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Facebook and Google Expand on Social Shopping

posted on December 23, 2010

I don’t think of shopping as a social experience, unless it’s a day at the mall with my friends. But when I’m online trying to fill a particular need, I’m not all that interested in sharing my choices with those who follow me on Facebook. Apparently, I’m alone in this because Google and Facebook are both working hard to make shopping a big part of their business.

Back in November, Google bought Boutiques.com. This site groups high-ticket fashion items by celebrity then uses a Likes and Dislikes algorithm to determine which tops, dresses and shoes are good for you. There’s an option to follow each of the celeb boutiques and every item has a share button so you can show those sweet $800.00 shoes to your boss on Facebook to explain why you need a raise.

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Foursquare Hands Out a Holiday Gift: Photos and Comments

posted on December 22, 2010

Foursquare has a gift for all of their users, a shiny new, souped up version of the app that will allow you to add photos and comments.

The ability to add comments turns this app from a trendy toy into something really useful. You can send a comment to a friend confirming your meet at a restaurant or send one to yourself to say, “don’t forget to use that coupon!” You can send comments through the website, Facebook or Twitter so it’s easy to access no matter where you are.

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No One Appears Neutral (or Happy) About New Net Neutrality

posted on December 22, 2010

I will be very honest with you on this one. I lost interest in this whole net neutrality concept a long time ago when I started digging into it more. The more I looked into the various arguments and thoughts about what should or should not be, the more confused I got.

You see, I used to be the kind of person that would make a stand on one extreme of something without truly considering the other side. Honestly, it’s easier. Over time I have tried to look at both side of any issue (save a few but they aren’t for here) so I could be impartial until someone made an argument that was so compelling that I had to take a side.

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Is Email’s Future Really in Doubt?

posted on December 22, 2010

The headline appears to be a little alarmist but there are articles written all the time that appear to be trying to bury e-mail as a communication tool for now and the future. In most cases I can’t tell if this is intentional or not but oftentimes it looks like e-mail gets painted as something for those who are older, less tech savvy and, dare I say, uncool.

Here is a demographic breakdown (courtesy of comScore by way of NY Times Bits blog) of year over year web based e-maill usage rates for e-mail by demographic segment. On the surface, one could say that e-mail is definitely on the decline.

In a recent article from the New York Times the picture of how the younger set views e-mail is summed up in this assessment.

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Online Ad Spending Beats Newspapers by Year End

posted on December 21, 2010

We’ve seen it coming but the day is finally here, by the time we ring in the new year, spending on online ads will have passed newspaper ad spending for the first time ever.

According to eMarketer, print advertising in newspapers will fall to $22.8 billion while online ad spending will rise to $25.8 billion. They expect the difference to be even more significant by the end of 2011.

This past October, the Associated Press published a report that noted a 5% drop in newspaper circulation and an 8.7% drop the year before that.

Says the report:

Circulation declines hurt newspapers financially not only because they are losing revenue from subscriptions, but also because the bulk of newspaper advertising revenue is still generated by printed editions rather than their websites.

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Don’t Let Bad Service Negate a Great Campaign

posted on December 21, 2010

My hobby is entering giveaways. It’s probably akin to a gambling addiction but it doesn’t cost me a penny and I win some pretty cool stuff. Last week, I won a $25 gift certificate to a gourmet food company that I had never tried.

Last Friday was free shipping day, so it was the perfect day to get the best out of my win. Except for the fact that the system they use sees a gift code as a discount code so I could only use my gift certificate or get the free shipping, not both. Why? A gift certificate is money, not a discount. Determined to fix this, I called the company’s toll free number in the early evening, California time. I was directed to the “customer service” line which was a recording saying they were closed. Hmmm.

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Let’s Play: How Much Does This Social Media Job Pay?!

posted on December 21, 2010

Here is a question that I always have and want some input from our readers on. This morning I was alerted by Paul Gillin about a social media manager’s job with USAToday that is listed on CareerBuilder. Pretty nice gig, right?

Well, considering you would need to live in the Washington, DC area (job is listed in McLean, VA) and you need to do the following (see description below), what is this job worth? What should it pay?

Since USAToday doesn’t post anything about salary let’s play the hottest new social media game “HOW MUCH DOES THIS SOCIAL MEDIA JOB PAY?!” It’s fun and I hear it’s all the rage (which is an out and out lie but whatever).