Sometimes it's helpful to verify something that seems obvious. In this case a new study from Chadwick Martin Bailey, a market research firm, confirms that people who associate themselves with a brand through online social networks are more likely, on average, to buy that brand and recommend it to friends. "No duh," I hear some readers saying (chances are it will turn up in the comments). But the CMB data, based on a survey of over 1,500 consumers performed in partnership with iModerate Research Technologies, is important for lending support to one of the first social media strategies -- "make …

In case anyone thinks the risk of theft resulting from an over-sharing on social networks is fabricated, a new report from the Association of British Insurers is warning that home insurance premiums may rise up to 10% this year. While the ABI report didn't list specific numbers, it made clear that the potential hike is due, in part, to an increase in home invasions resulting from people revealing their whereabouts on social networks.

Although many people already suspected as much, a new survey from consumer electronics site Retrevo seems to confirm that social networks display many addictive qualities. Further, the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults who use social networks showed just how addictive they may be: among the more interesting results, 30% of Facebook and Twitter users said they check their accounts every time they wake up during the night, and 7% said they would check their messages during sex (given the option).

The latest profession to be transformed by Twitter is... baseball? Yes, the world of professional baseball is now confronting the possibilities and potential pitfalls of Twitter, according to FoxNews Sports, which has an interesting article about the attempts of the White Sox to deal with both. Among other things, the article highlights the dilemmas of any business or organization in the age of social media, including whether and how they should regulate the social media presence of their employees.

t's always refreshing when legal proceedings reach the point when all the internal, confidential communications that companies really don't want you to see are finally made public. It's moments like these when you're reminded that, at the end of the day, every big company is pretty much run by a bunch of jerks. The Viacom vs. YouTube battle is no exception: as both sides try to get the case settled without a trial, the court documents unsealed this week by U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton are a tour-de-force in jerky executive tricks. I'm aware the various litigants don't care, of …

What's the latest social media-savvy organization to get on Twitter? The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Embassy to the United States! Yowza! Okay, it's not quite Ashton or MTV, but that's kind of the point: if risk-averse diplomats (whose whole job is basically message and brand control) see value in Twitter, it would seem to suggest even the most conservative, publicity-shy brands can find a home on the burgeoning social communication site.

I was just struck by an offhand comment during audience Q&A following a panel discussion of social media and media planning here at MediaPost's fabulous (free!) OMMA Global conference in San Francisco: "You're not going to resolve customer service issues through Twitter. The best you can

There's a fine line between a boom and a bubble, and I'm worried that the social media explosion is starting to show some signs of the latter. The trend has a lot of potentially bubble-like characteristics: for example, a dizzying number of new companies are launching and raising loads of cash, but without comparable increases in actual revenues, on vague promises of an ad-supported model. Then, to satisfy investor expectations, they are pressured to introduce half-baked ad platforms before they're ready or even fully thought out.

Here's another social media first in 2010: A 102-minute documentary from PBS will be broadcast on Facebook before it does on, well, PBS. The "American Experience" documentary about the history of the U.S. environmental movement, titled "Earth Days," will be presented on Facebook on April 11, according to the New York Times, eight days before its TV broadcast on April 19 -- marking the first time a full-length documentary has appeared on the site before TV (the documentary has been touring 40 U.S. cities over the last year).

Social media is exciting a lot of interest as a marketing and advertising channel, and rightly so, in view of its unique qualities of engagement. And of course the burgeoning new medium has enthusiastic advocates. But like every other new medium on the way up, social media's boosters sometimes fall into aggressive hyperbole which just ends up confusing the situation.