Facebook is the first to say its new communications platform, Facebook Messages, is not email, nor is it some kind of “email killer.” Maybe not. Still, the web’s biggest email providers, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, should be quaking today.

Dell LogoIt’s a question that gets posed regularly within an organization: just how many people within the company should be trained to blog, Tweet or post on behalf of the brand? The answer?

Congratulations, your company has finally invested in a round-the-clock social media monitoring team that succeeds in finding, gulp!, irrefutable evidence that your staff consists of a few boorish, tyrannical creeps capable of ruining your customers’ day. What do you do next? Evidently, if you’re Alaska Airlines you write out a check for $1,000 to the aggrieved party and hope it goes away.

In today’s “you win some/lose some” category we have, yep, Facebook. We reported earlier about Facebook’s troubles in Japan as it is Twitter who is challenging the local incumbent there for top spot among social networks. But fear not. In the all important metric of “making money,” Facebook is doing just fine, padding its lead as America’s largest online display ad publisher.

In Japan, Twitter is on the verge of knocking off the incumbent Mixi as the country’s top social networking platform. Meanwhile, Facebook’s popularity there is stagnant at best.

Levi’s announced a new “green” Jeans concept last week that is promising to cut down on water waste during product production in the company’s latest sustainability initiative. Each pair of Levi’s “Water<Less" jeans will run the drain 28% less on average. It's a wonderful idea to score brownie points with the company's young and environmentally-conscious customers, but Levi's has yet to bring the news to the social networks where they hang out most.

It’s hardly a surprise that Google-powered Android smart phones is gaining on rivals, becoming the tech business story of the year. New numbers out of the U.S. show Android phones could actually overtake Apple’s iPhone with a strong Christmas.

Despite the considerable hype of location-based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places redefining online commerce, the reality is the “check-in” is an activity for only the geekiest of geeks, a sobering new report shows.

Gillette, much admired for its viral video prowess and digital marketing chops, recently wrapped up in the UK what may go down as the dullest ever social media campaign: a contest to determine the public’s preference between the bearded male or his clean-shaven brethren.

The latest figures from comScore on Britain’s digital advertising market show a sector that is growing steadily, fueled by Britons’ love affair with online shopping and Facebook.