Those who have embraced social media have, for the most part, truly embraced it.

Those who haven’t, haven’t.

This great video by timetogetsocial gives an “in your face” version of reasons to care about social media as a business. Watch the video and then see the transcript of the reasons after the jump.

Here is a breakdown of the reasons listed in the video:

1. Social media is now the number one online activity, beating porn and personal email to the top spot.

2. Because 2/3 of the global Internet population visit social networks.

3. Because time spent on social networks is growing at 3X the overall Internet rate, accounting for 10% of all Internet time.

4. Because online, including social media, has become the most influential source in helping consumers make purchasing decisions.

5. Because millions of people are creating content for the social web.

6. Because the next 3 billion consumers will access the Internet from a mobile device.

7. Because Facebook is now the operating system of the social web.

8. Because Twitter believes it will have 1 billion users by 2012.

9. Because one way marketing has had its day.

10. Because in almost all cases social media is free.

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Read more about being social on this social media blog.

This Social Media Infographic from Flowtown really tells the story, visually and through words. It is one of the best representations of social media that I’ve ever seen.

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See more amazing Social Media Infographics on Soshable.

The debate has been raging for ages (at least in Internet time).

Facebook was once the “contender” against MySpace. That didn’t last too long, but soon Twitter emerged as a pseudo-social-network-competitor-thingy to Facebook and the competition heated up again.

Whether or not that competition is valid is arguable since:

1. Twitter incorporates the communication and sharing aspect of social networking but is in many ways easier defined as a microblogging news aggregation site, sort of.
2. Facebook has nearly 10 times more users, hundreds more features, and thousands more apps.
3. Twitter has a clear business model, but only a dozen people in the universe know exactly what that is, while Facebook has dozens of business models, but nobody in the universe knows exactly what they are.

Still, these and many other glaring differences do not take away from the human need to compare the two and argue about them since they are the biggest “buzz” in social media right now (sorry Google).

Here, you will find several pieces of content that take the argument in one direction or another. Some bring up MySpace, LinkedIn, or other social networks. Rather than rehash them, I’ll give them to you to decide what goes where. Why rehash when we have the power of “link and regurgitate”? After all, that’s the way of the Internet today.

Facebook vs Twitter Infographic

(via Flickr)

Articles that (attempt to) Answer the Question of “Twitter vs Facebook”

• Web Strategy Matrix: Google Buzz vs Facebook vs MySpace vs Twitter (Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang)
• Moving Pixels: Facebook vs Twitter (Pop Matters)
• Facebook vs. Twitter Clickthroughs: More Bang For Your Buck (htmlist)
• Twitter Versus Facebook, A Comparison Of The Top Users (AllFacebook)
• Sharing on Facebook vs. Sharing on Twitter (Digital Inspiration)
• Buzz vs. Facebook vs. Twitter and Us (The Relationship Economy)
• Fight: Facebook vs Google vs Twitter (iTWire)
• Web Faceoff: Twitter vs. Facebook (Mashable)
• Twitter vs. Facebook Analysis: What Users Want (Internet News)
• Twitter vs. Facebook – Battle of the Social Goliaths (Inventor Spot)
• Twitter versus Facebook: Should you Choose One? (Twitip)
• Facebook vs. Twitter: How will you stream your world? (CNet)
• Twitter vs. Facebook: Who Will Win in Real-time Search? (Mashable)
• Tools of choice: Twitter vs. Facebook (Social Media Today)
• The Coming Facebook-Twitter Collision (Business Week)

Twitter vs Facebook Cartoon

(via Hubspot)

Facebook vs Twitter on the iPhone

Another Facebook vs Twitter Infographic

(via TheNextWeb)

It doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, it’s all a matter of preference. Most Twitter users use Facebook. Most very active Facebook users are on Twitter now or will be sometime this year. Whatever it takes to enjoy, share, learn, and engage, that’s what is important. Who will win in the end?

Us.

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Read more about Twitter and Facebook on this Social Media Blog.

Sorry guys. In social media, girls have what it takes to dominate.

Digg is the only male-dominated social media site amongst the several profiled in the Infographic below.

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Read more social media news at Soshable.
Via WebDoctus

As I prepare to do the Social Media Boot Camp and seminars at the NADA Convention in Orlando, I have been looking for clear, concise, informative resources to spark ideas. One in particular, the video below, blew my mind. It isn’t that the video is super-amazing-awesome – it’s excellent, but there are better videos out there. The thing about this one: it’s message holds so true today and the video was made in early 2008!

Take a peek and you’ll probably see what I see, which is that the folks over at CommonCraft knew back then what so many know now, that properly handled social media can be more effective than any form of advertising, dollar for dollar.

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Read more about social media on this social media blog.

There are three camps into which every company in the world falls:

• Those who don’t know or don’t care about social media
• Those who care about social media and think it can be useful
• Those who think social media can be the backbone of the company

If you were to break it down by percentages, the “Social Media is the Backbone” camp would most likely be the smallest. While business owners are starting to agree that social media has a place in their business, few would be willing to bet the farm on it. They are prudent, thoughtful, and wise.

Then again, many of them (depending on the type of company) would be incorrect.

For businesses big and small, social media has the ability to be THE backbone. It can assist in most areas of operations, sales, and marketing, and can streamline everything from the day-to-day affairs to long term implementation. I believe this. I’ve seen it.

Unfortunately, I can’t prove it.

I need proof. Help. Case studies. Examples.

I need proof.

Above, you will find an amazing infographic from Elliance. This is relatively old, but it holds true today more than it did when it was made.

Now, I have a request. I need people who have seen the tremendous potential of social media come true for them. I would like to gather as much data as I can to back up my claim. I believe it down to the core, but I need more than the few I know who have seen the success. If you’re that person or know someone who has, please feel free to contact me: JD Rucker.

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Read more about social media for business on this social media blog.

One of the most talked about topics of 2009’s was the real time web. Even as 2010 has begun, more and more articles are written about the real time web and more and more startups have launched. Even Google has begun mixing in real time results into their search engine through the “Latest Results Box” that shows up for many information based searches.

With all the noise and hype surrounding the real time web – it should be that users can greatly benefit from all of these new technologies. However, it seems that many internet users still aren’t using these tools to benefit from the real time web. You don’t have to use Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media service to be able to take advantage of the tools that are out there. Below, we have reviewed several of the things you can do today – to become better informed about what is going on.

One of the coolest aspects to the real time web is to learn about the latest trends. When a bunch of people discuss what is going on in the real time web, these topics are tracked to see which is being mentioned the most. Many sites offer the latest trends, and often, these trends can show you breaking news before it is picked up by traditional sources. What The Trend is the early leader in the trend space as they not only show the latest trends but also they show you reasons why each trend is popular right now.

The top 100 page offered by Sency can show you the 100 most popular topics over the past few days. It is fun to watch the trends change from time to time, as many companies, athletes, and actors hope to become trends themselves as it shows they are being talked about a lot.

Searching the real time web is a great way to get a window into what people are thinking and saying about any given topic. To search the real time web in its purest form, anyone can head to Twitter’s homepage. Remember, you do not need to be a Twitter user to take advantage of the search function. You can simply type in whatever you’d like, and you can see what is being said this instant about that particular subject. It can be informative and entertaining – as each day, something new will pop up for a given search whereas on the traditional web – the results are pretty static from one day to the next.

You can also utilize the real time web to find out what links are the most popular right now. When performing a search at Sency – you can click on the tab for Today’s most popular links. This will show you the hottest links right now on the real time web for a particular search term.

You can even see how many times a particular link was mentioned and by clicking on the mentions box – you are able to see some of the users whom have shared that respective link. The most popular link features are very interesting as you can see the links which users feel most passionate about for any given subject matter.

More and more tools will come out in regards to the real time web. And, you can become an expert in the real time web even if you don’t participate. And through becoming an expert, you will be able to take more from the web each day.

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Read more on this Social Media Blog.

On December 31, 2009, Andy Carvin from NPR asked people on Twitter and Facebook to sum up the year in one word. He then ran the results through Wordle to generate a word cloud.

As you can see, some found hope in 2009 while others found it to be exhausting. Many considered 2009 to be bittersweet, challenging, or tumultuous. If you look a little closer at some of the less-popular words, you’ll find interesting descriptions such as suckage, bizarro, craptacular, and autotuned.

One word and its plural stood out as the overwhelming favorite description amongst social networking users: Change.

Click the image to enlarge.

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Read more on this social media blog.

It seems as though the Internet walls are covered in spam. No, not the food, rather the endless links that one poses on another, but what is spam?

What Is Spam?

These days spam seems to be everywhere, or what it is that we use to call spam, the question is, in today’s Social Media world, can we still call spam, spam? The original definition of the word according to Wikipedia is:

“E-mail spam, also known as junk e-mail, is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk.”

In other words, repetitive e-mail soliciting someone(s), sometimes in a bulk format to become a part of something, whether it be to join a cause, club, or to simply read what it is they are perhaps trying to sell.

Why are we over doing it?

With today’s rise of Social Networking sites and the easy ability to communicate something to another in real-time, is it still fair to call links, spam? Many people use that term as if it is going out of style, but being apart of Social Media, one must be aware that times are a changing. Twitter for example, has begun a shift of “What are you doing?” to “What’s Happening?” instead of micro-blogging about your day, you are instead sharing what you find is interesting, which most likely is in a form of links.

So why are we over doing it with the spam term? In order for people to know who you are, what you’re about and what it is you like, links are a necessity. If it is not shared, you will simply go unnoticed. Agreed, that repetitive linking too close together is still classified under the original definition, but even those who will disagree with this article has and will continue to mass e-mail to mass parties and share the same link more than once.

Sharing links is not Spamming

We don’t have the time to sit down and type out individual e-mails for everything we want to share, if that was the case, pen and paper would make a comeback. Besides, what would be the point, if you are trying to share the same message? Yes, people will over do it; I have admittedly done it and apologize in advance for when I do it again.

The question is can we get past using the word spam out of context and perhaps realize that the person you think is annoying you, could be just trying to brand themselves, their company or to simply be heard?

We can’t fault them for doing what it is we have done. In Social Media it is important to make sure you get seen, whether it’s a twitpic, a bit.ly or a straight out link, if you don’t share, you get tossed in amongst the shuffle. Do you think the term “spam” needs an update? The point is, the way we communicate today has changed immensely from the days of e-mail or IM’ing, just take a look at Facebook and Twitter or any other Social site that you are on. Is the word spamming being over used or are we simply just sharing?

Erin Ryan is a Social Media Devotee, who is very active on various Social Networking sites. By day, Erin is a freelance image designer for various online stores and is currently a Social Media intern. You can contact her via Twitter http://twitter.com/4u2wear2

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Read more about sharing on Social Media Blogs.

A new segment of the Social Blade Show was launched this week. The “Social Blitz” portion of the show goes over some of the news from the week in social media in a short, overview-based report. Here’s the first. What do you think?

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Read more about social media on this Social Media Blog.