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"So, how does a Facebook mobile ad network solve this problem? Easy: Evernote allows its users to sign-up using their Facebook account.  Facebook takes this user ID, and checks the cookies the same user's browser had last time he or she logged into Facebook or visited one of the pages tracked by Facebook's data partners. Facebook then takes the anonymized data about this user (really, many similar users) and sells Evernote ad inventory to advertisers trying to reach that kind of user. If the Facebook mobile ad network works out, it is a big, positive development for several constituencies: Advertisers, who will be able to reach customers on mobile, a platform that is going to be bigger than desktop by the end of the decade. App developers, who will be able to monetize through targeted advertising. Users, who will have more and better apps to use because there will be a better financial for developers to make them."

"Line, a Japan-made WhatsApp rival that is owned by Korean content giant Naver, just announced that it has hit 10 million registered users in Thailand at a press conference in Bangkok today, marking the first time it has provided a figure for a market outside of its native Japan. The company has more than 75 million users worldwide, so a pretty significant chunk of its user base is in Thailand, but more impressive than that is the fact that Facebook itself has 17.9 million users in Thailand (it is Facebook's 17th largest market)."

Power users accounted for 78% of the total time spent in apps in the first quarter, accounting for nearly five times more sessions per month than average users. "Power users" are defined as the third of people responsible for the most in-app actions on its rewards-based network in the quarter, according to new data from mobile ad platform SessionM.

after setting their standard wakeup time, they indicate how much earlier they'd like to be woken up in cases of frost and snow. During the night Winter Wake-Up monitors local weather conditions based on the user's current location and decides whether or not the user will need to be woken up at an earlier time. When conditions are poor, users will then have the time they need to dig out, de-ice and get to work on time. Users can also choose not to be woken at all when extreme conditions make their commute hopeless.

Mobile messaging application Viber has released version 2.2, introducing group messaging as well as improved call quality and several user interface enhancements. The company also said it has reached 90 million users, with users making over 1.5 billion minutes of calls each month. This is a jump of 20 million users in just over two months.

The vast majority that clicked on ads was likely to take some action, including receiving a coupon (51%), research a product (49%) or making a purchase (46%). After coupons, ads featuring specific product searching, favorite brands, and location information were most likely to entice smartphone users to interact with them. When it comes to mobile platforms, the study found iOS users trumped Android device owners in ad responsiveness. People using iPhones and iPads were more likely to make a purchase than Android-based users. The findings, presented Monday at the IAB's Mobile Marketplace conference, were based on a survey conducted by ABI Research of 552 U.S. adults who use a smartphone with data service at least once a week, and 563 corresponding tablet users. The sample was split evenly by gender and covered those18 to 65+. The study also emphasized that mobile no longer means merely "on-the-go," with virtually all tablet and smartphone owners using their devices at home-the most common place for mobile activity. Tablets are viewed mainly as media consumption devices;  smartphones are considered "mission-critical" tools that 70% won't leave home without.

Nearly half, 47 percent, of tablet users say they engage with advertisements more than once a week. That's according to a recent report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. On the smartphone side, 25 percent of users said they have the same weekly engagement. Following ad engagement, 80 percent of smartphone users and 89 percent of tablet users take action, said the report. The "Mobile's Role in the Consumer's Media Day" report studied behaviors on both types of devices, finding each used devices in different ways.

Instagram had an average of 7.3 million daily active users - or DAUs, in Facebook parlance. That tops of Twitter's 6.868 million DAUs over the same period of time, according to the report. What's more, the average Instagram user spent 257.0 minutes accessing the photo-sharing site via mobile device in August, the data claims, while the average Twitter user over the same period spent 169.9 minutes viewing.

 Mapkin is a new platform that lets friends send each other personalized directions, with custom instructions and voice recordings. Once users have created a route from one point to another, they can begin to add elements along the way. Choosing from a list of popular stop-off points or creating their own, they can include points of interest such as restaurants, gas stations and parking spaces. Mapkin enables users to also add their own comments along the way - directing friends to avoid a particular junction or simply making instructions clearer or more fun. To replace the limited selection available with standard GPS navigation devices, directions can be complemented with users' own voice recordings. Maps can then be saved and shared with friends over email, SMS or social networks.

"Facebook is making strides towards becoming a multi-media communication juggernaut, its head of Messenger David Marcus announced today at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Out of Messenger's one-billion users, 300 million people use its audio and video calling features each month. That's around the size of Skype's entire user base. Facebook is uniquely well-suited to disrupting traditional home and mobile phone voice calling and their successor, video calling. It has the most complete social graph of family, friends, and acquaintances - going beyond what's in most people's phone contacts. It has a one-billion user chat app where people are already spending tons of time. And it has the technology infrastructure to support high-bandwidth transmissions."

Twitter + Instagram for tweens. [Users] either insert their own text or choose from a library of celebrity quotes from the likes of Adele and Effie Trinket of "The Hunger Games."  Mr. Broyles noted that he built the feature that lets users pick out quotes after noticing that many young users had a tendency to replace the filler text he used when delivering a new theme with "Bored" and other brief phrases. "When you're a 12-year-old, what do you really have to say?"

"Target's private marketplace operates similarly to others that retailers like Best Buy and Amazon have developed recently. For example, a user may visit Target.com and check out its high-def TVs. As that user navigates to other parts of Target's site, a brand like Sony or Samsung could run ads aimed at that user promoting their TVs-provided they are sold by Target. But the ads don't have to pertain so closely to a specific product category. Adweek encountered a Subaru ad running on Target's DVD and Blu-ray players page; a peek at the page's site code revealed that the ad was sourced through PubMatic."

"At any rate, the 10.4 million figure seems to be at least marginally good news for Foursquare, which, according to one investor capital source, is having to work harder for funding these days than in years past. ComScore earlier this year reported Foursquare drew just between 5 million and 6 million users monthly from March to June.  The Nielsen number is likely informative for brands still in the consideration stage about cultivating their Foursquare presence through organic features on the app or via the platform's nascent ads offering. Whether or not it's a good number for three-and-a-half-year-old Foursquare is probably a matter of opinion. And it's worth noting that Nielsen ranks the geo-social company only behind Facebook (78 million) and Twitter (23 million) in terms of July mobile app users. Overall, Foursquare usage, per Nielsen, was up 118 percent during the month year-over-year."

People can now follow these user-generated magazines they like, just as they can follow other content on Flipboards. When people interact with their magazines, the magazine creator will get notifications. Flipboard will also highlight these user magazines in its content guide of topics that it curates.

Cody also acts as a kind of virtual coach. When users first load the app, they're asked to identify their goals - from losing weight to building muscle tone to de-stressing. For now, the app just surfaces original content about workouts, healthy living and other topics that match up with those goals. But, ultimately, Javid said, the plan is for Cody to learn from users' activity and recommend articles, workouts, people or places that fit their interests. In time, he added, the app could integrate with fitness tracking devices to get an even more comprehensive view of each user.

In terms of what activities internet users are engaging in on mobile vs. desktop, in Q1 2013 Experian Marketing Services found that US mobile internet users spent the greatest percentage of their mobile web time using email, a 23% share of time spent vs. only 5% of time spent on desktop. Social networking came in second on mobile, garnering 15% of time spent. Travel also occupied a greater share of time on the mobile internet (9%) compared with the desktop (1%).

Isis is expanding a program that lets mobile users pay for vending machine purchases via their smartphones with a loyalty tie-in that rewards repeat users. The new program provides free products based on points earned by smartphone users who pay at participating vending machines with the Isis Mobile Wallet.

Hidden in Facebook's 1 billion monthly active users announcement today is one statistic particularly worth underlining: the service is now seeing 600 million monthly active mobile users.

"Though the growth of Renren has lagged behind that of upstarts like Sina's Weibo, the company posted strong user growth in the second quarter, with 45 million unique users accessing the network in June, up 31% from a year earlier. Its registered users rose to 162 million from 124 million a year earlier."