Two location-based programs that IPG Media Lab highlighted from their SXSW trip show how some retailers are reimagining the outdoor space in ways that extend their physical presence more effectively than mere signage.

Marketers are by nature early adopters of relevant technology. So how much does that color their perceptions of other consumers? When it comes to mobility, where user behaviors are still unclear and subject to wold speculation, it's easy to confuse our own experience with the customer's.

Facebook seems to believe its new video ad format will not only take on TV in reach but compel advertisers to rethink the 15-second spot. In order for these intrusive units to make any sense to this user, someone better be "re-thinking" the TV :15 really, really hard.

Glances, double-takes, catchphrases, slivers of everyday life, pregnant moments, moments at the brink of meaning -- this is the stuff of micro-video art. Somewhere in here new genres are emerging.

In looking at Vine's new prohibition against sexually explicit content, it's hard not to recall the Hays Code of 1930. But in this case it is the cool kids putting the hammer down. Well, you can ban certain content -- but good luck excising prurient interest.

Do we really need to wait for a next-generation Apple TV for true innovation in TV interfaces? Set-top and streaming boxes seem to be engaged in a 90s-style cable competition to carry more channels rather than reimagining the experience.

The new Neiman Marcus app is a fine state of the art retail app in many respects. But by linking the user directly to sales associates in their local store, it makes a human connection between virtual and retail experiences that is rare and interesting.

With its new movies app, Disney is trying to move to tablets a DVD collection experience that transformed TV viewing long ago. It recognizes that the TV itself is not the totem it once was. Kids don't care what screen they use now.

Chasing a hipness that is quickly fleeing the social network, Facebook has dropped a boatload of money on leading messaging app WhatsApp. Whether the price tag was reasonable may be less relevant than the fact that the purchase was necessary.

Both publishers and advertisers greatly accelerated their use of mobile activation codes in 2013. the number of titles using the print2mobile method editorially was up more than 200%. So readers really want to "second screen" their magazines?