Ahead of this week’s LeWeb ’11 Tech conference in Paris, this table was released dishing the social stats on 15 of the top tech companies. SocialBakers, the social measurement organisation, has collated the data from the delegates, comparing Facebook, Twitter and Google+ statistics.

It holds some quite interesting surprises. Not so surprisingly, though, is Facebook’s (the company) dominant fan base on Facebook. However, this contributes to that constant bone of contention; how much is a Like or a Fan really worth? That’s why column three looks at the average engagement rate. What they found here was that users had a twice as high engagement rates with Google (company) on Facebook, than Facebook (the company) was given on Facebook.

This table may go some way in clarifying matters.

Just ahead of eBay’s launch of its London-based physical shop (purchasing is made possible thanks to QR codes) the time seems suitable to take a wry look at the history of the QR code. Will they ever catch on with the main stream? Research suggests that users may recognise the analogue symbol, but very few have actually scanned one. With the increasing popularity of augmented reality within marketing, has the industry moved so fast that QR code technology has become defunct before fully experienced? Could there be a place for it as the cheaper, less cutting-edge, out-of-town second cousin to augmented reality? Only time will tell.

The battle of the social networking sites rages on; Facebook and Google+ continue to attract column inches, for their similarities as much as for their various differences. We were alerted to a recent blog post that succinctly highlighted the contrasts between the two. This stated that that Facebook is a self contained site that drives traffic within itself. Google+ on the other hand, partly because of its positioning within the Google superpower, drives traffic all throughout the web. This poses some interesting questions in terms of data and information sharing. While this may be quite a interesting way of separating the two, there are still the stalwart followers that will remain rooting for each camp. One such is the company, Bullseyehub, who created this infographic claiming Facebook is the best marketing tool. Whatever your standing, this yields a few enlightening stats.

A peculiar move when all other retailers seem to be fully optimising their sites for mobile browsing and developing apps ahead of the festive rush. But eBay’s pop-up store is also utilising QR codes; a reasonably creative technology but we’re still waiting to see whether it will burst into the mainstream.

Branching out into two brand new formats of retail during the Christmas shopping period may seem risky, but it’s only a five-day experiment. So if anything, the pop-up novelty should be enough for eBay to ride on, or even up eBay’s stature for its ambitious digital gamut.

eBay’s five-day shopping experiment will begin on December 1st in Dean Street, Soho, near Oxford Street. It will feature 200 items on sale and shoppers simply scan the desired item into their smartphone, a downloadable QR code reader is needed here. Or, if you’re yet to enter into the smartphone arena, eBay has partnered with HTC in order to lend out devices to make your purchase on.

Once the users scan their favourite product they are then directed to the checkout page of the product on eBay’s main site, where they complete their purchase online.

“We are opening the store to cover the ‘Super Sunday’ weekend at the beginning of December, which traditionally sees the most number of people shopping online,’ said Laura Williamson, eBay’s head of consumer PR. She expects to see more than 5m visitors to eBay’s website on Sunday 4th, buying up to 30 gifts per minute.

Again, the selling point lies in the novelty. I say this because eBay have partnered the inconvenience of physical Christmas shopping on the high street with the rigmarole of an online check out service, (incorporating a mobile payment feature would eliminate this hassle). Aside from the tangible benefits of seeing something before you buy it, the advantage of this lies in it being a great PR stunt.

On top of this, the wider public are still not completely comfortable with using QR codes, potentially impacting on sales.

So, it will be interesting to see what kind of results this latest service generates this Christmas.

Which company do you think deserves the accolade of the UK’s most innovative? Take a few seconds to answer this question by following the below link.

Survey

The UK’s most innovative company

Start!

Google+ is still in beta but, having already amassed substantial hype for gaining more subscribers in the shortest amount of time, do Twitter and Facebook have something to really worry about now G+ has opened the gates to brands? A quick skim of this infographic will break down the vital statistics of the two major market players and will lend a bit more understanding as to how each can help your business.

Bjork isn’t one to remain in musical stasis for too long. She’s often placed in similar categories as artists like Bowie and Madonna in terms of constantly recreating their sound and challenging boundaries. Her new album is no different.

At a UTalkMarketing presentation on digital trends at Disney yesterday I was introduced to Bjork’s latest app album. She is flying the flag for the music industry in trying to create an experience which is so much more than an isolated oratory occurrence. Harkening back to the heyday of the vinyl – where listening to music was more of an immersive experience – Bjork commands full sensory attention in this project.

But this viral can give you more of an idea of Bjork’s vision.

Apparently news broke last week that there are 900 million users of mobile phones in India. Nokia’s dominance in Asia and the Americas is never been stronger. Couple this with the population recently surpassing the seven billion mark, and it makes sense why many CMO’s turned their attention to mobile marketing a while ago. This infographic has a look at where advertising budgets are being spent, taking special interest in mobile marketing. Of particular resonance is the statistic that US mobile advertising spend has increased by 75% since 2009, and is predicted to reach $2.3bn by 2013. If this is anything to go by then the growth in mobile marketing is far from reaching its plateau.

Want to hold Rihanna in the palm of your hand? All you need is the new Nivea foundation, thanks to augmented reality and Blast Technology. This week an app went live offering users this truly interactive experience. By scanning the lid of the Nivea product Rihanna appears to emerge from the lid of the cream, singing her latest hit “California King Bed”. Particularly thrifty enthusiasts are able to scan the Nivea website and avoid actually buying the product to see the super star come to life. There’s more to learn from this campaign than that Nivea users are foundation-wearing Rihanna fans.

This post serves several purposes; firstly, and I may be a little late to the party, but I want to introduce you to a great blog I’ve only recently discovered. I eventually stumbled on this at the end of a trying day and I was venting frustration by scouring the web and looking for bloggers who dedicate their web time to criticising ad campaigns.

My search got cut short (so let me know if anyone has any suggestions in case I need to indulge in some more cathartic therapy??) because I got distracted by 12 Most. Like a butterfly from a caterpillar, venting my vexations has actually turned into sharing something fun and wonderful.

The site catalogues a top twelve on any given subject, usually under five broad headings of which the most applicable in this case are business, media, and leadership and management. It originated from charming beginnings, with a group of friends writing bite-sized nuggets of information on their chosen areas of expertise, and has since grown in huge proportions.

Which leads me to the second purpose of this post; to introduce and extoll @OccupyKlout. As you’ll imagine this arose from a blog post on 12 Most named 12 Most Hilarious Strategies for Leading an Angry Twitter Mob Against Klout.

This post coherently and describes and explains the common dissatisfaction and mistrust surrounding Klout in these uncertain times, and as such, finds this ground enough to associate “the standard for influence” with capitalism. (Of course there may or may not be other similarities between the two, but I’ll not speculate here). Either way, I applaud 12 Most’s activism against an algorithm that I find myself rely on, without fully understanding. So go on, Occupy Klout!