Every Monday I recap 9 social media news items from the previous week that struck me as important, insightfull or surprising. They are articles I believe we should all have noticed on our radar so this post is my way of sharing these.

1- The 5 Reasons Most Companies Aren’t Measuring Social Media

Convince & Convert, February 3, 2011 Written By: Jay Baer and Amber Naslund

We hate math.

Our abhorrence for calculation enables us to mutually agree on statistically dubious metrics with nary a shrug or arched eyebrow. Consider Nielsen ratings, which are used to determine the popularity of all TV shows and, consequently, how the dozens of billions of dollars in TV advertising is apportioned.

Nielsen ratings have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands of people in the United States. In 2009, there were 1,147,910 households with a TV in metropolitan Charlotte, North Carolina. Of those more than 1 million households, the behavior of just 619 was tracked by Nielsen to determine ratings. A total of 619 families became the unelected representative tastemakers for 1,147,291 other families. That’s not math; that’s folly.

2- U.S. mobile social audience totaled 72.2 million in August

3- Beyond Targeting: The Convergence of Social and Advertising

There is something beyond targeting, and it’s already becoming incredibly significant on social sites like Facebook and Twitter. It’s the collapsing of advertising directly into the social experience.

4- iPhone vs. Android: The Social App Activities That Set Users Apart

5- Nextdoor wants to be your friendly neighborhood social network

“Just having a Facebook and a Twitter does not constitute as a plan and having scheduled posts can be equally as daunting. I will explain this in three simple reason why social media isn’t for you. Please note that I am generalizing to compensate for a mistake that many businesses make.”

7- The Ripple Effect of Your Social Media Marketing

via Social Media Today – The world’s best thinkers on social media de David Amerland le 27/10/11

In its latest addition to Google Plus, Google unveiled Ripples, a one-click visualisation tool which might be the best gift social marketers could have this side of Christmas.

8- Social Media: 4 Predictions for 2012

via Social Media Today – The world’s best thinkers on social media de Eric Harr-Resonate Social Media le 27/10/11

“More businesses will flood in to social media, wild-eyed, without proper strategies in place–and they will quickly become disillusioned by the dearth of results. The smart ones will use social media strategically to drive key business objectives and measure financial impact.”

9- ‘Naming’ Your Facebook Page for Facebook Search

via Social Media Today – The world’s best thinkers on social media de SueCockburn le 28/10/11

“he Name is what appears at the top of your Facebook page (beside the ‘like’ button) and your Username is what appears in the url/address bar. The Name is important because it is the information used to generate search results when people do a search using the Facebook search function. For this reason, you want to think carefully about what your page name should be.”

Check-out 9 other social media marketing news articles that you might have missed here