Police Requests for Twitter Data Grew 20% in 2012 by Erik Sass

Hopefully by this point everyone is aware that the powers that be are monitoring social media. But for anyone who isn't aware: psst, they're monitoring social media! Now you know. According to Twitter's biannual "transparency report," the number of requests made by U.S. law enforcement officials for Twitter user data increased by about 20% between the first and second half of 2012, from 849 to 1,009. ...Read the whole story

  • Marketers To Boost Social Ad Spend In 2013 by Mark Walsh

    Social media has long been synonymous with "owned" or "earned" media -- the kind you don't actually pay for. But a new survey commissioned by Nielsen unit Vizu indicates that three-quarters of advertisers are spending on paid social advertising and nearly two-thirds (64%) plan to increase their social ad budgets this year. ...Read the whole story

  • Image Tech Helps Refine Pinfluencer Analytics by Laurie Sullivan

    As image recognition gains momentum from consumers switching to a picture-based Web experience, Pinfluencer will show brands how to identify the images driving the most traffic from Pinterest and the Web. ...Read the whole story

  • BlackRock Sinks $80 Million Into Twitter by Laurie Sullivan

    Twitter has attracted an investment fund from BlackRock to the tune of $80 million. The investment firm will buy shares from early Twitter employees seeking to liquidate stock options and holdings. ...Read the whole story

  • beverages Diet Coke In Multi-Year Deal With Taylor Swift by Karlene Lukovitz

    Diet Coke's social channels, including Facebook (nearly 2 million "likes"), Twitter (about 240,000 followers) and Instagram, will serve as a "backstage pass," providing access to all of the partnership initiatives. The activations will include "extraordinary" access to Swift online. ...Read the whole story

  • retail Social Shopper: Is It The Year Of The 'Print Cliff'? by Sarah Mahoney

    Chalk it up to one of those industry incongruities: While newspapers have lost something like 30% of readers in the last 20 years, the freestanding inserts that fatten them up are still gaining weight. Is it all about to change for shopper marketing? ...Read the whole story

  • entertainment Official Hashtags Help Keep Conversation Going by Aaron Baar

    Viewers tweet about a particular program about 1,200% more when the show is airing and are twice as likely to use the official hashtag on broadcast day -- a 63% greater likelihood that programs publicizing their official hashtags will become part of the Internet conversation. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Jaguar Goes Social For F-Type by Karl Greenberg

    The #CaptureAJag online photo contest invites social fans, influencers, amateur photographers and Jaguar enthusiasts to submit their best photo of a Jaguar car for a chance to be among the first to test drive the new vehicle. ...Read the whole story

search Analyzing Social Data With An Eye Toward Search by Laurie Sullivan

As search becomes more personal, marketers will see an increase of technology supporting social analyses. Rio SEO launched a suite of social media marketing products Tuesday with technology from Seattle-based Meteor Solutions, which parent company Covario acquired in November 2012. ...More