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"The survey polled 80 ad shops earlier this month with 47% of respondents saying their clients are waiting until after the elections to advertise in order to avoid competing with political buys. Strata surmised that the finding suggests that advertisers are concerned about future costs. That finding is also a significant shift from a similar survey done in the second quarter, when a majority of agencies polled said they were willing to compete with political advertisers, and only 18% said they would wait to advertise until after the elections."

Called Smileage, the app syncs with Google+ so others can monitor particular trips, and draw in data, comments on photos from all the phones which are synced with the car during any given journey. Users are awarded Smileage points for completing certain tasks, such as uploading photos. Even passing other VW's count, as the app creates a little 'punch' every one is passed on the road.

Here's a video about Smileage: http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/volkswagen-smileage-social-road-trips-powered-by-google/

Bolger pointed out that people are overwhelmingly (91%) using tablets at home, typically in the living room and bedroom. Hence, the rise of two-screen viewing. More than half (53%) of those surveyed by comScore said they use their tablet while watching TV, with more than half of that group (56%) doing activities related to what they are watching.

Thirty-five percent of America's 170 million fans are using mobile devices to follow sports, which is up from 21 percent in 2011 and reflects overall web trends; 23 percent of these are using mobile to watch video

The sheer volume of images generated on social media is staggering. Between Facebook and Instagram alone, consumers are generating nearly 2.5 billion images every week. Images are becoming so core to the social experience, that Facebook just revamped its feed to be more visual. Add into the mix Pinterest, Tumblr, Polyvore and Wanelo, and it's clear that consumers increasingly prefer to communicate with pictures rather than words. 

We've seen numerous mobile apps designed to improve drivers' safety on the road, but Automatic takes what may well be the most comprehensive approach to date. With the help of a small device that plugs into the car, the Automatic app monitors that car's health, makes money-saving driving tips, remembers where the car is parked and more. Users begin by plugging the Automatic Link device into their car's data port; it supports every gasoline-engine car made since 1996, its San Francisco-based maker says. Once that's done, the car and smartphone will automatically connect wirelessly whenever the user takes a trip. Among the services Automatic provides along the way are driving suggestions for better fuel efficiency, trip timelines including miles per gallon, and automatic crash detection as well as sending alerts to 911 and loved ones. Also available are engine-health monitoring and parking reminders. Pricing is USD 69.95. The video below explains the premise in more detail:

Both Sony and Disney are among the first studios testing this new service, which makes its debut in South Korea, reports the Wall Street Journal. The move is being done to help curb piracy overseas by allowing people to rent movies a few weeks after they're released in theaters. For example, Django Unchained was released just three weeks after its debut in theaters across the country. Disney's Wreck-it Ralph, and Brave are also part of this new trial service.

Customers acquired via Twitter are worth 23 percent less, and Facebook brings in just barely average clients. But pay-per-click advertising brings in customers worth 46 percent more, and organic search brings in buyers who are worth a massive 54 percent more than your average customer.  

Tumblr is recommending that advertisers use Radar to promote posts that feature images or GIFs because these are the posts that result in the most engagement actions -- likes, reblogs and follows. Tumblr also lets advertisers pay to reserve space on Tumblr's Spotlight section, which organizes Tumblr blogs by category. This is about as targeted as Tumblr advertising gets right now. While many internet upstarts are focused on highly-targeted advertising, Tumblr seems to be at least initially focused on broad-based advertising buys aimed at reaching as many Tumblr users as possible. "We don't really know anything about our users," Mr. Webb said, adding that Tumblr only collects email addresses and birth dates. "And we don't really care," he added. "We will give you great content and you will find it on your own."

four unique market segments that are most likely to look to customer communities when making personal decisions -- explains why they are important and how brands can leverage their social media strategy to nurture a relationship with them

Interesting perspective on mobile technology, how it enhances work and damages personal lives. "Any worker who uses a mobile device (including laptops, smartphones an tablets) and accesses networks to do their job at home, in the field, or while traveling for work"

Well, the number of American Express members who chose to participate are impressive, as is the resulting activity. Here are the statistics to date as reported by Visibli, which is keeping a real-time tally: 25,705 members have joined the program (72 new users per hour); 156,415 special offer hashtag messages have been tweeted (286 tweets per hour); $7,051,729 total dollars have been spent; $1,402,625 in discounts have been collected; And the numbers continue to mount!

But if we have learned anything in the last few years, it is that traditional media are now only in charge of part of the story. There is a paucity of facts and an excess of processing power because everyone with a keyboard is theoretically a creator and distributor of content. Most of those efforts begin from behind a firmly established battle line, then row backward to find the facts that they need. Was that a dark spot on the back of George Zimmerman's head in the grainy police video, or evidence of a beat-down? We retweet and "like" what we agree with and dismiss the rest. As if the overheated cable news debate weren't enough, social media are fueling the story with misinformation, along with incendiary calls to action. There is a Twitter account called "@killzimmerman" that suggested George Zimmerman needed to be "shot dead in the street." On Twitter, the movie director Spike Lee passed on what he thought was Mr. Zimmerman's address, but it was wrong and an elderly couple was forced to flee from their home. And what if Mr. Lee had gotten it right? (Mr. Lee has since apologized and reached a settlement with the couple.)

But Dutch tweens who are happy with their lives are immune to the corrosive effects of materialism and watching hours of television, the study found. Only children who were both unhappy at the study's start and logged a lot of TV time were susceptible to the siren call of marketing. For these kids, frequently seeing advertising made them more materialistic, the researchers discovered.

"Google Play presents: Steven Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in their first ever Hangout On Air where they will be exclusively premiering the trailer for their upcoming movie, Lincoln. If you want to be one of the lucky fans to join the hangout please: -Let us know how we can contact you here http://goo.gl/ApTvq. -Upload a short video to your YouTube channel with the #lincolnhangout tag explaining who you are, why you are interested in "Lincoln" and what you would like to ask Spielberg and Gordon-Levitt -Reshare this G+ event"

"Unsurprisingly, Google is still at the top of the pile: it will account for 56% of all mobile ad sales. Perhaps more surprisingly, Twitter is doing better than Facebook in driving revenues where mobile ads are concerned: the world's biggest social network will make half as much as Twitter in mobile ads this year: $72.7 million versus $129.7 million, the analysts say. However that is bound to be reversed over time: eMarketer predicts that by 2014, Facebook will be making $629.4 million in mobile ads, compared to $444 million for Twitter, putting Facebook at a distant second to Google. Longer term, eMarketer predicts that U.S. mobile advertising will generate sales of $12 billion by 2016."

infographic on what people are doing online in terms of social, finances, news, personal business, shopping, web surfing/research

Social Proof: 81% of customers reach out to friends and family members on social networking sites for advice before purchasing products Authority: 77% of online shoppers use reviews to make purchase decisions Scarcity: 77% of people like getting exclusive offers that they can redeem via Facebook. We assign more value to products that are less availableLike: 50% of shoppers have made a purchase based on the recommendation of the people they follow(and like) on social networks. We follow those we like and do the things they do Consistency: Purchases made from the brands we trust reinforce our future shopping patterns Reciprocity: We have an innate desire to repay favors in order to maintain social fairness, whether those favors are invited or not

Detects where you are in the building and lets you adjust the temp. It determines the optimal temp when multiple people are adjusting. Cool thing is that it monitors your movements and can adjust the temp of a room before you go in. 24% reduction in energy use