This Week in Digital – 10/16/2013

An 800% increase in social media use, the mystery of high cable bills is solved, Twitter goes heavy into television, privacy changes for Facebook and Google - and a surprising partnership between the two behemoths - social media ROI is dead, the demographics behind the major social networks, key skills for anyone looking to succeed in marketing, a lawyer gets the last laugh and more, it's This Week in Digital & Social.

A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.

Each week at Ford, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, social media, mobile, digital communications and marketing in order to keep the wider team up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in their jobs. These are those links.

If you have additional links, sources or ideas that might be helpful, I'd encourage you to add some via a comment below. And if you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the This Week in Digital & Social Magazine.

Industry

• Most advertisers will be boosting spending in mobile (64%) and digital (51%) next year, but the digital formats are of interest: social media, video sites and video ad networks are among the top three categories under consideration for increases, whereas portals such as Yahoo! are plateauing. (Advertiser Perceptions via eMarketer)

• Digital channels are blurring; making sense of them is important. Two key trends in digital are measurement and attribution amidst an omnichannel approach. (eMarketer)
• Why are cable bills so high? There has been a 50 percent collapse in broadcast TV audience ratings since 2002, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. (Business Insider) 

• Some 72 percent of online Americans are now on social media - an increase of some 800% in eight years. (Pew Internet and American Life Project)
• Move over, PayPal: direct non-cash money exchanges between individuals is becoming easier. Mobile payment leader Square is debuting Square Cash that allows anyone with a debit card to instantly send money via email. (The Verge)
• And Simple's MoneyDrop will soon let users transfer funds via Bluetooth. (TechCrunch)

The Platforms

• Nielsen is teaming up with Twitter to unveil social TV metrics that will show the reach of TV-related conversations on Twitter. (Variety)
• Twitter also announced a tie-up with Comcast for a "See It" button that will allow users to see snippets of programming directly within Twitter. (All Things Digital)
• A different - if dangerous - way to sustain a business: Twitter defines itself by what Facebook isn't. (Fast Company)
• Facebook is the social network most likely to be used for brand advertising, followed by YouTube and Twitter, with LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest trailing. Additionally, 58% said that 5% of their budgets were going to social and 34% said that up to 10% of their budgets were going to social. (STRATA via eMarketer) 

• Facebook is testing the addition of 'follow' buttons for Pages. (The Next Web)
• New Insights are rolling out to all Facebook Pages globally. (Inside Facebook)
• And Facebook's latest privacy changes mean that your profile picture, cover image, name and gender are now subject to search results, regardless of your privacy settings. (Digital Trends)
  • Should you be concerned, here's how to lock down your Facebook privacy. (Gizmodo)

• Not to be outdone, Google announced it will include users' names and faces in display ads related to products they've reviewed or commented on. (Bloomberg)
  • Should you wish to opt out, we've got you covered. (ABC News)
  • Users are already exacting revenge by converting their Google profile images to Eric Schmidt's. (CNET)

• In a surprising move between competitors, Google announced that it is participating in FBX, Facebook's real-time bidding exchange for ads. (The Next Web)

Measurement / Metrics / Big Data

• Social data is beginning to make personalized marketing a reality with data collection, segmentation and conversion. (Mashable)
• The death of social media ROI? Companies are starting to drop the idea that they can track the dollar value of social media. What's social good for, then? Audience-building, brand awareness and customer relations are top choices. (Business Insider)

Legal / HR

• Case law: a racing team sued a parody site and its connected Facebook and Twitter accounts - and lost, showing that sometimes common sense needs to triumph.
• Just for fun: Crease and Desist chronicles one of the best back-and-forth exchanges between lawyers ever. (Now I Know)
• An add-on to Facebook's Graph Search can turn it into a recruiting engine for companies. (Mashable)

Bookmark / Read / Watch Later

• Go behind the scenes with Twitter's TV team on their vision and strategy for the importance of a strong connection between tweets and the tube. (Fast Company)
• What skills do you need to succeed as a marketer? ({Grow})
• One reporter learned some valuable lessons when she quit social media for an extended period of time. (Fortune)
• Here's a breakdown of some surprising demographics behind each of the major social networks. (Business Insider)
  • The 45-54 year-old Facebook demographic has grown 45% in the last year.
  • 68% of Instagram's users are women.
  • 27% of 18-29 year-olds use Twitter.
  • Google+ skews the most male, with 70% of its users male.
  • LinkedIn is the most international of the set.
  • Pinterest is dominated by tablet users and 84% of its users are women.
  • Only 8% of Tumblr's users have incomes of $75,000 or more, and tend to be teens and young adults interested in self-expression.

Commentary

It's almost a given now. Some members of society share (and overshare) so much information on social platforms that they leave little to the imagination. So-called "lifestreaming" was popularized some 6 years ago, but the ubiquity of Facebook, Twitter and the like has made the concept all the easier.

Andy Warhol famously said, "In the future, everyone will have 15 minutes of fame." But with the amount of personal details that we make readily available to the public, the opposite is closer to the truth. And why shouldn't it be? As humans, we all have a need to feel heard and acknowledged. The public sharing and affirmation that come with it would seem to be a natural extension.

However, recent announcements by Facebook and Google (mentioned above) should make users think otherwise. To their credit, both platforms have informed users how to avoid such privacy pitfalls with instructions of how to set up posts or how to opt out. But in reality, how many average users will take the time to not only understand the nuances but also to make the changes to their accounts based on the instructions? Certainly, Facebook and Google are hoping that few will - indeed, their advertising models are based on that.

Marketers should hope for the same, as shared personal information is what makes Facebook so highly targetable and Google ads so human and personal. If large numbers of users defect from these practices or platforms, it may be of concern to marketers.

In an era where "everything that happens in Vegas stays on Google," it's risky to have such a loose grasp on privacy. There may be ramifications much farther down the road that no one has yet foreseen. Then again, if you don't want your online ramblings, rants or antics to be public, perhaps you shouldn't be posting them online in the first place.

Photo credit: eyemage (Flickr)