Social Viewing With (But Not On) iPad: A Pile-Up Of Fail by Erik Sass

The social media revolution has produced a lot of amazing services and capabilities, especially as it intersects with the world of mobile devices -- but inevitably there is a lot of chaff to be separated from the wheat, as programmers combine various hot concepts seemingly at random (just imagine: DogSpark, a new service that lets your dog "sign in" at the dog park! BoobTube, a ChatRoulette service for breastfeeding women!). Throw an Apple product into the mix, and you get a positive frenzy of gratuitous app-making. ...Read the whole story

  • What Type Of Social Media Ads Are The Most Effective? by Gavin O'Malley

    Now that social networks devour about a fifth of Web users' time, you might be wondering which ad formats are most effective on Facebook and its rivals. Among the seven most common social media ad formats, sponsored content ads -- in which consumers viewed a page that was "brought to you by" a leading brand -- were the most engaging, yet produced the least purchase intent, according to a new study conducted by research firm Psychster, and commissioned by cooking/recipe hub Allrecipes.com. ...Read the whole story

If A 'Social Media' Program Is Launched And No One Participates, Is It A 'Program'? by Tom Simons

Healthcare consumerism is growing and requires consistent nourishment -- that is where the profound opportunity lies for health organizations. The more options patients have to deepen their engagement, make informed decisions and manage expenses, the better. ...More

  • Deconstructing Foodspotting by David Berkowitz

    If you were going to create a new application or tool to take advantage of the current trends in social media, what elements would you include? Add your thoughts in the comments, but I'll share my wish list. ...More

  • How Much Do We Really Know About the Influencers? by Catharine P. Taylor

    Social media is a land of many holy grails - if it's not completely antithetical to have more than one - but probably none is more prized by marketers than the Influencer, that person who can sway opinion, get people to buy products and otherwise, well, influence the hearts and minds of dozens, hundreds and thousands of other people. ...More