Viacom and Twitter have announced a new partnership to deliver social video advertising campaigns centered on popular Viacom shows and events from MTV, VH1, CMT, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike and others. Viacom is the latest to join the growing list of media companies involved with the Twitter Amplify partnership program. The Viacom partnership will launch with the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 25. Continue reading Viacom and Twitter Partner on Social Video Ad Campaigns

Last week, Facebook officially unveiled hashtags to its social platform, following months of speculation. Hashtags are immensely popular on Twitter, while gaining momentum on other social services such as Google+ and Instagram. The move could have significant implications regarding advertising potential and search engine optimization. Facebook is already encouraging brands to start including hashtags in their Facebook ads.  Continue reading Facebook Borrows from Twitter Ad Playbook with Hashtags

Facebook acknowledged yesterday that its systems have failed to effectively identify and remove hate speech, particularly in regards to gender-based issues. The announcement was made in response to pressure from feminist groups that want to ban a growing amount of text and images that promote violence against women. Facebook has promised to make a number of changes, including new employee training and measures of user accountability. Continue reading Facebook Responds to Activist Concerns About Hate Speech

Beverage giant Coca-Cola has unveiled its multi-year initiative called “The AHH Effect,” produced with ad agency partner Wieden+Kennedy. The campaign will leverage the trend of mobile becoming a first screen for younger demographics and eventually plans to include dozens of digital games and other “snackable” digital experiences. The initiative also marks the first all-digital campaign for the company and a new approach to marketing. Continue reading Coca-Cola Goes All Digital with Focus on Teens and Mobile

A group of academics, business executives and journalists recently gathered at the MIT Media Lab to discuss the concept of Data-Driven Societies. Alex Pentland, a computational social scientist at the Media Lab and a leading mind in the area of Big Data, hosted the meeting and discussed how increasing amounts of important information are becoming readily available on vast scales and are often all about consumer behavior. Continue reading Meeting of the Minds: Discussion on Data-Driven Societies