In the midst of what seems like a never-ending series of natural disasters, humanitarian crises and massive geopolitical events, a new project based in New York is tackling the issue of empathy and finding ways of making it more lasting…by giving people tattoos of trending topics from Twitter.

And there’s a twist: you don’t get to pick which one you get. Followers of the Social Tattoo Project vote for their favourite, for example #poverty or #haiti, and the volunteer has the hashtag etched onto their skin. Permanently.

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Naughty, naughty. LinkedIn has decided to opt in its 100m users to a default setting where names and images can be used for third-party advertising, taking the lead from Facebook with its habit of quietly changing privacy settings with no rush to notify users.

Four days of violence, rioting and looting in London, Birmingham, Manchester and other parts of the UK have seen frenzied exchanges of information, rumour and analysis on Twitter, leading to a record-breaking spike in traffic.

Recent graduate with a patchy work history? LinkedIn is adding new features to help students present a fuller picture of their talents and achievements than the platform currently allows.

Infographics are transforming the way we see data, shifting us away from boring, stuffy tables and towards beautiful graphics which communicate complex ideas in a clear and simple way. If you’re a real data visualisation enthusiast, get ready to drool over Visual.ly. Read more »

Love Wimbledon – but hate the grunts? The BBC has launched a new tool to silence the screams, roars and shrieks from Centre Court that listeners find so distracting.

Wikipedia has decided its editors need to feel a little bit more valued. So it’s introducing ‘a simple experiment in appreciation’ called WikiLove which could see contributors who do a good job being sent a picture of a pint of beer (or a kitten for the ladies).

Why should your enjoyment of an exhibition end when you leave the gallery? Why should words and images in your messages be kept separate? And why should tweets exist only as text? I keep spotting new ways that people and organisations are extending the artistic experience through smartphones and tablets, and they’re not just educational but lots of fun.

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Block’em logoA new app which aims to put an end to young people being bullied via their mobiles is being backed by children’s charity the NSPCC.

The Ministry of Defence is launching a campaign to warn soldiers and their families about the risks of using social media.