Google Reveals 2012 New Year’s Doodle

Fans of Google Doodles — the charming illustrations and re-imaginations of “Google” that appear on the site’s main page — can get an early look at the company’s New Year’s doodle with a little smart thinking and a foreign domain URL.

Google has posted its 2012 New Year’s doodle on international… read more

2011′s Biggest Winners and Losers in Ecommerce

In-demand products, unparalleled site design and usability, competitive search engine marketing, continuous innovative, exciting holiday specials — these are just some of the variables that make up a successful ecommerce business.

On the other hand, some of the top pitfalls for Internet retailers include lousy service, uninventive products, confusing corporate messaging… read more

Best Of 2011: Stunning Collection Of High Quality Free PSD Files

PSD files can be a useful asset to your projects, thus why not download them and apply them? In my opinion I recommend starting a well thought-out collection of commercially free PSD files on your computer. In this way, you can save loads of your valuable time in the future… read more

8 Amazing Emerging Technologies From 2011

1. Networking via LED

Wi-Fi jammed? It won’t be a problem if you’re networking through your room lights. You… read more

It’s Time to Cut Go Daddy a Break

First, the obvious: Go Daddy runs horrible, sexist Super Bowl ads. PETA members and others who think animals should be treated kindly are fully justified in canceling their Go Daddy accounts because of founder Bob Parsons’s elephant shooting this past spring.

In addition, those who believe, as I do, that… read more

Our Top 20 Posts from 2011

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2011 has been Speckyboy’s best year yet in terms of growth. More great readers and followers, more great authors, more great sponsors. However, at the core is (hopefully) great content here on Speckyboy. And just to recap some of our best content, here are our… read more

20+ Free Android Apps for a More Productive 2012

As the new year beckons, resolution time is upon the masses once more. For those who are wishing that they can keep themselves more productive in 2012, we have put together a list of apps for all those Android users (who some readers have suggested we have been neglecting) to… read more

Shoutz Connects You to the World, One 15-Second Video at a Time

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: Shoutz

Quick Pitch: Shoutz is a free social video network.

Genius Idea: Mobile-to-mobile platform for recording and sharing… read more

Telecom Immunity Ruling Upheld by U.S. Appeals Court

Three appeals court judges unanimously upheld a controversial federal law on Thursday — one that grants immunity to phone companies that give government officials access to users’ online communications.

“It is disappointing that today’s decision endorsed the rights of telecommunications companies over those over their customers,” said Kurt Opsahl, Senior… read more

5 Video Game Moments that Defined 2011

It seems like every single year is “the year of gaming,” if only because the genre keeps getting bigger and bigger. Everyone thought 2006 was going to be the high water mark with the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii all battling for supremacy. Then 2009 upped the ante… read more

#LastTweet Collects Finals Tweets of Those Who Died in 2011

The New York TImes Magazine has scoured the web for the final tweets of some of 2011′s biggest personalities and avid tweeters who died this past year.

The magazine features tweets from actress Elizabeth Taylor, war photographer Tim Hetherington, Indy Racer Dan Wheldon, saxophonist Clarence Clemons and more.

Social media is often… read more

8 Ways Digital Will Improve B2B Sales in 2012

Guy Nirpaz is the CEO and co-founder of Totango, which analyzes user actions on SaaS applications, providing sales teams invaluable information in qualifying prospects and prioritizing people to contact who are most likely to buy or renew.

How B2B products and services are purchased and sold is rapidly changing. Some call… read more

Teen’s Silent YouTube Goodbye Goes Viral After Death [VIDEO]

Eighteen-year-old Ben Breedlove died on Christmas Day after fighting a serious heart condition for most of his life. Shortly before his death, he posted a two-part video on YouTube, in which he silently describes his ordeal through cue cards.

The video went… read more

To the Moon and Beyond: China’s Five-Year Plan for Space

The Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou-8, which launched earlier this year. Credit: DLR

The Chinese government released a report on Thursday that reveals details about the country’s plans to grow its space program — by creating new spacecrafts, satellites and a space lab in the next five years.

The white paper, called “China’s Space… read more

Storify Reveals Its Favorite User-Generated Story of 2011

Social media curation tool Storify doled out its Story of the Year honor Thursday to Josh Stearns, who is using the service to keep track of journalists arrested during the nationwide Occupy Wall Street protests.

Stearns works for Free Press as the journalism and public media campaign director and began documenting… read more

Google Is 2011′s Top Web Brand [VIDEO]

Google is the top digital brand for 2011, followed by Facebook and Yahoo, according to recent research tracking unique monthly visitors per month.

A Nielsen study shows Google is the top digital U.S. web company, with more than 150 million visitors… read more

How to Stay Informed with Google+

In my last article, I talked about all of the advancements social media made in 2011. This included the launch and relatively quick rise of Google+, Google’s shiny new social network that allows people to connect, share, and even hangout (via video chat, that is). While Google did enter the… read more

Facebook Timeline vs. Old Profiles: How People View Them Differently [STUDY]

Your social media profiles have morphed as the sites they live on have changed. So has the way people view them.

To get a better idea of how profile design affects profile viewers, Mashable asked eye-tracking research startup EyeTrackShop to compare visual statistics for Twitter, Facebook and MySpace profiles before… read more

How to Launch a Social Ambassador Campaign

Curry Smith is affiliated with NOLAbound, a unique program that immerses 25 professionals in New Orleans business to discuss the city’s entrepreneurial and social media influence. You can apply to be considered for a spot in the program at www.benolabound.com/apply.

As long as brands want to improve and increase social media… read more

Who Are Your 10 BFFs on Facebook? This App Will Tell You

A Facebook app created by Visa in conjunction with the NFL will help you assemble a team of your 10 closest Facebook friends for a Super Bowl-themed video designed to promote a contest run by the credit card brand.

The “You+10 Draft,” which went live on Thursday, scrapes your Facebook Page… read more

How the Social Media IPOs of 2011 Fared [STUDY]

Social media continued to thrive in 2011 as it fomented revolutions in Egypt, Libya and Bahrain. But investors appeared to be a lot less enthralled.

Looking back over the 19 social media IPOs of 2011, Kevin Pleines — an analyst with Birinyi Associates, a stock market research firm — found new… read more

10 Things I No Longer Need for Freelance Success

I have been a freelancer for more than a decade and over that period of time, I have seen a lot of changes–everything from a giant increase in credibility if you actually are a “freelancer”, to technology changes in such a short period of time as to rival any… read more

Facebook 2012: What the Future Holds for the Social Media Powerhouse

What do you do after your site grows to 800 million users and expands to 1 trillion pageviews per month? Why, plan a $100 billion IPO, of course!

Going public is clearly the biggest thing on tap for Facebook in 2012, but the world’s most populated social network and its users… read more

Reddit Users Target Pro-SOPA Politicians

Members of the Reddit community have launched a digital grassroots campaign against pro-SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) politicians.

Redditors began the campaign Wednesday with a post asking fellow Redditors for suggestions on a politician to target. The original poster, Reddit user “digitalboy,” was inspired by the social news site’s community effort… read more

Screenr: Easy Screencasting on the Web

Screencasts have definitely evolved over the years and have many uses for people. I use them all the time as in my classroom as well as to show others how to use different software. One thing that I have always found is that good screencasting software can be very expensive…. read more

The Importance of Link Building

Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your website to promote popularity and other benefits throughout the online world. Link building is one of the core tasks of SEO. It not only helps promote popularity among users, but also contributes to the website’s ranking in… read more

Jewelry Site Plukka Turns Group Buying On Its Head

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: Plukka

Quick Pitch: Social shopping with a group buying twist — more jewelry buyers means a lower… read more

Leaked Twitter Subpoena Raises Online Privacy Issues

The leaked subpoena sent to Twitter this month by the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office in Boston is causing some hoopla on the web and raising the issue of law enforcement’s access to online personal data.

On Dec. 14, the D.A.’s Office issued a subpoena to Twitter in order to access… read more

How Mobile Games Are Sports Stars’ Newest Marketing Channel

Heads Up with Cristiano Ronaldo — a mobile game featuring the Portuguese soccer star — has already been a hit for parent company RockLive after less than a month in the iTunes App Store. Users have spent more than 225 million minutes playing the game since its launch on… read more

13 Location-Based Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

Scott Gerber is the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes youth entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment. The YEC provides young entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of a business’s development and growth.

You want to deliver marketing… read more

Man Uses Google+ Game to Propose to Girlfriend [VIDEO]

In what may be the first marriage proposal on Google+, a man asked his girlfriend to marry him on the network via the game Crime City. On the other hand, it could be just a clever marketing stunt.

According to Funzio, the… read more

Klout CEO Reveals How to Leverage Score for Fame, Fortune, Perks

Klout is a hot-button issue in the social networking world, and it’s a touchy subject for many.

The two-year-old company— which provides social media analytics to measure a user’s influence across social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – is no stranger to criticism. Klout’s model hinges on giving… read more

Occupy Facebook: Social Network for Protesters in the Works

Occupy Wall Street activists are developing a social network called The Global Square for the generation of protesters.

“We don’t want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists,” developer Ed Knutson told Wired.

Knutson is helping build the network, which will unite members of Occupy movements across the globe. As more… read more

Osama bin Laden’s Death is AOL’s Top Story of 2011

The votes have been cast, the results have been tallied and the death of Osama bin Laden has been named the top news story of 2011 according to AOL’s “11 Days That Shaped 2011″ challenge. Organized in chronological order, Osama bin Laden’s death was sixth option on the site.

The site… read more

Facebook Timeline Headed to iPad in January [VIDEO]

Now that Facebook Timeline is available to the public, the social network has integrated the new look and feel with its Android, mobile web and iPhone apps; but what about the iPad?

According to 9to5Mac, Facebook is aiming for a mid to… read more

Social Network for Robots Lets You Talk to Your Roomba

It’s possible your Roomba has more to say online than you do.

A new social network, MyRobots, hopes to be the “Facebook for robots.” The network allows users to connect their robotic devices, which can then post status updates like, “The cat is in my way” or “my bin is full.”… read more

‘WTF?! I Wanted an iPhone!’ Entitled Christmas Tweets Put to Music [VIDEO]

Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.

Note: Due to some strong language, this video may not be safe for work.

Twitter was quieter than usual on Sunday, Christmas day. So comedy writer Jon Hendren (@fart) decided to make the Twitterverse a bit more… read more

Amazon Goes Social Shopping: What Quorus Hires Mean

Amazon is poised to make a major leap into social shopping thanks to a rash of recent hires from Quorus (formerly Fridge Door), a company whose chief product was software that added a social experience to online retailing.

When we wrote about what 2012 may hold for the world’s largest online… read more

3 Ways Taste Graphs will Fuel Social Commerce in 2012

Christian Taylor is founder and CEO of Payvment and developer of the number-one Facebook ecommerce platform for brands, agencies and merchants, and the world’s only Facebook Shopping Mall.

The early days of social commerce have mostly been about broadcasting, giving people ways to share the products they like in the hopes… read more

Want to Build a New App? There’s an App for That

The Leaders in Design Series is supported by Volvo.

Competition in Apple’s App Store is so tough that even strong concepts must be planned to perfection before any development should start. So enter App Cooker: A hot new iPad app that makes sure other apps have the right ingredients… read more

Was the White House’s #40dollars Campaign Successful?

The White House’s social media moguls turned to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube to drum up public support for extending the payroll tax cut last week, once it became clear that Congress was deadlocked.

The campaign generated a huge response to the question, “What does $40 mean to you,” which resulted… read more

Best Of 2011: Outstanding Collection Of Fresh And Free To Use Icon Sets

Yet another excellent showcase of some of the fresh and free to use icon sets that have been released in 2011 is presented in this post. In the earlier period, we had posted some very good collections of icon sets which were extremely appraised by our visitors and on their… read more

11 More of Our Best Photography Tutorials from 2011

Today we continue our ‘best of’ summer series with a look back on a mixed bag of tutorials and articles that were among our most popular this year.

In this list are some technique tutorials, some opinion pieces, some ‘intro to…’ posts and a couple that look at how to use… read more

6 Game-Changing Digital Journalism Events of 2011

The year 2011 brought extraordinary progress for online journalism.

From breaking news curation to new revenue models, many an organization put its best digital foot forward. Social media became more tightly integrated into reporting and overall strategy, while mobile app creation and content optimization were no longer a nice-to-have, but… read more

Design Tips for Building Magazine-Style WordPress Themes

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The move from physical to digital magazine content is an exciting process. Over just the past few years we have witnessed thousands of new brands and templates begin to surface. Magazine editors have wisely chosen the Internet as a medium to share their news stories.

This… read more

35 Quality Business Card Design Templates for Free!

If you’ve got a design ready for printing, try the business cards card stock quality offered by UPrinting.com! We mention this because we heard they have a 20% discount on business card printing until January 31, 2012, and we thought that might help you save some.

Related posts:

TwitPic Business Card Design… read more

Twitter 2012: Bigger and More Ads

People predicted rioting when Twitter decided to post ads within its feeds. However, those protests never materialized. Instead, Twitter was used to mobilize protests in the streets in Egypt, Yemen and Tunesia.

The two instances are related. As Twitter became a globally recognized entity, it also began efforts to monetize itself… read more

How Much Time Do We Really Spend on Facebook? [VIDEO]

One in every seven minutes online and three out of every four minutes on social networking sites are spent on Facebook, according to a comScore report released Tuesday.

Twitter is on the rise, the report also said, increasing its user base 59%… read more

Infinity Blade 2 Teases Big Update to Make App Go Social

The makers behind the popular Infinity Blade 2 app — which shot to the top of the iTunes download charts earlier this month — are working on an update to make the game more social.

Donald Mustard, the lead designer of Infinity Blade 2 ($6.99), is teasing an app update that… read more

Google+ Now Up to 62 Million Users, Adding 625,000 a Day [REPORT]

Paul Allen, a Google+ watcher whose estimates about the social network’s growth have proved accurate in the past, claims that the site now has 62 million users and is adding 625,000 new users per day.

“It may be the holidays, the TV commercials, the Android 4 signups, celebrity and brand appeal,… read more

Religious Americans Just as Tech-Savvy as Others [STUDY]

There may be preconceptions that faithful Americans skew older in age and are traditionally set in their ways, but according to a new study, religious Americans embrace technology just as much as those who are less religious.

A new report from the… read more

How 9 Retailers Successfully Leveraged Game Mechanics

Macala Wright is the publisher of FashionablyMarketing.Me, one of the leading fashion and retail industry business websites. She is a retail consultant and business strategist who specializes in marketing consulting for fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands. You can follower her on Twitter at @InsideFMM or @Macala.

Social games have begun to… read more

Edward Burns and the Socialization of Indie Cinema

“Twitter has fundamentally changed the way I make films,” film director, actor, writer and producer Edward Burns told me. At first blush, that might seem like an audacious statement, but in an era when full productions can get funded on Kickstarter and feature-length films are shot on consumer DSLRs, that… read more

5 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012

2012 promises to be a very busy year in all things digital, but, as with any annum, there will be just a handful of big, memorable trends. Here, I’ve collected five such movements that are likely to make a big impact in our technologically-enhanced lives.

Augmented Reality

It’s now in games,… read more

Dan Marino Sends Congratulatory Tweet to Passing Record Breaker Drew Brees [VIDEO]

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the NFL‘s 27-year-old single-season passing record Monday night, and the feat immediately attracted a flurry of congratulatory tweets, including one from previous record holder Dan Marino and another from rap star Lil Wayne.

Congrats… read more

Have You Heard of Peer-to-Peer Lending?

Have you tried getting a small business loan from a bank for your freelancing career only to be turned down? You are not alone.

Some freelancers who need access to cash have turned to something called peer-to-peer lending. It’s an interesting model that both Prosper and Lending Club, the two… read more

5 Tools for a Big League Website on a Budget

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

There’s an unpleasant moment that occurs for entrepreneurs more often than it should. Someone asks for your business card, and you hand it over. They say, “Great,… read more

Facebook Status Update Saves Woman, Child in Hostage Situation

A Utah woman held captive for five days used a Facebook status update to save her and her 17-month-old son from a grisly hostage situation.

The woman hid in a closet with a laptop and posted a message saying that she and her son would be “dead by morning” if no… read more

Today’s Top Stories: GoDaddy Woes, Twitter Lawsuit, No-Glasses 3D

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. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Company Sues Former Employee for Value of Lost Followers

Noah Kravitz left his former employer PhoneDog in October… read more

20 More Rockstar Mac Software Developers and Their Apps

At AppStorm, when we get excited about great Mac software, we love to give the developers who worked hard to bring it to us the credit and recognition they deserve. Back in 2010, we ran a post highlighting some awesome software developers and the apps they make that we love to… read more

Who Are You Trying To Impress?

As a young creative, I had dreams of being famous. I wanted to be admired, loved and I suppose part of that was also for revenge on my more obnoxious classmates. Is that shocking? Ask yourself if you were any different? Ask yourself if you still feel that way. You… read more

Teach Them How To Hit The Ground Running And Faceplant At The Same Time?

A few days ago, a tutorial on how to Create A Christmas Wish List With PHP was published on Smashing Magazine’s Coding section that frustrated me. It frustrated me as it was incredibly easy to predict the comment reactions it caused. It also frustrated me as it was a classic… read more

Part-time jobs for creatives that help your business sense

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Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network

You’ve probably heard a lot about Pinterest over the last few months. Not only has the company received $27 million in venture funds, but the site’s popularity has exploded from 1.2 million users in August to over 4 million today.

SEE ALSO: Study Shows Pinterest Will Compete with… read more

Twitter’s 15 Major Milestones in 2011

Much like any other year, 2011 experienced major events that shook the world, whether the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East or the worldwide protests led by Occupy Wall Street.

But in 2011, microblogging service Twitter was at the epicenter of these events, broadcasting minute-to-minute updates and firsthand experiences… read more

Social Media: A Year in Review

2011 was a huge year for social media. Granted, since 2004 we’ve seen an explosion of social networks, an insane growth in Facebook users, and Twitter take on widespread adoption. More of my students are using Twitter today that in previous semesters.

But still, in comparison to other years, this year… read more

StumbleUpon’s Most Popular Searches and Links of 2011

StumbleUpon, the site that lets you discover the web through its “Stumble!” button, released its Best of StumbleUpon 2011 package, including the below infographic and its most popular links of the year.

The most-popular topics of 2011 were the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the Royal Wedding the Steve Jobs‘s death. In… read more

How Tech and Social Media Companies Cashed Out in 2011

A colleague here at Mashable proposed an Onion-style spoof story entitled “Google Buys Everyone,” which would detail how the search giant hoovered every company in existence. As Homer Simpson once said, “It’s funny because it’s true.”

Google‘s insatiable appetite for other companies was just one of the business narratives of… read more

Does a Non-Traditional Resume Limit Your Odds? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Non-traditional resumes, while unique and eye-catching, may limit a job applicant’s chances of landing his or her dream job.

Many companies, especially large corporations, use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automatically parse through submitted resumes in search of keywords that indicate desired skills and experience.

When dealing with an ATS, a text-based… read more

YouTube’s 10 Most-Viewed Ads of 2011

Ever since YouTube became a place where anyone could realistically become a celebrity, brands have been trying to figure out how and what makes a viral video.

What’s significant about this year’s top-viewed ads is the fact that they have more of a web presence on YouTube than on TV…. read more

Mashable Weekend Recap: 36 Stories You May Have Missed

With the sound of sleighbells still jangling in our half-frozen ears, we plowed through our Christmas rituals and at the same time kept on working the wires, looking for the best news the world had to offer our steadfast weekend readership. Yes, we are multitaskers.

And you know what? We had… read more

50 Interesting Navigation Menus

Navigation menus are a very important part of every website design. First and foremost, they help direct visitors to the main areas of your website, regardless of what page they are viewing on your website. They also point search engine robots in the right direction (though some flashy navigation menus… read more

The Pros & Cons of Google+ for Small Business

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

For big brands, Google+ is probably a good investment — but is Google+ an efficient use of time for small businesses?

Google unveiled Google+ brand pages in November,… read more

53 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

With the holidays in full swing, that means the new year is just around the corner. Here at Mashable, we’ve been reflecting on the changes 2011 has brought for technology and social media and what those changes mean for the future.

If you’ve been busy decking the halls and getting… read more

3 New Ways to Connect With Content That Interests You

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.

Each weekend, Mashable selects startups we think are building interesting, unique or niche products.

This week, we… read more

Air Jordans Did Not Cause Death, Despite Twitter Rumors

Air Jordan XI shoes were released Friday to mobs of eager shoppers, hoping to snag a pair of the retro Nike sneaks. Amid reported arrests and robberies, social networks buzzed that an 18-year-old had been trampled to death in suburban Washington, D.C. while shopping for the popular shoes.

Reports began… read more

5 Ways to Boost Your Digital Media Career in 2012

Hanson Hosein is the Director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington. He’s written Storyteller Uprising: Trust & Persuasion in the Digital Age, and the host of Four Peaks on UWTV and has advised Microsoft, CVS Caremark and MasterCard on digital media storytelling strategies.

As… read more

Is Gamification Right for Your Business? 7 Things to Consider

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 has lent itself to a slew of new buzzwords, and gamification is easily one of the most buzzed about in the marketing industry.

Businesses clamored… read more

Top Comments on Mashable This Week

We’re back again for a weekly roundup of the top Mashable comments of the week.

In this post, we showcase the week’s best comments on our site. We always look for thoughtful comments that engage the community and drive more conversation as well as those that make us laugh. This week’s… read more

Global Hotels, Broken Down By Social Media Rewards [INFOGRAPHIC]

A new year is just around the corner, which means one thing — a new batch of vacation days! But where will you go? And, more importantly, where will you stay? Lucky for you, savvy traveler, the infographic below can help you figure that out. There are deals to be… read more

He Sees You When You’re Chatting, He Knows When You’ve Been Tagged [COMIC]

Mashable Comics are illustrated by Kiersten Essenpreis, a Chicago-based artist who draws and blogs at YouFail.com.

More Mashable Comics:

1. The Earliest Social Network Ever Discovered

… read more

Best of the Week #202

It’s time for our best news of this week. We have a lot of graphic and web design, a bit of architecture, ads, tech news, awesome reads and other crazy stuff! So take a look at the links we’ve selected for your inspiration and to keep you updated about what’s… read more

7 Cool Digital Projects and Apps We Learned About From the Mashable Awards

On Monday, we announced the winners of the 2011 Mashable Awards.

While some nominees are popular and have mainstream recognition (See: Facebook, iPad 2), others have significant followings but are not quite as well known.

While every Mashable Award winner and nominee should be unbelivably proud of their achievement, we’ve… read more

How will Digital Change Small Business in 2012?

Over the course of 2011, we witnessed social media and location-based services really take off for small businesses — the mom and pop shops of the world continued to get more digital and more mobile.

As this year wraps up, we look back at the technological advancements that small businesses have… read more

TwitWipe Gives You a Fresh Start by Deleting All Your Tweets [VIDEO]

Do you feel like everything you’ve done for the last few years is recorded by Twitter’s eternal digital record? A new service, TwitWipe, can get rid of all your carefully crafted (and less carefully crafted) 140-character messages.

Rather than creating a new… read more

The Four Key Agency Ingredients to Inbound Marketing Success [SPONSORED]

This post is brought to you by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company based in Cambridge, MA. Download HubSpot’s Four Core Services eBook, and learn how to grow your agency by delivering what matters most to your clients. For more information on sponsored posts, read here.

Eating out at a restaurant… read more

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners

As humans, we’re continually looking to improve and advance. Whether it’s trying to eat better, to quit smoking once and for all, to spend less money, or to spend more time with family and friends, we formally or informally create our own goals — optimistic that we’ll stick to them… read more

Holiday Google Doodle Goes Live in the U.S., Plays “Jingle Bells”

Google has unveiled its holiday Google Doodle, an animated iteration that plays “Jingle Bells” and then automatically directs you to the results for a “Happy Holidays” search.

As previously reported, a holiday Google Doodle went live early Friday in countries including New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, where it was… read more

‘Digital Christmas Song’ Celebrates Tech Life, Name-Checks Mashable [VIDEO]

Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.

It’s hard to resist a video parody that mentions your publication, particularly one that tunefully celebrates the digital life during the holidays. Ottawa Tourism, you’ve got our attention.

Nick Iannitti, director of digital marketing for Ottawa… read more

Top 10 Space Stories of 2011

1. The Space Shuttle Era Ends

When Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center just before dawn on… read more

New Xbox Dashboard Glitch Still Preventing Some From Going Online

The release of Microsoft’s hotly anticipated Xbox 360 dashboard update earlier this month is causing a bit of a problem for some Xbox Live members: They still can’t get their consoles online.

Microsoft recently rolled out a big dashboard update to the Xbox 360 — in addition to new voice and… read more

Only 26% of Consumers Think Facebook Storefronts Secure Against Fraud [STUDY]

Facebook still has a long way to go when it comes to instilling trust in consumers, according to a new study that shows only 26% believe storefronts on the social network are safe against fraud.

The online survey, conducted by ThreatMetrix and The Ponemon Institute of a pool of 800 consumers… read more

Today’s Top Stories: Best Buy’s Christmas Woes, Louis CK’s $1 Million

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. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Best Buy Can’t Send All Online Orders Before Christmas

Best Buy said it won’t be able to fill… read more

Amazon 2012: What the Future May Hold for the Web’s Largest Retailer

For Amazon, it’s going to be hard to top 2011. After all, this was the year the gargantuan online retailer launched a cloud storage service, opened the doors on its own Appstore, and released a tablet, the Kindle Fire, that happens to be selling like crazy.

Looking at the bigger picture,… read more

User Interface Design in Modern Search Engines

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The search engine is our best tool for sifting through all of today’s websites. There are billions of domains online and many of them haven’t even been crawled by search engines! Google is certainly the pioneer of this industry. But over the years we have… read more

Man Uses Internet Memes for Marriage Proposal [VIDEO]

Like a boss, a man recently interrupted his girlfriend’s dinner to propose to her with Internet memes.

Timothy Tiah Ewe Tiam sneaked up on his long-time love interest Audrey Ooi Feng Ling at Neroteca, a restaurant in Malaysia, and began showing her poster-sized printed memes such as Socially Awkward Penguin, Y… read more

ConnectYard Connects Students and Profs Via Text, Social Media

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: ConnectYard

Quick Pitch: A social media platform that connects students and professors through their preferred form of… read more

Study Shows Pinterest Will Compete with Top 10 Social Networks [VIDEO]

Pinterest, a social networking site with an “online pinboard” interface, has made great strides this year. According to Experian Hitwise, this invitation-only site now has 40 times the number of total visits it had six months ago, now finding its way… read more

Chevrolet’s Super Bowl Ad Choice Will Be a Viral Video

Chevrolet will pick the most-shared video among a pool of about 40 crowdsourced videos to determine which will run in next year’s Super Bowl.

The General Motors brand on Thursday presented about 35 of the films on ChevroletRoute66.msn.com. Chevy will award prizes of up to $10,000 to the contestant… read more

7 Ways Businesses Can Get More Social With SlideShare

Ekaterina Walter is a social media strategist at Intel. She is a part of Intel’s Social Media Center of Excellence and is responsible for company-wide social media enablement and corporate social networking strategy. She was recently elected to serve on the board of directors of WOMMA.

Online presentation website SlideShare is… read more