Last week's top news stories

TNS Launches Digital Ad Monitor Suite
"TNS has launched Digital Suite, described as a ‘new generation’ of online ad monitoring tools. The suite combines cookie tracking technology with the company’s 6th Dimension Panel to give in-depth analysis of online ad consumption." MrWeb Daily Research News Online

Online Communities Get ‘Measurable Solution’
"Social networking solutions firm Small World Labs has partnered with social marketing firm Sway Inc. to offer marketers a comprehensive set of tools for the creation and execution of social media strategies to support their brands." MrWeb Daily Research News Online

Compete launches quarterly smartphone study
"TNS’s recently acquired web analytics business Compete has launched a service offering quarterly data and advice on how best to reach smartphone users. The service combines consumer insight from surveys with behavioural data gathered from online clickstream analysis to show how people are using their phones, the sites they visit, and what they like and dislike about the experience." Research Magazine

MySpace BlackBerry application attracts record downloads
"More than 400,000 users downloaded the MySpace for BlackBerry smartphones application in its first week of availability, representing a record for both MySpace and the application's creators, Research In Motion. The application gives BlackBerry users the ability to receive updates and send messages in real time, as well as upload photographs to their profile." Brand Republic

Google launches customisable search feature
"Google has launched a new feature dubbed Search Wiki, which allows users to rearrange and customise search results. The idea is for users to be able to customise searches they may frequently use. For example, if someone searches for cinema listings in their city and they can make a preferred site always come first in the search results, even if it usually comes further down the list in the natural search." Brand Republic

IAB: Online Ad Spending Remains Flat
"Online ad spending remains virtually flat this year--with the third-quarter total of $5.9 billion only 2% ahead of each of the last two quarters, according to the latest figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers." MediaPost's Online Media Daily

Marketers to Up Spending in Cable, Online, Mobile in Next 6 Months
"Over the next six months, not only will ad spending be down, but the feeling among advertisers and their agencies toward media such as broadcast TV, national newspapers and magazines is growing more pessimistic, according to the new Advertiser Optimism Report by Advertiser Perceptions." Advertising Age

Online Retail Spending Slows
"Online spending growth in October fell to its lowest rate since 2001, in a sign the sector has been hit by the slumping economy and indicating a challenging holiday season for online retailers. Online retail spending grew only 1% in October from a year ago, following a downward trend that started late last year, according to market research firm comScore Inc." Wall Street Journal

Young adults eager to engage with brands online
"A new global survey conducted by Synovate in conjunction with Microsoft reveals the extent to which young adults are willing to interact and engage with brands as part of their daily online activities. When asked about their online brand engagement in the last month, almost a third (28%) had talked about a brand on a discussion forum; almost a quarter (23%) had added brand-related content to their instant messenger service; and almost one in five (19%) had added branded content to their homepage or social networking site." Market Research Portal