Social networks can offer up career opportunities, but your chances of switching jobs are better if you're a well-paid professional, according to a new study from North Carolina State University, where researchers studies the role of social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn in so-called "informal recruitment" -- meaning when someone who isn't looking for work is recruited for a new job.

Social media is blowing up (in a good way, meaning monetization) according to Gartner, which predicts that total global social media revenues will increase from $11.8 billion in 2011 to $16.9 billion in 2012 -- then continue to grow to $34 billion in 2016. That's 43% increase from 2011-2012, and a cumulative annual growth rate of nearly 20% per year from 2012-2016.

One of the most interesting growth areas in social media, in my humble op-ed, consists of hyper-local, place-based social networks that provide (virtual) forums connecting people who actually, like, live near each other. One such startup, NextDoor, got a big boost this week in the form of an $18.6 million investment from a group of investors including Greylock Partners, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Shasta Ventures, among others.

In a move which might be described as a foregone conclusion, NBC has tapped Twitter to be, well, Twitter for the Olympic games in London. That is, NBC is making Twitter the "official narrator" for the games, according to the Wall Street Journal, which includes tracking Olympics-related tweets and putting the spotlight on tweets from athletes, sports reporters, and of course a multitude of loyal fans around the world.

Is anyone else tired of the "can women have it all" debate? Before someone calls me sexist and insensitive, let me explain why I wouldn't mind a moratorium on discussion of this issue. The controversy over whether women can indeed "have it all" -- meaning, some elusive, perfect balance of work and family life -- encapsulates everything that is wrong with contemporary media. Firstly, the very framing of the question creates an unrealistic, unreachable ideal, which most women will naturally fall short of, in what amounts to a self-fulfilling prophecy; second, it takes advantage of (and possibly even encourages) women's …

Some interesting data from the Association of National Advertisers shows that the proportion of marketers who employ social media is leveling off, leading some observers to conclude that social media is reaching a "plateau." But it would probably be more accurate to say it's reaching its saturation point. The ANA data shows that the percentage of marketers who are using social media edged up just 1% over the last year, from 89% in 2011 to 90% this year. That's a noticeable slowing in the growth rate, following enormous leaps in the preceding years, when the percentage increased form just 20% …

If social media has ever left you with that ambient feeling of unease about your own circumstances, you're not alone: it turns out social media can indeed make users feel anxious and insecure, according to a new study by the U.K.'s University of Salford sponsored by Anxiety UK, a British non-profit. The University of Salford's Business School surveyed 298 Brits about their social media habits, and found that slightly more than half -- 53% -- said that the advent of social networks had changed their own behavior. Within this group, 51% (that's 27% of the total) said the changes have …

For all its huge popularity, Facebook doesn't seem to be particularly well-liked by its own users, according to the latest figures from the American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report, which was produced in partnership with customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Overall, Facebook scored a 61 out of 100 in terms of customer satisfaction -- down 8 points from 69 last year. That's a new record low for companies in the social media category.

With more seniors jumping (or gradually wading) into social media, European researchers are figuring out how to use social networks and mobile devices to improve outcomes for elderly people who have accidents in the home by spreading alerts to friends and family.

Social media is transitioning from a tool used by companies for a limited number of purposes, mostly involving external communication, to an integral part of the business environment, which is transforming the internal dynamics of major corporations, according to a new study by FedEx and Ketchum, titled "From Social Media to Social Business."