Mashable: Latest 25 News Updates - including “Happy 6th Birthday, Facebook!”

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• Happy 6th Birthday, Facebook!
• Symbian OS Goes Open Source
• Sun CEO Tweets His Resignation, Haiku Style
• Hovercards: Twitter Launches New Profile Preview Feature
• Twitter Finally Fixes Mobile OAuth [PICS]
• SAP Launches a Google Wave for the Enterprise
• Teens Just Don’t Blog or Tweet [STATS]
• Los Twitteros: Mexico Eyes Legislation to Regulate Twitter
• Why Redbox New Release DVDs May Vanish from Kiosks
• Stanford Offers Up Millions of Books in Support of Google Book Search
• Amazon Buys Touchscreen Company for Its Kindle Division [REPORT]
• Monster Acquires Yahoo HotJobs for $225 Million
• Email Marketers Want a Piece of Geolocation, Too
• 4 Essential Traits for Social Media Success in Your Career
• Haiti Benefit Songs “We Are The World” and “Everybody Hurts” Go Viral
• Textbook Publishers Embrace iPad Apps for Education
• Keep Your Online Calendar in Check With Plan.fm
• Jailed Mobster Plays Real-Life Mafia Wars on Facebook
• 11 Outstanding Online Resources for Web Developers
• Mashable’s Guide to Social Media Job Openings
• Coming Soon: Skype for iPhone Over 3G
• Most Companies Don’t Have a Social Media Policy [STUDY]
• Google Lets Kids Design Next Logo
• Facebook Trends: Goodbye Doppelganger, Hello Urban Dictionary Week
• SlideShare Launches Channels for Businesses and Brands
• A New Debate on Blog Comments is Brewing

Happy 6th Birthday, Facebook! Posted: 04 Feb 2010 03:08 AM PST According to Wikipedia and their Info page, Facebook was launched exactly six years ago, on February 4, 2004. Back then it was called “Thefacebook“, and it was originally located at thefacebook.com, but it’s definitely the same project. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, together with his college roomies Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, Facebook was originally intended to be a network only for Harvard students, but was later expanded to other universities and finally to everyone. Intelligent design, a lot of smart business decisions and gradual expansion made Facebook what it is today: by far, the biggest social network on the Internet. For a lot more on Facebook, we recommend reading our Facebook Guide Book, a collection of some of our best resources, how-tos and guides on Facebook. Tags: facebook, social media, social networking

Symbian OS Goes Open Source Posted: 04 Feb 2010 01:26 AM PST As of today, the source code of Symbian 3 mobile OS (the successor of previous Symbian versions, S60, S40 and others) is open and free to use. Nokia had acquired Symbian back in 2008, turned the consortium that makes the software into the Symbian foundation, and has now decided to make it available to all phone manufacturers. The source code is published under the Eclipse Public License (EPL). Although it’s the most popular mobile OS, powering some 330 million phones, Symbian has been in some sort of a limbo lately. On one side, it competed against the increasingly popular (and completely closed) iPhone, while many manufacturers, such as Motorola, opted to use the open source Android, which offers a much more similar experience to iPhone than most Symbian phones. Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation, claims that the new, open Symbian has an advantage over Android. Symbian is fully open, he says, while "about a third of the Android code base is open and nothing more. And what is open is a collection of middleware. Everything else is closed or proprietary." Still, one can’t help but wonder whether Symbian is a bit late to the game here. Many manufacturers have already all but ditched Windows Mobile and Symbian in favor of Android, and some of them (like Motorola with their Droid) have been quite successful with Android-based devices. Whether the new version of Symbian, together with the move to open source, will be enough to make Symbian interesting to manufacturers, remains to be seen. Tags: Mobile 2.0, Nokia, open source, Symbian

Sun CEO Tweets His Resignation, Haiku Style Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:46 AM PST We’ve seen quite a bit of resignation notes in the IT world over the years, but this one takes the cake when it comes to originality. Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, has tweeted his resignation, explaining it with a haiku poem: “Today’s my last day at Sun. I’ll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more” The reasons for Schwartz’s resignation were more or less known from before; recently, Oracle has acquired Sun, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said in an interview last week he expects Schwartz to resign. Last week, Schwartz already announced that he’s probably resigning, tweeting a link to his last blog at Sun. According to the New York Times, Schwartz was the first Fortune 200 boss to tweet his resignation. Well, why not: if you have to leave, you might as well leave in style. Tags: haiku, sun, trending, twitter

Hovercards: Twitter Launches New Profile Preview Feature Posted: 03 Feb 2010 06:34 PM PST Twitter has just introduced a new feature for its users: Hovercards, a new way to access profile information without actually visiting someone’s profile. In an announcement, Twitter Spokesperson Jenna Sampson discussed how the new feature works: “Hovercards are cards which appear when you hover over a username or avatar. The cards display additional information about the person and allow you to interact with them while staying within the context of your page.” If you hover over a person’s username in your timeline, their profile information, location, and whether you follow them will appear. You also get the options menu, which allows you to follow, block, mention, or report someone right there. The feature isn’t active for everyone yet — just like other Twitter launches, this one will be phased in over time. It also only affects users of the Twitter.com interface. Regardless though, we really like this feature. It’s quite useful. Tell us what you think (and if it’s active for you) in the comments. Tags: Hovercard, Hovercards, trending, twitter

Twitter Finally Fixes Mobile OAuth [PICS] Posted: 03 Feb 2010 06:23 PM PST Twitter mobile users and developers, rejoice: the microblogging company has finally fixed mobile OAuth. In an announcement earlier today, Twitter’s Director of Platform Ryan Sarver revealed that the team has finally fixed the rendering issue that made OAuth nearly unusable in mobile interfaces. It’s an issue I’ve discussed with Ryan all the way back to last year. In addition to the mobile interface fix, Twitter also made a few changes to OAuth. The most important of these changes is that the default action in mobile is “allow” instead of deny in iPhones. Ryan was also kind enough to post some picture showing mobile Oauth in action on Foursquare: It’s been a nagging issue that we’re glad has finally been resolved. Reviews: Foursquare, Twitter Tags: Mobile 2.0, OAuth, social media, twitter

SAP Launches a Google Wave for the Enterprise Posted: 03 Feb 2010 05:47 PM PST SAP’s newly released beta product 12Sprints — a free cutting edge collaborative decision-making tool — adds much needed structure to the idea of real-time collaboration, made popular by Google Wave, and improves upon the functionality of popular web-based team collaboration tools like Basecamp. While 12Sprints can work for teams of all sizes, the tool is designed to especially serve the needs of their Fortune 500 clients with a cloud-based system that is designed to be a results-driven workspace. The 12Sprints workflow is structured around Activities, which are like project buckets for specific decision-making processes. Participants can add tools to activities to collaborate and discuss files, make decisions, manage time, set action items, assign responsibilities, work together in real-time via word-processing and spreadsheet-like tools, group individual items into collections, and conduct sophisticated business tasks like cost/benefit analysis and SWOT analysis. Activities for Business Decision-Making If you’re familiar with Google Wave, you can think of starting an Activity as akin to starting a Wave, so you’ll want to name it, invite participants, and start adding content to it. Unlike Google Wave, 12Sprints is incredibly structured which makes it less flexible when it comes to supporting free form conversations, but more conducive to maintaining a clean workspace, collecting feedback, and coming to group decisions. There are, however, very little bounds to what can be added to an Activity, but each item is considered its own entity. The individual items/elements — regardless of type — all support comments, action items with due dates, the ability to add reference points, export/import options where appropriate, and other business appropriate features. Elements and their associated action remain open into closed or completed by a participant. Within Activities, the product currently supports all of the following elements: - Text: Adding “Text” to an activity inserts a text editor that supports group collaboration on documents. The text editor is SAP’s take on a Google Docs document and includes standard style and formatting options. - Table: A Table is like a paired down spreadsheet, and when added to an Activity, team members can collaborate in real-time. You can either start your table from scratch or import an .xls, .xlsx, or .csv file. Tables can also be exported. - Discussion: Discussions are chat-like blocks that participants can add to Activities to chat back and forth with team members. Since multiple Discussions can be added to an Activity, they can be used to centralize discussions around a particular topic. - Collections: Collections offer users a way to group content, so any of the tools you’ve added to your Activity can be grouped in a Collection. Participants can also add files from computer or notes from an Evernote notebook to a Collection. - WebEx Meeting: Should a participant want to add a particular WebEx meeting to an Activity, this option supports that. - Tools: In addition to the above options, users can optionally add tools from the Tools Catalog to Activities. Choices include tools designed to streamline coordinating team members, analyzing data, and making decision. The collection is quite impressive with tools supporting sophisticated processes as is, but anyone can create an Open Social compatible tool of their own for integration with 12Sprints via their APIs. - Files: Users can either upload files from their computer or pull in notes from their Evernote account. If the Scribd extension is activated, files will be uploaded in an iPaper-format so participants can view the document in question in-line (ie. no need to download to view). A Social Extension for Business Systems Even though it’s not immediately apparent in the product right now, 12Sprints was designed to extend the purpose and functionality of other commonly used work-related tools and systems like email, IM, Sharepoint, and even Google Wave. Currently this can best be seen with the Evernote integration, which creates an extra layer of group collaboration around imported Evernote notes, a functionality that Evernote doesn’t support. Eventually you should be able to pull in Activity content from a host of third-party applications and even comment on and engage with 12Sprints Activities and action items from those applications as well. Ultimately the idea of 12Sprints is add structure around conversation, serve as a social utility to help teams come to a decision, and maintain a record of what’s happening across different mediums. Of course as a beta product 12Sprints — just like Google Wave — has its own shortcomings. Personally I find the communication options to be rather limited. While the Discussions option is great for a structured and open group chat, it’s almost too structured to be appropriate for general team member chat and doesn’t allow for privacy options. Plus, it’s impossible to message an individual participant, except via email. There’s also no way to publicly share Activities or any of the elements included, at least for the time being (that feature is said to be in the works). As it stands, 12Sprints pushes the notion of team collaboration in exciting new directions and we’re differently interested to see how the product evolves over time. Additional Screenshots Reviews: Evernote, Google Docs, Google Wave Tags: 12Sprints, Google Wave, real-time, SAP, team collaboration

Teens Just Don’t Blog or Tweet [STATS] Posted: 03 Feb 2010 05:09 PM PST A new study published today by Pew Internet finds that teens and young adults are blogging less and using social networking sites more, with the prominent exception of Twitter. Pew’s Report surveyed 2,253 American adults and 800 U.S. teens to get a reading of how they use the internet, which gadgets they own, and which social media tools they use the most. Some of the data will surprise you. The Internet’s Everywhere Here’s a no-brainer: young adults use the web far more than older adults. In its study, Pew found that 93% of teens and young adults go online, compared to only 38% of adults over 65 years of age. It surprises us that 7% of 12-29 year olds still don’t browse the web, but some just don’t have or can afford access. Among those teens going online, 63% say they go online at least once a day, with older teens more likely to go online than younger teens. Most are connecting with high-speed connections as well. 76% of families with teenage children have broadband connections, while 10% still use dial-up, 8% have no computer, and 4% have a computer but no Internet access. For comparison, 49% of families used dial-up in 2004. The Internet’s getting faster and more accessible. As computer prices drop and Internet access becomes more readily available, we should see these Internet usage numbers continue to rise. The Laptop Is More Popular than the Desktop In terms of gadgets, more teenagers have cell phones (76%) than a computer (69%). More than half of 12 year olds own a mobile phone, while a rather impressive 83% of teenagers carry a cell phone in their pockets. That number only rises with age — a full 93% of 18-29 year olds own a cell phone. The mobile trend even continues into the computing realm: laptops have overtaken the desktop for those under 30. 66% of adults 18-29 own a laptop, while 53% own a desktop. Other interesting trends: males are more likely to own a cell phone, income dramatically affects computer ownership but not cell phone ownership, and race is a non-factor when it comes to the percentage of adults using cell phones. Teens Just Don’t Blog. Or Tweet. As you might have guessed, Pew found that teens are avid social networkers: 73% of 12-17 year olds, in fact. They are posting pictures, commenting on status updates, and sending IMs. What they aren’t doing much of, though, is blogging and tweeting. Pew’s study finds that blogging has dramatically decreased in popularity with the younger crowed since 2006, where 28% of teens reported that they were bloggers. Now that number has dropped to just 14%. Interestingly enough, lower income households (under $50,000) report more blogging than higher income ones. With Facebook, Twitter, and other social tools to keep your friends updated about your life, blogging just isn’t as necessary. Perhaps we shouldn’t include Twitter in that list of social media tools teens use, though. As we’ve reported on multiple occasions, teens don’t tweet, and Pew’s numbers don’t disagree with that assertion: Yes, only 8% of teens use Twitter, remarkably small when compared to most social networks. Only one in ten high schoolers use Twitter. Among this small group though, the girls are more likely to be microblogging: 13% of 14-17 year old girls reported using the service. Conclusions: Teens Aren’t Heavy Content Creators First, it’s important to note that most of this data was taken from September 2009. A lot changes in social media in a five month period. With that said though, the trends seem clear: teens love to be online, but they’re not terribly interested in writing blog posts or maintaining a stream of tweets. Creating content takes time and energy that they’d rather exert on Facebook, texting, YouTube, or other online activities. And of course, they have school and friends. Let’s face it: teenagers haven’t had the time to build up expertise, life experiences, or a career that would merit content creation. Without that expertise, less people are inclined to listen to what they have to say, and without that knowledge, teenagers have less to talk about. As my colleague Barb Dybwad also brings up, a teenager’s social circle is far smaller and more closely defined than an adult’s network. Perhaps this is why more closed networks like Facebook are more appealing to teenagers than Twitter, which is a completely public experience. Blogging was a more intimate experience a few years back, which could also explain why more teens have abandoned personal blogs over the last few years. Combined, it means that Twitter just might not be for the average teenager. Let us know what you think in the comments. Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Tags: blogging, internet, Pew, stats, study, teens, twitter

Los Twitteros: Mexico Eyes Legislation to Regulate Twitter Posted: 03 Feb 2010 03:56 PM PST Politicians in Mexico are reportedly drafting a bill to regulate Twitter and other social networks to curb crime in the country, according to Seattle PI. Just like we’ve seen here in the States, citizens in Mexico are apparently using Twitter to evade police checkpoints that test for sobriety in Mexico City. The Global Post reports there is also a fear that drug cartels are using social networking tools to communicate, distribute wares, and evade law enforcement. Those using social networking for nefarious purposes even have a new nickname: Los Twitteros. Federal lawmakers are currently working on specific legislation to address and punish Twitteros who either break the law directly or enable others to do so. “We have to regulate these websites to make sure there aren't people breaking the law, making death threats or committing crimes via electronic means,” said federal representative Nazario Norberto. The bill contains a tentative provision to establish a sort of “cybernetic police force” that would help monitor social networking sites for criminal activity. The proposed bill is already drawing criticism from civil liberties groups and ridicule from the general population. Where do you think governments should draw the line between protecting civil liberties and improving public safety? [img credit: Seattle PI] Tags: crime, drunk driving, law, legal, legislation, mexico, police, trending, twitter, twitteros

Why Redbox New Release DVDs May Vanish from Kiosks Posted: 03 Feb 2010 02:57 PM PST On Monday, February 1, 2010, Walmart put into effect a DVD purchase cap on new releases, limiting customers to no more than 5 DVD new release purchases at a time. It’s a decision that could make it impossible for Redbox — the enemy of the entertainment industry — to keep their kiosks stocked with new releases. Walmart’s newly enforced restrictions are similar to those that Target began to enforce back in December 2009. Both companies assert that the rules are meant to be consumer-friendly, ensuring that more customers have access to new releases, but it is widely accepted that these decisions were motivated by studio pressure and designed to thwart RedBox’s ability to stock new releases in their 19,000 plus kiosks. The Trouble with New Release Rentals As DVD sales of new releases plummet, studios have made efforts to turn things around. The idea that seems to have the most traction right now is to create an extended delay between the date a new release becomes available for purchase and the date that consumers can rent the same title. Given that the success of low cost rental services like Netflix and Redbox is contingent upon having vast quantities of titles to deliver to customers, studios are seeking to sell DVDs to these retailers at lower prices in exchange for the services delaying new release rentals by around 30 days. Netflix ultimately took the bait and signed an agreement with Warner Bros. Now Netflix customers will have to wait 28 days to rent newly released Warner Bros. flicks. The suggested payoff for customers is that once the titles become available, they will have access to more copies and are less likely to encounter unavailable titles. Netflix benefits by being able to buy movies in bulk from the studio at substantially lower prices. With the Warner Bros. deal in place, expectations are that other studios will follow suit and structure a similar relationship with Netflix. Redbox, however, has shown no signs of responding to pressure from movie studios. They have filed lawsuits against Warner Home Video, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Twentieth Century Fox with the goal of forcing the studios to sell them new releases on the day they become available. Will Redbox Concede? In a BusinessWeek article, Adams Media Research President Tom Adams estimates that Redbox gets about 40% of new release DVDs from retailers like Walmart and Target. Clearly the newly enforced limitations will make it much more for difficult for Redbox to supply their ubiquitous kiosks with new releases. The relationship between Redbox and studios is tenuous at best, but it appears that they’re being backed in to a corner that might force them to concede to the demands of studios. In an email communication, Redbox’s Director of Public Relations Marci Maul tells us that the company is “closely monitoring this situation as these limits were just recently put into practice.” While that tidbit of information doesn’t tell us too much about their strategy moving forward, we have to presume that the company will continue to do everything in its power to secure new releases. Some reports estimate that 100% of Redbox’s business is dependent on new releases. A 28 day new release delay could put a significant dent in their sales, which means we foresee the fight forging on. On the flip side, NCR — which operates Blockbuster Express kiosks — is said to be negotiating with studios and could have deals in place later this year. Alex Camera with NCR told BusinessWeek, “We have the same challenges in securing DVDs … We are working closely with the studios to find a solution. My intention is to have agreements by spring [or] early summer.” [Img credit: Eddie Does Japan] Tags: DVDs, entertainment, Film, movie rentals, netflix, redbox

Stanford Offers Up Millions of Books in Support of Google Book Search Posted: 03 Feb 2010 02:14 PM PST Today, Stanford University threw its hat into the ring for Google by expanding an earlier agreement with the search giant and agreeing to digitize the University’s library. The move comes amidst legal controversy over the Google Book Search engine. As you may know, Google Book Search is currently embroiled in a mess of legal issues that arose a few years back when book authors, book publishers, the Author’s Guild and the Association of American publishers filed a pair of class-action lawsuits claiming that the service encroached on their intellectual property. An agreement was reached in 2008 that comprised these five major points explicating what search should include: - More access to out-of-print and hard to find books. - Additional ways to purchase copyrighted books and materials. - A means for educational institutions such as colleges and universities to subscribe to entire collections. - Free access from US libraries. - Compensation and control for authors and publishers. However, back in August 2009, the issue arose again when Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo and multiple library associations joined forces with the non-profit Internet Archive to challenge the Google settlement and push for revisions. A Settlement in Limbo According to the Wall Street Journal, Google revised the settlement in November — adding more pricing options and expounding on potential services. A Google spokesperson told the WSJ, "[The settlement] stands to unlock access to millions of books in the U.S. while giving authors and publishers new ways to distribute their work." Still, folks remained unsatisfied, and were given the chance to file objections to the document directly to the U.S. District Court of the Southern District Court at the end of last year. The Court has set a fairness hearing for February 18. Therefore, Stanford’s decision, which makes it a Fully Participating Library according to the University’s website, is a move that shows solidarity with Google on the college’s part. Close to two million of Stanford’s books have already been scanned, and now even more volumes — including those that are rare and hard to find — will be available to the world at large. University Librarian Michael A. Keller said of the settlement: “It creates a working partnership among authors, publishers, libraries and Google that will usher in a revolutionary change in access to books on library shelves, even beyond the incredibly powerful vision that Google Books first developed. It's no longer just about finding books of potential interest; it makes them vastly more readily readable. The agreement also compensates authors and publishers for the use of works that, by virtue of being out of print, would not have earned the rightsholders any income – a novel and, for most authors, a most welcome innovation.” [img credit: timetrax23] Reviews: Google Tags: books, business, Google, money, Stanford

Amazon Buys Touchscreen Company for Its Kindle Division [REPORT] Posted: 03 Feb 2010 01:44 PM PST An alleged insider told The New York Times today that Amazon has just bought a startup specializing in touchscreens, and that Amazon will merge the company and its technology into its own Kindle division. If this little rumor turns out to be true, then Amazon is probably preparing a response to the Apple iPad that was launched last week. The iPad doesn’t add a whole lot of functionality that you don’t get on a smartphone or a laptop, but the thing it does add is the iBooks application, which competes directly with Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader by way of deals with publishers Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillian and Hachette. The startup — it’s called Touchco — specializes in resistive touchscreen displays that display full color; they’re not as precise and elegant as the capacitive tech used by the iPad, but they’re much cheaper. Amazon will probably try to keep it’s significant price advantage if it moves ahead with a touchscreen Kindle. Touchco has a website, but right now that website reads only: “Thank you for your interest in Touchco. As of January 2010, the company is no longer doing business.” Tags: amazon, Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, gadgets, Kindle, startups, touchco

Monster Acquires Yahoo HotJobs for $225 Million Posted: 03 Feb 2010 01:32 PM PST Monster, best known for its online employment website, has just announced that it has acquired Yahoo HotJobs from the Internet giant for $225 million in cash. Yahoo and Monster have also entered a 3 year traffic deal as part of the acquisition. Yahoo’s HotJobs service works as you might expect any job website to function. However, the power of the Yahoo brand and some useful job hunting tools have made it one of the world’s largest job recruiting websites. Monster, while larger, stands to benefit in terms of traffic and new users. The deal gives Monster control over the assets behind Yahoo HotJobs, along with a three year deal that makes Monster the official tool for career and job content on Yahoo, including on its highly-trafficked home page. Monster will provide “performance based annual payments calculated by clicks and expressions of interest, subject to annual floors and ceilings” in return for the traffic Yahoo will provide. Yahoo’s been selling some of its less strategic assets lately. Less than a month ago, Yahoo sold Zimbra to VMWare, but still gets to keep some of the Zimbra technology on its products. [Source: BusinessWire] Reviews: Zimbra Tags: jobs, monster, trending, Yahoo, Yahoo HotJobs

Email Marketers Want a Piece of Geolocation, Too Posted: 03 Feb 2010 01:09 PM PST Well before the end of 2009, it was clear that geolocation would be one of the biggest web trends in 2010. From social services like Foursquare to location-specific trends in Twitter, location is one of the hottest new features for users, businesses and especially advertisers. While we expect the biggest push in geolocation will continue to be its integration with social services, even e-mail marketers like MailChimp are catching the geolocation bug. Advertising has the most chance of succeeding if it is targeted, not just by demographic and interests, but location. Thanks to GPS, skyrocketing smartphone adoption and more and more geo-aware services, it’s easier than ever to get information about where someone is at any specific moment. The real-time nature of geolocation is giving advertisers exciting new opportunities — think about the potential of letting nearby users know that you’re having a sale or the ability to offer Facebook fans offers that are specific to their location. Location has interesting potential for other forms of communication as well. MailChimp’s goal is to let small and large businesses easily send e-mail to customers or potential clients. That’s great because it lets businesses reach lots of people at once when announcing a new product or promotion. Unless unless you specifically collate the data yourself, that database of e-mail addresses still lacks context. If you’re a business that has a local location but also ships worldwide, you don’t want to sent a campaign about a sale in your brick and mortar store to someone who lives 3000 miles away, but segmenting users by location hasn’t been an easy task unless you ask customers for an address when they sign up for a newsletter. Now MailChimp is introducing location-based targeting for its users that will determine location based on IP address, negating the need for address or location fields. How it Works In MailChimps’s case, they are tracking location based on IP address. When a customer (who has double-opted in to a subscription) clicks on a link in a newsletter sent by MailChimp, MailChimp can grab their IP address and then determine its location. IP addresses aren’t 100% accurate, but they are usually indicative of about 150 miles or so. MailChimp will keep a database of locations that a customer uses when interacting with your mail and will average that to give you a general location idea. MailChimp customers can then enter in an address or zip code and compare it against a subscriber list within a radius of 50, 100 or 150 miles. The limitations on specificity are important to note if you are wanting to send a truly localized campaign. Indicative of the Future While MailChimp’s implementation, by the nature of how it works, isn’t going to be as specific or accurate as relatime data that marketers could grab from Facebook or Foursquare, it does open up other avenues for effective targeted campaigns. Geolocation, whether it’s in a mobile app or an e-mail service, is becoming a bigger and for effective part of how advertisers reach consumers. What do you think about how location is changing advertising? Would you use this type of information in your campaigns? Let us know in the comments! Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare Tags: email, geolocation, lbs, location, mailchimp

4 Essential Traits for Social Media Success in Your Career Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:50 PM PST Amybeth Hale is a Talent Attraction Manager with AT&T's Interactive Staffing team. She uses social technology to help drive awareness of job opportunities as well as interact with candidates. Connect with her on Twitter at @researchgoddess. Want to know what it takes to start, and develop, a successful career path in the realm of social media? I recently had the pleasure of talking with 17 bright, enthusiastic professionals who are on the rise in their respective careers about some of the things they have learned and are continuing to learn along the way about using social media in their daily work, and where they see things heading. These people were recommended to me by some of the most well-known players in social media today, and after comparing notes on the conversations I had, I concluded that there are four main areas that these 17 people have in common: they all know how to and appreciate the value in building authentic relationships, they are all digital trendsetters within their communities, they are all risk-takers, and they all know the extreme importance of giving back. These four items, I believe, have significantly contributed to their rising popularity as well as the increase in respect that they receive from their managers, peers, and colleagues. A Few Things That Don’t Matter In addition to identifying key traits among these successful social media stars, I also discovered a handful of things that are not indicative being successful with social media. - There is no specific age or generation bias. The people I spoke to range in age from mid-20s to mid-40s; years of experience range from a few years to a couple decades. - Education doesn't matter. Some have post-graduate degrees, some have Bachelors degrees, and some were educated through the school of life. - Type of employment situation doesn't matter. Some are self-employed, some work for small companies, and some work for large international corporations. In other words, traditional traits of success don’t necessarily apply to those working in social media, who instead tend to create opportunities for success through their actions. 1. Develop Authentic Relationships Developing authentic relationships with or as a mentor is a great starting point for kicking your career into high gear. For example, when the three women behind MamaLaw.com reached out to Elisa Camahort of BlogHer asking for assistance in organizing a first-of-its kind event called Blogalicious (created "to ignite a sense of unity within our community [women of color] as well as to educate marketers on the importance of our demographic in today's marketplace"), they established an authentic relationship with Elisa because she saw her own desires reflected in what they were looking to accomplish. As well, Keith Burtis, who was recommended to me by Chris Brogan, believes he was recommended as a result of years of developing a professional friendship and partnership with Chris in several business endeavors. Initiating the outreach for these relationships was also a common occurrence amongst those with whom I spoke. When Amanda Mooney, now a Sr. Social Media Strategist with Edelman, attended a presentation by Richard Edelman at a PRSSA conference, she decided to contact him via email beforehand. He responded and remained in contact throughout her time in college, and has continued to be supportive as her career progresses. Continued learning is also a great way to nurture relationships with your colleagues. Those I spoke to all cited a strong desire to learn from their peers. Dan Honigman, Digital Supervisor with Weber Shandwick, took a special interest in learning from the corporate culture created at Zappos as well as how they keep customers coming back again and again. Jennifer Leggio, a blogger at ZDNet, invited every security person she met at the Source Conference to join Twitter, and then created a categorized list on her blog so that they could all learn from each other. Kaitlyn Wilkins, VP of Digital Strategy with Ogilvy's 360 Digital Influence Group, has sat at the feet of Managing Director John Bell to learn and grow, citing that he has been an incredible mentor for her during her time there. The bottom line is that creating authentic relationships with peers is smart networking, and that works in the world of social media just as it does in the offline world. 2. Be a Digital Trendsetter Being up-to-date with, and oftentimes ahead of, digital trends is also an important trait to possess in order to be successful in the social media world. For example, Dave Knox, Brand Manager, Digital Innovation with Procter & Gamble, was an integral part of P&G's Hack Night, a gathering of some of the brightest minds in the digital space in early 2009 in an effort to educate the P&G senior marketers. Placing himself ahead of the curve positioned Knox for success in helping to lead P&G’s social media efforts. Kipp Bodnar, Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard, Merrell & Partners, indicated that he believes there is tremendous opportunity for location-based social media applications in the near future. That's why he is working with one of his B2B clients on a mobile campaign to raise consumer crossover awareness. So does Venessa Miemis: she hinted that we should be watching companies that enhance the mobile experience, citing products such as Layar, an augmented reality browser, as an example. Being ahead of the adoption curve will allow those people to position themselves as thought-leaders once the next wave of popular social media applications reach a mainstream audience. And Jessica Randazza, a Senior Associate with Digitas, realizes that as brands become more entrenched in social media, there will be a need to silo things out and focus on creating more genuine content as consumers become more savvy, and jaded, to marketing outreach via social media. In her words, "Less brands, more brand ambassadors." 3. Take Risks Speaking of Jessica, she just recently moved across the country, relocating from Seattle to New York City for her new position at Digitas. This brings up trait number three which is being willing to take risks. With no risk, there is no reward. Just ask Laura Roeder, Principal of Roeder Studios, who set out on her own a few years ago in an effort to move beyond the echo chamber of social media professionals preaching just to each other. She says, "We need to be brave, get out of our comfort zones, and go to places where people may be skeptical of social media, and of us. We need to evangelize." Kneale Mann, also self-employed, says that he "sees opportunities" so he can "seize opportunities." (He admitted that this was cheesy, but it's true!) Kneale came from a more traditional media background – radio/TV/print – and took a risk that has turned out to be quite fruitful when he crossed over and found new avenues and channels to pursue through social media. 4. Give Back Finally, it is key to remember where you've come from and to constantly give back – or in some cases, to pay it forward. Ernst & Young's Director of Social Media, Ken Burbary, specifically used the phrase "pay it forward" when he talked about how he communicates with and promotes other data and analytics social media professionals. He says this was one of the things that has helped him to catch the attention of his peers. Len Kendall, Digital Account Supervisor with GolinHarris, along with his colleague Dan Honigman, started the3six5 Project in which they will put up a blog post by a different author every day of 2010. The idea was born out of the concept of lifestreaming and the goal is to introduce and give a voice to lots of different people, from many different places, using social media. Another example comes from Sarah Evans, President at Sevans Strategy, whose business is almost entirely built around working with non-profits and 'social good' companies. She shared a story about the Crisis Overnight campaign she helped to run which raised $160,000 via social media channels to help a local community crisis center keep its doors open. Conclusion Are these the only traits that must be possessed in order to rise up in the social media world? Absolutely not – but the fact that almost every one of the 17 people with whom I spoke shared each of these four things in common speaks loudly to their importance. Learn from those who are on the fast-track to success in their careers and you'll find your own success in your social media career: develop genuine relationships with your peers and mentors, be ahead of the digital curve in your business, don't be averse to taking some risks in your career, and always be willing to pay it forward and help those coming on behind you. What other traits have you found helpful in advancing your own career? Let us know in the comments. Images courtesy of iStockphoto, shapecharge, inkastudio, kaczka Reviews: Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: List, Lists, social media, success, traits

Haiti Benefit Songs “We Are The World” and “Everybody Hurts” Go Viral Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:29 PM PST Famed producer and soon-to-be-former American Idol judge Simon Cowell brought together 21 noted musical artists to record a rendition of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.” Both it and a benefit cover “We Are the World” with 80 artists are making a big splash on the web. Relief efforts in Haiti have already seen huge influxes of aid from sources connected with social media and technology. First the text message donation campaign and online donation push spread rapidly with the help of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Then the star-studded Hope For Haiti benefit concert was broadcasted online in addition to the TV broadcasts, raising even more money as a resut. Now social media users are turning up the buzz around these two singles, likely boosting sales in the process. Music retailer HMV says pre-orders for “Everybody Hurts” are through the roof. HMV’s rep was quoted in The Inquisitr saying “It is well on course to become a million seller, easily the biggest single for a decade.” Revenue from those big sales will go to Haiti relief. The artists on that one include Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Susan Boyle, Rod Stewart, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, and Leoni Lewis. R.E.M. has relinquished all royalty rights for the song, so they won’t be taking a penny. The other single — “We Are The World” — is produced by Quincy Jones, who also produced the original 1985 song featuring Michael Jackson. It has contributions from Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Pink, Jamie Foxx, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J, Barbra Streisand, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West, Akon, Jeff Bridges, Usher, Jason Mraz, Brian Wilson, Brandy, Lil Wayne, Josh Groban, and numerous others. Vince Vaughn is even part of the chorus. An ABC news video on the “We Are The World” recording is making the rounds on social media channels. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process, with brief clips from the song. Celebrities tweeted about the recording, including socialite Nicole Richie; she tweeted a claim that she outsang Jennifer Hudson. Watch the ABC News clip below if you’re interested. Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, akon, lil wayne, michael jackson Tags: celebrities, celine dion, haiti, jon bon jovi, kanye west, kylie minogue, leona lewis, lil wayne, mariah carey, michael jackson, miley cyrus, music, pink, R.E.M., robbie williams, rod stewart, simon cowell, susan boyle

Textbook Publishers Embrace iPad Apps for Education Posted: 03 Feb 2010 11:49 AM PST Textbook publishers have already enlisted the third-party services of developers to build adaptations of textbooks for the iPad, the Wall Street Journal reports. McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Pearson and Kaplan have struck deals with iPhone and iPod touch developers ScrollMotion Inc. to build applications for the iPad that bring test preparation, study guides and new types of instructional materials to the classroom. Among the many industries potentially revolutionized by the Apple iPad, the publishing industry has been one of the early front-runners. We’re already seeing that start to play out in the e-books market with the Amazon and Macmillan dispute. But galvanizing publishers to re-envision textbooks for new interactive devices could have a huge impact not only on Apple’s bottom line, but on education as a whole. “People have been talking about the impact of technology on education for 25 years. It feels like it is really going to happen in 2010,” said executive Rik Kranenburg of McGraw-Hill’s higher education unit. Despite Apple’s relative lack of commentary on the iPad’s potential for the educational sector during its iPad announcement last week, it appears that textbook publishers aren’t waiting to be invited. Still, it’s yet unclear how or even if the iPad or other upcoming tablet devices will achieve wide adoption in the classroom, considering the cost of employing new technologies and the competition with other portable computing tools, particularly netbooks. But no matter what device ecosystem ends up holding sway, it’s potentially great news to students who stand to benefit from an emerging renaissance in digital learning materials. As a student, teacher or parent, what new kinds of teaching materials would you like to see in the classroom? Tags: apple, education, ipad, scrollmotion, textbooks

Keep Your Online Calendar in Check With Plan.fm Posted: 03 Feb 2010 11:10 AM PST This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Name: Plan.fm Quick Pitch: Plan.fm collects the plans you make on other services and organizes them into a single source that you and your friends can access from anywhere. Genius Idea: By collecting notifications and invites from multiple sources, Plan.fm has the makings of a very convenient service for people who have a hard time managing their various social calendars. One of the best things about the social web is that it’s now incredibly easy to find out about events or parties and RSVP quickly. One of the worst things about the social web is that if you’re not careful, you can wind up with a million different calendars that don’t talk to one another. CalDAV is great, but not every service utilizes it, which makes it hard to reliably attach that data to iCal or Google Calendar. That’s why the idea of Plan.fm is so appealing. If all your events could be aggregated in one place, it would be much easier than trying to figure out the export or subscribe options with each service. Right now Plan.fm supports Facebook, Meetup, Eventbrite and Twitter, plus iCal subscriptions URLs. Facebook, Meetup and Eventbrite all have their own calendar systems, but what about Twitter? How does that work? You can make plans with Twitter by using the #plan hashtag, and you have the option of tweeting when you make or join other plans on Twitter. Facebook is probably the best example of how convenient Plan.fm can be. When you allow it to access your Facebook account, all of your invitations and Facebook events come into your Dashboard. You can easily view what’s going on, make comments and respond to requests. It’s very streamlined and the data is displayed alongside all of your other events. Plan.fm is still very much in its early stages, but the idea shows lots of promise. However, there are some bugs that do need to be worked out. While the service let me add an iCal feed to my dashboard, it didn’t actually read any of that data, even though it recognized the title and the URL went directly to that calendar. Removing services from your dashboard (once I figured out how) also currently doesn’t work — although I’m sure that will be fixed soon. What I’d like to see for Plan.fm would be integration with more services — LinkedIn and Upcoming, for instance — and either an export or CalDAV subscription option. I don’t mind going to a website to view all of my online social events, but if I’m on my phone, I’d rather have the option to sync to a calendar so that I can set alarms and e-mail reminders. A good export option is essential to any scheduling tool, at least for me. Still, in these early stages, I like where Plan.fm is going. How do you manage your social graph calendar? Let us know! Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark BizSpark is 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. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines)." Reviews: Facebook, LinkedIn, PHP, Twitter Tags: caldav, calendars, plan.fm

Jailed Mobster Plays Real-Life Mafia Wars on Facebook Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:29 AM PST UK mob boss Colin Gunn has been playing a very real game of Mafia Wars from his jail cell in a maximum-security prison. According to Times Online, Gunn was incarcerated after he ordered executions during his tenure as a mob boss in a criminal empire so dangerous it helped earn Nottingham the nickname “Assassination City.” He says that the folks overseeing the prison allowed him to set up a Facebook account after he claimed it was a basic right. The prison denies this. Either way, he has since used the account to threaten enemies. For example, he posted a status update promising that he would soon return to the streets: “Some of you will be in for a good slagging, some have let me down badly, and will be named and shamed, f****** rats.” It’s not known whether or not he used private messages or other tools to contact people in his crime ring. Once the media caught on to what Gunn was doing, authorities killed his Facebook page. Facebook and crime seem to be strange but consistent bedfellows. A few months ago a 19-year-old diamond thief was caught because he checked his account at the victims’ home and forgot to log out. And last month an escaped convict mocked police officers with status updates, clues and photos using Facebook. Reviews: Facebook Tags: facebook, legal, Political

11 Outstanding Online Resources for Web Developers Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:36 AM PST This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here. If you’re a web developer, you’re almost certainly constantly looking for ways to improve your skills, expand your technology arsenal, and keep on top of the latest trends in development and design. Whether you need to pick up a new coding language, get informed about new standards, brush up on best practices, or simply get inspired by great examples from your peers, we’ve collated a number of great resources to help you stay at the top of your game. Have a look at some of the online repositories for great development information and inspiration below, and be sure to tell us about any other trusted sources we haven’t included in the list that other developers should check out. 1. W3 Schools Featuring one of the largest collections of tutorials and reference articles for web developers on the internet, W3 Schools offers a huge assortment of learning and training resources on just about every relevant language and web service in use on the web today. You’ll find content tailored towards the full range from beginner to expert developer along with code examples, quizzes, tutorials, and reference guides in a relatively clean and well-organized site complete with a well-trafficked forum community. 2. A List Apart Taking a holistic approach to the subject of web development, A List Apart is “for people who make websites” including designers, developers, and online content creators of all stripes. From its origins as a mailing list in 1997, to its official launch as a website the following year, and on into today’s ALA 4.0 incarnation, A List Apart has consistently produced and curated top notch content at the intersection between design and development for the web. 3. Webmonkey Now a property of Wired Digital, Webmonkey has been a resource to developers on the web with a long and storied history stretching back to 1996. Having been brought back to life twice during that time, Webmonkey now operates as a wiki, featuring contributions from the developer community to an extensive code library, reference section, and tutorial clearinghouse. 4. Dev Shed Combining extensive coding tutorials with an active forum community, Dev Shed is one of a family of interconnected sites offering free guides and instructional material to web developers. From language tutorials to webmaster tools to example scripts, the Dev Shed collection has something for webdevs at various skill levels and technology needs. 5. Smashing Magazine Aimed at both web designers and developers, Smashing Magazine is a frequently updated and independent web publication serving up quality information and community discussion surrounding best practices and techniques on the web. Though the heavier emphasis is on design, the articles, resources, and tools address dynamic HTML technologies, WordPress template coding, and development software as well. 6. Developer Tutorials Dedicated to “helping ordinary people create extraordinary websites,” Developer Tutorials has offerings for major languages and multimedia production software. In addition to free scripts and extensive developer manuals, the site also has sections for finding reputable online services for common development needs, and to help with projects where you may need to outsource certain components. 7. Ajaxian A great resource for folks building dynamic web content, Ajaxian is a long-running blog featuring news, editorials, podcasts, resource links, code examples, and more. Less a repository of tutorials and more a timely resource for news and developments of interest to dynamic web builders, Ajaxian also features an active community of readers and commenters in addition to its experienced staff of writers and practitioners. 8. DZone The simplest analogy is to think of DZone as Digg for developers. The link-sharing community surfaces great resources of interest to webdevs as well as providing free reference cheatsheets, white papers, and original editorial articles as well. 9. IBM developerWorks A clearinghouse for tutorials and articles on a wide range of development topics, IBM’s developerWorks explores dynamic web content technologies as well as related fields including systems administration and open source applications. Various learning resources and downloads are offered surrounding a wide variety of web projects from PHP and DHTML to wikis and web service mashups. 10. Sitepoint Having waxed and waned in popularity over the years, Sitepoint has survived the changing tastes and standards on the web to currently bring fresh perspectives and information for both developers and designers. Instructional videos are available in both free and paid series flavors, a well-organized reference section covers CSS, HTML and Javascript, and an active forum community round out this resource for webdevs. 11. O’Reilly Best known for its extensive book series covering a wide variety of technical topics, O’Reilly’s online site is also home to a number of web resources both free and paid of interest to web developers. An Answers platform provides a community knowledge base, original blog and video content provide news and commentary, and the Safari Books Online service gives access to thousands of technology reference books from major publishers for a monthly subscription fee. Series supported by Rackspace Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why. More web developer resources from Mashable: - 7 Useful Tools for Web Development Testing - A Guide to Mobile Web Design Tips and Tricks - An Inside Look at 4 Developer Ecosystems - 20 Developers to Follow on Twitter - Top 18 Social Media Resources for Developers Image courtesy of iStockphoto, a_Taiga Reviews: Digg, PHP, WordPress, iStockphoto Tags: developer, Lists, web developer, Web Development, web development series

Mashable’s Guide to Social Media Job Openings Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:34 AM PST If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter. But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable's job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards: Mashable Job Board Listings Senior Manager: Communications at MySpace in San Francisco, CA. MySpace is looking for an experienced and energetic new addition to our growing in-house team of communications professionals Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Editor at Yahoo! in Santa Monica, CA. Yahoo! News is seeking a social media editor to help manage and grow Yahoo! News' social media efforts and support the director of social media. Read more about this opportunity here. Senior User Interface Developer at Tagged in San Francisco, CA. Do you believe that JavaScript actually requires engineering and computer science techniques, rather than just hacking? Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Product Manager at Tagged in San Francisco, CA. Our goal here at Tagged: to fulfill the original promise of the Internet by making the world a smaller and more connected place. Read more about this opportunity here. Sports Marketing Intern at Sports Marketing Worldwide at your college campus. Are you an online sports nut who has a keen understanding of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter? Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Social Media Manager at CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, RI. The Senior Social Media Manager is directly responsible for the strategic planning, buying, and analysis of all digital media programs to attain company objectives and drive profitable sales growth. Read more about this opportunity here. Assistant Content Manager at BFG Communications in Bluffton, SC. Where some merely dabble in social media, you are immersed in it, super-connected and show creativity along the way. Read more about this opportunity here. Investigative Reporter at Mashable in San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Mashable, the top social media blog, is seeking a seasoned investigative reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area to research and report on news items. Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Editor at Mashable on the West Coast. Mashable, the top social media blog, is seeking a talented and experienced editor based on the West Coast with a professional journalism background and at least 3 years writing and/or editing at an established news organization. Read more about this opportunity here. Editorial Assistant at Mashable in New York, NY. Mashable, the top social media blog, is seeking a talented and experienced editorial assistant eager to gain exposure to the online media space, with the desire to build a career as an online editor. Read more about this opportunity here. Technical Project Manager and System Architect at Traverse Technologies in Boston, MA. This is primarily a technical project management position to lead 2 related SBIRs that are building distributed information management and collaboration tools for the Air Force. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas, NV. The Web Developer’s role is to build the operations end of the organization’s Web sites and keep them running smoothly. Read more about this opportunity here. Assistant Director New Media Communications at First Focus in Washington DC. Assitant Director, New Media Communications will identify, develop, and maintain meaningful relationships with various online communities, including social media sites, blogs, online reporters, and producers. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at Zonline Sports in Palo Alto, CA. SkiClubZ.com, is looking for a developer with experience creating and maintaining scalable, dynamic Web sites. Read more about this opportunity here. Online Engagement Manager at Hostelling International USA in Silver Spring, MD. HI-USA is looking for a tech-savvy Online Engagement Manager to activate our online presence. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Manager at Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Jekyll Island, GA. Daily contact, response, posting, monitoring and changing on all social media outlets. Read more about this opportunity here. UI Designer at Mochi Media in San Francisco, CA. Mochi Media, Inc. is looking for a User Interface Designer to work on our online applications targeted to Flash game developers and players. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at Singleplatform in New York, NY. Tech start up is currently looking for an in house Web Developer to be their go-to programming expert. Read more about this opportunity here. Online Editor at Environmental Defense Fund in Washington DC. We are looking for an Online Editor to keep our work powerfully presented and in line with the best practices for Web writing. Read more about this opportunity here. Integrated Art Director at Ignited LLC in El Segundo, CA. One role is concepting with a copywriter to create fresh solutions to clients' business challenges (a.k.a. advertising) Read more about this opportunity here. Web Analyst at Ignited LLC in El Segundo, CA. Ignited is looking for a Web Analyst who will thrive in an environment that fosters critical thinking, creativity, innovation and collaboration. Read more about this opportunity here. Public Relations Manager at 360i in New York, NY. The Public Relations Manager will have 5-7 years of B2B public relations experience with a proven track record for building long term, trusted media relationships that result in editorial coverage and promote thought leadership for leading B2B companies. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at Mindgruve in San Diego, CA. Mindgruve is looking for a highly motivated problem-solver with a documented history of success in web development. Read more about this opportunity here. User Interface Designer at a confidential company in Lexington, MA. In close coordination with our business, and engineering teams, you will develop and execute a consumer-facing website design. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at eBaum Nation, LLC in Rochester, NY. You will work with a small, talented team of web professionals in a fast-paced environment at our office in Rochester, NY, developing highly entertaining, media rich websites and Internet applications used by millions of people. Read more about this opportunity here. Interactive Creative Director at Oneupweb in Traverse City, MI. We are looking to build our new interactive design division with just the right leader who can plan and present client solutions, managing them from conception to reality. Read more about this opportunity here. Partnership Manager at HomeAway in Austin, TX. The Partnership Manager has day-to-day responsibility for managing HomeAway distribution partners and HomeAway and VRBO affiliate marketing programs Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Web Developer at ROBLOX in Redwood City, CA. You will work on our gaming and virtual goods catalogs, social networking features, the ROBLOX API, translation, SEO, and various features to support our gaming client. You will also own your project from design to production. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Manager at Greenopolis.com in Houston, TX. The ideal person must be energetic, creative, an excellent writer and internet-savvy; immersed in what it means to “live life online”. Read more about this opportunity here. Digital Marketing and Social Media Project Manager at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA. A Project Assistant works with our search marketing and optimization senior leads and teams as well as client agencies, support people, and in some cases the clients themselves, to help us provide our search engine marketing related services to clients and involves: Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Developer at Rent the Runway in New York, NY. NYC Venture-backed e-commerce company looking for hard-working drupal coder to evolve exisiting website and take on challenging new products related to CRM algorithms. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Community Manager at Biz bash Media in New York, NY. Be the front face of our company for online networks as well as the person that will execute “Socnet” campaigns for our advertisers. Read more about this opportunity here. Marketing and Monetization Leader at InstantAction in Portland, OR. As a key member of the executive team, the M&M leader synthesizes and drives multiple aspects of our business: overall marketing/sales strategy, branding, and the use of data analytics and business intelligence to drive monetization strategy and ROI for all business lines and customer segments. Read more about this opportunity here. Marketing Communications Specialist at Opportunity International in Oak Brook, IL. The primary function of the Marketing Communications Specialist is to support the Marketing department's web and internet communication, public relations and strategic fundraising online efforts that promote Opportunity's mission to cultivate current and potential donors, as well as expand the Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) brand to the online mass audience. Read more about this opportunity here. Digital Strategy Assistant/Coordinator at ID PR in West Hollywood, CA. Seeking Assistant / Coordinator for the Digital Strategy Department at a highly reputable entertainment PR and brand communications agency in West Hollywood. Read more about this opportunity here. SEO Specialist at The Buzz Company in Chicago, IL. This position will require you to wear many hats with primary emphasis on SEO and secondary on SEM/SMM. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media and Affiliate Community Associate at Babeland in Oakland, CA. The purpose of this position is to grow Babeland's affiliate program and oversee our presence in online communities. Read more about this opportunity here. Electronic Media Marketing at Missoula Nissan-Hyundai, Inc. in Missoula, MT. Candidate will oversee all aspects of electronic media used at our new car dealership. Read more about this opportunity here. Digital Sales and Account Management at DAC Group in Purchase, NY. Both positions involve selling our digital products and services. Both positions are results-focused, and require intelligent, professional, articulate, positive, sales individuals who are self-motivated and energetic. Both positions require a strategic, consultative selling style. Some travel (mostly local) will be required. Read more about this opportunity here. PR/Community Manager at The Fuze Box in San Francisco, CA. The successful candidate will report to the Director of Marketing and will work with our internal marketing team to oversee and contribute content to support our customers and corporate objectives. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at The Fuze Box in San Francisco, CA. You will work with a small, talented team in a fast-paced environment at our office in San Francisco, building and scaling out highly entertaining, media rich Internet applications used by millions of people. Read more about this opportunity here. HR Manager at The Media Network in Silver Spring, MD. We are searching for a PART-TIME WEB/NEW MEDIA DIRECTOR (20 hours) to oversee web-related marketing strategy development, including web materials and social media venues and opportunities. Read more about this opportunity here. Assistant Professor of Communication – Digital Media at The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication in Europe (Armed Forces). Responsibilities include teaching undergraduate classes that involve hands-on training in digital media content creation across multiple media platforms, including broadcast, print and Internet. Areas of expertise or research emphasis may include digital media, journalism, social media, advertising, public relations, marketing, and/or visual communication; tenure-track candidates may be asked to teach graduate level courses. Read more about this opportunity here. Sr / UI Designer at AOL, Inc. in New York, NY. The User Interface Designer is accountable for delivering consumer-centric design solutions for AOL. Read more about this opportunity here. New Media Associate at WEMU-FM, Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI. Develop, maintain and/or utilize departmental website and new media, Internet and radio systems that communicate departmental information to a technologically diverse public Read more about this opportunity here. Interactive Producer at Zugara in Culver City, CA. The Interactive Producer is responsible for providing value to our clients by translating business strategies and requirements into prioritized project plans and deliverables for web, video, mobile, and related content and applications. Read more about this opportunity here. Director of Sales at Red Bricks Media in San Francisco, CA. As a Director of Sales for Red Bricks Media, you will play a critical role in developing and implementing sales strategies that generate revenue. Read more about this opportunity here. Social and Digital Media SAE, AS, Director, and VP at Levick Strategic Communications in Washington DC. Levick Strategic Communications, the nation's top crisis communications and reputation management firm, is actively recruiting highly motivated candidates both mid and senior level candidates to support its rapidly growing social and digital media practice in Washington, D.C. Read more about this opportunity here. Sr. Manager, Professional and Social Networking at College of American Pathologists in Winnetka, IL. This newly-created position will be an exciting opportunity for you to help bring the CAP to the next level by developing and implementing a comprehensive professional/social networking strategy in harmony with the College's overall communication strategy to increase interaction and meaningful participation between and among the College and its constituents. Read more about this opportunity here. Director of Development at Toura in New York, NY. Toura is currently recruiting a Director of Development to lead and manage its on-going technology development efforts. Read more about this opportunity here. Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable's Job Board. Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($80 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace). Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, MySpace, Twitter, Yahoo!, news, tagged

Coming Soon: Skype for iPhone Over 3G Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:26 AM PST Skype has just gone on the record confirming that a version of Skype for iPhone that supports calls over 3G is coming “real soon now.” Skype for iPhone currently supports calls over Wi-Fi, which severely limits how useful the Skype application can be on the go. In a blog post this morning, however, Skype’s Peter Parkes confirmed that a 3G-capable version of the application is on its way, which will make Skype for iPhone “totally mobile.” The Skype for iPhone team is also asserting that call quality — especially for Skype-to-Skype calls — has been drastically improved and will have near CD-quality sound. The application will also maintain the call quality indicator, which will be either be green, yellow or red depending on your 3G network coverage. We also know that the team is looking at developing a new version of Skype for the Apple iPad. Here’s what Skype had to say about the pending application: “Last Thursday, Apple introduced the iPad, which we're very excited about here at Skype. David Ponsford … and his team are reviewing the device and its specs, and you can expect to hear more from us about Skype for iPad in due course. What does this have to do with calling over 3G? The SDK (Software Development Kit) that Apple provides to developers like Skype has been upgraded for the iPad. The new version, 3.2, removes the restrictions on calling over 3G, which is great news. You may have seen other apps offering calls over 3G, but we're holding ours back for a little bit longer. Why? So that we can give you the very best audio quality we can. When our 3G-capable Skype for iPhone app is released, it'll let you make calls in wideband audio, giving you greater clarity and fidelity – because that's what you expect from Skype.” You can also watch the video below for more information: Reviews: Skype, iPhone Tags: 3g, iphone, Mobile 2.0, Skype, voip

Most Companies Don’t Have a Social Media Policy [STUDY] Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:11 AM PST A report by Manpower employer services found that only 29% of companies in the Americas have a “formal policy regarding employee use of social networking sites.” The number is lower in other regions — 25% in Asia-Pacific and 11% EMEA. The worldwide number is 20%. We ran a story a few months ago about a different survey that said more than half of companies block Twitter, Facebook or MySpace. That piece might seem like it conflicts with these numbers, but there’s a distinction between a CIO opting to block access to sites and a formal social media policy. Keeping productivity up is a reason either way; 63% of companies who have a social media policy say it’s effective. But a formal policy can also be put in place to make sure an employee doesn’t say anything publicly that could damage the company’s reputation. The report says that 4% of companies worldwide claim they have had their reputations tarnished by employees’ social media activity. Supposedly most workers spend less than a half an hour a day on social networking sites (Over here at Mashable, we spend much longer than that). If you’re a business owner or a manager, take a look at the articles we’ve written to help you decide if a policy is right for your company and figure out how you should put one together if it is. Reviews: Mashable Tags: business, facebook, myspace, social networking, twitter

Google Lets Kids Design Next Logo Posted: 03 Feb 2010 08:27 AM PST Today Google is kicking off its third installment of Doodle for Google, a yearly nationwide art contest for students in grades K-12. Eligible students can submit their own “Google Doodles,” and the winning Doodle will appear on Google’s homepage for one day. Plus the winner and his or her school will receive money and scholarships. The theme for this year’s competition is “If I Could Do Anything, I Would…” and the idea is to encourage kids to think about the future, dream big and push the limits. The official Doodle 4 Google website has all the details on how to enter. Only kids from registered schools can compete, so kids (and parents), talk to your administrators and make sure they’re in on the fun. The deadline for school registrations is March 17, 2010, and the deadline for Doodle submissions is March 31, 2010. We think this is a fun way for Google to give back to schools, while also encouraging kids to express themselves with pen and paper. Reviews: Google Tags: Doodle, doodle 4 google, education, google doodle, Kids

Facebook Trends: Goodbye Doppelganger, Hello Urban Dictionary Week Posted: 03 Feb 2010 07:02 AM PST Go to urbandictionary.com, type in your first name, copy and paste this as your Facebook status, and put the first entry for your name under comments. OK, you don’t really have to do it, but if you don’t, you’ll be missing out on the latest Facebook craze: Urban Dictionary week. For me, the result is this: “Based on the central character in the Eminem song of the same name, a “stan” is an overzealous maniacal fan for any celebrity or athlete.” Close enough, although I’d replace “celebrity or athlete” with “electronic gadget or video game.” Just like most other Facebook trends, this one seems equally useless (other than being a nice promotion for Urban Dictionary), but it can be a lot of fun. If you decide try it out, be careful, Urban Dictionary is a site that doesn’t shy away from very strong language. Reviews: Facebook Tags: facebook, social media, social networking, trending, trends

SlideShare Launches Channels for Businesses and Brands Posted: 03 Feb 2010 06:28 AM PST Presentation sharing site SlideShare today adds a new Channels service to its professional content sharing arsenal, allowing businesses and brands to create custom microsites within the community. With Channels, companies can create a branded channel for sharing professional content including presentations, whitepapers and webinars, or sponsor a topical content channel curated by SlideShare staff. Combined with the LeadShare and AdShare programs launched in late 2009, businesses can develop integrated social media campaigns, from custom brand experience to lead generation to targeted promotion of professional content to the large community of business leaders and decision makers that comprise SlideShare’s more than 25 million unique visitors per month. The above screenshot showcases a highly customizable branded channel experience for Microsoft Office, while the below image depicts the second curated channel option. In the latter, the focus is on curating great content within SlideShare to incorporate around a chosen topic (virtualization, in the example below). Interested users can follow a particular channel to get notified of new updates. Speaking with CEO and Co-founder Rashmi Sinha, we discovered that companies and organizations account for the lion’s share of SlideShare’s recent traffic growth, up 400% in 2009. The site’s newest suite of services from LeadShare and AdShare to today’s Channels announcement seems to wisely target that growing audience sector, giving businesses new tools to leverage social media for brand engagement surrounding professional presentation and whitepaper content. Has your business or organization used SlideShare to share professional content? Are there any topics you’d like to see covered as curated channels? Reviews: Microsoft Office 2010 Tags: business, presentations, slideshare, social media, whitepapers

A New Debate on Blog Comments is Brewing Posted: 03 Feb 2010 06:13 AM PST If you’ve been following the blogging and social media scene over the last five or more years, you know that there’s one heated debate that keeps on showing up: the debate about comments on blogs. Should blogs have comments? Should these comments be moderated? When has a comment gone too far? Judging from a couple of recent events, it’s once again time to rethink these issues. Popular gadget site Engadget has recently shut down comments. It’s a temporary measure, it says, but the blog took it because the “tone in comments has really gotten out of hand.” On the other hand, one blog that’s famous for not having comments – John Gruber’s Daring Fireball – has just gotten comments against its will. More accurately, the folks behind MacHeist have launched a mirrored version of Gruber’s site that includes free commenting, called DaringFireballWithComments.net. Gruber has a very interesting (and very personal) reasoning behind the lack of comments on the site. “It's totally egotistical. I want Daring Fireball to be a site that you can't skim if you're in the target audience for it. You say, ‘Oh, a new article from John. I need to read it,’ and your deadlines go whizzing by because you have to read what I wrote. If I turn comments on I feel like it's two different directions,” he said. The counterargument is usually the notion that blogs, at their core, are about two-way communication; a blog is simply not a blog without comments. The folks at Engadget seem to discard that notion: “Luckily, our commenting community makes up only a small percentage of our readership (and the bad eggs an even smaller part of that number), so while they may be loud, they don’t speak for most people who come to Engadget looking for tech news.” Without taking sides, we’d like to hear what you think. Do you sometimes feel that some comments are simply too much? Is a blog without comments still a blog? How important are comments in this age where a lot of commenting is happening off-site — on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks? Please tell us what you think in (heh) the comments. images courtesy of iStockphoto, mattjeacock Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: blogging, BLOGS, comments, social media, trending

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