Developers in San Francisco have created the MedFolio Electronic Pillbox, which helps consumers organize complex medication schedules using LED lights, and sends a reminder message by email or SMS when it is time to take a pill. A wireless version of the device is in the works, which would share the reminder alerts with other members of the family or household.

The 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act currently requires law enforcement officials to obtain a subpoena, issued without a judge's approval, to read emails, instant messages and other forms of digital communication that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old. An amendment to the ECPA written by Senator Patrick Leahy would require a search warrant as well. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook say they already require a search warrant before turning over any user information and argue that the Fourth Amendment, prohibiting unlawful search and seizure, already provides more legal protection than the ECPA.  

The newly released 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer finds that consumers across all age groups trust traditional media and search engines as news sources more than owned or social media. Interestingly, the study found that younger consumers are generally more trusting of all media sources than older consumers.

The 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment. Even though the law written before SMS messages were a reality, courts in California and Chicago have already interpreted the undefined term "any call" to include SMS messages if the messages are sent using an automated system. 

Integrated marketing communications agency Havas Worldwide has launched a new "Shared Owned & Earned" (SOE) media unit, a move that reflects a shift in the way brands evaluate their marketing campaigns outside of traditional channels. The SOE unit consolidates various agency disciplines around analytics, community management, and content strategy—bringing these areas into a single practice that will be available to all of Havas Worldwide New York. 

The Gozi virus, a malicious password-stealing software which the US government has called "one of the most financially destructive computer viruses in history," is believed to be responsible for up to $50 million in fraud. Federal authorities have identified and captured its developer, a 25-year-old Russian man named named Nikita Kuzmin. But the bulletproof host of the virus continued to orchestrate the distribution of malicious messages, and was the more interesting catch.

A recent study found that the average worker writes over 41,000 words of email replies in a year, enough to fill a 166 page novel. "The Week" magazine is running a contest where participants are asked to submit the name of their novel-in-emails. Entries are due by noon EST on Tuesday January 29th.

Google has released its latest transparency report containing information on the number of government requests and subpoenas for user information, indicating that it has received more than 42,000 requests in 2012. The 8438 requests in the second half of the year represent a 34% increase over 2011 and an 85% lift from 2010.

A new study by Boston Retail Partners reveals that SMS is a rising non-traditional marketing initiative for retailers. 40% of the retailers surveyed report that they are already using SMS, with another 23% planning to implement within the next two years. 

Emails containing gift guides rose in popularity in 2012. A study by Experian Marketing Services found that using the word "Best" in the subject line of gift guides had a significant impact on performance, lifting open rates by 8 percentage points and clicks by 2 points.