Social Media Observatory

When you were four, you imagined “engineers” as men in striped overalls who shouted “all aboard!” from trains. Later you learned that most engineers study more than just locomotives: mechanics, chemicals and even complicated structures like roller coasters. Similarly, you pictured “curators” as snobby museum employees who talk about brush strokes and Impressionism. Today, however, curation encompasses a whole new catalog of professions, brands and tools — and most revolve…

How do you define engagement? No matter how you define it, engagement is something that we most likely underestimate. Engagement symbolizes the touches that occur in various moments of truth and this should completely change not onl

Trending topics hit Twitter every day. In this recurring series, “Behind the Hashtag,” we take a look at the most intriguing ones — of any nature — being tweeted across the web One of today’s most popular hashtags, #BackIn7thGra

YouTube trends guru Kevin Allocca spends his days tracking and analyzing viral videos. When it comes to the intersection between web videos and pop culture, he’s sort of like the Nate Silver of viral content In honor of April Fools’ Day, A

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Google Chrome commercials tend to open up the floodgates while p

Twitter will shut down multiple TweetDeck apps to focus on the product’s web-based version, the microblogging service announced Monday In yet another sign of the battle between social media’s two biggest players, Facebook integration will b

One year ago, for Valentine’s Day, Kaitlyn Trigger revealed the result of months spent learning to code to her boyfriend, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger. Trigger created Lovestagram, an app which turns your Instagram photos tagged with your spe

As you’ve probably discovered, there are people lurking all over the web who find great joy in humiliating and attacking others. This insightful infographic describes the inner workings of Internet trolls, explaining why they decide to spend their

Instagram.com transformed monumentally on Tuesday. The company introduced its first web feed, meaning users can now scroll through filtered photographs to their hearts’ content — all from their PCs Such frictionless browsing w

Instagram has done amazing things for plated meals and the wings of planes, but the photo-sharing app has had a very positive impact on one more unexpected profession: tattooing Whether you’re a die-hard tattoo collector or just a casual fa