A new report from the Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism outlines the divided view media provide on the advances of technology. While the overall tone of coverage is upbeat about the improvements in productivity and other functions, very close behind is the concern that convenience also brings risk.

Pew examined mainstream media coverage in more than 50 outlets involving more than 400 stories. When blogs and other social media were examined, though, there was a more positive outlook on technology.

The single-largest technology story concerned texting while driving. But the second-largest story were developments in Apple's iPhone and iPad.

Pew found that technology coverage doesn't comprise much of the overall media menu (1.6%) and that the largest number of stories concerned trends and social change.

"The findings suggest that in the mainstream media, particularly on front pages and general interest programs, the press reflects exuberance about gadgets and a wonder about the corporations behind them, but wariness about effects on our lives, our behavior and the sociology of the digital age," the report says.  "Social media, on the other hand, suggests that people who are on the cutting edge of technology are not only more interested in discussing the topics, but more positive in general about specific advancements, like new versions of smartphones or new social networking sites."

Old media have to deliver digital experiences consumers demand. It's as simple as that, says Saul Berman in a post for Forbes.com.

His observation: Media companies leveraging social media's qualities of openness are dialing up greater trust by providing rapid, relevant and integrated messaging.

While digital revenue has not offset the losses of traditional media, social media offer a new foothold for media companies, he argues. A real key is to raise the level of engagement.

In his latest post for his PoMo Blog, Terry Heaton sounds the concern many publishers have about the drive for page views at all costs.

He vents a little on the tendency by some to chop stories into pieces to improve the number of ad impressions --- the "price of interaction" being high. He takes the view that the effort doesn't take into account the user, then publishers wonder why the advertising isn't working.

"Somehow, some way, we’ve got to figure out that attaching ads to content the way we’ve done it before just doesn’t cut it online. Until that happens, we’ll continue killing the goose that potentially could be laying golden eggs for us," he writes.

The New York Times writes about the increasing number of ads online that follow users from site to site.

The persistent "retargeting" takes advantage of tracking technology and is now a strategy for several companies in their campaigns that understand a first encounter with a product isn't necessarily the point of decision on a sale.

The relevant ads aren't merely related to categories users have followed. They're personalized to the point of serving ads about products or services someone has at one point perused. They follow someone around.

The response has been generally positive, the Times reports, although some feel stalked by products they didn't particularly want but had evaluated --- or were sharing a computer and didn't want others to know about what they were perusing.

Critics are also wondering about whether privacy is being breached and regulation needs to be introduced to moderate the phenomenon.

The Wall Street Journal extracted pretty much everything there is to extract from Eric Schmidt, the Google CEO, on the direction and challenges of media. Holman W. Jenkins Jr.'s extensive feature gives over much:

1. Google's focus is ensuring it doesn't lose its strangehold on Web advertising when searching is no longer as necessary.
2. It doesn't mind giving away the operating systems for Android --- if you get a billion people using a device, Schmidt notes, you can do something with it.
3. Brands will matter in the time ahead, which is good news for an otherwise lamentable situation for U.S. newspapers.
4. Targeted ads are the only way Schmidt sees salvation in what ails media economically.
5. Serendipity, that great surprise factor for the media consumer, now can be replicated electronically.

A new report from Borrell Associates indicates the growth of social network marketing will be ferocious in the years ahead. The question: Will it be properly applied?

This year about 11% of marketing spending will go to social networks. Borrell predicts that number will grow to one-third of such spending by 2015, representing $38 billion.

And the ratio of promotional spending compared to advertising spending across social networks will increase --- from about 1:3 today to about 1.75:1 by 2015. In other words, $1.75 in promotion will be spent for every dollar in advertising across social networks within five years, Borrell suggests.

Borrell notes, though, that it's difficult to measure the scope and effectiveness of such spending, and that firms use their social networks as a mass medium instead of one that needs targeting.