All that time you thought was wasted on social media may actually pay off. If you're super-popular on Facebook or Instagram you can stay at a luxury hotel for free, courtesy of the new "Social Network as Currency" promotion from the Nordic Light Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

Whatever Google and its acolytes may claim, the simple fact is that Google+ has failed. Don't take my word for it: that's the judgment of a former Google developer and designer specializing in user interface, Chris Messina, whose lengthy critique of Google+ and its management went viral over the weekend. My super-reductive summary of Messina's argument: Google+ set out to be a rival to Facebook, and measured by this lofty ambition, was pretty much a face plant.

As expected, e-commerce sales on Black Friday soared as more holiday shoppers turned to the Web for gifts and personal indulgence, according to the E-Commerce Pulse survey from Custora, which tracked over 100 big U.S. retailers and 100 million online shoppers during the famed shopping day. However social media continues to contribute just a small portion of total e-commerce sales, lagging far behind channels like email and search.