I have to admit, I have been fascinated by the Virtual Good / Social Gaming market lately.  It is something I am going to be thinking / writing about more often in the coming weeks for sure.  In the meantime, here is a great presentation that was recently given at the Virtual Worlds Conference.   Great primer for those new to this space.  [presentation embedded below].

For the past 6 years, Morgan Stanley’s Mary Meeker has been one of the highlights of the Web 2.0 Summit.  Last year was the first time I saw her presentation in person but every year is a must read report / powerpoint.  This year is no exception as Meeker gives an overview of the economy and then dives deep into why the “Mobile Internet is and will be bigger than most think.”  The full PowerPoint is embedded below and filled more valuable nuggets than I could possibly hope to capture in a summary.  Take the time to read this thing all the way through…it is a must look at report for all Brand Marketers.

Mary Meeker’s Internet Presentation 2009

Following up on my post about my new role at P&G, the Cincinnati Enquirer had a great story in Sunday’s paper about our goals with Digital Content and moving the Soap Opera genre online.  As the story states:

The Webisode [A Parent is Born] is the latest example of how P&G, the inventor of the daytime drama, has moved beyond the soap opera and into the digital world, but with the same purpose it had when it launched the “Ma Perkins” radio serial in 1933: to create an interested audience it can use to build loyalty to its brands… Just as it did with the soaps, P&G is creating places where it can gather a big audience, with the goal of building goodwill toward brands such as Pampers diapers, Iams dog food, Febreze fabric freshener and Dawn dish soap.

To read the full story, visit the Cincinnati Enquier’s site here.

This one slipped under my radar as Google recently launched an Internet Stat Center.  The collection of statistics is broken down into five main areas of focus: Technology, Macro Economic Trends, Media Landscape, Media Consumption, and Consumer Trends.  Within each topic are subcategories focusing on an aspect of that subject area. For instance, within Consumer Trends, you can drill down into Community, Entertainment, Information and eCommerce.

This simple site is an amazing resource for Brand Managers and Marketers.  After all, how many times have you needed to pull together a presentation for management and wanted a fact to support your point?  Thanks to the Google Internet Stat Center, the latest and greatest figures are now just a click away.

For some odd reason, the site is used under a UK domain address so many of the facts have an European bent.  But regardless, it is still a highly valuable tool for marketers and one I hope Google expands even further.

While summer is upon us, there is plenty of news happening in the world of Digital Marketing.  Here are some of the articles / pieces of news that jumped out to me in recent weeks:

Team Wins Netflix $1 Million Crowdsourcing Prize:  For several years, Netflix has had an open challenge that whoever improved their recommendation engine by 10% would win a prize of $1 million dollars.  This has always been one of my favorite examples of Crowdsourcing in business and it looks like someone is finally going to claim the prize.

Panera Adds Community Service:  I love the simplicity of MeetAtPanera.com.  It’s a easy way for Panera to deliver brand utility by allowing people to set up a meeting at Panera.

Online Advertising hits a rough patch, while Google and Digg release new ad units:  With the economy putting a pinch on advertising, digital marketers will need to turn to innovation to win new ad dollars.  Google and Digg are doing just that with the introduction of new ad units that give interesting options to Brand Marketers.

Dunkin Donuts Creates Innovative Facebook Campaign:  I love this campaign by Dunkin Donut to its fans into brand advocates.  Simple, straightforward…and effective promotional campaign.

Five Leaders in YouTube Marketing:  Lots of brands are trying to figure out how to best use YouTube for their marketing efforts.  While this post highlights 5 examples, Home Depot is far and away my favorite example.

Facebook Talks about Payments Across the Web:  Micropayments continue to gain traction and Facebook Connect is appearing on more and more sites.  Combine these two things and Facebook might be onto something very interesting as it explores ways to build revenue.