Advertising Age - Digital

Facebook's $38 IPO at End of First Day of Trading Worth ... $38

Facebook hovered near the initial public offering price in its trading debut, following a record IPO.

Top 10 Twitter Trends of the Week: 'Little Monsters' Multiply and Pop Grips the Chart

Pop stars command the five largest followings on Twitter, so a pop-heavy list of trends should be no surprise this week -- or any week.

Yahoo Taps Mollie Spilman as New Chief Marketing Officer

Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinsohn reorganized the management team of the struggling web portal after taking the helm earlier this week, naming Mollie Spilman as chief marketing officer.

Foursquare Hires Former iAd Exec as Revenue Chief

A darling of the New York startup scene starts to get serious about building a business out of its 20 million users.

Facebook IPO Eclipses Google, GM

Facebook Inc. gained as much as 18% in its trading debut, following a record initial public offering that made it more costly than almost every company in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Amazon to Sell Ads on Kindle Fire Welcome Screen -- If You Have $600K

The Kindle Fire is Amazon.com's best-selling product, the company said in its first-quarter-earnings release. And it's being treated that way by the Amazon ad sales team.

Brands on Facebook: Advertising Is Optional

One in five clicks in the U.S. happens on Facebook, and most brands maintain a presence there and carefully cultivate their fan base. But do they need to advertise as well?

Turner Takes Stake in Funny or Die, Will Manage Site's Ad Sales

Funny or Die CEO Dick Glover said the site has done well but still doesn't have big enough reach.

Siri, Why Don't You Speak Spanish?

With the voice-activated assistant its big selling point, the iPhone 4S has flown off the shelves, despite putting off the U.S. ethnic group most gaga for smartphones: Hispanics.

Intel Launches Employee-Curated Digital Magazine

It looks like Flipboard, aggregates and posts like Reddit, and presents news like Newsmap. Intel iQ, launching today, is the tech giant's latest content-marketing experiment.

GM Cuts Facebook Ad Spending, But Ford Steps on the Gas

The pullout points to Facebook's biggest challenge: Though most consumer brands see the social network as a way to connect with consumers, opinions are mixed on the value of advertising there.

Ross Levinsohn Lays Out His Vision for Yahoo (Before He Became CEO)

Want to know what Mr. Levinsohn thinks Yahoo should become? He explained it pretty well, in November.

ESPN's Upfront Presentation Goes Long on Digital

Hey, ESPN, was that an upfront or a NewFront?

Twitter and ESPN Plan Branded Campaigns Around TV Sports

Twitter wants to cash in on tweets about TV sports by selling custom campaigns around events like the World Series.

Agencies Going After Accenture, Deloitte IT
Consultants have designed IT solutions for global marketers, and agencies are responding by building out IT of their own.

Groupon Reports Profit as Overseas Growth Boosts Coupon Business

The largest daily-deal site reported Q1 profit that topped estimates as marketing costs dropped and it expanded internationally in its second period as a public company.

With Scott Thompson Out at Yahoo, Former PayPal Colleague Heads for Exit

In his short stint at Yahoo, former CEO Scott Thompson flanked himself with a couple of his PayPal allies, including PR head Amanda Pires, who is leaving the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

YouTube's Video Views Are Falling -- By Design

"We want users to watch more and click less," said Cristos Goodrow, YouTube's director of engineering. "This is better for users because it takes less clicking to get to the video you want to watch."

Reporter's Notebook: Booze, Celebs, New Content at 'Digital Upfront'
Highlights from this year's digital upfronts as witnessed from the Ad Age staff.

AmEx Tests New Ways to Transact in Social Media

While adland has obsessed over what brands should say on these social-media outlets, AmEx's John Hayes and his team are testing ways to transact there.

Facebook Ads: What Works, What Doesn't
Brands may be plowing more and more money into Facebook ads, but the creative results are decidedly mixed, with all-too-common flubs such as blurred product shots and incomprehensible pitches.

Yahoo CEO Thompson Steps Down Over Resume Flap as Levinsohn Takes Reins

Mr. Thompson has been replaced on an interim basis by Ross Levinsohn, exec VP and head of global media, in a move that is likely to be made permanent.

Real Simple Is First Print Mag to Reach 100K Pinterest Followers

The title gets twice as much referral traffic from Pinterest than from Facebook and Twitter combined; only Google refers more.

Bing and Facebook Team Up to Take on Google in Social Search
In what's shaping up to be a drawn-out battle to develop a social-search engine that consumers love, Bing has unsheathed a critical weapon: Facebook.

Pepsi Max and Cadbury First to Use Shazam in U.K.

Pepsi Max and Cadbury will be the first U.K. brands to run Shazam-enabled TV advertising when they appear during this Saturday's finale of Simon Cowell's "Britain's Got Talent."

T-Mobile, MetroPCS Reportedly in Deal Discussions

Deutsche Telekom AG is discussing a merger of its T-Mobile USA unit with MetroPCS Communications Inc. as it reviews options for the customer-losing business.

Interactive-TV Firm Ensequence Gets $26 Million, Adds Jim Stengel to Board

Ensequence helps TV programmers and advertisers schedule and deliver complementary content to mobile devices people are surfing on while they watch TV.

Facebook Wants to Be Part of Networks' Programming Strategy

Facebook can help networks and brands extend chatter around big TV events, said Kay Madati, head-entertainment and media, global marketing solutions.

Social TV Moves Beyond Promotional Role, Becomes Content in Own Right

Bravo sees ratings lift for "social reruns" and marketers Capital One, Bing tap co-viewing apps to make the most of TV sponsorships.

Tim Armstrong: AOL Plans to Invest in TechCrunch and Engadget, Not Sell Them

AOL beat Wall Street estimates on first-quarter revenue and profit, but its core display-ad business dropped 1% year-over-year in the U.S., while traffic to AOL sites fell 4%.