DEMO Spring 2011 has just wrapped up, and the world of emerging technology is abuzz with news of the launches seen at this year’s conference. There was a clear focus this year on harnessing social networks to give Internet users an opportunity to personalise their online experience even further.

The DEMO conference is a global event designed to showcase the most exciting new technology and provide industry networking opportunities. One launch that might be of particular interest to a search marketing company was Heystaks.

It’s impossible to ignore the power wielded by social media in both business and personal networking; but while any SEO agency would agree that these platforms are ideal for the promotion of content and the sharing of ideas, the privacy concerns posed by these platforms are also unavoidable. Recently, a bill known as the Social Networking Privacy Act was proposed by a US senator eager to impose stricter privacy laws on networks like Facebook.

Does censorship have a place in social media? Or is the very idea laughable?

Whether you work at a search marketing company or a non-profit organisation, the use of social media to promote a positive online image and create greater brand awareness will be a familiar concept. A company’s social media profile will be carefully crafted to suit the image of the brand, and those in control of the social media account can often find themselves facing difficult choices – should they practice a level of censorship by screening comments, so only the “good stuff” reaches the public? Or will they find it more beneficial to publicly respond to any negative feedback, demonstrating total transparency?

Online petitions aren’t something that everyone is entirely active in but most are aware of. Many of us receive a constant stream of emails asking us to save this or stop and prevent that and most of the time, these online petition requests end up in our dusty spam folder, never to be read again. On the other side of the spectrum lies the over-petitioner – the person that clicks and signs everything in sight, hoping that their contribution will make a difference in the world. Online petitions are a somewhat grey area with some enthusiasts believing that their click is making a difference and others believing that all online petitions are a sham and that no affect comes from these causes. Do online petitions make a difference or are you signing your life away for nothing?

Facebook Places, the new location sharing feature of social networking giant Facebook, has officially launched in the UK. This development will certainly make things interesting for search marketing services and social networking enthusiasts. Facebook users are now able to update their status complete with their current location. The smartphone-based Facebook Places service also allows users to see which friends have visited that location recently, or which friends are currently nearby. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg says he wants “to make the world an open space”. Facebook fans can track their hero’s movements virtually by using the Facebook Places service.

Of course, the launch of Facebook Places has raised privacy concerns. Not all users are comfortable with the implications of sharing their locations. However, the creators have put stringent privacy control in place to ensure that Facebook Places users can be selective about what information they wish to share.

It is kind of difficult not to follow what Google is doing these days. As I have said before, they pretty much have their finger in every pie but the one pie that they just cannot seem to get a slice of is social media. There is no doubt that Google’s social media involvement is present as we have seen various Google innovations that have integrated the act of social media into their strategy in order to engage even further and jump on that social media band wagon that all of us are clambering onto. But what are Google trying to achieve? Are they trying to be something that they are not or are we just giving them a hard time and predicting any social media innovations that they create as dead in the water, therefore indirectly creating the failure?

After months of rumours and speculation leading up to Apple’s fall media event, CEO Steve Jobs finally revealed all on Wednesday at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The new iTunes 10 social media feature sparked the interest of search marketing agencies and gadget-lovers alike.

iTunes 10 was launched at yesterday’s media event alongside updated iPods and a revision of Apple TV. While an iTunes update was expected, the iTunes 10 social media capability came as a pleasant surprise. This feature is called Ping, and has been described by Steve Jobs as “Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes”.

Ping is a tool that will allow iTunes 10 users to compile and share playlists with others in their Ping network. Users will be able to create their own iTunes 10 Ping profile, track friends’ downloads, post comments and follow their favourite artists using this iTunes 10 feature.

Social news platform Digg launched their new look this week; the updated edition has been eagerly anticipated by many a search marketing company and social media marketing firm. Digg v4 includes “drastic changes” according to founder Kevin Rose. The front end and back end of Digg v4 have both been revamped to be faster and more personalised, says Rose. The latest version of Digg is also intended to make the sharing of information easier than ever before.

Below are some of Digg v4 features:

•Users can now sign into Digg v4 via their Twitter or Facebook accounts

•The submission process has been simplified

•The site offers ability to directly import RSS feeds

•Users can follow friends on Digg v4

•Users can follow preferred publishers and news sources, meaning the news they find on Digg v4 will be more relevant to their interests.