Social Media

Microsoft announced its newest gaming console, the Xbox One, Tuesday, and it plans to position the console as the intersection between television, gaming and other entertainment in your living room. Microsoft made an hour-long presentation that emphasized the Xbox One's new hardware, impressive graphics, connected interfaces and upcoming games. While we should learn much more from the company at it E3 presentation June 10, Mashable wanted to break down what we know right now about the Xbox One. Hardware The Xbox One is a large, black, glossy box meant to rest on its side, with a top-loading optical drive. You can see a 360-degree view of the console below Read more...More about Microsoft, Gaming, Xbox, Entertainment, and Xbox One

Is Social Media Anxiety Disorder, known as SMAD, the newest affliction resulting from our love affair with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites? Researchers have stopped short of actually classifying SMAD as a disorder, but it's no doubt a problem. Sure, you could quit using your social sites altogether — but then you’d be, well, bored and lonely. Science may someday shed more light on social media stress, but in the meantime, we've gathered the most common problems associated with popular social networks so that you know what to watch out for. Creative Flop Are you one of the thousands of women suffering from Mason Jar Envy, the creeping sense of self-loathing that comes from feeling you're just not as crafty as the other women on Pinterest? The “Today” show recently surveyed 7,000 American mothers and found that 42% worry they're not crafty or creative enough. Some stayed up all night pouring through Pinterest photos, unable to stop the negative comparisons. Read more...More about Health, Social Media, Psychology, Health Fitness, and Work Play

Steve Wilhite, father of the Graphics Interchange Format, has ended the heated debate on how to pronounce "GIF." Wilhite, then working at CompuServe, debuted the file format in June 1987. He accepted a lifetime achievement award Tuesday at the Webby Awards for his creation. Instead of giving a vocal acceptance speech, he flashed a GIF on the big screens: "It's pronounced JIF, not GIF." ~ Steve Wilhite, the father of GIFs. Well that's settled#Webbys — Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) May 22, 2013 "It's pronounced JIF, not GIF," read his acceptance speech, which adhered to the ceremony's five-word speech limit Read more...More about Webby Awards, Gif, Entertainment, Gifs, and Animated Gifs

Cleveland Indians pitcher Chris Perez was once among the team's most open and engaging players online. The closer would respond to fans, and became known for sharing a "song of the day" with followers But all that is no more. Perez shuttered his Twitter account after incurring the digital wrath of fans who were upset over his recent struggles on the mound. In a somewhat surprising move, the Indians even released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying that Perez had, in fact, shut down his account Many Cleveland sports fans piled on Perez after he gave up back-to-back homers to blow a save against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. Then, on Monday, he gave up another homer in the ninth inning of a tie game Read more...More about Mlb, Entertainment, and Sports

For cyclists looking to pimp their bikes with smartphone integration, look no further — new stylish technology from startup Helios makes your bike "smart." Helios Bars boast an integrated headlight and two rear LEDs, and riders can use the left and right lights as turn signals. But what sets the product apart is the ability to connect handlebars to a smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0. Using smartphone connectivity though Helios' iOS app, the rear lights on the handlebars take advantage of a GPS connection — so they can help you navigate via Google Maps' API. After inputting a destination into Helios' app, your phone plots a route. Then, once you start biking, the rear left and right lights blink, indicating where to turn. Read more...More about Bicycle, Cycling, Kickstarter, Tech, and Gadgets

If you want to see what the Apple TV will look like, I hope you were tuned to Spike at about 1 p.m. Eastern today, because we got a pretty solid picture of the rumored device: a powerful all-in-one entertainment hub with a hands-free interface that smartly integrates live TV with a wealth of streaming and downloadable media. I'm speaking, of course, of the Xbox One, Microsoft's freshly unveiled new game console. Except it's so much more than a game console. The Xbox One is intended to be the command center for any and all media you experience through a TV screen. Sure, the Xbox 360 already had that job, but the One is a considerable upgrade. Read more...More about Microsoft, Apple, Itv, Apple Tv, and Xbox

Many words and phrases are trotted out by self titled social media marketing experts that are tossed around so much they lose their meaning and impact. Specialist, thought leader and even guru are some of the glib terms used. Maybe we should be using words that are a bit more fun and less serious. Like…savvy, adept, adroit or even crackerjack. Just imagine being at a dinner party and someone asks you what you do. You respond with I am a “Crackerjack Savvy Social Media Marketing Specialist“. Bit more fun really. The “Guru” term is the one phrase that makes me cringe the most. It makes me think of someone who has disappeared into the Tibetan mountains, had a vision, hummed a lot and and has come back with insight and enlightenment that is god like and transcends being human. They are wearing sandals, donned a magical cloak and the halo is shimmering. Sorry…haven’t met one of those yet.. but looking forward to it. The path to professional Becoming well known and a professional in your industry is often a journey that starts with a burning passion. This is maybe the most important quality because you need that fuel to maintain the dedication and discipline required to be at the top of your game. In social media marketing the two most common formal paths that converge in a social media expert and specialist are from public relations and marketing. With the rise in the importance of content marketing, multi media and technology the skills required  can even extend into creative, technical and writing. Also thrown into the mix is an understanding of data that keeps us on track in our quest for determining what does and doesn’t work. One term I have heard kicked around is a “Creative Ninja Geek”. This sort of conjures up a  picture of someone that  understands tech but hasn’t forgotten to be human and social. They are the sort of people I often enjoy hanging out with. How do you become a social media marketing expert? Here is an infographic that provides some hints, colleges and education ideas that you may find useful on your path to becoming that social media expert. Infographic source: Schools.com   What about you? What was your path to being an expert in your area. Are you self taught or is it a combination of formal education, experience and learning on the job? Are you passionate about social media marketing? Look forward to hearing your stories in the comments below. Want to learn how to supercharge your marketing and content with social media? My book – “Blogging the Smart Way – How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how. It is now available to download. I show you how to create and build a blog that rocks and grow tribes, fans and followers on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It also includes dozens of tips to create contagious content that begs to be shared and tempts people to link to your website and blog. I also reveal the tactics I used to grow my Twitter followers to over 149,000. Download and read it now. Image by Shutterstock

Arizona Senator John McCain gave Apple CEO Tim Cook a customer satisfaction review at Tuesday's senate hearing on corporate tax reform. "What I really want to ask is why the hell I have to keep updating the apps on my iPhone all the time?" McCain said to Cook, who then responded, "Sir we're trying to make them better all the time." SEE ALSO: Tim Cook: Apple Doesn't Use 'Tax Gimmicks' Image via Allison Shelley/Getty Images Read more...More about Apple, John Mccain, Tim Cook, Apps Software, and Mobile

It's been a while since Will Smith bust out his rapping chops, but he proved on Monday that he's still as skilled as he was in his Fresh Prince days When Smith appeared on the Late Show with David Lettermanstage for his interview, the band responded with his 1992 hit "Summertime." Smith didn't hesitate to join in, launching into the full rap and eventually making his way to the mic to finish the verse SEE ALSO: Fall in Love With John Krasinski Lip Syncing to Katy Perry Smith abandoned his music career more than a decade ago for acting in blockbuster films like Hitch, and Men in Black. He stars in the the upcoming film After Earth, along with son Jaden, but his late night music interlude proves Smith should consider a music comeback — maybe even rapping on one of Jaden's new tracks. Read more...More about Viral Videos, Celebrities, David Letterman, Tv, and Watercooler

A supercell thunderstorm spawned a deadly F-4 tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Monday, and NASA satellites tracked and beamed images of the storm. As the storm plowed through the city, it left a devastated trail two miles wide and 17 miles long. At publication time, there were 24 confirmed deaths and more than 230 injuries. The images below are from various NASA satellites, which followed the storm from its strike point near Newcastle, Okla., to the hardest-hit town of Moore, Okla. SEE ALSO: How to Help Victims of the Oklahoma Tornados NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured this first image on May 20, 2013, at 2:40 p.m. CDT, as the tornado roared along its path through Moore, Okla. MODIS is aboard one of the Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. Read more...More about Space, Nasa, Weather, Tornado, and Us World