As Google+ supposedly reached its 18 million user mark late last night, critics are beginning to wonder what amenities the social media website will offer within its business profiles.

The search engine giant has deleted most of its Google+ business profiles, which has left many companies and corporations anxiously awaiting Google’s next big idea. So as most revert back to their Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, the question on everyone’s mind is whether Google+ will trump Facebook Pages?

Granted, Google has incredible search capabilities that Facebook can’t match, and has even outdone Facebook’s video chat capabilities with Google+ Hangouts. But what can Google+ offer to force social media execs to make the switch?

“Allowing businesses to chat directly with their users will assert Google+’s dominance over Facebook for business functionality,” believes PC World journalist Ilie Mitaru, “It will take us one step closer to customers and companies actually interacting in real time.”

There has also been recent criticism over limited room for creativity on Facebook Page layouts, leaving the social network vulnerable to Google programmers. “To dress up your Facebook Page, you generally need to know Facebook’s FBML coding language,” says Mitaru.

And as the Google-Facebook war wages on, a win is in sight for its consumers. Whether big or small, businesses will capitalize on such competition by having a great social media marketing tool at their fingertips.

Andrea Garcia

Social networking sites, such as Family Bhive, Peers, Pi Capital, Institute of Private Investors, and Affluence are offering the select elite a unique outlet for networking.

Family Bhive, for example only accepts wealthy individuals as members and their wealth must be verified before admittance. Members use the site to talk, arrange meetings and exchange investment opportunities, aside from the general public.

These niche sites vary in specifics, as some sites require membership fees while others are available free of charge. But the general idea remains the same: to connect the wealthy members of our society so that they can socialize, fraternize and talk business.

It is not surprising that members often taken advantage of this niche networking to initiate joint investments with other elites in private companies.

The most popular site in the United States is the Institute of Private Investors (IPI). It has more than 1,100 individual members and 140 professional firms.

So, who are the members of these exclusive networks? Celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs and those who inherited wealth. If you don’t fall into any of these categories, don’t worry: there is a niche network out there for you too.

Jaclyn Klein

The video, titled “SOS from Minamisoma Mayor,” has received well over 200,000 views on YouTube and residents from Miniamisoma are getting help from viewers around the world. The city has received hundreds of boxes of food and supplies for individuals and truckloads from organizations. Many of those who have sent supplies say that it was in response to the YouTube video.

Today, weeks after the video’s release, Miniamisoma is still receiving donations and the city is beginning to return to its normal operations. Businesses are opening again and citizens are slowly emerging from their homes, even despite the orders recommending inhabitants to stay indoors.

This amazing story highlights one of the endless opportunities that the Internet and social media have created. A simple YouTube video gave hope to a city that was lost and nonexistent to the world. Traditional media disappeared from Miniamisoma because of the nuclear threat, but new media opened doors of communication and essentially gave a city the means to survive.

Jaclyn Klein

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the paper’s publisher, announced the launch of the digital subscriptions and explained its parameters. Home delivery subscribers will have access to all of the Times content both online and on a cellular device. International Herald Tribune subscribers will also have full access to content. Yet non-subscribers will be required to pay 4-week packages based on the amount of content they wish to access. Additionally, readers will be limited to 20 Times articles a month if they don’t have an online subscription.

In my communications class Monday, we discussed the pay wall and what it might mean for the Times and the survival of other newspapers. My fellow classmates both argued in favor and against the pay wall, some saying that they wouldn’t pay for news content that used to be free, while others said they would be willing to begin paying because of the paper’s superior qualities.

The Times appears to be targeting long-time readers of the paper and readers who value and often read its content, and therefore are willing to pay the subscriptions. The new pay wall will certainly be a test of whether the Times will benefit financially and long-term from the online subscriptions, or lose readers to other publications.

If the pay wall is successful, other newspapers and news outlets may follow suit and charge for their content. Publications that cannot retain their readership after implementing similar pay walls may fail completely, since online advertisements are no longer sufficient sources of revenue. Free access to news online may soon become a thing of the past entirely, and although the Wall Street Journal has been charging readers for a while now, the success of the New York Times online subscriptions could be a big step forward for newspapers in an increasingly online and digital society.

By Dana Prainito

Most people are familiar with Google Search, which is the most dominant web search engine in the United States, because it is the company’s most popular service. But Google actually offers some 100 other products and services. Google is able to offer most of these programs free of charge because its profit is primarily derived through advertising programs.

And in the early morning hours of March 11, 2011, Google launched yet another program that would temporarily silence any critics of the company’s global hold in the market.

In the aftermath of Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake, which set off colossal tsunamis that wiped out infrastructure and uprooted thousands of civilians, Google’s Crisis Response team initiated a Japanese version of its Person Finder.

Google’s People Finder is a multi-language database tool that aids in locating lost family members and friends in the time of crisis. Users have the ability to search for the names of people they’ve lost and to post news about people they have found.

Because national disasters often disrupt traditional channels of communications, Google has attempted to create a tool that can mediate the organization and registry of people who may be missing. Specifically, Google Ideas is a think-tank that studies where technology can help solve the world’s problems — and then actually develops them into usable products and services.

Although the Google Corporation has an increasing multinational presence, its ability to create a massive online database that facilitates the location of alive and deceased crisis victims is unsurpassed.

This not only shows the positive role that Google’s People Finder has played within countries during times of crisis, but also demonstrates the growing presence that technology has in our lives today.

Caitlin Smith

March Madness has become something larger than a selective showing of games on just one exclusive television network. Coverage of the 2011 tournament has expanded to four broadcast stations, as well as incorporated a medley of social media platforms.

Fans are now able to tap into the game through live online streaming and cell-phone applications—a trend that proved highly popular in 2010 as some 11.7 million hours of live streaming occurred for tournament games. However, viewers now also have the option to take a more interactive approach to the tournament.

Social media has exacerbated the buzz around college basketball by targeting fans and specific niche audiences. Viewers now have access to social hubs, such as the “Social Arena,” which is an online space, funded by the NCAA and Coke Zero, that fans can go to for professional commentary and fan chatter.

Advertisers are also promoting the big dance through Facebook and Twitter, posting tales about former tournament legends and creating sweepstakes. There is even a social bracket being created on Facebook based on the number of ‘likes’ each team in the tournament receives.

“We have to be where people are spending their time,” Vance Overbey, executive director of advertising for AT&T said.

And so market behemoths such as Coca-Cola, Papa John’s and AT&T have upped their social-media spending. Coke, specifically, has increased its spending tenfold—dedicating more than 20% of its tournament budget on social media this year compared to 2% last year.

For these companies, investment in social media could prove to be a slam-dunk marketing strategy—a chance for companies to utilize the tournament as a coax for consumers to be exposed to, and purchase their brands.

“It’s the ultimate sporting event for social media,’ John Kint, general manager at CBSSports.com said.

Caitlin Smith

First, traditional media performance began to level as digital media took root. Marketers and PR professionals have been more reluctant to engage in digital campaigns because of their negligible reach in comparison to television. Still, Internet is showing alluring promise with its savvy capabilities. Furthermore, PR professionals are slowly coming to recognize the importance of fit of the message, over reach, which is where digital may have the upper hand.

Second, traditional media began to adapt to advances in technology and changes in consumer behaviors. The future of television’s 30-second spot is looking at changes toward interactive commercials, which encourages research on the analytics end about consumer preferences. With Behavioral Targeting, digital advertisers have also begun exploring the effectiveness of relevant ads, or ads that focus on fit, to an interested audience.

Still, these professionals may be stuck in the old frame of mind. Jeff Einstein, digital pioneer of the Brothers Einstein, claims advertisers are focused too much on ineffective reach and do not recognize the potential of message fit.

“In an on-demand media universe the right audience always qualifies and declares itself simply by showing up. But in advertising, getting the right audience to show up is the easy part. The hard part is delivering the brand message once they get there because no one ever goes anywhere for the ads.”

As digital marketing and advertising continues to popularize and industry leaders are looking to gain the edge over their competition, the industry may see a move toward campaigns that aim to appeal to their audience through fit, rather than simple through reaching as big an audience as possible. In the future of this industry, it could very well be the case that quality of fit better predicts campaign success than quantity of target reached.

Jackie VanSloten

Facebook is a prime example of mastery of influence by breadth. According to Social Media Today, 2010 estimates predicted that 41.6% of the US has a Facebook account. It is because of the sheer size of their audience that advertisers are looking to profit from social network sites. Apart from company advertising opportunities, the targeted audiences also benefit from social media. Because customer opinion can now be widely and quickly spread, companies are held more accountable for bad products and poor services. Since friends’ recommendations are consistently one of the top considerations that customers use when making purchasing decisions, according to The Economist, companies are warned not to underestimate the power of social media.

Twitter utilizes time to the fullest in promoting their influence. Twitter messages are brief, concise, and most important: instant. Admittedly, I was initially skeptical of the influence Twitter could have because of its resemblance to Facebook’s “status updates.” Still, with its recent usage in Tunisia and Egypt, sharing information to organize rebellion despite governmental censorship, I am beginning to rethink the benefits of Tweeting. Whereas previous communication held delay, Tweets are unpolished, bare, and in the moment. In addition to sheer speed, it is the website’s instantaneous nature that opens the door for frequency; messages can be repeated often. Twitter provides a new definition of the term “current news.”

Social media is redefining influence measurement in the communication industry. In particular, Facebook and Twitter are setting new benchmarks on communication speed and audience breadth. This becomes especially apparent when comparing the social media with a traditional form of media, such as a newspaper. Examining breadth, newspapers reach a largely pre-determined audience each circulation period. Often the reach is not international, as is the case with Twitter and Facebook. Considering time, many newspapers are circulated every 24-hours. Therefore, information can be at least a day old before reaching its audience. This isn’t even taking into consideration the disadvantage of the newspaper as a secondary source of information meaning an accompanied time-lapse between event occurrence and newspaper receipt of news. In contrast, with Tunisia and Egypt’s use of Twitter, news emerged from the source of the conflict; information is often direct when using social media.

Breadth and time have been discussed extensively, yet social media incorporates depth, or the extensiveness of information and discussion about a topic, successfully as well. With the websites discussion threads and invitations to comment, social media is a hotbed for depth. Still, depth is less alluding to traditional media. Newspaper is seasoned in providing depth; articles and opinion pieces boast a vast source of information. The difference between depth in traditional and social media: traditional media is one-way communication while social media is a community-generated knowledge market. Ultimately, these social media sites promote more intense interconnectedness, allowing us to be better-informed consumers of information, whether that be social, political, or commercial.

Jackie VanSloten

A former editor of Computerworld and a highly knowledgeable social media specialist (author of Secrets of Social Media Marketing and The New Influencers,”Paul Gillin blogged for ShopTab “Social Media: The Small Business Owner’s Unfair Advantage”), he cited five reasons why small businesses should engage in social media.

1. The cheap and often free cost of social media and their ease of use. “To get started, all you need is your computer and an Internet connection. If you’re passionate about your work, it costs nothing to start telling people about what you do,” Gillin said. Anyone can own and operate a Facebook or Twitter account. However, big corporations shy away from using social media for legal reasons, even though it is currently more valuable than traditional media sources.

2. Search engines are the “great equalizer” for companies. “Google doesn’t care if you’re The New York Times or Joe’s Hardware Store as long as you have the best content…A small business with great content on its website can compete with a company many times its size.” Gillin also said blogs that are routinely updated and attract links appear often in Google search engines.

3. Small businesses are personal. “Big corporations don’t have personality; they have brand,” whereas people who work for a small company are the brand, and customers know them personally. This is a huge advantage because “customers relate better to people than they do brands,” Gillin said.

4. They’re the fastest way to expand your geographic reach. After creating your blog, install a free analysis tool like Google Analytics to see where your visitors come from. Gillin said the majority of visitors will come from outside your geographic area because “the Internet is global and hyperlinks know no geographic bounds. What a great way to expand your market.”

5. They’re fun. “Social media is a great way to expand your network of relationships, and relationships lead to business,” Gillin said. “In addition to hearing that your business and expertise are important to others out there, engaging in conversations “will broaden your perspective, give you new ideas and make new friends.”

-Dana Prainito