Marketing

From Social Media To Semantic Web, LinkedIn Caffeinates NYC & San Fran

by Ron Callari

Extra, Extra. . . read all about it, LinkedIn offers free coffee to residents and commuters in New York City and San Francisco with the launch of its latest product. Holy Cappuccino, Starbucks. . . you deserve a break today...

Social Media Booty Calls By Virtual Cloud Girlfriends

by Ron Callari

In 'Lars and the Real Girl' - as delusional as the lead character was in the movie, at least he had something "real" to hold onto. With the beta launch of a site called "Cloud Girlfriend," the goal is to offer virtual love affairs to male users in the form of what they might conjuring up as perfect mates. Giving a whole new meaning to the sexual innuendo "faking it," this new Internet startup wants to help guys move their status from "single" to "in a relationship" on Facebook.

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From PageRank To Panda, Google Bends The Web To Its Will [Infographic]

by Ron Callari

With Google's ever-evolving algorithm, SEOBook posted a detailed infographic that took on the burdensome task of piecing together how Google continually try to reinvent itself. From the rudimentary beginnings that surfaced with the launch of PageRank a decade ago to the the recent release of its Panda update to curtail...

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Color Your Social Network With Complete Strangers

by Ron Callari

Like Blanche DuBois' famous line in Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," sometimes you just "have to depend on the kindness of strangers." Not to be lumped together with anti-social networks such as Avoidr, Color.com does however have the ability to allow its users to connect with strangers. And on the heels of coming off a $41 million round of funding, apparently investors feel that 'people you don't know' do have something in common - if only being at the same place, at the same time.

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Take It And Leave It - BMW Announces New Car Sharing Scheme

by Jamie Reygle

In Munich, you can find a car on the side of the street, take it, and leave it wherever you like.

GroundLink, A Car Service App That Circumnavigates The Globe

by Ron Callari

While car service apps like Uber and Flinc seem to be populating our mobile devices in rapid number, GroundLink appears to be the only one that has global coverage around the clock - allowing geek cred to 'virtually' replace the old school street cred of hailing a cab.

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Facebook Search vs Google Search - Battle for Internet Domination

by Ron Callari

Before the recent All Facebook report, titled “Facebook Testing Web Search Box At Top Of Site” was changed to “Facebook Not Testing Web Search Box At Top Of Site (update)” I can imagine the reaction from Google's top brass. There has been a lot of speculation about Facebook potentially adding social media search to its core product, presenting the Big G with its first major threat in over a decade. Is that day close at hand?

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New Study Shows Consumers Aren't Buying Into Faulty Green Claims

by Amanda Hinski

A new study shows that 71 percent of consumers will stop purchasing a product if they feel the company's claims about green-ness are misleading. The study also looks at how much consumers really understand regarding environmental labeling, how such labeling affects consumers' purchasing choices, and how green-consciousness is surviving in this recession.

Self Defense Meets Social Media: Japan's Army Takes To Twitter

by Steve Levenstein

Japan's army – officially the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force – is reaching out to the world through social media. Plan A in the internet charm offensive: set up the JGSDF Twitter page.

The Search Is On At Google For Less Speed & More Reflection

by Ron Callari

Google, long known for it speed in serving up searches faster than a speeding bullet has of recent date been spending more time "thinking" than delivering results. From "Think with Google" a platform initiated in June, 2010 that generated insightful and inspiring bite-size videos - to the release of its first edition of "Think Quarterly" a 69-page dive into the world of data and its impact on business - Google is taking the scholarly high-road in analyzing and reflecting on today's digital landscape.

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iPhone 5 Rumors: Larger Screen, Metal Back, And It Ain't Coming This June

by Gadgetry Inc

Just barely six months after the iPhone 4 was released, rumors about the iPhone 5 began making the rounds, fueling up the flame and bringing up the hype for a yet-to-be-announced product that many Apple fans hope will surpass its predecessor.

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Social Media App That Responds To LICKS vs LIKES

by Ron Callari

While Facebook's Open Graph has changed the way we navigate the Web with their LIKE buttons populating faster that rabbits on a hot summer day, the Socialcam app had a different take as to how they could mix things up with the power of social media. When they launched a contest challenge at SXSWi this past week, hundreds of participants responded - but only one was able to get the job done lickety-split!

New 'Scarlet Letter' Pinned To Apple's Gay & Christian Apps

by Ron Callari

Hundreds of years have passed since Nathaniel Hawthorne penned his magnum opus, "The Scarlet Letter." Set in the 17th Century and viewed through the prism of puritanical mores, the adulterous heroine of the novel was condemned to wear a badge of shame in the form of the "letter A" sewn on a swatch of scarlet cloth.

Social Media 'Sock Puppet' Impostors OK'd By Military

by Ron Callari

How many remember the flack that emerged when someone impersonated the Dalai Lama two years back leading the Twitter founders to believe they could create "enlightenment in 140 characters" - only to learn he was an impostor leaving them no recourse but to exile him from the site. Well, now the government is condoning this activity as they enter the game of creating 'fake online identities' in hopes of using social media to counter anti-U.S. messaging around the world.

Social Media's Hashable & BetaBeat Stir Up Anti-Social Behavior

Social Media's Hashable & BetaBeat Stir Anti-Social Behavior!

by Ron Callari

SXSW long considered fertile ground for new start-ups - it attracts those in-the-know cyberventilating over that which they're about to learn. The land of early adopters surfaces for only ten days like an oasis in the desert, and spreads goodwill about a number of new and innovative social media developments. Or does it? Seems like there's a SM Smackdown in progress between Hashable (an app that creates digital business cards on the fly) and Betabeat (the New York Observer's fledgling techie blog).

Illinois Government Cash Grab Proves Taxing For Online Retailers

by Doug Bonderud

No one likes the tax man, but in Illinois, the state the government is looking to give him a far larger online effect by requiring any businesses with a "physical presence" in the state to collect and remit sales tax.

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Social Media Games Win Awards, While Zynga Lacks Skin In The Game?

by Ron Callari

Do you remember last year this time, when you were inundated with requests on Facebook by your friends to either help farm a field or join a Mafia family? Zynga and Facebook were not only adding virtual goods to the social media mix, they were taking home hard cash in the millions. The popularity of social media games reached such heights, the "Game Developers Choice Awards" added the category of ...

Happy Flash Mob, Saint Patrick! (VIDEO)

by Ron Callari

Brought to YouTube by Discover Ireland, the Sneaky Steppers dance crew, Sydney Irish Dance Studios and the cast from the Australian "Riverdance" troupe, this flash mob celebrated this year's St. Paddy's Day in grand style. Filmed in Sydney's Central Station, unsuspecting commuters started their day with this holiday greeting...

Blekko vs Google: Search Engine Mouse Teaches Search Engine Lion New Trick

by Ron Callari

There is significant change brewing in the search engine world that has gone unnoticed by many. The search giant known as Google has ruled its kingdom for so long, we only seem to pay attention when their algorithm makes a radical change. This past month, we came to learn more about "Content Farms" because Google announced they were cleansing their SERPs ...

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PepsiCo Announces A Bio-Based, 100% Recyclable Bottle

PepsiCo Announces A Bio-Based, 100% Recycleable Bottle

by Amanda Hinski

PepsiCo announced today the first 100 percent recyclable PET bottle made from agricultural byproducts from the company's own foods business. The company is already a leader in green endeavors, including its 100 percent compostable SunChips bags; 100 percent, post-consumer recycled NAKED juice bottles; and the ultra-lightweight Aquafina bottle, "Eco-Fina."

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