The Friday Wrap is a collection of items from the last week that could be useful for communications professionals but that may have slipped by unnoticed (particularly in the wake of big news stories like Facebook’s blockbuster acquisition of mobile messaging app WhatsApp). I collect all the items I might possibly use in the Wrap on my link blog at LinksFromShel.tumblr.com, which is also the source I use for selecting items to cover on my podcast, For Immediate Release; you’re welcome to tap into this larger collection of stories and posts.

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Anyone can now blog on LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s Influencer Program—which serves as the source for LinkedIn Daily content—has been accessible only by some high-profile business figures. Until now, that is. The business-focused social network announced Wednesday that it will “algorithmically distribute career-related articles written by any users” of the proprietary blogging platform. A Reuters article notes the move will lead to greater interest in the site as users “generate a steady stream of shareable content, providing a white-collar twist on how Facebook supplies its users a continuous stream of pictures or links from their friends.”

Sharing is not the same as reading

There is no correlation between how much a piece of content is shared and how many times it’s read. That’s the conclusion of Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, which tracks real-time data. According to Upworthy, content from which is shared at mind-boggling rates, people most likely to share the site’s content are those who skim through 25% of a story as well as those who have read the entire piece. The point, according to MediaBistro, “when we’re talking sponsored content, sharing isn’t enough—because a headline alone can’t convey your client’s story to the average reader no matter how fun it sounds.”

Companies still aren’t dealing with online customer complaints

More than half of companies don’t have a strategy for dealing with the growing number of customer complaints posted to social channels, according to a study from Social Media Marketing University. In a news release, the university’s founder said, “So many brands are buying into the ‘friending equals spending’ mentality. They want the benefits of social media but aren’t truly aware of the investment of effort that’s required to see a return. As a result, this lack of effort rarely produces desired results and can lead to alienation of customers, fans and followers. It can even escalate to a backlash of negativity.” The study found 26.1% of brands reputations have been tarnished as a result of negative social media posts; 15.2% lost customers and 11.4% lost revenue. The story’s in Bulldog Reporter’s Daily ‘Dog.

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Little Bird launches

Marshall Kirkpatric left ReadWrite Web, the online tech news source, because he thought he could apply what he had learned about identifying who is likely to break news to a venture to help others benefit from his experience. The result is Little Bird, which announced $1.7 million in seed financing last week. The company’s web app offers tools to help identify social influencers within a given field, according to VentureBeat; along with a ranked list of leaders in their fields, the software aggregates trending conversations among key leaders and provides tools to engage with them. Early buzz suggests Little Bird may achieve what other influence tracking services like Klout have been aiming for.

The other acquisition is almost as interesting as Facebook buying WhatsApp

It doesn’t have the dizzying dollar amount that set headline writers reeling, but Lithium Technology’s acquisition of Klout is still worthy of comment. Valued at $100 million, the deal brings together a provider of white-label social networks (used by organizations ranging from Home Depot to the American Diabetes Association) and the much maligned service that claims to measure your social media influence. Since Lithium’s software relies heavily on gamification and ranking of users, it’s easy to see how Klout could be integrated. (Disclaimer: I’m a certified Lithium community manager.) According to Danny Brown‘s post, the acquisition signals Klout’s ultimate failure, but he speculates Lithium’s interest might be “to identify influential customers (since Lithium serves the social customer industry), so that their issues can be resolved before they become an online crisis” or “perhaps it’s access to the data that Klout has.”

Etiquette for Glassholes

Not that many people are wearing Google Glass yet, and among those who do some have reportedly exhibited less-than-sterling behavior. As Google prepares to make the product available to everyone, the company has released a lighthearted guide to Glass etiquette. Among the tips, according to PR Week: Get permission before recording them and don’t wear Glass while playing high-impact sports.

So it turns out HLN wasn’t kidding around

Headline News announced a week or so ago that it was planning to become the television hub for social media users. We weren’t quite sure what that meant until the network—which once broadcast a half-hour news package every 30 minutes—announced some of the shows coming in its lineup. They include a game show called “Keywords;” “I Can Haz NewsToons,” featuring cartoons drawn from online sources; a show presenting stories from online classifieds called “One. Click. Away;” and “Videocracy,” a countdown of trending entertainment news stories. If the new format takes off, watch for more networks to add their own social media-centric programming. Advertising Age has the story.

Sprinklr acquires Dachis

Dachis Group, which grew to become the largest social media-focused agency in the world with some 250 employees—has been acquired by Sprinklr, the social media management software company. On his blog, Neville Hobson quotes a statement from the companies that says the merger “will meet the requirements for large brands and agencies who want a complete social relationship infrastructure that helps them manage social experiences at every touch point.”

The problem with third-party content

Content a company publishes from an independent third party is valuable for B2B companies, since buyers find it highly credible. But according to a study by Oracle Eloqua and LookBookHQ—reported on the Eloqua blog—marketers are finding it difficult to “coherently integrate it within their own stories and narratives.” Among the results pointing to problems with third-party content, only 12% of marketers are using content curation services, opting instead just to share links through their various social networks, blogs, websites, and email.

Chrome plugin said to produce stunning cold email response rates

Autopilot, a marketing automation company, has released a sales and marketing prospecting tool that has produced up to 42% reply rates on email, according to VentureBeat. Called Prospect Ace, the tool “helps marketers “get live, current email for people they find on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, and other popular sites online.” The plugin will set you back $199 a month.

Curator of social media policies publishes guide to employee advocacy software

Chris Boudreaux, who maintains the Social Media Governance website—known for its database of social media policies—has introduced a listing of vendors offering employee advocacy software. ” I found 24 vendors in this space today,” Boudreaux wrote. “More will enter in 2014. As the space becomes more crowded, I want to help people make informed choices about the software they select to support these kinds of programs.”

People swear a hell of a lot on Twitter

Last week a study revealed the disturbing frequency of racially insensitive—or outright racist—comments posted to Twitter. Now comes a study from Ohio’s Wright State University that reveals Twitter users curse almost twice as much as previous studies have found—1.15% of their messages contain one or more of “a carefully selected list of 788 swear words.” Time reports that the f-bomb accounts for 35% of all swearing on Twitter. Interestingly, the volume of cursing declines precipitously after Wednesdays.

Not enough for you? Here’s more

• BitTorrent to launch video streaming app
• Instagram is shaping up to be the world’s most powerful selling tool
• Savvy brands are using apps instead of ads to reach customers
• Internal influence marketing: Companies seek employees with clout
• Why every employee at your company should use LinkedIn