It’s here, there and everywhere. The popularity of social networking is climbing by the week with virtually every age bracket, right up to seniors.

Today 110 million Americans, or 60% of the online population, use social networks, according to a new study by Anderson Analytics. That number is conservative, because instead of counting unique users or everyone who has an account, the Anderson study counted only people who have used a social network at least once in the past month.

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Twitter has a new section on their website offering information on how businesses are using twitter for marketing and customer service.

This Twitter & Social Media Marketing Guide includes recommended books, Twitter definitions, and case studies of businesses using Twitter for marketing:

When people working in the Empire State Building twittered that they were craving ice cream delivery, New York local chain Tasti D Lite was there to listen and meet their need. When electronics buyers look for good deals, the Dell Outlet Twitter account helps them save money with exclusive coupons. When Houston’s coffee drinkers decide where to get their daily dose, many choose Coffee Groundz, which lets them order via Twitter.

The guide addresses topics such as “So how do businesses use Twitter?” and “Twitter Best Practices”.

Read more of the Twitter Social Media Marketing Guide on Twitter here:

http://business.twitter.com/twitter101

Read Twitter Marketing Case Studies here: http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/case_dell

bit.ly allows users to shorten, share, and track links (URLs). Reducing the URL length makes sharing easier. bit.ly can be accessed through our website, bookmarklets and a robust and open API. bit.ly is also integrated into several popular third-party tools such as Tweetdeck. A more full list of third party tools can be found on the bit.ly blog. Unique user-level and aggregate links are created, allowing users to view complete, real-time traffic and referrer data, as well as location and metadata. Tracking stats are available after users shorten their long links with bit.ly by clicking on the “Info+” link on bit.ly, or just adding a “+” sign to the end of any bit.ly link (for example, http://bit.ly/n0og+).
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