The online world has been abuzz this week with the release of videos by The OldSpice Man. This viral sensation started out as video advertisement released via YouTube – something that is fairly common nowadays – but the brand kicked it up a notched by not only creating a fantastically interactive Twitter account, but also creating personalized videos for Tweeting celebrities and common folk alike.

***

Advertising That’s QR Code Friendly

Calvin Klein has introduced a new billboard to the Houston Street area containing a large QR code that encourages passerbys to “get uncensored” and scan the code for a video. There are mixed feelings on the billboard – QR code usage is relatively low so the effectiveness of the ad is in question, however, there is no doubt that this may be the beginning of a trend in advertising.

***

The Social Network Has Arrived

The first trailer for The Social Network – a movie about the rise and early days of Facebook – has been released.  The trailers gives just enough to entice the audience without being a full-on preview. The social media space is waiting for the premiere with high anticipation.

***

Hearst and Zinio Push the iPad

Hearst, a competitor of COnde Nast, has teamed with Zinio – an app newsstand proprietor – to release digital versions of several of their publications includiung Seventeen, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar. Hearst also plans to leverage Oprah’s magazine and status to increase app usage by allowing readers of Oprah’s powerful book club to read the club’s selections on the iPad.

China has renewed Google’s ICP license. This is the rights that are needed to host a site on it’s own domain. After a struggle, the government and Google were able to come to an agreement. it’s still  unclear whether Google will be responsible for full hosting or if they will be redirecting some of the hosting duties to the Hong Kong servers.

Conde Nast Traveller Joins the iPhone App Movement

Conde Nast seems to be adapting to the use of digital media with several of their publications. Wired has been released on the iPad and different fashion-related iPhone applications have been put out by Vogue. Most recently Conde Nast Traveller has released an application that provides “City Guides” for four cities: Barcelona, New York, Paris and Rome. Each city is a separate application and they cost $9.99 each.

Ford Works with RIM to Curb Texting-While-Driving Violations

Ford Motor Company is preparing updates to its SYNC Technology that will include audible text messaging. RIM will be implementing their MAP (Message Access Profile) on new BlackBerry devices. This means the first users of this technology will be BlackBerry users.

LeBron James Gains over 100K Followers in 7 Hours

The basketball superstar has been in the news often these past few weeks as speculation as to his next move flew. He ultimately decided to go to the Miami Heat but during the flurry of coverage, the NBA star joined Twitter as @KingJames and gained over 150,000 followers in less than 8 hours.

After reports of the iPhone 4 having service problems with they’re held a certain way, disgruntled users have filed a lawsuit against both Apple and AT&T accusing Apple of Defect in Design, Manufacture and Assembly – among other claims. There is also purportedly another similar class-action law suit in the works. Apple has since admitted that there are reception issues and promises to fix the glitch.

Google versus Facebook

After facing numerous privacy issues over the past couples months, Facebook may have reason to be worried about the search engine giant is working on creating a social network. This digital Clash of the Titans should be interesting to watch as many of Google’s early social networking attempts have fallen short of successful.

Location-Based Celebrity-Sightings

Location-Based Services (LBS) has made another strive in proving its usefulness with a new application from OK! Magazine called the OK Celeb Spotter where users can report celeb-sightings in real-time.

Facebook Introduces Face Detection Technology

Facebook who acquired Divvyshot, a photo sharing site, back in April, has implemented face detection technology that will find and select faces in photos and automatically tag them. This will streamline the photo tagging process which many consider the most tedious portion of photo-sharing on Facebook.

The Blog About Twitter

As if social media wasn’t intertwined enough, The Big Money has announced the launch of a blog about all-things Twitter-related. Now you can Tweet about blogging and blog about Tweeting.

Viacom lost a billion-dollar case against YouTube. It’s been ruled that YouTube is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against copyright infringement. This is a huge success for internet users everywhere.

Smile-Activated Sundaes

SapientNitro and Unilever have created the first ever smile-activated ice cream vending machine. As if ice cream wasn’t reason enough to smile.

1.5 Million iPhones Sold on First Day

The internet has been buzzing with reports of the astounding amount of customers who lined up to purchase the iPhone 4 this week. The official reports are in and the iPhone sold 1.5 million phones on its launch day.

Controversial .XXX Domain Name Option for Porn Sites

The organization that oversees regristraions for the internet and domain names has decided to approve the .xxx TLD (top level domain) for pornographic websites. This is a move that has been criticized by many groups including both conservative activists and pornographers.

Famed movie critic Roger Ebert is not jumping on the 3-D bandwagon. In a Newsweek article published this week, Ebert explains why movie theaters should not overuse the technology and make it “a way of live” for moviegoers.

Hugo Chavez Twitter’s Newest Political Figure

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is officially a Twitter user as of Tuesday. The anti-US critic will be using the microblogging site as a way to send messages to his followers. He’s also reportedly encouraged Bolivian President Evo Morales and controversial Cuban political leader Fidel Castro to also join the site.

NYS Senator Charles Schumer not a Fan of Facebook

New York State Senator Charles Schumer is not a fan of Facebook’s new personalization of their site. He’s written a letter to the FTC asking that they create stringent guidelines for Facebook and other social networking sites.

Apple Releases “Thoughts on Flash”

Apple’s Steve Jobs has released a statement titled “Thoughts on Flash” in which he explains that due to Adobe’s lack of “reliability, security and performance” the iPhone and iPad will not support the Adobe Suite.

Identity theft is a huge concern with the increased usage of computers for online banking and buying. It’s been found out that shoppers at the popular online retailer Blippy are at risk of having their credit card information shown live in Google searches.

Facebook Announces New Plan at f8

Facebook has launched a whole plan that integrates the web with the social networking site. Dialogue Media’s Alex Payne explains.

Foursquare Creates Business Page

Foursquare has created a space for businesses to engage their customers with specials. This also allows businesses to track the performance of the venue.

Network giant Ning has announced that it will no longer offer a free product. They’ve also decided to downsize their staff, eliminating nearly 40% of their work force.

Tweets to be Archives in Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has announced that it will begin to digitally archive every tweet ever sent on social media giant Twitter. This is a way to preserve historically important information such as President Obama’s tweet about his victory tweet.

Promoted Tweets Make Their Way into a New Advertising Platform

Twitter has announced the newest addition to digital advertising – promoted tweets. These tweets will show up at the top of the page with a small note that the tweet is sponsored. This will be an interesting way for big brands to combat negative social media attention.

Financial Times and Foursquare Team Up

The next generation of Social Media is slowly but surely making it’s way into the mainstream. The Financial Times has announced that it will allow Foursquare check-ins at certain partner locations unlock the paywall – temporarily releasing content for free.

The AP Style Book Changes “Web Site” Rules

The AP Style Book has changed the proper use of website from “Web Site” to “website.” This change will take place as of today on their web version and will be present in the 2010 version of the handbook.

This list of quotes from social media leaders like Mashable’s Pete Cashmore to  marketing great Seth Goodin covers everything from online networking and community building to brand blunders.

Google Being Sued by Photographers Over Books

Google has hit another speed bump in their Google Books project. Although a settlement was reached three years ago as to what portions of books may be displayed online, visual artists were not included in the settlement.  A new class action lawsuit that will examine the Books project is said to also include Google Image Search.

Apple introducing iAds

Apple announced their new mobile advertising platform which will be built into the iPhone OS interface. Apple founder Steve Jobs hopes that creating ads within applications as opposed to search will change the face of advertising.

Farmville adding brand sponsored crops

In the near future, you’ll be able to buy brand-sponsored crops on Facebook’s Farmville. Created by ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi for an Israeli candy brand, the newest feature will allow players to purchase and sell virtual peanuts and harvest them.

Foursquare Cracks Down on Cheaters

Foursquare has implemented software that will require users who want to earn mayorship and other badges to be at the actual location (as shown by cell phone GPS). Users will still be able to check-in if not at the actual location but they will not be able to earn badges or become mayor of a spot.

Facebook to Scrap ‘Become a Fan Of’ for ‘Like’

Facebook is changing the “become a fan” feature and swapping it out for “liking” on pages. This new feature will increase users’ interaction with their brands, and presents a non-committal declaration of a fan’s support of a brand, etc.

Facebook To Release A “Like” Button For the Whole Darn Internet

Another announcement from Facebook this week was the release of a “like” button across the world…wide web. Expect Facebook to get bigger than ever with this new feature rolling out everywhere, as websites will have to scramble to format their content for Facebook’s preferences.

The iPad Launch: Can Steve Jobs Do It Again?

With barely one day left until the iPad is let loose on the tech- and social media- hungry masses, it’s leaving many wondering what the reception is going to be like and how this new piece of technology could change everything.

Apps For the iPad Now Available

The iPad App store has finally opened, giving way to all those i-junkies chomping at the bits to see what is going to be available. Definitely worth a perusal, there’s going to be some great apps, like Wordpress!

Twitter Gets an Extreme Home Makeover with Release of New Home Page

This week, Twitter’s home page received an overhaul on its home page, featuring more content that showcases the platform for new users.

The Funniest April Fools Jokes

There were some pretty hilarious pranksters this year on Twitter and YouTube. Mashable rounds up their favorites.

What news made your ctrl+d  this week?

One is the Loneliest Number, but One Billion is a lot Happier

In case anyone is still trying to convince you that social media is a fad, new numbers suggest that two of the largest sites in the world could both pull in 1 Billion Dollars in revenue in the coming years. It seems that Facebook is geared to hit the 1.1 billion mark in 2010 while YouTube could hit the magic mark in 2011 ( and have Google keep 700 million in the process).  Not bad for a fad.

American Idol’s Social Profiles Get a Facelift

After establishing profiles for each of the 24 contestants earlier in the season, American Idol has apparently consolidated their entire operation into one account on each major network.  Fans of contestants were greeted by “Thanks so much for following me! All my updates from now on will be on our Official Ai9 Twitter Page”. Some are wondering if follower counts were taking away some of the mystery that AI usually enjoys.  We’re wondering if this will affect how fans interact with the brand down the road.  What do you think?

Foursquare and Owalla to Battle for World Domination at SXSW

Well… not really.  But after unveiling last year at the conference, both have rolled out new features in anticipation of this year’s party in Austin.  Techcrunch is reporting that Owalla has done a major redesign while Foursquare has added a category functionality.  And the word on the street is that both are rolling out new mobile apps next week.  We’re happy using both, but it will be interesting to see who wins this battle of the buzz.

What were some of your favorite PR or social media stories of the last week?