From everyone at Marketwire, Happy Holidays.  Whether your celebration is Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or simply time with family and friends, we wish you peace.  And as we welcome 2012, we fill our mugs with holiday cheer and share a toast to a New Year that brings health and prosperity to us all. 

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot

To be influential in social media can mean many things.  Sometimes it’s all about the numbers — the sheer volume of followers that one individual can amass is truly staggering, and with every Facebook post or tweet, millions of people have the potential to be swayed by that influence on what to buy, where to travel or how to vote.  But it’s not always just about numbers.  The creativity, expertise and unique insight that an influencer shares with his or her community are what truly make them worthy of following.  Take a look at our choices for some of the most influential in the social sphere in 2011. 

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Tech toys are big business and it seems that the coolest, fastest, smallest, smartest, most multifunctional or just plain “gotta have it” products are particularly popular around the holiday season.  But just because something is cool doesn’t mean it can’t also be useful, and some of the best digital tools are those that are equal parts play and productivity (smartphones, anyone?).  With this week’s Pulse, we asked ourselves one simple question:  What fun and functional gadgets would make great gifts for the busy MarCom or PR professional in your life?  We searched the e-shelves and found ten, any of which are bound to please.

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When we read about the importance of listening, monitoring and being active in social media, it is typically in reference to B2C companies. Social media is almost seen as “sexy” and a “must-have strategy” for B2C success, yet we tend to hear less about how important real-time listening and social media monitoring is for B2B companies. Typically, B2B marketers are not looking for the “sexy” solution; they want practical ways to measure their brand, their campaigns, and their place in the market, and they want to use that intelligence to make impactful business decisions. What’s more, many B2B companies don’t think that they have enough brand mentions to warrant monitoring online conversations. But B2B companies, like their B2C counterparts, can benefit tremendously from listening to conversations in the social sphere. 

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As the month of November comes to close we bid a fond “adieu” to all the wild moustaches that show themselves but once a year. That’s right, by the time this post is up MOvember will officially be over (but I’m sure you can still donate). For those not in the know, all the creepy moustaches you’ve seen over the past month have been part of a worldwide charity effort to raise money for prostate cancer research, while having a little fun.  Well, we started off the month with a MOvember blog post, so I thought it only fair to close it the same way.

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