What a week! The good folks at Mashable have been working hard to cover the TED talks, the launch of Apple‘s new iPad 2, and the rest of this week’s news. Still, the team has managed to crank out another week’s worth of solid tools and resources.

Here you can find stories on the hardware behind the new iPad 2, digital trends for 2011, how credit cards fit into the future of e-commerce, and a guide to understanding the social media ROI cycle.

Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time.

Editors’ Picks

• How Facebook Supported the Egyptian Revolution
  Documents and reports have surfaced that reveal Facebook’s somewhat active involvement and its support of democracy and civic engagement.
• The Future of the Connected Car
  Things are starting to get exciting in the in-car technology space. We spoke to auto experts to find out what we can look forward to in the near future.
• What 90,000 Hours of Home Video Can Teach Us About Ourselves
  “Imagine if you could record your life … so you can go back and find memorable moments and relive them.” So began the talk at TED from Deb Roy of MIT Media Labs on Wednesday
• iPad 2: The Hardware
  Everything you need to know about the iPad 2′s digital innards.
• Inside One Man’s Kickstarter Quest to Build True Artificial Life
  Imagine creatures made of virtual genes and brain cells that can learn and think for themselves. A-life developer Steve Grand has turned to the crowd to realize his dream.
• Is the Personalization of the Web Making Us Dumber?
  As a Mashable reader, you’re probably well-aware that Facebook’s News Feed and Google’s search results adjust based on your behavior and demonstrated preferences. But are these and the web’s other algorithms making us collectively uninformed as a society?
• 8 Essential Web Typography Resources
  Looking for a font education? Every typophile needs to check out these websites.

Social Media

• 6 Slick Ways to Customize Your Kicks Online [PICS]
  We’ve found six online solutions that will help you design funky footwear that’s unique to you. So why not show off a bit of your creativity and stand out from the rest of the boringly shod crowd?
• Facebook’s Growing Role in Social Journalism
  Journalism has had a wary relationship with social media, but how has Facebook played a larger role in helping journalists connect, report, and share?
• The Oscars and the Death of the Water Cooler
  Awards shows like the Oscars represent a rare opportunity for marketers to be part of the discussion, but they have to move fast.
• HOW TO: Implement a Social Good Campaign on Facebook
  We’ve outlined five ways to take advantage of these elements, whether you want to register as a charity or just lend a digital hand.
• The Oscars Social Media by the Numbers
  How did social media and TV viewers see the 2011 Academy Awards? A look at the numbers reveals some surprising insights.
• How MTV Is Marrying Digital Design Social Good
  We sat down with one of the finalists of the MTV “Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge” to get a peak inside the process.
• Introducing Mashable’s Growing Advertising Team
  Ad Age wrote about the new direction of our advertising strategy. Meet the new faces behind this strategy.
• Bill Gates Talks About Knowledge Revolution at TED
  Here you can watch a replay of discussion and analysis of Bill Gates’s talk at TED.
• Giant Graphic Commemorates SXSW’s 25th Birthday [INFOGRAPHIC]
  South by Southwest turns 25 this year, here’s an infographic commemorating — and celebrating — its beginnings.
• 5 Fresh Digital Media Trends to Watch
  A list of five emerging trends in content creation, curation and distribution, and the business models that underline their development.
• Flaming Lips Plan To Release New Songs Via Gummi Skulls [INTERVIEW]
  Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne took some time to sit down with Mashable.
• How Semantic Search Is Redefining Traditional Social Media
  A look at how semantic search is affecting a few key industries that rely heavily on storing, understanding and mining large amounts of data.
• HOW TO: Start #WINNING at Twitter [COMIC]
  Having trouble gaining Twitter clout? Take a cue from the newest member of the 1-million-followers club.

For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Tech Mobile

• 10 Fun Headphone Cable Management Solutions [PICS]
  We’ve found 10 fun and reasonably-priced cable management options to help you store your headphones neatly or keep them tidy on the go.
• Good, Better, Best: 3 Free iPhone Apps for Finding Cheap Gas
  Gas prices have risen drastically this week, but if you have an iPhone and one of the three free apps we found, you might save some money.
• How Cloud Computing Web Services Are Changing the IT Job Market
  Unlike traditional software products, cloud and web services revolve around content, monetization and data. This means desired skill sets will move away from hands-on technical work to include managerial talents and user-experience knowledge.
• HOW TO: Use Your iPad as a Digital Frame for Facebook Photos [VIDEO]
  Pixable co-founder Andres Blank stopped by Mashable HQ recently to give a demo.
• 9 Apps To Make You Super Productive on Windows, Mac Linux
  Reached the peak of your productivity on Windows, Mac and Linux? Not if you haven’t tried these productivity-enhancing timesavers.
• 6 Mobile Games That Beat Playing on a Console
  Phone-based games have come a long way since Snake. The International Mobile Gaming Award winners were the most innovative on any device.
• Apple’s iPad 2 Launch: What You Need To Know [VIDEO]
  A live-blog and break down of Apple’s iPad 2 launch features.
• What’s New in iOS 4.3
  In addition to the iPad 2, Apple will also be releasing iOS 4.3.
• How Does the iPad 2 Compare to the Tablet Competition? [INFOGRAPHIC]
  A visual look at how the iPad 2 compares to other tablet devices.
• Riding in the Google Car That Drives Itself [VIDEO]
  Go for a white-knuckled ride in this self-driving car. Unforgettable.
• Untapped Opportunity: Exploring the Arab Video Game Market
  Why are Western companies so slow to penetrate the Middle Eastern game markets, and what can they do to ensure success?
• 4 Hot Social Gaming Trends to Watch
  Here’s a look at four of the biggest social gaming trends discussed at the Game Developers’ Conference, 2011.
• Is This a Robot or Human? [VIDEO]
  Behold, the most real-looking robot ever created. It looks so human, you might think it’s some guy imitating a robot.
• 4 Hot Social Gaming Trends to Watch
  Here’s a look at four of the biggest social gaming trends discussed at the Game Developers’ Conference, 2011.

For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Business

• 3 Podcast Success Stories from Creative Small Businesses
  If done right, a podcast can reach the right people in your industry, establish your company as a thought leader, connect you with your customers and reach people on their own schedules.
• 4 Innovative Ways to Use Web Video for Small Business
  It’s good to know that video can make a difference for small business, even if you’re a video greenhorn. We found four businesses that had real world success thanks to video.
• 6 Top Tips For Managing a Coworking Space
  Experienced coworking organizers talk about their essential tips for how to offer a better coworking space including layout, getting people engaged and building a community.
• 10 Ways to Turn Your Local Business Into a Global Success
  Here are 10 tips that any local business owner can use to target people everywhere, take your website global, and (just maybe) take over the world.
• How Brands Are Using Instagram to Reach New Audiences
  From Instagram to Picplz, Pose to Path, photo-sharing apps have become something of a phenomenon among smartphone wielders over the last few months — and where users go, brands are quick to follow.
• Creative Constraint: Why Tighter Boundaries Propel Greater Results
  Here are some examples and ways you can make creative constraint work for you and your business.
• Why Credit Cards Are Not the Future of Online Payment
  As web and mobile payment systems gain traction, the use of actual plastic declines. Here’s a look at the trends.
• Understanding the Social Media ROI Cycle
  Lots of companies can set up a presence on the “big 4″ social networks, but how many are really optimizing engagement and converting it into sales?
• 4 Facebook E-Commerce Tips for Brands
  Here are four tips to help businesses of any size begin generating revenue on Facebook.
• Why the Search Marketing Industry Must Adapt or Perish
  With Google cracking down on content farms and the rise of social networking, search results will have less to do with gaming the system and more to do with you, the user.

For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Image courtesy of Webtreats Etc.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/SocialMedia/~3/3DV0gc-cWlg/