Google is safe. It’s reliable. Many of us use it everyday, and even on our cell phones to look up song lyrics, the answer to a question, or more about that awesome restaurant we went to the other week that we forgot the name of. But, what would you think if Google were to bypass your privacy settings on your mobile device to track your personal web browsing habits?

The reality is, Google is guilty for doing just that. The article, “Google’s iPhone Tracking” published in The Wall Street Journal, discusses the implications of Google using a computer code that essentially tricked Apple’s Safari Web-browsing software into monitoring iPhone users’ browsing behaviors for advertising purposes. After being contacted by The Wall Street Journal, Google deactivated their code.

In a statement released by Google, they rebutted: “The Journal mischaracterizes what happened and why. We used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled. It’s important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information.”

Personal privacy is a hot topic that many Internet users struggle to grasp. The browsers and websites that we love and trust (like Google) are betraying its users and monitoring our iPhones. I strongly believe that our cell phones should be a safe zone and not secretly regulated to gather information. Will I stop using Google and my iPhone Safari browser all together? Probably not. But as a consumer, I am starting to lose trust in the brand. If Google users have similar feelings, Google’s overall credibility will decrease and they may even lose customers and business. What do you think about personal privacy? Google users, is it time to make the switch to Bing?

The Apple iPad 3 is one of the most anticipated devices from Apple this year. The device will be released on March 7, and will be the third of the Apple iPad series. Regarded as one of the best-selling computer tablets in the world, the iPad comes at a hefty price. A study from Slashgear shows that half of prospective iPad 3 buyers don’t care about the anticipated 20-30% increase in price of the new Apple tablet. The NPD Group reveals that over 40% of current iPad users have a household income of $100,000 or more in comparison to the 26% of non-iPad owners.

So what’s the big deal, anyway?

According to TheTechLabs.com, the new iPad will feature a sleeker design, rock a full HD display, have a lighter battery, and charge wirelessly. For many, the new iPad is regarded as a symbol of high-end status and “in” with new technology.

Personally, I question what these studies say about society if so many people are willing to shell out the big bucks for a product that hasn’t even been launched yet. To me, I view Apple not only as a brand, but also as a lifestyle. If a company can succeed in obtaining a vast number of loyal customers, who, without knowing the cost of their product before its launch, are willing to purchase the product, then success has been reached. More and more people are defining themselves through the “Apple lifestyle”; living as someone who is up with the latest technology and modern-day trends including owning the hottest new phone (iPhone4s), newest iPod, newest Mac computer, and finally the newest tablet, the iPad 3.

What do you think about the release of the iPad 3? Is there too much ado about nothing or will you be pre-ordering your new tablet in just a few weeks? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Learning the in’s and out’s of social media has never been so simple; just eat a donut! At this point, you may be extremely confused and unsure of where this post is going. Let me assure you, the complex and ever-changing world of social media can be explained by the simplest action of eating a donut. Thanks to Douglas Wray’s Instagrammed photo of social media explained by eating a donut.

Let’s start with the first social media platform, Twitter. When you tweet, you’re writing a quick blurb about something you’re doing, posting a link to a website, or re-tweeting a cool post you want to share (all under 140 characters, of course!) In the scenario of eating a donut, you use a #hashtag to link key words to Twitter. This way, if any other fellow donut lovers are out there, they can simply search for “donuts” and find you’re newest tweet: “I’m eating a #donut.”

Next we have Facebook. Facebook allows its users to “like” business pages, statuses…even products and food items! When personalizing your Facebook page, it’s important to “like” these pages or groups to show others who you really are and what interests you. Status updates inform your Facebook friends what you are doing, and don’t have a character limitation like Twitter. So next time you’re on Facebook and eating a delicious donut, go ahead and “like” the donuts Facebook page. Whether it’s Dunkin’ or Honeydew, there’s sure to be a donuts fan page for your favorite brand or flavor.

Hungry and forgot to eat breakfast this morning? You can use social media to “check-in” to your favorite local donut shop that posts directly to Foursquare! Foursquare is a unique social media outlet in that it uses location-based services to find where exactly you are in the world simply by “checking in”. Let you friends know where you are through Foursquare. After all, once they see where you are, they may want you to pick them up a dozen chocolate glazed or two…

Instagram is one of the newer social media outlets for the photo-junkies. Why not show the cyber world how delicious your donut looks by uploading a photo to Instagram? After uploading a photo to the site, you can add cool features like frames, vintage colors, pr black and white or sepia tones to personalize your photo. Want to show your friends a vintage photo of your donut? Start Instagramming away!

Finally, YouTube is a favorite among the social media community. Upload a video clip of your donut eating habits for all to see! YouTube is the way to go if you have video content that you want to share. Be warned, YouTube is a serious procrastination mechanism but makes for great laughs from the vast range of silly and ridiculous videos to those “OMG” moments caught on film. Create an account and start uploading right away!

This concludes Social Media 101: What We Can Learn By Eating a Donut. I hope you have enjoyed your donut thoroughly and the next time you forget your breakfast and run to your nearest donut shop or bakery, I expect to see that social media usage come into play! #Toomanydonuts @TRA360 

When it comes to social media, there are many levels of difficulty for various goals within an organization. Having a substancial  budget adds arrows to a marketer’s quiver to achieve success; whether it’s defined as hits, inbound links, better SEO, sales or brand equity, success is the product of a well-defined strategy revolving around content creation, advertising, promotions, PR and happy customers sharing. All of the efforts can be amplified through certain tactics where the effectiveness correlates to well spent dollars. Money itself won’t grow a following, as there are never any guarantees and correlation is far from causation. That being said, for those of us who don’t have an expense account with lots of bucks, the skills are what separate the cream of the crop. 

1) Plant them and they will grow. In this analogy, the seeds are the content in your industry which can be planted on blogs and social media, watered through sharing, and grown into a following that precipitates customers and sales. Simple enough? Yes. Easier said then done? You bet. The key is to write with passion about topics that you are knowledgable about, and hopefully find common ground with your audience. Otherwise it’s just a tree falling with no one to hear it.

2) Be friendly! For a moment, imagine being back in kindergarden. Would you share your favorite toy with the class bully? Of course not. In the world of online sharing, the toys are retweets, mentions, follows and the likes. Ask yourself: are you a giver or a taker? By offering help to others through engaging in conversations and sharing their content, you become a giver and open the door to relationships. These relationship help to bolster your network which can work to your advantage as you try to spread your ideas and content. Nothing can help a social media effort like a network of dependable friends you can rely on.

3) Fish where the fish are. If you’re writing a blog about social media, would you be more likely to find interested readers in a group about Cats, or a group about social media marketing? If you guessed cats, please stop reading. For the rest of you, the idea may be simple but it’s very effective. Put your content into the channels where it can be heard. Segment as much as possible until you find the groups most aligned with your efforts. By doing all three of the tactics together, you will be well on your way to success without a budget.