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premium Storify!  brands can customize it Real-time updates: Publishers can now live-blog using Storify complete with dynamic, live updating of all stories. Custom story display: Ability to customize how Storify works on a publisher's site with full CSS styling options and unrestricted API access Enterprise-level support: Storify is giving priority technical support to VIP customers either by email or phone and an "enhanced Service Level Agreement" Custom sources: Publishers can now mix their own content, including posts, photos, or even comments into their Storify content by creating a custom source Private stories: Storify now allows publishers to share stories privately within an organization

"McDonalds beacon case study (retail) 26 McDonald's franchises in Columbus, Georgia tested out iBeacon technology with its customers. Over the four week trial, the franchises were pushing special deals for McChicken Sandwiches and 10 piece Chicken McNuggets. The iBeacon powered promotions pushed McChicken Sandwich sales up 8 percent and Chicken McNugget sales up 7.5 percent. Based on the initial results of the pilot it looks as though McDonald's will continue to explore the technology for an additional 263 retail stores in the southeast. "Everyone is looking at their phones, millennials especially, and that's where we've decided to engage," Jack Pezold, a McDonald's franchisee of 40 years, said in a statement. Spotless beacon case study (enterprise) Spotless is an Australian owned and managed provider of integrated facilities management services. In 2014, Spotless partnered with Lighthouse to build and deploy a custom workforce management solution with the goal of reducing litigation claims in the commercial cleaning service line. The solution allowed Spotless to understand when cleaning KPI's are missed in real-time and produce employee location reports that can be used as legal defense against slip and fall litigation claims in shopping malls. Spotless has also been able to optimise their workforce and reduce operating costs by analyzing Lighthouse powered heat mapping of employee movements. The solution has been so successful that Spotless are extending the capability across other service lines including facilities management, security and maintenance. Read the full case study here. Pause Fest beacon case study (events) Pause Fest is Australia's premier digital event, aimed at supporting and showcasing the best in creative and tech from Australia and all over the world. In 2015, Pause Fest partnered with Lighthouse to deploy a network of beacons that delivered proximity based content and experiences to attendees, while enabling real-time event analyt

The Walgreens mobile app lets customers scan their mobile devices at the register to earn points and redeem awards without the need to carry a physical card. The app allows us to integrate Balance Rewards with other great mobile features, including in-store aisle maps so you can find the school supply or Band-Aid you need, and photo print services so you can send your pictures direct from a mobile device to our store for copies. LoyalBlocks, customers sign up through the app with their favorite stores that participate with the program. When they visit the store, the app communicates with the merchant's tablet, which automatically checks the customer in and sends them token rewards and deals.

Among the findings: Overall, 29% of video service customers watch paid video content via handheld device. Some 18% of customers use tablets for viewing paid video content, making them the most-often-used handheld device, up from 11% in 2011. The use of wireless phone customers has increased to 16% in 2012, up from 14% a year earlier. Viewing of paid content via desktop and laptop (PC/Mac) has declined to 39%, down from 48% in 2011.

ZipList (Igrocery list and recipe service) not only had to face off against a growing number of recipe aggregation and shopping services, like Paprika, Yummly and Grocery IQ, but also found it couldn't compete for attention against entrenched cooking brands on the Web, such as the Food Network and Epicurious. So ZipList changed tack. Last summer it began partnering with big food brands MarthaStewart.com and the Daily Meal, as well as small food blogs that began integrating the ZipList recipe box directly into their sites. The results were impressive: In nine months it signed up 120 big-name food sites and 6,500 small blogs, which in turn generated 1 million customer accounts for its digital recipe and shopping list service.

Microsoft will roll out the new music streaming service to many customers on Tuesday as part of an update to the Xbox gaming console he service will let users stream more than 30 million tracks worldwide across Microsoft's ecosystem of Windows 8 mobile devices and PCs, as well as the Xbox. Think of it as Microsoft's in-house version of Spotify.

The video, entitled 'What's a VIDEO worth?' is designed to show just how big online video has become, how big it is expected to grow and why brands would be remiss not to hop on the online video bandwagon.  Just a few of the statistics that companies and brands will find hard to ignore in the video are as follows: 68% of viewers share video links (and sharing means more promotion for your brand!) More than 50% of the videos on YouTube have been rated or include comments from the community (which means a brand new way to engage with your customers!) Having a video on the landing page of your website makes it 53% more likely to show up on the first page of a Google search (and who doesn't like higher ranking in search results?) The average user's visit to a text and image-based website lasts only 43 seconds; for a website with video, the average visit lasts 5 minutes and 50 seconds (ding! ding! ding!) Customers that watch videos of products or services are 85% more likely to make a purchase (ka-ching!)

But in the last several months, AT&T has been reducing the number and length of calls to its call centers by relying on so-called smart videos from New York City-based SundaySky. The videos are personalized tutorials that are built on the fly using pre-scripted clips mixed with the subscriber's own data. The system works off a video template that incorporates visual elements, narration and integrated information from a user's account. Users end up seeing a video bill that addresses them, acknowledges their recent account activity and leads them through their biggest billing questions.

Zappix aims to replace voice menus with a web-based visual option that determines the best department to connect them to before initiating the call.

Article with stats on how customer service should be the focus for business

So essentially two things are driving this: the social internet and the economy. Sad but true: "People are willing to endure poor service from cable companies, cellphone providers, banks and credit-card companies because they don't see a convenient alternative"

"Austin, Texas-based rental car service Silvercar will offer streamlined operations, a seamless smartphone user interface, and only one type of vehicle: silver 2013 Audi A4s. Customers can book reservations through a smartphone app, which will also let them manage personalized vehicle settings and preferences. They will be able to choose and unlock their rental car by scanning it with their phone."

"News agency Reuters reports that Staples in the U.S. agreed to install Amazon Lockers. Similar to BufferBox, Amazon's service sends customers an email with a pickup code they enter on a touchscreen to open the self-serve locker containing the package. Shoppers have three days from delivery to pick up the package."

"Facebook might have found a way to get people to use a long-neglected feature: check-ins, where you announce to your friends where you are. It is testing a new service that offers local businesses free Wi-Fi through a router. To get online, customers must either check in using Facebook or get a passcode."

people going to social for writing reviews and looking for reviews

Buy a CD, get the digital version free. Is this potentially the start of a trend? Can I get an eBook if I buy the hard copy?

""I really think there is a need here. Simplicity, efficiency and fun," he said. "There is a lot of power in being able to push coupons, updates to loyalty cards, tickets and payment options right to the lock screen of a consumer's device. Geo-locating passes is an incredibly powerful feature of the Passbook platform. Nothing could be simpler than shopping at a mall and automatically seeing the passes that are relevant to what's around me: 'Oh yeah, I forgot I had that 15 percent off coupon at Bose. I might as well stop in.' " That's exactly the sort of practical perk that Passbook's early adopting brands seem to love. Online movie ticket service Fandango was a Passbook launch partner, and the company president tells Adweek that the brand's iPhone app downloads skyrocketed with the debut of Passbook. While mobile tickets were already available through the Fandango app for select theaters, Passbook simply made them easier for customers to use. When you arrive at the theater before the movie, your mobile ticket pops up on your iPhone lock screen. Swipe the icon to open the ticket in Passbook (without even having to unlock your phone), and you're good to go."