ShareThere are now over 500 million users active on Facebook. OK, we’ll stipulate that Facebook has become sort of the “Goliath” of Internet communications.  But if Facebook is Goliath, then who is David? Email, according to a recent survey. The study was published by Prompt Communications, and it surveyed 300 Boston consumers about how they communicate with friends, family and associates in [...]

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ShareNow that Disney has made two major acquisitions in the social gaming arena within the space of one month, perhaps it’s time to take the phenomenon seriously. The multinational entertainment giant’s move into social gaming began in 2007 when Disney bought Club Penguin, a kids social network, for $350M.  It followed that up by purchasing Wideload Games (whose founder was behind the creation [...]

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ShareThere is no longer any room for skepticism when it comes to the influence social media is now exerting over everyday commerce.  The popularity of social media sites continues to grow exponentially, and online retailers are embracing that fact instead of fighting it. Before too long, everyone may be accessing favorite online merchants exclusively through Facebook or MySpace.  The explosion of [...]

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ShareOne point five billion dollars. That’s how much venture capital the top three venture-funded, Internet-based companies have raised between them.  And over 70% of it was dedicated to backing the growing wonder we call social media. So far, Facebook holds the honor of being the most widely VC-backed social media site in history.  With over $670 million dollars invested by venture capitalists [...]

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ShareHas yesterday’s suggestion box been replaced by today’s social media phenomenon?  A recent survey by Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive suggests maybe so. The survey, published in June of 2010, examined the opinions of Internet users in seven different countries, including the US, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan and the UK.  One key element of the study was focused on companies [...]

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ShareWith recent estimates of social gaming revenues eclipsing $57 billion (according to DFC intelligence) the opportunities for meaningful advertising are becoming too attractive to ignore.  And the most alluring part of those opportunities may well be advertising that occurs directly within the game itself – otherwise known as “in-game advertising.” Studies conducted by a branch of Microsoft [...]

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ShareIf the winds of Information Age marketing keep blowing in the same direction, the trend toward social media and email integration will soon become mission critical for most forward-thinking companies. According to a June 2010 survey by AWeber Communications (www.aweber.com) 77% of the 2,500 survey respondents believe integration of social media and email marketing to be an important part [...]

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ShareSince February of 2009, Facebook membership has grown over 330% to the astonishing number of 474 million users. Think about that. Facebook’s membership is now over four times the size of this year’s Super Bowl audience. And advertisers were willing to pay upwards of $3M per 30-second TV spot for the 2010 Super Bowl. What would they have paid if the Super Bowl had four times the [...]

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ShareEven in today’s ultra modern, technology-driven world, some old fashioned business ideas still prevail. Social media websites, which have become the personification of the contemporary Internet world, are no exception. While their management teams certainly embrace new innovation and information age know-how, they also recognize the value of business concepts developed (gasp) way [...]

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ShareWith 62% of Facebook gamers returning to play multiple times on a daily basis, the astonishing popularity of online social gaming rolls on. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that statistic in June of this year. They also reported that current estimates put the “virtual goods” market at about $1.6 billion in 2010. If that number doesn’t excite gaming applications developers, [...]

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ShareWith its June 30th announcement regarding application security, Facebook is extending its privacy policy outward to reach application developers in addition to users and advertisers. That is an important event, because it underscores the commitment Facebook has tried to show its supporters when it comes to ensuring privacy throughout the platform. Concerns about user confidentiality have been [...]

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ShareBrand recognition through social media is a major marketing resource, and women seem to be heading up the pack when it comes to supporting companies on social networking sites. According to a recent survey from SheSpeaks and iVillage, roughly 50% of women in the United States followed or were fans of a company’s social media profile as of April 2010. Much of this is driven through friend [...]

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ShareSocial media games are definitely the latest craze with Facebook taking the lead by far. For this reason, many companies are hoping to capitalize upon the popularity of Facebook games by creating their own games that could gain viral attention. So what is the key to creating a successful Facebook game? Michael Thornton Wyman of Big Splash Games feels that to create an attractive and highly [...]

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ShareSocial media is the Holy Grail when it comes to marketing, especially since it can dramatically boost your sales as a business if done correctly. The truth is that 127 million people, or 57.5% of all Internet users in the United States, will use some form of social media a minimum of one time per month in 2010, as revealed in the recent report Brand Interactions on Social Networks by eMarketer. [...]

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