Clint Eastwood and Leonardo Dicaprio's project about J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and, in some quarters, America's most powerful man of his time, is off to a respectable start at the box office.

J. Edgar sees "through the eyes of Hoover himself," exploring "the personal and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often swayed by the darker side of power." It's a bio-pic that boasts an undistorted look at American history.

But would J. Edgar himself, using tools he introduced to the FBI, have identified the film's marketing materials as a forgery?Continue reading...

Airbnb crime victim claims company tried to silence her.

Apple iPhone ousts Nokia as world's best-selling smartphone, has more money than the US government.

AT&T plans to throttle data-hogs.

Bloomberg reportedly plans Arabic-language TV channel.

BMW i sub-brand starts to take shape with new concept cars.

Bulgari sales rise 23%.

Delta partners with LivingSocial to offer local deals.Continue reading...

Apple's blockbuster earnings report includes surprises, such as popularity of iPads over Mac sales to education market.

Baidu launches browser in China.

Bank of America posts record quarterly loss.

Coca-Cola gains market share despite soft market.

Dupont sued over herbicide as brand supports sustainable aquaculture.

Facebook and NBC partner for GOP presidential debate, as Facebook ads increase 1,900% in year, 104% in one quarter.

Goldman Sachs prepares to trim workforce in wake of disappointing quarter.Continue reading...

Apple bows to Israeli pressure on controversial app; iPad dominates tablets.

Facebook passes 750 million users.

Google faces US subpoenas.

Netherlands becomes second country to put net neutrality into effect after Chile.

Nokia reveals first Windows phone.

Nomura (inspired by Wolff Olins?) expands into beekeeping.

Radio Shack leaves S&P 500 Index.

Twitter considers promoted tweets in user timelines.

& America's most wanted criminal, Whitey Bulger (who inspired The Departed), is captured by FBI use of social and traditional media.

The fallout over whether or not Congressman Anthony Weiner did or did not tweet a photo of his personal "member of Congress" (Weiner says his Twitter account was hacked; follow the flap on Twitter at #weinergate) could spell the end for one social media brand.

"Just had the FBI show up at my apartment, my first thought was: "She said she was 18"...turns out they weren't here for that" tweeted Noah Everett, the founder of Twitpic, this afternoon as the scandal was escalating. He may have been was half-joking but the challenges facing his social media startup are deadly serious.

(Editor's note: Everett was indeed joking about the 18-year-old, as we surmised, and confirmed to us — see below — that he did receive a visit from the FBI. he also corrected us that the lewd picture tweeted from Weiner's Twitter account was hosted on yfrog, not Twitpic, for which we apologize. NPR's headline got it wrong, and so did we.)

Twitpic, the service that piggybacks on Twitter allowing users to link photos to tweets, is already reeling from bad publicity. After the brand announced a licensing deal with WENN.com which would allow the celebrity gossip service to license its images, several celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres said they would abandon the service.Continue reading...

HP responds promptly to racist webcam accusations. [AdAge]

Apple garners interest in online TV subscription service. [NY Times]

Unilever harnesses the power of social media and word-of-mouth marketing. [Warc]

Flu shots and cold season drive sales at Walgreens. [NY Times]

Yahoo stitches up a partnership with Martha Stewart. [BrandWeek]

Diane Sawyer unveils a serious, somber tone, persona for World News. [NY Times]Continue reading...