Yogi Land

Whew! This week was awash with news. So, we transformed that news into advice, tips and how-to’s that you can reference for years to come.

Take Facebook’s video chat launch — we’ll guide you in setting it up. Or the space shuttle launch — we provide the Twitter accounts for dozens of astronauts and space experts. And Google+ has been on the minds of millions — we present its pros and cons. Mashable not only releases breaking news, we help you learn how to apply it to your business, your interests and your personal life.

If spare time for reading didn’t exactly factor into your busy week, here’s a roundup of resources that appeared on Mashable.

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Editors’ Picks

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• Top 10 TrueHDR iPhone Photos
  We showcase 10 fantastic TrueHDR iPhone photographs in this gorgeous gallery.
• 5 Tips for Creating More Efficient Social Media Processes
  Find out how your business can save time, money and other valuable resources by creating more efficient social media processes.
• 11 Startups That Found Success By Changing Direction
  Sometimes the best thing your company can do is something else.
• 15 Keyboard Shortcuts to Enhance Your PC Productivity
  If you’re aiming to speed up your workflow and impress your colleagues at the same time, check out these little keyboard gems.
• How the Private Space Race Has Taken Off
  Private manned spaceflight is set to revolutionize aerospace and give future generations the ability to visit the stars on the cheap.
• Space Exploration: 9 Private Sector Companies Ready to Take Off
  After Atlantis launched on Friday, NASA’s shuttle program will end. But thanks to private sector companies, space exploration is far from over.
• HOW TO: Measure the ROI of a Content Marketing Strategy
  Measuring the ROI on content is difficult, especially if you’re not judging success by ad revenue. Here are three steps to effectively measure your content strategy.

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Social Media

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• Google+: The Pros & Cons
  Here are some pros and cons of Google+ from the social network’s early users.
• Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]
  Wondering which topics had Twitter abuzz this past week? Check out the full list of top trends.
• 3 New Apps For Self Improvement
  Since Americans had some extra time last weekend for the Fourth of July, we highlighted three startups with products that could help you improve your finances, dating conundrums or skills.
• Mashable Picks: Our 11 Favorite Tumblr Themes
  Browsing for a beautiful new blog? These 10 Tumblr themes come highly recommended by Mashable staff.
• The History of America, As Told by Facebook [PIC]
  In honor of Independence Day, The New York Times published an op-art depicting America’s would-be Facebook profile, entitled “Like It or Unfriend It?”
• HOW TO: Import Your Facebook Contacts on Google+
  A new Google Chrome extension makes extracting Facebook contacts a lot easier, helping new Google+ users more easily reconstruct their respective social graphs.
• 10 Accessories to Cheer Up Your Office Break Room [PICS]
  If your company staff room’s highlights are a handful of tattered magazines, a tired vending machine and a half-dead plant, then take a look at these creative ideas.
• The Connected States of America [INFOGRAPHIC]
  The Connected States of America shows that social interactions do not always coincide with administrative borders.
• HOW TO: Get Your Own Google+ Vanity URL
  Gplus.to lets you create a vanity URL for your Google+ Profile.
• HOW TO: Launch Facebook Skype Video Chat [PICS]
  Our first look, with images, at Facebook’s Skype-powered video chat.
• The 20 Most-Shared Video Ads This Month
  Angry Birds get real and a video with a real bird turns out to be fake in June’s 20 Most-Shared Video Ads of the Month.
• 10 Top Google+ Users Weigh In on the Web’s Newest Social Network
  We’ve scoured the profiles, Twitter feeds and blogs of the top Google+ users. You might be surprised to hear their reviews of the recent social networking phenomenon.
• 4 Fresh Ways To Share Video on Twitter
  When words or pictures won’t suffice on Twitter, rev up your tweets by sharing videos via these four sharing services.
• Which TV Shows Were the Most Social in June? [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Trendrr put together an infographic detailing the most social TV shows on broadcast and cable in June 2011.
• 4 Ways Colleges Can Take Their Social Media Presence to the Next Level
  Most schools have a social presence, but what strategies can they use to take it from good to great?
• Space Tweets: 23 Must-Follow Twitter Accounts for Astronomy Lovers
  Twitter provides a wealth of astronomy information. Here are 23 ways to space out your Twitter feed.

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

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Tech & Mobile

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• Texting Teens: Typing Replaces Talking [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Has texting taken over as the primary form of communication for today’s teens?
• 7 Great JavaScript Resources
  As a JavaScript developer, you’ll need to keep up with the latest news and learn new skills. We’ve put together a list of our favorite JavaScript resources to help save you time and energy.
• 10 Fascinating Facts About Phone Numbers
  You probably dial a few of them every day, but do you ever stop and think about what’s behind a phone number? When the first numbers were introduced? How you ended up with the area code you did?
• The Future of Mobile Payments [INFOGRAPHIC]
  We know that mobile payments are redefining commerce, but will our phones soon replace our wallets?

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

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Business & Marketing

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• HOW TO: Leverage Location for Better Ad Campaigns
  While local advertising may not be new, the question is, how do brands win in this new world of location media?
• Zynga’s Journey From Founding to IPO [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Zynga’s come a long way in 5 years — and it’s taken a lot of funding and acquired a lot of talent & companies along the way.
• 5 DIY Ecommerce Solutions for Small Business
  For the small retailer who wants to start selling quickly, there are several great options available in the form of hosted services and subscription-based web applications.
• HOW TO: Land a Job at Airbnb
  Mashable spoke with Joe Gebbia, Airbnb’s co-founder and chief product officer, to learn more about what it’s looking for in new hires.
• Convertible Debt vs. Equity: Which Is Right for Your Startup?
  Investors and entrepreneurs butt heads on whether convertible debt is better than equity. Here, we review the pros and cons of each.
• 7 Twitter Marketing Campaigns to Learn From
  Delve in to Twitter marketing lessons from American Airlines, Network Solutions, UNICEF India, IBM, USA for UNHCR, McDonald’s Canada and appbackr.
• HOW TO: Use CoTweet as a Marketing Tool
  A great way to keep your social media presences in line is with CoTweet, a web-based social media management and analytics tool.
• 7 Winning Examples of Game Mechanics in Action
  Gamification is the use of game mechanics to engage audiences and improve a business. These seven gamified innovations should inspire you to strategize via game analysis.
• Find a Job in Social Media, Communications or Design
  If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out.
• Why Facebook Relies on Third-Party Agencies to Scale Its Ad Platform
  To buy ads on Facebook, you often have to go through 22 firms with access to Facebook’s Ads API. Why are such companies necessary?
• 10 Top Tech Entrepreneurs Share Their Favorite Food Trucks
  Food trucks purvey the meals on wheels that keep entrepreneurs well-fueled.
• 7 Easy Ways to Do Good Online Beyond Donations
  Even if you lack spare money and extra time, there are many meaningful ways to give back beyond check writing or volunteering for hours.
• How the Private Space Race Has Taken Off
  Private manned spaceflight is set to revolutionize aerospace and give future generations the ability to visit the stars on the cheap.

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

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Image courtesy of Webtreats

More About: business, List, Lists, MARKETING, Mobile 2.0, social media, tech, technology

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When Apple releases iOS 5 later this fall, users who like to jailbreak their devices might find the process more complex than usual.

While perusing the code for iOS 5 beta 2, the members of the iPhone Dev Team discovered Apple is putting measures into place to make it more difficult for iOS 5 users to rollback to earlier versions of iOS.

It isn’t uncommon for more advanced users to want to try out the latest non-jailbroken software and then revert back to an earlier version so that they can take advantage of their jailbroken features. The current workaround is for users to backup their SHSH blobs before upgrading the software. This ensures that an older version of the OS and firmware can be restored at a later time.

With iOS 5, Apple is changing the way that the blobs are created. The blobs will be regenerated every time a device is rebooted, meaning that simply having an old version of the key around won’t allow users to install an older version of the software.

While this doesn’t prevent groups like the iPhone Dev Team from finding exploits and providing tools so that users can jailbreak their devices, it might make keeping a device in a jailbroken state more difficult.

With iOS 5, Apple will also be looking at doing over-the-air OS upgrades, meaning that the software can update itself without needing to connect with iTunes. In theory, this means that Apple could push out small updates to patch exploits, preventing a user who has agreed to install said update from jailbreaking their device.

On its blog, the Dev Team doesn’t sound overly concerned about what this means for jailbreaking in general but does note that Apple has “stepped up their game” when it comes to locking down the OS. We’re sure the cat-and-mouse game will continue.

More About: apple, iOS 5, iphone, jailbreak, jailbreaking

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Elliott Spelman is an intern at WePay which allows you to collect payments online without the hassle. You can contact him at elliott.spelman@wepay.com.

Four years and three internships later, I’m a graduate of USC. Like a lot of people my age, I’ve become pretty comfortable with the fact that I don’t really know what I want to do in life. Every graduation speaker I’ve ever listened to, from Steve Ballmer to Mr. Gowen, my elementary school gym teacher, has urged the same advice: Do what you’re passionate about.

For people in my position, though, there seems to be a choice between doing a job you love and doing a job that’s available to you. We’re left with the question: If doing something rewarding is the ultimate goal, what if it takes some time to figure it out?

Just because I’m not on a prescribed career path doesn’t mean I’m not interested in anything. On the contrary, actually. My college resume is a veritable potpourri of potential professions. All three of my college internships were tied to personal interests (non-profits, travel, music). I majored in economics and creative writing. I pledged a fraternity and worked for the geography department one summer. And now I’m feeding my interests again, picking a summer internship at a tech startup in Silicon Valley over other full-time job offers.

People ask me all the time, with genuine concern in their faces: “Aren’t you worried about what happens at the end of the summer?” The honest answer is no. If I have to sacrifice my interests for the sake of long-term financial security at the age of 21, then in the words of professor Hubert J. Farnsworth: “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.” Plus, if for some reason the job isn’t right, or if something else pops up, it’s only a three-month commitment.

Along the winding path toward a more permanent career, I’ve picked up a few pieces of wisdom for my fellow interns out there.

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1. Understand How People See Your Generation

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There’s a Youtube clip out there of a few anchors on Fox News talking about how Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood has ruined a generation of young people who now feel special. Entitlement, I’m afraid, is the knock on our generation.

How do you objectively measure something like that? I’ve been fired for it (“Your generation needs to learn that you do not give ultimatums to a superior”), and I’ve heard it muttered (“F*****g kids these days”), but basically, your job is to prove these people wrong. It doesn’t take much. Show that you are genuinely interested and engaged by the people around you. Learn how to be competent. Make your coworkers trust you, and make them look good.

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2. Take Advantage of Your Generation’s Gifts

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We are the first wave of people raised on the Internet. We stay connected. We rely on other people. We understand our constant access to infinite information and we adjust ourselves accordingly. Compared to those for whom the Internet is a struggle, we have the opportunity to be exponentially more productive in a fraction of the time.

My advice is to use the applications that best organize your mind — the ones that help you develop methods and routines that feel comfortable. When it comes to documents, I’m a Google Apps kind of guy. Some people prefer Dropbox or MobileMe.

Everyone our age should be able to find the answer to any basic question within a minute. Google and Wikipedia should be second nature. After all, part of the reason we’re seen as entitled is because we have access to a whole array of shortcuts that have never existed before. Use them to your advantage.

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3. There’s a Reason for Professionalism

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I’ve worked at an internship where everybody in the office ironed their pants every morning, and I’ve worked with people in flip-flops. Neither one is intrinsically better than the other. You have to understand that each place you work has its own corporate culture and in order to do well you have to adjust yourself to fit it.

If people are going to spend nine hours each day cramped together, they have to find ways to stay sane. Some bosses hand out beers at five, and some require their employees to wear a certain color tie. If you want peoples’ respect, you have to give in to it.

That’s basically what professionalism is: A code of behavior that greases the wheels and keeps everyone out of each other’s way. You shouldn’t feel like the code is a burden. If it starts to feel like you’re wearing a mask to work every day, don’t be afraid to question if the job is a good fit for you.

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4. Enjoy the People You Work With

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This is the single most underrated aspect of career decisions. Granted, it’s very difficult to know what the person hiring you will turn out to be like, but that’s where internships come in. Internships give you a taste of what kind of people get drawn to what kind of careers.

The fact is, even with the mask of professionalism, your coworkers rub off on you. You can’t avoid them. If you hate who you work with, it can be tough to convince yourself that what you are doing is worthwhile, even if you would normally enjoy it.

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5. Use Your Education Wisely

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Unless you studied accounting or architecture as an undergrad (and even if you did), there is a very small chance that your college education will come in particularly handy for your first job. There are, however, unexpected elements of your education that will be tremendously useful.

At my PR gig, I gave my boss an essay by Georg Simmel that I thought he might find interesting. Working at the tutoring center, I helped format databases of small donors with Excel formulas I’d learned in ECON317. And now, working for a tech company, I find myself blogging, pulling from all kinds of things I learned in creative writing workshops.

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I guess my general piece of advice here would be to never assume it’s okay to stop learning. There is no direct correlation between your formal education and what you do after, so remember to always stay curious and flexible.

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Image courtesy of Flickr, Tricia Wang 王圣捷, Simon King, and iStockphoto, H-Gall

More About: advice, college, education, how to, social media, startup

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Google is in the final stages of acquiring AdMeld, a firm that specializes in ad optimization and ad inventory for publishers, according to several reports.

AdMeld gives publishers the ability to get the best prices for their ad inventory. The New York-based company helps publishers choose their ad buys across dozens of advertising networks and get the best price possible. Competitors include Rubicon Project and PubMatic.

Google is apparently willing to pay a lot for AdMeld’s technology and customers: around $400 million, according to The New York Times. This is an area of the online advertising market segments Google doesn’t already dominate, so the acquisition makes sense on Google’s end. However, this acquisition is likely to undergo heavy scrutiny from government regulators, as Google is already the dominant force in text and display advertising.

If acquisition talks are indeed underway, Google isn’t talking. “We do not comment on rumors or speculation,” a Google spokesperson told us.

More About: acquisition, AdMeld, business, Google

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Visitors to WordPress.com blogs can now leave comments with their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

It’s a small new feature on the surface, but it opens up a lot more commenting opportunities for WordPress.com blogs. Third-party commenting systems such as Disqus and Echo have allowed users to authenticate with their Twitter or Facebook accounts for quite some time, but this is a big move for the hosted blogging platform.

In the blog entry announcing the new feature, WordPress.com’s Scott Berkun points out a nice feature of the new login system: Users can stay logged in to multiple services at the same time. This is especially handy for users that might want to comment using Twitter or Facebook on some sites but want to use their WordPress.com account for others.

Comments from Twitter or Facebook accounts aren’t pumped back into those social services, though. Instead, the logins simply act as a way to authenticate users. In the future, WordPress.com might work toward also giving users the option to publish or share comments back on Facebook or Twitter.

For self-hosted WordPress.org users, comments suggest that Facebook and Twitter comment authentication might be coming via a future update to the JetPack plugin developed by Automattic.

More About: comment systems, facebook, twitter, WordPress, WordPress.com

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At WWDC on Monday, Apple officially unveiled its much anticipated iTunes in the Cloud feature.

The feature will be part of iCloud, which will formally launch alongside iOS 5 this fall, but users can get a taste of some of features today.

iTunes in the Cloud allows users to access songs, albums, music videos, apps and books that were previously purchased but that don’t exist locally on a user’s device. That means if you don’t have a copy of an album on your iPhone or iPad but you really want to hear your favorite song, you can just redownload the track from your account free of charge rather than having to sync with your Mac or PC.

In the fall, Apple will also introduce an iTunes Match service that will make it easy for users to gain cloud access to all the music they haven’t purchased on iTunes for just $25 a year. Starting today, however, users can take advantage of the larger “access your iTunes purchases” feature.

GSM iPhone 4 owners (sorry Verizon folks) and iPod touch or iPad users running iOS 4.3.1 or higher will now see a new “Purchased” tab in the iTunes app in iOS. iTunes 10.3 beta brings that functionality to the Mac or PC.

We’ve spent some time with iTunes in the Cloud and put together this gallery to show off the major features in this early preview. On the outset, we have to say we’re impressed at how easy it was to browse through our purchase history and download single tracks or complete albums at the push of a button, both on the iPhone and on the Mac.

I have a large iTunes collection, and many of my purchases are not on my MacBook Pro. Some aren’t even on my iMac but are instead archived on an old iPod video. Thanks to iTunes in the cloud, I can redownload content I purchased years ago, including bonus and exclusive track, for free.

Purchased Button

In the iTunes app in iOS 4, a new "Purchased" button now appears on the bottom of the application.

You can choose to see all music or just the songs/albums not on your current device

Recent Purchases

In addition to browsing alphabetically, you can see the most recent 50 items purchased from iTunes.

Artist View

Selecting an artist name will bring up a listing of every album or partial album you have from that artist.

iTunes includes music videos as well as songs in the mix, scrolling below the album section will show music videos

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Download Screen

The download screen for an album gives the user the opportunity to download individual songs or the entire album in one action.

Purchased Section in iTunes

The iTunes 10.3 and 10.5 betas have a new feature in the iTunes Store sidebar, "Purchases."

Album View

Just like in iOS, users can download individual tracks or full albums at the press of a button.

Album View, Partially Downloaded

A nice touch is that iTunes recognizes if you already have some of the items from an album in your iTunes library.

In my case, I because I downloaded some of the pre-order tracks for this album on a different computer, only those tracks will be downloaded.

App Purchases and Downloads

Just like music and books, users can browse their app purchases and past downloads by device type, name or download date.

More About: apple, icloud, iOS, itunes, itunes-in-the-cloud

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Mashable has finally returned from Disney World (also known as the happiest place on earth) with the conclusion of Connect. Since returning, we’ve have no time to slump, turning out another great week of tools and resources for your social media pleasure.

Read on for some great stories about how to use Gmail Labs to boost your productivity, 13 alternative ways to get your news online, and a ton of resource roundups for developers, designers, and small businesses alike.

Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time.

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Editors’ Picks

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• How 5 Non-Profits Are Innovating With Mobile
  Non-profits large and small are using mobile to educate, activate and engage their audiences. Here are 5 impressive examples.
• 10 Creative Social Media Resumes To Learn From
  Want to stand out from the crowd of social media applicants? Check out these 10 impressive resumes for inspiration.
• How HTML5 Will Transform the Online Video Landscape
  While HTML5 holds immense promise for the future of web video, the stakes are complex. Here’s a breakdown of where the industry stands in terms of browsers, video services and content providers.
• 9 Outstanding Websites for Design Inspiration
  Sometimes seeing a great site is all it takes to get the creative juices flowing. We spoke to top designers about which web designs inspire them.
• Why the Success of the Smart Energy Grid Requires a Multipronged Approach
  Energy use and efficiency are more important than ever. What are the right conversations companies and consumers should be having around energy tech?

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Social Media

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• This Week in Politics & Digital: 2012 Strategies, Crowdsourced Cuts
  Last week in politics, Newt Gingrich announced his presidential bid, Obama hired his 2012 Digital Director, and the GOP asked the public for help with spending cuts.
• 17 Twitter Tips from Mashable Connect Attendees
  A few of the world’s leaders in digital answer one simple question: “What one tip do you have for best using Twitter?”
• 20+ Easy Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk [VIDEOS]
  From simple stretches to help circulation to more complex maneuvers, here are more than 20 exercises you can do at your desk during a sedentary day at the office.
• Skype’s Rollercoaster History [INFOGRAPHIC]
  In 2007, Skype lost almost $1 billion and was valued at $2.7 billion — but the company was just bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
• What Does the Social Good Ecosystem Look Like? [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Blackbaud, a fundraising software company, has put together an infographic that tries to answer the question: “What good is social good?”
• 13 Alternative Ways to Consume Your News
  People get their news from all manner of sources. Here, we’ve collected 13 new ways to get your current events fix online and via mobile.
• Anonymous or Transparent: Which Side Are You On? [INFOGRAPHIC]
  How you represent yourself online boils down to a core belief. Which is more important to you: your privacy or your authenticity?
• 8 Gmail Labs Features To Boost Your Productivity
  We’re highlighting eight great Labs options that will speed up your Gmail experience.
• HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Google Reader
  While social news is all the rage, RSS is still a great way to consume large quantities of online content. Here’s how to optimize the web’s most popular feed reader.
• How Digital Tech Can Help You Become a More Socially Responsible Consumer
  We can change our spending or consumption habits, but digital technology allows the average consumer to take his support for a cause to a whole new level.

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

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Tech & Mobile

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• Take a Seat: 5 Office Chair Alternatives
  This just in: Sitting down will kill you, so we’ve taken a look at alternatives to the traditional office chair.
• 33 Essential Resources for Developers & Designers
  Web developers and designers have flocked to Mashable to learn from and share our how-to guides, analyses, videos, lists, videos and galleries. Here are 33 of those great resources.
• 3 Apps For Pleasure & Productivity This Weekend
  Each weekend, Mashable handpicks a few startups we think are building interesting, unique or niche products.
• 10 Stylish iPad Cases Made From Recycled Materials [PICS]
  From billboards to clothing via vinyl records, our gallery shows off how great creativity and imagination can result in “upcycling” everyday materials into brand new, useful items.
• Review: iPhone Case Has Detachable Piggyback Battery [PICS]
  Need an iPhone case with a little more juice? Check out this review to find out if this one’s right for you.
• Can’t Afford A Stand-Up Desk? Try Standing Clock App [PICS]
  Since sitting is apparently killing us all slowly, here’s a web app to keep track of how much time you spend standing.
• 6 Reasons Tablets Are Ready for the Classroom
  If tablets have penetrated mainstream consumer markets, what’s preventing them from widespread use in schools?
• 15 Mesmerizing iPhone Photos of Cloudscapes
  Whether cirriform, cumuliform or convective, we’ve got a variety of cloud photos for your viewing pleasure, snapped by iPhotographers from all over the globe.
• HOW TO: Optimize Marketing Materials for Mobile Devices
  People consume a lot of content while they’re on the go. Here are tips to make sure your site is mobile-friendly for numerous devices.
• The Case For Making Online Textbooks Open Source [INFOGRAPHIC]
  As companies compete to digitize the textbook market, open source textbook proponents believe online educational tomes should be free.
• 5 Unique Ways to Transform Your iPhone Into an Alarm Clock [PICS]
  We’ve found five fabulous devices that will turn your iPhone into a cool alarm clock, ranging from a seriously analogue option to some high-tech docks that come with free apps.
• HOW TO: Build an SMS App Quickly & Easily
  Ready to get down and dirty with SMS? This new API makes SMS apps a lot easier than you might think.
• Canon & Nikon Cameras Square Off [INFOGRAPHIC]
  In an infographic that’s likely to ignite a powderkeg of controversy, Nikon and Canon cameras are compared in a photographer’s equivalent of a Mac-versus-PC cage match.

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

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Business & Marketing

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• How Brands Can Work With Startups
  Brand marketers and startups may have little in common, but they have a lot to gain by working together.
• 73 Essential Social Media & Tech Resources for Small Businesses
  Here are 73 resources to help small business owners stay on top of social media, marketing, tech and mobile trends.
• 5 Best Practices for Fashion Retailers on Facebook
  Leaders in fashion marketing and ecommerce offer advice for optimizing retailers’ Facebook Pages.
• 8 Tips for Nailing Your Next Startup Job Interview
  Dozens of smaller-stage companies have emerged and are hiring everyone from programmers to interns. Snag a gig with help from these tips.
• Why Gift Cards Will Lead the Transition From Plastic to Digital
  It wasn’t so long ago that credit cards replaced cash as the dominant form of payment. Now, digital payments are primed to take over, and gift cards are leading the charge.
• 5 Tips for Building Vibrant Branded Online Communities
  What engagement strategies can we take away from the most successful online network of all time?
• 7 Resources for Startup Investment Opportunities
  The Internet has changed the flow of venture capital. If you’re looking to find (and invest in) the web’s next big ideas, check out these sites and networks.
• HOW TO: Hire (or Be Hired as) a Team of Devs
  Need a tech team fast? Here’s how you can find and hire a pre-assembled group of devs — or market your own team as a group.
• 6 Important Tips for First-Time Startup Investors
  Welcome to the startup Wild West. Angel investing is both exciting and lucrative. What do you need to get started? Read on to find out.
• 5 Strategies for Maximizing Your Website’s Conversion Rate
  With all the fuss made over the power of social networks, it’s easy to forget the power and marketing potential of your own website. Here are ways to optimize.

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

Image courtesy of Dawghouse Design Studio

More About: business, facebook, Features Week In Review, gadgets, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, social good, social media, tech, technology, twitter

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Liberty Media, the conglomerate that owns Starz, Encore and the Atlanta Braves, has made a billion dollar bid to acquire Barnes & Noble.

On Thursday, Liberty Media sent a proposal to Barnes & Noble’s Board of Directors to acquire the publicly-traded company for $17 per share. With a little more than 60 million outstanding shares, the acquisition would be worth just north of $1 billion. The bid is a 20% premium from Barnes & Noble’s closing price of $14.11. The stock’s price has skyrocketed to $16.97 in after hours trading.

The book retailing giant put itself up for sale in summer 2010. It has faced falling book sales due to the astronomical growth of Amazon and the rise of ebooks and digital media. B&N is the creator of the Nook ereader, but its competing in a market dominated by the Amazon Kindle. In 2006, Barnes & Noble was worth $3 billion.

The acquisition, which would give Liberty Media and its chairman John C. Malone control of 700+ retail locations and 600+ college bookstores, still faces several hurdles. It must not only secure shareholder and regulatory approval, but the deal is contingent on Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard Riggio’s continued involvement in the company.

More About: amazon, barnes & noble, media, nook

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The news cycle this week has been unstoppable, with major events from international politics to British royalty dominating the conversation.

This week saw the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton, U.S. tornadoes, the death of Osama Bin Laden, and of course, this weekend’s big event: Mother’s Day.

With all the hubbub, we understand if you missed a story or two from Mashable’s trove of tools and resources published over the past week or so. This week, we have resources on bin Laden as well as our regular social media-focused tools such as PR tips for Facebook, business and marketing case studies, and the evolution of Twitter.

Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time.

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Editors’ Picks

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• Seven Ways to Help Tornado Victims
  The death toll from the catastrophic tornadoes in the South has climbed to more than 340, with thousands injured, homeless, without power or clean water. How can we harness the power of social media to help?
• Timeline: How News of Osama Bin Laden’s Death Unfolded on Twitter
  At 11:35 p.m. ET, the White House’s Twitter feed posted a quote from President Barack Obama that confirmed Osama Bin Laden’s death. Click through this gallery for a chronological look at how things transpired on Twitter.
• White House Releases Situation Room Images From Bin Laden Raid [PICS]
  An inside look at the President’s involvement during the Bin Laden compound raid.
• 6 Mother’s Day Gifts You Can Make [VIDEOS]
  Whether you’re looking for simple craft ideas to create with your kids or just something homemade to surprise your mom on Sunday, we’ve got some great video tutorials to help.
• 7 Ways to Show Mom You Love Her & Support Social Good
  Amidst all that mother lovin’, there are a bunch of ways you can help celebrate Mother’s Day and also give back to good causes. How’s that for two birds with one stone?
• How Barbie & Ken Were Reunited by Social Media
  Take a look behind the scenes at how Mattel reunited its iconic doll couple with a marketing campaign that heavily utilized social media.
• How Converse Became the Biggest Little Sneaker Brand on Facebook
  We spoke with Geoff Cottrill, CMO of Converse, about how the brand found success on social media platforms and stays true to its roots.

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Social Media

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• Top 10 Royal Wedding Twitter Trends [CHART]
  Stats about who and what was being talked about on Twitter during the Royal Wedding.
• Comic: Sony’s Apology for PlayStation Network Takes a Surprising Turn
  How will Sony handle the ill will from the PlayStation Network fiasco? Here’s a humorous possibility: a very special kind of “apology”.
• Royal Wedding Snapshot: Who Got the Most Buzz? [INFOGRAPHIC]
  The Royal Wedding participants have all put away their tiaras, swords and spurs, and now it’s time to see who created and received the most social media buzz.
• 4 Lessons for Parents in a Constantly Connected World
  Today’s parents struggle to manage their kids’ online time as well as their own connected lives. Here are a few tips for judging when to engage, and when to unplug.
• The World Responds to Osama Bin Laden’s Death
  People around the world have taken to social media channels to share the news and their feelings about Bin Laden’s death.
• Name Fail: The Media’s Most Embarrassing Obama/Osama Gaffes
  The U.S. president was prematurely reported dead and otherwise mixed up with the terrorist that he had ordered killed late Sunday evening.
• How the Social Web Reflected on Bin Laden’s Death
  We found out on Twitter, then turned to Facebook, Foursquare & Instagram to share news and express our joy, our outrage, & even our doubt.
• Too Soon? Osama Bin Laden Memes Abound
  Meme-makers have been on a tear, pumping out graphics depicting Osama Bin Laden’s death and U.S. President Barack Obama’s hand in it.
• HOW TO: Sustain a Social Movement After Initial Success
  It’s one thing to get a cause campaign off the ground with social media. It’s entirely another to achieve your long-term goals. Here are some tips for keeping a social movement on track.
• Does Twitter Drive TV Viewership? [VIDEO]
  Twitter opines that engagement on Twitter drives TV viewership.
• The Osama Bin Laden Takedown, Tweet By Tweet [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Here’s an interesting infographic showing confirmed facts of the raid that ended the life of Osama Bin Laden.
• Explore Twitter’s Evolution: 2006 to Present
  Check out this comprehensive timeline of some of the most memorable moments in Twitter’s eventful five years on the web.
• Google’s Plan To Win Location & Social
  Google VP Marissa Mayer laid out the company’s vision and strategy for winning in local and in social in a keynote and Q&A Thursday at the Social-Loco conference in San Francisco.
• 10 Historic Tweets That Captivated the World
  Here are 10 tweets that changed the world, or showed us how much the world has been changed by social media.
• Stand-Up Web Developers [COMIC]
  Some humor is just too niche for prime time.

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

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Tech & Mobile

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• How Web Security Will Change With HTML5
  As browsers implement more and more HTML5 functionality, security fixes for current issues will become baked into the web. Here’s an overview of HTML5′s potential.
• The Daily Deals Bandwagon Dissected [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Here’s a cheat sheet for how four of the most popular deals services work — and how much money each one is making.
• Review: Rugged Android Smartphone Takes a Licking [VIDEO]
  The hardened Casio G’zOne Commando Android smartphone is so tough, the company says it can withstand 30 minutes under three feet of water. We’ll see about that.
• Why Location-Based Services Will be the Killer App of the 2012 Elections
  Location-based services will be the killer app of the 2012 presidential election and will change the landscape of all elections to come.
• Review: Pogoplug Software Creates a Personal Computing Cloud
  Pogoplug is now available in a software version, letting you share pictures, music, videos and data with any of your devices or with anyone else.
• HOW TO: Document Your Life Using Photo Apps
  An abundance of apps have launched recently to complement the possibilities of always having a camera on hand. It’s now easier to take, tweak, share and display photos than it ever was in a non-app world. These are some of our favorites.
• HOW TO: Get More From Your iTunes Playlists
  How hard could it be to set up an iTunes playlist, right? We’ve found some tricks you may not have thought of.
• Top 10 Free Android Photo Apps [PICS]
  There’s no need to envy our iPhone-toting brethren. The Android Market is filled with fantastic free photo apps. Here are our favorites.
• Why Mobile Users Aren’t Checking In [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Those who use social location-based apps such as Foursquare or Facebook Places represent just 17% of the mobile population, according to a study commissioned by digital agency Beyond.
• 4 Ways Mobile Tech Is Improving Education
  With Internet in the palm of our hands, educators are looking to mobile as the next big tool for schools.
• How You Can Help Find Alien Life
  The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has launched a contest with Gamify to find ways to get the general public involved in the search for alien signals.
• The Past, Present & Future of Email [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Our reliance on social media, instant messaging, texting and especially email is growing at a rapid rate, according to a new study.
• HOW TO: Build a Mobile App for Better Customer Support
  Most digital natives would rather fire up an app than get on the phone with customer care. Here’s why you should be investing your support dollars into mobile solutions.
• Flip Alternatives: 5 Great Pocket Video Cameras
  It’s a strange twist that the Flip would flop in the market it helped create, but it’s given rise to some seriously capable rivals.

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

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Business & Marketing

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• HOW TO: Create a Group Tumblr Blog
  Want to create a multi-user Tumblr blog? Here’s a step-by-step guide.
• How 3 Companies Took Content Marketing to the Next Level
  Five years ago your business needed to have a website in order to exist, but soon your company’s survival may depend on your ability to be an effective publisher.
• HOW TO: Ask For an Online Recommendation
  When you’re looking for a job, you want to get a few job recommendations on sites like LinkedIn. Here are tips on whom and how to ask for one.
• 5 Valuable Online Communities for Freelancers
  When you’re a freelancer, it can be hard to find job leads and tips about how to sell yourself and get more clients. Here are 5 communities to make it easier.
• 5 Best Practices for Travel & Tourism Brands on Facebook
  Here are some tips for hotels and airlines that are looking to spruce up their Facebook Pages and drive more sales.
• Big Data: How New Technology Is Helping Marketers Create Better Consumer Experiences
  Just like consumers, marketers are facing information overload. The big question is: How can we use this data to produce better, more relevant customer experiences?
• 3 Traits of the Most Compelling Internet Companies
  Can success be predicted? Here are three characteristics that many successful Internet products share.
• HOW TO: Get Your Employees On Board With Your Social Media Policy
  If your employees represent your company, where’s the line between their personal accounts and their responsibility to your brand?
• Why 5 Big Brand Marketing Campaigns Are Betting Big on Social Gaming
  There are more than 60 million social gamers in the U.S., and big brands are spending big money to target them. Here are five good examples.
• HOW TO: Sign Up Users Even Before You Launch Your Startup
  How do startups break through the consumer-pitching chaos? Here are four tricks smart brands have employed to get the word out before the company is even off the ground.
• The PR Pro’s Guide to Facebook
  Here are tips of the trade for starting and managing a client’s Facebook Page.
• Why Small Risks May Yield Bigger Returns for Startups
  Has the Internet fundamentally changed the way companies think about risk? Author Peter Sims discusses the concept of “Little Bets” in his new book.

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

Image courtesy of WebTreats Etc.

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Mac users may want to be extra careful when using Skype, thanks to a nasty zero-day vulnerability in the Mac OS X version of the client.

Security researcher Gordon Maddern from the firm Pure Hacking discovered a flaw in Skype that allows a skilled individual to gain remote access to another’s machine simply by sending a Skype message.

Maddern says the discovered the hole by accident but put together a proof of concept showing how potentially dangerous it could be. By simply sending a message, Maddern was able to take control of a user’s computer and execute a shell instance. Scary stuff.

The researcher contacted Skype more than a month ago, but despite assurances from Skype that a fix was on the way, the program has remained unpatched.

In fact, it appears that it was only after Maddern blogged about the issue — and others like ZDNet UK championed the cause — that Skype felt the need to see the issue as a major problem.

In a statement to ZDNet UK, Skype said, “We are aware of this and will release a fix early next week to resolve the issue. We take our users privacy very seriously and are working quickly to protect Skype users from this vulnerability.”

Mac OS X user are unlikely to be completely satisfied with this response. In Waiting more than a month before applying a hot fix, Skype has shown that it might not truly be “taking our users privacy very seriously.”

The Windows and Linux versions of Skype aren’t vulnerable to this zero-day vulnerability. In addition to this new “feature,” Mac users are also dealing with a new UI in Skype 5 that makes everything harder to use.

Realistically speaking, most users are probably not in any potential danger when using Skype — provided they don’t accept messages or calls from strangers. Still, we know we’ll be taking a Skype for Mac break until this thing is fixed.

What do you think of Skype’s response to this situation? Let us know.

More About: fail, mac, security, Skype, skype for mac

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