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January 30 2012
Make a Jello Fish Bowl Dessert/Shot [Alcohol]
January 29 2012
Repurpose Vintage Video Game Controllers into MP3 Player Enclosures [Repurpose]
JC FS Video 4 Advice.mov-1
Because every VC's inbox is overflowing with pitches, and because VC's don't take meetings with just anyone, SoftTech VC's Jeff Clavier, (who just raised $55 million for his third fund) offers advice to founders who hope to cut through the clutter, schedule a meeting, and score some financing from prominent investors.
games-ios-android2
The mobile app ecosystem is growing so quickly - exponentially, even - that sometimes it's hard to see the larger trends occurring in the space. To really gain insight, it helps to look back over a longer period of time, like a year for example, in order to take stock of the changes taking place. To that end, I reached out to mobile app search company Chomp, who kindly obligated my curiousity by packaging together its first ever annual app search analytics report. The report digs into the data from Chomp's 1 million app searches per month, to reveal trends in app prices, category share, top apps and more.
Replace a Broken Zipper Slide with a Telephone Wire Connector [Clever Uses]
Open Mail Over Your Recycling Bin to Avoid Clutter [Clutter]
Amazon
Personal recommendations have always been a part of ecommerce, but there has been little innovation since Amazon introduced retail and product personalization 10 years ago. But with the increasing mountains of data at digital retailers' fingertips, ecommerce is about to get even more personal. The fact is that right now there is little iteration from personalized ecommerce beyond what is taking place on Amazon. So you'll see suggestions of what other shoppers who bought a certain item also purchased, or recommendations to similar items to what you have purchased, but there is a whole world of social data, and even more-in-depth purchase data that can be mined by retailers to help increase sales.
39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed
Been away from Mashable for a few days? Here’s something that’ll get you caught up in a flash: it’s our weekly roundup of Mashable features.
Look at all the coolness you missed: We have tips for the transition into Facebook Timeline, tricks for improving your productivity via Google Calendar and Safari and links to the most popular memes. We’ve covered social networking in the workplace, using networks for social good and even using plugins to help you get the old Facebook back.
So if you wanted to catch up on the best of our digital media resources, you’ve come to the right place:
Editor’s Picks
- 9 Digital Ways to Become a Social Good Hero in 2012
The web and social media continue to create new opportunities to do good in simple ways. Here are 9 sites to get you on the right track. - 6 Top Community Managers to Appreciate
Community management has become increasingly important with the rise of social media. Here are six community managers leading the industry. - Get More from Wikipedia: 10 Tips and Tricks
Maybe you visit Wikipedia several times per week, but how much do you know about the world’s leading online encyclopedia? - 6 Ways the Media Is Using Digital Tools to Cover the Election
Political journalists take to Twitter to share breaking news, behind-the-scenes photos and one-liners from presidential hopefuls. - 15 Best ‘Sh*t People Say’ Videos
We have collected what we think are the 15 best video testaments to the “Sh*t People Say” meme phenomenon.
Social Media
- 10 Inspiring Social Networks for Writers
These 10 social networks can help you receive valuable feedback, gain exposure for your own work, brainstorm ideas and evolve as a writer. - 21 Essential Community Management Resources
Jan. 23 was Community Manager Appreciation Day. Here are 21 resources that are key for any engagement arsenal. - Super Bowl XLVI: Who You Need to Follow on Twitter
15 Twitter accounts that will get you primed for Super Bowl XLVI. - 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART]
Which TV shows generate the most buzz on social networks? Find out each week from our new chart. - Dog and Brony Show and 3 Other Hilarious Memes
Was your weekend lacking some serious lolz? The Meme Machine is here with Steve Dogs and much more. - Sims on Facebook: Sex, Shopping and Secret Stats [INFOGRAPHIC]
Here’s an infographic from Electronic Arts, offering everything you wanted to know about The Sims Social but were afraid to ask. - 11 Celebrities Already Rocking Facebook Timeline
We picked our 11 favorite celebrity Facebook Timelines. Tell us your favorite! - Facebook Timeline for Everyone: How Does it Affect You? [POLL]
With the news that Facebook Timeline will be rolled out to all users, we want to know what you think. - Why Social Media Needs to Get More Personal
New social media services should allow the user to easily and naturally build relationships. Here are a few social features to watch out for. - Drunk Hulk Discusses the Oscars Plus 4 More Viral Topics
Internet hero Drunk Hulk talks about the Super Bowl and Academy Awards, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Reddit’s mascot induce more laughs. - How to Get Old Facebook Back
Missing the good old days of easy commenting and photo galleries? Hate that darn News Ticker? Get the old Facebook back with these slick browser plugins. - Frictionless Sharing: 10 New Facebook Apps to Get You Started
Facebook announced 60 new app partnerships last week. You can integrate these services directly into your profile to instantly share what you’re reading and watching. Here are 10 to try out. - 28 Essential Facebook Timeline Resources
Now that all Facebook users will have to use Timeline within the next few weeks, here are 28 resources to help you with the transition. - Meme Machine: 5 Hilarious Viral Topics Trending Right Now
Meme roundup that highlights Catception — a world where the feline mind enters tablet-dream invasion. - 5 Essential YouTube Channels for Gamers
Are you a fan of the Gaming section of Youtube? Make sure you subscribe to these must-have channels. - 15 Funny Facebook Timeline Cover Photos
Whether you love or hate Facebook’s new look, one of these creative cover photo designs is bound to make you smile. - 7 Ways to Follow The Hunger Games Movie on Social Media
The release of the first Hunger Games film is less than two months away, but there are many ways to gear up for its debut via social media sites. - Meme Machine: 5 Hilarious Viral Topics Trending Right Now
Friday’s meme machine focuses on the Resentful Mother meme and social media’s reaction to a drunk Pat Sajak.
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Business & Marketing
- 9 Best Practices for Social Networking in the Workplace
To make sure you are putting your best digital foot forward, follow these nine easy steps for workplace social networking. - The Most-Shared 2012 Super Bowl Ad Teasers So Far [VIDEOS]
The 20 most-shared Super Bowl 2012 teasers so far. - How to Register Your New Business Name
After you’ve picked the right name for your business, there are a few legal measures you should be aware of when registering it. - Startup Hiring: 3 Ways to Look Beyond the Resume
Try these three strategies that will help you think outside the box when hiring for your startup. - 10 Tips for Building a Strong Online Community Around Your Startup
A solid social media community can be an enormous asset to any company, but don’t expect to grow one overnight. Heed these 10 tested tips. - 5 High-Risk, High-Reward Steps to Starting Your Dream Company
Here are five risky steps that will actually help protect the downside of a new company and, counterintuitively, set you up for success. - 7 Key Tips for Leveraging Big Data
Big data offers a wealth of business opportunities, many of them untapped by companies large and small. If you’re diving in, check out these tips. - How Brands Can Manage Facebook Comment Overload
Large-scale waves of Facebook comments can come at any time, for a variety of reasons. Try these steps for effective comment management.
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Tech & Mobile
- How iBooks Author Stacks Up to the Competition [CHART]
Check out this chart, which compares the features of iBooks Author with seven other self-publishing tools available to independent writers. - 4 Things RIM’s New CEO Can Do to Fix the Company
Incoming RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has his work cut out for him. Here’s how he can repair the BlackBerry brand. - 11 Vital Mobile Apps for Entrepreneurs
Today, mobile apps enable a business owner to manage his entire operation from the palm of his hand. Try these 11 mobile app suggestions. - Top 10 Safari Plugins and Extensions for Better Productivity
Take a look at these 10 Safari plugins that will help improve your time management. - Apple Is Worth More than All the Tea in China; What Else Does It Beat?
Apple’s market cap rose close to $400 billion on Jan. 19, making it worth more than Greece…and quite a few other things. - 10 Simple Google Calendar Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Productivity
Discover quick ways to add events, schedule your agenda to be emailed to you on a daily basis and many more handy Google Calendar tricks. - 5 Ways to Get Ahead of the Competition at SXSW 2012
SXSW 2012 attendance will be full of potential customers, press, influencers and investors. How will your company or product stand out? - 10 Best Arcade Games for Android
Need to sharpen your lightning-fast reflexes? These 10 Android games are the cream of the crop when it comes to arcade action.
For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
More About: digital media, features, roundup
Five Best Tax Preparation Tools [Hive Five]
Tweet Your Best Shot to Make NBA’s Curry Your Voicemail Assistant
How would you like to put an NBA star to work as your own personal phone operator?
That’s more or less the idea behind a Twitter-driven contest by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Curry has called for fans to tweet him video clips their best moves from the game H-O-R-S-E, where players try to best one another with trick shots.
Fans have until midnight on Sunday to send their videos to his @StephenCurry30 account with the hashtag #SC30. His top 5 picks will then be entered into a poll on his Facebook page, where fans will vote the ultimate winner.
And what do you get if you win? Curry will record a personalized outgoing voicemail message for you to use. So whenever a friend calls, there will be one of pro basketball’s brightest young stars saying that you’re unavailable but to please leave a message.
“They can give me a script if they want, or leave it up to me to be creative and use my personality a little bit, but we’ll probably end up doing a blend of both,” Curry told Mashable.
Curry, who wears jersey number 30, is one of the NBA’s most active and personable players on Twitter and other social platforms. The H-O-R-S-E contest is the latest in a series of #SC30 promotions he has done in recent months with the help of marketing firm Spiracle Buzz. In November, fans submitted videos of themselves singing Christmas carols to win a personal Skype conversation with Curry. In December, he was touched by a fan’s winning entry in a call for New Year’s resolutions and met with her before a home game.
Curry said it’s not always easy to stay active on social media channels during the busy NBA season, but that the extra effort is worthwhile.
“I just think it’s a lot of fun to go back and forth with people that pay attention to what I’m doing, and it’s a big part of just enjoying this whole NBA process,” he said.
Curry said that he may try to replicate some of the best submitted shots to post back for fans if he gets time between games, workouts and sleep.
One young fan has already set a high bar for the contest with this trick-shot video:
Looks like that kid’s family could be getting a new outgoing voicemail soon courtesy of Stephen Curry.
But who would Curry himself pick to tell people he’s not available? When asked, he chose Cam Newton, the quarterback for his hometown Carolina Panthers NFL team.
“I would get him to guarantee a Panther playoff appearance next year for everyone who called me,” Curry said.
Who would you choose to record your outgoing voicemail message and what would you have them say? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of nba.com/warriors
For more Social Media coverage:
- Follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter
- Become a Fan on Facebook
- Subscribe to the Social Media channel
- Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Hugelkultur Can Create Irrigation-Free Garden Beds [In Brief]
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Blogger
For the most part, being a professional blogger is a freelance position. It doesn’t matter how many different blog sites you are loyal to, even if it is your own, a blogger still has the option to have work published anywhere they feel. Unless you’re a corporate blogger who signed a contract with your company of employment stating you would not do so, but then again that technically might make you more of a copywriter. Moving on, being a full-time or part-time blogger means you’re freelancing on some level. As the typical freelancer asked themselves many questions before taking the big leap, you would think the same would go for bloggers.
In the same fashion as any other occupation, there are certain skill requirements that must be met. Almost every industry blog site has published an article about how blogging can improve your career, and then proceeds to convince the majority of readers that being a blogger is the way to go for them. However these articles, for the most part, are all missing one key aspect to them. Somewhere before, or after, informing the readers about the benefits of being a blogger, there needs to be time to reflect on why one shouldn’t be one.
Not too long ago I had an article published questioning the current state of the blogging industry. In it, one of my main concerns was the quality of work currently filling up most blog pages. That is where this article comes into play. Below you will find a set of questions that need to be addressed before taking on the role of a blogger.
Do You Write Well?
There is nothing more embarrassing, or hurtful to your career, than having an article published that is structured badly and filled with grammatical errors. Automatically you’re going to have people eager to criticize every little grammatical mistake you make in your articles, that’s just something you have to come to expect as a blogger. Imagine finding an article that interests you and then realize that it is not written well enough for the actual message to be clear. It’s understandable why readers of articles like this voice their frustrations in the comments.
Don’t think that because in school you always got top grades and/or awards for your writing that the praise you received then will automatically translate over to your blogging career. A good writing style and ability level for a blogger allows for any topic to be written in an easy to understand and follow article. This is not something that comes easily if it is not your natural style of writing.
Are You Going to do the Research?

*Image Credit: UGA College of Ag
Although being a top writer in school may not have much to do with your blogging career, how you went about researching your essays and papers does. For the most part, the average blogger gets started by writing about topics they already know a lot about. This allows them to showcase their knowledge, and is an easy stepping stone on the path to their new occupation. Once the topics they know about dry up so to speak, what then?
This happens a lot in the blogging world sadly. It is a regular occurrence to see a blogger write pretty good articles at first based off the knowledge they already have, but after they start digging into topics outside of that they kinda flop. This is starting to happen more often because there are a lot of bloggers who are not putting in the proper amount of time in the research phase of their writing process.
Do You Care about Your Readers?
Personally, I’m always asking myself and wondering how my readers will react to anything I write that gets published. Questions like “Are they going to understand my reason for writing this?”, “Could I have given that little bit of extra effort to make better?”, “Did I spend enough time on it?” or any number of other questions. To be a good, well received blogger, you need to ask yourself these types of questions somewhere in the back of your mind. Even the bloggers who claim they only write to please themselves, somewhere along the line will start to if they are building a fan base for their work.
As a blogger your job is to provide quality content FOR your readers.
Do You Enjoy Blogging?

*Image Credit: kiki follettosa
Being a blogger takes up an awful amount of time if you’re doing it right, whether you’re being paid for it or not. The level of joy you have in your chosen topics, and blogging in general, will clearly show in everything you write. If you’re interested in your topic, you’ll probably write a good article. However if you’re is uninterested in the topic you’re writing about, and enjoyment is not a factor, then its going to be harder to produce quality content on a consistent basis.
Are You Going to Give Readers What They Want, Or Need?

*Image Credit: United Way of the Lower Mainland
For the most part, the majority of people who find themselves blogging come from career backgrounds with their daily work always leading towards pleasing someone whether it’s a supervisor, client, board director, or the end-user. It doesn’t really matter who, in the end their job is to do something that pleases someone else.
Blogging is a lot like this, because the one way a blog site can come up in the ranks fast, and keep a consistent strong readership, is to create content that they feel readers want. This of course will get you a ton of sharing of your articles, but will you be doing the community of readers who come to your articles proper justice?
A good blogger should always remember that people don’t always get the best results from receiving what they want. It’s more vital to instead get what one needs.
Why?
This is a simple question, yet puzzling. Before embarking on this occupational journey you should ask yourself why? Whatever reason it may be, you need to be 100% sure of yourself. If you’re only looking for the possible internet fame associated with the job, then maybe you should just max out your potential in something you’re already doing. If you just want a nice and easy way to make a little extra money, you should ask yourself the previous questions again. Probably missed something important.
In Conclusion
Being a blogger is one of those areas where your interest level in what you do shows very easily, and your reputation rests with your worst article sometimes. It’s not easy, there is not a set amount of hours or days you will be working, and you’re not going to become some overnight sensation. This is a hard job to do, but the rewards greatly outweigh that if you’re really interested in blogging.
Wallpaper of the Week 188 by Sebastian Andaur
The wallpaper of this week is an image created by Sebastian Andaur an young visual artist and graphic designer from Chile. Sebastian loves colors since he was born and when he got his first computer at the age of 12 he started to play with Photoshop.
Today, Sebastian works creating graphics, visuals, and new projects for everyone who needs his service.
For more information visit http://work.andaurstudios.cl and http://twitter.com/andaurstudios

Desktop Version
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"Is it worth to buy basic car maintenance stuff to do myself instead of going to the mechanic?" [Ask The Commenters Roundup]
- When is the best time to buy foreign currency before going abroad?
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- I've been thinking about buying some basic mechanic stuff and enabling myself to stop going to the mechanic. Is it worth it?
- I have a 2007 Corolla. It has a 6-CD player, but no aux input. Can anyone recommend a cheap and easy hack to get an MP3 player to work in the car?
- I am looking to buy a domain name for personal use, set up a small server here at home for light usage. Any suggestions or advice?
- How do you go about memorizing/remembering large portions of information?
- I am now looking to purchase a Macbook Pro in the next couple of months. Should I go ahead and get the 2011 13 incher (2.8 GHz model) or wait until the late spring months when Apple generally releases the next model?
- How do I/should I put a failed project on my resume?
- Are there any 3rd party cell networks in the US that allow you to use (bring) an iphone but are cheaper than the big 4?
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