From What’s Now to What’s Next

LPP is keeping a finger on the pulse of top industry headlines and conversations buzzing around social media, so you don't have to. Below is this week's round-up to serve as information and inspiration for discussions around real-time trends.

Did we miss anything? What are your thoughts on what’s happening this week?

Top Stories

• Cyber attack Awareness: Recent cyber attacks have spurred more discussion around social media security for brands, future targets including embedded systems and concern within the U.S. government over how to confront China about the hacking issue. 
• Mobile World Congress: The annual event is currently underway in Barcelona. Headlines thus far include LTE, quad-core processor wars, new Nokia phones, HP’s Android device and Firefox OS.
• RSA Conference: The 2013 RSA Conference comes on the heels of recent cyber attacks. Topics being addressed include cloud and mobile security, big data security and risk-governance, as well as new attention on the human element.

Top Conversations

• #OscarsRTM: Real-time marketing efforts by brands including Oreo, Google and JC Penney created conversations amongst digital pros and customers watching the show.
• #SXSWi: Tune in for blog posts and content from LPP, including real-time coverage of SXSW Interactive! Subscribe to the blog and make sure you’re following us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Technology

• World’s Smallest Chip: Freescale (client!) has created the world’s smallest ARM-based processor, designed to drastically reduce the size of connected devices and enable greater intelligence to make Internet of Things a reality.
• EMC and Intel announce Hadoop Distributions: IT vendors announced new distributions and commented around the evolution of Hadoop into the next database.
• Samsung and Visa take NFC step: New mobile devices will be ready to connect to the payment network, creating a mobile payment ecosystem.
• AT&T and GM Make Car the Next Smartphone: GM’s OnStar platform will ramp up its speed with 4G LTE Wireless to enable bandwidth-hungry applications.
• Facebook To Use Cold Storage for Old Photos: The company is building a 16,000-square-foot cold storage facility to archive all the messages, photos and other postings that its billions of users do not access every, day but want to keep for future reference.
• Yahoo! Has a Strategy: The company’s new front page, designed for the post-PC era, reveals strategic direction that revolves around device-agnostic content.
• Apple’s iWatch: Here is what the new device might look like, based on actual patent applications filed by the company.
• Internet of “Clean” Things: A report reveals that Internet of Things technologies can cut carbon emissions by 19 percent.
• Google Retail Stores: Rumors that brick-and-mortar stores where customers could experience Google products firsthand, are not true, according to Google’s Andy Rubin.
• Dell Invests in Skyera: Company invests in cheap flash technologies with consumer-grade chips.

Public Relations

• Oreo Real-time marketing: The cookie created a monster when it tweeted during the Superbowl blackout.
• Brooklyn Nets PR: The team’s use of stats to spice up its Twitter feed is a breath of fresh air for sports social media and PR.
• Horse Meat: Unlabeled horse meat linked to major consumer brands has created a PR and social media problem. Even "neigh-sayers" agree.

Social Media

• Google+ Universal Log-In: social platform has released an API to enable users to log-in to popular web and mobile sites using their Google+ account.
• Twitter’s Advertising API: The new API will allow brands to run ad campaigns through the company’s API partners, rather than having to buy them through Twitter itself.