Microsoft said March was the biggest month for its Tag 2D barcode in terms of scanning activity since it launched the technology in January 2009. The number of scans was 50% higher than any prior month and the number of monthly users has increased 2.5 times over the last three months. Helping to boost Tag scans in March were campaigns in publications including USA Today, Sports Illustrate Swimsuit and Woman's Day. The bulk of activity is taking place in editorial content and advertising within magazines, but extends to retail and outdoor advertising as well. P&G, for instance, is using …

People who subscribe to The New York Times through Nook e-reader will soon have free access to the NYTimes.com site, Barnes & Noble said today. Amazon made a similar announcement last week in relation to the Kindle. When The Times launched its digital subscription plan last month, with a $15 basic monthly package, it didn't immediately extend free access Times subscribers on e-readers like the Nook or the Kindle. But the newspaper promised to enhance e-reader subscription options. Barnes & Noble said customers with current Times subscriptions through Nook Newsstand would be notified via email in the coming weeks with …

Federal officials have launched an investigation into how information collected from smartphone users is being shared with developers of popular applications used on Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms, according to a securities filing Monday by Pandora. The online radio service revealed in an amended S-1 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission that it received a subpoena from a federal grand jury earlier this year: "In early 2011, we were served with a subpoena to produce documents in connection with a federal grand jury, which we believe was convened to investigate the information sharing processes of …

Mag+, the iPad publishing platform developed by Bonnier, is now available to all publishers for building their own apps for the Apple tablet. The company said Monday any content creator including consumer and trade magazine publishers, catalog marketers, and advertising and design agencies—can download the system free from magplus.com. Bonnier debuted Mag+ last year with the launch of its iPad edition of Popular Science and subsequently spun off Moving Media+ in January to focus on developing and marketing the platform. Winning consumer, design and tech industry praise, the company says Popular Science+ has earned more than $400,000 in …

Interpublic's Initiative unit has promoted Dave Rosner to executive vice president-director of Innovations, the unit focusing on "breakthrough marketing campaigns" that leverage new media platforms and technologies. Rosner had been senior vice president of Innovations.

While it's hard to find people who like doing their taxes, a new poll from OfficeMax adds new perspective to just how loathsome a task it can be: Four out of 10 adults surveyed in its latest "Tax it to me" survey say they think taking a pair of scissors to their own hair is less dangerous than filing their own taxes. In fact, 60% say they worry about being audited. (In contrast, only 39% fret about a performance review at work, and only 35% worry about bad news at a their annual medical checkup.) Less than half …

The Swiss apparently aren't just fast on skis. Switzerland leads the way globally in home Internet access speed, with 88% of consumers online connecting at speeds greater than 2Mb – and 38% having a 'super-fast' 8Mb+ connection, according to new Nielsen data. Runner-up to Switzerland was the U.S., with 29% of online users connecting at speeds about 8Mb, followed by Germany (27%), Australia (21%) and the U.K. (18%). "So how does connection speed impact how much time people spend online – do higher speeds mean greater efficiency, therefore, less time online or does the higher quality experience encourage greater …

Volkswagen is touting the new Beetle with a world debut on three continents, starting in Shanghai, China with an exclusive MTV Sound System celebration hosted by MTV VJ's, followed by MTV World Stage events in Berlin and New York City. At the MTV World Stage event in New York City, presented by the 21st Century Beetle, The Black Eyed Peas will perform material from their latest album, "The Beginning." At the Berlin MTV World Stage event, Belgian duo 2manydjs will headline. The New York performance will be streamed live on WorldStage.MTV.com with highlights later broadcast on MTV networks …

A new study from the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) says marketers' outlook has improved "substantially" since 2008.   Of the 108 marketers polled in January and February this year, 77% said they continue to be challenged to reduce spending across their marketing and advertising efforts.  However, that represents a continued decrease from the 83% of marketers a year ago and 93% two years ago who said they expected to cut spending.   The ANA says that over the past six months, 63% of marketers' budgets either increased or remained the same versus 54% increase / remained the same …

Marketers who read the Search Marketing Daily Blog know I listed Gmail Motion as an Google April Fool's Day prank. Apparently, Google might not get the last laugh. Evan Suma and the folks at USC ICT's MxR Lab put together a demonstration on making Gmail Motion work by using the Fkexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) and a Microsoft Kinet sensor. Kinet, an add on to Xbox 360 entertainment console, allows people to use body motion rather than hand controllers to control applications.