If you want to enter the daily deals market without anyone knowing, introduce it in a state with 15 people per square mile. That’s what Amazon did yesterday, rolling out AmazonLocal in Boise, Idaho. Despite Amazon’s stealth, The Next Web picked up on the story. READ MORE
When even the mighty Google can’t ward off cyber attacks, you know the recent hacking frenzy has reached its peak. Google announced on its official blog that hackers originating from Jinan, China amassed “hundreds” of passwords for personal Gmail accounts to change their forwarding and delegation settings. The attack targets senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists, among others. READ MORE
With technology, a good thing is never good enough. New generations, editions, and updates perpetually hit the market, making even year-old technology obsolete. Since it began connecting wireless devices to the internet, Wi-Fi has undergone several improvements to produce faster and faster internet connections. Now, it’s ramping up to reach full speed. READ MORE
Computer hacking is a nuisance for anyone, but at the Pentagon, it’s now an act of war. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon has mapped out a formal cyber strategy identifying computer sabotage from of another country as an potential attack on America. This new policy, unclassified portions of which to be made public next month, prepares against hackers that could interfere with U.S. nuclear reactors, subways, or pipelines in an equally destructive way as a physical militant force. READ MORE
Much as they grumble and groan about women’s shopping habits, it seems even men are not impervious to the sensation of money burning a hole in their pocket. At least not when it comes to gaming. According VentureBeat, a study of 1,500 social gamers on MocoSpace’s mobile entertainment platform found that men outspend women by a 9 to 1 ratio with purchases of virtual goods in mobile social games. READ MORE
Ramon De Leon doesn’t just want you to eat his pizzas. He wants you to feel guilty eating any other pizza. How does the owner of six Dominos Pizza stores in Chicago develop such customer loyalty? Social media. At the BlogWorld & New Media Expo, De Leon gave an animated presentation on the development of his social media strategy, from his AOL Instant Messenger “Pizza Talk with the Boss” ten years ago to his Twitter hashtag #RamonWOW today. Says Ramon, “I want to take one pizza buying experience and have it multiply across networks.” READ MORE
In February, Facebook introduce iframe tabs for Facebook Pages, a new model for building apps on pages. This new update was designed particularly for brands to increase their marketing campaigns through social media with more sophisticated content. At the BlogWorld & New Media Expo, Webtrends’ senior manager of social product managing Justin Kistner walked his audience through this new technology, demonstrating how to build these frames and use them to cultivate your brand. READ MORE
If you’re committed enough to American Idol to stick with the show even after Simon and Paula have bailed, you should know not to Tweet about the contestant you want to win. Apparently, we still haven’t learned. According to Mashable, the “Twitter Curse”—the tenth season’s phenomenon that the number of tweets for Idol contestants after their performances predicts who will get voted off the show—proved itself right again after final elimination. READ MORE
Playing games is no longer just a way to pass time. More and more marketing campaigns are incorporating game mechanics to build business and customer loyalty. At the BlogWorld & New Media Expo Wednesday, digital media agency and vendor thought leaders David Tyler, Mike Schneider, and Chris Pirillo joined in an animated discussion on “gamification” and its place in digital marketing. READ MORE
Amid the disastrous recall of millions of its vehicles earlier this year, Toyota faced another PR hurdle after it was accused of paying mommy bloggers to spread positive news about their brand. And so in February 2011, #ToyotaFail was born. At the BlogWorld & New Media Expo Wednesday morning, Shelly Kramer from V3 Integrated Marketing, Lucretia Pruitt from The Social Joint, and Christopher Barger from Voce Connect analyze how Toyota’s preventative maintenance and fast reflexes kept their brand image intact through the actions of their Social Media team in a panel mediated by Anne-Marie Nichols from The Write Spot. READ MORE
