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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The Boston Globe is using Notes to publish directly to Facebook

The Boston Globe may not be a Instant Articles publisher, but its turning to Facebook's Note's feature to create something close to it. The publisher on Tuesday started using Notes to publish directly to the Facebook platform. It hopes that the speed the articles load, along with their overall... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gawker’s Nick Denton: Facebook dominance is better than ‘convoluted’ ad tech

Gawker Media CEO Nick Denton told Recode that the publisher, which used to view Facebook warily, is now "going all in" on Facebook Instant Articles. He's now come around to the idea that Facebook can simply provide a better user experience and even monetize better than the options publishers... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook's New And Improved Like Button Is Coming "In The Next Few Weeks"

Reactions will enhance Facebook's classic Like button with emoji responses that convey emotions ranging from anger to awe.As revealed in October, Facebook has been hard at work reinventing the famed Like button—and Bloomberg got the inside scoop. In a profile published Wednesday, Bloomberg digs... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2016-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher to drop gendered children's titles after parents campaign

Buster Books, publisher of colouring books for ‘Brilliant Boys’ and ‘Gorgeous Girls’ to switch to ‘gender neutral’ titles in futureGirls will no longer be defined as “glamorous” and “gorgeous” while boys get to be “amazing” and “brilliant” at Buster Books, after the children’s publisher... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Is Expanding Its Burgeoning Ad Network to the Mobile Web

Facebook is expanding its ad network from just third-party apps to the mobile Web. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company will begin making its Facebook Audience Network available for publishers and advertisers outside of publishers' native apps. The Audience Network for the mobile Web will... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google's Ad Boss on Ad Blocking, AMP Ad Viewability and Enhanced Campaigns

Digital media companies are dealing with a bunch of problems plaguing their advertising-based business models. A growing number of people are blocking the ads running on their sites, forcing publishers to find ways to get those people to unblock their ads or pay one of the ad blocking companies... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors rally behind festival boycott campaign

Authors have continued to express their support for a campaign to boycott literary festivals which do not pay authors for appearances. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How brands and publishers are using Facebook Messenger

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[ Digiday | 2016-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook is cutting prices in its brand-content matchmaking program

Facebook is lowering the price it costs advertisers to join Anthology, which matches brands and top publishers like Vice and Vox, which help create content for promotion in the news feed. Anthology had set the minimum advertising commitment at several million dollars, according to sources, but... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Connect Books' revenue up 1.2% in last quarter

Tough conditions in UK libraries and international markets led Connect Books’ total revenue to decline by 0.8% in the last quarter, however sales were up 1.2% on a like-for-like basis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pitchfork Staff, Kendall Jenner and Ronda Rousey Appear in New Conde Nast Ad Campaign

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[ Advertising Age | 2016-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Snapchat Plans to Compete With Facebook for Advertisers' Dollars

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[ Advertising Age | 2016-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors lead support for My Library By Right campaign

Authors Ali Smith, Neil Gaiman and Joanna Trollope have led a wave of “tremendous support” for CILIP’s legal fight for libraries as its campaign petition tops 7,000 signatures. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo balk at UK's Investigatory Powers Bill

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[ Betanews | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook's LiveRail Exits the Ad Server Business

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[ Advertising Age | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#DiverseDecember creators expand 'hugely popular' social media campaign to run for all of 2016

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[ The Guardian | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Facebook's Audience Network Looks Like a Billion-Dollar Advertising Machine

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[ AdWeek | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How PopSugar gets people to watch its Facebook videos for 30 seconds

In September, PopSugar adopted a Facebook video strategy that placed a greater emphasis on videos that drew viewers in with striking visuals and text within the first three seconds. The publisher boasts it has helped not only grow Facebook views -- more than 51 million in November -- but also... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Begins Letter-Writing Campaign to Meet with Publishers

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook Against Free Basics' Critics

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[ Fast Company | 2015-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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