Pinterest is finally getting into the data game. The photo-heavy (and ridiculously popular) social site has launched Pinterest Web Analytics to help brands and advertisers better understand what users are doing with their content in a move towards monetizing its huge amount of traffic.

The 3-year-old company—which is the fastest website to reach 10 million unique visitors a month—has taken a cautious approach in defining its business model, in part to avoid the mistakes of other social networks that moved too fast.Continue reading...

Brands are ‘pinning’ it on Pinterest with increasing savvy, and although the site doesn’t carry advertising or sponsored content, publishers and brands are quickly getting hip to how to leverage the social thirst for sharing images to drive awareness and traffic to their own digital touchpoints.

With estimates of 18.7 million unique visitors in March, (according to comScore), “Pinterest has a message for the media: a picture is worth a thousand words," notes today's New York Times, or given Twitter's 140-character message limit, "about seven Twitter posts.”

Whole Foods, West Elm, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, Gilt Home,  L.L.Bean, and even the National Pork Board are all early Pinterest adopters in what comScore VP Andrew Lipsman calls “the rise of the visual Web.” As he comments to the Times, “Pinterest is creating sort of a meritocracy of what’s visually appealing. Brands are scrambling and trying to figure it out. They know it’s going to be big, but they don’t necessarily know the best way to use it.” Well, they're starting to figure it out.Continue reading...

Apple's iPhone beats BlackBerry in its homeland; and could one day be made out of glass and function as a universal remote control.

AT&T sued over alleged deaf calls scam.

Bank of America tests rental program as alternative to foreclosure.

Bit.ly ranks U.S. news outlets.

Credit Suisse cuts CEO's pay 55%.

Dove launches self-esteem campaign in the U.K.

Etch A Sketch owner capitalizes on Romney-spurred attention.

Facebook strips privacy from new user policy, reportedly buys 750 patents from IBM.

FedEx called to task by Obama administration.Continue reading...

Brands are ‘pinning’ it on Pinterest with increasing savvy, and although the site doesn’t carry advertising or sponsored content, publishers and brands are quickly getting hip to how to leverage the social thirst for sharing images to drive awareness and traffic to their own digital touchpoints.

With estimates of 18.7 million unique visitors in March, (according to comScore), “Pinterest has a message for the media: a picture is worth a thousand words," notes today's New York Times, or given Twitter's 140-character message limit, "about seven Twitter posts.”

Whole Foods, West Elm, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, Gilt Home,  L.L.Bean, and even the National Pork Board are all early Pinterest adopters in what comScore VP Andrew Lipsman calls “the rise of the visual Web.” As he comments to the Times, “Pinterest is creating sort of a meritocracy of what’s visually appealing. Brands are scrambling and trying to figure it out. They know it’s going to be big, but they don’t necessarily know the best way to use it.” Well, they're starting to figure it out.Continue reading...

Amazon expands into original programming for web and TV, while Senate bill may close Virginia's "Amazon loophole."

Angry Birds lands on Facebook.

Apple shares close above $500, breaking more records, while brand announces iPad 3 release for March 7, testing "iPad Mini" tablet with smaller screen.

Burt's Bees launches spinoff aimed at Gen Y.

Chipotle steals buzz at Grammy's with Willie Nelson/Coldplay commercial.

Ford may have last laugh over Chevrolet with Super Bowl truck ad.

Google sees Motorola Mobility acquisition approved by EU and US.Continue reading...

With four more days of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Maybelline touts its sponsorship of YouTube's live streaming coverage of the runway shows from Lincoln Center with roving reporter (and model/designer) Erin Wasson, who talks to designer Rebecca Taylor (and, oddly, Bravo "real housewife" Ramona Singer).

Today's  #NYFW spring/summer 2012 runway shows include Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan New York, Rebecca Minkoff, Betsey Johnson, and Perry Ellis. All except for DKNY are streaming on YouTube; DKNY's show will be streaming live on the brand's Facebook page at 2pm ET.

And in another interesting use of digital this fashion week, the Oscar de la Renta show will stream live on Tumblr tomorrow (9/13 at 6pm ET), with a user-generated stream of content tagged with #odlrlive already leading up to the livestream in a first for Tumblr — which is eager to stay in style with fashion brands and fashionistas via its real-time NYFW coverage, especially following a pre-Fashion Week pratfall on its own runway.

Apparently, “basic” is the new black. The Spring/Summer 2011 Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, which ended yesterday, demonstrated that designers are still courting recession-wary customers by offering signature pieces that translate beyond a single season.

Among fashion's old guard brands, Ralph Lauren returned to his Western roots, Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein presented sleek, simply-cut dresses, and Oscar de la Renta stuck to his fail-safe Upper East Side cocktail dresses—to a fault, some believed.

But amidst this return to familiar territory, several up-and-coming designers made their presence known in the tents. Over the last few years, Asian-American designers have been gaining in sartorial influence, with Michelle Obama favorite Jason Wu, Parsons grad Alexander Wang and Richard Chai, who together swept the 2010 CFDA Awards. This year, the up-and-comer to watch was Prabal Gurung, a CFDA-nominee who hails from Singapore, by way of Kathmandu. Click through to check out his collection, and more fresh faces on the catwalk this past week.Continue reading...

Oscar de la Renta claims Max Mara is copying its designs.

Ford Fusion faces US probe over gas-pedal issue.

Ryanair soars back into profit.

H&M is coming to Turkey while Zara just opened its first store in India.

Zipcar files for IPO up to $75 million.Continue reading...