The problem with trying to determine ROI for social media is you are trying to put numeric quantities around human interactions and conversations, which are not quantifiable.

For our Dandeloin Marketing project for our Social Networking in Business class we are facing this very problem as we prepare to present how we used social media to market a e-book about "how to increase your chances of going viral."

When using social media, analytics only can take you so far. How can you determine where people clicked from, was it facebook or my gmail status? How many people came because I asked them to, how many people were generally interested? As social marketing becomes more popular it is important for people to know how to track how and why people are coming to their sites so they can determine was their ROI is.

Foursquare

Remember when Twitter seem like a fad? Now everyone has a Twitter account. Foursquare is the next Twitter.

Foursquare is a location based social networking service allowing users to "check-in" to specific locations using their smartphones. Foursquare is a game; you earn points for "checking-in" and the person with the most points at a specific location becomes the mayor of that spot. However simple it sounds, Foursquare is quickly rising in popularity and provides users a new way to enhance their social network.

Foursquare also provides businesses the advantage of free advertising. Restaurants are now giving away promotions every time someone "checks-in".

Check it out! Foursquare

Learning in a Virtual World

Second Life provides countless opportunities for business, education, and socialization all in virtual world. With the use of Virtual Environment Real User Study (Verus) Second Life, one day, could look completely realistic.

Will all of our social interaction one day be done through Second Life or some other form of social media? Although Second Life is extremely convenient in some cases, for example long distance business transactions, but what happens when we depend on it too much?

Some people are already complete addicted to their computers through video games; will everyone be addicted through social media? I do not want to end up like those video gamers (check out the link).

Link To Me, I Need a Job

There a dozens of different ways to use LinkedIn, from improving connect-ability to increasing the relevancy of your job search. Just look at Guy Kawasaki or The Mashable Social Media Guide or even the LinkedIn Learning Center.

If you don't have a LinkedIn account already, get one. This social media is specifically to help build people's career. It's like a resume online for everyone to see. By connecting with people (friends, students, colleagues, prospective employers, groups, etc...) you have more of an opportunity to network for future job.

Link to me!