SOCIAL STUDIES

Link-shortening service, bitly, released a set of “socially conscious” APIs that provide users with information on real-time search results, attention spikes and metadata about URLs, which can be integrated into existing applications. With real-time search data, users can run a query (either a specific phrase or filtered criteria) and receive the top URLs and story results. Attention spikes show users the current phrases that are of most interest to users over a given period, while URL metadata provides a quick analysis of the content of each URL for user queries.

Master of the Marketplace

Amazon relished in recordbreaking 2012 holiday sales, and the 2 million-plus third-party sellers on the Amazon Marketplace scored big, as well. According to the e-commerce giant, these merchants saw their sales go up 40 percent from the 2011 holiday season (although Amazon declined to provide figures). This isn’t terribly surprising, considering in 2012 Amazon sold more than 25.6 million items in a single day, but it is certainly enticing for third-party merchants to know they can also benefit from Amazon’s outrageous popularity among consumers.

Rethink Your Web Presence

Learn about the tools and techniques that powerhouses like Facebook, Target, Chase, AT&T and many others use to achieve success in the Digital Age. Website Magazine’s Web 100, an all-inclusive guide to 100 top digital brands, is available now. Don’t miss out; download Web 100 gratis at wsm.co/WEB100.

Acquisitions & Milestones

■ Oracle bought Eloqua, the marketing automation SaaS provider, with plans to make the company the “centerpiece” of its cloud marketing offering by investing in Eloqua products and leveraging key Oracle assets like Big Data and Business Intelligence.

■ Adobe acquired New York-based startup Behance, which hosts portfolio work for graphic designers and artists, in an effort to spur the creation of a community based on the Adobe Creative Cloud services.

■ Microsoft acquired home automation and entertainment media startup R2 Studios to use the company’s resources to boost its Xbox division.

■ Samsung acquired Dataplex SSD caching software developer NVELO, including the company’s technology and employees.

Mobile App Watch

Buffer for Twitter and Facebook

iOS - Android
Stay social all day long with the free Buffer application for iOS and Android devices. The app enables users to schedule and share content throughout the day onto Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and App.net. For example, whenever a user finds a share-worthy piece of content, they can add it to their Buffer queue. Then the app will schedule and post spaced out status updates. Users can also upload content to Buffer directly from popular news-reading apps like Feedly and Pocket. The app also provides analytics, so that users can monitor their social success.