Facebook is moving decisively in three related areas, which it has identified as key growth areas based on its own recent experience as well as outside events: mobile access, casual gaming, and mobile check-ins (a small but growing subset of mobile access). The world's largest online social network recently unveiled two big deals which should allow it to monetize mobile check-ins as and buttress its already considerable lead in casual gaming. There's no question smartphone-users are a logical target for Facebook, considering the unmistakable trend lines: in under two years, the number of people checking into Facebook via mobile devices …

In a testament to the growing reach and engagement of social media, online traffic to social networks increased between the 2008 general elections and the 2010 midterm elections on Tuesday, as reflected in a number of metrics.

Could location-based social media encourage participatory democracy? Well, it can't hurt. While it would be kind of sad if the only reason someone voted was to get a badge on Foursquare, the special limited-edition "iVoted" badge offered by the social network for today's elections is a neat way for voters to display their civic commitment. A map of the U.S. on Foursquare, created by JESS3, showed that the most check-ins were -- surprise -- taking place in California and New York, followed by Illinois and Florida. Presuming the check-ins are concentrated in hip urban areas like Chicago and Miami, I'm …

Tuesday will decide the outcome of a political season that was especially fraught, with feelings running high amid bitter controversies over healthcare, government spending, and immigration -- not to mention witches, make-believe Nazis, and the rent being too damn high. Obviously this is going to be a highly engaging election night, no matter how you look at it: Republicans partisans will probably be celebrating, while Democratic supporters will follow the exit polls with something approaching dread. On the media front, broadcast and cable news always scores high on election night, of course -- but it's also the kind of event …

The last couple weeks have seen a lot of very public controversy surrounding some privacy "slip-ups" (possibly deliberate) by Facebook and Zynga, the casual game developer behind time-wasting hits including FarmVille and Mafia Wars. According to the Wall Street Journal and at least one class action lawsuit, Zynga has secretly shared user information with third-party advertisers and Internet marketers, in violation of its agreements with Facebook and its users.

No, this is not a joke in very bad taste, much as I wish it were. In addition to being an absurd American tragedy, the story of Alexandra V. Tobias and her infant son Dylan Lee Edmondson, will doubtless provoke more warnings and laments about social ills "caused" by social media. But as in other cases this blames social media for basic human failings, like being evil. Obviously this is a terrible story all round, and I can almost hear media columnists all over the Web gearing up to highlight the social media angle. But once again, I feel obliged …

Interesting news on the virtual goods front: it seems gift cards holding Facebook Credits are now on sale at Wal-Mart and Best Buy, expanding retail distribution that already includes Target. The in-store card sales are touted as "The quick & easy way to get premium items in your favorite games and applications" -- meaning you can use them to pay for "virtual goods" in games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. Boiling the story down to its bizarre essence, brick-and-mortar retail establishments are now selling real cards holding imaginary money to buy things which don't actually exist.

College students are fully as engaged with online social networks and on mobile platforms as you might expect, according to a new survey of 2,207 undergrads at 40 schools by Edison Research on behalf of MTVU in collaboration with the Associated Press and the Jed Foundation. But they are also ambivalent about its impact on their lives -- and positively confused by each other. Indeed, technology seems to be substituting for interpersonal interactions or enabling types of interaction which might never have happened otherwise. For example, the survey found nearly 70% of the college students surveyed "have had an argument …

Young, hip, and growing like gangbusters: This description is equally true for social and place-based media, and with continuing convergence enabled by digital technology -- mobile in particular -- it was only a matter of time before these crazy kids hooked up.

In addition to connecting people all over the world, social media is a great leveler, attracting users from all walks of life and income brackets -- including the rich. A new survey from SEI Networks found that 70% of people with net worth of $5 million or more (whom I classify as the "pretty rich," to distinguish them from the "superrich," worth $100 million or more) are on Facebook or a similar social media site. That proportion is significantly higher than the population at large, with 61% of U.S. adults using social networks according to Pew Research Center.