We are getting to, if not reached, a point where Social Networking is fully engrained in to our daily lives. 500 million + active users are signed up to Facebook, if Facebook was a country it would be bigger than the U.S.A! Brand after brand are also joining in the conversations with us, and we – the consumer – actually see our opinions being acted upon (the Gap logo episode is a prime example). What I now find fascinating is the power Social Media could actually have on serious “grown up” issues and important World-changing events… the mid-term elections in the United States is the example I have in mind today. Any company with a good social media strategy would be watching, monitoring and gauging public opinion… I wonder if campaign managers are doing this for their candidates? They need to gauge public opinion during their campaigns and they would be missing out a whole lot of “public” if they didn’t watch the social networking sites as well. Check out this Mashable blog on who’s getting the most Election Day buzz on Twitter. Foursquare has also been getting in on the Election Day action by encouraging people to earn their “I Voted” badges, check this blog out as well. This blog is completely independent and in no way endorses any of the political parties … !!

Guerrilla Marketing is all about creating buzz with unconventional, and often out there, Marketing techniques. These campaigns don’t always require big bucks and sometimes simple is so much more effective. Plus, they are way more fun. Here are a few examples found by the good people of Mashable.com. Enjoy! - 10 examples of Guerrilla Marketing.

We enjoy these too – Creative Guerrilla Marketing. My personal favourite is the Kit Kat human vending machine heehee have a look at this…

Can you remember the internet with out the “like” button, nah me neither. This inoffensive little Thumbs Up seems to have become an intrinsic part of our web experience, but how useful is it, what does it say about you, and does it actually improve web traffic? Read this for the low down and stats behind the “Like”. And if you want to Like things that aren’t on the internet then you need one for these stamps… thank you Facebook for giving us a way to express our preferences in the real World too! Ok, I’m off to go stamp Dorin’s forehead.

Can you remember what your first mobile phone was..? Mine was a Nokia Bosch and then a Nokia 3510, I was so chuffed to have a mobile with Snake! Mobile phones have certainly come a long way, especially in the past five years. It’s not just design and features that have evolved,  but also the way we use our mobile phones and their role in our lives. Have a look at this Mashable blog –  A look back at the last 5 years in Mobile. A very interesting little look at how much our mobile experience has changed. We practically use our phones for everything now, it is exciting to think what will happen in the next five years.

How much time do you spend on Facebook a day, how many tweets do you send in a morning and do you have Youtube on your phone? Staying connected to what is happening in the World, to our friends, our followers, our community is an activity a lot of people undertake on a daily, even hourly basis (or in my case, constantly, as I get an endless stream of Tweets coming through on TweetDeck). I will happily go as far as saying it is a part of many a person’s daily routine now, and is made soooooo much easier with smart phones, as they make tweeting and updating on the run easy as pie. A University in the United States has recently enforced a week long Social Media blackout, and were forbidden from using Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging and any other online communication except for e-mail. Read the whole article here – I can’t wait to read what the students say!

How would you fare in this experiment? What if there was a worldwide Apple Apocalypse of all Social Media channels, even BBM, would you cope? Communication is so easy, quick, fun and interactive with Social Media in the mix, without it I am sure we’d feel like we’d lost a limb. Imagine it, our friends were out there thinking and doing stuff, the World was still turning but we couldn’t connect… phone calls, letters and emails are ok, but not quite the same as the instant gratification gained from Social Media. Don’t worry though people, we have an inkling #ireallythink Social Media is here to stay!