Bargain Whiteboards Resource » Brands

How Should I Best Choose Brands When Buying White Marker Boards?

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:54:24 +0000

The first thing you need to figure out is what your board will be used for. Will it be for occasional use or for heavy traffic use? Once you determine that you need to decide whether you want a mounted board or a free standing board. There are two types of board’s melamine and porcelain steel.

The melamine board is for occasional use because the clear coat on the top tends to wear away after a while. The porcelain steel is better if you will be using your board on a regular basis. It is a little more expensive but it is better in the long run.

The next thing to decide is whether you are able to mount the board on a wall, or if you have the space you can have a freestanding board. If you are a teacher you may want the lap boards for the kids.

You may also want a white board skin, which is something you can put over the old chalkboards. The reason that most people have changed over to white boards is because they are chalk dust free, which is great for allergy sufferers and it protects the computers.

The main thing you want to look for in a white board is the sturdiness, the ghosting or fading effect and the durability. Check your budget and get the board that best suits your needs and your pocket. Once you have it narrowed down to the type of board you need, you must remember to take care of it so it will last a long time.

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Where Are the Women on Facebook’s Board of Directors? [VIDEO]

Mashable Video — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

Facebook, despite having more female users, has zero women on its board of directors.

A recent Bloomberg report compared the Facebook board’s gender imbalance with that of LinkedIn and Google, both of which have at least one female board member.

Facebook’s CFO Sheryl Sandberg, however, is of course a woman. Yet Sandberg admitted in a 2010 TED Talk that women are highly underrepresented at the top of corporations.

What do you think Facebook could gain by adding a female director — or two? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Facebook, facebook ipo, women

Player Cut on Super Bowl 2012 Eve Will Tweet During Game

Sam Laird — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:21:18 +0000

A New England Patriots wide receiver who was shockingly released from the team less than a day before Super Bowl XLVI will instead tweet updates and reactions as he watches the game on television. The bizarre turn of events will provide a wholly unique experience for fans who follow Tiquan Underwood on Twitter.

“It won’t get in-depth as far as what happened in practice and stuff like that,” Underwood said. “But it will basically be comments on the game, only from someone who will obviously have a bit more knowledge about it than a regular fan.”

In an interview with Mashable hours before the Super Bowl XLVI kickoff, Underwood was positive, upbeat and gracious about a strange past day.

The team hopes to bring Underwood back next season, according to the Boston Herald, but released him because of a late decision to add another defensive lineman to their Super Bowl rotation.

Underwood went from two weeks of preparation for the game, to receiving the bad news, to receiving some 5,000 new followers overnight after he posted this series of classy tweets on Saturday afternoon:

This Is Nothing But MOTIVATION….

— Tiquan Underwood (@TiUnderwood) February 5, 2012

I Been Thru A LOT…But There Are Ppl In This World w/ More Serious Problems So I Cant Hang The Head….Thank You Lord #Blessed 🙏

— Tiquan Underwood (@TiUnderwood) February 5, 2012

Good Luck To The New Enland Organization, The Coaches, & All My Teammates…#PatsNation

— Tiquan Underwood (@TiUnderwood) February 5, 2012

In a subsequent message, Underwood thanked his supporters and well-wishers.

“Ever since I’ve been here, the New England organization has treated me with a lot of class, so I just wanted to do the same,” he told Mashable.

Underwood said following his series of messages he received an “unreal” amount of support from around the Twittersphere. The number of followers on his @TiUnderwood account jumped from just over 7,000 on Saturday morning to more than 12,000 by Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been pretty cool,” he said of the positive reaction. But he added that he has also received a number of mean-spirited messages from people “who don’t understand the business side of football, being on the outside looking in.”

Underwood had recently expressed his excitement about about the game and devotion to his team by shaving the Patriots logo into the back of his head.

“It’s going to be different watching the game on TV, knowing that you put in the time, put in the reps to be a part of the game,” Underwood told Mashable. “But I get to sit back and watch as a fan now, and I’ll be rooting for the Patriots.”

Was it classless of the Patriots to cut Tiquan Underwood a day before the Super Bowl? Will you follow him during the game? Let us know in the comments.

Photo courtesy of Patriots.com

More About: Super Bowl XLVI, Twitter

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Turn Patriots Coach Bill Belichick into a Super Bowl Meme [CONTEST]

Brian Anthony Hernandez — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:28:36 +0000

Before, during or after the Super Bowl game, take a stab at turning Patriots coach Bill Belichick into a meme.

We know football fans are full of wit and humor. So tackle this challenge with all the knowledge you have about the Patriots, Giants, NFL and hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl. A prize package of Mashable swag will go to the best meme. Check out the hilarious early submissions at the bottom of this post.

We’ll be using Reuters photographer Jim Young’s image of Belichick at a Feb. 1 practice for this contest.

You can play along in two ways:

1) Use this altered image and add text to the photo like you see with other memes. We took the original photo, cropped Belichick out and placed him in a saloon. Cheers!
To add text, use QuickMeme or Google+ (here are examples of memes created on Google+).

Example:

2) Plop this cropped image onto a background of your choosing with or without text.

Once you’re done creating your masterpiece, drag it into our Olapic widget at the bottom of this post. Or, you can tweet us @mashsocialmedia with the hashtag #SuperBowlMeme.

Will your creation reign supreme? Give it a shot and win Mashable swag (and, of course, bragging rights!).

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More About: football, humor, memes, nfl, sports, Super Bowl, trending

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5 Ways Social Media Could Be Hurting Your Job Search

Tony Morrison — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:09:32 +0000

Tony Morrison is the Vice President of Business Development at Cachinko, a unique professional community where social networking and job opportunities come together. Find him on Talent Connection and connect with Cachinko on Facebook or Twitter.

Social media is awesome, isn’t it? It does so much and asks so little. And using social media the right way can hook you up with the right people, in the right place, at the right time. When used to its fullest potential, actively engaging a network online can transcend your social media game from person to personality — someone who engages his circle and provides interesting and relevant content to the masses.

However, like most good things, social media can be a real killer for job seekers who use it inappropriately. Any big no-no on a profile can be an ultimate deal-breaker in a matter of seconds, with no recourse and no notification. Are you sure your social media game is helping — not hurting — your cause? Check out these five ways that your social media efforts could be killing your job search.

1. You’ve Got Friends in Low Places (Thanks, Garth Brooks)

As much as you might love your fraternity brother who never really grew out of the Animal House phase, your prospective boss might not. Employers will not judge you solely based on your connections, but having a wild child as an online friend posting inappropriate status updates and photos still can kill your chances for landing a plum job.

Pay attention to how you interact with your friend and how they work with you. If you sign on to find the occasional profane comment or dirty picture tag, it’s time to set some limits. Talk to your friend about who is reading your profile and/or change your settings to restrict who can post/tag what.

2. Is Anybody Out There?

It’s one thing to join a social network; it’s another thing to participate. If you don’t have the time for social media, don’t make an account. An empty or barren social media profile says that you start things you can’t finish and aren’t taking advantage of the tools you have.

More and more employers are searching candidates on Google, so that MySpace profile you started and thereafter neglected will pop up. Hit the basics by including a current (and appropriate) picture, basic info, and updating at least once a week. If you can’t do that much, delete any accounts that are not adding value.

3. T.M.I (No More Need Be Said)

On the flip side, a common problem many job seekers run into is putting too much out there on social media. While it might be awesome to share all those wickedly funny party photos and NSFW videos with your friends, your current or potential employer might not appreciate the humor.

Additionally, the job search is a lot like dating. When you’re gainfully employed, your current employer isn’t going to want to see you actively job-searching on Facebook. If you’re shopping around, many recruiters and hiring managers will lose interest if they see you getting cozy with another company.

Know what to share, when to share it and with whom. Be discreet. Your privacy and how you value and protect it is also a critically important attribute of your online brand.

Maintain a certain level of professional aloofness by limiting the content you upload and checking your privacy settings frequently.

4. Man of Many Talents

We’ve all seen statistics describing social media as a great tactic for all job seekers. However, remember that the job search should only be about 20% online, and social media is just one part of that.

You have many talents. You cannot demonstrate the various facets of your personal and professional brand exclusively via online tools, no matter how sophisticated the social networking platform or your digital marketing skills. So make it a point to practice all of your networking skills, and get away from the keyboard once in a while to talk with someone face-to-face.

If you rely on social media too heavily, you’re going to become a one-hit wonder real quick. Employers want to see candidates who are well-rounded with their branding and job search methods.

5. It’s a Time-Suck

Admit it, you’ve spent a little too much time friending on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, pinning on Pinterest, or grouping into circles on Google+. That’s fine. Social media wasn’t meant to simply be a job search tool — it’s a place to have fun, connect with friends and, maybe, see how that girl you knew in high school is doing now.

However, be aware that five minutes can turn into an hour on social media, which can seriously hurt your job search efforts. Stay focused on your job search, and set time aside in your day for “fun” social media so that it doesn’t run away with you.

What do you think? What other ways can social media kill your job search? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Social Media Job Listings

Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

Administrative and Executive Assistant / HR Manager at Pixable in New York City
Marketing and Communications Manager at Miami Heat in Miami
PR Manager at 180LA in Santa Monica, California

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Talaj

More About: job search series, jobs, SMO, social media jobs

Super Bowl 2012: Tech Marches On [COMIC]

Charlie White — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:28:40 +0000

As you watch Super Bowl 2012 (on NBC tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST), notice how high technology continues to ease its way into your favorite weekend NFL smackdowns.

There’s instant replay, sophisticated communications equipment, spectacular camera rigs and super slow motion technology, and there’s even talk of the NFL adopting high-tech football helmets with a Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS), letting doctors monitor the condition of the human brain as the game is played.

However, too many human beings are being injured in the process of slamming into each other at high speed, so perhaps someday there will be a solution to all of the grisly casualties that occur on the gridiron.

That’s where our editor-in-chief and chief cartoonist Lance Ulanoff steps in with his own unique solution.

How about you? Do you think football is so violent that something drastic must to be done to curtail the injuries?

More About: comics, Super Bowl, Super Bowl 2012, Super Bowl XLVI

Top 6 Super Bowl 2012 Apps

Keith Kaplan — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:27:53 +0000

On Sunday night, millions of people will be watching Super Bowl 2012 on their televisions, while others might be watching it on their smartphones.

This year marks the first time the Super Bowl will be streamed live online, and with the trend of sports becoming more social, you will be able to participate along with the game while you watch.

Many companies have developed mobile apps, so when you tune in on Super Bowl Sunday, you’ll have the opportunity interact with both the game and advertisements.

Here is a roundup up of the top apps to keep you up to date while the New England Patriots and New York Giants battle it out for the title of Super Bowl XLVI champions.

NFL Mobile App

If you are a Verizon Wireless customer you are in luck. The NFL Mobile app, powered by Verizon Wireless and NFL, allows you to watch a live stream of Super Bowl XVLI this Sunday. All you need is a smartphone on the Verizon Wireless network.

Click here to view this gallery.

Whether you’re watching the big game at home, online, on your phone, or you’re lucky enough to attend the game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, these apps can help enhance your Super Bowl XLVI experience.

Tell us how we did. What’s your favorite Super Bowl app this year? Are there any other apps that should be added to the list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

More About: apps, nfl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI, trending

Digital Divide: If You’re Reading This, You’re One of the Lucky Ones [INFOGRAPHIC]

Charlie White — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:41:17 +0000

Even in the richest countries on the planet such as the U.S., not everyone has easy access to this cornucopia of connectivity, the Internet.

The Internet is a tremendous growth engine, responsible for 21% of economic growth in the more advanced countries in the world, according to a McKinsey study.

While those of us in the United States complain about how we have to pay more for Internet service that’s slower than those of other first-world countries, within the United States there’s a gaping chasm between the haves and the have-nots.

In this infographic by OnlineITdegree.net, an ad-free website describing itself as “an online informational resource for individuals looking to pursue IT degree of related education and careers,” you’ll find surprising information about the differences in Internet access in the United States.

There are vast gaps between Internet accessibility in cities and rural areas, racial disparities in Internet access (which isn’t as pronounced as it was a decade ago), and the growing gap between rich and poor and its influence on who goes without computers or Internet access.

Beyond that, you’ll see more information about how the U.S. lags behind other countries in Internet technology, broadband speed and access. This is the part that has us scratching our heads. Why do you think the United States lags behind less-wealthy countries when it comes to Internet access? Do find that as frustrating as we do?

What do you think should be done about this persistent digital divide? Let us know in the comments.

Infographic courtesy OnlineITDegree.net

More About: digital divide, infographic, internet, trending

How to Follow Super Bowl 2012 With Social Media

Lauren Hockenson — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:23:16 +0000

It’s never been easier to get your pigskin fix on the internet than Super Bowl XLVI. The NFL’s biggest sporting event, airing Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC, is shaping up to be the most socially connected in football history. It’s also the first to feature official live video streaming over the internet. Social media is staying in lockstep with the festivities as well, leading to a vareity of options that will adequately satiate or supplement your Super Bowl 2012 coverage.

From the pregame hype to post-victory analysis, nearly every facet of Super Bowl XLVI will be available to the public — complete with some great opportunities to interact with fellow fans and perhaps win some coveted loot in the process. When it comes to the big game itself, there are also plenty of ways to stay up to date with the game on an astounding number of different platforms and devices. This Super Bowl is all about the second screen, and social media is helping to fuel the fire with plenty of ways to keep up with the action on the field.

Ready to order your pizza, sit down with a beer, and make your Super Bowl socially supercharged? Dreading the moments when you will have to pull your eyes away from the screen and run errands? Here is a roundup of easy (and free) ways to follow the Super Bowl through social media — both on computer and via mobile. What’s your favorite way to interact with sporting events socially? Let us know in the comments.

Follow the Super Bowl on Twitter

Twitter is a perfect option to keep up with the action if you’re without a visual device -- or to get up-to-the-minute commentary from your favorite sports luminaries. Aside from the @SuperBowl official Twitter account, there are ten different official hashtags, including #SuperBowl, #superbowl46 and any mashup of the team names. Any of these outlets are sure-fire way to recieve fast updates and information during the game.

For those looking for a little more in-depth sports knowledge, check out this roundup of must-follow accounts to keep your Super Bowl connected.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: features, getglue, mashable, nfl, sports, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI, trending, TV

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4 Tools for Better Agency-Client Collaboration

Heather Whaling — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:11:11 +0000

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

The most effective consultant/client relationships tend to morph into partnerships, in which the consultant is truly an extension of the internal team. However, elevating a relationship from “vendor” status to a meaningful collaboration isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Thankfully, there are some handy tools available that can help you establish an effective team.

1. IM-ing for Business

If you’re using GChat, AOL or another instant-messaging service, it might be time to consider one of the “IM-ing for business” tools, such as Hipchat, Yammer or Chatter (part of Salesforce).

These services are particularly helpful for teams in distributed locations and/or working on multiple projects. Companies can create “rooms” in Hipchat, or “Groups” in Yammer, for various projects, departments or areas of focus, with privacy settings determining who can access the room. Only want to give certain people in the company access to product development details? Make that a private room. Want a room where anyone can offer suggestions? That’s doable, too.

By “@mentioning” someone in a discussion, it’s easy to pull the right people into a conversation. Supporting real-time collaboration and faster response times, users can be notified when they’re mentioned in a comment. Conversation histories are available and searchable, making it easy for people to get up to speed. The services are also available via desktop, mobile web and phone apps.

According to brand strategist Nick Westergaard, the opportunity to be “brought inside” a company is extremely valuable: “Chatter and Chatter groups provide a great way to feel in-sync despite unshared geography,” he explains. “Whether it’s sharing simple casual updates (“Jane’s leaving early,” “Cold out there today!”), or having the online equivalent of a quick 15-minute stand-up meeting, it offers a simple way to build a closer connection on a day-to-day basis. That’s invaluable in our business.”

2. Thinkfuse: Removing Status Quo from Status Reports

Thinkfuse adds a collaborative group element to status reports. You may ask why you need another service if you’re already emailing status reports. The answer is that it’s not just about reporting specific tasks and to-do items to a small group of people. With Thinkfuse, status updates become another point for collaboration. Reports are sent to a larger group of people, giving everyone (or a specific cross-section) of people in the company an update. It helps to understand what everyone else is working on, identify opportunities to improve efficiencies or work together, and see how each person is part of the bigger picture. Thinkfuse lets managers create report templates, send due-date reminders and collect feedback and comments in one location, without having to worry about whether the right people are CCd on an email.

3. Basecamp: Collaboration and Teamwork

As a project management software service, Basecamp puts the emphasis on collaboration and communication in addition to getting tasks done. The dashboard provides an overview; project files are housed in one central location and deadlines are trackable on the master project calendar. Within the service, users can create benchmarks and milestones to ladder up to a larger project deadline.

Big Red Rooster, an interactive and creative agency, uses the Basecamp to share files and status updates with clients. Additionally, “Hosting the files in one location avoids confusion and ensures version control among all partners,” says Rebecca O’Dell, Big Red Rooster’s communication coordinator.

4. Facebook Groups: Collaboration at No Cost

If you’re looking for a free collaboration tool — on a familiar platform — Facebook Groups can fill the need. Jason Falls has used Facebook Groups on multiple projects, including coordinating a team of writers for his blog, SocialMediaExplorer.com.

“I use Facebook Groups to communicate and have group discussions with my team of 12 blog authors. The group helps us stay connected and aware of what each other might be working on, thinking and the like,” Falls says. “I hate email threads and back-and-forth in the inbox. Threaded discussions in a group takes that annoyance away.”

Facebook Groups can be open, closed or secret. The latter two are preferred for internal communication, as it makes it easier for team members to be added and request to join the group.

Collaboration Improves Efficiencies

As PR consultant Shonali Burke discovered, Facebook Groups created an additional layer of accountability with clients. For example, Burke established a Facebook Group to facilitate communication between “champions” for a non-profit project she was leading.

“Having our client as part of our group showed her in real-time how we were working and communicating with the champions. It added to the effectiveness of our ‘offline’ communications, such as weekly calls, since we wouldn’t have to go over items we’d already discussed in the group to any great extent,” she says. “And it added transparency to our work, which is always a good thing.”

Put another way, increased collaboration improves efficiencies, meaning agencies can spend less time revising drafts and more time implementing. As Westergaard notes, “We share drafts and concepts and are able to dramatically cut down on notes and iterations, as it’s easier to get on the same page faster.”

What collaboration tools are you using to improve communication between your company and its consultants?

More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum:

- Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips
- Social Learning Trends to Watch in 2012
- 6 Things to Know Before Starting a Business

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, lisegagne

More About: collaboration, communication, coworking, features, mashable, open forum, Small Business

Giants Website Prematurely Reveals Super Bowl Winner [PIC]

Brian Anthony Hernandez — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:22:21 +0000

The New York Giants official website accidentally announced the winner of Super Bowl XLVI more than 24 hours before Sunday’s big game even started, by the look of images floating around the web.

The error was immortalized Saturday in this TwitPic screenshot (above), which Jeff Frias posted to Twitter. No signs of the mistake are left on the team’s site other than a reported link that leads to the image below.

SEE ALSO: Turn Patriots Coach Bill Belichick into a Super Bowl Meme [CONTEST]

Bloomberg obtained this statement from the NFL regarding the malfunction. “It is common practice for both teams to create web pages in advance of the conference championship games and Super Bowl. In this case, the hidden URL for the page was inadvertently available for a brief period of time while it was being positioned on the NFL server for possible post tomorrow night.”

While online blunders have cost people their jobs in the past, this misstep shows that the Giants organization is unsurprisingly ready to financially capitalize on a possible win.

The tweeted image displays championship garb traditionally sold after national sporting contests. Giants quarterback Eli Manning and three other players are cropped into the image along with the Super Bowl’s most-coveted prize, the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The image is emblazoned with these words in all caps: “The Giants are Super Bowl champions!”

SEE ALSO: Super Bowl 2012 By the Numbers | How to Watch the Super Bowl Online

The Feb. 5 broadcast of the Giants vs. New England Patriots game kicks off at Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be followed by many post-game breakdowns of the games and commercials. One Super Bowl post-game analysis will occur within an NBC-backed Google+ Hangout. Participants will dissect the commercials, which this year cost $3.5 million each.

Did you notice the premature winner’s announcement before it was taken down? Sound off below.

BONUS: 10 Athlete Gaffes Aided by Social Media

Online whammies in the sports world are not uncommon. Here are a few recent memorable digital mistakes.

Cappie Pondexter

After a tsunami devastated Japan this March, Cappie Pondexter of the WNBA's New York Liberty tweeted, "What if God was tired of the way they treated their own people in there own country! Idk guys he makes no mistakes." Later she continued hypothesizing with this tweet: "u just never knw! They did pearl harbor so you can't expect anything less." Predictably, Pondexter's tweets sparked a strong backlash, and she eventually took to Twitter again, this time to apologize (left).

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Entertainment, football, sports, Super Bowl, trending

29 Meme-Inspired Movie Posters [PICS]

Brian Anthony Hernandez — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:20:27 +0000

If Internet memes were turned into movies, their promotional posters might resemble the designs London-based Stefan van Zoggel conjured up.

“I took the context of the usually short-lived internet memes and virals, and translated that to simple film poster designs,” says van Zoggel on his Meme Movie Posters blog.

He has designed 29 meme-inspired posters so far. Below, you’ll find posters about Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” planking, Nyan Cat, Double Rainbow, Keyboard Cat, Shake Weight and a slew of other memes.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Memes of 2011 | Hey Girl, Here Are Foursquare Ryan Gosling Memes

Which designs are your favorite of the bunch? Which new memes should inspire his future designs?

I would like to see movie posters about the Occupy Wall Street movement’s Casually Pepper Spray Everything Cop, NFL quarterback Tim Tebow‘s Tebowing and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s sweater vests.

Meme Movie Posters

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: art, memes, Movies, trending

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Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week [PICS]

Charlie White — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:04:01 +0000

1. Feb Photo a Day

Blogger @fatmumslim (4500+ followers) started the #febphotoaday trend on Twitter by creating a "photo challenge" where Twitter users share a picture on every day in February, displaying the subjects mentioned on this image. She did the same thing in January, when #janphotoaday was trending throughout the month.

Click here to view this gallery.

We’ve sifted through tens of millions of pictures posted on Twitter during the week and narrowed them down to the 10 most popular, and here they are.

Using a special algorithm developed by our partners/wizards at social media search engine Skylines, we’ve taken the most popular hash tags and found the most widely shared pictures within.

There weren’t a tremendous amount of big events going on this week, so our astute curators made a special effort to take the most amusing and interesting pictures and subjects that resided in the top 100. Even so, there were slim pickings this week. C’mon Twitter users, you can do better than that — share some blockbuster pics next week!

If you’d like to know more about the selection process, see the full results from Skylines.

If you missed them, here are last week’s Top 10 Twitter Pics.

More About: Skylines, Top 10 Twitter Pics, trending, Twitter

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2012 Grammys Embrace Digital, Mobile and Social Media

Christina Warren — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:39:55 +0000

The 54th Grammy Awards ceremony is only eight days away and the Recording Academy is kicking off the next phase of its digital and social campaign. Under the heading of “We Are Music” the Academy and its partners are harnessing the power of social, mobile and digital to make the award show more modern than ever.

The Recording Academy made the decision to invest in social and digital media several years ago (you can read Mashable’s past coverage of the 2010 and 2011 campaigns) and the organization and its awards show are now seeing the dividends. Big time. The latest trends in social TV and second screen experiences are in direct alignment with the road Grammy has been traveling for years.

We spoke with Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of the Recording Academy, and he told us the strategy around the 2012 Grammys was to put mobile and digital at the forefront of the project. That means the campaign and the show itself were designed with the digital and mobile attributes in mind from its inception, not tacked on at the end. As someone who has been beating the drum of making social and digital a part of the creation process from beginning to end, this is great to see.

Grammy Live and the Second Screen

As in years past, the cornerstone of the digital Grammy experience is around Grammy Live. Grammy Live is a three-day webcast of special Grammy events, red carpets and parties, designed to bring fans behind the scenes and close to all the action.

Although CBS (Grammy’s broadcasting partner) doesn’t stream the awards themselves online, Grammy Live is available as a second screen experience during the event, giving additional insight and tidbits into what’s happening, views from the crowd and access to backstage areas.

As Peter Anton, executive producer of Grammy Live pointed out in our conversation, Grammy Live was actually the first major second screen experience designed around an award show — and this was before the iPad!

Of course, now that the iPad is here, it makes sense to extend the Grammy Live experience to other devices. In addition to viewing the experience at Grammy.com, users can also interact with the experience in the Grammy Live app for iOS [iTunes link].

This year, Greene told us, the Recording Academy worked hard to make the Grammy Live app a perfect extension of the website itself. CBS was also heavily involved this year, both in helping craft the app and in giving Grammy Live official on-air callouts and integration.

Not only does the Grammy Live app give users access to the photos, videos and articles available at Grammy.com, it also features Grammy trivia, the ability to guess who will win at the 54th Grammy Awards and the ability to listen to a streaming radio station of Grammy nominees. One of my favorite features of the app is that it also includes a database of past winners, as well as nominees for the 2012 awards. During the show on Feb. 12, those listings will be updated in real time.

The app also lets users browse tweets from various Grammy accounts and hashtags, and of course, access the full Grammy Awards experience before and during the show itself. The app is optimized for iPhone and iPad, and is one of the best apps we’ve seen for an awards show.

The Campaign: We Are Music

For the fifth consecutive year, the Recording Academy teamed up with TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles for the awards show campaign. The team created a robust campaign with print, outdoor, digital, mobile and television components centered around the theme of “We Are Music.”

The genesis of the campaign was formed around the emotions and social experiences that music brings out in us all. The agency TBWA\Chiat\Day wanted to capture the way music moves us as humans and wanted a way to help visualize that emotive experience.

TBWA\Chiat\Day always likes to push the technical boundaries in the digital aspects of its campaigns, and this year was no different. The centerpiece is a microsite that lives at Wearemusic.grammy.com. This site was developed using cutting-edge web technologies (in this case, Flash 11 Stage 3D) to create robust real-time 3D visualizations that are modified based on what music is playing in the background.

Users can select their own mix of songs (powered using Rdio‘s library API) and add in their own photographs to create their own unique visualizations. Users can then share these visualizations with others using Facebook or Twitter. The effect is insanely cool and I encourage you all to visit the site and see it for yourself.

Creating a robust and cutting-edge desktop experience was important, but the agency also wanted to have a powerful mobile component. Enter the We Are Music iPhone app [iTunes link]. This app helps bring the visualized experience to mobile devices.

In the mobile app, a user’s own music library is used to power the visualizations. Users can also provide their own photos or take one within the app. The app then creates customized experiences based on the music, and also uses the camera flash on the iPhone 4 and 4S to create special pulsing experiences (you can shut this off if you don’t like it). Up to 15 users on the same WiFi or Bluetooth network can even share their experiences with one another.

It’s a super cool app and again, it’s cutting edge. The technology team relied on some of the newest features in iOS 5 to take advantage of these tools. What I like about this app — as with the Music Mapper from the 53rd Grammy Awards, is that the app and microsite can still be enticing and fun even outside the context of the awards show.

The TV spots TBWA/Chiat/Day crafted around the campaign have already made the rounds on YouTube. The Grammy artists profiled in this campaign include Adele, Foo Fighters and Bon Iver. All the spots have style, but the ad with Skrillex is notable because they outfitted the artist in a motion-capture suit to get the liquid movement effect.

Check it out:

Staying Social

Of course, no modern digital campaign strategy would be complete without a big focus on social media. For the 54th Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy is putting Grammy everywhere and engaging with the community of music fans across social platforms.

In addition to the Grammys Facebook Page @TheGrammys Twitter account, the Grammys are also active on:

Instagram — Photo contests were held for the first month of the campaign
Tumblr — The Grammy team held a contest asking users to blog about what artists have influenced them.
Foursquare — This profile includes historical tips about venues that have hosted the Grammys as well as locations of studios where Grammy Winning albums were recorded.
GetGlue — GetGlue is offering exclusive stickers not just for checking into the awards, but for checking in to the artists nominated for the Big Four awards.
YouTube
Google+

What made me really excited, however, was to see how The Grammys embraced digital music services. Grammy and Pepsi teamed up to create a custom Pandora station that includes Best New Artist videos and Grammy winners and nominees in 12 different genres. Next week, Grammy will also roll out its official Grammy Spotify app that will let users listen to all past Grammy winners in four major categories. The Spotify app will get more categories in the months ahead.

What this strong commitment says to us is that the Grammy Awards aren’t playing around with social, the team gets it.

Mashable will be at the Grammy Awards live on Feb. 12, 2012 and covering the digital action from the ground. Let us know what you think of the digital campaign for the 54th Grammy Awards in the comments.

More About: 54th Grammy Awards, apps, grammy awards, grammys

Super Bowl 2012 By the Numbers

Charlie White — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:41:18 +0000

Super Bowl 2012 is blitzing us like a crazed linebacker, coming up in a matter of hours, and the numbers are stacking up quickly. It’s a weekend of superlatives, with astonishing numbers swirling around those brave warriors on the field.

In the Super Bowl, everything is larger than life. Instead of a dozen TV cameras for normal football game broadcasts, NBC rolls out 57 cameras. Instead of betting a couple of bucks on the game, people bet hundreds. And instead of eating a couple of chicken wings, an entire nation gangs up to eat 1.25 billion of them in one day.

Want more? We have numbers — a long list of them, taking into account the technology of the big game, the behavior of a nation and the world during the contest, the security necessary to keep everyone safe, the enormous amounts of money changing hands and lots more.

So sit back and prepare yourself for a gigantic triviafest, giving you plenty of ammunition to be the Super Bowl know-it-all when the game starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. Warning: Recite these numbers at your own risk.

$10 billion: to be gambled on Super Bowl XLVI internationally, expected to be the most bet-upon game in Super Bowl history, according to ESPN
1.25 billion: chicken wings eaten Super Bowl weekend
$720 million: construction cost of the Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium, built in hopes of hosting a Super Bowl
111 million: last year’s average U.S. TV audience, the largest in U.S. TV history. It could hit 113 million viewers this year, according to an unscientific poll by MediaLife
$4 million: price of the most-expensive advertisement, according to Reuters
$3.5 million: for a 30-second ad, on average, up from $3 million last year
68,000: number of seats in Lucas Oil Stadium for Super Bowl XLVI
$3,985: Average price paid for one Super Bowl 2012 ticket
3,000: hours of video content to be acquired, encoded and transported by NBC
475: crew members NBC will employ for the pre-game and game productions
180: countries and territories in which Super Bowl XLVI will air
77%: accuracy of the stock market predictor that if the NFC team (Giants) wins the Super Bowl, the market will rise for the year, or drop if the AFC team (Patriots) wins
75: cameras installed in Indianapolis in and around Lucas Oil Stadium for Super Bowl security, according to Public Intelligence
70: national network ads NBC will air around this year’s game, sold out shortly after Thanksgiving weekend, according to Reuters
60: miles of cable for NBC’s cameras and microphones
57: cameras NBC will deploy for the broadcast, including the pre- and post-game shows
50%: price rise of a Super Bowl commercial in the last 10 years
47%: of Super Bowl viewers will check their smartphones up to 10 times or more during the game, according to a survey by Velti.
46: It’s the 46th Super Bowl (XLVI)
40: cameras NBC will devote to game coverage
29: Trucks and trailers NBC will use for the broadcast
25: languages spoken on the international broadcasts
12: number of Super Bowl appearances for Giants and Patriots combined
6: channels of DTS Neural Surround 5.1 technology integrated into the HD broadcast
5: Super Bowls for New England coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady
4: Hi-Motion II super ultra-motion cameras, shooting at 1000fps at a resolution of 1080p
3: $0.03 — average cost to advertisers per viewer for 30 seconds of ad time during the Super Bowl
2: dimensions — broadcast will be in 2D HDTV, no 3D HDTV broadcast this year.
1: winner. Will it be the Patriots or the Giants?

More About: Super Bowl, Super Bowl 2012, Super Bowl XLVI, trending, TV, Video

35 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Matt Petronzio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:00:21 +0000

Were you too busy this week to read everything on Mashable? Maybe you’ve been planning your Super Bowl party, or maybe you were figuring out how to buy a piece of Facebook (don’t get your hopes up). For whatever reason you missed our digital media resources this week, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with our weekly features roundup.

Take a look at what you missed: We have a list of users rocking Pinterest, a rundown of the presidential candidates’ stances on tech issues and tips for what to do if your website gets hacked. You’ll find YouTube‘s most-shared ads for January, unique urban farming projects and ways to update your Facebook Timeline without annoying all of your friends. We even have a real-life Facebook wall at our New York headquarters!

Take this weekend to relax, watch some football and use this list to catch up on our best resources in no time.

Editor’s Picks

Digital Marketing: 7 Tips for Generating Fresh Ideas
Interested in sparking some creativity? Here are some tips to get your ideas flowing.
The Future of Food: 11 Unique Urban Farming Projects
Cities around the world are becoming hot beds for urban farming. We look at some compelling ideas in Japan, the UK and the U.S., from personal projects to multimillion dollar innovations.
What Are the Presidential Candidates’ Stances on Important Tech Issues?
Mashable took a look at the five remaining 2012 presidential candidates for president to find out where they stand on important technology issues.
Mashable’s Real-Life Facebook Wall is Here
Mashable‘s real-life Facebook wall can now be seen in our New York City headquarters.
Facebook IPO: The Complete Guide
Does the complexity of Facebook’s IPO filing have you down? Look no further than our comprehensive guide to the big event.

Social Media

21 Must-Follow Pinterest Users
Scoot through our gallery to discover some of the most popular curators on Pinterest, the hottest social circuit on the web today.
10 Hysterical Political Parodies on Twitter
There are countless parody accounts on Twitter, but the most entertaining may be the political parodies of public officials around the world.
Meme Machine: Top 5 Viral Hits of the Week
Here are the top 5 Meme Machine hits, looking at the five most hilarious viral topics spreading across the web this week.
How to See When Someone Unfriends You on Facebook
Would you like to know when someone “unfriends” you on Facebook? We’ve found a tool to help.
How to Fill Out Facebook Timeline Without Annoying Your Friends
Some users don’t want to broadcast every life event they add to their new Timeline. Here are some tips for quietly completing your profile without annoying your social network.
Top Twitter Photos from the 2012 Presidential Campaign
Republican Presidential candidates have documented their journeys to the Florida primary with photos posted on Twitter and Instagram.
20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART]
Which TV shows generated the most buzz on social networks this week?
10 Giant Things Less Valuable Than Facebook
Facebook is now valued at $100 billion. What else in the world is worth that kind of money? We found 10 incredible examples.
10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media
Six well-known writers, who are experts in personal branding, share how to use social media to push yourself forward in the writing industry.
How to Get a Pinterest Invite
Here are some tips for getting a Pinterest invite. We’re offering to give away some of our own, too.
How Higher Education Uses Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]
As social media becomes more integral to students’ lives, educational institutions are finally catching on, and catching up. Here’s how colleges and universities are leveraging social in the classroom and the recruiting office.
7 Tips for Planning a Wedding on Pinterest
Here are 7 simple but effective tips for planing a wedding on Pinterest, from which boards to create and whom to follow, to leveraging your findings while you shop.

For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Business & Marketing

How To Avoid Hiring The Wrong Person For Your Startup
Looking to fill a gap in your startup team? Make sure you’re not hiring the wrong person with these five quick tips.
5 Privacy Tips for Location-Based Services
LBS-based businesses that want to avoid becoming future legal or media targets need to identify appropriate privacy updates.
6 Ways to Give Your App a Leg Up on the Competition
How can you ensure your app gets time in the spotlight and the attention it deserves? Try these six tips.
4 Sales Tips for Enterprise Software Startups
If your startup sells enterprise software, today’s environment can be tough. Try these four tips to learn from and acquire more customers.
YouTube’s 20 Most-Shared Ads in January [VIDEOS]
From last year’s Super Bowl to the upcoming big game, here are the 20 most-shared ads from January, 2012.
How to Make Your Company More Social
Take advantage of the opportunity to foster your company’s social media skills and community in general. Learn how to get everyone on board.
What to Do When Your Website Gets Hacked
Every organization is now in the business of protecting its own data. If you are targeted by hackers, there are a few steps you can take the mitigate the damage.
Facebook IPO: How Will the Social Network Be Affected? [POLL]
After the $5 billion Facebook IPO, we want to know how you think the social network will be affected.
Why Context Is King in the Future of Digital Marketing
Digital marketers must pay attention to the context in which they are reaching consumers if they have any hope of keeping up in the digital ad age.

For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Tech & Mobile

4 Inspiring Examples of Digital Storytelling
Today’s artists are creating interactive, multimedia experiences where the audience can actively reshape the stories themselves.
10 Tips and Tricks for the Facebook iPhone App
Try these 10 handy hints to become fluent on the Facebook iPhone app.
The 10 Most Blatant Design Ripoffs in Social Media
In social media, original web design is hard to come by, but some sites are bigger copycats than others. Here are the 10 worst offenders.
How to Prepare Your Social Game for Massive Growth
Social games, especially those on Facebook, can grow like wildfire. Make sure your data architecture is prepared for the traffic surge.
iPhone 4 Voice Control: Commands, Tips and Tricks
The iPhone’s “Voice Control” functionality is a useful tool if you know how to use it correctly. Here are some best practices.
8 Things You Should Know Before Building a Mobile App
Here’s (almost) everything you need to know before you get started on your own app — and what I wish I knew before I got into the game.
Tablet History: 14 Devices That Laid the Groundwork for the iPad
For many people, Apple’s iPad is a magical device that appeared out of thin air. The iPad, however, is the culmination of decades of advancements in a variety of technologies.
5 iPhone Twitter Apps that Do More Than Just Tweet
Learn how you can expand your Twitter capabilities using these handy iPhone apps.
How Tech Can Prepare You for Extreme Weather
Learn how to use mobile technology and social networking to prepare for and cope with unusual weather events.

For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, johnwoodcock.

More About: Business, COMMUNICATIONS, Features Week In Review, Social Media, Tech

Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]

Charlie White — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:33:08 +0000

1. Self-Guided Bullet

This formidable projectile is more like a micro-mini missile than a bullet. Developed by defense lab Sandia, its self-guidance system lets the four-inch projectile nail a target a mile away.

It doesn't spin like conventional bullets, because it has fins that make it fly just like a tiny smart bomb. The weirdest part? The farther away its target is, the more accurate it gets.

Still under development, it's not available yet, but when it is, just hope you're not on the wrong end of such a guided missile.

[via The Verge and Sandia Labs]
Click here to view this gallery.
It’s been an unusual week in the tech world, yielding gadgetry and innovations that are surprising and altogether unexpected. Here are the top 10 we found.

The theme we kept running into in our journey into the techosphere this week was wish fulfillment. We’ve been wishing for a self-refrigerating can for decades; we’ve hoped for a waterproof iPhone, smoother slow-motion on football games, and a high-quality video editing system we could use on a tablet.

SEE ALSO: Previous editions of Top 10 Tech This Week

Beyond those items, we found lots more. And then, after quenching our thirst for certain conveniences and innovations, we figured it wouldn’t hurt to toss in a couple of superlatives, giving you a gigantic contrast between the tiniest self-propelled vehicle we’ve ever seen and the most gigantic diesel engine we’ve ever imagined. It’s a study of contrasts, indeed.

Come along with us on a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous, as we lay down a gallery of Top 10 Tech This Week.

Here’s last week’s Top 10 Tech.

More About: iphone, Nokia, Top 10 Tech

Facebook Turns 8, And Together We’ve Grown

Brian Anthony Hernandez — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:40:17 +0000

I’ve been on Facebook for 2,561 days, having joined during the first year of its existence and my first year of college.

As the world’s largest social network turns 8 years old today, millions of people will reflect on the impact Facebook has had on their lives, however big or small that impact may be.

My Facebook experience mirrors yours in many facets.

We’ve changed our relationship statuses, sometimes more than we can remember. We’ve flipped through our tagged photos, every once in awhile untagging the ones we now deem unfavorable. We’ve seen friends’ last names change, with their marriages followed by offspring. We’ve said goodbye to fellow Facebook users, our friends whose Walls — and now Timelines — have become digital memorials. We cried. We smiled. We tell our stories.

Just shy of its second birthday on Feb. 4, 2005, Facebook saw me register for an account on Jan. 30.

Back then, Facebook was only for college students. I was 18, living in a dorm at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I didn’t own a computer or a laptop, and smartphones as we know them today didn’t exist, so I accessed Facebook on campus computers.

Facebook became a hobby, something I would check every so often and not every day like I do now. But as more faces jumped onto the service — first high school students, then anyone over 13, then my mom (Hi Mom, I hope you “Like” this story!) — I began to rely on it more. I replaced my physical scrapbooks, which I routinely updated in high school, with an online database of memories: 161 photo albums and 28 videos.

SEE ALSO: Turn Your Facebook Timeline Into a Movie

In 2006, a year after Pete Cashmore introduced the world to Mashable, Facebook unveiled Notes. I used them as my first crack at blogging. Since then, I’ve used Notes to showcase my celebrity look-a-likes in 2006, reveal some intimate thoughts about turning 21 and listening to Kelly Clarkson’s “Sober” in Milwaukee in 2007, as well as describe my encounter with a suicidal man while living in Phoenix in 2009.

Notes ignited content sharing on Facebook so much — and so early on — that media organizations began opening their eyes to the site’s potential to bring more readers to their stories. Being in journalism school, this piqued my interest immensely. Facebook capitalized on that revelation by launching a Share button just months after Notes came out. Early adopters of the feature such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and The Onion continue to reap the benefits of social sharing and the significant referral traffic it attracts.

A year later in 2007, early signs of Facebook trumping MySpace as the go-to social network surfaced. I never really got into MySpace, but the chatter about this topic among friends who avidly used it became frequent and intense. Again, Facebook pounced on this opportunity to dethrone MySpace as social king with a redesign, which involved ditching its trademark “Facebook Guy” logo.

That same year, the first rumblings of a possible Facebook IPO made their way into headlines. CEO Mark Zuckerberg squashed the rumors, but on Feb. 1, 2012, Facebook filed for a $5 billion IPO. Zuckerberg in 2007 wanted to focus on development, and then along came a mobile version of Facebook, specifically for iPhone.

2008 was the year Facebook unleashed its Chat feature, expanded its global reach by adding more languages, and overtook MySpace based on monthly unique visitors. For me, Facebook Chat eventually pushed aside my other instant-messaging applications. A major redesign then merged our Walls and Mini-Feeds.

Facebook rolled out Usernames in 2009, allowing us to sign up for custom URLs (here’s mine). In 2010, a new Feature called Facebook Messages let me create an @Facebook.com email address. Facebook Messages integrated my email, IM and text messages into one inbox.

Just last year, my Facebook experience began to transform tremendously. First, Facebook Chat gave us voice-calling capabilities and Skype-powered video chat. Then, I enabled the new Subscribe feature, which allowed anybody to subscribe to my personal profile and see anything I share publicly. And most notably, some of our profiles evolved into Timelines (see the changes in the gallery below).

SEE ALSO: Facebook Reveals 2011′s Most-Popular Status Trends

Somewhere in between all of those changes, I sent virtual Gifts, I Poked some of you, I cringed at the ads that first appeared in 2006, I scoured the Marketplace for any gems, and I used the apps developed within the open-source Facebook Platform.

Now it’s election year 2012, and politicians more than ever are using Facebook and other tools to grab our attention and sway our votes. If social networks could run for office, I’d vote for Facebook because of all the things I just mentioned.

Together, we’ve grown. Happy birthday, Facebook. Good luck, Zuck and the gang. Thanks for enriching my life.

What are your fondest memories of using Facebook? When did you join the social network?

BONUS: How Your Profile Has Looked Throughout the Years

2005 - The Facebook

Back in the days when The Facebook was only available to select networks, the News Feed didn't exist. Users hopped between profiles like this one.
Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Facebook, Opinion, Social Media, trending

15 of the Most Popular Pictures on Pinterest

Samantha Murphy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:48:33 +0000

1. Hands

Pinterest via Edris Kim.
Click here to view this gallery.
If you’re like us, you’re obsessed with Pinterest. You get excited when you find pictures you love and pin them to your online bulletin boards with a sense of pride that they are yours.

With so many photos on the two-year-old social scrapbooking site — and countless more added each day — it’s common for some to only get a handful of re-pins. Meanwhile, other images pick up so much popularity that they go virtually viral, getting pinned from one board to the next.

SEE ALSO: 7 Tips for Planning a Wedding on Pinterest | Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers [INFOGRAPHIC]

Here are 15 of some of the most popular pictures on Pinterest — all of which have raked in more than 15,000 re-pins each.

Are any of these pictures on your boards? If not, go ahead and pin them, or leave some suggestions in the comments about your favorite pins.

More About: Facebook, Photos, pinterest, Social Media, trending, Twitter
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3 Free iPhone Apps for Creating Your Own Stop-Motion Videos

Amy-Mae Elliott — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:26:28 +0000

1. Created with the Stop-Motion Camera App

This simple short was made with the Stop-Motion Camera app. It's incredibly easy to use.
Click here to view this gallery.
Stop-motion animation used to be a complicated, time-consuming process, but the emergence of easy, automated apps make it something creative that anyone can try — for free!

We have tried and tested three simple iPhone apps, and we recommend that stop-motion animation beginners give them a go.

Take a look through our video gallery of short stop-motion animations we made using the three, free apps. Then have a read below for more information about each app.

Link us to your stop-motion creations in the comments below!

1. Stop-Motion Camera

Stop-Motion Camera is a bare bones app that is about as easy to use as it gets.

It offers only manual shutter with no frames-per-second customization, and there's no way to save a project and come back to it, but if you're a total beginner and looking for a quick and easy stop motion solution, this app could be it.
Click here to view this gallery.

More About: apple, features, gallery, iphone, iphone apps, iphotography, photography, trending, Video

Top 10 Google Chrome Plugins for Small Businesses

Christine Erickson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:13:58 +0000

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

The Google Chrome Web Store has made it easy for anyone to stay organized, and the browser has gotten much faster, as we’ve noticed in the beta version of Chrome 17. But as the web gets bigger and stronger, so many apps and plugins are available that it’s hard to know which is the best for you.

If you’re running a business and don’t want to be bogged down by multiple PC-installed applications, there are a couple of great go-to apps that you should become familiar with to help manage your day-to-day routine. Whether you need financial management or to check your email offline, here are some great options for small businesses using Google Chrome.

Are you using the second-favorite browser? What plugins do you use to manage your business? Let us know in the comments.

1. Gmail Offline

Gmail Offline beta is built to support offline access, so you can read, respond and archive without network access. After your first start-up, Gmail Offline will automatically synchronize messages and queued actions anytime Chrome is running and an Internet connection is available.

There is also a great Google Mail Checker widget that notifies you of any messages in your toolbar.
Click here to view this gallery.

More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum:

- Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips
- Social Learning Trends to Watch in 2012
- How Klout Found Success By Focusing On Users

More About: evernote, gmail, google chrome, google reader, Small Business, trending, tweetdeck, web browser

Super Bowl 2012: Everything You Need to Know About Watching It Online

Peter Pachal — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:20:21 +0000

This year’s Super Bowl marks a digital first: The game will be the first Super Bowl that you can watch online — legally. NBC, the broadcast partner for this year’s game, is going to stream the game live.

NBC has actually been streaming some NFL games online since 2009, though never the Super Bowl. While it opens up the game to a whole new online audience, NBC sees it as a “second screen” experience — a complement to the TV broadcast rather than an alternative.

Still, streaming an event as huge the Super Bowl (last year’s broadcast had a record 111 million viewers) brings with it a whole different set of variables. What devices can you watch it on? What extras will the stream have? And most important — will it have the ads? Read on for our comprehensive guide to watching Super Bowl 2012 online.

Basics

How can I access the stream?
You can watch the Super Bowl live at NBCSports.com or at NFL.com. Both sites will have the entire thing, including pre-game coverage, which starts at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, Feb. 5. Kickoff isn’t until 6:30 p.m.

What devices can I use to watch?
That would be any laptop or desktop PC. Importantly, phones aren’t supported, since Verizon has exclusive rights for streaming Super Bowl XLVI on mobile devices (more on that below). Tablets, including the iPad, aren’t technically mobile, though, so the stream should work on those, via the devices’ built-in web browser.

Can I access the stream from outside the U.S.?
Not legitimately, no. Canadian fans who have mobile service through Bell Canada can watch the Super Bowl live via Bell’s Mobile TV app.

Does it cost anything?
Not a penny, although if you have any kind of data plan (i.e. if you were accessing via a 3G or 4G modem), data rates would apply.

Will I be able to embed the stream on my website?
No.

The Ads

Will I be able to see the same ads as on TV?
Not quite. The actual stream will have a different ad roll than the broadcast. However, NBC will make new commercials available through an “on-demand component” of the video player immediately after they air on TV.

As in years past, Hulu and YouTube will feature every national Super Bowl spot online.

How much do advertisers spend on the online ads?
Although the broadcast ads command a whopping $3.5 million for a 30-second spot, the Web isn’t quite so lucrative. NBC says each ad for the Super Bowl XLVI stream costs somewhere between the “high six figures” to the “low seven figures.”

Where can I watch the ads after the game?
With all the sharing that’s bound to happen on Facebook, Twitter et al., where won’t you? For comprehensive aggregating, though, you should check out YouTube’s Ad Blitz and Hulu’s AdZone. Additionally, NBC is hosting a Google+ Hangout the next day to dissect the ads.

Mobile

What’s the deal with watching on my phone?
Verizon is the exclusive NFL partner for mobile, and it’s offering up the stream via the NFL Mobile Premium app. If you’re a 4G LTE customer, that’s free, but if you’re on 3G it’ll cost you — you’ll need to subscribe to Verizon Video ($10/month or $3/day). Obviously, you’ll need a data plan.

Bell Canada customers can enjoy the Super Bowl live via Bell’s Mobile TV app for phones and tablets. Mobile TV data plans are an additional $5 a month.

Is there anything different about the mobile stream?
Yes! The mobile stream actually takes the TV feed — not the online one — so you’ll see all the exact same ads that everyone watching the broadcast is seeing.

Just Verizon phones, though?
Yep.

Extra Stuff

What’s the resolution of the stream?
The stream, based on Microsoft Silverlight, will have a maximum resolution of 720p, or the minimum to qualify as HD. However, if your connection can’t handle that resolution, it will automatically “down-rez” itself into something you’ll be able to see without buffering.

Will there be any features you can’t get from the TV broadcast?
Plenty. You’ll have access to multiple camera angles, highlight clips, social-media updates, live statistics and DVR controls for your own instant replays.

What about 3D?
Sorry, not this year.

What happens if the stream goes down?
NBC says it’s prepared for a much larger audience than its previous streams, but anything can happen. If the stream does go down, there’s not much you can do except refresh and hope for the best.

Why is NBC doing this?
NBC doesn’t see an online stream as competing with its broadcast. Although it makes less money on ads shown online, it believes the stream is adding more eyeballs than it’s taking away from its main broadcast. The network is treating the whole idea as a “second screen” experience, expecting most people watching the stream will also be watching the broadcast on a TV. We’ll see how it pans out, but NBC is far from the first broadcaster to try and capitalize on the second screen phenomenon.

Bonus: The Most-Shared 2012 Super Bowl Ad Teasers So Far

1. "The Bark Side" (Volkswagen)

Not surprisingly, the sequel to the most-shared ad of last year's Super Bowl and of all of 2011 for that matter, is leading the pack this year. Volkswagen released this video last week showing dogs barking to the tune of Star Wars's "The Imperial March." So does that mean there will be dogs in this year's ad? More Star Wars? We'll know soon enough.
Click here to view this gallery.

More About: live streaming, nbc, second screen, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI, trending

Stylitics Is an Analytics Dashboard for Your Closet [INVITES]

Lauren Indvik — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:59:18 +0000

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Stylitics

Quick Pitch: Mint.com for your closet.

Genius Idea: A new way to organize your wardrobe and track your spending.

If you’re like me, your sense of your wardrobe is slightly nebulous. You might be able to recall half the brands and items in it, but you wouldn’t be able to tell me, for instance, how often you wear pencil skirts compared to A-line skirts, or whether you tend to wear Banana Republic clothing more often with accessories from J Crew or H&M.

Now you can. Stylitics, which launched in private beta in November 2011, is an analytics dashboard that does for your closet what Mint.com does for your finances.

Well, almost. What’s wonderful about Mint.com is that you only need enter your credit card details for it to work; the application automatically scans and compiles your spending data into charts and pie graphs. Stylitics likewise takes your data and makes it visual, but you have to input it yourself. Locating, categorizing and tagging everything in your closet is a labor-intensive process. Fortunately, it’s labor you can parcel out over time.

Stylitics is built around your personal style calendar (pictured below). Start by “checking in” your outfits every day, and pretty soon most of your closet will be saved to your profile. Over time, Stylitics will help you track how much you’re spending on clothes, the brands you wear the most, and what brands you tend to pair with other brands. You can also glance back at your calendar to see what outfits you wore when and at what temperatures.

Stylitics doesn’t just reward you with visual data. The company also doles out points for using the service, which you can redeem for free goods, discounts and other perks from brands and retailers. Each brand has its own profile page that allows you to connect with them elsewhere on the web.

Stylitics has raised $850,000 to date, primarily from angel investors, according to cofounder Zach Davis. The startup has no intention of pursuing an ad or affiliate revenue model, at least for now. Instead, Stylitics plans to generate revenue by working with brands, retailers and media partners to “give them a window into what their customers are wearing and buying, and how they’re being influenced in real time,” says Davis.

Next on the roadmap? Moving the site into public beta, and launching mobile apps that will help people add to and manage their Stylitics accounts on the go. The company is also working with several brands and retailers to give users the ability to sync their online purchases immediately to their Stylitics accounts. That feature would, in fact, make Stylitics a good deal more like Mint.com.

Invites

Stylitics is still in private beta, but is kindly inviting Mashable readers in. Just use the code mashable over on the signup page.

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

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Like Testing New Apps? BetaBait Will Hook You Up

Sarah Kessler — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:25:38 +0000

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: BetaBait

Quick Pitch: BetaBait connects startups with beta testers.

Genius Idea: Access to early adopters that doesn’t require PR skills.

Startups that want to reach early adopters often resort to contacting publications. But I have 3,640 unopened emails in my inbox that can attest to the efficiency of that route.

“For somebody who doesn’t have a public relations background and is tech focused, it can be pretty hard,” BetaBait co-founder Cody Barbierri says.

Barbierri does have a public relations background, and he’s figured out a way to share it with the startup founders who don’t. He’s busy promoting BetaBait, a site he hopes will net startups beta testers without any press.

Here’s how it works: Users who like to test apps sign up to receive daily emails. Startups sign up to have their services included in those emails for free. BetaBait keeps track of each app and feedback related to it in a database.

Barbierri is growing the database through the traditional PR route (see exhibit A here) and his connections. Thanks largely to these efforts, about 3,000 testers have signed on to BetaBait since it launched two months ago.

Now when a startup wants to reach those 3,000 people, they can do it through BetaBait instead of the press — the main advantage being that BetaBait isn’t very strict with its screening. As long as it’s functional and appropriate, it will be posted on the site.

Another advantage for the 750 participating startups is that BetaBait only reaches people who actually want to test apps. Why, you might ask, do these people want to spend their time testing apps? The startup is looking into building more incentives for app testing into its site, but Barbierri doesn’t think users need much motivation.

“The great thing about these early adopters is that they don’t need incentive,” he says. “They want to have an app first.”

BetaBait recently started offering startups the opportunity to sponsor its daily emails. It’s launching a redesign on Monday that includes Reddit-style voting and the option to receive news of new apps through an RSS feed rather than through e-mails. Barbierri says he’d like to see the list, which started as a practical project, become a more substantial site.

We’ve seen some crazy takes on breaching the disconnect between app makers and testers, including one that involved auctioning off equity. Can BetaBait’s solution, which relies heavily on testers’ desire to test, be more successful? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, pressureUA

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: betabait, bizspark, Startups
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4 Ways to Tweet as a Visual Brand

Stephanie Buck — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:06:00 +0000

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

Companies that rely on a visual or photographic web presence often find it difficult to convey their media on Twitter. Take, for instance, apparel brands that need to get social media eyes on their merchandise, or a design firm that seeks exposure. How can these types of businesses ensure that Twitter followers see their wares?

Ecommerce or design companies may prefer Facebook, due to its inherently visual and expansive nature. However, businesses these days can’t afford to bypass Twitter entirely — especially because many people keep their Twitter feeds open all day long.

Read on to discover four pillars of “visual tweeting,” or how to make sure that your Twitter followers get the picture.

1. Twitter Voice Should Be Consistent and Relevant

Obviously not all businesses can afford to hire a social media manager who monitors and shares across social channels full-time. However, try to keep the same individual tweeting most of the time so that your Twitter account’s voice and style remains consistent.

That said, people come to visual-centric brands for a reason. They follow these types of companies and individuals in the hope of discovering new clothing, products, design tips and inspiration in general. Therefore, be sure to provide that very thing.

Amazing new borderless display from LG. Now this looks like the future. cl.ly/D0TS

— Mike Rundle (@flyosity) January 2, 2012

Remember these two tips: Be descriptive and be relevant. If you want to share a new collection of animal print blouses or a fancy new gadget, explain as much about the product as you can in 140 characters. If you include detail, like in designer Mike Rundle’s tweet above, people will be more inclined to click when they’re intrigued by the prospect of a visual payoff. Then, either link or embed an image at the end of your description.

Inexplicable craving for Lucky Charms – does this ever happen to anybody else?

— Topshop (@Topshop) January 5, 2012

On the other hand, if your Twitter account represents a visual brand, don’t get too personal to the point of being off-topic (read: Lucky Charms?). People are following your business, not your personal account, for a reason. It’s a tough balance to strike, especially because people want to feel that a brand is relatable and human. A good rule of thumb is to keep every tweet related to your visually-pleasing products or personal brand, but to kill two birds with one stone by injecting a fun or off-beat voice at the same time.

2. Favor Native Images

Now that you’ve got a tweet’s description down, it’s time to attach an image. There’s no rule that says you must embed your images into your Twitter feed, but now that Twitter allows you to do it, why not make it easier for your followers?

Third-party photo apps like Instagram, TwitPic and yfrog allow you to attach images to a tweet that can be expanded immediately within a Twitter feed, so the user doesn’t have to jump to a photo app’s website. Keep in mind, however, that these apps perform differently on mobile. For instance, on Twitter’s iPhone app, Instagram kicks you out to a separate page, but you’re able to view a TwitPic image directly underneath the tweet. Perform a test-run to determine which app suits your business best.

3. Pageviews Are Paramount

Although embedding images into tweets is convenient and visually pleasing, you’re likely still clamoring for pageviews, and therefore, will want to link out to your site as often as possible. That means you’ll have to be more strategic than ever.

15% OFF for type lovers at @FontShop until Friday. Use ‘Veerle15′ in the promo code field. fontshop.com

— Veerle Pieters (@vpieters) January 4, 2012

Try putting attractive language at the beginning of a tweet that your followers can’t resist. Designer Veerle Pieters advertises a sale using caps lock, and then directs people to her site.

The Doctor is in. ow.ly/8jCMX

— NASTY GAL (@NastyGal) January 5, 2012

Above all, don’t be vague or else people won’t click through to see your product or design, ultimately losing you valuable pageviews. For example, women’s apparel company Nasty Gal may have a distinct and irreverent voice, but its tweets often do little to introduce attached links. How are we supposed to know that “The Doctor is in” refers to a blog post about Doc Martens?

4. Backgrounds Still Matter

Although more and more people are accessing Twitter profiles via simplified mobile design or dashboard applications like TweetDeck, you might still consider customizing your Twitter.com profile background.

Take a tip from Etsy, which set up a contest for users to submit a background design. Winning designs were featured as Etsy’s Twitter profile background for one month.

Or create your own background that reflects your product or design aesthetic. But be sure to take into account Twitter’s new profile design, which locates the tweet feed on the right-hand side of the page, and lists and suggestions on the left-hand side. Therefore, don’t let important images fall underneath your profile’s opaque boxes. For instance, can you spot the elusive third model in Topshop’s background above?

Instead of obscuring important information, create images that account for the placement and width of the Twitter feed, like designer Grace Smith, whose left-hand mini-bio adds a smart touch.

How do you or the brands you follow optimize a tweet to reflect its visual content? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, SteveByland

More About: design, ecommerce, fashion, features, Marketing, open forum, Twitter
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Olapic’s Crowd-Sourced Photo Campaigns Becoming a Sports Trend

Sam Laird — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:45:31 +0000

Crowd-sourced social photo sharing appears to be the latest community engagement trend among professional sports teams, largely powered by the online startup Olapic.

Olapic’s service allows organizations to quickly and easily enable fans, readers or other types of audiences to submit photos of their own experiences at a game or event. Members of a crowd use social networks to submit their photos to the larger organization. The photos are then automatically collected on a subdomain and published after a moderator approves them. No new site, no new laborious curation process.

After launching in June by running a crowdsourcing campaign with the New York Daily News for the city’s gay pride parade, Olapic has found a niche with sports teams. It has since partnered with the New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts of the NFL; the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks; and international soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona. Olapic is also running a new contest with the Giants for Super Bowl XLVI.

“Everyone has a camera now and everyone is taking pictures, so what we’re trying to do is help these sports teams and brands leverage those photos in a new way,” Olapic co-founder Jose de Cabo said in an interview. “We want to help replicate that warm, fuzzy feeling people get again and again.”

Crowdsourcing photos isn’t a new idea, but Olapic makes it exceptionally easy to do so. Photographers snap a shot and upload it to a page of the team’s website or — easier yet — tweet it to the team’s Twitter handle. Tweeted photos are automatically sent to the corresponding team page, then go live after a moderator approves, which they can do in batches. When the submission is published, the photographer gets an automated tweet back letting them know.

Teams have so far used the service to run a variety of promotions, often for prizes like gear or tickets. The Mavericks told fans to imitate their star player’s signature move, and FC Barcelona asked fans to submit supportive photos when their star suffered an injury.

The Ravens ran a contest in which they painted a series of golden logos around the Baltimore area. Fans who found and submitted a picture of themselves with the hidden emblem were entered in a drawing for free tickets to the AFC Championship game last month.

Dave Lang, the Ravens’ digital media manager, said that the team ran a similar contest last year but received about four times as many submissions after adopting Olapic’s solution. Lang also said that several fans were so excited to see their photos on the Ravens’ official site that they would then capture screenshots to post to their own Facebook or Twitter pages.

While Olapic can be used for a variety of purposes, the marriage between social photo sharing and sports seems especially strong.

“Football isn’t just about the game. There are so many things that go on around it like fan clubs, tailgating, and traveling to road games,” Lang told Mashable. “So this is obviously something people get really excited about and a way to get them involved creatively on a more personal level.”

More About: Marketing, photography, Social Media
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The Strange and Epic Lifestyle of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom

Brandon Smith — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:27:11 +0000

If you’re not aware of Kim Dotcom, the man who changed his last name to pay homage to the World Wide Web, we offer you this brief history lesson. Born in Germany, Kim Schmitz (a.ka. King Kimble, a.k.a. King of the Kimpire, a.k.a. The Kim-pin), is a larger-than-life Internet hustler who hauled in money hand-over-fist by creating Megaupload, a site that essentially allows — er, allowed — people to share copyrighted content.

But that’s not all. His flair for the grandiose knew no terrestrial bounds. He loved to race fast cars and he coveted beautiful women — sometimes having them sprawl out on top of his massive, 6′ 7″ frame. His exact size remains somewhat of a mystery — it seems like each reporter uses a different measuring tape. His list of eccentricities goes on.

Check out our gallery and regale us with your favorite Kim Dotcom stories or anecdotes in the comments.

Additional reporting for this piece was contributed by Sam Laird.

1. MegaRacer Domination Ends

Until recently, Kim Dotcom was the top Modern Warfare 3 player in the world. He even apparently posted a video to prove it. We imagine it's tough to maintain such a coveted position while being held in jail for multiple copyright violations.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Kim Dotcom, Mega, Mega Upload, Upload
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10 Hot Web Startups Changing the Face of Retail

Macala Wright Lee — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:07:24 +0000

Macala Wright is the publisher of FashionablyMarketing.Me, one of the leading fashion and retail industry business websites. She is a retail consultant and business strategist who specializes in marketing consulting for fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands. You can follower her on Twitter at @InsideFMM or @Macala.

In 2010, branded content was one the largest trends among retailers and brands. In 2011, branded content shifted to branded entertainment. Now, in 2012, we’ll look toward content cultivation and aggregation.

By creatively using Pinterest and Tumblr, brands are becoming enthralled with consumer curation, primarily because these types of curated sites create non-linear paths to purchases.

First, retailers post visually appealing images and ideas that are accessible to the online user/consumer. Then, consumers post those images to curated sites. From there, retailers can build brand awareness by directly linking to product pages and encouraging purchase conversions.

“We’re demonstrating the power of peer-to-peer shopping search,” says Buyosphere’s Tara Hunt. “Algorithms are a long way off from picking up nuances that a person can. And personal taste is full of nuance.”

The future of ecommerce, search and social marketing is now tied to personality-influenced consumer curation. Here are 10 product discovery and sharing sites worth paying attention to.

1. Mulu

Launched in December 2011, Mulu is a social platform for sharing the things you love and making the world a better place at the same time. Mulu allows users to make product recommendations, ask for suggestions and earn money for themselves or a social cause they want to support.

Mulu CEO and founder Amaryllis Fox says, “Zooey Deschanel and HelloGiggles are using their Mulu to support 826 LA, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.”

Click here to view this gallery.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, tetsuomorita

More About: content curation, ecommerce, features, Marketing, pinterest, Social Media, social shopping

Donald Trump, Deion Sanders and Apolo Ohno Star in Century 21′s Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO]

Brian Anthony Hernandez — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:53:46 +0000

Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.

Century 21 has enlisted a team of celebrities for its first-ever Super Bowl commercial.

Reality TV star and business mogul Donald Trump, Pro Football Hall of Fame member Deion Sanders and Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno will help showcase what Century 21 feels are the primary characteristics of the company’s agents: “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.”

In the 30-second ad, which will air Sunday on NBC during a third-quarter commercial break, the trio is seen participating in the home-buying and home-selling process as a Century 21 agent one-ups each of them.

“The Super Bowl offers an unparalleled stage for showcasing our agents and their capabilities, and we wanted to make sure we were taking full advantage of the opportunity to quickly impact not only the more than 110 million viewers expected to tune in, but their social sphere as well,” Bev Thorne, Century 21‘s chief marketing officer, told Mashable. “Celebrities help us do just that — not only as stars of the commercial, but by building excitement for the ad on their own social networks.”

Historically, brands and agencies have often mixed in high-profile faces into their Super Bowl commercials, which this year cost $3.5 million each. On Sunday alone, for example, actor Jerry Seinfeld will be in Acura NSX‘s ad and actor Matthew Broderick (playing Ferris Bueller) reportedly will be in another ad.

SEE ALSO: Coca-Cola Polar Bears Will Watch, React to Super Bowl in Real Time

The celebrities tend to have strong online followings, which likely incite significant mentions on social networks for the brands shilling out the bucks to feature them. Trump, Sanders and Ohno have more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter and 840,000 fans on Facebook.

“All three are very active in the social space,” Thorne says. “Through social media we are able to amplify our message online.”

Philadelphia-based Red Tettemer + Partners created the ad for Century 21.

BONUS: Are These the 10 Funniest Super Bowl Commercials Ever?

1. Sprint

This ad from 2006 shows off a Sprint phone's advanced theft-deterring technology.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Advertising, celebrities, century 21, Entertainment, Super Bowl

Travel Website Lets You Book Flights Featuring Wi-Fi, Live TV

Kate Freeman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:49:44 +0000

Travel is so much easier when you’re prepared and know what to expect. Airfare shopping website CheapAir.com now lets you find out which flights offer Wi-Fi, live TV and movies before you book.

Onboard technology can make flying a much more pleasurable and productive experience. But unless you book with a particular airline that offers Wi-Fi on every flight, you’re not guaranteed these services. There is often little or no difference between the price of flights with or without WiFi and live TV — but the difference in experience can make or break your flight.

A spokesperson from CheapAir.com said she didn’t know the exact number of flights with Wi-Fi but did say “from our experience, on domestic flights it’s about 20% for WiFi and 10% for Live TV. For international flights, both are less common but that will change over the next couple years.”

CheapAir will never say a flight has Wi-Fi unless it is certain. The service is not yet perfected: In some rare cases, you might book a flight thinking there is no Wi-Fi or live TV and be surprised that the flight does offer those amenities.

We also asked if travelers can find out which movies will be playing on flights. No, said CheapAir, but “flights with personal video monitors and movies-on-demand usually have a pretty decent number of choices and a lot of variety to cater to every jetsetter’s tastes.”

CheapAir.com did issue one caveat: “last minute maintenance problems can, on rare occasions, lead to an aircraft change with fewer features.”

Over time, though, more airlines will be updated with modern technologies that consumers demand, making the probably of ending up on a WiFi enabled plane — even with maintenance problems — a more likely scenario.

CheapAir started in 1989 and operated from a call center under the name 1-800-CHEAP-AIR. The company was founded in a University of Michigan dorm room by Jeff Klee.

While Mashable was interviewing CheapAir, we thought we’d take the opportunity to tap them for travel booking tips. Here’s what they said:

“A great travel trip that isn’t widely known is that, very generally speaking, the cheapest day of the week to buy domestic airline tickets is Tuesday. In fact, Tuesday late afternoon or evening. This is because most weeks one or more airlines will announce a mid-week sale Monday night or Tuesday morning. To stay competitive, other airlines will typically match those sale fares and by Tuesday night all of them have will have joined. The sales usually last one to three days, but availability is best toward the beginning of that window.”

What do you think about CheapAir.com? Will you use it? How important is it to you to have Wi-Fi or live TV on airplanes when you travel? Tell us in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Clintus McGintus

More About: airfare, cheap airfare, travel
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Facebook IPO: Test Your Knowledge [QUIZ]

Todd Olmstead — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:14:29 +0000

News of Facebook‘s IPO swamped the Internet earlier this week, when the company’s 213-page S-1 document went up on the SEC’s website, promptly crashing it.

In addition to confirming previous reports that the filing was imminent, the document contained numerous interesting facts that many have long been wondering, such as the company’s revenue, how much Mark Zuckerberg makes, and who the company’s highest-paid employees are.

There were also several key company insights disclosed, such as the factors that Facebook considers to be risks.

Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg himself wrote a letter to potential shareholders, in which he said that Facebook was created for a “social mission – to make the world more open and connected.”

It’s a fascinating look at Facebook, but also a massive document full of legalese and complicated facts. We’ve done our best to break down the most important figures and bits of information, but now you can test yourself: how well do you know the Facebook IPO? Take our quiz below and let us know in the comments what questions you have.

View Survey

More About: Facebook, facebook ipo, mark zuckerberg, Social Media