A seven-year-old girl left this note on her parents’ computer desk. They are considering password-protecting the computer. I can laugh because this is not my child, but if it were, she’d find out what a nightmare life can really be! Link -via HuffPo

Remember the jaw-dropping vinyl record tricks we showed you Wednesday? Well, they’re still amazing. The video is real. But the reason given for the making of it is not.

The five guys in the video repeatedly claimed to have done those stunts purely as a cure for “boredom”. That wasn’t exactly true — in fact, vinyl video star Jason Richardson tells Mashable, this is an unbranded guerilla marketing campaign for the app MusicBunk

When originally pitching the video, Richardson and his team shared a link from various Gmail accounts, each purporting to show “a video he made with some of his roommates and friends.” The video received no paid distribution, and its audience — more than 400,000 views, at last count — are completely organic.

SEE ALSO: 10 Excellent Examples of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns [VIDEOS]

As the video caught on, other major media outlets reached out to Richardson and his friends. When asked why they made the video, the reply was always “boredom” or “it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

In reality, the video was created and produced over the course of two days by Conscious Minds, of which Richardson is the creative producer. The stars of the film are friends, not actors.

“I don’t feel like we tricked anyone,” says Richardson, “We told you a story about what happened, and we left you to figure out what MusicBunk is.

“The brand discovery is something we left the users, and the consumers and the blogs to figure out whether or not they made that connection.”

According to Richardson, commenters picked up on the subtle trail of MusicBunk advertisements scattered throughout the video and YouTube page.

“It’s more about entertaining people and it’s not necessarily your typical PR pitch,” says Richardson.

Regardless, the video is still impressive — and according to Richardson, effective. Though he could not release definitive numbers, the subtle ad is apparantly paying off.

“All of the expectations are more than met on the launch of the app so far,” says Richardson.

The app lets you view your friends’ playlists and what songs they’re listening to. It also allows you to post comments, send them to Facebook and Twitter, and check out new music straight from the app.

Do you think the video would have caught as much attention if its makers had been upfront? Sound off in the comments.

More About: Advertising, guerilla marketing, Media, Vinyl Records, viral

Photo: Bo Barker J?rgensen

It may sound like the plot of a Syfy movie, but it's real: scientists have discovered that bacteria can survive being buried for 86-million-years in deep-sea mud.

The scientists jammed a large metal pipe 30 meters into the sea bottom and used a piston to suck out a long column of reddish clay. After hauling the sediment onboard, they probed the core with a needlelike sensor to measure the oxygen concentration in each layer. The researchers knew how much oxygen should have diffused down into each section of sediment from the seawater, so any "missing" oxygen meant microbes had consumed it.

Moving deeper through the core is like moving back in time, studying older and older communities of microorganisms. "We can use the Pacific as a natural experiment that has been running for 86 million years," R?y says.

The film star, director and author breaks the news to the star of the Social Network.

Click here to view this gallery.

In case you’ve been living under that metaphorical rock these past several weeks, Facebook‘s much anticipated IPO happens on Friday. The Facebook IPO will mark the final step in the evolution of Mark Zuckerberg‘s social networking baby, all the way from Harvard dorm room to publicly traded company.

Facebook’s (FB on the Nasdaq market) official IPO share price was officially set on Thursday. Hundreds of Facebookers will become millionaires once the stock becomes tradable, and many observers have ideas for how they can avoid common pitfalls of the newly rich.

Others have speculated that Facebook could — just possibly — become the world’s first trillion dollar company one day. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin made news this week when it was revealed that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship, which helped him sidestep millions upon millions of dollars in capital gains taxes.

And then, of course, there are the folks who got out of Facebook at just the wrong time.

As IPO angst and anticipation crested Thursday techies, comedians, writers and everyday Americans took — ironically enough — to Twitter to weigh in and riff. Some jokingly lamented the effect a new crop of IPO millionaires would have on real estate prices.

Some poked fun at the company’s past foibles and potential for future failure. Others were just plain off the wall. Scroll through the gallery above for a few of Mashable‘s favorite tweets.

And if you’re still not clear just what exactly an IPO is or means, watch our video primer below to get up to speed for tomorrow’s action.

What exactly is an IPO? What are the risks to a company in going public? What are the legal requirements?

If you find the business terms and market lingo confusing, check out our explainer video, which breaks down an IPO in plain language.

Thumbnail image modified, courtesy Robert Scoble, Flickr.

More About: Facebook, facebook ipo, Twitter

If there was ever any doubt that the next generation Galaxy S wouldn’t be a hit, the Korea Economic Daily is reporting that Samsung has received a total of 9 million global pre-orders for the Galaxy S3 (that’s like, the entire population of New Jersey), solidifying the Korean manufacturer as the top selling smartphone maker in the world.

This information comes from an anonymous Samsung official who also mentioned that Samsung’s smartphone factory is running at full steam to keep up the potential demand, churning out 5 million units per month. That’s a whole lotta Galaxies. I wonder which color will be most popular?

[Reuters]

Screen Junkies brings us a painfully honest trailer for the movie Transformers, telling you all the revelations the real trailer ignored. Language slightly NSFW. -via The Daily What Geek

You’ve likely heard that the secret to building relationships with your customers is to “be everywhere your customers are.” As a result, you’ve probably signed up for a dozen social networks hoping that just showing up will turn out to be enough.

SEE ALSO: How to Maximize Your Facebook Engagement

But being everywhere is only the beginning. It turns out that online, just like in real life, the key to building relationships is trust. Cultivating trust online is tricky and takes work, but is by no means impossible. When you respond to your customers in the right way, you earn that trust and build the foundation for a real, long-term relationship. Here’s what you need to consider as you do that.

Also, when a customer has a good experience with your brand, amplify it. Thank them and then share their feedback socially. Not only do you validate their emotion, you also create the opportunity to connect with the members of your community that might have the same feeling or problem, but haven’t made it known.

In order for a customer to find a channel that works, you have to make sure that all the conversations people are having about your brand are accessible anywhere your customers are. From there, they need to be able to access information and conversations about products, customer service, and community. That way, your customers are able to find like-minded people and can jump in on any conversation on any platform.

For Intuit’s TurboTax that means offering a robust library of help documents created by the company, but the site also includes a “Live Community” widget that invites people to get help from a community of tax experts and users. Every customer experience is converted to valuable insight that can influence prospects, customers, and onlookers alike. What’s more, the community is a testament to the brand’s values: Offering a DIY tax experience that’s accessible and easy for everyone.

Of course, you still need to produce and share content. It’s not time to ditch the company blog or stopping sending original tweets. It is time to recognize that the conversations within your community actually turn into knowledge. Ultimately, your community is a living FAQ.

StumbleUpon’s team could have easily said no to Hartman, but instead, they were inspired by Hartman’s enthusiasm and explored a new use for their product. It required cross-departmental collaboration and an investment of resources, but it was also a priceless marketing opportunity that earned the company ample news coverage across the web.

Ultimately, real relationships are a two-way street, and your customers know that. Trust is the foundation of a relationship, but to keep that relationship going, you need to prove that you earned it, every day and everywhere.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mikkelwilliam

More About: contributions, customer engagement, features, online marketing

The Grill Sergeant BBQ Apron – $19.95

Do you consider grilling to be a combat sport? You need the Grill Sergeant BBQ Apron from the NeatoShop. This medal worthy apron includes:

Winning the war against the grill just became a whole lot easier.

Father’s Day is June 17th. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Father’s Day gift ideas!

Link 

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“An eyewitness reported to the regional rescue service that there was a man in the chute … The rescuers’ crew found a man, who was stuck at the fifth floor, in the garbage disposal,” a spokeswoman for the emergency services said.

Pictures released by the emergency services showed the glum-looking man sitting helplessly in the chute before he was cut out.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the man to make such a desperate attempt to flee his girlfriend.

Link | Photo (unrelated) via tootao

Stealing from shops by stuffing things in pockets is easy for thieves, but stealing guitars by stuffing them down your pants? Now that takes skillz:

Authorities say two men entered the Spencer's Music Store at 1717 S. Mur-Len Rd. in Olathe about 2:30 p.m. April 12. One suspect distracted the salesperson while the other suspect placed a guitar down his pants, then left the store.

Jeff Tice, Spencer's owner, said he noticed the guitar had been stolen.

"I looked up and saw an empty spot on the wall and no one was playing it in the store. So I realized it was not in the store," Tice said.

He checked his surveillance video and discovered the thieves stole two guitars worth more than $5,000.

"You can't make that up," Tice said. "It's huge."

Link - via Arbroath