The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 today to move forward with a plan to reclassify broadband access as a Title II telecommunications service. The move is seen as the first step towards enacting neutrality regulations. Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed the initiative last month, shortly after a federal appellate court ruled that the FCC currently has no authority to enforce neutrality principles because broadband is classified as an information service. The two Republican commissioners voted against Genachowski's proposal.

More data confirming my suspicion that about one-third of social media users are actively making recommendations (about brands, life, and everything) while the other two-thirds form a mostly passive audience for these recommendations. The latest findings come courtesy of Joshua Grossnickle, VP, Consumer Insights and Analytics, BabyCenter, who presented the site's analysis and breakdown of women who use social media. Grossnickle breaks the 33% of influencers down into three subsets -- lifecasters, field experts, and pros -- of roughly equal size. Among many other characteristics outlined by Grossnickle, lifecasters are less serious about the whole thing, not necessarily out there …

With most of Pepsi's major social media efforts like Project Refresh and the crowd-sourcing of flavors for Mountain Dew, Bough said the company now wants to put dedicated resources around smaller portfolio brands like Lipton and Brisk to launch their own social marketing initiatives. He suggested the sub-brands offer the opportunity to more experimental things than the "crown jewels" which carry higher business expectations. Then why hasn't Pepsi used the smaller product lines as a test bed for social marketing efforts? In any case, Bough says these brands want to "rock and roll with us." They'll have to hope the …

Note to CPG management: Stay away from the idea people. Large consumer product goods companies with less senior management involvement in the idea-generation stage of the new product development process generate 80% more new-product revenue than those with heavy senior management involvement, according to a new study from The Nielsen Company.

AOL Thursday acknowledged it has sold Bebo to Criterion Capital Partners. Rumors of the sale swirled Wednesday, especially after a Wall Street Journal reporter posted news of the sale to Twitter (then quickly removed the errant post). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though there has been no end to speculation about a fire sale price for AOL's beleaguered social network. After AOL announced it's intention to sell Bebo, some pundits speculated that it would be better off just shutting the service down. Whether the sale confirms or refutes these terms remains open for debate. Bebo …

The Interactive Advertising Bureau and 46 small publishers visited Washington this week to lobby against new online advertising regulations. The event, the IAB's second annual "Long Tail Alliance Washington Fly-in," is part of the organization's ongoing effort to stave off new privacy laws. Rep. Rick Boucher recently floated a draft of a bill that would require ad networks that track people online to obtain their consent. The proposal specifically calls for opt-in consent unless companies notify consumers via an icon and also allow people to view and edit their profiles. The IAB recently told lawmakers that …

Former actress/model and designer Kathy Ireland joins professional ballroom dancer Chelsie Hightower and style guide Bobbie Thomas to assist Allergan's Latisse in supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Inspired by the tradition of blowing on an eyelash to make wishes come true, the three celebs will each lead a team of Latisse users from across the country who are challenged to raise more than a quarter of a million dollars for the nonprofit organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Latisse is a prescription treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grow …

While it's still early in the game, Denny's is seeing "excellent" results thus far from its new program offering exclusive discounts to AARP members, according to John Dillon, VP, marketing and product development for Denny's Corp. Denny's implemented its AARP discount program in late March, with two special member offers effective through year-end 2010. Members who show their AARP cards at participating Denny's locations nationwide on any day of the week between 4 pm and 10 pm are eligible to receive 20% off the total check amount for themselves and their guests.  In addition, the card entitles AARP members …

Not everyone who uploads videos to YouTube knows how to edit clips. Company execs confirmed Wednesday that Google's video site plans to release an editing tool later today aimed at those who know little about editing videos. The tool will have editing features that let people trim videos and remove background noise, replacing it with music.

The next big hurdle for Hyundai Motor America is whether luxury buyers will consider dropping by one of its dealerships during showroom visits to BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. Hyundai is counting on that happening when it introduces the Equus this fall, the company's first true luxury car. The company's U.S. president and CEO John Krafcik, writing an op-ed piece today in Edmunds.com's Inside Line, says the car's purpose is about more than generating retail revenue. He said the car will be a major milepost in Hyundai's years-long march to legitimacy in the U.S. If Hyundai's recent track record …