Creativity can be a powerful force, particularly in the world of cause-related marketing. But can so-called “good creative” motivate us to change our rigid ways? What if it’s to make the world a better place?

Many of you have commented on the one-on-one interview we did recently with Alexandra Wheeler, director of digital strategy at Starbucks. We thought we would also point you to her full SMI keynote presentation where she details how Starbucks built arguably the most successful social media brand marketing strategy. A hint: “it’s about relationships, not marketing,” she says.

I had the chance to speak to Ruth Speakman of Sony Europe on the sidelines of Social Media Influence where I posed the question: how did you get “social media” in your title and how is Sony Europe implementing this social discipline across such a vast organization? This is what she had to say:

Can the publishing industry be saved by the apps revolution? Will it be in the form of subscriptions or heavy-trafficked free apps? Bernhard Warner, editor of SMI, had a chance to speak to put these questions to Jonathon Moore, Mobile Product Manager for the Guardian, in a one-on-one interview at Social Media Influence conference 2010

The London 2012 Olympic website is expecting an astonishing 10 billion page visits by the end of the games, making it one of the most visited web sites ever in the world of sport. But there’s one fickle group that still must be won over: videogame-obsessed teens.

Earlier this week we reported how Starbucks hit a new milestone in social media marketing, the first brand to surpass 10 million Facebook fans. A few weeks back I had the opportunity to interview Alexandra Wheeler, Starbucks’ director of digital strategies, on the sidelines of the Social Media Influence conference.

How do you keep track of the hundreds, even thousands, of daily discussions involving your brand? Focus on the conversations that matter, says PepsiCo’s head of digital and social media, B. Bonin Bough. From this discourse, you will gain invaluable insight into how consumers truly feel about you.

Next month’s World Cup has long been hyped as the first “Social Media World Cup,” a moniker that doesn’t quite fit. One sponsor, Yahoo, this week outlined its World Cup plans, replete with fantasy games …

If you’ve ever spent any time in Seoul or Tokyo you’ll have no doubt seen the locals flashing their mobiles to hunt around for last-minute shopping bargains, the details of which were beamed to their screens as they stood feet from the retailer, or using the handset to pay for anything from a carton of milk to cab fare. And this was years before the iPhone and the resulting apps economy explosion. Now, in 2010, is it possible the West is finally catching up?

My FT.com subscription lapsed some time ago and I’ve been on the fence for some time now about renewing it. I’m reminded of this fact this morning seeing the new video demo for the FT iPad app. The FT has set up a free grace period for its app users through July, giving UK subscribers a bit more than a month at best to test the FT iPad app and make up their mind whether or not to shell out a few quid a month for a digital version of the newspaper.