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Facebook's New Ad Tool Targets You Online and Off February 28, 2013 Facebook users will soon see ads in their feeds that are more specifically targeted to what they like and where they've shopped -- both online and offline -- thanks to a series of agreements with data companies announced Wednesday. The agreements expand the social network's Custom Audiences program released last September, which was designed to allow advertisers to target their existing customers via Facebook.

Copyright Alert System: Six Strikes and You're Annoyed February 27, 2013 The Center for Copyright Information is ready to start implementing the Copyright Alert System, it said Monday. Under the system, content partners, such as music and movie producers, will alert participating ISPs of alleged P2P copyright infringement by their customers. The ISPs will then forward those copyright alerts to the supposed offenders.

Amazon Tops Customer Satisfaction Charts in 2012 February 27, 2013 Consumers continued to put their trust in e-commerce websites in 2012, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index released Tuesday. The ACSI, produced in partnership with the customer analytics experience firm ForeSee, showed e-commerce sites making incremental gains in customer satisfaction ratings.

A Little Extra Digital Spend in the Online/TV Ad Mix Goes a Long Way February 26, 2013 For the past several years, the money spent on online advertising has grown at the expense of other media platforms. That trend will probably continue, suggests a new report released Monday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau suggests; it finds that brands will benefit from a 15 percent shift from the TV ad spend to online video.

Google Juices Mobile Ad Delivery February 22, 2013 Advertisers targeting mobile device users have some homework to do on the Google mobile ads system. The search giant this week provided more specificity about its AdWords Enhanced Campaigns, which lets mobile advertisers adjust bids by device, location and time of day within a single campaign.

HootSuite for Twitter Gives Advertisers a Souped-Up Dashboard February 22, 2013 HootSuite has incorporated paid advertising into its dashboard for the first time with the rollout of HootSuite Promoted Products integration for Twitter. It allows users to buy Promoted Tweets and manage their accounts on the HootSuite dashboard. This is a significant step for HootSuite's users, said Greg Gunn, VP of business development.

China Defense Ministry Blasts Mandiant Hacking Report February 21, 2013 China's defense ministry staged a news conference Wednesday to deny and decry a report that the People's Liberation Army was engaged in cyberwarfare against U.S. corporations, organizations and government agencies. The denial specifically addressed the bombshell Mandiant hacking study, which declared that the PLA's Unit 61398, located near Shanghai, was one of the world's "most aggressive computer hacking operations."

Yahoo's New Home Page Goes for Lean, Clean Look February 20, 2013 Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is putting her money -- or rather her shareholders' money -- where her mouth is. Mayer has been proclaiming Yahoo's mission of becoming a must-visit daily portal equally accessible via PCs and mobile devices. To that end, the company unveiled a redesign of its website on Wednesday.

Microsoft Shoots for New Outlook.com Users by Targeting Less February 20, 2013 Microsoft has made its new Outlook.com email service generally available, following six months of receiving and incorporating user feedback. The service is ready to scale to a billion people, the company said, and Hotmail users will be shifted over to form the core of that base.

Google May Set Up Shop Around the Corner February 20, 2013 Google may be planning to launch an ambitious brick-and-mortar retail operation to show off its consumer products. It will open standalone retail stores across the U.S. in time for the holidays, according to the latest rumor, to showcase its Nexus tablets, Chromebooks, Glass and other products.

Burger King Grilled, Jeep Sideswiped During Twitter Hacks February 19, 2013 The Twitter accounts for fast-food chain Burger King and automaker Jeep were taken over by hackers this week, prompting calls for stronger authentication practices while forcing marketing professionals to once again confront the shadowy regions of social media. Burger King was the first brand to report problems Monday.

IBM's New PureSystems Promise to Ease Big Data, Cloud Adoption February 19, 2013 Business IT solution development generally follows specific trends and overlapping eras. The first, calculation, occurred as digital products and services wholly replaced adding machines and other mechanical business devices. The second, computation, mirrored the evolution of digitized solutions for increasingly complex processes and applications.

Facebook Hopes Friends Will Let Friends Promote Posts February 15, 2013 Facebook is allowing users with a little extra money to promote the status updates, photos or videos of a friend on the social network, according to multiple media reports. The world's largest social network uses certain algorithms to determine which posts get the most traction on Facebook.

IntelliBuzz Helps Brands Keep an Eye on Social Media Mentions February 15, 2013 Intelliverse has rolled out a new cloud-based tool that monitors social media for brand mentions and responds when appropriate. IntelliBuzz is simple enough that a company with minimal IT resources in-house -- that is, a computer and an Internet connection -- can manage this outreach just using the app.

Harris Poll Delivers Top Reputation Ranking to Amazon February 14, 2013 Amazon, purveyor of everything you would need for a Valentine's Day dinner -- wine, food, romantic music, a DVD of Casablanca -- received a lot of love from respondents to the 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study released this week; it rated Amazon the top spot among 60 of the most visible U.S. companies.

Europol Cybercops Take Down Ransomware Ring February 14, 2013 The European police agency, Europol, announced Wednesday that it had dismantled a Russian-led, Spain-based cybercrime organization. The organization reportedly extorted millions of euros across more than 30 countries, mostly in Europe. The group's plan was to convince Internet users to pay fines, supposedly to authorities, for trumped-up infractions.

BlackBerry's Do-or-Die Marketing Challenge February 14, 2013 Frank Boulben is the new chief marketing officer at BlackBerry and he has his hands full. Did you ever stand in front of a mountain of work and wonder how to get started? Marketing was one of several key weaknesses before RIM became BlackBerry. Can Boulben refresh, reinvigorate and save the smartphone maker? No one yet knows; however, marketing is key -- and Boulben is now center stage.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Chrome Web Reference Apps February 13, 2013 The Dictionary.com extension is distinct from Dictionary.com's app for Chrome which merely opens a Web page. The extension lets you double-click on any word, on any Web page, to see the definition in a pop-up box -- or you can enter the word in a search box. Both are fast ways to look up words, and are infinitely superior to having to launch a tab and flip between dictionary tab and text that you're reading.

Of Apps and Antitrust: FTC Monitoring Kicks Into High Gear February 13, 2013 Periodically we are reminded that the Federal Trade Commission plays a major role in regulating the Internet. For instance, the FTC is in charge of protecting privacy on the Internet in the U.S. and continually starts new privacy initiatives as the use of the Internet evolves.

Facebook Faces Lawsuit Over Like Button February 12, 2013 Rembrandt Social Media is suing Facebook for its use of the Like button, according to the BBC. Rembrandt claims that Facebook's success is owed, at least in part, to patents belonging to Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer, who died in 2004.