Last month, talk of Volvo invaded the blogosphere when the company embedded live Tweets into a YouTube banner ad for its XC60 model. The feed kept viewers abreast of live coverage of the NY Auto Show, then gave them the option to follow Volvo on Twitter. It's a simple enough ... more

Twitter has swept the world as an Internet phenomenon. What would it be like if we lived out our offline lives speaking in 140 characters or less? The results would be hilarious, if this video is any evidence. more

The first few months of 2009 have already been tumultuous for reputations. So what can be done? Below, some of the findings of that online-reputation study as they relate to seven realities of managing online reputation in today's world—and some solutions to strengthen your reputation in the months ahead. more

Today's buyer is in control. This transition means that our sales teams are no longer required as a conduit of information. Industry websites, vendor sites, blogs, social media, and search all make the required information readily available and, by doing so, leave the sales representative out of the room. As a ... more

How does helping out a friend, or a friend of a friend, become a million-dollar business... with not a penny spent on advertising? When those little favors are in huge demand—and word-of-mouth and social media spread the good news like wildfire. more

Because we've grown so accustomed to the steady, incremental flow of new technology and information, we might lose sight of how dramatically it has changed, and will continue to change, the way we live, work and market. "Did You Know 3.0," a five-minute slide show set to the Fatboy Slim ... more

When using DVRs to watch television, we've gotten used to zipping through commercial breaks. We've been also spoiled by limited interruptions at online services like Hulu, where ads rarely last for more than 30 seconds. In such an environment, sitting through five-minute advertising blocks on live television seems downright onerous. ... more

We hear lots of advice about maintaining a clean list, and much of it centers on how to handle subscribers who seem uninterested in your messages. At a certain point, you might decide it's time to take them off your list. Before you do, though, consider these four "hidden" segments ... more

If you're a mother, or perhaps you have one, check out this fun promotion by MomsRising.org to celebrate someone you consider "Mother of the Year." more

Last year, Southwest Airlines refused passage to two young women for obnoxious behavior. The ladies immediately went out and told the press they weren't permitted aboard because they were "too pretty to fly"—sparking a media-driven feeding frenzy on Southwest's precious brand equity. It didn't matter that it wasn't true. It ... more

"It's not news to anyone in our industry that we're having to take on changes of tectonic proportions," Gavin Hilton says in a recent post at the RAPP Blog. The RAPP direct marketing agency serves a range of clients worldwide. The debate still rages, Hilton notes, as to which creative "silo" ... more

With all that negativity about today's job market, a bit of lightheartedness doesn't hurt, right? Well, looks like Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma City, has done so by creating THE dream job for a Twitter and Facebook power user who's a wino (no joke). more

Facebook has a checkered past when it comes to user relations. Members cried foul, for instance, when the social-networking giant launched the invasive Beacon system, and they later bemoaned certain aspects of the site's redesign. More recently, they decried the new terms of service that weighed heavily in Facebook's favor. ... more

Twitter has seen massive growth as an online communications tool, especially with the recent influx of celebrity personas (Ashton, Oprah) using it. But perhaps no celebrity has found more success with Twitter than Tony Hawk, who is using it to bridge both his real and his virtual communities. What are ... more

"For several months," says Lori Feldman in an article at MarketingProfs, "I've been asked almost weekly to help someone who's just lost a paycheck to find their next one." Sound familiar? When it first happens to our friends and family, we're very sympathetic—after all, we may be next on the ... more

You may have seen the YouTube video: a pair of Domino's employees gleefully preparing food in a shockingly unhygienic manner. Much to the horror of the pizza chain, the video went viral a few weeks ago. Even several days after the story broke, the first page of a Google search for "Domino's" still ... more

Clearspring Technologies, which has helped everybody from WaPo to UCSF bring their branded wares to the mainstream, has put out a new tool that tells you how popular your widgets are on social networks. The ConnectedAds tool can follow the movement of your branded widget across 80 different social networks, ... more

Mobsmacked: (adjective) That stunned feeling you get when your marketing efforts worked TOO well, and you can't keep up with customer demand. more

The social-media world can be a landmine. Luckily, it's fairly easy to be schooled in good Facebook manners. Check out this video on proper etiquette on Facebook, the "electric friendship generator." more

At a fraction of the cost of traditional media, 3M Canada not only generated immediate sales and new excitement around its Scotch Tape brand but also gathered invaluable intelligence about its target market and forged long-term relationships with consumers. more

Earlier this month, a doctoral student developed a way to post messages on Twitter using only the mind. The discovery could be a lifeline for people with paralysis, offering them a way to communicate when they cannot otherwise speak or move. more

Susan Boyle wowed the world when she recently debuted on "Britain's Got Talent." What are the lessons in her success for marketers? more

Social Notworking: (noun) The pursuits of those who spend their workday on Twitter. more

"Effective one-to-one marketing is more than just email," R.J. Talyor states in an article at MarketingProfs. "[Y]our subscribers and customers aren't always staring at their email inboxes. Rather, they're also posting, texting, watching, commenting, and they step away from the computer sometimes, too." Because of this, he recommends the development ... more

The news is out: consumers are changing their buying—and search—habits. SearchIgnite reports that users are taking longer to make purchase decisions online: the average time between when they click on an ad and convert on a marketer's website increased by 32.4% in Q1 2009 compared with Q1 2008. Ouch. In addition, ... more