The guys over at Crab Creative have produced a nifty infographic into social networking and device usage among adults - it's full of lots of great stats, so check it out:

Consumers are becoming so demanding - "I want this and I want that. I need to be able to access content and the internet anytime, anywhere". Wearable technology is becoming a massive craze, but just how easy will it be for consumers to take to Google's new Glass technology? Check out this infographic:

If you're wondering what engages people consider this: Globally, there are now 1 billion people on the planet who play games for at least an hour a day. And that number is climbing fast with the growing adoption of smartphones and tablets. In fact, Jane McGonigal, director of game research at the Institute for the Future argues in her wildly popular TED talk, we should spend more time playing games too. Games like World of Warcraft give players the opportunity to save worlds, and the incentive to learn the habits of heroes – as well as solve big real-world problems.

Gamification, the process of applying the best elements of gaming to real-world, non-game situations, is also incredibly effective at creating behavioural change. A classic example is Volkswagen's Fun Theory experiment from 2009. By turning a set of subway stairs into piano keys, researchers were able to encourage 66 percent more people to use the stairs over the escalator. More recently and relevantly to digital media, a new Gigya study of billions of user actions with partners like Pepsi, Nike, and Dell, showed that adding gamification to a site boosts engagement by almost a third.

It’s no wonder then that brands have been quick to consider game mechanics to solve an advertising challenge: increasing ad engagement. And it hasn't been just the usual suspects like Pepsi and McDonald's who are trying it either. In 2011, Clarins launched a Facebook game aimed at women which involved managing a successful beauty salon and Aldo created the brilliant Aldo Shoe Paradise. But brands can play games in more places than just Facebook. 2013 was the year that gamification went big in social media and Superbowl ads, proof positive that this is no passing fad.

This appetite for gaming creates greater scope for brands in all their online advertising. Videos in banner ads used to be novel, now they're standard practice. Where brands can really drive user engagement is by getting consumers to play. When consumers become players, they are by definition more engaged. And that's where the money is.

But as with any type of content marketing, there are rules of engagement:

Rule #1: Find the right game fit. Games make great content, but only if they make sense in context. A game that lets you shoot aliens doesn’t quite work for a beauty brand, but a guessing game does. Clinique’s online campaign to promote its new Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm required players to rotate a candy jar and count the number of Chubby Sticks buried inside. The art direction fit completely with the Clinique brand, and the candy theme was linked to a ‘sweet treats’ promotion taking place in Clinique’s online store.

Rule #2: Use a carrot when you want something in exchange. Sometimes games can be used to persuade your audience to enter into a data transaction, like this recent example from Sony Xperia which required players to register personal data to gain access to the game. Just make sure it's worth their while on the other side.

Rule #3: Familiarity breeds content. Matching a brand to a game doesn't always mean creating something from scratch. For this Virgin Media campaign, a simple button-bashing game reminiscent of the famous Track & Field arcade staple, engages the audience and communicates the brand message of speed perfectly.

Rule #4: Create an experience - and make it social. Gamification is a natural meeting point for experiential and digital marketing, like this impressive driving competition from BMW. But as far as branded games, one of the finest of recent times has to be the Red Bull Formula Face which was well-made, scalable, shareable and rewarded repeated plays. Was it gimmicky? Of course it was, but it was also a fun and memorable experience for the millions who played (and shared) it.

Slapping a game into an ad isn't automatically going to deliver results, nor should marketers include games in ads just for the hell of it to boost engagement. But it is a useful tool in the arsenal. And if you want consumers to take the time to play your brand game, you have a responsibility to deliver a meaningful experience – just like you do with any other piece of content, whether it's sponsored or not.

Carla Faria is Solutions Director for Say Media UK.

Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style – if I’ve lost you already then I’ve only got one thing to say: Where have you been hiding for the last year?! Both have taken the world of online video and social media by storm, and if you’re anything like me you can’t help but start bopping your head as soon as you hear either tune start playing.

It’s great that these ‘YouTube sensations’ (as some would call it) have seen massive global success, but this new, interesting infographic from Ghergich & Co uses Twitter data to compare how they were picked up in social media in the first 30 days after launch.

After comparing the total number of tweets, positive and negative reactions, tweets by country, total exposure and the peak performance, the team at Ghergich managed to pull together this pretty cool infographic comparing the two. Can you guess who came out on top? Scroll to the bottom for the winner – you might be surprised!

It takes a tremendous amount of passion to do innovative things every day – and if there's anyone that has that passion, it's publishing legend and editor-in-chief Jane Pratt of xoJaneand xoVain (both Say Media properties). At her talk at SXSW, Jane wowed the crowd and lit up Twitter when she shared her hard-won secrets of a publishing renegade.

Among the revelations onstage were the news that Hilary Swank has optioned the rights to play Jane in a movie about her life, the magic happens outside your comfort zone, and nobody likes you (even Drew Barrymore). 

As the New York Post teased ahead of the event:

"We hear she’ll dish about how she photoshopped Ashton Kutcher’s nipples off of a cover photo, was forced to eat veal at Anna Wintour’s house during a dinner party though she was a vegetarian, and showed up to an editorial meeting on no sleep after partying all night with Jimmy Fallon and Janeane Garofalo. “I wanted to call the session ‘Secrets of a Media Renegade: How I Burned Down the Old Media Model to Do Whatever the F*ck I Want,’ but that was too long,” said Pratt.  

Yep, the always irreverent and entertaining Jane Pratt delivered all that and more. The founder of Jane and Sassy magazine revealed what went on behind the scenes as she burnt bridges, said things she shouldn’t say out loud, and built a platform for women to express  themselves honestly. Now, with xoJane.com, Jane has once again revolutioned the way media talks to women and has built one of the fastest growing online publishing brands for women in the history of the web, now complimented by xoVain, a new destination for beauty comment, tutorials and reviews, and where readers can purchase products direct from trusted beauty retailers. 

In her panel, Jane revealled why the current print model doesn’t work, the myths traditional media has been feeding you, and the outrageous anecdotes from 25 years in media. 

Her advice? "Be bold and be preposterous."

By Naresh Gupta, Bang in the Middle

What do you after you buy that uber-cool laptop that you had been eyeing for sometime? Open the pack, admire the computer, switch it on, log in and explore?

Not really, you actually take a snap of the packaging, upload it on social networking sites and enjoy the admiration! The admiration will peak, your social chatter will make you feel good about your buy, and only then will you sit back and enjoy the laptop you bought. In today’s ‘expectation economy’ where the consumers want to buy the best, they want to boast about it first. This is what I call Sociomerism.

By Liz Wilson, CMW

For brands the path to the consumer has never been so vast and complex with 15 billion web impressions and £1bn spent online during one day in the run-up to last Christmas. Even for the festive season that’s a lot of clutter for brands to navigate through their communications strategy. On top of this, shoppers now expect more from brands and what they have to offer.