Facebook recently announced two new API tools for TV networks and news outlets to access its user data, offering measurements such as the number of statuses mentioning certain celebrities or which gender is interested in a specific news story. The APIs will give TV networks and news media more insight into their audience and programming. The features, Public Feed API and Keyword Insights API, are being offered to CNN, NBC, Sky TV, BuzzFeed, The Guardian, Slate and social media analytics firm Mass Relevance. Continue reading Facebook Offers User Data to TV Networks and News Outlets

When marketers discuss social TV and growing trends involving second screens, they are often thinking Twitter, which has become synonymous with the sharing of TV-related content. Last week we reported that Twitter had acquired social TV tracking service Trendrr in a deal that further consolidates the social TV monitoring market. Understanding social TV is rapidly becoming vital to marketers. Earlier this year, Twitter purchased social analytics firm Bluefin Labs, and Nielsen acquired SocialGuide. Continue reading Despite Growing Competition, Twitter Leads Social TV Wave

Social network Foursquare, which allows users to check-in to a variety of locations and share tips with friends, will soon offer suggestions automatically. The company will announce the first public test of its service that will automatically detect where a user is located and make relevant suggestions. The new app will be tested by 2,000 Android users within the next few weeks with plans to become more publicly available later in the year. Continue reading New Automatic Version of Foursquare, No Check-In Required

Twitter has acquired social TV tracking service Trendrr in a deal that further consolidates the social TV monitoring market. Twitter purchased social analytics firm Bluefin Labs earlier this year, while Nielsen picked up SocialGuide. Trendrr, which was developed by digital agency Wiredset and first launched in 2007, will not be signing any new social analytics contracts and its curation product will likely be fully folded into Twitter’s offerings. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Continue reading Twitter Boosts its Social TV Arsenal with Trendrr Acquisition

As part of its move into the online shopping space currently dominated by Amazon and eBay, Twitter has hired Nathan Hubbard as the company’s first head of commerce. Hubbard was president of Live Nation Entertainment’s Ticketmaster until earlier this month. Twitter plans to initially enter e-commerce by offering retailers tools for selling goods and services inside tweets. Forrester projects e-commerce will be a $370 billion market in the U.S. by 2017. Continue reading Twitter Hires Commerce Chief, Plans to Offer Shopping Tools

Twitter may be responsible for increasing viewership of live broadcast events. The company contends that significant Twitter activity drives buzz, which increases viewership. MTV’s recent Video Music Awards drew 10.1 million viewers, while more than 300,000 tweets per minute were recorded during the Miley Cyrus performance alone. While Facebook also generates social chatter about TV broadcasts, it does not always reach people as the show airs. Continue reading Twitter May Be Increasing Viewership for Live TV Broadcasts

The Airbnb travel accommodations website teamed with ad agency Mullen San Francisco to launch a new experiment in Vine marketing this past week. The “Hollywood & Vines” campaign will result in a short film composed of six-second Vine videos submitted by consumers. Shooting days ran August 22-25, with assigned shots posted hourly. “If your Vine is selected it will be featured on the Sundance Channel and you’ll receive a $100 Airbnb coupon,” explains the campaign’s site. Continue reading Vine Marketing: Airbnb Launches Video Crowdsourcing Campaign

New York-based startup Foursquare may have found its most lucrative business move yet, which involves monetizing data about venues and locations that has been collected from millions of check-ins. The company already monetizes data through a partnership with Gnip, which sells packaged data from social services like Twitter, but these efforts may be expanded in the future if Foursquare partners with Yahoo for the company’s location data. Continue reading Foursquare and Yahoo Discussing Potential Data Partnership

Social media is no longer dominated by the younger crowd. According to Pew Research, more older Americans are beginning to discover the benefits of sites such as Facebook, and a recent study shows that social media use among people over 50 is growing faster than for any other age group. While Facebook is the most frequented social media site for the older audience, it is possible that it will be the launching pad for interest in other services such as Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr. Continue reading Social Media Growing in Popularity With the Over 50 Crowd

As part of its ongoing effort to generate more traffic and potential advertising revenue, Twitter is testing new ways of bringing more television content to its platform. Currently, the company is testing a new feature in which links to TV shows appear as Twitter cards in a user’s Timeline. The cards’ click-through feature provides links to the show, related tweets and accounts that might be relevant to fans of that show. Separately, the company has announced that several updates to TweetDeck will make it faster and more convenient to use. Continue reading Twitter Tests TV Trending Feature and Upgrades TweetDeck

Executives at American Express are targeting millennials with a new sponsorship program that includes prepaid debit cards featuring images from the popular online video game “League of Legends” by Riot Games. Tomorrow, the company will announce a program through which users will receive 1,000 points when they sign up for the card and another 1,000 points when they load $20 onto the card. Additional points can be earned with purchases and when the card is linked to a direct deposit account. Continue reading AmEx Debit Cards to Feature Images from Online Video Game

NBC News is looking to leverage on-the-scene user generated content for its news coverage, envisioning a day when live video could be streamed directly to its New York control rooms from the camera phones of witnesses to newsworthy events. This approach could replace or complement footage by professional crews and ease the pressure of producers frantically searching Twitter and Facebook to locate eyewitness accounts. The network is acquiring Web service Stringwire as its first step toward this goal. Continue reading NBC News to Purchase Stringwire for Streaming Phone Video

Twitter promotes itself as a protector of over 200 million people who publicly share their lives online. But increasingly, carefree tweets are conflicting with differing global laws and standards in new markets for the microblogger. The company’s hands-off approach is being tested as it enters markets in France, Germany, China and Brazil. As it is increasingly subject to local laws, Twitter is facing challenges regarding free speech and censorship. Continue reading Twitter Facing Free Speech Challenges in Global Markets

Facebook’s growth in mobile advertising revenue contributed in part to a surprising second quarter return this year. The social network’s large user base and scalable mobile advertising platforms have become major attractions for advertisers. The company has been taking advertisers more seriously in ad platform development and is working closely with them to understand their needs. As a result, advertisers are becoming more comfortable with Facebook. Continue reading Facebook Mobile Development More Attractive to Advertisers

Television is becoming an important part of Twitter’s advertising strategy. In May, Twitter revealed an experimental advertising plan that will allow companies to use Twitter to directly engage with consumers who see their TV commercials. Twitter reported that users who are shown promoted tweets had a 58 percent higher intent to buy compared with people who only viewed the TV ad. Rates of user engagement were 27 percent higher than previous averages for companies using Twitter to reach customers. Continue reading Companies Can Target Viewers While They Tweet on Shows