The best photos and Vines you shared with us in 2014

There are many lenses through which to you can look back on 2014 — the year in pictures, in quotes, in news stories.

And then there's the art you shared with us.

Through each of Mashable's 38 photo challenges, 28 Vine challenges and two #MashMeets, we witnessed the immense artistic talent in our community. The responses we received for each challenge — from wilderness photography and faceless portraits to claymation and mini-movie remakes —were truly inspiring

See also: 7 biggest marketing and media trends of 2014

We’re especially thankful for our active followers and fellow collaborators on Instagram and Vine; we hit the 100,000 followers milestone on both platforms this year, and much of that credit goes to you Read more...

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Your hidden Facebook photos were never really hidden. This app finds them

Hiding photos on Facebook may not actually work as well as you think it does.

Picturebook, a browser extension now available in the Chrome web store, claims to allow you to "view hidden photos of anyone on Facebook"— even if you aren't friends with them

See also: How to find old Facebook posts

Sounds like a Facebook creeper's dream, right? But though Picturebook's description is technically true, it is also misleading

No app or browser extension — this one included — is able to change the privacy settings of someone else's photo. What Picturebook is really doing: surfacing photos that you could have seen anyway, even if a user tagged in them hid them from their timeline Read more...

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12 ugly sweaters selfies that took the holidays to the next level

Last week, Mashable partnered with DoSomething.org and Mentor Up to bring you our very own Ugly Sweater Photo Challenge

But we didn't just ask you to share your ugliest sweater; we wanted you to show an adult how to snap a picture and share it on social media. 'Tis the season of giving.

See also: The dangers lurking in your Christmas decorations

What ensued was hilarious. The sweaters were terribly tacky, yes, but the selfies with grandma made our hearts melt. Take a look at our favorites, below, and view the full collection here.

1. The happiest of holidays

2. Truly DIY

Read more...

3. Rough night for Rudolph

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Seth Rogen and James Franco live-tweet 'The Interview'

James Franco and Seth Rogen celebrated The Interview's swift comeback by live tweeting the movie start to finish, for our benefit.

When Sony Pictures originally pulled The Interview from theatrical release following anonymous threats in the wake of Sony's very public hack, the likelihood of a massive comeback for the flick seemed slim. But thanks to independent theaters across the U.S. and streaming platforms including Google Play, YouTube, Xbox Video, Sony's own SeeTheInterview.com and, as of Sunday, the Apple iTunes store, The Interview is available to watch

See also: Twitter's best reactions to watching 'The Interview' Read more...

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The 10 must-read Reddit AMAs of 2014

As Reddit the company struggled amid photo hacking scandals and internal changes in 2014, the Ask Me Anything subreddit continued its incredible growth.

Drawing in an impressive number of celebrities looking to interact with a more connected audience, just about every A-list celebrity took questions from Reddit this year. From television stars like Amy Poehler to Internet legends like Bill Murray, its been hard to go a week without seeing an AMA for every taste.

See also: Aliens in the valley: The complete and chaotic history of Reddit

This year also saw the creation of an AMA app, allowing users to connect with the subreddit in a totally new way. Read more...

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Neil deGrasse Tyson's polarizing Christmas tweet gets 72,000 retweets

On Christmas day, astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted about a man who was born Dec. 25, and changed the world by age 30. But he wasn't referring to Jesus

Instead, Tyson was talking about Isaac Newton, who was born on the same date in 1642. His tweet garnered a huge amount of attention, earning praise from some and contempt from others

On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 25, 2014

The tweet, Tyson claims, is his most retweeted one ever. At the time of this writing, it had nearly 72,000 retweets Read more...

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Facebook apologizes after 'Year in Review' stirs up bad memories for some users

While scrolling through your Facebook News Feed this holiday season, you probably encountered the typical statuses from friends: photographs of families opening gifts and inevitably, a few "Year in Review" posts, a photo slide of highlights from your Facebook Timeline over the past year

Unfortunately, Facebook's algorithm for choosing the images wasn't very thoughtful, dishing out good memories along with the bad

See also: Facebook stock hits another all-time high

Facebook: "Remember those memories that now make you sad? Look at your Year In Review!".

— William Wilkinson (@willw) December 26, 2014 Read more...

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8 YouTube channels to watch in 2015

We collectively watch more than 6 billion hours of YouTube videos every month.

That's billions of viral hits, vlogs and sketches you can pore over, one of many reasons YouTube has become such a popular enterprising tool. It's created celebrities out of everyday people, tapping into an overflowing well of creativity.

See also: 20 captivating slow-mo videos made on the iPhone 6

These eight YouTubers are rising stars, capitalizing on their growing fan bases. From nutrition vloggers to sketch comedians to boisterous little kids, here are the YouTube channels you should keep an eye on in 2015 Read more...

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Snap an ugly sweater pic for our photo challenge

Chalk it up to the intricate embroidery, festive pompoms, or horrendous clash of colors, there's no finer fashion statement than the ugly holiday sweater.

But there's a little more to the holidays than sporting ghastly garb. This week, for our photo challenge, we partnered with DoSomething.org and Mentor Up to support the Grandparents Gone Wired campaign

See also: 18 tacky Christmas sweaters to warm your gaudy heart

In the spirit of the holidays, we're asking our readers to throw on their ugly holiday sweaters and spend some time teaching an older adult the basics — and wonders — of technology. At times, older adults can feel disconnected from loved ones, so snap a pic with Gramps and show him how to share it using social media. Here are some examples: Read more...

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14 artistic shots of hands that tell stories

Hands can tell you a great deal about a person — his or her personality, health, experiences and more. While palm readers meticulously study skin ridges and finger lengths to conduct a reading, a lot can be said through a simple photograph.

Last week, we challenged you to tell stories through artistic images of handsTua Marika, a designer and photographer who has mastered this technique, was our guest host.

"Hands are so expressive, thats why I enjoy photographing them," Marika said. "A simple touch can be more meaningful than a word."

See also: 15 beautiful ways to use the new Instagram filters Read more...

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Facebook blocks page promoting opposition leader rally at Russia's request

Russia’s Internet watchdog is hard at work trying to quash social media mentions of a mass rally next month supporting opposition activist Alexei Navalny.

A Facebook event page promoting a rally backing Navalny next month was set up after prosecutors on Friday asked for a 10-year jail sentence for the opposition leader on embezzlement charges that critics say are politically motivated. Since February, Navalny has been living under house arrest.

See also: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny could spend 10 years behind bars

Navalny, a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an anti-corruption blogger who ran a failed mayoral campaign in Moscow last year, was a key figure in Russia’s anti-government protests in 2011-2012. Read more...

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Justin Bieber dethroned as king of Instagram in massive follower purge

In what is being referred to as the Instagram "purge," many Instagram users lost tons of followers when the picture-sharing platform cleared out inactive and spam accounts on Thursday.

Poor Justin Bieber was dethroned as the most-followed Instagram user, losing 3.5 million followers in less than 24 hours, according to a list compiled by 64px. On Thursday, he had 23.8 million followers; after the purge, Biebs has a mere 20.3 million Instagram acolytes. Beliebers, we assume, rallied after learning of his fall from grace.

See also: Kim Kardashian crops North West out of picture, enrages followers Read more...

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Facebook Messenger add-on lets you cover photos in emoji

Instagram is worth $35 billion, according to Citigroup

When Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in April 2012, the price tag came as a shock to many

A little more than two years later, Citigroup said Instagram is worth $35 billion, a number that the bank called "conservative" in a research note on Facebook issued Friday

See also: Massive Instagram update adds 5 new filters

It is another piece of good news in what has been a stellar 2014 for Instagram. The photo-sharing app recently hit 300 million active users, putting it ahead of Twitter. At $35 billion, Instagram would also be worth more than Twitter, which currently has a market cap around $23.3 billion Read more...

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Study: More teens are fleeing from Facebook

An iStrategyLabs report from January 2014 caused quite a ruffle among the Facebook top brass and investors, as it indicated that teens are leaving the ubiquitous social platform

Now, a Thursday report from Frank N. Magid Associates Inc. (via Bloomberg) shows that Facebook's popularity among younger users is in serious decline

See also: Facebook Admits Teen Use May Be Declining

According to the study, in 2014, 88% of 13- to 17-year-old social media users in the U.S. were on Facebook — a drop from 94% in 2013 and 95% in 2012.

Though this is still a vast percentage of teens, as was confirmed by this study in June 2014, the 6% drop sounds quite significant — especially when some of Facebook's competition is experiencing the reverse Read more...

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Comedy as activism: Why laughing together beats mourning alone

"Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it."

This famous first sentence of Langston Hughes' 1966 essay "A Note on Humor" still rings true today — especially for comedians whose work tackles serious issues, when "it" can mean anything from racial justice to gender equality to LGBT rights.

Humor can address these important topics in a powerful but nonthreatening way. Jokes help us confront the world's most pressing issues, inspiring laughs to inspire change.

See also: Refusing silence: Black poets protest and mourn in verse

Comedy's role in raising awareness is extremely prevalent right now, amid the #BlackLivesMatter protests that continue to sweep the United States. Stand-up comics such as W. Kamau Bell, a self-declared socio-political comedian who doesn't shy away from charged topics, have addressed police brutality and the events in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere. Read more...

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Have a haunted holiday and win a chance to watch 'The Babadook' for free

The holidays are here, and with them come a little extra time to sit back, relax and catch up on the year's best movies

This fall, Mashable announced the launch of MashFlix, our online and offline film club. For our first feature film, we screened horror flick The Babadook at New York City's IFC Center. The film proved to be hauntingly entertaining, and left more than a few of us cowering in our seats

See also: 25 films that know exactly how you feel

Couldn't make it to the screening? Don't worry — here's your chance to watch The Babadook at home. We're offering promo codes for a free download of the movie on SundanceNow. After all, what are the holidays without a little extra spook? Read more...

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Facebook now auto-enhances photos posted from iPhones

Facebook is taking a page out of Google+'s playbook, and is now automatically editing photos posted to the social network from mobile devices.

Smartphones and apps have made photographers out of everyone; the problem is that many of us still don't have pro-level photo-editing skills. Now, when a Facebook user posts an image using the iOS app, it is automatically "enhanced" for clarity, lighting and shadow. What's more, they won't have to decide between individual filters, like on Instagram. The feature launched for iOS on Tuesday, and is coming to Android soon, according to Facebook.

See also: 10 most clichéd hashtags you're still overusing Read more...

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