News http://www.v-fluence.com http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/476/v-fluence-intern-welcomes-being-part-of-the-family v-Fluence’s embrace of family-time and allowing employees to keep home-life a priority is part of what sets the company apart from other companies and is what makes me feel so fortunate to work here. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/475/motherhood-highlights-appreciation-for-v-fluences-culture A recent study by the Pew Internet Project reveals that 17 percent of cell phone owners use their phones to look up health or medical information and nearly 10 percent have added software applications ("apps") to help them track or manage their health. http://www.v-fluence.com/news/press-releases/474/mobile-health-boom-continues-pharmaceutical-and-medical-industry-sector-participation-lags Last month, popular microblogging/social networking site Twitter announced upcoming changes aimed at creating a more streamlined and simplified content sharing experience for users. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/473/new-twitter-features-streamline-users-navigation-path-offer-new-opportunities A few months ago, Google quietly changed the way it displays prescription drug search results. As of late June, when anyone enters a drug name into Google’s engine, the first non-advertisement listing is a Google sanctioned drug summary. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/472/has-google-become-the-largest-unregulated-arbiter-of-health-treatment-information Ping’s success suggests new niche opportunities for online marketing and communications pros http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/471/apples-niche-social-networking-site-generates-1-millions-users-in-48-hours v-Fluence Interactive offers students and/or recent graduates the opportunity to take part in its internship program and contribute to the company’s Internet public relations and marketing activities and learn valuable research, online analytics and marketing skills. R summer, v-Fluence had the pleasure of having Jake Goldstein fill the role of Summer Intern. Read about Goldstein’s experiences at v-Fluence! http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/470/inaugural-intern-calls-v-fluence-summer-intern-program-a-perfect-fit A modern version of the old adage that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” might be “there’s no such thing as a free app.” While approximately 28 percent of the iTunes App Store’s 225,000+ apps are billed as free, many feature prominent advertisements supplied by Google’s AdMob mobile service.  http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/team-blog/469/apples-mobile-advertising-service-has-a-few-bruises-according-to-launch-partners The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cautioned Novartis Pharmaceuticals for its use of a Facebook widget (and associated meta data), which was intended to educate consumers about its leukemia drug Tasigna. Similar to recent actions taken by the FDA, this warning letter has been widely reported on a range of news sites and blogs and has lit up robust discussion in social media and topic-specific channels. For instance, Pharma Marketing blogger John Mack notes that the Novartis citation, “clearly warns pharma advertisers that the FDA is looking at metadata content when that content is controlled by the marketer and becomes visible to consumers as in Facebook Share widgets.” http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/468/challenges-of-facing-up-to-fda-social-media-scrutiny v-Fluence Interactive, a leader in the field of online marketing and public relations, is seeking a part-time paid intern. Read more about this opportunity . . . http://www.v-fluence.com/news/466/paid-internship-opportunity