Is blogging coming back or trailing off? Social networks and blogs In the U.S 48% of these consumers responded to a retailer’s offer posted on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter is about in the middle (55% of users age 35 or older) while 65% of Facebook users are over 35 (didn’t this start with college students?) Slashdot is almost 90% guys); LinkedIn is close to a 50-50 split; Twitter and Facebook are both about 40% male / 60% female; and women account for almost 90% of Pinterest users. Social media and blogs reach 80% of all U.S. Digital Buzz Blog ). MORE >>

So in case you missed any of these, here are almost 100 of the best blog posts and articles covering social media strategy and tactics, measurement, monitoring, research, pitfalls to avoid, policies, tools and more from 2009. ROI Is Dead by StraightUpSearch Blog. Top Ten blogs: Social Media Measurement by Seldom Seen Kid. by SocialSteve’s Blog. Steps To Demonstrate Positive Return On Investment For Social Media Marketing by Jeffbullas’s Blog. Reasons Why 90% Of Social Media Efforts Fail by Community Marketing Blog. and ROI. Urs E. MORE >>

Last year, my colleague Tom Pick ( @TomPick ) and I introduced the #Nifty50 awards , which honored 50 men and 50 women who were leading the way in social media through their active engagement on Twitter. week ago, Tom announced the 2012 #Nifty50 Women on his Webbiquity blog , and now I am pleased to announce the winning 2012 #Nifty50 Men. This year, we also decided that honoring the tech sector’s greatest social media advocates on our respective blogs isn’t enough. As someone who prizes human interaction, Alston has become one of the most-followed CMOs on Twitter. MORE >>

As the fourth-largest social network, and the fastest growing in 2012 , Twitter has emerged as a serious platform for business professionals to share breaking news, promote thought-leadership content, and engage with customers, prospects, peers and industry influencers. As noted here in a preliminary summary of the best Twitter articles and posts of 2012 last fall, “Twitterers collectively post a billion tweets every three days. ” How can you grow and maintain an active, relevant Twitter following? Most effectively use Twitter advertising? MORE >>

The inbound marketing experts at HubSpot along with Jeff Ente of Who’s Blogging What have just published an outstanding collection of social media insights, 54 Pearls of Marketing Wisdom by “26 of the world’s best marketing experts.” ” Linda Bustos (on Google+): “I notice that retweets of my blog’s articles are down since it’s launch, understandably, especially since Google Reader removed other sharing options in favor of the Plus button…I’m also surprised that there’s room for another social network. Quite a lineup. MORE >>