So much is going on right now in the world of social media that it’s really hard to pinpoint a particular area to write about.

Social Media: Good or Bad?

There is still a fairly strong opinion that social media has facilitated an online crimewave by making it easy for predators to get private information. But I’d like to make an observation that, just like anything else, social media can be used for good or bad purposes. There are a multitude of examples, just like this news item where a British woman tracked down her attacker on Facebook after police failed to do so.

Social media applications that are hot or up-and-coming include:

Google Wave
Posterous
Twitter (of course–remains #1)
Facebook

Google Wave is fairly new, and you need an invitation. If you’d like one try searching Twitter. I’ve seen lots of people offering Google Wave invites and that’s how I got mine.

And if, like me, you’re in the market for an application that will help you monitor all your social media activity from one place, you might want to test drive HootSuite just like I am right now. It’s too early to tell you what I think about it because I’m still finding my way around. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, the conversation heats up about what type of social media use is more successful: direct sell or conversation. I’m a purist, and Jason Falls recently made the claim that we won’t last. What do you think?

Today, Biz Stone blogged that Twitter is upgrading its terms of service.

I can’t say that this was unexpected. In light of the recent flurry of activity surrounding the advent of ads on Twitter, and also in light of a series of hack attacks on Twitter and its admin team, it was only a matter of time.

If you’d like to take a look at the new terms of service you may do so here.

Anyone for Pizza?

All the time we’re seeing more and more testimonials from people who have seen very real returns on their efforts to promote their business through Twitter.

Interestingly, those who have had the most success are the most creative. Well, I suppose that’s not really so surprising.

I found this Advertising Age article on how Twitter is being used to promote local businesses particularly interesting, and I think you will too. It doesn’t take a genius to see how these strategies can be adapted to fit any number of small businesses. Now all you need to do is get creative!

Interest in using Twitter for business is at an all-time high since so many are claiming huge success. I discovered this superb video on just that subject and thought it was just too good not to post it for you.

Borrowed from ZNet Blogs

In response to a guest post I did over at Search Engine People, a few people expressed opinions that Twitter is a flash-in-the-pan and won’t stick around like Google.

As Barry Welford rightly pointed out: We remember very clearly that when Google was new it was heralded as a flash-in-the-pan too. But I knew instinctively (OK let’s call it women’s intuition here) that Google was going to be big. I predicted it at the time, but sadly there are none of my web pages around from that time to prove it.

I’m predicting that Twitter will be even bigger than Google. NOTE TO TWITTER ADMIN: get ready for what’s coming now. You need to fix yourselves up so you can cope with the traffic and get some serious search algos in place. Don’t tell us that we didn’t warn you!

Just take a look at these Twitter stats. And it’s still really early days yet.

Today marks the birth of another brand new Twitter application: Twitition though, is a new concept so far.

I declare it the first-ever application that allows you to create, sign and submit petitions through Twitter. It’s a truly original idea that I think will go far. If you’re interested in receiving updates about petitions on Twitter, follow Twitition.

Jason Calacanis has launched Mahalo’s answer to the various ‘answers’ facilities around the web, including the famous LinkedIn Answers.

Jason gives a reason for the creation of Mahalo Answers

For the past couple of years, I’ve been studying the intersection of individuals and three Internet services: search, content and knowledge exchanges (aka KEs). These three products–or processes–serve individuals by helping them solve their real-world problems, and all three services have been booming over the years.For the past couple of years, I’ve been studying the intersection of individuals and three Internet services: search, content and knowledge exchanges (aka KEs). These three products–or processes–serve individuals by helping them solve their real-world problems, and all three services have been booming over the years.

And here’s Jason’s explanation of what Mahalo Answers is:

Mahalo Answers is a Knowledge exchange where you can post questions which are answered by other users. Optionally, but highly encouraged, you can offer a tip for the best answer given for your question. Tips are given in our virtual currency, called Mahalo Dollars, which are purchased at a one-to-one rate with U.S. dollars, and which can be removed from the system less a 25% fee (i.e. how we make money!).

I have been a member over at Ryze Business Network for some time, but after a period of inactivty I find my curiosity has been piqued again. During 2005 and 2006 Ryze was at the ‘cutting edge’ of social networking. Then it fell behind. However, there is a flurry of activity all of a sudden, and Ryze admin have announced plans to revamp this potentially useful network. If you haven’t already, I recommend you go over and sign up for a free account just in case I’m right.  Remember, with any network, having an older established account is more useful than a brand new one.