The number of Americans who own smartphones rocketed past the number who own basic mobile phones this year, and marketers have been expanding their mobile budgets at a similarly rapid rate.
One study estimated mobile advertising will be $5.04 billion industry by 2015.
HighTable, a startup social website for professionals, compiled data about the key factors in the growing mobile marketing space in the infographic below.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/8IxKVd7R5iY/
In a surprise ceremony, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg married his longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, in a private wedding at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. on Saturday.
Zuckerberg, who just became a billionaire as a result of the Facebook IPO on Friday, reportedly placed a ring on his wife’s finger during the ceremony — the ring, said to be designed by Zuckerberg himself, was described as featuring a “very simple ruby.”
According to the Associated Press, Zuckerberg’s marriage to Priscilla Chan took place in front of about 100 invited guests who thought they were celebrating Ms. Chan’s medical school graduation. It all happened in Zuckerberg’s backyard.
Take a look at Zuckerberg’s personal page on Facebook, and you’ll see the above picture, which Zuckerberg reportedly placed onto his own site as a change of his status after the ceremony.
The couple met while both were attending Harvard, and have been together for nine years.
It was a dramatic day of a big week for Zuckerberg:
![12 Funniest Animals Being Dicks [GIFS]](http://massivewebsitemarketing.com/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/49deb_125%2Canimalsbeingdicks.jpg)
![Happy Earth Day! Celebrate With Google Doodles [PICS]](http://massivewebsitemarketing.com/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/49deb_125%2Cearthdaygoogledoodles.jpg)
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Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
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Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/-6SiVyM-KkY/
Mark Zuckerberg may have just wrapped up the biggest week of his life.
In the span of just seven days, the Facebook CEO has turned 28, taken his company public, become worth almost $20 billion and married his college sweetheart.
On the one hand, thinking about all of those life-altering events happening in such a short period of time makes us dizzy. On the other hand, it should make remembering anniversaries easier!
So if you’re Mark Zuckerberg, how do you share your eventful week with the world? You post about it on Facebook, of course!
We’ve rounded up some of the best photos of Zuckerberg’s very big week.
Mark, from all of us at Mashable, happy birthday, congrats on the IPO and mazel tov on the wedding! As one newlywed to another, I think you’ll agree it’s pretty awesome.
As for next week? Well, if it were us, we’d take a much-needed vacation!
![12 Funniest Animals Being Dicks [GIFS]](http://massivewebsitemarketing.com/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/277cb_125%2Canimalsbeingdicks.jpg)
![Happy Earth Day! Celebrate With Google Doodles [PICS]](http://massivewebsitemarketing.com/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/277cb_125%2Cearthdaygoogledoodles.jpg)
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Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
View As One Page »
View As Slideshow »
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Facebook Product Designer Francis Luu
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Photo courtesy Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/FWSau0W2Qcg/
On Sunday, May 20, a spectacular astronomical phenomenon will occur when our moon passes between the Earth and the sun. The result for the luckiest of viewers will be an annular (or ring-shaped) solar eclipse. Many others will gladly “settle” for the similarly beautiful partial eclipse.
This type of eclipse occurs less than once a year, but even then it only appears geographically for those in its trajectory. Tecca reports the eclipse will appear full for viewers in locations including Tokyo, Redding, Calif., central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, and Albuquerque, N.M.
Other locations in the Western United States and Canada and parts of the Pacific will see the partial eclipse. If you’re in the Western U.S., the eclipse will begin on Sunday at around 6:30 P.M. PDT.
At Mashable, we love to see these amazing events, but we especially love seeing them through your eyes. Most recently, we asked you to send us photos of the “supermoon,” and the results were stunning. Now, we want you to send us your photos of the annular eclipse. Simply drag your photo to the widget below, or tweet them with the hashtag #MashEclipse.
Before you get started, make sure you look at Space.com’s guide to safely photographing the eclipse. We’re looking forward to seeing your best shots!
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/yNSSmjXmf0k/
Authorities in China have cleared Google’s plan to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
If the deal closes, it will be Google’s first hardware acquisition. It will also give the company access to Motorola’s treasure trove of 17,000 patents.
Chinese regulators attached one big condition to their approval, according to the Associated Press: That Android for mobile devices will remain free for at least five years. Google has also received the go-ahead from Europeon and American authorities to move forward with the acquisition.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/VbKJhgnpBc0/
Friday marked the much-anticipated Facebook IPO, and boy, do we have have a lot of resources for that topic. Whether you have no idea what an IPO is or you want to know how it might affect you, use our weekly features roundup to catch up.
We’ve covered more than just Facebook, though. This week we also have tips and tricks for Viddy beginners, instructions for live-streaming your wedding and a new episode of Behind the Launch. We’ve also covered socially conscious organizations like Idealist and Keepon, educational Android apps for adults and how social media can help users get internships. We even have a recap of the fantastic events at Mashable Connect.
What are you waiting for? Get started!
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Ua_3ZZqXTt8/
It’s been called sexy and jawdropping — and it’s also incredibly high-tech. It’s a new type of sleek airplane called Synergy Aircraft.
It’s true — airplanes are an essential mode of travel, but today’s planes are decades old and seriously need replacing. Not only are planes an uncomfortable way to travel, but they’re not doing the environment any favors either. The Synergy Aircraft Project thinks planes need some modern updating.
The origami-looking wings and newly designed “double box tail” make the craft more lightweight and drag less. They say travel time and cost will be decreased, plus it’s easy to operate and safe.
The man mainly responsible for creating the eco-friendly plane, John McGinnis of Montana, is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. So far, the project’s reached $26,000 and has 16 days to go to reach its goal of $65,000. If you pledge $100 or more, you can fly in this craft.
“In this second century of flight, we believe that ordinary families should have fast options to travel where they want, when they want, in quiet safety, with better economy than a car. Without the exhausting airport hassle,” notes the Kickstarter page.
Would you take a ride in this plane? Tell us in the comments.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/QzRpE8ZZV3w/
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Classroom training isn’t dead, but it also isn’t the answer for every training need. Social tools are changing the game when it comes to employee learning. Organizations can create collaborative workplaces where employees can learn from each other instead of only learning in a formal setting or from the proverbial “company expert.”
For training programs to be effective, companies must use the right methods and medium for their training sessions and their audience. Given the popularity of social media, it only seems logical to explore how social media tools can have a positive impact on the learning experience.
Tony Bingham, president and CEO of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), defines social learning as “learning that happens outside a formal structure or classroom and is really the way people have always learned from each other. Social learning centers on information sharing, collaboration and co-creation.”
While the practice of social learning has been around for ages, we need a better definition of it for today’s workplace. Most of us have a vision for what formal classroom training looks like, so here’s one way to view the basic difference between informal learning and social learning:
In the book Social Media at Work, written by Arthur L. Jue, Jackie Alcalde Marr and Mary Ellen Kassotakis, the authors share case studies of companies using social and informal learning for business success. For example, Oracle uses a key tool called Connect to give employees the information they need at the moment they need it. The tool is about more than just answering questions -– it’s teaching people how to make smart decisions about the business.
One thing is certain about social learning: It’s not a replacement for traditional classroom training. “There will always be some kinds of training that must be done in a classroom setting because of the requirements of the training or skill mastery demands,” Bingham explains. “Examples include certification, compliance, and deep learning -– this is happening in the classroom.”
Surveys of CEOs continue to report that recruiting and developing talent are their top concerns. In addition, ASTD Research notes that by 2020, nearly half (46%) of all U.S. workers will be Millennials.
Organizations have to gain an understanding of how a new generation of workers likes to learn, how they use technology and their preferred means of communication. This will be essential in creating training curriculum, development programs and succession plans.
Bingham says it’s possible to calculate the return on social learning, but it’s not the traditional return-on-investment (ROI) formula: “It requires alignment to what’s important to the organization, and often that includes retaining institutional knowledge, solving complex problems collaboratively and attracting people to your organization.”
Maria Ogneva, director of community at Yammer, says, “If your goal is to increase customer satisfaction, perhaps the impact metric you are looking for is the increase of speed of a response to a customer, and how collaboration helps you do that. For any social effort to be successful, it has to tie to a business objective.”
Business leaders need to realize that employees are already using social tools -– whether it’s approved or not. Instead of prohibiting the use of social media, savvy business leaders should harness its power to drive business results. Bingham notes, “It’s important to make the distinction between a management problem and a technology problem. Most often, problems that occur with the use of social media are management problems.”
Bingham adds that he sees a concern that the use of social media tools may compromise proprietary informaion, or that issues related to intellectual property, company secrets or business strategy may be divulged by a workforce given social media tools. His recommendation?
“Organizations should have an intellectual property policy in place that outlines clear expectations -– and consequences for inappropriate activity. This policy should consider the multitude of possibilities for the use of an organization’s intellectual property.”
Once guidelines are in place, clearly communicate those throughout the entire organization. The goal isn’t to create obstacles to learning but a respectful, effective means to using social tools.
Before rolling-out a social learning strategy, take a good look at your company culture. Determine if the company is ready to incorporate social learning into its training and development strategy. Adding social just because it sounds cool isn’t productive for the workforce.
Any time a company is testing the new territory, it’s beneficial to start small. Find a program or an initiative that would be well-served by employing social technologies and let the people involved with it experiment and find what works. “Social learning has an organic nature to it, it can’t be forced,” Bingham says.
After using a new technology, evaluate the success of the program. Get feedback on three levels:
This feedback will help refine the best social learning methods to incorporate for future activities.
Social media platforms will continue to develop and evolve. More and more individuals will start using them for their personal brands and professional lives. Employees will demand simplicity and expect workplace training to incorporate the tools they use on a regular basis.
Would you like to see more social in your training programs? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/ShTLs9J3Y9E/
When the countdown to its launch ended early Saturday morning, Dragon, the first private spacecraft to ever attempt docking with the international space station, did not take off.
“Early data indicates that the flight computer detected slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine 5, which prompted the computer to abort the countdown,” wrote Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the spaceflight company that attempted the launch, in a statement.
To put the unmanned Dragon into an orbit where it can dock with the international space station, SpaceX must launch it within a narrow timeframe. As soon as its computers automatically shut down the launch, the optimal one-second window had passed and there was no opportunity for another attempt. The next opportunity for a launch attempt is on Tuesday, according to NASA.
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion commercial contract to deliver supplies to the station. Its latest attempted mission was intended to test whether the Dragon can successfully dock there. A previous test flight in 2010 successfully launched the dragon and recovered it from orbit.
Officials at the company had made efforts to play down expectations before Saturday’s launch — predicting just a slightly greater than 50-50 chance of launching, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/D1C28Iwa-KY/
It was a big week for Facebook, which rang in the Nasdaq bell from its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook shares started trading at $42 each on Nasdaq around 11:30 a.m. on Friday morning, under the symbol “FB.”
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/pEPdoKfwZbU/
