Sharing is caring in the world of social media. So Nick Ferry tapped into that sentiment and started Smile Dealers, a Facebook-enabled photo booth aimed at amplifying brands’ experiential events.

Any year that includes a receivership is going to be difficult for a broadcaster. Add to this a breakup with a principal programming provider, gaffe-prone radio hosts and a steep decline in viewership, and things start to look increasingly bleak. Yet, despite these uneasy times, MediaWorks still managed to produce a few hit shows, increase its revenue and hold onto key audiences. So, here’s what Liz Fraser, the director of sales and marketing, thought of a topsy-turvy 2013.

Malcolm Rands has been fighting the good fight for almost 20 years with Ecostore—and the charity the company helps to fund, Fairground Foundation. He released a book telling the story of his journey a few months back. So how is Ecoman planning on saving the world?

Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.

America’s Cup support ultimately proved futile, but the sporting event rated among Kiwis top Google searches of 2013 alongside the royal baby, pop darling Lorde and fallen stars Cory Monteith and Paul Walker. And according to the trends, we’re into Bitstrips, Grumpy Cat and finding out how to kiss.

Kiwi film-maker Jonathan King has transformed The Wolf of Wall Street’s trailer, imagining John Key in the dizzying world of money making and dwarf throwing. It’s a “brand new New Zealand biopic success story of ambition, fortune and being pretty relaxed about things”.

Mike Hosking and Toni Street will be joining Jesse Mulligan as the presenters of Seven Sharp in 2014. To make way for the new pair of faces, current presenter Ali Mau and stand-in presenter Tamati Coffey will accompany Seven Sharp producer Mauricio Olmedo-Perez as they exit the TVNZ offices for the last time on 20 December. PLUS: Willie Jackson to return to RadioLive.

Vodafone has launched a kit with activities for kids and tips for parents after research that showed a large proportion of children accessing the internet using mobile devices by the time they turned six. The Digital Facts of Life was made with Vodafone in the UK and games company Moshi Monsters.

The August highlight reel from Getty Images is a visual celebration of creativity, natural beauty and special effects mastery that stands as a testament of the power of the camera lens.

Blank stares, awkward comments, misread names, gaffes and broken umbrellas all feature in the Dan News compilation of news bloopers for 2013.

ASB and ANZ are the latest banks to add to their portfolio of technology-based services for businesses, with ANZ joining the group offering a mobile payments app and ASB developing a service to streamline the accounts receivable process.

As the spirit of Christmas giving takes hold, Kiwi corporates are highlighting the sponsorship efforts that give them a good name and worthy causes a helping hand. Telcos and banks are among those stumping up dollars and resources for charitable campaigns.

There’s been plenty of sadness at the passing of Nelson Mandela. And plenty of coat-tail riding by corporations, like South African energy drink company Turbovite, which is feeling the social media burn after its heartfelt tribute/plea for likes mistakenly used a picture of Morgan Freeman.

The best way to embrace Christmas is to accept the unbridled commercialism of it all with open arms. So sit back, relax and enjoy some of the creative efforts that the capitalist machine used this year to convince shoppers to part with their cash.

As someone, somewhere, once said, if the marketing department is the ass end of business, ad agencies are the pimple on that ass. But if you’re questioning your worth and wondering what you’re doing to make this world a better place, then you need to watch the marketers’ anthem, which celebrates the profession by showing how ridiculous it is.