future of shopping." More About: beauty, iOS, ipad, iphone, Sephora
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| Levo League Offers Career-Building Resources to Gen Y Women Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:20 PM PDT   The facts are clear and indisputable — women make 77.5 cents for every dollar a man makes, and four in ten companies have no women in senior management. Even Facebook — home to one of tech's most famous women, Sheryl Sandberg — has no women on its board. Gen Y women are less likely to speak up in the workplace, and though many feel that they are underpaid, they ask for a raise less frequently than their male counterparts. That's why Levo League was formed. "Levo is Latin for 'to polish' and 'elevate,' and the name is essentially connoting the fact that we are coming together as a community to mutually enhance each other's lives," explains Levo League CEO Caroline Ghosn. Ghosn and her co-founder Amanda Pouchot (2008 graduates of Stanford and UC Berkeley, respectively) are Gen Y women who met at their first job at McKinsey. In that fast-paced and male-dominated environment, they mentored and consulted each other and commiserated over the fact that they didn’t have older, experienced women they could reach out to for advice. The women left McKinsey to start Levo League last year, and the site officially launched on March 20. The PhilosophyGhosn and Pouchot say that too often, young women are resentful of others' success — but it doesn’t have to be that way. "There's plenty of room for everyone’s success — your success doesn't mean that my success is limited," says Pouchot, adding that the purpose of Levo is to encourage women to band together to elevate everyone's potential. "It's okay to stand on a mountaintop and say, ‘I'm awesome!’" says Pouchot. And she and Ghosn say that awesome and successful women have an obligation to give back and help other women achieve what they have. Pouchot's undergrad research was about how to get women to the top, and consequently, the Levo League product is very research-based. They know that if a job description has gender-specific terms, such as "competitive," women are less likely to apply. And a woman won't apply to a job unless she has 100% of the qualifications listed, whereas a man will apply with only 65% of them. And women think about more than money when deciding whether to take a job. "They want to know whether they'll fit in, whether they'll be nurtured and if they can see a future there," says Pouchot. What Levo League Offers Unlike the Facebook and LinkedIn UIs, which provide lists of people you do know and a list of people you should know, Levo League’s welcome page presents you with something a bit more aspirational — a corner office. The UI is beautiful, and you can navigate to a career search, office hours, mentoring from successful women and other yet-to-be-launched features. Mentoring topics include workplace relationship advice, professional fashion guidance, how to ask for a raise and some of the "softer skills" around success that you typically have to learn as you go, or you consult your mom or sister. "When we were courting investors, we asked for thought partners, not just money," says Ghosn, adding that many of the investors are involved as mentors. And these women understood the necessity of something like Levo League immediately. "We didn't really have to explain the need for Levo — [investors] just wanted to know what we're doing to fix it, because the problem is clear." Some of those investors include Sandberg, Gilt Groupe Chairman Susan Lyne and tech entrepreneur Gina Bianchini, who’ve helped Levo League net more than $1 million in angel funding. "We're really hitting a pain point," says Pouchot. "But we're not angry, we're not complaining — we're talking about what we can do to succeed and help each other." In addition to the community-building aspect of Levo League, the site also has a company-facing recruiting platform. Ghosn and Pouchot learned that many startups hire friends of friends because they don't know where else to find talent, and they hope Levo will help to connect women with their future employers. Because Levo League exists to help women discover what it is they want to do and find the next step in their careers, it only makes sense that the companies should be able to recruit the talent that will help them achieve their visions within the Levo League platform (they pay a fee to do so). Levo League now has more than 100 companies on board, which fall into three buckets — non-profit and cultural organizations; startups and small businesses and corporations. Users can cross-compare potential employers — such as AOL, Pencils of Promise, McKinsey, Pfizer, Gilt Groupe and more — since Levo’s company profiles use the same metrics. If a user finds her "dream job," she can "hide" it so that no one can see it, except the recruiter at that company. In fact, when she searches for candidates, you'd be the first result — by moving you to the top of her list, Levo League essentially gives you the advantage with HR that's typically obtained via personal connections. Office Hours Ghosn and Pouchot place a heavy emphasis on mentorship — but there aren't enough Sheryl Sandbergs in the world to have coffee with everyone who asks. So, in addition to the peer-to-peer mentorship encouraged on Levo, you'll find one-to-many mentorship opportunities, in which young women have access to top-notch female executives. They came up with "office hours," inspired by the vibrant, open-door discussions that Ghosn and Pouchot experienced as undergrads. Each week, different women — such as New York Senator Kirstin Gillibrand, Banters.com founder Lauren Leto and Bianchini, to name a few — open theirs doors to questions from Levo women and expound on various career topics. The conversations are accessible later, as individual question-and-answer bundles, so the site is building an archive of career advice. Office hours not only let many women benefit from the insights of high-power women, but the fact that they're online means the mentorship opportunities are democratized. Just this week, a coder from the Philippines was able to ask Gina Bianchini her most pressing questions. “When would she ever have been able to do that [before Levo]?” says Ghosn. Phase TwoThe site is young, and the founders are focusing on user experience — they're only granting access to 10,000 women in first month. "We want to make those first 10,000 so happy that when we offer them invites, they'll tell everyone," says Pouchot. By the end of the summer, she and Ghosn hope to have one million users. Once they have a large user base, Ghosn and Pouchot want to enhance the user experience and make sure Levo League feels just as intimate as it does now. They'll offer more office hours, and they'll host offline events, panels and meetups so the women can network with one another in person. "We want to bring the best of what we're doing into the physical sphere," says Ghosn. And then, there's international growth. Ghosn, who's French-Brazilian and grew up in Japan, hopes to take Levo League global. "I think we're going to have massive opportunity, and I'm really excited to do that," she says. 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!
More About: career, job search series, Levo League, social networking, Startups, women For more Business coverage:
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| 5 Social Entrepreneurship Startups You Should Know Right Now Posted: 08 Apr 2012 08:21 PM PDT   In our new series, The World at Work, Mashable interviews the faces behind the startups and projects that are working to make a global impact. By harnessing the power of digital technology, these five companies have offered resources to citizens in need, helped to eliminate landfill junk and funded social entrepreneurs who will effect real change on a global scale. While the companies are diverse, they share a common thread — a passionate leader who’s devoted to improving lives. Here’s a roundup of featured programs from the last week, including exclusive video interviews. To read more and watch the videos, click through to the full story, and follow the series to learn about more breakthrough companies. 1. Aunt Bertha
Why It’s Working: There are thousands of non-profit organizations, government programs, charities and other services across the United States specifically working for people in need. But finding a program that fits a user’s particular situation and location (and the application process that follows) is not only difficult — it’s intimidating. That’s where Aunt Bertha comes in. Using information the team learns about various programs, Aunt Bertha matches people with public services available locally or federally, based on their specific needs. 2. Echoing Green
Why It’s Working: “Capital is always a problem,” says Echoing Green Finance Director John Walker, adding that “the first thing any entrepreneur thinks about is raising money.” That’s where Echoing Green comes in — it’s a seed-funding foundation that has disseminated $31 million to ambitious social entrepreneurs. Echoing Green was launched in 1987, and it was recast as a global non-profit by one of its alumni fellows in 2002. To date, Echoing Green has funded the ideas of more than 500 fellows. What sets these fellows apart from most grant-receiving entrepreneurs is that they were chosen not necessarily for their business plans, but for their personality and ambition — they were selected by Echoing Green because they are perceived as effective changemakers. Read the full story and see the video here. 3. Givmo
Why It’s Working: After college, software engineer Dustin Byrne hopped from job to job, moving about once per year for several years straight. Each time, he says, “I found I had a whole bunch of stuff I hadn’t even looked at or remembered I had since the last time I moved.” People don’t want to just throw their old things away. So Byrne created Givmo as a platform where people can come together to give (and take!) free stuff. 4. DailyFeats
Why It’s Working: By incorporating a positive rewards system and tailored programs that help people take small steps toward success, DailyFeats boosts confidence for users and motivates them to achieve their dreams. Users can either cash in their points for swag or donate to the non-profit of their choice. Read the full story and see the video here. 5. Reboot Stories
Why It’s Working: Reboot Stories is pushing the boundaries of traditional learning by incorporating technology and multimedia into classrooms that lack the resources otherwise. For Lance Weiler and Janine Saunders, creating an inspiring and engaging educational program that integrated digital learning became a major passion. Their first project, Robot Heart Stories, launched in October 2011 on a very minimal budget. Robot Heart Stories brought together two fifth grade classrooms — one in Montreal and the other in Los Angeles — to help power the journey of a small robot who crash-landed onto Earth. What do you think of the efforts of these startups and foundations? Let us know in the comments below. More About: features, mashable, World at Work
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| 7 Videos Tailor-Made to Fascinate Your Cat Posted: 08 Apr 2012 04:11 PM PDT   Does your cat show an interest in the images and sounds coming from your computer? Did you know you can take that a step further with videos tailor-made for feline viewing pleasure? YouTube user Meghan Koley has created an entire channel dedicated to videos for cats. We asked Koley what inspired her to curate the content. “I was inspired to create the channel based on my experience with cats — [they're] entertained by certain videos just as much as humans are,” Koley told Mashable. “There are millions of videos of cute cats doing cute things on YouTube, so I thought why not entertain the YouTube star itself (and the owner) at the same time?” Koley’s channel, “Videos For Your Cat”, contains footage of various “cat bait” creatures to which cats respond best, according to Koley. “Cats almost seem to be as fascinated watching other animals as we are, but birds are obviously what every cat has evolved to love,” says Koley. “They flutter and move unpredictably; it’s perfect cat bait. Second would have to be fish, likely for the same reason.” Koley’s own cat, Ruka, a rescue from The Humane Society, is a fan of bird videos. “I like to protect the birds, as well as my cat from roaming city streets, so the videos are win-win,” says Koley. “Cats are the happiest when they get mental and physical stimulation throughout the day, so it's as if he has the luxury of a good window to watch.” We have collected seven of Koley’s videos in the gallery below. Test them on your cat and let us know in the comments if your feline was stimulated by the footage. For extra kudos, link to photos and videos of your cat watching the clips! 1. Spotted Orange Mollies in a Fish Tank"Little orange mollies swim and dart around this bright blue fish tank. Your cat will love the gentle bubbling of a real fish tank to complement these tiny snack-sized live bearing fish." Click here to view this gallery. Thumbnail image courtesy of Paul Sapiano More About: cats, Entertainment, features, gallery, Video, YouTube For more Entertainment coverage:
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| Behind the Scenes at 9 Hot Tech Startups [PICS] Posted: 08 Apr 2012 03:45 PM PDT For the Startup Spaces Series, Mashable got to scope out the spaces of some of the hottest startups around. Unsurprisingly, the offices of these companies have just as much personality as the products themselves. Full of killer perks, like ping-pong tables, kegs of beer and endless snacks, startup founders know how to reward their hardworking (and often still small) team with some good old-fashioned relaxation. These tricked-out spaces also reflected much of their own website’s designs, including little visual homages to their logos and products in surprising and innovative ways. Here’s a roundup of the companies we toured, including in-depth photo galleries. To read more and check out the photos, click through to the full story. 1. DNA 11   DNA 11 had humble beginnings. In 2005, founders Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed started the business with $2,000 and an idea — using genetic science to create custom art. In 2009, the guys launched CanvasPop, a service that blows up your images — even low-res, smartphone shots — to full-on wall art. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 2. Yelp
Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 3. Vimeo
That’s the case with the video sharing service Vimeo. Founded in 2004 by Jake Lodwick and Zach Klen, Vimeo now boasts more than 65 million visitors a month and a dedicated community of independent filmmakers and artists. To us, what has always made Vimeo different from other video sharing sites — such as YouTube — is the focus on quality, quirkiness and community. On our tour of Vimeo’s offices in the IAC Building in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, we found that the community and quirky nature that is omnipresent on the site is also visible in the office itself. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 4. Foursquare
It’s no surprise that Foursquare is growing — the platform has 15 million users and more than 1.5 billion check-ins, and Foursquare is seeing more than 5 million check-ins each day. To help fuel this growth, Foursquare’s team recently surpassed 100 people, who are split between New York and San Francisco. The New York office is home to 85 staffers, and it’s littered with references to badges, Foursquare swag (Snuggies, anyone?) and plenty of treats in “Fat Denny’s” cafeteria. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 5. Pinterest
Considering all the addicting beauty and visual orgasmica on Pinterest, the company’s headquarters are in a surprisingly drab building. You’d think the up-and-coming social platform would want a giant sign that proudly proclaimed its name, given the company’s meteoric rise. Inside these humble digs, Pinterest staffers keep things fun with foosball breaks, Nerf darts and lots of Dr. Pepper. But don't expect them to stay in one space so long — given Pinterest's astounding growth, there's a good chance the team will be expanding into a bigger and more (p)interesting space in the near future. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 6. Tumblr
Tumblr has come a long way from its original office space five years ago. Though the company only moved four blocks from its first office on Park Avenue in October 2010, the team has exploded from two to more than 90 people. This exponential growth has supported the site’s expanding user base, which increased 900% — from 10 million users to 50 million users — in just the past year. In a Flatiron-area building, Tumblr occupies two floors, which rock completely different vibes. One is an airy, vibrant common area for meetings, lunch breaks and (most importantly) ping pong, and the other is a quiet, softly lit open floor-plan where all the work gets done. All of the meeting rooms have New York themed names — and yes, you will find a "Haters Gonna Hate" poster on the wall. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 7. Aviary
So why birds? The startup’s original product was a suite of web-based creative tools, and the tagline “creation on the fly” was too good to pass up. Each tool in the suite is named for a different bird, and the ornithology theme is present is the HQ, too. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 8. GetGlue
One of the most loved aspects of the entertainment check-in and recommendation service is the fact that users can get physical copies of the digital stickers they earn for checking into TV shows, movies, music albums or events. GetGlue’s office space near Union Square in New York City is adorned with super-sized versions of these stickers. The stickers adorn the walls, the elevator alcove and the office areas. For CEO and co-founder Alex Iskold, the stickers aren’t just a great way to decorate — they’re a constant reminder of the startup’s vision and purpose. Read the full story and check out the gallery here. 9. StumbleUpon
The tailored web-crawling platform currently has more than 20 million users performing more than 1.2 billion “Stumbles” per month. All that stumbling means the company needs a big team to keep things running smoothly. This growing team is based near Union Square in New York. Since StumbleUpon is all about uncovering great stuff from the Internet, all of the conference rooms in the building are named after great inventors — complete with tchotchkes related to the person's discoveries. The Edison room, for instance, contains baskets of light bulbs, while the Pasteur room includes a working microscope with slides. BONUS: A Peek Inside Mashable HQMashable Meetings Meetings at Mashable are rarely boring. Click here to view this gallery. What do you think of the offices at these startups? Let us know in the comments below. More About: Aviary, canvaspop, features, foursquare, getglue, mashable, pinterest, Startup Spaces Series, stumbleupon, tumblr, Vimeo, yelp For more Business coverage:
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| Google Glasses on Famous Faces [PICS] Posted: 08 Apr 2012 03:27 PM PDT Ever since Google announced Project Glass, people have wondered what place the augmented reality glasses could have in everyday life. Some were excited about the possibilites of Project Glass — while others poked fun at their seemingly impractical nature. Prince William and Kate Middleton   "Google Glasses, add Kate to the 'Royal Family' Google+ circle." Image courtesy of flickr/UP_repsome Click here to view this gallery. More About: Google, internet memes, project glass, trending
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| 7 Mobile Apps for Discovering and Creating Poetry Posted: 08 Apr 2012 03:02 PM PDT April is National Poetry Month, when thousands of publishers, booksellers, non-profits and schools celebrate poetry and its cultural influence through readings, festivals and workshops. National Poetry Month isn’t just for established poets, though. T. S. Eliot may have written that “April is the cruellest month,” but there’s no better time for an introduction to the poetry world. Check out the gallery for some awesome apps to help you discover poetry and, if you dare to be so bold, even create some of your own. 1. POETRY from The Poetry Foundation   This app was developed by the Poetry Foundation, the publisher of the much-lauded Poetry magazine. You can carry classic and contemporary poets with you on the go, and easily find poems that fit your mood with a swipe of your finger. Click here to view this gallery. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, FreezeFrameStudio. More About: apps, features, Literature, Mobile, Tech
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| Posted: 08 Apr 2012 02:21 PM PDT 1. Sony SmartWatch   How smart is this Sony SmartWatch? Well, if you're an iPhone user it's as dumb as a fencepost, but if you're using an Android smartphone, it interacts via Bluetooth and lets you check your Facebook and Twitter feeds, read texts and email messages, take pictures with your smartphone's camera and check your calendar. It's not half bad-looking either -- look for it by the end of this month for $149. [via DVICE] Click here to view this gallery. It was an exciting week for tech, especially for those of us who can’t wait for the future to get here. Get this: A flying car arrived at a big auto show, there was a breakthrough in solar cells, we caught a glimpse of the coolest electric car yet, and we found a smart watch that’s as bright as it is beautiful. Some of the developments seemed straight out of science fiction, while others will make life easier for us in the present day. Yes, it was a blockbuster week for tech, giving us fertile ground to narrow it all down to the Top 10 Tech This Week. Here’s last week’s Top 10 Tech. More About: cars, Gadgets, Tech, Top 10 Tech, trending
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| James Cameron Shows What Really Happened to the Titanic [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Apr 2012 02:08 PM PDT Using a new computer-generated animation, James Cameron and fellow researchers fine-tune their theory of how the Titanic looked as it sank into the freezing Atlantic on April 15,1912. The two-night television event entitled Titanic: The Final Word With James Cameron starts on April 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel. “It’s never been animated so precisely and so dramatically,” Cameron said in one of the clips on NatGeo‘s site about the making of the shows. The National Geographic website is promoting the programs with an interactive game called “Adventure on the Titanic.” Chose your character (one of the four first-class passengers on the ship), and be guided through scenarios that a first-class passenger of that era might have experienced on the great ship. Even though all of the characters are first-class passengers, depending on where your character ranks in terms of social standing within first class, as well as your character’s gender, he or she might be barred from certain events (no ladies in the smoking room, for instance) unless you use your “clout” points. On April 4, Titanic 3D was re-released in theaters. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 3D version made $4.4 million on opening night. People took to Twitter to rate the film or talk about their first time seeing the original. Cameron’s original Titanic film was released in 1997 and received numerous Academy Awards. National Geographic is marking 100 years since the Titanic sank starting with a line-up of shows on April 8. Will you watch this Titanic special event on April 8? Tell us in the comments. More About: james cameron, national geographic, titanic For more Entertainment coverage:
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| 200 Ryan Gosling-Themed Easter Eggs Hidden in New York City Posted: 08 Apr 2012 01:27 PM PDT   Meme machine Ryan Gosling (or someone pretending to be the heartthrob actor) has set up a Twitter account that encourages people to hunt for 200 Easter eggs hidden in New York City. Each egg includes a picture of Gosling and clever Easter-themed messages such as “Hop on over to my house already.” The slips of paper are signed, “Happy Easter from Ryan Gosling. Tweet your egg @GoslingEaster.” That Twitter handle has been tweeting clues to the colorful eggs’ whereabouts, interacting with followers and congratulating people who have found them. Digital strategist Leigh Ferreira found eggs after prodding @GoslingEaster for help (see tweets below). “It was a fun use of Twitter and @GoslingEaster was egging us on,” Ferreira told Mashable. Update: The creator of @GoslingEaster is advertising copywriter Jenna Livingston, who told Mashable she is not connected to Gosling in any way. “I did this project to follow up with another project I did earlier in the year that went viral — Starbucks Spelling,” Livingston says. “I had a blast doing that, and interacting with people, so I figured why not try something else and see if it can go viral, too.”
Ferreira was at brunch with friends when she decided to venture over to the nearest park, Sara D. Roosevelt Park. “There were two other eggs near the one we found. Two had notes, the other was just the plastic egg,” she says. “We read the note, took a pic and left it for others to find.”
The festive Twitter account was created on Saturday and has tweeted 242 times. One-hundred fifty accounts follow @GoslingEaster. “The reception has been great,” Livingston says. “People are really loving stumbling upon eggs, as well as hunting for them on their own. Who knew! I don’t know how many eggs have been found, the number keeps changing throughout the day.” New Yorkers, have you discovered any of the eggs? If so, share an image of it and the message in the comments below. BONUS: Hey Girl, Foursquare Ryan Gosling Memes Should Be on Your Radar"Hey Girl" MemeImage from 4sqday Click here to view this gallery. More About: Easter, Holidays, memes, Ryan Gosling, trending, Twitter, viral
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| The Ultimate Digital Easter Egg Hunt [VIDEO] Posted: 08 Apr 2012 12:47 PM PDT Mashable’s Easter egg hunt doesn’t involve colored eggs or chocolate. Instead, we’ve compiled some of the best Easter eggs from all around the web. Take a look and find some hidden digital treasures. Nyan Easter Bunny Take a moment out of your Easter weekend to say hello to Nyan Easter Bunny. Google Easter EggsYou probably use Google every day — but, did you know Google had all of these tricks up its sleeve? Gravity Enter "Google Gravity" in the search bar. Hit "I'm feeling lucky" (if you have Google Instant enabled, it's on the right hand side of the suggested searches). Then watch your world fall down. Click here to view this gallery. Konami Easter Eggs Spread Throughout the WebUp, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. If you were a video gamer in the late ’80s, there’s a very good chance you’ll have pressed that combination of buttons more than a few times.
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| Top 25 Most Social CIOs: Who’s the Most Active in Social Media? [CHART] Posted: 08 Apr 2012 12:13 PM PDT If you thought corporate titans spent all their time ensconced in ivory towers — too important to engage in social media — think again. Here’s a chart based on research that ranks the top 25 most social-media-active chief information officers (CIOs) of the Fortune 250. These social scores, developed by Social Strategist and Forbes columnist Mark Fidelman for cross-platform enterprise software developer harmon.ie, list which CIOs are the most socially active by examining and compiling activity on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ accounts, as well as counting mentions on social networks, corporate and individual blogs, Alexa scores, and simply Googling their information. By the way, the two CIOs who got a “special mention” aren’t working for a company in the Fortune 250. Why should we care who the most social CIOs are? Perhaps those C-Suite denizens who are more active in social media instill more trust in their customers. What do you think? Are you more likely to trust a company whose CIO extends a personal relationship through social media?  
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| Posted: 08 Apr 2012 11:29 AM PDT   A bill introduced to the House of Representatives late last year could become the centerpiece of the next SOPA-style struggle between the tech community and Washington, D.C. The bill already has over 100 co-sponsors and the backing of some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent companies, including Microsoft and Facebook — support which SOPA never enjoyed. It’s called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (or CISPA, for short). CISPA would alter the existing National Security Act of 1947 to allow private businesses and the government to share information about cyberthreats — including “efforts to degrade, disrupt or destroy” vital networks or “threat or misappropriation” of information owned by the government or private businesses, such as intellectual property. To ensure that business-government information sharing happens on a two-way basis, CISPA requires the Director of National Intelligence to set up ways for the intelligence community to pass along threat information to private companies and make sure they actually go ahead and do that. To prevent sensitive information from being shared willy-nilly, CISPA requires that any recipient of such threat reports have a security clearance and a valid need for the information. Finally, CISPA allows third-party cybersecurity firms (which provide cyber protection to the government and private businesses) to “use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information in order to protect the rights and property” of their clients. They’re also allowed to share that information with any other business or government department, provided their client gives them permission to do so. CISPA prevents these private firms from using shared cybersecurity information from using it to gain an advantage, and if they share information with the federal government, they don’t have to disclose it to the public. Meaning, if Company X is hacked, they can tell the government about it without alerting employees, shareholders or the public at large. As long as a cybersecurity firm acts in “good faith” according to these stipulations, it’s immune to civil or criminal lawsuits regarding information sharing. Rep. Mike Rodgers (R-Mich.), who introduced the bill along with Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), has framed CISPA as a bill to protect American intellectual property from state-sponsored digital theft of intellectual property. "Every day U.S. businesses are targeted by nation-state actors like China for cyber exploitation and theft," said Rodgers in a statement. "This consistent and extensive cyber looting results in huge losses of valuable intellectual property, sensitive information, and American jobs. The broad base of support for this bill shows that Congress recognizes the urgent need to help our private sector better defend itself from these insidious attacks," he said. Facebook called CISPA a “thoughtful, bipartisan” bill in a letter of support written in February. “Effective security requires private and public sector cooperation, and successful cooperation necessitates information sharing,” wrote Joel Kaplan, vice president of U.S. Public Policy at Facebook. “Your legislation removes burdensome rules that currently can inhibit protection of the cyber ecosystem, and helps provide a more established structure for sharing within the cyber community while still respecting the privacy rights and exceptions of our users.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group, feels differently. According to the EFF, the language in CISPA is worded so broadly that it could be interpreted to allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and companies such as Google and Facebook to intercept your messages and transmit them to the government. They also warn that CISPA could be used as a blunt instrument against copyright infringement, similar to concerns about SOPA. Finally, they’d rather not see the Director of National Intelligence in charge of information sharing — they feel a civilian position would provide for more transparency and accountability. “The idea is to facilitate detection of and defense against a serious cyber threat, but the definitions in the bill go well beyond that,” said the EFF in a blog post. “The language is so broad it could be used as a blunt instrument to attack websites like The Pirate Bay or WikiLeaks.” You can read the full text of CISPA for yourself at the Library of Congress. Do you think CISPA is a welcome tool to ward off cyberattacks, or are you concerned it will be used to clamp down on Internet freedom? Sound off in the comments below. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PashaIgnatov
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| What to Do When A Potential Employer Asks for Your Facebook Password Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:30 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. Could you imagine a job interview during which your interviewer asks you for your Facebook password? Well folks, it’s happening and you should know what to do when it happens to you. The reason why companies are doing this is to get better insight into who you really are. They will strategically ask you to look at Facebook with them — right there, on the spot. You would think there would be some type of HR regulation in place to prohibit this type of conduct during an interview, but currently there is not — although the state of Maryland is starting to take action in a case regarding the Facebook profiles of student athletes. With that in mind, what about job applicants in all the other states? Maryland is the first to do anything about this (and it’s currently concerned with student protections), so how long will it take for the job applicant process to be evaluated? Will asking for social networking account passwords be prohibited? The answer is, "There is no answer." But you do not have to give the information as a condition of employment. Let's go over some things you can do to protect yourself on a job interview. Don’t forget: You have the right to a personal life and your privacy! 1. Put it EloquentlyIf you are asked for your password, here are some things you can say, in an eloquent and respectful manner, to show you will stand your ground:
If you don't like the prospective employer’s answer to the last question (or any of the statements above), you can decide if you would not like to move forward with the interview. It is your profile and your privacy, and you have the right to protect it. So, take control and make it your decision. 2. Evaluate the Situation You may feel obligated to provide your password, but is it really worth it to you to have a job where you will be watched all the time? The answer is probably "no." It would be extremely stressful to feel like your personal life has the potential to be picked apart by your employers at any time. It will already be enough that they will monitor you while at work in other ways. 3. Take Steps to Protect Your Personal LifeIf you plan carefully and strategically, you can separate business and pleasure. Set up your social media profiles to be only obtainable or known by your friends and family. Here are some things you can do: Once you have a job, you should be careful not to jeopardize it by putting ill-willed comments up for all to see. What you say could get you fired if it sheds a bad light on your company. You represent your company, so keep your personal social networking about you and not about work. Now you know it is okay to take a stand and say "no" when asked for your social networking passwords. It is ultimately up to you to decide what you are comfortable with. What would you do if your interviewer asked for your password? Let us know in the comments. 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, SchulteProductions, izusek More About: facebook privacy, features, job search series, mashable, password management, trending
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| The Top 10 Chocolate Ads on YouTube Posted: 08 Apr 2012 09:47 AM PDT 1. M&M "Sexy and I Know It" Super Bowl Commercial 2012This M&Ms commercial has been a hit for a while now. In the ad, Red M&M mistakes no-nonsense, female Brown M&M for being nude. He proceeds to strip off his own candy shell and boogies down to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It." Click here to view this gallery. Around the world, chocolate is a symbol of romance. On the other hand, the sweet, sugary mess can be pretty funny, too. The top 10 chocolate ads on YouTube will either melt your heart or tickle your funny bone. Take a look through our gallery, courtesy of data from our friends at Unruly Media. Which ad is your favorite? For that matter, which chocolate is your favorite? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alejandrophotography More About: Advertising, Easter, Food, trending, Video, YouTube
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| Web Reacts to Death of ’60 Minutes’ Anchor Mike Wallace Posted: 08 Apr 2012 08:48 AM PDT   Famed 60 Minutes broadcaster Mike Wallace died Saturday night at age 93, CBS News announced Sunday, and fans and fellow journalists quickly took to social networks to express their condolences. Wallace was surrounded by his family at a Connecticut care facility when he died. Wallace — one of 60 Minutes‘s original correspondents when the show debuted in 1968 — was known for his hard-nosed interviews with world leaders and anyone making headlines. He retired from his full-time 60 Minutes position in 2006 and last appeared on the broadcast in 2008. Many TV personalities paid their respects via Twitter on Sunday morning:
CBS will dedicate its April 15 episode of 60 Minutes to a special on Wallace. “Without him and his iconic style, there probably wouldn't be a 60 Minutes,” said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBSNews and executive producer of 60 Minutes, in a statement. “There simply hasn't been another broadcast journalist with that much talent. It almost didn't matter what stories he was covering, you just wanted to hear what he would ask next. Around CBS he was the same infectious, funny and ferocious person as he was on TV. We loved him and we will miss him very much.” CBS described Wallace’s 60 Minutes stint in a statement:
Before 60 Minutes, Wallace appeared on several radio and TV programs as an announcer, reporter, actor and host. Wallace once said he wanted his epitaph to read, “Tough But Fair,” according to The New York Times. Most recently, Wallace had won his 21st Emmy for his 2006 interview of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For a glimpse at Wallace’s work, watch these interviews below. 12 /14/86: OprahIn 1986, Oprah Winfrey had recently launched her talk show, but, as she told Mike Wallace, she always believed she would be a success. Click here to view this gallery. Videos compiled by Mashable’s Jeremy Cabalona More About: 60 minutes, cnn, death, journalism, News, trending
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| 10 Adorable Bunny-Themed Gadget Cases Posted: 08 Apr 2012 08:10 AM PDT 1. RABBIT by Vaughn Shim   Simplifying a bunny down to an uncomplicated illustration works for us. Cost: $35 Click here to view this gallery. Happy Easter! Here at Mashable we’re celebrating the holiday with bunnies! We have scoured the web for the very best in rabbit-themed gadget cases. We have cute bunnies, cartoon rabbits, arty hares and more in our fun collection of cases for your favorite mobile devices. Our choices include options for the iPhone, iPad, Kindle and even MacBook. Take a look through our sweet selection in the gallery above. Let us know in the comments below which ones you like. More About: accessories, apple, cases, Easter, features, Holiday, ipad, iphone, Kindle
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