Are you a business user struggling to find followers on Google+? Then read on for news that will be just up your street. Google launched Business Pages for Google+ back in November 2011, and now the search giant has finally enabled Page users to communicate with all users on the service. Equally of note, a dedicated analytics product is coming soon to Google+ business users.

via Google+ Pages can now interact with users who haven’t circled them; analytics for businesses coming soon [Updated] – The Next Web.

Since the rise of the Internet, print media — most notably newspapers — have faced a big problem with younger readers. But according to a new study released today by the Pew Research Center and The Economist Group, when you look specifically at the devices they love — the smartphones in their pockets — young adults rival or even surpass their parents and grandparents as news consumers.

According to the report from Pew’s Project in Excellence in Journalism, 37 percent of smartphone owners between the ages of 18 and 29 get news on their devices daily, along with 40 percent of smartphone owners aged 30 to 49. Those are slightly higher than the equivalent rates for 50-64 (31 percent) and 65-plus (25 percent). Among tablet owners, news consumption numbers were broadly similar across age groups, with 50- to 64-year-olds being the peak news consumers.

via Young-adult readers may have abandoned print, but they’ll take news in their pockets » Nieman Journalism Lab.

Instagram has become an unlikely, yet important, online tool for journalists, bloggers and citizens. Not only is it a great way to shoot stylized photos and on-the-go location shots, but it’s also a smart outlet to turn to when looking for eyewitness accounts of major news — people often turn to Instagram thanks to its quick sharing with social media networks like Twitter and Facebook.

However, these past few weeks have changed the service in a radical way, and now is the time to determine whether it’s the right tool for your photos and your personal use.

via How New Instagram Changes Your Journalism – 10,000 Words.

If someone is an internet user, there’s a decent chance they are reading the newspaper online. According to comScore, 644 million people worldwide visited online newspaper sites this October, which it estimates to be 42.6% of the world’s internet users. As their business models continue to tilt away from print and toward digital, newspaper outlets around the world are competing to win the attention of this large and growing audience.

via The World’s Most-Read Online Newspaper Changes the Rules – eMarketer.

Facebook’s stock dropped 2.9% in its first minutes of trading this morning. Investors were likely responding to a report in the New York Post that Instagram, the photo-sharing that Facebook acquired this year, “may have shed nearly a quarter of its daily active users” after changes to its terms of service rankled users earlier this month.

via How a bogus claim about Instagram losing users made Facebook’s stock drop nearly 3% – Quartz.

The closing of several Facebook stores earlier this year by major brands including JCPenney, Nordstrom and GameStop was enough to get some brands to push the pause button on excitement surrounding fcommerce. But brands can still get substantial benefits from firmly planting their flag in the Facebook social media space, as long as they understand the desires—and probable actions—of their followers.

via Facebook Still Top Social Site for Sharing Product Info – eMarketer.

78% of online Americans aged 18-64 agree that online reviews help them decide whether or not to purchase a product, including roughly one-third who very much agree, according to survey results released in December by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange (OTX). Compared to the global average of 69%, Americans are 13% more likely to agree that online product reviews influence their purchases.

via 8 in 10 Americans Agree That Online Reviews Influence Their Purchases.

So what is ‘Integrated Advertising’? on Vimeo on Vimeo

via So what is ‘Integrated Advertising’? on Vimeo.

As far as I know, nothing of any notable significance occurred on Monday, October 15, 2012. The social web was still abuzz from the spectacular achievement in human ingenuity from the night before, brought to you by Red Bull and science. People continued to predictably politick and Rainn Wilson did an AMA. However, for an infinitesimal segment of the human population, October 15th was marked by a frenetic search for answers fueled by an anxiety that can only come from leaked photos of an up-and-coming piece of shiny new tech.

via Anatomy of a Hoax – The Sony Nexus X.

Gartner predicts that by 2015, about a quarter of all companies will have created a new seat at the senior executive table–the Chief Digital Officer. Gartner’s prediction is based on the major transformation underway as companies are digitizing both their sources of revenue as well as their services.

The research group said this is happening because “organizations are digitizing segments of business, such as moving marketing spend from analog to digital, or digitizing the research and development budget.” Also, Gartner says, organizations are digitizing how they service their clients, in order to drive higher client retention. Thirdly, it says, they are turning digitization into new revenue streams. As a result, of these changes, every budget is becoming an IT budget, and the Chief Digital Officer is becoming a logical addition to business leadership.

via Why CIOs May Morph Into the Chief Digital Officer – The CIO Report – WSJ.