| SOCIAL MEDIA TOP STORIES | | | | | | | ALL STORIES SOCIAL MEDIA | | |
| 20 Mouthwatering Instagram Pics [FOOD PORN] | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 8:15 PM | Christine Erickson |
|  The Best of Instagram Series is presented by T-Mobile. Its 4G Tweet Race, a week-long campaign launching May 3, pits Twitter users against one another in a daily, frantic race for retweets. There are 7 races, and the winners of each heat win a new HTC OneT S phone with a year of T-Mobile's Unlimited Value service, and the final winner takes home $4,000. Instagram users often get a bit of flack for oversharing their food photos. Now that the photo-sharing app is available for iOS, Android and possibly soon Facebook, we expect the user base and the photo uploads to surge. But that's not to say all photos aren't worth sharing. Sure, maybe there are a swarm of users who like to share photos of their Subway sandwich, but there are also tons of gorgeous pictures of food and beverages that will make your mouth water. We've collected photos from Instagram users, professional photographers and even chefs to present you with 20 of the tastiest photos. (Note: You can't actually eat them.) Do you think your food photos have what it takes? Let us know in the comments. Series presented by T-Mobile
The Best of Instagram Series is presented by T-Mobile. The 4G Tweet Race is a week-long campaign starting May 3 that pits Twitter users against one another in a daily, frantic race for retweets. Players register on the official Tweet Race page on T-Mobile's Test Drive, and each racer's tweets must contain three elements: #4GTweets, http://t-mo.co/4GTweets and @TMobile, and must be submitted during the race to be eligible. There are 7 races over the course of the week, and the winners of all 7 heats will face off in a final race on May 15th to see whose social graph is quickest. The winner of each heat will win a new HTC OneT S phone with a year of T-Mobile's Unlimited Value service, and the final winner will take home a cool $4,000. Image courtesy of Jamie Oliver |
| Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 7:08 PM | Charlie White |
|  The upper echelon of popular Twitter pics this week dealt with cuteness, beauty and even some truth. And in between, there were reminders that all was not as it appeared. As the new month began, protest pictures found their way to Twitter, and as the week progressed, comedy took over. We certainly had no shortage of pictures from which to choose, sifting through 42 million to select this week's top 10. Check out the full analysis for this week's pics from our partners at Skylines, who created a custom algorithm to allow us to find these needles in a haystack the size of this planet. Gracing us with her insight is Skylines' writer and analyst Julie Donders (@IkbenJulie), who makes sense of these sometimes chaotic selections with her spot-on captions. SEE MORE: Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week Don't miss this eclectic mix of comedy, chaos, creativity and courage as we bring to you this week's Top 10 Twitter Pics. In case you missed them, here are last week's Top 10 Twitter Pics. |
| 5 Social Media Activities for Your Next HR Training Session | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 6:01 PM | Sharlyn Lauby |
|  This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. There's a new dilemma in today's training world: Is it prudent to allow technology devices in the classroom? One school of thought is that there should be absolutely no distraction -- technology won't be tolerated and should not be incorporated into a professional training environment. But a new way of thinking is to encourage smartphones, laptops and tablets. Make them a part of the session, since today's training participants are multi-taskers. Trainees may want to tweet, post pictures and take notes to add a valuable interactive element to their own learning experience. In this new school of thought, trainers are becoming facilitators. It's a great opportunity to introduce trainees on how to properly engage with social media to add a professional benefit to not only their own employment but also to the company at large. Adding social media is a terrific means to spark conversation before, during and after a training session. Here are five examples of training sessions that provide students with a great grasp on how to wield social media for the good of the company. 1. Facebook Before you Train Prior to a learning event, a trainer can create a Facebook group for participants. This page can be used to solicit and convey information about the program. In addition, videos can be posted prior to the session to provide background information for participants. You can also post materials using document sharing systems such as Google Docs or SlideShare. Some of the advantages to using a Facebook group prior to training include: getting participants engaged with the trainer, breaking down any barriers between the group and starting a discussion about the subject prior to meeting. All of these are good ways to engage the group before the formal training session starts. 2. Start Networking on LinkedIn Objective: Recruiters are online, companies are online, job seekers are online and you should be too. A professional profile is a necessary tool in our social media-focused world, so there's no excuse not to have one. Technology: LinkedIn Activity: Ask participants to set up a LinkedIn account, then give them tasks. For example, ask them to connect with five people they know, update their profile with their current job, make at least one recommendation and join one group. Discussion: Talk with new users about the experience. What did they learn about the platform? What tasks were easy and difficult? Where can they see the advantages of using this social networking site in the future? 3. A Map of Our Team Objective: Great for virtual teams to build a stronger sense of team identity and the individuals on the team. Technology: A location-based map service like Google Maps or Bing Maps. If your company wants to implement a custom or branded map, OpenStreetMap is a great option. Activity: Assign each team member a unique marker or pushpin. Team members can place the pushpins on the map anywhere to identify landmarks related to them, including details where appropriate. Examples of relevant locations are where a person currently works, the location of corporate headquarters or regional offices and the locations of key customers or vendors. You could also include the city or campus where a participant went to college, the farthest place you've ever traveled or the location of your first job. Discussion: Ask the group about how sharing information helps to build teams and how geography plays a role in a person's work style. Source: The Big Book of Virtual Team Building Games by Mary Scannell, Michael Abrams and Mike Mulvihill. Published by McGraw Hill. 4. Customer Service Role Play Objective: To practice customer service recovery situations. Technology: Twitter Activity: Create a Twitter account that simulates angry customers. Then, assign participants the following roles: customer, sales rep, manager and operations department. Then give the group an assignment. For example, a customer might complain that his equipment isn't working. The team should work together to troubleshoot and offer a solution. Discussion: Ask the group if they were able to solve the problem and how they accomplished the task. This can also be a great activity to discuss clarity in communications. Source: Social Media for Trainers by Jane Bozarth. Published by Pfeiffer. 5. Tweet Your Training Another consideration is to create a Twitter hashtag for your training session so participants can read through all of the tweets. After the session, the hashtag can be used to post a summary of key points and articles or blogs of interest. Trainers can host Twitter chats or a guest speaker to keep the conversation going, as a method of increasing learner retention. Conclusion Adding social media to training isn't creating a distraction; it's a way to engage people with the tools that most of us are already using in our lives. What better way is there to enhance the learning experience for everyone involved? Would you incorporate social media into a training session or do you wish your company would train you in social media? Let us know in the comments. More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum: - Should Small Businesses Follow Everyone Back on Twitter? - Are You Falling into the Pricing Trap? - How to Take Your PR Pitches to the Next Level |
| 47 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 5:58 PM | Matt Petronzio |
|  Mashable won a Webby Award for our business coverage, so how on earth could you let yourself miss our latest digital media resources? Just kidding -- for whatever reason you couldn't keep up this week, check out our features roundup for the best social media, business and tech resources. This week, we've covered mobile trends that your company needs to watch out for, rules for responding to customers online and specs on the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 that are pretty cool. We also have a ton of content from Star Wars Day, a list of quirky and downright strange YouTube channels and infographics on Apple's worth, the presidential campaign, mobile commerce and other hot topics. We also announced the date of Mashable's Social Media Day 2012 (June 30) and listed ways you can participate! Enjoy this week's resources. Editor's Picks How to Explain Facebook (and Its IPO) in 150 Seconds/a> Want a Facebook refresher? Need to how why its may be worth its $100 billion valuation? Simply screen this short video. Growing Up Google: How Cloud Computing Is Changing a Generation Google's free Apps for Education program is turning kids into loyal, long-term users and changing the way institutions think about technology. Beyond Craigslist: 10 Sites for Apartment Hunters Here are 10 sites to help you find the perfect apartment in the neighborhood of your choice -- and within your price range. Obama vs. Romney: The Social Showdown How do Obama and Romney compare on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest? How 7 Top Brands Are Using Facebook's New Ad Tools The social platform has switched up its ad rules. See how these brands are shining on Facebook. Social Media 10 Heart-Warming Animal Friendships Captured on YouTube There's something special about interspecies friendships. We've gathered some of the most remarkable footage of animal buddies on YouTube. Freedom Tower: 11 Beautiful Instagrams of NYC's Tallest Building A steel beam was secured to One World Trade Center, making it officially the tallest building in New York City. Instagram users captured the moment. 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week/a> Which TV shows have generated the most buzz on social networks? Find out each week from our social TV chart. 21 Ridiculously Cute Dog and Cat Instagram Pics We scoured Instagram for the most stylish and adorable canines and felines. Celebrate Mashable's Social Media Day 2012 On Saturday, June 30, 2012, Mashable's worldwide community will celebrate a common interest in and passion for social media and innovation. 4 Ways to Drive Engagement With Facebook Ads Here are four ways to drive more engagement with the new Facebook ad units, along with tips for how to enhance performance. 15 LOL-Worthy Instagram Pics There are plenty of laughs lurking on Instagram. Here's a roundup of some of the best comedy gems out there. 20 Lunchtime Photos From the Mashable Community For last week's Mashable Photo Challenge, we asked you to send us a photo during your lunch break. Take a look at these 20 spectacular shots. 7 Quirky, Comical and Downright Weird YouTube Channels These seven YouTube channels will have you laughing more with each click. Scumbag Steve: How the Internet Meme Became a Rapper Internet meme "Scumbag Steve" -- AKA Blake Boston -- has turned his unintentional web fame into a burgeoning rap music career. 16 Instagram Pics Moving at the Speed of Life Mashable scoured Instagram for pics that convey high speeds -- because the faster we do things, the more we can do. 25 Stunning Cityscapes on Instagram Feast your eyes on some of the best and most beautiful cities in the world with this curation of Instagram pics. 10 Most-Shared Star Wars-Themed Ads on YouTube Check out the 10 most-shared YouTube ads inspired by Star Wars. For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & Marketing 5 Mobile Trends Brands Need to Watch The post-mobile future is upon us. Here's how brands can prepare for a period that's evolving before their eyes. 6 Tips for Organizing Your Small Business Finances Here are six ways you can take control of your finances and move your small business forward. YouTube's 20 Most-Shared Ads in April/a> Check out the 20 most-shared YouTube ads for the month of April, featuring Google, Nike, Tipp-Ex and more. 7 Rules for Responding to Customers Online Here are seven social media management rules to help your employees boost customer loyalty and revenue. Hungry? Appetude Finds Delish Dishes Near You "'What is good to eat near me?'" That's the question Appetude wants to answer by creating a social platform revolving around dishes, restaurants and friends. How One Startup Is Reinventing the Mail Paperless Post took the idea of stealth mode to new levels; its founders didn't even tell friends what they were making early on. But all that secrecy seems to have paid off. How Much Is Apple Worth?/a> This infographic compares Apple's massive reach to things around the world. Shazam: The Secret to Better TV Engagement? Shazam has come a long way from its sound-recognition roots. Check out innovative ways the platform is pioneering the second screen. 65+ Hot Events in Business and Social Media The Events Board allows event organizers and the Mashable community to organize events in social media, tech, marketing and other fields. Want to Book Restaurants You Find on Foursquare? This Startup Helps Reserve My City makes it easy to book restaurant reservations on your Foursquare to-do list. Fashion Designer Launches Platform for Crowdsourced Design Cut On Your Bias lets you vote on a range of design goods mockups, and purchase the ones voted most popular by the community. Want to Turn Your Brand's Fans Into Expert Advisors? Try This Startup Needle offers expert live chat service to online retailers to help customers find the best products and increase sales. For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable's business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile What If LinkedIn Was Invented in the '80s?/a> Imagine what job hunting would be like today if we relied on software programming from the '80s. Celebrate 'Mean Girls' Day With 34 Fetch Memes Mean Girls was released 8 years ago and went on to become a pop cultural smash. Enjoy the best memes inspired by the film from across the internet. 8 Hilarious 'Avengers' Parodies/a> In anticipation of the release of The Avengers, we've gathered eight hilarious parodies to keep you entertained while you wait. 7 Fantastic Celebrity Portraits on 'Draw Something' Along with our partners at CNN iReport, we asked you to send us your best celebrity portraits on Draw Something. Take a look! 6 Serious Movie Scenes Recut With Corny Laugh Tracks We found six fascinating examples of serious movie scenes re-edited with laugh tracks. Talk about counterintuitive! 5 Things That Are Actually Pretty Cool About BlackBerry 10 RIM showed off some novel features about its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphone platform. 2012: Year of the Online Political Ad/a> Politicians are spending more on digital ads this year than they've ever spent before. Why Creating a Successful App Is Harder Than You Think/a> According to one survey, nearly 60% of app entrepreneurs don't even break even on the cost of developing their project. 10 Tech Innovations That Streamline Air Travel Stuck with the bureaucracy found at your local airport? Check out these innovations bound to make your trip a lot faster. The Future of Money and Mobile Commerce/a> Mobile payments represent the new frontier in ecommerce technology. Find out how people and businesses are preparing for a new form of money. Films as Startups: How Indie Producers Build Buzz The days of shopping scripts around Hollywood are over. If you can prove there's online interest in your film, you've got a better shot at attracting studio backing. Is Too Much Tech Bad for the Modern Teenager?/a> This infographic provides some perspective on just how immersed the modern teenager is in technology. 10 Best Android Puzzle Games Mobile puzzle games are so addictive that players have been known to lose a few hours on them. Here are ten for Android that you'll love. Half of Consumers Use Smartphones While Working Out/a> A new infographic from Lab42 found that 51% of consumers are using smartphones during their workouts. From Skateboarding to Door-Kicking: 12 Hilarious Obama GIFs A look at some of the most hilarious GIFs made of President Barack Obama. 9 Star Wars Tech Accessories From a Galaxy Far, Far Away "May the fourth be with you" on Star Wars Day! Here are our favorite tech toys from around the web. Look at These 35 Star Wars Memes, You Will These are the memes you're looking for. Check out these 35 galactic Star Wars memes we've gathered from across the Internet. For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable's tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, courtneyk. |
| For Lower-Profile Olympians, Social Media a Key to Branding Success | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 5:36 PM | Sam Laird |
|  Ricky Berens is a world-class athlete, but he's no Michael Phelps. The two teamed up to help the United States win a relay swimming gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and will probably both participate in the 2012 Games. But outside the pool their lives couldn't be more different. Berens can still walk down the street without being mobbed by autograph seekers, while Phelps is an internationally-known celebrity who has appeared in advertisements for some of the world's biggest brands. Phelps's fame and instant recognizability have helped him land sponsorships and marketing deals, likely without lifting a finger. But Berens says athletes such as himself -- who excel at lower profile sports yet aren't global icons like Phelps or track star Usain Bolt -- need something to help level the personal branding playing field and increase their visibility and business potential. Enter social media. "You're not getting all the TV time, so you have create your own story," Berens told Mashable in an interview. "Social media gives me a chance to do that." Berens began boosting his social presence, primarily on Twitter and Facebook, about a year ago with consulting help from the new media marketing company Spiracle Media. Since then, he's says he's secured sponsorship deals with BMW, Got Chocolate Milk and TYR. Those deals were made possible by a number of factors, but Berens says he's sure his social media efforts played a crucial role. SEE ALSO: How Social Media Will Change the Olympics/a> On Twitter, he chats with fans frequently, motivates young swimmers and gives followers windows into his day-to-day life. When someone asked last fall if he could defeat his girlfriend, fellow U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni, in a breaststroke race (her specialty) he posted this video to Facebook. He even recently built his own re-vamped website, tinkering for a few months in WordPress and only calling in outside help a couple of times. "I think businesses are starting to realize the potential of having social media as one of their main channel," Berens says. "So when they look to sponsor athletes, they want to see how big of a following they have on Twitter and Facebook and how involved they are." That especially applies to athletes like him. Outside swimming, Berens points to decathlete Bryan Clay and sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross as other under-the-radar Olympians who do stellar jobs leveraging social platforms. "We only come up once every four years, so the hardest part of our job is to keep people remembering us," Berens says. "Social media has really helped and changed how we can keep the spotlight in the years we aren't in the Olympics." Image courtesy RickyBerens.com |
| ROFLcon: What the Internet Talks About Offline | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 4:19 PM | Christine Erickson |
|  The people of the Internet took the weekend off to come together in real life at this year's ROFLcon, a conference about web culture and those who've become famous from it. Take one step into the conference, and you'll see Nyan Cat merchandise, a guy with a boombox blaring Rick Astley, and a lot of people fan-girling over Internet celebrities like Antoine Dodson and Chuck Testa. But beyond the advice animals and Cheezburger swag, the conference also features academic conversations on topics like memes and the Syrian Revolution, managing a community on massive sites like Reddit and YouTube, and defending the Internet. Harvard professor and Internet Society boardmember Jonathan Zittrain opened the conference with a keynote that expressed how Internet meme creators and re-creators can use their power for good when they "look for a pathos in the world and try to capture it." Zittrain also believes that the base of every meme is an unguarded authenticity -- something which strikes us to the core. For example, this photo of a girl smiling in front of a burning house. It was one bizarre moment, captured at the right place, at the right time. On the other hand, the Internet is a force to be reckoned with. That same power which users hold can have the opposite effect on the person who becomes the meme, as we've seen time and time again. Some take what the web has given them and roll with the punches -- for example Scumbag Steve. But should these people be forced to live at the mercy of web? Zittrain believes that we should have the technology to give the people who don't want to become a meme the respect they deserve. "I would love to see the technologists among us build an infrastructure native to the web that lets you -- as the subject or creator of an object, a data object (a meme maybe) be able to tag it -- and declare something about your relationship to it," says Zittrain. The trio behind MemeFactory wrapped up the first day of ROFLcon with a similar theme, stating that the Internet should uphold its responsibility. The panel brought up Reddit's issue with child porn, and called the often freewheeling community out for not striving to be as conscientious about racial and sexist content. The panel also talked about memes in mainstream media, and how they are often poorly reported on. In big, bold letters across three projection screens were the words "The Internet isn't funny anymore." MemeFactory believes that instead of worrying about other social sites "stealing" memes from where they originated, we simply enjoy and let others enjoy. "Basically, what we're calling for is an Internet armistice," the panel proposed. What do you think about the ethics of Internet culture? Is it really possible for us to live in peace on the web? Share your thoughts in the comments. |
| Why the Future of Social Is in the Palm of Your Hand | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 2:52 PM | Meghan Peters |
|  When I leave the house in the morning, the first thing I check is that I have my phone with me. It's not my keys nor my wallet, but my phone that I'm most worried about forgetting. My mobile device has become my lifeline in a lot of ways -- and I know I'm not alone. When I walk outside, it seems hard to find someone who's not on their phone. Whether they're looking up directions on a maps app, checking in to their current location on Foursquare or taking a photo with Instagram, many of us rely on mobile devices to get things done efficiently and conveniently -- and to stay connected. Long before Facebook bought Instagram last month, the mobile social networking boom was upon us. The $1 billion acquisition was just the icing on the cake. This was the jumping off point for a discussion on stage at Mashable Connect with myself, Brett Martin, co-founder and CEO of Sonar, Steve Jang, co-founder, chief product designer and CEO of SoundTracking, and Bart Stein, co-founder of Stamped on Saturday. Here's a little bit more about what we talked about and why we're certain mobile social networks are the communities of the future. Self-Expression in Real Time Social networks were built on the notion of sharing. Whether we're revealing interests, photos or life moments, these platforms have become the ultimate vehicles of self-expression. The features built into mobile devices, such as cameras and GPS, enable even the most casual tech user to easily create his or her own media. Mobile editing and social apps help the content individuals produce to be more sophisticated, while remaining personal. "I think people are excited to take a bit of their everyday life with their phone and augment it toward something beautiful and emotional to share," says Steve Jang, co-founder and CEO of Soundtracking. "As long as there is a captive audience that is responsive to this stream of personal media captured and shared on the fly, then I think we'll continue to see people flock to these mobile communities." Thirty-eight million Americans use mobile devices for social networking almost every day, comScore reports. It's even surpassed gaming as the most-engaged mobile activity, according to Flurry. Like Jang said, these numbers will continue to rise alongside our desire to produce and engage with personal media. As more people access social networks from smartphones and tablets, they'll realize these devices do more than make sharing easier and content creation better. They also allow for instantaneous connections. "It's no longer good enough for some of us to come home from vacation or a night out to post our photos and thoughts," says Brett Martin, co-founder and CEO of Sonar. "We've become so used to real-time sharing that it feels irrelevant to post pictures of and reactions to things that happened mere hours ago." This real-time self-expression was essentially non-existent before the rise of mobile devices -- and now it's the norm. We've become accustomed to knowing what's going on with our friends and family or favorite celebrities and organizations at the moment it's happening. This allows us to feel as though we're experiencing these activities with them, radically changing how we feel and, ultimately, connect. Stronger Relationships This increased connectedness can help us feel closer to our contacts, both fortifying existing relationships and forging new ones. Apps such as Face Time allow us to stay in touch with friends and family overseas while others, like Martin's Sonar, help us discover new contacts through shared connections. These are the users "that know the value of relationships," Martin says. But those get togethers with friends where you look up and everyone is tweeting, checking in or uploading a photo instead of talking face-to-face, makes you wonder: Is mobile social networking really helping us make the right connections? Jang says the stigma of people ignoring their IRL friends to engage on these networks "is outweighed by the benefit of being to stay in touch with a much larger group of friends and family and see, read, and listen to a vivid (albeit fleeting) snapshot of their lives." For Martin, it's certainly a concern. "But the best apps won't need to hold you hostage to the screen," he says. Rather, they should add dimension to relationships and enable you to engage with others in unprecedented ways, making it "easier than ever to make and maintain real life relationships," says Stein. Enriched Lives At the core of any community is connecting people with a passion for a common interest. When it comes to mobile, the plethora of social apps make it easy for users to connect around any hobby or activity, no matter how niche or mainstream. Whether you're looking for a restaurant or a relationship, apps allow you to do what you want to do better -- right along with your community. "The best communities being built by mobile app creators today are the ones that already existed offline, but hadn't been provided with technology and tools to enrich their experiences and relationships," says Stein. "There must be a distinction made between the apps that add utility and improve people's lives rather than those designed to waste time -- the former actually improves relationships and the quality of interactions rather than diminishing them." When asked if, as mobile app creators, they consider themselves community builders, Jang and Stein say the goal of each of their apps is to help an existing community build on what it's already doing. For Soundtracking, it's helping the music community share and engage with the songs they already love. For Stamped, it's about providing people who enjoy sharing their favorites with technology that makes this easier. What's Next? Mobile social networks are the communities of the future. So, what's on the horizon for this up-and-coming space? Here's what the panelists had to say: "It's all about context, frictionless sharing and push-notification-driven user interfaces. The best apps won't tell you about every random person or restaurant that you walk by; just the ones that will truly matter." -- Brett Martin, Co-founder and CEO, Sonar. "The combination of structured data with your social graph is the next big trend in mobile. There's powerful structured data around places, objects and things that when combined with a social layer can generate and sustain a whole new class of apps. It's easier than ever for developers to tap into APIs and publicly available data sources to build new sets of killer applications." -- Bart Stein, Co-founder, Stamped. "Moving forward, the mobile user experience of social networking will become more distributed across multiple apps... When Facebook launched its Messenger app, I loved that. It was a straightforward app that did one thing well and let me re-engage with the FB message feature again. Inside the all-in-one FB app, that feature was more difficult to use quickly and easily... It makes a lot of sense to think about a community's social graph and data as an underlying network upon which you can develop simple, powerful and functionally-specific mobile apps." -- Steve Jang, Co-founder and CEO, Soundtracking. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL Mashable Connect Sponsors
AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com.
Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com.
Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated 'A' (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now.
Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. www.webtrends.com
Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com.
The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html
The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation-providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. www.shrm.org |
| Facebook Messenger Update Delivers Read Receipts And More | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 1:38 PM | AppAdvice |
|  Gradually entering a level on a par with BlackBerry Messenger and Apple’s iMessage, Facebook Messenger has just been updated with some neat additional features. Facebook’s dedicated messaging app for iPhone, which is independent of the official Facebook app, has gained the ability to display read receipts. In one-on-one messages, the app displays “Seen” followed by the time when the message was read. In group chats, it displays the same plus the names of the ones in the group who have read it. But unlike iMessage, which offers read receipts as an opt-in feature, Facebook Messenger provides no way to opt out of them in case you don’t want others knowing exactly when you you’ve read their messages. In line with this, the app has also replaced its three-dot real-time typing symbol in group conversations with as simple as the name of the person currently typing a reply. The updated app now also attaches location data to each message, provided that the sender has granted permission for the app to do so. Here's a screen shot:
Notably absent in the update is the long overdue support for video chat. Upon its launch in August last year, a “hidden” video component was discovered in the app. That component remains untapped. Rest assured that video chat is underway, along with an iPad version of Facebook Messenger. The free Facebook Messenger is available in the App Store. Now that it’s enhanced with more features, do you see any clear advantages of using Facebook Messenger over working with messages in the all-inclusive Facebook app? |
| Here's the Best Time to Share on Pinterest | | Saturday, May 05, 2012 12:04 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  If you're doing most of your sharing on Pinterest from the office, you're doing it wrong. The best time to share things on Pinterest is Saturday morning, according to data from Bitly, the URL shortening service. Hilary Mason, Bitly's chief scientist, revealed the nugget during a talk at Mashable Connect in Orlando, Fla. Bitly keeps track of clicks on the links created by its users, and where they're coming from, aggregating the data to create actionable information. In addition to the Pinterest factoid, Mason said a story's half-life -- the time it takes to receive half the clicks it will ever get -- lasts 2.8 hours on Twitter, 3.1 on Facebook, 7 hours on YouTube and "longer" on StumbleUpon and Tumblr. Bitly also looks at usage of devices. Bitly says it's seeing 12% of clicks coming from mobile devices. While all device use rises and falls based on wake/sleep patterns, most phones, tablets and computers follow similar patterns of use each day. One notable exception: Game consoles, which jump on Thursdays, something Mason attributed to college students using them to mainly watch YouTube videos. SEE ALSO: Behind the Design of Bit.ly's Iconic Pufferfish Typically, content follows a "burst and decay" pattern, with a huge spike of clicks early in its life cycle that drops off rapidly, then slowly. The pattern can repeat as the content spreads to other networks or gets shared by influencers. As an example, Mason cited the recent video ad campaign by PopChips that had actor Ashton Kutcher in brown face, imitating an Indian man. The videos received several spikes of interest, including after a few prominent people suggested the ad was racist and again when the offensive ad was taken down. Bitly's data also reveals which social networks command the most attention online. Based on preliminary research into what people share and what people click on, Bitly ranked the most attention-getting social networks: Facebook YouTube Soundcloud LinkedIn Twitter Blogspot Tumblr Vimeo Reddit For content creators, Mason had some pointed advice for better engaging an audience: create content with a community in mind. "Creating things that people want to tie into their identity is the best way to make them spread," she said. Do you agree with Bitly's conclusion that Pinterest is best used Saturday morning, or its ranked list of social networks? Have your say in the comments. BONUS: The Top Photos From Pinterest Mashable Connect Sponsors
AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses. For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. For more, visit http://www.att.com.
Barnes & Noble College Marketing (BNCM) helps brands thrive on campus. It is a division of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. that operates more than 640 college bookstores across the country, serving more than 4.7 million students and faculty members. BNCM has the on-campus access and student understanding to deliver superior marketing programs for its brand partners. BNCM's capabilities include: experiential and event marketing; product sampling, sweepstakes and promotions; digital marketing (social, email, web); on-campus advertising and postering; and programs targeting freshmen, graduates, alumni and athletic event fans. Visit www.bncollegemarketing.com.
Hiscox specializes in tailored insurance coverage for a range of professional services firms in industries like IT, marketing, consulting and more. Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. has been protecting clients for over 100 years and is rated 'A' (Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best. We offer professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and other policies direct, either online or over the phone, with customized coverage starting from just $22.50/month. Visit hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz for a fast, free quote now.
Webtrends powers digital marketing success. Webtrends is at the forefront of real-time digital marketing relevance and customer experience management through unified customer intelligence. Our industry-leading analytics across mobile, social and web enables marketers to optimize campaigns, maximize customer lifetime value and deliver highly relevant digital brand experiences in real-time. Webtrends dramatically improve digital marketing results for more than 3,500 global brands including, in EMEA and internationally, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, ASOS, Orange, T-Mobile, Microsoft, BMW, Toyota, Play.com, AllSaints, The Telegraph, and many more. www.webtrends.com
Definition 6 is a Unified Marketing Agency that creates brand experiences that unite brands and people in motion. Through imagination, innovation and insight, we execute ideas that deliver continued value across all brand interactions. For more information, please visit http://www.definition6.com.
The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite is an integrated set of applications which allow businesses to gather customer insight and optimize advertising, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, e-mail, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to automatically adjust to customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which leads to a positive impact the bottom line. http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-marketing.html
The leading resource for human resource and business leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends including social innovation-providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what's next. www.shrm.org |
| |  |  | | | TOP STORIES TODAY TOP TOPICS | |
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق