Nine years span + more news

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Nine years span platform deal

Reckitt Benckiser and Facebook announce partnership to get digitally closer to consumer – partnership over nine years. In the space of nine years Geocities went from vibrant community to graveyard. Over nine years MySpace relaunched twice – this agreement between RB and Facebook is a bet against disruptive innovation. That implies a whole range of issues regarding antitrust considerations. More FMCG related content here.

Branding

Oakley Disruptive by Design | Designboom – interesting how Oakley is trying to now associate itself with design goodness, rather than being disruptive designers themselves now

TD Bank Boost Customer Advocacy via ATMs | VisibleBanking.com – nice iteration on the Coca-Cola campaigns of recent years

JWT Launches ‘Forever Faster’ for Puma | MediaBistro – we were watching this advert in the office this morning and didn’t make any sense beyond being mildly entertaining

Business

Why Ebay Tells Manufacturers in China What You’re Searching For – The Atlantic – interesting thoughts around authenticity and nostalgia

Here’s The Difference Between Working At Facebook, Google, And Microsoft — According To Someone Who Has Worked At All Three – some cultural insights at different companies. Interesting how stack ranking doesn’t seem to have turned Microsoft into a pressure cooker

Guest post: has doing business in China just got too risky? | FT – don’t overreact (paywall)

The Most Fascinating Profile You’ll Ever Read About a Guy and His Boring Startup | Business | WIRED – great interview with Stewart Brand

An Insider’s Account of the Yahoo-Alibaba Deal – Harvard Business Review – interesting view of the deal from Sue Decker

Chilling policy announced for China’s instant messaging services | WantChinaTimes – not really surprising, China has already tried to implement real name policy for cell phone SIMs and Weibo accounts. We’ll see how successful it actually is

20 of 21 provinces probed engaged in property-related corruption | WantChinaTimes – openness by the Chinese government

Online

Forget :) Baidu’s Simeji App Captures Teenage Hearts in Japan – Bloomberg – interesting how traditional media is still a major driver of memes and trends

Survey: YouTube Stars More Popular Than Mainstream Celebs Among U.S. Teens | Variety – self-serving data points

15 specialist social network apps in China | Techinasia – interesting set of applications

Meme

Weibo user solicits pics for ‘most beautiful bosom’ contest|WantChinaTimes.com – could you get away with this on Twitter, I doubt it

Security

Hacker’s own guide to the exploit | Pastebin – I found it really interesting that Google was do important in the process

Technology

China Online Shopper Spent $12.5 Billion Buying from Oversea E-tailers | ChinaInternetWatch – which is especially interesting given the ubiquity of UnionPay within China

New Strategy as Tech Giants Transform Into Conglomerates | NYTimes – I would have thought that Microsoft and Cisco where already at conglomerate status?

Wireless

Huawei to slash low-end mobile phone models: executive | WantChinaTimes – interesting move, probably struggling to compete against other Shenzhen businesses living on razor thin margins