Tumblr’s been in the headlines this week, as has Spotify, and it turns out the two are now partners. But it’s CEO David Karp’s turn-about regarding advertising that’s spinning heads, as his former resistance morphs into “a set of nuanced creative tools for users” a.k.a. “highlighted posts,” ak.a. heavily promoted self-promotional features that Tumblr users pay $1 for, to gain higher visibility for their work. 

Eschewing an all-out embrace of ads as ads, Karp told Ad Age in a comprehensive interview, “we could very easily throw a Google Adsense on and be profitable tomorrow -- that's so far down the list, I mean, we're selling our desks to avoid that, it's a complete last resort.” 

With 20 billion posts, 50 million blogs, 120 million users and about 4.5 billion impressions a week, "there’s gold there in them blogs for advertisers." Karp says the new features are part of a long-term monetization strategy with a blend of user and brand-focused efforts. Continue reading...

Adidas "away" football kit for England's Chelsea FC shares love with Samsung.

Apple loosens app store policies to enable publishers to set pricing.

Ford sued over Sync claims; looks to compete with Toyota with hybrid minivan.

Google acquires Admeld for $400M.

Hillary Clinton reportedly in talks for World Bank role.

McDonald's embarrassed by parent's play area investigation.Continue reading...

Katie Couric exits the CBS News anchor chair tonight with one final interview: Hillary Clinton.

Also stepping down this week: Mary Hart, who signs off Entertainment Tonight on Friday after 29 seasons in a final broadcast that brings out her former co-hosts.

Arnold Schwarzenegger puts projects on hold to deal with personal crisis.

Discovery Networks to run first in-show product placement under relaxed UK rules.

FDA pulls diabetes drug Avandia from shelves.

Gap quarterly profit falls 23%; partners with Goodwill for donated clothing discount.Continue reading...

Masdar City, near Abu Dhabi, means "The Source" in Arabic. It's also not, technically, a city.

Masdar is a "cleantech cluster," and a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company — itself a division of the Mubadala Development Company, an Abu Dhabi government initiative "that seeks to be a catalyst for the economic diversification of the Emirate."Continue reading...

Twitter celebrated turning five today with a segment on ABC's Good Morning America and a video, above, that highlights the reasons why a cross-section of users (including Richard Branson, Snoop Dogg, Hillary Clinton, Martha Stewart, Serena Williams) are fans of the micromessaging social service.

• CNN looks at advertising on airport bathroom mirrors (best read while listening to above).

• We missed Charlie Sheen's Ustream debut Saturday night (which was panned) be see that he was skewered on SNL (with Lindsay Lohan), planning branded merchandise and being wooed by the producer of AMC's hit Walking Dead series.

• We also see that ... AmEx is teaming up with Foursquare ... Angry Birds will integrate with Facebook next month ... CBS and Turner feature Kings of Leon in March Madness campaign ... and some classic ad icons are getting a makeover.

More weekend headlines:Continue reading...

Airlines raise prices for the sixth time this year.

Automakers call for electric car standards.

Best Buy woos small business owners.

BP execs receive bonuses despite Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Cadbury brings Oreo brand to India.

Calvin Klein promotes ck one relaunch with augmented reality at Macy's NYC flagship.Continue reading...

Apple's new app store subscription policy gets pushback from Rhapsody.

Bauer and Conde Nast seek new UK revenue opportunities.

Bernie Madoff's first prison interview claims banks "must have known."

Borders files for bankruptcy.

Coca-Cola disputes NPR's secret recipe claim.

Costco squabbles with Coca-Cola over pricing.Continue reading...