Apple's Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple's Chief Operating Officer, as the company's new CEO.  Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.

As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

SOURCE: Huffington Post

If you've been reading you're probably well aware that here at Times Ten Creative Marketing Solutions we're big fans of Google+.  It is, after all, the fastest growing website in the history of the internet.  

As Google continues work on their social networking endeavor, they are simultaneously operating with one of the highest managed systems around.  Spam accounts, fake accounts and personal accounts that are being used for businesses have been disappearing as soon as they arrive (so long as they've been flagged by other users).  This is a refreshing, far cry from Facebook's automated way of dealing with spam and other all too familiar functionality issues.

With that said, Google promised to accelerate their timetable with Google+ for businesses. Google kept good on this promise as they've sent out generic Google Group-style invitations to the "Google+ Platform Preview."  The purpose for Google+ for business is to create an environment where businesses use all of Google's services as a single platform, and Google+ becomes the binding agent for sharing and collaborating.  This almost sounds like Google's way of plotting to take of the world (quite brilliant).

Essentially, Google is using the popularity of Google+ to push their other services.  You have to have a Gmail account to be able to use Google+, after all.  Anyone who said they didn't this coming would have to be lying.

Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, wants to put an end to online anonymity.  Ultimately, Facebook wants to start forcing people to use their real names on profiles.

Randi Zuckerberg is currently Facebook's marketing director and believes that users would act with more responsibility if their real names were visible at all times.

During a presentation hosted by Marie Claire magazine on the topic of cyber bullying and social media, Randi said:

"The use of real names online could help curb bullying and harassment on the web.  I think anonymity on the Internet has to go away...People behave a lot better when they have their real names down.  I think people hide behind anonymity and they act like they can say whatever they want behind closed doors."

Times Ten Creative Marketing Solutions is a south Florida based, full service Internet marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization and social networking.  For more information on Times Ten's services click here.

AOL turned its first quarter ad-revenue growth in two years, and investors rewarded the good news by selling off AOL shares.

AOL did, however, miss earnings-per-share estimates by a wide margin, reporting a loss of 11 cents a share compared to an average analyst estimate of 4 cents, and that contributed to the stock hit.  By increasing display ad sales, AOL was able to beat Wall Street's consensus revenue estimate.

As a matter of fact, AOL booked $319 million in ad dollars for the most recent quarter, a 4.7% gain over the same period last year, while total sales dropped 8.4% to $542.2 million.  It's access business slid 22.6% to $201.3 million.

CEO Tim Armstrong's bid to transform AOL from aging internet access business into a media powerhouse appears to be progressing nicely, but not without a few trouble shots.  For the first time since AOL was spun off from parent Time Warner in 2009, AOL increased its advertising revenue and stemmed its overall loss.

AOL's ad business was driven largely by Advertising.com, its third party network, as well as its video network through its acquisitions of Goviral and 5 minutes, accounting for a 29.3% increase to $93.6 million.  AOL's premium ad units also drove the bottom line with domestic display-ad revenue notching a 16% gain to $126.8 million, driven partly by its Huffington Post and Tech Crunch properties.

Despite the initial success of the previous strategy, the company let go of its sales chief, Jeff Levick, and placed Advertising.com manager Ned Brody in charge of all sales operations for the company.

Creating a Facebook fan page from scratch is difficult.  Not the actual page setup, but the part where you actually have to get people to care about and "Like" your page.  Yea, that's kind of difficult.  Social Media Examiner has developed a list of ways that supposedly help you to increase your Facebook fan base.  

1. Embed Widgits On Your Site: Facebook has a number of social plugins that you can place on your website and blog.  The Fan Box widgit is now the "Like Box" that works to display your current fan page stream and a selection of actual fans.  

2.  Invite Your Email and Enzine Subscribers: If you have an opt-in email list you should definitely send out an invitation to your subscribers via email letting them know that your fan page even exists.

3. Add To Your Email Signature Block: It's the little things that count!  Promote your page via a Facebook link that will appear in every email you send!

4. Make a Compelling Welcome: The more attractive your landing tab, the more interested people will be in what you're trying to "sell."  Make it appealing!  What sets you apart from every other Facebook fan page?

5. Use Facebook Apps: There are many Facebook apps out that make your page interactive whether it be using polls, surveys, video feeds, etc.  Get your fans involved.  This will help create a word of mouth.

6. Integrate The Facebook Comment Feature: A great example of this is a T-shirt brand called Threadless.  On their landing tab, you can view and purchase t-shirts as well as "Like" and comment on any of the items and choose to have that comment posted to your own, personal profile.

7. Get Fans To Tag Pictures: Take pictures of everything!  Load these pictures and encourage your fan base to tag themselves.  This is great exposure!

8. Load Videos And Embed On Your Site: You can load video content to your fan page and then take the source code and embed it on your website/blog. When you do this a button to you fan page loads next to the video!  

9. Facebook Ads: You should be able to boost your fan count using Facebook's own social ad feature.  This is true even if you're working with a nominal weekly/monthly budget.

10. Link To Your Twitter: Link your Twitter to your Facebook and your Facebook to your Twitter.  This will make your life so much easier!

11. Use Print Media: Look at every piece of print media you use in your business.  Is your Facebook fan page clearly displayed?  It should be...

12. Display At Your Store/Business: If your business is run from a physical store (not e-commerce) put a placard on the front desk letting your customers know you're on Facebook.  Try to have a simple and memorable URL.  You might want to give our coupons promoting your Facebook fan page as well.

13. Add A Link On Your Personal Profile: Just under your photo on your personal profile is a section to write something about yourself.  Add a link to your fan page!  Promote YOURSELF!

14. Use The Share Button: Share posts, links and pictures from your fan page on your personal page.  Share it with friends.  By doing this you are reaching a completely different group of users than those just on your fan page.  

15.  Suggest To Friends: On each fan page is a "Suggest To Friends" button where you can send invitations to you personal friends to become fans of your page.  It's important to monitor who you invite.  Sometimes you might be doing yourself more harm by just inviting people to invite people. 

Street art fans rejoice!  A Banksy iPhone app has recently hit the Apple Store.  This gallery tool allows you to immerse yourself in the world of Banksy.

For those of you who don't know, Banksy is a pseudonymous English based graffiti artist known for his political and satirical pieces of street art that combine dark humor with colorful stenciling.

The iPhone app isn't actually linked to the artist, though.  App creator, Simon Hassett, is a huge fan of Banksy's work and says that he used to obsessively search through cities he visited in search of Banksy art.  

The app includes a map of tracked Banksy art around the globe.  Banksy fans can get directions to specified art pieces, or upload pictures and locations of new pieces via the app.  

Maybe someone will catch the illusive Banksy in the act...