News Byte

Heads Up, Brands: More Than Half of U.S. Online Adults Expect You on Social

Social media managers, rejoice! More than half of Internet-connected adults in the U.S. expect — if not appreciate or even seek out — some sort of social marketing experience online, according to a Forrester Research report to be released on Tuesday. The report, titled “The New Social Technographics,” claims more than 75 percent of people in developed and emerging markets use social tools, and 62 percent aren’t bothered by brand messaging via those channels.

Twitter Acquires Social TV Tracker Trendrr

Another TV-focused acquisition for the microblogging social network.
twitter_tv

Why the Brilliance of Birchbox Is Also Its Biggest Challenge

The startup’s sampling model has worked great so far. But can it scale?

Twitter’s Head of Music Departs for Nielsen VP Gig

The music partnerships lead has left the building.

Facebook Director Kate Aronowitz Shifts to Head Brand Design

Brands! Meet your new head creative contact at Facebook.

News Byte

Twitter Adds More Video Advertisers

Twitter is stepping up its video ads plans by adding a new list of advertisers to a program it has been tinkering with for the past few months, and giving the product a name: Twitter Amplify. New partners include Discovery, Time Inc. and Major League Baseball; they join previously announced deals with distributors like Fox and BBC America.

Instagram Adds an Identity Layer — Which Could Be a Big Deal for Brands

Brand marketing opportunities abound in Instagram’s new “Photos of You” feature.

Why Twitter Dropped Close to $90 Million on Bluefin Labs

Twitter wrote a big check for Bluefin’s social analytics service. Bluefin shows us why.

Voices

Three Reasons to Watch Interest-Based Social Networks in 2013

Brands have some new marketing opportunities as interest-based networks grow and add more mobile features.

Mobile App Kapture Wants to Pay You to Take Photos of Yourself (With Brands, of Course)

If you’re guilty of puckering up to your smartphone camera, you might as well get rewarded for it.