Social media encapsulates so many multi-directional, community based internet activities from youtube to flikr to (of course) facebook to wikipedia....but what does the "social" actually mean?  Does it mean "two-way communication or interaction" or "community content development" or just "gossiping" :)


In any event, this excellent piece of research tests the theory and asks whether Twitter is actually social or is just a great content delivery or micro-blogging tool.


To see this great presentation, click here.

Below is a presentation I prepared whilst working on the digital roadmap for Coles online, the leading eCommerce grocery business in Australia.  It provides a snapshot of some of the key trends facing e-tailers over the coming 12-36 months.  Check it out at slideshare,

Last year Wikipedia raised $8m from generous donors globally.  I am proud to say that I was one of them.  Wikipedia has changed the way I find information and is one of the greatest achievements on the internet today.

For all those marketer's, advertising dudes (in pink shirts) and wannabe IT nerds, below is some really interesting reports/presentations.  They could be useful tools for your clients, your teams or if you just want to be educated...

1. Razorfish' Digital Brand Experience Report 2009 Key Findings - The death of tv advertising? Another great peice from the team at RF - insightful and data driven.
 
2. The future of advertising - very insightful on how the internet is changing the way we advertise.

3. Top 50 Facebook brands - a great preso which shows how big brands are levergaing Facebook

Have a read of this great Wired article which provides some fasciniting insights as to why James 'Titanic' Cameron hasnt made a feature film in 12 years, and the extreme efforts he has undertaken to "outdo" george lucas' Star Wars franchise with Avatar.

Read the article 'James Cameron’s New 3-D Epic Could Change Film Forever'

Click here for a presentation that is quite cool.

Well obviously Time does, they have created their best website's for 2009 list. Check it out here.

IDEO partnered with International Development Enterprises (IDE), Heifer International, ICRW, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create a toolkit for applying Human-Centered Design to inspire new solutions to difficult challenges within communities of need.  It is broken into 4 parts, and can be accessed here.