Black Friday Shoppers Storm Retailers on Foot, Online

Online sales on this year's Black Friday were over $1 billion, a record high.  This holiday season so far shows a 16 percent increase over last year for online sales.  See Black Friday Shoppers Storm Retailers on Foot, Online.

Facebook Scans Private Conversations to Pad Likes

Facebook is scanning your messages and adding likes if you send a link to a site. Even if you were telling a friend you hated a certain site, your inclusion of a link may mean your message counts as a like. Privacy experts are concerned that private messages contribute to public likes, though Facebook says they are not linked back to the original messenger.  See Facebook Scans Private Conversations to Pad Likes.

Facebook Jettisons Phony Likes

Facebook is taking steps to ensure that all the "likes" on its site are genuine. Some Facebook users have likes from "malware, fake accounts or bulk purchase services." While some Facebook users may lose likes, this move will make likes a more trustworthy measure of a site's popularity. See Facebook Jettisons Phony Likes.

Mobile Payments: A Question of 'What' and 'When'

Are mobile payments poised to take off? Experts have predicted a break through in mobile payment technology and acceptance on a regular basis over the years.  Both Google and Paypal are pushing their mobile wallets, while security concerns have kept consumers from embracing these systems. See Mobile Payments: A Question of 'What' and 'When'. 

Email Trashing May Cost Samsung More Than $1B

This article describes the appeals process for patent cases and why the Apple v. Samsung case may drag on for years. Of interest is that Samsung apparently failed to preserve emails relevant to the case, which led the judge to order the jury to assume the evidence Samsung destroyed was in Apple's favor.  See Email Trashing May Cost Samsung More Than $1B

Judge jails woman who refused to delete Facebook account

Yet another way Facebook postings can get you in trouble. We have heard about jurors jailed for their Facebook postings during trials and defendants who had their Facebook postings used as evidence against them. In this story, a defendant's posting seems to make light of a car accident she caused that injured four teenagers while she was DUI.  The judge orders her to delete her account. See Judge jails woman who refused to delete Facebook account.

Samsung/Apple Patent Case

Samsung and Apple have been locked in a patent battle, each accusing the other of infringment. Friday's jury verdict favors Apple, leaving Samsung to pay $1.05 billion in damages. The court has not yet decided whether Samsung will have to pull some of its smartphones and tablets from store shelves.  See Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1.05B in patent case. 

Facebook Takes Another Header

Facebook shares have fallen in value since the companies IPO. One issue is that Facebook is having trouble convincing investors of the value of their ads. As second issue is that Facebook hasn't figured out how to show ads to mobile users. See Facebook Takes Another Header.

Starbucks Squares Up

Starbucks announced that it will accept the Squares mobile payment system in its stores. While most users have not adopted phone apps to make payments, the popularity of Starbucks could push these apps forward. See Starbucks Squares Up. You can see a video about the Squares payment app at https://squareup.com/pay-with-square. 

Most Expensive Items Ever Sold on eBay

A baseball card, lunch with Warren Buffet, and a town all make the list of the most expensive items ever sold on eBay. See Most Expensive Items Ever Sold on eBay.

Job Seekers Asked for Facebook Passwords

It isn't enough that you set your Facebook account to "friends only." Apparently some employers are asking job applicants for their Facebook passwords. While it is common for employers to view the social networking presence of their potential hires, asking for a password is certainly more invasive. See Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords.

How to remove your Google Web Data History

Google has announced that it will share any web history collected about you across all of its products. Google uses this information to This article and video describe how to stop Google from collecting and sharing your web history. See How to remove your Google Web Data History.

Facebook Slaps Likejackers With Lawsuit

Add a new word to the lexicon - likejacking. Facebook is suing a company for tricking Facebook visitors into clicking on links to advertising sites. These sites may also try to get visitors to reveal personal information. Facebook users click on links thinking that the links have been sent to them by friends. If you see a product related message from a friend on Facebook, think before you click. See Facebook Slaps Likejackers With Lawsuit.

Data Plunderers Run Off With Zappos Customer Info

Hackers broke into Zappos, the online shoe store, and stole personal information on an estimated 24 million Zappos customers. While the thieves did not get full credit card numbers, they go enough information to send very convincing fishing e-mails to Zappos customers. The hackers also got encrypted passwords. Since many people use the same password all over the Internet, the potential for the hackers to break the password codes and used them is troubling. See Data Plunderers Run Off With Zappos Customer Info.

Bad Employee Attitude in a Social CRM World: It's Payback Time

An unhappy customer has the ability to share their negative experience online to a huge audience. As the author states "the customer controls the conversation." This article explores what companies can do to avoid these negative customer experiences and the fall out they create. See Bad Employee Attitude in a Social CRM World: It's Payback Time.