Facebook meets project management

Remindo gives project-management software a social-media twist, offering a Facebook-like interface to professionals collaborating on projects. Besides calendars, messaging services and file sharing, the site lets users post status updates, much as they would on Facebook and Twitter. It also simplifies inviting outsiders — such as clients — to the network.  Mashable

Microsoft debuts Twitter-like Juku in China

Microsoft has launched an instant-messenger-meets-Twitter hybrid in China, where its chat software remains popular. Though the company is claiming MSN Juku is “a local innovation,” the service, which lets users share posts 140 characters at a time, is raising eyebrows from local media. Several other companies have launched Twitter-inspired sites in the Chinese market.  PC World/IDG News Service

The year’s most popular word: Twitter

“Twitter” was the most commonly used English word in 2009, according to the Global Language Monitor, followed by Obama, H1N1, stimulus and vampire. “Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku. One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds,” says Paul JJ Payack, the organization’s president.  CNET/Digital Media blog

Bloggers wary of new FTC disclosure rules

Federal Trade Commission guidelines demanding that bloggers disclose payments or free products they receive when reviewing those products have elicited a mixed reaction in the blogging community. Some bloggers say they’ll ignore the guidelines, which apply to blogs but not mainstream media.  Boston Globe, The

Search ads from food marketers subject to scrutiny

Orange juice was mistakenly touted as a “flu cure” in a search ad on behalf of the Florida Department of Citrus. It’s an example of how food marketers need to take as much care in monitoring online ads as they do with their print and other efforts, this article says.  ClickZ

AOL to roll out data-driven content

As AOL prepares to be spun off from Time Warner, it’s rolling out a plan to “mass-produce” large amounts of online content based on analyses of what visitors and advertisers are searching for. It also will offer custom advertorial content to marketers.  The Wall Street Journal

Sam Ewen weighs in on guerrilla marketing

Interference’s Sam Ewen, known for his nontraditional marketing stunts, explains how he’s bringing the guerrilla spirit online through social media, in this interview. “The more we can incorporate social technology into real-life events, the more people get excited about it,” Ewen says.  Brandweek

Google-News Corp. relationship not so disposable

All that talk of News Corp. potentially cutting out Google for a Bing partnership may be just a “negotiating tactic” in the struggle to create a paid content system, perhaps with the help of search engine “gatekeepers,” per this article.  The New York Times

Online publishers push back against agency ad platforms

Agency-run ad buying platforms are sparking a potential backlash on the part of leading online publishers, which reportedly are considering creating a platform of their own to stabilize pricing and control data.  Mediaweek

Where the money goes

In a special report, Advertising Age rounds up the top 100 companies by worldwide marketing spending, and breaks down ad expenditures on a country-by-country basis.  Advertising Age