Benefits of Social Media 'Contagious' -- According study published last Thursday in New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging, personal attributes can be contagious in a social setting. Co-author James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, said, "We were stunned to find that friends who are hundreds of miles away have just as much impact on a person as friends who are right next door."

PR to Standardize Award Judging -- After rampant accusations of conflict of interest and other shenanigans like PRS chapter presidents stacking the deck with the awards programs, one group has decided to stave off criticism and standardize the procedure. The Association of Organizational Communications (AOC) has just posted their judging criteria.

Broad Adoption of SM Now an International Phenomena -- Like no other time in history, thanks to Web 2.0 and Internet social media tools, free speech and democracy is spreading globally. As a result, the mantra of netcitizens now is, "no one can put this genie back in the bottle."

Open Nature of Social Media Lauded -- Also like never before, the open architecture that is Web 2.0 is attracting all peoples for every corner of life. Some social scientists now are claiming that this is exactly what America the "Melting Pot" was designed to be.

Scientists Claim Medical Explanation for Blogging A-Listers -- It was announced today that doctors from John Hopkins University have been able to identify the exact genes responsible for these types of people. Hikida Toyota, a leading researcher there said, "This is an important first step for further study of the combinations of factors that underlie these attributes."