Report: Facebook Is Collecting Data on Your Cursor Movements

Facebook may be adding to the list of things it knows about you

The social network is reportedly experimenting with new technology that tracks and collects data about a user’s activity on the site, including cursor movements, according to the Wall Street Journal. The technology is being tested now with a small group of users.

See also: How to Change Your Facebook Relationship Status Without Alerting Friends

The data could be used in a number of different ways, from product development to advertising, Facebook analytics chief Ken Rudin told the Journal

The technology can supposedly determine where a user is hovering his or her cursor on the screen, meaning it could be used to determine the most appropriate places for advertisements. The technology also tracks whether Facebook’s mobile users can see their News Feed at any particular time from their smartphone Read more…

More about Facebook, Targeted Advertising, Cursor, User Data, and Advertising

By: Social Media

Despite Flak, Weather Channel Will Still Name Winter Storms

This winter, Hercules, Titan, Vulcan or Ulysses may clobber your town with snow, winds and disruption. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll take Twitter by storm as well. At least, that’s what the Weather Channel is banking on

For the second year in a row, the news outlet will dole out names for winter storms, giving broadcasters, meteorologists, citizens and Twitter users an easy way to reference the event. However, the channel’s initiative hasn’t convinced its critics, and the national weather authorities and competing outlets refuse to endorse it

See also: Hurricane Sandy in Photos: 1 Year Later Read more…

More about Social Media, Weather, Weather Channel, Media, and Us World

Origin: Social Media

The Top 10 Redditors Based on Karma Points

To be a top Reddit user, your stash of Karma points does not need to be well rounded.

The three Redditors with the most Karma points, maxwellhill, mepper and pepsi_next, earned almost all of their Reddit cred by sharing links.

See also: 13 Fantastic Subreddits You Should Subscribe To

Statista‘s chart, below, shows the top 10 Redditors, based on their total number of Link and Comment Karma.

Similarly, the top Redditors with the most Comment Karma don’t share links very often. Of the top 10 Reddit users, based on overall Karma points, hardly any strike a balance between link sharing and commentingStickleyMan, ranked fourth overall, is the most well-rounded on the list. Read more…

More about Reddit, Karma, Social Media, and Chart Of The Day

Hat Tip To: Social Media

How to Turn Off Twitter’s New Photo Preview Feature

Twitter streams across America are now full of pictures, but yours doesn’t have to be

An update to the microblogging site Tuesday automatically displays images and Vine videos meaning users don’t need to click on a tweet in order to see its visual content. The change has already been implemented on the web, and is available to iOS and Android mobile users who update their app

See also: 10 Twitter Header Images Done Right

But not everyone wants to see tweeted pictures automatically, and there are ways to turn off Tuesday’s new feature on mobile. Simply go to settings within the app, and deselect the “Image Previews” tab. Simple as that Read more…

More about Twitter, Images, Pictures, Vine, and Settings

Via: Social Media

Nextdoor, a Network to Connect Neighborhoods, Raises $60 Million

Nextdoor, the social network designed specifically for neighborhoods, announced a $60 million funding round on Tuesday

The financing comes from just two sources — venture capitalists John Doerr at Kleiner Perkins and Lee Fixel of Tiger Global Management, said Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia. The funding gives the company $90 million in the bank, he added. Nextdoor had already raised $40 million, spending only $10 million.

See also: 10 Hot Social Networks to Watch

Sources familiar with the situation said Tuesday’s financing values Nextdoor at more than $500 million, which is not as high as the $1 billion threshold eclipsed by other social sites like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest Read more…

More about Social Network, Fundraising, Kleiner Perkins, John Doerr, and Startups

Source: Social Media

BlueLine Wants to Be a Facebook for Cops

Bill Bratton spent decades running the Boston, New York and Los Angeles police departments, earning a tough rep for his aggressive use of crime fighting technology. His crime mapping system, CompStat, helped law enforcement target and significantly drive down offenses in high-impact areas. Now Bratton is hoping his new startup can change how officers use social media.

Since retiring from the LAPD in 2009, Bratton has split time between consulting and building Bratton Technologies. This month, his New York-based company unveiled BlueLine, a free social networking site for law enforcement. The platform is for individual officers and departments, and offers video conferencing, professional directories, groups and instant messaging.

See also: Cops Want Wireless Providers to Record and Store Your Text Messages

Using BlueLine, up to 12 officers can simultaneously interact via face-to-face camera video chats through their iPhones or computers (sort of like a closed-circuit Google Hangout). Cops can also engage using screen shares and instant messaging. But the goal isn’t for officers to gab, explains Bratton.

“We’re not looking to be Facebook in the sense of posting family pics,” Bratton says. Instead, the goal is share water-cooler type info, like tips on gear, policing, and cop culture.

“Cops tend to be very secretive,” Bratton told Mashable. “All my life has been about trying to improve collaboration between officers in police departments.”

If your  Read more…

More about Social Media, Startups, Privacy, Law Enforcement, and Cops

Original: Social Media

Social Media App Lets You Live Vicariously Through Friends’ Experiences

Vycarious, a new social-media app that is available for iOS, lets you create, follow and comment on friends’ experiences, ranging from a two-week vacation to handcrafting a dinner table.

To start, users create an “experience description,” such as “cooking Pad Thai.” They then choose a photo or video as the lead image, denote a starting date and time, and include hashtags to make their experience searchable. After that, users can upload posts, videos, images and other media until their experience ends. However, friends can still write comments even after users hit the end button to signal that their experience is over Read more…

More about Social Media, Apple, Free, App, and Ios

Credit: Social Media

7 Twitter Accounts for Outstanding Longreads

Longform journalism is far from dead. This may seem counterintuitive in the age of the 140-character Twitter update, but the digital world still demands quality, in-depth reporting — it’s only the medium that has changed.

In an email exchange with Forbes‘s Lewis DVorkin, Longreads founder Mark Armstrong suggested that “social recommendation” has played a role in the resurgence of interest in longform journalism. “When people read something they really love, they become its biggest cheerleader,” he wrote.

See also: 20 Twitter Resources for Job Hunters

Twitter has become a beloved resource for everything from job hunting to online shopping, and it can also be an asset in tracking down the skillful, thought-provoking articles you’ve been craving. You can consult the Twitter feeds of your favorite news outlets to see what longform content they have to offer, or use the hashtag #longreads to see articles recommended in real time by Twitter usersMashable compiles its own weekly list of must-reads, too Read more…

More about Media, Twitter, Social Media, Features, and Journalism

Via: Social Media

Culture Jamming: Who’s Helping Celebrities Go Viral?

Six months ago, Richard Simmons was better known for his spandex and ’80s fitness videos more so than his social media following. On the edge of falling off the pop culture radar, however, the 65-year-old recently made a resurgence into the spotlight.

Simmons’ seemingly random red carpet appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in August netted him 37 million mentions across social networks and turned his name into a trending Twitter topic. Meanwhile, at the Emmys in September, Simmons’ camp live tweeted the ceremony, sharing memes and GIFs of him dressed as characters from nominated shows. The content reportedly reached nearly 20 million people Read more…

More about Youtube, Entertainment, Social Media, Celebrities, and Branding

Source: Social Media

Vine Challenge: Time Travel

In its most recent update, Vine introduced a tool that allows users to edit individual frames within a post. This means you can create a rewind effect in your videos by rearranging the order of your frames

See also: How to Get Started With Vine Sessions and Time Travel

For this week’s Mashable Vine Challenge, we want you to show us how you’re using this editing feature to push the boundaries of stop-motion creation.

We “uncut” a paper tree for our Time Travel Vine, above. To do this, we shot a video of the oranges moving upward and the tree being cut, and then flipped the order of all the frames to make it play in reverse. Read more…

More about Vine, Social Media, Apps Software, Mobile, and Time Travel

Hat Tip To: Social Media