Google kicked off its annual I/O developers conference yesterday with a three and a half hour keynote delivered before 6,000 attendees at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. In addition to a surprise appearance by CEO Larry Page, who discussed obstacles to technological progress and answered questions from software developers, the event detailed updates and new releases involving Google+, Google Maps, Hangouts, Google Play Music All Access, a special Galaxy S4 smartphone and more. Continue reading Google I/O: New Music Service, Google+ Updates and More

Concerned about a lack of digital expertise, many public company boards are actively recruiting digital directors, who are often decades younger than their colleagues. The directors are pursued to advise management on digital marketing strategies, business alliances, recruitment and strategies involving mobile devices, social media, online sales, data analytics and more. The shift in corporate strategy has made digital experts a hot commodity. Continue reading Corporate Boards Are Turning to Young Digital Directors

ESPN plans to post sports-related highlight videos on Twitter in the coming year. Sports fans can expect clips from soccer matches leading up to the World Cup, college football and the X Games. The videos will be made available on Twitter’s site and mobile apps shortly after the live television broadcasts. The collaboration is part of a bigger movement by TV networks and the microblogger to discover new approaches to advertising revenue. Continue reading ESPN and Twitter Expand Collaboration with Video Clips

Video tech company Unruly Media has released Vine metrics to coincide with the celebration of the mobile video app’s first 100 days. According to the research, five Vine videos are shared on Twitter every second and branded Vines are now four times more likely to be shared by users than branded online videos. Weekends are by far the most popular time to share Vines. To compile its report, Unruly Media collected data from more than 10 million Vines over a one-month period. Continue reading Twitter: Branded Vines Shared More Than Branded Videos

The launch of new magazine-style content channels is another step by LinkedIn toward becoming an online media entity with a focus on business news. The social network revamped its LinkedIn Today offering yesterday with a simpler design, the introduction of 20 channels (or categories) of news, multiple options for sorting content, and revised email digests. Users can subscribe to channels and authors who are part of the Influencer program. Continue reading Revamped LinkedIn Today Features New Content Channels

The Chernin Group is producing an unscripted reality series that plans to skip television distribution in favor of a new social media model. The series will be distributed entirely via social platforms including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr. The concept is a bold experiment that hopes to target younger viewers on the devices and platforms that have replaced their traditional television viewing. Continue reading Reality Series to Play Out Entirely on Social Media Platforms

Google has joined a consortium of technology companies that plans to make online accounts more secure. The FIDO Alliance, which was founded in part by Lenovo and PayPal, launched a set of technology standards earlier in the year that could reduce reliance on passwords. The group hopes hardware can have more of a role in authenticating users, and has been working on different ideas such as security chips and voice recognition. Continue reading Google Joins FIDO Alliance: Hopes to Replace Passwords

The Associated Press Twitter account was hacked yesterday with a false report involving explosions at the White House. The account was quickly suspended, but not before the news had been retweeted thousands of times, resulting in a temporary yet sharp drop in the Dow and news outfits clamoring to ascertain details. Although the account is active again, the news agency has nearly 2 million less followers, which Twitter explains could take up to 24 hours to repair. Continue reading AP Twitter Account Hacked: Underlines Need for Security

The team behind DJ-focused music service Turntable.fm debuted a new smart-radio service called Piki last week that offers a new take on music discovery. Unlike other streaming music sites such as Pandora, Piki creates playlists based on what your friends are currently listening to. Other developers like Rdio and Fuzz have created similar services, but have yet to make a significant impact. Continue reading Music Streaming App Piki Lets Friends Pick Music for You

Facebook has created a new way to use ads that appeal more directly to its users. Through third party marketers, the social media site will use offline information in order to show advertisements that cater to a user’s specific interests. Even though personal information will reportedly stay secure, the approach is raising concerns regarding whether or not Facebook is trying to collect too much information from consumers. Continue reading New Facebook Ad Strategy May Cause Privacy Concerns

Intelligent Content is developing along with the evolution of digital technology and in relation to how humans interact with it. As the analytics and visual design of written content both take on an increasingly large role in how people consume information, we are about to experience an era in which information design and delivery changes in real-time in direct response to how readers are consuming the content. Continue reading Intelligent Content: Will Your Media Soon Know You Best?

Amazon announced it will purchase the popular book discovery and recommendation website Goodreads, a social service that centers on book recommendations and reviews. The acquisition — which comes at a time when readers are increasingly turning to tablets and e-readers to search for authors and books — could help push Amazon ahead of competitors Apple and Google in e-book retailing. Continue reading Amazon to Acquire Goodreads for Competitive E-Book Edge

The hype behind Google Glass continues to grow, as tech bloggers scramble to test the new device and ad agencies become excited by its possibilities. After Google presented the public with the Glass Explorer program, in which early adopters had the chance to pay $1,500 to try a pair, the company received so many submissions it closed the program earlier than expected. The device has potential for second screen applications and augmented ads. Continue reading Google Glass: Second Screen and Advertising Opportunities

Yesterday we posted findings of a Coca-Cola study, which concluded that online buzz did not have a measurable impact on short-term product sales. Response to the story, first published by Advertising Age and others, was met with a significant amount of online debate, which prompted a Coca-Cola exec to post that the finding can be viewed as accurate in isolation, but should not diminish the crucial role of social media across multiple screens. Continue reading Marketing Exec Defends the Crucial Role of Social Media

With March Madness underway, many sports fans will be using social media to read and share updates about their favorite college basketball teams. To enhance the social and second screen experience this year, Twitter has joined forces with Turner Broadcasting and startup SnappyTV to provide instant 15-second replay videos of popular game highlights through Twitter’s news feed. The move will also create new opportunities for advertising revenue. Continue reading Twitter Offers Video Highlight Clips During March Madness