Dave Haft

While many traditional media companies continue to struggle, business is booming for the social media industry. With millions of users updating statuses, posting photos and sharing articles, these networks have become massive content hubs.

But how do you harness the best content and use it to engage the larger user base? How can useful news and information be created — or curated — from these communities? These are questions social networks are now working to answer by hiring editorial teams and, in effect, becoming the publishers of the future.

Today we’ll discuss how social networks are evolving their content strategies with Jessica Bennett, editorial director at Tumblr, and Da…
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More About: linkedin, media summit, tumblr

During the vice presidential debate Thursday evening, Republican Paul Ryan cited the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya as evidence that foreign policy is unraveling.

Joe Biden’s rebuttal to Ryan caught the online audience’s attention, due to his unique choice of word. “With all due respect, that’s a bunch of malarkey, because not a single thing was accurate,” the vice president claimed.

Sure enough, the Twitter hashtag #malarkey began to trend in the U.S. quickly after the comment.

SEE ALSO: Obama Campaign Buys Ads for ‘Malarkey’ Hashtag on Twitter

Most used it as humor, while others are firing back at Biden with his own outdated term. Here are a couple…
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More About: Joe Biden, paul ryan, presidential debate, u.s. politics, vice president

There are two kinds of Twitter users: those who pay close attention to their follower counts, and those who are lying.

Okay, that’s not quite accurate. (It doesn’t account for the vast swathe of inactive Twitter users who aren’t paying attention at all.) But it’s not far from the truth, is it? Even non-sentient spambot accounts spend their time trying to gain as many followers as possible.

The Twitter follower count has become, in effect, the most played videogame on the planet. It’s a game few of us will admit to playing, or talk about in public, or even tweet about. But we’re playing it nonetheless.

When you’re trying to decide whether to follow someone on Twitter, does t…
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More About: Twitter

If you can’t get front row for this year’s New York Fashion Week then turn to Twitter to be your all-access guide.

The social network curated a fashion guide complete with the “it” designers, bloggers, models and fashion icons whose tweets will keep you posted on what’s happening at the shows and what new trends are coming back in style.

The list includes more than 50 different people and companies from Nina Garcia to Vogue Magazine that will be live tweeting runway shows. Twitter has also created the hashtag #DayInTheLife to give the Twitterverse a one-stop place to find news and pictures behind-the-scenes of the shows, it’s blog announced.

Followers of the hashtag will be…
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More About: Twitter, fashion, new york fashion week

Justin Beiber?

If you’re that excited over a new follower, we hope it’s Justin Beiber.

Click here to view this gallery.

The term “breaking news” has become one of the most overused pieces of press jargon. So, naturally, the term is asking to be poked fun at by the Internet.

In the new Tumblr What People Consider Breaking News, curator Craig Kanalley highlights “breaking news” updates on Twitter that really shouldn’t be labeled as such.

SEE ALSO: Dog Shaming Tumblr Hilariously Embarrasses Fido for Bad Behavior

When asked why he created the Tumblr, Kanalley told Mashable: “I always have ‘breaking news’ in my Tweetdeck so I see these a lot. Finally decided to document/curate the best ones.”

Are you annoyed by the amount of “breaking news” you see, or do you think that it is a necessary evil? Tell u…
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More About: Watercooler, tumblr

It’s true that marketers tend to rely on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to remain at the forefront of industry news, but they also tend to neglect the full potential that Google+ offers as a news source. Adding key people to your circle and following the shared circles others have curated on Google+ can help fill your feed with relevant content that’s worth reading.

To get started, follow these Google+ circles for insights about marketing, technology, digital branding, social media, and blogging.

1. Active Tech Journalists and Thought Leaders

Take a look at tech evangelist Robert Scoble’s Google+ circle of tech journalists and thought leaders. Marketers can benefit from foll…
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More About: Google +1, contributor, features, online marketing, small business tips

Fifth grade students at the Ray Bjork School in Helena, Mont. produced a PSA in 1995 that not only features totally tubular 90s fashion, but also accurately predicts the cat-filled future of the internet.

These kids should’ve set up a psychic hotline 1-800 number to compete with Miss Cleo.

(H/T Dog and Pony Show Website)

More About: Watercooler, YouTube, internet, viral videos

In 1921, psychologist Carl Jung changed the fundamentals of his field. From his theories on psychological types, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was born. To this day, psychologists distribute the psychometric test to patients, hoping to accurately boil down the psychological types of humans into 16 major categories.

Still in use today, the metrics determine whether test takers tend toward certain character traits, such as introversion (I) vs. extroversion (E) or thinking (T) vs. feeling (F). Once taken, test results produce an acronym per individual. For example, “ISTJ” is for an Introvert-Sensing-Thinking-Judging person.

SEE ALSO: Not on Facebook? Employers, Psychiatrists May Think…
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More About: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter, infographics, linkedin, psychology, trending

When a monsoon hit the Philippine capital of Manila on Monday, causing widespread floods that have so far affected more than 2 million people and killed at least 60, YouTube searches for the Philippines spiked over 70% as people around the world tried to watch the latest crisis coverage.

YouTube users searching for “Philippines flood” during the tragic event may have noticed something new: a special white box at the top of the search results page, presenting recent, relevant footage of the disaster.

This new tool, called the Crisis Response One Box, is a joint effort from YouTube and Storyful, a news agency which provides streams of verified social content. The tool curates the mos…
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More About: Social Good, Social Media, Video, YouTube

Forget London. Much of the 2012 Summer Olympics action is happening on Twitter. Athletes have used the social network to share photos and status updates that take their followers inside the Games. Fans have used it to revel in Olympic drama and — in the U.S. — tweet result spoilers for viewers stuck waiting for NBC’s tape-delayed primetime coverage.

How did all the Twitter chatter stack up over the event’s first 10 days? Mass Relevance, Twitter’s official social curation and integration partner, tracked the tweets to produce the infographic below, which shows just that.

Through 10 days, there were more than 28.4 million Olympic-themed tweets, according to Mass Relevance, and users…
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More About: Sports, Twitter, infographics, olympics