SXSWi is growing to be one of the most anticipated parts of the annual event known as South by Southwest. In addition to being a networker’s dream, the interactive portion of the gathering serves as a platform where cutting edge technology officially comes to life. In fact, Twitter owes a lot of its early buzz to this very element. While we’re on the subject of social innovation, let’s take a look at some of the most exciting developments in social media to come out of this year’s SXSWi. TV Going Social Lately, much has been made about how consumers are dropping their cable and satellite TV…

Most businesses are getting involved in social media in some way. Whether for marketing, customer outreach, collaboration, or any of the many ways that businesses can utilize social media, the need to have a proper strategy and plan is growing. The biggest question many ask is whether to train their current employees, hire new ones, or outsource. It’s the expert versus the advocate question. Hiring an outside firm to handle a company’s social media is an option that allows for proven, repeatable strategies and experience to run the campaigns. It means that internal people have less control…

The hashtag has become a symbol of sentiment in a society where the people are often so connected virtually to one another that real-world relationships often revolve around our online and mobile personae. With social media acting as a bellwether for our interpersonal connections, it’s no wonder that so many people are finding (and losing) love as a result of the growing influence of our digital connections. When Lebanese filmmaker Robert Cremona sent me his short film “#signhereplease” I was a little skeptical after finding out that it was shot entirely from a smartphone. It was just today…

There are already questions surrounding Facebook’s purchase of Instagram for $1 billion yesterday. Was it a talent purchase (of 13 employees)? Is it the peak of social media purchases before the bubble starts bursting? Is Facebook only interested in companies with zero revenue? Is this a play against Google+? Twitter? There’s one question that was clearly answered: “How do you build a billion dollar company in 17 months?” In this Instagram Infographic, Visual.ly takes us down the path that started in March, 2010, when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger raised $500,000 in seed funding for burbn,…

With many in social media declaring Google+ as a valiant effort that simply came too late to the game to make a real impact, Google CEO Larry Page released March data that showed a sharp turn in the total visits after flatlining from December to February. I want Google+ to succeed. I don’t want it to be the ghost town that keeps forcing me back to Facebook to see what my non-tech-savvy and non-Google-employee friends are doing. I prefer the interface, the organization of the data, and the company itself more than Facebook. The challenge has been in getting friends and family on it. For Google’s part,…

When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, he wanted to make a closed network for the elite at Harvard. Over time, he realized that by opening it up, he would be able to build something that cataloged the college experience for everyone. Eventually, it expanded outside of college but the roots were embedded in the entire college experience. A case could be made that today, as the vast majority of college students are on social networks when they enter or join them shortly after getting to college, social media is as big of a part of the college experience as parties have always been. Is this a good thing?…

Social media has been the most enigmatic tool that chief marketing officers have used with varying degrees of success over the last few years. They know that there’s something there but it eludes many. In some cases, social media has been seen as having a negative effect on the overall marketing efforts. This infographic by CMO breaks down the landscape nicely. While there are certainly things included in the graphic that could be argued, it’s generally an exceptionally well-done breakdown. Click to enlarge. …

Lately the social media buzz in the film industry has surrounded Marvel’s new summer tent pole release The Avengers. The Avengers, a team of superheroes including, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and Captain America, band together to defend Earth from an alien invader bent on world domination. Since the release of the Spiderman film franchise starring Tobey Maguire, the comic movie industry has taken Hollywood by storm. From DC’s Dark Knight to Marvel’s X-Men, comic franchises are becoming more popular and technologically superior since their introduction…

As social photo and video sharing site Pinterest continues to dominate social media blogs for good reasons and bad, its growth has brought it under the scrutiny of bloggers and users alike. Friday, they made 4 major changes to their terms of service that address two major known issues and that preempt two potential issues in the future. Their biggest challenge of late is addressing the speculation that they’re a copyright- and trademark-infringement haven. They have attempted to head in the right direction by making the tools and ability to report allegedly-infringing content more easily….

It’s getting to the point where the numbers associated with the world’s addiction to social media can no longer blow our minds, but we’re not there yet. Not quite. On second thought, maybe we are. Does anyone still get amazed by the sheer bulk mass humongous force that social media exudes? Probably not. Still, it’s interesting to see how with all of the amazing things that Facebook and Twitter have done over the years that new players like Google+ and Pinterest still have room to flourish. Even social news sites like soaring Reddit and rebounding Digg are showing impressive numbers. There seems…