The Times Online in the U.K. has lost half of its traffic in the United Kingdom since enforcing registration through a paywall, according to Experian Hitwise. Robin Goad, research director for Hitwise U.K., digs into analysis that suggests U.K. Internet visits within the News and Media – Print category dropped. Goad aggregated traffic to both old and new Times sites to cut out any double counting and provide a consistent comparison. As a result, market share has dropped from 4.37% during the week ending May 22 to 2.67% during the week ending June 19.

No, it's not some kind of masochistic thing. It's a clever social media- and Web ad-driven campaign that will simultaneously generate donations for a nonprofit supporting healthier school meals and reinforce the QSR's message that fast food needn't be "junk" food.

Twitter agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that security lapses allowed hackers to gain access to tweets users had marked as private, the FTC announced today. "A company that allows consumers to designate their information as private must use reasonable security to uphold such designations," David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "Likewise Consumers who use social networking sites may choose to share some information with others, but they still have a right to expect that their personal information will be kept private and secure."

Nissan is putting cleats to pedals to promote its new electric vehicle, Leaf. The company is expanding its "master the SHIFT_" program with Rodale Press -- now in its fourth year -- to include a relationship with Tour de France star Lance Armstrong. The new deal includes sponsorship of such marquee athletic events as the Boston and New York marathons and the Tour of California bicycle race. Besides its presence at 18 national events, there will also be a raft of advertising, social media programs, web casts, blogging and video by "the masters" -- athletes like Armstrong who form …

Riding high on its "Write the Future" world football campaign, Nike executives announced that fourth-quarter profits came in strong and say its proactive strategy throughout the recession is paying off in a big way. "I said a year ago that Nike is not a 'wait and see' company, and we weren't about to let our core strengths sit idle," Mark Parker, president and CEO, said in the earnings conference call, which was webcast. "Because we stayed on offense, we delivered a strong year in a tough global economy, and we're stronger financially than we've ever been."

Google, and its video service YouTube, won the infringement lawsuit against Viacom and others on Wednesday. The suit filed about three years ago accused the music site of allegedly hosting copyright materials without permission of the rights owner. Viacom and others used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as fodder to take the case to court. Judge Louis Stanton of U.S. District Court, Southern District of Manhattan, granted YouTube a motion for summary judgment.

Should we consider this a positive move for the search marketing industry, or view it as one struggling to survive? 10e20 has merged with Search and Social, along with Brent Csutoras, and SecondStep Search, to form BlueGlass, according to the company's Web site. The company's agree that throughout the years they have worked closer together and found synergies. Okay, so why not partner instead? The group spent about 36 hours in a conference room during a 48-hour period to hammer out the company charter. Less than a month later, the four companies formed BlueGlass Interactive and began supporting …

There are around 45 million smartphones in use in the U.S. now, about 11% of the adult population. But smartphone use is growing fast and as owners move to the new devices from companies like RIM and Apple, they are also rethinking what they want to see on the dashboard of their cars. According to J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study, which measures consumer interest and purchase intent for new technology, smartphone owners over-index for in-car wireless. The firm says that among the 51% of vehicle owners who say they own a smartphone interest levels …

The latest Droid has landed. Google, Motorola and Verizon Wireless Wednesday jointly rolled out the new version of the Android-powered smartphone dubbed Droid X made by Motorola and equipped with 720p video capture and a high-def camera. It also comes with increased processing power for faster Web browsing. To take advantage of the phone's media-centric features, the Droid X, which will sell for $199.99 after a $100 rebate and go on sale July 15, will offer new apps including a deal with Blockbuster to provide movies for purchase or rental. But will the new handset from Verizon be …

Move over, Clark Griswold—it looks like more American families will hit the road this Fourth of July. A new survey from AAA projects that the number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home this Independence Day will rise to 34.9 million travelers, up 17.1% from the 29.8 million who did so last year, when consumers were more keenly feeling the effects of the recession.