Our friends at The Big Picture came across this video and sent us the link. In our collaborations, we've discussed social media and how it fits into our clients' overall marketing strategies and online presence. We've worked together to come up with solutions of how and when to integrate social media. We've talked about when it's appropriate, when it's not, how to incorporate it into your brand and where it fits as part of the overall plan.

While most clients are curious, many are hesitant - they may not see the purpose of a blog, how Twitter can impact their online reputation, how Facebook can help them communicate with their audience, etc. They also can't imagine how they'll fit time for social media into their schedules.

So, is social media a fad? I think once you watch this video, you'll know the answer:

Here are some highlights from the video:

• By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network
• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
• Years to Reach 50 millions Users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
• 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees
• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
• 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?
• The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
• There are over 200,000,000 Blogs

**This video comes from www.socialnomics.com, a blog that is run by Erik Qualman, the Global Vice President of Online Marketing for EF Education (Lucerne, Switzerland). Prior to joining EF Education, Qualman helped grow the online marketing and eBusiness functions of Cadillac & Pontiac (1994-97), BellSouth (1998-2000), Yahoo (2000-03), EarthLink (2003-05) and Travelzoo (2005-08). Qualman holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Sources include: Trendspotting Blog, Huffington Post, www.daviddalka.com, United Nations Cyberschoolbus Document, Mashable, Apple, Facebook, TechCrunch, U.S. Department of Education Study, Jobvite Social Recruitment Survey, Inside Facebook Blog, Twitter, Metro Newspaper, TGDaily, Wikipedia, China Internet Information Center, Technorati, ClickZ Stats, SES Magazine, and more. For a complete list of sources, click here