Over the past few years, loyalty programs have been said to be the saviors of online and offline retailers. A new study tosses cold water on that thought. According to Direct Antidote, 68% of consumers find some loyalty program content to be non-relevant to their needs.

Now the elderly and/or ill have another concern: spam. According to the latest information from Symantec’s MessageLabs, health information websites have been targeted by short URL spam.

Short URL spam is one of the new, and now leading, concerns for spam. The fact that short URL spammers are targeting health sites is a double edged sword: not only are those concerned with health at risk of being tricked but legitimate health sites’ reputations could be harmed.

Andy Kessler asks some of the same questions I’ve had about my phone service, FCC licenses and the distinctly consumer unfriendly way our nation’s phone services are delivered. Read more of his op ed in the Wall Street Journal.

Colin McDougal’s Wordtracker Video Review

From a BizReport article by Fiona Swerdlow of Shop.org, consumers want the fundamentals – log me in, remember my language preference, know where I’m based. These are the top three items that consumers report make a difference to their online shopping experience.

Whole Foods Market founder John Makey took some heat for his thoughts on health care reform. What do you think?

Here is one more reason to invest in online video: According to a new study from Yahoo, Interpret LLC, Warner Bros. Media Research, Havas Digital and Omnicom’s PHD one-third of all online videos are shared by consumers. Researchers also found that consumers are now more likely to engage with online video ads than with television ads. Read more from BizReport.

Southern California Edison customers in the Inland region could see lower electricity bills as early as this fall under a plan up for approval before a state panel.

In the vein of ‘everyone is doing it – and so am I’, research from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project finds that 90% of young adults are watching videos and/or using video sharing websites. The study finds that 35% of all online consumers are now watching online video content.

According to research from Nielsen Online, the video audience can’t get enough. Read what  Kristina Knight has to say in Biz Report.