EMARKETER — Older web users are flocking to social networks, according to a May 2010 Pew Internet & American Life Project survey. Usage among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled during the past year, from 22% to 42%. More specifically, 47% of 50-to-64-year-old internet users and 26% of seniors ages 65 and up indicate that they now use these sites, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the main beneficiaries of the more mature traffic...

INSIDE FACEBOOK — The United States has fully bounced back from a period of slow growth in June. Following fairly strong July numbers, we’re now seeing a big gain of five million new monthly active users in August for Facebook’s home country. Seasonality can serve to explain some of what’s happening in the US -- early summer has traditionally been a slow period for social networks and other youth-dominated sites, as high school and college kids take a break from school. But there appears to be more to the story...

EMARKETER — Females are known for being communicators, and their social media usage is legendary among marketers, many of whom focus on targeting women on social sites. But men also care about staying in touch, and do so in much the same way. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos OTX for Askmen.com, Facebook was barely edged out by text messaging as the top way for men to stay in touch with their friends...

MARKETINGPROFS — Though consumers turn to Facebook primarily to connect with friends and fill downtime, product discounts and "social badging" are the most commonly cited motivations for "liking" brands on Facebook, according to a survey from ExactTarget and Co-Tweet. Over two in five surveyed Facebook users (43%) say they "like," or are fans of, at least one brand on Facebook. Among them, 40% say they like brands to receive discounts and promotions, whereas 39% say they do so to publicly display their brand affiliations to others. By contrast, 23% of consumers who follow brands on Twitter do so for social-badging purposes...

MARKETING PILGRIM — ChannelAdvisors’ 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey is out just in time for the holiday season. The free report provides valuable insights for anyone in the ecommerce, B2C space. So, what jumped out at me? Well, it wasn’t so much that 59% of those surveyed start their gift search at a search engine –- with 28% heading straight to a marketplace such as eBay or Amazon –- but what did intrigue me were the starts on just how inconsequential brand recognition is...