Social Media

Rumors have been flying wildly since Facebook sent out a press invitation for an announcement Nov. 15 in San Francisco. At 10 a.m. on Monday, Facebook representatives -- perhaps CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself -- are expected to announce something big in conjunction with the Web 2.0 Summit. Zuckerberg i...

It's been more than a decade since the publication of the The Clue Train Manifesto -- a business classic, well ahead of its time. Rich with both insight and foresight, it still amazes me that it was written before Twitter, Facebook and YouTube -- and, as business leaders, as marketers and as technol...

Many of the most popular applications on Facebook have been transmitting identifying information -- names of users and, in some cases, the names of their friends -- to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. Developers are not permitted to disclos...

The new Internet is full of extraordinary companies that looked at the market from a different angle and created entirely new approaches to the changing Web. Zynga, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and 1-800-Flowers.com have all seen and seized the massive opportunity of a new Internet driven by social net...

Twitter Cofounder Evan Williams has stepped aside as CEO and placed Dick Costolo, the man he hired as chief operating officer, in charge of the company as it works to build its business model. "I am most satisfied while pushing product direction," Williams wrote in a blog post announcing his decisio...

Not very long ago, both social media and e-commerce were new and innovative. Now, they're simply elements of today's marketing mix -- part of the fabric of how you reach your customer engagement and revenue objectives. During the slow economic recovery, it has become business-critical to conduct mor...

Many businesses have begun to use some form of user-generated content on their sites, and while this content can help to build a brand and develop a community, there is some risk involved. Some of the issues requiring management and moderation include abusive language, spam attacks, dilution of keyw...

Twitter on Wednesday launched its @earlybird service, aimed at providing its some 75 million members with daily deals and creating a revenue stream for itself. The first offering from the service was a discount on tickets to see the critically panned movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from Disney and...

Google has reportedly invested a significant sum of money -- between US$100 million and $200 million -- in social games company Zynga in order to build out a Google Games offering for the search engine giant. The investment, which was reportedly made by Google and not Google Ventures, is a highly st...

Microblogging service Twitter has announced its second major attempt to monetize -- the @earlybird service. This will let advertisers pay a fee to promote exclusive events, tout time-sensitive special deals and offer sneak peeks at products to Twitter users. The service had signed up more than 15,00...

Incorporating social media strategies into your marketing plan is no cut-and-paste job. You've got to know your clientele and what appeals to them, and you have to engage them in a conversation rather than simply spew offers at them. In fact, if you don't have the desire to commit yourself to social...

A lot of folks look down their noses at the prospect of Facebook penetrating the corporate world in a meaningful fashion. In fact, many people believe that the IT community will do everything possible to resist this prospect because of the security, privacy and compliance issues surrounding the soci...

Social media strategies are not just for consumer-focused companies anymore. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and their ilk are finding their way into business-to-business firms. Solid waste service provider Waste Management, for example, has set up a Web 2.0 shop. Interactivity is key, and social media...

With more than 60 million users, Twitter clearly is a successful social media platform. However, the question of whether it also can be a successful business has yet to be answered. On Monday, Twitter proved that it's serious about making an effort to become a profitable enterprise when it banned th...

The new Main Street exists anywhere thumbs can hit keys or scroll across a touchscreen. So what does your online presence say about what you have to offer those virtually strolling by? Customers regularly seek feedback on future purchases from their social circle. Conversations about your brand are ...