• My New Snapchat Friend: McDonald's
    The Social Media Insider is curious. When she read that McDonald's had joined Snapchat last week, she just had to check it out. And while my timing for actually getting around to downloading the app meant I missed some early week snaps from LeBron James in support of a new sandwich that "drops" on March 10, I remain hopeful that this foray into the world's most ephemeral social platform will change my relationship with McDonald's, my smartphone, and all of the handful of people I asked to be my Snapchat friends. While I know very little, this much I do …
  • The WhatsApp Founders Hate Ads -- And That's a Good Thing for Facebook
    As the Social Media Insider likes to go against the grain, here's what she likes most about the fine print in Facebook's $19 billion WhatsApp deal: that WhatsApp actually relies upon a subscription model. In the big scheme of $19 billion technology deals, it's a small-fry revenue stream -- $1 per year per user, with the first year free. Still, it's a sign that no matter what evolves -- or doesn't -- on the advertising front, WhatsApp has opened a crucial portal to future revenue.
  • How Will Comcast Deal Play Out In Social Media?
    If you view cable companies as inherently evil, it's easy to concoct the conspiracy theory that Comcast and Time Warner Cable exquisitely timed the announcement of their planned merger to the biggest snowstorm of the year. Who has time to go on Twitter and whine about such things, when there is snow to shovel and home-from-school kids to entertain?
  • Can Twitter Solve Its User Conundrum?
    Despite what investors think, I couldn't be happier with Twitter's first earnings report yesterday. That's because the Social Media Insider delights in being right. Though there are many numbers on the release, the two categories SMI is right about -- and everyone is paying attention to -- are these:
  • Thank You For Not Tweeting - Or, Super Bowl XLVIII
    It pretty much sums up Super Bowl XLVIII - which now, and forevermore, will be known as the worst game with the lamest advertising - that the best thing that happened to marketing last night was Oreo's decision not to tweet. (Except for letting everyone know, early on, that the brand would not be tweeting, summing it all up with the hashtag #OreoOut).
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