Amazon is recruiting social media celebrities to start their own stores on its site

Amazon is seeking social media celebrities.

The online shopping giant quietly launched a new program this week in which influencers with “large followings” can apply to host their own stores on its site in exchange for a commission on products sold.

TechCrunch first reported the news on Friday.

SEE ALSO: The latest crop of #Influencers are lurking at your local Best Buy

The program, currently in its beta testing stage, appears to be a more exclusive version of Amazon’s existing affiliating marketing service. The latter allows anyone to earn a cut of sales profits by posting product links in blogs or websites, launching customized stores and otherwise promoting goods on the site.  Read more…

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MashTalk: Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is here, but does it live up to all the hype?

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After months of daily leaks, Samsung finally announced its next flagship Android phones, the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Do the new phones live up to their hype and can they restore confidence in Samsung after the disastrous Galaxy Note 7? Mashable Tech Editor Pete Pachal, Chief Correspondent Lance Ulanoff, and Senior Tech Correspondent Raymond Wong weigh in on this week’s MashTalk podcast.

SEE ALSO: Samsung’s Galaxy S8 has a killer feature that nobody’s talking about

New smartphone releases can feel underwhelming these days with most annual releases being only slightly better versions of the previous. Read more…

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What happened to our ‘Grimm’ favorites after the series finale?

Spoiler warning: This interview contains plot details for the series finale of Grimm.

After six seasons and 123 episodes, Grimm came to a close Friday night. As a fan throughout the show’s run, I was sad to see it go, especially since so many other genre shows are wrapping up this season (The Vampire Diaries, Bates Motel, Teen Wolf). But Grimm is going out at the top of its game. The last two seasons have been stellar, with a good mix of standalone stories and mythology episodes. 

For the uninitiated, Grimm follows Nick Burkhardt, a Portland homicide detective. He discovers he is a Grimm, one of a long line of hunters who fights supernatural creatures, known as Wesen, that are eerily reminiscent of fairy tale creatures. But let’s be honest: if you’re reading this, you’re familiar with the show. So let’s talk about that series finale.  Read more…

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Major ISPs now say they won’t sell your browsing history. Yeah. Right.

Internet service providers are in an awkward spot. After getting all dressed up for the sell-your-data dance, it turns out they’ll be staying home. 

Or so they claim.

Reuters reports that representatives from Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T all came out today to assure worried consumers that the companies will not in fact sell customers’ browsing histories to the highest bidder. 

“We do not sell our broadband customers’ individual web browsing history,” writes Comcast Chief Privacy Officer Gerard Lewis on the company’s blog. ”We did not do it before the FCC’s rules were adopted, and we have no plans to do so.”   Read more…

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Originally syndicated from Major ISPs now say they won’t sell your browsing history. Yeah. Right.

Qatar Airways launches smart workaround for electronics ban

Electronics ban be damned, Qatar Airways is going to get its hard-working business travelers typing away on laptops no matter what.

Less than a week after U.S. officials banned electronics larger than a smartphone on certain U.S.-bound flights from certain Middle East and Africa airports, the Doha-based airliner figured out how to get out of the snarly mess that is the ban.

SEE ALSO: U.S. bans laptops and iPads on airlines from multiple countries

The airline is offering loaner laptops since in-flight entertainment systems just don’t cut it for people traveling for work. Writing up reports or endless work emails on a smartphone is headache — sometimes you just need the real thing. That performance report isn’t going to write itself during your 15-hour flight.  Read more…

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Livestream of a pregnant cat isn’t a marketing stunt, so relax and wait for kittens

The end of March is hell as we sift through each morsel of content to determine what is real and what is a marketing stunt. Looking at you, April the giraffe.

And dammit, we deserve kittens. This livestream with a cat who actually appears to be pregnant has stepped in to provide a cuddly distraction. Her name is Evolene, and she’s stunning. 

SEE ALSO: This transparent bowl swing is what cat dreams are made of

Here she is just sitting and breathing: 

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She has some pretty cool toys, but she’s not trying to sell them to you.

According to Tiny Kittens, the shelter behind the livestream, Evolene was pregnant and in poor health when they rescued her from a feral cat colony. Now that she’s in prelabor, they hope the livestream will raise awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering.  Read more…

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Hey Crayola, quit dragging on this elaborate crayon saga. We’ve had enough.

Cut the crap, Crayola. You can’t just declare war on all of our childhoods and then drag it on foreverrrrrrr. Have a freaking heart.

In case you’ve been lucky enough to miss the straight-up drama that is Crayola-gate 2017, we’ll fill you in. For the past two weeks, the formerly innocent art supply company has taken fans on a wild and emotionally taxing ride, messing with history and crushing the hopes and dreams of aspiring young artists everywhere.

What began with a ruthless announcement declaring a single crayon from the classic 24-pack would be retired on Mar. 31 (a.k.a. National Crayon Day,) soon spiraled out of control into a mess of social media warfare, a disappointing promotional event and ultimately, a whole bunch of unanswered questions. Read more…

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The software that could prevent ISPs from selling your browsing history could also just make things worse

Pour another one out for online privacy. Then do a half-assed job of mopping it back up with a virtual private network. 

In what is only the latest assault on the right not to be creeped on, both the House and the Senate voted to permit internet service providers to sell customers’ browsing history to the highest bidder — all without the customers’ knowledge. In response to this, virtual private network (VPNs) have become the talk of the digital town. 

VPNs work by encrypting your traffic and running it through a third party server. That way, anyone snooping on your web browsing would theoretically just see an encrypted connection to your VPN provider — not mashable.com, not plannedparenthood.org, and definitely not Pornhub.  Read more…

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Business is booming for viral star April, the very pregnant giraffe

April the giraffe has been expecting a baby for more than a year, but it wasn’t until near the end of her very long pregnancy that people all over the world started to notice her.

The overdue giraffe at Harpursville, New York’s Animal Adventure Park has been the star of a livestream since early February, with hundreds of thousands of viewers watching her stand in her pen with her bulging belly. It’s been an opportunity ripe for monetisation.

SEE ALSO: April the giraffe’s unborn baby is a cash giraffe

In addition to the spoofs, conspiracy theories and plenty of online chatter (she has her own hashtag #GiraffeWatch), April now has her own website, crowdfunding campaign, emoji collection for purchase, sponsorships and official merchandise galore. Read more…

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Originally syndicated from Business is booming for viral star April, the very pregnant giraffe