The collection, analysis   and use of   consumer data is and will continue to both be valuable and yet threatening to privacy and individual rights. All of this related data is being collected about you so it can be used to target you so you can be sold something. Businesses run on data and are in constant pursuit of more data, especially those on-line. In a recent PBS Broadcast Mark  Zuckerberg explained how Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are much worse at the practice of collecting your data behind your back than Facebook. But you never know that. . MORE >>

Long time friend and well respected CMO buddy of mine Romi Mahajan is leaving Microsoft to join Metavana. A: After an aggregate of 9 years at Microsoft, being the CMO of a $100M dollar digital agency, and a writer, I wanted to get back to my roots in terms of “building” something that had huge customer promise and could make a dent in reality as we know it. Q: The name would suggest that you are making a “big data” play by combining multiple sources of meta data from the social web to create a VOC “nirvana”, which of course is kind of the holy grail for everyone in this space. MORE >>

While I am typically skeptical when it comes to products from Microsoft , I am remarkably surprised by the great quality of Windows Phone 7. Over the last few days, I have been using an HTC HD7 device running Windows Phone 7 alongside my Android devices and occasional iPod Touch use, and without reservation, I believe the Windows Phone 7 experience to be a serious challenger to both platforms in terms of quality, intuitive use and simplicity - things you usually won't catch me saying about Microsoft, or Windows specifically. iPhone Windows Microsoft android Windows Mobile MORE >>

A week after Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin said that mobile doesn’t need another operating system , Microsoft responded with what analysts believe can be a long-term game-changer. Microsoft has a market share of only 5 percent in the global smartphone market, according to research firm Gartner, compared with 9 percent a year ago. They (Microsoft) are not going to change their position today or in the next month,&# Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at research firm Gartner, told Reuters. Tags: Data Points Location-based services Mobile Advertising Nokia slipped 2.6 MORE >>

Interestingly, iPad and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 tie for second, at 20 percent each, followed by RIM BlackBerry (12 percent) and iPhone (8 percent). Granted, the advance of Android and iPhone operating systems (driven primarily by mobile operators pushing their OEMs to ramp up production of smartphones and fuel increased data use by subscribers) is having a significant impact on the platform landscape. Tags: Data Points Mobile Advertising Mobile Research But will this platform pull out ahead of the competition globally? Multi-platform = more money. MORE >>