Business Insider
Business Insider’s Jay Yarow likes the idea of Ford CEO Alan Mulally picking up where Steve Ballmer leaves off at Microsoft. As AllThingsD reported, last week, Mulally is considered a frontrunner for the job. “Mulally is a bit of a shock to some people because he has no connection to high-tech,” Yarow admits. Yet, “Despite Mulally's lack of expertise in the tech industry, he would be a good fit for Microsoft.”
The Wall Street Journal
Facebook this week plans to start sending weekly reports to top TV networks, including ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS, and other select partners. “The reports will reveal how many ‘actions’ -- likes, comments, or shares -- a television episode has inspired on Facebook and how many members participated in an action,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Facebook will not make the results generally available, WSJ notes.
AllThingsD
AOL is gearing up for a multiplatform ad campaign, including TV spots, to promote Gathr -- a service that bundles other services like Pandora, LivingSocial, and Amazon into a single subscription. The TV ads -- the first since Tim Armstrong took over AOL in 2009 -- won’t run nationally, however. Rather, they will be limited to Seattle, Minneapolis and Atlanta, an AOL spokesman tells AllThingsD.
The New York Times
Public markets may say otherwise, but a new report places Apple ahead of Coca-Cola as the world’s most valuable consumer brand. The annual report comes courtesy of Interbrand, the Omnicom owned corporate identity and brand consulting firm. “This is the first time that the soft drink … has not been No. 1,” The New York Times notes.
Gigaom
Using image quality to one-up the competition, Netflix is giving all members access to Super HD video. “Both 3D and Super HD were previously only available to members whose ISPs peered with Netflix or placed the company’s Open Connect caching hardware within their networks,” GigaOm reports.
The Verge
In one of the odder expansions for a software startup, personal-organization app Evernote is putting its name on a range of physical products designed to help organize peoples’ lives. “One of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing software companies is going unexpectedly analog,” The Verge writes. From scanners and “smart” styluses to messenger bags and wallets, Evernote appears intent on helping people organize every facet of their lives.
VentureBeat
What is Imgur? The most popular online platform you’ve never heard. Yes, image-sharing community recently surpassed more than 100 million unique visitors per month, VentureBeat reports. “For perspective, that puts Imgur into the top 30 most trafficked Web sites in the U.S. alongside IMDb, Apple.com, Yelp, Netflix, and AOL,” VB notes. “At least a portion of the recent traffic milestone achievement is courtesy of Imgur’s recently launched mobile applications.”
AllThingsD
Who’s going to replace Steve Ballmer as head of Microsoft? Everyone wants to know. The new frontrunner, sources tell AllThingsD, is none other than Ford CEO Alan Mulally. “Mulally was a former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the Seattle area and has long wanted to return there,” AllThingsD writes. “In addition, he was a close adviser to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in his recent effort to create a new management structure for the company.”
Forbes
Crowdsourcing is coming to language learning courtesy of Duolingo -- a free app with some 5 million monthly active users. “Co-founder Luis von Ahn … says he expects more than 50 languages to be added to Duolingo over the next two-to-three months, as volunteers start signing up to add their native tongues to its infrastructure,” Forbes reports.
The Wall Street Journal
Sure to please many a note maker, 3M is partnering with personal-organization app Evernote Corp. “Rather than fight the digital revolution, the time-tested Post-it note is joining it,” The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog writes. “Together, they’ve made software that will allow people with smartphones to photograph, store and organize pictures of their Post-its.”