social-media

List

6 Instagrammers You Should Be Following

With the big news that Instagram is finally available, as of today, for the Android platform, it's time to look at some accounts you want to be following once you get on, or if you're one of the 15 million+ people using the social photo sharing service already. While the big accounts continue to be @zooeydeschanel, @taylorswift, @justinbieber, @ryanseacrest and @npr, these lesser-known IG-ers are my favorites. 1. @kellyoxford A blogger since the '90s, Kelly is a mother of three from Calgary who became... READ ON

Article

The Guardian's "Open Journalism"

One of the more exciting things I learned at SXSW this past week was how The Guardian has launched a new "Open Journalism" approach to reporting. That is: journalism that encourages the input of the average bystander. With technology that allows anyone with a smartphone to report the news, first-hand, the common man often has a lot to contribute - to help shape the news. In the paper's own words: A man dies at the heart of a protest: a reporter wants to discover the truth. A journalist is seeking to... READ ON

Article

Dr. Visually's Automagical Facebook Monsterizer

I've been at SXSW the past week, so my next few posts will be about _flossy things I've discovered down there that you probably don't know about yet. First up, Dr. Visually's Automagical Facebook Monsterizer. With a name like that, you're already hooked, n'est–ce pas? It's a fun info graphic generator that uses your Facebook profile/data to produce a cool monster that presents things like, your top status update of all-time, your most popular photo, your top friends, a map of the world showing where... READ ON

List

11 Tweets That Led to a Whole Mess of Legal Trouble

While some might argue that 140 characters aren't enough to adequately express a thought or have a conversation, others have discovered that a tweet or two is all it takes to end up in a courtroom. Here are 11 great tricks for tweeting yourself into a hot mess of litigation. 1. Threaten to "Destroy America" (But Not... READ ON

List

10 Twitter Handles That Were Hard to Score

I was doing some research recently on popular first names, which got me thinking: Who scored the most common first names as Twitter handles? They must be people who were early adopters back in 2006 when Twitter first launched because you can imagine how often someone named Bob tried to check if @Bob was available since. Right? So here are 5 popular male and female names and the real people behind them on Twitter. Some are interesting, some aren't. None has the number of followers you might imagine they... READ ON

Article

Viddy

I'm at the Blog World New Media Expo in Los Angeles for the next few days, so I'll be bringing you the latest on all things bloggity and app-y. So far, my favorite new bright and shiny thing is this app called Viddy, which is like Instagram, but for video. You can shoot and upload HD 1080 video to your account and then share it wherever you'd like - Facebook, twitter, YouTube, text, email, tumblr, etc. The only hitch is that there's a limit to 15 seconds per clip. But if you can't say something clever or... READ ON

Article

How Different Internet Platforms Collaborate Using APIs

Ever wonder how it is that you can share photos from Flickr to sites like Facebook? Ever wonder how a Google map can pinpoint your geo coordinates in Yelp? Or that your tweets can be simultaneously published to Facebook? Or, simply, that we’re able to show you YouTube videos on the mental_floss blog? All these types of collaborations are done through what’s called an API, or application programming interface. It’s sort of like how we humans interact with Web and mobile app, only south (reference?... READ ON

Article

Free Cab Rides!

Last time I wrote about Mark Malkoff, he was busy seeing what kind of strange things he could do in an Apple store. Remember? Well, he's back with another odd initiative: giving away free cab rides all day to people in NYC who tweeted him requests for rides. Check out what happens in the very funny and inventive video... READ ON

Article

20 Tweets Illustrated by Twaggies

My LLC, twaggies.com, just published its 500th crowd-sourced, illustrated tweet! To celebrate, here's twenty Twaggies I thought you guys would enjoy! 1.... READ ON

Article

By the Numbers: Top 10 Tweeters

Ever wonder who has the most followers on Twitter? Here are the top 10, by the numbers. Please note: these are real people only! For instance, President Obama would easily make this list, but we know for a fact that he isn't the one tweeting on his account at this time. Also note: number of of followers DOES NOT translate to influence on followers. For example, even though our friend Alyssa Milano didn't make this list, her followers are much more likely to click her links, retweet her tweetage, and... READ ON