It’s that time of week again… here’s all the news that’s fit to tweet from the social web, a lot of which has to do with Google… and also some silly stuff that we thought was funny.
The big news of the week, dropped yesterday by the Wall Street Journal, was that Twitter is likely on the block. Lining up for a whack at that estimated $8-billion dollar pinata (with only $45-million in revenue: yes, you read that right): Facebook and Google. May be the best web titan win. And yes – I think it’s a good move for Twitter to become part of a larger ecosystem. I believe the platform will continue to have difficulty monetizing if it does not. And If the choice were mine, I’d likely pick Google. They, at least, have demonstrated the ability to monetize their business at scale.
Starbucks CEO wants some of that Groupon! Howard Schultz’ investment firm, Maveron, has plunked down an undisclosed amount for a piece of Groupon and he’s taken a seat on the Board of Directors. The group-buying site was recently rumoured to have turned down a $6-billion offer from Google, and then proceeded to raise a $950 million round of financing (or $950 billion as reported in this Forbes article. Which is wrong.)
Toronto-based Rypple (which wants to save the world from “HR software that sucks” – a noble calling!) announced this week that they have raised a $7-million round from Bridgescale Partners have released Rypple 3.0, which is essentially about real-time performance reviews (which is a really interesting idea). The company is clearly on fire, with some great new clients and some awesome new products/features coming out soon. I know all about this because CEO Daniel Debow briefed me today on totally secret new and exciting things. And NO – I will not tell you what they are.
That whole Egypt thing… social media was a critical tool in allowing Egyptians to mobilize and organize their opposition to Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. After weeks of protests, crackdowns and a shutdown of Egyptian Internet access (which was an interesting, but ultimately ineffective, tactic), today Mubarak resigned. Some of the coolest work-arounds: companies like Google and Twitter working together to allow Egyptians to send tweets using voicemail messages – no Internet required. Let’s just hope that the new boss isn’t the same as the old boss…
This week is the Week of the Social Medias! SMG hosted a big crowd for Social Media Week Toronto last year, but alas, our move to big new digs Monday put us out of commission for 2011. Nevertheless, we are proud to bring you a little SMW schadenfreude this fine Friday afternoon. Introducing the Ten Worst Social Media Moves of 2010. Hopefully that makes you feel better about yourself.
And finally… though it seems like a long time ago, Sunday was the Social Bowl. Uh, I mean the Super Bowl. Here’s AdAge’s take on the best liked/most recalled (re: effective) ads. Our favourite? We’ll never tell.
Happy Friday!
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