Every week I compile a list of the noteworthy social media news (Buzz), balanced with valuable commentary (Brilliance) and some good advice about Blogging as well. The links that follow are to sites and blogs that I read on a regular basis - consider them recommended reading for you too. Or you can just come back here each week for a taste of what stuck out to me.

Last week’s video experiment wasn’t bad, but Lara and I have decided to go in a different direction with our weekly recap post. Stay tuned…!

~Karen

Buzz

I’m truly excited about some of the news out of Facebook this week. Page admins have far more control over page management now with the new admin roles and scheduling that Facebook introduced this week. For those of us working with clients concerned about page ownership and timing of posts, this makes our job much easier. Let’s not forget the rollout of promoted posts on pages. This is all good stuff!

Twitter changed the layout and information contained in notification emails for new followers. The rollout is starting already and the new look/additional information is a welcome change. That doesn’t mean I’ll be turning on email notifications, though.

While some think the social media bubble has popped, others are embracing it for new and interesting reasons. For the first time ever, MTV is asking Twitter to decide who will win an award at the VMAs. Does that sound like a bubble popping to you? Me neither.

Speaking of interesting uses of social media, Starbucks and Foursquare are partnering up on a campaign to give back based on check-ins. $1 for every Starbucks check-in will go to (RED) to fight AIDS. Foursquare benefits from additional users with social conscience and Starbucks will a rash of free advertising. And (RED) gets money. Win. Win. Win.

Google is beefing up its video functionality on Google+ by offering captions and subtitles. One can’t help but wondering why they aren’t working on tighter YouTube integration instead.

They’re also working on some Event functionality in Google+ with integration for Google Calendar and that would be Ah. Maze. Zing!

Brilliance

I’m always eager to jump right in to any new tool that comes out. I think there is value in doing so and I think I can quickly assess whether something is worth devoting time to or if I should let it sit for a while. Knowing these things is my job. For others - and even for some who work in social media - it may be better to give the latest and greatest new tools a pass.

While you’re giving the new tools up, why not consider a break from the old tools. Sometimes a break helps you refocus. Businesses can’t all take a week off, but a day or two won’t hurt anything.