Time magazine has become one of the most popular news brands on Google+, with over 1.2 million users adding Time to their circles on the social network.  Cathy Sharick, managing editor of Time.com, shared some tips for achieving success on Google+, as reported by Journalism.co.uk. According to Sharick, knowing your audience is key; she advises anyone managing a news site to keep asking questions and figure out what the audience finds most interesting.  “We are posting content that we know resonates with the readers. ”  Plans for more hangouts are in the works. MORE >>

Still looking for ways to convince your boss, clients or board of investors to invest money in realtime tools and strategies? How about this one:  according to a new study by Capgemini Consulting and the MIT Center for Digital Business, companies that are “digitally mature” generate more revenue, are more profitable and achieve higher market valuations. Capgemini is basing these findings on two years of study covering more than 400 large firms. But few firms have positioned themselves to capture the real business benefits. The report measures companies along two dimensions:  1. MORE >>

Ever since Twitter picked a business model  based on advertising, the company has been emphasizing the importance of creating a “consistent experience” for Twitter users. What will this experience look like? That’s media company code for “we want to be able to deliver ads to all Twitter users,” no filters or mute buttons allowed , not lose them to a third-party platform. The more Twitter can keep users inside the walled garden of official Twitter apps, the more money it can make. says Anil Dash. So what does this garden look like? ”   (Really, Michael? MORE >>

Pinterest beats out Facebook as a destination for shopping inspiration, tracking and product discovery, according to a new study by Bizrate Insights. And within these categories, the gap between the two social networks is quite large. Nearly 7 in 10 online consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they’ve purchased or wanted to purchase, compared to only 40% of online consumers who visit Facebook. 67% use Pinterest “to help keep track of or collect the things that I like” vs. 21% using Facebook for the same reason. MORE >>

Users are not happy with Facebook, according to a survey released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).  But Google+, a newcomer to the survey, tied for the highest score in the Social Media category. Facebook was already the lowest-scoring e-business company on the index, and this year suffered the largest decline in customer satisfaction, dropping 8% to a satisfaction level of only 61 (out of 100).  This is a record low for the Social Media category, and places Facebook among the five lowest-scoring companies out of the total 230 measured by the ACSI. from last year.  MORE >>