Social, Local and Mobile Links of Note (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – August 19, 2011)

It’s been a busy week here at Thinks Central. We looked at the hidden connection between Elvis and social media, analyzed Google’s $12.5 billion bet on mobile and encouraged you to avoid snake oil salesmen while pursuing your social strategy. What’s the rest of the social, local, mobile web been up to? Let’s take a look:

• Todd Wasserman at Mashable reports Android owners use apps twice as much as the mobile web. While Wasserman uses this as further evidence that the web is dead, I’m holding out to see how this trends over time.
• Want a few reasons I’m holding out on the web vs. apps? Take a look at Business Insider’s slideshow of HTML5 apps that scare the pants off Apple. I’m only just starting to get my head around how to put HTML5 to work for your business. But this battle is far from over.
• On the social scene, Jeff Bullas asks if Google+ will be the second biggest social network in 12 months. I suspect it will, though the bigger question is whether being the number 2 general-interest social network (as opposed to a #1 niche social network such as LinkedIn) is good enough to sustain interest from consumers and advertisers.
• Supporting this point of view, TechCrunch highlights data suggesting Google+ is struggling to cross-over to mainstream users (though, to be fair, the data is terribly inconclusive at this point).
• On the flip side, Business Insider has an excellent profile of the analyst who says Facebook management “is in a virtual panic” as “growth hits a wall”. Following this train of thought, Google+ could end up #2 by default if Facebook falters.
• Switching to search, Chris Thunder (I hope he calls his house “The ThunderDome”), has a great piece at Search Engine Journal detailing 3 great AdWords tools you’ve probably never heard of. I know I hadn’t.
• Tom Critchlow of Distilled looks at how Twitter’s t.co link shortener will change the tracking game, properly attributing “direct” traffic to various Twitter clients. Very cool.
• Speaking of tracking, Adobe/Omniture has an interesting white paper (PDF link) talking about the business impacts of Facebook’s Like button. While part of the white paper is marketing for Omniture’s analytics products, they offer some fascinating insights into how companies currently benefit from incorporating the Like button into their sites.
• And, since we’re talking about incorporating stuff into your site, GetElastic offers something to think about before you redesign. Well worth reading if you’re thinking about making changes to your site.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t point you to my friend Robert Cole‘s God-awful rebuttal to my “Elvis meets social” post. For the record, I am so sorry. But look at the bright side: You’ve got all weekend to blot that image from your mind. Or to “kit-roll” your friends with it.

Have a great weekend, Big Thinkers. See you back here next week. If we’re still on speaking terms after Robert’s page, that is. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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