In the never-ending quest to find good talent, more and more companies are taking to social media and implementing interesting tactics to discover their next great employee. 

Most recently, MasterCard has launched a search for five eager beaver interns. Hopefulls must apply via LinkedIn with an idea of how to facilitate a cashless future. Applicants must then follow MasterCard's Twitter, since that's how they're planning on notfying the chosen applicants. The company even created an animated short to advertise the opportunity.Continue reading...

Time Warner is spinning off Time Inc., turning the 90-year-old publisher of Time, People and Sports Illustrated into a separate, publicly held company worth as much as $3.2 billion. 

"A complete spin-off of Time Inc. provides strategic clarity for Time Warner Inc., enabling us to focus entirely on our television networks and film and TV production businesses," said CEO Jeff Bewkes. "Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone public company and will now be able to attract a more natural stockholder base."Continue reading...

Spotify, the free music sharing service that has gone viral over Facebook, just launched an embeddable Play Button so that any Spotify music can live on any website.

"Today we’re giving every blogger and web editor the ability to light up the internet with music. Adding a personalized soundtrack to your website or blog has never been this easy,” wrote chief product officer Gustav Söderström. “You want to give your fans access to any song, album or playlist of your choosing and in its entirety, while ensuring people stay glued to your site. The Spotify Play Button does all of this for free, while making sure artists get paid for every play."

In a strategy similar to what they did on Facebook, moving from mobile to stereo to social, jockeying for position as "the operating system for music" on all digital platforms, Spotify has now pushed its client web-ubiquitous.

“In many ways, the Spotify Play Button is akin to Facebook’s 'Like' button. It’s a way of integrating service across the greater web, while also offering users additional value," writes Mashable's Christina Warren. "This all brings Spotify one step closer to becoming the online hub for music.” Continue reading...

Fiat USA executives have been disappointed that the brand and the new 500 haven't been catching on so far in the United States as well as they had planned. So hopes were high for its latest US TV commercial — featuring Jennifer Lopez driving a Fiat 500 in what is really a Fiat-funded teaser spot for Papi, her latest music video — until the spot was panned by critics for taking product placement to new cheesetastic levels.

But in the criterion that really counts — is JLo helping to sell Fiats in America? — People's 2011 Most Beautiful Woman is turning heads toward the brand.

Consumer consideration of the car on the pages of Edmunds.com has climbed by 31% since the ad broke on September 12 during ESPN's Monday Night Football, the automotive-information website reports. Fiat consideration was up 95% alone on September 18, when the ad ran throughout Sunday NFL telecasts.Continue reading...

In the continuing saga of "Homeless to Hollywood" overnight sensation Ted Williams, the golden-voiced former DJ may have just made his first misstep: agreeing to appear on Dr. Phil's talkshow.

In an episode that airs Wednesday, Williams and his estranged family were brought together by the Oprah-fied self-help guru (we assume it's just matter of time before Williams appears on Winfrey's show, too).

In the course of taping an argument broke out, followed by news that Williams was "detained" by police. Apparently, a heated argument with his daughter, who was brought to Los Angeles for the Dr. Phil taping, led to a disturbance report. Some media outlets, incorrectly, used the word "arrested" in their reports of the incident.Continue reading...

Microsoft could spend one billion dollars (say that in your best Dr. Evil voice) promoting the Windows Phone 7 and its Xbox 360 Kinect motion-sensor add-on. With Apple and Google's Droid dominating smartphones, and Sony and Nintendo eating into its gaming revenue, the new products' marketing budget will be spent thusly, according to All Things D:

* Burger King promotion

* Pepsi promotion

* Kellogg’s cereal promotion

* YouTube homepage takeover

* Ad buys on Nickelodeon, Disney sites

* Ad buys on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and Fox’s Glee

* Ad buys on Time Inc.’s People and InStyle

* Times Square event

Is declaring one's (hetero)sexuality the latest twist in personal branding? Is "coming out" the new "comeback"?

People magazine's May 5th issue features a declaration by country singer Chely Wright—who last made waves with her #1 1999 hit, Single White Female, above—that, yep, she's gay.

The timing of her announcement coincides with this week's release of her memoir, Like Me, as well as her first album in five years, Lifted Off the Ground. She'll also appear on NBC's Today Show tomorrow to discuss her personal journey.

Beyond the collective "Chely Who?" response this has generated, it's also being seen as a cynical marketing ploy.Continue reading...

Absolut vodka settles trademark dispute.

Ann Taylor investigated over blogger gifts.

Apple will charge a premium to put ads in apps.

AriZona, the iced tea, distances itself from Arizona, the state.

Ask.com grows in popularity.

Baidu rises in China with Google's exit.Continue reading...