Social media has surpassed search, and is poised to overtake online display advertising as the No. 1 source of digital media planning and buying, according to the latest edition of a quarterly survey of U.S. advertising agencies.

The survey, conducted by Strata, the agency media software and processing firm owned by Comcast, found that 69% of agency executives now consider social the “focus” of their digital ad spending -- up 32% over the past year, and now a close second behind display (71%) as the dominant digital media-buying platform in the minds of agency executives.

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The marketing landscape is an arena where individuals and brands must realize that consumers lack confidence in advertising. Audiences have a knack for recognizing pitches and sales tactics aimed at bottom line growth. Markets are bombarded with messaging from all sides aimed at their wallets and attention leading to reluctance over purchase intent and a lack of authenticity. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith call this a trust deficit.

The most successful companies are those who engage in relevant conversations and create experiences that resonate with changing consumer tastes. Trust is a glue that helps capture attention, build advocacy, and establish repeat business. People are the core of business.

The Web has changed to be more humanized, and the people who will succeed in understanding this and using the Web to build businesses are called Trust Agents.

The United States is getting younger thanks in large part to the growth of minorities who not only overindex in technology adoption but serve as pioneers and mainstays in social media activity. The rising influx of digital natives and social media butterflies has created an atmosphere of marketing and communications where technological aptitude and digital savvy separate the haves from the have nots.

Likewise, there are people out there right now working to understand these new technologies and learning everything about how to use them--from etiquette to audience building and beyond.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing many marketers and small business owners is the reluctance to grasp the potential and legitimate value found in social media strategy. Time and significant effort are valid reasons for apprehension but this does not slow down the movers and shakers in new media from capturing attention, maximizing opportunities, and establishing a lasting presence.

Like your kids, they know more about technology, and maybe even more about people, than you do; and that makes them very powerful.

In How to Make Money with Social Media: An Insider's Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business, Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, PH.D. offer some great analogies for understanding the differences between some of the most popular social networking sites on the internet.

Facebook

Facebook is like a pub. It's a casual place where you can go to talk about what you did over the weekend, tell a dirty joke, or tell people about the checkers convention you attended last week.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is like a trade show. You wouldn't tell people at a trade show what you did in Vegas last weekend, would you? Okay maybe you would, but the average businessperson wouldn't.

Twitter

Twitter is like a cocktail party. Just be sure you send out tweets that are helpful. New Tweeple make the mistake of taking Twitter seriously when its home page asks, "What's happening?" Well, we've got some bad news for you. Nobody cares what you're doing now. They care about information that will help them in their daily lives.

YouTube

YouTube is like Times Square on New Year's Eve. Times Square on New Year's Eve is packed with people clamoring for attention, which illustrates the problem. Just as it's hard to stand out in Times Square, it's hard to stand out on YouTube. Too much competition exists. So if you want to use YouTube to make money, you need to build awareness for your YouTube channel first.

The take-home lesson. Not all networks are one and the same. Investigate what's right for you. Remember to think strategically about social media as you strive to make it in an arena where trust, authenticity, and resonance are paramount.

The Guy Behind the Blog.

Jose Huitron is the author of Vista Hispano, a blog providing insights into the trends and changing dynamics of the U.S. Hispanic market. He is a strong communicator and digital native with a keen eye into the cultural shifts that have forced today’s individuals, organizations, and brands to think outside-the-box. He is currently the founder of HUB 81, an integrated marketing and public relations consultancy blending strategic capabilities with a passion for all things digital, multicultural, and creative. Schedule a consulting session today.

With sites like Pinterest causing significant tidal waves of attention in the world of social media it becomes increasingly important to explore the difference between the social graph and the interest graph.

We spend a lot of time building our networks and sharing content across various forms of media. There's no doubt that individuals choose their associates based on common interests. Within this dynamic resides the power of the interest graph. 

Twitter is a strong online destination for many becuase it empowers individuals and brands to follow their interests and add to the conversation. Pinterest is beginning to dominate this niche by allowing us to share our interests solely in a visual format. There's truth to that old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words and for Pinterest images come with style, structure, and impact placing visual elements at the forefront.

Interest Graph vs Social Graph

In real life, there is a constant interplay between the interest graph and the social graph. In high school, you gravitate towards people with common interests, and they become your social connections. In your professional career, you attend interest-specific events and connect with people who share that interest, but then become friends and start to share experiences.

There is a mirror process beginning to happen online. People are forming communities and connections through Twitter and social media like blogging around shared interests, which then spill over into the real world through meetups, conferences, and other offline happenings.

This process is going to reshape your social graph. It will be easier to find collaborators of all stripes, from band mates to business contractors. It will be easier to share your knowledge and experience with people who need it. It will be easier to do more of the stuff you want to do with people who can actually help you do it. And entrepreneurs who make this process easier and more fun stand to win big. (Why the Interest Graph will Reshape Social Networks) 

Remember when e-business was first coined by IBM in 1997. Yes that's the same company that is trying to make the world a smarter planet. These days IBM has its sights deadlocked on what it describes as social business.

What is it and why is it important for today's brands?

Let's think beyond social media and the digital properties that help brands spark conversation, engage auidences, and build advocacy. Social business is a culture of authenticity, dialogue, and collaboration.

Welcome to the world of social business.

Consumers now wield unprecedented power over how brands are perceived and purchases are made. Crowdsourcing is changing industry landscapes by leveling the intelligence playing field at an extraordinary rate. In addition, employees are demanding social tools in the workplace, and are actively sidestepping established hierarchies and IT processes to use them. As a result, the world finds itself at a transformative point with regard to how business is done.

The following demo video for Cars.com provides an excellent window into the power of social business and why its important for today's brands.

The preceding video does a good job of showing how consumers tap into their networks and harness the value of recommendations to make purchasing decisions. Think of social business as an opportunity to increase value, drive conversation, and build a culture of collaboration.

Here are three characteristics of a social business:

• Engaged—deeply connecting people, including customers, employees, and partners, to be involved in productive, efficient ways.
• Transparent—removing boundaries to information, experts and assets, helping people align every action to drive business results.
• Nimble—speeding up business with information and insight to anticipate and address evolving opportunities.

Welcome to a new arena of social that goes beyond the popular microblogs of the day and into a new plateau for business efficiency and consumer value.

"Action beats inaction."

The real movers and shakers recognize that it's better to be moving and building momentum. 2011 can be summed up as the year of engagement and relationships in motion setting the stage for a year of action and lasting impact.

This year provided a fantastic opportunity for individuals on the Central Coast and Silicon Valley to come together and address some of the hottest topics facing the Latino market. Latino2 and #Cause2012 SCtSMC stand out as two shining moments of 2011.

Latino2 in Silicon Valley

What do you get when you invite aspiring Hispanic engineers, bloggers, entrepreneurs, a new media guru, passionate foodies, and the White House to take over a computer history museum right smack in the middle of Silicon Valley?

A whole lot of reverberating forward motion across the Latinosphere and an engagement think tank.

"What you don't know about your online reputation is going to hurt you." - Brian Solis on the need for brands to be in-tune with the many conversations taking place across the social media landscape.

#Cause2012 Social Change through Social Media Conference

Real purpose and meaning form the core of a true differentiation strategy. Success isn't built on ability and processes alone. The most important question facing today's organizations is the question of "Why?" 

We know who you are and what you do but we don't quite understand why you do it. Purpose matters in the eyes of consumers who are increasingly searching for brands and individuals who not only offer great widgets and remarkable experiences but also lead the pack in manufacturing meaning.

Video Link: (The new face of America.)

Having a unique story and sharing it with the world is something special.

Who would have thought that on a brisk October morning on a wonderful stage set in a beautifully intimate theater with a rich 45 year history where the likes of Kathy Bates, Robin Williams, and Belita Moreno (among others) have delighted crowds that we would find some of California's most dedicated agents and artists of community building?

On October 29th, 2011 the PCPA Theater at Allan Hancock College (A Hispanic-Serving Institution) was transformed into an ideation hub where the center of focus included social media best practices for driving organizational capacity building, increasing Latino engagement, and community organizing.

"Mi Causa es Su Causa." (My cause is your cause.) sums up the atmosphere rather nicely.

Both of these landmark events served as some of the most rewarding and engaging experiences of 2011. A huge standing ovation to all the outstanding individuals and organizations who made Latino2 and #Cause2012 a reality. The takeaways are numerous but none greater than the chance to call some great people...friends.

Here's to a great 2011 and a divine 2012!

Having recently participated in the #cause2012 Social Change through Social Media Conference (I am a co-producer) never before has it been clearer that Latinos have played and will continue to play an integral role in the changing American landscape.

The overall focus of the conference held at Allan Hancock College was bridging the gap between community organizing and today's new media tools. Of course, as a new media connoisseur it was a can't miss opportunity to participate in an event where social media and technology were the stars of the show. 

In fact, at one point we had the exciting privelege of conferencing in Juan Sepúlveda, Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, via Skype! The audience was locked in and impressed with this unique experience which showcased the power of today's new media communication tools. Mission accomplished!

Overall, the conference was a beginning point for what is sure to be landmark activity in creating a groundswell of momentum that impacts the Latinosphere on multiple fronts from community organizing, marketing, public relations, and education to voter engagement, health, job growth, and beyond.

Activate! Spark! Inspire!

The answer: iOS integration.

Here are some screenshots:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/06/what-twitter-ios-5-integration-will-look-like-screenshots/

The perks of conversation are too few and far in between. We must remedy the situation by maintaining a constant effort to keep our fans and followers interested. Recency breeds reaction...and our focus as content creators should always be on keeping things fresh. It's good to be so fresh and so clean that our audience keeps coming back for more.

Consistency matters in the chase for relevance.

A small but strong reminder as we continue our social media journey.