The industry went wild this week as companies began announcing plans for paid search advertising platforms. And while it's all good for the companies launching the platforms, what about advertisers, brands and consumers using the social tools. Stay tuned to learn the changes that will need to take place. Google did it. Now Twitter and Bill Gross's company TweetUp will have to do it, too.

Google Product Management Director Ari Paparo writes in a blog post that the company is developing new measurement products designed to gauge the impact of ads on brand awareness or on user interest in products being advertised. Paparo explains that in the future campaign measurement will occur in near real-time, creating an almost immediate feedback loop. Today, the process is linear. Marketers plan campaigns, buy ad space, run campaigns, and measure the results, often with weeks between. The measurement tools will give agencies and advertisers the ability to test multiple creatives and media plans, and immediately chance them to …

new report from the Cinema Ad Council with findings from an industry survey about emotional attachment to brands. If we're talking about feelings, can I bring my security blanket?

DO networks in medical venues (e.g. doctor's offices) are a growth industry, and there's another deal today: Interactivation Health Networks bought The Patient Channel and The Newborn Channel from iVillage, a division of NBC Universal.  Details at 4 pm...

A striking moment at Discovery's upfront last week came when a red logo for the Planet Green net appeared. The net has been green-hued since launch and said to focus on Earth and protecting it, but Mars is the "Red Planet." PG has struggled and now has a new prime-time programming block in hopes of reinvention. Some acquisitions made at MIPTV include a British show where rich people spend 10 days as homeless folks trying to survive on the streets of London. PG has also picked up re-runs of the FX series "30 Days," from "Supersize Me's" Morgan Spurlock, where …

from my upcoming Social Graf, the real takeaway is this piece of advice:  if you’re going to call someone you don’t even know a “moron� in a public forum… use spell-check.

Squeeze marketing budgets from TV programmers have put a bit of a crunch on those outside entertainment marketing boutiques recently. When it comes to surviving in the TV promo field, some executives are can be found to do a hodgepodge of chores: straight ahead key art stuff, consulting on concepts, individual work for print or audio/visual, finishing, or even broader marketing ideas. Jeremy Kaplan, president/creative director of Art Machine, a Trailer Park company, who does work for A&E Networks and HBO, says some the trick is keeping quality at a decent level. Fortunately, he says, most clients have …

Remember when the bank gave a free toaster for opening a checking account. How about a free iPad? Open an account with Covestor's online investment trading system, fund it with $30,000 and get a free Pad (value $499). Oh, keep the account funded with at least $30,000 for six months or pay back the $499. Of course, this might be a good end-around to get a Pad now with demand so high. Covestor Investment Management allows people to mirror the Jim Cramer's of the world -- experienced Wall Streeters -- and make the same trades they do in real …