Google Inc., Recyclebank and the consumer insights agency ROI Research released a joint report on the social effects of online contests, rewards and interactive content. According to the study, online activities and games can engage people around social and environmental issues, and influence offline behavior change.
Campaign Asia Pacific and research firm TNS surveyed 3,300 people in the 15-64 year old demographic to unveil the most popular brands in Asia Pacific. The top 3 turned out to be Sony, Samsung and Panasonic. Respondents from Australia, China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand evaluated the brands in 72 categories.
Yesterday the software giant introduced Microsoft Office 365, a cloud-based suite of productivity apps. The product was first introduced last October and now comes with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint), SharePoint, Exchange and Lync as well as email support and Microsoft Access in the cloud. ActiveSync is a new tool that lets customers access their cloud-based data (email, web apps, websites, calendars, etc.) from almost any device, including mobile phones and tablets. The company also guarantees 99,9% uptime.
Google wants to become the king of the social networking world and makes a huge step towards this goal. The Internet giant which has recently introduced the +1 button globally, launched the Google+ project created to “bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software” and “make Google better by including you, your relationships, and your interests.” The new network, which is now not open for free registration (at this stage, users can join in only by invitations), is running in test mode and has some ‘rough edges,’ which are sure to be fixed over some time. The Google + includes a range of services, allowing people connect with their friends online, and is good just for every social-related activity performed online.
Virtually everything in the world can be rated, being that success of leading global companies, creativity, Facebook popularity or support for LGBT community. YouGov BrandIndex has conducted a survey, asking U.S. citizens, who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, to say which brands are best perceived by them. Google’s YouTube tops the list of twenty companies, which also includes Google, Disney, Ford, Apple and M&M’s. Surprisingly enough, the ranking doesn’t feature ABSOLUT, known for its long-standing commitment to help LGBT representatives feel better by launching a range of initiatives (Gay Theatre Festival is just one of them) as well as other vodka or beer drinks.
Each year in June, the Côte d’Azur becomes the place with an overwhelming concentration of ‘lions’ (not animals, but beastly amazing advertising pieces) thanks to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. This year’s event, which was taking place June 19–25, saw “thought-leaders and experts in all forms of communications and creative thinking come together to inspire, debate and entertain” and revealed the best advertising projects from all around the globe.
Digital media, no matter how strong and influencing it may seem today, still needs extensive support for further development to keep up with the technological progress in the digital age, sustain democracy and deliver information in the most convenient and clear way. On June 22, Knight Foundation announced winners of the Knight News Challenge, which is “an international media innovation contest funding digital news experiments that inform and engage communities.” This year, they selected 16 entrants in the four categories—Mobile, Authenticity, Sustainability and Community—to receive $4.7 million in funding including $1 million contribution from Google.