Social Media

The Nokia Lumia 928 is essentially the Verizon iteration of the landmark Lumia 920. That's the short version of this review. If you liked the Lumia 920 but wanted it on Verizon, this is the phone for you. Yes, there are a few differences — the Lumia 928 has a different screen, better camera, more enhanced microphone system and a slightly different design — but at its core, its the same phone. This isn't a bad thing. The Lumia 920 remains a great phone and continues to have one of the best smartphone cameras on the market — particularly with low-light photography. With Windows Phone 8, Microsoft continues to eschew the specs race game. It can't match the high-end Android phones on the market, which typically have a quad-core processor (or even octo-core with some regional variants) and at least 2GB of RAM. Many are even pushing the pixel densities into the stratosphere with 1,920 x 1,080 full resolution screens. Read more...More about Verizon, Reviews, Windows Phone, Tech, and Gadgets

Consumers are more active on social media than ever before, and not surprisingly, many marketers are struggling to keep up. It seems that, with an ever-evolving sea of data and technology, marketers don’t know where to start. Marketers are told what they need to do, but no one’s telling them WHY these tactics are important or HOW to execute a campaign around them. The WHY is just as important as the WHAT and WHERE. In order to dominate, we have to remember the basics of social media marketing and management. So let’s get back to the basics: 1. Optimize Campaign Performance Most successful marketing campaigns running today have one thing in common: they include consumer touch- points that cross multiple channels. And in today’s consumer landscape, the one channel you cannot afford to ignore is social media. Build a social brand presence on Facebook by publishing Pages that facilitate consumer interaction and then ask for that interaction. Offer Facebook fans and Twitter followers a reason to engage via social channels and drive conversions with fan-gated promotions and coupons. 2. Grow Your Subscriber List with Facebook Data collected via social media, combined with CRM and behavioral marketing data, has proven to increase overall campaign effectiveness. After all, the more you know about your consumers, the better you can deliver relevant, timely messages. If you want consumer data, you have got to ask for it. So start by promoting a branded lead form on Facebook that requests email addresses along with basic demographic information. 3. Engage Loyal Customers by Using the Timeline In order for a brand to be successful on Facebook today, they must see engagement from their fans. While it does require more strategy and higher-quality content, it also provides a greater opportunity to engage with previously idle fans, turning them into customers and eventual brand advocates. Gather your most engaging content and draw attention to it by “starring” and “pinning” it to your Timeline. For your brand, this may include - Video footage, Commercials, Event promotions , and Special announcements Use Value-Add messaging to engage your customers. Ensure that they get the most out of their like and/or purchase. Publish tips and tricks that maximize the value of their engagement with your brand on social media and work toward nurturing a positive brand experience. Whatever content you decide to “pin” or “star,” make sure it’s capable of enhancing your Facebook presence. Your network of Facebook fans should find it interesting, relevant, and be eager to engage with you because of it. 4. Remember the Mathematics We must get better at analyzing and using data to create personalized and relevant messaging for our future and current customers. This could be as simple as keeping track of names, addresses, and past purchases via a spreadsheet. It could also be as complex as managing millions of different data points. Only the data relevant will survive. Remember, that the lifeblood of any company is measured on our ability to create happier customers. We are reaching the point in social media where we must become more responsible with data and measuring the ROI of every channel.

Despite official claims to the contrary, HTC will be releasing a variant of HTC One with stock Android, Geek claims citing unspecified sources HTC's flagship smartphone without the company's Sense UI should be announced "within two weeks," with a full release in the summer Sources claim the device would first become available in the U.S., and a launch under Google's wing — similar to the Galaxy S4 Google Edition — is also a possibility Though many users are excited about the idea of a Sense-less HTC One — it would, after all, be one of the most powerful devices with stock Android you can get — we'd take any HTC-related rumors with a grain of salt. With the recent staff departures and reports that the company is in disarray, anything can happen Read more...More about Sense, Tech, Mobile, and Htc One

When Justin Bieber tweets, 39,361,876 people (and counting) immediately jump to attention. But when one of those nearly 40 million people tweet, does the Beebs see it? Does he react at all? Communication among terrorist cells works much in the same way as Justin Bieber's Twitter account, according to mathematicians from Ryerson University in Toronto who have built a mathematical model of the way information spreads through these hierarchical networks. Their approach may give counterterrorism agents insight into terrorism hierarchies and allow them to predict terrorist attacks and sabotage networks before the attack plans can be carried out. Read more...More about Terrorism, Big Data, Tech, Apps Software, and Dev Design

The Guardian's international editions are proliferating, but before the newspaper launches an online edition in Australia later this year, it's uniting all of its websites under a single domain, theguardian.com. Currently, The Guardian operates three websites. The primary one is guardian.co.uk. It has a second URL for its U.S. operation, guardiannews.com, which redirects to guardian.co.uk on section and article pages. It has a third subdomain for mobile, m.guardian.co.uk. The Guardian describes the move as a symbolic one. "As we set out on our mission to become a unified, global [organization], we now have one domain we can rally behind," Guardian U.S. CEO Michael Bloom said in an interview with Mashable last week. "[And] it will be much easier for users and partners," he added. Read more...More about Media, Newspapers, The Guardian, and Business

If you’re in the restaurant business, what are some proactive ways that you can and should be using social media to raise awareness of your business, drive customer footfall and increase covers? Well, how about using Facebook and Twitter to promote and show off new menu items? You can empower your employees (whom you can also source through social channels) to act as brand ambassadors to help spread the word, and use Instagram and Pinterest to share mouth-watering photographs of your head chef’s latest creations. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

It’s that time of year again- FarmVille’s birthday! This year, FarmVille is celebrating it’s fourth birthday with a special 30 Days of prizes which will reward players with a free prize every day.  The 30 Day of prizes will begin on May 20th, 2013 and will run until June 19th, 2013. Today is officially day four of the 30 days of prizes. Simply login to your FarmVille farm and click on the birthday icon (right side, see below) to claim your free prize. The FarmVille Birthday 30 Days of Prizes, has its own quick button with a “4″ birthday candle icon that can be found on the right side of your in-game play area. FarmVille Birthday Day 4: Atlantis Buildable Part Package FarmVille 30 Days of Prizes Day 4 Daily Prize: Atlantis Buildable Part Package FarmVille Daily Fun Fact: The first animal not typically found on farms to appear in the game was an Elephant! Sneak Peek of all the Birthday Prizes after the jump! FarmVille 4th Birthday Prizes: FarmVille Birthday Day 1: 4th Birthday Cupcake Cow FarmVille Birthday Day 2: 4th Birthday Candle Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 3: 10 Fuel Refills FarmVille Birthday Day 4: Atlantis Buildable Part Package FarmVille Birthday Day 5: Fertilize All Package FarmVille Birthday Day 6: 4th Birthday Bush FarmVille Birthday Day 7: 2 Mystery Game Darts FarmVille Birthday Day 8: 4th Birthday Party Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 9: 20 Watering Cans FarmVille Birthday Day 10: 3 Unwithers FarmVille Birthday Day 11: 4th Birthday Chicken FarmVille Birthday Day 12: 3 Pack of Turbo Chargers FarmVille Birthday Day 13: Sunlight & Mushroom Package FarmVille Birthday Day 14: 10 Farmhands FarmVille Birthday Day 15: 4th Birthday Mare FarmVille Birthday Day 16: 4th Birthday Sheep FarmVille Birthday Day 17: 4th Birthday Bouncy House FarmVille Birthday Day 18: 3-Pack of Instagrows FarmVille Birthday Day 19: 4th Birthday Bedazzled Horse FarmVille Birthday Day 20: 10 Arborists FarmVille Birthday Day 21: Atlantis Treasure Parts Package FarmVille Birthday Day 22: Book of XP FarmVille Birthday Day 23: 4th Birthday Cake Pop Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 24: 20 Fuel Refills FarmVille Birthday Day 25: 4th Birthday Gnome FarmVille Birthday Day 26: 4th Birthday Party Horse FarmVille Birthday Day 27: Australian Vineyard Package FarmVille Birthday Day 28: 4th Birthday Cotton Candy Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 29: 4th Birthday Unicorn FarmVille Birthday Day 25: 4th Birthday Pegacorn

Stage 3 of the FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular escapade is now available! The previous stages have expired. The Scrapbooking Spectacular escapades will start on May 21st, 2013 and finish on June 11th, 2013! This multi-stage escapade can be found on the outskirt of your FarmVille farm. Simply click on the feature to get started. Each stage has a specific time frame and the requirements will have to be met within that time frame to receive the reward for each stage. FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 3 Requirements: Collect 6 Glues Time: May 24th, 2013 – May 25th, 2013 Reward: Stamp Sheep Sneak peek of all the upcoming escapade stages and their rewards after the jump! FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 1 (Expired) Requirements: Get 6 Scissors, Get 6 Blank Pages & Get 6 Book Jackets Time: May 21st, 2013 – May 23rd, 2013 Reward: Buttons n Beads Tree FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 2 (Expired) Requirements: Collect 6 Colorful Ribbons Time: May 23rd, 2013 – May 24th, 2013 Reward: Ribbon Goat FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 3 Requirements: Collect 6 Glues Time: May 24th, 2013 – May 25th, 2013 Reward: Stamp Sheep FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 4 Requirements: Collect 6 Buttons Time: May 25th, 2013 – May 26th, 2013 Reward: Stencil Pig FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 5 Requirements: Collect 3 Photos Time: May 26th, 2013 – May 27th, 2013 Reward: Glitter Fountain FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 6 Requirements: Collect 7 Stamps Time: May 27th, 2013 – May 28th, 2013 Reward: Scrapbooking Gnome FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 7 Requirements: Collect 7 Glitter Time: May 28th, 2013 – May 29th, 2013 Reward: Sticker Cow FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 8 Requirements: Collect 7 Construction Paper Time: May 29th, 2013 – May 30th, 2013 Reward: Book Pedestal FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 9 Requirements: Get 8 friends to help Time: May 30th, 2013 – June 1st, 2013 Reward: Buttons n Beads Horse FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Stage 10 Requirements: Get 5 Stickers, Get 6 Stencils & Get 8 Paper Flowers Time: June 1st, 2013 – June 5th, 2013 Reward: Paper Mache Tree FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 11 Requirements: Collect 6 Gel Pens Time: June 5th, 2013 – June 7th, 2013 Reward: Glitter Peacock FarmVille Scrapbooking Spectacular Escapade Stage 12 Requirements: Get 5 Brads, Get 6 Sequins & Get 8 Bows Time: June 7th, 2013 – June 11th, 2013 Reward: Scrapbooking Unicorn What do you think of this escapade and its rewards? Will you be working on it?

Don’t count me among the people who think Microsoft’s Xbox One announcement was an unmitigated disaster. It wasn’t. In fact, it was exactly what I expected. Why everyone else in the gaming community seemed to be blindsided by it is beyond me. Now, I’m a news journalist but not one who deals full-time on the subject of games. I don’t talk to industry insiders. I don’t get press releases on new games. I don’t attend trade shows. I play games, I read about games, and occasionally I write about them. Despite the basic level of knowledge this exposure gives me to the inner workings of the industry, I knew exactly where Microsoft was going with its next Xbox. The writing has been on the wall for the last couple of years, displayed daily by the very Xbox 360 consoles sitting next to so many televisions. Did no one notice the less than subtle transition? Did they assume it was a fluke? Or did they simply think Microsoft wouldn’t dare poke the bear that is the gaming subculture, a loud and sometimes fatalistic collection of voices crying deep into the night on Internet message boards? Yes, Microsoft is now fully comfortable in placing the Xbox at an intersection where video games, TV, movies, music, and sports meet. Microsoft execs feel confident that the Internet is becoming a more ubiquitous and pervasive entity — something that will consistently be there and available to people at all times. They feel the digital age will usher in a new way to share games with friends as well as buy and trade on the second-hand market. They have the notion that, on the whole, somewhere down the road, people will stop regularly playing their old games in favor of new ones. I don’t find any of these ideas to be particularly groundbreaking. Microsoft isn’t revolutionizing gaming with Xbox One, it’s simply bringing it up to code with the rest of our modern amenities. “But what happens if my Internet goes down?” ask people who certainly must be eyeing warily their stove tops and microwaves pondering the implications of an interruption in gas or electric service. I suppose it won’t work, but catering to the exceptions rather than the rule makes you a better doomsday prepper than a gamemaker. I live in and around some of the most backwoods areas of the continental U.S. you could imagine, but four-wheel drives and smartphones are still pretty commonplace. If your high-speed Internet service is spotty or nil, talk to your local government officials because your situation is far more dire than access to video games given the trend of digitally transferring for all types of information (medical records included). There’s actually not a lot to hate about the Xbox One once you settle your mind on the fact gaming has become an accepted part of the entertainment spectrum and will be treated as such from here on out. Perhaps we have spent too long skulking in basements and bedrooms, becoming set in our ways partaking in our niche interests. Perhaps this kind of mainstream exposure will ultimately be a good thing for the evolution of the gaming culture. Perhaps getting out there will help us all see the forest for the trees next time. Filed under: Games GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here! .blurb-cat-games hr { margin: 10px 0 10px 0; }

Samsung may sell more smartphones, but a new Apple ad claims that more people listen to music on their iPhones than any other phone The 60-second ad, which broke Thursday night, is a bit of a stylistic departure for the brand. The music is downbeat — even somber — the visuals are grainy, even a bit gritty. Images show people grooving to music on their iPhones while practicing their dance moves, studying and even coming out of the shower It's not clear where Apple got its stat. The company recently claimed that 25 billion songs have been sold through its iTunes music store. However, there are other ways to listen to music on the device, including via apps like Spotify and Pandora Read more...More about Business, Advertising, and Marketing