More than half (51%) of Yelp users make local purchase decisions after visiting the online ratings and review site, according to a new Nielsen study. Further, more than nine in 10 said using Yelp at least occasionally results in making a purchase from a local business. People accessing the site on mobile devices were even more likely to either to a business’ physical location or make a purchase. Nielsen indicated input from consumers on Yelp has been a key to driving business for local businesses. “These user …

General Motors is shuffling its global design chiefs, with Ed Welburn staying at the helm The changes effect just about every GM brand in all global markets.

Facebook has seen success with the app install ads launched last year allowing developers to promote their wares on the social network. In the first quarter, 3,800 developers used the ads to drive nearly 25 million downloads, and 40% of the 100 top-grossing iOS and Android apps were using app install ads, according to the company. Now Facebook wants to make it easier to run app install ads by allowing advertisers to simply entering a link to their apps in the App Store or Google Play rather than having to first register their apps with Facebook. Users then choose the …

As part of its initiative to simplify advertising on Facebook, the company on Wednesday announced updates to analytic reports through the Ads Manager tool for managing and optimizing campaigns on the social network.   Facebook said changes include the following improvements:   -Better measurement of reach and other key metrics:

Few broadcast TV shows can be characterised as a “hit” these days, but CBS’ new summer series “Under the Dome” can be considered into this category. “Dome” has pulled in with some 13.1 million viewers -- the best for any new broadcast network series with its debut on Monday night.. The highly-touted “Dome”, from Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, also ties Fox’s start this past year of drama Under“The Following” with a 3.2 rating among 18-49ers. That show had around 10 million viewers in its debut. The best results this season -- at least among key 18-49 viewers …

Facebook and Twitter may enjoy high awareness among consumers, but they're not getting much love. A new survey by research firm E-Score suggests 85% of people know of Facebook, while three-quarters are aware of Twitter (76%), followed by Google+ (58%), eHarmony (56%) and Match.com (47%).   The 1,100-person survey, spanning a representative sampling of the U.S. population, also gauged attitudes toward social platforms by asking people how much they liked or disliked each. Facebook, for example, had an “appeal” rating of 50%, meaning half of those surveyed said they liked the social network at least …

Snapchat on Monday announced raising a whopping $60 million in a second round of venture financing led by IVP and including General Catalyst, Benchmark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and SV Angel. The financing for the startup behind the wildly popular photo-messaging app follows a $13.5 million initial funding in February. With the new investment, Snapchat has a valuation of $800 million, according to reports. The company said in a blog post today that users are now sending up to 200 million “snaps” per day. Unlike other photo apps, Snapchat images are only meant to last for up to 10 …

Combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones worldwide will rise 5.9% this year to 2.35 billion units, according to a new Gartner forecast. While mobile devices will drive that growth, shipments of desktop and laptop computers are expected to fall 10.6%. And what Gartner calls “ultramobile” PCs, including Chromebooks, hybrid devices running Windows 8, and devices with light clamshell designs, will drop 7.3%.   By contrast, tablet shipments are projected to surge 67.9% in 2013 to 202 million, while the mobile phone market will increase 4.3% to more than 1.8 billion units. Read more

Instagram has vaulted up the App Store ranking of free iPhone apps since launching a video-recording feature last Thursday, jumping from No. 22 to No. 8 as of Monday morning. At the same time, Twitter’s Vine has slipped from No. 3 to No. 7 among free apps, leaving the rival apps nearly neck-and-neck in the race for downloads.  Sunday was the first day since March 27 that Vine didn’t appear in the top 5 list of U.S. iPhone apps, according to tech blog BGR. Instagram said on Friday that 5 million videos were uploaded …

Chevrolet's total redesign of the Impala is "Made to Love." The name refers to John Legend's new single. The song by the nine-time Grammy winner is featured in Impala's new marketing campaign that debuts on Game 7 of the NBA Finals on ABC tonight.