As society reckons with the dangers of social media putting the military at risk in Afghanistan due to geo-tagging on Facebook and videos on YouTube, a quiet revolution has taken place. It has led the British military to begin using the skills of its Gen Y recruits to conduct near real-time conversation with the world.

Members of the Scottish Parliament are now allowed to use tablets such as iPads in the chamber during parliamentary business in order to take notes for speaking and not for visiting social networking sites, says Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick. Also, political correspondents in the media gallery will be allowed to use Twitter on a trial basis but it must be done discreetly and "in complete silence."

Digital channels are leading UK consumers down the path to new products and allowing them to research before purchasing, a study by Deloitte shows. A majority of the 2,276 shoppers polled owns a smartphone. And about one in three would like to get details about goods in brick-and-mortar stores by scanning bar codes. A media partner for the consultancy says such a feature may soon be "a must-have for all."

In its latest UK Online Video Advertising Market Report, Collective finds media buyers willing to pay more to place their VoD efforts against good quality content rather than on long tail websites. The advertising technology company says media buyers are eager to broaden their reach via quality short-form video across the web, with 55% now placing more than half of their campaigns on non-broadcaster platforms, and only 15% spending more than 75% of their budget on broadcaster platforms, a 16% drop since September 2011s survey.

All3Media, the UK's largest independent producer, has struck a deal to launch a VoD app on Internet-connected Samsung and LG smart TVs, allowing viewers to bypass services like LoveFilm and Netflix. It will launch in the UK this week and in the US within the next month. Viewers will be able to buy and watch shows via A3M, initially on a PPV basis. The app is viewed as a test for pricing and appetite.

The Internet contributes 8.3% to the British economy, making it the leader across the G20. The entire G20 Internet economy will be over the $4 million mark in 2016, almost double what it is now. The Boston Consulting Group study also found that the UK GDP benefited by over GBP121bn, higher than construction and healthcare sectors. If the Internet were a separate sector, it would be the fifth largest.

Following the launch of its first mobile app, the magazine plans to add SEO to some of its earliest content, making it available by issue or subscription and bundled for its current audience. In a few weeks, it will launch a digital archive of every article ever published, dating back to 1829. Over 1m new web pages of Spectator content are to be created in the launch, which is being conducted with digital agency Netcopy.

This Is My Jam is a new website from an ex-Last.fm staffer where subscribers post their "must-listen" track of the moment. You can add words and photos before posting it to Twitter and Facebook profiles to show off your hipness. Matthew Ogle, founder of the site, says the goal is to "provide a new place to put your favourite song of the moment."

Twelve years from its launch, the social network is back as a destination for "collecting and keeping memories". The former darling of the UK social networking scene had more than 20 million registered users. But Facebook's popularity has cut that to 1.5 million unique visitors per month. Its new owner, ITV, thinks there is still space for Friends Reunited in the social networking era.

For the first time, digital ad spend worldwide will pass the print revenue of newspapers next year, says Aegis Group's Carat. The global ad market for both print and digital is forecast to grow by 5.5% in 2013. The media buying agency has cut in half its forecast for the European media market, to 1.5%, this year, despite the London Olympics. TV is expected to grow 5.5% this year and 5.3% next, while digital will zoom by 16.5% this year and 13.5% next.