We’re back with our weekly recap of the interesting and inspiring, with a particular eye for what shifts and ideas brands should be tracking, evaluating and acting on. This is a collection of  some standout business strategy, brand-building and digital media stories catching our attention.

Discussions Shaping Strategy, Creativity & Innovation 

• The Myth of Overnight Success (Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd Game)
• The Case Against Google (on privacy, the evolution of search, and Google’s changing business model)
• Don’t Build Products. Build Platforms.
• The (Present) and Future of Business: Speed and Nowness
• How Superconnectivity Kills Economics
• An Interview with Cyborg Anthropologist Amber Case (on the human relationship to technology)
• When Global Money Talks, It Speaks English
• Amazon vs. Apple: Competing Echosystem Strategies
• UK Is the Most ‘Internet-Based’ Major Economy
• Marketing Startups: Geeks Aren’t Known for their Social Skills
• John Hegarty: Advertising is Suffering from A Creative Deficit
• Myths of Right-Brained Creativity
• School Report 2012: Do Kids Want to Code in Class?

Notable Ideas: New Products, Platforms and Projects 

• Senate Passes Crowdfunding Bill
• MIT’s Open Documentary Lab: Part Think Tank, Part Incubator for Filmmakers and Hackers
• Jolicloud (a home – in the cloud – for your personal/social content)
• Does Using Cash Lead You To Spend More or Less? (on two months of living cash-lessly)
• ispinterest the next…?
• Ferran Adrià to Launch LeBullipedia, A Culinary Wikipedia 
• CloudFactory Can Put 1MM Cloud Workers Into Business
• Yummly‘s Billion Dollar Digital Kitchen Platform

Brands, Companies and Entities of Note (some more obvious than others)

• Charity:Water Birthday Pledge
• #onlyonTwitter (on Twitter’s 6th anniversary)
• Revlon Prepares New ‘Storytelling’ Ad Strategy
• Dr. Seuss: Before He Drew Great Children’s Illustrations, He Drew Great Ads
• Angry Birds‘ Newest Slingshot Is the Real Space Needle
• The True Origins of Pizza

Digital & Social Media News and Resources

• Creative Social: Thoughts from SXSW and Top Tips for 2013
• Tech Companies Control the Future of News
• Google+ vs. Facebook: Which Is Best for Business?
• The Real Reason Google Bought Kevin Rose and Milk: It Needs Designers
• 5 Interesting Pinterest Marketing Campaigns
• The Most Important Topics to Pinterest Users
• Facebook Sets High Asking Price for Log-Out Ads: $700K A Day
• An App That Generates Gorgeous Infographics About Your Facebook Usage
• Google Analytics Update Connects Social Marketing with the Bottom Line
• Do Groupon and LivingSocial Do More Harm Than Good?