Disney’s powerful marketing force: social media moms

Wendy Wright is a home-schooling mother of two, a prolific blogger and a self-described “Disney Nut.” Her cats are named Mickey and Minnie, and her blog is filled with advice for visiting Disneyland, tips for holding Disney-themed parties and reviews of Disney movies. Wright's enthusiasm for all things Disney eventually drew the attention of the Walt Disney Co , which invited her to join a carefully vetted group of roughly 1,300 Disney Social Media Moms.

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EU privacy reform: who pays when the rules are broken?

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – New European Union data protection rules expected to be agreed on Monday will allow citizens to sue companies that own data as well as those that process it on their behalf, for example cloud computing providers. The new system is opposed by companies such as Germany’s SAP SE, International Business Machines Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and Amazon.com Inc who say it will kill off Europe’s cloud computing industry, as well as introduce uncertainty in business to business relations.

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Tech costs beat regulation, cyber as worries for financial services execs

IT costs came second only to macroeconomic concerns such as the impact of quantitative easing, according to the survey by global risk adviser Willis of senior executives at 150 banks, insurers, reinsurers, asset managers, hedge funds and financial technology companies worldwide. “There is a rise of new entrants that are using new technology,” said Mary O'Connor, global head of Willis' financial institutions group. “Banks know they need to respond to that.” Banks and insurers have been seen as slow in responding to new technology, leaving the door open for newcomers to steal market share.

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