Twitter Stocks, Down

Twitter shares are down more than 24% today following the release of the social media network's first quarterly earnings statement since its initial public offering.

Shares closed at $50.03. Shares had traded above $66 the day before.

Although the company reported earnings of $0.02 per share — above analysts' consensus estimate of a loss of $0.02 per share — and revenues came in at $242.7 million (also above expectations), investors are honing in on weak user growth.

Is it game over for Flappy Bird?

Suddenly popular, super hard, super addictive smartphone game Flappy Bird is going away.

Game creator Dong Nguyen tweeted this at 2 p.m. ET: "I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore."

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By Stephen Covey (Summary) - Habit 7

HABIT 7: SHARPEN THE SAW

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of activities:

Physical:	Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting
Social/Emotional:	Making social and meaningful connections with others
Mental:	Learning, reading, writing, and teaching
Spiritual:	Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By Stephen Covey (Summary) - Habit 6

HABIT 6: SYNERGIZE

To put it simply, synergy means "two heads are better than one." Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn't just happen on its own. It's a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal experience and expertise to the table. Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or sixty--you name it.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By Stephen Covey (Summary) - Habit 5

HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right? 

If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By Stephen Covey (Summary) - Habit 4

HABIT 4: THINK WIN-WIN

Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration. 

Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing--that is, if I win, you lose; or if you win, I lose. Life becomes a zero-sum game. There is only so much pie to go around, and if you get a big piece, there is less for me; it's not fair, and I'm going to make sure you don't get anymore. We all play the game, but how much fun is it really? 

Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-win

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By Stephen Covey (Summary) - Habit 3

HABIT 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

To live a more balanced existence, you have to recognize that not doing everything that comes along is okay. There's no need to overextend yourself. All it takes is realizing that it's all right to say no when necessary and then focus on your highest priorities. 

Habit 1 says, "You're in charge. You're the creator." Being proactive is about choice. Habit 2 is the first, or mental, creation. Beginning with the End in Mind is about vision. Habit 3 is the second creation, the physical creation. This habit is where Habits 1 and 2 come together. It happens

Devina: "I am so sorry @meganbata and to all the Filipinos out there"

Finally, Devina Sharma asked forgiveness for her remarks against Ms. Megan Young, winner of Ms. World 2013. Ms. Sharma registered a twitter account just to express her apologies.

DeVina Rocked Social Network

Her racially charged comments against Miss World 2013 winner Megan Young rocked the internet yesterday. Memes sprouted everywhere in defense to her  comments calling Ms.

Meet Yogurt, The Pirate Dog!

Yogurt, the Pirate Dog is a 5-year old Instagram-Star-Chihuahua... and she has 1,000+ followers.

Hashtags Help Coordinate Relief Efforts in Philippine Floods

In the midst of widespread flooding in Manila, which displaced more than 80,000 residents and caused at least 50 deaths by unofficial count, a digital lifeline emerged. Filipino citizens, non-profit organizations and government agencies have been using social media to coordinate relief efforts and rescue missions.

The Philippines, one of the most social media-savvy countries in the world, relied on Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information as people pleaded for rescuers to retrieve them from the rooftops of their homes.

Roughly half of the population uses social networks — something that government rescue workers, volunteers and media outlets used to their advantage by creating unified hashtags to spread information more efficiently. #RescuePH is for rescue calls; relief aid’s hashtag is #ReliefPH, breaking news falls under #FloodsPH, and official government alerts are tagged with #PHalert.

Social media users also created a relief center map on Google Maps and a rescue request form.

Do you think consolidated hashtags and online coordination make a noticeable difference in disaster response, or is an official rescue request form an unnecessary step in relief aid? Let us know in the comments. (Mashable.com)

Not on Facebook? Employers, Psychiatrists May Think You’re a Psychopath

There are more than 955 million Facebook users, and it could hurt you to not be one of them.

Some psychiatrists and employers now find it suspicious for an individual to keep off Facebook, reports The Daily Mail. That’s because for today’s young generation, having Facebook is considered “normal,” while opting out is considered “abnormal.”

Employers may suspect that an applicant’s absence from the social network means the account is so full of offensive material that it had to be deleted. After all, 90% of recruiters check out candidates’ online profiles.

Similarly, psychologists see Facebook activity as a reflection of a healthy social life.

“The Internet has become a natural part of life,” psychologist Christopher Moeller told Germany’s Der Taggspiegel. “It’s possible that you get feelings of positive feedback through online friends.” [Translated from German]

In excess, Moeller says, Facebook interactions can reinforce feelings of social anxiety experienced offline.

As the German magazine points out, both suspected Aurora theater gunman James Holmes and the Norwegian massacre shooter Anders Behring Breivik share an absence from Facebook. The publication went as far as to say that Facebook abstainers have reason to be suspected mass murderers.

The two shooters had online footprints on more obscure social networks — Breivik on MySpace and Holmes on Adult Friend Finder.

Do you find it suspicious when you meet someone who’s not on Facebook? Do you think being active on Facebook reflects a healthy social life? Let us know in the comments. (Mashable.com)

How to Reach Out to Potential Employers on Social Media

It’s no secret that employers are incorporating social media into their recruiting plans to find top talent. For job seekers looking to stay current, you know the opportunities exist. But, knowing how to properly reach out may be the barrier between you and your dream job.

Job candidates commonly struggle when it comes to effectively leveraging social media platforms to connect with employers. Out of fear of being a nuisance and making an awful first impression, many refrain from getting themselves a step ahead in the job search.

Deciding what is appropriate in the eyes of recruiters and hiring managers online can be a daunting process to sort through. Below, we outline two very important elements of reaching out to employers on social media properly.

Find People for Informational Interviews

Informational interviews are your way of gaining a more in-depth look at a potential employer by gathering first-hand knowledge from past or current employees; a casual, coffee-shop conversation can yield a lot of insights. Social media gives you the opportunity to add two-way communication to the research you have already conducted regarding the company. You can network with alumni, new hires and former employees with the following:

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the professional online network most used by employers. First, make sure you have at least 150 connections prior to utilizing it as an asset to your job search. When you visit your desired company’s page, review “Your College Alumni.” These individuals are great candidates for informational interviews.
• Twitter: Twitter is a level playing field that enables you to reach out to company employees with a likely chance of getting a response. Since many employees mention their employers in their bios, take advantage of Twitter directories such as Twellow to help you find profiles mentioning your desired company. You can also @reply to the company’s personal Twitter account inquiring about an informational interview source.
• Facebook: There are many Facebook applications, such as BranchOut, intended to ease the process of finding connections to companies within in your own network. These applications will help you effectively incorporate the largest social network in your job search.

How to Ask for Their Time

The catch with reaching out to employers online is that they are not obligated to respond to your requests. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make their contribution as simple as possible. Here is how:

• Have a plan: Before ever sending your LinkedIn inMail, direct message or Facebook message to their inbox, be sure you have put some thought behind it.
• Get to the point: Don’t throw your resume and your life story on them from the get-go. Be clear of what you want from the start and leave all the fluff for later.
• Express your commonalities: Having something in common with the person sparks their interest. If you have a shared interest, their ears may open.
• Be specific, avoid generalities: There is a difference between wanting just any job and wanting to work for that specific company. Let the employer know why you are pursuing them.

Social media places our future employers within arm’s length. Although it simplifies the process for us, remember to remain professional and polite when reaching out to employers online. Believe me, your online network works. You just have to use it properly.

Have you utilized social media in your job search? Have you found success in reaching out to potential employers via social media? Share with us below! (Mashable.com)

Underemployed? Social Networking Can Help

Most would agree that having a job is better than not having a job in today’s economy. But therein lies the problem — you do the job because you have to, not because you want to. Job seekers not only face a selective job market with high unemployment, but with high underemployment.

Underemployment, despite its advantages over unemployment, is an issue not to be overlooked. It includes people working part-time who would like full-time employment, and people working at lower-level jobs than what they are qualified for, or earning less than they should be, due to the lack of available jobs. According to Gallup data, 18.1% of U.S. adults in the workforce are underemployed, while one in three young adults are underemployed (and twice as likely as older adults to be so).

The disadvantages of underemployment aren’t too different from being unemployed. People seem to lose motivation in their career path and are set back from advancing, potentially for a few years. An even bigger and distinct disadvantage is not having the time to look for employment because of current job obligations. The recession produced layoffs and a selective job market, leaving many qualified professionals settling for jobs that don’t utilize hard skills and their degree at large. Those baristas with MBAs, those waiters with biochemistry degrees, and those receptionists who went to nursing school are just as unable to find and land the job that’s a fit for them.

The underemployed have a different set of challenges — they are more set on building a career with relevant positions, but also need to find these positions without much digging. Fortunately, social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, make the job search much more direct and accessible. Below, you’ll find three ways to optimize your social networking if you’re one of the many underemployed.

Target Companies

The underemployed aren’t just looking for another position, they are looking for careers. Careers are built by companies, not just one job. Companies related to your degree and career interests will take people with common backgrounds and place them into roles that are challenging, and they’ll advance upward.

Make a list of target companies that offer roles on your projected career path. Follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn, and “like” their Facebook pages. Also look for “insiders,” or current employees, on social media to connect with. Your best bet is to reach out to someone at, or just above, your career level with a similar professional experience and background, and ask a few questions related to the job search and that person’s career.

Don’t simply ask for a job, but see if they can provide insight into the job market in your area, or advice on how they advanced their career, or even if they can connect you with relevant contacts within the company. Do this periodically (set a time about once a week) so that you can start finding better leads to jobs you want and can see yourself enjoying. Even if you’re offered entry-level work, despite ten years in the field or a master’s degree, consider what you can do to advance in the position, or better yet, ways you can meet people in the field more easily if you get your foot in the door.

Target Connections

In line with the tactic of reaching out to insiders, consider tapping into your own extended network. Your co-workers, friends, family and colleagues all serve as connections to jobs within your and their own networks. Remember that connections produce direct opportunities to jobs, whether it’s by a warm lead or through referrals.

When using your social network, be transparent about your job search progress and what you’re looking for through status updates, tweets or your bio. Don’t worry about coming off as desperate, unless you’re literally begging for someone to help you. Just simply state your current situation and what the next best (but relevant) situation you’re looking to gain. For example, “Emerging public relations practitioner looking for opportunities in non-profits and government agencies.” It’ll give everyone who is willing to help a better idea of what you’re fit for when they come across an employment opportunity.

Go in a New Direction

After being unemployed and then underemployed, some may feel their career path is just not working out for them. It may be saturated, or the person might not be in the right area with enough jobs, yet be unable to relocate. For some, changing fields is a last resort. For others, it can be a rewarding way to build a stable career path.

Social networking can ease this transition smoothly. First, meeting professionals in your new career path is easier than ever. You can find them usually occupying industry-related spaces, like Twitter chats or groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Ask questions, participate in discussion and absorb all the advice you’re given. Additionally, these social networks are vast in sharing specific career resources — conferences, webinars, ebooks — anything and everything to craft your hard skills for your new career. Use social media to engage with your connections, and you’ll be able to learn what you need to do to lessen the impact of your minimal work experience.

Being unemployed or underemployed isn’t fun. It’s time consuming and frustrating, to say the least. But, making the most of the connections you have and fully utilizing your social networks can help you determine what direction you need to go in, and how to get yourself where you want to be.

What do you think? How have you used social media to find more relevant positions? Share your thoughts in the comments below. (Mashable.com)

Mark Zuckerberg’s Sister Is Now a Google Employee

In what may make for awkward family get-togethers, Mark Zuckerberg‘s sister, Arielle, is now a Google employee.

The younger Zuckerberg is presumably making the move as part of Google’s acquisition of Wildfire Interactive, which was announced on Tuesday. Arielle’s blog lists her occupation as junior product manager for the social media marketing firm. Arielle previously offered constructive criticism of her brother’s company’s site overhaul last fall.

Arielle’s not the only Zuckerberg sibling in the business. Randi Zuckerberg, former director of marketing for Facebook, left the company last August to pursue other projects. Randi is an executive producer for Silicon Valley, a Bravo reality TV show that is raising hackles in the Valley for bringing Hollywood voyeurism to tech. Randi tweeted about the move on Tuesday, alluding to the fact Arielle’s not the only Zuckerberg at Google:

Randi Zuckerberg
@randizuckerberg
Congrats Wildfire! There are officially now more Zuckerberg family members working for Google than Facebook! #awkward ;)

Zuckerberg also has another sister, Donna, who was born in 1987. (Mashable.com)

Twitter clocks half-billion users

PARIS—Over 500 million people are on micro-blogging site Twitter and Americans and Brazilians are the most connected, according to a study by social media monitor Semiocast released Monday.

Twitter surpassed the half-billion mark at the end of June, with the United States accounting for both the most users and largest number of “tweets” or short messages of no more than 140 characters posted on the site.

The Paris-based monitor carried out the study by analysing data like time zone, geolocation and language available for the social networking site’s total 517 million accounts.

The US accounted for more than 141 million of Twitter users, with Brazil ranking second with 41 million after seeing its number rise by 23 percent since the start of the year. Japan came in third with 35 million users.

Americans also posted the highest number of Twitter messages, with 25.8 percent of all tweets hailing from the US.

Japan came second accounting for 10.6 percent of all tweets, making Japanese the second most common language on Twitter after English.

The study found Jakarta to be the most active Twitter zone, with 2.4 percent of all tweets originating in the Indonesian capital.

The popularity of Twitter continued to soar in the Arab world following the site’s key role in the “Arab Spring” revolutions last year, with Arabic now the site’s sixth most common language. (Inquirer.net)

Apple Considered Investing in Twitter

Apple isn’t currently in talks with Twitter to invest in the social-networking site, but according to a report from The New York Times, the two companies were previously in such discussions that would value Twitter at more than $10 billion.

“Apple has considered an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, one that could value Twitter at more than $10 billion, up from an $8.4 billion valuation last year, these people [briefed on the matter] said. They declined to be named because the discussions were private,” the Times reports.

Social media, so far, isn’t in Apple’s wheelhouse, and it’s had fragile relations with Facebook in the past. Things with Twitter, on the other hand, have been a little more friendly. As the Times points out, Twitter’s baked in to Apple’s operating systems.

“Those guys are a great partner,” Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said of Apple in a separate interview, according to the Times. “We think of them as a company that our company looks up to.”

In the paired-up world of tech giants and social media, Microsoft and Facebook have each other and Google (which owns Apple’s mobile competitor Android) has Google+. Could Twitter and Apple be the next hot couple? (Mashable.com)

On Reddit, Rapists Say They’re Sorry

A Reddit thread circulating the Internet on Friday tells the “other side of the story” with accounts from rapists.

On Thursday, a Redditor started a thread soliciting comments from rapists by writing, “Reddit’s had a few threads about sexual assault victims, but are there any Redditors from the other side of the story?” According to a Jezebel report, the original Redditor also asked, “What were your motivations? Do you regret it?”

More than 11,000 people have commented on the thread, with votes up and down split nearly even. One of Friday’s top comments came from a self-identified “post-college aged male” who admitted to raping “several women through use of coercion, alcohol, and other tactics over a course of 3 years.” He went on to write that he feels bad and has since changed his ways, adding that he’s now a “fervent volunteer in the community.” Some of the commenters explained that they thought the women they assaulted had “wanted it” or that women need to better protect themselves from uncontrollable men. Other commenters, not surprisingly, were horrified by what they read.

As the day went on the thread was filled with more comments from victims of rape and sexual assault, as well as stories from men who “almost” raped someone.

Reddit has long had a reputation for lacking credibility. For a long time, it’s been filled with memes and other viral content, but lately more legitimate and informed conversations have started on the site.

So will the people who claimed to have committed rape in the past ever be prosecuted due to this thread? Probably not.

Users have a right to free speech but there is a fine line between First Amendment rights and saying something incriminating. For law enforcement to go after people on Reddit who claim to have committed rape, their posts would have to be more factual (with names and dates, for example) to warrant investigators getting subpoenas to look into their backgrounds. As is, these Redditor’s admission are simply hearsay.

Should the commenters who admitted to rape on this thread be investigated by law enforcement? Tell us in the comments. (Mashable.com)

Twitter Apologizes for Massive Outage

Following a lengthy outage on Thursday, Twitter said it is “deeply” sorry for the inconvenience it has caused users.

“We are sorry,” Twitter said via a blog post. “Many of you came to Twitter earlier today expecting, well, Twitter. Instead, between around 8:20 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. PT, users around the world got zilch from us. By about 10:25 a.m. PT, people who came to Twitter finally got what they expected: Twitter. ”

The social network added that the outage came from within its data centers.

“Data centers are designed to be redundant: when one system fails (as everything does at one time or another), a parallel system takes over,” Twitter said. “What was noteworthy about today’s outage was the coincidental failure of two parallel systems at nearly the same time.”

The outage was first noticed at around 11:15 a.m. ET and experienced issues for well over an hour. The platform slowly come back across the U.S.

“We’re aware of the issue and are looking into it,” a Twitter spokesperson told Mashable. “We will let you know when we have an update, and keep an eye on status.twitter.com for updates as well.”

The company also posted a note on its blog informing members of the issue: “Users may be experiencing issues accessing Twitter,” it said on the site. “Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue.”

Today’s outage didn’t just take down Twitter.com but also some of its mobile clients. The issue also disabled the t.co URL shortener. (Mashable.com)

Facebook Has 955 Million Active Users — Still Shy of a Billion

Those champagne bottles are staying on ice at Facebook HQ.

The social network has been inching ever closer to the major milestone of a billion monthly active users (that is, folks who log into Facebook at least once a month). In April, as part of an amendment to its IPO filing with the SEC, the company announced it had 901 million monthly active users.

Some observers — and more than a few Facebook employees — had hoped this number would hit the magic billion by the time its second quarter results came out (ie. today). Others, such as Gregory Lyons, a senior analyst at iCrossing, predicted the billion mark would be reached in August. Now it’s looking more like those champagne corks will pop in September, or even October.

Nine hundred and fifty-five million users, of course, is still a superlative achievement. Facebook can also boast that 552 million of them log in every day — up from 526 million in April. The 955 million number also represents 29% growth in users year on year.

When Facebook first filed its IPO paperwork with the SEC in February, the network had 845 million users. It hit the 500 million mark back in mid 2010, hence the tag line for that year’s award-winning movie The Social Network: “you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” The number was out of date by the time those posters hit billboards.

But of course, even 955 million users isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion users. (Expect to see that joke roll out with increasing frequency over the next few months.)

How big can Facebook get? Let us know in the comments if you think the social network will ever hit two billion monthly active users. (Mashable.com)