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We are all aware that social networks, social marketing, social media and just plan old being social are the new wave regarding the Internet and its magical powers to make the world a better place for all. As we move further along in the life cycle of this still relatively new phenomenon (OK, all of you folks who have ‘been doing this for years’ can huff and puff at this point) there will be more opportunity to slice and dice the nature of the social network and the networkers that inhabit them. The folks over at Pingdom have taken a stab at looking at the gender breakdown of this group and found that women rule. Kinda.
- 84% (16 out of 19) of the sites have more female than male users.
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When I first perused 
Let’s face it this holiday season is a pivotal one for all of us from a macro point of view. While many retailers will be focused on their individual bottom lines it will be important to look at how this whole ‘first weekend’ of the holiday shopping season plays out from start to finish with the latest entry, Cyber Monday, happening as you read this.
News flash! Google makes a lot of cash on paid search ads. Phew. I couldn’t keep that ‘news’ in any longer. We are so used to that element of Google and the online space that it is really just viewed as a fact of life and not much else thought is given to it unless you are a PPC ‘guru’ (fyi – if you actually use that terminology to describe yourself (others doing it TO you doesn’t count) just know that people laugh at you behind your back). You buy the ads, people click on them and then you try to figure out if they bought something as a result.
I have spent a considerable amount of time in the past year watching the decline and fall of the newspaper empire. At times I have had a ‘you get what you pay for’ take on the situation while at others I find it sad that an important industry is in a rapid downward spiral. Now add to the mix the musings / rantings of Rupert Murdoch and his thought that he can revive his industry through his proposed tactics and you are close to a three ring circus with all clowns and no ringmaster.
