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TOP VIDEO ADS OF THE YEAR: Google released its list of the most effective video ads on YouTube in 2013. The company compiled the lies using "an algorithm that factors in paid views, organic views, and audience retention (how much of a video people choose to watch)."
Evian topped the list with its "Baby & Me" commercial, which has been viewed more than 66 million times on YouTube since April 19.
Dove was also a winner with its heartfelt "Dove Real Beauty Sketches" commercial which has been watched nearly 60 million times on YouTube.
Google says that these ads were "some of YouTube's most passed-around, talked-about videos" and that they were "longer, more compelling, more engaging" than your ordinary run-of-the-mill video ad. (Google Think Insights)
The top video ad of 2013, according to Google:
In Other News ...
FACEBOOK RELEASES 'DISLIKE' BUTTON (SORT OF): Facebook released a new assortment of stickers for its messaging app, Facebook Messenger. Among them, is a dislike button. Some people think it's a sign that Facebook could rollout a dislike button across the social Web, as an alternative to its ubiquitous like button. (DailyDot)
2014 PREDICTIONS: The Nieman Journalism Lab released its predictions for 2014. Among them, The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Marshall predicts that web services will develop better news-gathering tools. "There may be new alert systems for breaking stories, improved contact suggestions, and better recommendations for Twitter lists. Some of these features will be launched by Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms, but many will come from third-party platform." (Nieman Journalism Lab)
FACEBOOK FACING LAWSUIT: The U.S. court system said Facebook will have to face a lawsuit from investors, who said the company misled them when the social network made its initial public offering in May 2012. (Reuters)
DATA BROKERS UNDER SCRUTINY: Acxiom, Experian, Epsilon, Datalogix, Equifax, Rapleaf, LexisNexis, Spokeo and TransUnion were the data brokers under the magnifying glass in a 36-page report released yesterday by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). The report looked into how they collect and sell consumer data. The report was critical of data brokers' secrecy. Many digital advertising companies make use of data brokers' data to target their campaigns online and on social media. (Ad Week)
TWITTER STORY COULD BE A TV SHOW: There's talk that Nick Bilton's book about the founding of Twitter, called Hatching Twitter, might be adapted into a TV series. (TechCrunch)
SOCIAL MEDIA SOUP: Tim Dunn, who is director of strategy and mobile at Roundarch Isobar, has an interesting piece out in Ad Age that looks at the overlap of product features across different social media services. "… Social networks that started out with distinct purposes are merging into a homogeneous soup of social, with little to distinguish them except legacy user demographics quickly being diluted by mass adoption." Dunn references Instagram's new direct messaging feature as an example of a service that jumped at adding a new feature made popular by a competing service. (Ad Age)
Vine will begin allowing users to register vanity URLs for their profiles. (TheNextWeb)
What You May Have Missed On BI Intelligence …
[CHART] More People Use The Facebook App Than Google Search App On Smartphones In The U.S.
[CHART] Nearly Half The World's Internet Users Are Active On Facebook Each Month, One-Fifth Use YouTube
[REPORT] A Social Engagement Primer: A Portrait Of Time-Spend And Activity On The Top Social Networks
[CHART] LINE Provides A Great Example Of How Mobile Messaging Apps Can Make Money
[CHART] The Average Global Internet User Spends Two And A Half Hours Daily On Social Media