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| The Web's Most Buzzworthy Questions of 2011 | |  Whether it opens the doors of knowledge or turns us into lazy researchers, the web can instantly gratify most inquiries. So when we wondered which questions weighed heaviest on the minds of Internet users this year, we naturally turned to the same Q&A sites that they did. We asked Formspring, Ask.com, Quora and ChaCha to compile lists of their most popular questions of 2011. Since all of the sites take different approaches to Q&A, we let them choose their own criteria for what constitutes "popular." Whether it's possible to become Batman (it doesn't look good) to who started Occupy Wall Street (debatable), here's what the web wanted to know this year. 1. Quora
What it is: Quora is a crowdsourced social Q&A forum that tends toward long-form answers. Criteria: The most viewed questions. 10. What's the best way to escape the police in a high-speed car chase? Former patrol officer Justin Freeman details what it would take to escape from the police - and why it's a bad idea. 9. What is the worst piece of design ever done? People responded with more than 100 frustrations, pet peeves and things that could be improved about the world. 8. Is Amy Chua right when she explains "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" in an op/ed in the Wall Street Journal? Users shared powerful personal stories about parenting and growing up Asian-American, along with follow-up questions answered by Amy Chua herself. 7. Given our current technology and with the proper training, would it be possible for someone to become Batman? Screenwriter Mark Hughes delivers an extraordinarily entertaining answer about whether it'd possible to be Batman in the real world. 6. Why did Twitter suspend UberTwitter? Bill Gross, founder of UberMedia, shares what happened to his company. 5. Why did Steve Jobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer? Cancer researcher Ramzi Amri takes a sad look back at the progression of Steve Jobs's disease. 4. How does a programmer become a brogrammer? A discussion of an emerging Silicon Valley subculture. 3. What are some interesting examples of photographs which show historical figures in unexpected places or company? Unexpected pairings of historical figures: Bill Clinton with John F. Kennedy, Nikola Tesla with Mark Twain, Salvador Dalí with Walt Disney. 2. What's it like to be a drug dealer? A nerve-wracking first-person account of one person's rise and fall in drug trafficking. 1. What's the most epic photo ever taken? A powerful tour of the most important, most poignant and most beautiful photographs ever taken. 2. Ask.com
What it is: Ask.com is a Q&A platform turned search engine turned back to Q&A platform. It directs questions to people who are likely to have the best answers. Criteria: The top "trending questions" posed by Ask.com's 60 million users from Jan. 1, 2011 to Dec. 14, 2011. Ask.com defines trending questions as those that are posed and viewed most frequently by users. Health, Nutrition and Fitness: 1. Healthcare Plan: Is the healthcare plan unconstitutional? 2. Health Insurance: How can I get affordable health insurance? 3. Juice Cleanse: What's the best juice cleanse? TV and Movies: 1. Kim Kardashian: Was Kim Kardashian's wedding fake? 2. Oprah Winfrey: When is the Oprah finale? 3. Regis Philbin: Who is replacing Regis Philbin? Technology: 1. iPhone: When will Apple release the iPhone 5? 2. Google: How can I join Google+? 3. Facebook: How can I keep my Facebook wall private? Business: 1. Occupy Wall Street: Who started Occupy Wall Street? 2. Facebook: Is Facebook going public? 3. Unemployment: Is the unemployment rate getting lower? 3. Formspring
What it is: Formspring is a social Q&A platform that lets users ask and answer questions. Criteria: Most "smiles" to a response. Smiles are similar to Facebook Likes. 5. When was the last time you listened to that little voice in your head and what was it? Five minutes ago and it told me to eat 14 Oreos, which I did. - Sarah Lane, 1,182 Smiles. 4. Who do you look up to? People taller than me. - Fred Figglehorn, 1,327 Smiles. 3. When in 2012 is the part 2 of Breaking Dawn on screens? November 16, 2012 - Taylor Lautner, 1,453 Smiles. 2. What do you think of Brazil? I love Brazil! - Enrique Iglesias, 1,702 Smiles. 1. Who's the smartest woman you have ever known? Justin Bieber - 30H!3, 3,358 Smiles. 4. ChaCha
What it is: ChaCha is an ad-supported service that employes 180,000 freelance "guides" to answer your questions immediately. Criteria: Most answered questions (in no particular order). Is Justin Bieber a father? What are the lyrics to Super Bass by Nicki Minaj? When will The Hunger Games come to theatres? What is a Gleek? Who is Steve Jobs? When does Modern Warfare 3 come out? Is Osama Bin Laden dead? How did Amy Winehouse die? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, fotosipsak |
| Leaked Twitter Subpoena Raises Online Privacy Issues | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 10:06 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  UPDATE: Twitter would not comment on this particular matter, but gave us this statement: "To help users protect their rights, it is our policy to notify our users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so." The leaked subpoena sent to Twitter this month by the Suffolk District Attorney's Office in Boston is causing some hoopla on the web and raising the issue of law enforcement's access to online personal data. On Dec. 14, the D.A.'s Office issued a subpoena to Twitter in order to access the account information of two users who tweeted a list of personal information they allegedly obtained by hacking into the Boston Police Patrolmens' Association. The hackers stole identifying information and Tweeted it to followers. The subpoena requests "available subscriber information, for the account or accounts associated with the following information, including IP address logs for account creation." In the subpoena, assistant D.A. Benjamin A. Goldberger requests that the investigation be kept from the Twitter users as to not impede the ongoing probe. But the information was leaked. We reached out to Twitter for comment, but have yet to hear back. On Dec. 23 one of the accounts under investigation, @p0isAn0N Tweeted, "Haha. Boston PD submitted to Twitter for my information. Lololol? For what? Posting info pulled from public domains? #comeatmebro." The D.A.'s office requested details of two Twitter users and also listed the name Guido Fawkes, which is the name but not handle listed for one of the accounts under investigation, as well as the hashtags #BostonPD and #d0xcak3. One of the accounts being probed is listed in the subpoena as @OccupyBoston, however that account appears to be inactive. It's likely they meant @Occupy_Boston, which Tweets about the occupy movement. Targeting this account has lead some to speculate that the police are monitoring the online activity of occupy protestors. Twitter's website contains an information section for law enforcement. It states that if a subpoena is issued for a user's information, the company will inform that user before they hand the information to the authorities, unless it is prevented from doing so by court order or statute. According to its site, Twitter was following protocol by informing the user of the subpoena, and, perhaps later providing that user's information to the Boston D.A. This isn't the first time Twitter has been reluctant to hand-over user information to law enforcement. It's possible Twitter does host some personal information about the owners of the accounts who tweeted the hacked materials. At the very least, it might have IP addresses. However, Twitter doesn't verify identities or email addresses of its users, so using Twitter for detective work might be more harmful than helpful to an investigation, especially if the subpoena is leaked. We contacted the Boston District Attorney's Office and are waiting for a reply. Do you think Twitter should surrender user information for hackers? Please tell us in the comments. Image courtesy of Flickr, eldh |
| Man Uses Google+ Game to Propose to Girlfriend [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 6:41 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  In what may be the first marriage proposal on Google+, a man asked his girlfriend to marry him on the network via the game Crime City. On the other hand, it could be just a clever marketing stunt. According to Funzio, the company behind the game, it went down like this: A player named Mihai (last name unknown) approached Funzio with the idea of using his crime-boss character to propose to his significant other Miruna, who also played the game. Crime City, being a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has in-game objects players can purchase, and the Funzio team hooked up our hero with a virtual engagement ring. They hatched the plan on Christmas Day. Once Mihai purchased the ring, it appeared in the game for both of them. When Miruna logged in, she found it in her inventory, and Mihai was ready to get down on his virtual knee. Miruna, clearly wanting a permanent partner in crime, said "Yes" right away. Or so Funzio's story goes. The whole thing sounds a bit like a publicity grab, albeit a clever one. We've reached out to the company for more details, and Funzio is working on connecting us with the happy couple. The company did say that Mihai and Miruna are their real names. If it's true, it may be the first marriage proposal on Google+ (the first serious one, anyway). Google hasn't yet confirmed to Mashable that this is that case, but our cursory searches on the network came up dry (let us know in the comments if we're wrong). In any case, it's far from the first engagement via Google services, social media or other digital means. In 2008 Michael Weiss-Malik, Google employee and self-described "Silicon Valley geek," proposed to girlfriend Leslie Moreno by using Google Street View. Weiss-Malik got several friends to pose in front of the Google Campus in Mountain View, Calif., with signs asking Moreno to marry him. Then he arranged for the Street View team to capture the image and upload it to the service. SEE ALSO: Man Uses Memes for Marriage Proposal/a> | 10 Geekiest Marriage Proposals In January this year, Greg Hill proposed to girlfriend Dana Burck via Groupon. Hill arranged, with Groupon's help, to have the service send her a customized deal email. A link directed her to a page with Hill's proposal, where she clicked "Buy." She was then given a congratulatory message telling her that she was unofficially obliged to marry him. There aren't many social networks that haven't been used by would-be romeos looking to get creative. StumbleUpon, Facebook and of course Twitter have all at times acted as "engagement platforms," with even Mashable's own Christina Warren on the receiving end of a Twitter proposal (she said "yes"). What do you think of the way this couple used Crime City to seal the deal on their nuptials? And what about digital proposals in general? Share your thoughts in the comments, and browse the gallery below to see how one clever would-be groom used Google Maps to guide his girlfriend into becoming his fiancée. |
| Klout CEO Reveals How to Leverage Score for Fame, Fortune, Perks | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 6:36 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  Klout is a hot-button issue in the social networking world, and it's a touchy subject for many. The two-year-old company- which provides social media analytics to measure a user's influence across social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - is no stranger to criticism. Klout's model hinges on giving its members a number from one to 100 to determine the power of their influence on social networking sites. The analysis uses data taken from such sites and measures the size of a person's network, the content created and how other people interact with that content. Those who sign up for Klout or are connected to those who do are each given a "Klout score," with higher scores corresponding to a greater strength of their online influence. In general, people either love or hate what the site stands for. But it seems as though it's those with lower Klout scores that detest the concept, while members with higher scores are reaping the benefits of the platform. Some have even gotten job offers, free products and gift certificates from companies that want to keep the Klout influencers on their radar. Obtaining a high Klout score is becoming more of something to strive for, with some even highlighting their number on resumes. SEE ALSO: 7 Surefire Ways to Increase Your Klout Score "We believe that every person that creates content has influence," Klout founder and CEO Joe Fernandez told Mashable. "The key to driving action in your networks is to consistently create content that your network engages with. It's simple -- if you create interesting content that your network interacts with and shares, you will have a high Klout score." Fernandez developed the concept after he had surgery and his mouth was wired shut for three months: "I had to completely rely on social media to communicate," Fernadez said. "The experience changed the way I looked at platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. It was amazing to me that I could instantly tell who trusted my opinion most about anything, and that what I said impacted them." "What was even more exciting was that the ability to influence people through word of mouth was finally scalable and that the data was all there to measure it," Fernandez added. Although Klout scores vary greatly across the site, he noted that the average score is about 20. Most consider a score above 30 to be reputable and a score above 50 to be elite. "If your score is less than that, it doesn't mean you're not influential," Fernandez said. "We measure influence on a topic basis and it's normal for a person to have low overall influence but high influence on a specific topic." However, Fernandez noted that there are a lot of misconceptions about what one should or shouldn't do to influence a score. "One thing you should never be concerned about is interacting with people who have lower scores," Fernandez said. "You are never penalized for connecting or engaging with someone with a low Klout score. In fact, this helps build their Klout score and in turn, makes you more of an influencer. All engagement positively contributes to your score." So what are the real benefits of having a high Klout score? "Some people are starting to leverage their Klout scores for success and fortune," Fernandez said. "We get media requests asking for us to highlight the top Klout users in their communities, so this gives those people good press for being an influencer. Companies also look at Klout scores to recruit for social media and marketing jobs." According to Mark W. Schaefer - the author of the upcoming book "Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing" (McGraw Hill 2012) - it's not unusual for people with high Klout scores to be contacted by companies and offered perks. "In order to gain access to Klout perks, you first need to boost your score," Schaefer said. "Some perks may only be available for those with a certain score. Second, Klout considers your topics of influence, so if people go crazy when you write about movies, you might get some movie-related stuff in the mail from a studio." Receiving perks from Klout also depends on your location: "A premium might be for influencers in a certain city," Schaefer said. Companies are also using Klout in creative ways to find new customers and connect deeper with existing ones. In fact, dozens of major companies from Disney and Audi to Nike are integrating Klout influencer scores into their traditional marketing campaigns. For example, Audi recently used Klout to identify a new group of non-traditional customers based on a love of technology and design. Meanwhile, a start-up company in San Francisco has used Klout influencers to help them find other targeted customers in their personal networks. "Klout is a reminder that you don't have to make a movie or be elected to office to have power now," Schaefer said. "All you need to do is publish." Do you think having a high Klout score is worth the hype? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. |
| Occupy Facebook: Social Network for Protesters in the Works | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 5:58 PM | Zoe Fox |
|  Occupy Wall Street activists are developing a social network called The Global Square for the generation of protesters. "We don't want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists," developer Ed Knutson told Wired. Knutson is helping build the network, which will unite members of Occupy movements across the globe. As more of the physical encampments are evicted across the U.S., digital meeting places will be of increased importance, explains a November RoarMag blog post. "In addition to the local squares, we now need a global square where people of all nations can come together as equals to participate in the coordination of collective actions and the formulation of common goals and aspirations. For this reason, we call upon the revolutionary whizkids of the world to unite and assist in the development of a new online platform - The Global Square - that combines the communicative functions of the existing social networks with the political functions of the assemblies to provide crucial new tools for the development of our global movement." The Global Square will include an interactive map of uprisings around the world, an easy search option to find movements near you, a Facebook-style news feed, calendars, debate forums, collaboration space, messaging and more. Unlike Twitter and Facebook, Wired reports that to become a member, you will need a sponsor to ensure you are trustworthy. The site is expected to launch in January. SEE ALSO: 9 Social Media Uprisings That Sought to Change the World in 2011 This is not the first tech innovation we've seen spurred by the Occupy movement. OWS broadcaster Tim Pool is creating new reporting techniques, hackathons have united programmers and the Free Network Foundation brought free Wi-Fi to Zuccotti Park. Established social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, are considered to have been at the center of revolutions across the world this year. However, members of the Occupy movement fear these networks would turn over private messages, when confronted by authorities. In January, ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak shut off the country's Internet in fear of the power of social networks. Last week, a Massachusetts district attorney subpoenaed Twitter for private messages from the @OccupyBoston Twitter account. Do you think The Global Square is filling a void for activists, or are the existing mainstream networks sufficient? Let us know what you think in the comments. Image courtesy of Flickr, The Whistling Monkey |
| Osama bin Laden's Death is AOL's Top Story of 2011 | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 5:15 PM | Zachary Sniderman |
|  The votes have been cast, the results have been tallied and the death of Osama bin Laden has been named the top news story of 2011 according to AOL's "11 Days That Shaped 2011" challenge. Organized in chronological order, Osama bin Laden's death was sixth option on the site. The site was created as a way to sum up the year in news based on shares, engagement and impact on the AOL website and its media partners, including The Huffington Post, Engadget and more. Viewers were asked to vote for which news event they felt was the most important in 2011. Osama bin Laden's death was the clear winner with 31% of the vote, the next closest was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan (15%) and the Debt Ceiling Crisis and Arab Spring (each with 10% of the vote). SEE ALSO: AOL Names 11 News Stories That Shaped 2011 "I wasn't surprised that the death of Osama bin Laden was voted the top moment of 2011 for a few reasons," says AOL CMO Maureen Sullivan. "First, the story was several years in the making, stretching back almost a decade to 2001. Second, the event really captured how news coverage is changing in the 21st century. Word of Bin Laden's death broke on Twitter and was picked up by the mainstream media there, so it also highlights the important relationship between social media and mainstream media. And finally, this event really touched people on global, national and local levels." Of course, not all the news stories were as comparably momentous. Charlie Sheen's public meltdown made the short list but fell far behind the rest of the pack. Voters could also write in their own picks for top story, some of which included Kim Kardashian's wedding divorce, the transplant of the world's first artificial organ, the Casey Anthony trial and the death of Muammar Gaddafi. You can find the full results by scrolling through the 11 Days That Shaped 2011. Each slide provides information, factoids, headlines and context for each of the major events. You can also jump straight to the results by clicking here. Was Osama bin Laden's death the biggest story of 2011? What would you vote for? Sound off in the comments. |
| Facebook Timeline Headed to iPad in January [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 4:46 PM | Christina Warren |
|  Now that Facebook Timeline is available to the public, the social network has integrated the new look and feel with its Android, mobile web and iPhone apps; but what about the iPad? According to 9to5Mac, Facebook is aiming for a mid to late January app update. Why the delay? 9to5Mac's sources cite last-minute bugs as the reason that a special, touch-enhanced version of the Timeline hasn't made its way to the iPad. Of course, users can always browse the new Timeline interface on Facebook.com on their iPad devices, however, the web version doesn't work 100% with the iPad browser, particularly when it comes to adding customizations. Facebook launched its iPad app back in October, several months after an early version of the app was leaked alongside the iPhone app. Are you excited about having Facebook Timeline on your iPad? Let us know. |
| 'WTF?! I Wanted an iPhone!' Entitled Christmas Tweets Put to Music [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 3:05 PM | Zoe Fox |
|  Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks. Note: Due to some strong language, this video may not be safe for work. Twitter was quieter than usual on Sunday, Christmas day. So comedy writer Jon Hendren (@fart) decided to make the Twitterverse a bit more lively. He searched popular gifts such as "iPhone," "iPad" and "car," and retweeted the spoiled messages he found. Boy, was there a lot of ingratitude. Hendren's tweet collection got a lot of interest. Now Jonathan Mann, the Berkeley-based musician and "Song a Day Man", has turned them into a tune: "WTF?! I wanted an iPhone!" (the title is inspired by a tweet, of course). Mann's catchy lyrics include such gems such as "F- you mom, F- you dad, the economy sucks, but I should get what I want" and "Was I the only person who didn't get an iPad? I mean I got a car but that's a different story altogether." SEE ALSO: Ungrateful Kids React to Bad Christmas Presents/a> Twitter proved to be a hotbed of petulance this Christmas; hopefully Hendren's retweets and Mann's song will put some of these disgruntled tweeters in their places. Are you surprised by this public display of ingratitude? Which tweet do you think is the worst? Let us know in the comments. |
| How iJustine Became a YouTube Mogul [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 1:01 PM | Mashable Video |
|  We all know (or should know) that there's no magic formula to creating a "viral video," but there are some core ingredients to getting thousands and even millions of views. Do you know the secrets? Internet celebrity and top YouTuber iJustine talks about how she built her YouTube channel from zero to now over 1 million subscribers. You'll also learn her secrets to managing a community and creating videos that people want to watch, talk about and share with their friends. Check out the latest episode of Behind the Brand with iJustine. Editor's note: This video was recorded before the death of Steve Jobs. Behind the Brand is hosted by Bryan Elliott. Stay tuned to Mashable every Wednesday for new episodes. |
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