How awesome is this? All credit goes to MeetTheBoss for creating this visualization (better quality image available when you click through), but it was too good not to share it with you.

It’s a visual representation of Amazon’s acquisitions and investments from 1998 until its most recent purchase of Zappos for a reported $928 million.

The image shows the giant Internet retailer was extremely active in 1999 and 2001 and significantly scaled back investments and buy-outs after the dotcom bubble burst, but has been picking up the pace, particularly since last year.

Who will be next on the map? Let’s hope it’s Krowdbuy

Streaming music service Spotify has release a video of the iPhone app which they’ve just submitted to Apple, which means it could be out in a few weeks. They’ve also revealed more of their business model - mobile access on any device will require a premium subscription.

Interestingly, you’ll be able to use the app when there is no wireless connection. The application has an offline mode that allows users to temporarily cache playlists to their phone for use when there is no connection.

It will be interesting to see Apple’s response to this - will they allow a direct competitor to iTunes one their iPhone? As I blogged a few weeks ago, I think the streaming music space is exciting at the moment and this will be the first of many interesting exchanges between Spotify and Apple. Maybe they should just join forces?

A new study released today from Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group confirms that deep engagement with consumers through social media channels correlates to better financial performance. The ENGAGEMENTdb study (www.engagementdb.com) showed significant positive financial results for the companies who measured as having the greatest breadth and depth of social media engagement.

These “Social Media Mavens” on average grew company revenues by 18 percent over the last 12 months, while the least engaged companies saw revenues sink 6 percent on average over the same time period.

The ENGAGEMENTdb study reviewed more than 10 discrete social media channels, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, wikis, and discussion forums for each of the 100 most valuable brands as identified by the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking. Activity in each channel was ranked for depth of interaction on measures that corresponded to that specific channel. Scores for overall brand engagement ranged from a high of 127 to a low of 1.

The top 10 ENGAGEMENTdb brands with their scores are:

1. Starbucks (127)
2. Dell (123)
3. eBay (115)
4. Google (105)
5. Microsoft (103)
6. Thomson Reuters (101)
7. Nike (100)
8. Amazon (88)
9. SAP (86)
10. Tie - Yahoo!/Intel (85)

Qualities of Success
Companies that scored well in the study generally have dedicated teams, however small, active in the social media channels they utilize. The study found that the most successful teams evangelize social media across the entire organization to pull in a broad range of stakeholders. These companies view social media as an indispensable tool to help them achieve results, and their approach is conversational. This mode of operation differs from the approach of traditional communications and early corporate blog experimentation, which emphasizes messaging and talking points.

“This is the first study of this depth on the top global brands and we think the results provide a good guide for corporations and brand marketers in every industry,” said Charlene Li, Founder, Altimeter Group. “The success stories we have uncovered provide a blueprint for companies making decisions about how to best apply their marketing and consumer relations resources.”

“The ENGAGEMENTdb study goes a long way towards validating the importance of social media for business,” said Ben Elowitz, CEO of Wetpaint. “The closer any company is to its customers, the better, and it’s hard to argue with the ability for social media to create such proximity. In this day and age, companies should feel much more comfortable investing in social media — the correlation to results is so clear.”

Four Quadrants of Engagement While each company in the study received a quantitative score, the ENGAGEMENTdb study revealed that companies fell into four specific categories in terms of their breadth and depth of investment in social media channels — Mavens, Butterflies, Selectives, and Wallflowers.

– Mavens — brands that have made social media a core part of their go-to-market strategies and are very active in many channels; usually driven by dedicated teams assisted by company-wide awareness and participation.

– Butterflies — brands that recognize the need to be in many channels but have only met with real success in a subset of their activities; these companies are usually spread a bit too thin.

– Selectives — brands that focus on just a few channels and excel in those; these efforts are usually initiated by an internal evangelist.

– Wallflowers — brands present in only a few channels and very lightly in those; these brands are sitting on the sidelines and are wary of the risks. They are still trying to figure out the best next steps and investments in social media.

SOURCE: Wetpaint

E-Reader, the Amazon Kindle, has seen some success in the US, with founder Jeff Bezos quoting sales are already at 35 percent of the same books in print – just 18 months after launch. By any standard, that is rather impressive…

Whether you’ll be snapping one up or not, you should get your chance in time for Christmas, when the Kindle is likely to be available to UK shoppers.

Mobile reports that Amazon is in discussions with a UK mobile operator, and says the company has outsourced all aspects of manufacturing for the Kindle in the UK to Qualcomm, a wireless telecommunications research and development specialist who offer a range of services and will deal with all aspects of manufacturing the Kindle for the UK market including securing connectivity with an mobile operator.

Discussions with potential partners, including Vodafone, Orange and 3, have reportedly collpased but agreements with book publishers have already been made, and is in the process of negotiating with news and magazine publishers in the UK over digital reproduction rights.

Vodafone is launching its own version of the Kindle in Germany, while Orange is working on an ebook in its domestic French market.