Social networking and politics - new Pew report

From the Pew Internet & American Life Project: Social networking sites and politics

"Some 38% of SNS users have discovered through a friend’s posts that his/her political beliefs were different than the user thought they were."

Social media not just for millennials

From Pew Internet: Older Adults and Social Media
"Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010."

Twitter and other social media are becoming an important communication tool in disasters

From: Red Cross Emergency Social Data Summit:
results from a study of social media in disasters and emergencies.

Interesting articles in the August 2010 issue of First Monday

First Monday (August 2010)

• Facebook privacy settings: Who cares?
  - Danah Boyd & Eszter Hargittai
  
• I am a blogging researcher: Motivations for blogging in a scholarly context
  - Sara Kjellberg
  
  

Twitter in disasters

Lockheed Martin has received a grant from the US Office of Naval Research and is researching the role of social media in disasters and crises.