Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction – NYTimes.com

The clever code is the handiwork of Narrative Science, a start-up in Evanston, Ill., that offers proof of the progress of artificial intelligence — the ability of computers to mimic human reasoning.

The company’s software takes data, like that from sports statistics, company financial reports and housing starts and sales, and turns it into articles. For years, programmers have experimented with software that wrote such articles, typically for sports events, but these efforts had a formulaic, fill-in-the-blank style. They read as if a machine wrote them.

via Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction – NYTimes.com.

4 Reasons Every Online Brand Should Explore Gamification Strategies

Adding a few visual game elements to a brand’s site in order to “gamify” a marketing strategy and increase engagement just isn’t enough. To be done right, gamification must take a behavior-focused approach.

For instance, by offering rewards for user actions, consumers are more likely to engage with a brand — that is, visit the site more often, register, linger and invite friends. But while gamification is a major buzzword among interactive marketers today, game use isn’t new.

So what’s making gamification so popular today? Consider these four factors.

via 4 Reasons Every Online Brand Should Explore Gamification Strategies.

How the World Uses Social Networks [INFOGRAPHIC]

Amidst the Facebook-centric society in which we now seem to live, it’s important to remember that groups of people around the world use social networks differently. We’ve taken a look at the social media breakdown in 10 countries — how they’re engaging with social networks, blogs and Internet culture.

Based on data provided by Nielsen, Facebook is clearly the favored social network. However, you might be surprised to see how runners-up like Twitter and LinkedIn rank on a global scale.

Take a peek at our infographic, and please let us know in the comments below which social networks are popular (or gaining popularity) in your country of residence.

Editor’s Note: Because reliable data about emerging online markets like China and India is difficult to source, they were regrettably omitted from this graphic.

via How the World Uses Social Networks [INFOGRAPHIC].

How to Supercharge All Your Favorite Webapps with ifttt

The joy of automatization of process in the world of social media … think about the possibilities for our clients ?

Wouldn’t it be handy if every time someone tagged a photo of you on Facebook, that pic were automatically added to your Dropbox folder? If items you starred in Google Reader were automatically added to Instapaper or Read It Later? Or if you received a text message whenever it was going to rain? If This Then That (ifttt) is a brilliant web service that let’s you plug information from one service into another, allowing you to link all your favorite webapps to create super-charged integration between tools like Gmail, Dropbox, Instapaper, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, and oh-so-much more. Here’s how to use ifttt to get more from your online life.

via How to Supercharge All Your Favorite Webapps with ifttt.

Social media – Women do it longer, but men do the talking

Women are more likely to use social networks than men, says a new study by Rebtel, the world’s largest independent mobile VoIP company. The survey (conducted across 2,361 U.S. adults ages 18 and up) examined three key metrics related to social media and voice/phone consumption, specifically:

Expected frequency of use of social media communication methods in the near future.

Social media consumption habits of online U.S. adults when communicating with certain people.

Popularity of social media communication among online U.S. adults if they could only choose one method to communicate with certain people.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, women have been revealed as being more social than men overall, with women being 68% more likely to use social networking or media to communicate with friends other than in-person. Assuming that those surveyed also represent the much-larger U.S. population, that’s 75 Million women communicating with friends via social networks vs. 57 Million men.

via Social media – Women do it longer, but men do the talking.

7 Lessons From Successful Companies on LinkedIn

7 Lessons From Successful Companies on LinkedIn.

Brands are beginning to establish best practices communicating with their customers and prospects onFacebook and Twitter. But many companies large and small have yet to fully leverage the social network for professionals, LinkedIn. With over 120 million user accounts, LinkedIn has also become an essential social network for companies, especially those in B2B, to leverage in their communication plans. Success on LinkedIn isn’t just about individual efforts, it’s about team efforts.

3 Ways to Improve Your Company’s Social Media Architecture

The decentralized nature of social media is its greatest strength. Anyone can participate. Everyone has a voice. This is also the greatest challenge for brands that must manage the inherent conflict between empowering their own organization to participate while still maintaining continuity and quality of customer experience. The current sprawl represents a great waste of energy and resources. As organizations continue to invest in social media, and the market continues to demand a “social media strategy” articulated in every board room and annual report, the terms of success will move from isolated pages and campaigns to connectedness and coordination. For that, we need social media architecture.

via 3 Ways to Improve Your Company’s Social Media Architecture.