The New York Times profiles four college kids hammering away at an alternative to Facebook, i.e., a social network that won't "force people to surrender their privacy to a big business." Social startups are nothing new, obviously, but The Times related their efforts to a growing collective resentment against Facebook "for devouring every morsel of personal information we are willing to feed it." As the young entrepreneurs describe it, their free Diaspora* software will let users set up their own personal servers, dubbed "seeds," create their own hubs, and fully control the information they share. Bigger picture, The Times …

Mahalo CEO and serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis says Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has simply overplayed his hand. "Facebook is officially 'out,' as in uncool, amongst partners, parents and pundits all coming to the realization that Zuckerberg and his company are -- simply put -- not trustworthy," Calacanis insists. Case in point, casual gaming company Zynga is reportedly developing plans to get over what Calacanis calls its "Facebook dependency." Calling Zuckerberg "an amoral, Asperger's-like entrepreneur," Calacanis says the Facebook founder has screwed over his users again and again in terms of privacy, not to mention his former employers at ConnectU and …

Auto insiders have been predicting it since Joel Ewanick left Hyundai in March to become, first, VP of marketing at Nissan and now head of North American marketing ops at GM: Chris Perry has been given the nod to be Fountain Valley, Calif., company's VP of marketing. He will report to Hyundai Motor America CEO and president John Krafcik. Perry, director of marketing communications at Hyundai since 2007, has been a central figure in the company's Web marketing strategy, and media planning alongside Ewanick that put Hyundai vehicles and branding on tentpole media events like the Super Bowl and …

Coming this summer from Kraft, Shop King, the blockbuster apps sequel to the ifood assistant. Kaczmarek promises it's going to be the next big thing in food apps. But what is it exactly? On whether to app or not to app, Kaczmarek's takeaway is that an app should be an integral part of an integrated marketing campaign, but prepared to get into the software business if you're building an app for one of the "hero" platforms like the iPhone or BlackBerry as opposed to the mobile Web--but don't ignore the mobile Web either.

A coalition of content owners and others including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, NBC Universal and the Association of American Publishers weighed in on Viacom's behalf in its copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube. The groups argue in a friend-of-the-court brief that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor protections don't protect YouTube for infringement in this case. The safe harbor provisions generally immunize sites from copyright liability for material uploaded by users, provided the sites remove infringing content upon request. But the organizations who are siding with Viacom say those safe harbors "do …

"Welcome," my Google I/O conference letter reads. Along with the letter, I received my very own unique bar code to check into the conference, which kicks off next week in San Francisco. Aside from the bar code, Google also provides a QR code. The letter reads: "We encourage everyone to 'go green' this year! If your bar code is viewable on your mobile device, keep this email handy on your device so we can scan directly from your phone." I don't have a phone running Android. But if I did, Google has provided me with a downloadable official …

The mobs were angry, my friends, on Dunkin's Facebook page, where they have been posting angry words against the company for running a promotion for free iced coffee in just six states. Apparently, many people heard about the free drink and looked forward to it, assuming it was nationwide as it had been in the past. On Twitter, meanwhile, some tweeters were begging the Massachusetts-based company to respond on Facebook. "I am trying to defend you there, but the mobs are unruly," posteed @dajbman22. A spokesperson for Dunkin' Brands tells Marketing Daily the company has responded on …

Meet Square -- a just-launched app that aims to simplify credit card sales for any retailers with an iPhone or Android OS-supported smartphone. With Square, anyone can accept credit or debit card payments by downloading the app and plugging what Fast Company describes as "a little plastic cube" into the headphone jack of their iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android phone. After a swiping the card through the reader, merchants turn the device over to customers to sign their names on the touchscreen using a finger instead of a pen. Customer can then add a tip, either by percentage …

How large will mobile media and marketing loom in tomorrow's digital world? Not as large as you think, says Kevin Ryan -- former CEO of DoubleClick, and founder and chairman of discount fashion etailer Gilt Groupe. "Even today ... there is almost no mobile advertising," he said at an industry conference attended by The Wall Street Journal. "The screen is just too small" -- even on many of today's smart phones. Still, Ryan conceded that the iPad is the first mobile device he's seen that could deliver compelling advertising to consumers. At Gilt, purchases made from consumers' iPhones and …

Spring is when flowers come out and people head out to impulsively buy…fountain pens made of warthog tusk. Luxury automaker Acura is using its spring sales campaign, its largest to date, to contrast luxury tchochkes with a sensible purchase of an Acura vehicle. The automaker’s “Driven by Reason Sales Event” campaign centers on TV spots showing a psychoneurotic montage of oddballs and their luxury purchase behaviors, and OCD around luxury attachments. Each ads them posits Acura as proof a luxury purchase can actually be rational. The campaign comprises 6 TV spots in the kind of heavy rotation normally reserved …