New Social Network Focuses on People You Actually, Like, Know by Erik Sass

First there was the ancestral environment, way back in the Great Rift Valley days, one million years ago: early human beings live in semi-nomadic groups of no more than a few dozen individuals. Cue "Thus Spake Zarathustra" from "2001: A Space Odyssey," and fast forward to the modern world: human beings live in towns and cities composed of millions of individuals, most of whom they will never meet and are determined to ignore. Fast forward a little more: human beings can now use online social networks to become "friends" with hundreds or even thousands of people they will never meet, ...Read the whole story

  • Facebook Launches Email, Broader Messaging Platform Featuring 'Social Inbox' by Mark Walsh

    As anticipated, Facebook on Monday unveiled a new email service, but as part of a broader platform that creates a hub for all online communication including SMS, chat, and email and a "social inbox" that automatically prioritizes messages from Facebook friends. Users can also see all the online conversations they've had with friends. ...Read the whole story

  • SearchIgnite Develops DSP: Giving Attribution To Search, Display, Social by Laurie Sullivan

    SearchIgnite has been quietly developing demand side platform (DSP) technology that lets brands get a clear view of multiple types of campaigns. On Tuesday the company plans to launch the platform that lets advertisers buy media on real-time bidding and auction-based networks like Google's and Yahoo Right Media's ad exchanges. The platform supports a variety of display ad formats such as segment targeting and retargeting. ...Read the whole story

Five Reminders For Social-Media Marketers by David Berkowitz

When Facebook announced its new messaging service yesterday, you had to listen closely if you wanted to hear what social network founder Mark Zuckerberg said about brands. He mentioned that 350 million of Facebook's 500 million members use its messaging system (spanning the site's email, instant messaging, and text messaging) and that there are 4 billion messages sent daily. As a footnote, he said that doesn't include messages brands share, such as through status updates and notifications. That was it. ...More

  • Titanic: When Social And Email Collide Into Paid Search by Laurie Sullivan

    When Facebook first introduced the text and small image ads down the right rail, those working in media relations for the social network cringed each time someone called them "paid search," a phrase they insist should be reserved for Google and other search engines. But paid search ads continue to evolve, along with social networks. ...More