Marketing

Remember the days, when record companies use to slip a radio station a few extra hundred bucks to promote their favorite artist's latest record? The term, "payola" derived from that practice. Today, those pay-offs are being replaced by a new 21st century social media updated version.

It's becoming more and more difficult for traditional gatekeepers like the government to control the flow of information to the people. In years past when the authorities issued a "gag order" against the media, they could easily enforce it. Not the case in today's social media world!

Holiday Shopping habits are going through a transition states OneUpWeb.com. The recession has changed consumer habits and according to their report on shopping trends, "social" search engines will be used more than traditional search for data regarding holiday purchases. And beyond Twitter Search, the social networking niche gaining the most traction in this area is social shopping network sites.

Can Twitter become a game-changer in Japan, where it just recently launched a new mobile platform? Or will cultural differences and native social networks like Mixi and Poupeegirl thwart its efforts?

As much as social media occupies our everyday lives, I was surprised at how few social media costume actually were being packaged for sale. Perhaps retail manufacturers are in such an economic slump, they are focusing more on unloading existing inventory versus created new merchandise. However on the "home-made-create-your own" front, there are dozens of folks who have spent their time and creativity to craft some very unique social media costumes for this Halloween.

A ghoulish collaboration between Japan's Sanrio, designer Dr Romanelli and trendy toymaker MediCom has given the first anatomically correct Hello Kitty to a world that really wasn't asking for one.

On October 12th, with just a few hours of tweeting under the new Twilight Twitter account's belt, it had already tallied 22,000 followers. Three days later and as of the time of this posting, it has more than tripled its fan base to reach 78,000. Can it reach a million and will it shift the age demographic on Twitter? Take our POLLS and find out.

Looks like with the decline of smoking in the US, Twitter has taken the place of lighting up after doing the horizontal mambo! If you do tweet after sex, you're in good company. As a new study by Retrovo indicates, 36% of people under the age of 35 often resort to social media after sex, giving a whole new meaning to "show me your tweets!"

Want to make a little money while doing basically nothing?  If so - and you have no problem tattooing a logo on your noggin - you should read this article.

How much would you pay for additional Twitter followers? Pennies, Two-bits, a dollar? Would you pay $1 million for one million followers? In an unprecedented move, Drew Carey, comedian and host of the Price is Right rose to that challenge and in exchange for a million followers, he has offered to donate a million dollars to Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation.

At first glance, Lufthansa's new service called MySkyStatus sounds like a very cool and cutting edge social network feed. However upon closer scrutiny, one needs to ask the question: Is a service that automatically posts the current position of your flight a dozen times or more to all your followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook such a good idea? Isn't there a security risk involved?

Building an exceedingly complex 1/16 replica of one of Japan's historic World War II warplanes won't cost you an arm and a leg when you buy weekly parts kits on the installment plan.

If you are an Evolutionist and a member of the Twitterverse, new evidence dates our human ancestory back 4.4 million years. Move over Lucy, YOUR ancestor pre-dated you by over a million years. "Ardi" is her name, and being acknowledged on Twitter is her game.

Almost 2 Million followers before she stopped counting. She ain't living for Twitter any more. Miley Cyrus is one of the first celebs to pack it in on Twitter. Was the bright light that shines on Twitterville too much of a spotlight and will others take her lead?

While I've been known to have slept under a rock in the past, I thought I was up to speed on all the social networks online today. Not only did Tagged.com slip in under my radar, its Web site boasts being the "3rd largest network in the US" while amassing over 80 million members worldwide.

Just in time for Halloween, you can vote for the scariest movie since "Blair Witch." Yes, you can now vote for where you want a new motion picture to appear and if you can assemble a million followers via social networks like Twitter and Facebook, you can "demand" that the movie be distributed nationwide.

Tired of a night out clubbing only to come home with a limp ego? Then try AMP UP BEFORE YOU SCORE, an actual iPhone app that helps you change your game and increase your chances to score with any type of woman, whether she's a "rebound girl," "aspiring actress," or a member of the ever-growing herd of "cougars."

Rumors are running rampant about talks between Twitter and the top search engines. Is Twitter striking separate data-mining deals with Google and Microsoft where they'll receive a full feed from the microblogging service?

Like Madonna, socialbookmarking services like Digg and Reddit have been reinventing themselves to stay relevant within social media circles. With over 8.5 million users and 35 million Web pages "stumbled," StumbleUpon has gone one step further than its competitors.

Supposedly the hottest toy for Christmas will be the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters. Get them now if you want them, or you'll end up in the dog house like my family did the year we couldn't find a Cabbage Patch Doll for the kids' Christmas.   Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters are cuter than the Cabbage Patch Doll, but you're going to end up in the poor house if you buy them.