Here is what caught my eye reading this week in media:

Social media replaces the Super Bowl?

Forrester reports that Pepsi will not advertise at the next Super Bowl and is instead spending $20m on Pepsi Refresh. This matters because it comes at a time when online and social media advertising is at a critical juncture. Rupert Murdoch hasn’t been able to secure enough money from advertising on his newspaper websites and is erecting a pay wall around them. Not everyone agrees this to be a wise move, including Jeff Jarvis who dubbed it “pathetic.” Now PepsiCo have moved their money in the opposite direction, from the mainstream to the social. Who is right? Only time will tell.  

What does Lebedev mean for The Independent? 

London Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev last week acquired the ailing Independent for the same price that Rupert Murdoch is charging consumers to access Timesonline each day: £1. Having made continuous losses for a number of years it is clear that Lebedev has a number of serious challenges to turn around the fortunes of the UK’s lowest circulation national newspaper. The Guardian consulted three experts to canvass opinion and the consensus was that the title should not go free but that the Sunday edition should be scrapped.

Rod Liddle becomes the first blogger to be censured by the Press Complaints Commission

Groundbreaking news in the UK blogosphere this week after The Spectator’s Rod Liddle became the first blogger to be censured by the UK's Press Complaints Commission for making claims about the perpetrators of gun and knife crime in London. Liddle might be the first blogger to be rapped in this way, though it is important to note that he is predominantly a mainstream journalist and was writing a blog for a mainstream title.

Facebook versus Google

Mashable has carried a thought provoking post about the battle between Facebook and Google to become the world’s number one social profile hub. The key battleground is to establish a ‘home’ for social interaction throughout the web, with both Facebook – through Facebook Connect (allowing users to use Facebook Connect to comment on blogs and elsewhere) and Google pushing Google Buzz. Whoever wins the battle for the ‘default’ platform stands to make billions, suggests Mashable, through the creation of markets for virtual goods.

Google Map gang mashup 

Every day there is a raft of new Google Maps ‘mashups’. I keep track of these at Googlemapsmania. The latest to catch my eye is a breakdown of gang territory in London which shows these on a map and includes links to the rather unpleasant news stories and crimes for each. This is perhaps the most frightening addition yet, though hopefully not as useful as Transport for London’s interactive bus maps.