Top Story

• Will Tapad's retargeting reach the Do Not Track tipping point?
  Tapad says that its Device Graph retargeting technology uses 2 billion data points, including log-ins, WiFi locations and ZIP codes, to find consumers when they move between device platforms. But "while companies like Tapad may provide more efficient advertising, some are going to bristle at its efforts to track them wherever they go," notes Jeff John Roberts. PaidContent.org (3/8)     

Trendwatch

• Google exec: Future of Facebook Graph Search uncertain
  The future of Facebook's Graph Search was dissected in a South by Southwest conference session. "Time will tell if people really need that kind of search," says Google's Senior Vice President of Search Amit Singhal. "Singhal did acknowledge that Facebook's interest-oriented search, built on the social network's user data as opposed to open Web data, is the right foundation for the social networking behemoth," writes Tim Peterson. Adweek (3/10)     

• How the mobile-ad market is shifting
  There's a gap between which vertical sectors lead in mobile searches and which attract the most mobile-ad spending, writes Mark Walsh. Only the travel vertical, which includes search for gas stations, hotels and transportation, made the top three in both categories, according to xAd. Tactically, display ads based on mobile search grew the fastest, while more than half of campaigns employed geofencing and the use of geotargeting declined from 64% to 13% during the study's period. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (3/8)     

Getting the Word Out

• WWE thrives in social media engagement
  World Wrestling Entertainment provides ways to interact across multiple platforms for a highly interactive experience, WWE executives said at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. The WWE's 97 million Facebook "likes" over 100 accounts outshines the totals of the National Football League and National Basketball Association, and the WWE's second-screen application reportedly is the most popular of its type in the U.S., with 4.4 million downloads. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (3/10)     

• Taco Bell heats up social buzz for Cool Ranch Doritos tacos
  Taco Bell has derived more social buzz from the national rollout of Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos than any of its other product, even its all-time best-seller, the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos predecessor. A new spot trumpets the arrival of the product with the copy "you knew it was coming," featuring young people eating the tacos and exclaiming, "Wow!" ClickZ (3/8)     

Developer Update

• Ubuntu founder defends development goals for Unity
  Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth publicly defended his company's decision to forgo adopting a rolling release schedule and instead focus on its Unity user interface, as it aims to become a product that can be used by a wider public across multiple devices. Writing on his blog, he noted that some Ubuntu developers have objected to his goal of reaching a wider audience. "I simply have zero interest in the crowd who wants to be different. ... 'Linux is supposed to be hard so it's exclusive' is just the dumbest thing that a smart person could say," Shuttleworth wrote. ZDNet (3/11)     

Design Corner

• Turn typography into an attention-getting tool
  These 21 websites with elegant examples of typography show how typography can lend distinction to overall Web design, writes Gisele Muller. Featured examples include the websites for Alistair Lane, the Jacksonville Art Walk and The Haberdash Fox. WebDesignLedger.com (3/11)     

Small Businesses & Entrepreneurs

• How to generate more sales leads from your website
  Your company's website should seek to capture browsers' contact information through Web forms, BoostSuite.com CEO Aaron Houghton writes. That information can then be used to generate sales leads. Try offering coupons or access to e-books in order to encourage people to fill out the Web forms, he writes. Duct Tape Marketing (3/7)     

Association News

• Enter to win a free full conference pass to ad:tech San Francisco
  Want to go to ad:tech San Francisco (April 9-10) for free! Enter to win a full conference pass to this industry leading conference on the Web Marketing Association's Contest Page. Deadline to enter is March 18th.     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by readers in the past week.

• How programmatic ad buying will change the ad world (Adweek)

• Industry-standard Web metrics remain controversial subject (Adweek)

• Why good Web designs are a little bit boring (WebDesignerDepot.com)

• Buff up your website with these HTML5 samples (CatsWhoCode.com)

• Web is key for brands' local marketing efforts (eMarketer)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

SmartQuote

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." --Socrates, Greek philosopher