He can do this because pretty much all Twitter messages have the same lifecycle, and that can be mapped on a graph. Zaman wants to build a website that will analyze Tweets in real-time and make predictions about their popularity, but in the meantime, he’s set up a website that graphs the number of retweets that followed messages from people like Will.i.am, Newt Gingrich, and Kim Kardashian. He calls it the Twouija, a nod to the old Ouija board game that purports to predict your future.

via MIT Savant Can Predict How Many Re-Tweets You’ll Get | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com.

Executives from around the world surveyed about their CEOs’ social media usage forecast a 50% increase in CEO participation in social media over the next 5 years, from 42% to 63%. Those executives who have a “social CEO” report feeling inspired 52%, technologically advanced 46% and proud 41% as a result, and are more likely than other executives to describe their leaders as forward-looking, effective, and good communicators.

via CEOs on Social Boost Credibility, Say Senior Execs.

According to new figures from eMarketer, several markets worldwide reached a milestone in mobile usage last year. By the end of 2012, over half of mobile phone users in six countries had made the switch from feature phones to smartphones. The coming years will see a domino effect hit regions around the world as smartphones become the norm in more places.

via Smartphone Adoption Tips Past 50% in Major Markets Worldwide – eMarketer.

According to a January 2013 survey from online magazine Social Media Examiner, Facebook continues to be the most important social network for most business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers worldwide, given its enormous user base. However, for business-to-business (B2B) marketers, there is a healthy competition among other platforms. Among these marketers, LinkedIn tied with Facebook as the most important social network, while blogging followed 10 percentage points behind.

via Social Gives SMBs Maximum Exposure – eMarketer.

Most consumers are keeping it short and sweet when it comes to their online video viewing habits, but that may be limiting the industry’s ability to monetize its inventory, according to [download page] FreeWheel’s Q1 Video Monetization Report. During the first quarter, 86.7% of video views on “Linear + Digital” networks were less than 5 minutes in length, as were 86.2% of video views on “Digital Pure-Play” networks. But ad loads (ads per video viewed) for short-form content averaged out at just 0.9 for the Linear + Digital model and 0.5 for the Digital Pure-Play model.

via Most Online Video Views Are Reserved For Content Less Than 5 Minutes in Length.

ZenithOptimedia has released a list of the largest media companies around the world, ranked by media revenue, which it describes as “all revenues deriving from businesses that support advertising, not just the advertising revenue itself.” While only 4 online media owners made the top 30 list, it’s important to note – as the researchers do – that the figures pertain to the 2011 financial year, the most recent one that could be used for consistency’s sake. Since then, online advertising has been growing by leaps and bounds. And yet, even in 2011, one digital company ruled them all: Google.

via The World’s Media Heavyweights Ranked by Revenue.

Among Millennials (ages 18-35), men and women display different priorities when it comes to their preferred pastimes, according to [pdf] survey results from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Lachman Associates. Presented with a list of uses of free time and asked to select up to 5 favorite activities, a leading 58% of men said they watch TV, with about 4 in 10 saying they listen to or play music (43%), play computer games (42%), spend time with friends (41%) and spend time with family (38%). Among women, spending time with family (57%) is most popular, closely followed by watching TV (54%), with reading (47%), spending time with friends (43%), and listening to or playing music (39%) rounding out the top 5 most frequent activities.

via What Do Millennials Like To Do With Their Free Time?.

iacom and its Vicaom International Media Networks VIMN division have released a study examining the relationship between TV and social media usage. The study, which involved online surveys conducted in the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, and Russia with more than 5,000 Viacom viewers aged 13-49 who use 2 or more social media platforms on at least a weekly basis, reveals that viewers average 10 TV-related activities on social media on a weekly basis. The most popular of those are: interacting with friends and fans 72%; searching for info and show schedules 66%; sharing or recommending 61%; watching full clips and trailers 61%; and following/liking a TV show 57%.

via Top 5 TV-Related Social Media Activities.

Consumers in Japan have been lukewarm on social networks compared with other similarly internet-advanced economies. According to eMarketer estimates, the percent of the population on social networks in Japan this year—38%—will be lower than in South Korea, the US, most of the Western European countries and even Russia and Brazil.

via Twitter’s Popularity in Japan Rivals Facebook – eMarketer.

Socialbakers has released its latest “Socially Devoted” figures for Q1, and the results are a mixed bag. On the one hand, the average response rate grew 6% points quarter-over-quarter to 38%, after only improving by 4% points in the preceding 6 months. But on the other hand, that means that significantly fewer than half of questions posted to brands’ Twitter profiles were answered. What’s more, the average response time increased by 10%, from 6 hours in Q4 2012 to more than 6-and-a-half hours in Q1.

via Got Questions For Brands on Twitter? Expect A Response 38% of the Time.