Brickbat: Pirate Radio

Zimbabwean police have been
seizing
radios in villages across the country. Officials say the radios
are being used to spread hate speech. But human rights activists
worry it's part of a clamp down on media before elections later
this year.

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Pirate Radio

Zimbabwean police have been seizing
radios in villages across the country. Officials say the
radios are being used to spread hate speech. But human rights
activists worry it's part of a clamp down on media before elections
later this year.

Read More

13 Major Brands That Advertise On Media Takeout, The Web's Trashiest Gossip Site

Media TakeOut is a gossip site that makes TMZ look like The Wall Street Journal.

Its headlines are written in a knowing parody of ghetto slang. A typical story has the title, "OH NOOOOOO!!! Kim Kardashian's Thighs Have Been RUBBING TOGETHER Since The Weight Gain . . . And Now They Look All BURNT UP!!!"

It's safe for work ... mostly. Just be careful what you click on.

And dozens of blue-chip brands are advertising on it, including Visa, The Wounded Warrior Project, and AT&T.

One problem with online advertising, particularly when it's bought via automated bidding, is that often huge companies with wholesome images end up unintentionally buying ad space on a strange assortment of websites. As long as the ads get shown to the target audience for the right price, the rest is just details.

We've collected images of 13 brands that might not know what they're advertising next to.

Sometimes the ads on Media Takeout are what you'd expect on a site covering news like the hottest trends in Florida strip clubs.

But many of the online ads are from big companies with relatively conservative marketing plans.

A State Farm ad, for example, popped up next to a story about about singer Ashanti's weave ... and her butt.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Have Pinterest, Foursquare And Groupon Peaked?

Social Media Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that collects and delivers the top social media news first thing every morning. You can sign up to receive Social Media Insights here or at the bottom of this post.

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Have Pinterest, Foursquare And Groupon Peaked? (Inc)
One of the biggest social media strategy challenges is figuring out into which channels and platforms to invest time and resources. It might feel like every month another new social media platform launches that you need to know about. Pick the right channel early on and you could hit the jackpot — achieve early success, have your case study featured on all kinds of media outlets, attract more followers from all the free press and have social media talents knocking on your door for a job. Pick a channel that never gets off the ground or after it has peaked, and it could be you and the crickets at your next social media ROI analysis meeting. For example, is Pinterest fading in terms of audience engagement now that all the power users have pinned to their hearts' content? Read >>

Here Are The Rude Tech Industry Twitter Types (Conduit via Bit Rebels)
This infographic called The Tech Industry’s Most Obnoxious Tweeters, by Conduit, lists 11 different tech industry Twitter personality types. If you read down the list, it will make you laugh out loud. We all know people who fit into each one of these categories, and you may have seen some tweets that look very similar to these in your Twitter stream. You might even find that you are one of these tech industry types yourself. That’s okay, whether you are a wannabe founder, a tech nob or even a tech jerk, we still appreciate all that you bring to the tech industry. The best part of this infographic is reading the Tweetlations. Now you’ll know how to interpret those tweets next time you see them. Click here for the full infograph. Read >>

Let's Use Social Media To Predict The Future (CNN)
Could social media be analyzed to predict real-world outcomes? Leading British economist Noreena Hertz believes analyzing social media chatter will become a dominant force in the business of forecasting. "Over the past few years I have been really quite obsessed with how technology is changing the way that we make sense of the world," she says. Last year, Hertz carried out an experiment to demonstrate the power of social networks as a tool for better understanding human behavior. Her and a team of computer scientists, sociologists, and economists worked together to develop a method of research that they hoped would enable them to predict the winner of talent contest The X Factor. In doing so they were able to make an accurate guess about who would stay and go each week. Read >>

Tips Before Launching A Crowdfunding Project (PRWeb)
Crowdfunding Expert Kendall Almerico, the CEO of ClickStartMe, has released five tips for people to follow before they start a crowdfunding project:

1. Thoroughly think the project and rewards through before launch
2. List and define your network
3. Define the "core" of supporters and get them ready to donate and help on day one
4. Research blogs, media and other sources of publicity
5. Before launch, write every Facebook post, every Tweet and every e-mail that will be sent to each segment of the network

The key elements to every successful crowdfunding project are planned and organized before the project is even launched. Read >>

CRM And Social Media For Small Business (Salesforce)
Implementing the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application can increase sales efficiency – you can close more deals, increase sales, and improve forecast accuracy. We’re not talking just a couple percentage points here and there. If used correctly, a CRM can improve productivity by 30 percent. CRM manages most of your critical customer information so that you can look at it all in one place. Without leaving the application, you can view contact information, follow up via email or social media, manage tasks, and track your performance, among other benefits. Click here for the full infographic. Read >>

The Truth About Social Media Measurement (Marketing Land)
What counts as good and valuable measurement for social media is unique to almost every client. While there are some commonalities between companies in similar industry verticals, there simply is no “cookbook” for social media measurement that applies universally. What this means is that you can’t simply watch what the gurus are measuring (or the competition, or that guy you met at the conference) and adopt it as your own. To make matters even more complicated, there is an enormous amount of data available about social media. Sorting through all of it to find the bits that will be useful simply isn’t an option. These challenges often lead to two common disasters: Analysis Paralysis and/or Mindless Reporting. Read >>

Social Influencers: Digital Marketers’ Most Misused Resource (Mediabistro)
The question of the moment for digital marketers (which is to say, marketers) is how to reach influencers on social media. How can those folks with tens of thousands of Twitter followers and millions of blog pageviews be engaged with and utilized as a brand mouthpiece? And how can that be done organically, to some measurable end? Read >>

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