According to published chatter Friday, the team at Facebook is attempting to convince the people at Vevo — the hugely popular video streaming service and YouTube staple – to bring their red-hot video platform to the social networking giant.

As of this writing, it’s assumed but not confirmed that Facebook is looking for an exclusive relationship with Vevo.

For Facebook, the move would not only be a bold one, but a fast one, as the social network only partnered with Vevo to integrate it’s platform last September.

“Here’s the most compelling thing a Vevo deal could offer Facebook,” speculates Greg Sandoval of CNET, “CEO Mark Zuckerberg could offer free-music listening in the form of music videos–just like YouTube does now–to the company’s users. That would certainly help Facebook keep users on the site longer, something the company is determined to do.”

With some 43 million dedicated users, Vevo could definitely make Facebook even more formidable in the social-entertainment realm than it already is.

The only question is: Will Vevo go for it?

What do you think will come of Facebook’s rumored efforts?

For Constant Contact, the acquisition isn’t a small one. With over two million users, Boston-based CardStar is a leading developer of mobile applications that extend the use of loyalty cards and mobile coupons among consumers.

According to Constant Contact, this newest acquisition will help the company continue to expand from a simple online marketing tool provider to a more sophisticated platform to help small businesses create and grow customer relationships.

As of this writing, no financial details of the transaction were revealed.

“The CardStar loyalty platform takes advantage of the anytime, anywhere nature of mobile – making it an excellent complement to our growing suite of engagement marketing tools for small businesses. CardStar’s unique mobile application is a natural extension of our brand, bringing consumers and merchants together before, during, and after the sale to help drive repeat business,” said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact.

CardStar’s employees will join the Constant Contact team, including CEO and Founder Andy Miller and CTO and Founder Danny Espinoza.

“We share a common goal of supporting businesses’ ability to grow by connecting with their customers,” Miller said today. “We are so pleased with CardStar’s success so far. Joining forces with Constant Contact accelerates our growth path and opens up new opportunities for small businesses to take advantage of our innovations in mobile, loyalty, and consumer technology.”

Hailed as one of the industry’s top mobile game development teams, Escalation Studios will join 6L’s existing product development team and according to details provided in today’s announcement “will focus on delivering cutting edge game experiences on mobile devices.”

“We will double our business in 2012 and mobile will play a significant role in our growth on both the publishing and development sides of our business,” said Rex Ng, CEO of 6L. “This addition to our team brings some of the mobile gaming industry’s most impressive talent into our fold and sends a clear signal that we are as serious about innovation in mobile as we have been in social.”

The addition of Escalation Studios expands the company’s workforce to more than 200 employees worldwide.

“We were initially interested in Escalation Studios because of their reputation within the industry,” said Arjun Sethi, Chief Product Officer of 6L. “When we sat down and saw their roadmap we recognized immediately how deeply their goals and capabilities align with our own. Their addition to our team will enable us to launch some of 2012′s most innovative mobile games.”

At the time of the acquisition’s announcement, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

On Friday, USA Today announced that it is working with AT&T to “enhance your news consumption experience.” As a result, AT&T Mobile Barcodes will now be featured on USA Today newspaper pages.

According to this morning’s announcement, USA Today readers can now use nearly any QR scanning application, including the free AT&T Code Scanner, to launch interactive, multimedia content on their mobile devices.

The agreement between AT&T and USA Today allows readers to experience the best of both worlds – the familiarity of reading a newspaper and the excitement of engaging with news on their mobile device.

Throughout the coming months, AT&T Mobile Barcodes will appear in each section of USA Today. In addition, AT&T Mobile Barcodes will be featured in USA Today Sports Weekly and select special publications.

“We are proud to have been one of the first U.S. newspapers to offer interactive codes daily and we’re looking forward to enhancing our mobile barcode experience with AT&T. This initiative furthers our goal to bridge digital and print by providing our readers easier access to special features,” says Chet Czarniak, executive editor, content distribution and programming for USA TODAY.

Will you be glad to see QR codes inside the pages of USA Today?

Initially, 25 “specialty stores” will open and be dedicated exclusively to Apple products. The stores will be opened inside of existing Target retail locations.

Target is yet to announced which stores will be the first recipients of these so-called “Apple Mini Stores.”

Apple already has centers within Best Buy stores, but an expansion to Target makes the computer brand accessible to shoppers who are not necessarily looking for electronics.

According to the New York Times, Target, which currently sells iPhones, iPads and iPods, hasn’t commented on whether the retail giant will also begin selling Macs.

The Apple details came after Target said it would open in May small boutiques within its stores called The Shops at Target. The shops would will initially feature small, local stores like Polka Dog Bakery in Boston and The Webster in Miami, which sells clothing and accessories.

The trial testing allows shoppers to purchase items at checkout either directly through their mobile device or through a special PayPal card.

Although PayPal’s mobile wallet aspirations are only four months old, the company has aggressively pursued any available channel that could help the service take root and grow rapidly in the coming year.

“Home Depot is the first retailer to roll out a limited pilot program for our new POS technologies,” admits PayPal director of communications Anuj Nayar on the PayPal Blog. “We frequently run trials with our retail partners. The Home Depot pilot is currently being run in five stores and involves a small number of PayPal employees.”

Optimism for PayPal’s chances of success in this endeavor remain high, particularly in light of the company’s 100-million strong user base.

“Stay tuned throughout the year as we continue to re-imagine money and make it work better for merchants and consumers – whatever device you’re on, wherever you are in the world, and however you prefer to pay,” Nayar says.

The goal, according to AOL, is to help sell reserved ad inventory on Parenting.com, the digital home of Parenting magazine.

The partnership is significant in terms of the added reach by advertisers to parents – but, particularly, to moms inclined to shop online or find digital content, coupons, or other deals worth pursuing.

Conversely, AOL will drive web traffic to Parenting.com as the partners have apparently found a true win-win working relationship in this digital effort.

AOL says it will prominently feature links to Parenting content on a number of AOL sites. Together the companies will share revenue from the respective campaigns.

“I think every advertiser wants to reach as much of a target market as it can with a single purchase,” says Ned Brody, AOL’s chief revenue officer. “By taking their inventory and our inventory, we have the scale to get to as many parents as possible in a single buy.”

According to the Ad Age piece, Parenting.com, AOL Family and HuffPost Parents sites reached a combined 12.5 million unique visitors in November 2011.

On Thursday, Comcast and The Walt Disney Company announced a “long-term, comprehensive distribution agreement” that will deliver Disney’s top quality sports, news and entertainment content to Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers into the next decade.

The content push will drive popular content to viewers by way of television, online, tablets and mobile devices.

“This landmark deal is a great example of what can be achieved when programmers and distributors collaborate and innovate together to meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers and enhance the viewing experience,” said Disney executive Anne Sweeney.

According to Comcast, the new agreement enhances the multichannel business model and supports the companies’ mutual goal to deliver the best video content to customers across multiple platforms using the latest technology and cloud innovation.

For the first time ever, Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers will be able to watch ESPN, ABC or Disney shows live or on demand and across multiple screens.

Perhaps most intriguingly, the companies also agreed to “collaborate over the term of the deal to create new, innovative viewing experiences for Xfinity TV customers.”

“Comcast was the first video provider to create technology that enabled us to deliver content to customers where and when they want it across any viewing experience,” said Neil Smit, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Cable. “We are very pleased to have reached this unprecedented and innovative, long-term agreement with Disney which embraces the future of entertainment and allows Comcast to continue to bring our vision of TV Everywhere to Xfinity customers whether at home or on the go.”

Perfect Match is teaming up with Gumiyo, a provider of mobile development and mobile publishing solutions. Together the dynamic duo will combine their services on a mobile platform for publishers.

“Simple” is the word used by both companies to describe the basic nature and goals of the coupling: Gumiyo mobilizes, Perfect Market monetizes. Correspondingly, the combination of Gumiyo’s mobile platform with Perfect Market’s traffic and content optimization solutions create a better experience for mobile users and increased profits for content publishers.

While consumer adaption of mobile devices has been strong, advertising on these platforms has lagged. The combination of Perfect Market and Gumiyo allows publishers to take full advantage of mobile opportunities and moves mobile from being a “must have” for consumers to a “must have” revenue opportunity for publishers.

“Perfect Market and Gumiyo have deployed their solution on Tier 1 premium publishers and are showing record rates of mobile traffic and monetization,” explained Perfect Market CEO Julie Schoenfeld.

“Finally, publishers can generate meaningful revenue results from mobile, while having complete control over content, layout and user experience for every device” continues Gumiyo CEO Shuki Lehavi.

On Wednesday it was announced that the new partnership will involve free pizza for anyone hanging out on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York City.

“Ready to load up on carbs before those resolutions start?” the team at LevelUp asks. “Noshing on $10 worth of free food on New Year’s — pizza, pasta, Stromboli, salads (if you’ve already started being good) and more — is as easy as paying with your phone.”

LevelUp is a mobile payment app that runs on the iPhone and Android, not to mention a mobile web app that works on BlackBerry and Windows Phones. The service makes it possible for users to register for their own personal QR code. They can then use it to pay – and, ostensibly, to save money – while patronizing local businesses. Instant digital receipts show what you spent and how much you saved.

“We’re really excited to be the first brand to adopt this innovative mobile payment solution that anyone can use,” said Peter Jurta, Vice President of Operations for Villa Enterprises. “We thought, what’s the most excellent way of ringing in the New Year for our customers? Free food for trying something new and awesome at America’s hottest spot for New Year’s celebration!”

If you’re planning to be in the Big Apple this weekend, stop by Villa FIK in Times Square at 263 West 42nd St. New York, NY to sign up for LevelUp and load up on $10 worth of free Italian food.