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. In short, some key themes we saw concentrate this week:

• The continued, ascending importance of design (and user experience)
• Further examples of how the internet and connectivity have revolutionized manufacturing (and a new industrial revolution)
• An expanding market for independent makers (facilitated through crowdfunding, and celebrated by Etsy)
• A distate for marketing speak and buzzword bingo – clients, the media and colleagues see through it

Discussions Shaping Strategy, Creativity & Innovation 

• The Internet? We Built That
• A Hunter’s Guide to Bullsh*t Free Insights
• History, As Recorded on Twitter, Is Vanishing from the Web, Say Computer Scientists
• The Internet Has Created a New Industrial Revolution
• The Internet and Things: How Manufacturing Could Get Better With a Dose of Networked Data
• Why Good Design Is Finally A Bottom-Line Investment (substantiated by several identity redesigns this week – see below)
• The 6 Brands That Creatives Most and Least Want to Work With
• Using Behavioral Economics, Psychology and Neuroeconomics to Maximize Sales
• Pew Research Center: Global Threats and Concerns (US Public, experts differ on perceptions of China as a threat)
• Launch Your Next Idea Before It’s Ready
• The Future of Advertising Is More Buzzwords
• Teens Credit Word of Mouth Most Reliable Shopping Source
• From Shopping to Warfare, Why Maps Shape Our Minds As Well As Our Planet
• Startup is the New Hipster

Notable Ideas: New Products, Platforms and Projects 

• What Technologies Will Crowdfunding Create?
• Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2012
• Google’s Creative Sandbox (showcasing digital creativity + innovation)
• Printing New Tunes for the Fisher-Price Record Player
• Napkin Labs Launches Facebook ‘Fan Center’ to Give Brands More Qualitative Customer Relationships
• Why Startups Should Study Abroad
• How Burberry Uses Salesforce.com Platform to Create Rich Retail Experiences (that are social and mobile first)
• Apple’s Sir Jonathan Ive to Design Limited Edition Leica Camera
• Next Year’s LEGO Marvel & DC Collection
• Mural.ly (Pinterest for creative pro’s)

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

• Can Ben Silbermann Turn Pinterest Into the World’s Greatest Shopfront?
• Nestle Is Playing Real Life Willy Wonka
• Windows 8: The Boldest, Biggest Redesign in Microsoft’s History
• Could A Redesign Really Rescue USA Today?
• Macy’s Flagship $400M Makeover Creating Stir
• Gap Japan Launches Passbook Offers in Less than 24 Hours
• Sports Illustrated Goes Deep on Twitter
• Warby Parker Tries TV As An Ad Medium
• Ikea Opens a Floating Night Market
• Gilt Groupe to Shutter Park & Bond, Cut Back on Groceries
• Etsy Highlights Individual Makers via YouTube Channel
• Marc Newson on iPhone: “God is in the detail”

Digital & Social Media News and Resources

• The Indomitable Mary Meeker
• The Evolution and Art of Web Design
• Welcome to Apple’s iOS6 Map: Where Berlin Is Now Called ‘Schoeneiche’
• 11 Things To Do With Your Old iPhone
• A New Take on F-Commerce: Soldsie Lets Retailers Sell Through Facebook Comments
• Facebook Leverages Your Likes, Age and Gender to Serve Ads Inside Third Party Apps
• Facebook Cuts Off Reach Generator
• Twitter Redesigns Its Mobile UI, and Looks More Like Facebook
• Google Adds Another Cool Tool to Search: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
• The Best Web and Social Media Analytics Tools Available for Brands