Really good piece of research from Kathryn Corrick looking at real-time reporting during the Egyptian uprising and showing ways in which social media is being integrated into journalism.

I’ve also included here a really good data visualisation video of how the use of Twitter unfolded in Egypt.  There are also some interesting use of the web coming out of Libya as protesters turn to dating websites to get around the watchful eyes of Colonel Gaddafi. Read More »

Facebook is rewriting its famously over-complicated privacy policy in simpler language which more people should be able to understand.

The move comes as a response to an inquiry from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which said that ‘industry efforts to address privacy through self-regulation have been too slow, and up to now have failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.’ Read More »

Recipe View is a new feature introduced by Google that will help users find recipes online.

Sitting alongside key search filters such as Images, Videos, News and Shopping the tool is certainly being given a prominent position on the page, which might come as a surprise until you realise how often web users search for information about food.

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It is being reported that Google is planning to launch an unlimited subscription service for movies and is considering starting it in the UK first to avoid stiff US competition from Amazon and Netflix.

Google is said to have been in talks with Hollywood studios for months and will look to launch in the UK before expanding to the US. Read More »

News of the failure of high profile hyperlocal site TBD.com, which some said could provide answers to questions about the future of online news, offers lessons for future ventures and raises the question again about how much of a future hyperlocal sites have.

TBD.com, which launched last August, failed for the same reason all start-ups fail: small audiences, big expenses and small revenues. That all led to big losses and redundancies. Read More »

It’s always nice to see brands executing social media strategies fantastically well.  The fact that we notice “good” examples is perhaps testament to the fact that so many brands are still struggling with social strategy.  Nevertheless, much can be learnt from those performing well, of which the Imperial War Museum is most definitely one to watch. Read More »

AOL’s acquisition of the Huffington Post has claimed its first casualty as the departure of AOL Media president David Eun is announced.

His duties will go to Arianna Huffington, who was named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group. There could be more changes in store as well as AOL introduces new bigger ad formats. Read More »

CK One video: screen grab

Calvin Klein is pushing its unisex fragrance CK One in a big digital campaign combining a smartphone app, social media, a website, hidden video footage and the chance for members of the public to feature in the campaign.

The digital push is a global effort which launches properly in March but has already started on the ckone.com website.

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Congrats to Ogilvy & Mather in Sydney which won the ‘YouTube Creative Festival’ competition run by Google Australia for its ‘Lost in Spacey’ spot.

The agency created this funny two minute video for Space Food Sticks (and no that isn’t a made up brand) with the idea that they could get Kevin Spacey, to star in a ad set in space…got it? Read More »

In case you missed it there was an advertising “Big Bang” which, like the real big bang,  brought a rapid onset of incredible growth and expansion just in the display advertising universe.

Well that is, at least, according to Google which with a nod to Isaac Asimov has set out the three “laws of display advertising physics”. Read More »