My Z News

Verizon Creates Rube Goldberg Machine To Celebrate Facebook Milestone

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Verizon Wireless just passed 3 million fans on Facebook, beating out competitors like AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile to that milestone. To celebrate, Verizon has released a special video thanking its fans that features a Rube Goldberg machine. For those who don’t know, a Rube Goldberg machine is one that uses an unnecessarily complicated series of steps to accomplish a very simple task. In this particular video, the end goal is to switch on a tablet that displays a thank you message to the company’s fans. In recent months, we’ve seen several brands come up with clever ways to celebrate reaching Facebook fan milestones. Bonobos released a video parody of The Golden Girls when it reached 100,000 fans on Facebook and The Walking Dead put out an awesome poster when it reached 100,000 fans. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/verizon-facebook-fans-video/

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Lovestruck Luigi Pines for Princess Peach in Nerdy Ballad

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“I only need eight bits to know that this is it,” a lovestruck Luigi croons to Princess Peach in this nerd-tastic ballad that instantly went viral on the social web upon hitting YouTube earlier Wednesday. The green-clad, mustachioed Luigi always seemed to be more a wingman to partner in-crime-Mario — who sported a more passionate red outfit — in the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise. But it seems Luigi was really just the shy, sensitive type and actually had dreams of his own all along. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/22/lovestruck-luigi-pines-for-princess-peach-ballad/

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What Are the Top 4 Viral Videos of All Time?

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YouTube videos exist so they can be shared. And the Internet, as it always does, delivers plenty — but which ones are the best viral videos? Our new pop culture debate show, Monumental, is all about figuring that out (among other things.) Every Tuesday, we’ll sit down with a group of panelists and determine the top four — a.k.a. “Mount Rushmore” — of a familiar pop culture topic. The panelists will be given eight top contenders to choose from, and through rigorous, totally serious debate, they’ll decide who — or what — should be on the final list. In our first episode, above, YouTube legends Shane Dawson and Roman Atwood sit down with host Elliott Morgan to debate which viral videos are the viral-ist(?) of all time. Here are the eight contenders: 1. Gangnam Style Psy’s dance-heavy classic, released over the summer of 2012, became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views in December 2012. “Gangnam fever” soon followed, with notable figures like Barack Obama, David Cameron and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offering their own interpretations of the dance. 2. Chocolate Rain 3. Rick Astley: “Never Gonna Give You Up” You’ve heard of this one. More appropriately, you’ve fallen victim to this one. English singer-songwriter Rick Astley released the love ballad, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” in 1987. In the early 2000s, it quickly spread as a prank meme: victims would open up a link, supposedly about something completely unrelated, and be surprised with Astley’s video. At least it’s catchy. 4. Sneezing Baby Panda 5. Evolution of Dance Comedian Juddson Laiply (perfectly) performs 12 different popular dances in a row. Enough. Said. 6. Grape Lady Falls 7. Charlie Bit My Finger Maybe it’s their perfect, English-accented diction. Or maybe it’s just because they’re freaking adorable. “Charlie Bit My Finger” hit the web in 2007. At 56 seconds, it’s the most bare-boned video of the bunch — but, come on, it’s a cute kid playfully biting the finger of another cute kid over cute, British-y dialogue. It wins. 8. Leroy Jenkins These are just our top picks. Any you think should have made the cut? Let us know in the comments! Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/19/monumental-viral-videos/

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Conor Maynard Crowdsources Concert Spots With ‘MayniacMap’

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English singer Conor Maynard, whose first album Contrast debuted on top of the UK Albums Chart in August, is tapping into his social media-hungry fan base to help him decide where in the United States he should perform this winter. To determine the five cities in which the 19-year-old will give free concerts, his label EMI Music has created MayniacMap. MayniacMap lets his fans (a.k.a. “Mayniacs”) earn points for their respective cities. Users rack up points by connecting their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr and GetGlue accounts, and performing activities — such as following, Liking, commenting and sharing. So far, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit and Tampa, Fla., have accumulated the most points so far. Maynard hails from Brighton and has experienced a similar rise to fame as Justin Bieber, having built a rabid global audience online with soulful YouTube cover videos starting in 2008 before earning a record deal. “It’s flattering to be compared to someone so big, but we have different sounds,” Maynard tells Mashable. His cover of Ne-Yo’s “Beautiful Monster” eventually caught Ne-Yo’s attention, and the two talked via Skype about Maynard’s future. The chat sparked media buzz in the UK, and EMI’s Parlophone label signed him. Maynard’s music video (watch below) for “Turn Around,” which came out in September, features Ne-Yo. Other musicians have also leveraged their online fans to propel projects. Most recently, American folk band Bon Iver asked people to remix songs from its album Bon Iver, Bon Iver; the songs are now on a Spotify album. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/08/conor-maynard-mayniacmap-concerts/

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DiCaprio and Celebs Ask ‘What’s Important to You in the Election?’

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire want to hear what you’ve got to say. The two stars unveiled a campaign on Monday called Vote4Stuff. It urges voters to use social media to talk about what issues are most critical to them in the upcoming election. A public service announcement went online Monday, asking: “What stuff is important to you?” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonah Hill, Zac Efron, Edward Norton and Ellen Degeneres — among others — also appear in the video. Anyone interested can submit their own 30-second video about their biggest concerns going into the election. Then, selected videos — in addition to tweets, photos or posts directed at Vote4Stuff — will be incorporated into the campaign later in the month. The PSA mentions several potential issues to talk about, including jobs, marriage equality, foreign policy, immigration and education. But DiCaprio and the team are encouraging people to be creative. “Hey, knock us out and we’ll put (the video) in,” Norton says in the announcement. What issues matter most to you in this election? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of Flickr, Tostie14. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/dicaprio-maguire-want-you/

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Fishing Trip: Surprise Run-in With ‘Big-Ass Shark’

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It sounds nice: chilling on the back deck, dropping a fishing line in the water — then this happens. In the immortal words of someone from the freshly uploaded YouTube video above: “It’s a big-ass shark!” The video was uploaded with minimal information by user Sarah Brame and YouTube’s view count hasn’t caught up yet — but this is one fishing tale destined to go viral. Everyone has a “one that got away” story, but Brame’s comes with seemingly authentic video proof. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/11/big-ass-shark/

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Reddit-Powered Travel Show Premieres on YouTube

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Zach Anner’s Reddit-powered cross-country road trip is complete, and finally premiering on YouTube. The series, Riding Shotgun With Zach Anner, is a travel show that evolved from Anner’s former show on the OWN network. The comic won a contest after charming the online communities of Reddit and 4chan with self-deprecating humor that poked fun at his own affliction — cerebral palsy. Anner took to Reddit after the short-lived cable series was cancelled due to poor ratings. The new series is the first to have an official branded subreddit. With help from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Anner and his friends traveled to six cities, suggested by the Reddit community: Montreal, Boston, Baltimore, Blacksburg, Va., Savannah, New Orleans, Denver and Vancouver. After selecting the itinerary, the team sought out local redditors to give their take on each city. Throughout the six-week trip, the guys released teasers of the crazy antics to keep viewers updated on their travels. They did everything from reading romance novels at the filming location of Dirty Dancing to performing on Bourbon Street with the 610 stompers to drinking “dragon’s blood” in Montreal. The new series, which is hosted on YouTube, already has more than two million views and 25,000 subscribers. Anner will host a Reddit AMA on Tuesday at 11 a.m. EST to kick it off. Will you be tuning into Riding Shotgun With Zach Anner? Let us know what you think of the online-powered endeavor in the comments below. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/23/reddit-powered-travel-show/

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10 Black Friday Disasters That Will Convince You to Stay Home

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Black Friday Bedlam 1. Waffle Riot We’ve heard of Bread Riots, Pussy Riots and even Quiet Riots. But this, my friends, is a Waffle Riot. Anarchy reigns as this crowd of Walmart shoppers struggles to get their hands on some $2 waffle irons. 2. Towel Tussle Which do you think was worse: the struggle to get these cheap towels or their friends’ and family members’ disappointed looks with cheap towel gifts? 3. Fightin’ Words Historical trends dictate that people who wear leather jackets tend to be much tougher and more intimidating than the rest of us (maybe). Anyway, check out how this guy goes all ad baculum on a crowd of people outside a Best Buy, when they complain about him cutting the line. 4. Pepper Spray Spree Back to Walmart, where a woman in Los Angeles used pepper spray on a crowd of people, including children, to get her hands on a new Xbox. 5. Brawl at the Mall Can we get Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jim Ross to provide some commentary on this royal rumble? The quality of this video is extremely shoddy, but it contains some pretty shocking footage. 6. Dramatization Here’s what the last clip might have looked like if the videographer had a steadier hand. 7. Bloody Grandpa This grandpa is badly bloodied after police officers tackled him. The police believed the man to be a shoplifter. This raw smartphone footage gives an even better look at the incident, but be forewarned, it includes explicit language. 8. The Peanut Gallery You won’t find shocking violence in this video, but check out the crowd of people who aren’t even there to shop, just to film. 9. Urban Outfitters Urban regions are often over-populated, but at midnight on Black Friday, this Urban Outfitters crams in so many people it looks more like a New York tenement house during the 1860s. 10. In Conclusion Here’s a mashup from Jingle All the Way in which Arnold, the great thespian that he is, manages to perfectly capture the plight of the Black Friday shopper. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/22/black-friday-violence/

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C3-Bieb-O Wants to Be Your Droidfriend

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R2-D2 usually scores all the lady action with his thruster jets and hologram transmitting capabilities, but his droid buddy C-3PO makes a play with a new look and smoother groove. The revamped (and hairier) Threepio adopted the moniker C3-Bieb-O to remix Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend.” The Rebel Alliance-friendly lyrics include gems like: “So give me a chance, I’m God on the Ewok’s world,Spend a week with your droid you’ll be calling me your droid-friend.” Viral Photo Gallery 7 Fake Hurricane Sandy Photos You’re Sharing on Social Media Fake Hurricane Sandy photos flew around Twitter and Facebook on Monday, as users shared jaw-dropping images. Unfortunately, the race to post the most striking pics has most folks skipping the all-important fact check. We’ve gathered up five “Hurricane Sandy” photographs that have spread on the social web, but weren’t actually taken during the massive storm. Obama and Romney Are Your New Dress Up Dolls Still not sure who to vote for? Or maybe you’re dead-set on a candidate, and simply waiting for Election Day next week. Regardless of who you’re voting for on Nov. 6, both of these presidential candidates could use some change — of outfits, that is. The websites Change4Obama and Change4Romney will keep voters entertained until the election. Both sites, created by social discovery site SocialPlex, allow users to dress up Barack Obama or Mitt Romney as various characters. You can mix and match features like hair, eyes, nose and outfits. Your Favorite Logos Reimagined for the Zombie Apocalypse [PICS] There seems to be a craze for reimagining top logos and since this is Halloween, why not rethink them for a zombie apocalypse, right? Assuming that event were to come to pass, here’s what your neighborhood Starbucks and the gas station down the street might look like, as envisioned by artist Ben Fellowes. For more of these horrifying logos, check out his site. New York City Subway Needs a ‘System Restore’ [PIC] Yes, crashed Windows OS, we know the New York City subway system was unable to restart after Hurricane Sandy. And, yes, we would love to run a system restore. After Sandy ravaged the East Coast Monday evening, the subway system in New York City was left crippled. Not immune to inclement weather, the Windows-based display above the 77th Street subway stop seemed to have hit a snag as well. ‘The Walking Dead’ Gets ‘Dear Photograph’ Treatment [PICS] Dear Photograph, a popular nostalgia blog showcasing photos within photos, gave its visitors a terrifying surprise Wednesday: The Walking Dead-inspired posts. Dear Photograph creator Taylor Jones told Mashable he teamed up with FOX International Channels on the Halloween Day images, which folks at The Walking Dead created for their international ad campaign. Each of the two blog posts showcases a zombie and a post-zombie-apocalypse caption. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/01/c3po-justin-bieber-boyfriend-video/

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Radio Personality Mike Francesa Falls Asleep On Air

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Mike Francesa, the polarizing American sports radio talk show host and television commentator, had a nice catnap today. Unfortunately for him, it was while he was on air. During an interview with WFAN Yankees reporter Sweeny Murti, Francesa nodded off for about 50 seconds. At the :53 second mark, magic happens — he wakes up. Donning a look of complete and utter bewilderment, Francesa snaps in alarm after Murti says his name. We’ve provided a GIF of the wondrous moment for you below. Imagine what would have happened if he didn’t wake up until after Murti finished speaking. Then laugh. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/12/mike-francesa-falls-asleep-on-air/

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