Inside China's phony 'click farm': Tiny office uses 10,000 handsets to send fake ratings and 'likes' for boosting clients' online popularity Footage has emerged of a giant 'click farm' in which thousands of phones are used to boost product ratings with phony 'likes'....
Why Twitter is not a social network! It is the telegraph of the internet.
Dr Vikram Venkateswaran A social network is characterized by a high degree of reciprocity. Take Facebook for example; there will not be anyone on your network that you have not accepted into it. If someone known to you sends you an invite you would most probably...
Will Google Force SEO Companies to Ruin Social Media for Everyone?
By Matt Anton Imagine the excitement when the internet was first created. Al Gore..err Tim Berners-Lee would be rolling over in his grave (he’s actually still alive) if he knew the additional game he opened up – online marketing. Ralph Waldo Emerson eloquently stated...
Relationship Management – How To Build A Community That Will Spread Your Brand’s Word
Forbes CMO Network Douglas Atkin, who wrote The Culting Of Brands: How To Turn Customers Into True Believers, observes that brand communities have mushroomed since he published his book six years ago, and social tools like Facebook and Twitter have exploded. But, he...
Your Facebook profile: An open invite to crime?
We have been warning our friends, fans, and followers for a long time about the information they post on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook was created a way for Harvard students to communicate, socialize, and track each other (my 94 year old Uncle has a Facebook page....
Reports that Microsoft and Yahoo! are very near an ad deal
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week, according to the AllThingsDigital blog. The two companies have talked about cooperating for months, after Microsoft's...
Online ad boosts Twitter followers 69%: 4 Steps
SUMMARY: Twitter is fast rising in public awareness -- but is the public aware of your Twitter feed? Find out how Intuit’s TurboTax lifted their number of Twitter followers 69% with an ad that incorporated their “tweets.” Includes tips on audience targeting and...
Twitter 1, Iranian censors 0: Why it’s still working
By Bob Sullivan, The Red Tape Chronicles Why does Twitter work inside Iran even after other Internet services have been disrupted? The key feature enabling it to evade government censorship, some observers say, is something that might otherwise be considered...
Why phishers love Facebook (and Twitter)
By Bob Sullivan, The Red Tape Chronicles Facebook is the new playground for phishers. Why? The social networking site has made things relatively easy for computer criminals. So far, the consequences have been relatively mild -- mostly, some annoying emails. But if...
The problem with planning social media (no problem)
By Cory Treffiletti If you were engaged with digital media planning early in the continuum, say from 1995-2000, you regularly heard the phrase, "building the plane while flying it." That cliché was used commonly to describe the exhilaration and similarly the...