The rage in social networks right now is Pinterest , partly because it’s probably the first social network that has a much higher adoption rate by females than males, and partly because it’s an interesting concept: somewhere between visual social bookmarking and scrapbooking. Here’s why I think it’s interesting: because it’s very targeted content curation where the network effect isn’t the goal. The Next Social Networks. I’m not at all interested in the technology. Gentlemint is still cozy. MORE >>

Many businesses hear about the advantages of social media in terms of marketing their products or services, but some forget to look at other major benefits of social media beyond finding leads or making a sale. Here are eight ways that businesses can use social media to learn more about themselves and their industry as well as get more involved with their clients and communities interested in what they have to offer. There are many free ways to monitor what people are saying about your company through social media, including the following: Google Alerts. MORE >>

In some cases, I made mistakes, which made me better the next time I did it, but it also gave some individuals within these companies the notion that social media does not work. “Doing&# Social media can sometimes give you the impression or sense that you have done or accomplished a lot, but the reality is that as a channel, as a stand alone entity, it needs the support of a lot of other “things&# in order to truly “work&# and be most effective. Instruct and show companies and clients how to use social networks to sell directly to consumers. MORE >>

For those of you that haven’t heard, there is a new SEO, social media voting site called SERPd. In this new community, you can submit your quality content related to SEO, social media, and blogging, as well as discuss and vote on other quality content. It’s currently the only “social voting” site on the web that caters to the SEO, social media, and blogging industry. It’s no secret that sites like Digg , Reddit and StumbleUpon have always had an inherent hostility towards the search marketing industry. We are making this a SOCIAL voting site. MORE >>

2010 by far was the biggest year yet in the Internet Marketing realm. Here’s how I do it : I read and review hundreds — thousands — of articles yearly, on all Internet Marketing topics from SEO to social media to general entrepreneurship (new for 2010!), also gathering intelligence via their rankings on top social sites and by stumbling upon new items in my feed reader. Since I can’t read everything written by the Internet Marketing community, I ask my Twitter and Facebook followers for their own recommendations. Social Media: General. MORE >>