17 spooky scenes acted and animated on Vine

Last week, just in time for Halloween, we started a Vine challenge themed around spookiness

Ghost effects, realistic crime scenes, creatures lurking behind bedroom doors and spine-chilling hallway thrillers — these were the types of videos we saw under the #SpookyHallow hashtag

See also: 15 Vines that show an unexpected turn of events

If you're not into scary stuff, don't scroll down any further. These six-second horror clips are hard to shake off.

Vine artist Jennifer Messmore, a Las Vegas native, guest-hosted our challenge

"I really enjoyed seeing a few Viners who aren't necessarily known as spooky show their versatility," Messmore said. "I think what I liked most about the challenge was highlighting what I consider the underground of Vine and showing that there are some truly creative, dark, and humorous people sharing exceptional ideas and techniques with the Vine community." Read more...

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10 short stories written in a single tweet

Great literature doesn't always appear in novel format. Sometimes it can be found in a single tweet.

Master wordsmith and October's MashableReads author Margaret Atwood knows the value that can be found in 140 characters or less. Atwood often uses Twitter to augment her prolific writing, taking to the social network to engage with fans, discuss issues that are important to her and chat about books.

See also: 18 Twitter Short Stories That Prove Tweets Can Be Literary Too

Inspired by Atwood, her active use of Twitter and her new short story collection Stone Mattress , we asked Mashable readers to write their own short story in a single tweet. Submissions ranged from haunting meditations on life to playful Halloween tales. Check out some of our favorites below. Read more...

More about Books, Twitter, Social Media, Margaret Atwood, and Conversations



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Alex from Target a marketing stunt? First tweeter denies it

A marketing company called Breakr is claiming credit for launching the viral "Alex from Target" meme, a picture of a Target employee that inexplicably took the Internet by storm Monday.

In a LinkedIn post called "#AlexFromTarget: The Power of Fangirls" that was published yesterday, Dil-Domine Jacobe Leonares, founder and CEO of a startup called Breakr, explained how his company supposedly orchestrated the entire #AlexFromTarget phenomenon as an elaborate marketing stunt

At time of writing, however, we had not been able to independently confirm Leonares' claims and it would be in the company's interest to take responsibility for the viral sensation. Read more...

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The growing popularity of global social media campaigns

In light of Mashable’s quickly approaching Media Summit on Dec. 5, we’re taking a look at some of the most influential media trends of the past year. First up, global social media campaigns, a trend we've found impossible to ignore.

Social media isn't a new thing. But people, brands and storytellers are changing the ways in which they use these digital tools to create global conversations. There are more than 3 billion people online around the globe with active social media accounts, meaning it's easier than ever to have a global conversation

Mashable experienced the power of global social during the Social Good Summit in September 2014. Over two days, people gathered at the main event in New York, as well as in one of 75 self-organized meetups around the world. Because one of the priorities of the event was to encourage global discussion, promoting the #2030NOW event hashtag was a major focus. Read more...

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12 tips to dominate National Novel Writing Month

November is for writers

No, that's not another lame T-shirt slogan (though, maybe it should be). November is National Novel Writing Month, wherein eager writers aim to author 50,000-word novels between Nov. 1 and midnight on Nov. 30

See also: 10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media

Using the NaNoWriMo site, participants can track their daily writing goals, earn badges when they meet word counts and broadcast progress. But the social movement has expanded beyond the nonprofit's online community. Thousands of people contribute to the #NaNoWriMo hashtag every day, charting their progress and looking for tips from other writers — though we see a lot of procrastinating, too. (You know who you are.) Read more...

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'Alex From Target' meme turns regular employee into Internet superstar

The words "Alex from Target" might meant nothing to you, but they mean everything to the hormonal legions of Twitter teens

A young Target employee named Alex ascended to Internet fame overnight, inexplicably inspiring his very own meme. This is just further evidence that teenagers can make literally anyone a star — even a random employee at a big box store

See also: The 6 Best Tools for Making Memes

Alex's rise to the top of Twitter began on Sunday after user @auscalum tweeted a photo of him (though in later tweets she denies taking the photo).

YOOOOOOOOOO http://bitly.com/13zYuLh

— rims (@auscalum) November 2, 2014 Read more...

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6 browser extensions to improve your Facebook experience

Facebook addicts, rejoice — you don't have to be on Facebook to still be on Facebook.

With the help of browser extensions, you can read your News Feed, send messages to friends and post status updates from your browser's toolbar. Extensions can also improve your experience on the Facebook site itself with special tools, such as Photo Zoom, which magnifies any photo your cursor hovers over.

See also: 8 Brutally Honest Facebook Notifications That Need to Exist Now

See the list below for more handy Facebook extensions.

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

BONUS: The Evolution of the Facebook Profile

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