MASHABLE.COM — If you found yourself marooned on a deserted island, and you could summon one character from Sesame Street, who would it be? Seems like an innocent question, but one that took an intense turn when posed by the beloved children’s program on Twitter. Sesame Street’ssocial media team put forward the hypothetical, “You’re stuck on a deserted island and you can pick one of these Sesame Street friends to come with you.

BLOG.HOOTSUITE.COM — Ever had that sinking feeling that no one is going to show up to your dinner party? Then you know how it feels when no one is swiping up on your Instagram Story. You can see that they’re getting plenty of views, but those just aren’t translating into clicks. Where is everyone? They’re still on…

THEATLANTIC.COM — When the kids in Skyler’s school want to tell a friend something in class, they don’t scrawl a note down on a tiny piece of paper and toss it across the room. They use Google Docs.”We don’t really pass physical notes anymore,” said Skyler, who is 15 and who asked to be referred to by a…

TECHCRUNCH.COM — In addition to testing out a new format for conversations within a prototype app called twttr and other features like a “Hide Tweet” button, Twitter today confirmed it’s also developing a feature that would allow users to subscribe to individual conversations taking place on its platform. The new option was first spotted by Jane Wong, a reverse engineer who often peeks inside popular apps to discover their yet-to-be-launched features and changes.

BLOG.HOOTSUITE.COM — Blog / Social A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing. Every post, reply, like, and comment should serve a purpose. The more…

TECHCRUNCH.COM — We’ve decided to step back from the breaking news for a minute to conduct a review of seed and early-stage funding trends over the last decade for U.S.-based companies. What we’ve also seen are recent concerns raised about the decline in seed stage funding by Mark Suster, a partner at UpFront Ventures, as there has not been commensurate growth in early stage funding (Series A and B), to meet this growth in seed-financed companies.

ECONOMIST.COM — IN ANY GIVEN year one person in six is afflicted by a mental illness. Most cases involve mild-to-moderate depression or anxiety. Some sufferers recover on their own. For many, however, the condition is left untreated and may become chronic or severe. In the past social stigma meant that people…

BLOG.HOOTSUITE.COM — Blog / Social Each new year signals a new beginning—especially when it comes to your social media strategy. If you try new things on social this year that other brands aren’t doing, you have a better chance of surprising your audience and engaging them. We’ve outlined all the major…

HOOTSUITE.COM — In this practical guide, you’ll learn how to create a successful daily routine that increases your engagement and converts more followers into customers. Twitter is filled with daily opportunities to join passionate conversations and connect with potential customers. In this guide, we break down…

TECHCRUNCH.COM — There is no question that the arrival of a fragmented and divided internet is now upon us. The “splinternet,” where cyberspace is controlled and regulated by different countries is no longer just a concept, but now a dangerous reality. With the future of the “World Wide Web” at stake, governments and advocates in support of a free and open internet have an obligation to stem the tide of authoritarian regimes isolating the web to control information and their populations.

BLOG.HOOTSUITE.COM — Blog / Social User-generated content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by people, rather than brands. And brands will often share UGC on their own social media accounts, website, and other marketing channels. For many brands, Instagram is the primary…

TECHCRUNCH.COM — Welcome back to Transportation Weekly; I’m your host senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch. We love the reader feedback. Keep it coming. Never heard of TechCrunch’s Transportation Weekly? Catch up by reading the first edition here or check out last week’s edition, which offered the gamut of mobility news from Lyft and Bird to Waymo’s laser bears and cybersecurity.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — In recent years, data analysts have gone from optional to a career that holds great promise, but demand for quantitative skills applied in business decisions has raced ahead of supply as college curriculum often lags behind the fast-changing workplace. CareerTu, a New York-based startup launched by a former marketing manager at Amazon, aims to close that talent gap.

TECHCRUNCH.COM — and interesting tidbits to wrap up the week. Apple has been vindicated (for a brief moment anyway) in its long-standing dispute with Qualcomm. From Stephen Nellis at Reuters:. A U.federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling that Qualcomm Inc owes Apple Inc nearly $1 billion in patent royalty rebate payments, though the decision is unlikely to result in Qualcomm writing a check to Apple because of other developments in the dispute.

HOOTSUITE.COM — According to Forrester Research, 57% of the buyer’s journey happens before a sales rep is involved. Social selling lets your sales people engage with prospects at a much earlier stage. The earlier they engage, the more time and opportunity they have to build sufficient rapport and trust to make…

STEVEKEATING.ME — “It’s not my fault” are some of the most dangerous words a person can string together. They cause a ton of damage to your relationships, to your ability to lead and to your personal ability to learn and grow. When you’re in sales and something goes wrong you can’t say it’s not my fault. You…

MASHABLE.COM — Even Twinkies are wearing AirPods these days. And that’s because whoever is behind the Hostess Snacks’ Instagram page is a meme genius. A very kooky, imaginative genius. Or maybe geniuses? OK, it must be a panel of geniuses, eating Twinkies while Photoshopping AirPods onto Twinkies. Right? What?…

MASHABLE.COM — I used to love Instagram Stories. After long days at work, mindlessly tapping through Stories on the train home became my go-to way to unwind. They’re entertaining, carefully crafted, and the perfect way to stay up-to-date with acquaintances, friends, and celebrities. But just as I was about to crown Instagram Stories my favorite social media feature, I accidentally voted in a poll.

MASHABLE.COM — Open up a travel guide and you’re likely to see multiple passages about where to find the local “gayborhood,” a neighborhood disproportionately populated by LGBTQ people. In San Francisco, there’s the Castro. In Chicago, you have Boystown. And in Mexico City, there’s Zona Rosa. Walk through any of these neighborhoods, and you’ll discover blocks of rainbow flags and queer clubs pulsing with extremely corny but good ’90s house music.