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| Can Twitter Tell If You're a Psychopath? | |  There are probably a few people on your Twitter feed or Facebook friends list that you consider "crazy," and a new study by says you might be right. Simply using certain words in your daily tweets may be enough to determine if you have psychopathic tendencies. The study tallies the frequency with which you use words like "bury," "die" and "kill," and weighs that data against other, unspecified warning signs. After putting 3,000 volunteers through the filter -- and then questioning each one individually -- the researchers found that 1.4% of those who participated may be closet psychopaths. Of course having certain words in your Twitter vocabulary certainly seems like a rather flimsy way to help diagnose something as serious as psychopathic tendencies, and the scientists are quick to point out that the results may not be perfect. That's probably an understatement. Florida Atlantic University and the Online Privacy Foundation conducted the study together. |
| Students, Here's How to Kick-Start Your Personal Brand Online | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:13 PM | Joann Pan |
|  The most beneficial action young job seekers can take while still in school is to pay attention to what's happening online. These days, an impressive resume might get you noticed, but it won't necessarily land you a job interview on its own. You'll need a well-rounded web presence, as well. "The first thing an employer is going to do is Google you," Alexandra Levit, generational speaker and author of Blind Spots: 10 Business Myths You Can't Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success tells Mashable. "The worst thing is to have something negative pop up. In the absence of anything negative, having nothing come up really doesn't say much about your level of seriousness in terms of being out there and being professional." Whatever Google turns up will determine your fate. Every Twitter message, Facebook status and Linkedin update is a reflection of one's personality, capabilities and priorities. Busy high school and college students may not yet be thinking about post-grad jobs, but hiring managers say it's an ideal time for these students to being establishing strong online identities. Here's how leading career experts suggest students get started. SEE ALSO: The Pros and Cons of 4 Personal Branding Sites Know What's Online Again, Google search yourself and see what pops up. Take an inventory of all the social networks you have joined, plus the ones you've neglected (like that old MySpace page). Deactivate all the accounts you haven't touched in a while, says Levit. Otherwise, a prospective employer might find something embarrassing or unprofessional on a long-forgotten blog. Remove all unprofessional content from your public accounts. This means combing through the vacation photos on your Facebook page, for example. Your future employer shouldn't see pictures of you in a skimpy bikini or the fish-bowl-sized margarita you managed to drink by yourself. "Even if you have privacy settings on things, employers have a nice little way to get through privacy settings," warns Levit. She suggests an easy way to determine what needs to go. "If you wouldn't be comfortable having it on the front page of The New York Times, it probably shouldn't be anywhere online." Supercharge Your Personal Brand There's a reason why the world continues to equate Oprah Winfrey to motivational TV and aha! moments. Even after walking off the daytime stage, The Oprah Winfrey Show host continues to keep her personal brand consistent across many different mediums. Her name is synonymous with entertainment and empowerment. Your name is at the forefront of your personal brand. It's important to ensure you're showing up in searches. Hiring manager and career counselor Heather Huhman recommends high school students reserve their names and social media handles on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, About.me and other niche networks. "It's really important that you take as much control of your personal brand as possible, and that really starts with owning your own name," says Huhman. The second step is figuring out your brand message and making sure it's consistent across those platforms. Your brand message should convey your interests, personal strengths, experience and future goals. Basically, you're telling employers who might be looking at your social profiles why they should consider you for the open position. In a nutshell, set yourself apart from other candidates. It's important to be professional on all public social networks. Use careful grammar, punctuation and consistency in your overall message. Leveraging Social Media Generation-Y job seekers should be using social media to connect, learn and broadcast their unique voice, says Huhman. "Twitter is a close enough community where you can make one-on-one connections by following someone and commenting on their news items," adds Levit. It's a place where you can ask questions and get answers. Levit recommends updating your Twitter or public social media page at least once a week while in school. If you're serious about establishing an online brand, Levit suggests updating daily. SEE ALSO: How to Build Your Personal Brand on Twitter Students should be reading and engaging in the conversations happening, says Huhman. Sharing interesting content and opinions about industry-relevant topics is crucial. "Social media is a great tool for finding articles that are good to read about your industry and asking people in a low confrontational way for an informational interview," says Huhman. "Utilize it to learn and see exactly what you'll be doing." Most importantly, students should be using their social media accounts to display thought leadership. Huhman recommends starting a blog to increase web visibility. A personal blog is a place where you can tell recruiters about yourself, attach your resume and showcase your best work. "I have actually hired several people in the past because I first found their blog and I liked what they were saying," Huhman says. "Participating in the communities that exist out there and letting your voice be heard is definitely important." In the digital era, sharing your story is easier than ever. Your job is to consistently build your credibility and visibility online. Being active in crafting your personal brand ensures you're getting the right ideas across to the companies and brands you want to work for. Do you devote a certain amount of time to personal branding every day? Tell us about your experience. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alejandrophotography, Flickr, Johan Larsson, Juska Wendland |
| 10 More Celebrities to Follow on Pinterest | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 10:28 PM | The Daily Dot |
|  You may not be able to live the life of the rich and famous, but you can always check out their Pinterest profiles. Now that more celebrities than ever are on the image-sharing platform, it's easy to see how the other half lives through inspirational boards, recipes and interior design ideas. Check out our latest batch of celebrity must-follows on Pinterest. (You can see our complete list so far on our Celebrities on Pinterest board.) |
| Car Dealership Challenges You to Tweet Your Way to a New Audi | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 9:47 PM | Anita Li |
|  A Canadian car dealership is challenging consumers to tweet their way to a new Audi. Pfaff Automotive launched a campaign that asks people to register for a "Tweet Race" by signing up for a new Twitter account or signing in with an existing one. Starting from Monday, when the campaign began, the first 10 people to reach 2,500 followers will win a key; one of those keys will unlock the door of a new 2013 Audi A4. The grand prize comes with a free tuning package valued at $5,000 and a year-long lease, according to the campaign, which is only available for residents in the Canadian province of Ontario. Those who register will have to authorize the third-party application, PFAFF Tweet Race, to use their Twitter accounts. The campaign's official site features a track that visually maps the Tweet Race, and also lists participants who are on its leaderboard. So far, only three users have passed the 2,500 mark: @batsirai with a little over 7,000 followers, @javagraba with just over 6,700 followers and @_bsmith_ with close to 3,000 followers. The top three, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, have tweeted about their involvement in the contest. Reached out to a few popular friends and my Twitter following blew up today... waaay more than I expected - thanks guys! #pfafftweetrace— batsirai (@batsirai) August 28, 2012 I just registered for the Pfaff Tweet Race. Gas up for your chance to win a tuned Audi A4 for a year. #pfafftweetrace shar.es/v85To— javagraba (@javagraba) August 11, 2012 Get your friends to Follow me @_bsmith_ ! I can win a New Audi!— Sm1tty (@_bsmith_) August 27, 2012 Both @batsirai and @_bsmith_ are active users, tweeting at least several times a day, but @javagraba curiously only has three tweets in total, though the coffee-sleeve maker tweeted that it is giving away free merchandise to entice new followers. Check out our facebook page, we are giving away a ton of free stuff for helpinggenerate new followers, so check it out and share away!— javagraba (@javagraba) August 28, 2012 User @_bsmith_ is dominating the site's "race stats" section, as the fastest participant to reach 100 followers, among other distinctions. Mashable asked Christopher Pfaff, chief executive officer of Pfaff Auto, about the possibility of participants cheating by paying for more Twitter followers. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The dealership also released ads promoting its Tweet Race, with headlines including, "A virtual race for very real bragging rights" and "Update your status with status." The ads all feature the Audi A4. What do you think of the campaign? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of Audi |
| Obama, Comedians Top Tuesday's Republican Convention Tweets | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 8:08 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Twitter has had a major impact on this year's presidential election, and the Republican National Convention is no exception to the phenomenon. There were more tweets about the event on its first day, than during the entire 2008 convention. Several prominent Republicans, including Mitt Romney's wife Ann and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, took the stage in Tampa, Florida Tuesday night to deliver speeches. The most-tweeted moment of the night? Twitter reported 6,195 tweets per minute when Mitt joined Ann on stage. Nearly every word was live-tweeted and fact-checked by journalists, mocked by comedians and rebutted by Democrats. Unfortunately for the Romney campaign, the top 10 most retweeted tweets sent Tuesday night about and during the convention weren't quite on-message. Check them out below, in order of most to least popular. The tweets are courtesy of 140elect.com, which tracks "all tweets about certain keywords related to the Republican National Convention using the Twitter API, then orders them by retweet count," according to founder Zach Green. What was your favorite political tweet from Tuesday night? Share it in the comments. Loved #AnnRomney's speech especially the part about how Mitt can't release taxes cuz her horse ate them. And then Christie ate the horse.— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 29, 2012 When I said Rick Santorum might not tell the truth, that thing he just said about "waiving the work requirement" for welfare -- that was it.— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) August 29, 2012 Tonight Gov. Christie endorses Mitt Romney at the RNC. Say hi to Team Not-Quite-Last-Place: OFA.BO/XRxfuZ, twitter.com/BarackObama/st.— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 29, 2012 Food stamp recipients: 33% (13.4m) are white, 22% (8.9m) are black, 16.7% (6.6m) are Latino & 2.8% (1.1m) are Asian #RNC2012— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) August 29, 2012 Here's a fun game: Add "except for the gays" to the end of most of Rick Santorum's sentences and see how often it applies!— Glenn Howerton (@Glenn_Howerton) August 29, 2012 It's comforting watching the RNC secure in the knowledge that Mitt Romney will never, ever be the President of this awesome country.— rob delaney (@robdelaney) August 29, 2012 SAFE DRINKING GAME: Drink when you see a non-white person in the #RNC audience.— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) August 29, 2012 Ann's portrayal of her/Mitt being impoverished in college got her in trouble in '94 Sen race.Fact is they lived off Romney stock options.— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) August 29, 2012 BREAKING: Entire Republican National Convention Stunned As Ann Romney Asks For Divorce onion.com/RWLack— The Onion (@TheOnion) August 29, 2012 Tonight I hope Chris Christie explains why he thinks gay marriage would hurt his state more than Jersey Shore has. #RNC2012— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) August 28, 2012 Image courtesy of iStockphoto, EdStock |
| Send Us Your Hurricane Isaac Photos | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 3:26 PM | Bianca Consunji |
| 
Seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Gulf Coast residents are bracing themselves for Hurricane Isaac. Forecasters predict up to 20 inches of water after the slow-moving storm makes landfall, which is expected to be in southeast Louisiana Tuesday night. Although the storm is not expected to make as much of an impact as Katrina, government officials in New Orleans suspended public transport and enforced mandatory evacuations in low-lying areas. Gulf Coast residents started sharing snapshots of choppy waves, though the storm has yet reach its full strength. Instagram user Tracy Killen posted a photo of surf breaking on a beach, saying, "WOW - we are not even close to the eye of the hurricane, but we still have huge waves and no beach." SEE ALSO: Prepare for Isaac With Google Crisis Map Are you there? We want to see it through your eyes. Show us what it really looks like in your neighborhood. Are you evacuating or riding it out? Snap pictures of what you're doing to prepare for emergencies and what the water levels look like. We don't advocate putting yourself in harm's way. If you are being advised to evacuate, please do so. But we also know that social media can provide a powerful look at the ground level -- and we want you to help us see it. Tweet us your photos at @MashableHQ with the hashtag #Isaac or upload them using the widget below. Photo courtesy of Tracey Killen, Instagram |
| Entire History of the Internet on One Facebook Timeline | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 2:28 PM | Tecca |
|  We've seen companies and people do some inventive things with Facebook's Timeline feature, but this project may take the cake. Grovo, a company looking to better educate people about common web and mobile products, has curated the entire history of the Internet on one single Facebook Timeline. Many important dates in the development of the Internet are honored with milestones on the company's page, from recent social media launches like Instagram, to way back in 1536, which is the first known use of the @ symbol. Check out the many cool happenings of the 1990s in particular -- the good old dot-com days. Also, can you believe the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was founded in 1958? The agency has done lots of truly mind-boggling research in those fifty-some years. And it only took six years after the invention of email in 1972 for spam emails to show up. |
| Should You Break Up With Pinterest for LoveIt? | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 1:31 PM | Amanda Wills |
|  At first glance, LoveIt looks exactly like Pinterest. And that's on purpose. The more visual something is, the more shareable it is. LoveIt is a platform where you can discover, collect, organize and share images of -- you guessed it -- things you love. Yes, that's the same idea behind Pinterest. So, if you already use that platform, why in the world would you need another one? Because you are going to fall in love with LoveIt. LoveIt Gets You Pinterest hooks you up with your Facebook friends, which is great. But you could be missing out on the content that you really love, rather than the content your friends are sharing. LoveIt constantly works to identify your specific interests and pulls compelling images based on those findings. And if the things you love are things you want to keep to yourself, that's OK (talking to you, wedding planning pinners who aren't yet engaged). "The lack of private collections on Pinterest is a hindrance to many people," says Ron LaPierre, LoveIt co-founder and CEO. "Even in the social world we live in today, many people want to keep certain things either to themselves or to an identified small group of friends or family. LoveIt allows them to do that." LaPierre notes that those private collections make LoveIt a suitable place for businesses. For example, an architect can share plans and concepts with a client in private. More importantly, he can get feedback from the customer without tipping off competitors. LoveIt's Sourcing and Terms of Service LoveIt's content importer tool includes an algorithm that automatically credits the original content source. Improper or missing credit is a huge problem on Pinterest (and other networks for that matter) because it essentially thwarts user interaction. Not only does a source link provide necessary credit, but it also promotes next steps -- that's huge for advertisers and companies. Love that paisley bedspread? You should be able to click on its photo and buy it. But in a place where images are the main focus, copyright and ownership is the elephant in the room. When Pinterest's popularity exploded earlier this year, users pinned with wild abandon. But several content creators dropped it after closely examining its Terms of Service, which claims broad rights to all pinned photos. LoveIt was well aware of that controversy when it launched and didn't make the same mistake. "We clearly call out in our Terms of Service that the content you bring into LoveIt is yours," says LaPierre. "We don't claim any ownership of the content and you're more than welcome to move it or share it on any other site you choose. We fully support the DMCA and the rights of content owners." SEE ALSO: 10 Things People Love and Hate About Pinterest Just like Pinterest, LoveIt provides an opt-out code that content owners can add to their website in order to prevent their material from appearing in LoveIt collections. Drawback: It's Still Really, Really New As with any service that's still in its early stages, LoveIt lacks the addictive content-packed boards that Pinterest is known for. This problem is one in which many early adopters are familiar. Building a robust library doesn't happen overnight. After all, it took Pinterest nine months to get 10,000 users. But that doesn't mean that you won't still find great stuff on LoveIt. Upon signup, it prompts you to answer questions about your interests and generates suggestions from there. Will those first few photos be completely different than the pins you stumble upon on Pinterest? Probably not yet. This is where you will have to do some training. But you won't necessarily have to start from scratch. You can do a bulk import of the stuff you've already uploaded to Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr and your blog. Do We Still Want This? Pinteret's exponential traffic started slowing down in April. But does that mean the concept of a photo-centric network is just a hyped-up Internet fad? Probably not. The web loves its photos. Facebook Timeline is proof enough. But is there room for a service that basically does the same thing as another really successful one? Definitely. The Internet has unlimited space, and every network needs a competitor. Just ask Groupon. While LaPierre was hesitant to give us a hard number of LoveIt's active users, he did say it has a "solid base" that is steadily growing. "What I can tell you is that it took Pinterest months to get 10,000 users," he says. "We surpassed that a few days after our June 7 launch date." Are you still active on Pinterest? Would you consider switching to LoveIt? Tell us in the comments. Bonus: Other Social Networks to Keep an Eye On |
| OneRepublic's 'Feel Again' Uses Real and Social Media Heartbeats | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 12:36 PM | Brian Anthony Hernandez |
|  OneRepublic's new music video for "Feel Again" arrived Tuesday -- escorted onto YouTube and Vevo with a social good initiative benefiting Save the Children and Ad Council's "Every Beat Matters" campaign. Dubbed The Heartbeats Project, the online initiative from ad agency BBDO began when production company Rabbit Content recorded heartbeats of healthy children in Malawi and Guatemala. OneRepublic used the heartbeats as inspiration for "Feel Again" (listen above). Every paid download of "Feel Again" [iTunes link] throws money into the movement's coffers, eventually helping to prevent the death of infants and kids across the globe. The campaign is spreading on social media. At EveryBeatMatters.org people are clicking on the "Tweet This Heartbeat" button to tweet this message: -^v--^v--^v- @onerepublic created the beat to #FeelAgain using heartbeats of kids in need bit.ly/Nfm5DD #EveryBeatMatters @everybeat— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) August 28, 2012 The site also lets you listen to the kids' heartbeats and has a Heartbeat Portrait Maker, which takes one of your Facebook photos and transforms it into a portrait created from mini heartbeat waves. "Every year, about 7 million children die of largely preventable and treatable causes, such as malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia," says OneRepublic's record label, Interscope. "'Feel Again' was inspired by the heartbeats of children in remote villages where children are in need of life-saving care." "Feel Again" is the lead single from OneRepublic's forthcoming album due out by the end of 2012. |
| How 'Project Runway' Uses Social Media to #MakeItWork | | Tuesday, August 28, 2012 9:33 AM | Lauren Indvik |
|  To kick off its 10th season this summer, Project Runway developed a highly visual, multi-pronged campaign designed to round up existing fans and get their friends involved. The ongoing campaign, dubbed "#MakeItWork," riffs off an oft-delivered piece of advice from cast member Tim Gunn, who occupies the role of "mentor" to designers on the show. Since the show's premiere on July 11, Project Runway's Twitter following has jumped 12% to 130,000+, and its Facebook fanbase has grown by 6% to more than 1.5 million fans. #MakeItWork extends across an impressive number of online and offline platforms, some large and established, others -- like Viddy and Piictu -- less so. Here's a breakdown of the campaign by platform, followed by an interview with Evan Silverman, SVP of digital media at A+E Networks, about the campaign and its development. Twitter. Leading up to the premiere, @ProjectRunway asked Twitter followers to tweet images of their #MakeItWork moments for the chance of a prize. The account has run a series of other contests since, including $500 to the fan whose message containing the name of the show received the most retweets. Instagram. (below left) Ahead of the premiere, @OfficialProjectRunway posted photos of existing designs from the upcoming season's contestants to introduce their respective aesthetics. Since then, the account has primarily featured contestants' sketches and completed designs. Pinterest. The LifetimeTV account uses its "Fashion Time" board to showcase contestants' designs and repins fashion-themed images posted by other users. Piictu. (below right) The @ProjectRunway account posts challenges like "Animal prints. #MakeItWork" based on the challenges of each episode. Users respond with their own photos, which are displayed in a scrollable stream. Viddy. Contestants introduced themselves and one of their designs through 15-second video clips ahead of the premiere. After each episode, challenge winners described what they did to win. Q&A With Evan Silverman, SVP of Digital Media at A+E Networks How did you decide what social networks to target? Project Runway is an incredibly visual show. We noticed the rise of visual social media platforms and wanted to marry those with Project Runway. At the same time our marketing department announced a campaign that utilized the hashtag #MakeItWork, which appeared on billboards, kiosks and buses. We wanted to play that off on a bunch of visual social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, but also Pinterest, Instagram, Viddy and Piictu. We're the first TV network to run a campaign on Viddy. Why Viddy? Why not another mobile video network, like Socialcam? Viddy has incredible scale, an incredible userbase. The 15-second-or-less video is a good fit, the interactivity of platform is great, we wanted users or fans of the show to interact with #MakeItWork, to contribute. What do you want fans to contribute? Before the season premiere, we would upload video introducing one designer at a time. He or she would say, 'I would use this kind of fabric,' or explain a certain approach to a design to 'make it work.' Fans could respond with how they do or would 'make it work' themselves. It's interesting to me that you choose Piictu, whose community is, I imagine quite small. It's the smallest by far, but they are a photo-based visual network. Fans respond with their own sort of picture about how they "make it work." It was really a perfect fit for how we wanted users to interact with Project Runway. Did the demographics of these networks affect your choices? We really just wanted to focus on visual-social platforms. Plus, we're on season 10 now, so one of the most important things is to remind folks to tune back in, to engage with the show and meet the new set of designers. So you would say that has been a bigger priority than attracting new viewers? I think that's a fair way to characterize it. How would you describe the nature and volume of the response? The campaign is in its infancy right now. We'll continue to add videos throughout season. We have 9,000 followers on Viddy right now, having started from zero. We're optimistic we can grow the number of fans, plus add exposure. How are you planning to further develop the campaign? We'll continue to use the hashtag #MakeItWork throughout the season on the platforms I mentioned. Image courtesy of A+E |
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