   | | | Today's Buzz |  | | |  | - Can Facebook make social advertising beautiful?
Facebook says its ads work best as an entry point for deeper social engagement and creative branded campaigns, but Madison Avenue traditionalists say they're not convinced. Agencies say Facebook's ad units need to be made more sophisticated and aesthetically alluring in order to maximize the network's appeal. Forbes (12/5)       |  | Add some spice to your mix!
Check out our digital marketing magazine, The Merge®, loaded with cutting edge ideas for search, social, and design strategies. As a bonus, you’ll receive our one-of-a-kind cookbook, “Drinks and Grub from the Digital Hub” to help ignite your spirit for the holiday season. See what’s cooking! | | | - Twitter users take in-stream ads in stride
Twitter has started to insert in-stream Promoted Tweets into users' timelines, and so far hasn't seen the user backlash that some had predicted. A few users posted irate tweets, but others defended the in-stream ads as a necessary evil. "[I]t's a big victory for Twitter that they haven't been met by a user revolt," Adam Clark Estes writes. The Atlantic Wire (11/17) - Skype lets users call Facebook contacts
Skype has debuted a service that allows users to make "Facebook to Facebook" calls from within its desktop application. The move could help make Skype calls more spontaneous, with users calling people they happen to notice are online, experts say. "It does make sense as a way to close the circle between Skype and Facebook," Beth Carter writes. Wired.com/Epicenter blog (11/17) |  | Earn 3X rewards points when you fly with The New Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster:
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  | | | Ideas in Action | | | |  | - How the Pentagon went social to engage militants
A team of 20 bloggers employed by the U.S. military are working full time to post comments and rebuttals on extremist Islamic websites. The aim is to deflect criticism, correct inaccuracies and draw extremists into respectful conversation, team member Ardashir Safavi says. "You've heard of the Iron Curtain, of course. We're here to pierce the Electronic Curtain because the military has decided that it cannot cede this information space to violent extremists," Safavi says. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/17) - Jeweler puts its Facebook fans' love on display
Robbins Bros., a California-based jeweler, is asking Facebook fans to post messages to their loved ones on its page. The messages will be shown on a digital billboard along a freeway in Riverside, Calif., and users will be sent a photo of their message being displayed. Adweek/Adfreak blog (11/17) |  | Consumer Insights Your Brand Needs to Know: Latest Trends in Behavioral Advertising
Learn what brand managers, advertisers, as well as networks, agencies, and publishers need to know about consumer survey insights into behavioral ad serving, also known as interest-based advertising. Learn more today! |
 | | | Research and Reports | | | |  | - Google+ has privacy flaws, researchers say
Google+ isn't a paragon of virtue when it comes to online privacy, researchers say. A University College London team writes in an analysis that the network identifies metadata in shared images and encourages users to publicly list personal details such as previous addresses and their mother's maiden name. That potentially leaves Google+ users vulnerable to identity theft, the study warns. MIT Technology Review online/The Physics arXiv Blog (11/17) - Google+ struggles to retain users
 Google+'s traffic has declined in 11 of the 21 weeks since its launch in June, according to a Hitwise study. The network is regularly shedding 10% to 20% of its total user base in a week, the company found. The network has seen a slight traffic increase since businesses were given permission to set up their pages. Los Angeles Times/Technology blog (11/17) - How to get the most out of Google+ Hangouts
Brands such as Dell and Macy's are experimenting with Google+'s Hangouts video-chat feature. Michael Dell has hosted hangouts, while Macy's signed up blogger Leah Chernikoff to host a hangout. "The best usage [for brands] is where you have an influencer or a taste-maker or perhaps a celebrity who comes in and drives whatever's going on," said Jeff Semones, president of social media agency M80. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (11/17) - Should brands steer customers to Facebook, or to a corporate website?
Research shows that branded websites are taking a traffic hit as users flock to brands' Facebook pages instead, Dave Chaffey writes. Companies should keep a close eye on social and branded-site traffic when planning their broader media-investment strategy, Chaffey advises. "Questions should be asked about the balance of media investments [and] whether they should be used to route visitors to the website as traditionally, or to Facebook and other social presences," he writes. iMedia Connection (11/15) |  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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| | - Wake up and smell the Twitter
A design company has developed a desktop device that emits specific smells every time a tweet or Facebook update is posted. Users can customize the odors emitted by the machine, although the number of programmable smells is fairly limited. "[I]t's more like a plug-in air freshener than an interactive Odorama card," David Kiefaber writes. Adweek/Adfreak blog (11/17)
 | Facebook still needs to marry its social ad science with the ad industry's creative dark arts."
--Robert Hof, writing in Forbes  |
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| | | | | | | Recent SmartBrief on Social Media Issues: - Thursday, November 17, 2011
- Wednesday, November 16, 2011
- Tuesday, November 15, 2011
- Monday, November 14, 2011
- Friday, November 11, 2011
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