Court Case to Decide If "Liking" Is Free Speech by Erik Sass

Common sense dictates that it's probably not a super idea to criticize your boss on social media, but is it protected by the First Amendment if you don't actually say anything? That's the issue at the center of a case going to U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. According to the Washington Post, Daniel Ray Carter Jr., a sheriff's deputy in Hampton, VA, was fired after expressing support for a rival candidate for sheriff by clicking "Like" on the candidate's Facebook page. ...Read the whole story

  • beverages Ovaltine Facebook App Turns Kids' Quips Into Art by Karlene Lukovitz

    The app -- which also enables users to save and share the art via Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter -- is designed to give moms new reasons to think of Ovaltine by offering them a tool that they can find nowhere else, and to contemporize the brand. ...Read the whole story

Integration Has No One Direction by Frank Riolo

At the end of last week, we found out that the Olympic social media "debacle" may not have been a debacle at all. It may have actually helped the games. According to the ratings released on Friday, total viewership for the Olympics is substantially better than it was four years ago. Through the first five days, viewers were up nearly 30% higher than what NBC had originally expected. ...More

  • Dr. Content, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Facebook by Eric Korsh

    Facebook, once the industry darling, is now receiving close scrutiny and somewhat negative sentiment. Starting in the weeks leading up to the IPO, continuing with questions about mobile monetization, and through the recent announcement about the nearly 9% of problem accounts, Facebook seems to be facing a growing bandwagon of ill will. ...More

  • Social Network Ads Should Be For Brand Linkage by Jack Loechner

    According to a new study conducted by The Incyte Group, consumers want deeper connections with brands - but open social networks are not where they want to build these connections. Instead, marketers need to invite their "friends" into a branded customer community that converts them into buyers, advocates, and long-term customers, says the report. ...More

  • Big Mo For 'SoMo': Quarter of Americans Access Social Nets By Phone by Steve Smith

    History may show that the Web was merely an interim technology for social media --- the place it was born but didn't come to live. Mobile devices will be the platform's long-term home. ...More