Six Keys To Harnessing Big Data Without Being Overwhelmed

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Six Keys To Harness The Power Of Big Data (RW Connect)
Citibank's director of consumer insights, Victoria Zagorsky, describes how consumer-facing businesses can harness big data without becoming overwhelmed by it. The key, she writes, is to integrate data streams: social media data, customer service data, and so on. But to do so in an organized manner — and while keeping an eye on data quality — to avoid a data overdose.

Go From Data Collection To Synthesis
Promote Data-Sharing Between Corporate Groups
Invest In Technology And Skills
Manage The Quality Of Data
Define Objectives And Set Priorities
Focus On Actionable Insights

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Photo-Sharing: Is There Life After Instagram? (BI Intelligence)
A new in-depth report from Business Insider on the photo-sharing ecosystem. It details how brands should look at photo and video services, and whether they should consider Vine and Snapchat. Read >

Twitter Revamps Its Ad Platform (Business Insider)
Twitter announced an overhaul of its ad platform in the United States. The biggest change is that the social network will now use cookies to send out specialized, targeted ads. This is similar to Facebook's FBX ad platform, but Twitter's solution will not include an ad exchange. The cookies and ads will only target users when they are on Twitter itself. Twitter is also including a customer-matching tool for advertisers, releasing user e-mails so that advertisers can match those e-mails to ones on existing company customer lists, and target them with Twitter ads. Twitter says it will allow users to avoid these new targeted ads by honoring a Do Not Track choice made on a users' browser, and it will also let users completely opt out of targeted ads if they choose. Read>

Twitter Is Testing Links To Articles That Have Embedded A Tweet (Search Engine Watch)
The test makes sense for a service that is strong on news. Tweets will show a list of articles and pages that have embedded a certain tweet, and include the page's icon. Read >

Vine Makes Strong Push Against Instagram Video With Its Latest Update (All Things Digital)
Vine launched their largest update yet to its iOS app on Wednesday with new features that compete with Instagram video. Channels will allow users to submit videos to (or browse) categories like comedy, music, and nature. "On The Rise" lets users discover Vine accounts that are gaining in popularity. Revining (like "retweeting") allows users to share others' Vine posts to their feed. The update also includes an option to make your account private. Vine is looking to lure users back, after Instagram video made a splash with consumers and brands. Read>

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Study Claims LinkedIn Goes Beyond Social-Professional Networking (TechCrunch)
A study from French consulting group faberNovel is praising social network LinkedIn as the preeminent social-powered business platform, and a future data giant. The firm says LinkedIn and its top data scientists are collecting and shaping a great deal of valuable business data, an "economic graph," that details the world's business and talent connections. This data could power future CRM systems. In sum, it's a goldmine-in-waiting. Read>

Google Reader Founder: I Would Have Never Founded Reader Inside Today's Google (Forbes)
The founder of the recently defunct Google Reader content aggregator application voiced his dissatisfaction for the way Google handled his product up until its discontinuation. He claims he would have formed his own product and company outside of Google if he had thought it would end up the way it has. Forbes cites this situation as an example of how Google's business model may create a lack of employee incentive to innovate. Read>

Microsoft Drops Facebook And Flickr Integration On Photo App In Windows 8.1 (The Verge)
Microsoft is dropping part of the tight social integration with other platforms that once characterized the photo app for its Windows 8 operating system. The app will no longer support Facebook or Flickr integration and pull photos from these services. Microsoft attributes its move to growth in the availability of other photo apps on the Windows 8 app market, which allow users to view Facebook or Flickr photos. Read>

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TSA Makes Creative Use Of Instagram (Vice)
The much-maligned U.S. Transportation Security Administration has found a way to boost its PR with an Instagram account. The security outfit has been posting filter-adjusted photos of weapons, explosives, knives and other contraband it has confiscated from would-be air passengers on a daily basis. It's a creative way to draw consumer interest while also promoting the agency's value to society. Read>

5 How-Tos: Create Customer Engagement On Pinterest (Social Media Today)