Who is the most influential Twitter user in the World? Is there such a person? Is it me? Well it's not you and it's certainly not me.

Today INQ Mobile released a study that they conducted to find who the most influential Twitter user was for 2009. Believe it or not, this person is not a celebrity. Though this individual is viewed like a celebrity in some social networks around the world. They're not a movie star, talk show host, or musician.

Find out who the winner is. http://budurl.com/fqnm

Social media sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter are increasingly becoming more popular. These sites provide a way for people of all ages and interests to communicate with each other.

Social media sites are not just for individuals though. Businesses can take full advantage of these sites as well. These social media outlets are a great way to promote business and connect with other contacts within your own industry. They allow people to share ideas, opinions and advice with one other. Valuable relationships can be formed and these sites are great marketing tools to promote a product or an event for your business. They are also a great way to drive and increase traffic on your own website.

Businesses need to take advantage of social media sites. It can be a little confusing deciding which social media outlets are right for your company and how to go about setting up and account or even maintain one. Resonate Design Studios can help you though. We offer Social media marketing packages which include setting up accounts on social networking sites like Facebook , Twitter and Linkedin. Contact us today and find out how these networks can improve your business.

Earlier this week Linkedin announced a new feature allowing users to synch their Twitter and Linkedin updates. Linkedin users can now tweet their status updates and Twitter users can update their Linkedin status by adding the hashtag #li or #in to their tweets.

Linkedin is more of a professional social media tool than Facebook. Most Linkedin users are trying to connect to other professionals, coworkers and friends. The new Twitter feature offers the user the option of all tweets being posted or just the ones with the hashtag #li or #in attached to the posting. This is helpful, because not all tweets are created equal. Some may be more industry related and others may be more "friend" related, like responding to someone you follow. Here's a tip, only post industry or business related tweets in your Linkedin profile. Not many people you are connected to through Linkedin will care about your response to a Twitter follower of yours they do not know. Plus, if you are using Linkedin for networking or looking for a job, your industry related tweet will seem more appropriate.

Twitter is the more active social media outlet of the two but with this new feature available it is sure to benefit both.

Alright, I am going to say it. I am not the biggest fan of Facebook. I find it to be cumbersome and somewhat archaic. I have basis for these claims, but I will not bore you with all of them. I will cite the latest experience as an example though.

I have created many postings on my wall but never thought of creating a discussion until last week after I read an article which inspired me to do this. So, I wrote two paragraphs about a particular topic in the Discussions area. The topic was timely and I talked about social media and reality television. I thought it would inspire some conversation and I might even learn something from what others would post.

After I finished writing, I clicked the post button and there was my topic. Everyone could see it and would have the opportunity to read and talk about.

The next day, I took a few minutes to check and see if I had any responses to my new discussion. Well, I was terribly disappointed to find out that my discussion had actually evaporated into a mighty abyss. It was gone. Why did this happen? Here I was trying to invoke some conversation and communication and the entire catalyst for discussion had disappeared. No answers. Silence.

I had a moment where I thought I should inquire why this occurred and then it quickly dissipated and was replaced by pure frustration. This was one of a series of frustrating incidents I had experienced using Facebook. It would not be the final straw for me, but I could see there were only a few strands of straw left in my stack of patience.

For now, I will continue to use Facebook. Everyone in the world is using it, so I guess I must as well... right? I enjoy using other social media outlets like Twitter and Linkedin and have not experienced problems with these great tools. I have made great professional connections with them. I just cannot understand why usability is such an issue with Facebook.

Google has announced that it is launching a new search tool for social media outlets like blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

Google Social Search allows people to search for postings by their friends, coworkers and selected media source feeds as well as traditional organic searches on it's search engine.

Google's Social Search was demonstrated at the Web 2.0 Summit by Google’s VP of Search Marissa Mayer. It combines results from blogs,Twitter, Facebook, and a variety of other social media sites. The only catch is that individuals must have connected their social accounts to their Google profiles.

The social search feature will display relevant search results from your social circle at the bottom of the search results page. This could be a recent blog post, a set of status updates, or other information Google is able to acquire.

Right now, Google's Social Search is an opt-in. It only affects certain searches and will appear at the bottom of the search results page. The feature may eventually be moved towards the top or middle portions of the search results page.

All the web was a twitter and so were the cable news networks over the "Balloon Boy" saga which unfolded on October 15th. News spread rapidly through social networks and various news outlets describing the drama of a six year old boy soaring over the Colorado landscape in a weather balloon. The bazaar nature of the story captivated people's attention. Curiosity turned to concern as information spread that a small child may have climbed into the balloon. The drama continued for two or more hours before the balloon touched down in a farm field to reveal there was no little boy inside. A universal sigh of relief was heard once the boy was found at his home hiding, fearing he was in a lot of trouble for playing and releasing the homemade weather balloon.

Rumors began to emerge that the boy and his family were on a reality television show at one time and that the entire story was a hoax. These rumors continued as law enforcement began to investigate the matter and by noon on October 18th, it was officially determined by the local sheriff's department that the saga of "Balloon Boy" was indeed a hoax. The investigation led authorities to discover that the family had hoped the incident would spawn a reality television show for them.

Now the parents of the young boy will face charges and authorities are worried about the safety and well being of the youngest boy named Falcon and his two brothers. What was their family environment like? What were they exposed to and what were they told?

As of this writing, these are still questions left unanswered. One question needs to be asked though. Are reality television shows creating self-centered individuals believing every corner of there lives is important enough to be documented and broadcast to the masses? The popularity of social media in general, is also contributing to wide spread narcism. Have all these outlets led to the staging of more"Balloon Boys"?

As with anything in life, moderation is key. Whether it is watching a television program or posting portions of your life on a website. Let us hope that this bazaar episode is not a tale of things to come. Let us also hope that it is not a representation of a larger existing problem among society.

We are pleased to have been chosen to create the official site for the independent movie "This Is Not The South".

The movie focuses on the character "Ryan," who sets out to create a film about General Morgan's Civil War raid. But at some point he loses control, and it morphs into a film about three young friends in the Bristol Tennesse area struggling to overcome preconceptions.

The film was written and directed by Derek Davidson and produced by Karen Sabo.

Davidson is an established playwright and director. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University, a master's from Miami University in Ohio and a doctorate in theatre history from the University of Washington.

Sabo has been a professional actor and was a resident director at Barter Theatre. She has a bachelor's degree from Hampshire College and attended graduate school at East Tennessee State University.

Welcome to Resonate Design Studios' Blog. We are a website design, graphic design, and website marketing firm. We specialize design and web marketing materials that are visually attractive and directly communicate the message intended.

Whether you are a large company or a small locally owned business. We want to focus on your needs and your goals. We will provide world-class design and marketing with the personal attention you expect and deserve.

We invite you to contact us for your next design or marketing project and see the difference. Please visit our website at resonatedesignstudios.com and read about what our clients have to say about working with Resonate Design Studios.