Kaltura Raises $20M for Open-Source Video Technologies

Today, open-source video platform Kaltura announced a $20 million round of funding led by new investors Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Intel Capital, existing investors .406 Ventures and Avalon Ventures, and technology lender Silicon Valley Bank.

Altogether, the company has raised $27.5 million since its 2007 Series… read more

J.P. Morgan Creates $500M-$750M Digital Media Fund [REPORT]

J.P. Morgan Chase, apparently looking to make up ground against rival Goldman Sachs, plans to start a fund that would target Internet and digital media companies, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The fund is looking to raise $500 million to $750 million, according to… read more

How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

As technology adoption among small businesses increases, social media is an area that more business owners are becoming interested in. In fact, social media is predicted to see one of the biggest increases in online marketing spending this year, just behind website and e-mail marketing.

Alexis Lamster, VP of customers at… read more

Startup Lets You Scan & Decode Barcodes Without an App

Barcode scanning applications for iPhone and Android are a dime a dozen. Monday, mobile barcode service Scanbuy is introducing technology that brings barcode scanning to all mobile phones with MMS capabilties, no application needed.

Scanbuy’s new “Scan & Send” feature supports application-independent scanning of QR Code, Datamatrix, EZcode… read more

Top Freelance Jobs from Job Board

Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the… read more

How Facebook Deals Are Helping One NBA Team Connect With Fans

The Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media, Power Tools for Facebook. The Super Bowl isn’t the only way to reach 100 million people. Learn the best way to launch a new product or service to more than 500 million people on Facebook with this… read more

BlackBerry Acquires Social Contact Manager Gist

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced Monday that it has acquired relationship manager Gist.

In the past, we’ve called Gist a “power networker’s fantasy service” because it combines e-mail from Outlook, Gmail, Google Apps or Lotus Notes with a universal contact database that can be accessed from… read more

Fresh Off TweetDeck Acquisition, UberMedia Raises $17.5 Million

UberMedia, a collection of third-party Twitter tools that includes TweetDeck, PostUp, UberTwitter, Echofon and others, has raised $17.5 million in funding from Accel Partners, Index Ventures and Steve Case’s Revolution Ventures.

The funding, first reported by AllThingsD, will help replenish the company’s coffers after its $30 million acquisition… read more

Upcoming Conferences and Events for Designers and Developers in 2011

We’re well into 2011, and many designers and developers around the world are planning their travels for the year, including the possibility of attending any Web design or development conferences. To help you out with your plans for the upcoming months, we’ve put together a list of conferences and events… read more

What is Copywriting and How is it Important for a Designer?

Copywriting refers to the use of written copy to promote a business or entity. The ultimate purpose of copywriting is to expand the client base of a business. Multinationals and businesses are now promoting themselves globally, with a worldwide audience at their disposal, which has led to an unprecedented rise… read more

12 Ways to Use Quora For Your Job Search

Looking for a job in social media or the tech space? You probably already have a LinkedIn account and maybe even Twitter. If you’re really serious about personal branding, you might even have your own Facebook Page. Where else can you build your personal profile and showcase… read more

Linkswitch #56: Web apps, writing, and marketing

5 Things You Never Want to Hear Your Client Say

You know what you call a client that knows exactly what they want, does not require revisions, always pays you on time and loves colored eggs? You call them the Easter Bunny because they do not exist.

In a perfect world… read more

4 Small Business Mobile Predictions for 2011

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

This year saw a staggering growth in consumer mobile usage, and with the smartphone industry growing at an unprecedented rate, 2011 could prove to… read more

Pandora Files for IPO

Pandora has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, setting the music-recommendation service on the path toward an initial public offering.

Rumors of an IPO had been intensifying over the past month, with the company said to be looking to raise $100… read more

How Brands Can Make the Most of Facebook’s New Pages

The new Facebook Pages are finally here, but what does it mean for brands that have struggled to make Pages a business tool on a personal network?

The first thing you’ll notice is that Facebook Pages are once again made to look like Facebook Profiles. You have… read more

Ask the Web.AppStorm Editor #1

We’re kicking off another new post series today, called “Ask the Editor”. This is a great way for you to ask questions about Web software (or related hardware) and AppStorm and I will share my responses. Whether you’re dying to know where you should store your photos, are seeking the… read more

Groupon Pulls Controversial Ad Campaign

Less than a week after Groupon ran its edgy Super Bowl ad, the company is pulling the campaign.

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason announced the decision yesterday on the company’s blog, stating: “We’ve listened to your feedback, and since we don’t see the point in continuing to anger people,… read more

Advertisers Launch Dashboards for Real-Time Fashion Week Coverage

During past Fashion Weeks, advertisers have sponsored news hubs on various media platforms, such as Twitter, to help consumers track the flow of events through curated, real-time stream of coverage. This season, advertisers are continuing to do so — and, in two cases, taking a greater role… read more

How Premium Fashion Brands Are Maximizing Their Social Media ROI

Macala Wright Lee is the publisher of FashionablyMarketing.Me. Wright Lee is a retail consultant who specializes in marketing consulting for fashion, luxury and beauty brands. You can follower her on Twitter at @FashMarketing.

Social media and digital technology have forever changed the retail industry. In 2011, brands and… read more

What Is 4G? An FAQ On Next Generation Wireless

The Mobile World Congress Series is supported by Snapdragon by Qualcomm. Inside your smartphone beats the heart of a dragon.

Even if you’re not paying much attention to the fast-moving mobile world, you’ve probably seen some mention of 4G — and you’re likely to see a lot more… read more

Ask FreelanceSwitch: Blogging and Coworking

Credit: kennymatic on flickr

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at blogging and coworking. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com. Let’s… read more

How Old-Fashioned Marketing Can Supercharge Your Design Business

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Sites of the Week #140

For this Sites of the Week we have selected some great sites such as the new Simple as Milk and Dydra. Also we’re featuring the special site for Campaign Monitor is hiring and much, much more! As usual we would love to hear from you, keep sending your suggestions to… read more

33 Cool Logo Design Inspiration You Should Check

Logo design is fun yet hard to perfect. It demands time for planning and conceptualization, after all, logos need to represent the brand effectively and communicate at the same time. They are usually used for a rather long time, lasting years and years of use. They are vital… read more

Starbucks CEO Invests in Groupon, Joins Board of Directors

Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO Howard Schultz is joining Groupon‘s board of directors Thursday.

This news is predicated on Schultz’ venture capital firm’s investment in Groupon. Maveron LLC, a firm with offices in Seattle and San Francisco, has given Groupon an undisclosed amount of funding.

Groupon recently closed… read more

LIVE: Never Say Never Director Jon Chu Talks 3D Movies & Bieber-mania [VIDEO]

Never Say Never, AKA the Justin Bieber movie, hits theaters on February 11. Today, February 10, starting at 4:00 p.m. ET, Mashable will be chatting with the film’s director, Jon Chu (@jonmchu) about what it’s like to make a 3D concert film, Bieber-mania and how social media… read more

Startup Lets Music Fans Request Radio Play via Facebook & Twitter

Remember the old days, when you used to call in to request that the DJs over at KXPY play “Kiss From a Rose” on the “Phat 5 at 9″? Well, you no longer need to dial to request, as startup Spins.FM has made the process super simple via a new… read more

Groupon Offers 50% Off Flowers From FTD.com

Groupon is running a 50% discount offer on flowers via FTD.com, one of several deals the company and its chief rival, LivingSocial, are introducing before Valentine’s Day.

Groupon’s offer for $40 worth of flowers for $20 is available today on FTD’s website, not through the company’s stores. The… read more

HOW TO: Optimize Your Social Media Budget

As marketers focus on optimizing their social media programs this year, return on investment is going to be a huge consideration. As a result, marketers will — and should — take a more calculated approach towards budgeting for social marketing initiatives. Prioritizing spending on particular social activities,… read more

Watch Out Y Combinator, There’s a New Startup Accelerator in Town

Today’s entrepreneur is emboldened by choice — the choice to select from an ever-growing list of startup accelerators, or incubators as they’re often called, that provide guidance from industry veterans and a pittance of cash to cover operating costs.

Variances in reputation, funding-to-equity ratios and post-graduation funding opportunities… read more

The Future of Notebooks: What Does It Mean for Software?

Steve Jobs worked his reality distortion field last October when unveiling updates to their Mac product line. The MacBook Air was one major part of that announcement and it was later cited as one of Apple’s financial successes for that quarter. Maybe it was all of us Apple fanatics buying… read more

Would Google or Facebook Pay $10 Billion For Twitter?

We’re hearing chatter about a possible sale of Twitter, and extraordinary valuations are part of the conversation, with various executives talking about numbers upwards of $10 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook and Google executives have engaged in “low-level talks” with Twitter. According to the WSJ’s… read more

Devs: Help & Get Help With HackerBuddy

Coding can be a solitary and frustrating enterprise, but the best thing about it is the community, which is generally waiting and wanting to help struggling programmers get past bugs and issues.

HackerBuddy is a clever, free application that capitalizes on the strength of that community. It allows… read more

Five Excellent Business Management Web Apps

This is one of the very best list of its kind where you can find incredibly amazing and Five Excellent (Yet Free) Business Management Web Apps.  These would be great enough to bookmark or just for get in your knowledge. I hope everyone of you will like this list. This… read more

The Latest Job Opportunities in Social Media

If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How… read more

Andreessen Horowitz Buys a Chunk of Twitter

Andreessen Horowitz, the up-and-coming venture capital firm invested in social startups Foursquare, Zynga and now Groupon, has snatched up $80 million in Twitter stock by way of secondary markets, according to a new report.

The news, reported by All Things D, is a surprising development considering that Twitter… read more

HOW TO: Run a Global Charity Event From Your Laptop

On a Thursday in early February, Amanda Rose was sorting through non-profit applications from around the globe and setting up calls with her equally international team in a massive effort to organize Twestival Local, an international “Twitter festival” that uses social media for social good by connecting… read more

Kmart Launches “Concierge Service” for Fashion Week Attendees

A select number of New York Fashion Week attendees, including bloggers and other “influencers,” will be getting a little extra attention this week, courtesy of Kmart.

The mass retailer has equipped a number of them with a “survival kit” containing an assortment of small essentials, including lip balm,… read more

The iPhone Ad War: AT&T vs. Verizon

Verizon’s iPhone hasn’t even hit stores yet, but the telecom and its rival AT&T have already started a fight via TV advertising.

Verizon’s iPhone goes on sale Thursday, about a week after the two brands started lobbing advertising jabs at one another. Verizon’s first iPhone ad, which went… read more

Mitsubishi Breaks 5 Guinness World Records in 24 Hours [VIDEO]

Mitsubishi is taking a unique approach to draw attention to its all-wheel drive vehicles: The automaker broke five Guinness World Records relating to driving in winter conditions.

Mitsubishi, along with its agency, 180 Los Angeles, and Guinness World Records, traveled to Ghost Lake in Alberta, Canada, with the… read more

7 Ways Print Magazines Are Using Social Media to Engage Readers

Gina Gotthilf (aka “ginafrombrazil”) is a social media and emerging technologies strategist at BlueGlass Inc. She focuses primarily on fashion and publisher strategies and has worked with some of the largest names in both industries. You can connect with her on Twitter or learn more about her… read more

Useful Resources and Tips for Managing Your Virtual Staff

Credit: Eliffio on Flickr

If you are a typical freelancer, you probably started your business as a one person show, working from home, and spending much of the first year performing every aspect of your operation. But as your client list starts to grow, there soon comes a time where you… read more

The 7 Personality Types of Bloggers Today

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How an Online Game Plans to Reward Kids for Playing Outside

Charged with teaching a dozen 7-year-old little league players the finer points of baseball, David Jacobs and Steven Lerner decided to start with a simple warm-up. They explained that they would yell out the name of a base, and the kids would run to it. When they… read more

Permanent backlinks for website’s promotion

Permanent backlinks for website’s promotion

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StumbleUpon Sets Record for Mobile Use During Super Bowl

StumbleUpon set a record for mobile stumbles during the Super Bowl, a phenomenon that may have been caused by consumers’ lack of access to their PCs.

Roberto Sanabria, the StumbleStats Ninja for the company, detailed the activity of StumbleUpon users on the company’s blog Tuesday. According to Sanabria,… read more

42 Web Apps to Move Your Business Into the Cloud

Enterprises and Businesses are the cash cows that can make a software development company into an overnight success. Selling to them is an incredibly lucrative opportunity. There’s a catch though; you will have to work hard to convince them to make a switch from an archaic system they might be… read more

Conan O’Brien Lampoons Groupon Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO]

Groupon’s Super Bowl ad may not be the best-recalled, or the one that people are rushing to YouTube to see over and over, but it is possibly the one that provided the best fodder for late-night comics.

Here, Conan O’Brien takes a whack at the head-scratching Groupon ad. If you’re late… read more

Top Reasons Why Consumers Unsubscribe Via E-Mail, Facebook & Twitter

More than 90% of consumers unsubscribe, “unlike” or stop following brands because of too frequent, irrelevant or boring communications, according to a report by social media and e-mail marketing services company ExactTarget.

Released Tuesday, “The Social Break-Up” is a study that surveyed more than 1,500 consumers, exploring changing… read more

Introducing Mashable Follow, Our New Social Layer

We’re excited to announce today the beta launch of a new social layer we call Mashable Follow. This project is the start of a significant shift for Mashable in 2011, as we evolve from being a purely editor-driven news site to becoming a true news community that seeks to… read more

Meebo Acquires Ad Targeting Company Mindset Media

Online sharing and messaging platform Meebo announced Tuesday that it has acquired ad targeting company Mindset Media for an undisclosed sum.

Meebo plans to use Mindset Media’s psychographic ad targeting technology to better serve the major brand advertisers that exist across the Meebo platform. Meebo closed a Series… read more

The New SlideRocket: Tap Into the Senses of Your Audience

It’s true; a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s the reason there are so many screenshots in AppStorm articles AppStorm and across the Tuts+ network. To keep your audience engaged, your presentation has to be visually appealing. Once you grab the audience with a striking visual, you can connect… read more

VW Tops List of Most-Viewed Super Bowl Ads on YouTube

Volkswagen’s “The Force” ad was a force to be reckoned with on YouTube. The ad, which was uploaded a few days before the Super Bowl, is now up to 16.4 million views, topping the list of the most-viewed Super Bowl ads on YouTube by far.

YouTube’s metrics are… read more

HOW TO: Be a Better Coworker

Coworking has become a big trend in the tech and startups space — an office full of people working on different things, who have no official ties to one another.

Because of this, it can be hard to get the behavioral balance right. Should you treat your coworkers… read more

Axe iAd Lets Users Interact With Angels [VIDEO]

Objectification of women and cutting-edge technology collide in “Swipe an Angel,” a new iAd for Axe in the UK.

The ad, created by BBH London, lets users manipulate female angels from the ads, by making them spin around and, when the iPhone is shaken, shed their feathers. The… read more

Virgin Mobile Starts Preloading SCVNGR on Android Handsets

SCVNGR’s location-based mobile game will be automatically preloaded on LG Optimus V handsets beginning later this month, thanks to a new partnership with Sprint announced Tuesday.

The SCVNGR app will sit alongside the YouTube application on the homescreen (as pictured), and will be incorporated into LG Optimus V… read more

5 Tips to Strengthen Your Company’s Social Media Voice

Dermot McCormack is the executive vice president of digital media at MTV Music & Logo Group.

Many brands and companies are still struggling with how to develop a successful social media engagement model — one that goes beyond spitting out corporate messages and instead develops a two-way dialog… read more

Social Media: The Final Piece of the Super Bowl Advertising Puzzle

Patrick Kerley is the senior digital strategist at Levick Strategic Communications. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and can be found on Twitter @pjkerley.

From Mean Joe Greene’s Coca-Cola spot, to the “Bud Bowl,” to last night’s cameos by Kenny G, Joan Rivers, and Eminem,… read more

Who Are the Most Popular Silicon Valley CEOs?

Say you just moved to Silicon Valley, and you’re looking for a new job in the tech industry. What Silicon Valley CEO should you work for?

Cubeduel, a side project of Urbanspoon co-founder Adam Doppelt and RescueTime co-founder Tony Wright, says it has the answer. Cubeduel connects… read more

How the Social Media World Reacted to Super Bowl Ads [STATS]

It was a good year for Super Bowl commercials all around, according to data released the day after the big game.

Online discussion about Super Bowl commercials increased 9% in the 12-hour period following the game’s start, compared to last year, according to marketing agency Zeta Interactive. Most… read more

Virgin Mobile Seeks Bloggers for Lady Gaga Tour

At the moment, about 40,000 people “like” Virgin Mobile on Facebook, but the brand hopes to hit 1 million by the end of the year using a tie-in with Lady Gaga.

The telecom brand is working with social media talent marketing firm Talenthouse on a new program that… read more

Things to Remember Before Launching a Website

Effective web-browsing experiences are absolutely necessary in this climate of competitive business and advancing technology. Finding a niche, making a good first impression and staying fresh are among the website owner’s goals. Maybe you’ve got a great concept, selected the perfect designer, brainstormed about design ideas, made decisions and worked… read more

BREAKING: AOL Acquires Huffington Post for $315 Million

AOL has acquired Huffington Post for $315 million in its biggest move since it became an independent company in 2009.

The acquisition will create a new online media conglomerate that already owns news websites TechCrunch and Engadget. According to The New York Times, the deal is worth $300 million in… read more

Super Bowl Advertising Play-By-Play [LIVE]

You can go elsewhere to get a play-by-play account of tomorrow’s Super Bowl, but for a real-time look at the commercials, join Mashable’s panelists at 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday. Mashable Business and Marketing Editor Todd Wasserman will host a real-time chat including Mashable Senior Editor Charlie White, Landor Associates… read more

Why Fashion’s Top Brands Are Flocking to Tumblr

First, fashion bloggers came to Tumblr, and now brands are headed there too.

The latest major brand to land on the platform is Kate Spade, which went live at katespadeny.tumblr.com Thursday morning. The brand is already active on Facebook (for fielding, primarily, customer inquiries), Twitter (for talking to… read more

Top 10 Most Shared Super Bowl Ads Of All Time [VIDEO]

Excitement for Super Bowl XLV is upon us — football, the halftime show, and of course, the commercials.

Researchers at Viral Video Chart have compiled a list of the Super Bowl’s greatest commercials, based on the amount of shares they’ve racked up on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Viral Video Chart pulls in… read more

Vote For Your Super Bowl Ad Faves On Facebook

For the first time, this year you’ll have a chance to vote on your favorite Super Bowl ads on Facebook. By the way, the Super Bowl is on Fox this year; kickoff is at 3:25 pm PST / 6:25 pm EST.

Go to the Sports on Facebook page,… read more

Linkswitch #55: User Experience, Blog Content, Scheduling Software

Strategic Customer Service: An Interview with John Goodman

If you ask any chief marketing officer about the importance of “positive word of mouth” for their product or company, they’ll inevitably say “It’s absolutely critical, word of mouth is definitely a top priority for our business.” But, when you follow up… read more

31 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

It’s Super Bowl weekend and in your excitement to see the “Packers/Steelers” beat the “Steelers/Packers” this sunday, we understand if you missed some of our tools and resources from the past week or so. Besides, that five-alarm chili isn’t going to slow-cook itself.

It was a pretty exciting… read more

30+ Super Bowl Ads You Can Watch Before the Big Game [VIDEOS]

Giving out details about your Super Bowl ad prior to the game used to be a marketing no-no, but that strategy makes less sense in the age of social media. Two days before the game, many advertisers had already loaded their Super Bowl ads onto YouTube. For some, like Volkswagen,… read more

Are Cover Letters Still Relevant For Social Media and Tech Jobs?

The cover letter is often an expected attachment to the résumé, serving as an applicant’s first impression on potential employers. Traditionally, it offers job seekers an opportunity to introduce their skills and qualifications, while giving hiring managers an idea of a candidate’s suitability for the position.

But as… read more

Top 10 Super Bowl Brands With the Most Twitter Pre-Buzz [Infographic]

Want to know which Super Bowl brands are already stirring up the Twittering masses? Here’s an infographic that’ll give you the scoop on the latest pre-buzz on Twitter.

Super Bowl XLV is still a day away, but there’s already intense interest in the commercials that will be interrupted… read more

Where to Find Mashable at Social Media Week 2011

Social Media Week 2011 kicks off on Monday, Feb. 7 in nine cities worldwide, including Mashable‘s two office locations: New York City and San Francisco.

Just like social networks, the program has exploded in the past year and is expected to be the biggest, most diverse Social Media… read more

Groupon Strikes Back at LivingSocial With 50% Off B&N

Competition has been heating up between the two biggest daily deals sites, Groupon and LivingSocial, over the past several weeks, as the two vie for investor funding, Super Bowl ad placements and deals from local and national retailers.

In mid-January, LivingSocial offered a $20 Amazon gift card for… read more

Motorola Offers Sneak Peek of Xoom Super Bowl Ad [VIDEO]

A preview of Motorola’s Super Bowl ad for its Xoom tablet shows the company is planning to attack Apple by alluding to latter’s iconic “1984” ad.

A 15-minute segment of the 60-second commercial shows a young man in a futuristic environment reading George Orwell’s 1984 on a Xoom. Though everyone else… read more

Window Cling Prank Lampoons Kenneth Cole’s #Cairo Gaffe

Following fashion designer Kenneth Cole’s ill-advised tweet regarding the protests in Egypt on Thursday, pranksters have apparently affixed a decal featuring the tweet in question to the window of Kenneth Cole’s SOMA location.

According to Coilhouse, the cling appeared on the store window at 2 a.m. today. We… read more

HOW TO: Design & Program a Facebook Landing Page for Your Business

Jonathan Goldford is a partner at JG Visual, an Internet strategy company that works with organizations to develop and implement their online presence. You can connect with Jonathan on the JG Visual Facebook Page.

Right now Facebook Pages and custom landing pages are bigger than bottled water was… read more

Top 5 Social Media Game Plans for Super Bowl Advertisers

Imagine you’re an advertiser contemplating spending $3 million or so on a Super Bowl ad. Maybe you’ve never done this before or maybe you do it every year, but at some point, you have to justify to someone — your CEO or maybe a procurement expert at… read more

This Morning’s Top 4 Stories in Social Media, Tech & Mobile

Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on four particular stories of interest today.

Verizon iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Sold Out

Demand for Verizon iPhone was apparently… read more

Mattel Launches Digital Campaign Aiming To Reunite Barbie & Ken

Mattel Inc., the world’s largest toy company, has launched a digital marketing campaign in hopes of reuniting one of American’s most famous couples — Barbie and Ken.

After a controversial split on Valentine’s Day in 2004, the two plastic celebrities have led separate, but successful, doll lives. Since… read more

Foursquare’s Super Bowl Campaign to Test Badge Redemption Codes

This year, startups and brands are hungrier than ever to capitalize on the Super Bowl and the anticipated volume of conversations that will spill over on social sites by association. In doing just that, Foursquare will be testing out two new ideas: A global promoted venue and… read more

VW’s “The Force” Super Bowl Ad Goes Viral [VIDEO]

Ignoring the conventional wisdom to keep one’s Super Bowl ad a secret until the game, Volkswagen put its ads on YouTube this week and got significant buzz.

The 60-second ad features a pint-sized Darth Vader (a kid in a Vader costume, actually) using The Force (actually a key fob secretly used… read more

LivingSocial Counters Groupon With Pre-Super Bowl Ad Buy

A few days after Groupon locked in a Super Bowl ad, LivingSocial has responded by purchasing a pre-game spot.

LivingSocial hired Richmond, Virginia-based ad shop The Martin Agency back in November, but hadn’t previously announced the relationship. The 30-second ad will feature a guy who uses LivingSocial… read more

4 Ways to Boost Viral Video Sharing During the Holidays

Chris Schreiber is director of marketing at social video advertising company Sharethrough. A leading expert on social content strategy, Chris managed communications for key consumer applications and social media initiatives at Google and helped drive content strategy for major entertainment brands, including Late Night with Conan O’Brien… read more

Why Permission Marketing Is the Future of Online Advertising

David A. Yovanno is the CEO of Gigya, Inc., a leading social optimization platform for online business. He can be reached on Twitter at @daveyovanno, or via e-mail: dave(at)gigya(dot)com.

Privacy challenges by public interest groups and the FTC are threatening to dismantle or seriously curtail the behavioral… read more

Kenneth Cole’s #Cairo Tweet Angers the Internet

Update: Kenneth Cole has removed the offending tweet and issued an apology on his Facebook Page: “I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my… read more

How Kraft’s Face-Scanning Tech Will Tell You What You Like to Eat

After a harried day in the office, meal planning may be the last thing on your mind. It might be evident on your face, though.

That’s the premise behind an interactive technology Kraft and Intel recently introduced called the “Meal Planning Solution.” The kiosk-like display, which is likely… read more

The Evolution of the Social Media Manager: Social Monetization Manager?

The next evolution of the social media manager position may very well focus on a puzzle piece that is largely missing in the social media strategy of news companies: monetization.

Cox Media Group digital posted an opening Wednesday for a “Social Monetization Manager (SMM)” — someone who will… read more

Creating a Cartoon Character for Your Website – Will It Stick?

In today’s market of stiff corporate competition, it’s more important than ever to create an effective online marketing strategy. Often, this involves finding a way to set your website’s image apart from those of your top competitors.

To achieve this,… read more

Google’s Yelp Competitor, Hotpot, Goes Global & Appears in Search Results

Google Hotpot, a Yelp competitor that acts as a recommendation engine and ratings/reviews system for places, has officially gone worldwide. Hotpot links will now also appear in Google‘s web search results.

On the official Google blog, Hotpot project manager Lior Ron writes, “Hotpot is really going places: to… read more

3 Awesome Food Styling Tips for Aspiring Food Photographers

If you want to make some spark or add some bright effects to a photo – use appropriate decorative accessories. Nowadays it’s not a problem and you can use various additional things related to different fields of art to enhance the quality of your photo and make it… read more

News Corp. Says It’s Ready To Sell MySpace

In an earnings call today, News Corp. officially stated it plans to sell MySpace. During the call, COO Chase Carey said that “now is the right time” to attempt to place the social network “under a new owner.”

MySpace has undergone drastic changes in the past year, including… read more

Find a Great Job in Social Media or Web Development

If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How… read more

Audi Super Bowl Ad Claims First Use of Twitter Hashtag

Audi is claiming a first in Super Bowl advertising: The inclusion of a Twitter hashtag at the end of its 60-second TV spot.

The hashtag “#ProgressIs” will flash during the automaker’s ad in the first break after kick-off Sunday. Viewers who use that hashtag and the URL audi.us/ProgressIs… read more

OkCupid CEO: We Will Not Charge Users Following Match.com Acquisition

We reported this morning that Match.com, an operating business of IAC, had acquired OkCupid for $50 million in cash. Many Mashable readers expressed distress, worrying that they would now have to pay for OkCupid’s free dating services. Well, we talked to co-founder and CEO Sam Yagan, who… read more

Pre-Super Bowl Google Searches: Chicken, TVs and Man Caves

The looming Super Bowl has prompted a spike in searches for chicken, dips and flat-screen TVs, among other items, according to data from Google.

While such searches have become common each year during the weeks leading up to the game, Google reports that there has been an… read more

Startup Launches “Yelp for Software”

Seven months ago, Justin Wilcox was shopping around for an e-mail marketing software. Frustrated with the lack of crowdsourced reviews about software as a service (SaaS) products, he tweeted, “Could someone please build a Yelp for SaaS, tired of googling ‘[Service] vs’ for stale blog posts.”

Three weeks… read more

Quick Look: appsplit

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting appsplit. The developer describes appsplit as a company specializing in the business of apps. It… read more

New Technology Analyzes Viewer Response to TV With Social Media

For years, data analysis companies have attempted to link social media updates to specific television events. Wednesday, Bluefin Labs publicly launches machine learning technology that makes a direct, real-time correlation between the shows and ads audiences are watching on TV and what those audiences are saying about… read more

“Angry Birds” To Star in Super Bowl Ad [REPORT]

Angry Birds will land at the Super Bowl, according to a recent report.

The popular mobile game from Rovio will be advertised during the big game on Sunday, according to Advertising Age. The spot will have a special treat for fans: an embedded code that Angry Birds players… read more