Devon Glenn

Google’s policies are once again under scrutiny as Microsoft and others have caught the company circumventing users’ privacy settings to track them with cookies. But Google representatives have pointed out that they are not alone.

Pinterest is letting publishers opt out of being pinned.  The change is in response to criticism that the online pinboard violates artists’ copyrights.

Badgeville has partnered with Klout on a social loyalty program that identifies social-savvy customers by their Klout scores and gives them new and creative ways to earn rewards.

The Internet and the real world can be two very different places, but this infographic shows that a brand’s value in one is intimately tied to its performance in the other.

Surveillance used to be reserved for catching criminals (and celebrities in bathing suits). Now, thanks to location-based social media tools, our lives have become an Internet reality show that’s supposedly produced for our own entertainment. Today on the Morning Media Menu podcast, I joined GalleyCat editor Jason Boog to figure out if we should be flattered or completely freaked out.

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The old days of taping signs to a telephone pole are numbered. A new location-based tool called Pinwheel lets people find and leave notes around the world.

In January, Facebook announced the launch of 60 new timeline apps including Pinterest. At the time, Spotify was already seeing a benefit from having users share their playlists on Facebook – their membership rose to 1.4 million subscribers. Less than a month into the launch, the Facebook development team has reported dramatic gains in traffic and user engagement for lifestyle networks.

Groupon is testing out a VIP membership on a select group of Groupon enthusiasts for $30 a year.  Would you pay for first dibs on deals and reservations, access to sold-out and expired deals, and store credit for unused Groupons any time? It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Did you know that before Facebook or MySpace – and even before Friendster – there was a social network called Friends Reunited? This infographic from MarketingDirecto.com contains this and other factoids from over 30 years of online social networking.

Social ranking sites like Klout have made a person’s influence online very valuable to both brands and consumers. But the next wave of influence tracking systems might look more like ZoomSphere, a site for ranking brand and profile pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.