When you want to know what your friends are doing, there's a good chance you'll check their Instagram shots. Now, if you want to know what your city is up to, you can turn to This Is Now, a new Instagram photo-feed, which filters content by city.

This Is Now uses Instagram geo-location tags to tell visual stories of city life at a given moment.

For now, it only includes five cities -- Sao Paulo (home of Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger), New York, London, Sydney and Tokyo.

Taking a look Friday morning local time, London is, not surprisingly, filled with snapshots of the Olympics. London's stream quickly moves across the street from left to right, as many photos are being sho…
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More About: cities, instagram, london, new york

Samsung plans to launch the new version of its smartphone-meets-tablet device, Galaxy Note, at its Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin, Aug. 29.

A company spokesman confirmed the launch date to Reuters, without giving any additional details.

Although the company has already launched its flagship smartphone -- the Samsung Galaxy S III -- the Galaxy Note could also ruffle a few feathers in the smartphone scene, especially since it should come out a couple of weeks before Apple's iPhone, which is rumored to debut Sept. 12.

The original Galaxy Note was launched in 2011, with a 5.3-inch screen and Android Ice Cream Sandwich on board. The device was well received -- Samsung announced in Mar…
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More About: Samsung Note, Tablet, samsung

If you start to see a lot of blurred photos on Facebook this fall, here's the reason why.

Starting at the end of August, McAfee will be making it a little safer to share your photos on the social network. The security company is launching a product called Social Protection, which lets you control who can see your photos on the site and prevents people from downloading those pictures to view elsewhere.

A collaboration between Intel and McAfee, the browser plug-in shows your photos as blurs -- until your recipients also install the plug-in.

When someone views your pictures using Social Protection they will be prevented from downloading or sharing those pictures. Much more sophist…
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More About: Facebook, McAfee, online security

Remember World of Warcraft? Chances are you've come across someone in the throes of its infamous addiction. Released in 2004, the massively multiplayer online game had 12 million subscribers at its peak in October 2010 -- but has been losing them ever since.

Now Activision, the world's largest videogame company, has announced that membership in WoW is slipping at its fastest rate ever. With 10 million players three months ago, the cooperative quest game is now down to 9 million.

That still makes it the largest MMO on the planet. But if this rate of depletion were to continue, the fantasy world would be a ghost town by 2014. Investors were worried enough to drive Activision's stock…
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More About: Diablo, games, world of warcraft

While the rest of the business world hustles to develop outposts on Facebook and LinkedIn, a few savvy marketers are discovering that small is beautiful. That's because there are several online communities that cater to specific audiences better than social behemoths ever could.

The membership in highly-focused professional communities like Spiceworks and FohBoh.com attract B2B companies, which know that success is more about quality than quantity. Professionals with problems to solve seek out others with answers, and niche social networks are often the shortest route to a solution. So if you're wondering about other pluses, here are five reasons B2B professionals like going small.…
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More About: contributor, features, linkedin, niche social networks, social network

RIM may not be releasing BlackBerry 10 for a while yet, but the company is releasing a new product -– sort of.

RIM announced Thursday it would be releasing a new version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, one capable of next-generation super-fast LTE data service, next week.

The tablet will launch with a select number of Canadian carriers on August 9 (Rogers, Telus, and Bell), and will be available only from those carriers for the time being.

The tablet is headed to other markets such as the United State, and Europe in "the coming months," says RIM.

The LTE-capable tablet is similar to the Wi-Fi version already on the market. The LTE PlayBook will have a 1.5GHz processor –- up fr…
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More About: LTE, RIM, blackberry, blackberry playbook, playbook

Twitter has granted both comedians and politicians one of the most powerful resources in the world: a following. It is as valuable to Rob Delaney as it is for Mitt Romney -- more so, in some cases.

Delaney has become a household name largely because of Twitter, and the support he's garnered from his followers. Earlier this year he was named "Funniest Person on Twitter" at the Comedy Awards.

Last year, he began tweeting satirically to Romney. The jokes, often silly and surreal, have since received thousands of retweets.

.@mittromney If you won't release your tax returns, at least tell us what conditioner you use!! #sheen #lustre #body— rob delaney (@robdelaney) July 20, …
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More About: Mitt Romney, Politics, Social Media, Twitter, US, comedy, trending

The 2012 Olympics are being hailed as the "first social Games" -- but looking at old-fashioned search terms is just as fascinating as following the online conversation.

Would you have guessed that soccer was actually the most-searched sport in the U.S. the week before the Games? Even though most nations are not sending their best soccer players to the Olympics, the beautiful game grabbed more than 12% of all Olympic sport-related queries.

Next up were swimming, track and field, basketball and gymnastics.

But interest varies by area. Women's soccer drew the most searches on the West Coast, as well as the Northeast and South Atlantic regions. In the central South and Rocky Mountain…
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More About: Sports, infographics, olympics

As of Thursday morning I own the Moscone Center. The Mashable office in San Francisco is also mine, as well as a a pretty popular bar across the street from my apartment. Tonight I have my sights set on picking up AT&T Park.

All these acquisitions are part of a new game called Turf. Think of it as Monopoly set on top of Foursquare. The game allows you to buy up property in your neighborhood, purchase add-ons such as additional floors, and earn virtual rewards in the process.

Funded by a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, the game is way different than anything you've played every before. "Real world Monopoly" is the one-liner that founder…
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More About: App, foursquare, iphone

How many tech companies do you think have corporate blogs? Given the buzz around content marketing and its importance to branding and reputation building, you'd think most would.

Think again. Fewer than 21% of technology companies have a corporate blog, according to a recent report from Percussion Software. That's problematic since the same report also suggests that companies with great content on their blogs are perceived to have better, higher-quality products, and a more established reputation.

To be clear, we're not talking about the official Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook blogs, as their audiences are brand loyal and even product updates count as a good read. It's the sm…
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More About: content marketing, contributor, features, online marketing, technology

Crowdfunding can be a great way to get a charity or creative project off the ground if you're starved for cash. Now, apparently, more established business owners are turning to it too.

Case in point: Reality star-turned-fashion designer Whitney Port has taken to Indiegogo with the goal of raising $50,000 to show her clothing line, Whitney Eve, at New York Fashion Week come September.

The money will be spent on the necessary components of a successful runway show -- namely models, a stylist, DJ, space fee and payment for a production company.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Port's estimated worth is $3.5 million.

"You guys [friends and fans] are so important to me, so I w…
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More About: crowdfunding, indiegogo

Quick, think of a major tech company where top talent has been heading for the exits over the last year or more. Time's up.

Chances are you thought of Yahoo, right? Well, you're not wrong. Add up all the executives who arrived and those who left the troubled search and media site in 2012 so far -- those notable enough to make it into the tech news -- and you get minus 11.

But here's the surprising thing: Google's brain drain number is exactly the same, minus 11. There's one executive who features in both counts, of course. Tipping the scales here: Marissa Mayer, former Googler and new Yahoo CEO.

Microsoft, Zynga and Apple have all experienced a smaller net loss of top executives s…
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More About: Google, Twitter, Yahoo, trending, wavii

MVHV Swamp Creature

Image via of Saline Project

Click here to view this gallery.

The 3D-ification of entertainment continues. But when it's in animated GIF form, at least you don't have to wear the silly glasses.

Brooklyn-based artists the Saline Project created three-dimensional-ish GIFs styled after vintage horror flicks using a technique called 3D lenticular imagery.

The Monsters, Villains, Heroes and Victims series features 13 spooky images that go online as a complete collection after Halloween.

The GIFs will also be available as an art app for when you need some spine tingling on the go.

More About: GIF, Watercooler

Cord-cutting startup Aereo announced new pricing plans for its service on Thursday, including a "try for free" plan.

Aereo allows users to watch live broadcast television from an iPhone, iPad, Mac running Apple Safari or Roku device.

Users can also record programs on a cloud-based DVR for access in the future. For now, the service is only open to users in New York.

Aereo is a disruptive company. Before the service even launched, it was already being sued by local and national broadcasters. The networks allege that Aereo is violating re-transmission laws and guidelines and violating their copyright. For its part, Aereo says that everything it is doing is covered by legal precedent.…
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More About: Aereo, cord cutters, cord cutting, online tv

In yet another example of why you shouldn't text and drive, an Alabama college student drove off a cliff while texting.

Fortunately, he survived, but incurred some serious injuries. After six months of recovering, he's finally able to talk about it.

Right before Chance Both's truck went over a cliff, he texted, "I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident."

Both suffered a broken neck, a crushed face, a fractured skull and traumatic brain injuries, a local news station reported. He was brought back to life three times by doctors.

Lately, texting while walking has been an increasing issue for law enforcement. Distracted walkers can cause accidents or get themse…
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More About: cellphones, texting, texting while driving, trending

YouTube has unleashed a rare easter egg that shows TV-style "snow" as an error message.

The animated feature, which quietly went live a week or so ago, pops up when you're trying to watch a live message that's ended or if you try to load a video and it's interrupted. When that happened previously, the YouTube error message had the same message -- "An error occurred. Please try again later," against a black background. Matt McLernon, a YouTube rep, says the easter egg was created by a summer intern and was meant to be a "fun homage" to traditional broadcast TV.

Want a way to quickly invoke this error? Watch one of the YouTube live streams at NBCOlympics.com. Press the pause button.…
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More About: YouTube, easter eggs

Wedding Crashers duo Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson will play Google interns who are bossed around by managers half their age in The Internship, a comedy set to premiere in 2013.

The movie won't be filmed at Google's Mountain View, Calif., campus or New York City offices. Instead, 20th Century Fox will shoot the flick in a replicated Google environment at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

SEE ALSO: Google Jazzes Up New York Office As It Hunts for Hires [PICS]

"Georgia Tech is one of the most unique and dynamic campuses I have ever seen," director Shawn Levy said in a statement. "The architecture and space is as forward-thinking as its curriculum and stu…
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More About: Entertainment, Film, Google, Movies, Tech, Video, celebrities, googleplex, mashable video

UPDATE: Major League baseball sent the following statement late Thursday afternoon: For a brief moment today, a few MLB Club Facebook accounts were hacked and inappropriate material was briefly on display from those Clubs' pages on Facebook. MLB Advanced Media oversees these Facebook pages on behalf of the Clubs and regrets this occurrence. We are working with Facebook, Major League Baseball Security and, where appropriate, legal authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding this situation.

New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter is getting a sex change operation to become Minnie Mantlez. That was the news subscribers to the Yankees' Facebook Page received Thursday afternoon via th…
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More About: Facebook, Sports

Congratulations! Someone is interested in your product. Maybe they filled out a web form or mentioned your brand in a tweet. Regardless, if you're in sales, it's time to pounce.

But how quickly? What days and times are best to follow up on leads? How persistent should you be before it's no longer worth your time?

SEE ALSO: Marketing to Women? Keep These 3 Facts in Mind

James Oldroyd, PhD of Ohio State University, and David Elkington, CEO of InsideSales.com, conducted research on three years of data from companies that deal with web-generated leads. They found that timing is key. The likelihood of making a sale drops off dramatically more than five minutes after initial contact.

S…
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More About: Business, infographics, sales, sales leads

Meet Dr. William Bell, a 90-year-old fitness nut who holds a pole vault world record for his age group. Pfft, as if a bunch of buff 20-something Olympic swimmers prancing their six-packs around the pool didn't already make us all feel like a bunch of unaccomplished cubicle potatoes this week.

Envy aside, Dr. Bell could provide a helpful dose of pick-me-up to any of us feeling a bit lapsed in the physical fitness department.

Via BBC.

More About: YouTube, viral videos

LinkedIn now has 175 million members, the company announced on Thursday.

In May, the professional social networking service had claimed 161 million members, up from 150 million in February.

The company announced the figure in its second-quarter earnings release on Thursday, in which it also reported earnings of $0.03 per share on revenues of $228 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $.01 per share and revenues of $216 million. The company's stock price was up more than 4% in after-hours trading.

LinkedIn's stock price has jumped 48.5% since the beginning of the year.

Image courtesy of Flickr, tychay

More About: linkedin

Rumors and anticipation for the iPhone 5 -- or whatever the next-gen iPhone might be called -- are at an all-time high. Without a doubt, that phone is out there somewhere being tested on the streets of our cities.

Mashable scoured New York City earlier this week for someone who might have the device. We even asked a top Apple expert for any information about when we can expect to actually see the phone.

SEE ALSO: Everything That Might Be True About the iPhone 5

Today, though, we set out on the streets of London -- the scene of the 2012 Olympics -- to try to find the elusive iPhone 5.

Cassidy Quinn Brettler is a Boston-based vlogger cur…
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More About: apple, iphone, olympics, trending

Gold reminds us of warmth, accomplishment and wealth. It can be a component of jewelry and coinage. For some, it might even call to mind buried treasure. It is often shiny, but not necessarily fancy. Gold is also the color of the hot summer sun or a field of parched grass.

We've been paying a lot of attention to gold this past week, as Olympic athletes vie for the iconic medal.

For this week's Photo Challenge, we want you to send in your best photos of gold.

SEE ALSO: 16 Breathtaking Blue Photos by Mashable Readers

Even though this week's theme is inspired by the Olympics, we encourage you to interpret gold any way you choose. Send in a picture of your golden retriever,…
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More About: community, photo challenge, photography

Huffington, the weekly iPad magazine from AOL's Huffington Post Media Group, is now available for free in Apple's Newsstand.

The magazine launched in mid-June as part of a call for a "slow news movement," an opportunity for The Huffington Post's readers to sit back and dive more broadly and deeply into stories outside of the fast-paced, incrementally focused environment of web journalism. It is edited by Tim O'Brien, formerly the editor of The New York Times's Sunday business section, and features a mix of long-form features, short reviews and multimedia ranging from photographs to videos and interactive infographics.

The magazine, which is released on Fridays, was formerly priced at $…
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More About: Huffington Post, huffington, ipad app

NBC is removing its online paywall for a live stream of the highly anticipated 200-meter IM race between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte Thursday afternoon.

The race begins at around 3:14 p.m. Eastern Time, and you can check it out here.

You can also add a new twist to the action with our swimming bingo game.

NBC has been roundly criticized on the Twittersphere for its coverage of the Games -- with much of the criticism surrounding its heavy reliance on tape delayed coverage and non-cable subscribers' inability to pay for just streamed events -- but this move will surely be welcomed by digital savvy sports fans around the web.

BONUS GALLERY: Tumblrs to Satisfy Your Olympic App…
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More About: Sports, olympics

Of all the Summer Olympic events, swimming runs throughout the entire Games. If you're a diehard fan, we've created something for you to do between practicing butterfly in the kiddie pool for Rio. (Don't worry, you have until 2016.)

Grab your lucky rabbit's foot and play swimmer's bingo with Mashable!

How to play: Watch any swimming event and check off whenever you spot one of the trademarks listed on the board. You can also print out the board and use chips, a pen or the tiny action figures secretly hidden in your desk drawer.

Once you get five in a row, feel free to shout "Bingo!" and pretend like you just won the gold medal.

Image courtesy of Flickr, hidden side

More About: Sports, Watercooler, bingo, michael phelps, missy franklin, olympics, ryan lochte, trending

"Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," held on Wednesday, was set up by former Senator Rick Santorum and Governor Mike Huckabee as a nationwide rally to defend the company's president Dan Cathy after he spoke out last month against gay marriage.

Cathy's comments sparked a multi-faceted debate over gay rights, religion, free speech and business.

The conversation came to a head both online and offline on Wednesday, when thousands of people lined up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the world in support of Cathy. Some gay rights activists held a counter-rally, taking pictures of themselves kissing one another in front of the massive lines at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country.

Chick…
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More About: Chick-fil-A, US, Watercooler, conversations

1. @Agent_M

If you're a fan of comics and superheroes, follow Ryan Penagos, the editorial director at Marvel Comics. He posts regular teasers of new Marvel media, along with various other geeky pastimes.

Click here to view this gallery.

Twitter is a great place to follow your passions, but where do you turn when your passions skew a bit nerdier?

Mashable has compiled a list of 13 of the most active geeks on Twitter to get you started. We've rounded up a mix of science and space experts, not to mention the ones who write fantastic adventures featuring these topics. And if you enjoy games and the people who play them, we've got you covered.

SEE ALSO: 25 Twitter Accounts That Will Make You Smarter

Check out our roundup of all things geeky. You can even follow the Twitter list we created to see them all. Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy JustBec, Flickr.

More About: Gaming, NASA, Social Media, Twitter, features, geeks, scifi, space

Maybe it's the rumble of the engine or the sound of the horn, but something has this train enthusiast yelling with excitement. The railfan -- yes, that's a real thing -- squeals behind the camera as a rare 1953 EA Heritage Train engine rolls through a New York station.

As one YouTuber put it, "Double Trainbow!"

More About: YouTube, viral videos

Why is the iPad such a success for Apple? Marketing, company reputation and design are all factors, certainly, but there's also something about it that makes it rise above the now-massive competition among tablets, many of which are priced much lower than Apple's latest tablet.

For all the competition, though, the iPad does something no other tablet does: It's capable of displaying graphics at 2,048 x 1,536 "retina" resolution. While other tablets can sometimes brag about faster processors, more storage or a lighter design, none of them can touch the iPad on display resolution.

This is what's generally called a differentiator, and the iPad is far from the only product with one. Onc…
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More About: Eton, Gadgets, Google, Kindle, Nexus 7, The Hot List, TouchFire, denon, features, garmin, ipad, mashable, pioneer, samsung