Social Media Received $2.52 Billion in Private Equity Funding in Q1 by Erik Sass

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that private equity and venture capital firms have been pouring cash into social networks like it was their job (and apparently, it is). Until recently, however, it was hard to get a handle on just how much money was being invested in social media startups. That's no longer the case, thanks to a research outfit called Social Media Influence, which just released the SMI Guide to Social Media Funding. ...Read the whole story

Social Media Delivers -- But Multichannel Integration Delivers More by Lisa Arthur

Without question, social media is proving itself increasingly valuable as a way to reach out to and connect with consumers. Plus, it's easy to measure and provides nearly instant gratification -- for both our online audience and for us as marketers, too. Does that mean you should be focusing solely on social media for lead generation? ...More

  • Beware Of Headlines About Facebook's Dominance Of Display Ads by Catharine P. Taylor

    Maybe you saw the news: that, per eMarketer, Facebook is about to pass another milestone. The research firm said it will surpass Yahoo in display ads by the end of the year, with a 17.7% share of the overall market, a huge jump from the 12.2% share it had last year. On the one hand, this news is a long time coming. When you consider that Yahoo has been in a downward spiral at least since it was temporarily engaged to Steve Ballmer, it seems surprising that it's taken this long for Facebook to pass it by in this most ...More

  • Teen Media Behavior; Texting, Talking, Socializing, TV Watching, Mobiling by Jack Loechner

    Nielsen takes look at today's American teen, raised in an age dominated by media choices like never before, from the Internet to cable channels to web connected devices galore. ...More

  • The Vancouver Riot Social Media Backlash: Justice Or Revenge? by Gord Hotchkiss

    In the 25 years I've lived here, I've never had to say this -- indeed, I never believed I would ever say this -- but last Wednesday, I was ashamed to say I live in British Columbia. I wasn't the only one. I'm guessing the vast majority of the other 4.5 million people that call this Canadian province home felt the same way. In fact, the only people not feeling that way were the idiotic jerks that caused our collective shame. They were the ones using the Canuck's loss to Boston in the Stanley Cup final as an excuse to ...More