At NST, we value each other’s unique backgrounds, interests and ideas, and one of the traits we all share is a passion for learning. In fact, learning and exploring is a core value at NST, and we continually push ourselves, our clients and our profession to explore. In support of this value, it is common practice for our team to share the industry-related articles we are reading in meetings, via email and in conversation, to stay on top of the latest news and trends impacting our clients and their industries.

The information we share comes from numerous publications covering a wide range of topics, including public relations, marketing, business, social media, digital, agriculture/food, and other news making local and national headlines.

So what news is making the rounds this week at NST?  Check out the articles below. After all, “[R]eading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”  -Sir Richard Steele

• Amazon is launching brand pages. Registration is free and this Facebook-type page is more product-focused: http://bit.ly/S8lUN8 (PR Daily)
• Did you upload a picture of your Thanksgiving meal to Instagram? Congratulations – you helped the photo sharing site break all its records with more than 200 photos being uploaded every second during some hours: http://lat.ms/V8SKSB (Los Angeles Times)
• Meet your newest management headache: the co-branded employee. A growing number of professionals are using social media to build a personal, public identity—a brand of their own—based on their work, and employers need to start preparing for the ever-greater challenges they pose for managers, co-workers and companies: http://on.wsj.com/S8m3Aa (Wall Street Journal)
• Thought leadership is more than having a point of view. If done properly, it can be the foundation for an entire, multi-channel communications campaign, and provide the opportunity for a company to set the industry agenda and showcase its depth of knowledge: http://bit.ly/TfJENL (PR Week)
• Facebook is rolling out HTTPS to users in North America. While this is a more secure connection, HTTPS tends to load at slower speeds: http://on.mash.to/WSHrOE (Mashable)
• A new location-based augmented reality app developed by a San Diego startup hopes to gain traction with marketers. CacheTown seeks to marry an augmented reality scavenger hunt game with a daily-deal style platform for marketers to enhance their campaigns: http://bit.ly/Sp6ggk (U-T San Diego)
• Just in time for holiday shopping, Google Maps provides indoor floor plans for more than 10,000 locations around the world, including retail stores: http://lat.ms/U7X5AU (Los Angeles Times)
• Shoppers beware: More and more mannequins are equipped with spy tech that’s helping retailers relieve you of your hard-earned money. (NBC News)
• Digital shopping predictions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shared via a detailed Infographic: http://bit.ly/U7X8g6 (Social Times)
• Pumpkin Pie is the hot flavor of the season for everything from coffee and ice cream to marshmallows and beer: http://nyti.ms/TqxZP4 (New York Times)
• Don’t fall for the fake privacy notice spreading on Facebook. It won’t protect your personal data from unauthorized copyrighting: http://on.mash.to/S8muuh (Mashable)