On Friday, we blogged about the launch of iTunes 10 and its new social network, Ping. If you’ve downloaded the new version of iTunes, you’ve probably noticed that the icon has changed, from the classic CD-and-eighth note:

To a music note on a blue background:

There was a general outcry against the new logo, so the popular social media blog Mashable put out the call for new designs. While iTunes is sticking with the new design, it’s fun to look at some designers’ ideas for a new iTunes logo. What do you think? Should Apple have stayed with the classic look, or are you a fan of the new icon?

What and How To Share in Social Media

It’s important to find a balance with social media. On one hand, it’s tempting to share lots of “automated” content: re-tweeting others’ posts or saving time by scheduling posts to update at a later time. On the other hand, it’s also tempting to post solely personal information, like posting about what you’re up to, where you’re hanging out or what you’re doing that day.

Too much automated content, and you’ll be viewed as a robot who can’t create anything original. Too much personal content, and you’ll leave followers searching for the substance. This post on Social Media Explorer gives some helpful hints for those who are wondering what to share on social media channels.

How to Write Effective Blog Posts

Blogging is all the rage for small businesses and nonprofits, but a blog will get you nowhere if you can’t write effective posts.

Here, new media marketer and popular blogger Chris Brogan guides you through the steps of writing effective posts. Some of his tips might be contrary to what you believe about writing, but if you’re looking to get a blog off the ground, be sure to check out his tips.

Nike Unveils New iPhone App Just for Runners

Runners, rejoice! Nike has unveiled a new app just for you, the Nike+ GPS App for iPhone and this article, also from Mashable, gives you the scoop. Along with GPS navigation to let you visually track your run, the app will show a breakdown of your pace at various points in the run and will track the number of calories burned, distance and time.

The app has several other features, like “Challenge Me,” which encourages runners to go faster or further than they have in previous runs, and the app’s ability to sync with social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. The app is available for $1.99. Runners, does this interest you? Would you pay to run along with Nike when there are an abundance of free workout apps available? Let us know!

On Wednesday, Steve Jobs donned his signature black turtleneck and presented Apple’s new product lineup. This included Ping, Apple’s first foray into the social media world. Ping allows iTunes users to follow their friends, see what they listen to, what concerts they plant on attending and see when their favorite bands will release new albums.

Push Notifications Coming for Twitter for iPhone/iPad

Twitter has begun testing a feature on its iPad and iPhone apps that would allow “push” notifications, or real-time updates that would alert you in the same way as a text message. It’s not yet known what these push notifications are alerting, but it’s presumed that they’ll be available for @replies and/or DMs.

Nailed It (Not): Excerpts from TechCrunch’s First Post About Twitter in 2006

Bloggers call it like they see it, as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch says. That’s certainly what he did in 2006, when he first blogged about Twitter, on the day Twitter launched. This is an entertaining look at the early days of social media, when even the most tech-savvy bloggers weren’t sure if you pronounced it “Twitter” or “Twatter.” Also, check out Twitter’s original logo:

How Many Twitter Personas Do You Need?

This post from “Thinkers & Doers,” the blog of public relations agency Waggener Edstrom’s digital practice, gives you the pros and cons of running multiple Twitter accounts. Many people are operating two separate accounts: one for personal use, one for professional. What do you think: is it best to keep one account, or cater to your different audiences through different accounts?

Social Media Are Easier Than You Think

We tweeted a link to this article yesterday, but since it covers so many topics related to jumping into social media that it’s worth reposting. If you’re a small business owner, you’ll find it especially valuable. It’s easy to get lost amidst thousands of emerging technologies, but this post will help you understand the basics of social media: telling a good story, being transparent with your audience, posting consistently and more.

While young people still dominate social media use, their growth has slowed in recent years compared to the giant leaps of growth seen among Internet users over the age of 50.

According to the study:

• One in five (20%) of online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up 10% one year ago.

• Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.”

• Between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking site usage grew 88% among Internet users aged 55-64. Among Internet users 65 and social networking presence grew 100% in the same time frame. (from Mashable article)

According to the project’s senior research specialist, Mary Madden, email still dominates interpersonal communication among people in this demographic. But, it’s impossible to ignore the huge growth rates in social media.

What do these numbers mean? That social media is here to stay – and it’s important for every business, especially those that seek to attract and build relationships with customers over the age of 50.

Read more about this trend:

You can look at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project study’s full findings and a report summary here.

This NPR story highlights social media use among seniors and highlights the steps being taken to ensure their online privacy.

Mashable discusses the Pew Center study’s results here.

This MediaPost article looks at the findings from a marketing and advertising perspective.

Television fans and Twitter users will love watching this year’s Emmy awards. For the first time ever, social media is being integrated into the broadcast. When they log into Twitter and go to NBC’s “I’m on the Emmys”site, Twitter users can submit their original “introductions” of different Emmy presenters. Host Jimmy Fallon may use some of the Twitter submissions as part of his introductions during the show, and give credit to the Twitter user who submitted the introduction by mentioning his or her Twitter handle on the air.

Google Introduces Realtime Search

How many times a day do you use Google to search the web? If you’re a frequent Google searcher, you’ll want to check out this recap from TechCrunch describing Google’s new “Realtime” features – a search that brings you up-to-the-second results on any topic and that can be sorted by location, sent to your inbox or modified in several other ways. This post includes a helpful post from Google that overviews the Realtime features.

Choosing Goals for Social Media

Aren’t sure what you want to accomplish through social media? Ever wonder how you set social media “goals”? This post from popular social media blogger Amber Naslund will guide you through the organization and accomplishment of your social media goals.

How to Evaluate New Twitter Followers

If you’ve been using Twitter for any length of time, you’re probably familiar with the fact that many of your followers might be spammers instead of real people. This flowchart, created by marketing consultant John Antonios and posted on the popular technology blog Read Write Web, might prove useful for helping you “evaluate” any new Twitter followers and determining which of them are worth following back.

Mashable’s 26 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable is a fantastic resource for those new to social media. It’s updated several times a day with the latest and most important social media news. They often share social media resources – links, lists, applications, and more – that are essential for any user, including those in this list from Friday, August 20.

Facebook Places: A Field Guide

If you’re already an avid Facebook user, you probably know about last week’s launch of Facebook Places, a location-based component of the site that allows you to “check-in” at different places. Here, Mashable explains the ins and outs of Facebook Places and how it can be applied to your business and your social life.

Do You Still Have Social Media Privacy Concerns?

This article from Social Media Today addresses many concerns that new social media users have with regards to online privacy. If you have reservations about using social media for your business, take a look at this article to learn how you can protect your information across various social media platforms.

Back by popular demand – the 1 Day Social Media Boot Camp. This boot camp is targeting small business owners and non-profits looking to gain a foundational understanding of the power of social media to help increase sales, expand your reach, gain customer evangelists (aka Citizen Marketers), recruit volunteers and donors, and ultimately grow your business.

Click here for information about the Agenda

Click here for Pre-Requisites

Click here to read what previous “Boot Campers” have said

Click here to Register

He offers some practical tips for engaging in social media marketing as a small business. He talks about basic and advanced strategies for using Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, blogs, mobile social networks, etc.

Click here to read his full blog entry.

That’s what this boot camp is all about. But hey – don’t listen to us – read what previous “Boot Campers” have said.

Click here for Social Media Boot Camp Details

Click here to read our Pre-Requisites

CLOSED REGISTRATION

Blogging, twittering, facebooking… you’ve heard the stories of wildly successful campaigns online, you think it could do great things for your organization. But how do you get started?

We’ll build a foundation and then take you from how to listen and monitor the social web, through all the most popular (and easy) tools for interacting and creating content and finally – how to make them all sing!

Practical and Purposeful. The Social Media Boot Camp will immerse you in the basics of the most popular social media tools and focus on how to use them to create conversations with your customers and maximize your return on investment.

What previous “boot campers” are saying about this workshop:

“EXCELLENT CLASS, Best I’ve ever attended! Straight forward. Useful info put forth using a hands-on approach…. Loved it! Would highly recommend it!“

““This class helped me discover/become exposed to the many different modes of social media, and more importantly, the web sites to visit to perform the various tasks. A real “How-To” class without pressure to buy something! Thank you Caroline and Kelli!“

“I was so jazzed and felt so much more prepared to be a decision-maker on the use of these tools by the end of the day. And I just felt so taken care of with the food and beverages as well. Thanks again.“

Learn more:

• Event details
• Pre-requisites
• Meet your instructors
• Register!

According to Mashable, more than 200,000 usernames were claimed in the first 20 minutes. (I have to admit that I was one of those.) In just two hours, more than 3 million of the custom URLs had been claimed.

For individual profiles, there is no restriction. Just visit www.facebook.com/username. Chances are if you have a common name, you might have to settle. There is a point where you might just want to stick with the standard URL instead of ending up with a goofy vanity name that doesn’t really say who you are. Also remember that your choice is permanent.

Fan pages can also choose vanity URLs, but only when the organization has more than 1,000 fans. Crossing my fingers that the company name is still available when we get to 1,000.

If you have a facebook profile, it’s certainly worth a look  at whether your name, or some reasonable variation thereof, is still available.