Content about Social information processing

Social media giant Facebook is generating lots of buzz with the debut of its app launcher, Facebook Home, which turns existing Android smartphones into a Facebook-centric mobile device. (App launchers are applications that allow users to customize the home screen on their personal devices and add various other functionalities to it.)

New York -- Facebook has added a new service, called Gifts, which allows Facebook users in the United States to buy gifts for their friends on the social media platform. The new feature, rolled out just in time for the holiday shopping season, has the potential to give Facebook an ongoing supply of valuable personal information.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. said Thursday it has awarded $2.5 million in Target gift cards to schools across the country, much of it due to a strong Give With Target campaign with a robust Facebook participation.

A lot has changed in the past year on the social media block. Facebook and Twitter are no longer the only two major players helping retailers connect and engage with their shoppers in real time. Consumers are flocking to platforms such as social-photo sharing sites Pinterest and Instagram, and some brands are even creating their own social blog accounts on Tumblr.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- A “Live Help” feature, detailed information about products and services and access to personal account information are the three most important features consumers expect to find at a company’s website, according to an annual survey by Oracle. The company surveyed more than 3,000 consumers worldwide regarding their use of customer service channels including call centers, live chat, click-to-call and email.

Atlanta -- The Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council has published the final installment of its five-part report on social media, which suggested that grocery marketers significantly can leverage any social media participation by simply responding to tweets on Twitter and exploring the potential of professional networking site LinkedIn.

Los Angeles -- Starbucks Coffee Co. has been rated number one in a study of the most socially engaged companies by PhaseOne, a leading analytical-based research firm that helps companies to improve the quality, content and success rate of their marketing communication materials.

Conducted between July 2011 and January 2012, PhaseOne's social media engagement study looked at 75 top brands across six vertical markets and analyzed the social media engagement of more than 20 top brands.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it has debuted a social networking application, calling it Shopycat.

The app uses Facebook data to recommend gifts to consumers, on the company's Facebook page. It is one of the first products to roll out of @Walmartlabs, a unit of the company charged with developing social-networking and mobile technologies for the retailer.

By Jacqueline Zenn, jacqueline@socialogicmarketing.com

New York City -- The International Council of Shopping Centers said Wednesday it has created a social media application by Mobile Fridge, allowing users to view ICSC events and trends via smartphone.

New York City -- Aeropostale has launched a fully integrated Facebook Store, powered by Usablenet's technology platform, that combines shopping and social media and extends full e-commerce functionality to the Aeropostale Facebook community.

In addition to being able to purchase from Aeropostale's entire online inventory, the integrated Facebook e-commerce store allows users to easily 'Like' and share items and purchases with their Facebook network - leveraging the viral nature of Facebook's news feed.

Albany, N.Y. -- Cabela’s has retained Media Logic, a nationally recognized agency specializing in marketing for a social world, to support the company’s recently launched 50th anniversary promotion with ongoing and sustained communications over social media.

Media Logic will leverage Facebook as the primary social network to add excitement and urgency to Cabela’s year-long promotion, “50 Years, 50 Trucks.”