Social media, which has proven to be a very powerful way for brands to build authentic connections with their audience, is going through a metamorphosis. Social Media 1.0 was about the quest to acquire fans on Facebook at any cost and in any way. It turned out that most of those fans were neither brand advocates nor prospective customers. Social Media 2.0 is about quality and relevance, not volume. It's happening via images, hashtags, user-generated content and curation -- and it's taking place on new public, visual and inter-connected interest-based networks like Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Polyvore, Houzz, Vine and WeHeartIt.

As much as I'm known for my conviction that Facebook won't go away any time soon, I also like to pretend I know what the next big thing in social media is going to be. So, in that spirit, I'm going to predict it is Line, a mobile social app from South Korea, that first came to my attention during our Social Media Insider Summit last month.

Maybe this rankles me because it seems particularly silly after a day spent watching seagulls fight over an apple, collecting hermit crabs, and browsing bookstores on Cape Cod - but, really? People are actually tied up in their underwear about a new little blue line on Twitter? One that actually manages to tie together previously hard-to-follow conversations on the platform?

I'm posting from Lake Tahoe's Resort at Squaw Valley, where MediaPost held the Social Media Insider Summit, and things have never been so clear -- and unclear -- all at the same time. It's unclear because even though we are quite far away from the forest fires that have been raging in this part of the country, there's a thin haze of smoke out the window. On the other hand, when we're i

According to news reports, this is the day that a lot more than one single, misbehaving creative director will get fired from Patch, AOL's foray into the hyperlocal content business. Reports are it will involve a haircut(buzzcut?) which lops off 500 of its 1,000 person staff, with perhaps 20% of the roughly 900 sites total going the way of - I've got it! - dial-up Internet connections.

Last week, I wrote about how Facebook's pending move into video advertising was probably the key reason behind its stock's ascension into the lofty realm of trading just over its $38 opening price back when it went public. Sure, it took more than a year, but whatevs! So, I found it intriguing -- and heartening -- to read in The Wall Street Journal this morning that the company is being very, very cautious about the video ad rollout, despite the obvious panting of advertisers and investors.

In an age where citizen journalism rules, social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are hotbeds for breaking news, and consequentially have become breeding grounds for controversy and crisis. Brands can make or break their reputation with a tweet or status update, and one customer complaint can become a trending topic within 24 hours. Here is a condensed roadmap to stemming a social crisis:

BREAKING: For the second day in a row, Facebook stock is actually trading - at this writing -- above its IPO price for the first time since going public more than a year ago. This may all be over before you can create the hashtag #fbabove38, but this development is still more important than you might think. It's a symbol of Facebook finally showing the world it can be a revenue powerhouse.

Linkedin. Facebook. Twitter. Foursquare. Pinterest. YouTube. Vine. Instagram. Facevine. Linkederest. Twitsquare. There are so many social media platforms now that it's hard to tell the real names from the fake ones. There's so much competition out there for eyeballs and time, it is not enough to simply be a diversion. The platforms have to elevate to the status of "tool." You, too, should strive to be a tool.

People, let's have our first-ever Social Media Insider intervention, focusing on RTMA, or that devastating disease called Real-Time-Marketing Addiction. Ever since the Super Bowl, some brands just can't stop themselves from tweeting during big events. While for some brands, this works out, let's face it: Most people have no more interest in hearing what you have to say about the #royalbaby than they do in reading the fine print in your annual report.