While some WordPress designers don’t give a second thought to the security of sites they design, others turn to a variety of plugins they hope will keep hackers at bay. Others, as you’ll see, have taken a more fundamental approach to security concerns. The world’s most popular content management system… read more
Meet Amun 3554. Doesn’t look like much, right? Little more than a mile wide, it’s one of the smallest M-class (metal-bearing) asteroids yet discovered. Unless it ever decides to smash into us — a theoretical possibility, but extremely unlikely over the next few centuries — it will continue orbiting the… read more
Wreck-It Ralph, a 3D computer-animated Disney movie due out Nov. 2, will feature cameos from the gaming world’s most-beloved bad guys.
Although the star-studded comedic film stars the 9-foot, 643-pound video game character Ralph, be on the lookout for villains from Super Mario Bros., Mortal Kombat, Sonic, Mega Man,… read more
Alex Goldfayn’s new book is called Evangelist Marketing: What Apple Amazon and Netflix Understand About Their Customers (That Your Company Probably Doesn’t). He is CEO of the Evangelist Marketing Institute, a marketing consultancy with clients that include T-Mobile, TiVo, and Logitech. Follow him @alexgoldfayn.
When you have evangelists for your product… read more
Advertise here via BSA
Nature has proven to be one of the greatest inspiration sources of all times for artists. Logos inspired by “Mother Nature” bring that rustic, organic, wholesome feeling to brands, allowing them to appear less corporate and more trustworthy. Alternatively, the foods in the logo can be drawn… read more
Airbnb users may have booked 4 million nights of accommodation in 2011, but the room-renting startup didn’t make it easy until now.
The company launched a new booking process on Thursday called “Match” that aims to make searching and booking rooms more efficient. Instead of asking you to find rooms through… read more
From digital advertising conferences to programming hackathons and everything in between, you’ll definitely find a swanky locale to suit your professional and personal interests on Mashable’s new Events Board. Whether you’re an event organizer or an event-goer, our Events Board is an essential resource for helping you build relationships, engage… read more
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, better known as CISPA, cleared the House of Representatives on a 248-168 vote late Thursday afternoon after several hours of debate and amending.
CISPA’s intention is to allow private companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with one another and with the federal… read more
StumbleUpon passed the 25 million user mark earlier this week — that’s about one million users every month since it announced it had reached 20 million users in October.
The discovery service has existed in some form since 2001. It accepted its first round of funding in 2006, was purchased by… read more
SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Trade Commission has hired an outside litigator to lead its antitrust probe of Google, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said Thursday during a visit to the agency’s‘s Western Region office here.
The search giant is getting some serious treatment. This is the first time in at… read more
Internet retailer Amazon beat analysts’ estimates for its first quarter on Thursday, prompting a 15% surge in its stock price in after-hours trading.
Net income for the quarter dropped 35% to $130 million, or $0.28 per share, compared with its 2011 figures of $201 million, or $0.44 per share.
Revenue, however,… read more
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason told company employees during a town hall meeting Wednesday that the daily deal site needs to grow up — right after apologizing for drinking too much beer during the meeting.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the 31-year-old CEO said the company doesn’t “have any margin for… read more
Amazon’s Kindle Fire has taken 54.4% of the Android tablet market, leaving the number two in the category — Samsung Galaxy Tab — in the dust, according to comScore.
The Kindle Fire, introduced in November, nearly doubled its share over the last two months, comScore reports. Meanwhile, Galaxy Tab, which had… read more
There’s no question about it: people love to play Zynga games. The company’s latest financial report reflects its growing fan base.
Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) announced its financial results on Thursday for the quarter ending March 31, 2012, and the results are impressive: Q1 revenue of $321 million, up 32%… read more
The next step in building my design business: what makes a great portfolio site?
Mashable is very excited to be nominated for a Webby Award in the business category! Today is the final day to vote and we’d greatly appreciate your help.
VOTE HERE FOR MASHABLE
While we focus on staying on top of the latest business news, we also know how to have fun!
Today, Mashable took part in “Take… read more
Kickstarter, the crowd-sourced project funding platform, is now officially a thing. It’s being actively parodied by comedians all over the web with videos that mock the slick, yet warm and heartfelt-approach of its best pitches.
Those jokesters can make fun all they want. Many Kickstarter projects are laughing all the… read more
Sure, Etsy‘s been around since 2005, but not everyone is hip to the ecommerce site. No worries, we’ve provided an overview of all the great features Etsy has to offer. Just don’t blame us when you’ve logged your fifth straight hour browsing refab couch cushions. It’s been known to happen.
Etsy… read more
Video Inspiration is a weekly(ish) post where we either feature a specific artist or show a sort of “best of” list of videos we’ve discovered during the week. Everything here may not be brand new, but we felt it worth sharing with the community. If you have good… read more
Right now I am procrastinating. I should be working on writing a story about American Legion Baseball, but I’m writing this blog post instead.
I am not a serial procrastinator—in fact, rarely do I procrastinate. But when there is a story that I know I have to write on a… read more
The gaming industry is huge, and it can keep its audience consumed for hours, days and even weeks. Some play the same game over and over again — and occasionally, they even get out their 15-year-old Nintendo 64 to play some Zelda.
Now, I am not a game designer. I actually… read more
These days, many people may do freelance work and regular contracting or business that requires invoicing. Getting paid is undeniably one of the most important parts of any business and invoicing is a key component of that process. Long gone are the days of handwriting invoices and mailing them. Now we have… read more
Ever worked a day job you couldn’t stand?
Me, too.
For years, I worked as a legal secretary for movie studios and talent agents. Before that, I scooped ice cream, worked at McDonald’s, and even sold aluminum patio awnings over the phone.
Every minute I worked these mind-deadening jobs, I thought it… read more
Developing a website can sometimes be a dry process, but that doesn’t mean the finished site can’t make a splash. As the lead designer at a studio called “The Deep End”, it’s always interesting to see what others have done with the underwater web design theme, and it turns out… read more
Avengers Super hereo AR App Game Mode Main Menu 01
Click here to view this gallery.
The Avengers movie,… read more
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Quick Pitch: A place for fans to connect with other supporters of the same teams, find the… read more
Microsoft just signed a deal with one of the biggest electronics makers in the world to license technologies related to Android and Chrome. The agreement is with Taiwan’s Pegatron, and with it, Microsoft now has patent-licensing deals with four out of the five top Taiwanese manufacturers, the company announced on… read more
Incapsula co-founder and CEO, Gur Shatz, is a security industry veteran with more than 14 years of product leadership and engineering experience. Before founding Incapsula, Shatz held several key positions at Imperva.
Recently, someone posted a list of 5,012 websites on a hacker forum that were vulnerable to a SQL injection… read more
Josh S. Peters is the co-author of TwittFaced, and is the social media manager at The Search Agency. Follow him @JoshSPeters.
Every company should run a quick social media audit each quarter to make sure content is properly optimized and every aspect of their social presence aligns with their brand. The… read more
Name a chef who wears green eyeshadow, sequined purple sweaters and leather pants with a zip-out crotch. Chances are, you’re still searching. That is, unless you’ve tuned in with millions of other viewers to watch Cooking Channel’s Bitchin’ Kitchen, where celebrity chef Nadia G totters around on heels higher than… read more
Ecommerce site Roozt is trying to become the go-to hub for socially conscious consumers. With Roozt, shoppers can browse products based on cause supported, region of the world, or products sold.
Brent Freeman founded Roozt about three years ago with the idea of creating an Etsy-style marketplace for social… read more
Autism Awareness Month may be coming to a close, but by using the social network MyAutismTeam, parents of children with autism spectrum disorder can spread awareness and find support throughout the year.
MyAutismTeam is a part of the MyHealthTeams network, online communities for people living with or caring for those… read more
If the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, better known as CISPA, reached President Obama’s desk in its current form, he would veto the bill, according to a statement from the White House.
CISPA, says the White House, would allow the government and the intelligence community unfettered access to Americans’ personal… read more
The Daily Dot, an online news startup launched in August that bills itself as “the hometown newspaper of the World Wide Web,” is no longer being edited by Owen Thomas, the publication confirmed in a blog post Wednesday.
“It is a bittersweet parting,” writes Dot CEO Nicholas White. “Bitter, because… read more
Jesse Draper is creator and host of “The Valley Girl Show” through which she’s become a spokesperson for startups and helped pioneer the way of new media content distribution. Formerly a Nickelodeon star, Draper is now CEO of Valley Girl™ where she oversees the show and runs technology… read more
Love that Facebook status update from last Monday or summer and want to use it again?
Honest Tea wants you to recycle your Facebook status — supposedly, to raise awareness of recycling everyday products.
Organic tea and drink company Honest Tea has launched The Great Recycle — a call-to-action to… read more
Chuck Longanecker is the founder of Digital-Telepathy, a user-experience design company passionate about creating products, like SlideDeck and Impress. Follow him at @dtelepathy.
Although it’s still early in 2012, the importance of visual storytelling is clearly one of the year’s breakout trends. Facebook Timeline, Pinterest, and Instagram are forcing brands to… read more
Many freelancers have some dedicated space in their home in which to do their work. And setting up a great home office is key to your productivity, sanity, and professionalism.
Of course, some people don’t have an entire room in their home dedicated to a home office, but if you… read more
When I first started freelance writing, I thought branding for businesses merely referred to having a consistent “look and voice”. With my partner, we put together a website, designed a logo, added social media accounts– and called it our branding strategy. But I learned that these are just functional… read more
Branding a business can be quite the difficult task, regardless of if it’s your own or a clients. One of the most difficult things to do in this process is come up with a logo. A sole image, or tag of some sort, that will effectively portray what that business… read more
I have written case studies for clients, but haven’t implemented this in my own business yet. It is definitely something I’m going to be working on in the coming months.
Why, you may ask? Because a case study, at its root, combines the all-powerful client testimonial with step-by-step details on… read more
We’ve all been there: a client really, really wants to make a change to your design that, as a designer, you can immediately tell will result in disaster. It happens to every designer, and, as far as I can tell, there’s no real way to avoid it. However,… read more
Empire Facebook Game
Click here to view this gallery.
Empire, a new Facebook game from Jay-Z, wants your virtual… read more
Shannon Duffy is the president of marketing at Data.com, a Salesforce.com company. Follow her @sullytoduffy.
Everyone agrees: Gamification is hot. So hot that the market is expected to hit $2.8 billion in revenue by 2016. Naturally, companies are taking a long look at how to capitalize on this trend.
If you’ve… read more
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: Three Ring
Quick Pitch: Create and share digital portfolios of students’ work quickly and easily.
Genius Idea: Three… read more
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich), author of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, better known as CISPA, is confident the bill has enough support in the House to pass when it comes up for a vote Friday. Rising opposition from privacy groups and concerned Internet users has not shaken his… read more
Innovative digital journalism played a starring role in the wake of a massive document release during an inquiry into British media ethics.
The Leveson Inquiry, a judicial investigation into the culture, practice and ethics of the press, was originally called to examine the widespread phone hacking that took place at… read more
The first ever non-stop flight from Tokyo to Boston, via Japan Airlines, took place on April 22 using the 787-8 Dreamliner. As a result, the East and West got a little more “connected.”
The flight not only marks the first commercial use of the 787 Dreamliner in the U.S., but… read more
Fascinated by their girlfriends’ obsessions with Pinterest, two friends have created a mobile app that turns your Pinterest boards into a mobile game. Called PinPuzzle, the app takes photos from your boards (or anyone else’s on the service) and turns each one into a new level of a sliding puzzle… read more
Amazon Cloud Drive
Storage: 5GB free (purchases from the Amazon MP3 Store don’t count towards storage limit)
Mobile Integration: Cloud… read more
I’ve been a web developer for about 10 years now, which aside from making me feel old in my mid-twenties, means I’ve put a lot of thought into developing websites and web applications. I’ve developed tons of sites, had a litany of ideas and side projects, and I’m a user… read more
Despite the gloom surrounding its stock price of late, Apple delivered another blowout quarter on Tuesday, thanks in large part to iPhone sales. But if you took the iPhone out of the equation, the overall numbers were just OK as Macs had a so-so quarter and iPad sales fell… read more
Apple on Tuesday announced it sold 35.1 iPhones and 11.8 iPads in its fiscal second quarter. Analysts had expected Apple would sell about 30.5 million iPhones and 12.3 to 13.5 million iPads.
Earnings for the quarter were $12.30 a share on revenues of $39.2 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had… read more
Jeff Valentine is senior vice president of product at M5 Networks, ShoreTel’s cloud division, and is responsible for bringing new M5 products and services to market.
Zor Gorelov, CEO of Speech Cycle, recently wrote an article in which he suggested that the call center “will cease to be the… read more
Over the last few months you may have noticed more video appearing on Mashable. We’re currently producing original content to complement our news coverage, shows like “World at Work” that dive deeper into a given topic (social entrepreneurship in this case), and specials like “Leaders in Digital” that go… read more
I’m a believer that marketing materials will never go out of style. There’s something to be said when you have something really cool to give to someone else that characterizes you and your business.
I’m not talking about one of those squishy, stress reliever balls or a pen with your… read more
The Web font revolution that started around two years ago has brought up a topic that many of us had merrily ignored for many years: font rendering. The newfound freedom Web fonts are giving us brings along new challenges. Choosing and using a font is not merely a stylistic issue,… read more
Vectortuts+ loves Illustration and discovering new talent, so today we are proud to be showcasing Round 1 of the Vectortuts+ Creative T-shirt Project. The best thing is, you can be a part of it! Find out how to get involved, at the jump.
Create Your Own T-shirt Design, Round… read more
Do you have this dream? You go down to your nearest big newsstand one day and check out all those big, glossy magazines. You flip one of your favorites open…and there’s your byline.
You’ve cracked the competitive world of writing for national magazines.
The good news is, this is not a… read more
As a freelancer, you are on your own when it comes to keeping track of your finances. And let’s face it, the financial side of things are generally the last thing we want to mess with at the end of a day. As painful as it might be to… read more
If you’re looking for free vector grunge graphics, such as distressed backgrounds, worn textures, dirty paint splatter, and more, then you’ve found a compilation worth downloading. We’ve collected an assortment of vector grunge illustrations, free vector grunge textures, and wickedly worn graphics available for free download. Jump in and grab… read more
Advertise here with BSA
To work as a freelance web designer requires a lot of patience and perseverance. You need to wake up every day and tackle problems one after another until you can successfully complete your projects. There is a lot of stress and turmoil which goes into this… read more
Advertise here via BSA
Crests and shields are a popular choice for logo designs — they’ve been around for longer than anyone cares to think about and impart a sense of tradition and gravitas. A crest offers a royal, memorable and strong appearance with great impact for the customers and potential… read more
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: MatchPuppy
Quick Pitch: MatchPuppy is a social networking site for canines.
Genius Idea: The website matches… read more
Hipster Playing Cards
Click here to view this gallery.
Images of the stoic kings, queens and jacks on playing… read more
Being a female entrepreneur in the male-dominated tech industry is challenging, and comes with a distinct set of barriers. Thankfully, there are several female-led organizations that are working to bring more women into the tech fold.
I asked a panel of successful young female entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit… read more
When it comes to general group and project management apps, there are plenty out there to choose from. In that sense, it really comes down to what each organisation or group wants to achieve from the use of the app and this can really help to cement that decision. Another… read more
Here’s a great giveaway for all of you Bittbox readers! Our friends from UPrinting.com are back and they are offering a set of 250 pieces die-cut business cards. UPrinting is an online printing company that serves thousands of on-demand printing. They’ve been online since 2000 and have been established as… read more
Ryan Caldbeck is the founder and CEO of CircleUp, an equity-based crowdfunding platform. Prior to CircleUp, Caldbeck was a private equity investor at Encore Consumer Capital and TSG Consumer Partners.
Raising capital is one of the most important, and intimidating, decisions in the life of a young company. Founders have long… read more
One of the biggest moments in an entrepreneur’s life can be their pitch to a potential investor. In order to get into TechStars, one of the leading startup accelerator programs, companies must first stand out from hundred of applicants and be chosen to present their idea in-person to the program’s… read more
Mashable’s mRank is presented by the Samsung Galaxy Note, a smarter phone for a smarter world. Check it out here, follow @SamsungMobileUS or join the conversation via #benoteworthy on Twitter.
Mashable‘s mRank leaderboards track the most buzzed-about movies across the social web. mRank’s technology analyzes a particular term — in this… read more
Netflix added close to 3 million streaming subscribers in its first quarter for a total of 26 million, but lost 1 million DVD subscribers and posted a loss.
The company’s net loss of $5 million, or 8 cents a share, for the quarter is less than analysts predicted, but Netflix’s… read more
A startup called Wajam has created a more useful social search experience for Google than Google could.
Google’s own three-month-old social search product is called “Search Plus Your World.” But given the absence of Twitter and Facebook updates in the product’s results, it would be more appropriate to call it “Search… read more
Apple may be dropping the 17-inch MacBook Pro from its products lineup this year, according to an industry analyst.
KGI Securities research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple is cutting the largest laptop it sells because of weak sales.
The 13-inch (starting at $1,199) and 15-inch (starting at $1,799) MacBooks… read more
Facebook’s updated S-1 filing has offered some new details on its recent Instagram purchase, including structure of the payment.
The social networking giant paid $300 million in cash for Instagram and about 23 million shares of common stock. In addition, Facebook has agreed to pay a $200 million termination fee to… read more
Breast enlargement creams. Cellulite removers. Weight loss supplements. If you’re a woman who has ever used Google, Facebook or any website with targeted advertising, you’ve likely come across these kinds of ads.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could remove them?
That’s the aim of a new marketing campaign from Dove…. read more
Why Ivy Bridge?
Intel’s 22-nanometer processor tech promises better performance, with more features (like security) built right into the… read more
Google officially opened up its AdWords for video product to all businesses on Monday with a new program offering $50 million in free advertising to small businesses.
The company announced on Monday that it is offering $75 in free advertising for 500,000-plus businesses. (The original post on the offer set… read more
Designing a new product means overcoming a number of challenges, from idea generation through to rights and marketing. Designers will come at these problems in a number of different ways, with variations often dependent on their agency or freelance reputation. However, there are some general tips that can be followed… read more
I am a lucky freelancer—I have my own home office and no kids (well, at least not yet) to worry about. And my job means I don’t have to sit in my office, day after day, until I can’t stand it anymore. I get to go out and meet… read more
Imagine you are in a classroom. Let’s say a high school classroom. You’re sitting at your desk, listening to your favorite teacher—the one who inspired you, the one who got you excited about that thing you love for the first time.
You’ve stopped taking notes because your body just can’t quite… read more
The graphic designer leave behind has, ironically, been left behind in recent years. Its something that is heavily focused on in design school, but rarely is it put into practice in the real world. I think that’s a shame.
If you made a good impression on your potential client… read more
As a writer about Mac, iPhone and iPad applications you sometimes think you’ve seen it all, apps being very similar, especially when they perform basically the same tasks. I should know better – it’s the details that can make all the difference and I tried to highlight that fact in… read more
Once a week, we feature a fantastic freelance-themed comic from the talented N.C. Winters. Why not also take a look at our comic archive?
After several sneak previews and a fully-functional beta version, Adobe has today officially announced the latest reincarnation of its popular Creative Suite software package, version 6, which sports among other things a whole wealth of new features, a massive overhaul to the default user interface and integration with Adobe’s new… read more
Christmas is always a particularly fun time of year for me. Sure, there are the obvious reasons of family, gifts, music, movies, eggnog and all that good stuff. But for me it has more to do with the questions I’m asked by family members and I couldn’t help but laugh… read more
Originally a fork of Mambo, Joomla has grown into the second most popular Content Management System (CMS) on the web behind WordPress. In January 2012 Joomla was upgraded from 1.7 to version 2.5. It brought a lot of great new features such as notifications for easier updates, multi database support… read more
15 Stunning Business Cards from Famous People or Companies
Mona Abdel-Halim is the co-founder of Resunate, the makers of the Apply widget for startups. You can start attracting top talent free by getting an Apply widget for your company at Resunate.com/employers. Connect with Resunate on Facebook and Twitter.
If you’ve been on the job search for a while, it’s likely… read more
When Google acquired Keyhole — the tool that would become Google Earth — in 2004, the company believed it would become the ultimate video game. Google thought travelers could peruse potential vacation destinations and movie makers could use the detailed satellite imagery as a backdrop in films.
But Google had… read more
This post is part of our daily series of posts showing the most inspiring images selected by some of the Abduzeedo’s writers and users. If you want to participate and share your graphic design inspiration, You can submit your images and inspiration to RAWZ via http://raw.abduzeedo.com and don’t forget to… read more
Bubbly T-Mobile spokeswoman Carly recently traded in her pink sundress for a black leather look in the company’s latest ad to promote its 4G network. But this may be the first sign of the company’s rebranding efforts that will launch this fall.
T-Mobile, which is currently the number four wireless… read more
In our recent Customer Experience Series, Mashable dove deep into the mysterious alchemy of customer service. Those who own their own business will tell you: Getting (and keeping) customers is not easy. There are so many different factors that must work together perfectly within a company to ensure that fans… read more
Yesterday I received this email from Tabitha – a dPS reader. I thought it might make an interesting community discussion. Can you help her with any advice?
Dear dPS – next week I’ve been asked to photograph a friends house which is being sold. They have decided not to sell their… read more
Josh Tolan is the CEO of Spark Hire, which combines a video job board and online interviewing platform to enrich interaction between job seekers and employers. Connect with him and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter.
As we bid adieu to yet another tax deadline, it got me thinking about… read more
As athletes get ready to take the global stage during the London 2012 Olympic Games less than 100 days away, Procter & Gamble has released a new ad praising mothers worldwide. Press play and cue the waterworks.
In three days, the video has received over 700,000+ views on YouTube. P&G,… read more
Il primo a dare l’addio era stato Jack Dorsey, co-fondatore di Twitter. Una storia lunga la sua. Jack era stato tra i primi investitori di Instagram. Aveva sperato di integrarlo con Twitter. Ha tentato di acquistarlo in più di un’occasione. Se l’è invece lasciato soffiare sotto il naso dal terribile… read more
When you started off as a freelancer, did it cross your mind that you might not make it? Did you consider the possibility of failure? If you’re like many first time freelancers, you didn’t.
It’s not that surprising that so many freelance businesses go under, when many freelancers don’t… read more
Bad news, New York City-based space enthusiasts: You’ll have to wait a few more days before Space Shuttle Enterprise takes to the skies over Gotham.
NASA was planning to fly the shuttle to New York on Monday morning, but bad weather might delay the event until at least next Wednesday. It… read more
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
With the breadth of innovations in green technology, it seems that we should all have solar-powered laptops by now. Unfortunately, that’s yet to be the case. In… read more