As marketers flock to crowded platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, alternative platforms such as Snapchat could become a more valuable place to create intimate, one-to-one connections with consumers.

Nike is building up awareness and mobile sales for its products with a new advertising campaign that rewards consumers for using mobile applications.

Registration is open for the 3rd annual Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2014 conference Jan. 15-16 featuring speakers from Macy's, eBay, Coca-Cola, Office Depot, Lowe's, Amazon's Zappos, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Rue La La, Citi, REI, Campbell Soup, Omni Hotels, Forrester, Yahoo, NYT, USA Today and Cumberland Farms. Must-attend event for brands, retailers, agencies and publishers.

Please register for the free annual webinar at 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 5: "Mobile Outlook 2014: Up, Down or Flat?" Panelists include execs from BIA/Kelsey and Hipcricket.

Disney yet again tops the list of global brands in the mobile landscape, according to a report from Distimo.

CNBC has redesigned its Android application to offer more real-time data, news and analysis.

Today in mobile marketing - Couric hire is key to Yahoo's mobile strategy; Apple defeats patent claim over invention of smartphone; Improved App Store search engine now corrects for users' "fat finger" mistakes and other misspellings; BlackBerry finds early success with mobile messaging app.

Mobile Commerce Daily today - EBay flaunts online, in-store deals via interactive mobile campaign; 23pc of online consumers would mobile-only holiday shop: report.

Luxury Daily today - Swarovski drives holiday retail traffic through Pinterest, Instagram holiday contests; Dolce & Gabbana appeals to aspirational consumers with crowdsourced photo album.

Mobile Marketer is not publishing on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29 in observance of Thanksgiving. Eat up!

By Ian Sefferman

How can search engine optimization, one of the most important user acquisition channels for Web marketers, be so overlooked in the mobile sector?