Marketing Technology 5
Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed
MT5 Edition: #43
Stories This Week: Google+ opens API a smidge, Facebook settles sponsored stories suit, a Microsoft tablet!, LinkedIn targeting, behind the scenes at McDonalds
1. Google+ API Expanding, Flipboard Integration & Flipboard on Android
[FastCompany]Â [cNet] This is a two-fer. Â Google+ is finally starting to open up and allow other apps to publish to it. Â In addition, Flipboard is now available to the millions of Android phone users.
My Take: HUGE for several reasons. I may rant here a bit.  Google+ is actually very awesome. It’s an attractive app with great features. Don’t believe me? Check it out on your phone, the experience seems significantly better than the Facebook mobile app. The chief problem with Google+ is the only way you can access Google+ is through it’s website or app.  You can’t share an update from your favorite social management system (Hootsuite, Buffer) or via another app (like Instagram). As Google+ opens up to other platforms it makes it easier to use and naturally people are more likely to use it.  Will people leave Facebook for Google+? No, but you may find yourself having different types of conversations with a different network of people. Twitter is the social networking service most likely to lose traffic to Google+.
2. Facebook to give users more control over controversial ads
[cNet] Facebook will give users more control over the advertising tool, which features users’ profile photos and other information in ads for businesses and products the users have “Liked.”
My Take: You saw this coming right? People were not happy with Facebook monetizing their “Likes” without their permission. Â See Facebook? This is why people don’t trust you; you continually are trying to pull one over on your users.
3. Microsoft’s Surprises With A Tablet Announcement
[Engadget] Microsoft announced it’s developing a 10″ tablet with a built in keyboard.
My Take: Light on details but the hardware seemed intriguing. Take a wait and see on this. Â My favorite response to the question “how did Microsoft keep this a secret?” Easy, no one wanted to know.
4. LinkedIn Adds New Targeting Options
[AdWeek] Last October LinkedIn announced marketers would be able to post status updates to their company pages. Now the business-minded social network is adding the ability for marketers to pinpoint those posts at specific groups of followers.
My Take: I’m not sure what we’re talking about here…Is it Ads, email or impressions on the LinkedIn website?
5. Behind the scenes at a McDonald’s photo shoot
I included this story because it’s great social content. I don’t generally eat fast food but I’ve heard the complaint that the food you get looks nothing like what you see in the commercials. Â Looks like McDonalds heard that complaint too and decided to tell their own side of the story. Caveat, you can bet that every aspect of this was staged despite the “man on the street” style.
BONUS:Â Get Your Instagram Photos Out of the Cloud and Onto Something Awesome
[Gizmodo] Turn your Instagram photos into an iPhone case, stickers, t-shirts, etc.
My Take: I recently read this story on how the culture on Instagram is different, more private and therefore more open than Facebook.  I thought folks might want to know how to bring their filtered photos into the physical world.Â
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