SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 5/7 - 5/13/2013

Welcome to START THE SHIFT, our weekly SHIFT newsletter where you can find updates on all things social. There is a lot happening in the world of social media, and you can always count on us for the highlight reel.

This week's buzz:

Twitter's Video-Sharing Vine Exploded 200% Last Month
Traffic to Twitter's video-sharing network Vine exploded last month, making Vine.com one of the fastest-growing sites in America. Vine hit second place on Compete.com's fast mover list for April, surpassing two million unique visitors to the website alone. Read more >>

Bing Users Can Comment on Facebook From Search
Bing users can now interact with Facebook posts directly from the search engine's social sidebar. The social sidebar displays posts from Facebook and Twitter that are relevant to the user's search query. With the new integration, users can interact with these posts. Read more >>

How Brands Will Take Advantage of Instagram's Face Tagging
Instagram has become a special opportunity for marketers to craft visual narratives at the intersection of brands and people. This opportunity has increased with the recent introduction of "Photos of You," which allows users to tag other people in their photos. Read more >>

Facebook Rolling Out Video Ads to News Feeds
Facebook will roll out video ads onto users' news feeds as soon as July, according to recent reports. The #1 social media company (which just joined the Fortune 500) is launching video ads in a bid to capture some share of TV advertising revenues. Read more >>

Other Significant Links:
Twitter Acquires Data Visualization Startup Lucky Sort
Which Social Network is Best for B2B Marketing?
Study: Major Brands Cling to Instagram
Facebook's Next $1B Acquisition May Be Social Driving App Waze       
Which Social Networks are Growing Fastest Worldwide?
Why is Pinterest a $2.5 Billion Company? An Early Investor Explains...
Facebook Previews New Features for Home (Near 1M Downloads)
Foursquare Adds Yelp-Like Filters to Website
How a Picture of Kale Went Viral on Pinterest
Emerging Markets Drive Facebook User Growth
7 Ways to Create an Awesome LinkedIn Group
YouTube Launches Paid Channels with 'Sesame Street,' 'Young Turks'
Analysis: Google+ Struggles to Attract Brands, Some Neglect to Update
Reports of Lower Facebook Usage Based on Ad Data, Not Official Figures
Social, Digital Video Drive Further Growth in Time Spent Online
Hearst's New Digital Chief on E-Commerce and the 'Natural Evolution' to Native Ads

Uber Offers $20 Off Rides to #StartTheShift2013 Attendees

Hey, San Francisco:

Trying to figure out transportation for our event tonight? Get on-demand car service to #StarttheShift 2013 with Uber! If you've never used Uber before, they are providing a special promo for Start the Shift attendees--new Uber users get $20 off your first trip with the code TheShiftSF 

Here's how to get started:

1. Sign up for Uber at https://www.uber.com/go/TheShiftSF 
2. Download the Uber app for iPhone or Android, or go to m.uber.com in your mobile browser and sign in.
3. Select your pickup location, and request a ride! The $20 credit will automatically be deducted from your first UBERx, Uber Black, or Uber SUV trip. Learn more about how to use Uber here.

We look forward to seeing you tonight!

*$20 credit is for new users only and doesn't apply to Uber TAXI trips. More questions? Get in touch at t.uber.com/support, or leave us a comment. We'd be happy to help!

SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 3/26 - 4/1/2013

Welcome to START THE SHIFT, our weekly SHIFT newsletter where you can find updates on all things social. There is a lot happening in the world of social media, and you can always count on us for the highlight reel.

This week's buzz:

Vine Update Will Deliver Videos Around the Web
With a recent update, Twitter's video-sharing app Vine began enabling users to embed their videos on websites in addition to sharing them on Twitter and Facebook. The update will allow the popular 6-second, looping videos to appear around the web. Read more >>

Facebook Cranks Up Ad Targeting in User News Feeds
Facebook will start placing ads purchased through its ad exchange, FBX, in news feeds of users, including retargeted ads from Zappos, Zipcar, Bonobos and many others as it ramps up advertising. The move will give exchange-purchased ads more visibility. Read more >>

Twitter Ad Revenue to Near $1 Billion in 2014
Analytics site eMarketer has raised its forecast for advertising spending on Twitter for 2013 and 2014, estimating the company will earn $582.8 million in global ad revenue in 2013 before nearing $1 billion next year. According to the forecast, more than half will come from mobile advertising. Read more >>

Will you be in SF for Ad:Tech next week? Join us for a panel event with James Borow (SHIFT), Adam Gerston (SHIFT), David Jakubowski (Aggregate Knowledge), Steve Katelman (Omnicom), and Rob Leathern (Optimal). Lean more and RSVP today, as space is limited!

Click to read more ...

SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 3/19 - 3/25/2013

Welcome to START THE SHIFT, our weekly SHIFT newsletter where you can find updates on all things social. There is a lot happening in the world of social media, and you can always count on us for the highlight reel.

This week's buzz:

Are Marketing Tech Partnerships Worth It?
In Digiday, SHIFT's Adam Gerston notes, "Every marketing tech company seems to have a partnerships group, or someone responsible for building partner relationships. These are geared to help the company succeed, but is a partnership just business development in disguise?" Read more >>

Facebook Working on Incorporating the Hashtag
One of Twitter's most iconic markers, the hashtag, may soon be used by Facebook. The network is incorporating the symbol as a way to facilitate group conversations, said people familiar with the matter, but it is ultimately unclear how far along work on the hashtag is. Read more >>

Introducing Pinterest Web Analytics
Pinterest has officially announced Web Analytics, which gives site owners insights into how people interact with pins that originate from their websites. Users with verified sites will get information about pins coming from their site, how many people have seen the pins, and more. Read more >>
 

Blog Posts:
SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 3/5 - 3/11/2013
SHIFT Wins Best Internet/Ad Tech Funding at LAVA Venture Awards

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SHIFT Wins Best Internet/Ad Tech Funding at LAVA Venture Awards

We are excited to announce that SHIFT was recognized last night at LAVA’s Annual Venture Awards Dinner as the Best Internet/Ad Tech Funding.

Over 250 leaders in the Venture Capital community, including CEOs and founders of successful emerging companies, attended the LAVA dinner. It is an honor to have been chosen by The Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) for this award.

This is another testament to the hard work and dedication of the SHIFT team, but we would also like to take a moment to thank the LA tech community for your continued support. The LA tech scene is booming and we couldn’t be more proud to be surrounded by such a talented community of entrepreneurs, innovators and risk takers. 

In just three short years, we have grown from a small start-up to an API partner with Facebook, Twitter, and customers including Marriott, Toyota and Verizon. We are honored that SHIFT has been named the company with the Best Internet/Ad Tech Funding by LAVA, and would like to thank our customers and partners for believing in SHIFT.

SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 3/5 - 3/11/2013

Welcome to START THE SHIFT, our weekly SHIFT newsletter where you can find updates on all things social. There is a lot happening in the world of social media, and you can always count on us for the highlight reel.

This week's buzz:

Facebook Revamps News Feed: 'Personalized Newspaper'
Facebook revamped its most-used feature: its News Feed, making its design more image-focused & mobile-friendly, while providing more ways for people to access specific content. Read more >>

What the New Facebook News Feed Means For Brands
Facebook's re-imagined its News Feed experience has enormous implications for every brand with a Facebook page. Read more >>

How Promoted Tweets Impact Brand Metrics
In recent months, Nielsen analyzed brand survey data to measure how Promoted Tweet campaigns influence the audiences that see them, how effective they are. Read more >>

Click to read more ...

It’s Official: Facebook Announces Changes to News Feed

The rumors we reported yesterday are true; Facebook announced today that its News Feed is undergoing some changes.

In addition to new feeds for photos and music, users will also have the option of an “All Friends” feed, which only shows posts from friends. The pages only feed will now be called a “Following” feed, and will contain news from celebrities, businesses, news outlets, and sports teams connected to the user. 

The redesigned news feed will also apply to mobile, although users will not see the changes on as soon as they will on the web. The desktop redesign is rolling out today, and phones/tablets will see the changes in the next few weeks.

You can find more detail in Forbes’ live coverage of Facebook’s press announcement here.

Facebook Rumored to Change Appearance of News Feed & Ads

According to multiple TechCrunch sources, Facebook will announce changes to its news feed on Thursday. Key changes in the redesign include:

• Revamped music feed
• New photo feed
• Larger images and image-based ads

The Photos feed will consist of users’ photos from both Facebook and Instagram, while the Music feed will have social context (music friends are listening to) along with concerts and new albums from band pages users have liked.

As for the feed’s appearance, TechCrunch’s sources say that there will be “buttons located at the top of the feed below the search box will let users switch to view one of the different feeds at a time.” See below for their mockup of the new design: 

Source: TechCrunch

Click to read more ...

SHIFT's Weekly Newsletter: 2/26 - 3/4/2013

Welcome to START THE SHIFT, our weekly SHIFT newsletter where you can find updates on all things social. There is a lot happening in the world of social media, and you can always count on us for the highlight reel.

This week's buzz:

Announcing the 2013 OnMedia 100 Top Companies
Chosen by AlwaysOn, this year's 100 top companies - plus 35 to watch (including SHIFT) - are transforming the digital media paradigm into a vital new distribution pathway. Read more >>

Facebook Confirms PMD Changes, Paid Media at Center
Facebook discusses changes to the application/recertification process for the Preferred Marketing Developer program, which affect existing & prospective PMDs. Read more >>

Study: Brand Engagement Growing on Instagram
According to a new study on brand engagement on Instagram, 59% of Interbrand's Top 100 brands are on the photo-sharing network, up slightly from 54% in November. Read more >>

Facebook Acquires Atlas From Microsoft
Facebook's new acquisition should help the social network beef up its display ads and allow advertisers to compare Facebook campaigns to the rest of their spend. Read more >>

Click to read more ...

SHIFT Chosen by AlwaysOn as OnMedia Company to Watch

We are excited to announce that SHIFT has been honored in the 2013 OnMedia Companies to Watch list.

The AlwaysOn editorial team and worldwide industry experts join to create the list, based on each company’s innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

This award is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the SHIFT team. Over the last year, we’ve made significant innovations to the SHIFT platform, which include earning a special distinction as one of Facebook’s Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers, the public beta launch of the SHIFT platform, and the official integration with Twitter’s Ads API. SHIFT is the only open marketing platform with both Twitter Ads API access and the Facebook sPMD classification. SHIFT joins fellow enterprise software companies Salesforce and Adobe as one of just three platforms to share both distinctions.  

We are honored SHIFT has been named an OnMedia 2013 Company to Watch and would like to thank all of our customers and partners for your continued support. We look forward to continuing to innovate on your behalf and provide you with tools to help you market better together.