SocialTwist has just hit a key benchmark, partnering with 100,000 brands and websites to create “customer advocates” to help relay deals and other marketing messages.

In the past year, 4.8 million customer advocates have used the platform for referrals, offers and content sharing with friends.

Also making the service a player to watch: Sanjeev Agrawal, former head of product marketing for Google — and the former VP Products at TellMe Networks (acquired by Microsoft) and CEO of Aloqa (acquired by Motorola) — has just signed on as its president.Continue reading...

Alfa Romeo delays full return to US.

Amazon introduces digital textbook rentals.

American Airlines splits order between Airbus and Boeing.

Apple directors ponder succession.

BMW grows cautious on developed markets.

Borders succumbs to digital era as Barnes & Noble focuses on e-books.

Campbell expands lower-sodium soup options.Continue reading...

ANA weighs FDA lawsuit over graphic cigarette pack warnings.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon-backed ISIS brings NFC swipe-and-payments to Austin, TX.

Barnes & Noble digital plan pays off (but at a cost).

Facebook seeks pre-IPO feedback from marketers.

Glen Campbell announces he has Alzheimer's.

GM woos owners of defunct car brands.Continue reading...

AIG raises $8.7 billion.

Amazon launches $164 Kindle 3G with ads, as B&N unveils $139 touchscreen Nook.

Apple passes 500,000 unique app offerings in its U.S. store.

Bharti Walmart expands wholesale stores.

Bob Dylan turns 70.

Boeing weighs options for new planes.

British Airways develops Windows 7 mobile boarding app.

California Pizza Kitchen agrees to buyout offer.Continue reading...

Amazon "gives away" Lady Gaga's new album for 99 cents.

AOL shuts down India portal.

Apple rumored to be planning a store in NYC's Grand Central and a curved glass iPhone.

Barnes & Noble's Nook "crushes" Amazon's Kindle in the glossy magazine department.

Cisco accused of aiding Chinese crackdown on dissidents.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean 4 scores fourth biggest global weekend opening.

Ellen DeGeneres boycotts Twitpic in wake of Twitter app's photo agency deal. 

Ford plans in-car driver health monitoring with Medtronic.

Foursquare and Groupon reportedly in partnership talks.Continue reading...

Apple signs music labels for cloud-based service, and denies claim by Amazon that “app store” is a generic term.

BP settles with partner in Gulf spill.

Coca-Cola creates chief sustainability officer position.

Frito-Lay rewards Cheetos fans for goofing off.

Goldman Sachs executives brace for subpoenas in mortgage investigation.

Honda recalls 2012 Civic for fuel line defect.

IMF is a reportedly a chauvinist haven.

Lance Armstrong refutes new doping allegations.Continue reading...

Apple sees PC cannibalization by iPad drop.

AutoNation car dealer network gets thrown for a spin by Japanese car-supply problems.

Barnes & Noble hits one million Nook app downloads.

BP tries to salvage Russian deal.

Dish Network taps former Sirius head Joseph Clayton to replace founder Charlie Ergen as CEO.

Fox puts faith in Simon Cowell's The X Factor for fall prime-time schedule.

IMF head arrest in sexual-assault case roils worlds from French politics to euro zone debt.Continue reading...

In a funny twist of virtual fate, turns out that social media-savvy moms wield substantial clout when it comes to recommending, among other things, eReaders and banking services to family and friends.

As competition in both markets escalate, it’s women with one or more children under 18 living at home, who regularly engage in social media, that are influencing brand choices. 

Motista's recent survey on eReaders asked consumers about brands including Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's eReader and Apple's iPad.

“Social media moms definitely feel a deeper connection to their eReaders that their non-social media counterparts don’t,” said Alan Zorfas, chief product and marketing officer at Motista, in a press release.Continue reading...