In its latest step to upgrade its mobile presence, Facebook is shifting from thumbnails to full-sized photos and posts in mobile browsers and Android and iOS phones. Through the changes rolling out now, images in the news feed will appear up to 3 times bigger and posts will fill the phone screen from edge to edge. The update won’t require users to download Android or iPhone apps. The move follows up on Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of photo-sharing app Instagram last month. See some examples of the new look here.

MindShare’s Brian Stoller suggests marketers may be going overboard when it comes to targeting in mobile at the expense of reaching a wider audience. He noted Google and its AdMob mobile ad network will often advise advertisers not to target beyond one or criteria for mobile campaigns. Stoller said companies also focus too much on location rather than context. Instead of just trying to target somone wherever they go, consider the context of where they’re at so any message or offer isn’t wasted.

Publicis Groupe's Digitas has been selected as lead agency for insurer Aetna's e-commerce and experience design efforts, the agency said. The assignment will include strategy, planning, execution for e-commerce across Aetna's portfolio of digital assets. Digitas was chosen after a three-month review of digital and marketing agencies. Other contenders were not disclosed. Nor was the spending tied to the assignment. The shop begins work on the assignment effective immediately. The account will be led out of Digitas New York. Belinda Lang, vice president of Brand, Digital and Consumer Marketing, Aetna, cited Digitas' "proven experience creating powerful brand-consumer relationships [and] building …

Much research has been released about in-store mobile use and so-called showrooming behavior by mobile customers. But new data from Nielsen today goes a step farther, looking at how smartphone owners use their devices differently in different types of stores. It shows, for example, that using or requesting a coupon is most popular at grocery stores, department stores and clothing stores, with about 40% of consumers doing so. The more considered the purchase, the more smartphone shoppers rely on their smartphones: At electronics stores, the vast majority of smartphone shoppers read reviews (73%), …

A slew of new ecommerce apps are appearing, but will consumers ever feel secure enough to use some of them? For instance, will they ever sign up for bank accounts on their mobile devices?

That's the way OMMA Mobile's session during Internet Week - appropriately - got off to a start this morning.

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson will reportedly step down after it was revealed this month he had misrepresented his academic credentials in his resume and regulatory filings. According to the blog AllThingsD, the Yahoo board will meet Sunday to accept Thomson’s resignation and appoint Ross Levinsohn, the company’s global media head, as interim CEO. It will also select a new chairman and new directors, including three of those nominated by activist shareholder Daniel Loeb. It was Loeb, manager of hedge fund Third Point, who exposed the error in Thompson bio listing a computer sciences degree that he never received. The …

Farmers Insurance has put its media agency assignment into review, according to sources. According to Kantar the client spent a little more than $155 million on ads in 2011. The incumbent on the account is WPP's Mindshare. The agency is expected to defend, although it declined to comment, referring queries to the client. Sources indicated that Select Resources International is overseeing the review process and that an RFI has been issued. Mindshare has handled the auto and homeowners insurer since 2009, adding subsidiary 21st Century Insurance and Financial Services in 2010. The review comes after recent changes in the client's …

NBC is bringing back its retailer-centric, designer competition reality show, “Fashion Star” for ten episodes next season.   The network is committed to give the show a second season of 10 one-hour episodes where winning fashions  can be bought by consumers the next day after results are revealed on a particular episode. Three of its big retailers, Macy’s, Saks and H&M, who have gotten big branded entertainment exposure in the show in the first season,  are expected to return.   This season “Fashion Star” has averaged a Nielsen live plus same day 1.6 rating among …

Microsoft introduced a new version of Bing Thursday representing the biggest overhaul to the search engine since its launch. The changes emphasize closer ties with Facebook by integrating the expertise of friends from the social site, as well as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora. The company will mine online social connections to provide more personal search results for everything from movie recommendations to restaurants. The engine will support a three-column design combining traditional Web search and social. Advertisers can expect to see new ad models emerge from this design.