This week was full of surprises. Get the lowdown on Apple's big announcements (and what matters most to marketers). Check out Chirpify, which lets you take payments on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And find out what time to tweet suits your followers best. Skim for flying kisses (really...). more

If offered comparable price and quality, 91% of consumers worldwide would switch brands to one associated with a good cause, according to a recent study by Cone Communications and Echo. more

Gaps exist in digital marketers’ perceptions of how consumers want to engage with brands, what influences their purchase decisions, and how they view privacy, according to a recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Lyris. more

Nearly one-quarter of chief marketing officers want a chief customer officer to take primary responsibility for understanding and interacting with the customer, whereas another quarter see the responsibility as their own, according to a recent report. more

What does Salesforce’s ExactTarget buy mean for social sales? What does great branded content look like? How do you pick the right Twitter name, or tweak pictures for maximum Pinnability? And can you really brand a mixtape? Skim for enlightenment! more

This week, the famed analyst released her annual report on Internet trends, and there were some standout mobile findings. more

National Geographic has dominated print media for 125 years, and now the organization is staking its claim on social networks and photo-sharing sites. EVP and CMO Amy Maniatis discusses brand management, the power of content, and the importance of emerging platforms like Instagram and Google+ for increasing your brand's reach. more

Some 81% of moms would buy more from a brand if rewarded, and over 50% are willing to engage with a brand on Facebook and other social media platforms if provided incentive, according to a recent report. more

Nearly four in 10 chief marketing officerssay they do not have the right people, tools, and resources to meet their marketing objectives, according to a recent report. more

Learn why Facebook's blue and how eBay plans to data-woo advertisers. Get the scoop on paid YouTube subscriptions, a better way to manage B2B expenses, and Yahoo's winning content deal. Finish up with a children's story about what should be at the heart of your content strategy. Skim for happily ... more

Michael Stoner shares insights he gained from compiling 25 case studies in higher education marketing, and how marketers can build integrated marketing plans that maximize audience reach using traditional channels, social media, and emerging platforms. more

One in three Americans age 12 and older, or an estimated 86 million people, now listen to online radio on a weekly basis, and weekly audience size of traditional AM/FM radio grew from 223 million to 243 million over the past year, according to a recent survey. more

Twitter launched both Vine and its recently released #Music app with no nod toward Android. So why do brands go iOS first, even though Android dominates the smartphone market? more

To demonstrate how marketers have adapted to media innovations through the last century and developed measurements for them, IfbyPhone created the following infographic about the evolution of the "growth hacker" from the 1920s to today. more

The inbound marketing industry, though still emerging, is playing a vital role in how marketers are doing their jobs, although challenges remain, according to the just-released fifth annual State of Inbound Marketing Survey from HubSpot. more

Find yourself some Yelp killers, LinkedIn stats, a delicious social alternative to PowerPoint, Twitter #ComedyFest, scratch-and-sniff banner ads, and GIFs... for TV! Skim to get caught up on the week's social goings on. more

Do we need yet another product category? If mobile phones became even more useful when they became smartphones, will the same happen to watches? more

As online video becomes a part of the marketing plans of a growing cross-section of advertisers, 72% of video buyers' budgets increased in the past year; moreover, 48% of those who buy online video advertising have added mobile video to their marketing arsenal. more

Jason Falls of CafePress talks about cause marketing, Autism Awareness Month, and how businesses of any size can give back to the community. more

Even as events remain a vital part of the marketing mix, and a key channel for direct one-to-one customer engagement, marketing executives—lacking visibility into the conversion pipeline—don't have sufficiently effective methods for measuring the impact of events and tradeshows on sales and revenue (and therefore can't prove ROI). more

Though not competing for the Iron Throne, Sales and Marketing have long warred against one another in struggles worthy of a "Game of Thrones" TV episode. Pardot has mapped out the battle between the House of Sales and the House of Marketing. more

US B2B marketers are struggling to optimize their online marketing mix, with many unable to segment and target the right decision-makers or measure program success across the entire marketing funnel, according to the results of a survey developed and fielded by Crain's BtoB magazine and business audience marketing company Bizo. more

For the first time in two years, optimism levels are rising among the world's global executives, according to the annual Decision Dynamics survey by the Financial Times and Doremus. more

This week we cover mobile's increasing role as couch potato, its star turn in theaters, and a couple of ways Google Glass adds perspective. All in just over a minute. more

Michael Weiss, managing director at figure18 and a veteran speaker, consultant, client advocate, and sales executive, has an interesting perspective on marketing and advertising, not to mention the role of the agency, in today's always-on, always-open business environment. more