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Virgin Media's Multimillion-Dollar Usain Bolt Ad Campaign Banned July 25, 2012 A British watchdog has banned an advertising campaign by Virgin Media which used Usain Bolt because of claims Bolt makes about super-fast broadband, according to The Guardian. The ad campaign, which cost Virgin millions of dollars, showed Bolt, a gold medal-winning Jamaican sprinter, mimicking Virgin's founder to promote the company's goal of doubling broadband Internet speeds.

Ratcheting Up Your Web-Browsing Privacy July 19, 2012 I've never taken that much notice of my privacy, or lack of, as I've been surfing the Web. However, after recent, obviously targeted advertising directed at me, where the ads blatantly reflected some product research I had just performed, I decided to investigate. Innocuous focused advertising, which can be informative, can simply feel like a violation. Other intrusions can be downright dangerous.

Facebook Growth May Have Hit a Wall July 18, 2012 Facebook shares fell on Tuesday, as the social network faces problems adding new users in multiple markets. The number of users on Facebook in the United States actually slipped by 1.1 percent, according to a new report from Capstone Investments. Facebook has seen phenomenal growth since its inception in 2004, and last reported having more than 900 million users.

Yahoo's Q2: Mayer Has Her Work Cut Out for Her July 18, 2012 Yahoo's Q2 earnings, which were publicly released Tuesday, underscore the challenges that new CEO Marissa Mayer will face as she takes over the struggling Internet company. Yahoo brought in $227 million in its second quarter, down from the $237 million it reported for the same time a year ago. Earnings per share were the same as last year at 18 cents.

Facebook Sinks on the User Satisfaction Curve July 18, 2012 The hits keep coming for Facebook. The social networking site posted the largest decline in customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Facebook dropped 8 percent, settling at a score of 61 on a 100-point scale. At the same time, Google+ -- a social network launched by Google last year -- scored rather well. In its first appearance, it clocked in with a 78.

Guidelines Aim to Check Aggressive Mobile Ads July 10, 2012 In response to increasingly aggressive ads in free mobile apps, mobile security firm Lookout on Monday released guidelines to protect consumer privacy and security and promote responsibility among advertisers. The guidelines offer mobile ad providers information about how to target advertising, while at the same time adhering to principles of privacy and user choice.

Yahoo, Facebook Puff Patent Peace Pipe July 09, 2012 Yahoo and Facebook are ending their patent infringement lawsuits against each other with a settlement that includes a licensing partnership as well as an expanded content distribution and advertising relationship. The new agreement allows for collaboration on ad campaigns during major media events.

The Dirty Suicidal Secret of Facebook July 09, 2012 The last time we had a major "social networking" type of effort it was with collaboration, and the poster child for the effort was Lotus Notes. It largely failed -- not because the idea wasn't a good one, but because the company fundamentally didn't understand that the market was being made hostile to the concept.

The List Builds Big Media Database Onto SugarCRM Foundation July 06, 2012 The List, a provider of lead generation software for media buyers and marketers, is adding CRM functionality to its line of services. This new feature set joins other new functions the company is building into its core product, such as integration with Moat.com, and a global media content database.

Microsoft Blames $6.2B Write-Off on Weak Online Ad Division July 03, 2012 Based on the underperformance of its online services division, Microsoft announced Monday that it would be taking a write-down of $6.2 billion. The non-cash, non-tax-deductible income statement charge for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 is for the "impairment of goodwill" related primarily to its 2007 $6.3 billion acquisition of aQuantive, Microsoft said.

The Do-Not-Track Balancing Act June 27, 2012 When Microsoft announced recently that Internet Explorer 10 will have its Do Not Track feature turned on by default, it seemed those concerned about online privacy would hail the move as a step in the right direction. Consumer advocates and other groups had been agitating for such a feature for some time.

Facebook's Zynga Plugs Could Sprout Into New Ad Network June 25, 2012 Facebook recently started running ads on Zynga's website, one of several moves the social network has made recently to expand its advertising reach. Some Zynga users now see Facebook's Sponsored Stories ads, which display certain brands or businesses that those users' Facebook friends have "liked."

Is Facebook Flatlining? June 23, 2012 2012 is not shaping up to be a good year for Facebook. There was its disaster of an IPO, of course. Also, a number of reports have been turning out that illustrate one or another of Facebook's weaknesses. The latest is from comScore, which reported Facebook's U.S. user numbers for May. Compared to its traffic

Twitter's Not Singing About Outage Details June 22, 2012 Twitter was unavailable to users for significant portions of the day on Thursday. Contrary to speculation, it wasn't due to a hack attack, despite attempts by some groups to claim responsibility. Rather, a "cascading bug" in one of its infrastructure components was the cause for the upheaval, Twitter said.

Video Marketing: Selling With Sight, Sound and Motion June 22, 2012 Video engages customers, tells stories and creates brand loyalty like no other medium. As a young entrepreneur, Andrew Angus owned an alternative fuel business. As part of his marketing efforts, he made a brief video explaining the process of making fuel from agricultural residues. The experience made him aware of the usefulness of video in explaining and selling product.

IOC's Love-Hate Relationship With Social Media Could Reach Olympic Proportions June 20, 2012 With the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics, London will be the first city to have hosted the modern games of three Olympics. It will also be the first Olympics to embrace social media, as well as being the first to actually step in and place limitations on how said media can be used. For example, the IOC has no problem with photo-sharing, as long as it isn't done for financial gain.

Microsoft Toys With Interactive Ads for Xbox June 15, 2012 Microsoft is putting a fresh spin on advertising. Rather than the passive type of advertisements that viewers often zip past after "timeshifting" programming with DVRs, Microsoft's NUads will offer an interactive -- and more personalized -- experience. The software giant has signed up Toyota, Unilever and Samsung Mobile and will begin rolling out ads this fall.

Social Media Giants Circle Wagons to Battle Bad Ads June 15, 2012 Social media giants are teaming up with nonprofit website StopBadware to create the Ads Integrity Alliance, which will counter so-called bad ads and work to create trust within the online advertising industry. The alliance will work to combat nefarious ads by recommending policy initiatives and best practices to policymakers.

Skype Aims to Work Advertisers Into the Conversation June 14, 2012 Skype has begun plastering display ads across its calling interface. The Microsoft-owned VoIP service refers to them as "conversation ads." The ads, according to Sandhya Venkatachalam, Skype's general manager and VP of advertising and monetization, could spark additional topics of conversation and generate interactivity between families and circles of friends.

ComScore: Facebook Ads Work if You Know Where to Point Them June 13, 2012 Facebook can be an effective platform for advertisers, according to a report released Tuesday by comScore. The results appear to counter the findings of a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll in which four out of five respondents claimed they were never influenced by advertisements or comments on the site regarding products or services.