1. The $700 million travel search deal and Google’s shift in strategy (TechCrunch)
This deal "signals a much more subtle and profound strategy shift for Google – towards more customised search experiences in different categories, starting with travel," says Erick Schonfeld.

2. Government apps: A case for the axe? (BBC dot.Rory)
Last week the government announced that it wanted to close many of its websites to save money – but should it also be looking at what it spends on developing applications for smartphones? Rory Cellan-Jones looks at the evidence.

3. If LeBron is any indication, Twitter sponsored trends work (ReadWriteWeb)
Last month, Twitter started promoting ad keywords in its "trending topics" list. With this system, users are brought to a search results page, where the page is topped by a promoted Tweet. But does it work, asks Curt Hopkins.

4. The New Frontier by Orange — Conquests 2015 (Forrester)
Orange announced its new industrial project, "conquests 2015." After NExT from Didier Lombard, the recently appointed CEO is now communicating Orange’s five-year action plan, including the "conquest of employee pride". Thomas Husson reports.

5. Clay Shirky: ‘Paywall will underperform – the numbers don’t add up’ (The Guardian)
The internet guru on the death of newspapers, why paywall will fail and how the internet has brought out our creativity – and generosity, in this interview with Decca Aitkenhead.