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Ever heard of a company called [x+1]? (Yeah, weird name.) As part of a series about online privacy, The Wall Street Journal published an investigation today about the company that’s sobering, maybe even chilling. Scoop is companies hire [x+1] to help determine if you’ll be a good customer before you’ve shared any information with the company. How do they do it? “Firms like [x+1] tap into vast databases of people’s online behavior — mainly gathered surreptitiously by tracking…

Over the weekend, Twitter was attacked by a worm that infected certain members’ profile pages and repeatedly sent spam tweets from those profiles. The spam tweets redirected back to the StalkDaily Web site, which is considered responsible for the worm. Twitter members could catch the worm simply by visiting an infected profile page. Twitter said it has fixed the problem and no sensitive information was compromised during the attack. Related Business Insider Facebook is (once again) mimicking Twitte…

Can’t find the right words? You’re not alone. “There comes a time in every blogger’s life when the thought of writing another blog post makes you want to … well … gag,” Copyblogger ’s Jonathan Morrow wrote. He offered 10 tricks for getting inspired.

Photographer Ken R. Light sued Current TV, the network owned by former Vice President Al Gore, for using one of his pictures without permission, payment, or credit. Current TV never denied taking Light’s work, and instead argued that they followed the rules of the Web. “After a few months of legal battles Mr. Gore and company won [last] week, proving that Goliath can indeed beat David,” Scott James wrote for The New York Times . Of course, Gore won — he invented the Internet. Hello?

There was once a time when those who first embraced new technologies were looked upon with skepticism, maybe eve derision. “Geeks,” people whispered. No longer. A new survey from Forrester Research, reported on by The New York Times ‘ Jenna Wortham, has found that America has become a nation of early adopters. “There’s really no group out of the tech loop,” Jacqueline Anderson, an analyst with Forrester who was one of the study’s authors, told The Times . “Americ…

Does a 36 percent approval rating for the PR/ad industry sound high or low to you? According to Gallup’s annual summer poll , which gauges America’s feelings on various business sectors, the public’s opinion of the PR/ad industry has declined steadily since 2007. Still, the industry’s 36 percent positive rating — 6 percent “very,” 27 percent “somewhat”— beats the airline, pharmaceutical, banking, and education industries’ approval levels. The in…

Maybe social media isn’t the cat’s meow for small businesses. “In its short lifetime, social media — services like Facebook and Twitter — have become popular marketing tools for small firms due to the low cost and easy-to-use format,” reports The Wall Street Journal . “Some entrepreneurs say they’re highly effective, but new evidence suggests otherwise.” Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University, told The Journal : “The hype right no…

Good journalism requires skepticism, even cynicism, which means PR pros need to prepare themselves before speaking with a reporter. “You need to be one step (or ten) ahead of [reporters],” Richard Laermer wrote on the Bad Pitch Blog . “Play ‘devil’s advocate.’ What are the first questions you’re going to get? What are the questions that will make you uncomfortable, or that you don’t have an answer for yet? You need to find the holes before the reporters fin…

Well, this is interesting. The proliferation of blogs is apparently killing the need for PR. “If you’re seeking coverage, there is no longer a need to employ an expensive PR firm to pitch your story (though as I’ll explain, it can be a helpful shortcut),” Adam Ostrow wrote for Open Forum . Ostrow then provides nine do-it-yourself tips for pitching bloggers. Good advice, although nine tips and millions of blogs hardly kill the need for useful public relations.

A blogger is furious at a “dim” PR pro for sending a pitch about an apparent link between oral sex and oral cancer — to a sports radio show. Check out the pitch.

It’s time to break out the yardstick to determine if your efforts in social media are paying off. Here’s an opportunity to learn from the best. SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Alison Bolen, the editor of blogs and social content at SAS, gathered tips on measurement from industry pros. They maintain it’s about figuring out the most effective tools, including text analysis and looki…

For those working in corporate America, this study probably comes as little surprise. The study, from Manpower employer services, found that just 29 percent of companies in the Americas have a “formal policy regarding employee use of social networking sites.” Of the companies that do have a social media policy, 63 percent said it is effective. Related SmartBlog on Social Media Why your boss should let you use Facebook at work.

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) appointed Thomas Smith executive vice president/group director of the agency’s New York corporate practice. At Ogilvy, Smith has helped develop and implement financial communications, investor relations and corporate reputation programs. Kate Cronin, managing director of the New York office, said Smith’s promotion reflects Ogilvy PR’s commitment to financial communications and corporate reputation.

Are you looking to find the one-stop shop for monitoring social media conversations? Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist yet. However, there is a one-stop shop for the overwhelming high number of social media monitoring solutions. Based on your organization’s budget or specific goals, hopefully this wiki will help you find one that works for you. — Matthew Royse

Remember the article about PR going extinct by Fuat Kircaali? It sparked numerous comments and follow up blog posts, plus a recent article by Ragan Communications. Kircaali has published the transcript from the interview with the Ragan correspondent who wrote the article.