According to the recently released Ipsos Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer, affluent optimism in the U.S. economy, and in their own futures, has risen significantly. In February, 43% of Affluents were optimistic about the U.S. economy, up from 40% in December 2012, and 34% in October 2012.

According to primary research across more than 1,100 consumers by MyBuys and the e-tailing group,customer-centric marketing (the ability for retailers to engage consumers in one-to-one conversations across the customer lifecycle and all touch points) increases buyer readiness, engagement and sales activity, with 40% of respondents now stating that they buy more from retailers who comprehensively personalize the shopping experience across channels.

In the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conference recently held in Paris, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum (WEF) panel focused on ethics and the role of traditional media in the digital age. When everyone has the ability, says the report, to blog, tweet and publish, traditional media have a greater responsibility to provide ethical, credible journalism.

According to the Technorati Media 2013 Digital Influence Report, 60% of brand marketers predict an average increase of 40% in social spend for 2013. Currently, the bulk of brands' overall digital spend goes to display advertising, search and video, with spending on social, including influencer outreach, making up only 10% of their total digital spend. Within their social budget, more than half goes to Facebook, followed by YouTube and Twitter, with the remaining 11% of their social spend going to blogs and influencers.

According to a survey, by Pew Research, of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school, technologies have become central to their teaching and, at the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers.

According to a report by Borrell Associates on behalf of the Radio Advertising Bureau, radio gained digital share in 2012, and many stations are building on that momentum in 2013. Moreover, there appears to be significant profit in local digital sales operations, the report concludes.

For the first time since Bullhorn began issuing annual Trends Reports of North America, respondents contended that the single biggest overall opportunity for staffing and recruiting professionals in the upcoming year was "increased access to passive candidates via social media."

According to the comScore 2013 Mobile Future in Focus report, Smartphones and tablets are ushering in a new era of multi-platform media, with consumers becoming increasingly agnostic about how, when and where they engage with content. 2012 was another milestone year in the life of mobile as continued innovation in hardware, software and device functionality lays the groundwork for the future of the industry.

62% of the young people surveyed report that they go online every single day; 46% several times a day. Age does not make a big difference when comparing the amount of time teens spend on the net. There is no sudden explosion in internet use at the age of 16, but rather a gradual increase in the amount of time spent online as children age.

While 59% of national marketers say that local demand generation is essential to their business growth, only 7% feel they have highly evolved campaigns and measures in place that can activate consumers at a local level. Marketers are relying on in-house teams to manage, monitor and measure local marketing campaigns across all traditional and digital channels and have amassed a complex mix of individual point solutions that automate a variety of tasks but do little to streamline the entire process.