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• Most Topular Stories

• Apple Determines iTunes Match Royalties By Counting How Many Times A Song is Accessed

  MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page

  Jordan Golson

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:56 pm

  TuneCore president Jeff Price today wrote a blog post praising Apple's iTunes Match service for creating money "out of thin air" for copyright holders. iTunes Match launched with all the major record labels on board, but some small labels refused to participate over concerns the service was legitimizing music pirates. Price disagrees: A person has a song on her computer hard drive. She clicks on the song and plays it. No one is getting paid. The same person pays iTunes $25 for iMatch. She now clicks on the same song and plays it through her iMatch service. Copyright holders get paid.

• iOS 5.1 beta carrier profiles hint at possible iPad 3 release on March 9th

  MacDailyNews

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:36 pm

  Apple has published eleven new profiles for various iPhone-operators...

• Nokia Cuts 4000 Jobs; Last European Phone Assembly Work Goes To Asia

  TechCrunch » Gadgets

  Devin Coldewey

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:35 pm

  It’s a sign of the times, though not a particularly surprising one: Nokia has finally eliminated its European phone assembly infrastructure and will be moving those 4000 jobs to Asia, according to a Reuters report. The factories are not being shuttered altogether, and localizing and finishing work will still be done there, but the primary assembly work is being relocated. The news and layoffs were expected, as the company has slashed many more thousands of jobs over the last year, but this particular cut is symbolic: the intensely European company has been battered into submission, and…

• Path apologizes, offers opt-out for address book uploading

  AppleInsider

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:48 pm

  Social networking app Path issued an apology through its blog on Wednesday for the implementation of a back-end "feature" that uploaded a user's iPhone contacts list to the company's servers, and released an update to remedy the problem with new opt-in/opt-out settings.

• Possible Futures for the Batman Franchise

  Rotten Tomatoes: News

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:54 am

  Admittedly, none of these are very likely -- but the fake posters cooked up for this article are still pretty fun.

• 

  MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page

• Apple Determines iTunes Match Royalties By Counting How Many Times A Song is Accessed

  Jordan Golson

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:56 pm

  TuneCore president Jeff Price today wrote a blog post praising Apple's iTunes Match service for creating money "out of thin air" for copyright holders. iTunes Match launched with all the major record labels on board, but some small labels refused to participate over concerns the service was legitimizing music pirates. Price disagrees: A person has a song on her computer hard drive. She clicks on the song and plays it. No one is getting paid. The same person pays iTunes $25 for iMatch. She now clicks on the same song and plays it through her iMatch service. Copyright holders get paid.

• Photo of iPad 3 Rear Shell Suggests Minor Physical Changes, Larger Battery

  Eric Slivka

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:52 pm

  (Click here for larger version) RepairLabs reports that it has received a photo of what is claimed to the inside of the rear shell of the iPad 3, comparing the part to the corresponding version found on the iPad 2. The iPad 3 version demonstrates a few minor changes compared to the iPad 2, with one of the most notable being an apparently narrower logic board that could make room for an expanded battery.A. You can see here that the mounts for the logic board are very different, which means the logic board shape will be different allowing for . . . . B. More battery. The width of where the…

• Siri Support for Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Russian Languages Coming Next Month?

  Eric Slivka

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:42 am

  Tech in Asia reports on an article [Google translation] from Chinese information technology website DoNews claiming that Apple is preparing to bring support for the Chinese language to Siri on the iPhone 4S next month. According to the report, Apple is also preparing to launch support for Japanese and Russian, but the initial Chinese support will only include Mandarin, with Cantonese and other dialects being left out for the time being.The Chinese tech site DoNews claims to have heard from an Apple engineer who’s working on the Chinese-language version of Siri, the clever voice assistant on…

• Apple Pushes for Clarification on Licensing of FRAND Patents

  Eric Slivka

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:33 am

  Dow Jones Newswires reports that Apple filed a letter with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) last November pushing for clarification on how standards-essential patents are intended to be licensed. These standards-essential patents are currently required to be licensed under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in order to promote competition in the marketplace, but Apple claims that there is too much confusion in the industry about how such licensing should be handled.Apple said in its letter--which was dated Nov. 11, but not previously…

• Sprint Sells 1.8 Million iPhones in 4Q 2011, 40% to New Subscribers

  Eric Slivka

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:55 am

  Sprint today became the last of the three major U.S. iPhone carriers to report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011, disclosing that it sold a total of 1.8 million iPhones during the quarter. While well below the 7.6 million activations reported by AT&T and the 4.3 million activations reported by Verizon, Sprint's iPhone surge helped it achieve a new record high subscriber base of 55 million customers. Notably, 40% of Sprint's iPhone purchasers were new to the carrier, highlighting the device's ability to attract customers from other carriers. That percentage is on par with AT&T's…

• 

  MacDailyNews

• iOS 5.1 beta carrier profiles hint at possible iPad 3 release on March 9th

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:36 pm

  Apple has published eleven new profiles for various iPhone-operators...

• Protestors target Apple Retail Stores in push to fix conditions in Chinese factories

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:21 pm

  If you see somebody dressed as an iPod Thursday during your morning commute...

• RUMOR: iPad 3 rear case housing leaks out of China

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:47 pm

  The mounts for the logic board are very different...

• Apple shares hit new all-time intraday, closing highs

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:36 pm

  Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares today gained $7.85 to set a new all-time closing high...

• Nielsen: Samsung’s Super Bowl ad that mocked Apple iPhone users forgotten by most viewers

  MacDailyNews

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:49 pm

  The Super Bowl showdown taking place during the game’s commercial breaks emerged with a clear winner this year...

• 

  TechCrunch » Gadgets

• Nokia Cuts 4000 Jobs; Last European Phone Assembly Work Goes To Asia

  Devin Coldewey

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:35 pm

  It’s a sign of the times, though not a particularly surprising one: Nokia has finally eliminated its European phone assembly infrastructure and will be moving those 4000 jobs to Asia, according to a Reuters report. The factories are not being shuttered altogether, and localizing and finishing work will still be done there, but the primary assembly work is being relocated. The news and layoffs were expected, as the company has slashed many more thousands of jobs over the last year, but this particular cut is symbolic: the intensely European company has been battered into submission, and…

• Nest Labs Responds To Honeywell Lawsuit, Says It Has The Resources To Defend Itself

  Matt Burns

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:55 pm

  Nest is ready to fight. The Palo Alto company just issued a followup statement regarding Honeywell’s recent patent infringement suit. In short they’re not going to roll over. They’re going to stand tall. The plan is to “vigorously defend itself” from what they call an attempt to stifle “thoughtful competition.” Nice. Go get ‘em, boys. From Nest Labs: We at Nest are proud of creating products that bring true innovation to home efficiency and we are continuing to innovate and bring products to market. The Nest Learning Thermostat is already making…

• Google Offers To Pay People To Have Their Web Use Tracked Minutely

  Devin Coldewey

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:05 pm

  Some people might say that there’s no way Google could be more aware of your browsing habits. Not true! There is much they don’t know. But it’s not because they don’t want to know. Last night Google rolled out two programs aimed at increasing their awareness of how people use their browsers — what sites they visit, for how long, for what purpose, etc. They’ll pay you for the privilege, a bit like being a Nielsen family. They even give you a little box! The “lightweight” option (first noted at Search Engine Land) is simply a Chrome browser…

• Study: iPhone Resale Value 63% After One Year, Android 46%

  Josh Constine

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:50 pm

  All smartphones do not depreciate equally. 18 months after purchase, iPhones can be sold for 53% of their original price, while Androids can only be sold for 42% and BlackBerries for 41% on average according to a study by Y Combinator second-hand price guide startup Priceonomics. That frown on Android fanboy faces gets even larger the quicker they try to resell. 12 months after purchase, iPhones can pull in 63% of their day 1 manufacturer suggested retail price, compared to 46% for Android. Early adopters who must have the latest model would do well to stick with Apple. 6 months after…

• Sprint Lost A Lot Of Money Selling Lots Of iPhones

  John Biggs

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:53 am

  Call it a sort of a bear hug: Sprint, the also-ranniest of the also-rans in the carrier world, lost money selling phones that, on the aggregate gained them subscribers. It’s also Catch-22, a blindside, and a mess. According to Sprint, the company reported a net loss last quarter while still selling 1.8 million iPhones and increasing their subscriber base by 1.6 million. How? The costs associated with provisioning and supporting these new phones drove operating losses to $438 million, up from $139 million in Q4 last year. The company reported increased subscriber numbers – 55…

• 

  AppleInsider

• Path apologizes, offers opt-out for address book uploading

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:48 pm

  Social networking app Path issued an apology through its blog on Wednesday for the implementation of a back-end "feature" that uploaded a user's iPhone contacts list to the company's servers, and released an update to remedy the problem with new opt-in/opt-out settings.

• iTunes Match generates 'magic money' for music copyright holders

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:59 pm

  As the first iTunes Match royalties trickle in, online music distribution company TuneCore says that the service created money "out of thin air" as it monetizes music whether pirated or not.

• Siri rumored to gain support for Mandarin, Japanese and Russian in March

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:38 pm

  An Apple software engineer reportedly working on the Chinese-language version of the company's Siri voice assistant says support for Mandarin, Japanese and Russian will be added in March, as well as localized navigation and information services.

• US Air Force may buy 18,000 Apple iPads for cargo aircraft

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:11 pm

  The U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command recently put out a notice that it plans to buy as many as 18,000 of Apple's iPad for use on cargo aircraft like the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster.

• Purported 'iPad 3' back panel shows space for larger battery, new LCD

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:37 pm

  A component claimed to be the back panel for Apple's anticipated third-generation iPad shows room for a larger battery, and also implies the display will be mounted differently.

• 

  Rotten Tomatoes: News

• Possible Futures for the Batman Franchise

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:54 am

  Admittedly, none of these are very likely -- but the fake posters cooked up for this article are still pretty fun.

• Titanic 3D Sails April 4

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:53 am

  The reissue's voyage begins earlier than planned.

• Director Daniel Espinosa Talks Safe House

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:51 am

  Behind the scenes of the thriller that star Denzel Washington describes as "dirty."

• Carol Burnett and Amy Poehler Talk The Secret World of Arrietty

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:50 am

  The comedy stars discuss Ghibli's latest.

• Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson Reunite for Interns

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:48 am

  Shawn Levy will direct the "Wedding Crashers" co-stars in a new comedy scripted by Vaughn.

• 

  Marvel News

• Assembling the Avengers: Black Widow & Hawkeye

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:32 pm

  By Ben Morse On March 14, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes come together like never before as the stars of this summer’s big screen blockbuster “Marvel’s The Avengers” face a different kind of adventure in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 by the celebrated creative team of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley. As we count down to this action-packed new ongoing series, over the next five days we will get Bagley’s insider insight on bringing these characters to life and also debut exclusive art from the first issue! AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 inked preview art by Mark…

• First Look: Avengers Vs. X-Men #1

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:56 am

  This April, prepare for the biggest super hero war in comics history as Marvel is pleased to present your first look at AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1! From the powerhouse creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker, John Romita Jr., Adam Kubert and Olivier Copiel comes a groundbreaking event pitting Earth’s Mightiest against the X-Men with the entire Marvel Universe at stake. Cyclops and his team believe the arrival of the Phoenix Force will save mutantkind, but Captain America is convinced it will destroy the world! But who is right?

• Sneak Peek: Age of Apocalypse #1

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:47 pm

  Marvel is proud to present your first look at AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1, from the creative team of Dave Lapham and Roberto De La Torre. Spinning out of UNCANNY X-FORCE, the Amazing X-Men and the human resistance must fight tooth and nail to end the tyranny that has left their world ravaged! Continuing Apocalypse’s war on humanity, Weapon X leads the genocide that rains down upon this dimension, eliminating any who stand in his way. “This new Age of Apocalypse book does the impossible – it revolutionizes an old concept without a reboot,” explains Senior Editor Nick Lowe.

• Next Big Thing: Avengers Assemble Liveblog

  7 Feb 2012 | 2:22 pm

  Earth's Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow, come together on March 14 in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1, an all-out action epic in the mighty Marvel manner!But before that, get a taste of what to expect when writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist Mark Bagley and editor Tom Brevoort join us for a special liveblog on Wednesday, February 8 beginning at 3:00 PM EST. Sign up below! <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7ebeeb7349"…

• Wolverine & The X-Men: Class in Session

  7 Feb 2012 | 2:05 pm

  Put down those books and strap on your environmental protection suits, because the Jean Grey School will be redefining the term "field trip" and you're expected to attend! At 2 PM EST on Wednesday, February 8, the Jean Grey School returns to Twitter as you've been accepted to attend Biology 101 under the tutelage of Vice Principal Hank McCoy! All you need to do is log on and follow the Jean Grey School members list for updates. You can also invidiually follow and interact with @JeanGreySchool, @HenryMcCoyPhD, @IceIceBobby, @GenesisHero, @KidGladiator1, @QQuire, @idie_okonkwo, @_Broodling_,…

• 

  Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider

• It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Jake Peterson!

  Brad Moore

  7 Feb 2012 | 9:37 pm

  Making History Come to LifeTen months ago I was attending Photoshop World in Orlando, FL. It was the second time I had been to Photoshop World, but after the blast of Vegas the previous September there was no way I was going to miss the one that Spring. One morning in the instructors’ lounge Jay Maisel, someone who I knew of but had never met, was sitting at a table. I introduced myself and we started to talk. Afterward Jay went up to my Dad and said, “You have failed as a parent if you let your kid go into photography as a career.” He smiled and my Dad just laughed;…

• Jumping the gun on the Nikon D800

  Scott Kelby

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:46 am

  Since my post last night here on Google+ (http://www.scottgplus.com), and here on my blog earlier today, I’ve seen a lot of comments flowing in pro and con about this camera, and I just want to say a quick few things about the comments I’ve been reading thus far:(1) The D800 was apparently created for a very specific type of photographer  There is no law that every camera introduced by a camera company has to be designed to fit your personal needs. If you read that it has 36.3 megapixels and you’re like “36.3 megapixels is overkill!!!” then obviously this…

• Nikon Announces The D800 And Baby Does It Look Sweet!!!!

  Scott Kelby

  6 Feb 2012 | 9:33 pm

  36.3 megapixels (wow!) with a full frame sensor. Full HD video with stereo sound (yay) built in HDR (sweet) and it looks like its aimed at the commercial, wedding and landscape markets (photographers who shoot medium format digital backs. I mean who used to shoot digital backs). ;-)I haven’t seen one, held one, etc., but it sounds amazing and I want one. Bad!!!! (And yes, sometimes you need 36.3 megapixels). Two words: Whoo Hoo!Read the full scoop at Nikon USA: http://bit.ly/wVaU77

• Lightroom 4 and Leaving The Past Behind

  Scott Kelby

  5 Feb 2012 | 9:04 pm

  Yesterday I was in Cincinnati, Ohio teaching a mini-version of my “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it” workshop at the ProPhoto Expo (a really excellent event by the way, put together with the help and vision of none other than David Ziser himself), and during one of the breaks between sessions a very nice woman came up and told me how upset she was that Lightroom 4 wouldn’t run on Windows XP, and that she feared when Photoshop CS6 ships it won’t support XP either.Here’s basically what I told her: It’s 2012. Windows XP came out in October of 2001 (more than 10…

• I Shot My First NHL Ice Hockey Game Last Night….

  Scott Kelby

  2 Feb 2012 | 10:55 pm

  … and it sure looked it! :((Above: That’s the game winning goal in Overtime above. Not a pretty shot, but then, none of them really were).I absolutely love shooting ice hockey!  I’m just no good at it yet. Not only was it my first time shooting ice hockey, it was my first time at an ice hockey game. It was (as expected) a rough night. How rough was it? Well, I actually registered the domain you see below last night after I uploaded my photos to the wire service I was shooting for.But I Still Had to Submit Photos I was able to upload 25 shots to Southcreek Global that were,…

• 

  dealmac - Today's Edition

• MyPublisher: $35 Classic Hardcover Photobook Credit for $10 + $11 s&h

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:13 pm

  MyPublisher offers a $35 Classic Hardcover Photobook Credit for $10. With $10.99 for shipping, that's a $25 savings and among the best deals we've seen from MyPublisher. (We saw a mini photobook for free in August.) The voucher is valid on a 20-page book for 90 days after purchase (additional pages cost extra). Deal ends February 9 at 11 pm ET.

• Sport Armband Case for Apple iPhone 4 for $2 + free shipping

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:38 pm

  Meritline offers this Sport Armband Case for Apple iPhone 4 in Black, model no. 271-293-001, for $3.99. Coupon code "MLCK208UNL1" cuts it to $1.99. With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find for a comparable armband by $2. An adjustible velcro armband, and more. Expect this item to take two to three weeks to arrive.

• Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS10 14MP 16x Digital Camera for $184 + free shipping

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:03 pm

  Adorama offers the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS10 14.1-Megapixel Digital Camera in Silver, Blue, or Red for $199.95. Coupon code "S1841841" cuts it to $184. With free shipping, that's $16 under our mention from a month ago and the lowest total price we could find by $11. Features include a Leica 24mm ultra wide-angle 16x optical zoom lens, 3" touchscreen LCD, integrated GPS, 3D Photo Mode, 720p HD video recording, optical image stabilization, SDXC card slot, mini HDMI output, USB 2.0 connectivity, and more.

• A-DATA 64GB Retractable USB Flash Drive for $60 + free shipping

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pm

  eXpansys offers the A-DATA 64GB Retractable USB 2.0 Flash Drive, model no. AC008-64G-RWE, for $59.99 with free shipping. That's $0.94/GB, tied with our mention from two weeks ago, and the lowest total price we could find by $9. It features slide retraction of the connector and a loop for attachment to a lanyard or key chain.

• EXP HYPE 15" Laptop Carrying Case for $11 + free shipping

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:45 pm

  eXpansys offers the EXP HYPE 15" Notebook Carrying Case, model no. VA-15-LTB, for $10.99 with free shipping. That's tied with our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $5. It features two exterior pockets, a zip closure, shoulder strap, document storage, split opening, and more.

• 

  TVGuide.com: Breaking News

• House Pulls the Plug After Eight Seasons

  Hanh Nguyen

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:40 pm

  The time of death is eight seasons for House. On Wednesday, series executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and star Hugh Laurie announced that Fox's medical drama will end after its eighth and current season. They released the following statement: Read More >Take the poll for this article at TVGuide.com >Other Links From TVGuide.com HouseHugh LaurieJesse SpencerGreg YaitanesOlivia Wilde

• Bill O'Reilly Becomes a Supporter for... Ellen DeGeneres?

  Hanh Nguyen

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:32 pm

  Ellen DeGeneres may have found a surprising new shopping buddy! DeGeneres recently became a spokesperson for JC Penney, but conservative group One Million Moms protested, claiming that the retail chain was jumping on the "pro-gay bandwagon" and calling for JC Penney to fire DeGeneres. On Wednesday's O'Reilly Factor, conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly spoke out in favor of DeGeneres and JC Penney's decision to retain her as their spokesperson. "I don't think that's the spirit of... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com Ellen DeGeneresBill O'Reilly

• The Bachelor's Jake Pavelka Joins Chippendales in Las Vegas

  Hanh Nguyen

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:22 pm

  Jake Pavelka is winging his way to Sin City. The former Bachelor star has signed on with Chippendales in Las Vegas, TMZ reports. On Thursday, Feb. 23 he'll begin as the celebrity MC at the... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com Dancing with the StarsThe Bold and the BeautifulJeff TimmonsJake PavelkaJersey ShoreRonnie MagroH8RFamous Food

• Pilot Season: Daisy Betts Cast in ABC's Last Resort

  Lindsay Silberman

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:21 pm

  Daisy Betts has been cast in ABC's drama pilot Last Resort, TVGuide.com has confirmed.Executive-produced by Shawn Ryan (Lie to Me), the series follows a U.S. nuclear submarine crew led by Capt. Marcus Chaplin, who defies orders to fire nuclear missiles. Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com Andre BraugherShawn RyanLie to MePersons UnknownHarry's LawDaisy Betts

• Exclusive: Bridesmaids' Ben Falcone Heads to Happy Endings

  Natalie Abrams

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:08 pm

  Bridesmaids' Ben Falcone will guest-star in an upcoming episode of Happy Endings, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. The real-life husband of Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy, who portrayed John the air marshal in the hit comedy, will play... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com JoeyElizabeth BanksMelissa McCarthyBen FalconeHappy EndingsBridesmaidsUp All NightWhat To Expect When You're Expecting

• 

  Best Week Ever

• Spaceballs Comes True: Syrian President’s Hacked Password Was 1-2-3-4-5

  Dan Hopper

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:13 pm

  To everyone who’s ever been frustrated when your work email forces you to change your password every couple months, listen up, because this story is effing hilarious: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been under fire from world leaders to step down this week. He’s also under fire from hacktivist group Anonymous, who leaked hundreds of his office’s emails on Monday. While Anonymous is infamous for its hacking know-how, it doesn’t take a genius computer programmer to guess one of the passwords commonly used by Assad’s office accounts: 12345. The string of consecutive numbers is…

• 7 Steps To A Clean And Very Angry Cat

  Michelle Collins

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:04 pm

  1. First things first, you’re going to want to get yourself a cat. It helps if this cat looks like it’s from another planet, and doubly so if it was already born with a miserable face. Put a towel on his head to make sure he knows what is coming. It helps if you also run some bathwater out of the faucet and point to the cat, and then to the faucet. 2. Immerse your cat in water. Make sure the water is not too hot but definitely icy cold. Also support your little guy in the bucket so that it doesn’t drown. 3. I SAID SUPPORT HIM IN THE BUCKET. 4. Now, add soap to the water. Be…

• Behold, The Ultimate Patrick Stewart / Liam Neeson Showdown

  Dan Hopper

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pm

  Here’s Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson appearing on The Graham Norton Show for a showdown of eminently likeable veteran UK actors, to be settled the only way a Picard / Qui-Gon battle could be: By figuring out which actor has the cooler action figure. There’s something extra-amusing about having two highly accomplished serious actors on the same show only to spend the time playing with 10-year-old plastic toys. It’s just surreal that you can all now witness my recurring dream when I was 13 about me and Captain Picard playing with action figures: Best part of the video? The…

• You Guys, I Forgot About Michael Phelps’ Face For A Second

  Michelle Collins

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:31 pm

  I don’t want anyone to panic. Just, take your seats, relax, calm down. But I should probably tell you: I forgot about Michael Phelps’s face for a second. The man has a body of a god. A dolphin god. One with flipper feet and hands that could turn any sandwich into a panini in under 30 seconds. So kudos to Head & Shoulders dandruff shampoo for picking 14-time gold medalist (!!!) Phelps to be the body of their new campaign. And my oh my, what a body this man has. It’s like one of those 3-D paintings, where if you stare at it long enough, other forms start to appear. And if…

• Nick Nolte Turns 71 Today And Used To Be Really F*cking Hot

  Michelle Collins

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:28 am

  (Mugshot via DListed – thanks to @swalks!) Today might seem like any other day to you. But to human grizzly bear Nick Nolte, today marks the 71st year of his existence on Earth. And all things considered, he looks like your average 71 year old man who has lived at once both the easiest and roughest life one can hope for. Looking at Nolte now, it’s hard to imagine that there was a tie where he was HOT AS SH*T. Oh… but there was. Back in the day, Nolte could get it. In fact, he could pretty much get it up untillll 1994′s I Love Trouble. (Also, I hear what you’re…

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  Pogue's Posts

• Things That Were Once Amazing

  By DAVID POGUE

  2 Feb 2012 | 11:04 am

  David Pogue is amazed that people are still amazed at children's tech prowess. It's too bad there's no List of Things That Were Once Amazing, but Are Really Kind of Old News at This Point, he says. It would be a handy clip-and-save document that you could review, perhaps to avoid unwittingly embarrassing yourself at the next cocktail party.

• Look, Ma, No Hands! Operating a Laptop With Eyes Only

  By DAVID POGUE

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:43 am

  Tobii, a Swedish company, is demonstrating eye-tracking software that really rocked my world. Imagine reading a Web page or Word document on the screen and the page scrolls automatically, gracefully and effortlessly as you proceed through the article. The system knows where your eyes are and how fast you're going.

• A New G-Shock Watch Awaits a New Bluetooth

  By DAVID POGUE

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:57 am

  Casio's G-Shock GB6900 watch uses a new, low-power Bluetooth chip called Bluetooth Smart (or Bluetooth 4.0) to do amazing things with a PC or smartphone. Butt the watch doesn't work unless your phone also has Bluetooth 4.0 - and right now, only a couple of them do.

• Put Down the Pitchforks on SOPA

  By DAVID POGUE

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  Not enough people have acknowledged that the opposition was arguing two totally different points - the "you're going about it the wrong way" group and the "we want our illegal movies!" group. In the new world of Internet versus government, the system worked. The people spoke, government listened, and that's good. But let us do it responsibly, people. Both sides have an obligation to do the right thing.

• A Gadget Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts

  By DAVID POGUE

  5 Jan 2012 | 12:36 pm

  If you think Amazon's real cost to make that Kindle Fire is $201, then by all means go to China and cobble one together yourself. The components are only part of the cost of any gadget.

• 

  Top News

• Free to Choose

  Digg

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:27 am

  There is a significant difference between recognizing a woman's "right" to choose and making it the "obligation" of others to pay for or facilitate that choice.

• 5 Big Lies About the Phony War on Religion

  Digg

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 am

  Right-wingers claim Obama and Democrats across the country are waging a war on religion -- and of course, conservatives are the civilian casualties along with the rest of America's white Christian majority.

• Scientists Invent Robot That Powers Itself By Eating Organic Matter, Then Pooping

  Digg

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:43 am

  Scientists working out of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have invented a robot that powers itself by collecting its own food and water, digests it, then poops out the waste, according to Scientific American. It may sound unconventional, but scientists hope that a new generation of these "ecobots" will not only be self-sustaining, but may even help recycle and reuse food waste.

• Introducing Facebook Timeline: The End of Free Will

  Digg

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:01 am

  An exciting new innovation that will soon be appearing on your facebook wall, and in your nightmares.

• Chinese Shipping Magnate Drops $328,000 for Racing Pigeon

  Digg

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:24 am

  According to an “international pigeon auction house” (which is apparently a real thing), Zhen Yu Hu, a Chinese shipping magnate, dropped the hefty sum of money on the bird.

• 

  Slashdot

• The Zuckerberg Tax

  samzenpus

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:16 pm

  Hugh Pickens writes "David S. Miller writes that when Facebook goes public later this year, Mark Zuckerberg plans to exercise stock options worth $5 billion of the $28 billion that his ownership stake will be worth and since the $5 billion he will receive will be treated as salary, Zuckerberg will have a tax bill of more than $2 billion making him, quite possibly, the largest taxpayer in history. But how much income tax will Zuckerberg pay on the rest of his stock that he won't immediately sell? Nothing, nada, zilch. He can simply use his stock as collateral to borrow against his tremendous…

• Jedi Master's Hand-Made Lightsaber Stolen

  samzenpus

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:52 pm

  First time accepted submitter psiogen writes "Flynn Michael, an instructor at New York Jedi, an organization that teaches 'practical knowledge of how to use a lightsaber, left his custom-crafted blade for only a few imperial minutes, but when he returned, it was gone. Fromthe article:'“Who steals somebody’s lightsaber? It’s like stealing someone’s toy out of the sandbox,” said Michael, the founder of New York Jedi, a stage combat performance group. “I finally got my uber custom saber, and then some jerk walks out with it."'"Read more of this story at…

• US Air Force Buys iPads To Replace Flight Bags

  samzenpus

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pm

  redletterdave writes "Following the precedent set by commercial airliners, the U.S. Air Force plans to buy up to 18,000 iPads for its Air Mobility Command (AMC), replacing heavy flight bags with light and efficient Apple iPad 2s for the crews that fly cargo aircraft. The devices will reportedly be used by the crews on the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft. There are several benefits to using electronic flight bags instead of physical versions. For one, the iPad can instantly update charts electronically, while the AMC would require flying charts get reprinted every 28 days to stay…

• Selling Used MP3s Found Legal In America

  samzenpus

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pm

  bs0d3 writes "After some litigation; ReDigi, a site where people can sell used MP3's has been found legal in America. One of the key decisions the judge had to make was whether MP3's were material objects or not. 'Material objects' are not subject to the distribution right stipulated in "17 USC 106(3)" which protects the sale of intellectual property copies. If MP3's are material objects than the resale of them is guaranteed legal under the first sale' exception in 17 USC 109. Capitol Records tried to argue that they were material objects under one law and not under the other. Today the judge…

• If You're Fat, Broke, and Smoking, Blame Language

  samzenpus

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:28 pm

  First time accepted submitter derekmead writes "A Yale researcher says that culture differences how much money we save, how well we take care of ourselves, and other behavior indicative of taking the long view, are all based on language. His study argues that the way a language's syntax refers to the future (PDF) affects how its speakers perceive the future. For example, English and Greek make strong distinctions between the present and the future, while German doesn't, while English and Greek speakers are statistically poorer and in worse health than Germans. (The study includes a broader…

• 

  ESPN.com - College Football

• Ferentz: New Hawkeyes DC Parker has 'vision'

  Associated Press

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:26 pm

  Phil Parker had the opportunity to leave Iowa for a defensive coordinator's job at another major program more than once, yet chose to stay with the Hawkeyes.

• Memphis accepts invitation to join Big East

  ESPN.com news services

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:11 pm

  At long last, Memphis is part of the Big East.

• Big Ten ADs considering 4-team playoff format

  ESPN.com news services

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:17 pm

  The Big Ten, which helped squash the notion of a four-team playoff to crown a national champion in college football several years ago, is taking another look.

• North Dakota to resume use of 'Fighting Sioux'

  Associated Press

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:14 pm

  Robert Kelley, the University of North Dakota president says the school will resume using its Fighting Sioux nickname despite threats from the NCAA.

• Penn St.: Paterno campus services cost $29K

  Associated Press

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:10 pm

  Penn State officials say it cost about $29,000 to hold the viewings and services on campus for the late football coach Joe Paterno.

• 

  SI.com - NCAA Football

• Rivals100: Top recruits in 2013 class announced

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:18 pm

• Sandusky seeks State College-area jury for trial

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:09 pm

  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Jerry Sandusky's lawyer filed court paperwork Wednesday arguing that jurors in his child sex abuse trial should be chosen from the community where he lives and suggesting that a trial delay might be the best way to address the intense publicity generated by the case.

• Memphis joins Big East in all sports

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:07 pm

  At long last, Memphis is part of the Big East.

• North Dakota will use Fighting Sioux nickname

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:06 pm

  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The University of North Dakota will resume using its contentious Fighting Sioux nickname despite threats from the NCAA, the school's president said Wednesday, marking the latest twist in a protracted fight about a name that critics consider offensive.

• Stewart Mandel: Would a four-team playoff really be less controversial than the BCS?

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:36 am

  With Big Ten ADs offering up a proposal, a plus-one seems more inevitable than ever. But will it actually be better than the BCS? History says yes ... usually. Stewart Mandel explains.

• 

  SEC Football Blogger

• SEC Recruiting: Winners and Losers

  Andrew Rosin

  2 Feb 2012 | 11:18 am

  SEC Recruiting: Winners and Losers There are certain aspects of recruiting that you won’t need foresight to know. You know that there are teams that filled a need, recruited a new class of player, so on and et al. Here’s what was interesting to me beyond the obvious star rating winners. So if you’re wondering [...]

• Dorial Green-Beckham highlight videos

  Andrew Rosin

  31 Jan 2012 | 9:12 am

  Dorial Green-Beckham highlight videos A part of the reason how my posting schedule becomes shaky from the post bowl season until August? I don’t trust recruiting. You find that Nick Fairley was the 27th ranked guard coming out of high school or that Mark Ingram was the 58th ranked running back? You can see just [...]

• SEC’s Early Exit Breakdown

  Andrew Rosin

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:31 am

  SEC’s Early Exit Breakdown This was a record breaking season for people deciding they were done with college football. And while there will be some people who will not be drafted (Darron Thomas? Art thou serious bro?), the SEC’s exodus of talent will lead to pride on draft day. As many as seven could go [...]

• Alabama vs. LSU, BCS Reactions, 2012

  Andrew Rosin

  10 Jan 2012 | 6:23 am

  Alabama vs. LSU, BCS Reactions, 2012 Was this game ugly? Yes. Like all sequels, they pale in comparison to the original. I’m not saying that every aspect of the game was terrible. But that being said? This was more impenetrable than a Lars Von Trier movie in several spots. But you have to give credit [...]

• LSU vs. Alabama, BCS National Championship, Predicition Pick 2012

  Andrew Rosin

  6 Jan 2012 | 4:23 am

  LSU vs. Alabama, BCS National Championship, Predicition Pick 2012 I’m not going to just throw up my last call. Though the fact of the matter is that this is a game that has a very similar vibe. If the Alamo Bowl was a Michael Bay movie, and the Rose and Fiesta Bowls were X-Men 2 [...]

• 

  Presentation Zen

• Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization

  Garr

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:31 pm

  Dr. Hans Rosling is one of my presentation heroes; he's been featured or mentioned in all my books and several times on presentationzen.com over the years. If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull—and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations. Most people are aware of Dr. Rosling through his popular TED Talks, but just in case you've never seen him present, below is a nice 5-minute piece he did on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. At TED.com you'll…

• New: Presentation Zen (2nd Edition)

  Garr

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pm

  Four years ago my first book Presentation Zen was published by Peachpit Press. Since then I wrote two other presentation books and a sketchbook/storyboard book and a DVD (plus an additional DVD/Book just for Japan). Although a lot of time had passed, I was still happy with the original Presentation Zen. And yet, the original Presentation Zen book could benefit from a little freshening up in the form of a 2nd edition for 2012. This 2nd edition of Presentation Zen has the same look and feel as the original book and I still did all the design and layout myself. The biggest difference is the book…

• 10 great books to help you think, create, & communicate better in 2012

  Garr

  10 Jan 2012 | 4:54 am

  In the spirit of personal kaizen, I have listed below a few books that I read (or reread) over the past year that you may want to read as part of your own continuous improvement journey. (Clicking on the book's icon takes you to Amazon.com.) (1) Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Over the last 10-20 years scientists have made many remarkable discoveries concerning the brain and how it works. David Rock is not a neuroscientist but he is a good "neurotranslator" of the scientific evidence and does a good job of…

• Progress and the intentional selection of less

  Garr

  30 Dec 2011 | 5:26 pm

  Many people today talk about presentation technology as if it were a panacea for boring lectures and ineffective presentations. Technologies such as our laptops, iPads, and cool software packages are wonderful tools that can, when used well, increase the quality of communication and engagement. This is especially true when we need to engage with people live on the other side of the planet via tools like video conferencing, webinars, Skype, and so on. However, while technology has evolved in dramatic ways over the last generation, our deep human need for visceral connections, and personal…

• Steve Jobs: "People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint"

  Garr

  20 Dec 2011 | 5:12 am

  One thing we need to constantly remind ourselves is that slides and other forms of projected visualization—no matter how "cool" they may be—are not appropriate for every context. Multimedia is great for presentations before large groups such as keynote addresses or conference presentations, but in meetings where you want to actively discuss issues or go over details in depth, slides—especially the snooze-inducing bulletpoint variety, which are never a good idea—are almost always counter productive. I stressed early on in the first version of Presentation Zen four years ago—and ad…

• 

  FOXSports.com News for COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• Florida, Georgia give SEC East promise

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:14 pm

  Gators, Dawgs should give SEC East a shot against West powers.

• What's next for conference realignment?

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:59 am

  Memphis will help the Big East -- just not in football.

• Hunt for perfect Valentine’s Day gift is over

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:20 am

• Memphis accepts invite, joins Big East

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:01 am

  The Big East says the Memphis Tigers officially accepted an invitation to be part of the conference's next incarnation in 2013. Memphis is the seventh school, and fourth from Conference USA, to sign up for future membership in the Big East since December. The Tigers will compete in the Big East in all sports.

• AG wants stricter rules for Sandusky

  7 Feb 2012 | 2:56 pm

  Prosecutors asked Tuesday to have Jerry Sandusky kept indoors as part of his bail conditions, citing complaints that the former Penn State football assistant was seen outside and watching children in a schoolyard from the back porch of his home, where he remains under house arrest while awaiting trial on child molestation charges.

• 

  TechCrunch

• Addressgate: After The Path Fallout, Whose Address Book Is It Anyway?

  Contributor

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:39 pm

  Editor’s note: Guest author Keith Teare is General Partner at his incubator Archimedes Labs and CEO of newly funded just.me. He was a co-founder of TechCrunch. Just.me is a stealth company in the mobile space and as such Keith’s opinions on this issue are likely to reflect his product focus. Addressgate seems like an appropriate name for what is dominating Silicon Valley headlines: Path’s mobile app uploading all of your contacts. Today Michael Arrington suggested that Path delete the data gathered and start over, and now Path CEO and founder Dave Morin has decided to do just that,…

• Here’s What Facebook Stock Looks Like

  Josh Constine

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:38 pm

  In a few months time, here’s what the world will be fighting to get its hands on, or get rid of depending on your confidence in Facebook’s business plan. The image of a Facebook stock certificate was included in the amended S-1 Facebook filed today with the SEC. It’s sure to become coveted by Scripophiliacs, or people who collect historic stock certificates, alongside those from Google, Apple, and Yahoo pictured below. At first glance, the designs in the certificate’s margins appear similar to the insignia found within the Facebook hoodie Mark Zuckerberg has worn.

• Andrew Mason’s First Earnings Call: “Stop Sending Me Pole-Dancing Deals”

  Erick Schonfeld

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:13 pm

  Groupon CEO Andrew Mason just finished his first post-IPO earnings calls with Wall Street analysts. (We covered it live and looked at the numbers). “We believe we are on the cusp of a sea change” in behavior, he noted. “We’re about to see what technology can do for local commerce.” Listening to the call, I’d say his performance was mixed. He sounded a little nervous at first, but warmed up to the task just as he did during the IPO roadshow, joking with the analysts that one of the most requested features Groupon hears from customers to “stop sending me pole-dancing…

• Facebook As A Mobile Platform: 60 Million Mobile Users Visit Third-Party Apps Each Month

  Eric Eldon

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:04 pm

  Facebook is huge on mobile — as an application developer. But questions have circled for years around how it can be a real mobile platform on top of operating systems controlled by Apple and Google. But we got a little more data on what it’s already accomplishing on the platform front, today at the Inside Social Apps conference here in San Francisco. Facebook product director Carl Sjogreen said on stage that out of the 425 million monthly mobile users that it currently counts, 60 million are going to third party apps. And this isn’t just once a month apiece — this is…

• Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million From Chris Sacca, Max Levchin And Others To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System

  Alexia Tsotsis

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 pm

  Gumroad, the buzzy one-man startup launched by Pinterest and Turntable app designer (and 19-year-old college dropout) Sahil Lavingia, officially launches today with over $1.1 million in seed funding from investors Accel Partners, Chris Sacca, Max Levchin, SV Angel, Josh Kopelman, Seth Goldstein, Naval Ravikrant, Collaborative Fund and Danny Rimer. To use the Gumroad, sign in with Facebook or Twitter Auth and submit any link in the entry form, whether it be to a blogpost, Spotify playlist, Instagram, invite for an iPhone app, research paper or whatever you can come up with you crazy character!

• 

  Just Creative Design

• 6 Creative Ways to Use Delicious Bookmarks

  Jacob Cass

  6 Feb 2012 | 10:57 am

  This is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*. – Delicious is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords. Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with…

• The 2011 Logo Of The Year

  Jacob Cass

  1 Feb 2012 | 8:40 pm

  After a month of voting on the Top Logo Designs of 2011 the voting has now closed and I am pleased to announce the 2011 Logo Of The Year. The 2011 Logo Of The Year Fork & Knife Restaurant by Nick Sickelton. The Runner Up Bread & Breakfast is a coffee shop / bakery that serves breakfast all day and sells bread and baked goods. The aim was to create a logo that will combine the two elements of business (bakery and coffee shop) without creating an overload of visuals. The positive/negative design of the coffee cup and the bread image that is created by the coffee itself, along with the…

• Flywheel Takes Off

  Jacob Cass

  31 Jan 2012 | 2:39 pm

  Flywheel started with a simple idea… make indoor cycling epic. To make that happen Flywheel partnered with Ammirati (the agency where I currently work) who re-imagined the Flywheel brand experience. A bold, new look enforced by striking photography & solid copywriting was implemented across all facets of the Flywheel brand, including the Flywheel website which I had the pleasure to work on. Ammirati and I had to restructure, rewrite and redesign all pages of the Flywheel website, for both the front and logged in sections of the site. We’re happy to announce the site successfully…

• Accessibility & Integrity

  Jacob Cass

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:34 am

  I was recently humbled and amazed at an email I received through my brand identity questionnaire and I just had to share the story, not only because it opened my eyes to something amazing, but something I would never have thought of and I’m sure not many others would have either. To cut to the chase, the lady who was inquiring about my brand identity / design services was blind. Although accessibility should be built into in all websites, I still find this fact extremely fascinating. I simply can’t fathom the process of trying to find the right designer without being able to see…

• How to Keep Start-up Costs Low

  Jacob Cass

  20 Jan 2012 | 11:17 am

  This is a guest article contributed by Daniela Baker*. – The success or failure of a business depends on how wisely you allocate start-up funding. As a solo-preneur you can monitor every expense and decide where your money will best be spent to get your business off to a good start. Here are four suggestions for controlling start-up costs. Be Flexible & Smart With How You Get Funds The cost of borrowing, along with the terms attached to most loans, can make them quite prohibitive to the small business owners. However, there are several other options new business owners may consider…

• 

  Color + Design Blog by COLOURlovers / Feed

• Valentine's Day Wedding Inspiration &Trends

  allisonsilber

  7 Feb 2012 | 9:18 am

  Though Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday this year, some couples choose this day as a special time to tie the knot, often with small elopements or intimate affairs. Whether you choose a Valentine's Day wedding or one that falls the weekend after, you can add in some special details to keep the feeling of Valentine's Day alive. If you are dying to add a few special details and crafts to your big day, here are some great ideas to add into your Valentine's Day wedding (or any other wedding for that matter!) Get ready for a little red and pink madness that will make your big day awesome. Source:…

• COLOURlovers interview with Matthew Smith of Zaarly

  allisonsilber

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:47 am

  Today we are chatting with Matthew Smith, currently the creative director of Zaarly. Known for his online persona as "whale," Matt has proven himself as a great designer and influencer in the field. Zaarly is a marketplace where you can ask for anything, set the price, and keep the community rooted by building local economy and helping each other out. Follow Matthew on Dribbble and Twitter. First up, why don't you tell the community a bit about who you are, what you do, how long you have been doing it.  I'm the Creative Director at Zaarly, a place that's bringing…

• The Color of Love Through the Artistic Eye

  mollybermea

  3 Feb 2012 | 8:02 am

  Love is most often associated with the color red. Be that by conditioning of incessant advertising or that we are drawn to it by nature. Secondary to red is of course pink, in almost any level of saturation. Red is one of those colors that possesses the strongest Ying and Yang of its theoretical definitions. Between love and hate, rebirth and death, the human relationship in any combination, could literally be summed up in the meaning of the color Red. Pink has what I would describe as a temperamental scale, more based on softness versus loudness than the extreme left or right end of the…

• Blockbuster Designs: The Creative Content that Sells Movies

  COLOURlover

  2 Feb 2012 | 9:10 am

  With the launch of our design content marketplace, CreativeMarket.com coming soon we thought it would be fun to take a look at the most popular design elements in movie posters from 2011. After all, it's the carefully & creatively designed marketing materials for the movies are what get us to the theater. (honestly, the best selling designs at the movie theater these days are the concessions stands... $6 for a bottle of water?!) The designers capture our attention, but the real success of a blockbuster movie will be determined by the quality of the film itself (not including #4 on the…

• Home Decor Trends: Moroccan Pattern Stencil Wall Tutorial

  allisonsilber

  31 Jan 2012 | 9:58 am

  Stenciled walls are becoming quite the trend right now. And for good reason, it adds an awesome pop to the  room.  I have been dying to stencil a wall for a while now, the problem is, the process looks very daunting and frankly, a little tedious. Finally, I decided to go for it and stencil the main wall in my living room to give the rather drab room, a big pop. Source: 1, 2, 3, 4 After looking through tons of color palettes and patterns, I set out to find the perfect gray and decided on a Moroccan pattern similar to the bedroom below. I bought the "Wall Stencil Marrakech…

• 

  ideasonideas

• Deliberatism

  Eric Karjaluoto

  31 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am

  I’m taking a short break from ideasonideas. (Don’t worry—I’ll be back.) I’m doing so in order to find a little time to work on a new project that I feel strongly about. For now, it’s a simple blog that poses … Continue reading →

• Bullshit

  Eric Karjaluoto

  17 Jan 2012 | 5:28 pm

  My morning bus ride affords an opportunity to listen to music, witness sleeping commuters drool, and catch up design and technology news. Over the past months, I’ve made an effort to skip my usual reads (TechCrunch and Hacker News) and instead look at … Continue reading →

• Difficult People

  Eric Karjaluoto

  23 Sep 2011 | 3:14 pm

  I think I called her an asshole at one point or another. Certainly not to her face, and probably not even out loud, but I’m quite convinced that I at very least muttered the word under my breath. Mrs. Hughes … Continue reading →

• Buying Creative Sucks

  Eric Karjaluoto

  13 Sep 2011 | 5:40 pm

  If you run a creative shop, you probably offer your customers a pretty crappy experience. While it may be unpleasant to hear this, it’s likely the case. In fact, I’d argue that this is commonplace in our industry. For the … Continue reading →

• The Rules

  Eric Karjaluoto

  23 Aug 2011 | 8:58 am

  Weak designers believe they are artists. They eschew rules, believing them to be unnecessary constraints that serve only to stifle their visual “genius.” Such perspectives are overwhelmingly endemic amongst amateurs. Their thinking is analogous to musicians saying they don’t need … Continue reading →

• 

  Latest articles

• New Interview with Archan Nair

  marcos333

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:01 am

  Archan Nair is a really kind person and one of the top notch digital artists nowadays. This is actually our second interview with him, as we always like to know more and more about him and all his knowledge thru this years working on the creative field. Hope this conversation will be useful and enjoyable for you guys. If you want to know more about Archan, please acess his Website. 1) First of all I would like to thank you for doing this interview, it's an honor for us to present more about you to our readers. I would like to start asking you about when your interest for digital art and…

• Logo Design: Carrots

  PauloGabriel

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:13 am

  We keep going through our weekly journey checking out great logos! We're thinking ahead and we want to find new topics, good ones, to share with you guys. Last week we had a great post about logos with kangaroos, and today it's all about logos with carrots! Every week we search through our beloved Logopond, but starting this week, we are also gonna search for logos on Dribbble, a great community for designers everywhere. Also, if you you'd like to suggest ideas for the next subjects, please, tell me by sending me sending me a tweet: @paulogabriel. Cheers! ;) About the authorHello, everyone!

• Typography Mania #118

  paul0v2

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:14 am

  Typography Mania is a weekly post series that comes around every Wednesday with the best of Typography design works on the web, from type videos to images everything is full of great design and typography inspiration. Users can submit their typography designs. Click here to check out all the previous Typography Mania Make sure to click on each image to go to original location where you can check out more work from each artist and designer. Submit your Typography work From now on you can submit your typography mania piece by adding your image to Abduzeedo's Flickr Group and use the tag…

• 

  Design daily news

• The best movie posters of 2011

  Mirko

  7 Feb 2012 | 6:16 pm

  I haven’t watched much movies in 2011, so this compilation of best movie posters of 2011 by Mubi.com is very welcome. Personal favorites in the list? Probably Tyrannosaur or Burning Man.

• How to convince your clients of the importance of white space

  Mirko

  6 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pm

  This is a recurring issue for designers around the globe. No matter if you are a graphic or web designer, you will sooner or later run into a client that finds the layout of your design too “empty”. This is a quite natural reaction for a non-designer. I remember in graphic design school, most students would add more elements in their layouts than needed, or they would make these elements bigger because they were afraid of too much white space. As a designer, you should probably already know that white space helps a lot to create more elegant designs, separate elements better from…

• Featured illustrator: Malika Favre

  Mirko

  5 Feb 2012 | 5:37 pm

  Malika Favre creates wonderful vector-style illustrations. She uses color and white space perfectly.

• Vårdapoteket identity

  Mirko

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:08 pm

  I wish we could see more visual identities like this one. For Vårdapoteket, a swedish pharmacy chain, Stockholm Design Lab created a colorful infography of the human body that serves as the base for the whole branding. The result is a colorful and coherent looking style for the shops and promotion material.

• How to take charge of clients who want free work

  Mirko

  2 Feb 2012 | 4:46 pm

  When you are conducting your own business there will become a time when a person feels you should do certain work for them and not get paid. Relatives and ‘friends’ are notorious for this and it is not uncommon for others who simply feel they are close enough to you to enable them to extract the same ‘favours.’ There are also others who damn well have no intentions of paying for anything unless they are somehow forced into doing so. How you handle your friends and relatives is up to you but there is no way a virtual stranger should have any work done for them and not…

• 

  Logo Design Blog

• 6 Reasons Why Your Business Should Not use Google Analytics Alone

  Ben Johnson

  7 Feb 2012 | 2:35 am

  A website without analytics and a website owner unaware of the intricacies involved in the traceability of websites using Google analytics are sure to lag behind in the competitive business world. Although, the God-Like image of Google has made organizations completely dependent on its tools for rankings, analytics and reputation management. But here are six beefy reasons to why you should not use Google Analytics alone.

• Why is it Necessary for the Domain Name and the Website Name to be Similar?

  Ben Johnson

  23 Jan 2012 | 2:05 am

  Most people make the mistake of naming their websites and their domains differently. It is good to be creative with names but sometimes this creativity may cost a lot. Most effective website names are usually the ones where the domain name is either identical or at least similar to the website. This will do one good thing, something which every website businessman wants for their websites; it will make the name search engine friendly.

• How to Find a Reliable Web Design Service?

  Ben Johnson

  17 Jan 2012 | 2:44 am

  The foremost thing to understand is: what do we mean when we say that we are looking for a reliable web design service? In simple words, it means that we need to acquire the expertise of a company that will create a design to perfectly represent our business model. Plus, a reliable service also offers revisions to ensure your complete satisfaction. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the design, they will happily make modifications according to your needs and business requirements.

• Make Your Facebook Timeline a Social Resume

  Ben Johnson

  11 Jan 2012 | 10:20 pm

  As most of you probably know, Facebook is in the middle of updating everyone’s profile to the new Timeline format. Not only does this new layout and design enhance your Facebook browsing experience, but it can also be used as a tool to affirm what you’ve stated on your curriculum vitae and cover letter.

• Logo Evolutions in 2011

  Ben Johnson

  1 Jan 2012 | 10:03 pm

  In 2011, some big organizations thought of bringing change to their corporate identities and accomplished it brilliantly through small amendments in their logo. They needed the change for better positioning, an enhanced brand image and for a stronger market presence.

• 

  Graphic Design Blog - An Ultimate Resource for Graphic Designers

• SocialDon – FREE Comparison of Facebook Analytics!

  Charlie B. Johnson

  7 Feb 2012 | 9:33 pm

    Each day, more and more companies are registering themselves on Facebook to increase their online market presence. This is because Facebook is the most used social media site in the world (Ranked 2nd by Alexa in their global website rankings).   Did You Know? –› 43% of the Facebook users Like, or are fans of, at least one brand on Facebook. –› The average U.S. Facebook user “Likes” an average of 14 companies/brands. –› 40% users Like a company’s page to receive discounts and promotions. –› 33% users Like a company’s page to…

• 25 Amazing Not-Photoshopped Pictures – See it to believe it!

  Charlie B. Johnson

  6 Feb 2012 | 2:42 am

  Photoshop manipulation is an art practiced by a lot of artists and designers. It is even used in creating print advertisements for major brands and for designing other promotional props. Every now and then, we witness several pictures on the internet that are altered or manipulated using Adobe Photoshop. But there are some pictures that baffle us into thinking they must be manipulated, even though they are not photoshopped at all. Do you know the real secret involved in these pictures that claim not to be photoshopped? Well the answer is really simple…forced perspective. In the field…

• GDB Comment Contest Results Announced – Congratulations Winners!

  Charlie B. Johnson

  3 Feb 2012 | 3:13 am

  Hey guys…the much anticipated results of the comment contest on GDB are finally out. I’m sure you all must be ecstatic to know who the winners are. But before I reveal the name of the 3 lucky winners, let us take a brief recap of the entire event. We started this contest on 24th January 2012 with an aim to increase useful discussions and gain healthy feedback about our blog. The contest ends today on 3rd February 2012. In this short span of time, we received over 200 valuable comments from our loyal readers. The 3 Lucky Winners: It was a close competition as several participants…

• Meeting Graphic Design Clients for the First Time – Prepare Yourself!

  Charlie B. Johnson

  31 Jan 2012 | 2:54 am

      I remember my first client meeting…even though it was quite long time back, but the whole episode is still a distinct memory. Not because it was my very first client meeting, but the anxiety and nervousness that besieged me was unforgettable. Trembling hands, shaky knees and sweaty forehead…altogether it was a nerve-racking experience. I am sure most of the newbie graphic designers face the same situation in their first meet-up with clients. However, this was just a onetime incident for me because with time I grew stronger in confidence after each client meeting.

• 25 Tricky Optical Illusion Pictures – Find the Hidden Figures!

  Charlie B. Johnson

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:56 am

    We all have heard the proverbial phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words”. But what I am about to showcase today needs a new expression…“A picture in worth a thousand pictures.” Yes folks, I’m talking about visual images that show pictures within a picture. Also known as optical illusions, this technique tests the human mind to figure out odd and bizarre things that differ from objective reality. This concept is greatly employed by graphic designers in creating hidden logos and other graphic artworks with hidden concepts. Recall the Apple logo…

• 

  Brand New

• Ecova

  Armin

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:53 am

  The result of the recent merger between Advantage IQ and Ecos, Ecova is a "total energy and sustainability management company". The new identity was designed by Sandstrom Partners. Don't forget to cast your vote about this post online

• Rescuing the American Red Cross

  Armin

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:31 am

  Established in 1881, the American Red Cross is one of the most well-known emergency response organizations in the world aiding victims of natural disasters and other emergencies. It counts with more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees across 700 national chapters. Recently, a new logo and design standards designed by Turner Duckworth have been quietly implemented. The Brand Standards manual can be seen here [PDF] and covers more than is represented in this post, in case you are interested. The pin is a symbol of enthusiastic participation. It is a personal, grassroots and…

• SOCAN

  Armin

  7 Feb 2012 | 4:15 am

  Established in 1990, SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) represents and works with more than 100,000 Canadian composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers "to protect, preserve and promote the performing rights of music creators." At the end of January SOCAN introduced a new logo. Story here. Don't forget to cast your vote about this post online

• New Theatre on Rotation

  Armin

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:57 am

  Established in 1932, the New Theatre is a proudly independent theater in Sydney, Australia. "We're not slick, we're not refined and we don't conform," is only one of many statements it makes, "We believe in artistic and social expression, not just escapism. When we take the stage, we're for real." Or "We're driven by passion, not money." You get the point. This past January, New Theatre introduced a new visual and verbal identity created by the Sydney office of Interbrand. At the centre of it all, a new logomark referencing unexpected twists and turns in the form of an 'NT' device, that stems…

• BMO Harris Bank

  Armin

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:01 am

  Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, BMO Harris Bank, is a result of a series of bank mergers after Bank of Montreal Financial group (Harris) acquired Marshall && Ilsley Corporation (M&&I) in July 2011. At that time, M&I Marshall && Ilsley Bank, M&&I Bank National Association (N.A.), and The Harris Bank N.A. merged into Harris N.A. Harris N.A. then changed it's name to BMO Harris Bank N.A. Conversion of bank branches to the new look began in December 2011 and will continue until late 2012. Thanks to Stefan Bean for the tip. Don't forget to cast your vote about this post…

• 

  Wired Top Stories

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gregory Brothers, ACLU Team for Video on Photographers' Rights

  Scott Thill

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:10 pm

  Benjamin Franklin kicks an informative and hilarious rhyme about transparency and First Amendment protections for pro and amateur photographers in the latest video from Joseph Gordon-Levitt?s open collaborative production company, hitRECord.

• Researchers Build Hard Drive of Future With Lasers

  Caleb Garling

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pm

  A team of researchers from across Europe and Asia has demonstrated a way of using laser heat to store data rather than magnetic fields, potentially increasing the speed of your hard drive by 100 times or more. Tom Ostler -- a physicist at the University of York, which led the research project -- tells Wired that this could not only allow allow your machine to save files much faster, but also reduce the machine's power consumption by avoiding traditional magnetic storage techniques.

• Tim Berners-Lee Takes the Stand to Keep the Web Free

  Joe Mullin

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:48 pm

  Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the Web, testified Tuesday in a Texas courtroom, fighting to keep the web's most basic interactivity from being subject to licensing fees from a patent troll. If the fight fails, any website with interactive features may have to pay up to a little known firm called Eolas and the University of California.

• Court Revives Challenge to No-Fly List

  David Kravets

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:47 pm

  A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a Malaysian woman's legal fight against the United States' no-fly list, ruling she may challenge her two-hour airport detention on allegations she was wrongly singled out as a suspected terrorist. The detention sparked a legal odyssey that continues today, one questioning whether federal authorities may detain people on watchlists in U.S. airports with impunity.

• Black Hole Eats Asteroids, Burps Out X-Rays

  Adam Mann

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:31 pm

  The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy may be constantly snacking on asteroids. A new study finds that an asteroid at least 12 miles wide falling into the black hole would account for the regular bright x-ray flares seen through telescopes.

• 

  Behance Network Featured Projects

• MAISON DU BATIMENT D'AQUITAINE - FFB

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm

  Architectural competition in Bordeaux France

• Oceanic: Swell

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 am

  Oceanic: Swell attempts to address our subconscious and conscious fears of the wild by evoking the sublime in nature. The viewer is positioned at the base of the oceans swell, at the mercy of the water, with waves threatening to break and swallow the viewer. Ideas of fear and vulnerability are also stimulated in the Swell series by eliminating context through the absence of horizon, land and depth in the image. This distorts our sense of size, scale and gravity and creates an infinite space in the piece so that we feel and reflect upon our size in the world. The perspective presented in the…

• Knitted City - Ministry of Sound

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 am

  An entire city knitted and stitched to life for the Ministry of Sound monthly flyers.

• advertising

  7 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  advertising portfolio

• Cities, Roads & Factories #2

  7 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pm

  All kind of maps we created in the past year or so :)

• 

  Six Revisions

• Giveaway: 100 Custom Flyers from Next Day Flyers

  Jacob Gube

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  Advertise here with BSA We’ve partnered up again with our wonderful friends at Next Day Flyers to give away two sets of 1/4-page flyers with free shipping anywhere in the Continental U.S. Each set contains 100 flyers. Flyer printing can be used and customized for a variety of purposes including promoting a club event, marketing a small business and sending out announcements. Read on to see how you can win! ** Update: Giveaway Period Has Ended ** About Next Day Flyers Next Day Flyers is an offset printing company offering an array of printed materials such as flyers, business cards,…

• The Proxority Principle in Web Design

  Jacob Gube

  18 Jan 2012 | 5:27 am

  Advertise here with BSA In web design, the position of design elements and the layout of web pages is everything. So many cool, exciting techniques are available to help us lay out our designs (especially with CSS3 at our disposal) that we often forget that structure is as important as aesthetics. How do you determine where content should appear, and how can a well-oiled interface increase website readability? This is what we’ll aim to uncover in this article. We’re going to examine a basic technique that could help you improve your general content flow, and, for lack of a better…

• Giveaway: 10 Subscriptions to Mindomo (Mind-Mapping App)

  Jacob Gube

  18 Jan 2012 | 5:20 am

  Advertise here with BSA Mindomo, a mind mapping application for brainstorming,  has teamed up with us to give out 10 Premium Account subscriptions for one year (worth $65 each). Read on to see how you can win this awesome prize. ** Update: Giveaway Period Has Ended ** About Mindomo Mindomo is a simple mind mapping application, which can be used individually or in group for creative idea generation, gathering project requirements, building quick site-maps and simple project management. A designer’s mind map created by Mindomo. Mindomo allows easy development of a design concept or idea.

• Announcement: Winners of PSD2HTML.com PSD to Conversion Services

  Jacob Gube

  14 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  Advertise here with BSA We had a great giveaway from our friends at PSD2HTML.com, a leading provider of PSD to HTML conversion services. In this post, we’d like to announce the two winners who’ve won themselves $400 and $300 worth of PSD2HTML.com services, as well as three free pages of design to mobile template conversion. The Winners The first prize winner receives $400 worth of services and three free pages of design to mobile template conversion, while the second prize winner gets $300 worth of services and three free pages of design to mobile template conversion. Below are…

• Giveaway: 5 Free Deals from Deals2Have

  Jacob Gube

  10 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am

  Advertise here with BSA Our friends at Deals2Have — a site providing great discounts on digital products for Mac enthusiasts, creative professionals and startups — is giving away five free deals to five lucky Six Revisions winners. Read on to find out how you can win! ** Update: Giveaway Period Has Ended ** About Deals2Have Deals2Have, which started in summer of 2011, is a site where you can find big discounts on useful digital products. For example, Deals2Have is currently running a deal on the Photoshop Styles Mega Pack Collection; normally it costs $59, but they’ve worked…

• 

  TheDieline.com - Package Design Blog

• 80s-themed General Mills Packaging

  Andrew Gibbs

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:24 am

  Retro General Mills cereal boxes are making a comeback.

• The Dieline Package Design Awards 2012

  Gina Angie

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:05 am

• Sunny Side

  Gina Angie

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:00 am

  "In the last few years, salmonella and related scares have increasingly made the news, Abbotsfords Farms, firmly believed that sunny side up eggs and cookie dough are too delicious to give up.

• Concept Before & After: Boots First Aid

  Gina Angie

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:00 am

  "The current Boots first aid packaging design (below) does its job okay. It communicates the product in a consistent way and easily stretches across all of the pack formats. But, it’s very generic, underwhelming and uninspiring, with no real personality, and that is the problem I’m having with a lot of mainstream packaging.

• Gazelli Cosmetics

  Tiana Spellman

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 am

  Created by Dr. Zarifa Hamzayeva and her daughter Jamila, Gazelli scientifically harnesses the power of active natural ingredients grown in their native Azerbaijan to create innovatively effective skincare.

• 

  Planet Photoshop

• My 3D Feature in Photoshop User

  Corey Barker

  31 Jan 2012 | 7:11 am

  So if you are a NAPP member should have just recently received your latest issue of Photoshop User magazine! The official publication of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. If not a member click here to learn more and see what NAPP members get in addition to a year’s subscription to Photoshop User. You can also pick it up at most bookstore newsstands. Anyway in this month’s issue I had the honor of writing the feature article on 3D in Photoshop. I discuss how you can use 3D in Photoshop in not so obvious ways by combining the power of 3D and the compositing power…

• Photoshop World, it will get here fast!

  Corey Barker

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:16 am

  Are you planning on joining us for Photoshop World in Washington D.C. this March? If so, you better make sure you get registered soon! The early bird registration, which will save you $100 off the full-conference price, will be available through February 17, 2012. I know that seems like a ways off but we all know that will get here a lot quicker than we think. Not to mention you will want to get registered for other events you may be interested in that have a very high likelihood of filling up fast like the pre-cons and the after hours party! Always a blast! This event boasts the biggest…

• Flare Effects

  Corey Barker

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:36 pm

  Corey has a cool trick for creating a flare brush and see how one effect can lead to another. Corey Barker is Executive Producer of PlanetPhotoshop.com and is an Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Corey has also made numerous appearances on the highly rated podcast, PhotoshopUser TV, and is co-host of Layers TV.

• Create A Composite Layer

  Web Editor

  13 Jan 2012 | 8:47 am

  If you have a multilayer composition and you want to apply an effect to all the layers at once, don’t flatten the layers–use a composite layer instead. Hide the layers you want excluded, and press Shift-Command-Option-E (PC: Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E). A new layer will be created at the top containing a merged copy of all the visible layers. Another option is to create a new layer at the top of the stack and make it active. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) each layer you want to include to make those layers active, as well. Press Option-Command-E (PC: Alt-Ctrl-E). by Colin Smith

• Creating Glossy Lips

  Web Editor

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:43 am

  If you see a shiny highlight on your subject’s lips, and you want to make it look glossier, duplicate the Background layer then change your layer blend mode to Screen to brighten the entire image. Option-click (PC: Alt-click) the Add Layer Mask icon to hide this brighter layer behind a black mask. Press D to set your Foreground color to white; choose a small, soft-edged Brush (B); and paint over those white highlight areas on the lips and they’ll get even glossier. by Scott Kelby

• 

  PSD: Photoshop Disasters

• Birchog & Baago: Where To Begin?

  Vernon

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:54 pm

  Aw, mom, no fair!  Sally always gets to be the one to place the star atop the Christmas tree! I just hope this woman gets some sort of discount on her waxing! Thanks Hege for the great find. You can see the original on the Birchog website.

• Sharper Image: Ghost in the Machine

  Scooter

  6 Feb 2012 | 11:49 pm

  So in love was Todd with his own handsomeness, he didn’t mind in the least having to stand twice as far back from mirrors in order to see the entirety of his grotesquely swelled head. Here’s a pure CGI image which fails on several levels, from the too-large reflected image of a missing man, to the too-small shower head, to the questionable reflection of the area where the razor hangs.  I also love how nothing in this image is the least bit wet!  What, is this the only mirror in the entire bathroom? Great catch Mark! You can see this on the Sharper Image website.

• Jackson Sun: Photo Bombastic

  Scooter

  5 Feb 2012 | 10:28 pm

  Sensitive to recent criticism that their group was neither family friendly nor racially diverse, the People’s Militia of Flathead County found Photoshop to be a godsend in alleviating their public relations nightmare. It’s pretty clear the dad with two kids is a cut-and-paste job.  I personally think the black gentleman on the left was also a last-minute addition.  The reason they were added in to the original group is anyone’s guess.  I almost let the shovels inspire my imagination towards more nefarious speculations, but I’ll leave that angle for others to play with.

• Stockholm Boat Show: Skills Overboard!

  Scooter

  4 Feb 2012 | 8:55 am

  Lars Nilsson loved his new cabin cruiser, bought for a song from the mysterious stranger with the hideous scar tissue on his forehead.  The cloaking device was just icing on the cake. Layer off, layer on!  Heh-heh… this looks funny!  Layer off, layer on!  Ha-ha-ha!  Layer off—what?  Ten minutes ago?  Hold on… There.  Saved, exported, and e-mailed to the publisher.  Happy? Thanks Kitty!  This picture came from a bank with an offer to enter a competition in which you could win tickets for the Stockholm international (stealth?!) boat show.

• J.Crew: Unnatural Beauty

  Vernon

  1 Feb 2012 | 9:46 pm

  Dudley learned everything he knows about graphic artistry through years of experience writing ransom notes. Is this one of those automatically generated models that we've come to expect from H&M? Thanks Nicole. You can see the original on the J.Crew website.

• 

  TODAY.com: Parenting

• Valentine's survey: Which celeb tops moms' dream date list?

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:05 am

  What do moms really want this Valentine's Day? The TODAY Moms/Parenting.com survey of 800 moms reveals our true desires. We want a babysitter (not a blender), a little romance... and we wouldn't mind snuggling up with one hot celebrity dad in particular.

• The French are better parents? Excuse moi?!

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:18 pm

  A new book touts the superiority of French parenting, but one American mom is taking 'Bringing up Bebe," aka 'French Children Don't Throw Food,' with a grain of salt.

• Help Natalie Morales with her boys' bedtime routines!

  6 Feb 2012 | 1:34 pm

  How do you solve the problem of bedtime battles? TODAY Mom Natalie Morales shares her own struggles and solutions and asks for readers' advice.

• Video: Sweets to make with your little sweetie

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:12 am

  Former ‘Top Chef: Just Desserts’ contestant Matthew Petersen shares recipes he likes to make with his daughter, including apple pie doughnuts and vanilla milkshakes. (TODAY)

• Sponsored By:

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:12 am

• 

  dealspl.us

• FREE $5.00 Kohls Gift Voucher w/ Email Sign-Up Free (kohls.com)

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:45 pm

• Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Upright Vacuum, Bagless, UH70120 $80 AR (amazon.com)

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:50 am

• Ring with 12 Carat Blue and White Swarovski Crystal in Sterling Silver (Size 7) $49.00 (jewelry.com)

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:24 am

• NEW dealspl.us Coupons App Hits the Apple App Store! News (itunes.com)

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:57 am

• Hanes Premium Beefy No-Shrink Hoodie Sweatshirt $4.19 (hanes.com)

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:38 am

• 

  Woot! - One Day, One Deal

• They Call Him "Dark Farmer" And He's Very Symbolic: Woot Weads The Wire

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am

  Every week in this space, we’ll take a look at the news and offer our own incisive blend of commentary, analysis, and poop jokes. The news you need, from a voice you can trust, in the 90 seconds you have to spare: that’s Woot Weads the Wire. WELLINGTON (REUTERS) A New Zealand court refused an appeal by the founder of online file-sharing site Megaupload.com to be freed on bail, Friday, agreeing with prosecutors there was a risk he would attempt to flee before an extradition hearing. The court says the popular site's founder will have to wait until February 22nd for his hearing, unless he…

• Pioneer 5.1 Channel A/V Receiver - $134.99

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pm

  The movie is a thing of mysteryWe have set up the Pioneer 5.1 Channel A/V Receiver. Now we wait for it to receive the movie.The prophets have said that the air is thickest with movies this time of year. At this very moment, they say, we are enveloped in an invisible swirling cloud of actors, plot lines, and special effects. What was that glint? That momentary burst of light? Was it simply light reflecting off a passing car’s windshield? Or was it a buddy cop film starring Bruce Willis and Robert Downey, Jr. attempting to make its way into our world? We may never have known if the prophets…

• The Trivial Eye: Book Jackets of the 20th Century

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pm

  The 20th century was lousy with wars, dictatorships, unrest, and anxiety - but how about those books, huh? All that turmoil (plus mass literacy and ever-cheaper printing) made for a spectacular outpouring of literary expression, the depth and variety and power of which dwarfed all that had come before it. Can you identify these eight works published in the 1900's by these details taken from their first edition jackets? Answers can be found by clicking here. Please post your guesses, speculations, or arguments below! But know this: the Trivial Eye is presented for public amusement and no…

• Need a Fix Now That Football's Over? Try Tazer Ball!

  7 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm

  We here at Woot like to consider ourselves at the cutting edge of mocking new extreme sports, which is why we were so happy to see the latest craze sweeping the nation: Tazer Ball! Take two teams of four dudes, add a giant novelty soccer ball, throw in eight tasers, and stand way the hell back: Who said the decline of civilization wouldn't yield great sporting events?! Ultimate Tazer Ball raises so many questions: Why did no one check the correct spelling of "taser?" Was this born from watching fans streak onto the field of real sporting events, only to be stun-gunned into submission? Why…

• Completely Unfair Comparisons: on mud, tap water, and tattoos

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:10 am

  There are plenty of places on Woot where you can find helpful information. This is not one of those places. Every week we will be comparing 3 pairs of things that shouldn’t be compared using this formula: Unrelated Thing X vs. Unrelated Thing Y in terms of Function Z. Facts will be misunderstood, overlooked, or changed for the sake of the argument. Enjoy. 1. Mud vs. The Wind in terms of Walls   Mud may seem like the more viable building substance, but what are you building walls for exactly? To keep out the elements? Well, a wall of wind is a wall made out of the elements. Choosing to…

• 

  Fatwallet.com Hot Deals

• FTD up to 25% off on Flowers for Valentines Day

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:42 pm

  Rating: 0 Posted By: LORENW Views: 1 Replies: 0 FTD, up to 25% off, use this link.http://www.ftd.com/2676/catalog/category.epl?index_id=product_fl...

• Glass and Stone Mosaic Wall Tile @Costco $4 sqft

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:40 pm

  Rating: 0 Posted By: FabulousFW Views: 50 Replies: 0 Costco has a great deal on glass/stone mosaic wall tile. Regular price 27.99 per box = 5 sqft. With instant $8 in store rebate knocks it down to $19.99. That's only $4 sq/ft folks. If you shop at HOBO or the big box home improvement stores these tiles are $10 sq/ft and up. Rebate good until 2/12 but selling out fast. You snooze, you loose....Golden Select Brand:http://www.goldenselect.ca/mosaic-wall-tile/

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• Skylanders 3 pack $19.99 / Singles $7.99 - Amazon

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:33 pm

  Rating: 0 Posted By: olegozer Views: 45 Replies: 0 These have been very hard to come by and go out of stock very quickly so act fast A few 3 packs @19.99Wrecking Ball/ Stelth Elf/Sonic BoomDrobot/Flameslinger/StumpsmashSinglesBoomer /Dino-Rang / Eruptor / Hex / Wrecking Ball / ZapGood LuckAmazon Coupons

• Thermaltake BlacX Duet (ST0014U) ABS Plastic 2.5" & 3.5" Black USB2.0 & eSATA Dual Hard Drives Docking $29.99 ar / fs

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:15 pm

  Rating: 0 Posted By: MISURICK Views: 172 Replies: 0 Thermaltake BlacX Duet (ST0014U) ABS Plastic 2.5" & 3.5" Black USB2.0 & eSATA Dual Hard Drives Docking StationNewegg Coupons

• 

  brandflakesforbreakfast

• go weeeeee all the way to your next meeting

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:10 am

  Why use an elevator to descend down the three floors of your office when you can shoot down a SUPER AWESOME slide like the one Red Bull installed in their London offices? So jealous!

• How Superbowl ads did digital - stats

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:09 am

  Research advisory firm, Altimeter, analyzed the 2012 Super Bowl commercials to see how well they integrated with digital and social media. The results are kind of surprising given the growing acceptance of how important digital integration is. A whopping 32% had no online references at all, and of those that had urls, many of them were with no call to action and only 16% were to social media vs. a corporate website or microsite. More interesting stats in their full report.

• infographic: the art of the blockbuster

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:08 am

  Fun infographic from COLORlovers (creators of design content marketplace creativemarket.com) breaking down the design elements of 2011 blockbuster movie posters.

• field notes – a love story

  David Plain

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:30 am

  Just in time for Valentines day Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners created Red Blooded, a love story for his wife of 14 years to help promote his brand new red Field Notes memo book. Jim, you sir should expect to get very lucky this Valentines day, or at the very least expect to sell a few memo books.Correction: The film was actually produced by Jim's coworker Bryan Bedell for his wife Tracey. What a lucky lady.

• kinect russian roulettte

  David Plain

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:30 am

  What do you do when you're a little bored, a little geeky, and a little sick and twisted? If you're Theo Watson you create a game for the Kinect that acts just like Russian Roulette. Proving in a small way that Kinect is the coolest thing developed by Microsoft since... well, ever.

• 

  MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - iOS Blog

• Tweetbot for iPad Hits The App Store

  Jordan Golson

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:37 pm

  Popular iPhone Twitter client Tweetbot has finally arrived on the iPad, with a user interface instantly familiar to any current Tweetbot user. Designed for the Twitter power-user, Tweetbot packs a lot of punch into an intuitive, slick interface, with unique functionality like Smart Gestures which give quick access to a variety of features through double or triple-taps. The Next Web and Business Insider have more in-depth reviews. The app is $2.99 and is a separate purchase from the iPhone app, a fact some users may dislike, but Tweetbot co-developer Paul Haddad explained his thoughts…

• Vonage Rolls Out "High-Definition" VoIP Calling App

  Jordan Golson

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:24 am

  Vonage has introduced yet another app to its growing mobile arsenal. The latest, called Vonage Mobile (not to be confused with another app called Vonage Mobile, introduced in 2009) adds a Skype-esque component to the old app's VoIP calling component. Users with Vonage Mobile installed can make "high-definition" audio calls or SMS-type text messages over Wi-Fi and 3G to other Vonage Mobile users. Users can also make low-cost international calls with credits added via In-App Purchasing. Calls to landline or wireless numbers in the US, Canada or Puerto Rico, from anywhere in the world, are free…

• 'iBank Access' Seeking to Remake Personal Finance on the iPad

  Eric Slivka

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:26 am

  As Intuit's Quicken options for Mac users continue to falter in the wake of a stripped-down Quicken Essentials release and the company's ongoing efforts to make the more fully-functional Quicken 2007 compatible with OS X Lion, other personal finance software firms have attempted to step into the void. One of the more successful companies has been IGG Software with its iBank software, which is available as both a Mac application and a companion iPhone app. IGG Software has been teasing a few tidbits about its work on an iPad application over the past few months, and as noted in a new blog post…

• The Best Superbowl Ad Was for the iPhone

  Jordan Golson

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:53 pm

  More than fifty commercials aired during the Super Bowl this past Sunday, including one from Samsung that again poked fun at Apple's customers. Apple didn't run any ads during the Super Bowl, at least not officially -- a fact that puzzled some commentators. But, as investment guru Jim Cramer points out, Apple did have an advertisement of sorts air during the Super Bowl. After the game was over, Colts hall of gamer Raymond Berry carrier the Vince Lombardi Trophy along a long line of New York Giants players. Players took turns touching or kissing the trophy, all the while taking photos and…

• Apple Now Requiring iPhone Developers to Submit Retina Screenshots

  Eric Slivka

  7 Feb 2012 | 12:40 pm

  Apple today notified members of its iOS Developer Program of a new requirement that all screenshots being submitted for iPhone and iPod touch apps in the App Store must meet Retina resolution requirements, which come in at 960x640 on those devices. Any updates to existing apps must also include Retina screenshots, if they are not already present, before the updates will be approved by Apple.Required iPhone & iPod touch Screenshot Upgrade for Retina Display When you create or update your apps in iTunes Connect, you must upload screenshots that are high-resolution. We require your screenshots…

• 

  News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

• Sigma DP series reinvented as DP1M and DP2M with 15MPx3 sensor from SD1

  7 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pm

  Sigma has totally reinvented its DP series of large sensor compacts with the DP1 Merrill  and DP2 Merrill. The DP Merrill models are named after Dick Merrill, inventor of the Foveon sensor and include the most recent version of his technology - the 15x3MP APS-C sensor first seen in Sigma's SD1. Because the Merrill cameras feature full APS-C sensors, they also feature totally redesigned lenses, with the DP1M including a 19mm F2.8 lens to offer a 28mm equivalent field of view and the DP2M having a 30mm F2.8 lens to give a 45mm equivalent field-of-view.

• Sigma SD1 becomes SD1 Merrill and gains (much) keener price tag

  7 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pm

  Sigma's new CEO, Kazuto Yamaki has announced the re-branding and re-pricing of the company's flagship camera. The SD1 DSLR will now be know as the SD1 Merrill, in honor of Dick Merrill, inventor of the Foveon sensor technology on which it is based. The price will also be revised, falling to what should be a street price of around $2,299, which Yamaki attributes to work conducted to reduce production costs of the sensor. Despite these changes, his letter promises the performance and characteristics of the sensor have not changed. To avoid disappointing existing SD1 customers, Sigma will offer…

• Cosina announces Nokton 17.5mm F0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:55 pm

  Cosina has announced the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm F0.95 manual focus prime lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. The lens gives a 35mm equivalent field-of-view on the system and has been designed with silent, stepless aperture control for videography. The lens offers a wider-angle alternative to the company's Nokton 25mm F0.95. The Japanese price translates as around $1500. (via DCWatch)

• Olympus adds 75mm F1.8, 60mm F2.8 Macro and flash to Micro Four Thirds lineup

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:24 pm

  Alongside its E-M5 enthusiast-class mirrorless camera, Olympus has launched the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm F1.8 and M.Zuiko Digital 60mm F2.8 Macro lens to its Micro Four Thirds lineup. It's also announced the FL-600R the latest in its range of wireless-compatible flashguns and its first to feature an LED continuous lamp for video work. The 75mm lens is a higher-end portrait lens than the existing 45mm F1.8 we rather like, and features the same solid build-quality as the premium 12mm F2.0. Meanwhile the 60mm Macro offers true 1:1 magnification and is weather-sealed to match the E-M5.

• Olympus announces TG-820 back-lit CMOS rugged camera

  7 Feb 2012 | 6:10 pm

  Olympus has updated its rugged offerings with the TG-820 iHS. It's based on a 12MP back-lit CMOS sensor, which allows it to keep up with the recent trend of Full HD-capable underwater cameras. The back-lit sensor has prompted the company to apply its 'iHS' branding, indicating 'Intelligent High-Sensitivity and High Speed' capabilities.

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  TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

• You're the Pundit: Does a 7" iPad make sense for the education market?

  Erica Sadun

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pm

  When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Education and the iPad. Last month, Apple introduced iBooks Author and expanded iTunes U. It was a big presentation and a big commitment to the textbook market. The problem is, of course, whether the desire to embrace digital textbooks can live up to the costs and grim realities. Granted, Apple's probably going to start pushing the iPad to schools much more enthusiastically now that it's ceased educational sales of the…

• White MacBook reaches end of life, education sales to cease

  Chris Rawson

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:30 pm

  Although discontinued for consumer sales last July, the plastic MacBook remained available for sale to educational institutions as a (relatively) low-cost option for schools seeking portable Macs for students. If you were wondering how long that would last, wonder no longer; seven months later, Apple has ceased distributing the MacBook to educational institutions, according to Mac Rumors. Apple has notified resellers that the plastic MacBook is now classified as "End of Life," meaning it will no longer be produced or sold to anyone. Production of the old model may have ceased as long ago as…

• Apple resellers in Europe say inventory delays affecting business

  Steven Sande

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 pm

  Life is a bit difficult for Apple's Premium Resellers in Europe now that the company is expanding retail locations throughout the continent. A post by France's Les Echos profiles a complaint by eBizcuss, the largest and first authorized reseller of Apple products in France (through their ICLG subsidiary), about the impact that the popular Apple Stores are having on the company. TUAW first covered this story in December, when we noted that eBizcuss has filed a lawsuit against Apple. eBizcuss saw sales fall 22 percent in the third quarter of 2011, and the company is teetering on the edge of…

• Siri may speak and understand Chinese, Japanese, and Russian by March

  Chris Rawson

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:30 pm

  According to Chinese tech site DoNews (sketchy English translation here), Apple plans on bringing support for Mandarin Chinese to Siri as early as March of this year. Other dialects of Chinese, such as Cantonese, will remain unsupported for the time being. Support for Japanese and Russian is supposedly coming at the same time. Although the source may sound somewhat suspicious -- a Chinese tech site that claims to have inside information from an Apple engineer working on Siri -- this information does align with Apple's own promise to increase Siri's linguistic acumen in 2012. Apple has also…

• TUAW TV Live: Looking at what's new in the Appleverse

  Steven Sande

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:55 pm

  Today on TUAW TV Live I have a lot of hot new products to demonstrate, both in terms of hardware and software. Most of these items haven't been reviewed yet on TUAW, so you'll be getting a first glimpse at what's coming up soon. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone…

• 

  Social Media Examiner

• 8 Brands That Benefit From Guest Blogging

  Ann Smarty

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Guest blogging is one of the most efficient, yet misunderstood, social media marketing tactics.It’s not new. In fact, it’s almost as old as blogging itself.  It started becoming a standout tactic just a few years ago.This post answers one of the most frequently asked questions: Is guest blogging good for “big guys?”By the way, “guest blogging, the time waster” is one of the myths I busted in my previous post for Social Media Examiner. Today’s article is one more argument in favor of guest blogging.Guest blogging is about placing your content for free…

• 4 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Page Visibility

  Andrea Vahl

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Have you noticed less interaction on your Facebook page in the last few months?Getting your updates to appear in the coveted news feed is more challenging than ever.I don’t have answers as to how the elusive Facebook algorithm works.What I do have are some suggestions on how to ensure that your page posts are being seen by your fans to give your page the maximum visibility.#1: Train Your Audience to Watch for Your ContentYou want to make sure you are delivering good content so that your audience won’t want to miss a thing. The best way to do this is to work toward building super…

• How AutoCAD Retooled Its Marketing With Facebook

  Casey Hibbard

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Chris Hession has been a product and marketing manager for nearly 15 years. But recently, his job completely changed.“Just in the last year and a half, social media has become not just a component of our product marketing plan, but really the core component,” said Hession, currently senior manager of Autodesk’s AutoCAD product marketing.“Pretty much for everything we do, we’re looking at, ‘How can we make this work for social?’”Millions of people worldwide use AutoCAD software to design everything from sunglasses to skyscrapers. If there’s…

• Will You Purchase Facebook Stock? This Week in Social Media

  Cindy King

  4 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up-to-date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.What’s New This Week?Facebook Seeks to Raise $5 Billion in IPO: “Social networking titan Facebook filed to go public, seeking to raise $5 billion in the largest flotation ever by an Internet company on Wall Street.” Facebook shares are not expected to begin trading for several months.  Experts expect this initial public offering to be much larger than Google was when it went public.  Do you plan on…

• How Has Blogging Changed the Voice of Women?

  Michael Stelzner

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  In this video I interview Lisa Stone, CEO and co-founder of BlogHer, the leading cross-platform media network created by, for and with women social media leaders.Lisa tells the story of BlogHer, the fifth largest blog network.  She also shares insights and tips for successful blogs and current trends for women bloggers.Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:How blogging changes the voice of womenWhy blogging is the perfect tool for womenWhy you should find a community when you start bloggingHow to…

• 

  SmartBrief on Social Media

• Do you worry that Facebook will start charging brands for Facebook pages after its initial public offering?

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

   -More- 

• Twitter under fire over Brazilian traffic-stop tweeters

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

  Brazilian authorities are suing Twitter over accounts that publicize the locations of police roadblocks and speed traps to he -More- 

• Interested in writing for SmartBlogs?

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

  Everyone knows that SmartBrief aggregates the best content from around the Web, but did you know we also feature original blo -More- Social Media Content Manager LM&O Advertising

• Doritos' bandito baby wins USA TODAY-Facebook poll

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

  An ad featuring a grandmother sling-shotting a baby to snag a bag of Doritos won the USA TODAY-Facebook poll of best Super Bo -More- 

• 10 ways to write headlines that compel your customers to click

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

  Without an eye-catching headline, even the best blog posts and announcements can easily get lost in the often-overwhelming fl -More- 

• 

  Social Media Today - The world's best thinkers on social media

• Season 2 Finale: How Yamaha Invests in New Customer Experiences

  BrianSolis

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:58 am

  Here, Yamaha shares that it needed “to blow up” its existing systems and processes and “start over” to compete more effectively for the future.

• Listening Platforms; Useful or Strategic?

  socialintelligenceevolution

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:37 am

  Marketing executives want to gain insights into their customers’ behavior. They don’t want a red, yellow, green dashboard; they want actionable answers to questions like the following: is your marketing messaging aligned to what customers in the global market value? How is your messaging influencing customers at a brand level and at a product level?

• A business blogger connects with clients and industry influencers.

  Elastic Lab

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:26 am

  "Now they're reading mine" features business blogger Elise Segar, www.ifridge.com/people/elisesegar. Part of Elastic Lab’s Culture of Content Creation series on digital content creators. Filmmaker: Paul Essenfeld, www.essenfeld.com

• Cross Platform Marketing Amplifies Jackson Hewitt Campaign [CONVO]

  neilglassman

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:35 am

  This season, Jackson Hewitt, working with agency 22squared, is carefully coordinating all elements — TV, print and multiple social channels — to be heard amid the roar of the significantly larger media spend of its competitor, H & R Block. In this conversation, Jackson Hewitt's David Koroghlian and Chris Tuff of 22squared reveal how they have achieved success that has, according to the companies, exceeded their expectations.

• Keep Your Audience on Its Tweet: 4 Keys to Building a Strong Social Following

  hanelly

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:29 am

  If the presidential election—coming to a polling place near you in November—is the nation’s foremost popularity contest (more than 65 million Americans voted for President Barack Obama in 2008) the ongoing battle for followers on Twitter, from a purely competitive standpoint, isn’t far behind.

• 

  The Social Media Marketing Blog

• Foursquare in Context

  Scott Monty

  29 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pm

  If you're a regular user of services like Twitter or Foursquare, you've undoubtedly been met with skeptics and naysayers who wonder aloud, "Why would I want to tell anyone what I'm having for lunch?" or "Why would I care if someone is having a ham sandwich?"Fair enough, but the inquisitors fail to take into account the all-important factor in any conversation, whether it's in person or online: context.Context is what allows us to make sense of much of the world around us. "He's so bad!" could have two very different meanings, depending on the the rest of the conversation surrounding it. With…

• Social Media and Travel

  Scott Monty

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:37 pm

  If you're like me, you spend a good deal of time on the road. Whether it's at an airport, on a train or in a car, you're mobile and your digital life is mobile too.The pervasiveness of tablets and smartphones (in addition to the already ubiquitous laptop) is growing daily. Just this week, Apple announced that it sold 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. It means that more of us are doing things on the web (or mobile web, as the case may be) while we're on the go, and there are certain things those of us in the digital world look for when we travel -…

• Revealing a New Ford in a New Way

  Scott Monty

  13 Dec 2011 | 6:00 pm

  Ford Motor Company has been at the forefront of social media for some time. The Fiesta Movement, the Explorer reveal on Facebook, Doug the Spokespuppet, Ford Social (formerly known as The Ford Story) and being the first brand on Google+ all stand as examples of Ford's success that spans from clever campaigns to a daily commitment to engage.Ford played a significant part in how the automotive industry thinks about social media (and in some cases how large companies think about social media) and now, as we near the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), at Ford we have an…

• Infographic: 5 Companies That Are Rocking Social Media

  Scott Monty

  29 Nov 2011 | 8:47 am

  This infographic was created by Voltier Digital, a content marketing agency based in Florida, specializing on the creation and promotion of impactful content marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes.We all know the usual names of companies that are doing well in social media. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the lesser-knowns and why they've had success, either on an ongoing basis or with some one-off efforts that stood out.And since infographics are all the rage, what better way to look at them? Of course, for SEO purposes, I've listed them here as…

• Twitter Business Guide

  Scott Monty

  7 Oct 2011 | 8:53 pm

  I was recently introduced to a compact guidebook for businesses trying to get a sense of Twitter. The microblogging site that allows you to update in no more than 140 characters at at time is deceptively complex and nuanced - especially for a newcomer.This short guide, entitled Twitter Business Guide: Communication and Marketing was written by Jean-Christophe Barré and Dr. Andreas Schroeter and in just 32 pages covers some of the things that may be keeping you and your business away from this platform. For someone who is new to Twitter, this e-book will prove a helpful compass as you…

• 

  SocialMouths

• The Rise Of Content Marketing [Infographic]

  Francisco Rosales

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:05 pm

  Tweet According the Content Marketing Institute, Content is one of the fastest growing segments in Marketing and an increasing number of marketers are relying more and more on their strategies to achieve success online. Is this a surprise to you? Because if it is, you have probably been living under a rock for the last couple of years. With the amount of content that goes left and right in front of you, on your screen, there are content creators, curators, users that share and consume on a minute to minute basis. Now, that doesn’t mean all that content is successful in reaching its…

• LinkedIn Or Facebook For Better B2B Marketing Results? [Includes Infographic]

  Francisco Rosales

  6 Feb 2012 | 9:41 am

  Tweet I know what you’re thinking just by reading the headline of this post: Of course LinkedIn is better for B2B marketing and Facebook for B2C. But wait, that is not necessarily the case. I have to admit I’m not as active on LinkedIn as I am on Facebook, or even Google+. That’s probably because my focus on this blog is to talk to entrepreneurs and small business. But when it comes to approach Corporate America, I automatically think I need to get out of these networks and go to LinkedIn. Some of you probably don’t know I’m also a partner at Plural and Partners,…

• Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know Is In This Massive Post

  Francisco Rosales

  2 Feb 2012 | 10:30 am

  Tweet Let me guess, you heard about Pinterest. Or more like, you can’t spend 15 minutes online without hearing about it… And now you’re thinking, “should I jump on the wagon too?” or “another social network to keep up with?” and on top of that, everybody is talking about using it for marketing and getting tons of traffic and, you just don’t see it. Alright, I hear you. I’ll give you everything you need to know about Pinterest and a bunch of resources so you can decide if you or your business are ready to join the hottest trend online.

• Social Proof, Shameless Self-Promotion, and Gratitude

  Francisco Rosales

  1 Feb 2012 | 12:13 pm

  Tweet This week started on a high note. The results for the Top 10 Social Media Blogs 2012 from Social Media Examiner arrived on my iPhone while I was getting my first coffee on Monday. SocialMouths was named #1. The afternoon wasn’t that fun when my server crashed welcoming all the traffic from the post, even though SocialMouths does not live in a shared $5 server at GoDaddy… still crashed. But that’s a whole different story. Then today my friend Jessica Northey pointed out that I was also included in the Top 100 Influencers in Social Media from Social Technology Review…

• How To Increase Clicks On Your Tweets [Infographic]

  Francisco Rosales

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:40 am

  Tweet If you are an entrepreneur using Twitter as part of the marketing strategy for your business or you are a blogger trying to improve your traffic, one of the most important metrics you look at is how many clicks your tweets are getting, specially when those tweets are containing links to your own site. One thing I’ll tell you right off the bat is that, marketing in general works different for each one of us and it delivers different kinds of results too. Twitter is no different and, while I always say that you should not rely on anybody’s advice but instead run several tests…

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  Social Media Explorer

• What Happened To Saying Something Nice?

  Jason Falls

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 am

  Social media has certainly given the power back to the consumer. But sometimes the consumer doesn’t do nice things with that power. While it could be a matter of perception (the overwhelming sentiment of most brands in online conversational analysis is positive), it certainly seems like the only time we take note of brand mentions online is when someone is whining or bitching about them. AT&T is one brand that gets unnecessarily beaten about its head and face a lot online. I’ve never quite understood this, perhaps because I’m A) Practical in nature and understand…

• Get Out of Your Own Way: 5 Excuses Marketers Use to Avoid Social Media ROI

  Nichole Kelly

  7 Feb 2012 | 6:00 am

  You see it everywhere. Management teams and marketers desperately want to understand how social media is delivering to the bottom line. Marketers are getting tons of pressure from their management teams and are desperate for a way to prove their strategies are working. With so many chomping at the bit to get at true return on investment (ROI), how has it remained so elusive? Has social media become the marketing channel that we know we need to have, but can’t demonstrate why? What if Social Media ROI was really simple, but we let a bunch of excuses get in our way of measuring it?

• Empowering Your Employees With Social Media

  Jason Falls

  6 Feb 2012 | 10:00 am

  Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Emily Eldridge, Senior Vice President of Pure. It’s tempting to think that employees’ online discussions about your company should be curbed.  Most company policies in the modern workplace exist to protect us from lawsuits – and to ostensibly protect employees from themselves.  While it’s understandable to want control over our corporate image, this fear dimishes our employees’ ability to communicate.  A stronger approach is to empower our staff to be brand advocates. Advocate for Your Employees Companies should decide whether their…

• How Small Businesses Can Go Big With Social Media Marketing

  Jason Falls

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 am

  It’s no secret to many of you — it-getters in the sense that you at least read Social Media Explorer and are likely bought in — that social media marketing can have a huge impact on your business. But we still see more case studies from major brands playing in the social channels than we do small businesses. With the fact that 44 percent of small businesses don’t even have a website, much less social media efforts, it’s no surprise that there’s a gap between success cases in small versus medium and large businesses. Small businesses typically face one…

• Integrating Social Media Across The Organization

  Jason Falls

  3 Feb 2012 | 6:00 am

  Operationalizing social media across the organization is perhaps on of the most challenging aspects of social media for companies and brands. Too many look at social media as a consumer-facing communications channel and forget that departments from HR to research and development and even internal collaboration among divisions can all be helped by social technologies and strategies. We’re addressing that issue at Explore Dallas-Fort Worth in several discussions, one major one led by Zena Weist, Vice-President of Digital Strategy for Edelman. Her experience at brands like Embarq, Sprint…

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  Scobleizer

• Hacker News vs. Google+

  Robert Scoble

  5 Feb 2012 | 10:20 am

  I might as well have titled this “Hacker News vs Marketers.” Or “Hacker News vs Bloggers.” Or “jerks vs nice people.” But I never participate in Hacker News for a few reasons and I just was faced with these reasons again when I read the responses there to my blog post yesterday. 1. Programmers often have an attitude of “I can code, you can’t, so I am defacto better than you.” This often comes out in Hacker News comments. 2. Programmers love to bash people anonymously and then, in real life, they will come begging for PR for their companies…

• It’s too late for Dave Winer and John Battelle to save the common web

  Robert Scoble

  4 Feb 2012 | 5:02 pm

  The date was January 3, 2008. Facebook had kicked me off for running a script to try to save the common web. See, I worked with Plaxo to run a simple script. One that would have taken my contacts out of Facebook and put them back into the common web. The script did some very simple things: 1. It grabbed all my friends names. 2. It grabbed all their phone numbers. 3. It grabbed all their email addresses. 4. It gave me a simple CSV file with all that data so I could bring them back to Google, or Microsoft, or anywhere else I wanted to put them. Facebook’s answer was predictable. They shut…

• HTML 5 pushback in San Francisco? Best mobile app designers say yes

  Robert Scoble

  1 Feb 2012 | 3:39 pm

  The new Path? The one that won a Crunchie last night for great design? It’s not done in HTML 5. This morning I saw something new coming soon from Storify. Not done in HTML 5. This morning I visited Foodspotting, which just shipped hot new apps on iOS, Android, and Blackberry. Not done in HTML 5. More and more I’m hearing that designers and developers are ignoring HTML 5, especially for the high end of apps. Why? Well, Path’s founders told me it just isn’t possible to build a great user interface, the way they did it in HTML 5. Storify’s founder told me it…

• Why Facebook will be worth a half trillion by 2015: the mobile and open graph revenue it’s leaving on the table

  Robert Scoble

  1 Feb 2012 | 2:48 pm

  Lots of people think Facebook is overvalued, at about $100 billion (it just released their S1, announcing its IPO). But in talking with developers, like I did with Foodspotting’s founder, Alexa Andrzejewski, and in reading the S1 I see that Facebook has left most of the potential revenue on the table. That makes me think that the folks crying “overvalued” are nuts. Check that interview out, Foodspotting is one of the hottest San Francisco startups, aimed at people who are looking for better places to eat. Here it is from just this morning: See, Mark Zuckerberg is sandbagging…

• 2012 brings a pause in the disruption

  Robert Scoble

  31 Jan 2012 | 4:58 pm

  OK, I’ve been talking with hundreds of geeks from around the world this year at three conferences, CES, DLD, and World Economic Forum. I’m seeing a trend that is worth talking about. What is it? We’re seeing the end of one of the most disruptive ages in human history. I believe that we’re seeing a pause in the disruption. More on that a little later. Just think about all the changes humans have been asked to adopt in the past eight years. Most of us, back then, didn’t carry mobile computers in our pockets. If we did use tablets, like I did, they were expensive,…

• 

  Social Media Marketing

• Free Webinar: 2012 Social Media Strategies For Real Estate & Mortgage

  Naomi Trower

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:41 pm

   Click Here for Full View Social Media Strategies in 2012 for Mortgage and Real Estate Professionals– Tuesday, January 24, 2012 Discover How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Make More Money in 2012 Social media can be an inexpensive – yet lucrative means– to generate leads and grow your business. Join us for an in-depth look at how to implement Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media to excel in a “people-driven” economy this year. Join us for a free webinar hosted by Trevor Hammond, Founder and CEO of MFIC Pro:Social Media Strategies in 2012 for Mortgage…

• 6 Most Popular Real Estate Social Media Posts

  Naomi Trower

  1 Jan 2012 | 7:09 am

  I hope 2012 brings you much success in all of your endeavors. I want to share with you the top blog posts that received the most shares, interactions and comments throughout the past year along with a few of my favorite new year pictures. photo credit: Shutterstock 12 Essential iPad Apps For Your Small Biz 10 Rockin’ Real Estate iPad Apps   photo credit: Shutterstock HOW TO: Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog Top 10 Real Estate Social Media Resources   photo credit: Shutterstock Top 7 Famous Failures 7 Tips To Market Your Real Estate Biz w/Social Media in 30 min / Day Here’s…

• 7 Tips To Market Your Real Estate Business with Social Media in 30 min / Day

  Naomi Trower

  9 Dec 2011 | 10:06 am

  I know your story…As a real estate or mortgage professional you just don’t have the time to deal with social media. I hear this every day – in fact I’m receiving many requests to start a company that manages social media profiles specifically for real estate and mortgage professionals.   Here are 7 Tips To Market Your Real Estate Business with Social Media in 30 Minutes / Day Tip #1 Find Your Clients Favorite Social Media Sites As you attend events or meet new clients be sure to look them up on social networks to connect with them. This will allow you to maintain…

• 3 Mistakes To Avoid Using Social Media For Real Estate

  Naomi Trower

  5 Sep 2011 | 6:57 pm

  This is a great video from Scott Stratten author of Unmarketing. He focuses on things to avoid for Real Estate Agents. Be sure to implement these changes NOW! These sites Santa Clarita Breaking News Twitter & Santa Clarita Breaking News Facebook are a few examples of how to use community based events to draw people to your website. Naomi Trower Real Estate Broker Social Media Strategist Social Media Real Estate Marketing Are you a FAN? http://fb.com/RealEstateSocialMediaMarketing Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Share this on Facebook Add this to Google Bookmarks Add this to Google…

• HOW TO: Give Your Heart At BlogWorld Expo LA

  Naomi Trower

  31 Aug 2011 | 12:00 am

  Here is my review of Blog World Expo 2010. Be sure to register for the 1st ever  Blog World Expo LA 2011! What is the one thing that surprised you while you were at Blog World Expo 2010? For me, it was the few people that actually came to the microphone during the question part of the program and said, “First off, I want to give a personal plug about myself, check out my website blah, blah, blah…” Really? How many times do we have to share that it’s not about you? I thought I would share how to give your heart at events such as these. Then I will share my…

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  123 Social Media

• Social Media Training – 40 Questions for the Corporate Team

  Barry Hurd

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:26 pm

  There are a lot of questions regarding social media training and how it ties into a larger organization. To help with that I’ve collected some of my thoughts in a free whitepaper that highlights some of the critical areas of impact you should be thinking about. You can read through the list of questions I’ve covered below… but will need to download the whitepaper to get some of my value-added thoughts. Some questions to think about… How much does this cost? What forms of social media will reach our business goals? Are there any “low cost” benefits? What are…

• Mobile Media Training – basic questions to think about

  Barry Hurd

  16 Jan 2012 | 3:07 pm

  A day doesn’t go by without someone asking me about mobile media. At first glance it sounds like a relatively simple problem and is usually summarized by a question like “what is the best mobile app for us?” If only it were that simple for a company. The mobile trend is accelerating faster and faster. It isn’t a question of if someone is connected, but how, why, and when they are connected. As a business professional there are dozens of reasons to use different mobile technologies ranging from 3g/4g wireless access, tablet applications, QR codes, GPS services, photo…

• Social Media Policy & Employee Communication

  Barry Hurd

  3 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

  Our team has been detailing an on-going list of questions clients at 123 have regarding the functional models of employee communication. One of the core elements we continue to discuss is the social media policy frameworks for what is acceptable behavior for different types of industry communications. As part of the social media policy goes, there are A LOT of areas that management and workforce personnel should give some thought to. It boils down to questions… Rather than focus on where we see market trends a going, sometimes the most effective way to figure out where the boat is…

• Social Media Training @ barryhurd.com

  Barry Hurd

  18 Nov 2011 | 1:45 pm

  As an impromptu weekend post I wanted to share some additional social media training articles I’ve been posting elsewhere. These are some of the most recent social media training articles I’ve written on my personal blog over at BarryHurd.com Some of them are a little more casual than articles I write here on 123socialmedia, but they all have some great tidbits you can learn from and apply to your own business challenges. So without further wait, here are four articles from this month at BarryHurd.com. 40+ Social Media Dashboard Tools for Tracking Stuff Social Media for Sales (why…

• 5 Tips for a Social Media Policy

  Barry Hurd

  24 Oct 2011 | 9:28 am

  Over the past few years I’ve personally researched the social media policy of  hundreds of organizations, the regulatory conditions in niche industries, and the business risks no one gave attention to. I’ve witnessed the gigantic tidal wave of sites like Facebook force itself into both personal and professional lives, giants like Myspace swell up and fade away, and services like Google flip a switch and declare a new way of doing things. One of the biggest problems facing business leaders is that society at large has adopted the mindset of open dialogue and personal opinion. I personally…

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  Social Media Marketing

• Foursquare in Context

  Scott Monty

  29 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pm

  If you're a regular user of services like Twitter or Foursquare, you've undoubtedly been met with skeptics and naysayers who wonder aloud, "Why would I want to tell anyone what I'm having for lunch?" or "Why would I care if someone is having a ham sandwich?"Fair enough, but the inquisitors fail to take into account the all-important factor in any conversation, whether it's in person or online: context.Context is what allows us to make sense of much of the world around us. "He's so bad!" could have two very different meanings, depending on the the rest of the conversation surrounding it. With…

• Social Media and Travel

  Scott Monty

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:37 pm

  If you're like me, you spend a good deal of time on the road. Whether it's at an airport, on a train or in a car, you're mobile and your digital life is mobile too.The pervasiveness of tablets and smartphones (in addition to the already ubiquitous laptop) is growing daily. Just this week, Apple announced that it sold 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. It means that more of us are doing things on the web (or mobile web, as the case may be) while we're on the go, and there are certain things those of us in the digital world look for when we travel -…

• Revealing a New Ford in a New Way

  Scott Monty

  13 Dec 2011 | 6:00 pm

  Ford Motor Company has been at the forefront of social media for some time. The Fiesta Movement, the Explorer reveal on Facebook, Doug the Spokespuppet, Ford Social (formerly known as The Ford Story) and being the first brand on Google+ all stand as examples of Ford's success that spans from clever campaigns to a daily commitment to engage.Ford played a significant part in how the automotive industry thinks about social media (and in some cases how large companies think about social media) and now, as we near the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), at Ford we have an…

• Infographic: 5 Companies That Are Rocking Social Media

  Scott Monty

  29 Nov 2011 | 8:47 am

  This infographic was created by Voltier Digital, a content marketing agency based in Florida, specializing on the creation and promotion of impactful content marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes.We all know the usual names of companies that are doing well in social media. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the lesser-knowns and why they've had success, either on an ongoing basis or with some one-off efforts that stood out.And since infographics are all the rage, what better way to look at them? Of course, for SEO purposes, I've listed them here as…

• Twitter Business Guide

  Scott Monty

  7 Oct 2011 | 8:53 pm

  I was recently introduced to a compact guidebook for businesses trying to get a sense of Twitter. The microblogging site that allows you to update in no more than 140 characters at at time is deceptively complex and nuanced - especially for a newcomer.This short guide, entitled Twitter Business Guide: Communication and Marketing was written by Jean-Christophe Barré and Dr. Andreas Schroeter and in just 32 pages covers some of the things that may be keeping you and your business away from this platform. For someone who is new to Twitter, this e-book will prove a helpful compass as you…

• 

  Social Media Mom

• The History and Evolution of the Businessman

  socialmediamom

  30 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pm

  Reading time: < 1 minute Sometimes it is hard to imagine a time before the internet and social networks - even as new as they are. These avenues of communication have completely changed the course of business, and thus, the businessman. Business MBA recently launched an infographic that takes us back to a time when prehistoric man made survival his business, we meet the poets of the renaissance, the discoverers of new worlds, and eventually a generation with the world at their fingertips who has proven to be unlike any other. From: Business MBA

• Win Free Tickets To ABC’s, The Revolution

  Kristina Carpenter

  25 Jan 2012 | 6:39 am

  Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes If you are a fan of Ty Pennington, or of daytime talk shows, or of living a better life – this is your chance to be front and center. ABC is offering free tickets to be a part of their new show’s live studio audience. This is a wonderful opportunity. I am very impressed with the entire premise of the show. Here on Social Media Mom, we often talk about living a better and more balanced life, which is the idea behind The Revolution. When it comes to style, adventure, health, and fitness – The Revolution is doing its part to make people happy…

• A Guide To Travel Therapy Jobs

  socialmediamom

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am

  Reading time: < 1 minute Many of us spend our lives looking for that dream job, and in this economy, we are forced to take what we can get. This is part of the reason Onward Healthcare's new infographic resonated with me. It is always reassuring to see industries that help job creation. This particular career track is interesting because: you can live comfortably off of it, you have the resources to help others, and you get to travel the country. Check out the following infographic for more information on this career, and let us know if you know anyone in this field or are interested in…

• Faces iMake App. Stimulates Creativity

  socialmediamom

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:36 am

  Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes The new app. for your iPhone and iPad, is an award winning activity for  your kids. Your child will take everyday objects and make faces out of them.  It helps your child to be more creative and stimulates right brain activity. The application was created by children’s book author, Hanoch Piven, and  is loved by parents just as much as kids. Many parents have called it  addicting, and say it even makes them feel they are being more creative. The game is easy and intuitive for your children, and has been said to be very helpful to children with…

• Apple To Apples: Tech vs. Fruit

  Kristina Carpenter

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:41 am

  Reading time: < 1 minute I came across a great infographic, by MBA Online, that I thought was so clever. This was a very interesting way of getting cool stats on America's favorite technology, and Russia's favorite fruit. It should also be no surprise that most of our apples, and all of our Apples come from China. I hope this brings some joy to your wednesday! Created by: MBA Online

• 

  PR-Squared - Social Media Marketing and Public Relations

• Open Letter to Havas CEO David Jones

  Todd Defren

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:12 am

  Hi Mr. Jones.  I caught your MSNBC interview this morning with Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski re: your new book, Who Cares Wins: Why Good Business is Better Business.  You made some excellent points re: how transparency, authenticity and speed will win the day for corporations; about how companies who expect to do well must increasingly expect to do good, as it is becomes ever easier for consumers to suss out egregious behavior and punish bad actors (from un-friending to public humiliation). This is all well-worn territory for Social Media geeks, of course, but it’s always good…

• Facebook IPO is Good for Everybody

  Todd Defren

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:35 am

  Depending on who you ask, the Facebook IPO will result in boundless glory or is destined to be remembered as the final pinprick in an impending burst of the current tech bubble. For my part, whereas in the past I likened Facebook to previous Walled Garden successes like AOL (the AOL of the early 90′s, not the AOL of today – which is a SHIFT client!), in the past 18 months or so I’ve only been impressed by Facebook’s ability to embed itself across the larger, open expanses of the Web. It “rides alongside” us as we surf, versus dictating how and where we experience the…

• Susan G. Komen PR Disaster: Lessons Learned

  Todd Defren

  3 Feb 2012 | 11:27 am

  Wow. It’s been nearly two weeks since my last blog post. Sorry about that. I was out sick. And wow, what a crazy time to sit on the sidelines… Facebook IPO. Hello!  More on that in a future post. Susan G. Komen vs. Planned Parenthood.  Sheesh! Let’s talk about that! (Caveat:  I am a Blue State progressive; whose mother died of breast cancer; who marched on Washington as a college student in support of women’s rights; and whose dear-departed grandmother spoke with horror of the days prior to Roe v. Wade. Got all that?  You’ve been warned.) Just as I started…

• It’s the End of the Web as We Know It … or, Speed Kills

  Todd Defren

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:46 am

  Those of you who follow me on other social nets like Twitter or Facebook know that I am pretty opinionated when it comes to politics.  Suffice to say that I am a card-carrying member of the “Liberal Coastal Elites.”  (I try not to over-indulge or bore folks with it; and I certainly can play nice with my right-leaning friends.) I bring it all up only as a segue to the fact that I am a big fan of Andrew Sullivan’s Dish blog.  Sullivan’s one of the big dogs in blogging; he’s been freshly-empowered by his move to the Daily Beast to experiment…

• Thoughts on a Twitterversary

  Todd Defren

  19 Jan 2012 | 7:18 am

  Let’s take a ramble. One of those automated spambots on Twitter informed me that today was my 5–year anniversary of microblogging.  Wow.  Five years.  Really? What was I up to five years ago? I was living in Boston, in-between my family’s quinquennial moves to San Francisco.  My brain was on fire, as I’d hit upon a worthy successor to the Social Media News Release concept and was just a couple of weeks away from debuting the Social Media Newsroom template. As I look back, 2007 was a prolific time for the entire Social Media industry.  It was not only the year Twitter…

• 

  Social Media Clubhouse

• Deep Lessons About Shallow Conclusions

  hardaway

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  To my great chagrin, I find I am as guilty as anyone of drawing shallow conclusions about the role and value or social media in a marketing plan. I read this article in Ad Age about an Australian study whose research proved that no more than 1% of fans actually engage with brands on Facebook. In other words, fans may "like" your page, but it's pretty meaningless, because they don't talk about you.  So, I concluded, why spend a lot of time on Facebook, especially if you are a small business with limited resources. And I wrote that on Google+, home of the serious conversation.  read more

• The Evolution of Super Bowl Advertising

  kbailey

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Everyone loves the Super Bowl.  Even if you’re not crazy about watching football, you can stick around the watch clever advertising at its best.  But you probably noticed that Super Bowl XLVI was a little different from its predecessors.  Social media helped brands change the rules of Super Bowl ads.     On average, a 30 second spot during the game of the year put a company back about $3.5 million so it makes sense that they would want to get as much value as possible from this enormous expense.  This year, brands came up with creative tactics to get plenty of bang for their buck(s).

• Three Creative Ways of Using Google+ Hangouts

  pamsahota

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  There are so many shiny new toys in the social media sphere…sometimes we can’t keep up. Google has a tendency to test out new ideas (remember Google Buzz?) and this time around they have spun out Google Plus Hangouts. It’s an opportunity for individuals or businesses to utilize this virtual “hangout” to communicate with others in their community or business via video. The only disadvantage that appears right away is the restriction of 10 people per hangout. However, when it comes to meetings and having the chance to build a deeper relationship among community members sometimes fewer…

• Social Media Clubhouse Newsletter (01/3/12)

  SMCReporter

  3 Feb 2012 | 11:01 am

  FEBRUARY BOOK CLUB: THE SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST      We're proud to feature great titles in 2012 with monthly reviews and complimentary webinars hosting some of the social media industry's most innovative authors. We received a lot of great feedback last year and want to thank you for supporting the Book Club, our publishing partners and the authors.  read more

• Finding Out the Difference Between Personal and Private

  sporring

  3 Feb 2012 | 7:07 am

  All of us that are active in some respect on social networks will sooner or later end up in a situation where we don't know if we should publish an update or not, so did I, back in September. read more

• 

  SocialFish

• 8 use cases for social media and associations

  Maddie Grant

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  In case you missed them, or want them all in one handy link, here is a nice roundup for you of our Social CRM Use Case series, which was originally created for the Avectra blog. ROI and Social CRM Use Case 1: Using LinkedIn for Member Recruitment Social CRM Use Case 2: Socializing educational content for member retention Social CRM Use Case 3: Optimize and socialize your member services Social CRM Use Case 4: Conference social media campaigns to increase outreach and lead generation Social CRM Use Case 5: Connecting the dots between purchases and social capital for member recruitment Social…

• Got Video? Enter the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest!

  Maddie Grant

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Are you a nonprofit?   Did your organization create impactful videos in 2011?   Do you want your organization to be recognized for making great videos and win incredible prizes?   Do you remember how awesome the videos were last year? Perfect. The 2011 DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest  is taking submissions starting February 1st.  The contest is presented by YouTube and See3 Communications  and generously sponsored by Cisco, the Case Foundation and NTEN. So what do the winning nonprofits get for participating?  The four best videos will each receive $3,500 in prize donations and an…

• Data on the Digital Divide

  Maddie Grant

  6 Feb 2012 | 8:51 am

  Came across this infographic via a Mashable post.  I think it should have had more info about mobile web access, but interesting nonetheless.  See more source data in the Digital Divide section of the Pew Internet Research site.

• First official Google deck for nonprofits on how to use G+

  Maddie Grant

  6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  Alex Abelin: Google + for Nonprofits View more presentations from Social Media for Nonprofits Learn more here – http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/nonprofits/

• In case you missed it: POTUS on the G+

  Maddie Grant

  4 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  The first ever completely virtual interview from the White House (see the WH blog for more info). An aside: if this doesn’t prove the importance of online, participatory learning, nothing will Quipol

• 

  Socialmedia.biz

• Taste everything well before serving up your social media offerings

  Chris Abraham

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:09 am

  If you want to succeed in running a kitchen for the homeless in Washington, DC, or have wildly successful social media marketing campaigns, it all comes down to one thing: do you respect and appreciate your guests? Do you cut-corners and just serve slop or do you prepare organic, healthy, and delicious meals with an obsession for presentation and taste? I volunteer as sous chef at a Washington, DC, homeless kitchen. They serve fresh, organic dinners to folks who really need a healthy meal. Miriam's Kitchen treats everyone who dines there as respected and honored guests. I have learned a lot…

• TaskRabbit: Crowdsourcing comes to your neighborhood

  JD Lasica

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:11 am

  A mobile marketplace for getting stuff done from JD Lasica on Vimeo.   Start-up offers location-aware marketplace for getting stuff done One of my favorite new iPhone apps and online services is TaskRabbit, a platform that allows people to hire other people to complete tasks in their own towns or neighborhoods. The concept is drop-dead simple but difficult to pull off. Founder Leah Busque says TaskRabbit lets folks "outsource small jobs and tasks to other people in their neighborhood" — say, if you need dry cleaning or groceries picked up, house cleaning or yard work done, Ikea…

• Why you should care about the mobile Web

  deltinahay

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:22 am

  Image by BigStock Photo   Ready or not, the mobile revolution is upon us! There is a lot of hype out there about how many people own mobile devices and how much time people spend on them. Over the past two years, I've been charting and chronicling the rise of the mobile Web and the changes that it is unleashing on American society. Let's look at some overall numbers: Today there are 5.3 billion mobile device subscribers in the world. There will be nearly as many mobile devices as there are people in the world by 2015. There are 48 million people in the world who have mobile phones, even…

• Social media, tech & marketing events: February

  JD Lasica

  1 Feb 2012 | 6:02 am

  The Social Enterprise Conference will be held Feb. 25-26 at Harvard.   Guide to events & conferences for the coming month Who would have guessed that February has become one of the busiest months of the year for social media, technology and marketing conferences? Look at the list of conferences below, which run the gamut from Women 2.0 Pitch to Vator Splash to Lift, Strata, TED, SMX West, Wisdom 2.0, the first SOBCon Europe and the year's first Social Media Strategies Summit. And don't forget Social Media Week, the multi-city global conference running Feb. 13-17. For the full year,…

• Can PR leave behind magical thinking for science?

  Chris Abraham

  1 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Don’t let your social media hypothesis dictate your conclusion While neither marketing nor social media are sciences, one needs to use scientific principles to be most effective when it comes to both branding and prospecting online. It doesn’t take an Einstein to succeed in social media marketing, but to does take a scientist. Are you rigorously collecting metrics and data  to see if what you’re doing is resulting in sales conversions or extending your brand or are you relying on things you’ve learned from The Secret? Is your social media marketing campaign relying too much on…

• 

  Brent Csutoras

• How Can Social Media Get You Fired? (Infographic)

  Brent Csutoras

  6 Feb 2012 | 10:03 am

  This is another, in what will likely be a long line of Infographics, which I found interesting and wanted to share. I am a little torn on this graphic, because I love the concept and some of the implementation, like the 8 Ways To Get Fired by Social Media, near the bottom of the graphic. [...]

• Infographic about Infographics

  Brent Csutoras

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:02 am

  Infographics continue to rise in popular, buy hey… why shouldn’t they? Infographics embody everything we want from content. They are highly visual, with easy to digest information, in most cases teach us something interesting we did not know, and do it all in a matter of minutes. Additionally, it is much harder to just duplicate or resuse [...]

• SMX West and Back to the Brain Share

  Brent Csutoras

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:39 am

  I took the entire year off from conferences in 2011, so that I could focus exclusively on improving and expanding our content promotion capabilities and offerings. During that time, there have been some pretty massive changes in the social media space, specifically around content marketing (aka social promotion). You have probably noticed that I am [...]

• 2012: A New Year and A New Direction

  Brent Csutoras

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:43 am

  I have spent a lot of time thinking over the last 6 months… …about how I got into online marketing to begin with, how it evolved quickly to a focus on social media marketing, and how much I love it. …about starting my own company, then co-founding Alpha Brand Media and later also co-founding BlueGlass. [...]

• Twitter Soft Ban or Simply a New Bug?

  Brent Csutoras

  9 Jan 2012 | 9:17 am

  Have you found yourself seeing the Fail Whale a lot more often once you have logged into Twitter? And by more often, I mean all the time, regardless of what time of day or day of the week it is? Well if you listen to the mumbling of a growing group of Twitter users, then [...]

• 

  Social Networking Watch: News on the Social Networking and Social Media Industry

• Facebook's Zuckerberg May Face $2 Billion Tax Bill

  Mark Brooks

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:54 pm

  CNN - Feb 8 - Facebook's upcoming IPO will make founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg a billionaire -- but it will also stick him with an eye-popping tax bill that could reach as high as $2 billion. Zuckerberg currently owns almost 414M shares of Facebook, but he also holds options to buy another 120M shares at the bargain price of 6 cents a piece. Zuckerberg plans to exercise those options and will sell some of his shares during Facebook's initial offering to cover the tax bill. The type of options Zuckerberg holds are taxable as ordinary income when they're exercised, even if the shareholder…

• Conversion Conference, San Francisco, March 5-6, 2012

  Mark Brooks

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:35 pm

  OPW – Feb 8 – The next Conversion Conference is held in San Francisco, March 5-6, 2012. This 2 days event focuses on learning how to increase your website conversion and making your marketing campaigns more effective. Keynote speakers are: BJ Fogg, PhD (Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University), Jared Spool, CEO & Founding Principal (User Interface Engineering), Roger Dooley, author of Brainfluence, Steve Krug, Web Usability Consultant & Author, Don't Make Me Thinkand Rocket Surgery Made Easy. See the full agenda. Register here.

• LinkedIn Picks Up Rapportive For Around $15 Million

  Mark Brooks

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:18 pm

  TECH CRUNCH - Feb 8 - LinkedIn has bought contact management startup Rapportive. The startup, which aggregates and displays the social networking accounts of the people you contact through Gmail, was backed for $1M by seed investors Charles River Ventures, Paul Buchheit, Scott Banister, Jason Calacanis, Gary Vaynerchuk, Dharmesh Shah, Shervin Pishevar, Roy Rodenstein, Kima Ventures, Zelkova Ventures, 500 Startups, Michael Zirngibl, Ashish Soni and David Cancel. by Alexia TsotsisSee full article at Tech Crunch See all posts on LinkedIn

• More Than Just Great Firewall Awaits Facebook In China

  Mark Brooks

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:11 pm

  REUTERS - Feb 8 - Facebook said last week it was contemplating re-entering China, the world's second biggest economy, after being blocked nearly three years ago. But its offering would likely face intense competition, political meddling and little commercial success. "It's actually a bit late for Facebook," said Hong Kong-based CLSA analyst Elinor Leung, who added that the market was already quite saturated with local players such as Sina Corp, Renren Inc, Kaixinwang001 and Tencent Holdings. Facebook first launched its Chinese interface in 2008 but was blocked by Beijing in mid-2009 following…

• Google, Facebook Remove Content As India Threatens Lawsuits

  Mark Brooks

  6 Feb 2012 | 11:31 am

  ASSOCIATED PRESS - Feb 6 - Google India has removed web pages deemed offensive to Indian political and religious leaders to comply with a court case that has raised censorship fears in the world’s largest democracy. The action follows weeks of intense government pressure for 22 Internet giants to remove photographs, videos or text considered “anti-religious” or “anti-social.” For India’s ~100M Internet users, the government says, U.S. Internet standards are not acceptable. See full article at Washington Post See all posts on FacebookSee all posts on Google

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  social media blog

• What is SOPA?

  Robert Custons

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:23 am

  SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act bill. If the bill is passed, the US government will be able to go after any foreign site hosting unauthorized copyrighted material. This could include asking ISP (internet service providers), credit card companies and online advertisers to cut all ties with the sites. The bill would cause problems [...] Related posts:MSN Microsoft tries to buy Yahoo Google voices concern over Microsoft deal StumbleUpon shoots past the 1 billion mark!

• Social Media Marketing Basics 1

  Robert Custons

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:48 am

  A disaster that’s waiting to happen Many medium and large sized companies have left their social media marketing with their IT department, a junior executive or a self proclaimed social media marketing guru.  Other companies have given the task to a member of the team that is frequently using a social network such as Facebook [...] Related posts:Happy Birthday Facebook! Are you listening to your customers online? The King of Social Networking! A story about Facebooks Reign

• Google Buzz Obituary

  Robert Custons

  28 Nov 2011 | 3:26 am

  Google Buzz, the awkward offspring of Google inc. was put to rest on October 14th at 10:03am EST. The site was an attempt at combining social media interaction with emails yet it never caught the public’s full attention. Throughout its short lived life Buzz was criticised for being too open and it always lived in [...] Related posts:Google Adwords Dutch it again Google voices concern over Microsoft deal Google News teams up with news agencies

• Timeline = The new Facebook profile design

  Robert Custons

  14 Oct 2011 | 8:29 am

  Facebook will release its new Facebook profile designs to the public over the next few days. The update which offer a range of new features. As the video above shows, users profile pages will be transformed into online scrapbooks known as “Timelines”. The pages will allow people to view their friends life stories, showing images [...] Related posts:Happy Birthday Facebook! LinkedIn profile photos controversy Social media more popular than email

• The King of Social Networking! A story about Facebooks Reign

  Robert Custons

  29 Jul 2011 | 4:01 am

  The press have been using the term “Facebook killer” since the site hit the mainstream. In the past few years social networks have come and gone, with Myspace being the most famous networks to lose its crown in recent years. The idea of a social site being the most popular for a long period of [...] Related posts:75% of European web users into social networking Should your business market through Twitter? What is Google +?

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  Chris Garrett on New Media

• When Should You Start Selling from Your Blog?

  Chris Garrett

  31 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm

  How do you know when your audience is ready to buy from you? Should you wait to “monetize”? How big does your audience need to be? These are common questions and the answers have been debated over the years. I am going to share an answer I gave George from the Man Up Blog during his blog critique. George spent some time in the dating world, sometimes called the “pick up artist” niche. This is shy dudes learning to pick up the ladies mostly, but obviously the market caters to all genders and tastes. It’s pretty obvious what people want from dating advice, but…

• Why You Shouldn’t Drive Traffic

  Chris Garrett

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:58 pm

  In the first 7 days of this blogs life, 20,000 visitors checked it out. Sounds like a pretty nice result doesn’t it? I was super happy, but a little disappointed in one specific respect. Only 500 people subscribed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved and nurtured those 500 subscribers and 500 subscribers in any time frame is not to be sniffed at! My problem was, how can you have 20,000 visitors check out my blog and only 500 of them want to stick around? The cause? I was “Driving” traffic … Big Lessons Learned I had been involved with a couple of successful blogs at…

• How to know what your audience really wants

  Chris Garrett

  23 Dec 2011 | 11:53 am

  Your audience does not want your content. Your audience probably does not want to hear from you at all. If you think that because your website looks great that people will want to visit it … think again. What do they really want? Your audience and potential customers know who they are and probably have a very good idea of their goals. At the very least they know their immediate needs. They are looking for answers to questions, advice, and resources that help people like them get the stuff people like them want. When someone seeks out and clicks on your content it is only as a means to…

• Finding and Communicating Your Value

  Chris Garrett

  5 Dec 2011 | 11:06 am

  Many bloggers don’t have a value problem. They have a great deal to share. I am sure you do – I have never met someone who doesn’t. Why then do people struggle to find an audience. Never mind an audience who knows, likes and trusts them – ANY audience? It’s weird but a lot of the time it is because you have SO much to offer, it’s hard to know who you are for and what specific benefit you provide. A lot of my coaching clients have this problem and, thankfully, there is a solution. The solution is simple, but it isn’t always easy. Check out Ryan…

• How to REALLY make money from a website

  Chris Garrett

  23 Nov 2011 | 3:08 pm

  As much as I tell people to seriously reconsider buying too much into the hardcore “Make Money Online” hype, I can not argue against its allure and the fact that, well, people DO make money online. The problem is, there are the usual caveats: It’s not fast. It’s not easy. You WILL encounter problems and tough challenges. You might not always enjoy it. These are challenges facing Roman who asked me for a blog critique. He has been building a site all about his experience of creating a website that makes money called “How this website makes money” (how meta).

• 

  BRANDING NEWS - Google News

• Brand Bible: The Complete Guide to Building, Designing, and Sustaining Brands - Dexigner

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:19 am

  DexignerBrand Bible: The Complete Guide to Building, Designing, and Sustaining BrandsDexignerBrand Bible explores and examines all aspects of branding from its early beginnings in the Elizabethan era to its modern apotheosis in brands like Martha Stewart and Disney. With thematic sections exploring key areas of branding-such as electronics,

• Karen Morstad & Associates Extends Deadline for Pro Bono Marketing Services ... - MarketWatch (press release)

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:43 am

  Karen Morstad & Associates Extends Deadline for Pro Bono Marketing Services MarketWatch (press release)GREENWICH, Conn., Feb 8, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Karen Morstad & Associates (KM&A), a Greenwich, CT-based marketing and branding firm specializing in the financial services industry, has extended the deadline to submit proposals for its and more »

• Consumers Safely in the Driver's Seat - Wall Street Journal

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:26 am

  Consumers Safely in the Driver's SeatWall Street JournalCar companies are building brands by focusing on safety-including product recalls-Abheek Bhattacharya says. Statistics are hard to come by, but a trend does appear to be emerging. The last two years have seen at least eight auto recalls or service and more »

• The GOP Primary Proves Personal Branding Isn't Optional - Fast Company

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:18 am

  Fast CompanyThe GOP Primary Proves Personal Branding Isn't OptionalFast CompanyBut this process is more than just political theater--in fact, the GOP race has illustrated several important concepts that relate to personal branding. As a business owner or a professional, here are three key takeaways: If you don't define yourself, Santorum rips Obama, Romney in victory speechLos Angeles TimesRick Santorum will pay for thisSalonRomney swats Santorum, Newt in Minn. mailPolitico (blog)all 8,928 news articles »

• iCrossing Announces Co-Branding Relationship With Jermaine Dupri and Global14.com - MarketWatch (press release)

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:21 am

  iCrossing Announces Co-Branding Relationship With Jermaine Dupri and Global14.comMarketWatch (press release)To kick off the co-branding relationship, Dupri, iCrossing Chief Strategy Officer Adam Lavelle, and Esquire Senior Editor Richard Dorment will appear on a Social Media Week panel, "Jermaine Dupri: Building a Community," on February 13 at 3:00 pm at and more »

• 

  Brains On Fire Blog

• Get Your WOM Notebook Ready… Chapter One: Believe

  Geno

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:30 am

  So, here you are… a friend of WOM or maybe you are just starting to explore. Word of Mouth Marketing is a passion for me, and I’m lucky enough to have a career in it. But this didn’t happen by accident. My career took root organically, as a result of my belief in the power of WOM, not because I set out to do it. Back in 2001, Brains on Fire partnered with the Department of Health and Environmental Control of South Carolina. We were tasked with the challenge of tackling teen smoking in our state. If you are at all familiar with South Carolina, you probably know tobacco plays a…

• Airport Conversations and The Secret Sauce of Success

  amy

  7 Feb 2012 | 6:59 am

  Every once in awhile someone will ask me what I do for a living. These conversations usually occur in the kinds of places where strangers feel compelled to carry on polite chitchat. In line at the grocery store. Doctor’s office waiting rooms. Airplanes waiting to be cleared for take-off. When I tell people I am a writer, they often respond in the same way I imagine I would respond if someone told me they traveled with the circus or roadied for Def Leppard in the 80s. An incredulous mix of shock and awe, with undertones of questioning my sanity. “That’s…brave,” they…

• Inspiration.

  Robbin

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:28 am

  The Erics, looking for inspiration. Hello! Hope you’re excited about the week ahead of you. I am. About a year or so ago, I posted a blog asking YOU a simple question. And since I LOVED the answers and they all inspired me, I am asking again… I really need you guys today. I love writing. Think I have shared this before, but I believe writing inspires thinking and exploring and sharing. And thinking and exploring and sharing are good things. If you are reading this and hanging out with us, I have to believe you think we add value in your life. So, I have a question for you: If you…

• The Power of Kindness.

  Robbin

  2 Feb 2012 | 8:30 am

  Fresh flowers from Libby William’s Photoblog. The other day I got a note in the mail. The old fashion “ink on paper” kind. It started like this: Dearest Darling Robbin, Hmmmm. I have to tell you in the middle of my crazy, busy, over stimulated workday, those words stopped me dead in my tracks. I took a deep breath and smiled at the “over the top-ness” of this salutation. What came after that was nothing short of the kindest words anyone’s written to me in a long time. Just a couple of heartfelt observations mixed in with some wit and honesty. It was a nice gentle break from…

• Popsicles, Sparklers and Creative Inspiration

  amy

  1 Feb 2012 | 7:37 am

  Life through the lens of our dear friend Libby Williams Last weekend the weather was delightfully warm here in Greenville. The sun was shining, the birds were singing – it felt like spring. On one of several strolls with my dog, I came across three little boys playing with a box in their front yard. As I watched them play, it was obvious the box was not just a box. It was a fort, a playhouse, a tank, an infinite number of possibilities limited only by their imaginations. My Saturday stroll was a good reminder of how differently we think as children. When kids look at a box, they…

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  Smashing Magazine Feed

• Collaging: Getting Answers To The Questions You Don’t Know To Ask

  Kyle Soucy

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:02 am

     When conducting user research, we all know that asking the right questions is just as important as how you ask them, but how do you know exactly what questions to ask? What if the discussion topic is very personal? How do you get a complete stranger to open up? There is a better way to conduct an in-depth interview, and it doesn’t involve a clipboard. Just imagine what you could discover if the participant’s answers weren’t limited to a predetermined set of questions. This is where collaging can help. Collaging is a projective technique by which participants select images…

• How To Use Custom Post Types To Organize Online Marketing Campaigns

  Joshua Dodson

  3 Feb 2012 | 7:04 am

     Custom post types add a level of flexibility to WordPress that makes this open-source Web development platform more useful on many levels. Whenever I have been faced with a Web-based task, especially one that involves organizing information, the first thing I do is examine WordPress to determine if it can handle the job. It usually can. Image Source As an Internet marketer and analyst, I need to be able to organize online marketing campaigns in a way that is trackable in Google Analytics. This is the perfect task for WordPress custom post types. In this article, we’ll explain…

• Freebie: St. Valentine’s Day Icon Set (10 PNG/PSD Icons)

  Smashing Editorial Team

  2 Feb 2012 | 7:38 am

     Every now and then, we release useful freebies for all of our highly valued readers. Today, it is our pleasure to present to you Cuberto‘s fantastic St. Valentine’s icon set  —  exclusively designed for Smashing Magazine and its loyal readers. The icons presented are available in transparent PNGs as well as Photoshop PSDs (128×128 px) and are perfect for any projects you have coming up for St. Valentine’s Day. Enjoy! Download the Set for free! This icon set is completely free to use for commercial or personal applications without any…

• Ten Things To Think About When Designing Your iPad App

  Julie Stanford

  31 Jan 2012 | 9:03 am

     Like most well-designed things, the magic of an iPad app comes from a union of usefulness, usability and meaning. Games aside, the app must be useful by solving a problem that people actually have through the right set of functionality at the right time. It must be easy to use and, just as importantly, easy to get started using, without a lot of pesky setup and learning steps. And it must hold meaning for the user through visual beauty, an emotional connection, personal insights, etc. In this article, we won’t outline the entire design process for creating an iPad app, but we…

• Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: February 2012

  Smashing Editorial Team

  31 Jan 2012 | 5:48 am

     We always try our best to challenge your artistic abilities and produce some interesting, beautiful and creative artwork. And as designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one — desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the usual crowd. This creativity mission has been going on for over two years now, and we are very thankful to all designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing each month. We continue to nourish you with a monthly spoon of inspiration. This post features…