PR and Social InkLings for the Week of September 12

Social Launches, TechCrunch Feud, Facebook Marketing Success Stories, Walmart Schools Media Companies and the Warlock Social Media Experiment

Google Launches Flight Search

This past week, Google quietly launched Flight Search, a tool that allows users to find and book flights. Flight Search is a more user-friendly version of a similar service Google launched last May, and so far it has offered us an “early look” at the service with flights to and from a handful of cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. Google is aiming to become a strong competitor in the flight search arena currently dominated by travel heavyweights Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz and TripAdvisor. Already thinking about holiday travel? As Flight Search continues to expand, we’ll have the convenience of searching and booking trips to many popular destinations – all without leaving Google’s page. Check out this video to learn more about Flight Search’s features.

How Twitter Web Analytics Will Help Your Business

In other recent launch news, Twitter announced its new tool Twitter Web Analytics. Website owners will now have access to more detailed information: how much of their content is being shared on Twitter, how much traffic Twitter is sending their way, how well Tweet Buttons are performing and more. Until now, Twitter had only offered Analytics to advertisers, and businesses had to rely on the word of online marketers that the traffic that was being reported was actually coming from real accounts. Now that owners will be able to have the data delivered to them, Twitter may gain a lot more marketing clout. The product will be available to the masses within the next couple of weeks, but if you can’t wait to hear more, read on here.

TechCrunch Founder VS. New Editor Turns Ugly

Recently, AOL issued a formal statement about its “parting ways” with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. The statement left readers believing that it was Arrington’s decision to move on, as he wished to focus on his newly formed venture fund. Is there any truth to that statement? Perhaps -- but, Arrington’s recent actions suggest some bad blood. At last week’s TC Disrupt conference, newly appointed TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld made a comment referencing  a few of the finalist companies and Arrington’s relationship to them. Arrington responded with a not-so-nice comment on the TechCrunch blog. So, what’s next for Arrington? A new blog, of course.

Nine Facebook Marketing Success Stories You Should Model

Does your company have a Facebook page? Is it used as an outlet to promote products and company news? Great. But are you truly using it to its fullest potential? If you’ve had the account for a couple of years, you may have found yourself slacking a bit when it comes to customer engagement and fresh approaches. If so, check out this article. From Wisconsin cheese to American Express to Petco, these companies’ innovative tactics are sure to provide some inspiration.

What Media Companies Can Learn from Walmart

Recently, Walmart acquired social advertising company OneRiot. OneRiot joins Walmart Labs, a unit created to sort and analyze all of the data coming in from users on social networks. You may not expect it, but the retail giant has actually long-been focused on customer needs and trying to make sense of its business data; way before social networks existed (or even the Web for that matter), Walmart owned an extensive satellite information network that tracked the movements of every one of their delivery trucks. Why should media companies pay attention to what Walmart and their Labs are doing? GigaOM explains here.

Comedy Central’s Ambitious Social Media Experiment

Just because it airs tonight (and fine, also because I’m one of those awful people who still loves saying “winning!”), I had to share this story. We’ve all seen the roasts on Comedy Central, and now raunchy comedians have hit the mother-load of controversial subjects: Charlie Sheen. Building on the online response to a past roast of Donald Trump, Comedy Central developed a few social tools, including incorporating two main hashtags: #SheenRoast and #CrazyTrain into a digital dashboard where the audience can comment, interact with other participants and share with their social networks. Is digital the future of network TV? Learn more about Comedy Central’s social media experiment here.