So, what are people actually doing with their fancy new iPads? Buying content, for one, according to a new study from Nielsen. What sort of content? Books and video, mostly. Advertisers, meanwhile, should be interested to learn that "users said that they spent longer with the content they were reading, watching or listening to on the iPad versus the iPhone," notes GigaOm. "The survey didn't compare content consumption on either device to offline behavior or content consumed on other devices." Survey respondents said that they read books 39% of the time on the iPad, compared with just …

The BBC this week named Ralph Rivera as director of digital media for future media and technology. Set to begin on November 8, Rivera most recently served as president of Major League Gaming in New York, the Guardian reports. In his new role, Rivera will be responsible for all the BBC's digital media products across online, gaming and mobile. He will report directly to Erik Huggers, director of BBC future media and technology. Showing the company's strategic hand a bit, Rivera said in statement: "The BBC iPlayer has already transformed TV on the Web, but that's just a hint …

How do you take your content? In the most ambitious media play ever for a non-tech, non-media company, Starbucks on Wednesday debuted its Digital Network -- an exclusive content network curated by the coffee seller and designed to enrich customers' in-store experiences. "The vision is for Starbucks Digital Network to be a digital version of the community cork board that's in all of our stores," Starbucks's VP of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman tells Mashable. Given Starbucks' massive national reach, the billion dollar question is what impact SDN, so-called, will …

Time Inc. has called on Ken Fuchs -- VP/GM for the Sports Illustrated Digital Group -- to serve as its new VP of Emerging Platforms for Business Development. "Fuchs will lead Time Inc.'s development of distribution arrangements with companies for emerging digital platforms including tablets," reports paidContent. "He'll also work on guidelines include [sic] Time Inc.'s digital subscription model." Last week, Time Inc, reorganized its consumer marketing unit with a number of executive promotions to create a Digital Marketing and Business Development group. With the Sports Illustrated Digital Group, Fuchs managed the interactive focus of the flagship …

Can Verizon's Android-operated Samsung Galaxy Tab give Apple's iPad a run for its money? Maybe so, says GigaOm. Comparing the 16 GB version of the Galaxy Tab for $600 to Apple's 16 GB model for $630, GigaOm writes: "A $30 savings on the Tab isn't much, but keeping the price below that of an iPad could get consumers to look at the device." What's more, the Galaxy Tab will offer some feature that GigaOm feels are conspicuously missing from the Apple's current iPad model. Not only does the Galaxy have two cameras, but it can be used …

Forrester analyst James McQuivey has seen the future, and none other than Microsoft is leading the way. "Starting Nov. 4th, Kinect for Xbox 360 will usher us into a new era Forrester has entitled the Era of Experience," McQuivey writes in a column for paidContent. "This is an era in which we will revolutionize the digital home and everything that goes along with it." That's right, Microsoft's new "toy" is going completely revolutionize the way we experience all forms of media, says McQuivey. The $150 peripheral for nearly 40 million owners of the Xbox 360 can see …

Albeit in challenging times for any policy maker, add tech industry execs to the many constituencies giving President Obama "mediocre reviews" two years into his first term. So says Politico, which writes: "Obama hasn't done enough to ensure long-term economic recovery for the tech companies, [tech execs] say, and a number of their priorities have gotten little more than lip service from the White House." Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, says: "It's been a very difficult two years for our executives, and there's great concern in the business community." Still, as Politico admits, "It's …

Google Ventures is investing an unspecified amount of capital in local deal finder Signpost. Until now known as Postabon, Signpost raised about $1 million from Spark Capital earlier this year. "No, it's not what you're thinking -- Google Ventures didn't just invest in a Groupon clone," insists TechCrunch. "Unlike sites like Groupon, there are dozens or even hundreds of deals visible on Signpost at once, ranging from happy hour at your local bar to a 40% discount at a nearby spa this weekend." Furthermore, "The site's biggest difference from Groupon, though, is the source of its deals: …

Forget about Apple's strong fourth-quarter earnings or its questionable forecast. A day later, the only thing anyone wants to talk about is CEO Steve Jobs' surprise appearance on the earnings call, and his seeming obsession with Google and its Android mobile operating system. The reason for Jobs' attendance seemed "largely to offer a rant about why the iPhone is superior to the 'fragmented' Android platform," writes Fast Company. "Jobs's central point is that Apple devices, by working more or less the same way across the board, ensure simplicty [sic] for app developers and users."

NPR takes a look SES -- our made up acronym for the very real business of search engine suppression. "Prominent public companies including BP and Toyota spend fortunes in an effort to keep negative press about oil spills or faulty brakes far away from the first page of a Google search," NPR reports. Jon Kaufman, SVP at search optimizer Zog Media tells the news outlet: "It is an absolute game changer, and a fundamental piece of marketing for any company out there." Meanwhile, search engine suppression is a growing part of the $2 billion search optimization industry …