Excitement can be hard to convey in an e-mail. It's tough to capture just how wildly your arms are flailing or the exact non-word sounds escaping from your mouth in your state of extreme happiness

Luckily, there's a GIF for that. GIFs with jumping, dancing, screaming and anything else you might be doing in the wake of your good news. Once you've settled on a GIF, you only need to decide the ferocity of your excitement

You don't want to convey a Beyonce tickets level of excitement when you find out there's a Pretty Little Liars marathon on. That would just be embarrassing. Read more...

More about Lists, Gif, and Watercooler

We've all been there. With each drop or splash, we cross our fingers and hope that our smartphones remain functional after everything we put them through.

Since damage without insurance often comes with a hefty price tag, insuring your phone is a smart investment.

Your mobile provider may have insurance plans of its own, but here are some third-party alternatives, some of which cover your phone after the original purchase date and may prove cheaper in the long run.

1SquareTrade

SquareTrade offers a wide variety of protection plans for all types of devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, cameras and even TVs. For smartphones, the plan protects against drops, spills, mechanical failures, display failures, broken ports and other malfunctions. SquareTrade will also insure your older phones, and you can even ship your device to local facilities for free to be fixed Read more...

More about Iphone, Smartphone, Features, Insurance, and Gadgets

For many animals with physical obstacles to overcome, the chances of survival are low. But for a lucky few, there are ways to tackle physical impairments that can make a huge, positive change in their lives

These inspiring animals will break your heart with the challenges they've faced, then inspire you with their persistence in the face of it all

Check out these eight stories of animals choosing not to give up, and the people who supported them along the way.

1. Lily, the Rabbit on Wheels

This tiny bunny became a bit of an Internet star after North Texas Rabbit Sanctuary posted a video of her rolling around in her new wheelchair Read more...

More about Videos, Animals, Cute Animals, Watercooler, and Inspiring

Fans of legendary film director David Lynch haven't been treated to many movies of his in the last decade, but Lynch has been active as a musician, releasing one album — "Crazy Clown Time" — in 2011, followed by an upcoming LP called "The Big Dream."

Though the new album is set for a July 15 release in Europe (July 16 in the U.S.), you can now listen to it in its entirety on Pitchfork

The music is accompanied by sparse, mostly black and white visuals, reminiscent of David Lynch's early work and short films.

Lynch also recently released a video for "I'm Waiting Here" (above), a collaboration with Lykke Li which will be included on the new album as a bonus track Read more...

More about David Lynch, Entertainment, and Music

Facebook privacy settings are complex and, to make things more difficult, they change on a regular basis.

We explored how to lock down your Facebook account's privacy settings, for both your public profile and under the hood. Follow this simple step-by-step process to make sure you're not sharing anything outside your comfort zone

Taking some time to lock down your Facebook privacy settings is a good idea. When Facebook makes future changes, it will be easier to keep on top of what's new. Take a look below for our privacy walkthrough Read more...

More about Facebook, How To, Social Media, Features, and Privacy

Don't let anyone tell you that that getting older means you need to be confined to the sofa, watching infomercials and snacking on prunes all day.

These senior citizens are proof that age ain't nothing but a number. In fact, these grandmas and grandpas may even be more active than you. Do you play hockey or do insane yoga headstands? Well, they do.

SEE ALSO: 10 Grandpas With Cooler Moves Than You

So take inspiration from these awesome grandparents. They are still completely rocking it, even if they qualify for a senior citizen discount.

1. Hockey-Playing Grandpa.

Ben Shaw is a 73-year-old grandfather who spends his retired life participating in all his favorite pastimes, including hockey. He says, "We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing." How's that for your inspiring quote of the day? Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Videos, Humor, Grandparents, and Watercooler

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

What do Robert Scoble, Umair Haque and Nate Silver have in common? They’re all considered to be at the peak of respect and innovation in their respective industries — part of a pantheon of so-called “Thought Leaders.”

The term thought leader is the highest of compliments, and arguably the hardest moniker to achieve. It’s not enough to be good at what you do; a thought leader is meant to be the greatest form of praise, geared towards someone who is on the absolute cutting edge of their industry or making big enough moves to warrant the distinction. Read more...

More about Marketing, Features, Business, Thought Leadership, and Open Forum

Spider webs attract prey with the help of electric attraction, according to new research.

A recent study published in Scientific Reports an online science journal, revealed that webs of the common garden spider — made from silk thread — are attracted to electrostatically charged objects. Honeybees and fruit flies, for example, generate an electric charge when they flap their wings, according to LiveScience.

"Video sequences of positively charged insects and water droplets falling towards a grounded orb web reveal rapid and substantial web attraction," authors Victor Manuel Ortega Jimenez and Robert Dudley wrote. "Radial and particularly spiral silk threads are quickly attracted to the electrified bodies." Read more...

More about Web, Study, Electricity, Spiders, and Watercooler

Fortune has released its annual Global 500 list, ranking the world's largest corporations by revenue

The top of the list is dominated by oil companies, but the largest IT company is currently Samsung Electronics, in 14th place with $178.6 billion in revenueApple lags 5 places, sitting in 19th place with $156.5 billion in revenue

Looking at profits, however, Apple fares much better, with $41.7 billion, compared to Samsung's "meager" $20.6 billion

In fact, Apple has the second largest profits in the top 100, lagging only behind Exxon Mobil (which is in 3rd place with $449.9 billion in revenue and $44.9 billion in profis) and eclipsing the leader on the list, Royal Dutch Shell which has $481.7 billion in revenue and $26.6 billion in profits Read more...

More about Apple, Samsung, and Fortune

Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android, has surpassed Gingerbread as the dominant operating system for the first time.

According to the Android Developers' Dashboards section, 37.9% of users are running Android version 4.1 and 4.2 on their smartphones, while Gingerbread (2.3) slips into second place with 34.1%. Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) takes third place with 23.3%

As for Android's less popular versions, Honeycomb (3.2) clocks in at 0.1%, while Eclair (2.1) and Froyo (2.2) have 1.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Donut (1.6), the OS' earliest version, still maintains 0.1% distribution. Read more...

More about Platform, Android, Google Android, Gingerbread, and Tech

If you asked Google a few years ago, “What makes things go viral?” you would get a simple answer: It’s luck. No one can predict what will go viral. You might as well buy a lottery ticket.

And that’s a great theory — except for the fact that it’s completely wrong.

There’s a science behind why people share some things rather than others. We’ve analyzed thousands of pieces of online content and tens of thousands of products and brands in an attempt to understand why some things make the most-emailed list

Compelling content hinges on one key detail: its sharability. It's not enough to have a Facebook page or tweet every once in a while. Facebook and Twitter are technologies, not strategies in and of themselves. You have to understand why people share some things rather than others in order to use social media to your advantage. Read more...

More about Social Media Marketing, Viral Marketing, Viral Content, Virality, and Marketing Campaigns

What if air pollution could be converted into something useful, like biofuel?

That’s the idea behind a new concept by Royal College of Art student Chang-Yeob Lee. Lee wants to transform London’s BT Tower — one of the city’s tallest buildings — into a structure capable of capturing air pollution in the area and then transforming it into usable biofuel

"The project is about a new infrastructure gathering resources from pollutants in the city atmosphere, which could be another valuable commodity in the age of depleting resources," Lee told architecture and design magazine Dezeen. Read more...

More about Biofuel, Pollution, and Tech

For many of us hardcore Internet users, the meaning of life boils down to two things and two things only: cats and bacon

When we want aww-inducing cuteness, we hustle over to YouTube for some silly cat videos. And bacon makes for irresistible link-bait, indeed — that is, when it's not causing mass hysteria on Twitter

But just how obsessed are we? Well, according to Google, people search the word "cats" online more than 30 million times per month. "Funny cats," meanwhile, gets more than 360,000 monthly searches. "Bacon" is searched for more than 6 million times every month, while more than 200,000 people go looking for "bacon recipes." Those numbers dwarf the search frequency for some of the world's most popular celebrities Read more...

More about Bacon, Infographics, Watercooler, and Conversations

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: iCracked

One-Liner Pitch: A network of iTechs in every city provides customers with device repair, buyback, insurance or redistribution.

Why It's Taking-Off: The startup makes it cheaper and more convenient to repair broken screens on iPhones, iPads and iPods — and soon, Android devices, too.

AJ Forsythe, 25, and Anthony Martin, 26, first met during their freshman year at California Polytechnic State University. AJ admired Anthony’s entrepreneurial spirit; he had started a peer-to-peer textbook rental company in Santa Barbara. Forsythe's sights were set beyond the classroom, too; he harvested grapes with his brother at a local winery and ran a beekeeping business, in addition to juggling his psychology and biology classes. Read more...

More about Iphone, Startups, Ipad, Business, and The Launchpad

CollegeHumor releases Coffee Town on Tuesday, the first feature length film produced by the hugely popular video site.

The film, which follows the love lives of flirtatious baristas and customers, will be available on iTunes, Amazon, PlayStation, Xbox, on-demand and cable. Prices vary, with iTunes charging $6.99.

SEE ALSO: Fans Fund the Fate of Chill's First Original Series

It will also be released in select theaters in approximately 12 cities. But the whole point of the project is in going directly to consumers, bypassing Hollywood's traditional distribution, and using the site's digital presence to make a successful film starring a group of relatively unknown actors and a production budget south of a million dollars. Read more...

More about Amazon, Advertising, Online Video, Films, and Cbs

A long and rich tradition. Thousands of drunken revelers. Enraged, horned animals chasing people down narrow streets

It's easy to understand why the annual Running of the Bulls in Spain has become one of the world's most legendary parties, attracting tourists from around the globe. The festival runs from July 6 through July 14 each year, and features music, dancing and plenty of drinking. But its centerpiece is each morning's terrifying bull run, in which a herd of bulls chase brave (and perhaps stupid) attendees down ancient streets

Read more...

More about Entertainment, Pics, Sports, and Watercooler

If you've ever scrolled deep into the Tumblr Dashboard, you've probably come across the ubiquitous Just Girly Things snapshots

The photos on this site, and others inspired by it, are blurry moments in the life of a mythical universal teenage girl who loves life ... and hair products

Maybe as a blissful teen, you painted tiny hearts on your nails and smiled at that special guy, but Just Girly Things does not always accurately represent the average high school experience

Luckily, movies and TV shows have given us plenty of moments to illuminate the fact that girly things aren't always as fun as the photos suggestNumerous parodies have poked fun at the concept, so we came up with our own Read more...

More about Pics, Lists, Tumblr, Gifs, and Watercooler

Still reeling from the death of your favorite character on Game of Thrones? Too bad — George R.R. Martin is already plotting the death of everyone else you've grown to love in his mega-hit book series that's now a popular HBO show

In this comic, John Kovalic of Dork Tower wonders what in Martin's dark past could have turned him into such a cutthroat (pun intended) author

Comic illustration by John Kovalic, Dork Tower. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

More about Comic, Comics, Humor, Dork Tower, and Game Of Thrones

How many times have you heard a deep male voice boom, "One man ..." in a movie trailer? "Only one man can save the planet." "Only one man can discover the truth." "Only one man can stop it." (This has got to be one busy dude.)

YouTube user Solid Wooden Pecker created this supercut featuring dozens of movie trailers which use the famous "one man" phrase. It's undeniable proof that Hollywood needs to invest in some new cliches

What other phrases or themes do you always see in movie trailers?

Homepage image courtesy of YouTube, Solid Wooden Pecker Read more...

More about Video, Movies, Hollywood, Movie Trailer, and Film

The maker of Gorilla Glass — the really tough material used on a lot of phone and tablet screens — is developing glass technology that is anti-reflective and anti-microbial.

In June, Corning senior vice-president and operations chief of staff Jeffrey Evenson spoke at the MIT Technology Review Mobile Summit 2013, where he revealed the innovations that they're working on.

"Corning is working to invent a cover glass that can kill both drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant viruses," Evenson said on stage. He added that Corning started working on anti-microbial technology for the healthcare industry, but then realized the market for this type of glass is larger Read more...

More about Screen, Gorilla Glass, Germs, Tech, and Mobile

Not quite a duet, a featured artist on a song acts as more of a supportive friend, pitching in a helpful vocal to boost a song to perfection and even that No. 1 spot.

The MVP of featured spots this year is easily Pharrell Williams (and potentially ever — see Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" and "Beautiful;" Britney Spears' "Boys;" Ludacris' "Money Maker"). Williams also claims spots on Daft Punk's newest record Random Access Memories (twice!), Robin Thicke's No. 1 hit "Blurred Lines," Jay-Z's "BBC," which also features seemingly everyone (Nas, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Swiss Beatz and Timbaland), 2 Chainz's "Feds Watching," Azealia Banks' "ATM Jam" and even SNL jokesters The Lonely Island's "Hugs." Did we get them all? Read more...

More about Music, Community, Playlist, Spotify, and Music Monday

Search is supposed to be the heart of Google, right? But an entrepreneur has pointed out that the search engine's site design doesn't cater much to showing organic search results these days.

Aaron Harris, the cofounder of Tutorspree, explained in a blog post that he looked at "the amount of real estate given to true organic results," by searching "auto mechanic" on Google, from his office in New York City. Harris analyzed what showed up on his Google search results page and estimated the how many pixels each part of the page occupied. Organic search results are results that naturally show up based on the search terms, rather than advertisements. Read more...

More about Google, Search Engine, Web Design, Google Search, and Search Engines

Live in Iran? Then you've got mail — in the inbox the government gave you.

Iran will be assigning every citizen an official state email address, Reuters reported Monday. The government's communications minister said the new official mail.post.ir addresses will foster "mutual interaction and communication between the government and the people."

"With the assignment of an email address to every Iranian, government interactions with the people will take place electronically," Communications Minister Mohammad Hassan Nami said.

It's not immediately clear what Iran's government is actually up to here — a government-assigned inbox should concern any privacy-minded Iranian citizens, though Nami didn't say if private email addresses would be outlawed Read more...

More about Email, Iran, Us World, and World

William Lynch has resigned as CEO of Barnes & Noble effective immediately, the company announced late Monday.

Lynch took over the role a little more than three years ago after having previously served as the president of Barnes & Noble's web operations. In his time as CEO, Lynch presided over the bookseller's efforts to update its bricks-and-mortar operations and push into digital, most notably with the launch of the Nook line of products

A New York Times profile of Lynch from early 2012 praised his efforts to modernize the company as well as his relationship with the publishing industry. However, the publication raised concerns about the enormity of the task that lay before Lynch and the company. Read more...

More about Barnes And Noble, Business, and Media

Ever heard of the Temporo-Parietal Junction? No, it's not a train station, nor is it a 60's-style rock group. The TPJ, as it's also known, is the area of the brain that gets activated when we're thinking about how to share something and who to share it with

If you want to make something go viral on Facebook or Twitter, in other words, the TPJ is where you want to hit — because it lights up like a Christmas tree before we even know we're going to share something. The more activated it is, the more persuasive the share. And it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what we think is cool ourselves. Read more...

More about Science, Brain, and Social Media

Facebook updated Facebook Home on Monday by adding folders, a simple way to store and organize apps, to its existing launcher.

One of the biggest complaints from those who downloaded Facebook Home at launch involved the lack of folders for organizing apps. After receiving quite a few 1-star ratings in Google Play, the social network took a closer look and attempted to correct some of the issues.

Among the launcher’s perceived problems is the lack of a dock for frequently used apps, in addition to the missing support for folders. Facebook already fixed the first by rolling out dock support at the beginning of last month. In addition, the company is working on widget support, another frequent request from Android users — a move that will put Home more on par with other Android launchers. Read more...

More about Facebook, Tech, Apps Software, Mobile, and Facebook Home

NHL player Tyler Seguin has quit Twitter indefinitely after his account posted a homophobic movie reference. But was he actually hacked as claimed? There's reason for doubt

"After repeated attempts by 'hackers' to try to damage my reputation I have decided to shut down my twitter account for a while," Seguin posted on Sunday. And, indeed, his Twitter profile now returns an error page

The tweet in question came on Saturday night, when Seguin's account posted this choice quote referencing the classic 1987 war movie Full Metal Jacket:

via BlackSportsOnline

"Twitter hacking has to stop. My apologies," Seguin wrote before announcing his Twitter hiatus Read more...

More about Nhl, Entertainment, and Sports

EA Sports cut former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez from its upcoming Madden 25 and NCAA 14 games. Hernandez was charged with murder on June 26 in the death of Odin Lloyd and was released from the Patriots shortly after his arrest.

"We have made a decision to remove Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14," EA said in a statement

"Because NCAA Football 14 was finalized prior to our decision, Hernandez' image still appears in the Nike Skills Trainer," EA continued. "However, he is not in the game, and anyone who unlocks that particular Nike Skills Trainer reward will receive an Alex Smith Ultimate Team player item instead. The image of Hernandez will be removed via a Title Update in the near future." Read more...

More about Gaming, Football, Madden, Ea Sports, and Entertainment

Ellie Goulding's latest music video endeavor, "Burn," has so far racked up more than 200,000 views on YouTube.

In the clip above, Goulding stands front and center on an airport runway, grooving and crooning to the jam. "We, we don't have to worry about nothing," the English songstress sings. "'Cause we got the fire, and we're burning one hell of a something."

It's daylight for a minute or so — vibes, tones and angles similar to those of the Levi's "Go Forth" and "Pioneer" commercials — and then things escalate into more raucous territory as nightfall approaches. The video culminates with a tarmac dance party and light show. Read more...

More about Youtube, Music, Entertainment, Vine, and Apps Software

The long weekend came with a glorious, dazzling bang — but that firework has since fizzled out. To cure your case of the Mondays, check out this week’s edition of our viral video recap.

A British Shorthair (cat alert!) meets the TARDIS, Mozart’s "Dies Irae" serves as the backdrop for a GoPro Matrix-style “bullet time” video, a South Korean rhythmic gymnast throws a jaw-dropping pitch, NBA players videobomb their teammates and — last but not least — a duck waddles into 3D printing.

Check out the memes in the video above. Then, let us know your favorite in the comments. Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Recap, Video, Youtube, and Newsy