Social media is the space to watch in the coming years as this is where marketers, their brands and their audience engage and connect. Social media users have generated some very interesting trends that are rapidly redefining the way businesses and their audiences interact. No one thought social gaming such as Farmville and Mafia Wars on Facebook would become so widely addictive, turning the creator of the games, Zygna into a multi-million dollar company just because they caught the attention of the social media users and held it.

The mobile phone has also been a major influence on social media because of its interactivity and web connectivity. Here are five major social media trends to keep track of.

Social mobile

The smart phone, with its high speed internet connectivity has changed lives globally, revolutionising the way we interact. It allows users to carry their social media profiles in their hands wherever they go. Many businesses have an app to engage users who connect with them. Since major social media networks are now embedded at the menu level in these smartphones, texting could well become obsolete in a few years.

Social search

No one can argue about the secrecy and complexity behind Google’s search algorithms. But what everyone knows is the importance placed by Google search on social sharing data. This is also integrated into Google Analytics and now, with the introduction of Google Plus and its +1 button, things are only going to get hotter. The more people vote for content and share it socially, the better it will rank in the search engines. Social search is here to stay as it indicates human assessment, and therefore, worthy of trust. Social networks are given more importance in the search results and this is endorsed by the frequency at which YouTube videos, Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles appear in the search results.

Location based social media marketing

Location based social media marketing is perhaps one of the best things to happen for local businesses. With the popularity of sites like Foursquare and Google Places, users find it easy to check in and find special deals in the area they live in, using their smartphone.

Social ecommerce

E-commerce is not new and most businesses have an online presence, with some percentage of their sales generated online. But over the last few years, users have acquired the facility to use apps to take their stores to their favorite social media network without leaving the site to shop for their favorite brands. This has become possible because businesses can now create a Facebook page that integrates e-commerce.

Social gaming

The park or field is not the only place where people play games. It is possible to enjoy your favorite games via social media networks with rich multimedia. These games are interesting and easy to use. Gaming companies that are smart enough to develop games that grab the attention of the users are emerging as billion dollar companies.

The power of social media is slowly removing all geographical barriers eliminating restrictions related to the place, time and logistics. Do you notice any other significant social media trends? Please share in the comments section.

Apps ensure that users can customise their smartphones to such an extent that one can easily socialise on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, always be online via Skype, MSN or GTalk or work remotely – all through your smartphone. Don’t know which apps to install? Below are a few suggestions.

TripIt

Need help planning an upcoming trip? TripIt keeps all your travel plans in one spot and allows you to access your travel itinerary anywhere, anytime. You’ll never miss a flight again

Photoshop Mobile

With Photoshop Mobile you don’t have to wait to get to your desktop to edit photos, you can do it directly from your phone. Read more about the app or download it for your iPhone or Android OS smartphone.

Dropbox

This iPhone app allow users to store and access documents, videos and photos in the cloud. The free account offers storage space of up to 2G, if you need more storage space you’ll have to upgrade to the paid-for version. Read more about Dropbox and download the app for easy file sharing when you’re on the go.

JoikuSpot

Available in either a Light or Premium version JoikuSpot turns your 3G smartphone into a wifi hotspot. This is one of my favourite apps and while the free version has limited capabilities it is definitely worthwhile to purchase the Premium version. The app can be used on Symbian or Windows operated mobile phones, download it here.

Gravity

Gravity is arguably the best Symbian Twitter client on the market. Albeit paid-for, I think it is money well spent. The app allow you to upload photos directly to third-party sites like TwitPic or Posterous and you can easily manage multiple Twitter accounts from your phone. The latest version of the app allow you to ‘draft’ and ‘schedule’ tweets – very handy! Download Gravity here.

AccuWeather

AccuWeather comes pre-installed on most smartphones and provides you with access to up-to-date weather forecasts for most of the major cities world-wide.

Nimbuzz

Need all your social networks in one place? With Nimbuzz you easily manage all major IM networks (GTalk, Skype and MSN) and social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, MySpace). Read more about Nimbuzz or download the app.

What is your favourite app and why? Let us know in the comments!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup has generated quite a bit of online noise.  It has been called the biggest web event ever (even bigger than President Obama’s election campaign) and the amount of World Cup related tweets per second has set a new record.  Twitter on average process about 750 tweets per second but when Cameroon scored against Japan last Monday there were 2 940 tweets per second.  That’s a lot of online noise!

With the World Cup a number of apps, dedicated websites and video channels have been introduced.  Below are a few that stand out:

CNN introduced an interactive new section focused on the World Cup where you can keep up with all the World Cup action.

If you’re an iPhone user and want to keep up-to-date with match schedules, standings and more download the AP 2010 World Cup Coverage app for free from the iTunes store.

Don’t own a vuvuzela?  With the Pocket Vuvuzela iPhone app you can blow, shake your phone or press a button to make the vuvuzela horn sound.  Note:  this app is highly addictive

Interested in what happen behind the World Cup scenes?  Check our www.soccerbabe.co.za or their YouTube channel for the latest, juiciest soccer gossip.

What is your favourite app or website to keep up-to-date with the World Cup happenings? Share it in the comments section!