Section: v-Fluence Blog http://www.v-fluence.com 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 Starting in 2001, our firm began developing systems and approaches to Internet monitoring which helped to ensure regulatory reporting compliance with comprehensive tracking of Web content; this content included blogs, social media and other potentially influential dialogue spaces... http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/461/online-monitoring-and-the-pharmaceutical-industry Does your online monitoring cover new mobile app spaces?  If so, you’re seeing what we are:  i-Tunes’ Health & Fitness or Medical categories now contain more than 6,000 apps for iPhones.  As of January 2010, there were more than 1,700 medical applications; all together, they’ve been downloaded by more than 1 million users. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/459/healthcare-apps-exploding-in-mobile-are-you-ready We're closer than you think! http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/457/turning-mobile-consumers-into-food-safety-inspectors-clinical-diagnosticians-and-more Skewed visibility and influence leave big brands facing credibility, reputation challenges online http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/455/as-food-incs-aggressive-campaign-reflectsorganic-and-animal-advocates-often-dominate-food-debate Not all of the more than 25,000 mobile applications (apps) currently available for the iPhone and other smart phone devices were intentionally designed to kill the PC; however, virtually all of them are training us for that eventuality. Point of consumption content opportunities and risks are booming and organizations that are not positioning themselves now for the related shifts will find themselves at significant disadvantages. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/454/growth-in-mobile-apps-forebodes-pcs-demise What's really endangered about newspaper publishing? http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/453/the-death-of-print This past week we were talking about Skittles and an innovative campaign launched by the marketers at Mars, Incorporated, next week it will be something else. That’s the nature of our fleeting attention span and how the Web has helped whittle it into many minute buckets filled with fleeting bits and pieces of information – yes, even fruit-flavored rainbow colored ones. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/452/skittles-in-social-media-key-lessons-from-a-bold-ballyhooed-campaign Much has been said about the love-hate relationship between bloggers and mainstream media in years—but there’s evidence emerging of late that suggests the relationship may becoming more symbiotic than antagonistic. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/447/online-monitoring-reveals-shift-in-blogs-mainstream-media-relationship At a recent conference, I overheard one communications professional ask another, “What is our Web 2.0 strategy?” I wondered what exactly they meant by a Web 2.0 strategy, despite my background and experience with the Web and new media, and, soon after, decided to register for the official Web 2.0 conference, set to take place November 7-9 in San Francisco to learn more. http://www.v-fluence.com/blog/415/putting-web-20-in-perspective