There are now hundreds of millions of people actively engaged on social networks, blogs and micro messaging services, literally dwarfing any other media in size or level of activity. And there are more joining everyday. Social media has truly come of age. A year ago, in a presentation on the topic of social networking in business, I noted that Facebook had reached the eye popping number of 40 million registered users while Linkedin had hit 8 million. This week, as a panelist on the same topic at the Town Hall LA series, I noted that Facebook now has over 100 million registered users and Linkedin has just gone over 32 million.

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The tragic acts of violence this week in Mumbai India were a sobering reminder of the shock and horror of global terrorism. My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of everyone at TechWeb, are with our colleagues at UBM in India and everyone who was affected by this senseless tragedy. The news on these horrific events also illuminated the growing pains that social media is going through as a means of getting accurate information during crisis coverage...

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I’ve been fascinated by the growth of social networking. From Facebook to Linkedin to Twitter, we’re seeing amazing levels of engagement. This engagement is remaking the media landscape too. I’ve struggled to embrace the term social networking though. Felt too restrictive in a business environment and too closely tied to the early pioneering brands like My Space to be taken seriously. Been giving this more thought however and feel perhaps I've been thinking about this the wrong way...

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I've been trying to control myself but I just can't. Like Howard Beale in the movie Network, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!!". Along with everyone else I've been following the dramatic turn of events in the global economy. The melt down of the credit markets has been startling and the continued fallout horrifying. I had thought however that the clueless "masters of the universe" attitude of many of the financial services executives in the face of the financial crisis was the worst I'd ever see...

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Ok Steve, if your listening here's your play. Given the ambitious, sprawling company that is now Microsoft you find yourself fighting across a large number of tricky markets. You're wrestling with the IT giants, IBM, Oracle and SAP while at the same time battling video game console manufacturers in the consumer arena. Oh yea... and you're also engaged in a chess match for control of the online media universe with a little company called Google...

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Regardless of your politics one thing we can all agree on is that the Obama presidency represents the first Internet presidency. Comparisons to the use of television in the 1960 election have been made but miss the mark. Television is a broadcast medium. The internet is an engagement medium. The 2008 election demonstrated the power of the internet as a medium to engage large groups, while also allowing community leaders-defined by the online networks they are a part of-to play significant roles in shaping opinion, sharing their ideas and rallying votes. The impact of the Internet on this election was not exclusive to the youth vote either. The under 30 vote for Obama was impressive but negligible in the end representing the equivalent of a two state swing that did not have a determining impact on the election.

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At a dinner two weeks ago with CEO's and senior executives from B2B media companies the conversation naturally turned to the economy. There were varying opinions and reactions, some were optimistic, some pessimistic but overall I'd say the mood was pragmatic optimism. The discussion evolved into whether the tough economy was actually a benefit for some businesses as it might allow companies to increase share in a tight market. I volunteered that I thought this was one of the benefits of the current economic climate...

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