Sprint sues AT&T to block T-Mobile USA merger; AT&T replies 'bring it on.'

Groupon delays IPO. 

Yahoo ousts CEO Carol Bartz in surprise shake-up.

Bing and Twitter renew partnership.

BMW signs Big Ten sponsorship deal.

BP's former CEO, Tony Hayward, is staging a comeback.

China to overtake Japan in luxury demand.Continue reading...

The Independent Fashion Bloggers association has over 10,000 active members. 10,000 fashionistas—or fashionistas in training—hungry for the latest style dish and eager to flavor their blogs with a pinch of Brand A or Product B. Because it’s a network, the exposure can be exponential. Brands are lucky if just one of those fiercely independent top bloggers chooses to praise their products – right?

The answer is: What’s luck got to do with it? Many of those 10,000+ bloggers aren’t so independent anymore, and so brand mentions aren’t necessarily so serendipitous. Respected teen style icon Jane Aldridge, who pens Sea of Shoes, has partnered with both Barney’s and Urban Outfitters. True, she might have mentioned the latest pair of Manolos anyway, not just because they’re available at Barney’s. But now those keystrokes are, well, incentivized. 

Instead of models, ads for J.C. Penney’s summer campaign feature real-girl bloggers Jennine Jacob (proprietress of The Coveted) and Jessica Schroeder (of What I Wore), and the Penney back-to-school campaign includes videos from teen bloggers and vloggers, or video bloggers, such as Bethany (aka MacBarbie07) above.Continue reading...