The Buzz Bin

Who is the ‘typical’ Web 2.0 user? Lincoln Spector provides PCWorld readers a look into Netpop Research’s Media Shift to Social 2009 study. According to Lincoln, the study found Web 2.0 users “tend to be youngish, outside the middle class, and equally likely to be men or women. Unsurprisingly, they also tend to live much of their life on the Internet, and use more than one device to get there.” Interestingly, those making $50,000-$70,000 contribute the least amount of content to the social web. Visit Lincoln’s post for full details and the link to the study.

“It’s one of the biggest writing lessons I’ve learned in the past few years — the art of less — and the appearance of Twitter has only reinforced this lesson’s importance,” says Michael Lopp. He offers several keys about tweeting with brevity and style. Visit Michael’s randsinrepose blog for insights into saying more with less while creating original tweets, conversational tweets, and retweeting.

Jon Howard has an interesting post on what he terms “AES Disorder.” Adding to Susan Greenfield’s ideas, Jon examines the neurological dangers caused by social media sites. In particular, its possible negative impact on attention, empathy and sociability, especially to young people. Is social media harmful? Visit Living Brands blog and consider Jon’s questions.

Shel Holtz analyzes the recent Skittles social media campaign. Skittles has received a lot of social media coverage from its campaign, but will it pay off long-term? Shel considers “What would bring people visit the Skittles site?” And “What story do we want to tell people who come to the site?” Visit A Shel of My Former Self to see his complete thoughts, and let the community know what you think.

The transition from traditional communication channels to social media does not mean forgetting about “big media hits.” On the contrary, The Agency Blog’s Giovanni Gallucci says, “Anyone who’s in public relations and marketing online and solely focuses on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube as being the end game, should be fired.” In the first of a series of posts, Giovanni provides suggestions on how to leverage social media for traditional PR placements. Future posts will include case studies, suggestions on SEO, coordinating online and offline efforts, and more.

Will social media revolutionize government? Doug Beizer of FederalComputerWeek provides readers with “a sampling of how Web 2.0 has changed the way some government managers handle business.” By comparing pre and post government 2.0, Doug demonstrates the clear advantages and efficiencies of using technology strategically in the public sector.