"reason" via Reason in Google Reader

6 Brands Get It Right on Viddy

Amy-Mae Elliott — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:57:52 PDT

Viddy, the hot social video editing and sharing app, has racked up millions of ordinary users and a whole host of celebrity participants.

Perhaps leery of video, brands are not signing up to the network quite as fast. Nonetheless, there are some early-adopter corporate Viddy accounts worth checking out. We’ve taken a look at six brands currently using Viddy in smart and savvy ways.

SEE ALSO: How to Get Started With Viddy

Discover which brands we’re highlighting and why. We have included a sample clip from each, so have your say in the comments below: which brand is using the service most effectively and why?

1. DVF

The Diane von Furstenberg fashion brand is a big user of the social video platform.

As well as using Viddy to show mini-clips of Diane and “everyday” footage, DVF joined forces with Viddy during New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

DVF staffers used the app to shoot exclusive behind-the-scenes footage as they prepped for the show, encountered celebs. The event highlights were then cross-posted to the DVF Facebook page.

Giving fans an insider glimpse is a clever way to make the most of short-form video — viewers feel like they can enjoy special access to a brand they admire.

2. Red Bull UK

Because it only recently added its Viddy account, Red Bull UK has only created a handful of viddys, but every single one is worth watching.

The beverage brand keeps tight to its sports/action message with footage of the recent Red Bull-sponsored Empire of Dirt BMX contest. Such events are ripe for the “highlights reel” treatment. The content is incredibly shareable, and Red Bull’s editing of the clips is simply superb.

We hope to see more of the same in the future from Red Bull — we think the brand has found a match made in heaven with Viddy.

3. General Electric

General Electric has made great use of Viddy with its small selection of well-edited clips, which offer viewers a peek at its cool technology and premises.

While the company has only posted three clips so far, they are perfectly suited to Viddy’s 15-second format. Each provides a visual insight to the brand in a format that is accessible and fun for Viddy’s youthful audience, especially when longer, more explanatory YouTube videos might not.

4. Warner Bros Records

Warner Bros. Records appears to be testing the Viddy waters. It has created a dozen clips, featuring just one artist: American rapper Waka Flocka Flame.

The clips are primarily behind-the-scenes footage from music video shoots. They are surprisingly effective, thanks to Viddy’s cool filters and music effects.

While we like the style the Warner Bros. viddys thus far, we might question the need in the future for separate Viddy accounts for individual artists. Perhaps the brand can reserve the main account for a “best of” collection of curated content.

5. Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines has uploaded a variety of content to Viddy, from light-hearted “guess the airport” challenges to in-flight footage to what can only be described as good, honest plane porn.

Recently, the airline used Viddy to host fun competition. It challenged users to create a Southwest-themed Viddy for the chance to win roundtrip plane tickets to the Sundance Film Festival.

With fresh content every few weeks or so, it seems Southwest plans to use the platform as one tool in its wider social media dashboard, taking advantage of the unique proposition Viddy offers brands.

6. The Muppets

Finally, The Muppets brand is no stranger to social media, and it got in on the Viddy action quite early on.

Ahead of the release of The Muppets movie in November 2011, the Disney-owned entertainment brand teamed up with Viddy for a production pack, which contained content and special effect filters that featured The Muppets. The super-shareable clips featuring each of the main characters were also posted online to promote the movie.

The Muppets-Viddy partnership is particularly exciting, as it shows how the tool could play a part in movie marketing. For example, it would be the perfect platform to issue a series of teaser clips.

We look forward to seeing how other brands use Viddy, as more sign up to the service. Have you seen any other interesting uses? Have your say in the comments below.

More About: apps, Business, features, General Electric, Marketing, red bull, Social Media, Southwest Airlines, the muppets, viddy, Video, warner bros

Top 10 GIFs of the Week

Samantha Murphy — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:39:43 PDT

1. Getting Down

You'll never look at the Power Rangers in the same way again.

Image courtesy ruinedchildhood.

Click here to view this gallery.

It’s been a lively week in the animated image world. We found a GIF of the Power Rangers dancing inappropriately, another of a hugging cat, and one that shows President Obama and likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song “Call Me Maybe.”

SEE ALSO: Top 10 GIFs of the Week

Take a look through our gallery for the best GIFs of the week ending May 25. Which one gets your vote for top GIF of the week? Let us know in the comments.

More About: features, GIFs, humor, president obama, Social Media, trending

Joe Trippi: ‘Texts From Hillary’ Could Help Clinton Win in 2016

Alex Fitzpatrick — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:20:48 PDT

Joe Trippi, former campaign manager for Howard Dean and author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything, thinks the ultra-popular “Texts From Hillary” Tumblr could help her win the 2016 presidential election because of the public relations boost it’s given her, especially among digitally-savvy young voters.

SEE ALSO: Yes, Secretary Clinton Submitted Her Own ‘Text From Hillary’

However, Trippi doubts that Clinton, currently serving as President Obama’s Secretary of State, would actually choose to run.

“I really don’t think Hillary’s going to run,” said Trippi in a backstage interview at this year’s Mashable Connect conference. “I think she means it. But look, she’s a totally different candidate in terms of understanding technology than she was in 2008. In 2008, she just didn’t believe in this stuff. But boy, she has gotten it. In terms of the State Department … they’re doing amazing things in terms of the global conversation about the future, and she’s behind it one hundred percent.”

What are your favorite politically-themed Tumblr accounts? Share them with us in the comments below.

More About: mashable connect, Politics, tumblr, US, Video

12 Extravagant Instagram Pics by the Rich and Famous

Stephanie Buck — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:08:14 PDT

1. itsludacris

Ludacris doesn't have to worry about a no-parking zone when it's his Ferrari 458 Italia next to a private plane. “Conn. we on the way!!! Show will be crazy tonight!” - Ludacris

Click here to view this gallery.

We love it when celebs open up their lives to us on social media. Once the envy subsides, we can daydream about the perks of Hollywood life simply by checking Instagram. Scratch that — “perks” is an understatement. We’re talking Ferraris, private jets and stacks of cash. Peanut butter and jealous!

SEE ALSO: 25 Stunning Cityscapes on Instagram

Celebs like Rihanna, Ludacris and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are not shy about sharing snapshots of their lavish lifestyles. These 12 such Instagrams will put you in quite the otherworldly mood — we pretty much guarantee it.

Tell us in the comments which celebs you follow on Instagram. How do you feel about that added layer of social media intimacy?

More About: apps, celebrities, Entertainment, instagram, photography, trending

Facebook May Launch Smartphone by Next Year [REPORT]

Samantha Murphy — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:41:13 PDT

Facebook may be gearing up to launch its first-ever smartphone by next year, a new report suggests.

According to The New York Times, engineers have been sought by recruiters to work on building hardware for a Facebook smartphone. This would be the social network’s third attempt to develop a smartphone, the report said, citing sources close to the matter.

The news comes as search engine giant Google completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion earlier this week. This move could help Facebook counter that with its own foray into the smartphone hardware business.

SEE ALSO: How a ‘Facebook Phone’ Could Help Facebook Break Into Mobile Apps [VIDEO]

Rumors about a possible Facebook phone have been circulating for the past few years. Although Facebook was reportedly first working on a smartphone in 2010, sources said the initiative stopped due to development complications. Meanwhile, AllThingsD has reported Facebook and manufacturer HTC were working together to develop a mobile device under the code name “Buffy.”

It’s believed that “Buffy” may still be in development. Hiring engineers to work specifically on building Facebook phones would position the company to explore other smartphone projects, as well.

Do you think a move into the smartphone business would be smart for Facebook or would it overextend itself? Would you buy a Facebook phone?

More About: Buffy, Facebook, mark zuckerberg, smartphone, smartphones, trending

For more Business coverage:

Follow Mashable Business on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the Business channel
Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

Defend Your Home From These 10 ‘Space Invaders’ Accessories

Amy-Mae Elliott — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:11:25 PDT

1. Space Invader Welcome Mat

Welcome visitors to your home with a lone invader for them to wipe their feet on -- sweet revenge for all the times they got zapped by the aliens. Cost: $45

Click here to view this gallery.

Released all the way back in 1978, Space Invaders has become more than a retro classic — it’s a cultural touchstone for multiple generations, symbolizing the golden age of arcade gaming.

To celebrate the iconic, pixelated design of the original, we’ve found 10 accessories that will have alien ships invading your home.

SEE ALSO: Happy Birthday Pac-Man: Celebrate With 20 8-Bit Accessories

Take a look through our geeky gallery above. Let us know in the comments which items get a high score with you.

More About: accessories, fashion, features, Gaming, geek, office accessories, retro gaming, space invaders

AOL Squatter: Young Entrepreneur Caught Living in Offices [VIDEO]

Samantha Murphy — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:55:47 PDT

A 19-year-old entrepreneur has been caught living and working out of AOL’s Palo Alto, Calif. offices, putting in long hours to get his startup off the ground. Sure, companies pride themselves in having employees with intense work ethics, but this guy wasn’t even an AOL employee at the time.

Eric Simons — who stayed at the office for two months, crashing on office couches, eating the company’s food and exercising every morning at the gym — was previously a member of a tech incubator program called Imagine K12, which is how he gained access to the building.

The AOL squatter stayed at the facilities while working on his own company, Class Connect, a startup he pioneered to help teachers teach more effectively.

Simons only spent about $30 a month squatting at AOL offices. His stay ended when he was finally caught by a manager.

Image via Flickr, MarioAnima

BONUS: Exclusive Look Inside the New Facebook HQ: You’ll Like This

Facebook HQ. You Like This

The company is now completely moved out of its Palo Alto pad, and into the much more spacious Menlo Park facility it broke ground on last year.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: aol, entrepreneurs, startup, trending

For more Business coverage:

Follow Mashable Business on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the Business channel
Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

What a collection: Feltron Annual Reports, 2006-11. Think...

(author unknown) — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:22:31 PDT

What a collection: Feltron Annual Reports, 2006-11. Think it’s time to get them framed. cc @feltron (Taken with instagram)

Kodak Image Sharing and Storage is Dead: 5 Alternatives

Matt Petronzio — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:37:47 PDT

As part of Eastman Kodak’s efforts to be a much slimmer business, the imaging and photography company is restructuring, selling its online sharing and storing site, Kodak Gallery, to Shutterfly for $23.8 million in March. Kodak Gallery will close on July 2, and each user’s account will automatically transfer to Shutterfly. Users that do not want to make the transition to Shutterfly can opt out, but they can only do so before the May 28 deadline.

In the transition from Kodak Gallery to Shutterfly, users’ personal photos will be moved to Shutterfly’s website free, but all previous projects such as photo books and calendars need to be completed and purchased by noon on July 2. According to Kodak Gallery’s announcement page, Kodak has not yet determined if shared albums, group albums and sharing sites will be accessible after the site closes, but it will keep its customers updated. Note that if you are a Kodak Gallery Europe customer, these changes will not affect your account.

How to Opt Out

If you wish to opt out of Kodak’s transfer to Shutterfly, follow these simple steps:

Download all of your photos from Kodak Gallery and save them to your computer.
Finish any products and purchase them as soon as possible.
To complete the opt out process, go to the announcement page and click the link that says “Click here to opt out.”

Photo Sharing and Storing Alternatives

If you decide Shutterfly isn’t for you, check out the gallery below for 5 alternatives:

1. Picasa

Google's Picasa has been around for a while, but the latest version (3.9) is integrated with Google+, so uploading and sharing your photos have never been easier.

Cost: Free

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: features, Kodak, photography, Shutterfly

New Details Surface About Mark Zuckerberg’s Wedding Day [PICS]

Samantha Murphy — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:18:17 PDT

Exchanging Vows

Mark Zuckerberg and his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan -- who first met while attending Harvard University -- elected to exchange vows in front of guests. Attendees arrived at their Palo Alto, Calif. home for what they thought was Chan's graduation party from medical school.

Image via Facebook, Allyson Magda Photography

Click here to view this gallery.

A little more than a week after the big day, new details have surfaced about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s secret wedding to his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan.

The private wedding, held in the backyard of their $7 million home in Palo Alto, Calif. in front of about 100 guests, came just one day after Facebook went public and was valued at more than $100 billion.

In the past few days, we’ve learned more about the couple’s nine-year relationship — in fact, according to a New York Times report, Chan purchased her dress last October, indicating the marriage had been in the works for at least the past seven months.

In addition, the couple had an agreement about how to approach a work and personal-life balance. Chan required Zuckerberg to spend at least 100 minutes of time together each week, as well as one date night and a two-week vacation each year.

Details about the wedding have also come to light, including the modest fare served to guests, songs the couple danced to and who accompanied Chan down the aisle. Find out about those specifics and more in the gallery above.

If you were a billionaire, what would you choose for your wedding? What food would be served? Who would play the music? Where you would go on your honeymoon?

More About: Facebook, facebook ipo, mark zuckerberg, trending

Cartoon: ROTF in Melancholy Despair

Rob Cottingham — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:20:39 PDT

See more of Rob's cartoons at Noise to Signal.

Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week

Charlie White — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:40:21 PDT

1. Eclipse

Last Sunday, the moon passed between the sun and our planet, causing an awe-inspiring solar #eclipse. This special phenomenon was captured by thousands of people around the globe. This picture, posted to Twitter by aerospace engineer @wikkit (1000+ followers), was tweeted along with the text: "I'm sorry to inform you that Earth is about to be been eaten by a fire demon."

Click here to view this gallery.

It was another explosive week for pics on Twitter, with the total number breaking records yet again. This week, we analyzed more than 56 million photos shared on Twitter from computers and mobile devices all over the world.

Summer, fun and celebrities were the main themes that ruled this week’s top 10. And now that the festival season has kicked off, we can spend hours gazing at pictures from festivals and other beautiful and sunny places all over the world.

SEE MORE: Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week

Special thanks to Skylines, whose custom algorithm finds only the most popular and best pics. The best part of this weekly report is the keen insight of Skylines writer and analyst Julie Donders (@IkbenJulie), who makes sense of the top 10 Twitter pics with her context-rich captions.

Take a peek at the pictures that made it to the top of Twitter’s visual food chain this week, and please let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below.

Bonus: Here’s last week’s Top 10 Twitter Pics.

1. Happy Mother's Day

This week started off with Mother’s Day, with sons and daughters surprising Mom with gifts and visits, showering them with love. Posting this pic of her mother at age 13: young actress Chloë Moretz (@chloegmoretz, 240.000+ followers, who played in Kick-Ass and Hugo and is now featured in Dark Shadows) along with the tweet ““#HappyMothersDay mama :) you even looked chic at 13 #1971”

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: Skylines, Top 10 Twitter Pics, trending, Twitter

Tell-Tale Signs Your Employee is Overworked [INFOGRAPHIC]

Lauren Hockenson — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:11:22 PDT

Are you stressed at work? You’re not alone: A recent Gallup poll indicates that on-the-job pressure is the top reason for employee dissatisfaction in the American workforce, and nearly half of American workers say their job is “very or extremely stressful.”

And whether you notice it or not, you’re broadcasting clear signs that should indicate to your employer that you are overworked and need a change of pace. The infographic below, developed by Column Five in conjunction with employee wellness company Keas, shows exactly how employees behave when they’ve been pushed to their limits. Workers tend to develop classic symptoms when their workload gets too much to bear, such as poor memory, fatigue and bad time management. They also exhibit odd behaviors, working too much or too little in response to the level of stress in the workplace. Employers should be watching for these key symptoms and redirecting overworked employees to a more manageable situation.

Of course, the consequences of ignoring these signs can be major — 66% of employees suffer from stress-induced health issues, including but not limited to high blood pressure, headaches, sleeplessness and more frequent periods of sickness. Overworked employees are also more likely to have drastically decreased productivity and play hooky than those who are satisfied with their workload. The overall result is clear: Overworked and stressed workers are never good for a company.

Check out the infographic below for an inside look into how overworked employees behave — and how it all can be fixed. Do you ever feel stressed at your job? Let us know in the comments.

Infographic research and design by Column Five

Social Media Job Listings

Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

Social Media Strategy Director at Likeable Media in New York City
Online Marketing Manager at USA Football in Indianapolis
Social Outreach Manager at Awesomeness TV in Los Angeles

More About: features, infographic, job search series, jobs, mashable, trending

For more Business coverage:

Follow Mashable Business on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the Business channel
Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

‘Feel Me’ iOS Texting App Gives You a Direct Live Connection [VIDEO]

Mashable Video — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:43:09 PDT

Videoconferencing apps like FaceTime give you direct and live interaction with another person — and conventional phone calls let you do the same thing — but that’s hard to do while texting. Here’s Feel Me, an iOS app concept that shows you in real time what your texting partner is doing.

Created by Marco Triverio as his final project at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, it adds a subtle dimension to texting, where you can see a small red dot that shows where on the screen the other person’s finger is currently pressing.

When your finger and the other person’s finger touch your screens in the same place, there’s a vibration or a sound. It’s an emotional connection — almost like the two are physically touching.

So far, the idea is in the concept stage, and Travario invites all those interested to visit his site and leave an email address or follow him on Twitter @FeelMeApp if you’d like to be notified when the app becomes available. Here’s his full demo on Vimeo.

Let us know if you think there’s something romantic and interesting about this. What other uses could be devised for such technology?

More About: apps, design concept, iOS, mashable video, trending

10 Funniest Tweets of the Week

Christine Erickson — Sun, 27 May 2012 09:51:26 PDT

@JoseConseco

"Jose Canseco is the Brian Wilson of Twitter and this is his Pet Sounds."

Click here to view this gallery.

What better way to enhance this three-day weekend than to enjoy a raucous roundup of Twitter comedy?

Internet LOL-curator and comedian Jake Fogelnest has selected his favorite hilarious tweets of the week.

Whatever you do, don’t google “Neil Young Dubstep.”

— Jake Fogelnest (@jakefogelnest) May 20, 2012

“I don’t know how other people use Twitter, but for me it’s a constant stream of entertainment and jokes. It’s also become my first news source,” says Fogelnest. “Sad as it may be, the reality is I find myself seeing ‘OMG DID U SEE THE NEW YORK TIMES?‘ before I actually see The New York Times. This is because I am a ridiculous person and part of the problem!”

Fogelnest has requested that all of you retweet the tweets above and favorite them — in some cases, he would like you to print the tweets, take them to a laser cutter and engrave them on the Vietnam memorial.

“Some people may say, ‘It’s not appropriate to put a bunch of dumb tweets on the Vietnam Memorial,’” says Fogelnest. “To those people I say, ‘It’s not appropriate to be such an killjoy. Lighten up, you dweeb!!’”

(Note: If you have access to a laser cutter, please do not actually vandalize the Vietnam Memorial.)

More About: funniest tweets, trending, Twitter

This Adorable ‘Lip-Dub’ Marriage Proposal Is Worth Watching Now [VIRAL VIDEO]

Samantha Murphy — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:50:08 PDT

It seems as though there’s a new viral marriage proposal every week, but this delightful “lip-dub” effort from a Portland actor who called in some help from family and friends is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

On Wednesday May 23, Isaac Lamb surprised his girlfriend Amy — a choreographer with a Broadway dancing background — with an elaborate proposal that involved more than 60 people performing down a street. Lamb’s brother sat her in the back of a car with a pair of headphones and told her to listen to the song that played.

As the car starts to move, she watches people pop up around her, from a marching band to parent cameos, dancing and lip-syncing along with the song.

Social Media Marriage Proposals: 10 Clever Ways to Pop the Question

What’s so charming about the video — in addition to the heart-warming concept and creative choreographed moves — is Amy’s infectious giggles and excitement throughout the video. It will make you smile and tear up at the same time. She, of course, said yes.

The video has already reached more than one million views on YouTube.

BONUS: 5 Geek Marriage Proposals on Video

1. Internet Memes

Timothy Tiah Ewe Tiam snuck 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 U NO Guy and Success Kid.

At the end of the meme-ridden surprise, he knelt and confessed, “I’m very nervous and terrified about this, but I love you and I think you’re my soul mate. And I can’t see myself living without you in my life. Will you marry me?”

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: marriage proposals, trending, YouTube

12 Ways to Optimize Your Resume for Applicant Tracking Systems

Mona Abdel-Halim — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:04:58 PDT

Mona Abdel-Halim is the co-founder of Resunate.com, a job application tool that tailors and optimizes your resume for a specific job. You can find Mona and Resunate on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

You filled out the job application, updated your resume and clicked “Submit.” But as the days or weeks pass, you never receive a phone call or email from the employer. What happened?

Unbeknownst to many job seekers, a whopping 72% of resumes are never seen by human eyes. Why? Well, employers large and small now use applicant tracking software to parse the information from your resume and map it into a database called an ATS (applicant tracking system). From this information, the system will assign you a score based on how well you match the job the employer is trying to fill, and then rank and sort all candidates. Naturally, the potential employees with the highest scores move on, while others are left in the dust.

Wondering how you can optimize your resume and rank highly in the employer’s ATS? Here are several tricks to improving your resume’s score.

1. Use Language from the Job Description: Look through the job listing to determine the skills required. Identify industry terms, buzzwords and jargon the hiring manager uses most frequently in the description and incorporate these words into your resume when possible and applicable — the ATS is looking for these keywords.

2. Get Rid of Images and Graphics: Remember, the ATS is breaking down the information you’re providing and sorting it into different “buckets.” It will not be able to read or understand an image.

3. Choose Fonts Carefully: Stick with standard web-safe fonts like Arial, Georgia, Impact, Courier, Lucinda, Tahoma or Trebuchet.

4. Don’t Hide Keywords: Think adding in a bunch of keywords in white text is the best way to rank highly? Think again.

5. Get Rid of Irrelevant Information: Only include past positions and skills that are relevant to the job at hand. Irrelevant positions just end up as filler — a waste of valuable real estate on your resume.

6. Don’t Use Any Special Characters: Standard bullets are fine, but other characters (such as arrows) can cause issues that could prevent the ATS from correctly parsing your information.

7. Avoid Fancy Borders and Shading: Stick to simple templates that are easy to read.

8. Pump Up Your Skills Section: Most employers use their ATS to search by specialized or technical skills. Make sure your resume includes any special skills you’ve attained, such as computer programs, strengths, competencies and other abilities. Spell out your skills and include industry-specific abbreviations or acronyms that the employer may also search for when finding candidates with the right experience.

9. Create a Customized Professional Summary: Include a list of bulleted achievements and qualifications that relate to the job description and desired skills.

10. Ditch Spelling Errors: The ATS will miss important keywords when they are misspelled. Avoid mistakes: Spell check, read your document backwards and have a friend (or two) look it over. You can never be too safe.

11. Place Contact Information at the Top: Don’t forget to include vital information, such as your phone number and email address. The ATS may even send an email after you’ve applied to the position with additional instructions — so check your spam folder religiously to ensure you don’t miss further communications.

12. Tailor Each and Every Resume: Different ads will contain different keywords and phrases. If you want your resume to be one of the top rated for each position, you must tailor your skills and experience to each opportunity.

Unless you know your highly stylized resume won’t be taking a trip through an ATS, it’s best to save your infographic resume for the in-person interview and upload a .doc or PDF instead.

Do you use the above tricks to avoid the resume “black hole”? Let us know in the comments.

Social Media Job Listings

Associate Product Editor at Rodale in New York City
Online Marketing Manager at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in Burbank, Calif.
Membership/Community Manager at Word of Mouth Marketing Association in Chicago

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, vicky_81

More About: contributor, features, job search series, mashable, resumes, trending

Spanish Soccer Scores a Goal on Social Media

Sam Laird — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:56:12 PDT

When Mashable took a look at the English Premier League’s social media side last week, the main takeaway was that the 2012 season marked the big social push of the world’s most high-profile soccer league.

But Spain’s LigaBBVA — considered a tier below the EPL on the pitch, although it’s home to powerhouse clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona — actually looks to be world soccer’s digital leader. To get the fuller picture, we scoured social media sites, and consulted LigaBBVA as well as the Spanish sports and social media site Sportwist.

Perhaps the place where La Liga’s social media dominance shines most is with its biggest stars. Three of the top four sports-related Twitter accounts are from Spanish soccer — Real Madrid stars Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo have 10.7 and 9.9 million followers, respectively, while the FC Barcelona club account claims almost 5.2 million. Last month, Kaka became the first sports figure ever to break 10 million followers on the the network. Fellow LigaBBVA stars Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Carlos Puyol, Xabi Alonso and David Villa each top one million followers as well.

The league itself maintains profiles on pretty much all the social web’s major networks — Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest and multiple Chinese services.

LigaBBVA engages fans extremely well on Facebook in particular. The league’s official page has more than 1 million fans. During a stretch in April, engagement peaked according to Sportwist, with more than 55% of those fans “talking about” LigaBBVA teams, matches and players — an outstanding level of engagement for a brand in any industry.

SEE ALSO: English Premier League: The Social Media Season

LigaBBVA also dominates world soccer leagues on Twitter. The @LigaBBVA profile counts more than 280,000 followers there, compared with the official @premierleague account’s approximately 209,000 followers. LigaBBVA also has a Klout score of 74, compared to the EPL’s score of 70. The German Bundesliga — considered by many the world’s third-best league in overall quality of play — has a Klout score of 49.

On the Chinese social network Sina Weibo, Spain’s soccer league has 155,000 followers, as well as an additional 106,000 fans on the similar Chinese network Ren Ren.

What powers LigaBBVA’s social media popularity? Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, arguably two of the world’s three most popular club teams. Consider this, for example: Barcelona has more than 31 million Facebook fans and about 5.2 million Twitter followers; Real Madrid has over 28 million Facebook fans and 4.7 million Twitter followers. No other LigaBBVA team approaches a combined total of 500,000.

Why do you think LigaBBVA beats out the EPL on social media? Let us know in the comments.

Image via iStockphoto, mikkelwilliam

More About: Facebook, Social Media, sports, Twitter, YouTube

For more Entertainment coverage:

Follow Mashable Entertainment on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to the Entertainment channel
Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

7 Top Mashable Comments This Week

Keith Kaplan — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:22:58 PDT

Mashable comments this week were more than fun to read. Our readers found many ways to express entertaining opinions while creating heated conversations.

Top stories included the rumored Facebook Timeline redesign, a fake Facebook suicide video, as well as Facebook’s new iPhone camera app.

Outside the world of Facebook, other popular stories included Google Chrome surpassing Internet Explorer as the most used browser. Commenter, TileGuyJesse, made a joke about Internet Explorer being the number one Internet browser…for downloading other browsers.

Also, earlier this week Guy Kawasaki attended Google+ Photographer’s Conference where he spoke and compared Google+ to Apple in how they’re both a religious experience.

At Mashable, we’re always on the lookout for thoughtful, insightful comments that add to our stories or further the discussion. Take a look at this week’s top comments and let us know what you think of the readers’ opinions.

FCC Data Rate Regulation

Mike Ensley comments with questioning the idea of the data rates a cable company would charge if data was charge per usage as opposed to a flat fee. Comment originally seen on FCC Boss: You Should Pay for Internet By How Much You Use [POLL]

Click here to view this gallery.

If you haven’t commented on a Mashable article before, check out Mashable Follow, our content curation and social tool, as well as our comment guidelines to learn more. We’d love for you to join the conversation.

More About: comments, community, mashable follow, top comments

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

Fancy Hands: The Most Helpful Startup in the World

Joann Pan — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:00:21 PDT

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: Fancy Hands

Quick Pitch: Delegate work to a smart and savvy band of personal assistants for $25 to $95 a month.

Genius Idea: Fancy Hands lets you hand off time-consuming, menial tasks to reliable web-based assistants.

Ever want to pay someone to sit on hold for you? Or to compile a list of the best gluten-free food in your area? Fancy Hands is a NYC-based startup that lets you do just that. The web-based service makes extra help affordable with flat rates.

Fancy Hands offers the services of personal assistants to the masses. The company’s fleet of professional contractors, located throughout the U.S., are always available for service requests around the clock. The army of assistants will do almost anything that doesn’t involve them getting up from their chairs.

Fancy Hands specializes in research, making phone calls and returning emails. Popular requests also include arranging appointments, finding local services, transcribing small chunks of audio or compiling lists. For a better idea of the range of services, check out Fancy Hands’ list of common requests.

Members can submit requests from anywhere in the world to Fancy Hands. Submissions are received by email, by phone or through Basecamp. Requests are usually completed on the same business day. Tasks may take a couple minutes or an hour depending on details.

The two-year-old startup was created by Ted Roden at a busy point in his life. He had his first child and signed a book deal in the same week. With a full-time job as a developer at The New York Times, he needed help with small, everyday tasks. Roden built the service around his own need.

“If I wanted to do anything outside my core area of responsibilities, I just couldn’t get it done,” Roden tells Mashable. “If I wanted to make a reservation to take my wife out to dinner, I wasn’t able to do it. So, I said maybe I could get someone to do this for me.”

Roden eventually finished the book and turned his startup dream into a profitable business with the help of freelance assistants.

Fancy Hands is based in NYC’s SoHo. Its six full-time employees of programmers and developers are building new features within the website. It’s a well-oiled system. Speed and quality are top priorities for the team of handpicked assistants, Roden says. Everything is quality-checked before completion. Detailed reports are written up for each task, stating the amount of time spent and specific actions taken to get the task done.

“All the communication is logged,” he says. “You can get a good sense on how much we’re working on a task for you. At the end of the day, you can say, my time is worth $10 an hour. If someone sat on the phone two to three times on the phone for me, I saved a lot of money.”

The startup’s goal is to make life easier for everyone. Roden wants to revolutionize the way people work the same way the Internet changed airline ticket purchases. Before Orbitz, Expedia and other websites to compare flights, the only option for customers looking to fly was calling the airline or travel agent. Instead of being able to compare prices and buy the cheapest tickets, customers had to agree to whatever the airline agents told them.

“The Internet came along and now it’s almost hard to remember how it was before,” Roden says. “I want to do that for other things. In the future, I want people to say ‘For scheduling, I can’t believe I used to email back and forth.’ I want that to happen for a lot of aspects in your life.”

Fancy Hands offers monthly rates as well as yearly packages. Get five requests a month for $25, 15 requests a month for $45 and unlimited requests for $95 per month.

What is the most time-consuming task in your day? Tell us in the comments if you would consider delegating specific tasks to personal assistants.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Bethan

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: bizspark, Business, Social Media, social networking, startup