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I don’t need no stinking Timeline

May 17th, 2012
Allan Maurer

By Allan Maurer Facebook users don’t much care for its Timeline feature, which it touted much the way Steve Jobs did the first iPad. A new study from Attensity, a provider of social analytics and engagement applications, says the results of its analysis of public reaction in social media to the new Facebook Timeline format for profile pages, ...

Why did GM drop its Facebook advertising?

May 17th, 2012
Facebook

On the eve of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO), the markets are contemplating why auto manufacturer General Motors decided abruptly yesterday to terminate advertising on Facebook. WordStream Inc., a provider of search engine marketing software and services, has released new research comparing the value of Facebook advertising to Google’s Display Network. That’s the portion of ...

Which cities have the most social media savvy businesses?

May 17th, 2012
Frisco

Topping the list of most social small business cities in the U.S. on the just released Radius Social Small Business Report: San Francisco and Los Angeles, as West Coast cities overall ranked higher than their East Coast counterparts. New York ranked #7, while other major East Coast cities, such as Boston, and NC Research Triangle cities ...

Most IT pros view social media sites as a security risk

May 17th, 2012
InformationWeek

A large majority – 86 percent – of IT pros surveyed by InformationWeek’s 2012 Strategic Security Survey view social media sites as a security risk. Malware infection via malicious links, however, ranked as the top threat. Fully half of the 946 respondents to the survey cited identity and password management as the most valuable security ...

Private equity firms increasing employment at portfolio companies

May 17th, 2012
McGladrey

Amid difficult economic conditions, private equity firms have become increasingly focused on improving strategy and operations at their portfolio companies as a means of creating value, according to the  McGladrey LLP, fourth annual survey of private equity (PE) executives. In fact, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of firms reported that they have generally increased employment at their ...

Local mobile and online ad spending expected to double in five years

May 17th, 2012
BIA Kelsey

According to BIA/Kelsey’s Media Ad View reports, local advertising spending will experience a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 percent between 2011 and 2016, with revenues climbing from around $132 billion to more than $150 billion. BIA/Kelsey, adviser to companies in the local media space, expects spending to increasingly shift from traditional media and direct advertising to digital alternatives. ...

Are we wired for mobile learning? (infographic)

May 16th, 2012
mobile devices

Today’s students are “digital natives” who grew up connected. And mobile digital devices are like extensions of their hands. They’re wired for mobile learning, says Voxy.com. It created this infographic: Via: Voxy Blog

Companies looking to the cloud to protect against data loss

May 16th, 2012
cloud

More than half (55%) of U.S. organizations expect their use of the cloud to increase as part of their business continuity and data protection strategy over the next year, according to the survey commissioned by CA Technologies Canadian organizations are starting to make the switch but are less advanced than their American counterparts, with a ...

U.S. job market needs more fuel from small businesses

May 16th, 2012

Revving the U.S. job engine requires more fuel from small businesses. This is according to a report released today by TD Economics, an affiliate of TD Bank. Two and a half years following the end of Great Recession, hiring rates are still very low, but the number of people separating from their jobs – quitting or being ...

“Social Network” writer Aaron Sorkin to helm Steve Jobs bio pic

May 16th, 2012
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Aaron Sorkin, the writer who penned “The Social Network,” about Facebook’s rise, and “The West Wing,” will write and direct a film based on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. Hollywood has been hot to jump on the Jobs mania bandwagon since his death. Ashton Kutcher is staring in the unauthorized “Jobs,” a ...

Mobile open source projects surge, most for Android

May 16th, 2012
Linux mobile penguin

More than 10,000 new mobile open source projects were launched in 2011 bringing the cumulative total to over 18,000, according to the Black Duck KnowledgeBase. The database includes over 600,000 projects from more than 5,000 sites, and is updated with thousands of new projects on a regular basis. The surge in new projects reflects twofold growth ...

Do you know how to reach the five types of digital moms?

May 16th, 2012
Digital moms

Digitally connected moms can be divided into five types, each with different spheres of influencers, motivations, and preferences when connecting and sharing with others via social networks. That’s according to a study released today by MWW Group, one of the top ten global independent public relations firms. The study is based on a survey conducted ...

BYOD can be a competitive advantage, IT managers say

May 16th, 2012
BT

Many of us use our own smartphones, tablets and laptops for both work and personal use – which a majority of IT managers believe is a good thing, even though it makes them nervous. Over 80 per cent of IT managers think that enterprises with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy hold a competitive ...

Google offers advertisers more value than Facebook (infographic)

May 15th, 2012
Facebook

With Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) just around the corner, many are wondering if the company can live up to its enormous valuation of approximately $100 billion. Accordingly, WordStream Inc., a provider of search engine marketing software and services, has released new research comparing the value of Facebook advertising to Google’s Display Network – the ...

Half of iPhone users say they’re likely to buy an Apple iTV

May 15th, 2012
Apple

You can’t say Apple product owners are not loyal to the brand. As speculation surrounding the possible launch of an “iTV” from Apple continues to mount, new research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices (CHD) advisory service shows that nearly half of existing iPhone users would be very or somewhat likely to buy an ...

Brands need to personalize interactions with consumers

May 15th, 2012
 RelationalCapitalGroup

Consumers judge and behave toward brands in much the same way they do toward other people and social groups. That means that automating and outsourcing interactions with consumers is a bad idea. So says The Relational Capital Group (RCG) in its ground-breaking brand research in collaboration with renowned social psychologists at Princeton University and University of Louvain has ...

20 good reasons to switch to Google+ (infographic)

May 15th, 2012
Google Plus

I’ve been using Google+ more than Facebook lately for a lot of reasons. For one thing, Google+ doesn’t use an algorithm to decide who sees your posts or who’s you see. For another, it’s much more responsive to business-related posts. But I suppose the reason I like it so much is that you can vastly ...

Five megatrends driving tech M&A as overall deal volume falls

May 15th, 2012
Ernst & Young

Technology merger & acquisition activity slowed in the first quarter of 2012, but not as much as in other industries, according to Ernst & Young’s Global technology M&A update: January–March 2012 report. The report says five megatrends – smart mobility, cloud computing, social networking, big data analytics and convergence maintain a positive outlook for tech M&A. The biggest ...

Are brands too unconcerned about social media opinion?

May 15th, 2012
social media

Increasing numbers of U.S. and European firms now monitor social media for opinions expressed about their companies – but overall express only low to moderate concern over how those opinions might affect their business. We suspect that may lead to problems for some of them down the road. As Joellyn “Joey” Sargent, principal at BrandSprout, a strategic marketing ...

U.S. & European CFOs optimistic despite obstacles

May 15th, 2012
FEI

Chief Financial Officers still see a tough road ahead, but nevertheless have a strong outlook, according to the most recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. CFOs in Europe and the United States have increased optimism in the global economy and their businesses, with fewer concerns over inflation, oil and ...