Twitter And Amex Launch Ads For Small Businesses. Twitter is making it easier for small business owners to set up business accounts and promote tweets. Partnering up with American Express, Twitter’s offering the first 10,000 eligible businesses $100 in Twitter advertising. Registration is open now, and more information is expected in March. —NS
–Updated 10:15 EST
Ford Starts Shipping App Creator Toolset OpenXC. Ford has begun shipping beta versions of OpenXC, a platform to create apps for its cars, to its partner universities and app developers. Even as the platform makes its way to engineers, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published their first set of safety guidelines for automobile makers intent on amping up the tech on car dashboards. —NS
–Updated 7:15 a.m. EST
Google, Facebook Tracked Users On Safari. Google and Facebook evaded Apple’s security settings its Safari browser to plant cookies in Mac computers and mobile devices, even when cookies were turned off, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google has said the advertising cookies did not track personal data, and were intended to provide services to users that were signed in. —NS
Amazon Overtakes Samsung As #2 Tablet Seller. With Amazon’s Kindle Fire launched in November last year, Amazon has overtaken Samsung as the second largest seller of tablet computers. The data comes from a research firm IHS, which says that Amazon shipped 3.89 million units last quarter, Bloomberg reports. Apple stays in the lead, shipping over half the tablets bought around the world. —NS
Early FLA Reviews Say Foxconn Better Than Most. After his Foxconn factory visits, the president of the Fair Labor Association called the factory settings “tranquil,” with “first class” facilities and physical conditions that were “way, way, above average of the norm.” Emotional support to factory workers was perhaps one of the factors missing in the experience, president Aurent van Heerden told Reuters. A full report from the organization, whose audit Apple requested, is expected in March. —NS
–Updated 5:45 a.m. EST
[Image: Flickr user massless]
Yesterday’s Fast Feed: New Mac OS X Mountain Lion Let Loose, Facebook Launching Verified Accounts, Apple Responds To Contact Privacy Concerns
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
