Social networking websites are eliminating the once popular appeal of college yearbooks, reports the AP. Though it is difficult to assess just what this change means – if anything – to students and professors in terms of their relationships, the demise of the college yearbook underscores the declining presence of print publications in our lives.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association's executive director, Edmund Sullivan, says that students have been steadily losing interest in yearbooks for years, thanks – not surprisingly – to sites like Facebook and Myspace. "The Internet has blown down the four walls of a campus in a traditional sense. And it has blown off the covers on the yearbook," he said.

In fact, the University of Virginia is forgoing “Corks And Curls” – its yearbook – for the first time since 1887. Publishers explained that there just isn't enough money or appreciation in an age where students can instantaneously publish photos online for free.Continue reading...

Burger King raises the cost of its double cheeseburger from $1 to $1.19. [WSJ]

New Klondike commercials channel 'The 40 Year Old Virgin.' [BrandFreak]

Burger King will now sell Seattle's Best coffee in its restaurants. [Daily Finance]

Chevy hopes consumers feel connected with its new family-oriented ads. [Brandweek]

Microsoft adds Facebook and Myspace sites to its Outlook program. [AP]

The Federal Trade Commission puts its foot down on unemployment scams. [LA Times]Continue reading...

There is no doubt that Google’s new “Buzz” is their best impression of Facebook and Twitter, but will it actually become the new Facebook and Twitter? Google certainly hopes so, but it may prove more difficult than Google thinks.

Even though other former social networking giants like Friendster and even MySpace have fallen by the wayside, there is no reason to believe that Facebook and Twitter will join their former competitors in the social networking underworld just because Google has joined the fray.

Remember, Facebook has a growing base of more than 400 million users, and Twitter reportedly had their most successful month in January, boasting 1.2 billion Tweets. Do those numbers suggest users will whimsically depart? It doesn’t seem likely – even in light of Google’s impressive reach and considerable power.Continue reading...

At last night's Grammy Awards, the performer who opened the show – alongside Elton John – is being touted as not just a talented young artist, but also as the next cultural movement in the music industry.

This past year, Lady Gaga took the music industry by storm with an album that spawned four Number 1 hits. She also led digital music in 2009 with sales of more than 15 million downloads.

But the real story isn't even her music, which she writes – it's her entire act. The 23-year old, born Stefani Germanotta, wears offbeat costumes and is known for her "visual theatrics." Alice Cooper, himself one of music's more outrageous personalities, calls Lady Gaga "very vaudevillian." And it's that flamboyant, but accessible and intriguing style of entertainment that Lady Gaga is using to connect with both fans and brands.Continue reading...

MySpace is negotiating to acquire film-centered social media network Flixster. The deal, which comes after Myspace's recent acquisition of music service sites Imeem and iLike, represents a major expansion for the brand. In addition to tens of millions of users, Flixster is also a top-rated iPhone app, so the value of the site itself is not in question. But the intent behind the purchase raises some questions.

Myspace's parent, News Corp., already owns the film rating site Rotten Tomatoes, though Rotten Tomatoes isn't as focused on social networking as Flixster. Apparently, Myspace aims to combine, in one form or another, Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes. Yet the melding of two different film service and information sites could end up ostracizing both sites' audiences.Continue reading...

After years of branding itself as the safest, most friendly social network, Facebook appears to have turned suicidal. Worst of all, in its race to undo all it has achieved, Facebook is taking down some other iconic brands in the process. 

Facebook buried Myspace and Friendster and the other upstart social networks by maximizing user expectations. Facebook was your group of friends and you were in control of the network. Not anymore. In a now ironic letter, Facebook's CEO informed users of changes to the brand's privacy structure, supposedly implemented so users could have "even more control of their information."

These measures, however, immediately erased most of the privacy protections Facebook had in place, more or less exposing every Facebook user's information -- including photos, friends, and fan pages -- to anyone on the Web, including employers. Users can protect themselves by setting their accounts to fully private; but this fix needs to be done manually and is hardly, in the CEO's words, "simpler."Continue reading...

Gatorade is working the press, "We decided to dump Tiger before the scandal." [AdAges]

AT&T CEO to iPhone users: Limit Usage. Hah! [Mashable]

MySpace launches new developer API. [The Social]

Is Tigergate the end of celebrity endorsements? [Econsultancy]

Google VP Marissa Mayer caught using an iPhone. Ouch. [Gawker]

As the US celebrates Thanksgiving, brandchannel is thankful to our loyal readers and commenters who have seen us through our relaunch. Here are some other brands who have reason to be thankful this year:

Myspace to Facebook: Thanks for the ad(d)!

Thanks to Toys "R" Us, FAO Schwarz lives.

Volvo is happy for the teenage fans of the Twilight series.

Starbucks' CEO sent McDonald's McCafé a venti thank you.

Google, Motorola, and Verizon give thanks for strong Droid sales.

Thankful Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million assistance program.

Kids and parents are thankful for Nickelodeon’s “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

Designer Alexander Wang is thankful for winning the Swiss Textiles Award.

The whole world is grateful that fashion prevailed over terrorism in Pakistan.

Alaskan salmon are thankful for Tiffany's leadership of a luxury industry boycott.

Check back tomorrow for Abe Sauer's coverage of the Black Friday holiday craziness, and we may find out whether consumers and retailers will have a holiday season to be thankful for!