Connecting the Dots on Facebook’s Smear Campaign

Perhaps you’ve probably heard: Facebook and Google are at war, and Facebook’s not afraid to play dirty. Thursday’s revelation that the social networking site hired PR firm Burston-Marsteller to plant a negative story about Google’s privacy settings raises a number of questions. Like, “Who at Facebook thought this was a good idea?” The company isn't responding to the question right now. Until they do, it helps to look at the players involved. There’s Burston-Marsteller, the global PR firm run by CEO Mark Penn. There’s Jim Goldman, the former Silicon Valley bureau chief for CNBC (and frequent target of high school-style ridicule). He’s become the fall guy for Burston-Marsteller. There’s Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s universally praised COO. And then there’s Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s VP of communications and public policy. Penn, of course, is a Washington heavy hitter: he worked as a pollster to President Clinton during both of his terms and the Washington Post noted how “thoroughly integrated into the policymaking operation” he’d become. Penn’s also no stranger to criticism from Washington observers: he gained notoriety for missteps as chief strategist to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential bid. He eventually stepped down after feuding with other aides, and for reportedly offering Clinton some of her worst advice (like, emphasize Barack Obama’s foreignness). Penn’s also no stranger to the tech world—he’s credited with making Microsoft into one of the country’s most... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #googles head #silicon valley #focus attention

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Obama, Rooney and Secret Barrister campaigns triumph at PPC Awards

Campaigns for titles by Sally Rooney, The Secret Barrister and Michelle Obama were among the winners at the Publisher’s Publicity Circle Annual Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sally rooney #michelle obama #ppc awards #secret barrister


Former Trump Aide Sues President for Allegedly Using Campaign NDA to Exact Retribution for Tell-All Book

Former White House communications aide and new member of the Trump White House tell-all book club Cliff Sims is suing President Trump for his attempts to enforce a nondisclosure agreement signed by Sims—and many others—when he worked for the Trump presidential campaign. Sims, the New York Times... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #time working #federal government


Facebook finally lets brands and publishers into Groups

Facebook released new features that gives Pages the power to join Groups, which means publishers and brands can officially participate in the group activity that is increasingly becoming a core focus for the company.On Wednesday, Facebook announced a slate of new tools, including the ability for... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #core focus #shared interests #business products #real world


German ruling could impede Facebook’s data-combining moves

Facebook Inc. is pushing back against a German ruling that could make it harder for the social media giant to combine data from all the services it runs in order to target ads even more precisely. Thursday’s ruling, though aimed at current practices, hints at potential troubles ahead if... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-02-07 22:10:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pushing back #target ads


Facebook cautions magazine execs, SunnyD gets depressed and Snapchat lures advertisers: Wednesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age's Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device. Search for "Ad Age" under "Skills" in the Alexa app.What people are talking about today"Facebook cannot be the entire... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily roundup #digital news #audio version #alexa device #alexa app #entire solution #constantly changing #garett sloane


Facebook to publishers: We are not here to save you

When Facebook's Campbell Brown addressed an auditorium full of magazine executives in New York Tuesday, she did not mince words: The social network is not here to save their businesses.Facebook's head of global news partnerships was addressing an audience of print media professionals at the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad sales #fourth quarter #job cuts #entire solution #constantly changing


Facebook is awful and only getting worse and I’m never leaving

It’s been over six weeks since I got good and fed up. Facebook has been a garbage company for most of its 15 years; while I’m prone to an “overboard gripe” (phrase provided by a former editor), this increasingly feels less a position than a statement of fact. Many more principled friends had left... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jill Abramson on media layoffs: 'The villains are Facebook and Google'

The former New York Times editor skewers everyone in her new book, but ‘there isn’t one business model that’s going to save journalism’, she saysMerchants of Truth, the new book by the former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, is a deep dive into multiple crises that have bedeviled... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #save journalism #great journalism #jill abramson #business model #deep dive #media companies #local papers


Facebook is laughing all the way to the bank as Americans shrug off privacy concerns

You say you care about privacy, but you don’t really, and neither do millions of other Americans. This collective indifference is what keeps Big Data in business and keeps consumers constantly scrambling to find out who has access to their personal information. Worse, privacy experts tell me that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #privacy concerns #big data #personal information


Northern writers celebrated in Read Regional campaign

New Writing North, the literature development agency for the North of England, has released its list of ‘12 new books by northern writers you must read in 2019’, part of the Read Regional campaign that it began in 2008. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing north #northern writers


Apple cracks down on Facebook after it paid teens for access to their data

Program that enrolled users as young as 13 prompts Apple to ban Facebook from publishing some appsFacebook paid users as young as 13 to install an app that gave the company access to everything their phone sent or received over the internet. In response, Apple has revoked Facebook’s ability to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #iphone app #privacy regulations


How Facebook robbed us of our sense of self

Fifteen years ago, the social network site was set up to connect people. But now, with lives increasingly played out online, have we forgotten how to be alone?‘Thefacebook is an online directory that connects people through social networks at colleges. We have opened up Thefacebook for popular... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook paid kids to download app that monitors their online activity

Facebook Inc. has faced congressional panels, government fines and mounting public pressure over its use and handling of private user data. On Wednesday, after a report said the company had been paying people — some as young as 13 — $20 a month to install a research app on their phones that... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-01-30 23:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #download app #online activity #government fines #research app


Facebook paid kids to download app that monitors their online activity

Facebook Inc. has faced congressional panels, government fines and mounting public pressure over its use and handling of private user data. On Wednesday, after a report said the company had been paying people — some as young as 13 — $20 a month to install a research app on their phones that... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-01-30 23:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #download app #online activity #government fines #research app


Facebook paid teens to disclose their online activity in research app, report says

For years, Facebook has been paying some users $20 per month to install a research app on their phones that can collect intimate information about their online behavior and communications, according to a report published Tuesday by TechCrunch. Since 2016, users ages 13 to 35 could exchange their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online activity #research app


Facebook drafts charter for content oversight board, but questions remain

Mark Zuckerberg talked about creating an independent body that would oversee Facebook's content decisions, and now that plan is taking shape. The social site has published a draft charter for an oversight board that would handle appeals for content... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #questions remain #taking shape #social site


Kamala Harris lays out the core ideals of her 2020 campaign in her new book, ‘The Truths We Hold’

As the campaign season ramps up, so too are the releases of political memoirs; we recently saw publication of Chris Christie’s "Let Me Finish," as well as Cliff Sims’ gossipy “Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House.” One of the most high-profile books is by a notable... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high-profile books


Zuckerberg in WSJ op-ed: Facebook doesn’t sell your data!

The Facebook CEO is trying to clear up some misperceptions about the social network’s business model as data regulation looms on the horizon. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late Thursday to explain his company’s business model and address some... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gov. Gavin Newsom's Facebook ads in swing states stir 2020 speculation

Political ads featuring California Gov. Gavin Newsom are popping up on Facebook in Ohio, Florida and other swing states in the 2020 presidential election, stirring speculation about whether the Democrat is testing the waters for a potential White House run. Newsom, who was sworn into office less... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Raven launches its 'biggest ever campaign' for Clark-Platts' The Flower Girls

The marketing campaign for The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts will be Raven Books’ largest to date. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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