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.

Stylish Whiteboard

“Klouchebag” can be defined as (how do we put this delicately?) a person who is, frankly, a complete douchebag on social media. As you might infer, the word pertains specifically to Klout, a company that measures analytics to determine a user’s influence across social networks.

Users receive higher Klout scores the more active and engaged they are on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Based on a score from 1-100, Klout influence is also measured by follower count and influence. Many users have taken it upon themselves to achieve the highest possible score by loading their social networks with content and actively trying to raise their follower counts — you can imagine that some people don’t appreciate this “klouchey” behavior.

At this year’s Mashable Connect conference in Orlando, Fla., Mashable editor in chief Lance Ulanoff caught up backstage with the founder of Klout, Joe Fernandez. Ulanoff asked him what he thought of the term “klouchebag.”

More About: klout, mashable connect, Social Media, Twitter, Video

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Called My Last Wish, the app encourages users to post wishes on a ‘Wish Wall’ and then befriend others who might share their dreams.

“I believed in the possibility that there can be two persons in this world with same hopes, dreams and wishes,” Kirtan Thaker, co-founder of the White Lotus Corporation, the group behind the app, told Mashable. “I was confident that if we create a app where this possibility can be turned into reality, people will love this concept and they will get a chance to make friends who are unknown but having just one thing in common which is the last wish.”

When sharing a wish, users can also choose to attach their email address or phone number so others that share their dream can connect with them. Tapping on a person’s contact information within the app will add their information to the contacts list in your phone.

A palm icon appears beside wishes, allowing you to “aLike” a wish you share, or “give a five” to that person to express your support for their wish and become friends.

While definitely a little morbid, and certainly out of the ordinary, the app already has a little bit of a following. Posted wishes range from things such as traveling the world to writing a book. Thaker says that the ultimate goal behind the app is to help people make friends that share similar hopes and dreams, or even help someone potentially find his or her soul mate.

White Lotus plans to add a location-based feature to the app in the future to help you find people located physically around you, and if the iOS version of the app does well the company plans to release an Android version as well.

What do you think about My Last Wish? Is the app cool, or creepy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

More About: App, death, iOS, iphone

You’ve probably been overwhelmed by enough Instagram shots of this weekend’s annular solar eclipse to think you’ve seen it from every angle and through every filter. But you haven’t seen anything like the video above.

Photographer Cory Poole made the one-minute video by combining 700 still images through a Coronado Solar Max 60 Double Stack telescope, according to his YouTube post. The telescope “has a very narrow bandpass allowing you to see the chromosphere and not the much brighter photosphere below it,” Poole writes. Add in the dramatic, spacey soundtrack, and the video becomes even more of a winner.

What are the coolest annular solar eclipse photos and videos you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments.

More About: space, viral, viral videos, YouTube

But on Twitter, it wasn’t even close — Chelsea was dominant.

The all-star London club gained 73% of team-specific Twitter mentions related to the match, while its star players were buzz magnets as well. The match’s five most-mentioned players — in order, Didier Drogba, John Terry, David Luiz, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech — all suit up for the Blues.

Chelsea’s coach even outpaced his Bayern counterpart by a rate of more than two mentions to one.

And Chelsea’s sponsor, Samsung, was mentioned nine times as often as T-Mobile, which sponsors Bayern.

This is all according to research by the marketing firm ExactTarget, which tracked and analyzed more than 1.1 million match day tweets to see how the Champions League final played out online. ExactTarget’s findings are summarized — in both German and English — in the infographic below.

Despite soccer’s worldwide appeal, nearly 69% of Champions League chatter took place in English. The chattiest countries? Great Britain, at almost 23%, the U.S. (9.9%), Brazil (9.4%), Germany (8.6%) and Indonesia (5.8%). The rest of the world together, meanwhile, produced just over 43% of Champions League tweets. Spanish was the second most popular language for tweeters, at 15.8%.

This celebratory tweet from Chelsea’s official Twitter account gathered the most match day retweets, with more than 7,000. Congratulatory posts from UEFA and Spanish power FC Barcelona also gathered more than 2,800 retweets apiece. Chelsea, meanwhile, used the weekend’s social media buzz to surge past 1 million Twitter followers.

For the full picture of how this weekend’s Champions League final played out on Twitter, check out the infographic below.

Did you follow the match? What role did Twitter play for you? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy toksuede, Flickr.

More About: infographics, sports, Twitter

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Bradley Mellon

Solar eclipse as seen from El Centro, California

Click here to view this gallery.

Over the weekend, an astounding astronomical phenominon occurred: an annular solar eclipse. This type of eclipse, which happens less than once a year, occurs when the Earth’s moon crosses paths with the sun to create the effect of a spectacular glowing ring. This is due to the size of the moon compared to the size of the sun.

Only people in a certain geographic area get to glimpse each of these rare phenomena. This time, people in Japan, California, Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, and New Mexico were granted the best view.

We asked Mashable readers to submit their best picture of the solar eclipse. We received very inventive photo submissions from across the world.

Check out some of our favorite solar eclipse photos that you sent us, and let us know in the comments what you thought of the eclipse.

More About: photography, Solar eclipse, space

The B9Creator is a do-it-yourself 3D printer kit. Currently, it’s one of the most successful 3D printer projects seeking funding on the website. Backers have already raised $164,418 with 21 days left until the funding deadline. The project surpassed the initial $50,000 goal within a day.

Supporters of the project will receive a B9Creator 3D-printing kit with a donation of $2,375 or more. The estimated delivery date for a limited number of printers is August 2012.

Guitars, custom prosthetic limbs and jawbone transplants are all products of 3D printing. These printers create solid objects by generating layers of material on top of each other.

The B9Creator, developed by Michael Joyce, is made with anodized aluminum and stainless steel. The portable device is supposedly able generate more complex and detailed models than other 3D printers.

It does so via a projector, which is attached to the machine mechanically and shines light to “cure” the resin material, setting it in place. This allows the B9Creator to generate fragile, high-resolution molds. The 3D printer generates about an inch of material every hour.

The resin costs 10 cents per gram. A miniature Eiffel Tower mold printed by the B9Creator is seemingly sturdy and extraordinarily detailed. The model, which weighs about 12 grams, only used about $1.20 of material.

Once the B9 is in production, consumers will be able to build and print resin models at home. The machine is less than 30 pounds and about two and a half feet tall. The B9Creator kit will come up with basic software allowing users to come up with new models. The printer — upon completion of the project — will have an open API for developers to advance the existing software and hardware.

Would you buy a 3D printer for office or home use? Tell us in the comments what you would create.

More About: 3D printers, kickstarter, Tech

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Music-streaming site Spotify announced on Monday that it is headed down under.

The Sweden-based popular service — which came to the U.S. in the summer of 2011 — will be bringing its platform of more than 16 million tracks to Australia and New Zealand. The move highlights Spotify’s aggressive growth strategy of expanding into new markets.

Although Spotify recently launched in Germany, it has yet to debut in certain regions, including Latin America and Canada. Competitors such as Rdio, which is already popular in Brazil and Canada, and Sony Music Unlimited, which has currently the broadest international availability, are already mainstays in Australia and New Zealand.

However, there is no denying that Spotify has its sights set on global growth.

Unlike its initial offering in the U.S. which featured only six months of free unlimited access, users in Australia and New Zealand will have full access to Spotify indefinitely. In March, Spotify revealed plans to keep the service free past the six month trial. Originally, for those that didn’t sign up for a premium package — ranging from $4.99 to $9.99 a month — the site would be limited to 10 free hours of streaming music each month.

Which country do you wish Spotify would roll out its services to soon? Do you think the platform is on path to become the largest of its kind? Let us know in the comments.

More About: apps, Music, rdio, sony, spotify

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Redditors currently serving in the U.S. armed forces are about to get a big thank you from the Reddit community. The social news site aims to pair users in the U.S. with members serving abroad in an offical Reddit gift exchange for the troops.

The initiative is part of a larger ongoing project, “redditgifts.” This secret-santa style gift exchange allows users to swap goods with each other. Past redditgifts exchanges have presented users with DVDs, letters, basic necessities and even a laptop.

The troops gift exhange launched Tuesday — and comedian Stephen Colbert has already claimed the first spot on the list of gift givers, or “santas.”

Colbert is no stranger to Reddit. The community caught his attention when they raised more than $100,000 in less than 8 hours for the “Restoring Truthiness” rally

According to Reddit, it will be getting more well-known Redditors to join in on the redditgifts for troops exchange too.

In the video below, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian claims he was inspired by recent conversations with members of the armed forces on Reddit who received care packages from other users.

This is one of many recent initiatives from Reddit that show the impact it has when it convenes its large community for goodwill. We’ve seen what small gestures and random acts of kindness had on one terminally ill man, and Ohanian hopes to bring the same encouragement and good-spirited nature to the many troops overseas.

Signups for troops and santas begins Tuesday May 21, and ends June 18. Users sending care packages must ship by July 9.

What do you think about Reddit’s recent acts of social good? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More About: reddit, stephen colbert, trending, U.S. Military

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Josh Lafazan, an 18-year-old high school senior from Syosset, New York, shattered all kinds of records when he was elected to his school district’s board last week. He became the youngest-ever elected official in New York state, and voter turnout was well above normal.

How did Lafazan make such an achievement possible? In part, thanks to smart use of the web and social media.

While many commentators are marveling at the Internet’s ability to bring together large swaths of people from across nations, Lafazan’s campaign did just the opposite: he used his website and social media, such as Facebook and live video service Spreecast, to bring together his nearby friends and neighbors under his campaign’s banner.

“Josh was the only candidate for school board to have a personal website,” said Jake Asman, Lafazan’s campaign manager and fellow Syosset High School student. “He really went out there and expressed his campaign views. He used his Facebook page and Spreecast the same way.”

On Spreecast, Lafazan engaged in face-to-face town halls with his soon-to-be constituency. Asman credits the video site with a great deal of the campaign’s success.

“Spreecast was a big one for us,” said Asman. “We had more than 2,000 views on our first Spreecast. Josh was able to interact directly, face-to-face with members of the community. It’s one thing to have a story on [the local news], it’s another for people to ask questions directly. He answered every question he got, it took almost two hours.”

Lafazan also built up a sizable community of followers on Facebook. A note he posted thanking his supporters gathered more than 400 likes — an impressive feat for a candidate in a campaign with only a few thousand voters.

Social media proved useful when the campaign took a turn for the bizarre. The Syosset school district accused Lafazan’s father, Jeffery, of stealing information about the district’s residents. An automated message that went out to voters before the election said that “Jeffrey Lafazan unlawfully removed district records that contained the names and addresses of residents. He removed the records without permission and ran away,” according to NBC.

Lafazan’s father later returned the documents, saying he didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to take them.

Lafazan, meanwhile, labeled the accusations as a “smear campaign.” He took to Facebook to explain his side of what happened, and Asman said that move helped Lafazan beat the rumors.

“When the school district tried to pull their smear campaign, Josh hopped on Facebook and sent out a status with what had really happened,” said Asman. “It got 250 likes and 200 shares. People very quickly realized what was happening.”

Of course, Lafazan campaigned hard in the offline world, too.

“He was in the community and the high school every day, interacting with neighbors and other seniors that were 18 and could vote,” said Asman.

Lafazan went on to win the election by more than 2,000 votes, or 82% of the total votes — and it looks like he’ll be using social media to govern, not just to campaign.

“If anyone has any suggestions to help improve this district,” wrote Lafazan in a post-victory Facebook post, “do not hesitate to contact me and share those ideas with me.”

How is social media changing local elections in your neighborhood? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, sjlocke

More About: Facebook, Politics, Social Media, spreecast, trending, US

1. Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever -- because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference."

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Graduation season is in full swing, and though some students have already received their diplomas, anyone in his or her 20s will tell you that sense of fear and uncertainty doesn’t evaporate once you step across the stage.

Whether you’re a soon-to-be graduate, a seasoned professional in the workforce, or just need some inspiration, take a few moments with these enlightening commencement speeches, some of which come from celebrities and leaders in technology.

We’ve gathered some of the most memorable moments in graduation history on YouTube to prepare you for the next big step.

Hats off to you, grads! Share your thoughts of the future in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, AlbanyLaw

More About: celebrities, education, features, Graduation, Video, YouTube

You know that bit in The Avengers where Tony Stark spreads his fingers apart in mid-air and the stuff on the screen in front of him instantly appears on displays throughout the room?

A company called Leap Motion wants to make that kind of gesture control a reality, and it hopes to take the first step with a new type of motion controller.

The Leap is a simple motion controller that you can plug into any USB port on your computer. Once it’s plugged in and you’ve installed the Leap software, it turns the 8-cubic feet of air in front of it into “3D interaction space” — basically, it’ll track any and all motion within that space, letting you use your hands to do whatever you could do with a mouse.

How is that different from Microsoft Kinect? Precision — the company claims the Leap is 200 times more sensitive than current gesture-based tech, able to track movements down to a hundredth of a millimeter. Users will be able to fine-tune the sensitivity, Leap says.

The camera, which is about the size of a business-card holder, can discern all 10 of your fingers individually, and even tell your thumbs apart. Such detailed scanning lets you perform actions like pinch-to-zoom, or zero in on fine details in a drawing app (check out the video below for more applications).

It all sounds a little too good to be true — especially for a device that costs a mere $69.99. The company even acknowledges how far-fetched it sounds on its web page. Leap’s goals are anything but humble: The device is all about “changing the world” by making interaction with computers more natural and intuitive.

Can’t wait to try it out? You’re going to have to wait — the controller doesn’t go on sale until the winter, but you can pre-order one now. The company is also accepting requests for developer kits, which should be available in the next few months.

How do you like the Leap? If it holds up to its promises, would you use it? What for? Browse the gallery for some ideas, and share your thoughts in the comments.

The Leap

Leap Motion just began taking pre-orders for its USB motion controller, which will cost $70.

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More About: gesture control, kinect, Leap Motion, motion control

Katy Perry‘s new lyric video for “Wide Awake,” a song the pop star debuted at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards, tells the story of her recent career events as displayed through Facebook’s Timeline feature.

The clip features lyrics to the song, career highlights and even a picture of her with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the 1:35 mark. The entire video showcases a ever-evolving Timeline starting at May 10, 2010, the day Perry announced the release date for her massively successful Teenage Dream album.

“Facebook approved us using the Timeline layout and they actually just featured it on a few of their pages including Celebs on Facebook and Music on Facebook,” EMI/Capitol Music Group’s Meredith Gardner told Mashable.

“We thought Facebook Timeline was as an elegant way to celebrate the past couple years while displaying the lyrics to the last song in the Teenage Dream chapter. During this time Katy’s star has grown rapidly and her Facebook community is a reflection of that with over 43 Million Likes, making her the seventh most popular musician on the social network.”

“Wide Awake,” written for Perry’s upcoming 3D movie Katy Perry: Party of Me, ends with a snapshot of her Facebook cover photo. The song is available on Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection.

Facebook Timeline for brands, including celebrity pages, began rolling out in February.

BONUS: Other Ways Brands and Celebrities Use Their Facebook Cover Photos

1. Red Bull

Not only has Red Bull taken advantage of Timeline, it has also created a scavenger hunt with prizes to get fans interacting with the company's history.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: celebrities, Entertainment, Facebook, facebook timeline, katy-perry, mark zuckerberg, Music, music videos

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Inside the stadium, rabbis led the sold-out crowd in evening prayers and warned of the Internet’s ability to spread “filth,” such as pornography or hate speech. The rally was sponsored by Ichud Hakehillos Letohar Hamachane, a rabbinical group with ties to a software outlet that makes an Internet filtering app for Orthodox Jews, according to The New York Times.

The thousands of attendees at Citi Field and 20,000 others at an overflow event at a nearby tennis stadium were eager to discuss the web and its impact on ultra-Orthodox life.
Thousands of women watched the proceedings from afar in viewing parties, as ultra-Orthodox law prohibits the mixing of the sexes.

“There is a very significant downside to the Internet,” Eytan Kobre, one of the event’s organizers, told The Associated Press. “It does pose a challenge to us in various aspects of our lives,” he added, citing the distractions posed by online pornography, gambling and social media as as a threat to ultra-Orthodox Jews’ “ability to pray uninterruptedly, to focus and to concentrate.”

Some technologies, such as television, are banned from most ultra-Orthodox households, but many members of the religion access the Internet via desktops, laptops and smartphones.

A pro-Internet contingent held a counter-rally outside Citi Field under banners reading “the Internet is not the problem.” Some of the counter-protesters accused Jewish spiritual leaders of turning a blind eye to reports of child molestation in the ultra-Orthodox community.

“We are fed up with rabbinical leaders’ dismissive attitude towards sexual and physical violence against children,” reads a Facebook page for the event with more than 400 attendees. “The Internet is not the biggest problem we face. Protecting children and bringing molesters to justice should be our number one priority.”

Can the internet be selectively incorporated in modern life, or does the good come with the bad? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Flickr, Kwong Yee Cheng

More About: internet, religion, US

Welcome to the next phase in on-premises beer marketing. Either that, or it’s just a cool thing to look at when you’re hoisting a few.

Either way, this glass, developed by ad agency BBDO in New York, is the most social beer glass we’ve seen. Activate that QR code and the glass checks you in to Foursquare, tweets about your pint and/or updates your Facebook status.

And in a nice branding twist, you have to use Guinness — or at least another very dark beer. If your beer is filled with an ordinary pilsner like Budweiser, you won’t be able to read the code.

[Via Adweek]

More About: Advertising, Beer, Guinness, Marketing, QR Codes

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In Mashable‘s new video series, Behind the Launch, we’re taking cameras behind the scenes at Vungle, an in-app video advertising startup. Today, one of Vungle’s publishers has pulled out, leaving the startup with a very one-sided platform. The Vungle team decides it’s time to refocus, so Colin Behr, head of business development, hits the phones to recruit publishers and build out the business side. “If we don’t move at lightning speed, someone else will be faster,” says founder Jack Smith. “It’s really good to have this paranoia.”

Watch today’s episode to see what happens, and join the conversation on Twitter, #BehindTheLaunch.

Missed earlier episodes? Watch them here!

• Ep. 1: Meet Vungle
• Ep. 2: Bringing in a Closer
• Ep. 3: How to Court Startup Investors
• Ep. 4: A Promising, Yet Controversial Job Candidate

About Vungle

Vungle is a San Francisco-based company that purveys mobile video ads to promote apps. Just last week, Vungle announced that it had raised $2 million from big Silicon Valley and Alley names: Google Ventures, AOL Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Ron Conway’s SV Angel, Dave McClure’s 500 Startups, Charles Hudson’s SoftTechVC’s, Maynard Webb, Scott McNealy and Tim Draper. Vungle also has offices in the UK and Pakistan.

Jack Smith, Co-Founder — Self-described lunatic marketer and hacker. Started his career as a freelance web designer at age 13, founded a video startup, MediaRoots, in college. Met Zain at King’s College London University in 2009. British.

Bryant Chou, CTO — Full stack engineer and software architect with more than five years of experience developing mobile apps. He’s an enthusiastic traveler who’ll share his travel tales with you over a cold beer. American.

Marta Bulaich, Chief Yoga Officer — Marta’s first job was with the masterminds behind the TV infomercial legends Chia Pet and Clapper. After a career of working with various startups and venture capital firm, she came to Vungle to do public relations and center their chi in full lotus. American.

Ben Lindsey, Senior Software Engineer — A veteran of four Silicon Valley startups with experience in Internet advertising, large scale databases and agile programming. When not slinging code, you cam find him cooking organic food, listening to electronica, backpacking around the world or running marathons.

Colin Behr, Director of Business Development — Previously founded an Internet company, CyberPlanet Ltd, with Zain in 2004, and then moved to San Francisco to start another venture. Colin eventually went to University but dropped out after speaking with Zain about his new venture, Vungle.

Ray Myers, Software Engineer — 25-year-old Linux geek who loves robotics and has been programming since he was 7. Ray is a Shotokan karate third-degree Black Belt, but you can usually find him at his computer, trying to make robots bend to his will. American.

Series presented by Internet Explorer

Behind the Launch is presented by Internet Explorer. Learn how IE is building a more beautiful web through hardware accelerated graphics and modern web standards like HTML5. Get IE9 today or download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which features the new IE10 to see where we’re headed.

More About: Behind the Launch Series, features, mashable, Startups, Vungle

Ravi, 20, was found guilty in March of a “bias crime.” While at Rutgers, he had set up a webcam to spy on Clementi kissing another man — then shared everything he saw on Twitter.

During the trial, Clementi’s father noted that his son checked Ravi’s Twitter page 37 times just before committing suicide. Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge in 2010, after posting a message on his Facebook page: “Jumping off the gw bridge. Sorry.”

Clementi’s mother described Ravi as a cold fish who failed to look up from his computer and acknowledge her son when they first shared a room. Ravi’s defense: he set up the webcam in order to ensure Clementi’s lover did not steal Ravi’s iPad.

The judge noted that Ravi had not apologized for the crime, nor did he stand for sentencing. In addition to his month of jail time, he will also pay $10,000 in 300 monthly increments, and do 300 hours of community service and 3 years probation. The prosecution, seeking more jail time, says it will appeal.

Is it enough? Does the punishment fit the crime? Vote in our poll below, and let us know your take in the comments.

More About: Facebook, Twitter, Tyler Clementi

1. Harvard University Baseball

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Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen and her management are crazy in “love” with the countless videos of sports teams performing her viral hit “Call Me Maybe” in buses, vans, hotel rooms, fields and even in public.

The catchy song this month has oddly but hilariously inspired athletes from coast to coast to capture footage of themselves lip-syncing and dancing to the tune for all the world to see on YouTube.

“We love it — (it’s) so flattering to see these people go to the trouble,” Jonathan Simkin of 604 Records, Jepsen’s label, told Mashable. “We are shocked at how this song has inspired people to do all sorts of things.”

The hot single, which landed at number one on iTunes in the U.S. last week (see tweets below), began popping up more and more in videos featuring athletes after a Harvard University’s pitcher uploaded a clip of his teammates synchronously rocking out to “Call Me Maybe.”

While Harvad’s rendition wasn’t the first “Call Me Maybe” lip-dub from a sports team, it was the first to go viral, garnering 8.6 million YouTube views as of Monday after only having 190,000 views on May 8.

Jepsen’s management says it’s hard to say whether there’s a correlation in the amount of covers to increased sales figures for “Call Me Maybe.”

“The song has sold really well since first release in Canada, and that was before all the viral insanity,” Simkin says. “It is fair to say that the viral phenomenon has not hurt, but I think the song is simply one of those songs that really affects people. The viral videos are more the result of that, than a catalyst for sales.”

Jepsen’s original video has 69 million views while her second video (featuring a celebrity cameos from Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Ashley Tisdale) has 39 million. Watch those videos below these tweets.

What are you favorite covers — sports-related or not — of “Call Me Maybe”? Let us know.

Call Me Maybe just hit #1 on iTunes USA! Thank-you. DREAMS COME TRUE!!! twitter.com/carlyraejepsen…

— Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) May 17, 2012

yep. @CarlyRaeJepsen is #1 on ITUNES with #CALLMEMAYBE !!! That’s how we roll!! haha. PROUD OF HER. #DREAMBIG

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) May 18, 2012

More About: Entertainment, humor, Music, music videos, parody, pop culture, sports, trending, viral

The offer, reported by The Wall Street Journal, was proffered to address brokers who covered losses for retail and institutional investors who lost money because of the glitch.

Reps from Nasdaq could not be reached for comment. In a call with reporters on Sunday, Eric Noll, head of transaction services for Nasdaq OMX, said about 30 million shares were affected. However, the article notes that the actual amount lost may be closer to $100 million.

Facebook’s IPO on Friday was delayed by about 30 minutes because of a problem with Nasdaq’s system. The company’s stock opened at $42, but closed at $38.23, just 23 cents more than its IPO price.

Robert Greifeld, chief executive of Nasdaq OMX, apologized Sunday for Nasdaq’s handling of the episode. “This was not our finest hour,” Greifeld told reports. He added that Nasdaq is “humbly embarrassed” by the technical issues, but nevertheless claims the first day of trading in Facebook stock was “successful.”

More About: facebook ipo, nasdaq

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Remember the pop-up trivia version of Antoine Dodson’s “Bed Intruder” we premiered a few weeks ago? Well, now you can watch your favorite Internet stars do crazy things in super slow motion.

The video above features Jonti Picking, the man behind an old Internet classic Weebl’s Stuff — in case you forgot, Picking sang silly songs about stuff like Kenya and blimps.

The “Slo-As-A-MoFo-Sho” series was created by PopSpot, YouTube’s “one-stop culture spot,” and the makers of VH1′s Pop Up Video. The videos were filmed at the web culture conference ROFLcon.

PopSpot has also shared this clip of Antoine Dodson and Matt Harding (of “Where the Hell Is Matt?” fame) playing around with an orange stretchy toy. We’re not sure what’s going on, but we’re also not sure why we can’t stop watching.

Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

More About: PopSpot, Slow Motion, Video, YouTube

Disruptor Beam, a Boston-based game company, will responsable for turning the mythical land of Westeros into a social experience for Facebook players in Game of Thrones Ascent. The game will be set in the world of the HBO show, which is based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of books.

Players will have a chance to play a noble sworn to one of the seven great houses — the power players like the Starks, Lannisters and Greyjoys — and then explore a land of political intrigue and danger. Set during the timeline of the show, the world of Westeros is at war as each of the great houses fights amongst themselves to claim the Iron Throne, making it hard to trust anyone.

“Everyone at Disruptor Beam was a huge fan of Game of Thrones long before we began working on the game, so we recognize that other fans expect character-driven conflict and intrigue to take center stage in our new game. Westeros is the perfect setting to deliver on our vision of weaving stories through decisions and social interactions,” said Jon Radoff, CEO of Disruptor Beam, in a press release Monday.

While Disruptor Beam hasn’t released much about the gameplay, they said the game will game will play heavily into Facebook’s social features, and ask players to make moral and political choices with their friends similar to the big risks taken in the series.

Disruptor Beam has yet to set a release date for the game.

Game of Thrones is wrapping up its second season on HBO, with the season finale on June 3. The series has already been renewed for a third season, which will cover parts of the third book in the series, A Storm of Swords.

Will you play a social game based on Game of Thrones? Let us know what you think in the comments.

More About: facebook games, game of thrones, hbo, social games, trending

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This article is brought to you by TriNet. For more information about BrandSpeak, click here.

You have a brilliant business idea and you can’t believe no one has thought of it before. Well, maybe this is because it’s not that great of an idea. Don’t worry, many start-up ideas – and actual start-ups — are doomed to fail. Case in point, two such companies that have recently popped up on our radar are Critter and LinkedOut.

Many entrepreneurs pivot through numerous business ideas before coming up with a concept that results in the formation of an actual business. However, coming up with a great business idea is only first of many challenges entrepreneurs must face as they bring their ideas to life.

Life as a CEO of a fledging start-up can be rough, particularly if it’s your first time in this position. Below are statements that highlight some of the mistakes new CEOs can make, and tips for taking a wiser and more effective approach to leading a start-up to success:

1. “I’ll sell my old baseball cards and comic books to get up and running.”

Sure, you could sell everything, but what does that leave you with? If things go awry, absolutely nothing. Starting a business is an expensive undertaking, and there are many ancillary costs that you might not foresee — legal, insurance, etc. Be realistic about your business model. If you plan to bootstrap, make sure you have enough savings to put toward the business to give it a fighting chance to take off without bankrupting yourself. If you’re going to seek out investors, have a game plan — who will you talk to, and why should they invest in your company? Your idea and plan have to be compelling enough to interest them, and they have to believe in you as a leader and entrepreneur. It’s too easy to keep throwing money at the problem and risk losing everything for the sake of trying to make your business work — stay within budget and be frugal.

2. “My wife will kill me if I don’t hire her sister for our Director of Sales position.”

A common attribute among successful companies is the ability to quickly pivot when problems arise and determine the best approach for adapting to meet ever-changing market and customer needs, which underscores the importance of hiring core team of smart people who already know the industry and its inherent risks. As tempting as it may be to employ your friends and relatives as your startup begins to grow, it’s not the wisest hiring strategy. This approach can create significant problems and complications later on. If the people you “know and love” don’t work out, it will be more stressful than usual when you have to ask them to move on. Instead, focus on developing a team that truly shares your vision and passion.

3. “I’ll be making money by this time next month.”

Be realistic about the amount of time it will take to develop your product or service before you can begin selling it. The truth of the matter is that it will likely take you a bit of time to develop and maintain a healthy sales and business development pipeline. Before you start aggressively pitching your product, test it out on prospective customers. It’s better to find out if nobody would buy your product before you invest time and money in launching it. Get feedback about whether there is a real market for what you want to sell. Even with a simple business idea, expect it will be at least six months to a year before the business starts throwing off enough cash to support you. Have a plan (and a back-up plan) for how you will cover your living expenses until then.

The unfortunate reality is that more startups fail than succeed, and what often leads to the demise of a new venture is not necessary the solution or concept itself, but rather inadequate pre-planning and preparation. Don’t fall victim to the scenarios described above. Instead, take the time to develop a detailed business plan and figure out a revenue model at the onset that will then help to drive other business strategies and decisions.

Check out TriNet’s original content here.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, tumpikuja, Flickr, boxchain

More About: BrandSpeak, features, mashable, startup

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Google is going all-in in its efforts to help New York and one university develop local, high-quality tech talent. In a press conference Monday at Google’s New York City headquarters, Google CEO Larry Page and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the search giant would provide 22,000 feet of free office space to CornellNYC Tech until its new campus on Roosevelt Island is complete. The deal represents another high-profile tech win for the New York City mayor. The city was recently named the fastest-growing tech hub in the country.

The multi-million deal — Page estimated the value of the office space at $10 million — will provide a temporary home for what Bloomberg called the city’s first Applied Science campus. Google will provide the space free of charge for five and a half years or until the Roosevelt Island is complete.

“This all happened because of the passion of Mayor Bloomberg. He has always had a healthy disregard for the impossible,” said Page, who also noted that he was inspired by the mayor to build his own office bullpen when he saw the mayor’s work space.

Page explained the investment by recounting how he came up with the idea for Google based on a dream where he envisioned downloading all the links on the web “and reversing them.” When he told his student advisor his idea, the advisor agreed and the rest is history. Page noted, though, how few people are working in the field of applied sciences, “yet, look what that tiny minority have achieved.”

Part of the goal with this Applied Science investment by Google is “More people waking up in the middle of the night with a crazy idea that just might change the world,” said Page, who also noted that owning the building, which it bought for, he said, around $1.8 billion, provides Google with the flexibility to do things like this. The Google founder also recalled that he had applied to Cornell, but could not remember if he was accepted.

Cornell won the competition to build the campus in New York late last year. It will begin moving into its temporary space in Google within two months and will welcome its first class this fall. Page said the Google office will undergo some “compaction” to accommodate its new guests.

Having the campus within Google’s offices will also provide a “great opportunity for collaboration,” said Page.

This, along with a second campus (built with another university and the support of IBM and Cisco) will, Bloomberg said, “spin off hundreds of thousands of jobs and startups.”

Want to know what CornellNYC Tech Campus is going to look like? Check out our gallery of Google’s New York City headquarters below.

Bonus: Inside Google’s NYC Headquarters

Google Logo in LEGO

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: education, Google, new york city

1. Charadium II

If Pictionary and Charades had a baby, this is what it would play like. Up to five players can take part in this drawing and guessing game. The quest for points means that it's more engaging than Draw Something because it's about trying to defeat an opponent as well as drawing silly things. The bonus: You don't get punished if you draw like a 2-year-old kid. The game also supports live play, where guessing quickly is the ultimate goal.

Click here to view this gallery.

We will be the first to acknowledge that turn-based games aren’t for everyone. If you’re not into knowing that every choice you make in a given turn may lead to your demise three moves down the line, then you can skip this list.

But if you don’t mind thinking strategically and long term, then here are the best turn-based multi-player games for iOS. Don’t blame us if you can’t put them down.

Have a favorite not in the list? Share it in the comments below.

More About: Apple iPad, contributor, features, iOS, iphone, mobile games, trending

If Google refuses to comply, the Commission could slap Google with antitrust charges and, eventually, fines.

“Today I’m giving Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address concerns that we have identified,” said European Commission Vice President for Competition Policy Joaquin Almunia in a statement issued Monday.

Europe began looking into Google’s search results in November of 2010, after Microsoft and other smaller firms complained that the U.S.-based search giant was giving its own products a higher-than-natural ranking in web searches while decreasing the rank of competitors’ services. Google has been fighting hard against the antitrust claims.

Almunia specified four areas where Google must change in order to avoid financial penalties in a letter he sent to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt:

1. Google’s displaying of links to its own specific search products, such as Google News, in general search results, which the Commission argues reduces competition.
2. Google’s taking of content, such as restaurant reviews from other services, for its own products, which the Commission believes might reduce the creation of original content on the web.
3. Google’s exclusive advertising deals with partners, which the Commission worries unfairly squeezes out Google’s competition.
4. Google’s limitation on data being transferred from AdWords to competitors’ services, which the Commission said limits software developers’ ability to create products that utilize cross-platform search advertising.

Should Google comply with that list of grievances, said Almunia, it can avoid immediate formal antitrust proceedings in Europe.

“If Google comes up with an outline of remedies which are capable of addressing our concerns, I will instruct my staff to initiate the discussions in order to finalize a remedies package,” said Almunia. “I hope that Google seizes this opportunity to swiftly resolve our concerns, for the benefit of competition and innovation in the sector,” he added.

Google made its disapproval of the Commission’s arguments known through a spokesperson.

“We’ve only just started to look through the Commission’s arguments,” said a Google spokesperson. “We disagree with the conclusions but we’re happy to discuss any concerns they might have. Competition on the web has increased dramatically in the last two years since the Commission started looking at this and the competitive pressures Google faces are tremendous. Innovation online has never been greater.”

Do you think agree with the European Commission’s assessment of Google’s business practices? Sound off in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Alija

More About: Antitrust, europe, Google, World

Although Chrome has edged out IE before for short periods, the last week marks the first time Chrome was the No. 1 browser for a sustained period of one week. Exactly 31.88% of the world’s web traffic was done on Chrome, according to StatCounter, while IE is a close second at 31.47%.

Although the difference is slight, Chrome has been trending up for some time, while IE has been trending down. IE is still the top browser in many regions, including North America, but Chrome is extremely popular in both India and South America — the latter being a region where Google’s Orkut social network also has significant market share.

IE is still king in most other regions, though, for obvious reasons: It’s the default web browser for Windows machines, which still constitute about 90% of the world’s computers. Tech-savvy Internet users tend to prefer Chrome, however, due to its minimal user interface and loading speed.

The browser trends are expected to continue at least until the general release of Internet Explorer 10 later this year. IE10 is tied to the launch of Windows 8, and it may introduce a wild card into the browser game.

While the desktop version of Windows 8 will support third-party browsers just like Windows has in the past, there’s some question whether certain Windows tablets will limit their functionality, in effect forcing users toward using IE10 if they want the abilities of a full web browser.

While StatCounter’s numbers, which are based on page-view data on 3 million websites, are often seen as a reliable barometer on browser popularity, other services that look at unique visitors to determine market share tell a different story. The most recent numbers from Net Applications, for example, show IE with a commanding lead of 54% to Chrome’s 19%. Mozilla Firefox is slightly more popular, at 20%.

Which data do you think is more reliable? Have your say in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, andrearoad

More About: google chrome, internet explorer, trending, web browsers, Windows 8

This infographic, created by DemandForce, details what it means to be a Facebook power user. For starters, you likely kick butt at basic F-book activities, like sending friend requests, commenting and pressing the “Like” button. Sounds pretty basic, right?

On the contrary, only 5% of users excel in four or more of the core Facebook actions. Still convinced you’re at the top?

As a power user, you also “like” content an average of 14 times per month, as well as share nine status updates and contribute 21 comments in that same time period. Whew, sounds like a lot of work to us.

So, treat this infographic as a little quiz, and see whether you qualify to hold the grand title: Facebook power user extraordinaire.

More About: Facebook, infographics, Social Media, trending

Franck Ribéry, Wesley Sneijder, Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Mario Gotze, Gerard Pique, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo appear in the 3-minute ad, called “My Time is Now,” which has gotten more than 9 million views since it posted on Friday.

The ad features a match between the Netherlands and France, but the game is interrupted when a group of young players crash the proceedings.

The video comes after Nike’s hugely successful “Write the Future” ad, also from ad agency Wieden + Kennedy, London, that has logged more than 28 million views. That ad, introduced in 2010, marked the beginning of that year’s World Cup. (For comparison’s sake, you can see that ad below.)

What do you think of the latest Nike ad? Sound off in the comments.

More About: Advertising, Euro Cup, Marketing, Nike, soccer

Peaceful protests as well as more violent clashes between police and protestors can be seen in the following collection of videos. The activists involved held a wide swath of grievances — some considered themselves part of Occupy Wall Street, chanting familiar phrases such as “Whose Street? Our Street,” while others were more specifically anti-war, calling for the 12-year NATO involvement in Afghanistan to come to an end. Protestors organized on social media, such as Twitter, using hashtags #NATO, #NATOsummit and #NATO3, among others.

The final video in the gallery claims to show an unmanned drone flying near Chicago as part of the city’s security efforts, but there are doubts to its authenticity.

Police Confront Protestors

Police confront a protest organized via Twitter with the hashtag #NATO3, named for the first three activists charged with terrorism-related crimes on Saturday, May 19.

Click here to view this gallery.

Forty-five protestors were reportedly arrested and four police officers were injured by Sunday evening. Meanwhile, five activists were charged with terrorism-related crimes after police accused them of planning to use homemade explosive devices to attack President Obama’s Chicago headquarters, the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other targets.

The NATO summit ends Monday with the approval of a plan to put native Afghan security forces in charge of the country’s security by mid-2013. This will nearly complete withdrawal of NATO forces by the end of 2014.

Do you think YouTube plays a critical role in allowing activists to get their message heard across the world? Sound off in the comments below.

More About: Occupy Wall Street, Politics, protests, US, World, YouTube

Name: Blackbaud

Big Idea: Blackbaud provides customized organizational and fundraising solutions for non-profits, not only focusing on resources needed but also the overall goal of each company.

Why It’s Working: From the biggest non-profits to small, one-person operations, Blackbaud has low-cost solutions for non-profits with a variety of missions. And, it just increased its power with the acquisition of web service Convio.

Whether you’re a 12-year-old boy who wants to raise money to save your grandma’s house from foreclosure or an established non-profit looking to reach a massive audience, Blackbaud wants to provide a solution to help your organization rake in funds.

“We have a whole bunch of solutions,” explains Jana Eggers, senior vice president of products and marketing at Blackbaud. “It’s used for so many different things — from fundraising to social media work.”

An old company in the technology world, Blackbaud was founded in 1981 by Tony Bakker in Long Island. A local independent school received a grant for a computer programmer and the company blossomed from there. In 1989, Blackbaud’s headquarters relocated to Charleston, S.C., where it remains today. With offices in eight countries, plus locations in U.S. cities including Austin, San Diego, Boston, Lincoln, Neb., and two offices in Washington, D.C., Blackbaud’s wealth of products to help non-profits of all sizes has paid off.

The company has 27,000 customers who utilize the various services. Clients of Blackbaud can basically design their own solution by choosing from a bevy of non-profit management systems. And since there are so many products to choose from, Eggers says there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every non-profit. Large direct mail and response campaigns, such as those put out by the March of Dimes or a PBS station, might find Blackbaud’s segmentation and analytics work helpful. For example, donor information is augmented with “wealth information” to pinpoint the group of potential donors an organization should target in their advertisements. This technique is called “planned giving,” Eggers explains. Such products can help non-profits on a mission to raise funding via mail campaign or target a particular demographic based on various data. Blackbaud’s Target Analytics run for the Salvation Army’s Carolina division, found $4.2 million in undiscovered funding.

But Blackbaud’s clients also include one-person operations, such as Noah Lamaide, a 12-year-old who saved his grandmother’s house from foreclosure by starting a donation site based on Blackbaud’s services. Setting up a donation page is free, but BlackbaudNow charges a transaction fee of 4.95% and $0.30 per transaction for all online donations processed through the site.

• eTapestry is “for the truly established but smaller non-profit,” Eggers says. “Maybe a one-or-two person fundraising staff.” This service would be best used for a local soccer league, for example.
• BBNow is more for the individual non-profit, like Noah Lamaide’s mission or “Send Mo Home,” a campaign organized by a solider in Afghanistan to bring home a dog he found while on tour.
• “If you’re really a sophisticated fundraiser you’re probably using The Raiser’s Edge,” Eggers says. “Or Blackbaud CRM, which is high-end.”
• Blackbaud also serves vertical markets, like tickets and museum management.

The pricing structure of the products varies from the minimal transaction fee to a hundred dollars per month to thousands to use all the products. It all depends on the services the client purchases.

“In the for-profit world, we would be considered on the low end of the [pricing] business model,” Eggers adds.

Earlier this month, Blackbaud acquired Convio, which provides software for non-profits that allow organizations to harness the power of the web, their constituents’ opinions and interests to reach a mass audience. Convio was founded in 1999 by Vinay Bhagat after he volunteered for a telethon fundraiser and thought there had to be a better way for non-profits to connect with their constituents.

On May 4, Blackbaud absorbed the company, along with its technology.

“Convio competed with us in a certain space, part with our online and team fundraising side,” she said. “They were a SaaS-based solution and we already had on-premise software, but they were obviously stronger than us in that because they started there. We looked at that as a terrific compliment to us.”

What do you think about Blackbaud’s services, now augmented with the Convio? Tell us in the comments.

The World at Work is powered by GE. GE Works focuses on the people who make the things that move, power, build and help to cure the world.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, iPandastudio

More About: blackbaud, convio, crm, features, mashable, OpenSocial, World at Work

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Most people don’t think of the phone book as that yellow block of razor-thin sheets anymore. It’s been digitized, along with your contact information, habits, and interests. In fact, all the stuff that used to be offline — like government records, court records, product registrations, and subscriptions — has moved to the web. And we’re adding new types of information all the time. According to “Zuckerberg’s Law,” people share twice as much information as they did the year before. The result: A feeding frenzy has emerged for personal data.

There are two types of companies profiting from all the personal information online. Companies whose privacy policies you don’t read, and companies you’ve never interacted with. In the first camp are companies like OnStar, which can sell your car’s GPS data, Verizon which sells your location and browsing history, and the many U.S. states that sell their residents’ DMV records.

Then there are the data brokers, who compile detailed profiles about you from as many sources as they can. Data brokers sell these profiles to anyone who will pay, whether they’re a marketer or a creepy ex. And the problem is getting worse. Since 2005, the number of data brokers has more than doubled. That’s because it’s becoming easier to scrape, steal, and package your data.

When our telephone privacy was invaded by telemarketers, we got the Do Not Call list. When it became apparent that our online and offline privacy was being invaded by new business models, we got the proposed Privacy Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, technological innovation radically outpaces the ability of government to regulate it, and the Privacy Bill of Rights gives a free pass to data brokers and third parties to buy and sell your personal information. That leaves protecting your privacy in your hands. Here’s how to get started.

1. Cut Off Data Brokers

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse maintains a list of data brokers, and a link to their privacy policies or opt-out pages. But this list includes 147 companies. Fortunately, most of the companies listed are small, get no traffic, and are a poor outlet for your data. You’re going to first want to target the big boys which include Acxiom, BeenVerified, MyLife, Intelius, Spokeo, Rapleaf, White Pages, and PeopleSmart.

2. Ensure Data Sources Are Controlled

Social networks, however, are totally in your control and should never be a source of data leakage. Everything that you consider private (contact information, family, pictures, interests…) can become public if you’re not careful. For starters, restrict your privacy settings to the most protective possible, such as allowing only your direct friends and connections to see anything at all. Basic information, such as your name, city, and headshot can remain public, but anything beyond this should be off limits. Also:

• Don’t accept requests from people you don’t actually know. Bots masquerade as people now.
• Don’t use social logins — Facebook, Twitter — to log on to websites or apps if an email alternative exists. If a website seems suspicious and they only allow social logins, forget it.
• When your friends use social apps, said apps can access your information. This is a massive vulnerability. Restrict this access by going to Privacy Settings -> Apps, Games, Websites -> How people bring your info to apps they use. Make the proper adjustments here.

3. Contact Elected Officials

Remember, privacy is your decision. Fight for it.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ronstik

More About: contributor, features, online privacy, online security, privacy settings, trending

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