Hi, I’m Eric and I work in the Planned Television Arts department at Finn Partners in New York.

This week, Facebook is getting ready to introduce verified accounts and branded Timeline pages, while tweets about Whitney Houston, Jeremy Lin, and Adele dominate the Twitterverse. Also, buzz about the popular Web site Pinterest continues to makes its way into social media news.

Facebook

Facebook Statuses Reveal Top 10 Cities for Getting Engaged

After analyzing over 29 million Facebook statuses, Uptake determined that the top ten cities for getting engaged are: Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Hamilton, Chicago, Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee, and Seattle. Do any of these cities surprise you? http://on.mash.to/xBx1y2

Facebook Timeline for Brands Coming Later This Month

Later this month, Facebook is planning to make its Timeline feature available to brands. Timeline will allow brands to express themselves in a number of new, different ways. Additionally, Timeline will allow brands to display a large image at the top of their pages, just like people are able to do on their personal pages. Examples of possible branded Timeline pages are show at the bottom of the full article in a slideshow. Example pages include Burberry, McDonald’s, Kanye West, New York Yankees, Coca-Cola, RedBull, and more. http://on.mash.to/wfGXL3

Facebook Will Verify Celebs – And Let Them Use a Fake Name

TechCrunch reports that Facebook will start offering verified accounts, much like Twitter, to high profile users (starting out as invite-only). After an account is verified, it will appear more frequently in the “people to subscribe to” list. Strangely, unlike Twitter, Facebook will not display a badge on verified accounts – so, how exactly will we be able to tell that these verified accounts are, in fact, verified? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Also, verified account users will have the option to display a nickname, in lieu or alongside their real name. http://on.mash.to/Avwm5m

Twitter

Pop Legend Whitney Houston Dies at 48 – Twitter Reacts

Pop music icon Whitney Houston passed away this week at the young age of 48. As with any other breaking news story, people responded on Twitter, including celebrities like Mariah Carey, Ryan Seacrest, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and many others. In honor of Whitney, Spotify created a playlist of her greatest hits album, which is now available. Rest in peace, Whitney. http://on.mash.to/y4RMt8

In a related article: Twitter Breaks News of Whitney Houston Death 27 Minutes Before Press. This is another example of the power of social media and how it can be used as a viable news source.

Knicks’ Jeremy Lin Continues Domination of Social Media and NBA

#Linsanity is a hashtag you couldn’t miss if you’ve been on Twitter at all this week, especially for NBA fans. In the past week alone, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks has added over 130,000 followers to his network. #Linsanity has inspired spinoff accounts, such as @Linterest. How long do you think #Linsanity will last? http://on.mash.to/AfBsui

Adele Raked in More Than 10,000 Tweets Per Second During Grammys

During the 54^th Annual Grammy Awards, Adele pulled in a whopping 10,000 tweets per second after she won Record of the Year. As you might have guessed, this was the most-tweeted event of the night. After Adele, other popular Twitterlebrities (and actual celebrities) of the night were Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna. Who did you tweet about during the Grammys? http://on.mash.to/wNZfJ5

Google+

Google+ Most Popular With Male Users, Students [INFOGRAPHIC]

According to Website-Monitoring, men make up 67% of the Google+ audience, which isn’t exactly new information. Something we didn’t know is that 20% of Google+ users are students, which happens to be the most popular profession on the social media site. Software engineers come in second place with a mere 2.65%. On another note, Google+ has become quite popular in India with Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Calcutta all making the list of top ten Google+ cities. http://on.mash.to/xVVC3a

Pinterest

Pinterest: Everything You Wanted to Know About 2012’s Hottest Startup [INFOGRAPHIC]

Have you hopped on the Pinterest train yet? If not, here’s an infographic that will tell you everything you need to know about 2012’s social media phenomenon. http://on.mash.to/z8sPsW

Other

Valentine’s Day Google Doodle

In light of Valentine’s Day, Google featured a special Google Doodle with a cartoon video featuring Tony Bennett’s “Cold, Cold Heart.” http://bit.ly/A7oSXH

Hi there, I’m Carly and I work in the Digital group at our New York office.

This was a big week in social media; in fact it was between $75 billion and $100 billion big.

Read on for a recap of this week ‘s social media news, including the long awaited Facebook IPO, Twitter rolling out even more brand pages, and how to follow the Super Bowl this Sunday.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Sets Historic IPO

Facebook filed for an initial public offering Wednesday that could value the company between $75 billion and $100 billion, putting it on track for one of the largest U.S. stock-market debuts of all time. The next challenge for Facebook will be to manage its growth into a mature, global business that keeps both advertisers and subscribers happy. Read the full article here: http://on.wsj.com/y9QZDq

GOOGLE+

Google Allows Nicknames on Google+

Google caved into the pressure and is now allowing people to sign up for Google+ with nicknames or other pseudonyms. If Google flags a name as inappropriate, users will be able to appeal by providing documentation. Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/zCXKV8

PINTEREST

Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know Is In This Massive Post

This is the ultimate article that details everything you need to know about this popular social media channels, and will help you decide if your business is ready to join this new network. Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/zOOOq9

SUPER BOWL

Super Bowl Gets Social Media Command Center

This year the Super Bowl will introduce its first-ever social media command center, which will tweet directions to fans in search of parking, direct visitors to Indianapolis’s best attractions, and more. More than 20 people are expected to man the center for 15 hours per day. Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/w3uyD8

Who’s Going to Win the Super Bowl?

In a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, the New England Patriots look to take revenge on the New York Giants this Sunday. Between January 15 and February 2, 2012, uberVU analyzed data from Twitter, blogs, Facebook pages, news sites, and more to put together a comprehensive Super Bowl infographic. http://tnw.co/yjwbvz

TWITTER

Twitter Rolls Out Expanded Brand Pages for More Companies

Twitter has expanded their brand pages beyond the first 21 brands invited to test the new platform to include National Public Radio, NBC News, Volkswagen, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, and Anobii among others. Read the full article here: http://on.mash.to/wdFT3e

Two Super Bowl Accounts to Follow on Twitter

This Sunday during the Super Bowl, Twitter will have two streams displaying “Top Tweets” from each team’s respective handle. So pick your team and make sure to follow either @GiantsTweets or @NEPatriotTweets to see tweets from players, coaches, media, and the teams themselves. Read the full article here: http://tnw.co/wJrRmd

And remember, please leave comments on our “Social Media Week in Review” posts and let us know if these are helpful and/or how we can improve our efforts.

Hello! I’m Erin McGrath, an intern in the Chicago office. This week in social media: YouTube hit 4 billion daily video views, Google+ welcomed teens, the top 50 social media power influencers were unveiled, McDonald’s Twitter campaign backfired, and the Coca-Cola polar bears are back with Super bowl ads and a social media campaign. For more details, continue reading below!

FACEBOOK

The 6 Facebook Timeline Apps to Check Out First

This review features the top six recommended Facebook timeline apps, including: Airbnb, Foodspotting, Goodreads, Grockit, Pinterest, and Runkeeper. Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/x4BZqh

GOOGLE

Google+ Welcomes Teens

In an aim to hit Facebook, Google on Thursday opened Google+ to teens. Google at first restricted consumers under 18 from joining Google+, and has now introduced security enhancements aimed at protecting people on the network ages 13 through 17. Read the full article here: http://on.mash.to/z7InhK

Google pumps up its lobbying effort

Google discloses its fourth-quarter lobbying figures which indicates its U.S. lobbying bill, which fights proposed changes to online piracy laws and seeks to influence other issues, more than tripled to $3.76 million. Read the full article here: http://wapo.st/wYbxPf

MISCELLANEOUS

Social media’s role in politics

This article outlines social media’s role in recent current events; including Facebook and Twitter fueling protests in the Middle East, videos coming out of Syria on Facebook and a host of websites protesting PIPA and SOPA. Read the full article here: http://wapo.st/xsvjrA

Who Are The Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers?

This article features the top 50 social media writers and experts compiled using PeekYou’s social pull metric, which measures the number of people in your second degree networks who are identifiable and active. Read the full list here: http://onforb.es/wt63V3

Coke bears back in Super Bowl ads, social media campaign

On Thursday, Coke announced its polar bears will star in Super Bowl TV ads and an accompanying social media campaign during the game at CokePolarBowl.com, a site hosted within Facebook. http://usat.ly/zwiANz

TWITTER

McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong #McDStories

McDonald’s twitter campaign backfired when people started sharing the wrong kind of #McDStories. The promoted trend was quickly pulled after two hours when people started tweeting horrible experiences with the fast-food chain. Read the full article here: http://read.bi/xWEhyk

YOUTUBE

YouTube hits 4 billion daily video views

On Monday, YouTube hit 4 billion daily video views, which means that roughly 60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute, compared with the 48 hours of video uploaded per minute in May 2011. Read the full article here: http://reut.rs/xZ4ujI

Happy Friday! I’m Anush Davtian and I work in our Digital/Social Media group out of the New York office. If you thought explaining what you do for a living to your family and friends as a publicist was tough, you may still have it a bit easier than I do. As a junior associate in this group, I work on building brand awareness and help foster a community of fans for clients such as Invest Atlanta and Hyundai Hope on Wheels. I also work on creative design projects ranging from websites to brochures and everything in between.

Thanks for checking back this week for the latest updates, hope this helps keep you in the loop on all things social media!

Twitter

SOPA Outrages  - Explodes on Twitter

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) took over Twitter this week as Wikipedia conducted a one-day blackout and Google “censored” its logo. There were over 2.4 million tweets generated on Wednesday between midnight and 4 p.m. as the public turned to social media to make their opinions heard.

The bill, meant to prevent copyright infringement and intellectual property, even faced criticism from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who took to Twitter (his first since 2009) with: “Tell your congressmen you want them to be pro-internet.” http://reut.rs/vZSkfK

Golden Globes

Did you catch the 69^th Annual Golden Globe Awards? Networked Insights shared an interesting infographic showing the conversations on Twitter surrounding the show. According to the data, host Ricky Gervais received 27,190 mentions and over 5.8 million impressions. As for who got the most buzz, Zooey Deschanel took the top spot with the most retweeted tweets (5,082 to be accurate).  http://on.mash.to/zYwqy1

Facebook

Timeline is Getting a Helping Hand

Facebook announced they are further expanding the Open Graph this week to allow developers to integrate more than 60 apps directly into timelines. On the list of new apps are: Foodspotting, TripAdvisor, Pinterest, Zynga, Causes, Color, Ticketmaster and more – so now you can see what your friends are eating, where they are traveling and what they want for their birthday. http://bit.ly/wOYvXx

Want Your Own Piece of Facebook?

Word is that the social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg may be offering shares to the public as early as this May. If offered, the IPO will most likely make it one of the top 10 biggest IPOs of all time. Anyone buying? http://on.mash.to/wtNFcP

Hi there, I’m Emily Gilbert from our Los Angeles office, where I work with clients such as Logitech, Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Long Beach Memorial/Miller Children’s Hospital. A native Texan, I rely on social media to connect with my friends and family in The Lone Star State.

This week I’m kicking off our weekly social media updates. Check back every Friday to receive the latest in social media from the top social media minds at Finn Partners. So read on and we’ll see you back here next Friday!

If you were caught up in CES all week and missed what was happening in the rest of the world don’t worry; I’ve got the social media beat covered for you.

Google and Twitter jumped into the online boxing ring to fight out social search; the First Lady graced us with her presence on Twitter; a new study shows that Facebook is—surprise, surprise—growing; and much more!

Take a peek below to get up to speed on all things social.

TWITTER

Social Search Battle

Ding ding! In the right corner we have Google, and in the left corner, we have Twitter! As a result of the recent “Search Plus Your World” launch, Internet giants Google and Twitter are having some words, you could say, with each other.

If you’re new to the topic—the new Google feature increases the placement of content from Google+, leaving out relevant results from other social sources. Previously, social search on Google included Facebook, Twitter and others, but the deals expired and were not fulfilled by Google.

Twitter has been very unhappy with the matter, and a series of statements have been released from both companies. Now there’s talk about anti-trust issues and an FTC investigation. Things will likely get ugly from here, unless Google folds under the pressure. http://bit.ly/Aze3o5

Welcome to Twitter, Mrs. Obama

A lot of people join Twitter each day—business as usual, but last Thursday, it had to put on a tie. First Lady Michelle Obama joined the ranks. Sort of. Campaign staff will primarily manage the account, unless the tweet is clearly signed “-mo.”

It’s no surprise Michelle joined when she did. As the campaign heats up for the Republicans, it’s almost time for The Obamas to kick it into high gear, and we all know campaign “high gear” means Twitter these days. http://cnet.co/zeYrHp

FACEBOOK

A Million [Users] Isn’t Cool

You know what’s cool? A billion [users]. OK, OK, I couldn’t resist. It was there for the taking! According to a Wednesday study by Gregory Lyon with iCrossing—a digital marketing firm, Facebook will likely hit a billion users by August 2012. A billion users—should we be surprised? Probably not.

The firm used a process of linear regression on data from the end of 2008 to present to base its projection. The study notes that growth has slowed dramatically in the United States and United Kingdom but is expected to now come from developing countries, like late adopters India and Brazil that have seen dramatic increases in the past year. http://bit.ly/zXyY7y

Listen With Friends

By now you’ve probably started seeing your friends’ current music selections pop up on your Facebook News Feed. It’s probably even gotten you to check out a new band or song too. In the olden days (pre-early 2000s), back when real-life socializing was the norm, you’d hop in a friend’s car and flip through his/her CD collection or take a peek at a friend’s home CD tower.

Now, Facebook is integrating that natural curiosity the modern way. On Thursday, the company added a “Listen With” button via the chat sidebar, so you can easily join a friend’s live playlist while chatting in real time. Sound familiar? That’s because Turntable.fm does a pretty similar thing. http://nyti.ms/zVivsY

GENERAL SOCIAL MEDIA

Signed, FPRockStar2012

Turns out, if the above, FPRockStar2012 (or any pseudonym for that matter), were my online name, I’d be a better commenter. According to a study by Disqus, commenters who use pseudonyms tend to offer better, more quality comments. On average, commenters using an alias contributed 4.7 times more often than commenters identified by Facebook, and 6.5 times more often than anonymous commenters.

While better commenters are more engaging to a news article or client blog post, there’s an important connection from knowing the person behind the opinion—whether positive or negative. Either way, comments should be taken seriously. Oftentimes in PR, we only pay attention to what editor X thinks of our new product or announcement and sometimes fall guilty to just counting the number of blog post comments our client gets, instead of addressing the sentiment.  Reader comments should be taken into great consideration. They are the people who care enough to comment and should likewise be acknowledged. http://bit.ly/zxS54J