What would it mean to document instances of sexual violence in real time, as these assaults are unfolding? And what would it mean to do this for an area of the world that is currently restricted to outsiders, including journalists and human rights workers?

That’s exactly what the organizers of Women Under Siege Syria are asking, and are attempting to answer with their groundbreaking crowd-mapping initiative at WomenUnderSiegeSyria.crowdmap.com. They’re collecting the personal experiences and secondhand reports of the sexualized violence taking place in Syria as the year-long protests for democratic reform rage on. And they’re using the software Ushahidi — named after the Swahili word for “testimony” — to put these reports on a map, so that the crisis can become visual and real for audiences all over the world.

Harvard University is at the head of the class when it comes to using social media to connect with students, potential applicants and the community, beating out University of Pennsylvania and MIT for the top spot.

Social media consulting company Sociagility revealed a list of which of the 25 highest-ranked universities in both the U.S. and UK are best at using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Sociagility selected which schools to analyze based on the 2011 – 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Twitter handles associated with Anonymous are suggesting that “Operation Blackout,” a rumored attempt to shut down the Internet scheduled for March 31, was never an officially sanctioned plan.

Operation Blackout calls for a highly-focused Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on what it said are the Internet’s 13 root Domain Name System (DNS) servers. It was announced in February as a protest against SOPA, Wall Street and “our irresponsible leaders and the beloved bankers who are starving the world.”

The World at Work is powered by GE. This new series highlights the people, projects and startups that are driving innovation and making the world a better place.

Name: Reward Volunteers

Big Idea: An app for volunteers to log time, share what they’re doing and earn rewards for themselves and the organizations they serve.

Why It’s Working: Users clock in volunteer time so they can focus on doing more good and less on keeping track of hours. The more hours logged and activity shared, the greater chance both volunteers and organizations have to win cash and prizes.

The late Steve Jobs may be as venerated within the company he founded as he is outside it. But that doesn’t mean his successor is suffering by comparison.

In fact, according to anonymous employee posts on the employer reviews website Glassdoor, Cook has the highest approval rating of any CEO in tech — indeed, any CEO in the U.S. — a whopping 97%.

That’s a small but significant step above Jobs, who garnered 95% approval during his final year in the CEO role. (Cook’s year includes the months he was officially filling in for Jobs while the founder was on medical leave.)

Now if you’re trying to figure out how to get to your job interview or dinner with friends you can also account for what route might be the fastest. Google Maps has added the ability to see the estimated time of your journey using real-time traffic data.

The new-and-improved feature offers estimated travel times within Google Maps based on current traffic conditions. So, if you’re heading across town to meet a new yoga instructor you’ll be able to see how long several routes might take with no traffic, as well as how long the expedition might be based on the traffic conditions right now.

Mashable’s first weekly photo challenge is complete, and the photos are in. We asked you to show us What’s in Your Laptop Bag?

Photos were taken with a range of different devices — which is an important aspect of our weekly challenge. Whether your camera of choice is a $3,000 DSLR or an iPhone, we’re interested in what you have to show us with your photography.

Check back tomorrow for our next challenge.

SEE ALSO: Canon 5D Mark II Leapsfrogs iPhone 4 as Most Popular Camera on FlickrHave a look through through items our readers don’t leave home without.  Do any of these bags resemble your own?

Minutes after the historic Apollo 11 mission launched in July 1969, its five F-1 engines were discharged and dropped safely into the Atlantic Ocean. For more than 40 years, no one knew exactly where they landed.

Until now. Until Jeff Bezos.

The Amazon CEO announced in a blog post that a team of “undersea pros” found the engines 14,000 below sea level on the floor of the Atlantic. Now, he says, “we’re making plans to raise one or more of them” back to dry land.

Your iPhone 4S has a beautiful touchscreen retina display. But who cares about that when Siri can do everything for you by voice command?

This reverse iPhone case covers the smartphone’s screen, revealing only the home button. That way, Siri leaves you no choice but to interact with her. Muahahahahaha!

Designed and sold by 3D printing company Shapeways, the Siri case retails for $90.

Outside the Village Voice‘s New York headquarters Thursday, hundreds of protesters demanded the online publication end its adult section called Backpage.com.

The protesters delivered more than 200,000 online signatures on a Change.org petition, “Tell Village Voice Media to Stop Child Sex Trafficking on Backpage.com.”

According to the National Association of Attorneys General, Backpage is the top website for human trafficking in the U.S., citing cases in 22 states. Nineteen U.S. Senators, 51 attorneys general and 53 anti-trafficking experts and organizations have called for the Village Voice to shut down the site.

HarperCollins released a new iPad app Thursday that will set you off on a 3D exploration through space using high-resolution visuals specifically optimized for the new iPad’s Retina display.

Called Wonders of the Universe, the iPad application incorporates 210 full-color articles, hundreds of photos and two and a half hours of video from Brian Cox’s award-winning series of the same name into a single space discovery app.

If you’ve lost interest in March Madness — or you’re just ignoring your bracket due to numerous upsets — you can throw caution to the wind and place bets on Internet memes instead!

In the spirit of basketball season, Memebase has been running Meme Madness all month, and it’s now down to the final four.

SEE ALSO: 29 Meme-Inspired Movie Posters [PICS]

Thursday’s face-off is between Business Cat and Sixties Spiderman. The Bronies and Trollface are also still in the running. Whichever meme gets the most Facebook shares in a 24-hour period will move on to the next round.

Five different candidates for president means five very different economic plans. But whose would really benefit you?

You can find out with Politify, a new online tool that encourages users to “rethink democracy.”

Politify is simple: Enter your income, martial status, age, ZIP code, number of children and students in your household (“don’t worry, we won’t share this” says the site). Politify crunches the numbers and shows you the exact effect each presidential candidate’s economic blueprint would have on your personal finances.

If you thought Katniss Everdeen was hardcore, meet explorer Aleksander Gamme, who spent 100 days crossing the South Pole by himself. By day 86, however, it seems like the guy is on his last leg.

Gamme’s speaking Norwegian — and if you really want to know what he’s saying, it’s been translated on Reddit — but keep watching until 0:55 when the video captures his extremely emotional delight over a secret stash of Cheez Doodles and candy.

Seriously, this guy is pumped about his snacks. And who can blame him?

Radio and TV host Ryan Seacrest is a man of many talents. Now he apparently can add Draw Something illustrator to his impressive résumé after drawing Lady Gaga using the popular mobile game.

Seacrest posted his creation of the pop megastar Thursday on Facebook, where it gained 3,000 Likes in just 30 minutes.

The drawing resembles early Gaga when she rocked platinum blonde hair and sparkly black shades during her “Just Dance” days in 2008 and 2009. Seacrest wrote “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAGA!” on his illustration.

Gaga — born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta — turned 26 on Wednesday.