How Social Media Shaped Boston Bombing Response

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Social Media Shapes Boston Bombings Response (National Geographic)
Yesterday, information about the blasts spread more quickly on social media than through traditional news outlets. "I was first notified ... by my daughter, who was on Twitter, and that was before it came out on CNN," said Anthony C. Roman, president of a security consulting firm in New York called Roman and Associates. That way of instantly spreading information far beyond the affected area also builds an online community around such events that can cross state and national borders. On Monday afternoon, #BostonMarathon quickly became a trending hashtag on Twitter. Read >

Has Social Media Peaked? (Biznology)
After years of significant growth, social networks exhibited mixed results last year. It was bound to happen. Here are reasons social media has peaked:

1. 24% say they use their favorite social media site less than when they first signed up
2. Visits to Facebook were +10% in the 12 months ending in October versus +56% a year earlier
3. In another study, Facebook and Twitter grew only +2%; there was no growth in corporate blogs

Maybe it concerns you if you are in the social media business, but read on for reasons why that it’s a relief. Read >

Nielsen: Mobile Up Again, Pinterest Leveling Out (SMI)
Nielsen’s new 2012 State of the Media: The Social Media Report reveals a wealth of data about social today. Some of it’s hardly surprising: we’re spending more time online, and more time on social networks. We’re giving increasing attention to mobile apps, and mobile overall is quickly overtaking traditional Web access via PCs. The report’s spotlight on Pinterest is no real cause for excitement either, beyond it showcasing the site’s enormous growth over the last year and how many minutes of their lives pinners have lost to it. Read >

Why Pinterest Makes Dollars And Sense For Retailers (MDG Advertising)
Because of the retail-centric areas of interest, the retail industry is reaping the rewards of Pinterest and using the website as a way to promote their products, generate traffic, and increase sales. Pinterest is relatively new, but quickly became the fastest standalone website to hit 10 million unique monthly visitors and currently boasts 25 million members. Most of these members are female with high education levels and plenty of disposable income. Read >

The History Of Social Media (Avalaunch Media)
Ask people to do a word association exercise with the term social media and you will likely be bombarded with a slew of "Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest" responses. This interactive infographic, The Complete History of Social Media, tells the amazing story behind social media as we know it today. It also raises the question, "So, what’s next?" Believe it or not, ten years from now Twitter and Pinterest could well be the Myspace and Digg of today. Click here for the full infograph. Read >

Understanding Facebook’s Post-Sorting Algorithm (PostRocket via AllFacebook)
Facebook’s News Feed is sorted by an algorithm that many people call EdgeRank. PostRocket put together a detailed infographic, explaining how this algorithm works. Read >