Social media round-up
Happy New Year
Hope everyone is managing to stick to their New Year’s resolutions and isn’t missing the mince pies and selection boxes too much. Grab a cuppa and enjoy Siren Communications’ first social media roundup of 2012.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has joined Twitter, much to the bemusement of the social network's users who struggled to believe the account was real. News Corp confirmed the posts were being written by the 80-year-old who amassed almost 25,000 followers in less than a day. Former deputy prime minister John Prescott tweeted: "Welcome to Twitter…@rupertmurdoch. I've left you a Happy New Year message on my voicemail!". See the full story.
Grab your skis – Expedia has further developed its Facebook Trip Companion application into a Snow Companion service. The new service allows users to plan, create a shortlist and book a ski holiday with a group of friends within Facebook.
Everyone’s favourite search engine is rolling out a major revamp of its homepage, in a bid to simplify the page and improve user experience. Google said: "We have rolled out the new Google bar to some users and are looking to broaden the rollout in the coming weeks."
Using LinkedIn? Should the top executive have been sacked from his £68,000 job for posting CV on networking site? See full story here.
If climbing on the scales is too traumatic right now, consider a different type of diet – the virtual one. Apparently far too many of us are allowing gadgets to dominate our lives. See how you score here.
And finally…. One of the country's leading horse racing commentators Simon Holt (Channel 4) was left red-faced after accidentally sending out a tweet on his public account, which read 'I want your hot body tonight babe'….
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026