Fifty Shades of Grey by former British TV exec EL James was discovered on a web site, where it had attracted many readers, and marketed as an e-book. It later had a limited online print run. Now, thanks to social media, the racy romance novel has topped the New York Times bestseller list and a seven-figure paperback contract from Vintage Books is in the works.

Hoping to forestall copycat developers, Wrapp, the Swedish social gifting application, is expanding into other markets and on Monday it launched in the UK. It allows users to send free or paid-for gift cards through Facebook. The gift card industry in the UK is worth more than GBP4.5bn. Already, Germany's Samwer brothers are trying to copy the business model.

Despite the fact the Office of Fair Trading is probing Groupon in the UK, the national and regional newspaper publisher is going up against the likes of the daily deals service with one of its own, called Happli, this week. The publisher will be offering deals at both local and national level to bolster its connection with local businesses through its regional newspaper titles. It will face intense competition not only from Groupon and LivingSocial but from brands like BP and Time Out, which have entered the arena.

A new eye tracker that is smaller and cheaper than the company's previous model was unveiled by Tobii at last week's CeBIT show in Germany. It can track anyone's eyes in various environments, a key challenge for widespread use. The Swedish marketer envisions the IS-2 Eye Tracker's use in computer monitors, arcade games and slot machines and public infotainment systems. Two infrared projectors are used to illuminate a person's pupils, and then two small cameras register the positions of the pupils as they move.

Just in time for spring break, Sincerely's Postagram has launched its service in Europe, allowing users to send physical postcards made on smartphones to addresses here. It is expected to take off, especially in Western Europe in countries like the UK, France and Germany, which have strong traditions of sending greetings cards by post. The company says that 25% of its web traffic is non-U.S. The price for sending a card to any non-U.S. address will be $1.99.

A survey of 998 shoppers by Savvy Marketing finds that 72% believe they will own such device by the end of the year, the majority of whom are over age 45. Fifty-five percent would like to replace their loyalty cards with an app, and 44% would like to see smartphones able to track down items in a store. Most shoppers weren't sure about near-field communication; just 41% like the idea of paying for goods with their smartphones.

The update was done to refresh and modernise the newspaper and make its style consistent with the digital editions. It includes a new masthead and slogan: "We're for Sydney." Editor Paul Whittaker took over at the paper a year ago.

Rich Riley, SVP and managing director of Yahoo's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, last week emailed his staff that he was leaving to return to the U.S. and hoped to remain with the company. "I sincerely hope to remain with Yahoo! once the transition is complete and am working with [CEO Scott Thompson] and team to find my next big challenge," he wrote.

Calling it "a small step for women ... a big step for all German men", German's biggest-selling tabloid will no longer display nude or semi-nude women on its cover, a tradition that lasted 28 years. The move is intended to broaden the paper's appeal to women. That leaves Britain's 'Sun' as Europe's sole seller of mainstream newsstand titillation, which it pioneered more than 40 years ago.

Coinciding with the announcement of 4seven, Channel 4's recap of its most buzz-worthy shows of the past week comes a report from Diffusion that says nearly 20% of British TV viewers use social media to discover new programs. Chatter around programs like "Big Fat Gypsy Weddings" and "Homeland" will give the shows another spin on 4seven. The report adds that 17% would likely chat up shows online if their friends were already engaged in the discussion, ahead of taking part in online competitions and seeing promotional social media messages.