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Social networking is bad for society -not a new argument but one that is becoming louder. Social networking is neutral, it is a tool, it can be used for good or bad. We are just beginning to understand it. The most popular social network is Facebook -this proves to me that social networking is not fully understood yet. We need to find ways to present a venue for real discussion. Facebook is nice for connecting with old friend, but hardly a good place for a deep conversation. This is key, using the tools available to create the right platform and venue for creating positive outcomes.

Forget Dale Carnegie. He understood how important connections were, but missed out on the authenticity part -- which, say Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, authors of The Start-Up of You, is the key to building a truly helpful professional network. Here's how to leverage that network into the career you only dreamed of.

LinkedIn Corp.'s splashy initial public offering of stock earlier this month underscored the company's status as a major professional network. But several start-ups are banking that the future of career networking is actually on Facebook Inc

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.

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.

Social networking is generally more common in higher income nations; however, this is largely driven by the fact that wealthier countries have higher rates of internet access. People in lower income nations who have online access use social networking at rates that are as high, or higher, than those found in affluent countries.

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.

When Toronto law firm Hicks Morley started its own internal social network in 2008, it was mainly to relieve lawyers of email overload so they could find important information more efficiently. But the firm found that by adopting several tools that mimic Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter within the confines of a corporate firewall, collaboration between employees increased dramatically, and there was a marked increase in employee productivity.

Because the appeal of Google+ is in its targeted sharing options, companies won't be able any longer to blast messaging across the platform through a few well-connected users--often a good strategy on Facebook and Twitter. If Google+ sharing features are an indication of how we actually share and socialize, it points to a trend away from mass messaging across a network. And because Google+ encourages users to build out large networks while also managing a close circle of real friends, the power of these connections will become increasingly important to marketers. That means that having 600 friends or followers won't mean too much anymore. What will be important--for marketers at least--are those contacts you include in your close circle of friends, who regularly share with you, and who expect you to share with them.

Americans spent nearly one-quarter of their time online visiting social networks and checking blogs, according to a report by Nielsen. Facebook was named the top social media destination, taking up more than 53 million minutes from 140 million visitors in the United States for the month of May. Blogger was the next most popular destination among American social media users. But the Google-owned brand's audience of more than 50 million in May was nearly three times smaller than Facebook's, according to Nielsen's quarterly social media report.

Rick Falkvinge gives the telcos 20 years of life left before it is all over. He also says that the attitude of the telcos is harming growth on the internet.But he predicts three changes that will, in his view, kill them off within a generation: The shift to mobile handsets, the second is the political pressure to make internet connectivity a basic urban utility, and the third is the handsets' increasing ability to place voice calls directly over the internet, bypassing the telco network altogether. Is a mandate for a publicly-owned network the solution? -wouldn't that be something!

I can't think of a better example of Deep Social Networking that the case study in this video. Skip ahead to around 7:00, especially from 8:30 to the end where they talk about Ushahidi.

I encourage everyone to this out! Especially in light of the draft paper we are working on.

Regarding the paper, given that Indonesia hit hard by the tsunami of 2004, the readers might respond well to this case study involving social media and mobile.

Kayan New Generation Youth is a network dedicated to spreading Human Rights awareness by providing current events, news as well as, research resources online. It is also dedicated to promoting peace, education and democracy to the Kayan community.

Rongmei Network is a plaform for the Indigenous Rongmei community of Northern India, commited to the expansion of learning through sharing and desseminaion of informaions, ideas and awareness through community cooperaion and paricipaion.

Colorful Ethnic Youth is an Indigenous Youth Network represented by the Lahu, Hmong, and Ahka Indigenous People's of Northern Thailand.

This is an important development in social networking that would allow collaboration between people living in very remote areas with limited Internet access.

Facebook, RIM and Twitter were invited to meet the British Home Secretary, Teresa May-as well as other government ministers-and the police following the riots and looting that gripped London and other British cities earlier this month. There were accusations that social media had stoked the flames of discord which lead to calls for it to be closed down during civil disturbances. According to a person familiar with the matter the meeting had taken a different stance. "They [the authorities] recognize they are behind and were being very honest. That is very refreshing."

The European Commission, which is still finding its way in regulating the Internet, Tuesday published a study on how social networking sites treat minors.

MySpace's traffic has plummeted over the years, so it's no surprise that News Corp. is eager to unload the social network and move on. The sale price was reportedly between $30 million and $40 million, compared to the $580 million that News Corp. paid to acquire MySpace in 2005. That's a long way to fall. Here are four lessons learned from MySpace's collapse:

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.