Building from their strengths as places where millions of people connect with friends and family, Facebook and Twitter have taken evolutionary steps to become publishing platforms for news, video, photos and entertainment content. “Users are learning that the more they share, the more they discover,” said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna in his new eMarketer report, “Facebook and Twitter as Media Platforms: News, Video, Music and Games.” “And the more they discover, the more likely they are to turn first to Facebook for content they used to get elsewhere.”

via Facebook, Twitter Help Publishers Find Their Audience – eMarketer.

An annual global survey of journalists by public relations firm Oriella finds that more than half now use social media as a source of story ideas, and nearly half use blogs to find angles and ideas.Among journalists in North America, the rates were even higher — 62 percent said they draw news from trusted sources on Twitter or Facebook, while 64 percent rely on well-known blogs as a source of story ideas. However, journalists said they were much less inclined to use information from an unfamiliar social media user or blog.

via Most journalists now get story ideas from social media sources, survey says | Poynter..

Do you know FOMO? That’s not some fancy latte — it’s Fear Of Missing Out, and something that’s become a recognized thing by many social media users these days.

You’re probably familiar with the concept, if not the name. Here’s an example: It’s been a long workweek and you really just want to spend Friday night at home watching a movie. But then that old familiar urge hits, and you can’t resist grabbing your smartphone for a jolty fix of quick-burst information. One friend’s Twitter post mentions an awesome concert. On Facebook, someone else put up photos of a raging house party.

via Do You Suffer From Social Media FOMO? [INFOGRAPHIC].

Sharing is the basis of social media, and it can be a beautiful thing. Keeping up with family and friends as kids grow, relationships become marriages and adventures are had — social media can be tons of fun and helps us feel connected to one another.But when does all that sharing become too much? And when can what you share online actually become dangerous?A recent study commissioned by Intel found that 90% of American adults think people share too much, and nearly half of adults find the deluge of information to be overwhelming.The abundance of information isn’t just annoying — it can also make overeager posters targets for scams and other crimes. According to a recent Consumer Reports study — albeit one with some potential flaws — 20.4 million people among Facebook‘s North American base of approximately 190 million users reveal their full birth date online.

via Do You Share Too Much on Social Media? [INFOGRAPHIC].

But could social networking have an adverse effect on our quality of life?

Consider this: 24% of respondents to one survey said they’ve missed out on enjoying special moments in person because — ironically enough — they were too busy trying to document their experiences for online sharing. Many of us have had to remind ourselves to “live in the now” — instead of worry about composing the perfect tweet or angling for just the right Instagram shot.

Worldwide, Facebook users spend 10.5 billion minutes each day surfing the site — and that doesn’t even include mobile use, according to the company’s IPO filing. Collectively, that’s nearly 20 years per day that people spend living online instead of offline.

via Is Social Media Destroying Real World Relationships? [INFOGRAPHIC].

allstate-trust-in-information-sources-june2012.pngTraditional media reign supreme when it comes to Americans’ trust in information sources, according to [pdf] a survey released in June 2012 by Allstate, in association with National Journal. Three-quarters of the survey respondents said they trust information from public TV and radio either some or a great deal, more than double those who could same the same about social networks (30%). In general, a greater amount of respondents displayed trust in traditional media information sources than in online channels. For example, trust in newspapers (71%), cable news networks (70%), and network news (64%) outstripped trust in company websites (51%) and blogs and online forums (34%).

via Americans Trust Traditional Info Sources Most; Wary of SocNets.

Twitter’s recent announcement of expanded tweets may change that. You’ll be able to preview the headline, intro and videos and photos without clicking through. If the preview is enough to warrant a re-tweet or favorite, you can do that from the expanded tweet, too.

As more journalists scan for news from smartphones and tablets, previewing will be a welcome time and bandwidth saver. Expanded tweets are already available on Twitter.com, and Twitter’s mobile site and are expected to be available soon on Twitter’s mobile apps for iPhone and Android.

via Why Expanded Tweets Will Be Great for Journalists.

We know by now that companies will go to extreme lengths to boost their followers on Twitter or Facebook, and make them appear more popular than they actually are. But given the shady nature of this, it’s been difficult to determine to what extent this is actually being done. A study by an academic in the digital field – Marco Camisani Calzolari – aims to lift the lid on this. He compiled a study into 39 brands on Twitter, both in Italy where he is based and internationally, using an algorithm to determine the behaviour of followers. Using key indicators into what type of behaviour was likely that of a bot, he found that up to 46% of followers were likely to be automated bots.

via Study finds 46% of company Twitter account followers are bots – Simply Zesty – Simply Zesty.

Jason Falls is CEO of Social Media Explorer, an education and information products company focused on social media and other forms of digital marketing. A public relations professional by trade, Falls has advised Fortune 100 brands, regional corporations and technology startups since the “early days” of social media marketing in the mid-2000s. He spoke to eMarketer’s Dan Marcec about what real engagement means in the context of social media marketing strategy.

via Engagement Is Not a Goal, It’s a Result – eMarketer.

B2B companies lag behind their B2C counterparts when it comes to using social media to track what customers are saying about their brands and following up on that feedback.

In January 2012, customer experience management software company Satmetrix surveyed over 1,000 B2B and B2C companies worldwide and found that more than half of B2C companies (53%) both tracked mentions and followed up on them, while an additional 25% only tracked and 4% only followed up. This is compared to only 27% of B2B companies that both tracked mentions and followed up on them. Almost half of B2B companies (47%) did not track or follow up on brand mentions on social media.

via Companies Use Social to Track and Follow Up on Brand Mentions – eMarketer.