Star Wars R2D2 Refrigerator is so cool it has its own trailer

<div class="viral-video-lead" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px -30px; max-width: none;"> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> </div> <div class="popout" style="margin-left: 0px; max-width: 120%;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="534" id="managed-yt-1" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7WUIiiadIWg?enablejsapi=1&" style="height: 534px; width: 949px;" width="949"></iframe></div> </div> <div style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> When the licensed offshoots of <em>Star Wars</em> get their own trailers, then you know that the franchise will likely be here 100 years from now. The latest is for the R2D2 Moving Refrigerator, and it's almost as exciting as one of the film's trailers.</div> <div style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> We told you about the life-sized, remote controlled droid months ago, but in this trailer we get an up close look at just how well made the device is.</div> <div style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Japan's Aqua (a division of Haier) has the device online <a href="https://otakumode.com/shop/haier/aqua/R2-D2-Moving-Refrigerator?utm_source=haier&utm_medium=media_link&utm_content=haier_r2d2&utm_campaign=haier_r2d2_teaser&tom_cohort=haier_r2d2_teaser" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">for pre-order</a> for about $8,300, with deliveries beginning in December. For a mini-fridge that only holds a handful of beverages at best, this piece of <em>Star Wars</em> swag is only for the truly obsessed — and rich.</div>

Star Wars R2D2 Refrigerator is so cool it has its own trailer

When the licensed offshoots of  Star Wars  get their own trailers, then you know that the franchise will likely be here 100 years fro...

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5 ways Facebook is going all out to win over India

<img alt="Facebook-india" height="359" src="http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzQ0L2ZhY2Vib29raW5kLmY2NWRhLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/50435769/da7/facebook-india.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Facebook is going all out on India. That makes sense. With Mark Zuckerberg looking ahead at saturation in mature markets like Europe and North America, and with his social network locked out of China, he's pushing forward a lot of things to ensure that Facebook gains plenty of growth from India.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/zuck-sidesteps-tough-questions-india-visit/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">130 million</a> Indian people now use Facebook actively. But Facebook wants a lot more. It wants "the next billion people," as the company has called them, who'll use Facebook and all its sister apps, like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Asia as a whole is vital to Facebook's future. The site hit 496 million monthly active users in Asia-Pacific at the last count. Soon, the region will have more active Facebook users than Europe, the US, and Canada combined.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Here are five recent ploys — including several that happened this week — which show Facebook's renewed determination to win in India:</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 1. Getting more people online in the first place</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> One challenge in the India market is that not many people are online yet. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="poor-infrastructure-and-low" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <blockquote class="microcontent-wrapper pullquote" style="border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: none none none solid; border-width: 0px !important; clear: left; color: #777777; float: left; height: auto; margin: 15px 15px 35px -125px; max-width: 45%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; position: relative; width: 400px;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="Poor infrastructure and low incomes combine to keep a lot of people off the web" data-fragment="poor-infrastructure-and-low" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> </blockquote> <span class="microcontent" data-description="Poor infrastructure and low incomes combine to keep a lot of people off the web" data-fragment="poor-infrastructure-and-low" data-micro="1" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/">Poor infrastructure and low incomes combine to keep a lot of people off the web</span>, particularly in rural areas.<br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> India now has <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/india-move-236-million-mobile-internet-users-2016/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">350 million active Internet users</a>, which shows the population of 1.25 billion doesn't have easy or fair access.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Facebook started to tackle this problem in India in February last year with Internet.org, its scheme to offer free access to a selection of sites and apps for people who would otherwise be offline. It does this by partnering with one telco in each company where it's rolled out.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> However, this has been controversial. Since Internet.org does not offer access to the whole Internet, many observers and governments slammed the plan as akin to demolishing Net Neutrality.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The backlash is especially strong in India, forcing Zuckerberg to rethink the way Internet.org operated in the country. Last month, the program was renamed Free Basics. This week, it opened up to developers so they could <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/facebook-awards-social-startups-for-internet-org/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">create services aimed at people in India's countryside</a>, such as farmers and students.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Although Facebook has sweetened the deal for its (very limited) free Internet, the company is not yet out of hot water and a name change to Free Basics doesn't mean people will forget about the Net Neutrality issue.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 2. Changing Facebook so it works better on slower connections</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> To make sure users in India don't run into issues on Facebook caused by slow web connections, Facebook earlier this month <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2015/10/news-feed-fyi-building-for-all-connectivity/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">said it would start</a> "building for all connectivity." That means making tweaks to the News Feed so that, when the site notices a user is on a 2G or shaky line, it won't load videos, and instead the News Feed will show more status updates and links.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> If a connection is flaking out, Facebook is now ready for that too. "Sometimes we are unable to load any new News Feed stories if a connection is particularly congested or poor quality. People have told us that when they visit News Feed they'd rather see stories that may have loaded on a previous visit than not see any stories at all. So now when you leave News Feed and then come back again on a bad connection, we will display previously downloaded stories," explained Chris Marra and Alex Sourov from the emerging markets team at Facebook.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Prior to all that, Facebook <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/facebook-launches-facebook-lite-india-users/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">built a stripped-down Lite version</a> of its app.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "Over 875 million people in the world access the Internet through 2G and we wanted to create a good user experience for these users to enable better access in emerging markets," said Vijay Shankar, product manager at Facebook, back in June.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 3. Understanding what using the web in India is like</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> In order to build those modifications, and so that Facebook's team better understand how their users sometimes struggle to get online, the company <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-2g-tuesdays-to-slow-employee-internet-speeds-down-2015-10" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">this week rolled out "2G Tuesdays."</a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="each-week-on-that" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <blockquote class="microcontent-wrapper pullquote" style="border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: none none none solid; border-width: 0px !important; clear: left; color: #777777; float: left; height: auto; margin: 15px 15px 35px -125px; max-width: 45%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; position: relative; width: 400px;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="Each week on that day, the web at Facebook's HQ will be slowed right down to emulate basic 2G speeds" data-fragment="each-week-on-that" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><br /></div> </blockquote> <span class="microcontent" data-description="Each week on that day, the web at Facebook's HQ will be slowed right down to emulate basic 2G speeds" data-fragment="each-week-on-that" data-micro="1" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/">Each week on that day, the web at Facebook's HQ will be slowed right down to emulate basic 2G speeds</span> — just like users in some parts of India and other emerging markets.<br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Facebook director Tom Alison says it's a way to help close the "empathy gap" between Silicon Valley and emerging markets.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The slow speeds came as a shock to the staff at HQ. "It definitely tested my patience — it felt like parts of the product were just broken," Tom told <em>Business Insider</em>.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 4. New ad format for people who can't view videos</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Facebook has a big revenue problem when it comes to Asia. Although it's the biggest region in terms of users, it pulls in the smallest chunk of cash. This chart from Facebook shows the crisis clearly:</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!55eb" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!55eb" data-image="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzJhL2ZhY2Vib29rX3JlLmZmNzc1LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/bdd50e20/5ee/facebook_revenue_problem_in_india.jpg" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="5 ways Facebook is going all-out to win over India" data-fragment="m!55eb" data-image="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzJhL2ZhY2Vib29rX3JlLmZmNzc1LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/bdd50e20/5ee/facebook_revenue_problem_in_india.jpg" data-micro="1" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" data-width="900" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzJhL2ZhY2Vib29rX3JlLmZmNzc1LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/bdd50e20/5ee/facebook_revenue_problem_in_india.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" /></div> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> In order to start fixing that, Facebook today <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/news/slideshow?__mref=message_bubble" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">lifted the lid on Slideshow</a>, a video creation tool aimed at marketers and businesses in emerging markets. The tool is now available worldwide today through Facebook's ad website.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The idea is that people in emerging markets or on very basic phones will struggle to watch videos, so marketers can still get seen by those people by creating an ad made up of a slideshow of images. It looks like this:</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!43fe" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!43fe" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzNmL0ZhY2Vib29rU2xpLmE5MWFjLmdpZgpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/fd33ad22/d53/Facebook-Slideshow-ad-format-for-emerging-markets.gif" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/?utm_cid=mash-prod-nav-sub-st#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="5 ways Facebook is going all-out to win over India" data-fragment="m!43fe" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzNmL0ZhY2Vib29rU2xpLmE5MWFjLmdpZgpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/fd33ad22/d53/Facebook-Slideshow-ad-format-for-emerging-markets.gif" data-micro="1" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/facebook-india-growth/" data-width="676" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzMwLzNmL0ZhY2Vib29rU2xpLmE5MWFjLmdpZgpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/fd33ad22/d53/Facebook-Slideshow-ad-format-for-emerging-markets.gif" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" /></div> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The images can be photos, video stills, or be plucked from a Shutterstock library that Facebook makes available. The slideshow of three to seven images will have a running time of about five to 15 seconds. Companies can add effects like transitions. Audio will not be supported at this initial stage.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Kelly MacLean, Facebook's product marketing lead for emerging markets, mentioned at the launch event that users in developing nations respond a lot more to ads than their developed market counterparts. She says they want to connect with brands and they often share ads they like, taking screenshots and sending them to friends or displaying them on their profiles.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Ads being Facebook's bread and butter, it's only natural for the company to want to harness that audience.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 5. Zuck drops by</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The final aspect of Facebook's massive India is Zuckerberg's charm offensive.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Zuckerberg was in India for much of this week — his second trip to the country this year. He toured the Taj Mahal on Tuesday, and then <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/zuck-sidesteps-tough-questions-india-visit/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">on Wednesday he gave a speech in Delhi</a> before answering — or, rather, dodging — questions.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> He referenced the "free Internet" scheme several times, but it's still a hard sell in India. Critics of the scheme say it only helps Facebook get new users, and all people get in return is access to a limited bundle of sites. A local <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/savetheinternet-in-takes-on-zuckerberg-and-internet-org-on-net-neutrality-half-truths-blames-facebook-on-creating-digital-divide-in-india/articleshow/49583323.cms" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">group called Savetheinternet.in accuses Zuckerberg</a> of creating "a new digital divide: those who access Facebook and its partner services, and those who access the open Internet."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Perhaps Zuckerberg needs to dial up the charm a bit higher. Or, <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/talk/mark-zuckerberg-speech-chinese-strong-sense-mission/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">once he's nailed Mandarin</a>, he could try learning Hindi.</div> <ul style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1.5em; padding: 0px;"> <li style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PennOlson/~3/MrYWAEuDAGI/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Do-gooding team from Singapore gets acquired to form online volunteer network</a></li> <li style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PennOlson/~3/uAgGyUVAt3g/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">China ranks dead last on global internet freedom survey</a></li> <li style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PennOlson/~3/qIPIJgIge-o/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">5 unique challenges all ecommerce firms will face in Indonesia</a></li> <li style="line-height: 1.5;"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PennOlson/~3/laGjERcEDSo/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Why mobile payments in Southeast Asia are about to take off</a></li> </ul> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> This article originally published at Tech in Asia <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/india-targeting-india-2015/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">here</a></div>

5 ways Facebook is going all out to win over India

Facebook is going all out on India. That makes sense. With Mark Zuckerberg looking ahead at saturation in mature markets like Europe and ...

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Bob Dylan puts aside '60s rebellion to appear in IBM commercial

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="534" id="managed-yt-1" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wh1INne97Q?enablejsapi=1&" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; height: 534px; line-height: 21.6666679382324px; width: 950px;" width="950"></iframe><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "Time passes and love fades."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> That's the succinct message IBM's famous supercomputer Watson took away after reading all of Bob Dylan's lyrics at a breakneck speed of 800 million pages per second, according to a new ad from the iconic computer company.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "That sounds about right," the aging folk rock legend says, sounding mildly amused.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> That theme might hit home especially hard for the brand and its unlikely celebrity spokesperson, both of which are well past their heyday.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> When Watson breaks into song with a chirpy "do-be-bop bebop-a-do," Dylan apparently decides he's had about enough and walks out of the frame, guitar in hand.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The campaign, which also includes a spot featuring Watson's nemesis, Jeopardy ace Ken Jennings, is part of a push to re-brand Big Blue with more of a cloud computing and data analytics focus. Both spots debuted during this week's Monday Night Football broadcast.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> </div> <div class="popout" style="margin-left: -125px; max-width: 120%;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="422.99999999999994" id="managed-yt-2" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lszB8muRqQA?enablejsapi=1&" style="height: 423px; width: 750px;" width="750"></iframe></div> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> But don't think the times they are a-changin' for the worse.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> This isn't the first time the enigmatic folk star has lent his celebrity to a big brand. In the past few years, Dylan has also starred in Super Bowl ads for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXdLhTNBHbA" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Pepsi</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSn8Isv-3M" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Chrysler</a>.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <em>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</em></div>

Bob Dylan puts aside '60s rebellion to appear in IBM commercial

"Time passes and love fades." That's the succinct message IBM's famous supercomputer Watson took away after reading a...

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IHOP cruelly mocks McDonald's pretensions of #AllDayBreakfast

<img alt="Ihop-mcdonalds" height="359" src="http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA2L2VhL0lIT1BNY0RvbmFsLjdiMTg2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/b41e8a12/cca/IHOP-McDonalds.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Let it be known! Serving breakfast all day? IHOP did it first and they are telling it on the mountain.</div> <div class="see-also" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <div class="inline-ad-seealso" style="margin: 0px 18.75px 0px auto; max-width: 625px;"> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Recalling the bitter beef between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, IHOP challenged McDonald's on social media with some well-chosen slang that made it clear that all-day breakfast is their turf.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The pancake conglomerate made it known to the world that they're not here for McDonald's announcement that it would serve breakfast past 10 a.m. The<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllDayBreakfast?src=ptrn" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">#AllDayBreakfast</a> sponsored hashtag, paid for by McDonald's, has been sitting at the top of everyone's Twitter feeds since Tuesday morning.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> IHOP lost no time in jumping on it. What did IHOP have to say about McDonald's announcement? Take a look at the shady tweets below:</div> <br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px;">Looks like other brands like Denny's and 7/11 aren't here for McDonald's announcement either, but IHOP's tweets, perhaps, take the (pan)cake.</span><br /> <br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px;">Is this the start of a breakfast rivalry? Morning seems too early to fight.</span>

IHOP cruelly mocks McDonald's pretensions of #AllDayBreakfast

Let it be known! Serving breakfast all day? IHOP did it first and they are telling it on the mountain. Recalling the bitter beef be...

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leave DraftKings and FanDuel embroiled in scandal

<img alt="Fantasy-football-roster" height="359" src="http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA2Lzk2L2ZhbnRhc3lmb290LjAxMjMyLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/13b5266d/ac7/fantasy-football-roster.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> DraftKings came out swinging against allegations that an employee had made as much as $350,000 by cheating on fantasy football gambling.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The daily fantasy sports industry is facing controversy over allegations that employees at DraftKings and FanDuel are using privileged company data to win big on rival sites — a cheating tactic analogous to insider trading on Wall Street.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Fans first grew suspicious when a DraftKings employee <a href="https://rotogrinders.com/threads/draftkings-ownership-leak-850584?page=1#reply-850635" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">inadvertently leaked</a> a list of the most popular players drafted by customers in a link tweeted from the company's account hours before it was supposed to hit the site.</div> <div class="see-also" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <div class="inline-ad-seealso" style="margin: 0px 18.75px 0px auto; max-width: 625px;"> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> As it turns out, the same employee who <a href="https://rotogrinders.com/threads/draftkings-ownership-leak-850584?page=1#reply-850635" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">apologized</a> for the mistake, DraftKings content manager Ethan Haskell, also appears to have <a href="https://www.fanduel.com/games/13067/contests/13067-15194936/entries/227527336/scoring?entry=227527336" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">won $350,000</a> on FanDuel in the same week.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The fact that Haskell had access to proprietary data raised questions about the fairness of employees winning jackpots at competing sites, as well as the general lack of regulation in a burgeoning multibillion industry that critics have labelled legalized gambling.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Late Monday, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="draftkings-said-that-an" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <blockquote class="microcontent-wrapper pullquote" style="border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: none none none solid; border-width: 0px !important; clear: left; color: #777777; float: left; height: auto; margin: 15px 15px 35px -125px; max-width: 45%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; position: relative; width: 475px;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="DraftKings said that an internal investigation showed Haskell didn't receive the data until 40 minutes after FanDuel's deadline to set rosters, which would mean he couldn't have used it to pick players on the site." data-fragment="draftkings-said-that-an" data-url="" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> </blockquote> <span class="microcontent" data-description="DraftKings said that an internal investigation showed Haskell didn't receive the data until 40 minutes after FanDuel's deadline to set rosters, which would mean he couldn't have used it to pick players on the site." data-fragment="draftkings-said-that-an" data-micro="1">DraftKings said that an internal investigation showed Haskell didn't receive the data until 40 minutes after FanDuel's deadline to set rosters, which would mean he couldn't have used it to pick players on the site.</span><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "For the last several days, DraftKings has been conducting a thorough investigation, including examining records of internal communications and access to our database, interviewing our employees, and sharing information regarding the incident with FanDuel," a spokesperson said in an email (see full statement below).</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The attention was nonetheless enough to compel the two startups to release a <a href="https://newsroom.fanduel.com/2015/10/05/integrity-of-our-employees/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">joint statement</a> earlier on Monday asserting that "nothing is more important" than "the integrity of the games."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "Both companies have strong policies in place to ensure that employees do not misuse any information at their disposal and strictly limit access to company data to only those employees who require it to do their jobs," the statement reads.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "Employees with access to this data are rigorously monitored by internal fraud control teams, and we have no evidence that anyone has misused it."</div> <h2 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <span style="font-size: small;">The complicated relationships of fantasy sports</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> With the new, sharper statements DraftKings took a stronger stance in denying than it did in an initial <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/sports/fanduel-draftkings-fantasy-employees-bet-rivals.html" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em></a> report on Monday, which said "a spokesman for DraftKings acknowledged that employees of both companies had won big jackpots playing at other daily fantasy sites."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Both companies acknowledged that some employees play on competing sites, but reiterated that there was no evidence that anyone had misused company data.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The Fantasy Sports Trade Association, along with the two companies, said in a separate statement Monday night that it has updated its member charter to explicitly ban access of company data to employees while playing on competing sites.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The daily fantasy format — in which fans pick players for a single game day and bet for pools of prize money rather than drafting a season-long team among groups of friends — was made popular by the two companies and has roped in hundreds of new converts, thanks to advertising blitzes that have made the two brands ubiquitous on football broadcasts and across the Internet.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> But research done by Sports Business Daily shows that just 1.3% of players took home about 90% of the winnings in the first half of the fantasy baseball season.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Most internet gambling was made illegal by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, but fantasy sports managed to carve out an exemption thanks to heavy lobbying from pro sports leagues.</div> <figure class="image" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 50px; position: relative;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!b79e" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!b79e" data-image="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA2LzM3L2Zvb3RiYWxsLmFmMWNjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/6bcd6115/9ca/football.jpg" data-url="" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/06/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-football-cheating/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="IFAF American Football Men's World Championship" class="" data-caption="Football is a big business, both on the field and on computers." data-credit-label="" data-credit-link="" data-credit-name="IFAF American Football Men's World Championship" data-credit-provider="Custom type" data-fragment="m!b79e" data-image="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA2LzM3L2Zvb3RiYWxsLmFmMWNjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/6bcd6115/9ca/football.jpg" data-micro="1" data-width="960" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA2LzM3L2Zvb3RiYWxsLmFmMWNjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/6bcd6115/9ca/football.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="IFAF American Football Men's World Championship" /></div> <br /> <figcaption class="image-caption" style="-webkit-transition: max-height 0.2s; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); bottom: -1px; color: #dddddd; font-family: ProximaNovaRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; max-height: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0.5em 1em; position: absolute; right: 0px; transition: max-height 0.2s;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> Football is a big business, both on the field and on computers.</div> </figcaption><div class="image-credit" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s; color: #777777; float: right; font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 18.75px; margin-top: 12px; max-width: 625px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: margin 0.2s; width: auto;"> <div style="padding: 0px;"> IMAGE: IFAF AMERICAN FOOTBALL MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP</div> </div> </figure><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The low overhead costs and a 10% cut of each "entry fee" make it a lucrative business model that has pulled in hundreds of millions in venture capital funding. Each company is valued at more than $1 billion.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "It's as attractive as almost any industry you can think of — it's a casino where you don't have to build a casino," Nomura analyst Kevin Rippey told ExpressHackings in a previous interview.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> But the industry's place at the thin line between legal and illegal Internet gambling has invited plenty of scrutiny from regulators and politicians. Accusations like these are sure to increase the demand for more of a regulatory structure.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> You can read DraftKings' full statement from Monday night here:</div> <blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-width: 4px; border-style: none none none solid; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px;"> <div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> “There has been some confusion regarding a recent piece of data that was inadvertently posted on DraftKings' blog containing information about players and fantasy games. Some reports are mischaracterizing the situation and implying that there was wrongdoing. We want to set the record straight. For the last several days, DraftKings has been conducting a thorough investigation, including examining records of internal communications and access to our database, interviewing our employees, and sharing information regarding the incident with FanDuel. The evidence clearly shows that the employee in question did not receive the data on player utilization until 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 27. Lineups on FanDuel locked at 1:00 p.m. that day, at which point this employee (along with every other person playing in a FanDuel contest) could no longer edit his player selections. This clearly demonstrates that this employee could not possibly have used the information in question to make decisions about his FanDuel lineup. Again, there is no evidence that any information was used to create an unfair advantage, and any insinuations to the contrary are factually incorrect.”</div> </blockquote> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <em><strong>Update, Tuesday October 6 12 p.m. PST:</strong></em> ESPN's <em>Outside the Lines</em> reported on Tuesday that ESPN has dropped DraftKings and FanDuel sponsored elements from its shows in response to the controversy. The channel will continue to air both companies' ads.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> In July, DraftKings <a href="http://recode.net/2015/07/20/draftkings-will-pay-espn-250-million-for-ads-over-the-next-two-years/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">struck a deal</a> with ESPN parent company Disney in which DraftKings promised $250 million in ad spending over the course of two years and ESPN gave the company exclusive advertising rights on the channel beginning in 2016.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The agreement came after a bigger deal that would've given Disney a stake in the startup fell through. At the time, <em>Recode</em> reported from anonymous sources that Disney executives had qualms about tying the family-friendly brand to such a controversial business.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <em>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</em></div>

leave DraftKings and FanDuel embroiled in scandal

DraftKings came out swinging against allegations that an employee had made as much as $350,000 by cheating on fantasy football gambling. ...

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10 clever ways to be more innovative at work

<img alt="Inspiration" height="359" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxL2QzL2luc3BpcmF0aW9uLjliYmZjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/cf3c8749/77d/inspiration.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <figure class="image" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 50px; position: relative;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> </div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <img alt="innovative pin" class="" data-caption="" data-credit-label="" data-credit-link="" data-credit-name="Mashable Composite, Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak Media Ltd./Corbis" data-credit-provider="Custom type" data-fragment="m!3fec" data-image="http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzMwL2E5L2lubm92YXRpdmVhLjZhYjE2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/7bd685ef/41a/innovative-at-work-pin.jpg" data-micro="1" data-url="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/innovative-jobs/" data-width="720" src="http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzMwL2E5L2lubm92YXRpdmVhLjZhYjE2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/7bd685ef/41a/innovative-at-work-pin.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="innovative pin" /></div> <br /> <div class="image-credit" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s; color: #777777; float: right; font-size: 0.9rem; font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 18.75px; margin-top: 12px; max-width: 625px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: margin 0.2s; width: auto;"> <div style="padding: 0px;"> IMAGE: MASHABLE COMPOSITE, WAVEBREAK MEDIA LTD/WAVEBREAK MEDIA LTD./CORBIS</div> </div> </figure><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Quick: What sounds more fun? Filling in spreadsheets with data for eight hours or coming up with new and exciting ideas?</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> I'll go ahead and assume you went with option two. The opportunity to innovate is something most of us want more of in our daily work lives. Yet often, we feel we can't be more creative at work because of factors beyond our control. Perhaps your company is risk-averse and likes to play it safe, perhaps your targets are intimidatingly aggressive, or perhaps the sheer size of your to-do list makes adding anything new feel impossible.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> While a lot of these may be true, there are also some tips and tricks almost anyone can adopt to keep your innovation muscles strong and ready to go. And like any muscle group, the more you practice it, the stronger, better, and more unstoppable it becomes. Here are 10 things you can do on the job to make it easier to be more innovative every single day.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 1. Start conducting stand-up meetings</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Your entire energy changes when you're standing. Unsurprisingly, the entire energy of a meeting does, too. Convert one of your meetings to a standing one and watch the momentum, enthusiasm, and action soar. They'll move faster and be more action-orientated and more likely to motivate your team. Need help convincing your boss? Throw<a href="http://lessmeeting.com/blog/hidden-benefit-stand-up-meeting/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">this article</a> on the benefits his or her way.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 2. Surround yourself with inspiration</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Whenever you see something from the big wide world that captures your attention, put it on display. It can be any discovery: an awesome ad in a magazine, an unusually arranged menu, or even a well-written email that made you laugh. The more provocative, the better! If you have space on a wall near you, eke out a spot where you can display everything. Or, if you work in an open office where wall space is at a minimum, do it virtually on Pinterest.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 3. Get a buddy</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. Pick a colleague you feel comfortable with with and make yourselves accountable to each other. Encourage him or her to keep trying new things, whether it's trying a new place for lunch, pitching an idea in an unorthodox manner, sharing articles that inspire, or just doing some old-fashioned brainstorming. It's better — and easier — together.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 4. Pick small projects</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> We often think that ideas must always be big, transformative, and game-changing. But often, it's lots of small, novel things that add up to make a huge difference. The benefits to small-scale innovation are huge. Not only do they happen quickly and (most often) without a lot of fuss, they also garner the interest and attention of both your team and organization; thus paving the way for bigger, meatier innovation projects to follow. Try changing lots of small things, like how you sign off your emails, how you reward yourself for good work, or how you kick off meetings.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 5. Flip your assumptions</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> We all have things we do with our eyes shut. It's part of what makes us excel at our jobs, but also part of what blinds us to opportunities. Over the course of the day, identify all the tasks you do without thinking. Take a moment to talk about how you could do them differently. Sometimes it won't work (spell check might always be the best way to proofread your work). However, it will often lead you to find a new way of doing the same old thing.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 6. Bring it to life</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Stop talking and start building! Put your thoughts into words, your words into pictures, and your pictures into prototypes. When people can see your idea, they're less likely to forget it and much more likely to take it seriously and become involved in its development and bullet-proofing. Even a bad drawing is better than no drawing.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 7. Ban things</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Though it may sound counterintuitive, having constraints and parameters actually inspire innovation by forcing you to think dynamically and creatively. As an exercise, start banning things and exploring the implications. Ban words, ban resources, ban your primary target market, ban your default communication tools, and watch your creativity take off. Often, the ideas you settle on will likely be watered down versions of your initial suggestions, but the point of this exercise is to spark new thoughts on how to do the same old things.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 8. Get out of the office</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Make a habit of stepping outside even if it's just to walk around the block. As you stroll, make a point to notice things. If you need some discipline on your inspiration hunt, make a game of it and deliberately hunt for things that begin with the letter A on the first day, B the second, and so on. Your mind will start connecting dots between what you see and the problems you left back at the office. That's the beauty of our subconscious.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 9. Fuel up on creativity</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> For too many of us, checking our phone is the first thing we do each day. Feed your mind with creativity instead of diving into the email deluge (that can wait). Pick your favorite song, <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/51-smart-podcasts-that-will-make-your-commute-way-better" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">podcast</a>, or blog to kick-start the morning. Whatever it is, make sure it fuels your imagination. You'll be amazed how much it will inspire your attitude and creativity throughout the day.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 10. Ask yourself "What would my hero do?"</h3> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> When you're stumped with a problem you can't make any headway on, call in the big guns. Keep a list near your desk of some of your favorite creative forces. Then, when a problem strikes, consult your list and ask yourself what they might do to solve it. Considering how Willy Wonka would solve a packaging challenge, how Coco Chanel would tackle a communications issue, and how Salvador Dali would take on streamlining a supply chain can be very enlightening.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> These tricks may seem trivial, but together they force you to see the world in a new way. And that's what innovation is all about — seeing opportunity where no one else can. The more you practice these, the more easily it will become your default way of thinking — and the more innovation will become part of your daily work.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> As a final thought, remember that committing to innovation is a brave thing to do. Your actions will likely inspire others on your team to join. There will be days when it feels like too much to take on, but drum up your inner warrior and keep going. And remember that persistence beats resistance.</div>

10 clever ways to be more innovative at work

IMAGE: MASHABLE COMPOSITE, WAVEBREAK MEDIA LTD/WAVEBREAK MEDIA LTD./CORBIS Quick: What sounds more fun? Filling in spreadsheets ...

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3 key ways marketers should personalize the online experience

<img alt="Thurs-1" height="359" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzEyL1RodXJzMS4wMzM5MC5qcGcKcAl0aHVtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/060dca80/4b2/Thurs-1.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <em>This article is part of <a href="http://mashable.com/category/swot-team/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">SWOT Team</a>, a series on Mashable that features insights from leaders in marketing, brand-building and public relations.</em></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> It's a fact: Online personalization is still pretty imperfect. Despite all the data that companies have at their disposal, the biggest players in the space are still struggling to find the right algorithm to reach their customers in meaningful ways. The result is a growing disconnect between consumers and the companies they love.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The ability to offer a personalized experience online is quickly becoming a requirement for companies to stay relevant, which means they have an important challenge to overcome: making sense of customer data. While data is readily available, it's often siloed within different marketing technologies or across different marketing teams within an organization. This creates a disjointed image of the customer and makes it impossible to draw accurate conclusions. The result is an equally disjointed customer experience.</div> <div class="see-also" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <div class="inline-ad-seealso" style="margin: 0px 18.75px 0px auto; max-width: 625px;"> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> To connect this disparate data, companies should consider opting for an open marketing strategy that allows them the flexibility to pull information from a variety of tools. The result is a fuller, richer understanding of each customer — and a better, more personalized experience on their site.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Here are the three C's of personalization that will lead to the best possible customer experience</div> <h2 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 1. Customer profile</h2> <figure class="image" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 50px; position: relative;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> <span class="lightbox-expand"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!6ea6" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></span></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!6ea6" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzJiL2xpbmtlZGlucHJvLjQzNDdiLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/72a92461/50b/linked-in-profile.jpg" data-url="" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="LinkedIn profile" class="for-lightbox" data-caption="" data-credit-label="Mashable composite" data-credit-link="" data-credit-name="Neil Webb/Corbis" data-credit-provider="Custom type" data-fragment="m!6ea6" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzJiL2xpbmtlZGlucHJvLjQzNDdiLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/72a92461/50b/linked-in-profile.jpg" data-micro="1" data-width="1920" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzJiL2xpbmtlZGlucHJvLjQzNDdiLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/72a92461/50b/linked-in-profile.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" title="LinkedIn profile" /></div> <br /> <div class="image-credit" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s; color: #777777; float: right; font-size: 0.9rem; font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 18.75px; margin-top: 12px; max-width: 625px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: margin 0.2s; width: auto;"> <div style="padding: 0px;"> IMAGE: MASHABLE COMPOSITE NEIL WEBB/CORBIS</div> </div> </figure><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Building a strong customer profile starts from the very first interaction. That means pulling in as much relevant data as possible and marrying it to generate accurate insights. For example, at a department store, your customer who's a gardening enthusiast might also be a chef or a soccer player as well. Without building a profile, you'd miss opportunities to share relevant content to this customer — who only visits your brand for lawn tools and paint.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Moreover, your brand should know that a customer profile is never "complete" — it's malleable, building on every interaction. Consider what data contributes to the profile. Demographics like age, gender and income, geographic data and psychographic data like interests, hobbies, and lifestyle (even what device your consumer is using) all factor into building a holistic picture of a shopper.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> While much remains consistent, all of these data points are subject to change or shift as individuals grow and develop. Think of a customer's profile as a constant work-in-progress.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> These best practices for building a good customer profile apply to both known and anonymous users, who happen to make up 95% of traffic, <a href="http://insight.venturebeat.com/report/customer-identity-marketing-capturing-storing-and-enriching-right-data" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a Venture Beat report revealed</a>. Just because a user is anonymous, though, doesn't mean you can't get to know them.</div> <h2 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 2. Context</h2> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> While a profile gives companies an understanding of each individual customer, being able to meet their needs in real time is the key.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Contextualization is the where, when and why around a customer's interaction with a brand, and is sensitive to many fast-changing factors like seasonality, location and time of day.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> For example, a customer from New England who's browsing your site in November might be interested in winter coats or snow boots. If a vacationer is looking for an afternoon excursion, they shouldn't be offered hiking spots or outdoor picnic destinations if rain is in the forecast.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The holiday season is another particularly important time to take context into account when tracking customers as they navigate your site; most of your customers, at that time, won't be shopping for themselves.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="as-more-daytoday-activities" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <span class="microcontent" data-description="As more day-to-day activities take place online, analyzing context becomes even more important for you to do." data-fragment="as-more-daytoday-activities" data-micro="1"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px;">Companies need to make sure they're using marketing tools that allow them to gather this data and match it to existing customer profiles. Remember, the goal of personalization is to get as close to a one-on-one relationship with your customer as possible — context is a major component in helping you get there.</span>As more day-to-day activities take place online, analyzing context becomes even more important for you to do.</span> Ten or 20 years ago, logging into a computer felt like a departure. Today, technology is closely integrated with every activity. If you give consumers contextually irrelevant information, it can feel like they're being offered a steak special during breakfast.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2 style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.27; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> 3. Clarity</h2> <figure class="image" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 50px; position: relative;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> <span class="lightbox-expand"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!c319" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></span></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!c319" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzMxL3JlYWNoaW5nZm9yLjFlN2Q5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/5c4400f7/08a/reaching-for-the-sky.jpg" data-url="" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/personalized-online-experience/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="Reaching for the sky" class="for-lightbox" data-caption="" data-credit-label="" data-credit-link="" data-credit-name="Ikon Images/Corbis" data-credit-provider="Custom type" data-fragment="m!c319" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzMxL3JlYWNoaW5nZm9yLjFlN2Q5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/5c4400f7/08a/reaching-for-the-sky.jpg" data-micro="1" data-width="1920" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzAxLzMxL3JlYWNoaW5nZm9yLjFlN2Q5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/5c4400f7/08a/reaching-for-the-sky.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" title="Reaching for the sky" /></div> <br /> <div class="image-credit" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s; color: #777777; float: right; font-size: 0.9rem; font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 18.75px; margin-top: 12px; max-width: 625px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: margin 0.2s; width: auto;"> <div style="padding: 0px;"> IMAGE: IKON IMAGES/CORBIS</div> </div> </figure><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Despite an overall consumer interest in personalization, there is still a great deal of skepticism around the data collection it requires. This is due in large part to privacy concerns;<a href="http://insight.venturebeat.com/state-of-marketing-technology-hyper-personalization?utm_source=vb&utm_medium=refer&utm_content=editorial-post&utm_campaign=somt-personalization-report" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> according to a Venture Beat survey</a>, 96% of Americans express concern about data privacy.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The mystery around personalization exacerbates the feeling that customer privacy is being violated. Customers want to know what data is collected, what it looks like, how much you need to personalize the site and why they're being served certain recommendations, notifications, etc.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> If they're interested, why not tell them? When pushing them content or promotions, tell them why you think it fits their needs. This will allow customers to opt-in to this process and feel empowered rather than manipulated.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Netflix, for example, curates content for each user but also asks them to rate content after they've viewed it. They also explain why certain content is recommended to them with something along the lines of "because you liked <em>Sherlock Holmes</em>."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Being transparent with customers about what kind of data you're collecting is the best case scenario for everyone involved. Customers feel more at ease and have a better understanding of why they're served certain content. Companies find their customers more willing to engage — and are able to offer a better experience overall. If this capability doesn't already exist in your personalization tools, it's worth the investment.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="by-using-an-open" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <span class="microcontent" data-description="By using an open marketing approach to pull data from a variety of places, you'll be able to make smarter, more strategic decisions" data-fragment="by-using-an-open" data-micro="1"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px;">Brands like Nike will automatically send customers an email reminding them that it's time to replace their sneakers after they've logged 400 miles in their running app.</span>By using an open marketing approach to pull data from a variety of places, you'll be able to make smarter, more strategic decisions</span> about engaging with each individual customer. Soon, consumers won't even have to do a Google search when they're shopping for new clothes or looking for a restaurant — it will be recommended to them before they even have the chance.<br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> As companies' personalization efforts become more and more sophisticated, this predictive personalization will evolve from "creepy" characterizations to normal customer interactions. That said, personalization should feel like a service, not a violation. Maintaining transparency and accuracy will be an essential part of this advanced personalization. Customers should feel understood and cared for by their favorite brands. By building a customer profile that's dynamic, takes context into account and is open and transparent to the customer, you can build great relationships and keep the loyalty of your customers.</div>

3 key ways marketers should personalize the online experience

This article is part of  SWOT Team , a series on Mashable that features insights from leaders in marketing, brand-building and public rel...

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AIDS group is defiant about billboards linking Tinder and Grindr with STDs

<img alt="Tinder" height="359" src="http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzI5L2JiL3RpbmRlci5kZDM4MS5qcGcKcAl0aHVtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/1dbfc315/fd7/tinder.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Tinder and Grindr are lashing out at an AIDS advocacy group that ran billboards suggesting a link between dating apps and a spike in sexually transmitted diseases.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The Los Angeles billboards feature a silhouette of two couples — one pairs the Tinder logo with the word "chlamydia" and the other features Grindr and gonorrhea.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation said the purpose was to encourage people to regularly test for STDs and warn of their growing rate.</div> <figure class="image" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 50px; position: relative;"><div style="padding: 0px;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m!eff6" style="color: #00aeef;"></a></div> <div class="microcontent-wrapper" style="clear: left; margin-left: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="microcontent-shares" data-description="" data-fragment="m!eff6" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzI5LzBiL3RpbmRlcmJpbGxiLjBlYWI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/e48fd3bd/600/tinderbillboard-640x201.jpg" data-url="" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.25s ease; background: rgb(246, 245, 241); height: 0px; left: -47px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.25s ease; width: 30px;"> <a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-facebook facebook" href="http://mashable.com/2015/09/29/tindr-grindr-aids-billboards/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #3b579d; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-twitter twitter" href="http://mashable.com/2015/09/29/tindr-grindr-aids-billboards/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #2daae1; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-google_plus google_plus" href="http://mashable.com/2015/09/29/tindr-grindr-aids-billboards/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #f02f16; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a><a class="social-share microcontent-share-badge network-badge network-badge-pinterest pinterest" href="http://mashable.com/2015/09/29/tindr-grindr-aids-billboards/#" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; color: #bf1e25; display: inline-block; font-size: 3rem; height: 30px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9900px; transition: color 0.3s ease; white-space: nowrap; width: 30px;"></a></div> <img alt="tinderbillboard" class="" data-caption="" data-credit-link="" data-credit-name="courtesy of the AIDS Health Foundation" data-credit-provider="" data-fragment="m!eff6" data-image="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzI5LzBiL3RpbmRlcmJpbGxiLjBlYWI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/e48fd3bd/600/tinderbillboard-640x201.jpg" data-micro="1" data-width="640" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzA5LzI5LzBiL3RpbmRlcmJpbGxiLjBlYWI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/e48fd3bd/600/tinderbillboard-640x201.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="tinderbillboard" /></div> <br /> <div class="image-credit" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s; color: #777777; float: right; font-size: 0.9rem; font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 18.75px; margin-top: 12px; max-width: 625px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: margin 0.2s; width: auto;"> <div style="padding: 0px;"> IMAGE: COURTESY OF THE AIDS HEALTH FOUNDATION</div> </div> </figure><div class="see-also" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <div class="inline-ad-seealso" style="margin: 0px 18.75px 0px auto; max-width: 625px;"> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "In many ways, location-based mobile dating apps are becoming a digital bathhouse for millennials wherein the next sexual encounter can literally be just be a few feet away — as well as the next STD," Whitney Engeran-Cordova, senior public health director for the foundation, said in a statement.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The prominent logo placement didn't sit well with either of the matchmaking companies. Tinder sent a <a href="http://www.aidshealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ltr-re-False-Accusations-Against-Tinder-Inc..pdf" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">cease-and-desist letter</a> within 24 hours, demanding that the ad be removed, and Grindr pulled the ads that the foundation had run on the location-based dating app, the group said.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "These unprovoked and wholly unsubstantiated accusations are made to irreparably damage Tinder's reputation in an attempt to encourage others to take an HIV test offered by your organization," the letter said.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> The company did not respond to our request for comment.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Grindr also contacted the organization in order to "assess" their "relationship," a company spokesperson said.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "We were surprised at the approach the AHF took, and paused the campaign in order to speak with them and assess our relationship," the company said in a statement. "In the end, we’re all on the same page regarding this issue, as health and wellness concerns us all."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> But the organization is holding fast on continuing the ad campaign, which includes a dozen billboards and 45 bus bench ads in the LA area.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> "If they had done their research they would know that we are not people who would be easily intimidated," AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein told<em>Mashable</em>. "We are not against these apps — we are not trying to shut them down...But the reality of the matter is that there is a connection between these hookup sites and an increase that we've seen in STDs."</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> This isn't the first time that Tinder has publicly feuded with those that have pointed to a less savory side of its side-swiping formula. Last month, the company launched a Twitter barrage at <em>Vanity Fair</em> writer Nancy Jo Sales over a story that criticized the hookup culture surrounding the app. But this time around, Tinder seems to have thought better of using Twitter as a soapbox.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> <em>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</em></div>

AIDS group is defiant about billboards linking Tinder and Grindr with STDs

Tinder and Grindr are lashing out at an AIDS advocacy group that ran billboards suggesting a link between dating apps and a spike in sexu...

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