Foap's users have been able to sell their iPhone snaps for small sums since last year, but these days the company is also running branded missions that can net users significantly more.…
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Twitter says sorry for the fake endorsements, but legal fallout is unclear
Twitter co-opted its users' images to endorse products against their will. The episode appears to have been an honest mistake -- but it raises the same legal issues that have already confronted Facebook and others.…
Read MoreIs Gmail’s new tabbed inbox reducing the effectiveness of email newsletters?
The new Gmail may be causing more email newsletters to languish in inboxes unopened, which would be problematic for companies that rely on it for lead generation.…
Read MoreHow Aquto plans to turn mobile ads into free megabytes on your data plan
Telecom veteran Susie Kim Riley lived in the mobile network core for 8 years. She's putting that experience use with a new startup that is making mobile data a currency consumers can earn and spend.…
Read MoreA tip for Uber: Sometimes the best PR strategy is to do something that isn’t rational
What Uber calls "surge pricing" makes a lot of sense from a rational, economic point of view -- but when it is used during disasters like the floods in Toronto, it still leaves the company with a black eye.…
Read MoreHere’s a big shock: AT&T will start selling customers’ usage data
AT&T is joining the rest of the tech world in selling anonymous, aggregated information about its customers usage habits. The surprising thing is it didn't do this sooner.…
Read MoreWhy is SK Telecom’s LTE network “Advanced” while EE’s is not?
Both Everything Everywhere and SK's networks deliver 150 Mbps, yet because of a technicality only one is advertised as LTE-Advanced. This is yet another example of the arbitrariness of mobile industry marketing.…
Read MoreEven the online ad industry is outraged at PRISM and Tempora. But why?
The revelations about the activities of American and British spy agencies are so egregious that even the online ad industry is up in arms. As well they should be -- it threatens their livelihood.…
Read MoreWhat’s in a ‘G’? Why terms like 5G and LTE-Advanced are important
The mobile industry is creating a mythology around LTE-Advanced and 5G that won't match reality. Those terms imply leaps forward in mobile innovation that today's networks can't deliver.…
Read MoreGoldman Sachs invests $100M in 13-year-old big data firm
A veteran predictive analytics company for marketers that has attracted some of the world's biggest brands as customers is riding the big data wave.…
Read MoreIs Samsung really launching an LTE-Advanced Galaxy? More like semi-advanced
Once more Samsung seems to be engaging in technical hyperbole. It told Reuters an LTE-Advanced Galaxy S 4 will soon go on sale in Korea. Here are the many reasons why that's not true.…
Read MoreIdomoo picks up $9M to tailor marketing videos to specific customers
This is what happens when people get fat broadband connections -- marketers see the opportunity to turn static custom offers and billing statements into "personalized" videos.…
Read MoreWhere are the boundaries in a rapidly changing world of business?
I had a number of interesting conversations with readers, colleagues, and vendors last week, some inspired by posts published here, particularly Shadow…
Read MoreTwitter tool lets brands sign up customers inside a tweet
Twitter's latest ad product provides a call to action right inside a tweet -- showing the company is finally creating marketing tools closer to the "bottom of the funnel."…
Read MoreThis is why big data is the sweet spot for SaaS
When it comes to using big data technology effectively, there's a lot to like about SaaS. When companies like BloomReach create and analyze massive web-wide data sets, they automate insights that almost no individual company could discover on its own.…
Read MoreDear Samsung, please stop making stuff up about 5G
Samsung has become the latest company to play fast and loose with 5G. It may have produced some impressive technology but it's doing itself a huge disservice by conflating its accomplishment with technology that doesn't yet exist.…
Read MoreBelly lands big national chains as loyalty platform customers, including McDonalds
Belly originally built its loyalty and marketing platform for local businesses, but it's now gravitating toward big enterprise chains. McDonalds, Chic-fil-A, 7-Eleven and Domino's are all running pilot programs of Belly's service in Chicago.…
Read More5G doesn’t exist yet. Let’s stop abusing the term
5G is still just the merest twinkle in the mobile industry's eye, yet the blogosphere is now using the term to describe T-Mobile's forthcoming network. Just as with 4G, we're conflating technology with marketing, and we need to stop.…
Read MoreHow a Star Trek convention explains the secret to selling more stuff
When it comes to forming a bond with customers, one expert suggests using big data to help them form a bond with each other.…
Read MoreCan brands evolve from digital advertisers to mass communicators?
Brands claim they're taking to social media, but they're really inserting ads into other people social engagement streams -- not engaging themsleves, says the founder of the Dachis Group.…
Read MoreFacebook’s ad tune-up: data will lead to dollars (if users stick around)
Facebook's ad strategy is rapidly becoming more sophisticated. Marketers and investors are likely to love the results -- but will Facebook be able to get it right without alienating users?…
Read MoreSome of the weirdest marketing gimmicks we saw at SXSW
It's hard to stand out in a crowd of thousands, so some companies went big with their marketing stunts. Here were some of our favorites from the weekend.…
Read MoreProduct testers go on social media “missions” – a new frontier in content marketing
Companies like Johnson & Johnson have long encouraged consumers to spread the word about their products. These marketing campaigns are taking on new twists in the age of social media.…
Read MoreWhen advertising becomes content, who wins — advertisers or publishers, or both?
One of the biggest trends in media at the moment is "sponsored content" or what some call "native advertising." But is it the savior of online media, or just another mirage in the advertising desert?…
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