We’re trying out a new feature on TECHi: today’s top tech talking points. If it works out, we’ll be doing it daily on the site and on Facebook. Are off-Facebook ads a threat to Google? Facebook ads were found on Zynga today. ReadWriteWeb notes that Facebook knows who we are while Google knows what we’re trying to find. Which is more important to advertisers and consumers? Will we soon see Facebook ads that compete with Google Adwords? Weigh in on Facebook. Is half-a-million too much for an abused bus monitor? The bus monitor who was verbally abused by kids on her bus has been the center of over half a million…

For the last few months, I have been asked on and off why I didn’t have a TECHi presence on Google+. There are many reasons: our focus on our Facebook page, our ever-growing Twitter presence, the lack of tools that integrate directly with Google+, and, of course, time (or lack thereof) all played a role. It’s not that we haven’t paid attention to Google+; on the contrary, we’ve been very active on it through our author accounts and through encouraging people to share on the social network. Now, the reasons to get on outweigh the reasons to stay off. Google+ is not only growing, but its importance from…

As a smart consumer, you’re probably aware that you’re being “managed,” but what you might not realize is what big business this management has become. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process has evolved to become so intelligent, that your local florist remembers your anniversary before you do, and we could all do with a little help in that department, couldn’t we? Here’s a breakdown of how businesses keep tabs on you and why it is in your best interest.   What is CRM? CRM involves the use of software and apps to organize business processes involving the customer and to track…

Klout, the social influence measure that is likely the most used and well-respected, rolled out a series of changes yesterday. They upgraded their iPhone app to include more features and made changes to their +K system. Giving someone a “+K” is like voting for them as an influencer for a particular topic. This helps their Klout score, which ranges from 10-100, and highlights them within that particular topic. Until today, an individual could be influential in up to 20 topics, but Klout expanded it to include all of the topics in which a person holds influence based upon their social media activity…

Beatles used semaphore signals to promote Help!, their 5th British album. On original British cover, band members hand-gestured to spell out LPUS (on reverse print) or Help Us. It’s a clever use no doubt; but how do you communicate business messages? Do you hand gesture? Or, do you use homing pigeons and torch signals? Definitely not! It’s the age of computer and World Wide Web. Like every façade of life, technology has invaded business communication space rightfully. In fact, improved communication technology helped businesses to have a global reach. Unlike social and inter-personal…

It seems we have seen the last of Google Places. As of May 30, Goggle+ Local has resulted in the replacement of Google Places.  Approximately 80 million Google Place pages all over the world have been automatically converted into 80 million Google+ Local pages. Google+ Local, which is integrated with free Zagat reviews, offers users the ability to rate their favorite businesses via social media. Replacing the star rating of Google+ with the 30 point Zagat rating is believed to encourage users to participate more often with business owned Google+ pages. With Google Places out of the picture,…

Recently the co-chairmen of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, Edward Markley and Joe Barton, sent a letter requesting that Mark Zuckerberg give details about Facebook’s plan to permit pre-teens access to the social mediasite. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Image via CrunchBase"][/caption] With children under 13 years old being protected by the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act which demands that parents give their consent regarding personal data to websites, it’s going to be difficult for Zuckerberg to carry through with…

April 2012 a social media poll of 250,000 voters has listed EA (Electronic Arts) as the Worst Company In America Today beating out 32 other high end companies for this distinction in a March Madness style tournament (Bank of America, PayPal, Facebook, Google, Apple, Sony and Phone Giants Verizon and AT&T). Content like privacy flaps, poor customer service, greed, and giving us the same old crap has annoyed the consumer. While over the last few years EA has lost some of its market to 2K Sports franchises it still maintained being the leader by a slim margins. EA went into E3 gaming expo 2012 with…

Few businessmen are pushing the boundaries of technology further than that of Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page. Where Steve Jobs was able to streamline and successfully market, Page innovates. After meeting fellow co-founder Sergey Brin whilst earning his doctorate degree (at Stanford!) in 1996, Page helped create an algorithm that would launch the most successful search engine on the web and turn it into an empire of innovation, trailblazing technology in almost every field. But having recently faced lawsuits from Apple, Microsoft and Oracle, and with Facebook beginning to take aim…

When all considerations are tallied, it’s possible that Salesforce has invested over a billion dollars into social media through the purchase of Buddy Media and Radian6, not to mention the smaller companies they bought such as Rypple and Jigsaw. Is all of this an ego play to be the biggest and baddest in social media, or is this a series of great moves for the CRM company? [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via CrunchBase"][/caption] Social media is extremely hard to predict and the numbers involved are staggering, but the buzz that will surround the company in 2013…