“How do we observe the future?” So began the presentation of Duane Bray, partner and head of IDEO’s global digital business, at our Mashable Connect conference in Orlando, Fla., last weekend. IDEO is a firm that solves problems through “human-centered” design. Its clients span the business, government, education, healthcare and social sectors. Read more »
Facebook Launches App Center, Lets You Sell Apps
Facebook just got a little bit more like Apple and Google. The company announced on Wednesday that it is building its own app center. It will also enable paid Facebook apps for the first time Read more »
Lady Gaga Shares Trailer for Her ‘Simpsons’ Appearance [VIDEO]
An animated Lady Gaga will star in the season 23 finale of The Simpsons . Gaga will voice herself in the upcoming episode “Lisa Goes Gaga,” which will air on May 20th on FOX Read more »
Facebook Launches Crisis Tools for Military Service Members
A new Facebook program provides military personnel, veterans and their families with customized resources when their content is flagged as harmful or suicidal. It is an extension of a suicide prevention effort Facebook launched in December , which lets friends alert the social network when other users express suicidal thoughts by clicking a link next to the comment. Read more »
Twitter Debunks Reports of 55,000 Hacked Accounts
Hackers claiming to be affiliated with the hacktivist group Anonymous claimed this week to have accessed and published the details of about 55,000 Twitter accounts. Read more »
Why Holstee’s Sustainable Approach to Ecommerce Works [VIDEO]
Name : Holstee Big Idea : An ecommerce marketplace for sustainable products that are “designed with a conscience.” Why It’s Working : Holstee is driven by its social values and not a race for profits. Yet, the revenue still pours in as consumers become emotionally attached to its vision and mission. Read more »
Shopping App NetPlenish Is a Win for Consumers and Sellers
NetPlenish CEO Dave Compton believes “there are two types of shoppers: convenience and price-driven.” Compton says his wife was faced with a common shopping problem — having to visit multiple stores to find the best deals. It was a weekly challenge for her to find a particular brand of dog food at the best price Read more »
How Will We Interact With Technology in the Future? [CONTEST]
One of the biggest ongoing evolutions in technology has been the way we interact with devices. Whether it’s function keys on a mainframe, the trackpad on a laptop, or a touchscreen on a smartphone, product interfaces are constantly changing to improve usability. Soon we may not even use our hands to control technology — if Google’s futuristic glasses come to fruition. Read more »
How a 13-Year-Old’s Startup Might Be Able to Cure Your Hiccups
Forget holding your breath or drinking water upside down. One startup wants to cure your pesky hiccups with candy suckers. Mallory Kievman, a 13-year-old from Manchester, Conn., invented the lollipop in her kitchen after a bout of annoying hiccups. Read more »
Samsung Galaxy S III: 6 ‘Human’ Features
In what might be the most inadvertently silly tagline in smartphone history, Samsung says the Galaxy S III is “designed for humans.” No one’s designing phones for cats, so Samsung is obviously being more figurative here, meaning that the user interface and features on the phone better meet what people really want to do. Until we get a our hands on the thing, we won’t know that for sure, but Samsung detailed many of the features meant to make the Galaxy S III more human-friendly. Several of them have a social component as well, since one of the main things we do with smartphones is make and maintain connections with others. Read more »