Instagram outpace Pinterest in growth among fortune 100 companies

According to Simply Measured, new research shows that Instagram is the fastest growing social platform in the past year. Instagram’s year-over-year growth by Fortune 100 companies was 14% compared to Pinterest that came in around 10%. Also, compared to Google+’s 10%, Twitter’s 0%, and Facebook’s -1%. Companies that have seen major growth on Instagram are companies like Starbucks, Nike, and MTV with each over 1 million followers. MTV’s latest success story was the pictures posted surrounding the Movie Awards.

Facebook’s Graph Search Optimization

Since Facebook’s major search launch, people are still trying to figure out how to use it. More importantly, companies are trying to figure out how to get their pages to the top of the search list. Unlike Google Search, Facebook has a different algorithm that companies should be focused on. Here are five key metrics for helping your GSO (Graph Search Optimization).

1. People Talking about This (PTAT). This is a confusing metric among marketers, but it is actually pretty simple. Facebook monitors the total amount of stories created by your page including likes, shares, comments and mentions. The more exposure, engagement and interaction, the better you show up in search.
2. Engagement on Outbound Content. This goes hand-in-hand with PTAT. The metrics are based on total likes and clicks on your stories.
3. Page Fan Demographic Profile - focusing on the demographics of your page. Facebook focuses on localized content. So if you are a national brand, then you need to put an effort on localized content.
4. Shared by personal profiles. GSO looks at who is sharing your content. GSO puts a greater emphasis on inidual people sharing your content instead of other organizations or companies. It’s all about connecting real people with real content.
5. Comments made on stories. Facebook is looking for keywords in the comment sections of your post. This is essential for you to understand as marketers. Find what keywords you want to be found when searched for, and make sure you are moderating the comments with your key terms on your post.

Facebook in talks with Waze

According to thenextweb.com, Facebook is in discussions with the social GPS Company Waze for a price of around $1 billion. Waze is a geo-location app with millions of users providing real-time traffic and road information. This is not the first time Waze has reported to be in talks with other companies. Rumors surfaced at the beginning of the year that Waze was talking to Apple. Facebook’s attempt to acquire Waze is to better enhance their mobile efforts across all their mobile platforms.

Yahoo and Hulu in talks

Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo who has rapidly been turning around the once dominate aggregation website, has now been seen in public with top Hulu execs. Analysis believes Mayer is approaching them about offering exclusive content via Yahoo. Mayer has no hidden agenda when it comes to video content. In fact, after she was hired at Yahoo, she said Yahoo’s future relies on the efforts of video content partners. If Hulu was to develop an exclusive relationship with Yahoo, it could be a game-changer in the tech industry.

Bill Gates predicts Windows tablet takeover

Former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates mentioned in an interview that he believes Android and iPad users will eventually move to the new Windows 8 tablets. He said many users are frustrated by the inability to type or create documents, things that Windows 8 put a lot of focus on when incorporating their Microsoft Office suite into the products. Even an exec at Apple said a few months ago that Microsoft has been more innovative in the past year than Apple, and that Windows 8 is a great product. Unfortunately, consumers don’t feel this way, at least when it comes to PC. While the mobile and tablet market has increased for Windows, it is on the decline for PC.