I have already posted about this trend today in the industry's coverage of a relative non-event even if it actually happens, which is the buying or maybe, kinda, sorta buying of Gowalla by Facebook . So being in the mood I was already in came across this bit of "news" from Business Insider's founder Henry Blodget and just had to ask what are we doing? Here is a picture of the headline from yesterday and the amount of sharing that occurred around it.

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The rate of rumors being truth in this industry is increasing at an alarming rate. Just take the recent "Facebook Has Purchased Gowalla''Maybe''We Think'..Well, There Are Plenty Of Signs Pointing to It'..Actually Since Mars and Jupiter Are Aligned It Looks Like A Go". Now Kara Swisher has posted an e-mail that she transcribed from a Gowalla "leaker" saying that the ink on the deal isn't dry blah, blah, blah. Who cares?! I mean really.

YouTube has done a major redesign and it wants you to think "channels". They aren't new on YouTube but now they are being showcased. This is to help the millions of YouTube users get used to the channels especially as more custom content appears in special channels in the future. I could blather on about the features but I really like it when YouTube explains these in a video, don't you?

There is a lot of privacy and mobile phone these days as it relates to the software that exists on many )if not most( smartphones call Carrier IQ. It's to be used, in its purest sense, to help carriers ID network issues. Ah but as with so many other things in the Internet space, it can do so much more and most of it is what no one should be doing which is watching everything you do on your phone including claims of tracking keystrokes.

Just got used to the black bar running across the top of your screen with all the Google services listed? Well, one should learn to never get too comfortable in today's online world. Check out the video for the new Google bar. Oh the times they are a changin'. I wonder if Google is gearing up for a big push during a competitor's impending IPO quiet period? Just thinking out loud '' From the Official Google blog So what do you think?

Adobe used to be about tools. Tools that help people create things in an online world. Reader, Photoshop, Flash and other well known brands defined the company. That is until recently. The company has made many acquisitions and the shift toward a data / service orientation rather than the seller of products is made very obvious by the their latest acquisition Efficient Frontier. As Bloomberg Businessweek reports Adobe Systems Inc.

OK I 'll get the cynical and sarcastic part of this thought out of the way right out of the gate. Why on earth would anyone turn to Walmart to make decisions for what gifts to buy for your friends and family? Well, when you consider that the source of the information is your friends' and family's information on Facebook you can relax and think "Ok, well maybe this might work." Walmart has used the talent of one of its acquisitions, Kosmix,

Google has introduced an Android only )makes sense( map function that will give you guidance when you are indoors )where available, of course(. Malls, airports and more as listed in the Google LatLong blog. Here's Google's video to give you the finer points Of course this isn't just something is automatically available for every spot in the world. We've )Google( initially partnered with some of the largest retailers, airports and transit stations in the U.S. and Japan,

Forrester Research has released a very well done analysis of the interesting relationship between Facebook and marketers called "It's Time To Make Facebook Marketing Work". The research is for sale )Marketing Pilgrim receives no compensation for sales of the study( and could be worth the investment for the clear and concise action steps outlined for companies to get their act together when using Facebook as a marketing tool. What I found most interesting, however,

We cover Internet and social media marketing here at Marketing Pilgrim. That means we look at everything from search to social to inbound marketing and so much more. One company that comes back into the picture from time to time is Ask.com .

Online video is an advertising train that is starting to roll downhill. What does that mean? It means that in relation to all other formats available to advertisers in the online space, video is growing at the most rapid pace. Of course, with growth numbers you have to be careful when drawing conclusions. Just because an area like search isn't growing at the same rate as video it doesn't, by any means,

Lots of the news today is focused on the impending IPO for Facebook in the spring. It's talk that has been flying around for quite some time but this time it looks like it could actually happen. According to the Wall Street Journal The social networking firm is now targeting a time frame of April to June 2012 for an initial public offering, said people familiar with the matter.

From the Google blog . Worth the time. Of course, it's a Google video thus it serves as a Google promotional piece but it still provides some historical perspective that is important to consider and a look into the future as well. We bring you this as a public service and also to give you something to look at while you are getting re-acclimated to the work space you have stayed away from for the past few days. You're welcome.

There are certain things that you just know with regard to the internet space and one of those is the link between mobile and retail. They work well together. It makes sense. Going on gut, however, usually isn't enough to convince others as to why you feel the need to increase spending on mobile efforts if you are a retailer. So to make the point a little clearer that mobile and retail are becoming more joined at the hip than ever,

Just like the push to generate holiday season commerce moves earlier and earlier each year so does the need for search engines to release their top searches for the past year despite 1/12th of that year still needing to be lived out. Today is Bing's turn. This video summarizes things well but lists are fun too so be sure to click through and look at some of the top searches from Bing for almost 11/12th's of 2011.

Look I will be the first to admit today is a very slow news day. That's why we are sharing this bit of data from Yelp which obviously is trying to let people know that it's more than just a restaurant review site . This kind of "re-imagining" of a brand is something that is difficult in the Internet age. Yelp has allowed its users to define it and many have decided that Yelp is their home for reviewing restaurants.

Google ran a TV on Thanksgiving during the early NFL game. I missed it live )which means I wasn't paying close attention to the game, huh?(. My question is whether the regular Thanksgiving Day football viewer will understand an ad with the tagline "Sharing but like real life. That's a plus." Will they get what it does? I doubt it. Here's the ad. What's your take? Marketing Pilgrim's Social Channel is proudly sponsored by Full Sail University,

We hold Thanksgiving near and dear to our hearts here at Marketing Pilgrim )considering our name and all(. We also have a lot to be thankful for not the least of which is you, our readers. Thanks for your support. We hope that you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day )for our US readers in particular( and we look forward to the future with you. Thanks! Pilgrim's Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

Google continues on its year round spring cleaning as it decides to shutter more products and services. I guess much of this can be contributed to what some might say is the "20% bloat". The famous "20% time" that Google allows its people to work on anything they want for 20 percent of their work time has spawned winners and losers. Makes one wonder just how valuable that time is.