(from Mashable)

Not only did Apple surpass Microsoft in market capitalization to become the second most valuable U.S. company in 2010, it also superseded Google to become the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world, according to a study published by global research agency Millward Brown.

Apple’s brand value jumped 84% to $153.3 billion, driven largely by the company’s success with the iPad and iPhone 4, the study found. Google’s brand declined 2% to $111.5 billion. IBM, McDonald’s and Microsoft rounded out the top five.

With a 246% increase in brand value to $19.1 billion — the greatest leap of any company in the survey — Facebook made its debut on the top 100 chart at number 35. Baidu, the leading search engine in China, was the second-fastest climber at 141%, placing it at number 29.

Other notable findings: Amazon (14) overtook Walmart (15) to become the most valuable retail brand in the world at $37.6 billion; Toyota once again became the most valuable car brand; and 12 of the top 100 brands in 2010 came from China.

Brands’ values were determined by a mix of factors, including future earnings (discounted to their present-day values) and in-depth consumer surveys, Millward Brown says. For further information, see the full report.

There was a time when a friend was truly a friend, and “to like” something meant you really did. That was before Facebook.

On Facebook these words don’t have quite the same meaning they do off Facebook. You have your friends, and then you have your Facebook friends. Yes, they can be the same, but whenever you can “add a friend” by clicking a button there’s going to be the tendency to loosen your standards, especially with something so public where having lots of friends makes you look popular and cool. (My 15-year old niece has 749 friends) Now the question is: Do they Like you? (more…)

In a first-ever survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project that exclusively examines Twitter users, it was found that only 8% percent of American adults who use the internet are Twitter users. It is an online activity that is particularly popular with young adults, minorities, and those who live in cities. Full report.

#1) “Out of the box” This was an OK expression about 15 years ago. Today, it’s very in-the box.

#2) “Re-invent” Time to re-invent a better expression.

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When it comes to health, career, and child custody, he may not be winning. But he knows how to build a Twitter following: 2 days. 1,574,618 followers.

Put Online a Happy Face | The Harvard Crimson

“Social media, most notably Facebook and Twitter, have featured prominently in recent years as tools of the opposition in insurrections against entrenched regimes, accustomed to controlling what their citizens know through an iron-tight grip on their country’s newspapers and television.” Full article.

More about Social Media.

Last year, Pepsi did something it hadn’t done in 23 years. It chose not to run a Super Bowl spot. Instead, it took the $20 million that it spent on the previous year’s game and spent it on a social media driven contest. With a blend of philanthropy, guerrilla branding, and PR the Pepsi Refresh contest invited people to submit their ideas and compete for votes to win grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000.

(more…)