Out of a marriage of social content and targeted analytics comes Social.com, Salesforce's new cloud-based ad platform that allows for real-time buying for social ad campaigns. 

The site, which was trademarked by Salesforce, caters to the burgeoning social ad market, helping brands feed consumers targeted information based on their mobile device, age, location, cultural backgrounds and social profiles. With industry analyst BIA Kelsey estimating social ad spending to more than double to $11 billion by 2017, Social.com has appeared on the scene just in time. 

Salesforce CEO and founder Marc Benioff credited the recent aquisitions of Radian6 and Buddy Media for building the groundwork for the new site. Salesforce touts Social.com as the first platform integrating social ads with CRM and social media monitoring, connecting social advertising to real-time conversations across social networks. "It's always been known that marketing is all about the moment," Adam Bain, president of Global Revenue at Twitter, told the audience at the launch event. "Twitter is a series of 'now' moments. Marketing on Twitter is about winning the moment."Continue reading...

A storm is gathering in the clouds, not just with #Sandy moving towards the northeast US, but with rumbling within the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This week, it emerged that Salesforce.com's biggest acquisition, social media campaign manager Buddy Media, is losing more than $40 million a year, while Salesforce's social media markeing firm, Radian6, is reorganizing and shedding jobs.

Salesforce spokesperson Jane Hynes’ statement in part: “With the integration of Radian6 and Buddy Media, the Salesforce Marketing Cloud is rebalancing its resources to support its growth, including moving from a hub to a distributed model for certain customer-facing roles, consolidating marketing, and dramatically increasing investments in R&D. Fewer than 100 people globally have been impacted.”

Salesforce acquired Buddy Media in August for $745 million, a time it was churning through more than $42 million a year, while Radian6, Salesforce’s previous marquee acquisition was cash-flow positive at the time of its $325 million acquisition in March of 2010.Continue reading...

Bank of America slapped with U.S. lawsuit over billion-dollar "hustle" of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Elizabeth Taylor is Forbes' new Top-Earning Dead Celeb thanks to Christie's auction.

Apple's iPad mini already has a Chinese knock-off, while US judge says Samsung infringed four Apple patents.

Facebook wins back Wall Street, affirms social dominance and shares soar as looks to rebuild confidence.

AT&T beats estimates in latest quarterly earnings report.

BlackBerry loses grip as go-to phone for US federal government.

Buzzfeed taps Rdio for "social music advertising."

Cisco will fund 12,000 meals for World Food Program via Facebook app.

Tom Cruise sues gossip magazines for defamation of character.Continue reading...

Google turns in soft quarter as PR fail pummels stock.

HSBC hit by worldwide cyberattack.

McDonald's profit falls as U.S. growth slows.

Abbott study of kidney drug is halted.

Apple's iPad Mini poised to cannibalize sales.

Lance Armstrong endorsement implosion toll reaches $30 million.

BBC director general to testify on Jimmy Savile scandal, as new head of BBC Worldwide named.Continue reading...

Samsung mocks iPhone 5 buyers in latest commercial.

Chick-fil-A backs down and vows to stop donating to anti-LGBT groups.

Visa shifts global creative duties back to BBDO.

AOL names female CFO.

AT&T faces backlash over Apple FaceTime restrictions, while CEO explains anti-texting and driving push.

Bed Bath & Beyond beats the odds.

Citibank credit card is coming to China.Continue reading...

Buddy Media now has a very special buddy: Salesforce, which has signed an agreement to purchase the social marketing agency for $689 million (up to $745 million, according to the SEC filing.) It’s the largest deal ever done by Salesforce.com and the largest acquisition of a New York City tech company in the last five years.

The acquisition will result in a hybrid company, combining Salesforce's Radian6 social media listening platform to create an all in one platform for businesses marketing themselves over social networks, i.e., the first “comprehensive Marketing Cloud.”

“Salesforce.com now has the number one players in social listening and marketing – Radian6 and Buddy Media,” said Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff. “With CMOs surpassing CIOs in spend on technology within the next five years, our Marketing Cloud leadership will allow us to capitalize on this massive opportunity.”

"Buddy Media's mission is to eliminate the current state of anarchy in social marketing," said Michael Lazerow, co-founder and CEO, Buddy Media. "With the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, marketers will be able to unify their efforts to better organize their teams, optimize their social programs and deliver real business results."Continue reading...

Air France replaces CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO is ousted in Daimler exec shuffle, and Olympus shares plunge as its CEO is fired.

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend, as Samsung sues to block the device in Japan and Australia and HTC loses Apple patent case in US. Steve Jobs' Silicon Valley memorial service reportedly filled with humor and music, as company prepares to honor late co-founder and report earnings on Tuesday. Starbucks and Apple are also partnering in the UK on free music downloads.

Mattel eyes UK's HIT Entertainment, home to Thomas the Tank Engine and other kids' properties.

Bank of America posts $6.2 billion quarterly profit, while Goldman Sachs reports $428 million loss.

BlackBerry customers receive free apps and tech support to make amends for outages.Continue reading...

Social media is proving a worthy ally for agency Digitaria’s recent launch of LRA Crisis Tracker (seen above), a crisis-mapping platform for African radio stations and non-governmental organizations working to boost awareness about the bloody war waged in Uganda for more than two decades and systemically underreported in Western media. 

A new piece of software based on Salesforce cloud technology enables the LRA Crisis Tracker to follow and chronicle atrocities in remote areas with sub-par communications infrastructure. The team created a custom CMS that delivers the data to the mapping system, and an app with English- and French-language data bundles launched last month.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is an ultra-violent Christian sect led by Joseph Kony, a self-appointed prophet who considers himself sent from God to replace the Ugandan government with a theocracy based on the Ten Commandments. The LRA is notorious for mass kidnappings of children press-ganged into military service -- since 1987, more than 30,000 children have been abducted and conscripted across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

Since Invisible Children and Resolve launched the map and mobile app, the number of LRA attacks reported publicly has increased by over 600%.Continue reading...