With the number of Facebook and Twitter users growing exponentially, it’s not hard to see why social media is high on many marketing agendas. The belief that “there’s gold in tham thar hills” is supported by recent research from Penn State University that shows 20% of tweets are requests for product information or comments upon products. (more…)

David Meerman Scott, one of our favourite marketing authors, posted an excellent item on his blog overnight.  It’s a video interview he did recently with Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, on why Lutz devotes so much of his time to blogging and social media.  GM’s recent history notwithstanding, Lutz is a very influential and highly regarded executive, and it is fascinating to hear him explain why he became one of the first corporate bloggers back in 2004. (more…)

ZDNet reports that Twitter isn’t looking at advertising to answer the long-awaiting question about how it makes money from its 17 million users.  Instead, the talk is of tools under development that users might buy to enhance their experience.  Quite how this will keep step with the army of app developers out there is an interesting question, but good to see the business thinking laterally.  (more…)