Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a robot that imitates the body of a human boy. At 5-foot-2 and 110 pounds, "Kenshiro" is designed to look like a 12-year-old male, and its body mirrors nearly all the major muscles in a human, according to IEEE Spectrum. Kenshiro boasts 160 pulley-like "muscles," including 50 in the legs, 76 in the trunk, 12 in the shoulder and 22 in the neck -- more than any other bot, the website said. Its movements are uncannily similar to that of a human body, as researchers tried to mimic muscle torque and joint speeds. Watch the video, above, to see Kenshiro in action. What do you think of Kenshiro's similarity to humans? Are we one step closer to David in A.I. Artificial Intelligence? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Image courtesy of the University of Tokyo/ Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, jiuguangw
Imagine this: You're opening a holiday present with anticipation, expecting to receive your favorite tablet. But with all the choices out there, which one do you most want to see under the wrapping? With more options than ever before, there's no doubt that tablets will make very popular gifts this holiday season. Mashable's tech team has been following the tablet marketplace closely to give you insight into which one is right for you. The Barnes & Noble Nook HD is "an instant winner", while the Kindle Fire HD has "fantastic value."
Comedian Adam Sandler turned Leonard Cohen's beautiful classic, "Hallelujah," into a crude parody -- all for a good cause. Sandler performed a version of the 1984 song, later made famous by singer Jeff Buckley's cover, at a relief concert benefitting victims of Hurricane Sandy. "Hallelujah; Sandy, screw ya; we'll get through ya, 'cause we're New Yorkers," Sandler sings to a boisterous crowd. Check out all his modified lyrics in the video, above.
Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, The Who and Paul McCartney were among the other performers at the star-studded concert, which took place Wednesday night in New York City's Madison Square Garden. Image courtesy of AdamSandler.com
2012 is coming to an end, so it's time to recap the 20 most-viewed ads on YouTube this year. It was a big year for sports and car commercials. In fact, almost all of these ads feature a sports star, a car or both -- and many were broadcast during the Super Bowl. The most-viewed commercial was a Nike ad featuring some of the biggest soccer stars in the world going up against a huge crowd of unknown players. Volkswagen continued its successful series of Star Wars-themed ads, while Old Spice somehow placed four commercials in the top 20. Think With Google, which provides information on consumer trends and industry research, compiled this list. Watch all 20 ads in the gallery above.
Google Maps for iOS is back! The app appeared in the App Store late Wednesday evening, providing joy and comfort to disgruntled Apple Maps users everywhere. Rumors of the app's impending release appeared earlier this evening by way of AllThingsD. Google Maps for iOS [iTunes link] looks and functions more similarly to its Android counterpart than it does to the version that used to be bundled with iOS. The app also includes a few features formerly limited to the Android version of Google Maps, including guided turn-by-turn directions. If you're having issues downloading the app, give it a few minutes. Within moments of its release, it appears as if Apple's servers were briefly crushed, with some users finding it difficult to download the app. I've only spent a few minutes with the app, but here are my first impressions:
The interface is noticeably cleaner than before, though I still prefer the looks -- if not always the accuracy -- of Apple Maps
Users can choose to designate a home and work address within their profile, which is particularly handy
Voice-guided turn-by-turn appears to work well
Users can opt to view public transit as an overlay on the map itself, which is a nice touch
I love being able to access public-transit directions within my maps app again
Google Places have been more prominently integrated into the app
What do you think of Google Maps for iOS? Will you ditch Apple Maps and go back to Google, or are you happy with your current solution? Let us know in the comments below. Image courtesy of Flickr, brewbooks
Police busted a Bronx, N.Y. gang Dec. 5 after alleged gang members wrote openly about illegal activity on Facebook and Instagram. Members of the gang WTG attempted to disguise their language, using terms like "glocc," "swammy" and "hammer" for firearms. But police quickly cracked the code. The 10 suspects, all between the ages of 17 and 27, now face six counts of conspiracy to commit murder, assault, weapons possession and sales, and narcotics possession, reported NYPD. WTG isn't the first, and most likely won't be the last, to be outed after over-sharing on Facebook. Police departments across the country have amped up their digital presences over the past few years. And some, like the New York Police Department, have even created special social media units with the sole purpose of tracking down criminal activity through the Internet.
This got us thinking: What other criminals have been caught through social media? We compiled a list of some of the most bone-headed, web-based arrests. Take a look below for our top eight. Any good ones we missed? Let us know in the comments. And please, if you plan on committing a crime,* at least be smart enough not to boast about it publicly.
*Don't commit a crime.
1. "Running from the cops lol — near Terre Haute"
Chris Crego of Lockport, N.Y. was arrested for assault in 2009 after a bar fight. When he didn't show up for sentencing, police issued a warrant for his arrest — turns out, though, he'd already fled the state. It didn't matter. A quick Google search was all it took. Lockport police easily tracked down both Crego's Facebook and MySpace accounts, where Crego had updated his current location to Terre Haute, Ind., his place of employment and — here's the kicker — even his work hours. He had also posted his wanted picture from a newspaper back in Lockport.
2. The Classic "Siphon Gas From a Cop Car and Share It on Facebook" Maneuver
Twenty-year-old Michael Baker, from Jenkins, Ky., was jailed after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook siphoning gas from a local police vehicle. The photo shows Jenkins flipping the bird while swiping fuel from a Jenkins Police Department squad car. The photo circulated through the town of 2,000, and before long, Jenkins was charged with theft for unlawful tanking and spent the night in the slammer. The incident didn't seem to embarrass him or deter his Facebook habit. After he was released, he posted this on his page: "yea lol i went too [sic] jail over facebook."
3. #boobytrap
Two men were arrested in April 2012 for planting deadly, medieval-like booby traps along a popular hiking trail near Provo, Utah. Benjamin Rutkowski, 19, and Kai Christensen, 21, were tipped off to police after they chatted to each other about the traps through — what else? — Facebook. The men claimed they had set up the traps to kill animals, not people, but the police weren't buying it. One of the traps in particular was designed to swing a grapefruit-sized rock, armed with wooden spikes, at whoever set it off.
4. Always Log Out
A woman in Martinsburg, W. Va. came home to discover two diamond rings missing. She also noticed that someone had logged into Facebook on her computer — and had forgotten to log out. The burglar, 19-year-old Jonathan Parker, was easily tracked down and the stolen jewelry was returned.
5. Glamour Mug Shot
Nineteen-year-old Rodney Knight Jr., of Washington, D.C., broke into Washington Post reporter Marc Fisher's home in January 2011. After nabbing a coat, petty cash and a laptop, Knight logged into Fisher's son's Facebook account and posted a photo of himself with the soon-to-be-stolen goods. Knight's freebie mug shot led to his arrest a few days later. He pleaded guilty to both burglary and carrying a pistol without a license. D.C. police officer Kyle Roe dubbed Knight the "most stupid criminal" he had ever encountered, the Register reports.
6. Beach Blues
Maxi Sopo was just excited about his vacation to Cancun. Granted, it was more of an "escape from the law" than a vacation — the 26-year-old had just defrauded a handful of Seattle banks out of $200,000, after all. But it didn't mean he shouldn't document his time on the beach for all his friends back home to see, right? In the midst of all the excitement, Sopo made the rookie mistake of adding a former Justice Department official to his list of friends on Facebook. The result? Less beach bars, more iron bars. Sopo's constant updates made it easy for police to find him. He pleaded guilty to four counts of bank fraud and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
7. Be Careful Who You "Like"
A registered sex offender was arrested in Bluefield, Va. earlier this year after an unfortunate "liking" incident gave away his location. Dyllan Naecher, 29, fled to Virginia after he became wanted in the state of Maryland. In an attempt to keep a close eye on the local police force, Naecher's girlfriend, 22-year-old Samantha Dillow, "liked" the Tazewell Police Department's Facebook page. The "like" gave police direct access to her account, which conveniently included a picture of Naecher. After a bit more digging, Tazewell officers found the pair's address and arrested both the next day.
8. Catch Me If You Can
Convicted thief James Tindell, of Oregon, was tired of the court-ordered drug treatment he had accepted to avoid prison. So naturally, he packed up his bags and left the state — but not without a little virtual taunting. Tindell, apparently eager to boast about his escape from Oregon, updated his Facebook profile almost constantly as he drove across the country. He directed many of the sneery posts toward his probation officer — "Fresh out of another state," he wrote in one. "Catch me if you can." In another, he avoided all discretion entirely: "I'm in Alabama." As luck would have it, Tindell was pulled over for speeding in Daphne, Ala. soon after. The officer ran his license and immediately found the warrant that had been issued for his arrest. Tindell was ordered to reimburse the state $2,600 for his flight back to Oregon and was sent to prison for 30 months, PC World reported. Images courtesy of Flickr, elhombredenegro; Facebook, Michael Baker; Flickr, jczart; and Flickr, shazwan
Are you reading this on a mobile device? Perhaps not, but the odds are much better this year than at this point in 2011. That's because Marshall McLuhan was right: The medium has more of an influence than the content it conveys. This year's list of top advertising trends is mostly about the shifting ways that consumers experience content and how publishers hope to harness those experiences. Some see it as a chance to reboot the digital advertising model. Others view it as a future in which publishers compete for lower and lower stakes as advertising migrates to (so far) cheaper mobile formats.
1. Native Advertising
The term "native advertising" was allegedly first introduced by venture capitalist Fred Wilson at OMMA Global in September 2011, but it really picked up steam towards the end of the year. While there's some disagreement about what native advertising actually is, it is perhaps best summed up by the idea that advertising within a context -- whether it's an app or a content site -- should be pretty much indistinguishable to consumers. Thus, Sponsored Stories, Sponsored Tweets and content like "20 Places That You've Probably Never Heard of But Should Totally Visit" on BuzzFeed, which is sponsored by Samsung's Galaxy Camera. The idea seems to be that traditional banner ads won't work on mobile. With smaller screens (especially on phones), your ad has to work harder to catch the reader's attention.
2. Action-Based Advertising
A sibling to Native Advertising, action-based advertising is based on the idea that the consumer has to do something to initiate an ad. Once again, the trend is driven by smaller screens and the more consumer-ish relationship people have with their mobile devices compared to desktops. For instance, you won't see a Sponsored Story unless one of your Facebook friends recently interacted with a brand. Other ads can be initiated by sharing a piece of content. Appssavvy, one of the leaders in the space with more than 100 million users on its adtivity platform, claims that such ads get 10 times the click-throughs of traditional banner ads.
3. Location-Based Marketing Cools Off
Back in late 2010 and early 2011, it seemed like marketers were falling over themselves to launch deals with Foursquare. In 2012, though, fewer advertisers were beckoning customers to "check in on Foursquare." Though Foursquare appears to have waited too long to roll out advertiser-friendly programs, the novelty also seems to have worn off. Yet, as Aaron Strout, head of location-based marketing for the W20 Group, notes, location-based marketing hasn't gone away. It has just been subsumed by, among others, Apple's iOS 6. Or, as Strout says, "It's become part of the electricity." For instance, when you go to Google.com on the browser of your smartphone, you'll see five icons: restaurants, coffee, bars, fast food and nearby. That's a nice utility, but there's no gamification layer like Foursquare has. Similarly, Apple's Passbook, which is hard-coded into iOS6, is useful, but not much fun.
4. Daily Deals Cool Off
Foursquare is a stand-in for location-based marketing in the same way that Groupon is shorthand for the daily deals category. After the frenzy of 2011, including that long-awaited IPO, Groupon's 2012 was a bad hangover. (LivingSocial, Groupon's big rival in the segment, doesn't seem to be faring much better.) Again, the novelty has worn off. But vendors have also questioned the long-term value of the deals.
5. Internet Blackouts
What do you do when your competitors are asking consumers to tweet, share, like and +1 everything in sight? One solution is to go in the opposite direction and ask them to get off social media and the Internet. That's how Diesel marketed its 1993 YUK shoe, which it exhumed this year. The campaign asked users to quit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for two days or just quit Facebook for three days to try to win the shoe. Other far-flung examples include McDonald's, which promoted Sept. 28 as a "day offline" in Dubai and Telia, a Swedish telecom that created a brand app that disables the Internet for periods. Other pushback includes a campaign from Brut that tried to convince guys to quit Facebook because it's "unmanly" and an app from Newcastle Brown Ale that exposes your lame motivations for posting photos on social media.
The days of Apple Maps are about to be over. If a report saying a Google Maps app for iOS will become available Wednesday night is correct, all iPhone users who have complained about the buggy Apple Maps can go back to their preferred mobile maps app. A source familiar with the matter told AllThingsD the Google Maps app will again become available for iPhone users. SEE ALSO: The World According to Apple Maps In September, the previously pre-installed Google Maps app was removed from iOS with the launch of Apple Maps in iOS 6. Google refused to enable voice navigation for its maps app, because it invested heavily in its own Android software's turn-by-turn navigation. Apple's map replacement -- launched before it was error-free -- left many iOS loyalists longing for the days of Google Maps. Even CEO Tim Cook formally apologized for Apple Maps, admitting the product fell short. Mobile software head Scott Forstall and Maps manager Rich Williamson have both since been pushed from the company. If you're an iOS user, will you switch back to Google Maps when it becomes available?
Pledging to be more organized in the New Year? An update to Manilla, an online service and app that helps you organize bills and subscriptions, added a custom accounts feature. This allows Manilla users to manage nearly any account through the site. Now customers can create accounts for small businesses or individuals, like dog walkers and babysitters, for instance. The company also updated its iOS app, including a new design that allows access to the new custom account feature, and the ability to work on the iPhone 5. You probably can't pay a babysitter or dog walker through Manilla, unless they have an online payment system, but you can set bill-pay reminders and keep track of those expenses. Manilla also lets you securely pay your other bills online, track your spending, and store documents, all with one password. This saves you time and also saves paper. SEE ALSO: 6 Fantastic To-Do Apps for Getting Organized The free app is available on iTunes and there's also one for Android devices on Google Play. Manilla will soon launch an update to both apps that lets customers not only view their custom accounts but manage and edit them, too. There are a number of other online tools and apps that can help you accomplish your financial goals and keep your expenses organized. Mint.com lets you set bill-pay reminders, too, plus track cash and credit purchases and set goals. PayDivvy.com lets you pay bills online from one account and split bills with family or friends. Do you use any apps to keep your finances organized? Tell us in the comments. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, amphotora
You know Wham!, and claymation specials, and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" — but have you seen the corniest Christmas video of all? If not, it's probably this video of Wisconsin school teachers Bob and Trish Evans, who also happen to ride unicycles and juggle, among other acrobatic things. Watch Bob and Trish get down with Santa to polka music. Then someone find me a more ridiculous Christmas video in the comments below.
Starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST, you can watch the star-studded Sandy relief concert here on Mashable and use several social media platforms to donate or tell your story. "12.12.12 The Concert for Sandy Relief" at Madison Square Garden in New York City will feature performances from The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Eddie Vedder, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Chris Martin, Roger Waters and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
The concert, described as the "most widely distributed music event in history," is predicted to reach almost 2 billion homes via online live streams, TV broadcasts and radio play. Here are the ways you can participate in tonight's fundraising efforts:
Using Google to search for pornography? Your job just got a lot more difficult. As an intrepid Reddit user discovered, searching for terms that should lead to adult content on Google's image search show content that is less X-rated than some might anticipate -- even with SafeSearch turned off. When user Fake_Cakeday did an image search for a common sex act, he got back photos of lollipops, microphones and funny (but not explicit) images. Google has a SafeSearch filter that does its best to make sure explicit images don't get into search or image results. However, the new results appear whether SafeSearch is turned on or off. So what's the story, Google? CNET got this response from the search giant:
"We are not censoring any adult content, and want to show users exactly what they are looking for. But we aim not to show sexually-explicit results unless a user is specifically searching for them. We use algorithms to select the most relevant results for a given query. If you're looking for adult content, you can find it without having to change the default setting -- you just may need to be more explicit in your query if your search terms are potentially ambiguous. The image search settings now work the same way as in Web search."
In other words, users must be very clear in their search that they do want to see explicit content in order for those images or results to surface -- regardless of SafeSearch settings. In our tests, we were able to get images of the sex act that Reddit user was looking for. But it took a slightly more direct approach -- "woman giving [ACT]" -- for the results to show up. Even then, we were still greeted with a pop-up from Google alerting us that the content might be explicit and that we could adjust our settings. Clearly, Google is taking the position that its own algorithms are capable of determining user intent.
Rival Search Engines Swoop In
Google's decision to make certain content more difficult to find opens up an opportunity for other search engines to fill the gap. Search.xxx is an adult content-only search engine created by ICM Registry. That company's CEO, Stuart Lawley, had this to say about Google's new default:
"We are still digesting exactly what this will mean in real world search queries for the porn-searching consumer, but this seems to continue a trend we have seen in recent months by the major search engines towards adult content. Google's decision only serves to reinforce the purpose and usefulness of what ICM Registry has been building: a destination for those adult consumers looking for high quality content."
What do you think of Google's decision to filter out explicit content, regardless of user settings? Is it prudent or prudish? Let us know in the comments. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, ToolX
Tumblr has had a rough afternoon. The site went down for a few minutes Wednesday afternoon, and while a few pages have appeared to return, most of the site is still down for the count. Tumblr acknowledged the issue when it began with a tweet from its official Twitter account.
We’re experiencing slow loading or intermittent errors on certain pages and are working quickly to restore performance.
One of the most frequently visited sites on the web, Tumblr recently announced it has reached 20 billion monthly pageviews, a number it credited in part to the growing smartphone market. UPDATE: At 6pm ET/3pm PT Wednesday Tumblr tweeted that it has taken the site down in order to resolve a network issue.
Tumblr has taken the site down in order to resolve a network issue. We will update as we know more.
Warning: What you are about to see will astonish, amaze and make you feel pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It also may remind you that a scientific consensus around global warming doesn't mean most scientists are crazy. According to the Guardian, it's the largest iceberg break-up ever caught on video -- and we're certainly in no position to disagree. The incredible footage comes from filmmaker Jason Balog, who's producing a movie called Chasing Ice about the effects of climate change on the Arctic. It shows 7.4 cubic kilometers (that's about 1.8 cubic miles) noisily separating from Greenland's Ilulissat glacier. Check it out for yourself here, and let us know what you think in the comments.
I ran into a professional photographer friend at the weekend. She'd recently gotten into Instagram, and I complimented her on her feed -- always interesting subjects, artfully framed. She took the compliment, but cursed Instagram in the same breath. Why? "Those filters," she said. Too cheesy? No -- too effective. "We used to have to spend hours getting that kind of effect," she said, shaking her head. So go ahead, naysayers, and roll your eyes at the fact that Flickr just launched an app Wednesday, complete with filters such as Ocelot and Narwhal. Shake your head at the sight of new Twitter app photo filters Willow or Vignette cropping up in your tweet stream. Filters are here to stay. The Flickr and Twitter updates merely signal that their conquest of the planet is complete. It's not that we all think we're professional photographers now, any more than the success of art apps like Brushes or Paper means we think we're da Vinci or Hockney. It's that these tools are fun, plain and simple. Millions of people with all-consuming, always-on-the-go lives are suddenly transported, for moments at a time, to a place where they can add a little creative flair to something they saw. I know what a dozen people are rushing to type in the comments right now: "No filters are the best filters." Maybe so, and I agree that's true some of the time. But overall, it certainly isn't my experience. There are many times when the judicious use of an Earlybird or a Hefe or a Valencia can suddenly make a dull landscape pop.
A rather hipster-ish hashtag I used to see a lot in my Instagram feed is #nofilter. It seemed to peak in late 2011; I don't see it that much any more. It reminds me of the way the rock group Queen used to put "no synthesizers!" on the back of their LPs in the 1970s, then suddenly discovered how great they could make synths sound in the 1980s. Perhaps the same thing is starting to happen to the #nofilter crowd, although I imagine there will always be anti-filter fundamentalists on Instagram. That's fine. It's a network of 100 million people and growing fast; there's room for all stripes. If you want a stripped-down feed of #nofilter shots, you can have it. You'll just have to live in a world where filters are an accepted, universal utility. A photo service or app that doesn't have filters will seem like popular companies without Twitter or Facebook links on their homepages; something will be missing. This is what Flickr and Twitter belatedly realized; Twitter felt the need was so pressing they went to a third party, Aviary, rather than take more time to develop their own. And they were probably smart to do so. No, filters aren't the most flexible tools in the world. I find playing with Photoshop more rewarding in the long run. Heck, I find playing with the (surprisingly substantial) settings on Apple's Preview more rewarding. But they take time and are less convenient. Filters are on the same spectrum. In the sense that creativity thrives on a constricted set of options, they are pretty damn creative. They're the right tools for the speed and the screen size (i.e., for smartphones on the go), whereas something on the level of Preview is the right tool for a casual laptop user who has a few minutes and Photoshop is best for pros with external monitors who have all day. The right camera is the one you have with you; the right photo manipulation tool depends on where you are, how much time you have and how fast you want the world to see it.
What's going to be really interesting is to see how photo tools play out on the tablet screen. There are plenty of great photo-manipulating iPad apps, but no one tool has captured the imagination in the style of filters. There's a reason why there's no native Instagram iPad app yet: At that size, it doesn't look that cool, or rather it feels like you could and should be manipulating the image more. It's filters that have made smartphones the Polaroid instant cameras of the 21st century. Indeed, square Instagram shots pays homage to that Polaroid form factor. It'll be interesting to see whether Twitter and Flickr, both of which allow you to filter more traditional wide images, find success with that, or if we just want squareness on our screens. Either way, the world belongs to filters now -- and I for one welcome our new washed-out, high-contrast, faux-old overlords.
Ever feel irrelevant because of your inability to tweet? Have no fear, Conan O'Brien and his mocking antics are here! Twitter has revolutionized the world, yet all our elderly friends haven't quite embraced the new technology that "sounds like what a bird makes" but stands for "satellite operated portable telegraph." (They almost had me for a second with that one.)
And, really, why should our Meemaws and Poppys be excluded from hashtagging? So, share this guide with your grandparents, and watch them turn from lovable, huggable friends to cellphone junkies who use Twitter to torture their children for their own amusement (#oncomingheartattack). Do your grandparents use Twitter? What's the funniest thing they have ever tweeted? Share in the comments below.
Facebook announced revamped privacy and sharing settings for all users Wednesday morning. The changes will be rolled out from now through the end of the year, but the company shared a sneak peek of the new menu options. Your Facebook privacy settings -- which previously lived in several different menus -- will be organized under one roof, called Privacy Shortcuts: A refreshed Activity Log will show a great deal more information about where your personal data, photos and other information spreads across the Facebook social graph: A new Request Removal Tool will help you ask whoever uploaded those embarrassing photos of you to delete them: In-context notices will alert you if content you choose to hide from your Facebook Timeline might still appear in news feeds, searches and elsewhere. Facebook apps will now have to make two separate requests to access your personal info and post to your account: Your ability to remove yourself from Facebook search is, however, going away. "Because of the limited nature of the setting, we removed it for people who weren’t using it, and have built new, contextual tools, along with education about how to use them," reads a Facebook release. "In the coming weeks, we’ll be retiring this setting for the small percentage of people who still have it."
Even though December is generally a slow month for interviews and hiring, job seekers can still take steps this month to help the search process. The online job-matching service TheLadders advises those looking for work that preparation is paramount. And the way that potential employers perceive job candidates online can make or break your chances at landing an interview and, ultimately, a job, the site advises. "Today's hiring landscape is much different than it was even five years ago," said Amanda Augustine, job-search expert for TheLadders. "With the proliferation of mobile technology and social networking, recruiters are using more channels to recruit talent, which means that job seekers must be discoverable, current and professional across multiple platforms." To help put them on the right path, Augustine developed several tips for those after a new job in the New Year.
Professional resumes: Job seekers are 40% more likely to land the job they want with a professionally written resume. Consider hiring a professional who can turn that laundry list of experiences into a narrative that supports goals and outsmarts the technology gatekeepers.
Online brand overhaul: To monitor their online reputation, job seekers should Google their name regularly. Remove inactive profiles or update them to reflect your current personal brand and resume. In addition, increase the security settings on sites reserved for personal use so recruiters cannot find them.
Social media basics: Job seekers don't need to be experts on every social-media channel, but they must have a basic understanding of the big four: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Applicants should use these sites to strengthen their personal brand online, research target employers or industries, and uncover job opportunities.
Look the part: Jobseekers need to invest in their image both online and offline with stylish, yet budget-conscious haircuts, updated clothes and professional headshots for online profiles.
Get a smarter phone: Owning a smart phone can help your job search. Job seekers should store copies of their resumes on their mobile devices or tablets so they can respond to recruiter requests immediately. This also shows employers is that you are comfortable with new technology.
Facebook is rolling out new privacy controls Wednesday morning, while also taking away the option for you to hide from Facebook search. The new privacy tools will make it easier for you to pick which of your friends or subscribers can view your personal info, status updates and photos, according to Reuters. It also makes it simpler for you to request that a photograph of yourself be taken down by the uploader. Facebook is also making changes to your Activity Log, which will make it easier to see where your personal data is traveling across Facebook's Open Graph. Another change: apps must separately ask for permission to tap into your personal information and to post status updates for you. Both actions were previously handled with a single request. Along with the privacy changes comes the major change to search -- you'll no longer have the option to hide from other Facebook users looking for your name, according to the New York Times. That's likely a move towards becoming a power player in online search -- it's not hard to imagine Facebook as a modern Yellow Pages replacement. You'll know you have the new privacy features when a privacy shortcut appears in the top-right corner of your Facebook window. Mashable has reached out to Facebook to learn more about the privacy changes, and we will update this post with any response. The changes come in the wake of a vote in which users, who were overwhelmingly apathetic about the vote, lost the ability to decide the direction of future company policy -- privacy issues included.
Facebook's privacy changes are likely a response to those who criticize the site's privacy and sharing options for being too scattered and confusing. Many power Facebook users understand exactly how to adjust Facebook's privacy options to their liking, but many mainstream users lack that knowledge. The search changes, however, are likely to aggravate many users and Internet privacy advocates. How do you set your Facebook privacy settings? Are you mad you will no longer be able to hide from search? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AndreyGatash
Amazon just got a little more social. The e-commerce giant launched a new gift feature Wednesday that lets your connect your Facebook account to Amazon in order to keep track of your friends' birthdays and anniversaries, as well as their shopping wish lists. Amazon is billing the new Friends and Family Gifting feature as a central hub for your gift ideas throughout the year. Once you connect your Facebook account, you'll be able to see the wish lists that your connections have created on Amazon as well as information about things they may have Liked through Facebook. You can also opt to receive e-mail reminders about upcoming birthdays and anniversaries. For those who either don't have a Facebook account or would prefer not to sync that account with Amazon, there is an option to add friends manually by entering in their name, birth date and interests. Amazon's gift feature comes one day after Facebook finally rolled out its own gift service to all users in the U.S. It's essentially a no-brainer for Amazon. The company has made a name for itself by being able to recommend relevant items to users based on their personal shopping history. Now, it will be able to recommend items to users based on the shopping interests of their friends and families. Image courtesy of Flickr, asenat29.
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The app also includes a few features formerly limited to the Android version of Google Maps, including guided turn-by-turn directions. If you're having issues downloading the app, give it a few minutes. Within moments of its release, it appears as if Apple's servers were briefly crushed, with some users finding it difficult to download the app. I've only spent a few minutes with the app, but here are my first impressions: 
Twenty-year-old Michael Baker, from Jenkins, Ky., was jailed after he 
Maxi Sopo was just excited about his vacation to Cancun. Granted, it was more of an "escape from the law" than a vacation — the 26-year-old had just defrauded a handful of Seattle banks out of $200,000, after all. But it didn't mean he shouldn't document his time on the beach for all his friends back home to see, right? In the midst of all the excitement, Sopo made the rookie mistake of adding a former 
Convicted thief James Tindell, of Oregon, was tired of the court-ordered drug treatment he had accepted to avoid prison. So naturally, he packed up his bags and left the state — but not without a little virtual taunting. Tindell, apparently eager to boast about his escape from Oregon, updated his Facebook profile almost constantly as he drove across the country. He directed many of the sneery posts toward his probation officer — "Fresh out of another state," he wrote in one. "Catch me if you can." In another, he avoided all discretion entirely: "I'm in Alabama." As luck would have it, Tindell was pulled over for speeding in Daphne, Ala. soon after. The officer ran his license and immediately found the warrant that had been issued for his arrest. Tindell was ordered to reimburse the state $2,600 for his flight back to Oregon and was sent to prison for 30 months, 
I ran into a professional photographer friend at the weekend. She'd recently gotten into 
A refreshed Activity Log will show a great deal more information about where your personal data, photos and other information spreads across the Facebook social graph: 
A new Request Removal Tool will help you ask whoever uploaded those embarrassing photos of you to delete them: 
In-context notices will alert you if content you choose to hide from your Facebook Timeline might still appear in news feeds, searches and elsewhere. 
Facebook apps will now have to make two separate requests to access your personal info and post to your account: 
Your ability to remove yourself from Facebook search is, however, going away. "Because of the limited nature of the setting, we removed it for people who weren’t using it, and have built new, contextual tools, along with education about how to use them," reads a 
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