There's been much debate as to what Apple plans to do with social media analytics firm Topsy, but it's clear that having spent $200 million recently acquiring it, that it will play an important role in future developments. Companies such as Topsy, and a number of other start ups that are growing at a rapid rate, are trying to make sense of the everyday interactions that take place across a number of social platforms. This information allows brands to monitor campaigns, to see what is working and what isn't. Social data is taking consumer profiling to the next level; seeing what users pin, like, retweet, their interactions and feedback.

As we entered 2014 many people have predicted real time marketing to play a big role this year. Already we've seen a number of high profile events that have resulted in a number of examples of real time marketing. This highlights what an important component RT marketing has become to top brands, as clearly they look incorporate it into their marketing strategies.

There was no slowing Carat down last year, they followed up a very successful year with a huge 2013. Ad Age chose Carat as the Media Agency of the Year because of their ability to kick on, they increased revenue by 20% and recruited top talent 2013, while still securing new accounts and managing their huge General Motors account.

Carat Global President Doug Ray said: "After winning so much business last year we could have gotten distracted by trying to absorb the business and being too internally focused, the goal was to avoid distraction by hiring and "scaling operations."

The Association of Graduate Recruiters polled 200 employers and found that 2014 is set to see a 10.2% increase in graduate recruitment - totaling 23,000 jobs.

This is a sharp rise compared to the increase of just 4.3 per cent last year. This report echos recent news of growing confidence among businesses and an improvement in the economy.