This Week’s Social Media Power Rankings: The Return of Swatch

The social media sphere is an increasingly noisy place, especially for brands. But hiding somewhere in the static are strong signals from companies reaching their customers in innovative ways. The Social Business Index from the Dachis Group provides a (free) real-time ranking of more than 30,000 global brands based on their social performance. Every week we’re taking a tally of who’s getting heard, what they’re saying, and why it matters.

RELATED: This Week’s Social Media Power Rankings: Cisco Has a Warrior

As you can see, there wasn’t much movement in the top 10. But if you look at number 17, you’ll see Diageo had the biggest jump this week. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, it’s the company that owns more familiar brands like Guiness, Johnnie Walker and Ketel One. So props to them and our livers—now let’s look at what happened outside the top 20:

RELATED: This Week’s Social Media Power Rankings: Cheers to Heineken

“Cisco’s rise in the Social Business Index this week was supported by the social efforts behind ‘the world’s largest classroom.’” Lizzie Steen of the Dachis Group told us. What she’s referring to is the  The Cisco Networking Academy— a public/private program that provides technology and career education to more than four million students across 10,000 academies in 165 countries.  And that sounds serious, but as Steen points out, part of its success is there’s an emphasis on fun. Steen writes: 

Two engineers, Ian and Dan, set up two servers and decorated them with flower lights while studying for their certification from Cisco. The photo received more than 1,200 likes and 186 shares from the the site’s 460 thousand fans.  Overall, the CNA page has balanced a dense subject matter with a collaborative and fun posts, making the learning process more global and human.

Swatch proved that it’s never too early to start prepping for Valentine’s Day.  As the Dachis Group’s Joe Pinaire points out, their very popular True Love (has nothing to hide) campaign and its new A la Folie watch contributed to Swatch’s boost this week. “From Taiwan to Chile, the brand has leveraged countless regional Facebook presences to let their fans know the clock is ticking on the seasonal special,” Pinaire told us. “And fans have taken to this messaging, as the brand’s bevy of original and creative photo content has garnered love from around the globe,” he added. That photo content was specified and regionalized for their fans,  featuring pictures of a Spanish store floor redesign promoting the watch and the watch thriving in the hustle of Vienna city-life and the new O’Hare airport store. “Swatch also launched a Twitter contest using their global handle (@swatch), encouraging Belgian, Dutch, English, Spanish, and Swiss fans to declare their #TrueLove (because it has nothing to hide–right?) in exchange for a chance to win the seasonal watch and a travel voucher.” And if there’s something people love more than Valentine’s Day, it’s a free contest.

So, no cheating, but do you know how many Facebook fans Intel and its Ultrabooks have? Over 16.5 million. That also means a lot of social media juice. “Last week, the Ultrabook took in the sights in New York City and Paris. In New York, an Ultrabook posed within view of the inimitable Empire State Building with the caption, ‘Empire State of Mind’, showing off its amazing form factor and the Intel i7 chip that powers it,” the Dachis Group’s Charles Lim told us.  The photo generated more than 130 thousand likes, 1,600 comments and six thousand shares—it’s a photo of a computer people.  Lim explains:

Like car lovers, electronics enthusiasts react positively to photos of gear that they already own or would like to own. This is because electronics, like cars, are aspirational and functional and inspire lust and passion.  It also helped that the photo was a shout-out to the cultural hub of America.  …

These posts are well tuned to a global brand campaign that appeals the traveler, gets local voices involved, inspires contests and instills the notion that the Ultrabook can go anywhere you go.

Methodology: A project of the Dachis Group, a social business professional services group, the Social Business Index analyzes the conversations on social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and others. The index, which currently covers approximately 25,0000 companies and 27,000 brands, detects behaviors and activities exhibited by these companies and analyzes their execution and effectiveness at driving outcomes such as brand awareness, brand love, mind share, and advocacy. The Atlantic Wire takes a snapshot of the rankings at the end of the day on Sundays.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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The Bachelor's Selma Alameri: Tierra Has Sean 'So Fooled'

TV Watch

The Bachelor

By Carrie Bell

02/01/2013 at 02:30 PM EST

(from left) Selma Alameri, Sean Lowe and Tierra LiCausi

Kevin Foley/ABC(3)

It isn't often that Bachelor fans are shocked by the lack of kissing, but that's exactly what happened Monday when Selma Alameri, a San Diego real estate developer raised by strict Muslim parents, refused to make out with Sean Lowe on their one-on-one date in the desert. Selma, 29, explained her actions (or, well, lack there of) and talked about "black sheep" Tierra during a press call on Thursday.

You seemed disappointed – not to mention scared – when Sean took the "Iraqi to the desert" for rock climbing.
I was so scared but [I went into] survival mode and hauled ass up that rock. I was like, "I can't think about where I am or what I am doing or I'll go out of my mind." I loved him so much for him giving me the opportunity to prove to the world that I am more than just a glamour girl.

Refusing to kiss Sean had everyone talking. Why wouldn't you kiss him?
I don't believe that showing affection in public is a bad thing but my mom does. ... Her one simple request was don't make out with somebody on television. ... She didn't mind that I was going to do the show, which is so huge, and she clearly knows that I go on dates and that I've kissed a boy before. It was more for the people in our Arab circle. ... We have such a strong culture and my family is big in my life, so I needed to test Sean to see if he'd respect my family and culture. And it was a huge test for me to see if I could resist.

Did you regret withholding kisses or worry it'd put you at a disadvantage?
Honestly, I never regret anything ... [I was] afraid that he'd take that as [as a sign that] I don't really like him. But Sean is such an amazing man that he totally understood.

You said you wouldn't kiss Sean until you were last woman standing. Seriously?
At that moment, I meant it. ... I didn't know if I would end up kissing him. Things change. Life happens. You act on emotion. You'll have to wait and see what ended up happening.

Acknowledging the obvious cultural and religious differences, if Sean does pick you in the end, would he be welcomed by your family?
Yeah. Our family is American and lives the American culture. I was born into a Muslim family. I'm spiritual and believe in God, but I'm not a practicing Muslim.
My brother-in-law is blond-haired, blue eyed, very Catholic, very American. Every guy I've ever dated was American. He would fit right in.

If it can't be you, which of your housemates should end up with Sean?
None. I'm the best match for him. That was my man.

But seems Sean is falling for many girls at once.
I believe him that he has a connection with each of the girls. I loved and got along with all the girls in the house after living with them and all the drama with the exception of one. We won't mention in names.

Assuming you mean Tierra, was she as bad as she seems on TV?
Tierra was definitely the black sheep. ... She just doesn't know how to get along with other girls. Not everybody can handle dating a man with [25] other women – it's harder than you realize – but you signed up for this so don't take it out on us. I was like, "Lady, hide your crazy for a little bit."

It's hard to believe Sean doesn't see that side of her.
I don't blame him because she was so good at switching it on and off. She's got him so fooled. He didn't live with us or see her daily. She was a completely different person with him. I'd watch her with Sean and she'd be batting her eyelashes and be like a sweet puppy just looking into his eyes.

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.

In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials on Thursday say such cases seem to be increasing.

The CDC recommends thoroughly washing your hands after handling hedgehogs and cleaning pet cages and other equipment outside.

Other pets that carry the salmonella bug are frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, lizards, chicks and ducklings.

Seven of the hedgehog illnesses were in Washington state, including the death — an elderly man from Spokane County who died in January. The other cases were in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Oregon.

In years past, only one or two illnesses from this salmonella strain have been reported annually, but the numbers rose to 14 in 2011, 18 last year, and two so far this year.

Children younger than five and the elderly are considered at highest risk for severe illness, CDC officials said.

Hedgehogs are small, insect-eating mammals with a coat of stiff quills. In nature, they sometimes live under hedges and defend themselves by rolling up into a spiky ball.

The critters linked to recent illnesses were purchased from various breeders, many of them licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CDC officials said. Hedgehogs are native to Western Europe, New Zealand and some other parts of the world, but are bred in the United States.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

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School board member pimped out girls for sex, authorities allege

The young woman on the witness stand said Mike Rios approached her on the street with a school district business card in his hand and a job opportunity on his mind: He wanted her “to gather girls and sell them," she said.

The young woman, identified in court only as Valery, testified Wednesday that she and others worked as prostitutes for Rios, a member of the Moreno Valley Unified School District Board of Education.

Valery’s testimony came on the opening day of Rios’ trial in Riverside County Superior Court. He faces felony charges, including rape, pandering and pimping of six females, including two underage girls.

Valery, 21, with long black hair and bangs covering her forehead, bit her lip between questions, and her face was somber. In addition to working as a prostitute for Rios, she said she helped recruit other young women for him.

"He told me we had to get the best-looking girls so we could get more money for them," Valery said.

Prosecutors allege Rios ran a prostitution ring out of his Moreno Valley home.
In opening statements, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Brusselback told the jury: "This is a case about greed. This is a case about money. This is a case about power."

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Two More Pakistani Polio Workers Killed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A roadside bomb killed two polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, in the third such attack this week on workers struggling to immunize children against the crippling disease.

The explosion struck as the two workers, with a United Nations-backed campaign, were traveling by motorcycle near Parachinar in the Kurram District, near the border with Afghanistan.

It was the first such attack on health workers in that area, said a senior local official speaking by phone on the condition of anonymity, offering further evidence that a Taliban-led campaign of violence and intimidation against polio workers is spreading across northwestern Pakistan.

Despite an internationally supported campaign to halt polio in Pakistan, infection rates have soared across the country in the past year, coinciding with a wave of militant attacks against the poorly protected workers at the heart of the effort. Some militants accuse polio workers of using vaccination as a cover to spy on behalf of the United States — a claim that has been fueled by the revelation that the C.I.A. used a vaccination drive as cover for the effort to find Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in early 2011.

The violence has badly affected vaccination efforts, which involve tens of thousands of health workers who repeatedly administer cheap oral vaccines to children under 5.

Nine polio workers were killed in a string of attacks across the country in December. On Tuesday, suspected militants fatally shot a police officer who had been escorting female polio workers in the Swabi District, 50 miles east of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The shooting prompted officials to suspend the campaign in Swabi, but they pressed ahead in other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the adjoining tribal belt. Another polio worker was wounded by a man with an ax in an unrelated episode on Tuesday.

It was unclear, however, whether the latest killings were directly related to the polio campaign. The Kurram District has a history of violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, and the local official said it was unclear whether the explosion targeted the two workers for their links to the polio campaign or for their religious affiliation.

Violence against polio workers is not confined to the turbulent northwest. United Nations workers in Karachi, the port city on the Arabian Sea, have also suffered attacks that have set back efforts to wipe the disease from the city, Pakistan’s most populous.

Pakistan is one of three countries, along with Nigeria and Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.

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Apple loses a U.S. appeals bid in Samsung patent fight

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Apple Inc‘s request to revive its bid for a sales ban on Samsung‘s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, dashing the iPhone maker’s attempt to recover crucial leverage in the global patent wars.

Apple had asked the full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to revisit a decision in October by a three-judge panel of the same court. The panel rejected Apple’s request to impose a sales ban on Samsung’s Nexus smartphone ahead of a trial set for March 2014.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. A Samsung representative could not immediately be reached.

The fight in appeals court comes after Apple won a $ 1.05 billion verdict last year against Samsung in a U.S. District Court in California. The same trial judge will preside over the legal battle surrounding the Nexus phone, which involves a patent not included in the earlier trial.

The fight has been widely viewed as a proxy war between Apple and Google Inc. Samsung’s hot-selling Galaxy smartphones and tablets run on Google’s Android operating system, which Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, once denounced as a “stolen product.”

In its October ruling against Apple, the appeals court raised the bar for potentially market-crippling injunctions on product sales based on narrow patents for phone features. The legal precedent puts Samsung in a much stronger position by allowing its products to remain on store shelves while it fights a global patent battle against Apple over smartphone technology.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, in San Jose, California, who has presided over much of the Apple/Samsung litigation in the United States, cited the appeals’ court decision in a December order rejecting Apple’s request for permanent sales bans on several Samsung phones. Apple has appealed Koh’s ruling.

Apple wanted the full Federal Circuit of Appeals, made up of nine active judges, to reverse the earlier ruling. But in a brief order on Thursday, the court rejected Apple’s request without detailed explanation or any published dissents.

Several experts had believed that Apple faced long odds, as the legal issues in play were not considered controversial enough to spur full court review.

Apple could still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the high court has made it more difficult for patent plaintiffs to secure sales injunctions in recent years.

The case in the Federal Circuit is Apple Inc. vs Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 12-1507.

(Reporting By Dan Levine; Editing by John Wallace, Grant McCool and Leslie Adler)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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X Games Athlete Caleb Moore, 25, Dies After Snowmobile Accident

01/31/2013 at 03:00 PM EST

One week after crashing his snowmobile during a Winter X Games event, Caleb Moore died Thursday in Colorado. He was 25.

The competitor crashed after performing a backflip during a freestyle event when the skis of his snowmobile dug into the snow and sent him over the handlebars. The 450-lb. machine then landed on top of him.

Moore walked away from the crash and was treated for a concussion but his condition worsened and he developed bleeding around his heart and a complication involving his brain.

The fatality – the first in the Winter X Games' 17-year history – has raised serious questions about safety at the extreme event.

"We are deeply saddened by Caleb Moore's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents, Wade and Michelle, his brother, Colten, and the entire Moore family," ESPN, which organizes and televises the X Games, said in a statement on CNN.com.

"As a result of this accident we will conduct a thorough review of this discipline and adopt any appropriate changes to future X Games … when the world's best compete at the highest level in any sport, risks remain. Caleb was a four-time X Games medalist attempting a move he has landed several times previously."

Video of the accident has circulated online.

Said Moore's family in a statement: "He will be truly missed and never forgotten."

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.

In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died. Investigators say the illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets.

Health officials on Thursday say such cases seem to be increasing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends thoroughly washing your hands after handling hedgehogs. Also, clean pet cages and other equipment outside.

Other pets that carry the salmonella bug are frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, lizards, chicks and ducklings.

Seven of the hedgehog illnesses were in Washington state, including the death. The other cases were in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Oregon.

____

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CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

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Man fell in love with Manti Te'o, pretended to be girlfriend

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

For the last two weeks, the story of Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend has unraveled one layer at a
time.

The Notre Dame linebacker spoke, then a
Long Beach woman whose pictures were used in the ruse came forward. But the
biggest questions could be answered only by a
22-year-old man from Palmdale -- the man Te’o and the woman alleged was the
mastermind behind the hoax.

Now Ronaiah Tuiasosopo has broken his
silence publicly, saying he fell “deeply, romantically in
love” with the Heisman Trophy runner-up in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw
set to air later this week.

“Here we have a young man that fell deeply,
romantically in love,” McGraw told the “Today” show Wednesday. “I asked him straight up,
‘Was this a romantic relationship with you?’ And he says, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Are
you then, therefore, gay?’ And he said, ‘Well, when you put it that way, yes.’
And then he caught himself and said, ‘I am confused.’”

The new revelations come a day after
Tuiasosopo’s attorney, Milton Grimes, told The Times his client “feels as
though he needs therapy and part of that therapy is to come out of the closet,
so to speak, and tell the truth.” Grimes said Tuiasosopo is seeing a medical
professional.

“His point is that he wants to heal,”
Grimes said. “He knows that if he doesn’t come out and tell the truth, it will
interfere with him getting out of this place that he is in.”

The comments add another twist to a story
so bizarre, reporters from across the country
bombarded Tuiasosopo’s family and friends after Deadspin.com revealed earlier
this month that Te’o’s girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, did not exist.

Tuiasosopo, the report said, was the
mastermind behind the hoax and used photos from an old high school classmate
and social media to connect Kekua with Te’o.

Te’o repeatedly spoke to the media,
including The Times, about his girlfriend, the car accident that left her
seriously injured and the leukemia that led to her September death. The tale
became one of the most well-known stories of the college football season as
Te’o led his team to an undefeated season and championship berth.

Te’o has denied any role in the ruse,
saying he spent hours on the phone with a woman he thought was Kekua.

Grimes confirmed his client pretended to be
Kekua, insisting it was possible that Tuiasosopo disguised his voice to sound
like a woman, similar to role-playing or method-acting techniques.

“I don’t think it’s so unusual that a
person could imitate that voice of a person of a different sex,” Grimes said.

Grimes offered no explanation as to why his
client hatched the plan but said he never wanted to hurt Te’o.

“He did not intend to harm him in any way,”
Grimes said. “It was just a matter of trying to have a communication with
someone.”

Those who know Tuiasosopo said they were
baffled when they learned of his involvement in the hoax. Neighbors and former
high school coaches described him as popular, faith-driven and family-oriented.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about it,”
said Jon Fleming, Tuiasosopo’s former football coach at Antelope Valley High.
“It’s all speculation. He’s goofy just like any other kid. The question that comes
up in my mind is: ‘What could he possibly gain from doing something like this?’
It would really surprise me. What would he gain?”

Grimes said he warned his client that he
could face legal consequences for admitting that he falsified his identity on
the Internet. But Tuiasosopo insisted that going public was something he had to
do.

“This is part of my public healing,” Grimes
quoted Tuiasosopo as saying.

In a short clip of the TV
interview obtained by The Times, McGraw asks Tuiasosopo why he ended
his relationship with Te’o.

“For many reasons,” Tuiasosopo said. “There
were many times where Manti and Lennay had broken up before.... They would
break up, and then something would bring them back together, whether it was
something going on in his life or in Lennay’s life -- in this case, in my
life.”

ALSO:

Listen to Lennay Kekua’s voicemails for Manti Te’o

Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o get trapped in a good story

Manti Te'o hoax: Diane O'Meara says she was hounded for photos

--Matt Stevens, Kate Mather and Ann Simmons

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Somalia Moves to Prosecute Woman Who Accused Soldiers of Rape

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Somali government, in a move that has outraged human rights groups, has charged a woman who said she was gang-raped by soldiers with making a false accusation and having “insulted and lowered the dignity of a National Institution,” crimes that could mean many years in prison.

The woman’s husband has also been jailed — essentially for backing up his wife’s allegations — and so has a Somali journalist who interviewed the woman, even though he never published any information.

The Somali government said that the woman was lying for financial gain and that she later admitted that her story was “bogus.”

But Somali advocacy groups criticized the government’s hard line on this case, which they said would prompt many rape victims to remain silent despite years of trying to empower them to come forward.

“Women are now asking me, ‘Who’s going to protect us?’ ” said Fartuun Adan, who runs a shelter for abused women in Somalia. “They’re saying, ‘What are we supposed to do?’ ”

There is no question that rape by armed men is a serious problem in Somalia. Though Somalia has become significantly more stable, there are still thousands of young women living in squalid displaced-persons camps and loose bands of soldiers and other gunmen roaming around with heavy weapons, essentially doing as they please.

This week, a United Nations official reported more than 1,100 cases of sexual violence last year in Somalia, a figure that the United Nations considers alarming but an underestimation.

When Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office last year, he announced that his government was committed to cracking down on rapists and protecting vulnerable women.

But in the past few weeks, Somali government officials have aggressively pursued the woman who made the recent rape allegation, saying that her story was “simply baseless” and that a medical examiner confirmed she had not been raped.

Several people in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, who have met the woman said she was forced by the police to recant. The woman, whose identity has been released by the Somali government but is being withheld by The New York Times, is 27 years old and has been living in a displaced-persons camp in Mogadishu with several young children. She said she was raped last August by five members of the government’s security services who forced her at gunpoint into an abandoned high school and then took turns assaulting her. She was on her way to get food for the children at the time, she said.

Her prosecution appears to be linked to an article by Al Jazeera published on Jan. 6 that detailed rape allegations against government soldiers and apparently embarrassed the new government, which recently has been making the rounds with donor nations, asking for millions to help rebuild Somalia.

But Al Jazeera did not base its article on the woman’s allegations. After the article appeared, police officials found out that the woman had accused government soldiers of rape and then they arrested Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, a freelance journalist who had interviewed her, even though he did not work with Al Jazeera or publish any of his information.

Mr. Ibrahim, 25, has been in jail for more than two weeks, along with the woman’s husband. The three appeared in court on Tuesday, along with two others connected to the case, and more hearings are expected next week.

In the recent past, the worst culprit for rape in Somalia was the Shabab militant group, which presented itself as a morally righteous rebel force and the defender of Islam, even though it had been seizing women and girls as spoils of war, gang-raping and abusing them as part of its reign of terror. Many victims and witnesses said that Shabab militants forced families to hand over girls for arranged marriages that often lasted no more than a few weeks and were essentially sexual slavery, a cheap way to bolster their ranks’ flagging morale. One teenage girl who refused to be locked into such a marriage was buried up to her neck in sand and then had her head bashed in, rock by rock.

But as the Shabab have been pushed out by African Union peacekeepers from most of the areas they used to control, government troops are now a bigger problem in terms of preying upon defenseless civilians, human rights advocates say.

Lisa Shannon, an American who co-founded Sister Somalia, an organization that helps rape victims in Somalia, recently visited Mogadishu, where she heard many allegations of government soldiers’ gang-raping women.

She said the attacks were “happening in camps, happening around town, it has not slowed down at all.”

She called the case against the woman who made the recent rape allegation a “huge red flag.”

“It’s taken a long time to get women in Somalia to speak openly about this,” Ms. Shannon said on Wednesday. “Now they are all terrified.”

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