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"Twitter recently redesigned their sign-up process to boost new user engagement. Though the new sign-up process added one more screen, conversions went up 29%. How? Gradual engagement." Interesting case study on website engagement.

A list of sites based on highest visitor engagement. Worth studying the top sites for ideas on improving community engagement in our network.

So, where has this impulsive need for mobile apps come from? Karen van Zyl, Marketing Executive for Newsclip, explains, "Social engagement demands constant communication, so why not communicate and engage through your phone as it's fast, easy and ultimately effective."

Social media may be all the rage for building brands and connecting with customers, but what some entrepreneurs might not know is that many companies are using social networks for internal communication as well. These tools can help business owners align corporate goals, drive employee engagement and streamline operations.

Most of this article is about revenue, but makes some key points on community feature differences and some insight on engagement.

This quote sums up one of the hidden values of social integration on the web: "Twitter's value to consumers is due to the relevance of the tweet stream - we rely on our friends and contacts to curate interesting and relevant content to us, in real-time. Media and entertainment sites can replicate this experience by incorporating social content. For example, The Huffington Post curates relevant site content based upon the articles that a user's friends read or comment on, and Yelp streams business reviews, profile updates and other user-generated content to members from their friends on Facebook."

Why are social networks powerful tools for causes and campaigns? Many times, people begin to engage in activism only after they've been attracted by the fun stuff in a campaign - connecting with old friends and sharing photos, for example. When they witness others participating, they'll be more likely to join the cause. With socializing as the primary draw, it's become easier for organizers to attract more and more unlikely activists through social media.

Most social media posts are inherently local. Friends post a photo of themselves on Facebook at a new local restaurant, another social connection checks-in to a nearby retail store via Foursquare and so on. All of these online social interactions present tremendous market potential for businesses trying to engage with consumers 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.

Valuable article on traffic analysis and visitor segmentation.