Most people who "like" brands on Facebook do so because they actually like them, not because they want to get free or discounted stuff, according to a new survey.

That finding may sound obvious, but for marketers the takeaway may be that your money is better spent on branding ads on Facebook than call-to-action direct-response ads that may actually produce more likes and higher click-through rates. Syncapse, the firm that pegged the average value of a Facebook fan at $174 earlier this year, worked with Hotspex to interview 2,080 consumers in the first quarter about their reasons for becoming Facebook fans. While "to support the brand I like" was the No. 1 reason for fanning, there were other reasons: Read more...

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The NBA Draft is known for, among other things, its participants' oftentimes audacious choices of attire. Take, for example, Jalen Rose's legendary red pinstripe number from 1994. Or Drew Gooden's magically buttonless jacket from 2002. And who could forget Joakim Noah's awkward bow tie from 2007?

This year, potential number one overall pick Nerlens Noel wants to make sure he looks good for Thursday night's draft, so he's turning to some trusted fashion advisors: his fans

Noel, a center out of Kentucky, has three candidates up for election over on NBA.com. Fans are encouraged to vote there, then watch the draft on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday to see what he ends up sporting. It's a fun promotion and adds a new twist to the draft's always-entertaining fashion sidebar Read more...

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Miami Heat fans have already been roasted on social media once during their team's second consecutive NBA title run, as well as victimized by an excellent videobomb on national TV

But the NFL's Baltimore Ravens piled on some more hate on Tuesday with a troll-tastic tweet making fun of Heat supporters

The Ravens' Twitter post contrasted fan turnout for their own Super Bowl victory parade in February with the Heat's celebratory championship parade held earlier this week:

#BALTIMORE sure knows how to throw a party!!! #WorldChamps #Ravens pic.twitter.com/iEGWseLkBD

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 25, 2013 Read more...

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You can do anything with emojis. Revisit your favorite TV shows or condense great works of literature. Like hashtags and GIFs, emoji is a language unto itself

But we've noticed this language is lacking some key phrases and ideas. The emoji library is vast, but it still has a way to go. There's no emoji for hot dogs yet? Get on it!

You know what? We're tired of waitingMashable decided to create emojis to fill the gaps. After all, you'd be surprised how often we bring up robots in daily conversation

What new emojis would you want to see? Let us know in the comments Read more...

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Musicians can never truly predict when the creative juices will flow — so it's best to always be ready for the random lyrics, riffs or beats that might spring to mind.

Get ready to ditch the notepads and voice memos and make room for Hum, the iPhone app for songwriters that is promising to keep its users "in time, in tune and in sync" — if it gets funding.

Hum, which came to Kickstarter at the beginning of the week, saves and organizes your creations, sorting them by key, tuning and moodAaron Shekey, the designer behind Hum, notes that while many musicians record and save ideas with the iPhone's Voice Memos tool, songwriters often lose track of their ideas, with no way to properly log them. Similarly, per Shekey, lyrics exist predominantly on the iPhone's Notes tool. Read more...

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Ridley Scott, the man behind "Blade Runner," "Gladiator" and, most recently, "Prometheus," has a new movie in the works, and it's got all the right ingredients to become a hit

The star studded cast of 'The Counselor' includes Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz

The story, very little of which is revealed in the trailer, is a classic one: a lawyer gets involved in drug trafficking; things start going bad

Still, with Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "No Country for Old Men" in the writer's seat, and Ridley Scott at the helm, "The Counselor" seems to be the must-see movie of the year Read more...

More about Trailer, Cameron Diaz, Ridley Scott, Entertainment, and Film

With the impending demise of Google Reader, dozens of companies are hoping to fill the void of the near-ubiquitous RSS reader and syncing service. One of the most promising alternatives — at least for power users — is the new Digg Reader, which is opening up in beta to all users on June 26.

I've spent a few hours using Digg Reader beta on the web and on iOS and I'm extremely impressed with what the Digg team at Betaworks has managed to build in just three months. After speaking with Digg's general manager Jake Levine, it's clear that Digg Reader has the potential to play a big role in the way Betaworks as a company reshapes the future of online news. Read more...

More about Digg, Rss, Google Reader, Tech, and Apps Software

Forget working out — dragging yourself to the gym after a long day at work is a feat in itself

One New York-based company seeks to eliminate this time-consuming commute by developing an at-home exercise bike that maintains the interactivity of a group setting through technology.

The Peloton Bike's main feature is its 21.5-inch full HD touchscreen display, which when connected to Wi-Fi, provides "live and on-demand" indoor cycling classes led by instructors. It also includes a front-facing camera and microphone, so users can interact with fellow cyclists, as well as a Bluetooth and ANT+ radio that can connect to heart-rate monitors and wireless headphones or speakers. Read more...

More about Gadgets, Lifestyle, and Health Fitness

From emergencies and blackouts to sleepovers and camping, flashlights are useful in a variety of scenarios. Now, smartphone-charger can be added to that list. It's an unexpected benefit of ChargeLight, a rechargeable, dockable and portable LED flashlight that doubles as a battery pack for any USB device

The device's creators claim that it charges "just about anything," including smartphones, tablets, cameras and music players.

"We know how easy it is to forget to charge your devices, so we made a beautiful and convenient dock that acts as one central hub to ensure you stay charged at all times," they say on ChargeLight's Kickstarter page. Read more...

More about Smartphone, Flashlight, Battery Charger, Tech, and Gadgets

There are not many animal games that I'd play the hell out of, but this is one of them.

The Pet Collective created Cat Fighter: The Feline Warrior, a parody of the legendary video game series Street Fighter. The creators have honored the original game by duplicating the layout and character screen. However, instead of fighters Blanka, Ken and Ryu, you're greeted with Ren, Kyu and Grub Grub. There's even a cat playpen inserted behind the map while you wait to start the game.

While the gameplay parallels the original, there are a few aesthetic differences. The feline fighters battle it out on a coffee table equipped with coffee mugs and books for added difficulty. In the background, two cats are lounging on a couch watching the battle from the front row. And if you watch long enough, you'll get to see an explosion and the kitties duke it out over an oversized yarn ball. Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Gaming, Cats, Watercooler, and Videos

The Launchpad is a series that introduces Mashable readers to compelling startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Dash

One-Liner Pitch: Dash automatically tracks data about your driving habits and your car's wear and tear to keep you safe, and save you money.

Why It's Taking Off: The device is similar to wearable technology like Fitbit, but for the automotive industry.

There's no shortage of wearable technology such as Fitbit and the Nike Fuel Band to track your activity throughout the day. Now, one startup aims to provide something similar to track your car's activity. Read more...

More about Startups, Cars, Business, Gadgets, and The Launchpad

Summer means it's sticky hot. So hot you might be tempted to dissolve into a pool of sweat without doing a thing to help yourself. Fight the urge and grab some ice, because only you can prevent death by melting.

If your brain feels too sizzling to think of cool off solutions, follow the example of these industrious dogs. Rather than complain about the face-dissolving humidity, Fido creates hot weather remedies.

Just don't run naked through the park.

1. Find a you-sized bucket, fill it with ice, then fill it with you

Image courtesy of Reddit, Synaxis Read more...

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The mechanical magic and special effects firepower of the Transformers saga are about to get a whole lot prettier, as Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced on Tuesday that a Pagani Huayra will be joining the fourth installment's roster

"Considered a masterpiece of design and engineering," reads the caption on Bay's site, "this fierce, 2013 blood red Pagani Huayra, is named after an ancient Andean God of Wind."

The @OfficialPagani #huayra The Ancient Andean God of Wind#transformers4 #tf4 #michaelbay http://t.co/hKDHcje7lW pic.twitter.com/iwpFJMuAIM

— Michael Bay Dot Com (@S4TE) June 25, 2013 Read more...

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CANNES, FRANCE — Microsoft is one of the biggest advertising spenders in the world, but the company isn't just an advertiser. It's also a media firm and an enormous one at that.

The software giant attempted to woo advertisers gathered at the Cannes Lions advertising festival with a large installation on the beach that displayed Windows 8's ability to sync across PCs and tablets. In the video above Stephen Kim, VP of global agencies at Microsoft, explains how the company can reach consumers at work and in their living rooms and also what Microsoft thinks of native advertising Read more...

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For many of us, it's the little things that make our day a whole lot better. Chocolate, perhaps. Perfect weather. A long nap. Some might be guilty pleasures, but who doesn’t love to indulge in things that make them feel good? 

For the Mashable Photo Challenge this week, we asked you to submit your favorite indulgent photos. Submissions ranged from soft-serve cones and crepe cakes to sunsets and beach trips. Our guest curator, Liz Eswein, chose the ones she thought were the most enticing.

SEE ALSO: Around the World in 80 Instagrams

You can check out other great submissions, here.

If your photo wasn't selected this time around, check back for the next photo-challenge theme announcement on Thursday. We look forward to seeing your work! Read more...

More about Community, Photos, Photography, Social Media, and Mashable Photo Challenge Guest Series

The peculiar "We Can’t Stop" music video from Miley Cyrus has officially broken the record for most views on VEVO in 24 hours

The former Disney star's newest song bagged 10.7 million views in the daylong period following its June 19 premiere, beating out Justin Bieber's "Beauty and the Beat," which had logged 10.6 million views.

IT'S OFFICIAL! @MileyCyrus has broken the @VEVO 24hr record w/ #WeCantStop! RT using #MileyVEVO to congratulate her! http://t.co/xz2tOkSToX

— VEVO (@VEVO) June 25, 2013

Riding high on the record's success, Cyrus is prepping to appear tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live for an exclusive late-night appearance, during which she'll talk about her new music and then give a performance in the center of Kimmel's outdoor Sony stage in Hollywood, Calif. (This will be the star's first live performance of the new single, which is the first off her forthcoming, untitled RCA Records debut album.) Read more...

More about Music, Entertainment, Miley Cyrus, Vevo, and Film

Millions of New Yorkers have been subject to a New York Police Department stop-and-frisk — and one Twitter account is telling their story, 140 characters at a time.

The account, @StopAndFrisk, was created last month by New York-based developer Simon Lawrence and journalist Michele Lent Hirsch to put a social spotlight on the controversial NYPD practice. Stop-and-frisk allows police to stop somebody they believe has committed, is in the process of committing, or is about to commit a crime. Police can search the stopped person if they have grounds to believe they are in danger, sometimes leading to arrests on drug charges when illegal substances are found on stopped persons. Read more...

More about New York City, Nypd, Us World, and Us

Pascale Honore's mobility was mostly confined to a wheelchair after a car accident left her unable to use her legs.

But the 50-year-old mother from Australia has found a unique way of catching waves — by duct-taping herself to her son's friend, surfer Tyron Swan

“Both my sons surf, so I always have gone along to watch and I’ve always loved the water," she said in a video posted to Vimeo. "I was always talking about how good it would be to go surfing and one day, a friend of my son said ‘You know what? I think we could tape you onto my back and take you out there.’”

Now that they've conquered the waves, what's up next? The pair has already gone diving with great white sharks, and hopes to go touring and camping on the coast of Australia Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Videos, Inspirational, Watercooler, and Surfing

In a new effort to expand its transparency report, Google has started publishing data on websites that host malware and phishing scams on Tuesday.

"Two of the biggest threats online are malicious software (known as malware) that can take control of your computer, and phishing scams that try to trick you into sharing passwords or other private information," wrote Google's software engineer Lucas Ballard in an official blog post announcing the new data.

The data comes from Google's Safe Browsing program, which the company uses to find and flag malicious sites across the Internet. This is the program that makes Chrome display a big malware warning on a red background when you stumble upon a malicious website. As a result of a program, Google is flagging around 10,000 sites a day. Read more...

More about Google, Malware, Phishing, Cybersecurity, and Transparency Report

Foursquare is built around connecting with your friends and, starting Tuesday, you’ll be able to interact even more closely with them when you check in, by checking them in as well.

To check in a friend, simply tap the “I’m with…” button while you’re checking yourself in and add your friend's name. She will then receive a push notification asking her permission to let you check her in

If your friend approves, then you’ll be able to check her in on future adventures together without her permission. If she declines, then she will just be mentioned in your check-in as normal. You’ll always receive a notification when your friend checks you in, and you can delete check-ins that you’d prefer stayed private. Read more...

More about Iphone, Android, App, Foursquare, and Tech

Twelve years after Will Smith's Captain Steven Hiller hit the big screen with his guns (and one-liners) blazing in Independence Day, the movie remains a summer favorite

The announcement of a 2015 sequel inspired Screen Junkies, the home of Honest Trailers, to take a serious look at the blockbuster. The guys behind their YouTube channel compiled all the transgressions into a painfully honest trailer.

One of the film's biggest offenses? Screen Junkies makes the case Independence Day steals the plot from just about every big apocalyptic movie ever made. They also note that the film recycles the Jurassic Park version of Jeff Goldblum — and that's something we just can't forgive Read more...

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For years, traditional AM/FM radio was the only form of media built into cars, but advanced alternatives such as Siruis XM, Pandora and other radio services have been added to the in-car repertoire. With more choices now on the market, drivers and automakers are still trying to figure out which form of radio is best for the dashboard.

During a panel on Tuesday at New York Consumer Electronics Week, part of the Connected Car Conference, industry executives agreed the future of radio is embeddable apps. Such apps bring more content directly to the car for more entertainment options while keeping drivers' eyes away from their smartphones. Although this could take a few years to gain traction, data plan carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon have already expressed interest Read more...

More about Mobile, Pandora, Cars, Bmw, and Tech

Yammer, the social networking tool for businesses owned by Microsoft, announced a partnership on Tuesday with online influence measurement tool Klout that will integrate Klout scores onto Yammer profiles.

The partnership means Yammer users can publish public Klout scores onto their Yammer profiles. Yammer wrote in a blog post that this will showcase employees' influence in the office social sphere. Companies can also set up employees' profiles so they receive Yammer-specific Klout scores, which are determined by engagement with the company's Yammer network.

More about Microsoft, Partnership, Yammer, Klout, and Infographic

This year's NHL Stanley Cup Final, which came to a close when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins on Monday night, was an all-time classic, with comebacks, overtimes and heroic efforts galore

Of course, the series' best moment could have been Game 1, which went to triple overtime. Or it could have been Game 4, which featured 11 goals in total. Or perhaps it could have been the very end of Game 6, when the Hawks scored two goals in 17 seconds, ending the series and stunning us all

But maybe — just maybe — the series' best moment came when an angry Boston fan inadvertently photobombed NHL.com in epic fashion after Game 6 Read more...

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We know Pinterest has brought out your crafty side. And with summer officially commenced, we think it’s high-time you channel your inner Tim “The Toolman” Taylor and whip out your hammer, nails and screwdrivers to build something cool. Really cool.

Mashable and The Home Depot are teaming up to issue a "call to hacktion.” Because we know you can make a meat smoker out of a terracotta flower pot. Or maybe you’re more of a lightsaber kind of person? Homemade iPod speaker dock? Smartphone microscope? Perhaps you’re more lo-fi and just want to make a stylish shelf out of plumbers piping and a wood board? Read more...

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Of all the cutest animals that are illegal to own as pets, pandas certainly top the list. That's a fact. Seriously, don't you wish you could start and end each day with a panda hug?

Pandas are more than just cute faces though. You might not believe it, but humans have more in common with these cute creatures than you might think. In fact, it's possible that you and these fuzzy animals share some of the same hobbies

Check out some of the ways pandas are just like us, and see where your interests overlap.

1. They sleep in cribs as babies.

Image courtesy of Reddit, likepeterose Read more...

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It looks like we're going to be hearing more this summer about how Apple's products are designed in California

9to5Mac spotted the two-page print ad above in the Toronto Star. The ad features a paean to Apple's famously exacting team of engineers and designers. "We don't believe in coincidence. Or dumb luck," it reads. "There are a thousand 'no's' for every 'yes.'"

Apple rolled out the new campaign shortly after its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. Like other recent Apple ads, the new spot focuses less on particular features of the company's products and more on the way these products are used in everyday life. Read more...

More about Advertising, Apple, Business, and Marketing

Today at 3 p.m. ET, Mashable is moderating a Google+ Hangout with best-selling authors Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Greg Iles, Sam Barry and Ridley Pearson, as well as Lisa Rutherford and Jen Lou from digital publisher Coliloquy

Together, we'll discuss the future of e-books, the changing role of printed books in today's digital world and a new interactive e-book called Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All. The story reveals the tale of a garage band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, which consists of the aforementioned authors and other popular writers. It's told through a collection of essays, stories, musings, group email exchanges, photographs, candid conversations, audio clips, video clips and interactive quizzes Read more...

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Mustard brand Grey Poupon may not be the first brand you would connect to gay rights, but the Kraft Foods condiment has taken to Facebook to announce it's all in — with predictable consequences.

The image above, a play on the classic "Pardon Me" ad from the 1980s, has gotten more than 11,000 Likes since it was posted on Monday, but among the 800 or so comments are some disenfranchised former fans. "I will NEVER buy any more of your products...EVER..." reads one from Don Mull, while Hayes Timothy Murphy adds, "Love you sinners, hate your sin! Ba bye GP!"

Read more...

More about Marketing, Lgbt, Business, and Grey Poupon

Marissa Mayer attempted Tuesday to walk investors through Yahoo's new products and overall business strategy in her first shareholder meeting as CEO of the company, but one investor appeared less interested in what she said than how she looked.

"I have 2,000 shares. I'm Greek and I'm a dirty old man, and you look attractive," the investor said to Mayer during a Q&A session at the shareholders meeting. He then proceeded to ask a question about Yahoo's dividends.

Mayer chose to ignore the man's flirtatious statement and another Yahoo executive proceeded to respond to the question about dividends. Read more...

More about Yahoo, Stocks, Marissa Mayer, and Business