At a time when everyone with a smart phone and a Twitter account boasts social media genius, digital analyst Brian Solis renews our faith in the existence of intelligent discourse in that realm. Author of Engage!, a comprehensive guide for businesses vying for success in the social web, Solis offers practical advice on how to build a social media strategy and measure its effectiveness beyond the template follower-counting approaches.

Webcopyplus recently stole a few moments of his time to ask some pressing questions on the minds of most businesses trying to optimize their digital reach.

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A recent controversial documentary Game of Death reveals how TV game show participants knowingly inflicted pain and potential death on a fellow contestant in a bid to comply with authority. The shocking outcome reinforces the findings of another controversial experiment led by Yale University in the 1960s. It’s something marketers take advantage of, and consumers should be aware of.

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In his book, “Then We Set His Hair on Fire,” copywriter and former chief creative officer of BBDO North America Phil Dusenberry revealed how powerful insights propelled his successful career in advertising. He told the story of how one insight helped his team land a $50 million-plus Pizza Hut account.

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On Saturday, Jan. 29, Sidetrek Productions presented a one-day conference in Vancouver on real world social media strategies and implementation. The speaker line-up included representatives from some of the biggest players in social media in Vancouver, the country and the world.

Following is our recap of the highlights.

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Best Buy will run its first Super Bowl game ad this Sunday. The spot will feature the odd pairing of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne with Justin Bieber.

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Online retail sales in Europe are set to rise 18% to more than 200 billion euros ($271 billion) this year, reported Reuters, outpacing growth at traditional shops as well as Internet sales in the US.

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The Apple logo on a laptop or phone may evoke the same feelings for some people as a crucifix or Star of David pendant does for others, suggests research by Tel Aviv University, Duke University and New York University scientists. According to their research, brands are a form of self-expression and a token of self-worth, just like symbolic expressions of one’s faith.

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Marketers know the more time customers spend with their brand, the more loyalty they can inspire, and the more opportunity they have to market additional products. Not surprisingly, marketers have found that by offering free online services, such as tools, information, or fun activities, they can induce consumers to spend more time with their brand and increase sales.

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In his 2002 book The Big Red Fez, marketing author Seth Godin critiqued selected websites and how they helped or hindered their visitors. He likened the website visitor to a monkey looking for a banana. If the banana is too hard to find, then the monkey will go elsewhere. Today, are websites making it easier to find the banana or is the furry guy starving?

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Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of the best-selling book The Long Tail, once stated that “your brand isn’t what you say it is, it is what Google says it is.” In a world where most website visitors find your company through search engines, this statement seems truer than ever. When search engines assign the same weight to bloggers as multi-national corporations, how much control can you exert over your brand?

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