Thank you, Instagram, for your 100,000 #MashPics

Less than a year ago, we launched #MashPics as a way of curating the best images from our talented Instagram community. Today, that hashtag has seen more than 100,000 beautiful photos.

100,000! That's a whole lot.

We're so proud to have facilitated the growth of this dedicated group of photographers. Their creative work makes it easy to get lost in an endless scroll of spiral staircases, silly animals, stunning aerial shots, sun-kissed portraits and more

See also: Share your best photos with #MashPics

It's also truly amazing to realize the global reach of our hashtag. We've seen photos from not only the 50 states, but from countless countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. #MashPics has become a pseudo travel guidebook in itself. Read more...

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Working Late? Here Are 21 Tips to Make Your Nights More Productive

This post originally appeared on HubSpot's Sales Blog. To read more content like this, subscribe to Sales.

Research has shown sleep might be the most important factor influencing our productivity. In fact, not getting enough sleep is similar to being drunk, according to studies.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1UzMq0V

A model and her BFF have mastered the perfect response to dick pics

Some men simply do not know how to try and attract women. One model wants to help them learn

While many women ignore unsolicited dick pics, model Emily Sears and her BFF Laura have found a much more productive way to deal with them.

See also: Ice cream ad is kindly telling you to stop sending dick pics

Emily Sears — a Los Angeles-based model from Australia — has built a large social media following of 2.3 million fans, which she engages with often.

She enjoys keeping her followers up to date on her life by posting photos of herself and her modeling shoots. However, her fame has come with a serious price — unwanted dick pics. Read more...

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7 Powerful Ways to Make Your Emails More Persuasive

This post originally appeared on HubSpot's Sales Blog. To read more content like this, subscribe to Sales.

Communication is the lifeblood of sales and marketing. Successfully closing deals, providing value, explaining complexities -- they all rely on your ability to express yourself clearly and persuasively.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1OWCNb2

These 6-second Vine creations were so good they took home $10,000

The Armstrong Vine Awards hosted at Mashable headquarters Friday night gave you one day to play and six seconds to convince. The competition saw more than 400 submissions across seven categories: art, comedy, animation, illusion, music, series and remix.

Each category was judged by some of Vine's most talented users.

See also: Photography challenge pushes people to capture something in an empty space

The Armstrong Vine Awards was started three years ago by the media and communications agency to source the best talents on Vine, with the last two years seeing more than 1,000 video submissions.

For our #MashableRemix vine challenge, we asked competitors to use Vine's remix feature, which lets users overlay audio from a different Vine on their original video. The winners took home a total of $10,000. The judges included @NickGallo, @yelldesign, @Corypoppins, @MarksRecords, @JohnnyMcHone, @NoahKalina and us, @Mashable Read more...

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Facebook and Instagram ban private gun sales

Facebook will be banning sales of guns on both its flagship service and on company-owned Instagram, site officials announced Friday

The updated policy will align more closely with the company's current regulations on advertisements and sales of regulated goods, a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable

See also: Facebook Enacts New Regulations on Gun Sales

The move — which some have interpreted as Facebook taking a stance in favor of gun control — comes after President Obama and other gun safety advocates put pressure to halt illegal sales and trades on the site, the New York Times reported

The ban specifically applies to person-to-person firearm sales, while licensed gun dealers will remain exempt under the new guidelines. The goal, it appears, is to curb sales that are conducted without background checks and public safety precautions Read more...

More about Facebook, Media, Social Media, Us, and Guns On Facebook

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Facebook and Instagram are creating hidden ASCII art of your photos

If you've ever uploaded a photo to Facebook or Instagram, chances are there are secret ASCII renderings of them out there, if you know where to look.

Facebook has been creating ASCII art — that is, recreating your images out of text characters — out of your photos and anyone can find it. The feature was first spotted by Twitter user Mathias Bynens and has been confirmed by Mashable and others

See also: This picture of Mark Zuckerberg's wardrobe is hard to believe

The photo above, taken from Mark Zuckerberg's Instagram account, shows the original version of the image he posted with Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom and the hidden ASCII version. Read more...

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Mobile Payments: Awesome or Overhyped?

So, we’re firm believers that your buyers should have several different options when it’s time to pay for their purchases. You don’t want to lose a sale just because you only take credit cards and your buyer only uses PayPal. What happens when buyers have way too many options for mobile and online payments?

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1JM3xw4

How Giphy got its start: The 2 guys behind the great GIF search engine

One afternoon in December, Giphy’s two dozen staff members gathered around a long picnic table in their Lower East Side Manhattan office for a year-in-review meeting. The multicolored Christmas lights and six packs of Shiner Bock in the spacious, ninth-floor room made for a festive vibe — as did the 3D poster of a cat dangling from a wine bottle. Alex Chung, the 40-year-old co-founder and chief executive officer, stood next to a whiteboard, scrawling numbers charting the company’s growth. “We’re the biggest Internet startup people are seeing right now,” he said. “We, like, did it.”

Giphy — that’s a hard “G” — really, like, did do it. It’s become the go-to library for GIFs, the seconds-long, looping video clips that people text when words are too hard to conjure or quick shots of a shivering Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant just better convey how cold you are; the startup reached 95 million unique visitors per month in 2015, quadruple what it did in 2014. And Giphy has become an adviser to movie studios and TV producers who want your texts to include their content, which they are turning over to editors to splice into a million little pieces. Advertisers and political campaigns are asking for advice, too, on using the technology to sell products and candidates. Read more...

More about Startup, Search Engine, Internet, Social Media, and Gif

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How We Increased Organic Traffic by Over 50% Using Technical SEO Updates

We've got a confession to make: We've been making a few rookie SEO mistakes within our own website.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1ZYjott

What Motivates an Internet Troll? The Science Behind The Internet's Least Favorite People

In the depths of almost every internet community lives a troll. A snarky, quick-witted adversary waiting for an opportunity to insert an offbeat remark or uninvited comment. 

With 5.6% of individuals admitting that they self-identify as trolls or enjoy trolling online, it's likely that you or someone you know has had their feathers ruffled by one of these menacing online villains.  

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1PmJZP8

The Art of Turning Off: 7 Ways To Do Your Best Work (By Forgetting About Work)

Creative work takes a tremendous amount of energy. 

So much energy, in fact, that “turning off,” or forgetting about work for a period of time can feel counterproductive to a marketer who is set on creating something engaging and effective – especially if they’re under a deadline. That’s when it’s hardest to get past the guilt of tuning out and turning off. 

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1ns67Ng

Snapchat update makes it a lot easier to add new friends

Snapchat just added a new feature that goes a long way toward solving one of the app's more annoying features.

The company updated its app with a new feature that makes it way easier to add friends by allowing you to share a personalized URL that others can use to follow you within the app

See also: 10 hidden tricks to make Snapchat infinitely better

You can share your URL from the "Add Friends" menu by selecting the new "share username" option. This brings up the iOS share sheet, where you can choose which app you want to share your Snapchat details to. Anyone who follows the link from their phone will be redirected back to the Snapchat app where they can add you as a friend Read more...

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Facebook is finally bringing live streaming to everyone

Facebook just flipped the switch on its live streaming feature in its iOS app.

The social network is expanding its live streaming capabilities to all of its iOS users in the U.S. The company first began experimenting with live video last year but Thursday's update marks the first time Facebook has made the feature widely available.

See also: Get ready to see a lot more videos on Facebook

The new feature, which Facebook is calling "Live," now appears in the "update status" menu next to the check-in pin that allows you to share your location. Live videos on Facebook work similarly to Periscope broadcasts: you can begin a live stream with a brief description, and once you're live, viewers can comment on streams in real time. When you're finished, you have the option to save the video and share it on your timeline Read more...

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This police e-fit is getting attention for all the wrong reasons

LONDON — Normally a massive public response to a police appeal would be a good thing, but sometimes — as was the case with the e-fit issued recently by Cheshire police for a knife-wielding man spotted in a Macclesfield pub — the response isn't exactly what they're looking for.

See also: British police tweet pictures inside unlocked homes, it doesn't go over well

The picture was shared by the Macclesfield Express and then picked up by the Manchester Evening News, and it quickly began doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter.

The responses varied from the inevitable jokes about Microsoft Paint to many, many pictures like this one. Read more...

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3 Ways to Use Customer Behavior History to Predict the Future

Look, no one has a crystal ball at the ready to tell you who’s going to buy what, and how much, and when. Does that mean you have to wait around to see what a customer’s going to do? Of course not. You can learn a lot about your customers by studying their habits—past visits to your site—to predict what they’ll do next. It’s just a matter of knowing what information you need and when to use it.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1Utana6

16 of the Best Brands on Instagram Right Now

For a while now, it's been clear that Instagram isn't just a social network for foodies and teenagers. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, a whopping 26% of adult internet users use Instagram.

Given the number of people using Instagram, it's surprising how few businesses have adopted the platform -- or even taken it seriously.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1NCWFfk

10 Types of Visual Content Your Brand Should Be Creating Right Now [Infographic]

Over the past few years, we've seen content become more visual. Marketers have experimented with infographics, videos, and more -- and they've made plans to keep it up this year.

In fact, 73% of content creators plan to prioritize creating more engaging content in 2016, and 55% plan to prioritize creating visual content.

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1PHmSkx

3 Emails Your School Should Send to Improve Application and Enrollment Rates

via HubSpot Marketing Blog http://bitly.com/1PHmSkv

19 people who can't put their phones down either

Addiction is a strong word to use for how we feel about our phones, but there are theories to support "social media addiction," as much as we hate hearing it from our relatives at family gatherings

If you're one of the people who is constantly on checking your phone, you might relate to these 19 confessions from obsessed devoted social media users on the Whisper app.

See also: Sorry, you're addicted to the Internet. Here's why

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. Read more...

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