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Things are changing so rapidly that the way we think of social media could be vastly different in the very near future. In the next three years alone spending on social media marketing will skyrocket in the B2B space from $11 million in 2009 to $54 million by 2014, according to a Forrester Research study. With new tools like Gowalla and Shopkick shaping how brands and consumers interact, marketers are recognizing how positioning themselves as industry thought leaders can help generate quality leads.

The Enterprise gets social: "Enter Hearsay with a social media management platform it says makes Facebook far more palatable to IT with compliance and management features lacking in other services. The new Hearsay Social also provides full integration with the LinkedIn API."

Mobile devices are helping connect the poor to medial and financial services in Bangladesh. "Social innovation is having a dramatic impact on the lives of the poor and underserved. Digital technology is being used to improve the lives of the poor. We hear about projects that increase financial inclusion in Bangladesh; mobile-based medical services and why large corporations can profit from doing good."

Google launched its most ambitious social-networking effort yet, broadening a battle with Facebook Inc. to grab the attention of Web users and future advertising dollars. The new service, a top priority for new Google Chief Executive Larry Page, is aimed at exploiting what has been considered a weakness of Facebook-that by default people using Facebook share all their information with a big group of friends. The new Google social network, called Google+, was released Tuesday in a "field trial period," meaning it is an invitation-only product and will be available more broadly later.

From SEO to design, to forms and social media -it's all here in this online customer service guide for websites and business online.

Some great points on social media from the New Zealand State Services Commission wiki. Make it findable. Search is good, but tangible evidence that the discussion is happening is better. 'Most viewed' or 'latest discussions' are simple ways of showing that evidence, and are based on how people click their way through your site. Make it navigable. Create linkages between related contributions, so that one contribution leads to another, which leads to another, and so on. This breaks down isolation between participants, gives them a sense of discovery and encourages them to respond to new things they've found. Tagging and tag clouds are one great way of making user-generated content navigable, by helping people see connections between their ideas and the ideas of others. Make it portable. Prompt people to bring the discussion into their own context -- at home, at work, or on other sites. This will draw in more people to the discussion and help everyone feel connected to what's happening on their own terms. APIs, widgets and gadgets are key tools for doing this. Make it personable. It's important to know that there is a someone -- not a something -- behind the ideas. Social media, like blogs, are compelling because they have personality and a sense of authenticity behind them. Seek ways for people to add personality to their contributions.

List of 50 new apps that can help you shoot better smartphone photos or catalog your bottle-cap collection. You may have dozens of apps on your phone and scores of websites bookmarked on your laptop, but that doesn't mean you have all the latest tech tools at your fingertips. New mobile apps, services, social networks and other digital tools pop up so frequently that keeping up with them is a nearly impossible task. Just when you think you're up to date, something newer and hipper comes along.

Twitter is such a useful service and by far my favorite social network.Check out these Twitter projects and case studies.

"I've been testing a service called ZoneAlarm SocialGuard that I think strikes a good balance between safety and privacy, between a parent's peace of mind and a teen's sense of freedom. Every five minutes, it monitors kids' Facebook accounts for approaches by potential predators and strangers, cyber-bullying, age fraud, account hacking, and links to inappropriate or malicious websites. It uses algorithms that look for certain types of language, profile data, or other clues that unwanted activity may be under way."

The power of data mining... "Yet more evidence, if it were needed, of the value that can be found in the Twitter stream. The social media service that has been credited with doing just about everything, may even turn out to be a medical goldmine."

Salesforce uses Twitter and now Facebook in call centers to provide support service to customers.

UNSOCIAL addresses a key need for more advanced networking tools to drive real-time relationships for business. Through its location-based networking and smart-tagging platform, UNSOCIAL connects users with business professionals they should meet based on shared information and proximity, making it the ideal tool to find and be found at business events, tradeshows and conferences. In the rapidly growing tech arena of mobile, location-based services and events marketing.

Location based advertising are not always about proximity. They can also take users away from where they are at currently and influence them to travel to new places.

Broadcastr, a platform for location-based storytelling, allows users to easily create and share audio on an interactive map. Anyone can now upload stories and hear content from thousands of users and featured partners, including the 9/11 Memorial, Audible.com, The USC Shoah Foundation Institute, Fodor's Travel Guides, and comedian Michael Showalter.

New audio sharing service, like Cinch but with location. In beta.