The short: With Red Bull on board as an exclusive launch partner, Klout unveiled a new platform that allows brands to reward and engage their advocates. Brand Squads, currently in beta, highlight a brand’s top influencers and conversations. Fans, in turn, can claim special perks based on their ranking as an influencer.

Why it matters: With Brand Squads, Klout has simplified the way brands can identify and incentivize fans for talking about them in their social channels. In turn, fans become representatives of brands on an ongoing basis with the lure of competition, merchandise and social media fame. And while this shift represents an empowerment of the influencer, it also gives brands better access to those who are most willing to shape and share their content and experiences.

The short: Dutch airline KLM has launched Meet & Seat, an opt-in program that lets passengers select seatmates before takeoff based on Linkedin and Facebook information. Since launching in February, over 1,100 profiles have been shared.

Why it matters: Similar to Ticketmaster's seating app that launched last summer, KLM's social media integration is part of the larger trend of brands leveraging social media to directly impact the consumer experience. These companies understand that social networks can serve as more than pathways for conversation with fans: they can be used to shape consumer experience in real, tangible and measurable ways.

The short: The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is a proposed piece of legislation that, if passed, would allow for greater sharing of information between public and private sectors. Lawmakers and Internet privacy advocates say the bill violates free speech and gives the government too much authority in using private data. However, supporters such as Facebook and Microsoft cite its necessity in preventing cyber security threats.

Why it matters: The legislation indicates that any information held by an Internet company that is considered a potential threat towards national security can be turned over to a wide range of government agencies. While the law’s intentions are good, the legislation is likely to cause many consumers to continue to lose faith in the integrity of most brands. With big name companies like Facebook and Google under fire for issues related to people’s personal data, CISPA has the potential further strain the consumer-brand trust as users’ information becomes less and less protected by the companies they have grown to love.

The short: Google Drive, which officially launched last Tuesday, is intended to help the search giant compete with cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Box. Replacing Google Docs, the new service is highly integrated with other products such as Google+ and is intended to act as a simple way to combine the many functions and services offered by the company.

Why it matters: While this product is obviously intended to compete with other cloud storage services, many believe that it will act as an even stronger competitor to Microsoft Office and similar products, as Drive will combine the functionality of productivity applications with the data and access associated with Google. Critics have already come out against the service, though, citing issues related to Google’s dreaded privacy policy. While cloud storage may be convenient for the regular consumer, brands needs to proceed with caution before allowing their confidential information to be stored in places where safety and privacy can no longer be guaranteed.